What the commentators said

The big question is whether Theresa May should seek an early election, said Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer. “From the day that she stepped into No. 10”, a snap vote has been “a no-brainer to some of her colleagues”: the government has a working majority of 16 and she lacks the “personal mandate” that goes with winning an election. And now the case for an election looks stronger than ever: the judges’ ruling will force the PM to defend her Brexit tactics in Parliament, so she is going to need all the authority she can muster. She would be foolish to miss her moment, said George Eaton in the New Statesman. The Tories enjoy a 16-point lead in the polls, Labour is deeply divided – not least over the appropriate Brexit strategy – and voters are yet to feel any economic ill effects from this summer’s Brexit vote. Why not go to the country “before they feel the squeeze”.

But a thumping election victory is far from certain, said John Curtice in The Guardian. If May is forced to set out exactly what she wants from Brexit, she will alienate many in her own party, scuppering her chances of a big majority: “divided governments are not an electorally attractive sight”. The very idea of another vote appals me, said Matthew Parris in The Times. Most likely it would be a “nightmarish rerun” of the referendum, with even more bloodletting. Imagine trying to devise a manifesto that would satisfy both Leavers and Remainers. What’s more, all Tory MPS would need to be readopted by their local associations, which carries the risk of a “purge” of the moderates. “Far from rescuing Mrs May from the Tory hardliners”, an election could “deliver her into their hands”.