With her announcement that a general election will be held on Thursday 8 June, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, is hoping to consolidate the Parliamentary majority of the British Conservatives in Westminster in order to make a success of the negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
Despite having previously ruled out a general election before 2020, May surprised all political observers by announcing, on Tuesday 18 April, that the British Conservative government is hoping for a snap general election.
“There should be unity, instead there is division in Westminster”, May announced from the doorstep of 10 Downing Street. Referring to criticism from the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalists, she said that the opposition underestimated the government's determination to do its job of achieving Brexit. “We need a general election and we need one now”, she said, but stressed that it was a reluctant decision, aiming to stop the political games from continuing and peaking with the election currently scheduled for 2020.
Ashley Fox, the leader of the British Conservatives at the European Parliament, said that “a clear victory for the Conservatives in a general election on June 8 will provide the government with a strong mandate to secure the best deal for the UK and develop a new, deep and positive relationship with our European partners”.
Among the political rivals of the Conservatives, Labour's Richard Corbett derided the fears of the government that the MEPs would ultimately reject the Brexit agreement they will be called upon to approve between the UK and the Twenty-Seven. “Let's hope her gamble fails”, he reacted on Twitter.
The opinion polls give the Conservatives a comfortable lead over their rivals. They are expected to win between 38% and 45% of the vote, with between 25% and 29% for Labour, around each 10% for the Liberals and UKIP and around 5% for the Greens and the SNP.
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall ascribed May's initiative to the current weakness of Labour. Jeremy Corbyn said that Labour offered an effective alternative to a government responsible for the reduced purchasing power of the British and education and health cuts. On behalf of the SNP, which hopes to hold a referendum on Scottish independence after the Brexit negotiations, Nicola Sturgeon criticised the Tories for wanting to push a hard Brexit through.
For a general election to be held in early June, the British Parliament must adopt a motion to this effect with the support of two thirds of the house.
Twenty-Seven sticking to agreed timetable
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said that he had spoken over the telephone to May, whom he met earlier this month (see EUROPE 11763). He joked on Twitter that “it was Hitchcock who directed Brexit: first an earthquake and the tension rises”.
Sources close to Tusk stress that the announced election will not change the Twenty-Seven's timetable. "We expect to have the Brexit guidelines adopted by the European Council on 29 April and following that, the Brexit negotiating directives ready on 22 May. This will allow the EU27 to start negotiations", an adviser announced.
The draft guidelines of the 27 member states, which were announced at the end of March and led to a row over the specific situation of Gibraltar, are currently being discussed (see EUROPE 11766).
The European Commission has offered no comment other than to praise the strength of democracy in the UK via a spokesperson. Elections are generally a good thing for democracy, Margaritis Schinas said.
The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, will be received in London by May on Thursday 20 April. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)