Britain to go to the polls in just seven weeks as Theresa May stuns Westminster by calling a snap General Election to provide the 'strong and stable leadership' to deliver Brexit
- Prime Minster announced she wants an election to ensure 'strong leadership' in the Brexit negotiations ahead
- May must win a vote in the Commons tomorrow night but this is a formality as Corbyn has said he will back it
- The PM made the announcement of a June 8 poll after a Cabinet meeting of her top ministers in No 10 today
- Corbyn said Labour would offer the country an 'effective alternative' that was a 'credible choice' for Britain
- SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon accused May of consulting the polls and putting party ahead of her country
- Ex PM David Cameron hailed May's surprise decision to call a general election as the 'brave and right' one
Theresa May has announced a snap general election for June 8 to give Britain the 'strong and stable leadership' needed to deliver Brexit.
Mrs May said weakness in Westminster would limit her hand in the negotiations with Europe and she called the poll knowing an election against Jeremy Corbyn could hand her a huge Commons majority.
The premier blasted opposition parties for trying to frustrate Brexit - singling out Nicola Sturgeon over her attempt to rip up the UK - and said she was not prepared to let them 'endanger the security of millions of working people'.
Making her shock announcement from the steps of No 10, Mrs May said Britain needed strong leadership and insisted an early poll was the 'right approach' and in the 'national interest'.
Mrs May said 'every vote for the Conservatives' would give her a stronger hand when she sits across the negotiating table from the EU's presidents and prime ministers to hammer out a Brexit deal.
The election is an astonishing U-turn from the Prime Minister who has repeatedly said she would not call an early election - insisting it would cause instability and hurt the country.
The most recent polls suggest Mrs May could get a Commons majority of 100 or more. She leads Jeremy Corbyn by more than 30 per cent when voters are asked who would make the best PM.
The Prime Minister discussed her plans for an early election with Queen by telephone yesterday. Her Majesty is expected to dissolve Parliament ahead of the poll on May 3.
Theresa May has announced a snap general election will be held on June 8 in a shock revelation that stunned Westminster today. The PM said she needed a Brexit mandate that have her a strong hand in the negotiations with the EU
Mrs May said weakness in Westminster would weaken her hand in the Brexit negotiations - knowing an election against Jeremy Corbyn could hand her a huge Commons majority
In her shock announcement, she blasted opposition parties for trying to frustrate Brexit and said she was not prepared to let them 'endanger the security of millions of working people'.
Mrs May addressed the nation via a huge pack of reporters who scrambled to Downing Street after the surprise speech was announced at around 10am
Mrs May walked back into No 10 following her historic statement, which lasted about seven minutes
Mrs May's election call was made in the knowledge a series of polls have shown the Conservatives with historic leads in a series of opinion polls. The most recent YouGov at the weekend showed a 21-point lead
The Premier made the announcement immediately after a long Cabinet meeting with her top team. MPs will vote on holding the election tomorrow.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will vote for an early election even while the polls suggest his party will be decimated by an early poll - making the vote a formality.
It means Britain will go to the polls in just seven weeks - little more than two years after the last election in May 2015.
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Mrs May said: 'Our opponents believe that because the government's majority is extremely small that they can weaken our resolve and persuade us to change course.
'I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.'
Let us tomorrow vote for an election... and let the people decide.'
The premier added: 'If we do not hold a general election now, their political game playing will continue as the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most pivotal stage in the run up to the next general election.
'Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit, and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country.
'So we need a general election and we need one now.'
'The decision facing the country will be all about leadership.'
She said: 'We need a general election and we need one now, because we have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.'
Labour leader Mr Corbyn confirmed he would back the early election - but suffered an immediate blow as Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said he would quit Parliament rather than stand under Mr Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn said: 'I welcome the Prime Minister's decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.
'Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS.
'In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country.
'We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.'
Speaking on the steps of No 10, Mrs May said Britain needed strong leadership and insisted an early poll was the 'right approach' and in the 'national interest'
The Premier made the announcement immediately after a long Cabinet meeting with her top team. MPs will vote on holding the election tomorrow
Mrs May emerged from No 10 with her announcement still a closely guarded secret after she shocked Westminster by announcing the speech just an hour ahead of time
Speaking under sunny skies, Mrs May announced she wanted an election to be held in just seven weeks to ensure Britain has the 'strong and stable leadership' it needs
POUNDS LEAPS AS MAY CALLS ELECTION
After Theresa May made her speech, the pound regained the ground it lost against the US dollar this morning and then rocketed higher
The pound rocketed higher as Theresa May called for a snap General Election on 8 June, in what is being regarded as a show of strength for the Prime Minister.
Sterling had dropped 0.3 per cent this morning on news of a surprise announcement by the Prime Minister, falling to $1.251, but as she gave her speech it recovered and then shot up to trade higher at $1.266.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: 'This election is your chance to change the direction of our country.
'If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.
'Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority.'
The Liberal Democrats claimed to have recruited 1,000 new party members in the first hour after the election announcement.
Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said: 'The Tories see a chance to move the UK to the right, force through a hard Brexit and impose deeper cuts. Let's stand up for Scotland.'
The surprise move was endorsed by David Cameron, Mrs May's predecessor at No 10 who won a surprise election victory in 2015.
He tweeted: 'Brave - and right - decision by PM Theresa May. My very best wishes to all Conservative candidates.'
As recently as last month, Mrs May ruled out holding an early election despite record breaking polling leads over Labour and Jeremy Corbyn.
It is widely believed the Prime Minister would be able to secure the two-thirds majority among MPs needed to overturn the provisions of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act which require a five-year period between elections.
The other EU leaders meet on April 29 to agree their own position. Little can then happen before French presidential election ends on May 7.
But Mrs May's official spokesman told a Westminster media briefing on March 26: 'There is no change in our position on an early general election, that there isn't going to be one... It is not going to happen.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, pictured today on GMB, has welcomed the general election but Nicola Sturgeon, pictured right in Edinburgh today, said the PM was putting party before country
'There is a Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
'We have been clear that there isn't going to be an early general election and the Prime Minister is getting on with delivering the will of the British people.'
Mr Corbyn had repeatedly confirmed in public he would be prepared to vote for an early general election, despite his grim and deteriorating position in the polls.
As recently as March 26 he insisted Labour was ready for a poll.
With polls regularly giving Conservatives a double-digit lead over Labour, some Tory MPs have argued an early election would give Mrs May an opportunity to secure a comfortable majority in the House of Commons.
They warn that her precarious 17-seat working majority will leave her vulnerable to rebellions during the protracted process of negotiating withdrawal from the EU.
A huge media scrum scrambled to Downing Street after No 10 made a mysterious announcement of a speech from Mrs May at around an hour's notice.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Aid Secretary Priti Patel arrived in Downing Street for today's Cabinet, after which Mrs May spoke to the nation to reveal her election plans
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was seen arriving into Downing Street for the Cabinet meeting earlier today
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire and Brexit Secretary David Davis arrived at No 10 for the regular Cabinet meeting this morning
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling were also in Downing Street this morning
Chaos for Jeremy Corbyn as Labour MP announces he won't stand for re-election just moments after PM announces June vote
Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Tom Blenkinsop announced he would not be standing for re-election
Jeremy Corbyn faced chaos today as one of his MPs became the first to announce he would not be standing at the election just minutes after it was called.
Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Tom Blenkinsop announced he would not be standing for re-election.
Mr Blenkinsop, who has been a consistently staunch critic, slammed the leader last week after Labour lost a Middlesbrough council seat to the Tories on a by-election swing of 8%.
He tweeted a link to what is believed to be a statement on his personal website, but the site has crashed due to heavy traffic.
Two surveys in recent days have shown the Tories more than 20 points ahead of Labour, revealing the record breaking hole in to which leader Mr Corbyn has dragged his party.
Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the election, meaning the government's call for the election will be backed by Parliament tomorrow.
In a statement, he said: 'I welcome the Prime Minister's decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.
'Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS.
'In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country. We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.'
Speaking earlier this morning, Mr Corbyn insisted his party's position would improve, saying: 'I think the issue will get out there more and more, people will begin to understand that we don't have to go through these levels of austerity in Britain, we don't have to have these levels of inequality in Britain.
'I think people will begin to see that actually what we are saying makes a lot of credible sense.'
Nicola Sturgeon blasts Theresa May's decision to call an early general election as 'one of the most extraordinary U-turns in recent political history'
Nicola Sturgeon has blasted Theresa May's decision to call an early general election as 'one of the most extraordinary U-turns in recent political history'.
Scotland's First Minister said the Prime Minister is 'once again putting the interests of her party ahead of those of the country'.
The leader of the Scottish National Party vowed to 'stand up for Scotland' as the UK goes to the polls in June.
Nicola Sturgeon today hit out at the PM's announcement that she will call a shock early general election, describing it as one of the most extraordinary U-turns in recent political history
Ms Sturgeon said: 'She is clearly betting that the Tories can win a bigger majority in England given the utter disarray in the Labour Party.
'That makes it all the more important that Scotland is protected from a Tory Party which now sees the chance of grabbing control of government for many years to come and moving the UK further to the right - forcing through a hard Brexit and imposing deeper cuts in the process.
'That means that this will be - more than ever before - an election about standing up for Scotland, in the face of a right-wing, austerity-obsessed Tory government with no mandate in Scotland but which now thinks it can do whatever it wants and get away with it.'
Ms Sturgeon said it was 'a huge political miscalculation' by the Prime Minister.
Theresa May's statement in full: Read the shock announcement that's stunned Westminster
Here is the full text of Prime Minister Theresa May's statement from Downing Street announcing that a general election is to be held on June 8:
'I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8.
'I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election.
The Prime Minister addresses dozens of reporters and photographers on the steps of Downing Street to make the shock announcement
Mrs May said she is calling a general election because 'at this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division'
'Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became Prime Minister the Government has delivered precisely that.
'Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.
'We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result.'
'Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back. And as we look to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.
'We want a deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world.
'That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world.
'This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it.
'At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.
'The country is coming together, but Westminster is not.
'In recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the European Union.
'The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standsill.
'The Scottish National Party say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union.
'And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.
'Our opponents believe that because the Government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course.
Theresa May hit out at Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party for threatening to vote against a Brexit deal
'They are wrong.
'They under-estimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.
'Because what they are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government's negotiating position in Europe.
'If we do not hold a general election now their political game-playing will continue, and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled election.
'Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country.
'So we need a general election and we need one now, because we have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.
'I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion.
'Since I became Prime Minister I have said that there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions I must take.
'And so tomorrow I will move a motion in the House of Commons calling for a general election to be held on the eighth of June.
'That motion, as set out by the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, will require a two-thirds majority of the House of Commons.
'So I have a simple challenge to the opposition parties, you have criticised the Government's vision for Brexit, you have challenged our objectives, you have threatened to block the legislation we put before Parliament.
'This is your moment to show you mean it, to show you are not opposing the Government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.
The PM also criticised Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party for saying they will vote against legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union
'Let us tomorrow vote for an election, let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide.
'And the decision facing the country will be all about leadership. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your Prime Minister, or weak and unstable coalition government, led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats - who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum - and Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.
'Every vote for the Conservatives will make it harder for opposition politicians who want to stop me from getting the job done.
'Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain with the prime ministers, presidents and chancellors of the European Union.
'Every vote for the Conservatives means we can stick to our plan for a stronger Britain and take the right long-term decisions for a more secure future.
'It was with reluctance that I decided the country needs this election, but it is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.
'So, tomorrow, let the House of Commons vote for an election, let everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit and their programmes for Government, and let us remove the risk of uncertainty and instability and continue to give the country the strong and stable leadership it demands.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4420886/Theresa-calls-General-Election-June-8.html#ixzz4ebXSvT96
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