A worker carries a sign outside the Houses of parliament in central London as Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap general election on June 8. This would mean the Conservatives would need Labour support.
May's Conservatives, who were split on the issue of European Union membership ahead of last year's referendum, are now far ahead of Labour, the main opposition party, according to opinion polls. But on Tuesday, she said she had "reluctantly" changed her mind because political divisions "risk our ability to make a success of Brexit". Ukip will say that they need a strong showing to stop Mrs May from backsliding.
She said she would introduce legislation on Wednesday to pave the way for the early election.
Chair Sarah Branquinho said the election will "cause us to delay some of our immediate political engagement activities in the UK" but the association's "view at this stage is that [it] will not have any impact on the overall Brexit process, other than to delay negotiations slightly whilst a new government is formed".
"That clearly would be enough to give Theresa May a quite substantial majority".
May triggered a two-year countdown to Britain's exit from the European Union last month, and high-stakes negotiations to settle divorce terms and agree on a new relationship are expected to start within weeks.
Her Conservative Party has a wide lead over its main rival, the center-left Labour Party, which has been at war with itself since the election of the far-left Jeremy Corbyn as leader in September 2015.
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By calling one in June, May could win more space domestically as the next British election would not be due until 2022.
"The economy may well be a factor, but I suspect the Conservatives' lead in the opinion poll ranks above that". But the election still carries risk for May, with voters' potentially wary at being asked to go to the polls again, less than a year after the European Union referendum. He stepped down when the country voted to leave.
Sturgeon said Tuesday that May was seeking "to crush the voices of people who disagree with her".
They see this play from May as a way to recalculate the election cycle to give her more breathing room in Brexit negotiations, and to give more room to a "soft Brexit" that will be better long term for the UK.
The Scottish National Party now holds 54 of Scotland's 59 seats in the British Parliament, making it the third-largest party there.
"That would be welcomed by financial markets".
Against the euro, the pound was hovering around €1.180, rising from a 0.4% loss.
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