General Election 2017: Theresa May seeks Brexit mandate with snap poll on June 8

Making her shock announcement, the Prime Minister claimed divisions at Westminster risked jeopardising the negotiations to pull the UK out of the European Union.

Having repeatedly ruled out calling a snap election in the past, Mrs May said she had "reluctantly" taken the decision to go to the country after seeing other parties "playing games" with the process of preparing for Brexit negotiations.

• Labour and Tory MPs stunned by announcement - find out how your MP reacted here

• WATCH: 'Good timing... Labour has no hope' - Wolverhampton reacts to snap election

• Prime Minister announces snap election - as it happened

• Click here to read the Prime Minister's full statement

Her final decision was taken during a walking holiday in Snowdonia with husband Philip, and she told the Queen on Easter Monday before getting the full approval of Cabinet on Tuesday morning.

Speaking to ITV News, Mrs May said: "Before Easter, I spent a few days walking in Wales with my husband, thought about this long and hard and 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. The British people gave the Government a job to do in terms of coming out of the European Union and I'm going to be asking the British people to put their trust in me in ensuring we deliver a success of that."

Under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, passed under the last coalition government, Mrs May needs a two-thirds majority if she wants to go to the country before the scheduled date of the next the election which had been due to take place in May 2020.

With both Labour and the Liberal Democrats saying they will support the motion, the outcome should be a formality.

Mrs May needs the support of 434 MPs to call the early election.

There will be a short 'wash-up' period to clear up outstanding legislation such as the Finance Bill to enable the funding of government to carry on.

Parliament will then be dissolved on Wednesday May 3, 25 working days before polling, marking the start of the official campaign.

There will be no change to the planned May 4 West Midlands mayoral election or the county council elections in Staffordshire.

If all goes to plan voters will go to the polling booths on June 8 with the outcome likely to become clear in the early hours of the next morning.

Under the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act introduced by her predecessor David Cameron, the Prime Minister will require the support of two-thirds of MPs to go to the country, with a vote scheduled in the Commons on Wednesday.

The move stunned Westminster, as Mrs May and Number 10 have repeatedly insisted she would not seek a General Election before the scheduled 2020 poll.

But Mrs May, who has a fragile working majority of just 17 in the Commons, said she wanted "unity" at Westminster as talks on Brexit begin in earnest with the European Union.

She rejected suggestions she was simply seeking to take advantage of an opportunity to extend her lead at a time when polls put Conservatives as many as 21 points ahead of Jeremy Corbyn's Labour, insisting an election now was "in the best long-term interests of this country".

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, Mrs May acknowledged she needed a stronger position in the Commons to secure her plans for the UK's future outside the EU.

"Our opponents believe because the Government's majority is so small that our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change. They are wrong," she said.

"They under-estimate 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, because what they are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government's negotiating position in Europe."

Mrs May added: "At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division. The country is coming together, but Westminster is not."

Mr Corbyn said Mrs May's decision had given voters 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," said the Labour leader.

"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."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said the election provided an opportunity to block "a disastrous hard Brexit".

"This election is your chance to change the direction of our country," he said in a message to voters.

"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."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the election call as "a huge political miscalculation by the Prime Minister", accusing Mrs May of "once again putting the interests of her party ahead of those of the country".

"It will once again give people the opportunity to reject the Tories' narrow, divisive agenda, as well as reinforcing the democratic mandate which already exists for giving the people of Scotland a choice on their future," said the SNP leader.

Mrs May said her decision came in response to efforts by other parties to disrupt the Article 50 process of triggering Brexit negotiations and suggestions they might seek to block any deal which she eventually achieves.

"Politics is not a game, and the problem is that at the moment we have other parties who are playing games with politics," she told ITV News.

"I want to ensure that we can get on with the job of delivering on Brexit, making Brexit a success.

"I think the games being played by other parties jeopardise our ability to prepare for Brexit here at home and they weaken our negotiating hand in Europe."

"I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a General Election, to be held on June 8.

"I want to explain the reasons for that decision, what will happen next and the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this election.

"Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership, and since I became Prime Minister the Government has delivered precisely that.

"Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high, record numbers of jobs, and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.

"We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result."

"Britain is leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back. And as we look to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.

"We want a deep and special partnership between a strong and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world.

"That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the world.

"This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it.

"At this moment of enormous national significance there should be unity here in Westminster, but instead there is division.

"The country is coming together, but Westminster is not."

"In recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the European Union.

"The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standsill.

"The Scottish National Party say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union.

"And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.

"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 under-estimate 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.

"Because what they are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government's negotiating position in Europe.

"If we do not hold a General Election now their political game-playing will continue, and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled 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, 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.

"I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion.

"Since I became Prime Minister I have said that there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions I must take.

"And so tomorrow I will move a motion in the House of Commons calling for a General Election to be held on the eighth of June.

"That motion, as set out by the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, will require a two-thirds majority of the House of Commons.

"So I have a simple challenge to the opposition parties, you have criticised the Government's vision for Brexit, you have challenged our objectives, you have threatened to block the legislation we put before Parliament.

"This is your moment to show you mean it, to show you are not opposing the Government for the sake of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game.

"Let us tomorrow vote for an election, let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide.

"And the decision facing the country will be all about leadership. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your Prime Minister, or weak and unstable coalition government, led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats - who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum - and Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.

"Every vote for the Conservatives will make it harder for opposition politicians who want to stop me from getting the job done.

"Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain with the prime ministers, presidents and chancellors of the European Union.

"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.

"It was with reluctance that I decided the country needs this election, but it is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.

"So, tomorrow, let the House of Commons vote for an election, let everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit and their programmes for Government, and let us remove the risk of uncertainty and instability and continue to give the country the strong and stable leadership it demands."