UK's Labour has 33-pt lead over ruling Conservatives -YouGov poll

[speak easy]

Source: Reuters

The lead was a record high share for Labour in any YouGov poll as well as the highest figure the party has ever recorded in any published survey since the late 1990s, YouGov said.

Earlier on Thursday, British Prime Minister Liz Truss defended her controversial plan to reignite economic growth after huge tax cuts unveiled last week hammered the value of the pound and government bond prices.

The YouGov poll of voting intention conducted over Wednesday and Thursday showed 54% support for Labour and 21% for the Conservatives. It was a survey of more than 1,700 British adults.

Another YouGov poll earlier this week had shown 45% of voters backing Labour compared to 28% support for the Conservatives.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/uks-opposition-labour-party-surges-to-33-point-lead-over-conservatives-yougov-poll/ar-AA12p7yi

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The YouGov/Times poll was carried out from 28-29 September. A government in free-fall.

[SoCalDavidS]

1. Their System Is Just As Fucked Up As Ours

Supposedly the only one who can call for a vote, is the party in power. Fat chance that's gonna happen.

So it will be at least 2 years until there's another election.

[brooklynite]

3. Why would a minority be able to call for a new election?

What's possible is that the Tory MPs can invoke the 1922 Committee if they're fed up with her.

[speak easy]

5. The Opposition can call a vote of no confidence.

[brooklynite]

8. They can CALL for one, but an election won't occur without a majority vote.

[speak easy]

10. "only one who can call [an election] is the party in power"

is not correct.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. No, it was correct.

The party in power can call an election without holding a vote of no confidence. The opposition can call a vote of no confidence, but since the party in power has a majority, it would require members of the party in power to vote against itself.

If we were in a situation when the government only had a minority in the Commons (which can happen - eg to the Tories by 1997 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election#Loss_of_parliamentary_majority ), then the combined opposition parties could vote them out. But in the UK now, the Tories still have a comfortable majority.

So it is correct to say only the party in power can call an election; either its leaders do, or part of it rebels to help the opposition.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. There's also the possibility that Tories would say they'll refuse to pass a budget act that includes

the binning of the 45% income tax rate. So far, this has just been announced as the government's intention, to take effect from April 6th 2023 (the start of the next UK tax year - thanks to the spring equinox and when Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar).

In a real Budget, the Chancellor announces the plans, a bill containing them all is released, and Parliament debates and votes on it (and amendments do sometimes happen, if government backbenchers get cold feet about something). But since Truss and Kwarteng denied this was a "Budget", they haven't got that far - the Commons went on vacation soon after he announced it all (Labour annual conference just finished, Tory about to happen - that'll be fun ...), and a bill will appear some time.

Binning the 45% rate was the obvious political risk for them, but it's the slump of the pound, and the jump in interest rates (making mortgages hard to obtain, or very expensive, and threatening to crash the housing market) that has trashed Tory "economic competence" in voters' eyes. Keep the 45% rate and they might win a few back, but Truss and Kwarteng have been so adamant they won't U-turn that it's hard to see them doing it voluntarily now.

All their options looks crap for them now. Which is great, but the damage to the economy for up to 2 years is a high price to pay, more or less literally.

[Stuart G]

4. Liz Truss hasn't got a clue. She is as stupid as Trump. (no matter what her education is)

........My opinion only. .......There will be an election very soon....publicity will make it so!!

........and "soon".. is in the next 6 months!

[Yavin4]

13. That's an awfully high bar to cross there.

"She is as stupid as Trump." That's like Olympic world record stupid.

[Doodley]

2. UK economic and political Meltdown.

[JI7]

7. US Democratic Party would do well in the UK

[usonian]

9. Years of Tory "leadership" have isolated UK and destroyed its economy.

They need more than a truss to hold it together.

Their cars don't start.

Restaurants can't pass inspection.

And

Never Mind

[paleotn]

14. Burning down the Empire.

What's left of it.

[BlueIdaho]

11. Call for a general election NOW!

The Tories have demolished the UK. Time for them to sit down and shut up.

[Polybius]

17. The Conservatives would be fools to do that

If they call for an election now, they know they will lose. They will wait the full two years, unless they see that they are ahead in the polls before then (which I doubt).

[paleotn]

12. The Brits never learn, do they.

Neither do the Amurkins.

[speak easy]

15. I was about to say, 'do we' ?

but you beat me to it.

[jgo]

18. Similar situation to here ...

where people don't take their vote seriously, and think it is just fun and games to vote for chaos or entertainment. Good luck getting your economy back on track after discarding the stability of the EU with Brexit. Compound that with Truss's first major economic move - trickle down economics with tax cuts for the wealthiest - and things can go from bad to worse.