General Election

In this article in the online Spectator, Robert Peston says a General Election isn't possible.

Here's where he's wrong.

Theresa May is hamstrung by the rifts in her own party. She won't resign and the party cannot remove her for months because they shot their bolt in the last challenge. There is an impasse in the Tory party that cannot be fixed easily.

A general election will allow the local constituency parties to have their say and give May a mandate to plough ahead as before or to resign.

On the Labour side, they would be happy for a general election because they think they can win. So they would be quite happy vote to amend the fixed term parliament act and trigger an election. No idea what their prospects are considering the resurgence of UKIP with Northern voters. The majority leave constituencies may at last ditch the slavish allegiances of generations to Labour and actually vote for a pro-Brexit party. At least for this one election. And especially now faux-Tory Nigel Farage has left the party.

The SNP would be happy to go along and even if they lose a few seats, they will be returned with a big majority on a pro-EU ticket. I don't see any other parties toppling them.

The DUP would be happy because their principled stance over Brexit hasn't harmed their prospects.

I don't think there is anyone in Parliament that would vote against a general election, other than the TIGgers and Tories that have gone against their constituency parties. i.e. the people on shaky ground and at risk of a UKIP resurgence.

We still have a week or so before it becomes impossible to slip the general election into the local elections in May.

Never say never.