Progressive parties object to Theresa May coronation
Opposition parties are calling on putative prime minister Theresa May to call a snap general election, following Andrea Leadsom’s surprise announcement that she was dropping out of the Tory leadership contest.
‘It now looks likely we are about to have the coronation of a new Conservative Prime Minister,’ Labour’s election co-ordinator Jon Trickett said.
“It is crucial, given the instability caused by the Brexit vote, that the country has a democratically elected Prime Minister. I am now putting the whole of the party on a General Election footing.
It is time for the Labour Party to unite and ensure the millions of people in the country left behind by the Tories’ failed economic policies, have the opportunity to elect a Labour government”.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it would be ‘simply inconceivable that Theresa May should be crowned Prime Minister without even having won an election in her own party, let alone the country.’
‘May has not set out an agenda, and has no right to govern,’ he continued. ‘She has not won an election and the public must have their say. From her time as Home Secretary we know she is divisive, illiberal and calculating.’
Farron has pledged to lead the Lib Dems into the next general election on a platform of keeping Britain in the EU.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas reiterated her call for a general election, arguing that ‘it is unacceptable that the next person to hold the top job in British politics is appointed by 60 per cent of Tory MPs. They have no mandate to renegotiate Britain’s place in the world.’
She continued that ‘such an election would be a major challenge for progressives’ and called on her counterparts in other parties to ‘look closely at ways of forming a political alliance to give us the best chance of beating the Tories.’
The Mirror reports that the odds of a snap general election have been slashed from 5/2 to 6/4.
While May ruled out the possibility of calling an immediate general election last week, that was on the assumption of a ‘proper contest’ for the Tory leadership. She also argued that a general election campaign would be ‘another destabilising factor’.
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17 Responses to “Labour, Lib Dems and Greens call for snap general election”
Richard MacKinnon
Brown never went to the country when he took over from Blair. Why is it different rules for the conservatives? Is there an explanation other that left wing hypocrisy? Does Jon Trickett not think before he speaks?
Min Clifford
After the chaos caused by Cameron & his Tory party, it is imperative that we have an election. I also suggest that each party give local constituencies the option of choosing new candidates to ensure the whole process is open transparent & fair. Representing the people of this country who have been abandoned and let down by their parties.
Jan Flowers
What percentage of parliament does Caroline Lucas command that gives her a place to ‘demand’ anything? It is unacceptable that she thinks she has a mandate.
Yer but no. But yer, but no
Richard MacKinnon. John Major never went to the country when he took over from Thatcher. r. Why is it different rules for Labour? Is there an explanation other than right wing hypocrisy? Does any right-wing commenter not think before they speak?
Whataboutery . Just a shit stirrers delight.
Yer but no. But yer, but no
Jan Flowers. Why do you find it “unacceptable” that an elected member of parliament should not do their job and represent the people that ‘mandated’ her?