UK PM Theresa May Springs A Surprise, Calls for Snap General Election on June 8

Prime Minister of United Kingdom Theresa May sprang a surprise and caught many off guard by calling for snap General Election on June 8.

In a move that caught many off guard, British Prime Minister Theresa May today announced snap general elections on June 8. Elections were due only in 2020.

She reasoned out that the move is because Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum and during Brexit.

Explaining the decision, Mrs May said: “The country is coming together but Westminster is not.”

“I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election,” she said in a statement outside her official residence.

Theresa May will have to place her decision for a vote in the House of Commons

May will have to place her decision for a vote in the House of Commons. That will be tomorrow (Wednesday). She will need two thirds of MPs to vote in favour to hold a vote before the next scheduled election date of 2020.

She accused the Opposition parties of “game playing”, adding that this risks “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. 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,” she said in her statement.

‘A tough talking May also challenged the opposition parties’

A tough talking May also challenged the opposition parties saying: “This is your moment to show you mean it – to show you’re not opposing the government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.

“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.

“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.”

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn retorted saying his Labour Party wanted the election

But Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn retorted saying his Labour Party wanted the election, calling it a chance to get a government that puts “the majority first”.

“I want to lead a government that will transform this country”, Corbyn added.

But May threw the ball right into Corbyn’s court. She pointed out that the Labour party had threatened to vote against the final Brexit agreement, the Liberal Democrats had stated they wanted to “grind the business of government to a standstill”, the SNP have said they would vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain’s membership of the EU – and “unelected” members of the House of Lords had vowed “to fight us every step of the way”.

“If we don’t 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,” she said.

The move comes as a surprise, if not a shocker. May and her cabinet had earlier played down the prospect of an early poll. The reasons were simple. They didn’t want to cause instability during Brexit negotiations.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be fighting the election “to win”.

In Nicola Sturgeon’s reaction, she said: “I think the prime minister has called this election for selfish, narrow, party political interests, but she has called it and therefore I relish the prospect of getting out to stand up for Scotland’s interests and values, standing up for Scotland’s voice being heard and standing against the ability of a right wing Conservative party to impose whatever policies it wants on Scotland.”

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