Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh
However, 3 problems.
1) The government doesn't really have a majority, especially if it removes the whip from rebels - they've got nothing to lose if they're going to be de-selected (bit of an own-goal, that one...)
2) Any bill to revoke the FTPA would be amendable.
3) It would have to go through the Lords, so it might take some time to call an election.
Of course, it could be done by government calling a vote of no confidence in the government. It’s "you couldn’t make it up territory"...
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If Labour presents as its reason for not supporting a general election, the fact that once parliament is dissolved the date of the election is in Boris’ gift, and they don’t trust him to call it before 1 November, then it is possible to both bypass the FTPA and write the date of the legislation into law with a simple bill that states that the provisions of the FTPA are temporarily set aside in order to hold an election on X date.
The objection about the date sounds like little more than a convenient excuse. A General Election (2019) Bill would smoke them out. It would also require only a simple majority to pass.