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Theresa May dismisses talk of early general election

The PM's spokesperson said Ms May's view had not changed

Jon Stone
Political Correspondent
Thursday 03 November 2016 18:49 GMT
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British Prime Minister Theresa May
British Prime Minister Theresa May

Downing Street has moved to dismiss talk of an early general election despite a High Court ruling that Parliament must vote on whether to start the Brexit process.

With just a narrow majority in the House of Commons and most MPs having backed Remain the ruling by the court presents a new hurdle to the PM – who would be far from certain to get Article 50 through.

However, asked about the possibility of an early election to shore up the Conservatives’ majority, the Prime Minister's official spokesperson said: “No. Our position has been clear that there shouldn’t be an election until 2020 – and that remains the Prime Minister’s view.”

Current polls suggest Ms May would be returned to office with a significantly increased majority as Labour flounders on some of its lowest poll ratings in recent history.

Whether a parliamentary vote will take place is not yet certain as the Government has said it will appeal the High Court ruling at the Supreme Court, which will hear the case in December.

The refusal to countenance an early contest comes despite Brexit Secretary David Davis warning that the Government would need to pass a bill through both the House of Commons and House of Lords – both of which are thought to have a Remain majority.

“The judges have laid out what we can't do and not exactly what we can do, but we are presuming it requires an Act of Parliament, therefore both Commons and Lords,” Mr Davis said on Thursday.

Though there were few outright calls for an early election from politicians, a number said they believed the ruling brought one a step closer.

Labour MP Mike Gapes said a general election before Article 50 is triggered was now “very likely”, while bookmakers’ Ladbrokes slashed its odds on an early contest next year to 2/1.

“I predicted an early election. I think this court judgment makes it now very likely before Article 50 is triggered,” Mr Gapes, a persistent critic of the Labour leadership, tweeted.

Dominic Raab, a Conservative MP and former Government minister, said following the ruling that he believed an early election was more likely – though he was against holding one.

Though the Government is partly constrained by the Fixed Term Parliament Act on when it can hold elections, there are understood to be several workaround to the legislation – including repealing it, amending it, or the Government voting no confidence in itself

To do so would however require a majority in Parliament that would be susceptible to the same rebellions as any Brexit vote, however.

Ms May has said she would trigger Article 50 before the end of March next year; Downing Street has said the High Court ruling would not change this timetable.

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