Welcome to Politics Stack Exchange
We're a little bit different from other sites. Here's how:
Ask questions, get answers, no distractions
This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat.
Just questions...
...and answers.
Good answers are voted up and rise to the top.
The best answers show up first so that they are always easy to find.
The person who asked can mark one answer as "accepted".
Accepting doesn't mean it's the best answer, it just means that it worked for the person who asked.
Can a General Election be called by a new Prime Minister?
There has been much speculation that an incoming prime minister (be it Gove, May or one of the other candidates) will want to call an early General Election (to establish legitimacy and perhaps to capitalise on the Labour Party's divisions)
Is this a realistic proposition? Can a General Election be called by a new Prime Minister?
123k23 gold badges373 silver badges488 bronze badges
2 Answers
The Prime Minister can no longer call a General Election, due to the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011. The Act has a sunset clause, and a committee must report at some point between 1 June 2020 and 30 November 2020.
3922 silver badges8 bronze badges
In effect, yes.
The PM can't simply announce a general election purely on their own authority, but they can file a motion of no confidence in their own government in the Commons, and then instruct their MPs to vote for it.
This would cause a general election.
2251 silver badge8 bronze badges
Get answers to practical, detailed questions
Focus on questions about an actual problem you have faced. Include details about what you have tried and exactly what you are trying to do.
Not all questions work well in our format. Avoid questions that are primarily opinion-based, or that are likely to generate discussion rather than answers.
Questions that need improvement may be closed until someone fixes them.
Tags make it easy to find interesting questions
All questions are tagged with their subject areas. Each can have up to 5 tags, since a question might be related to several subjects.
Click any tag to see a list of questions with that tag, or go to the tag list to browse for topics that interest you.
Can a General Election be called by a new Prime Minister?
There has been much speculation that an incoming prime minister (be it Gove, May or one of the other candidates) will want to call an early General Election (to establish legitimacy and perhaps to capitalise on the Labour Party's divisions)
Is this a realistic proposition? Can a General Election be called by a new Prime Minister?
123k23 gold badges373 silver badges488 bronze badges
You earn reputation when people vote on your posts
Your reputation score goes up when others vote up your questions, answers and edits.
As you earn reputation, you'll unlock new privileges like the ability to vote, comment, and even edit other people's posts.
At the highest levels, you'll have access to special moderation tools. You'll be able to work alongside our community moderators to keep the site focused and helpful.
Improve posts by editing or commenting
Our goal is to have the best answers to every question, so if you see questions or answers that can be improved, you can edit them.
Use edits to fix mistakes, improve formatting, or clarify the meaning of a post.
Use comments to ask for more information or clarify a question or answer.
You can always comment on your own questions and answers. Once you earn 50 reputation, you can comment on anybody's post.
Remember: we're all here to learn, so be friendly and helpful!
The Prime Minister can no longer call a General Election, due to the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011. The Act has a sunset clause, and a committee must report at some point between 1 June 2020 and 30 November 2020.
3922 silver badges8 bronze badges
Unlock badges for special achievements
Sign up to get started
Signing up allows you to:
- Earn reputation when you help others with questions, answers and edits.
- Select favorite tags to customize your home page.
- Claim your first badge: Informed
Politics Stack Exchange is part of the Stack Exchange network
Like this site? Stack Exchange is a network of 182 Q&A sites just like it. Check out the full list of sites.
