UK Prime Minister Theresa May is calling for a general election on the 8th of June. At present it is unclear how this news is going to impact the Brexit process, but from the looks of it it could spell some delays in the negotiations.
From a political perspective the snap election move on part of the UK Prime Minister is likely to lead to further consolidation of power. Theresa May is asking the voters to give her government a mandate to negotiate a deal with the EU. At present Brexit is not in question, and Article 50 has already been triggered.
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Soft Brexit More Likely
The move could revive the soft Brexit vs. hard Brexit debate and present an opportunity to unite the divided country. According to Mrs May, her government has a plan to “allow the UK to regain control of its laws and borders”.
Since the opposition is against the plan, the Prime Minister appears to be taking a drastic measure in order to secure a mandate from the British people. In the latest polls from mid-April, Labor is trailing behind May’s conservative party 21 points, which is the highest gap between the two British political heavyweights in favor of the tories since before the second term of Margaret Thatcher.
Liberal Democrats and Labor are likely to take a softer line on Brexit, but the likelihood that they galvanize power is at present insignificant.
After an initial drift lower as the rumors started swirling in, the British pound recovered its losses and is currently trading higher by 0.5 percent against the US dollar and by 0.4 percent against the euro.
If anything, the market is interpreting the announcement as more certainty over the position of any future UK government on Brexit.
