Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171020

The countrys youngest Prime Minister in 150 years. And the death of stalin is armando iannuccis satirical take on the dictators final hours. Well find out what mark kermode thinks of it, in the film review. Good evening and welcome to bbc news. Eu leaders have agreed to start internal preparations for talks with britain on a future trade deal, but have rejected theresa mays request to begin those negotiations as soon as possible. The remaining 27 said not enough progress had been made in the talks on britains divorce, in particular, how much the government was prepared to pay in a financial settlement. This report from our Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg contains flashing images. Tick tock, tick tock. European leaders took 90 seconds today to decide that brexit talks havent gone far enough to move on. Time is pressing. They will start talks about talks. Yet until the uk says it is prepared to pay, no big deal. Im ambitious and positive for britains future for these negotiations but i know we still have some way to go. Both sides have approached these talks with professionalism and a constructive spirit, and we should recognise what has been achieved to date. Do you deny that youve made clear to your eu counterparts that you are willing to pay many more billions than youve already indicated to settle our accounts as we leave . What i made clear to my eu counterparts in relation to our financial contribution is what i set out in my florence speech, which is that i have said that nobody need be concerned for the current budget plan that they would have to either pay more, or receive less, as a result of the uk leaving, and that we will honour the commitments that we have made during our membership. Now, there has to be detailed work on those commitments, as david davis has said. We are going through them line by line and we will continue to go through them line by line, and the british taxpayer wouldnt expect its government to do anything else. Among the schmoozing, there are whispers she has said privately she is prepared to stump up billions more. Number ten says there hasnt yet been the final word on the cash. And whilst things seem friendlier, eu leaders are clear theresa may has to spell out how much she is prepared to pay before moving onto the main talks on trade and transition. And that means theres no deal yet on Citizens Rights or northern ireland. There is an expectation they could shake on phase one by christmas, but until she budges, its 27 against one. Lonely arguments to make. The reports of the deadlock between the eu and the uk have been exaggerated. And while progress is not sufficient, it doesnt mean there is no progress at all. Theres nothing to say about brexit, says mrjuncker. Cue a sigh of relief from the uk. But heres the man who has to try to make it work here. I dont want to answer a question. From the look on Michel Barniers face, he knows its not going to be easy. Angela merkel said, we hope we can move on in december, but it depends on the uk paying more. The french verdict, even more gloomy. Today, we are not even halfway there. Did he mean wed have to pay at least double the 20 billion . Thats not yet clear. This was far from a brussels bust up, though. Number tens encouraged that negotiations are at least moving. Theresa may does not go home empty handed. She can claim progress of a sort, but this fraught process has gone a couple of inches, and its a journey of many, many miles. Those 27 will decide their next moves without britain even in the room, while at home the Prime Minister must calculate how much she can compromise to conclude the whole deal against the clock before we are out for good. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, brussels. And well find out how this story and many others are covered in tomorrows front pages at 10 40 this evening in the papers. Our guests joining me tonight are Political Correspondent for the telegraph laura hughes, and kate forrester, Political Correspondent for the huffington post. Oxford and cambridge universities are still struggling to offer places to students from less privileged backgrounds. New figures show that the parents of most students given 0xbridge places have professional or managerialjobs. The data was obtained by the labour mp david lammy who has accused oxford and cambridge of perpetuating a social apartheid. The figures also show a huge geographical divide. Almost half of the 0xbridge offer went to students in london and the south east. While in wales just 3 of students received an offer from oxford or cambridge. The universities both say they are trying to improve access. Heres our education editor bra nwen jeffreys. Centuries of scholarship, one of the top universities in the world, but how easy is it to get into 0xford from a comprehensive in inner city manchester . Even from a good school, it can feel like an impossible leap. I see quite a few people in my year who could have applied. I think it is a confidence thing. Most people dont feel it is for them. I can understand why someone might think it is posh, but as long as you are an able student who wants to work hard, i am sure you will fit right in. Almost one in five kids here gets free school meals, that is two or three times higher than the wealthy south east. I think it is a deep rooted issue. A lot of it comes down to confidence and perception of what these universities are like. We try to ensure that students visit them, access the various summer programmes. The universities say they are trying hard, spending millions on their efforts, and some schools just arent delivering top grades. But still, better off kids get most places here. These two universities exerted a remarkable influence over national life. They have produced most of our Prime Ministers, as well as many cabinet members, seniorjudges and influential voices in the media. So if you are asking why you should care, its because the people who study here end up running the country. When i got the offer, i was so happy. 0xford demands at least three a grades, but an experiment is under way. Vi got three b grades at her dudley sixth form. The universities spent a year getting her up to scratch. The standing of teaching was completely different to what i had experienced in my previous education. Here, you are constantly academically challenged. Your ideas are looked at, people are interested, they want to know what you think. She is now starting her degree, amazed to be at oxford. Before i came here, i honestly thought i would not fit in, i did not think 0xford was for someone like me, as a young black woman from zimbabwe, living in dudley. I did not think i would fit into a space like this. I thought it would be people who are rich. Now that i am here i realise, yes, we come from different backgrounds but that is not necessarily a bad thing. But so far, it is just ten students at one college. So does this mean dropping standards for some state pupils . Its definitely not about dumbing down 0xford. Its about getting students who have the academic potential but have not reached it at school, and with a year of teaching on the foundation year, they will have reached the level where they can perform well at undergraduate level. Cambridge and oxford are part of an academic elite, but many argue that is still reserved for the privileged few. Bronwen jefferies, bbc news. The south west is gearing up for storm brian. Its expected to bring winds of up to 70 miles an hour, and theres a risk of coastal flooding. It comes just days after storm 0phelia brought battered the region. In a first for a coastal town in the region, temporary flood defences have been built in fowey, to try to protect the town from the high spring tides. Lucie fisher reports. It started as a beautiful morning in looe, but this really is the calm before the storm. Storm brian promising to bring Gale Force Winds and flooding. We have had flooding here this morning, coming up through the drains, and with the winds over the next 2a hours we expect the tides to overtop the quays. Days after storm 0phelia hit the coasts this week, we are expecting a second storm, this time combined with spring tides, a combination that has seen a rush to put up defences in places like fowey, thats prone to flooding. This is the first time youre trialling this on a Coastal Region . Absolutely, this is the first time we are using a temporary barrier to protect the town. We have used it along river corridors, but this is first time at the coast. As far as the storm itself, what are you warning people . We expect high tides tonight and tomorrow morning, around seven. That will coincide with very high winds that will lead to big waves. The coast will be a dangerous place. We are encouraging people please stay away, dont be tempted to take a storm selfie, youre more important than that photo. Selfies aside, what do the locals make of the activity . It has a history of flooding. It is great they have put up this barrier here. Whether it will stop the flood because down the end, if the surge really comes up, it will go through the wall. Different. Lets hope it works. It should be interesting to see how, if it stays there or not. To be honest. It is going to be fun. While restaurants and shops in coastal towns are sandbagging this evening and crossing fingers, elsewhere builders have told us they are making sites secure, and ferries and other public transport are also putting measures in place. You need to get across, you need to get across. Its a 15, 20 mile journey round, if more, so if you live here it is part of the way it is, we have storms every year. With winds set to increase here tonight and into the weekend, gusts of up to 70mph are expected here, along with some of the years highest tides. Well now, early victims of storm brian include the Great South Run events tomorrow, that have being held in portsmouth, all hoe the main run held in portsmouth, all hoe the main ru n eve nt held in portsmouth, all hoe the main run event on sunday is not so far affected. 0ur weather presenter has the latest for us on this from portsmouth. Through the course of today the winds is starting to increase. Tomorrow we expect coastal gales, a chance of gusts of up to 50 or 60mph. Some large wave with the high spring tides. It is an unfortunate thing the event has been cancelled but i am joined by the organiser. David, sadly cancelled but better safe tha n david, sadly cancelled but better safe than sorry. Yes, 3,000 people we re safe than sorry. Yes, 3,000 people were due to compete tomorrow. No choice to cancel, and obviously safety is number one priority for everyone. Absolutely. I spoke to you earlier and you re routed the route away, the great waves that were ex pelted and you were going ahead until 5. 30. The to forecast looked like everything would be have been 0k, not particularly nice, it has deteriorated massively so the only decision was to cancel and hopefully we will move on to the sunday for the Great South Run, the biggest 10 mile running event. It will be windy but not like saturday. What iron up do we have. Chris thompson at the front but we have 21,000 other people of all shapes and sizes and ages and ability taking part, so thatis ages and ability taking part, so that is the real story of it. Well, the Great South Run is taking place on sunday, the 3,000 runners tomorrow wont be running, that is in the wheelchair, the 5k, the junior and in the wheelchair, the 5k, the juniorand mini in the wheelchair, the 5k, the junior and mini race, in the wheelchair, the 5k, the juniorand mini race, the Great South Run will be taking part. We will check out the latest headlines for you. Eu leaders agree start preparing for trade talks with the United Kingdom, theresa may says she is optimistic about a good deal. 0xford she is optimistic about a good deal. Oxford and cambridge universities are accused by one mp of social apartheid for not accepting enough underprivileged students. Pollution is linked to thes of more that 50,000 people in the uk, in a major new medical study. Latest sport. What do you have in sore . Lot for. You we will start with football because englands women are playing an International Friendly against france tonight. There has been more controversy involving the fa, and their Coaching Staff after it emerged the goalkeeping coach has opinion flown home after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a player. The fa launched an investigation after new evidence was given at a government hearing. She gave evidence against the former manager mark sampson sacked last month. Tonight is the first game in charge for interim manager mo marley. She has kept the same squad. It is goalless. 16 minutes at the moment, there, in france. We are just pausing because it looked like they might be able to score but they havent. West ham take on brighton at the london stadium tonight. Bilic admits he needs a vice chancellor trito ease the pressure on his job. It is brighton who have leading, yet to win away all season but they are leading 1 0 at the moment. Glenn murray the scorer, 16 minutes on the clock there. Still with football, everton have been charged by uefa after some players and fans were involved in a brawl. Everton were a goal down when captain on the night Ashley Williams shoved the lee i dont know goalkeeper. That sparked a brawl between players and fans. 0ne goalkeeper. That sparked a brawl between players and fans. One was holding a chile. He has since been banned. Williams scored an equaliser. Everton only have one point from three games in europe so farand are very point from three games in europe so far and are very unlikely to make it to the knock out statements. That combined with their poor premiership form means their manager is under more pressure. I watch television, i am styles on social media, i know what is going round, and that is normal. That is football. I dont step back, i go forward. Let us hope nor three points and even already happy than today. Lewis hamilton could win a fourth title this weekend. He dominated a wet first practise in texas, his mercedes more than half a second quicker than Sebastian Vettels ferrari. The early starters have gone out for second practise. Hamilton can wrap up the championship early if he finishes in the top two and other results go his way. We will have more for you later on, on bbc news. There are three rugby union games tonight. Scarlets are playing bath. The score is 10 6 so are playing bath. The score is 10 6 so the scarlets and in the european challenge cup sale are losing to their importants. And one other rugby union story, scotla nd and one other rugby union story, scotland have suffered a blow ahead of the autumn international. Their hooker frazer brown is missing all matches with a knee injury. Brown is set for up to eight weeks. He will sit out the test against samoa, samoa, new zealand. That is the sport for now, more in an hours time. Dont forget sportsday. Pollution contributed to the deaths of an estimated 50,000 people in the uk in 2015. Thats according to a major study published in the lancet medical journal, which looked at the effect of man made chemicals on people with illnesses such as Heart Disease and stroke. Heres our Health Correspondent rob sissons. Particles in the air built up, breathed in. Here in britain and around the world, there is growing recognition that toxic chemicals are now notjust an environmental challenge, but a big health problem, too. During 2015 in the uk, 8 of deaths, thats 50,000, have been linked to pollution. That puts us behind the us and many other european countries, including germany, france and spain. We need the government to act immediately. We want them to use the budget next month to end the tax incentives for diesel vehicles, and in the long term they need to commit to a new clean air act. The diesel emissions scandal has heightened concern about the role of particulates from exhaust emmission. The uk governments new ambition is to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2030. Motor manufacturers are now under pressure to develop more efficient versions of cleaner technologies. On a global scale, the challenge appears huge. Two thirds of worldwide deaths are put down to air contamination, many of the rest linked to polluted water. In some african countries, 25 of deaths were attributable to pollution, like niger, chad and somalia. In india, the figure is also around a quarter, and in china, 20 , one in five deaths, were linked to pollution. These time lapse pictures show pollution in beijing. Countries which have undergone rapid industrialisation have some of the highest figures. The study is a snap shot from 2015. In the indian capital, delhi, where diwali was being celebrated with a night of fireworks, people dont need to read todays report to be reminded of the pollution threat. Its hit 18 times the health limit. Rob sissons, bbc news. After a video merged of him using what has been described as unacceptable language. Mr lewis has apologised for the comments made during the labour party conference, in the last hour, the women and equality secretaryjustine greening has sent is a letter toJeremy Corbyn attorney generaling urging him to take action. Ian, give us the details and what he said, why, and where . Absolutely, he said, why, and where . Absolutely, he said this as a fringe event at the labour party conference, organised by momentum his friends say it was a bit of a boozy evening, during a comedy part of the evening and he used offensive language not to women but to a man, i think we can hear exactly what he said you can judge for yourself, but some people may be offended when they hear his words. It was a pretty rowdy evening but you could hear that he said and he was condemned by conservative women mps but by many people in the labour party as well. The former deputy leader Harriet Harman saying it was inexcusable. He was condemned by yvette cooper, and said look, there is no excuse, you cant say this was a joke, there is a worry by the labourmp a joke, there is a worry by the labour Mp Stella Creasy this was enforcing negative images of women bya enforcing negative images of women by a male politician. This letter from justin greening in an attempt to bring him into this row as well, she is not just to bring him into this row as well, she is notjust the education secretary but minister for women and equality. She doesnt call specifically for the labour whip to be withdrawn from clive lewis, what she says it is important forJeremy Corbyn personally to contempt condemn these comments and say what he is going to do tackle the issue of misogyny. I dont expect a formal response from Jeremy Corbyn but labour have put out a response, their press officer saying the remarks by clive lewis were unacceptable. This has been condemned formally be the labour party but an attempt by the conservatives to bring the labour leader into the row as well, so far, he is trying to keep a distance. Thank you very much ian. More than 10,000 rohingya refugees, who have been stranded in myanmar near the border with bangladesh, have been allowed to cross through to refugee camps that have sprung up in bangladesh. The refugees, who had been waiting with limited food and water, have now reached major camps in the area of coxs bazar. The un childrens organisation, unicef says 12,000 rohingya children are crossing into bangladesh every week to escape the fighting in myanmar. The american illusionist david blaine is being investigated by the metropolitan police over allegations that he raped a british woman in 200a. Its claimed the magician attacked natasha prince at her home in west london, when she was 21. Ms prince has waived her right to anonymity. David blaines lawyer says he vehemently denies the allegations and will cooperate fully with a police inquiry. President trump has controversially linked an increase in recorded crime with the spread of radical islamic terror in the uk. This is what he said on twitter this morning. Just out report United Kingdom crime rises 13 annually amid spread of radical islamic terror. Not good, we must keep america safe but the data, which was actually released yesterday, is just for england and wales and showed an overall rise in crime driven by an increase in Violent Crime including murder and assault. It also said the rise was down to better crime recording. 0ur north america editorjon sopel is at the white house. It was just before dawn, america was still sleeping when donald trump suddenly, kind of tweets about the British Crime rate. Well, he called it the uk crime rate, as you say, it was about england and wales. But it was using quotation marks quote United Kingdom crime rises 13 annually amid spread of radical islamic terror close quotes. Of course the crime survey makes no reference to radical islamic terror, and that is something that the president has inserted himself. I am sure kind of has left cabinet ministers in the uk bewildered as to how our closest ally is using and abusing crime figures for the president s own political ends, and the political ends are these, that the president has been frustrated yet again, over his attempt to ban a number of travellers from mainly muslim countries from entering the us. The courts have blocked this move yet again, and all that comes within the last 2a hours, when very, very unusually, two former president s have taken aim at donald trump. George w bush saying that bigotry seems emboldened, while barack 0bama warning against the politics of division. The leader of plaid cymru, leanne wood, has said her party could back a second referendum if no brexit deal is reached with the European Union by march 2019. Speaking to her partys conference in caernarfon, she said that the Welsh National interest must be protected in the negotiations. The way the eu withdrawal is being carried out is a clear threat, not just to our economy but to our constitution. The conservative uk government risks driving the economy off the cliff through botched brexit negotiations. Their internal fights and election gamble have led them to pursue the most reckless negotiating strategy imaginable. John and Pamela Sibley have lived in their very unusual home on the sussex coast for more than two decades but now theyve decided its the end of the line and theyre selling up. Theyre planning to downsize and you could say they are re loco ating. Their house is built around two Victorian Railway carriages. Laura trant visted the couple in pagham near bognor regis, and sent this report. Many of us have an idea of what our dream hope might look like, it could bea dream hope might look like, it could be a bit quirky, this all seems ordinary but that is not the case, because here we have two Railway Carriages, dating back from 1885. And they have been a much loved home for 23 years. When we walked in, i said quietly tojohn, i could live here. It was, you know, we were that much younger and far more enthusiastic perhaps than we are with are now and we just got on with it. When i took the Floor Coverings up, it. When i took the Floor Coverings up, seven it. When i took the Floor Coverings up, seven layers of line know, then we found where people had trodden through the doors for years and it was worn away. It started to become a bit more interesting as we went along. That is what has got us into it. The carriages are the centrepiece with the platform running through the middle. The details make for historical yet homely feel. There are lots of clues about the history. Like this on the hinge. It says mrco. It is not that rare to convert Railway Carriages but to restore this the level is. We have seen them from time to time. They often go as pot value, the fact this has been refew bishoped and to such detail is important. How rare is that . This is the best i have seen in 20 years of doing the job locally. The best by far. Isis there a part of you that wants to move in . I would love it. The unique home is on the market for £500,000 and will mainly be much missed. Cleaning the windows is, there is about 72 of those or thereabout, they are not such a chore really. These third class Railway Carriages became a first class home. Now it is time for the necks part of their journey. Let us see what the weather is doing. Here is matt taylor. Hello. Early blustery weekend, storm brian will make itself felt, nothing unusualfor will make itself felt, nothing unusual for this will make itself felt, nothing unusualfor this stage will make itself felt, nothing unusual for this stage of the year but the winds will whip up in the west. Rain tonight in the west which will spread into the east, clearer skies, showers into the morning and then the strong winds arrive with then the strong winds arrive with the storm pushing into coastal wales and parts of the south of england, perhaps up to 70 mph gusts and gales in lent. Showers frequent in the west but in the east of scotland and england, not a bad west but in the east of scotland and england, nota bad morning, sunny spells. The bulk of the day will be dry, temperatures dropping in the afternoon as the winds pick up north westerly and it will feel fresh. The winds are lightest in scotla nd fresh. The winds are lightest in scotland but through the night and into sunday, the winds will pick up, gales on sunday but the winds will ease down through the day and the showers become less abundant as well. This is bbc news, our latest headlines eu leaders agree to start preparing for trade talks with the uk theresa may says shes optimistic about a good deal. Oxford and cambridge universities are accused by one mp of social apartheid for not accepting enough under privileged students. Pollution is linked to the deaths of more than 50 thousand people in the uk in a major new medical study. A warning millions of mobile phone users are being overcharged by their contract providers even after paying off their handsets in full. The south west of england is gearing up for storm brian. Its expected to bring winds of up to 70 miles an hour, and theres a risk of coastal flooding. Lets get more now on the new figures which show that 0xford and cambridge universities are still struggling to offer places to students from less privileged backgrounds. Joining me now to discuss how this issue could be tackled is laura mcinerney, editor of schools week and nick hillman, director, Higher Education policy institute. Good evening. Laura, these figures have been obtained by david lambie, the labourmp, have been obtained by david lambie, the labour mp, they are showing that a Oxford University colleges have failed to make a single offered to black a level applicants over a six year period and that is quite staggering. Certain colleges have done that, there is a difficulty here whether it is because there are not many students getting high grades to get in or whether those stu d e nts grades to get in or whether those students that get grades apply and the final part which is those 0xford colleges selecting the students and there are problems right across the board, but more around those high grades and whether the students apply. You went to oxford. I did. Nick, you went to manchester. What do you make of these figures . |j think do you make of these figures . think david lambie is performed at public service, he has shown that there has not been a lot of progress. I worry about a language like apartheid, we need the universities, government, schools and parents to Work Together and there are some things that could be done, a lot of money is wasted particularly at oxford on bursaries rather than on average work at schools, it is not so much raising aspirations, it is helping them convert their aspirations into entry into some of the most selective universities in the world. Oxford is the best university in the world and it should have some of the students with the most potential there. The idea of social apartheid that david lammy talked about and i mentioned black students struggling to be offered places, it is notjust a racial thing, in terms of economic and privilege as well. For a long time, those students on free school meals, had been underrepresented at oxford, but again, if you look at the School Results for children on free school meals, they are much lower, right from early on, through to gcses and a levels. I think nick is right, this is about the University Going out and finding those students and making sure they are applying here are getting top grades. Black students tend to live in london and all students in london tend to stay at home more, they have more options than they like the city. Oxford needs to be going and finding those young people and saying, we are a real option for you and this is what we can offer. That is free, targeted bursaries so you make sure the students want to apply. The picture you get is that the people most likely to go to oxford and cambridge, they are white from london or the south east and they are middle class. It is unlikely that they are going to willingly give up their places of. My preference would be to have more places. Ithink my preference would be to have more places. I think it would be wonderful if oxford and cambridge had new colleges. That would be one way to do it, with one or two of the colleges, having foundation years, like a yearzero, colleges, having foundation years, like a year zero, they come in a year earlier to get them up to the same entry levels that mainstream entrants are doing and that is really effective, so long as they are wholly additional places and then oxford can change its balance about particularly turning down the other students either. It is part of it that it is an interview process to get in and if you are quite confident, from a middle class south east background, may be your parents are managers of some kind, you are more confident as you stride into the interview. I think that is definitely a problem, i came from a further education background and i have to say that the idea that someone would have just made a quota for me to go when, or i would have thought, i was just one of those extra places would have been awful. I dislike this idea of having to set aside quotas because i think there are many people out there who have the top grades from these backgrounds, so you have to find them. I do think the interview is a problem and oxford and cambridge have this weird system where the interview everyone and that is different than any other university and because of that they are selecting on different criteria and ido selecting on different criteria and i do think we need to look out, eve ryo ne i do think we need to look out, everyone to break the monopoly of oxford and cambridge, why do we encourage other universities to do that or stop oxford and cambridge from doing it . Part of the reason they do that is because they want to be the best of the best, they are elite universities, and in the end, maybe they do not care about social backgrounds, they want the best possible students. The important thing is, they should not be going for the ones with necessarily the top grades, they should be looking for the ones with potential, what matters is what will happen to those people during their time there. Isnt that what the interviewer is supposed to reveal . isnt that what the interviewer is supposed to reveal . I am not opposed to the process, sometimes it goes wrong and the people doing the interviews look for students who feel and look like them, but if the interviewers are trained properly and that does increasingly happen, they are trained properly, they should be looking for potential and i wouldnt abolished the interview process. People have been talking about this for years, about oxford and cambridge being too privileged and cambridge being too privileged and from this, it does not seem that that much has changed, are you confident or optimistic that anything will change . The percentage of state school educated people have been going up over the years. It is quite a decent amount, but one of the bigger shifts is that comprehensive schools have got so much better and in the past 15 years we have seen results rise quite a lot and that means you have got more pupils from within those state schools who can actually give the private school kids run for their money and that is making the biggest difference, the School Reforms are what will drive the changes and have so far. There is a good news story here which is far more people from difficult backgrounds are going to university than ever before and the challenge is are they being spread fairly among all the universities . The challenges at the top end and it is almost uniquely british or english challenge because other University Systems in other countries tend to be much more flat and level, but we have these two universities and a few others which are seen as still way above, it is a particularly challenge and david lammy is right to talk about. Maybe we should not get too hung up about oxford and cambridge, they arejust two universities, there are others out there. This is true but it goes back to the interview thing, it is a great system but it marks them out. I used to be in charge of the sixth form and for our pupils, that mistake of getting through the interview process, the fact that their application forms need to be in earlier, really marks oxford and cambridge out and i think those small symbols mean we will never get away from the idea that they are elite and different because they are in the very beginning from the time you apply. Do you think there will be meaningful change . What matters is where your Higher Education takes you, so employers need to be part of this conversation because while employers are saying we will only recruit from 0xbridge or from the top ten universities. Even if they do not say that, sometimes it is the reality. People in the middle classes will know that better than many other people. I think this will bea many other people. I think this will be a long hard slog. Hopefully david lammy will do this again and hopefully the fingers will have shifted. And we can have the same discussion. Thank you. New zealands new Prime Minister, labours Jacinda Ardern is preparing to put her plans for the country into action, after forming a Coalition Government despite her party coming second in last months election. At 37, she is new zealands youngest Prime Minister since 1856. Lets have a quick look at her rise to power. Jacinda ardern became the Labour Party Leader on the 1st august this year, just over 6 weeks before the country went to the polls. Yet she proved popular with the public. In the election on 23rd september, the labour party increased its parliamentary majority by 1a seats to a5. The national party, lead by the Prime Minister bill english, on the left, still won the most seats, but failed to secure an overall majority. New Zealand First, lead by Winston Peters on the right finished third with 12 seats. After a month of coalition talks, Jacinda Ardern is in a position to form a Coalition Government after new Zealand First and the green party pledged their support. Drjennifer curtin, the director of the Public Policy institute at the university of auckland joins me via webcam. Thank you forjoining us. She has had quite a rise to power. She has. She has done exceptionally well and helen clark was reported as being very admiring about the way she was given the leadership of the labour party at a time when they were really low in the polls. Six weeks from the election and she really has had a very rapid rise to power. What has been the secret of her success . Obviously she is very young and new to this level of politics. She was the deputy leader of labour for a while before she won the leadership. I think while some people saw her age as something that was a disadvantage, actually she has never voted in the old plurality first past the post system, she is very much a product of our proportional system but also in terms of her personal leadership qualities, she is very authentic and she comes through to the voting public as down to earth, able to deal with that kind of gender and ageist claims that come her way with aplomb and shejust claims that come her way with aplomb and she just has this very widespread appeal, even if people do not vote labour. There is talk of mania around Jacinda Arden, is that a media construct . I would see it like that, but there is another thing that they are calling the Jacinda Arden effect. Her leadership was able to bring out labours core base and have them flock back to labour, some of those are people who had not voted in the last couple of elections, some of them are supporters from the green party, which was not doing so well during the campaign but some of them have come across from the centre right party, so she did have this very broad appeal. It is looking like a coalition with new Zealand First, tell us about them. Different people have different ways of classifying new Zealand First, some people see it as new Zealand First, some people see itasa new Zealand First, some people see it as a right wing radical populist party, but in the minds of new zealand voters, they are populous, they have a social conservative element, but they are very much a centre party. They believe in the importance of a role for government and assisting those who are less well off. They are keen to see expenditure on infrastructure and support for super newtons. Where they get their populist leanings or label from is where it they do want to put a cap on immigration numbers. I dont know if you know, but new zealand has net migration of around 72,000 people per year, so we are growing at quite a rapid rate relative to our population and that is something that new Zealand First is something that new Zealand First is quite populist on, curbing those numbers. She is 37, shes going to be the youngest Prime Minister since 1856 and a woman, regardless of politics, is that a good thing for new zealand, do you think . I do. Because she is under 40, she is really going to have a much more future focused policy agenda. We can see that already. She called climate change, new zealands nuclearfree moment. That is a referral back to 1984 when new zealand went nuclear free and she has captured the imagination of what new zealand