Summary

  • PM says commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid will remain

  • Labour focuses on education, blaming the Tories for "super-sized classes"

  • Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says activists and donors were "flocking" to the party on the back of its anti-Brexit message

  • Nicola Sturgeon launches council elections manifesto as a "clear choice" between SNP and Tories

  • The government has ditched controversial probate fee rises ahead of the 8 June election

Live Reporting

Emma Harrison and Alex Kleiderman

  1. What the commentators say

    Here's what some of the political commentators are saying:

    The arguments for holding an election had grown while those against had dwindled. Theresa May was elected to lead Britain by virtue of 200 Tory MPs and the self-decapitation of her principal rivals. She inherited the most complicated and difficult circumstances that any prime minister has in peacetime, and a very small majority on which to base her response to those circumstances.

    David Aaronovich, Times

    The months of double-digit poll leads, culminating in three polls over the weekend suggesting the Conservatives were more than 20 points ahead of Labour, clearly had something to do with this. Now the prime minister is chomping at the bit to hold an election, with plans afoot for it to happen on 8 June. Last June, the British people had to consider whether they wanted Britain to leave or remain in the European Union. Nearly a year later after voting for Britain to depart, they will have to vote on who they want to manage that process.

    Asa Bennett, Daily Telegraph

    Theresa May has turned democracy against itself. She has been seduced by the siren evidence of the 20-point lead in the polls, and she will have a general election, the one she said again and again that she would not call. And it will almost certainly return her with a thumping majority that will allow her to run the Brexit negotiations just as she wants.

    Anne Perkins, Guardian

  2. Opposition leaders welcome announcement

    Jeremy CorbynPA

    Leaders of the opposition parties in Westminster have been welcoming Theresa May's announcement. 

    You can read how they reacted here.

  3. Your reaction: Stability?

    Thousands of people have been reacting to today's announcement on the BBC News Facebook page.

    Siavash Esbati writes:

    So she tells the Scots 'now is not the time for a second referendum because it causes instability'. She repeats time and time again 'she will never call a snap election because it causes instability'. She said as recent as late March that there would not be an election. Total lack of vision and long-term credibility.

    Ollie Beever agrees:

    So she won't let Scots have an independence referendum, saying the UK needs stability, but she's prepared to hold a general election, three years before the scheduled election. Hypocrisy at its best Mrs May.

    However David Kennedy believes an election will help to bring stability.

    The right decision. Now lets get some stability in this country, vote in Theresa May and get the country back on track and put an end to all this squabbling.

  4. Watch: Jeremy Corbyn on snap election

    Jeremy Corbyn 'welcomes' snap election announcement

  5. Ruth Davidson: 'Ready for a campaign'

    The leader of the Tories in Scotland has released a statement in support of the prime minister.

    Ruth Davidson says the party is "optimistic" about gaining more seats with a "clear election message".

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  6. Watch: What do UKIP and Greens make of election date?

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  7. Labour MPs ready to 'buckle up'

    Some early exits have been met by other Labour MPs vowing to fight for their seats.

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  8. Plaid Cymru 'will contest every seat'

    Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood says: 

    Plaid Cymru is united and we're up for the opportunity to advocate for Wales' best interests. The more Plaid Cymru MPs, the stronger Wales' voice will be. The official opposition is divided and unable to agree a position on the most important of decisions.

    Plaid Cymru in Westminster will stand up for our interests and make sure the decisions being taken now are made with future generations in mind, and not to cynically appease the extreme right wing of the Tory party.

    Plaid Cymru will provide real opposition to the Tories. The party of Wales will contest every seat in June to make sure Wales has a stronger voice than ever before.

  9. Watch: Lib Dem leader on election timing

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  10. How did Theresa May keep it secret?

    BBC Radio 5 live

    Prime Minister Theresa May walking in a forest with her husband Philip in 2016PA

    Prime Minister Theresa May walking in a forest with her husband Philip in 2016

    Theresa May’s friend and colleague Baroness Anne Jenkin told BBC Radio 5 live’s Adrian Chiles that the prime minister had “always been a very, very private person” and had probably discussed the potential election with her husband on a walking holiday.

    “I would have thought... as they walked the hills of Wales, they argued it through. Debated it and discussed it and made the final decision there," she said.

    “I doubt that there were more than two or three other people who were aware that she was even thinking of it, let alone doing it."

  11. Sturgeon on 'standing up for Scotland'

    Nicola Sturgeon

    SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says she is relishing the prospect of "getting out there, standing up for Scotland's interests and values".

    This election will be about the kind of country we want Scotland to be, and whether we want the Tories to have a free hand in determining that, or whether we make sure we stand up for Scotland's public services, for public spending against further Tory austerity.

    These are the issues that will be to the fore in this campaign, and I look forward to leading a campaign on them.

  12. BBC political editor on election timing U-turn

    Laura Kuenssberg
    BBC political editor

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  13. Labour's 'most marginal' MP

    Chester MP Chris Matheson has told the BBC he will vote against a snap general election. 

    His majority is 93, making his the most marginal Labour seat in the country. 

  14. Watch: How can the PM call an early election?

    Jo Coburn
    Daily Politics presenter

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  15. Tim Farron: 'May needed a mandate'

    Tim FarronEPA

    Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says: 

    I always assumed she would go for an early election at some point. She needed a mandate of her own.

  16. 'Election? Not another one!'

    The BBC's Jon Kay speaks to a member of the public who is not impressed at the news that a snap election is in the pipeline. 

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  17. Donald Tusk tweets on 'tension'

    Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, gives his view on the latest UK political developments. 

    In his presidential account, he mentions his election conversation with Theresa May, while in his personal account he cryptically reveals his knowledge of British film...

  18. What will the EU make of the decision?

    By BBC Europe correspondent Kevin Connolly

    The Union Flag and EU flagPA

    The European Union won't have much to say on the record about Theresa May's decision to call a snap election - the UK is still a member state after all and it's not the done thing to comment on internal political manoeuvrings.

    But no British election campaign will ever have been watched quite so closely from Brussels.

    That's not because Mrs May, if she wins, will have a clear personal mandate for her vision of Brexit - the European side would always have assumed that whoever was in Number 10 had the authority to negotiate for the UK.

    It's more because they expect to learn a lot about Mrs May's vision for Brexit in the heat of campaigning - and also about the visions of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the other parties who'll make their presence felt.

    Romantics in Europe will certainly hope that Britain's remainers will do everything they can to shape the debate and raise their voices against the prospect of a Hard Brexit. 

    But however the British debate goes, there'll be a feeling in Brussels that when the campaign is over, a great deal more will be known about the UK's negotiating position - and most importantly, where its red lines will lie.

  19. Labour leader: 'My government would transform this country'

    A bit more from Jeremy Corbyn's interview. 

    He was asked if he was going to be the next prime minister, and responded: 

    If we win the election, yes. I want to lead a government that will transform this country, give real hope to everybody and above all, bring about a principle of justice for everybody and economic opportunities for everybody.

  20. Carywn Jones on 'strong leadership'

    A spokesman for Welsh Labour leader and First Minister Carwyn Jones says: "We won last year's Assembly election based on our strong record of leadership and delivery. 

    "We will enter the general election campaign, whenever it comes, from a position of strength and with a distinctive and innovative offer for the people of Wales."