Bookies slash odds on a general election as government descends into “chaos”

David Davis and Boris Johnson
Stefan Schmid


Days after the cabinet was said to be united around Theresa May’s Brexit plans, the Conservative government has all but fallen apart. Even the projectors have stopped working. And according to bookmakers across the country, a 2018 general election is looking much more likely.

Bookies have slashed the odds on there being a general election in 2018. Sites such as William Hill and Sky Bet now have this year as the most likely for another vote to be held.

Chaos

In Westminster, insiders are describing scenes of disarray after a manic 24 hours where David Davis and Boris Johnson both left the cabinet.

In a bid to get cross-party support, Brexit meetings were organised by the Conservatives on 9 July. But Guardian journalist Jessica Elgot said Labour MPs left the meeting describing a picture reminiscent of political comedy The Thick of It:

And Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer tweeted about division within the “heart” of government:

Calls for a general election

The flurry of resignations has sparked questions of leadership contests and snap general elections. And many Labour supporters have been calling for just that:

One bookmaker now has the odds on a 2018 general election at just 11/8. It’s 9/4 for the government to make it through to 2022 or later without a vote.

Odds on the largest party after any such election are even tighter. The Conservatives remain marginally ahead at 4/5, while the odds on Labour are evens.

Conservative response

Despite the atmosphere of “chaos”, leading Tories are already squashing ideas of a general or leadership elections.

Speaking on the BBC, former Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said it was a time for calm, not for a leadership contest:

But not everyone took Grant Shapps’s message on board:

Where next?

It hasn’t been doom and gloom for all though. Some England football supporters are already looking on the bright side:

But the government is descending into meltdown at unprecedented speed. And it remains to be seen if more ministers will follow Johnson and Davis out of the cabinet.

What is certain is that May has been dealt a massive blow. As for a general election – well, the bookmakers are rarely wrong.

Get Involved!

– Join The Canary, so we can keep holding the powerful to account.

Featured Image via Estonian Foreign Ministry and Estonian Presidency

We need your help ...

The coronavirus pandemic is changing our world, fast. And we will do all we can to keep bringing you news and analysis throughout. But we are worried about maintaining enough income to pay our staff and minimal overheads.

Now, more than ever, we need a vibrant, independent media that holds the government to account and calls it out when it puts vested economic interests above human lives. We need a media that shows solidarity with the people most affected by the crisis – and one that can help to build a world based on collaboration and compassion.

We have been fighting against an establishment that is trying to shut us down. And like most independent media, we don’t have the deep pockets of investors to call on to bail us out.

Can you help by chipping in a few pounds each month?

The Canary Support us

Comments are closed

Related articles