British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain on March 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Pool/Getty Images)
LONDON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May's shock decision to call a snap general election provoked mixed reactions across Britain on Tuesday.
The surprise move triggers a seven-week countdown to an election on June 8.
Professor of government at the University of Manchester, Colin Talbot, told Xinhua: "May is trying to make this the Brexit general election to give her a negotiating mandate. The official opposition is trying to avoid the issue, but it will fail to do so and on current polling will lose heavily. So, May will have effectively neutralized Brexit opposition."
Prof. Martin Smith, head of the politics department at the University of York, said: "There is a danger that the prime minister's decision to call a snap election may appear both cynical and hypocritical. She had indicated several times that she would not do so and in order to do so she has to shift away from fixed term elections introduced by her predecessor."
"With Labour so weak in the polls, it is an opportunity for the Conservatives to win a landslide victory. With a large Conservative majority, the government will be able to get through any Brexit deal," he added.
However, Smith warned there are going to be several difficulties for the Conservatives in the election campaign, including the impact on Scotland and the potential for a second referendum.
May faces tough negotiations with European Union leaders over Britain's new role in Europe after last year's referendum vote to leave the EU.
Holding a waver thin majority of just 17 seats in the British House of Commons, May says divisions in parliament are threatening the process of Brexit.
"Our opponents believe that because the government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course. They are wrong. They underestimate our determination to get the job done and I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country," said May in a quickly called announcement outside 10 Downing Street.
"Every vote for the Conservatives means we can stick to our plan for a stronger Britain and take the right long-term decisions for a more secure future," she said.
May was throwing down the gauntlet to opposition politicians who have threatened to wreck the nation's Brexit ambitions.
Political observers see May's decision as a gamble, but also add this is the best time to call a snap election. Currently, May is more than 20 points ahead in the opinion polls over her main Labour opposition.
In the last general election in 2015, the then-prime minister David Cameron emerged with 330 seats, a gain of 28, but still leaving him with only a small majority.
In the same election the two main opposition parties were weakened. Labour lost 24 seats taking its total to 232, while the Liberal Democrats faced an almost total wipeout, losing 48 seats and finishing with just eight MPs in the House of Commons.
The bigger winner in 2015 was the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), gaining 50 seats, mainly at the expense of Labour, to finish with 56 seats.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is fighting for an independence referendum in Scotland where the majority of people had backed remaining in the EU in last June's referendum.
Labour, meanwhile, remains a party at war with itself, with many of its MPs estranged from leader Jeremy Corbyn.
May, with so much opposition to her Brexit plans in both the House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, faces a difficult road ahead, on top of challenging discussions with Brussels to seek a good Brexit deal for Britain.
If she makes major gains on June 8 it will not only silence her Brexit critics, but also strengthen her hand in talks with Brussels. In that sense, many observers say May has nothing to lose by calling snap elections. Enditem
