hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2.00pm: president donald trump claims a "big victory" in us mid—term elections which saw democrats seize control of the house of representatives but republicans consolidate their grip on the senate. the man who got a £75 million bonus steps down as chief executive of the housebuilder persimmon, after outrage from shareholders. a call for brexit transparency: environment secretary michael gove says the cabinet should be given the full legal advice on theresa may's backstop plan. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. in the first big test of donald trump's presidency, his republican party have had a mixed night in america's mid term elections. this is the scene live in washington,

where the republicans have lost control of the lower chamber of congress — the house of representatives. that means the democrats can now try to frustrate mr trump's agenda. but the republicans have strengthened their hold on the senate. all 435 seats in the house of representatives were contested. some results are still being counted but democrats have gained 27 seats, meaning they take control, while the republicans have lost the same number. it's a different story in the senate, the upper chamber where just over a third of seats were up for grabs. let's go to steven sackur in washington dc. hello, and a very warm welcome to the us capitol in washington, dc. i have got special coverage of the us mid—term elections. after months of bitter campaigning, americans have passed —— americans have cast their votes in these key elections. republicans have made gains in the senate, with the president claiming tremendous success, but in the most

significant result at all, the democrats have seized control of the house of representatives, for the first time in eight years. mr trump's ability to push through his legislative programme through the congress will now be constrained by the loss of more than 30 republican seats. more than have been anticipated. chris buchler has been assessing all of these mid—term results. with each seat and celebration, democrats clapped their way back to political power and the ability to act as a check on the president. if this did mark a new errorfor american politics, president. if this did mark a new error for american politics, it president. if this did mark a new errorfor american politics, it was led by... among them, the youngest ever congresswoman. led by... among them, the youngest ever congresswoman. and the first native american representative. we must do the work to create the america we believe then, the america we deserve. we are who we have been

waiting for. together, their victories gave them control of the house of representatives. and that means change in washington. today is more than about democrats and republicans, it is about restoring an situation's checks and balances to be trump administration. democrats and republicans also fought races to win governor ships in dozens of states. that led to another first in colorado, were the first openly gay man to win such a vote in the us. but the puck at —— but republicans had success in the senate, they did notjust hold onto their majority in the upper house of congress, they made gains. marsha blackburn became the first female senator ever to represent tennessee after a bitter campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars. democratic hopes of unseating ted cruz in texas came to nothing. whee

god bless texas! this was an election about hope and about the future and the people of texas. we wa nt future and the people of texas. we want a future with more jobs, more security, and more freedom. president trump had flown to state after state in a bid to defend the republicans' after state in a bid to defend the republica ns‘ majority in after state in a bid to defend the republicans' majority in the senate. that put him in the centre of his elections, and in many cases, where he went, his party went. great to be in indiana! look at that crowd! 0h, do we love nashville! get out in 2018, because you are fitting for me. that personal involvement seems to have made a difference. candidates that have in brace the president and an braced his offices, and he has worked hard and we have seen it pay off. the democrats have taken seen it pay off. the democrats have ta ken control of half seen it pay off. the democrats have taken control of half of one of the

three branches of government. all he has is... on twitter, donald trump called the result is a tremendous success , called the result is a tremendous success, and there will be relief inside the white house, the republicans have held onto the senate, but democrats taking the house of representatives will cause problems for the president. they will be able to block legislation and frustrate some of his more contentious plans. congress, just like in america, is now divided. political power split between two chambers, and the parties every bit as far apart. the truth is, the results of these midterms are complex, and they do reflect a divided america. let's bring you some of the detail of what happened. in the house of representatives, as you can see, the democrats overturned the republican majority,

they won a clear victory. with some races still are not clear, but the figures look like this. the democrats have 219 seats, the republicans, 193. so, it is a significant turnaround in the house of representatives. in the senate, though, a very different story. the senate of course was republican hands, now the script is even tighter. the latest figures, if you races still and declared, but 51 in republican hands, 45 with the democrats, and that republican number is expected to rise, perhaps to 53. so, that perhaps is why donald trump was claiming that this had been a night of tremendous success for the republicans, focused on that senate result. in reality, though, it is a messy outcome. the place is a big question mark over mr trump's ability to deliver on his

agenda over the next two years. i would like you to be introduced to j. would like you to be introduced to j. g8a would like you to be introduced to j. g8 a political commentator. he watched here in washington very closely. what is good change in your view, as a result of the democrats capturing the house of representatives? well, it is going to bea representatives? well, it is going to be a huge change, because this is going to give the democrats subpoena power over. . . going to give the democrats subpoena power over... they are going to look into everything from russia and bob malherbe's investigation, to whether 01’ malherbe's investigation, to whether or not the interior secretary improperly used funds for travel. there is a long list and you have a ready scene that they are going to investigate. nancy pelosi, whatever she said about bipartisan ship, and trying to cooperate, you think there is going to be a new level of

competition, here in washington? absolutely. they're all with words spoken right where they say that going to come together, hold hands and think by r. sometimes, it might and she happen. there might be a feuding, like perception drug prices, where they might get some packages done, but the fact of the matter is the 2020 elections today few minutes ago, and they don't want to give donald trump any victories. that is a good point. leave aside the quebec cities, and they are real competitive, everybody is soon going to start —— complexities, everybody‘s good start thinking about what this means that it does in 20, the presidential election, and donald trump's prospect. absolutely. absolutely. the democrats or that this was a message that their strategy won in 2018. you can see a lot more likelihood that they will run a woman into tasman 20. this is a big result for women. a huge night for

women. but here is an interesting thing. donald trump in a reflective mood on the eve of parling, he said maybe a lesson to him is to soften my tone, do you think you will go away from the selection, saying, evenif away from the selection, saying, even if the policies in change, my tone, my star might have to change. __ my tone, my star might have to change. —— my style. i think for sure. they have this roaring economy, why wouldn't you run on a platform of hope that you have done this amazing job for running the economy, and figures on that instead of division and scaring people about the immigrant caravans coming through, and to think you might think that in 2020, what is good to be more successful, especially with those suburban women voters who clearly voted against him in this election. that is a choice that trump will have to make. there is also a real choice for the democratic party. some of their biggest stars like

bette 0'rourke, andrew gillum, they did pretty well, but they did not do well enough to win. is the democratic party going to go more to the progressive left, all will be sent just say, we the progressive left, all will be sentjust say, we have got to keep the centre ground. —— beto 0'rourke. this has been a debate since 2016, whether they will go back to the white union roots. will they go back and appeal to those old union voters ? and appeal to those old union voters? those white conservative union voters, or would they don't done on the women voters, young voters, and you saw them doubling down on minority voters, and go back to the 0bama coalition,... i think that that is going to continue to be their strategy, since it was a winnerfor their strategy, since it was a winner for them their strategy, since it was a winnerfor them in 2018. their strategy, since it was a winner for them in 2018. thank you very much forjoining me. some real insight into a convex political story had today. thank you very

much, indeed. —— compact political story. now, they have control of the house of representatives, as we were just being told, but democrats will be able to be able to block donald trump's agenda. they will have more oversight over his policies. 0ur correspondent, richard lister, now looks at what impact these results could have in the remaining two years of president tom's term in office. we're building the wall. we're building the wall, don't worry. it is the battle cry of his presidency. donald trump tried to make these elections all about immigration, raising the spectre of an invasion across the southern border which only he could stop. but his wall had only lukewarm republican support in congress.

democrats will now ensure it won't happen on their watch. so what of his other big ideas? i am also calling on this congress to repeal and replace 0bamacare. congressional republicans failed to abolish president 0bama's far—reaching health care reforms, but the issue has become a rallying point for become a rallying point for democrats. now the threat is patrick morrissey's lawsuit to take away health care from people with pre—existing conditions. the democrats now want to improve 0bamacare, forcing the president onto the back foot. so where can he take a lead? we passed the largest tax cuts in the history of our country... he wants more tax cuts, but democrats will be wary of giving him a possible campaign boost. and they've already said they will force him to hand over his own tax returns, something he's refused to do so far. his presidency is about to get tougher. i will begin by swearing you in. robert mueller‘s investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race has been denounced as a witchhunt by the president, but it continues, and democrats can now hold their own inquiries into russian collusion and mr trump's business empire. voting reform will be another democratic priority, as they try to shape the groundwork for the 2020 presidential elections,

fighting restrictions such as those in georgia which made it more difficult for many poorer people to vote. thank you, florida, for your support. republicans, though, have strengthened their hold on florida and ohio, two states vital to president trump's re—election hopes, and of course, with a republican senate and white house, they can divert the democrats' agenda. but these midterms have galvanised the democratic party base, raising records amounts of campaign cash and making inroads into the republican heartland. all they need now is a presidential candidate. richard lister, bbc news. well, we can join

well, we canjoin our well, we can join our correspondent adds the white house for us now. it is early—morning for us here, but what do you think donald trump's message will be after these midterm results ? message will be after these midterm results? well, stephen, he has origi said what it is. he said he is holding a press conference to talk about the great success for the republicans, and for himself in the midterms, and that is definitely how he views it, or how he spends it. you can choose which one you want to think about it. if you look at his twitter feed, it is very much about how successful he has been, he has talked about the fact, all he says, it's been 105 years, in the past 105 yea rs, it's been 105 years, in the past 105 years, only five times has a mid—term election and elected more senators to the senate, and that is a real success to him, he says. speaking about himself, curiously in the third person, "trump is the magic man, trump has magic coming

out of his heirs." he also talked about the republican candidates who won, saying that he campaigned for them. i think we will publish here more of the same in the press conference, but what people will wa nt to conference, but what people will want to know is how he's going to handle the failure part of it, the fa ct handle the failure part of it, the fact that congress is now divided, how he will work with the democrats, and what this will mean for the presidential campaign going forward. yes, barbara, no matter how much magic might be coming out of donald trump's is, he does have a problem now, because the house of the today's halves some significant powers, of oversight and investigation, and they could go for this trump white house in a big way. —— donald trump's ears. do you think people are worried about that? yes, i think they are. his legal team keeps changing, and he has got to get his legal team up to speed. for what will probably be more investigations, notjust of mr trump, but the white house as you said, of cabinet secretaries, and so

on. it will be adjusting to see how far that goes. nancy pelosi has talks about —— talked about checks and balancing, apparently that wedding pulled quite well, they're american people as they often referred to, what this administration have some oversight over it, but she has not talked about impeachment, so we will see as to what degree the democrats are willing to go on that scaup, but thatis willing to go on that scaup, but that is something that mr trump has to worry about. —— on that score. 0n the other hand, they may be to work together in a bipartisan way in certain issues, such as infrastructure spending, and bringing down the prices of pharmaceuticals, but i think also, we have two really watch how mr trump treats this congress, in terms of partisan warfare. he is buried co mforta ble of partisan warfare. he is buried comfortable with combat, as we know. he has attacked nancy pelosi during the campaign, as this sort of symbolic figure of everything that is wrong with the democrats, if she is wrong with the democrats, if she is the speaker, as we expect, it

could suit him quite well to have hara is a sort of foil of opposition, as he goes into the election season. barbara, there is one thing is sure about american politics, as soon as one election is over, they start thinking about the next one, and donald trump will already have his eyes firmly focused on it the election campaign 30,020. do you think he would have learned any do you think he would have learned a ny lessons do you think he would have learned any lessons from this vote? in particular, i had to give it the massive gender gap where he clearly has a big problem with american women. do you think you might begin to change his style in any way? well, i think there will be some soul—searching within the republican party. i think that those voices that have been telling him to tone things down will probably continue to do so, maybe he will finally listen to them, he did signal before the election results came out that perhaps he had been a bit too harsh and he could change his tone, but again, if you look at his twitter

feed, he is pretty triumphant. those are candidates who adopted certain policies and set principles, they we re policies and set principles, they were successful, those who didn't, you know, goodbye and good luck, so to speak. it is just paraphrasing him, there. that seems to suggest that he thinks he has got a winning formula, and i would not be surprised, and we will see what happens in the media aftermath, —— immediate aftermath, but as the campaign heats up, i would not be surprised if you sort of divisive, racially charged rhetoric that we have seen in the campaign coming up to this election. all right, barbara. thank you very much the joining you. just a quick reminder, donald trump is going to talk to the white house press corps in a couple of hours from now, and of course, we will bring you that live. here on bbc news. now, many democratic hopes have been pinned on the state of florida. florida always hugely important bellwether state in the

elections. the democrats did make some gains in the house of representatives in florida, but they lost that big race for the senate in florida. there was another loss in the governor's race, andrew gillum, he was defeated, he would have been the state's first black governor, and that was a big disappointment for them. well, you have been watching the results and unfold. do think the democrats will be deeply disappointed? well, it could be a dramatic day here in florida. you mention that senate race between the democratic incumbent, bill nelson, the former governor of florida, rick scott, the republican. it was close, and we had rick scott coming out in the early hours of the morning and accepting victory, but we never heard bill nelson concede formally.

his campaign did release a statement last night, which said that based on numerous media report, the us senate race has been called for rick scott, this is busy not the result senator nelson and his campaign has worked for. there will be a full statement tomorrow, but what we are now hearing this morning, is that that statement was not necessarily correct. i am not sure exactly what that means, but local news is reporting here that there could be cause from the nelson campaign for a recount. we have been looking for the latest tallies overnight, and this morning, it is less than half ofa this morning, it is less than half of a percentage point between metoo candidates. that type of margin would normally automatically trigger a recount, anyway. now, there is a lot of uncertainty about whether or not we will hear from bill nelson today conceding that he has lost in this race, whether this fight, as often is the case in florida will move to a recount. byes oh, my goodness. as a former white house

correspondence carrying the presidential election in florida, my sense of deja vu is quite intense, but just sense of deja vu is quite intense, butjust in the bigger picture, if we look at what happened in florida, related to the national picture, it does seem that the democrats made some significant gains in the house, because of their appeal to generalise, in the suburbs, particularly, to suburban women, but it seems that they couldn't get over the line to win that senate seat, or indeed the governor's offers. what do you think the democrats need to do you think the democrats need to do better to win a this crucial state of florida ? do better to win a this crucial state of florida? well, i think the thing about florida, as you well know, stephen, as it is almost a representation of the entire united states, it is a very diverse demographic, a changing demographic, andi demographic, a changing demographic, and i think it really has everything that you have got in america as a whole. in terms of that diversity. those two house races that the democrats picked up from the

republicans, they were in heavily hispanic areas. and they wear is, actually, that hillary clinton won in two dozen 16, so many ways, they we re in two dozen 16, so many ways, they were something to be expected. it shows that those diverse seats are continuing to stick with the democratic party, including the district that i'm in, right now. which is florida's 27th. there were if you suburban seat that they did not pick up from the republicans, including another seat, as well, which was the former congressional seat of ron desantis, who has now become the governor of the state for the republican party, so in many ways, they did not make the games and those inroads foreign often it comes to those white, suburban women. what we saw last night, is that in florida, donald trump is still able to reach out to the voters in florida, even in the margins were tied. thank you very much indeed forjoining me. while control may have changed from

republican to democrat in the house of representatives, it is also something more diverse about the new look us congress, and that is because more women than ever before stood as candidates, and more women we re stood as candidates, and more women were successful than every before. caroline rigby has been looking at some of those who ran, and some of those who were successful. this week's pool of candidates was a diverse one. women running in record numbers, indicating a wider change in american politics. 0r native american, latina, muslim candidates on the ballot, too. female voters, particularly college educated and suburban white women also a huge pa rt suburban white women also a huge part of this election. even in the last week, donald trump's rhetoric around immigration, particular after the shooting in pittsburgh and other violence we have seen, i think that was truly repellent to a lot of

educated women and women in general. while support for donald trump remains strong amongst his core voters, undoubtedly, some women have been put off by a president who many perceive as misogynistic. divided also by brett cavanagh to the supreme court. i have been saying since the beginning of this campaign that changes coming to america, and changes coming to virginia, and that changed into night. the first house seemed to slip in the democrats... the republicans may have fielded fewer female candidates, but the party remained confident that voters would be swayed by policies as as much as people. when the rubber reached the road, we have to choose between two candidate in any given

race. the most voters, it is more about the ideology, than the gender. and whether daddy gender or not, stored conservative, marsha blackburn, became the first female to represent tennessee in the senate, considered a safe republican seat, her opponent failed to win despite high—profile backing from p0p despite high—profile backing from pop star taylor swift. elsewhere, the first two muslim congresswomen we re the first two muslim congresswomen were voted in. democrats, one a somali american who to the us as a refugee as the age of 12. these firsts, just some amongst so many in this year's mid terms. evidence of the changing landscape in america perhaps reflecting a new political era, too. that is pretty much it from me in washington for an hour, but there is much more to come on these us mid—term elections. we will be

returning a little later on. time for a look at the weather... here's lucy martin. so, i thought you spent too much time in the studio, so i thought i'd bring you a little bit of outside. can see the sun rays coming through there? i don't know, you will have to ask him. dies, that is birmingham. you are quick at this, and you? anderson cars, blue sky? willington in derbyshire. one more? try again. hungerford. smashed it. lots of blood, a bit of rain around, as well, but a bit of brightness in guernsey. we have got an area of low

pressure out towards the north and west, and we have got some rain pushing its way gradually eased as we move through the day. some showers across central and southern england, some of those quite heavy, as well. as we go through tonight, though, the rain will tend to use, and the sauers, as well. i think we will see the best of the dried ever —— dry weather tonight, and we will see two bridges falling away further than the have done. these activities in towns and cities. it will be cooler than that, really, secret big up cooler than that, really, secret big up to cooler than that, really, secret big uptoa cooler than that, really, secret big up to a touch of frost. particularly in northern ireland. we have got a few showers pushing in from the west, they will gradually move north—east through the morning. some more persistent rain working its way into pa rt of more persistent rain working its way into part of cornwall and western mails as we move through the day. fairly breezy day to come tomorrow, most dusty winds over in the west of battering, temperatures similar today, 10—14dc be high. as we move on to friday, all out to the west,

we have this area of low pressure that will bring some stormy conditions, some wet and windy weather to western part of the country. so we start off with some showery ad bricks of rain across northern england, gradually working east, and we see that wet and windy weather pushing into northern ireland and western parts of the country. that rain will be heavy, fairly persistent, complete with some strong winds. we can see gusts of around 60 mph over in the west. dreyer ‘s brightest conditions further in the east, template similarto further in the east, template similar to today. as we move into saturday, we will see that rain gradually working its way further towards the east. you can see the isobars are still fairly tightly packed, quite breezy as we head into saturday. saturday bring sunshine for some of us, some also showers are some of us, particularly in the western areas and southern areas as western areas and southern areas as we move through the day on saturday. those showers could be quite heavy, the odd flash of lightning knocked

out of the question, temperatures similar, 10—11d in the north, about 14 similar, 10—11d in the north, about 1a in the south—east. as we move through the next couple of days, there is some rain to come, particularly further west you are, will be quite breezy as well, tempered a bit above average for the time of year, but cooler than yesterday. some quite unsettled weather to come as we move through the next few days. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. president donald trump claims a "big victory" in us mid—term elections which saw democrats seize control of the house of representatives but republicans consolidate their grip on the senate. the man who got a £75 million bonus steps down as chief executive of the house—builder persimmon, after outrage from shareholders. a call for brexit transparency:

environment secretary michael gove says the cabinet should be given the full legal advice on theresa may's backstop plan. marks and spencer has reported a fall in sales and warned of further challenges on the high street in the months ahead. sport now on afternoon live with katherine downes. a new destination for formula one... vietnam willjoin the formula one calendar in 2020 — with hanoi hosting a race. monaco, singapore, azerbaijan also racing around the streets of the city, which adds extra excitement to a race. let's have a quick look at how the organisers imagine the race will look. it is all about expanding interest in formula 1 into southeast asia. they say that is where the interest will come. malaysia lost their grand prix, so it will be

hanoi that has it from now on in southeast asia. the question for great britain as far as silverstone is concerned, will it be an extra race on the schedule or will it bumped off another one? the great british grand prix at silverstone, there has long been question marks over that. the german and brazilian grand prix is as well, they only have a contract going as far as 2019, so as far as next year, so the question is this new race in the unarmed, all very exciting for the southeast asian market, but what will it mean for european f1 fans? the priority for us to try and host formula! races in what we believe are the most exciting and dynamic cities and countries around the world. and asia is clearly very important overall to our future. it is really important, it really is the driving engine of the world's future, so as we look to grow the sport in asia, we want to be in countries that we think will be the

engines of growth and excitement. it remains to be seen what the response is from silverstone. one thing that should be safe at the moment, english cricket, because they are doing rather well in sri lanka. yes, good stuff. there will be ben stokes who steals the headlines. he got a hundred on debut, playing his first test match england but it was also england's bowlers really that have put them in such a controlling position on day two of the first test. at is look at today's action. for the cricket tourist, sri lanka in november is an attractive destination, especially when it stops raining. 0n holiday is exactly where ben foa kes stops raining. 0n holiday is exactly where ben foakes is meant to be. he was taking six months off until england called him, there is an injury, we need you to play. today in goal he completed his century, 100 runs on his england debut. am i

dreaming? for england it got better. england took two sri lankan wickets quickly with a quick bowlers, but in asian conditions it is often spin bowlers who win matches, like this. common redding edged, gone! jack leachis common redding edged, gone! jack leach is the bowler here, it is his second test match. of course you know mo by now. da silva lost sight of the stumps. when the slow bowlers are on, fielding requires bravery, as you'll hear. rory burns on his test debut struck around the back of his neck as he duck. there was lengthy treatment. he was in the yen is deemed 0k. moeen ali ended up with four wickets, combining with ben foakes, and sri lanka were all out for just 203. and ben foakes, and sri lanka were all out forjust 203. and rory burns? well, two hours after being hit

committee was batting, leading england's second innings, 177 ahead of the close. as foreign tours go, this was a 5—star day. joe wilson, bbc news. the fa will appeal against a decision not to charge jose mourinho for comments he made after a match. they claim that the manchester united manager swore in portuguese to a television camera as he walked off the pitch following united's 3—2 win over newcastle last month. the club successfully contested the orginal charge. manchester city have been accused of ‘cheating' by the people who run spain's top league. la liga say the club should be sanctioned over claims city misled uefa over sponsorship deals to get round financial fair play rules. the claims have been made in the german magazine der spiegel. so far city have refused to comment directly but say it's an "organised and clear" attempt to damage their reputation. that is all the sport for now. you will hear from

that is all the sport for now. you will hearfrom me again in the next hour. the environment secretary michael gove has called for the cabinet to be given the full legal advice on the plan to avoid a hard border in ireland after brexit. proposals for the mechanism, known as the back—stop, remain a sticking point in attempts to secure a deal with the european union. downing street says it doesn't comment on legal advice. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. parliament isn't officially open for business today, but make no mistake — behind the scenes, there is plenty going on, even talk that we could be inching towards a brexit deal. senior ministers were fairly supportive after getting an update from the prime minister yesterday. but there are still sticking points and plenty of concern. he wants to see the government's legal advice before giving any deal his backing. do you think you can support the deal? and the dup, who support theresa may in government, want the advice published in full. we want her to get a good deal. that includes northern ireland,

and that we leave together as one country. that is why we want to see the legal advice, not because we doubt the prime minister, but because we need to understand, when it comes to a meaningful vote in the house of commons, the basis upon which we are taking our decision. the question of what happens here at the irish border is still the sticking point, the fear that despite the government's promises, northern ireland could end up with different trade arrangements to the rest of the uk. the irish prime minister says time is running out for a solution. i think it is possible for us to come to an agreement in november with a view to having a summit in november. but i do think that as every day passes, the possibility of having a special summit in november becomes less likely. there is talk of the cabinet being summoned in the next few days to sign off a brexit deal, with the strong caveat that there is still significant work to do first. the government says ministers

will be fully briefed. there will be a strong cabinet decision in relation to this brexit deal and therefore a good, informed conversation between cabinet ministers as we look to a positive deal. we're not there yet. for now, westminster is waiting to see how the next few crucial days develop. alex forsyth, bbc news. alex is back on her balcony and joins us now. yes, where it hasjust started to rain, so you might have caught a glimpse of a number allowed just for a moment. as you heard, the debate has moved on to whether or not the government should or should not the government should or should not cover in full the legal advice when it comes to this question of the irish border, and there are different schools of thought on this between the parties but also within the parties. keir starmer i'm a labour's shadow brexit secretary, has been out to try to shift the focus on the relationship the future relationship, and he ended up

talking about this issue. he said in labour's view, the government should publish that legal advice.|j labour's view, the government should publish that legal advice. i hope the government has the good sense to realise this is so important that it makes it available in parliament for us makes it available in parliament for us to see. if they don't, we'll have to think about what devices and pursued as we can do to force them to do so, but i actually hope to invite the government to reflect on this, to realise it is of such significance that it should be released and we should be able to read it when the time comes. iamjoined by i am joined by daniel. a conservative mp and a member of the european research group, a brexit backing group. do you think the government should be publishing that legal advice? it is interesting that mrstarmer is demanding legal advice? it is interesting that mr starmer is demanding the advice is published. i don't recall the previous labour government actually publishing any significant legal advice that they receive when they we re advice that they receive when they were in office, and it could set a dangerous precedent for actually

demanding all of this legal advice. however, clearly the er g will be discussing, given the huge significance of this decision, and the ramifications of how we vote potentially over the customs arrangements for northern ireland. it is something we will certainly be discussing within the er g, yes. valli deems to be the position of the dup and michael gove theresa may wanted in full instead of a summary, there are some concerns over something small print which means legal arrangements are slightly different when it comes to the backstop. is that a concern, and with that compel you to urge the government to produce all of the information? that is a huge concern, and anything that in any way smacks of any part of the united kingdom being treated in a different way would be completely unacceptable to many of us in the er g and would prevent us from backing the deal. we're not going to allow anybody to break this united kingdom apart,

because if you give that a northern ireland then of course the snp in scotland will want different arrangements for themselves. we are arrangements for themselves. we are a united kingdom and we will stay a united kingdom in a post—brexit world. so whether it is to do with the northern ireland issue or whether we can sign our own trading agreements ina whether we can sign our own trading agreements in a post—brexit world, all of that is going to be very important in understanding the legal aspects of that before deciding whether or not we can support it, yes. part of this must come down to trust. if the cabinet is given the legal advice and decides it meets the criteria and they put that deal to you then, surely you must trust the cabinet, trust the prime minister that they have weighed up those? it is not a question about trust. i shared an office with jeffrey cox, the attorney general

committee is a highly competent legal brain and a very competent man. but it is not a question of lacking trust in the government, we have a huge decision to make on behalf of our constituents whether we can back this deal, and there will be certain technical and legal matters therein that many parliamentarians will want to gauge and assess for themselves, whether or not before we can actively support the deal. thank you very much indeed. we have said it before that brexit always seems to be coming towards a crunch point, but it does seem that this time things might be slightly different with the talk of a possible cabinet meeting in the next few days, of course government sources urging some calm, saying there are still and all for what to do yet. thank you. the son of a 98—year—old man who has been violently robbed in his own home says he's ‘lost for words' about the attack.

peter gouldstone is in a life threatening condition in hospital after being found in his house in enfield yesterday morning. this photo has been released with the permission of his family. the met police described it as a "brutal and senseless" attack involving "completely excessive" violence. no arrests have been made. mr gouldstone's son simon has been speaking to the bbc. we are horrified, obviously, for something you read in the press is affecting other people, and it actually hits you. it is a bit difficult to put into words, you know, for someone who was a peaceful sort of person who lives in a peaceful sort of neighbourhood, you don't expect it. it must have been incredibly distressing to you to arrive at the house and see your dad. it was, but then you suddenly realise you got to do something, and fortu nately realise you got to do something, and fortunately doing something involved dialling 999, and the paramedics

turning up very properly indeed, very pleased to say. what was your first thought when he saw him lying on the ground, did you the worst? yes, yes, except i then noticed he was moving and breathing, but given the condition the house was incoming yes, idid the condition the house was incoming yes, i did fear the worst, yes. what was your father like, what has he been like throughout his life? well, a very, very sort of low—key, peaceful, supportive sort of person. he is not the sort of person to have climbed everest or swanned around the country or anything like that, but he is a supportive father, as you might expect, yes. two men have beenjailed for the manslaughter of a 15—year—old girl who died in 2016 after eating a takeaway meal. megan lee suffered from a peanut allergy and added a note to her orderfrom the royal spice in lancashire to explain her allergies. but the meal which was delivered contained widespread peanut protein and megan suffered irreversible brain damage caused by an allergic reaction.

the restaurant's former bosses, mohammed abdul kuddus and harun rashid, have been sentenced to two and three years respectively. a 17—year—old boy has been charged with murder after another teenager was stabbed to death outside a tube station. malcolm mide—madariola, from peckham, was attacked outside clapham south station on friday. police said the 17—year—old boy who has been charged will appear at bromley magistrates‘ court today. an 18—year—old man who was also arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on bail. jamie is here with all the business news in just jamie is here with all the business news injust a moment. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. president donald trump claims a "big victory" in us mid—term elections which saw democrats seize control of the house of representatives but republicans consolidate their grip on the senate. the man who got a 75—million—pound bonus steps down as chief executive of the house—builder persimmon, after outrage from shareholders. a call for brexit transparency: environment secretary michael gove has called for the cabinet to be given the full legal advice on theresa may's backstop plan. here's your business

headlines on afternoon live. marks & spencer has reported falling clothing and food sales and warned that it sees little improvement for the rest of this year. like—for—like sales, which strip out the impact of new stores, were down 2.2% for the six months to the end of september. john lewis is searching for a new chairman after sir charlie mayfield said he would step down in 2020. this comes a few months after the partnership posted a 99% fall in half—year profits in september. sir charlie became chairman of thejohn lewis group, which also includes waitrose supermarkets, in 2007. and more pain on the high street — mulberry‘s sales have fallen 11% during the first six months of its financial year — after the leather goods brand was hit by the failure of house of fraser. but it's doing better abroadtrade was strong in china, taiwan,

hong kong and japan. so the boss leaves persimmon. difficult to feel too sorry for him? i will argue something on his behalf. you imagine back in 2012, they came up with this pay scheme, that if the shares went up a certain amount can he was going to it. he said yes, most of the shareholders, yes, not all, said great, it all goes ahead and the shares get doubled in value, and he walks away initially with 110 million quid. as isaid, initially with 110 million quid. as i said, difficult to feel sorry for him. yes, but on the other hand, that was the agreement, that was the deal done by the company and then suddenly everyone turns around and says, sorry, far too much. i totally understand. there is a three letter word, cap. that would be nice. the chairman and head of the committee

has also resigned. the critical moment was when he had that interview with a bbcjournalist, and that was the point at which. .. interview with a bbcjournalist, and that was the point at which... all credit to the journalist, this is what happened. i think, yeah, i'd rather not talk, it has been well cove red. rather not talk, it has been well covered. so you don't want to discuss that today. any lessons to be learned? discuss that today. any lessons to be learned ? it discuss that today. any lessons to be learned? it was the biggest bonus in the country. no? 0k.|j be learned? it was the biggest bonus in the country. no? ok. ithink be learned? it was the biggest bonus in the country. no? ok. i think that truly unfortunate actually that you've done that. that will be every media training course in future will be using that as to how not to respond. a disaster in how it was handled and initiated, a complete and utter disaster. but is he keeping the money? yes, he will keep that 75 million can he says he will commit toa that 75 million can he says he will

commit to a charitable trust but not said how much. another mistake in terms of how he is handling it, he also gets £10,000 allowance the legal fees, doesn't get any more salary, but he will have to scrape by on the 75 million. events in america, republicans have strengthened their senate presents but the democrats won the house. markets quite like the idea, even though people who is interested in getting through legislation does not like basically what could end up as a gridlock in congress, the markets generally do. and of course we are all sitting on the back, the markets have been doing very well on the back of the tax reforms and the deregulation that has been going on so far add there is a chance that could continue. samira hussain is in new york city for us. she is in times square. indeed! do the markets like this? absolutely

they do, and for a few reasons. one of course it was unexpected outcome. markets were sort of looking at perhaps we would see the house of representatives would go to the democrats, and that is what happened, and as a result markets we re happened, and as a result markets were not ta ken happened, and as a result markets were not taken by surprise. investors got the outcome that was likely to happen and as a result, with trading started about 20 minutes ago and markets trading about 1% higher, in terms of what investors will see going forward, because as you rightly mentioned, jamie, there will be gridlock lately, so —— likely, so not a whole lot coming out of washington, so any kind of stimulus we have seen in the la st two kind of stimulus we have seen in the last two years, like the tax cuts, it is not likely we will see that again. what about something like infrastructure spending? i thought democrats might be keen on that, republicans, mr trump has been talking about that as well. is it

not something that can reach across the aisle to agree something like that? absolutely, infrastructure spending is certainly something that the two parties actually agree on, and in this day and age it is impressive that the two parties can agree on something. when you look at the us, there are roads and bridges that are literally crumbling, and they are in desperate need of repair, so this could be an opportunity for congress to relieve work together and to pass on sort of infrastructure spending bill, and that would be very well received by economists, investors and the us economy. that said, it really does rely on the two sides working together so we will have to see what happens what happens in the next two months and whether or not that can be happening. she has mickey mouse behind her. come-down. pelle edberg

night—time square, just calm down, it's america, can we do something serious now, simon? that is all rather exciting. that is all rather excitinglj that is all rather exciting. i have used all your time. all up 196, coming back from their recent lulls. all my fault. this sunday, 10,000 members of the public will process past the cenotaph in central london, to pay tribute to those who died during the first world war — 100 years on since the end of the conflict. all this week, in the run up to armistice day, we're travelling along the western front, uncovering the personal stories behind the great war. today, robert hall is in neuve—chapelle, on the french border with belgium, to find out about the role played by soldiers from india, thousands of whom lost their lives in the fighting. this memorial on a busy road junction near the french town of neuve—chapelle has a very different feel to others

across the battlefields. it's dedicated to the men from south asia who travelled across the world to fight notjust here in europe, but also in the middle east and north africa. thousands of them never returned home, and there's a feeling that, across the years, that sacrifice hasn't been recognised. i went to meet a man in the east midlands who's trying to put that right. mohammed khan is one of my great—grandfathers, and also captain mohammed as well. nottinghamshire gp irfan malik is on a mission. he's spent four years tracing his family history back to a village that was once part of british india... a village that sent over 400 of its fathers and sons to fight for the empire. born and bred in nottingham, i didn't really understand or have this information, and i thought world war i and world war ii was mainly a white war. i didn't really understand the massive contribution from commonwealth troops

from africa, west indies and undivided india. that's the reason i want to to give this information and educate more people, especially youngsters, about our very strong shared history. the memorial at neuve—chapelle, close to where indian troops fought their first action in 1915, carries the names of nearly 5,000 with no known grave. well over a million soldiers from south asia served in british forces. over 711,000 of them were killed in europe, africa and the middle east. but stories of that contribution and that heroism have not been widely told over the decades. he was actually on a ship from south africa heading back to india... mahatma gandhi had supported the war and indian independence. when the guns fell silent, india's struggle for self—rule overshadowed the bravery and self—sacrifice shown by so many. over time, i think we have had an element of selective amnesia, on both sides, as india fought for

its own independence. but now as two mature democracies, actually, we are rediscovering those contributions, and the khadi poppy is a symbol of that. these are the khadi poppies, made of cotton, similar to the clothing which gandhi wove and wore. it really symbolises india's self—reliance. i think we need to move remembrance into the second century, and this is one of the powerful ways we can engage the next generation. the gurkhas are still using this at sandhurst. .. back in nottingham, dr malik believes remembrance can, and should, bridge the divides in today's communities. when i was younger, i used to walk past remembrance functions and events and i didn't really feel part of it, but now i realise we should be there, and in the last four years,

i've gone out and laid wreaths myself because of the strong, shared history that we have. we are part of remembrance and we need to be out there as well. as you heard in that report, attitudes are changing and recognition is growing for the men whose names are carved on these panels. in the coming days, ceremonies will be held in france, belgium and the uk in their honour. tomorrow, we cross the belgian frontier to ypres, another famous battlefield, to examine the global impact of the first world war. time for a look at the weather with lucy martin. many of us seeing somewhat weather through the day today, fairly breezy as well. temperatures, though not particular warm, are a touch above average for this time of year in general. this double rainbow sent in from wolverhampton, there have been

some bright intervals at times, this photo sent in by a weather watcher in norfolk. we take a look at the pressure chart, low—pressure out towards the west, and these weather fronts gradually pushing their way north through the day. there will be some more persistent rain for a time, a feed of showers working their way in from the south—west. as we go through, there will be some clear spells, and some rain, and under clear skies, a chilly night that we have seen of late. in the early hours, we have seen some more showers pushing into western areas, they will work their way gradually north and east through the morning, then the next area of rain starts to work its way into western parts. the parts of england and wales, further persistent, at times heavy rain, and some quite gusty winds, but over in the south—east, largely dry and bright, highs of around 16 celsius.

as we move on to friday, all eyes to the west again, this next area of low pressure brings some stormy conditions to the west, as we move into friday. it will be another breezy day, the best of any bright and dry weather over in the east, some showers to start gradually pushing east, across scotland, and then we see that heavy, persistent rain pushing into northern ireland and into western parts of the uk. some strong winds that as well, gales or severe gales at times, temperatures at a maximum 110 celsius in the south—east. that rain does push across fairly quickly overnight, as we move on to saturday, and then saturday will bring a fairly unsettled day. it will be breezy again, with some showers, the showers generally the further south you are and to the west. the best of any dry, bright weather, eastern areas. the temperatures on saturday fairly similarto temperatures on saturday fairly similar to what we are looking up through much of the rest of the week, highs of around 16 celsius in the south, ten to 11 further north.

goodbye. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 3.00pm. president donald trump claims a "big victory" in us mid—term elections which saw democrats seize control of the house of representatives but republicans consolidate their grip on the senate. the man who got a £75 million bonus steps down as chief executive of the housebuilder persimmon, after outrage from shareholders. a call for brexit transparency: environment secretary michael gove says the cabinet should be given the full legal advice on theresa may's backstop plan. hello everyone — this is afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. in the first big test of donald trump's presidency, his republican party have had a mixed night in america's mid term elections. this is the scene live

in washington, where the republicans have lost control of the lower chamber of congress — the house of representatives. that means the democrats can now try to frustrate mr trump's agenda. but the republicans have strengthened their hold on the senate. all 435 seats in the house of representatives were contested. some results are still being counted but democrats have gained 27 seats, meaning they take control, while the republicans have lost the same number. it's a different story in the senate, the upper chamber hello, and a warm welcome to the special coverage of the mid—term elections on bbc news. i am on capitol hill in washington, dc. president trump is claiming victory victory following the midterms. it

is indeed true that his party has increased its majority in the senate, but added a very big but, the democrats seized control of the house of representatives, and with it, the chance to hinder, maybe even block the president's future plans. it was also a night when more women and minorities took seats than ever before. chris buchler has been looking at all of the results. with each seat and celebration, democrats crept their way back to political power and the ability to act as a check on the president. if this did mark a new era for american politics, it was led by women, among them the youngest ever congresswoman. oh, my gosh! and the first female muslim and native american representatives. we must do the work to create the america we believe in, the america we deserve. we are who we've been waiting for. together, their victories gave them

control of the house of representatives, and that means change in washington. today is more than about democrats and republicans. it's about restoring the constitution's checks and balances to the trump administration. democrats and republicans also fought it out in races to win governorships in dozens of states. that led to another first in colorado, with the first openly gay man to win such a vote in the us. but republicans had success in the senate. they didn'tjust hold onto their majority in the upper house of congress, they actually made gains. can marsha blackburn became the first female senator to ever represent tennessee after a bitter campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars. and democratic hopes of unseating ted cruz in texas came to nothing.

god bless texas! he held on despite a fierce challenge. this was an election about hope and about the future, and the people of texas rendered a verdict that we want a future with more jobs and more security and more freedom. president trump had flown to state after state in a bid to defend the republicans' majority in the senate. that put him at the centre of these elections, and in many cases where he went, his party won. thank you very much, missouri. it is great to be in indiana. hello, houston. wow, look at that crowd. 0h, do we love nashville? get out in 2018, because you're voting for me. that personal involvement seems to have made a difference... candidates that have embraced the president,

embraced his policies, that that he has gone in and campaigned for and worked hard for, we have seen that pay off tonight. the mixed results have left both sides claiming victory. this is it — the democrats have ta ken control of half of one of the three branches of government. laughter. all the gop has is the other half of congress, the supreme court, and a president who does whatever he wants. on twitter, donald trump called the result "a tremendous success". and there will be relief inside the white house that republicans have held on to the senate. but democrats taking the house of representatives will cause problems for the president. they'll be able to block legislation, and frustrate some of his more contentious plans. congress, just like america, is now divided — political power split between the two chambers, and the parties every bit as far apart. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. the truth is these mid—term election results ta ke the truth is these mid—term election results take some interpreting, so let's look at a bit of the detail. in particular, what happened in the house of representatives. there are still some vote to count, but as you

can see here, the democrats work illegally tories in the house of representatives. so far gaining 27 seats, to hold 219. so a very significant victory in the house. in the senate, though, the upper chamber of the us congress is a very different story. it was already in republican hands. now their grip is even tighter. the party has so far managed to net gain two seats. that may well rise further. there is one extraordinary recount under way now in florida, and we have seen recount in florida, and we have seen recount in florida before, of course. president trump has called the games in his words "a tremendous success", but in reality, it is a politically messy outcome that places a big question mark over mr trump's ability to deliver in his agenda over the next two years, with the house of representatives able to

thwart potentially much of what he wa nts to thwart potentially much of what he wants to do. well, monacojoins me live now from new york. she is a founding partner at an organisation helping progressive women make their way into politics. i would imagine that you at least you are celebrating the fact that many more women, and in particular, democratic party women are going to be coming into the next session of the house of representatives? absolutely. last night was an incredible night for women. we have over 100 women in the house next year, and we had an interminable —— incredible number of firsts, the first black woman to represent her district in illinois. two native american women, the list goes on. alexandria 0casio—cortez, the youngest ever... so, it was an incredible ride for women,

absolutely, but there is still much more work to be done. please do have a president who has no respect for women, our bodies, we have brett kavanaugh in the supreme court, so a lot of it ahead of us in the years to come. tell me more about this gender gap that we see developing in us politics. it is quite plain, as one runs the numbers, that in terms of the gender balance in the vote, women seem to have been driven by a disapproval of donald trump in a way that men were not. if spain to me how this is having an impact across the united dates of america? explained. it is notjust women running for office, they are leading the resistance. they are at campaign headquarters, the volunteers there, the women making the calls, running the women making the calls, running the campaigns, staffing the campaigns, there is an enormous gender gap, and i think a lot of it has to do with the president, he has

a very anti—women rhetoric that he puts forward, as well as the policies coming out of washington, so many of our congress members are all so many of our congress members are a ll wealthy so many of our congress members are all wealthy men. the policies put forward appeal to wealthy white men. they are not looking at things like student loans, childcare, reproductive rights, the amount of issues that if we had more women in office, and especially working women and diverse women, women of different social economic backgrounds, these people would be thinking about policies that would help us, so women across the country are looking at dcm saying they don't represent me, i even need to run for office or elect someone and work as ha rd office or elect someone and work as hard as i can to get someone into office who will represent my interests. but monaco, we cannot generalise about the women's vote, because if if we look at the numbers again, if we look at women who don't have a college education, it seems that they have stayed loyal to

donald trump. but if you let it states like florida and ohio, there it is clear that still there are many suburban women, supposedly going to democrats, that she stayed loyal to the republicans and donald trump. what do you think you have to do before the next presidential election in 2022 change balance? -- in 2020 two change that balance? we have an enormous pub in there, and do something that the democratic party needs to grapple with, but we have got so much more work to do before 2020 to find the right candidate to unseatjohn. he is still extremely popular u nfortu nately, still extremely popular unfortunately, and he uses this rhetoric of fear and anger that appeals to much of this country. there is a lot that we need to do before we can unseat trump, before we can find the right candidate to be able to speak to working people in this country, the way that trump u nfortu nately knows

in this country, the way that trump unfortunately knows how to speak and manipulative them, so there is a lot to do. thank you very much for jailing me from new york. now that they have control of the house of representatives, the democrats will potentially be able to block donald trump's legislative agenda. they will certainly have much more oversight over his administration and his policies. 0ur correspondent, richard lister, take a look at what impact these mid—term results could have on the rest of president trump's time in office. we're building the wall. we're building the wall, don't worry. it is the battle cry of his presidency. donald trump tried to make these elections all about immigration, raising the spectre of an invasion across the southern border which only he could stop. but his wall had only lukewarm republican support in congress. democrats will now ensure it won't happen on their watch. so what of his other big ideas? i am also calling on this congress to repeal and replace 0bamacare.

congressional republicans failed to abolish president 0bama's far—reaching health care reforms, but the issue has become a rallying point for democrats. now the threat is patrick morrissey's lawsuit to take away health care from people with pre—existing conditions. the democrats now want to improve 0bamacare, forcing the president onto the back foot. so where can he take a lead? we passed the largest tax cuts in the history of our country... he wants more tax cuts, but democrats will be wary of giving him a possible campaign boost. and they've already said they will force him to hand over his own tax returns, something he's refused to do so far. his presidency is about to get tougher. i will begin by swearing you in. robert mueller‘s investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race has been denounced as a

witchhunt by the president, but it continues, and democrats can now hold their own inquiries into russian collusion and mr trump's business empire. voting reform will be another democratic priority, as they try to shape the groundwork for the 2020 presidential elections, fighting restrictions such as those in georgia which made it more difficult for many poorer people to vote. thank you, florida, for your support. republicans, though, have strengthened their hold on florida and ohio, two states vital to president trump's re—election hopes, and of course, with a republican senate and white house, they can divert the democrats' agenda. but these midterms have galvanised the democratic party base, raising records amounts of campaign cash and making inroads into the republican heartland. all they need now is a presidential candidate. richard lister, bbc news. thereafter ill votes to be counted.

0ut west, there are still some work to be done. our correspondent is in arizona, and he has the latest from there. well, many hours after the polls closed, the arizona senate race remains too close to call. the formerfighter pilot, race remains too close to call. the former fighter pilot, martirosyan sally for the republicans is battling the democratic candidate who wants to become the first... the campaign was pretty nasty. it was dominated by concerns about access to quality of thought —— affordable health care, and also by the topic of immigration. president trump campaigned here in this state,

espousing his trademark tough talk on the issue to the delight of his supporters. we need that wall. there isa supporters. we need that wall. there is a reason why it is at the heart of all of us. i think it is william bourton. that is the issue that has been getting people out to vote? is that fair? that and the economy. obviously, the economy is booming, and we are loving it, every day, it isjust going. you can't complain about it. i love a man who knows what he wants and does what he says he's going to do. like you? no donald trump, sir. what you think of this election, what is the biggest issue in arizona here? immigration. definitely immigration. all this leave you want to see the wall built. we need to control the borders. no borders the country, it's that simple. i know you have

seen some of that in europe too. well, many democrats took a different approach in this election, accusing the president of stopping racial hatred. the latina population, voting population has almost doubled in the past 20 years, but if the democrats are going to succeed in states like arizona, they will need to persuade more hispanics to get to the polls. i have two just bring you one of the most extraordinary results to come out of these elections last night. it comes from nevada, where a dead candidate has won his town's vote, according to state the late dennis hof has one. they will appoint a repeat that for the seat that he won. one final detailfrom me. that is pretty much

it from ether now. don't forget you can get the very latest for me —— from all the elections on the website. the latest analysis is on the website, and a reminder that donald trump will talk to the white house press corps very soon. we will bring that live. from me, on capitol hill, back to you in london. the environment secretary michael gove has called for the cabinet to be given the full legal advice on the plan to avoid a hard border in ireland after brexit. proposals for the mechanism, known as the back—stop, remain a sticking point in attempts to secure a deal with the european union. downing street says it doesn't comment on legal advice. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. parliament isn't officially open for business today, but make no mistake — behind the scenes, there is plenty going on, even talk that we could be inching towards a brexit deal. senior ministers were fairly supportive after getting an update from the prime minister yesterday.

but there are still sticking points and plenty of concern. he wants to see the government's legal advice before giving any deal his backing. do you think you can support the deal? and the dup, who support theresa may in government, want the advice published in full. we want her to get a good deal. that includes northern ireland, and that we leave together as one country. that is why we want to see the legal advice, not because we doubt the prime minister, but because we need to understand, when it comes to a meaningful vote in the house of commons, the basis upon which we are taking our decision. the question of what happens here at the irish border is still the sticking point, the fear that despite the government's promises, northern ireland could end up with different trade arrangements to the rest of the uk. the irish prime minister says time is running out for a solution. i think it is possible for us to come to an agreement in november

with a view to having a summit in november. but i do think that as every day passes, the possibility of having a special summit in november becomes less likely. there is talk of the cabinet being summoned in the next few days to sign off a brexit deal, with the strong caveat that there is still significant work to do first. the government says ministers will be fully briefed. there will be a strong cabinet decision in relation to this brexit deal and therefore a good, informed conversation between cabinet ministers as we look to a positive deal. we're not there yet. for now, westminster is waiting to see how the next few crucial days develop. alex forsyth, bbc news. in the last half hour, the european union's brexit negotiator, michel barnier who is in finland has said it is impossible to save when the talks will be finalised. he said, to

be frank, we're not there yet. the clock is ticking. clearly that more work is needed in the brexit negotiations. we remain determined to reach a deal. that is the latest from michel barnier. two men have beenjailed for the manslaughter of a 15—year—old girl who died in 2016 after eating a takeaway meal. megan lee suffered from a peanut allergy and added a note to her order from the royal spice in lancashire to explain her allergies. but the meal which was delivered contained widespread peanut protein and megan suffered irreversible brain damage caused by an allergic reaction. the restaurant's former bosses mohammed abdul kuddus and harun rashid have been sentenced to two and three years respectively. a 17—year—old boy has been charged with murder after another teenager was stabbed to death outside a tube station. malcolm mide—madariola, from peckham, was attacked outside clapham south station on friday.

police said the 17—year—old boy who has been charged will appear at bromley magistrates court today. an 18—year—old man who was also arrested on suspicion of murder has been released on bail. 21 people including 15 children have been found in a refrigerated lorry at the port of newhaven in sussex. the group are thought to be from vietnam and were found hiding among crates of sparkling water last week — but details have only now been released. the children did not require medical treatment and are being cared for by social services. a romanian man, who is believed to be the driver, has been charged with assisting unlawful entry into the uk. six men who were arrested in connection with a model of grenfell tower being burned on a bonfire — have been released under investigation. a video shared on social media shows a cardboard model of the tower being set alight by a laughing crowd. the men were arrested on suspicion of a public order offence after they handed themselves in to police. a house linked to the video has also

been searched by police. a 98—year—old man is... peter gouldstone is in a life threatening condition in hospital after being found in his house in enfield yesterday morning. lauren moss reports. beaten, robbed and left the dead. peter gouldstone was brutally attacked in his own home. they stole his panasonic television and left him fighting for his life with two leads on the rain. his son discovered him semi—conscious and unable to speak. i am lost for words in terms of man's inhumanity to man. i understand his condition is stable. but given his age, it is going to be a few days before we know what the outcome is likely to

be. mr gouldstone who is housebound and has a heart condition has lived there for years. he used to be a postal worker before he retired and his wife died several years ago. detectives say it is one of the most shocking cases they have ever seen. it is horrendous. the amount of violence used against a venerable man with medical conditions is the portion —— is disproportionate and horrendous. the police have released this photo. they are hoping it will encourage anyone who knows what happened —— the family have released this photo. we're hoping it will encourage anyone who knows what happened to their family to come forward. we want to make sure they can't do anything like this to anyone else. the sooner the better. controls in the area have been stepped up, as the police continued

their investigations. —— patrols have been stepped up. this sunday 10,000 members of the public will process past the cenotaph in central london, to pay tribute to those who died during the first world war — one hundred years on since the end of the conflict. all this week, in the run up to armistice day, we're travelling along the western front, uncovering the personal stories behind the great war. today, robert hall is in neuve—chapelle, on the french border with belgium, to find out about the role played by soldiers from india, thousands of whom lost their lives in the fighting. this memorial on a busy road junction near the french town of neuve—chapelle has a very different feel to others across the battlefields. it's dedicated to the men from south asia who travelled across the world to fight notjust here in europe, but also in the middle east and north africa. thousands of them never returned home, and there's a feeling that, across the years, that sacrifice hasn't been recognised. i went to meet a man in the east midlands who's trying to put that right. mohammed khan is one of my great—grandfathers, and also captain mohammed as well.

nottinghamshire gp irfan malik is on a mission. he's spent four years tracing his family history back to a village that was once part of british india... a village that sent over 400 of its fathers and sons to fight for the empire. born and bred in nottingham, i didn't really understand or have this information, and i thought world war i and world war ii was mainly a white war. i didn't really understand the massive contribution from commonwealth troops from africa, west indies and undivided india. that's the reason i want to to give this information and educate more people, especially youngsters, about our very strong shared history. the memorial at neuve—chapelle, close to where indian troops fought their first action in 1915, carries the names of nearly 5,000 with no known grave. well over a million soldiers from south asia served in british forces.

over 74,000 of them were killed in europe, africa and the middle east. but stories of that contribution and that heroism have not been widely told over the decades. he was actually on a ship from south africa heading back to india... mahatma gandhi had supported the war and indian independence. when the guns fell silent, india's struggle for self—rule overshadowed the bravery and self—sacrifice shown by so many. over time, i think we have had an element of selective amnesia, on both sides, as india fought for its own independence. but now as two mature democracies, actually, we are rediscovering those contributions, and the khadi poppy is a symbol of that. these are the khadi poppies, made of cotton, similar to the clothing which gandhi wove and wore.

it really symbolises india's self—reliance. i think we need to move remembrance into the second century, and this is one of the powerful ways we can engage the next generation. the gurkhas are still using this at sandhurst. .. back in nottingham, dr malik believes remembrance can, and should, bridge the divides in today's communities. when i was younger, i used to walk past remembrance functions and events and i didn't really feel part of it, but now i realise we should be there, and in the last four years, i've gone out and laid wreaths myself because of the strong, shared history that we have. we are part of remembrance and we need to be out there as well. as you heard in that report, attitudes are changing and recognition is growing for the men whose names are carved on these panels. in the coming days, ceremonies will be held in france,

belgium and the uk in their honour. tomorrow, we cross the belgian frontier to ypres, another famous battlefield, to examine the global impact of the first world war. now it's time for a look at the weather with lucy martin. hello. many of us seeing some wet weather through the day today. fairly breezy as well. the temperatures although not particularly warm are touch above average for this time of year. this double rainbow sent in earlier from wolverhampton. they have been some bright intervals at times. if we look at the pressure chart, low pressure towards the west and these weather fronts gradually pushing north through the day. there will be some more persistent rain for northern ireland and western parts of scotland. some showers working their way

in from the south—west. tonight, the showers will ease, as will the rain. there will be simply spells and under the clear skies it is going to be a chilly night than of late. these are the temperatures in towns and cities. we could wake up to a touch of frost in northern ireland and scotland tomorrow morning. we have already seen more showers pushing into western areas. they will work their way north and east and then the next area of rain starts to work its way into western parts. heavy rain and quite gusty winds. but over in the south—east, largely dry and bright. highs ofaround highs of around 14 celsius. as we move into friday, it is all eyes to the west again and this next area of low pressure brings some stormy conditions to the west as we move into friday. it will be another breezy day. the best of any dried and bright weather in the east. some showers to start, gradually

pushing east across scotland. we will see that heavy, persistent rain pushing into northern ireland and western parts of the uk. some strong winds with that as well. some gales or severe gales at times. a maximum temperature of 14 celsius in the south—east. that rain does push across a fairly quickly overnight as we move into saturday and then saturday will bring a fairly unsettled day. it will be breezy again with some showers. the showers generally the further south you are. and to the west, the best of any dry and bright weather the eastern areas. and the temperatures on saturday fairly similar to what we are looking up through much of the rest of the week. highs of around 14 celsius in the south, around ten or 11 further north. goodbye. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. president donald trump claims a "big victory" in us mid—term elections, which saw democrats seize control of the house of representatives, but republicans consolidate their grip on the senate. the man who got a £75 million bonus steps down as chief executive of the house—builder persimmon, after anger from some shareholders. a call for brexit transparency:

environment secretary michael gove says the cabinet should be given the full legal advice on theresa may's backstop plan. marks and spencer has reported a fall in sales and warned of further challenges on the high street in the months ahead. sport now on afternoon live with katherine downes. a boost for formula 1? in vietnam particularly, yes. they have announced there will be a race in hanoi from 2020, so big news for southeast asian formula 1 fans. it is going to be a street circuit as well around the streets of the capital, away from the beautiful historic centre, i'm reliably told, and a little bit out towards the outskirts where there is a bit more space. let's look how it is supposed

to look in hanoi and why formula 1 have decided it is such a good space to attract new fans. the question for british formula 1 fans, what does this mean for the race at silverstone? the contract runs out in 2019 and the concern is that putting hanoi for example on the calendar will knock off another race, like the german grand prix, the british grand prix, and even perhaps the brazilian grand prix as well, which takes place this weekend. the contract there runs out in 2019, but it all depends on whether the organisers of the sport, liberty media, whether they are going to expand the calendar to 25 races, in which case perhaps germany, silverstone and brazil will stay on the circuit, or whether they will stick to 21 races, and then the question about substance's future still hangs in the balance. let's here about why they focused on vietnam. the priority for us to try and host formula 1 races in what we believe

are the most exciting and dynamic cities and countries around the world. and asia is clearly very important overall to our future. it is really important, it really is the driving engine of the world's future, so as we look to grow the sport in asia, we want to be in countries that we think will be the engines of growth and excitement. the engines of excitement. ifjose mourinho had a moustache like that they wouldn't be up to see what he said when he walked off the pitch. this is because the fa are going to appeal against a decision not to charge him for comments he allegedly made after a match. the fa claimed that the manchester united manager swore in portuguese to a television camera, as he walked off the pitch following united's 3—2 win over newcastle last month. the club successfully contested that charge, but the fa are saying he definitely

did it, we will go after him and make sure he gets the punishment he deserves. tonight, manchester united play juventus in turin...and paul pogba says he has no problem with being stripped of the vice—captaincy. united bossjose mourinho made the move in september, apparently because of concerns about pogba's attitude. but pogba says he plays for his manager with ‘happiness'. the manager is the one who choose who's going to be captain, and me, so who's going to be captain, and me, soi who's going to be captain, and me, so i was the second one after valencia, then if he takes me, he takes me the hand band, it doesn't change anything for me. ijust want to play, perform, that's myjob, and give my best for the team. a rather cheerful paul pogba. manchester city have been accused of ‘cheating' by the people who run

spain's top league. la liga say the club should be sanctioned over claims city misled uefa over sponsorship deals to get round financial fair play rules. the claims have been made in the german magazine der spiegel. so far city have refused to comment directly but say it's an "organised and clear" attempt to damage their reputation. i don't know what happened, because iama i don't know what happened, because i am a manager, i am focused on what happened on the pitch, on the locker room, but all the business of how they handled this kind of situation, iam they handled this kind of situation, i am completely out of that. but i am part of the club, supporter of the club, and we want to do what really we have to do, in terms of the rules. england have taken control of the first test against sri lanka after a dominant display on the second day. debutant ben foakes reached his first test century before falling for 107 as england added 21 to their overnight total to post 342. the tourists then produced an excellent bowling performance — moeen ali the pick of the bunch, taking 4 for 66 to bowl the hosts out for 203 in 68 overs. england finished 38 without loss at the close, 177 runs ahead. that's all the sport for now.

we just have to hope that the rain stays away if they are to win that first test. a good call in monsoon season! thank you dimanche. let's go live to washington where the republican senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, is giving a news conference after the us mid—term elections. very helpful. yeah, i think the republican core voters and the statement that was critical to us we re statement that was critical to us were highly offended by the presumption of innocence, and i think it was like an adrenaline shot. we were worried about the lack of intensity on our side. you credited the president for his

work, the democrats in the united states communal history lost the house, i states communal history lost the house, lam states communal history lost the house, i am wondering what kind of impact the president has had on your party particularly with women voters? i am going to try not to have us waste our time on routine questions of what the president may say at any given moment, but what i'm here to talk about is the senate. we had a very good day. i'm proud of what happened, the president was very helpful to us.“ you look at the exit polls, one of the most important messages was health care. what you take the message that any attempt to repeal aca is dead? i think it is pretty

evident the democratic house will not be adjusted in that, there are serious problems with 0bamacare that need to get fixed. they raised the phoney issue of whether we were four against the predictions. it may have worked in some cases where they try to define health care on that issue. i think all of our candidates who subsequently won were able to make clear to voters that everybody we knew was in favour of covering pre—existing conditions, including the candidates. so the rhetoric doesn't solve the problem, and there are serious problems with 0bamacare, andi are serious problems with 0bamacare, and i think we are going to have to leave now try to address it on a bipartisan basis. both pelosi and the president took about fighting high prescription drug prices, is that something be senate could work with pelosi on? i can't imagine that won't be on the agenda. is there

anything that the senate republican could or would do to help president trump, in the event that democrats in the house attempt to seize his tax returns? what would senate republicans do in the event that the house democrats tried to obtain president trump's tax records? kellie well, the whole issue of presidential harassment is interesting. i remember when we tried it in the late 90s, we impeached president clinton. his numbers went up and ours went down, and we underperformed in the next election, so the democrats in the house will have two decide just how much presidential harassment they think is good strategy. i'm not so sure it will work for them. to go back to that, are you recommending that for house democrats that the oversight they have said they are going to do might i fire on them? they are not interested in my

recommendations, all i am doing is making a historical observation that the business of presidential harassment, which we were deeply engaged in in the late 90s, improved the president's approval rating and thanked ours. that is my observation. that might not be a smart strategy, but it is up to them to decide how they want to handle that. is there anything you will be doing in the coming months to increase the number of women who are being recruited on the republican side to run for office? it has been a frustration. i think i have mentioned to you before that we have had plenty of women candidates, a lot of them have not won. marsha blackburn won, we are hopeful that martha macsharry will win. i am going to be trying to convince one of our women for example to go on the judiciary committee, something of our women for example to go on thejudiciary committee, something i have tried and failed in the last couple of congresses. hopefully we

will have two new women republican senators shortly put up that is mitch mcconnell taking questions coming was asked about claims that the democrats are going to be investigating the president, and donald trump himself has treated, saying if the democrats are going to waste taxpayer money at the house level, we will investigate them at the senate level. two can play at that game, he has treated in the last few hours, and he will be given a news conference at about 4:30pm, and we will bring you that live on bbc news. the environment secretary michael gove has called for the cabinet to be given the full legal advice on the plan to avoid a hard border in ireland after brexit. proposals for the mechanism, known as the back—stop, remain a sticking point in attempts to secure a deal with the european union. downing street says it doesn't comment on legal advice. our political correspondent

jonathan blake joins us from westminster. westminster is quiet, mps are away, but the business of brexit goes on, and we understand that cabinet ministers have been invited into downing street to review the draft of the withdrawal agreement, that is the terms of britain's exit from the eu, that is the 95% of it which is so far complete. it is without that remaining 5% which is perhaps the most remaining 5% which is perhaps the m ost d evoted remaining 5% which is perhaps the most devoted of all, the part of it which refers to what would happen if a trade deal can't be done by the end of december 2020 when the transition period finishes to avoid checks at the northern ireland border and that is still the main sticking point, the main stumbling block in negotiations. as you say, the environment secretary michael gove has called for the legal advice that the government gets on that to be given to cabinet ministers in full. and there are growing calls

from others at westminster for that to be published more widely. the dup say it should be made public on a matter as important as this, and labour are saying that mps at least should get to see it and the shadow brexit secretary sir keir starmer made that point in brussels a little earlier. i hope the government has the good sense to realise this is so important that it makes it available in parliament for us to see. if they don't, we'll have to think about what devices and pursued as we can do to force them to do so, but i actually hope to invite the government to reflect on this, to realise it is of such significance that it should be released and we should be able to read it when the time comes. we arejoined by we are joined by the labour mp we arejoined by the labour mp and chair of parliament's we arejoined by the labour mp and chair of pa rliament‘s brexit committee, hilary benn. do you agree with sir keir starmer that mps should see that legal advice?” with sir keir starmer that mps should see that legal advice? i do, on such an important issue, which is going to affect our country, every business, the way we do trade our

laws, we must see what the government's own legal assessment has to say about what parliament will be asked to sign up to. the government has said it will produce an economic assessment, marseille a bit late in the day, that will be put before parliament if there is a deal. if there is legal advice we should see it too. if the cabinet can look at a copy then mps should be to do so as well. others make the point that legal advisers, the attorney general should be free to make robust arguments, which advise the government. if they have to do that publicly, then they may back away from saying what they really need to say. is that a fair argument? well, you can publish a summary of the essential arguments, that would be one way out of that. normally that is correct. this is such a big decision, so important, i

think in this case the government should have a way of making an exemption so we know what it is we are signing up to, because that is what parliament will be asked to do as an when a withdrawal agreement comes back from the negotiations taking place. delie there is clearly a suspicion and unease about the detail of the backstop, whether the re st of detail of the backstop, whether the rest of the uk would simply mirror the rules. do you think it is possible to get a backstop agreement which would see the avoidance of checks out the northern ireland border or is it simply an impossible aim? it is very difficult because the government said we are leaving the government said we are leaving the customs union and the single market. that is completely incompatible, and that is why we have this problem in the first place. there appears to have been some movement on the part of the eu. i think some movement on the part of the eu. ithink any some movement on the part of the eu. i think any arrangement will have to be uk wide, but it will also require

the government to give up this idea that somehow a backstop arrangement can be time limited. it cannot be, if it has to be used and comes into effect, it will last until and unless a future trade will asian chip can be put in place, which keeps that border open. brexit secretary dominic raabe got us excited couple of weeks ago when he wrote your committee saying he would be happy to appear on 21st of november and suggesting a deal could be done by then. do you think that still the case? only time will tell. we expect to see dominic raabe before our committee on the 21st of november whether a deal has or has not been concluded because we have seen more eastern leave the negotiator from the other side, michel barnier, van the man who is leading for the uk's side, and i think that is not keeping parliament properly informed, and in particular the select committee. hilary benn, thank you forjoining us. it feels like we could well be on the verge of some significant development is,

in terms of brexit negotiations, but we are told there are still a lot of work to do. in the meantime we watch and we wait. thank you. ok, jonathan. we will return to you when there is a development (!) jamie is here with the business news in just a moment but first the headlines. president donald trump claims a "big victory" in us mid—term elections which saw democrats seize control of the house of representatives but republicans consolidate their grip on the senate. the man who got a 75—million—pound bonus steps down as chief executive of the house—builder persimmon, after outrage from shareholders. a call for brexit transparency: environment secretary michael gove has called for the cabinet to be given the full legal advice on theresa may's backstop plan. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. john lewis is searching for a new chairman after sir charlie mayfield said he would step down in 2020. this comes a few months after the partnership posted a 99% fall in half—year profits in september.

sir charlie became chairman of thejohn lewis group, which also includes waitrose supermarkets, in 2007. house prices in the uk could drop next year — if the government fails to reach a brexit deal. according to analysis by the ey item club, prices will fall "modestly" if there is no agreement with brussels. however, it found a negotiated deal could see prices rise by around 2%. and more pain on the high street — mulberry‘s sales have fallen 11% during the first six months of its financial year — after the leather goods brand was hit by the failure of house of fraser. but it's doing better abroadtrade was strong in china, taiwan, hong kong and japan. m&s standing for miserable sales.|j like that. what puzzles me about m&s, in many ways it has this...

hang on, i'll get comfortable, it sounds like a long one. it has got its handle on the right demographic, the older generation, which is expanding, its getting bigger, they have all the money, why isn't it doing better? it is said it is silo, slow and hierarchical command that comes from the chief executive, steve rowe, it is unfortunate that he sees that, but he says this is a slow ship to turn around, it takes a long time. but we talk to him earlier, this is what he said. we are turning every business abu dhabi stone in the business —— we are turning every stone in the business over. that means we have to get through this next stage before i expect to see improvement in those numbers. the food numbers are an example, because what we are doing is improving values for our customers, protecting the magic of m&s food, we believe it is the best on the high street, but we want to sharpen our values, which means

bringing prices down and taking away difficult and confusing promotions. the fuss about being scammed by fake pension providers. it is this money coming in, yes... what is that? it isa coming in, yes... what is that? it is a guy on coming in, yes... what is that? it isa guy ona coming in, yes... what is that? it is a guy on a phone, an anonymous gamma ringing up someone who has just got a defined benefit pension, a final salary pension, a large wad of money. the guilty party there is ringing them up and saying, i know what we can do about your money...” think i recognise him... what we can do about your money...” thinki recognise him... you can't, that's why we chose that photograph. these people are being rung up, i wa nt to these people are being rung up, i want to see how big a question this is. we can talk to the chief ombudsman, caroline wayman. how big a problem is this, people ringing up we say we have a flo it is a pretty

big problem and a growing area, if you are called out of the blue, then the most part the best advice usually is to put the phone down. if you need advice, go to a free source of information but don't talk to someone who finds you up out of the blue. supposing you do, what records do you have? it depends. sometimes the people making these calls are not regulated, which unfortunately means you have very little recourse will stop the fit is someone who is regulated, you can complain to the financial ombudsman. you can check someone is covered by going to the fca website. the financial conduct authority. but the general feeling is if someone gets in contact with you, that you don't really have anything to do with it, you should be the proactive party? most definitely. it is a very important decision what to do with your pension, as a general rule of thumb, put the phone down politely if you like, but don't engage and think

about what advice you need and go to about what advice you need and go to a reputable source. on a broader note, this whole change in a way that people are receiving their pensions, and having access to their pensions, and having access to their pensions now means that there is literally billions of pounds out there with people wondering what to do with them. how confident are you that the financial conduct industry is being able to look after that money, to be to give fair advice and good advice to people who are wondering what to do with their money? there are a spirits is that most financial advisers do a great job, and what we have done today is published some case studies so we can set out what we think fairness looks like and try to prevent any problems later down the line. most instances, financial advisers are acting in the best interests, but if people are worried and think they haven't been treated well, they can come to us. caroline, the chief

ombudsman. summer rae has treated it looks a bit like boris to me. he has got a point. let's look at the markets. the ftse100 got a point. let's look at the markets. the ftse 100 taking the lead from the dow and the knack —— the nasdaq. response to the mid—terms presumably. the nasdaq. response to the mid-terms presumably. the pound is looking fairly strong. it was down below 1.30, but that is optimism about. would you believe, brexit? remember that. thank you very much, jamie. emma thompson has officially been made a dame, after a ceremony at buckingham palace.

the harry potter star was named in the queen's birthday honours back in june, and attended her damehood investiture ceremony today. she received her honourfor services to drama, having won oscars, baftas and golden globes awards during a career spanning more than three decades. prince william carrying out ceremony today. at 40, we are joining prince william carrying out ceremony today. at 40, we arejoining our collea g u es today. at 40, we arejoining our colleagues at bbc world for the latest on those mid—terms and that news co nfe re nce latest on those mid—terms and that news conference too from president donald trump, scheduled for 4pm london time but we will make sure you see that whatever time it gets under way. now the weather with lucy martin. many of us seeing somewhat weather through the day today, fairly breezy as well. temperatures, though not particular warm, are a touch above average for this time of year in general. this double rainbow sent in from wolverhampton, there have been some bright intervals at times, this photo sent in by a weather watcher in norfolk.

we take a look at the pressure chart, low—pressure out towards the west, and these weather fronts gradually pushing their way north through the day. there will be some more persistent rain for a time, a feed of showers working their way in from the south—west. as we go through, there will be some clear spells, and some rain, and under clear skies, a chilly night that we have seen of late. in the early hours, we have seen some more showers pushing into western areas, they will work their way gradually north and east through the morning, then the next area of rain starts to work its way into western parts. the parts of england and wales, further persistent, at times heavy rain, and some quite gusty winds, but over in the south—east, largely dry and bright, highs of around 14 celsius. as we move on to friday, all eyes to the west again, this next area of low pressure brings some stormy conditions to the west, as we move into friday. it will be another breezy day, the best of any bright and dry weather over in the east, some showers to start gradually pushing east, across scotland, and then we see that heavy, persistent rain pushing

into northern ireland and into western parts of the uk. some strong winds that as well, gales or severe gales at times, temperatures at a maximum 40 celsius in the south—east. that rain does push across fairly quickly overnight, as we move on to saturday, and then saturday will bring a fairly unsettled day. it will be breezy again, with some showers, the showers generally the further south you are and to the west. the best of any dry, bright weather, eastern areas. the temperatures on saturday fairly similar to what we are looking up through much of the rest of the week, highs of around 14 celsius in the south, ten to 11 further north. goodbye. this is a us election special on bbc news, i'm stephen sackur in washington. a tough new political landcape for president trump after the democrats win control of the house of representatives.

thanks to you, tomorrow will be a new day in america. among the new faces, the youngest woman ever to sit in congress and the first muslim and native american women. but the president claims a "big win" after his party makes gains in the senate and vows to hit back if he faces new investigations. iam barbara i am barbara plett usher usher at the white house where president trump is due to give his reactions to the election results within the hour. welcome to washington dc — i'm stephen sackur — with special coverage of the us midterm elections. welcome to capitol hill with the

dome of the capitol building behind me. after months of bitter campaigning, americans have put the democrats in charge of the house of representatives for the first time in eight years. a blow you might think for president trump and his republican party. but he's been claiming it as a success as his party increased control of the senate. it leaves congress, like the country, divided. chris buckler has this report. with each seat and celebration, democrats crept their way back to political power and the ability to act as a check on the president. if this did mark a new era for american politics, it was led by women, among them the youngest ever congresswoman. oh, my gosh!

and the first female muslim and native american representatives. we must do the work to create the america we believe in, the america we deserve. we are who we've been waiting for. together, their victories gave them control of the house of representatives, and that means change in washington. today is more than about democrats and republicans. it's about restoring the constitution's checks and balances to the trump administration. democrats and republicans also fought it out in races to win governorships in dozens of states. that led to another first in colorado, with the first openly gay man to win such a vote in the us. but republicans had success in the senate. they didn'tjust hold onto their majority in the upper house of congress, they actually made gains. can marsha blackburn became the first female senator to ever represent tennessee after a bitter campaign that cost tens

of millions of dollars. and democratic hopes of unseating ted cruz in texas came to nothing. god bless texas! he held on despite a fierce challenge. this was an election about hope and about the future, and the people of texas rendered a verdict that we want a future with more jobs and more security and more freedom. president trump had flown to state after state in a bid to defend the republicans' majority in the senate. that put him at the centre of these elections, and in many cases where he went, his party won. thank you very much, missouri. it is great to be in indiana. hello, houston. wow, look at that crowd. oh, do we love nashville? get out in 2018, because you're voting for me. that personal involvement seems to have made a difference...

candidates that have embraced the president, embraced his policies, that that he has gone in and campaigned for and worked hard for, we have seen that pay off tonight. hello, houston. wow, look at that crowd. oh, do we love nashville? this is it — the democrats have ta ken control of half of one of the three branches of government. laughter. all the gop has is the other half of congress, the supreme court, and a president who does whatever he wants. on twitter, donald trump called the result "a tremendous success". and there will be relief inside the white house that republicans have held on to the senate. but democrats taking the house of representatives will cause problems for the president. they'll be able to block legislation, and frustrate some of his more contentious plans. congress, just like america, is now divided — political power split between the two chambers, and the parties every bit as far apart. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. ina

in a nation of 50 states, the mid—term elections are inevitably complex, but let's try and give you some detail on what happened. here are the details about what happened in the house of representatives. there are still some votes to count but as you can see, the democrats the clear victor in the house, so far gaining 28 seats to hold 220. in the senate though, it's a very different story — already held by republicans — it's now looking even more red, after the party managed to gain two seats. president trump has called the gains a "tremendous success". the numbers suggest that the republicans have at least 51, but it might go to 54 in that chamber. but in reality — it's a messy outcome that places

a big question mark over mr trump's ability to deliver on his agenda with significantly less support in the house of representatives. so lets‘ get president trump's reaction to the results— our correspondent barbara plett usher is at the white house, where we are expecting trump to give a news conference in the next 30 minutes or so. she gave us this update. president trump's response has been to portray the election result in the best light possible. we will hear from the best light possible. we will hearfrom him shortly in a news conference, which he said would be to discuss the successes of the mid—term, but he has already been tweeting on it, and he has been focusing on the fact that republicans not only gained control in the senate, they also gained seats. he called himself a magic man. it is true, that where he campaigned, republican candidates

did win, it is also true that he campaigned where he was popular, and there were enough republicans led up of those governing style to switch and give the democrats the control of the house. that's not good for him. it is not eight —— it means that democrats can block his legislative initiative, and it crucially mean that they can open investigations into his activities and into members of the white house and into members of the white house and cabinet officials. that leaves people nervous. will that make donald trump recalculate all reassess his style and approach? possibly, it is possible that he may try to walk across the aisle with the democrats on certain issues, but if you look at the signals sent on his twitter feed, he seems to be quite triumphant, and he seems to feel that his confrontational and divisive approach is actually a winning formula, what his supporters like. i would winning formula, what his supporters like. iwould not winning formula, what his supporters like. i would not be surprised if we see more of that going into the 2020 presidential campaign. it was barbara talking to me a short

time ago. there is reaction coming from senior politicians all over washington. a little earlier, us senator mitch mconnell has been giving his response to the results coming in overnight. when we do things together, it almost never makes news. even in this current situation where we have republicans in control of all three branches, i have a long list of things we did on a bipartisan basis, from water infrastructure, the best approach... airport infrastructure, fda will authorise a fission. on and on. i do think that we work together on, and people think we all hate each other,

even though we had obviously big differences over things like taxes, and judges, there were plenty of other things we did together. there is the reason that would stop simply because the house now becomes more democrats. he has reasons to be happy, but it is extraordinarily complex. to make more sense of it, i am joined here on the hill. with me is bill press, he's a liberal commentator and was once the chairman of the california democratic party, from new york evan siegfried is a republican strategist and political columnist and from newjersey is kelly dittmar researcher at the center for american women and politics. welcome all. first to you bill... you have watched many a mid—term election in your time. does it seem to you that there is a very clear

message from this one? frankly, the results are complex, and in the house and the senate we have different results. this has been a revolutionary mid—term election, actually historic. more people voted in this mid—term than most midterms ever. normally people for all asleep during the mid—term. this time they we re during the mid—term. this time they were cut. 36 million americans voted. even before yesterday's midterms. i think it is historically... this is really a referendum on donald trump. he made ita referendum on donald trump. he made it a referendum on himself. if you vote for them, you vote for me, and look what happened, the house went democratic, not a very good right for donald trump. that is such a declaration, this is a night about donald trump, but it's hard to read the message, severe blow in the house, but in the senate he has gained. not hard to read. his strategy, 53 rallies, in everyone he

said, my name is not on it, i am on it. if it for so and so is a vote for me. so the first time in two yea rs, for me. so the first time in two years, that people had a chance to save do we like the direction donald trump has taken the country? the third thing i would say in terms of being revolutionary is, you cannot underestimate the importance of the house of representatives being in control of the democrats. they have investigative power, oversight power, appropriations power, they have subpoena power. the caravan that donald trump should be worried about is the caravan of subpoena plea. if they so choose? but it seems that they have an important decision to make. how far do they push the powers that they have got ina deep push the powers that they have got in a deep and profound confrontation with the white house over the next two years. well, they are not gained to be able to let him get away with everything he has been able to get

away with. they want to a break on this presidency, that's what the american people want. think about it, the first time in two years that donald trump has been accountable to anybody. are you saying that the american people want the toxic poisonous political atmosphere in washington to get worse? no, they wa nt washington to get worse? no, they want the government to do its job. for example, the president of the united states say that 800 family members coming from honda rs, 800 miles away are an invasion that requires sending 15,000 american troops to the southern border. —— honduras. i think they want congress to say, what is going on? is this the proper use of the military, when the proper use of the military, when the president fires the head of the fbi, i think they want congress to look into it and say what were the reasons here, and is this an abuse of the president's power? there is a balance of power, that is the thrust

of our government. if i may say so, asa of our government. if i may say so, as a veteran democrat activists, you have couched everything, in the democrats ability to in a sense take on the... is there not now a time for both the democrats who control the house, and trump and his advisers in the white house to think to themselves, what the american people need is both of us to try to reach out. try to cooperate, try to get some stuff done together, whether it but health care, immigration reform, or whatever, whether it but health care, immigration reform, orwhatever, is frankly the —— because frankly the american people are sick... yes, but i would point out republicans controlling everything in the last two years, they have got nothing done. i think the democrats have proven that they are willing to reach out and work on the big thing

called infrastructure. on immigration reform, on climate change, they are ready to come to be table, if donald trump and the republicans are willing. let me tell you something else. my sense tells me, donald trump are saying right now, yes i am beautified, if they try to get me, i will fight back, i bet you that donald trump will prove that he is ready to make deals with nancy pelosi. he calls himself the deal—maker. my prediction is it's not going to be asked versus them, i think donald trump is going to alienate some of his and annoy some of his republican supporters by making deals with the democrats. deal, we have heard that before. we will see if it works. thank you very much forjoining us. some fascinating insights there. have got two alok guess that i will turn to now. evan who is a republican strategist, and kelly, and independent researcher who is focused on getting women into politics. kelly, let me start with you. i imagine one thing that

thrills you about these mid—term election result is that women, in record numbers where candidates, and record numbers where candidates, and record numbers where candidates, and record numbers of women are going to be coming into the house of representatives, how do feel but that? yes, we have been working to try and increase in's representation over the state, and it has been long and hard work. the centre that i work for happy doing is the nearly half a century, and we are still seeing women's underrepresentation, even after this election, in which we are going to see record number of women in the us congress, we still have a lot more work to do. so, with those numbers, women will still be less tha n those numbers, women will still be less than 25% of congress. we elected nine women governors, but again, we have 50. it is a two sided story. one is, let's celebrate the su ccesses story. one is, let's celebrate the successes of women, as the significant rise in the representation, particularly among

women of colour, so that we not only increase women's representation, we diversify the women who will serve an office next time, but let's also use this as a reminder that women's representation has not been eradicated in one election, —— underrepresentation has not been eradicated, and we need to continue that energy that we saw, and focus on what we can do to even better represent all women in the population in our elected bodies. one group that we will not see more representatives were prior —— were republican women. we will see a drop that. you are right. if we look at the new congress, clearly the democrats are bringing more women into the place than the republicans are. if! into the place than the republicans are. if i may turn to you, heaven. there is a gender gap problem here that the republican party, and the

matters going into the next election in 2020. how can the republican party led by donald trump reach out to women voters and succeed with women candidates in a way that is feeling right now. well the gender gap is only getting worse. we lost women by over 20 points last night, and that is a huge problem. there are plenty of issues that the republican party could discuss that would be beneficial to women. take middle—aged women, they tend to leave the workforce to take care of elderly relatives when they are nearing the end of the lives, and to the pass away. they can't re—enter the pass away. they can't re—enter the workforce, and they end up with menialjobs that don't allow them to continue on the corporate ladder. it is because we have a elderly care crisis united states. some sort of family leave would soften the blow,

as well as getting more elder aids out there and changed, this may sound trivial and almost dismissive, but feminine hygiene products are taxed in many states, i think the president should be pushing at a local novel to have those taxes removed. we also saw a massive gap in younger voters, who turned out at a much higher rate than they did in 2014. younger voters in 2014 went to the republican party by last two. in this cycle, it was 66—33. so, democrats are doing very well with younger voters and democrats are doing very well with younger voters and women, democrats are doing very well with younger voters and women, but they are not doing well with men, and whites, in particular. right, i am good to stay with you haven't, then i will come back to you, kelly. the year, evan, what does donald trump need to do, in your opinion, over the next few months, to give him a fighting chance every election,

because if you have such a problem appealing to women across this nation, and to young people, that suggests in a general election, as recall the presidential election, he has got a profound problem, do think you fundamentally it needs to change his style and his tone? sam maxwell, i think he is going —— his style and his tone? sam maxwell, i think he is going -- i think years... he is going to view that as an endorsement of his tactics. i don't see him softening his language, actually see him pushing it even further, because it work them in 2016, and now it has worked them in 2016, and now it has worked them into bars and 18. he will be betting on democrats having —— in 2018. he will be betting on democrats making a mistake and nominating someone who is not palatable to the general election, so that —— electorate, is the majority of the electorate will stay

home. i think the republican party has had some serious trouble last night because when the democrats ran moderate candidates, they won, and you are forgetting the state races, the democrats picked up seven governorships. they now control both the upperand governorships. they now control both the upper and lower chambers and the governorships of 60 states. they won 330 state legislative seats. they also won control of the house of representatives. indeed, so i wanted to register kelly, just a thought for you, kelly. to register kelly, just a thought foryou, kelly. something that to register kelly, just a thought for you, kelly. something that i picked up earlier on with an experienced political operator in washington, he said that he would that quite a lot of money the democrats would come up with a candidate for the presidential election in 2020, who is a woman, a woman to run against donald trump. do you think that would be wise politics, and do you think that

there is the right woman candidate out there for the democrats to pick? yes, i would say it's about time, right. well, we thought we might be there in 2016, but we want, but what about 2020 ? there in 2016, but we want, but what about 2020? yes, i think, first of all to a latter question, there are certainly plenty of oil fired women who have done the resume and could stand up to him and evade him and speak to a policy that would speak toa speak to a policy that would speak to a broader population of not only democrat, but across the country. you see some of those women who are currently in the senate who could do thatjob, but also women who are in state—level offers across the country. certainly there is a pool of women who could be on that shortlist, thinking about who could run for president, and should they do that? is that strategic smart? strategically smart? i think you would have to look at each individual woman and think about who

she might appeal to, where her geographic ties are, all of the factors that you would normally consider any candidate, and gender, and rays are among them, and particularly for this president, one interesting thing is he sees particularly irked —— seemed bytyqi out by women in powerfor particularly irked —— seemed bytyqi out by women in power for places. particularly irked —— seemed bytyqi out by women in powerfor places. it does not deal with them vertically well. you see that when women like elizabeth warren criticised him, he does not take it well. —— particularly. there is this attitude that they might be thinking about, which is that perhaps a woman candidate might better get under his skin, but we will see. i think time will tell, and i hope that they will bea will tell, and i hope that they will be a pool of women candidates, but just one, who will be thinking of going in in 2020. we will see. thank you both very much. this is american politics, so people are thinking about the next election before they have fully digestive this one, but

we're just have fully digestive this one, but we'rejust going to have fully digestive this one, but we're just going to bring you some live pictures. we will cross to the white house. where as you can see, the reporters are preparing for what is believed to be an appearance by donald trump to answer reporters' questions, the white house press corps preparing their questions by donald trump. we are told that he is going to be appearing in the next 25 and 25 minutes or so, so we will keep an eye on that, and of course we will bring you donald trump's words as they happen, so stay with us on bbc news for that. now, they have control of the house of representatives, as we have discussed, so, the democrats have a new ability here on capital hill to potentially block and thwart donald trump's agenda. they are going to have much more oversight over his policies and his administration, too. allah corresponded richard lister take a look at what impact these midterm results could have on these midterm results could have on the rest of donald trump's time at the rest of donald trump's time at the white house.

we're building the wall. we're building the wall, don't worry. it is the battle cry of his presidency. donald trump tried to make these elections all about immigration, raising the spectre of an invasion across the southern border which only he could stop. but his wall had only lukewarm republican support in congress. democrats will now ensure it won't happen on their watch. so what of his other big ideas? i am also calling on this congress to repeal and replace 0bamacare. congressional republicans failed to abolish president 0bama's far—reaching health care reforms, but the issue has become a rallying point for democrats. now the threat is patrick morrissey's lawsuit to take away health care from people with pre—existing conditions. the democrats now want to improve 0bamacare,

forcing the president onto the back foot. so where can he take a lead? we passed the largest tax cuts in the history of our country... he wants more tax cuts, but democrats will be wary of giving him a possible campaign boost. and they've already said they will force him to hand over his own tax returns, something he's refused to do so far. his presidency is about to get tougher. i will begin by swearing you in. robert mueller‘s investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race has been denounced as a witchhunt by the president, but it continues, and democrats can now hold their own inquiries into russian collusion and mr trump's business empire. voting reform will be another democratic priority, as they try to shape the groundwork for the 2020 presidential elections, fighting restrictions such as those in georgia which made it more difficult for many poorer people to vote. thank you, florida, for your support. republicans, though, have strengthened their hold on florida and ohio, two states vital to president trump's re—election hopes, and of course, with a republican

senate and white house, they can divert the democrats' agenda. but these midterms have galvanised the democratic party base, raising records amounts of campaign cash and making inroads into the republican heartland. all they need now is a presidential candidate. richard lister, bbc news. right now, there is discussion about what this will mean for the dynamics of american politics over the next couple of years. so, let's go to our correspondence, jane o'brien. you have been watching reaction over the last few hours. do you think we are heading into a new period of

toxicity, division, or do see some signs that there might be an effort on both sites to find some common ground to get some stuff done? well, i think we will get a better idea of the tone and the way forward if there is one. but for now, stephen, all all indication is that it will bea all all indication is that it will be a gloves off, really. i don't see any real change in a certain moments that all parties will come together and work for the greater glory of bipartisan ship. in fact, top democrat, elijah cummings, who is now expected to have control of government reform, has origi said that he will use that mandate to investigate, not just that he will use that mandate to investigate, notjust the president, but senior administration officials, and some of the decisions they've made. so clearly, a whole roster of investigations are now confronting the president, and for the first time, he now has a genuine real

opponent in the house. he has had the luxury of having republicans control the house and the senate, now he has opponents in the house, and he's good to find that very tough. of course, he could use that tough. of course, he could use that to his advantage, and blame the democrats absolutely everything that he fails to do, which is a distinct possibility, but working together, there are areas, infrastructure— they could do that. but will they? that remains be seen. jane, thank you very much. as you say, donald trump will be speaking in a short while, it will bring that to you live. so now, let'sjust move out while, it will bring that to you live. so now, let's just move out of washington for a little bit and consider what is happening in florida. joining me from miami is rajini vaidianathan. we know that there will be a recount ofa we know that there will be a recount of a very close senate race in florida. recount in florida, seems

almost inevitable? what exactly is happening in your state right now? well, stephen, just forested to deliver high drama on a us election, —— trust florida to deliver high drama. it is in the senate race. democratic bill nelson was hoping to wina democratic bill nelson was hoping to win a fourth term, his opponent was rick scott. it about midnight last night, the balls were looking incredibly close. the results were coming in, less than a percentage point between metoo candidates, but then rick scott came out, and he spoke to his supporters at the campaign event, and effectively said that —— between the two candidates. he is at gz he wanted to bring the state of florida together after his win. shortly after that, state of florida together after his win. shortly afterthat, bill nelson's chief of staff came out and delivered some remarks, saying that they had seen the results that had come out of this senate race and

senator nelson would be making a statement today, crucially that he would be thanking his staff. most people took that to mean that he had accepted that he hadn't won here, and that he would come back in the morning and formally concede, but what we now know, is that overnight, that margin between metoo candidates, as they continued, to be counted, got even slimmer. —— between the two candidates, as they continue to be counted got even slimmer. that margin between the two candidates felt less than a percentage point, and that means that under florida law it automatically triggers a recount. ankara. down to cover the hanging chads, if you remember in the 2011 presidential election, a virtual tie in florida between president bush and al gore. florida is at it again.

let's bring you live pictures from the white house. i have been telling you for some time that reporters are getting ready for an appearance from president trump, responding to the mid—term election results. it is getting busier and busier down there at the white house and we will bring it to you as soon as donald trump steps before the cameras. 0k, it to you as soon as donald trump steps before the cameras. ok, let's revert to thinking about the deeper long—term ramifications of the election result. with me is vanessa cardenas, senior director of national outreach at emily's list? — a democratic campaign ?group. so, vanessa, are we in danger of reading too much into these results? yes, more women on the democratic side will be coming to the house of representatives in particular, so that has to be a good thing for the women of the united states of america, but in the not much is ray changed. the republicans still in charge of the senate, donald trump

still in the white house, are we overdramatising? this is remarkable, especially for women. in the 2016 election over 42,000 women have come to us saying they want to run for office. when hillary clinton was at the top of the ticket, we had a total of 920 women. so it has been a huge change for us. what is exciting for us is that we know not all of those 42,000 women are going to run, but even if a third or a half of those women run, they will change politics in the us, and out of 29 seats the democrats flipped, 19 were women, and we are still counting the flips at local level. last night there was a lot of historic races, there was a lot of historic races, the two native american women.” wa nt to the two native american women.” want to tell you about some of these stories, because it is extraordinary

and uplifting, how you have two native american women in the us congress, and two muslim women who have been elected to the us congress, and in another extraordinary story i believe two women under the age of 30 who are coming into congress. that's right. now the house of representatives is looking like the rest of america and the senate is not. for republicans, the senate is not. for republicans, the big question for them is the long—term gain. with people who look and act like trump, that is a very small segment of the electorate looking at the democratic change in this nation, but the house and the democrats and the kinds of candour that they are supporting flex the rise in the electorate coming young people, women, and diverse communities. but the way you approach politics, some might say is in danger of pitting men against

women in a way that is not ultimately in the best interests of this country. not at all. what is remarkable about our candidates if they are very much grounded in their communities and fighting for their families. they are coming to the table with their experiences, fighting for health climate change, legislation, fighting for gun control measures that are common sense, so they are really engaging with the issues americans care about, and that is what they are fighting for. we know that policy is better when you have different perspectives. we know that women can bring results to the communities thatis bring results to the communities that is why it is exciting for us.” dare say you were deeply disappointed in november 2016 because you are a woman who presumably believed at the time that hillary clinton was going to break that glass ceiling and become the

first female president of the united states of america. it didn't happen. do you think what we have seen in these mid—term elections is a significant milestone on reaching that next target? absolutely. we we re that next target? absolutely. we were devastated in 2016 at many levels, but i think there has been an awakening in women in the united states that we have not come as far as we could, but last night showed women are really engaged, and women in congress are going to bring a lot of changes. but let's not assume or imply that all the women of this country are democrats were behind hillary clinton. donald trump still has a very significant core of female support. that's fine, i did it affect every woman will support a democrat, but i think the trend is on ourfavour democrat, but i think the trend is on our favour because independent women are breaking for our candidates and i think that is a good thing. people forget that women

in the united states only make 20% of elected officials, so the gap is huge for the united states and we started to change that gap. looking to 2020, we will have multiple women running for office and that is a great thing for us. even on the morning of one election we look forward to the next election, that is the way it works. thank you for joining me. we will go back to the white house now, as you will know if you have been watching for the last few minutes: we are waiting for donald trump was expected to emerge quite soon to respond to the mid—term election results. barbara plett usher is at the white house, any word when he might be appearing? i think imminently, 11:30am local time was the time. as you've been hearing, a lot of discussion if

there were any signs that donald trump might see an election for him personally, he reflected before the polls opened on whether he might have used a softer tone. any indications his tone, his style might change after the results have come out? no indication so far so we are very come out? no indication so far so we are very much looking forward to seeing what happens in the news conference. it is interesting after previous presidents had a mid—term drubbing, they have tended to be humble or contrite but not mr trump. he declared victory. the republicans had retained control of the summit.

he attributed it to his own amazing campaign style. we may be hearing more of this. he will of course get questions about the big failure part of it, which is although enough republicans which to keep the party in control of the senate, many more voted to put the democrats in control of the house. one indeed, and that is very important of course because the democrats in the house now have very significant powers of oversight and investigation. they could drill down much deeper into donald trump is my personal finances, they could demand his tax records, and they could ramp up the investigation of the back of what robert munn is doing. do you get the oppression that officials at the white house are preparing for a new

level of investigation from the democrats on capitol hill? i think they are and it is not entirely clear they have ramped up enough to deal with what might be coming, but! enough to deal with what might be coming, but i think they expect they will probably be embroiled in that type of thing more than they have been so far, notjust in terms of mr trump's finances and other activities, but also there may be other white house officials who are investigated war cabinet officials. the democrats have said they want to hold the house accountable. nancy pelosi has talked about exercising the oversight ‘s. so i think you will be looking at investigations into issues that not only mr trump but the administration has been protected from so far because of the monopoly it had on power. thank you for now, you are at the white house, we are keeping a very close eye on

it as well, donald trump, as barbara said, is expected to come out very soon now, and we will break into what ever we are doing and bring that to you live. let's move onto just a second. we have talked plenty about the politics of the shift in the us congress, with the democrats now controlling the house of representatives, and what it will mean. there are implications in terms of the investigation powers they will have into donald trump and his finances, but money and reflecting on the way money has played a role in the campaigning for these mid—term elections is a pretty big issue in itself. joining me from our washington studio is ken vogel, new york times reporter, who specialises in covering so—called conflicts lobbying and money in politics. so let's continue with this theme about what democratic control of the house might mean, in terms of investigation of donald trump and his administration. what

is your take on that? certainly it is your take on that? certainly it is going to be a key focus of democrats in the house. a lot of members ran not just democrats in the house. a lot of members ran notjust on investigating donald trump and holding him accountable but even in preaching donald trump. we saw the democratic house leadership nancy pelosi who is likely to be the next speaker tried to tamp down a bit of the impeachment tour, did not use that word, as it became euphemistically known on the campaign trail, but many incoming members dead and many of the members who already in her caucus who will be in powerfor having majority and subpoena power will be pushing for impeachment proceedings. at the very least the we have already seen calls for the president to release his taxes and we see an uptake in some of the investigations that your white house reporterjust alluded to of cabinet members on things like they're spending of taxpayer

dollars, their use of their agency's resources for travel and personal lifestyle enhancement, shall we say, so all those things will be very much at the four in the new congress. we will see how far the democrats choose to push all that. i just want to ask you, because you work on the role of money and politics generally, i want to ask you a bigger question about what you saw in these mid—term elections. for example, and just thinking of one democratic candidate, betto o'rourke, who did a fantasticjob of raising money for his senate run but did not actually win. we have talked about the role of money in politics and the united states of america, do we sometimes overstated, do we get it wrong? how is money working in american politics right now? we are seeing a different shift what we saw with witty after the 2010 citizens

united decision, which really opened the floodgates to these huge cheques coming in from major donors into super packs, folks like the las vegas casino mogul who along with his wife gave $112 million to help republicans in this just past mid—term elections, and folks like former new york city mayor weigl bloomberg, who gave upwards of $70 million on his own to help democrats in the mid—term elections. and we thought what we would see would be a privatisation of the political party function, where donations like that would really hold sway and control american politics. instead what we are seeing, and not to minimise those donations, they are still very impactful and they were helpful in a particularly on the republican side in holding the line and some of these races and in the senate in particular, but we also saw the democratic side a surge of smallbone nations raised nationally online

from folks who were able to tap into the party's zeitgeist connoisseur to speak, folks like beto o'rourke, even like heidi hyde camp, the senator from north dakota even like heidi hyde camp, the senatorfrom north dakota whojust lost her bid, who raised more in the two weeks after voting against brett kavanaugh's nomination to the us open court, she raised $12.7 million in two weeks, more than she had raised for the proceeding for five yea rs raised for the proceeding for five years when running for real election. we see on the one hand the ability of democrats to harness the power of small donors to potentially offset a republican advantage in the big—money, we don't necessarily see the candidate always winning, but it is better to be the candidate with more money than the one struggling to make up a fundraising gap.” guess that is a fair point. as you have said, some of the candidates who do fantastically well raising those small donations, building up a huge war chest, they couldn't turn

that into victory, and maybe politics is changing, in that the old style was to buy as much tv advertising as you could, because tv ads were seen as the sort of pathway to victory, maybe in our era of social media, politics in that old way has changed a great deal? ella makro guess what, social media is pretty expensive as well, not as expensive as tv ads, but certainly you see a shift in the way money is being spent, it is being spent increasingly online but tv ads still do dominate campaign spending. just because they are more expensive than digital ads, whether they are more effective or not is an open question, but what we will see is some of these dynamics we are discussing now, tv ads against digital ads, they play themselves out ina digital ads, they play themselves out in a big way in 2020. you have folks like cory booker and pamela

harris, the senators from newjersey and california respectively who are seen as likely democratic candidates who spend a whole lot of time courting major democratic donors to try to line up their support before they end up announcing their own presidential campaigns, and then you see on the other side of the ledger, folks like bernie sanders or elizabeth warren, who in many ways haveissued elizabeth warren, who in many ways have issued that the money approach and instead have focused on raising small money. that's the approach that beto o'rourke took, it was successful for him that beto o'rourke took, it was successfulfor him on that beto o'rourke took, it was successful for him on the fundraising side, and he also got a bounce on the positioning, he had the moral high ground. he could say he was the candidate of small money and not beholden to any major donors. 2020 will be the test. bernie sanders was a historic fundraiser, many people are saying the same things, and 2016 when he was giving hillary clinton a real

run for her money but hillary clinton it ended up winning the nomination. i am clinton it ended up winning the nomination. iam mindfulwe clinton it ended up winning the nomination. i am mindful we are waiting for donald trump to come out and talk to reporters. you said, and you went into some detail as to the degree to which the democrats now have the potential to dig much deeper into his personalfinancial affairs, also into alleged misdeeds by members of his ministration, of course they all deny it, but we don't know how far the democrats will push that. but what i'm interested in from you is the degree to which you read opinion poll evidence, do the american public feel that they want their politicians to investigate the trump white house in a much more thorough way? is there a popular demand for more and more investigation? how do you read it? there certainly is in a democratic base. democrats are able to tap into that and rally them to get them out in elections, that said

mid—term elections are much more race elections, as opposed to presidential elections, which are about the swing votes and the swing states, and there is a risk the democrats that they could overplay their hand by being seen as too aggressively and single—mindedly focusing on opposing, antagonising or in their minds holding accountable donald trump and the trump administration in a way that swing voters in particular might see as not best interests of the country and sort of a political sideshow. that will be one of the defining debates on the left about how democrats should proceed now they have a majority in the house of representatives. who do you think will come out on top on that argument within the democratic party, those who want all—out confrontation or those who think it is strategically wise to back off a bit? i think democratic leadership

certainly if nancy pelosi is going to be the speaker, which we expect but are not positive that will be the result, are going to be cautious on this front. they will probably launch several investigations into the president, and into his cabinet, but maybe stop short of impeachment. and we will see pressure from the base, not just from and we will see pressure from the base, notjust from the donors who have already shown that they want to see impeachment proceedings, we had a donor who spent tens of millions of his own money pushing an agenda and is trying to support democratic candidates who favour impeachment. he will not be happy if there is not impeachment, likewise members of the democratic base will not be happy if nancy pelosi is seen as pumping the bra kes nancy pelosi is seen as pumping the brakes on a more assertive and aggressive platform of pushing against donald trump, and we will see that play out certain in the

2020 democratic primary in the early stages. there is a lot of energy out there that can be tapped in their buy a candidate who is more aggressive in advocating for impeachment, and that could pose a problem for more centrist or moderate candidates to see the risk ofa moderate candidates to see the risk of a candidate coming out of the democratic on a platform of impeachment or antagonising trump. that is not the recipe in these folks minds. thank you so much for all of that fascinating stuff. i'm going to stop you just now because i am just hearing we are expecting donald trump to emerge from behind the door, we are expecting him to make an appearance within the next minute, which is one of those wonderful pieces of news where you think i am going to keep talking until that door opens, which is probably what i will do at this point. you can see one white house reporter is actually still recording her piece to camera, but that door

will open and she will get a shot any moment now, i dare say. just while we wait, and it may be a few seconds more, let me bring barbara plett usher back into the conversation. you are down there at the white house. donald trump of course took to twitter through the course took to twitter through the course of the evening and the results coming out, he did not sound like a results coming out, he did not sound likea man results coming out, he did not sound like a man who was in anyway chastened by the house of representatives loss, would you agree? representatives loss, would you ? i representatives loss, would you agree? i think perhaps we don't have barbara, because she is not actually responding to that question. i will just tell you what donald trump treated, it was that he saw the mid—term election results as a chaminda vaas success, a big victory, he claimed. while we are

waiting, and we just have a little bit of time, let's bring you the words of the potential new speaker of the house of representatives, thatis of the house of representatives, that is democrat nancy pelosi. this is what she's been saying. today is more than about democrats and republicans, it's about restoring the constitution's checks and bala nces to the constitution's checks and balances to the trump administration. cheering it is about stopping the gop and mitch mcconnell‘s assault on medicare, the affordable care act and affordable health care for 130 million americans living with pre—existing medical conditions. let's here it more for pre—existing medical conditions. cheering it is about ending wealthy special interest‘s free reign over washington, but more than anything, it's about what a new democratic

majority will mean in the lives of hard—working americans. majority will mean in the lives of hard-working americans. applause that's what it's about. democrats pledge a congress that works for the people, lower the cost of health ca re by people, lower the cost of health care by lowering the cost of prescription drugs, strong economic growth by rebuilding infrastructure of america, clean up corruption to make washington work for all americans. those were words from the potential new speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi, just a short time ago. we can now go back to barbara plett usher at the white house, as we continue to wait the donald trump to make his appearance. and i'm going to stick with this theme. donald trump has used nancy pelosi as a figure he loves to hate, a symbol of all that is wrong with the democratic party. so the race and sure between trump

and pelosi over the next few months will be fascinating. how do you think donald trump might play it? well, we'll see. i'm interested in it as well. he did issue one tweet about her today in which she sounded conciliatory and making a sort of gracious gesture, he said actually nancy pelosi has won the right order deserves to be the speaker of the house, and if she can't get the votes from her own party then maybe we will get some republicans to vote for her. put aside the idea that any republicans would actually vote for fa ncy republicans would actually vote for fancy pelosi, it was an interesting intervention, because he was on the one hand sounding gracious, but on the other noting that there is a difference of opinion within the party about whether she should be speaker. and then in the back of your mind you are also thinking it might work for him she was speaker, she can continue to be the foil, the villain, almost taken the place of

what hillary clinton was during the campaign when he kept bringing her up campaign when he kept bringing her up and saying all sorts of things about and getting the crowds to charge against her, so it might suit him to have her as speaker to riff off of during the campaign coming up for the presidential election. so there is that to think about, but it also does highlight the difference within the party about whether she should be re—elected as speaker.” am mindful that obviously people right around the world will be watching the politics of washington right now, and many will be wondering whether what we are going to see over the next few months and the next couple of years is a weakened president, a president who is no longer able to sort of dominate the political scene in this country and push through his agenda. do you think donald trump in anyway will write now be feeling weakened?

i think will write now be feeling weakened? ithink in will write now be feeling weakened? i think in the traditional situation the president would no doubt be feeling weakened, because he can no longer count on a united congress to back his priorities and make sure that his priorities are executed, and that will almost certainly be the reality with a split congress. but mrtrump the reality with a split congress. but mr trump takes everything very personally and he makes the calculation about how things benefit him personally. iwas calculation about how things benefit him personally. i was watching one account where you got more support, the candidates or he, and he felt he was more popular than the candidates. so he seems the ever thing as a personal referendum on him, and perhaps, it will be frustrating of course the can't get his priorities, like the wall, built, but then he can go after the democrats and say they are the reason why, they are the bad guys, and that will play well with his base. one thing he has been doing very consistently all along, and

especially as we saw in the run—up to the mid—term elections, he has very much decided to play to the base. he hasn't tried to expand his popularity or that of his party, to reach out to independence or more moderate republicans, he very much feels like his path to victory was by satisfying his supporters. barbara, forgive me. i will be very rude and interrupts simply because donald trump has come to the podium at the white house. it was a big day yesterday, an incredible day, and last night the republican party defied history to expand our senate majority, while significantly beating expectations in the house for the midtown and mid—term year. we did this in spite ofa mid—term year. we did this in spite of a very dramatic fundraising disadvantage, driven by democrats's

wealthy donors and special interests and very hostile media coverage, to put it mildly. the media coverage set a new record and a new standard. we also had a staggering number of house retirements, so it is a little tough. these are seats that could have been held pretty easily and we had newcomers going in and a lot of them work very hard but it is pro—difficult when you have that many retirements. we held a large numberof campaign many retirements. we held a large number of campaign rallies, with large, large and as of people, going to everyone, to the best of my knowledge we did not have a vacant oran empty seat, knowledge we did not have a vacant or an empty seat, i'm sure you would have reported it if you spotted one, including 30 rallies in the last 60 days, and we saw the candidates that are supported achieved tremendous success last night. as an example of the 11 candidates we campaigned with

during the last week, nine won last night. this vigorous campaign stop the blue wave that they talked about, i don't know if there ever was such a thing, but could have been if we didn't do the campaigning, probably there could have been. and their history rarely will see what a good job we did in the last couple of weeks, in terms of getting tremendous people over the finishing line. they really were tremendous people but many of them will not be known but they will be known. this election marks the largest senate gains for a president's party in a first mid—term election since at least president kennedy's in 1962. there have been only four mid—term elections since 1934 in which a president's party has gained even a single senate seat. as of now, we

picked up, it looks like, three could be four. perhaps it could be two. but we picked up a lot. and most likely the number will be three, you people probably know that better than i do at this point, because you've looked at the more re ce nt because you've looked at the more recent numbers. 55 is the largest numberof recent numbers. 55 is the largest number of republican senators in the la st number of republican senators in the last 100 years. in the last 80 years a sitting president's party has only gained a lot of total of total of eight senate seats. averaging one per decade. so if we picked