and one of the workers was left hanging by their harness in mid—air. edmonton fire and rescue said both workers were helped down to safety. no—one was injured. dateline london is coming up. now it's time for a look at the weather. it is calm at the moment. beautiful blue sky and sunshine, high pressure starting to move in from the atla ntic starting to move in from the atlantic and quietening things down. some showers in scotland driven by a fresh northerly wind which will ease as we go through the day. the showers have been quite frequent and wintry with any elevation, and further south, hardly a cloud in the sky, lots of sunshine out there at the moment. a beautiful sunday

afternoon, but it is on the chilly side, particularly in comparison to yesterday, especially in the south—east. as we go through the afternoon, temperatures will be 8-13dc, but it afternoon, temperatures will be 8—13dc, but it will stay quiet through the evening and overnight. with lighter winds, we will see fewer showers across the far north, and with clearer skies, the temperatures will drop away. low single figures to greet us first thing on monday morning. it's also going to be a cooler story, with a morning frost as well. the next few days will be dry and sunny. that's it from me. hello, and welcome to the programme which brings together some

of the uk's leading commentators with the foreign correspondents who file their stories for the folks back home with the dateline london. this week, trick or treat? a hallowe‘en brexit perhaps gives way to a december election and a new year's resolution, but will borisjohnson be running the country by then? and will the uk be governable, whoever‘s in charge? in washington, donald trump declares a "big success" in northern syria as he tells the middle east to solve its own problems. two leaders anxious to escape foreign entanglements. with me, to discuss them, mina al—oraibi, editor in chief of the national, the canadian broadcaster jeffrey kofman, bronwen maddow, director of the uk's institute for government, and a former foreign editor at the times and the british political commentator, steve richards. borisjohnson‘s brexit deal has already achieved something his predecessors 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 grow back overnight to be eaten again the next day. steve, is brexit something so indigestible to the british political system that we're never going to quite get over it? that is the case. even if britain were to leave, twould still be 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've 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 have just done a book on prime ministers 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 borisjohnson 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 waved a wand and all is done tomorrow, you would still have changes and a lot of loose ends that we would need to address very quickly. it has changed the balance between parliament and government, and, yes, some of that is because it is a minority government. but it has given a lot more power to mps, and the speaker has broken with power, 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 bercow 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. austerity shrunk it by about 100,000. 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? i think what is interesting is that actually 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 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, yet they are both running into their two countries' constitutions. i think that is a caricature ofjohnson. he is a tactician in this. he is finding that he can't run roughshod over 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 and the internet giving voice to the voiceless and two leaders in different ways, i think these are tests of the resilience of 0f constitutionality. 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. i think we are seeing a fracturing 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 a concern that actually, these meaningful votes are no longer meaningful. what does this mean in the long term?

this is trump speak and orwellian. that is what they are being called here in the uk. that involves the seed in the voter's mind. that came out of a piece of legislation. 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. there is also a political context which is at odds with the parliamentary context. in fairness tojohnson, he parliamentary context. in fairness to johnson, he has parliamentary context. in fairness tojohnson, he has to remove the threat of the brexit party. therefore, he has to pursue a hard brexit, whether he believes in it or not. and the reality is that there is clearly going to be a divergence from the european union that was by no means the only brexit option.

maybe he believes in it but he had to do it to deal with the threat of the brexit party. there is a majority in the end for a softer brexit. a majority, sorry, in the commons. they have protested in the past and lost, but by a version they have protested in the past and lost. but the benn act got through. 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 erg group of mps, there brexit ha rd—liners he would face a bigger threat. he might. i think the line has changed from 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 the political costs might be greater. we bring it back, accept the amendment on the customs union, this is britain staying in the customs union, which would be one of the 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 a tactician. i think he will do whatever he can get this through. isn't it ironic that we got into this whole brexit situation because of david cameron's fear of ukip. maybe it is a tactician again.

politics at play for the fundamental future of the united kingdom, and the eu. what do you think that borisjohnson should not be so keen on the idea of a general election? i'm thinking of another former tory prime minister who called an election he didn't have to call, a february election in miserable weather, because his argument was that he couldn't govern britain because the trade unions were paralysing it. and the voters didn't choose him. 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. heath was ahead in the polls. it went wrong for heath like it did with theresa may it went wrong for heath like it did with theresa may when she called an election. there are big risks

if boris johnson gets 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 as some suggest. yes, there are really big risks. but there hasn't been an early election in modern times that has gone 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 leader who polls say is the most unpopular leader of the opposition since polling began. corbyn supporters will say that he was behind and look how well he did against theresa may. of course, he didn't win, but he did better than expected. 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 for a vote. cani can i say one counterintuitive thing? everybody seems to be saying that corbyn's proposition on brexit is a, incomprehensible and calamitous vote—loser. 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. you flattered it by simplifying it. might ambiguity be helpful in a

campaign? the polar opposites are the liberal democrat position, which "we are going to revoke and staying in." this seems to be a very reasonable tactic to try. we can't really not make head nor tail of this. the risk corbyn runs is that if we are having a referendum, deciding between a new kind of deal which means extending the timeframe of this. generally, the sentiment is that people are saying please let's end this now. i think that could be a real concern for elections.

if you go for corbyn, you could be extending it even further. i won't say it is not possible. i think theresa may slammed that shirt by saying that brexit means praxis. i think the moment for reaching out consensus has gone you think it is too late? they could have offered it at several points, but the fact was that mps in the commons have not managed to get enough agreement among them. it seemed to be bubbling up again a month ago, but theyjust haven't managed to get the numbers. in quebec, we used to call it the neverendum. i know you don't do astrology, but a december election? i think we could have it. i don't think so.

we used to say in this country, when we we re we used to say in this country, when we were trying to encourage people not to buy dogs as pets for children, a dog is for life 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? 0bama tried to wave goodbye to the middle east. 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. of course, let's not forget there are additional us troops going to saudi arabia after the attacks in the summer. these troops transiting in iraq, on their way home. exactly, we have 2,000 extra troops going into iraq. what donald trump says and what is happening on the ground is not necessarily the same. what is worrying is that america'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 the americans are not going to get involved, whatever the ultimate, if there is an ultimate solution in syria. that disengagement is happening when there are so many moving parts in there are so many moving parts in the region. 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 iranian role in supporting hezbollah. 0n the border of syria 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 policy, even though trump has make clear policy had been maximum pressure and nefarious of iran is to be curbed. but we see the syria dynamic. 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 want to say stability. 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 0bama. they are very alike in some ways. i wouldn't rush to say that! they have done similar things in syria. it would infuriate trump supporters to say he is like 0bama. 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. preferring to use sanctions, you could question whether they have been that effective in either of these scenarios, does he have a kind

of 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 into which both president putin and iran have enjoyed this, to stretch out and didn't and iran have enjoyed this, to stretch out and 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 america 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. that is elizabeth warren. she is a p pa re ntly that is elizabeth warren. she is apparently an that is elizabeth warren. she is a ppa re ntly a n interest that is elizabeth warren. she is apparently an interest in what happens in the middle east.|j apparently an interest in what happens in the middle east. i think this reflects the domestic mood.

w e can make fun of trump as much as we want, but he is that trump, if you take this policy back to washington, you are seeing for the first time his most loyal supporters questioning his judgement. 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 hegemony 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. republicans in congress are saying... "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 that those are comparable. 0nly five americans died in the fight against isis. 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 many of the displaced kurds are fleeing to iraq, where iraq is already under the burden of their own internal turmoil. i think with a curse, though betrayal is not only to the fighters, but the poorfamilies betrayal is not only to the fighters, but the poor families are people who are left with no one to protect them.

the difference between 0bama and trump is that 0bama was agonising collaboratively. the difference being that subsequently, 0bama said didn't intervene was the right thing. cameron says it was a disaster with him losing that vote in the commons. the difference now is that... even if the prime minister's majority is loose. the difference is that trump acts unilaterally on his own without collaboration, which has huge implications on british foreign policy. there were echoes of this with the bush administration because they were willing to go into iraq alone, but blair made the decision to hold them close. i think with trump it 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 adoresjohnson, 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. we have the nato summit starting in london. 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 very little over syria. i agree thatjohnson is far more tactical than trump. there is a counter—intuitive perspective on this from some recent conservative commentators, that putin isjumping in and owning this but what is he owning? 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. unfortunately, britain's role in the world stage in the last years has not been very large.

trump doesn't look to the uk as having influence. how much was that trump being played by the turks or not? 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 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 it used to do. everyone has something better to do than reform it. 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.

a quiet settled weather story over the next few days. that is something i have not seen for quite some time. high pressure starting to build in from the atlantic. we still have this nuisance weather front enhancing some showers in scotland, accompanied by a keen northerly breeze. the wins will start to ease a little into the afternoon, but we keep some showers here, one or two cropping up in south—west scotland and northern ireland. but elsewhere clear skies, lots of afternoon autumn sunshine but cold out there, temperatures peaking at eight to 13 celsius. the weather pattern stays the same as we go through the evening and overnight. still the risk of a few showers into the north, clearer skies elsewhere. so that can only mean one thing is we

go through the overnight period, those temperatures are likely to fall away quite sharply. a widespread frost is likely first thing in the morning with temperatures tumbling below freezing inafew temperatures tumbling below freezing in a few sheltered places. but it does look as though it will stay dry, settled and sunny but cold.

this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at midday: the us military has conducted an operation against the fugitive leader of the so—called islamic state group. this is the scene of the alleged strike where iraqi state television says the terrorist commander has been killed. vigils are held in vietnam by families who fear their loved ones are among the 39 people found dead in a lorry in essex. the liberal democrats and the scottish national party have joined forces to offer borisjohnson the chance of a 9th of december election. if he is serious about wanting an election, and if he is genuine that it is about having an election before christmas, then he can back this bill.