‘Hot Podium Guy’ returns ahead of Rishi Sunak’s announcement

‘Hot Podium Guy’ returned to Downing Street ahead of Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a July 4 election.

The sound engineer, whose name is Tobias Gough, gained a dedicated fanbase after being spotted on TV helping to set up the lectern outside No 10 Downing Street on several occasions.

Many journalists who were waiting for Sunak’s election announcement tweeted about his about Tobias’ arrival.

The announcement outside of No10 – held at the podium carried by none other than ‘hot podium guy’ – has brought an end to a dizzying day of speculation and rumours in Westminster.

The speculation has been fuelled by reports that ministers had been told attendance at this afternoon’s cabinet meeting was mandatory.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron rushed back from a visit to Albania and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps delayed a trip to the Baltic states by several hours.

At Prime Minister’s Questions earlier today, Sunak gave an non-specific answer after the SNP’s Westminster leader asked him to tell the public if he was about to call an election.

He told Stephen Flynn: ‘There is going to be a general election in the second half of this year.’

Before today, November was the most heavily anticipated date for the next general election, with many observers expecting the PM to wait as long as possible ahead of the January 2025.

But the PM appears to have decided to gamble on the idea that voters will be swayed by today’s positive economic news.

This morning, the Office for National Statistics announced the inflation rate had fallen to 2.3% from 3.2% in March – essentially hitting the government’s 2% target.

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