�*them right now. it would take for them right now. it would take something — for them right now. it would take something really— for them right now. it would take something really substantial- for them right now. it would take something really substantial to l for them right now. it would take . something really substantial to turn this around, — something really substantial to turn this around, as _ something really substantial to turn this around, as it _ something really substantial to turn this around, as it has— something really substantial to turn this around, as it has taken - this around, as it has taken something _ this around, as it has taken something really— this around, as it has takenl something really substantial this around, as it has taken - something really substantial for it to get— something really substantial for it to get this — something really substantial for it to get this bad~ _ something really substantial for it to get this bad. if— something really substantial for it to get this bad.— something really substantial for it to get this bad. if we have learned an hinu to get this bad. if we have learned anything in — to get this bad. if we have learned anything in the — to get this bad. if we have learned anything in the last _ to get this bad. if we have learned anything in the last few _ to get this bad. if we have learned anything in the last few years - to get this bad. if we have learned anything in the last few years it i to get this bad. if we have learned anything in the last few years it is | anything in the last few years it is that anything could happen in british politics. iain duncan smith, do you believe this vote must go to the conservative party members? i want my party to settle down, i want my party to recognise that staring over the brink of a precipice they have to make a decision whether they want to step back. i believe in the democracy process so if there are two candidates it must go to the electorate, but it may be possible there are not so we will deal with that as it comes. the party should understand you have now got to start telling a story about how difficult things are going to be, what the problems are and what we will do, and dancing round that will not square it. and dancing round that will not sauare it. ., ~ i. and dancing round that will not

sauare it. ., ~' ,, . and dancing round that will not sauare it. ., ~ ., and dancing round that will not suare it. ., ~ ., . and dancing round that will not sauareit. ., ., . ., square it. thank you all so much for “oininu us square it. thank you all so much for joining us this _ square it. thank you all so much for joining us this morning. _ square it. thank you all so much for joining us this morning. thank - square it. thank you all so much for joining us this morning. thank you i joining us this morning. thank you to our guests. a professor, a sir and lord, it almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. this morning we set ourself the question, can any of the candidates get a grip of this competition and the country? we've heard about very damning polling numbers for the conservatives whoever wins. we've heard from the former bank of england governor, who managed the last economic crisis about the perils that lie ahead. and the need four truths from politicians. and we've heard from an ever—more confident sounding keir starmer too. but he cannot force the election he craves. no politician has an easy answer to what's happening to the economy. so kier starmer and the rest of us watch on again while the conservative party decides in the next few days who should lead our

country. you can catch up on anything you missed on iplayer as ever, and i'll see you this time next week, when there'll be a new prime minister — maybe they will even be here! who knows? it's not long till the lectern will be out in downing street again. whoever is at it, it will be the fifth entrance to number ten since 2010. and they face a hell of a job, after a hell of a 12 years. goodbye. her majesty the queen has asked me to form a new government and i have accepted. but i do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination. her majesty the queen has asked me to form a new government and i accepted. i will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold. the doubters, the doomsters,

the gloomsters, they are going to get it wrong again. my friends, in politics, no one is remotely indispensable. i have a bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform. i will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen. thank you. this is bbc news, broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm lukwesa burak. our top stories... rishi sunak and borisjohnson hold talks in the race to be conservative leader and british prime minister. only penny mordaunt has formally declared she is running for leader —

with 23 backers. she told the bbc she believes in cabinet—led politics. i have my views. i will not be imposing policy that i have just made up in a room, by myself. de labor leader keir starmer says that labour has not got complacent and has made repeated calls for a general election. the public need to decide. are they going to continue with this utter chaos? in other news — xijinping has a third term as china's leader, after being in powerfor a decade already. ukraine's president zelensky says renewed russian strikes won't stop a ukrainian military advance — after attacks that targeted ukraine's energy grid. hello and welcome to bbc news.

it's little more than 2a hours until nominations for the conservative leadership close and we're still not entirely sure who the candidates will be — less still the likely winner. the former prime minister borisjohnson and rishi sunak, who was previously chancellor, have held talks. but it's unclear if they can strike a deal to lay the foundations for a unified conservative government. neither have publicly declared they are entering the race — but the bbc�*s tally indicates that mr sunak has already received the backing of at least 129 mp5. that's significantly more than the 100 needed to enter the ballot. borisjohnson has 55 and penny mordaunt, the only declared candidate, has 23. let's just remind ourselves of the process to choose

a new conservative leader, and british prime minister. as we said, we may find out who's replacing liz truss as early as monday. conservative mps have until then to nominate their preferred candidate. each candidate needs at least 100 nominations — if only one of them achieves that, they'll be declared prime minister on monday afternoon at 2pm. if there are three candidates with 100 nominations, there'll be an mps' vote to narrow the choice to two. mps will then hold an indicative vote on the two finalists, before the choice is handed to the conservative membership across the country, who will vote online. if that happens, the new party leader and prime minister will be declared on friday. with me is our political

correspondentjonathan blake. the correspondent jonathan blake. turnaround the correspondentjonathan blake. turnaround on this quick. the turnaround on this is pretty quick. we have had a couple of big voices speaking this morning, what has been said? tote voices speaking this morning, what has been said?— voices speaking this morning, what has been said? ~ . ., ., has been said? we have learned about the state of this _ has been said? we have learned about the state of this strange _ the state of this strange conservative leadership party race already on sunday morning. a key voice on the right of the party has given backing to rishi sunak, frontrunner among mps at the moment. one of borisjohnson's most significant supporters has suggested it is almost certain that he is going to stand and penny mordaunt, the only candidate to declare so far has come under sustained questioning here on the bbc, but giving away a little about her plans. let's take them one by one. we heard from jacob rees—mogg, the business secretary, one of the first high—profile party figures to endorse borisjohnson when the talk inevitably started about him making a possible comeback, after liz truss resigned. he tweeted that it was boris or bust

which has raised some eyebrows and a party about the state of things if it doesn't end up being boris johnson but he has been speaking to laura kuenssberg on the bbc this morning and suggested it was now only a matter of time before the former prime minister declared that he did indeed want to take up the keys to number ten again. yes. he did indeed want to take up the keys to number ten again.- keys to number ten again. yes, i have been — keys to number ten again. yes, i have been speaking _ keys to number ten again. yes, i have been speaking to _ keys to number ten again. yes, i have been speaking to boris - keys to number ten again. yes, i - have been speaking to boris johnson, have been speaking to borisjohnson, and clearly— have been speaking to borisjohnson, and clearly is going to stand. there is a great _ and clearly is going to stand. there is a great deal of support for him as you _ is a great deal of support for him as you witi— is a great deal of support for him as you will have seen. system is that the — as you will have seen. system is that the proposer and seconder's names— that the proposer and seconder's names are — that the proposer and seconder's names are made public and other people _ names are made public and other people have a choice as to whether to make _ people have a choice as to whether to make their names public or not but the _ to make their names public or not but the people doing the numbers for boris' _ but the people doing the numbers for boris' campaign tell me that they have the — boris' campaign tell me that they have the numbers, so the 100 that is necessary. _ have the numbers, so the 100 that is necessary, numbers appropriate to that _ necessary, numbers appropriate to that. �* ., , necessary, numbers appropriate to that. �*, necessary, numbers appropriate to that. , necessary, numbers appropriate to that. fl. , that. boris johnson's supporters say that. boris johnson's supporters say that he has the _ that. boris johnson's supporters say that he has the necessary _ that. boris johnson's supporters say that he has the necessary support, | that he has the necessary support, the bar has been set very high in the bar has been set very high in the contest, each candidate needs 100 mp5 to back them going into any

first ballot, almost one third of the conservative parliamentary party. rishi sunak is 129 who said they would publicly support him, borisjohnson only 55 coming out in public to back him at this point. its campaign say that they have the necessary level of support, but where are the other 45 or so, are they not, just being shy, before they not, just being shy, before they come out with a list or send us they come out with a list or send us the list, it is clearly not openly clear, that borisjohnson does have the necessary support. as i say, we have heard from penny mordaunt, the first to officially throw her hat into the ring, and she doesn't have anything like the number of mps backing her publicly yet, that you would need. she insists that she is in it to win it, and has dismissed as completely untrue suggesting she has done a deal with borisjohnson to drop out in favour of him. i to drop out in favour of him. i believe in evidence—based believe in evidence— based policy— making. believe in evidence—based policy—making. i also believe in cabinet — policy—making. i also believe in cabinet collective responsibility.

one cabinet collective responsibility. 0ne of— cabinet collective responsibility. one of the differences that you will see if— one of the differences that you will see if i_ one of the differences that you will see if i am — one of the differences that you will see if i am prime minister is, that is how— see if i am prime minister is, that is how i_ see if i am prime minister is, that is how i witi— see if i am prime minister is, that is how i will take decisions. i will not be _ is how i will take decisions. i will not be imposing, i have my views, i will not _ not be imposing, i have my views, i will not be — not be imposing, i have my views, i will not be imposing policy that i have _ will not be imposing policy that i have just — will not be imposing policy that i have just made up, in a room, by myself _ havejust made up, in a room, by m self. , ., ., ., havejust made up, in a room, by m self. , . ., ., , myself. penny mordaunt would not be drawn on any — myself. penny mordaunt would not be drawn on any detail _ myself. penny mordaunt would not be drawn on any detail this _ myself. penny mordaunt would not be drawn on any detail this morning - drawn on any detail this morning about what she would do as prime minister. this contest will come to a head tomorrow afternoon, and we know very little about what any of the candidates would do in terms of policy. she was asked if she would increase benefits in line with inflation, one of the big debates of recent weeks, whether she would cut nhs spending, what you do about defence spending, all of these things she deflected and said that she would take collective decisions. that is what our supporters to weigh up that is what our supporters to weigh up at this point and others within the party. that's mac that is for her supporters. the party. that's mac that is for hersupporters. other the party. that's mac that is for her supporters. other key developers, steve baker, influential voice on the right of the party and big organiser among tory mps has backed rishi sunak warning that it

borisjohnson becomes prime minister it is inevitable that his leadership would implode when a report comes back from the privileges committee investigation that he is facing. where does this leave the conservative party? labour and others continue to make the case that, given the state of things, a general election is the only answer at this point and sir keir starmer has been making that argument again this morning. has been making that argument again this morning-— this morning. leather comes in as prime minister, _ this morning. leather comes in as prime minister, we _ this morning. leather comes in as prime minister, we need - this morning. leather comes in as prime minister, we need that - this morning. leather comes in as| prime minister, we need that obr report— prime minister, we need that obr report because we only see the extent— report because we only see the extent of— report because we only see the extent of the damage. what i've said from the _ extent of the damage. what i've said from the labour party point of view is that— from the labour party point of view is that i_ from the labour party point of view is that i know we will face tough choices, — is that i know we will face tough choices, said that three weeks ago, and tast— choices, said that three weeks ago, and last week again, tough choices that mean— and last week again, tough choices that mean we cannot do some of the things— that mean we cannot do some of the things that _ that mean we cannot do some of the things that we want to do as quickly as we _ things that we want to do as quickly as we would want to. i am not going to write _ as we would want to. i am not going to write our— as we would want to. i am not going to write our manifesto on the programme, but i am being clear that we would _ programme, but i am being clear that we would be the party of sound money, — we would be the party of sound money, we know that there are tough choices— money, we know that there are tough choices to _ money, we know that there are tough choices to be made. sir money, we know that there are tough choices to be made.— choices to be made. sir keir starmer not been drawn _ choices to be made. sir keir starmer not been drawn on _ choices to be made. sir keir starmer not been drawn on what _ choices to be made. sir keir starmer not been drawn on what labour- choices to be made. sir keir starmerl not been drawn on what labour would do because there are, of course, big questions about if they were to come to power with the state of the

public finances as they are, what they look to cut taxes, increase spending or cut it? they are not giving many answers in that vein at this point. some developments, but the big question is, still, what does borisjohnson do, do we hear from rishi sunak later on today, what will he say about any possible deal with borisjohnson, or is he going to go it alone? we will wait to find out. going to go it alone? we will wait to find out-— let's now speak to hugo rifkind — a radio presenter with times radio, a columnist and leader writer for the times, where where he contributes to the newspaper's editorial position. good morning to you, hugo. have you heard anything from what has been said this morning? i heard anything from what has been said this morning?— said this morning? i have learned very little- _ said this morning? i have learned very little- yet — said this morning? i have learned very little. yet again _ said this morning? i have learned very little. yet again it _ said this morning? i have learned very little. yet again it remains i said this morning? i have learned very little. yet again it remains in borisjohnson's gift if very little. yet again it remains in boris johnson's gift if you very little. yet again it remains in borisjohnson's gift if you want very little. yet again it remains in boris johnson's gift if you want to damage borisjohnson's gift if you want to damage britain and pursue his own career, and we're still waiting to see where he is allowed to jump on this. do see where he is allowed to “ump on this. ,, , ., ., .,

this. do think he will be allowed to 's ou this. do think he will be allowed to 's you heard _ this. do think he will be allowed to 's you heard jacob _ this. do think he will be allowed to 's you heard jacob rees-mogg, - this. do think he will be allowed to . 's you heard jacob rees-m099. saying �*s you heard jacob rees—mogg, saying more boris or bust, but steve barclay saying that it would implode and essentially take the party down with him. it and essentially take the party down with him. , , ~ and essentially take the party down with him. , , ,, ., , ., with him. it is striking he does not as et with him. it is striking he does not as yet appear _ with him. it is striking he does not as yet appear to — with him. it is striking he does not as yet appear to have _ with him. it is striking he does not as yet appear to have the - with him. it is striking he does not| as yet appear to have the numbers with him. it is striking he does not i as yet appear to have the numbers of people prepared to go public. if there are a sizeable number of conservative mps willing to back him, but not willing to admit it, that says quite a lot. if he does get the numbers to go through to go to the membership, he's in with a very good shot. it doesn't look at the moment like he might be struggling. the moment like he might be struggling-— the moment like he might be stru: culin. ., , ., ~ ., the moment like he might be stru: culin. ., , ., ,, ., ., struggling. there has been talk of a deal overnight _ struggling. there has been talk of a deal overnight but _ struggling. there has been talk of a deal overnight but talked _ struggling. there has been talk of a deal overnight but talked around i struggling. there has been talk of a | deal overnight but talked around the deal, and from what we are hearing earlier on, there was no deal struck, but, if something was to be sorted out, amongst either mr johnson or rishi sunak all the three of them, what possible conclusion would be best for the party? it is would be best for the party? it is ve hard would be best for the party? it is very hard to _ would be best for the party? it is very hard to see _ would be best for the party? it 3 very hard to see what kind of deal

could possibly work, because one cannot see rishi sunak deciding he is happy to play second fiddle to borisjohnson again and one cannot see rishi sunak deciding he is happy for borisjohnson to have any role in a rishi sunak cabinet, so it is hard to see if any kind of deal is indeed possible. as for what is best for the party, i think it is slightly grim, slightly disgusting, depressing, that there is so much focus among the party on what is best for the party, when the country itself is in some turmoil. you would rather hope there were more of them thinking of the country altogether. one of the big questions is whichever candidate is likely to be, will they commit to jeremy whichever candidate is likely to be, will they commit tojeremy hunt's economic plan �*s i will they commit to jeremy hunt's economic plan "— economic plan 's i cannot imagine that they wouldn't. _ economic plan 's i cannot imagine that they wouldn't. it _ economic plan 's i cannot imagine that they wouldn't. it is _ economic plan 's i cannot imagine that they wouldn't. it is very i economic plan 's i cannot imagine that they wouldn't. it is very hard | that they wouldn't. it is very hard to imagine any candidate, whoever it would be as the next prime minister, returning to anything close to liz truss' mini budget. jeremy hunt is

perhaps the one constancy in british politics at the moment. i would be very surprised if he was not still there in a week or a month from now. penny mordaunt came out very quick from the blocks, in terms of declaring. why do you think we have not yet heard from rishi sunak, for example? not yet heard from rishi sunak, for examle? ., , ., not yet heard from rishi sunak, for examle? . , ., , not yet heard from rishi sunak, for examle? . , . , ., example? that is an interesting one. it is ve example? that is an interesting one. it is very easy _ example? that is an interesting one. it is very easy to _ example? that is an interesting one. it is very easy to see _ example? that is an interesting one. it is very easy to see why _ example? that is an interesting one. it is very easy to see why we - example? that is an interesting one. it is very easy to see why we have i it is very easy to see why we have not heard from borisjohnson because we are waiting to see whether he can actually do it already make some excuse to justify why he didn't have the numbers. rishi sunak, i suppose, has nothing to gain by announcing himself too soon. it suits him to be enigmatic and have everyone else lock into place behind him. it doesn't make much difference whether he announces or not, everybody knows he announces or not, everybody knows he is definitely going to run. tote he is definitely going to run. we heard ian blackford of the snp saying that, all of the opposition party should be working together, we should be calling for election. sir keir starmer has called for a general election, but, in terms of timing, would that be a

good move strategically, because you inherit the same economic problems and challenges. i inherit the same economic problems and challenges.— and challenges. i think it probably is a aood and challenges. i think it probably is a good move — and challenges. i think it probably is a good move for— and challenges. i think it probably is a good move for the _ and challenges. i think it probably is a good move for the labour- and challenges. i think it probably i is a good move for the labour party particularly to go for an election, not that they are going to get one, but certainly to lobby for one as quickly as possible, because the conservative party is in such turmoil and is so far behind. whoever takes overfrom turmoil and is so far behind. whoever takes over from liz truss, the conservative party's position will be better. whether that means they are only 15 or 20 points behind remains to be seen but it is certainly in labour's interests to lobby for an election, particularly as they are unlikely to get one. hugo rifkind, from time radio, thank you. —— times radio. we arejoined by helen lewis from the atlantic. have you learned anything new in terms of what could possibly happen

on monday, or possibly late in the week �*s on monday, or possibly late in the week '- ., , on monday, or possibly late in the week '- . , ., , week 's there was an interesting moment yesterday _ week 's there was an interesting moment yesterday when - week 's there was an interesting moment yesterday when it i week 's there was an interesting moment yesterday when it was i moment yesterday when it was reported that the boris johnson campaign reported that the borisjohnson campaign had got to the 100 nominations they needed to get on the palate and that unravelled very quickly into a level of scepticism. i have not necessarily seen much of british politicaljournalism in contact withjohnson, british politicaljournalism in contact with johnson, to british politicaljournalism in contact withjohnson, to take it with a pinch of salt, because since then, i would say that there has been a lot of momentum by him and a gain in momentum my rishi sunak server, rishi sunak is picked up some key endorsements since the ballot open, for example, david frost, who was a brexit negotiator, charles moore, telegraph columnist, who was put into the house of lords by borisjohnson, kemi badenoch the break—out star of the last leadership election, those are voices from the right, and not necessarily people you would have pegged as natural sunak supporters so, as it looks this morning, i would say everybody is kind of slightly laughing at borisjohnson's slightly laughing at boris johnson's campaign. slightly laughing at borisjohnson's campaign. they need to kinda come

with some actual names but otherwise people are assuming that you wouldn't know these people, they go to another school. my co—do you honestly think, —— to another school. my co—do you honestly think, —- do to another school. my co-do you honestly think, --_ to another school. my co-do you honestly think, -- do you think, we still have the _ honestly think, -- do you think, we still have the privileges _ honestly think, -- do you think, we still have the privileges committee | still have the privileges committee results, the investigation is ongoing, the results to come out. is there a likelihood that boris johnson really would lead the conservative party again? would the conservatives allow him to take them down that road? the conservatives allow him to take them down that road?— down that road? the fact that we are even talking — down that road? the fact that we are even talking about _ down that road? the fact that we are even talking about staging _ down that road? the fact that we are even talking about staging a - even talking about staging a comeback, we should acknowledge that it matters on the face of it matters, somebody who only this summer was facing a rolling wave of resignations from his own party, people who initially backed him, some of them only in parliament because of the scale of the victory that he won, in 2019, and they all said look, you can't go on, this is wrong. and some of them having to row back their statements, nadhim zahawi was his chancellor confident

to go and say that he has really changed. one of his big backers this time round, james dandridge, put out a tweet this morning saying that he was excited to see that he was "smartly dressed". there is this low level feeling that he is really different now, that he can tuck in his shirt! and when you step back from it this is madness. somebody who may two make errors ofjudgment and backing mps he shouldn't have, in chris pincher and owen paterson and another great error of yesmine in the dana brook parties, which is the thing that will go to the privileges committee so, this is somebody who has a record of catastrophic mistakes that his own party eventually force them to reckon with, and the fact that he can be thinking about going to 100 mp5 is kind of slightly startling, i would say. mps is kind of slightly startling, i would sa . , , would say. helen lewis, we believe it there, helen _ would say. helen lewis, we believe it there, helen lewis, _ would say. helen lewis, we believe it there, helen lewis, from - would say. helen lewis, we believe it there, helen lewis, from the i it there, helen lewis, from the atlantic, thank you very much indeed.

xijinping has secured a third term as china's leader, at the end of a week—long congress that reinforced his control over the ruling communist party. he's been re—confirmed as the party general secretary — which means he's almost certain to be re—elected president in march. mr xi appeared in the great hall of the people in beijing alongside other members of the politburo standing committee, the top decision—making body. in brief remarks, he said the communist party would remain the strong backbone of the chinese people. he added that china could not develop without the outside world — and the world also needed china. translation: china cannot develop without the world, and the world also needs china. after more than 40 years of unremitting efforts in reform and opening up, we have created two miracles of rapid economic development and long—term social stability. our china correspondent stephen mcdonell has the latest from beijing.

i don't think many people would have seriously considered that this communist party congress would have done anything but reinforced xi jinping as the leader of china, and that's exactly what's happened. he's now moved into his historic third term, and can now stay in power for as long as he likes, barring some unforeseen political upheaval in the future. now, when xijinping revealed the new politburo standing committee today, the top leadership team of the country, it was stacked with xi loyalists and, most significantly, he's made li qiang, the new leader the new number two leader, therefore the person in charge of the economy and now he's put the man who was in charge of the disastrous shanghai lockdown, a lockdown

in which tens of millions of people were confined to their homes for months on end, with significant food shortages, that's the person who has been placed in charge of the economy. it's hard to imagine that you can't find somebody in this enormous party a bit better qualified to manage this huge, significant economy, and yet, there you have it. i think analysts will see this as an example of loyalty to xijinping trumping proven ability. the communist party, for all of its other faults, had in the past said it was a meritocracy. and you wonder how you could stack up that appointment as an example of genuine meritocracy. again, no women in the politburo standing committee. there has never been a woman on that top committee in china apart from, i suppose, madam mao, she was in

the power mix as part of the gang of four, but not really an official politburo standing committee appointment, and women will be scratching their heads and wondering, what's it going to take for a woman to be appointed to that committee? so there you have it, in short, xijinping in power possibly for ever, as long as he likes. a politburo standing committee very loyal to him and big questions over the commitment that this government really has to economic management. certainly, prioritising the economy over politics, i think many will think that it has been left wanting. ukrainian officials say electricity has already been restored in some areas of the country, a day after russia launched a wave of air strikes targeting electricity infrastructure. president volodymyr zelensky said

the attacks had struck on a very wide scale, but that they would not break ukraine's determination to resist. hugo bachega has the latest from kyiv. work is under way to restore electricity to parts of the country without power, following those russian air strikes that targeted energy facilities across ukraine. the ukrainian authorities said 1.5 million households across the country were left without power after saturday's attacks and they say this is russia's strategy as it faces military setbacks on the battlefield. it is targeting electricity infrastructure ahead of winter, inflicting pain on civilians living in cities away from the front lines. a top adviser to president zelensky has accused russia of trying to create a new refugee crisis by targeting energy facilities in the country. last night president zelensky said russia's attacks were acts of terrorism, and he said it would not stop the progress

of the ukrainian army. in the south, the russian appointed officials in the city of kherson have urged civilians to leave describing the situation as "tense" and they say ukrainian forces are making advances along the dnipro river and are preparing a major offensive to retake the city. kherson was captured in the early days of the war, and it is one of the largest ukrainian cities under russian occupation. hugo bachega there. 90% of uk schools will have run out of money by the next academic year, because of increased bills, according to headteachers. 13 national education associations have written an open letter to conservative mps warning that the average secondary school will be facing a shortfall of up to £250,000 by 2024. the department of education says schools will benefit from the energy bill relief scheme, as well as an increase in funding. the co—owner of the red

bull formula 1 team — dietrich mateschitz — has died at the age of 78. you are watching bbc news. more coming up shortly. you're watching bbc news. and so, just a reminder of the death of the owner of red bull racing, who has died at the age of 78, and in the meantime, we will be finding out how grassroots conservatives have been reacting to the news over the last week. in plenty of lovely smells and the columbia road flower market in east london but the question is, who will send a victory in the contest to be the next by minister? this market has been here for over 150 years. william gladstone was the prime

minister when it was setup. the question is, who will be prime minister this time next week as that speak to some traders and find out what they make of all that has been going on in politics over the last �* days. we have �*days. we have yvonne �* days. we have yvonne and albie few days. we have yvonne and albie here. it few days. we have yvonne and albie here. ., , , few days. we have yvonne and albie here. . , , . few days. we have yvonne and albie here. , ., ., here. it has been a catastrophe, a riaht here. it has been a catastrophe, a right mess. _ here. it has been a catastrophe, a right mess. to _ here. it has been a catastrophe, a right mess, to be _ here. it has been a catastrophe, a right mess, to be honest. - here. it has been a catastrophe, a i right mess, to be honest. personally i would go with boris. the better the devil you know than the one you don't. even with all he's done, he lives at number ten, he works at number ten, where do you go with a partygate situation?— partygate situation? yvonne, what ou think partygate situation? yvonne, what you think is _ partygate situation? yvonne, what you think is matter— partygate situation? yvonne, what you think is matter i _ partygate situation? yvonne, what you think is matter i think - partygate situation? yvonne, what you think is matter i think boris i you think is matter i think boris because the _ you think is matter i think boris because the trouble _ you think is matter i think boris because the trouble he - you think is matter i think boris because the trouble he has i you think is matter i think boris i because the trouble he has already been in. _ because the trouble he has already been in, would that re—occur again, and if— been in, would that re—occur again, and ifso, _ been in, would that re—occur again, and if so, let's— been in, would that re—occur again, and if so, let's have a general election _ and if so, let's have a general election. at the end of the day nobody— election. at the end of the day nobody assaulting anything out. what i nobody assaulting anything out. what i have _ nobody assaulting anything out. what i have said _ nobody assaulting anything out. what i have said before, we need more police, _ i have said before, we need more police, the — i have said before, we need more police, the knife crime, the nhs, the hospitals and everything else, we need _ the hospitals and everything else, we need it— the hospitals and everything else, we need it all sorted. we need to

make _ we need it all sorted. we need to make sure. — we need it all sorted. we need to make sure, what we were saying before, — make sure, what we were saying before, people do not need flowers or plants _ before, people do not need flowers or plants. with the cost of living going _ or plants. with the cost of living going up— or plants. with the cost of living going up and everything else, you know, _ going up and everything else, you know. we — going up and everything else, you know, we are the last audit like what _ know, we are the last audit like what we — know, we are the last audit like what we are saying to each other. you are _ what we are saying to each other. you are worried you are on the sharp end when people don't have as much to spend, this is one of the things that they will cut back on top lstallion that they will cut back on top when ou to that they will cut back on top when ou no to that they will cut back on top when you go to your— that they will cut back on top when you go to your shopping, _ that they will cut back on top when you go to your shopping, are i that they will cut back on top easier! you go to your shopping, are you going to spend £40 on flowers or putting fuel in your car? like when you have all the chaos going on at the top of government, and you're looking for decisions to help traders and businesses like yourself, yvonne mentioned the idea of a general election, what do you think? we are sick and tired of all this voting. wejust think? we are sick and tired of all this voting. we just want someone to get on with the job. they won by a majority, the conservative party, in my book they should be getting on with the job at hand.— my book they should be getting on with the job at hand. with the “ob at hand. thank you both ve with the job at hand. thank you both ve much with the job at hand. thank you both very much for— with the job at hand. thank you both very much for sharing _ with the job at hand. thank you both very much for sharing your— with the job at hand. thank you both | very much for sharing your thoughts. we willjust take one more look at these beautiful displays, just one

of 50 stalls, the question is, on the politics, whose prospects will blossom like these flowers, and whose will wilt?

now on bbc news, political thinking with nick robinson. the turmoil in the conservative party, the psychodrama, the soap opera with ever more unlikely plot developments, has its roots in brexit, the unresolved question of how this country should reshape itself, having decided to leave the eu. that is one reason my guest on political thinking this week matters. david frost is seen by his admirers as the guardian of the brexiteer flame, the man who borisjohnson put into the house of lords and made his chief brexit negotiator, who's now considering a bid to become a member of parliament.