Readers' lukewarm response to election

Nearly six out of 10 readers who took part in our poll said the Prime Minister was wrong to go to the country so soon after taking on the job.

However, Theresa May will take more comfort from another readers' poll, which shows that less than one third of voters think that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is electable.

Readers were asked whether Mrs May was right to call the election less than a year after succeeding David Cameron as PM, with nearly three years before she needed to go to the country again. The Fixed Term Parliaments Act had set the date of the next General Election as being in May 2020, but Mrs May yesterday successfully table a motion to overturn the Act so that she could call an early poll.

Of the readers who took part in our poll, 59 per cent thought Mrs May was wrong to seek an early election, saying it would cause chaos and instability.

The other 41 per cent backed her decision, saying it would put an end to uncertainty over Britain's policy towards Brexit.

However, a separate poll, which attracted 18,800 votes, will make grim reading for former Shropshire schoolboy Mr Corbyn. When asked whether the Labour leader was electable, just 33 per cent said yes, and 67 per cent said no.

Readers who commented on the announcement expressed mixed views.

One said: "I will vote UKIP, but I think Mrs May is right to call a General Election at this key stage in the Brexit procedure."

PJS said that it was a cynical decision by Mrs May, who feared that her poll ratings would nosedive as negotiations with EU leaders become more difficult.

"May knows that the Brexit negotiations will go badly, not least because the other EU countries hold all the negotiating cards," he said.

"Before that starts to reflect badly on her government, as the economy begins to struggle, she's trying to get an extra couple of years in power.

"Probably the most cynically called election since Thatcher's post-Falklands one."

Reader Roger, who fiercely criticised the Conservatives' record in office, said: "Clearly this election may be in the run up to a Brexit we did not vote for, but it is also for a government to 2022 which could be the bigger issue."

Another reader, using the name Jett, criticised Mrs May for going back on her word after previously ruling out an early election.

Jett also questioned whether allegations of Conservatives over-spending on their campaign in the run-up to the last General Election had played a role in bringing the vote forward.

But another reader, called Pete, thought Mrs May's decision was more down to Mr Corbyn's weakness as Labour leader.