housing, that affordable housing, that people can get on in their lives. it is about ensuring that we can create a more united nation, that we take action against the extremists who want to divide us and we stand up against the separatist who want to break up oui’ the separatist who want to break up our country. so it is providing that strong and stable leadership, that certainty, that stability for the future, and that is going to be our message as we go out into our election campaign. we are going to fight a positive and optimistic campaign about the future of this country. i'm going to be getting out and about run the country and visiting communities in every pa rt country and visiting communities in every part of the uk. i'm looking forward to taking our case out there to people because this is the case that it to people because this is the case thatitis to people because this is the case that it is only with the conservatives that you get the strong and stable leadership this country needs to see through brexit beyond. only we can give that plan

for a stronger britain for a more secure future. but only due can give is the mandate. so vote for a strong and stable leadership in this country. —— only you. give me the mandate to lead britain. give me the mandate to lead britain. give me the mandate to lead britain. give me the mandate to speak for britain. give me the mandate to fight for britain and give me the mandate to deliver for britain. applause. so theresa may addressing supporters in bolton following the first speech was also from jeremy corbyn the opening salvo in this campaign ending with the vote onjune the 8th. now the news at six with sophie raworth. good evening and welcome to the bbc

news at six. a snap general election will be held on the 8th ofjune after m ps will be held on the 8th ofjune after mps voted to approve it this afternoon. only 13 mps voted against. the prime minister says victory at the polls in 50 days would give her a stronger hand in her brexit negotiations with eu leaders and stability after the uk leaves. the labour leader jeremy corbyn told mps he welcomed the election is saying the uk was worse off under the conservatives than seven off under the conservatives than seve n yea rs off under the conservatives than seven years ago and the british people now had a chance to change direction for the here is laura kuenssberg. day one of the national argument to decide who is in charge around here. the placards are ready, the cameras are poised. those cheers already ringing out. technically it is not run away, but this campaign is coming soon to a place near you. while the prime minister had the

power of surprise, questions about motivation chased through the day. having gone back and i promise not to call a vote, can she be trusted? i trust the british people and i'm asking them to put their trust in me. if they do that, and give me a mandate for these negotiations for the plan for brexit the government has, for a stronger britain beyond brexit, then i think that will strengthen our hand. questions to the prime minister. labour says she simply cannot be believed. on both sides prime ministers questions was a glimpse of the weeks to come. over the last seven years the tories have broken every promise on living standards, the deficit, debt, the national health service and school funding. why should anyone believe a word that 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, weaken our defences and is simply not fit lead. -- to lead. none of the leaders have time to waste. with brexit the backdrop for this election, the lib dems see their resista nce election, the lib dems see their resistance to the prime minister plans as a selling point. in leafy parts they hope that that themselves, like here enrichment outside london. there is an opportunity for the british people to choose to change the direction of out to choose to change the direction of our country, reject the hard brexit and vote to stay in the single market. however you voted lastjune to vote to have a decent strong opposition that we desperately need for the good of democracy. onlyjust over a dozen mps try to stop it happening. the opposition could have blocked the desire to hold an election three years early. the ayes to the right 522. but not a chance.

the noes to the left 13. so it is now officially on. the reality of brexit take the timing of the election but theresa may was also tempted by the lure of the polls and her desire to get things done at home. the challenge now for the opposition parties is 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 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're on, this election is going to be fought on the streets of this country up and down in town halls, in streets, on beaches and seafront. and look or

dropped into westminster. is it realistic for the snp to defy gravity and keep their record—breaking number of mps? the tories already playing with echoes of 2015, they would be in cahoots with labour. the snp in this election will as we always do, stand—up for scotland. a vote for the snp is a vote to protect scotla nd the snp is a vote to protect scotland but amaq interest. if the parliamentary arithmetic lent itself to the snp being part of a progressive alliance that would keep the tories out of government then the tories out of government then the snp would seek to be part of that in 2015, as we said then. you've just open the door to a coalition committee suggested you might work with the other parties.|j do not think that is the territory we're going to begin in this election and i do not think you'll find anyone in any part of the uk who thinks it is. i was just stating the fact is i did in 2015 that i do

not want to a tory government. feeling confident, prime minister? she may be feeling the first but uniting the country will be hard to do. much stands in the way of theresa may for driving back in still prime minister in 50 days. so with the official starting gun fired on the election the tension —— the attention turns to battle ground seats. when parties will be fighting for every vote. one of those battle ground is bolton north east. currently held by labour. that is where the prime minister is tonight. vicky young is following her. it can be telling when a party leader chooses to make the first significant general election speech. theresa may has come to an area full of very close battles with labour in the coming weeks. here in bolton in particular the tories think that the

labour party could be vulnerable because they say they're 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 territory for the tories. it is about providing the strong and sta ble it is about providing the strong and stable leadership this country needs, about strengthening our hand in the negotiations that lie ahead and sticking to our plan for a stronger britain. that will enable us stronger britain. that will enable us to secure that more stable and secure future for this country and ta ke secure future for this country and take the right long—term decisions for the future. and as the voters of bolton digests news of the snap election, some have already made up their minds. i voted liberal democrat last time. but now theresa may has got my vote.

can you tell me why that is? i think she is a strong leader, notjust because she is a woman, but she is strong. 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 on the nhs and school funding. things they hope will matter to people. i'm voting forjeremy corbyn, yeah. i definitely think he relates closely to, you know, the lower, well under the middle class. labour, but obviously it depends on issues on health care and education, those are my main two priority things. bolton is just the kind of place where the tories think they can make real progress in this election. theresa may will be appealing to the ukip and labour voters who backed brexit in the referendum. telling them that she is now the person to deliver on that promise to leave the european union.

and as voters focused 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, i would go for theresa may. because, like she says, he can only lead a political demonstration, but he can't lead his party. i have always been labour and stuff like that, but he can't be trusted. 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. vicky young, bbc news, bolton. former chancellor george osborne has announced he is standing down as an mp to concentrate as editor of the

london evening standard. he faced criticism after taking on the newspaperjob alongside his job criticism after taking on the newspaperjob alongside hisjob in parliament. john pienaar reports. from political big beast to big city editor and the greenest pack in the newsroom , editor and the greenest pack in the newsroom, the new boss in fleet street chooses to see his future as moving on and not coming down. george osborne told me today he would use his role to fight for his liberal conservative views against any harsher vision of brexit. my job as editor of the evening standard is to speak for london and my readers, speak for this country and its future. our country has some big decisions to make about the kind of britain we want to be. and those values of openness, tolerance, enterprise, there are values i hold dearand enterprise, there are values i hold dear and fought for in government as chancellor. now i'm going to fight for them chancellor. now i'm going to fight forthem in chancellor. now i'm going to fight for them in the editor chair of the evening standard. strategist in a ha rd evening standard. strategist in a hard hat, visionary in hi—vis, out

to build tory support in areas off—limits since margaret thatcher. close to david cameron, they rose and fell together over brexit. theresa may and not he moved from the wings to centre stage. can being editor ever compensate for never being prime minister? i'm very excited to be editor of a great newspaper, the evening standard. the exciting thing is not how you engage in the public debate but whether you do. and i have found... let's be realistic, you wish to be prime minister. i cut myself as incredibly fortunate to be an mp and represent a great cheshire seat that i did and also to have been chancellor for six years. i'm proud to have been part of the team that turned around the fortunes rest of my party and then of the country. prospective or a brave front on a broken dream, the coalition government come together as george osborne planned and in

together —— just has a plan the lib dems were hired by voters. together —— just has a plan the lib dems were hired by voterslj together —— just has a plan the lib dems were hired by voters. i do not think he himself would claim he had great popular public appeal in the country at large but he loved the game of politics in westminster and whitehall. but he relished that kind of thing. now looking back insists he is proud, the bad days, the so—called omni—shambles budget glossed over. with brexit is philosophical. would you regret most losing brexit or taxing fast—food. well i did eight budgets and you do not get all of the right. in the end i think you must be judged on whether you are true to your own values. how do you want history to remember you? someone who left britain ina remember you? someone who left britain in a better shape than i found it. let'sjoin laura kuenssberg in westminster. 50 days to go, campaigning has begun but already

controversy after the prime minister ruled out appearing in television debates. it does not take politicians long to start an argument and here we are, the first tussle well underway already not over policy or manifesto but about a central part of how the campaign will be conducted. television debates are relatively new tangled in this country but they have been watched by millions of people when they have happened and for many voters especially the young voters the evidence suggests it has been an important way of people feeling they connect with the campaign. but theresa may is adamant that she is not going to take part. the opposition parties are all furious, they're relishing every chance of accusing her of being frightened, saying she is too scared to happen and that could go ahead with some kind of format even if theresa may does not want to take part. but the

truth of it is and perhaps the reality for theresa may and her calculation is that as david cameron discovered after he had taken part in17 discovered after he had taken part in 17 debates, these debates are a huge opportunity for the underdogs in the campaign but for the front runners, they have a lot to lose. for now number ten is absolutely adamant they are not going to budge at the moment they can take the flak for a few days of not taking part, but you never know that this is the kind of row that could blow up into something bigger. but to use —— theresa may is never a fan of parading in front of tv cameras and the hunch right now is that she will stick to her guns. just to tell you there is plenty more analysis and information about the election on our website. the main story this evening. the snap general election is confirmed for thursdayjune snap general election is confirmed for thursday june the 8th snap general election is confirmed for thursdayjune the 8th after parliament voted overwhelmingly to

approve it. and still to come... i cannot believe all this. we catch up with brenda from bristol whose forthright views yesterday on the prospect of another general election went viral. coming up in sport, the 1000 to one outsider rory mcleod is a frame away from knocking of pretournament favourite judd trump from the first round of the world snooker championship at the crucible. prince harry says he has been amazed by the response over the last few days after he spoke up 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 their race numbers. his brother prince william also opened up about dealing with the death of diana saying that the shock of losing his mother is still within 20 years later. this report contains flash

photography. harry and his little helper melissa, getting the london marathon preparations underway. 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 or smash that stigma. to make it easier for them to talk about their own experience. so, i wasjust doing my bit. and was it liberating? or scary? 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. of all the experts you've met, they would have told you one of the key issues is funding, that there isn't enough money in some places? what are you going to do about that? 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 services that aren't there? 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. i'm confident of that. it's not my position, it's not our position or ourjob, to do that. we are nonpolitical. 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 know, 20 years later. you think shock can't last that long, but it does.

you never get over it. it's such an unbelievably big moment in your life. it never leaves you. you just learn to deal with it. 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 surrounding mental health. sorry i gave you such big scissors! peter hunt, bbc news. police have named a man they're searching for in connection with an acid attack on monday in which 20 people were injured in london. arthur collins is the boyfriend of the reality tv star ferne mcann. officers on firearms and cannabis pla nts officers on firearms and cannabis plants when they searched his home. rush—hour commuters on one of the uk's busiest train lines are facing major problems tonight after a track—side fire completely closed euston station in london. there will be no trains going in or out of the

station on the west coast main line possibly until tomorrow morning. richard wescott is at euston station now. major problems for travellers tonight? you can probably see behind me the crowds gathering. we've been here for a couple of hours and in that time i have seen literally thousands of people turning up, people have not heard the news and think they're going to make a normal journey home. they arrive and then they see the doors to the station shut. the busiest station in britain. there have been railway staff on hand handing out leaflets, trying to give people alternative routes home. it is one of the busiest train lines in the country and not just commuters busiest train lines in the country and notjust commuters but people travelling to birmingham, manchester, even scotland, not knowing what to do. so they're handing a possible alternatives but i've also had lots of people on the phone having that frantic conversation literally, i've no idea how i'm going to get home guard do not expect me. so why has it been

shot, there was a fire and it knocked out on the power cables. if you do not have power you have no signals and without that you cannot safely run the trains. so there is a tea m safely run the trains. so there is a team on site now, they're assessing the damage, they already know they must replace 100 metres of power line they're hoping they will get that done by the morning. they will work through the night so do not expect to get a train tonight i would say. but it it should be ok in the morning. there may be a bit of disruption early on because it is such a busy line and trains are in the wrong place. but touch wood it should be resolved by the morning. but terrible tonight. it has been announced that wales by it has been announced that wales rugby star sam warburton will captain the british and irish lions on their tour of new zealand this morning. but england skipper dylan hartley has been left out of the 41 man squad. the coach warren gatland said he named his team after some pretty lively debate. there had been months of speculation

but one man seemed sure of the spotlight. once again sam warburton will lead the lions, this time against the best in the world, new zealand. it is going to be the toughest thing i've done but definitely it has been the biggest honour i had as well. to captain the lines for the second time and against new zealand it ranks as the hire of my career. 41 players were chosen by warren gatland and as predicted, england dominated the squad. wales have 12 players, ardent who beat the all blacks back in november, have 11. scotland just too. around half the squad are making their lions debut. including rookie prop kyle sinckler who has yet to start a test match for england. he will look to some warburton for leadership, he has been given the armband despite no longer being the wales captain. well this is the second time some warburton has stood in front of his cameras as captain. the surprise in

the squad were looking elsewhere. despite leading england to back—to—back six nations titles dyla n back—to—back six nations titles dylan hartley has been left out of the squad. as has his team—matejoe launchbury, one of the players of the tournament. after underwhelming six nations wales have perhaps more players than expected. while scottish fans will be disappointed that stuart hogg is one ofjust two making the trip. i would love to have seen other buys —— the boys going but you've got to look up the pressure warren gatland has been underto pressure warren gatland has been under to try to pick a squad. four yea rs under to try to pick a squad. four years ago the lions won the series in australia but what is good enough to beat the aussies might not be good enough to beat new zealand. the lions have won the series they're just once. back in 1971. getting selected could prove to be the easy part. back to main story and news that the general election will now definitely ta ke general election will now definitely take place in 50 days. we heard a lot from the prime minister said she

announced her surprise plan yesterday morning. we've also had a lot from brenda from bristol whose reaction to the news when she was stopped in the street by the bbc yesterday has been played over and over again. in fact she has become something of a media star. john kay went back to see her today to see how the news is sinking in. i can't believe... oh no — no, no, no. i can't believe all this! brenda, 75 years old and suddenly an internet sensation. i can't stand this...| can't stand this...| can't stand this... just one comment to bbc news about being fed up with elections, and this retired secretary went viral. this is absolutely weird! somebody here in america saying "well said, brenda!" america? oh, god! australia. hashtag "brenda for prime minister". "i agree with brenda from bristol".

oh my lord... you're trending on twitter! trending on twitter? do you know what that means? quite frankly, no, because i don't possess any form of technology! general election... you'rejoking? not another one! 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 proud of doing this? in my very humble opinion, there is hardly anybody in any of the parties that you would put your life on the line for. we need somebody that's got a little bit of guts, you know, get us all going. question number one... it seems brenda has got many of us going. a floating voter, now be unlikely early start of this election. not since her days in amateur

dramatics has brenda known attention like this. oh i say! jon kay, bbc news, bristol. time for a look at the weather with thomas shafran acker. pretty quiet on the weather front today, some sunshine across central and southern parts of the uk. the rest of the week just that little bit cloudier. it will turn warmer as we head towards friday and then freshen up again a little bit. so a lot of cloud across the north atlantic, streaming our way. a few spots of rain this evening across northern and central areas. the south staying clear to the first pa rt south staying clear to the first part of the night and eventually clouded over. last night was chilly with a frost in places. not the case this coming night. although the chillies bods are across southern areas. then tomorrow cloudier day

compared to what we had today. tomorrow i think a case of hazy skies at best. temperature is not too bad, wherever you are across the country more or less the same around 13, 14 degrees. then on friday a cold front comes in from the north, bringing some spots of rain to mostly western scotland. then that fresh air moving across the uk as we go through friday. headed up by the front it could get up to 70 degrees in london. that is the end of the week, heading into saturday high—pressure is across the uk. that spells a lot of settled mostly dry weather. not necessarily blue skies. there is fresh air across the north of the country. single figure temperatures there on saturday. and of course sandy is the london marathon so the morning could be a bit fresh, the afternoon not looking too bad. but then into next week

nasty low— pressure too bad. but then into next week nasty low—pressure sweeping across scotland. this could bring some gales. we will keep you up—to—date. but in the short term quiet. that is all from the bbc news at six. on bbc one we nowjoined the bbc news teams where you are. goodbye. hello. this is bbc news with clive myrie. top stories. mps have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a snap election on june the overwhelmingly in favour of a snap election onjune the 8th. theresa may says a conservative victory would give britain stability during, and after brexit. people will have a real choice during this election, a choice between a conservative government who can build a stronger economy and a labour party was economic policy will bankrupt this country. the prime minister says she won't take part in any television debates during the campaign. her political opponents have accused her of " running sca red". mr speaker, if she's so proud of how

a record, why won't she debate it. prince william has been speaking out about his mother's death, saying the shock of losing her is still with him 20 years on. and police say they want to speak to arthur collins, the boyfriend of the tv personality ferne mccann, about a suspected acid attack at a nightclub in east london. in a moment it'll be time for sportsday, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. as we've been hearing, theresa may won't take part in a tv leaders debate during the general election. we'll be speaking to party aides on whether that decision might backfire. george osborne is standing down as an mp. we'll hear why in an interview he's done with us. and we'll find out what's on the front pages of tomorrow's