Thread by @uk_domain_names

Scary piece about how a snap GE could take place on 1 November. It has a point - we always think of elections as happening on Thursdays, but there's no obligation. It's just habit. So the date could work. And I would guess that BJ would smash it.
spectator.co.uk/2019/08/were-h…

1) By holding the GE after Brexit, one could say "what's the point of the Brexit Party?" and many voters may think the same.
2) It will burnish the Tories' hard Brexit credentials, since proroging Parliament during the election campaign (that *is* a rule) delivers a no deal.

3) It puts the other parties in a real bind. People who follow Brexit closely know it won't be over on Brexit Day, but the average voter - who's sick of the whole mess - may not be interested in a manifesto built around the "next stages" of Brexit.

4) It leaves BJ and the Tories free to make as many grandiose pledges as they want. They can add a "cross my fingers line" to the manifesto, like "We intend to do XYZ, subject to any temporary Brexit disruption" and use that to get off the hook when they promptly break them.

It's easy to see how such a scenario could deliver a solid majority for BJ. It would also make Brexit virtually unstoppable. With Parliament legitimately prorogued, the only avenue of attack would be the courts. And that's the longest of long shots.

Of course, BJ needs 2/3 of MPs to get a GE. And perhaps he won't manage that. But Labour will look like the worst cowards in history if they refuse to back it, given they've been bleating "GE, GE, GE" on a daily basis for months now.

BJ's other alternative is to lose a VONC and for no other faction to emerge as a credible Government in the 14-day period. And that's unfortunately likely. A Government of National Unity is a messy beast at the best of times, and front bench Labour isn't going to play ball.

Instead, Corbyn may try and cobble together his own government - likely doomed to fail, but the mere act of doing so would draw away some would-be GNU rebels on the Labour benches, and make reaching GNU concensus even harder. Net result: a GE, hard Brexit, and 5 years of BJ.