The country has a clear choice to make following the Prime Minister's decision to call for a General Election on 8th June.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced that a General Election will be taking place on 8th June 2017.

Outside Downing Street Mrs May said as follows:

I have just chaired a meeting of 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 EU, 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 we were handed by the referendum result.

 Britain is leaving the EU 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 EU and a UK 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 have threatened to vote against the final agreement we reach with the EU, the Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill, the SNP say they will vote against the legislation that formally repeals Britain’s membership of the EU and unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way.

Our opponents believe because the government’s majority is so small that our resolve will weaken and that they can force us to change course. They are wrong. They underestimate 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.

The country is coming together but Westminster is not. If we do not hold a general election now, their political game playing will continue and the negotiations with the EU 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 EU agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.

I have only recently and reluctantly come this conclusion. Since I became prime minister, I have said 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 June 8. That motion, as set out by the fixed-term parliament 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.

Responding to news the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, said: “On June 8 we have an opportunity to vote for the strong and stable leadership that both Wales and Britain need to see us through Brexit and beyond.

“It is the right decision for the country.

“Here in Wales, both Labour and the Welsh nationalists have been in denial over Brexit, and have sought to undermine the process at every stage.

“We need certainty and unity, not political games, and every vote for the Prime Minister on June 8 will strengthen Britain’s hand in the negotiations ahead.

“As we move through this period of national change, voters across the UK will face a choice between the leadership of Theresa May or the chaos and incompetence of Jeremy Corbyn.

“We want both Wales and Britain to emerge from this period stronger, fairer and more outward-looking than ever before, and we will stick to our Plan for a Stronger Britain. 

“Only Theresa May has the plan and the proven leadership to deliver the right deal for Britain abroad and a better deal for ordinary, working people here at home.” 

Regional Assembly Member for South Wales West, Suzy Davies, said: "Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and Plaid Cymru have been in denial over the Brexit vote and have attempted to undermine the process at every stage.

"It is crucial for the country that they stop playing thee dangerous games and that we elect a stable Government led by Theresa May which will have a strong hand in the negotiations ahead.

"Votes have a simple choice- the chaos of a Jeremy Corbyn-led Government or one where a strong Prime Minister has the vision to deliver the best possible deal for this country as we leave the EU and chart our own way in the world."

Byron Davies, MP for Gower, added: "I had a hunch the Prime Minister would want to have a look at going to the country for a General Election given the performance of some parties in Westminster.

"I was committed to bringing unemployment down in Gower.

"It is now down to the lowest level it has ever been."