No 10 rules out snap election in May

DOWNING Street ruled out a snap election on May 4 yesterday – despite a new poll suggesting Theresa May would win a landslide Commons majority of 140.

Her official spokesman yesterday said the Prime Minister had not changed her opinion on the issue despite pressure from Tory MPs to exploit Labour’s weakness and secure her own mandate.

He said: ‘There is no change in our position on an early election. There isn’t going to be one.’ Crucially, Mrs May’s decision to trigger Article 50 on March 29 all but rules out a snap election. To hold an election on May 4, when local council elections are already due, she would have to call it on March 27.

Furthermore, she would first have to win the support of two-thirds of MPs for a Commons motion to dissolve parliament early, under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

An ICM poll for the Guardian yesterday gave the Tories a 19-point lead over Labour – which would give her a majority in the House of Commons of 140, similar to Tony Blair’s Labour majority in 2001.