Well, we thought we had got away with it. With less than two months to go until Christmas, we had almost made it through the whole of the year without a general election.
We managed it in 2018, after going to the polls in the two previous years only for no one seeming to actually win.
Despite all the parliamentary chaos we’ve been through this year, an election wasn’t looking very likely. But as politicians on either side of the Brexit debate ran out of options, an election has loomed into view.
Why? The pro-Brexit parties seem to think it’s the only way they will get either a deal through parliament or allow the UK to leave the European Union without one. The anti-Brexit parties think it’s the only way they will stop the UK leaving entirely. The others… well, maybe they just got bored of waiting.
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The week of December 9 has been earmarked as the favourite for the vote to take place. It gives the relevant authorities the time to get the necessary paperwork in order and allows those of us who have moved house, turned 18 and or are returning from university for Christmas to get our names on the right electoral role.
This date, however, gives very little time before the MPs’ Christmas break to get a bill enacted into law to allow the UK to leave. If you remember the last election, the Conservatives had to woo the DUP for quite a long time to convince them to put them into power.
This means we may need the full “flextension” to January 31, which was granted by the EU… on Monday. Yes, it seems longer ago to us, too.
The FTSE100 bounced up a bit on the news, with sterling also rising a touch against the euro and dollar. It is indeed strange times when a snap election is a positive thing for a country’s economy, but we are where we are.
One fly in the ointment might be some MPs seeking to get 16 and 17-year-olds added to the electoral roll along with some non-UK citizens… If these amendments are passed, the election could be off.
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But as things stand(!), the stage looks set for a Yuletide election.
So, while you’re running around trying to find wrapping paper, secret Santa gifts or even somewhere that sells sustainable Christmas trees, it looks like you’ll also be popping into the polling station to put an X in the box of your favoured candidate.
Who knows who will be in Number 10 on Christmas Eve or whether they are on Santa’s naughty or nice list? One thing we are sure of, however, this season of goodwill is likely to be anything but.
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