Updated on
Summary
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has today called a general election for May 6th after visiting Buckingham Palace to ask Queen Elizabeths permission to dissolve parliament on April 12th. The new parliament will be summoned to meet on Tuesday, 18 May, when the first business will be the election of the Speaker and the swearing in of members, a government statement said. The formal state opening of parliament will take place the following week.Standing outside his Downing Street residence, with his cabinet arrayed behind him, the prime minister began the month-long campaign for what is expected to be one of the most unpredictable elections in Britain for almost two decades.It will come as no surprise to all of you and it's probably the least kept secret of recent years that the queen has kindly agreed to the dissolution of parliament and a general election will take place on May 6, Mr Brown said.Opposition Conservative leader David Cameron, addressing party workers on the banks of the river Thames opposite parliament, called it the most important election for a generation. You don't have to put up with another five years of Gordon Brown, he said.
