UK general election: what they said

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday announced that voters will go to the polls in a general election on July 4.

Here is what some of the key players in the upcoming ballot said:

  Rishi Sunak 

 "I hope that my work since I became prime minister shows that we have a plan and are prepared to take bold action necessary for our country to flourish," said the prime minister and Conservative party leader.

"I have stuck with that plan and always been honest with you about what is needed... because I'm guided by doing what is right for our country, not what is easy."

  Keir Starmer 

 "After 14 years, it's time for change. Stop the chaos, turn the page, start to rebuild. Vote Labour," said the main opposition Labour party leader.

  Ed Davey 

 "For years the Conservative Party has taken voters for granted and lurched from crisis to crisis while the problems facing the country are getting so much worse," said the Liberal Democrat Party leader.

"The NHS (state-run National Health Service) has been brought to its knees, people's mortgages and rents have soared by hundreds of pounds a month, and water companies have got away with pumping filthy sewage into our rivers and beaches."

 John Swinney 

 "I look forward to leading the SNP in this election. This is the moment to remove the Tory government and put Scotland first by voting SNP," said the First Minister of Scotland and pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) leader.

"People in Scotland know we stand up for them and protect them from the damage done by (the UK parliament at) Westminster."

 Nigel Farage 

 "Rishi Sunak and his speech notes are both soaking wet outside No. 10 (Downing Street)," said the high-profile Brexiteer, ex-leader of the Brexit Party and the anti-immigration party UKIP, who could make a return to frontline politics.

"This is the most farcical general election launch in history."

 Richard Tice 

"People know that the Tories have broken Britain. Labour and 'Starmergeddon' will do what they always do, which is bankrupt Britain, and it's only Reform UK's common sense policies that can now save Britain," said the leader of Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, which is expected to take crucial votes from Sunak's Tories.