Rishi Sunak has pledged to "fight for every vote" as he announced an early UK general election set for Thursday, July 4.
Standing outside 10 Downing Street in the pouring rain, the Prime Minister declared his intention to secure a fifth term in office for the Conservatives.
This unexpected decision contradicts earlier predictions of an autumn election, which could have provided the Tories with a better opportunity to narrow the gap with Labour.
Sir Keir Starmer declared that it was "time for change" from the "Tory chaos."
Labour, consistently leading in national opinion polls, has asserted that its campaign is fully prepared.
Parliament will be suspended on Friday and before it is formally shut down on Thursday next week ahead of an official five-week election campaign.
This timeline allows only two days to pass any remaining legislation, forcing the government to abandon some measures.
An election date in October or November had been considered more likely.
However, speculation began early Wednesday morning after it was confirmed that annual inflation had dropped to its lowest rate in nearly three years.
As Prime Minister's Questions began in the Commons, there was still no clarity about whether an announcement was imminent. It wasn't until just after 17:00 BST that the UK's first July election since 1945 was confirmed.
Later in the day, the prime minister cited the inflation figures while announcing the election date outside Downing Street, indicating his intention to centre his campaign on economic recovery following a period of rising living costs.
He emphasised that the drop in inflation, coupled with the UK's emergence from recession earlier this year, was "proof that the plan and priorities" he had established were effective.
