UK PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR ELECTION IN JUNE

UK PRIME MINISTER CALLS FOR ELECTION IN JUNE

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has called for a general election in June to strengthen her mandate to get Britain out of the European Union. Mrs May had earlier ruled out an early election, sayingit would be a distraction. But she made a dramatic U-turn on Tuesday and announced plans for one on June 8.

Justifying her decision, the prime minister said: “I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election.”

She would need two thirds of the members of parliament to approve her plans in a vote that will hold on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn welcomed the move, though many observers believe that it was the weakness of his Labour Party that emboldened the prime minister to make her move. Her Conservative Party has 330 seats in Parliament against Labour’s 229,Scottish National Party’s (SNP) 54, Lib Dem (nine) and the remaining parties (26).

But in-fighting in the Labour Party, particularly between Blairites and supporters of Mr Corbyn, has weakened the main opposition party.

Mrs May is capitalising on that and hoping to get a stronger mandate to pursue negotiations for Britain’s exit from the European Union. She accused Labour, SNP and the Lib Dems as well as “unelected” members of the House of Lords of distracting her from pursuing a brand of Brexit that she said people had voted for.

“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.

But her opponents said her call for election was motivated by selfish ends.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I think the prime minister has called this election for selfish, narrow, party Political interests”.

But she said she relished the prospect of standing up “against the ability of a right wing Conservative Party to impose whatever policies it wants on Scotland”.

On his part, the Labour leader said the election give people a “chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first”.

Mr Corbyn said Labour would offer a “clear and credible choice for the country”, stressing that the party “will stand up for the people of Britain”.

Financial markets reacted swiftly to the snap election announcement.

The FTSE 100 witnessed its biggest one-day drop since the Brexit vote last June but the pound surged to a six-month high.