General election speculation feels different this time

Cards on the table: I am usually not that excitable about this kind of stuff, because it is usually quickly debunked.

This time, at least as I write this, it feels different.

Since yesterday , I have been seeking a straight answer to whether Rishi Sunak is about to call an election and no straight answer has come.

Calls that are normally returned haven't been.

It's not a complete wall of silence, but the only question that matters isn't being directly addressed.

Mr Sunak appeared briefly in front of a camera this morning to welcome the fall in inflation, but stuck to his formulation that the general election would be in the second half of the year.

And at Prime Minister's Questions, a combination of the return to Parliament of Tory MP Craig Mackinlay and a discussion about the infected blood scandal gave the exchanges a far more consensual feel than usual.

It took Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader, to address it head on.

Downing Street know the swirl of chat that is, well, swirling.

And Rishi Sunak's answer will do nothing to ease that swirl, even though he merely said again what he has been saying repeatedly for the last six months.

For around half an hour, the prime minister's team have taken questions from reporters, as is standard on a Wednesday after PMQs.

While sticking to their long standing formulation about an election in the second half of the year, they again did nothing to knock down all the speculation.

Another idea some are entertaining is the possibility of a reshuffle.

No10 wouldn't be drawn on that either.

But if it is that, they could have steered us away from talk of an election.

They have let this whirlwind gather pace for ages now and they are not deaf to it.

And it would be very easy to calm things in an instant - a one sentence text or a 30 second phone call would do it.

But for hour after hour after hour, that has not happened.

-bbc