Ross Clark Ross Clark

The Fixed Term Parliaments Act has come back to haunt the Lib Dems

The award for most pathetic remark of the week goes to Tim Farron who earlier released a press statement saying this: ‘Just 13 months after the last election the Conservatives have plunged the UK into chaos. It is simply inconceivable that Theresa May should be crowned Prime Minister without even having won an election in her own party, let alone the country. There must be an election. The Conservatives must not be allowed to ignore the electorate, their mandate is shattered and lies in ruins.’

Apart from the long-established principle that we do not automatically have a general election when one Prime Minister resigns and another from their party is elected their place – we had no instant general election with Alec Douglas-Home became PM in 1963, Callaghan in 1976, Major in 1990, Brown in 2007; only Anthony Eden in 1955 went to country straight away – there is a very good reason why we should not now have a general election.

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