Election fever might just be the cure

A snap poll would be a gamble on Johnson’s part but such a move could finally break the Brexit deadlock

It is hardly surprising that, despite the divisive nature of his politics, new Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now enjoying a bounce in the polls.

Theresa May also had a brief honeymoon when she succeeded David Cameron in 2016. Likewise, Gordon Brown’s Labour Party enjoyed an increase in support when he took over from Tony Blair as prime minister in 2007. But both May and Brown soon found that success which materialises suddenly can vanish just as quickly.

Speculation mounts at Westminster that Mr Johnson may gamble on the increased popularity of the Conservative Party under his leadership and call a snap general election with the aim of his strengthening his currently fragile grip on the House of Commons. Given that he has repeatedly declared his intention to deliver Brexit by 31 October, “do or die”, an increase in Conservative numbers at Westminster would be very useful indeed.

That Labour under Jeremy Corbyn continues to flounder in the polls is yet another reason for Mr Johnson to act. The same polls which show the prime minister in a commanding position also show Labour would fare better in an election if it was to replace Mr Corbyn at

the top. And so, the stars appear to be aligned in Mr Johnson’s favour.

The public, suffering from election fatigue, may view yet another trip to the polling booths as – at best – a damned inconvenience but this might be the only way of moving our politics beyond the divisions created by Brexit.

Manifesto positions on Brexit were, in 2017, unhelpfully fuzzy. And subsequent announcements on the best way forward from both the Conservatives and Labour have been no less vague. The decision to leave the European Union was a mistake. However, democracy produces outcomes which simply cannot satisfy everyone.

However, on the subject of Brexit, the only groups of people that look likely to be satisfied by Mr Johnson’s no-deal plan are the Eurosceptic wing of the Tory Party and the hard left cabal that surrounds Jeremy Corbyn.

A general election would allow – and in the case of Mr Corbyn’s Labour, force – parties to set out clear and unambiguous positions on how Brexit should be handled.

In the absence of a second referendum, this may be the only way to break the Brexit deadlock that has paralysed the House of Commons for months.