Is a General Election in the offing?

You would think so - recently the House of Commons Library has published papers on

The Dissolution of Parliament

Election Timetables

Under the Septennial Act 1715 (as amended) - a parliament is automatically dissolved if it has continued in existence beyond five years (from the date of its first meeting - a few days after the General Election). The practice in recent years is that the date of a General Election id decided upon by the Prime Minister when he requests that parliament be dissolved.