not an electrical cable, that is not an easy task. you then have to check it all to make sure it is safe before you run power through it again. they will work through the night and they are hoping to get the station open for the morning. they don't think it is going to be tonight now, so if you are travelling around here, i wouldn't bother. they hope to get it back up and running for the morning, they say they will work through the night to make that happen. richard westcott, thanks for that. the headlines bbc news. mps have voted overwhelmingly in support of a snap general election on june the overwhelmingly in support of a snap general election onjune the 8th with a majority of more than 500. the prime minister says she won't be taking part in any tv debates during the campaign, drawing criticism from opponents including the labour leaderjeremy corbyn. former chancellor george osborne won't seek re—election as an mp to concentrate on his newjob as a newspaper editor. and here is an update on the

markets for you, this is how the ftse 100 in london, down markets for you, this is how the ftse100 in london, down half a point today, the dax up slightly, and in trading in the united states, and in trading in the united states, a mixed bag, too. more how on oui’ main story and mps have voted overwhelmingly to back the prime minister's call for a general election onjune 8th. they backed the motion by 522 votes to 13 — easily surpassing the two thirds majority of all mps needed to trigger the poll. in the last hour the prime minister theresa may has been speaking at a campaign event in bolton, setting out the conservatives stall for the election campaign. it is about sticking to our plan for a stronger britain that will enable us a 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. it's about strong

and stable leadership in the national interest. and you only get that strong and stable leadership by voting for the conservatives, because that's what a conservative government provides. and just look at what we've done. when i took over as prime minister, there were predictions of immediate financial crash, economic danger, but we see consumer confidence remains high, we see record numbers ofjobs and economic growth that has exceeded all expectations. when i took over as prime minister, people said the country was divided, that it could never be brought together, but actually what i see today in this country is a unity of purpose, a desire for the government to get on with the job of hitting brexit into place and making a success of it. and when i took over as prime minister, the country needed clear vision and strong leadership to

ensure that we got on with thatjob of delivering an brexit for the british people, and that's exactly what we did. we delivered that strong and stable leadership. we delivered the certainty that strong and stable leadership can give. and that's what leadership looks like. jeremy corbyn has been speaking to voters in croydon central, a key labour target seat in south london. this is the second day of the campaign, and the second campaign event i have been to already. we are here in croydon because we want to win croydon! we want a labour mp who will stand up for the people of croydon. the labour council in croydon. the labour council in croydon is building plans for housing. i want a labour government that builds council housing. i want a labour government that makes sure

that £10 an hour is the living wage and is paid to all workers all over the country. i want a labour government that ensures that carers are properly supported when they are caring for loved ones. i want a labour government that ensures that people don't wait for hours in a&e departments to get treatment. i want a labour government that isn't closing hospitals, that isn't so underfunding schools that when the parents take the children back in at the start of the summer term, they say goodbye to their children and in return they get a letter saying, please help us fund the school because the government isn't providing us with the money for the books and the things that children need. that is the difference between labour and the tories. jeremy corbyn there. alex forsyth is at westminster. we are all pacing ourselves, there is a long way to

go. but the prime minister choosing to cook off this campaign in the north—west, in bolton, traditionally labour territory, i suppose. north—west, in bolton, traditionally labourterritory, isuppose. does she really feel the tories can make an inroad of there? don't underestimate the significance of where theresa may has chosen to go, the first visit she has made after winning support from the house of commons for the election onjune the 8th. as you say, that is a labour seat she has gone to, and the significance of that is that she believes perhaps by looking at the latest opinion polls with all the caveats that we have around poles these days, she believes there is a realistic prospect of making some inroads into seats that really the past were deemed quite unachievable for the conservatives. theresa may is hoping to appeal to labour voters, to ukip voters who voted to leave the european union because she is framing this election in terms of brexit, saying the conservatives are the party who will deliver with that

strong leadership itch that we have already heard her repeat several times, so what she wants to try to do is tap into the voters who voted to leave hoping to win the round to brexit and the country, and that is why she has chosen to go there for her first campaign stop. and jeremy corbyn in a marginal seat in croydon that he firmly believes his party can take? we are only in the first day, really, after the announcement of the general election, and jeremy corbyn has wasted no time at all in getting out and making speeches and pushing the issues that we can expect to hear from pushing the issues that we can expect to hearfrom labour, because they want this to be about a broader policy platform than just brexit. we're hearing indications from the shadow chancellorjohn mcdonnell about a fairer taxation system, some of the policies they may introduce to help low and middle income earners as they see it, so what we have already had, just hours after mps approve this general election taking place, parties starting to

position, because this is a very short campaign, 50 days until the country goes to the polls to decide what the next government will look like, so there is no time to spare and that is why we have already seen leaders out and about across the country, as we will do for the next six or seven weeks, getting involved and making their pitch to the public. theresa may has made it clear she doesn't want to take part in televised debates. is this a controversy that is beginning to get a head of steam now? we had debates during the brexit campaign, the 2010 election, 2015 election. the debate around the debate seems to have become quite a feature, you will remember there was a tussle in 2015 about the format of the debate and how they would take place, who would go head—to—head with whom, and it seems that already we are having this conversation about this election, because i think there is foursome now an expectation that those tv debates are an important pa rt those tv debates are an important part of the campaign, because it is a way for the public to see the party leaders put their policies

against each other and their personalities and debating skills, but theresa may's argument is that she does that every week prime minister's questions, and from her perspective, she has what appears to bea perspective, she has what appears to be a pretty strong lead in the opinion polls, and there is a tendency for front runners to believe that debate can only do the damage rather than good, which may be why she has decided not to go down that route, but already we have had criticism from jeremy corbyn, nicola sturgeon of the snp, saying that this shows theresa may is not prepared to front up and defend her policies, so i think again we are going to enter the territory where there is plenty of debate about the debates. indeed. alex, thank you. alex forsyth at westminster. the prime minister has been arguing that a fresh mandate would strengthen her hand in brexit negotiations with the eu. let's discuss this with elmar brok, a german mep from angela merkel‘s

christian democratic union party, and chair of the european parliament committee on foreign affairs. hejoins me via webcam from the ukrainian capital, kiev. if theresa may get the backing that she is expecting, and that carries her through to the brexit negotiations, is that going to make her hand a little bit stronger in those talks, do you think? if you are strong, you can be flexible, you can make compromises. that way she might become stronger. they might not be able to play such a role as they do now. but you never know, we do not know what she has in mind, and it is not sure that she will get this majority. i was wrong in the la st two this majority. i was wrong in the last two years in my prediction is! you were not the only one, mr brok

on that. if she has a clear mandate, it doesn't just on that. if she has a clear mandate, it doesn'tjust mean she will be tough in those negotiations. she will be tough to try to get what she can for the british people. that it offers an opportunity to be a little bit more flexible and to perhaps not necessarily push for what's been described as a hard brexit. we have also to negotiate our interests, michel barnier said in the name of 27 nations. and the european union. and you can only be successful with compromise and the support for a compromise and the support for a compromise and the support for a compromise and because of the second reason, i believe that she is looking for a strong position to

compromise. so it makes sense to you that she has decided to have this surprise election? in a tactical sense, yes. it is purely internally, she wants to become strong in her owfi she wants to become strong in her own party and the house of commons, thatis own party and the house of commons, that is so that the choice that she has done, many of our countries it would be impossible, in germany for example it is not allowed that he chancellor can call at any time for a new election, although it happen sometimes because of a different experience, by surprise. but in her circumstances, we couldn't have done the same. elmar brok, good to talk to you, thank you for giving us some of your time. 100 days is coming up. but now it is time for the weather with tomasz schafernaker. hello, time for the weather with tomasz schaferna ker. hello, tomasz. hello, clive. the cloud is starting

to thicken up, becoming increasingly cloudy but also warming up. high pressure is in charge of the weather across the south, but we have got weather fronts riding the top of this high—pressure, and you can see the clouds streaming southwards through the course of the day, so even here in clearer skies, just for a few more hours yet, the cloud will reach eventually, and it will end up a pretty cloudy and in some places damp night as well. the temperatures this coming night won't be as low as last night because of all the cloud we have, and in many areas around nine or 10 celsius, maybe briefly early in the night five or six celsius across to east anglia and the south—east. the morning will be sunny, just about across some of the southern counties, but all the while, the cloud will increase from the north, across wales and also the

midlands as well as northern england. i think cloudy with some spots of rain, and generally northwards of that, it is looking overcast with glimmers of sunshine. the best chance of some sunshine, eastern parts of scotland, the borders and the north—east. notice how it turns cloudy through the day further south as well. temperatures tomorrow whether in london or newcastle probably about the same, 14, 13 newcastle probably about the same, 1a, 13 celsius. then into friday, we are expecting a weather front to swing in from the north, expecting some rain across western parts of scotland, nothing too heavy. by the time it moves further south there will be nothing left of it, but it will be nothing left of it, but it will warm up briefly in london. the weekend, high pressure builds, but this is mostly true of saturday. there will be a change in little later on come sunday, so saturday is looking settled across the uk, maybe a few spots of rain as the clouds

gather here, but fresher conditions across north—eastern parts of scotland, and then sunday afternoon, sunday night into monday, we will see potentially a nasty area of low pressure but you some gale force winds and some light rain. not much change until saturday, and then sunday, there will be a change on the way. hello and welcome to one hundred days. it's now official — the uk will be holding a general election onjune the 8th. after a debate in the commons — mps overwhelmingly approved the motion, for the third time in as many years the uk will stage another nationwide vote. the ayes to the right 522. the noes to the left 13. the prime minister says a win will strengthen her hand when it comes to brexit. but theresa may has confirmed she will not be taking part in any televised debates.

every vote for the conservatives will make me stronger when i negotiate for britain with the european union. in just four days the people the french will be heading to the polls. we'll be going live to france where some of the final