Theresa May seeks snap UK election to get Brexit backing

LONDON (April 18): U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said she will seek an early election on June 8, in an unexpected gamble aimed at strengthening her hand going into talks on leaving the European Union.

The surprise statement came less than a month after she triggered the formal start of Brexit and marks a reversal of her position before the Easter break, when her office insisted an early election wasn’t on the cards.

An election isn’t due until 2020 though her popularity – polls show her Conservative Party is more than 20 points ahead of the main opposition – give her an opening to consolidate her power. The announcement indicates that May has decided she cannot get the Brexit legislation she needs through the House of Commons with the slim majority she inherited from David Cameron.

---

Related Stories

• Spilling the beans on the cost of Brexit
• Unfettered by Brussels, UK flexes new trading possibilities
• Sunak urges UK Tory unity in face of 'existential threat'

---