Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to "stand up for Scotland" following Theresa May's shock announcement that a general election will be held on 8 June, and said it could reinforce her plans for another independence referendum.
In a tweet shortly after the prime minister's announcement on Tuesday morning, Scotland's first minister said that May was trying to "force through a hard Brexit", "impose deeper cuts", and "move the UK to the right".
The Tories see a chance to move the UK to the right, force through a hard Brexit and impose deeper cuts. Let's stand up for Scotland. #GE17
In a later statement, she called May's announcement "one of the most extraordinary U-turns in recent political history" and accused the prime minister of putting the "interests of her party ahead of those of the country".
“She is clearly betting that the Tories can win a bigger majority in England given the utter disarray in the Labour party," said the first minister.
“This will be – more than ever before – an election about standing up for Scotland, in the face of a right-wing, austerity-obsessed Tory government with no mandate in Scotland but which now thinks it can do whatever it wants and get away with it."
Sturgeon had been due to set out in the near future how she would advance her plans for a second referendum on independence. On the topic of another vote, she said: “In terms of Scotland, this move is a huge political miscalculation by the prime minister.
“It will once again give people the opportunity to reject the Tories’ narrow, divisive agenda, as well as reinforcing the democratic mandate which already exists for giving the people of Scotland a choice on their future.
“The SNP will always put the people of Scotland first – and between now and June 8th we will work harder than ever to retain the trust of the people,” she said.
In the 2015 general election, the SNP won 56 seats and the Lib Dems, Conservatives, and Labour won a seat each in Scotland. Since 2015, two SNP MPs have become independent MPs due to legal complications.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said her party is "optimistic" about increasing its number of seats in June's election, and that she will use the campaign to argue against a second independence referendum.
"In Scotland, we will have a clear election message – only a vote for the Scottish Conservatives will ensure we get the strong leadership we need to get the best Brexit deal for the whole country," said Davidson.
“And only a vote for the Scottish Conservatives will send a strong message that we oppose SNP's divisive plan for a second referendum."
Davidson added: “The choice is simple: It’s between a strong government led by Theresa May working to get the best Brexit deal, or a weak Labour government, led by Jeremy Corbyn, which cannot stand up to the SNP."
Scottish Labour's only MP, Ian Murray, told BuzzFeed News that he would be defending his seat on his "proud record" and not on "constitutional nonsense", adding: "We said at the last general election that a Tory government would be bad for the country and that is what has happened.
"I'll be fighting my seat on my proud record of local service and be clearly saying we must stop all this constitutional nonsense for the sake of the people we represent."
The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie, said his party would "relish" the chance of a general election to argue that Scotland should stay in the UK and that the UK should stay in the European single market.
“At this election we will stand proud for a United Kingdom within the European single market," said Rennie. “We will avoid a disastrous hard Brexit and keep Britain united – Liberal Democrats are only party that can stop a Conservative majority across the UK.
“If people want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is the chance.”