this is bbc news. the headlines at eight. the headlines at eight. the prime minister insists he does not want a general election, and warns mps in his own party not to vote with the opposition for a further delay to brexit. if they do, they will plainly chop the legs out from under the uk position and make any further negotiation absolutely impossible. after the weekend's protest, conservative mps opposing a no—deal brexit are working with other parties, to try to force through a three month delay. there are millions of people watching the news tonight who are really worried about the impact of a no—deal on theirfamily really worried about the impact of a no—deal on their family and livelihoods. those are the real issues that borisjohnson needs to

worry about. we expect conservative mps to support the conservative prime minister, the conservative agenda, and politicians shouldn't seek to take the authority of government away from government and hand it to the leader of the opposition. in other news hurricane dorian batters the bahamas with winds of over isomph. it is heading near the coast of florida. hurricane doria batters the bahamas with winds of over isomph. it is heading near the coast of florida. n batters the bahamas with winds hello, borisjohnson n batters the bahamas with winds hello, boris johnson has n batters the bahamas with winds hello, borisjohnson has said under no circumstances will he go back to brussels to ask for what he called another pointless brexit delay. as rebel conservatives and opposition mps prepare to try to force an

extension. speaking in downing street, this evening after holding an unshe to alled cabinet meeting the prime minister insisted he did not want an election, he stressed he had been encourage by the progress the talks with brussels were making,s he made clear any mps voting for a delay would undermine his negotiating position. five weeks ago i spoke to you from these steps and said this government was not going to hang around, and that we would not wait until brexit day october 31st, to deliver on the priorities of the british people, so iam prod priorities of the british people, so i am prod say on wednesday, chancellor sajid javid is going to set out the most ambitious spund spending round for more than a decade. i said spending round for more than a decade. isaid i spending round for more than a decade. i said i wanted to make your streets safer, and that is why we are recruiting another 20,000 police officers. i said are recruiting another 20,000 police officers. isaid i are recruiting another 20,000 police officers. i said i wanted to improve your hospital and reduce waiting times at your gp. and so we are

doing 20 new hospital up grades in addition to the 3a billion more going into the nhs. isaidi going into the nhs. i said i wanted every child in this country to have a superb education, thatis country to have a superb education, that is why i announced last week we are levelling up funding across the country and spending much more next yearin country and spending much more next year in primary and secondary schools. it is to push forward this agenda on these and many other fronts, that we need a queen's speech in october, while leaving due time to debate brexit, and other matters. and as we come to that brexit deadline, i am encouraged by the progress we are making. in the last few week, the chances of a deal have been rising, i believe, for three reasons. they can see that we want a deal, that i can see that we want a deal, that i can see that we want a deal, that i can see we have a clear vision for oui’ can see we have a clear vision for our future relationship with the eu, something that eden hazard not a lwa ys something that eden hazard not always perhaps been the case and

they can see that we are utterly determined to strengthen our position by getting ready to come out. regardless. come what may. but if there is one thing that can hold us if there is one thing that can hold us back in these talks it is the sense in brussels, that mps may find some way to cancel the referendum, oi’ some way to cancel the referendum, or that tomorrow, mps will vote, with jeremy corbyn, or that tomorrow, mps will vote, withjeremy corbyn, for yet or that tomorrow, mps will vote, with jeremy corbyn, for yet another pointless delay. i don't think they will, i hope that they won't. but if they do, they will plainly chop the legs out from under the uk position, and make any further negotiation absolutely impossible. and so, i say to show our friends in brussels, that we are united in our purpose, mps should vote with the government against corbyn‘s pointless delay. i

wa nt eve n against corbyn‘s pointless delay. i want even to know there are no circumstances in which i will ask brussels to delay. we are leaving on sist brussels to delay. we are leaving on 31st october, no ifs or but, we will not accept any attempt to go back on oui’ not accept any attempt to go back on our promises or scrub that referendum. armed and fortified with that conviction, i believe we will get a deal, at that crucial summit in october, a deal that parliament will certainly be able to scrutinise. and in the meantime, let's let our negotiators let get on with their work, without that sword of da m ocles with their work, without that sword of damocles over their necks and without an election, without an election. i don't want an election, you don't want an election. let's get on with the people's agenda. fighting crime, improving the nhs, boosting school, cutting the cost of

living. unlocking talent and opportunity across the entire united kingdom, with infrastructure, education and technology. it's a massive agenda. let's come together and get it done and let's get brexit done, by 31st october. so that was the prime minister speaking earlier, let us get the thoughts of our political correspondent at westminster. jonathan, if mps vote to stop a no—deal brexit, it looks like we are heading for an election and sources are saying that could be as early as october 14th in fact senior government official confirmed in the last hour, that if mps vote tomorrow, to take control of business in the house of commons, the government will table a motion under the fixed—term parliaments act which will specify that a general election would be held on october 14th. that is the plan, so it is a

very clear message from boris johnson to conservative mps and others, that if they go ahead with this attempt tomorrow, to seize control of business in the house of commons, with the aim of forcing the government to ask for an extension to the brexit process if the prime minister can't get new deal. mps would be given the opportunity to vote on whether a early general election would be held and the expectation is from the government that that vote would be won and a general election would be triggered. so the stakes have been raised. you heard there, in the prime minister's speech outside downing street, that he wants to get on and negotiate a new brexit deal without a general election. the clear implicit threat there was thaw if he wasn't able to carry on and negotiate, then a general election would be called. so thatis general election would be called. so that is the choice that the government has presented, or is

trying to present to mps tomorrow, depending on how they vote, either if the government win, and is given the opportunity to carry on and megity a now deal, then so be it. if not we are heading for an election. let us talk more about that vote. do you think the mps who want to stop a no—deal brexit, have they got the numbers? they seem confident they have, and it will come down to, i think how many conservative mps are wavering, and what today's announcement by the prime minister and the government's explanation of its plan to push for an early general election, whether that sways them one way or another. the bill is there, which opposition mps want to try and push through the house of commons, which would force the government to ask for an extension, if they can't get a new brexit deal, ready and waiting but whether it will get enough support to see the light of day or not, is in question. i think there will be some

conservative mps, having been to downing street this evening, met the prime minister in this garden, enjoyed that drinks reshin going home and facing a sleepless night. they will ponder very clearly the prospect of a general election. it isa prospect of a general election. it is a gamble by the prime minister to make clear his intention to push for a general election if his hands are tied and as he sees it parliament is damaging his negotiating position. it will be a gamble for conservative mp whens they vote tomorrow as well, because there is no telling necessarily how a general election would go before the brexit deadline, and whether the prime minister would come back with a majority, or would suffer the same fate as theresa may did, and see his very, very slim majority cut even further, or even com pletely majority cut even further, or even completely disappear. jonathan, for the moment thank you very much. jonathan blake our political correspondent at westminster. as we have been reporting cabinet ministers were

called in for an unexpected meeting earlier today. it follows plans by mps opposed to leave the eu without a deal to force that legislation through the commons starting tomorrow. and the latest suggestion is to push through a three month extension to brexit in order to force the prime minister to reach a new deal. a number of those intending to vote against the government are tory rebels, some former cabinet ministers. here ises laura kuenssberg. government is a work in progress but there is nothing straight forward about ministers arriving today. this still new cabinet called for an unexpected meeting. prepare to chuck tory colleagues out of the party if they vote against the prime minister this week. prepared perhaps to call an election, if number ten is on the losing side. mps who seek to take power away from their prime minister, their party and hand it to someone else, are stepping over a line. i hope it doesn't come to

that, i hope everyone reck nighs what we need do now is focus on delivering brexit. the threats cranking up the pressure on would be tory rebelsjoining cranking up the pressure on would be tory rebels joining forces with other parties to change the law in days, westminster‘s village expecting a showdown of historic proportions as mps band together to try to make it impossible for the prime minister to take us out of the eu without a deal. but will the threats change anything? no, because myjob is to represent my community, andi myjob is to represent my community, and i am going to stand firm in doing that. they are very concerned is about the damage of no—deal to the economy. rather than almost attacking mps who are representing their constituents' concerns the better thing would be to start addressing the fears properly for a change. change. could dozens of tory mps be forced to walk out of their party, if they are willing to vote against the prime minister on brexit and defeat him this fwheec that is

how it now looks because the government has decided after many votes on brexit over the past few yea rs votes on brexit over the past few years and with votes from some collea g u es years and with votes from some colleagues who are now in cabinet not being disciplined, now is the time to exercise it and it looks as if we are in the first wave. wave. however consumed the tories are, however determined the prime minister is to force a confrontation, whether it is on brexit, or calling an election, parliament can say no. would jeremy corbyn celebrate the prospect of an election? a chance of victory? not so fast in his shadow cabinet cabinet meeting in salford, plenty of mps are suspicious of an election campaign. labour wants to ensure we never leave without a deal first. this week could be our last chance. we are working with other party

temperatures to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink, then, we need a general election. a voice from labour's past has already warned the opposition. a quick poll before brexit day at the end of october could simply be a decoy from number ten. jeremy corbyn has behaved responsibly, and if he continues to put country first he will benefit the country and himself. he can now play a decisive role in how brexit develops. but he should see an election before brexit is decided, for the elephant trap that it is. downing street might have welcomed its nearest resident today, a rescues dog adopted by the prime minister and his partner, but how long he and his owners call this home may soon be a question that's a nswered home may soon be a question that's answered by us all. well, the labour

mp hillary benn has published the bill mps will be proposing this week in an attempt to stop a no—deal brexit. i asked mr benn for his reaction the prime minister's statement earlier on this evening. reaction the prime minister's statement earlier on this eveninglj watched statement earlier on this evening.” watched the prime minister's remarks on the steps of downing street, a moment ago. and to try and claim that somehow mps who want to prevent all of those things from being inflicted on the country, to i which incidentally he has no mandate is somehow undermining his negotiations is nonsense, the former prime minister, for over two years said no. why it should work now com pletely no. why it should work now completely eludes me and the other pint is are they really serious negotiations taking place? just last weekend mrs merkel said we are what, getting foreign a third of the way through the 30 days i gave to boris johnson and the government has no proposal, the prime minister spent the first month of the summer saying

to the eu, do what i want and he didn't make any proposals to them about how those changes might work in detail. so, it is the prime minister who has brought this on himself, but i also agree, that we will have to find a way out of this now. mps back the bill have different view, some would vote for a deal if it came back and the bill would allow the prime minister to negotiate a deal at the european council, and bring it back, but what it says is if by the 19th october which is the day after the council finishes, he hasn't got a bill and he hasn't persuaded the house of commons to agree to leave with no—deal, then he has to ask for a further extension. ok, have you got the numbers to get this through? well, that will be seen on wednesday. but i would simply say this, that we have shown as a house of commons during the course of the past few months that there is a majority of mps who know that no—deal is not in the national

interest, who know what the damage will be. the government itself has admitted it. i can think of no occasion in my political lifetime where a prime minister has stood top steps of downing street and advocate add policy he knows is going to damage businesses, jobs, and investment, no just damage businesses, jobs, and investment, nojust in damage businesses, jobs, and investment, no just in the short—term, because if he does succeed in are taking us out, without an agreement, heaven forbidden that comes to pass, we are going to be stuck in years of negotiations with the eu, prolonged uncertainty about what our trading relationships will be be with our biggest, nearest and most important trading partner, so all the focus leading up to 31st october is one thing because we must prevent a no—dealfrom happening thing because we must prevent a no—deal from happening but thing because we must prevent a no—dealfrom happening but he is not acknowledging the problem he will create. this isn't going to finish it or bring it to an end, it will only be the beginning of a long damaging time for the british economy, and the communities an't the people that we represent. just

on your bill, if you do get it through the common, people are saying, you know, mrjohnson could try and stop it in the lord's, he could make more peer whose, he could get the laws to —— lord rds to talk it out, and the government could ignore this legislation what do you mick of the suggestions? well, -- make. as a bill is going through parliament, members of the house of commons and the house of lords are enteat titled to express their view by voting. but if this bill gets through, and gets royal assent, i find it absolutely extraordinary that the prime minister should say as he said on the steps of downing street a few moments ago, under no circumstances will i ask for a further extension, if the bill passes it i would require him by law to do that. either with we have a prime minister who accepts the rule of law, or we don't. prime minister who accepts the rule of law, orwe don't. i prime minister who accepts the rule of law, or we don't. i was very troubled by michael gove's answer to the question he was asked by andrew

marr yesterday, where he was similarly put to him, will you abide by the bill if it is passed. he said we will have to wait to see what it says. that is not the right answer. if our democratically elected parliament passes a law, the government has an obligation and duty to abide by it: if that goes out the window what has happened to our parliamentary democracy. people will say, yes, parliamentary democracy, but what about the people's democracy, they voted in that referendum, they were asked for a say, they gave their verdict, 17.4 million people, and is this in the end a clash between that kind of popular democracy if you like in the shape of a referendum, against parliamentary democracy? the people indeed had their say but they did not vote for a no—deal brexit. it is really important this, there is no mandate from the referendum for a

no—deal brexit, because as you know the leave campaign said we will get a deal. this won't a sudden rupture in our economic relationships, we will take this slowly and properly and seriously and we will get a deal. borisjohnson said there isn't going to be no—deal. this was a couple of year ago, because we are going to get a great deal. it didn't turn out like that. the problem with the referendum result is this, it didn't address the question on what terms we leave, there is no mandate for no—deal, the house of commons is deadlocked and agree we can't endlessly postpone this and that is why i have come to the conclusion that the compromise way through, on the one hand to stop a no—deal brexit and on the other hand voices say you should cancel the result. i don't think that would be democratic, go back to the people and say look, we now know the truth is you can't have your sovereignty back and keep the economic benefits.

it was never true when was when it was argued by the leave campaign, if you want to leave, this is the deal that has been negotiated. it involves choices in trade offers, vote for that. the people started this, parliament is deadlocked, and in the end we will have to return to the british people and ask them to bring this to a conclusion. the sooner we do that the better. labourmp hilary sooner we do that the better. labour mp hilary benn talking earlier on. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn has been addressing a rally in salford this evening and he said the prime minister's speech amounted to nothing more than the conservatives talking to themselves. so we have got this business of the prime minister comes out of downing street with the entire parliamentary majority, well it is not really but he thinks it is. he is delusional, so he comes out and then what do you hear? chanting amounted to nothing

more than the conservatives talking to themselves. so we have got this business of the prime minister comes out of downing street with the entire parliamentary majority, well it is not really but he thinks it is. he is delusional, so he comes out and then what do you hear? chanting in the background saying "stop the coup, stop the coup." hang ona minute "stop the coup, stop the coup." hang on a minute this is a prime minister coming out puffed up to his greatness telling us all that he is in charge, and there is thousands of people on the streets outside who appear to be challenging that perception. well... the statement itself didn't amount to very much. in fact, it amounted to almost nothing at all. all. accept there was a pourful subliminal message there. as with the years of theresa may, it is all about the tory party. the tory party talking to the tory party, about the tory party, and the tory pa rty‘s opportunities party, about the tory party, and the tory party's opportunities for the future. i simply say this. tories can talk to each other, about their party, they can talk to each other about their chances or otherwise of survival. and all the tax cuts they

will give to the rich and all the other things they do. we on the other things they do. we on the other hand are out there with the people, trying to bring back social justice and equality in our society. that is the labour leader speaking ata that is the labour leader speaking at a rally this evening. let us talk now about from our glasgow news room, to the president of the british polling council and a politics professor sirjohn curtis, thank you for being with us. a very fascinating day again, in the world of westminster, where are we now, because basically, downing street is talking about a general election on october 14th if they lose this crucial vote in the commons. v that is what downing street wants i think jeremy corbyn has a crucial decision to make tomorrow morning. which is whether or not indeed the labour party is going to be willing to accuse questions in a general election at the time when the party is just 25%

election at the time when the party isjust 25% in election at the time when the party is just 25% in the opinion polls, even below where the party stood under michael foot in 83. or does it decide to take some of the pressure off the tory rebels who they want to vote, in favour of hilary benn's bill and to make the prime minister's life more difficult by indicating the labour party would not be willing to vote for a general election. it has to be said it is not obvious it is currently in the labour party's not obvious it is currently in the labour pa rty‘s interest not obvious it is currently in the labour party's interest to go down that path as tony blair was suggesting. of course the problem is the labour party has to week, months insisting that the best way of resolving the brexit is hold a general election but in truth it needs to sit down cooley and decide whether or not it is going to be foisted by its rhetoric or whether to maintain the coalition it would hope avoids a no—deal brexit it should now indicate it would not vote for a general election. if it we re vote for a general election. if it were to take that stance boris

johnson's hopes of holding a general election on 14th, would be, well, shall we say there would become enough more difficult. he would have to try and overturn the fixed term parliament ct act and he has limited the amount of time he has got left to do because he is going to prorogue parle next week. you are saying labour would lose a general election? tony blair said earlier an election? tony blair said earlier an election would be an elephant trap forjeremy corbyn and labour. there is, there doesn't look prospect that an early election would propel jeremy corbyn into downing street. 2596 jeremy corbyn into downing street. 25% of the vote is a long way behind and there has been no side of the labour party recovering from a position to which it fell in the wa ke position to which it fell in the wake of the european elections at the end of may. it has lost too much ground, to the liberal democrats. now that said, there is no guarantee that the conservatives and boris johnson would achieve what is their objective, which is to achieve an

overall majority and make sure there are mosh pro brexit mps than anti—brexit mps in the house of commons. if you take the current polls and assume which is a big assumption that the geography of each party support is roughly what it was in 2017, you discover that the 8 point lead the tories have mightjust get boris the 8 point lead the tories have might just get boris johnson the 8 point lead the tories have mightjust get borisjohnson to 325 seats, in other words, mightjust get borisjohnson to 325 seats, in otherwords, it mightjust get borisjohnson to 325 seats, in other words, it is about a 50% chance of achieving an overall majority. he would have a fight on his hands but it is not withjeremy corbyn, it would be with nigel farage, if boris johnson corbyn, it would be with nigel farage, if borisjohnson is going to turnit farage, if borisjohnson is going to turn it to his advantage he has to squeeze the brexit party vote. as he made clear this evening, he is still insistent he will get a deal. nigel farage's insession stand he wants a no—deal brexit, so there is at least

a risk that nigel farage, nigel farage's brexit party will fight the conservative party hard for the leave vote and although the conservatives have so far made progress among that vote, in advancing their position, against the nigel farage's determined opposition they may find making progress p roves opposition they may find making progress proves difficult. what did you think of his address to the nation, in downing street today. he was talking about you know, trying to sound reasonable, saying he wants a deal with brussels, progress is being made with brussels and outlining the spending commitment and making it clear in a way that the tory party now is no longer the party of authority —— austerity. there were two striking aspects clearly to the speech apart from the veiled reference to the possibility ofan veiled reference to the possibility of an early election. one is his attempt to try and persuade the tory mps who are mined to vote for the

legislation that would outlaw a no—deal. it is a claim that as you heard others dispute. of course what is interesting is that the other weapon that mrjohnson is hoping to deploy, is basically yes, the conservative party is no longer the party of tory austerity, as the labour party would like to put it, rather it will be the party that has what the prime minister prime minister would describe as radical new agenda for tom sec politics, the trouble is, while his do or die position on brexit looks as though out has won his vote, there isn't any sign his domestic agenda helped him reach across the divide and recover some of the ground among remain voters that the tory party lost this year. thank you. sirjohn curtis in our glasgow studio. we can talk more about another dramatic day of politics with the director of the

research company delta poll. joe, what is your reading of what happened today and that speech from borisjohnson which was aimed not just as tory mps but the wider electorate out there. my sense is that what boris johnson is electorate out there. my sense is that what borisjohnson is trying to do, is position any election as a battle between the people, and parliament. and he wishes to represent himself on the side of those 52% of people, in britain, who voted to leave. so he is saying that if that is what people wanted, that is what the country is to achieve he has to be, he has to be supported. and asjohn has to be, he has to be supported. and as john curtice has to be, he has to be supported. and asjohn curtice said, underlining all this was the veiled threat of this election, which represents an enormous gamble and there is no getting away from that. a gamble though, i mean if boris johnson is ahead in the polls, and he's a politician who, you know, many people think would be good on

the campaign trail, perhaps unlike theresa may before him, you know he could win an election comfortably. we just could win an election comfortably. wejust don't could win an election comfortably. we just don't know. in normal could win an election comfortably. wejust don't know. in normal time, perhaps in the past you would look at polls, a lead of between 10 and 1296 at polls, a lead of between 10 and 12% as the conservatives have at the moment. you would think maybe that is enough to achieve a majority, if we look at the electoral jofify we see there are various areas of the country that are remain leaving, areas like london, scotland, the larger metropolitan city, the university towns, is the conservative party able to win those areas and if not, if they can't win the constituency, enough in those areas, where does the majority come from? if they don't get the majority, then, we find ourselves back to square one, exactly where we started. and baize brexit is the dominant issue, if there is an election, it is nojust, you know,

the conservatives and the labour party and the liberal democrats and the rest, it is leave against remain in some way, are we going to end up with a remain parliament or leave parliament that is right. we could see some sort of pact officially or unofficially between the parties that are avowedly remain, we could see the conservatives and the brexit party in some sort of non—compete clause, those borisjohnson has already ruled that out and we could see labour coming shall we say off the friends from their ambiguous position to perhaps a more decisive remain position? all of which could have an impact on the polls. the polls are only ever a snapshot at the time. we don't know how things will change over the course of a campaign because they changed a lament arrange last time. john curtice has suggested this is a difficult moment for labour. they have been calling for an election

for months in advance and maybe now they do not want an election. they are not doing particularly well in the polls. people see in 2017 there were not doing well in the polls and they managed to pull things back from that. that is true but i do not think the situation will be the same next time around. particularly i do not think the concern ran a campaign as unpopular as they did last time. even if that we re as they did last time. even if that were the case labour still did not achieve a majority, they were well short of winning an election. where do they go from here? it is still not clear. they constantly present a general election as a step towards their solution to brexit but i think that will not be enough in the context of what will undoubtedly be the remain versus leave contest at a general election, they will have to come down on one side or the other, logic states it would be a decisive remain position. good to talk to you.

thank you very much. we are going to pause. much more coming up in the next half hour. first, here is the weather forecast. after a bright morning summer sunshine around. things have been turning progressively cloudier through the day. across the north of the country it has been cloudy and wet. overnight tonight we will see another area of rain extending across northern ireland, getting into south—west scotland and north—west of england and we. it will be a milder kind of night on account of the extensive cloud. tomorrow for most of as it is a cloudy start to the morning. perhaps a little bit of brightness for parts of scotland, central and eastern england, otherwise cloudy. across western areas the odd spot of rain just about anywhere. through the afternoon the rain turns heavier across scotland, northern ireland, and eventually we will start to see and eventually we will start to see a damp weather pushing into england and wales. the best of the dry

weather and sunshine by the stage in the south—east. quite unsettled over the south—east. quite unsettled over the next few days. rain at times across the north west when it will also be turning quite a bit cooler. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. the prime minister insists he does not want a general election and warns mps in his own party not to vote with the opposition for a further delay to brexit. if they do, they will plainly chop the legs from out under the uk position and make any further negotiation absolutely. after the weekend's protests, conservative mps opposing a no—deal brexit are working with other parties to try to force through a three month delay. there are millions of people watching the news tonight who are really worried about the

impact of no deal on their family and their livelihoods, those are the real issues that borisjohnson needs to worry about. we expect conservative mps to support the conservative prime ministerand support the conservative prime minister and conservative agenda, politicians should not dry to take the authority away from government and hand it to the opposition. hurricane dorian batters the bahamas with winds of over 150 miles per hour and it's heading near the coast of florida. a man pleads guilty to the manslaughter of alfie lamb, the toddler who was crushed behind a car seat last year. borisjohnson has said that under no circumstances will he go back to brussels to ask for what he called another "pointless" brexit delay as rebel conservatives and opposition mps prepare to try to force an extension.

speaking in downing street earlier this evening after holding an unscheduled cabinet meeting the prime minister insisted he didn't want an election, stressing that he had been encouraged by the progress the talks were taking. mrjohnson made clear that any mps voting for a delay would undermine his negotiating position. joining us from the cross party think tank demos, polly mackenzie. if mps who are opposed to a no—deal brexit failed to get their legislation through the prime minister says there will be a general election on october the 14th.

if they do get their legislation through, is that not right? yes that is right, then there would be an election. borisjohnson election. boris johnson refuses election. borisjohnson refuses to abide by the law, kind. that is a step onwards from what we were hearing at the weekend which is that the government mightjust the weekend which is that the government might just ignore the weekend which is that the government mightjust ignore the law. they have now committed to the of law. it is a low bar but that is welcome. he is now saying they would bea welcome. he is now saying they would be a general election. but he does not get the chance to choose a general election necessarily. it is possible, and a lot of the debate now is will he be able to secure a general election if that happens? it does seem, hilary benn has published a bill setting out exactly how we would ask that european union for an extension, and the rumours are that they think they have got the votes. of course it is going to be close. but by pushing that tory rebels quite so hard, by basically saying, somebody like phil hammond is not

welcome in the conservative party anymore, i think that the government has managed unite those rebels, done something which three years of negotiations have not achieved. they now feel very united. and if they can get their legislation passed, borisjohnson then once a general election, but it is possible he might not persuade parliament to give him a general election. the worst case scenario for him it would bea worst case scenario for him it would be a general election after the 31st of october, once he has already failed, when that is then a gift to the neck set party, splits the vote of four ways. what about that labour party position? we have been describing that this evening. they are ina describing that this evening. they are in a tricky position, some would say, because they have been calling for, demanding a general election, but now there is a real possibility of one, polls are showing they could actually be defeated in a general election. yes, the labour party has had this policy, wanting to be in and out at the same time for the last three

yea rs. the same time for the last three years. what is funny is that if you ask the voters in the polls, people think largely that the labour party isa remain think largely that the labour party is a remain party, even though they find the labour party has contorted itself in an extraordinary way to prevent itself from supporting a second referendum or suggesting that they are there to block brexit. in a way by consolidating the argument just about eight no—deal brexit, borisjohnson made just about eight no—deal brexit, boris johnson made it just about eight no—deal brexit, borisjohnson made it a little bit easierfor the labour borisjohnson made it a little bit easier for the labour party to just be hard line against what they are calling a tory no deal. i do not know if you remember last week, jeremy corbyn cold it a banker is no deal. it defies logic because you will not find a single banker in the city of london who is in favour of no—deal brexit, they want to maintain access, but whatever it ta kes, maintain access, but whatever it takes, jeremy corbyn is closer to being part of that remain camp than

he has been that there are still lots of his mps, and people like len mccluskey, who would think very hard if it came to writing a general election manifesto, to suggest that in the end the labour party would go back and somehow secure a better deal and therefore be able to progress with brexit. the danger of thatis progress with brexit. the danger of that is that if there was an election, labour might still find itself disappointing the levers and disappointing that remainers, and leaving the field open for the liberal democrats, snp, who have been much clearer all along that they do not want brexit, they want to stop it. thank you very much for talking to us. and we can talk now to professor of government at kings college. thank you for being with us. what do you make of downing street suggesting

that if the so—called rebel alliance in the comments do get their legislation to stop eight no deal, if they get that through, then immediately the government will seek an election on october the 14th, a very quick election? what boris johnson is trying to do is circumvent the fixed term parliament act which prevents the government making its flagship policy a matter of confidence. if theresa may had been able to do that, she said if you do not vote for ideal i will call an election, either the rebels we re call an election, either the rebels were called to heel or they would have been an election. this is what boris is trying to do on the issue of parliament taking control from the government. seeing, if you do that i will try and dissolve parliament. an unusual feature, that i will try and dissolve parliament. an unusualfeature, the election would be on a monday, since 1931 elections have always been on a thursday, it has become a convention. does that matter? no, in my view elections should be at weekends so you get a higher

turnout, but they have not been. labour, as we have been saying, are ina labour, as we have been saying, are in a tricky position. do you think they might oppose a general election even though they have been calling for it for so long? it is difficult for it for so long? it is difficult foran for it for so long? it is difficult for an opposition party to say, we do not want an election. it implies they are rather frightened. do not want an election. it implies they are ratherfrightened. but do not want an election. it implies they are rather frightened. but the problem for the labour party is the deep cultural division within the labour party. because corbyn supporters in london, islington, they tend to be remain voters, and labour voters in universities tend to be remain voters but in a lot of constituencies in the midlands and north of england labour voters are leave voters, sojeremy corbyn has a problem to straddle that deep divide. what do you think of his strategy so far? his address this evening in particular. but also, i suppose, his style since he has been in downing street?

boris has given that smack of firm government, he has lain —— leads down his policy clearly. he has said, under no circumstances will he look for an extension. therefore if parliament tries to do that they must find someone else to do it by winning a general election against him. that is a clear policy. his arguments would be if they are serious in negotiation you have to be prepared to walk, from the table, i suppose he would say, it is because theresa may did not show that determination she could not get her deal through parliament. that determination she could not get her deal through parliamentm that determination she could not get her dealthrough parliament. it is all a fascinating struggle between a prime minister and parliament, between representative democracy and popular democracy, in the shape of a referendum. indeed. but parliament did accept the result of the referendum in 2017 when they voted for the notification of withdrawal act by a majority of 384 votes.

parliament willed the end without willing that means because they have not been prepared to pass a withdrawal agreement. therefore it has put the government in a very serious problem. do you think they are going to get the numbers to get this through, this proposed legislation to stop a no—deal brexit? what i find remarkable is that the bill has been signed by three leading conservatives. a former chancellor, a chancellor until about two months ago, a former justice secretary, and a former junior minister at the foreign office. this leads me to think that a number of conservatives may well support it. if that happens there is some chance of it getting through. and the role of the speaker, widely thought to be pro—remain, is important obviously. you make an interesting comment, widely thought to be pro—remain. it is not the

business of the speaker to let his views become publicly known. he is meant to be like the queen, com pletely meant to be like the queen, completely impartial. no one is suggesting that his judgments are necessarily wrong about parliament, but they are tainted by the fact that he has allowed it to be known he supported that remain a cause. he should not have done that. when he talked about the prorogation of parliament as being a constitutional outrage, for example, should he have done that? i think you should not. there are different views about that. as you know, there are legal judgments pending, and distinguished jurists take different views about the legality of it, and the courts will decide that, but apart from that people take a different view about whether it is politically right or wrong. i am not sure the speaker should have intervened in that particular debate. we shall see what happens in the next couple of days. it is going to be fascinating and crucial. thank you for being with us. our latest headlines.

the prime minister insists he does not want a general election and warns mps in his own party not to vote with the opposition for a further delay to brexit. hurricane dorian batters the bahamas with winds of over 150 miles per hour and it's heading near the coast of florida. a man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of alfie lamb, the toddler who was crushed behind a car seat last year. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's jane dougall. we start with the big shock at the us open, defending champion and world number one is out, losing in straight sets. the swiss player had a flawless match with 29 winners, beating her opponent 7—5, 6—4, both fit women's and men's defending

champions are out of the tournament after n ova k champions are out of the tournament after novak djokovic retired with a shoulder injury. and now the japanese player will lose her number one position, and the french open champion will return to the top spot. england and australia trained at old trafford today ahead of the fourth ashes test which begins on wednesday. the series is level after that incredible ben stokes century that incredible ben stokes century that saw england win by one point at headingley. one of the subplots will be england fast bowlerjofra archer and australia's steve smith facing each other again, a delivery from archer struck his opponent on the neck, causing him to miss the last match. stuart broad believes archer will not change his style as he faces the leading run scorer from australia again. it is great that steve is ok, that is the first thing. he is coming back into test cricket. but test cricket is a brutal sport, and a sport when countries are going hell for leather

against each other, i am sure when steve co m es against each other, i am sure when steve comes in, jofra archer will be wanting the ball. there is no doubt about that. that is the intensity that test cricket brings. it was also revealed today that there will bea also revealed today that there will be a change to the england batting order, joe denley will open, swapping places with jason roy who drops down to number four. in rugby the ireland head coach has named his world cup squad with a shock omission, devin toner has been left out. that leinster lock has featured 60 times, more than any other player. john kline only qualify to play for ireland three weeks ago and has taken the place of toner. ireland begin their campaign against scotland on 22nd of september. the former manchester united striker rob miller lukaku needs to do more to tackle racism in the game. he was subjected to abuse yesterday playing

for his new club inter milan. he scored what turned out to be the winner but was targeted with monkey cha nts winner but was targeted with monkey chants from sections of the crowd before and after his penalty kick. ina before and after his penalty kick. in a post on instagram the player said social media firms need to work harder to stamp out all —— stamp out online abuse. the transfer deadline in scotland and leagues one and two in england. ashehs and leagues one and two in england. asher‘s mkhitaryan is heading to roma on a year long deal. —— a year—long loan deal. hernandez of west ham is moving to sevilla, a three—year deal, he scored 17 goals in 63 games for west ham. virgil van dijk in 63 games for west ham. virgil van dukis in 63 games for west ham. virgil van dijk is in line to pick up another award, last week he beat lionel messi and cristiano rinaldi, for

that uefa owner, now he is up against them again for the fifa prize. alex morgan... phil neville is on the shortlist for best coach in the women's game. the super league starts next week and will be broadcast overseas for the first time. they have signed a three—year rights deal with broadcasters of mexico and scandinavia which means the matches will be screened to viewers across central america, will be screened to viewers across centralamerica, norway, sweden, finland and denmark. the fa will also stream highlights from some england and domestic cup matches. that is all sport for now. more and a sports day at half past ten. thank you. a man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a three—and—a—half—year—old boy who was crushed behind a car seat in february last year.

stephen waterson, who is 26, had denied any involvement in the death of alfie lamb at an earlier trial in which the jury was unable to reach a verdict. the giant steel company tata is closing its orb electrical steels factory in newport south wales. tata said it couldn't afford the £50 million upgrade needed to make the plant viable to produce steel for electric vehicles. it said it hoped to redeploy the 380 workers affected in its other welsh plants. the most powerful storm to hit the bahamas since records began has caused severe damage and flooding. hurricane dorian made la ndfall yesterday battering grand bahama and the abaco islands. it's estimated at least 13000 homes have been damaged or destroyed. it is now battering the region with sustained winds of up to 155 miles per hour

and it could cause a storm surge of up to seven metres, that's 23 feet. the hurricane is slowly moving towards the east coast of america and carrying on upwards with florida, georgia, north and south carolina all declaring states of emergency. from florida, aleem maqbool reports. abaco in the bahamas has been hit hard by dorian, the strongest storm ever recorded there. large areas of these low—lying islands were totally submerged. scraps of footage posted online as the hurricane barrelled through, before power and communications went down, painting a terrifying picture. please, pray for us. pray for abaco, please, i'm begging you. my baby's only four months old, please pray for us. the roof of the apartment block of the mother who took this video had been ripped off. she was clinging to the side of the building with her baby. aid agencies estimate that up

to 13,000 homes could have been destroyed as this catastrophic storm moves through the bahamas, at some points atjust one mile per hour. we have reports of casualties, we have reports of what is being seen. we cannot confirm those reports until we go out and have a look for ourselves. this is now the fourth year in a row in which there has been a category 5 hurricane in the atlantic, a record in the modern era, with experts attributing the increased frequency of these events to climate change. and dorian now heads towards florida, projections this storm could remain hurricane strength for as much as another five days. well, with hurricane dorianjust hours away from the us mainland, emergencies have been declared in four states and compulsory evacuation orders are in place right along this coastline. aleem maqbool, bbc news,

on the east coast of florida. and we can get the latest on this. what is the latest picture you are getting about the damage and destruction that is being caused? more of the same. that is the phrase we have been using all day. it continues to impact. it is still sitting over ground, moving slowly at one mile per hour. it is leaving in its wake lots of flooding. grand bahama is a flat island. rainfall, so much so, just about every five minutes we get calls from people saying they need to be rescued from the roof of their homes, people are stuck in their attics, people are afraid. it seems as if in grand bahama today there is nowhere to run

two, everywhere seems to be compromised because of the massive rainfall, the massive storm surge and sea search. people are afraid. people are handle literally in the roofs of their homes with their families, their children in their arms, hopefully —— hoping that somebody will rescue them that people cannot get to rescue them because of the waves. the images we are seeing shows cars in the downtown area completely submerged underwater. we have seen video footage literally of water coming from the sea, so much so, there is even an image of a shark, a shark, going past the window of somebody‘s house. shark, a shark, going past the window of somebody's housem shark, a shark, going past the window of somebody's house. it has been unbelievable. do you fear that there have been deaths and fatalities as a result of this? and it continues to rise, we are

continuing to hear reports of people seeing, yes i have past bodies, yes, i have seen people who did not make it through to safety. we do not even know, all we are hearing our people saying they are trapped. some first responders are saying they saw potentially a family hugging each other before death because of the floods. it is leaving you numb because you are so under the gun, you hope these stories do not turn out to be true but based on the situation of the weather systems. when it is passed there will be a huge recovery operation, longer term a reconstruction operation with thousands and thousands of homes

destroyed, i guess. pretty much. there are reports that communities are completely wiped out. there is one report that there may have to be an evacuation of a major city in order to rebuild. that is the kind of report we are getting. responders are ready to respond. the public sector is responding. the private sector is responding. the private sector is responding. the private sector is ready. so many of the other partners, regionally and internationally, have said they are ready to respond, ready to go in, just give the signal. people will bond together. the people are resilient people, they will stand together, stand strong, help our brothers and sisters rebuild. thank you so much for being with us and good luck to you. fed up with late mail? well, 85 years ago, a german

scientist came up with his own plans for speedier delivery attempting to deliver mail to the isle of wight by rocket... he failed, but his idea has inspired a british inventor who's successfully recreated the trip, using a jet engine powered suit. duncan kennedy watched the flight. what do you think this has in common with this? surprisingly, the answer is this. yes, mail, or, more specifically, how to deliver mail. exactly 85 years ago someone had the idea of setting up the world's first rocket mail delivery service, right here in lymington across the solent to the isle of wight. his name was gerhard zucker and this was a test launch in germany. zucker thought that he had the idea of letter lift—offs, well, licked... but it didn't quite go to plan.

yet he persisted. in 1934, zucker came to britain. was he a scientist or actually a bit of a scoundrel? the question is was his intention to develop a serious alternative to mail being carried via a rocket? was that the plan? or was the plan to make money by selling stamps which were attached to letters, which had gone on this ride in a rocket? but zucker ignored the suspicions and went ahead with this test flight to take mail across the solent. but it was another first class disaster — wind blowing the rocket into oblivion. so, is rocket mail really possible? well, a bbc team decided to find out. they asked richard browning, a pioneer ofjet suits, to make the same solent crossing...

here it looks like that's longer than 1.3 kilometres or whatever it's supposed to be. ..carrying a letter. travelling slightly faster than your average postie, it took just 75 seconds. so, i think i've got a delivery to make. i'm going to go and find the recipient. 85 years late, perhaps, but gerhard zucker‘s idea of rocket mailfinally finding the stamp of approval. duncan kennedy, bbc news. that is all for now. next, it is outside source.

hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. britain's prime minister is urging members of parliament not to delay brexit. if they do, they will plainly chop the legs out from under the uk position, and make any further negotiation absolutely impossible. his warning was to opposition mps but also to members of his own party — there'll be a vote on tuesday on whether to delay brexit for another three months. hurricane dorian is battering the bahamas with catastrohpic winds and a storm surge causing widespread damage. several us states are now preparing to feel the force. we are fully engaged. that storm that