General Election Announcement BBC News


General Election Announcement

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We are live in Downing Street, where the Prime Minister is due

:00:00.:00:07.

to make a significant announcement in the next 15 minutes.

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Theresa May's statement is unscheduled - and Number 10

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I'm Joanna Gosling, bringing you live coverage from the studio.

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We will bring you the statement as soon as it happens. One unconfirmed

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source tells the BBC that Theresa May is poised to announce a snap

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general election on June the 8th. Good afternoon and

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welcome to BBC News. Welcome to viewers on BBC One

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and the BBC News Channel. The Prime Minister, Theresa May,

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is to make a surprise announcement The details of which are closely

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guarded but statements by the Prime Minister in

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Downing Street are usually reserved Our assistant political

:01:12.:01:14.

editor, Norman Smith, Norman, the speculation is around an

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early election. What are you hearing? We have one unconfirmed

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source telling the BBC that Theresa May looks set to announce the snap

:01:33.:01:37.

general election on June the 8th. That is roughly about six weeks

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away. Ignoring previous promises by Number 10 that she would not go for

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an early summer election, she would stay the whole course through to

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2020, repeatedly dismissing the idea. But we are now in a situation

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where some opinion polls giving the Conservatives the lead of more than

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20% over the Labour Party. There is a view that Mrs May could have

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decided it is never going to be a better moment than now to go for a

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general election. It would give her a huge mandate but were to win, the

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sort of majority many in the party believes she could win, it would

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give her a mandate to go into the Brexit negotiations with a hugely

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strengthened hand. She will have held a Brexit election and will go

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to Brussels and say I have secured a mandate to secure this sort of deal

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on behalf of the British people. A hugely strengthened her handfuls of

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it would enable her to pursue her own domestic agenda, to pursue the

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sort of policies on grammar schools, speculation about whether she might

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want to end the commitment to overseas aid staying at .7%. She may

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want to jettison the camera and legacy. Is she had a snap general

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election when she could pursue that agenda and defeats with that narrow,

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narrow majority of around 16. We saw the effects of that in the House of

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Commons when the Chancellor was forced to backtrack in the face of a

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looming Tory revolt over national insurance changes. If Mrs May where

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to get the sort of majority something she could get, that would

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free her from the permanent danger of Tory revolt. There are huge

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potential political advantages from going for a snap election. The

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disadvantages are that it would be breaking a repeated promise by

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Downing Street not to go for that snap early election. There is also a

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risk factor. You do not know what happens in general elections. There

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are many Tory MPs in the main facing constituencies who might be worried

:03:56.:04:01.

about going to the polls against Liberal Democrat candidate

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campaigning strongly for a second referendum. We saw that with Zac

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Goldsmith in Richmond. They might be more reluctant to have an early

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general election. She would wave goodbye to the boundary review

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changes which would give her an additional 20 or so seats. There are

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reasons not to go. You sense, with the poll lead, in the wake of the

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Copeland by-election victory where she overturned the seat she may

:04:26.:04:30.

never, ever have one, she may take the view it is never going to get

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better than now. What are the logistics over calling an early

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election? There is the fixed term parliament at which means the next

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election is not scheduled till 2020. How will they get around that?

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Either you have to engineer a vote of no-confidence in the Government

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or two thirds of MPs have to vote for a general. That, I surmise, is

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the route she will go down. Labour has said, on the record, they would

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be happy to vote for a general election. They are up for it.

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Theresa May may choose to call their bluff or she is coming out now.

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Let's hear what she has to say. I have just chaired a meeting of the

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Cabinet where we have agreed the Government should call a general

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election to be held on the 8th of June. I want to explain the reasons

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for that decision. What will happen next, and the choice facing the

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British people, when you come to vote in this election. Last summer,

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after the country voted to leave the European Union, Britain needs

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certainty, stability and strong leadership will stop since I became

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Prime Minister the Government has delivered precisely that will stop

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despite predictions in the immediate financial and economic danger, since

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the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high. Economic

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growth that has exceeded all expectations. We have also delivered

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on the mandate that we were handed by the referendum result.

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leaving the European Union and there can be no turning back. As we look

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to the future, the Government has the right plan for negotiating our

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new relationship with Europe. We want a deep and special partnership

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between a strong and successful European Union and the United

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Kingdom that is free to chart its own way in the world. That means we

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will regain control of our own money, our own laws, and our own

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borders. We will be free to strike trade deals with old friends and new

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partners all around the world. This is the right approach and it is in

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the national interest. But the other political parties oppose it. At this

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moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity

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here in Westminster. But instead there is division. The country is

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coming together but Westminster is not. In recent weeks, Labour has

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threatened to vote against the final agreement we reach with the European

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Union. The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business

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of government to a standstill. The Scottish National Party said it will

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vote against the legislation up formally repealed Britain's should

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vote against the legislation up of the European Union. Unelected

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members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the

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way. Opponents believe, are resolvable weekend and they can

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force us to change course. They are wrong. They underestimate our

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determination to get the job done. I am not prepared to let them endanger

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the security of millions of working people across the country. What they

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are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare for Brexit at

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home. And it weakens the Government's negotiating position in

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Europe. If we do not hold a general election now, their political

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gameplaying will continue. And the negotiations with the European Union

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will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next

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scheduled election. Division in Westminster will risk our ability to

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make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and

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instability to the country. We need a general election and we need one

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now. We have, at this moment, a one-off chance to get this done

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while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the

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detailed talks begin. I have only recently and reluctantly come to

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this conclusion. Since I became Prime Minister, I have said there

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should be no election until 2020. Now I have concluded that the only

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way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead is to

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hold this election and seek your support for the decisions I must

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take. And so tomorrow I will move a motion in the House of Commons,

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calling for a general election to be held on the 8th of June. That

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motion, as set out by the fixed term parliament act, will require a two

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thirds majority by the House of Commons. I have a simple challenge

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to the opposition parties. You have criticised the Government's decision

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for Brexit, challenged our objectives, threatened to block the

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legislation we put before Parliament. This is your moment to

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show you mean it, show you are not opposing the Government for the sake

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of it, to show that you do not treat politics as a game. Let us tomorrow

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vote for an election. Let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our

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alternative plans for government and then let the people decide. And the

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decision facing the country will be all about leadership. It would be a

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choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest

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with me as your Prime Minister, or weakens, unstable, coalition

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government led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats,

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who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum and Nicola Sturgeon

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and the SNP. A vote for the Conservatives will make it harder

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for opposition politicians who want to stop me from getting the job

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done. Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger

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when I negotiate for Britain with the prime ministers, presidents and

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chancellors of the European Union. Every vote for the Conservatives

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will mean that we can stick to our plan for a stronger Britain and take

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the right long-term decisions for a secure future. It was with

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reluctance that I decided the country needs this election. It is

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with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure the strong

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and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and

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beyond. So, tomorrow, let the House of Commons vote for an election. Let

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everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit and their

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programmes for government and let us remove the risk of uncertainty and

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instability and continue to give the country the strong and stable

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leadership it demands. A dramatic announcement in Downing Street by

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the Prime Minister, calling a general election for the 8th of

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June. Previously, she had said she would not call a snap election and

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referencing what she said about the prospects of a snap election in the

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past, chief said, it is only recently and reluctantly that she

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has come to the conclusion that an early election is needed for the she

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said it was the only way to guarantee certainty and stability

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for the years ahead. She said her government is determined to see

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Brexit through and she said opposition MPs, in the way they have

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been talking about voting against the Government, is damaging that and

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hampering the Government's negotiating position in Europe. That

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is why she will start the process tomorrow in the Commons to override

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the fixed term parliament act in order to allow an election to go

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ahead on June eight. Let's go back to our assistant political editor,

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Norman Smith, in Downing Street. There it is. Another election, the

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second in two years. The six-week election campaign. He would have

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guessed that? Who would have thought we would go into a snap general

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election? The argument of Theresa May is basically Brexit. She cannot

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secure the best deal for the British people because of what she says is

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the uncertainty, the divisions in Westminster, pinpointing the blame

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on Labour who say they may have vote against a final deal and the SNP

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said they may vote against the great repealed bill. In effect, she is

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saying they jeopardised temp Aand threaten the livelihoods of millions

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of people because of the outcome which she may be able to secure

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being weakened by the factual have a weaker negotiating hand. If she wins

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a general election, Mrs May said she will have the mandate to secure the

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sort of deal she wants. It seems she was almost trying to pictures have

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as on the side of the people against Westminster, against those

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Westminster parties, playing games, she said. She is presenting this as

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the Brexit election and she is the Brexit candidate, is, in effect, how

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Theresa May is presenting theirs. She said she had come to this

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decision reluctantly. That is the only nod we had that she has done a

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U-turn and scrapped her previous promises. She will not go for a snap

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election, she had said. Reluctantly she decided she could not go on

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because of the division and uncertainty at Westminster. We now

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face a really ferocious battle over the next six weeks. Difficult for

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the other parties to work out how did a pitch it. Do they take her on

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over Brexit and campaign against it? The Liberal Democrats certainly

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well. A difficult one for Labour. Theresa May is revising the fear

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that David Cameron stoked up in the last general election which is the

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idea of labour being propped up by the Scottish Nationalists. Theresa

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May again alluding to that idea saying, do you really want that sort

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of outcome? Tomorrow, of course, Mrs May will go to Parliament and in

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effect throw down the gauntlet to Jeremy Corbyn saying, again, you

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said you are ready for a general election, vote for it. The real

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challenge for him will be, it is hard to see how he cannot vote for a

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general election without being accused of running away and deny the

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people a vote. Does that make it almost certain it will get through

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or are their speculations about whether this can go ahead? It seems

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almost inconceivable that Jeremy Corbyn can say, we will not vote for

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it. We would like you to carry on anyway. What sort of message does

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that send your own people went Jeremy Corbyn has been so forthright

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in attacking Theresa May? That seems to me a non-runner, quite apart from

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the political dynamics how would it look? Mr Johnson, are you glad there

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is an early election? Ie Looking forward to an early election?

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Obviously, Cabinet ministers have been in there since 8:30am and they

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are now leaving. Are you looking forward to an election? I get the

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feeling there will be a futile task. They will probably be very obedient,

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not wanting to Trump Theresa May. To come back to your point, Joanna, it

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is inconceivable that Jeremy Corbyn will not vote for it. It looks like

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he was running away, and he would be crucified in the media. Normally, we

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will be back with you but let's check in on what the polling has

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indicated about what might happen with an early election. We can speak

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to Professor John Curtice, Professor of politics at the University of

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Strathclyde. And the polling has been indicating that if Theresa May

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was to call an early election, it would favour. There is no doubt that

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the Conservatives are in a strong position in the opinion polls. If

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you take the average done by all the companies recently, the

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Conservatives are standing at 42% and Labour at 27%. Clearly, that

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would be enough to give Theresa May a substantial majority. However, two

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words of caution in order. The first, we have to in mind that it is

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quite difficult these days for either party to actually win a

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landslide in the House of Commons because not only is Northern Ireland

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now out of the UK wide political picture, but also is Scotland and I

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would be surprised if the SNP does not hang onto most of the seats

:18:07.:18:10.

north of the border. Secondly, although the Labour Party are in a

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dire position in the opinion polls, a lot of the seats they have are

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safer. And the truth is that if the opinion polls narrowed during the

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course of this campaign, and we should bear in mind that Theresa May

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is very much going for a vote Conservative for my vision of

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Brexit, which should make some conservative voters unhappy, but if

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the lead narrows we could discover that she is back with a smaller

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majority than perhaps she was hoping for this morning. Would this

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election effectively become another referendum on Brexit? Certainly that

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is the way she seems to be pitching it. She is essentially saying that

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the reason we need to have this is because we need a government that

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has a clear majority and are committed to the version of Brexit I

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want, which is a vision that says we will not be in the single market and

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we will probably not be in the customs union and we will end of

:19:06.:19:09.

freedom of movement. One of the reasons she is hoping that will be a

:19:10.:19:14.

successful pitch is that the Labour Party is at sixes and sevens on its

:19:15.:19:18.

stance on Brexit. There are divisions inside the Conservative

:19:19.:19:23.

Party and we will see how they survive the general election but the

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truth is that the opposition is probably even more divided on this

:19:26.:19:28.

subject and she is probably banking that as long as it remains the

:19:29.:19:32.

central issue, the Labour Party will not be capable of fighting -- and

:19:33.:19:40.

effective alternative position. Do we have to look at how different

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constituencies voted in the referendum in order to get a better

:19:46.:19:50.

prediction of the outcome? If you look at the by-election in Richmond

:19:51.:19:55.

that Zac Goldsmith lost, it came down to the fact that constituents

:19:56.:20:00.

there were in favour of Remain. That is true but there are not many

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constituencies with a historic Liberal Democrat vote and a clear

:20:05.:20:11.

Remain vote. That will be one of the considerations but certainly what

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lies behind Theresa May's 42% is a coalition. Around two thirds of that

:20:15.:20:19.

vote is a leave vote and probably people who are happy with her vision

:20:20.:20:23.

of Brexit. One third of it is a Remain vote and the question is, how

:20:24.:20:28.

much of that is willing to say, well, look, I was not actually that

:20:29.:20:31.

keen on the European Union in the first place and I am happy to stick

:20:32.:20:38.

with the Tories' plan. Theresa May is hoping that a lot of those

:20:39.:20:41.

conservative remain voters were reluctant voters and will be hoping

:20:42.:20:46.

to stick with her. It will be interesting to see how voters feel

:20:47.:20:49.

about going back to the polls so soon. And indeed it is certainly one

:20:50.:20:53.

of the things that will be thrown at the Prime Minister, the fact that

:20:54.:20:56.

she has said strongly during the course of the last nine months or so

:20:57.:20:59.

that she did not think they should be a general election. She did not

:21:00.:21:04.

want to hold one. And this, in a sense, can be regarded as her first

:21:05.:21:10.

major U-turn of her premiership. But we should not exaggerate the extent

:21:11.:21:13.

to which voters had concerned about issues of process. In the end,

:21:14.:21:20.

perhaps, she will be able to get away. Certainly, we can anticipate

:21:21.:21:24.

in that debate that will take place in the Commons tomorrow, that will

:21:25.:21:27.

be thrown at her pretty rigorously, I expect. Stay with us, John

:21:28.:21:34.

Curtice, because we would like to be able to keep on talking to you as we

:21:35.:21:39.

continue to digest this breaking news that the Fry Minister is going

:21:40.:21:43.

to be calling an election on the 8th of June. In order to get to that

:21:44.:21:51.

point, she needs a majority of two thirds of MPs in the Commons in

:21:52.:21:55.

order for the six term Parliament act to be overwritten. That would

:21:56.:22:01.

have meant the next election being in 2020. Until now, Theresa May had

:22:02.:22:05.

said she had no intention of calling an election prior to that but in the

:22:06.:22:08.

last five minutes in Downing Street, she has said that recently and

:22:09.:22:12.

reluctantly she has come to the conclusion that the only way to

:22:13.:22:15.

guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead and for her to

:22:16.:22:21.

see through Brexit is for her to call an election. We have had

:22:22.:22:24.

reaction from the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, on

:22:25.:22:26.

Twitter. He said: Adverse reaction from one of the

:22:27.:22:55.

political parties. -- the first reaction. Our Political

:22:56.:22:58.

Correspondent, Vicki Young, is in Westminster with a Liberal Democrat.

:22:59.:23:05.

Westminster likes nothing more than speculation but we now know that

:23:06.:23:08.

Theresa May is wanting another general election on June eight. As

:23:09.:23:12.

you say, she has to get a vote through Parliament first. Let's find

:23:13.:23:16.

out from Liberal Democrats and Conservative MPs about what they

:23:17.:23:19.

think. Alistair Carmichael from the Liberal Democrats, will you vote for

:23:20.:23:26.

a general election? We're up for the fight. If that is when it is going

:23:27.:23:30.

to be, this is a tremendous opportunity for the Liberal

:23:31.:23:33.

Democrats. We are now the only party in British politics is putting the

:23:34.:23:36.

positive case for Britain at the heart of Europe. This is an

:23:37.:23:41.

opportunity for people who are not happy with Theresa May's hard Brexit

:23:42.:23:45.

taking us out of the single market and away from the customs union to

:23:46.:23:52.

make their views known. The way to do that is by giving your vote to

:23:53.:23:54.

the Liberal Democrats. Theresa May has made this sound like it will be

:23:55.:23:57.

able to buy Brexit. That is part of the reason why she has Jewish mind,

:23:58.:24:03.

because parties like yours wants to grind down parliamentary business

:24:04.:24:05.

and reverse the will of the British people. If you want to see Britain

:24:06.:24:11.

remain in the single market, in the currency union, if you reject the

:24:12.:24:22.

idea of a hard Brexit, just nine Liberal Democrat MPs are able to

:24:23.:24:27.

make white hard for her, just imagine what we could do if we got

:24:28.:24:30.

back to the strength we had before 2015. How confident are you of

:24:31.:24:36.

making games? We had a very difficult time in 2015, that is well

:24:37.:24:42.

known. People see the difference that the Liberal Democrats have made

:24:43.:24:47.

within a coalition government. They can see what majority government has

:24:48.:24:50.

been like with the Conservatives and it is not a pretty sight. It is not

:24:51.:25:00.

a good time to be poor or young or lacking opportunities in this

:25:01.:25:03.

country. You get no help from a majority Conservative government.

:25:04.:25:10.

But as Theresa May once, and this becomes an election about Brexit,

:25:11.:25:14.

Theresa May has said that she wants a hard Brexit. The Labour Party has

:25:15.:25:18.

said they will not stand in the way of that. The SNP cannot take any

:25:19.:25:25.

more than one seat from the Conservatives. The only people who

:25:26.:25:29.

can make a difference, if you want to see Britain remain engaged with

:25:30.:25:32.

the European Union, are the Liberal Democrats. Are you surprised by this

:25:33.:25:53.

decision, Iain Duncan Smith? Theresa May said she did not want an early

:25:54.:25:54.

election. Everyone will be surprised because the Prime Minister always

:25:55.:25:54.

keep things quiet until she announces it. I think she has come

:25:55.:25:55.

up with something very focused and clear. She has strong leadership. I

:25:56.:25:56.

think she is right that at the moment we have a government that was

:25:57.:26:02.

elected before the referendum, which means that right now we have a

:26:03.:26:06.

problem. Because in the Lords there has been talk about delaying and

:26:07.:26:11.

blocking this, making it difficult to get through. She is right to

:26:12.:26:15.

clear the air, to come back and say, right, the British people want us to

:26:16.:26:18.

get on with this and negotiate properly in Europe. That is the

:26:19.:26:21.

right thing to do from a position of strength. But there is a riskier,

:26:22.:26:27.

because just only half of the people who voted wanted to leave the EU. If

:26:28.:26:32.

she makes this about Brexit, is there not a risk? It is not about

:26:33.:26:36.

Brexit, it is about electing a government with a strong mandate to

:26:37.:26:39.

carry on the normal domestic business. The key thing about all of

:26:40.:26:43.

this, the reason for the general election is that right now there is

:26:44.:26:46.

a disproportionate state in the House of Lords which has a chance to

:26:47.:26:52.

vote on this. We have 100 members of the House of Lords who are liberal

:26:53.:26:56.

peers but only nine members of the House of Commons. I think resetting

:26:57.:26:59.

that balance and making it very clear that you have a mandate in the

:27:00.:27:04.

Commons, Theresa May and the government, for them to get on and

:27:05.:27:07.

run this, so that we have a strong and stable government over the next

:27:08.:27:11.

five years, able to do Brexit but also strong enough to do good

:27:12.:27:16.

domestic legislation. But before that, the real reason is that Labour

:27:17.:27:20.

are calling 20 points behind the Tories and Jeremy Corbyn's

:27:21.:27:24.

leadership is in trouble. Theresa May looked at that and realise she

:27:25.:27:28.

could make a lot of games. That is a secondary issue. The reality is that

:27:29.:27:32.

she feels strongly that she needs that mandate. The Labour Party has

:27:33.:27:37.

its own particular problems and I suspect there will be a number of

:27:38.:27:40.

Labour MPs who want to see this general election for internal

:27:41.:27:43.

reasons. But the reality is that this is a bold, strong, serious

:27:44.:27:47.

decision made by somebody who has complete confidence in their

:27:48.:27:52.

leadership. The public, as they have shown in the personal polls,

:27:53.:27:56.

generally feel like she is the right person. Her personal ratings are

:27:57.:28:00.

high? Ian says this is the reason but there is no such thing. We have

:28:01.:28:04.

heard an excuse. House of Lords did not stand in the way of the

:28:05.:28:07.

government when it came to triggering Article 50. She got what

:28:08.:28:11.

she wanted through that, albeit that even that limited provision had to

:28:12.:28:15.

be brought kicking and screaming from her as the result of a court

:28:16.:28:20.

case. It is opportunistic. She is doing something now that she said

:28:21.:28:23.

categorically she was not going to do. This is how she has operated

:28:24.:28:30.

since day one. She is trying to run this country not in national

:28:31.:28:34.

interests but from the narrow party advantage of the Conservatives. This

:28:35.:28:39.

is just the most recent example. It is utterly opportunistic but I tell

:28:40.:28:42.

you, it is an opportunity for the Liberal Democrats and we will not

:28:43.:28:47.

pass it up. But for you, you may well make some gains but if she's

:28:48.:28:51.

heading for a landslide, what can you get out of it? The only way to

:28:52.:28:56.

stop a Conservative landslide, and we have to be careful about

:28:57.:28:58.

predicting the future of politics, but the only way to stand in the way

:28:59.:29:05.

of a Conservative landslide is the Liberal Democrats taking back the

:29:06.:29:10.

seats that we lost to them in 2015. That is happening week in and week

:29:11.:29:14.

out in Council by-election is up and down the country. You will see that

:29:15.:29:17.

happen again, I believe, come general election. But there will be

:29:18.:29:23.

Conservatives on the surplus of them and who will not be chuffed by that

:29:24.:29:26.

announcement. They will feel that they might lose out to the Liberal

:29:27.:29:29.

Democrats but Theresa May, you presume, we'll look at the weakness

:29:30.:29:35.

of Labour. I think most importantly, she personally is wanting a mandate

:29:36.:29:42.

to be the Prime Minister elected by the British people. It is reasonable

:29:43.:29:48.

to want that. She feels it is important, with the most important

:29:49.:29:50.

negotiations to have been conducted in 50 years, to mandate to do that

:29:51.:30:00.

with strength. And the 30 area, they need our government that can get

:30:01.:30:04.

that legislation through. -- and the third area. If you had this

:30:05.:30:07.

together, it is a sensible decision. My instinct is that there will not

:30:08.:30:11.

be a single Conservative MP that says they are unhappy about this.

:30:12.:30:15.

Everyone of them wants to get this done so that we can come back here

:30:16.:30:18.

and say, hopefully, if we get elected because we take that for

:30:19.:30:22.

granted, if we come back elected, then we can get onto business and

:30:23.:30:28.

stop the nonsense of saying we do not have a mandate. The Liberals

:30:29.:30:31.

have used this argument, you were not elected as Prime Minister, well,

:30:32.:30:36.

let's call their bluff and put this on the table and say, now here is a

:30:37.:30:40.

chance for all of you to go out and fight the election and let the

:30:41.:30:42.

British people decide who they want to leave them and where they want

:30:43.:30:44.

the leader to take them. If this was about Theresa May having

:30:45.:30:54.

a mandate of her own, the time that this would have been in July last

:30:55.:31:00.

year. At that time she said categorically she would not do it.

:31:01.:31:05.

What you see now is the temptation of the polling had become too much

:31:06.:31:10.

for her. She needs to be cautious. It seems to me there is a lot of

:31:11.:31:14.

complacency and a measure of arrogance in this announcement. They

:31:15.:31:18.

are taking the voters for granted already. The way you

:31:19.:31:27.

by giving your vote to the Liberal Democrats. I do not think she is

:31:28.:31:31.

taking them for granted. You do not take an electric granted by going

:31:32.:31:35.

back and asking them, can you decide he want to govern and how strong you

:31:36.:31:40.

on that government to be? That is what she is asking for. You want a

:31:41.:31:47.

general election and Theresa May has said we need to clear the air and

:31:48.:31:53.

get it clear mandate. Maybe the party that does not want the

:31:54.:32:01.

election are not in this interview. Let's get those battle buses ready.

:32:02.:32:06.

Thank you. We still have not heard from Labour. As soon there is a

:32:07.:32:10.

reaction from Jeremy Corbyn, we will bring it to you. You can get in

:32:11.:32:16.

touch with me by twitter if you want to let me know what you think. Carl

:32:17.:32:22.

Gothard has said, it is brilliant, a really good call. A referendum last

:32:23.:32:28.

year and now we are heading for another general election on the 8th

:32:29.:32:32.

of June. Let's just remind ourselves of the moment that Theresa May make

:32:33.:32:35.

the dramatic announcement in Downing Street little while ago. I have just

:32:36.:32:41.

chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we agreed the Government

:32:42.:32:44.

should call a general election, to be held on the 8th of June. I want

:32:45.:32:50.

to explain the reasons for that decision. What will happen next and

:32:51.:32:55.

the choice facing the British people when you come to vote in this

:32:56.:33:03.

election. Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European

:33:04.:33:07.

Union, Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership.

:33:08.:33:14.

Since I became Prime Minister, the Government has delivered precisely

:33:15.:33:19.

that will stop despite predictions of immediate, financial and economic

:33:20.:33:25.

danger, since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain

:33:26.:33:30.

high, record numbers of jobs and economic growth that has exceeded

:33:31.:33:35.

all expectations. We have also delivered on the mandate we were

:33:36.:33:41.

handed by the referendum result will stop Britain is leaving the European

:33:42.:33:44.

Union and that can be no turning back. As we look to the future, the

:33:45.:33:52.

Government has the right plan for negotiating our new relationship

:33:53.:33:58.

with Europe. We want a deep and special partnership between a strong

:33:59.:34:03.

and successful European Union and the United Kingdom that is free to

:34:04.:34:09.

chart its own way in the world. That means we will regain control of our

:34:10.:34:14.

own money, our own laws and our own borders and we will be free to

:34:15.:34:19.

strike trade deals with old friends and new partners all around the

:34:20.:34:24.

world. This is the right approach and it is in the national interest.

:34:25.:34:31.

But the other political parties oppose it. At this moment of

:34:32.:34:37.

enormous, National significance, there should be unity here in

:34:38.:34:43.

Westminster. Instead, there is division. The country is coming

:34:44.:34:49.

together but Westminster is not. In recent weeks, Labour has threatened

:34:50.:34:53.

to vote against the final agreement we reach with the European Union.

:34:54.:34:58.

The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of

:34:59.:35:03.

government to a standstill. The Scottish National Party says it will

:35:04.:35:07.

vote against the legislation up formally repealed Britain's

:35:08.:35:11.

membership of the European Union and unelected members of the House of

:35:12.:35:14.

Lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way. Our opponents

:35:15.:35:21.

believe, because the Government majority is so small, our resolve

:35:22.:35:26.

will weaken and they can force us to change course. They are wrong. They

:35:27.:35:33.

underestimate our determination to get the job done. I am not prepared

:35:34.:35:38.

to let them endanger the security of millions of working people across

:35:39.:35:43.

the country. What they are doing jeopardised as the work we must do

:35:44.:35:51.

to prepare for Brexit at home and it weakens the Government's negotiating

:35:52.:35:56.

position in Europe. If we do not hold a general election now, their

:35:57.:36:01.

political gameplaying will continue and the negotiations with the

:36:02.:36:04.

European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the

:36:05.:36:11.

next scheduled election. Division in Westminster will risk our ability to

:36:12.:36:17.

make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and

:36:18.:36:21.

instability to the country. So, we need a general election and we need

:36:22.:36:26.

one now. We have, at this moment, a one-off chance to get this done

:36:27.:36:32.

while the European union agrees its negotiating position and before the

:36:33.:36:37.

detailed talks begin. Theresa May with her announcement that she will

:36:38.:36:41.

be calling a general election for the 8th of June. That announcement

:36:42.:36:45.

completely unexpected and just in the last half hour. Let's go

:36:46.:36:49.

straight to Norman Smith in Downing Street. Unexpected because she has

:36:50.:36:53.

been questionably diddly about whether she might call a general

:36:54.:36:57.

election and she has said no before. -- repeatedly. She has been very

:36:58.:37:03.

clear about the fact she would serve a full term and would not cut and

:37:04.:37:07.

run full she will face accusations of voting party interests before

:37:08.:37:11.

country and an opportunistic scuttle to the electorate when the polls in

:37:12.:37:15.

her favour. She has decided that is a price worth paying, given that she

:37:16.:37:20.

has a 20 point lead in some of the opinion polls at the weekend. Let's

:37:21.:37:26.

just remember what she has said. On the Andrew Marr programme, Chi was

:37:27.:37:31.

asked about a snap early election. I think what is important, having had

:37:32.:37:37.

the referendum vote, we need a period of stability. There is a

:37:38.:37:41.

challenge ahead in making sure we have made a successor coming out of

:37:42.:37:46.

the European Union. We must focus on that and the other agenda I have for

:37:47.:37:51.

the country as we go forward. We will be continuing the manifesto on

:37:52.:37:55.

which the Conservative government was elected in 2015. I do not think

:37:56.:38:00.

there is a need for an election. I think the next election will be in

:38:01.:38:06.

2020. This is very important. Under current law, the next election will

:38:07.:38:13.

in 2020. Is that absolutely certain that we will not see an election

:38:14.:38:19.

before 2020? I will not be calling a snap election. We need that period

:38:20.:38:23.

of time, that stability, to do with the issues the country is facing and

:38:24.:38:29.

have that election in 2020. I am sure it is the sort of clip the

:38:30.:38:33.

opposition parties will be playing and referring to over and again.

:38:34.:38:38.

Theresa May breaking her word. Reluctantly she said it was in the

:38:39.:38:42.

national interests to go for an early general election. What do you

:38:43.:38:48.

think was the crucial factor that made Mrs May change her mind? In the

:38:49.:38:55.

words of one of my sources, we have had 100% lies for weeks and weeks

:38:56.:38:58.

that there would be no early election. And yet, the logic of

:38:59.:39:04.

holding a poll now was pretty big. Theresa May is about to embark on

:39:05.:39:09.

the negotiations on Brexit. There is just this window, while Europe gets

:39:10.:39:15.

its negotiating strategy together and the French hold their elections

:39:16.:39:20.

ahead of the German poll in the autumn, Theresa May could hold a

:39:21.:39:24.

cost free election before the heavy lifting begins without damaging the

:39:25.:39:29.

British interests, she will hope, and take advantage of this

:39:30.:39:34.

extraordinary polling. We have had problems with polls in the past and

:39:35.:39:39.

no one can deny that. What you getting is incredibly large polling

:39:40.:39:43.

leads. We heard one from YouGov over the weekend, a 21 point lead in that

:39:44.:39:49.

poll. Another similar sized poll from a rival company at the weekend.

:39:50.:39:54.

When the leaves are that big, it points to detention for a big shift.

:39:55.:39:59.

In England, Labour MPs will today be facing the possibility of them

:40:00.:40:03.

losing their jobs in six weeks' time, lots of them. One senior

:40:04.:40:07.

figure in the Labour Party was suggesting we could go down to 180,

:40:08.:40:15.

170, Labour MPs unless something accurate happens based on current

:40:16.:40:18.

trends and what they observe on the doorstep. That is a big and decisive

:40:19.:40:25.

change. That does not mean this is a risk-free option by Theresa May.

:40:26.:40:31.

This is a gamble. She has lied and we will have days of her being

:40:32.:40:35.

accused of lying. That will make the passage of the necessary legislation

:40:36.:40:39.

through parliament authorising a general election more difficult.

:40:40.:40:47.

Some Tories are nervous. In the south-west, some have just got their

:40:48.:40:52.

seats for the first time in 2015 and now face a potentially resurgent

:40:53.:40:55.

Liberal Democrats eating away at their majorities. You have people on

:40:56.:41:00.

the Tory Right who did not really want an early general election as

:41:01.:41:05.

they could see that Theresa May only has a majority of 18 and needs the

:41:06.:41:09.

Unionists onside. They can see they have quite a lot of leveraged over

:41:10.:41:16.

Theresa May. If her majority goes up to 50, 60, they're negotiating power

:41:17.:41:21.

for a clean break from Europe, perhaps a free trade deal for

:41:22.:41:27.

Europe, becomes diminished. There are opponents in her own party who

:41:28.:41:30.

will be loyal in public today. They'll be interested to see what

:41:31.:41:34.

stance opposition parties take on it. There just was a sweet spot that

:41:35.:41:41.

she could use. Thank you very much. The polls have been wrong before but

:41:42.:41:46.

they seem to have given Mrs May a consistent lead for so long it would

:41:47.:41:50.

be extraordinary if they are wrong again. Who knows? Elections,

:41:51.:42:01.

referendums, they are repeatedly a surprise. None of us should take

:42:02.:42:05.

anything for granted. The Liberal Democrats have already said they

:42:06.:42:07.

welcomed the news that there will be a general election in June. Let's go

:42:08.:42:11.

to our chief political correspondent who has reaction from Jeremy Corbyn.

:42:12.:42:17.

In a similar vein, he has said he welcomes the decision by the Prime

:42:18.:42:22.

Minister to give the British people are chance to put the interests of

:42:23.:42:25.

the majority first. He says Labour will be offering the country and

:42:26.:42:29.

effective alternative to a government that has fell to rebuild

:42:30.:42:34.

the economy, delivered falling living standards, damaged schools

:42:35.:42:38.

and the NHS. He says Labour has set up policies offering a clear and

:42:39.:42:40.

credible choice to the country and he says he looks forward to showing

:42:41.:42:44.

how Labour will stand up for the people of Britain. They will be

:42:45.:42:49.

voting with Theresa May tomorrow. That is the vote that will get heard

:42:50.:42:54.

that election on June eight, as she once. I spoke to senior Labour

:42:55.:42:58.

figures a few weeks ago about speculation on an election and they

:42:59.:43:02.

said, yes, they are ready for that fight. They believe if Jeremy Corbyn

:43:03.:43:07.

gets the publicity, they think he can win people over. As you say, the

:43:08.:43:11.

polls have not suggested that. You'll be a huge test for him.

:43:12.:43:16.

Someone who has been a backbench MP for most of his long career. This

:43:17.:43:22.

will be on a completely different scale to anything he has done

:43:23.:43:25.

before. The glare of the media on him relentlessly for several weeks.

:43:26.:43:30.

Supporters say he will win people over. The more people see him, the

:43:31.:43:36.

more they will like him. He has a huge task. If you look at the last

:43:37.:43:47.

general election, under Ed Miliband, that was a terrible result for

:43:48.:43:48.

Labour. They will have to try to claw their way back from that. A big

:43:49.:43:53.

task for Jeremy Corbyn. Thank you very much. Just hearing from Paul

:43:54.:43:58.

Nuttall from Ukip on twitter. Every vote will be reminded to the Prime

:43:59.:44:03.

Minister that the British people want a clean Brexit with restored

:44:04.:44:07.

borders. We are also hearing from Kezia Dugdale. This country faces a

:44:08.:44:12.

significant and historic choice as we approach the UK leaving the EU

:44:13.:44:17.

will stop at the last election in 2015, we said it will be a clear

:44:18.:44:19.

choice between a destructive Tory Party and a better future with

:44:20.:44:24.

Labour. At this election the choice will be clear. The Tory Party intent

:44:25.:44:28.

on hard and damaging Brexit or a Labour Party that will oppose a

:44:29.:44:31.

second Independence referendum and fight for a better future for

:44:32.:44:37.

everyone. Let's go to our Scotland correspondent. Is there any word yet

:44:38.:44:42.

from Nicola Sturgeon? Nicola Sturgeon watched the Prime

:44:43.:44:52.

Minister's statement at her official residence in Edinburgh but she has

:44:53.:44:56.

not formally responded to it. The SNP has had their best ever general

:44:57.:45:02.

election result in 2015. They won 56 of the 59 available seats in

:45:03.:45:07.

Scotland. In those circumstances, I am not sure they would relish the

:45:08.:45:12.

possibility, the potential, for an early election and certainly their

:45:13.:45:16.

political opponents think they could make gains in these circumstances.

:45:17.:45:21.

The SNP do want a vote of a different kind in the next 18 months

:45:22.:45:26.

to two years, another referendum on Scottish independence. They have

:45:27.:45:30.

requested formally from the UK Government the power to hold that.

:45:31.:45:34.

The Prime Minister's response has been now is not the time. I think

:45:35.:45:39.

there will be some focus on that phrase from the SNP in their

:45:40.:45:44.

responses. The party ) a pity leader has said, whatever happened to now

:45:45.:45:50.

is not the time. If now is not the time for an independence referendum,

:45:51.:45:59.

the SNP will question why now is the time for a general election. Already

:46:00.:46:02.

Mr Robertson framing the contest in Scotland as a straight choice

:46:03.:46:04.

between the SNP and the Conservatives. On the opinion polls,

:46:05.:46:08.

the SNP remains the first place party in Scotland with the

:46:09.:46:10.

Conservatives in second and Labour in third. The Conservative leader,

:46:11.:46:17.

Ruth Davidson, has yet to formally respond. She will relish the

:46:18.:46:21.

opportunity, the chance of an early general election in Scotland. You

:46:22.:46:25.

mentioned the Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, he says the

:46:26.:46:28.

party is ready and has been preparing for a general election.

:46:29.:46:32.

She says that Labour in Scotland. The process of selecting candidates

:46:33.:46:37.

this afternoon. In terms of a countdown, Peter Murrell, the chief

:46:38.:46:43.

Executive of the SNP the husband of the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon,

:46:44.:46:45.

has tweeted saying the polls open in 50 days and hours.

:46:46.:46:50.

Thank you very much. We're right back in it, to make years after the

:46:51.:46:55.

last general election, headed for another one. So what do you think?

:46:56.:46:59.

If you want to get in touch on Twitter, @bbcjoannag. Anders says,

:47:00.:47:12.

it makes sense to me. The Lib Dem search is less, and Labour are

:47:13.:47:20.

weakened. Another viewer says, the Conservatives want to rid Parliament

:47:21.:47:23.

of opposition. Anna says, completely unnecessary, we voted to make years

:47:24.:47:26.

ago and Theresa May was part of that. Sick of voting and a waste of

:47:27.:47:30.

time and money. Aidan Fletcher says, we can possibly predict the outcome

:47:31.:47:36.

of the election. The PM has the upper hand but it is a risky call.

:47:37.:47:41.

Let's bring in Professor John Curtis, Professor of politics at the

:47:42.:47:44.

University of Strathclyde. How risky is this because the Tories are well

:47:45.:47:50.

ahead in the polls. In a sense, the risk for the bright minister is that

:47:51.:47:53.

because the party starts so far ahead in the polls, the truth is

:47:54.:47:58.

that unless the Conservatives emerge with at least a majority of 100 in

:47:59.:48:03.

the House of Commons, the election will be regarded as something of a

:48:04.:48:08.

failure. And to that extent, the Prime Minister is going into this

:48:09.:48:11.

election with very high expectations of success. Maybe she will succeed,

:48:12.:48:15.

but just to repeat the warning we made earlier, if the lead goes down

:48:16.:48:21.

to some degree, so that maybe it is around eight, nine, ten points, well

:48:22.:48:27.

actually, given that a 7-point lead to make years ago only got the

:48:28.:48:30.

Tories a majority of 12 or so, then actually the Tory majority in the

:48:31.:48:35.

new House of Commons may not be that big. Insofar as Theresa May has been

:48:36.:48:42.

trying to bolster her authority, in particular are trying to ensure that

:48:43.:48:46.

her backbenchers cannot make life difficult for the opposition

:48:47.:48:49.

parties, she now needs to win big, and in a sense the only question

:48:50.:48:56.

about the general election is do they win big or do the polls

:48:57.:48:59.

narrowed during the course of the next 50 days or so? So yes, she is

:49:00.:49:05.

taking a fair gamble because she is wanting to win big. She is not just

:49:06.:49:08.

wanting to win. And suddenly it throws out the possibility to voters

:49:09.:49:15.

of potentially overturning Brexit. Without a general election, the have

:49:16.:49:20.

no chance of that happening. That is certainly true. The only party that

:49:21.:49:25.

will be campaigning, as far as we know, exquisitely for a second

:49:26.:49:28.

referendum, are the Liberal Democrats. I guess it is not

:49:29.:49:32.

surprising that Tim Farron was pretty sharp off the mark in

:49:33.:49:35.

welcoming this announcement because he probably reckons that given

:49:36.:49:43.

Theresa May is making Brexit, her vision of Brexit, the central issue

:49:44.:49:48.

of this issue, and the Lib Dems are united in being opposed to that

:49:49.:49:52.

vision, and most of them want a second referendum, he is hoping that

:49:53.:49:56.

maybe he will succeed in appealing to at least a quarter of the

:49:57.:50:02.

electorate who sometimes are Labour voters and would like to see the

:50:03.:50:06.

Brexit decision provoked. Given the only has nine MPs to start with, any

:50:07.:50:13.

movement in that will be welcomed. The crucial question is the extent

:50:14.:50:17.

to which Jeremy Corbyn is able to unite his party on Brexit and more

:50:18.:50:21.

generally on the issue of his leadership. The most important thing

:50:22.:50:24.

has happened in the last half an hour, Jeremy Corbyn's announcement

:50:25.:50:29.

that he welcomes the announcement and Labour are meant to be voting in

:50:30.:50:32.

favour of the motion when it comes to the House of Commons tomorrow.

:50:33.:50:36.

The question we will now be asking is does he succeed in taking all

:50:37.:50:41.

Labour MPs with him or does this general election campaign start with

:50:42.:50:45.

yet another division inside the Labour Party? Because one suspect

:50:46.:50:48.

there are some Labour MPs who are perhaps unhappy about the prospect

:50:49.:50:53.

of fighting a general election under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership and so

:50:54.:50:57.

therefore they will vote against it. I can tell you that there is one who

:50:58.:51:00.

has come out and said that he will be voting against the snap general

:51:01.:51:03.

election and that is the chest and MP, Chris Matheson. His majority is

:51:04.:51:09.

just 93, the most marginal Labour seat in the country. He says he will

:51:10.:51:14.

vote against the snap general election but as John Curtice

:51:15.:51:20.

indicates, which Jeremy Corbyn saying the Labour Party welcomes the

:51:21.:51:25.

announcement by the Prime Minister that she will be holding a general

:51:26.:51:28.

election in June, it will almost certainly go ahead. In order for it

:51:29.:51:31.

to go ahead, the Prime Minister needs to get it through the Commons

:51:32.:51:34.

with a two thirds majority of MPs because David Cameron introduced a

:51:35.:51:38.

fixed term Parliament act which meant that Parliament would last for

:51:39.:51:42.

a fixed term of five years, which would mean that the next election

:51:43.:51:46.

was not until 2020. But instead, that can now be overridden by a

:51:47.:51:52.

majority vote in the Commons. And it looks like that will be happening.

:51:53.:51:58.

So we are on course for Junior. More reaction from Fraser Nelson, the

:51:59.:52:00.

editor of the Spectator. Were you surprised? Yes, absolutely. For a

:52:01.:52:06.

long time people have said that perhaps Theresa May would have an

:52:07.:52:10.

early general election, but we thought she wouldn't for three

:52:11.:52:13.

reasons. One was a boundary review that would give the Tories more

:52:14.:52:18.

seats. The other was that if you look at the Labour Party, they do

:52:19.:52:23.

not need to have one right now. But most of all, she said she wouldn't.

:52:24.:52:29.

Four or five times she had pledged not to have if snap election. To

:52:30.:52:33.

break her words in spectacular fashion is not a good look. Also

:52:34.:52:37.

remember the great risk is that this election campaign could be a rerun

:52:38.:52:41.

of the EU referendum campaign. The liberal Democrats will be delighted.

:52:42.:52:45.

This is the best news they have had for a long time. So the risk is that

:52:46.:52:49.

Labour will get a lot more votes and the Lib Dems will get a lot more

:52:50.:52:53.

votes because people who want to have Britain stay in the EU will see

:52:54.:52:58.

this as a chance to stop it. And then the two tribes we saw dividing

:52:59.:53:02.

Britain last year will form again and make life more difficult for the

:53:03.:53:08.

Tories than if Theresa May had waited until 2020. Theresa May was

:53:09.:53:11.

throwing down the gauntlet to Jeremy Corbyn saying that he had said he

:53:12.:53:16.

would vote against any deal on Brexit, if the terms were not

:53:17.:53:22.

completely matching what the UK currently has inside the EU. It will

:53:23.:53:29.

be, RBC, and we have heard that Jeremy Corbyn is welcoming the

:53:30.:53:32.

election but it is interesting to see how they play it. It is very

:53:33.:53:36.

difficult for Jeremy Corbyn, who has an ambivalent decision on Brexit. He

:53:37.:53:42.

was fundamentally a Remainer. If he was, he would get a lot more votes

:53:43.:53:46.

than he is getting now. A lot of the voters he needs to get back voted

:53:47.:53:51.

for Brexit. Yes, Theresa May is right that Labour is in a difficult

:53:52.:53:55.

position. Although the pretext of this was that he would thwart

:53:56.:53:58.

Brexit, that does not really hold up. She managed to get the Brexit

:53:59.:54:02.

legislation through the Commons pretty easily. There is not a

:54:03.:54:07.

practical reason for the selection rather than the party political

:54:08.:54:10.

advantage of the Conservative Party. Voters will sense that. This is the

:54:11.:54:15.

other risk Theresa May is taking. She's been telling Scotland that you

:54:16.:54:18.

could not have another referendum because we had a vote a few years

:54:19.:54:22.

ago. Well, you she is putting through a general election vote

:54:23.:54:26.

against on Word and in a way that is not really necessary. That is really

:54:27.:54:29.

the strange thing. Why do she have to have an right now. The reason she

:54:30.:54:33.

gave this morning was not particularly convincing. On that,

:54:34.:54:37.

she says that she has only recently and reluctantly come to the

:54:38.:54:44.

conclusion. She says it is the only way to guarantee certainty and

:54:45.:54:48.

stability in the years ahead. She said that the opposition was

:54:49.:54:53.

weakening Britain's and in the negotiations by the stands. It does

:54:54.:54:59.

not stand up to scrutiny at all. If she had had the Article 50 wrote to

:55:00.:55:03.

trigger Brexit thwarted in the House of Commons or the House of Lords,

:55:04.:55:07.

then she would have been able to say, OK, let's have a general

:55:08.:55:10.

election so I can make sure the will of the people is enacted, but as it

:55:11.:55:15.

stands she won victory after victory on that relatively easily. I don't

:55:16.:55:20.

think that she or anybody else could really points to this great big

:55:21.:55:24.

obstacle in the House of Commons that is stopping Brexit. Those

:55:25.:55:26.

battles have been fought and she was winning them. This election is to

:55:27.:55:30.

make sure the Tories get a majority of about 100 when the Labour Party

:55:31.:55:36.

looks to be at its weakest point. Thank you very much, Fraser Nelson.

:55:37.:55:39.

We have a tweet from Scotland's First Minister. The Tories see a

:55:40.:55:45.

chance to move the UK to the right, forced through a hard Brexit and

:55:46.:55:49.

impose deeper cuts. Let stand up for Scotland. #GE17. That is a hashtag

:55:50.:55:59.

we're going to be getting used to because we have six weeks until the

:56:00.:56:03.

next general election into my dears --, two years since the last one.

:56:04.:56:09.

Downing Street this morning confirming the news. Just have an

:56:10.:56:16.

hour before the statement, there was absolutely no indication for the

:56:17.:56:20.

statement could be. We knew it would be dramatic and in the event, it

:56:21.:56:24.

was. We will be having a general election on the 8th of June. Let's

:56:25.:56:28.

bring in Ben Thomson with reaction from the markets. What are they

:56:29.:56:32.

doing? That they do the numbers because it is interesting. If we

:56:33.:56:34.

look at that regulation before the announcement, there was a big

:56:35.:56:40.

sell-off in the pound and that has now bounced back. That is off the

:56:41.:56:45.

table. The FTSE 100 is currently down by 1.5%. It is a two month low.

:56:46.:56:51.

We should not expect much reaction, apart from this region are -- knee

:56:52.:56:56.

jerk reaction, until the vote on June. Unless, and it is a big

:56:57.:57:02.

caveat, unless the polls suggest that there is weakening support for

:57:03.:57:06.

the Conservatives. This is interesting though because there is

:57:07.:57:11.

lot more uncertainty. There is a vote in France and now in the UK and

:57:12.:57:14.

the markets do not like uncertainty. That is what we have got in bucket

:57:15.:57:18.

loads now. As you would expect, we're getting reaction from big city

:57:19.:57:23.

institutions, and some of that is coming into me now. One suggesting

:57:24.:57:27.

this is just the Prime Minister wanting full control of the Brexit

:57:28.:57:30.

process. They say this allows her to do that without interference.

:57:31.:57:36.

Another one saying that this would hand her a strong mandate to stand

:57:37.:57:41.

up to hardline anti-backbenchers. They say that would be welcomed by

:57:42.:57:46.

the financial markets. So clearly at this point some uncertainty as to

:57:47.:57:49.

what investors think happens next. Some suggesting that if we see that

:57:50.:57:56.

support continue for the Conservative Party, there will not

:57:57.:57:58.

be a huge change to the markets. Maybe the Prime Minister will have a

:57:59.:58:02.

bit more power than going into the process as far as Brexit is

:58:03.:58:10.

concerned. When she made the announcement, she outlined the

:58:11.:58:12.

current economic position of the UK and talked about the strong

:58:13.:58:16.

fundamentals, much stronger fundamentals that had been predicted

:58:17.:58:19.

in the run-up to the referendum, in the event of a vote for Brexit. Of

:58:20.:58:23.

course Brexit had not actually happened. Yes, and we should

:58:24.:58:26.

remember that the divorce the seedings are underway, but we have

:58:27.:58:31.

not left. Therefore there are all sorts of forecasts about what could

:58:32.:58:35.

happen to the UK economy if we left. Wild claims on both sides. I think

:58:36.:58:41.

it is fair to say that a lot of those are not come true. Some of the

:58:42.:58:44.

most pessimistic predictions about what would happen to the economy, we

:58:45.:58:49.

have approached these negotiations in a pretty robust financial health.

:58:50.:58:53.

That will change the way that we approach the negotiations about the

:58:54.:58:55.

relationship that we may have with the UK after we leave the European

:58:56.:59:01.

Union. As we heard they are from the city, a statement saying that we

:59:02.:59:05.

should give the prime Minster a stronger mandate, so that maybe she

:59:06.:59:08.

can fend off some of the criticism. This gives her a stronger position

:59:09.:59:12.

from which to negotiate. I think we would expect the market reaction

:59:13.:59:21.

around the June vote, or if, or if -- or if the support for the Tories

:59:22.:59:29.

drops. Let's go back to normal Smith for more reaction. A huge moment and

:59:30.:59:39.

it was all a surprise. Particularly since Theresa May had repeatedly

:59:40.:59:42.

suggested that you would not cut and run. She said today that reluctantly

:59:43.:59:45.

and recently she had changed her mind that an early election was not

:59:46.:59:51.

in the national interest to provide certainty and stability in the

:59:52.:59:56.

run-up to the Brexit referendum. Her claim that the opposition parties

:59:57.:59:59.

were providing disunity and endangering the prospects of

:00:00.:00:05.

millions of people ahead of Brexit. I have just chaired a meeting of the

:00:06.:00:10.

Cabinet or we agreed that the government should call a general

:00:11.:00:14.

election to be held on the 8th of June.

:00:15.:00:17.

The shock announcement was made just an hour ago.

:00:18.:00:19.

Britain will go to the polls in seven weeks.

:00:20.:00:21.

It comes just after the firing gun was triggered for Brexit.

:00:22.:00:25.

At this moment of enormous national significance,

:00:26.:00:29.

there should be unity here in Westminster.

:00:30.:00:32.

But instead there is division. The country is coming together

:00:33.:00:36.

The Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, welcomed the move, saying it give

:00:37.:00:48.

the British people the chance to vote for a government that

:00:49.:00:50.

will put the interests of the majority first.

:00:51.:00:55.

Nicola Sturgeon said she would stand up for Scotland and the

:00:56.:01:01.

Conservatives were planning to force through a hard Brexit.

:01:02.:01:18.

The Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that she is calling

:01:19.:01:30.

for a snap general election on the 8th of June.

:01:31.:01:32.

Mrs May had previously said there would be no

:01:33.:01:34.

election until 2020 but said she had reluctantly

:01:35.:01:37.

come to the conclusion that it was the only way

:01:38.:01:39.

to guarantee certainty and stability to see the country

:01:40.:01:41.

Explaining the decision, Mrs May said:

:01:42.:01:47.

"The country is coming together but Westminster is not."

:01:48.:01:49.

However, under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, the Prime Minister

:01:50.:01:52.

must ask the House of Commons to vote for an early election

:01:53.:02:03.

The Labour Party has confirmed that Jeremy Corbyn will vote for that

:02:04.:02:13.

decision. Let's talk to our Assistant

:02:14.:02:17.

Political Editor, Norman Smith, It is there to say she caught

:02:18.:02:32.

everyone unawares. She did. We are heading for the Brexit election.

:02:33.:02:36.

That is how to reason me is pitching it was she decided to drop her

:02:37.:02:40.

previous pledge not to cut and run because she said there is a need to

:02:41.:02:45.

provide certainty and stability ahead of Brexit and strengthen her

:02:46.:02:49.

hand in these negotiations and counter what she sees as an attempt

:02:50.:02:53.

by opposition parties to thwart Brexit, 40 not just Labour, the

:02:54.:02:59.

Liberal Democrats and SNP, but also the House of Lords. She knows

:03:00.:03:03.

opinion polls give her a colossal lead of more than 20 points over

:03:04.:03:08.

Labour and she may well calculate it is never going to get any better for

:03:09.:03:12.

her. Let's have a listen to her statement.

:03:13.:03:16.

I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we have agreed

:03:17.:03:19.

the Government should call a general election to be held

:03:20.:03:21.

I want to explain the reasons for that decision.

:03:22.:03:27.

What will happen next, and the choice facing the British

:03:28.:03:30.

people, when you come to vote in this election.

:03:31.:03:34.

Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union,

:03:35.:03:43.

Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership

:03:44.:03:50.

Since I became Prime Minister the Government has

:03:51.:03:58.

financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen

:03:59.:04:04.

Economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.

:04:05.:04:11.

We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed

:04:12.:04:13.

Britain is leaving the European Union and there

:04:14.:04:17.

As as we look to the future, the Government has the right

:04:18.:04:27.

plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.

:04:28.:04:31.

We want a deep and special partnership between a strong

:04:32.:04:44.

That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws,

:04:45.:04:48.

We will be free to strike trade deals with old friends

:04:49.:04:54.

and new partners all around the world.

:04:55.:04:58.

This is the right approach and it is in the national interest.

:04:59.:05:03.

But the other political parties oppose it.

:05:04.:05:07.

At this moment of enormous national significance,

:05:08.:05:10.

there should be unity here in Westminster.

:05:11.:05:14.

The country is coming together but Westminster is not.

:05:15.:05:23.

In recent weeks, Labour has threatened to vote

:05:24.:05:30.

The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business

:05:31.:05:33.

The Scottish National Party said it will vote

:05:34.:05:50.

that formally repealed Britain's should

:05:51.:05:52.

Unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us

:05:53.:05:56.

Opponents believe our resolve will weaken and they can force

:05:57.:06:11.

They underestimate our determination to get the job done.

:06:12.:06:14.

I am not prepared to let them endanger the security

:06:15.:06:16.

of millions of working people across the country.

:06:17.:06:18.

What they are doing jeopardises the work we must do to prepare

:06:19.:06:21.

And it weakens the Government's negotiating position in Europe.

:06:22.:06:29.

If we do not hold a general election now, their political

:06:30.:06:32.

And the negotiations with the European Union

:06:33.:06:39.

will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next

:06:40.:06:42.

Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make

:06:43.:06:49.

a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty

:06:50.:06:52.

We need a general election and we need one now.

:06:53.:07:00.

We have, at this moment, a one-off chance to get this done

:07:01.:07:04.

while the European Union agrees its negotiating position

:07:05.:07:07.

I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion.

:07:08.:07:18.

Since I became Prime Minister, I have said there should be no

:07:19.:07:21.

Now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty

:07:22.:07:29.

and stability for the years ahead is to hold this election

:07:30.:07:32.

and seek your support for the decisions I must take.

:07:33.:07:37.

And so tomorrow I will move a motion in the House of Commons,

:07:38.:07:42.

calling for a general election to be held on the 8th of June.

:07:43.:07:52.

That motion, as set out by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act,

:07:53.:07:55.

will require a two thirds majority by the House of Commons.

:07:56.:07:58.

I have a simple challenge to the opposition parties.

:07:59.:08:01.

You have criticised the Government's decision for Brexit,

:08:02.:08:02.

challenged our objectives, threatened to block the legislation

:08:03.:08:04.

This is your moment to show you mean it, show you are not opposing

:08:05.:08:11.

the Government for the sake of it, to show that you do not

:08:12.:08:14.

Let us tomorrow vote for an election.

:08:15.:08:20.

Let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative plans

:08:21.:08:24.

for government and then let the people decide.

:08:25.:08:29.

And the decision facing the country will be all about leadership.

:08:30.:08:34.

It would be a choice between strong and stable leadership

:08:35.:08:39.

in the national interest with me as your Prime Minister,

:08:40.:08:45.

or weak and unstable, coalition government

:08:46.:08:48.

led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats,

:08:49.:08:50.

who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum and Nicola

:08:51.:08:53.

Every vote for the Conservatives will make it harder for opposition

:08:54.:09:00.

politicians who want to stop me from getting the job done.

:09:01.:09:04.

Every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger

:09:05.:09:07.

when I negotiate for Britain with the prime ministers,

:09:08.:09:09.

presidents and chancellors of the European Union.

:09:10.:09:12.

Every vote for the Conservatives will mean that we can stick

:09:13.:09:17.

to our plan for a stronger Britain and take the right long-term

:09:18.:09:20.

It was with reluctance that I decided the country

:09:21.:09:27.

It is with strong conviction that I say it is necessary to secure

:09:28.:09:33.

the strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us

:09:34.:09:36.

So, tomorrow, let the House of Commons vote for an election.

:09:37.:09:44.

Let everybody put forward their proposals for Brexit

:09:45.:09:48.

and their programmes for government and let us remove the risk

:09:49.:09:51.

of uncertainty and instability and continue to give the country

:09:52.:09:57.

the strong and stable leadership it demands.

:09:58.:10:13.

So, Theresa May setting out her reasons for reluctantly changing her

:10:14.:10:19.

mind about going for the snap general election, putting Brexit at

:10:20.:10:25.

the ball front of her thinking. She will also hope that if the polls are

:10:26.:10:29.

right she may be returned with a significantly larger majority, which

:10:30.:10:32.

would hugely strengthen her position in the House of Commons where, at

:10:33.:10:37.

the moment, Mrs May is permanently Barbara Ball two revolts. We saw

:10:38.:10:44.

that, Philip Hammond forced into a humiliating U-turn over national

:10:45.:10:49.

insurance contributions. Mrs May will hope if she can increase her

:10:50.:10:52.

majority she will be bombproof from those sorts of revolts in the

:10:53.:11:01.

future. But, elections are entirely unpredictable. We saw that in the

:11:02.:11:05.

last referendum. You could argue we saw that with Donald Trump. You

:11:06.:11:09.

would hesitate to predict anything on the basis of opinion polls. Given

:11:10.:11:15.

the consistency of the polls, given the fact that Mrs May one that

:11:16.:11:19.

by-election victory in Copeland when she sees what should have been a

:11:20.:11:24.

safe Labour seat, the Prime Minister may well have concluded it will not

:11:25.:11:31.

get any better. Now is as good as it will get. We have heard from Jeremy

:11:32.:11:35.

Corbyn, welcoming the fact there would be an election. As for Labour,

:11:36.:11:42.

what will their stance be? I think it is a tough election for the

:11:43.:11:45.

Labour Party to fight. They will back the election and vote for the

:11:46.:11:52.

election tomorrow went to aid puts it to the House of Commons. It would

:11:53.:11:55.

be impossible commended it anything else. How would they fight it? To

:11:56.:12:01.

reset me wants to fight it as the Brexit election and wants to set

:12:02.:12:07.

herself as the Brexit candidate. She said the country was coming together

:12:08.:12:13.

behind Brexit but it was disunity at Westminster, the opposition of

:12:14.:12:16.

Labour, the SNP and members of the House of Lords who were endangering

:12:17.:12:19.

the livelihoods of millions of people. She is almost positioning

:12:20.:12:26.

herself as the anti-Westminster candidate, the popular, Brexit

:12:27.:12:28.

candidate. That is how she wants to fight the election. The real

:12:29.:12:33.

challenge for Labour is, can they break out of that and pitch it more

:12:34.:12:38.

as an anti-stare at each election? Can they get some of their broader

:12:39.:12:42.

messages over or are they pinned down as reluctant Brexiteers? That

:12:43.:12:50.

is the difficulty for them. That's just read through this statement

:12:51.:12:53.

from Jeremy Corbyn pulled he has welcomed the announcement of a

:12:54.:12:57.

general election and said: I welcome the decision by the Prime Minister

:12:58.:13:00.

to give the British people the chance to vote for a government

:13:01.:13:03.

which will put the interests of the majority first. Labour will be

:13:04.:13:07.

offering the country and effective alternative to a government that has

:13:08.:13:11.

failed to rebuild the economy, delivered failing living standards

:13:12.:13:15.

and delivered cuts to our schools and the NHS. We are hoping to

:13:16.:13:20.

interview a member of the Shadow Cabinet but we have not managed to

:13:21.:13:24.

get anybody yet. We're aiming for that. We have heard members of the

:13:25.:13:34.

Liberal Democrats and the Tory Party on the programme. Still no word on

:13:35.:13:39.

the front bench from the Labour ranks. Let's go to our chief

:13:40.:13:47.

political correspondent who is in Westminster. A big surprise for the

:13:48.:13:52.

hows it going down? A complete surprise. A complete shock. Theresa

:13:53.:13:57.

May coming out today saying she felt forced into it full sub she said

:13:58.:14:01.

opposition parties and MPs would start messing around over Brexit and

:14:02.:14:06.

she wants to get her own personal mandate. That's beak to Crispin

:14:07.:14:11.

Blunt, who is with me now. A bit of a surprise. A huge surprise. A

:14:12.:14:17.

tactical and strategic surprise. I admire the way she has kept

:14:18.:14:25.

confidentiality around this. Everyone is astonished at the

:14:26.:14:27.

decision. No one saw it coming. There is a perfectly sound case for

:14:28.:14:33.

it which she made this morning. In terms of delivering Brexit, to

:14:34.:14:36.

reorientate ourselves, the country took that decision last year. It

:14:37.:14:41.

makes a certain amount of sense to make sure she has got a mandate from

:14:42.:14:46.

the electorate to get it done. Plainly there is an opportunity to

:14:47.:14:52.

so do. You must hope the electorate delivers that in the next few weeks.

:14:53.:14:57.

For those who voted to remain, is a chance for them to try to change the

:14:58.:15:02.

outcome, the direction of the country, as the Liberal Democrats

:15:03.:15:07.

are saying? That will be the pitch from the Lib Dems. Their leader is

:15:08.:15:11.

not particularly convincing. It does not look that the leader is remotely

:15:12.:15:18.

like a Prime Minister and that will be difficult. The country recognises

:15:19.:15:21.

the decision has been taken and what we need to do is get on and deliver

:15:22.:15:27.

it. People are quite admiring of the Prime Minister of how she has

:15:28.:15:30.

conducted the Government over the past nine months for the people who

:15:31.:15:33.

are not obsessed with politics will think she needs authority to get

:15:34.:15:38.

this done. People who are hugely committed to the European ideal and

:15:39.:15:41.

really getting your appear in a way that others do not, they will be

:15:42.:15:47.

attracted by that. That was a tiny minority in the Conservative Party

:15:48.:15:51.

that felt like that. A pretty small minority in the country. The 48%

:15:52.:15:55.

mostly thought, I do not know that it is probably the best decision

:15:56.:16:01.

overall for the country. 52% of people, many believed in Britain

:16:02.:16:05.

taking back its sovereignty. They took that decision. She is in a

:16:06.:16:12.

strong place. She has been accused of political opportunism. She can

:16:13.:16:15.

see where she is in the polls and has decided to put the interests of

:16:16.:16:21.

her and her party about the country. The biggest change in our country's

:16:22.:16:29.

positioning for 40 years. In those terms cashiers serving the national

:16:30.:16:34.

interest by securing her position as Prime Minister. -- she is serving.

:16:35.:16:42.

Do you think she wanted a personal mandate? Nicola Sturgeon has made

:16:43.:16:45.

the point that David Cameron one member general election in 2015. Do

:16:46.:16:50.

you think she wanted to get people to vote for her? I do not think that

:16:51.:16:55.

would have been behind her decision. If you like, it is a fringe benefit.

:16:56.:17:02.

Issue does get the victory she hopes she will on the 8th of June, it

:17:03.:17:04.

would be her victory. For her making the decision, it is about the

:17:05.:17:10.

national interest and plainly the national interests and the interests

:17:11.:17:14.

of the Conservative Party overlap if you are Conservative Prime Minister.

:17:15.:17:18.

Of course they do for the people will see this in terms of a national

:17:19.:17:22.

interest. Having a government behind her with sufficient authority in

:17:23.:17:25.

Parliament to get the difficult process of Brexit delivered.

:17:26.:17:31.

Much indeed. I think the calculation has been that the Brexit stations do

:17:32.:17:39.

not get underway in earnest until the autumn, so this was her last

:17:40.:17:43.

opportunity for that general election. Thank you, Vicki Young. We

:17:44.:17:47.

have other statement through from Donald Tusk, the president of the

:17:48.:17:53.

European Council, on the Bretton negotiations. Saying that the

:17:54.:17:58.

negotiating guidelines will not be affected by the British government's

:17:59.:18:02.

call for an early general election unduly eighth. Let's get some

:18:03.:18:07.

reaction... I should say that we are expecting to hear in the next couple

:18:08.:18:10.

of minutes from Jeremy Corbyn, we are respecting an interview to come

:18:11.:18:13.

in with him. We will bring you that as soon as it comes through. Let's

:18:14.:18:23.

go to John Rentoul, Chief Political

:18:24.:18:26.

what was your reaction to make it is very difficult to see why the Prime

:18:27.:18:32.

Minister, faced with the opportunity of increasing her majority to 100

:18:33.:18:36.

seats, how she could have resisted the pressure to hold an election. I

:18:37.:18:41.

thought she was going to but she took everyone by surprise. It was

:18:42.:18:44.

slightly awkward because she had to blame the opposition parties for

:18:45.:18:47.

causing disunity in Westminster as the reason why she had only

:18:48.:18:50.

reluctantly changed her mind recently. But it is worth that

:18:51.:18:55.

temporary awkwardness, I think, for the prospect of gaining a huge

:18:56.:18:59.

personal mandate for herself in domestic politics and also in her

:19:00.:19:04.

negotiations with Europe. Donald Tusk, as you have just heard, says

:19:05.:19:07.

it does not make any difference but actually it does if Theresa May does

:19:08.:19:12.

win a large majority in the general election. She will then have more

:19:13.:19:15.

authority in negotiations with our European partners. But it is not

:19:16.:19:23.

certain. It is always unpredictable. The polls are saying what they are

:19:24.:19:27.

saying at this stage but it is uncharted territory. Personally, I

:19:28.:19:29.

think the opinion polls flatter the Labour Party at the moment. Theresa

:19:30.:19:33.

May is taking that view, too. The last time Labour went as low as 23%

:19:34.:19:39.

in a national opinion poll was just before the 1983 general election

:19:40.:19:46.

when Margaret Thatcher won 144 seats as her majority. I think Labour are

:19:47.:19:49.

in a better position -- weaker position today than them because the

:19:50.:19:54.

majority of Labour MPs can hardly, with their hands on their heart, go

:19:55.:19:59.

to their constituents and say... I'm so sorry, I'm going to interrupt you

:20:00.:20:02.

because we are expecting to hear from Jeremy Corbyn right now. Let's

:20:03.:20:09.

take a look. What is your reaction to the news that there is going to

:20:10.:20:12.

be a general election? I welcome the opportunity for us and the people of

:20:13.:20:17.

Britain to stand up against this government and its failed economic

:20:18.:20:21.

agenda which has left our schools are underfunded, which has led to

:20:22.:20:25.

many people uncertain. We want to put a case to the people of Britain

:20:26.:20:31.

for a society that cures for all, an economy that works for all and

:20:32.:20:35.

Brexit that works for all. Labour has been consistently behind in the

:20:36.:20:40.

opinion polls, so they are not in a particularly strong starting

:20:41.:20:43.

position. Do you concede that you face an uphill struggle? We are

:20:44.:20:47.

going out there to put the case for how this country could be run, how

:20:48.:20:51.

it could be different, how we could have a much fairer society that

:20:52.:20:55.

works for all. For everybody in our community. That is the case that

:20:56.:20:58.

we're putting and I I'm looking forward to doing it. What will you

:20:59.:21:02.

be doing to turn around the polls over the coming weeks? We will be

:21:03.:21:05.

putting the case out there to deal with the housing crisis, to deal

:21:06.:21:08.

with the education funding crisis, to deal with the NHS and above all,

:21:09.:21:16.

about an economy that works for all, by investment in infrastructure and

:21:17.:21:19.

manufacturing industries, to get real hope and real opportunity for

:21:20.:21:23.

everybody in this country. Labour lost the general election just two

:21:24.:21:28.

years ago. What is different in what you're offering to the country this

:21:29.:21:32.

time around? We are challenging the economic narrative which says there

:21:33.:21:42.

has to be huge cuts. We are saying instead, invest in economy, invest

:21:43.:21:46.

in the future. We are a party that will put forward a case that will

:21:47.:21:51.

bring about a much fairer, much more decent country then we are getting

:21:52.:21:54.

at the present time. Where we have massive inequalities between the

:21:55.:22:00.

very rich minority and sadly too many people living in desperate

:22:01.:22:05.

poverty. Does the 8th of June give you time to get that message out of

:22:06.:22:07.

there? I am starting straightaway and looking forward to it. We will

:22:08.:22:12.

take our message to every part of the country and we will challenge

:22:13.:22:14.

the government to debate these issues in every town and city in

:22:15.:22:20.

this country. If Labour loses the election, will you stand down? We

:22:21.:22:23.

are campaigning to win this election and that is the only question now.

:22:24.:22:26.

Will you be the next Prime Minister? If we win the election, yes. I'm

:22:27.:22:30.

going to lead a government that will transform this country, and give a

:22:31.:22:34.

real hope to everybody. And above all, bring about a principle of

:22:35.:22:40.

justice for everybody and economic opportunity for everybody. Jeremy

:22:41.:22:47.

Corbyn's first reaction to the news that a general election is now seven

:22:48.:23:00.

weeks away. Jeremy Corbyn saying he welcomes the election. The main

:23:01.:23:04.

parties saying they welcome it. Surprised that it is going to be

:23:05.:23:10.

happening. There has been some speck elation in recent weeks. Labour have

:23:11.:23:13.

always said they are on an election footing. As the main opposition

:23:14.:23:18.

party, it would be hard to justify keeping the Conservatives in power.

:23:19.:23:24.

He is going to tell his MPs to vote for a general election unduly

:23:25.:23:28.

eighth. Let's see how Labour MPs are reacting to that. Stephen Kinnock

:23:29.:23:32.

joined me. You have quite a safe seat in South Wales but what about a

:23:33.:23:36.

lot of your colleagues? A lot of them could lose their seats. Well, I

:23:37.:23:42.

got elected two years ago and there are some fantastic colleagues. What

:23:43.:23:45.

they all do is stand up for their constituents. They are a strong

:23:46.:23:50.

voice for their constituents in Westminster and a strong local

:23:51.:23:55.

campaign. We are going to fight for every single vote and I think we are

:23:56.:23:59.

going to fight on that platform, standing up for our communities,

:24:00.:24:03.

standing up for our constituents. My constituency, with a steel crisis,

:24:04.:24:08.

we have managed a combination of trade unions and labour unions, who

:24:09.:24:15.

have fought a rearguard action on steel and have managed to turn

:24:16.:24:23.

things around. That is how we're going to fight this election. But

:24:24.:24:28.

Labour MPs knocking on doors have been saying that Jeremy Corbyn or

:24:29.:24:32.

not -- is not a vote winner for the party. He will be the figure on news

:24:33.:24:37.

bulletins and on TV over the next six weeks. Is he a vote winner?

:24:38.:24:42.

Theresa May stood on the steps of Delhi street today and said she

:24:43.:24:45.

wanted a united Westminster. I found those words quite chilling. -- on

:24:46.:24:50.

the steps of Downing Street. That suggests she wants to turn our

:24:51.:24:54.

country into some kind of dictatorship where there is no

:24:55.:24:58.

opposition, with the government is not held to account and they

:24:59.:25:03.

steam-roll through Brexit. She is being run by a cabal of extremists

:25:04.:25:06.

who want to turn this country into a European version of the Kaymer

:25:07.:25:09.

Islands using Brexit as the vehicle for doing that. If people want a

:25:10.:25:15.

stronger position, they want an opposition holding Theresa May to

:25:16.:25:19.

account, they need to vote Labour on the 8th of June. -- the Caymans

:25:20.:25:22.

Islands. I have spoken to some Labour MPs last week who said they

:25:23.:25:26.

would vote for a general election, knowing that Labour would do badly,

:25:27.:25:32.

but hoping they would get Jeremy Corbyn out as leader. I think one of

:25:33.:25:38.

the things we have learned about in global for Latics is that making

:25:39.:25:43.

forecasts is a mug's game. We -- in global politics. We need to get the

:25:44.:25:46.

doorknocking schedule sorted out and show what the Labour Party can do as

:25:47.:25:50.

a local, campaigning force to really make a difference our

:25:51.:25:54.

constituencies, and here in Westminster. I think what Theresa

:25:55.:25:57.

May has done today is talked good game about uniting the country, but

:25:58.:26:02.

actually at a time where more than anything we need stability,

:26:03.:26:06.

continuity and certainty for the British economy. She has thrown a

:26:07.:26:10.

hand grenade into all of that. I think people will look at that and

:26:11.:26:13.

say, do we really want a pro Minister putting party interests

:26:14.:26:17.

ahead of the national interest, or do we want a strong opposition

:26:18.:26:23.

campaigning for us in Westminster and holding the government to

:26:24.:26:26.

account, making sure that we do not have a Brexit which turns our

:26:27.:26:30.

country into a paradise for tax dodgers, into a deregulators' haven.

:26:31.:26:37.

In a word, do your voters think that Jeremy Corbyn could be the next

:26:38.:26:40.

Prime Minister? We will find that out on the 8th of June. I'm going to

:26:41.:26:44.

fight a campaign based on my record as a local MP, shouting here for the

:26:45.:26:48.

interests of my people. Stephen Kinnock, thank you very much indeed.

:26:49.:26:51.

I think that will be the approach from many Labour MPs who have not

:26:52.:26:55.

backed their leader over recent years. They will be very much

:26:56.:26:59.

fighting local and pains. Thank you, Vicki Young. We are

:27:00.:27:03.

hearing comments from the Prime Minister's spokesperson, saying that

:27:04.:27:09.

the Prime Minister spoke to the Queen by telephone yesterday to tell

:27:10.:27:13.

her of her intention to call an early election. A spokesperson

:27:14.:27:19.

saying that she has the full backing of top team of ministers for the

:27:20.:27:23.

early election. There was a cabinet meeting earlier this morning and

:27:24.:27:29.

they were all briefed. And we're hearing that she has the support of

:27:30.:27:33.

all of them. Let me tell you, but we do that we are getting from Donald

:27:34.:27:39.

Tusk. It was Hitchcock who directed Brexit. First an earthquake and the

:27:40.:27:48.

tension rises. That's slightly surreal tweet from Donald Tusk. We

:27:49.:27:57.

heard from him, from his spokesperson a little while ago.

:27:58.:28:01.

Hearing about his negotiations. Saying that the negotiations are

:28:02.:28:10.

unchanged by this decision. Slightly surreal, I knew tweet from Donald

:28:11.:28:16.

Tusk. -- a tweet from Donald Tusk. Let's get some reaction from

:28:17.:28:21.

Northern Ireland. Our correspondent, Chris Page. Yes, well the Northern

:28:22.:28:29.

Ireland parties are now facing what will be their third election in a

:28:30.:28:32.

little over one year. Already this year we have had a snap election

:28:33.:28:38.

from the Stormont assembly and then the last Stormont election was just

:28:39.:28:43.

last year. We're now looking at yet another election coming in the midst

:28:44.:28:47.

of the worst political crisis that Northern Ireland has faced in the

:28:48.:28:52.

last ten years. The devolved government, the power-sharing

:28:53.:28:55.

partnership between the DUP and Sinn Fein collapsed in January. Northern

:28:56.:29:00.

Ireland has pulled out of government since then. The election was held in

:29:01.:29:05.

March and was a significant shift in the political landscape. The

:29:06.:29:08.

Nationalist vote surged and unionist lost their overall majority in the

:29:09.:29:12.

Stormont chamber for the first time. Sinn Fein came within a whisker of

:29:13.:29:16.

toppling the DUP has the largest party. What does that mean for the

:29:17.:29:20.

selection? I think it will mean that more than ever before, this election

:29:21.:29:26.

will be more about Unionism versus nationalism, orange versus green.

:29:27.:29:30.

The key question will be, can Sinn Fein sustain their support or will

:29:31.:29:36.

the Unionists regain ground? In the last Westminster election, the two

:29:37.:29:40.

main Unionist parties formed a pact in several constituencies to invite

:29:41.:29:43.

-- to avoid splitting the unionist vote. As a result, at least two

:29:44.:29:47.

seats went to Unionists which otherwise would have gone to

:29:48.:29:49.

Northern Unionists. It is likely that Unionists will go for another

:29:50.:29:59.

pact to maximise unionist rippers edition and minimise Nationalist

:30:00.:30:02.

representation. We had had a brief reaction from the leader of the DUP,

:30:03.:30:05.

Arlene Foster, saying that the general election will be a chance

:30:06.:30:08.

for people in Northern Ireland to vote for the union. Jerry me Adams

:30:09.:30:12.

-- Gerry Adams has tweeted that Sinn Fein are up for another election.

:30:13.:30:17.

The broader question, what will happen to the negotiations to

:30:18.:30:21.

restore the government? Several deadlines have been missed and

:30:22.:30:24.

negotiations have paused. They are due to resume next week but the

:30:25.:30:28.

government has said that if there is no agreement by the Stormont parties

:30:29.:30:32.

by early May, then we have to make options. One, the one that is kind

:30:33.:30:38.

of forlorn, for yet another Stormont election, where Westminster will

:30:39.:30:41.

take over running Northern Ireland, and bring over direct rule. The

:30:42.:30:45.

calling of another election, it will be another divisive election and I

:30:46.:30:48.

do not think it will improve the chances of a deal at Stormont, as

:30:49.:30:53.

the parties tend to retreat and take a more hardline position at election

:30:54.:30:56.

time. So the prospects for an agreement are probably not been

:30:57.:30:59.

helped. The bigger question, what will happen over the two weeks

:31:00.:31:02.

before the election campaign kicks in. Will we have it returned to

:31:03.:31:06.

direct rule? Will legislation be passed for that or will we have

:31:07.:31:10.

another Stormont election calls and yet another opportunity for voters

:31:11.:31:12.

in Northern Ireland to hit the bulls?

:31:13.:31:18.

If you want it to let me know your thoughts, you can get in touch on

:31:19.:31:29.

twitter. Now for the latest developments following the

:31:30.:31:31.

announcement by Theresa May this morning that she will be holding a

:31:32.:31:35.

general election on the 8th of June. The political process will be

:31:36.:31:39.

getting under way in the House of Commons tomorrow. There is a rule

:31:40.:31:43.

now that elections should take place every five years, Fixed-term

:31:44.:31:49.

Parliaments Act for five years. That will need to be overridden in order

:31:50.:31:56.

to allow the election to go ahead. The Prime Minister said in calling

:31:57.:32:00.

that that she had only recently and reluctantly come to the conclusion

:32:01.:32:04.

that an early election is the only way to guarantee certainty and

:32:05.:32:08.

stability for the years ahead. She said that the Government is

:32:09.:32:12.

determined to get the job of Brexit done and opposition politicians have

:32:13.:32:16.

been trying to thwart at in threatening to vote against the

:32:17.:32:23.

Government position on Brexit full she said the negotiating position of

:32:24.:32:27.

the Government had been weakened by political opposition. In the polls,

:32:28.:32:35.

the Conservative Party is currently 21 points ahead of Labour in the

:32:36.:32:41.

latest poll. It was a poll in the Independent. It gave the Tories 46%

:32:42.:32:49.

of the vote share. That gave the Tory Party the greatest lead for a

:32:50.:32:56.

government since 1983. As a result of that, Theresa May is being

:32:57.:33:00.

accused of political opportunism. She said this is what is in the best

:33:01.:33:05.

interests of the country. Let's take a closer look at the constitutional

:33:06.:33:08.

implications of the announcement by the Prime Minister. The deputy

:33:09.:33:13.

director of the Institute the Government is joining us live from

:33:14.:33:16.

Central London. What is your perspective on where we are heading?

:33:17.:33:21.

I think it took everyone by surprise. Now, looking forward to

:33:22.:33:26.

the process in some ways will feel like any general election we have

:33:27.:33:30.

had over the years. The Prime Minister has made an announcement

:33:31.:33:33.

and the country is looking forward to a vote on the 8th of June. It is

:33:34.:33:39.

quite different, the technical way the Prime Minister is ending up

:33:40.:33:42.

calling this election. She has not been able to do it under her own

:33:43.:33:47.

authority for that that used to be how the UK system worked. She is

:33:48.:33:51.

asking Parliament if it agrees she can have an election. That will be

:33:52.:33:56.

tomorrow for the most people expect get the two thirds majority she

:33:57.:34:00.

needs at that point and the Queen will issue a proclamation saying the

:34:01.:34:03.

election date. The political parties no doubt will start their

:34:04.:34:09.

campaigning well in of that. She spoke after becoming Prime Minister

:34:10.:34:14.

of the need for stability after the uncertainty of what lay ahead,

:34:15.:34:17.

following on from the referendum result. Is it right now to call an

:34:18.:34:22.

election in the country's best interests in order for there to be a

:34:23.:34:28.

clear mandate? There will be a lot of factors. The Prime Minister spoke

:34:29.:34:34.

a lot about Brexit and the potential for the opposition parties voting

:34:35.:34:44.

against and things like that. She did not mention the potential of her

:34:45.:34:48.

own backbench to vote against parts of the agreement. There are other

:34:49.:34:53.

implications. The impact of Brexit will take a long time. People are

:34:54.:34:59.

talking about the two years. We will leave the EU formally in 2019.

:35:00.:35:03.

Implementation of the new systems round immigration, round customs,

:35:04.:35:09.

all of that may take quite a bit longer. I suspect the Prime Minister

:35:10.:35:15.

was thinking this gives her a good five years to actually do the

:35:16.:35:19.

negotiations and implement the changes and then returned to the

:35:20.:35:22.

country on a platform saying this is what Brexit was, this is how I have

:35:23.:35:26.

delivered it and this is how things have changed. The planned election

:35:27.:35:34.

would have been quite soon in showing what has changed even though

:35:35.:35:39.

it is quite a weight off. We have heard from the spokesman of Donald

:35:40.:35:44.

Tusk saying what is being done on the EE part in terms of preparing

:35:45.:35:50.

for Brexit continues unaffected by this. -- the EU part of it puts it

:35:51.:35:56.

on the back burner here, for six or seven weeks. I do not think it will

:35:57.:36:01.

make that much difference to the timelines for negotiation. The EU

:36:02.:36:05.

has major elections happening. The Frenchman is coming up in a few

:36:06.:36:10.

weeks and the Germans have a general election in September. There is a

:36:11.:36:15.

lot that will not really happened on the high political scene until those

:36:16.:36:20.

elections are out of the way. The more detailed, technical

:36:21.:36:24.

preparations will simply continue. In the background, the U:K.'s civil

:36:25.:36:29.

service will continue to do the work necessary to lay the scene for the

:36:30.:36:34.

big, political negotiations which will come in six months or so. It

:36:35.:36:40.

does not really change that timeline for negotiation is very much. That

:36:41.:36:46.

will probably in Theresa May's mind, get the triggering of Article 50 out

:36:47.:36:52.

of the way and take this space before the in earnest negotiations

:36:53.:36:57.

start. It is interesting, looking on twitter, how people are reacting to

:36:58.:37:01.

the fact will be having a second general election in two years we had

:37:02.:37:06.

the referendum last year. There was a Scottish referendum election.

:37:07.:37:15.

There were a lot of votes and a lot of uncertainty. Gary Chapman has

:37:16.:37:19.

said, the Conservatives will almost certainly win but look at what

:37:20.:37:22.

happened with David Cameron on Brexit. My sister was so

:37:23.:37:29.

disappointed that she could not vote to remain and now will she -- and

:37:30.:37:37.

now will be able to vote to make a difference. Just looking obviously,

:37:38.:37:44.

people are self-selecting and getting in touch on twitter. There

:37:45.:37:50.

is a lot of good debate on the about what the implications of another

:37:51.:37:55.

vote will be. Will be interesting to see if there is such a high level of

:37:56.:37:59.

engagement around the country with things like turnout and how people

:38:00.:38:05.

will feel about it. People generally do not like elections. Lots of

:38:06.:38:09.

people will have local elections coming up starting in May with the

:38:10.:38:13.

general election starting in June. Not to mention people in Northern

:38:14.:38:17.

Ireland who seem to be in perpetual elections. People do not like that.

:38:18.:38:23.

That being said, most people who are really into politics have been

:38:24.:38:26.

speculating about this for quite some time. For the general public,

:38:27.:38:31.

this will come as a surprise. I am sure the Prime Minister will hope

:38:32.:38:36.

they can see her point. This is giving stability to the country over

:38:37.:38:43.

Brexit. Others will be talking about some of the other huge issues. We

:38:44.:38:48.

are going to hear from the leader of the Liberal Democrats. They do not

:38:49.:38:54.

want a hard Brexit was they want to keep Britain in the single market.

:38:55.:38:57.

It is another Trinity for us to have a strong opposition in this country

:38:58.:39:02.

that we desperately need. Only through the Liberal Democrats is

:39:03.:39:06.

that any pathway for the Conservatives losing their majority.

:39:07.:39:10.

Theresa May says it is the right time for that is it the right time

:39:11.:39:14.

for the Liberal Democrats? We have been calling for an early general

:39:15.:39:18.

election since Theresa May came to power. It is an opportunity for the

:39:19.:39:21.

country to say this is the direction we want the country to going but not

:39:22.:39:25.

the extreme direction that Theresa May is taking us in. The Prime

:39:26.:39:30.

Minister thinks this is a good time for the Tory Party. Will it be a

:39:31.:39:36.

good time for you? Across the country, people will want to express

:39:37.:39:41.

their views that whether in or out of the European Union, we want to

:39:42.:39:45.

remain in the single market. Theresa May has no mandate to take a stab of

:39:46.:39:50.

the single market. It is the opportunity for the British people

:39:51.:39:54.

to have a decent, strong opposition. Are you organised and ready for this

:39:55.:40:00.

fight? The Liberal Democrats were prepared for an election we thought

:40:01.:40:05.

would happen in autumn. The Liberal Democrats are always prepared. Here

:40:06.:40:08.

we are in Cornwall, the place where our fightback began. From this

:40:09.:40:15.

springboard, we had an Berchiche to give the British people a chance to

:40:16.:40:21.

change direction for the company. -- we had an opportunity. Let's talk

:40:22.:40:27.

about Cornwall. You were wiped out here in that last election you just

:40:28.:40:31.

mentioned. I cannot affect the result for the last election but I

:40:32.:40:36.

can for the next one. We are here today to do just that. Most people

:40:37.:40:45.

in Cornwall voted for Brexit. As evidence now becomes clear, this is

:40:46.:40:49.

an opportunity for the British people to say whether we're in or

:40:50.:40:53.

out of the European Union, we desperately need to be in single

:40:54.:41:00.

market. Were you surprised by the announcement today? I have always

:41:01.:41:03.

assumed she would go for an early election. I thought she needed a

:41:04.:41:09.

mandate of her own after she was elected or appointed Tory leader

:41:10.:41:14.

last summer. Of course, the rest of us today, this has come as a

:41:15.:41:19.

surprise and we are prepared. Thank you very much indeed. We are alive

:41:20.:41:24.

with the Daily Politics any minute now. That is Tim Farron, who is

:41:25.:41:27.

enjoying this moment that this is something he wanted to happen. He

:41:28.:41:33.

has repeatedly said the referendum result that voted through Brexit did

:41:34.:41:37.

not clearly indicate whether people want to leave the single market or

:41:38.:41:41.

not. Let's go back to the deputy director of the Institute for

:41:42.:41:49.

government. Will we get clarity? Tim Farron has repeatedly said since the

:41:50.:41:53.

referendum result, people did not actually mean they wanted hard

:41:54.:41:58.

Brexit. It was more about staying in the single market. It is not clear

:41:59.:42:02.

what people's in tensions were about. Will we get complete clarity

:42:03.:42:09.

going forward as a result of this general election about what the

:42:10.:42:15.

country wants to see? In many ways this will be helpful. General

:42:16.:42:18.

elections, parties put out manifestos and going to a lot more

:42:19.:42:22.

detail about what they really are standing for and where they are on

:42:23.:42:25.

things like whether we are in and out of the single market and what an

:42:26.:42:30.

immigration system should look like, how we trade with the rest of the

:42:31.:42:35.

world back will be spelt out. The Government can say this is what we

:42:36.:42:41.

were elected to do. There is lots of speculation about what the British

:42:42.:42:45.

public meant. This will give us a general election which will elect a

:42:46.:42:49.

government which can claim to have a mandate to implement in detail what

:42:50.:42:54.

it wants to do. I think it will be very interesting to see how this

:42:55.:42:59.

plays. Brexit is something the Liberal Democrats are keen to play.

:43:00.:43:05.

Labour will no doubt want to talk a lot about the spending situation in

:43:06.:43:08.

the UK where there is real pressure on public services and real issue is

:43:09.:43:13.

going on. In Scotland, no doubt, this will be used as a referendum on

:43:14.:43:19.

whether there should be a second referendum for Scottish

:43:20.:43:22.

independence. There will be a lot of moving parts in this election

:43:23.:43:28.

campaign will stop we have seven weeks to see it play out. Thank you

:43:29.:43:31.

very much. Let me tell you that Donald Tusk has tweeted again. He

:43:32.:43:44.

has said he has had a good phone call with Theresa May on the

:43:45.:43:54.

upcoming UK elections. The tweet is saying, if Hitchcock directed

:43:55.:43:59.

Brexit, the tension is rising. It was an unexpected announcement from

:44:00.:44:00.

the Prime Minister in Downing Street. We knew she was going to

:44:01.:44:01.

make a significant announcement. No prior detail about what it would be.

:44:02.:44:06.

A lot of speculation. We are now heading for a snap general election

:44:07.:44:12.

on the 8th of June. Earlier on, our chief political correspondent spoke

:44:13.:44:14.

to Iain Duncan-Smith and Alastair Carmichael of the Lib Dems to get

:44:15.:44:19.

their reaction. Everyone will be surprised. The hands of the Prime

:44:20.:44:22.

Minister are always to keep this quiet until she announced it. I

:44:23.:44:26.

think she made the right choice with the public has enough time to

:44:27.:44:30.

realise with Theresa May they have someone who is focused and has

:44:31.:44:34.

strong leadership. I think she is right. At the moment the Government

:44:35.:44:39.

was elected before the referendum. It means right now we have a

:44:40.:44:42.

problem. In the House of Lords there has been a lot of talk about

:44:43.:44:46.

delaying and blocking this and making it difficult to get through.

:44:47.:44:50.

She is right to clear the air, have a mandate and say, the British

:44:51.:44:54.

people want us to get on with this we can properly negotiate in Europe.

:44:55.:44:58.

I think that is the right thing to do. There is a risk. Only half of

:44:59.:45:03.

the British people who voted wanted to leave the be you. She makes this

:45:04.:45:12.

about Brexit again. Isn't that the risk? It is not about Brexit, it is

:45:13.:45:15.

about electing a government to get on with Brexit and carry on the

:45:16.:45:20.

normal business. The reason for this general election is, right now,

:45:21.:45:23.

there is a disproportionate bake in the House of Lords which has a

:45:24.:45:29.

chance to vote on this. You have 100 members of the House of Lords who

:45:30.:45:33.

are liberal peers but only nine members of the House of Commons.

:45:34.:45:39.

Resetting balance and making it clear you have a mandate in the

:45:40.:45:41.

Commons for Theresa May and the Government to get on and run their

:45:42.:45:46.

so we have a proper, strong, stable government over the next five years

:45:47.:45:50.

which can do Brexit and strong enough to do good, domestic

:45:51.:45:54.

legislation as well. Aye the real reason is Labour polling 20 points

:45:55.:46:02.

behind the Tories. Jeremy Corbyn's leadership is in trouble. Theresa

:46:03.:46:05.

May has looked at that realise she can make a lot of gains full stop

:46:06.:46:10.

that is secondary. She realises she needs that mandate. The Labour Party

:46:11.:46:13.

has its own particular problems. There will be Labour MPs who also

:46:14.:46:17.

want to see the general election for internal reasons. The reality is,

:46:18.:46:22.

for Theresa May, this is a bold, strong, serious decision made by

:46:23.:46:25.

somebody who has complete confidence in their leadership. The public, as

:46:26.:46:30.

they have shown, genuinely feel she is the right kind of person.

:46:31.:46:36.

? Ian says this is no such thing, but the reality is that she got what

:46:37.:46:49.

she wanted. Albeit that Article 50 had to be brought kicking and

:46:50.:46:52.

screaming from her as a result of a court case. So it is opportunistic.

:46:53.:46:58.

She is doing something now that she said categorically she was not going

:46:59.:47:03.

to do. But this is how she has operated since day one. She has

:47:04.:47:08.

tried to run this country not from a national interest, but from the

:47:09.:47:11.

narrow party advantage of the Conservatives. This is just the most

:47:12.:47:16.

recent example of it. It is utterly opportunistic but it is an

:47:17.:47:20.

opportunity for the Liberal Democrats and we will not pass it

:47:21.:47:25.

up. You may well make some gains but if she's heading for a landslide,

:47:26.:47:32.

can you stop? The only way to stop Conservative landslide, and you have

:47:33.:47:37.

to be careful about pre-getting politics, the only thing that will

:47:38.:47:42.

stand in the way of the Conservative landslide is Liberal Democrats

:47:43.:47:45.

taking back seats that we lost to them in 2015. And that is happening

:47:46.:47:49.

week in and week out in Council by-election is up and down the

:47:50.:47:51.

country. You will see that happen again, I believe, come the general

:47:52.:47:58.

election day. That was reaction from Liberal Democrats and Iain Duncan

:47:59.:48:04.

Smith of the Tories earlier. Gideon Skinner is from Ipsos MORI and joins

:48:05.:48:09.

us from central London. Theresa May has called the selection knowing

:48:10.:48:12.

that the Conservatives are riding high in the polls. The latest

:48:13.:48:16.

polling puts the Tories 21 points ahead of Labour. Does that make it a

:48:17.:48:24.

dead cert for the Tories? What are the risks? No pollster will ever

:48:25.:48:27.

call anything a dead cert. Clearly the Conservatives are in a strong

:48:28.:48:31.

position. They have been since Theresa May was elected. Well, was

:48:32.:48:37.

made by Minister. And even before then. But it is not without risk. We

:48:38.:48:44.

do not know how the public will react to this announcement and the

:48:45.:48:47.

Conservatives have had a strong lead. Her personal ratings are in

:48:48.:48:50.

particular are very good. The honeymoon has lasted a lot longer

:48:51.:48:56.

than her predecessors, David Cameron or Gordon Brown. We need to see how

:48:57.:49:01.

it will play out over the next couple of weeks. I want to bring

:49:02.:49:05.

reaction from Nicola Sturgeon. She has just been speaking.

:49:06.:49:16.

Is now the right time, First Minister, for a UK general election?

:49:17.:49:22.

This is a big issue. It is very clear that the Prime Minister's

:49:23.:49:26.

announcement today is one all about the narrow interests of the party,

:49:27.:49:30.

not the interests of the country overall. Clearly, she seized the

:49:31.:49:34.

opportunity, given the total disarray in the rights of the Labour

:49:35.:49:38.

Party, to crush all opposition to her, to get rid of people that

:49:39.:49:41.

disagree with her, and to give herself a free hand to take the

:49:42.:49:45.

country in the increasingly right-wing direction she wants to

:49:46.:49:48.

take it in. And that would mean not just the hardest possible Brexit but

:49:49.:49:52.

more austerity and deeper cuts. So now is the time for Scotland's voice

:49:53.:49:56.

to be heard and for people in Scotland to stand up for the kind of

:49:57.:49:59.

country that we want Scotland to be and that is a campaign I look

:50:00.:50:02.

forward to leading in the weeks ahead. Given your calls for another

:50:03.:50:07.

independence referendum and a resistance to Theresa May's approach

:50:08.:50:12.

to Brexit, are you partly responsible for this early vote? I

:50:13.:50:16.

make no apology for standing up for Scotland and how they voted in the

:50:17.:50:21.

EU referendum, which was against Brexit, and particularly against

:50:22.:50:26.

hard Brexit. I think when you listen to Theresa May's statement this

:50:27.:50:29.

morning, it is that democratic opposition which is healthy in any

:50:30.:50:32.

democracy that she sees the opportunity to crush. I do not think

:50:33.:50:38.

that is a good way forward and it would not be in Scotland's interest.

:50:39.:50:41.

The question of what country we want to be is very much going to be at

:50:42.:50:44.

stake in this election campaign and whether we want that to be a country

:50:45.:50:50.

the future of which is steered and directed by a Tory Party moving ever

:50:51.:50:53.

more to the right or whether we want the people of Scotland to be in

:50:54.:50:58.

charge. This is an opportunity to make Scotland's voice heard and make

:50:59.:51:01.

sure we have MPs from Scotland that will first and foremost be about

:51:02.:51:07.

fighting Scotland's corner. If the Tories crush some of your gains from

:51:08.:51:13.

the last election, how likely is that? We will be defending all the

:51:14.:51:16.

seats that we fought last time around and I will be fighting to

:51:17.:51:19.

win. I think the prime ministers called the selection selfish and

:51:20.:51:25.

narrow, for party political interests, and I relish the prospect

:51:26.:51:28.

of getting out there and standing up for Scotland's interests and values,

:51:29.:51:32.

standing up for Scotland's voice be heard and standing against the

:51:33.:51:38.

ability of a right wing Conservative Party to impose which ever policies

:51:39.:51:42.

it once in Scotland. I relish the possibility. Will you see a fresh

:51:43.:51:47.

mandate for the -- will you seek a mandate for a second independence

:51:48.:51:51.

referendum? I have that mandate and I won it at the Scottish Parliament

:51:52.:51:54.

elections last year. The Scottish Parliament has since voted by

:51:55.:51:59.

majority for that position. That mandate is there and it is clear.

:52:00.:52:03.

This election will be about the kind of country we want Scotland to be

:52:04.:52:06.

and whether we want the Tories to have a free hand in determining that

:52:07.:52:09.

or whether we want to make sure that we stand up for Scotland's public

:52:10.:52:14.

services, public spending, against further Tory austerity. These are

:52:15.:52:17.

the issues that will be to the fore in this campaign and look forward to

:52:18.:52:20.

reading that campaign. Would you a specific commitment promising

:52:21.:52:28.

another independence referendum within 18 months or two years. My

:52:29.:52:31.

opinion on a second referendum is clear and will continue to be. It is

:52:32.:52:36.

as I set out in this very room a few weeks ago. When the time is right,

:52:37.:52:40.

it should be for Scotland to determine our own future, not for a

:52:41.:52:43.

Tory government to determine our future. That position is the one

:52:44.:52:46.

that we will take into this election and the one that we will have after

:52:47.:52:51.

this election as well. It will be in your manifesto? I will set out a

:52:52.:53:02.

manifesto but the position on the referendum will be the one I set out

:53:03.:53:05.

in this room a few weeks ago. Will you tell us your next move towards

:53:06.:53:08.

securing the power to have that vote? I plan to do that over the

:53:09.:53:11.

next few weeks and that is still the suction I am working on. Clearly we

:53:12.:53:14.

have a development today that changes the nature and the shape of

:53:15.:53:16.

the next few weeks, so I will consider the timing of that in the

:53:17.:53:19.

context of the election campaign and of course I will send that to

:53:20.:53:21.

Parliament in due course. Can Michelle Thomson be an SNP candidate

:53:22.:53:29.

in this election? The SNP committee will meet over the next few days to

:53:30.:53:33.

set the terms of candidate selection and a number of other matters will

:53:34.:53:36.

set the terms of candidate selection be discussed in the formal way. And

:53:37.:53:39.

for the record, it may be academic but will SNP MPs vote for this

:53:40.:53:46.

election when Theresa May brings it to the house? We will not stand in

:53:47.:53:53.

the way of collection, albeit though we think that it has been called for

:53:54.:53:59.

particles go reasons. I think people will judge Theresa May on the

:54:00.:54:02.

reasons for calling this election and that will be a factor in how

:54:03.:54:04.

people choose to vote. Nicola Sturgeon. Let's bring you

:54:05.:54:09.

some reaction from the Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Leanne -- Leanne

:54:10.:54:21.

Wood. More Plaid Cymru MPs, for a stronger Wales voice. I am unable

:54:22.:54:29.

to... Let's go back to Ipsos MORI. Gideon Skinner, does this become

:54:30.:54:36.

effectively another referendum on EU membership? Will people vote with

:54:37.:54:40.

Brexit in the front of their minds? Well, we know that Brexit is the

:54:41.:54:43.

single most important issue facing the country. In fact it is higher

:54:44.:54:48.

than we have ever seen concern about Europe since 1970. That does not

:54:49.:54:52.

mean it is the only issue. Concern about the NHS is high. We know that

:54:53.:54:57.

there is more pessimism about the future of public services than we

:54:58.:55:00.

have seen for a long time. Brexit will be key and there was a lot of

:55:01.:55:04.

confidence in Theresa May, and the way she's handling Brexit, but it

:55:05.:55:07.

will not be the only issue. Skinner, thank you. It was an unexpected

:55:08.:55:13.

statement from the Prime Minister when she announced this morning that

:55:14.:55:16.

she would be calling a general election for the 8th of June. Seven

:55:17.:55:21.

weeks away. Previously, she had said she would not call a snap election.

:55:22.:55:26.

But this is how she made the announcement this morning.

:55:27.:55:34.

I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we agreed

:55:35.:55:37.

the Government should call a general election to be held

:55:38.:55:40.

I want to explain the reasons for that decision.

:55:41.:55:43.

What will happen next, and the choice facing the British

:55:44.:55:45.

people, when you come to vote in this election.

:55:46.:55:50.

Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union,

:55:51.:55:56.

Britain needed certainty, stability and strong

:55:57.:56:01.

And since I became Prime Minister, the Government has

:56:02.:56:12.

Despite predictions of immediate financial and economic danger,

:56:13.:56:20.

since the referendum we have seen consumer confidence remain high,

:56:21.:56:27.

record numbers of jobs and economic growth that has

:56:28.:56:29.

We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed

:56:30.:56:33.

Britain is leaving the European Union and there

:56:34.:56:36.

And as as we look to the future, the Government has the right

:56:37.:56:42.

plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.

:56:43.:56:47.

We want a deep and special partnership between a strong

:56:48.:56:51.

and successful European Union and a United Kingdom that is free

:56:52.:56:53.

That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws,

:56:54.:57:04.

And we will be free to strike trade deals with old friends

:57:05.:57:10.

and new partners all around the world.

:57:11.:57:11.

This is the right approach and it is in the national interest.

:57:12.:57:18.

But the other political parties oppose it.

:57:19.:57:22.

At this moment of enormous national significance,

:57:23.:57:26.

there should be unity here in Westminster.

:57:27.:57:28.

The country is coming together but Westminster is not.

:57:29.:57:42.

In recent weeks, Labour have threatened to vote

:57:43.:57:44.

against the final agreement we reach with the European Union.

:57:45.:57:47.

The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business

:57:48.:57:49.

The Scottish National Party said it will vote against the legislation

:57:50.:58:04.

that formally repeals Britain's membership of the European Union.

:58:05.:58:08.

And unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us

:58:09.:58:11.

Theresa May with that dramatic announcement this morning that she

:58:12.:58:17.

plans to call a general election on the 8th of June, an announcement she

:58:18.:58:21.

says is in the national interest. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

:58:22.:58:25.

has welcomed the news of an election. Scotland's First Minister

:58:26.:58:27.

has said it 'A 24-year-old man

:58:28.:58:29.

has been charged with murder.' You made sure an innocent man

:58:30.:58:31.

is charged! What gives you the right to say

:58:32.:58:34.

he's innocent? I've come to you

:58:35.:58:36.

because you're AC-12.

:58:37.:58:40.

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