British Prime Minister Theresa May has called for an early general election for June the 8th to seek a strong mandate as she negotiates Britain's exit from the European Union. She said she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by shoring up support for her Brexit plan. Under Britain's Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, elections are held every five years, but the prime minister can call a snap election if two-thirds of MPs vote for it. At present, May's governing Conservatives have 330 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. To look at this new development and current negotiations for divorce from the European Union, we are joined on the line by:
Ronald Henwood: Political Analyst based at the University of Pretoria
Daryl Glaser : Associate Professor of Politics BASED AT THE University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Professor Gerhard Erasmus: Associate at Tralc Trade Law Centre based in Cape Town, South Africa. (Tralac is a capacity-building organisation developing trade-related capacity in east and southern Africa.)
