london. hello and a very warm welcome to dateline london. i'm jane hill. this week, we ask how theresa may fared at her party's annual conference. was there enough talk of domestic policies alongside the brexit hubbub? there's been a few positive murmurings about that this week, brexit that is, from elsewhere in the eu. we'll discuss that. and as the us senate prepares to vote on the next potential supreme courtjustice, we'll reflect on what this ugly period might mean for the midterms, and the #metoo movement. with me is the columnist for the i here in the uk, yasmin alibhai—brown, the american writer and broadcaster

jeffrey kofman, the journalist rachel shabi, and thomas kielinger, for many years correspondent for germany's die welt. welcome. mamma mia, theresa may was widely considered to have given a good speech to the conservative party conference. she shimmied onto the stage to abba's dancing queen, making some self—effacing moves. she told delegates that the chequers brexit proposal is the only one possible. she also talked of an end to austerity, and an immigration policy that focuses on people's skills not their country of origin. also this week, ireland's prime minister leo varadkar said a deal could be done between the uk and eu within a fortnight, and the president of the eu commission jean claude juncker is now also making positive noises. yasmin, let's start with your reading of the conservative conference. widely regarded as a very strong performance. it was. it was very clever.

she kind of demolished the boris disturbance the night before. i think it was very clever, the dance. although i hear that abba have objected to their music being used for political purposes. but the show was good. a lot of what she said, you know, i think needs to be questioned. i mean, for her to say end of austerity, it is not going to end and you voted for this thing over and over and over again and now it's like mark steel, the comedian, wrote in the independent and i, it's like an arsonist who has been burning down barns, saying "i will stop one day" and we're applauding. there was a lot of spin and the immigration thing is the one that really gets to me.

this was a woman who created the hostile environment, who made it. you mean because she was the home secretary? she was. and some of the terrible things that have happened to the windrush generation, the indefinite asylum detentions and so on, and ijust thought, "that was a good dance, a really good way of demolishing boris. i don't trust you at all over austerity." she was talking about austerity, immigration, a bit about housing. was she deliberately mentioning those topics in her speech because there is an awareness that one day brexit will be over and we have to talk about domestic policies? huge awareness. the domestic agenda is the one and only future subject. she made a good speech when she became prime minister. she talked about injustices in society and so forth. she wants to address them with immigration.

what made me laugh was that she thought that the missing skills can be provided for by people in britain who will now flock to the companies for those jobs. we know from the past that companies have been asked to fill hospitality jobs with local people and local people are not applying. to cut off immigrants from europe, it does not add up. she is a little bit with her back against the wall. and also thejeremy corbyn effect was very clear. the corbyn conference turned out to be quite good and she has just stolen some of the stuff from them and i don't think they mean any of it. that is the trouble. people keep saying that theresa may gave a good speech for theresa may and i think that is a low bar. relative to that, she did well. others who do not like her said

it was well crafted, including comments about labour. i think relative to her own track record, she did well. but that is an aside. the conservative party don't have the answers that match the mood of the nation at the moment and the labour party does and they are terrified. you had lord o'neill, a former conservative treasurer, writing a column in one of the national newspapers, in the guardian, this week, saying, i hate to admit it but actually the labour party has more economic solutions that chimes more with the rest of the country than the conservatives do and that is a huge problem. it is notjust former tory treasurers that are saying that. polling suggests that. last year, a radical socialist think tank, not(!), showed that overwhelmingly the national mood supports renationalisation of rail and utilities, overwhelmingly supports higher rates of tax for higher earners and investment in infrastructure. we are looking at a lost

decade in the uk. that is down to the economic crash, followed by austerity cuts, which were avoidable. they were ideological cuts that we did not have to go through. even the imf says that they were too harsh in the uk. we have lost a decade. in terms of productivity. when we look at things like brexit, the ft said last week that lost decade, that is 15—20% lost productivity growth, that is way worse than anything in any brexit scenario and that is the trouble with the conservatives. it is not just that they are bungling brexit, they have bungled the economy, which cannot withstand brexit. we had a very healthy debate here last week about labour and its economic policies but also about the reaction from some businesses. your assessment of the week that has gone on for the conservatives in birmingham? whatever your politics, you want the best solution to come

out of this mess and i think that we have so much... we have seen theresa may come up and offer solutions. "she is going to come back," we said after chequers, "she has a workable compromise" and it has been demolished. i give her marks for resilience but not for accomplishment. we have seen almost two years squandered in squabbling, indecision, jockeying, posturing, and this cabal of brexiteers on the right saying, "just trust us, this is all going to be fine." and i think that people are going to very quickly find that if there is no solution... i think we are used to indecision leading to muddle and we will work it out but this is an epic change for this country and if they don't come

to some sort of resolution... i am not by nature a chicken little, i do think that we can muddle through most indecision but this has catastrophic consequences and we keep hoping that this woman can bring disparate parts together. but we have the festival of britain! we are going to be so happy(!). that is one of the things mentioned in the speech. jean—claude juncker is now in the last few days giving interviews to various european newspapers saying actually things are a bit more positive, something may well emerge in the next couple of weeks, to be fair. he put it stronger than that. what do you make of the more positive noises? we have to wait for the compromise to emerge and whatever happens theresa may will find such a huge bill to pay after brexit that makes her statement that austerity is over a laughing matter. the cuts in social

contributions and so forth will continue before we reach the end of austerity. and she said tax cuts. and end of austerity. how does that figure? a senior civil servant today in one of the national newspapers has said how this switch to universal credit has totally devastated families, totally. how was she going to do this? that is why her prediction of austerity being over soon... let's think about the next couple of weeks. we have said this a few times before but we are genuinely coming into a crunch few weeks. and your sense, rachel, some positive noises from jean—claude juncker and leo va radkar saying he thinks a deal can be done.

he needs a deal. the irish border problem does not go away. the thing stopping a deal being done is the conservative government. that is the obstacle. it is not europe, not ireland, it is the conservative party in a sort of toxic soup of its own making. it is the fact that nobody wants a hard border. it is the conservative party tearing each other apart over brexit, doing it while they are in government. obviously no one wants a hard border in northern ireland and that is the bit that the hard element of the conservative party, the right—wing, the fundamentalist brexiteers, that is the bit that they cannot reconcile. that is the bit of reality they cannot engage with, that to avoid a hard border between the island of ireland and northern ireland, they have to accept that britain stays in a customs union. that's it. there is no other way around it. everybody knows that. i think the labour party has to shoulder some responsibility. for brexit? excuse me!

jeremy corbyn has not taken a strong position on this and he has sat back and said, "let's watch them burn the house down and i will come in as prime minister." instead of saying, "i have a clear vision," he sits on his hands and he lets the conservative party tear itself apart and the country in the process. but where exactly is the leadership of her majesty's loyal opposition in all of this? i don't know what he really wants. i suspect he would like to see britain leave but he is not coming up with recipes and alternatives. i think this country is, much like the united states, in this polarised state, although it is different in this country because you have two political parties here that don't actually represent, i would argue, the majority of voters' sentiments. it is hold your nose here and hold your nose here. but there is not this centrist option. there is no constituency

for a centrist alternative. underthe lib dems... we're done. i would agree with that. we are coming up to a crucial few weeks. this is what the eu has to deal with. something has to be done. i am worried about the conservatives being so much up in arms about themselves because they want a positive outcome and it is in the interests of the eu not for this business to fail. they must wish for us to just go now. they must be so tired of us. just go! that's the emotional sentiment but i think the rational sentiment... it wants to continue trade, frictionless or not, that remains to be seen in ireland, but they want a continuation of a trade relation with great britain which is after all one of the most

important economies in the world. a cliff end or no deal is not in the interest of brussels and they will do everything to prevent it, mark my words. and theresa may is now talking to centrist labour party mps. it is interesting that she said in her speech if you go for perfect brexit you get no brexit. it is an indication she knows more than you and i know that there is something going on in brussels, you might call it a fudge but there we are. how is she going to fend off the powerful right—wing? we don't know whether the government, her party, will support her, will support the eventual compromise. compromise for brexiteers is a dirty word. they are not going for compromise. they want a clear break or whatever. in the national interest, compromise is the only way through on a decision where there is so much division.

the behaviour of the party and government, how they will look at this compromise is essential. that is all that matters. we will see what happens in the weeks to come. we will be discussing that around the table to come as well. let's turn our attentions stateside. thousands of people protested in washington dc on thursday, a large proportion of them women. and many of them are still there, as we go to air. political divisions in the us have been laid bare in the wake of president trump's nomination of brett kavanaugh as supreme courtjustice, with just weeks to go to the midterm elections. this week donald trump, at a campaign rally, mocked the testimony given by university professor christine blasey ford about her sexual assault. it now looks likely that the senate will decide this weekend whether to appointjudge kavanaugh to the hugely powerful role,

which is held for life. jeff, first, is his appointment a done deal? it does appear to be. senator collins from maine who was on the fence has said that all things considered, she is going to vote to support the nomination and that will tip it over the edge. wow! this is really the polarisation... this is the second american civil war, as one commentator called it. you talked about compromise in the uk a moment ago. when i was a student at university in canada, one of the definitions of politics was the art of compromise. now it is the art of conquest. this is what we are seeing. you win at all costs. president trump has had a good week, in his eyes. he did the new deal on trade, the us—mexican on trade, the us—mexican agreement is through, which is a triumph, you have

got to give him credit. the unemployment is now below 4%, the lowest point it has been since 1969. he refuses to acknowledge that maybe eight years of president obama helped with that. it is all him. obama left a mess. now he has kavanaugh. but at what cost? it is extraordinary. the country is riven. it is hard to see how this country, the uk, but how the united states can be brought back together. we have lost consensus, we have lost pluralism, we have lost compromise, all in the name of conquest. you havejust made me suicidal. thank you! don't do that, not on air! isn't it about the tone of the debate now as well? given the hearings

we have been watching. if brett kavanaugh is being confirmed, i am sure he will be confirmed, you're right, it will be a victory for president trump because he will have come out in this debate, and you mentioned this objectionable performance of his when he suddenly taunts the woman who two days before he had praised as a credible candidate. and he changes his mind in two days, which shows how hisjudgment is unreliable. the women of america will sort of not forgive him for this. i hope that they are going to wake up as to the nature of this. i would argue that may be wishful thinking. a lot of women will. but you cannot just blame donald trump. he is the lightning rod. what about mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham, the entire republican caucus? this is... these people now represent... president trump is the republican party and they are either afraid or they are true believers but they are supporting him

and they are not challenging him beyond susan collins and the senator for alaska, who is going to vote against brett kavanaugh. there are a lot of solid americans who support this agenda and this kind of rhetoric. trump may be saying it but his approval rating hovers around 40%, but that is a sizeable number. isn't he doing this because the language appeals to his base? it does. npr polled and 60% of trump supporters don't believe dr ford and think brett kavanaugh should be nominated. i find this conversation... for the past few weeks and months, we have watched woman after woman come forward and explain in a calm, rational, reasonable manner why this is so wrong, why it is so wrong for politics to abuse women in this way,

and it is a blatant abuse of women. to have their suffering politicised in this way. and then disbelieved in this way. and then mocked by the president. we are sitting here having a conversation about what it has done to american politics. what does it do to american society when you say that about women? when the highest law of the land says that about women, that your voice does not matter, your experience does not matter. but the problem is, you cannotjust blame donald trump and his men, his white men and his white nationalism and his macho... there are women in america who stand there, mocking other women. who vote for this man, who voted for him after his abominable stuff he has done, which we know he has done.

and you think, "what is wrong with other women that they cannot empathise with the suffering of women?" i think that for those of us over 35, 40, whatever, i don't think we could have known that we lived through the golden age of liberalism where there was an effort to bring everyone aboard. that has died with brexit and some of the movements on the continent. and it has died in the us and i don't know what follows it. but there is this lack of respect that politics requires in order to be productive and positive. it leaves us in a real quagmire and i don't know where it takes us. i would say one thing about the message that kavanaugh sends that is most disturbing, to me. it says to all of the 17, 18, 20—year—old boys in america, whatever you do to a girl now, don't worry, you won't be held

accountable when you are an adult and that is a frightening thought. don't be so pesimistic. i listened very carefully to susan dennis, susan collins rather, who came out in favour of kavanaugh. she said, "we're talking about the case, the appointment, and i cannot say that the legal argument is convincing, so i'm for him, but the argument she said continues about misogynist america." she made powerful indictments... she shouldn't support him. but she has committed to america being more misogynistic for decades to come by nominating him. that is what she did. i don't care how she dressed it up. i was impressed by her argument. she separated the two issues of the legal case and

of the cultural case, which she says the argument will continue and we will have to work for in this country. it was an intelligent speech, refreshingly so. but i think that... i have lost my train of thought. i was going to ask you, it is worth reminding ourselves of the import of this because kavanaugh, only 53 years old, this is a job for life. this will be president trump's second appointment, assuming he goes through, to the us supreme court. the point i wanted to make is that susan collins took a legalistic view. this is not a court case. this is a job application. someone who runs a company and hires people, it is not a question of the law alone. it is a question ofjudgment and character and if brett kavanaugh wasn't suitable before... we all saw that extraordinary testimony he gave a week ago. even he is contrite.

he wrote a piece this week saying, "i said things i regret." that is an extraordinary admission. from a judge. i think that susan collins does not get a free pass on that. a man can behave in that way and still be considered suitable for one of the highest offices in the country. a woman would never be allowed to behave in that way. a black woman? forget it! she would be demonised and ridiculed. if the allegations are true, he was not doing it for any other reason but that this is the boy thing to do, the man thing to do, with his friend. and you think actually it is so deeply macho and so unacceptable, that i was actually angry with the speech that impressed you. i was furious with her. what i found interesting is she quoted from previous legal arguments, legal statements, that appeared to me quite middle—of—the—road. he isn't a right—wing judge.

he made some very interesting judgments about gay marriages in america. and he pleaded for the divide to be healed and for everyone in this country to come together. he was very much sort of the person who i don't think is going to now spend the rest of his life with right—wing arguments. she studied his record as a judge and she came to the conclusion he is not quite as right—wing as people make out. that is interesting. a quick final thought. we are only a matter of weeks away from the midterms. your assessment? to what extent this will impact and what we should be looking out for now in terms of the result? the question is what does this week of trump do to galvanise the base? i think kavanaugh's nomination could well galvanise the democratic

base because i think there are an awful lot of people appalled and angry. but the sense ofjubilation with donald trump's look what i have done in the last week. i think it is up in the air. if you look at the numbers, we could change them. things are looking favourable for the democrats in the house, possibly in the senate. it is one to watch. i have learnt around this table, don't predict. much more passionate debate next week, i am quite sure. we will see where all those topics go in the week to come. we'll be back at the same time next week with dateline london. hello. despite the chilly start,

a beautiful sunrise in many parts of the uk this morning. since then, the clouds piling in across scotland and northern ireland. a very different complexion to the weather today with this weather front bringing rain and strong winds. that has cleared away from the south yesterday, so more sunshine across england and wales. this is how the rainfall looked earlier in the day. a broad band of rain with cloud and strengthening winds. not much rain east of the grampians or the eastern side of northern ireland. but greyer than yesterday and windy. winds gusting to a0 or 50 mph quite widely. perhaps higher in the extremes around the coast and over the hills. further south, a much brighter day. sunshine, fairweather cloud building. towards the end of the day,

perhaps some rain and cloud coming into cumbria and lancashire. in contrast to yesterday when it was barely 8 degrees through southern parts of england, it's 11! to 16 today. even fairly warm with the rain further north. the rain hangs around. this weather front gets stuck across the northern half of the country. a met office yellow warning, low—level warning. we could have as much as 200 millimetres of rain falling over the hills. likely 100 to 150 but that's a lot of rain. that will feed into the river system. a wet spell of weather but mild because it's driven by south—westerly winds. once we clear the mist and fog in the south, it looks like warm and pleasant weather will be enjoyed by many. overnight, because we keep the south—westerly flow, there is a wind around, but it shouldn't get that chilly. a little bit of ground frost in rural areas but temperatures will vary little from day to night.

further south with the wind more mist and fog. the fog tends to linger through the rush hour. because of this mild south—westerly wind, more moisture hence the mist and fog risk. but temperatures by day are set to rise above where they should be. it will feel much warmer, even with the rain. this is bbc news, i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines at midday. victory for president trump as brett kavanaugh is sworn onto the supreme court — after weeks of debate over sexual abuse allegations. republicans believe in the rule of law, not the role of the mob. ahead of the snp party conference nicola sturgeon says the party would vote for a second eu referendum if its proposed in the house of commons. i have said before we would not stand the way of a second referendum, so—called people's vote

i think snp mps would undoubtedly vote for it. pret a manger confirms a second historic case where a customer is believed to have died from an allergic reaction — this time to a sandwich which was supposed to be dairy—free. turkish officials say they believe a dissident saudi