i think there are parts of the midlands, andy street, the mayor of the west midlands, is doing a phenomenaljob driving his local economy and the region of the west midlands. what that means is if you are committed to putting money back into the treasury, the point of the northern powerhouse and what andy street is doing in the west midlands, is deal with the fact that structurally, we have to subsidise places in the north of england, the most economically challenged ones, because they take more out of the treasury in benefits and public services, because health inequality is worthless in the nothing. —— worse. it's so northern errors don't just retain more of the taxes but use the revenue is directly rather than having to rely on money from whitehall. i don't want the north to be dependent on benefits from london taxpayers and businesses based in london. i would taxpayers and businesses based in london. iwould much taxpayers and businesses based in london. i would much rather we raise our own money from the economic growth we have in the north of england and spend that. that is the long—

for example, they lost two of the three wolverhampton seats in the west midlands. phil mackie has been speaking to voters there. well, they very nearly won all three in the end, the conservatives will probably stop vomiting that third seat, held by pat mcfadden of the labour party, because there were 2500 people who voted for the brexit party candidate. the majority in that particular constituency was just 1000. the other two seeds, the labour mps lost their seats last night as part of this blue wave across the west midlands, they won stoke—on—trent, west bromwich, dudley, and two out of the three seats in wolverhampton. some things they have never really one from labour and certainly not for generations stop the big question is, firstly, others people therefore good and why, if you are a labour voter, did you either switch this time or what you think went wrong? they have got five years now to get things done and we can get exit done, on time, and ofjanuary, and get this country moving. and thank goodness we get this country moving. and thank goodfiess we remo

colder further midland. are just here around five celsius. colderfurther north, a midland. are just here around five celsius. colder further north, a few clear spells here. into the weekend, another area of low pressure moving into the english channel. that will again push fabrics of rain in across parts of the south. 0n again push fabrics of rain in across parts of the south. on saturday, we start with showers across england and wales, pushing into northern england, northern ireland and scotla nd england, northern ireland and scotland through the day, and will often be a lot of cloud around, limited brighter spell. later in the afternoon, outbreaks of rain arriving southern areas of england, pushing into wales, the midlands and east anglia overnight, up to 30mm of rain in the forecast, we could see further disruption due to flooding and to transport lines in the run—up to christmas. 0n and to transport lines in the run—up to christmas. on sunday, rain clearing away from the east quickly and being left with bright skies, scattered showers and temperatures around eight c

i'm just whether in yorkshire, the midlands... i'mjust sorry whether in yorkshire, the midlands... i'm just sorry we have let people down. or the north-east, seat after seat flipped red to blue. jeremy corbyn‘s hopes came crashing down. in a jeremy corbyn's hopes came crashing down. in a fateful moment, ju5t jeremy corbyn's hopes came crashing down. in a fateful moment, just as he took to the stage in islington, sedgefield, the seat of tony blair, held by labour for all time, sedgefield, the seat of tony blair, held by labourfor all time, broke for borisjohnson too. the foundations of labour‘s victories pa55 crumbling before our eyes, the party falling more heavily where people voted lee. the lib dems had a crushing night too. just a few weeks ago,jo crushing night too. just a few weeks ago, jo swinson claimed she could be prime minister. in the middle of the night, though, she even lost her own place in parliament. she closed the day neither an mp nor a party leader. all of us who share an alternative vi5ion leader. all of us who share an alternative vision for society have al

not only that, it lost seats in its traditional heartlands — former labour strongholds in the midlands, wales and the north of england — that had never returned conservative mps before. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports from stoke—on—trent central, which voted to leave the eu in 2016, and has now gone blue for the first time in its history. stoke—on—trent‘s industrial past is still printed on the skyline. with roots in coal, steel and, famously, ceramics, this was a labour stronghold for decades. not anymore. stoke—on—trent central now has a conservative mp, the first since the seat‘s creation in 1950. jo gideon, a businesswoman and until now a councillor in kent, thinks she knows why she won here. it's a city that feels it's been neglected and ignored for a long time, and so, in a sense, the fact that they voted 70% for brexit and it didn't happen was just another example of how nobody is listening to them. and so it was a call to be listened to, really. more people here voted to leave than any other city in the uk. the tories tapped into brexit frustr

further south across the southern half of wales, the south midlands and down towards the south midlands and down towards the south midlands and down towards the south of england, and heavy bursts of rain even behind this main rain band, some blustery showers. it stays quite windy across the far south—west, but temperatures of 12 degrees in plymouth. but, with the rain falling on already wet ground because the south of england, the south wales and the midlands, secular lead to thursday afternoon there is the potential of localised lighting and is the potential of localised loading and some travel disruption. that weather front was its way northwards through thursday night into friday, plenty of sellers following on behind, another batch of persistent range of england by the early part of friday. it is going to feel a little bit fresher by this stage, we will have lost the really mild hour. friday is a somewhat cooler today. publics arena likely for central and eastern parts of england, probably not clipping into scotland. for scotland, northern ireland and wales, the western side of en

the midlands, some spots of rain but nothing too heavy. the northern half of the uk is looking mostly dry tonight. there will be some mist and fog first thing in the morning. not cold tonight, most towns and cities will be well above freezing. forecast for sunday, the weather front will be over the south, and it clears out into the north sea. in the wake of it, with the low pressure, a breeze blowing in some showers. here is the morning, still the remnants of the overnight rain in the extreme south—east, then behind, we have a much fresher, brisk conditions, it will still be relatively mild, about 10 degrees in london, seven in belfast. the weather will be changeable towards the west, sunny spells and showers. the christmas outlook, we are expecting further areas of mild air to move on from the south, squeezing the cold air towards the north, no snow on the forecast in the run—up to christmas christmas itself. monday, we are anticipating cloud and rain in western scotland, even in the hills it should be mostly rain. in the south, perha

so here is that fog again, you can see it across the midlands but it could in the south too and then basically that fog will drift a bit further north into northern england and it will do that because the winds will be blowing out of the south. it should disperse some of that fog so there will be sunshine around eastern areas but you can't miss this in the west, this is our wet and windy weather sweeping into many western parts of the uk during the course of wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. low pressure here, that here spells gusty winds as well. around western coasts, we could see winds gusting to 16mph and these are warm southerlies as well, the orange colour blowing out of the southern climes and that can mean only one thing, that those temperatures will be rising. so we are in for a very mild, wet day on thursday, almost anywhere, rain likely across the uk and the temperatures could get up to 13 or 14 degrees across the south—east of the country, really mild for the second half of december. and then double figures with the rain in scotland as well, and we keep those sou

so here is that fog again, you can see it across the midlands but it could in the south too but basically that fog will drift a bit further north into northern england and it will do that because the winds will be blowing out of the south, it should disperse some of that fog so there will be sunshine around eastern areas but you can‘t miss this in the west, this is our wet and windy weather sweeping into many western parts of the uk during the course of wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. low pressure, that here spells gusty winds as well around western coasts, we could see winds gusting to 16mph and these are warm southerlies as well, the orange colour blowing out of the southern climes and that can mean only one thing, temperatures will be rising so we are in for a very mild, wet day on thursday, almost anywhere, rain likely across the uk and the temperatures could get up to 13 or 1a degrees across the south—east of the country, really mild for the second half of december, and then double figures with the rain in scotland as well, and we keep those southerly winds through the c

however, for the southern half of wales, the south of the midlands, towards the london area, we'll have these heavy and persistent outbreaks of rain, and to the south of that, some heavy, possibly thundery, blustery showers, but mild still. 12 degrees there in plymouth. but across the south of england, the south of wales and the midlands, that afternoon rain will be falling on very wet ground, so there is the potential for some localised flooding and some poor travelling conditions as well. now, as we go through thursday night, this rain band drives its way northwards. behind it, some blustery showers, and then another batch of rain developing, across central and eastern parts of england particularly, as we get into friday morning. feeling a little bit fresher by this stage. we'll have lost that very mild southerly wind. in fact, the air starting to come in from more of a westerly direction, so not quite as mild as we go through friday. we will see some outbreaks of rain, particularly across the eastern half of england. elsewhere, it's essentially a day of sunny spells and showers, but

to wales and jeremy corbyn will be in the midlands and yorkshire. i wonder if they will overlap, i'm sure they won't! which is all very well... the other leaders as well really doing all they can before the polls open on thursday morning. in terms of financial markets, in terms of the pounced and that kind of thing, what have you got to say on that? it's very clear at the moment what the situation is. you're saying it's very clear, what's very clear? it is clear how the markets will react, because sterling is a situation of borisjohnson is better because sterling is a situation of boris johnson is better for because sterling is a situation of borisjohnson is betterfor the pound, even though it means brexit. this is what has been a swing around. in the past sterling has been very much... anything that points to brexit not happening, it has been positive for the pound and that leads to an upside but now the situation is where brexit is boris johnson if you like and... we mustn't forget the brexit party. of course, butjeremy corbyn is further delay, it

if it's fairly wintry on fairly modest hills through parts of wales, northern england, perhaps the midlands, as we start off on sunday morning. but then on sunday there is a little bit of a gap between weather systems, where more of us will be dry and get to see the sunshine before this comes in later in the day. still a bit of uncertainty about timing. but, yes, it does look quieter for a time on sunday, with some sunshine. perhaps a bit more widespread than it during saturday. still a few of these showers delivering snow to the hills of scotland, mind you. and then as we go on through the afternoon, it's across parts of southern england and wales we'll start to see this next system moving in with outbreaks of showery rain, just putting the wind gusts on again. maybe not as windy for some of us but the winds really strengthening down towards others and south—west england again. later today, eventually because it gusts around 60 mph. similar temperatures. it is going to be chilly. then again occasionally we will find ourselves in the sunshine. so to sum up the weekend then, there will be

surprised by the degree to which voters in traditionally labour strongholds in the north and in the midlands of england gave their vote to the conservative party and he seems to recognise that gives the conservative government a new task to deliver on promises made to those very people. well, it certainly does andi very people. well, it certainly does and i think it's a great mistake to see this as some sort of clash between the conservative party moving towards the brexit party as opposed to being the one nation party that many of us strongly believe. conservatives should be. the challenge to which he is referring is how do we make sure the election is not a flash in the pan and people who have given the conservative party of our trust in this election like what they see, think the conservative government gets on in serving their interests, dealing with some of the communities of written that been left behind and so of written that been left behind and so at the next election, they think the conservative government has done a good job and they wish to support it again. that is precisely the

given the way in which we lost which was having lost all those seats in the midlands and the north, it's unlikely that someone like starmer or thornberry is going to be able to take on the mantle of leadership because a london lawyer like starmer is not a threat to the ideal candidate to win back someone like working ten or ashfield. i think will be bailey, angela rayner and his is there to be a woman or brock consensus has to be someone outside of london. the manifesto being a policy overload was true. but whether or not that translates into a victory for them i think is less. interesting they are saying we must not go too far to the right. i think a lot of people were saying that one of the big problems for many people who are traditionally labour is that it had gone too far to the left. age divide as well. a lot of younger people wa nt as well. a lot of younger people want that left—wing agenda whereas middle—aged and older people in the heart of england feel less co mforta ble heart of england feel less comfortable with that perhaps. i don't know. on some policies that's true, bu

however, for the southern half of wales, the south of the midlands, towards the london area, we will have these heavy and persistent outbreaks of rain, and to the south of that some heavy, and possibly thundery showers. but mild steel, 12 degrees there in plymouth. but across the south of england, the south of wales and the midlands, that afternoon rain will be falling on very wet ground. so there is the potential for some localised flooding and some poor travelling conditions as well. but as we go through thursday night, this rain band drives its way northwards. behind it, some blustery showers and then another batch of rain developing across central and eastern parts of england particularly as we get into friday morning. feeling a little bit fresher by this stage. we will have lost very mild southerly wind. in fa ct, lost very mild southerly wind. in fact, the air starting to come in from more of a westerly direction, so from more of a westerly direction, so not quite as mild as we go through friday. we will see some outbreaks of rain especially across the eastern half england. els

particularly across northern england, the midlands, east anglia. that could be dense for a while overnight. it should have lifted by thursday because of all this cloud coming in. the wind is picking up. a spell of rain pushing its way eastwards briefly, some snow over the tops of the pennines. perhaps into the methods of scotland. with the blustery winds beating in worse showers for northern ireland, wales and the south—west where it will be particularly milder. boxing day looks very different to the weather on christmas day. if we look further ahead, we end up with high pressure over continental europe, low pressure in the atlantic. these weather fronts trip across the north—west the uk. our area is coming all the way from the azores ona coming all the way from the azores on a cell to south—westerly wind is that that means it will be very mild. at the moment it looks like as we head into the weekend most of the rhine will be towards the uk and even though it is going to be quite cloudy, temperatures as high as 13 or 14. this is bbc news, i'm

austerity and underinvestment, the story of this town can be heard across the north of england, the midlands and wales, and the people so long on the margins expect to be listened to. talks have resumed in northern ireland to try to restore devolution. it's nearly three years since power sharing there collapsed. there's new pressure on the parties to get back into government with the crisis in the health service, strike action planned and patient waiting lists the worst in the uk. from belfast, here's our ireland correspondent, emma vardy. winter at stormont, parties out in the cold. each morning civil servants arrive to run the country. it's many moons since politicians took decisions here. it's a source of continuous pain. john's one of thousands of patients in northern ireland now waiting years for routine operations. a lack of government has led to the slow decay of services. while the parties try to resolve their differences, he faces another year—and—a—half‘s wait for a hip replacement. i mean, to wait that long, and your life's on hold. in the kind of pain you're in. yeah, yea

later on we will see another pulse of heavy rain pushing back into wales, southern england and the midlands. whereas further north, northern scotland probably staying drier and brighter. a few showers for northern ireland from time to time. it is a mild start to the day and a mild day throughout, really, the temperature is barely budging from what we have in the first part of the morning. highs of around 10— 13 degrees with a brisk, southerly wind. through the course of the night our first pulse of rain pushes northwards but more wet weather working across england and wales during the second part of the night as well. it is going to be a mild night, but the rain is increasingly cause for concern. areas that perhaps giving us most concern at the moment are into southern england and wales, with the prospect of localised flooding building and on account of the fairly persistent bursts of heavy rain and the ground being completely saturated. we could see some localised disruption on the roads, and perhaps locally on the railways as well. for friday, more rain around. that rain will be pushing

it will be in the southern areas of england midlands and wales. given that the rain will be falling on saturated ground, increasingly there is a risk of localised surface water flooding. 0n friday, the wet weather will push towards the north. for most of the uk it will be a cooler day. temperatures pushing back closer to normal. there some milder air still hanging on. it will stay and settle into the weekend and a risk of seeing more rain across the further south of england. that is the weather. good afternoon, i'm simon mccoy. it's coming up to two o'clock, and we are going to take you over to washington and a special programme as donald trump is set to become the third us president in history to be impeached. this is the scene live in capitol hill, where democratic lawmakers are expected to approve two charges against the republican president. he could then face trial in the senate. we nowjoin katty kay in washington. welcome to this bbc news special coverage from washington, i am katty kay. it is december 18th 2019 — one of those days that wi

so here is that fog again, you can see it across the midlands but it could in the south too but basically that fog will drift a bit further north into northern england and it will do that because the winds will be blowing out of the south, will it should disperse some of that fog so there will be sunshine around eastern areas but you can't miss this in the west, this is our wet and windy weather sweeping into many western parts of the uk during the course of wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. low pressure, that here spells gusty winds as well around western coasts, we could see winds gusting to 16mph and these are warm southerlies as well, the orange colour blowing out of the southern climes and that can mean only one thing, temperatures will be rising so we are in for a very mild, wet day on thursday, almost anywhere, rain likely across the uk and the temperatures could get up to 13 or 1a degrees across the south—east of the country, really mild for the second half of december, and then double figures with the rain in scotland as well and we keep those southerly winds through the

look beyond the cities, and move to the towns of the north of england, the midlands, to make sense of this election. to the people in constituencies like west bromwich west. singing. and listen. congratulations, borisjohnson. to the voices of wednesbury. it's happened, it's absolutely amazing. does it feel like you've woken up in a different country? yeah, ido. he's going to sort out everything. the poor, nhs, schools, police, immigration. what was the thing that got you voting for him? the one thing? because he wanted to listen to 17.4 million people. for the first time in 45 years, this constituency has broken its bonds with labour. family, generation after generation for the working class. labour voter, labour voter, labour voter. yeah, yeah, definitely. and now that has all changed. yeah. and you have woken up to a conservative mp, west brom west. yes. how does that feel? that feels 0k actually. i think it's great, it's what the country needs. a conservative mp in this area? yeah, because jeremy corbyn is a puppet. and that's the end of it. and that's the issue for you? yeah, ever

tomorrow stays damp, and probably quite cloudy across much of the southeast, may be the midlands as well, but many of us will get some decent weather tomorrow, that will be sunshine for sure. but a fairly nippy day across the northern half of the uk around 5 degrees, and that's about as cold as it's going to get, because after that, it's going to get quite a bit milder. but tuesday nights, into wednesday, we are in between weather systems. so when zips away towards the east, this next one is rushing in, but before that one reaches us, early on wednesday, we are expecting some thick fog, particularly around the midlands, may be northern england, not exclusively, but this will likely be the focal point, it could be very thick indeed. so travel disruption. sunshine is welcome and you can't miss this, this is the next, i will move out of the way, big low pressure here, that will basically race across the uk wednesday into thursday. this means gale force winds around some of these western coasts, with could be gusting around 70 mph, not unusual for the time of year, but it will be pretty roug

it'll stay roughly south of the midlands come into london, and east anglia. it'll rain a little across the midlands but most of it should go the south. in northern parts of the uk, mostly dry this evening and tonight, clear skies in places, some mist and fog, maybe 1 degrees in the newcastle area, up to 6 degrees in the south. the weather front which is due this afternoon and this evening is out of the picture, it moves to the north sea, although low pressure is still close by, but it is sending a breeze with sunny spells and showers in our direction. on the whole, not looking too bad for most of us on sunday. the morning might be gloomy in the south and south—east, but a pretty decent day for most. they prepared for occasional showers, maybe even a cla p occasional showers, maybe even a clap of thunder if you get one of those heavier showers. 4 degrees in aberdeen, around 10 degrees in london, ten is above the average, and talking the average, temperatures over the next few days looks like the mild air in the christmas outlook will be edging in our directi

many come from former labour strongholds in the north and midlands — they'll be sworn in tomorrow. the labour party's general secretary recommendeds that the timetable for a leadership election should begin on january 7. waterfirms in england and wales are ordered to cut household bills by around £50 over the next five years. doctors urge parents to vaccinate their children, who are "super—spreaders" of flu — as they warn of an increase in patients using nhs services. tamara ecclestone — the daughter of former formula 1 boss, bernie ecclestone — has a reported £50 million worth of jewellery stolen from her london home. # sleep in heavenly peace...# and, 78—year—old terrence — who was surprised last week by bbc breakfast after saying he'd spent 20 christmases in a row on his own — is serenaded at sheffield city hall. christmases in a row on his own — the prime minister, boris johnson, will welcome more than a hundred new conservative mps to westminster today as he aims to deliver on his election promise to "get brexit done". parliament won't officially open until

i think the west midlands mps, they will also be lobbying collectively. the most important thing is they will want a quick conclusion. that is what we heard on the doorstep and if you listen to the doorstep and if you listen to the business community across the west midlands, they are saying, please move through this and get a certainty. it is good to have the proposal before christmas, but then we recognise the difficult stuff of the negotiating around the new trade deal will happen next year and that is very important to the manufacturing heartland of the country. andy burnham and greater manchester says he agrees with this idea that we need new infrastructure and anybody from the north would agree with that. replacing the victorian infrastructure with something new, but he says what greater manchester needs is something for the here and now.” understand where he's coming from, but i don't agree with the detail in the way you put it across. some of the way you put it across. some of the infrastructure products, one of the infrastructure products, one

especially so in the eastern parts of england and the midlands. that moves away and the midlands. that moves away and then we see something drier and brighter, still a fair bit of cloud at times, but we also have some showers coming in across the west. temperature—wise, we are down just a notch or two on what we are looking at today. for saturday, it is a dry and brighter day. are still some showers, particularly so in western areas. but it is later on in the day that we see some more rain coming in across southern counties. and this is likely to be heavy and persistent, and it is something we are keeping a close eye on, because of course the ground is already pretty saturated, and our rivers are pretty saturated, and our rivers are pretty full. but you will notice that the temperatures are starting to slide injust that the temperatures are starting to slide in just a bit, that the temperatures are starting to slide injust a bit, as that the temperatures are starting to slide in just a bit, as they will do as we head into the weekend. sunday it is going to be blustery and there

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands and wales much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a few showers on that keener breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coasts, and particularly later into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was, though, perhaps, through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it's going to be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. 0ur air beginning to come in from the atlantic. so while there'll be a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales. after a starry night we're going to have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes will blow a bit more cloud into northern irelan

there could be some real problems with thick fog particularly around the midlands. then the wind starts to pick up, we will see some sunshine briefly before this weather front arrives on our shores and reaches south—western england, wales, and northern ireland. this as a spell of very wet and windy weather. we are talking about severe gales blowing around some of these coasts here, in fact from wednesday and into thursday, gusts could be around 70 miles an hour. not as windy inland, but still windy enough. we can see all that bad weather sweeps across the uk through the course of wednesday night and into thursday as well. at the end of the week, this big low pressure is basically dominating a whole chunk of the atlantic, western europe as well. it is notjust us that get bad weather too, there will be some rough, windy weather across parts of europe as well. as we head towards the end of the week, the temperature is going to pick up, we will see mild southerlies for a time — we could heading around 13 degrees in the south. that's it, bye—bye. welcome to bbc new

if it's fairly wintry on fairly modest hills through parts of wales, northern england, perhaps the midlands as we start off on sunday morning. but then on sunday, there is a little bit of a gap between weather systems, where more of us will be dry and get to see the sunshine before this comes in later in the day. still a bit of uncertainty about timing. but, yes, it does look quieter for a time on sunday with some sunshine, perhaps a bit more widespread than it is during saturday. still, a few of these showers delivering snow to the hills of scotland, mind you. and then, well, as we go on through the afternoon, it's across parts of southern england and wales we'll start to see this next system moving in with outbreaks of showery rain, just putting the wind gusts on again. maybe not as windy for some of us but those winds really strengthening down towards south wales and south—west england again. later today, eventually because it gusts around 60 mph. similar temperatures. it is going to be chilly. but then again, occasionally, we will find ourselves in the sunshine. so to sum up the weeke

the afternoon, the next area of rain moving up to the south to affect wales, southern england and the midlands, as well. mild nationwide, temperatures from ten to 30 degrees. three thursday night, our first area of rain moves its weight northwards across northern ireland into scotland, we will then see another area of rain moving back and across england and wales. all this heavy rain will be folly on increasingly saturated ground, bringing the risk of some localised flooding with areas perhaps most address, wales, the midlands and also part of southern england. some localised disruption on the roads perhaps and even the real reliance, as well. worrying to finish the comment to. it moves into scotland and could push a lesser bit further west bedtime. across the western areas of the uk, temperatures dropping closer to normalfor this time the uk, temperatures dropping closer to normal for this time of year. still quite mild across eastern england, temperatures staying around 11 degrees. they could be more rain for the weekend, particularly across southern parts of england. 0therwise, southern par

but the rain will be unrelenting, really, across the midlands and central southern england as well. it's southerly winds that we have blowing in, and those winds are mild winds, temperatures actually will be rising through the night across northern areas. by the end of the night, northern scotland should see temperatures coming up to about 9—10 degrees celcius. all this means is, it's going to be a mild start to the day nationwide on thursday. but with low pressure staying to the west of the uk, and further pulses of heavy rain in the forecast moving across the country, as i say, there is a risk of some localised flooding issues building in. now, for england and wales, might be a damp start to the day. further north, some dry and bright weather, quite a brisk wind wherever you are. and as we go through the afternoon, we are looking at the next area of rain moving up from the south to affect wales, southern england and the midlands as well. it will be mild nationwide. temperatures from 10—13 degrees. through thursday night time, as ourfirst area of rain moves its way northwards a

moving north into the midlands, northern england, scotla nd into the midlands, northern england, scotland and, for a time, before the cloud builds, northern ireland, we have sunshine. temperatures of about fourin have sunshine. temperatures of about four in edinburgh if you are getting ready for hogmanay, to about ten in plymouth. this evening and overnight, watch how the cloud builds. by midnight, eastern areas of scotla nd builds. by midnight, eastern areas of scotland handsomest in areas of england will be clear, so wrap up warm, it will be dry, but it is towards the west that it is more dry with spots of drizzle. any morning fog lifts tomorrow, tomorrow is generally dry but rather cloudy. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines: thousands of people seek refuge on the beach and in the sea to escape bush fires in australia — military helicopters and the navy are deployed to help them. former nissan boss carlos ghosn flees to lebanon, despite being under house arrest in tokyo on financial misconduct charges. the national living wage is to rise in april by 6.2% — four

over the last few months we have seen spending promises littered across the north of england and the midlands, particularly around improving rail and road projects. now the government are scratching their heads, trying to work out how to deliver on these promises. this isn't about spending more money, it's about changing the rules in how the money is spent, therefore where it will be spelt. funding for projects currently has to be based on the maximum value per head of population, and naturally put that attract more funding to the more populated areas in the south of england, and sucks money into london. changing that role could have a big impact on easing the frustrations across the north of england and the midlands, who feel there is some significant projects that could benefit local areas, that would never be able to compete on the current criteria. so, treasury sources have told me today that rule could be scrapped before the spring budget comes in, that applications could be made on different criteria, especially balancing the economic divide across the uk, that benefit places like leeds

everyone is pushing into the midlands and south—east through the midlands and south—east through the afternoon. but the wind is the big story. it continues to strengthen through the afternoon and into the early evening. a snapshot of these wednesbury the afternoon. 50-60 of these wednesbury the afternoon. 50—60 mile an hour gusts. we do see these bands of squally showers sliding down the irish sea. in some spots, winds of 80 miles an hour. strong enough to do some damage and enough to cause some disruption. some high bushes in from the west to calm things slightly but we do have strong winds in the east. gales down the north sea this time. early showers clipping eastern counties. wintry across the north york moors. it will probably feel more like freezing. this cold snap, this one weather front tipping into the north later on monday. by tuesday we are back under the influence of a massive area of low pressure. tightly packed isoba rs. massive area of low pressure. tightly packed isobars. the rain plasters the uk on tuesday. dry in the east first thing that a spell of wet weather fo

however, for the southern half of wales, the south of the midlands, towards the london area, we'll have these heavy and persistent outbreaks of rain, and to the south of that, some heavy, possibly thundery, blustery showers. but mild still, 12 degrees there in plymouth. but across the south of england, the south of wales and the midlands, that afternoon rain will be falling on very wet ground. so there is the potential for some localised flooding and some poor travelling conditions as well. now, as we go through thursday night, this rain band drives its way northwards. behind it, some blustery showers, and then another batch of rain developing across central and eastern parts of england, particularly as we get into friday morning. feeling a little bit fresher by this stage. we will have lost very a mild southerly wind. in fact, the air starting to come in from more of a westerly direction, so not quite as mild as we go through friday. we will see some outbreaks of rain, particularly across the eastern half of england. elsewhere, it's essentially a day of sunny spells and showers, but i

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coast, and particularly data into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it will be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. 0ur air beginning to come in from the atlantic. while there'll be a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely after a starry night we will have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes will both brett more cloud into northern ireland and particularly into scotland, where we'll see pockets of rain into the north of th

who delivered the landslide for borisjohnson midlands who delivered the landslide for boris johnson and of the day after he was elected he said, right, we are now going to repay that trust. this is an indication he intends to do exactly that. it is important he does do it. the north— south divide has been a problem for years and the more you can do to actually narrow that and stop investments going to the south and south—east, the better for the country. a government with an enormous amount on its plate, managing the next phase of brexit and all of this domestic policy. this probably comes from dominic cummings. he gets a mention. he has made it plain he wants to see a major shakeup of the civil service so this is i think a shot across the boughs of the civil service although lord 0'donnell, the former secretary, says the plan is an excellent idea. it is, if they carry it out, it is an excellent idea. in the daily mail, more onjulian maunder, the barrister and his encounter with a fox. it was trying to attack his chickens. encounter with a fox. it was trying to attack his chicke

not only that, it lost seats in its traditional heartlands — former labour strongholds in the midlands, wales and the north of england — that had never returned conservative mps before. our political correspondent alex forsyth reports from stoke—on—trent central, which voted to leave the eu in 2016, and has now gone blue for the first time in its history. stoke—on—trent‘s industrial past is still printed on the skyline. with roots in coal, steel and, famously,

they could be stubborn to clear as well. 0therwise midlands. they could be stubborn to clear as well. otherwise a bit of sunshine, light went but a chilly start. to the north—east of scotland and northern ireland, rain, adapt story. the rain petering out. —— a damp story. this ridge of high pressure bringing in tuesday night into wednesday. wednesday largely fine for most. this area of low pressure will be the game—changer for the end of the week. wednesday start on a chilly night, frost, maybe some fob but plenty of sunshine. when picking up from the south—east, making it feel cold and temperatures into the single digits stop get wetter and windier in the south—west. wednesday evening and overnight, it looks windy. blustery night. 0utbreaks overnight, it looks windy. blustery night. outbreaks of rain, gales in the irish sea. that could lead to some disruption. that system moves northwards through thursday with a run of fairly strong south or south—westerly winds with sunshine and blustery showers. the showers will affect southern

so here is that fog again, you can see it across the midlands but it could in the south too and then basically that fog will drift a bit further north into northern england and it will do that because the winds will be blowing out of the south. it should disperse some of that fog so there will be sunshine around eastern areas but you can't miss this in the west, this is our wet and windy weather sweeping into many western parts of the uk during the course of wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. low pressure here, that here spells gusty winds as well. around western coasts, we could see winds gusting to 16mph and these are warm southerlies as well, the orange colour blowing out of the southern climes and that can mean only one thing, that those temperatures will be rising. so we are in for a very mild, wet day on thursday, almost anywhere, rain likely across the uk and the temperatures could get up to 13 or 14 degrees across the south—east of the country, really mild for the second half of december. and then double figures with the rain in scotland as well, and we keep those sou

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. the generally becomes dry and sunny. got a future was making a breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coast, and particularly data into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was through the midlands with more sunshine as there will be in the south—west of england where it will be dry. high pressure cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. however beginning to come in from the atlantic. while several be a patchy frost for scotla nd several be a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales after a starry night we will have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes will both brett more cloud into northern ireland and particul

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands and wales much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a few showers on that keener breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coasts, and particularly later into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was, though, perhaps, through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it's going to be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. 0ur air beginning to come in from the atlantic. so while there'll be a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales. after a starry night we're going to have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes will blow a bit more cloud into northern irelan

so here is that fog again, you can see it across the midlands but it could in the south too but basically that fog will drift a bit further north into northern england and it will do that because the winds will be blowing out of the south, it should disperse some of that fog so there will be sunshine around eastern areas but you can't miss this in the west, this is our wet and windy weather sweeping into many western parts of the uk during the course of wednesday afternoon and wednesday night. low pressure, that here spells gusty winds as well around western coasts, we could see winds gusting to 16mph and these are warm southerlies as well, the orange colour blowing out of the southern climes and that can mean only one thing, temperatures will be rising so we are in for a very mild, wet day on thursday, almost anywhere, rain likely across the uk and the temperatures could get up to 13 or 1a degrees across the south—east of the country, really mild for the second half of december, and then double figures with the rain in scotland as well, and we keep those southerly winds through the cou

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands and wales much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a few showers on that keener breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coasts, and particularly later into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was, though, perhaps, through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it's going to be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. 0ur air beginning to come in from the atlantic. a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales. after a starry night, we're going to have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes blow a bit more cloud into northern ireland and particularly into s

however, for the southern half of wales, the south of the midlands, towards the london area, we'll have these heavy and persistent outbreaks of rain, and to the south of that, some heavy, possibly thundery, blustery showers. but mild still, 12 degrees there in plymouth. but across the south of england, the south of wales and the midlands, that afternoon rain will be falling on very wet ground. so there is the potential for some localised flooding and some poor travelling conditions as well. now, as we go through thursday night, this rain band drives its way northwards. behind it, some blustery showers, and then another batch of rain developing, across central and eastern parts of england particularly, as we get into friday morning. feeling a little bit fresher by this stage. we'll have lost that very mild southerly wind. in fact, the air starting to come in from more of a westerly direction, so not quite as mild as we go through friday. we will see some outbreaks of rain, particularly across the eastern half of england. elsewhere, it's essentially a day of sunny spells and showers, but

that may mean that the midlands and the north get a larger share of the bigger cake, that does not mean the south—east and london will get nothing in future. but a smaller share of that bigger cake. a zoo in the us got a special christmas present this year, when a critically endangered black rhino was born on christmas eve. the male calf arrived at the potter park zoo in michigan, to 12—year—old mother, doppsee. it is the first time a black rhino has been born there in the zoo's100 year history. they have yet to give the calf a name, but have said he is nursing well and the public will be able to see him in the new year. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. for most of us, you will be doing very well if you see any sunshine at all, over the next few days. we are looking at a cloudy spell of weather, and the cloud is low particularly across the west with fog patches, even a bit of drizzle as well. outbreaks of rain easing across scotland, for a time, but during this evening, we are looking at more wet weather moving in here. at the same time, it w

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands and wales much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a few showers on that keener breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coasts, and particularly later into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was, though, perhaps, through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it's going to be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. our air beginning to come in from the atlantic. a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales. after a starry night we're going to have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes blow a bit more cloud into northern ireland and particularly into sc

tuesday starts off grey, cloudy, and drizzly in the south, mist and murk across the midlands and parts of northern england, and still a little bit of winteryness left over from the night across scotland. four degrees in aberdeen, five in newcastle, eight or nine in the south, and east anglia and london probably staying quite cloudy and damp across the course of tuesday. tuesday night into wednesday we are actually in between weather systems, one moving away towards the east and this next big low pressure is dominating a huge chunk of the atlantic, that is going to be a real dominating part of our weather as we go through the course of the second half of the week. on wednesday, it starts off really foggy across parts of the midlands and northern england but then the winds will freshen and we start to see the arrival of this weather front with very strong winds, in fact winds around coast of south—western england, wales, a little bit further north, could be approaching 70 miles an hour. that is around the coast — inland windy enough, too. look what happens across the course of wednes

set to overhaul its public spending rules to give a financial boost to the north of england and the midlands, according to a report in the times newspaper. it says decisions about transport infrastructure and business investment would have greater focus on helping the north reduce the productivity gap with the south. some of those areas, of course, turned from labour to the tories in this month's general election. earlier, i spoke to henri murison, director of the northern powerhouse partnership. i think it is welcome. the green book is one of a series of linked issues, the government don't prepare enough major projects in the north historically. when andy burnham was a minister, he was given crossrail. no one had prepared anything of a similar impact and reach. what this will do is link to other areas of change to happen in the north so the creation for transport in the north and the metro mayors who will develop the scheme is needed in the north. this will avoid the transport methodology and the wider cost benefit appraisal causing issues in the system. there are lots of schemes which have

and that will tend to lift the mist and fog through the midlands and wales much more quickly. further north, a few patches may linger until the middle part of the day, at least. but generally it becomes dry and sunny. got a few showers on that keener breeze across the north of scotland, down those north sea coasts, and particularly later into kent. these are the temperatures for the first day of december. similar to what we had on saturday. not quite as chilly as it was, though, perhaps, through the midlands with more sunshine here as there will be in the south—west of england where it's going to be dry. high pressure, cold air continues overnight as we head into monday. but signs of change into the north—west. 0ur air beginning to come in from the atlantic. a patchy frost for scotland and northern ireland on monday morning it won't be as cold, with the frost more widely for england and wales. after a starry night we're going to have plenty of sunshine on monday and lighter winds. south—westerly breezes blow a bit more cloud into northern ireland and particularly into sc