you're watching beyond one hundred days. doctors in the uk warn the nhs could be facing "one of its bleakest winters" on record. a whole raft of hospital targets have been missed — including those for cancer and routine surgery. suddenly the nhs is front and centre in the election campaign. nhs england says its staff are looking after a markedly higher number of older and sicker patients. demands keep growing and the service is struggling to keep pace. at least 6 people have been injured at a school shooting in california. there are currently 16 democrats pitching to be the presidential nominee in 2020. and still more are joining. the latest deval patrick, the former governor of massachusetts.

also on the programme... house speaker nancy pelosi says trump's actions amount to bribery, escalating the stakes in the impeachment battle. politics can be a "ruff" job. luckily for staffers on capitol hill yesterday, some furry friends were on hand to help. hello and welcome — i'm christian fraser in london and michelle fleury is in new york. health care is a major talking point in any election. and especially so here in the uk. the nhs is our most cherished institution. funded by public money, free at the point of use — but today it is a service under enormous pressure. new figures out today will make grim reading for government. in october one in six patients in england waited longer than the four hour target. in england waited longer nearly 4.5 million are waiting for a routine operation. in the uk healthcare is a devolved issue —

scotland, wales and northern ireland are also missing their targets. all the parties are proposing in this campaign to increase the nhs budget. we're joined now by our politcal correspondent helen catt and our health editor — hugh pym. let me start with you, what are the figures tell us? they show that in october, before winter set in, before the flu season has begun, the national health service in england had its worst set of figures really since records began 15 years ago. modern records. we'd heard about pressures on the front line of hospitals, but i think these figures came as a bit of a surprise. the central story here is a relentless increases in demand. patients going into hospitals, may be because their social care arrangements or their ca re social care arrangements or their care in the community with gps and

community health isn't what is required. so they end up in hospital. some hospitals have been quite close to being overrun. i think there is real concern amongst health leaders which has ignited the debate about the future of the nhs. we will come to the politics of it ina minute we will come to the politics of it in a minute with helen. all parties are pledging to throw more money at it, but is that the solution? it is pa rt of it, but is that the solution? it is part of the solution but one issue which hasn't been confronted is that it's ok to talk about money to run the nhs for four, five years with rising demand, but what about money to transform it, help it to do better in keeping people out of hospital? particularly the elderly, we know the demographics, some people with long—term health conditions, more money is needed for that. and the workforce, there are more vacancies than there should be in the health service in england. where is the long—term workforce planning? some of those issues have not really been addressed in the campaign. helena, in the case of the tory party, it seems that dominic cummings, a big advisor within the

party, has been pointing out that nhs will be an area where the tories need to do more to win over people. their spending plans, how is that helping on that front? the nhs is an area which every party wants to be seen to be strong. traditionally labour do well on the nhs, it's one of those issues voters consistently list as one of their most important voting issues. in terms of money, here labour are pledging to outspend the conservatives, actually, when it comes to putting money into the nhs. the conservatives earlier this year announced £20 billion over five years, and they say that is the biggest ever cash boost for the nhs. labour, though, have said they will spend more, they will spend another £6 billion, £26 billion over five years, so somehow the conservatives, if they want to be seen as the stronger party on the nhs, are going to have to show why they would be better, if you like, when they are putting in less money. to follow up

on labour, helen, they want to end these privatisation contracts within these privatisation contracts within the nhs. is there any idea as to how that would be done? have they given any details? this is always a row at election time, how much involvement private companies should have within the nhs. labour, as you said, keen to end,| the nhs. labour, as you said, keen to end, i think they said all contracts, which might be difficult, thatis contracts, which might be difficult, that is probably one for hugh to tell you as to how that will work in the nhs. i don't think there is a lot of detail about the exact processes for that. of course, the manifestos haven't been written yet, we think they are coming out next week onwards, so we should get more detail as those come out. whew, when you were talking about the increases in care which is needed, and we look at a&e specifically, in october of this month there was an increase of 4.4% on the same month in 2018. so, does that point to a problem in primary care? are more people going to a&e because they cannot see a

doctor in their village, or town, in their local community? that is certainly part of the story. it could be an elderly patient where the family has run out of options, they cannot get an appointment with a general practitioner, a doctor to come and see them. they cannot get social care. that's obviously a different funding stream altogether. a&e, accident and emergency, is the only option. also, different age groups are may be losing a bit of faith in general practice and saying, we will go straight to a&e, it's a well— known saying, we will go straight to a&e, it's a well—known brand. that's the challenge, how do you stop this flow, this relentless increase in demand of people going through the doors and look after them better closer to home? it is a whole series of issues which need to be tackled. it needs long—term planning rather than, we will bung a few more billion here and there, and i think thatis billion here and there, and i think that is a debate which is ongoing. also, the future of social care, that's not been addressed in this election campaign. helen, it bleeds

into other issues in the election debate. took a una —— took —— chuka umunna was talking about vacancies in the nhs and the issues us to why we are understaffed in the nhs. the brexit dimension is adding another dimension to the usual arguments that we see over the nhs during election time. this idea of staffing, and how you bring in the right stuff, the conservative said they would make it easier to bring in doctors and nurses. —— at the right staff. but labour says that does nothing for those who are vital to running hospitals like cooks, cleaners, that sort of thing. that's the staffing issue. also, tying it back into the privatisation issue you were just talking about before,

labour are you were just talking about before, labourare keen to you were just talking about before, labour are keen to float the idea that after brexit the nhs could be somehow open, on the table in trade deals, particularly with the us. they are trying to float that idea. they are trying to float that idea. the conservatives said they would not allow the nhs to be on the table of any sort of post brexit trade deal with anybody, but that is certainly a row which is gaining a lot of traction in this election in particular which we would not have seenin particular which we would not have seen in previous elections. all of this against the backdrop of a winter election which will put more pressure on the service. thank you both forjoining us this evening, helen and hugh. in the last couple of hours we've been getting details of a school shooting in santa clarita, california that's about 30 miles of north of los angeles. at least one person is reported to have been killed and several others injured in the shooting, according to the la county sheriff's department. two of them are said to be in critical condition.

police say they have captured the suspected shooter. he is a teenager and receiving treatment in hospital. they tweeted earlier that he was an asian male in black clothing. we are expecting more details from the police shortly. we shall bring you that when we get it. we are now joined by reagan from california. what's the latest? we have been watching these familiar and tragic scenes, kids being led out of saugus high school. it is a 30 minute drive from the centre of los angeles. it is the kind of place people move for the good schools. it is the kind of place families go because they want their kids to have a good education. a 15—year—old girl is believed to have been killed. there are 15 patients in hospital, we are told that includes the shooter, who was a student at this school. the way we

get information on these shootings is changing, as well. aside from the usual sources, police officials, what not, so many of us have friends with children who go there. we are being sent instagram snapshots, nothing we can confirm, but if this shooter is this person, this kid who we have been sent photos of on his instagram, he published yesterday, have a nice day in school tomorrow, saugus high school. it's really strange. you are getting messages from children showing you what is going on. obviously it is still early, we are waiting to find out more about the shooter and the motive and what it might have been, what are you expecting to hear, if anything at this point, what kind of update can we expect from the sheriff's department? we are expecting a press co nfe re nce department? we are expecting a press conference to start any minute. it was conference to start any minute. it was expected to start over an hour ago, but it is delayed, which isn't unusual in circumstances like this.

ijust heard on the radio a few minutes ago that they are planning to interview every single kid at that school. i believe they are doing that before they release them to their parents. we have seen some happy reunions. well, happy might not be the right word, but we've seen emotional reunions of kids coming out and embracing their parents. we are told they will be interviewing every single kid in there. just to see what they know. to see if there was any warning, anything that could have been done differently. thank you so much for joining us. question, as regan said, u nfortu nately joining us. question, as regan said, unfortunately it is a familiar sight and process in american schools. prior to today, there were already 84 school shootings this year alone. yes, too familiar, but, of course, nothing gets done about it. it is just political intra nsigence nothing gets done about it. it is just political intransigence when it comes to this. we don't seem to move

forward , comes to this. we don't seem to move forward, certainly not in congress, anyway. i read a stunning statistic, more firearms than people in the us, which obviously is adding to this problem. anyway, here in the us we are in the middle of this impeachment drama. the two—time former governor of massachusetts has confirmed he is making a late run for the 2020 democratic nomination. the two—time former governor of massachusetts, deval patrick, has confirmed he is making a late run for the 2020 democratic presidential nomination. his entry underscores the deep concerns that some democrats have about the party's current crop of contenders. the 63—year—old who made history as one of the first african—american governors in the us, is convinced he can break through the already crowded field. here's mr patrick explaining his decision to enter the race. we seem to be migrating on the one count to nostalgia, let's just get rid of the incumbent president and we will get back to doing what we used to do. or it is our big idea or

no way. neither of those seems to be seizing the moment to pull the nation together and bring some humility. his run starts just three months before the first votes are cast in the iowa caucuses and new hampshire primary. as we mentioned, patrickjoins an already crowded line up. there are 17 other democrats still in the race, including the former vice presidentjoe biden and senators elizabeth warren and bernie sanders. his announcement comes amid speculation that former new york city mayor michael bloomberg may also be joining the democratic field. mr bloomberg has filed primary paperwork in two states, but has not formally confirmed his candidacy. joining us from our washington studio is democratic strategist peter fenn. peter, it's pretty late to enter the race. if you look at history, certainly, it has not boded well for those presidential hopefuls. what does deval patrick think he brings

to the table that democratic voters don't already have amongst those dozens don't already have amongst those d oze ns of don't already have amongst those dozens of other candidates? you know, michelle, it's difficult to tell. we have a saying in washington that most politicians wake up in the morning and look at themselves in the mirror and see a president stop i think that is a little bit of what is going on here. this isn't sorted out completely. —— look in the mirrorand out completely. —— look in the mirror and see out completely. —— look in the mirrorand see a out completely. —— look in the mirror and see a president. i don't think anybody is complaining right now that we don't have enough candidates for president of the united states on the democratic side. i think, united states on the democratic side. ithink, the united states on the democratic side. i think, the fact deval patrick is a close friend of barack obama, that he sees another african—american candidate, cory booker, from newjersey, not going up booker, from newjersey, not going up in the poll, or camilla harris

from california. so he sees an opening, may be, for himself. but to be perfectly honest, i don't see much of an opening, how can he raise the money, how can you put together the money, how can you put together the staff, how can he put together the staff, how can he put together the organisation? pretty darn hard. if you don't put money on his chances, i guess the question is, who has the most to lose from his entry into this race? you know, i suppose... it could be someone like cory booker, but he is not up in the polls right now. maybe he takes away from joe biden a little bit. they are both from massachusetts. elizabeth warren and he. so maybe he ta ke elizabeth warren and he. so maybe he take something from elizabeth warren. i must say, there are not a lot of other candidates quaking in their boots about deval patrick. i think michael bloomberg is a little bit of a different case, however. peter, i want to talk about the michael bloomberg in a minute. is

this reflective, do you think of some of the briefings we've had from senior democrats, that they are worried ifjoe biden goes down in the primaries they will be stuck with a candidate who is not electable nationwide? with a candidate who is not electable nationwide ?|j with a candidate who is not electable nationwide? i think there isa electable nationwide? i think there is a concern about that. you know, people are extremely nervous about the medicare, the cost of it, the fa ct the medicare, the cost of it, the fact that people who like their private insurance plans would be kicked off at some point from having that. so, ithink kicked off at some point from having that. so, i think there are people who are thinking, for example, somebody like elizabeth warren, are not the strongest candidates against the current occupant of the white house. but, and so, ithink the current occupant of the white house. but, and so, i think some people may be thinking, you know, there might be a late, late strategy here. that when other candidates begin to fall then they might pick up begin to fall then they might pick up the slack. i will tell you that

the last time this happened a boss of mine, a guy called frank church, ran for president in 1976 as the jerry brown —— as did jerry brown. they both entered late because folks sensedjimmy carter they both entered late because folks sensed jimmy carter wasn't the strongest candidate for president. of course he won very narrowly. now, they didn't make it, but it was different then, you did not need as much money, you did not need as big an organisation. what about this michael bloomberg run? it's a very different strategy to the one deval patrick has adopted. he has registered in alabama and arkansas, but he hasn't officially declared himself as a candidate, michael bloomberg. right, and michael bloomberg. right, and michael bloomberg is a very different person. he has not run before because he did not think he could win. he is not doing it totally out of ego orjust wanting to play in the game. so, what he's doing in my view, i may be wrong, but what i

think he is doing is keeping his options open. he knows he has to file in those states to be on the ballot. he thinks ifjoe biden goes down and there is an opening for a pragmatic, moderate candidate who can simply write a cheque for super tuesday, and for the other states, then he is ready to go. he will have an operation. he will be in the game. peter, thank you so much. we will be watching closely to find out if he does finally run this time. christian, one of the things i wa nted christian, one of the things i wanted to talk about, every campaign throws up surprises, i mean, we have the surprise additions, these late entra nts the surprise additions, these late entrants into the campaign, but elizabeth warren has had a unpredictable one where you have seen billionaires speaking out against her welfare tax. one of those appeared on television, a guy called leon cooperman, and he was

talking about the divided nature of politics in this country and he started tearing up. i care. that's it. well, that was different! chuckles she has an attack ad going after him, saying the only thing he really ca res him, saying the only thing he really cares about is his taxes, his involvement with a student loan company, and she has brought out a mug. this. maybe it is to catch the tea rs of mug. this. maybe it is to catch the tears of a billionaire? i don't know. what struck me as the $25 price tag. they like to label elizabeth warren a socialist, but she is a pretty good capitalist, $25, bringing money in for her campaign. $25! and apparently it is

selling well. the first public day of the impeachment enquiry is behind us. president trump tells us he didn't watch it, though he certainly tweeted it about plenty. his supporters declared it a snooze fest. but there will be plenty tuning in tomorrow when we hear the first hand account of the former ambassador to ukraine who says she was forced out of herjob. the house intelligence committee will hear from marie yovanovitch who was ousted in may this year. and behind closed doors — they will hearfrom david holmes — one of two state department staffers who say they overheard a phone call in which donald trump was pressing for an investigation intojoe biden. we're joined now from washington by elisabeth wydra — the president of the constitutional accountability center. republicans yesterday said it was dull and a stitch up, but this is

the sort of thing that congressionally compress is supposed to do, isn't it? hold the executive to do, isn't it? hold the executive to account? —— congress is supposed to account? —— congress is supposed to do. absolutely. it is their role to do. absolutely. it is their role to conduct oversight of the president up to and including the ultimate potential remedy of impeachment, and where you have corruption, particularly here a president who might have engaged in a foreign policy in order to benefit himself personally, rather than to benefit the interest of the american people. that is perhaps what was at the heart of this which was written into the constitution. was it boring? these are career diplomats coming forward to tell congress what they saw, what they know. they are not there to be excited. they are there to speak the truth. and i think, you know, they pushed back on the idea they were star witnesses. precisely because they are reluctant witnesses who are simply there to

act in the best interest of their country. there is a story often told about benjamin franklin, that after the writing of the constitution he was approached by a group of people, they said what sort of government is this going to be? and he said a republic if you can keep it. and what he was referring to, of course, was the idea that people have to hold power to account. and what he was particularly worried about at that time, thinking about the way the british had behaved, it was the involvement of foreign governments in domestic affairs. absolutely right. that phrase from benjamin franklin, honestly, is the overarching theme of this investigation. and this impeachment proceeding. the founders of the american democracy were particularly concerned with foreign influence in ourthen concerned with foreign influence in our then fledgling democracy. they we re our then fledgling democracy. they were worried about the corruption of the president in particular, because he would have so much power he could, therefore, so greatly abuse

that power. and what we are looking at today is exactly the founder's worst nightmare, the idea of a president using the great leverage of the american government in order to enrich himself personally, whether it is through enriching himself as a political matter, in trying to get the ukrainian government to investigate a political rival, or enriching himself personally financially through accepting foreign emollients in violation of the constitution. foreign profits. business advantages through foreign governments because he is president of the united states. earlier we heard from the house speaker, nancy pelosi, basically saying trump's actions amounted to bribery based on the testimony. she said that was corroborated by the testimony we heard yesterday. what did you make of that? is that upping the stakes in the impeachment process?m interesting if you think of it at the time the words bribery were written into the constitution as one

of the potential impeachable issues. bribery wasn't used then simply to refer to a very clear quid pro quo corruption, although there is a good argument here that there absolutely is quid pro quo, even from what the president himself has acknowledged. at the time of the founding, bribery was a at the time of the founding, bribery was a broad idea of corruption, of using your office of public trust in order to enrich yourself personally. sol order to enrich yourself personally. so i think... it is not unfounded for nancy pelosi to use those words, and certainly what we've seen thus far, and again what the president has already acknowledged, it is a pretty simple case, clear corruption for personal gain, abuse of power for personal gain, abuse of power for political and personal gain.|j know you will be continuing with watching these public hearings. thank you very much for talking us through it today. politics in washington is a bruising affair at the best of times, but particularly

at the moment. congressional staffers have been working long hours on this enquiry. and so yesterday they were joined on the hill by a group of therapy dogs. yes it has a been "ruff" time. did you "paws"? very good! chuckles so this team of "emotional support dogs" were on hand throughout the day. there's no real scientific evidence that therapy animals reduce stress but they would certainly do it for me. this is blue the goldendoodle who also wore a tie for the special occasion. a p pa re ntly apparently the group that brought them also has llamas as therapy animals. we have all sorts. didn't we have a pig the other day in san francisco? and the therapy scribbles. do you remember that women who got kicked off a flight in

orlando for bringing a therapy squirrel? —— and the therapy squirrels. i think i squirrel? —— and the therapy squirrels. i think! missed squirrel? —— and the therapy squirrels. i think i missed that one. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. comingup for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news — we'll talk to a member of the liberal democrats party about the election campaign. some of us awoke to a light dusting of snow this morning, it shows how cold the air is we are in the moment and this brought the issue, sunshine to the north... but this is basically the band of rain. we are starting to see the flood warnings creeping upwards again across the midlands. it will affect lincolnshire and yorkshire once again throughout the rest of the day. we could see another 20, 30 millimetres of rain. in what has already been a very wet autumn so far. mornings out already from the met office because of the fast flowing flood waters in the rivers and lots of spray and standing water

if you are travelling. to the north, wintry showers, but plenty of bright sunshine, although it is chilly. sunshine to the south, but heavy showers rolling in across parts of east anglia and the south—east as we go through the afternoon. overnight there is will continue. this rain band continues for a time, but it is just pushing further north and east. we hope it will break up, become light and patchy, wintry showers again over the hills in the north. it does not look as cold as last night, but nevertheless temperatures will fall low enough for some icy patches over parts of scotland. elsewhere, perhaps a bit too much wind for many folk problems —— fog problems. the best of the sunshine will be further north and west. it is still bracing and that winter, just seven, 8 degrees for most of us. at low pressure throwing in these weather fronts will still be about. it is moving east, but it'll still be around for the weekend. it

does not look like we will see as wet as recently, but it is a chilly north—easterly breeze, as well, so it won't feel warm. there is a lot of cloud around. we start to see weather fronts approaching from the west, as well. temperatures might creep up a little. but given the brisk north—easterly wind it won't feel particularly warm. come sunday, there could be something a little bit more significant by way of rain coming back into eastern areas. showery rain further west, as well. the potential is there for some developments. hopefully we won't see huge amounts of rain but we are certainly watching that one and the warnings are on the website.

this is beyond one hundred days. with me, michelle fleury, in new york, christian fraser is in london. our top story... doctors in the uk warn the nhs could be facing wone of its bleakest wintersw on record. a whole raft of hospital targets have been missed — including those for cancer and routine surgery. suddenly the nhs is front and centre in the election campaign. nhs england says its staff are looking after a markedly higher number of older and sicker patients. demands keep growing and the service is struggling to keep pace. divisions deepen in us politics as more public hearings loom in the trump impeachment inquiry and a phone call, which the president doesn't recall, becomes the centre of new revelations. coming up in the next half hour...

we'll be talking to the liberal democrats shadow foreign secretary about his party's pledge to cancel brexit and their tactical remain alliance. is ita bird, a plane? it's britain's answer to iron man — and he just set a newjet suit speed record — yes, that's a thing. we talked earlier in the show about the key testimony and witnesses that are still to come in the impeachment hearings but one of the main takeways from yesterday was this idea that there were two channels of diplomacy taking place in ukraine — which ambassador taylor said were seperate and at odds. so to recap here are some of the main figures involved. on one side you have the former us ambassador to ukraine — marie yovanovitch who will testify tomorrow. she was unexpectedly removed

from her post in may this year. william taylor was brought in as her replacement to run the embassy in kyiv. david holmes is the staffer who worked under him, who allegedly overheard a phone—call in which the president was said asking for this investigation into the bidens. according to william taylor, that phone—call took place in a restaurant between president trump and the us envoy to ukraine gordon sondland. mr trump says he can't remember the phone call in question. we also heard testimony on wednesday from state department official george kent, about this "second diplomatic track" that was allegedly being driven by donald trump's lawyer rudy giuliani. you will notice that not on that list is the original whistleblower who brought the story to everyone's attention — here's what nancy pelosi said about protecting that person's anonymity. nobody,

that person's anonymity. nobody, president. presii is nobody, nobody, president. president is not above the law, the president will be held accountable and nobody should have the right to endanger whistle—blowers. that is the system i will defend and the american people, the american people understand that. president trump clearly doesn't share those concerns. he tweeted this short time ago. let's bring in ron christie, former advisor to president george bush. thank you for coming in. picking up on this twin track of diplomacy, this revelation we heard about, this phone call involving sunderland and trump and tying him a bit tighter to this idea of his role in all of this. how significant is that? good afternoon. it's not significant at all. you are talking about a staffer to an ambassador, who was with

another staffer who overheard a conversation with the ambassador and donald trump. in the united states they were called that hearsay. we don't know if this conversation took place, it is alleged to have taken place. it certainly sounds explosive. but i don't necessarily know this took place so the notion we will impeach a president of the united states based on a phone call we are not sure took place, is a precarious spot for the democrats to be in. doesn't a close one of the links, or one of the gaps in the investigation that had existed until now, which is you had all these things that seem to add up to quid pro quo, but no direct tie. does that bridge that gap? it doesn't, for me. maybe it is the lawyer in me with our sixth amendment right to be able to face your accuser in the united states. the notion the loop is getting tighter around donald trump's net, or the fact the

president's has been tied based on out—of—court statements from people, who we don't know who they are. somebody will have to testify. you have sutherland next week? that will be interesting. the interesting thing i would add to that, what does he say? president trump says he doesn't recall the conversation and i will be interested to hear what the ambassador says, did that conversation take place and that will be interesting to us all. you are saying he is not directly tied to it, we have the transcript, him in his own words, which he has released, first of all, talking about, you will have to do me a favour though. and as you say, this is hearsay but we have sutherland on the stand next week and he will be under oath and asked directly, did this focal take place, did the president say he wanted an investigation? let's oppose the

ambassador does say yes, i do remember him saying, why don't we look into this investigation with the vice president. at this point, i say to myself, even if that is to come is that the high crime, a misdemeanour or an impeachable offence? people say, this is bribery, but the fact of the matter is, the investigation did not take place and you crank up the military assistance they were looking for. i am trying to find how does this rise? we have only had four impeachment trials being initiated in the last 150 years. i don't think it rises to the point. do we want to go in that rarefied air in removing a president who was elected by the american people? the thing that struck me yesterday, we were talking in the context of the ukraine and endemic corruption. i was thinking, when you think back to the former president who was deposed, he was, in some ways, kept his political

opponents down, invited the russians in and the russians were invited into ukraine and they were undermining his political opponents. we were pointing at that as endemic corruption. in the same way, this is the same thing? you have a president a foreign government to dig dirt on a foreign government to dig dirt on a political opponent. if we were looking at that in the ukraine, we would be saying, that is the corruption we are trying to get rid of? i agree, i don't think the president acted wisely, looking for a favour to have a look at a potential democratic opponent injoe biden. but i also believe in honesty. if we are saying there is systemic corruption in ukraine and the way it involves the united states, this goes back prior to 2016 when you have a number of democratic officials, who are also dealing with ukraine. also hunter biden, son of the vice president, $150 a month and a contract while his dad was vice

president. if we are going to be honest and say there is systemic corruption in ukraine with its dealing with american officials, i don't care what your party affiliation is, if you are going to look at one, we should look at everyone. ron christie, as ever a pleasure. thank you forjoining us on the show. in the uk the deadline has passed for election candidates to register in the constituency in which they intend to run. the brexit party leader, nigel farage, resisted pressure to stand down any more of his candidates, in seats where they are in danger of splitting the leave vote. although of course he did announce earlier this week, the brexit party will not be running in those constituencies where there is already a conservative mp. seperately the liberal democrats have announced a remain alliance with the greens and plaid cymru. that means the three parties will not be running against each other in 60 seats in england and wales. but, controversially, they have registered a replacement candidates in canterbury where one of their own stood down this week, and in south west hertfordshire

where the independent candidate and former tory minister david gauke is running on a remain ticket. joining me is liberal democrats shadow foreign secretary chuka umunna. good to have you with us. it is a party before country?” good to have you with us. it is a party before country? i don't think so. let's look at the facts, we want to stop brexit. we are the uk's biggest and strongest remain party. we have agreed, as you havejust biggest and strongest remain party. we have agreed, as you have just set out, unprecedented arrangement. i cannot think of any other arrangements where one of the main parties in the uk has stood aside in an election for other parties in a number of seats. under the remain alliance put together, in 60 seats, we are standing aside of plaid cymru and the greens are standing aside for each other to give remain candidates the biggest chance. and just for your international viewers, two of the most prominent remain

campaigners in our country, the former attorney general, dominic grieve and a former minister in the cameron government, anna soubry have stood aside for those two people as well. what we have done is being quite unprecedented. these arrangements can only work, first of all, if you have a party committed to remaining in the european union. the labour party, official opposition is being steadfast saying it is not a remain party. if you do these arrangements, there has to be reciprocity. if you stand out for the parties, it should be reciprocated and it is something the labour party is steadfastly refusing to do. you have talked about the alliance and in the 60 seats you stand to benefit in 48 of them. some people would say, he is tim walker, your candidate in canterbury taking a principled stand, worried he would split the remain vote and even disciplined him and then put another

candidate into split that remain vote. i don't accept that. let's just take an example. the problem with what the candidate did there was that he took a unilateral decision and you operate as part of a team. you are a candidate for a political party. he didn't consult anybody about that decision. he announced it, ithink anybody about that decision. he announced it, i think on the bbc actually before consulting with the party. it would be like you announcing he would defect to cnn live on air before talking to your employers. it is not a reasonable way to conduct yourself. and secondly, we have, already in a number of seats, stood aside for other parties. that is an unprecedented thing for one of the main political parties to do. the real issue and the real question shouldn't be to the liberal democrats, it should be first of all, to the labour party, why aren't

you a remain party? there was a massive battle at the annual convention for the labour party where lots of its members wanted to commit to remaining in the european union. its leader refuse. secondly, if they are to become a remain party, which they are not, they need to agree to stand aside for other remain parties. it has to be a reciprocal arrangement. you can pick and choose where you put these arrangements in place. you cannot say in isolation in canterbury, everybody else stand out for us, but we will not stand out for any other party in any other place. it is not fairor party in any other place. it is not fair or reasonable. for these things to wear uni compromise and collaboration. that is what we have done with the green party, with plaid cymru and. i think it is an entirely reasonable position. there isa entirely reasonable position. there is a bit of politics going on because it is labour figures, they are not looking to do anything other

than promote the labour cause, asking all the other parties to do something the labour party is refusing to do. jo swinson said today she would never go into coalition with jeremy today she would never go into coalition withjeremy corbyn. surely, that is possibly your best chance to get a second referendum? two things about that, you miss the other half of what she said, she said jeremy corbyn and borisjohnson are not fit to lead the uk and those parties are in no fit state to lead the uk, which is partly why you have the uk, which is partly why you have the embarrassing chaos you have seen here and he was around the world have been seeing. that is very important other half of what you have put. but the other thing is, we, increasingly, and we haven't had a government since 2005, we haven't had a general election since 2005 where a government has got a proper, substantial majority. increasingly we have hung parliament with a

minority government. the legislation coming out of the house of commons isn't only coming about as a result of the government. it is coming about as a result of independent actions by backbench mps. what matters here is the parliamentary arithmetic and whether actually we have the numbers of mps that can deliver a people's vote or a second referendum on the eu. we are the only one of the uk wide parties that at the moment, on the data and research, can actually deprive the tories of seats and take seats from them. the labour party is in a very defensive position and is trying to stop the tory party taking seats from them. this is where we play a decisive role at this general election. with so many parties the remain, that would be the chance. we will have to believe that there, but thank you forjoining us on the programme today. thank you very much.

we haven't even looked atjo swinson on the bus. it was greeted with protesters who were upset with austerity. that is one of the perils of being on the campaign trail. it is worth pointing out, we are looking at pictures of the lib dem peers microbus. that being said, if you look atjeremy corbyn and the labour party, if you look at the conservatives, they have all had issues on the road, being met at times with, shall we say, unexpected events. did you see the article in the huffington post, a memo written by momentum for its activists on the doorsteps. they have put together a six point briefing for those who come into contact with the public, who have difficult questions about jeremy corbyn. you will see there that they should listen, share their experience. the one i like is number six, if in doubt, pivot. what about

number one, listen? on anti—semitism, they should stress how few cases that are in the party and labour is collaborating with members of the jewish and labour is collaborating with members of thejewish community on an education programme. it doesn't entirely surprise me. i was in leeds last week and they had these red clipboards and they will go to the doorstep and on them there were bullet points of things they had to say. i thought, bullet points of things they had to say. ithought, that bullet points of things they had to say. i thought, that is quite sensible, they are activists, new to campaigning, they might be labour members but they don't normally do this. so then they go out there and they know what to say. the embarrassing thing about this leaked memo, is that it highlights those areas where jeremy memo, is that it highlights those areas wherejeremy corbyn has a problem with the public. on terrorism, brexit, immigration and anti—semitism and it is really flagging that of. a bit awkward i think, for the labour party. this is beyond one hundred days. still to come... we will bring you the latest from

venice were high tides have brought the first floodwaters in the historic city for 50 years. the met office is warning up to five centimetres of rain could fall in some parts of england and wales this evening. in oxfordshire, emergency services have rescued a number of people trapped in their cars. parts of the east midlands have already been hit by heavy rain this afternoon and there are more than 100 flood warnings in place across england. the flooding began almost a week ago with more than 800 homes affected since then. judith moritz has spent the day in south yorkshire — one of the worst hit areas. the cavalry has arrived in fishlake bearing not arms but sandbags, the light dragoons going door—to—door shoring this village up against the threat of more flooding. these soldiers have been working flat out. the community have been fantastic and they have a difficult set of circumstances here and it is amazing

how supportive they are been to our quys how supportive they are been to our guysin how supportive they are been to our guys in you know, when their livelihoods and lives have been turned upside down in the last week. some streets have now been underwater for nearly a week. this house belongs to the howsam family. they tried to save their belongings. today they were salvaging what they could, knowing they won't be living here again for many months. luckily, everything is fine with insurance, so we've got somewhere to stay, that's fine. it's just a case of getting everything out the best we can, stuff that we've saved that we've got up in the air, and then just wait. that's all we can do. emergency crews have come here from all over the country, equipment bought from as far away as cornwall. they're pumping a tonne of water per second from the village into the river don, trying to keep ahead of the weather. we are worried about the rainfall that has just started here and it's

the rain started again this afternoon, waterfalling on water. it's not thought that levels will rise as high as the weekend, but no—one here will relax until the rain stops. an oval office meeting yesterday with president trump and turkey's president erdogan took a dark turn when mr erdogan pulled out his ipad and made a group of senators watch a propaganda video that depicted kurds as terrorists. the meeting is reported to have involved five republican senators including lindsay graham who've been among the most vocal critics of turkey's recent invasion of syria and attacks on america's long—time kurdish allies in the fight against islamic state. president erdogan is trying to avoid sanctions over the purchase of a russian missile defense system. with me is our north america reporter aleem maqbool. talk us through this, you have the

senators who we understand were upset by mr erdogan bringing out this video, where was president trump and all of this? it was an extraordinary meeting in the first place. it was added to the schedule very late. of course we saw all day yesterday, donald trump standing by mr erdogan and the actions he had taken in northern syria against the kurds. but there has been pushed backin kurds. but there has been pushed back in recent weeks from washington. but that has come from congress. it was extraordinary enough that donald trump decided to bring together republican senators who had been critical of president erdogan, to come and meet him. in the eyes of many, acting as peacemaker between president erdogan and some of his own party's senators. but then, as you said in your introduction, president erdogan, in this hour—long meeting pulls out an ipad and some

literature with this propaganda video. according to one of those he was there, lindsey graham, said should be asked the kurds to make a video about the kind of things you have done? and ted cruz, another senator also asked very tough questions about what president erdogan was doing in northern syria? president erdogan, for his part has returned to turkey and said this video went down very well and changed some minds, particularly that of the president. it doesn't seem the senators were quite so convinced this meant that the offensive into northern syria was justified. aleem, we talked about this bizarre letter the president wrote to president erdogan some weeks ago in which he said, don't be a full and don't invade northern syria. this is the letter there. there was a moment in the press conference yesterday when president erdogan had been asked about the letter and he said, he had returned

it to the sender. otherwise, there was a very it to the sender. otherwise, there was a very affable atmosphere between the two of them all day. donald trump going out of his way to praise president erdogan, perhaps to row back some of the damage that may have been done by that letter. he was saying they had been good friends from day one. he even said pundits had now decided that it was the right thing that donald trump did to withdraw us troops, which was of course the move that precipitated this turkish offensive into northern syria. but, as i say, there was still those around to voice their scepticism and their criticism of turkey, but that came in the form of these senators. but there is a thought that maybe this meeting with the senators was donald trump's way of presenting criticism to president erdogan, but distancing himself from it. because, potentially some of the damage he had done in the past.

interesting relationship to watch. aleem, good to see you and thanks for that. in italy the government has declared a state of emergency in venice, following the worst flooding the city has experienced in more than 50 years. the mayor of venice says the city is "on its knees" after floodwaters submerged homes, shops and landmarks including st mark's square. at least two people have died. mark lowen reports. come for the renaissance art, stay for the disaster selfies. venice's highest tide in half a century, a draw for the tourists, a tragedy for one of europe's jewels. the glorious saint mark's square bore the brunt, the 12th century crypt of its basilica flooded for only the sixth time in 1200 years. 80% of venice has been submerged. the votes that plied its canals, beached. local businesses inundated. fierce winds and torrential rain on tuesday night

lashed the venetian coast, leading toa lashed the venetian coast, leading to a storm surge that overwhelmed the city already sinking. it could not cope. it has been devastating what happened two days ago on the 12th of november, is scarred in our memories. the water flooded 12th of november, is scarred in our memories. the waterflooded our homes. we live on the ground floor and so do many other venetians. the shops on the main floor were affected as well. the prime minister called it a blow to the heart of the country, pledging to complete a flood defence system that should have been finished eight years ago. translation: intraday's cabinets, will decree a state of emergency in venice. it will make it possible to assign the first financial aid to pay for the emergency spending and restore services. we will have two stages of compensation pay—outs. this is what could have saved venice, 78 flood gates that began to be built in 2003, but were plagued by corruption and overspend. named

after moses, designed to enhance a biblical flood, but now an unholy scandal. it is said we have to say, we cannot trust the government any more. all over the world, we are having problem with heating and tornadoes. but we had a chance building this, to say venice. every two years they say, we will finish it in another two years. it is too much. climate change and italian mismanagement, venice is drowning in the perilous mix. so sad to see. do you remember a few months ago a man flew across the english channel inajet suit? well, he's at it again. british inventor richard browning, who calls himself ‘jetman,’ has broken his own world record for the fastest speed reached in a jet suit. he hit a top speed of 85 miles per hour, thats around 136 kilometres per hour, flying alongside the famous palace pier at brighton beach.

that's twice as fast as his previous record in 2017. i can't stop thinking ofjames bond movies. i am going to book him in for my commute. goodbye. there is likely to be hazardous conditions on the road this evening and overnight because of the lying water, so spray from the standing water, so spray from the standing water we have had and the rain we have seen today, courtesy of this next weather front has given 20 to 30 millimetres of rain in very sensitive areas. it has also given some southern areas their first snow because we are tapping into arctic air. the snow was mostly confined to the hills now but the rain will continue to fall and we could have more coming in through the course of tomorrow. we have seen the flood warnings rise through the day, particularly across the midlands, parts of east wales and up into northern england as well. there is already severely flooded. the rain

keeps coming through the evening, so lots of spray and standing water, heavy showers are in the south and pa rt heavy showers are in the south and part of that as well. in the north we have wintry showers over the hills and that is pretty much the set up overnight. where we keep the clearing skies across scotland and northern ireland could turn frosty but there is a stronger wind blowing into how the temperatures mostly. that rain hopefully will start to fragment. not as cold overnight, but surely if you are heading out first thing is. temperatures will be below average for the next few days. it will feel even colder because of this brisk, north—easterly wind which will push the rain further west tomorrow, allowing brighter skies and breaks in the cloud. still showers and later on, potentially more rain into eastern areas. the best of the sunshine for northern ireland and western scotland. but seven to nine, below average and feeling cold in the win, which will be with us all through the weekend, that north—easterly. throwing these various weather fronts in from the east and the weather fronts are likely to come in from the west as well and where they meet they could

enhance the rain. a bit messy, the detailfor enhance the rain. a bit messy, the detail for the enhance the rain. a bit messy, the detailfor the weekend, if enhance the rain. a bit messy, the detail for the weekend, if you like. it will stay cold. we will often have a lot of cloud, even in northern and western areas. further showers and longer spells of rain at the stage. saturday looks like it will be a mostly showery picture, six to 10 degrees. still blue average or a little below average. the temperatures, a bit more rain will develop during the course of sunday. it is difficult to put the detail at this stage. it will be wintry over the hills in the north. if you have plans, stay tuned to the forecast. there are met office warnings out and those details, the flood warnings are on the website.

this is bbc news. i'm martin kroc so. the headlines at eight p:m.. —— martine croxall. hospital waiting times in england hit a new low — a&e departments miss their targets again, it's 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. the conservatives say they'll seek to "control" immigration if they win the election but stop short of promising a cut in numbers coming to the uk. more than 100 flood warnings are in place across england tonight as the met office warns that up to five more centimetres of rain could fall. several people have been injured and one person is dead after a shooting at a high school in california, near los angeles.

—— two people have died.