The lady is for turning

General election called for June 8 MARCH 20: “There is no change in our position on an early general election...it is not going to happen ” APRIL 18: “This election…is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs ”

Theresa May shocked the country and her own Cabinet by calling a snap general election in her biggest U-turn as Prime Minister to date.

The Conservative leader said she made the decision to push for a June 8 vote “recently and reluctantly” in light of attempts by opposition parties to scupper the Brexit vote.

Sources inside No 10 revealed that her ministers, including Scottish secretary David Mundell, were in the dark about the plans until an early-morning meeting at Downing Street.

Home secretary Amber Rudd claimed on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that Mrs May informed her of the plan to call a snap election before yesterday morning’s Cabinet meeting.

But asked if her team of MPs tasked with running the Government knew of the decision in advance, one insider said: “I sensed not.”

An SNP spokesman said: “This just proves the PM’s motivation to call a snap election stems entirely from advancing the interests of her party in England, while she ignores Scotland and the solitary Tory MP in her Cabinet altogether.”

Mrs May revealed she made up her mind about calling the snap election while on a walking holiday in Wales with her husband, Philip.

This came despite the fact that she has personally ruled out a snap election on multiple occasions since becoming Prime Minister, while her spokesman has been disparaging of suggestions that a vote to establish her mandate could take place outwith the five-year supposedly fixed parliamentary term.

Standing in Downing Street to announce the poll, the Maidenhead MP said: “Since I became Prime Minister I have said there should be no election until 2020. But now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions I must take.

“Our opponents believe, because the Government’s majority is so small, that our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change. They are wrong.

“They under-estimate 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, because what they are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government’s negotiating position in Europe.”

Parliament will dissolve just after midnight on May 3 ahead of the snap general election, Commons Leader David Lidington said. He told MPs the date of dissolution had to be 25 days before the proposed polling day by law.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she is “relishing” the prospect of an election and her MPs would not oppose the legislation to enable it. But she said: “This announcement is one of the most extraordinary U-turns in recent political history, and it shows that Theresa May is once again putting the interests of her party ahead of those of the country.”

The SNP leader said that “more than ever before” the election is about “standing up for Scotland, in the face of a right-wing, austerity-obsessed Tory Government with no mandate” north of the border.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he welcomes Mrs May’s decision. “Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS,” he said.

The Lib Dem leader, Tim Farron, was buoyant about championing the EU in the election. He added: “If you want to keep Britain in the single market, if you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.”

They underestimate our determination to get the job done... PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY