to be part of an increasingly wish to be part of an increasingly right—wing and divided and isolated united kingdom or whether the time has come for them to reconsider taking power into their own hands and charging a different relationship for scotland both within britain and within europe. but if you do lose seats and the selection is focused on a second independence referendum, that will give you pause for thought on having that referendum 7 give you pause for thought on having that referendum? five parties are contesting the election in scotland but i think it will be a battle between the snp and separatists. a battle between two alternative futures for scotland. whether they wa nt to futures for scotland. whether they want to have their aspirations overridden in a uk whether voice is not respected or whether they want a different relationship within the uk and to take power in their own hands. when those choices are put before people i'm confident we will before people i'm confident we will be the tories in every seat was standing. soi be the tories in every seat was standing. so i look forward to the contest standing. so i look forward to the co ntest a nd standing. so i look forward to the contest and to having that argument and winning it. i believe the matter

what, the case for a second referendum stands because the reason why we think there should be a second referendum is not because the people that lost the last time do not respect the result but because the people who want change the deal and the uk that people voted to be pa rt and the uk that people voted to be part of three years ago simply will not exist in the future. so it is right that the people of scotland should get another choice. in that case it is irrespective of this general election, we already have a mandate for that from an election less tha n mandate for that from an election less than 12 months ago. but the case is compelling and the conservative government should allow people in scotland to have that choice. is it really that compelling given it is coming so soon after the last election? the snp leadership was saying the first referendum was a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity and would not come around again for 25 yea rs. would not come around again for 25 years. many people in scotland might bea years. many people in scotland might be a bit angry that the snp is

pushing the second referendum and as such decide to vote at the ballot box for other parties onjune the 8th. you do not have another referendum if everyone votes the same way. the reason why you need to have this question asked again is because people have changed their minds, because circumstances have changed really beyond any imagination from three years ago. so the uk we are currently part of and we voted to stay part of three years ago is changing beyond recognition. and many people have voted to remain in the uk the last time we'll take a much different view when the terms of the brexit deal are actually known and people can choose whether thatis known and people can choose whether that is the future of want for themselves and their families. dealer then welcome this election, was at the kind of thing, was it something you actually wanted?” was at the kind of thing, was it something you actually wanted? i got on the train this morning and i

thought this looks like a pretty uneventful week. it is amazing is ever how things can change in the blink ofan ever how things can change in the blink of an eye in politics. i think this election has been called for the convenience of the conservative party and is all about the management of the conservative party. in many ways i think it is being foisted on the people of this country for party interests rather than uk interests. theresa may says she wants the general election to resolve differences about brexit but we'll tried for ten months to clarify what brexit actually means. try to get the policy specified and the government has refused to do so. ido the government has refused to do so. i do not think in their manifesto for the 8th ofjune there will be any for the 8th ofjune there will be a ny clearer for the 8th ofjune there will be any clearer about what the future of the uk is going to look like after brexit. so to claim their manifesto for the 8th ofjune there will be any for the 8th ofjune there will be a ny clearer for the 8th ofjune there will be any clearer about what the future of the uk is going to look like after brexit. so to claim they're putting up brexit. so to claim they're putting upfor brexit. so to claim they're putting up for the people is quite mischievous, it is i think the tories are doing this to suit themselves but it is game on, we having the election and we will

fight it and then to convince people to vote for the snp in scotland. theresa may according to downing street spokesperson has been talking to other leaders about her decision today. this afternoon the prime ministers but several readers following the announcement. the prime minister made several calls to president trump, chancellor angela merkel, donald tusk of the european parliament, and the taoiseach and kenny. so spreading the word of her decision today. so what appetite is there for another general election — just two years after the last one — and a year after the eu referendum? jon kay has been talking to voters in bristol. this is brenda, in her lifetime there have been 19 general elections, so when we told there was going to be number 20... you're joking, not another one!

oh, for god's sake, i can't honestly... i can't stand this. there's too much politics going on at the moment, why does she need to do it? she says this will produce clarity. it gets things out in the open, sorts things out? i thought she said that initially when she took over. brenda spoke for many of the voters we met here in bristol today. regardless of party politics, we found little enthusiasm. are you excited about another election? no. no, not another one! it's too much. it's too much, ain't it? they're just taking advantage of a bad situation at the moment. so, all in all, it's not good for the country. but others welcome the chance to have another say. do you feel ready for a general election? yeah, we need one. it'll be nice if there was some sort of clarity over what's going on. there's a lot of muddled information out there. as for brenda, the politicians have seven weeks to get her out to vote. i think the whole country has had enough of politics,

politicians telling us this, that and the other and to have us, in june, for a general election. no, definitely not. you could stand. i wouldn't want to, my dear, because i don't play the game. jon kay, bbc news, bristol. let's speak now tojo—anne nadler — she worked alongside former prime minister david cameron as a spin doctor in thejohn major government. and matthew taylor — he was a special adviser to tony blair and media manager for the labour party. ) that some of the view of many? i suspect that she does. your question to her is there an appetite for general election, i do not think there is. but that said i think people will generally agree that it is better for theresa may to have a mandate. she is a conservative

leader who curiously did not get a mandate either from the country or from her own party. so this will strengthen her hand. she probably wa nts a strengthen her hand. she probably wants a mandate for brexit negotiations from her own party as well. this is a way of neutering those who perhaps could hold her ransom later on in her own party?” think it gives a stronger platform in the party, assuming the election goes well which all the opinion polls suggests it will. matthew, the labour party are in a mess, many people would suggest. and indeed some of their own mps are suggesting that this is going to be incredibly difficult. it is no secret that my view is that having jeremy corbyn as leader of the labour party will make this election harder for labour candidates as they go and campaign up candidates as they go and campaign up and down the country. i think to put it mildly it is a challenge to persuade the country that jeremy

corbyn is a prime minister in waiting. and there is going to be a very difficult conversation that many labour candidates will have to have on the doorstep when they essentially are saying vote labour even though the person leading the party i do not think as a suitable person to be prime minister. that is a difficult message to get across to the voters. but i think partly what you will also see in certain areas is this becoming more divide also around the european issue as well where candidates seek to get a coalition of voters together based on the brexit or remain positions as much as around party political lines. candidates are not necessarily going to want to talk about brexit on the doorsteps because it is difficult to suspect for them to be clear about what the labour opposition is. and they will wa nt to labour opposition is. and they will want to talk about issues like the health service, jobs, the economy and so on. i think that is the risk for the labour party, that you will see a degree of anarchy in terms of

what people put in their personal election addresses that go out based on the area that they represent. and we saw the trouble is that this caused for the conservative party in the late 1990s when he saw similar thing over the single currency.“ ita thing over the single currency.“ it a good idea for her to do this bearing in mind her excuses, i want a stronger hand when i go to brussels. she got article 50 through parliament, no problem. it was done and dusted. it looks like opportunism. i think almost the opposite. i think there is a danger she might have appeared opportunistic if she had not gone for a public mandate in this way. of course there are political issues at sta ke course there are political issues at stake here and not least the fate of the labour party. but also you spoke earlier to the representative from the snp and i think scotland is a

big part of the calculations. as you rightly point out it will be extremely difficult for the snp to maintain that incredible high water mark they achieve two years ago. so any pulling back from that could be presented by the government here in westminster as a sign perhaps that enthusiasm for a second referendum is slightly waning. i think there are risks for theresa may going into this. the first is that this is going to be now a relatively long campaign, there is a period of time that she is going to have to get to know the electorate and campaign in a way that frankly she's not used to doing. she also said she will not ta ke doing. she also said she will not take part in tv debates. there is a certain arrogance that she risks in terms of that approach to this election. and frankly also bring up againstjeremy corbyn election. and frankly also bring up against jeremy corbyn there is an expectation problem she has in terms of the fate of the election. and also i think the problem she has is

ultimately working out how you then translate that to a mandate for what coities translate that to a mandate for what comes next. trigger elections, the nec is meeting tomorrow, some believe, jeremy corbyn may want trigger elections for every single labour candidate, labour mp. do you see that coming? i've no doubt that would be the instinct forjeremy corbyn but those are the kind of sectarian games he would be interested in playing with the labour party at this time. i hope the nec turned that down and does what we need to do to focus on the election campaign. thank you both. much more coming up but first a look at the weather forecast. it is quiet on the weather front and it will be frosty tonight especially across the southern part of the uk. last night it was frosty in the north, this coming night with clearer skies it is the south that will get the frost. you can see the cloud streaming in from the atlantic

into northern ireland and scotland which will prevent it from turning to gold here. city centred amateurs will not fall below freezing this coming night. it is rural areas. suburban areas could also be down to around zero. so a potential for damaging frosts once again first thing tomorrow morning for a the tender plants. and around the rush hour on wednesday this is how it looks, beautiful weather across the south. further north you can see the cloud increasing, some spots of rain and hillfort in some places as well. around 7 degrees in glasgow and inverness. not feeling quite so frosty here. certainly much pressure in the south. but we keep the sun shine through wednesday in the south. some lovely weather. the midlands not bad at all. the best

temperatures in london and eastern parts of scotland not too bad at all on wednesday. thursday high pressure building across southern areas. it might start off on the cloudy side first thing but the cloud will break up first thing but the cloud will break up and there will be some decent sunny spells around. further north it is cloudy with spots of rain. and temperatures just a little bit higher on thursday in some areas around the mid teens. 0n higher on thursday in some areas around the mid teens. on friday we anticipate this weather front to sink south and introduce slightly colder air into scotland and eventually all of us later on friday will see colder air coming in from the north. i hope that in the south temperatures could peak at around 17 degrees. so quite a warm end the week for southern area. the weekend, high—pressure close by but we have low pressure as well and the air is coming from the north so not warming

up coming from the north so not warming up in coming from the north so not warming upina coming from the north so not warming up in a hurry. but it will be mostly dry. you're watching bbc news. i'm christian fraser live at westminster, as the prime minister calls for a snap general election. i in a surprising u—turn, theresa may says divisions i j in parliament were putting at risk the country's ability to make a success of 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. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, says he welcomes the announcement, as a chance to fight for social justice. we are going out there 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. for some, the election is a political opportunity.