Rishi Sunak has given his strongest indication yet that he will not call a general election until the second half of 2024, puncturing Labour hopes that it could come as early as the spring. The prime minister told broadcasters on Thursday it was his “working assumption” the vote would be called in the latter part of the year, giving him more time to try to reverse the Conservatives’ deficit in the polls. The date of the election is solely in his hands after the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in 2022. “My working assumption is we’ll have a general election in the second half of this year and in the meantime I’ve got lots that I want to get on with,” he said during a visit to Nottinghamshire. While he refused to rule out calling a May election, as has been predicted by senior Labour figures, Sunak repeated his intention to hold it in the second part of the year. “I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people’s taxes, but I also want to keep tackling illegal migration,” Sunak said. “I’ve got lots to get on with and I’m determined to keep delivering for the British people.” Sunak must call an election by late January 2025, and has said on several occasions he intends to do so this year. However, the prime minister has not previously been specific about when he planned to do so, leading to speculation it could either be timed to coincide with local elections in May or delayed until the autumn, when MPs and voters return from summer holidays. Labour has been planning for a spring election, with Emily Thornberry, the party’s shadow attorney general, recently saying a May election was “the worst kept secret in Westminster”. Thornberry’s comments led some analysts to predict that Labour was trying to embed the idea that an earlier election was inevitable so it could accuse Sunak of cowardice should he decide against one. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, told Sky News: “We are ready for an election. I think the country is ready for elections. People are crying out for change. And I say to the prime minister, what is he hiding? “This has serious implications for the country because he’s basically saying he’s going to be squatting for months and months in Downing Street, dithering and delaying.” Sunak and Starmer spoke at public events on Thursday as the election campaign starts to take shape. Starmer used a speech in Bristol to promise he would bring “project hope” should he be elected prime minister this year. At a more low-key question-and-answer session, to which national journalists were not invited, Sunak attacked Labour’s plans for green spending, saying they could not be achieved without putting up inflation and taxes. “We are going to keep talking about it because ultimately it’s going to impact everyone in this country,” he said. “We’re going to cut their taxes and make sure everyone knows that if they ever get a lefty, your taxes are going up.”