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Theresa May Calls for Surprise Snap Elections; Questions Surround Trump's Tax Returns On Day Day. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired April 18, 2017 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:24] MAX FOSTER, HOST: Britain now amongst those key countries in Europe holding pivotal elections this year. In this surprise announcement,

Prime Minister Theresa May calling a snap election for June 8, reversing her earlier claims to the contrary.

Polls suggest May and the Conservative Party that she runs holds a significant lead over her main opponent, which is the Labour opposition

party. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, she took aim at opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest with me as your prime

minister, or weak unstable coalition government led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats who want 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 from getting the job done, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, we have CNN correspondents and contributors covering all sides of this story. We're going to begin, though, with Christiane

Amanpour who joins me here in the studio.

And we've had some reaction from Brussels on this, which is the key sort of topic. It's Brexit and Britain's leaving the European Union.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's certainly the global and international perspective. And to that end,

Donald Tusk, who is the president of the European Council has said good phone call with Prime Minister Theresa May on the upcoming UK elections.

So, clearly, those with an international perspective are going to be looking at this election result on June 8 as to how it will play in to the

whole Brexit debate.

Here, in Britain, the opposition leaders, all of them, have come out and said that it's a cynical ploy by the prime minister. She already has a

fairly free hand on Brexit. She got all her bills through parliament with comfortable majorities ahead of triggering Article 50. This is just an

attempt to consolidate her political party power and to crush all the opposition. So, that's how the parties here are stacking up.

I think really importantly, though, on Brexit, the leaders have said this is not really going to make a difference to how we negotiate. Theresa May

obviously hopes that it will give her a clear mandate to pursue whatever policies that she is taking to Brussels at the negotiating table. Article

50 has been triggered. And we've had red lines already set down by EU leaders.

An MEP very close to Chancellor Merkel in Germany, Manford Weber (ph), has said this is not going to be good for any of us and least good for Britain.

They will not be able to have, as they've declared they want, the same kind of deal, benefits and all the rest of it outside the EU as they have inside

the EU.

He said there's 20,000 regulations or so that now have to be all completely renegotiated. He said that we're very clear, we want an early resolution

on the status of some 4.5 million citizens who are - European citizens here and British citizens over there, we want that done early. He said that one

of the big issues for us, also, is the idea of Northern Ireland. We haven't even talked about that. But that's huge.

The EU will come across a hard border in Northern Ireland. And that is something that nobody quite knows how to regulate right now. Not only does

it go against the Friday Peace Accord, but just in terms of movement of goods and services and people across that border, what will it mean.

And finally the size of the divorce bill. And then there's a whole load of other things as well. But these are the red lines that the EU is talking

about right now.

And we've also got to say that if this does, indeed, give her a strong hand for Brexit negotiations, people again are looking to see what shape will

the UK take after all this. Will there be no more Scotland in the UK. What about Northern Ireland? Will it, you know, have a renewed vigor to

join up with the Republic. And this also is about the future of the United Kingdom.

FOSTER: So, all of these questions have been debated fiercely here. She's arguing, isn't she, that domestic politics is preventing her from getting

on with the discussion, so she wants to get this mandate to go into the - into Brussels, right?

ANDERSON: She's arguing that. And it's true there's opposition. As the leaders have said this is a democracy and we're not going to just role

over.

She is arguing that. She's saying that the people are coalescing, that was what she said in her statement outside Downing Street, people are coming

together over Brexit, but Westminster is not. And Westminster is quote damaging our ability to get a successful Brexit.

Except for the fact that the bills and all the things that she's wanted have actually gone through parliament and been voted on and she's been

given the authority, especially before triggering Article 50. So, a little unclear there.

[08:05:14] FOSTER: Let's go down to Westerminster. Isa is standing by, because everyone was taken by surprise this morning, weren't they, when we

heard there was an announcement. And we didn't know what it was about until she made it.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely. And I can tell you the mood here at Abingdon Green is one of excitement from many

people we were speaking to, even those that perhaps wouldn't get very excited about general elections I can tell you that much, Max.

But we have heard from the Lib Dems. We have also heard from Labour basically saying this is opportunistic. The words I've been hearing,

everything from opportunistic, it's all about her own party. It's arrogant.

But we've heard from the conservatives saying it's bold and it's the right move.

Let's get the perspective of Henry Mance from the FT. How Henry. What do you make of this?

HENRY MANCE, POLITICIAL CORRESPONDENT, FINANCIAL TIMES: I think it is a surprise, because Theresa May had denied that she was in the business of

playing games with politics. She said that Nicola Sturgeon couldn't have a Scottish independence referendum, because now wasn't the time.

But it is the time, apparently, for a general election.

SOARES: Is it bold, opportunistic, how do you see her move?

MANCE: Yeah, I think you could call it bold, opportunistic. I think it locks in a game. I mean, the Conservatives have a huge lead in the opinion

polls. They're likely to increase their majority, which is a working majority of 17 in the House of Commons at the moment, so that's likely

really to multiply if the opinion polls are right. So, she's doing really what a logical party leader would do I think in this situation.

SOARES: I mean, clearly she just wants her own mandate rather than being dictated by someone else's.

MANCE: Yeah, the last - if she had awaited to 2020 with no general election, she would have gone longer without an election than any prime

minister since Winston Churchill in the Second World War. So, it really would have been a sort of a quite historic strange thing to have a prime

minister there bringing in her own policies without having put them to the test.

SOARES: Risky, though, do you think?

MANCE: There's certainly a risk that the upside isn't as big as people might have thought. It's unlikely that the Scottish National Party are

going to collapse in Scotland, so that takes 50, 60 seats off the table. And Labour has a big majority in some seats in England and indeed in Wales,

so it will be difficult to topple them.

So, I think if she brings up expectations that she's going to win some kind of super majority, then I think that's unlikely to come true.

SOARES: We've been talking a lot about parliament and politics, but all about voters. Are they ready for another election?

MANCE: I think probably there's going to be some weariness at the start. People feel a bit like we've had our say - actually there are elections

coming up in many parts of the country of May 4. So people are going and voting and are being asked to come out a month later.

But basically people will never punish governments for offering them the choice, I think. You know, people feel pretty passionate about politics at

the moment. Brexit is a big issue, perhaps the biggest issue in a generation, so I think not so much the population is going to say you

failed us by giving us a choice.

SOARES: OK, is Theresa May sweating, or do you think that she's got this? I mean, what are the risks when you look when you've got - we've got

(inaudible). Can they mount, really, an opposition, a strong opposition here?

MANCE: I don't think she's going to be worried about Labour coming and taking seats. She might be worried about the Lib Dems taking a few seats,

and she might be worried about whether she' actually going to make all the gains on paper she's bound to make.

We know from the last general election in 2015 that it's difficult to predict these kind of things. The national polling doesn't always

translate into local results.

So, I think rather than the sweating, she'll be absolutely keen that she makes this as big a victory as possible, and that could make the difference

between it looking like the right decisions and not the right decision and then not the right decision.

SOARES: A very clever strategic move by Theresa May would you say.

MANCE: She's pretty good at politics, which is kind of what you'd expect from someone who has managed to become prime minister with a minimum of

fuss, she's managed to create a very strong personal brand about someone who gets the business done. And if she plays this cleverly, people won't

punish her for having gone back on her promise not to hold a general election.

SOARES: But we heard Nicola Sturgeon of SNP basically saying that perhaps voters may punish her, she was hinting, because the reason she's going

after this is not for Brexit negotiations, not to strengthen her hand, but more for opportunistic reasons. Do you believe that?

MANCE: I think Nicola Sturgeon makes a strong case. It will play well in Scotland. But the Tories don't have much to lose in Scotland. They've

only got one MP north of the border. The SNP have nearly all the seats up there. And so Nicola Sturgeon's real challenge is to hold on to what she's

got.

Theresa May, almost anything is a gain up there.

SOARES: Where the risk, then, for her?

MANCE: The risk is maybe in the southwest of England, the Lib Dems are sort of the natural anti-establishment party there. Perhaps in some remain

supporting areas of London and other big cities, the Lib Dems might make some inroads.

And it maybe that in setting out her vision for the country, which you have to do, she makes some enemies in the Conservative party.

But I think that very few people here in Westminster doubt that she's going to win this general election and be returned as prime minister come

the summer.

SOARES: Henry, thank you very much.

And Max, we have heard from the Lib Democrats, basically they are offering a different vision for Brexit. It's basically saying the hard Brexit if

you want to stay in the single market, if you want to be in Europe, then vote Lib Dems. And they really have offering a completely different vision

from Theresa May, from the Conservatives, indeed, from Labour who have focused - and we heard from Jeremy Corbyn - on the economy as well as the

national service here, Max.

[11:10:13] FOSTER: And yet they are supporting this idea of a vote. Isa, thank you very indeed.

As are the Labour Party. They've been consistently behind in opinion polls, perhaps suggesting that Theresa May might have been encouraged for

an election at this time, but the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says he'll support that early election. And take a listen to his reaction to the

prime minister's announcement as we got it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: I welcome the opportunity for us to put the case to the people of Britain, to stand up against this government

and its failed economic agenda, which has left our NHS in problems, which has left our schools under-funded, which has left so many people uncertain.

We want to put a case out there for the people of Britain of a society that cares for all, an economy that works for all, and a Brexit that works for

all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: That was the Labour leader there.

Let's speak to Nic Robertson. He's in Downing Street. And it's important, isn't it, that the opposition do support this idea of an election, at

least, because they're going to have to have a vote tomorrow on whether or not there will be one.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Certainly, Theresa May has delivered on what she set out to deliver. I mean, if we look at

her political calculations here for a minute, step back. She said that by the end of March she would trigger Article 50, to trigger Brexit. She

absolutely kept her word on that, pushed it through full-force, despite some hurdles. Those hurdles she talked about in that speech just a short

while ago.

But what we also - or what she will have also known at that time was, is that Easter break would be coming up. There will be a chance to reassess

and look at her position, despite saying she wouldn't go for a snap election, that she would have this window of opportunity. She'll have

known when the Brexit negotiations will actually begin in earnest, which is late May, early June.

She will have known that there was a window of opportunity here if she so needed it, if she so calculated it would help her to go for this snap

election. And it does - well, it is exactly what she's done, perhaps taken some reflection, looked at the poll numbers over Easter and it does make

the - it does make the opposition look very weak.

And as you say, the vote tomorrow will be to vote to repeal the fixed term parliament. So, this will be something that she will have to go through

tomorrow, but it's not going to be without opposition. Certainly, the Lib Dems have said that, you know, this is an opportunity for them in these

elections, others have said that as well. Jeremy Corbyn is not going to stand in the way. Perhaps it's is Nicola Sturgeon north of border who

we've heard from, if you will, first and foremost and strongest, really setting out her positions as quickly as she could after this announcement

here.

But if you look at her position, 54 seats out of 59 in Scotland, the potential here is for the SNP to have a lot to lose, that they could lose

some momentum in their campaign for a second referenum.

And Nicola Sturgeon was clearly going to use the Brexit negotiations as a time and an opportunity to ramp-up her narrative for this second

independence referendum come early 2019. Does this challenge that?

What she has done today, Nicola Sturgeon, is make very clear the way that she is going to be fighting this snap general election. And it's very much

along the lines that she has been laying out all along for a second independence that Westminster acts for its own interests and not for

Scotland, this is how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STURGEON: It's very clear that the prime minister's announcement today is one all about the narrow interests of her own party, not the interests of

the country overall. You know, clearly she sees the opportunity, given the total disarray in the ranks of the Labour Party to crush all opposition to

her, to get rid of people that disagree with her, and to give herself a free hand to take the country in the increasingly right-wing direction that

she wants to take it in, and that would mean not just the hardest possible Brexit, but more austerity and deeper cuts.

Now is the time for Scotland's voice to be heard and for people in Scotland to stand up for the kind of country we want Scotland to be, and that's the

campaign that I look forward to leading in the weeks ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So, it's going to change her campaign. The narrative will remain the same, but now she has to fight a general election, and the

stakes in Scotland for Nicola Sturgeon not what she was anticipating at this time, we can say that for sure, Max.

FOSTER: The pressure is on. Nic, thank you.

We can also speak now to Joe Twyman. He's a YouGov, which is a polling organization here in the UK. And Joe, just yesterday you were asking which

way people would go.

JOE TWYMAN, YOUGOV: That's right. And we didn't anticipate that this would lead to Theresa May calling an election. I mean, I'm not saying that

she did it just because of our poll results, that's entirely for you guys to judge. But it showed a very strong position for the Conservatives, not

just in terms of voting intention where the conservatives were on 44 percent versus Labour on just 23, a very low score for them, but also in

terms of the personalities involved.

50 percent of the electorate believes that Theresa May would make the best prime minister compared to only the teens, the low teens, 14 percent for

Jeremy Corbyn.

So, if you betting at this stage, you'd say that the polls and the historical precedent point to a strong performance by the Conservatives on

June 8.

Having said that, British politics, along with politics in many countries in the world, has changed dramatically over the last two or three years.

And it could be that the Brexit referendum has redefined British politics in a way that the Scottish referendum redefines Scottish politics.

We don't know yet, but there's clearly a long way still to go.

FOSTER: What you're suggesting there is that people didn't vote, did they, along party lines with the referendum. They voted from their heart. They

did a lot of research into it. And they vote a different way depending on how they lived, I guess, and their views.

But this time, in this vote, they're going to be voting for their party perhaps, but also on which way they went on Brexit. And that's going to

cause the dilemma for people, isn't it?

TWYMAN: Well, the point is we just don't know. And so it could be, for instance, that a resurgent Liberal Democrats, flying the flag for, if you

like, the remain camp, being the only pro-overwhelming remainers within the electoral process, pick up votes from, for instance, a Labour Party that is

shall we say not entirely committed to remaining in the way that Labour - early in the way that the Lib Dems are, or, for instance, the third of

conservative voters who voted to remain. Perhaps they'll pick up votes from them.

And of course, remember this is a constituency-based system. So, it doesn't need to be nationally, it could be in key areas, in those key seats

where the conservatives did so well in 2015. They could suffer to a resurgent Lib Dems, or indeed to Labour, because of the Brexit vote.

FOSTER: And what have we learned about polling since the last election and the last referendum as well, because you weren't always right on that, were

you. We hold our hands up.

Have things changed? How are you changing your science?

TWYMAN: What we've learned was what really what we in the polling industry always knew is that this is an incredibly difficult business. And there is

always a margin of error associated with any poll. So, if it's very close you can't really tell which side of the coin is going to fall.

But also, we know that these things are only ever a poll of public opinion at the moment. And so, yes, over at least the weekend, Theresa May and the

conservatives did extremely well. But we have an entire campaign for a general election ahead of us. And we know that things could move

substantially.

Now, historically, have they moved enough to move the Labour Party in front? No. It hasn't happened before, but that doesn't mean definitely it

won't happen this time. We have a lot of events that we know are happening between now and then - the local elections, the presidential elections in

France, for instance. But there will also be a number of events that we don't know are happening. The unknown unknowns, as Donald Rumsfeld would

call it, and that could make an enormous difference on the end result.

FOSTER: If the opposition parties come together, which is plausible isn't it, around the idea of a soft Brexit, how would that change the game, do

you think, if you group that lot together and say, this is going to be one narrative that's going to be the other narrative that you come from, you

get from the government. Will that change Theresa May's prospects?

TWYMAN: Well, analysis by YouGov has shown that a group that we call the pro-EU internationalists, so these people are pro-European Union. They

have an internationalist outlook. And they tend to be concentrated in metropolitan, highly educated areas.

That group actually forms the largest single group in British politics, but the problem that any party has is that that group does not correspondent

precisely with a particular party.

Now, a pro-alliance, if you like, a pro-EU alliance, bringing these progressives together could potentially have an impact on the polls. But

to organize that kind of thing, to bring together very disparate teams, it didn't work very well during the EU referendum, and I doubt it would work

well in this particular instance. I just don't think there's enough time.

Previously, we had five years to prepare for a general election. Now, we've got a little over five weeks.

FOSTER: OK, Joe, thank you very much indeed.

A big test for journalism and for polling coming up over the next couple of months. We'll be following every twist and turn very closely indeed.

Do stay with us. We'll have much more on this surprise announcement from the British prime minister, Theresa May and what it means for the future of

Brexit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:55] FOSTER: British prime minister, then, Theresa May throwing the gauntlet down to her political opponents, calling a surprise general

election for June 8. Mrs. May says it's the only way to guarantee stability as the UK pulls out of the European Union.

The latest opinion polls suggest the prime minister holds a significant lead over her opponents. May is seeking to strengthen her mandate in

Brexit negotiations by winning a bigger majority in parliament.

Now, just days before France holds its presidential elections, authorities there say they've uncovered a plot to carry out a violent attack.

The interior minister tells CNN affiliate BFM that two men have been arrested in Marseilles. He says both are French citizens. We have few

details, but anti-terror authorities are investigating.

The government says 50,000 police and soldiers will be deployed during both rounds of the French election.

As that vote nears, the candidates are out in force. Polls show far right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmauel Macron have been the front

runners, but far left candidate Jean-Luc Melencon seems to be narrowing that gap.

And on Tuesday, he is planning a big campaign move by being in seven cities all at once. Our Melissa Bell has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: The last time Jean Luc Melenchon was in several places at once was back in February.

JEAN LUC MELENCHON, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (translation): So where am I, in Lyon? Or in Paris?

BELL: The far-left fire brand was the first French politician to ever hologram himself while delivering a live speech in front of two adoring

crowds he spoke for an hour and 1/2 about his radical left-wing platform of reform. Which includes a referendum on Europe, a rise in public spending,

and in taxes.

The technology was developed here in this Paris studio. This time though the challenge is even greater with Melenchon due to be in seven French

towns at once including one in the Indian Ocean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The technology is such that it's not an image that you are seeing but a real person, the same height, the same presences, and with

10 minutes people will have forgotten that it's a hologram.

BELL: It is his very real rise in the polls that Melenchon is hoping to cement. He is now one of four candidates with a real chance of making it

through to the second round, that thanks partly to his strong showing in the TV debates, enter the legal troubles of some of his opponents.

MELENCHON: This campaign has been polluted by the scandals that concerned some of you but not me. No, I think it is important to underline here is

that there are only two people who are concerned, Mr. Fillon and Mrs. Le Pen.

BELL: Given his rise in the polls since, the hologram's creator believes that this time the technology could help carry the message even further.

[08:25:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the people traveling to see the politician, it's the politician making himself available to the whole of

France.

BELL: Technology perfectly suited to a man whose left-wing version of populism appears to be gaining ground.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, the latest on the threat from North Korea. And another stop for U.S. Vice President Mike Pence from his mission in Asia. He's

reassuring America's allies of its support.

Now, he flew from South Korea to Tokyo a short while ago before sitting down for a working lunch with a Japanese prime minister. Pence says the

U.S. stands behind Japan 100 percent and it's time to turn up the heat on North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Dialogue for the sake of dialogue is valueless. It is necessary for us to exercise pressure. And the United

States of America believes the time has come for the international community to use both diplomatic and economic pressure to bring North Korea

to a place that it has avoided successfully now for more than a generation. And we will not rest, and we will not relent until we achieve the objective

of a de-nuclearized Korean peninsula.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The human rights group says the U.S. may have committed a war crime by dropping bombs on a mosque in Syria, killing as many as 40 people.

Human Rights Watch says the U.S. failed to take precautions, and that raises the question whether officers were criminally reckless. For

example, a U.S. official said (inaudible) strike on al Qaeda targets was after evening prayers. But Human Rights Watch says it happened just before

prayers began at a crowded mosque.

The report calls for the U.S. to make the findings of its investigation public.

Now, back to Theresa May's announcement stunning the political world. Up next, more on the British prime minister's call for a snap election, how it

could affect the UK decision to leave the European Union.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:30:31] FOSTER: Now more on that call for an early election here in the UK. Nic Robertson is in Downing Street with more.

It's not a shoe-in just yet. It needs to go through parliament.

ROBERTSON: It does. But what Theresa May has done is lay down a challenge to the opposition parties who she said you've criticized and complained

about the Brexit campaign, about the position the government is taking. Now is the time to, if you will, put up and shut up. if you believe you

have a better plan, if you believe your voters will support you, then why not go into this election. It's a very simple straight forward, very blunt

challenge, a two-third majority required to repeal the fixed term act which will pave the way for the legality of that snap election in June.

Theresa May is taking a very, very strong position here. She's perhaps doing it because she knows that she has the polls behind her. The critics

obviously saying that she's doing this to further the conservative party, rather than the national interests. But at the moment, she seems to be in

a strong position. She has obviously had time over the Easter break to reflect on whether or not this was something she wanted to do. She will

have known, of course, having said that she would meet the end of March deadline for triggering Article 50, that before the real talks began late

May, early June, there would be a window of opportunity for such a snap election.

But right now, that immediate challenge of winning that two-thirds vote tomorrow. She's laid down the challenge. Labour says they're not going to

block it. They're ready for the election. That's broadly the way it's being received, obviously opposition to her tactics, opposition to what

she's trying to do. But it does seem that she'll win that vote tomorrow, Max.

FOSTER: Well, the Scottish first minister saying that it was the biggest U-turn in recent political history. And she's arguably right, isn't she?

Because Theresa May said she wouldn't do this?

ROBERTSON: She did. She did. And she has repeated it many, many times. And that's been the mantra going forward as recently as earlier this

morning that's what we are all still hearing.

What the position that Nicola Sturgeon has been put it in Scotland is a tough one for her. She has been going head to head with Theresa May over a

second independence referendum. It's clear that she was going to use the first year-and-a-half of the Brexit negotiations to ramp up the strength of

her position, her call for that second referendum early in 2019.

She has been clearly, like everyone, caught off guard y this. And it will be a test of support in a way for Nicola Sturgeon and that second

independence referendum. Right now, the SNP have 54 of 59 seats in Scotland.

And if they were to lose a couple of those, not that that's being predicted at the moment, but if they were that would certainly undermine Nicola

Sturgeon's momentum towards that second independence referendum.

So, her challenge to Westminster will be what it has been all along until now, that Westminster, the government here, merely looks after its own

interests and the interests after the border are not those of the Scottish people. So that's the narrative that she's had over the past several

years. And that's the one she's going to stick with going forward here, Max.

FOSTER: She could feasibly, can she, join forces with other sort of pro- European groups. The main opposition party, Labour, the Lib Dems as well. They could come together. If they're not going to vote for - or represent

a vote for remain. They could at least vote, or represent a vote for soft Brexit, which would undermine Theresa May, arguably, in the campaign coming

up.

ROBERTSON: And that seems to be very clearly why Theresa May has called this snap election. She's intent on a hard Brexit, it appears. And that

the softer Brexit option that a combined response to her position in parliament to the criticism that have been laid against her, to the fact

that, as she said in her speech, that Labour Party was trying to undermine her, that the Liberal Democrats were trying to undermine her, that, as she

said, the unelected House of Lords, which is clearly a shot across their bow, was trying to undermine her. These - she feels that the potential for

softening her position, or having her position softened, is there.

Could they combine together? They will have to do as well as they did in the last elections. The evidence at the moment speaks to the fact that

Labour is weaker than it has been, weaker than what it went into the last elections. Theresa May will have been buoyed by the election, the by

election, in Cumbria (ph) last fall when the conservatives won that seat which was a unexpected. It was the first that they'd won it in over 30

years.

The Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, will have been pleased by the by election in Richmond in December, because their candidate won that.

They'll feel that perhaps they're trying to - they may be able to gain some ground, but if you trust the polls, and we have to caveat that again,

because they were so woefully inaccurate at the last general elections, even in the run-up to Brexit. If you look at the polls, and that's the

measure that she will have been able to look at as well over this past weekend, it puts conservatives in a relatively strong position, that is she

may emerge from this having weakened the elements that would try to soften her hard Brexit, Max.

[08:36:08] FOSTER: OK, Nic, thank you very much indeed for that. We're going to stay with this story, getting reaction to you to the British prime

minister's stunning call for a general election less than halfway through the government's five year term as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The British Prime Minister Theresa May is throwing down the gauntlet to her political opponents, calling a surprise general election

for June 8. Mrs. May says it's the only way to guarantee stability as the UK pulls out of the European Union.

The latest opinion poll suggests the prime minister holds a significant lead over her opponents. May is seeking to strengthen her mandate in

Brexit negotiations by winning a bigger majority in parliament.

In her speech earlier, May accused her political opponents of spreading division in Britain's parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAY: This is the right approach, and it is in the national interest. But to the other political parties oppose it. 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Britain's Labour Party, the main opposition party, has been consistently behind in the polls, but leader Jeremy Corbyn says he'll

support an early election. Take a listen to his reaction to the prime minister's announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY CORBYN, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: We welcome the opportunity for us to put the case fo the people of Britain, to stand up against this government

and its failed economic agenda, which has left our NHS in problems, which has left our schools underfunded, which left so many people uncertain.

We want to put a case out there for people of Britain of a society that cares for all, an economy that works for all, and a Brexit that works for

all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was much more critical of Mrs. May, though, and her call for an early election. She accused the

prime minister of making a strategic play to silence her opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STURGEON: It's very clear that the prime minister's announcement today is one all about the narrow interests of her own party, not the interests of

the country overall.

You know, clearly she sees the opportunity given the total disarray in the ranks of the Labour Party to crush all opposition to her, to get rid of

people that disagree with her, and to give herself a free hand to take the country in the increasingly right-wing direction that she wants to take it

in. And that would mean not just the hardest possible Brexit, but more austerity and deeper cuts.

So, now is the time for Scotland's voice to be heard and for people in Scotland to stand up for the kind of country we want Scotland to be, and

that's the campaign that I look forward to leading in the weeks ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:40:33] FOSTER: Now, to the U.S., though, as we continue to monitor that British story.

April 18 is the deadline for Americans to file their taxes, and the focus on that (inaudible) opportunity for questions about the taxes the U.S.

president has been paying.

Here's Joe Johns on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it time to say once and for all, the president is never going to release his tax returns?

SPICER: We'll have to get back to you on that.

JOHNS (voice-over): The White House on the defensive, facing mounting criticism over the administration's lack of transparency.

SPICER: We're referring to the same audit that existed, and -- and so nothing changed.

JOHNS: Press secretary Sean Spicer again citing routine audits to justify President Trump's refusal to release any tax returns. Except an IRS audit

does not prevent disclosure.

This lack of transparency now jeopardizing another Trump key campaign promise, an overhaul of the tax code. "The New York Times" writing the

Democrats are uniting around a pledge not to cooperate on any rewriting of the tax code unless they know specifically how that provision would benefit

the billionaire president and his family. A growing number of Republican lawmakers also calling on the president to make his returns public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it would be a good gesture on his part to release them, like all other presidents have.

JOHNS: Some lawmakers are being shouted down at town halls over Trump's taxes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as I'm aware, the president says he's still under audit.

(BOOING)

JOHNS: The president himself downplaying the issue in the face of nationwide protests this weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show us your taxes! Show us your taxes!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show us your taxes! Show us your taxes!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Show us your taxes! Show us your taxes!

JOHNS: Tweeting, "I did what was an almost possible thing to do for a Republican, easily won the Electoral College. Now tax returns are being

brought up again?"

The administration also facing scrutiny for refusing to disclose who is golfing with the president and for reversing an Obama-era precedent of

making White House visitor logs public.

SPICER: We recognize there's a privacy aspect to allowing citizens to come and express their views.

JOHNS: Press secretary Sean Spicer suggesting that such disclosures would be harmful and unnecessary. Spicer adding that the Obama White House

redacted some visitor names while acknowledging the Trump administration will not release any.

SPICER: Frankly, the faux attempt that the Obama administration put out, where they would scrub what they didn't want out didn't serve anyone well.

JOHNS: This policy change inconsistent with Trump's past criticism of Obama, who he labeled the least transparent president ever, tweeting

vaguely in 2012, "Why does Obama believe he shouldn't comply with record releases that his predecessors did of their own volition. Hiding

something?"

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Joe Johns reporting. I'm Max Foster in London. Much more on Theresa May's surprise decision to call an early election throughout the

day. Up next, though, on CNN, World Sport with Alex Thomas.

END