British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for an early election on June 8, saying the government had the right plan for negotiating the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union and that she needed political unity in London.
The Conservative Party has a slim majority in Parliament, but May is betting they'll gain seats.
The PM is to table a motion in the House of Commons on Wednesday and has called on MPs to back an election. A fractious election campaign will reopen wounds barely healed after last year's European Union referendum and give voice to those who oppose her strategy of pursuing a clean break from Europe.
May is only the second female prime minister the Queen has reigned over of the 13 PMs she's seen since her coronation in 1952.
Voting intentions have been running in May's favor since she became prime minister last summer, but it's only in the past few weeks that the extent of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's weakness has become clear.
Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats - which was battered in the 2015 election and now holds just nine seats in the House of Commons - said the election was Britain's chance to change direction.
NEW YORK, April 18 Sterling jumped along with gold, and stocks and the US dollar fell on Tuesday, after Britain called a snap election for June, adding to investors concern about geopolitical instability.
"They are wrong", she said.
Underlining divisions the vote is unlikely to mend, however, Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of the Scottish government, described the decision as a "huge political miscalculation" that could help her efforts to hold a new independence referendum.
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"We need a general election and we need one now", she said.
European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he had a "good phone call" with May about the election, and the council said the bloc's Brexit plans were unchanged by the announcement.
The European Union will stick to a timetable for preparing to launch Brexit negotiations with the United Kingdom despite the British government's call for an early general election, an EU spokesperson said.
Analysts at the bank and elsewhere said May's move should result in a larger and more stable majority in parliament, thereby reducing the likelihood of the "hard Brexit" that markets fear.
Labour campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union, but Corbyn says he will respect voters' decision to leave.
Corbyn, whose party is trailing May's Conservatives in opinion polls, said: "We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain".
Other parties the, Liberal Democrats, in favour of Remain will also be hoping to land devastating blows to upset the Tories.
Still, currency markets welcomed May's announcement as a harbinger of greater stability.
In the wake of an announcement that May will make an unexpected statement in Downing Street at 11:15 a.m. (1015GMT), the pound was down 0.3 percent at $1.2525.
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