Theresa May's decision to "reluctantly" call an early election marks her first major u-turn as prime minister.
Legislation that came into effect in 2011 requires fixed term Parliaments and elections every five years from 2015 onwards, though a clause under it enables Parliament to be dissolved, triggering an election, if two-third of members at the House of Commons agree to it. Ms.
Why is there yet another election now? "The country is coming together but Westminster is not", she said, referring to the British Parliament. While the government is already in a strong position, having successfully triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (which begins the formal process of exiting the EU), an emphatic victory at the polls this summer would further strengthen the May government and her own position as prime minister.
"If we're negotiating at a point that is quite close to a general election, I think the Europeans might have seen that as a time of weakness when they could push us", she said. But now she has changed her mind regarding the matter.
As my colleague Adam Taylor observed, the move contradicts repeated statements from May that elections would only be held when Parliament's term expires in 2020.
Politicians should embrace this opportunity to unshackle the British economy of many burdensome regulations and embrace, instead, an economic model of permissionless innovation.
But European Council President Donald Tusk's spokesman said the 27 other EU states would forge ahead as planned.
So it potentially means yet more instability for a region expected to be the worst hit in the United Kingdom from a Brexit.
Asked if he was the next prime minister, Mr Corbyn said: "If we win the election, yes". Are the opposition parties being used as a convenient scapegoat?
The second factor driving investor optimism is that an election is likely to allow the Brexit referendum voters who futilely supported "remain", the so-called 48 percent, to make their feelings known again.
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Last season, Chelsea had no pressure in 10th place and you play calm, you are happy. "We are still in a great position". I prefer to play for the title instead of not fighting for the title and being calm.
The premier made the announcement outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, arguing that she was stopping the opposition from "jeopardizing" her work on Brexit. How bad is it?
Rather than a tiny parliamentary majority, Labour had no majority at all. In each of the previous national elections, it saw some of its working-class base drift away toward pro-Brexit, anti-immigrant platforms.
Polls give May's Conservatives a double-digit lead on Labour.
In a recent ICM poll, only 13 per cent of Britons thought Corbyn was doing a good job as leader - including just 37 per cent of Labour voters.
Corbyn has been lukewarm in his opposition to Brexit.
MPs are expected to back the Prime Minister's call for a snap election in the Commons today after Labour and the Lib Dems both voiced public support for the poll. With the financial world now seeing the United Kingdom through the prism of the Brexit - and with investors tending to prefer the idea of a softer Brexit (with a focus on retaining ties with Europe) to a harder exit (which at its most extreme would entail a complete break with the Continent) - the bets being placed seem to indicate that this is good news for British Europhiles.
"Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority", he added. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market.
This post was syndicated from Nigerian News from Leadership News. But even if they do gain ground, it'll likely be as much to the detriment of Labour as the Conservatives.
The referendum vote gave a clear mandate to leave the European Union, but provided no clear mandate as to what voters expect from a post-Brexit world shaped by negotiations with the EU.
An early election would therefore be the fourth big vote in four years after the general election of 2015.
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