good morning. welcome to breakfast, with charlie stayt and mega munchetty. our headlines today: exactly two weeks until polling day, labour sets out a new plan to target leave—voting constituencies. boris johnson's key advisor dominic cummings warns that the election is tighter than it looks, as he tells brexiteers not to be complacent. campaigners call for a 70p charge for supermarket bags for life, after a huge rise in the number being taken home by shoppers. frustration for both english teams in the champions league last night. chelsea and liverpool

could have qualified, but only managed draws. they will both have to wait until their next match. a new look for the west coast main line service has been unveiled. first trenitalia, which takes over the franchise from virgin trains at the end of next week, promises refurbished trains, reliable free wi—fi, and better catering. but will the trains be ready on time? i'll be finding out. he was one of the most famous faces on british tv for years. after the death of clive james, we will hear from some of those who knew him best. and in weather, there is more rain and blustery wind to come today, but on the horizon, at last there is something sunnier, but also colder. i will have the details right here on breakfast. it is thursday 28 november. our top story: with just two weeks to go to polling day, the bbc understands that labour has agreed a new plan to try to close the gap on the conservatives. senior figures have privately admitted that the party is struggling to hold on to leave supporters in some areas. at the same time, borisjohnson‘s key advisor dominic cummings has insisted that the election is tighter than it looks, and has urged brexiteers not to be complacent.

let's get the latest now from our political correspondent chris mason. chris, brexit is the focus for labour and the conservatives again. yes, labour and the conservatives again. good morning are yes, good morning to you. so labour are wrestling with a little bit of a challenge. what they have to do to stand still or even to progress at this election is held together quite a loose coalition of voters from last time around, some who had voted leave on the referendum and some who had voted remained. and the view from strategists privately is, in the early stages of this campaign, they overestimated the threat of the liberal democrats, of perhaps remain voting labour voters drifting towards the lib dems, but they underestimated the willingness of some long—term labour voters who voted leave to switch to the conservatives. so you can expect a blitz from labour in the last two next couple of weeks in seats that

they have held, that voted leave, and that labour will send along to knock on doors, those who are pretty keen on the idea of a brexit deal, in other words the uk leaving the eu with a labour brexit plan as opposed to remaining in the eu after labour's proposed referendum. meanwhile, as you say, the conservatives, one of their chief strategist has been saying, look at this election still looks close, and for those who voted for brexit, the only way to deliver it is to vote for borisjohnson. only way to deliver it is to vote for boris johnson. so only way to deliver it is to vote for borisjohnson. so yes, the arguments are getting louder as the countdown clock runs down. there is a whole, isn't there, that could get quite a bit of attention today. do you want to explain that? yes, so there is an opinion poll that has been done, which is a big one. it has spoken to 100,000 people, it has been done in the last few days. those numbers are then crunched through a model that tries to work out what that would look like if the election had been held now. in this poll indicates, it suggests a significant conservative majority.

conservative majority of 68, with the tories gaining lots of seeds and labour losing lots of seats, the snp making some games in scotland. now, we should always insert caveats with poles. they are not predictions, they don't show things. they merely indicate things, and there are still two weeks to go. let's put it into some sort of context. the opinion polls have been consistently suggesting the conservatives are in front, but there is some evidence they have been narrowing a little bit. 0ne much smaller poll this morning suggest the gap is much, much narrower. and when you factor in what is known as the margin of error, the potential that the gas is a little bit wrong in either direction, the suggestion, the outlook of the poll, looks markedly different. but nonetheless an indication of where things are, and it could shape the way the parties conduct their campaigns in the last fortnight —— the guess. conduct their campaigns in the last fortnight -- the guess. that is what we will be drilling into today. we will be asking the health secretary, matt hancock,

about labour's claims about the nhs in just over an hour. environmental campaigners are calling for charges on supermarket bags for life to be raised to 70p. it comes as research shows use of the plastic bags has risen again this year, to 1.5 billion. that is a total of 5a for every household in the uk. andy moore reports. it has been hailed as a huge success, the law requiring supermarkets to charge for every single—use plastic bag. but are we just swapping one bad habit for another? so the supermarkets want us to switch from these disposable bags, price 5p here, to these so—called bags for life, price 10p here. but the environmental groups say the price difference is just too small. they would like to see the charge for bags for life raised to at least 70p. sainsbury‘s recently doubled their charge for more durable bags from 10p to 20p,

and got quite a lot of stick from some of their customers for that. bag for life is a good thing if it's being used for life, as the name suggests. but our figures show that these are just being used for a week, if that, by a lot of customers. the low price means that there's not the incentive for people to reuse. and there's also issues with non—biodegradable plastics. they don't always break down in a natural environment, so they can cause just as much harm as a conventional plastic. environmental groups say bags for life are usually bigger and contain more plastic. it is part of the reason why overall plastic use in supermarkets is actually growing. but the supermarkets say they are aware of the problem, and are doing their best to tackle it. lidl, for example, is stopping selling bags for life in its welsh stores, and will do so in the rest of the uk if the experiment works. andy moore, bbc news. president donald trump has approved a new law backing protesters in hong kong, despite angry objections from beijing. the legislation requires the state department to certify that hong kong

retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms. china has warned it will take firm countermeasures. the family of harry dunn, who was killed when he was knocked off his motorbike, have begun legal proceedings against the foreign 0ffice. his parents allege granting diplomatic immunity to the main suspect in the 19—year—old's death was wrong in law. the foregin office has said it would oppose and seek costs for anyjudicial review. one of the uk's biggest cinema chains plans to restart screenings of blue story this weekend, after banning it from all of its uk sites. vue stopped showing the film about london gangs after a number incidents at its cinemas, including a mass fight in birmingham. tolu adeoye reports. it was this brawl involving up to 100 teenagers in birmingham that led to vue banning blue story, a film

about two friends caught up in postcode gang rivalry in london. about two friends caught up in postcode gang rivalry in londonm started in the actual screening itself of blue story, and it spilt out into the foyer. and then it got really ugly, really quickly. but the decision to withdraw the film from all its uk screens upset many, including blue story‘s director. all its uk screens upset many, including blue story's director.m was, like, breaking my heart. because i'm getting calls every day, we are doing this well, we're doing that well. doing so well, it's getting so well received, and then to get pulled from every cinema... vue ‘s hossa said the decision was only ever about safety, and the film will soon returned to it screens with additional security arrangements. speaking to the community, speaking to the producers and directors, we are now co mforta ble and directors, we are now comfortable that we can guarantee the safety of our staff and customers to put it back on our screens. customers to put it back on our screens. both sides will hope the focus can now screens. both sides will hope the focus can now return screens. both sides will hope the focus can now return to the film itself.

and those are the main stories this morning. so there were a couple of drawers when it came to champions league modifying last night, and one really quite surprising. yes, i think people would expect the defending champions of the champions league, liverpool, to have a win last night against napoli. but no. it was a frustrating night for the english sides in the champions league. liverpool could have won their group with a win against napoli, but it took a dejan lovren goal to draw 1—1. they now need at least a draw in theirfinal game against red bull salzburg to guarantee qualification. chelsea will also have to wait until the final round of group games if they are to make it through. they were headed for the knockout stages, but conceded a 82nd—minute equaliser to draw 2—2 in valencia. the second test of england's series against new zealand starts this evening. england captianjoe root was criticised after his side's defeat in the first test, but ben stokes insists he is still england's best player"

—— player. and dillian whyte will be on the undercard of anthonyjoshua's world title rematch in december. whyte hasn't fought since it emerged he failed a uk anti—doping test in the build—up to his win over 0scar rivas in july. that is the sport for now. we will look at the papers in a moment. here is matt with a look at this morning's weather. it just feels like itjust feels like the sky is full of so much water, and itjust can't get rid of it enough. it has been raining all the time. it is, but a little bit of forecast joy to start your thursday. very good morning things are about to change. in the days ahead, for the rest of you, things are going to turn drier, sunnier, but be prepared. get a big jacket ready, it is going to turn much colder as well. the rain bearing area of low pressure pushes out to the east, dragging the air from the north. the blue colours indicating pretty cold for all but the south—west as we had to into the weekend. we got to get through today, though, first of all, and i'm

afraid to say there is some more rain in the forecast today, quite breezy conditions with it. let's ta ke breezy conditions with it. let's take a look at where that rain two rain is at present. rain across southern scotland, north midlands, east anglia, around an inch of rain in parts of northumberland overnight. showery ran across the far north of scotland, and it's all slowly going to shift its way southwards as we go through the day. so for those of you in parts of the midlands, dry, mid wales at the moment is dry. it will turn wetter through the day, the same into the south—east corner, rain turning a little bit more showery. you will see a little bit more sunshine in the south—west, and across south wales, we will still see damages in double figures. a mild enough start. at the sunshine starts to develop later in the day it is going to feel colder. 5—7d in the northern half of the country. it may feel colder in eastern scotland in particular thanks to the strength of that wind touching gale force at times. that northerly wind will push its way southwards through the night. rain and patchy drizzle confined to southernmost counties, keeping temperatures up here, but elsewhere across developing away from towns and city centres to take us into

your friday morning jenny to work. may be as low as —3, “11, three parts of central scotland. but for many of you tomorrow, a sunnier day. there will be some showers, may be wintry in nature, peppered around northern and western parts of scotland. cloud lingering to the channel islands, parts of devon and cornwall, with some patchy rain. for the vast majority it is going to be a sunny friday and a chilly one. temperatures in single figures for all as we go through the afternoon, and what will follow will be an especially cold night. into the start of your weekend, widespread frost. these are the temperatures outside of the city centres. we could get as low as —6 —7 in one two spots. your notice the south—west avoiding it. as we go through into saturday, while many will stay dry, high pressure in charge. you'vejust got to watch this, a little bit of a fly in the ointment towards the south—west. potential for some heavy rain and strong winds and without dragging in some colder air on the tops of the moors we could see a little bit of sleet or wet snow. but away from that, some hazy sunshine in the south, admittedly, but for

most another sunny day, but a cold day. made to feel even colder in the south by those strong winds. as we go through into sunday and into the start of next week, it stays cold. away from the far north of scotland, it stays dry. thank you very much. let's take a look at today's papers. the times leads on new yougov analysis suggesting the conservative party is on course for a 68—seat majority at next month's election. pictured is the broadcaster clive james and poet jonathan miller, whose deaths were annouced yesterday. the telegraph says borisjohnson‘s senior advisor dominic cummings believes a hung parliament is a very real possibility. he reportedly fears complacency could cost the conservatives a majority at the election. the mirror is leading on the conservative party document that labour says is the proof the nhs will play a part in future trade negotiations with the united states. the same story also leads the guardian. the paper notes borisjohnson vigorously denies the health service

is up for sale. you picked out some stories from the back pages for us. just one story, really, the champions league last night. most of the back pages have both liverpool and chelsea's results from last night. if we show you the mirror, love is not enough, quite a nice headline, that is because of lovren, equalising for liverpool, but not enough, because they needed to win to get through to the last 16. they play salzburg next. moving onto daily mail, they have a picture of klopp not looking happy, he was given a yellow card for shouting at the referee, because he was so upset about all the stoppages. and of course, he now has to go to salzburg and avoid defeat. so he was having a proper go, was he, and got in trouble? well, first of all, there we re trouble? well, first of all, there were a couple of dangerous tackles that went on on his players, but also he felt that the referee kept

stopping the match. he was asked about it in the news conference and he said it was because i was saying don't do that, don't do that, but a p pa re ntly don't do that, don't do that, but apparently it was for repeatedly shouting at them, as well. it is quite rare, a manager being given a yellow card, isn't it? i don't know about that. it does happen, if they shout at the fourth official, oh yes. it has happened on many occasions. because i know they have been sent off the pitch and banned from the pitch. well, that would be like a straight red card. so we have seen like a straight red card. so we have seen it happen a few times. anyway, he is not the sort of manager that generally tends to get red cards, he was just very frustrated because his side should have one last night. he is one. i've been spending quite a bit of time immaculately folding this, did you hearthe rustling? lift your finger and people can read it. let me explain. this is a cow in moscow wearing, you can sit very

clearly in this tiny image, virtual reality goggles. the idea as it makes them more content because it reduces their anxiety and improve their overall emotional mood. cows? i'm not sure what they are watching. it looks like animal cruelty. don't you think? why, why, why? why do it? these are good questions that i can't answer. it is often the question on this programme — why? picking up on the daily mail, quite interesting this story, there is a 300 year old tree at st mary magdalene church in islington, it is worth seven times more than the average uk house. it has been valued at £1.6 million. 0n average uk house. it has been valued at £1.6 million. on what basis? it is valued on a system that puts a price on trees in a bid to hold the what it calls, chainsaw massacre of trees across the country. so that is

based on capital asset valuation of amenity trees, you did ask. does that make any sense? not really, no. this is used by councils and recognised by the courts when looked at protecting trees. i'm all in favour. so the system means if you cut a mature tree down it could be an expensive problem because the courts can then force them to pay this value in full. obvious problem with all that is if the tree has already been cut down. i mean, that is the awful thing, isn't it? people do cut down beautiful trees like that sometimes. we interview labour conservatives and the lib dems, they are all talking about planting trees, but £1.6 million. and clive james, there is a great deal written

about him today. rightly so. we had the interviews he has done, some unusual places he found himself in when he was doing those reports. and there is a great deal of love him today and people are quite rightly. this is commentary from ed steiner saying he practically invented city criticism. the shows from japan, i think we are all from an age when we remember that —— tv criticism. think we are all from an age when we remember that -- tv criticism. and the music with margarita pracatan. we will be speaking to them soon. stay soon. —— tuned. we're reflecting on the life of the much celebrated writer and broadcaster, clive james this morning — his death, at the age of 80, was announced yesterday. you interviewed him, didn't you? four years ago i interviewed clive after he'd published a new book of poetry. he'd been diagnosed with leukaemia a few years earlier and spoke frankly about death but his trademark good humour

was evident throughout. he thought he was going to die then. he thought he was going to die then. he stated alive a lot longer than he thought he would. he was in a reflective and humourous mood when we met. take a look. there is another poem i would like to read a passage from for you. this is spring, snow dancer. my daughter is spring, snow dancer. my daughter is because i could dance did ballet steps is because i could dance did ballet ste ps a cross is because i could dance did ballet steps across the kitchen floor. and this time i was breathless at the chance by which i'd lived to see our dearlamb dance, chance by which i'd lived to see our dear lamb dance, those soon i will not see her anymore. you do read well. and i'm particularly pleased with the poems that have my granddaughter in them. she is at the ce ntre granddaughter in them. she is at the centre of all our lives and i love writing about her. she's only ten but she is a ball of energy and dancing and singing. and i have loved it when she's turned up in my poems. i don't know when she was, she comes and goes like tinkerbell. a quality i try to get when i write

about her. thank you for reading that out. there was a moment, you we re that out. there was a moment, you were sitting and you watched something unfold and you are thinking how many more times will i have this chance? i was thinking that, and i was also thinking i could have been long ago a better family man than i was. i am better now. people will tell from the way you talk, even about those hardest things, that the funny, the clive james funny has not gone away. i've a lwa ys james funny has not gone away. i've always thought humour was a means of information anyway. i don't like jokesjust for their own information anyway. i don't like jokes just for their own sake. i like the jokes that convey a truth. japanese maple. your death near now is ofan japanese maple. your death near now is of an easy sword. so slow a fading out brings no real pain. breath growing short is just uncomfortable. you feel the drain of

energy, but thought and site remain. i'm curious to know, what are those highs and lows right now? well-made thing has always been to enjoy everything, that's my stick. i enjoy p0p everything, that's my stick. i enjoy pop songs, jazz, classical music, literature, bad books, good books. i've still got that. and you know what was so lovely about him and anyone who knew him? i don't claim to know him well but i feel like i got an insight into him there, he did embrace everything. he didn't mind talking about silly stuff. and he did the heavy stuff, too. he had such a touch in the way he approached all kinds of cultures. ido he approached all kinds of cultures. i do think he was a brilliant, brilliant broadcaster and could reach anyone. he liked all types of music and that was never more apparent than he in his champion of the cu ban apparent than he in his champion of the cuban american singer margarita

pracatan. she was a frequent guest on his shows during the 1990s, usually rounding things off with a song in her own unique style. and now to end the show and probably my career, will you once again put your seeds in the upright position and your head between your knees for margarita pracatan! (applause) # i've been cheated by you since i don't know when... #soi don't know when... # so i make up my mind we must come to an end #a to an end # a look at me now # a look at me now # i don't know how # i don't know how # but # i don't know how #butl # i don't know how # but i suddenly lose control # but i suddenly lose control # there is fire within my soul... iam i am delighted to say we can now speak to margarita pracatan who is in new york for us this morning! good morning. good morning! you people make me so happy when i hear me singing. ifeel like

people make me so happy when i hear me singing. i feel like screaming and to say to you people, thank you, thank you, thank you! i'm so happy i hear his voice. and i was singing so happily, all my heart for ever and ever. margarita, you and clive james had a special relationship, didn't you? he was such a lovely man and he gave you this extraordinary outlet to ta ke gave you this extraordinary outlet to take your music to so many people. i know! and he made me so famous that i never got any blazes when i had places in england, they say margarita pracatan, play it again. do you remember the first time you played for clive james? what was the situation?|j time you played for clive james? what was the situation? i was in an office with about ten producers and

i started singing and they were laughing at the same moment but they say oh, margarita, you have to combine. are unbelievable! i know clive gave so much because he is very intelligent. he appreciated and changed lives for so many people, he did good things. unbelievable. there i asked, we are seeing some of your costu mes i asked, we are seeing some of your costumes from when you are on the clive james show. would it be unfair of me to ask you now, maybe, to give us of me to ask you now, maybe, to give usa of me to ask you now, maybe, to give us a little sample of one of your songs, something you have, just a little something? now? yes! oh, without the keyboard? can you do it without the keyboard? can you do it without the keyboard? can you do it without the keyboard, is that possible?

# hello... is it me you are looking for? # i for? #ican for? # i can see the light # i can see the light # i can see the light #ican # i can see the light # i can see the light # i can see your smile # i can see your smile # you're all i ever wanted... # you're all i ever wanted... # hello? he always thanked me to sing hello. it's so beautiful. and i say hello to the whole uk into everybody and i love him from the bottom of my heart. margarita, i think clive james would deeply appreciate you giving us of that version of that song this morning on bbc breakfast. thank you, yes. it's been lovely talking to you, thank you very much. i love you from the very bottom of my heart. can we just talked to her of morning?” very bottom of my heart. can we just talked to her of morning? i think we all need a little bit of pracatan almost every day. it's been an

absolute delight. margarita, thank you. isn't she lovely? absolutely lovely. i honestly think we should have done the whole show with her just chatting. and who needs a keyboard? oh! someone is trying to tell us we're going early, we are not. i was going to find out what is happening with our business reporter this morning? no, we're not going to. that's later, now it's time to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london. i'm sonja jessup. the parents of a south london teenager who vanished 31 years ago say they're hoping for answers, as his case has been highlighted by a major fooball club. 15—year—old lee boxell was last seen on his way to a sutton united match in 1988. italian giants roma have been sharing images of missing children, including lee, on their social media. five of them have even been found.

i really think it's a good idea. if it's going to find lee, of course it's going to find lee, of course it's going to be absolutely wonderful, but if it finds anyone, any child, then it's lovely. if not, we all want to know where he is, if he is not alive, we want to be able to bury him and to grieve and then carry on as normal as best we can. a man who falsely claimed he was squatting at grenfell tower and helped people escape from the burning building has been found guilty of fraud. alvin thompson cheated kensington and chelsea council out of almost £90,000. he was put up in hotels for eight months, then provided with a flat in westbourne park. but cctv footage proved he'd been lying. the last batch of tickets go on sale this lunchtime for london's new year's eve fireworks display. more than 100,000 people will gather on the banks of the thames to watch the celebrations. let's take a look at

the travel situation now. it's all looking good on the tube so far, no reported problmes on any of those lines there. there are delays for south—eastern trains because of a broken rail near new cross, and some roadworks are slowing things down between lambeth bridge and parliament square. let's ta ke bridge and parliament square. let's take a look on the 813, westbound traffic as usual is building as you head out of dagenham. now, the time for weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello. good morning. things will feel very different weather—wise by the time we get to tomorrow. but for todayis the time we get to tomorrow. but for today is more of the same, there is more wet weather in the forecast and again it will feel reasonably mild for this time of year. now, it's a dry, early start, plenty of cloud out there, if you brighter spells. the cloud through the morning. as with the prince of the north—east of us with the prince of the north—east of us and that's going to be pulling its way southwards as we head to the

late morning and into the afternoon. perhaps some southern areas of the capital staying dry during daylight hours, most of the rain will tend to be quite light and patchy. top temperatures between nine and 11 celsius, a slightly lighter breeze than saw yesterday. now through this evening's rush hour work, the rain piling down from the north, some of the quite heavy for the first part of the evening and then overnight tonight it will dry out and that cloud will start to break up, we got some cold air coming down from the north. so a bright enough start of the day for many northern home counties, temperatures in here would be as low as two or three celsius, tomorrow, all change, is dry, lots of sunshine and feeling colder. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. bye for now. hello, this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. it is 6:30am. we will bring you all the latest

news and sport in a moment. but also on breakfast this morning: you might have thought you had been doing your bit for the environment when buying a bag for life. we'll be finding out why they may be making the situation worse. social media star saffron barker will be here to tell us about her time on strictly, and her disappointment at not making it to this week's quarter—finals. and it is the penultimate episode of seven worlds, one planet. we will be speaking to the filming crew who stayed up all night to capture these dazzling fireflies. all that still to come. the bbc understands that labour has agreed a new electoral campaign strategy in a bid to gain ground in the two weeks that remain before polling day. a major part of the plan is said to be a renewed effort to retain labour voters who support brexit. members of the shadow cabinet who back leave are likely to be given a higher profile

than those who support remain, while there will also be an attempt to give a greater emphasis to issues other than brexit, such as the cost of living. meanwhile boris johnson's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, has warned the election race is much tighter than the opinion polls are suggesting. mr cummings, who ran the vote leave campaign with mrjohnson before being brought into downing street, wrote in his blog that brexiteers risked handing victory to labour if they voted for nigel farage's brexit party in key marginals. environmental campaigners are calling for charges on what the supermarkets call bags for life to be raised to 70p. it comes as research shows use of the plastic bags has risen this year to 1.5 billion. that is a total of 5a for every household in the uk per year. greenpeace and campaigning charity the environmental investigation agency say rising sales of the bags mean they are being used as a disposable option by many customers. president donald trump has approved a new law backing protesters in hong kong, despite angry objections from beijing. the legislation requires the state

department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms. china has warned it will take firm countermeasures. the family of harry dunn, who was killed when he was knocked off his motorbike, has begun legal proceedings against the foreign 0ffice. harry's parents allege granting diplomatic immunity to the main suspect in the 19—year—old's death was wrong in law. the foreign office has said it would oppose and seek costs for anyjudicial review. screenings of the film blue story will restart this weekend, after it was banned by one of the uk's biggest cinema chains. vue stopped showing the film about london gangs after a number incidents at its cinemas, including a mass fight in birmingham. the chain says it has now improved security arrangements.

we will get an update now on the champions league shenanigans. in fa ct, champions league shenanigans. in fact, it was drawers all round. really surprising. good morning. it was surprising, but i think the scoreline didn't really reflect how exciting some of the matches were, especially chelsea's match against valencia. it was 2—2, but some of the goals were cracking. it was a frustrating night for the english sides in the champions league. both liverpool and chelsea could have qualified for the last 16 of the competition last night, but both could only manage draws. they must now wait for the final round of group games if they are to make it through. joe wilson reports. two shocks at anfield — firstly that napoli's dries mertens was onside, and then that he scored. but those were the facts. jurgen klopp erupted so often, the liverpool manager was booked before half—time. 65 minutes, and tensions still rising, when lovren leapt and anfield breathed relief. but 1—1 means liverpool still need something

from their final group game. similar story for chelsea. in valencia, they are still wondering how maxi gomez missed — not just the chance but the actual ball, completely. yes, that. but opportunities were ceaseless, from the spanish side taking the lead, to chelsea equalising 108 seconds later. mateo kovacic, well—timed. christian pulisic finished this. var looked at it, var liked it. valencia didn't. now, the game seemed won for chelsea. but, hang on, what was that? well, daniel wass. the 2—2 draw is ok for chelsea, especially because valencia should have won. remember, it started with a miss. it came to an end like this. joe wilson, bbc news. now, manchester united play tonight in the europa league. as we heard yesterday, 19—year—old defender max taylor is in the the squad to face astana. taylor was diagnosed with testicular cancer this time last year, and he has been talking to the bbc

about his experience. there was a 30 millimetre cancer. my mum broke down straightaway, and i was sort of like, so taken back by it, i didn't cry. and then i got out andi it, i didn't cry. and then i got out and i was like, oh, my god. just my mind wasjust and i was like, oh, my god. just my mind was just running, and i was like, oh, my god. just my mind wasjust running, 100 miles an hour, thinking what could happen, what's next? will i play football ain? what's next? will i play football again? will what's next? will i play football again? will! what's next? will i play football again? will i be alive? 0nce what's next? will i play football again? will i be alive? once i got out of the chemo, and it was all successful, i thought, out of the chemo, and it was all successful, ithought, right, iwill get back out there. under—pressure england captain joe root says he feels a big score is just around the corner for him. root has been criticised after england's defeat by new zealand in the opening match of their two—test series. he made 2/11 and has dropped out of the top ten test batting rankings for the first time in five years. the second test begins tonight.

i feel that big score's just around the corner, and you know, in a way, you look back at the last game, i had two dreadful shots to get out. and sometimes that's a lot easier to deal with, because they're your mistakes. you know, you're not feeling like there's a technical default or really glaring holes in your game. so i'm quite confident. i know that i have performed over time in this team, and what i'm capable of doing. and there is coverage on bbc radio and the bbc sport website. and there is coverage on bbc radio and the bbc sport websitem and there is coverage on bbc radio and the bbc sport website. it is nice that they have no doubt in their ability. that is what you want to hear from their ability. that is what you want to hearfrom top their ability. that is what you want to hear from top sports people, isn't it? they certainly have to project out. it is all about confidence. when you are out for as long as you are, especially onto a four days and weeks on end, you've got to have that strength. 's taking

about projection, did you catch margarita giving an early—morning rendition? it was fabulous. how do you follow that? —— speaking about projection. and sometimes when you watch programmes from years gone by, they are not as funny as they used to be, but this was, absolutely. political parties have just two weeks to do all they can to drive home their policies. for the liberal democrats, the central message has always been that they will stop brexit. there is now concern amongst some in the party that the policy is actually putting voters off. we are joined now by the lib dems' layla moran, who is in our 0xford studio. good morning, thank you so much for joining us this morning. so let's talk about this, shall we? do you think the strategy so far has put potential lib dem voters off? well, i think actually the main thing that happened in this election is when we first started, we thought it was going to be a 4—way race, as in the

europeans. the brexit party was standing everywhere. there was no sign they were going to do a deal with the conservatives. but when they stepped down in half those seats, we then started seeing what we see in most elections, which is a massive squeeze on the third party in our electoral system. and actually, i think that is the major factor that has changed in this campaign. we will continue to be the party that started the people's vote, i launched the people's vote. every time that we could, in parliament, we pushed for a people' vote, and i think what people are going to wake up to in this poll is the stark realisation that boris johnson could have a runaway majority —— people's vote. that's going to scare a lot of people. this has to be a wake—up call to people out there. they need to look at the seats where the liberal democrats are second, orfirst, even, that's 134 seats in this pole that we have seen come 134 seats in this pole that we have seen come out this morning, and we are the only party that can stop borisjohnson, are the only party that can stop boris johnson, because are the only party that can stop borisjohnson, because we are the only party that can take seats away

from him in this election. and i think that is what we are waking up to this morning. ok, so let'sjust be clear. you say you launched the people's vote, so you are not scrapping brexit as your main campaign message. absolutely, it is not the stop brexit message. we are clearly remain party. we are clear about our values, who we are, we believe our place in europe is worth saving, and this is actually an election, so we can ask people to vote for that. but i think where we need to push now is recognising that if you don't want that hard brexit that boris johnson if you don't want that hard brexit that borisjohnson is offering, and we remember the last time that we had an outright conservative majority, in 2015, you know, they cut benefits, they called this referendum in the first place. it was a disaster for this country. i am so, so was a disaster for this country. i am so, so concerned was a disaster for this country. i am so, so concerned about what boris johnson would do with that majority. and i think i'm not the only one out there. the liberal democrats are the only party that can now take seats off the tories, and that's what we

need to focus on now. and you did say that in your last answer. i just wa nt to say that in your last answer. i just want to be clear. therefore, i was under the impression the liberal democrats' message was you are scrapping brexit. now, you are promising another referendum, a people's vote. that is the change in tactic. and we are two weeks away from the general election, from the vote. well, what we have always said is that we would only be able to do that if we had a majority liberal democrat government. which is not going to happen, is it? exactly, exactly. so that is where we are now. so you are making a promise based on something that was not going to happen? know, we made a promise at the beginning of the campaign when it looked like it was going to be a 4—way race and the brexit party was going to stand. look at the last by—election that we had before the election was called. it was a leave voting constituency, but we pulled through because the

remainers back to us and the brexit party split the vote. but now, things have two weeks to go, and we need to make sure that what we do is focused on what we can achieve, which is to stop borisjohnson getting that majority, because i am scared by that. ok, there's a new poll, and i am sure you are aware of this, by yougov, and we treat poles with caution, they are indicators, they are not predictors, they are taking the mood of a certain number of people —— poll. but this pole suggests the liberal democrats will —— this poll suggest the liberal democrats will end up with just one additional mp in westminster. 0ne more mp? that's disappointing, isn't it? on double the number of votes that were predicted, there is clearly something wrong with our electoral system here. but i would also urge people to look slightly closer at those numbers. first of

all, we are competitive in more than that, dozens of seats. it is clear that, dozens of seats. it is clear that we are the challenges particularly to the conservatives in this pole. in fact, in 134 seats in this pole. in fact, in 134 seats in this poll, we are second. that's way up this poll, we are second. that's way up on the last election. and only we are the ones who can topple conservatives out of this government and stop boris johnson conservatives out of this government and stop borisjohnson from getting that majority. that's why i keep saying it. we need to look at the picture on the ground now. and you know, we were done for dodgy bar charts or whatever, this is proving what we're saying, which is that in dozens what we're saying, which is that in d oze ns of what we're saying, which is that in dozens of seats we other challenges. i think there is still a positive story that can be told from this, but it does mean that we are going to need both remainer conservatives, i think lord heseltine yesterday, deputy prime minister to margaret thatcher, coming out and saying vote liberal democrat, we will have a massive effect, and in those seats where we other challenges to

conservatives, people need to rally behind the main candidates who are the liberal democrats in dozens of seats across the country. it is not over, as you say quite rightly, it isa over, as you say quite rightly, it is a projection. and the other thing i will say is, if you look on the ground in the campaigns, there are a lot of 3—way marginals out there. the ground campaign will matter in this election. it is not over. one i just want to get one more question in. sojo just want to get one more question in. so jo swinson, just want to get one more question in. sojo swinson, and the liberal democrats, have accepted she is not going to be prime minister, but she is going to be a challenger. who are you going to ally yourselves with? conservatives or labour? becausejo swinson at the very beginning said she would not do either. you have got no choice now. if you are successful. we absolutely will not be backing either borisjohnson or jeremy corbyn for prime minister. that is a different question. that isa that is a different question. that is a different answer. if there was a hung parliament and you are asked to be part of a coalition? we would

say no. it doesn't matter who asked, we would say no. not tojeremy corbyn, not to borisjohnson. we would say no. not tojeremy corbyn, not to boris johnson. what would you do, then? ifjeremy corbyn are borisjohnson would you do, then? ifjeremy corbyn are boris johnson put would you do, then? ifjeremy corbyn are borisjohnson put forward legislation to put forward a people's vote, we would vote for that, in the same way that i voted for it seven times in the last 2.5 yea rs. we have for it seven times in the last 2.5 years. we have always said that we would do that if legislation is brought through, but we will not be going into government with either of them. neither of them is fit to be prime minister. i could not in all good conscience propped either of them up. thank you very much for talking to us, from the liberal democrats, thank you. here is matt with a look at this morning's weather. good morning, how are you? good morning! i'm very well, thank you. i

don't know about you both but i'm fed up with the colour grey. i have some good news on the forecast that we are going to replace that with some blue. blue skies coming our way are not only that, it is going to be drier, sunnier, and colder, too. it's all thanks to the area of low pressure that has been with us pushing their eastwards. the arctic loop pushing down tojust pushing their eastwards. the arctic loop pushing down to just about all of us, the temperatures are set to drop. the payoff is more sunshine and drier. so just drop. the payoff is more sunshine and drier. sojust bear with drop. the payoff is more sunshine and drier. so just bear with today because today, further rain for many, reining in parts of northumberland overnight, breezy north—east of scotland, so is here in southern scotland, through the midlands, east anglia, that is all inching its way slowly southwards. so there is some of south—west england, south wales and developing more widely in the north. in between, objective and for many, most persistent across parts of the midlands, wales and east anglia as we go into the afternoon. and we will still see temperatures holding up, one ortwo will still see temperatures holding up, one or two will stay dry and with a bit of sunshine, not feeling

too bad in parts of the south—west, 10- 11 too bad in parts of the south—west, 10— 11 degrees. elsewhere whether sunshine comes out more widely but temperatures are starting to drop again and feeling even colder around the north—east of scotland as winds touch and go forces at times. as i was with injury as well, they will push into the coast of north east england. temperatures will hold up at around 5—8d, but notice from the north england, northwards, blew on the chart is an indication of widespread frost in the suburbs and countryside for tomorrow. a chilly morning commute tomorrow, there will bea morning commute tomorrow, there will be a few wintry cells to the north and east of the country many around the coastal fringes, a and east of the country many around the coastalfringes, a bit and east of the country many around the coastal fringes, a bit of cloud lingering through devon, cornwall and into the channel islands, but she rain, but for many of you friday would be a sunnier day than we're used to and a colder one, temperatures 4—8d, and a cold night will follow. we could see temperatures drop as low as —6, —7 in one or two spots of northern england and southern and central scotland. which leads us into a cold start to saturday, most have a high

pressure, most dry but watch these weather fronts very closely to the south—west of the channel islands, they are likely to bring rain and dust as they come in. as they drag in air, there could be some sleet to watch. but away from that, saturday, the start of the weekend looking lovely for many of you. it is going to be cold in the wind and the south. naga and charlie, the dry weather for many will remain into the start of next week. matt, if you are sick of grey, why are you wearing a grey suit? good point! love —— laughter it has obviously gotten into my subconscious at this point. grey, grey, grey. a new look for the west coast main line service has been unveiled. first tranitalia which takes over

the franchise from virgin trains at the end of next week, promises refurbished trains. the question is, they will look great, but will they be on time? 0ur reporter danni hewson is at crewe station for us. good morning, yes, will they be on time? that is any commuter really wa nts to time? that is any commuter really wants to know, and here are crewe station, about 3 million commuters hopped onto trains and theyjust wa nt to hopped onto trains and theyjust want to make sure that they get to work on time. and what they have been used to for the last 22 years is virgin trains, and the one behind me, well, it has had all of its branding stripped off, ready for the new branding to go on. that was unveiled yesterday, it is going to be avanti unveiled yesterday, it is going to be ava nti west coast. we unveiled yesterday, it is going to be avanti west coast. we are told they are going to be greener, more

co mforta ble they are going to be greener, more comfortable and more reliable.|j think avanti west coast is really important to us. it's part of the we st coa st important to us. it's part of the west coast partnership which will eventually take hsz into its portfolio. we are taking over this franchise with a new brand we can build on, good customer services, but bring it up to an exceptional standard for customers and bring our staff with it. but of course on day one, customersjust staff with it. but of course on day one, customers just want to know will they see any differences to their services. let's talk to tony from modern railways magazine. apart from modern railways magazine. apart from the branding, it seems like all the staff have transferred over, so will customers notice any difference on day one, do you think? people will be wearing different coloured uniforms, i think on day one. not a lot changes, the timetable stays the same for the first year, service is the same and all the changes come after that first year, really. there are some big promises about being

greener, more reliable, more co mforta ble. greener, more reliable, more comfortable. we've talked a lot about the new were zuma trains and seeds, but will these be better? new seeds, but will these be better? new seeds are going to be fitted into the pat daley nose and the new trains being ordered they say they will recline better and they have thought quite seriously about the journey experience and comfort. bringing in these tilting trains we re bringing in these tilting trains were something virgin did, and there isn't another magic wand they can waive, is there? virgin have delivered some significant passenger growth over the years, they have to continue carrying up the numbers to make the business profitable and they have to make it an exciting thing. the tilting trains were an extra thing that attracted people to the railways, and now, 2004, they are getting old. so, why did virgin lose this franchise? there were big

discussions about the bidding was going on for the contract, and virgin skates coach —— virgin stagecoach said they couldn't keep up stagecoach said they couldn't keep up on the government them out does make it through them out of the process. so now make it through them out of the process. so now we make it through them out of the process. so now we have genitalia, they buy our line and have been —— now we have trin italia, they have been running services. all eyes will been running services. all eyes will be focused on that first commuter day on monday the ninth of december, to see if they have dotted the eyes and crossed the tees —— dotted the i's and crossed the tees —— dotted the is and crossed the t‘s. it's notjust trains which travel the length and breadth of britain. breakfast'sjon kay has been doing

the same thing in the run—up to the general election. he's been looking at the key issues concerning voters. today, he's exploring how housing could be a deciding factor in the marginal seat of cheltenham, in gloucestershire. cheltenham. an elegant regency spa town famed for its presence and colonnades. but take a short drive from the centre and you'll soon find the same housing issues as anywhere else. the cornerstone centre. here in the suburb of wadden, many pa rents in the suburb of wadden, many parents talk of high rents, cold homes and long waiting list. bailiffs were going to come to my door. she tells me she and her kids we re door. she tells me she and her kids were cooked out of does make kicked out of three places out of does not by private landlords before they got a private flat. we didn't know whether or not we were going to get

a council home. do you imagine yourself ever being able to buy somewhere of your own? not at the moment, no stock no. it'sjust somewhere of your own? not at the moment, no stock no. it's just too expensive. maybe if i won the lottery! rent caps, tenants rights, overcrowding, affordability, all big election themes here. are they going to be providing enough schools for the children? laura says it's not just about promising new homes but building whole communities. so i will be looking at it for who i vote for, to be part of their bigger plan. i mean, for me, brexit is not the biggest issue for me. i know it's the biggest issue for the parties, but it's not for me, personally. of the parties are making big headline grabbing promises on housing in this election, and it is an issue that really matters to voters here in cheltenham where the conservatives one last time with a majority of 2500. among the many policies on offer, the lib dems, who hope to win

the sea, have pledged millions to insulated homes. the conservatives have pledged to build 1 million new properties in the next five years. and labour plan a major expansion of council housing. what we do is when we for the windows... josh is a builder, but needs a deposit of $22,000 to buy a home of his own. if i ever want to get anywhere, what am i paying now, and saving £22,500, it's impossible. is there any chance you could say that money? years, yea rs ? you could say that money? years, years? ten years? if all these new properties are going to be built across the country, where will they go and what will be the impact? i know it will be very different in the future. on the outskirts of cheltenham, helen has been

campaigning for years to protect this cotswold land from development. we have to think of the wider picture, the balance of the existing environment today, and what we need long—term is not just environment today, and what we need long—term is notjust profitability for the developer. this election could bring big changes the housing, our planning laws, how we use greenbelt and brownfield sites, how we vote could affect notjust how we live but where. jon kay, bbc news, cheltenham. you're watching bbc breakfast. still to come this morning: it took just 24 hours to organise the best day of her life — we'll hear how nhs staff helped arrange a wedding for a terminally ill woman. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. we will see you shortly. good morning, i'm sonja jessup. the parents of a south london teenager who vanished 31 years ago say they're hoping for answers as his case has been highlighted by a major fooball club. 15—year—old lee boxell was last seen

on his way to a sutton united match in 1988. italian giants roma have been sharing images of missing children, including lee, on their social media. five of them have even been found. i really think it's a good idea. if it's going to find lee, of course it's going to be absolutely wonderful, but if it finds anyone, any child, then it's lovely. if not, they want — we all want to know where he is, if he is not alive, we want to be able to bury him and to grieve and then carry on as normal as best we can. a man who falsely claimed he was squatting at grenfell tower and helped people escape from the burning building has been found guilty of fraud. alvin thompson cheated kensington and chelsea council out of almost £90,000.

he was put up in hotels for eight months, then provided with a flat, but cctv footage proved he'd been lying. the crown prosecution service said he "took advantage of a community tragedy." the last batch of tickets go on sale this lunchtime for london's new year's eve fireworks display. more than 100,000 people will gather on the banks of the thames to watch the celebrations. let's take a look at the travel situation now. it's all looking good on the tube so far, no reported problmes on any of those lines there. there are delays for south—eastern trains via new cross, it's because of a broken rail. there are some roadworks which will slow things down between lambeth bridge and parliament square with no access into great peter street. and this is how it looks on the a13, westbound traffic building as you head out of dagenham. time for the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello. good morning. things will feel very different weather—wise by the time

we get to tomorrow. but for today it's more of the same, there is more wet weather in the forecast and again it will feel reasonably mild for this time of year. now, it's a dry, early start, plenty of cloud out there, a few brighter spells. the cloud will thicken through the morning. temperatures of the north—east of us and that's going to be pulling its way southwards as we head to the late morning and into the afternoon. perhaps some southern areas of the capital staying dry during daylight hours, most of the rain will tend to be quite light and patchy. top temperatures between 9—11 celsius, a slightly lighter breeze than we saw yesterday. now through this evening's rush hour, that rain piling down from the north, some of the quite heavy for the first part of the evening and then overnight tonight it will dry out and that cloud will start to break up, we've got some cold air coming down from the north. so, a bright enough start of the day for many northern home counties, temperatures here will be as low as 2—3 celsius, tomorrow, all change, it's dry, lots of sunshine and feeling colder.

i'm back in around half an hour. good morning. welcome to breakfast, with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. 0ur headlines today: exactly two weeks until polling day, labour sets out a new plan to target leave—voting constituencies. boris johnson's key advisor, dominic cummings, warns that the election is tighter than it looks, as he tells brexiteers not to be complacent. campaigners call for a 70p charge for supermarket bags for life, after a huge rise in the number

being taken home by shoppers. both english clubs missed the chance to qualify in the champions league last night. chelsea and liverpool needed wins, but could only manage draws. they will both have to wait until their next matches to try to get through to the last 16. a new look for the west coast main line service has been unveiled. first trenitalia, which takes over the franchise from virgin trains at the end of next week promises refurbished trains, reliable free wi—fi, and better catering. but will the trains be on time? i'll be finding out. there were tears on the dancefloor as social media star saffron barker left strictly at the weekend. she willjoin us on the sofa before 9:00am. and then whether, after yet more ran for many of you through today, there isa sign for many of you through today, there is a sign of something better on the horizon. something drier, something sunnier, but also colder. i will have the full details right here on brea kfast have the full details right here on breakfast —— then weather. it is thursday 28 november. our top story: with just two weeks to go to polling day, the bbc understands that labour has

agreed a new plan to try to close the gap on the conservatives. senior figures have privately admitted that the party is struggling to hold on to leave supporters in some areas. at the same time, borisjohnson's key advisor dominic cummings has insisted that the election is tighter than it looks, and has urged brexiteers not to be complacent. let's get the latest now from our political correspondent chris mason. chris, brexit is the focus for labour and the conservatives again. yes, good morning to you. that's exactly right. labour are taking a look at how things are looking with a fortnight ago, they have concluded that they had overestimated, from their perspective, the threat of the liberal democrats. perhaps remain support is drifting to the liberal democrats, but crucially, they think privately that they had underestimated the number of former labour voters in leave areas who voted for brexit who are willing to switch to the conservative party. so i think we can expect a big shift from them in the next couple of weeks, sending out seniorfigures from them in the next couple of weeks, sending out senior figures to leave areas with a strong heritage

of voting for labour saying you can back us, because yes, there will be another referendum, but there will bea another referendum, but there will be a leave option as well. critics say that amounts to remain versus remain in another referendum. clearly they have been hurt by that, and so that will be their focus. meanwhile, the conservatives are saying, ina meanwhile, the conservatives are saying, in a message also pitched at leave voters, the only option you have got to see brexit delivered is a vote for the conservatives. dominic cummings, the senior advisor, saying look, if people are tempted to vote for the brexit party, the risk, from his perspective, will be thatjeremy corbyn becomes prime minister and maybe brexit doesn't happen. so the volume ratcheting up. it seems incredible it could go higher, but it will, with two weeks to go. chris, i can see the rain is coming down. straight on your glasses, as well. it must be very heavy. we spoke to layla moran and mentioned

this pole from yougov that is gathering a lot of attention. and we made clear that these are of a certain group, they are predictions, it is not necessarily an indicator —— poll. but it matters. it is not necessarily an indicator -- poll. but it matters. yes, i am the wally with the brolly this morning. as you say, it is on my glasses. there is clearly a problem with this brolly. this is a big poll. why are we particular focusing on this? well, it has spoken to a lot of people, about 100,000 people, and crucially it has used a model that was used last time, in the last general election, about ten days out, and suggested then that there might bea out, and suggested then that there might be a hung parliament. and there was a hung parliament. now, just because they got it right last time doesn't mean that they will this time. it is a suggestion. it is not a prediction. it indicates something, it doesn't say or show something. but what does it imply? it implies that if the election was held now, the conservatives would win and they would win big. the suggestion is a majority of 68 seats, 68 seats more than all the

other parties put together. and it is broadly in line with something the bbc has been doing, which is a poll tracker. this is a representation of all of the poles that have been crunched through our a nalyst‘ that have been crunched through our analyst‘ brains, mighty brands they are as well —— polls. it suggests, as you can see, the conservatives opening up a significant lead over the last few months. so in that senseit the last few months. so in that sense it suggests that this poll that we are looking at this morning is on track with other polls. but polls can get it wrong. there is another poll out this morning, a smaller one, which suggest the lead for the conservatives is much narrower. but why these things matter is, whether they are right or wrong, they shape the tone of the campaign in the last few weeks, because all the parties look at them and react to them. chris, get a glasses cloth, get an umbrella without a hole in it, get dry and a hot cup of tea and we will see you soon. hot cup of tea and we will see you soon. thank you for taking us through that.

we will be asking the health secretary, matt hancock, about labour‘s claims about the nhs in just over an hour. environmental campaigners are calling for charges on supermarket bags for life to be raised to 70p. it comes as research shows use of the plastic bags has risen again this year to 1.5 billion. that is a total of 54 for every household in the uk per year. andy moore reports. it has been hailed as a huge success, the law requiring supermarkets to charge for every single—use plastic bag. but are we just swapping one bad habit for another? so the supermarkets want us to switch from these disposable bags, price 5p here, to these so—called bags for life, price 10p here. but the environmental groups say the price difference is just too small. they would like to see the charge for bags for life raised to at least 70p. sainsbury‘s recently doubled their charge for more durable bags from 10p to 20p, and got quite a lot of stick from some of their customers for that. bag for life is a good thing if it‘s

being used for life, as the name suggests. but our figures show that these are just being used for a week, if that, by a lot of customers. the low price means that there‘s not the incentive for people to reuse. and there‘s also issues with biodegradable plastics. they don‘t always break down in a natural environment, so they can cause just as much harm as a conventional plastic. environmental groups say bags for life are usually bigger and contain more plastic. it is part of the reason why overall plastic use in supermarkets is actually growing. but the supermarkets say they are aware of the problem, and are doing their best to tackle it. lidl, for example, is stopping selling bags for life in its welsh stores, and will do so in the rest of the uk if the experiment works. andy moore, bbc news.

let‘s take a look at today‘s papers. the times leads on new yougov analysis suggesting the conservative party is on course for a 68—seat majority at next month‘s election. the telegraph says borisjohnson‘s senior advisor dominic cummings believes a hung parliament is a very real possibility. he reportedly fears complacency could cost the conservatives a majority at the election. the mirror is leading on the conservative party document that labour says is the proof the nhs will play a part in future trade negotiations with the united states. the same story also leads the guardian. the paper notes borisjohnson vigorously denies the health service is up for sale. let‘s try to get to the bottom of some of those stories about the nhs now with the health secretary, matt hancock. thank you very much for your time this morning. the nhs up for sale. this is the claim from labour. they say they have got the evidence. no. the nhs will never be for sale, and not on my watch. i, like most people

in this country, love the nhs because it is always there for you when you need it. and it is therefore everybody. i think it‘s one of the great things about this country, and makes me very proud to be british. and in fact, this so—called reveal from the be british. and in fact, this so—called revealfrom the labour party, in fact, so—called revealfrom the labour party, infact, revealed so—called revealfrom the labour party, in fact, revealed exactly the opposite of what they were saying, because it showed... it confirmed what we had been saying all along, which is that the nhs is not for sale, and it won‘t be. but instead, we are putting a record amount of funding into the nhs. so let'sjust go back to the document for a second, before we talk about the money. where in the document does it say that the nhs is not for sale? because throughout the document it suggests the us wants total market access. that was one of the suggestions in the document. the document suggest the us wants to talk about patents and people will

be aware that prescriptions are more expensive, drugs are more expensive, in the us. those are in the document. in terms of market access, thatis document. in terms of market access, that is not to do with the nhs. and in fact, jeremy corbyn in the tv debate last week held up this document, redacted, and said it says market access for our nhs. that was not true, and it shows how desperate labourare, not true, and it shows how desperate labour are, frankly, to change the subject from the tax rises they want to put on people. but what is clear from the document is that the americans want to start all their trade talks with that principle, that you can talk about everything. and we are clear that there is an exemption to that, which is the nhs. and the americans accept that. and there are, in the 451 pages, the nhs is mentioned four times. and that shows that it isn‘t for sale. and we

are shows that it isn‘t for sale. and we a re clear shows that it isn‘t for sale. and we are clear in our manifesto, also, in terms of what we will do, and the approach we will take, that the nhs will not be on the table. and you mentioned the patents, the price that we pay for medicines won‘t be on the table. why were they having these discussions in the first place? why, over this huge period of time, great, lengthy discussions, why were they talking about it, and why were they talking about it, and why was the nhs mentioned at all? a lot of people will be confused that you are saying none of this is up for discussion, but they were talking about it. talks did take place over a long period of time, at great length. of course we are having preliminary discussions with the americans about trade. the accusation that was made byjeremy corbyn was that these documents somehow show that the nhs will be pa rt somehow show that the nhs will be part of these discussions. in fact, it was mentioned in the discussions because people... about the response

to the consultation, because it is not being on the table, and that people are concerned that it shouldn‘t be on the table, and i agree with that. for instance, if you read out in the first mention of the nhs, it says this is not an area where we are expecting us offensive... we are not expecting the americans to ask, and they know that, and the reason is because we are absolutely clear that the nhs will not be on the table. so there comes a point with some of these discussions... the document, when you read it, debunks the claim that labour have been making for some time that the nhs is for sale, and i as health secretary, and the prime minister also, have been absolutely crystal clear that it won‘t be on the table. so there comes a point, with all of these discussions, where ina way with all of these discussions, where in a way what you are saying is we have to trust you. we have to trust the prime minister and we have to trust you, matt hancock. so on that theme, and people refer back to

things that they have already seen you promised. iwant things that they have already seen you promised. i want you to clarify for me nurse recruitment. you have said, borisjohnson for me nurse recruitment. you have said, boris johnson has for me nurse recruitment. you have said, borisjohnson has said, there will be 50,000 more nurses. there will, yes. people will be aware by now those numbers have been unpicked, and 18,500 of those are existing nurses. so can you explain why that becomes 50,000 more?” existing nurses. so can you explain why that becomes 50,000 more? i will be absolutely crystal clear, yes. there are currently, according to the latest figures out last week, 280,599 registered nurses working in the nhs. and our commitment is to increase that number by 50,000 to 330,000, just over 330,000 nurses in the nhs. that is our commitment. 0ver the nhs. that is our commitment. over the last year, we have seen 5000 more nurses in the nhs, so we have seen an increase, which is great. part of the increase will

come from new training, new training places, more apprenticeships. i love nursing apprenticeship, because then people can earn and learn at the same time. some will come from international recruitment, and there is actually figures out this morning showing that international recruitment is rising as well. and some will come from measures to ensure that people who are already registered nurses either stay in the nhs or come back to the nhs. i'm sorry, people are going to be absolutely baffled by your maths. please, let me just set this out as it appears. it appears you are saying that you are going to have 50,000 more nurses, but 18,500 are already nurses. is that the case? we‘re going to increase the number nurses in the nhs by 50,000. we‘re going to increase the number nurses in the nhs by 50,000] really, can you try and answer that one question? so so in the 15,000 figure, their 18,500 who are

already, now, nurses —— 50,000 figure. how can they be 50,000 more? how can that number be part of the more? because if you want to increase workforce, you it by training, by recruitment, and by... the 18,500 are already in the system. i am so sorry, you have really got to let me answer the question, because it is crystal clear, and i have answered it several times already, if you just let me answer. we are going to increase training, we are going to have more recruitment, including from abroad, and we are going to have measures to improve retention. currently, each year, around 27,000 nurses leave the nhs. about half of those are because they have reached retirement age. about half are for what are called voluntary reasons, may be because they want to change career, may be because they want to start a family. by reducing the

number of people who leave, through volu nta ry number of people who leave, through voluntary reasons, you increase the number of nurses who are there. think about it this way. sorry, i have tried to hold off, so if you ta ke have tried to hold off, so if you take 50,000, which is your big number, and you take away the 18,500 who are already nurses, can you do the maths? how many do you have left that are more? know, that are new. so we‘re not saying 50,000 new nurses, we are seeing so we‘re not saying 50,000 new nurses, we are seeing 50,000 more nurses. it is really, really important, this. some of those will be new to the nhs. 0thers important, this. some of those will be new to the nhs. others will be measures to stop people from leaving who are currently in the nhs. and that, the commitment that we have made, and this comes to the trust point, the commitment that we have made is that there will be 50,000 more nurses in the nhs by the end of the parliament. and when you are increasing workforce, you do it by getting new people in and also by holding onto the people you have got. think about it this way. you are lying in a bed in a hospital,

andi are lying in a bed in a hospital, and i have been to endless hospitals over the last few weeks. i have been on 84 visits so far. i am going right around the country. and if you are lying in bed in hospital, what you care about is that there are enough nurses. matt hancock, one of the problems here is that people make what they will of your explanation of the numbers, but whatever the number is, people will say you are not going to do it anyway, because you have tried to do it before and you have fallen short at every point. so whichever way you look at this argument, if we are asked to trust you that you will do it now, you haven‘t done it before. what is it... nurse numbers have gone up by only 5000 since 2010. no, that‘s not true, nurses have gone up by 17,000. we are still 40,000 short. no, you have moved the

goalposts. 13,000 nurses short is where we are now. 0k. goalposts. 13,000 nurses short is where we are now. ok. if this is about our commitment to the nhs, let me explain the figures. in the last year, the number of nurses is 5000 more than it was just a year ago. and we are committing to 50,000 more over the next five years. so we need to increase the rate at which we are getting more nurses, yes, and we are putting the phone in place, committing to the funding to do it. but i suppose the big picture point is this. we‘re going to increase the funds in the nhs, a record increase, you can only do that with a strong economy. and we‘re going have those more nurses. and when it comes to trust and our commitment to deliver this, just look at what i‘ve done is

health secretary over the last year, where we‘ve seen health secretary over the last year, where we‘ve seen an health secretary over the last year, where we‘ve seen an increase by 5000 in the number of nurses. we are moving in the right direction, but we wa nt moving in the right direction, but we want to go further and we want to go faster. and so absolutely we got the record to show we can make this happen, and we absolutely will. matt hancock, you very much for your time this morning. just trying to do the maths was not just this morning. just trying to do the maths was notjust trying to do the maths. so many numbers there! well, this is thejob, this is what maths. so many numbers there! well, this is the job, this is what were doing, we‘re trying to cut through all the numbers and keep it as clear as possible we can for you. on friday 6 december, boris johnson and jeremy corbyn will go head to head in the bbc prime ministerial debate. if you have a question you‘d like to ask, visit the website, bbc.co.uk/pmdebate, for your chance tojoin the audience. that‘s the bbc prime ministerial debate, hosted by nick robinson on bbc one, friday 6 december from 8:30pm.

it's it‘s 7:18am. it's 7:18am. another number. it's a lwa ys it's 7:18am. another number. it's always numbers. here is matt with a look at this morning‘s weather. no numbers. no, really, please, digits, digits! oh, i have plenty of numbers for you. digits, digits! oh, i have plenty of numbers foryou. i digits, digits! oh, i have plenty of numbers for you. i want to start with some positive news for you, i don't know if you are fed up with the grey but things are said to turn drier but colder too. numbers will be filing as far as temperatures are concerned. the rain pushes out to the east, opening to arctic air, flooding all but the very south—west of the country as we go into the weekend. we still have to get rid of today's rain, and it will be around, what a heavy and persistent breeze, too. this is where it is at the moment. showers in northern

scotland, they will come and go through the day, turning increasingly wintry, and the risk of snow as we go throughout, so is in the english channel and south—west, too. sunshine developing more widely across northern ireland, and the very north of england towards the afternoon. still wet in parts of wales, the midlands and the south stop in the south—west, bit of sunshine, had north a bit of sunshine, had north a bit of sunshine, lots of sunshine later and it is going to feel colder, five, six, seven degrees. but feeling colder with a strong gale force wind in the east of scotland. those winds would be chasing away the rain, some lingering in the southernmost counties and channel islands. that will keep temperatures up here, but first in the north and countryside is going to tomorrow morning. 0ne first in the north and countryside is going to tomorrow morning. one or two showers, even a bit of snow as far south as the north york moors, there will be cloud lingering across

devon and cornwall in the channel islands but for many of you on friday it is going to be a lovely day. it will be cold, yes, but ple nty of day. it will be cold, yes, but plenty of sunshine around. the vast majority will be dry. what follows, though, will be an especially cold night, a widespread roster for the far south—west, temperatures could see as low as —6 or —7 in parts of northern england in southern scotland as we going to the start of saturday on the weekend. high pressure in charge, though, giving many faces dry. the one thing to watch will be this area of low pressure, it will be pushing close to devon, cornwall and the channel islands. heavy and persistent rain here, potentially. we will have two keep an eye out for potential flooding. it is the exception rather than the rule, most places will be dry and sunny on saturday, feeling cold, neither entirely, those numbers will stay on the lower side as we going to next week but it stays dry, too. thanks very much. yeah, we have a pile of rubbish

here, well, not rubbish, bags, plastic bags. so high is the mountain in front of us that naga has almost disappeared. we‘re talking about the efforts to reduce plastic waste. certainly are. -- we certainly are. there are 54 here. the average household buys 54 of these bags every year. campaigners say they‘re bad for the environment and are now calling for higher charges or a complete ban. we can talk now to fiona nicholls from greenpeace. good morning. this must be under the sink cupboard, it makes you feel guilty because every time you go to the supermarket you think why didn't ijust bring that one, even out of the car? but it is becoming something that perhaps a bit more relaxed about? i think so. so what we learned actually is in the last year these bags for life, so cold

bags for life are becoming more of a bags for life are becoming more of a bag for a week. we are going through 1.5 billion of them every year, up 30% from the year before. so it seems like the 5p bag charge may have moved the problem somewhere else. this isjust a symptom of a wider problem. so greenpeace and the environment to investigation agency have actually said we need to use these bags more heavily or reduce. despite the announcements we are hearing, it isjust not going down yet. the supermarkets have been onboard the project of trying to get rid of plastics, haven‘t they? that has been a success story to a large degree, hasn‘t it? younger customers are degree, hasn‘t it? younger customers a re really degree, hasn‘t it? younger customers are really put pressure on the supermarkets. so, why is this turning into a similar problem? yeah i think that‘s a really good question. so these bags, once they are in the environment, they are actually more persistent, they take up my actually more persistent, they take up my natural resources to make than

reusable bags, and there is a really evident solution just there. supermarkets need to be presenting that to their customers. and the charge we are calling for, really isn‘t so people spend more on these bags, it so that they don‘t want to buy them. i remember when you use to be able to go to a supermarket and there would be boxes at the end of there would be boxes at the end of the deal is stop and you could just use a box —— at the end of the tills. why do we not see that anymore? i think any single use option always takes natural resources away from the planet, it has to be a reusable solution here. soa has to be a reusable solution here. so a lot of people have... like the ones they use for teens or whatever, these to put them at the end. —— tins. i'm sure those are used somewhere at the moment. i'm just wondering if the supermarkets should be saying, almost as if there should

be saying, almost as if there should bea be saying, almost as if there should be a note in the door that you enter, have you remembered your bag for life? that enter, have you remembered your bag for life ? that is enter, have you remembered your bag for life? that is the easiest way for life? that is the easiest way for people to, rather than remember at the till. supermarkets need to make refillable packaging and bags pa rt make refillable packaging and bags part of their daily business. and reusable solutions for other food packaging, notjust bags to, lose fruit and veg, they need to be looking at this as a whole problem, and at the moment we are seeing piecemeal action thatjust isn‘t cutting it. i suspect quite a few people watching us this morning, seeing that and thinking i‘ve got one of those cupboards somewhere, or a place where end of stashing them, you kind of starts them away and maybe you unwittingly become part of the problem again? absolutely. and i think it‘s natural to feel that sort of level of guilt but i‘d urge people not to. retailers are putting these there is the solution to your problem, they are presenting the so—called bags for life as a solution and they are just not. as we learn, 1.5 billion of these go into the market every year. if you

do the thing where you do have it as a bag for life, as you discover one and genuinely try to use that one, thatis and genuinely try to use that one, that is good, right? potentially, but there is evidence to suggest these actually do wear away because of because they are delicate, actually. and there are much more robust options that could be part of the solution. like what? there is cotton, all sorts of materials that people could be using. the thing is, if you start charging, one of the suggestions as you charge 70p for a bag at the moment it is just over ten, right? where does the money go? that‘s the problem, isn‘t it? if the supermarkets are taking the money no—one wants to give them the money. it's no—one wants to give them the money. it‘s going to something environmental law to help save the planet, then that is slightly more palatable. like i say, this by judges more so that people don't wa nt judges more so that people don't want to do it, but with the 5p bag charge, the government recommends supermarkets but that the wars plastic pollution projects ——

towards. but the truth is we don't wa nt towards. but the truth is we don't want people buying plastic bags. evenif want people buying plastic bags. even if they are marketed as bags for life, they take natural resources to make, it'sjust not a viable long—term solution. resources to make, it'sjust not a viable long-term solution. will all of these bags fit into one bag so we can get them out? yes, they will. we will try and sort that out. thank you very much fiona nicholls, thank you. we have about 2—3 minutes to fold all these bags up. meanwhile, why don‘t you catch up with what is happening where you are? yourjob. three, two, one. good morning, i‘m sonja jessup. the parents of a south london teenager who vanished 31 years ago say they‘re hoping for answers as his case has been highlighted by a major fooball club. 15—year—old lee boxell was last seen on his way to a sutton united match in 1988. italian giants roma have been sharing images of missing children, including lee, on their social media. five of them have even been found. i really think it‘s a good idea.

and if it‘s going to find lee, of course it‘s going to be absolutely wonderful, but if it finds anyone, any child, then it‘s lovely. if not, they want — we all want to know where he is, if he's not alive, we want to be able to bury him and then to grieve and then to carry on as normal as best we can. a man who falsely claimed he was squatting at grenfell tower and helped people escape from the burning building has been found guilty of fraud. alvin thompson cheated kensington and chelsea council out of almost £90,000. he was put up in hotels for eight months then provided with a flat but cctv footage proved he‘d been lying. the crown prosecution service said he "took advantage of a community tragedy." the last batch of tickets go on sale this lunchtime for london‘s new year‘s eve fireworks display.

more than 100,000 people will gather on the banks of the thames to watch the celebrations. let‘s take a look at the travel situation now. no reported problems on the tubes. centrelink have a disruption via upfield. looking at the north circular, in neasden it‘s down to two lanes westbound at the junction with heather road. you can see they stretch back through staples corner. and delays between lambeth bridge and parliament square. time for the weather with elizabeth rizzini. hello. good morning. things will feel very different weather—wise by the time we get to tomorrow. but for today it‘s more of the same, there is more wet weather in the forecast and again it will feel reasonably mild for this time of year. now, it‘s a dry, early start, plenty of cloud out there, a few brighter spells. the cloud will thicken through the morning.

there is a weather frontjust on the north—east of us and that is going to be pulling its way southwards as we had through the late morning and into the afternoon, perhaps some southern areas of the capital staying dry during the daylight hours, most of the rain will tend to be quite light and patchy. top temperatures rose between 9— 11 celsius, a slightly lighter breeze than we saw yesterday. now through this evening‘s rush hour, that rain piling down from the north, some of the quite heavy for the first part of the evening and then overnight tonight it will dry out and that cloud will start to break up, we‘ve got some cold air coming down from the north. so, a bright enough start of the day for many northern home counties, temperatures here will be as low as 2—3 degrees celsius. tomorrow, all change, it‘s dry, lots of sunshine and feeling colder. i‘m back in around half—an—hour. hello. this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and naga munchetty. here is a summary of this

morning‘s main stories: the bbc understands that labour has agreed a new electoral campaign strategy in a bid to gain ground in the two weeks that remain before polling day. a major part of the plan is said to be a renewed effort to retain labour voters who support brexit. members of the shadow cabinet who back leave are likely to be given a higher profile than those who support remain, while there will also be an attempt to give a greater emphasis to issues other than brexit, such as the cost of living. meanwhile, boris johnson‘s most senior adviser, dominic cummings, has warned the election race is much tighter than the opinion polls are suggesting. mr cummings, who ran the vote leave campaign with mrjohnson before being brought into downing street, wrote in his blog that brexiteers risked handing victory to labour if they voted for nigel farage‘s brexit party in key marginals. in the last few minutes, matt hancock has stood by the party

pledged to have 50,000 more nurses working in the nhs. he tried to clear up confusion around the numbers by saying the figures would be boosted by retaining existing staff. so we‘re not saying 50,000 new nurses, we‘re saying 50,000 more nurses. it‘s really, really important, this. some of those will be new to the nhs. others will be measures to stop people from leaving who are currently in the nhs. and that, the commitment that we‘ve made, and this comes to the trust point, the commitment that we have made is that there will be 50,000 more nurses in the nhs by the end of the parliament. environmental campaigners are calling for charges on what the supermarkets call bags for life to be raised to 70p. it comes as research shows use of the plastic bags has risen this year to 1.5 billion. that is a total of 54 for every household in the uk per year. greenpeace and campaigning charity the environmental investigation agency say rising sales of the bags mean they are being used

as a disposable option by many customers. president donald trump has approved a new law backing protesters in hong kong, despite angry objections from beijing. the legislation requires the state department to certify that hong kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable us trading terms. china has warned it will take firm countermeasures. screenings of the film blue story will restart this weekend after it was banned by one of the uk‘s biggest cinema chains. vue stopped showing the film about london gangs after a number incidents at its cinemas, including a mass fight in birmingham. the chain says it has now improved security arrangements. frustrating is a word which i think is being used about the champions league matches last night. yes, good morning. both sides had the chance to qualify, all they had to do is win, and they didn‘t do it.

they didn‘t lose, though. to do is win, and they didn‘t do it. they didn't lose, though. and they still have another chance, both of them. but still frustrating they didn‘t get it done last night. it was a frustrating night for the english sides in the champions league. both liverpool and chelsea could have qualified for the last 16 of the competition last night, but both could only manage draws. they must now wait for the final round of group games if they are to make it through. joe wilson reports. two shocks at anfield — firstly that napoli‘s dries mertens was onside, and then that he scored. but those were the facts. jurgen klopp erupted so often, the liverpool manager was booked before half—time. 65 minutes, and tensions still rising, when lovren leapt and anfield breathed relief. but 1—1 means liverpool still need something from their final group game. similar story for chelsea. in valencia, they are still wondering how maxi gomez missed — not just the chance but the actual ball, completely. yes, that. but opportunities were ceaseless, from the spanish side taking

the lead, to chelsea equalising108 seconds later. mateo kovacic, well—timed. christian pulisic finished this. var looked at it, var liked it. valencia didn‘t. now, the game seemed won for chelsea. but, hang on, what was that? well, daniel wass. the 2—2 draw is ok for chelsea, especially because valencia should have won. remember, it started with a miss. it came to an end like this. joe wilson, bbc news. now, manchester united play tonight in the europa league. as we heard yesterday, 19—year—old defender max taylor is in the the squad to face astana. taylor was diagnosed with testicular cancer this time last year, and he has been talking to the bbc about his experience. there was a 30 mm cancer. my mum broke down straightaway, and i was sort of, like,

so taken back by it, i didn‘t cry. and then i got out and it was like, oh, my god. just my mind wasjust running, 100 mph, just what could happen, what‘s next. will i play football again? will i be alive? once i got out of the chemo, and it was all successful, i thought, right, i will get back there. under—pressure england captain joe root says he knows his batting form will improve. root has been criticised after england‘s defeat by new zealand in the opening match of their two—test series. he made just two and 11, and has dropped out of the top ten test batting rankings for the first time in five years. the second test begins tonight. i feel like a big score‘s just around the corner. and you know, in a way, you look back at the last game, i played two dreadful shots to get out. and sometimes that‘s a lot easier to deal with, because they‘re your mistakes.

you know, you‘re not feeling like there‘s a technical default or really glaring holes in your game. so, you know, i‘m quite confident. i know that i‘ve performed over time in this team, and what i‘m capable of doing. the second test begins tonight. what is the saying, class is permanent, form is temporary? that is a good saying, who are you referring to, joe? it is always a criticism that when an england batsmen becomes captain, that their batting form does tend to fade away, because they got so many other responsibilities. and that might be what has happened here. however, yes, he has said he has the confidence that he will regain his form. we will find out, won‘t we? the second test begins tonight. what else can you say, though? and you have to have that

confidence, especially as captain. a new look for the west coast main line service has been unveiled. first trenitalia, which takes over the franchise from virgin trains at the end of next week, promises refurbished trains. but will they be on time? 0ur reporter danni hewson is at crewe station for us. i suppose some of those remained to be seen. tell us more. yes, they do remain to be seen. and of course, eve ryo ne remain to be seen. and of course, everyone that is commuting in and out of this station here at crewe wa nt to out of this station here at crewe want to know two things. they want to know whether or not the trains will be on time and if this new service is going to cost them because they have been used to virginfor because they have been used to virgin for the last 22 years, and it‘s been really strange here today to see the trains coming in and out without that red branding on the side, because it has been stripped off ready for the new franchise. it was unveiled yesterday. it is going to be called avanti west coast. they

are promising greener, more co mforta ble are promising greener, more comfortable trains and more reliable as well. i think what we bring to the west coast is part of the west coast partnership which will eventually take hs to into its portfolio, and second thing for us is taking over this franchise, we can build on the top ten exceptional standards and bringing our stuff on it. so lots of promises being made, but of course, customers will have to wait and see if they can live up to wait and see if they can live up to the hype. let‘s have a chat with tony miles from modern —— modern railways magazines. firstly, people will be concerned this new franchise will be concerned this new franchise will end up costing them more, and will end up costing them more, and will it? initially fares won't

change because they take over the business as it is. but they have to make money for themselves and money to pay back to the government for the privilege of owning the franchise. they need to either sell more seeds or fares will have to change. so it will be turned up and use it, kind of thing. there will not be much change at first, because they are taking the trains, the train drivers and lots of the senior management, all of the senior management, all of the senior management, in fact. management, all of the senior management, infact. so management, all of the senior management, in fact. so will customers notice any difference on day one? on day one, virtually nothing because all the contracts just move over and carry on. they have said it has been a really well—run business, so a lot of compliments to the team of 22 years, but the change has started to come gradually with the interiors of the trains being refitted. they say the seeds will be more comfortable than any new seats for many years, and they will be changing the offer on they will be changing the offer on the trains, for catering and that kind of thing. so it is going to be gradual evolution over the next few years. there has been a lot of talk about seats, because of course we have had the trains on the east

coast mainline and a lot of complaints about those. the brand launch last night, an awful lot of discussion and graphics about the angle of the seeds and how comfortable passengers will be on their journey. comfortable passengers will be on theirjourney. we are obviously very excited now to see what seeds they have ordered and see them actually fitted into the trains. tell us about the new franchise. do they have operations elsewhere? so first group, which owns a lot of the franchise, has been running a lot of railways in the uk. trenitalia only own c2c in the uk at the moment, but they have won some more contracts outside italy and in other european countries recently, so both very experienced. and what about virgin. people have been used to seeing the virgin branding. 22 years, the longest running franchise. why are they not doing it anymore? during they not doing it anymore? during the bidding process there were some difficulties with the pension fund and they were asked to sign almost and they were asked to sign almost

an open cheque book for their support during the franchise. and virgin stagecoach weren't prepared to promise infinite amounts of money without certainty. they said we are not playing that game and the government said you are not in the bidding them. train was determined to be on time, wherever it was going. hs to please a big part in this bid. why? part of the franchise commitment as they will also work on delivering the services to h5 to, even working to specify the trains used on the route and then developing the timetable, so reducing some of the services on the conventional line as people are moved onto the new service, and making sure that the two services married together and provide a different type of experience on both. theirjob is to deliver that ready for the government, ready for the start. thank you very much indeed, tony. ten days‘ time is when the new franchise takes over but monday the ninth of december is really going to be the crucial point, and i guarantee passengers

and all of us will be watching to see if they are getting it right. thank you very much. we are spending a bit of time this morning celebrating author, writer and poet clive james, who died yesterday at the age of 80. he was a lwa ys yesterday at the age of 80. he was always happy to share the limelight, and viewers of his show in the 19905 will remember his ongoing friendship with a rather marvellou5 singer. and now, to end the show and probably my career, will you once put your seats in the upright position and your head between your knees for margarita. i've been cheated by year since i don't know when. # sol cheated by year since i don't know when. # so i made up my mind it must come to an end. # look at me now. i don't know how, but i suddenly lose

control. it's a fire within myself. just one look and i can hear a bell ring... it is an absolute joy, seeing that. we spoke to her earlier, and she did in fact do a little song for us. irrepressible i think is the word. in fact do a little song for us. irrepressible i think is the wordfi i5 irrepressible i think is the wordfi is just such irrepressible i think is the wordfi isjust such a irrepressible i think is the wordfi is just such a force, isn‘t she, of nature. she is in new york now and 5he nature. she is in new york now and she was paying tribute to clive jame5. she was paying tribute to clive james. i love clive james so much because he is very intelligent, and changed my life. he change the lives ofa changed my life. he change the lives of a lot of people, for good things. unbelievable. you can absolutely understand, one of the things about clive jame5, everyone is saying the same thing, he had this fantastic eclectic ta5te. he just embraced things. anything that is good. whether they are funny or interesting or whatever, and she is

absolutely one of those people. he saw her and got her on the show and things happen. we will continue paying tribute to him, talking to cathy let in about half—an—hour a5 well. let‘5 let‘s talk to matt about what is happening with this morning‘s weather. it is a throwback, isn‘t it, a blast from the past. let‘5 crack on with the forecast for the time being, 5hall let‘5 crack on with the forecast for the time being, shall we? actually have a bit of good news as far as the weather is concerned, especially if you have not enjoyed the rain or the cloud. things are going to turn much, drier, much, much muggy over the next couple of days forjust about everyone. there will be a price to pay, it will turn increasingly colder a5 price to pay, it will turn increasingly colder as well. the court areas courtesy of an area of low pressure which has been bringing the rain, gradually pushing off an opening the door to the winds coming down from the arctic, the blue colour5 there showing the of the cold air which would push all the

way to southern europe. we still have some rain to deal with today, so have some rain to deal with today, so it is not wholly dry picture yet. thi5 so it is not wholly dry picture yet. this is where the rain has been so far this morning, mo5t persistent acro55 pa rt5 of far this morning, mo5t persistent acro55 parts of northern england through the midlands. to the north of it we have 5un5hine through the midlands. to the north of it we have sunshine and showers in northern scotland. to the south of the cloud is a bit more 5un5hine to southern counties of england and southern wale5 to southern counties of england and southern wales with one or two 5howers. still thickening cloud, ta kes a 5howers. still thickening cloud, takes a bit of a way to clear from northern ireland, temperatures within that band 8— 11 degrees. that i5 within that band 8— 11 degrees. that is the sunshine comes out further north the cold air pushes its way m, north the cold air pushes its way in, 5- north the cold air pushes its way in, 5— seven celsius for many. that wind will gradually pu5h in, 5— seven celsius for many. that wind will gradually push the cloud in the rain southwards tonight, so by the end of the night it‘5 in the rain southwards tonight, so by the end of the night it‘s just as though a patch of cloud, pa55age5 all, keeping temperatures up here. but away from the city centres, certainly the suburbs and countryside, widespread frost to

ta ke countryside, widespread frost to take you into your friday morning journey to work and school. a cold start. they were anyone acro55 northern eastern coasts, a few showers wintry in nature as the north york moors. we will still see cloud linger through the channel islands, part5 cloud linger through the channel islands, pa rt5 of cloud linger through the channel islands, parts of devon and cornwall, elsewhere it is going to bea cornwall, elsewhere it is going to be a chilly day and forjust about all, a dry one and a fairly sunny one. with those clear skies in place, friday night into saturday morning, into the start of the weekend, widespread frost away from south—west england, we could see temperatures as low as —7 in one or two spots. high pressure in charge means mo5t two spots. high pressure in charge means most will be dry but keep an eye on what is happening towards the south—west. in the channel islands, south—west. in the channel islands, south—west england, this could bring some heavy rain throughout the day and some gusty wind5. the ground is saturated, that could lead to flooding. we could see 5now saturated, that could lead to flooding. we could see snow on the top5 flooding. we could see snow on the to p5 of flooding. we could see snow on the tops of the moors. a dry day on

saturday, temperatures around 3—4d in some parts of scotland. in the court of appeal will continue into sunday, frosty for many, staying cold into the start of next week. naga and charlie, i think the welcome news is we‘re going to have a longer, drier spell, so many places will enjoy a bit of sunshine, too. that is welcome news. thank you, matt. back to our top story now, and the bbc understands that with just two weeks until polling day, labour has agreed a new campaign strategy aimed at wooing leave voters. to find out how they aim to do that, we can speak to the party‘s barry gardiner. good morning. thank you very much for talking to us this morning. how are you going to woo these leave voters, then? you talk about a new strategy, it‘s new to me. i‘ve been speaking with this afternoon so i‘ll talk to him about it, but you tend to paint things in very stark colours. of course you‘re right, we

wa nt to colours. of course you‘re right, we want to woo notjust leave colours. of course you‘re right, we want to woo not just leave voters but all voters. if you look over the past two weeks, we‘ve been narrowing the polls, i would much rather we we re the polls, i would much rather we were ahead in the polls done behind but we are narrowing the gap. of course i hope this morning because my pole makes all the perspective conservative, conservative voters feel relaxed and that they don‘t need to go out in the cold and snow in december 12, and need to go out in the cold and snow in december12, and i hope need to go out in the cold and snow in december 12, and i hope it galvanises everybody who wants money for their schools, everyone that wa nts a for their schools, everyone that wants a decent health service in this country, everybody that wants to see a decent wage in their wage packet at the end of the week or month with a 5% rise for all public sector workers. they have it galvanises them to get out there, though labour on december 12. galvanises them to get out there, though labour on december12. that's the campaigning message through, i‘m pleased you had time to do that. let‘s drill down a bit. i‘m looking at the front page of the times. a yougov poll says the tories are

predicted to win 309 seats, giving them a question of 68, and your party would win 211, outs? —— ouch. hello? i heard a statement but not a question. i thought you were going to follow on. of course i want to be ahead in the polls. you're not even close to being level in the polls. you have some work to do as a party, don‘t you now? you have some work to do as a party, don't you now? very good. and you can be absolutely sure that every day, every hour from can be absolutely sure that every day, every hourfrom now can be absolutely sure that every day, every hour from now until december 12, labour campaigners will be out there, labour candidates will be out there, labour candidates will be getting our message across. we have closed the polls are substantially since the start of this campaign, i hope we will close them ultimately and take that lead on december 12. but that is ourjob,

thatis on december 12. but that is ourjob, that is what campaigning is all about. i love it, love getting out there on the doorsteps, speaking to constituents. i like getting out to all parts of the country and speaking to you on the media because we need to get this message across. five more years of a johnson lead right wing tory government will destroy the fabric of this country. that‘s what i believe and i think most people believe that as well. they don‘t trust him, they don‘t believe he tells the truth, and they don‘t want to see five more years of austerity. and yet that is what the institute of physical study says is baked in. barry, barry... barry gardiner, your message about boris johnson hasn‘t changed since before the election campaign began. and that message isn‘t working, 0k? the election campaign began. and that message isn‘t working, ok? so that‘s what this poll says. the extrapolation from that is the labour party and campaign messages have underestimated the strength of feeling for those who want to leave

the eu, perhaps? and you‘ve taken for granted the votes you may have had in labour heartlands, because this latest poll, and it is only one pole, is damaging to the labour party and says you basically don‘t have a chance in two weeks. look, let me be very specific. talked about the labour heartlands, we take no votes for granted in the labour party. you are talking about errors that have voted leave in the referendum campaign. if you want to leave the eu, if you want to do it, then do it in a way that does not destroy your own job. do then do it in a way that does not destroy your ownjob. do it in then do it in a way that does not destroy your own job. do it in a way that does not destroy our health service. do it in a way that labour will put forward that keeps us in the customs union, that make sure we have a just—in—time pie chain for manufacturing in this country —— supply chain, so we can keepjobs

going in yourjob going. if we can do that, we can leave the european union and you will have the final say on that. that‘s why we need to reunite the country, notjust to the extreme brexiteer on one side and extreme brexiteer on one side and extreme remainers on the other. do it in extreme remainers on the other. do itina extreme remainers on the other. do it in a way that doesn‘t destroy the economy and put that to you, the public. it‘s you that must make the final decision, not the politicians in westminster, you, the people. that‘s the only way of reconciling one half of the country with the other. that the division that exists currently in our country. what's changed in your message since you began the election campaign even before that is going to persuade voters in the next two weeks to go to the labour party? what i think one of the key things that has changed is the emergence of the 451 pages of the discussions that have taken place pages of the discussions that have ta ken place between pages of the discussions that have taken place between our government and the americans on our national health service. and i must say we

cannot... the government said was not happening, there was no discussion about drug prices, there was no discussion about access for american services into our energy as they said this just didn‘t exist. —— into our nhs. we said the documents, it is happening, the government lied about it and everybody who wants to defend and protect our national health service needs to recognise that the only way of doing that is to vote our labour on december 12. and we have had matt and —— hancock on who has denied those allegations as well. it's extraordinary when we have 451 pages of evidence which he and boris johnson said have 451 pages of evidence which he and borisjohnson said these discussions weren‘t taking place.

why did he redact them? you have an unredacted copy and it doesn‘t provide any evidence that the health service should be part of a trade deal with the us. service should be part of a trade dealwith the us. i'm sorry, it's very easy to simply say no, you don‘t need six separate meetings in order to say forget it. this isn‘t going to happen. if you‘ve got 451 pages which are saying yes, let‘s discuss this, let‘s discuss the way in which you could extend the life of drug patents so we in the national health service are paying american drug companies much more for the drugs we use, which is of course reducing our ability to do elective operations, to do primary ca re elective operations, to do primary care because we won‘t have the money to do all those other things, that‘s the way you destroy the health service to a trade deal. 0k. the way you destroy the health service to a trade deal. ok. this is something they have wanted to do for a long time and they‘ve been doing it, preparing it, and ifand a long time and they‘ve been doing it, preparing it, and if and when we do leave the union, if it is a

conservative government, that is what they will implement. barry gardiner, what is the mood within the labour party at the moment and your mood as well, actually as denmark looking over the last 36 hours, and! denmark looking over the last 36 hours, and i am alluding to the interviewjeremy corbyn had with andrew neil on the bbc, it could be quite fairly said, i think it has been a tricky 36 hours. do you think jeremy corbyn still looks potentially prime ministerial?” believe jeremy corbyn potentially prime ministerial?” believejeremy corbyn is the only leader who is able to reunite our country. we have a deeply divided country, not just country. we have a deeply divided country, notjust over brexit, every family is divided over brexit. every community is divided over brexit. but you think he looks like a prime minister in waiting? but they also divided over issues in the public service in the gap between the rich and the poor in our country has grown so and the poor in our country has grown so substantially. you‘re talking about 4 million of our children in poverty in the fifth richest country in the world. that‘s

what the tories have created. you didn‘t answer my question, barry gardiner. well, i'm trying to. i do believe jeremy corbyn gardiner. well, i'm trying to. i do believejeremy corbyn has the policies and he is the only person who is going to be able to reunite our country to make it a more equal and fairer place. barry gardiner from the labour party, thank you for talking to us this morning. my pleasure. on friday the 6th of december, boris johnson and jeremy corbyn will go head to head in the bbc prime ministerial debate. if you have a question you‘d like to ask, visit the website bbc.co.uk/pmdebate for your chance tojoin the audience. that‘s the bbc prime ministerial debate, hosted by nick robinson on bbc one, friday 6th december from 8:30pm. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. we will see you at 8am with the headlines. good morning, i‘m sonja jessup. the parents of a south london

teenager who vanished 31 years ago say they‘re hoping for answers as his case has been highlighted by a major fooball club. 15 year old lee boxell was last seen on his way to a sutton united match in 1988. italian giants roma have been sharing images of missing children, including lee, on their social media. five of them have even been found. i really think it‘s a good idea. and if it‘s going to find lee, of course it‘s going to be absolutely wonderful, but if it finds anyone, any child, then it‘s lovely. if not, they want — we all want to know where he is, if he's not alive, we want to be able to bury him and then to grieve and then to carry on as normal as best we can. a man who falsely claimed he was squatting at grenfell tower and helped people escape from the burning building has been found guilty of fraud. alvin thompson cheated kensington

and chelsea council out of almost £90,000. he was put up in hotels for eight months, then provided with a flat, but cctv footage proved he‘d been lying. the crown prosecution service said he "took advantage of a community tragedy." the last batch of tickets go on sale this lunchtime for london‘s new year‘s eve fireworks display. more than 100,000 people will gather on the banks of the thames to watch the celebrations. let‘s take a look at the travel situation now. there is no overground between stratford and camden road because a vehicle has hit a well ray —— railway bridge. southern and thameslink trains are disrupted via uckfield after a points failure. this is how the north circular looks in neasden — it‘s down to two lanes westbound at the junction with heather road,

delays back through staples corner. and there are works slowing things down on millbank, between lambeth bridge and parliament square. hello. good morning. things will feel very different weather—wise by the time we get to tomorrow. but for today, well, it‘s more of the same. there‘s more wet weather in the forecast and again it will feel reasonably mild for this time of year. now, it‘s a dry, early start, plenty of cloud out there, a few brighter spells. the cloud will thicken through the morning. there is a weather frontjust to the north—east of us and that‘s going to be pulling its way southwards as we head through the late morning and into the afternoon. perhaps some southern areas of the capital staying dry during the daylight hours, most of the rain will tend to be quite light and patchy. top temperatures between 9—11 celsius, a slightly lighter breeze than we saw yesterday. now through this evening‘s rush hour, that rain continuing to pile down from the north, some of the quite heavy perhaps for the first part of the evening and then overnight tonight it will dry out and that cloud will start to break up.

we‘ve got some colder air coming down from the north. so, a bright enough start to the day, i think, for many northern home counties, temperatures here will be as low as 2—3 celsius. tomorrow, all change — it‘s dry, lots of sunshine and feeling colder. i‘m back in around half an hour. tou can check out our website at the usual address. it‘s thursday the 28th of november. our top story. with just two weeks to go to polling day, the bbc understands that labour has agreed a new plan to try to close the gap on the conservatives. at the same time borisjohnson‘s key advisor dominic cummings has insisted that the election is "tighter than it looks", and has urged brexiteers not to be complacent. campaigners are calling for a 70 pints charge in bags for life in a huge rise in numbers taken home. both english clubs missed the chance to qualify in the champions league last night. chelsea and liverpool needed wins

but could only manage draws. they‘ll both have to wait until their next matches to try to get through to the last 16. he was one of the most famous faces on tv and after the death of clive james we hear from those who knew his best. there were tears at the dance floor as saffron left strictly come dancing at the weekend and she will talk to us later this week. there might be more rain in the forecast and a breeze but there are changes afoot. the sunshine is about to make its welcome appearance, but it will turn colder over the next few days. it‘s thursday the 28th of november. our top story. with just two weeks to go to polling day, the bbc understands that labour has agreed a new plan to try to close the gap on the conservatives. seniorfigures have privately admitted that the party is struggling to hold on to leave supporters in some areas. at the same time borisjohnson‘s key

advisor dominic cummings has insisted that the election is "tighter than it looks", and has urged brexiteers not to be complacent. let‘s get the latest now from our political correspondent chris mason. so take us through the thoughts, surprise surprise, brexit, front and centre for labour and conservative. yes they are wooing the brexiteers vote from labour in particular, but as you say, the shift in strategy from a couple of weeks out means that they are concerned that in areas where they have previously done well but where there is a big leave vote in 2016 that a lot of those voters who might have been loyal to labour for those voters who might have been loyal to labourfor a those voters who might have been loyal to labour for a long those voters who might have been loyal to labourfor a long time are switching to the conservatives so we can expect them to crank up their wooing voters like that in the next couple of weeks sending out seen labourfigures couple of weeks sending out seen labour figures who are supportive of a brexit deal, but a labour brexit deal, and want to see brexit delivered. you will remember the labour plan is to hold another referendum next year having renegotiated a brexit arrangement

they think will be better than the one. that boris johnson they think will be better than the one. that borisjohnson has got. they are saying to brexit voters, if you want it delivered you have to vote for boris johnson because you want it delivered you have to vote for borisjohnson because vote for anyone else would increase the likelihood thatjeremy corbyn becomes prime minister and may be brexit never happens. we treat with caution polls at this stage with just two weeks to go. talk is through —— talk us through some of the figures emerging. there is a poll that is generating a lot of attention today. why is it generating attention? it‘s a big poll of about 200,000 people who we re poll of about 200,000 people who were asked their view, but crucially it uses a model that crunches those numbers to try and work out who wins which seats in which parts of the country and also it was a model used about ten days out from the election that suggested there would be a hung

parliament and there was a hung parliament. just because it was right then doesn‘t mean it would be right then doesn‘t mean it would be right this time but it‘s interesting that it matches up with some of the poles. it suggests there could be a conservative majority of 68, 68 more seats than all of the other parties put together and it is broadly in line with something the bbc are doing, a poll tracker and we can show you it now. this shows how various polls imply and suggest that the parties have diverged on show since the summer that there has been an increase in the conservative lead that has held firm at around 11 percentage points, so that would employ that the conservatives are likely to win in a couple of weeks‘ time, but there are margins of error in the poll that means that the lead could be smaller or bigger than it looks and there‘s another poll this morning which suggests the conservative lead is considerably smaller than that. so, as you say,

we you treat these things in caution but they do shape the campaign and political parties look at them and mould their campaigning because of them. that is even if some of the numbers need to be treated with a pinch of salt. chris, thank you very much. one of the uk‘s biggest cinema chains plans to restart screenings of "blue story" this weekend after banning it from all of its uk sites. vue stopped showing the film, about london gangs, after a number incidents at its cinemas — including a mass fight in birmingham. environmental campaigners are calling for charges on supermarket "bags for life" to be raised to 70 pence. it comes as research shows use of the plastic bags has risen again this year to 1.5 billion — that‘s a total of 54 for every household in the uk per year. andy moore reports. it has been hailed as a huge success, the law requiring supermarkets to charge for every single—use plastic bag. but are we just swapping one bad habit for another?

so the supermarkets want us to switch from these disposable bags, price 5p here, to these so—called bags for life, price 10p here. but the environmental groups say the price difference is just too small. they would like to see the charge for bags for life raised to at least 70p. sainsbury‘s recently doubled their charge for more durable bags from 10p to 20p, and got quite a lot of stick from some of their customers for that. a bag for life is a good thing if it‘s being used for life, as the name suggests. but our figures show that these are just being used for a week, if that, by a lot of customers. the low price means that there‘s not the incentive for people to reuse. and there‘s also issues with biodegradable plastics. they don‘t always break down in the natural environment, so they can cause just as much harm as a conventional plastic. environmental groups say bags for life are usually bigger and contain more plastic. it is part of the reason why overall plastic use in supermarkets is actually growing. but the supermarkets say they are aware of the problem,

and are doing their best to tackle it. lidl, for example, is stopping selling bags for life in its welsh stores, and will do so in the rest of the uk if the experiment works. andy moore, bbc news. we‘re reflecting on the life of the much celebrated writer and broadcaster, clive james this morning. his death, at the age of 80, was announced yesterday. a lot of people sharing their reminiscences about him, the times they met a man the influence they had over the years. four years ago, i interviewed clive after he‘d published a new book of poetry. he‘d been diagnosed with leukaemia a few years earlier and spoke frankly about death. you will see from the images he was ma nifestly you will see from the images he was manifestly not well. he was still really frank and open. he was at a moment in time at that point and given that was four years ago, at that point he genuinely thought he was going to die soon and he was

being immensely reflective but also funny alongside it. he was talking a lot about his poetry, through which he told much of his life story over the years and during the course of the years and during the course of the interview i read some of his poetry to him. take a look. there is another poem i would like to read a passage from for you. this is spring snow dancer. "my granddaughter, as quick as i could glance, did ballet steps across the kitchen floor. and this time i was breathless at the chance by which i‘d lived to see our dear lamb dance, though soon i will no see her anymore." you do read well. and i‘m particularly pleased with the poems that have my granddaughter in them. she‘s at the centre of all our lives and i love writing about her. she‘s only ten but she‘s a ball of energy and dancing and singing. and i havejust loved it when she‘s turned up in my poems. i don‘t know when she will, she comes and goes like tinkerbell —

and that‘s a quality i try to get when i write about her. thank you for reading that out. there was a moment, you were sitting and you watched something unfold and you are thinking ‘how many more times will i have this chance?". i was thinking that, and i was also thinking i could have been long ago a better family man than i was. i‘m better now. people will tell from the way you talk, even about those hardest things, that the funny, the clive james funny has not gone away. i‘ve always thought humour was a means of information anyway. i don‘t likejokesjust for their own sake. i like thejokes that convey a truth. japanese maple. your death near now is of an easy sort. so slow a fading out brings no real pain. breath growing short is just uncomfortable. you feel the drain of energy,

but thought and sight remain. i‘m curious to know, what are those highs and lows right now? well, my thing has always been to enjoy everything, that‘s my schtick. you know? i enjoy pop songs, jazz, classical music, literature, bad books, good books. i mean, i‘ve still got that. and i still get a big bang out of watching game of thrones, but i get my biggest kick out of writing something. when people are facing serious illness their thoughts can often serious illness their thoughts can ofte n m ove serious illness their thoughts can often move to the bigger questions. there are no bigger question is, life itself is the mystery and everything that happens within life is the real subject, and i think there is nothing beyond that. i don‘t think that will condemn me to hell. there is no hell and no heaven

either. it‘s all here. really interesting hearing that interview back. the author kathy lette was a friend of clive james. shejoins us from our london newsroom. he had that ability, and i know you knew him for a long time, to say really important things at the same time as doing it with a twinkle in his eye and there was something knowing about him. yes, he was such a wordsmith and i would describe it of having a black belt in tongue fu. i‘ve known him since i was 19 and if you went to a dinner party with barry humphries and clive james it was like the wimbledon of wit with ba nter was like the wimbledon of wit with banter lobbying back in for —— and forward. you can imagine when he arrived in the 605 that tidal wave of australian talent that came, barry humphries, jermaine greer, clive james and bob hughes, bruce

be resfo rd , clive james and bob hughes, bruce beresford, they shocked the pin sprite under panted upper—class in such a way because they had this combination of erudition but also an irony and humourand combination of erudition but also an irony and humour and that was just such a surprise and a refreshing ta ke such a surprise and a refreshing take on life. he said over and over again and it so manifest in the work he has done that he just loved staff. he didn‘t mind if it was lowbrow or highbrow, whatever it was he embraced it and enjoyed it. he could dive in the deep end and was very intellectual but he could also paddle in the shallows. he was the first person to do a television show about television and to actually criticise it from a purely artistic point of view and that was ground—breaking. he wrote 49 books, so ground—breaking. he wrote 49 books, so clearly an under achiever, but his mix of talent was the fact he was an optimist and didn‘t think optimism was an eye disease but also

very sceptical and had chronic scepticism where he was sceptical about everything but he didn‘t suffer from about everything but he didn‘t sufferfrom an about everything but he didn‘t suffer from an irony deficiency and he also had a sense of humour, and that big mix of talent was irresistible. he was a polymath and he was good at absolutely everything. it got a bit embarrassed and you interviewed him a couple of yea rs and you interviewed him a couple of years ago as he announced to his friends in 2011 that he had leukaemia and his death was imminent. luckily we had him for another eight years but he got a bit embarrassed about it and started writing a column called reports of my death, the mark twain quote, and it sounds irreverent but it‘s very australian humour and barry humphries was at my place and we are making upa humphries was at my place and we are making up a poem about clyde, is a good old clive, he still alive, we know he‘s dead when he stops telling us about the books you read. when he told in that, he said thanks, we will die laughing. it was sending himself up in the most

self—deprecating way. himself up in the most self-deprecating way. depending how old you are there are different bits of his career that people will know. some will know him from his writing, his books, maybe early on and then people who remember the tv series and when he travelled and that i on the world and there was nothing cruel about it. it was just observational. yes. and he is a brilliantly comic writer. if you have not read the memoirs, you have to be hospitalised from hilarity when he read that. what i also love about clive james is that he invented himself and it came from such inauspicious beginnings. his father was taken prisoner of war by the japanese and can you believe the horrible irony that when he survived the war and his plane crashed on the way back to sydney, so he did not really know his father. he was raised by a single mother in a little suburban area of sydney in post—war sydney which was very

repressive and the page, and then he made himself up and ended up there and was a buried treasure and then was a national treasure in britain and australia. i was going to ask you that. he was embraced here absolutely, everything he did and he had so much attention. was it the same in australia ? had so much attention. was it the same in australia? how is he seen there? the same. he and barry humphries really articulated our culture for us because before that we we re very culture for us because before that we were very british and he helped us work out our own identity, who we really are and we owe him a great favour and australia is in deep mourning to have lost this scintillating son. we were talking earlier and we were talking to margarita who actually gave us a little blast without her keyboard, but ina little blast without her keyboard, but in a way her appearance on his shows, it kind of epitomised everything about him. you just saw

that and thought, yes, bring that on and it will make people smile. he had that ability. that's right and it was so irreverent, that was his greatest quality, his mischief, his maverick mischief and irreverence and the fact he could take someone who was quite a quirky, idiosyncrasy personality and maybe not the most major talent in the world and give her a platform and because it was funny. and that‘s when by the australians will get together and have a memorialfor him, and we will read out our favourite poems and quotes on things and there is just so quotes on things and there is just so much to choose from and you‘ve read out one of his poignant poems, but i‘m going to do something funny. i loved his comment about arnold schwarzenegger. he said he looked like a brown condom full of walnuts. it's like a brown condom full of walnuts. it‘s just a perfect description, isn‘t it? we will be having a good laugh because all the aussies in london get together. he was pretty much the head honcho.” london get together. he was pretty much the head honcho. i kind of think in many ways that is the perfect way to leave it, with that

description in our heads. he would like that, i think. lovely to talk to us this morning. great thing about cathy if she is so descriptive. what a compliment to be called a black belt in tongue fu. fabulous. yes. it is nice hearing. the clive james thing is a celebration. celebrating a brilliant, brilliant man who gave us a lot of joy. brilliant, brilliant man who gave us a lot ofjoy. don‘t you think, matt, laugh out loud is —— loud moments when we watch clive james when we we re when we watch clive james when we were younger. yes i‘m a first person to put obscure acts on tv as well but he broughtjoy to obscure acts on tv as well but he brought joy to us obscure acts on tv as well but he broughtjoy to us in the evening. obscure acts on tv as well but he brought joy to us in the evening. -- he was the first person. let‘s see ifi he was the first person. let‘s see if i can bring some weatherjoy. rather grey and wet oblate but things will change for many you over the next few days and we will see a lot more sunshine around and there will be few exceptions and i will come to those, but it‘s going to turn much colder so there will be a

price to pay. the low pressure has brought the rain events here and it opens the door to the arctic air and pushing all the way down into central europe. that is on the way but we need to get rid of today first because there‘s more rain to come across many parts of the country and quite breezy out there with gale force winds to go with the showers and you can see the more persistent rain, parts of northern england through the midlands and east anglia and either side of that, south west scotland some sunshine toward southern counties and one or two showers here and there but the zone of thick cloud and outbreaks of rain will shift south through the day and eventually brightening up in northern ireland, much of scotland and the far north of england but staying went through parts of wales and east anglia and the south—east and east anglia and the south—east and some southern counties stay dry with sunny spells, maybe 11 or 12 degrees but with skies and temperatures down into single figures by this stage and it‘s feeling colder from the strength of the wind in the north—east and that

will remain a feature through the night as the far north and eastern scotla nd night as the far north and eastern scotland and eastern counties of england, view showers and they could turn shari across the moors. cloud and patchy rain lingering in southern counties and temperatures hold up but from mid wales in the midlands northwards, widespread frost tomorrow morning but more sunshine around and wintry showers dotted around. sticking with some cloud and patchy drizzle in parts of the channel islands, devon and cornwall but for most of you friday is going to be a dry day, a sunny day, but it will be a chilly one with temperatures in single figures for the vast majority. clear skies into friday night and a more widespread frost expected to take us to the weekend and it could get as low as —7 to start saturday morning, so low as —7 to start saturday morning, soa low as —7 to start saturday morning, so a pretty chilly start and it will be mostly dry and sunny with high pressure in charge but you just have to keep our eye on the south—west is thatis to keep our eye on the south—west is that is set to bring outbreaks of rain to parts of devon, cornwall, the channel islands and keep an eye

on the forecast just the channel islands and keep an eye on the forecastjust in case it nudges north and with a cold and strong easterly wind pushing and we could see sleet and wet snow on the tops of the moors. away from that and a few isolated showers in scotland, mostly sunny start to the day on saturday and a chilly one again. another cold and frosty night to ta ke again. another cold and frosty night to take this into sunday, a selection of temperatures and a little bit of rain at times in the far north of scotland where it‘s been a dry autumn so far and elsewhere are a welcome break from the rain with many places dry with some sunny the rain with many places dry with some sunny spells. good news eventually. we‘ve only been waiting like ten years. as the general election countdown continues, here on breakfast we‘ve been looking in to some of the issues that matter to you. today it‘s the turn of housing. jon kay has been exploring how it could be a deciding factor in the marginal seat of cheltenham, in gloucestershire. cheltenham: an elegant regency spa town famed

for its crescents and colonnades. but take a short drive from the centre and you‘ll soon find the same housing issues as anywhere else. the cornerstone centre, here in the suburb of whaddon, many parents talk of high rents, cold homes and long waiting lists. bailiffs were going to to come to my door and... kelly tells me she and her kids were kicked out of three places by private landlords before they finally got a council flat. so how stressful is that for you as a...? yeah, really stressful, because we didn‘t know whether or not we was going to get a council property. do you imagine yourself ever being able to buy somewhere of your own? not at the moment, no, no. it‘s just too expensive. maybe if i won the lottery! rent caps, tenant‘s rights, overcrowding, affordability, all big election themes here.

are they going to be providing enough schools for the children? laura says it‘s notjust about promising new homes, but building whole communities. so i will be looking at it for who i vote for, i want it to be kind of part of their bigger plan. i mean, for me, brexit is not the biggest issue, for me. i know it's the biggest issue for the parties, but it's not for me, personally. all the parties are making big headline—grabbing promises on housing at this election, and it‘s an issue that really matters to voters here in cheltenham, where the conservatives won last time with a majority of 2,500. among the many policies on offer, the lib dems, who hope to win the seat, have pledged millions to insulate homes. the conservatives have promised to build 1 million new properties in the next five years. and labour plan a major expansion of council housing. what we do is when we

fit the windows... josh is a builder, but needs a deposit of £22,000 to buy a home of his own. if i‘m ever going to get anywhere, with i‘m what i‘m paying now, and trying to save £22,500, it takes — it‘s impossible. is there any chance you could save that much? i mean, how long do you think it would take? years, years? ten years? so there'd be 4,000 homes... if all these new properties are going to be built across the country, where will they go and what will be the impact? i know it will be very different in the future. 0n the outskirts of cheltenham, helen‘s been campaigning for years to protect this cotswold land from development. we have to think of the wider picture, the balance of the existing environment today, and what we need long—term. it's not just profitability for the developer. this election could bring big changes the housing, our planning laws, how we use greenbelt and brownfield sites. how we vote could affect notjust

how we live, but where. jon kay, bbc news, cheltenham. earlier on the show we heard that the average household now 54 bags for life every year, and campaigners are now calling for higher charges or a complete ban. kind of counterintuitive seeing as they‘re supposed to be environmentally friendly, but the problem is that they are worse than the stand—alone plastic bags. there has been a successful campaign and a lot fewer of the bags are being used and lots of people getting in touch. everyone has to go shopping and put it in something. sue emailed to say "it‘s simple if you shop with a car — keep boxes or bags in your boot. in the store, just load into your trolley and bag up the groceries in the boot." so you keep the bags in the boot, you take the trolley out with the

stuff and you just take the trolley outfall with no bags and make you get to the car you put it in the car. ido get to the car you put it in the car. i do it at the till. that is just her technique. actually that would work for liam, our producer, editor today because he moans about forgetting the bags are not being able to go back to the car. he moans about a lot of things. but he moans about a lot of things. but he moans about that and he says he‘s got kids and he doesn‘t want to go back to the car, but if liam is actually listening to us for once, he can put all his shopping in the trolley and ta ke all his shopping in the trolley and take it to the boot, so thanks, sue, you‘ve helped liam. maybe he could listen to margaret. maragaret is in portishead and she asks why not do as the americans do? "heavy duty brown paper bags with handles. no need for plastic bags. there is a limit to the waiter may need to be strong. nigel reminds us "during the sixties and seventies, when supermarkets were a new thing, they usually had, near the checkout, a large selection of boxes — restoring this system would be a simple, cost—free

solution to the bag crisis. so yes, thank you for your thoughts. let‘s find out what‘s happening where you are. it's it‘s been a very wet 24 hours for many of us. there‘s more rain in the forecast through today but the rain is going to gradually move southward across england and wales and as it does so it will start to turn colder from the north. rain is linked in to this weather system moving southward. this low pressure continues to move towards scandinavia but it allows an author wind to come in behind this weather front so cold air is starting to filter across scotland and northern parts of england. we still have that winning the forecast through today which is going to push southward

wales, the midlands, perhaps staying largely dry with one or two showers with largely brighter skies. a difference in temperatures. eight to 10 celsius to the south of the rain and to the north it will turn chillier, five, six, maybe 7 degrees. through this evening and tonight the rain will continue to spread further southward and you notice the skies clearing across many parts of the uk and that means it‘s going to be a colder night compared to recent nights so there will be frost in cumbria and parts of scotla nd will be frost in cumbria and parts of scotland so a chilly start for many of us into friday morning. a bit more cloud and outbreaks of rain in the far south—west on friday but elsewhere lots of sunshine expected with a bit of cloud and you could catch the odd shower but a noticeable drop in temperatures are pretty much all of us with temperatures five to 8 degrees. into the weekend we have this northerly

wind and this high pressure dominating and with this low pressure moving across southern areas are south—west could be quite cloudy with outbreaks of rain. elsewhere on saturday more sunshine expected throughout the day and it will be a cold start with some frost and temperatures getting five to eight celsius so a noticeable drop in temperatures towards the end of the week.

this is worklife from bbc news, with sally bundock and karin giannone. crypto crime wave. theft and fraud losses from digital currencies are soaring — as the market continues to boom. live from london, that‘s our top story on thursday 28th november. the european central bank is looking at its own cryptocurrency and china is launching another crackdown, so can regulators really control them and what difference would it make? also in the programme: social media showdown —