something his prdedecessor‘s never did — the house of commons voted for it. unfortunately for mrjohnson, it then rejected his timetable for debating it — 110 pages of new law to be considered in three days — a timetable which would have allowed him to meet his "do or die" deadline of this coming wednesday, 31st october. that denied, the prime minister offered mps another sort of brexit deal, you can have more time to debate, providing you allow me to hold a general election on 12th december. the british prime minister does not have a parliamentary majority. in some ways he resembles prometheus, a character in the greek mythology of which he is so fond, chained to a rock, each day an eagle was sent by the gods to eat out his liver, only for the liver to gro back overnight to be eaten again the next day. steve, is brexit something so indigestible to the british political system that were never going to quite get over it? that is

the case. even if britain were to leave, this. we stop you with us for years to come, the withdrawal agreement incidentally will be far more tortuous than what happened so far. it has also become indigestible because of the approach of the two tory prime ministers who had to deliver it. both of them, we forget with theresa may, that it was only at the end that she reached out to other parties. this is what prime ministers have to do in hung parliaments. you can manage a hung parliament. i havejust done a bug and hung parliament and it is surprising how many prime ministers were in hung parliaments for up to five years, and often they got their way. they did it by twisting and turning and reaching out. it is deeply unglamorous. we have in boris johnson as a figure who likes

swashbuckling assertiveness. do or die. then, he doesn't succeed. we're going to have an election. you have to work with a hung parliament, and he behaves as though he has a majority of about 200, loses, and then complains. there are ways of managing this, i think, in this hung parliament, but that is not the route he has taken. your organisation does a lot behind the scenes talking to parliament. do you believe brexit has left a mark on the way politics operates, whoever wins an election campaign? even if you wave ones and all is done tomorrow, you will still have changes and a lot of loose ends that we would need to address very quickly. it has change the balance between parliament and government, and yes some of that is because it

isa and yes some of that is because it is a minority government. but it has givena is a minority government. but it has given a lot more power and mps a lot more ways in which they can grab control of the business of parliament, which has really been the government has my power. we have hadn't change in the speakers's role. this is the last week ofjohn boco as speaker. and there are nine speakers lined up who want to do it. then civil servants, suddenly there are a lot more of them. the austerity shrunk the civil service and this grew it. brexit is adding, very quickly, thousands more. a lot of them are very prepared to do brexit in whatever form, but concerned about the things that

can't be known, for example, about no deal, and concerned about precedents being broken, and changes within the service. that idea that you have to forge consensus, however hard it is with your political rivals. is that something we will have to get used to again?” rivals. is that something we will have to get used to again? i think what is interesting is that actually what is interesting is that actually what is interesting is that actually what is going on here and in the us, i'm nota what is going on here and in the us, i'm not a believer in astrology, but there has to be something in the way there has to be something in the way the planets are aligned. you have two inglorious leaders in trump and johnson who believe themselves to be endowed with the power of the divine right of kings,... i think that is a caricature ofjohnson. he is a

tactician in this. he is finding that he can't run enough shut of parliament. trump is finding that congress does have is the power to pursue impeachment. for a lot of things that have conspired to create these situations, social media giving voice to the voiceless and two leaders in different ways, i think these are tests of the resilience of sentence mike... i don't know what the outcome is going to be, but i do think that we are seeing that back we are seeing so far that the political institutions are holding and there is some balance. i would say more in canada and the us than here. yes, they are

holding, but to watch parliament, time and again defeat the prime minister, and yet he stays and nobody knows when the election will happen, if it does happen. there is concerned that actually, these meaningful votes are no longer meaningful. what does this mean in the long term ? meaningful. what does this mean in the long term? this is trump speak and orwellian. that involves the seed in the voter's mind. it is not to speak. there is a strain, not because it is codified, but because so much of it assumes that the uk holds together. and once you start putting strain on the different parts of it, you've got something very uncomfortable. sentence mike johnson has to remove the threat of

the debt ——... the reality is that there is going to be a divergence from the european union. full maybe he believes in it but he had to do it to deal with the threat of the brexit party. sentence case. sentence ? there is brexit party. sentence case. sentence? there is a majority in the comments for a softer brexit. they have protested in the past and last, but by a version of the fact the benn act got through and requires us not to leave without a deal. they have to consider this part of brexit, but if he were to pursue

that and get a majority in the commons, and lose his er g group of mps, there brexit hardliners he would face a bigger threat. he might. | would face a bigger threat. he might. i think the line would face a bigger threat. he might. ithink the line has would face a bigger threat. he might. i think the line has changed from virus words of getting brexit done. you can feel the exhaustion, or whatever their views on this and need for resolution. even if you acknowledge all the economic costs or the political class —— the political class might be greater. we bring it back, except the amendment on the customs union, this is britain staying in the customs union, which would be part of the amendments, and if you're right, take it in that new context.|j amendments, and if you're right, take it in that new context. i don't know if an election can possibly change it. this is where i don't agree that he is like trump. i think he is the technician —— a tactician.

isn't it ironic that we got into this whole brexit situation because of david cameron's fear of the you k ip. politics at play for the fundamental future of the united kingdom, and the eu. what do you think that boris johnson kingdom, and the eu. what do you think that borisjohnson should not be so keen on the idea of a general election? a former prime minister had the argument that he can't govern britain because trade unionists were paralysing it. the parallels are very precise, it's not a prediction, but the parallels are there. no prime minister calls an

election when they are behind in the polls. it went wrong for heath like it did with theresa may when she called an election. there are big risks ifjet borisjohnson get this general election on the 12th of december. those dark nights, the mood in scotland, i wonder whether the north of england are quite as keen to swing to the conservatives is some suggest. yes, there are really big risks. but there hasn't been an early election in modern times that has got in the way of the prime minister who called it. that is not a prediction. maybe this one will. but it it's a big risk. jeremy corbyn is the leda league —— who polls say is the most unpopular

leader of the opposition since polling began. people may say that he was behind. i think that has changed and there is much less empathy and support forjeremy corbyn's party and for him. none of us would be foolish enough to sit around and predict the future, but it certainly doesn't speak well of labour's chances. if they thought they had a chance, they would be jumping fora they had a chance, they would be jumping for a vote. everybody seems to be saying that corbyn's proposition on brexit is a, incomprehensible and calamitous. .. stepping back, it seems highly sensible to offer a softer brexit rather than to remain. some people

might disagree, but why is it incomprehensible. he hasn't said which deal or what his own deal might be. there are many unresolved things about the labour party. he flattered it by simplifying it. the polar opposites are the liberal democrat position, which we are going to revoke and staying in. this seems to be this seems to be a very reasonable tactic to try. the pulse can really not make head nor tail of this. mps... can really not make head nor tail of this. mps. .. the can really not make head nor tail of this. mps... the divisible... if we are deciding between a referendum which decides between remain or a kind of deal, we are extending the

time for this. generally, the sentiment is that people are saying please let this end now. i think that could be a real concern for elections. if you go for corbyn, you could be extending it even further. i think the moment for reaching out consensus i think the moment for reaching out consensus has i think the moment for reaching out consensus has gone i think the moment for reaching out consensus has gone you think it has gone late —— you think it is too late. they could have offered it at several points, but the fact was that mps in the commons had not managed to get an agreement among them. it seemed to be bubbling up againa them. it seemed to be bubbling up again a month ago, but theyjust haven't managed to get the numbers.

ain haven't managed to get the numbers. a in quebec we used to call it their neverendum. i think we could have it. i don't think so. when we were trying to encourage people not to buy dogs as pets for children with a dog is for life and notjust for christmas, i think brexit could be something similar. "let someone else fight over this long bloodstained sand", donald trump declared at the white house wednesday, as he trumpeted the "big success" which had followed the abrupt withdrawal of us troops from syria and the subsequent "incursion" by turkey. the success was a ceasefire, though one which may have as much to do with the active presence of russia as with the absent americans. mina, donald trump seems to be waving goodbye to the middle east.

will it be easy to let go? with donald trump, it has been quite interesting because he had said they are out of syria, but the us secretary of defence has announced that there will be some forces to secure the oil fields in syria. along with the russians, which is an interesting development. i don't think he is going to be disengaging as he pledges. these troops transiting in iran, on their way home. exactly, we have 2000 extra troops going into iraq. what is worrying is that american's attitude is that we have nothing left to do with the syria problem. it is no longer our problem. russia has been working diligently with the iranians and the turks, and we see them very

much with russian patrols in agreement with the turks in northern syria. there is a sense that americans are not going to get involved, whatever the ultimate, if there is an ultimate solution in syria. you have lebanon on the borders of syria in protest now for over nine days, rejecting many issues in the country such as corruption, but very much the uranian role. on the border of syria you have protests in iraq which have so you have protests in iraq which have so far led to 200 people dying and 800 people wounded. these dynamics don't have any sort of washington approach. there is no clear american pus policy, even though trump has make clear policy had a run is nefarious policy is to be curbed. the people in lebanon and iraq are rising up against this and there is

hardly any american support. in syria there is a dynamic where there is going to be aired vacuuming governance, especially with the kurds that have controlled a part of syria and have kind of putting a sort of sense of stability, i don't wa nt to sort of sense of stability, i don't want to say. ability. that's gone now. want to say. ability. that's gone now. you have armed troops, lots of weapons, some money sloshing around. it has left an extraordinary vacuum, trump's withdrawal. this is notjust trump. it did begin with obama. they are very alike in some ways on a?|j wouldn't... they are very alike in some ways on a?|j wouldn't. .. they have are very alike in some ways on a?|j wouldn't... they have done similar things in syria. drawing lines and saying you cannot cross this line. and then trump actually talking tough on iran and they're calling

off the air strike. referring to sanctions, to question whether they have been that effective in either of these scenarios, does he have a kind of... is he all mouth and no trousers? i think he has been consistent in saying he wants to bring america out of these foreign trouble spots, and sometimes, as we've seen in northern syria, is incredibly fast. it really has left a vacuum incredibly fast. it really has left a vacuum into which both president putin and iran have enjoyed this, to stretch out and didn't exert their influence. i think america will look back on this, and when we have forgotten the tweets of trump, and think this was a turning point where trump stepped right back from the middle east and left it to russia and iran in many ways. one of the

potential candidates for the democrat president is similarly disinterested. we can make front -- we can make fun of trump as much as we can make fun of trump as much as we want, but he is that mac trump, if you take this policy back to washington, you are seeing for the first time his most loyal supporters questioning hisjudge first time his most loyal supporters questioning his judge meant. first time his most loyal supporters questioning hisjudge meant. that wall of silence as republicans watched in horror. mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham who never speak against trump are now saying this is not good. this is bad policy. you combine that with his setbacks and the impeachment, and trump's

republican head germany is now, i wouldn't say in peril, but in question. i wouldn't say so much the withdrawal from syria but the betrayal of the kurds. it sets a terrible precedent for america, in terms of standing by our allies. particularly when you look at the numbers, there was the figure in the economist suggesting that 11,000 kurdish fighters have died in the battle against isis. terrible for the families and the loved ones, but nobody would say... in addition to that, sorry but to that point, today, the kurds are facing incredible brutality from... the turks are saying that it is not us, but the mercenaries. the turks have to remember that mac many of the

displaced kurds are fleeing to iraq, where iraq is already under the burden of their own internal turmoil. the difference between obama and trump is that obama was operating collaboratively. the difference being that subsequently, obama said didn't intervene was the right thing. the difference now is that... but even if the prime minister's majority. the difference is that he acts unilaterally on his own is that he acts unilaterally on his own without collaboration, which has huge implications on foreign policy. there were echoes of this with the

bush administration because they we re bush administration because they were winning to go into iraq alone, but blair made the decision to hold them close. i think with trumpet is going to be much more difficult for a british prime minister to hold close with quite spontaneous decisions with profound consequences from trump. however much he adores johnson, where does that leave britain? if it leaves the european union... we have sort of slightly detached from the us position but have not been explicitly open about it. there is going to be, obviously, a great party. as britain gets to say to trump, or tries to say to him, what about turkey's role, what about standing by your allies? this

is where i am very interested in how britain plays its foreign policy in the time of brexit. is it going to try and stand up to the us about this, or is it going to be too anxious about getting a trade deal. if you can hear the sound of silence, britain has said that mac you said earlier, and i agree that johnson is far more tactical than trump. there is a counterintuitive perspective on this from some recent interpretive commentators, that jumpers owning this but what is he owning. —— putin could be owning this. i disagree that putin is rushing in. this has been going on since 2011 and they have decades of

investment in syria. putin is the most level—headed in dealing with syria than all those involved. u nfortu nately, syria than all those involved. unfortunately, britain's role in the world stage in the last years that mac trump doesn't you look to the uk as having influence. japan is playing a role today. he did confer with erdogan before he pulled out. they did confer together. he is conferring with putin very closely as well. that is one of the by—products of brexit. people are waiting to see if they will have the same role, which may have —— which may be tarnished on the world stage. i think the un security council is so divided, and has become so useless, that it does not play the same role at easter. everyone agrees

that it same role at easter. everyone agrees thatitis same role at easter. everyone agrees that it is broken. that's it for dateline london for this week. we're back next week at the same time. goodbye. hello there, for many of us, it's been a soggy start to our saturday, but the weekend will improve if it is dry, sunny weather you're after. but for the time being, we have still got this conveyor belt of wet weather pushing up from the south—west,

affecting wales, the midlands and northern england, and that's going to gradually drift its way steadily south and east. so, weather warnings remain in force. we've already seen a couple of inches of rainfall. there's another couple, potentially, across parts of wales. there could be some localised flooding. travel disruption, as well. this has been the story so far. you can see where the wettest of the weather is, but into the far north, close to an area of low pressure, here, there is a scattering of sharp showers, some of these falling as sleet and snow to the tops of higher ground. so, we keep those showers going into scotland, but there will be some sunny spells through scotland and northern ireland as well. at the same time, our band of rain slowly drifts its way south and east, so allows for an improving picture across the midlands, to the north of england and wales towards the end of the day. it's going to be a windy afternoon, though, with gusts of winds in excess of 50 mph on exposed south—west coast for a time. here, we stay in the milder air, despite that rain around, top temperatures of 16 celsius in the south—east corner. but as cold air starts to wind out further north, those temperatures are struggling, 7 to 9 celsius at the very best. now, the rain will slip its way off into the near continent through the night.

skies continue to stay clear. showers continue into the far north, but more importantly, that colder air is going to move its way right across the country, the yellow tones, the milder air, pushing up into the near continent. and that means a chilly start, as well, to our sunday morning. lows of single figures in one or two spots, but noticeably colder for all of us across the country. a bit of good news, though — don't forget, before you head off to bed tonight, to make sure you put the clocks back. we well and truly say goodbye to british summertime. but with an extra hour in bed, once you've opened those curtains, you'll be greeted to some sparkling blue sky and sunshine, not a bad day. all change, really. noticeably colder but dry, settled and sunny, but we keep those showers going on the far north, and again, with any elevation they will be wintry. highest values of 7 to 13 celsius through sunday afternoon. it does look as though this theme is set to continue for our week ahead. dry and sunny, but cooler.

this is bbc news. i'm geeta guru—murthy. the headlines at midday... england are into the final of the rugby world cup, after beating new zealand 19—7 in yokohama. in their first final since 2007, england will face wales or south africa next saturday. celebrations across the country, and injapan, as they beat the all blacks in the tournament forfirst time in history. that was absolutely incredible from start to finish. they were all over them. they have beaten the double world champions, they have knocked them out, which is a big achievement. but i come back to this, it doesn't really mean anything if you don't win the final.