tonight at ten: five pledges from the prime minister at the start of the new year on which he wants the country tojudge his premiership. in a keynote speech, rishi sunak focused on the nhs, cutting inflation and economic growth. but labour mocked his vision, asking is that it? the cost of living, to hide. waiting times in the nhs, too long. illegal migration, far too much. the problems _ migration, far too much. the problems we _ migration, far too much. the problems we see _ migration, far too much. the problems we see today, whether it's in the _ problems we see today, whether it's in the nhs _ problems we see today, whether it's in the nhs or in schools or communities where it comes to crime, come _ communities where it comes to crime, come down _ communities where it comes to crime, come down to— communities where it comes to crime, come down to a failure over the last 13 years _ come down to a failure over the last 13 years it's— come down to a failure over the last 13 years. it's on the prime ministen _ 13 years. it's on the prime minister-— 13 years. it's on the prime minister. ~ , ., minister. we will be looking at the detail and asking _ minister. we will be looking at the detail and asking if _ minister. we will be looking at the detail and asking if the _ minister. we will be looking at the detail and asking if the pledges . minister. we will be looking at the | detail and asking if the pledges can be delivered.

and our other main story tonight. a special report from bakhmut in eastern ukraine the site of fierce fighting from which almost all the city's residents have fled. we are walking over shards of glass. pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. you can tell every minute this city is being intensely fought over. sir. tell every minute this city is being intensely fought over.— intensely fought over. sir, you do not have the _ intensely fought over. sir, you do not have the votes _ intensely fought over. sir, you do not have the votes and _ intensely fought over. sir, you do not have the votes and it's - intensely fought over. sir, you do not have the votes and it's time l intensely fought over. sir, you do| not have the votes and it's time to withdraw — not have the votes and it's time to withdraw. ., ., , ,, ., , , withdraw. chaos in the us congress as republican _ withdraw. chaos in the us congress as republican rebels _ withdraw. chaos in the us congress as republican rebels block - withdraw. chaos in the us congress as republican rebels block the - as republican rebels block the election of a new speaker for a sixth time. and the prolific novelist fay weldon who wrote more than 30 books has died at the age of 91. and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team and correspondents in the uk and around the world.

good evening. in a keynote new year speech, rishi sunak has set out five pledges to voters including on the nhs, the cost of living and the economy in a bid to establish a fresh vision for his government. the prime minister promised to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and stop illegal channel crossings. among the many challenges facing the country is the huge pressure on the nhs and mr sunak said that reforms were coming and that cutting waiting times was one of his priorities. but labour called him the do—nothing prime minister and said the country was entitled to ask is that it? our political editor chris mason reports. we have had thousands and thousands of pounds of business lost over many weeks all year. it is the first time i have had to go and ask for help, ijust cannot do it at the minute. | i had to take him out in the rain| at the hospital to have the x—ray and then bring him back

into the ambulance. - the system seems completely broken. it might be a new year, but last year's problems confront us seemingly everywhere. the prime minister claims he gets it. new year should be a time of optimism and excitement. yet i know many of you look ahead to 2023 with apprehension. i want you to know that as your prime minister, i will work night and day to change that. and quickly. the health service this winter confronts immense pressures. can any of us be confident it will be there for us, or ourfamilies, if we suddenly need it? people are understandably anxious when they see ambulances queueing outside hospitals. you should know we are taking urgent action, increasing bed capacity by 7,000 more hospital beds and more people cared at home. providing new funding to discharge people into social care in the community,

freeing up beds. this was pointedly a speech that tried to look beyond the array of what many see as crises happening now, to set out what rishi sunak is about and hopes to achieve. five promises... we will halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats. those are the people's priorities, they are your government's priorities and we will either have achieved them or not. from migrant crossings to the economy, rishi sunak tried to set targets he can be measured against. he also tried to tell us a bit about what drives him, education and aspiration all young people in england study maths in some form until they're 18. his anger at anti—social behaviour, albeit without new specific ideas to tackle it. and then there was this... family is something politicians struggle to talk about. beceause you can all too readily be

pilloried for being out of touch. but whatever your family looks like, it doesn't matter, as long as the common bond is love. the health service is under extraordinary pressure right now and some people watching this this afternoon might say, is that it? how soon will things improve in the nhs this winter? what i want the country to know is, this is an absolute priority for me. i made five promises today and making sure people can get the care they need as quickly as they need it is right there as one of those priorities. the country should hold me to account for delivering it and i am confident we will. you will notice there was no commitment to a timeframe for things improving in the nhs this winter. labour claimed the prime minister is out of touch. the conservatives have been in charge now for 13 years. that's a very long time to make change in our country. the problems we see today, whether it is in the nhs, schools or communities when it comes to crime come down to a failure over those 13 years.

the prime minister returned to downing street, his stall set out. tomorrow it will be keir starmer�*s turn to offer labour's alternative vision. chris mason, bbc news, in east london. so as we heard the prime minister has said that nhs waiting lists were "too long" and promised they would fall with people getting the care they need more quickly. 0ur health editor hugh pym is here. how realistic is the pledge? he has set himself a _ how realistic is the pledge? he has set himself a stretching _ how realistic is the pledge? he has set himself a stretching target - how realistic is the pledge? he has set himself a stretching target butl set himself a stretching target but wants to be judged set himself a stretching target but wants to bejudged by it. last set himself a stretching target but wants to be judged by it. last year ministers predicted that the overall waiting list in england, currently 7.2 million, would carry on going up through to the early months of 2024 before beginning to turn. arguably things have become more difficult since that prediction with more covid patients in hospital than anticipated, flew having a serious impact this winter, and there are strikes with more to come, all factors limiting the number of

operations that can be carried out. so it is possible the trend, the turning off it, may be delayed beyond the spring of next year and his target refers to during this parliament, which is the end of 2024, so the figures will be watched closely on the run up to that. in terms of the measures he has set out to support the nhs, one of them is the 7000 extra beds. that was actually first unveiled by the nhs last august. he also talked of a fund to move patients out of hospitals and into the community, that was announced in september but so far not all the money has been made available. some might say whatever the measures announced, look at the reality right now with overcrowded a&e units and very long waiting times for ambulances. hugh . m, waiting times for ambulances. hugh ' m, thank waiting times for ambulances. hugh pym. thank yom — and our political editor chris mason joins us from westminster. quite a lot of promises from the prime minister today but how deliverable are they? lots of promises, and lots of big picture thoughts from the prime

minister. it was quite striking given the challenges hugh pym was talking about their which we face here and now. in reality what we had from rishi sunak today was a party conference speech that he never got the chance to deliver because he was cast off into temporary political oblivion having lost the race to become prime minister, only to be reincarnated politically and become prime minister a few months later. he is almost having to do things in reverse and set out his stall to the country and what he stands for having already been in the job for a couple of months. as far as the promises are concerned, some look eminently deliverable, some look a little vague. 0thers, eminently deliverable, some look a little vague. others, like the one on the economy, show how difficult the situation at the moment is. he hopes the economy might grow by the end of this year. even if that does happen and the promise is met, that is months and months of recession between now and then. here is a prime minister in a hurry because he has to deliver, and pretty quickly,

with an election inside two years. tomorrow, the alternative proposition put forward by labour leader keir starmer, as both men try to grapple with being seen as being the kind of credible managers of a pretty bleak era. the kind of credible managers of a pretty bleak era-— the kind of credible managers of a pretty bleak era. chris mason, thank ou. a number of business groups have met the chancellorjeremy hunt to discuss what government support they'll get with energy bills after march, when the current support scheme expires. it's understood help will continue until next year, but at a significantly lower rate. there is some good news for households though as the recent warmer weather has led to predictions that domestic bills will rise but by less than previously thought. our business editor simonjack can tell us more. just as households have seen their energy bills subsidised during the energy crisis,

non domestic users — businesses, local authorities, charities, etc, have also had government support with their bills. the budget watchdog estimates that support will cost £18.4 billion by the end of march. so what we do know is that support for business will be significantly lower, from april. today the chancellor said "no government can permanently shield businesses from this energy price shock" and said "the current level of support is unsustainably expensive." itjust so happens that the cost of subsidising business should go down anyway, because energy is much cheaper now than at the height of the crisis. you can see here how far wholesale prices have fallen. that's in recent weeks and months. what we don't know is exactly where prices for businesses will be fixed and whether really heavy energy users industries will get more support than others — more detail to come next week. but in those falling prices is a crumb of comfort for domestic bills. under the government's current energy price guarantee, a typical household will pay £2,500 a year until march, rising

to £3,000 after that. but latest estimates from leading analysts suggest a typical bill may "only" rise £2,800 in autumn of this year. still three times higher than its long term average, but less than expected and if true that would cost the government a lot less as it wouldn't have to pay to keep it down at £3,000. but bottom line — business costs will rise, household incomes are set to fall a recipe for a very challenging environment for consumers businesses and the economy in 2023. we've heard broadly about how deliverable the prime minister's pledges are but what about the specific promises on the economy? three laudable aims, bringing down inflation, bringing down debt and get growth going up. how deliverable they are is connected to how ambitious they are. on the target to halve inflation in the next year,

the bank of england and 0br, the budget watchdog, think it will happen anyway by itself on current forecasts and no policy intervention. 0n bringing down the debt, that is a current estimate that will happen in 2027—28, well past the next election. growing the economy from when? from here, probably not. because we expect to see the economy shrink in the next year. does he mean get the economy growing at the end of next year after the recession? yes, that's perfectly possible. deliverable, yes. how ambitious, arguable. simon jack, thank you. and you can get more analysis of the prime minister's pledges today, by heading to bbc news 0nline that's bbc.co.uk/news and by using the bbc news app. for months now, the city of bakhmut has been the epicentre of the war in ukraine. the battle there has been one

of the most brutal of the conflict with high numbers of casualties on both sides. almost all of the city's 70,000 occupants have fled. russia is working hard to capture bakhmut in the hope it could lead to the fall of sloviansk and kramatorsk as well, the two most important cities in the donbas region still under ukrainian control. but ukrainian forces are holding firm. 0ur correspondent yogita limaye has been on the front line in bakhmut and sent this report. munitons explode. this is what the merciless bombardment of a city looks like. munitions explode. dog yelps. and how it sounds. once a quiet place known for sparkling wine, bakhmut is now a byword for war, and ukraine's resistance. russia is using all its might to try and take this city. we drove past abandoned buildings.

90% of the people have fled. this is what you can see everywhere in bakhmut — destruction. 0n the other side of the road you can see apartment blocks that are completely destroyed. we're walking all over shards of glass, pretty much every second you hear the sound of artillery fire. munitions explode. you can tell every minute that this is a city that is being intensely fought over. and over the past few months of fierce battle, even though it's at an important road intersection, it is the symbolic importance of this fight that has become greater then its strategic location. bakhmut is the home anatoly has known all his life. we see him barely react when a shell lands a few hundred metres away. shell explodes.

he has come to an aid centre, a lifeline for those still here. "why don't you leave?" we asked him. translation: l have - nowhere to go, i am alone. who would want to take an 86—year—old? here at least sometimes, when the soldiers throw away food orsoup, ifind itand eat it. and i get free bread. in my whole life, i've never seen anything like this. tetiana used to be a midwife before the war. now she is a volunteer. translation: | stay - because i'm needed here. of course i'm scared. i've been caught in shelling three times. i suffered a concussion. but what use will i be hiding in a basement? people stay for different reasons. munitions explode. the explosions don't stop, but no—one flinches. it's as if they've become numb.

running from bombs every day, repeated trauma, without an end. this woman told us she and her daughter live like mice, running out quickly to get bread. walking to this centre for a bit of food is a risk they take to survive. 0utside, we met 0leksiy reva, the mayor of bakhmut. we can't show his location. "it is myjob, my life, my fate, to stay here. "i won't leave the people, and i trust that ukraine's "military won't allow my city to fall," he said. we went to see ukrainian defence, taken to a location we can't disclose. underground, to one of their command centres in the city. the heart of the military operation.

fewjournalists have been here. this is a live feed from drones beyond the eastern edge of bakhmut, where russian forces are stationed. the men here are trying to locate the target for an assault team that's just gone out. this commander told us this is the toughest battle he's ever fought. translation: we haven't seen enemy troops like this before. _ their soldiers openly advance under fire, even if they're littering the ground with their bodies, even if only 20 are left of their 60 men. it is very difficult to hold against such an invasion. a few weeks ago we had to withdraw from the eastern approaches to the city to save our soldiers. they showed us this video, the east of the city on new year's

morning under russian attack. in the fields outside bakhmut, we see the daily grind to keep a hold on it. the winter makes it harder to camouflage guns and men. we watch them fire soviet—era weapons. soldiers tell us they work well and do the job, but modern equipment would help push through the deadlock on the ground. 0n the other end isn'tjust the russian military, there are also thousands of mercenaries from the private wagner group. they expect incoming fire, so we retreat to a bunker. why does it feel like it is deadlocked on the ground? "it is stuck for many reasons. "the winter makes it

harder to use equipment. "we also have a shortage of weapons and ammunition," 21—year—old 0leksandr replies. back to positions they go. each side trying to wear the other down... ..in this battle of endurance. yogita limaye, bbc news, bakhmut. yogita limaye reporting there with her team imogen anderson, sanjay ganguly and mariana matveichuk. and yogita is in kyiv now. it's nearly a year since this conflict started. what hope is there of a resolution? as far as as farasa as far as a dialogue is concerned it seems almost impossible right now, ukraine proposed a peace summit in february but it said russia must face a war crimes tribunal before it talks to it directly. as far as russia is concerned, it that ukraine

must give up regions that moscow claims to have annexed. these are preconditions accept. militarily what we have seen on the front lines in bakhmut is there are very little advances being made by either side, but when we say that it doesn't mean it is not a deadly battle. ukrainian and russian soldiers are dying every day, and then there is the continuous bombardment of ukrainian cities which we witnessed notjust in bakhmut, but also in the south in the city of kherson, where we were last week, where civilians are also dying every single day. in bakhmut today ukrainian police say that two elderly women were killed because of shelling in the city.— shelling in the city. thank you very much, shelling in the city. thank you very much. our — shelling in the city. thank you very much, our correspondent - shelling in the city. thank you very much, our correspondent yogita i much, our correspondent yogita limaye. the funeral of the former pope benedict xvi will take place tomorrow. his successor pope francis will preside over the service,

and more than 60,000 people are expected to attend. britain's most senior cleric at the vatican has suggested to the bbc that benedict's death could allow pope francis to think about stepping down. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool is at the vatican for us now. st peter's square down below me all seems very calm, things are very much set ahead of that funeral earlier tomorrow morning and the vatican tells us over the last three days as benedict xvi was lying in state in st peter's basilica, 195,000 people filed past to pay their respects. there isjust 195,000 people filed past to pay their respects. there is just a sense that even though he stepped down in 2013, in the passing of the pope emeritus there might still yet to be some change that is felled here at the vatican going forward. in one part of the vatican, pope francis was making an appearance in his weekly audience. he started by paying

tribute to his predecessor whose funeral he will lead tomorrow. a very short distance away, thousands were taking their final opportunity to file past benedict xvi lying in state. after his burial, for the first time in nearly a decade, there will be only one pope in the vatican. so what has having the former pope around been like for the current incumbent? we asked one of those closest to him. it does have an effect. there is a presence there which is undeniable. i don't think it has obstructed pope francis in any way. he has done and said and decided what he wanted to do. but it is a powerful presence of your predecessor. i think most of us have been in the situations where there is a bit of a shadow

from our predecessor and maybe people make comparisons and say, we did it differently in the past. in the recent months, pope francis has struggled with mobility. there was speculation he was reluctant to consider resigning while pope benedict was around and that he might now consider that option more freely. if we had three popes, that would be, we have to say, a little bit difficult to manage, i would think. but now that pope benedict has gone to the lord, i think, yes, pope francis will stick to those principles that he has established, that he will continue in this ministry as long as he believes and sees that he is capable. pope francis has always shown immense respect for his predecessor. in the morning, tens of thousands of people will pour into st peter's square to join him in laying benedict xvi to rest. aleem maqbool, bbc

news at the vatican. here there'll be more disruption to rail services tomorrow because of industrial action by train drivers. members of the aslef union will take go on strike, leaving large parts of england with no trains all day. england with no trains at all. it comes after the rmt union held its own a 48—hour nationwide stoppage. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin is in winchester. the misery continues for passengers. that's right. 0ne strike day is drawing to a close button another begins tomorrow where more than 12,000 train drivers in the aslef union are expected to walk out at 15 train companies. those operators will be able to run either a very limited service or no trains at all. there could be more strikes like this in the coming months without a breakthrough. the drivers union aslef say that a pay rise is years

overdue and that an offer still hasn't materialised from the train companies. the unions�* leader told me today that actions could be stepped up and will continue as long as it takes. the rail delivery group on the other hand told me this evening they think they are getting closer to being able to make an offer, but that pay rises, increases in pay have to come with reforms to fund it to make the railway more cost—effective. what next then? there is another rmt strike due to begin on friday, and then on monday we are expecting there will be meetings between the rail minister, the rail employers and unions to try and find a way forward here. katie austin, and find a way forward here. katie austin. thank— and find a way forward here. katie austin, thank you. _ culture secretary michelle donelan has advised against the privatisation of channel 4 in a letter to the prime minister that has leaked online. ms donelan said there were "better ways to ensure channel 4's sustainability" than

privatisation and that pursuing a sale of the broadcaster at this point was not the right decision. her predecessor nadine dorries criticised the reversal. in the us, bitter splits within the republican party are being played out over the election of the speaker of the house of representatives, a hugely powerful role which can make or break a president's agenda. after the republicans became the majority party in the mid—term elections in november, it was thought their existing leader in the house, kevin mccarthy, would assume the speakership. but he's lost a sixth vote after being blocked by hard—line conservatives. 0ur north america correspondent, gary 0'donoghue is in washington. gary, where does all this and go from here?— from here? well, two days, six votes, from here? well, two days, six votes. nine _ from here? well, two days, six votes, nine and _ from here? well, two days, six votes, nine and a _ from here? well, two days, six votes, nine and a half - from here? well, two days, six votes, nine and a half hours, . from here? well, two days, six l votes, nine and a half hours, and they are still no closer reaching a conclusion than they were at the beginning of this whole process. the problem is there are around 20 rebels, tramp rebels on the right of kevin mccarthy's party, who are implacably opposed to him. despite

the numerous concessions he has given them over the last few days. even with the intervention of donald trump himself who urged his supporters to vote for mr mccarthy today, that made no difference whatsoever. they are breaking now for a couple of hours, they come back later this evening to try to do it all over again. to mangle the words of one of western philosophy�*s best known thinkers, doing the same thing over and over again, well, it might not be the definition of idiocy when you expect a different outcome, but it is the definition of highly embarrassing!— highly embarrassing! gary, thank ou. ga highly embarrassing! gary, thank you. gary o'donoghue. _ the author fay weldon whose best known works included the life and loves of a she devil has died at the age of 91. the prolific writer published more than 30 novels during her career as well as collections of short stories, films for television, and pieces ofjournalism. 0ur arts correspondent rebecca jones looks back at her life. fay weldon wrote playful, punchy

tales in which women were exploited by men though they often got their own back. the pregnant heroine in praxis received an awful warning from an older woman. it's only the fear of pregnancy which keeps girls on the straight and narrow. she first made her name as an advertising copywriter. "go to work on an egg," was one of hers. she briefly married an older man who wouldn't sleep with her. after marrying again she began writing tv plays and novels while pregnant. she wrote about class, the sexual revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy- — revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy- l— revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy- i am _ revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy. i am not, _ revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy. i am not, it _ revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy. i am not, it did - revolution and the supernatural. you are clumsy. i am not, it did it by - are clumsy. i am not, it did it by itself. you'd _ are clumsy. i am not, it did it by itself. you'd better _ are clumsy. i am not, it did it by itself. you'd better keep - are clumsy. i am not, it did it by itself. you'd better keep that. i are clumsy. i am not, it did it by i itself. you'd better keep that. but itself. you'd better keep that. but it is our itself. you'd better keep that. but it is your wedding _ itself. you'd better keep that. but it is your wedding ring. _ itself. you'd better keep that. but it is your wedding ring. her - it is your wedding ring. her

best-known _ it is your wedding ring. her best-known novel - it is your wedding ring. her best-known novel in - it is your wedding ring. he; best—known novel in which a it is your wedding ring. h9 best—known novel in which a woman takes revenge over her husband cemented her reputation as one of britain's for most feminist writers. 0ne britain's for most feminist writers. one of her best novels later became a film, puffball, yet as she got older her view of women's roles shifted. it older her view of women's roles shifted. :, , �* , , shifted. it wasn't 'ust feminism that changed — shifted. it wasn't just feminism that changed things, _ shifted. it wasn't just feminism that changed things, it - shifted. it wasn't just feminism that changed things, it was - that changed things, it was technology, birth control, all kinds of other factors. sometimes technology, birth control, all kinds of otherfactors. sometimes i think feminism wasjust a of otherfactors. sometimes i think feminism was just a sort of cloak under which capitalism sort of crept up under which capitalism sort of crept up on us all and turned it into a consumerist society and made us all go out to work and exhausted us. later in life she urged women to pick up their husbands socks. some feminists accused her of betrayal. she felt herjob was done. "what drove me to feminism 50 years ago was the myth that men were the breadwinners and women kept house and looked pretty," she wrote. "that myth finally exploded and i helped to explode it"." fay weldon who's died at the age of 91. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes.

with a pot of gold, perhaps? i wish! there we had _ with a pot of gold, perhaps? i wish! there we had a _ with a pot of gold, perhaps? i wish! there we had a night _ with a pot of gold, perhaps? i wish! there we had a night to _ with a pot of gold, perhaps? i wish! there we had a night to remember i there we had a night to remember earlier today. the other feature of the weather it is very mild today. central london had temperatures of 14 celsius. the average this time of year is about seven. looking at the weather picture over the next few days, despite the fact there wasn't that much rain, we still had 24 flood warnings in force, most across southern england, a sign that the ground remains completely saturated. 0ut west the area plan will develop into an area of low pressure bringing wet and windy weather late tomorrow and this area of cloud just off the coast of canada will bring some heavy rain for friday and we could see localised flooding friday night into the weekend staying unsettled. it is a largely dry night tonight kameni showers across northern england fading away. a touch of frost possible in northern scotland but otherwise very mild, 8-11 c. that's scotland but otherwise very mild, 8—11 c. that's how we start the day tomorrow. a decent start with

sunshine across much of scotland and england put out west the