UK general election 2017: How the main parties shape up ahead of snap vote

Should new MPs be on right of party, Brexit will be the acceptable outcome of EU negotiations

Theresa May’s announcement, calling for a general election on June 8, 2017, caught virtually everyone by surprise.

May has repeatedly rejected calls for an early election since becoming leader of the Conservative party and prime minister, which made the timing extremely unexpected. She has argued since the beginning of her tenure that a general election during the Brexit negotiations would be inadvisable.

However, with opinion polls suggesting that the Conservative party can expect a resounding victory in a general election, it appears that the temptation to bring the vote forward was simply irresistible. The real question is who will