this today at five — accident and emergency waiting times in england at their worst since current records began. new figures out today show a whole raft of hospital targets are being missed — including for cancer and routine surgery. it's put the nhs at the centre of today's election campaigning. this is basically caused by the huge demand that there is on the nhs, and that's why, now, in the last three months, we have done the biggest investment in the nhs in modern times. it is disgraceful and it is a problem of the lack of staff and the lack of funding for it, so a labour government will increase nhs funding by '23/24 by 26 billion a year. we'll be assessing the impact

of today's figures on the election and talking to a senior consultant in emergency medicine. the other main stories on bbc news at 5... several people are injured after a shooting at a high school in california, near los angeles — police say a suspect is still at large. a man who crushed a toddler to death with a car seat is jailed for seven and a half years. victims of the floods across england brace themselves for more rain, with more than 90 flood warnings in place. and devastating floods in venice — the italian government is set to declares a state of emergency there.

it's five o'clock — our top story: accident and emergency units in england have recorded their worst performance since current records began, in 200a. one senior doctor has warned emergency care is "imploding". the government's target is for 95% of a&e patients to be treated or assessed within a maximum of four hours. but today's figures show that was only achieved with 83.6% of patients. they also show a raft of other targets are being missed in england — including for cancer operations and also routine surgery. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. it's hard to believe that, two years ago, frances reid was effectively crippled by arthritis. her constant pain was ended by a hip replacement operation. nhs targets mean frances should have only waited 18 weeks for surgery. instead, her operation

was delayed by six months. that really impacted on my health, my general health, my mobility. i was in an awful lot of pain. i could barely get about. and it also impacted on my recovery time afterwards because i was so unfit, actually, by the time i had my surgery. the delay to frances‘ operation is a sign of a system under growing stress. figures released today show none of the three key hospital targets in england have been met for over three years. waiting times for a&e are the worst ever recorded. it's been more than four years since the four—hour target was hit. the 18—week target for planned operations, like the one frances had, was last met more than three years ago. and just over three quarters of cancer patients started treatment in 62 days in october. the 85% target hasn't been met in nearly four years. the numbers in a&e relate to october. for the last two years, performance actually got better in october. autumn isn't necessarily a bad time for the nhs,

it's usually ok in a&e. the real difficulties come in december, january and february, so i'm afraid we are probably going to see these numbers get worse before they get better. health is an area of policy that's devolved and, while these figures only apply to england, similar pressures are seen across the uk. but the data comes in the middle of an election campaign in which funding for the nhs has featured strongly. it is disgraceful and it is a problem of the lack of staff and the lack of funding for it. so a labour government will increase nhs funding by 2023—2021; by 26 billion a year. this is basically caused by the huge demand that there is on the nhs and that's why now in the last three months we have done the biggest investment in the nhs in modern times. frances‘ operation gave her a new lease of life. nhs england is considering changing waiting time targets, arguing they're outdated.

but health charities believe they're still important for patients. behind each of these numbers is an individual living with chronic pain. ajoint replacement operation can take that pain away. delay to that operation can have a devastating impact on the physical and mental health of people with arthritis. nhs england says today's figures reflect the increased number of older and sicker patients who are being seen. but there's a warning from a group that represents doctors that the hospitals they work in are imploding and the real pressures of winter have yet to be felt. dominic hughes, bbc news. let's discuss this further with dr ian higginson, vice president of the royal college of emergency medicine and a consultant in emergency medicine at university hospitals plymouth. he joins us from plymouth. thank you forjoining us. from your

experience, from what you hear from your colleagues, are these figures today a surprise to you? thank you. no, they are not a surprise. we are hearing from colleagues up and down the country that these figures reflect reality. we mustn't forget these figures translate into patients waiting on trolleys in corridors in emergency departments, where they should be in hospital beds. and it also means staff are working under incredibly difficult conditions, trying to get the best ca re conditions, trying to get the best care they can for their patients. so, demoralising for the staff, disconcerting indeed for the patient involved. what do you put it down to, what are the core reasons for this? it's a combination of things, but fundamentally there are not enough doctors and nurses in our emergency departments or indeed our hospitals to look after our patients. there is a shortage of beds within hospital so when patients need to come in we can find them somewhere to look after them.

and within both primary care and the social care sector, which are very important to support urgent care, we know that there are shortfalls in, again, staff and capacity to help patients both find alternatives to coming to hospital. and also so they can leave hospital safely and recover from their illness and injury. these figures are from october, we haven't even seen winter start to bite yet, so presumably this could get a lot worse? u nfortu nately, yes, this could get a lot worse? unfortunately, yes, many of our colleagues, including myself, are very worried about what winter is going to bring. it is true to say, i think, that for many of us we are starting to feel that winter all year round now. it'sjust starting to feel that winter all year round now. it's just that over the cold period we do see an increase in the number of sick patients, and we worry what will happen in our emergency departments and hospitals when that happens. do you think these targets, these are for our target in

—— do you think these targets, these targets for a&e, are realistic? —— do you think these targets, these targets for me, are realistic? they provide a measure of what is going on in our emergency departments. we would not want to see then replaced until they were something better, but we don't know what better looks like. how do we make things better, how do we improve this dire situation, as you've been describing it, with people on trolleys waiting for care in a&e? it, with people on trolleys waiting for care in me? the royal college of emergency medicine has published our manifesto, which includes improving staffing and emergency departments, increasing the bed capacity within england by a minimum of 4000 beds. that would require doctors and nurses to look after patients in those beds. we are calling for consideration for the needs of the social care sector and of primary care. we'd also like to see investment in buildings and

informatics and technology, so hard—working staff informatics and technology, so ha rd—working staff have informatics and technology, so hard—working staff have got the tools they need to do theirjob properly. thank you very much indeed for being with us. thank you very much. we have the latest on that school shooting in california. authorities in california say they're responding to what they're describing as an active shooter situation. this is at a high school in santa clarita, a city north of los angeles. these are overhead pictures of the scene. schools in the local area have been placed on lockdown while authorities respond to the incident. the sheriff of santa clarita valley has said in a tweet that a suspect described as a male asian in black clothing, was still at large. the police are saying there are multiple victims of this shooting at

saugus high school, about 40 mild north of los angeles. several victims. —— 40 miles north. local nbc television are reporting at least three victims. they are citing fire officials there. we have seen a lot of students walking away from the school. we can show you the twitter page of the local sheriff, actually, who is saying, we believe at this time there is only one suspect but we are actively investigating and following all leads. we will keep you posted on that. several people injured, as many as five victims being treated after the shooting at that high school in california. just the latest, of course, in so many shootings in the us. this is in california. this is about 40 miles north of los angeles.

the conservatives have promised to cut immigration if they return to power but have stopped short of setting targets. the home secretary priti patel says they will reduce "immigration overall" through a points—based system. labour has yet to announce its policy on freedom of movement but say it will be a "fair process". it all comes as nominations to stand in the general election close this afternoon. our political correspondent jonathan blake reports. you have almost cracked it. that is unbelievable! if only cutting immigration was as easy as that. the prime minister visited a school in somerset this morning as his party's commitment to reduce the numbers coming to live and work in the uk became the focus of the election campaign. applause hooray! beyond the promise to bring down net

migration there's little if any detail by how much and when. we will have an australian style points based system that will allow us to control who comes in and make sure we do not have so many people coming in without skills orjobs to come to, that we therefore protect wages, we increase wages, and we also make sure, this is a crucial point, that companies in this country, business in this country, invest in the skills of young people growing up in this country. the tories first promised to cut net migration to below 100,000 in the 2010 election then again in 2015 and again in 2017 but they never achieved that aim so don't expect them to set a similar target now. reducing immigration means reversing a trend. the most recent figures show net migration from eu countries was 59,000 but from the rest of the world it was 219,000. ending freedom of movement from the eu, which the conservatives have promised to do, won't do anything to curb the numbers coming to the uk from elsewhere so the questions for the tories are how they plan

to meet their pledge and when. for labour, the issue is settling a debate within the party about where it should stand on immigration. jeremy corbyn was heckled on scottish independence in dundee this morning, but on immigration no word yet on how he will balance differences over a commitment to ending free movement versus taking a more relaxed approach. if we are remaining members of the eu, which will be an option in the referendum that we will put, then freedom of movement continues. if we come to a special arrangement with the eu, this there will be a recognition of the needs of european families to have the right to family reunion, the right to reside in this country, and of course british people to work in different european countries. other parties reject the need for tighter controls on immigration. and to those considering whether to vote conservative again, the question has to be this, is this the kind of country

you want to live in? do you want to endorse this kind of politics? we would like to encourage people to come here, we would like to encourage eu nationals to come here and we'd like for freedom of movement to continue. we have the social and cultural benefits. just as they did in the brexit referendum campaign, arguments about immigration policy may play a crucial role in the run—up to this election. jonathan blake, bbc news. well, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn has been speaking further on immigration to the bbc this afternoon. he's refused to say whether he would want to increase or decrease immigration if he becomes prime minister. asked repeatedly, he declined to give a view on whether the number of people coming to the uk was too high or too low. he's been speaking to our political editor, laura kuenssberg. jeremy corbyn, if you become prime minister, would you like to see immigration go

up or down? i want to see immigration being fair and we'll see what the outcome of that is, but the principle has to be that there are many families in britain that want relatives here, and families who have a chance to live together but can't because of the income levels they are required to do. and also, we have to be realistic that in this country, we have 40,000 nurse vacancies, we have a great shortage of doctors, we have shortages of many skills and they cannot be met very quickly because we are not training enough people. so there's going to be immigration in the future. but it's a point of principle though, if you were prime minister, would you be content with the current level? it's been relatively stable, roughly speaking we've been adding the population of newcastle or oldham to the population every year. as a point of principle, would you be happy if it went up, or would you rather see it go down? as a point of principle, i want people to be able to be reunited with their families and i want british people to be able to work across europe as they are at the present time.

and i think putting arbitrary figures on it, as successive governments have done, simply doesn't work. our immigration strategy is based on fairness, justice and on the economic needs of our society and they are considerable. that's interesting, so are you agnostic then? you don't mind if it goes up a bit, you don't mind if it falls a bit because i hear what you are saying about the principles of the system you would like to run, but as a point of principle, you aren't fussed about whether it went up or down? what i am not agnostic about is people waiting a long time for operations in hospitals because they can't get them because there is no nurse to do it. people cannot get a gp appointment because there is no gp, because they can't be recruited. and if we have an immigration policy of the sort that other people are proposing, we will simply get worse on that situation. in september, your party voted to extend freedom of movement. some of your biggest backers, including the leader of the unite union, len mccluskey, think that isn't manageable. what do you think? well, the conference motion was passed, it doesn't necessarily

form part of the manifesto because we have a manifesto—making process, which goes beyond conference in the sense it decides what's going to go into the manifesto. what that conference motion actually said was, about the right of reunion and the right of migration for those that have already got settled status, as i said, in this country. and maintaining and extending freedom of movement, is what it said. in fact, the shadow home secretary, your close colleague diane abbott, has said this afternoon, the labour party is committed to extending the freedom of movement? for those that have legitimate settled status in the uk. that is family reunion, that was the point she was making. so to be clear, you are only committed at this point to having more freedom of movement for people who have settled status here because that eu citizens, to be clear, eu citizens that have applied to be able to stay? no, eu citizens depends on the ultimate outcome of the eu negotiations. we will obviously negotiate within three months of taking office, and leave arrangement with the eu which would be

about marking access, customs union and protection of rights. and if we remain in the european union following a referendum, then obviously the eu relationship applies. but i do think we have to recognise there are many people in britain who have partners who are from europe, or the other way around and have children, therefore the children of both. we cannot stop them moving about, it would not be right to stop the family reunion. indeed, i proposed a motion to exactly that effect in 2016 straight after the referendum. do you know what? borisjohnson actually voted for it. it sounds like you will, in your manifesto, i know you don't want to make the final commitment today, but from that answer, it sounds like you will extend freedom of movement? listen, our manifesto making meeting is only three days away. we can all await that with bated breath. in a moment we'll talk to nick eardley in edinburgh where labour leaderjeremy corbyn

has been campaigning today. but first to our political correspondent alex forsyth who's on the prime minister's press bus in bristol. i know it's been another busy day on the campaign trail, tell us what borisjohnson has the campaign trail, tell us what boris johnson has been the campaign trail, tell us what borisjohnson has been up to. a big focus of the conservative campaign message has been about immigration, and this idea that the conservative party, if they do win this election, would introduce what they are describing as a points—based system to control immigration. but there seems to be a bit of confusion as to what that control would actually do. because at the start of the day, as you heard in jonathan at the start of the day, as you heard injonathan blake's package, it seems to be a message coming out from priti patel, that the efforts would be to reduce immigration albeit not to a targeted level. but then this afternoon we had from priti patel and the prime minister himself, who were talking about cutting the number of low skilled migrants, those withoutjobs, but

not committing to reducing overall numbers altogether. we can have a listen to what the prime minister has been saying about this this afternoon. i have always been in favour of people of talent coming to this country to make their lives better and do wonderful things in this country. i believe we should be an open and generous economy. we should welcome people with talent. we have done things to attract scientists, changing the rules to make it easier for them to get visas, making sure that postgraduates can stay on. we wa nt that postgraduates can stay on. we want the uk economy to be strong by attracting people of talent. to be frank, over the last 20, 30 years, 20 years in particular, we have seen a lot of people come in without a job to go to. they've been putting pressure on public services. they haven't necessarily had the skills that the economy demands. we want a controlled system. that's the whole point. we want an australian style points—based system, so that businesses around the country can

attract the people that they want. whether that is agriculture, or doctors... whatever. yes, that might mean in some sectors immigration comes down. frankly, that's great, because i think there has been a lot of pressure on the system caused by that. but i don't want to, i want to repeat my point, i don't want a country that is going to be closed to the wider world. we are an open and thriving economy. alex forsyth has been campaigning on his campaign today. jeremy corbyn has been talking about a whole range of issues, we can hearfrom nick ea rdley. issues, we can hearfrom nick eardley. he's also been talking about scottish independence, hasn't he? lots of issues being covered up. that immigration interview with laura you saw a few minutes ago, really interesting. jeremy corbyn

has always talked about his view that immigration has been good for the uk, but he doesn't seem to be expressing any sort of preference, really, on whether the level at the moment, of net migration, should stay the same. whether it could go up. whether it should go down. also, not much clarity on that freedom of movement issue, that is something that the party conference voted to continue earlier this year. some in the labour party are trying to make sure that it isn't in the manifesto that will be unveiled in the next couple of weeks. lots to watch out for there. jeremy corbyn has had a pretty tough time in scotland. this isa pretty tough time in scotland. this is a place that labour is going to have to do well ifjeremy corbyn is going to win the keys to number ten. long gone are the days when labour could expect to return dozens of mps from scotland. he is going to have to work hard to get every single vote here. and the message on independence, one of the key issues in scotland, has been far from clear, to be honest. it's changed

over the last couple of days. yesterday it started with no independence referendum in the first term, five years, then it was none in the formative years of a labour government. today it's become not in the first two years of a labour government. it might sound a bit like splitting hairs. some in the scottish party are really worried that not being clear on the independence issue is going to cost them votes on the 12th of december, because the conservatives, the lib dems, and the snp have particular positions on independence. they are worried they don't. there is another school of thought which is that this election is about a whole bunch of issues. we've heard jeremy corbyn say that repeatedly and rallies in scotland, that people should be thinking of a whole raft of issues like austerity, climate, public services, when they go to the ballot box on the 12th of december. they hope that is a bigger issue than independence when it comes to it. but when it comes to analysing

jeremy corbyn's visit here to scotland, they've seen mixed m essa 9 es scotland, they've seen mixed messages on independence. thanks very much indeed, nick eardley reporting on thejeremy corbyn campaign. let's go back to that school shooting in california. santa clarita is north of los angeles. schools in the area have been placed on lockdown. we can go live to our correspondent, peter bowes, who was in los angeles right now, with the very latest. peter? this started to unfold just under two hours ago. we are getting reports now that the shooter, the person the police have been looking for, may well have been apprehended. we don't know the details. we heard from one source that the person is no longer a threat. we don't know exactly what has happened, but if that's true it'll be a huge relief to have that many people in the area. and especially those parents who have been rushing to the school,

or at least a safe area in a local park, to be reunited with their children. we understand from authorities that several people, we don't know if they are children or adults, but several people have been hurt. a local hospital has said two people are in a critical condition. this started to happen just as the school was open, 7:30am. i understand that a number of sheriff deputies in the area were actually dropping off their children in the area when this happened. they immediately jumped into action area when this happened. they immediatelyjumped into action to try to control the situation. peter, thank you very much indeed for that update. peter bowes in los angeles there. we arejust we are just hearing from the european commission that they have launched a legal case against the uk for failing launched a legal case against the uk forfailing to launched a legal case against the uk for failing to name launched a legal case against the uk forfailing to name a launched a legal case against the uk for failing to name a representative for failing to name a representative for the new european commission, which is due to take over from the

beginning of december. the european commission has today sent a letter of formal notice to the uk for breaching its eu treaty obligations by not suggesting a candidate for the post of eu commissioner. it said the post of eu commissioner. it said the uk's justification that it couldn't submit a candidate because of the general election was not valid, because under eu caselaw a member state cannot use provisions in its domestic legal system to justify a failure to observe its under eu law. infringement legal proceedings being brought by the eu, by the commission, against the uk. more on that on that as that comes into us. we've seen the result of the weather in areas affected by flooding and there is more rain on the way, which will make things worse.

yes, and totals are picking up in oxfordshire and the midlands where it just has not oxfordshire and the midlands where itjust has not stopped raining todayis itjust has not stopped raining today is that thankfully the snow is on the tops of the hills, but the rain just on the tops of the hills, but the rainjust keeps on coming. numerous flood warnings in force, they've almost doubled today, picking up in the midlands, meaning miserable conditions on the roads. spray and standing water through this evening's rush hour. throughout this evening's rush hour. throughout this evening and overnight, this rain just keeps on coming. hopefully it will ease through the night, but with the winter temperatures will be higher than last night. still low enough for some frost over parts of scotland. and therefore some icy conditions first thing. again tomorrow, it is that north—easterly just pushing in those showers. lengthy spells at times, particularly late in the day, eastern england. for the midlands and lincolnshire and yorkshire, it looks less wet than today, but not any warmer. eight to 10 degrees is

below par for this any warmer. eight to 10 degrees is below parfor this time any warmer. eight to 10 degrees is below par for this time of year. it'll feel cold are still in the wind. as for the weekend, we stay in the chilly air, and we will see further showers and longer spells of rain. unfortunately no sign of any long dry period at the moment. our latest headlines colon new figures reveal accident and emergency waiting times in england are at their worst since current records began. several people have been injured after a shooting at a high school in california, near los angeles — police say the suspect has been located and is no longer a threat. a man who caused the death of his girlfriend's three—year—old son by crushing him behind a car seat has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. victims of the floods across england are bracing themselves for more rain, with around 100 flood warnings now in place. and italy is set to declare a state of emergency in venice

after the city there was engulfed with flood water. # i don't fight this feeling any longer...# and coming up — excitable edgar is this year's christmas ad offering from john lewis — we'll talk about what makes christmas adverts so popular with tv critic scott bryan at 5:45. before that, let's check out the latest sports news with olly foster. good evening. the video asssitant referee was on the agenda at a meeting for all 20 members of the premier league today. west ham co—chairman david gold says that var is "alive and kicking" three months into the season, but many have been unhappy with how it's been used. the referee's chief mike riley was present at what's been described as a "fractious" meeting.

they agreed there would be no major changes but the premier league will lead a consultation into how well var is working. we have had a very robust discussion. the message has got through to the league and the referee's association that the fans are unhappy and many other stakeholders in the game think we will do a whole lot better. i expect to see real improvements in the speed of decisions, consistency, which is what everybody craves and i think above all else, for those of us think above all else, for those of us in stadium, we want much more communication of what is going on before, during and after. if we get those three ingredients, things will bea those three ingredients, things will be a whole lot better. england should mark their 1000th match tonight with a win that would also see them qualify for the european championship next summer. they are up against montenegro. let's head live to wembley and speak

to our reporter rhia chohan. should be straightforward for england, but gareth southgate's week has been anything but? it should be straightforward, this is the one thousands game and there will be a lot of pomp and ceremony before the match. the players will have legacy numbers on their shared, which you will be able to see. but as you said, it has not been an easy week for gareth southgate. he has had to deal with the fallout between raheem sterling and joe gomez after that altercation at england's base camp this week. as a result of that, we know raheem sterling has been dropped. he won't be playing tonight. gareth southgate and the squad will want to put this behind them and move forward and get this point for qualification. it has been another fairly comfortable qualifying campaign for england, they slipped up against czechoslovakia last month, but they

have a chance to get themselves over the line? they are top of their group in these qualifiers with five out of six wins. theyjust need that one point and they will want to wrap up one point and they will want to wrap up the point when they play montenegro tonight. then gareth southgate is not want to go to kosovo needing anything from the game. england should bring more than once but gareth southgate is not going to want any slip ups. he certainly won't, many thank. it is said to be a very young squad but we will get the team you just after 7pm. matteo berrettini has become the first italian to win a match at the season ending atp finals.

he'd already been knocked out of the tournament, but put that disappointment behind him to beat dominic thiem in straight sets at the o2 arena in london. thiem has still made it through to the semis. novak djokocvic and roger federer go head to head later this evening for a place in the last four. catriona matthew has been given the chance to retain the solheim cup after being chosen tostay on as europe captain. the 50—year—old scot led her team to victory over the united states on home soil at gleneagles in september. she will be captain again at inverness golf club in ohio, in 2021. and there was a very unusual hazard for britain's tommy fleetwood to deal with at the nedbank golf challenge in south africa. what looked like a pretty decent shot into the green at sun city, was interfered with by a couple of mongeese. fleetwood himself said he was unsure of the rules when a mongoose attacks a golf ball?

we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6:30. now it is time for your questions answered. it is indeed. throughout the election campaign we will be putting your questions to all of the main parties. joining me now to answer your questions is the leader of plaid cymru, adam price. very warm welcome, thank you for being with us. we have got plenty to get through. ricky wants to know, why did plaid call themselves the party of wales when they are going against the majority in wales who voted to the european union? the simple answer is, we have to be honest, i think, simple answer is, we have to be honest, ithink, it simple answer is, we have to be honest, i think, it is imperative from any politician. we believe that brexit is going to rip the heart out of the welsh economy, particularly the brexit on the table now. we did

vote in favour of a form of brexit, staying in the single market, staying in the single market, staying in the customs union, vital for wales because a manufacturing and agricultural industry. what we have seen is brexit is ever more extreme and ever harder. that is going to be disastrous, so we could never support it. as a point of principle, any brexit deal should have to go back to the people for confirmation. because what is on offer now is not, one of the most talked about... even so, wales voted 52. 5% talked about... even so, wales voted 52.5% to 47.5% to leave in the referendum. so you are not speaking for the majority in wales are you? we area for the majority in wales are you? we are a pro remained party, we have been open and honest about that. it was a 1979 referendum we lost, they voted against devolution. the next day we were out there again making the case for self—government for wales. it is myjob to persuade the

people of wales at the selection, it is in our best interests as a nation to stay within european union. jason from wrexham, you would like independence but considering you are not even willing to stand candidates in every constituency in wales, isn't this disingenuous to suggest to people that independence could ever be sought and achieved? no, we have seen one of the interesting phenomena over the last few years is the rise in support for independence in wales. the dragon might have been a slumbering giant, but it is waking up a slumbering giant, but it is waking up and beginning to roar. people are looking at the chaos in westminster, coming to the conclusion, we can organise our nation far better ourselves. we have been a nation that has unfortunately had deep pockets of poverty for too long. many people believe we could be a far more successful, prosperous country if we took the reins and the tools and the leaders as an

independent nation to prise ourselves out of the poverty. how many constituencies are you standing on in wales? we are standing in 36 of the 40. in four of the seats, you are right, we have come to an agreement with two other pro—remained parties, because at this election, this brexit election, precipitated by the brexit crisis, we believe it is so important for wales that we stay within the european union. this time, the serious times call for serious politics, grown—up politics and in their seats, if we can make a difference, we are prepared to put narrow party interests aside and put the interests of the nation first. number three is from fabienne in swa nsea. number three is from fabienne in swansea. bit of a hypothetical, but if scotla nd swansea. bit of a hypothetical, but if scotland and wales got independence in the nearfuture if scotland and wales got independence in the near future and rejoined the european union, could scotla nd rejoined the european union, could scotland and wales form a union again, or would they have to remain independent countries within the eu? interesting question. a celtic

union, i suppose. interesting question. a celtic union, isuppose. one interesting question. a celtic union, i suppose. one of the things thatis union, i suppose. one of the things that is vitally important to emphasise, as we talk about welsh independence, scottish independence and the possibility of irish unity. one of the things we need to do, i think, as we move away... the united kingdom as it currently exists since 1921, as we move away from that to a different relationship, a partnership of equals across these nations, we need to create institutions of cooperation. we will still share an island, oddly in britain. we will still need to work together in many ways, but wouldn't it be better to work together as equal, independent nations, sitting around the same table instead of this unequal union at the moment where we have political, economic, and financial power concentrated in london. would you consider an electoral pact with labour in seats where the brexit party are also

standing? i asked the labour party in the by—election, which was the first real example of the alliance working successfully. we took the decision, as did the greens, to stand aside at the by—election. we asked the labour party to do the same and they said no, we don't do electoral cooperation. subsequently, u nfortu nately. electoral cooperation. subsequently, unfortunately. i think it is a tragedy, it is a tragedy of leadership from the labour party, that they haven't got off the fence wherejeremy that they haven't got off the fence where jeremy corbyn that they haven't got off the fence wherejeremy corbyn has ensconced himself. they are not a remain party, so it is difficult for them tojoin the remain party, so it is difficult for them to join the remain alliance we have created. you have mentioned it already, but someone for port talbot wa nts to already, but someone for port talbot wants to know, how does this electoral pact between plaid, the liberal democrats and the greens, how does it work in wales? in wales, there are 11 seats were those three

parties have agreed to have a single candidate. in seven of those 11 seats, that candidate will be a plaid cymru candidate. we have this opportunity at this election to elect the highest number of plaid cymru mps to westminster in our history. imagine the difference that will make, to brexit, in electing a greater number of pro remained mps. think of the difference it will make for wales, to get wales' voice heard in the corridors of westminster in a way that sadly hasn't happened for generations. and you want to know what is the relevance of plaid cymru in wales in 2019, when you consider it only has four seats out of 40 in wales and the selection, plaid is looking to stand down in seats to help the liberal democrats, so how releva nt help the liberal democrats, so how relevant is plaid? for100 help the liberal democrats, so how relevant is plaid? for 100 years, the people of wales have voted labour. but what has been the return on that investment? we are at the

bottom of every table you can imagine in terms of poverty. we need to do something differently at the selection, stop putting our trust in the westminster parties, either labour or conservative, both have let us down over many generations. let's put our faith let us down over many generations. let's put ourfaith in let us down over many generations. let's put our faith in ourselves. look at the difference in terms of how scotland is taken seriously. they vote for their party, the snp. imagine the different attitude there would be towards wales, towards our priorities and needs, if we saw a huge surge of support for wales' party plaid cymru, at the selection. john is asking, how can wales maximise its energy potential with its water supplies and surplus electricity, when only part of the energy portfolio are devolved. what more needs to be done to see full devolution so the people of wales can financially benefit? fantastic question. people might not know, but wales is the fifth or sixth biggest

electricity exporter in the world. we have about 15% of all of europe's marine energy potential around our coasts. u nfortu nately, marine energy potential around our coasts. unfortunately, as at the moment, the power to decide over building power stations, the tidal lagoon that was cancelled by the conservative government in westminster, that resides in westminster. if we had that power for ourselves, we could become the kind of energy powerhouse we were 100 years ago. we had the coal industry, but with the green technology of the future, we could catch that new wave of the green industrial revolution in wales, which would help environmentally, but also economically as well. carol is asking, quite a broad question, how would you ensure every child in wales is fed, clothed, housed and has a good education? this is a central question. we have 200,000 of our children currently living in poverty. it is a massive stain on our democracy that we have

allowed this. what we should do is introduce a welsh child payment. we have said it should be set at £35 a week immediately, to every child in a low income family in wales. immediately that would lift 50,000 children out of poverty and then we could build on that throughout the next decade, until by the end of the decade there should be a statutory target, where we abolish child poverty completely. in any civilised society, no child should have to live in poverty, we should give every child the best start in life. a couple of final questions. eleanor wa nts to a couple of final questions. eleanor wants to know why our nhs waiting times in wales double those in england? 20 years of a labour government unfortunately, a lacklustre leadership. poor management within the health boards. one of the principal problems, we don't have enough staff, we don't have enough doctors. we have emphasised we need to recruit and

train 1000 new doctors, 5000 nurses. it is impossible to get an nhs dentist in large parts of wales. u nless we dentist in large parts of wales. unless we have the train personnel within the nhs, it is no surprise waiting lists are at the level they are. we should expect better from a labour government. when we form a government in a year—and—a—half, things will improve. last question, ellis wants to know will plaid cymru work with the jeremy corbyn government? in other words, would you be prepared to help put and keep jeremy corbyn in number ten? you be prepared to help put and keep jeremy corbyn in number temm you be prepared to help put and keep jeremy corbyn in number ten? it is not about personality, it is about policy. we will work with anyone, where we can find common ground, as we have done with the remain party, we have done with the remain party, we are prepared to work with other parties and in government as well, if we can actually getjustice, economic justice, if we can actually getjustice, economicjustice, socialjustice for the people of wales and do that on a case—by—case basis. the more power

we have to change the future of our country if we get more plaid cymru mps elected. adam price, the leader of plaid cymru, thank you for your time. a prominent brexit party mep has said he will not stand as an election candidtate in the key marginal seat of dudley north. in a tweet, rupert lowe said he's putting country before party as he thinks it's highly conceivable his candidacy could allow corbyn's momentum candidate to win. his decision comes on the eve of a visit to the town by party leader nigel farage, who had been expected to lend mr lowe his backing. a former—minister's son stephen waterson, who admitted crushing his girlfriend's young son with a car seat, has beenjailed

at the old bailey for seven years and six months. our correspondent richar lister was at the old bailey. ministers are holding another emergency meeting to discuss the flooding across england. 20 schools have been closed in warwickshire — where water levels on the rivers stour and dene are rising. frankie mccamley has sent this report from fishlake. the small village of fishlike, cut off by flood water earlier this week, now getting to residents have asking for. the army have been putting sandbags down and building flood defences since yesterday. but some residents say help has not come quick enough. we need investment now into here, we desperately need it. once the rainwater has gone and people are back in their homes, we can't ever allow this to happen again. the environment agency have got to sit up and listen to what the farmers around this area have been saying for a long time, listen to what they are saying. parts of south

yorkshire and lincolnshire have been badly hit with heavy rain with around 500 homes flooded in doncaster and 1200 evacuated. over the last 24 hours, the rain has subsided and cars can get into the village rather than just 4x4 tours and tractors. but there is so much more work to be done, so many people cannot get into their homes and some roads in the village are still submerged, as the rain is falling heavily now and is expected to continue into tonight. it has been a very wet autumn so far, some of the flooded regions have had twice the expected amount of rainfall. there is more to come today, about an inch worse, so not enough to cause river flooding but it is topping up the water lying on the ground. there are around 70 flood warnings in place across the country. 20 along the river don where fishlake sits, meaning flooding is expected. elsewhere, there are around 150

alerts, urging people to be prepared. the environment agency says it is pulling resources from across the country but once people in affected areas to stay vigilant. we do need people to take note of their flood risk and start to plan for what happens if the worst happens. trying to start to move possessions upstairs in the dead of night in the middle of winter is not the best time to think about it. sta rt the best time to think about it. start early and you will be better prepared if the worst happens. start early and you will be better prepared if the worst happensm nottingham city centre, cars have been struggling to get through the rainwater this afternoon. and in the west midlands, it has not been much better with over 100 schools closed because of the floods. back in fishlake, the because of the floods. back in fishla ke, the rain because of the floods. back in fishlake, the rain is not expected to cause further flooding, but for some, their homes and businesses have already been destroyed. it will be weeks, if not months, before this village can return to some sort of normality.

frankie mccammon, bbc news, fishlike. —— fishlake. the mayor of venice says the city is "on its knees" after floodwaters submerged homes, shops and historical landmarks including st mark's basilica. the worst flooding to his the city in half a century. italy's prime minister giuseppe conte described the flooding as "a blow to the heart of our country." his government is to declare a state of emergency and he said they would now act quickly to provide funds and resources to help those affected and to prevent flooding on this level from happening again. an overexcited dragon, a singing carrot and a lucky chimneysweep are amongst the main characters in this year's run of christmas adverts, with many of the big retailers releasing their ads this week. with the advertising association

estimating last year that spending on christmas ads had risen by almost 50% since the beginning of the decade, each year the big names in retail compete to have the best seasonal advert offering to attract customers and lure shoppers from online rivals. let's have a look at a few of this year's christmas adverts. # and i can't fight this feeling any more... # i've forgotten what i started fighting for... # and if i have to crawl upon the floor... # come crashing through your door for ever... # because i can't fight this feeling any more. ..# # sprouts have gone and kevin's here... # shower me with festive cheer... # bring those mince pies over here — with cream! # decorate your christmas tree... # smother me in cranberries... # what's that flying over me? # reindeer?! # so come on, let me...

# entertain you! well if you can't do something specialfor someone at christmas, when can you? miss, there's something i need to do. just a flavour of the tv christmas commercials. tv critic, scott bryan, and co host of the must watch podcast on bbc sounds. they are like mini films, many movies and they cost a fortune, millions to make, is it worth it?|j think so. what is interesting, if you look year on year, the tv shows

we watch on christmas day is down, rather dramatically. it used to be 25 million watching only fools and horses on christmas day in 1997, but now it is just 7 million. what is going up at the same time is christmas ads and that gets everyone's attention rather than the actual festivities. part of the reason why is that even though we are being much more fragmented in terms of the shows we are watching and what we are seeing, you cannot avoid adverts. they are like everywhere. at a time when we are not necessarily watching linear tv, you have to see all over social media, on the home page of youtube. that is how they managed to get such with people. they are so well produced and so well financed, people just want to watch these adverts for themselves, rather than it is just another advert where they have to get through to get to the next stage of the programme, they go

and seek them out? the john lewis one, out this morning, that will not be on tv until saturday evening. it has been basically headline news for the entire day. it is interesting that all of them don't contain any products. the sainsbury and thejohn lewis one is about creating a feeling. part of the reason why, the high street has had a struggling year, john lewis issued theirfirst ever half year loss. i think that when consumers are increasingly finding they can pretty much go anywhere to buy what they want for christmas, it is very much up to the brand to say, don't go anywhere else, go through us and get that feeling. the high street has been facing terrible difficulties, and in some ways these adverts are crucial for them aren't they? the christmas market is absolutely vital and if this is the key to getting the christmas market, it could be their saviour? very much so. the cynics amongst us might go, does it make any difference to our viewing

habits? there are so many adverts and we can be overloaded by them. there is the issue now where a lot of them arejust there is the issue now where a lot of them are just the same, it is ha rd to of them are just the same, it is hard to find one that captures your imagination. each year, we are going for subscription services and the opportunities for us to watch these adverts in the first place is going to get harder, harder and harderfor these things to get through. what you are seeing is very much a concerted campaign. it has to be, not just a 32nd concerted campaign. it has to be, notjust a 32nd advert, you need merchandise, a twitter campaign. it is so well thought through and people have been planning this since july. are these commercials targeted at young people, all age groups?|j think at young people, all age groups?” think all age groups. with the sainsburys one, they have a retro feel which is rather interesting. thejohn feel which is rather interesting. the john lewis one, feel which is rather interesting. thejohn lewis one, they tried not to have the tear—jerker feeling. because you don't want to become the

advert to become a parody of itself. what is interesting is, the wave of admiration for these adverts in the morning, followed by the cynicism and people falling in love with them again. it is a lovely bubble to be in. the retailers think they work, the track record is they must work otherwise they wouldn't invest so many millions are making these adverts every year? 100%, there many millions are making these adverts every year? 10096, there was the kevin the carrot, from algae which was mimicking and looking forward to thejohn lewis christmas advert which made my head go. then you get advertising campaigns that try to be very anti—christmas, so for example, you had iceland, making the case about saving the ra i nfo rests the case about saving the ra i nforests not the case about saving the rainforests not using palm oil and the controversy about that was it wasn't shown on television and that created a new story. they are trying to generate as much news headlines and social media as well. thank you

very much. speaking of christmas, we have had a bit of snow on the ground today. in the south, we have seen the snow and those showers in the north. the rain isa and those showers in the north. the rain is a concern and it is raining out there. the swell of cloud you can see is around an area of low pressure, quite a dominant one and thatis pressure, quite a dominant one and that is what is producing today's rain. because we have the snow the northerly wind other north—easterly wind, so the arctic air it is tapping into, all the time we will see it confined to the hills. the rain could be coming into the east, as you can see tomorrow. flood warnings stands above 100. now they have risen through the day, the rivers take very little to respond at the moment because we have had another 20 to 40 millimetres of rain and some parts of had doubled their

autumn rain fall. you can still see the risk of a little bit of snow over the hills but it is the slow—moving nature of this weather front that is the concern in very sensitive areas. in the evening and overnight we are expecting it to nudge a little further north—west. showers to the south and the showers in the north are falling as sleet and snow over the hills. but on the clearing skies in the north, despite the pricing when we could see a touch of frost through the night time. elsewhere we have enough wind, clouds and rain to prevent a frost from most of us. but very chilly in the morning and when you open the curtains. mostly rain tomorrow morning. there may be more bright weather on offer for england and wales. it is breaking up a bit as it heads west. some brighter skies, some showers, not the persistence of the rain today, but the issue of some coming in later. the scotland and northern ireland, bar a few showers, fine and dry. below—average, and you add on the wind. the win committee of the north—east is with us through the

weekend. pressure and is coming from the east and the west, it doesn't bode well, we need a ridge of high pressure for quite some time. we don't look set to get that in the foreseeable future. further showers, lots of cloud and more cloud for scotla nd lots of cloud and more cloud for scotland and northern ireland with his weather fronts in close proximity this weekend. there will be unsettled weather for most of us and it will feel chilly without the sunshine, even if you don't have the rain you have the cloud and the breeze. not as windy as it has been today, this weekend but where there weather fronts collide on sunday, we get the chance of more enhanced rain against sleet and snow on the hills. thejury is against sleet and snow on the hills. the jury is out on the detail, but it could be again in those areas where we just don't need the rain. head to the website for more details.

a difficult winter ahead for the nhs as waiting times in england hit their worst levels on record. accident and emergency departments missed their waiting time targets again — their worst performance since 2004. one woman says her father died after waiting for six hours on a hospital trolley i do believe that if i had been listened to and he was seen then he would still be here. more than four million people are also now waiting for routine operations — that too the highest number on record. also tonight — the conservatives say they'll seek to control immigration if they win the election but they stop short of promising