Lecture given by Alan Johnson MP at JRF and Prospect’s 4th Annual poverty lecture
“When I was asked to present this year’s [2017] lecture I was a Member of Parliament and the next general election was three years away.
The British people, having decided in 2015 to elect a Conservative Government with a small majority for a five-year fixed term have just been asked to decide again – Theresa May having become a convert to repeat referendums. As a result, the small majority has vanished and as for a five-year term there is some doubt as to whether this government will last five weeks.You will recall that when she stood outside No.10 to surprise the nation by calling a snap election, Mrs May made the ludicrous comment that the country was united but Westminster was divided. Now just about the only thing that unites the country is the low regard in which the Prime Minister is held. Westminster, as you may have noticed, is designed to be disunited, the only difference now is that Theresa May’s team (as the Conservative Party was recently re-named) has fewer seats …”
