:00:08. > :00:11.A UK general election will be held on the 8th of June after MPs backed
:00:12. > :00:14.the Prime Minister's call for a snap poll.
:00:15. > :00:16.The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the Scottish National Party's
:00:17. > :00:19.initial election pitch here this morning, before MPs had even voted
:00:20. > :00:22.on the Conservative Government's plans for that June election.
:00:23. > :00:24.And when it came to the vote on that issue this afternoon,
:00:25. > :00:39.Here's our Westminster Correspondent, Nick Eardley.
:00:40. > :00:49.It started with Nicola Sturgeon quick off the mark. Only the SNP
:00:50. > :00:52.stands between Scotland and an increasingly hardline Tory
:00:53. > :00:57.government. She offered to work with other parties to try and keep the
:00:58. > :01:01.Conservatives out of government and argued that SNP win in Scotland
:01:02. > :01:06.would be a case against the Independent vote. When the tide is
:01:07. > :01:11.right, will crumble to dust. In 2015, her party won 26 of Scotland's
:01:12. > :01:14.right, will crumble to dust. In 59 seats. Will be aiming for the
:01:15. > :01:19.same this time? I be leading a campaign to reach Tain -- return
:01:20. > :01:26.each and everyone of the constituencies. Winning those 56
:01:27. > :01:37.seats would be a huge challenge for Nicola Sturgeon's party. The only
:01:38. > :01:40.way is down. This party... Hello! Smiles as the campaign begins but
:01:41. > :01:46.there's a long road ahead. The Prime Minister hopes to be smiling too.
:01:47. > :01:50.She wants to backing for her Brexit plans. The government offering a
:01:51. > :01:53.chance to vote for the general election that will secure the strong
:01:54. > :01:59.and stable leadership that continues to see is through Brexit and beyond.
:02:00. > :02:04.She's faced claims of hypocrisy for saying and independence would would
:02:05. > :02:07.be a distraction but then calling an election a response. Now is the time
:02:08. > :02:12.for a general election because it will strengthen our hand on the
:02:13. > :02:15.negotiations for Brexit. Now is not the time for a second Scottish
:02:16. > :02:21.independence referendum because it will weaken our hand in negotiations
:02:22. > :02:24.on Brexit. The SNP and conservatives argue it's a straight battle between
:02:25. > :02:30.them in Scotland but others want European vote to do. The Liberal
:02:31. > :02:36.Democrats will speak for Scotland. If you want to send a message to the
:02:37. > :02:40.First Minister is that we don't want a second independent, and a message
:02:41. > :02:42.to the Prime Minister that we don't want a hard Brexit, you fought for
:02:43. > :02:52.the Labour Party. The eyes want a hard Brexit, you fought for
:02:53. > :02:56.right, 522. SNP MPs abstained. The nose to the left, 13. So for the
:02:57. > :03:00.next seven weeks, you'll hear arguments from across the political
:03:01. > :03:02.spectrum about policy, about a Brexit, about the future of the
:03:03. > :03:04.Brexit, about the future of the UK and Scotland.
:03:05. > :03:10.Or independence? Or is it about the economy?
:03:11. > :03:12.Our political editor Brian Taylor casts a wry glance
:03:13. > :03:25.In politics, these are troubled, confusing times. Let's take things
:03:26. > :03:29.back to the roots. Maybe over the next few weeks, you might find it
:03:30. > :03:37.handy to have a clove of garlic ready to kick those canvassers away!
:03:38. > :03:44.I want to quote that great Scottish sage, the movie ogre charrette. He
:03:45. > :03:50.reminded us that onions have layers. So, too, to elections. The first
:03:51. > :03:55.layer is the constituency. This is not a presidential contest. These
:03:56. > :03:57.old Westminster parliamentary elections, you're directly electing
:03:58. > :04:04.an MP, your local champion. elections, you're directly electing
:04:05. > :04:08.Secondly, the UK Government. You're selecting indirectly a tenant for
:04:09. > :04:14.this has. Your choosing and UK Cabinet in overall control of the
:04:15. > :04:16.economy, both sides of industry say alongside constitutional to mother
:04:17. > :04:22.must be an emphasis on growth and jobs. Focus on the economy, focus on
:04:23. > :04:26.telling us exactly what the government is going to do to create
:04:27. > :04:29.an environment that business can actually grow and business can
:04:30. > :04:33.invest in. That should be the priority. It's about jobs,
:04:34. > :04:39.investment and infrastructure for business. Focus on the policies that
:04:40. > :04:44.matter to people on that day basis. The quality of employment, the fact
:04:45. > :04:47.that too many people are working in precarious work with low pay, they
:04:48. > :04:51.don't have access to quality public services. Those people working in
:04:52. > :04:58.public services are struggling to provide quality public services.
:04:59. > :05:02.Layer three, Brexit. Theresa May wants support for her for long
:05:03. > :05:08.version of quitting the EU. She wants a bigger majorities to see
:05:09. > :05:11.that through Parliament. Opponents wants to challenge her, I'd is
:05:12. > :05:17.thwarting Brexit altogether, defending the single market, was
:05:18. > :05:22.seeking a Scottish team. And there's independence. The Tories up that a
:05:23. > :05:27.bigger vote for them across Scotland would ease the pressure for a
:05:28. > :05:30.referendum. By contrast, the SNP give primary focus to countering
:05:31. > :05:34.Conservative austerity and a hard Brexit. They insist they already
:05:35. > :05:39.have a Holyrood mandate for a referendum. But they say a big vote
:05:40. > :05:43.for them would reinforce that, meaning that Tory opposition would
:05:44. > :05:47.crumble to dust. But of course, there's another thing to bear in
:05:48. > :05:54.mind when you're in peeling the layers of an onion. It's cool all
:05:55. > :05:54.end in tears. -- it could all end in tears.
:05:55. > :05:59.So, to that campaign, and the battle for your votes to come.
:06:00. > :06:02.What is on your mind and how will you decide
:06:03. > :06:03.where to mark your cross on the ballot paper?
:06:04. > :06:05.Cameron Buttle reports from Scotland's most marginal seat.
:06:06. > :06:11.This is called Scots view. It was said to have been so Walter Scott's
:06:12. > :06:15.favoured few of the Scottish Borders. It's right in the heart of
:06:16. > :06:19.the Roxburgh and South Cliff constituency and that covers a huge
:06:20. > :06:23.swathe of southern Scotland. From the West to the Ettrick Valley,
:06:24. > :06:31.right over to Eyemouth in the east. All of that is the battle ground for
:06:32. > :06:36.the closest fight in Scotland. And that includes places like hike,
:06:37. > :06:41.Jedi, Galashiels and here in Kelso, when it's already the talk of the
:06:42. > :06:46.town. Personally I think public transport is a big issue here,
:06:47. > :06:50.because it's been cut so badly. And National Health Service. If
:06:51. > :07:00.because it's been cut so badly. And get rid of this independence, I
:07:01. > :07:10.would. That's not going to happen. Undecided. Scotland will go either
:07:11. > :07:16.owned or just stay. I don't know if she's... So you're going to go SNP?
:07:17. > :07:20.Yes. In one shape or another, this constituency had been Liberal
:07:21. > :07:23.Democrat for decades but in 2015, the SNP surge swept through the
:07:24. > :07:30.Borders as well, the candidate, Carl Kerr took a seat by just 320 foot.
:07:31. > :07:34.Second place went to the Scottish Conservatives, John Lamont. The Lib
:07:35. > :07:38.Dems Michael Daw was knocked down to third but still got more than 10,000
:07:39. > :07:43.votes. The question is, what will happen to those of us crusty mark it
:07:44. > :07:49.in interest in. Brexit is going to come into it. 60% voted to remain in
:07:50. > :07:53.Europe. 66% voted to remain in the United Kingdom. It's a mixed
:07:54. > :07:56.message, that's going out to the Tories, John Lamont will be
:07:57. > :07:58.expecting, I would imagine, to win this seat, to wrestle it away from
:07:59. > :08:07.Calum Kerr of the Nationalists. this seat, to wrestle it away from
:08:08. > :08:09.is the key vote. Labour has never had a big showing down here though
:08:10. > :08:12.is the key vote. Labour has never they do have the voters. But some of
:08:13. > :08:18.them are thinking hard about what they're going to do. Here, my vote
:08:19. > :08:24.would count, because I vote Labour. But I'll still vote Labour. You
:08:25. > :08:29.wouldn't think of tactical voting? No. Well, I might if I think the
:08:30. > :08:33.Tories might get an extra seat. There are around 75,000 votes to
:08:34. > :08:39.fight for in this constituency and a little over 300 in at the last time.
:08:40. > :08:40.It doesn't get better. -- it doesn't get any tighter.
:08:41. > :08:43.Police Scotland say officers have no authority to arrest
:08:44. > :08:46.a suspect who is the subject of an Interpol alert.
:08:47. > :08:48.Harris Binotti is being sought by authorities in Myanmar,
:08:49. > :08:53.They want to question him about the death of another British
:08:54. > :08:56.Both men had been working as teachers there.
:08:57. > :09:01.Mr Binotti left Myanmar the day before Mr Ferguson's body
:09:02. > :09:04.According to newspaper reports, Mr Binotti has
:09:05. > :09:10.And in Rugby, just two Scots have made it into the British
:09:11. > :09:13.and Irish Lions squad for the summer tour of New Zealand.
:09:14. > :09:20.More from our sports reporter David Currie.
:09:21. > :09:27.Two lions and a shirt, like the Windies Glasgow boys will wear on
:09:28. > :09:35.the Lions tour of New Zealand in the summer. No wonder the face gleaming.
:09:36. > :09:41.I'm chuffed to bits. It's hard to sum up. There's been a lot of us by
:09:42. > :09:46.collision over the last few weeks, who's going and who is not. As soon
:09:47. > :09:53.as my name was read out today, it was massively excitement. It's
:09:54. > :10:01.amazing. An amazing feeling. Really proud moment, proud moment for my
:10:02. > :10:05.family. It's just, yeah, as Evelyn described it, it's a
:10:06. > :10:09.once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. After the successful six Nations in
:10:10. > :10:12.which Scotland won three of their five matches including wins over
:10:13. > :10:17.Wales and Ireland, there's disappointment to do. After all,
:10:18. > :10:24.there are 11 Irish and 12 Welsh players on the squad. To have two at
:10:25. > :10:28.this stage, is very disappointing. I thought the brothers might have
:10:29. > :10:34.gone. Finn Russell might have gone but if you look at the people whose
:10:35. > :10:40.selecting it, they'd be going with who they know, their Welshman, they
:10:41. > :10:45.Englishmen. The selection is a matter of opinion. We might slightly
:10:46. > :10:49.disagree but that's what makes it interesting. This will be a
:10:50. > :10:54.physically demanding tour, with ten matches being played in just about
:10:55. > :10:58.five weeks, including three tests against the world champions, New
:10:59. > :11:04.Zealand. That means injuries and further call ups are inevitable.
:11:05. > :11:07.With Scotland on tour in Australia, the Lions are in New Zealand,
:11:08. > :11:09.Scotland players might make Andy stand-bys.
:11:10. > :11:11.Well, it's over to Chris now with the weather outlook
:11:12. > :11:25.Very cloudy skies across the country tonight. Also fairly mild
:11:26. > :11:33.conditions. A few spots of light rain and hillfort -- hill fog.
:11:34. > :11:38.Primarily in the West. And it's a mild start to the day. Whilst it is
:11:39. > :11:45.very cloudy, there will be a few brighter claim chinks around the
:11:46. > :11:50.East Coast up towards northern part of Aberdeenshire, towards the West
:11:51. > :11:54.Highlands, the islands, more drizzle and persistent rain for the Northern
:11:55. > :11:58.Isles with a strong westerly. That rain clearing for Shetland but it
:11:59. > :12:01.will linger for Orkney and in the West, spots of rain on the door for
:12:02. > :12:05.the course of the day involves cloudy for most, some brighter
:12:06. > :12:11.moments across eastern parts of the country. Across UK as a whole,
:12:12. > :12:23.fairly cloudy, the odd spot or the odd shower, through parts of
:12:24. > :12:26.Northern Ireland in towards Wales, into was the south-west, the best of
:12:27. > :12:29.any brightness south of the border will be in the far south-east around
:12:30. > :12:31.Kent and Sussex. Reasonably mild and not too bad for us tomorrow either.
:12:32. > :12:35.Cloudy in the West, cooler than that. The rest of the afternoon, the
:12:36. > :12:39.wet weather in the north-west are little heavier, more persistent.
:12:40. > :12:43.Cold fronts sinking its way southwards, high-pressure nearby,
:12:44. > :12:49.but we are to the north so that whether French beans is D-Day for
:12:50. > :12:53.some others on Friday, not all day. Cloudy use darts, moving its way
:12:54. > :13:00.southwards so it will improve across the North. But sterling fresh as
:13:01. > :13:05.temperatures drop. Quick look at the weekend, high-pressure and Saturday,
:13:06. > :13:09.largely dry, cloudy, but at school it times and then this developing
:13:10. > :13:14.system like to -- likely to bring wet and winter weather throughout
:13:15. > :13:15.Sunday and into the new working West. -- working week.
:13:16. > :13:21.Our next update is during Breakfast at 6.25am tomorrow morning.
:13:22. > :13:22.But from everyone on the late team here in Glasgow and around