and you got a real insight into the sort of soul searching the labour party has been doing, sir keir starmertting it out pretty clearly what his options were, that do they go ahead and support this deal, where if you think back a few months to what labour had been saying needed to be ina deal labour had been saying needed to be in a deal in order to get support, this does not deliver, it was things like the exact same benefits as eu membership, but this deal does not deliver that. the option was, do you go ahead and support that, and actively support it or do you abstain and say we will let it pass but we are not going to endorse it. you heard him spell out the consequences of that, he didn't think that would be a credible position to take, and of course labour has abstained on big things round coronavirus, so there was a real struggle there they had to resolve. in the end, you heard sir keir starmerframes as resolve. in the end, you heard sir keir starmer frames as this is a straight choice between deal or no deal and given a deal is in the national aggressive interest that is whey labour w

so, ithink because keir starmer did raise it on wednesday.hroughout this crisis but the disappointment that they will face now and the challenge that many people will face in practical terms, i think, that many people will face in practicalterms, ithink, really, the government have got to look at what has happened here and, you know, ask why only on wednesday borisjohnson was effectively mocking keir starmerfor borisjohnson was effectively mocking keir starmer for the thing that he has himself done today. can you understand the prime minister when he argues that, look, the information i had changed between wednesday and today. it is only the last couple of days that the information, the data has been coming in on this particular new variant. well, i doubt because we have known about the new strain for at least a week and as ijust mentioned, keir starmer raise this on wednesday, so i don't really accept that. we do need to take steps to stop this deadly virus but what we need is for the government to learn from its mistakes and not continually

keir starmer said he wondered where the prime minister got his advice from.use i hear the official newsletter of the wellingborugh conservative party. it's not on every one's christmas reading list, but it is a fascinating read because it gives a lot of advice to wannabe politicians. it says this, "say the first thing that comes into your head..." laughing. "..it‘ll probably be nonsense, you may get a bad headline, but, "if you make enough dubious claims, fast enough, "you can get away with it." and it includes, the december edition, the advice, "sometimes it's better to give the wrong answer at the right time, "rather than the right answer at the wrong time." so, my final question to the prime minister, my final question to the prime minister is this, is he the inspiration for the newsletter, or is he the author? hear, hear! well, mr speaker, ithink what the people of this country would love to hear from the right honourable gentlemen this season of goodwill is any kind of point of view at all on some of the... hear, hear! ..on some of the key issues. i mean

keir starmer was saying in the comments that he has concerns about it, but labour wasn't able to picke if they opposed it, it would have been a no—deal brexit. so, there's not really a choice there. keir starmer did have a small rebellion, which makes a change, whereas the tories were in voting for the deal. let's look at the financial times now. it deals with both the stories we were talking about. brexit trade deal passed by parliament marking a abrupt end to a 47 year alliance. —— an abrupt end. it doesn't finish until the lords pass it and then the queen gives royal assent. how does she do that? does she sign it windsor at midnight? this isn't strong point, but certainly, the house of lords will wait until they have that royal assent from the palace. so, ithink have that royal assent from the palace. so, i think it will be, we are looking around midnight. but today, this is... i would say, it just won't be. the wrangling over the actual exit process on the terms of our future relationship have now been finished, but that doesn't mean incrimination ‘s and the wrangling will go on f

rather than keir starmer.ajority summer and needs to find those seats back in scotland or others of course. where might the air look? the southeast or subtly different consensus in the southeast and london? actually fascinating i think. the story of british politics is exactly what happens in those seats. to labour and give keir starmer a chance of a majority? really good that we had you want to dissect what was happening in brussels, that dinner ending in, and without an agreement. we are seeing more negotiations continuing up until sunday in theory. for the time being thank you so much and we would diejust at the being thank you so much and we would die just at the end when we get more paper sin. don't go away, stay by your computers and will be back here in the next half hour for the next edition of the papers. i do hope join us. this is your latest sports news. manchester city have wrapped up their champions league group campaign with a comfortable 3—0 win over marseille. ferran torres fourth goal in five

there are a numberof a bit -- keir starmer.what toughening up means exactly, we are not sure. one of the things i know are causing concern in some of the devolved administrations is the potential impact of travel, of people going from where the virus is spreading quite significantly like, for example, london, to other parts of the uk where perhaps it isn't spreading as badly and potentially taking the virus with them. i would expect potential for maybe some travel rules to be discussed in that meeting in around an hour. it is important for eve ryo ne an hour. it is important for everyone watching at home wondering what it means for them, there have been a decisions yet and we might not get those tonight. we have also been hearing from scotland's festival is nicola sturgeon whose been tightening some restrictions in parts of scotland like aberdeen, also saying that there is a case now potentially for changing the rules over christmas. —— first minister. i think it's important that we have that discussion across the four nations,

sir keir starmer accused the government and prime minister of ineptitude.the government to get it right all the time, but a government that fails to learn from its mistakes ends up making the same mistakes overand overagain. month after month. week after week. we have a prime minister who is so scared of being unpopular that he is incapable of taking tough decisions until it is too late. oue political correspondent explained why borisjohnson had changed his approach. in his view, the facts have changed after they were presented with evidence on friday afternoon in terms of the impact of this new variant of coronavirus that was spreading particularly rapidly in london, part of the south—east. that was what borisjohnson was saying, but of course he brought in these new curbs and restrictions have been brought in in scotland and wales just days after he said he did not wa nt to just days after he said he did not want to cancel christmas. he thought that would be inhuman, but these new restrictions are in place and one of the questions will be how long will the

keir starmer going big on defence and extra £60 billion of spending on defence as was on the spittingrtedly issues like the patriotism and stuff that really matters and has huge residents. we will see liebert talking a huge amount about that now coming up about how believable they come across as a different matter, but huge amounts of this. they know those the cultural issues really measuring back in 2024. get your perspective, can they redo it, and every gain these seats?” perspective, can they redo it, and every gain these seats? i think a lot of it depends on which territory between 24 general election is for. so much uncertainty about what's going to happen in the next three yea rs, particularly to going to happen in the next three years, particularly to the economy. with the interesting things about labour voters in these areas is when you look at the polling it tends to be closer to conservatives on social issues, some of them, not all of them. that's a good massive generalisation. but the tenancy. and they tend to be much closer to liberal party on economic issues. and that's w

sir keir starmer has ordered his mps to back the agreement.thin, but says it's better than a no—deal outcome, and he doesn't feel that labour should be, as he put it, "sitting on the sidelines by abstaining". but at least a handful of his own mps do look set to defy him. some of them argue the deal will pass anyway, they shouldn't put their names, they say, to an agreement they think is bad for the country. but regardless, a deal does look set to race through parliament as parliament is recalled here tomorrow. now of course, the uk did actually leave the eu back injanuary, but it's in two days' time that it actually extracts itself from the european union at the end of the transition period. so on issues of trade and immigration, that is when the relationship fundamentally changes — that's when we begin to find out what brexit really means. ed davey is the leader of the liberal democrats in the uk, and hejoins me now. the liberal democrats, the scottish nationalists, the greens are all voting against this deal. what good does that do? well, th

sir keir starmer has ordered his mps to back the agreement.ribes that agreement as thin, but says it's better than a no—deal outcome, and he doesn't feel that labour should be, as he put it, "sitting on the sidelines by abstaining". but at least a handful of his own mps do look set to defy him. some of them argue the deal will pass anyway, they shouldn't put their names, they say, to an agreement they think is bad for the country. but regardless, a deal does look set to race through parliament as parliament is recalled here tomorrow. now of course, the uk did actually leave the eu back injanuary, but it's in two days‘ time that it actually extracts itself from the european union at the end of the transition period. so, on issues of trade and immigration, that is when the relationship fundamentally changes — that's when we begin to find out what brexit really means. jessica parker therefore asked there. —— there for us. now on bbc news: 100 women, what does a city designed by women for women look like? cities are supposed to be built for all of

i expect keir starmer will go on that. any deal as opposed to no—deal so i think he will face a rebellion in his ranks no matter what. what i will be watching out for are what. what i will be watching out forare sum of what. what i will be watching out for are sum of borisjohnson or‘s of the backbenchers, will they stiffen his backbone needs to be stiffened ahead of this meal this evening. he will be setting out some of their red lines for the primacy. now it's time for a look at the weather. over the next few days, low pressure is predominantly going to dominate our weather which means we are looking at changeable conditions. today, sunshine and showers with some rain in the west later. that rain is courtesy of an area of low pressure with its attending france. this will move a little bit further east before it sinks south into the new continent. what we have is the re m na nts of new continent. what we have is the remnants of a weather front producing some showery rain and some insta nt producing some showery rain and so

also, the labour leader keir starmer, that is not keir starmer in the background, incidentally, despitego on the economic aspect of the pandemic, but he changed tack because of the news of the vaccine and decided instead to look at the questions of distribution and persuasion, how you get that vaccine to people, how quick you can get people vaccinated. there is new test for borisjohnson people vaccinated. there is new test for boris johnson and people vaccinated. there is new test for borisjohnson and that is how efficiently and how effectively the most vulnerable can be vaccinated. in watson, well done! thank you. —— iain watson. and we'll have a special programme covering the downing street press co nfe re nce — led by the prime minister — this afternoon at 4:30 on bbc one and the bbc news channel. our top story this lunchtime. the uk becomes the first country in the world to approve the pfizer coronavirus vaccine. and still to come — who will get the vaccine and how? we'll answer your questions about the newly—approved covid—19 vaccine. coming up on bbc news. as the second lockdown i

labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plans.the government holds talks with leaders of scotland wales and northern ireland, will the case be made for a tightening the rules? greenwich council backs down and tells schools they should stay open after the education secretary threatens legal action. but the council still says closing schools would have helped stop the virus spreading. we're not interested in a legal argument with the government about who is right and who is wrong, because i know that — presented with the information that i had in front of me, from talking to greenwich head teachers, greenwich families and children who were in schools — this would have been in everyone's best interests. more than 800,000 fewer people are on the payroll now than at the start of the pandemic — with hospitality and retail particularly badly hit the number of people dying in scotland from drug misuse has reached a new record high and is the worst in europe. and coming up in sport — a 9 month driving ban for england and aston villa footba

sir keir starmer said that wasn't credible. credible. 0n starmer said that wasn't credible.uld be be adding that on to scale. you would be be adding that ontoa scale. you would be be adding that on to a list of sevenions. it was a difficult decision to take but they have said they will back this. helen, there are so much detail to go through and of course we will exploring all of that over the coming hours, but it is worth not jumping ahead because we have arrived at a significant moment. not the same with this deal because borisjohnson the same with this deal because boris johnson saying the same with this deal because borisjohnson saying repeatedly in that news conference there will be change, inside a week. yes, this is a big moment and worth reflecting on that, that this is a really big moment. there was no certainty a trade deal would be agreed an in that course of nine months they have reached an agreement that both sides are happy with, that is the biggest trade deal either have signed. so thatis trade deal either have signed. so that is a moment. does that mean nothi

sir keir starmer says he knows restrictions are needed but he has reservations, such as...rs qualify for the one—off £500 self—isolation support, one in eight qualify for that support. anyone not receiving that has to rely on statutory sick pay which is the equivalent of £13 a day. that is a huge problem that needs to be addressed. the debate is expected to last all afternoon — more than 100 mps want to speak. all of them are aware of the severity of what people in england are being asked to do and it leaves some conservatives saying the restrictions go too far. if the government is to take away fundamental liberties of the people whom we represent, they must demonstrate beyond question that they are acting in a way that is both proportionate and absolutely necessary. today i believe the government has failed to make that compelling case. the government is going to offer around £40 million of extra support for pubs in england most badly affected by the restrictions. labour's decision to abstain alongside the snp and the liberal democrats means the government is going to win

then borisjohnson converted after keir starmer.s all the way along. borisjohnson and political calls all the way along. boris johnson has and political calls all the way along. borisjohnson has been retreating for the past few days in order to appease his backbenchers. but there is no doubt that keir starmer now will find it harder to justify in the future and say, "look, i'm just following the science." what is the science? if the sciences following the government's position, you not backing that because he has concerns about the economic side. we have this right throughout the crisis, this right throughout the crisis, this tension between lives and livelihoods. they are linked in some ways, but it is also where do you put the priority? what it has done is focused on the authority of boris johnson and keir starmer. i'm just wondering where it is for both of them at the moment. they are bruised and battered, i would have thought. also abstaining are the liberal democrats and the snp. the snp because it is going to be an english—onl

it was clear to keir starmer, it was clear to many scientists weeks ago that this was problematic, a families. they were saying, it wasn‘t looking like a very sensible idea. but he said, it would be inhuman to cancel christmas, only on tuesday they said they would go ahead with these plans. the problem was, and what will be examined closely, is whether the government and the prime minister should have realised earlier this would not be possible to continue with the plans. that would have given them all warning and then people would not have been led to believe they could mix a christmas. it is not that they didn‘t follow the science, they didn‘t follow the science, they didn‘t follow the science, they didn‘t follow it closely enough. this is going to be, as i say, very intensely scrutinised. catherine, the sunday times have a piece about borisjohnson himself the sunday times have a piece about boris johnson himself saying, the sunday times have a piece about borisjohnson himself saying, what the sunday times have a piece about boris johnson himself saying, what a haunted look he had

labour leader sir keir starmer calls on ministers to hold an emergency review of the christmas plansd asks schools to remain open, after the education secretary threatens to take legal action. we'll hear from the council leader live this hour. more than 800,000 fewer people are on the payroll now than at the start of the pandemic, with hospitality and retail particularly badly hit.

sir keir starmer has instructed his mps to back the deal.ed it is better than no deal stop at summit labour mp's are expected to d efy labour mp's are expected to defy him. i think sir keir starmer is making a fundamental mistake in whipping to do this. i think if he had whipped to abstain he would have a unified party. i think as well our comms on this why we are voting for this have been i think appalling. i think what we're doing is walking in yet again toa doing is walking in yet again to a long—term bear trap that the government has put down. brexit has often cause division, even at times political turmoil. but after yea rs of political turmoil. but after years of heated debate and hard negotiations, the country will soon start to find out what makes it really means. jessica parker, bbc news. senators in argentina are debating a bill which would legalise abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy. the bill has already been approved by the chamber of deputies — but that debate lasted some 20 hours — and the senate discussion is expected t

sir keir starmer has ordered his mps to back the agreement.outcome, and he doesn‘t feel that labour should be, as he put it, "sitting on the sidelines by abstaining". but at least a handful of his own mps do look set to defy him. some of them argue the deal will pass anyway, they shouldn‘t put their names, they say, to an agreement they think is bad for the country. but regardless, a deal does look set to race through parliament as parliament is recalled here tomorrow. now of course, the uk did actually leave the eu back injanuary, but it‘s in two days‘ time that it actually extracts itself from the european union at the end of the transition period. so, on issues of trade and immigration, that is when the relationship fundamentally changes — that‘s when we begin to find out what brexit really means. the argentine senate is debating a bill legalising abortion, despite objections from the country‘s influential roman catholic church. the bill would allow women to end pregnancies up to the fourteenth week. the vote has polarised the country and,

sir keir starmer.od morning. i want to start by addressing the emerging situation relating to the pandemic. the news over the last 24 hours has been deeply, deeply disturbing. the number of coronavirus cases has may be doubled in the last week, and over 67,000 people have now tragically died, and hospital admissions are rising. we cannot be in any doubt, the virus is now out of control. international flights have been banned, international borders have been shot, and there is now severe disruption at british ports. make no mistake, this is now a real emergency. i have faith in the british people to once again step up to the challenges, as they've done at every stage of the pandemic, but they expect the government to do the same. we can have no more overpromising, no more confused messages and slow decision—making. we need strong, clear and decisive leadership. the prime minister needs to be straight with people about precisely what's going on and precisely what he is going on and precisely what he is g

the labour leader sir keir starmer is facing a rebellion by some of his mps over his decision to supportir will instruct his mps to vote for the deal in the commons tomorrow. although he says the deal is not what boris johnson promised, he says it‘s better than no deal at all. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker is at westminster. jessica, tell us a little more about the feeling on the labour backbenchers and indeed the front bench. firstly, important to point out the boris johnson bench. firstly, important to point out the borisjohnson is likely bench. firstly, important to point out the boris johnson is likely to get his trade deal through parliament tomorrow. he has a majority and today won the backing ofa group majority and today won the backing of a group of eurosceptic conservative mps in parliament but things looking more complicated for the labour party as sir keir starmer has ordered his mps to back the agreement and describes it as a thin but says it is better than a no deal outcome and he does not think labour should be sitting on the sidelines by abstaining but at leas

keir starmer asked about preparations at the uk border. thanked businesses for what they'd done so far. we've all got to get ready because under any view, there is going to be change from january the ist. there will be change in the way we do business, there will be more opportunities for this country around the world. and i'm delighted by what i take as the increasing signal i'm getting, and i apologise mr speaker, the message from camden seems to be that, actually, given the choice, the right honourable gentleman would vote for a deal rather than not. did you get that impression? i think i do. because of its history and its land border with the european union, northern ireland has been made a special case and will remain in greater alignment with the eu. and now, there's been an extra agreement to make sure that goods can also still flow smoothly between northern ireland and the rest of the uk at least in the short term. the snp‘s westminster leader said government ministers had themselves described that as the best of both worlds. what

keir starmer said he should do more to help the 200,000 shop workers who've lost theirjobs this year.mergency support, will the prime minister work with us, with the trade unions and the sector to finally bring forward a comprehensive plan to save retail jobs and to provide the sector with the much greater support it needs through this crisis? these are the people, prime minister, with realjobs, this family are facing the sack. they really need to hear from you. the prime minister said the government was supporting everyjob before again turning defence into attack. when it came to protecting the people of this country from coronavirus, at this critical moment, he told his troops to abstain, mr speaker! captain hindsight is rising rapidly up the ranks and has become general indecision, mr speaker! that's what's happening, i'm afraid, to the right honourable gentleman. he dithers. we get on with the job. the snp leader called for more help for self—employed people who've fallen through the covid support gap. we're now a little over three weeks from christmas. these people need help. wil

labour leader sir keir starmer — who campaigned against brexit — has said the "thin" agreement does not

sur keir starmer, labour leader, speaking earlier today.ituation across the country. but first, scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, updating the holyrood parliament, ahead of first minister's questions. the total number of cases reported yesterday was 858, 4.4% of all tests reported, and the total number of positive cases is now 109,296. 1012 people are in hospital, 19 fewer than yesterday, and 50 people are in intensive care, one more thing yesterday. i also regret to report that in the past 2a hours a further 30 deaths were registered of patients who first tested positive over the previous 28 days. and the total number of people who have died under that daily measurement is now 4203. again, my condolences are with everyone who has lost a loved one. we will also shortly publish the latest estimate of the r number. we expect that it will show that the r number has risen slightly this week and is now around one again, as opposed to just below one. this underlines the importance of having taken a cautious approach to this week's level

sir keir starmer accused the prime minister of repeating the same mistakes and losing public trust.all know what the tipping point was, the 520 mile round—trip to barnard castle and the humiliating way in which the prime minister and his cabinet chose to defend it. and now we learn, now we learn that while the prime minister and the chancellor are telling the armed forces, police officers, care workers and firefighters that they will get a pay freeze, dominic cummings has been handed at least a £40,000 pay rise. how on earth does the prime minister justify that? well, mr speaker, he totally trivialises the efforts of the british people... laughing. ..in getting the virus down. he says, and he says that none of the measures, none of the lockdown measures have worked, it's absolutely untrue, mr speaker! all he wants to do, mr speaker, is to lock the whole country down. he's a one club golfer. that's the only solution he has. and then, mr speaker, all he does is attack the economic consequences of lockdowns! keir starmer said the next big mistake looked to be the easing of restrictions

minister's questions accusing sir cure of money to cancel christmas. —— sir keir starmer.re of the papers that we have been so far are saying pretty squarely all around that christmas has been cancelled and it is borisjohnson‘s decision. obviously it is snowing millions of people and their plans into disarray. —— it is throwing. but the pressure on the prime minister, particularforthe but the pressure on the prime minister, particularfor the health services as hugh pym was saying earlier when the pressure on hospitals, which are as well, the extraordinary almost unprecedented linking of the two major health service journals earlier this week calling on the prime minister to not go ahead or to not allow the relaxation of the five days over christmas. i think he would've been absolutely damned if you want to head. the question is why did he ever think letting everybody go across the country for five days and mingling was a good idea if you cancel at this short notice when the warning signs have been there, we have known about this new strain for several days now. he can't ha

sir keir starmer explained labour's decision to abstain.continuing restrictions and i do recognise that the tiers have been toughened, as it was obvious to everyone that the previous tiers were a one—way street to tier 3. but i am far from convinced by what the prime minister has said today. in particular, the economic package is nowhere near sufficient to support the communities most affected. a conservative took issue with that approach. we have choices to control this virus. we can have a lockdown, we can have a tier system or no lockdown, where lives like john and ken — who we just recently lost in my family to this awful disease — have happened. why will the right honourable gentleman of the labour party not support these measures which are saving lives tonight? we have been here before. this is at least plan number five, and the first four have not worked, so i think everybody would forgive the british public for being sceptical about the fifth plan. we recognise the need for continued restrictions but it is not in the national intere

that is sir keir starmer giving his views on boris johnson's announcement yesterday, saying that thenore them. he said the prime minister had once again been caught behind curb. —— curve. let us tell you that in terms of flights from the uk, we know the netherlands have banned passenger flights from the uk, will talk more about that in a moment. we are now also hearing because of the new variant of coronavirus, the german government is looking at restricting uk flights asa is looking at restricting uk flights as a serious option. there is also report on another news agency that belgium is also considering a flight and train ban from britain from midnight on sunday, after the uk detected that coronavirus variant suspected to be more infectious than other variants. the prime minister of belgium has said that that man on flights and train arrivals from the uk will be in place for at least a day, midnight on sunday. that is after boris johnson's announcement ofa after boris johnson's announcement of a higher tier restriction in london and part of the south—east of england. as we were say

labour chose a new leader in sir keir starmer.ht remember 2020 as the year that life stood still, but in politics, it's been a whirlwind. boris johnson began the year having secured an emphatic election victory with an 80—seat majority and delivering on his promise to get brexit done. with the eu divorce deal backed by parliament, he had a new slogan of what he called "leveling up". people don't feel that they have a chance to get to the opportunity areas, to the high skill, high pay jobs, and that's one of the things that i hope by the end of this parliament, we will attack. it was supposed to be a fresh start... and there you have it, we are no longer a member of the european union. ..leaving the bitter brexit battle far behind, now the issue that had dominated politics for years had been settled. unless something really, really odd happens, we're going to be sitting here next year and the biggest thing that will have happened politically and all the rest will be the uk's out of the european union. well, something was happening

in the last few minutes, labour leader sir keir starmer has added his voice to those questioning the relaxation. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker reports. will you stand under the tree? getting into the spirit and under the tree, senior ministerjacob rees—mogg en route to cabinet but a small diversion first. will we still get christmas? happy christmas. london, most of essex, parts of hertfordshire head for tighter rules tonight, the government revealed yesterday as well, there was a new strain of the virus and faced questions whether a temporary relaxation of the rules next week was wise? i think it's important that all of us are cautious ahead of christmas. of course it is a period of risk and that is the reason we wa nt of risk and that is the reason we want people to take it very seriously and go no further. last month, all four nations agreed that from the 23rd to the 27th of december, people can mix with up to three households. and stay overnight. there an extra day, either side, for those travelling to and from northern ireland. but ministers are emphasising wider ru

the leader of the uk‘s opposition labour party — sir keir starmer — gave his reaction to the deal.l, but was adamant a better one could have been reached... it is not the deal that the government promised. far from it. and there are serious questions about the government‘s preparedness for the new arrangements. as ever, leaving everything to the last minute has made it even more difficult for businesses to be ready. a better deal could have been negotiated. let‘s speak now to the conservative mp and former business secretary, andrea leadsom. i know from your social media feed that you are over the moon today. prime minister boris johnson that you are over the moon today. prime minister borisjohnson was asks that press conference whether the uk would definitely be better off. will it be? without any question, yes! this this is a huge day for celebration. this is the culmination of something that has taken four and culmination of something that has taken fourand a culmination of something that has taken four and a half years to deliver, and that is on the democratic will of the peopl

0pposition leader keir starmer has said he will support the deal and he urges labour mps to do the samedo expect the possibility of a labour rebellion among some mps. labour rebellion among some mps. labour is in a pretty awkward position. 0n labour is in a pretty awkward position. on one hand they say they will support it largely, but on the other hand they criticise the deal, saying it is a thin, as we had shadow chancellor anneliese dodds say. she explains that position by saying there is already so much uncertainty out there for business at the moment, and they had to wait at the moment, and they had to wait a week until the end of the transition period until they saw this deal, and they are also dealing with the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, so that is what labour has been saying. that's why they will support the deal. we could see some pushback from eurosceptic members of the conservative party. we have heard some criticism from them saying there isn't enough time to scrutinise the detail of the deal. we know lots of them have been poring over this 1200 page

i call the right honourable keir starmer. thank you, mr speaker.reaty that has been agreed with the treaty that has been agreed with the eu or do we not? that is the choice. if we choose not to, the outcome is clear. we leave the transition period without a deal, without a deal on security, on trade, on fisheries, without protection for our manufacturing sector, for farming, for countless british businesses, and without a foothold to build a future relationship with the eu. anyone choosing that option today knows there is no time to renegotiate, there is no time to renegotiate, there is no better deal coming in there is no better deal coming in the next 2a hours, no extensions, no humble addresses, so choosing that option leads to one place, no—deal. orwe option leads to one place, no—deal. or we could take the only other option that is available, and implement the treaty that has been negotiated. now, this is a thin deal, it has got many flaws, and i will come to that in a moment. i will come to that in a moment. i will injust a minute. but a thin

instead, its leader keir starmer had this message.ves. people jobs. and people's businesses. they need a deal. they expected deal and a deal is what must happen. so there is keir starmer saying you wants a deal but is giving us detail on where he would give ground to get one? no he hasn't. but i think what's really fascinating is how he has decided to deal with the dilemma that the opposition party here would face, because if you think about it, the governing conservatives are now an absolute out and out pro brexit party. they could have decided to make labouran party. they could have decided to make labour an anti—brexit party saying we don't support any deal, we will certainly not support no deal, and essentially saying the whole brexit debacle will be the conservatives fault. the danger of that, of course, is that you would be seen as rather disloyal and wishing the country's failure, which wouldn't be popular with working class people who used to vote labour and he voted for brexit. the other option of course was to say, well, bri

it is essentially a tactical thing and everyone knows keir starmer and was not in favour of doing brexituld decide that with the shadow cabinet and i don't want to make his life difficult by putting my 2p within and it is for me a tactical question anyway. everyone knows where the labour party stands. the most important thing, never mind what you do on the vote, what is the future of britain outside of the european union? and that is a debate the country has got to have because lam, the country has got to have because i am, the first time in my life, really concerned about where britain goes. because we have made a big, big change, 0k, we have done it, there are ways you can make it work but it will not work on its own,, by the natural consequence of things. it will have to be gripped and it will have to be shaped and you have to get a strategy to put this country back economically and politically in the strong position, and it will not happen unless it is made to happen, and that is a very, very difficult debate and the debate has to be had with the country as a whole and my view again

the labour leader sir keir starmer said the government has been too slow to respond to the growth ofl correspondent iain watson reports. worried that the time to see family is running out. she has cancer and welcomes the chance to meet them this christmas. i really want to see everybody and my family would really like to see me. i really don't know how long i've got. it's christmas cancelled, prime minister? but boris johnson has been under pressure to change direction over relaxing rules over christmas and at prime minister's questions, the labour leader asked for the evidence that justifies going ahead. the british medicaljournal yesterday said this. we believe the government is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives. the prime minister should listen to that advice, not just ignore minister should listen to that advice, notjust ignore it as usual. and if he really is going to press ahead with this, can he tell us what is the assessment and has it been done, of the impact it will have on infection rates and increased pressure on the nhs? boris johnson ac

the party leader, keir starmer, says he would be reluctant to see schools close. leader, keir starmers closelj sympathise with why the council has taken the decision they have. what i would much rather happen is that the department for education gives guidance to all borrowers in schools. what we don't want is a free for all, with some schools open, some schools closed, some councils decide on one thing, some councils decide on one thing, some councils the other, that's why the government need to provide leadership. they have to make sure the schools have a mass testing and i'm grateful to governments for providing this college with mass testing. we have to roll it out across all schools. if it's the case that our schools can't have a testing this week, they should close early. children can have a virus and bea early. children can have a virus and be a cinematic. go home, give it to mum and dad, they are showing symptoms or not and pass it that way. it's not as simple as saying, we haven't seen a child with a symptom, so we haven't had the virus. there has been a 75% increase in the s