Rishi Sunak reiterated his claim that the general election would take place in the second half of the year, amid growing speculation that he may have a summer election date in mind.

At Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday, he refused to rule out a summer vote – some believe it could take place on July 4 – when asked about the timing.

Stephen Flynn, leader of the SNP in Westminster, said: “There is a lot of speculation and I think the public deserves a clear answer to a simple question. Does the Prime Minister intend to call a general election in the summer or is he afraid of it?”

Mr Sunak replied: “It is true, Mr Speaker – spoiler alert – there will be a general election in the second half of this year.

“At this moment the British people will actually learn the truth about the noble gentleman opposite me (Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer), because that will be the choice at the next election, Mr Speaker – a party unable to tell the country what it would do, a party that would risk our hard-won economic stability, or the Conservatives, who will offer a secure future for our United Kingdom.”

The rumour mill in Westminster is in full swing after some rare good news for the Prime Minister: official figures showed that inflation slowed to 2.3% in April, the lowest level since July 2021.

Cabinet ministers will meet in Downing Street later on Wednesday, after their usual meeting on Tuesday was delayed due to the Prime Minister’s trip to Austria.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has postponed his trip to a NATO meeting in the Baltics by a few hours so that he can attend the cabinet meeting.

Downing Street took no action to end the speculation, with Sunak’s press secretary telling reporters in Westminster she would not “rule or rule out anything” when pressed on whether he might call a general election in July.

She declined to say when Mr Sunak sees the second half of 2024 as beginning, noting that it was “quite a long time period”.

July is currently in the second half of the year.

The spokesman also highlighted Wednesday’s “good inflation news”, after Mr Sunak had previously said inflation was “back to normal”, marking an “important milestone” for the country.

The Conservatives have previously been in a difficult period after suffering two backbench defections and a defeat in local elections earlier this month.

Polls continue to suggest that the Tories will lose the upcoming national election, while Labour maintains a double-digit lead.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party called on Mr Sunak to “move on” and call a new election.

A Labour Party spokesman said: “We are fully ready to go if the Prime Minister calls an election. We have a fully organised and operational campaign and we believe the country is crying out for an election. So we would like to call on the Prime Minister to hold it.”

However, the spokesman accused Mr Sunak of having “messed up” in the past.

“We have seen the Prime Minister repeatedly push us to this hill and then bungle it at the last minute when it comes to calling an election. But when the time comes, no matter how long he delays it, he cannot escape the judgement of the British public. They recognise that this government has failed them over the last 14 years and believe it is time for change,” he said.

In addition, 10 Downing Street declined to comment on claims that Sunak may be close to announcing a cabinet reshuffle or that Jeremy Hunt may resign as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

“We do not comment on speculation about cabinet reshuffles,” his press spokesman said.

She declined to repeat Sunak’s previous promise that Hunt would remain at the helm of the Treasury until the upcoming election.

When asked, she said: “We believe that the Chancellor is doing a very good job and it is absolutely clear that the economy is on the up.”

The latest possible date on which Mr Sunak could hold the election is 28 January 2025.