Theresa May denies she is planning another election following Budget speculation
2 min read
Theresa May has insisted she is "not preparing for another general election" after Philip Hammond's Budget led to speculation she could go to the country again.
The Chancellor announced yesterday that he was bringing forward planned tax cuts by a year and pumping an extra £84bn into the NHS after better-than-expected economic figures.
That caused some observers to suggest the Conservatives could be laying the groundwork for a snap election after the UK leaves the EU next March.
But speaking in Oslo, where she is attending a meeting of the Northern Future Forum, the Prime Minister said that was not on the cards.
She said: "No. We are not preparing for another general election. That would not be in the national interest."
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had earlier said Labour was eager for another election, despite opinion giving the Tories a small but consistent lead.
He told Good Morning Britain: "If a general election is coming, what they will do is they will splash out some money and then if they win the election they then start cutting it back again. That’s the usual same old Tories every time so it might well be the case.
"But we are ready for an election. I want an election as soon as possible. And if you look at polls – most of the polls we are between 38 and 44 points so we are neck and neck with the Tories on most of the polls, on the trend overall.
"So I would say to a general election – bring it on, let’s have that general election because actually I think we need a change of government because we actually need the Labour party in there negotiating a decent deal on Brexit that will protect jobs and the economy."
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