The Prime Minister has the power to call an early vote whenever he wishes, now that the Fixed Term Parliament law has been repealed.
This legislation, introduced in 2011, had limited elections to every five years unless a two-thirds majority of the Commons voted to go public earlier.
Speaking to the liaison committee, the prime minister said the “early date” he envisioned for the next election was 2024.
But before the wave of resignations rocked his leadership, Conservative Campaign was “war game” an early vote if Sir Keir Starmer is fined and forced to resign over Beergate.
“If Labor ends up in a leadership election, it could change the party’s electoral dynamics and planning at the highest level,” one insider told The Times.
But the resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid and the weakening of Mr Johnson’s position in the last 24 hours may have changed that calculation.
The Labor leader has already called on Johnson to resign and said he wants to see the country go to the polls immediately to secure a “new start for Britain”.
“This government is falling apart, the Tory party is corrupt and changing one man at the top of the Tory party will not fix the problems,” he told broadcasters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Steve Reid, his shadow justice secretary, insisted Labor was “ready to fight” a general election immediately, should Mr Johnson call one.
