:00:08. > :00:10.I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we agreed
:00:11. > :00:12.that the government should call a general election to be
:00:13. > :00:21.So in the past hour Theresa May has called a general election -
:00:22. > :00:23.we'll bring you the latest from here at Westminster.
:00:24. > :01:05.Reaction from all the parties and - of course - the best analysis...
:01:06. > :01:08.So - Westminster taken completely by surprise this morning
:01:09. > :01:12.with the announcement from the Prime Minister of the early
:01:13. > :01:27.General Election that she had insisted would not happen...
:01:28. > :01:30.Let's listen to what Theresa May has to say.
:01:31. > :01:34.I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet where we have agreed
:01:35. > :01:36.the Government should call a general election to be held
:01:37. > :01:39.I want to explain the reasons for that decision.
:01:40. > :01:42.What will happen next, and the choice facing the British
:01:43. > :01:44.people, when you come to vote in this election.
:01:45. > :01:53.Last summer, after the country voted to leave the European Union,
:01:54. > :02:03.Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership
:02:04. > :02:10.Since I became Prime Minister the Government has
:02:11. > :02:18.financial and economic danger, since the referendum we have seen
:02:19. > :02:21.Economic growth that has exceeded all expectations.
:02:22. > :02:23.We have also delivered on the mandate that we were handed
:02:24. > :02:26.Britain is leaving the European Union and there
:02:27. > :02:35.As we look to the future, the Government has the right
:02:36. > :02:40.plan for negotiating our new relationship with Europe.
:02:41. > :02:44.We want a deep and special partnership between a strong
:02:45. > :02:49.and successful European Union and the United Kingdom that is free
:02:50. > :02:56.That means we will regain control of our own money, our own laws,
:02:57. > :03:04.We will be free to strike trade deals with old friends
:03:05. > :03:07.and new partners all around the world.
:03:08. > :03:13.This is the right approach and it is in the national interest.
:03:14. > :03:17.But the other political parties oppose it.
:03:18. > :03:20.At this moment of enormous national significance,
:03:21. > :03:24.there should be unity here in Westminster.
:03:25. > :03:32.The country is coming together but Westminster is not.
:03:33. > :03:36.In recent weeks, Labour has threatened to vote
:03:37. > :03:39.against the final agreement we reach with the European Union.
:03:40. > :03:42.The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business
:03:43. > :03:51.The Scottish National Party said it will vote against the legislation up
:03:52. > :04:00.formally repealed Britain's membership of the European Union.
:04:01. > :04:03.Unelected members of the House of Lords have vowed to fight us
:04:04. > :04:16.Opponents believe that because the government 's majority is so small,
:04:17. > :04:19.they can force us to change course. They underestimate our determination
:04:20. > :04:23.to get the job done. I am not prepared to let them
:04:24. > :04:25.endanger the security of millions of working people
:04:26. > :04:28.across the country. What they are doing jeopardises
:04:29. > :04:31.the work we must do to prepare And it weakens the Government's
:04:32. > :04:38.negotiating position in Europe. If we do not hold a general election
:04:39. > :04:41.now, their political And the negotiations
:04:42. > :04:47.with the European Union will reach their most difficult
:04:48. > :04:49.stage in the run-up to the next Division in Westminster
:04:50. > :04:58.will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit and it
:04:59. > :05:01.will cause damaging uncertainty We need a general election
:05:02. > :05:08.and we need one now. We have, at this moment,
:05:09. > :05:12.a one-off chance to get this done while the European Union
:05:13. > :05:15.agrees its negotiating position I have only recently and reluctantly
:05:16. > :05:27.come to this conclusion. Since I became Prime Minister,
:05:28. > :05:30.I have said there should be no Now I have concluded that the only
:05:31. > :05:36.way to guarantee certainty and stability for the years ahead
:05:37. > :05:41.is to hold this election and seek your support
:05:42. > :05:45.for the decisions I must take. And so tomorrow I will move a motion
:05:46. > :05:48.in the House of Commons, calling for a general election to be
:05:49. > :06:03.held on the 8th of June. That motion, as set out
:06:04. > :06:06.by the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, will require a two thirds majority
:06:07. > :06:08.by the House of Commons. I have a simple challenge
:06:09. > :06:10.to the opposition parties. You have criticised the Government's
:06:11. > :06:12.decision for Brexit, challenged our objectives,
:06:13. > :06:14.threatened to block the legislation This is your moment to show you mean
:06:15. > :06:20.it, show you are not opposing the Government for the sake of it,
:06:21. > :06:23.to show that you do not Let us tomorrow vote
:06:24. > :06:28.for an election. Let us put forward our plans
:06:29. > :06:31.for Brexit and our alternative plans for government and then let
:06:32. > :06:37.the people decide. And the decision facing the country
:06:38. > :06:43.will be all about leadership. It would be a choice between strong
:06:44. > :06:46.and stable leadership in the national interest with me
:06:47. > :06:55.as your Prime Minister, or weak and, unstable,
:06:56. > :06:57.coalition government led by Jeremy Corbyn,
:06:58. > :06:59.propped up by the Liberal Democrats, who want to reopen the divisions
:07:00. > :07:02.of the referendum and Nicola A vote for the Conservatives
:07:03. > :07:08.will make it harder for opposition politicians who want to stop me
:07:09. > :07:13.from getting the job done. Every vote for the Conservatives
:07:14. > :07:15.will make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain
:07:16. > :07:17.with the prime ministers, presidents and chancellors
:07:18. > :07:22.of the European Union. Every vote for the Conservatives
:07:23. > :07:25.will mean that we can stick to our plan for a stronger Britain
:07:26. > :07:28.and take the right long-term It was with reluctance that
:07:29. > :07:36.I decided the country It is with strong conviction that
:07:37. > :07:42.I say it is necessary to secure the strong and stable leadership
:07:43. > :07:45.the country needs to see us So, tomorrow, let the House
:07:46. > :07:54.of Commons vote for an election. Let everybody put forward
:07:55. > :07:59.their proposals for Brexit and their programmes for government
:08:00. > :08:02.and let us remove the risk of uncertainty and instability
:08:03. > :08:04.and continue to give the country the strong and stable
:08:05. > :08:26.leadership it demands. Theresa May having delivered that
:08:27. > :08:30.very dramatic statement that no one was expecting, except we were told
:08:31. > :08:34.that there would be a statement from Theresa May outside Number 10 but
:08:35. > :08:38.there was no government logo on that lectin which was an indication that
:08:39. > :08:39.she might be calling an early General Election.
:08:40. > :08:42.Joining me in the studio now is former Conservative
:08:43. > :08:43.Leader Iain Duncan Smith and the Shadow Energy
:08:44. > :08:52.We are also joined by Laura Kuenssberg. Before I get reaction
:08:53. > :08:57.from you gentlemen, take us through the hour before she walked those few
:08:58. > :09:03.paces from the black door at Number 10 to the podium. This is a very
:09:04. > :09:08.significant turnaround from her. No question. For months there has been
:09:09. > :09:11.speculation, always killed off by her team, always killed by senior
:09:12. > :09:17.minister said she does not want an election and we are not going to do
:09:18. > :09:26.it yet this morning, around 9:30 a.m., there is going to be a left
:09:27. > :09:31.turn moment. They are huge moments. There was all sorts of speculation,
:09:32. > :09:35.as you can imagine, first day back from the Easter holidays, everyone
:09:36. > :09:39.is full of vigour, looking to get going. Rumour mill goes into
:09:40. > :09:44.hyperdrive, mysteriously, senior sources in government, their phones
:09:45. > :09:48.and text were not been answered and the news was we have to wait and see
:09:49. > :09:53.that the Prime Minister says. Shortly after 11 o'clock, one of my
:09:54. > :09:57.contacts told me it would be a General Election on June the 8th.
:09:58. > :10:02.She even came I'd earlier than expected and she confirmed that. She
:10:03. > :10:07.has changed her mind, if we are to believe that. There is an element of
:10:08. > :10:14.trust here, she has said repeatedly, she would not call a snap election,
:10:15. > :10:16.it would lead to uncertainty and instability and now she is doing
:10:17. > :10:20.exactly what she promised she wouldn't and she is calling a
:10:21. > :10:25.General Election. I think she was right. She said she reluctantly came
:10:26. > :10:29.to the conclusion and I think it is a balance, all these things are a
:10:30. > :10:35.balance of decisions about greater instability lies. Do you try and
:10:36. > :10:40.press on a small majority, get through the biggest single thing any
:10:41. > :10:43.government has had to do since we joined the European Union? You have
:10:44. > :10:47.got the negotiations and the European Union to take place where
:10:48. > :10:50.you need to have a very strong showing and a strong mandate and the
:10:51. > :10:57.second part is domestically, but also the bill and I was here for the
:10:58. > :11:01.Maastricht Treaty and I have to tell you, the bill, weather was no chance
:11:02. > :11:06.we would ever be allowed to vote it down, that took ages to get through,
:11:07. > :11:13.because every device was used. I use them to slow it down. That was
:11:14. > :11:18.because the small majority. In the last few days, the polls have
:11:19. > :11:22.confirmed, in her mind, that there is an opportunity here, Labour is 20
:11:23. > :11:28.points behind, that is a massive gap not seen since the mid-19 80s. Like
:11:29. > :11:31.anything else, you want to know you have the chance of having a strong
:11:32. > :11:36.mandate. The most important poll was not about party polling, it was one
:11:37. > :11:41.that came out that showed nearly 70% of the public now want to just get
:11:42. > :11:45.on with it. They don't really want to continue to discuss the Brexit
:11:46. > :11:50.issue, but they want to see the government make progress and I think
:11:51. > :11:53.the key point they do not get is the Parliamentary mess that is likely to
:11:54. > :11:58.happen and I think that is the bit and she really does need to do this,
:11:59. > :12:02.I know what it is like with the government with a small majority
:12:03. > :12:06.trying to do that, it is difficult. If you do not have a strong mandate
:12:07. > :12:10.with a strong vote in Parliament, it makes it more difficult to get this
:12:11. > :12:14.through. You can hardly blame Theresa May when you look at the
:12:15. > :12:19.polls and Labour has been digesting them, over the last few weeks and
:12:20. > :12:22.months, it is an ideal chance for her to capitalise on that and
:12:23. > :12:28.increase her majority and at the same time in her statement, Blaydon
:12:29. > :12:31.Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Nationalists but their
:12:32. > :12:38.opposition to Brexit negotiations. She must be the first Prime Minister
:12:39. > :12:41.ever to begin a General Election campaign with a U-turn. That is the
:12:42. > :12:47.first thing. That is quite extraordinary, quite extraordinary.
:12:48. > :12:53.You say, well she is blaming the opposition in Parliament for being
:12:54. > :12:59.so weak and if we are so weak, wide to she need a bigger mandate? If in
:13:00. > :13:04.fact she is saying that it is because of the chaos in Parliament,
:13:05. > :13:08.the key thing and the key poll, the weekend was not about the questions
:13:09. > :13:16.on the polling on the votes, I think it was on the policies. Every
:13:17. > :13:19.Conservative candidate and every Conservative canvasser will have to
:13:20. > :13:25.answer three questions. They will have the answer why is it that today
:13:26. > :13:32.the average earnings are 10% lower in real terms than they were in
:13:33. > :13:39.2007, why is it today that 1.8 million people are not being seen
:13:40. > :13:47.within four hours in a and D, when in 2010, that number was 350000 and
:13:48. > :13:52.why is it today, that we have 200,000 fewer home owners in this
:13:53. > :13:57.country under a Conservative government. These are the policies
:13:58. > :14:01.that I am confident resonate with the voters out there. The polls at
:14:02. > :14:05.the weekend showed that they did. What we have been saying about
:14:06. > :14:10.carers allowance, what we have been saying about free school meals for
:14:11. > :14:14.all primary school students, these things are actually popular. Before
:14:15. > :14:18.we get to the policies, what about the Labour position on the General
:14:19. > :14:21.Election? We have had a statement from Jeremy Corbyn and the author
:14:22. > :14:26.that they will vote in favour of the motion that will be put to the House
:14:27. > :14:29.of Commons to bring on this General Election. The sooner we can get rid
:14:30. > :14:36.of this Conservative government the better. She says she wants to put
:14:37. > :14:40.this on Brexit, we know that they want a hard Brexit, it is one that
:14:41. > :14:44.actually is turning this country backwards and what we want to be
:14:45. > :14:49.able to articulate and I think what the public actually wants is a
:14:50. > :14:53.positive Brexit that enables us, yes to have the new relationships that
:14:54. > :14:56.we need with other countries around the world, but that still maintains
:14:57. > :15:02.the access and movement of people that is necessary to keep our
:15:03. > :15:05.business wheels turning. Isn't there a danger of framing this General
:15:06. > :15:11.Election, presuming everything passes through and it will, isn't
:15:12. > :15:13.there a danger of framing it along the lines of Brexit and the argument
:15:14. > :15:24.would be repeated? Absolutely and that was one of the
:15:25. > :15:27.reasons articulated by people privately close to Theresa May is
:15:28. > :15:33.they did not want to have an election all about Brexit. That was
:15:34. > :15:36.one of the arguments in the negative column for not having a general
:15:37. > :15:44.election and waiting until the deal was finished by 2020. You have had
:15:45. > :15:49.the pros in one column and the cons in another. The polling suggests
:15:50. > :15:52.having an election would be advantageous for the Conservatives.
:15:53. > :15:57.The state of the Labour Party has been in real turmoil in the last 12
:15:58. > :16:02.months is also in the positive column. In the negative column is a
:16:03. > :16:05.threat of instability. The idea of going back on her words after she
:16:06. > :16:10.said she did not want to have an election. But at the end of the day
:16:11. > :16:14.the political logic, the appeal of looking at polls that puts her so
:16:15. > :16:20.far ahead of Jeremy Corbyn and the appeal of her having her own mandate
:16:21. > :16:24.is what has won out. One reason for that is Theresa May in a strange
:16:25. > :16:30.way, as we saw during the referendum campaign, is not one of those Tory
:16:31. > :16:33.members who got up to have an argument about the European Union.
:16:34. > :16:43.She is more interested in the domestic agenda. She was on the
:16:44. > :16:46.remain side. Yes, she was called the submarine for trying to stay out of
:16:47. > :16:50.the debate. She has always wanted to do a lot on the domestic front,
:16:51. > :16:55.grammar schools and changes to social care. The only way she would
:16:56. > :17:00.be able to do that is where her own majority and this would be one of
:17:01. > :17:04.the factors that pushed her. Having her own mandate is clearly
:17:05. > :17:09.important. What is amazing when you talk about Westminster and the
:17:10. > :17:14.gossip machine is how they managed to keep this under wraps and secret
:17:15. > :17:19.because nobody knew it. It is one of the features of Theresa May's team.
:17:20. > :17:24.She has a small circle of people that she trusts. Very small. That
:17:25. > :17:28.was her at the Home Office and she has taken that into Downing Street.
:17:29. > :17:33.She has been criticised for that, but it means they have been able to
:17:34. > :17:39.keep things tight as a drum. There is a fascinating anecdotes in her
:17:40. > :17:42.biography. Andrea Leadsom told Theresa May two hours before she was
:17:43. > :17:48.pulling out of the leadership race that she was going to do it. She
:17:49. > :17:52.told her, you will be the PM, I am off. Theresa May did not even tell
:17:53. > :17:57.her husband that within a couple of hours she was a dead cert to be
:17:58. > :18:01.moving into number ten. That is quite a capacity for keeping
:18:02. > :18:05.secrets. But it also tells us something about her, which is her
:18:06. > :18:10.vulnerability. Ministers did not know about this idea until this
:18:11. > :18:15.morning. She has not been cancelled by that many people. A very senior
:18:16. > :18:19.minister who would be heavily involved in the election told me a
:18:20. > :18:21.couple of weeks ago there had not been a single conversation with the
:18:22. > :18:27.Prime Minister about having a general election. Strain is keeping
:18:28. > :18:33.secrets, but it does not mean the Tory party is very well for this. Or
:18:34. > :18:37.anybody else. Or anybody else. We will let you go because you have got
:18:38. > :18:43.weeks and weeks to fill. Thank you for coming in. Let's turn to this
:18:44. > :18:50.issue of her changing her mind on something fundamental. Was she wrong
:18:51. > :18:53.initially to rule it out? She ruled it out repeatedly in endless
:18:54. > :18:57.interviews, saying it was not the right thing to do. Let's hear what
:18:58. > :18:58.she said to our very own Andrew Neal on this subject.
:18:59. > :19:01.When you do the deal, when it's clear the terms
:19:02. > :19:04.with which we will leave the EU, why would you not take that
:19:05. > :19:07.to the country either in a second referendum or go to the country
:19:08. > :19:09.in a general election and get the people to vote
:19:10. > :19:15.What I have said is when we have the deal there will be a vote
:19:16. > :19:19.Of course there will be votes in parliaments across Europe
:19:20. > :19:21.because they will need to be a ratification process.
:19:22. > :19:24.I believe that is the right way to do it, to say to the UK
:19:25. > :19:27.Parliament this is your opportunity to vote for this deal.
:19:28. > :19:32.Well, I'm confident we are going to get a deal that is going to be
:19:33. > :19:38.The British people have basically said to us go on and get on with it,
:19:39. > :19:41.we want to leave the EU, go out there, get on with it,
:19:42. > :19:56.Iain Duncan Smith, she went back on her word. She said in a statement
:19:57. > :19:59.you saw earlier on, and I am a bit like this, a reluctant convert to
:20:00. > :20:05.the idea of a general election, and she was as well. A few things have
:20:06. > :20:10.changed over the last couple of months. The first is that getting
:20:11. > :20:14.that four lying bill through demonstrated how tough it will be to
:20:15. > :20:18.get this very complex legislation through. It is really complex. This
:20:19. > :20:25.makes Maastricht looked like a picnic. This will be very big and
:20:26. > :20:30.very detailed. The Lords is in a peculiar position. You do not have a
:20:31. > :20:36.majority. We do not, the Liberals are disproportionately represented,
:20:37. > :20:40.100 Liberals in the Lords and nine members of Parliament. But the Lords
:20:41. > :20:44.will react to a strong mandate from a general election. They know when
:20:45. > :20:48.the game is up and they know their limitations. At the moment they have
:20:49. > :20:53.been able to argue, particularly from the Liberals, but also Labour,
:20:54. > :20:56.that you do not have a mandate, you were not elected as Prime Minister
:20:57. > :21:01.and this government was not elected to see this thing through. There has
:21:02. > :21:05.been a lot of kind of let's have some kind of election. She has
:21:06. > :21:10.reached a conclusion in the sense that there is a window of
:21:11. > :21:13.opportunity to do this. France has an election that will not complete
:21:14. > :21:19.until June. While we have that election they will not be any great
:21:20. > :21:22.negotiation taking place. Practically this window works. If
:21:23. > :21:28.you are going to do it, now is the time to do it. Looking at the polls,
:21:29. > :21:33.the Conservatives will increase their majority and it will make life
:21:34. > :21:39.much easier for Theresa May to push through the type of Brexit she wants
:21:40. > :21:47.to say. I admire Iain Duncan Smith's attempt to spin what is clearly a
:21:48. > :21:52.polling advantage into high principle. It is not. Let's not
:21:53. > :21:57.pretend it is. You are right, the polls have had an influence in what
:21:58. > :22:01.she is doing here. But is it in the best interest of not just this
:22:02. > :22:05.country, but look at what is happening in the world at the
:22:06. > :22:09.moment? Is it in the best interest of the country when we have a
:22:10. > :22:15.two-year window to negotiate this deal? Only two years. Nothing will
:22:16. > :22:21.be done in the German and French elections. She ignored it. She said
:22:22. > :22:25.the negotiations can go on and they will not be able to go on for two
:22:26. > :22:32.and a half months as we have an election. No, no, they will be. They
:22:33. > :22:37.will not be in control, they will be out on the streets. The first stage
:22:38. > :22:44.of this is negotiation about the overall political... We were talking
:22:45. > :22:48.about polling and whether that is in the end what changed Theresa May's
:22:49. > :22:54.mine. Let's talk about it a little further with John Curtice who is in
:22:55. > :22:58.Edinburgh. First of all, your reaction, general election on June
:22:59. > :23:04.the 8th. I have to admit I am very surprised. Like Laura Kuenssberg I
:23:05. > :23:08.took the Prime Minister at her word that she did not want to call a
:23:09. > :23:15.general election in June. Calling one is not so straightforward. You
:23:16. > :23:19.will not do that again. The person who really has a decision to make is
:23:20. > :23:24.Jeremy Corbyn. Despite what Barry Gardiner has been arguing about, the
:23:25. > :23:29.Labour Party is in favour of an election and we will have one. If
:23:30. > :23:33.Jeremy Corbyn said no, Theresa May could not have her election, so
:23:34. > :23:39.Jeremy Corbyn is also making a big decision today as well as the Prime
:23:40. > :23:43.Minister. And what about the polls? We have already discussed the
:23:44. > :23:47.headline that Labour is 20 points behind the Conservatives. Some of
:23:48. > :23:52.the opinion polls suggest Labour's position is as bad as it has been
:23:53. > :23:56.any time since 2009 in the worst days of Gordon Brown's
:23:57. > :24:02.administration. But if you take all of the polls, we are looking at a
:24:03. > :24:06.Conservative lead of around 15 points, 22-27, and if that was to
:24:07. > :24:12.transpire in the ballot boxes it would result in a majority for the
:24:13. > :24:17.Conservatives. But we should be careful about talking about a
:24:18. > :24:20.landslide. These days not only is Northern Ireland out of the frame as
:24:21. > :24:25.far as the UK wide scene is concerned, but so is Scotland. I
:24:26. > :24:30.would be surprised if the SNP do not hang onto most of the seeds north of
:24:31. > :24:37.the border. Dire though Labour's position is, it does have a lot of
:24:38. > :24:44.very safe seats and getting a majority of 100 is possible, getting
:24:45. > :24:49.a majority of 170 like Tony Blair got in 1997 could be beyond the
:24:50. > :24:54.Conservatives. If the poll lead does begin to fall, let's say Jeremy
:24:55. > :24:59.Corbyn surprises us all and fights a good campaign and the Tory lead goes
:25:00. > :25:02.down to seven or eight points, Theresa May could discover she does
:25:03. > :25:07.not have much of a majority than she does already and she might even lose
:25:08. > :25:10.a few seats to the Liberal Democrats. You can see the
:25:11. > :25:14.temptation placed in front of her, despite what she said because Labour
:25:15. > :25:20.had been behind the Conservatives over a long period of time. But it
:25:21. > :25:23.seems in the last few days something has crystallised in her mind and
:25:24. > :25:29.pushed her to do this you turn to change her mind and it must be that
:25:30. > :25:33.massive gap. The opinion polls clearly provide a very substantial
:25:34. > :25:40.temptation. The interesting thing is what she has not done is to wait for
:25:41. > :25:44.the results of the local elections on the 4th of May. If you remember
:25:45. > :25:51.what Margaret Thatcher did in 1983 and 1987 when we were all
:25:52. > :25:59.speculating about an election, and she decided to call an election. We
:26:00. > :26:03.will now be intensely looking at the results of those elections and even
:26:04. > :26:09.in Scotland and Wales, but the dye will already have been passed. What
:26:10. > :26:12.about voter fatigue? Everyone has been taken by surprise and Laura
:26:13. > :26:17.Kuenssberg mention people will not be prepared in politics, but also
:26:18. > :26:23.they will not have been expecting it in the country. Will they thank
:26:24. > :26:26.Theresa May for this? One of the thing opponents will use against
:26:27. > :26:31.Theresa May is the fact that you have said she was opposed to the
:26:32. > :26:35.idea of a general election and the opposition will use that to say, you
:26:36. > :26:40.cannot trust the Prime Minister at her word. But at the end of the day
:26:41. > :26:45.that probably is not something voters will be too concerned about.
:26:46. > :26:50.In so far as the election does focus on the issue of Brexit, given that
:26:51. > :26:55.we have got a 71% turnout in the referendum, which is relatively
:26:56. > :27:00.high, I am not sure we should be too concerned about the level of
:27:01. > :27:03.turnout. I think we will see some reiteration of the arguments about
:27:04. > :27:07.Brexit and its merits and hard versus soft for much of the campaign
:27:08. > :27:11.and the question is whether voters will feel that is sufficiently
:27:12. > :27:17.important and responding by turning to the polling station. The Prime
:27:18. > :27:18.Minister has announced her intention to call a general election on the
:27:19. > :27:22.8th of June. So, now the Prime Minister has
:27:23. > :27:25.announced her intention to call a General Election for 8th June,
:27:26. > :27:28.what process needs to happen before The Fixed Term Parliaments Act -
:27:29. > :27:31.introduced under the Coalition government and enshrining
:27:32. > :27:33.the timescale for elections to be held every five years -
:27:34. > :27:36.allows two methods for calling The first would be if
:27:37. > :27:40.two-thirds of MPs backed a motion calling for one -
:27:41. > :27:43.that would be 434 This is the method Theresa May
:27:44. > :27:47.has said she will use, and that she will introduce a motion
:27:48. > :27:50.to parliament tomorrow. The other option is if Parliament
:27:51. > :27:53.passed a motion of no confidence in the government,
:27:54. > :27:56.and no other government If the Prime Minister fails to get
:27:57. > :28:02.the two-thirds majority required in the Commons to call an election,
:28:03. > :28:06.there are two other The Fixed Term Parliaments Act
:28:07. > :28:12.could be repealed, which would only require a simple majority of MPs
:28:13. > :28:15.to vote for it, a lower threshold Or the government could enact
:28:16. > :28:21.a new law, amending the Act and setting a date
:28:22. > :28:25.for the next election. Labour this morning confirmed
:28:26. > :28:29.they will support the motion for an early general election,
:28:30. > :28:32.meaning it will pass with the two-thirds majority
:28:33. > :28:35.needed in the Commons. Their election coordinator,
:28:36. > :28:37.Andrew Gwynne, had told Andrew Neil So as an opposition not wanting
:28:38. > :28:42.to be in opposition, wanting to be in government,
:28:43. > :28:45.so should the government put forward a measure in accordance
:28:46. > :28:48.with the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, then that is something we would very
:28:49. > :28:52.seriously have to consider. If the government was to issue
:28:53. > :28:56.a motion in the Commons for an early election,
:28:57. > :28:59.the Labour Party would vote It would be very difficult not
:29:00. > :29:04.to because if the government wants to dissolve parliament,
:29:05. > :29:09.wants a general election, we don't want the Tories
:29:10. > :29:12.we want to be in government, we want to have that
:29:13. > :29:20.opportunity to put that case to the British people.
:29:21. > :29:27.Andrew Quinn, Labour's election coordinator, but you could not say
:29:28. > :29:31.anything else apart from welcome a general election, otherwise you
:29:32. > :29:35.would be running scared. The nice thing is we do welcome it and also
:29:36. > :29:40.the government recognises that the Labour Party will support it. They
:29:41. > :29:46.have known that, we have made our position very clear. Which is why
:29:47. > :29:51.she could gain confidence from that. And that is why she is able to do
:29:52. > :29:57.it. Now she has to work out what is her pitch to the British people? We
:29:58. > :30:00.have come out with eight very clear, new policies that are very popular
:30:01. > :30:05.and opinion polls at the weekend showed that. We have come out with a
:30:06. > :30:09.very clear policies. The government is not running on a new policy
:30:10. > :30:15.agenda. It is running on a record that has not resolved the economic
:30:16. > :30:20.problems the country has faced. It has precipitated a crisis within the
:30:21. > :30:25.health service. We have seen the BMA and the junior doctors dispute. We
:30:26. > :30:28.have got a crisis in social care and all these problems that the
:30:29. > :30:30.government has to now come out with manifesto commitments on and there
:30:31. > :30:43.was nothing of that in her speech. The opposition parties will make it
:30:44. > :30:47.difficult in terms of the Brexit negotiations, you have reflected on
:30:48. > :30:52.how hard it was during Maastricht, but is now but this General Election
:30:53. > :30:56.will be about? Will not be about a domestic agenda on the critical
:30:57. > :31:00.issues that Barry Gardner has been talking about? It will only be
:31:01. > :31:05.serving what the Conservative Party seems to be interested in at the
:31:06. > :31:08.moment and that is the Brexit negotiations? The Conservative Party
:31:09. > :31:15.is not that interested in the Brexit idea. The vote has been taken and we
:31:16. > :31:19.have triggered Article 50. That process is in place and that is all
:31:20. > :31:24.about negotiation and discussion and that is mostly now the government
:31:25. > :31:30.going out... Why is she calling our General Election? It is about
:31:31. > :31:34.domestic issues. The fact is she needs a mandate, that this her view,
:31:35. > :31:37.to get the Brexit legislation through domestically, which is
:31:38. > :31:41.hugely an issue of numbers in Parliament and the second element is
:31:42. > :31:47.there is a domestic agenda and she wants to get that through. That was
:31:48. > :31:49.not mentioned in her statement. We have been announcing that through
:31:50. > :31:56.the budget and the statement she made in Downing Street. Today, we
:31:57. > :31:59.talked about the business strategy, the industrial strategy, those are
:32:00. > :32:05.the things she wants to take forward. They are all part of it.
:32:06. > :32:09.The fact is the government deals with foreign policy and domestic
:32:10. > :32:13.issues and as Europe strives both of those, it will be part of it. There
:32:14. > :32:16.is a really important point. She wants a mandate to be able to govern
:32:17. > :32:21.with the government that is strong enough in numbers to get their
:32:22. > :32:25.legislation through, after Brexit, Brexit changed everything. The vote
:32:26. > :32:29.to leave the European Union changed everything. The public now will face
:32:30. > :32:33.a choice, do you want a government with a clear and strong leader or do
:32:34. > :32:37.you want a government that is at war with itself as the Labour Party is,
:32:38. > :32:42.led by Jeremy Corbyn, that most of his MPs do not want and which has
:32:43. > :32:46.been foisted on them by the party at large and a Coalition between a
:32:47. > :32:53.messy Labour Party and the Liberal party that wants to reverse the boat
:32:54. > :32:57.on Brexit. She did say she would be able to get a good deal for the UK
:32:58. > :33:01.and on the basis of that good deal, then we could have the General
:33:02. > :33:05.Election in 2020. Let me come to Barry on that point, she did frame
:33:06. > :33:09.in her statement that it would be Labour propped up by the Liberal
:33:10. > :33:15.Democrats with an anti-Brexit tone to the whole campaign. You happy to
:33:16. > :33:19.painted in that way? If you are seen as the party, with the help of the
:33:20. > :33:23.SNP and the Liberal Democrats, who will frustrate something that the
:33:24. > :33:27.Tories keep referring to as the will of the people? We are not
:33:28. > :33:32.anti-Brexit, we have said that now the referendum has taken place, we
:33:33. > :33:40.are leaving the European Union. Let us kill that one. Ian has said, it
:33:41. > :33:45.is a week Labour Party and weak opposition in Parliament, but the
:33:46. > :33:48.Prime Minister is saying that the reason she is calling this is that
:33:49. > :33:55.she needs a bigger mandate because of all the problems. The law you are
:33:56. > :34:01.overrepresented in the Lords and in a wet and you will frustrate...
:34:02. > :34:10.Barry, finish point. It shows the weakness. The point I'm trying to
:34:11. > :34:13.make is this an if we are as weak as he says we are, then she does not
:34:14. > :34:17.lead to increase mandate in the Commons. You know that everything
:34:18. > :34:20.will go through the Lords eventually because the Lords will respect the
:34:21. > :34:24.Commons, they always do, but she cannot have it both ways, we cannot
:34:25. > :34:28.be so weak that she needs a bigger mandate or if she needs a bigger
:34:29. > :34:32.mandate, it is because she fears that we may be able to influence
:34:33. > :34:39.legislation and her legislative programme in way she does not want.
:34:40. > :34:43.We want to see a softer Brexit, not the Brexit that she wants to take a
:34:44. > :34:46.stand. Let's get more reaction. Theresa May has announced that she
:34:47. > :34:51.is calling a General Election to take place on June the 8th. She made
:34:52. > :34:56.the announcement outside Downing Street just after 11 o'clock this
:34:57. > :34:59.morning to the surprise of everyone. Jeremy Corbyn has been giving his
:35:00. > :35:09.reaction to the announcement of the Prime Minister.
:35:10. > :35:15.This is left NHS problems, left her is underfunded and let so many
:35:16. > :35:21.people uncertain. We want to put a case out there to the people of
:35:22. > :35:25.Britain of a society that cares for all, an economy that works for all
:35:26. > :35:29.and a Brexit that works for all. Jeremy Corbyn.
:35:30. > :35:35.We're joined now by Tom Newton Dunn of the Sun and Paul Mason.
:35:36. > :35:42.Tom, your reaction to the announcement. I am really surprised
:35:43. > :35:46.but I am not the only one, so is everyone in NSW won at the moment,
:35:47. > :35:50.not least because Theresa May said she did not want to do this and
:35:51. > :35:53.their huge amounts of good reasons for that, not least, they have not
:35:54. > :35:58.passed the boundary changes which gives the Tories 20 more seats and
:35:59. > :36:04.takes 20 from Labour so why not wait until October 20 18th of that. What
:36:05. > :36:08.does it say to the EU? You're going into and credibly complicated
:36:09. > :36:12.renegotiation not knowing which Prime Minister will be around the
:36:13. > :36:17.table. We note that this is what Theresa May wanted to avoid and the
:36:18. > :36:23.question remains, why has she changed her mind? To me, that is not
:36:24. > :36:27.clear. My best bet would be, on top of the Brexit problem she already
:36:28. > :36:31.has, she was aware of the lack of parliamentary majority months ago is
:36:32. > :36:35.the domestic legislation, it is things like grammar schools, her
:36:36. > :36:39.reforms to corporate governance and even possibly her energy reforms,
:36:40. > :36:45.she may not have had a majority for that the monster of MPs and perhaps
:36:46. > :36:51.that is a very good reason, unspoken reason why she wants to do this.
:36:52. > :36:55.Your thoughts on why she has changed her mind? Is it the polls that put
:36:56. > :37:05.Labour so far behind? Is at the domestic legislation? There is a
:37:06. > :37:14.whiff of panic and incompetence in the decision. It is not the polls,
:37:15. > :37:18.whatever you want to pick, that will be panicking Theresa May, it is the
:37:19. > :37:24.fact that she has kicked off Article 50 without a plan and on first
:37:25. > :37:30.contact with the opposition, the EU 27, finds that the EU 27 are
:37:31. > :37:33.prepared to absolutely destroy her negotiating position. Of course she
:37:34. > :37:38.needs a mandate, I hope she does not get it and that the British people
:37:39. > :37:45.will give a mandate to the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Jeremy Corbyn to
:37:46. > :37:50.engineer and minimal soft, socially just format to Brexit and I think
:37:51. > :37:57.Theresa May may be about to find out that Turkey just do not vote for
:37:58. > :38:01.Christmas. Looking at the figures, 48% Remain, 52% Leave, if this
:38:02. > :38:07.campaign turns out to be a rerun on that referendum, what is the best
:38:08. > :38:14.she can hope for? It will turn into a rerun of the referendum, because
:38:15. > :38:20.it will be what type of Brexit and it is unclear where the country
:38:21. > :38:25.stance on that. Some of the West Country MPs are really unhappy about
:38:26. > :38:29.this, the Tories have their wafer thin majority simply because they
:38:30. > :38:34.cleared out the Liberal Democrats in the South West in areas that were
:38:35. > :38:39.really quite Remain and have a strong Liberal Democrat vote. 20
:38:40. > :38:44.Tory MPs could be in trouble, so the gamble clearly is, Labour is in such
:38:45. > :38:47.pieces at the moment, Theresa May would hoover up far more Labour MPs
:38:48. > :38:50.than the one she would lose to the Liberal Democrats. This is really
:38:51. > :38:56.unclear at the moment which is why there is an element of risk. Having
:38:57. > :38:59.your own mandate is the key. That was always going to be the
:39:00. > :39:04.difficulty for her, that things could be thrown at her as Prime
:39:05. > :39:08.Minister because she had not won a General Election and with both
:39:09. > :39:12.domestic policies and the Brexit negotiations, she will be stronger,
:39:13. > :39:18.psychologically, if she wins a General Election on her own terms?
:39:19. > :39:23.We need to see what those terms are because there are now people on the
:39:24. > :39:28.Tory backbenchers saying that they want to use the so-called Great
:39:29. > :39:32.Repeal Bill to actually tinker with the regulatory situation in Britain
:39:33. > :39:36.right now. The Tories did to come forward now with a manifesto, not
:39:37. > :39:39.just say we are going to kick-start article 20 and in two years' time we
:39:40. > :39:43.will tell you what the outcome is, we need to know what the
:39:44. > :39:46.Conservative hard Brexit programmers and my prediction is that the
:39:47. > :39:50.majority of British people will reject it. We need to find the
:39:51. > :39:59.organisational form for that to happen. I support a Progressive
:40:00. > :40:01.alliance between Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP and the other
:40:02. > :40:04.nationalist parties to prevent this kamikaze Brexit. We have to scramble
:40:05. > :40:08.fast to make it happen. What about the preparedness? You have not had
:40:09. > :40:12.much time to talk to MPs, it has only been announced in the last
:40:13. > :40:15.couple of hours, but what is the general impression and reaction that
:40:16. > :40:19.you are being met with at Westminster? They are stunned, we
:40:20. > :40:25.all are, not least because the Prime Minister said she did not want to do
:40:26. > :40:27.this. Paul is right to the extent that the Prime Minister will now be
:40:28. > :40:31.pressed by Labour to define precisely what type of Brexit she is
:40:32. > :40:35.going to go for because the truth is, she cannot do that because she
:40:36. > :40:38.has not got a clue. She has got what she likes, her best but that is what
:40:39. > :40:44.you will put to the polls, but we will not get more detail. There are
:40:45. > :40:48.enormous issues, like the immigration system, we will not get
:40:49. > :40:54.any more detail on what immigration system the country will get, over
:40:55. > :40:58.the next four weeks or eight weeks. I think Theresa May's gamble is,
:40:59. > :41:04.although no party is prepared for this, she is just a tiny bit more
:41:05. > :41:09.prepared than Labour is, who really cannot unite around anything at the
:41:10. > :41:15.moment. I will stop you there. Thank you for your thoughts today. It is a
:41:16. > :41:20.gamble, it will allow a really hard Brexit, perhaps of the type that you
:41:21. > :41:24.would be a fan of, to go through, if you win the General Election. I
:41:25. > :41:28.don't know what they look like. I just know Brexit. It is all very
:41:29. > :41:31.well for people talking about hard versus soft, they do not know
:41:32. > :41:35.either. Negotiations are coming up and you want to get the best deal
:41:36. > :41:39.possible for the UK and that is what she wants the mandate for to make
:41:40. > :41:43.sure she is seen as a strong leader at home.
:41:44. > :41:45.We're joined now by the Labour backbencher and Jeremy Corbyn
:41:46. > :41:55.Do you welcome this General Election and will you be supporting it? It
:41:56. > :41:58.shows that the Conservative Party is in disarray. Theresa May is trying
:41:59. > :42:01.to duck the issue by having an election now before she gets to the
:42:02. > :42:07.point where the damage or more of the damage comes through after the
:42:08. > :42:12.final agreements. Are you firmly square behind Jeremy Corbyn and the
:42:13. > :42:16.leader's offers? Any Labour minister is better than a Conservative one
:42:17. > :42:21.and will do more for constituencies like mine and focusing on jobs and
:42:22. > :42:26.the NHS, I know he will make a better Prime Minister. You have been
:42:27. > :42:30.a very staunch critic of him. The last few days have seen one private
:42:31. > :42:33.e-mail I sent to Jeremy become the focus of office politics rather than
:42:34. > :42:42.the focus it should have been on. I said we need a communications agenda
:42:43. > :42:44.that delivers on things like policing and the police in
:42:45. > :42:47.Bermondsey do not have the resources they need. We are not focused to
:42:48. > :42:51.much an education. We want those to be the focus of the agenda and that
:42:52. > :42:57.is what I was asking for and instead I got reported to the Chief Whip. I
:42:58. > :43:03.think that nonsense will end. Which is nonsense? The Labour Party
:43:04. > :43:07.leadership nonsense? The internal silliness of reporting an MP to the
:43:08. > :43:11.Chief Whip for asking for a better communications agenda. Isn't it the
:43:12. > :43:16.internal infighting that is not going to put you in a good position
:43:17. > :43:19.for the General Election? I will be fighting as the Labour MP for my
:43:20. > :43:22.constituency and I hope my electors do not have a short memory and
:43:23. > :43:26.remember there was a Liberal Democrat before he voted for their
:43:27. > :43:30.bedroom tax and tuition fees, I think those issues will have
:43:31. > :43:34.salience with voters. There is nothing like a General Election to
:43:35. > :43:37.focus the mind of MPs, but with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, it needs
:43:38. > :43:45.a majority of MPs to vote it through and I presume you will be voting in
:43:46. > :43:50.favour of it? There was also the option of a vote of no-confidence
:43:51. > :43:53.and then having an option for a different Prime Minister altogether.
:43:54. > :43:57.Theresa May said she would put a motion tomorrow for MPs to call for
:43:58. > :44:01.a General Election, Barry and Jeremy Corbyn said they would support that,
:44:02. > :44:05.will you? I don't know because we have not seen the detail of the
:44:06. > :44:09.statement. I apologise if that is not good enough for you at this
:44:10. > :44:14.stage. I have not seen it. When I see what is on the table tomorrow, I
:44:15. > :44:17.will make my mind up then. It is straightforward, if two thirds of
:44:18. > :44:21.MPs in the House of Commons call for an early election, it will happen.
:44:22. > :44:24.If that is the motion that goes tomorrow, to you and your colleagues
:44:25. > :44:28.will you vote in favour? It is not clear and there is a vote of no
:44:29. > :44:36.confidence as a possibility as well. If that is what she wants, Theresa
:44:37. > :44:40.May is taking a big gamble, we lost David Cameron and they lost
:44:41. > :44:43.Goldsmith in London because London and I oppose Brexit. This is a
:44:44. > :44:46.gamble on the part of the Prime Minister. I take your point but if
:44:47. > :44:50.that is what Theresa May asked for, will you vote in favour of it? I
:44:51. > :44:54.have not seen much she is asking for, so this is just speculation.
:44:55. > :44:59.Let us see what comes up tomorrow. My vote will be recorded in the
:45:00. > :45:11.public domain. Barry, it seems fairly straightforward, you will be
:45:12. > :45:13.supporting it and Labour said that they would. Absolutely. I have been
:45:14. > :45:16.in the position that Neil has been meant for I have not seen a motion,
:45:17. > :45:19.it caught us all by surprise and I understand his position that says I
:45:20. > :45:22.will wait and see, but the position of the party is clear and that is
:45:23. > :45:24.that we welcome the opportunity to get rid of this Conservative
:45:25. > :45:30.government and to put our policies in front of the electorate.
:45:31. > :45:39.Will the internal fighting stopped? He has been reported to the Chief
:45:40. > :45:44.Whip. That took place prior to this morning's announcement. Based on
:45:45. > :45:50.what we have seen, the party has come back together and we had those
:45:51. > :45:55.two leadership elections and they are past history. The front bench
:45:56. > :45:59.has come back and it is operating properly and people are getting out
:46:00. > :46:03.there, doing the job both for the local elections and now for this
:46:04. > :46:06.general election. It is about putting policies there and
:46:07. > :46:13.persuading the public this is in their future best interest. That is
:46:14. > :46:17.what Neal and I will both be doing. We can now the Liberal Democrat
:46:18. > :46:22.leader Tim Farron who is in true row and he joins us now. Welcome. First
:46:23. > :46:28.of all, your response to Theresa May's statement. It is a fantastic
:46:29. > :46:32.opportunity for British people to change the direction of our country
:46:33. > :46:36.and vote against a hard Brexit and vote to keep the United Kingdom in
:46:37. > :46:41.the single market, something that was not on the ballot paper last
:46:42. > :46:46.year. But it is also an opportunity for Britain to vote for a strong and
:46:47. > :46:49.decent opposition, something they do not have under Labour, but something
:46:50. > :46:56.they could have under the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats see
:46:57. > :47:00.this as our moment, a moment where Britain could change the direction
:47:01. > :47:04.of our country. Will people thank you for wanting to rerun the
:47:05. > :47:11.referendum and the whole idea of Brexit in this general election?
:47:12. > :47:15.Well, I think the biggest issue of a generation is hardly not going to be
:47:16. > :47:18.discussed during this general election. It seems to me that given
:47:19. > :47:24.that membership of the single market was not on the ballot paper last
:47:25. > :47:28.year and people being for or against leaving the European Union, there
:47:29. > :47:32.seems to be a majority who think being in the single market would be
:47:33. > :47:37.good for our economy. To put that front and centre of our campaign
:47:38. > :47:42.seems to me wise and showed real leadership to bring the country
:47:43. > :47:49.together. Iain Duncan Smith, how worried are you by the threat of the
:47:50. > :47:51.Liberal Democrats? I was down in the south-west during the last election
:47:52. > :47:57.and there seemed to be a huge sense that the time had been and gone and
:47:58. > :48:01.we one all the seats down there. We won on issues of who do you want to
:48:02. > :48:06.govern you? I think my colleagues in the South West will have a very
:48:07. > :48:11.strong election campaign and win. To be fair, the Liberals have been very
:48:12. > :48:14.clear about their position on this. It is their opportunity to put this
:48:15. > :48:19.case for a second referendum. If that is what they want to stand on,
:48:20. > :48:23.let them put it during the general election. That is the point. It will
:48:24. > :48:29.be over on June the 8th and we will end up with the British mandate the
:48:30. > :48:34.British people want. Listening to Neill coil it was interesting, the
:48:35. > :48:38.Labour Party is divided. Some want to have the general election because
:48:39. > :48:43.they want to get rid of their leader and others want to have it because
:48:44. > :48:47.they want to win with their leader. Iain Duncan Smith, I think we are
:48:48. > :48:50.letting you go. Thank you for joining us today on this programme.
:48:51. > :48:55.A dramatic announcement from the Prime Minister. Tim Farron, what do
:48:56. > :48:59.you say to Iain Duncan Smith who is not worried about a Lib Dem
:49:00. > :49:05.challenge in the south-west? He would say that, wouldn't he? The
:49:06. > :49:09.result in the by-elections in the last ten months here have been
:49:10. > :49:15.spectacular. Interest in membership has doubled, so there is great
:49:16. > :49:18.energy down here. But in the last referendum whether people supported
:49:19. > :49:22.or did not support the outcome of the vote, they want to see a Britain
:49:23. > :49:27.that does not isolate itself from the rest of the world, but does not
:49:28. > :49:31.bode to make itself Pura. That is why being in the single market is
:49:32. > :49:38.critically important and it is one of the things we will campaign on in
:49:39. > :49:46.the election. It is about changing the direction of our country so it
:49:47. > :49:53.is open, United and tolerant and it is an opportunity to have a decent
:49:54. > :49:55.opposition. People favourable to the Conservative Party will agree we
:49:56. > :49:58.need a stronger Liberal Democrat voice during this election, given
:49:59. > :50:06.that the Liberal Democrats have been a decent opposition. We are joined
:50:07. > :50:10.in the studio by Ukip's deputy leader Peter Whittle. What do you
:50:11. > :50:13.say to Tim Farron saying this is the opportunity for those people who
:50:14. > :50:21.want to have a Brexit negotiation where we stay in the single market
:50:22. > :50:24.for those who are not in favour for a hard Brexit leaving the EU. The
:50:25. > :50:30.challenge is on in this general election. What you do know about the
:50:31. > :50:33.Lib Dems is basically they are standing essentially on an
:50:34. > :50:37.anti-democratic platform. They simply will not accept the result
:50:38. > :50:43.and whichever way Tim Farron dresses it up, if you want to basically go
:50:44. > :50:50.against democracy, that is the best way to do it, vote Lib Dem. Why is
:50:51. > :50:56.it against democracy? They have never accepted the actual referendum
:50:57. > :50:59.result. Whether you say you want to have a referendum on the eve of the
:51:00. > :51:05.negotiations or a second referendum, this is not accepting a democratic
:51:06. > :51:10.mandate. Do you think it was right of Theresa May to call for a general
:51:11. > :51:14.election? It is utterly cynical, it is putting party before country,
:51:15. > :51:21.there is no question about that. The Scottish Nationalists were told it
:51:22. > :51:23.was wrong to hold an independence referendum, independent during
:51:24. > :51:28.Brexit negotiation, but somehow it is right to have a general election.
:51:29. > :51:34.We are having one now and my party is excited about it. Will you win
:51:35. > :51:40.any seats? You have not done well up until now. Two years ago we got 4
:51:41. > :51:44.million votes. We have done a lot of organising since then. We have not
:51:45. > :51:52.been quiet and just sitting on our hands. Why vote Ukip if it is framed
:51:53. > :51:57.around Brexit? I huge amount. With this government people are getting
:51:58. > :52:01.more worried, even though she is having a honeymoon, they hear
:52:02. > :52:05.nothing about what the government is doing on migration. All they hear is
:52:06. > :52:10.that migration might well go on at the current levels for another ten
:52:11. > :52:16.years. This is still the number one issue. People know where my party
:52:17. > :52:20.stands on this issue. We have other issues, multiculturalism has failed
:52:21. > :52:25.in Britain. We have problems with radical Islam and extremism. Before
:52:26. > :52:30.we go to the Green Party's co-leader, what do you say about
:52:31. > :52:34.migration and multiculturalism? Ukip say that they will hold the Prime
:52:35. > :52:41.Minister's feet to the fire in a way you have not until now. It may have
:52:42. > :52:44.been a slip of the tongue, but you said it was the single biggest issue
:52:45. > :52:51.and then you said it was not the single biggest issue. Immigration is
:52:52. > :52:53.of great concern for most people, but the country other faces huge
:52:54. > :52:59.problems that none of the other parties talk about. The key thing
:53:00. > :53:04.people will look to vote on is what is going to happen in terms of the
:53:05. > :53:10.economy? What is going to happen in terms of their livelihood and their
:53:11. > :53:13.jobs? If they feel the sort of Brexit you and the Conservatives
:53:14. > :53:18.want to take us down the road of, this hard Brexit that will stop free
:53:19. > :53:24.movement of people, stop immigration entirely... That is what they voted
:53:25. > :53:29.for, an end to free movement of people. By all means continue to
:53:30. > :53:34.talk, but I have a right to reply. They will vote for their future jobs
:53:35. > :53:41.and security. At the moment this is a government that has given people
:53:42. > :53:44.the likelihood is that they had back in 2007 10% worse in real times.
:53:45. > :53:49.That is the key issue that most people will vote on. They did not
:53:50. > :53:53.just vote on economics, they voted on cultural things as well. We must
:53:54. > :53:59.talk to the Green Party co-leader who has been waiting patiently. You
:54:00. > :54:04.excited about the prospect of a general election on June the aid?
:54:05. > :54:09.Really excited. We think this is long overdue, she should have done
:54:10. > :54:16.this before. We are a party that is offering bold alternatives and an
:54:17. > :54:19.alternative to cuts in fighting the government's programme of austerity
:54:20. > :54:24.and we will protect the environment. We are the antidote to Ukip. There
:54:25. > :54:30.is so much to vote for in the Green Party. Were you surprised by the
:54:31. > :54:34.announcement? Yes, we were surprised, but we have been calling
:54:35. > :54:39.for it. She did not have a mandate to force through extreme Brexit. She
:54:40. > :54:42.needed to get the consent of the British people for what she is doing
:54:43. > :54:48.because this is not on the ballot paper. On the basis of the polls
:54:49. > :54:52.with Labour so far behind if they are to be believed, it would improve
:54:53. > :54:58.Theresa May's position to go ahead with the Brexit she wants, rather
:54:59. > :55:02.than the opposition parties. If the last two years have taught us
:55:03. > :55:07.anything, it is that things can happen very quickly and there can be
:55:08. > :55:11.seismic changes very rapidly. We are polling more highly than we were at
:55:12. > :55:17.the time of the 2015 general election and we would have had 25
:55:18. > :55:21.MPs under the basis of a fair voting system under that. We want true
:55:22. > :55:25.representation of the British people in Parliament. We are willing to
:55:26. > :55:30.work with other parties and we could see an interesting outcome in seven
:55:31. > :55:33.weeks' time if those parties commit to working together. We are
:55:34. > :55:38.different from Labour and the Liberal Democrats and we are making
:55:39. > :55:43.that clear. You have just one MP at the moment, Caroline Lucas, and she
:55:44. > :55:49.will vote in favour of the pit term parliaments Pratt said there can be
:55:50. > :55:58.an early election -- fixed term Parliaments at. What more can you
:55:59. > :56:04.do? Caroline Lucas won that in 2010 and 2015 and we have got more seats
:56:05. > :56:09.than Ukip. Once people see as debating and see the policies, we
:56:10. > :56:12.note in general elections our support goes up when we get fair
:56:13. > :56:18.exposure in the media and across the BBC. We will have that problem,
:56:19. > :56:23.democratic process where people can see what we stand for and we are
:56:24. > :56:28.optimistic about making gains. Well, you have had your fair hearing here
:56:29. > :56:32.on the BBC. Let's continue getting reaction from all the parties. Let's
:56:33. > :56:38.hear what Nicola Sturgeon had to say. Is is a big U-turn in recent
:56:39. > :56:42.political history, but it is clear the Prime Minister's announcement
:56:43. > :56:47.today is all about the narrow interests of her own party and not
:56:48. > :56:50.the interests of the country overall. Clearly she sees the
:56:51. > :56:54.opportunity, given the total disarray in the ranks of the Labour
:56:55. > :56:59.Party to crush all opposition, to get rid of people who disagree with
:57:00. > :57:03.her and to give herself a free hand to take the country in an
:57:04. > :57:08.increasingly right-wing direction. That would mean not just the hardest
:57:09. > :57:13.possible Brexit, but more austerity and deep cuts. Now is the time for
:57:14. > :57:16.Scotland's voice to be heard and for people in Scotland to stand up for
:57:17. > :57:20.the type of country we want Scotland to be and that is the campaign I
:57:21. > :57:27.look forward to leading in the weeks ahead. Everyone is an election
:57:28. > :57:32.footing. Before we go, time to get the latest odds from Jessica Bridge
:57:33. > :57:39.of Ladbrokes. Take us through the odds. As Christmas come early? We
:57:40. > :57:45.are looking at the most seats and the Tories are 1-10 favourites. You
:57:46. > :57:51.need to place ?10 to win just ?1 in return. That is how sure we are with
:57:52. > :57:59.that. Can Jeremy Corbyn spring the second political upset of his
:58:00. > :58:04.career? Frankly, no. Labour are 7-1. This represents a huge opportunity
:58:05. > :58:09.for the Lib Dems and Tim Farron at 33-1. They think they can steal some
:58:10. > :58:19.seats. Still a big prize, but not as big a prize as for Ukip at 100-1.
:58:20. > :58:25.The bet down here which a lot of punters will think is nailed, and
:58:26. > :58:30.1-5 is generous, Jeremy Corbyn to be replaced as leader of the Labour
:58:31. > :58:35.Party this year. Those odds will probably be 1-10 by the time I have
:58:36. > :58:39.finished. Jeremy Corbyn doesn't look like he will get much past June as
:58:40. > :58:47.far as the odds are concerned with a Tory victory. Let's get reaction to
:58:48. > :58:52.that. All of this is a great bit of fun and people will no doubt have a
:58:53. > :58:59.punt. But this is not a presidential race. This is not America. We do not
:59:00. > :59:04.do things like America in terms of presidential and personality. This
:59:05. > :59:08.is about policy. What every Labour MP and counsellor and member will be
:59:09. > :59:11.doing is going out on the doorsteps and making sure that we get across
:59:12. > :59:16.the policies that we have been talking about that this weekend were
:59:17. > :59:19.shown to be popular with people because they thought those were the
:59:20. > :59:27.things that really spoke to their lives. You are focusing everything
:59:28. > :59:32.on policy and not on Jeremy Corbyn as leader? Not at all, do not forget
:59:33. > :59:36.it is under Jeremy Corbyn that those policies have been put forward that
:59:37. > :59:41.found so much favour with the public this weekend. We are talking about
:59:42. > :59:46.carers' allowance, parents in schools, all of these things are
:59:47. > :59:48.important in this general election. Thank you for being with us right to
:59:49. > :59:59.the end, the last man standing. The one o'clock news is starting
:00:00. > :00:02.over on BBC One now.