Call me cynical, but it's impossible for me to get excited about this. Even though I voted in favour of Brexit, I still stand by the comments I posted on one of Chris's Brexit videos here: https://amtvmedia.vhx.tv/videos/warning-brexit-to-collapse-britain-and-eurozone-as-bill-enters-final-stages

This is a terms of surrender treaty folks, not a negotiation. I laugh whenever I see the term 'negotiation' used by the media. Notice how we're never told about what is actually being 'negotiated'?

Terrific write-up from Off-Guardian yesterday:
Article 50 triggers strong reactions on both sides…but what will change?
https://off-guardian.org/2017/03/30/what-does-brexit-really-mean/

Quotes:

"The Brexit vote itself was, and still is, a stall in the ever-churning machinery that pushes us all toward total globalisation, and any halt in that process can only be positive. BUT…What will actually change with regard to everyday people and their basic standard of living? Probably very little."

"...in the short-term, Brexit will be manipulated to push the agenda of the oligarchs that run the country, and used as an excuse to undermine, defund and break-up our public services. The public money will be used to make rich people even richer. The resulting UK-EU trade agreements will probably end up almost entirely preserving the free-market status quo a under new, unspoken name."

Theresa May Calls For Snap UK General Election On June 8
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-18/pound-tumbles-ahead-unexpected-may-announcement-new-general-election-speculated

So it's back to the polls again folks. My reading of this is that it's just a strategic move by the Tories to consolidate long term governance. Brexit will just be used as a propaganda tool by the Conservatives to manipulate voters to vote for them and to create more schisms within other political parties.

A new forecast from YouGov (not that I believe anything they forecast) puts Tory approval ratings at 44% compared with Labour at 23%:https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/04/17/voting-intention-conservatives-44-labour-23-12-13-/

The Conservative Party don't really have a legitimate opposition at the moment, so it's easy to see the strategic advantage of holding a general election so soon.

My biggest fear is that this general election will be engineered and unfold in such a way as to completely derail our exit from the EU -- something that the elites from both the Conservative and Labour parties want. The Conservative leaders don't really believe in the idea of Brexit, but they're more than happy to pretend to support it to gain popular votes. There will be lots of Pro-Brexit rhetoric from the Tories in the build up to the polls, but ultimately I think they will try to find a way to sabotage it -- either through a compromised series of 'negotiations', or through a second referendum.

I was quite surprised when I learnt of this yesterday. I voted to leave the EU. I think it somewhat odd or perhaps engineered given that we are still in the process of implementing a successful Brexit. I don't think this is a good sign. I felt uncomfortable at the thought of it even prior to me deciding to read about it. There is clearly some other agenda at play here. I can only hope but given what has played out to date, the ludicrous comments in parliament and in the British press suggesting a Russian involvement in influencing the outcome of the referendum leading up to this reeks of some other agenda being at play here. One can only hope. I want a successful Brexit not one based on an agenda that differs completely from what one would of hoped.

From Angela Merkel yesterday, talking down to us like we're some sort of provincial colony:

Merkel to UK: Forget ‘illusion’ you’ll keep EU benefits post-Brexit
Source: RT | https://www.rt.com/uk/386342-merkel-brexit-benefits-illusions/

Britain is harboring “illusions” that it will retain most of its rights and privileges once it leaves the EU, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, laying down a hard line for Brexit talks.

Addressing her parliament ahead of this weekend’s EU summit, at which European leaders from the remaining 27 countries will formally adopt Brexit negotiation guidelines, Merkel pledged the bloc would put its interests first and manage the negotiations in its chosen way.

'Some people in Great Britain still have illusions,' says Angela Merkel about Brexit talks. Read more: https://t.co/BS5dGXupfSpic.twitter.com/Fx1lJJn1W7
— Financial Times (@FT) April 27, 2017

In her toughest message on Brexit to date, she said the UK cannot have the same rights as member states nor negotiate trade relations before agreeing to pay its divorce bill. She said European leaders are heading into the talks with a firm sense of unity.

“Countries with a third country status – and that’s what Great Britain will be – cannot and will not have the same or even more rights as a member of the European Union. All 27 member states and the European institutions agree on this.

“Ladies and gentleman, you may think that all this is self-evident. But I have to put this so clearly because I get the impression that some in Great Britain still have illusions about this, and that is a waste of time.”

Merkel said it made “no sense” to negotiate a future UK-EU relationship without agreement on the UK’s financial commitments to the EU, while also hinting that parallel discussions could be possible once questions about budget contributions had been satisfied.

“We can only make a deal about Britain’s future relationship to the EU once all questions about the terms of its exit can be clarified to a satisfying degree.

“That means the sooner the British government is prepared to find constructive solutions, the sooner we can engage with their desire to already talk during the exit negotiations about the future relationship between the UK and the EU. But first we need to know how Great Britain sees its future relationship with us.”

EU officials estimate that the UK faces a bill of €60bn ($65bn). UK politicians have said the government will not pay a sum of that size.

Merkel also argued the EU could not afford to concentrate only on Brexit in the face of global challenges such as free trade and climate change. These were “too big for Europe to be able to afford to focus on itself for the next two years, regardless of Brexit,” she said.

“We will conduct these negotiations in a fair and constructive way and we expect exactly the same from the British side.”