0:00:01 > 0:00:06Now on BBC News, Dateline London.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Hello, welcome to Dateline London.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31This week: a sacking in Washington, a timely election leak in the UK,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and Donald Trump's visits to the Middle East and the Vatican.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Debating all of that are Stephanie Baker,
0:00:36 > 0:00:38from the international news agency Bloomberg News,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Janet Daley, political columnist with Britain's Sunday Telegraph
0:00:40 > 0:00:42newspaper, Jonathan Sacredoti from i-24 News, an Israeli
0:00:42 > 0:00:44international news channel and Mustapha Karkouti
0:00:44 > 0:00:49from the Dubai-based newspaper, Gulf News.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Donald Trump sacked plenty of would-be business moguls
0:00:51 > 0:00:53on the reality TV series "The Apprentice", barking "you're
0:00:53 > 0:00:57fired" to their face.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01James Comey received his dismissal as Director of the FBI in a note.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Getting rid of TV contestants doesn't have many consequences;
0:01:03 > 0:01:06sacking the head of the country's key crime fighting agency when he's
0:01:06 > 0:01:15investigating those around you, well that's proving harder to forget.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17What was he thinking?
0:01:17 > 0:01:18He did not handle this well.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20He is not good at firing people.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21The messaging was incredibly messy.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25He tried it out and then various Trump surrogates argued that this
0:01:25 > 0:01:27was prompted by a memo from the Deputy Attorney General
0:01:27 > 0:01:30calling on his dismissal because of the handling
0:01:30 > 0:01:31of the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation.
0:01:31 > 0:01:41No one was buying that because Trump had praised his handling of that
0:01:41 > 0:01:45repeatedly as had Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Then Trump contradicted his own staff, and said that he had been
0:01:49 > 0:01:54planning on firing him anyway and he was thinking about the Russia
0:01:54 > 0:01:57investigation when he decided to do it and actually the trigger had been
0:01:58 > 0:01:59watching James Comey testify last Wednesday,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03where he said that the notion of his intervention in the election
0:02:03 > 0:02:05to tilt it towards Trump was absurd.
0:02:05 > 0:02:13That enraged Trump.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15The interesting and controversial thing is the involvement of Jeff
0:02:15 > 0:02:22Sessions.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26He excused himself from the Russia investigation because he was a key
0:02:26 > 0:02:36figure in the Trump campaign and his involvement in the firing
0:02:36 > 0:02:39of Comey has raised a lot of questions and criticism from
0:02:39 > 0:02:45Congress.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49He got flack for saying he had met the Russian ambassador but had
0:02:49 > 0:02:50not mentioned it.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Exactly.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Lastly, Trump dug himself into a bigger problem with a veiled
0:02:55 > 0:02:58threat to James Comey that he might not leak
0:02:58 > 0:02:59because there might be tapes.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05That has set up a whole round of speculation about what kind
0:03:05 > 0:03:08of taping system he has, could the comparisons with Nixon get
0:03:08 > 0:03:16any more stark?
0:03:16 > 0:03:19You have top Democrats in Congress calling on him to release whatever
0:03:19 > 0:03:22tapes he may have.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I think that this is getting very troubling and I think,
0:03:25 > 0:03:39his credibility is under question.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42He has appeared to calm down a little bit in Washington.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45It looked like the administration was getting into a rhythm
0:03:45 > 0:03:51of working.
0:03:51 > 0:03:59It is not just the inconsistencies and contradictions, inexperienced
0:03:59 > 0:04:01White House administrators do often screw up and contradict themselves,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05but it is the shamelessness of it, it is the preposterous
0:04:05 > 0:04:12arrogance of it.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15He contradicted his own earlier account of why he had sacked him
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and turned it on its head and he did not seem
0:04:18 > 0:04:24the slightest bit embarrassed.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27What is this bravura, narcissism, how can that possibly be credible
0:04:27 > 0:04:30in a President?
0:04:30 > 0:04:34I am old enough to remember Nixon and Watergate and there was at least
0:04:34 > 0:04:37a degree of shame and embarrassment and culpability and when those tapes
0:04:37 > 0:04:40were released, the Watergate tapes, and he was caught red handed having
0:04:41 > 0:04:43plotted the Watergate burglary and what was most shocking,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46to the American public was the language that he used.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Everybody discovered that he spoke in the most obscene stream of four
0:04:49 > 0:04:55letter words to his aides, they talked like gangsters,
0:04:55 > 0:05:02now Trump talks like this in television interviews!
0:05:02 > 0:05:10There is something very peculiar that has happened to the American
0:05:10 > 0:05:11political consciousness, for this even to be
0:05:11 > 0:05:21not instantly impeachable.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25It gets to the whole issue of Nixon who went to great lengths to deny
0:05:25 > 0:05:28that there were any tapes and now we have Trump advertising
0:05:28 > 0:05:29that he has them.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Perhaps making it up.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I think what is interesting about this is that we are dealing
0:05:34 > 0:05:36with a President who plays by different rules,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38they are the rules of entertainment and television.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41He seems well versed in those in ways that other politicians
0:05:41 > 0:05:47are catching up on and while the media are on the whole
0:05:47 > 0:05:50condemning him for these sorts of behaviours and absurd things
0:05:50 > 0:05:54he is saying, it seems at odds of the way that the President
0:05:54 > 0:06:02is speaking.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03He is hiding the real issues.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The issues that he does not want discussed, like the investigation
0:06:06 > 0:06:09into the alleged collusion with Russia is not what we have
0:06:10 > 0:06:16discussed before.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20I would also say that like him or not, we need to say there is very
0:06:20 > 0:06:23little concrete evidence that that has happened and President Obama
0:06:23 > 0:06:26was also caught in 2012 saying that he wanted a bit more time
0:06:26 > 0:06:28to get through his next election...
0:06:28 > 0:06:30These are not things that politicians have not done
0:06:30 > 0:06:31in the past.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33He is the master of distracting from them.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36The word collusion is a very strong word, which implies
0:06:36 > 0:06:38there was conscious conspiracy with a foreign power,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41and an unfriendly foreign power, that is tantamount to treason.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43The idea that you have to prove collusion makes
0:06:43 > 0:06:45the case really hard.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48You think the standard should be lower?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Yes.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I do not think collusion is the right word.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56I was in Washington, DC and I was talking to officials.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58The main worry is about democracy, what is happening,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01what is the impact, what will that leave of democracy itself?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Their main worry, is that society itself, it cannot guarantee to stop
0:07:05 > 0:07:23that impact in a way.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24He is very dangerous.
0:07:24 > 0:07:31They are really scared and frightened by him.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33This is really testing US institutions.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I think he is democratically elected as President even if people around
0:07:36 > 0:07:40this table do not like him and he is following procedures,
0:07:40 > 0:07:42other people have been fired in the same role.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44He was accused of filling his expenses.
0:07:44 > 0:07:54He went for a process that as President and he is somebody,
0:07:54 > 0:08:06Comey is someone that the Democrats wanted to have fired.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09They have looked awkward because they have gone from saying
0:08:09 > 0:08:11that this man was responsible through the election,
0:08:11 > 0:08:18one Democrat told me that James Comey is a bit of a Boy Scout.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20It is difficult for the Democrats to agree.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23They have said unfortunate things about him in the past.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25In a sense, you could read, their interpretation of this
0:08:26 > 0:08:27as having considerable integrity.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Even though they have got a grudge against him and they have grounds
0:08:30 > 0:08:33for objecting to him, they do not like the way this
0:08:33 > 0:08:40has been done.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42That is a legitimate thing to say.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The issue is the timing, why is he doing it now?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48If it was about Hillary Clinton, why was it not done the day
0:08:48 > 0:08:49after the inauguration?
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Comey was about to ask for more resources to pursue
0:08:52 > 0:08:53the Russian connection.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55After the week he's had, President Trump may be mightily
0:08:56 > 0:08:57relieved to get out of Washington.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00This is something much bigger and has much bigger consequences.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I wonder if people are viewing this as a serious attempt to move
0:09:03 > 0:09:06the process forward in terms of the Israeli and the Palestinians
0:09:06 > 0:09:14or whether it is just a bit of international diplomatic theatre.
0:09:14 > 0:09:24It is extremely serious.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29That is what I hear and also from the Americans themselves.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33At the same time, being in that shaky position, I don't know how
0:09:33 > 0:09:35much that will impact on his international
0:09:35 > 0:09:42activities and policy.
0:09:42 > 0:09:49He is very serious, he has been talking to the Palestinian President
0:09:49 > 0:09:55and his people are saying that he is very optimistic,
0:09:55 > 0:10:01apparently he did tell Abbas that he was serious
0:10:01 > 0:10:12about the question of pressing Binjamin Netanyahu to come forward
0:10:12 > 0:10:17and sort this out, because at the end of the day,
0:10:17 > 0:10:27there is an agreement, there is an agreement
0:10:27 > 0:10:30between the two sides on the agreement, but the Israelis
0:10:30 > 0:10:31are hesitating in moving there.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Just on the question of the Israeli position,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Binjamin Netanyahu has been the dominant player in Israeli
0:10:37 > 0:10:41politics for well over a decade but he is still only the head
0:10:41 > 0:10:43of a Coalition government partly because the electoral system
0:10:43 > 0:10:45in Israel, is...
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Is he in a strong enough position to take some kind of initiative?
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Historically, it has been right wing Israeli ministers who have managed
0:10:52 > 0:10:54to make peace deals with Arab neighbours and I think
0:10:54 > 0:10:59there is plenty of optimism around and I think Donald Trump really puts
0:10:59 > 0:11:12forward a new window of opportunity for both sides.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16It seems that both leaders have visited him in DC and both have come
0:11:16 > 0:11:20out of that surprisingly saying that they got on very well with him,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23including Abbas who said that there seems to be some area
0:11:23 > 0:11:25for development and that is surprising because everyone assumes
0:11:25 > 0:11:28that Donald Trump would be firmly on the side of Israel.
0:11:28 > 0:11:36What Donald Trump has to do now is what we have been discussing
0:11:36 > 0:11:41before, turn this from being a show and being all about him,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44this is the man who prides himself on making deals,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47this is the ultimate deal and turn it into concrete action.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50He did the first step by making both sides like him,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54something that Barack Obama failed to do, he put a lot of pressure
0:11:54 > 0:11:57on Israel asking for preconditions that the Palestinians had asked for,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02including onset of building...
0:12:02 > 0:12:04If anything, it emboldened the extremists on the Palestinian
0:12:04 > 0:12:10side.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Trump has managed in 100 days to get both sides to be favourable
0:12:13 > 0:12:16towards him and perhaps to consider new negotiations.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19The issue has always been that talks had been hobbled by preconditions,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22are there going to be preconditions, because we have been here before
0:12:22 > 0:12:23so many times?
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Preconditions are really used in order not to take action,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29it is a tactful thing and it is really ridiculous
0:12:29 > 0:12:31in a way, because the whole plan is quite clear,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35there was Oslo about 20 years ago, both sides agreed and sat together
0:12:35 > 0:12:38and agreed on peace plans, there were other meetings following that.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44It is the right wing government in Israel which is really putting
0:12:44 > 0:12:49these obstacles, the settlement question is very serious.
0:12:49 > 0:12:56There is an argument...
0:12:56 > 0:12:58The Palestinian authority is paying the murders of people
0:12:58 > 0:13:02like the British student who was stabbed.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Soldiers who engaged in warfare.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06People who stab Christian British students are not necessarily
0:13:06 > 0:13:12peacemakers.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15It is not so little for the families who lost people
0:13:15 > 0:13:19in terrorist attacks.
0:13:19 > 0:13:29Not little for the Palestinians who lost people in military action.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34They are wrongly used to create obstacles in front of peace.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37If you remember the press conference that he gave,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41it was quite absurd in the sense that he was saying, you guys sort it
0:13:41 > 0:13:44out between yourself and whatever you agree on will be all right
0:13:44 > 0:13:47with me and I will sit here and do...
0:13:47 > 0:13:52Whatever.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55It just shows the most appalling ignorance of the difficulties
0:13:55 > 0:13:56and the complexities of the situation.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58I don't think he has a clue.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01He is not the points man, his son-in-law is.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03The reason that both sides may be feeling optimistic
0:14:03 > 0:14:06is because they think there is a vacuum in the White House
0:14:06 > 0:14:10and if they both played their cards cleverly enough they might be
0:14:10 > 0:14:14able to get...
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Isn't that what both sides really needed?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Even though his method of saying it is absurd,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21what he is actually saying is he will not impose things
0:14:21 > 0:14:24from outside, he wants to facilitate, he has a ridiculous
0:14:24 > 0:14:37way of saying things...
0:14:37 > 0:14:41What he said was, you figure out a deal that satisfies both of you,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43there is no deal that satisfies both of them,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46that is the whole point and someone has to arbitrate
0:14:46 > 0:14:49and if he is saying, I am not interested in arbitration...
0:14:49 > 0:14:53I think he is keen to arbitrate but he is saying he will not impose
0:14:53 > 0:14:55preconditions and vote for unilateral moves at the UN.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59I suspect that what we are dealing with is a President and we do not
0:14:59 > 0:15:01understand how to read his surface appearance.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02I am hoping.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Maybe that is all there is!
0:15:07 > 0:15:14I was in Washington, the Americans are worried
0:15:14 > 0:15:16about the whole situation, because the entire region
0:15:16 > 0:15:18is in turmoil and it is flaring up.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21This might transpire to the Palestine and Israel situation.
0:15:21 > 0:15:30Imagine if that happened there, what is going to happen?
0:15:30 > 0:15:34He is going first to Saudi Arabia which is an interesting first trip?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37The first trip of a US President is loaded with symbolism.
0:15:37 > 0:15:49Going to Saudi Arabia, he is expected to get a warm
0:15:49 > 0:15:51welcome, ironically, despite him pursuing this Muslim
0:15:51 > 0:15:53ban, Saudi Arabia escaped that ban.
0:15:53 > 0:16:04I think leaders in Saudi Arabia who are keen to reset relations,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and were disheartened by the pursuit by Barack Obama of the Iran nuclear
0:16:07 > 0:16:10deal, we reported this week that actually the Saudi Arabians
0:16:10 > 0:16:13are prepared to invest in US infrastructure and that could be
0:16:13 > 0:16:17unveiled at the same time.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20You could sell it as a domestic thing.
0:16:20 > 0:16:20Exactly.
0:16:20 > 0:16:44Making America great again.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47The fact that he is warmly regarded in Saudi Arabia could change
0:16:47 > 0:16:49the balance of power.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52I do think largely speaking he is going on to the Vatican
0:16:52 > 0:16:54where ironically he might perceive the roughest reception.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Oh, to be a fly on the wall!
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Pope Francis has criticised him, his immigration policies and then
0:16:59 > 0:17:02he goes on to the G-7 where we heard finance ministers expressing concern
0:17:02 > 0:17:05about the threat that his policies pose to multilateral trade
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and the possibility that his moves could harm global growth.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11In addition to the economic aspect, don't forget Iran is going
0:17:11 > 0:17:12to be the main...
0:17:12 > 0:17:15He is building a Coalition that can deal with Iran and Isis
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and for the first time those three are in relatively good terms
0:17:19 > 0:17:22with each other and with America, something which you might not like,
0:17:22 > 0:17:23but it is not gratuitous.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26It could be a moment that needs to be seized.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29It's less than a month now until Britain goes to the polls.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31The oppposition Labour Party had its manifesto leaked,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35whilst in a joint TV appearance, Prime Minister May and her husband
0:17:35 > 0:17:37lifted the - bin - lid on their marriage.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Last time, the pundits predicted a hung parliament and got
0:17:40 > 0:17:40a Tory majority.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43This time, the talk is of a landslide.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Janet, you and I were sitting next to each other only two years ago,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50when you were proud to have been pretty much the only person
0:17:50 > 0:17:54who predicted that the Tories were going to win and that it was not
0:17:54 > 0:18:03going to be a hung Parliament.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04Will you make a prediction?
0:18:04 > 0:18:07Absolutely.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Everyone will make the same prediction, so I will not be unique.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14I had not met anyone who said they would vote for Ed Miliband
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and that is why I made that prediction and I have met less
0:18:18 > 0:18:23people who said they would vote for Jeremy Corbyn.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Considering that it is a foregone conclusion, this election,
0:18:25 > 0:18:26it is surprisingly not boring.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Partly because the Labour thing is such a Marx Brothers production,
0:18:30 > 0:18:32it has become so shambolic, so for pure entertainment value,
0:18:32 > 0:18:33it keeps you riveted.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Everyone is also speculating about what happens after,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38what happens to Labour and the Tories afterwards,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41what does Theresa May really believe in terms of political principles.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44If she is actually a Tory or is she trying to occupy
0:18:44 > 0:18:46the centre-left left empty by Tony Blair.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49The big question, will Jeremy Corbyn stay on as leader?
0:18:49 > 0:18:52It looks now as if he is intending to and there is a lot
0:18:52 > 0:18:55of subterranean gossip about the leak of the manifesto,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58was that intended to undermine him or was it intended to rally
0:18:58 > 0:19:02the militant faithful to make sure he is allowed to stay on afterwards?
0:19:02 > 0:19:05What will happen to that space that used to be occupied by soft left
0:19:05 > 0:19:07opposition in this country?
0:19:07 > 0:19:15That is the most serious question.
0:19:15 > 0:19:24How are you describing this election if you are touching it
0:19:24 > 0:19:32at all to your readers?
0:19:32 > 0:19:39It is very difficult, in a way, extremely difficult,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42because the way we see it happening, the election system here,
0:19:42 > 0:19:49based on constituency, in a way, is not presidential.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Jeremy Corbyn may have a better chance if that was a presidential
0:19:53 > 0:20:02system, because of his populism policies and all of that,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04but we see it as extremely difficult for Labour
0:20:04 > 0:20:22to increase their seats in Parliament.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25They may lose a lot more this time around.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It is totally difficult to explain to our readers this
0:20:28 > 0:20:28situation in Britain.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31There is no leadership of quality on both sides,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34I must say, not only on Labour, the Conservative leadership
0:20:34 > 0:20:35is not that impressive.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36It is not high-quality.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38I think that is very unfair on Theresa May,
0:20:38 > 0:20:42she has played a blinder, she has managed to unite a party
0:20:42 > 0:20:43that has always been divided over Europe.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Is that temporary?
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Look how well she is doing, compared with other leaders and then
0:20:50 > 0:20:53we look at Jeremy Corbyn who on the other hand has been
0:20:53 > 0:20:56trying desperately to appeal to voters at the far left
0:20:56 > 0:20:58and the middle ground, offering things like extra bank
0:20:58 > 0:21:01holidays and free tuition, it is a miracle he has not offered
0:21:01 > 0:21:03everyone a free puppy or a unicorn.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Then he said he was not a pacifist, we knew that, he has had no problem
0:21:07 > 0:21:10with the IRA or organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah
0:21:10 > 0:21:11who specialise in killing civilians.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14He would say that they were in situations they were forced
0:21:14 > 0:21:19into where they had no choice.
0:21:20 > 0:21:21He is certainly no pacifist.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24He is not saying now that he would necessarily accept those situations
0:21:24 > 0:21:29in current circumstances.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32He said he would invite Hamas and Hezbollah for tea.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34When someone was not leader of the party,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36that is when we see their true colours.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Are we seeing enough of Theresa May, what does this leadership means?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43She's talks about strong and stable leadership but that is almost
0:21:43 > 0:21:44all we have got so far.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Has she done very well for a Remainer?
0:21:46 > 0:21:50She is now coming out as Mrs Brexit, people are accusing her of wanting
0:21:50 > 0:21:53some sort of extreme Brexit, I would dispute this distinction
0:21:53 > 0:21:54between the two.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57It is such a false dichotomy and I think Theresa May
0:21:57 > 0:21:58is proving fairly consistent.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01She has been reliable and perhaps a little bit boring for her whole
0:22:01 > 0:22:07career, she is the first prime minister who has not tried to play
0:22:07 > 0:22:10it cool and she is continuing with the vicar's daughter act,
0:22:11 > 0:22:16I think it is not an act, that is the point.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17I think it is really her.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21We have this manifesto leak and we might have expected more
0:22:21 > 0:22:23hostility to it than we actually got, has something changed
0:22:23 > 0:22:25in the political mood, when renationalising the railways
0:22:25 > 0:22:27and restricting energy competition is something that even
0:22:28 > 0:22:33the Prime Minister wants to do.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37I think most people wrote off that leak of the manifesto as of no
0:22:37 > 0:22:48consequence because he has no chance of winning.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50In a sense, the policies do not matter.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54That is part of the reason why I find this to be one of the most
0:22:54 > 0:22:56boring elections I have witnessed in this country.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59At the same time, one of the most important,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01I think, in decades, because of the impact
0:23:01 > 0:23:06on the country long term.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08With the terms of Brexit being negotiated.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11She has called the election just as Britain is teetering on the brink
0:23:12 > 0:23:15of an economic slowdown, we do not know how severe it
0:23:15 > 0:23:17could be, why the Eurozone is just taking off.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21In that sense, this is the shrewd politics, get it out of the way
0:23:21 > 0:23:23before things get messy.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Absolutely and it is shrewd of her to have pushed ahead
0:23:26 > 0:23:27with it now.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I do wonder...
0:23:30 > 0:23:34The reason why it is boring, it just confirmed the status quo
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and it is a question of how big a majority she will get.
0:23:38 > 0:23:45I wonder if she will get as big a majority as people are expecting
0:23:45 > 0:23:47because the expectations are that it is a slam dunk
0:23:47 > 0:23:51for the Tories, why even bother voting and there is a certain degree
0:23:51 > 0:23:54of weariness with elections that we have had the 2015 general
0:23:54 > 0:23:57election, 2016 referendum and that the turnout could be very
0:23:57 > 0:24:02difficult to predict.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I would be inclined to agree under other circumstances
0:24:04 > 0:24:07but the referendum politicised the country in a peculiar
0:24:07 > 0:24:10sort of way.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12People are politically hyperactive and they are not bored
0:24:12 > 0:24:15with this, actually.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18They might be bored with this particular election debate
0:24:18 > 0:24:21but they are not bored with the idea of who might lead
0:24:21 > 0:24:29the Brexit negotiations.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33That is a matter that many people regard as a matter of life and death
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and the idea that there could be any remote chance that they could be let
0:24:37 > 0:24:40into the Brexit negotiations by Jeremy Corbyn, I think that
0:24:40 > 0:24:41will galvanise them.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44This is an extremely exciting political moment for British people,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47for the first time in at least one generation they had been given
0:24:47 > 0:24:50a direct say in the future of the country, the constitutional
0:24:50 > 0:24:54direction it will take and they know that they will need a leader who's
0:24:54 > 0:24:56going to carry them through that.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58It is incredibly risky and that is why many people
0:24:58 > 0:25:00who did not like the EU voted remain.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03On that argument, they have that lead already, she was there
0:25:03 > 0:25:05and they could have won.
0:25:05 > 0:25:13She said she was planning that.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16I am worried a little bit, we should not ignore
0:25:16 > 0:25:18the younger generation.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22I have three children and they all think differently.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24And they are pro-Jeremy Corbyn.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27They actually go out and vote?
0:25:27 > 0:25:30They will, no doubt, I will myself.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34These are three kids, they represent, I think,
0:25:34 > 0:25:39a good part of the society itself.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44That is an interesting change in the way voters vote,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46the breakdown of the traditional alliances.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Instead of having class as the defining characteristic
0:25:49 > 0:25:55of who votes for which party, it is now generations.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59I was at Cambridge the other week and I will not say which college
0:25:59 > 0:26:03and I was talking to a considerable number of students and almost
0:26:03 > 0:26:06to a man they were saying they voted to support Jeremy Corbyn
0:26:07 > 0:26:09in the leadership contest and they were ruing the day
0:26:09 > 0:26:11and they regretted it.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14We will all know the outcome in just under one month.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Thank you all very much for being with us.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20That's it for Dateline London for this week -
0:26:20 > 0:26:22we're back next week at the same time.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25You can of course comment on the programme on Twitter
0:26:25 > 0:26:29@bbcshaunley.
0:26:29 > 0:26:35Goodbye.