Prime Minister Theresa May has called a General Election on 8 June, 2017.
Her announcement, on 18 April, comes at a weak moment for her main opposition—Labour were running 20 points behind the Conservatives in the latest polls. However, Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, has confirmed that he will back the vote for an early election.
The PM needs a two-thirds majority of 434 MPs in the House of Commons to override the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Labour’s 229 MPs and the Conservatives’ 330 MPs together will be enough to secure a 2017 election.
May said: “At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.
"The country is coming together, but Westminster is not. In recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the EU. 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 formally repeals Britain’s membership of the EU. And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.
“Our opponents believe that because the government’s majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course. They are wrong. They underestimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.”
Charles Brasted, partner at Hogan Lovells, commented: "Setting aside political implications, this announcement will put further pressure on the timeline for negotiations. It is likely to constrain engagement with Her Majesty's government in coming weeks and delay the Great Repeal Bill legislation. This will make it all the more important for businesses to keep pushing forward on developing policy solutions and engaging with stakeholders as widely as possible.”
“Should the election result in a clear Conservative majority it will provide an opportunity for business to engage with a new government with a new mandate at the start of a term confident that it will see through the negotiation process.”
“This window early in June has the potential to influence the direction of travel for a decade.”
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