floods hit brazil with waters continuing to rise. # love is all we need and madonna has staged her biggest ever concert to an audience of more than a million fans on copacabana beach in rio. hello. we start with the fallout from local elections in england. suella braverman has told the bbc the conservatives will be lucky to have any mps left at the next general election if rishi sunak doesn't change course. the tories are reeling after one of their worst performances in local elections in decades. labour is celebrating a key win in the west midlands mayoral race after its candidate, richard parker, narrowly beat the conservative�*s andy street,

who had served two terms in the role. the labour mayor of london, sadiq khan, was re—elected for a historic third term. overall, the conservatives lost hundreds of councillors in the local elections in england. this morning, the transport secretary mark harper said while the results were disappointing. the general election was still �*all to play for�*. let's speak to our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan, who is in birmingham. that is where the west midlands mayoral result was announced yesterday. she has been there getting reaction. it was already a difficult few days after thursday's local elections for the conservative party but i think many pin hopes on the west midlands mayoral contest that declared in birmingham late last night, about nine o'clock. that is because it was

a close race, but the conservatives hoped their incumbent mayor andy street would hold on for another term but in the end, it was the labour candidate who is now the mayor, richard parker, who won by a squeak, by about 1500 votes. some of the regions ended up going to a recount, in coventry they recounted because it was so close. i think that capped off a dire weekend of results for the conservatives. we had a statement from the prime minister. he said the results are disappointing and said it was disappointing and said it was disappointing to lose dedicated conservative councillors as well as andy street in the west midlands. said they would work as hard as ever. he said all of the results have redoubled his resolve to make progress on his plan. but it is clear there are many in the conservative party who do not think that plan is working and as we head to a general election likely later

this year, something needs to change. suella braverman spoke to my colleague earlier. she was pretty damning. at this rate, we will be lucky to have any conservative mps at the next election. and we need to fight and i'm not willing to give up. it does me no favours to come here and say it how it is and to set out the difficult situation that we are in, but i owe that honesty to my colleagues, i owe that to you and the british people who are crying out for a conservative party to vote for. i think the thing that tipped a bad weekend into an awful one for the conservatives was the result in birmingham. iwas conservatives was the result in birmingham. i was at the count yesterday as the results came in. throughout the day, speaking to labour and conservative sources, they said it would be on a knife edge, and that it was going to be

incredibly close. 0ne edge, and that it was going to be incredibly close. one thing interesting throughout the campaign, the incumbent former mayor andy street almost distance himself from the national party. he was already an anti—politician, the former head ofjohn lewis. he was well—known locally. he hoped to ride on his personal popularity and brand, brand andy as he called it, to try to win again. but in the end of the labour machine rolled over him, even though it was a close margin. i am in the bbc in the west midlands and saw the new mayor richard parker who said he had signed the documents, already officially the mayor and looking forward to getting on with the job. shortly after the results were announced in birmingham, i got the first interview with him. we can listen to a little bit about his plans. we had a policy platform and a set of priorities that address the needs of working people in the west midlands. we had a policy platform and a set

of priorities that address the needs of working people in the west midlands. our focus was how can we help those communities that have been suffering so badly from a cost—of—living crisis, from a lack of access to housing? and too many people can't get to high streets, to work, to college, because of the failures in the public transport system. so we had a policy programme that i think reached out and meant more to more people in this region than the conservative candidate. so i think we've got a great platform for victory in the next general election. the results over the last few days have demonstrated that. but there is some work to do with our muslim community and some of our inner—city communities. and i think we need to work on that and if we do that, i think we can deliver the general election result we want and also start to build the relationship with and the trust back with our very important muslim community. what he told me in that interview was he conceded the labour party needed to do more to try to engage with voters who felt disillusioned with voters who felt disillusioned with the party's policy on gaza at the start of the war there were a

number of people, even frontbenchers who quit the frontbenchers over sir keir starmer�*s refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire. the labour policy has since changed. i spoke to jess phillips. she said she believed the party had suffered in terms of losing some core voters, particularly muslim communities, because of the policy on gaza. in the mayoral race you had an independent candidate who campaigned solely on the platform of gaza. who won in the birmingham constituency area, there are seven districts. in birmingham, that candidate won and astounding amount for a candidate relatively unknown. some likejess phillips think labour could have won by a greater margin had they engaged voters on that issue and i put that to richard parker in the interview

and he said he conceded the party needed to do work when it comes to that. of course, that means with andy street no longer mayor, the end of someone who was a well—known and quite popular mayor, who served the area for two terms. i asked andy street how he felt about the loss yesterday. particularly when it came to the party because during the campaign he had distanced himself from the national party. you can see the conservative name on most of the literature, even the colours were not conservative blue on his leaflets. in the end, he was conciliatory and conceded in this interview it was down to him. he had to take the hit for what went wrong. we did not persuade enough people to be confident- in what i had done and, _ of course, have confidence, as well, in what the plan was for the future. and i can't look for anything more complicated than that. _ ultimately, we didn't persuade

enough people to go out - and put their cross in the right box on thursday, and i'm not - going to be slopey—shouldered about it in any way. _ it's my campaign. i did it my way and, ultimately, it didn't quite cut through. - no sloping shoulders from andy street. i think there was a point yesterday when it was neck and neck and we wondered who would be visiting once the result came in, rishi sunak, of course the conservatives had a win in tees valley. again some were thinking that the model in tees valley could be replicated here. a locally known mayor, someone who almost distanced himself from the party and is seen as their own person and could andy street win. it did not happen here. that meant a huge celebration for the labour party. it was around nine o'clock when we saw a lot of members of the labour party take to the floor in front of the stage. you could see some hugging, some visibly

moved. some tears, as well. even though the party through a lot at this mayoral race and keir starmer had said they thought they could do it, nobody really knew who would win. it was that close. suddenly we found out through the course of the evening that keir starmer had turned up evening that keir starmer had turned up in birmingham. he came in person to congratulate the new mayor richard parker and also set out his party's plan for the months ahead. the tories felt that they were entitled to victory here, that they could use andy street as some sort of crutch for rishi sunak's weak leadership, that they did not have to be in touch with the priorities of the people. we ran a completely different campaign. we were grounded in the priorities of the people that we now represent in the west midlands. we showed that our values are their values and we humbly ask them to put their trust and confidence in a changed labour party, and they did.

ajubilant a jubilant keir starmer following a weekend of good local election and mayoral results. we can now discuss this. joining me isjoe twyman. what is your reaction to events overnight in the west midlands? in many ways it was like the culmination of a three—day test match, a one—sided cricket match. 0ne match, a one—sided cricket match. one side dominant throughout the three—day period. 0ccasionally, another side have flourishes that meant it got people excited and made it look perhaps it would not be as bad as some expected. but in the end, it probably was. the results were very poor for the conservatives, if not quite as poor

as the most negative naysayers might have expected. similarly, for labour, the results were good, a dominant performance, but perhaps not quite as good as their most positive supporters might have hoped for. a clear picture that really was backing up what we have seen in the national polling notjust in the last few months but last few years. you used to the cricket analogy. i will stay with it. there was talk in recent weeks that if the conservatives did not get a good showing in the elections, they might have to change their captain. suella braverman this morning ruled that out saying she would not call for rishi sunak to move on and he will likely be the leader they go into the general election with. when you look at polling, is there any polling on different leaders and would a new leader in the party

change their fortunes would a new leader in the party change theirfortunes in would a new leader in the party change their fortunes in terms of the polls? change their fortunes in terms of the olls? , ,., ,., ., the polls? there is bad polling out there and here _ the polls? there is bad polling out there and here is _ the polls? there is bad polling out there and here is a _ the polls? there is bad polling out there and here is a surprise - the polls? there is bad polling out there and here is a surprise that l there and here is a surprise that says if someone were leading the conservatives that gave you everything you want would you want to support them? in that hypothetical situation people say they would support a new leader. but is there evidence in the polling a new leader would make a difference? there is not. not at this stage. there is not. not at this stage. there is no evidence that would be the case and also, i do not think there is anyone coming forward who would particularly want to be the leader at this stage. there are people i am sure would accept it if forced upon them. but if you have ambitions to lead the conservative party longer term, ambitions to lead the conservative party longerterm, i ambitions to lead the conservative party longer term, i do not think you want to take over now, given how close we are to an election. and the leaders available, they pretty much would not be able to do anything

different from rishi sunak apart from statements on things. they would be unlikely to cut through. you might expect a three, four, five point bounce in the polls but for that to last is questionable and evenif that to last is questionable and even if it did it is nowhere near enough to change the overall result in the general election as things stand. . r' in the general election as things stand. ., ., stand. let me ask about something i mentioned earlier. _ stand. let me ask about something i mentioned earlier. jess _ stand. let me ask about something i mentioned earlier. jess phillips, - mentioned earlier. jess phillips, labour mp, telling me that she felt her party lost key voters in the recent elections because of keir starmer�*s initial policy and the way he handled the labour response to the conflict in gaza. do you agree with that sentiment? even richard parker said the party needed to work to attract voters they may have lost over this. to attract voters they may have lost overthis. do to attract voters they may have lost over this. do you agree it could be a factor perhaps when it comes to marginal seats when we come to the

general election? that marginal seats when we come to the general election?— general election? that is where thins aet general election? that is where things get complicated. - general election? that is where things get complicated. do - general election? that is where things get complicated. do i - general election? that is where i things get complicated. do i think there is evidence it had an impact in local elections? yes, i do. do i think it will impact the general election, things get more complicated. the first point is the birmingham muslim community is a varied group, british muslim community do not all think and behave the same way. but it is worth keeping in mind areas where there are large proportions of british muslims. they tend to vote labour strongly. jess phillips�* constituency has a large muslim population and she won with twice as many votes as the next person in the contest. if a proportion of people abandoned labour at the general election whenever that may be, it is likely the constituency would stay with labour. the margin of their victory might be reduced but the number of seats in which that had an

impact would be small. also there is the fact people vote differently at local elections than general elections. people might be more willing to vote in protest at what they see as the situation in gaza as it stands. but come the general election, they might think about national issues and the incoming government instead. it is worth pointing out that there is not a general election now and might not be until november, perhaps january. by be until november, perhaps january. by then the situation in gaza and with british parties of all colours responding to that situation may have changed. admittedly, it might�*ve got worse but it might get better. eitherway might�*ve got worse but it might get better. either way it is likely to have changed. the party position at the moment may not affect where things are then. worth keeping in mind when we have polled the british people on attitudes to the situation in gaza, what we see time and again

is sympathy for the palestinian people and sympathy for the israeli people. it is not an either or contest. the majority of people, whatever their background, want an end to violence, release of hostages, a peaceful settlement and long—term peace in the region. i do not think the major parties in this country would thank you. i not think the major parties in this country would thank you.- not think the major parties in this country would thank you. i think the overall takeaway _ country would thank you. i think the overall takeaway is _ country would thank you. i think the overall takeaway is that _ country would thank you. i think the overall takeaway is that it _ country would thank you. i think the overall takeaway is that it was - country would thank you. i think the overall takeaway is that it was a - overall takeaway is that it was a dire weekend for the conservative party and particularly what happened last night in the west midlands did cement that weekend and highlight successes the labour party had in the recent wave of elections. but anything can change when it comes to the general election. we have more on the bbc news

website. you heard them talking about the middle east conflict. efforts to secure a ceasefire in gaza and the release of israeli hostages are due to resume in cairo later today, after lengthy negotiations on saturday failed to yield any breakthrough. the bbc gaza correspondent says the one outstanding issue remains the duration of any truce, with hamas saying it would not accept any deal that did not explicitly include an end to the war in gaza. however, in an interview with the bbc, an israeli minister said that even is all the hostages were released they would not end the war and gaza and the operation on rafah would still go ahead. we�*ll play you that in a minute, but first, these images are of rafah, where the israeli air strikes continue. gaza�*s heatlh authority says more than 30 people have been killed there in the last 2a hours alone.

israel, renewed calls for a hostage deal. hundreds gathering in the city. and others gathering to urge the israeli government to make a deal. well let�*s bring you that interview with israel�*s minister for diaspora affairs and combating anti—semitism. i began by asking him for an update from the israel�*s government�*s point of view on the talks in cairo. so the terror organisation of hamas is thinking — it thinks that it can force the state of israel to stop the war or to escape from an operation in rafah to eliminate the five or four battalions that remain for the terror army of hamas. that�*s not going to happen. we said clearly that we are going to eliminate hamas, and that�*s our obligation for the victims of october 7th and for the future generations

of the citizens of israel, especially the residents of the region of western negev next to gaza. so are you saying even if all of the hostages were released, your operation in rafah would still go ahead? these are two separate issues. we have full commitment to do everything we can to bring back the hostages. this is our moral obligation. these people were abducted by hamas terrorists, and we will do everything to bring them back. but on the same time, we cannot allow a situation that we have a military threat from a terror organisation from gaza strip whatsoever. so are you saying that israel won�*t send a delegation to these talks in cairo unless hamas give up all of the things that they�*re saying they want?

if the expectations of the terror organisation hamas is that we will stop the war, it�*s not relevant to negotiate. if hamas thinks that there will be no operation in rafah, it�*s not relevant. there is nothing to negotiate. on that operation in rafah, the us secretary of state, antony blinken, said over the weekend that you, as israel, had not yet presented a plan to protect civilians in rafah if that operation goes ahead. are you going to present that plan to the americans? as far as i know, a sovereign state doesn�*t need to approve a military operation with other foreign ministers of foreign affairs. so the standards of the idf in regard to the humanitarian aid is the highest among western armies,

and we have a humanitarian programme for evacuating the people of rafah. obviously, the people currently in rafah will be able to move to the centre of gaza, to other locations. and when we finish with the evacuation of the population in rafah, the operation will begin. and on the humanitarian situation in gaza as a whole, i wondered if i could get your reaction to the comments that we�*ve had from cindy mccain, the head of the un food programme. she�*s saying that parts of northern gaza now experiencing full—blown famine. first of all, there is a free access for civilians to move from northern gaza to the southern part of gaza. so people can move. second, in april, 6,000 trucks of supply entered gaza with 130,000 tonnes of supplies.

so there is no famine in gaza and everyone who is following arab channels, gaza channels, you canjust see with your own eyes. the markets are open injabalia, the markets are open also in rafah. and you have access to food and there is no famine. this is a lie. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner was listening to that interview. here�*s what he made of it. commenting on what that minister was saying, some of it was frankly bordering on the delusional. israel depends entirely on the united states for its military operations, whether they are against hezbollah defending the northern border, or protecting airspace from incoming iranian missiles and drones. they cannot afford to ignore us complaints and we have seen over

gaza aid divergences of opinion between washington and the israeli government. the us is unhappy at the conduct of the war in gaza. where do we stand on the ceasefire deal? hamas want an end to fighting and total israeli withdrawal. there is no guarantee that would not be a one—sided ceasefire, in other words they get israel to stop fighting and somewhere down the line they start lobbing rockets into israel. that is a fear of israel that they commit the deal but the cycle of violence starts again. israel wants hostages out and also wants to see the destruction of hamas. those two are not necessarily completely compatible because hamas holds a key bargaining chip in the form of the roughly 90 plus hostages thought to be alive, held probably internal

somewhere in gaza, probably in rafah below ground. the protesters, thousands of protesters we saw here last night in israel, demanding a deal now, regardless what your minister says, the vast majority of them, the overwhelming message from them, the overwhelming message from them is stop delaying, make a deal now, get the hostages out. the deal is a a0 day pause in fighting, release of roughly 33 israeli hostages, around a third of those thought to still be alive, and in exchange, palestinians would be allowed to move north from where they are currently concentrated in rafah, moving north back to their homes in gaza and there would be a release of large numbers of palestinians from israeli jails. what israel will not currently commit to is an end to the fighting. the hard—line right in the government here want an immediate or imminent assault on rafah. that is

the district in southern gaza where hamas�* final battalions are thought to be holding out and more particularly, the military leader of hamas, the architect of the october the 7th massacre in southern israel, and the man the israelis really want to get their hands on and to eliminate.— to get their hands on and to eliminate. ., ., , ., ~ eliminate. that was frank gardner, our security — eliminate. that was frank gardner, our security correspondent - eliminate. that was frank gardner, our security correspondent in - our security correspondent in jerusalem. stay with us here on bbc news. hello, although temperatures in north—west scotland reached 19 on saturday, other parts of scotland were not as lucky. in argyll and bute, the temperatures of 23 degrees. it was back to 15 at best on saturday. further south feeling warmer because the sun was out. bedford one of the warmest parts. we have cloud and rain heading into the

south—west by morning, pushing into wales and eventually south—east england. ahead of that sunshine. cloud, the odd shower perhaps. more cloud and showers in scotland and the far north of england. should be drier and may be brighter across northern ireland. the highest temperatures in northern england and into the midlands. 18—19 with sunny spells. we are moving into the grass pollen season and levels will be high in the midlands and southern england, even though in the south we could find cloud dampening the temperatures. most rain fading in the evening but more coming in from the evening but more coming in from the continent later in the night and we have heavy showers across scotland and into the far north of england. bank holiday monday morning, temperatures start at 8—9. the fly in the ointment on monday is the weather front. the fly in the ointment on monday is the weatherfront. it the fly in the ointment on monday is the weather front. it is not moving far. around it, we are pushing in

more cloud and probably more rain. south—eastern parts of england into central and southern england and up towards the middle and. heavy showers in scotland, far north england. may be dry but cloudy in northern ireland. in other parts of northern england, wales, midlands, the south—west, some thundery and slow—moving showers. more showers bank holiday monday on the whole. tuesday, drier. the odd shower in scotland into northern england, midlands perhaps wales. the south and south—east looking dry and warm. it may be dry in northern ireland. the theme as we head into next week is for high pressure to build which means many will turn dry and there will be sunshine and temperatures will be sunshine and temperatures will be sunshine and temperatures will be climbing as well.

this is bbc news, the headlines... after heavy losses in the local elections in england the former home secretary suella braverman has told the bbc rishi sunak needs to �*change course�* if the conservative party is to avoid a political wipe—out. labour�*s called for a general election.

attempts to secure a ceasefire in gaza are continuing for another day in cairo, with the two sides still unable to agree the exact terms of a truce. an israeli minister has told us his government has no option but to continue the war until hamas is eliminated. officials in brazil say more than 10,000 people have been rescued in the southern state of rio grande do sul as floodwaters continue to rise. entire communities have been ordered to evacuate the state capital. the pop superstar madonna has given her biggest ever concert to an audience of more than a million fans on copacabana beach in rio. among those who joined her on stage was her 13—year—old daughter. let�*s begin with the fall—out from thursday�*s elections. the conservatives suffered a significant defeat in the west midlands, losing the mayoral election to labour. it comes after one of the party�*s worst ever performances in england�*s local elections. 0ur correspondent nick eardley has been crunching the numbers. let�*s start off with that result that came in late last night, the west midlands mayor race. here it is.