How Rishi Sunak's small circle forged vote plan that shocked UK Cabinet

LONDON: Rishi Sunak gave his most senior ministers little more than an hour's notice of what he was about to tell the country and had already told King Charles III, that he had decided to call a snap UK general election for July 4.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt was among those caught unaware. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who'd had to cancel a visit to Albania just to make the meeting in Downing Street, expressed surprise, but said the decision "seizes the initiative, sets the agenda and forces the choice," according to people familiar with the conversation.

Others were less convinced. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps shared reservations, the people said. Detecting the shock later in a meeting of the full Cabinet, Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho - a Sunak loyalist since their Treasury days - intervened to say the premier wasn't a politician who follows the consensus, whether on Brexit, pandemic lockdowns or net zero. Communities Secretary Michael Gove praised the move, quoting the Special Air Service motto: "Who dares wins." Sunak ultimately headed into a downpour in Downing Street to speak the cameras. But the fact he presented it as a fait accompli signed off by the monarch, which the people said he did to ensure ministers couldn't make him change his mind, underscores the scale of the gamble he knew he was taking. Little more than 48 hours later, Gove had joined the scores of Tory MPs announcing that they were standing down after the election.

Spokespeople for Sunak, Cameron, Shapps, Hunt and Coutinho declined to comment. The announcement was weeks in the making, and piecing together how it came about reveals that it's not only the Cabinet with reservations. The premier's closest aides argued opposing sides, and, while people familiar with the matter say everyone is now on the same page, some still don't want to be seen as responsible for pushing the snap election idea.

It's far from the ideal basis for what will be a bruising six-week campaign against Keir Starmer's poll-leading opposition Labour Party. He's already faced criticism for a presidential style that leaves little room for other Tory voices. If he doesn't deliver on his strategy to narrow the poll gap early in the campaign, the recriminations will likely engulf him alone.