On the markets, the pound fell ahead of mrs mays statement, then rose during her speech. The eu says the call for an election will not change plans for britains exit from the European Union. We will have more reaction to the Prime Ministers plans for a Snap General Election on june the Prime Ministers plans for a Snap General Election onjune the 8th throughout the day here on bbc news. Good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. The Prime Minister has announced plans to call a Snap General Election onjune the 8th. Theresa may said britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the eu referendum. Explaining the decision, mrs may said she had reluctantly come to the conclusion that a vote was necessary, adding the country is coming together but westminster is not. She will need parliamentary approval to formally call the election with a vote being held tomorrow. Our political correspondent, ben wright reports. Out of the blue, they announced there would be a statement from the Prime Minister, out of the blue, theresa may stunned westminster and the country with this. theresa may stunned westminster and the country with this. I have just chaired a meeting of the cabinet. Where we agreed that the government should call a General Election. To be held on june should call a General Election. To be held onjune the 8th. Should call a General Election. To be held on june the 8th. The next General Election was not due until 2020, but theresa may said a poll was needed now. The reason she gave, to bring political stability to 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. In recent weeks, labour have threatened to vote against the final agreement we reach with the European Union. The Liberal Democrats have said they want to grind the business of government to a standstill. The Scottish National party say they will vote against the legislation that formerly repeals britains never shipped of the European Union. And unelected members of the House Of Lords have without a fight as every step of the way. They have vowed to fight us. Our opponents believe that because the governments majority is so small, our resolve will weaken and they can force us to change course, they can force us to change course, they are wrong. The Prime Minister said she had only recently and Relu Cta Ntly said she had only recently and reluctantly decided to call an election but said the Political Choice was now stark. It will be a choice was now stark. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your Prime Minister, all week and Unstable Coalition government, led byJeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats who wants to reopen the divisions of the referendum, and Nicola Sturgeon and the snp. Every vote for the conservatives will make it harder for Opposition Politicians who want to stop me getting the job done. Prime minister is now have to get the approval of pollard before they can call a Snap Election, two that mps will be needed. This morning Jeremy Corbyn said he was ready for the election fight. I welcome the opportunity for us to put the case to the people of britain to stand up against the swiss government and its failed economic agenda which has left our stand up against this government and its failed economic agenda which has left our nhs in trouble and 70 people uncertain. We wa nt to trouble and 70 people uncertain. We want to put the case out there for a society that cares for all, an economy that works for all and the brexit that works for all. The First Minister of scotland said the Prime Minister of scotland said the Prime Minister was trying to force through a so called hard brexit. Minister was trying to force through a socalled hard brexit. The Prime Ministers announcement today is all about the narrow interests of her owii about the narrow interests of her own party, not the interests of the country overall. She seized the opportunity given the disarray in the ranks of the labour party to crush her opposition, get rid of people who disagree with her and give herself free hand to take the country in the increasingly right wing direction she wants to ta ke right wing direction she wants to take it into. The lib dems will fight against the governments strategy for the exit. It is an opportunity for the people of this country to decide that they do not wa nt country to decide that they do not want a hard brexit, they want to keep us in the Single Market, and it is an opposition in this country that we desperately need. The ukip leader paul nuttall welcomed the General Election but make no mistake, he said, this was a decision driven by the weakness of labour, not the good of the country. Labour, not the good of the country. Labour goes into this election very long way behind the tories in the Opinion Polls. Labour mps in marginal seats are likely to be sweating at what could be seen as an audacious political ambush by theresa may. So she has rolled the dice, she is confident she will win but politics has never been more unpredictable and a lot can happen ina unpredictable and a lot can happen in a six week campaign. I am joined by our assistant political editor, norman smith, now. Lets start with the scale of the surprise, there was no inkling that she was going to announce this. We we re she was going to announce this. We were all taken by surprise, in part because mrs may has repeatedly said she was not going to call a Snap Election. She has broken that promise, let us be clear, because of brexit. She believes she needs a united strong hand in the forthcoming negotiations. She wants to pitch herself as the brexit candidate in the brexit election, Chastising The Opposition Parties and the House Of Lords for weakening her negotiating stance. There is also hard headed calculation here. He had looked at the polling numbers, some suggesting she has a 20 point lead overJeremy Corbyn. She would have to be the Mother Teresa of modern politics not to be tempted to go for an election in those circumstances which could give her a huge majority and enable her to achieve her own agenda in westminster, not be vulnerable to revolts by tory mps, she may well have calculate it that now is as good as it is going to get. How much ofa good as it is going to get. How much of a gamble could this be . We have seen that nothing is certain in politics any more. The only truth about politics now is that we live in extraordinarily volatile, unpredictable, uncertain times. Nobody predicted David Cameron would win, nobody thoughtJeremy Corbyn would become leader of the labour party, nobody thought that the uk was going to vote for brexit, and not many people thought that theresa may was keen to be Prime Minister. We know that Opinion Polls, we are all now questioning of them. One other thing we know is that theresa may has confounded us as a political leader. When she became Prime Minister, we knew her as the rather cautious, careful, calculating home secretary. As Prime Minister, she has proved a gambler, extraordinarily bold, notjust in dispatch in all of the Cameron Percy support us, decameron supporters, but now also going to this tremble election. It is a risk but theresa may has shown herself to be a gambler. There will be a commons votes tomorrow. That makes it seven weeks and two days if mps agree to it, until the General Election is held. Alex forsyth has been looking at what happens next. It was almost two years ago when the country last had its say on the kind of government it once. Have a nice day then, David Cameron at the helm, campaigning on the economy, the nhs, and with a promise to hold a referendum on eu mentorship. That was a decision that led to his resignation when the country backed brexit. I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction. So theresa may took over and pledge from the start to honour the referendum result. Brexit means brexit and we are going to make a success of it. Despite her slim majority in the commons, she repeatedly said there would not be an early election. I cannot bring to be calling a Snap Election, i have been very clear that i think we need that period of time, that stability to be able to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that the country is facing and have that election in 2020. But with such a slim majority in the house of commons, parliamentary battles over exit beckoned. Theresa may want a mandate, but will have to overcome the rule which says elections can only be held every five years. To get around the fixed term parliaments act, there must be a vote of No Confidence in the government or two thirds of the need to vote in favour of it. Tomorrow, theresa may will seek a General Election on june the theresa may will seek a General Election onjune the 8th, she will almost certainly get the backing she needs. She hopes to increase support for her brexit plan from across the country and among her mps, but General Elections are also always a risk. Although the labour party are ina dire risk. Although the labour party are in a dire position in the Opinion Polls, a lot of their seats are safe one. If the Opinion Polls were to narrow drink the course of the campaign, we should bear in mind that theresa may is now going for a Vote Conservative for my vision of brexit, and that is going to make some conservative voters unhappy. If that lead where to narrow, we could discover that she would get a rather small majority than she is hoping for. So once again, who holds control here and with how much clout will be for the country to decide. We can get more reaction now. In a moment we will be speaking to out correspondents in belfast and cardiff. But first our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon, is in glasgow. We have heard from the Scotland First minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has called it one of the most extraordinary u turns in recent political history. She has. She was sharing her weekly Cabinet Meeting this morning behind me, that took place before theresa may made her statement but we are told Nicola Sturgeon was watching as she announced her decision to call a Snap General Election. She said that this was a huge political miscarriage elation on the part of theresa may and it showed miscalculation on the part of theresa may and it showed that she was putting the interests of her party ahead of those of her country. You can see how the debate will be framed in scotland, the snp saying this will be a chance to reject the narrow divisive policies as they see it of the conservatives, the snp wa nt 56 it of the conservatives, the snp want 56 out they won 56 seat out of 59 in the last election, they will be hoping to repeat that this time. All of the parties will be scrabbling to find candidates quickly with an election just a short distance in the future. We have also had reaction from the scottish conservatives, the second party here in scotland, they say they are organised, optimistic and they are organised, optimistic and they say that this will send a strong message if you vote for the conservatives here in scotland, that they would oppose the plans for a second independence referendum. In scotland, it is about a second referendum for independence. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris page, is in belfast. Parties in Northern Ireland are now going into their fourth Election Campaign ina going into their fourth Election Campaign in a little over two years. It is less than two months since there was a Snap Election to the Northern Ireland assembly which was brought about by the collapse of the devolved government in january, which resulted in the unionists losing their overall majority and sinn fein came within a whisker of toppling the dup as the Largest Group in stormont. That result and the ongoing Brexit Debate has led to more torque about whether a United Ireland could be possible one day. This General Election will be perhaps about unionism versus nationalism more than ever before. In the last 2015 election, the two main Unionist Parties formed a pact to avoid splitting the vote and that secured two seat which would have probably gone to non unionist candidates. The biggest question will be whether the devolved and can be restored, there is no sign of a deal and the prospect of another divisive election is unlikely to encourage the parties to compromise. Cemlyn davies is in cardiff for us now. Here in wales, the welsh First Minister, carwynjones, here in wales, the welsh First Minister, carwyn jones, has criticised the decision, calling it odd. He thinks it is strange for the Prime Minister to call a General Election while there are another series of elections ongoing, referring to the Council Elections going on in the glow over a fortnight. Carwyn going on in the glow over a fortnight. Ca rwyn jones going on in the glow over a fortnight. Carwynjones doesnt believe a General Election is in the national interest. And the focus should be on brexit and the economy instead, he says. Plaid cymru leader leanne wood says her party are ready for the opportunity to show it can stand up for the people of wales. The leader of the conservatives in wales has welcomed the Prime Ministers decision. As to what this could mean for wales, labour are currently holds 25 of the a0 welsh parliamentary seats. But the party faces difficulties here, as it does across the uk. And the other parties, particularly plaid cymru and the Liberal Democrats, will be looking to capitalise on those difficulties. The conservatives have their best welsh general Election Results two years ago. It is difficult to see where they will make significant gains. Perhaps we will get some more clues in two weeks and those cancelo elections. They have taken on greater political significance. Thank you all. When it was announced this morning that theresa may was going to make a statement at downing street, nobody knew what she was going to say. The markets felt a little nervous. Our business editor, simonjack, is in the newsroom. What has been happening . Markets generally dont like surprises. This was one of those. They have stabilised now. The pound is actually stronger. I think people realise there is an economic window of opportunity. The dire warnings of what would happen to the economy after brexit never came to pass. Growth is solid. Record numbers of people in work. And wages are rising faster than prices. That is expected to go the other way later in the year. That is why this timing makes sense. Is mrs would prefer a government with a bigger majority to a smaller one. If that pans out, that would be betterfor them. Business would prefer a government with a bigger majority. The focus will now turn to immigration, Single Market tariffs etc, that theresa may usesin market tariffs etc, that theresa may uses in the run up to the election. They will be focusing on what kind of brexit she is looking for. That will be the focus. Simon jack, thank you. We can find out how europe is reacting to the Surprise Announcement now. Kevin connolly is in brussels for us. What has the response been . Well of course, they are as surprised in brussels as everybody in london was by this snap announcement. You get a sense of that from the president of the european council, donald tusk, who says brexit is being directed by hitchcock. First there is an earthquake, then the tension rises. Perhaps that means that donald tusk doesnt know an awful lot about the works of alfred hitchcock. It also means there is a real sense in brussels that when the dust has settled on the british election, things will be different and the temperature will have increased. That is because whoever wins in the british election, it is assumed here that they will have had to have given away something of their Negotiating Position in the whole process of the election. So for that reason, things will be watched very closely in brussels. And whatever the result, the message is they are ready to talk to whoever wins. Kevin connolly in brussels. Thank you. We will be back to the main story shortly. Now the days other news. The us Vice President , mike pence, is meeting the japanese Prime Minister, shinzo abe, in tokyo amid rising tensions over the Security Threat from north korea. Mr pence reaffirmed washingtons commitment to reining north korea is on a permanent war footing. The qin dynasty that has led the country for three generations as long denied relied on exaggerating external threats to maintain power. But in recent days, it has revealed new weapons, underlining its own thread to the outside world. It is a threat the Trump Administration seems to be fading with new resolve. The us Vice President in japan fading with new resolve. The us Vice President injapan today as part of his asian tour, is emphasising a single message. The year of strategic patients with north korea is over and the us is Standing Firm with its regional allies. As the president himself would say if he was here, i say to you and all the people of japan were with you 100 . The focus is on a peaceful resolution to the north korean threat, but japan says words alone may not be enough. Translation of course, we should ta ke translation of course, we should take a peaceful settlement of the issue, but dialogue for the sake of dialogue is meaningless. It is necessary to exercise pressure against north korea to engage in serious dialogue. North koreas usual response to pressure is defiance. It says it may carry out weekly Missile Tests and would respond to an attack with nuclear weapons. President trump wa nts nuclear weapons. President trump wants china to force a change of direction in pyongyang. He says if beijing doesnt act, he will. But sanctions havent worked and Military Options are limited. We now have a situation where north korea and the United States have threatened dire repercussions if the other ever makes a move. In this kind of situation it is possible to make mistakes and they can be catastrophic. But equally, this is the kind of balance of terror that held the war apiece during the cold war. North korea is thought to be ready to conduct a sixth nuclear test, something that could happen at any time. The uss Carrier Group is steaming towards the korean peninsula. Both sides readying a show of support. The question is, which side will blink first . The duke of cambridge has said its important for people to talk openly about their Mental Health, and warned that no one should try to keep a stiff upper lip. His comments come after his brother, prince harry, disclosed that hed had counselling to help him come to terms with their mothers death. Heres our royal correspondent, peter hunt. Promoting Better Mental Health is a family affair. After prince harrys Frank Acknowledgement of the pain he suffered following their mothers death, Prince William was at the bbc for a screening of a documentary on the subject. Ten people affected by Mental Health issues united by one goal, to run the london marathon. Mental Health Issues united by one goal, to run the london marathonlj feel like i wont be able to do it. Kate, william and harry want Mental Health treated like physical health. I really think this is a pivotal moment. Ifeel we are i really think this is a pivotal moment. I feel we are on the cusp of something really big. I am moment. I feel we are on the cusp of something really big. Iam keen moment. I feel we are on the cusp of something really big. I am keen to continue covering Mental Health and trying to make that change. As you can see, i have my own trying to make that change. As you can see, i have my own reasons trying to make that change. As you can see, i have my own reasons for being involved in Mental Health. What happened to me, my mother, when i was younger. Rhiannons one year old son died five years ago. Her husband, who blamed himself, took his own life. Her story features in the programme presented by nick knowles. The more people we can get to talk about Mental Health, the better. Silence is killing people. It really is as bad as that. I should stop talking now. Meeting the runners, confronting their adversity and watching the programme left william feeling quite emotional, he said. Then its challenges the race in six days. All the best for sunday. Peter horne, bbc news. Peter hunt. Lets get more now on the news that theresa may has announced plans to call a General Election for the 8th ofjune. That is in just over seven weeks. She said, as she stood out here, that labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National party, and some members of the House Of Lords, she accused them of weakening our Negotiating Position in talks with the European Union over brexit. Christian fraser looks at some of the data ahead of a Snap Election. 0k, ok, lets look at General Election 2015 to remind ourselves. This was the map. The conservatives took 331 seats. A majority of 12. 99 more seats. A majority of 12. 99 more seats than labour, who were practically wiped off the map in scotland. This is the only seat of their health, edinburgh south. It was a difficult election for the Liberal Democrats, who were wiped out in the south west. They returned with just out in the south west. They returned withjust eight out in the south west. They returned with just eight seats. Lets compare that then to the referendum in 2016. You can see the map looks broadly the same. Conservative areas broad voting broadly in favour of brexit. North wales, the northwest, northeast, the labour heartland going for brexit. That will be the forJeremy Corbyn on the doorstep. Yes, the viewership is in favour of brexit, but not all mps, and they are deeply divided over the terms of brexit they want. Lets look at the by elections. This is a bright spot for the Liberal Democrats. They overturned a whopping 23,000 majority that Zac Goldsmith was holding. He stood as an independent. Sarah olney took it from him. Richmond park, a very pro remain area. This is a very big brexit area. This is a very big brexit area. Stoke on trent central. It was area. Stoke on trent central. It was a labour hold. They can hold brexit areas. They saw off a strong challenge from paul nuttall. The dark spot for them was copland. This was the first time a sitting government had won a by election since 198a, and labour had represented that seat for more than 80 years. A Big Pro Brexit area went to brexit. There are things all the parties will have to bear in mind. They will look at that brexit map for clues. There are other things they will have to think about. Voter fatigue. We have had three uk wide elections in three years. There have been elections in scotland, Northern Ireland and wales, three in Northern Ireland and wales, three in Northern Ireland in little over a year. Then they will have to think about how they will have to think about how the population splits. There are very differing views among different age groups. Young people, you can see in blue, went for a remain. Older people in red went for a leave. However these groups of people going to vote in a new General Election . We dont know. They may be some clues in that for all the parties. What are people going to make of the fa ct what are people going to make of the fact there is now going to be a final fact there is now going to be a final another General Election in few weeks . Jon kay is in bristol west. A labour seat was taken from the Liberal Democrats in 2015. It is an interesting seat. Historically bristol west was a conservative seat. Then it went lib dem. Last election when labour. The greens were second. We thought it was an interesting place to come today to find out how people are thinking. This is a diverse constituency. People tend to be quite politically active and engaged. We took some of them by surprise and asked them what they thought, starting with brenda. You are joking . Not another one for gods sake, honestly, i cant stand this. There is too much politics going on at the moment. Why does she need to do it. . Going on at the moment. Why does she need to do it. . She says it produces clarity, sort things out . |j thought she said that initially when she took over. No, i disagree with this entirely. You excited about another election . No, not another one. Its too much. Its great news. It means we can get her out. It is what the people want. You ready for another election . Yeah, we need one. Question was talking about potential voterfatigue. Question was talking about potential voter fatigue. That is a snapshot of people here. Kristian. A lot of people here. Kristian. A lot of people taken by surprise, Notjust Voters but Party Workers who were Out Canvassing ahead of local elections. All of a sudden they are having to think about how a General Election fits into their campaigning strategy. Leaflets to produce, posters to go up. Candidates to select in some cases. If the Prime Minister work wanted to cause a surprise, she has succeeded. Thank you. Norman smith is here again. This is going to be the brexit election, isnt it . It is. Mrs may wa nts to election, isnt it . It is. Mrs may wants to pitch it as such. She wants to pitch herself as the brexit Candidate Standing up for the brexit electorate against the doubters at westminster. She is almost pitching herself slightly as the anti westminster Candidate Standing up anti westminster Candidate Standing upfor anti westminster Candidate Standing up for the true voice of brexit. It is all to god be extraordinarily difficult for labour to turn this into an election about the nhs, social care, anti austerity. In some ways it seems to me there are analogies with mrs thatchers 1983 analogies with mrs thatchers1983 falklands election, when labour had a leader who were struggling. And again they found it very difficult to move away from that huge falklands factor. I suspect it may be similar this time. That said, brexit remains an incredibly divisive issue. And the risk for mrs may is that there are still many, many people passionately opposed to brexit. We saw that in the richmond by election, when the conservative mp, Zac Goldsmith, sought to get re elected and was defeated because the lib campaigned on brexit. There will be many tory mps in remain constituencies who will be deeply anxious that mr mrs may has underestimated the Residual Disillusionment of brexit. There is a huge risk for mrs may in case she has miscalculated the strength of feeling, not just on has miscalculated the strength of feeling, notjust on the brexit side, but also on the remain side. Thank you. Time for the weather now with louise lear. Good afternoon. Im sure gardeners and growers not particularly happy that i am starting with a picture of frost. It is good to be one of the Talking Point this week. Take a look at the overnight lows we had. This morning, 6 in scotland. Temperatures across the nation just below freezing. At this time of the year, add some sunshine and temperatures do recover. Where we have got clear skies by day, were going to see those temperatures falling away overnight. Tuesday night across england and wales is glad to be another cold, potentially frosty one. Put another way,