Can anybody explain why Labour would want to have an early election?
Apart from making the Labour party "purer" and a whole lot smaller, what do Labour have to gain? What's the short/medium/long-term strategy here? I'm not seeing it.
It's not easy to discern a strategy. There is a sensible route to rejecting the motion to dissolve parliament on the basis that the Fixed term Act was brought in specifically to prevent opportunistic electoral grabs like May's. And it was implemented by the Tory Coalition.
Labour seems to be taking the same view as on Brexit, which is derived from a fear of going against this 'will of the people' thing. Going along with the Tories is an odd strategy especially when it allows the Tories to annihilate the Labour party. In addition, I think there would be some kudos from the electorate from opposing the motion, since most people seem to be sick and tired of elections, and forcing May to adhere to her previous declarations on the above basis might actually be popular. It would certainly be consistent, and force the Tories to look rather stupid.
But no, let's all file into the lobbies side by side with the bastards once again, to our doom.