Jeremy Corbyn has explicitly disclosed for the first time that he will instruct his MPs to back an early general election if the Prime Minister wants to call one.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent, the Labour leader said his party will give Theresa May the parliamentary numbers she would need to bring about an election before 2020.
The move comes as Ms May attempts to push through Brexit, one of the most difficult constitutional changes the country has ever seen, without having ever won a personal mandate at the ballot box. It also has echoes of the gutsy 2007 “bring it on” challenge that David Cameron made to Gordon Brown, another premier who had never won an election.
Mr Corbyn said he was positive about improving his party’s poll ratings and its performance at the ballot box, but also risked disappointing some senior Labour MPs by dismissing the radical idea of a “progressive alliance” with the Liberal Democrats.
