I'm coming round to that way of thinking. Cameron pulling out of a foreign trip isnt something you do for fun. Albania isnt a major power but its still a huge slap in the face. Also, I was listening to 'The News Agents' podcast this morning and they mentioned that there isnt a complete list of Conservative candidates for every constituency yet. That's a major embarassment for how well prepared the party machinery is for this. Admittedly, those seasts are probably low chance of winning, but it would be a huge problem not to field a candidate everywhere. Equally if they try to rush candidates in and there's any dirt on them that isnt picked up by due diligence, that too will be embarrassing.Son of Mathonwy wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 10:40 pmMy feeling is that Sunak wouldn't cut his premiership short by 6 months if he didn't have to. But we may never know. Still, if it was a bunch of disgruntled Tory MPs I say, well done, you'll get your leadership election soon.Sandydragon wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 8:40 pmIt's not entirely clear if the letters of no confidence preceded the speculation that a general election was to be called or were a result of that speculation. Either is possible. It felt a bit rushed, but then again it might have been a preplanned option if the financial news was sufficiently promising.fivepointer wrote: ↑Wed May 22, 2024 6:40 pm Speculation that Sunak called it rather than face a leadership challenge. Plausible I guess given the somewhat rushed announcement (outside, in the rain without an umbrella. Really sensible that)
Whatever the motivation, I'm just breathing a sigh of relief that we have a chance in a few weeks to remove this disgracefully bad Government.
There was also the comment made that some of the council and mayoral losses might have been avoided if the General Election was held in May. Many voters cant be bothered with those elections but might have got the core vote out if the GE had been the same day. Im not sure I agree with this, but it is a fair point that the turnout would have been higher and that could have affected some outcomes. If nothign else, Sunak is making his local party activists get stuck into campaigning again straight after a major kicking.