May's big gamble on Brexit general election

BRITISH Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that she is engineering a snap general election for June 8 with Brexit being the primary motivation. The unexpected announcement, which signals the third UK-wide vote in two years, has taken the country by surprise following repeated denials from Downing Street that Mrs May would call an early national ballot before the next scheduled one in May 2020.

The chief reason Mrs May asserted for her spectacular U-turn is that opposition parties are, by and large, at odds with her Brexit plan. She told the country that she is not prepared to allow her political opponents to jeopardise the forthcoming exit negotiations with the European Union (EU). In her own words, the "country is coming together, but Westminster is not" and what the country needs is "certainty, stability and strong leadership".

Tuesday's announcement underlines that Mrs May's government will be defined by last year's Brexit decision which is already having profound implications for the nation. The specific context for the unexpected general election is the important debate across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about what the meaning and implications are of last June's EU referendum. The prime minister - who was a reluctant "Remainer" and has turned into a staunch "Brexiteer" - has made clear her strong view that immigration and sovereignty were the primary drivers behind the "Leave" campaign's victory last summer.