Read more: Michael Howard—Theresa May can give our country the strong leadership it needs
Prime Ministers are accountable to the country, not just 199 Tory MPs. Theresa May’s coronation on Monday surprised many people, even in Westminster, though the last few weeks should have prepared us to expect anything. That now includes a "snap" General Election.
My party has already begun selecting candidates, anticipating that May will go to the country and seek the mandate she and her Government don’t have. And we will hold her to account on the comments she made about Gordon Brown “running scared” from an election in 2007.
With British politics so fragmented, the population divided over our place in Europe, now more than ever we need the stability that the Conservatives have failed to provide over the last thirteen months. David Cameron has left us in a mess, and we all have a part to play in the recovery.
People voted for the Conservatives, though only 36.9 per cent of them, in 2015, because they promised to be the "secure" choice. These people have been left with nothing. The economy has suffered serious hits, and will continue to do so with Brexit looming and the priorities of both Labour and the Conservatives so internally fractious. The country is suffering and desperately needs a progressive voice. The Liberal Democrats are that voice.
We face big decisions. Not only on Brexit and the economy but on our public services, too, making improvements to education and resurrecting the green agenda that the Conservatives have abandoned whilst governing alone.
Allowing the electorate to choose the direction in which the country goes now is essential. It is ludicrous to allow someone to run the country when only 199 Tory MPs have voted for them—0.0003 per cent of the vote.
My colleagues and I hope that both Labour and the SNP will join us in backing any motion that May could and should propose under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act to call a General Election. We urge that this happens as soon as possible. Before parliament goes into recess next week we anticipate more changes as the new Prime Minister appoints her Cabinet. The first decision they should take is when and not if an election will take place.
Prime Ministers are accountable to the country, not just 199 Tory MPs. Theresa May’s coronation on Monday surprised many people, even in Westminster, though the last few weeks should have prepared us to expect anything. That now includes a "snap" General Election.
My party has already begun selecting candidates, anticipating that May will go to the country and seek the mandate she and her Government don’t have. And we will hold her to account on the comments she made about Gordon Brown “running scared” from an election in 2007.
With British politics so fragmented, the population divided over our place in Europe, now more than ever we need the stability that the Conservatives have failed to provide over the last thirteen months. David Cameron has left us in a mess, and we all have a part to play in the recovery.
People voted for the Conservatives, though only 36.9 per cent of them, in 2015, because they promised to be the "secure" choice. These people have been left with nothing. The economy has suffered serious hits, and will continue to do so with Brexit looming and the priorities of both Labour and the Conservatives so internally fractious. The country is suffering and desperately needs a progressive voice. The Liberal Democrats are that voice.
We face big decisions. Not only on Brexit and the economy but on our public services, too, making improvements to education and resurrecting the green agenda that the Conservatives have abandoned whilst governing alone.
Allowing the electorate to choose the direction in which the country goes now is essential. It is ludicrous to allow someone to run the country when only 199 Tory MPs have voted for them—0.0003 per cent of the vote.
My colleagues and I hope that both Labour and the SNP will join us in backing any motion that May could and should propose under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act to call a General Election. We urge that this happens as soon as possible. Before parliament goes into recess next week we anticipate more changes as the new Prime Minister appoints her Cabinet. The first decision they should take is when and not if an election will take place.
