I think that's correct. However, I really don't see how Labour can get past the first hurdle. Corbyn's trolling a bit I think on this. I don't see how the numbers can ever give him more than the 318 tories and the 10 DUPers who would definitely not abstain in this event.
Yep; #GE2017 2.0
Which, tbh, would surely be a far better option for Labour than a precarious minority govt.
He doesn't necessarily need the numbers though: Labour's challenge to the tories (in the still unlikely event of them forming a minority government) is - support or abstain, or give us another election. Right now, I can't see them going for the election, so it'll be abstention.
Or... they will continue overplaying their hand, will abstain due to lack of an agreement, the tories pass the thing anyway, and we limp on for another month or two, probably with a new prime minister.
Right, that makes sense. But if they abstain, what is to stop Corbyn from immediately dissolving parliament and calling another election? Corbyn supported the tories' call for a snap election. They can hardly fail to support his call for the same thing.
the fixed term parliament act.
2/3 house needed to call GE under FTPA
As I said above, I don't see how that works. How do they stop Corbyn from just calling another election? I know there's the fixed-term act thing, but we've already seen how little that is worth in reality.
Yes, and Labour supported the tories to get their snap election. How, politically, do the tories refuse to do the same?
By voting agin.
Which would be political suicide, surely. The reason they would be voting agin - the real reason - would be because they think they'd lose the election. But that would be the one reason they could never ever admit to in public.
Of course, but they'd say it was for the sake of national strength & stability or summat. They'd factor that after a few years folk would have forgotten their cowardice; better than an immediate drubbing.
I still don't see how they could sell that, particularly given that Corbyn agreed to their request for the same thing. To be seen to be turning down the chance to get into power? They'd be fucking themselves long-term as well as short-, imo, just as Corbyn would have done if he'd voted against the last election.
it's what happened with the Labour minority government of 1974.
I didn't know that. Didn't work, though, did it? Also, looking it up, Labour were the biggest party, just, so a rather different situation. We've already had senior tories telling us that the public voted to reject Labour.
You mean it led to the Thatcher years?
No, not at all; i meant purely in the sense of parliamentary survival, which is really the only metric by which the MS parties view these things.
Sure. This is the logic of Labour's position though. There is precedent.
