‘You’re joking? Not another one’

As news broke that Theresa May had called a snap General Election, one local woman summed up the mood of the nation.

“You’re joking? Not another one,” the lady known simply as Brenda from Bristol told BBC News’ Jon Kay, thus immediately becoming an internet sensation:

The Prime Minister’s decision to call a General Election on June 8 was met with elation, shock, fighting talk and fierce criticism from different factions across Bristol.

Labour MP for Bristol East Kerry McCarthy has accused May of “shamelessly putting party politics before national interest” following the surprise move to take the country to the polls in less than eight weeks.

Prior to the announcement on Tuesday, the Prime Minister had repeatedly insisted she would not be seeking an early election, but has justified the apparent U-turn by saying there needs to be stability and unity in Westminster for the country to weather the Brexit negotiations.

The message from Bristol Labour – who currently hold three of the four Westminster seats – is “bring it on” as they prepare to do battle, while Tory MP for Bristol North Charlotte Leslie unsurprisingly backed May’s decision and said she is looking forward to campaigning with vigour.

The Green party in Bristol has long been prepared in the event of an early election and announced its candidates in November last year. Members have welcomed the news on the basis that the PM “has no popular mandate to throw us off a Brexit cliff edge”.

Bristol businessman and UKIP donor Arron Banks is among the early contenders throwing his hat into the ring with an announcement on Twitter that he intends to run for office.

The multi-millionaire insurance tycoon lives near Thornbury but won’t be standing locally, instead confirming his intention to go up against long-term rival Douglas Carswell in Clacton in Essex.

Bristol secured its place as a city bucking the trend with the election of four women MPs in 2015.

At this stage, it seems that each of the incumbents is ready to defend their roles. But there is a question mark over whether Labour will manage to maintain its strong position in Bristol in the face of current national party divisions.

The Greens, meanwhile, believe this is their opportunity to make history with the election of the city’s first Green MP and the party will be fielding candidates for each constituency.

Molly Scott Cato, current South West MEP, will stand against Labour’s Thangam Debbonaire in Bristol West, which had been held for a decade by current Lib Dem metro mayor candidate Stephen Williams.

Following the election announcement, Scott Cato said: “The Green Party has been calling for a general election since June last year because the Prime Minister has no mandate to throw us off a Brexit cliff edge.

“We can create another future for Britain. I will resist an extreme Brexit and I’m determined to give the people of Bristol a vote on the final deal. Bristol is the country’s greenest city and I look forward to making history in June.”

Bristol South candidate Tony Dyer, the Green’s mayoral challenger in 2016 (when he was not backed by Green metro mayor candidate Darren Hall who supported the incumbent George Ferguson) said “We are entering a period where the decisions made today have enormous ramifications for the future of the United Kingdom.

“All these decisions need to be made based on factual evidence not slogans and half-truths painted on the side of buses.”

Karin Smyth, Labour MP for Bristol South, said she feels inspired at the prospect of the upcoming General Election and Labour colleague Debbonaire – sacked from the Labour shadow bench by party leader Jeremy Corbyn while she was receiving treatment for cancer – said she will be fighting for her constituents who voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU.

“My constituents don’t want this clueless government to inflict damage on our environment, our jobs and our rights which would come from the ‘hard Brexit’ this government wants,” said Debbonaire.

“This is the chance for people in Bristol West to tell the Tories loudly and clearly that they don’t want our country to career recklessly towards a hard Brexit.”

May still needs to gain support from two thirds of MPs to take the country to the polls and then the planned General Election will be held just a month after voters in the West elect the region’s first ever metro mayor to oversee the Greater Bristol area.

Former Lib Dem MP for Bristol West Stephen Williams suffered a crushing defeat in the 2015 General Election, losing the seat he had held for a decade to Debbonaire.

The party has since clawed some popular votes back in the wake of Brexit – which it opposed – and Williams is now in the running for the metro mayor role.

The Lib Dems are yet to announce any candidates for the General Election, but could well hope to benefit from divisions in Labour and the Tories’ tough stance on Brexit.

The latest YouGov poll puts the Tories firmly in the lead with 44 per cent of the vote, compared to 23 per cent for Labour, 12 per cent for the Lib Dems, UKIP hanging in there with 10 per cent and other parties with 10 per cent of the vote collectively.

But faith in pollsters is at all-time low and, as the saying goes, a week is a long time in politics, so anything could happen.

Bristol24/7 will keep you posted with all the election updates and announcements as they unfold.

Main photo courtesy of BBC News

Read more: General election 2015: Bristol candidates