norman smith, thank you, oui’ parties. norman smith, thank you, our assistant political editor.ost of their losses across the south of england. in winchester the liberal democrats took control of the city council from the tories, picking up six seats from them. labour also gained seats. from winchester, duncan kennedy. liberal democrats, 1000178. democracy by numbers, that number triggered a change of power in winchester. the lib dems took control from the conservatives, with voter anger over brexit propelling the shift. there was a bit of anger over brexit and i suspect a number of people didn't vote because of that. the losing conservatives have analysed it the same way, unable to persuade voters to see past brexit. people were very upset with the politicians not being able to come toa politicians not being able to come to a positive conclusion on a deal to a positive conclusion on a deal to leave the european union. the winchester result was a small piece of political history in a place that used to be the centre of english power. but whilst you don't have to go back to the n

let's get the thoughts of our assistant political editor norman smith at westminster.this a case of the voters saying, a plague on both your houses to labour and the conservatives? many voters are absolutely fed up to the back teeth of the two main parties spending time on brexit and getting absolutely no nowhere. what is less

norman smith, we were going through the runners and riders.son, who has already officially said he will run, that he would make it to the list of two that would be put to the party at large and the country. we know in the party around the uk, he is overwhelmingly popular. know in the party around the uk, he is overwhelmingly popularlj know in the party around the uk, he is overwhelmingly popular. i think the truth about tory leadership contest is to place no wait on expectation because frankly anything can happen, and frankly does. on the face of it, you would say boris johnson is the standout frontrunner, the polls suggest it and he is the party darling and he is a shoeing if it went to the party grassroots. but if you trace previous tory leadership contest, it never works out that way. michael heseltine did in mrs thatcher, the glory boy of the tory party, but was overtaken by the tory party, but was overtaken by the grey man, john major. nobody predicted that. iain duncan smith was not an obvious person to succeed, but he did. even david ca

back with me is our assistant political editor norman smith.stions i suppose that are inexorably linked. what next for the conservative party and what next for the country? for the conservative party, obviously they enter a sort of wacky races style leadership contest with around a dozen different candidates, everyone it seems but mutley! for the country, in some ways nothing much has changed. we still have a deadlocked parliament, the parliamentary arithmetic has not changed, still the same old arguments, the same site on the opposite side of the table their withdrawal agreement. the hope has to be that a new leader can inject new momentum, new ideas, new direction to a sort of break the logjam. if not, and the odds are stacked against the new leader, then we are heading towards 0ctober stacked against the new leader, then we are heading towards october 31 and there are basicallyjust two avenues. 0ne and there are basicallyjust two avenues. one is we get them without having resolved it and we have to go to the eu and say, please, sir, can we h

norman's smith in westminster, thank you. an eu summit is taking place in romania.s is there. this was supposed to be the eu summit with the uk government, the eu summit for the uk government, the eu summit for the 27. it's not quite worked out like that. you are right. this was planned long ago to be the moment when the uk would have gone at the end of march. the eu 27 would meet here to plot the way forward. they are meeting to plot the way forward but the uk is still in. the reason i wasn't invited. it is a summit of 27 so wasn't invited. it is a summit of 27 so she isn't here and you get the sense i have to say that the 27 today are looking to a future without the uk. those leaders came out here a little earlier and were here for their group photographs, there was a cheer from the crowd in there was a cheer from the crowd in the square. what they have just issued is a declaration looking to the future. they are talking about an eu that has a position in the world between the america and china and the other big polls and the eu that acts on climate change and glo

norman smith at westminster.e of the stark financial pressures facing english councils, and the devastating effect on care services. new figures suggest 11 local authorities could run out of cash reserves in four years, with the local government association saying councils face systemic underfunding. ministers insist they've put more money into social care, but the health foundation says the average spend in england is much less per head, than in wales and scotland. 0ur social affairs correspondent, alison holt, has been examining the care system for the bbc‘s panorama programme. i don't like it. that's all right, i'll come with you and i'll help you. rachel and her mother barbara are at the sharp end of the financial pressures local authorities are facing. where are you? i'm only here. we're going to go this way now. all right? i don't want to be here. barbara has severe dementia and their county council, somerset, closed the dementia care centre they relied on, as it tried to balance its books. the authority of

norman smith at westminster.nment has condemned as appalling abuse of vulnerable patients uncovered by the bbc at a hospital in county durham. secret filming for panorama showed staff mocking and intimidating people with autism and learning difficulties at whorlton hall. the health minister, caroline dinenage, has apologised on behalf of the health and care system. this report from our social affairs correspondent alison holt contains some distressing detail. see that tiny, tiny car? alex is 20 years old and profoundly autistic. she spent ten months here at whorlton hall hospital in county durham, a private hospital looking after about a dozen nhs—funded patients with learning disabilities or autism. here, panorama's undercover reporter found a culture of bullying, intimidation and taunting. alex is scared of men and should only be looked after by women. alex screams. but when she gets upset, two male care staff soon arrive. the female carers are told to go away for five minutes. alex's screams can still be heard

norman smith in westminster, thank you.n rights commission has launched a formal investigation into the labour party over allegations of anti—semitism. labour says it will cooperate fully with the investigation — but rejected suggestions that it does not handle complaints robustly. our political correspondentjessica parker is in westminster. it's the latest development in the long—running saga of allegations of anti—semitism in the labour party, we knew the equality and human rights commission was considering whether to launch an investigation into the labour party, they have confirmed they will do so, they will be looking at whether the labour party has acted unlawfully under equality legislation and whether it responds to complaints in an efficient and effective manner. one labourmp efficient and effective manner. one labour mp who is a long—standing critic of the labour leadership on this issue is with streaking and he says today is a day of great shame for the labour party, the labour party says it will cooperate fully

with me to discuss this more is our assistant political editor, norman smith.has been calling for a general election for some time. it certainly will not happen because in the wake of local elections, european elections, the brexit shambles, the last thing a new tory leader will want to do is go to the country, so i don't think it will happen anytime soon. it's not a complete nonstarter. you could have a scenario where you get a new leaderfaced have a scenario where you get a new leader faced with the same parliament, and they can't get their way through so the only thing to do is to shake up the arithmetic. you could have a scenario where a new tory leader comes in, gets momentum, and thanks, i will call a general election just to see if i can get a majority to push through brexit. i think it's unlikely given mrs may tried pretty much the same trick when she took over thinking she could get a bounce to go into a election and the majority blew up in herface. she was kibosh ever afterwards. i don't think it's going to happen, but i find it interesting her now re

let's go to our assistant political editor norman smith who is at westminster. . a lot going on but i'll be getting anywhere? i think that is what many people are beginning to ponder because there does not seem to be any imminent sign of a breakthrough in the brexit talks. they resume again this afternoon. the language after yesterday's's meeting did not suggest an agreement was imminent. i'm joined by the former conservative brexit minister david jones. do you think these talks are going to go anywhere? it doesn't look as if they are at the moment. clearly, there is a breakdown in communication between them. it seems to me that labour are pressing for a second referendum which the government won't wear. i don't think the customs union issue is really a problem because the government has actually already promised that a nyway actually already promised that anyway and i think that a permanent customs union is going to be off the agenda. what about the prime minister's position. did you think the 22 are likely to look at redrawing the rules to force a contest befor

want her to set a firm date for her departure from downing street. 0ur assistant political editor norman smithy sign she will give them that date? i would think almost certainly not because we know when mrs may is asked a direct question she tends to go into automatic geoffrey boycott defensive mode. secondly i think her view is worship to give a date it would further wea ken to give a date it would further weaken and undermine her already decidedly wobbly position, but also because frankly she has kind of given us a nod and a wink about the likely timetable for her departure because she has already said if she gets a deal through the commons next month, she will wait to get it through parliament which would mean leaving i guess in the second or third week ofjuly. if much more likely the deal goes down in flames in the first week ofjune, the expectation, including amongst her loyal allies, is she would have to go. number ten have been clear there is not going to be another attempt to try to get this plan through so it really comes down to whether mps on the 22 trust mrs may. there is a split,

norman smith, thank you for that. 9:19am: the government will provide £200 million of funding to replace to replace unsafe cladding on more than 150 private tower blocks. a stark warning that flood planners must prepare for the worst as global temperatures rise. one in five police officers are suffering from post—traumatic stress disorder, according to new figures. yet more drama as tottenham complete a remarkable turnaround to reach their first champions league final, sparking wild celebrations, coming from three goals down to knock out ajax in last night's second leg in amsterdam. and we could see an all english europa league final. chelsea's tie with eintracht frankfurt is level at 1—1, whiile arsenal take a 3—1 lead to valencia ahead of tonight's semi final second legs. and there was still time forjofra archer to push for a world cup place before england's first one—day international against pakistan was abandoned because of persistent rain on a frustrating day at the 0val. i will be back with more on all of those

our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. candidates, as we were mentioning audio, norman, what willjames cleverly bring to this? well, he says he wants to present a different sort of conservative party, one that is open to new ideas, is open to change, andi is open to new ideas, is open to change, and i think underlying his entry into the race, i think it reflects the frustration of many younger tories that the current crop of sort of tory cabinet ministers are ofa of sort of tory cabinet ministers are of a generation whose time has been. and i think they take the view, the younger tories, that they need to make way for fresh ideas and fresh thinking and by continuing to dominate the cabinet, it is almost a block on new talent coming through. and it's worth remembering, david cameron and george osborne, when they took over the tory party, they we re they took over the tory party, they were if you like from a new generation. and i think it reflects that sort of tension building up because we really do have an extraordinarily l

norman smith, thank you very much.s reflected in southampton where brexit party leader nigel farage heard he'd been elected as an mep and the lib dems did well. duncan kennedty reports now from southampton. just a warning — there's some flash photography in his report. the smile on the face of nigel farage also enough to dim the lights of southampton he believes we've seen a of southampton he believes we've seen a sea change of southampton he believes we've seen a sea change in british politics. southampton is a stopover for britain has met european cruise industry and the results last night revealed 38 want to change the old political certainties. they think the brexit party is the only serious way to deliver the referendum result. who did you vote for? brexit, it is the only vote. why? to get out and be strong again. was this and i shall moment orjust a loss of confidence in the others? the brexit party took four the lib dems three and the tories, labour and the green party on one. did you vote dem because they are a

norman smith.d a national emergency to protect us computer networks from what he calls foreign adversaries. the executive order bans american companies from using foreign telecoms that might pose a security risk. it does not name any company, but is believed to target chinese tech giant, huawei. our north america correspondent, peter bowes, has more. another fight with china. a foreign adversary whose telecom giant could pose a national security threat to the us. in a statement from the white house, there is no mention of specific countries or companies but it is clear the trump administration has huawei in its sights. the us will ban transactions posing an unacceptable risk, with the president pledging to do what it takes to keep america safe and prosperous. as the us and other countries develop 5g networks, this is a battle over new technology and security, on top of the trade war which has escalated in recent days. chinese companies can be pressured by the chinese government and the communist pa

listening to that, our assistant political editor norman smith in westminster. of delivering brexit and one behind backing a second public vote in certain circumstances. how much is that a risky strategy, do you think, as labour heads into these elections? usually risky. the fear of some labour mps is that it is tantamount to sitting in the middle—of—the—road as to greatjuggernaut are coming towards you, one marked leave and one marked remain. a telling phrase in the conference was when mr corbyn said in response to questions about where labour stood, i don't think there is any confusion about our message. i suspect there is a degree of confusion, because mr corbyn again reiterated that the party would not ignore the result of the referendum. 17 million people voted for it, he reiterated that the party conference had confirmed that labour would respect the result of the referendum. and at the same time, he ta kes a referendum. and at the same time, he takes a tilt to try and appease remainers by saying, but don't worry, we are keeping on the table the option of

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in central lobby for us. is the big boat. it is showtime for messes may or —— miss may or leadership. unless the labour we re may or leadership. unless the labour were to do a flip and agree to a deal with messes may, it is hard to see how she would get a vote through. what is your take on the move by the prime minister?” through. what is your take on the move by the prime minister? i think it is bizarre. we have had less trail of announcements that they are making progress, but everyone has seen the storm building with the brexit party and the run to the euros. it looks like they are going to... yesterday they announced they would have conformity votes, now they have changed the mind and said it is the bell. i do not see any way in which this is going to unless as you say, the labour party decides to support it in which case most of the conservative party will not. so you have a dreadful mess which will be the result, after the euros, will be trashed, both parties will have had a severe getting. and if the a

let‘s go live to westminster now and join our assistant political editor norman smith with his assessment lacklustre. mr corbin and mrs may trading figures on the nhs. most notable bits? perhaps that question from the relatively new tory mp andrea jenkyns, confronting theresa may and telling her she had failed and it was time to step aside. 0f course, ian blackford, the royal baby blooper when he got the wrong pa rents. baby blooper when he got the wrong parents. a bit awkward, that! let‘s discuss with the liberal democrats christine jardine, labour‘s lucy powell and peter bone of the conservatives. what about that question from andrea jenkins? is that more of the same or is there something new going on?” that more of the same or is there something new going on? i think the difference now is that the majority of conservative mps think she needs to go and go soon. we were supposed to go and go soon. we were supposed to have a timetable where theresa may said she would not go pastjune, but we are all waiting for some announcement. she avoided answering the question again today. let me put i

well, let's get some more reaction to pmqs now with our assistant political editor, norman smith.ello there. thank you. a funny old pmqs today, didn't really kick off. no mention of the brexit word. everyone knows local elections are tomorrow and i suspect party whips to those asking questions, ease off on brexit, no one likes it so it was a mixed bag. all sorts of local constituency questions as everyone waits to see how the local elections unfold. i am joined by the labour mp and a conservative and snp mp. local elections tend to get a low turnout, do they matter? absolutely they matter. they matter to constituents around the country who are expecting around the country who are expecting a cancel to protect them and work for them. a cancel to protect them and work forthem. i a cancel to protect them and work for them. i have found pmqs quite interesting, jeremy corbyn going on about social mobility and the job in life expectancy. in communities like mine, that is something which impacts on us, it is notjust the north— south divide it is also between city and signed. the idea tha

well let's cross to westminster now where we can speak to our assistant political editor, norman smithf only! on the plus side after weeks of hacking oui’ the plus side after weeks of hacking our way through brexit mush and confusion, we have clarity. we have a date. we have a decision and maybe we have an end game, notjust for mrs may's deal, but maybe her premiership. let's discuss that with three guests. do you think we are now really in the last days of mrs may's premiership. she said she won't go until she has got the part of deal through. if she can't get it through on the week of the third, who knows. she is not suggesting she may stagger on if the deal is rejected for a fourth time. may stagger on if the deal is rejected for a fourth timelj may stagger on if the deal is rejected for a fourth time. i think she will try. how will your party respond if she did. some would acce pt respond if she did. some would accept that and support her and some that definitely wouldn't. we have got to get through that, because we are definitely mrit on whether she should —— split on whether she

talks with labour continue to try and break the brexit deadlock. 0ur assistant political editor norman smithent at prime ministers questions when a fairly new tory mp challenged to his innate ability to step aside and told her that she had failed. plenty of tory mps are willing to say so privately but to say so publicly in the full glare of the chamber i think gives you a sense of the weight that events and attitudes seem to be hardening and moving against theresa may. again in part of course because of the catastrophic local election results and in part because of the ongoing talks with labour which once more resume this afternoon and about which many tory mps are furious. and of course after that further delay to brexit. so much so that tonight the 1922 committee of tory backbenchers will again revisit the party rules to decide whether they need to be redrawn to allow another leadership challenge to theresa may ahead of december. it would be foolish to underestimate theresa may, she has swatted away different leadership challenges, she is the original duracell politician who just keeps goi

afternoon between senior cabinet ministers and the labour party. 0ur assistant political editor norman smithestminster. pressure on the prime minister to name the date when she might step down. are we likely to get that? are tory backbenchers likely to get that? almost certainly not. the word from number 10 is theresa may has said she will go when brexit is done. they say that as an unprecedented offer so i doubt she is going to give them the specific dates they want and some are pressing her to leave by the end of june. there is renewed pressure, not coming from mps here, but from tory grassroots members, the national conservative convention, basically the local party chairman and women are going to be holding an extraordinary general meeting on june the 15th at which they will vote on a motion of no confidence in the prime minister. it has no constitutional authority. it does not force theresa may to go but it is unheard—of. we have never been here before so if there were to be disastrous results and their local party members were to pass a motion of no confidence that would hugely increas

jonathan blake, bbc news, westminster. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smith, is at westminsterlabour and the government today but are they getting anywhere? to be honest i would suspect we have more chance of winning the eurovision song contest than of a breakthrough in these talks because the intervention of keir starmer is pretty close to a deal breaker and there is no way to isa deal breaker and there is no way to is a make or accept another referendum. she has always set her face against that and we had the foreign secretary saying that it would be a betrayal. it is as if you are involved in a negotiation to sell your house and you have had weeks of solicitors letters going to and fro over the detail and then the other side come back to say that the roof looks a bit dodgy and they want a new roof on the house before they we re a new roof on the house before they were put in an offer. and you would think that isjust were put in an offer. and you would think that is just not happening. well the referendum call from keir starmer is like that and the only hope government is tha

our assistant political editor norman smith is with me.ue of europe yet again consuming another conservative prime minister but real emotion at the end of that statement we watched here in downing street from the prime minister. surprising in one way because misses may has always been a very controlled, very reserved politician, less so in another way because with these sorts of resignations always comes a degree of personal rejection, being dismissed to make way for the next person, and i also think it must‘ve been the realisation that her premiership has ended in failure. failure to deliver brexit. and all politicians tend to be obsessed with their place in history and i suspect their place in history and i suspect the history books will define misses may as the prime minister was unable to deliver on brexit and it was interesting in her resignation statement, slightly defensive element saying i did my best, i tried to get a deal which took us out, protected the economy, i tried three times to get it through parliament and was unable to

, saying "intolerance" would not be a part of the labour party. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith good morning, norman. is this a sign of a pretty open warfare onjeremy corbyn, these comments from tom watson? the truth is, the decision to expel alistair campbell has prompted a ferocious backlash with leading figures now openly criticising jeremy corbyn himself over the decision. the latest obviously being tom watson. tom watson has pretty much been at war with mr corbyn for months and those around mr corbyn privately suspect the deputy leader of undermining and trying to oust mr corbyn. but tom watson in a public statement said, many other labour people back the liberal democrats in the european elections because they too were fed up elections because they too were fed up with the party‘s stance on brexit, describing the decision to boot mr campbell out of the party is the politics of intolerance and the party needed to be a broad church, calling for an amnesty for those who would have been tempted to vote for other parties. we have heard from lord falconer, who says he believes t

we can bring in norman smith.ppetite for compromise following the last three years of trying to get a deal and getting pretty much nowhere. obviously, nigel farage‘s brexit party have done well, getting almost one third of the vote from standing start in six weeks, winning in every area of england, apart from london, and also winning in wales. hoovering up true blue tory seats and winning in theresa may‘s constituency and jeremy hunt‘s constituency and jeremy hunt‘s constituency and jeremy hunt‘s constituency and in borisjohnson‘s. and then also shaking jeremy corbyn‘s age by winning in labour leave seat such as bolsover, bassetlaw, traditional labour seats. on the other side, we have liberal democrats bouncing back after their bleak democrats bouncing back after their blea k yea rs democrats bouncing back after their bleak years to take second place, doing spectacularly well in london, overturning some of the key corbyn citadels such as winning in islington, haringey, camden. i suppose the question for the tory p

let's get more on this from norman smith, our assistant political editor. hello.ng up nicely for a real battle of wills, notjust over the future of the conservative party but the future of brexit. over the future of the conservative party but the future of brexitm is becoming the defining issue in the tory leadership contest and more than that coming down to one component of brexit, namely this issue about no deal and whether we should leave on october the 31st without an agreement or whether we have to get a deal. what is interesting about the intervention ofjeremy hunt is he has deliberately pitched himself as the man who will stand up to the likes of borisjohnson man who will stand up to the likes of boris johnson and man who will stand up to the likes of borisjohnson and other brexiteers who are just saying we should get out and not bother with a deal. he says clearly that would be disastrous. his argument is if any conservative prime minister tried to push ahead with no deal the house of commons would not wear it and there would be a vote of no confidence whi

our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster.n a last throw of the dice. i think we are entering the dice. i think we are entering the brexit end game for mrs my‘s plan and for her premiership. it was striking in the commons this lunchtime, there was a curiously underpowered mrs knight, almost a reflective m rs underpowered mrs knight, almost a reflective mrs may, and i wonder if she knows in her bones see is perhaps in the last few days of her premiership because if that deal goes down, most here think it will, it's very hard to see how she can continue stop one of her eyelids said to me this morning there will not be a fifth attempt. some tories here are actually pressing to force a contest before they get tojune. they want out before she gets the chance to bring a deal back which begs the question why is she doing this? i think in part she isjust one out of all other options. i think in part to see is clinging to the hope thatjeremy corbyn will come riding over the horizon like the seventh cavalry to rescue her. i think she al

our assistant political editor norman smith is at westminster.any cause for optimism? to be honest, i think we are in dead parrot country, you remember the famous monty python sketch where and i ratejohn cleese is reassured by the pet shop owner that the parrot is not deceased, he is merely pining for the fjords. these negotiations area bit like for the fjords. these negotiations are a bit like that norwegian blue, they are not going anywhere soon and they are not going anywhere soon and the reason is nothing to do with the cabinet or anything that happens in the talks or whatever olly robbins gets up to in brussels, it is simply the fact that on both sides of the commons, both sets of backbenchers are now vehemently opposed to any sort of deal and i suspect the opposition is now probably insurmountable on the labour side. as we have heard, labour mps fearful that they risk haemorrhaging support ifjeremy corbyn is seen to bail out mrs may and on the tory side, those former cabinet ministers pretty clear that mrs may risks splitting the party and

discuss her future comes as pressure grows for her to stand aside. 0ur assistant political editor norman smiththink theresa may will agree toa do you think theresa may will agree to a date and if so will it be made public at this stage? iam public at this stage? i am pretty sure she won't give a date and won't agree to a date but that doesn't mean there might not be huge pressure to try and force her to agree to a date, or risk a possible rewriting or suspension of the party rules which could pave the way for another contest. the head of that meeting which kicks off in half—an—hour, more difficult news from the commons with labour clearly signalling they are not going to abstain on her bill when she brings it back to the commons, apparently in the first week ofjune. the brexit century saying if we don't get a deal, we will vote against it. it is patently clear if the deal is put for a fourth time if it is allowed, it will fail as it has three times already. i want to make it clear labour opposes the idea of passing the withdrawal agreement without an agreed deal, that would put the cart before

let's speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith. good morning, norman. is this withdraw bill going to be published tomorrow given those calls for theresa may to step down? that is the intention of number ten at the moment but this is a very fluid situation. you have to say that the backlash against this bill is phenomenal. that really is very little support for it in the conservative party and it seems we are now beginning to see a possible cabinet revolt as well in the wake of andrea leadsom's decision last night. we know the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, will meet with mrs may later, another cabinet minister and others have asked for meetings but at the moment, the position of number ten seems to be to try to carry on. later today, the government will confirm to be that it will publish the bill tomorrow and the intention is to bring it back to the commons for a vote in the first week ofjune. at the same time, there are indications that mrs may could be facing a crunch meeting with sirgraham may could be facing a crunch meeting with sir graham brady,

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in wesminster. will this vote be make or break for theresa may? the short a nswer or break for theresa may? the short answer is yes, is it, this is myfinal throw of the dice for her brexit dale and, almost certainly, for her premiership. it is the last chance to get her deal through, and falcon number ten telling me this morning there will be no fifth attempt. —— folk in number ten. the hope is that they can still reach some sort of agreement with labour which would enable them to get this legislation through in the first week in june. if legislation through in the first week injune. if they can't, they say they will still go for it, they will still try to push this agreement through, even though all the signs are that there has been no change in the parliamentary arithmetic, if anything opinion has been hardening on the tory benches against mrs may. what number ten seem to be hoping is that when mps actually have to stare down the barrel of the gun, which is if they don't vote days to come out we ar

let's get more on this from norman smith, our assistant political editor. another busy one. how is it panning out with mr hunt? it sounds like a brave thing to do when so many colleagues seem so thing to do when so many colleagues seem so keen on the idea of no deal brexiter? i thinkjeremy hunt is deliberately positioning himself as an alternative to borisjohnson and brexiteers, who are clustering around saying on october 31 we must leave, come what may. mr hunt adopting the opposite strategy, saying he is effect the no to no deal candidate. people try to secure an agreement because he says the alternative would not get through parliament, mps would trigger a vote of confidence, meaning a general election, the tories would be annihilated leading to a corbyn government backed, he suggests, by the snp, which he suggests could lead to the break—up of the union. so he is deliberately positioning himself as the counterpoint to the brexiteers. and he has come out with an interesting idea to help negotiations. he says he would bring ina negotiations. he says he wou

the bbc‘s assistant political editor norman smith points out, if mps vote no, the distinction won‘t meanhrough parliament will failagain, and it her deal through parliament will fail again, and it may be curtains for her in the scramble begins for the leadership of the conservative party. if that is not already under way, it adds to the sort of sense of dysfunction and surreal nature, the prime minister is there in downing street while others in her party are hovering and manoeuvring on around her. meanwhile the talks between the government and the opposition labour party continue. last night theresa may and jeremy corbyn met, and downing street called the talks "useful and constructive". it‘s a phrase we‘re getting used to. yesterday the housing secretary said the talks were "very serious" and "they have been constructive" last week downing street called them "serious and constructive". a month ago labour‘s shadow chancellor called the talks "positive" and "constructive" and on three april, when theresa may and jeremy corbyn agreed to begin the cross party talks, that meeting too was de

underway, this comes at a very inconvenient time for boris johnson, as our assistant political editor norman smithn to his campaign. the timing could hardly be worse, but he is the front runner. many people thought he was looking potentially unstoppable. this could be a possible game changer if it reignites question marks about his suitability for the topjob. the tory leadership contest is already quite a crowded field, here are ten of the candidates, including borisjohnson. today they were joined by an 11th contenderjames cleverly, under secretary for brexit, that means there are now enough conservative mps running for the leadership to make up a football team. the central issue they are all battling over is brexit, and whether the uk should leave with or without a deal at the end of october. here's james cleverly‘s position. we absolutely can deliver a brexit with no deal. but we should also remember... and you're reasonably, — my words, not yours — but you're reasonably sanguine about that? yes, because i've seen the preparations. it is not my preferred option and i don't think it should be an

to shed some light on the situation, here's our assistant political editor norman smith. e coming from the two sides, they seem quite far apart. 0n the government side, they are saying the talks are productive and constructive. 0n the labour side, they're saying that they are tense and robust and you just get the sense that labour are much more downbeat about the whole process, where the government are trying to talk up the whole process. i suspect the reason for that is that they've both got to play to their own galleries. mrs may has to convince her side that there is a point and purpose to these talks, that she is not just walking into purpose to these talks, that she is notjust walking into a cul—de—sac. and from the labour side, jeremy corbyn has got to reassure his people that he's not rolling over and bailing out mrs may and that he is driving hard bargain. the truth is driving hard bargain. the truth is that everyone is still waiting for a political decision to be taken in the sense that it all hinges, really, on whether mr corbyn is going to bite on a deal. it is

prime minister's questions will be starting shortly — our assistant political editor, norman smith iseresa may's last one?” questions, do you think it might be theresa may's last one? i think it is possible. events are moving very swiftly with a steady flow of tory mps who previously backed theresa may's deal. saying this morning, we will not put indications that the withdrawal agreement may not be put to the commons after cabinet ministers have refused to say it is definitely going to come back to the house in the first week ofjune. 0n top of all that, a real question over whether theresa may can go on. there is going to be about tonight at the 1922 committee to decide whether to change the leadership rules, paving the way for a no—confidence vote. in the last half an hour, talking to priti patel, she is calling for a complete clear out of the cabinet. this isn'tjust this isn't just about changing the pilot. this cabinet have been sat back and been part of the problem. they have been complicit in supporting whether it is the checkers, withdrawal agreement and everything in terms of t

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is with me.etable for her departure after so much better. as we saw there, the very final seconds, breaking down and very close to tears. striking because mrs may has never been in one of these politicians who tells you how she feels, she has always been quite a buttoned up, restrained. i think that gave us a sense may be the personal sense of failure, heart mission was to deliver brexit and it has ended in failure. i think she is a politician who has always prided herself on a sense of public duty. there is just a harsh truth that she has been rejected, albeit by her party and her cabinet, but she has been rejected and that is difficult to take. i think for the first time ever we saw her close to tears, at least in public. as for the timetable, we now know it is a pretty much as we thought. she will stand out order during the seventh, the nominations will close in a new week beginning june ten and then we will have about three weeks and a parliament for all the different candidates. there are a

our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster.on wherein it feels like things are changing, but they aren't changing at all. we know that the cabinet and shadow cabinet meeting this morning to, quote, take stock of where talks have to. and i suppose, frankly, if they aren't dead they are looking suspiciously lifeless. it means ministers are going to have to make some sort of decision about what to do next. albeit, this morning, listening to andrea leadsome as she left home she was pretty cool about the idea of carrying on with talks. she was asked if they could go on, well, she didn't give much of a direct answer. we had to the local elections a couple of weeks ago, and i totally get the messages we've got to get on with backset and deliver it, so whatever that takes we have to deliver bracketed urgently. now, alongside doubts of cabinet ministers, there is also mounting opposition on the benches of both parties to the idea of a deal on the tory side. we've seen a letter signed by 13 cabinet ministers, warning theresa may not to d

joining me now is our assistant politcal editor, norman smith.orted. what we don't have, and i think that is the second big narrative, is what on earth will the two main parties do? they have struggled so far into the brexit quagmire they cant really see a way out. if you look at the conservative side, they are on course for a shatteringly bad night. i wouldn't be surprised at the last a thousand seats. some tories will conclude from this the way we get this sorted is we do a deal with labour and we move on. then you have other tory saying that if theresa may does that, it is a ramsay macdonald moment, she will not be forgiven. we are already hearing from brexiteers that she is the problem, she has to go. theresa may finds herself hemmed in. jeremy corbyn has lost in places he should never be losing. hartlepool, barnsley, bolsover. for heaven sake, bolts over the loss control love! leave supporting labour mps are saying it is obvious you have to do a deal with theresa may, put brexit to bad and the way to do that is to doa to bad and the way to d

norman smith is in westminster.e prime minister, so does that mean ollie robinson is on a theoretical mission to make inquiries about the future relationship? we were told ollie robinson does not have any meetings in brussels with commission officials today, so plenty of time for light tourism, but i suspect it points to the fact that whatever mr robinson gets up to in brussels will probably not change things very much. in westminster the talks basically seem deadlocked, in part because both groups of backbenchers are adamantly opposed to any deal being made and i would suggest that makes the prospect of a deal close to zero. jeremy corbyn last night got a hard time from any of his remain and client mps, fearful the prospect of talks would haemorrhage votes in remain seats from labour supporters and we know that 13 former cabinet ministers have written to mrs may saying don't even think about some sort of customs union deal with labour because it will split the party. and also warning that if she did a deal that wou

let's go now to westminster, where we can speak to our assistant political editor, norman smith. to fields of ten or 15 or 20 candidates running for us presidential nominations, are we turning more american in this style? i don't think we are because i think there is quite a backlash against this huge range of candidates in a british context. we have never seen such a large field, the most we've ever had in a tory contest was five. we now have 11 with another five potentially waiting in the wings, taking it up to 16 or 17. who knows? but there is no real momentum behind paring back some of these peripheral candidates, culling the candidates, and pretty quickly, because the theories the contest risks becoming logistically unwieldy, protracted, chaotic. and there is a view that some of the lesser—known candidates, frankly who have only thrown their hat in the ring to raise their own profile, knowing full well they have really no chance of getting elected. so for that reason the executive of the 1922 committee are going to meet on monday to decide whether the party rules need to be

corbyn that if she is willing to compromise, then he should too. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smithwestminster. it looks like an incredibly busy day in politics. it feels as though no matter what theresa may was going to offer in this new deal, as she puts it, that mps across the house have hunkered down to wait for the post theresa may era, so she has an uphill battle to sell this. there is even a question now over whether mrs may is able to put her deal to a vote, because there is a growing body of opinion on the tory benches that there is just no point trying to push this through the commons because it will suffer an even bigger defeat than last time. there are also moves beginning to gain momentum to try to force mrs may out before that first week in june when she was planning to put her build to the commons, because the backlash, frankly, has been ferocious. 0n the tory side we have seen brexiteers are still up tory side we have seen brexiteers are stillup in tory side we have seen brexiteers are still up in arms over the fact the backstop is still there and mrs may seems to be

norman smith reporting from westminster.hern ireland, talks have resumed to try to restore power sharing, more than two years after devolved government at stormont collapsed. the fresh talks were announced by the british and irish governments following the murder in londonderry of thejournalist, lyra mckee. 0ur ireland correspondent, emma vardy, reports from stormont. hope this will be the beginning of the end to northern ireland's political paralysis. key ministers from the british and irish governments here to try to bridge the divide. today's talks have been hastened by the death of lyra mckee. the shooting of the 29—year—old journalist by the new ira in londonderry brought renewed pressure on the parties to reconcile their differences. 28 months ago, it was the resignation of sinn fein‘s martin mcguinness which brought down the executive. i believe today is the right time to call a halt to the dup‘s arrogance. he resigned in protest at what to become known as the cash for ash scandal. the mishandling of this green energy

shortly face the house of commons for prime minister's questions. 0ur assistant political editor, norman smitht. i expect most of it is going to be about buses and libraries and local roads and how at such and such counsel offer better value than others that make such councils offer better value. it will be the first time that we have heard from mrs may in a nearly three weeks because she was not here for last wednesday's pmt is because she was at the funeral of the northern ireland journalist lyra mckee. the last time that she appeared in the commons was when she was announcing that there could be another delay possibly until the end of october and there has been this curious to backin and there has been this curious to back in here, we have not heard from the prime minister and does not seem to be any movement on the brakes front. there is no real legislation going through parliament. it really is, just a sense of that westminster is, just a sense of that westminster is becalmed at the moment with no one having any real sense of how to break the brexit deadlock. so we may get a little bit mo

0ur assistant polical editor norman smith is at westminster, along with the former conservative leaderlling they might. is it a bit of written articles signalling they might. is ita bit ofa written articles signalling they might. is it a bit of a mess, the more the merrier, or time to rewrite the leadership rules? what do you think, iain duncan smith? we are getting to the point where i hope the 22 will have to think carefully that this election is beyond anything we have seen before. we don't have plenty of time, and it needs to be done sharply. there are two elements that the 22 will have to look at. the 1922 committee. one is, how many people does it take to nominate somebody? it is low at the moment, but i think it needs to be ten or12 moment, but i think it needs to be ten or 12 people. each round, instead of having one drop off, they may need to look at whether three drop off in the early rounds to accelerate the process. it may not be popular, but i given —— but given the nature of the fact of what we face, we don't want it to be chaos. given the contest is pretty much under way

your colleague norman smith was talking about 17. i did my own ticking off boxes.uld you like to see? mystic mellor has consulted his crystal ball and he thinks borisjohnson will be one of the last to make. it's a fairly open race as to who will be put up against him. the conservative party isa against him. the conservative party is a small and ageing membership, down to 125,000. i hope and think it would bejeremy down to 125,000. i hope and think it would be jeremy hunt. down to 125,000. i hope and think it would bejeremy hunt. you want a proper contest between two gifted politicians. jeremy hunt stuck with the awfuljob of being secretary of state for health, awful in terms of the challenges it places on politicians of all parties who have thatjob, and politicians of all parties who have that job, and i politicians of all parties who have thatjob, and i think he is not a dogma test or fanatic, a thatjob, and i think he is not a dogma test orfanatic, a brexiteer or anything like that. perhaps boris is too colourful for his own good and for the good of the conservat

i hate to quote norman smith but he was saying we've got more chance of winning the eurovision and sortingably with norman as the lead singer as well. the talks don't seem to be going anywhere. the question now comes back to the question now comes back to the question that's been dominating westminster for ages, what on earth should happen next? this morning we spoke to two labour mps who voted remain but now have different views, one advocating a referendum on the other thing that would be a mistake. let's bring in a conservative mp who was part of the brexiteers. i put the same question to uefa to them, what happens now? we are in a position where the prime minister has become so entrenched in her position on this that she is the blockage, i am of the view, and have been for some time now, that she needs to lay out the timetable for herdeparture, needs to lay out the timetable for her departure, where she steps down and that needs to be sooner rather than later so we can find a new leader who brings a fresh approach. if she goes, the numbers are the same over there. numbers might change

the same type of reprisal we had to endure, we, talking about tommy smith, peter norman as well as johns, for 40 plus years. but i would go for another 140 years to do that again if it was necessary. [applause] you know, you can, as a young individual -- this is the way i used to frame this thing years ago. i was young individual, i was idealistic, i had a paradigm in terms of how our society could be, how we could love one another, and help one another to make this a beautiful earth, and i felt like i was on top of this pine tree, the highest pine tree you could imagine, and i felt like i was on the highest branch, and i knew what i was about to do was going to disturb, upset, or infringe upon other people's rights, and i felt that that branch would break, but i didn't have any concern about the branch breaking because there were so many branches underneath that understood why i was there, and they would catch me when that branch broke. but i learned they retract those branches. so when we took the fall, we took the fall, and we hit the ground so hard, we bounced almost back to the top

the aftermath of the local elections made for smith to call mrs may to strike an agreement, but it is still a really big reach. thank you very much, norman of the season thanks to an incredible goal from their captain vincent kompany. it was nervy night in their last home match of the season. goaless with 20 minutes to play against leicester before perhaps the most important goal of the belgians career, a blistering strike from 25 yards out into thetop corner. city are now one point clear of liverpool again, they travel to brighton next sunday knowing theyjust have to match whatjurgen klopp‘s side do at home to wolves. it is in our hands. so we cannot forget, we could have been ten points behind if we had lost here against liverpool. we were seven points behind, but we are in the last game, you know, in our hands. city have the whole week off to prepare for their final league game of the season, not so liverpool, it‘s the second leg of their champions league tie against barcelona at anfield tonight. jurgen klopp‘s side have to try and overturn a 3—0 deficit from the first leg, and they‘ll have to try and score those goals without top sco