I decided to get over my FOMO and steer clear of social media when I was off for a week over Easter. Given I hadn’t heard any news or picked up a newspaper I allowed myself two minutes on Twitter – only to find that we were heading for yet another election.
Seriously Mrs May! I love an election and exercising my hard-won democratic right to vote as much as the next person, but further polarising the country is not necessarily best for the UK’s citizens.
Of course, notwithstanding the fact that the prime minister has apparently changed her mind over calling an election, I challenge anyone in her position not to do the same.
Labour can hardly get much weaker and ineffective. Who remembers the Lib Dems? The SNP are reminded who is really in charge. It’s a golden opportunity to consolidate the Tory vote and afterwards say ‘you voted for me and my (Brexit) plan’.
From a Northern Irish perspective, it’s perhaps an untimely reminder that we are not on the PM’s radar. We’re in the middle of the worst negotiations needed to form an Executive (since the last time) and now the Parties have to ‘pause’ (well at least they’ve shown they can agree on something) and start campaigning for an election that they didn’t want.
Like I said, it’s all a bit of a mess.
Anyway. Now I can’t get off Twitter in case I miss something in the Great Pact Wars of 2017. But that’s another story.
Sara McCracken works in communications for an educational body. She previously worked for the Green Party for #AE16 and in the health sector.
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