Elections, Violence, Immigration. These three words sum up the themes of political discourse on the islands of Britain and Ireland today. While local and European elections will occur in Ireland within weeks, the rain-soaked announcement by Prime Minister Sunak that a UK General Election will be held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 has brought to an end the prolonged ‘run up’ phase, as the present and prospective Prime Ministers, Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, continue to engage in highly personalised confrontations within and away from Westminster.

This UK Update brings together news articles, speeches, and opinion pieces on recent developments in the UK with regards to the next general election. It also continues to look at: the situation in Northern Ireland, 100 days on from the restoration of power sharing; relations between Ireland and the UK, with particular emphasis on the immigration crisis; and cooperation between the UK and the EU.