Transcripts For BBCNEWS Newsnight 20170124

On one side, dismay on the other. We have a parliamentary democracy. Today, the Supreme Court upheld that verdict, but it wasnt really clear whod won or lost. This judgment does not change the fact that the uk will leave the European Union, and its ourjob to deliver on the instruction the people of the uk have given us. Never has so much attention been given to a Supreme Court case of such enormous constitutional significance, but which may end up having no substantive effect. Well hear from alex salmond, on the path scotland will now take. And labours Emily Thornberry on the partys challenge of trying to appeal to both sides of the brexit debate. Also tonight, should Primary School Children Wear hijabs . We must not normalise it, instead of supporting that practice we should question it because what you are doing is sexualising that child. Donald trump invites the cameras into the oval office. Whats he got to say about the environment . We cant be in an environmental process for 15 years if a bridge is going to be falling down, or if a highway is crumbling. So were expediting environmental reviews and approvals. Thats what this is. Hello. If you thought the arguments over brexit would end after the referendum, sorry, its not over and the Supreme Court has invited the arguments to continue in the commons, and perhaps more crucially now, in the House Of Lords. Then theres scotland, the court didnt give the government there any power over brexit, but the snp are not going to accept theresa mays version of it quietly. Now its not clear who will actually have the muscle to actually block or delay brexit, and the bookies still think article 50 will probably be triggered before the end of march. But there is a chance it will get messy. Our policy editor chris cook is good at making sense of a mess heres how he thinks things might pan out. All rise. Its official. To invoke article 50, Downing Street will not need to consult the devolved governments, but will need to pass a bill through parliament. In broad terms, article 50 provides that a country wishing to leave the eu must give a notice in accordance with its own constitutional requirements. Right now, that doesnt look like a serious problem for ministers. The first stage then in the article 50 process is taking a bill into the house of commons. Now, the fundamental facts about the lower house of parliament is there is a conservative majority. They have got the votes. So yes, the snp and the Liberal Democrats might cause trouble for the government, but fundamentally they will not succeed. The only that people are really looking or hoping for from the lower house are really quite narrowly procedural. Here for example, is the Labour Position. Labour accepts and respects the Referendum Result and will not frustrate the process. But we will be seeking to allay amendments to ensure a proper scrutiny and accountability throughout the process. That starts, mr speaker, with a white paper or plan. The government hopes that the bill will be through the commons by February The 9th when it rises for its next recess. Then it is off to the House Of Lords which is where it is likely to have a tougher time. Remember, the government does not have a majority in the upper house. But any problems there are likely to take the form of unhelpful amendments and perhaps a bit of delay. Not outright blocking. On big items, the House Of Lords is often restrained by the fact that there was a commitment in a manifesto and by convention the House Of Lords does not oppose Manifesto Commitments. But this time, while there was a commitment to a referendum, there are certainly was not a commitment to take the uk out of the Single Market. So some members at least will see that as giving them licence to challenge the government. But ultimately the House Of Lords probably will not want to be seen to be frustrating the will of the british people as expressed in the Referendum Result last year. Now the government says that parliament will get another opportunity to vote on the deal that it gets from europe at the end of the process. But whether that is an opportunity for parliament to really scrutinise what is going on and suggest changes, depends on precisely when the government comes back for that vote. The draft deal has to come back before it has been signed because parliament can look at it and i dare say, that is fine, or it is mostly fine but this is not, can you go back and see if you can get Something Different or better on this. It is important it comes at that stage, rather than parliament being asked, Take It Or Leave it, at the 11th hour. I do not think that would be acceptable. Given our rulers have not been much been constrained, perhaps the biggest question today is, why they took this case to the Supreme Court at all. Well, the Scottish Government does not have and has not sought a veto over brexit. Thanks to the Supreme Court, we now know there is no requirement for a vote in the devolved parliaments or assemblies. But, the Scottish Parliament is going to have a vote anyway. Earlier i spoke to alex salmond, former first minister, snp Foreign Affairs spokesman. Today he has said Downing Street must treat the devolved administrations as equal partners in the brexit process, quote, as she promised to do. I asked where did theresa may make such a promise. What she and the tory party have said is that scotland is an equal partner within the United Kingdom. Actually, the phrase, not from theresa may, but from her predecessor was scotland should lead the United Kingdom, not leave the United Kingdom. But the phrase equal partnership has been used by the conservative party, that scotland is an equal partner within the United Kingdom. If youre an equal partner within the United Kingdom, then your views on something as substantial and far reaching as brexit deserve to be taken on account on an equal basis. It was one person, one vote in scotland as it was everywhere else in the country. A Scottish Person was equal to everywhere else. But scotland is a country, not a county, and the scottish nation voted decisively to stay within the European Union. But of course, it was theresa may who said explicitly, the week after she became Prime Minister, when she went to visit Nicola Sturgeon in scotland, she said she wanted an agreed position across the United Kingdom. You cant have an agreed position, unless youre prepared to consult people on an equal basis. She is consulting, but i dont think it was understood that the Scottish Administration would have equal say on an issue of Customs Union, immigration policy, Foreign Policy, International Treaties as the government of the United Kingdom, in which the people of scotland have a large shaping part, because they vote in uk general elections, obviously. The vote in favour of staying in the European Union was 62 . The vote in favour of the United Kingdom was 55 . Far more people in scotland by majority and percentage wanted to stay within europe as wanted to stay with the United Kingdom. As you will remember in 2014, one of the cardinal arguments of the no campaign, there were people arguing against independence, was that we would stay in europe if we voted against scottish independence. I know its ridiculous now. It looks absurd, but that was one of the key arguments of the no campaign. More to the point, of course, Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First minister, stood on a Manifesto Commitment last year and was re elected on the basis that if scotland was dragged out of europe against the will of the scottish people, then the Scottish Parliament would have the right to call an Independence Referendum. That brings me to what is the big question for the snp today. Its got to be. The big question for the snp, why dont you just call a referendum . You are not going to learn anything between now and brexit. We know what the british governments policy on brexit is, it has been stated by theresa may as clearly as anything. We know that scotland is not going to remain in the Single Market, as the Scottish Government hopes, we know that britain is not even going to try and stay in the Single Market. What else do you need to trigger a referendum . Well lets go through the parliamentary process as far as the Single Market is concerned. The uk government are still to respond officially to the Scottish Governments Compromise Proposal that if england is determined to leave the Single Market, scotland could stay in the Single Market. There are Working Examples elsewhere in europe where this is the case. Why shouldnt that be considered as a reasonable proposal . If at the end of the day theresa may is not interested in staying in the Single Market, she is not interested in respecting the wishes of the people of scotland to stay within the Single Market, maintain jobs and investment, then of course if she flings down the gauntlet, i fully expect Nicola Sturgeon to pick it up. Well then we do expect a referendum, because she is not going to give you different status within the Single Market. There are all sorts of practical challenges and difficulties. The difficulty is. Let me just examine that point. That is not true. There is a Working Example in europe at the moment for a country which has a monetary and Customs Union with another country and one is in the Single Market and one isnt. That is lichtenstein and switzerland. If you intend to implement control of labour at the workplace for a Green Card System as theresa may does, there is no impediment to scotland being within the Single Market while england is not. It is a practical proposition. It of course has complexities, but anything about brexit has complexities and this is a practical proposition. You dismiss this. Why shouldnt the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Pay Attention to the wishes of the scottish people, the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government . I am i suppose curious as to why youre offering this rather complicated, and it would be complicated, settlement when there is a much more simple one facing you, which is to call a referendum and just let the scottish people decide. Is it the uk, is it the eu . What is it that the scottish people. Is it because the polls are against you . Right, ok, lets take these points in turn. There is nothing as complicated as the brexit process, believe me that will be complicated. There is already going to be we know special deals for northern ireland, for the channel islands, for gibraltar, perhaps even for the city of london, for the car industry in sunderland, and if there can be a special deal for the car industry in sunderland, then i think there might be a special deal for the nation of scotland. If the Prime Minister does not want to accede to any of these reasonable Compromise Proposals from Nicola Sturgeon, then as Nicola Sturgeon has rightly said, an Independence Referendum becomes very likely. And it will take place within the next two years. As for support for it, there have been 16 polls since the brexit vote in the United Kingdom. 15 of these polls have shown support at a higher level than the 45 recorded in september 2014. I have seen a poll that 62 of scottish people dont want another Independence Referendum. I saw that poll. The question was wanted a referendum in 2017. I would vote against a referendum this year, as indeed would Nicola Sturgeon. Nicola sturgeons proposition in these circumstances with a Compromise Proposal rejected is to have a referendum within the negotiating period of two years. Would you accept that if there is another referendum, that is it. That is best of 3. You cannot win on the best of 3 at that stage. If it is two nil, it is over and this time really it is over for 30, 50 years, it cannot come back again for decades . Well, let me say this. If the Prime Minister decides to ignore the substantial demand in the uk as a whole to stay in the Single Market place, if she then decides to ignore the wishes of scotland to maintain our 1000 year connection and history with europe as a european nation, in that context, if there is a referendum within the next two years, then the yes side will win. Alex salmond. Nice talking to you. Thanks. Pleasure. For some reason, it is labour that is perhaps struggling with the consequences of this Supreme Court verdict, as much as the government. If parliament is to vote, then labour has to make up its mind as to exactly what its position is and yet it has given a good impression of being in a muddle keen to support brexit as that was the result of the referendum, but also having lots of remain supporters it cant ignore. Its kind of stuck between ukip in some blue collar neighbourhoods, and the lib dems in university towns. Nick watt has been looking at where the parties stand. For the best part of three decades europe has cast a shadow over the conservative party. Now at the very moment many tories have been expecting a split of historic proportions, it is the labour party that is wrestling with this most troublesome of issues. The bulk of the conservative party accepts theresa mays timetable for triggering article 50 and her brexit blueprint. As for the labour party they are struggling to fashion a coherent response. Many labour mps are trying to work out how to adapt their pro eu views while representing constituencies that recorded high leave votes in the referendum. I campaigned passionately for remain and id lived and worked in brussels for years and i am marriage to someone from denmark and i am pro european with my heart and head but i am also a democrat. The referendum has overridden the way i would look at the european question and now we have to accept the reality of where we are, and pushed the government to secure the best possible deal for the british people. It was but half a generation ago that labours support for the eu was an electoral asset. Now the referendum has changed everything, presenting labour with a daunting challenge. Labour will never appeal to people fervently pro european and Die Hard Brexiteer is. It hurts to try to change the terms of the conversation and reach out to people who did not feel strongly in either direction, which means not talking about brexit any more. While the conversation is about Brexit Vapour is in a weak position. He believes it is providing rich pickings for other parties. Since the general election, it is estimated labour has lost the highest number of votes to the lib dems. 400,000. It has also lost votes to the conservatives and 200,000 to ukip. The labour party in complete disarray. They do not know what they think. You talk to labour mps on the issue and you get different answers. The labour party should be getting behind voting to trigger article 50 but i have spoken to some today who say they will still try to frustrate the process. One unlikely voiced sympathisers with labour. I am sympathetic Tojeremy Corbyn because i think he is Finding Problems that any Labour Leader would find and they are not specific to him. He is a symptom, not a cause, of the division with the london voters thinking one thing and broadly be more than voters thinking another. Jacob rees mogg believes his party has an opportunity unprecedented in the modern era. The conservative party is probably more united on europe than it has been since the days of anthony eden. Mrs may is in the position of having less opposition than almost any conservative leader probably in history. That she has a united party, there is no internal position. That she has a united party, there is no internal opposition. Stephen kinnock believes all may not be lost his party. The government has a mandate to take the uk out of the eu. They do not have a mandate to turn us into some sort of european version of the cayman islands. Brexit is not an excuse for making a bonfire of workers rights and of environmental rights, of slashing the minimum wage, slashing Corporation Tax, deconstruction of the Welfare State this country is built on. This government does not have a mandate to do that and ourjob is to draw those battle lines. In the space of a few years, the uk has experienced two Landmark Referendums and it has been labour that has faced acute challenges in the aftermath. The party will be hoping that the shadow cast by brexit will lift, although ironically, it may take a definitive break with the eu to allow labour to return to a more natural terrain. Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberryjoins us. I know what the lib dems think of the eu and i know where theresa may stands. I would find it hard to say where labour stands at the moment. Just in a couple of sentences, what is your policy. Do you really know where the lib dems stand, they only have a group of nine and the last time they had to vote on article 50 half of them voted one way and the other half another. In a couple of sentences what is the Labour Position on what happens now, not on the process but on what we want and where we want to be . The british people have spoken, we have our instructions, we have got to make sure we get the best possible deal. We believe that begins with the economy. No one voted to be poorer or to lose theirjob. And on that point you are no different to theresa may because she believes we want as much Market Access as possible, we want investment. She is not willing to pay the price for that Market Access, by giving up control of our borders. Are you saying you would have less control of the border is then are you saying you would have less control of the borders than theresa may is advocating . I think there are differences in terms of emphasis but i think the speech she made, she was trying to ride two wars the speech she made, she was trying to ride two horses is at once going in different directions. It is ourjob as the opposition and we are only the opposition, we have got to hold her to account, there are parts of her speech we like, we like the idea of a tariff free access to the Single Market. We like theyre not being a build up of red tape, that is the kind of thing we like to hear and yes we will support her on that. We want to make sure negotiations go that way. But when she talks about some kind of weird new Customs Union entirely built for the uk or says if we do not get the deal then were going to become a completely different country, break the economic model. This is what she said. She said she wanted to break the economic model, attract businesses that was the back up plan. She can only threaten if she means it and she means if she does not get her own way she will try to attract business here by lowering Corporation Tax and by making it more attractive. That means less money for. I know what your critique of her youth. I know what your critique of her views. What i want to know is if there an alternative vision to brexit to the one that says we get control back of the borders, we leave the Single Market and Customs Union and fight for as much access as we can get after that. That sounds as if that is what your position is. Youre not talking about Free Movement. What were saying is that our first principle, what is most important is that we look after the economy. For any government what is most important is safety and security of citizens and second is the economy. But all economists will tell you Free Movement is the price you pay to get the best Market Access and that is good for the economy. If we are not going to be in the Single Market and we have to have a custom made deal for the uk, then there will need to be negotiations and we have made it clear we will not die in a ditch forfreedom of movement. There needs to be give and take this but the priority is to make sure no one loses theirjob and we look after the economy. Because people who are just keeping their heads above water will be those who are most affected if the economy goes backwards. This is entirely consistent with labour values. Suppose you have knocked on my door as a member of the public and i say, tell me what your policy is on europe. In a punter friendly style. I have just told you. So priority on the economy. What about immigration . For Free Movement or against it . Were not against immigration, we have always been in favour of their rules and managed migration and that continues to be the labour policy. So in favour of Free Movement but not going to die in a ditch for it. So you would keep it and get good Market Access . Were not going to be doing the negotiations and ourjob as opposition is to make sure the government does not lose sight of the overwhelming importance ofjobs and Living Standards. And the economy. We do not need them, we do not trust them to go off on their own and negotiate on our behalf in europe without us keeping an eye on them. And so today we said the article 50 if it is going to be triggered, we will not get in the way but try to amend the legislation in order to ensure that they keep coming back, that would keep an eye on it and if necessary they will be hand to hand combat on this. We need to make sure we get the best deal for the country and she cannot say that she acts on behalf of the whole country without negotiating with parliament and westminster parliament, listening to the views of the british people. We represent important parts of britain and people said labour is in such difficulties, but will represent the country. The fact is. They represent more of it because they got more votes. But the mixture of views with the labour party reflects of the public. The way in which were thinking about this with more depth i think that the tories is a good thing and we can contribute and help but they need to listen. One of the things, the lines has been you will not let the government turn the uk into an offshore cayman islands. Will that be an amendment to the article 50 bill . Let us first see what the bill is. It might be a couple of line. Maybe, maybe not. You could put in an amendment saying the uk must not become a tax haven oraim to. But theres no point anyway because a future government could change its mind on that. There will be a number of things. The first thing is the plan may be a piece of paper with plan written on the top but it is a speech she did not make an parliament and therefore was not answerable to questions. So we want a white paper, a clear plan so we can help them to account. She is promising everything to everyone, lets have it written down and told her to it. Then the broad principles, what are they, when you are negotiating we want to be able to set lines in the sand. And then most importantly, the accountability so as you go along, you must keep reporting back. We should hold you to account and the final vote should not be at the 11th hour when basically it is Take It Or Leave it. All processed stuff. If theres not much difference between you and. Theres a lot of difference between our approach and that of the tories. Do you accept, one of the difficulties is the country, the great schism is remain or brexit. And the opposition, accepting the brexit result, it puts you in a difficult position because in a sense you are not on either side of the great fissure in politics. In the end you cannot have Political Parties to go for one half of the other which is what the other parties are doing. The fact that we are trying to bring the country together under the principle that we need to look after the economy and get the best deal on behalf of the whole country, is something we can unify the country around. Were not going to chase 40 , or the extreme part of 52 , we will do our utmost to ensure we stand up for the whole country and shall be listened to. We will make sure that we are. A four year old muslim girl is at the centre of a row in birmingham. She was reportedly told she couldnt wear a hijab a headscarf by her catholic Primary School. The school was accused by one councillor of breaking equality laws. In contrast, some muslims have pointed out pre pubescent girls are not mandated to wear the headscarf at all. But its another case in the Great National discussion about the right boundary between tolerance and non conformity. Should a four year old be wearing a hijab in a uk Primary School . Katie razzall has been to birmingham to find out whats been going on. Its a regular morning for these seven and eight year olds at birminghams anderton park Primary School. In this classroom today five of the girls were dressed in hijabs, the traditional head covering sometimes worn by muslim women. Here, headscarves are allowed as long as theyre purple or white. With some pupils in every year opting to wear them, the headteacher is relaxed about their choices. I think sometimes some of these cultural practices like very young girls wearing a headscarf, is just because that has always been done and maybe the families have never questioned it. And often here girls may come in in a headscarf at nine oclock in the morning and then theyre hot or they have got pe and theyjust take it off and it is off for the rest of the day. So it is pretty flexible here. But another birmingham school, catholic saint clares, is under fire from a local Labour Councillor who weighed in after parents reportedly complained to him that the school had banned their four year old from wearing a hijab. This school has a strict uniform policy. Amongst the prohibitions, no dyed hair, no beads or coloured weaves and no hats or scarves. It is clearly outlined on their website, so they may have been surprised to find themselves at the centre of a row over a hijab. The row appeared on social media when a man complained his four year old niece got detention from school because she was wearing a scarf. It is a religious matter, he said. The local councillor, waseem zaffar, replied saying he had already met the headteacher to discuss the matter, clearly outlining to her that this policy contravenes the Equalities Act. He continued he was insisting this matter is addressed asap with a change of policy. Neither the school nor mr zaffar, who is Birmingham Councils cabinet memberfor equality, would talk to newsnight about the issue, which has been widely reported across britain and beyond. But at the school gates this afternoon, the only parent who would go on camera did not support saint clares approach. It is the 21st century and we should be tolerant towards other religions and cultures, actually, as well. We are christians and catholics but never mind about the scarves, it doesnt make any difference to me. So whos right . The Equalities Act makes no mention of uniform, but caselaw precedents do suggest if a pupil cannot attend a school unless they remove an item necessary for their faith, that is discriminatory and potentially illegal. That is not what is happening here, though. According to some muslim activists who argue even if you do believe girls should wear headscarves, that only kicks in at puberty. They havent done anything wrong, theyre not breaching any equality legislation. I would not want to start endorsing and supporting the idea of girls wearing the headscarf in Primary Schools. We must not normalise it and instead of supporting that practice i think we should actually question it because actually, what you are doing is you are sexualising that child. So is this about curtailing religious freedoms, or cultural practices, that some might see as misogynistic . A Government Commission review on social integration recently found that some women are being held back by regressive practices, justified In The Name Of culture or religion. Newsnight has previously reported on claims that some muslim men within the labour party have been accused of misogyny. Today, One Female Muslim councillor told us, this hijab row shames her party. When a Labour Councillor says that, it shocks me. But it did not surprise me, i hear all sorts of things behind closed doors, which are not good enough. And as a Labour Councillor that is on a cabinet, a strong labour authority, where we know there has been issues before, there has been trojan horse scandals, you have done investigations yourself. Where it feels like the party is not taking these things seriously, we need to have zero tolerance on this kind of behaviour. Birmingham council told newsnight School Governing bodies decide on uniform but that it is working with saint clares to make sure its policy is in line with legal requirements as well as talking to all schools in the area to ensure they know their responsibilities. The posts on facebook by the councillor who sparked this row have apparently now been removed. Donald trump news now. Its coming thick and fast. Mark urban, our diplomatic editor has been in the us but is here now. And today. A change of tack on the keystone pipeline. You had better explain. It is a Pipeline Running from canadian oil fields, or is meant to, into the american system, stopped by President Obama in 2015 and donald trump this morning made an Executive Order to try to get it going and the Dakota Access pipeline under construction stopped by lawsuits. The aim is to announce big and bold, we put american jobs, American Steel to build these pipelines, Americas Energy needs ahead of tree hugging people and we will drive a bulldozer through them. That is the aim and at the same time infuriating environmentalists and Native American groups. Basically trying to push a bulldozer through. There is announcement of Infrastructure Projects in the coming weeks. Foreign policy, more your beat. I am afraid we have been waiting in vain with rumours that among the first orders will move the us embassy in Israel To Jerusalem which did not happen and a cautious tone from the embattled Press Secretary implying no decision had been made. Other things we expected potentially on the iran nuclear deal, chinese currency manipulation, so called, they havent happened. It is fascinating. There is a desire to make the running with these big domestic Job Creation Type Projects that are key to his agenda and his base. They said today the administration, look, congress has been so slow to approve Foreign Policy choices we are behind. You may see them coming together next week with a meeting with the president of mexico, where the trade agenda i think will come to the fore. Lets finish by reflecting on the story of the day the Supreme Court verdict and the path to brexit, which is disrupting british politics. I am joined by author and journalist Sonia Pernell and the suns politicaljournalist. And the guardians owenjones. We have been speaking about the problems of labour. Do you get depressed that the left right schism has been blown apart by the brexit remain schism. And jeremy corbyn, to bring the left populism to the people is not being heard . Depressed about politics, me . Nothing to be depressed about clearly we have a divided country, polarised on an issue that modern will dominate a long time. Jacob rees mogg alludes to this, the Unique Problem Labour has is in its Electoral Coalition it has people who live in london, manchester, birmingham, liverpool, who feel traumatised in the aftermath of the referendum and they want it to go away. You have Labour Voters in doncaster, burnley, who feel they have their country back and it is difficult to reconcile the different perspectives. Brexit is notjust about the eu. If anything the eu is long down the list in terms of what the referendum conjured up with immigration, multiculturalism, social issues, i suppose. You get groups of people with different outlooks on life. When you want a Labour Opposition to have a clear take on the people on the top, vested interests, to talk about tax justice, investment, cuts. Does it make you worried that the coalition that is the labour party is past its sell by date because the two groups do not agree with each other on the big issues of the day . It does need to adapt. All over Europe Social democracy is in crisis. It does not matter if the leaders of these parties on the left or right. In germany, the labour sister party, their leader supports third way style policy. He would probably be envious of labours terrible polling in this country. There are few countries where it is doing well. You get across europe be centre left and a rising radical left who argue with each other but that is often displace durie from both wings that their lack of a clear route and vision to power and a Clear Strategy and all sections, if you believe in a different britain, different europe, in those other countries, there is a big ask about how you build a coalition and that coalition has changed. It is not the industrial working class, more people going to university. Let me put it to the others. Are you selling your shares in labour . I would but what we have is a complete vacuum of leadership and they have to decide where they are, and be brave and decide what they are going to do and stick to it and fight for it and vote accordingly in parliament. The Supreme Court said it is up to politicians to take it forward. It is now up to parliament to make a decision. Mps are not delegates, they are representatives, not legally bound to vote, they should vote with their conscious. The leadership of the party should allow them to do so. Tom, do you have advice for labour . Very happy to offer advice. Sonia is right. They will be in a terrible mess for as long as they try, as owen pointed out, to straddle this giant fissure. If they give up one side they will lose half their market. We have seen it before. The scottish referendum, by almost no fault of their own, they have been split by two giant referendums. What labour need to realise is the existential threat. It is not a problem that will resolve in a few months, with a few cheeky votes in parliament. There is a poll for the stoke by election by thejohn bell sponsored labour outfit. The first on that by election which has the leader of ukip ten points ahead already. If you want a list of candidates in the by election, go to the bbc website. A ten point lead for paul nuttall. Labour on 25 . 80 of his supporters come from Labour Voters. Is this the fissure that divides the nation. I wonder out there there are people who dont much care about it . There was another poll saying more people were concerned about what is happening in the nhs than with brexit. These issues get conflated. Again, go back to leadership. You need a leader of the labour party, Whichever Party will replace it, to take the position and stick at it and say it will be better for the nhs and employment. We dont have that. We have no opposition. Where have all the tory remain people gone . Why are they acquiescing . I think they are biding their time. Their numbers are strong. There are those brave enough to give david davis a hard time as they did in the commons. The likes of george osborne, a lot of people remain silent. They know it is the wrong time to wave their flags. Theresa may has momentum behind her. It will get a lot more difficult for her. At the moment it feels she is making the running. This is the early skirmishes of what will be giant warfare. Do you agree . What theresa may has done has made brexit is like a cult. If you dont belong to it, you are shunned, you do not get on tv, do not get asked to parties and you are excluded. A lot of people are afraid to stick their heads above the parapet. Are you optimistic for a post Brexit Britain . Are you down on it . At the moment, the odds are it is a deal that prioritises jobs, the economy, not looking great. Turning britain into a giant tax haven that would mean cutting Public Services would chill everyone. In british politics, if it is about our relationship to the European Union, rather than say, like we have gone through the longest fall in Living Standards is the 19th century, that squeeze will come back. The housing crisis, the lack of secure jobs, which is why many communities voted to leave, because they felt they had lost control of their communities. Education, the nhs. Labour needs and this is its task ahead, while keeping the Electoral Coalition together, to have a coherent alternative on those issues and try to shift the debate so we are notjust talking about the eu for the next 50 years at this rate. There are other things that need to be addressed. Thanks. That is all we have time for. Amelie will be here tomorrow. Good night. Well, a windy night across parts of the north and west of the uk, keeping fog and frost at eight but a foggy night at the southern england, parts of the midlands, a few spots in the yorkshire as well but particularly in the southern, central and Eastern England into the morning. Dense, freezing fog patches in places so do check the situation before you head out. It could be having an impact on travel, certainly slowing you down, could be a bit icy in places as well where you have frost with these thick fog patches. A cloudier and colder feeling day. Some sunny spells, South West England and wales in the northern england. Northern ireland scotla nd northern england. Northern ireland scotland rather cloudy windy. Outbreaks of rain coming back into the Western Isles into the afternoon. 11 degrees in stornoway, just four in norwich. As we go through the evening we are not seeing that fog developing, there is more of a breeze across the uk but are called windows we going to thursday. Frost to start with, maybe a few Snow Flurries but a raw feeling day despite some sunshine coming through on thursday. Feeling colder than this in the wind. Hello, everyone. The headlines beijing hits back over the south china sea. We will protect our sovereignty, it wants the white house. And growing tensions over Market Access. A big shift in views of formula one, the sport boss is ousted and called a dictator. And back on the top of the national sport. Live from our stooges in singapore and london. This is bbc world news, this is news day