Hague calls for a snap election to bolster May

SENIOR Tories yesterday urged Theresa May to call a snap election to prevent Parliament thwarting Brexit.

William Hague led calls for Theresa May to take advantage of Labour’s weakness to strengthen her Commons majority and secure a personal mandate for the The UK’s exit from the EU.

The former party leader warned current clashes were just a foretaste of the battles to come, as Remainers in Parliament attempt to stop Britain leaving the EU.

Lord Hague said: ‘ Any deal is bound to be full of compromises which one group or another in Parliament finds difficult to stomach.

‘As British law needs to be amended countless times to take account of leaving the EU treaties, the Government could face many close votes, concessions or defeats as it tries to implement Brexit.

‘That prospect will embolden the EU negotiators, and makes an agreement that is good for the UK harder to achieve.

‘It could also lead to a situation where the Prime Minister faces a stand- off with Parliament over a deal that will have taken two years to negotiate and is nearly impossible to change.’

The controversial Fixed Term Parliaments Act brought in by David Cameron and Nick Clegg means an election cannot be held before May 2020 unless two-thirds of MPs agree or the Government loses a vote of confidence.

Jeremy Corbyn claimed in December he would order his MPs to back an early election despite Labour’s dire position in the polls. The Labour leader ducked questions on the issue six times yesterday, before eventually insisted he was ‘confident’ Labour could win an election now.

Lord Hague said Mrs May should bring forward plans to repeal the Act and restore the traditional power of prime ministers to set the date of the election.

‘We have a new Prime Minister and Cabinet facing the most complex challenges of modern times: Brexit negotiations, the Trump administration, the threat from Scottish nationalists, and many other issues,’ he said.

‘There is no doubt that they would be in a stronger position to take the country through these challenges successfully if they had a large and decisive majority in the Commons and a new full term ahead of them.’

Downing Street dismissed the idea of an early election, describ-

‘She has been clear and consistent’

ing it as a ‘total non- starter’. A No 10 source said Mrs May has been ‘ clear and consistent in her position that she does not think there should be an early election’.

But former Tory health secretary Lord Lansley backed Lord Hague, saying Mrs May has a window of opportunity for a general election before the EU ‘gets its act together’ for exit talks later this year.

Brexit minister David Jones acknowledged there was a temptation to go to the polls early, but insisted ministers were too focused on dealing with Brexit.

He said: ‘ At the moment we’re firmly fixed upon getting Britain out of the European Union and that’s got all our attention.’

And former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith also disagreed with Lord Hague, saying that it would not be in the national interest to break off from the Brexit process in order to focus on an election.