tussles with the eu over brexit. ellie price reviews the year in british politics. the headlines this morning — theresa may's decision to call a general election appears to have backfired. it was with reluctance that i decided the country needs... the prime minister spells out her strategic goals. conversatives are the largest party. history has been made. article 50 has been triggered. brexit negotiations in a shambles! hear, hear! sighs. "i was born under a wandering star" plays. 2017 was shaped by what happened when a pretty influential person went for a nice, long walk in the countryside and had a little think about things. that was, of course, theresa may, who went on a hike with her husband in april and came back thinking it would be a jolly good idea to call

a general election. the decision made on that little stroll defines the year. but plenty happened in the months running up to it. the 2017 journey started, as we all expected, with brexit. are we going to get a detailed plan, prime minister? only a few days shy of the eu referendum's six—month anniversary, theresa may made a speech at lancaster house. it became known as the lancaster house speech. setting out a blueprint of her main objectives for brexit negotiations. as a priority, we will pursue a bold and ambitious free trade agreement with the european union. the days of britain making vast contributions to the european union every year will end. no dealfor britain is better than a bad dealfor britain. the pm confirmed britain would come out of the eu single market but there would be a transition period from eu membership

to whatever is agreed after. and she said parliament would be given a vote on a final deal. but it was parliament getting a say on the start of negotiating that deal which was the big news a few days later. gina miller! the government got taken to court for wanting to trigger article 50, the mechanism to leave the eu, without having to ask mps first. by a majority of 8—3, the supreme court rules that the government cannot trigger article 50 without an act of parliament authorising it to do so. no prime minister, no government, can expect to be unanswerable or unchallenged. parliament alone is sovereign! and parliament was given that very vote a few weeks later. the ayes to the right, 494. the noes to the left, 122. hear, hear! an historic vote today. and it got through by a large majority at every turn. it has carried out the will

of the british people. the stage was set, then, and on the 29th of march, article 50 was triggered. this is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back. and all it took was a short letter delivered by hand to brussels, signed by theresa may — though you might not know it from that signature. so, here it is. six pages. we already miss you. thank you and goodbye. now it was time for the difficult bit to start — negotiating the terms. we were all doggedly talking about brexit, but other things happened, too. the conservative party candidate — 13,748. in february, the tories won the copeland by—election — a first such win by a government party over its opposition in 35 years, and in a place that had been labour since 1935. on the same night, labour held

onto their stoke—on—trent seat... you going to resign, paul? ..seeing off a challenge from ukip. it was a message that hope triumphs over fear! there were elections, too, for the northern ireland assembly. sinn fein came within one seat of drawing level with the dup after a bitterly divisive campaign. applause. just a few weeks later, the death of sinn fein‘s martin mcguinness, northern ireland's former deputy first minister. martin mcguinness was a freedom fighter! even now, there's still no sign of a breakthrough so that power—sharing can be restored at stormont. saving for a rainy day, chancellor? back in london, philip hammond gave the first of his two budgets this year. theresa may was really looking forward to it, as the chancellor said it would prepare britain for brexit. it provides a strong and stable platform for those negotiations. strong and stable — the phrase we'd all get bored of. on the 22nd of march,

a terrorist ploughed through pedestrians on westminster bridge, killing four and injuring 50. he then stabbed to death a policeman just outside the houses of parliament. he was later shot dead. the first three months of the year in westminster and beyond had already provided plenty to fill the airwaves and the newspapers. and then, a surprise announcement no—one saw coming. i have just chaired a meeting of the cabinet, where we agreed that the government should call a general election to be held on the 8th ofjune. every vote for the conservatives will make me stronger when i negotiate for britain with the prime ministers, presidents and chancellors of the european union. every vote for the conservatives will mean we can stick to our plan for a stronger britain, and take the right long—term decisions for a more secure future. general election?

you're jokin'! not another one! # i was born under a wandrin' star. go on, go on! the path ahead seemed pretty clear for theresa may and the tories could almost smell victory — or so they thought. the local elections saw the conservatives make big gains across the country at the expense of ukip, whose vote collapsed, and labour. we have had very disappointing results in other parts of the country. yes, we have to go out there in the next four weeks and get a message out. there were recriminations, too, among some labour mps. it's a pretty disastrous picture. it's simply not good enough for a party that has been in opposition for seven years, that's heading towards a general election in five weeks, to not be picking up seats and not making forward progress. but so much progress was made

on labour's election manifesto that it was finished five days early and promptly leaked to the press. when it was formally launched, it called for the renationalisation of the water companies and an end to tuition fees. this is a programme of hope. the tory campaign, by contrast, is built on one word — fear. the tories, meanwhile, unveiled a document that included scrapping free school lunches for children in england, and a shake—up of the social care system. and with confidence in ourselves and a unity of purpose in our country, let us all go forward together. applause. # mud can make you prisoner and the plains can bake you dry. but then, theresa may seemed to lose her way. the direction unclear... # ..but only people make you cry. ..in what were a series of unforced errors. # ..dreams of going to.

# which, with any luck, will never come true. there was that u—turn on social care. you have just announced a significant change to what was offered in your manifesto, saying there will now be the possibility of a cap on social care — that was not in the plans that were announced just four days ago. our social care system will collapse unless we address this problem. nothing has changed! nothing has changed. then she refused to take part in any head—to—head televised debate. the prime minister is not here tonight. she can't be bothered, so why should you? in fact, bake off is on bbc 2 next. it wasn't bake off, but she did go on the tv to talk about the bins, and it all seemed a bit cringy. well, there is give and take in every marriage isn't there? of course. i get to decide when i take the bins out, not if i take the bins out. there are boyjobs and girljobs, you see.

there's boyjobs and girljobs? and then there was that weird time that the prime minister was asked what was the naughtiest thing she'd ever done as a child. she said it was to run through a field of wheat. come on, ed! # the hills are alive with the sound of music #. meanwhile, jeremy corbyn was positively frolicking out on the campaign trail... all chant: corbyn! ..greeted like a rock star at his well attended rallies. i never was into politics because i never thought politicians were, like, normal people, until now. you won't say whether you think having gay sex is a sin. elsewhere, the lib dem leader tim farron, a devoted christian, kept being asked the same question. i don't believe gay sex is a sin. i take the view that as a political leader,

though, myjob is not to pontificate on theological matters. and in a lighter moment, he also provided one of the best catchphrases of the campaign. smell my spaniel, maybe. not everyone liked it. meanwhile, the snp seems pretty cool about their challenge ahead. winning those 56 seats will be a huge challenge for nicola sturgeon's party. ruth davidson has predicted we've hit peak nat, that the only way is down. this party... hello! ukip‘s manifesto was memorable for its proposed ban on burqas in public but its leader paul nuttall had trouble with his own memory. i think that natalie‘s absolutely right. what we need to do... i'm not natalie! ally, i'm sorry. thank you. my fault. sorry. women's names. he's done it twice now. have i? oh, i'm sorry about that. politics was interrupted twice by

tragedy. best in two weeks later, five days before the election, a second terror attack, this time on london bridge, eight people were killed, and the three attackers shot dead by police, and on both occasions the campaign were suspended for several days. the conservatives are the largest party for top but they don't have an overall majority at this stage. overall the conservatives lost 12 seeds creating a hung parliament, they were the biggest party but did not have a majority. —— sates. surprisingly even themselves labour

gained an extra 30 seats and the snp lost 21, including their former leader's seat of alex salmond, and the former lib dem leader nick clegg also lost his seat. theresa may remained as pm but onlyjust what the sorry for those candidates and party workers who were successful. with their majority gone, some vocal tory mps thought it stank and theresa may would have to clear up ms, and that is what you promise to do, but still there was pressure on her —— would have to clear up the mess. including pressure from her former colleague who had a newjob as editor of the evening standard. she's a dead woman walking. tim farron had to go. to be a political leader, despite being progressive, to live as a committed christian, has felt impossible for me. watching

on was the man who was to take over, vince cable. the ukip leader paul nuttall also resign. although the tide might be out at the moment at this present moment in time, i'm convinced it will return. deal or no deal? to get enough mps in parliament to be ever to pass any laws theresa may needed the ten seats from the dup onside. what can you tell us? you keep looking over your shoulder. i was looking at a much more interesting fight about to erupt, between palmerston and larry. that is a serious clash which could be about to unfold. maybe i should intervene. don't worry, there was no fight, they came to an arrangement as did the dup and the government, 18 days after the election. today we

have reached an outcome which is good for the uk. then remember the guy being treated like a rock star? jeremy corbyn went to glastonbury. # oh, jeremy corbyn...# so, plenty to digest. it was onlyjune, but the issue of brexit hadn't gone away. time for the eu and uk to get stuck in. a hugely important decision was taken by the remaining 27 countries in the eu at the end of april. to start with negotiators would only talk about three subjects: the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, the rights of eu citizens living in britain and vice versa, and how much britain owed the eu, the so—called divorce bill. only when sufficient progress was made in those areas could talks move on to the nitty—gritty of trade deals.

we all want a close and strong future relationship with the uk. there's absolutely no question about it. but before discussing the future, we have to sort out our past. the very next day, a german newspaper published details of a meeting between the eu commission president jean—claude juncker and the pm. it alleged the meeting had been frosty and mrjuncker had left ten times more sceptical. theresa may dismissed the report as gossip. byjune, it was time to get on with it. i'm here in brussels today, like michel, to begin the next phase of our work, to build a new, deep and special partnership with the european union. that obviously wouldn't be easy. translation: the uk decided to leave the eu, not the other way round, and the consequences are substantial. we come bearing gifts. enterjeremy corbyn to mix

things up a bit. he met the eu chief negotiator to discuss labour's brexit position, which may not have been as obvious as his football allegiance. a football shirt.. barnier! you now play for arsenal. the british government published a series of papers clarifying its position on a range of issues. but by the end of august the eu seemed to suggest it wasn't enough. to be honest, i'm concerned. time passes quickly. with the clock ticking, theresa may made another speech, this time in florence. she said there should be a transition period of about two years after brexit, and that britain was prepared to pay a financial settlement. clearly people, businesses and public services should only have to plan for one set of changes in the relationship between the uk and eu. the uk will honour commitments we've made during

the period of our membership. let us be creative as well as practical in designing an ambitious economic partnership that respects the freedoms and principles of the eu and the wishes of the british people. a month later, another dinner, another kiss with jean—claude juncker. another german newspaper report. this time it said the pm had "begged for help" when they met, and she seemed tired and politically weak. he denied the account. she was in good shape, she was not tired, she was fighting. as is her duty. everything for me was ok. she didn't plead with you for help? no, no. that's not the style of british prime ministers. still, by december, no decision on whether sufficient progress had been made. a deal was so near. theresa may was even in brussels. but the sticking point was the dup who said they weren't happy with proposals for northern ireland. we will not accept any form of regulatory divergence

which separates northern ireland economically or politically from the rest of the uk. a dramatic intervention and back to stalemate. after more late—night talks, finally, a breakthrough. for now at least. sufficient progress has now been made on the strict terms of the divorce. this was a difficult negotiation for the european union as well as for the united kingdom. you can say that again, jean—claude. that is what this was all about. i very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the next phase. will you be celebrating, mr barnier, cracking open the champagne? we're still working. the eu's chief negotiator wasn't quite jumping for joy. the ultimate arbiter, put about in your pipe and smoke it. back home, critics like him weren't celebrating either. amazing, isn't it, british pm has to fly through the middle

of the night to meet some unelected bureaucrats who patted her on ahead and said you've met all our demands, made sufficient progress, we can move onto the next stage. the whole thing is a humiliation. there is little doubt it did come as some relief to the pm. even if less than one week later... the ayes to the right, 309, noes to the left 305. ..she was defeated in the commons when rebel tory and opposition mps forced the government to give a legal guarantee of a vote on the final brexit deal. overall, a year of brexit negotiations ended with agreement. at least the first bit. the realfun starts making a deal on the future relationship. is theresa may's of a full agreement by march 2019 realistic? still realistic and, of course, dramatically difficult. with the election over and brexit dominating the whole of 2017, it was a long slog.

keeping control of her own party has been an uphill struggle for the pm. # oh, jeremy corbyn...# not least when you compare it to jeremy corbyn's fortunes. they may have lost the election but labour's party conference felt more like a victory parade. it wasn't like this last year. thank you so much for that wonderful welcome and this incredible feeling and spirit of unity on love and affection we have here. the run—up to the tory conference was less than harmonious, borisjohnson hit the headlines for an article he wrote outlining his own red lines in brexit negotiations. they seemed to go further than that of the prime minister and what was agreed by the cabinet. once again there were whispers about his leadership aspirations. a little taste of italy. as there were about this man, jacob rees—mogg, though he told me he wants theresa may to stay on as leader.

for everand ever, eternity, even eternity is too short to extol her. you don't fancy it yourself? no, of course not, i want mrs may to go on for ever and ever. in the end it was theresa may's conference speech that went on and on. it started with a prankster. ..prepare for a run on the ground. boris, job done, given her the p45. of course it had nothing to do with the foreign secretary. i was about to talk about somebody i would like to give a pas to, that isjeremy corbyn. and then came the frog in the throat. the deficit is back to pre—crisis levels... ..sounds as if my voice isn't on track. as if it couldn't get any worse, even the scenery started falling down.

the pm put on a brave face and was supported by her husband and, in the coming days, after some whisperings about her leadership, her cabinet. by the end of october, scandal once again hit westminster, this time about sexual harassment. very quickly it became clear it was not party political, with various mps implicated. and then a cabinet minister. in recent days allegations have been made about mps' conduct. including my own. many of these allegations have been false. but i realise that in the past i may have fallen below the high standards that we require of the armed forces that i have the honour to represent. i have reflected now on my position in government and i am therefore resigning as defence secretary. one week later, jetting back this time from an official

ministerial trip, priti patel, the international development secretary, was called into downing street and also resigned. this time over unauthorised meetings she'd had with israeli officials while on holiday. in her resignation letter, ms patel said her actions "fell below the standards of transparency and openness." losing two cabinet ministers in a week was unlucky, losing a third the following month was awkward. but damian green, the pm's effective deputy resigned after it was found that he made misleading statements over claims of pornography on his office computer. it wasn't just troubles with friends at home. in january the pm and donald trump had got on so well when she went to washington they even held hands. mrs may invited the president over for a state visit at some stage. that didn't go down well with some people back home.

so when the president retweeted some unsubstantiated posts from a british far right group called britain first, it was, at best, a bit awkward. theresa may said he was wrong to do it. he told her, don't focus on me. the year didn't end as friendly as it had started, but is the president still coming over? an invitation for a state visit has been extended and has been accepted. we have yet to set a date. thank you. something to look forward to next year. so much going on, little sign of things slowing down. politics aside, there was one more important moment in westminster this year. the silencing of an old friend. bong. big ben stopped bonging. apart from events like remembrance sunday and new year's eve,

the bell will stay silent as repair works go on, forfour years. even the prime minister is a bit upset about it, as are other mps. it means something, it really does, these are the chimes of freedom and they have to be respected. we've got to keep them bonging. it really has been all about timing this year. an election and all the fallout, brexit and the ongoing negotiations, scandals at westminster. it's been quite a year. next year couldn't possibly be so frantic, could it? the mild weather is staying with us into christmas day, boxing day will be much colder across the uk, and

with the mild weather there's been plenty cloud, murky weather, just a few of you have seen sunshine, especially east wales. where you have had sunshine, patchy fog this evening, before it clouds over, we have outbreaks of rain affecting parts of scotland as we go through the night, into the central belt, as well. maybe some areas into mid single figures but is a frost free mild night into christmas eve, and as we move north and then south again, some of us will continue to see heavy rain out of that weather front. this is the picture tomorrow morning, some brighter breaks for pa rt morning, some brighter breaks for part of the midlands, into yorkshire, but much of southern england and the west of wales will have plenty of cloud, drizzly weather at times. northern ireland, rain moving from the west, that brea ks rain moving from the west, that breaks across much of scotland and

also quite breezy, and several hours of quite heavy rain running into western scotland during christmas eve and more of northern ireland seeing the rain and then down into cumbria, with heavy rain. breezy story across the uk, with a limited fusing brighter breaks, misty and drizzly end places. double—figure temperatures almost across the board. going out on this misty evening, we hold onto the outbreaks of rain across northern ireland and northern england. the breezy picture across the uk. christmas day, the area of wet weather, edging south and east but only very slowly, this is where we think it will be sitting, some uncertainty, south—east of that, very mild, and notice where the rain close, some colder air beginning to move in. that is a sign of things to come, it has been very mild, 15 degrees, top temperature, but by boxing day, the

colder air filtering south, eventually the band of wet weather clears way, and many will be dry on boxing day but it will feel much colder than it does now. this is bbc world news today. i am ben bland. our top stories. flooding and mud slides kill more than 180 people as a storm sweeps across the southern fill apeeps. —— philippines. translation: i am the president right now and i haven't stopped being it. even if they sacked me by decree of the spanish government. as the california wild fire becomes the largest in state history, we meet the prison inmates helping to tackle the prison inmates helping to tackle the flames. in sport, barcelona beat real madrid 3-0 in sport, barcelona beat real madrid 3—0 in the first classic of the spanish football season.