It’s on: Christmas election to decide fate of Brexit… maybe
VOTERS will be given an opportunity to break the impasse in parliament in just over a month, after MPs finally backed the Prime Minister’s efforts to go to the polls.
A snap election will take place on 12 December – the first December vote since 1923 – with parties gearing up for a bruising battle over the five weeks from dissolution on 6 November. That means the last day of work in the Commons will be Guy Fawkes’ Night.
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As he asked MPs to back him, Boris Johnson bemoaned the “paralysis” that was preventing any progress within the Commons, arguing he had secured a new Brexit deal with the EU that is “ready to be approved by a new parliament”.
“There is only one way to get Brexit done in the face of relentless parliamentary obstructionism,…and that is to refresh this parliament and give people a new choice.”
Jeremy Corbyn responded by saying Labour would back an election to get rid of “this reckless” government and pledged to campaign “all over the country – including in Uxbridge”, Johnson’s seat.
However backbenchers in both parties are understood to be uneasy about the prospect of an imminent showdown, with Labour MPs thought to be particularly nervous. Some 11 of the 20 MPs to vote against the election were Labour.
The Conservatives are not guaranteed an easy time of it however, with the current strategy said to favour pro-Leave Labour seats in Midlands and the North.
The NHS is likely to come under seasonal pressure in the run-up to the election, while the Tories fight a war on both fronts between the Liberal Democrats and Brexit Party.
Many parties are expected to treat this election as a proxy for a second referendum, with Johnson hoping to secure a majority that will allow him to ratify his deal early in January, before dedicating the rest of the year to his domestic agenda.
The Liberal Democrats have said if they secure an outright majority they will overturn the 2016 referendum result and revoke Article 50.
But Labour is expected to press its case “for the many, not the few”, focusing on austerity rather than Brexit. The party’s position, agreed at last month’s conference, is to secure a new Brexit deal, then allow a second referendum on the terms.
Last night Corbyn said: “This election is a once-in-a-generation chance to transform our country and take on the vested interests holding people back… We will now launch the most ambitious and radical campaign for real change that our country has ever seen.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson MP said: “This General Election will decide the future of our country for generations. It is our best chance to elect a government to stop Brexit.”