Could there be a snap general election this year?

Last Updated: February 7, 2016By

Get ready: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has been told to prepare for a snap election this year [Image: Hannah McKay/PA].

David Cameron would be mad if he did it, wouldn’t he?

The claim, by Labour’s Toby Perkins (who? Apparently he’s a senior figure in the PLP), is that David Cameron will resign whatever the outcome of the EU referendum, triggering a general election.

There’s no evidence to suggest this is true. We’re in the era of fixed-term Parliaments, meaning we are stuck with the Tories until 2020 unless very specific conditions are met – and they don’t include the resignation of a prime minister.

Also, the Tories don’t know how electable Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour might be. The local/regional elections in May might give some indication – but they still won’t be able to be sure of a national result.

What do you think?

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was tonight urged to go on a war footing to fight a General Election this year.

Senior Labour MP Toby Perkins believes David Cameron will quit as PM whatever the outcome of the EU referendum, likely to be held in June.

And he has warned his boss that Labour could then face a snap General Election in the autumn.

Shadow Defence Minister Mr Perkins said: “If Labour is under-prepared, divided and under-resourced we would be ­hurtling towards catastrophe.”

He believes his party must use elections due this May as “a dress ­rehearsal for the real thing”.

Source: Jeremy Corbyn warned to prepare Labour for a snap General Election THIS year – Mirror Online

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(
but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Donate Button with Credit Cards

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

HWG PrintHWG eBook

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:

SWAHTprint SWAHTeBook

latest video

news via inbox

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

No Comments

  1. Tony Dean February 7, 2016 at 1:53 pm - Reply

    I suspect there could well be a snap election this year because of a convergence of cock-ups and scandals that a normally supportive of the Conservative press will not be able to hide.

  2. Jonathan Wilson February 7, 2016 at 2:13 pm - Reply

    I don’t see how, seeing as they are locked into the 5 year terms barring a few get-out clauses. That said, I’m not entirely sure what the clauses are and if a change of leadership could be used to trigger it.

    The most likely event is David Hameron goes, theres a pretend leadership race in which bumbling borris “wins”, and… thats it.

    Giddiot might want the position but even the tories know he’s hated by everyone, including other tories… and May is also equally detested, and lets be honest the Tories still don’t rate women very highly – as seen by the way they fired Thatcher and replaced her with Major-the-grey.

    • Hairyloon February 8, 2016 at 4:27 pm - Reply

      “(1)An early parliamentary general election is to take place if—

      (a)the House of Commons passes a motion in the form set out in subsection (2), and

      (b)if the motion is passed on a division, the number of members who vote in favour of the motion is a number equal to or greater than two thirds of the number of seats in the House (including vacant seats).

      (2)The form of motion for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) is—

      “That there shall be an early parliamentary general election.”

      http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/14/section/2

  3. John February 7, 2016 at 2:21 pm - Reply

    If it’s true from the comments I’ve just read in the article that you provide a link to (that you’ve produced this article from), apparently the PM ‘promised’ as part of his manifesto, that “if elected into power,he would make it law that if a prime minister steps down mid term ,a general election would have to be called.He didn’t say this once,he must have mentioned it several times.” However, we all know about the manifesto broken promises, things not mentioned etc. If not a general election, then certainly obviously a new leader contest. Being as arrogant as he is though, he’ll only go if pushed.

  4. chriskitcher February 7, 2016 at 3:14 pm - Reply

    I think if we don’t get an election we could be heading towards a revolution. If we don’t we will become a new fascist state. ironic when our so called greatest leaders fought against this.

  5. Nick February 7, 2016 at 4:03 pm - Reply

    there is no reason for David Cameron to resign unless there are legal issues that would need redressing through the deaths of hundreds of sick and disabled in going through welfare reform

    tony Blair thought he got out of politics quick enough to escape any inquiries of any wrong doing in the Iraq war but as we have all seen the inquiries go on for may years after a prime minister stands down

    David Cameron and IDS are 2 of the worst people alive today in the world and we wont know there extent of their evil on the sick and disabled for at least 50 years and that’s if were lucky

    • Mike Sivier February 7, 2016 at 4:21 pm - Reply

      It isn’t that he would be forced to resign; simply that he may choose to do so, after the EU referendum.

  6. Steve Peers February 7, 2016 at 5:59 pm - Reply

    I can’t see any pledge in the Conservative manifesto to change the law to require an new election for a new PM. Certainly the law has got to be changed first. The assumption is that if the Tories ask for a general election the Labour party would accept, otherwise it would look scared. That would create the 2/3 majority in parliament for an early election. But why would the Tories do this? I just can’t see it. Nor can I see Cameron resigning if the ‘Remain’ side win.

  7. Jim Round February 7, 2016 at 6:40 pm - Reply

    If there was a snap election (highly unlikely) there is a lot of ground to make up for Labour to get back the votes, as the general election 2015 has shown, right wing parties have the advantage.
    Whether they are correct or not, opinion polls are still showing a lead for the Tories and the May elections will be crucial for all parties.

  8. Bookworm February 7, 2016 at 7:01 pm - Reply

    I think he’s likely to resign especially if we exit Europe. But he’ll either hand over to Osborne or Boris will make a grab for power, or Gove, Hunt maybe?

  9. john darbyshire February 8, 2016 at 3:44 am - Reply

    CAMERON IS FINNISHED. as part of the EU referendum iv been e-mailing back bench tory MP,s calling on them to quit office and force a general election/ EU referendum and not to prop up Cameron.s government any longer if they believe as I do that his stance of staying tied to the undemocratic EU is unjustifiable . the Tories only have a 16 MP majority anyway and last week 23 of them savaged him to bits ,it was almost gruesome and were these 23 MP,S to vote against the government Cameron would loose the vote and power. The most telling speech came from MP MR R.DRAX who said quite rightly the primacy of parliamentary sovereignty can not be given away or sold we are merely stewards of this house, my point for leaving the EU. it seems to have escaped most peoples attention that there would not be a need for any negotiation had successive governments not given away control of our sovereignty to the EU as is demonstrated by our lack of control of the EU,s direction. the best we could expect is to see total integration if we wish to remain in this club. this last week Cameron told his own constituency grass roots managers to ignore anyone who wished to oppose his stance on staying in the EU ,the reason he is now finished .he has alienated himself from his cabinet, insulted his concerned constituents and their managers and he stands condemned by his own party for the humiliation of his crawling to the EU commissioners. he is also condemned by most of his supporting media outlets , now fully aware that all he has done is highlighted the fact of his none existent materialisation of any reforms or a returning of a semblance of sovereign control to the British people. across the united kingdom ordinary people from every party are working hard to see a leave vote come to fruition, they feel every hand is against them, as it is but by sheer numbers they will win through , even while their parliamentary parties oppose their view that its time to go. there is no way back for Cameron but being rich and getting richer by the day he will be able to lay on a beach some where and have no work or problems to face, as is the case for all rich people, and what of Europe , i am convinced that the UK is going to Brexit ,, people who have not voted for years are going to do so, they are better informed then the EEC voters and have a determination to get out while the getting,s good. many EU countries will follow, they are sick and tiered of the EU,s financial decline everywhere except in Germany , Europeans have as we do an , endless austerity that destroys growth and a growing resentment of bureaucrats taking over the legislative ability of their governments too , the EU will be coming to an abrupt end, the EU,s TTIP deal is toxic to the people of Europe and just gives more powers to corporations and this has not gone un noticed either , all across Europe the workers are demonstrating, they have had as much as they will take. our future outside the EU will be a glorious time of renewal and growth ,we will be able to trade with every country on a fair and level playing field, European companies will still hope to sell us their products and produce as we will be hoping to be able to sell innovative British products to them , the number of companies who have said they intend to stay , grows by the day as unlike mr Hameron ( an insult never to be forgotten when negotiating with him and yet another reason why he must go ) these companies know its fatal to cut of your own nose to spite your face , as Cameron has done. the one other bright lights on the horizon are banking reforms and the realisation in the Ukraine that they escaped a fate worse then death by the narrowest of margins, don’t be surprised to find out also that the whole concept of EU style banking was only the Grifters last great con job . everything that has happened has been by design and its obviously failed, dramatically as is the daily disintegration of Greece who are not the guilty party brought down by being prolifically wasteful so much as naively too trusting of their own politicians promises.

  10. mohandeer February 8, 2016 at 12:13 pm - Reply

    As of this moment, Labour Party voters are split as the back stabbing right wingers and Blairites have caused ructions, dissent and uncertainty. If a General Election were called this year, Labour would not be able to garner enough votes, because, quite frankly, nobody knows who’s running it and what the manifesto really is. The harm that the right wingers have done to the LP cannot be repaired so easily and Cameron and the Tories must know this. It would not be out of the question for the Tories to take advantage of what they know is a divided party catastrophe.

    • Mike Sivier February 8, 2016 at 1:32 pm - Reply

      What utter rubbish.
      The right-wingers in the Parliamentary Labour Party are a tiny minority, getting smaller all the time as their support diminishes. The vast majority of the PLP will follow Jeremy Corbyn quite happily because they know he has a thumping great mandate from the grassroots Labour Party – their bosses.
      Yes, Labour is going through a transition from the neoliberal nonsense of the last two decades back to its socialist roots, but everyone knows the direction of travel.
      My best advice to you is, don’t believe what you read in newspapers run by Tories and tax exiles; check for the facts instead.

      • John February 8, 2016 at 6:56 pm - Reply

        Yes, I thought I’d noticed that things seemed much quieter of late ! Unfortunately, from browsing various social media sites, it would seem that an awful lot of people have quite literally been brainwashed by the Tory media outlets. Either that or you have people who seem to want to use various profanities in their messages when referring to either JC or McDonnell (it would seem their foul language knows no boundaries). Must be Tories venting their frustration I guess.

Leave A Comment