According to the rumour mill, it could be to announce a snap general election.
Because of this: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-s-conservatives-are-21-points-ahead-of-labour-in-a-new-poll-a7685271.html
(Theresa May’s Conservatives are 21 points ahead of Labour in a new poll, giving the party their greatest lead while in government since 1983, shortly before Margaret Thatcher’s second victory at the ballot box.
The poll, conducted by ComRes for The Independent, gives the Tories 46 per cent of the vote share, 25 per cent for Labour, 11 per cent for Tim Farron’s pro-EU Liberal Democrats and 9 per cent for the embattled Ukip under Paul Nuttall’s leadership.)
Perfect timing- wants to avoid accusations of illegitimacy as an unelected leader taking the UK out of the EU. Labour are in utter disarray and May will have noted that Labour have been campaigning on a "making Brexit work for the ordinary voter"platform thus neutering their one possible trump card- in every constituency and in every way stand as the anti-Brexit vote. UKIP have lost their raison d'etre and Scotland, well, fuck them.
Am I being dim? (Don't all answer at once.) What happens if the opposition parties vote against holding an election? Surely not in Labour or even the SNP's interest to call one now. Or does she not need 2/3rds of MPs to support this? I'm confused.
Fussbudget wrote: Am I being dim? (Don't all answer at once.) What happens if the opposition parties vote against holding an election? Surely not in Labour or even the SNP's interest to call one now. Or does she not need 2/3rds of MPs to support this? I'm confused.
Labour have said repeatedly they'd support a GE - i.e. repealing the Fixed Term Parliament Act, which I guess will have to go to a vote soon. I think they could also use the time to call 'no confidence', but not sure how that would work.
Not that I think there's any likelihood of Labour winning, but in the circumstances do they want to? Labour would get absolutely slaughtered carrying out Brexit. Is the only positive situation here Labour losing by a smaller margin than expected?
I knew I was out of touch with UK politics, but I didn't know I was this out of touch.
(Slightly interesting fact: in NZ there is no fixed-term law, it's still the PM's choice as it once was in the UK, and yet we have known the election date for months: it's September, announced at the start of the year. His predecessor did the same, thinking that you lose more by playing silly buggers than you gain by waiting. So a system that gives the PM a privilege isn't used, while one in the UK that supposedly doesn't is casually tossed aside. Hmm).
Lay me down the most plausible scenario in which the Tories fuck this up. I can't think of one, but surely it must exist. Massive turnout amongst the yoof for the most likely anti-Brexit candidate in their constituency?
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