The next UK general election is set for Thursday 2 May 2024 – but an early election could mean voters will be asked to go to the polls earlier. A quick vote is often taken when the government needs to solve a specific problem and is confident that it will increase its majority without weeks of the usual campaigns.
Johnson said he could try to force a rapid-fire vote to be reelected by the public after his cabinet and mutiny MPs made an attempt to ban him from number 10.
There was Tory anger at number 10’s initial defense that Mr Johnson was unaware of the claims before promoting Mr Pincher, which was later found to be false.
Speaking before the House of Commons liaison committee on Wednesday, he was repeatedly offended over whether he was considering going to the country in a last-ditch effort to save his premiership.
Under tough questions, Mr Johnson gave conflicting answers – saying he would “rule out a quick poll, of course”, but also said it might be necessary to fulfill his mandate.
He told a MP: “History tells us that the best way to have a period of stability and government and not have snap elections is to allow people with mandates to get to work.”
Insisting on what he meant by those comments, he replied that a quick vote wouldn’t be necessary “unless people ignore that very good principle.”
He went on to say that governments with “a substantial mandate from the electorate” should be left to continue delivering, adding that it was “wise not to get bogged down in electoral politics”.
Later, when veteran Tory MP, Bernard Jenkin, urged him to resign and rule out snap elections, he said such a contest “is the last thing this country needs”.