Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Why is there a second vote on a general election in Parliament today?

80 replies

whatshallIdo1 · 09/09/2019 06:50

when there was one last week which MPs voted against.

Is the voting mechanism different today?

Would love to better understand the workings of Parliament.

OP posts:
Thereisasystem · 09/09/2019 06:51

Good question!

SansaSnark · 09/09/2019 07:00

Boris Johnson is in a bit of an unsustainable position, because he removed a load of his own MPs from his party. This means he probably can't pass any legislation or effectively govern.

He ran a vote on a general election last week which he lost. A lot of opposition parties said that they wouldn't vote for a GE until they were sure that no deal brexit was off the table.

The new law forcing the prime minister to ask for an extension should go into force from today. BJ really needs a GE so there will be another vote, and he will probably continue to hold votes for as long as he can.

Unlike most votes, to trigger a general election under the fixed term parliament act 2/3 of all MPs need to vote for there to be a general election. This means it's quite a hard vote for BJ to win. But it's also tricky for the opposition to keep voting against.

That's my understanding of the situation anyway!

Itstheprinciple · 09/09/2019 07:01

Because Boris is desperate to get what he wants - no deal forced through by default and him to be able to say he 'tried'.

Apparently its OK to keep having votes on the same topic when it suits.

Original poster
whatshallIdo1 · 09/09/2019 07:57

Thanks. How many identical votes can you have in Parliament? Does the wording slightly change to allow them to be held?

OP posts:
Original poster
whatshallIdo1 · 09/09/2019 08:42

But it's also tricky for the opposition to keep voting against.

Why?

OP posts:
BeyondMyWits · 09/09/2019 08:46

"But it's also tricky for the opposition to keep voting against."

"Why?"

No one has confidence in the government, everyone thinks BJ is a lying cheating toad.

Yet they don't want his government to go? They want to keep them in charge? A totally ineffectual, incompetent bunch and they want them to stay?

sashh · 09/09/2019 08:57

Yet they don't want his government to go? They want to keep them in charge? A totally ineffectual, incompetent bunch and they want them to stay?

They want him to go, but not yet, They want to ensure a no deal Brexit is off the table. A GE would mean we crashed out on October 31st which only Boris and JM and a few other millionaires who will benefit want.

Once a no deal is off the table parliament can get on with getting a deal, or having another referendum, or one possibility is another referendum vote and a GE together.

Once the Benn Bill becomes law BJ is going to have to be careful. If he refuses to send the letter to Brussels he is in breach of that new law but also he can be arrested for, 'misconduct in a public office' for which he can go to prison which I think he would quite like because they he is a martyr. But, if he is found guilty of misconduct anyone who can show they have had a loss through those actions can make a claim against BJ, not the party, or the government butt BJ himself. Anyone who assists him to break the law may be in a similar position.

It will be interesting to see ow things pan out.

LillithsFamiliar · 09/09/2019 09:02

Once a no deal is off the table parliament can get on with getting a deal, or having another referendum, or one possibility is another referendum vote and a GE together
Sassh they've already had ample opportunity to agree a deal, agree about having another referendum (iirc they'd need to revoke Article 50 first - which, let's not forget, they triggered in the first place) etc. Why do you think it will be different now? Have they just been wasting everyone's time for the last 3 years? Because there's no material difference that makes any of those options more accessible than previously.
Plus your stats are wrong. According to John Curtice the number of people wanting no deal is the same as the number wanting a second referendum.

TipseyTorvey · 09/09/2019 09:05

I'm glad someone asked this question. It all seems so chaotic and infantile with all the 'dead in a ditch' hyperbole and mps resigning when in reality it's deadly serious, but Boris and Jeremy are still focusing on their own ambitions. I'm half terrified and half fascinated.

noblegiraffe · 09/09/2019 09:06

There’s another vote to see if the amazing Tory tactic of posting a picture of Jeremy Corbyn wearing a chicken suit onto social media has paid off.

Incandescentwithage · 09/09/2019 09:42

Because he is trying to enact the will of the electorate. But the left is stopping this happening.

MrsMaiselsMuff · 09/09/2019 09:47

But the left is stopping this happening.

The LibDems and all the Tory (now independent) rebels are not left wing.

MrsMaiselsMuff · 09/09/2019 09:57

The government are looking into a legal challenge (possibly challenges) to declare the new law unlawful, or at least to find a way to circumvent it. Therefore it would be very dangerous for the (majority) opposition to agree to a GE before October 31st, even after the Bill has received royal assent, as if Johnson has his way, we will still crash out on Oct 31st.

The problem we now have is that the French have indicated that they may not agree to another extension because Johnson's team are failing to bring anything new to the table regarding a new or amended deal. They claim that the backstop can be easily resolved, yet they've not given the EU any indication of how they plan to do it. The authors of the Benn Bill had sought agreement to an extension before they put it to parliament, and the EU were in agreement at that time. This has changed because the government has done nothing since he has been in office to move things along.

Johnson is meeting his Irish counterpart today. It will be interesting to see what comes from that meeting.

Incandescentwithage · 09/09/2019 10:05

The lid dems not left wing. Really.

MrsMaiselsMuff · 09/09/2019 10:11

The lid dems not left wing. Really.

Swinson's voting record speaks for itself. She voted for benefit cuts, cuts to public spending, increasing university fees to £9K, fracking...

www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11971/jo_swinson/east_dunbartonshire/votes

WarmSausageTea · 09/09/2019 10:12

Because he is trying to enact the will of the electorate. But the left is stopping this happening.

But didn’t the right stop it happening when Theresa May put a deal to parliament?

Genuine question; how is what Philip Hammond and others are doing (or planning to do) so different from what Jacob Rees-Mogg and other hard Brexiters did earlier this year?

Incandescentwithage · 09/09/2019 10:14

So one persons voting record is all that counts fair enough.

Beachcomber · 09/09/2019 10:19

What noblegiraffe said:

There’s another vote to see if the amazing Tory tactic of posting a picture of Jeremy Corbyn wearing a chicken suit onto social media has paid off.

This is what things have sunk to.

Thank god the Opposition are acting like grown ups and responsible parliamentarians and working across parties in the national interest.

Incandescentwithage · 09/09/2019 10:25

And flying blimps of various people over London was so grown up. I bet you had a good titter at that.

MrsMaiselsMuff · 09/09/2019 10:30

The Party leader's voting record is vitally important, of course.

Interesting commentary on Johnson's latest plan in this article. He's going to send the required letter to the EU asking for an extension, but also write a letter saying "oh but I don't want one really!". Scraping the barrel springs to mind.

www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/boris-johnsons-cunning-plan-to-evade-the-law-write-second-letter-saying-he-doesnt-really-want-brexit-extension/09/09/

(The link is to a left wing website, but the original article is from the right wing Telegraph, for balance.)

Incandescentwithage · 09/09/2019 10:33

Could you point me towards where he has said he will do that . I am genuinely interested.

OllyBJolly · 09/09/2019 10:36

So one persons voting record is all that counts fair enough

The voting record of the selected party leader is pretty influential? Although I see a lot of Lib Dems on Twitter are agog at how welcoming the party is to its new crop of entrants.

sashh · 09/09/2019 10:36

Plus your stats are wrong. According to John Curtice the number of people wanting no deal is the same as the number wanting a second referendum.

I was referring to MPs not the general population,sorry if that wasn't' clear.

Have they just been wasting everyone's time for the last 3 years? Because there's no material difference that makes any of those options more accessible than previously.

In a word YES.

Only something similar to a No deal will satisfy BJ and JRM. Only staying the EU or deal very similar eg Norway od Switzerland type option will satisfy remainers.

There isn't a lot of middle ground.

The thing I find absolutely crazy is that the government's own reports, plus other reports / predictions show that er, as a country will be worse of, but because of a non legally binding referendum 3 years ago they are still going ahead.

The referendum was flawed, triggering article 50 was the most stupid move ever made by May and she made some huge mistakes.

ThereWere10 · 09/09/2019 10:44

They want to ensure a no deal Brexit is off the table. A GE would mean we crashed out on October 31st

If he refuses to send the letter to Brussels he is in breach of that new law but also he can be arrested for, 'misconduct in a public office' for which he can go to prison which I think he would quite like because they he is a martyr.

So what happens if the EU refuse a deal or refuse to accept an extension? I

Incandescentwithage · 09/09/2019 11:04

The voting record of the selected party leader is pretty influential? Although I see a lot of Lib Dems on Twitter are agog at how welcoming the party is to its new crop of entrants.

And look what happened to the lib dems when they got into bed with Tory party. The grass root left deserted them.

Swipe left for the next trending thread