sinn fein's number of seats remained static.power sharing administration are due to be held next week — john campbell has more. well, there's no real surprise in that the dup and sinn fein are still the two largest parties. the dup is to the right a little, sinn fein is the biggest national party, so really, the story was that surge by the alliance party, drawing support from catholic and protestants. it mainly had its support in greater belfast, middle—class areas, but here it pushed its appeal far beyond that, for example, it won a seat on derry city council for the first time in a0 years. the leader of that party, says that this indicates many voters in northern ireland are looking to new solutions to its problems. i think what it is saying is that people want to see politics that delivers. they're not interested in the kind of tribal politics of the past in terms of unionism and nationalism, they want the politics that put people first and that's what we are offering. northern ireland politics is full of problems, whether it

sinn fein represents the vast bulk of republicans. fein represents the vast bulk of republicans. once the counting is done, sinn fein will still be the largest national party, the dup will still be the largest unionist party. the really interesting story here of the last couple of days has been the performance of the alliance party. there is explicitly cross community, it does not identify as either nationalist or unionist, and we have seen nationalist or unionist, and we have seen a nationalist or unionist, and we have seen a real nationalist or unionist, and we have seen a real surge nationalist or unionist, and we have seen a real surge in support. particularly in greater belfast, but even more importantly for that party it is picking up seats in areas where it has not had representation in years. it is also going to have a seat on derry city council, and allies is not how they see their own almost a0 years. middle ground parties are doing well, green party also doing well, socialist party also doing well, socialist party also pick

dup is a unionist party and sinn fein is the nationalist party.he real big thing is the surge in the middle ground. felines party traditionally does really well in what we call middle—class communities pay we are seeing some of the other smaller ci’oss seeing some of the other smaller cross community parties doing well. the green party picking up seats in belfast in a way it has not before he. i think that is the real story of the selection. yes, that does big blocks still dominate, but we have seen the centre ground open up a little bit more. what about support for militant republicanism? is there something we can read into that? there is very tiny on the we have a councilor on the derry city council. he was elected in the first count in his ward. he was the top of the pole there. that is an area of dairy where a judge was shot dead and the killing was condemned. but if you look across that spectrum of 430 odd councilors, there is really only one that explicitly into... i think he that explicitly into... i think he that gives you the idea of the

meanwhile, the dup and sinn fein.tigation to find the gunman, the new ira gunman who killed lyra mckee continues, and today the headquarters of a dissident republican organisation in londonderry were raided by police. the group the police have said in the past is the political voice of the past is the political voice of the new ira. the group itself says it has no involvement in the shooting of lyra mckee. as to whether that tragic event will bring any real political change for northern ireland remains to be seen but there is increased momentum now from the british and irish governments to try to bring the parties back together. emma, thank you very much. a british soldier has died after being trampled by an elephant while on an anti—poaching operation in malawi. guardsman mathew talbot, who was serving on his first deployment with the 1st battalion coldstream guards, was helping to train park rangers in counter—poaching. his commanding officer described him as determined and big—hearted. two journalists who'd been im

the dup and sinn fein remain the largest parties, with 118 and 97 respectively.hem took around 25 % of first preference votes. however, alliance also sharply increased their share of the vote to almost 12%. other cross community parties, such as the greens, also made gains. you can see how significant that change in vote share is for the alliance party, with an increase in vote share of almost five percent. talks aimed at reviving northern ireland's power sharing administration are due to be held next week. earlier i spoke to our correspondent john campbell, who told me what the results meant for those talks. there is no real surprise in that the dup and sinn fein are still the two largest parties, the dup the biggest unionist party, saw its vote share arise a little, sinn fein, the biggest national party, saw its vote share fall a little. but the big story was that surge by the alliance party. that cross community party which draws support from both catholics and protestants, mainly, it has its support in greater belfast, in middle—class areas. but in this elect

i think most significantly we heard that from sinn fein. had been a mood among nationalist voters that stormont haven't really delivered for them, so so what if it didn't exist? the message we were getting from the sinn fein leadership is they were keen. the willingness to do a deal may be bare but as we are hearing in terms of technocrats well, the ability to put something together is much more difficult. you could perhaps read into that support from the alliance party that people were expressing some dissatisfaction with the two big blocks, they were saying give us something fresh, give us something new. perhaps in that regard it will give a bit of impetus to these short cross— party give a bit of impetus to these short cross—party talks which are going to ta ke cross—party talks which are going to take place. but i don't think we should oversell that. john campbell in belfast, look forward to speaking to you later as the final tally becomes clear. thank you very much. cyclone fani which battered parts of the eastern indian coastline has

sinn fein will still be the largest national party. councils will actually change hands. we also saw a first. anywhere else, it would not make the news, but it is a first for the dup party and the election of the first openly gay candidate. tell us about the significance of this. yes, he has been elected —— she has been elected in one of the councils. as you say, this would not be a story and many parts of the uk, but the dup has its routes in the conservative fundamentalist religion and is not always a part of —— party friendly to gay people, so the fact that she stood and won, is significant. some senior members are clearly uneasy about it. they fear it could be the start of a process which would lead the dup to and its opposition to gay marriage. gay marriage is still illegal in northern ireland and the reason for thatis northern ireland and the reason for that is the dup is against it.|j suppose that is one of the subject that would be on the table next week, when those powershare talks resume. yes. the liberal -- the local council

accurate to the biggest unionist party and sinn fein the biggest nationalist party. significant thing has been that surge for the centre ground alliance party. adding five percentage points to their vote and really pushing out beyond their traditional bounds of belfast. they won the dairy city council something they had not managed to do in a0 yea rs. they had not managed to do in a0 years. just the other parties such as the greens and the socialist people before profit picking up seats by belfast and derry. there's a really interesting result in the election and the alliance leader said that people have become sick of the two big blocks. looking for something different and she is providing it to them. also a first for them is theirfirst providing it to them. also a first for them is their first openly gay candidate elected. why is this so significant? a lesbian being elected and standing for election and most of the uk will not be a story. but the dup are a party with roots in fundamentalist religion. they have not been friendly to gay people in the past. they selec

the government has been accused of a "rancid backstairs deal" with sinn fein over reports that plans will not apply to northern ireland. bloody some conservative mps fear that former soldiers involved in the bloody sunday killing of 28 unarmed civilians in 1972 could be prosecuted, whereas veterans who served overseas could be offered legal protected for actions carried out in the course of duty after 10 years. mr speaker, after the appalling tragic events in londonderry, we all want to see the northern ireland executive re—established. of course we do. but that cannot be at the price of a rancid, backs stayers deal between the northern ireland office and sinn fein ira, to sell corporaljohnny atkins down the river as the price of reestablishing the executive. up with that, sir, i believe, this house will not put. we have a moral duty to defend those who defended us. and we abrogate that duty if for reasons of political convenience we allow the scapegoating of our veterans to pander to terrorists. i am sure my honourable friend speaks for everybody in this house, he certainly speaks f

it's sinn fein.eir boycott and allow government to happen here in northern ireland. sinn fein refused to return to government until there is agreement on a number of issues. their demand for an irish language act and the legalisation of same—sex marriage, two of the major hurdles these talks will have to overcome. since stormont collapsed, civil servants have been running this place and public services have been in decline. meanwhile, elected politicians continue to be paid for a job they are unable to perform. and emma is at stormont now. what chance that these talks might be successful? the death of lyra mckee certainly provides the more emotive atmosphere in which these talks are resuming. it has been very clear from the public that there is enormous frustration that the political parties have allowed the stalemate to continue for so long. but aside no matter how much new appetite there is for reconciliation it does nothing to change the fact there are these divisive issues that the parties have r

that northern ireland hasn't had a devolved government for more than two years because the dup and sinn feinaring arrangement so there is also questions over whether voters may decide to punish them for that at the ballot box. a couple of interesting local stories on the ground to tell you about. the dup are fielding theirfirst ground to tell you about. the dup are fielding their first openly gay candidate, that's notable for a party with a reputation for being very socially conservative on lgbt issues stop and another row, the ulster unionist party has tried to distance themselves from an election leaflet which the alliance party said tried to connect them with the ira. but it's early days here. the full picture expected to be complete actually tomorrow. emma vardy, thank you, our ireland correspondent. and for more coverage of the election results, with some councils still counting, huw edwards will back on bbc one this afternoon at 3:30. and we'll be back with norman smith in westminster later in the programme. a look at the day plus my other news now. new research has found that taking a

the dup the biggest unionist party and sinn fein the biggest nationalist party.as that surged by the alliance party. that cross party was drawing support from catholics and protesta nts a nd drawing support from catholics and protestants and mainly has it support in greater belfast and middle—class areas. they push their appealfar beyond middle—class areas. they push their appeal far beyond that this election. they set the council for the first time in a0 years. the leader of that party says what this indicates is that many voters in northern ireland are looking to new solutions to its problems. northern ireland are looking to new solutions to its problemslj northern ireland are looking to new solutions to its problems. i think that people want to see politics that people want to see politics that delivers. they are not interested in the kind of tribal politics of the past in terms of unionism and nationalism. they want politics to put people first and that's what we have been offering. northern ireland is full of problems with her is the chaos around brexit or w

the two biggest parties here, the dup and sinn fein, they both retained their seats, but the big storythird seat which for the very first time in 40 years of european elections in northern ireland has gone to a new centre ground party which designates neither as unionist nor nationalist, a party which attracts votes, cross community votes, and that is that alliance party. a massive result for naomi long. there has just been some huge cheers going up as that result was announced a few minutes ago. why does this matter for northern ireland? well, here the political landscape has been dominated for so long by unionist and nationalist parties, that big community divide. so, a really striking result. we are live from brussels this evening and our lead story is the european parliamentary elections. all the results that came through the night. stories from france, germany, poland, italy, hungary. this is what happens in the uk. the brexit party, only six weeks old, has won a national election and the ruling conservatives are bumped down to fifth place. last week on wednesday we were in paris.

sinn fein is the biggest nationalist party.een a surge for the centre—right alliance party. adding 5% and pushing out beyond belfast. they want a seat on the derry city council. so that they have not done in almost a0 years. the greens in a socialist people before profit before belfast and derry. that's the really interesting result i think in this election. the alliance leader would say that people really have become sick of the two blocks. also the first is their first openly gay candidate elected. why is this so significant? in most parts of the uk lesbian being elected is not going to be a story. but they are a party with roots in fundamentalist religion. they have not been friendly to gay people in the past. this time out they selected an openly gay woman and that's been seen as quite significant. the leadership of dup seem very content with that. others in the party still hold the fundamentalist religion and they think even the fact that she has been selected would indicate that they might be thinking about reversing thei

since then, attempts to overcome the differences between the democratic unionists and sinn fein have of the murder of the journalist leera mckee. earlier we heard from our northern ireland correspondent, emma vardy. the death of lyra mckee‘s sparked a huge public commission here in northern ireland, which continues to be felt. this new mural in her memory created here in belfast, over the weekend and as well as the outpouring of grief and it brought increased public pressure on northern ireland politicians to resolve their differences. today we saw the resumption of power—sharing talks in over a year and in the days and weeks to come parties are going to have to thrash out those really divisive issues, which continue to separate the dup and sinn fein. meanwhile, of course a police investigation to find the gunmen, the knew ira gunman who killed lyra mckee continues and today, the head quarters of the dissident republic organisation in londonderry were raided by police. police said the group is a political voice for the new ira, the group itself says it had no involvement in the shoot

it all collapsed during years ago when martin mcguinness of sinn fein walked out in protest over the a bitter stand—off between the two main parties, the dup and sinn fein, and the bitter stalemate includes lots of other issues that need to be resolved. so will they ove i’co m e need to be resolved. so will they overcome those? i think the death of lyra mckee has brought a renewed appetite for compromise, but there is still a big divide of the sinn fein‘s demand for an irish language act and big division over the requirement for same—sex marriage to be legalised. there is renewed optimism on one hand, if you like, but at the same time it will be very difficult, deep divisions remain and the parties are fighting the election campaign for the european elections, which during election campaigns being fought on the doorstep, it always makes softening of position and compromise more difficult. so what would you expect to happen in the coming days in terms of whether there is likely to be faster progress or not?|j terms of whether there is likely to be faster progress or not? i don't think

the two main parties — the unionist dup and the republican sinn fein — still came top — but there wasarticipate constructively to get to an agreement and an agreement that is built on a solid, the most solid foundation of equality, respect, recognition and inclusion. we are following these processes to find a way forward that is balanced and one that everyone in northern ireland is co mforta ble that everyone in northern ireland is comfortable with. whether they are unionist, nationalist or other. the bbc‘s emma vardy has been following developments from belfast. it all collapsed two and a half yea rs it all collapsed two and a half years ago when he walked out in protest over the mishandling of a green energy scheme but there has been this bitter standoff between the parties and that bitter stalemate now includes lots of other issues that need to be resolved. so will they be able to overcome those? i think the death of lira brought a renewed appetite for compromise, but the same time there is still this bitter divide over sinn fein‘s multiple stances, but there is often optimism but

the dup and sinn fein remain the largest parties, each taking around 25% of first preference votes.ased their share of the vote to almost 12%. other cross—community parties, such as the greens, also made gains. talks aimed at reviving northern ireland's power sharing administration are due to be held next week. the metropolitan police says a leak of information from a meeting of the national security council about the chinese tech giant huawei did not amount to a criminal offence. gavin williamson was sacked from his job as defence secretary after reports about the discussions appeared in the media. he has strenuously denied he was behind the leak. our correspondent simon jones is here. what light does this shed on what actually happened? there has been some sharply differing versions of events. on the one hand, you have the prime minister saying there was compelling evidence that gavin williamson was behind the leak. he has insisted it was nothing to do with him. opposition politicians have said the way to sort this out is to get the police involved and carry out a full investigati

counting is still underway in northern ireland's local elections, where the dup and sinn fein have wonst share of the vote. but it's the smaller parties and independents who have made significant gains. the cross—community alliance party increased their share of the vote to nearly 12%. the greens also increased their number of seats. the former defence secretary gavin williamson has described a government investigation into a leak of information from a high level security meeting as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt". scotland yard said today the leak about the chinese tech firm huawei didn't amount to a criminal offence. mr williamson was sacked after theresa may said there was compelling evidence he was behind it. he has strenuously denied the allegation. 0ur political correspondent chris mason is here. is sounding ever more personal, this? it really is and it is not going away. this is all about the national security council, this forum deep within government that is meant to be secret. there is an account of a row at one of those meetings about the chinese tech firm huawei and h

the other two seats were retained as expected by the dup and sinn fein but it was a big win for the alliancea marker for a new emerging centre ground in a changing northern ireland. that win came at the expense of the unionist party, losing a seat they held since the 19705. but losing a seat they held since the 1970s. but the alliance party success 1970s. but the alliance party success is a marker of the anti— brexit vote in northern ireland because they campaigned clearly for remain and fora because they campaigned clearly for remain and for a second referendum. across the european union, many of the traditional parties suffered major losses, while nationalists were notably successful in italy and france. in the last elections in 2014, the european parliament's main centre—left group the socialists and democrats and the main centre—right group the european people's party, secured more than 50% of the seats. support for those traditional parties has shrunk, they now only have 43% of the seats. that's been caused by a surge in support for the liberals, greens and right—leaning conservatives,

rival parties the democratic unionists and sinn fein are expected to win two of the three european seatsthird seat up for grabs, will an emerging centrist party move beyond the politics of the past? this cage used to prevent attacks during the troubles, now a tourist attraction at this city centre bar. and as remnants from the conflict become relics, so too, some believe, will the traditional political brands. i understand the need to have that distinct divide of unionist/nationalist. i think a healthy society would move to a point where you didn't need it any more and i think that system, the good friday agreement and the system of government, is becoming more and more out of date and more broken as time goes on. gradual change is apparent. the local elections a fortnight ago saw a significant bounce for the nonsectarian middle ground. i think so many more young people came out and actually said, "listen, we aren't going to vote along those traditional lines". it's really sad that we still live within a system where h block has to be represented. we're children of the peace process, eff

butjust six years later and financial scandal tore through the institutions and collapsed of the dup—sinn feinnap election, but so far this place remains dormant. the british and irish governments say their focus is on restoring devolution so that decisions on health and education can be taken again. the murder of lyra mckee the journalist last month changed the dynamic once again and we saw talks begin this week in a bid to try and kick—start the assembly once more. but so far there has been no sign of progress and there is a long way to go. jayne mccormack. a change of pace now — what's been happening in the wider world of politics? ryan brown has our countdown. at five, red faces down under after a bank note featuring australia's first woman mp was found to have a typo. the reserve bank said that responsibility will be spelt correctly in the future print runs. at four the wife of conservative mp andrew bridgen launches the lifestyle blog you didn't need. hashtag the wives of westminster. at three, meanwhile the mums of westminster have a new favourite channel. she watches this chamber. for

in wales, plaid cymru has one, and in northern ireland the dup, sinn fein and the ulster unionists haveme minister on borrowed time and running out of credit, and an opposition anxious to show there is a credible alternative government in waiting. john pienaar on tomorrow's elections to the european parliament. the polls open at seveno'clock in the morning, and the votes will be counted on sunday. hello and welcome to sportsday. it's notjust about money, why the newly crowned bbc women's footballer of the year wont be playing at the world cup missing out on the europa league final — arsenal label the mickhitarayan situation unacceptable. and the best chance for england to win a world cup according to andrew strauss. also coming — we here from robin van persie. and why he's backing 0gs to get it right at united. i think it is a perfect match up.

that cannot be at the price of some rancid backstairs deal between the northern ireland office and sinn feinown the river as the price of re—establishing the executive. up with that, i believe this house will not put. we have a moral duty to defend those who defended us, and we abrogate that duty if for reasons of political convenience we allow that scapegoating of our veterans to pander to terrorists. i am sure that my honourable friend speaks for everybody in this house, he certainly speaks for me when he says we will have no rancid political deals here. that is not acceptable and it is something which if we are going to ask people to potentially put their lives on the line to serve in her majesty's armed forces anywhere in the world, then we need to make sure that we are doing the right thing by then when they have done the right thing by their country. i think we have to be very clear in this house that investigating the most serious crimes, a death has taken place, crimes, we have to be resolute and absolute in saying there can be no statute of limitation. crime is crime, murder is murd

the other two, is very much expected, they were retained by the two largest parties, the dup and sinn feins the big story of the day, and it is being seen as a marker of a new emerging centre ground in a change in northern ireland. that win came at the expense of the ulster unionist party losing a seat, that they had held since the 1970s, but alliance's success is also being seen as a mark of the strength of the anti brexit vote here in northern ireland, because alliance campaign very clearly for remain and for a second referendum. emma, thank you very much, and thank you to felicity and sarah as well. across the european union, many of the traditional parties suffered major losses, while nationalists were notably successful in italy and france. in the last elections in 2014, the european parliament's main centre—left group, the socialists and democrats, and the main centre—right group, the european people's party, secured more than 50% of the seats. support for those traditional parties has shrunk, they now only have 43% of the seats. that's been caused by a surge in support for the liber

dup will still be the largest unionist party, sinn fein will still be the largest nationalist party,uncils will change hands. but beneath the surface there are some interesting things happening. we have seen a big surge for the alliance party, it is a cross surge for the alliance party, it is a cross community party which does not identify as either nationalist 01’ not identify as either nationalist or unionist. it has done very well in greater belfast, and perhaps even more importantly for that party it is picking up seats in areas where it has no real presence in years, it will have a councillor in derry city for the first time in almost 40 yea rs. we for the first time in almost 40 years. we also see the green party doing well in belfast, picking up seats where they have never won before. and the socialist people 0ver profit party picking up seats in belfast. belfast, the biggest council, is going to be a more plural council. speaking of pluralism, we also see the dup returning their first ever openly 93v returning their first ever openly gay councillor. this is a woman called ali

whoever steps into her shoes will face exactly the same set of tricky circumstances with the dup, sinn feine nationalist party here at been very critical of the conservatives are possibly relationships with the du heat and all those tensions are still to be resolved over brexit dash maggot with the dup. thank you, emma, emma vardy in londonderry, the sarah smith in glasgow and felicity evans in cardiff. theresa may's time in office has been dominated by the issue of brexit and negotiations with the european union. 0ur correspondent adam fleming is in brussels. what is the reaction there to the news of her resignation statement? the european commission, the organisation that runs the brexit talks day, paid tribute to theresa may and said that the president of the commission, john juncker, took no personaljoy in the announcement of her resignation but said that as far as they are concerned, nothing has changed —— jingle junk. far as they are concerned, nothing has changed —— jinglejunk. they will have to wait position and they will reactive hat. they have been statements and tweets from the i

in wales, plaid cymru has one, and in northern ireland at the dup, sinn fein and the ulster unionistsan election like this. a time quite like this. just ask a prime minister on borrowed time and running out of credit. and an opposition, anxious to show there is a credible alternative government in waiting. sir philip green's retail empire which owns topshop, burton and miss selfridge says it wants to close 23 shops and persuade nearly 200 landlords to accept lower rents. it has 566 stores in the uk and ireland and employs around 18,000 workers. 0ur correspondent emma simpson is outside its hq in central london. more trouble on the high street? that is right. sir philip green used to be the king of the high street. he made his fortune out of all of these famous brands. you mentioned a few of them. at this once powerful retail empire is now in trouble. sales are falling and like a lot of other retailers it is up against rising costs and changing shopping habits. so he needs to cut costs and doa habits. so he needs to cut costs and do a deal with his landlords. he wa nts to do a deal wit

that happened because of a major disagreement between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein, who ministers to make decisions, so the compensation scheme for abuse survivors hasn‘t been set up. civil servants have drawn up legislation and asked the northern ireland secretary, karen bradley, to take it through the westminster parliament. all the main stormont parties agree it should be done. we want progress on this as quickly as possible. i think she has run out of roads on this. i think she has run out of roads on this. the government says the issue is a priority and it wants an agreement with the stormont parties in the next week on the quickest way forward. campaigners are mindful, more than 30 victims have died since the enquiry ended. we are getting old. we are in our 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. we just want to live out our lives peacefully and try and have a life, that we didn‘t have in our childhood. it was taken away from us. we would ask the new prime minister in waiting to please take this under his or her rule and do what is right for these people. his or her rule and do wha

that confidence and supply arrangement with the dup, something that the nationalist party sinn fein have expire and will need to be renegotiated shortly after theresa may's ‘s assessor takes office. further south tonight in the republic of ireland, irish prime minister leo varadkar has said theresa may's resignation could be very dangerous for ireland. it is the country which could potentially be the most exposed to the effects ofa be the most exposed to the effects of a hard brexit, and if they were to bea of a hard brexit, and if they were to be a brexiteer euroskeptic candidate taking on the new prime minister's role, and who could potentially go for an ideal brexit. so there is some trepidation in ireland tonight and some nervousness here in northern ireland as well, a place in which the majority of people voted to remain, about who is going to step into theresa may's shoes. here in cardiff bay, the labour first minister mark drake that has said that a conservative leadership contest is the last thing but the country needs right now. welsh conservative politicians have raised theresa

that confidence and supply arrangement with the dup, something sinn fein have been very critical of, to expire and will need renegotiating shortly after her successor takes up the role. further south, shortly after her successor takes up the role. furthersouth, in shortly after her successor takes up the role. further south, in the republic of ireland tonight, the irish prime minister has said that theresa may's resignation could potentially be very dangerous for ireland, the country potentially most exposed to the effects of a ha rd most exposed to the effects of a hard brexit. if a eurosceptic candidate could take on the —— took on the role, they could advocate a no—deal brexit. the majority of people here voted to remain in the eu, and there is concern about who could step into theresa may's shoes. here in cardiff bay, the labour first minister, mark drake ford, has said that a conservative leadership campaign is the last thing that the country needs at this time. many welsh conservative politicians have defended theresa may's dedication, but there are calls for the party to come

dodds retaining her seat for the dup and martina anderson on the brink of retaining her seat for sinn feinst time in 40 yea rs of here is that for the first time in 40 years of european elections in northern ireland, across communities, neither or nationalist party is strongly on course to take northern ireland's third seat and that would be a massive result for naomi long and the alliance party, doubling their result, the results they got back in 2014 in the last european elections. why has this happened? it is being seen as a sign of after years of unionist and nationalist politics dominating the landscape here, that there is a new centre ground coming through. and as the alliance party campaigned for remain and strongly for a second referendum, it is also being seen as a sign of the anti—brexit vote here in northern ireland, a place which voted to remain. many thanks to you all. for the latest in glasgow, cardiff and northern ireland. across the europe union, many of the traditional parties suffered major losses, and the big centre—right and centre—left blocs lost their combined majorit

that confidence and supply arrangement with the dup which sinn fein have been very critical of, thatexpire and will need to be renegotiated shortly after theresa may's successor takes office. further south in the republic of ireland, the irish prime minister leo varadkar has said theresa may's resignation could be dangerous for ireland. it is a country that could be most exposed to the effects of a hard brexit. if there were to be a eurosceptic candidate taking on the role, they could go potentially for a no—deal brexit. trepidation in ireland tonight and nervousness in northern ireland as well, a place in which the majority of people voted to remain, about who will step into theresa may's shoes. here in cardiff bay the labour first minister has said that the conservative leadership contest is the last thing that the country needs right now. welsh conservative politicians have praised theresa may's dedication, but they are calling for the party to come together to deliver on the brexit that people voted for. 0verall, wales voted to leave the european union and there is a feeling that

in wales, plaid cymru has one, and in northern ireland, the dup, sinn fein and the ulster unionists haveke this. there has never been a time quite like this. just ask a prime minister, on borrowed time and running out of credit, and an opposition anxious to show there is a credible alternative government in waiting. john pienaar on tomorrow's elections to the european parliament. the polls open at 7:00am in the morning and the votes will be counted on sunday. now it's time for the weather, with darren bett. hello there. it has felt quite warm this week, especially in the sunshine, but next week looks like it will be turning cooler and probably a bit more unsettled as well. of that, not a great deal of rain. really, we have got this cloud coming in from the atlantic very slowly. it is a set of weather fronts but they are very weak. they are not going to produce much rain at all. most of the rain has come in from that area of low pressure, which remains close to northern scotland. so here it will be breezy again on thursday. they will be some rain mainly in the hills, a lot of cloud. more

saying well look the good friday agreement hasn't worked the british government isn't honoring that sinn fein has been self into a situation where it's not there is no respect being shown to the nationalist and republican community and i think as well you know the local elections which have just happened here for the local councils has shown shouldn't fane losing quite a lot of support and area and i think it's got to listen to that it's got to see that you know some of the socialist candidates. or others including a dissident republican have received a lot of votes that would previously have gone to shit and failed and so i don't think it's really a good idea for shin fein to be too dismissive. i think that young people are vulnerable here because they haven't been given opportunities to share and the benefits of the peace process and tragically that's one of the things that we are in the key was kind of leading in her journalism and she was really really interested in trying to find out why the benefits of the peace process hadn't reached into working class youths of her generation past the

that deal with the dup, something the nationalist party sinn fein have been prickle of is due to expiretly after her successoi’ renegotiated shortly after her successor takes up the role. further southin successor takes up the role. further south in the republic of ireland tonight, the irish prime minister has said that theresa may's registry —— resignation could be potentially very dangerous for ireland. the country most potentially exposed to the effects of a heart brexit. if a euro sceptic candidate were to take oi'i euro sceptic candidate were to take on the role, it could advocate a new job exit. there is nervousness in ireland tonight and here in northern ireland tonight and here in northern ireland where the majority of people voted to remain in the eu about who is going to step in theresa may's shoes. here in cardiff bay, the labour first shoes. here in cardiff bay, the labourfirst minister shoes. here in cardiff bay, the labour first minister mark dra keford has said that a conservative leadership campaign is the last thing that the country needs at this time. many welsh conser

the party is still behind fianna fail, fine gael and sinn fein.rking through those, but what is the significance of this vote?“ you consider that divorce only became legal in the republic of ireland is just over 20 years ago, and that referendum in 1985 past with a tiny margin, just 15.3%. here we are 23,24 with a tiny margin, just 15.3%. here we are 23, 24 years later, and now we are 23, 24 years later, and now we are 23, 24 years later, and now we are looking at the figures you have just quoted, we are looking at the figures you havejust quoted, more we are looking at the figures you have just quoted, more than 80%. supporting these changes to the timeframe required for couples to have lived apart. it is a massive amount of change and social upheaval really. the voters were asked to vote not just on really. the voters were asked to vote notjust on the timeframe, but it was a single question, but two changes, a change to the timeframe for divorce and changes to the rules recognising foreign divorce is to make that more consistent in the constitut

sinn fein very strong for remain. they we re results for their own party and they were disappointing for the other party too. in terms of what shifts here in westminster, it‘s about positioning going forward because of there as the tory leadership contest already under way but tough questions also for labour in terms of whether they can carry on with that position they have held off what has been called constructive lack of clarity. it was basically to try to keep traditional party supporters on side which other side of the brexit debate they were on, so lets talk more about how this plays out. with me now are stephen bush, political editor at the new statesman. and professor amelia hadfield, head of the politics department at the university of surrey. welcome both. stephen, looking to labour, do they have to become the party of remain because the pressure is on the tories to become very pro—brexit. is on the tories to become very pro-brexit. the group we have not talked much about but is the largest in the labour par