Dan Woodland
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap election on 29 November, bringing forward the vote which was originally scheduled for the summer of 2027.

The move follows weeks of protests across Spain calling for greater protections for tenants, sparked last month after an 87-year-old woman was evicted from her home in Madrid following a sharp rent increase.

Sánchez’s leftist coalition government failed to pass emergency legislation aimed at tackling the housing crisis on Friday - but is now expected to approve measures on Tuesday.

The premier's position has also been marred by multiple corruption investigations in recent months involving former members of government and even his wife and brother.

Opposition parties welcomed the snap election, with the leader of the conservative People's Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo declaring Spain will "at last" say "what it thinks", and leader of the far-right Spanish party Vox Santiago Abascal saying he was "glad" about the announcement.

Meanwhile, members of Sánchez's cabinet and regional politicians expressed confidence that they would be re-elected and the prime minister would "pull off a comeback".

Most opinion polls suggest the conservatives are likely to emerge as the largest party in the next vote, however they would be expected to need Vox's support to form a government.

This will be Sánchez's sixth election in 11 years, and if he is to remain in power, he needs to upset some tough odds, writes our reporter in Madrid.

We're ending our live coverage here, but you can read more in our news story.

Sergi Forcada Freixas

With eight years in power, Pedro Sánchez is now Spain's second longest-serving prime minister in recent history.

His political career has been marked by dramatic twists and turns, including his resignation as Socialist Party leader in 2016 after losing the support of senior party figures. Just seven months later, he staged a remarkable comeback, returning to the leadership with the backing of grassroots members.

Sánchez has called an early election despite opinion polls suggesting he may struggle to secure enough support to remain in power.

Some analysts believe that focusing the campaign on Spain's housing crisis could help mobilise left-wing voters and steer the debate away from other challenges facing the government, including the situation in Ceuta and corruption allegations involving figures close to Sánchez.

It is not the first time Sánchez has taken a major political gamble. In 2023, he called a snap election after his party suffered heavy losses in regional and local elections.

Polls at the time also suggested he was heading for defeat.

Although the conservative People's Party won the most seats, Sánchez ultimately secured enough parliamentary support to stay in office, thanks to agreements with left-wing parties and the backing of Catalan and Basque nationalist and pro-independence groups.

Opposition parties accused him of "selling out Spain" in order to remain in power.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The High Court of Justice of Madrid has rejected a request to disperse an encampment in Puerto Del Sol in the Spanish capital.

Protesters have set up tents in the famous square since 27 September, court documents show.

The court rejected the Community of Madrid's request for police to clear the square on Monday. A new hearing is expected to take place on Wednesday.

A trade union has also called on people to continue protesting in the street against issues with wages and housing ahead of the snap election.

The general secretary of the Workers' Commissions (CCOO) trade union confederation, Unai Sordo, says: "We must continue with a path of mobilisation, of street protests as we had announced, regarding wages and housing measures, and that will be our course in the coming months."

People in the streets of Madrid say they welcome news of the snap election called by Prime Minister Sánchez this morning.

“I think it’s good given the situation that’s arisen", Raomon Diaz tells Reuters.

"Young people have been given little prospect for the future. And I’d like to see a truly left-wing government finally come to power.”

Protester Florencio Diaz described the election announcement as a "great victory for the protests in the streets".

Image source, Reuters

"We’re in a very difficult situation, with the cost of living rising and, above all, the abuse taking place in the housing market", he says.

However, Sandra - who is also protesting against Spain's housing crisis - expressed reservations about what the future holds.

“To be honest, I’m a bit worried about what might happen. But it’s certainly true that with the government we have, things aren’t moving forward.”

Image source, Reuters

The Spanish government is expected to approve measures on Tuesday aimed at tackling the housing crisis that parliament rejected last week.

The measures include a suspension of evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030 and an automatic renewal of rental contracts.

The government failed to pass them last week, after they were opposed by the People's Party (PP), Vox, and Junts.

Once the government approves the measures, Sánchez has 30 days to get them ratified. But the Madrid-based political newspaper Moncloa suggests that the prime minister's calling of a snap election could help him do this without congress, as parliament will be dissolved before those 30 days are up.

When congress isn't sitting, ratifying the measures falls to a committee which has a more favourable political make-up for Sánchez and doesn't require support from the Junts party, the newspaper says.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Members of Pedro Sánchez's cabinet and regional politicians have continued to react to the Spanish snap election.

The deputy prime minister of Spain, Yolanda Díaz - who is part of the Sumar movement - says in a post on Bluesky: "We are going to win again."

Díaz says the group will cap rents, shorten the workday and raise the minimum wage.

Health minister Mónica García says in a post on X that the "Spanish people will rise to the occasion and prevail over the resentment of international hate".

Meanwhile Justice minister Félix Bolaños says on X that the prime minister "will pull off a comeback" and leave the People's Party and Vox "without a government".

Catalan President Salvador Illa Roca says elections will be a "moment to decide between continuing to advance or going backwards". "Catalonia will stand with Pedro Sánchez," he adds.

Guy Hedgecoe
in Madrid

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

These will be the sixth elections that Pedro Sánchez has contested as Socialist leader since 2015.

He has only won two of those - the 2019 ballot which was repeated after being inconclusive - and yet he has been in power since winning a no-confidence motion against his conservative predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, in 2018.

With a fragmented parliament, it has become extremely difficult for a Spanish party to win an election with a majority.

This means that the electoral performance of potential parliamentary partners is crucial for the two main parties, Sánchez’s Socialists and the conservative People’s Party (PP).

In the 2023 election, Sánchez lost to the PP but was able to form a government with the support of an array of Catalan and Basque nationalists and other left-wing parties.

That manoeuvre angered many staunchly unionist Spaniards on the right, while reinforcing Sánchez’s reputation as a doughty political survivor.

However, polls now suggest that even with the support of those same parties, Sánchez would fall short of a majority. Instead, the PP looks set to win and, with the far-right Vox performing strongly, many believe those two parties will form a governing coalition after the election.

Sánchez hopes to use the housing issue to mobilise left-wing voters. But, if he is to remain in power, he needs to upset some tough odds.

In 2023, Pedro Sánchez held onto his premiership after securing a four-seat majority in the 350-seat parliamentary chamber following weeks of haggling.

The conservative People's Party won the July elections, but leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo failed to form a majority.

A coalition of Sánchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Sumar - an electoral alliance of smaller left-wing parties - was insufficient to produce a left-wing majority.

Clinching that majority ultimately required Sánchez to secure the backing of two Catalan pro-independence parties. First, the pro-independence party Catalan Republican Left (ERC) - who are in power in Spain's north-eastern region.

Sánchez then cultivated the more radical Together for Catalonia (Junts) by proposing a controversial amnesty deal for hundreds of politicians and activists, for separatist activities, including a 2017 referendum and failed independence bid.

Image source, Reuters

The leader of the far-right Spanish party Vox says he's "glad" Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez decided to call a snap election.

Speaking to Antenna 3's Espejo Publico, Santiago Abascal says that he remains cautious about his party's prospects at the polls - adding that people shouldn't "count their chickens before they hatch".

The election on 29 November looks to be "very uncertain", Abascal says before citing the example of the 2023 election, in which Vox and the People's Party led the polls but ultimately saw Sánchez form a coalition government.

Guy Hedgecoe
in Madrid

Throughout the weekend Pedro Sánchez had been known to be considering calling this snap election, which will be held on 29 November.

His decision, announced in a live address to the country, has been prompted by Congress’ refusal last week to approve his left-wing coalition government’s series of measures to tackle the housing crisis.

That initiative was in turn triggered by protests that followed the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her home.

Her eviction, which has since been reversed, has had a seismic impact, to the extent that it has now led to a snap election.

Image source, Getty Images

Reaction from Spanish politicians is continuing to come in, here's some of what we've been hearing:

President of Catalonia, Salvador Illa Roca, states his support for Sánchez, saying: "A Government that was born to move forward cannot stop just because some prefer stagnation." He adds the region will stand with Pedro, "now, more than ever".

Digital Minister Oscar López Agueda writes in a post on X: "Against the indignity of the penthouses, the dignity of the streets...It is time to choose what country we want."

While the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, says the calling of the election is about "political survival" for the prime minister.

"Everyone knows this is not about housing for Sánchez," Spanish broadcaster Antenna 3 quotes him as saying.

Image source, Reuters

Pedro Sánchez's government has been marred by corruption investigations in recent months.

In May, police raided Madrid's headquarters of his Socialist Party and seized a number of documents.

It was part of an investigation into allegations that an operative, Leire Díez, was paid to carry out a campaign of misinformation aimed at impeding legal cases affecting the party. She denied doing anything wrong.

In April, Sánchez's wife, Begoña Gómez, was charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds following a two-year criminal investigation.

She is accused of using her relationship to advance her private career through a position at Madrid's Complutense University. She is also accused of using public resources to advance private interests.

Gómez denies the charges, while Sánchez dismissed the allegations as an attempt by the right-wing to undermine his coalition.

Meanwhile, former Socialist prime minister and close Sánchez ally José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is being investigated on suspicion of using his political influence to help secure a bailout for the Plus Ultra airline in 2021, and for potentially benefiting financially from the deal.

Zapatero has repeatedly denied doing anything wrong.

Sánchez's former transport minister, Jose ‌Luis Abalos, was jailed to 24 years in prison in June for a slew of offences, including corruption, after he was found guilty of being involved in a network that received kickbacks from the sale of facemasks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sánchez's brother, David, was convicted in July of administrative misconduct and banned from holding public office for nine years in July over his appointment to a cultural post in Badajoz in ​2017.

Guy Hedgecoe
in Madrid

There had been increasing speculation over the weekend that Pedro Sánchez might make this announcement.

Congress' rejection of the series of measures he proposed to tackle the housing crisis was rather unexpected and seemed to underline the fact that he did not command a majority.

Sánchez clearly wants to take the political initiative here by calling this snap election, but it's going to be very tough for him to remain in power.

He's been prime minister since 2018. And he's managed to remain so, in a minority coalition government, thanks to the support of a series of other smaller parties - Catalan and Basque nationalist parties, and the smaller leftist parties.

He feels that public outrage at the rejection by Congress of those housing measure might be such that it can mobilise the left wing vote, perhaps giving his socialist party and the other smaller ones on the left a boost so that they can somehow form a majority.

But the polls do suggest that he is likely to lose the election and the left will really struggle to form a new majority, so it's looking like quite a long shot.

Polling shows Sánchez's Socialist party is trailing the conservative People’s Party, which many expect to attempt to form a government with the far-right Vox.

In his statement announcing the election, Sánchez warned Spaniards about what he called the “extreme-right wave” being seen in other countries and he said Spain should continue to be a global example of "peace, feminism and prosperity”.

Spain's Congress voted against new measures aimed at tackling the housing crisis on Friday.

Sánchez's government had presented the laws in response to the nationwide protests. They needed parliamentary approval to remain in place. Here's what the proposals were:

• The suspension of evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030
• A two-year extension to rental leases due to expire before 2028
• Tax increases for tourist apartments
• A restriction on the purchase of residential properties by what the government calls "vulture funds"
• The automatic renewal of rental contracts

Image source, Reuters

The leader of the People's Party has been reacting to Sánchez's announcement of early election with his own statement from the party's headquarters in Madrid.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo says Spain will "at last" say "what it thinks", adding: "At last, the majority will speak again. At last, Spaniards will decide."

He describes the upcoming 29 November vote as a choice between Sánchez's "project of personal ambition" and one for Spain.

Núñez Feijóo asks Spanish voters whether they want "four more years" of what they've been living or want to give change an opportunity.

Image source, Reuters

The Spanish leader of the opposition is now delivering a statement.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo is the president of the conservative People's Party.

We'll bring you more on this when we get it.

Nick Beake
Europe correspondent

Image source, EPA

As a left-wing leader, Pedro Sánchez has found himself in a shrinking club within the European Union as many voters shift to the right.

He has been celebrated by pro-Palestinians for his position on Gaza and his government has been one of the most critical in Europe of Israel, accusing it of genocide. Israel responded that Sánchez was siding with terrorists.

US President Donald Trump has singled out Spain for failing to spend enough on defence and not contributing sufficiently to the Nato collective defence alliance.

In turn, Sánchez has spoken out against the US president, notably after America’s military operation that removed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Ultimately, though, it’s domestic politics and the potent issues of housing and affordability that have brought Sánchez to this point.

He now faces an uphill battle to remain in power on the national stage, let alone as a player on the international one.

Image source, Reuters

Spain's political parties have been reacting to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's announcement of a snap election for 29 November.

"Por fin," says the conservative People's Party on X, which translates to "at last". The party also posts a video showing people laughing and celebrating.

Meanwhile on Bluesky, Sumar says: "We are ready, and there are more of us."

Sumar is a political platform which brings together four left-wing coalition partners, broadly to the left of Sánchez's Socialists.

"Sánchez or Spain," Pepa de Millan, spokesperson for the right-wing Vox party writes on X.

While the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, led by Sánchez, says: "Let's give it our all, let's work to inspire and to win again."

In central Madrid, protesters have been camping in the city's Puerta del Sol square - as this photo from earlier this morning shows.

As a reminder, people have been protesting across Spain over housing costs and renters' rights - and now, the crisis has led to an early election.

Image source, Reuters

Sergi Forcada Freixas

Pedro Sánchez says that, to push reforms through, "we need the support of the people" and "a broader progressive majority" that can "overcome the resistance of the elites".

As we've reported, the election comes after his government failed to secure enough support in Congress last week for a package of measures aimed at tackling the country's housing crisis.

Sánchez's minority government was unable to win backing from either its allies, or opposition parties, meaning the proposals - which included a ban on evictions - were voted down.

Sánchez has been Spain's prime minister since June 2018. Spain was not due to hold a general election until the summer of 2027, at the latest.

The Socialist Party finished second in the last election, in 2023.

Although the conservative People's Party won the most seats, it fell short of a majority. Sánchez remained in power after striking agreements with left-wing parties and securing support from Catalan and Basque nationalist and pro-independence groups.

Most opinion polls suggest the conservatives are likely to emerge as the largest party in the next election.

However, they would be expected to need the support of the hard-right Vox party to form a government.