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hello and welcome to your election headlines I’m Rita chakrabati Labour’s W streeting has admitted that he wanted his party’s Manifesto for the general election to be more ambitious on social care reform the shadow Health secretary said that once labor gets the economy growing if it wins the election there would be more money to invest in public services including in Social care I make no bones about the fact of course on social care I would have wanted the manifesto to be more ambitious but to get policies in the manifesto you have to run the gaunet of answering two fundamental questions can we keep this promise can the country afford this promise and if the answer to either of those questions was no it’s not in the manifesto speaking to the BBC for the conservatives the transport secretary said a lot of people haven’t made their minds up yet about who to vote for Mark Harper said he believes this election offers a choice between tax cuts tax Rises he added the Tories have set out a clear program for government that is fully costed unlike West reings labor party he’s let the cat out of the bag a bit about Labor’s plans he confirmed both on your show and on one he did earlier that their Manifesto actually wasn’t the whole story it wasn’t actually a program for government it was a document to get them through the election campaign and he’s confirmed that there are spending more spending uh promises to come uh and that can mean only one thing it means more taxes the SNP leader has accused both the conservatives and labor of a conspiracy of Silence about the scale of public spending cuts to come John swinny was responding to research which says that the main UK parties need to set out more credible plans for the NHS health is a devolved matter for ministers in Edinburgh but budgets are set in Westminster the leader of the liberal Democrats has said he doesn’t believe you can sort out the Health Service unless you sort out social care SED Davy said his party had placed it at the center of their Manifesto promising free personal care for older and disabled people at home partly because of his own experience of being a carer well we’re just over halfway through this election campaign now and if you want to see how the parties are fairing in the polls there’s a dedicated tracker on our website just head over to bbc.co.uk tracker for all you need to know and those are your election headlines for Sunday the 16th of June [Music]

French president Emanuel maon has kicked off his parliamentary election campaign with a press conference outlining his campaign plans ma announced a snap election the morning after a major swing to the right in the European elections Marine Le Pen’s far-right anti-immigration party the national rally scored a dramatic Victory on Sunday winning more than double the votes for macron’s Alliance the results prompted him to dissolve parliament and call for a first round of voting at the end of the month this is why in my view the answer could not lie in changes of government or coalitions which were not possible in Parliament as the last few days have very clearly shown but in a dissolution which is the only way to clarify matters because we are at a time when our country must rise to a number of challenges and cannot be blocked by the extremes and because it is an act of confidence in our people in democracy in the Republican spirit in a national common sense in my view in this context returning to the Sovereign people is the only Republican decision well Katherine fesi is a political analyst at the European University Institute in Florence and she gave me her thoughts on macon’s justifications for his decision the way ma Justified it uh today um is essentially through two things one won by saying uh nearly 50% of people voted for extremes because he really doesn’t make much of a difference between the extreme left and and the extreme right and he said at that level of anger um if I hadn’t done anything if I had pretended that it was business as usual you would have accused me of being completely disconnected so that was his his first justification and I think his other justification um was very much um the idea that that particularly the the extreme right the led by Marine Leen think needed to be confronted uh with uh with some of his uh some of their responsibilities um he presented this very much as a an act of trust in the French people um and basically said you know we’re going to turn back to them uh and and and give give French people a say French voters a say yeah very much an appeal to the people as you say just looking at some the quotes from What was a fairly lengthy press conference talking always is talking about the dissolution of the National Assembly a test of Truth between those who choose to strengthen their own hand and those who choose to strengthen the hand of France so really appealing to the French sense of self I suppose and what France is all about very very much appealing to The Republic uh to Republican uh the Republican sentiment that uh that brings uh French people together despite all sorts of other differences this was very much about transcending differences and really you know Finding uh what what unites them in in their aspiration in their hope in their in their vision for the country and what he offered what he outlined was very much uh the idea that neither on the extreme right nor on the extreme left um would most French people find their their vision of themselves and their vision of their country realized um and therefore you know he he proposed his own Centrist Coalition of parties as the only reasonable way forward but ALS also the only aspirational way forward Katherine fesi the political analyst speaking to me a little earlier

now three Russian warships and a submarine have arrived in Cuba that suran 90 miles off the US Coast the ships will be carrying out Military exercises Cuba says it does not represent a threat to the region likewise us officials have said the drills are non-threatening though it comes as tensions are still high between the US and Russia over the war in Ukraine while hosting his Cuban counterpart in Moscow on Wednesday the Russian foreign minister Sergey lavro said Moscow was great ful to Cuba for its principled position on the situation around Ukraine now it’s important to note the Russian warships are not belief to be carrying nuclear weapons but what exactly are they doing in Cuba let’s take you to Mexico City our correspondent there is will grant and will let me put that to you what are those uh military uh ships submarines doing in that location well in essence I think there’s two very very clear messages that they’re sending the first first which is perhaps um less surprising and and and and to be expected is a sort of underscoring of the relationship between Moscow and Havana you mentioned there Sergey lavro and and and and the comments he made about uh Cuba’s position on the war in Ukraine Cuba has been a loyal Ally to Russia for decades now um and of course to the Soviet Union before then so that solidifies that relationship but of course the one that most people have focused on is the message being sent to Washington very much a message or certainly it seems of not of what meddling in one’s backyard can bring that you know that the the Caribbean is considered by Washington successive administrations for decades and decades right the way through the Cold War to be its backyard and this I think is a show of strength you’ve made it very clear and you’re right to do so that there isn’t a military threat that the United States perceived by these military exercise Cuba too at pains to make that clear as well but it is an interest in moment it’s happening at a very very interesting moment of global hostilities yes and and and whilst both sides say there is no threat here it does not represent a threat to the region I mean you’re right what it does do though it’s a threat politically it’s a threat diplomatically it’s just saying we are here and that in itself could be deemed in some cirles to be a threat not only are we here but you’ve been taking your eye off the ball when it comes to Central America the Caribbean you know that that we are solidifying and strengthening relationships in your backyard if you’re going to be doing the same in ours as it’s as it’s seen in terms of of Ukraine so yeah I important subtext it all has The Echoes of the Cold War of course the US officials were across what was going on was monitoring all of the the the activities by these warships on their way to the Caribbean but I think the fact that it’s underlining relationship with Havana and Caracus in Venezuela later on during the summer is an important step from from the Russian perspective uh will it’s good to have you there with the very latest thank you that’s will grant there joining us from Mexico City thank you

next Hungary uh will not take part in further natol efforts to coordinate security assistance and training for Ukraine it was announced at a joint news conference between the Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban and the head of NATO yen stoltenberg in Budapest Mr Orban is moscow’s closest Ally in the European Union Mr stoltenberg said Hungary had agreed not to oppose expected measures at a forthcoming NATO leader Summit in Washington including a long-term Financial pledge for Military Support to ke prime minister Orban has made it clear that Hungary Hungary will not participate in these NATO efforts and I accept this position and I’m glad that today the Prime Minister and I have agreed to modalities for hungary’s nonparticipation in NATO support to Ukraine no Hungarian Personnel will take part in these activities and and no Hungarian funds would be used to support them at the same time the Prime Minister has assured me that Hungary will not oppose these efforts enabling other allies to move forward speak to our correspondent in Western Hungary Nick Thor hi Nick so we heard things like modalities for non-involvement I think it was there from Yen stoltenberg can you put it in plain English for us what has been agreed here yeah sure in plain English basically NATO is playing a much bigger role than before until now we’ve had individual NATO uh countries supporting Ukraine in different ways with training for example with military supplies hungary’s stayed out of all of that but now with uncertainties over what happens in the United States in the election in November what’s happening in Europe now uh with France in trouble Mr President macron in trouble often debates within Europe basically NATO is stepping into the breach there and taking a much more important role in as the NATO Secretary General coordinating Military Support training and finances for Ukraine but hungary’s been blocking that Hungary says it’s a mad scheme so Mr Stenberg came to to Budapest basically seeking the guarantee he got that uh Hungary would not block those changes in um NATO’s approach to Ukraine while at the same time Mr Orban was asking for and got the guarantees that Hungary which insists it’s still a a loyal and committed member of NATO but will not be drawn into paying anything for military supplies or support for Ukraine or in any way for taking part even sending soldiers or using its military side so military or money so in a way Mr Stenberg and Mr Orban both of them got what they wanted today and just flesh out a bit Mr orban’s priorities what he was looking for what calculation is he making the calculation here is really he’s set himself up really he’s going against the whole flow of all other 31 members of nat he sees that the current involvement of both the EU and especially of NATO in supporting Ukraine is leading um Europe leading the world into a third world war basically he said that to his electorate that was his main campaigning of promise if you like or slogan in last Sunday’s European elections and so he represents himself as a man of supporting peace in Europe and says everyone else is going the wrong way of course that’s got a lot of Anger from other NATO members there’s discussion in diplomatic Circles of denying Hungary in intelligence information because Hungary is now seen very firmly really as an ally of Russia and a potential Trojan Horse within the NATO organization okay Nick thank you for that