May calls snap general election for 8 June.

[Denzil_DC]

2. She's announced there will be a vote in Parliament tomorrow.

The announcement and timing are curious.

Michael Deacon at the Telegraph observes:

Extraordinarily blunt message from Theresa May, attacking other parties for threatening Brexit with their "game-playing". Quite explicitly, she's saying to the public: vote Tory, or Brexit is screwed

As Theresa May says a successful Brexit can only be achieved with a big Tory majority - where does this leave Ukip? Will Nigel Farage and Paul Nuttall agree, and not fight the election? How will they counter Mrs May's argument that Brexit requires a Tory landslide?

Anti-Corbyn Labour MPs will be in a dilemma. Will they really relish voting for a general election? On the one hand, a general election represents their best chance of getting rid of Jeremy Corbyn. On the other hand, it also puts their own jobs at risk...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/18/breaking-theresa-may-make-statement-downing-street-1115am1/#update-20170418-1117

I've seen no evidence of May having problems because of lack of backing in Parliament. This may be more aimed to forestall the Lords by seeking a clear mandate. She'll no doubt have been buoyed by recent opinion polls that give the Tories a healthy majority.

As the Guardian's Matthew Weaver mentions:

Just before she assumed the role of prime minister she said there would be no early election under her leadership. On 30 June, in the speech that launched her bid, she explicitly ruled it out.

Then in her first major interview after taking office, she told the Andrew Marr Show last September that the UK needed a period of stability after the shock Brexit vote.

She said: “I’m not going to be calling a snap election. I’ve been very clear that I think we need that period of time, that stability, to be able to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that election in 2020.”

As recently as last month Downing Street said that an early election was “not going to happen”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/apr/18/corbyn-cressida-dick-met-police-a-gun-may-not-have-saved-pc-killed-in-westminster-terror-attack-says-new-met-chief-politics-live?page=with:block-58f5e729e4b0e0ec04f02002#block-58f5e729e4b0e0ec04f02002

This will certainly add a few wrinkles to the local elections in Scotland!