UK Prime Minister Theresa May caught the country by surprise this week when she announced she would seek an early general election on 8 June.
For May, the decision to go the polls appears mostly about strengthening support for her Brexit strategy, as the country gets down to the tough business of divorcing from the European Union.
Her decision also appears to be one that is largely about English politics, with May perhaps calculating that her Conservative Party can put the opposition Labour Party to the sword, with polls predicting she could win about 100 more seats in parliament.
