General Election...June 8

[Naraic]

http://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-moves-to-hold-8-june-general-election-10842088

 

[Naraic]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...heresa-may-uk-early-snap-2017-call-fixed-term

 

[JBell]

Here we go!!!!!!

 

[M80]

Her reasons sound plausible, but if cynical I might wonder if she can see troubled times ahead that might affect her present lead in the poll's.
The vote tomorrow is too soon, with a weeks notice some time next week would've been fine.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Her reasons sound plausible, but if cynical I might wonder if she can see troubled times ahead that might affect her present lead in the poles.
The vote tomorrow is too soon, with a weeks notice some time next week would've been fine.

It does make you wonder if there's some unpleasant internal polling.

My other thought is that she has some very solid internal polling data, and is using this as a chance to properly cement herself in place as an elected, vice a replacement PM.

 

[C350Carl]

I think it's a wise move. Will shut up most of the detractors about her not being elected etc. It will also strengthen her posn for negotiations on Brexit as she will be the elected PM.

However we could also end up with Corbyn.......

 

[JBell]

However we could also end up with Corbyn.......

Oh dear god no!!!!!!!!

 

[flowrider]

I think it's a wise move. Will shut up most of the detractors about her not being elected etc. It will also strengthen her posn for negotiations on Brexit as she will be the elected PM.

However we could also end up with Corbyn.......

Clearly this is why a general election has been called, the Conservatives are on for a landslide victory which should give them a rather big majority in Parliament. In one go Therese May will have muffled (if not silenced) the EU remainers and the SNP.

 

[M80]

In truth i would rather see Westminster just geton with governing the country, but maybe she's right and this will allow for that to be done better afterwards??
My hope is that the election will show a continued support of, and even an increase in the desire to, Brexit.
It won't do the country any good if the result indicates the opposite though.

Corbyn as leader, only in the Labour gang of the play ground. Labour had their chance to put a formidable opponent in place.

 

[Yugguy]

I think it's sealed my vote for conservative even if I don't agree with all their policies, purely to stop Corbyn.

 

[Srdl]

Clearly this is why a general election has been called, the Conservatives are on for a landslide victory which should give them a rather big majority in Parliament. In one go Therese May will have muffled (if not silenced) the EU remainers and the SNP.

Good for her - I only hope she has not miscalculated because it is a risk!

 

[davemercedes]

I think that just as volunteering to take the PM job and promote everything she actively campaigned against, this is just another self-opportunity grab.

As for us getting stuck with Corbyn, you only need to look up and check if there are any pigs flying by!

But I think we are in for some "dirty" campaigning with a few home truths about the NHS (no crisis there...), disabled persons allowances (did 50,000 people who have lost them really have mobility cars they didn't deserve?) and the evangelical claim to set right "all injustices" (oh yes, if she did that, we would still have a local pre-natal and pediatric emergency ward and the young lad who died a couple of weeks ago might still be alive)!

 

[triumphstag]

Well, it should stop people calling her "unelected" if nothing else.

Regardless of whether there is a landslide in her favour, it is still a risk (for her). We do need to be in a solid and stable position internally heading into the Brexit negotiations, so hopefully this should achieve that.

As for Corbyn, well, I think I have just as much chance of becoming Prime Minister. Hopefully this will also mean the end of him and the odious Diane Abbott.

It will also be interesting to see how the SNP get on. A lot of Scots have been talking about their dislike of Nicola and her crew - be interesting to see how widespread this is. Trouble is there is not a lot of opposition up there.

I think that the real winners from this (other than May and the conservatives) will be the Lib Dems.

 

[Craiglxviii]

The one thing it will do is to bring about a genuinely viable Loyal Opposition...

 

[davemercedes]

She might get a surprise... I suppose we all might - the "experts" have failed to forecast anything political correctly for the best part of 10 years and no doubt she has been advised she will get a landslide by her "experts". But I think behind the scenes there has been a lot of in-fighting so she's decided to take the chance.

On the one hand I think Corbyn is a waste of space and has no chance but he does actually have a valid claim to having increased Labour party membership.

I think "Slick Nick" condemned the Lib Dems to obscurity for about 10 years when he did his about face on student fees. Regardless of opinions on that particular subject he showed he was just in it to seize an opportunity for personal self advancement and as a result they all get tarred with the same brush. But additionally, I don't think anyone knows what their policies really are - they waffle a lot but afterwards you realise they didn't actually say anything concrete (which is quite a shame because I've been waiting for a genuine "middle of the road" as long as I remember.

Oh well. It will be interesting!

 

[Craiglxviii]

There's a big difference between the polling companies the media use, and the internal polling data the parties use. Look at the Clinton campaign for an example of this, I said at the time that the campaign team's reactions to various events suggested that there was something unpleasant in their internal polling data- which of course there was.

I found this...

Well the pollsters have weighed in with their first forecasts of the election result based on current polls. Based on the latest Yougov poll the following is predicted:

* Conservatives 400 seats +69
* Labour 159 seats -73
* Liberal Democrats 11 seats +3
* UKIP 0 seats -1 (weird since they don't actually have an MP anymore anyway)
* SNP 56 seats 0 (actually made up of a loss counterbalanced by a gain)
* Plaid Cymru 4 seats +1
* Green Party 1 seats 0
* Northern Ireland completely irrelevant to the result of the election with some internal changes

The Conservative majority in this case would be 150, which is more than Thatcher won in 1983!!!!! If it's anything like that then we'll be seeing a Conservative UK government for quite a few years to come.

 

[M80]

The one thing it will do is to bring about a genuinely viable Loyal Opposition...

Where from?

I think most people recognise that the other parties generally voice displeasure over anything the Gov't do, while they would have done pretty much the same anyway.

The tactic of calling an election just 7 weeks away will leave the other's scrabbling for policies that look like anything remotely original.
The Tories have their policies pretty much up and running.
The country as a whole would like to see stability so the chances of the others gaining any advantage by opposing those policies seems unlikely, to me anyway.
For sure UKIP will have no chance of taking anything advantageous from this, and really they're the reason (well our Nigel anyway) we are seeing this situation.

The result, in my mind, is a foregone conclusion, by how much is the question.
The results in Scotland will be of interest, that might well confirm an independance referendum is a good call by Sturgeon or leave her looking too single minded and out of touch with her electorate.

 

[davemercedes]

In keeping with Mrs May's policy of saying one thing while doing another in September last year she told Andrew Marr: "The next General Election should be in 2020." But now she says it's "in the national interest"...

Why? What's changed, then?

 

[Craiglxviii]

The polling data + an opportunity to cut the throats of her most politically dangerous opposition... at a guess.

 

[davemercedes]

Maybe the "most politically dangerous opposition" in her own party!