General Election Called!

I haven't really been blogging over the Easter period; my head has been else where, which is another story, I shall save for another day. I hadn't realised that the British Prime minister, had called the press and media to Downing Street this morning at 11.15am, so she could make a statement to the public. 

I switched on the television, just in time to catch the beginning of 'This Morning,' where the statement was carried live on ITV. Theresa May announced that she would ask the House of Commons to allow her to call an Election on June 8 2017.  It is the duty of elected MP's to vote, with a two thirds majority, to allow any Prime minister the right to call an election. Fixed term Parliaments were brought in by the previous Conservative  Government, as part of its manifesto. In these circumstances, no PM can call an election, without the approval of the House of Commons.

​Theresa May had consistently said, she would not call a snap Election and would wait until 2020, when the vote was due. Today she ripped up that caveat and asked Parliament to approve her plans for a June Election.  Was she right? Is this really what Britain needs right now?

With plans for Brexit well under way, it was an obvious decision, that Mrs May, should call an Election; it was a logical next step, in order for her to cement her Premiership, with a vastly increased majority, in order to establish strong Government, where she is not the subject of political harassment at every stage of the arduous process, that is under way, to allow Britain to finally leave, the EU.  Lets not forget that Theresa did not vote for Brexit herself, but with the situation, as it was and Britain voting out, she decided to do what the  public voted for and get the best deal for her Country; admirable, don't you think?

With the infighting in the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats failure to even recognise the referendum results and UKIP largely irrelevant, it was most certainly the time to call an Election, despite her unwillingness to contemplate it in the past. To be honest, what Prime minister, who's party is riding high in the polls, at 46%, wouldn't want to call such an Election.  She was tempted for both personal reasons and indeed issues of stability for the Country, after such a bruising few years.  She needs to lead negotiations with Europe, and does not need to be  fighting the Political establishment back home, with her small majority in the House of Commons. A strong hand is needed to steer us, out of the EU.

So what is likely to happen?  Well Mrs May, would not have called an Election, if she didn't think she could achieve her goal. She is likely to win a landslide victory, as Baroness Thatcher did, after the Falklands war. She will then have the mandate to carry through her own manifesto, without the constraints of the Cameron Government. Her negotiating stance will also be much stronger, as we begin to withdraw from Europe; that is a good thing and all of us should vote for that.

No other Election, at least in my life time, has been so assured. No other outcome, apart from a Conservative victory will materialise.  The one person who has handed victory to Mrs May, is Jeremy Corbyn, that narcissistic leader of the Labour Party. His failure to recognise his party's rejection of him as leader and the 'carry on no matter what happens,' attitude, to the party he leads, has left him and Labour dead in the water.  The destructive infighting, Corbyns egotistical methodology and dismissal of those who voiced an opinion, at odds with his own, has left the man fighting a losing battle, not only with the Country, but also the party of which he is leader.  He should have gone long ago. Despite his Socialist credentials, his dictatorial stance, rendered him incapable of leading a democratic party. Corbyn is not my idea of someone 'standing up for Socialist roots!' His failure to listen, using the Labour Party as a political boxing ring is abhorrent! Sometimes we just hang on too long and can't see the disaster waiting in the wings. Corbyn has ruled himself and his party out of political influence for the next Parliament. The Tories will win with a massive landslide. I can only hope he leaves willingly after that. The rest of the party will suffer for his failure, probably for a decade or more.

​Both the Liberal Democrats and UKIP have lost their influence. The Lib Dems, will just not accept the result of a democratic referendum; the British people, will not support a party that looks backwards.  Everyone, at home in the UK, needs to work together, to get the best deal for Britain! UKIP, have achieved all their aims, the reasons they were formed in the first place.  Their new, less attractive, agressive leader, has proven unpopular with the general public at large and they are likely to lose any political support they had gained in 2015.

Theresa May, will be the next Prime minister and I for one, support her, as she seeks to achieve her own mandate. As an Expat living abroad, my concern is having the right person, to take us out of Europe successfully, she is the only choice. Despite not voting for Brexit, she has, put her own views aside, for the good of the Country, that is the mark of true leadership!

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