Boris Johnson is set to reclaim powers to trigger an early election – amid swirling rumours that he will turn the screw on crisis-hit Labour by calling a vote in 2023.
The PM has not had full control over the timing of an election for a decade, since the Cameron-Clegg Coalition passed the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.
Instead national contests are meant to take place every five years unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
However, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has confirmed that the Queen‘s Speech tomorrow will include repealing the legislation.
Going back to the previous arrangements where premiers are able to choose the timing will massively increase pressure on Sir Keir Starmer after disastrous elections.
He would potentially have less than two years to turn Labour around, with evidence that it is still shipping votes in crucial Red Wall areas. Boundary updates for constituencies that are due to be pushed through by then could also increase the advantage for the Tories.
Sir Keir has already voiced alarm at the prospect, saying on the anniversary of become leader last month: ‘I’ve instructed the party to be election ready for 2023.’
Assessing the elections performance today, the grassroots ConservativeHome website said: ‘All in all, we see nothing to discourage Boris Johnson from planning a spring or summer general election in 2023.’
But a No10 source said: ‘There are no discussions about an early election. We are entirely focused on recovering from the pandemic and building back better.’
The FTPA restrictions were introduced under David Cameron because the Lib Dems were nervous that he would break their alliance early if polls showed the Tories could win a majority alone.
But they were condemned as badly-drafted by experts, and incurred the fury of Mr Johnson and the Tories in 2019 when Parliament was gridlocked on the Brexit issue – but MPs also spent months refusing to agree to hold an early election.
Boris Johnson (right) is set to reclaim powers to trigger an early election – amid speculation that he could turn the screw on crisis-hit Keir Starmer (left) by calling a vote in 2023
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has confirmed that the Queen’s Speech tomorrow will include repealling the legislation
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, Mr Rees-Mogg said: ‘I am glad to say the FTPA will be repealed. That’s already been draft legislation and that is something we will be looking at in the next session.
‘It will restore the status quo ante (the prevously existing state of affairs). It will ensure we have the constitution acting properly and don’t have the absurd shenanigans we had in 2019.’
Pressed whether it meant the PM could trigger an early election, Mr Rees-Mogg said: ‘Subject to the normal conventions. The conventions will be restored alongside the Royal prerogative.’
The next election had been due to happen in May 2024. But rumours have been circulating that Mr Johnson could move earlier, as Labour struggles to recover.
The party tumbled to its worst defeat since 1935 under Jeremy Corbyn in December 2019.
And the situation has not improved under Sir Keir Starmer, with Labour losing hundreds of council seats in Super Thursday elections as the Red Wall crumbles further.
Experts have estimated that the Tories could add more than 30 seats to their tally if the outcome was replicated at a general election.
That would potentially push Mr Johnson’s 80-majority towards the scale of Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide.
Anything of that order could deal a fatal blow to the Labour Party, which is already struggling to work out what it is for and who it represents.
The manoeuvring came as Sir Keir’s attempted relaunch fell flat today after he blinked first in a standoff with Angela Rayner.
The leader has suffered another major blow to his authority amid claims he wanted to shift his deputy into the health brief after stripping her of responsibility for campaigns – but she refused.
In the end he was forced to give Ms Rayner a new job at the top of the party shadowing Michael Gove, with her allies boasting she is ‘even more powerful’.
Other moves in the overhaul were also far more limited than heralded. In the biggest change, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was demoted and replaced by Rachel Reeves.
Opposition chief whip Nick Brown and Commons leader Valerie Vaz were also removed from the shadow cabinet.
But Sir Keir had to scale back his ambitions dramatically as he faced a furious backlash over the botched sacking of Mrs Rayner, with the hard-Left accusing him of ‘cowardice’ and openly threatening a coup.
Labour lost hundreds of council seats in Super Thursday elections as the Red Wall crumbled further
Labour’s new campaigns chief has admitted it faces a ‘big test’ with another Red Wall seat up for grabs in a by-election.
Shabana Mahmood, fresh from promotion in a reshuffle, suggested the outcome of the ‘important’ battle in Batley and Spen could be make-or-break.
The Red Wall constituency needs a new MP after Tracy Brabin won the race to become West Yorkshire mayor – meaning she will quit the Commons.
Ms Brabin held the constituency with a majority of just 3,525 over the Tories in 2019.
But local election results suggest that Labour will struggle to hang on when it calls the ballot to replace her. Ward level results put the Tories marginally ahead – although voting habits often vary between council and Westminster contests.
The Conservatives overturned a Labour majority of 3,595 in last week’s Hartlepool by-election, winning by 6,940 votes.
Lattes be friends! Keir Starmer is pictured getting coffee with Angela Rayner at Parliament as he papers over seething tensions after botched reshuffle – telling new-look shadow cabinet the elections meltdown is ‘on me’
Keir Starmer grabbed coffee with deputy Angela Rayner today as they tried to paper over tensions including damaging allegations of snobbery after the elections meltdown.
The Labour leader and Ms Rayner were pictured in Parliament seemingly seeing the funny side of the bitter rows and botched reshuffle that followed the ballot box disaster.
The image emerged after Sir Keir used the first meeting of his overhauled shadow cabinet to praise Ms Rayner’s ‘big new role’ – despite claims he only gave her a beefed-up role after she refused to be shifted to the health brief.
Other moves in the overhaul were also far more limited than heralded. In the biggest change, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was demoted and replaced by Rachel Reeves.
Opposition chief whip Nick Brown and Commons leader Valerie Vaz were also removed from the shadow cabinet.
Sir Keir had to scale back his ambitions dramatically as he faced a furious backlash over the sacking of Ms Rayner as campaigns chief, with the hard-Left accusing him of ‘cowardice’ and openly threatening a coup to stop him ditching Corbynite policies.
Unusually there were no pictures released of the shadow cabinet meeting this afternoon, with aides blaming the fact that people were participating remotely.
But sources said Sir Keir told his team that the dire Super Thursday showing was evidence of the ‘size of the journey we have to go’.
‘To be clear, I take responsibility. Nobody else. I lead the Labour Party and it is entirely on me.’
There are claims that tensions have been running high with Ms Rayner for months – including a row over ‘inappropriate dress’ she wore for a visit to Hartlepool in March.
Photographs from the date show Ms Rayner in leopard-print trousers, heavy black boots and a hoodie. There are also swipes that Sir Keir’s team views her as an ‘oik’.
Worryingly for Sir Keir, the criticism has come from both wings of the party – with jibes that his closest aides are inept and act like they are in an episode of the West Wing.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham complained that ‘negative’ coverage had overshadowed his result on Saturday, and the way Ms Rayner was treated was ‘not right’.
Ms Rayner has tweeted to thank supporters for their ‘solidarity’. And this morning she insisted that she will ensure Labour stays the ‘party of workers’.
‘I was born in Stockport but I was raised in the labour movement.’ she said.
‘As we build an economy fit for the future and develop policy for the future of work, trade unions will be absolutely at the heart of it. Labour is, and always will be, the party of workers.’
A picture has emerged of Keir Starmer and deputy Angela Rayner grabbing coffee at Parliament today as they tried to paper over tensions after the elections meltdown
Left to right, Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth and shadow Northern Ireland secretary Louise Haigh at the Commons after Sir Keir gathered his new team today
There are claims that tensions have been running high between Angela Rayner and Sir Keir Starmer (right) for months, including a row over ‘inappropriate dress’ she wore for a visit to Hartlepool in March (left)
Ms Rayner has tweeted to thank supporters for their ‘solidarity’. And this morning she insisted that she will ensure Labour stays the ‘party of workers’
In a bold, but not entirely unsurprising move, the stumbling Labour leader demoted Anneliese Dodds (pictured right) from the important role of shadow chancellor. He replaced her with Oxford educated former Bank of England worker Rachel Revees (pictured left) – a key ally of Ed Miliband during his spell as Labour leader.
Sir Keir is unable to axe his deputy altogether as she was elected separately by members, but did take away her roles as party chairman and national campaign co-ordinator on Saturday night in the wake of Labour’s catastrophic local election results.
However, following 24 hours of wrangling, she emerged with a new broad brief shadowing Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove, as well as leading the party’s focus on the future of work.
Allies of Ms Rayner last night triumphantly declared: ‘Angela obviously comes out of this significantly more powerful both in terms of the party and policy. She will be much more visible now she isn’t being held back.
‘She will lead both party reform and the development of a policy agenda that is credible, radical and actually connects with the voters we need to win.’
In a sign Sir Keir and Ms Rayner have not managed to bury the hatchet, one party insider asked: ‘Who would want to be national campaign co-ordinator in name only with no power when you’re made the scapegoat for the failures of Keir’s team?’
Another supporter of Ms Rayner said: ‘On Friday Keir couldn’t answer a simple question about what Labour’s vision is, what our offer is and how we will win back the voters in our heartland seats.
‘Angela can answer that question and is the best person to lead the fightback in the Red Wall.’
According to the Guardian, Oldham MP Jim McMahon, who ran the Hartlepool by-election campaign and is an ally of Sir Keir, complained to the leader’s office that Ms Rayner had been ‘dressed inappropriately’ on a visit to the town on March 21.
Photographs from the date show Ms Rayner in leopard-print trousers, heavy black boots and a hoodie.
Ms Rayner’s aides are said to have ‘hit the roof ‘ when they heard about the comment, but kept it from her to avoid fuelling the problems even further.
Allies of Mr McMahon insisted he was simply unhappy about the pictures selected for a leaflet.
Sources also told the Guardian that Ms Rayner was seen by the leader’s aides as a ‘working-class oik and a bit thick’ who doesn’t fit their ‘patronising Camden style’.
Another Labour source, without loyalties to Ms Rayner, told the paper: ‘It’s a clear mistake to fire someone who speaks like the people we need to talk to. It’s a huge mistake from a bunch of snobs who don’t like how she speaks.’
Mr Burham – who fuelled talk of leadership ambitions over the weekend when he said he was ready to pick up the phone if the party needed him – said this morning that Ms Rayner’s treatment was not ‘right’.
‘I didn’t like the way that was handled, I’ll be honest, and I didn’t see why we were getting a negative story on Saturday night when myself and Steve Rotheram and other people around the country had good victories to celebrate, so that wasn’t right, but I don’t think the way Angela was treated was right,’ he said.
‘But it’s been resolved and we move on from this morning. There’s a shadow cabinet in place now.
‘I hope that they are getting on with the job in exactly the same way that I am getting on with the job.’
Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Sir Keir had tried to make Mrs Rayner ‘carry the can for the poor results at the weekend’.
‘It does seem as if, certainly the people around him (Sir Keir Starmer), don’t understand how the party works,’ the former shadow home secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘They tried to sack Angela Rayner in order to make her carry the can for the poor results at the weekend.
‘They didn’t seem to realise that because she’s an elected deputy leader, you can fiddle around with her title, but you can’t sack her, she remains a senior person in the shadow cabinet.’
When asked if it was the view of deputy leader Ms Rayner that Sir Keir wanted to sack her, Ms Abbott said: ‘Yes, that’s what all the briefing was about.