but i think poorjoe swinsonjo in recent years but i think poorjoe swinson jo swinson in recent years but i think poorjoe swinsonjo swinsonf in recent years but i think poorjoe swinson jo swinson if anyone in recent years but i think poorjoe swinsonjo swinson if anyone had a ha rd swinsonjo swinson if anyone had a hard time tonight, it was her they slammed her for the lib hard time tonight, it was her they slammed herfor the lib dems mrecord both on their own and the coalition. she had the most to see. another paper going with the jeremy she had the most to see. another paper going with thejeremy corbyn neutrality line. who do you think handled this the best? nicola sturgeon. hands down? yes. they made the point quite rightly she does represent 5% of the voting population which is a strange decision but obviously the rules being what they are, she ended up with the same amount of time but she was fluid, she was polite and she landed her messages. we seen this and previous debates. time and again, it nicola sturgeon who actually performs the best in the circumstances but then she can also edit that may adopt a very specifi

swinson. well, jo swinson is targeting labour seats in london that she believes the liberal democrats can pick up from them. she's here with her big yellow, or, to my mind, her big orange bus. this morning, she's also been talking about planting trees, 60 million trees a year from 2025, so double what the conservatives are pledging. that would mean some million hectares more of forest by 2045. she planted a tree herself up in hampstead this morning. and she was asked whether the project wasn't perhaps a little too ambitious. no, i think we need to be ambitious, first of all. we are facing a climate emergency. i was met this morning by a group of children and this is about their future. and we need to make sure that we do everything that we can to avert that disaster — to protect our planet for their future. planting trees is one of the best things we can do. it's good for air quality, it's good for our mental health, we all like being around trees, and, most importantly, it is good because trees absorb carbon dioxide emissions. and so they are a crucial part for how we get to a net zero carbon. what liberal democrats are proposing by planting 60 million trees a year, it's actually ambitious, but it takes us back to being a bit more ambitious than what we were managing to do at the end of 1980s, when we were planting 30,000 hectares roughly every single year. and we can get back to that and we can do more, and we should be doing more because of the threat that we face. there's no room here for half measures, when we're talking about protecting our children's future. you hinted at this a moment ago, but what is the wider liberal democrat approach in london going to be here? well, this afternoon, jo swinsonaurant, and she has been speaking to eu citizens, some 3 million of them living in the uk, and she has been talking to them about their concerns, about the uncertainty caused by brexit and, of course, the lib dems pitching themselves very much as the party of remain. but it is interesting, if you look at the seat where we were this morning, hampstead and kilburn, in 2017, the lib dems got only 7% of the vote. but they are targeting that, believing they can take it off labour because in those areas, they did vote very heavily remain in the referendum. in camden as high as 75% of people voted remain. they believe that by pitching themselves as the party of remain, they can win seats such as that of the labour party. the environment agency is warning of high water levels in the west of england as water continues to flow down the river severn and avon. 0ne place particularly susceptible to flooding is tewkesbury in gloucestershire, where properties have already suffered damage. andrew plan

jo swinson escaping. boris johnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson make their election pitches to business leaders.he cbi has their annual conference in london. prince andrew faces pressure to give evidence under oath in the us in the wa ke evidence under oath in the us in the wake of his bbc interview. a new hope, as scientists battled to save britain's ash trees, threatened bya save britain's ash trees, threatened by a fungal disease spreading throughout europe. ina throughout europe. in a moment, the sports news. but first, here is what is coming up. in a moment, it will be time for sportsday, but first, a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. at 8pm, we'll bring you the latest on the backlash faced by prince andrew. pressure is mounting for him to give evidence under oath in the us about his links to sex—offenderjeffrey epstein. at 8:30pm, as part of our election 2019 coverage, laura kuenssburg will unpick the day's political events in electioncast, including a look at business woman jennifer arcuri's claims against borisjohnson. and atio.1i0pm, and 11.30, we'll take a first

power, we know thatjo biggest party in the balance of power, we know that jo swinson said aboutjeremy power, we know that jo swinsonhim not being prime minister. thinking a few steps ahead here, a match of that situation, we had a different labour leader with all that about nationalization, debt and all the stuff being treated with negotiations, and what is really fascinating is i have talked to a lot of people and when it can stop standing on the queen speech, whether it is borisjohnson or jeremy corbyn on referendum. what would that mean for the election was make a new government basically has to do one thing, to prove that they area to do one thing, to prove that they are a government. if they do not have the seats necessary, they need other parties. whenever things the lib dems make contemplate is whether it isjeremy corbyn or borisjohnson as if they got another referendum out of it. it is unlikely that boris johnson would, but it is very likely thatjeremy corbyn would offer them that. and in the interview they said look, this means that she might work with jeremy corbyn. and buy at the start, the very first el

jo swinson? cani thing. and what about jo swinson? can i speed this up a bit?” thing. put anything.” didn't put an animal down because i wasn't sure who they were. anybody else not sure? does that mean you're not sure who jo swinson else not sure? does that mean you're not sure whojo swinson is? that is interesting. that is about half the group. i put a kitten. she is learning something new, so give her time to go into politics and then from her own opinions so people get to know who she is and what she is about. i put a bush baby, nocturnal, big eyes. nobody is sure where she coming from. nocturnal? she is in the shadows. she is so new to leadership. i put elephant, because she feels like the elephant in the room. everyone is looking at her like, what is she doing here? nicola sturgeon, let's move on to her.” put a red squirrel, because she is quite resourceful. i put lion s. i put meerkat because she is always on the lookout for anything she can bend towards getting independence.” put leopard. i put horse. iwasn't sure. didn't know enough to decide. i agree with the

approach and jo swinson is bringing in people from both sides. approach and jo swinson from both sides. it sounds ridiculous whenjo swinson says that iam your ridiculous whenjo swinson says that i am your candidate for prime minister when it is pretty obvious thatis minister when it is pretty obvious that is almost impossible. it is not impossible, it is not. everybody goes out to any start from scratch. the lib dems had to win over 300 seats falter every time we vote in a general election, we all start from scratch. the labour candidate and conservative candidate are laughing at you. of course they are. they are from the old politics. you say you will go back to the people in another referendum. how can people trust you will actually carry out that referendum when you don't want to deliver on the previous one? the previous one was, in principle, a decision. what has become clear now, even within brexit supporting people from the brexit party to the conservative party, there are disagreements as to what kind of brexit is a decent brexit kind of a settle m e nt brexit is

jo swinson? i didn't put an animal down. i wasn't sure who they were. anybody else, not sure about jo sure who they were. anybody else, not sure aboutjo swinson? have enough of a presence. about half the group. a kitten? she is learning a new, give her time to grow and form her own views and opinions of people get to know who she is and what she is about. bush baby. nocturnal, big eyes. though quite sure where she is coming from yet. bush baby. she is in the shadows, new to the leadership. people don't really know. elephant, she is the elephant in the room. you can see the rest of that conversation — and reaction from the three major parties — on the bbc website by searching for the victoria derbyshire programme. and reaction from the three major parties — on the bbc website by searching for the victoria derbyshire programme. venice has been hit by severe flooding after the highest tide in more than 50 years. the water rose by nearly two metres, affecting around 80% of the city. andy moore reports. this is something you don't see very often. the world famous saint mark's basilica, and a single man splashing about in the floodwaters in front of

isjeremy corbyn and borisjohnson on itv, what has jo corbyn and borisjohnson on itv, what hasjo swinson said? corbyn and borisjohnson on itv, what has jo swinson formal complaint, they are not happy thatjo swinson is not included. the liberal democrats want to be involved, that is not surprising. the snp have said they think this kind of debate could be rather misleading. we will see how that one shapes up. as you know, around elections, there is always a thorough debate about television debates, who should take part and how they should be run. but there has been a lot of discussion about the so—called remain alliance. we we re the so—called remain alliance. we were talking about a leave alliance but there is a remain alliance. getting certain seats in order to have a candidate who supports remaining in the eu and their chances of getting into power. it was put to jo swinson, chances of getting into power. it was put tojo swinson, liberal democrat leader, this morning. was put tojo swinson, liberal democrat leader, this morninglj wouldn't necessarily assume the numbers are accurate but we've had those discussions because there are people in th

different emphasis to joe brexit done, absolutely, very different emphasis tojoe swinson for the liberal democrats, ——jo swinsontrying to show people that if we do get that done we're not to overspend "like labour might", and we may not see that period of austerity. looking at the main parties, we have all their ma nifestoes main parties, we have all their manifestoes now, from the point of view of education, what excites you most? education is your area of speciality, you work with state schools across the country, you know the pressure they are under, you know the lack of resources, you know what they need. i was really excited, prior to the manifestoes, the talk about extra additional funding, the problem is that the devil is in the detail. when you look at the detail, this particular ma nifesto look at the detail, this particular manifesto that came out yesterday from the conservative party, if you spread 200 and messy feeling —— £250 million for childcare over the early yea rs, million for childcare over the early years, that ends up being a child —— a couple of pounds per child a week. we need to do a lot

jo swinson i5 of our leader is unique. jo swinson to 5ide5tep debating the i55ue be allowed to 5ide5tep debating the issue of brexit with someone who wa nts to issue of brexit with someone who wants to remain and itv should not give them the opportunity to do so. that is why this is an incredibly disappointing verdict. not just for liberal democrats, but also for democracy in this country. and for every remainer who deserves to have a voice in this data. you can clearly observe what is going on. we have fantastic support from the people of scotland with very clear message that we have that scotland was that future should be in the hands of the people of scotland. yet, in crucial time, hands of the people of scotland. yet, in crucialtime, where hands of the people of scotland. yet, in crucial time, where we face the very clear risk of being dragged out of the european union against our will, the people of scotland having expressed and desire to remain, that we are not permitted to ta ke remain, that we are not permitted to take part i

jo invited to this tb debate —— tv debate. what isjo swinson saying? the they have lodged a formal complaint and they are not happy that this head—to—head is happening withoutjo swinsonappening without jo swinson. the that this head—to—head is happening withoutjo swinson. the lib dems wa nt to withoutjo swinson. the lib dems want to be involved and that is not particularly surprising. the snp have said they think this kind of debate could be misleading, so we will see how that one shapes up. as you know, around elections, there is a lwa ys you know, around elections, there is always a thorough debate about tv debates, who should take part and how they should be run. meanwhile, a lot of discussion about the so—called remain alliance. this idea that certain parties could stand aside in certain seats to get a candidate who supports remaining in the eu and benefit their chances of getting into power. it is something that has been put tojo swinson this morning. i wouldn't necessarily assume that the numbers are accurate, but we have been having those discussions because there are people in those different parties, parties that want to stop brexit and remain in the eu, and

in between they will be jo swinson, the lib dems leader. theircampaign it jo swinsons could use more momentum. and nicola sturgeon who hopes for a new scottish referendum which this time she hopes to win. brexit has magnified all of the bets on the table. promises have never been bigger and trust in politics never lower and they will all try to build up their trust rating this evening. i suspect the time may go quickly. and that question time leaders‘ special will start here on bbc one at seven o'clock. follow the debate with our reality check team on line at bbc.co.uk/news. the time is 6.15. our top story this evening. a man is found guilty of murdering british backpacker grace millane in new zealand. two weeks to write 2a songs! how robbie williams had to work fast to adapt david walliams‘s bestselling book into a musical. coming up on bbc news, sam curran takes the crucial wicket of captain kane williamson as the shadows lengthen on day two of the first test between england and new zealand, who are 209 runs behind. back to the election, and throughout the campaign,

that was jo swinson speaking that wasjo swinson speaking to injure my earlier.said that scrapping the uk's nuclear deterrent, trident — would be one of her "red—lines" — in the event of her party supporting a labour government. i have a moral objection to weapons of mass destruction, unlikejo swinson, i wouldn't be prepared to press the nuclear button that would kill potentially millions, tens of millions of people, but there is also the opportunity costs of trade—ins, the billions, tens of billions of pounds that are required to renew trident, in my view, better spent on stronger conventional defence that is more effective to protect our country, but also on hospitals, schools, better social security provisions, and these are the choices that we should be thinking very carefully about. you know, if the snp is in that position of influence, then these are absolutely the kind of policies that we will pursue. that was the snp's nicola sturgeon there. and we'll find out how the conservatives' manifesto launch, the rest of the day's election campaign news — and othe

question time type debate where audiences get to grill nicola sturgeon, jo swinson, jeremy corbyn and boris johnson. nicola sturgeon, jo swinsonese debates can be pretty high stakes. for smaller parties, it is a chance to get their voice heard and perhaps reach new audiences, but politicians also eager to avoid any last—minute gaffes. for political leaders it is important because it is a high—pressure situation. we see politicians setting out their stall at campaign launches or talking about plans for investment when they go on visits to schools and hospitals, in these high—pressure tv debates they had to take on notjust each other, not just debates they had to take on notjust each other, notjust the moderator but also gets grilled by audiences. thank you, jessica parker, our political correspondent. borisjohnson has confirmed that after brexit there'll be no checks on goods between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom. speaking on a campaign visit to the east midlands, he said the uk will be one single customs territory, so the government won't enforce additional declarations for goods moving between northern i

jo swinson is campaigning. what has been happening? well, jo swinsoneral democrats can pick up from them. she is here with her big yellow, or to my mind her big orange bus. she's also been talking about planting trees, 60 million trees a year from 2025, so double what the conservatives are pledging. that would mean some million hectares more of the forest by 2045. she planted a tree herself up in hampstead this morning. and she was asked whether the project wasn't perhaps a little too ambitious? no, i think we need to be ambitious, first of all. we are facing a climate emergency. i was met this morning by a group of children and this is about their future. and we need to make sure that we do everything that we can to avert that disaster — to protect our planet for their future. planting trees is one of the best things we can do. it's good for air quality, it's good for our mental health, we all like being around trees, and, most importantly, it is good because trees absorb carbon dioxide emissions. and so they are a crucial part for how we get to a net

this is something jo swinson is going to sufferfrom, mps. this is something jo swinsonn her hair and you just cannot see that happening with the other leaders. no, even though boris johnson's air is an thusly fascinating. so she has a point about the sexism directed towards her. i hope that starts to dissipate, it will probably win her support, if anything, dissipate, it will probably win her support, ifanything, if dissipate, it will probably win her support, if anything, if it goes on too long. -- boris johnson's hehir is an thusly fascinating. we can a lwa ys is an thusly fascinating. we can always assume the cabinet won't be identical to the one we see in the picture at the moment. this story,, is about the conservatives who are hoping to use civil servant calculations as part of their campaign to criticise labour's spending pledges. but it's been stopped in its tracks? when you're close to a general election, the civil service are sort of aghast, they can't keep control of ministers at all in the way that they would like to be able to do. this cabinet, it wasn't re

jo swinson. a liberal democrat candidate for prime minister? could jo swinson7 into a group who could govern? this is not a normal election. it‘s not a typical choice about whether you want the red team or the blue team to be in government. her ranks have grown as brexit has rippled through the two big parties. but, as a tribe who unashamedly wants to keep us in the eu, the lib dems believe their best chance is now. i never thought that i would stand here and say that i‘m a candidate to be prime minister. but when i look at borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn, i am absolutely certain i could do a betterjob than either of them. honest whispers suggest number 10 is out of reach so, if no—one got a majority, would she — could she — prop up one of the others? i‘m absolutely, categorically ruling out liberal democrat votes putting jeremy corbyn into number 10. you said this morning you want to bring the country together. how would you do that if your plan is to disregard the vote of millions of people in the referendum of 2016? as liberal democrats, we‘re standing up for

jo swinson. "a liberal democrat candidate for prime minister"? could jo swinsonup who could govern? this is not a normal election. it is not a typical choice about whether you want the red team or the blue team to be in government. her ranks have grown, as brexit has rippled through the two big parties. but as a tribe who unashamedly wants to keep us in the eu, the lib dems believe their best chance is now. i never thought that i would stand here and say that i'm a candidate to be prime minister. but when i look at borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn, i am absolutely certain i could do a betterjob than eitherof them. applause honest whispers suggest number 10 is out of reach, so if no—one got a majority, would she — could she — prop up one of the others? i am absolutely, categorically, ruling out liberal democrat votes putting jeremy corbyn into number10. you said this morning you want to bring the country together, but how would you do that if your plan is to disregard the vote of millions of people in the referendum of 2016? as liberal democrats, we are standing up

jo swinson. a liberal democrat candidate for prime minister? could jo swinsonovern? this is not a normal election. it is not a typical choice about whether you want the red team or the blue team to be in government. her ranks have grown as brexit has rippled through the two big parties. but, as a tribe who unashamedly wants to keep us in the eu, the lib dems believe their best chance is now. i never thought that i would stand here and say that i‘m a candidate to be prime minister. but when i look at borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn, i am absolutely certain i could do a betterjob than either of them. honest whispers suggest number 10 is out of reach so, if no one got a majority, would she — could she — prop up one of the others? i‘m absolutely, categorically ruling out liberal democrat votes putting jeremy corbyn into number 10. you said this morning you want to bring the country together. how would you do that if your plan is to disregard the vote of millions of people in the referendum of 2016? as liberal democrats, we are standing up for what we believe in and

jo swinson! cheering candidate for prime minister, jo swinson! eral democrat government. brexit and build a brighterfuture. cheering some people will ask what‘s happened to the liberal democrats, why are they being so ambitious all of a sudden? we are being ambitious because we can be. and because we have to be. politics is in a state of flux. the fault line is no longer about left versus right. it‘s about values. whether we are open or closed. liberal, authoritarian. the only uncertainty is what will emerge. whether as the two big old tired parties hope that things will go back to business as usual. or whether this is a moment for seismic change. whether a new and different politics can emerge. millions of voters have that choice in their hands at this election! don‘t let anyone tell you what has to happen. change is possible and you get to choose! the mps like louisiana, sam, who chose to join the liberal democrats, to leave those tired old parties that are stuck in the past andjoin us and parties that are stuck in the past and join us and be pa

jo swinson last night betweenjeremy corbyn and boris johnson. jo swinsonto tv debates that are going to be happening over the next few weeks, she will start to make a big impact on this campaign. at the moment, the bbc‘s poll tracker issuing the liberal democrats have lost a little ground probably between 11% and 19%. there is still some way for them to go to make up that ground that currently is proving problematic for them. throughout the election campaign we will be putting your questions to all of the main parties. our guest this morning is the conservative security minister, brandon lewis. thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news today. good for you to a nswer on bbc news today. good for you to answer questions from the public. we begin with a question from public. she asks, is it ok for a party to deliberately mislead the public to appearas deliberately mislead the public to appear as though it is an independent fact checking website? good morning. iwould independent fact checking website? good morning. i would disagree it is the main story, the

jo swinson, the leader of the lib dems. quick show of hands, anybody else not sure? does that you mean you don't know — you're not sure who jo swinsont her as an elephant, cos she feels like the elephant in the room. everyone's just looking at her, like, what's she doing here? ok, if i'm wrong, like, correct me, but i thought he was part of like, the lib dems, and like, i kind of like where they're kind of going with things like, how they're just kind of focused, they put these, like, policies. they just seem organised. so ijust put a bird as like, kind of new, cos it's new, like. can i break this to you, reese? he couldn't be more opposed to the lib dems. the lib dems — i mean, just for those who want to learn, the lib dems want to remain in the eu, they want to revoke everything. and nigel farage is leader of the brexit party, and they absolutely want to leave. i got it wrong! it's fine, it's fine. it's so interesting, because there'll be other people as well. do not worry about it. should that worry them?” should that worry them? i think what people are picking up on the doorstep, and i disagree quite strongly, is that it is very

jo swinson really necessary? what you sought to write is thatjo swinson is really necessary? te is that jo swinson is clear and unequivocal and passionate about out and unequivocal and passionate about our need, we all believe we need to remain in the eu. she is being honest with the british public and say you vote for us and we will fight to remain in the eu. we will stop brexit. you heard of the audience member singh liberal democrats is a misnomer when you are cancelling a referendum without a vote. we are not cancelling any referendum, 17 times we have put down an amendment to get people final say on the deal but we have been clear and passionate about staying in the europe and we have been open eyelevel and straight. that was in complete contrast to what you sought from boris johnson who is accused of being arrogant and not truthful, not accepting he has been demeaning to women and ethnic minorities and jeremy corbyn stitched up a deal with the snp which will concern every unionist in scotland that we are being sold down the level by the snp and labour together in order t

the basic answer from jo swinson is, well, yes. we wa nt to from jo swinson is, well, yes. projects. i am told that jo swinson it has some big policy announcements for this afternoon to come but unfortunately the —— out alas you will not tell me what those things are yet. police are surrounding a hong kong university campus after a stand—off with hundreds of protesters outside. dozens of protesters tried to leave but were pulled back after phi on with rubber bullets by the police. several hundreds p of people have got to be hiding inside the university. liu xiaoming has been cut has condemned what he calls violent extremists. hong kong is sliding into an abyss of chaos. the future of hong kong, if such a situation continues, would be unimaginably dreadful. the writers have challenged the principal bottom line of their country. the violent extremists have eradicated hong kong independence and are publicly can the same for the liberation of hong kong. this is highlighting the true and sinister agenda by the so—called people. my my mask is because the bbc are firing gas at the

jo swinson? just anjo swinson? just as bad.ral democrats would ignore the liberal democrats would ignore the 2016 referendum result completely. we should not be glib about this, we should think, what kind of precedent does that set? if you do not respect the vote, you do not respect the voters. you cannot bring the country back together if you tell people you will ignore the result of the referendum that they voted in. we need to bring this country back together, and we bring people together by ensuring that communities right across the uk can grasp the opportunities of a world —class grasp the opportunities of a world—class education, of a strong economy and a booming jobs market. we bring people together by protecting and investing in the public services on which we rely, we bring people together by unlocking investment and celebrating and supporting the growing number of businesses in the uk that create our nation's wealth. that is how you bring people back together. and this is notjust a moral imperative, it is economically

. —— jo swinson, that are required to renew trade—ins. ——jo swinsonive to protect our country, but also on hospitals and schools and better social security provision. these are the choices that we should be thinking very carefully about, and you know, if the snp is in that position of influence, then these are absolutely the kind of policies that we will push through. nicola sturgeon there. 0k, push through. nicola sturgeon there. ok, let's move away from politics for a while, and take a look at some of the day's other news. one of the richest men in the world has jumped into the democratic presidential race. billionaire michael bloomberg joins an already crowded field of white house contenders. the move is an about—face for the former new york city mayor, who said in march that he wouldn't run in 2020. in a statement, mr bloomberg said the us "cannot afford four more years of president trump's reckless and unethical actions". let's take a closer look at who is michael bloomberg? he has a net worth of 52 billion dollars, according to forbes — making h

jeremy corbyn is going to be up first, then nicola sturgeon, followed by jo swinson, first, then nicola sturgeon, followed byjo swinsonrrespective of followed byjo swinson, and finally, boris johnson. irrespective of the size of their parties, they will all be given the same amount of airtime, about 30 minutes each. what is different from a conventional debate is that here, the audience will be in charge. they will be sitting here, 150 of them, designed to be representative of the british public asa representative of the british public as a whole. they will be putting their questions directly to the politicians. and from past experience, they can really put them on the spot. so, who knows, perhaps tonight we'll change the whole shape of this general election? the question time leaders special kicks off at seven o'clock on bbc one. iain watson, thank you very much. tonight's question time leaders special starts at 7pm here on bbc one, and you can get live fact—checking and analysis on bbc.co.uk/news, the bbc news app and the bbc news channel. and we'll have more on the election later in the programme. an independent th

she thought it was utterly disgraceful the fact that jo swinson and the lib dems are pursuing revoke without thinking about it. and of course jo swinson for a people's vote and we would not be slide down the track, we would have left by now if it wasn't for us. clearly they have both been backed into corners of their own making both been backed into corners of theirown making and both been backed into corners of their own making and it has become and exposed at this point. still with the story. we turn to the telegraph. sticking withjo swinson's performances evening. she went into this very much an unknown quantity. there had been concerns or commentary about her inability to connect. do you think she did that tonight? the lib dems poll rating has been dropping since, really, going back to the european elections where they did very, very well, but they were different for a number of reasons. since then the lib dems have deadly for them back, since the start of the campaign they have seen their ratings drop back. they would imaginejo swinson would want to use deny‘s debate, because she is not involved in the one on the sixth of decembe

so, we leave the third of the party leaders, jo swinson, at the party leaders, jo swinson, at the endng small businesses, calling them the edge of our economy and she argued scrapping business rates would breathe more life into our high streets, she says we have seen enough of the current business rates. the rates of course i what the tories have promised if they are in government. we heard from borisjohnson they are in government. we heard from boris johnson earlier they are in government. we heard from borisjohnson earlier today. so we will hear more from jo swinson later. and at 5:30pm, we will speak to the brexit party's richard take about their policies, so do get in touch with your questions. you can do so on twitter and you can e—mail us do so on twitter and you can e—mail us all the ways on screen at various points in the afternoon. we look forward to hearing from you later. now though, let's catch up on the weather with darren. sunny across many parts of the country and dry as well, but cold overnight. cloud showing across northern ireland. mostly high cloud, but the breeze p

implications for all of that, about there may be being a hung parliament, we had from jo swinson tonight, she is not com pletely swinsonircumstance and she didn't want to say she would actually block borisjohnson or jeremy corbyn from getting the keys to number ten jeremy corbyn from getting the keys to numberten in jeremy corbyn from getting the keys to number ten in the event of a hung parliament. as far as borisjohnson is concerned, we had a big promise from him today on cutting national insurance contributions for workers in the future. that's the kind of thing the tories will be shouting from the rooftops in the next few weeks. the labour manifesto launch is tomorrow and it feels after may bea is tomorrow and it feels after may be a stuttering week last week, we are getting into the big decisive daysin are getting into the big decisive days in this campaign. laura, thank you. there is are that election news. let's have a look. the snp leader said today it illustrates why scotland needs to be in charge of its own future. the electoral commission is urging parties to campaign responsibly, after twitter accused the c

that was jo swinson the that wasjo swinson the lib dems leader campaigning in cornwall today.m. but the conservatives have also been accused, by the the muslim council of britain, of failing to deal with islamophobia in the party. a bleak outlook on climate change, the united nations says the world has to act much faster, to avoid dangerous levels of global warming. and in sportjose mourinho will aim to ta ke tottenha m and in sportjose mourinho will aim to take tottenham into the jump into league knockout stages by winning his first home match in charge this evening. the chief of new zealand cricket has said the alleged perpetrator who racially abused joffre archer will be referred to the police. and andy murray says he is more relaxed about retiring from tennis now after spending so much time away from the spot recovering from a hip injury. and i will be back with more than stories after 5:30pm. see you then. anybody yet to register to vote in next month‘s general election, has until midnight tonight. government figures show nearly three million people have applied to regist

independent unit of poll the british public bike 221 think itv should have invited jo swinson to take part _by have invited jo swinsondo the right, fairand challenging itv to do the right, fair and balanced thing. our correspondent nick eardly is at the royal courts ofjustice. it is certainly that you're ramping up it is certainly that you're ramping up of the argument over at these debates. you heard the basic case that she made here a few minutes ago, they've gone to hand in the official documents to the court. they argue if you have borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn head to head the remain voice will not be properly heard. essentially, they think that's doing a disservice to the electorate. they looked at 0fcom's rules and decide that they have a chance of pushing through a judicial review which would say this is not representing all the different shades of opinion when it comes to brexit and not giving the public the full picture when it comes to the election, so they think they've got a decent prospect. the itv debate is supposed to be next tuesday so they will try and make that they have a chance of pushing throug

likelihood ofjo fair amount of scepticism about the likelihood of jo swinson fair amount of scepticism about the likelihood ofjo swinsonee and a half weeks. the liberal democrats are not keen on heathrow airport being expanded, which the cbi are very keen on. when you look across the piece, i am sure they will all be heard with respect but a dose of scepticism about whether or not their plans for the future can be offered an unreserved thumbs up from business leaders. it will definitely be an interesting day. thank you, chris mason, in westminster for us. if you thank you, chris mason, in westminsterfor us. if you look thank you, chris mason, in westminster for us. if you look at the bbc business pages online, you can see that caroline fairburn, the director general of the cbi, was talking to bbc breakfast about her expectations. she said one of the key thing is that businesses need to hear from party leaders key thing is that businesses need to hearfrom party leaders is how the uncertainty over brexit is going to end. you're watching worklife. a reminder of our top story: ford unveils its electric dreams which it hope

jo swinson democrats. they went to court to try and givejo swinson platform.appy about not being part, but from what you had been taking part, how would you have answered this straightaway about brexit? about getting brexit done as portions would have it, or from jeremy corbyn's point of view, having a referendum as mac well, as a party, clearly we are very much in the business of stopping brexit. that is what my answer would have been and i really regret the fact that the 60 million people who voted for remain were not really in that debate at all because borisjohnson isa debate at all because borisjohnson is a brexiteer and jeremy corbyn is a brexiteer. ithink is a brexiteer and jeremy corbyn is a brexiteer. i think it was outrageous thatjo swinson was not allowed to participate in that debate, because i think we would have had a much more informed, much more challenging debate, including for instance, challenging both boris johnson and jeremy corbyn on how on earth are they going to fund any of the promises they made in the second half of the debate, given

think it will result injo that agreement and i think it will result in jo swinson that agreement and i think it will result injo swinsons of yorkshire and the midlands already suffering from the effects of flooding. the environment agency has issued dozens of flood warnings across the country, including five severe warnings on the river don in south yorkshire. many homes have been flooded in fishlake near doncaster, and hundreds of properties have been evacuated. military helicopters have also been used to help flood defences. luxmy gopal reports. a community cut off. the only way to get around some parts of fishlake is by tractor. 0r boat. even the emergency services have had to abandon the odd vehicle. a few miles upstream along the river don, the town of bentley called in the military. the raf chinook was dropping tonnes of aggregate to shore up flood defences until the early hours of this morning. in fishlake at 11 o'clock, people had gathered for remembrance outside the church where some flooded residents had been sleeping overnight. claire holling is lucky. she has a relative to stay with, but she's been away fro

jo swinson turning up of the economy. jo swinsonchris mason, thank you very much. a stand—off between pro—democracy activists and police is continuing at a university in hong kong, following a night of fierce clashes. at least a0 protesters have been arrested, with a number still occupying parts of the polytechnic university. our asia correspondent robin brant is there now for us. robin, what's the latest there this morning? good morning. yes, i mean in the last hour or so within a small group of protesters trying to make a run for it, basically. they suddenly appeared on the highway below us, probably around 100 trying to climb through or over the barricades that they or their friends through or over the barricades that they or theirfriends had been building over the last few days. then they moved along the highway here, quickly pursued by police who we re here, quickly pursued by police who were firing pretty large numbers are teargas rounds. were firing pretty large numbers are tea rgas rounds. there were firing pretty large numb

swinson has given an interview to the financial times ruling out helping outjeremy corbyn into number ten ——jo swinson. she has a very difficult path over the next — already, but over the next four weeks. she has made it very clear that conservatives are going to say and are already saying, if you vote lib dem, you risk putting jeremy corbyn backin dem, you risk putting jeremy corbyn back in number ten downing street —— in numberten back in number ten downing street —— in number ten downing st. she has we are going to spyjeremy corbyn, we are going to spyjeremy corbyn, we are going to spyjeremy corbyn, we are going —— we are not going to supportjeremy corbyn, it will be interesting to see if there is another hung parliament. and if, as she is saying in this interview with the ft, her preferred option is to have another 2020 election, well, is the public going to be grateful for the public going to be grateful for the party who made it possible to have yet another general election in 2020? you wonder. it is interesting, isn't it, it is almost as if she was slightly prodded into saying that she would prefer to have another election than a pact? i think she was burst into it by canny questioning. but the point is if you wa nt questioning. but the point is if you want to have a line —— pushed, saying we will not support jeremy corbyn going into it, she has said repeatedly know that jeremy corbyn or borisjohnson is repeatedly know that jeremy corbyn or boris johnson is fit to be repeatedly know that jeremy corbyn or borisjohnson is fit to be prime minister. if you are going to pursue that statement to its natural course, it means you will pursue any outcome that means they won't be in numberten. but outcome that means they won't be in number ten. but based on what we understand with the voting public at the moment, it will be hard to see them not in that binary situation. there is a little line on the side of the story aboutjo swinsons in recent years even as eurosceptic parties have gained ground. greece in particular has seen a surge in positive opinion. but if i am to believe this, it would seem the uk as well has a more positive view between 2016— 2019. as well has a more positive view between 2016- 2019. does the national average correlate with key marginals? i think that is the caveat. and on the front of the telegraph, it is whether there will bea telegraph, it is whether there will be a deal between the conservative party and nigel farage's brexit party. according to this headline in the daily telegraph, tories offer nigel farage and 11th hour deal. we can say christopher hope, the chief political correspondent does have some contacts in the conservative party. i think we can assume some conversation was probably hard. now this is about whether or not the tories would field candidates in 40 key marginal seats. the independent brexit party are hoping to win? that the brexit party are hoping to win. these are

remain in the european union, we are coming out of that interview because jo swinson we are coming out of that interview becausejo swinsont's what she has to say. whether that is the 1970s of the 18705. whether that is the 1970s of the 1870s. for too many people, things are not working as they should be. we are the fifth—largest economy in the world, yet, one in five of us in this country in poverty. parents working full—time on the national living wage who are struggling to provide for their children. i'm not talking about trips to disneyland, i'm talking about putting food on the table, paying for school uniforms, keeping the heating on. there are others like the one in my constituency who came to see me, having is escaped an abusive relationship, she got out, and then she faced a five—week wait for her universal credit payment. going without so her child could eat, and having to rely on the kindness of neighbours to invite them round for a hot meal. there are schools in this country shutting early on fridays because they cannot afford to pay their teachers. head teachers who are having to ask parents to buy toilet rol

jo swinson was saying, we are the red oak party. boris johnson swinson borisjohnson would say, iam the oak party. borisjohnson would say, i am the person who would deliver on brexit and jeremy corbyn said he would bring about real change in society but that nicola sturgeon saying scotland must have the freedom to choose its own future and the greens with a huge spending commitment to get rid of fossil fuels. thank you. boris johnson is going to be going to the palace later to see the queen. parliament dissolved at one minute past midnight but it is all part of the protocol to see the queen as parliament dissolves an election campaign launches. let's speak to our royal correspondent nicholas witchell, who's at buckingham palace. what is the point of a conversation? essentially it is a courtesy call. time was when a prime minister and head of government would come and see the monarch to ask the monarchy to exercise his or her unique power and what used to be known as the royal prerogative to dissolve parliament. it was something that only mnemonic could do

stand, but we will hear from that as things stand, but we will hearfrom jo swinson, that as things stand, but we will hear from jo swinsonib dems later when she launches her campaign about the so—called remaining bonus, the amount of money that will be saved if the uk doesn't leave the eu, giving more money for things like health, education, the police and other public services. so £50 billion on it over the next five yea rs, £50 billion on it over the next five years, they say would be saved if britain stayed in the eu. and forecasters in general say the economy would be stronger in the short term if exit did not happen, but it is hard to put a specific figure on it. as the labour, jeremy corbyn will make a big speech early on in the campaign about brexit promising, promising to get brexit sorted within the next six months. if that sounds a millionaire and strikingly similar to the conservatived's promise, maybe that is because they are trying to tap into the fatigue. he says it will be £500 million transferred from the nhs to us health companies if drugs prices go up after brexit. that is contested by some experts and

jo swinson. remember they really haven‘t had their moment in the spotlight yet, but their appearances won‘t be without peril either. there will be a lot of questions about scottish independence for nicola sturgeon and jo swinson that? what are you particularly looking out for tonight? i think what nicola sturgeon wants to do is really planned her campaign sturgeon wants to do is really planned hercampaign in sturgeon wants to do is really planned her campaign in that uk wide context. she is obviously very familiar with arguing her case context. she is obviously very familiarwith arguing her case in the context of scottish politics but this is her real moment of opportunity, if you like, to set out the snp's campaign and actually related to what it could mean not just to scotland and the kind of concessions, if you like, and snp group at westminster could achieve for scotland, but the difference such an snp group could make to the governance of the whole of the uk. so think she will want to get across tonight notjust so think she will want to get across tonight not just her so think she will want to get across tonight notjust her position on the constitution which is evident might very well known, she supports

the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, has strongly criticised borisjohnson, describing him as sexist and patronising. at a speech in london today, swinsonaid today, that he doesn‘t believe boris johnson can be fully trusted. speaking on the campaign trail in kingston upon hull — the brexit party leader told supporters that he feels a tory majority in next month‘s election is inevitable — and that the role of the brexit party will be to hold borisjohnson to account. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with helen willets. good evening. today has seen a transition to much colder, drier air crust on the part of the uk. the cold air is filtering south, so overnight the concern is for ice and particularly where we had the days rain and the surface let down. much brighter tomorrow. still with us in southern areas and meandering southwards. but for many further north the north wind has brought arctic airand bringing north the north wind has brought arctic air and bringing in showers, so will the services stamp but you can see why the from the midlands there‘s a risk of bias. that will be prevalent first thing tomorrow morning. freddy starts

liberal democrat leader, jo swinson has said there has "been a squeeze" on her party during the campaign, but that she is "not conceding yet". speaking on the bbc‘s andrew marr show, swinsonrexit, and said the liberal democrats' priority was to stop brexit from happening. well, of course the liberal democrats want to stop brexit and we will be campaigning to stop brexit. ok, if that is the case, jeremy corbyn is offering a referendum, you may not like every aspect of what he is saying, but he is offering a referendum, and borisjohnson very much isn't, doesn't that mean you are inevitably going to have to lean towards the labour party and help them form a government, vote things through for them, rather than the conservatives? well, first of all, as things stand, as things stand, borisjohnson is on course to get a majority, and liberal democrats are the best placed party to stop it. ah, you think that is what is happening at the moment? if you look at the polls right now, that is what they say. now there is, obviously, two and a half weeks to go in this campaign, and i am working very hard to change that situation... you are not conceding yet, but you think that he is goin

liberal democrat leader jo swinson has been campaigning in north london, pledging extra resources for mental health care if her party is in government. ms swinsonillion into mental health care as she launched her election ‘battle bus‘ campaign and visited a charity. the snp leader nicola sturgeon says demand for a scottish independence referendum will become "irresistible" if the snp wins the majority of scottish seats at the general election. speaking to the bbc this morning — scotland's first minister said she intended to hold another vote on independence next year and said the idea politicians at westminster can prevent a referendum is starting to "crumble". the brexit party leader nigel farage has been campaigning in workington in cumbria this morning. he told a rally that borisjohnson‘s new deal with the eu was 95% the same as theresa may's deal — which was rejected by mps three times. he also said that labour would betray leave voters. in the next few minutes we will have questions, that is within the next 20 minutes. let's return to the resignation of welsh secretary alun cairns. laura mcallister is professor of public policy at cardiff

democrat leader jo swinson has said there has "been a squeeze" on her party during the campaign, but that she is "not conceding yet". speaking on the bbc‘s andrew marr show this morning, swinsont, and said the liberal democrats priority was to stop brexit from happening. well, of course the liberal democrats want to stop brexit and we will be campaigning to stop brexit. ok, if that is the case, jeremy corbyn is offering a referendum, you may not like every aspect of what he is saying but he is offering a referendum and borisjohnson very much isn't, doesn't that mean you are inevitably going to have to lean towards the labour party and help them form a government, vote things through for them, rather than the conservatives? well, first of all, as things stand, as things stand, borisjohnson is on course to get a majority and liberal democrats are the best placed party to stop it. oh, you think that is what is happening at the moment? if you look at the polls right now, that is what they say. there is, obviously, two and a half weeks to go in this campaign and i am working very hard to change that situation... you are not conceding yet but you think that he is going to win? of c