Could Jeremy Corbyn be PM? If Theresa May resigns could there be another General Election?

LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a General Election after Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement was turned down again on March 29.

But how easy is it to oust a flailing Prime Minister? Here’s what we know about the nuts and bolts of calling a General Election – and what Labour has said about the top job.

Could Corbyn be the next PM?

Theresa May promised to quit if her Brexit deal passes.

On March 27, Mrs May admitted she has lost control and must step down if her deal is to have a chance of success.

But she did not name the date when she expects to hand over to a new Prime Minister.

No10 sources suggested the leadership contest could begin as soon as Britain leaves the EU, currently scheduled for April 12.

This means the new leader would be in place by the mid-summer.

But Jeremy Corbyn will not have a chance of becoming Prime Minister until a General Election is called.

On April 1, he hinted that Labour could table a vote of no confidence to force an election.

Corbyn told the Daily Mirror: “We’re ready for a General Election, whenever it comes.

“A General Election would give us the chance to remove this incompetent and failed Tory Government.”

Michael Gove is currently the bookies’ favourite to replace Theresa May with odds of 6, according to William Hill.

Corbyn comes a close second with odds of 7/2.

And Boris Johnson is third in the running with odds of  9/2.

How could another General Election be called?

It’s complicated.

The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 dictates that a full term lasts five years. Before that legislation came in, it was possible to call an election with just six weeks notice.

As per her five-year term, Conservative leader Theresa May is signed up to the top job until 2022.

But since the PM called the disastrous 2017 snap election that lost her Commons majority she has struggled to make much headway at all with Brexit – her most pressing task at hand.

This has contributed to her increasing loss of authority, as MPs on both sides of the benches question her ability to cut a deal they’re happy with.

On December 12, 2018, May faced her biggest test yet after enough Tory MPs called for a vote of no confidence in her leadership.

She won the challenge, and cannot be challenged again – including from Jeremy Corbyn – for an entire year.

However, after the Commons rejected May’s Brexit deal 432 to 202, Corbyn tabled a vote of no confidence in the PM’s government.

This is different than the challenge May faced in December because her party’s MPs challenged her leadership.

The vote went in May’s favour.

Is this likely? What has Labour said?

Tory MPs from both the pro-Brexit and pro-EU wings of the party warned they could face an electoral disaster if she goes to the country early.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has called for a national unity government.

In an interview with Prospect magazine, he said: “I prefer Labour governments and I hope we never get to a point where our economy or security is so in peril that we get a government of national unity.”

But shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald, a reported Corbyn ally, told the BBC Today programme a unity government “is not the solution”.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis also rejected the idea, insisting a national government is not the answer.

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