British Parliament approves snap election

The Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said her party was the “best bet” for unionist voters seeking to defeat the SNP in the general election.

Labour and the much smaller opposition Liberal Democrats said they would vote in favour of the early election, all but guaranteeing her decision will be approved.

May wasted no time, going from the vote in Parliament to kick off her campaign with a speech in to supporters northwestern England.

May meanwhile headed to the northern English town of Bolton to promise “the strong and stable leadership this country needs to take Britain through Brexit and beyond”.

The British pound’s surge since Prime Minister Theresa May’s surprise election call represents an early sign of optimism that the country’s exit from the European Union may be smoother than many had feared. Elections are now set for 2020, just a year after the scheduled completion of Brexit talks.

He said: “There will be no coalition deal with the SNP and a Labour government”.

The Corbyn project is not about Corbyn: it’s about putting truly progressive policies onto the map, and this election gives Labour that chance.

Alex Massie in The Spectator believes the general election will first and foremost be a vote on Scottish independence, saying “May can not win a mandate for herself while then denying a mandate to the party that wins the Scottish portion of this election”.

May enjoys a runaway lead in opinion polls over the main opposition Labour Party, and the British economy has so far defied predictions of a slowdown, offering her a strong base to launch a poll some lawmakers described as “opportunistic”.

By contrast, Labor has struggled to form a strategy over Brexit, while Corbyn’s left-wing leadership is opposed by many of his more centrist MPs.

May’s Conservatives now hold 330 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.

Corbyn also denied May’s allegations that he and his fellow Brexit opponents, the Liberal Democrats, have been working to derail the process.

When Theresa May stepped out onto Downing Street yesterday to announce a general election in just 50 days’ time, it’s safe to say very few people were excited.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who spoke at the national executive meeting, added: “I told the NEC there is already is a progressive alliance in the United Kingdom: it’s called the Labour Party”. The PM says she wants her hand strengthened in the Brexit negotiations.

Responding to the news, health secretary and MP for South West Surrey since 2005, Mr Hunt said: “We need to give the Prime Minister the strongest possible negotiating mandate in the important discussions ahead as we leave the EU”.

European Union officials have said that “talks about talks” could start in late May, to settle for example, how negotiations would be structured.

She has categorically denied the June 8 poll will be a sort of re-run of last year’s referendum, saying there could be no “turning back” on the Brexit decision but if she was re-elected, it would be a vote of confidence in her government’s central goals of gaining “control” of the UK’s laws, borders and money.

May earlier ruled out participating in televised debates with other leaders. TV debates don’t have a long history in British politics, but were a feature of the last two elections, in 2010 and 2015.

A man passing by commented: “I hope you become Prime Minister” – prompting a smile and thanks from Mr Corbyn.

Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat leader, added that the election was a “chance to change the direction of your country”.

He said Mrs May’s U-turn on her previous insistence that she would not call a snap election showed she could not be trusted.