Menzies Campbell:
“Before the last General Election Tony Blair pledged to serve a full third term and the British electorate voted for him on this basis.
“Now the Prime Minister is leaving it is only right that the British public have their say on who will be their next Prime Minister.
“Today my colleagues and I have submitted a motion to trigger a general election.”
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16 Comments
I think Ming may have to think this one through…
John Major’s takeover was not greeted by calls for a general election – maybe it should have been – but as long as the UK does not have a major change in the way it carries electoral administration there is very little the LibDems, or anyone else, can do with such “triggers”.
Secondly, and this may be a minor point but still valid, is the requirement for Parliament to approve the Bounday Commission for England’s proposals for boundary changes prior to the next election. This has already happened with the Welsh proposals, but if any election is called without the changes being approved for England, I can forsee a lot of trouble for a lot of people from PPCs down to leaflet droppers.
Whilst Blair said he would stand for a full term, I’m pretty sure everyone knew that to mean he was retiring after 10 years as Prime Minster.
I’m also sure that everyone expected Gordon Brown to take over, so a vote for Labour in 2005 was for a Blair/Brown PM.
However if Gordon doesn’t win/stand, it could be a different question.
Very interesting………. How will the Tories respond to this? Will they fall into line behind the Lib Dems? Or will they come to the rescue of the Labour Party, as they usually do?
I see this as a very cunning trap. Well done, somebody.
Surprised …considering Mings “mixed bag” !
Perhaps he thinks its downhill from here , so get in quick and at least retain a few seats.
“I think Ming may have to think this one through…”
Is the party ready for a general election in 4 weeks time? A number of campaigns staff are on (deserved) holidays after the local/Scottish/Welsh elections.
The party website lists 88 selected candidates and I suspect very few flying start leaflets are printed! 🙂
A very smart way to get some of the coverage on Blair day, and to catch the Tories hopping.
It is that Bridget. Provided Labour don’t say “You know Ming you’ve made a very good case and we quite agree. June 12th it is then” 🙂
This is a pathetic stunt that makes us look childish.
The Labour Party was elected to govern, It is their choice as to when the election should be.
I think it is bloody stupid gesture politics of the worst sort and it does us no good at all.
Given that the Queens Progagitive is to appoint the leader of the largest party in the Commons to be her Prime Minister a motion being put down to urge the Queen to desolve Parliament may in fact exceed her own generally accepted powers.
Meanwhile, in the real world where people aren’t generally au fait with the ins and outs of parliamentary procedure, most people agree that there should be a general election.
I am unsure what “full-term” may mean in a country without fixed term Parliaments. I don’t see people protesting in the streets and calling for a general elction now or soon. I don’t even think any opinion polls have concluded that either. This is a ridiculous tactic for a party opposed to Presidential style politics to be taking.
Ahem:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/05_may/01/poll.shtml
“Given that the Queens Progagitive is to appoint the leader of the largest party in the Commons to be her Prime Minister”
AIUI the Queen can ask anyone to become PM if they can show they can command a majority in the Commons.
I’d take the other view – if Brown calls a snap election we should oppose a dissolution as he still has a comfortable majority and some time to run.
An excellent move by Ming. I do not think the Conservatives will push. They are not ready for the winning steak, if they were successful in calling the bluff.
Let’s wait for the boundary changes to be passed through parliament first 🙂