SO PM Theresa May has shocked the nation by calling a general election for June 8.

This will have come as a surprise to many but we hope the electorate in Sussex engages with this as much as it did with the EU Referendum.

May has clearly been advised that a whirlwind victory is on the cards with Labour on its knees nationally and the LibDems still a minority.

But the picture might not be quite so simple here in Sussex.

Brighton will become a key battleground between the main political parties.

Simon Kirby will no doubt be under intense pressure in his Kemptown seat.

He will need to work very hard because he isn’t perceived by everyone as being as busy locally as some other MPs.

Caroline Lucas will stand by her Green values in the Pavilion seat and it would be a shock if she was to lose.

Her personal vote was perceived to be very high in the last general election.

Nobody can dispute that Peter Kyle has been a very hard-working local MP in Hove and Portslade.

But Labour has been at war locally – let alone the national mess – and Kyle’s opposition to his leader could cost him dear.

The reality is this election could well be a vote on Europe.

That would be wrong.

There is so much else we all need to consider as well before we place our cross on the ballot sheet

The important thing is that the public engages with this crucial election.

Let’s hope everyone does. It’s our future at stake.