The outraged #NotMyPM twitterati think that new prime minister Boris Johnson should call a general election, since he was only put in place by a handful of silly old Tory party members and has no mandate. One problem with a general election is that the Brexit vote could be split between the Brexit Party and the Conservatives. So Nigel Farage has suggested there is the possibility of an electoral pact, whereby the Brexit Party does not contest all seats.
It would be fascinating if, for example, previously safe Labour seats went to TBP due Corbyn’s promise that the Labour party would back Remain. Or if votes were split between Labour and Lib Dems, since Jo Swinson has ruled out a pact.
Boris’s next moves will greatly impact the shape of the Great Realignment. Via the medium of electoral arithmetic, Nigel Farage will have a great deal of influence, I suspect.
Wait, so the losers are “suggesting” a “compromise”, complete with an “agreement” to behave THIS time?
No mandate?
I have a perfectly reasoned response, but…from the US.
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
CaptDMO: not the losers. In the UK, the prime minister is simply the leader of the party which has formed the government. We have replaced the prime minister without any elections having taken place. This is all perfectly normal and within the rules but it does allow for arguments along the lines of: nobody voted for this prime minister.
Boris might have been elected by only a minority of the population of this country (some 66% of eligible Tory party members), but Gordon “The One-eyed Viking” Brown aka “The Bottler” was elected by an ‘electorate’ of only 313, however that was the relevant process at the time of the 2007 Labour Leadership contest.
Should there be a General Election? On a strictly constitutional basis this is unnecessary, since Boris Johnson continues to hold the confidence of Parliament until shown otherwise.
The leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition (lol) certainly seems to think so, since he has declined the opportunity (despite encouragement from the new leader of the LibDems) to call a vote of no confidence.
So here we are, all the constitutional conventions have been followed and Boris Johnson remains PM with the confidence of parliament and the cabinet until proven otherwise.