Transcripts For BBCNEWS Beyond 100 Days 20240713

Beijing threatens retaliation after President Trump signs two bills which back the pro democracy protesters in hong kong. And the arms race over trees. All the parties are committed to planting more in this election but are the promises realistic, and wood you believe them . Hello and welcome. Im Christian Fraser in london. Michelle fleury is enjoying her thanksgiving meal. So youre stuck with me tonight. These days, the Television Debates are part and parcel of most elections. And this week here in the uk, both the snps Nicola Sturgeon and laboursJeremy Corbyn have subjected themselves to the bbc andrew neil interview. It is always forensic, persistent and all encompassing. The headlines for mr corbyn the next day werent altogether flattering but then, no politician finds an andrew neil interview easy. At least mr corbyn took part. And he is tonight in the channel 4 debate on Climate Change. The Prime Minister and nigel farage were both no shows, and so they are being represented tonight by melting ice scultpures which ca has put in their place. You would expect, since every other leader has agreed to the andrew neil interview, that it would be a formality for the Prime Minister to confirm he, too, will take part. But tonight he was asked seven times whether he will sit for that interview and seven times he refused to give a proper answer. Will you sit down and be interviewed by andrew neil on the bbc before polling day . I will have all sorts of interviews with all sorts of people. Here i am, being interviewed by you now. Im sure active discussions are taking place about future interviews with a number of people. Were talking for five minutes in a farm shop, but will you agree to a proper interview with andrew neil on the bbc before polling day . Im sure that i will be having all sorts of interrogations, inquisitions from all sorts of people. Sit down, stand up. Prime minister, this is a big interview. All the others have agreed to do it. Will you join them in being interviewed by andrew neil on the bbc before election day . I dont want to preempt any discussions that may be taking place, but ive no doubt that conversations are going on about or sort of interviews with all sorts of people, and i look forward very much to the result. Is that a yes or a no . Other people are getting involved in these conversations. Its not myjob to do. They will be deciding and discussing. Im very happy to be interviewed by anybody, by you, and i look forward to the outcome of those discussions. Can you see if you dont do this interview, critics will say that youre running scared, youre chicken, youre afraid of scrutiny . Here i am. Im being interviewed by you. For five minutes. Its not a full length interview. Are you saying that youre incapable of providing scrutiny . This is a five minute interview in a farm shop. Its not the same thing. Well, im very happy to submit to all manner of scrutiny, all manner of debates and have done so, and lots of conversations are happening about that matter right now. So you might do it . All sorts of conversations are happening about that matter right now and other people than me are responsible for those discussions and negotiations, and i do not want to preempt what they may decide. Must be said, questions are also being asked of the bbc. There is some concern the corporation has grilled Jeremy Corbyn without having a nailed down a corresponding interview with Boris Johnson. Yesterday they said they hadnt yet been able to fix a date but discussions were ongoing. Im joined now by helen thomas, who was an adviser to former chancellor of the exchequer george osborne. Nothing quite says i am the strong leader you need then ducking the injury neil interview. Leader you need then ducking the injury neil interviewlj leader you need then ducking the injury neil interview. I suppose thatis injury neil interview. I suppose that is what is producer leveling at him asa that is what is producer leveling at him as a charge, but i think the clip that we just heard tells quite the story because boris seems to be happy to be interviewed by anybody, but as he points out, his people, rather, his advisers, are trying to thrash out the terms of any such interview. 0h, thrash out the terms of any such interview. Oh, come on he couldve said, yes, yes, iwill take part. Interview. Oh, come on he couldve said, yes, yes, i will take part. He could have said that but there is a whole team behind them, there is a whole team behind them, there is a whole Campaign Going on. It is not just about one man. Two weeks ago, it was sort of safety first, and what does he have to weigh up the risk . There is clear risk in doing these interviews and there is a risk in not doing them. And at the moment, obviously even boris isnt sure which site his advisers feel that that risk falls on. But isnt he obliged to do this interview . Come on. This is the most significant election we have had in many years, perhaps a generation. Some any things at stake. He should subject himself, shouldnt he come into the sort of forensic inquiry . am busy not in any way involved in this campaign or what borisjohnson wa nts to this campaign or what borisjohnson wants to do. I as a voter would absolutely welcome as many interviews as possible from each and every person at the head of every party for some i think it would be good to hear from party for some i think it would be good to hearfrom him and i dont think he has perhaps as much to fear as his advisers might think. Talk to me about what it was like back in 2015, because there were periods when David Cameron was reticent to ta ke when David Cameron was reticent to take part in the Television Debates. What actually goes on in this discussion between the strategists in numberten . Are discussion between the strategists in number ten . Are they trying to work out whether his were damaging not to do the interview than actually do the interview and answer some of these difficult questions coachella i think there is an element to something entirely unexpected. Went back in the day, us president s lost the campaign not because of something they said but because of a movement of their hands or a way that they approached the opposing candidate. Of course, yes, in these televised interviews, its not even a lwa ys televised interviews, its not even always about what you say, its how you say it or what you dont say that gets you. Of course you can prepare but theres only so much that you can prepare. 0f prepare but theres only so much that you can prepare. Of course, i guess they are asking what is to be gained from doing this interview with two weeks ago when the pulling lesson i chose the conservative party is in the lead . The trouble is, though, the way that these tv debates are set up at the moment in the uk, with the broadcasters extending the situation, you get a situation like this were the conservatives have an image again the there is no wayJeremy Corbyn would have subjected them soft that grilling lissy thought Boris Johnson was goading at the same treatment. suppose thats a question for what was agreed betweenJeremy Corbyns advisers or Nicola Sturgeons prior to them. There is an informal basis to which how this takes place. Tonight there was a row over channel 4 tonight there was a row over channel liand empty tonight there was a row over channel 4 and empty chairs. If there is a commission, this is what is the format of it is what we are going to do. Everybody wanting the same fair crop of the week, i think regulations run this thing up to an election, a very heated time where momentum is everything, yes, everybody being subject to the same regulations does sound like a good plan and nothing we can clearly see from the selection and previous ones that you have discussed there, with other leaders, it would be good to have a sensible regulated format that everybody agrees to and knows about before the Campaign Even begins. Yet. 0k, helen thomas, very grateful for you coming begins. Yet. 0k, helen thomas, very gratefulfor you coming on and speaking to us. We must presume that strategic conversations have been taking place inside number 10 over the value of an andrew neil interview. In the polls, the conservatives are well ahead of labour, though three polls this week have showed the gap narrowing. A comres poll had the lead down to seven points. However, overnight, yougov have put out the most comprehensive poll, with a National Sample of 100,000 people which has been used to model at constituency level what might happen on december 12th. And what it shows is that on current polling, the conservative would have a 68 seat majority. Here with me now is the bbcs head of statistics, robert cuffe. I say current pulling because, of course, those three poles we have seen would have affect on that pulling. Absolutely. And the trends that they point to will have an effect Going Forward. You cannot. It is very difficult to precise what happened to the polls last night to just over 12. He pulls, the turned we have seen generally, is the conservatives have pulled way over the course of the summer, and ever since the election has been called, both parties have been improving their pole share at the expense of their pole share at the expense of the brexit party for the conservatives and the lib dems for labour. The brexit party are so far down in pulls malcolm there is not much room for them, the conservatives, to take more votes from them. So what we started to see, the conservatives have perhaps stopped climbing, where labour or continue to eat into that lead. The reason we are insured and in this bull is because, in 2017, using this methodology, they protected a Hung Parliament the reason we are interested in this pole. There were something in the methodology, but this time, youve got so many different elements of it. How do you plan for Something Like back in field, where dominic reva standing . You cannot. What the model does do is it Production National trends onto local areas and that enables you to tell a little understanding. 0lder voters are more likely go conservative or lib dems orders from 2017, they might though differ lead to penning on whether it is a marginal or not. Then made vote differently depending on if its a marginal or not. I will tell you something, if you assume some of the people behave similarly. A. A truly local issue like that, it is not going to. An unknown factor there. What happens to that modelling if, as we see in these three poles, the margin starts to squeeze . Does it affect what you see in individual seats . Absolutely, it would. The model is telling us a more interesting story about what is happening but it is probably consistent with what the experts say. If the conservatives are about 11 points ahead in the pole, they can expect a majority. 0nce 11 points ahead in the pole, they can expect a majority. Once youre getting down to seven come six points, it is squeaky bum time. If the posts are too narrow, some of those seats might flip. We always throw a bucket of salt over individual poles. I should ask you with the bbc poll trackers looking like. Do they have an effect on it could shallow they will start to pull it down. I think the average ta kes a pull it down. I think the average takes a while to pull it down. I think the average takes a while to i think the average takes a while to pull it down. We can see on the screen. Since the election was called. Still roughly a 12 point margin. And since the election was called, you can see that both labour and the conservatives have been pushing on. You see the conservatives rising as the books party goes down and similarly, the labour party goes up as the lib dems go down. Absolutely full if you just look at the conservatives and the brexit party, or you just look at labour and the lib dems, like, do you know those photos where it is a candlestick . The parties are, to a large extent, scrapping over the same extent. Thank you for coming into his lane that to us. Lets bring in anne mcelvoy Senior Editor at the economist who joins us now from westminster. We have been discussing the tactics which are going on. Seven times the Prime Minister was asked whether he was going to take part. I was just discussing with helen thomas whether we need a system a little bit more like we have in the United States, where there is an independent commission that looks after this. think we are beginning to head that way. Why . It has always been very contested way comes to debates, what terms, but for a start there is a more contested landscape. There is a frustration, the liberal democrats or the brexit party, that they may ta ke or the brexit party, that they may take they might need to be more involved in this. The other thing is, as you can see by Boris Johnsons and against today shenanigans today, which are outraging some people, why should he go along with what broadcasters think . Some amount of bbc employment in that, who should interview him . There is also channel 4 putting up a nice statue in a way of empty chair the Prime Minister, because he wants to send someone else in his place in the cabinet. There are not agreed rules and there are not even printing visions whereby politicians will abide by and give some corkage to each other. The point is, some people were saying tonight, weve only got two weeks left to go. Take one or two days to prep for this interview. Times could be spent in the marginals, more valuable time for the Prime Minister. If he is submitting himself to an andrew marr interview, which i understand he is, surely he has time for an injured neil . Should we ask them to explain why he is choosing his interview . A bit of a more difficult question to a nswer bit of a more difficult question to answer for bit of a more difficult question to answerfor can bit of a more difficult question to answer for can he choose who he is to be interviewed why . That is often how politicians to behave. Both of them would be very accomplished interrogative years interrogators. This isjust being exploded. Its not surprising, because we have seen so many other things come under challenge and perhaps because this general election came over in short order. Some of these things couldve been hashed out in advance. We never got there. He does not want to be interviewed by a particular journalist, and you can say it is kudos to mr internet. kudos to mr internet. I am not shy understand the strategy. It reinforces and peoples mines of this point minister mightjust be evading those people he needs to convince in reinforces and peoples minds. Really . We probably have a strong view about this, i am not so sure how strongly held that way, that framing, is among the voters at large. I guess they will find their way of telling us on the 12th of december. If porschejohnson is seen to be out and about in the margins, would that offset any doubts in their mind . I think you have to think that that view of what politicians should do tend to have a. Dowe politicians should do tend to have a. Do we think politicians should be available most of the time . We do. Idid be available most of the time . We do. I did we make that point every strongly. I dont necessarily think this is as may be as widely shared as my own conviction. Jeremy corbyn makes the. What lingers . Was it Jeremy Corbyn sweating it out or borisjohnson not Jeremy Corbyn sweating it out or Boris Johnson not turning Jeremy Corbyn sweating it out or borisjohnson not turning up at all . At the moment, will have a gut instinct, a bit of our own bias, to go on. Absolutely. Anne mcelvoy, thank you very much. Lets bring you some of the other news. President trump has made an unannounced thanksgiving visit to afghanistan, his first trip to that country as president. Air force one touched down at Bagram Airfield after an overnight flight from washington. The president met afghan president ashraf ghani and addressed us troops stationed there. Hes announced that the us will be substantially reducing troops in afghanistan, but did not provide specific numbers, and he raised hopes for a revival of peace talks with the taliban. The taliban wants to make a deal. We will see if they want to make a deal. It has to be a real deal, but well see if they want to make a deal. I want to make it to because youre doing a greatjob. Thats the only reason i want to make a deal. I wa nt only reason i want to make a deal. I want you think the. Ive spoken to a lot of you today. I want to thank you. Donald trump, speaking to the us troops in afghanistan. China has warned the United States that it will retaliate, after President Trump signed two bills supporting pro democracy activists in hong kong. One of the new laws sets up an annual review to check if hong kong has enough autonomy to justify its special trading status with the us a status which currently exempts it from sanctions against the rest of china. And those exemptions are worth a lot of money. Trade between hong kong and the us was estimated to be worth 67 billion in 2018, with the us running a 33 billion surplus its biggest with any country or territory, according to the office of the us trade representative. But these new laws will certainly exacerbate tensions in the relationship with china, especially at a time when the two sides are still involved in a trade war. For more, we can speak to the director of Oxford Universitys china centre, rana mitter. It was quite remarkable that the president signed these two bills in the day just before president signed these two bills in the dayjust before the holidays, at a time when wall street was also away on holiday, and we saw that asian markets did not take to kiely to this because theyre worried what sort of effect it will have on this trade deal. Thats absolutely right. The wider picture there is certainly about whether or not the us and china are going to be able to sign that big first stage agreement in which the current trade war between them will be calm down and theres also in importance over the imports in america Going Forward as well as the chinese side of things, or the economy is being affected. At this hong kong bill has been a real sort of spinner in the works. Nobody is quite sure what the effects will be. The president also sent out a personal statement, saying, i like you, president xi. This is going to ta ke you, president xi. This is going to take you time. It is almost as if he was saying, i signed this but i dont really mean it. I signed it because my hands are tied . Many people would say, if the us congress and the house im not really put this bill forward from President Trump is not likely to have put forward on his own. He has not shown interest in the human rights stuff. 0n the other hand, there we re stuff. 0n the other hand, there were so much support for this bill in the us congress, if he had vetoed it, it would have passed anyway. From his own point of view, it might have been a bill that he would not have been a bill that he would not have chosen himself. Of course, the chinese are furious. They have summoned the top american diplomat in china and they are promising a response. What do you think that response. What do you think that response would be . Response. What do you think that response would be . response. What do you think that response would be . I think theyre going to be externally angry in terms of their rhetoric. They are going to be talking about this being interference with the sovereign rights of china, which he points out, entirely legally correctly, is the only country that has sovereignty over hong kong. Having said that, it does not want to provoke a huge row with the United States over the trade war. They will go back to trying to mediate with the hong kong electorate, which has elected a huge number of candidates into election, i think it will turn from the international to the domestic in china quite quickly. And as you pointed out many thanks anyhow that is going to quite things down on the us side for a few days as well. But i suppose when they come back from that takes giving holiday, they have to give thought to the fact that actually, donald trump does need a deal here for 2020. There is a rumour theres gotta be some kind of skinny deal. The chinese would buy Agricultural Products also may be in return, the americans give some ease on the ta riffs americans give some ease on the tariffs in place in september. Is that going to work . Is that something you might be able to sell to the electorate next year . In the yes. It is no coincidence the ambassador china is the former governor of iowa. The us is determined trying make sure that china is not able to import technology that us does not wanted to have. Its going to try and continue from developing its own high tech in areas like artificial intelligence. Agriculture is important for the election next 12 months. 0ver important for the election next 12 months. Over the next ten years, its really tech thats going to be the Battle Ground on trade between the Battle Ground on trade between the us and china. Rana mitter, good to get your thoughts. Glad to have your thoughts this evening. Iraqs Prime Minister has sacked a military commander whod been sent to the Southern City of nassariya. This comes after Security Forces killed at least 26 Anti Government protesters there and wounded dozens of others. The clash is another major spike in violence, thats seen more than 350 People Killed across the country, in the last two months. The protests have been fuelled by anger at government corruption and a lack ofjobs. In iraq, dc 30 forces orfire on their own people. The government calls this restoring order. But here in the Southern City, any protesters paid with their lives. Iraqs and her generation are fighting back two younger generation. They want jobs, Government Services for some and despite the dangerous, or putting their bodies on the line. The government is cracking down hard. But two months on, the demonstrators are still on the streets. Here in the capital, baghdad, they are dropping tear gas. But the rage has been felt across the country. In the Southern City, protesters set the iranian consulate on fire. They blame iran for interfering in iraqs affairs. Young protesters want a new iraq, a country that works for them. It is, as we discussed at the top of the programme, thanksgiving in the United States today. And in new york city, they started with something many new yorkers and visitors were grateful for the balloons they we re grateful for the balloons they were given the all clear to fly. Thousands of onlookers lined the citys streets to watch the parade which is in its 93rd year. And i think Michelle Fleury is out there with them. We have encouraged her to go and if she has taken that up. Her to go and if she has taken that | her to go and if she has taken that up. I think she has. This is beyond 100 days from the bbc. Coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news, with uks general election just a fortnight away, well pay a visit to cheltenham the historic spa town where party seats could easily change hands. Good evening. We are seeing a transition from mild and wet weather that we had for most of the autumn now to some much Colder Weather as we approach the end of the week and the start of a new month. It looks drier and sunnier, but it will be much colder, and the reason is a change of wind direction. Were allowing this arctic air to move southwards right across the uk. So low pressures pushing into scandinavia. The other one just about held at bay. And then weve got this slither, if you like, of High Pressure coming through. But the fly in the ointment overnight will be ice. Having had so much rain, the surfaces will be left damp, particularly the roads and the pavements. Weve got showers that follow on from that rain. That rain lingering in the south just about prevents a frost here. But really, the midland northwards, anywheres at risk of temperatures following the freezing or below. And therefore giving some icy conditions for the morning rush. So thats the main concern. Could be a little bit of mist and shallow valley fog as well and well still have showers pestering northern and eastern areas. Wintry over the hills, relatively low levels, but a bright sparkly day for most, except the south and west, where our weather front is lingering. At least the cloud and a little bit of patchy rain will linger for much of the day. Feeling chilly, of course, in that northerly wind, which tends to ease a little as we go through tomorrow night. So, more widespread frost. However, again, weve got weather frontsjust approaching in from the southwest. Thats our concern as well. More rain as we go into the start of the weekend. But widely again, temperatures freezing or below, even in the towns and cities through friday night. So could be a little bit icy, could have some more frog problems as well. But again, the High Pressure keeps things largely fine and dry. This weather system here, though, is going to bring more cloud back in, we think, or thicken the cloud. But its there across southwest england, probably southwestern parts of wales. It might push that rain as far east as hampshire. There is uncertainty. And because its coming into cold air, it could be a little bit wintry over the moors, so we will keep an eye on that. And elsewhere, yes, still a few showers but tending to cut off that feed down the north sea coasts. Perhaps drier, sunnier here. And that low pressure, hopefully, will scoot away southwards. Not great news, as you can see, for central and southern parts of europe. But the High Pressure, then, gives many of us a dry day on sunday. Just a few showers nipping around the top area of that High Pressure into northern parts of scotland in particular. Never ruling out one in the east as well. But a lot of dry unsettled weather, as we have, as you can see into the forecast period. However, there are warnings enforced. You can find those on the website. Youre watching beyond 100 days. Our top stories. Donald trump makes a surprise appearance in afghanistan to visit us troops for thanksgiving his first trip to the country as president. Conservative leader borisjohnson refuses to commit to a pre election interview with one of the bbcs most forensic interviewers. Here i am, being interviewed. Are you saying. . Its five minutes, its not a full length interview. Are you saying you are incapable of providing scrutiny . This is a five minute interview in a farm shop. Its not the same thing. 30 years after the Hillsborough Disaster, the Police Commander in charge on the day is found not guilty of the manslaughter by gross negligence of 95 liverpool fans. Plus, a special report from the black sea which has become the industrial waste dumping ground for europe. Well ask, can it be saved . Two weeks before the uk votes, and all the main parties have now revealed their plans for what they would do if elected. But today, economists at the institute for fiscal studies an independent Research Group said neither the conservatives nor labour are offering credible spending plans. It was highly likely, said the group, that the tories would end up spending more than their manifesto pledges. Labour, it warned, would be unable to deliver its spending increases as it has promised. The liberal democrat manifesto sets out Lower Borrowing than labour or the conservatives, but at a level that would still be seen as radical in most periods. 0ur economics editor, faisal islam reports. It is a rather similar set of words, about the nations coffers, from the main parties. I think our manifesto is bold, it is ambitious, it is prepared for, it is thought out, and there is a grey book which fully costs it. So says the Prime Minister, too. Fully costed manifesto, and we can make a very substantial commitment that we are making. All the parties campaigning stress and Good Housekeeping but the main message from the ifs is the critical audit of the manifestos is a plague on both your houses, plans for Health Spending are in the same ball park with the conservatives on 3 growth a yearand labour, 4 . When you strip health care out, you get an interesting picture, looking at spending commitments over the next few years, the end of the spending squeeze. Every party is pushing up day to day spend, big differences in the amount, however, all these lines representing spending on schools, by councils, on roads, public pay, and other things on the rise. But, if you zoom out and look at this over the last ten years, they do not all take us back to where we were. Conservative plans leave spending levels still 14 below where they were in 2010. Lib dems, below the line, too. Labour plans dontjust spend more, they undo the austerity decade, leaving spending higher even than 2010. Add in investment spending and labour is planning the highest spending levels everfor the uk, and expect taxes to follow suit. Neither plan is credible, say the ifs. They say that it was clearly not true thatjust 5 would be taxed. Some losing the marriage tax allowance are not high earners, for instance. But the conservatives have not costed some of their more significant plans social care is very expensive, as there is a series of investment projects, from electric car factories to railways. All of those tax and spend numbers have implications for borrowing. The lib the lib dems, remain and relatively straight, the lowest level of borrowing for their plans, labours is double that an ounce, the highest borrowing plans to help fund extra investment. The conservative plans show they are in between the two but this is rather interesting a version of no deal still possible in a years time, after borisjohnson rolled out, in his manifesto, any extension to brexit Implementation Plan which would hit the economy, and in fact, it would lead to higher borrowing under the conservatives, higher than labour, according to the ifs. The conservatives are proposing what is a hard brexit outside of the Single Market and the Customs Union and the deadline at the end of next year for a trade agreement, which, if we do not meet that, it could still end up with something that looks rather like a no deal brexit and serious negative consequences for the economy. We do not know where labour is going to go on brexit, presumably something softer, which will be better for the economy, more investment spending helps the economy but, big tax increases, big increases in regulation, may well push on the other direction. The conservatives argue that is a worst case scenario, and that has not been modelled in labours case by the ifs, but none of the Major Players can be too cheered by this look at their numbers. For very Different Reasons, neither of the big two deemed credible. Faisal islam, bbc news. Im joined now from westminster by our Political Correspondentjess parker. I dont know how much people on the doorstep Pay Attention to these numbers, maybe some do, maybe some dont. In the end it really comes down to whether it can be afforded and whether or not you feel that you will be paying for it. I think it is an interesting question, because i think that people who follow politics very closely are quite aware what when the institute for fiscal studies comes out with this election manifesto report, that can bea election manifesto report, that can be a big moment because they really dig into the numbers and spell out, as weve been hearing, what is realistic and whether the pledge is being made are clear edible. In some credible. In some cases it might be devastating, saying that the promises made by conservatives and labour are for Different Reasons not credible. But how this plays out with the public is less clear. As well, i think there is also an argument to make that perhaps the election we republic are used to perhaps thinking that manifestos might makea perhaps thinking that manifestos might make a lot of grand promises, but the reality can prove different. While we are on air tonight, channel 4 have their Climate Change debate which most of the leaders barred borisjohnson which most of the leaders barred Boris Johnson and nigel which most of the leaders barred borisjohnson and nigel farage turned up to. Borisjohnson and nigel farage have been replaced by ice sculptures, which are melting onstage while they are all discussing Climate Change issues. But a row has broken out . Certainly. I think there have been rumours and throughout the day that Boris Johnson and nigel farage would be empty chairs with ice sculptures, and some people thought this would be actual likenesses of the two men. But what they are ric planets with the respective party logos on them. Why are the two parties not there . The brexit party has set early on that they dont think it would be a fair debate, they think briggs is the Biggest Issue of this campaign and they dont trust the broadcaster, channel 4 would absolutely resist that. But what is interesting is that over the course of the last few hours, the conservative party actually offered up conservative party actually offered up michael gove, a senior cabinet member and former environment secretary, to take borisjohnsons place, but Boris Johnson secretary, to take borisjohnsons place, but borisjohnson channel 4 says this is a Leaders Debate and they want the leader of the conservative party to take the stage. And what appears to be happening is michael gove turned up and the editor of channel 4 news suggested that michael gove had been trying to get onset. I cannot say whether that is correct, but channel 4 has insisted they want to see borisjohnson come along. Conservatives not at all happy, and theyve actually complained to off calm, saying they have offered up a credible proxy candidate to take Boris Johnsons police. Jessica, thank you very much for that. No doubt we will want to hear about that ongoing row with channel 4. With the general election a little over a fortnight away, were continuing ourjourney around the uk, and the places where the seats could change hands, with potentially significant effects on the outcome of the election. My colleague Martine Croxall has been spending the day in cheltenham, the spa town thats home to the cheltenham racecourse and the Intelligence Agency gchq. Im in cheltenham in gloucester, which is an affluent small town about 100 miles west of london. Spa town. These are the old pittsfield pump rooms, where people used to come and take medicinal waters in years gone by. The constituency is currently held by the conservatives, but it is a target seat for the liberal democrats. The local Authority Area voted to remain in the European Union in the referendum of 2016. One big issue that could be important in this election is schools funding in england. My colleague Reeta Chakrabarti has been to two schools both rated 0utstanding by the schools inspectorate that say years of inadequate funding have begun to take their toll. Reeta chakrabarti in the last decade of our childrens lives, schools budgets per pupil per pupil have been cut by 8 . Schools say it is becoming a struggle. How many words do you need . At saint gregorys primary school, half of the children have english as a second language. A majority come from homes in some of the most deprived parts of the country. You can do it, doll, i know you can. The head teacher says her budget has failed to keep pace with rising costs. Three years ago, charlotte blanche had to lay off 12 staff. And now. Its tough, its really tough. This year, we had another squeeze, and ive had to make savings of another £47,000. Actually at the moment, if im honest with you, we are coping but not really managing. Were on our knees. Youre on your knees . So in cheltenham, just as elsewhere, parents told me they are being asked to help opening their wallets for state run tax funded schools. Im happy to contribute to things that are very much above and beyond. But at the moment, were asked to contribute to things that should be covered by the government. Being a taxpayer, sometimes i dont agree with it, but i can see why they asked. We have had a letter sent to us from secondary school to say how tight things were. So we have to make a contribution. Thats voluntary . It is voluntary, but you are encouraged to pay for it. Hello, max, are you . At belcarras, a Top Performing secondary school, the head teacher told me that parental contributions have gone up four fold in the last seven years. Changes to the way schools are funded have helped belcarras, but not enough. He says theres a lot at stake. We are a comprehensive school. We believe every child should get a fair chance and should be educated really well. And this is about life chances. Its about social mobility, and ultimately if you want social mobility, you have to pay for it. There has to be some proper level of funding. I want it all, i want it all and i want it now. They are rehearsing for the end of term play, with what could be a political slogan. Schools wont get it all, but the main parties are pledging to increase funding over time to the level it was at ten years ago, or more. For these schools, it cant come soon enough. I want it all. Reeta chakra barti, bbc news, cheltenham. Martine weve been in cheltenham all day hearing from different voters in the community about what matters to them. Issues that have cropped up our things like the cost of housing, access to the accident and Emergency Services at the local hospital, and even traffic congestion. So we could see that local issues very much influence a national vote. Martine croxall there in cheltenham for the day. Its called a bag for life, and its supposed to help cut down on the number of plastic bags we use for shopping. But come on, confession time, how many of us have scores of them crammed into a kitchen cupboard. Well, now environmental campaigners are getting tough, urging supermarkets to charge 70p for each of these bags because a vast numbers are still being sold. A report from greenpeace and the Environmental Investigation Agency revealed 1. 5 billion bags for life were sold in uk supermarkets less year, instead of cutting the use of plastic bags, seven out of ten supermarket chains are actually using more. 0ur science correspondent Rebecca Morelle has the details. Filling the shelves of our supermarkets, product after product wrapped in plastic. And this new report reveals its on the rise. Out of the ten major uk supermarkets, seven have increased their plastic use. And what that has done is its brought uk supermarkets plastic use to 900,000 tonnes, which, i think youll agree, is a really significant amount. And adding to the plastic problem, bags for life. While sales of single use carriers have fallen dramatically, theyre being replaced by these. In 2018, supermarkets sold 1. 5 billion of them. Thats 5a bags per household. How many bags do you think youve got at home . Ive got loads. How many . Loads. Ive got loads. I cant count i have about 26 different varieties, christmas ones all the way through the year. I collect them and use them all the time. I can tell you exactly. Ive got three. Probably like a cupboard full . And some at work as well underneath my desk. Got quite a few, yeah. But deciding which sort of bag to buy because its best for the environment isnt straightforward. What its made from, how its made and transported all contributes towards what Climate Change. So, take a Simple Carrier bag. Its quite easy to make. It uses a bit of oil and takes a bit of energy, but we generallyjust use it once. A bag for life is heavier and has more plastic in it. That would need to be used more than four times to make it better for the environment. This bag is even stronger, but youd have to reuse it 11 times, and a cotton bag would have to be used 131 times. But the supermarkets say they are taking steps to reduce packaging. Theres a lot happening. Its just that were going to have to go much faster than weve been doing, and we have to take customers with us. I think that can be challenging. Plastic pollution now affects every part of the planet. But stopping this problem wontjust be down to supermarkets. Consumers will have to help, too. Rebecca morelle, bbc news. Whats particularly satisfying as my wife has a bag for her life to hold all the bags for life. Works very well. This is beyond 100 days. Still to come well have a special report from the black sea, which has become the industrial waste dumping ground for europe. Eu net migration has fallen to its lowest level for 16 years. The office for National Statistics says fewer people from the eu are coming to britain to work. Sarah corker reports. The fenlands in Eastern England home to some of the nations most fertile farm land. And this area has long been a destination for migrants looking for work in the fields and factories. Supermarkets and us, the customers, want fresh vegetables all year round. And its tough, physical work. Farmers say theyre finding it harder to get the number of people they need to meet the growing demand. Straight after the brexit vote in 16, we saw a marked drop. Actually, i think the workers are very unsure whether they are welcome, what their status is going to be even those who are permanently here now. But now we find, year on year since then, that the availability of capable workers is dropping. Since peak levels in early 2016, eu net migration thats the numbers arriving minus the numbers leaving has fallen to an estimated 48,000, the lowest level in 16 years. But in contrast, net migration from elsewhere in the world has gradually risen to over 220,000, as more non eu citizens came to the uk to study. Wisbech in cambridgeshire has seen high levels of immigration. Leonardo arrived three months ago from portugal. Hes here to study. The course im doing will give a lot of opportunities on the job area. And if everything goes right, i think i can have a good job, and then come back to portugal. Immigration has helped employers here, but its also put pressure on local services and changed the identity of some rural towns. Striking the right balance is still a complex calculation. Sarah corker, bbc news, in cambridgeshire. In case you hadnt noticed, there is an arms race under way in this uk election on trees. All the parties are making bold pledges on how many they can plant. And so far, it is the labour party that seems to be winning with an eye catching pledge to plant two billion trees by 2040. Thats quite a lot. And luckily for us, chris mason, our Political Correspondent has been doing the maths. So two billion trees by 2040 is roughly 100 million a year, two million a week, 200 every minute and thats if we are planting around the clock 24 hours a day. That sounds pretty daunting but then ethiopia planted 350 Million Trees injust 12 hours so it can be done. It is currently National Tree week here so it is a good day to discuss it and with me is the ceo of the Woodland Trust dr darren moorcroft. Good to see you. Ive been looking at our total new planting. How many trees we planted each year, year on year since 1976. Have a look at this graph and the trend. And you can see that we are pretty rubbish at planting trees. Weve got more and more rubbish over the years, why is that . We havent given it the attention it deserves. And i think what has happened is government have not funded the land owners to plant the trees that we need. 0r getting the trees that we need. 0r getting the benefits that you got from planting the trees in the ground of. We have this route to make a race to plant as may trees in the ground as we can. Looking at labours pledge, do you think that is feasible . Absolutely, i think there is fantastic ambition out there from all the parties. The Woodland Trust has talked to them about planting even more, and im pleased that there picking up the mantle or spayed and being prepared to put those trees in the ground that we need and the benefits we have from doing so. But we had the chief executive of the tree counsel here not so long ago, and she said that it is not just not so long ago, and she said that it is notjust the planting of the trees, but you have to look after them, as well. You do, thats one of them, as well. You do, thats one of the things we call for as well. I agree with her. We need to get those trees in the ground, because we need far more then weve got, but once they are and they you look after them. They create benefits year on year on year. The more you look after them, the more they give in terms of carbon, cleaning the water we drink, alleviating floods. The benefits are huge. For every £1 we spent, we get £5 back in benefits. First of all, the land is an issue. You have to persuade land owners to plant trees. You just explained why we need them, but how do we convince them it is in their economic interest to do so . What we are doing in the moment is putting an awful lot of money into the management of land through things like Common Agricultural policy. If and when that changes, we can redirect that money into supporting the public goods you get from the money the taxpayer is paying. Every £1 we spend, we get £5 worth of value back, which is a formula for anyone. We need to grow the saplings, but can we do that casilla that will be a big challenge, but we have nurseries across the uk. Which the Woodland Trust work with in order to create the capacity. Is itjust a type of tree . And some of the forest we have are all similar looking trees. What about the woodland that we played in when you and i were younger so far back . Those sorts of forests, a re we younger so far back . Those sorts of forests, are we doing anything to encourage wild growth . That is what the Woodland Trust is here to do. Weve been doing it since 1972, native broadleaf trees give us a huge range of benefits. They dont just lock up the carbon and clean the air, but they create habitats for wildlife and places for us to go and walk and enjoy, and in doing so our health and well being improves at before you go, i said it was tree week. Presumably people are out there planting . We have our big claimant fight back over the weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people have already pledged on the Woodland Trust website. You can pledge to plant a tree and go out there in create some new habitat. There we go. Get out this weekend and plant a tree, and dont forget to water it. You have to look after it. Thank you so much. Tackling the waste, particularly the plastics dumped in our seas and oceans, is now a priority for governments around the world. For decades, the black sea has been the most polluted in europe. It was treated as a dumping ground for agricultural and industrial waste, with things so bad scientists considered parts of it almost entirely dead. So how are things now . In the first of a two part special report, our correspondent jonah fisher and video journalist Abdujalil Abdurasulov travelled across the region looking for answers. This is the dnieper in eastern ukraine. For decades, large rivers have washed away eastern europes waste into the black sea. We are being shown what is known as blooming. It happens when excess nutrients, often from fertilisers, cause a rapid growth in algae, starving the water of oxygen. Decades of regular blooming has killed off life in large parts of the black sea. Creating underwater deserts where onlyjellyfish thrive. 0n the black seas eastern coast in georgia, we see and smell another of its big problems. So this is the main rubbish dump here in batumi, but the big issue for here is that it is only about 300, 400 metres from this rubbish dump to the black sea itself, and there is a waterway which basically leads all the way down there. Taking rubbish with it. This is just one of numerous examples around the black sea of how easily poorly managed waste can get into the water. We have already kind of disturbing evidence that the marine litter, number of floating items per square kilometre is almost doubled compared to the mediterranean sea. It is the worst situation for all the european seas. Even more alarming is the evidence of how deep the contamination goes. We are on board a Research Vessel hundreds of kilometres from shore, and this probe is being sent two kilometres down to take samples from the seabed. Analysis of the mud has revealed the presence of tiny fragments of plastic, known as micro plastics. The scientists also have worrying news about what they are discovering in the water. The biggest threat is coming from pharmaceuticals, especially antibiotics. Because if there is antibiotics in the black sea that means bacteria will develop here that will resist the antibiotics and mean that ultimately that medicine does not work any more . Yeah, this is now a real problem. People are dying from that. Taken together, it is a sobering catalogue of environmental woe. Testament to decades of neglect and abuse. But in the next part of our black sea journey, we look at what is being done to turn things around, and discover that projects thousands of kilometres awayjust might make a difference. Jonah fisher, bbc news, in the black sea. Nice to see the dolphins there. Before we go politicians have long liked to show the public their sprightly sides, so that no one can doubt their natural athleticism. But donald tusk seems to have taken this to the extreme in a leaving video that hes just posted on twitter, as he runs through his last five years in office. Good evening. We are seeing a transition from mild and wet weather that we had for most of the autumn now to some much Colder Weather as we approach the end of the week and the start of a new month. It looks drier and sunnier, but it will be much colder, and the reason is a change of wind direction. Were allowing this arctic air to move southwards right across the uk. So low pressures pushing into scandinavia. The other one just about held at bay. And then weve got this slither, if you like, of High Pressure coming through. But the fly in the ointment overnight will be ice. Having had so much rain, the surfaces will be left damp, particularly the roads and the pavements. Weve got showers that follow on from that rain. That rain lingering in the south just about prevents a frost here. But really, the midland northwards, anywheres at risk of temperatures following the freezing or below. And therefore giving some icy conditions for the morning rush. So thats the main concern. Could be a little bit of mist and shallow valley fog as well and well still have showers pestering northern and eastern areas. Wintry over the hills, relatively low levels, but a bright sparkly day for most, except the south and west, where our weather front is lingering. At least the cloud and a little bit of patchy rain will linger for much of the day. Feeling chilly, of course, in that northerly wind, which tends to ease a little as we go through tomorrow night. So, more widespread frost. However, again, weve got weather frontsjust approaching in from the southwest. Thats our concern as well. More rain as we go into the start of the weekend. But widely again, temperatures freezing or below, even in the towns and cities through friday night. So could be a little bit icy, could have some more frog problems as well. But again, the High Pressure keeps things largely fine and dry. This weather system here, though, is going to bring more cloud back in, we think, or thicken the cloud. But its there across southwest england, probably southwestern parts of wales. It might push that rain as far east as hampshire. There is uncertainty. And because its coming into cold air, it could be a little bit wintry over the moors, so we will keep an eye on that. And elsewhere, yes, still a few showers but tending to cut off that feed down the north sea coasts. Perhaps drier, sunnier here. And that low pressure, hopefully, will scoot away southwards. Not great news, as you can see, for central and southern parts of europe. But the High Pressure, then, gives many of us a dry day on sunday. Just a few showers nipping around the top area of that High Pressure into northern parts of scotland in particular. Never ruling out one in the east as well. But a lot of dry unsettled weather, as we have, as you can see into the forecast period. However, there are warnings enforced. You can find those on the website. This is bbc news im lukwesa burak. The headlines at 8pm. Thirty years after the Hillsborough Disaster the Police Commander in charge on the day is found not guilty, of the manslaughter, by gross negligence of 95 liverpool fans. He ordered an exit gate to the stadium to be opened after crowds built up outside leading to a crush on the terraces. The families of the 96 fans who died have campaigned forjustice for decades today many of them left the court in tears. Who put the 96 in their graves . Who is accountable for 96 unlawfully killed . What a disgrace this has been today. A leading economic Research Group says, neither the conservatives nor labour are offering credible spending plans