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”
Reg Howard
Since the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, passed by Cameron to bind the coalition together, it is impossible for a Prime Minister to call a snap general election.
Nick
Theresa May was not the conservative leader at the last election she was not democratically elected by the people to form a goverment
brexit has always been about democracy hence this referendum. i would think all those that voted for brexit (i did not) would wont a chance to have a new mandate and a general elcthion as so much has changed on a political level over the past few days
the goverment however have to stick with the 2015 manifesto if they wish to not have a general election as that is what the public voted for
brexit however in law will prevent that manifesto from taking shape i would think as the country come 2020 will still be in a stagnant position
if i were may (lady may) when she retires from being prime minister i would call a general election now so that the people can have there say and increase there majority by about 100 seats in order to keep the public from getting frustrated and going on to support UKIP which must be avoided at all costs