British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday ruled out calling an election on May 2, hinting the country was on course for a late 2024 ballot.
Mounting speculation at the Westminster had suggested Sunak could call the general election on the same day as local polls in early May.
However, Sunak told ITV News "there won't be an election on that day".
The premier could wait until January 2025 to go to the country but has previously said that 2024 would be an election year.
Asked earlier on Thursday about the date of the election, Sunak told reporters: "I said at the start of this year, my working assumption was we’d have an election in the second half of this year.
"And nothing has changed since I said that."
Since October 2022, his Conservative Party has trailed badly in polls to the main opposition Labour Party led by Keir Starmer.
Pollsters have predicted a thumping defeat for the Conservatives inflicted by voters fed up with a cost of living crisis and a struggling economy.
A total of 64 Conservatives and former Conservatives have announced they will not fight their seats — the largest number of Tories to retire from parliament since Labour’s landslide win under Tony Blair in 1997. (AFP)
Monks sit on a stage next to portraits of tsunami victims as people take part in an interfaith ceremony at the Ban Nam Khem Tsunami Memorial Park in southern Thai province of Phang Nga on December 26, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
