let us see how jo swinson workforce more successfully. let us see howjo swinson try to sell a policy. that is why we, liberal democrats, will help parents going back to work with free high—quality child health care and their first year of school. 35 48 weeks a year. another big number on the paper is the remaining bonus, which they saved by the year 2024, 2025, will be raking in14 saved by the year 2024, 2025, will be raking in 14 billion a year. we know they want to stop brexit, that very clear. they'll be more money to spend on public services because the economy will be bigger most economists agree with that premise that the economy will be bigger if we stay in for the first few years, but then you get all of the health warnings about forecasts. it is not a definite number that putting a figure like that in five years times, who knows what is going to happen to the world economy and the time. there will be some criticism saying yes, you can say you're being careful your calculations, but there's a huge amount of uncertainty about for

meanwhile, nicola sturgeon and jo swinson were both challenged

jo swinson was criticised for her track record, no real new development there. boris johnson track record, no real new development there. borisjohnson was accused of lying, really no news there. jeremy corbyn, in the previous debate, had had an issue around his position on brexit stop repeatedly asked about it, repeatedly asked about it, repeatedly refused to be drawn on it. clearly he has gone back to his advisers and collectively they have decided they need to come to a position in that position of —— that position in that position of —— that position is one of neutrality. but how did that go down with the audience? i think it went down as well with the audience as it will do with the british public. it shows, his critics will argue, a lack of leadership, and sitting on the fence doesn't really work in politics at the best of times. and it certainly doesn't work when it comes to brexit. just look at theresa may and her position, attempting to play both sides, attempting to placate all different arguments within the brexit spectrum and actually failing

so, we leave the third of the party leaders, jo swinson, at the party leaders, jo swinson, at the end of her speech, saying her party would scrap business rates altogether and replace them with a landover levy. she says the lib dems are committed to helping 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

jo swinson i5 of our leader is unique. jo swinson is the only leader of a national party fighting to stop brexit. bori5 johnson and jeremy corbyn should not be allowed 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 sc

cheering candidate for prime minister, jo swinson! friends, welcome to this liberal democrat campaign launch. and i am excited for the week ahead, i am excited for the week ahead, i am excited to stand here as your candidate for prime minister. because a liberal 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 ge

next up, jo swinson, leader of the liberal democrats. they also launched their manifesto this week, pledging to cancel brexit if they secure a majority. and finally, borisjohnson, the leader of the conservatives. who has promised to — in his words — "get brexit done". and, remember, we'll be fact checking the programme throughout with bbc reality check, and afterwards we'll be getting all the reaction and analysis from here inside the spin room. hello and a warm welcome to viewers around the world to a bbc news special — we're in sheffield building up to the question time leaders special. we are in the spin room where we are going to be watching the debate — let me show you around and give you a flavour of what is going to be happening in here. so the debate is going to be shown on number of big screens. there will be around 100 people crammed in here, most of them journalists, but of course there'll be various senior figures from the political parties here as well, who will be coming up here wanting to give their take on it all.

jo swinson heavily challenged about her time in the coalition government. and also that flagship policy which informs everything the lib dems are doing of stopping brexit. having someone doing of stopping brexit. having someone there who said she was a former lib dem boater who didn't like the policy and thought it was undemocratic. you know, that is a big challenge. and borisjohnson, we heard him, he wanted to talk about brexit. we could see him going there within the first of his first answer. but voters wanted to talk about other things. they wanted to talk about the nhs. they quizzed him about not releasing a report on possible russian interference into british democracy. and you heard him being challenged, on a personal level there, but those things that he wrote a newspaper articles. so thatis he wrote a newspaper articles. so that is the great thing about elections, it is the voters is that the agender. very quickly, helen, before you leave us. we have got a very important we can coming up for the conservatives. yes, we are expecting the conservative

this is something jo swinson is going to sufferfrom, mps. this is something jo swinson is going to suffer from, the quentin let's piece is very patronising and leads on 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

could jo swinson really transform a dozen from 2017 into a group 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 for what we be

the voice of remain, jo swinson! she wants to make a big entrance onto the national stage, why she believes the lib dems matter. we are the only party that can win a significant number of seats from the conservatives and deprive them of the majority. applause. but while the nightclub is different enough to the other parties, can stopping brexit at all costs really appeal? the manifesto calls brexit a national humiliation, is that a way to describe what was a democratic decision?” is that a way to describe what was a democratic decision? i do believe it has become a national embarrassment for our country. when you speak to people in other countries looking at us, and they look at us with puzzlement. but what message do you think that sends to a leave voter, who might have just heard you say that? very candidly, seeking to overturn what was a narrow but clear decision taken by the majority of voters in this country. so, i recognise that the vote in 2016 had that result. the people who want brexit don't know what brex

well, this afternoon, jo swinson is in bermondsey. she has been at a pizza restaurant, an italian restaurant, 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. joining me now isjonathan bartley, the co—leader of the green party. good afternoon. as other parties talk green issues, does this encourage you or do you look at it and say this is not nearly enough? it is encouraging. we

and what about jo swinson? cani thing. and what about jo swinson? can i speed this up a bit?” thing. and what about jo swinson? can i speed this up a bit? i know some people didn't 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 independenc

approach and jo swinson is bringing in people from both sidesm approach and jo swinson is bringing in people 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 br

borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson make their election pitches to business leaders at the cbi's annual conference in london. the violent protests in hong kong intensify. hundreds of anti—government demonstrators have escaped a university campus, where they had been held by police. but many remain trapped inside the building. they came running out over the barriers, a large amount of tear gas fired down in their direction. gunshots. and this is them escaping basically. you can hear what the police are doing in response. two teenage drug dealers are jailed for life for the murder of 17—year—old jodie chesney, who was stabbed to death in a park in east london. it has been one of the hardest investigations i've ever dealt with. it felt like the world was watching, the world was waiting for answers. and i am adam fleming. join me in half an hour for all the latest from the campaign trailand half an hour for all the latest from the campaign trail and an investigation into a bar chart in hastings. it will make sense when you see it, trust me. kpmg has confirmed it is not renewing

boris johnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson escaping. boris johnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson make their election pitches to business leaders. the 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 wo

know, there are three candidates and jo swinson is one of them. the biggest debate is about brexit and both jeremy corbyn biggest debate is about brexit and bothjeremy corbyn and borisjohnson support brexit, saw the millions of people who want to hear the voice of remain will not hear it ifjo swinson and the liberal democrats are not in that debate. that would undermine our election, our democracy and i am very surprised that both itn and dare i say the bbc are trying to excludejo swinson and if you look at the opinion polls, you got opinion poll shows two to one voters wanted jo swinson to be in the debate, wanted a liberal democrat voice to be heard. it is quite surprising, frankly, that public broadcasters are not responding to that. 0k, public broadcasters are not responding to that. ok, let's answer some of the viewers' questions directly now. maria from blackpool — i own a small business, battered and bruised by the continuing brexit fight. we import from the eu. though my heart wants to vote liberal democrats, my tactical vote says vote l

next up, lib dem leader jo swinson, her party's policy is clear — stop brexit. but is it democratic, she was asked. is revoking article 50 confirming to 17.4 million people that you think we're stupid and didn't know what we were voting for? you want to leave. and i don't think that that makes you a bad person. and i want to remain in the eu and i hope you think that doesn't make me a bad person. you can disagree with me, but you lost. i haven't changed my view on whether i think we're better off in the european union. the liberal democrats standing on a manifesto to unilaterally cancel brexit — and the electoral pact — has absolutely cost you my vote. this is the essence of democracy. i am standing here and telling you honestly what i would do if i was elected as prime minister. i would revoke article 50. she was also challenged on her party's five years of coalition government with the tories. when borisjohnson took the floor, it was trust that came up. how important is it for someone in your position of power to always tell the truth? i think it's... i th

of the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson. time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. as we head into the final week of metrological autumn, there is more rain in the forecast. not much around today, mainly dry for many, but a lot of mist and murk, low cloud. some of us were lucky enough to see some bright skies, but that brightness has been at a premium. the next spell of rain is already making its presence felt across western parts of the uk. gusty winds associated with that, 50 miles an hour across south—western london south wales. that is tracking north and east woods, getting as far north as the midlands, southern parts of northern ireland. staying mainly dry further north, but some low cloud, freezing —— well above freezing temperatures. this front is continuing north and east woods. the heaviest of the rain tomorrow is across england and wales. a number of the met office rain warnings in place. the rain becoming patchy as it pushes into northern ireland and scotland. still quite a windy day for the shetland isles and still stronger winds across parts of so

in between they will be jo swinson, the lib dems leader. theircampaign it jo swinson, the lib dems leader. their campaign it seems 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

meanwhile, nicola sturgeon and jo swinson were both challenged on their views over scottish independence and cancelling brexit. i can't force scotland to choose independence, just as i can't force the uk to stay in the eu, but i do believe we should have that choice, so that whatever path we take as a country, whatever kind of country we are going to become, it's one we've chosen ourselves. in this election, my conscience would not be clear if i didn't make sure that right across the country, people have the chance to vote for a remain party, for a candidate that wants to stop brexit, because this might be the last chance that we have to stop it. tonight, jeremy corbyn revealed he'd stay neutral in any new eu referendum he'd call as prime minister. we'll have the latest. also tonight... grace millane was strangled by a 27—year—old man she met online while visiting new zealand. but her parents say his conviction, won't ease their pain. grace was our sunshine and she will be missed forever. she did not deserve to be murdered in such a barbaric way. a group of orphaned british children

a real theme coming through from jo swinson that politics in this country is so volatile, she says every vote counts here. yes, really her message is that anything can happen. i think the challenge for the liberal democrats has always beenin the liberal democrats has always been in general elections, as opposed to local elections, european elections are by—elections, do people think that it might be a wasted vote if it could be a very close contest? what she is saying is that things are so fluid in politics that things are so fluid in politics that anything could happen and she is saying she could even be prime minister. when questioned about the credibility of this claim by journalists, she cited the example of canada where one party was almost com pletely of canada where one party was almost completely knocked out of the race losing almost all of their mps and she talks about the snp in scotland, a huge surge there where they won almost every seat in 2015 because the liberal democrats no further strategy to work, people have to think, in my seat the liberal democrats have a chance of

borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson make their election pitches to business leaders at the cbi's annual conference in london. prince andrew faces pressure to give evidence under oath in the us about his links tojeffrey epstein in the wake of his bbc interview. and new hope as scientists try to save britain's ash trees from being virtually wiped out by a fungal disease that's swept europe. and coming up in the sport in the next half an hour on bbc news: the english and european rugby champions saracens will not challenge their 35—point deduction and £5 million fine for breaking the salary cap. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. hundreds of anti—government protestors are trapped inside a university in hong kong as a stand—off with police intensifies. some have managed to escape under a volley of rubber bullets and tear gas. police have surrounded the campus for a week now and it's thought up to 500 are still inside, some armed with petrol bombs. the past week has seen some of the most violent protests since they began injune in response to plans to allow some c

and jo swinson... we'lljust be here for one minute. those were the moments when the politicians were out and they get to meet real photos and hear what people think of them —— photos put at what impact does that stuff have? i think personally it is wonderful to see people seeing it right through politicians going on there daily election beat. i think what i've really noticed is that whenever particular borisjohnson i've really noticed is that whenever particular boris johnson but i've really noticed is that whenever particular borisjohnson but alsojo swinson, people who have been in power, well not jo swinson, people who have been in power, well notjo swinson but the lib dems had been in power in the past ten years, it is the same story. it is the tory cuts have destroyed the lives of people up and down this country. in this very show we look at the coverage of doncaster, a big reason why we are not seeing adequate relief effort is because the tories have not invested in flood relief and flood defence. in your earlier segment you h

should we hear from jo swinson, the lib dem leader?m we leave the european union, we are looking at years and years and years of and was trade negotiations. more time and energy wasted on getting something that will never be as good as what we already have. more time and energy wasted fulfilling the ideological fantasies of nigel farage so that borisjohnson can play at being prime minister. more time and energy wasted that we could spend on improving everyone's wives. the solution is clear. if you want to put an end to this, if you want to put an end to this, if you want to stop borisjohnson to put an end to this, if you want to stop boris johnson and to put an end to this, if you want to stop borisjohnson and his cabal of hard—line brexiteers, then you need to vote for the liberal democrats. we are the only party that can win a significant number of seats from the conservatives and deprive them of a majority. —— everyone's live. a couple lines that stand out to make a similar length to the labour manifesto, same size as well. th

the basic answer from jo swinson is, well, yes. we wa nt to from jo swinson is, well, yes. we want to do things differently and leaving the economic circumstances have changed. they think that they can borrow it a lot more money and invest in things like infrastructure and green 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 indepen

jo swinson went to school in cambridge this morning. this is nonfiction. also published today, her party's pamphlet manifesto, 96 pages, but one topic dominates. the liberal democrats will be fighting to stop brexit. that is our priority because we believe we are better in the european union, it is better for our public services like the nhs, our environment and it is better for people's jobs. the party's main pitch is to cancel brexit. they point to economic forecasts suggesting remaining in the eu is better for the economy — they would have more money to spend. they also want 80% of our electricity generated by renewable sources within a decade, and are promising 20,000 extra teachers in england within five years. today we have set out the details of our plans on schools funding and making sure that there can be up to 20,000 new teachers employed in schools across the country. that is incredibly important for our children's education at a time when schools have really been struggling with funding. what else is in here? more stuff on schools in england,

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 those different parties, parties who want to stop brexit, and remain in the european union. we found in the brecon and radnorshire by—election at the beginning of august, we had a successful example of where plaid cymru and the green party did not field candidates. they stood side by side with the liberal democrats and we could return to parliament and mp who would campaign enthusiastically to remain. those discussions are ongoing, i think. we saw that there was the potential for a remain alliance on the isle of wight, anna soubry‘s seat of broxtowe. they will have to conclude those conversations fairly soon. discussions are ongoing. it looks like they could be a remain alliance in certain seats, the question is how widespread it is and how effec

john: jo swinson next. she is a potential powerbroker, too. the lib dem pledge to block brexit came with a cost, leavers. 7.>> article 50 confirming million people that you think are stupid and did not know what they were voting for? >> you want toeave, and i don't think it makes you a bad person. i want to remain in the eu, and i hope you don't think that makes me about person. >> you can disagree with me. ms. snson: i have not changed my view on whether we are better off in the european union. john:nt then, the one they out of his job, and straightaway, a tricky one for boris johnson, who is so often accused of stretching and breaking the truth, this time to his face. >> how important is it forpo someone in yoution of power to tell the truth? prime min. johnson: i think it's -- i think it's absolutely vital. and i think the issue of trust in politics is essential to thin election andmental to the corrosion of trust in politics at the moment. >> so why do you think you are being asked that question? prime min. johnson: let's be clear, it is t

and what about 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? you don't know who jo swinson is? she doesn't 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. thi

so the cbi, you got borisjohnson, jo swinson and jeremy corbyn. one thing will unite them, and that is they are appearing before an audience of business people and businesspeople at the moment do not love really the political parties, because they see issues about all of them, so yes they do with the messages. boris johnson is saying i am the man who will get brexit dunn, i'll help you with business rates, i'll look at reforms. jeremy corbyn saying go with me and you get 320,000 new apprentice places, very important for the future of business industry. jo swinson almost saying like the conservatives, we other steady party, we won't be making all these crazy spending promises. she is saying we other one that will stop brexit. yes, and it was going to say, the one issue is of crucial importance and that is brexit, what's going to happen, because they know that if even dominic brexit is done, there are many years of trade talks to come and that will be immensely difficult. boris johnson looks like he's going to say i know you didn't want brexit, he's

jo swinson speaking there. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. the weather is not great there that pretty scenes too. this picture coming in from shropshire. a lovely wintry scene, if you like that sort of thing. the story this evening will be heavy rain across southern and central parts of england. this is the weather front that has brought the wet and snowy weather to western parts of the uk. the rain that we did have two days ago is still causing problems across parts of south yorkshire. various severe flood warnings in force on the river don. dangerous levels there but the rain falling right now is heavy across southern areas of the uk. this was central southern england, berkshire, the london area. that sort of thing. not pleasant there. on top of that it is cold, but a big difference in northern england, northern ireland and scotland. the skies overnight, leading to a widespread frost. especially across scotla nd widespread frost. especially across scotland and northern england. in scotla nd scotland and northern england. in scotland in the

from jo swinson presumably she will demand a referendum on brexit. will nicola sturgeon demands another scottish referendum on a specific timescale? a uk wide audience will be interested to hear what the red lines are of the smaller parties hearing the pitch from borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn. thank you very much indeed. a very big night for sheffield. somebody who had a big role politically in sheffield that got the big break—out moment in these televised debates was nick clegg but back in 2017 it was a shocker of a result and the general election because the former deputy prime minister lost his seat in sheffield hallam, and it has turn up other electoral surprises. let's talk a bit about that with felicity matthews from the university of sheffield. let's talk about that festival. when you look at the televised debates, it was nick clegg who got the most out of the debates. in 2010, for one moment he was riding so high in the policy was more popular than winston churchill! and it shows you what a difference a debate can make. it was not to last

so does the lib dem leader jo swinson, maybe keen to build more momentum. and snp leader nicola sturgeon. looking forward to tonight, first minister? looking forward to it, yes. for them all, it's a big night. first up, the labour leader, and from jeremy corbyn a clear answer to the brexit question that's dogged him. will you campaign to remain or leave the eu if elected? why would anyone vote for labour without knowing the answer to that question? the answer was neither one, and his frustration showed. we will negotiate a credible leave deal with the european union. laughter let me finish, please. i'm trying to answer the gentleman's question. secondly, we will put that alongside remain in a referendum. i will adopt a neutral stance so that i can credibly carry out the results of that, to bring our communities and country together. then, a question that hurt him. anti—semitism in the party, his own treatment of a jewish woman mp. ruth smeeth, a jewish mp, was heckled out of that press conference and there you are at the end of the press conference chatti

jo swinson promises a "remain bonus" of £50 billion over five years if brexit is stopped. in a speech this morning, jeremy corbyn promises to "get brexit sorted" within six months of winning power. the conservatives dismiss labour's pledge as "fairytale politics" and insist they are the party to deliver brexit. a scheme designed to help people aged under a0 get on the housing ladder in england has failed to result in a single home being built. the national audit office said £174 million had been spent on buying land for the starter homes project. polly neate who is chief executive of the homelessness charity shelter says it was the wrong kind of scheme in the first place. the scheme was not going to tackle oui’ the scheme was not going to tackle our housing crisis so 80% of market rent to buy is simply not affordable to people living in private rented accommodation, who are the people who desperately need a home, and two thirds of people living in private renting have no savings, so the idea they can buy a home at 80% of market rent is a bit of the mark anyway. what we

borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson will all attempt to woo the uk's business leaders with speeches to the cbi's annual conference later. let's hear more from our political correspondent chris mason. this is a big opportunity for them to pitch to business leaders. what are we expecting from the three party leaders? they are regular attendees at this conference but this is not regular, for this to happen right in the middle of a general election campaign. it is fairto general election campaign. it is fair to say from what we have heard from the cbi over the weekend that there is more than a splash of scepticism from them about all of them. borisjohnson will say, look, them. borisjohnson will say, look, the conservatives get that plenty of people in this room are sceptics of brexit, but believe us because we can deliver the certainty of delivering what people wanted, even if you were sceptical about it. i think there will be a return of scepticism from the business leaders about the timetable that boris johnson has set for sorting out the long—term arrangement with the european unio

the lid dams as we heard from jo swinson, you get free childcare from the age of nine months and free childcare from the age of two until they go to school. that would be an extra £13 billion a year it spread to childcare and it's notjust a bit more, it's nearly 11.5 times more than current government plans so it's a pretty bold spending pledge and something which clearly might attract people who got young kids although the evidence is mixed because the purpose would be to say if we give you the free childcare, new mums who at the end of parental leave wa nt new mums who at the end of parental leave want to get back into work quickly are going to find it easier to do so. the evidence is mixed as to do so. the evidence is mixed as to whether the provision of childcare actually enables those people to get back into the work force more successfully. let's see howjo swinson tried to sell it. that's why we, the liberal democrats, will help parents going back to work with free high—quality childcare so when the child is nine months old until the first day of school, 30 53 hours a week, 4

that was jo swinson speaking that wasjo swinson speaking to injure my earlier. and the leader of the snp, nicola sturgeon, 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, th

can we observe a minute's silence for the victims of austerity, and jo swinson...? ..in a well—heeled part of north london. protest at decisions they took in coalition with the tories years ago. this is the smoother side of the campaign the conservatives want you to see. promising a greener government and, again and again, borisjohnson‘s vow to take us out of the eu without delay. it is done, it is complete, it is ready to go, it is the blue peter deal, here's one i made earlier. all we need is a working majority, all we need is a working majority in parliament to make parliament work, just nine more seats. none of his answers are good enough for one of his former colleagues, who will stand as an independent and thinks you should think about voting lib dem. traditional conservative voters like me should lend their support to the liberal democrats, but i think i'm best placed to run as an independent. today we have seen voters in yorkshire be very unimpressed by your handling of the floods and several of your former colleagues, who were even conservative minister

nicola sturgeon, jo swinson, jeremy corbyn and borisjohnson. these 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 n

the voice of remain, jo swinson! how she wants to make a big entrance onto the national stage. why she believes the lib dems matter. we are the only party that can win a significant number of seats from the conservatives and deprive them a majority. applause but while the nightclubs different enough to the other parties, can stopping brexit at all costs really appeal? the manifesto calls brexit a national humiliation. is that a way to describe what was a democratic decision? i do believe it has become a national embarrassment for our country. when you speak to people, they look at us with puzzlement. what message does it send to leave voters? very candidly you are seeking to overturn what was a narrow but clear decision taken by the majority of voters in this country. i recognise that the vote in 2016 had that result but people who want to accept did not agree on what brexit looks like. —— brexit. i think it is worrying to embark ona brexit. i think it is worrying to embark on a path that the government says will make us poorer if we do not have confidence that is what the

the voice of remain, jo swinson! how she wants to make a big entrance onto the national stage. why she believes the lib dems matter. we are the only party that can win a significant number of seats from the conservatives and deprive them a majority. applause but while the nightclub's different enough to the other parties, can stopping brexit at all costs really appeal? the manifesto calls brexit a national humiliation. is that a way to describe what was a democratic decision? i do believe it has become a national embarrassment for our country. when, you know, you speak to people in other countries looking at us, and they look at us with puzzlement. but what message do you think that sends to a leave voter, who mightjust have heard you say that? very candidly, you are seeking to overturn what was a narrow, but clear, decision, taken by the majority of voters in this country. so, i recognise that the vote in 2016 had that result. the people who want brexit don't agree on what brexit looks like, and what that leads me to be concerned about is, i don't think there is a majority in

could jo swinson really transform a dozen from 2017 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 what we believe i