With another poll showing the Tories ahead but not by enough to secure an overall majority, The News of the World reports that the party is making contingency plans for a second election: The idea would be to take action on immigration, householders’ rights and business taxes and then go to the country again seeking a stronger mandate.
To boost the Tories’ prospects, the paper says that Cameron plans to hold a boundary review beforehand. I’d be surprised if it was possible to do that quickly enough for new seats to be in place for a second election this year. There’s also a risk that this effort to remove Labour’s in-built advantage could appear to be gerrymandering if it is followed straight away by an election.
I’ve always thought that if the Tories are just short of a majority their best chance is to come up with a Budget and challenge the Lib Dems to vote it down. That way, the blame for the second poll does not fall on the Tories.
Comments