British Prime Ministers Faces The Election Music

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday called an election earlier than most expected—for July 4—and the gallows humor in his party is that there is no benefit in prolonging the agony of defeat. After 14 years in office, the ruling Tories will need a miracle to pull off a victory this time.

The PM seems to be betting that an election campaign will finally cause Britons to listen to his agenda for the next five years. He also hopes debates will help him remind voters that Labour is a party of the left rather than the inoffensive centrists that Mr. Starmer wants Britons to believe they are.

Mr. Sunak will try to offer a tax contrast with Labour, which always raises taxes. But voters may not believe the Conservatives after their recent record. Foreign policy won’t work as Mr. Starmer has been stalwart in support of Ukraine and surprisingly good in support of Israel.

Britain could use a vigorous debate addressing its many serious challenges and economic decline. Immigration ranks as a top concern as voters worry about the cost of providing housing and social services to illegal migrants and the humanitarian disaster of crossing the English Channel in small boats.

Fiscal crises loom, especially for a socialized healthcare system that will struggle to cope with an aging population. This and other entitlements impinge on security spending in a more dangerous world, as both parties struggle to explain how they’ll fund their pledges to devote 2.5% of GDP to defense.