Could Theresa May call an early general election in 2017?
GETTY Speculation is high that Theresa May could call an early general election
Speculation is high that Mrs May could use her special address to announce a snap general election to take place this year. Last month Number 10 ruled out an early vote, with a spokesman saying: “There is not going to be one until 2020.” But after the surprise announcement of Mrs May’s statement many are now wondering whether the Prime Minister might have made a U-turn. Mrs May could call the vote to cement her position ahead of Brexit talks, as the Conservatives storm ahead of Labour by 21 points in the latest YouGov opinion poll.
But can Mrs May call an early general election, and how would she go about it? Under the Fixed Term Parliament Act (FTPA) of 2011, there are two ways in which Mrs May can dissolve Parliament ahead of 2020. The first, and most likely, is if Parliament votes to do so with a two-thirds majority. Mrs May would need 434 votes – 104 more than the current number of Conservatives in Parliament – and so would require Labour backing.
Theresa May's political career in pictures Tue, April 18, 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to 'build a greater Britain' Play slideshow EPA 1 of 116 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in the capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 05 April 2017. May is visiting Saudi Arabia as part of her Middle East trip to boost diplomatic ties in the region
In December 2016 Jeremy Corbyn said that he would instruct MPs to back a snap election if a vote was called. “If there’s a vote to dissolve Parliament then obviously we will vote with it.” he said. The second way an early election can be called is if there is a vote of no confidence in the government. If no confidence is declared, other parties would be given 14 days to form a new government before an election is called.
It is feasible that the government could “artificially” declare no confidence in itself, triggering the election process. But Professor Robert Hazell of University College London’s Constitution Unit says that this move “does have the potential to go embarrassingly wrong”. Mrs May has a slim majority of 17 MPs. “It would only take a handful of Conservative rebels to derail an attempt to call an election,” Prof Hazell told The Independent. “The whips would need to be very confident that they could get a majority.”
GETTY Mrs May has previously ruled out an early vote