you are watching bbc news. i'm simon mccoy live at westminster as the prime minister calls a snap general election. in a surprise political u—turn, theresa may said she had recently and reluctantly come to the decision, to see the uk through brexit and beyond. at this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity here in westminster, but instead there is division. the country is coming together, but westminster is not. the general election would need parliamentary approval — mps will vote tomorrow. labour say they will back it. we are going out there to put the case. to put the case about how this country could be run, how it could be different, how we could have a much fairer society that works for all, for everyone in our community. that's the case i'm putting and i'm looking forward to doing it. scotland's first minister says the prime minister is trying to move the uk to the right and force through a hard brexit. the liberal democrat

leader, tim farron, said it was an opportunity for people to change the direction of their country and avoid a disastrous hard brexit. in the prime minister's constituency there has been shock and surprise.” think it will be interesting and i think it will be interesting and i think she is in with a good chance because i don't think we have much ofan because i don't think we have much of an opposition. i can't really see the reason why. i mean, i know there isa the reason why. i mean, i know there is a lot going on and a question about brexit. it's a bit soon, isn't it? she's only just about brexit. it's a bit soon, isn't it? she's onlyjust got in, hasn't she? the prime minister has announced plans to call a snap

general election on 8thjune. in a surprise statement in downing street this morning, theresa may said britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the eu referendum. explaining the decision, mrs may said she had reluctantly come to the conclusion that a vote was necessary, adding "the country is coming together, but westminster is not." so let's have a look at the timetable of events leading up to a general election after today's dramatic announcement by theresa may in downing street. a motion will be submitted and voted on tomorrow for the commons to cut short the present fixed—term parliament. mrs may needs a two—thirds majority. labour will vote with the government so it is likely to be passed. on 27th april, six weeks before polling day, writs are issued to local returning officers. this is the official start of the campaigning period. on wednesday, 3rd may, parliament will be dissolved, meaning it's the official end of the present parliament. this is on the 25th working day before polling day.

then, on thursday, 8thjune, the country will go to the polls. so, let's catch up on all the events from this morning. our political correspondent ben wright reports. out of the blue, number 10 announced there would be a statement from the prime minister, out of the blue, theresa may stunned westminster and the country with this. i have just chaired a meeting of the cabinet. where we agreed that the government should call a general election. to be held on 8thjune. the next general election was not due until 2020, but theresa may said a poll was needed now. the reason she gave — to bring political stability to brexit. at this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity here in westminster, but instead, there is division. the country is coming together, but westminster is not. in recent weeks, labour have threatened to vote

against the final agreement we reach with the european union. the liberal democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill. the scottish national party say they will vote against the legislation that formerly repeals britain's membership of the european union. and unelected members of the house of lords have vowed to fight us every step of the way. our opponents believe that because the government's majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and they can force us to change course, they are wrong. the prime minister said she had only recently and reluctantly decided to call an election but said the political choice was now stark. it will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your prime minister, or weak and unstable coalition government, led byjeremy corbyn, propped up by the liberal democrats who wants to reopen the divisions of the referendum, and nicola sturgeon and the snp.

every vote for the conservatives will make it harder for opposition politicians who want to stop me getting thejob done. prime ministers now have to get the approval of parliament before the prime minister now have to get the approval of parliament before they can call a snap election, a two—thirds majority of mps is needed. this morning jeremy corbyn said he was ready for the election fight. i welcome the opportunity for us to put the case to the people of britain to stand up against this government and its failed economic agenda which has left our nhs in

trouble and left people uncertain. we want to put the case out there for a society that cares for all, an economy that works for all and the brexit that works for all. the first minister of scotland said the prime minister was trying to force through a so—called hard brexit. the prime minister's announcement today is all about the narrow interests of her own party, not the interests of the country overall. she seized the opportunity given the disarray in the ranks of the labour party to crush her opposition, get rid of people who disagree with her and give herself a free hand to take the country in the increasingly right—wing direction she wants to take it into. the lib dems will fight against the government's strategy for brexit. against the government's it is an opportunity for the people of this country to decide that they do not want a hard brexit, they want to keep us in the single market, and it is an opposition in this country that we desperately need. the ukip leader, paul nuttall, welcomed the general election but make no mistake, he said, this was a decision driven by the weakness of labour, not the good of the country. labour goes into this election a very long way behind the tories

in the opinion polls. labour mps in marginal seats are likely to be sweating at what could be seen as an audacious political ambush by theresa may. so she has rolled the dice, she is confident she will win but politics has never been more unpredictable and a lot can happen in a six—week campaign. jeremy corbyn is in birmingham, launching a labour party manifesto pledge on the care. nhs is at the heart, he believes, this election campaign. i want to see an nhs free at the point of use for everybody, and efficient and available for everybody, not the stress and concerned that is there for so many at the present time. there is a stark choice in this election. the failure of the nhs and social care under the tories is quite serious

indeed. the nhs and social care system indeed. the nhs and social care syste m m ust indeed. the nhs and social care system must be funded to deliver quality of care that the whole country needs and everybody needs and deserves. elections are about the choice, i'd choice of the type of country you want to live in, and a choice about the kind of society we wa nt a choice about the kind of society we want to leave for our children who follow on. those that find the nhs and the principles behind the nhs and the principles behind the nhs had a vision of a world where we did care for each other, we did care for everybody, we didn't pass by on the other side. i want to use the period up until the 8th ofjune to set out a positive vision of the kind of society that we can live in. post brexit vision of britain where this country works for them, for everybody, and for the equality of everybody, and for the equality of everybody in work. the foundation for all to build a fairer economy by

investment in good jobs for the future and investment in good quality services for the future. we will radically reformed the structure of our economy, to place the wealth of corporations above the wealth of people is wrong. i want the welfare of people to come first and a taxation system that is fair and a taxation system that is fair and delivers for those that have suffered the most since 2008. applause. in 50 days the country will go to the polls. we will set out our vision and policies as we have been doing over the last couple of weeks. this is what labour has always done. he founded the national health service, created the social security safety net, created the open university, developed the minimum wage, we have done so much on human rights and equality. a labour

government elected on the 8th of june will build on that legacy, build on that tradition but, above all, it will ensure that as a society we recognise that those who ca re society we recognise that those who care also work for the benefit of the whole of society, those that deliver public services delivered those services for the good of the service but also for the good of the economy and society as a whole. 0ur proposal to increase the carers alliance is our down payment on the kind of decency and justice that we wa nt kind of decency and justice that we want in society. it is our way of looking to the future, our way of a social security system that works for all. that is why i am delighted that this event coincided with the start of our election campaign here in birmingham. we will be here a lot, all over the country giving that message out. one of hope, one ofjustice, one of socialjustice for all. i thank you all for the

work you do for carers, i thank you for the work you do working in the ca re for the work you do working in the care enterprises and care industry. i want you to have decent secure jobs and be properly paid. i want carers to be properly supported, but above all i want the society where we value everyone. what they can give, contribute, and what we can benefit from and learn from them. that is the kind of world we could live in. let's go for it. thank you very much! jeremy corbyn addressing the faithful in birmingham. i'm nowjoined by conservative mp dominic raab. jeremy corbyn did not mention brexit there and he will be fighting this election in terms of the nhs, education and housing. what do you make of that approach? the election ultimately will be about stability and leadership and a dumping jeremy

corbyn will be able to offer any of those. the reason why theresa may has reluctantly decided she needs to go to the countries because it is necessary for strong leadership on brexit, but also to keep the economy creating jobs. and also to grip the social challenges she has talked about. she wants the mandate to deliver on social care. we are looking forward to taking that argument to the country. you have been taken that argument to the country for the last few months, what has changed in the pen minister's mind? it has been clear for a while that she didn't want to go to the country. what is clear now is that she feels it is necessary in order to provide the stability that we need going forward, to provide the leadership on brexit but also on the leadership on brexit but also on the economy and public services. the

interesting thing in relation to the other parties is they are all upset about the situation and want us to go backwards, rip up the referendum. theresa may is the only one with the strength of vision to take us forward. nicola sturgeon has talked about the hypocrisy in telling them that there is no time for a scottish referendum, but it is time for a general election. given that we have the working majority of 17, how do we deliver the economy that works for everyone, a state educational system, the occasional chances? how do we make sure we have the domestic backing to deliver on brexit? the snp will look at all of this through the single blinkered tunnel vision of how to break up the uk. we are the ones that want to keep the country together and take britain

forward. the risk for your party is that the voters out there who only just voted to leave the european union may say let's concentrate on the domestic agenda, and that message forjeremy corbyn might appeal. i am confident that we have an economy that is seen something like 3 million newjobs created since 2010, our schools are getting better at these are the things that the conservative party wants to build on. i am confident that theresa may and the conservatives will have the right message to take the country forward. when i listened tojeremy corbyn, notjust some of the crazy stuff on security, but he wa nts to ta ke the crazy stuff on security, but he wants to take us back the sam christie 1970s dax —— do some social agenda of the 1970s. what did you think when you heard the announcement this morning? game on! when you look at the reasoning and

know that we have a leader that weighs things up carefully, for the stability of the leadership that the country needs, i think it is game on. thank you very much. 0ur political correspondent eleanor garnier is at downing street. there are going to be two very different approaches from labour and the conservatives about this general election campaign. that is exactly right. jeremy corbyn touching on the domestic issue of care, but theresa may wants to fight this election on brexit. the question to labour is just how will it fight this general election? we know the party in westminster is divided and there will perhaps be many current labour mps who fight the selection very much on a local campaign, because they don't agree with many of the positions thatjeremy corbyn has taken. we positions thatjeremy corbyn has ta ken. we know positions thatjeremy corbyn has taken. we know that he said he will be items about across the country,

fighting on issues like the nhs and the economy. what is so interesting about this is it really was a surprise, mainly because number ten and the prime minister had been significantly laying down the prospect of a snap election. they didn't want the instability of the campaign, the unpredictability during brexit. at the must have a lwa ys during brexit. at the must have always been that nagging feeling that with such a small majority in the house of commons, with theresa may's own backbenchers giving her trouble, that if she did go to the polls perhaps she could win a bigger majority, then she would be able to govern with much more safety, more safety in terms of rebellions from her own backbenchers. now we know that the election will be on the 8th ofjunejust that the election will be on the 8th ofjune just weeks to go until the country goes to the polls. what we don't know is what changed the prime

minister's mind. she has been saying that while she was on a walking holiday in wales with her husband. do we know any more than that? no, that's right. there is this speculation that she made this decision on her easter holidays in the mountains in wales. as home secretary, theresa may was very cautious. when i was in downing street just after david cautious. when i was in downing streetjust after david cameron has stood down as prime minister and we we re stood down as prime minister and we were talking about who might be the next pen minister, when we talked of theresa may we talked of a careful, cautious, calculating politician. sinn she has been prime minister we have seen quite the opposite in terms of her character. she came in and got rid of the cameron team, seemed to be making bold decisions quickly. she brought back the idea of grammar schools, something that was rejected by the david cameron government. then we knew she campaignfor government. then we knew she campaign for the remain side in the referendum. now she is seen to be

siding with those on the harder brexit end of the spectrum. now she has decided to have a snap election. it is certainly very difficult to read by minister at the moment. much of the trouble in the house of commons is coming from her own backbenchers, so the temptation must have been great to think if i could go to the polls now, she knows that the opinion polls put her with a 20 point advantage ahead of the labour party, and that is a huge advantage, so perhaps she was thinking it could never be better in terms of calling an early election. she is very difficult to read. another big question will be high much upper hand will she play during this election campaign? 0n big issues that were at the heart of the referendum campaign, like immigration, high much of her plan will she revealed to the electorate, and she will also need to keep those negotiating card close to her chest

when she goes out to negotiate with the other 27 member states. it will be an extremely interesting election campaign. to enter that the snp and the liberal democrats. the liberal democrats say they will fight this election as those who did not want to leave the european union, those who would give the electorate another chance to have their say on the terms of any brexit deal. it is going to be an interesting campaign. eleanor, thank you very much. with me now isjoe watts is political editor of the independent and matthew goodwin — professor of politics and international relations from university of kent. ukip have lost three percentage

points over the last six months. it is looking likely that they may struggle to sustain the kind of support is that they had at the 2015 election. if the conservatives win back of that vote, i estimate they would take between a0 and 50 seats from the labour party, seats with the labour mps are on small majorities, but whether ukip vote is quite high at the moment. the labour party will be looking at the liberal democrats closely. they could be one of the interesting stories of this election. the polls say that the conservatives are in a good place to win it, labourare in quite conservatives are in a good place to win it, labour are in quite a dire place. if the liberal democrats who are quietly confident about some of the seats there fighting, particularly in south london and some of those southwest seats where they lost constituencies to the tory stop macro is that because they are

targeting the remainers? absolutely. that is the game they are trying to play. they are saying that we are the party of 48%. they say the conservatives are the party of hard brexit. it is about whether they can bring that reality to light, or will some of those remain brokers will go to tory because they think they are competent. where is the money going to come from fort ukip? that is a good question, notjust to come from fort ukip? that is a good question, not just for to come from fort ukip? that is a good question, notjust for ukip but for all the parties. ukip will have to try to drum up some money for dash from their remaining backers. the reality is a very different one night to what happened in 2015. the

conservative party owns pretty much every single issue apart from the national health service and social care, and those are the two flags with the labour party can do damage. the economy has gone to the conservatives, law and order has gone to the conservatives. if you are ukip, where is that space now? paul martin will be gambling on the narrative that they can hold the government to account on brexit, but will it be enough? how big a gamble is this by theresa may? if you look at the polls it would suggest it is not such a big gamble. the question for her is whether it will hit her credibility as a politician of her word. for months she has been saying there would be no election, it is all about stability for the country, but neither political incentive is there, it seems, and she has gone for it. let's go to brussels. kevin connolly

is our correspondence. what are they making of this? are they thinking theresa may may be in a much stronger position than those negotiations get under way if she wins a general election first?” think that is right. the people around who will be europol is not chief negotiators are saying this is a good thing because from this will emerge a strong leader with a strong, clear positive mandate from the british people because of visions of brexit will have been put to voters, discussed and debated and decided on. the bottom line for europe is that whoever wins, they feel they are ready. while this is all rumbling along in british electoral law texts, on this side of the channel they are preparing for those negotiations, working in great detail, war—gaming for all sorts of negotiating options, and their bottom line is whoever wins the

european side will be ready. in a sense, the election does not make any difference because they always stop at the timetable for talks would begin sometime about early june and they don't see any reason why this election timetable will change that. do you sense any toughening of the mood there in getting all 27 singing from the same hymn sheet and taking britain on in a way that they feel they will benefit from? there is no question that setting the election question aside for the moment, but that is happening. the 27th so far have been surprisingly united. i think the british side thought there would be opportunities created as the various national capitals began to worry about their own priorities in terms of is treated with britain, or in terms of security. so far, there has been no sign of that. there are of the stresses and strains of the

talks themselves to come, but the european 27th to feel that they are remaining united. they're feeling now is that the uk will be rallying behind whoever wins the election and the stage is set for what will clearly be tough talks. will britain be able to get some daylight between those 27 negotiating partners once the talks start? we will see. whoever comes from britain i will at least have add key mandate and a vision of brexit that will be publicly tested. perhaps, the europeans will have a glimpse of britain's red lines from bad election campaign. kevin, thank you. robert hall is in theresa may's constituency. you look around here and the

peaceful streets, the river flowing just down from where i am and you wonder if it would stir at the peace and calm of these thames valley constituencies, but never the rest —— nevertheless, theresa may is well—established here. she had a majority of 29,000 so was a popular figure. if you look at the statistics going back a bit further, her popularity, her majority and chair of the votes have been going up chair of the votes have been going up steadily. she has been an mp here since 1997. people have had the chance to look at her political progress. she was born in east sussex, brought up in 0xfordshire, the daughter of a clergyman. according to people who knew her well, she always harboured an ambition to lead the country. she is doing that now and causing quite a

ke rfuffle doing that now and causing quite a kerfuffle in doing so. people here remember her long years as home secretary, the second longest serving home secretary in a hundred yea rs. let's serving home secretary in a hundred years. let's go back to the story of the day, the announcement she made just after 11 o'clock in windy downing street. i went into maidenhead this morning and spoke to the morning shoppers and asked them what they made of what she had to say. what do you think? it is a bit soon, isn't it question much itjust got m, isn't it question much itjust got in, didn't she? didn't know what to make of it. ijust heard on the news. i am absolutely staggered. i can't really see the reason why. i know there is a lot going on and the question of brexit, but i was really quite astounded. i think it is a good thing, really. i do. quite astounded. i think it is a good thing, really. ido. i quite astounded. i think it is a good thing, really. i do. ithink after the brexit type thing, i think the people didn't have a chance to have their say. maybe she should

have their say. maybe she should have done it earlier. it seems to be good. no time like the present, as they say. a general election estimate they will get in again, u nfortu nately, estimate they will get in again, unfortunately, because labour, who really do fight for the pure... jeremy corbyn is a great guy, i think he is wonderful, butjust not strong enough. i wish he was. apologies if my side is breaking up a little bit. brexit might be one issue on the doorsteps, 53% in this constituency voted to remain. theresa may has dedicated time to the constituency. she went door—to—door last week. she helped organise a charity event not far from where i am standing. she will be available, accessible, and even here there will be plenty to talk about. it will take more than a few sound

problems to stop you broadcasting, robert, i know. the financial markets have reacted calmly to the prime minister's announcement. our business correspondent rachel home is in our central london newsroom. does this bring more uncertainty? it depends what they do look at it. there was uncertainty this morning when we knew that there would be an announcement but we didn't know what it was to be. when we find that was a general election, sterling recovered. it is night at a four—month high. sterling is the winnerfrom this four—month high. sterling is the winner from this announcement. another trader saying that the markets are seeing this as a positive move for sterling, and others saying that this decision is a game changer for sterling. others saying that this decision is a game changerfor sterling. we could see sterling regaining some of the strength of lost. what about the ftse? it is down around 2% today. a

lot of those losses happen before this news was broken. it has been a four—day weekend, a lot of the financial markets have been closed. there are geopolitical tensions in career, french presidential election starting on the 23rd of april. there isa starting on the 23rd of april. there is a lot to digest. 0il starting on the 23rd of april. there is a lot to digest. oil and mining stocks were down on the ftse. then the announcement of the general election. that boosted sterling, and strong set —— strong sterling causes the ftse valued the paul cook —— causes it to fall. that uncertainty there, we now have the certainty of what the announcement is, but that ftse itself is 90%. the markets and the city have been talking. we had word from the institute of directors saying this must be used as a chance to debate but leaving the eu means. we have had the cbi saying that

distractions from getting the best eu deal must be kept at minimum. the figures are looking good, but this time next year they may not look so good. inflation is rising, retail spending is peaking and consumer debt is at a record high. perhaps it isa debt is at a record high. perhaps it is a good time to go to the election polls to get a stronger mandate to the big uk and the stronger position when it comes to negotiating brexit. we have elections in france, germany and maybe italy. there is a feeling in the markets that the uk might as well have their own elections and that could help of the brexit negotiations. there's a feeling that the conservatives who have a stronger

mandate. they strong mandate could claim that theresa may is less reliant on the hardline anti—eu backbenchers which could allow her to deliver a softer brexit. that is something that businesses would like. that would appeal to businesses. i've spoken to other traders this morning who believe that a stronger mandate could alarm would go for it hard brexit line. they know what they think is going to happen but they don't know what outcome that would later. the feeling is that we won't see much more of a major reaction on the market until the elections happen. that is unless we see news in the polls that the stronger conservative majority the outcome. thank you very much. let's look at the political ramifications. talking to me earlier, he explained that although conservative party is enjoying a leading the polls, that can always change. if you take the most recent poll done by all of the companies,

they point to conservatives on a2% and labouron a7 they point to conservatives on a2% and labour on a7 z. that's about a 15 point lead. . certainly, theresa may is calling this election against a backdrop in which she is very, very much the favourite to win. no opposition party has ever gone into a collection in such a weak position in the opinion polls. —— into an election in such a weak position. it is not entirely risk—free, however, in effect, she has set the country that she's a big majority in order to handle the brexit process. the big question is whether she will. you might think that with a 15 point lead the answer is yes. the real and is only maybe. remember that both northern ireland and scotland are effectively out of the game so far as creating a parliamentary majority is concerned. the snp will almost

undoubtedly hang on to most if not all of the seats north of the border. you are therefore left with having to creating majority in england and wales. labour has an awful lot of safe seats and getting awful lot of safe seats and getting a large majority can be quite difficult. certainly, if the polls are perhaps exaggerating the tory‘s lead a bit or certainly is that it comes down to 7—9 points. that could still mean that theresa may doesn't end up with anything like as large a majority as she might like. remember, it took a 7.2 really to get that majority of 12. —— a seven point conservative lead to get that majority. it will then take a very large lead in order to get a majority that theresa may has in mind. looking over her shoulder, she will be looking at the liberal

democrats. the liberal democrats will be quite happy with this election. they only have 90s. it's difficult. —— they only have 90s, it is difficult to lose any more. they have a clear message on brexit, if you don't like brexit, vote for us. jeremy corbyn has not been talking about brexit but about what he regards as the unfairness of the conservative party. he was to fight ona conservative party. he was to fight on a different ground. the labour party and we —— in recent months has struggled to reach a united position on brexit. if theresa may is successful, focuses the referendum on brexit, labour may be struggling and perhaps as in 1983, they will begin to be looking over their shoulders at the liberal democrats, although the liberal democrats have enough along with a goal before they

begin to become a substantial factor in this election. —— have an awful long way to gold for they begin to become. i think probably ukip might have tempted to be smeared the election because clearly she will be hoping that by her pitch that the 10-12% of hoping that by her pitch that the 10—12% of people who voted for ukip will switch to conservative. poor muscle is untried apart from a difficult by—election on stock. they we re difficult by—election on stock. they were squeezing copeland and i think theresa may will be making a picture very much of that section of the electorate is one of the ways to build on the substantial majority she has in the opinion polls. that got to the house of commons. we are awaiting a statement from boris johnson talking about serve. e—mail

to talk about other issues on the foreign affairs agenda. —— talking about syria. you may also talk about other issues. let's return to the announcement of a snap general election. my colleague kristian frazier has been looking at a breakdown of polling data to seem how it has informed the decision. let's ta ke how it has informed the decision. let's take a look at general election 2015 to remind herself. this was the map. the conservatives took a majority of 12. 99 more seats than labour, who were wiped off the map practically in scotland. it's a election for the liberal democrats who want wiped out in the south—west of the country. let's compare that to the referendum in 2016. you can see that the map looks broadly the

same. conservative are visible to broadly in favour of brexit but not loves, the north—east, the northwest, labour heartland going for brexit. that is a challenge for jeremy corbyn on the doorstep. they are divided on the terms of brexit that they want. let's look at the by—election for some clues. they overturned a whopping majority. richmond park, a very pro—remain ever. this is a very big brexit every, stoke—on—trent central. it was a labour hold and they can hold brexit everest. they saw off a strong challenge from the computer. the dark spot for them was properly. i'm going to take you straight to the house of commons. some outlets of the procedure but we except do a

speech for boris johnson. would you also confirm that it is actually not in the gift of the prime minister to decide whether there is a general election or not it will be this has. if we don't wa nt it will be this has. if we don't want it, i worried about annihilation, they would fall for it tomorrow. i agree completely with no or noble friend. —— with my honourable friend. who was asked on these benches believing that this was not the time for these type of big decisions. the focus of this government should really be on the ha rd government should really be on the hard brexit. this is one of the most extraordinary u—turns in political history in the fixed term of parliament act has been the biggest waste of his house's time possible. the calling of a general election in the interest of party, which, for

the interest of party, which, for the interests of country. we will make sure that scotland is protected from the tory government. the tories might play their pity party political games knowing that they're up political games knowing that they're up againsta political games knowing that they're up against a woeful and pitiful labour party. we learn these benches will ensure the scotland is fully protected from the west. —— we will ensure these benches. one of the things that the prime minister and the party she leads will be taking to the people will be the case for the union or the four nations of our united kingdom. and our belief that those four nations are better off together. and working together in the unique and enduring partnership of the united kingdom. iwould

the unique and enduring partnership of the united kingdom. i would say that the prime minister took a position, a decision she said she took with great considerable reluctance, because it is in the interests of the people of this country, it is in the interests of the entire nation, that we have clarity and stability and constancy of purpose as senior forward. thank you mr speaker. do you agree with me that this is one of the rare occasions where it is absolutely right that this statement was first made to the british people, not of his house, cause it is they who are being asked to use their sovereign power to determine the composition ofa power to determine the composition of a new house? my honourable friend makes a culture end point. it will of course be for this house and the first place to decide whether to approve the motion we will debate

tomorrow. if it is carried, we will put our case to the people. prime minister was in the coming age that general election but now she is. perhaps she senses a political opportunity. the choice to go for an election now is hers and hers alone. as it was the choice of a hard brexit. will delete of the house next time available before the general election campaign sites to discuss the party of government's failure on the nhs, tackling violent crime and dealing with people with disabilities and benefits. i'm astonished that the right honourable gentlemen on behalf of the liberal democrats was able to talk about political opportunism with a straight face. laughter it was a decision that the prime

minister alone has to take to put forward a motion tomorrow. it'll be a decision for every member the house of commons. geoffrey clifton. with my right honourable friend confirmed that he has confirmed in his statement what data parliament will be paroled. there are the usual discussions are underway between the usual channels about the handling of business. this is on the assumption that the motion is carried, that be clarified. angela eagle. thank you, mr speaker. we have been given it the image of the prime minister

being dragged kicking and screaming for a general election when she didn't want him. can we have a debate about why she decided to trigger are to go 50 and then throw the entire planning by calling a general election. this will take time that we have together investors deal for britain. time that we have together investors dealfor britain. far time that we have together investors deal for britain. far from throwing things into doubt, what the prime minister's decision has done is to provide, assuming that the people of return, the government, it will be a choice for the people to take. that there will be the clarity of having a mandate hide the prime minister and the government to deliver a successful negotiation offer a course of a five—year term. ——

mandate behind the premise. some members of this house are under the impression that the next general election will be a rerun of the referendum. can the leader of the house confirmed that article 50 will be triggered regardless of who wins and there is no turning back. the working of article 50 is clear. it is clear that any change from the two—year timetable can only happen if it is agreed unanimously by all member states, if it is agreed unanimously by all memberstates, including if it is agreed unanimously by all member states, including the departing member state. we must respect whatever side we took in that referendum campaign, we must respect the sovereign decision that the british people sick. —— the british people took. can i thank the leader of the house for his statement today and assure him that

the democratic unionist party will support the motion. we say bring it on. cani support the motion. we say bring it on. can i ask also tomorrow if will clarified the last date for those people who wish to register to vote, so people who wish to register to vote, so that there is clarity and certainty about the registration process, especially in northern ireland. i don't want to pre-empt the decision that this house will ta ke the decision that this house will take tomorrow. but i will try, assuming the motion is carried, i will try to provide that clarity as as soon as possible. as the leader of the house says, he doesn't want to be under decision tomorrow by this house. was in the prime minister attempting to do that in naming juliet? minister attempting to do that in namingjuliet? —— minister attempting to do that in naming juliet? —— naming june at the eighth. what the prime minister did this morning was making her ambition clear about the time frame. i have to say to the honourable lady that

the date would have been the first question put to the prime minister in the house and outside. mr speaker, in january 2000, in the house and outside. mr speaker, injanuary 2000, a debate we nt speaker, injanuary 2000, a debate went on all night as soon as he took a —— went on all night. given the finance bill can sit to any hour tonight, what will the government to do in the event of tomorrow not existing? laughter mr speaker, from that last intervention, i suspect the honourable lady and his colleagues area honourable lady and his colleagues are a bunch of fearties. as far as the general election is concerned. mr speaker, the general election is concerned. mrspeaker, i'm sure the general election is concerned. mr speaker, i'm sure the house will agree with me that the prime

responsibility of this house is holding the government to account. doesn't he think that many, notjust in the chamber but in the country, will receive the prime minister's crushed when any —— prime minister's rush to general election as a sign of chaos? the prime minister's decision is about inviting the british people in the national interest to return provide the sense of leadership and clarity that the country needs and which of the right honourable gentleman's party is so clearly u na ble honourable gentleman's party is so clearly unable to provide themselves. while the loser confirm that should the legislation passed tomorrow, what we are —— with the speaker confirmed that should the legislation passed tomorrow we are voting for a new prime minister for a duration of parliament five years.

many of us are expecting, therefore, that i did the current prime minister or the labour leader will walk through the door of number ten. could you encourage the prime minister to go head—to—head in as many tv debates with the leader on the opposition as possible? —— the leader of the opposition as possible? i suspect that the electorate would be fascinated to see the outcome of such debates. good leader of the house confirm the house that in the event of the two thirds majority not being a good tomorrow, that the only way the government can call a general election would be to table a vote of no—confidence in itself. c to do so? —— went to see plan to do so? no—confidence in itself. c to do so? -- went to see plan to do so? we have the planet to support the government's motion. —— the plant is

what the government's motion. the prime minister is inconsistent about brexit and now her iron determination not to call a general election has turned into a determination to have. can i assure the leader, with labour in the writing this, we plan to provide a welsh alternative and will be voting yes tomorrow? i suppose i should express my appreciation for the honourable gentleman's final friend, if not for the rest of his works. —— the rest of this work. for weeks now i've had constituents phoning me and are terrified about the end of the personal independence payments, which reversible is to be debating tomorrow. i notice that the leader of the house has suspended that. what we guarantee that this

parliament will have a chance to vote on and debate does before dissolution? the usual channels will discuss the provision of business between the debate concluding tomorrow and the date of dissolution. thank you, mr speaker. the liberal democrats welcomed the opportunity to take on the divisive and destructive tory government in its hard brexit. let me ask the leader of the house how much this general election will cost and also why, if the prime minister wanted to do it, is she not doing so and he —— “ so on may do it, is she not doing so and he —— —— so on may be forced? the decision not to do so is going to cost the taxpayers money. the timetable for any general election as laid down by the fixed in parliament act. —— the

fixed term parliaments act. to have a general election on the same day as the local elections would not be possible given what the law requires. mr speaker, inflation is —— inflation is rising. we know that there will be a very difficult negotiations with over european union partners. isn't the real reason the prime minister has called this so that she can avoid having a general election in 2020, which would be very dangerous for her party, and she thinks she can win now in order to avoid dealing with the consequences of a hard brexit? the clergy, i look at, is one image unemployment is falling, employment is at record levels, the deficit is

down and record levels of spending on key public services, made possible because of the strong economy that the prime minister and chancellor have fostered. i would look forward indicates the nature of the people for the programme of political method. the government's ridiculous rape clause came in without any scrutiny. it was promised that there would be a committee held to have some scrutiny from parliament of this despicable policy. will this happen now that the parliament is going to be resolved? any change to the law has to go before parliament. i will put the honourable lady's point to my collea g u es the honourable lady's point to my colleagues amongst the business managers, i can't give her a

immediate promised that she would get the time she seeks. can the leader of the house confirm what is going to happen to the manchester by—election given that potentially on maybe fourth they believe no —— potentially there will be no parliament. there is not statutory provision that provides for a by—election when a general election is in progress. it is up to the judgment of the acting returning officer. they might see the by—election as having been superseded. this was the course of action taken by the acting returning officer in the one precedent that i found in 1923. laughter we are waiting to hear from boris johnson. we will return to put the house of commons. interesting discussion on

the process of the general election campaign. with me now is the conservative mp andrew percy. and just wondering, the two different approaches are quite clear. jeremy corbyn is talking about domestic issues, the nhs, housing, education. he hasn't mentioned brexit once as often. for theresa may, this is the brexit general election. it is about both issues. it demonstrates that german carbon doesn't have a lot to say on this. half of labour are running scared. especially in the north of england, where they are hopelessly out of touch. quite rightly, they will want to focus on that. we have a lot to say about domestic issues. whatever the terms of the election, we have a very strong agenda to go into it with. you have concerns that the remain campaign, there are still remainers

out there, that might want to protest at the ballot box one way or another. article 50 is irreversible. the decision has been taken. the question now for the british people is who will get as the best deal. theresa may, we have set out a clear plan about wanting a close relationship with europe but one that gives as control of foreign laws, money and immigration, or do we wa nt laws, money and immigration, or do we wantjeremy corbyn? that choice, especially for labour fortress, will come down on the side of the prime minister naturally. —— for labour voters. do you relish this already looking forward to a quiet summer? when we passed the fixed term parliaments act, people plus the thought that was it for the next five years. i'm a private and people have been arguing that we need and

early general election. the prime minister needs a mandate. too many are hopelessly out of touch with the people. i think having a general election will strengthen the prime of the's can. now for the weather forecast. looking sunny about westminster. a lot of sunshine across parts of the country today. some digital pictures coming in from our viewers. one or two either lovely picture. just like last night, a frost is common. looks like southern areas. we have got some fair weather clouds forming. a weather front advancing into the northwest. that has already brought some spots of rain. through tonight, thicker cloud from northern ireland,

scotla nd thicker cloud from northern ireland, scotland and the north of england. generally, most are various forestry. in the south, some frost. imrulareas, forestry. in the south, some frost. imrul areas, there could be a pretty harsh and damaging frost to plant again. —— in ruralareas. you might have felt today how fresh and dried the airfield. that is exactly what will be in place across southern areas tomorrow. in the north, a bit more cloud around, even some rain. this is the air coming in across the atlantic. not quite so chilly tomorrow across northern part of the country. the best of the weather in the southern, central and eastern areas, but even with the grey clouds it will break up from time to time. eastern parts of scotland, not doing too bad. some sunshine on the way for the middle part of the beak.

thursday, forecasting and every of high pressure for most of western europe. it will affect the southern half of the uk. a fair bit of cloud across many parts of the country on thursday. temperatures will be co mforta bly thursday. temperatures will be comfortably into the mid—teens. even in eastern parts of scotland, wouldn't be surprised if they get up there. a bit of a change towards the end of the week, a cold front moving in from behind us. the error is a bit fresher and colder. that means that from friday afternoon onwards the temperatures will lower. —— the air is fresher. this week, looking bright for most of us and the best of the sunshine across southern parts of the uk. that's all from me. you are watching bbc news.

i'm simon mccoy live at westminster as the prime minister calls a snap general election. in a surprise political u—turn, theresa may said she had recently and reluctantly come to the decision, to see the uk through brexit and beyond. at this moment of enormous national significance, there should be unity here in westminster, but instead there is division. the country is coming together, but westminster is not. the general election would need parliamentary approval — mps will vote tomorrow. labour say they will back it. we are going out there to put the case. to put the case about how this country could be run, scotland's first minister says the prime minister is trying to move