General election

brexit countdown_bg Created with Sketch. Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party are preparing to fight the next general election on the assumption that Brexit has not yet happened, according to leaked campaign documents.  Leaflets which were apparently sent to activists last week warn voters against backing the Brexit Party because doing so would cause 'more delay, more confusion, more indecision'.  The leaflets also claim that Nigel Farage's party 'can't win a majority at the next election' and 'the only thing they would deliver is a hung Parliament and more delay and confusion'.  'Nigel Farage can't deliver Brexit, but he could yet block it,' the leaflets seen by the BBC reportedly claim.  The language used in the documents suggests that the Tories are anticipating having to fight a snap poll on the back of Mr Johnson having failed to deliver on his 'do or die' Brexit pledge.  The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he will take Britain out of the EU … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party are ‘preparing to fight the next general election on the assumption Brexit has not happened’ leaked campaign leaflets suggest

The Prime Minister (pictured today) has tried three times to call a general election but lost all three votes Political leaders are said to be facing a Christmas logistical headache if an election encroaches on the festive season because of a potential shortage of polling stations.  Sir Mark Sedwill, the head of the Civil Service, is reported to have warned No 10 that going to the polls after December 12 could lead to difficulties arranging facilities. Many village halls and other locations used for national votes are expected to already be booked up for festive events like pantomimes and parties in the weeks leading up to Christmas, according to ITV.  With five weeks needed for an election campaign it means an election would need to be called within the next three weeks to meet this deadline.  The Prime Minister has tried three times to call a general election but lost all three votes. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn continuous to insist that he wants a vote but only … [Read more...] about General election ‘could CANCEL Christmas’: Civil Service chief Mark Sedwill ‘warns a vote MUST be held by December 12 or No10 faces turfing pantomimes, parties and Nativity plays out of village halls and schools used as polling stations’

This is war. That’s the ludicrous intended message of summoning parliament to sit on a Saturday, echoing the eve of battle in 1939. It also recalls the Suez crisis – and that’s a more apt Brexit comparison, this maverick act of hubris, the last hurrah of empire, leading to national humiliation. The Saturday theatrical show is meant to shine a spotlight on the scene where Boris Johnson is forced by traitors to sign a surrender letter to the EU enemy to beg for more time. But wait! In the last act the people will set our hero free from these parliamentary villains when a general election resoundingly acclaims him as the leader to take them out of the EU and into the promised land. But while that election looks certain, a Johnson victory does not at all. The Labour shadow cabinet this week expressed rumbling nerves – low in the polls, their leader even lower – after a conference overshadowed by continuing left faction plotting. Despite all that, look to the … [Read more...] about Johnson’s desperate for a general election, but he faces an unpleasant surprise

Uncertainty over the general election date is hiking up costs for organisers, who are also finding that their venues of choice have been booked out by pre-Christmas events. One possible knock-on affect anticipated in some parts of the country is that smaller venues will have to be found, meaning less room for workers and later declaration times than the 2017 election as a result. Finding venues to act as polling stations and counting centres is just one of the emerging challenges electoral administrators have to face as possible dates shift to November and even December. “Availability is an issue. If there is very short notice, for example, it might be an issue if a hall is being used by an amateur dramatic society,” said Laura Lock, thedeputy chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA). “But the bigger issue we are finding is with count centres. We know of at least one case where both their first and second choices have been both booked for … [Read more...] about Uncertainty over UK general election date hikes up organising costs

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called a snap election for 28 April after Catalan secessionists joined rightwing parties in rejecting the socialist government’s national budget earlier this week. The country’s third general election in less than four years was seen as an inevitability following Sánchez’s defeat on Wednesday. “Between doing nothing and continuing without the budget, and calling on Spaniards to have their say, I choose the second. Spain needs to keep advancing, progressing with tolerance, respect, moderation and common sense,” Sánchez said in a televised address to the nation following a cabinet meeting. “I have proposed to dissolve parliament and call elections for 28 April.” Sánchez’s PSOE, which holds 84 of the 350 seats in congress, relied on the support of Basque and Catalan nationalist parties to seize power from the conservative People’s party (PP) in a confidence vote last … [Read more...] about Spain’s PM calls snap general election for 28 April