British elections

What the polls say about Britain’s election

Right now, the Conservatives hold 330 of Parliament's 650 seats, meaning they have a slim majority of just five seats. May called the election to add to that majority. Some polling firms have suggested she could still do so — ComRes predicted that she could end up with 362 seats, the biggest majority since the days of Margaret Thatcher. But another polling firm, YouGov, has released estimates based on a complicated big-data model that suggest the Conservatives could drop to 302 seats.
Such a result would be a major shock to Britain, resulting in a hung Parliament where no one party has a majority. Under this scenario, Corbyn could feasibly form a coalition with Britain's third party, the Liberal Democrats, and other smaller parties to become prime minister.

British elections

National security is the issue that may decide the election – so where are the new ideas?

Terrorist attacks on the scale of the Manchester Arena suicide bomb always prompt a good deal of introspection from those in a position to make a difference. For good reason, questions are asked endlessly of the security services, politicians, and Muslim communities. The last attack of this magnitude on British soil prompted the development and publication of the CONTEST strategy – which has, for the most part, done its job.

Now MI5 has announced that it will review its reporting and triage methods to answer the questions being asked of them this week: Why was this attack not prevented, if Salman Abedi was a subject of interest? Did the security service respond effectively to the three different alerts of Abedi’s growing extremism? And if the security services know who the extremists are, where they are, and have the resources to monitor them, what more do they need to prevent attacks? 

British elections

General election 2017: Theresa May 'not taking victory for granted'

Theresa May has sought to play down talk of a landslide general election victory after the Conservatives made major gains at local elections.

The Tory leader said she would fight for every vote on 8 June to strengthen her hand in Brexit talks.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party faced a challenge on a "historic scale" to win back power, but insisted he could close the gap on the Tories.

The Tories gained 500 seats and seized control of 11 councils.

British elections

General election 2017: Corbyn says Labour nuclear policy still 'under discussion'

Labour has said it still backs the UK's Trident nuclear weapons after Jeremy Corbyn said "all aspects" of defence would be reviewed if he won power.

The case for renewing Trident was still being discussed, the Labour leader told the BBC, prompting Tory criticism.

But a Labour spokesman said it remained official policy to keep the deterrent.

In the interview, Mr Corbyn said he wanted no more air strikes in Syria but did not rule out a drone strike to kill the leader of so-called Islamic State.

Speaking to Andrew Marr on BBC One, Mr Corbyn - a long-standing opponent of nuclear weapons - said he would never launch a "first strike" attack as prime minister and wanted to de-escalate global tensions, working with other countries including the US, Russia and Iran.

British elections

General election 2017: Jeremy Corbyn vows to 'overturn the rigged system'

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to "overturn the rigged system" by putting power and wealth back in the hands of "the people".

In his first major general election speech, he said 8 June's poll was not a "foregone conclusion" and Labour could defy the "Establishment experts".

He also said Labour would not back a second EU referendum.

Theresa May said the election was about ensuring "strong and stable leadership" for the UK.

It was also about strengthening the government's Brexit negotiating hand, she said.

The PM is hoping to convert the Tories' double digit poll lead into a bigger Commons majority.

British elections

May to seek snap election for 8 June

UK PM Theresa May announces plan to call snap general election on 8 June.

She said Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum.

Justifying the decision, Mrs May referred to Brexit, saying: "The country is coming together but Westminster is not."

There will be a Commons vote on the proposed election on Wednesday.

Explaining her change of heart on an early election, Mrs May said: "I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election."