Britain's Premier Theresa May on Tuesday called a snap general election on June 8 in a bid to get direct mandate for her plan to deliver a smooth British exit from the EU.
Britain formally served divorce papers on the European Union last month, signaling the beginning of the end of a relationship that endured for 44 years.
But the ruling Conservative party only has a slim majority in Parliament, and opposition parties have attempted to torpedo May's path towards Brexit. The snap election attempts to rectify this situation and give Theresa May complete sway in guiding the country out of the EU.
Labor hopes to win despite dismal polls
Britain's opposition Labor party leader Jeremy Corbyn has expressed hope that his party will emerge victorious in the snap elections called by the prime minister.
"We will set our vision and our policies as we've been doing over the past couple of weeks," he said adding that "A Labor government, elected on June 8, will ensure that as a society we recognize that those who care always work for the benefit of the whole of society." Labor Party has maintained that if it secures victory, it will carry out the wishes Britons to leave the EU, expressed in last year's referendum. It is on the minority Liberal Democratic Party which openly opposes Brexit.
This is while, Polls predict a heavy defeat for the opposition Labor party, which has not been cohesive over the recent past.
Meanwhile, ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair said May decided to call a snap general election because she wants to secure a big parliamentary majority before the full consequences of Brexit become obvious to voters.
Ex-PM Blair warns voters
The former Labor prime minister said many voters could change their minds on Britain leaving the EU once the various options for Brexit became more real, and the purpose of a general election on 8 June was "to close this possibility down".
Blair said voters should be aware of the risks of a significant Conservative majority and be prepared to vote across party lines to tackle the "unprecedented and dangerous" political situation.
The news came amid reports that Blair might collaborate with senior Liberal Democrats to fight Brexit during the general election campaign.
Huge miscalculation
Meanwhile, Scotland's First minister says Theresa May wants to move UK further to the right and Scotland needs to be protected from the Tories.
Sturgeon said the prime minister's decision was a "huge political miscalculation" because it would give voters an opportunity to reject Conservative austerity and a hard Brexit, and give the Scottish National party a new mandate for an independence referendum.
"She is clearly betting that the Tories can win a bigger majority in England given the utter disarray in the Labor party," she said.
Blatant opportunism
Former Scotland first minister Alex Salmond has accused Theresa May of "blatant opportunism" in calling a snap general election.
He said the Prime Minister was seeking to capitalize on the "weakness" in Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party and as a result had "dashed" to call a ballot.
No TV Debates
Meanwhile there are reports that Theresa May will not accept any invitation to take part in televised debates held in the run-up to a general election.
Conservative Party sources said she will not be taking part in the customary pre-election TV debates, which are a regular feature in UK's electioneering season.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has urged broadcasters to "empty chair" her, saying the decision not to take part was an "attempt to dodge scrutiny".
Quelling Scottish independence
Pundits believe the coming elections will likely have benefits for the Conservative Party but disastrous for the UK since electioneering will undermine parliamentary scrutiny of the Brexit process. Parliamentary committees involved in scrutinizing Brexit will have to halt their proceeding while new teams will have to be established after elections and restart the process of UK leaving the EU in March 2019.
The coming elections are expected to produce a majority for the Conservatives who will quell opposition to Brexit and suppress demands for a referendum on Scottish independence.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/6181
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