Theresa May calls snap general election

There will be a general election on June 8, after Theresa May decided the country needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum.

The move comes despite the 2011 Fixed Term Parliaments Act which sought to remove the unpredictability about when general elections were to be held. Parliament needs to approve the early election, with the vote unusually needing a two-thirds majority.

In a statement outside Downing Street, May said: “This is your moment to show you mean it – to show you’re not opposing the government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.

“Let’s tomorrow vote for an election – let’s put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide.”

Assuming Parliament approves, the 25-month Parliament will be the shortest since the short-lived 1974 term, which lasted between February and October.

Theresa May became Prime Minister on July 13, in the wake of the EU referendum which led to David Cameron’s resignation. Should the Conservative Party lose, she will have been in Number 10 for the shortest period since Andrew Bonar Law’s 211-day spell which was ended by ill-health in May 1923.

Peter Ashton, managing director of Eiger FX, said: “The political curveball delivered by the Prime Minister that a General Election will be held on 8 June provided an immediate boost to the Pound.

“The markets were quick to price in greater economic and policy stability under what they expect will be a significant majority given the weakness of the opposition.

“There is still huge uncertainty surrounding the implementation of Brexit but a strong majority party will help to provide a degree of stability while we negotiate the choppy waters ahead.”