this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 8... labour's election manifesto has now been formally approved by the party leadership and will be published within days. jeremy corbyn says it contains policies that will be "very popular". an offer that will transform the lives of many people in our society and ensure that we have a government in britain onjune the 8th that will work for the many, not the few. president trump calls sacked fbi directorjames comey a "showboat" and "grandstander" saying he would have dismissed him even if officials had not recommended it. latest figures show waiting times in the nhs in england are the worst for five years. the bank of england has slightly downgraded its forecast for economic growth this year with a warning of a squeeze on consumer spending. and the final of the 62nd eurovision song contest takes place in ukraine this weekend. but will brexit hinder luciejones‘s chances of success in kiev? and in meet the author.

we hearfrom michel faber, whose new book of poems came about after his wife's death. good evening and welcome to bbc news. labour's election manifesto has been formally approved by the party leadership and is set to be launched within days. but some of the main parts of the manifesto have already found their way into the public domain, after a version of the document was leaked overnight. it included proposals to re—nationalise the railways, and to scrap university tuition fees in england. the shadow chancellor, john mcdonnell, said it was a "modern and progressive" set of proposals. the party leaderjeremy corbyn said the manifesto had

been unanimously agreed, and all its contents were carefully costed. they wondered what exactly was going on, and you might too. this was meant to be the grand unveiling of a labour poster, albeit on a waste ground in south london. but the party leader was nowhere to be seen. jeremy corbyn should have been selling the slogan. he'd been promised as top billing. but after the astonishing leak of a draft of labour's complete manifesto... we were told he had other things to do. where's mr corbyn? he was meant to be here. he was meant to be here, but things happened and mr corbyn is... dealing with internal matters. do you know who leaked your manifesto? mr corbyn‘s closest ally was promising great things. this is an extremely modern, progressive set of proposals. it is looking to the long term

future and most people get excited at what they have seen. the 45—page draft we have seen spells out plans to nationalise the railways, royal mail and parts of the energy industry, to abolish tuition fees in england, to restore some welfare benefits and scrap the bedroom tax and to provide £8 billion for social care. in a frenzy over who told the world... reporter: are you responsible for the leak? don't be silly. labour shadow ministers, officials and union bigwigs were due to arrive to sign it. we are here today to decide the final version and i'm sure it will be an exciting process that will attract as many voters as possible to the labour party. i am certain that ordinary labour voters want an increased minimum wage, the abolition of zero hour contracts, agency workers dealt with.

reporter: and nationalisation? of the railways. eventually, the leader sped in. inside, labour's top brass discussed tax rises for the wealthiest and big business, a ban on fracking, ending arms sales to saudi arabia, but no ban on nuclear weapons. and after four hours, it was eventually agreed, a plan described as the biggest intervention by the state since the 1970s. but is that how he sees it? i'm naturally to the centre, he says. but for how labour will pay for his grand plans, we will have to wait. we havejust concluded ourjoint meeting of the shadow cabinet and the national executive, and we have discussed our manifesto for the general election. our manifesto will be an offer, and we believe the policies in it are very popular, an offer that will transform the lives of many people in our society.

the details will be set out to you, including the costings of all the pledges and promises we make. but the national manifesto, this seeming chaos, for some of his candidates makes not much difference. listen to this. the tories are 20 points ahead in the polls. it is their manifesto people should focus on and seeing what they are doing in government. we labour mps are trying to save as many good labour mps as possible so that we have the semblance of an opposition afterjune the 8th. manifesto timing slip—ups aside, this is less radical thanjeremy corbyn and his core supporters might have wished. the task now is to persuade voters of its merits. ultimately, what matters is not the clamour over the leak, but what you make of what labour has to offer. sorry, can i get through? jeremy corbyn‘s hope is that the more people understand him, the more they will like.

his internal rivals in the labour party fear the opposite is true, and it's already been a bumpy journey. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are ayesha hazarika, and the conservative commentator, tim montgomerie. waiting times for a number of key nhs services in england were the worst in five years, according to analysis of figures for the year to the end of march. more people waited more than 4 hours to be seen in a&e, and cancer referral times also worsened. the think tank, the health foundation, compared the figures to five years ago. what it found is that for the whole of last year 2016—2017, 2.5 million patients waited longer than the four hour target in a&e. the figure five years ago wasjust over 700,000.

in terms of other targets, the target for cancer treatment is to be seen within two months, 62 days, 26,000 patients waited longer. compare that to 2011—12 when it was just over 14,000. our health correspondent, sophie hutchinson, explained how this feeds into the debate around funding. the nhs is treating more and more people. funding has to keep up with that. the bigger they have with baton it is funding has to increase by 4%. since 2010, funding has increased by around by [1%. since 2010, funding has increased by around 1%. the labour party today has said the failure on the targets is about the funding, there is not enough of it. if a labour government

we re enough of it. if a labour government were in place its economic policies are such that the nhs would be worse off, it would have less money. the lib dems say they are the only ones with a clear strategy in terms of investment. i spoke to drjennifer dixon, the chief executive of the health foundation, who did this analysis. i asked her if things are indeed getting worse in the nhs, what could be causing it. demand up 4%, finances up 1%. if they increased in lines with the economy, 2.4%, there would be less ofa economy, 2.4%, there would be less of a problem. economy, 2.4%, there would be less ofa problem. in economy, 2.4%, there would be less of a problem. in a sense, patients are waiting because of the funding squeeze. are waiting because of the funding squeeze. we licked to cancer, stroke, diabetes and mental health. there were significant improvements. there were significant improvements.

the nhs is improving at the same rate as other countries internationally. we have middling funding in the nhs and middling performance. considering the strain the nhs is under it has been holding up the nhs is under it has been holding up very well. in terms of targets, do health professionals perceive the targets as rules effectively imposed by politicians and therefore they don't have a clinicaljustification 01’ don't have a clinicaljustification or do they regard them as targets that are valuable in terms of treatment of patients? it will be mixed. targets are a valuable thing for patients. nobody wants patients to wait very long. they deteriorate and the costs may be grated to be nhs in hard terms. there is genuine a cce pta nce nhs in hard terms. there is genuine acceptance for those targets. what the real picture is, the nhs is under incredible strain because of the squeeze on finances. it is not just for the national health service

but services cut has an effect more on older people who use amd ‘s services more in particular. government says it is spending more money than ever before. your point is that is fine but if demand goes up, in realterms, coupled is that is fine but if demand goes up, in real terms, coupled with things like inflation, there is a decline in the amount being spent, theissueis decline in the amount being spent, the issue is matching funding growth to demand growth. funding has been squeezed far more than in any other time in the nhs‘s history. it is a deterioration of waiting times and access times for a&e, cancer, and other things. the labour party is talking about 6 billion of additionalfinances. they

talking about 6 billion of additional finances. they say quite additional finances. they say quite a lot of money will be aimed at raising the wages of the lowest paid nhs staff. is 6 billion, with those caveats, going to be enough to close the gap we are talking about? we would have to look at what period that would involve. we need independent assessment, looking at demand and economic growth. in the middle of an election that is probably not the most objective time to make those calculations. house of lords has suggested there should be an 0br, an independent analysis. specific to the nhs. the principle is there should be independent analysis. this is a national resource, the huge, public support. no one wants to see the nhs deteriorating. to put a san unstable financial footing is very high priority for the nation. —— sound

and stable financial footing. more details are emerging of the extraordinary sacking of the director of the fbi, james comey. president trump has just called mr comey a "showboat," and says he was determined to fire the director anyway, whatever thejustice department recommended. mr trump has also reasserted the claim that mr comey told him three times that he personally wasn't under investigation over ties to russia. mr trump made those comments in a just—released interview with nbc: he isa he is a showboat, a grandstand. the fbi has been in turmoil. you know that, everybody knows that. take a look at the fbi year ago. it was in virtual turmoil. less than a year ago. it has not recovered. you met with rob rosenstiel. did you ask for a recommendation? what i did was i

was going to fire... you had made that decision already?” was going to fire... you had made that decision already? i was going to fire comey. let's get more on this from our correspondent, gary 0'donoghue, in washington now. this has been extraordinary in terms of the decision—making process. are we getting too hung up on halle the decision was made rather than the substance? there is no question that donald trump has the right, the power, the ability to sack the director of the fbi. he is not the first president to do it. bill clinton effectively did that in 1993 but in very different circumstances. the difficulty is this, fbi directors have a ten—year stint. pa rt directors have a ten—year stint. part of the reason for that is to give them some protection from the executive. in this case, the fbi is investigating the donald trump

campaign. the difficulty people have with him sacking him at this time is, if it does not look great in terms of interfering with the masturbation into you. that is the concern mainly. there have been lots of reassurances, particularly from the acting director, that things will carry on with the inquiry. he has the resources, etc. the acting director is absolutely giving contradictory view about the support forjames coney inside the fbi, saying the vast majority of staff have a deep and positive connection with him, completely at odds with what donald trump and the white house was saying. a democrat was saying to me, freely admitting she had not been very happy with what he had not been very happy with what he had done in relation to hillary clinton last year. donald trump says thatis clinton last year. donald trump says that is the reason she fired him. this guy is a bit of a boy scout. he

annoys people left, right and centre. he has an unimpeachable reputation. there is suspicion about this. the president has declared the air. do you think this interview with nbc has cleared the air?m air. do you think this interview with nbc has cleared the air? it has doubled down. in the last few minutes i have come back from the hearing. speaking to a republican senator. he was unsure about the timing of the decision. he was very unhappy about the different kinds of accou nts unhappy about the different kinds of accounts coming out of the different phases. the white house, thejustice department, and the fbi. there is some unease in areas. it does not go as far as having a special prosecutor, taking it out of the political round it is in. there is unease about the timing and manner of it. they are now looking towards a new fbi director which has to go

through a whole senate confirmation process. one other senator said to me this morning, if donald trump nominated garland, the supreme pics that republicans stood in the way of last year, if donald trump nominated him the democrats would not approve him. that is the atmosphere we are in at the moment. maybe could because he has sacked james comey, could summon here points be in a stronger position? no president could sack two fbi directors in succession. if he wanted a job, that is the end of the telescope you would look in. mike rogers, not to be confused with the head of the national security agency. he is a former congressman who was chair of the homeland security committee. he

is one of the big names being floated. intriguingly, chris christie was the name that was mentioned this morning. he entered up mentioned this morning. he entered up on the donald trump campaign after dropping out of the presidential race himself. he was a prosecutor in new jersey presidential race himself. he was a prosecutor in newjersey at the time that kushner‘s father was talked about. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: jeremy corbyn has said the party does that manifesto said policies will transform the lives of many people. president donald trump has described james comey as a showboat and a grandstand. he said he would have dismissed him even if officials had not recommended it. an analysis of nhs data suggests waiting times are at their worst than any time in

five years. sport now. and some disappointing news for sir andy murray. manchester united are hoping to take a step closer to winning the only trophy they never have tonight. their europa league semi final second leg is underway at old trafford and it's goalless so far. leading 1—0 from the first leg. pogba, rashford, bailly all back in the team. in the other semi final, ajax have a commanding 4—1 lead to defend in france against lyon. the everton boss ronald koeman says he's prepared to lose ross barkley if he doesn't sign a new contract soon. the england midfielder still has a year left on his current deal and koeman says the club must have an answer by the end of the season in 10 days time, believing the longer it takes,

the more doubts barkley must have and koeman says he ‘prefers to work with players who want to stay.‘ it is up to the player. we don't wait till august. we need before next week, we need an answer. if we go for a holiday, we need to know. accept the contract or we sell the player. what is your feeling? i don't know. if you need so much time, then you have doubts. andy murray's preparations for the french open have stalled again. the world number one has been knocked out of the madrid 0pen at the last 16 stage by borna coric, a player ranked 59 in the world. adam wild reports in sport, progress comes in many forms. in the dread the electronic coin toss. progress of sorts was looking to the future is andy murray with early—season injury behind him was that here and opportunity to find form before the grand slam

season starts. few expected him to be troubled by coric. when your world number one people have a habit of raising their game. andy murray struggled with his serve again. whilst steve fulton, coric flourish. the croatian did not even qualify for the tournament. given a place as a lucky loser this was a chance he was not about to miss. the 20—year—old had the opportunity he needed. a straight sets win. whilst progress does come in many forms, andy murray won't be progressing in madrid any further. most things weren't working particularly well. it wasn't great. i started the match 0k. when i started to go behind, i didn't find

0k. when i started to go behind, i didn'tfind any 0k. when i started to go behind, i didn't find any way to improve my game or make it more difficult for him. ilet game or make it more difficult for him. i let the same things keep happening, making mistakes. very early ina happening, making mistakes. very early in a lot of the rallies. i was not building any points really. i didn't help myself find a way into the match, to start playing better. golf's unofficial ‘fifth major‘ is under way, the players championship at sawgrass in florida. in the first tournament since his wedding, rory mcilroy is level par after five holes. world number three jason day had set the pace for much of today. he had held the joint lead at five under par at one point. but three bogeys on the last four holes saw him slip back to joint 1ath, three shots adrift of leader, the american, william mcgirt. british riders geraint thomas and adam yates are still second and third at the giro d'italia, ten seconds behind bob jungels of luxembourg. it was stage 6 out of 21 today. the race has reached the italian mainland after passing

through sardinia and sicily — no change in the battle for the overall race win because a small breakaway group managed to hold off the main bunch for the whole135—mile stage. a great day's work for swiss rider silvan dillier, who took his first stage win at a grand tour. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. the bank of england has warned of a squeeze on household incomes this year as the cost of living rises faster than wages. the bank's governor, mark carney, expected only moderate growth for the uk economy. looking further ahead, he predicted a better prospect but only if the government secures a smooth exit from the eu. 0ur economics editor, kamal ahmed, reports. wherever you live, a clear message from the bank. 2017, a year of squeezed incomes, higher prices and slower growth. but better news could be coming. mark carney kicked off his mixed message on the uk

economy with a warning. this is going to be a more challenging time for british households over the course of this year. real income growth, to use our terminology, will be negative. to use theirs, wages won't keep up with prices. consumers are split between the worried and those that see more positives ahead. no matter what you go in to buy nowadays, even the shops, or for the animals, whatever, everything has gone up in price. i do think it's going to get worse when brexit hits hard. so i would say i'm not really looking forward to the consequences of brexit. we are seeing stability in the uk, and that's a positive thing. i think the economy is actually on the turn, on the way up. i think you've got no choice but to kind of look where your money is going, in terms of like shopping, spending, holiday prices obviously going up as well.

it's those rising prices that the bank is focusing on, saying it expected inflation to rise by 2.7% this year. that is in sharp contrast with the rise in earnings, which will languish atjust 2%. over the next two years, more positive news, with a growth upgrade for both 2018, and 2019. the bank also insists wage growth will bounce back. why are you so confident that that will come to an end and that wage growth will hit 3.75%, you suggest, by the end of 2019? we are conditionally on a smooth process, a smooth brexit process. the extent to which uncertainty over that process is temporarily weighing on wages, that should dissipate. today's report from the bank of england can be neatly summed up in six words. short—term, negative. long—term, positive. yes, that income squeez is back for this year, but assumptions that global growth will be stronger, and an assumption

that the brexit process will be smooth, has left the bank more bullish. the governor had a warning for all corners of the country, that interest rates may rise more quickly than some expect, as the economy strengthens. as long as we get that good brexit deal. kamal ahmed, bbc news. a mother, her daughter, and a third woman have appeared in court in central london, charged with what is believed to be the first alleged all—female terror plot in britain. the three women from london were accused of planning a suspected knife attack in the westminster area. as well as being accused of terrorism offences, all three were charged with conspiracy to murder. the character actor, geoffrey bayldon, who starred in many popular tv series in the 1960s and 1970s, has died at the age of 93. he was perhaps best know as catweazle in the children's television drama in the 70s. the versatile actor also played the crowman in worzel gummidge,

and appeared in other classic series, including doctor who, the avengers and the tomorrow people. hard to think of a tv series that he was not in. it's the finals of the eurovision song contest on saturday. luciejones will be representing the uk in kiev but what are our chances of winning this time round? will the uk leaving the european union influence the voting? 0ur moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, has been finding out. love it... 0r hate it... here's one european institution we're staying in, for now. the eurovision song contest. # the oceans crossed...#

it's the final this saturday in kiev. luciejones is flying ourflag, but will brexit mean the uk meets its waterloo? let's face it, in recent years it's been hard enough for the united kingdom to get points from our european neighbours when we've been on speaking terms with them. but now that we're leaving the european union in an atmosphere of acute disharmony, will that condemn the uk to eternal "nul points" in eurovision? they may be excited about eurovision in kiev, but back home theresa may has warned that brexit could scupper our eurovision party. is the prime minister a eurovision fan? i can't imagine her sat with her flag at home. honestly, whatever happens, happens. brexit is so out of my hands and out of my control. for the eu, brexit strikes a bum note, but the signs are that

europe still loves us. we've discovered that even the french love having the uk in eurovision... well, so they can beat us. usually, france is very bad, but england is worse and i am happy. and being happy is what eurovision is all about. it's not the winning that counts. just as well — the uk hasn't won the contest to 20 years. steve rosenberg, bbc news, kiev. in a moment, we'll have the latest weather. but, before that, let's briefly return to our main story. the leak of labour's manifesto pledges has triggered a lot of debate. but what do voters think? we asked these voters in newcastle what they thought about labour's election manifesto promises. yes, here we are. i have not read

about it that i have heard about it. i think about it that i have heard about it. ithinki about it that i have heard about it. i think i woke up one morning saying i would do the wish list of everything i would want to do if i we re everything i would want to do if i were in power. i think labour is invested in the nhs and no other parties are. i like their policies. i think they are different to the other ones. i have always voted labour. i'm going to vote conservative. most policies seem the things i agree with but it is hard to go from the situation we have now to go from the situation we have now toa to go from the situation we have now to a totally different situation.|j to a totally different situation.” think he seems quite grounded.” don't think he has a snowball‘s

chance in hell. he is insufficiently connected to the real world.” chance in hell. he is insufficiently connected to the real world. i think they have a fighting chance. it looks like it was a lovely day up in newcastle. across southern parts and south—western england. in the north east, there will be low cloud drifting in from the north sea. eight or 9 degrees for newcastle and aberdeen. 13 for cardiff and london.

but the cloud across wales, central england and northern ireland tomorrow, with rain and the odd rumble of thunder. big contrast between england and scotland, with 17 degrees in stornoway. through the evening, it tends to dry up in the south—eastern corner, with showers in the east and grey again in the north—east. by sunday, you will start to see things turning a good deal fresher. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines at 8.30. labour's election manifesto has been formally approved by the party leadership and is set to be launched within days. the document is thought to include plans to scrap university tuition fees, ban fracking, and renationalise the railways. jeremy corbyn said he believed it contained policies that would be "very popular." an offer that will transform the lives of many people in our society and ensure

that we have a government in britain onjune the 8th that will work for the many, not the few. president trump has called sacked fbi directorjames comey a "showboat" and "grandstander" during a tv interview, saying he would have dismissed him even if officials had not recommended it. waiting times for key nhs services in england were the worst in five years in the latest financial year, according to new analysis — with 2.5 million people waiting longer than four hours to be seen in a&e. the bank of england has slightly downgraded its forecast for economic growth this year and said inflation was likely to increase to 2.8% by december. three women — including a mother and daughter — have appeared in court charged with terrorism offences and conspiracy to murder. more now on labour's election manifesto, which has been formally approved by the party

leadership and is set to be launched within days. some of the main parts of the manifesto have already found their way into the public domain, after a version of the document was leaked overnight. it included proposals to re—nationalise the railways and to scrap university tuition fees in england. let's get more from on our top story our political correspondent, mark lobel, in westminster. mark, the other parties carried on campaigning today and we have heard from the prime minister this evening. that's right. she was in a live phone in with nick ferrari with questions from him and callers and she reiterated her insistence that the level of tax will go down, it will not rise very much, not rise at the next election and also that there will be tens of thousands of immigrants asa there will be tens of thousands of immigrants as a target. she was

asked how she would carry that out having been unsuccessful so far and she said they would continue to work at the system. but the issue she wa nts to at the system. but the issue she wants to put at the centre of this election, brexit, involves a strong negotiator. i think everyone agrees on that. so one caller rang in and askedif on that. so one caller rang in and asked if she had been a good negotiator in the past with the police and with deporting certain people, how would she become a good negotiator for breakfast —— brexit? it is back to something i said earlier. i can be difficult. there will be tough negotiations and it's important we have somebody there who can go out and bad for britain. the point she made was that when she was home secretary, she managed to do a deal overjustice and home affairs meeting that she wanted to to britain out of, 133, and backed them

back into 135 others which he was successful web. however, when she had a meeting withjohn ploj yunker recently one of the criticisms they gave was that she gave that as an example of her criticism —— as an example of her criticism —— as an example of her negotiating, whereas that would not be the style of negotiation needed if we were leaving brexit. she is sticking to her guns though. david cameron has made an appearance and we went expecting to see much of him because they can be like the banquet at the feast. what has he had to say? gordon brown also popped up had to say? gordon brown also popped up and he said that if theresa may was given a free hand, it would be a disaster for the car industry. david cameron said the opposite. he said theresa may called this election and needed the strong majority from this

election to help her win brexit, but it was very interesting as to the reasoning why he gave for that and if you can listen very carefully to this clip, we'll explain why. there's no doubt, this is one of the most defining elections i can rememberwhere it is most defining elections i can remember where it is so important not only that the conservatives win and win well so that tories can negotiate that brexit deal, so she can stand up to people that want an extreme brexit either here or in brussels, but i think it's all so frankly that the labour party don't do well because they put up a candidate for prime minister, someone who is completely unsuited to do the job. very interesting there that he said people who want an extreme brexit in this country. theresa may's reasoning was that the liberal democrats and the labour party would block brexit and you wouldn't think they would want an extreme brexit said perhaps hinting that perhaps this was to control those on the right, maybe looking at

ukip, but also people within theresa may's party. you mention ukip. paul nuttall, the ukip leader, coming out fighting this evening, notwithstanding a terrible set of local election results for his party where it lost almost everything. that's right. he believes there is a future for the party but it's a very difficult position for him to fill nigel farage's shoes when everything was rosy in the local election results in 2013, when ukip worthy story, but they lost 136, 137 seats, gaining only one, so they have a huge task. he was in a tv interview on itv today talking very much ukip 0scar prospects up for the future but how they do in this election will determine very much how the conservatives do, because the boat has been split between the two parties and if theresa may once the majority, she will rely on people

switching from ukip to the conservatives. but paul nuttall saying people —— ukip are still very much in the fight. thank you. well, labour's john mcdonnell said a policy of rail nationalisation when train operators' franchises run out has been the party's policy for a number of years. but how would this actually work in practice? and is it feasible? earlier, i spoke to the railway writer christian wolmar, who has links with the labour party, and sam dumitriu, a research economist the adam smith institute. i began by asking christian wolmar how in reality labour would go about re—nationalising the rail network. what would happen is that when the franchises ran out, the franchises are contracts between the government and the private train operators, when they ran out, and they run for five or seven or ten years, they would simply revert to the government and then be run by probably a new body, maybe something

like british rail. and when you say no cost, presumably there would be a cost of any other franchisees looking at the prospect of the government taking it out anyway said, ok, fine, habit 18 months earlier, we are walking away. they are under contract and if they did that, the government would be entitled to compensation, so they are not going to give up the ghost. that happens at the moment anyway as franchises ran out and another company franchises ran out and another com pa ny ta kes franchises ran out and another company takes over. sam dimitri from the adam smith institute, what you make of this proposal, it's very least bad way to deep rail nationalisation, but it's still a difficult thing to do. rail passenger numbers fell dramatically since the era of nationalisation when we saw underinvestment, overcrowded trains and the famous british rail train —— british rail

sandwiches. when railways were privatised, there were about half a billion railwayjourneys a year. now there are overa billion railwayjourneys a year. now there are over a billion. it has led to increased usage. that is not a fa ct to increased usage. that is not a fact that has been brought about by the activity of private companies, it is really the fact that people need trains, they like using their devices on trains, their run many more students, people don't like travelling by car, it cuts congestion. all those factors. it's not any thing these wonderful private companies have done because they don't do much. if you look at they don't do much. if you look at the chart and it's quite remarkable, you see a dramatic turning point. as soon as the train companies went into private hands, there was a massive increase in passenger numbers. we saw a tenfold increase in investment each year and i'll

give you an example. in 1994, we had about 17 journeys a day between london and manchester. now we have 47. we have the busiest train lines in europe, about 20% more journeys and france, 60% more than germany. that is a response to demand and british rail tailored its demands, it services accordingly in the same way. there isn't actually a factor that you could point to and say, it's because it's private it's done better. it's merely grown because of all sorts of what gordon brown used to call exogenous factors. let's not going to exogenous growth theory, please. in terms of the practicalities of this, questions might come to this entirely neutral and say, i can't remember much of what british rail was like, i know what british rail was like, i know what the rail is like now some i like, some i don't. if i was a southern rail customer i might not

like all the strikes and disruption. imight like all the strikes and disruption. i might then asked the question, if the labour party is a blow to the trade unions, why do i think i would be more likely to see fewer strikes, few industrial actions that type if it was nationalised rather than private? that may well be the case. i don't think train union activity is relevant at all. it's relevant to most of your journeys is relevant at all. it's relevant to most of yourjourneys have been disrupted in the last year, isn't it? it's caused huge disruption. that may well be the case. i think that's down to management. and you think public sector management would be better? i think that private sector management is good sometimes and bad sometimes, just like public sector management. i think that other rail is a good example of management gone wrong. it's a private franchise in the same way that of either run tefl. a lot of it

is dictated to by the department for transport. they can push through driver operated trains, for example, pushed through timetables and fares. it's increased state control and when you have that, you see a lot more union strife, which we saw in the 70s with every nationalised industry going on strike every other week, basically. but southern is poorly managed on behalf of the private company. it may well be that if you won it in a more cooperative way, i've spoken to a lot of railway managers about this and they say the way a lot of the winter that this was confrontational, aggressive, and inevitably lead to strikes. we have a regulated service at the moment and this is sadly the last answer but i wonder how you'd think state control with ministers more directly accountable would be better than with the regulators? the odd thing is that at the moment the department for transport is currently the only thing between the private companies and the government. it is one quite

and the government. it is one quite a lot by the department for transport. i think the labour party envisage a separate body being created a bit like british rail. that was me speaking earlier with our guests about we nationalising the railways and the proposal from the railways and the proposal from the labour party. ahead of next month's general election, bbc correspondents are gauging the reaction across the country. this evening, peter whittlesea's been to the tempo dance class in gillingham in kent and asked which policies are in step with voters. 0ne, one, two, three, four, five and check. the snap election wrong—footed everyone. the carefully choreographed campaigns are now in full swing. it's a familiar routine thatisit full swing. it's a familiar routine that is it one that voters can follow? are you excited about the election? i don't think excited would be the word. strictly speaking, elections are won on policies like health, education and the economy. but this time around, the economy. but this time around, the realjudge if the voters here in

medway have another category in mind. brexit's a large