The date of the general election has been confirmed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Thursday, July 4.

The announcement came following speculation the Conservative party might hold off an election until later in the year, towards Christmas.

However, the PM has confirmed that the election will take place in the summer, in less than two months.

Ahead of the general election, many voters will be reflecting not only on the current leaders of the UK but the past, including when Labour was last in power.

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When was the last time Labour was in power?

The UK last had a Labour Government in 2010, when they were in power for 13 years, from 1997 to 2010.

In 1997, Sir Tony Blair became the first Labour Prime Minister since 1979 when Margaret Thatcher beat Labour’s James Callaghan.

Sir Tony and the Labour Party won the government, taking over from Sir John Major who was in power from 1990 to 1997.

In 2007, Sir Tony resigned as Prime Minister seeing Gordon Brown set into the position from 2007 to 2010 when David Cameron became Prime Minister.

If the Labour Party wins the next general election, it would see Sir Keir Starmer become Prime Minister and the Labour have power in the UK for the first time in 14 years.

Why are general elections in the UK held on Thursday?

Ever since 1931, general elections have been held on a Thursday with the upcoming one marking the 22nd in a row.

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Though there is no specific answer, there are a few that all relate to why Thursday.

One of the most popular and sensible answers is that Thursdays allow for the smoothest running when it comes to government changes.

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces July 4th date for general election

Voting on a Thursday means ballots can be counted overnight with many results announced on a Friday morning.

That allows the Prime Minister to arrange their Cabinet over the weekend, move to Downing Street (if new) and be ready to brief civil servants bright and earlier, Monday morning.

But, there are also links that Thursday work for the weekly pay packet, it was the day before payday as well as market days, meaning many people would head to town where polling stations also were.