THE FAMED NEW Labour campaign song ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ was blasted from an unofficial loudspeaker as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK’s next general election will take place on July 4. 

The song, by Derry band D:Ream, is associated with Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997. Sunak – who, like his 1990s predecessor John Major, is facing a likely electoral wipeout at the hands of Labour – is unlikely to have appreciated the interruption.

As Sunak spoke directly to TV cameras, with rain drizzling down on him, the one-time campaign anthem could be clearly heard. An umbrella wouldn’t have gone amiss, but as he made his pitch to the UK public, his suit slick with rain, Sunak seemed undeterred.

D:Ream’s Peter Cunnah said that in 1997, after 18 years of Tory government, the song “captured the prevailing wind of change and got back into the Top 20

“When Labour won, I got a bearhug from Alistair Campbell. It hurt – he’s a big man. I met Tony Blair several times. He plays guitar and loved the song. He was always asking me what the chords were,” he wrote in The Guardian. 

“Things Can Only Get Better” by D:Ream is drowning out Rishi Sunak’s speech calling a general election. pic.twitter.com/JQlU3zGgrf

— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) May 22, 2024

While Blair campaigned with the slogans “education, education, education” and “New Labour, New Britain”, Sunak today focused on telling voters that it’s the Tories who can be trusted to help Britain’s economy to recover and grow. 

“Immigration is finally coming down, and we are stopping the boats with our Rwanda policy”, Sunak said. 

He also mentioned his policy aimed at ensuring that the next generation grows up “smoke free”, by the gradual ban being brought in against tobacco products. 

we had a good run at Downing Street but both and amplifiers got soaked and blown. They lasted for the moment that mattered. pic.twitter.com/zH0LInQzaY

— GET TORIES DONE - GENERAL ELECTION NOW! (@snb19692) May 22, 2024

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As it Happened: The UK reacts as Rishi Sunak calls a general election for 4 July

Rishi Sunak just called a July general election in the UK, but why now?

“I will earn your trust, and I will prove to you that only a Conservative party Government, led by me,” can provide the economic stability needed, Sunak said.

With every poll indicating a landslide Labour victory, and after a series of blows in the wake of Covid, Tory party leadership changes, and the aftermath of Brexit, it remains to be seen if Sunak’s message on economic stability will be enough to defeat the odds. 

For the Labour’s part, it will be promising a grand scale change in the way Government works in the UK, and its priorities – Much like Blair once did.