princess of wales has the princess of wales has written a very open and honest and personal letter to the nation, and i'm going to read it out on her behalf. it reads i have been blown away by all the kind messages of support and encouragement over the last couple of months . it really has couple of months. it really has made the world of difference to william and me, and has helped us both through some of the harder times. i am making good progress, but as anyone going through chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days . on those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body. resting but on the good days when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well. my treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months on the next. on the days i feel well enough. it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home. i'm looking forward to attending the king's birthday

parade this weekend with my family , and hopes to join a few family, and hopes to join a few pubuc family, and hopes to join a few public engagements over the summer . but public engagements over the summer. but equally, knowing i am not out of the woods yet , i am not out of the woods yet, i am not out of the woods yet, i am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty taking each day as it comes , taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal. thank you so much for your continued understanding and to all of you who have so bravely shared your stories with me. a letter from her royal highness the princess of wales, kensington palace is also released. this new photograph, which you could just see just then on your screen, it was taken earlier this week in the grounds of windsor castle. hopefully we can get it back up for you. there we go, by the photographer matt porteous and independent photographer. there it shows the princess, for those of you listening on the radio, stood by a lake on the windsor estate. kind of propped up,

leaning against the tree. she's wearing jeans and a casual blazer and looking up, i suppose, towards the sky, isn't she? suppose, towards the sky, isn't she.7 emily suppose, towards the sky, isn't she? emily but this is clearly very good news. i think it's a very good news. i think it's a very positive. we should see this as a very positive step, that we're going to see the princess on an official public engagement the first time since christmas day last year that we've officially seen her on the pubuc we've officially seen her on the public engagement . but a note of public engagement. but a note of caution this is not the princess returning to a full schedule of pubuc returning to a full schedule of public engagements. kensington palace always said when she was diagnosed with cancer that she may choose to attend certain engagements as and when she feels up to it. and as she said in her letter, she had it has good days and bad days. but in terms of what we're expecting tomorrow, it's not just a balcony appearance, which clearly has been speculated about. she is expected to be riding in a carriage alongside her three children prince george, princess charlotte and prince louis. she will be watching the king's birthday parade. from the wellington office at horseguards parade, and she will then appear on the

balcony . so very good news indeed. >> yes, this is very good news. an absolutely beautiful photo that they've shared with us. the palace and a very heartfelt message. talking. speaking of the bad days, she's had , the bad days, she's had, speaking of the good days she's had, speaking of all the messages that people have written to her and shared her, people who are experiencing the same at this very moment. >> yeah, and i understand buckingham palace and kensington palace have received literally thousands of letters and messages from all over the world wishing the princess all the best and a number of people, i'm told, have written to the princess about their own personal experiences of cancer, and i'm told she's incredibly touched by those messages. and she alluded to that in the last line of her letter saying she has. thank you so much for those who have bravely shared your stories with me. we have also heard in the last few minutes from a spokesperson from his majesty the king, at buckingham palace, as well. i will just get

that. we have it. >> we have it here. actually, cameron, if you want to, if you want to read it. >> there we go. oh, perfect. so his majesty is delighted. that's. the princess is able to attend tomorrow's events and is much looking forward to all elements of the day. now, of course, the king's birthday parade, funnily enough, is all about the king. but i think this year this shows the really good relationship between the princess of wales and his majesty the king. i understands the princess has spoken to the king about all of this as well, and he's clearly given his blessing. i think for the princess to choose the trooping the colour as the first time we're going to see her in public and although the weather looks, let's say, abysmal, the weather forecast tomorrow, i think there's going to be lots of cheers up the mall and by buckingham palace. >> well, cameron, that's that's one of the points here, isn't it. >> not just a wonderful message from the princess of wales herself, written herself to share with the nation. but this will be very exciting for a lot of royal fans , a lot of british of royal fans, a lot of british people who've been deeply worried, been so worried about the princess of wales. as you said, it's been months and

months since we've seen her in a pubuc months since we've seen her in a public engagement. yeah, it absolutely has. >> and the social media speculation has just been appalling, to be honest. quite really, really ramping up. and i think this hopefully is going to put a lot of these horrible conspiracy theories to bed when we see the princess of wales tomorrow in central london in front of thousands of people. i do understand that 10 downing street and the cabinet office, as well as the leaders of the opposition , have all been opposition, have all been informed about the princess's decision far in advance. and the princess, of course, is colonel of the irish guards. and tomorrow it is the irish guards who will be trooping the colour on horse guards parade. but she's not going to be attending. perhaps as a colonel of the irish guards in this in this instance, because she's going to be in the office, which former office of the duke of wellington. instead it's going to be lieutenant general james bucknall , who will be taking the bucknall, who will be taking the salute on her behalf. so it's baby steps back to royal duties, but not a full return to public life. >> but this is a big step and

royal fans, they'll be looking forward to seeing that moment out on the balcony, that moment watching the raf fly past overhead. that is what everyone will be looking for. that is where we get those wonderful photographs . photographs. >> yes, absolutely. >> yes, absolutely. >> it's the yearly tradition. it's the staple of perhaps of the royal calendar, where you see kind of who's in and who's out in terms of members of the royal family and how favourable they are with the monarch, which is why over the last few years, it's just been working members of the royal family on the balcony. and i think if the princess hadn't been there tomorrow because of her health, it would have been quite upsetting, i think perhaps to a lot of people. but the fact that the princess is expected to be on the balcony with her children, with prince william, with the king, queen, duke and duchess of edinburgh and the rest of the working royals. i think it's going to be a very solid, stable image, a symbol of the strength of the british monarchy and its future as well, with the different generations. >> absolutely. >> absolutely. >> and you know what, cameron, with all this election campaigning going on, the

general election, politics, politics, politics non—stop, this is a fantastic piece of news. we're going to be seeing princess catherine tomorrow. she'll be taking part in trooping the colour. we'll see her on the balcony. so joining us now to discuss this further to get his reaction is former bbc royal correspondent michael cole. michael wonderful news to start the weekend . start the weekend. >> yes. good evening emily. good evening cameron . excellent news, evening cameron. excellent news, in fact, better than might have been expected. i was fully prepared for her, perhaps to make a surprise appearance on the balcony. but it's much better than that. she'll be in the carriage and she'll witness the carriage and she'll witness the whole sovereign's parade. and it's good. emily on three counts. as cameron has said, catherine is the colonel of the irish guards, and the second battalion of the irish guards will be trooping their colour tomorrow. secondly, it will reassure the british public, who have been rightly concerned about her and have written, as you've said, in their hundreds

and thousands, to buckingham palace and kensington palace expressing their concern. and thirdly, it's scotches all the vile, mad, crazy rumours which have swirled around the world. we will not dignify them by repeating them or hinting about them on this excellent channel, but it does give the resounding answer. and you know what, emily? she can do it all without saying a word. she doesn't have to speak. her presence will say everything. she's made it clear in this excellent message she's written herself. of course she's written herself. of course she's written it herself. she said she was blown away. well, that's hardly royal language , but it's hardly royal language, but it's something that everybody understands. she's blown away by the public reaction, and she's not out of the woods. but from that wonderful photograph of standing against an ivy clad , standing against an ivy clad, oak tree, it looked like that. like an oak tree to me . oak tree, it looked like that. like an oak tree to me. i oak tree, it looked like that. like an oak tree to me . i mean, like an oak tree to me. i mean, she looks, much better than some

of these terrible stories would have led you to believe. so three cheers. it's going to be a great, occasion tomorrow. it's one of the standout royal events of the year. and i'm sure the king, who always talks about my dearest daughter in law , will be dearest daughter in law, will be delighted that she's there with her three children. so, cheers. all round. great news to start a lovely weekend. and here's the king saying how delighted he is. and i'm quite sure we're delighted for him and all the members of the royal family, particularly prince william, who i'm sure has found the last. >> yes, there we go from buckingham palace . his majesty buckingham palace. his majesty is delighted that the princess of wales will be there for the event, michael, just quickly , event, michael, just quickly, should we read anything into the fact that, this . oh. michael's fact that, this. oh. michael's gone. okay. cameron. the picture, outside in nature. what does that tell us? does that tell us anything? >> well, i think she enjoys

nature, doesn't she? she's all about mental well—being. the princess of wales really champions mental health, and she does champion particularly early years and young people. and the importance of getting outdoors. i think it was just a lovely spot. perhaps a private spot for the photograph on the windsor estate. of course, she's been asking for privacy throughout all of this time. having her cancer diagnosis and her preventative chemotherapy. michael mentioned there how the prince must be feeling. i can tell you how the prince is feeling, actually, because a spokesperson for kensington palace has said the prince is pleased to see the princess starting to engage with work and projects that are important to her. projects that are important to hen he projects that are important to her. he will continue to focus his time on supporting his wife and children, while continuing to undertake his public duties. he of course, will also be at trooping the colour as colonel of the welsh guards, who will be riding a horse. >> the princess, he'll be horseback. >> he will be on horseback as colonel of the welsh guards. i'll let you know tomorrow if you watch gb news and our trooping the colour special. which horse he's riding. but we don't have that information yet. but the princess has started doing little bits of work at home in windsor, so she's been

holding meetings with her official team when she feels able to. and she's also been being briefed on her various projects. early years. the royal foundation and so on. so she hasn't perhaps gone on public engagements , but she is starting engagements, but she is starting to do work as and when she feels able to. but like i said, it's not a full return to public dufies not a full return to public duties yet. >> wonderful. well, joining us now is royal commentator richard fitzwilliams, richard , this fitzwilliams, richard, this wonderful personal message from the princess of wales, give us your reaction. >> well, i was absolutely thrilled. and i think that, this is something that's wonderful, that's in fact, going to bring a lot of joy. and there's absolutely no question if you look at that photograph, i was fascinated by her pose, you know, because it's the tilt of the head. you see, the way she's looking and you see somebody who's got a certain inner strength, a resilience. and i think that is so important because what we see in the

letter, and i mean, i thought it was deeply moving . i felt her was deeply moving. i felt her video message, towards the end of march was, in fact, the most sensitive and the most moving thing, of its kind ever made by a public figure in, in britain. and i think this is showing is somebody who realised that by spreading the word of how difficult it is because that letters is quite a tough read , letters is quite a tough read, she can also do a great deal of good having said that, we absolutely rejoice in this because it's wonderful news. i thought i was hoping she'd be on the balcony . i didn't think the balcony. i didn't think she'd be able to make the parade, but now we know differently. >> well, it's fantastic and, i must say that we're getting a lot of messages in from our viewers. mary says wonderful news. the princess of wales is feeling up to attending trooping the colour. i hope she doesn't push herself too much to be involved with too many engagements over the summer. the

palace haven't said haven't specified which events she'll be taking part in, but we do know she'll be there tomorrow . so she'll be there tomorrow. so lisa says, how brave and wonderful trudy asks. i wonder what outfit she'll be wearing and trudy, i must admit i was thinking the very same . richard, thinking the very same. richard, what colour do you suspect ? what colour do you suspect? >> i suspect it might well have something to do as colonel of the irish guards with, ireland. so, i mean, would one have a shamrock green or would indeed the order of saint patrick's? could it be blue? i that's where my bet would lie with two colours. but what also , i think colours. but what also, i think very significant is that i think she will look as she always has absolute perfection. and what's so significant, of course, is that these photographs so and the footage will go wide . i the footage will go wide. i mean, this will be the monarchy has been very, very severely weakened by the serious illness as we all know, of king charles and the princess of wales, that

this we've seen how the king is attended so many engagements. i mean this tremendously good news and also absolutely cachet to the parade that's, you know, this this really will make it's the feeling of joy. she talked in that video message of how joyous her public life was to her. and tomorrow, may it be the start of a great deal more. yes. >> and you know what, richard? i think we need a bit of joy in this country every now and again. and this is something that can unite most of us in our nation, cameron walker, i'm going to bring you back in just to repeat the statement. the personal message from the princess. >> yes. >> yes. >> so for those of you who are just tuning in, we have received a statement from the princess of wales. she is confirming that she is going to be attending trooping the colour tomorrow in london with the rest of the royal family, and she said she hopes to join a few public engagements over the summer as she continues treatments for cancer for a few more months.

she says she's making good progress and has good days and bad days , as any cancer patient bad days, as any cancer patient will tell you, is what she says, adding i am not out of the woods yet, so it's not a full return to public engagements, i must stress, but this is a very positive sign that she is starting to get back to normal and i like the line where she says i'm learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty , and that's uncertainty, and that's something i think everyone can empathise with. >> it's terribly difficult to be patient when there's so much uncertainty and with health matters makes it even worse. >> absolutely and understandably, kensington palace are not going into any further details as to exactly what treatments or what the progress is of the princess of wales , other than to say she is wales, other than to say she is still continuing preventative chemotherapy . i think when we chemotherapy. i think when we got the video message from her in march explaining her cancer diagnosis, one of the lines in that was, it's taken time for me and my family to come to terms with this diagnosis because

she's only in her early, she's very young and clearly the whole country was rattling around her as well and was really championing her. so it's just good to see you. but she's back in action or will be tomorrow. >> absolutely. thank you very much, cameron. now my panel have been patiently waiting here. we have paul scully and sean simon with us this evening, paul, i'll start with you now, as i'm sure you're aware, there has been all sorts of sorts of speculation over the princess of wales health. where is she? why isn't she at public engagement or why pubuc she at public engagement or why public engagement ? this is the public engagement? this is the news that people have been waiting for. we are going to see her in the flesh tomorrow at the trooping the colour. >> yeah, i think it's fantastic news. it's. it does give the lift that you were talking about because we've got the general election, which is pretty depressing when you hear some of the debates and all the stories they're saying, one's more negative than the other. we've got the world situation at the moment in gaza, ukraine, etc. andifs moment in gaza, ukraine, etc. and it's just nice to have a bit of good news. and it's also

insurance in case the boys don't actually bring the football home. well, yes, best of luck to scotland tonight. i was of course talking about england, but it's the photo there. i thought, you know, looking up, looking forward was positive. the prince and princess came down to the royal marsden to open the cancer centre there in my former constituency , as i'm my former constituency, as i'm not standing again, just a few years ago, i'm, you know, obviously there's no way she would have known at the time that she's going to need the services of the top, consultants in the country just those few months afterwards. so it's great news. >> yes . >> yes. >> yes. >> and, sean, this is the lift. this is a lift for a lot of people in this country who will be watching that engagement tomorrow, wondering. there's been all sorts of speculation about whether she will be there, whether she'll be taking part, what role she'll play, whether we won't see her at all. and now we won't see her at all. and now we know, the kensington palace have told us she will, in fact, be there. she'll be there on the balcony for all to see. >> it is fantastic news. you have had a string of, >> it is fantastic news. you have had a string of , celebrity have had a string of, celebrity royal experts opining on every

level of this. i do not claim to be a royal expert as they are, but i was in i was in america last week with at a conference of, legal academics, sober technical people , and all they technical people, and all they wanted to talk about was the princess and the royal family. really? so it's not even just people here. it's people all over the world. will will be very interested in this news and great news. >> oh, absolutely. this is news that travels far beyond the united kingdom, isn't it, paul? >> absolutely. and i think she's she's very professional, by the way. you're asking what colour she's going to be, but she'll be avoiding party colours tomorrow if she's wearing light blue. >> oh gosh. >> oh gosh. >> yes. then you're talking about reform later on. if she's wearing light blue, then we really do have to worry. >> there are so many parties that kind of narrows it down, doesn't it? >> yeah, absolutely. but the royal family is very much what london and the uk are known for. people come to tours when i'm out in westminster, people are asking where buckingham palace is. they're looking at the various palaces and the palace of westminster, buckingham palace and they're really excited. this is this is a big

draw for the uk. so to have this kind of good news that does go around the world, well good stuff. >> well join us tomorrow morning for a very special program. we've got andrew pierce and also ellie costello presenting live coverage of trooping the colour from 10 am. tomorrow morning here on gb news. we do this stuff so well on this channel, so make sure you tune in from 10:00 for that . but next we're 10:00 for that. but next we're going to shift a little bit back to the politics on dewbs& co can reform uk keep up the momentum. nigel farage was speaking a little earlier today. can he you know, run with this momentum. we shall see. stay tuned

welcome back. this is dewbs& co with me. emily carver this evening. now, keeping me company until 7:00 is the former

conservative mp paul scully and former labour mp shaun simon. welcome to the show or welcome back. now, just a couple of views from you, some of your comments just before we get into the politics, janet says how lovely that the princess will be on the balcony tomorrow. just the lift that the nation needs right now, adrian says very much so, emily. it will for be great the people to see the princess back. and good to hear some good news for a change. and andrew says, what a fantastic picture of kate. she looks fantastic. we wish her continued good health and great times to come. yes, she certainly is very photogenic, but also she's looking. she's looking better, isn't she? she's looking quite a bit better. so this is wonderful news that perhaps we, we needed anyway to go through today's political events. we're joined now by gb news political editor christopher hope . christopher, christopher hope. christopher, you've been extremely busy. this is the first time i've seen you in person, i think for a little while, because you've been all over the country on this battle bus, that battle bus. i guess the story of today is reform .

the story of today is reform. nigel farage had there had his, press conference. i guess the question that everyone wants to know the answer to is will their popularity turn into seats? >> the answer is probably no , >> the answer is probably no, certainly not the number you might expect given the scale of support for reform at the moment. we spoke earlier on gb news to martin baxter from an electoral calculus . he thinks electoral calculus. he thinks that the numbers are quite extraordinary. if reform gets maybe 30% of the vote, they might get 30 seats, which is you'd expect that kind of level would be hundreds of seats. >> so i think what you'd have to get 30% to get around 30 seats. >> wow. that's right. i made a quick note of what you're saying. it was on martin daubney show that the scale of a challenge for a challenger party who has no idea where the support is, the reason why that is, is reform is equally supported across the country , supported across the country, whereas the lib dems tunnel down into certain areas and build up a support in certain key areas.

yes yes. so that's why that's, i think, a challenge facing nigel farage may be facing us all, probably as a country on july the 5th. three weeks a day is if reform does become the second party in the polls and then wins 6 million votes. as nigel farage told me today in that press conference at 1:00 and then gets two or 3 or 4 mps and then the tories are third and they get 20 times that many, maybe 100 mps. what does that mean about our system? and it might and how farage treats that apparent disconnect between voting and seat numbers is his mini trump moment, when he's got to say , do moment, when he's got to say, do i go all in and say, this is not democracy ? or do i just try and democracy? or do i just try and tunnel my way again into the tory party and take over that party? he wouldn't deny several times today that he may want to leave the tory party one day. >> yes . >> yes. >> yes. >> well. and am i right in thinking that labour, the labour party, have previously spoken quite a bit about potentially maybe changing, the way we vote

and the way the system works? they won't want to do that, though, if they get a supermajority, as some are suggesting i bring you. >> i bring you gifts from my, my, my week on the road. the tory party manifesto. lib dems, labourin tory party manifesto. lib dems, labour in the labour manifesto . labour in the labour manifesto. there's nothing about proportional representation and why should they be? the parties on set for a three figure majority ? why on earth would you majority? why on earth would you want to change the rules? >> would you mess with it? >> would you mess with it? >> well, why would you, we have we have, of course. certainly 18 months ago at the, at the labour conference when the polls were much tighter or is all about the deal you with lib dems to be in power and lib dems want, proportional representation, as does the reform uk . we'll hear does the reform uk. we'll hear more from reform uk on monday when they unveil their manifesto. >> we get to see it a manifesto on monday from reform, sean simon, let me bring you in on this one, reform a threat to the conservatives? sure. also a threat to labour in some seats,

no, not not not really. no, there are they're a threat to there are they're a threat to the conservatives and i think what will happen is that the reform will get probably no seats, maybe one. nigel will either be the mp in clacton or he won't be. they obviously will get a significant number of votes. they're not really going to come second, but they'll get a lot of votes. and the conservative party after the election will be without a leader. and if nigel joins the conservative party and runs to be leader, he will win. and that's the that's the game changen that's the that's the game changer. that's that's what reform does. it's not about reform does. it's not about reform becoming the second party in british politics. it's about nigel farage becoming leader of the conservative party, which could be a matter of weeks away. >> when asked paul is paul is shaking his head. >> oh, sorry, i'll bring you in. >> oh, sorry, i'll bring you in. >> when asked, yes. >> when asked, yes. >> so when asked that very question, sean, he just said boring. boring boring. he saw that as a kind of westminster

bubble response to his popularity. he believes that reform uk is the big challenge of brands over a six year period. >> he knows as well as i do that that's not not the case and not going to happen, he knows that the conservative party's been there forever and it's going to be there forever and remains the opposition. he also knows that it's a it's an almost broken party that will be without any kind of leadership, not just without any leadership, but with no sense of direction. right to be taken over and controlled by the very clever and political nigel farage is that so, paul scully? >> no, no. i mean, the thing is about nigel farage, you know, he he has done a, an amazing job in terms of just getting into the zeitgeist of the country . but he zeitgeist of the country. but he is a one man front man showman , is a one man front man showman, kind of figure rather than, working out how to lead a party. he can he can build a brand. where is it a threat to us? yes, it is, because if you look at the j.l. poll, i think that was the j.l. poll, i think that was the jail partnership's poll that came out last week. they

actually did a flow chart about where the votes, the 2019 votes are going and actually shows that around half of the votes that around half of the votes that are leaving the conservative party at the moment are going towards reform, and about half of them are going the other way, going to labour and lib dem. so if we lurch one way or another, you lose the other lot anyway. so just this thing that's saying there's some panacea by doing a deal with reform, you know, whether nigel farage or not, is, is, you know, not just is not practical . not just is not practical. >> if you add 18% for reform against 17 for the tories and that yougov poll overnight, you get to 35. but i think what what labour are on. so you deal with the problem straight away with that, with that deal you sort out the right. >> no because you don't you don't hold to on the votes that some of the votes that we've got, because you'll have more people drifting off towards the left, from that. so that doesn't work. you know, that's not a perfect, perfect summer, unfortunately. but, you know, i think the point is we do need to have that conversation after the election to as to which way we 90, election to as to which way we go, but we need to do it in a steady way and take people take the party with us. he can't just

take over the party, by the way, because it doesn't just go straight to the members. the mps have got a vote and clearly it depends on which mps are left. are they more one nation tories who wouldn't vote for nigel farage or are they? are they more erg into the right of the party and sean, if labour do win and if they win big, that's what the polls are suggesting, at least for now. >> if they win big, they're going to inherit the same problems that the conservative lives are trying to deal with at the moment. it could be that the honeymoon period, if there is one, is very short. >> they're they're going to inherit terrible problems , and inherit terrible problems, and they have, they boxed themselves in before they knew how much they seem likely to win by. they bought themselves in in terms of taxation, in terms of, borrowing it with respect to what they can do, their ability to, to to, fix problems on any major level is going to be incredibly constrained, so yes, the

honeymoon will be very, very short . and their approach to short. and their approach to that, you can see from their election manifesto, which uniquely had no new no new policy, no, no new promises. it's never happened before. and you can see that's the beginning of a process of them saying to people, we're not going to be able to do very much. you're going to have to give us time and you're going to in brackets, you're going to have to elect us again. >> and paul, one of the difficulties, i think , the difficulties, i think, the conservatives have, and do correct me if i'm wrong on this, is i think depending on who you talk to within the conservative party, they think the problem is different. yeah. why that's true are going to reform, why people are going to reform, why people are rejecting to the conservatives some think the conservatives some think the conservatives should be adopting more reform policies. for example, all the trust lost when it comes to immigration policy. others think, oh no, don't go down. the populist route. the conservatives need to find that answer and agree on it. >> they do. and clearly they're

not going to find that this side of the election. so i think, you know, if nigel farage wins clacton, for example, but they don't win any other seats, that i'm not entirely sure that he gets any short money and he will be an independent. so he'll be a one man person. i don't think so. 50. >> so. >> so it's highest number of votes. >> so he will still be, you know, on his own shouting from the outside. and we've seen that from caroline lucas. you know she had a long time in parliament. but was only able to have a degree of influence. but the other thing about reform as well, of course, is that nigel farage is talking without being in power, without having to come up with workable solutions. so that limits that, that limits him. but it also gives him the space to be able to pretty well be that showman and say what he wants to be. he wouldn't be able to do that if he was actually in a position of power. >> farage is he's he's great at opposing. yeah. he's not good at maybe governing. he's never governed anything in his life properly. and he's always existed against something else. and i think when we see his policy platform on monday, that's when both parties will start really tearing into, well, he certainly put his hat in the

ring. >> andrew said he'd rather, andrew's got in touch. he says he'd rather see farage sparring with starmer at the despatch box than rishi sunak. i should quickly tell you about what others have been doing very quickly, very quickly, very briefly. ed davey had a quiet day. keir starmer said he's going to be tough on nimbys who oppose, pylons he wants. oh yes, that's a big issue in norfolk. i think i've seen, the shadow chancellor has been backing their pylons to march across parts of norfolk that's been opposed by communities. so one of the big battles over next five years, if labour win, will be getting britain building again infrastructure and that'll be fought. boris johnson column just dropped . he says we are just dropped. he says we are walking into an elective dictatorship , which is a line dictatorship, which is a line used in the past, to provide to a describe a government with a massive majority. >> and that's what, sir geoffrey cox was saying, to me, i think it was yesterday, the one state, one social, one party state. that was his words , interesting that was his words, interesting message to put across , we should message to put across, we should mention the candidates for the clacton constituency because,

sean mentioned clacton, so we must read them out . we've got must read them out. we've got jovan owusu, nepal for the labour party. giles watling for the conservative party. matthew bensalem, liberal democrats , bensalem, liberal democrats, nigel farage, reform uk, natasha osbourne, green party craig jamieson, climate party, tony mac, independent. tasos papanastasiou, heritage party and andrew pemberton for ukip. lots of candidates to choose for in the clacton to choose from in the clacton constituency. right. we're going to have more political analysis. up next. stay with us. keep your views coming in. get to them this.

okay. welcome back to dewbs& co. it's 638 on your friday evening. lots of you getting in touch about the conversation. we were just having. a cliff. has taken issue with you, sean. he says you're too confident and almost

arrogant that reform are not a threat. he says just wait and see. morag says, how do you know farage wouldn't be any good at leading chopper? yes, christopher hope said, perhaps he's better at, you know, making these big speeches, but not leading. who knows, and cassie says two weeks in politics is a long time. the tories are going to get crushed. so there you go. and john has mentioned that the uk is going left when the united states and all of europe are going right, which will make us the odd ones out. that is an interesting point actually. how will keir starmer, as a potential prime minister of this country, how will he get along with all these right wing leaders in europe? although we don't know the result of the us election, of course, but we're going to move on to something a bit more fun, perhaps because, it's the euro's kicking off this evening and people have been pointing out the price of beer in this country is absolutely obscene . and guess why? because obscene. and guess why? because of beer duty. because it is

taxed so much. paul, did you know that the beer duty on pints in this country is 54.2 p compared for that to spain? 4.8 p so do the maths. it's a lot of tax we're paying on a pint. >> that is a lot of tax. and actually if i know sean you don't drink if you have no alcohol or low alcohol lager the price difference isn't that different. it's not 50% different, is it? it probably ought to be, but no, you know, i was the hospitality minister dunng was the hospitality minister during covid. i brought together the hospitality industry to try and co—create solutions together to for the not just to bounce back from covid, but actually have, have, pubs and hospitality sector really start to thrive and so much of that is about the tax that businesses have to pay, whether it's the business rates on their on the pubs, often the part of a chain, and so they don't get the small business relief, all duty on beer as well. we want to make sure that pubs. i'm in london so actually,

you know, if i don't want any pub to close, but there'll always be another one within a few hundred yards if you're in a rural village or something like that. the pub still is the hub of that village. and so we've got to protect pubs and we can do it through duty on beer. >> is there a sadder sight than seeing a pub that's been there for decades, if not centuries, boarded up ? why can't the boarded up? why can't the government cut these taxes? i mean, look at this, france. it's only 19. netherlands, 18, italy, 17. austria, 11. slovakia eight. romania five. the worst thing is why are we so special that we need to put. >> the worst thing is. emily. actually, we have cut the beer duty quite a bit, so those figures would have been even more stark a little while ago. we could have been tried to work on that. yeah, absolutely. you know, there's a there's a pub boarded up in my place, which some people are saying was a good thing, that they've got a car wash there. you know, one of these, one of these random car washes, a car wash because it will sort out the security in the pub. i mean, crikey, we've

got to that. we really are in a sad state about pubs. >> i mean, sean, after the pandemic, where pubs had to shut their doors, i had a local pub near me and they were doing everything they possibly could to make money within all the rules and regulations. they had a sort of a drive by where you could pick up a pint in a plastic, cup. they were even doing little takeaway frozen margaritas to take with you. pub landlords are trying to do everything they can to keep their doors open, and we outrageous. we have the highest beer duty in europe . beer duty in europe. >> i agree that it's outrageous and ridiculous , unfortunately, and ridiculous, unfortunately, notwithstanding that, it's been frozen a bit. not not cut, but frozen a bit. not not cut, but frozen for 3 or 4 years, this is never going to change. is it? like governments, not tory governments, not labour governments, not labour governments , not even nigel beer governments, not even nigel beer drinker. farage's reform government governments do not significant cut, a duty like this . this. >> it's an easy way to hide a tax take, isn't it? it's. >> it's never , ever going to

>> it's never, ever going to happen. >> and they hide behind our politicians and correct me if i'm wrong, but to me, our politicians hide behind the pubuc politicians hide behind the public health argument. paul. yeah. for example , in scotland, yeah. for example, in scotland, with all these additional taxes on alcohol , with all these additional taxes on alcohol, because to try and combat alcoholism and problem drinking. but the problem is it doesn't actually do that. >> of course it does. >> of course it does. >> no, the minimum people with who are problem drinkers will continue to buy booze. they'll just find cheaper. the problem is, over the last couple of decades, government has been expanding its remit. >> and so it's going now into the bigger government's going into the nanny state. minimum alcohol pricing, as you rightly say in scotland, that they brought in, you know, the sugar tax and other things as well, looking after. just let us trust ourselves, give us education. so we're educating people, but let us make our own decisions . us make our own decisions. >> well, why didn't you tell, you know, boris johnson and everyone that well, this is what i was trying to do. >> chief nanny state as hospitality minister was trying to do exactly that. >> it did feel like, you know, when boris johnson went on his health kick, he, he, he indulged the public health lobby a little bit too much. sean, where do you

stand on the old nanny state then. >> so i'm opposed to the nanny state. i'm definitely i'm definitely at the libertarian end of the labour spectrum. and i do think that we should separate out the, the health question from the tax question , question from the tax question, but i also do think so. i don't dnnk but i also do think so. i don't drink , i don't drink, i haven't drink, i don't drink, i haven't drunk for 20 years because i used to drink all the time. well, congratulations. >> that's no easy feat. but we should actually be having a grown up, sensible conversation about the way that we drink as country. >> i completely agree about pubs. i live in the countryside now where the, you know, the local pub is a really important part of the community, but that doesn't mean that alcohol is a is a, is a is a pure good thing or and that's all it is. there are there are a lot of problems there are attached. >> absolutely. there are, just quickly my producer in my ear has said we have some footage of

something to show. is that right 7 something to show. is that right ? yes. no, maybe. but some statistics that are. here we go . statistics that are. here we go. here are the crowds in munich getting ready for that match tonight. how will scotland do? i mean, i'm i've got scottish family, so i'm rooting for scotland. up until the point where it's scotland beat england. then i will have to go further. england. there you go. i'm not sure what this chap is doing here, but he looks, excited. but there you go . the excited. but there you go. the tartan army, the tartan army, 200,000. apparently football fans from scotland, arriving in munich . munich. >> no way. >> no way. >> what's the duty in germany? >> what's the duty in germany? >> the duty in germany? well, it says here that the united kingdom pays 12 times more beer tax than germany, which is crazy, germany. i don't know exactly how much p, but it must be something like £0.05. >> fortunately for the germans, the scots scotch, scottish drink 12 times as much. >> yes. so they'll make up the last change.

>> but if you look at all those countries that are paying much, much less for their alcohol, you'll find that the rate of alcohol related problems in those countries is much, much less too. yes. and why is that? we need to understand that. and we need to fix both problems at the same time. >> scotland, particularly bad when it comes to drink deaths and they keep slapping these extra costs on beer and booze and whatever else, and it doesn't seem to be making a difference. but, let me know what you think. gbnews.com/yoursay i'll say we'll be reading some messages very soon indeed, but coming up, we'll be making a toast to the princess of wales. please do join us we open jewsbury's it is itisa it is a pub that's still

all right. well, thank you for joining me this evening on dewbs & co. i'm emily carver keeping me company still until 7:00. is the former conservative mp, paul scully. and the former labour mp

sean simon, now, if you're just joining at the start of this program, we received the quite brilliant news that the princess of wales, katherine, will be attending trooping the colour, tomorrow . so she'll be seen in tomorrow. so she'll be seen in pubuc tomorrow. so she'll be seen in public for the first time at a royal public engagement since before christmas. so it's been months and months and months that we haven't seen her. there's been huge speculation about her health. and will we see her? won't we see her? she sent that message, didn't she, a few months ago when she was in her garden, looking a little bit weary. so it's fantastic news that she will be there tomorrow. we'll see her there on the balcony at buckingham palace when the raf have their fly—past. there she is, looking up into the sky out there on the windsor estate. i believe it is. and she's just perched, leaning back on that tree trunk there in nature, in a rather smart casual outfit. i'd say so. there she is. a bit more colour in her

cheeks. so lovely news from kensington palace. she it was accompanied by a lovely personal message where she spoke about how well she thanked everyone essentially for their continued understand ing and all of those who've shared their stories with her and how much she's appreciated all the support and encouragement . and there's been encouragement. and there's been a lot of support and encouragement coming from the inbox , that's for sure, june inbox, that's for sure, june says brilliant news, fabulous photo of her, david says yes, wonderful. pick me up . great wonderful. pick me up. great news from our palace, marlene. so happy about the news. catherine being at trooping of the colour i am buzzing. she says. i've been through cancer myself. it's not easy. she looks good. what a fab photo. yes, i'm sure some of you will be able to empathise with what she's going through at the moment. she spoke about how she has some good days, but she has a lot of bad days, but she has a lot of bad days, too. so it's about being patient at times of uncertainty, particularly when it comes to health matters , but yes, a drink health matters, but yes, a drink has appeared because it is jubes tavern , paula and sean, so tavern, paula and sean, so cheers. let's do a nice cheer.

come on. there's so much doom and gloom in the world. and this is lovely news. so cheers . is lovely news. so cheers. cheers. cheers. >> cheers. cheers. >> cheers. cheers. >> cheers. cheers. >> cheers. oh, yes. >> why not? you've got a guinness. yeah. there you go. a little bit more healthy over here, sean, but yes. really really lovely. because regardless of what side you are when it comes to politics, whatever party you support, whatever party you support, whatever you're voting for, this is the sort of thing that you know what? no one can you be mean about. no one could be nasty about paul. it's just nice news. >> absolutely. you know, i think i'm not sure the nation's blood pressure can take the next two weeks of a general election when everyone's saying, you know, rishi saying, you know , doom and rishi saying, you know, doom and gloom when the labour party get in, labour party saying, well, let's get rid of the tories. it's all about negativity. >> it is. >> it is. >> but what actually, i took from the letter that the princess of wales had there was a sense of hope. it's not just her personal hope and aspiration for her recovery, but it's actually sharing with other people. if you're in a

situation, you can get out of it. that's that's the positivity i like and that's what i'm drinking too. >> and sean, i don't know what your views are on the royal family, but this is the sort of thing that can actually unite people a little bit. >> you know, as you said, no right thinking decent person could be anything other than pleased. and feel, warm and warm and happy about it. and i it's one of those many occasions where it's useful to be welsh . i where it's useful to be welsh. i said, as we as we say, which means good health. >> yoshida. >> yoshida. >> yoshida. >> oh, there we go. are you fluent in welsh? of course you are. >> i'm not fluent. no, but i'm getting more fluent all the time. >> getting more fluent? really yeah. wow. okay, there you go. can you speak any welsh , paul, ho. 110. >> no. >> no, i do know yoshida, but that's about all. >> yoshida. well there you go, but yes, the princess of wales will be tomorrow. and i should say that we're going to have a fantastic special show tomorrow. i believe it is with andrew pierce, who's not usually on at the weekends, and also ellie costello , who's did some

costello, who's did some fantastic coverage from the d—day commemorations over in normandy. and she'll be back tomorrow with andrew pierce taking you through everything that goes on with the trooping the colour. of course , we'll the colour. of course, we'll also be seeing the king. we'll be seeing the queen, camilla. we'll also be seeing prince william, who'll be on horseback as well. but catherine, we're expecting to see in a carriage. and also there on the balcony for the raf fly—past. so, wonderful news to begin the weekend, thank you very much for sharing it with us. sean simon and paul scully . fantastic job and paul scully. fantastic job this evening. and i wish everyone at home a fantastic weekend. whatever you're up to. maybe you're going down to buckingham palace to see all the celebrate asians there, but if not, have a wonderful, wonderful weekend. that's it from me. emily carver. this is dewbs& co >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on . gb

news. >> hello again and welcome to the latest forecast from the met office for gb news. further showers are expected over the next 24 hours and beyond with prolonged rain at times, but also some clear spells in between the downpours. low pressure is currently stationed to the west northwest of scotland and around that low we've got a gusty wind bringing frequent showers into much of the uk, but also some longer spells of rain. one such area of rain affecting northern scotland through the evening, and then another band of rain pushing into northern ireland, parts of wales and the southwest during the early hours. so a lively night to come with some heavy rain at times and that gusty wind, but some clear spells as well, and where we've got the clear spells, temperatures dipping into the single figures or even the mid single figures in some of the cooler spots. for example, central scotland. but for the north of scotland we keep the wet weather going on saturday morning, particularly for shetland. some outbreaks of rain there for orkney, but for much of the mainland of scotland

it's dry. best of the sunshine of the day will be in the morning on saturday. thicker cloud into southern scotland, northern england and this band of rain just affecting parts of northern ireland into the midlands , the south east as midlands, the south east as well. some heavy downpours before a mix of sunny spells and blustery showers push into south wales and the southwest of england that develops more widely across the uk. so really it's a case of bright spells and heavy showers out there on saturday afternoon. you certainly will need your umbrella at hand if you're heading out, even if it's sunny when you leave the house. but there will be some longer spells of rain, particularly for northwest england, southern scotland, for example. even some thunderstorms out there. so an unpleasant day for many places. highs of 17 or 18 celsius. sunday starts off a little brighter and drier across england and wales, scotland and northern ireland sees a band of rain push south that breaks up to become more of a showery feature into the afternoon. and in between the showers there will be some sunshine. once again a drying up trend, then into monday and tuesday with

fewer showers and a better chance of some sunshine. >> looks like things are heating up. boxt boilers sponsors of weather

gb news. >> good evening. it's 7 pm. on friday, the 14th of june. and this is gb news election special with me, christopher hope . with me, christopher hope. tonight we're talking manifestos . those pledges that have been made and what's also been left out . as importantly, the out. as importantly, the conservatives are promising to lower immigration, lower taxes and protect pensions . but is it and protect pensions. but is it too late and too little for

rishi sunak ? sir keir starmer rishi sunak? sir keir starmer stuck with his five missions for government. he set out last yean government. he set out last year, leading to criticism that it was a captain caution manifesto. sir ed davey took time away from the waterslides and theme parks to unveil a £94 billion a year package for the nhs and social care as a centrepiece of his plan and reform. uk's parliamentary broadcast message was clear. but what would could we expect from them when to release their pledges? probably on monday. i'm joined by the liberal democrats christine jardine, reform uk's rupert lowe and outgoing tory former tory mp. of course, sir john redwood . plus my studio john redwood. plus my studio guest, former tory party politician jo—anne nadler and labour party volunteer susie stride. a busy hour, but first the .