18/04/2017 South East Today

Theresa May calls a snap general election -

what will it mean for some of the most fiercely contested

With Brexit at the top of the agenda, will Labour,

the Lib Dems or Ukip be able to win back seats from the Conservatives?

It will make the country decide what they really want so I think it's a

good move. It will potentially bring more instability.

And after a chilly start, it brightened up in

It's the announcement that caught everyone unawares -

and it's already being dubbed the "Brexit election".

Just two years after the last general election, we're

going to the polls again on June 8th, after Theresa May

called a snap election - claiming divisions in Westminster

are jeopardising Britain's ability to make a success of Brexit.

It means 29 seats will be up for grabs across the South East.

Our Political Editor Helen Catt has been finding out if voters

and politicians in Kent and Sussex think the Prime Minister has

From a Prime Minister not given to shocks, the biggest of surprise

announcements. Division in Westminster will risk our ability to

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

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

now. In Gravesham, 65% of voters chose to leave the EU. Do people in

Gravesend think she's made the right call? I think she's calling it

because she knows she's in a good position. I think she's in a good

position. She probably does care for the country but I don't know why she

waste of money. Most people in the waste of money. Most people in the

south-east will welcome the chance to vote for a government for

five-year to give us the stability to get the European thing done, in

everyone's interests, a successful exit, to lay the ground for a

stronger and fairer Britain. Calling the snap election isn't without risk

for Theresa May, she is giving the other parties a chance to make a

dent on the blue map of the south-east early and by framing it

as a Brexit election she may be making love difficult for

life difficult for Conservative MPs life difficult for Conservative MPs

in remain constituencies. If the people don't support this Prime

Minister, maybe they don't really want to get out from the EU. Brexit

is happening so they will carry on with it and it will probably

strengthen their hand. I think it could potentially bring more

instability. I think actually it would have been better if Theresa

May had been able to see us through the process. I am pleased that

Theresa May has called the election, the Green party has been asking her

to do so ever since she pursued this extreme form of Brexit for which we

believe she has no mandate so we are going to put forward a positive

alternative to this extreme kind of Brexit but also to the extreme cuts

we're seeing from this government. Some political experts believe there

is no better time for Theresa May to go to the polls here. The further

she goes in government, the more likely to have her majority shrink.

She has a small working majority and it is likely that her approval in

the opinion polls will go down so this is a good time to call the

election. A calculated risk, then. We'll see if it pays off in the

south-east in seven weeks' time. Helen, the Conservatives

were dominant in the south east in the last general election

in 2015, with only two seats Yes, it was pretty much a clean blue

sweep last time around. This is what the political map looked like two

years ago after the general election.

Nearly all Conservative blue - 27 of our 29 constituencies voting

Tory, the exceptions - one Labour seat in Hove, and

Then on the 23rd of June last year, we went to the polls again to vote

in the Brexit Referendum - overall the south east voting

with a majority for remain: Tunbridge Wells, Lewes,

Mid Sussex and Brighton Hove, which gave the most enthusiastic

backing for the EU of anywhere in the region, with almost

That is likely to play well for Green and Labour hopes

for holding there and to put Tory held Brighton Kemptown

with its majority of just over 600 votes very firmly

While today's news has come as a surprise to many,

politicians from all parties are saying they welcome

the opportunity to campaign so soon after the referendum -

and debate the issues raised by Brexit.

Simon Jones has spent the day in Ramsgate -

which has a Conservative MP, and the only Ukip-controlled local

It was one of the most hotly-contested seats in 2015.

The then Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, staked his future

on winning South Thanet, but lost to the Conservative

Now we could see the two slugging it out again.

I beat Nigel Farage last time and that has to be the high

We've now delivered Article 50 and I've been saying many times,

Could I serve it by running and trying to win the South Thanet

seat, or could I serve it best by continuing where I am, leading

Ukip got almost 4 million votes in the last general

election but just one MP, Douglas Carswell in Clacton,

With Brexit becoming a reality, Ukip is facing questions

There is an awfully long way to go in this negotiation.

This general election is a distraction to that negotiation

In Sussex, Labour's sole south-east MP is talking of a fightback.

I'm trying to get Labour to listen to what people

I think in many cases when you see the candidates we select,

we're going to run a campaign that is demonstrating

that we are listening to the specific challenges

The Lib Dems sense an opportunity under their leader, Tim Farron.

From the Lib Dems' perspective, I think a lot of Remainers

are going to come over to us because Tim is passionate,

as a lot of Lib Dems are, about trying to either get the best

And we may not have heard the last of the 2015 campaign

with a Kent Police investigation into Conservative spending

How likely is it that Nigel Farage will stand there?

He's been unusually reluctant to talk about it today. This morning he

was busy tweeting about how much he'd enjoyed his Weeting fishing for

tuna in the Adriatic Sea but when he was contacted by the BBC this

afternoon he said he had nothing to say. -- enjoyed his weekend.

radio programme he said he needed radio programme he said he needed

more time to think about it. He has stood for Parliament seven times

before and failed each time. I understand he is due to come to

Thanet in a few days, perhaps to gauge opinion. Thank you for joining

us. A two year old girl from Dover

died from a fatal dose of the heroin-substitute methadone,

after it was left on the floor Lucy King denies manslaughter

by gross negligence, following the death of her daughter

Frankie in 2015. Maidstone Crown Court heard that

rather than dialling 999 straight away, Miss King waited more than two

hours before telling anyone. The court heard today how Lucy King

had left the dose of methadone in a cup on the floor

of her sitting room. It was intended for her

but her daughter drank it Rather than call the emergency

services straightaway, though, the prosecution say Ms King messaged

friends on Facebook and watched Ms King told paramedics that

Frankie drunk the methadone and about half past seven

while she slept on the sofa but it emerged that the emergency services

were not called until 9:45am, Frankie was taken to

the William Harvey Hospital Prosecutor Robin Jenkins told

the court: bothered to mention the fact that

Frankie had taken methadone to anybody at all, it was far

too late to save her. "the failing was so basic,

so far removed from the standard of care that a mother should owe

to her child, it was Lucy King denies two counts

of manslaughter by gross negligence. Piers Hopkirk, BBC South today,

Maidstone Crown Court. Now let's look at the weather with

Rachel. Chilly but bright. That's right, a cold start but by

the afternoon, temperatures of 12 or 13, mostly dry, following the trend

of April with only 8% of the expected rainfall. With high

pressure in control over the next few days it is expected to stay dry.

Overnight with clear skies, temperatures falling away, dropping

to two, three degrees in towns and cities but below freezing

potentially in rural spots. Potentially for Wednesday, some

frost here and there. I pressure firmly in control of things. We've

still got this light but called north-easterly breeze and along the

coast, temperatures still in single figures, but further west, 11th, 12

degrees. A very pleasant afternoon. On Wednesday and Thursday, clear

skies with a chilly picture, temperatures around freezing in more

rural spots. Two, three degrees in towns and cities. On Thursday,

missed and Fog, a lot of sunshine, high temperatures of around 13

degrees.