Means, Motive and Opportunity. (575)

To the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary and,
To the Health Secretary:
For Clarity - Attempt 575.

575) Means, Motive and Opportunity.

Dear Mr Clark and Mr Hunt,

On the 27th February Blog 572 - OS:Property / Livewell Southwest Ltd: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Don't make me laugh? Queried why it was that,
"Although the time was clearly ripe for more transparency (and accountability) we got less, thereby creating the perfect conditions for those with the means, the motive and the opportunity to rig markets and the democracy that supposedly polices them."

Just days later the means, method and opportunity were back again this time in an Andrew Rawnsley article for the Observer -  "The vicar's daughter is more a gambler than she realises" (Observer 05/07/2017) - in which he uses them to structure a piece about whether Theresa May should have called an early general election or not. He believes,
"That's motive and opportunity covered. Means are trickier."

Means, most certainly are trickier.

The 2011 Fixed-terms Parliaments Act is indeed a formidable obstacle to the Prime Minister calling for a ballot on Brexit. Section 1 of the Act provides for such polling days to occur on the first Thursday in May of the 5th year after the previous general election starting with 7th May 2015. Section 2 provides two was in which a general election can be held before the end of the 5 year period. The first is a successful vote of no confidence in the government and the second arises should two-thirds of the House of Commons resolve, "That there should be an early parliamentary general election." Thus giving the people through their elected representatives the prerogative to call an election and not the Prime Minister. (Wikipedia)

In, "Early general election: Can Theresa may actually call one?" Jon Stone details the shenanigans that that would entail. He says that, "On paper it is no longer the Prime Minister's decision." Quoting Professor Robert Hazell of University College London's Constitution Unit he explains, "This (section 2 option 1) does have the potential to go embarrassingly wrong. It would only take a handful of Conservative rebels to derail an attempt to call an election." But the government doesn't need to get into such a fix. Instead they could pass legislation - a one clause bill saying, "Notwithstanding the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 the next election shall be on x date....this might look underhand, but it would be completely within the rules."
(www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/early-general-election-can-Theresa-May-call...)

In today's Telegraph, Lord Hague - the man who on his last day in office as Leader of the House of Commons, and aided and abetted by Michael Gove the then Chief Whip, plotted to unseat the Speaker but embarrassingly lost - has suggested the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 be scrapped as, "British law needs to amended countless times to take account of leaving the EU treaties," so that piece of legislation should be ditched as well.
(www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/07/theresa-may-should -call..)

That looks underhanded too, but apparently its all grist to the mill, and completely within the rules.

Two means, motives and opportunities within a week is also quite a coincidence. According to NCIS's Leroy Jethro Gibbs coincidences break Rule 39: There is no such thing as coincidence.

News or fake-news? Truth or post-truth? Rules? Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise would still seem to be the order of the day for those who consider themselves to be, "wise men."

Q. Mr Clark and Mr Hunt, if Lord Hague can suggest the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, due to the amending of half a century of legislation, why doesn't the government immediately repeal the 2012 Health and Social Care Act and the appallingly inhumane and degrading National Framework for Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care?

That wouldn't be underhanded - it would be above board.