Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20201101

Of the bargain here because if they dont use this time to fix test, trace, and isolate then i think the 2nd of december will be a review date, not an end date. The most powerful storm of the year, typhoon goni, strikes the phillippines, bringing wind speeds of up to 225 kilometres an hour. And donald trump and joe biden each make a last bid for votes in swing states that could be key to winning the white house. And spain braces itself for a long winter a week after its government announced a six month state of emergency. Hello, and welcome if youre watching in the uk or around the world and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. The senior british cabinet minister, michael gove, has said englands new coronavirus lockdown could be extended beyond the planned four weeks. The new restrictions will come into force on thursday, but unlike in the spring, schools and universities will remain open. Mr gove said any decision would depend on how much the restrictions brought down the levels of infection, as our political correspondent, helen catt, explains. We know we are going into this on thursday, but how long are we going to stay in it is the question we have heard being asked around the regional lockdowns, for example, that there were towns and cities that went into these much more stricter measures several months ago. Not quite lockdown level, but stricter measures and they are still in them, so there have been these ongoing questions about, well, what actually means you can lift stricter restrictions . And of course when you are talking about a National Lockdown, that becomes even more acute, shall we say . Yeah. So this morning, michael gove, the Cabinet Office minister, who is one of the most senior ministers here in the uk, has been out talking to broadcasters. Borisjohnson had said yesterday that this is in place until december 2nd, so it was put to michael gove, is december 2nd an absolute date and we will lift restrictions then . What we need to do is to recognise and im sure we will go into the reasons why these measures are appropriate but we do need to recognise that we do need to get the infection rate, the r rate, below one. We believe on the basis of the evidence that we have that we will be able to do so and that from the 2nd of december, we will be able to move back to a fully regional approach, a tiered approach, but obviously we will be guided by the facts and given, of course, the way in which the virus has shown a particular malignancy the course of the last two weeks we do need to be vigilant, but our assumption on the basis of everything we know is that we will be able to exit these National Restrictions on the 2nd of december. So there is clearly a debate going on in government and indeed within the conservative party. You have talked already to us this morning about the unease among some conservative backbenchers about this approach. What are the opposition going to do . Is the Labour Party Going to swing in behind Boris Johnson on this . Yes, insofar as the labour party were proposing a two week circuit breaker, as they called it, a similar National Lockdown, a couple weeks ago. They wanted it to start last week, so as far as they are concerned this is too late and in wales, which is labour run, they are in the middle of a circuit breaker, which actually they will come out of on the 9th of november as england goes in, it was all quite confusing. It is all quite confusing. So in principle they are absolutely backing this, even though they think it has come too late. On that idea of, well, should it be a finite four week timetable . Well, again there is room for manoeuvre on that. Interestingly, the one thing the labour leader did swing behind borisjohnson on this morning was this idea that schools should stay open. This is the major difference between the lockdown we saw in the spring and what england will be going into on thursday, is that schools and colleges and universities will be staying open. Some of the teaching unions have been saying, well, schools need to be made safer if this is going to be the outcome of this. So sir keir starmer, the leader of the labour party, though, said he did believe that schools needed to stay open and on that issue of would we be able to come out after four weeks . Here is what he had to say. The government has to keep its side of the bargain here because if they dont use this time to fix test, trace and isolate, then i think the 2nd of december will be a review date, not an end date because for months and months and months they have promised a world beating test, trace and isolate system, which is vital. If you dont test you cant trace, if you dont trace you cant isolate. It has been busted for months. Use the time to fix it because otherwise we are going to be back in the cycle for months and months and months. Which of course is also the fear for some conservative mps, that they want to see a Clear Strategy and end game for getting out of these restrictions, which they didnt really want to see imposed in the first place and i think we will hear a lot more about that in debate over the next few days when it comes to parliament before a vote on wednesday. The decision to impose a lockdown has prompted anger and frustration from some conservative mps, with one saying the case for lockdown presented by the Prime Minister was underwhelming. Others believe the Prime Minister had to act. Im joined now by the conservative mp for Milton Keynes north, ben everitt. Thank you very much for being with us on thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. Which category do you find yourself then . Well, i find myself with a heavy heart, accepting the case that we do need to take these tougher measures and it is, after we have been doing everything that we can to avoid a National Lockdown, but unfortunately the weekly case rates, the rapid prevalence of this awful virus mean that it really is spreading in a way that it really is spreading in a way that now means that this is the right thing to do. Have you had much reaction so far . I appreciate the announcement was only made in the middle of yesterday evening, but from constituents and for example from constituents and for example from local businesses . Yes. Yeah, and people are understandably worried and that is of course a realistic worry. There is no real good time to disrupt peoples lives and the problem with a National Lockdown is that it is not cost three. We go into this with a very cost free. We go into this with a very heavy heart and we know there will be costs in terms of businesses and livelihoods and then theres the impact on Mental Health and loneliness, this really is why we tried everything we could do to avoid it. But over the last few days, the situation has really decreased, deteriorated significantly and the data is really pointing ina significantly and the data is really pointing in a very bad direction. there a danger for the government now in the sense that it has the worst of all worlds . If it had done this sooner, as you say people trying to avoid going down this route for perfectly understandable reasons. It might have been able to get out of it sooner. By doing it now get attacked for not having done it sooner and it also gets attacked, like your colleague Iain Duncan Smith writing in the telegraph today saying that he thinks, this is not so saying that he thinks, this is not so much a lockdown, it is kind of a business breakdown, but the impact on the economy will be so great and the damage so significant that that will cause its own share of Health Problems and difficulties that come with unemployment and all the rest of it . Thats right, it is a very careful balancing act and the truth is there is no goldilocks solution of two sooner or too early because we have to act on the data as it comes in. If we lockdown earlier, would we be able to come out at an earlier time . We dont know and that is all retrospective and hypothetical. I think if we went on later, would that be too late . Would we be in for longer . We dont know. But what we do know is we are learning more and more about the virus every single day. We know that it spreads in cold, damp environments, where people are inside and obviously looking out the window now people will realise that thatis window now people will realise that that is basically what is going on for the next few weeks. If we can ta ke for the next few weeks. If we can take action now to flatten that curve, to prevent the nhs from being overwhelmed by those really, really scary graphs, then we stand a very good chance having a Resilient Health care sector and control of the virus over the next period of cold, damp weather. It is a tricky problem. It is something that we are dealing with that is unprecedented and we have to react to the data as it comes in. Have we made it so that, i wonder, it comes in. Have we made it so that, iwonder, perhaps it comes in. Have we made it so that, i wonder, perhaps trickier ourselves by not acknowledging it earlier in the air . It is not aimed at anyone, this question, it is about all of us, our awareness that winter was always going to come and we knew there wouldnt be a vaccine available at this stage. Therefore a lot of the consequences we are now living with our inevitable, arent they . It true, winter does happen every year and we have taken steps to future proof the health care system, the nhs, as much as possible, so we have the biggest ever flu Vaccine Programme and the extra capacity added into the nhs, starting from this summer and then of course the 13,000 extra nurses that we have on top of last years number, so we have been taking steps to minimise the impact on the nhs, but really the problem is the data. It isa but really the problem is the data. It is a national problem. The virus was widespread in the north west, as we know, but now it is doubling in the south east, it is in the midlands growing at its fastest rate. This really is troubling, in that if the nhs were to be overwhelmed it wouldnt just that if the nhs were to be overwhelmed it wouldntjust be the covid 19 related fatalities, deaths that we are really concerned about. It would mean that non covid 19. Forgive me, were having some technical problems with the line, we have lost ben everitt there, but thank you very much for being with us. Thank you very much for being with us. Ben everitt, conservative mp in Milton Keynesjoining us. Ben everitt, conservative mp in Milton Keynes joining there. More on the lockdown in england shortly. But first, at least four people are reported to have died, as the strongest typhoon so far this year hammers the philippines. Typhoon goni made landfall before dawn with what the authorities called catastrophic winds of more than 225 kmh and intense rain. Our correspondent in manila, howard johnson, sent this report. The most powerful storm on earth is here it hit the small island of catanduanes just before 5am this morning. Hours later, it made its second landfall, tearing through the popular tourist province of albay. Famous for its picturesque volcano, today goni turned the region into a watery mess. Strong, flash floods inundated rivers and roads, people clambered onto roofs of their homes to stay above the water line. Strong winds ripped up electricity lines. The United Nations fear that more than 20 Million People are in the path of the typhoon. Philippine authorities have urged them to take refuge. Translation i evacuated because its better to be safe. Since i cant walk, i would have to crawl to get out when the winds get stronger. But if i can walk, i would prefer to stay in our place. Translation im afraid, because my mothers house is already weak and about to get crushed. Goni is now heading to the philippine capital, metro manila. You can see the bands of thick clouds over here on the outer reaches of the weather system. 13 Million People live in the city, but its unusually quiet today as people begin hunkering down for the night. But the biggest concern remains for the town of virac on catanduanes. It was the first urban area to be hit by the storm, and Communications Remain down. The municipality is believed to be home to more than 70,000 people. Howard johnson, bbc news, manila. More now on englands second lockdown. This will be introduced on thursday in the coming week. We are joined by professor stephen reicher, who advises both the uk and scottish goverments on covid 19, with a focus on behaviour. And i suppose the question that might be asked, professor stephen reicher, is is it our behaviour that has forced the governments hand, not just has forced the governments hand, notjust in terms of the figures in terms of infections and so on, but that the infections are being driven by decisions we have made individually and in kind of not conforming to the advice we have been given for much of this year . Well, it was driven by behaviour because of course the more we have contact with others, the more this disease will spread. However, those behaviours were not necessarily things driven by individual decisions or individual motivation. Let me take one very simple example. On the whole, we see compliance is very high, about 80 or perhaps even above. In some ways it seems as if compliance is increasing, so for insta nce compliance is increasing, so for instance for house parties, from police data in scotland, it has halved in the past five weeks. The one exception to that where compliance is an extremely low is on a self isolation, which is down about 20 , which undermines the whole test and trace system. The reason for that isnt because people arent ill motivated or they have ill will, it is because practically we cant do it. To self isolate is a difficult thing to do, you might lose yourjob, you might lose money, what you do if you live in a multiple occupancy house . So the point is while it is to do with behaviour, that doesnt mean to be blaming people for not complying, it means we support people. By and large people will do what they want to do and the polling shows that if anything people want more action to be taken, rather anything people want more action to be ta ken, rather than anything people want more action to be taken, rather than less. You take us be taken, rather than less. You take us into a very important point there in terms of support that is available and help in a sense for oui available and help in a sense for our better angels and the judgments we make as individuals and whether thosejudgments are we make as individuals and whether those judgments are more we make as individuals and whether thosejudgments are more practical than they are for a lot of people, as you say, with their own life circumstances. But what can the government to do then to learn from what has happened so far this year in terms of trying to keep this lockdown something close to something that people can manage with, with some kind of hope at the end of it . I think our right to point to the of hope. Again, there is research that came out a week or so is research that came out a week or so ago, a Big International study, showing that people arent against restrictions. What people want our effective restrictions and if they think restrictions are ineffective and wont achieve anything and there is no hope, what is the point of going along with things . So giving people a sense of, what we are going to do is going to have an outcome is really important. I also think you are quite right that we need to learn the lessons because onjuly the 4th, when we reopened or when there were headlines about Independence Day and freedom saturday and so on, we had a real opportunity to drive down the infection and we failed to take that opportunity, and i think we need a number of mistakes. One mistake we made a number of mistakes. One mistake was around the test and trace system, which everybody talks about. We have to use the time in lockdown to reset and improve the test and trace system so that actually we can deal with the infection and it wont spike up again when we get rid of the restrictions. The second thing i think we failed to do was to properly regulate our society, in the sense that the governmentjust said to employers and it said two people in hospitality, it said two schools just make places safe. Now, many did add many made heroic efforts, but again you need more support to do that. What do you do if you are a head teacher and youre told to make your school safe, but you have only got so many teachers are so many you have only got so many teachers are so many classrooms . You cant distance people without the support, for instance, to hire extra spaces, extra teachers. Then you simply cant do what you are asked to do. And the third thing, and i think this is the most important thing, is to treat the public as a partner. We have seen a lot of blaming people, a lot of finger pointing about people behaving badly and that is the problem. If you treat people as the problem, if you alienate them, then youre not going to achieve influence and theyre not going to go along with you. So i think we need to reset the test and trace system, reset in terms of supporting people and reset in terms of seeing the public as the solution, not the problem in this pandemic. I think if you treat people with respect, they will reciprocate and you will see higher levels of compliance. Professor stephen reicher, thank you very much. Thank you. With two days to go until the us president ial election, 91 million americans have already cast their ballot. Thats two thirds of the total number of people that voted in 2016 and puts this years election on course for a record turnout. Our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. A star powered rally forjoe biden in Americas Industrial heartland, detroit also home to motown. People, keep on learning. Stevie wonder performed at the drive in event, while barack obama launched another scathing attack on Donald Trumps record. I understand this is a president who wants full credit for the economy he inherited and get zero blame for the pandemic for the economy he inherited and gets zero blame for the pandemic he ignored, but thejob doesnt work that way. Tweeting at the tv doesnt fix things. Making stuff up doesnt make peoples lives better. Youve got to have a plan. Mr obama said his former deputy would take the job seriously. Joe biden criticised President Trump over the amount he paid in taxes during his first year in office. 750 7 my lord. And remember when he was asked about why he only paid that much . Its because im smart. He knew how to game the system. Well, guess what, mr president , im coming for you President Trump has been campaigning in pennsylvania, where he held four events in one day. He won here in 2016, butjoe biden is ahead in the polls. Hello, pennsylvania. Lets go, pennsylvania. Cheering. Weve got to do the same thing we did four years ago and i have a feeling, look at this, i have a feeling were going to do it. Mr trump told the crowd he would eradicate the coronavirus and get americans back to work. We want normal, we want normal, we want normal, lets go back, lets go back, go back seven months. Hello, how are you doing . But with record numbers of new coronavirus cases in the us over the past week, theres no sign of this country getting back to normal anytime soon. Lets return to englands lockdown. Joining me now is the chief executive of ukhospitality, kate nicholls. Kate nicholls, we speak on a regular basis about the state of the Hospitality Industry to you here on bbc news. This announcement, there was someone bbc news. This announcement, there was someone in, limited warning. What impact is it going to have in your sector . Well, it is going to be absolutely devastating for many of the Small Businesses across the sector and Larger Companies as well, who face a very uncertain future. Many of these businesses, lets not forget, have been subject to detailed and very restrictive conditions on the businesses and they are operating many months now in the north west and in leicester they have never really come out of lockdown. Even those businesses in tier1 areas lockdown. Even those businesses in tier 1 areas have lockdown. Even those businesses in tier1 areas have been subject to significant restrictions in september, so effectively already halved our revenues over the last quarter and we see very little chance of recovering those revenues for the rest of the year with the lockdown we are facing. So we are facing a very significant battle to save businesses, protectjobs and to find a way through this. We are, right now, at the point at which business viability is being called question. In terms of individual businesses in the hospitality sector, lets take restaurants, bars, pubs,. They have had quite a lot of preparation for trying to operate within restrictions. Obviously, a complete close down for city in their news is a problem. Previous experience they are prepared for dealing with things like takeaway options, not ideal options, but they are not coming to it now from a standing start this time. Will that make some difference . It will make a little bit of difference, but lets not forget for many of the these businesses they have only got four or five days notice. Businesses they have only got four orfive days notice. So businesses they have only got four or five days notice. So that is not enough to deal with stock, to deal with beer that has been ordered in four pubs that will go to waste, so they have got lots of out of pocket expenses. And although in lockdown many pivoted their businesses to ta ke many pivoted their businesses to take away, to groceries, to delivery, it formed a very small pa rt delivery, it formed a very small part of their revenues. At best, people were getting 12 15 of their normal revenue levels through ta keaway normal revenue levels through takeaway only, so that as well, well below break even point, which is 7580 below break even point, which is 75 80 for these restaurants. So yes, it is a solution, it helps them get through, it means they can minimise the cash burn of being closed, but it isnt a long Term Solution to get threes businesses through what will be a very tricky a few months coming up and it is quite clear from what the ministers said this morning this is notjust a four week lockdown, this is a protracted closure and protracted restrictions for hospitality businesses, so we need to have more Government Support to get these businesses through what will be a very difficult period when it should be the highest earning period. And which, in the run up to christmas goggles, a point well made, particularly in the hospitality venues, which will be forced to close for a month and we dont know if it could be longer. What then in terms of the practical support . We have some elements there, we have had the furlough scheme renewed into december. Is it fair to say you would like those kind of measures rolled over into next year now . |j think rolled over into next year now . think that is the key. It is very clear we need to drive down the virus, protect the nhs and save lives, but we also need a long term strategic economic plan to protect the economy, save businesses, save jobs and that means we cantjust go on 28 days or a months notice of support packages being available. At the moment all of our businesses are trying to plan, just knowing they have got employment support for a month and grants for a month. We need to understand that that will be longer. If this is going to last potentially for a further five or six months, they need to be extended into march or april next year and we urgently need an indication of the longer term support that the economy will get to be able to recover, and in our sector will get to be able to recover, and in oursector in will get to be able to recover, and in our sector in particular, that is around an extension of the Business Rates holiday, an extension of the vat cut to allow businesses to recover because it is going to be 2022 before we get back to profitability and pre pandemic levels of trade and for the hospitality sector we need that longer term breathing space to be able to plan and avoid knee jerk reactions and job losses. And just in terms then of getting through immediate period, emergency help in addition to those longer term schemes as well . I think that that would be incredibly helpful. £3000 a month for closure of a major hotel ora month for closure of a major hotel or a large restaurant or a City Centre Bar is simply not enough to cover fixed costs. In centre bar is simply not enough to coverfixed costs. In particular, we have challenges around rent, which has been building up as a debt in the sector and will hamper recovery, soi the sector and will hamper recovery, so i think we need government to look again at the level of support thatis look again at the level of support that is being provided through this emergency closure grants and again give businesses a certainty that will last for three months. On rent we need an extension of the moratorium, which comes to an end and provide vital protection for businesses in december and it is clear a re businesses in december and it is clear are going nowhere through this. Thank you very much, kate nicholls. The picture bearfrom the ukhospitality picture from kate nicholls. You saw him in our report on the us election a moment ago. Barack obama is out on the campaign trail withjoe biden. Hes been in michigan, where obama was handed iguess i guess he does have more to do now he is retired then pushing basketballs into hoops, butjoe wide biden wisely didnt try that himself. Youre watching bbc news. Time for a look at the weather, heres matt. Hello, some pretty what rough conditions around Western Areas again, winds picking up around the country, this morning a little bit of sunshine to start the afternoon across eastern areas, but more cloud and rain spells across Northern Ireland, southern scotland, northern and west wales and england. Strongest winds in the western isles, touching 80 mph later, 65 mph along the north of wales later today, which will transfer into Northern England for tonight. A breeze coming in from the south west tonight with outbreaks of rain, and incredibly mild night here, 17 or 18 degrees, could be one of the warmest november nights on record. A much chillier start tomorrow for Northern Ireland and scotland, and the more the rain clears through to sunshine, the rain clears through to sunshine, the rest of the countries sunshine and showers, shower is most frequent across southern scotland, Northern England, north and west wales as well as Northern Ireland. Showers heavy infantry, and a chilly day as well. Another focus for you heavy infantry, and a chilly day as well. Anotherfocus for you later. Another forecast. Hello, this is bbc news with me, shaun ley. The headlines a senior government minister warns the second National Lockdown in england could last more than a month, amid fears that the rise in coronavirus cases could overwhelm hospitals. From thursday, nonessential shops, restaurants, pubs, gyms and hair and beauty salons will be forced to close. The uk Opposition Leader has welcomed the new measures but is calling on the government to use the time to ramp up test and trace. Typhoon goni has made landfall in the philippines with sustained winds of 225 km h. The most powerful storm this year has caused the evacuation of over 200,000 people. The us president ial candidates are making a final weekend dash around swing states. Donald trump has been in pennsylvania and joe biden in michigan, both states that could be key to winning the white house. Time now for dateline. Hello, and welcome to the programme that brings together some of the uks leading commentators and foreign correspondents whose stories are published back home dateline london. This week, is coronavirus extinguishing not only lives and jobs but also our appetite for polarised populist politics . Within days, if the polls are right, we could see the end of the extraordinary trump era. Here in the uk, borisjohnsons conservative party is five points behind in one poll, and jeremy corbyn, labours former leader, has been suspended from the party. Amidst a crisis, do we crave the conventional politics and duller virtues of competence and compassion rather than the swagger and promise of the populist . After the 2008 financial crisis, Angela Merkel in germany survived whilst other incumbent governments fell. Is that a template for how politics will settle after covid 19 . Joining me this week ned temko from Christian Science monitor and jeffrey kofman, the north American Writer and broadcaster, and here in the studio, jo coburn, presenter of the bbcs politics live. Thank you all very much forjoining me to day, and were going to begin with the seismic event of the week. The us election is this tuesday november 3rd, but has much of it already happened . Over 80 Million People have already voted. More have already cast their ballot in texas than did overall in 2016, and we still have polling day to come. If there is a very high turnout, what does that mean