Some big political figures are facing a hard decision following Theresa May’s decision to hold a snap general election in June.

Alan Johnson

The Labour former home secretary and MP for Hull West and Hessle was among the first to inform his local party members that he was standing down. In a letter to his local party he wrote: “For me the personal decision is whether to retire now or in 2022 when I’ll be into my 70s. I’ve decided that going now will give me the opportunity to do other things with my life.”

Nick Clegg

The former deputy prime minister said that he was bloodied but not beaten following the Lib Dem rout in the 2015 general election. The MP for Sheffield Hallam had suggested he might not stand again, but Lib Dem HQ said on Tuesday he had been selected to stand. However, the one-time party leader has not yet confirmed this himself.

Ed Balls

Speculation is feverish in Westminster over whether unsuccessful 2015 candidates could stand again – raising the possibility that the former Labour heavyweight may yet return to public life. Last seen on Strictly Come Dancing, the Twitter account of the former shadow chancellor has so far been quiet.

Nigel Farage

The former Ukip leader has failed seven times to be elected to the Commons, but his supporters are calling on him to throw his hat into the ring in the Thanet South race. Farage, himself, was last seen tweeting a picture of himself tuna fishing in the European waters, in the Adriatic.

George Osborne

The MP for Tatton in Cheshire came under fire when it was announced that he would be the new editor of London’s Evening Standard last month. He is undoubtedly time poor , working to advise the US asset management fund BlackRock, as a Kissinger Fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington DC and as an international speaker alongside his two day jobs, but party sources in his constituency think the former chancellor will stand again.

Vince Cable

The former business secretary, who lost his seat in the 2015 general election, has said he will stand against current Twickenham MP Tania Mathias in June. He was quick to tweet his interest: “I plan to lead a fightback to recapture Twickenham for Lib Dems. Brexit. Heathrow. School cuts. Social care. Plenty to campaign on.”

Mhairi Black

The youngest MP in the house, just 20 in 2015 when she defeated the shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, to take Paisley Renfrewshire South for the SNP, Black confirmed on Twitter that she would defend her seat – a month after declaring that she hated Westminster and found it depressing. “It is so old and defunct in terms of its systems and procedures – a lot of the time, it is just a waste of time,” she said then, but on Twitter she now says: “I will be standing again in GE. This is our opportunity to once again reject the Tories’ agenda and provide a strong voice for Scotland.”

Paul Nuttall

The Ukip leader called Theresa May’s decision to call for a snap general election a “cynical decision driven more by the weakness of Corbyn’s Labour party rather than the good of the country.” But will he stand again after losing in the Stoke-on-Trent Central byelection, where his account of being present at the Hillsborough stadium disaster was questioned.

Ken Clarke

The political heavyweight has cut a lonely pro-European figure among the Tory rank and file since the referendum. The MP for Rushcliffe in Nottingham since 1970, Clarke had already announced his plans to retire in 2020 after 50 years in Westminster. But after calling May’s Brexit plans “mad and chaotic”, could he be persuaded to think again?

John Bercow

When the Conservative was first elected to the role in 2009 he said he would serve nine years – which would have seen him quit in 2018. But he’s since said he would serve a “full parliament”, which could give him leeway to stay on.

Douglas Carswell

The former Tory, former Ukip, now independent MP quit Ukip in March saying “the work is done and we won”. The Clacton MP said he was not returning to the Tory fold, but the prospect of a battle against Ukip party donor Arron Banks may make him think again. Banks is due to launch his campaign to become Clacton MP, possibly as a Ukip candidate, on Thursday – will Carswell seek refuge in the Conservative party machine?

Gisela Stuart

Local press suggests that Stuart, a Labour MP since 2007, may be planning to retire, leaving her Birmingham Edgbaston vulnerable. Stuart, who chaired the official Vote Leave campaign in the EU referendum, has not commented on her plans.