Boris Johnson has announced that MPs in the House of Commons will vote next week on holding an election on 12 December, in an attempt to break the Brexit impasse. And as expected, plenty of Labour MPs are already lining up to think of reasons to avoid being accountable to the electorate.
Mr S wonders though if Labour HQ will be less than pleased with one MP’s excuse for avoiding an election this Christmas. Speaking to Sky News in the Palace of Westminster, the veteran MP Barry Sheerman was asked whether his party should back an election next week, and what Jeremy Corbyn will recommend to his party. But in his reply the MP rather underplayed his own party’s chances of winning, when he noted that:
‘I think Jim Callaghan used to say, “Turkeys don’t vote Christmas”.
Perhaps realising that saying Labour are a turkey destined for the oven wasn’t the best stance to take ahead of a potential election, Sheerman hurriedly clarified that:
‘Well, I think we aren’t Turkeys, but we are sensible.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in