Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a summer UK general election to take place on Thursday 4 July.
He had been widely expected to wait until the autumn before triggering the poll, which does not legally have to be held until January 2025.
But in a surprise move, he announced the first July election since 1945.
It will see the Conservatives try to win a fifth consecutive term in office, taking on Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party, which is ahead in opinion polls.