The Prime Minister’s decision to call a general election has raised concerns that politicians will take their eye off key issues affecting business.

Theresa May made a surprise announcement on Tuesday that she would go to Parliament and table a motion to hold a vote on June 8.

Although it is widely expected to be supported by politicians, company bosses are not keen on the move.

“The election is not welcome because it increases uncertainty,” said Dominic Deeson, a publisher at Canterbury-based Deeson Group.

“We all have to endure yet another campaign when our politicians should be getting on with the job which they were elected to do only two years ago.

“What the the UK wants and needs from Brexit will dominate but there are so many other important issues which should be discussed.

“These and other key concerns for business and their employees should be addressed but I fear that will not happen.

“What kind of Brexit we should have and whether Scotland and Northern Ireland should leave the UK are the topics about which politicians are obsessed.”

Jo James, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, said businesses are concerned that politicians will lose sight of the big issues aside from Brexit during the campaign.

She said: “Many business communities will understandably be concerned that attention will inevitably shift from the economy and the intricacies of leaving the EU to a potential election campaign.

“Firms will want to be reassured that the key challenges facing the economy will be front and centre throughout any election period.”

Jane Ollis, chairman of the Kent branch of the Institute of Directors, called on firms to take matters into their own hands as much as possible.

She said: “This election will be won or lost on Brexit Brexit Brexit, it being the biggest political issue of our generation by a long shot.

“So trying to get the parties to focus on other issues will be futile and businesses should instead push to see what they would take to the negotiating table in terms of new trade deals with the EU and access to skills.”

Not all firms showed concern at the announcement.

Mark Quinn, managing director of Canterbury-based Quinn Estates, said: “Calling a snap election is the right thing to do.

“While no one in business wants uncertainty, everything has changed since the last election in 2015.

“We’re leaving the EU and that will mean we need a strong government with a big majority to make sure we get the right things delivered – from new roads and energy plants to delivering the thousands of new homes this country needs.

“This general election, if parliament approves Theresa May’s plan on Wednesday, is a once in a generation chance for parties of all political colours to show real vision and then deliver.

“For businesses, like ourselves, that’s about sweeping away bureaucracy and the red tape around our planning system which is doing so much to hold back the UK’s potential.”