19/04/2017 BBC News at Six

The snap general election is confirmed, after Parliament votes

The Prime Minister's already on the campaign trail tonight

after telling MPs victory would allow her to build

Labour accuse her of broken promises.

It is right now to ask the British people to put their trust in me

and the Conservative Party, to deliver on their vote last year

a Brexit plan that will make a success for this country.

The Tories have broken every promise, on living

standards, the deficit, debt, the National Health Service

Why should anyone believe a word they say?

We'll be looking at the issues that will dominate the next 50

Prince Harry gets a little helping hand as he officially launches this

year's London Marathon, with its focus on mental health.

right to share my experiences and to hope to encourage others to come

forward. Going nowhere - a trackside fire

halts trains in and out of London on one of the UK's

busiest rail routes, And King of the Lions -

Sam Warburton is named as captain of the British and Irish

squad for this summer's And coming up in the sport

on BBC News: Andy Murray, back from a wrist

injury and winning again. He's through to the third

round of the Monte Carlo Masters Good evening and welcome

to the BBC News at Six. A snap general election

will definitely be held on June 8th after MPs voted overwhelmingly

to approve it this afternoon. The Prime Minister says victory

at the polls in 50 days' time would give her a stronger hand

in her Brexit negotiations with EU leaders and stability

after Britain leaves. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

told MPs he welcomed the election, saying Britain was worse off under

the Conservatives than it was seven years ago and the British people now

have a chance to change direction. Here's our political

editor, Laura Kuenssberg. Day one of the national argument

that will decide who is in charge round here. The placards are ready,

the cameras are poised. Cheering already ringing out. Technically,

it's not underway, but this campaign is coming soon to a place near you.

CHEERING But, while the Prime Minister had

the power of surprise, questions about her motivation chased her

through the day, having gone back on her promise not to call a vote.

Can she be trusted? I trust the British public and I'm asking them

to put their trust in me. If they give me a mandate for these

negotiations, for the plan for Brexit the government has, the plan

for a stronger Britain beyond Brexit, I think that will strengthen

our hand. West Chester the Prime Minister... Labour says she simply

can't believe it. On both sides, Prime Minister's Questions was a

glimpse of the weeks to come. Over the next -- last seven years, the

Tories have broken every promise, on living standards, the deficit, yet,

the NHS and schools funding. Why should anyone believe a word they

say over the next seven weeks? We will be out there, fighting for

every vote. Whereas the right honourable gentleman opposite would

bankrupt our economy am a would weaken our defences and is simply

not fit to lead. None of the leaders have time to waste. With Brexit the

backdrop for this election, the Lib Dems see their resistance to the

Prime Minister's plans as their selling point. Thanks for coming. In

leafy parts, they hope that sells, like enrichment outside London. It's

an opportunity for British people to reject hard Brexit, devote to stay

in the single market. -- enrichment outside London. Devoted to have a

decent, strong opposition in this country, for the good of our

democracy. Only just over a dozen MPs tried to stop it happening. The

opposition could have blocked Theresa May's desire to hold a

election three years early. The ayes to the right, 322... But not a

chance. The noes to the left, 13. It is now officially on. The realities

of Brexit and the timing of this election, but Theresa May was also

tempted by the lure of the polls and the desire to get things done at

home. The challenge for the opposition parties, to make the

arguments on their terms. He is no stranger to this. Jeremy Corbyn had

two successful rounds of campaigning to win his party's leadership, but

he is already on the road in marginal Croydon facing a much

bigger task this time around. Are we going to be a country that works

only to make the richest even richer? I know which side I'm on,

you know which side you are on. This election is going to be fought on

the streets of this country, up and down, in town halls, in streets, on

beaches, on the seafront... And look who dropped into Westminster. Is it

realistic for the SNP defy gravity and keep their record-breaking

number of MPs? The Tories already claim, with echoes of 2015, they'd

be in cahoots with Labour. The SNP will in this election, as we always

do, stand up for Scotland. A vote for the SNP is a vote to protect

Scotland's. If the Parliamentary arithmetic lent itself to the SNP

being part of a progressive alliance that would keep the Tories out of

government, the SNP would seek to be part of that, as we said in 2015.

You have just opened the door to a coalition. You suggested you might

work with the other parties. I don't think that the territory we are

going to be in in this election and I don't think you will find anybody

in any part of the UK who thinks that it is what I was simply stating

the fact that I don't want to see a Tory government. Feeling confident,

Prime Minister? Can you unite the country western mark she may be

feeling the first, but achieving the second will be harder to do. Much

step -- much stand in Theresa May's way of driving back in still Prime

Minister in 50 days. So, with the official starting gun

fired on the election, attention turns to the battleground

seats where parties will be out and about over the next 50 days,

fighting for every single vote. One of those battlegrounds

is Bolton North East, currently held by labour

with a majority of just That's where the Prime

Minister is tonight. Our political correspondent,

Vicki Young, is following her. Theresa May is already

on the campaign trail then? It can be telling where a party

leader chooses to make that first significant election speech. Theresa

May has come to the north-west of England, an area which will be full

of very close battles with Labour in the coming weeks. In Bolton in

particular, the Tories think Labour could be vulnerable because, they

say, they are out of tune with many of their own supporters who voted

for Brexit and, because of that, the Conservatives spy an opportunity.

The Conservatives are heading into Labour territory,

with ambitious plans to grab seats like Bolton North East

that have been beyond their reach for 20 years.

Labour areas which voted for Brexit could be fertile

Theresa May thinks she can win them over. About providing the strongly

leadership this country needs. It's about strengthening our ad in the

ahead and sticking to our plan for a stronger Britain that will enable us

to secure that more stable and secure future for this country and

take the right long-term decisions for the future.

And as the voters of Bolton digest news of the snap election,

some have already made up their minds.

I think she is a strong leader, not just because she is a woman,

And I think she will do the country well.

She's not messing around with all this bickering

in Parliament and, you know, she is trying to do a good

job of a bad situation that she has been left in.

Labour hope to succeed by attacking the government's record

Things they hope will matter to people.

I definitely think he relates closely to, you know, the lower,

Labour, but obviously it depends on issues

on health care and education, those are my main

Bolton is just the kind of place where the Tories think they can make

Theresa May will be appealing to the Ukip and Labour voters

Telling them that she is now the person to deliver on that

And as voters focus on choosing their next

Prime Minister, some question the Labour leader's credibility.

I usually vote Ukip, but I will vote Conservative.

So rather than have that idiot, Jeremy Corbyn,

Because, like she says, he can only lead a political demonstration,

I have always been Labour and stuff like that,

He just seems like he doesn't know what he's doing.

This battle has just begun but today Theresa May signalled she is ready

to challenge the Labour Party on their own turf.

The former Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced he's

standing down as an MP to concentrate on his

new job as editor of the London Evening Standard.

He'd faced intense criticism after taking on the newspaper job

alongside his job in Parliament, as our deputy political editor,

From political big beast to big city editor and the greenest back in the

newsroom, the new boss in Fleet Street chooses to see his future as

moving on, not coming down. George Osborne told me today he would use

his new role is liberal Conservative used to fight against any partial

vision of Brexit. My job is to speak for my readers in this country and

its future. Our country has got some big decisions to make about the kind

of Britain we want to be, and those values of openness, tolerance,

diversity, enterprise are the values in hold dear and the ones I've

fought for in government as Chancellor, and that I fought for in

Parliament at the MP for Tatton, and I'm going to fight for them at the

Evening Standard. Strategist in a hard hat, visionary in five is

forced out to build Tory support in areas off-limits since Thatcher. --

visionary in hi-vis. Close to David Cameron, they rose and fell over

Brexit. Can being an editor ever compensate for never being Prime

Minister? I am very excited to be the editor of the in-depth -- of the

Evening Standard, and the exciting thing is not how you engaged in the

public of the debate of whether you engage, and I found... But

realistically, you wish to be Prime Minister and you will not now be. I

count myself as nothing other than incredibly fortunate, to be an MP,

to represent the seat that I did and also to be Chancellor for six years,

and I'm proud to have been part of a team that turned round the fortunes

first of all of my party and then the country. Perspective or a brave

front on a dream? The coalition government hung together, as Osborne

planned, and in the end, as he planned, the Lib Dems were hung out

by the voters that I don't think he ever had great popular appeal in the

country as a large but he loved the game of politics in Westminster and

Whitehall and he relished that kind of thing. Wood looking back, he

insists he is proud. His so-called omnishambles budget quashed over.

Brexit, he is philosophical. What do you regret most, Brexit or taxing

pasties? I did eight budgets. You don't get all of them right. And, in

the end, you have to be judged on whether you work from your own

values. How do you want history to remember you? Somebody who left

Britain in a better than I found it. So let's join our political editor,

Laura Kuenssberg, in Westminster. With 50 days to go,

the Prime Minister is already out campaigning, but there's already

controversy after she ruled out That's right. It's never takes

politicians very long to start an argument, does it, and here we are,

the first tussle well underway, not over any policy or plan or manifesto

but about a very big, central part of how this campaign will be

conducted. Television debates are relatively new fangled in this

country. They have been watched by millions when they have happened

and, for many voters, particularly young voters, the evidence suggests

it's been a really important way of people feeling they connect with the

campaigns. Theresa May is adamant that she is not going to take part.

The opposition parties are all furious. They are relishing every

chance of accusing her of being frightened, they say she is too

scared to take take them on, she is somehow hiding away, and the

broadcasters want these events happen and they could go ahead with

some kind of format, even if Theresa May doesn't want to take part. The

truth of this, and perhaps the reality for Theresa May and her

calculation, is, as David Cameron discovered after taking part in one

set of debates, these debates are a huge opportunity for the underdog in

a campaign but, for the front runners, they have a lot to lose.

For now, Number Ten is adamant that it is adamant they are not going to

budge. At the moment, they can take the flak for a few days over not

taking part but is this the kind of row that could blow up? Theresa May

is never particularly plan of parading in front of TV cameras and

a hunch right now is that she will stick to their guns.

And you can find out much more about the election

on June 8th by visiting our webpage at bbc.co.uk/news.

The snap general election is confirmed for Thursday June 8th -

after parliament votes overwhelmingly to approve it.

I can't believe that! I cannot believe all of this!

And we catch up with Brenda from Bristol -

whose forthright views yesterday on the prospect

of another general election - went viral...

Coming up in Sportsday on BBC News...

1000-1 outsider Rory McLeod is just a frame away from knocking

pre-tournament favourite Judd Trump out in the first round

of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.

Prince Harry says he's been amazed by the response over the last few

days after he spoke out for the first time about his

difficulties dealing with his mother's death.

This morning he officially opened the London marathon expo -

where runners, taking part on Sunday, go to collect

His brother Prince William has also opened up about dealing with Diana's

death saying the shock of losing his mother

Our Royal correspondent Peter Hunt's report contains flash

Harry and his little helper Melissa, getting the London Marathon

It's a race which, this year, has a special focus

on a princely passion - mental health.

Prince Harry has attracted widespread praise this week

for his honesty when he spoke of the anguish and the anxiety

he suffered for years after his mother's death.

It was only right to share my experience, to help,

to hope and to encourage others to come forward, and sort of reduce

To make it easier for them to talk about their own experience.

No, I mean, look - when you've heard so many stories

from so many other people, and if you can relate to that,

then it's only right that you talk about your own experiences.

All the experts you've met, they would have told you one

of the key issues is funding, that there isn't enough

That's not for, as you probably know, that's not our mission.

Our mission is to remove the stigma of mental health so we can provide

a platform for people to be able to discuss it.

But the risk is you could be encouraging people to seek

No, and that's something that we've been completely aware

of over the last year, but the fact and the reality

is that, as I said, the appetite is there.

Once the appetite is there, things will change.

It's not my position, it's not our position

So we will do everything that we can to encourage the conversation,

remove the stigma, so that everything else can then take place.

Opening up about the past is a brotherly trait.

In a BBC documentary, Prince William has provided

an insight into the trauma of his bereavement.

The shock is the biggest thing, and I still feel, you know,

20 years later, about my mother, I still have shock within me.

You think shock can't last that long, but it does.

It's such an unbelievably big moment in your life.

An upbeat Harry believes their campaign is at a tipping point.

The UK, he hopes, will lead the way, and the world, by removing the taboo

Police have named a man they're searching for in connection

with an acid attack at an East London nightclub

on Monday, in which 20 people were injured.

Arthur Collins, who's 25 and from Hertfordshire,

is the boyfriend of the reality TV star, Ferne McCann.

Officers found firearms and cannabis plants when they searched his

Rush hour commuters on one of the UK's busiest train lines

are facing major problems tonight after a track-side fire completely

There will be no trains going in or out of the station

on the West Coast main line until at least tomorrow morning.

Our transport correspondent Richard Westcott is at Euston station.

Major problems for a lot of travellers tonight?

There are, you can probably see behind me the crowd is gathering.

We've been here a couple of hours and in that time, I've seen

literally thousands of people turning up. People have not heard

the news, they think they will make a normal journey home, they arrive

and they see the doors to Euston station are shut, it is Britain's

fifth busiest station. Rail staff have been on hand handing out

leaflets and giving people alternative routes home, it is one

of the busiest train lines in the country. It is not just commuters

but people going to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland, not knowing

what to do. They've been handing out possible alternatives but in that

time I've heard a lot of people on the phone having a frantic

conversation, literally I have no idea how I'm going to get home.

Don't expect me. Why have we shot one of the busiest stations in the

country? A fire knocked out one of the power cables and if you don't

have power, you don't have signals and you don't have those you cannot

safely run trains. A team is on-site, assessing the damage. They

know they had to replace 100 metres of power line, they hope to get it

done by the morning and will be working through the night. Don't

expect to get a train tonight I would say but it should be OK in the

morning, there may be some early disruption, it is such a busy line

and the trains are in the wrong places but touchwood it should be

resolved in the morning but tonight is terrible. Richard Wescott with

the latest there, thank you. After weeks of speculation it's been

announced that the Wales rugby star Sam Warburton will Captain

the British and Irish Lions on their But England skipper

Dylan Hartley has been left out The coach Warren Gatland said he'd

named his team after some Here's our Sports

Correspondent Katie Gornall. There had been months of speculation

but one man seemed sure of the spotlight. Once again, Sam Warburton

will lead the Lyons, this time against the worlds best, New

Zealand. It will be the toughest I've done. But it is the biggest on

I've had as well. Being captain of the Lions for the second time

against New Zealand, that ranks as the pinnacle of my career. 41

players were chosen by Warren Gatland and, as predicted, England

dominate the squad. Wales have 12 players, and Ireland, who beat the

all Blacks back in November, have 11. Scotland only have two. Half the

squad make their Lions debut, including the rookie prop Kyle

Sinckler, yet to start a Test match for England. Warburton has been

given the armband despite no longer being captain of Wales. It is the

second time Sam Warburton stood in front of these cameras as the

captain of the Lions and even though he is injured, there was no danger

of him being left out by Warren Gatland.

Surprises in the squad were lurking elsewhere.

Despite leading England to back-to-back 6 Nations titles, Dylan

Harland -- Dylan Hartley is out of the squad, as is Joe Launchbury.

After an underwhelming 6 Nations, Wales have more players than

expected while Scottish fans will be disappointed that Stuart Hogg is

only one of two making the trip. I would love to have seen other boys

go on, but you need to look at the squad and the pressure Warren

Gatland is under to pick a squad. I would not want to do it. Four years

ago, the Lions won the series in Australia but what is good enough to

beat Australia might not be good enough to beat New Zealand.

Lions beat them once back in 1971. Being selected could be the easy

part... Katie Cornel, BBC News.

Back now to our main story - and the news that the general

election will now definitely take place in 50 days' time.

We've heard a lot from the Prime Minister since

she announced her surprise plan yesterday morning.

We've also heard a lot from Brenda from Bristol - whose reaction -

to the news when she was stopped in the street by the BBC yesterday -

In fact, she's become something of a media star!

Our correspondent Jon Kay went back to see her today to see how

Brenda, 75 years old and suddenly an Internet sensation.

I can't stand this...I can't stand this...I can't stand this...

Just one comment to BBC News about being fed up

with elections, and this retired secretary went viral.

Somebody here in America saying "Well said, Brenda!"

Quite frankly, no, because I don't possess any form of technology!

She's been deluged with media offers since anti-election broadcast,

but not all the responses have been positive.

There are some people on social media saying Brenda is wrong here,

that we fought for the right to vote in elections, that we should be

In my very humble opinion, there is hardly anybody

in any of the parties that you would put your

We need somebody that's got a little bit of guts, you know,

It seems Brenda has got many of us going.

A floating voter, now the unlikely early star of this election.

Not since her days in amateur dramatics has Brenda known

Pretty quiet on the weather front today, some sunshine across central

and southern parts of the UK. In the rest of the week it will be a little

bit more cloudy, it will turn warmer as we head towards Friday and

freshen up again a little bit. A lot of cloud across the North Atlantic,

streaming our way. Some spots of rain this evening across northern

and central areas. The South stays clear overnight, and then it will

cloud over. Last night it was cold, frosty in places, minus four

degrees. It won't be as cold tonight but

chilly spots in southern areas. For many of us, it is closer to nine or

10 degrees and tomorrow, in more cloudy day compared to today. We had

so much fine weather today, tomorrow will be a case of hazy skies at

best. Temperature is not bad, wherever you are, across the country

they will be more or less the same. 13, 14, 15 degrees. On Friday, this

cool front comes down from the north, bringing rain to western

Scotland and then fresh air moves across the UK as we move through

Friday. Ahead of that weather front it could get to 17 degrees in

London. That's the end of the week and on Saturday, high pressure

across the UK, a lot of settled and mostly dry weather. Fresh air across

the north of the country, single figure temperatures on Saturday, and

some fresh air moving further southwards into Sunday. Of course,

it is the London Marathon then, it might be on the fresh side in the

morning, the afternoon does not look bad. Next week, this nasty

low-pressure sweeps across Scotland, a long way off, bringing some gales

and that could change. We will keep you up-to-date with

that but short-term, it is quiet.