Star comment: Dramatic and it’s all to play for
She promised not to do it. But political expediency has got the better of Theresa May and Britain will go to the polls after speaking to the Queen over Easter about a snap election.
It is an audacious and bold move and Mrs May, whose career has been characterised by cautiousness, should be commended for her daring.
The runners and riders are already jostling for position as Britain is given the choice of how it should be governed. The prospect is fascinating.
Mrs May, having enjoyed a coronation when she replaced David Cameron as the nation’s leader, will seek a new mandate.
She will seek to sideline those who have called her authority into question as she establishes a new power base at Westminster.
And she will also seek to end Jeremy Corbyn’s unhappy term as Labour leader, as he is put under pressure to deliver or go.
Further, Mrs May will attempt to gain greater stability for the political union of Great Britain, by silencing her critics from the Scottish National Party.
And finally, she will seek to obtain a clear post-Brexit mandate as she navigates Britain’s path out of the European Union and back towards self-governance.
Mrs May has positioned herself as the voice of the people, as a figure who rails against the political game-playing of others in Westminster and acts in accordance with the public’s best interests.
Mrs May wants to clear the path to harder Brexit negotiations as she seeks to deliver on the public’s decision to leave the EU. And while she has repeatedly downplayed the idea of an election, the political logic is too persuasive. Call an election now and Mrs May will most likely strengthen her hand in Brexit talks while giving the Conservatives another five years in power and wiping out vast numbers of Labour MPs. If politics is all about winning, Mrs May is going for the jugular.
The polls will most probably suggest an increased majority for the ruling Conversative Party who, lest we forget, enjoyed an unexpected victory when David Cameron defeated Ed Miliband in 2015. And yet if the recent Brexit Referendum and American Presidential Election have taught us one thing, it is that we should not read too much into the polls. They can be confusing, misleading and on occasion downright wrong.
And so while the Conservatives are a massive 18 points clear of Labour, a Tory win is not a foregone conclusion.
Other parties must run successful election campaigns if they are to make gains. Labour’s policies frequently find favour with the country but their leader is deeply unpopular with all but a core faithful. Mr Corbyn is largely untrusted and frequently disliked and he faces an uphill battle. If he fails, he is likely to go for his time as political leader has not brought about the resurgence that he had hoped.
The Liberal Democrats will be given an early chance to put right their appalling showing at the 2015 election, when their alliance with the Tories came back to haunt them. They cannot have expected a shot at redemption so soon. And by lining themselves up as the pro-Europe party, they stand a chance of gaining ground among the 48 per cent who voted not to leave the EU.
UKIP’s showing will be of interest, for they have been in disarray post-Brexit and some consider them a spent force. And it will be interesting to see how the SNP fares, though Mrs May’s decision immediately sidelines their leader’s plans for a quick Scottish independence referendum.
It is all to play for in coming months.
