General Election: Snap poll set to be approved by MPs
Theresa May repeatedly ruled out an early election - but says the U-turn is the only way to secure stability ahead of Brexit.
Wednesday 19 April 2017 09:12, UK
MPs are expected to back Theresa May's plan for a snap General Election on 8 June in a Commons vote this afternoon.
It comes just a day after the Prime Minister's shock announcement in which she argued it was the only way to secure stability ahead of Brexit.
Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, introduced under the last coalition government, the next election was not due until 2020.
However, a poll can be called before then if backed by two thirds of MPs or if there is a no confidence vote in the Government.
Mrs May said she was concerned that opposition parties would seek to derail Brexit by voting against key pieces of legislation.
"At this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity in Westminster, but instead there is division.
"In recent weeks Labour have threatened to vote against the final agreement we reached with the European Union.
"The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill.
"The Scottish National Party say they will vote against the legislation that formerly 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.
"They underestimate our determination to get the job done and I'm not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country."
Both Labour and Liberal Democrats have officially welcomed the early poll.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the early election will give voters the chance "to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first", while Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the election provided an opportunity to block "a disastrous hard Brexit".
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the election call as "a huge political miscalculation by the Prime Minister".
A Sky Data poll asking: "Should there be a General Election this year?", found that more than two thirds of Britons are in agreement with Downing Street's decision to go to the country.
When asked, 68% said "yes", 26% said "no" and 6% were undecided.
Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Sky customers by SMS on 18 April 2017. Data are weighted to the profile of the population. The full Sky Data tables are