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UK PM Calls for Election, Backed by Parliament

posted by n1 on Monday April 24 2017, @12:43PM   
from the opportunists dept.

butthurt writes:

Various news outlets are reporting that the UK's prime minister, Theresa May, has called for a general election to be held on 8 June. The Conservative Party Web site has a transcript of her public statement, which can also be heard in a video.

The call for a snap election has now been backed by parliament.

May surprised allies and opponents [...] when she announced her plan to bring forward an election that was not due until 2020, saying she needed to avoid a clash of priorities in the sensitive final stages of the two-year Brexit talks.

After addressing a rowdy session of the House of Commons, May won the support of 522 lawmakers in the 650-seat parliament for an election on June 8. Only 13 voted against.

With May seen winning a new five-year mandate and boosting her majority in parliament by perhaps 100 seats, the pound held close to six-and-a-half month highs on hopes she may be able to clinch a smoother, more phased departure from the EU and minimise damage to the UK economy.

[...] The former interior minister, who became prime minister without an election when her predecessor David Cameron quit after last year's referendum vote for Brexit, enjoys a runaway lead over the main opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.

This is a notable change from the position taken over the last few months where May had said after the EU referendum, a "period of stability" was needed. "There isn’t going to be one. It isn’t going to happen. There is not going to be a general election," said the prime minister's spokesman less than a month ago.

Coverage (many of these are editorials):

• The Sun
• New Statesman
• New Statesman
• The Independent
• The Independent
• The Guardian
• The Telegraph
• The New York Times
• The Irish Times
• BBC News
• Daily Mail

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Original Submission

• Re:Majority "remain" (Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday April 24 2017, @10:01PM

  by zocalo (302) on Monday April 24 2017, @10:01PM (#499066)

  Absolutely agree on the tactics of the Remain campaign, not that Leave can really claim any moral high ground either; I suspect they actually did more damage to their chances than obviously ridiculous claims like "£350m/wk for the NHS" being thrown around by various elements of the Leave campaigns. Likewise the worst of any fallout definitely won't really start to happen until much closer to the actual exit, but that doesn't mean that the initial signs are not already there if you are prepared to look though. The City's banks and other businesses are starting to look at setting up shop in the EU, other industries in the all important service sector that are closely linked are struggling to win EU contracts, everyone is paying more for goods and services, and various sectors are starting to wonder if their particular subsidies are going to continue and, even if so, what level of cuts they might face.
  
  As for the stocks, other than the real fat cats I don't think it's going to make too much difference in the long run; the man on the street with any investments/private pension is still likely to end up breaking even at best, or even in a net loss. Even assuming you hedged your bets, moved investments, pensions, etc., over to international stocks and UK companies that do well overseas before the vote, then rode that huge jump in the markets, your on-paper gains are going to need to be offset against the fall in value of Sterling. Unless you got *really* lucky in your portfolio choices, you're probably just about breaking even on the deal - and it's still only an on-paper gain that might also be subject to tax if/when you try and cash it in.

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  UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!

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