May in power play ahead of Brexit

British prime minister looks to weaken UK opposition’s voice ahead of European Union exit by calling snap general election

A decisive win for British prime minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party in the snap election on June 8 will endorse her strategy for Brexit.

It will probably also plunge the opposition Labour Party into further disarray, paving the way for the exit of its embattled leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The British parliament yesterday voted 522 to 13 in favour of an early national election, far surpassing the two- thirds majority of the 650 politicians needed to hold early polls.

A day earlier, Mrs May surprised the British electorate by calling a snap election, long before the details of any Brexit agreement are known. Mr Corbyn said he supported the decision “to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first”.

“Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and National Health Service,” he said.

“We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.” But opinion polls suggest Labour will suffer heavy losses and Mrs May’s party gain strength in parliament.

Polling site Electoral Calculus, which surveyed more than 10,000 people last month, predicted the Conservatives would increase their seats in parliament from 330 to 381, and that Labour would drop from 229 seats to 182.

The same analysis projected a 76 per cent chance of a Conservative parliamentary majority, and just a 5 per cent chance of a Labour majority.

In a YouGov poll last month, only 15 per cent of 1,608 British voters surveyed said they thought Mr Corbyn would be the best choice for prime minister. In contrast, 49 per cent opted for Mrs May.

It was reported yesterday that she scheduled the election for as early as June because she was afraid Mr Corbyn might resign, making way for a potentially more popular leader who would invigorate Labour.

“People don’t think Corbyn is a credible, strong leader and his personal ratings are abysmal,” said Craig McAngus, a political scientist and lecturer at the University of Aberdeen.

“Unfortunately, a strong leader is what wins elections these days.

“You can’t go in to an election with a weak leader, who the public thinks is incompetent.”

Mr Corbyn has led Labour since September 2015 and was re-elected last September, winning the votes of nearly 62 per cent of the party’s membership.

He has styled himself as a man of the masses and the rank-andfile party membership strongly supports him. Membership has swelled to more than half a million under his leadership, but he does not have full support from his fellow Labour politicians.

An ideological schism has long festered between the left-wing Mr Corbyn and a rival section of the Labour leadership, which leans to the right.

However, his critics within the party have not been able to find an alternative prospective leader to rally behind. “Owen Smith, who stood against him in the last party leader election, did OK, but the sense was: ‘Here’s a man who’s doing it because there’s no one else’,” Mr McAngus said.

“There’s no one at all now on who I can put my finger – no member of parliament who stands out as a leader.”

It will also be difficult to unseat Mr Corbyn in an internal election for party leadership if he continues to enjoy widespread support among the membership.

“But he would probably step down,” Mr McAngus said.

“He seems to be an honourable man. No one seems to question his integrity. It’s just that he’s an activist, he’s not a political party leader.”