Just two years after the last general election Britain is to go to the polls in exactly seven weeks time today after Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called a surprise snap general election.
Theresa May sprung the massive surprise on the nation and her own ministers on Tuesday by announcing a snap general election for June 8 - after having a moment of clarity on a walking holiday in Wales.
In a dramatic statement on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister fired the starting gun on a poll that she hopes will deliver her an unassailable majority to shape the country's future.
She blamed opposition parties who have been trying to frustrate Brexit for her sudden change of heart after months insisting she will not hold an election - singling out Nicola Sturgeon's efforts to exploit the situation to tear the UK apart.
Mrs May said Britain needed strong leadership to navigate the fraught divorce talks with the EU, insisting she was now convinced an early poll was in the 'national interest'.
She said 'every vote for the Conservatives' would give her a stronger hand when she sits across the negotiating table from the EU's presidents and prime ministers to hammer out a Brexit deal.
The bold move took even Cabinet members by surprise, having been kept a closely guarded secret between a handful of the premier's closest allies and aides.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond have been jointly pressing the PM to call an early vote for some time, and were informed of Mrs May's decision at a meeting. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd are understood to have been told shortly before the gathering of her top team in No10.
Yesterday, the Commons voted massively in favour of the snap election. In line with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, there had been an election due to take place on 7 May 2020, but the call for a snap election by Theresa May received the necessary super-majority of two-thirds to allow it to proceed when it was supported by a vote of 522 to 13 of the 650 MPs.
How only a handful of Cabinet colleagues knew about May's June 8th election bombshell - after she reached 'moment of clarity' during holiday in Wales
Prime Minster announced she wants an election to ensure 'strong leadership' in the Brexit negotiations aheadThe PM made the announcement of a June 8 poll after a Cabinet meeting of her top ministers in No 10 today
Only a handful of Mrs May's closest aides and ministers thought to have been in on the secret beforehand
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon accused May of consulting the polls and putting party ahead of her country
Ex PM David Cameron hailed May's surprise decision to call a general election as the 'brave and right' one
By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline and Tim Sculthorpe, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline and Kate Ferguson, Political Correspondent For Mailonline
Published: 10:05, 18 April 2017 | Updated: 10:14, 19 April 2017
Theresa May sprung a massive surprise on the nation and her own ministers today by announced a snap general election for June 8 - after having a moment of clarity on a walking holiday in Wales.
In a dramatic statement on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister fired the starting gun on a poll that she hopes will deliver her an unassailable majority to shape the country's future.
She blamed opposition parties who have been trying to frustrate Brexit for her sudden change of heart after months insisting she will not hold an election - singling out Nicola Sturgeon's efforts to exploit the situation to tear the UK apart.
The bold move took even Cabinet members by surprise, having been kept a closely guarded secret between a handful of the premier's closest allies and aides.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond have been jointly pressing the PM to call an early vote for some time, and were informed of Mrs May's decision at a meeting yesterday. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd are understood to have been told this morning shortly before the gathering of her top team in No10.
A beaming Theresa May leaving Downing Street after making her dramatic announcement on the steps of the famous building today
Mrs May said weakness in Westminster would weaken her hand in the Brexit negotiations - knowing an election against Jeremy Corbyn could hand her a huge Commons majority
Mrs May revealed the shift was driven by soul-searching while she hiked in Snowdonia with husband Philip over the Easter break.
On another high-octane day in UK politics that could have repercussions for decades to come:
The media were given barely an hour's notice of the speech this morning, and there had been no rumours at Westminster about her change of heart. Even as the Cabinet meeting began this morning, aides to senior ministers were still sending out updates on other areas of government business.
Mrs May said Britain needed strong leadership to navigate the fraught divorce talks with the EU, insisting she was now convinced an early poll was in the 'national interest'.
She said 'every vote for the Conservatives' would give her a stronger hand when she sits across the negotiating table from the EU's presidents and prime ministers to hammer out a Brexit deal.
The election is an astonishing U-turn from the Prime Minister who has repeatedly said she would not call another ballot before 2020 - insisting it would cause instability and hurt the country.
Theresa May has announced a snap general election will be held on June 8 in a shock revelation that stunned Westminster today. The PM said she needed a Brexit mandate that will give her a strong hand in the negotiations with the EU
Mrs May addressed the nation via a huge pack of reporters who scrambled to Downing Street after the surprise speech was announced at around 10am
Mrs May walked back into No 10 following her historic statement, which lasted about seven minutes
Mrs May's election call was made in the knowledge a series of polls have shown the Conservatives with historic leads in a series of opinion polls. The most recent YouGov at the weekend showed a 21-point lead
The most recent polls suggest Mrs May could get a huge Commons majority of 140. She leads Jeremy Corbyn by more than 30 per cent when voters are asked who would make the best PM.
A survey carried out by ICM for the Guardian after the news was delivered this morning found 55 per cent of the public back her call for an early ballot. Just 15 per cent opposed it.
The PM discussed her plans for an early election with Queen by telephone yesterday. Her Majesty is expected to dissolve Parliament ahead of the poll on May 3.
Political guru Sir Lynton Crosby - who masterminded David Cameron's shock 2015 victory - is set to run the campaign for the Tories.
But she has suffered a blow with the announcement that No10 communications chief Katy Perrior is leaving.
The Premier made the announcement immediately after a long Cabinet meeting with her top team.
MPs will hold a 90-minute debate tomorrow before voting on whether to scrap the timetable in the Fixed Term Parliaments Act - which would have meant no election until 2020.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will vote for an early election even though the polls suggest his party will be routed - making the vote a formality.
It means Britain will go to the polls in just seven weeks, little more than two years after the last election in May 2015.
Mrs May said: 'Our opponents believe that because the government's majority is extremely small that they can weaken our resolve and persuade us to change course.
'I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.'
Let us tomorrow vote for an election... and let the people decide.'
The premier added: 'If we do not hold a general election now, their political game playing will continue as the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most pivotal stage in the run up to the next general election.
'Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit, and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country.
'So we need a general election and we need one now.'
'The decision facing the country will be all about leadership.'
She said: 'We need a general election and we need one now, because we have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.'
Asked in an interview with ITV News later if there was a 'moment' when she changed her mind, Mrs May said: 'As we were going through the Article 50 process the opposition attempts to jeopardise or frustrate the process in future became clearer.
'Before Easter I spent a few days walking in Wales with my husband and thought about this long and hard.
'I came to the decision that to provide that stability and certainty for the future this was the way to do it, to have an election.
'I trust the British people.'
Labour leader Mr Corbyn confirmed he would back the early election - but suffered an immediate blow as Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said he would quit Parliament rather than stand under Mr Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn said: 'I welcome the Prime Minister's decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.
'Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS.
'In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country.
'We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.'
The Premier made the announcement immediately after a long Cabinet meeting with her top team. MPs will vote on holding the election tomorrow
Mrs May emerged from No 10 with her announcement still a closely guarded secret after she shocked Westminster by announcing the speech just an hour ahead of time
Mrs May directly blamed Jeremy Corbyn (pictured left in London today) and Nicola Sturgeon (pictured in Edinburgh today) for forcing her to take the nation to the polls
Even Remainer Tory MPs like Anna Soubry welcomed the PM's decision to call an election - although the feeling in the wider country may be less positive
POUND LEAPS AS MAY CALLS ELECTION
After Theresa May made her speech, the pound regained the ground it lost against the US dollar this morning and then rocketed higher
The pound rocketed higher as Theresa May called for a snap General Election on 8 June, in what is being regarded as a show of strength for the Prime Minister.
Sterling had dropped 0.3 per cent this morning on news of a surprise announcement by the Prime Minister, falling to $1.251, but as she gave her speech it recovered and then shot up to trade higher at $1.266.
Traders are expecting a volatile two-and-a-half months before voters go to the polls, with the Tories expected to win a greater majority in an election but also the possibility that they could lose ground and Brexit could be stalled.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: 'This election is your chance to change the direction of our country.
'If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.
'Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority.'
The Liberal Democrats claimed to have recruited 1,000 new party members in the first hour after the election announcement.
Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said: 'The Tories see a chance to move the UK to the right, force through a hard Brexit and impose deeper cuts. Let's stand up for Scotland.'
The surprise move was endorsed by David Cameron, Mrs May's predecessor at No 10 who won a surprise election victory in 2015.
He tweeted: 'Brave - and right - decision by PM Theresa May. My very best wishes to all Conservative candidates.'
As recently as last month, Mrs May ruled out holding an early election despite record breaking polling leads over Labour and Jeremy Corbyn.
It is widely believed the Prime Minister would be able to secure the two-thirds majority among MPs needed to overturn the provisions of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act which require a five-year period between elections.
The other EU leaders meet on April 29 to agree their own position. Little can then happen before French presidential election ends on May 7.
But Mrs May's official spokesman told a Westminster media briefing on March 26: 'There is no change in our position on an early general election, that there isn't going to be one... It is not going to happen.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, pictured today on GMB, has welcomed the general election but Nicola Sturgeon, pictured right in Edinburgh today, said the PM was putting party before country
'There is a Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
'We have been clear that there isn't going to be an early general election and the Prime Minister is getting on with delivering the will of the British people.'
Mr Corbyn had repeatedly confirmed in public he would be prepared to vote for an early general election, despite his grim and deteriorating position in the polls.
As recently as March 26 he insisted Labour was ready for a poll.
With polls regularly giving Conservatives a double-digit lead over Labour, some Tory MPs have argued an early election would give Mrs May an opportunity to secure a comfortable majority in the House of Commons.
MASTERMIND BEHIND CAMERON'S 2015 POLL VICTORY IS TO RUN TORY CAMPAIGN
Sir Lynton Crosby will be running the Conservative campaign
The politcal guru credited with delivering David Cameron's shock majority in 2015 is being drafted in to run Theresa May's election campaign.
Sir Lynton Crosby will be running the Conservative campaign.
The Australian maestro was credited with forging Boris Johnson's career by running his successful bid to become London Mayor.
Mr Cameron rewarded him for his role in the election battle two years ago with an honorary knighthood.
Sir Lynton famously used to play Queen's One Vision at high volume in Tory HQ to raise morale among activists.
But he opted to stay out of the historic EU referendum battle last year.
They warn that her precarious 17-seat working majority will leave her vulnerable to rebellions during the protracted process of negotiating withdrawal from the EU.
Even Remain-supporting Conservatives have voiced support for the PM's dramatic move today.
Browtowe MP Anna Soubry, who rebelled over some Brexit Bill amendments, compared Mrs May favourably with Gordon Brown - who notoriously backed away from holding a poll in 2007 after allowing speculation to run riot.
'Winning a GE gives PM the mandate & authority she needs especially for Brexit negotiations. TM no Gordon Brown! She is brave & principled,' Mrs Soubry tweeted.
There was widespread delight as it emerged Sir Lynton Crosby, who masterminded Mr Cameron's surprise election victory in 2015, will be running the Conservative campaign.
Sir Lynton was credited with forging Boris Johnson's career by running his successful bid to become London Mayor. But he opted to stay out of the historic EU referendum battle last year.
Meanwhile, Ms Perrior is leaving the post of director of communications at 10 Downing Street and is not expected to play any part in the upcoming campaign.
Her departure sparked speculation that Mrs May's chief of staff Fiona Hill will run communications for the Tory campaign, but party sources said they were not discussing staffing at this stage.
Ms Perrior said she supported Mrs May's decision to call a poll but had always said she would not stay on for an election.
'Always said I wouldn't stay past an election,' she told the Guido Fawkes website.
'Good decision, right choice. A vote for Theresa May and a Conservative Government is the only route forward. As for me - new opportunities ahead. Exciting times.'
A former Conservative Party staffer who worked as Mrs May's press officer in opposition, Ms Perrior founded the PR company iNHouse Communications in 2006 and was recruited to head the new PM's communications team at Number 10 following her elevation to the premiership last year.
The PM has been boosted by new forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), upgrading its growth expectation for the UK economy this year by 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent.
The organisation has also pushed up its estimates for next year by 0.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, despite warning of uncertainty around the Brexit negotiations.
Mrs May spoke to EU council president Donald Tusk today to let him know her decision.
But Mr Pitella, the leader of the powerful socialist bloc in the European Parliament, accused her of 'immoral' behaviour.
'Theresa May is playing the same game that David Cameron played some years ago by exploiting Brexit to strengthen her political grip within her party and the country. It is immoral in a way. It is unacceptable to exploit such a sensitive issue as Brexit,' he said.
A huge media scrum scrambled to Downing Street after No 10 made a mysterious announcement of a speech from Mrs May at around an hour's notice
Theresa May sprung the massive surprise on the nation and her own ministers on Tuesday by announcing a snap general election for June 8 - after having a moment of clarity on a walking holiday in Wales.
In a dramatic statement on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister fired the starting gun on a poll that she hopes will deliver her an unassailable majority to shape the country's future.
She blamed opposition parties who have been trying to frustrate Brexit for her sudden change of heart after months insisting she will not hold an election - singling out Nicola Sturgeon's efforts to exploit the situation to tear the UK apart.
Mrs May said Britain needed strong leadership to navigate the fraught divorce talks with the EU, insisting she was now convinced an early poll was in the 'national interest'.
She said 'every vote for the Conservatives' would give her a stronger hand when she sits across the negotiating table from the EU's presidents and prime ministers to hammer out a Brexit deal.
The bold move took even Cabinet members by surprise, having been kept a closely guarded secret between a handful of the premier's closest allies and aides.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond have been jointly pressing the PM to call an early vote for some time, and were informed of Mrs May's decision at a meeting. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd are understood to have been told shortly before the gathering of her top team in No10.
Yesterday, the Commons voted massively in favour of the snap election. In line with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, there had been an election due to take place on 7 May 2020, but the call for a snap election by Theresa May received the necessary super-majority of two-thirds to allow it to proceed when it was supported by a vote of 522 to 13 of the 650 MPs.
How only a handful of Cabinet colleagues knew about May's June 8th election bombshell - after she reached 'moment of clarity' during holiday in Wales
Prime Minster announced she wants an election to ensure 'strong leadership' in the Brexit negotiations aheadThe PM made the announcement of a June 8 poll after a Cabinet meeting of her top ministers in No 10 today
Only a handful of Mrs May's closest aides and ministers thought to have been in on the secret beforehand
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon accused May of consulting the polls and putting party ahead of her country
Ex PM David Cameron hailed May's surprise decision to call a general election as the 'brave and right' one
By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline and Tim Sculthorpe, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline and Kate Ferguson, Political Correspondent For Mailonline
Published: 10:05, 18 April 2017 | Updated: 10:14, 19 April 2017
Theresa May sprung a massive surprise on the nation and her own ministers today by announced a snap general election for June 8 - after having a moment of clarity on a walking holiday in Wales.
In a dramatic statement on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister fired the starting gun on a poll that she hopes will deliver her an unassailable majority to shape the country's future.
She blamed opposition parties who have been trying to frustrate Brexit for her sudden change of heart after months insisting she will not hold an election - singling out Nicola Sturgeon's efforts to exploit the situation to tear the UK apart.
The bold move took even Cabinet members by surprise, having been kept a closely guarded secret between a handful of the premier's closest allies and aides.
Brexit Secretary David Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond have been jointly pressing the PM to call an early vote for some time, and were informed of Mrs May's decision at a meeting yesterday. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd are understood to have been told this morning shortly before the gathering of her top team in No10.
Mrs May revealed the shift was driven by soul-searching while she hiked in Snowdonia with husband Philip over the Easter break.
On another high-octane day in UK politics that could have repercussions for decades to come:
- Jeremy Corbyn declared Labour will back holding a snap election despite polls showing it could deliver a 140 majority for Mrs May. MPs including former home secretary Alan Johnson and Tom Blenkinsop announced they will stand down rather than fight for their seats again.
- MPs will hold a 90-minute debate in the House of Commons tomorrow before voting on whether to scrap the Fixed Term Parliaments Act timetable for holding the next election in May 2020.
- Tory aides were left scrambling to work out the impact on local elections due to be held next month, while the by-election in Manchester Gorton due for May 4 is now likely to be abandoned.
- Mrs May has been accused of 'bottling' TV debates after it emerged she will not agree to take part in TV debates during the campaign.
- The leader of the socialist bloc in the European Parliament, Gianni Pitella, condemned Mrs May's decision to stage an election as 'immoral' and accused her of exploiting concerns about Brexit.
The media were given barely an hour's notice of the speech this morning, and there had been no rumours at Westminster about her change of heart. Even as the Cabinet meeting began this morning, aides to senior ministers were still sending out updates on other areas of government business.
Mrs May said Britain needed strong leadership to navigate the fraught divorce talks with the EU, insisting she was now convinced an early poll was in the 'national interest'.
She said 'every vote for the Conservatives' would give her a stronger hand when she sits across the negotiating table from the EU's presidents and prime ministers to hammer out a Brexit deal.
The election is an astonishing U-turn from the Prime Minister who has repeatedly said she would not call another ballot before 2020 - insisting it would cause instability and hurt the country.
The most recent polls suggest Mrs May could get a huge Commons majority of 140. She leads Jeremy Corbyn by more than 30 per cent when voters are asked who would make the best PM.
A survey carried out by ICM for the Guardian after the news was delivered this morning found 55 per cent of the public back her call for an early ballot. Just 15 per cent opposed it.
The PM discussed her plans for an early election with Queen by telephone yesterday. Her Majesty is expected to dissolve Parliament ahead of the poll on May 3.
Political guru Sir Lynton Crosby - who masterminded David Cameron's shock 2015 victory - is set to run the campaign for the Tories.
But she has suffered a blow with the announcement that No10 communications chief Katy Perrior is leaving.
The Premier made the announcement immediately after a long Cabinet meeting with her top team.
MPs will hold a 90-minute debate tomorrow before voting on whether to scrap the timetable in the Fixed Term Parliaments Act - which would have meant no election until 2020.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will vote for an early election even though the polls suggest his party will be routed - making the vote a formality.
It means Britain will go to the polls in just seven weeks, little more than two years after the last election in May 2015.
Mrs May said: 'Our opponents believe that because the government's majority is extremely small that they can weaken our resolve and persuade us to change course.
'I am not prepared to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across the country.'
Let us tomorrow vote for an election... and let the people decide.'
The premier added: 'If we do not hold a general election now, their political game playing will continue as the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most pivotal stage in the run up to the next general election.
'Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit, and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country.
'So we need a general election and we need one now.'
'The decision facing the country will be all about leadership.'
She said: 'We need a general election and we need one now, because we have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.'
Asked in an interview with ITV News later if there was a 'moment' when she changed her mind, Mrs May said: 'As we were going through the Article 50 process the opposition attempts to jeopardise or frustrate the process in future became clearer.
'Before Easter I spent a few days walking in Wales with my husband and thought about this long and hard.
'I came to the decision that to provide that stability and certainty for the future this was the way to do it, to have an election.
'I trust the British people.'
Labour leader Mr Corbyn confirmed he would back the early election - but suffered an immediate blow as Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop said he would quit Parliament rather than stand under Mr Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn said: 'I welcome the Prime Minister's decision to give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first.
'Labour will be offering the country an effective alternative to a government that has failed to rebuild the economy, delivered falling living standards and damaging cuts to our schools and NHS.
'In the last couple of weeks, Labour has set out policies that offer a clear and credible choice for the country.
'We look forward to showing how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain.'
The Premier made the announcement immediately after a long Cabinet meeting with her top team. MPs will vote on holding the election tomorrow
Mrs May directly blamed Jeremy Corbyn (pictured left in London today) and Nicola Sturgeon (pictured in Edinburgh today) for forcing her to take the nation to the polls
POUND LEAPS AS MAY CALLS ELECTION
After Theresa May made her speech, the pound regained the ground it lost against the US dollar this morning and then rocketed higher
The pound rocketed higher as Theresa May called for a snap General Election on 8 June, in what is being regarded as a show of strength for the Prime Minister.
Sterling had dropped 0.3 per cent this morning on news of a surprise announcement by the Prime Minister, falling to $1.251, but as she gave her speech it recovered and then shot up to trade higher at $1.266.
Traders are expecting a volatile two-and-a-half months before voters go to the polls, with the Tories expected to win a greater majority in an election but also the possibility that they could lose ground and Brexit could be stalled.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: 'This election is your chance to change the direction of our country.
'If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.
'Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority.'
The Liberal Democrats claimed to have recruited 1,000 new party members in the first hour after the election announcement.
Scottish First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said: 'The Tories see a chance to move the UK to the right, force through a hard Brexit and impose deeper cuts. Let's stand up for Scotland.'
The surprise move was endorsed by David Cameron, Mrs May's predecessor at No 10 who won a surprise election victory in 2015.
He tweeted: 'Brave - and right - decision by PM Theresa May. My very best wishes to all Conservative candidates.'
As recently as last month, Mrs May ruled out holding an early election despite record breaking polling leads over Labour and Jeremy Corbyn.
It is widely believed the Prime Minister would be able to secure the two-thirds majority among MPs needed to overturn the provisions of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act which require a five-year period between elections.
The other EU leaders meet on April 29 to agree their own position. Little can then happen before French presidential election ends on May 7.
But Mrs May's official spokesman told a Westminster media briefing on March 26: 'There is no change in our position on an early general election, that there isn't going to be one... It is not going to happen.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, pictured today on GMB, has welcomed the general election but Nicola Sturgeon, pictured right in Edinburgh today, said the PM was putting party before country
'There is a Fixed-Term Parliaments Act.
'We have been clear that there isn't going to be an early general election and the Prime Minister is getting on with delivering the will of the British people.'
Mr Corbyn had repeatedly confirmed in public he would be prepared to vote for an early general election, despite his grim and deteriorating position in the polls.
As recently as March 26 he insisted Labour was ready for a poll.
With polls regularly giving Conservatives a double-digit lead over Labour, some Tory MPs have argued an early election would give Mrs May an opportunity to secure a comfortable majority in the House of Commons.
MASTERMIND BEHIND CAMERON'S 2015 POLL VICTORY IS TO RUN TORY CAMPAIGN
Sir Lynton Crosby will be running the Conservative campaign
The politcal guru credited with delivering David Cameron's shock majority in 2015 is being drafted in to run Theresa May's election campaign.
Sir Lynton Crosby will be running the Conservative campaign.
The Australian maestro was credited with forging Boris Johnson's career by running his successful bid to become London Mayor.
Mr Cameron rewarded him for his role in the election battle two years ago with an honorary knighthood.
Sir Lynton famously used to play Queen's One Vision at high volume in Tory HQ to raise morale among activists.
But he opted to stay out of the historic EU referendum battle last year.
They warn that her precarious 17-seat working majority will leave her vulnerable to rebellions during the protracted process of negotiating withdrawal from the EU.
Even Remain-supporting Conservatives have voiced support for the PM's dramatic move today.
Browtowe MP Anna Soubry, who rebelled over some Brexit Bill amendments, compared Mrs May favourably with Gordon Brown - who notoriously backed away from holding a poll in 2007 after allowing speculation to run riot.
'Winning a GE gives PM the mandate & authority she needs especially for Brexit negotiations. TM no Gordon Brown! She is brave & principled,' Mrs Soubry tweeted.
There was widespread delight as it emerged Sir Lynton Crosby, who masterminded Mr Cameron's surprise election victory in 2015, will be running the Conservative campaign.
Sir Lynton was credited with forging Boris Johnson's career by running his successful bid to become London Mayor. But he opted to stay out of the historic EU referendum battle last year.
Meanwhile, Ms Perrior is leaving the post of director of communications at 10 Downing Street and is not expected to play any part in the upcoming campaign.
Her departure sparked speculation that Mrs May's chief of staff Fiona Hill will run communications for the Tory campaign, but party sources said they were not discussing staffing at this stage.
Ms Perrior said she supported Mrs May's decision to call a poll but had always said she would not stay on for an election.
'Always said I wouldn't stay past an election,' she told the Guido Fawkes website.
'Good decision, right choice. A vote for Theresa May and a Conservative Government is the only route forward. As for me - new opportunities ahead. Exciting times.'
A former Conservative Party staffer who worked as Mrs May's press officer in opposition, Ms Perrior founded the PR company iNHouse Communications in 2006 and was recruited to head the new PM's communications team at Number 10 following her elevation to the premiership last year.
The PM has been boosted by new forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), upgrading its growth expectation for the UK economy this year by 0.5 per cent to 2 per cent.
The organisation has also pushed up its estimates for next year by 0.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, despite warning of uncertainty around the Brexit negotiations.
Mrs May spoke to EU council president Donald Tusk today to let him know her decision.
But Mr Pitella, the leader of the powerful socialist bloc in the European Parliament, accused her of 'immoral' behaviour.
'Theresa May is playing the same game that David Cameron played some years ago by exploiting Brexit to strengthen her political grip within her party and the country. It is immoral in a way. It is unacceptable to exploit such a sensitive issue as Brexit,' he said.
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