Johnson to officially launch election bid today

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will formally announce a Dec. 12 election on Wednesday, urging voters to back him and promising to “get Brexit done in the next few weeks”.

The early election was agreed by parliament last week, ending two years of deep disagreement over Brexit that has sapped investors’ faith in the stability of the world’s fifth largest economy and damaged Britain’s international standing.

The outcome of the vote is hard to predict, with the immediate question of Britain’s exit from the European Union scrambling voters’ traditional loyalties and giving smaller rivals a chance to challenge the two biggest parties, Johnson’s Conservatives and the left-of-centre Labour Party.

Polls show Johnson’s Conservatives are well ahead of Labour, but polling analysts caution that sentiment is unusually volatile.

Johnson, 55, is hoping to win a big enough majority in parliament to get the Brexit deal he agreed with Brussels last month ratified and lead Britain out of the EU at the end of December or in January.

Via Reuters

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