jeremy corbyn defends his decision to adopt a neutral stance in a future brexit referendum. mr corbyn‘s position was questioned by his opponents. but the labour leader says it's the sensible way forward. i think being an honest broker and listening to everyone is actually a sign of strength and a sign of maturity. our country has to come together. we can't go on forever being divided by how people voted in 2016.

and the conservatives will launch their election manifesto tomorrow — with a promise to bring back brexit legislation before christmas if they win a majority. hong kong prepares for the first local elections since anti—government protests began — but authorities threaten to suspend voting if there's disruption at the polls. gps vote to reduce visits to patients‘ homes, saying they "no longer have the capacity" to offer them. and england's cricketers struggle in new zealand — taking just two wickets on day three of the first test. good evening. jeremy corbyn has defended his

decision to adopt a neutral stance in the event of a future brexit referendum — calling it a sign of strength and maturity. he told last night's bbc question time leaders‘ special he would not campaign for leave or remain if his party wins power in order to allow him to credibly carry out what voters decide. his opponents have questioned his position, as our political correspondent nick eardley reports. whatever your priority at this election, brexit is one of the biggest issues facing the country. for months labour has walked a political tightrope, trying to keep everyone happy, from remain backers to leave voters. ifjeremy corbyn wins power he's promising to renegotiate a deal and put it to a second referendum but he's now confirmed he won't pick a side. you're saying tonight you will remain neutral on the issue of whether or not we should remain in the eu? first heard here on question time. some see that as weak, others indecisive. mr corbyn disagrees.

i think being an honest broker and listening to everyone is actually a sign of strength and maturity. our country has to come together. we can't go on forever being divided by how people voted in 2016. boris johnson faced pressure too, on the question of trust, and he would love to keep the election focused on brexit, saying his deal is ready to go and after months of bitter splits his party is uniting around it. on the critical question of our times, on brexit, we have a clear plan, agreed with the eu, ready to go and in sharp contrast to what we saw in this debate last night ofjeremy corbyn saying he has decided to be indecisive on brexit. she agrees, even if she's on the other side of the debate. jo swinson says she will stop brexit right away in the unlikely event she wins power. she faced pressure last night from some who branded that

anti—democratic but the lib dem leader says she, notjeremy corbyn, is the champion of those who want to remain. they want a leader, not a bystander. i think it beggars belief that somebody who is standing for the role of leading our country can then say that on the biggest issue we have faced for generations, they're not going to take a position. it's a total abdication of leadership. the snp, who could be crucial in a hung parliament, were scathing too. i think people have a right to expect from somebody aspiring to be prime minister that they say where they stand on whether the uk should be in or out of the eu. i think that statement of so—called neutrality will simply feed the suspicion many people have that jeremy corbyn actually wants the uk to be out of the eu but isn't willing to say that. because we know whose side we, the labour party, are on. jeremy corbyn has been taking

sides on many issues, promising to take on the elite on behalf of what he calls the many, but on brexit the labour leader is keeping his cards close to his chest. and nickjoins us from the conservative campaign headquarters in central london. nick, the conservatives launch their party manifesto tomorrow — at this stage what do we know? johnson's pitch to the country will feel very familiar to the pitch he has been making for months, unsurprisingly at its heart will be that pledge to deliver brexit, the conservatives will say if they win a majority there brexit bill, the withdrawal agreement bill will be backin withdrawal agreement bill will be back in parliament before christmas, pa rt back in parliament before christmas, part of a strategy to make sure the new deadline of the end of january is met. what mrjohnson will call an early christmas present to the nation. his opponents will say even

if we leave at the end of january there will be months or years of trade talks to come. conservatives believe the simple act of leaving will allow the uk to start focusing on domestic priorities. tomorrow we will see what mrjohnson thinks they are. he will promise big pledges on tax, no rise in income tax or national insurance payments or vat, all of which will make it harder for the government to raise money and there will be big spending pledges, pensionerfriendly there will be big spending pledges, pensioner friendly quality is like keeping that pension triple lock and winter fuel payments and free bus passes for the elderly. he is talking about more money for the health service, police and schools, tomorrow there will be i billion for childcare, too brilliant to fill potholes in england, 3 billion for skills. the tories say this will be

fully costed, we will find out tomorrow how they will pay for it but in an election where the cheque book has been opened, the tories are no different. labour has pledged to put an extra tax on foreign companies and trusts buying property in the uk. if labour win the general election the party says it would charge offshore organisations an extra 20% on their purchase. labour says the extra £3.3 billion a year raised by the measure would go towards public services. for the first time in weeks hong kong is quiet this weekend, as the government and pro—democracy protesters call on their supporters to go out and vote in local council elections. this is the first chance people in hong kong have had to vote since the mass anti—government protests broke out nearly six months ago. many of the young protesters are standing as candidates and our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes has been out on the streets with some of them. and just a warning, there are some flashing images in his report. at the height of the hong kong protest this summer,

this was benson's daily routine — donning the black clothes of protest and taking to the streets. twice this 22—year—old has been arrested but today he has dispensed with the black outfit and is fighting instead for election. his goal, he tells me, to reject the pro—government incumbent on his local council. translation: i am running for election because i want to carry on the demands of the protest movement. we hong kong people must get rid of this government. we need democracy and universal suffrage. benson is not alone. there are dozens of young protesters now running for office here. 23—year—old jocelyn chao is another. a few nights ago she was punched in the head while canvassing for votes. this is video of the man she says attacked her. she says she is undeterred.

translation: we need to have the younger generation fighting for democracy. this is our time. that is why more young people are running in this election. the older generation are not worrying about our future. this weekend hong kong is quiet but it is only days since scenes like this were taking place here. this election is, of course, being overshadowed by what happened last week here at the hong kong polytechnic university. the siege of the university is in fact still going on. there may be dozens of students, we don't know how many for sure, still holed up inside the university buildings. the way the hong kong government and the police here have dealt with the siege of the university has caused tremendous anger and that anger is now being directed towards pro—government candidates. the only pro—government candidate who would agree to talk

to the bbc is paul deh. he says everyone else is too frightened to come out onto the streets and campaign. it is very difficult, this campaign has been very difficult in the sense that there is so much uncertainty, so much risk involved here and i am one of the very bold ones to be able to do an evening campaigning activity like this. all my colleagues are not doing it because it so risky because things could happen at any time. this election is being seen by many as a referendum on the six—month—long protest movement. if the opposition wins on monday, it will be held by them as a vindication of the movement and its demands. if it fails, the hong kong government and beijing will claim it shows only a minority continue to support the protesters' goals. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, hong kong. gps have voted to reduce visits to patients' homes, saying they "no longer have the capacity" to offer them. doctors supported the proposal at a meeting of english local medical committees yesterday.

but the health secretary, matt hancock, said the idea of taking home visits out of gps' contracts was a "complete non—starter". jenny kumah reports. family doctors say their workload is on the rise, and this, coupled with falling gp numbers, means something has to give. in his surgery in leeds, dr richard vautrey is well aware of the challenges facing surgeries like his. one of the daily pressures that gp practices are under is the obligation to do home visits. what would be much better is if we had a dedicated home visiting team with people with the time to be able to do this throughout the day, rather than gps having to squeeze it in. under the proposals, home visits would not be scrapped completely but delivered by a separate service, similar to the way out—of—hours care has been contracted out. sometimes a gp has to go and see someone and they might be too frail to travel.

and that's always been part of the vocation of being a gp and it will continue, so these proposals won't go any further, but what we will do is train, fund and recruit more gps. they're saying as a point of desperation, they can no longer continue those home visits. i think this is a siren call to all of us, a siren call that the funding of the nhs has to be increased so that gps can undertake those home visits. doctors say they recognise that vulnerable, complex and end—of—life patients will need home visits. theyjust want to see a change of policy to ensure patients get a suitable service. jenny kumah, bbc news. let's get all the sport now. here's karthi gna nasegaram at the bbc sport centre. thank you. england's cricketers need early wickets at the start of day four of the first test against new zealand. they only took two wickets on day three and were in a difficult position, with new zealand on 394—6

at the close of play. that's 41 runs ahead in theirfirst innings. joe wilson reports. test became this, bj watling and wilting. it could have been different. he had majored 3i wilting. it could have been different. he had majored 31 when this happened. that was ben stokes dropping the catch and it seemed even more significant as the day w0 re even more significant as the day wore on because although even more significant as the day wore on because althouthoe root quickly had success, this represented a 50% of the wickets england took all day. watling settled down into a rhythm of patient scoring which england tried in vain to disrupt and with him the big man. their partnership amassed over 100 runs, there was not a tactic england deployed that brought anyjoy. it tactic england deployed that brought any joy. it took tactic england deployed that brought anyjoy. it took some tactic england deployed that brought any joy. it took some scintillating fielding to get rid of colin de

grandhomme, this match playing in his first test match. the catch deserved a second look but he will have runs to make. watling's performance took england into the lead. it troubled england this weekend but two wickets in one day is not the team they need to be in any circumstances. day four got under way at the bay 0val around 15 minutes ago and new zealand are currently 398—6. jose mourinho took charge of tottenham for the first time this afternoon, but it is time to pop out of the room if you don't want to know today's scores, as match of the day follows soon on bbc one. mourinho's new side won their opening game, beating west ham 3—2 at london stadium. despite it being a first away win in the premier league for spurs since january, mourinho said "it's not about me, it's about the players and the club." and liverpool have now gone 30 games unbeaten in the premier league after they won 2—1 at crystal palace. liverpool needed an 85th minute winnerfrom roberto firmino and some

var help to secure the three points. liverpool are eight points clear of leicester city, who beat brighton 2—0. wolverhampton wanderers are up to fifth place, after a 2—1win over bournemouth. arsenal drew 2—2 with southampton. and there were wins for norwich, manchester city and burnley. in the scottish premiership, celtic beat livingstone 4—0 and are three points clear at the top. while st mirren moved off the bottom of the table thanks to a late sam foley strike, as they beat ross county 2—1. there were also wins for hibernian and kilmarnock. one of the most anticipated showdowns in recent years in racing saw surname winning the christy 1965 chase at ascot. surname, ridden by harry cobden and trained by paul nicholls, finished ahead of altior, who was previously unbeaten. there could be a repeat of the rivalry at christmas in the king george vi chase at kempton. great britain and spain are currently playing the decisive

doubles match of their davis cup semifinal tie in madrid. kyle edmund beat feliciano lopez in the opening singles, but dan evans lost to world number one rafael nadal in straight sets to leave the tie level at 1—1. nadal then teamed up with lopez in the doubles. they are in a tie break in the first set against jamie murray and neal skupski. you can follow that doubles on the bbc sport website. the winners of this match will face canada in tomorrow's davis cup final. that's all from me. goodnight.

hello, this is bbc news. a number of police officers have been assaulted while trying to break up brawl at a birmingham cinema. west midlands police were called to the star city complex in nechells late this afternoon following reports of a group with machetes. a spokesperson for the force said fighting broke out as officers tried to clear the area. several arrests have been made. i spoke to rachael allison who witnessed the trouble, and said it broke out right in front of her as she stood in the queue. 0ne of her as she stood in the queue. girl punched this face, one girl punched this girl in the face, started slapping her. the audience watching was getting involved. this man held the girls backin involved. this man held the girls back in the next thing you know, the police rush in with their batons,

telling everyone to get out and stay away. so, what can you tell us about this report of machetes?” away. so, what can you tell us about this report of machetes? i can't confirm machetes but i can confirm there were taser guns, taser guns, sorry, they held their taser guns in their hands. what happened once the police arrived? the police came in, through their batons, their taser guns in their hands, telling eve ryo ne guns in their hands, telling everyone to please evacuate the cinema, and it took a good ten minutes for everyone to come out of the actual cinema. guard dogs came m, the actual cinema. guard dogs came in, and then there were still people lingering around, just hanging around. yeah, and they were also consoling young kids. they were kids crying on the floor with their mums. because obviously, the frozen film was out. i take it it was pretty

crowded. there were loads of people there, thousands, as you can see on there, thousands, as you can see on the tv. a lot was going on all at once, but the police reacted very quickly and i don't know how well the young people took it because it wasn't as if... i don't think they've realised what mayhem there will causing as well. do you think this was just between young people that then escalated? because they we re that then escalated? because they were ripples that there were fights that turned onto the police. were ripples that there were fights that turned onto the policelj were ripples that there were fights that turned onto the police. i can't say there were fights on police but i witnessed it was young people fighting young people. i reckon it was just fighting young people. i reckon it wasjust arguments fighting young people. i reckon it was just arguments between themselves, young kids with nothing to do. you know, the lack of youth centres that they are today, kids arejust hanging centres that they are today, kids are just hanging around centres that they are today, kids arejust hanging around on the streets, this new film is out, so they could have been going to see that. it is a shame. i suppose you

are home now. the video you have got there, we saw a lot of police cars around star city, are they still there? yes, i am home now but as i was leaving, they were still more police cars arriving. i definitely saw at least 20 police cars, guard dogs everywhere. and the kids were still hanging around on the streets. at one moment, while i was waiting in the queue, bunch of kids started running towards the bus station and police were following, so i don't know if there was another fight happening which i didn't witness. there was just so much going on all at once. rachael, how would you feel about going back there again?|j don't about going back there again?” don't know. i didn't get a chance to see the film. i pre—booked my tickets, i will be getting a refund and probably going to another cinema because it just and probably going to another cinema because itjust seems like a hang about area. the conservatives have

promised to double the funding for dementia research — over the next decade. the extra £83 million a year has been described by the party — as the largest boost to dementia research ever. more than 850,000 people suffer from dementia in the uk. the promise of more investment in dementia research from the tories follows another pledge earlier this week — to spend an additional billion pounds per year, on social care in england — over the next five years. 0ur reality check correspondent, sophie hutchinson, has been looking at why social care is now attracting so much additional attention. social care is means tested and there are different rules across the uk. when it comes to paying for a ca re uk. when it comes to paying for a care home, the most generous policies are in scotland. in terms of getting help at home, in wales and on the island, those expenses

are camped, and england has the least generous system of all. have a look at best. this graph shows the number of people in england receiving long support from councils from 2010 through to 2019, and you can see a sharp decline here. it was a 600,000, it comes down to around 400,000 people. after that, the way the data was collected changed so we can't really compare. but this is what age uk had to say about it. there are about 1.5 million older people who have unmet needs for social care and in lots of cases, these people have very significant needs, they need help getting out of bed, getting washed, having something to eat. all of those fundamentals that many of us take for granted to live a decent life. is the problem all about the money? have a look at this graph. this is spending by local authorities in england on adult social care going

back from 2006 all the way up to 22019. and you can see there is a slight decline but on the whole, spending levels have remained pretty static. what isn't static, though, other costs. listen to what the think tank the health foundation, has to say about it. a large part of providing care to do with wages of staff and they have been going up, particularly since 30% of people at the national living wage, and that has been increasing, so that puts ca re has been increasing, so that puts care providers. the nhs estimates that in 2016 to 17, the average weekly cost of residential care to a pensioner was £565. if move just one yearon, it pensioner was £565. if move just one year on, it becomes a £604, quite a hike. and then, if you look at the numbers of elderly people from 2009 to 2018, the numbers in the population rose about 16.3% for

those aged 65 and over. and in terms of the very elderly population, throughout the same time period, 2009 to 2018, the increase was 17.4%. and population getting very elderly, their needs are more complex, and of course more intensive care is needed and so that becomes more expensive. the south yorkshire village of fishla ke has held its christmas fair today barely a fortnight after devastating floods left many people homeless. for many local residents, it was a break from the flood clean—up. alasdair gill reports. christmas in fishlake has not been canceled, at least the local fair hasn't. and it's a warm and welcome respite from flood recovery for the village's residents. as you can see, it's very full and very busy because of the determination here within fishlake to rebuild what we had to do our best to keep it alive.

11 days ago, much of this farm was under water. today looks a lot better, but the hidden cost is huge. farmer steven gilliard reckons he's looking at a bill of around a quarter of a million pounds. contamination now, fuel burst, central heating tanks out. all that fuel flowed to me. and now such all over the grassland, which we need to graze and we're pedigree breeders, we're now going to vaccinate for diseases. what you wish you could get them from the grazing land. who pays for that? looking at me at this moment. community spirit here is what is getting people through. last week, the sheffield steelers ice hockey team came to lend a hand. tonight, they've given free match tickets to fish lake residents. away from the water for a little while at bay from reality, which is absolutely wonderful.

we're hugely grateful to them. those tickets and the christmas fair are relatively small things, but they are a welcome escape from the hard realities so many people here are now facing. alister gill, bbc. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers evening standard home affairs correspondent, martin bentham and broadcaster lynne faulds wood. that's coming up after the headlines. time for a look at the weather with alina. tomorrow looks to be the drier day of the weekend. before we get there, there is more heavy rain in the forecast. this will be slowly confined to eastern scotland overnight. met office warnings will start to ease. equally, the rain becoming patchy. a lot of cloud,

mist and fog, poor visibility, but temperatures well above freezing, typically between four to eight celsius. tomorrow, we have a brief and weak ridge of high pressure, before another area of low pressure barrels and from the south west later on tomorrow. but will start the day with cloud, mist, fog, poor visibility and places. rain in eastern scotland becoming confined to the northern isles eventually. elsewhere, aside from a few showers, it will be a drier day but with a lot of cloud. the best of the breaks in east and southern counties of england. but it is mild, nine to 11 celsius, a little bit higher where we do see some sunshine. it turns wet and increasingly windy three south—west england and wales as we go through the evening. all down to this area of low pressure, and that continue to track its way north and east woods as we go into monday. we'll east woods as we go into monday. we' ll start east woods as we go into monday. we'll start dry initially across goal and northern ireland but the heavy rain across england and wales will start to make progress north

and eastwards through the day, becoming more patchy as it does, northern scotland mainly escaping, mainly dry. england and wales, heavy rain, brighter skies behind mainly dry. england and wales, heavy rain, brighterskies behind it mainly dry. england and wales, heavy rain, brighter skies behind it but also showers across south—western southern england, another mild day, now “— southern england, another mild day, now —— nine to 11 celsius. 0n tuesday, we have the remnants of tropical storms sebastien, so that will strengthen the wind as we go to tuesday. initially across south england and south wales, heavy rain. ahead of this, try and mainly sunshine in places before the rain slowly starts to push its way north and eastwards, the wind strength and in particular across england and wales. still mild, temperatures easily in double figures, ten to 13 celsius, the top temperature. as the week went —— wears on, it will turn drier, but also colder again with the return of the night—time trust. that is all for me. bye—bye.

hello. this is bbc news.