The year ahead will be an important one for the world of politics because there will be a General Election at some point. In theory, the very latest date possible would be January 2025 but I don't think people would welcome political campaigning over the Christmas period.
The most likely date is sometime in around October next year because the Government has been wrestling with the consequences and aftermath of major world traumas such as the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. They will be hoping that the interventions made over the last twelve months or so will start to bear fruit next year but the Prime Minister needs time for these improvements to become apparent. The Prime Minister may opt for an election in May or June. This is a more traditional time to hold elections. The weather is better for campaigning. If the Prime Minister judges that his fortunes are unlikely to change by waiting until the autumn, he may choose to get on with it and go to the country to make his case.
For a brief period, we had the concept of fixed-term parliaments where the date was fixed every five years and couldn't be moved. David Cameron was scarred in opposition when Gordon Brown looked like he was going to go to an early election and then dithered and changed his mind leaving everyone uncertain what was happening. The coalition government argued that having a fixed term brought clarity and removed unhelpful speculation about the election date, however, the idea was a failure. During the hung Parliament of 2017-2019, there was political deadlock over Brexit and the Prime Minister couldn't even call an election to sort it out. So, the Fixed Terms Parliament Act was repealed again to restore the British constitutional convention that Prime Ministers must be able to decide when to go to the country.
A year ago I decided not to stand for re-election myself. I have been in politics for twenty-five years including almost fifteen years as an MP and wanted to have a change in life. Connor Donnithorne will be an excellent candidate for the Conservative Party in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle next time. Elections are always close here and it is seen as a national "weathervane" seat. Many of you will have candidates from various political parties knocking on your door in the year ahead to try to persuade you to vote for them. It is important to remember that candidates and their helpers are all unpaid volunteers. They all try to make things better as they see it and every government has its share of troubles in the end. Sometimes people can feel anger and frustration about political debate, but our democracy can only function when you have political parties and the volunteers and candidates who help them. There will be the main parties hoping to elect an MP in the constituency, but then some smaller parties too such as Mebyon Kernow or the Liberal Party (the traditional Cornish Liberals as opposed to the Lib Dems). These parties will often field candidates so that they can offer people a different choice on the ballot paper and contribute to the debate. So, whatever you think about different parties or candidates when they knock on your door, value the contribution they all make to our democracy.
