this is bbc news, our latest headlines. a seaplane has crashed into a river north of sydney, killing all six people on board. police say the aircraft was on a sightseeing flight ahead of new year celebrations at sydney harbour when it came down. there are unconfirmed reports that four of the victims may be british. fireworks and festivities usher in new year — sydney becomes the second major city to welcome 2018 — with a spectacular display on the city's harbour bridge. iran imposes restrictions on social media after demonstrations against the ruling clerics continue. political leaders have delivered their messages. theresa may says that britons will feel renewed confidence and pride. jeremy corbyn says that the prospect of a new britain is closer than ever. now on bbc news, it's been a turbulent year in politics, from theresa may's snap election

that backfired so spectacularly, to continuing tussles with the eu over brexit. ellie price reviews the year in british politics. the headlines this morning, theresa may's decision to call the general election... it was with reluctance i decided the country needs... the prime minister spelt out her strategic goals. history has been made. article 50 has been triggered. brexit negotiations in a shambles. 2017 was shaped by what happened when a pretty influential person went for a nice long walk in the countryside and has

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 defined 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 deal. 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. she said parliament will 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. 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. parliament was given that very vote a few weeks later. ayes to the right, 494.

nos to the left, 122. an historic vote today. 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. 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. 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. in a place that had been labour since 1935. 0n the same night labour held onto their stoke—on—trent seat. you going to resign? seeing off a challenge from ukip. it was a message that hope triumphs over fear. elections, too, for the northern ireland assembly. sinn fein came within one seat of drawing level with the dup after a bitterly divisive campaign. 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, still no sign of a breakthrough so that power—sharing can be restored at stormont. saving for a rainy day chancellor? in london philip hammond gave the first of his budgets this year.

theresa may was really looking forward to it. the chancellor said it would prepare britain for brexit. we provide a strong and stable platform for those negotiations. strong and stable, a phrase we would all get bored of. 0n 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 newspapers. then a surprise announcement no one saw coming. i've just chaired a meeting of the cabinet where we agreed 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 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 joking, not another one! go on, go on. the path ahead seemed pretty clear for theresa may and the tories could almost smell victory. 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've had very disappointing results in other parts of the country. yes, we have to go out there in the next four weeks and get the message out. there were recriminations, too, among some labour mps. it's a pretty disastrous picture. simply not good enough

for a party that has been in opposition for seven years, that is heading towards a general election in five weeks, to not be picking up seats and not making forward progress. so much progress was made on the labour election manifesto that it was finished five days early and promptly leaked to the press. when formally lodged it called for the renationalisation of 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 unveiled a document that included scrapping free school lunches for children in england and a shake—up of the social care system. with confidence in ourselves and a unity of purpose in our country, let us all go forward together. applause. then theresa may seemed to lose her way.

the direction unclear. in a series of unforced errors. there was that u turn on social care. you've 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 announced just four days ago. 0ur social care system will collapse unless we address this problem. 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 0ff is on bbc two next. it wasn't bake off, but she did go on tv to talk about the bins. it all seemed a bit cringing.

there is give and take in every marriage isn't there? i get to decide when i take the bins out, not if. there are boyjobs and girljobs, you see. there was that weird time the prime minister was asked what was the naughtiest thing she ever done as a child. she said it was to run through a field of wheat. come on, ed, come on, ed. # the hills are alive with the sound of music #. meanwhile, jeremy corbyn was positively frolicking out on the campaign trail. 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 as a political leader, myjob is not to pontificate on theological matters. he provided one of the best catchphrases of the campaign. smell my spaniel, maybe. the snp seems pretty cool about the challenge ahead. winning 56 seats will be a huge challenge for nicola sturgeon's party, ruth davidson has predicted we've hit peak that, the only way is down. this party... hello. ukip‘s manifesto was memorable for its proposed ban on burgers in public but to lead a paul nuttall had trouble with his own memory. i think it's absolutely right, what we need to do... i'm not natalie!

he's done it twice now. have i? i'm sorry about that. politics was overtaken by tragedy not once, but twice. 23 people, including the attacker, were killed after a bomb went off at a pop concert at the manchester arena. this was among the worst terrorist incidents we've ever experienced in the united kingdom. less than two weeks later and five days before the election, a second terror attack, this time on london bridge. eight people killed and the three attackers shot dead by police. on both occasions, the campaign was suspended for several days. what we're saying is the conservatives are the largest party. note, they don't have an overall majority at this stage. overall, the conservatives lost 12 seats, creating a hung parliament. they were the biggest party but didn't have a majority. surprising even themselves,

labour gained an extra 30 seats. the snp lost 21, including that of their former leader alex salmond. former lib dem leader nick clegg also lost his seat. theresa may stayed on as pm, but onlyjust. i'm sorry for all those candidates and hard—working party workers who weren't successful. with their majority gone a vocal number of tory mps thought it stank. and theresa may would have to clean up the mess. that's what she promised to do. but still there was pressure on her to resign, including from a former close colleague who, by the way, had got a newjob as editor of the london evening standard. theresa may is a dead woman walking, it's how long she will remain on death row. tim farron did decide it was time to go, even though the lib dems had regained an extra eight seats. to be a political leader

especially of a progressive, liberal party, in 2017, and to live as a committed christian, to hold faithfully to the bible's teaching has felt impossible for me. watching on was the man who took over, vince cable. paul nuttall, who failed to win a seat, also resigned. for us, though the tide may be out at the moment, at this present moment in time, i am convinced it will return. deal or no deal mrs foster? to get enough mps to pass any laws, theresa may needed the democratic unionist party's ten mps from northern ireland onside. this discussion is still going on. norman, what can you tell us? you keep looking over your shoulder in case she comes out the door, what can you tell us so far? actually i was looking at a much more interesting fight about to erupt between palmerston and larry, who is lying flat on the street, a serious clash that could be about to unfold,

i don't know whether i should intervene. don't worry, there is no fight, they came to an arrangement, as did the dup and government, 18 days after the election. today we've reached an outcome that is good for the united kingdom. then remember the guy being treated like a rock star? jeremy corbyn went to glastonbury. plenty to digest. it was onlyjune, 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 ireland and the republic of ireland, the right 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. 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 reports 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's 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. and 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 is 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. ultimate arbiter, put that

in your pipe and smoke it. back home, critics like him weren't celebrating either. amazing, isn't it? a 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, nos 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 did. the realfun starts making a deal on the future relationship. is theresa may's goal of a full agreement by march 2019 realistic? it's 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. # 0h, 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 and 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, i've 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 precrisis levels... it sounds as if my voice isn't on track.

she coughs. 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. a 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 troublesome friends at home. injanuary 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. big ben chimes.

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, and scandals at westminster. it's been quite a year. next year couldn't possibly be so frantic, could it? hello. if you're going to be out to

sea in the new year, prepare for showers. storm dylan is heading out of the way, the winds greasing foremost, but squally winds with heavy showers in the south—west that will drive east across england and wales. dry by midnight for the east of scotla nd wales. dry by midnight for the east of scotland and north—east england, but showers to come. it will turn colder in scotland where we have clear skies. the first day of new year could see rain coming across the channel, southern parts of england and wales, mainly in the morning. sunshine later on but then the showers will come rattling in from ireland. an increasing number of showers across england and wales, even into the north midlands. temperatures are little cooler than today, numbers about normal for this time of year. as the showers is away and skies clear, monday night could be called another frost in the

countryside. the weekend looks u nsettled, countryside. the weekend looks unsettled, strong to deal force winds, rain at times, very mixed weather on the way. —— the week looks unsettled. you're watching bbc news. the headlines now on bbc news, at 3:00pm... six people have died after a seaplane crashed into a river in australia. it's thought four of the victims may be british. the plane has hit the water and it has subsequently sunk. it is sitting in approximately 13 metres of water. iran imposes restrictions on social media as demonstrations against the country's ruling clerics continue. fireworks and festivities usher in new year. sydney becomes the second major city to welcome 2018 with a spectacular display on the city's harbour bridge. and manchester city's 18 match winning run comes to an end after a draw with crystal palace.

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