Poll seems likely to give Theresa May strong mandate for battle with Europe

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a statement after talks with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence, in London, on April 28, 2017. PHOTO | KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Mrs May made clear her aim is to strengthen her hand for negotiations with the European nations, expected to start in late June.
  • At present, May’s Conservatives are the biggest party in the House of Commons with 370 seats against 229 for Labour, 54 for the Scottish Nationalists, nine for the Liberal Democrats and 26 others.

It seems you dare not turn off the telly these days in case you miss some new political sensation.

Recent months have seen the unexpected election of President Trump, the surprise vote in Britain to leave the European Union, US confrontation with North Korea, that business about a Mexico wall, terrorist violence in European cities and war (everlastingly, it seems) in Syria.

The latest surprise is Prime Minister Theresa May’s out-of-the-blue announcement of a General Election on June 8, three years ahead of schedule.

Mrs May made clear her aim is to strengthen her hand for negotiations with the European nations, expected to start in late June.

She fears opposition parties would try to frustrate the process in Parliament and therefore wants a bigger majority.

BIGGEST PARTY

It looks like she will get one.

At present, May’s Conservatives are the biggest party in the House of Commons with 370 seats against 229 for Labour, 54 for the Scottish Nationalists, nine for the Liberal Democrats and 26 others.

But if all the opposition parties got together, the Conservative majority could be down to a dozen or less.

A much bigger margin is now being forecast, however. The talk is of a “landslide,” with the Labour party in serious disarray, wiped out in Scotland by the Nationalists and split under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

The latest polls put Conservatives ahead of Labour by 43 per cent to 25 per cent.

STRONG HAND

If these should be anything like the figures returned on June 8, they would give Mrs May a strong hand for her Brussels negotiations without fear of serious opposition back home.

When, in a rare national referendum, the British voted to leave Europe by a margin of 51 per cent to 48 per cent, Mrs May was among those who voted to remain.

But now, she says, the democratic vote must be acknowledged and there can be no turning back. “Brexit means Brexit,” she says, arguing for withdrawal from the single market and the creation of a new trade deal.

Parliament is scheduled to end on May 3, allowing just over a month of concentrated campaigning before June 8, when all British citizens who have registered to vote will be invited to cast their ballots.

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We have all heard stories of how children are addicted to their mobile phones, spending hours texting and calling, unable to stay awake in class, endlessly taking and swapping selfies, throwing tantrums when parents confiscate the offending article.

PUT DOWN PHONES

But it’s not just kids, it’s the parents, too.

According to a survey of 2,000 secondary pupils, more than a third said they had asked their mum or day at some point to put down their phones; 15 per cent said their parents went online at meal times; and 22 per cent said mobiles were stopping families enjoying each other’s company.

Of the pupils who asked their parents to switch off their phones, nearly half said they took no notice.

Mike Buchanan, headmaster of Ashford School in Kent, said it was time for parents, teachers and pupils “to rewrite the rulebook” on mobile devices.

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Talking about the driving abilities of older people, as we were last week, an elderly lady on TV told how she managed to reverse her car into the only other vehicle in an empty car park.

She said she was distracted when a chicken fell off her mother’s lap. She didn’t mention if the chicken was alive or frozen.

Forget about the oldies for a bit. In Australia, a boy of 12 drove the family car 800 miles before he was stopped by police because the front bumper was dragging on the ground.

STANDS SIX FEET

He was trying to drive from one side of the country to the other. It seems he got so far because he stands six feet and looks 19 or 20.

Meanwhile, let me confess to a sin of my own. My joke last week about the golfing priest said he hit his shot from the green. This is terribly wrong. It seems the green is where the hole is and where he shot from is the tee. Three Hail Marys, Loughran!

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Thoughts from the Great Philosophers:

Having more money doesn’t make you happier. I have 50 million dollars but I was just as happy when I had 48 million. – Arnold Schwarzenegger.

We are here on earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I have no idea. – W.H. Auden.

I have kleptomania, but when it gets bad, I take something for it. – Robert Benchley.

When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife. – Prince Philip.

Wood burns faster when you have to cut and chop it yourself. – Harrison Ford.