One decision will bring big consequences
THERESA May’s announcement last week of a snap General Election has shattered a considerable number of plans.
Spare a thought for those MPs who had already decided to retire in three years’ time.
Their cash flow plans have been shattered, as will those of a number of MPs who sit in marginal seats. Their future has suddenly become uncertain.
Spare a thought also for all those aspiring left-wing Labour candidates who had been hoping to capitalise on opportunities that might arise if sitting right-wing Labour politicians were deselected by their constituency parties.
As Mr Corbyn has indicated that all sitting MPs will be automatically reselected, they will have to wait for up to five years more.
And spare a thought for Mr Corbyn himself. A shattering defeat could see him on the back benches before the Parliamentary summer recess. The ripple effect of one simple decision can have massive consequences.
All of a sudden, the manifesto architects of all parties will find themselves working round the clock, drawing up plans to present to the electorate.
Will Mrs May opt to abandon the triple lock in relation to pensions? Before she decides to act, she may well be wise to remember that pensioners as a proportion of the population, increase in numbers every day. Votes could be easily lost here.
The choice of June 8 also means that both aspiring MPs and party workers will have to cancel plans for their spring holidays, for they will all be busy working their constituencies. No buckets or spades for them.
For two parties, the election presents different problems. The Lib Dems have pinned their hopes to the anti-Brexit flag, and may well gain a few seats but it could go wrong for fast-talking Tim Fallon.
For the Scottish Nationalists, the loss of just one seat could herald the fact that Ms Sturgeon’s fortunes might be changing. It would certainly not help her independence cause. Mrs May has taken a gamble, and she may benefit, but many plans will have to be altered as result. Russell Luckock is chairman of Birmingham pressings
firm AE Harris