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Johnson's Conservatives Win U.K. General Election; House Panel to Vote on Impeachment Articles Friday. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired December 13, 2019 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[01:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm John Vause at the CNN Center at this hour. Two major stories on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The first vote on the Trump articles of impeachment delayed by Republican stalling tactics. The House Judiciary Committee will resume again in the coming hours.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A very good morning. It's 6:00 a.m. I'm Isa Soares here in London where election results are giving Boris Johnson's Conservative Party one of the most dramatic victories in decades putting the U.K. divorce from the E.U. firmly back on track. And that is where we're beginning this hour because if there ever was any doubt that majority of the British people favor Brexit, well, this election has put it to rest.

Boris Johnson's conservatist cruise to an absolute majority in parliament, and virtually shown Brexit will happen on January 31. The Prime Minister took a big gamble calling a snap election and it seems it's paid off. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: At this stage, it does look as though this one nation Conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate to get Brexit done. And not just to get Brexit done but to unite this country and to take it forward and to focus on the priorities of the British people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now, that was the Conservative Party. For the opposition Labour Party, a totally different story. The thrashing it took at the polls would be studied and analyzed for years and we'll be doing that, in fact, in the coming hours. Leader Jeremy Corbyn says he intends to step aside at some point and won't lead the policy in the next election. He blamed Brexit for Labour's big loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER, LABOUR PARTY: Brexit has so polarized and divided debate in this country. It is overridden so much of a normal political debate. And I recognize that has contributed to the results that the Labour Party has received this evening all across this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, let's have a look at the results because we've got about 640 constituencies have been declared. We got about nine out of ten or so to go but look at that, clear majority for the Conservative Party, 358 Labour down with 202, lost 42 there. SNP, a very strong night for SNP as well. And this is something that we'll talk about in the hours ahead of what this means. Will they be calling for an independence referendum? Nicola Sturgeon there, a not particularly good night for Lib Dems either.

Let's get more on this. CNN's London Correspondent Max Foster, he is live this hour outside 10 Downing Street. And Max, a very clear win for Boris Johnson tonight. I know it's cliche but champagne bottles, the corks popping there?

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: I think so. But he's also going to be working on that speech because he made a short speech earlier on, didn't do any interviews. He's inside currently preparing his victory speech. And it was interesting hearing earlier, he wasn't talking about one nation conservatism. This is the middle ground of conservative politics. He's not any longer beholden to these Euroskeptics in his party. He can -- with this big majority and still get bigger it looks like, all the local predictions suggest that. With that big majority, he can push through his own agenda.

He talks about the NHS. He talks about education, as well. Of course, ahead of all of that, Brexit comes first. He pitched that he's the man to get Brexit done. That clearly resonated. And now, Brexit will be done. Brexit is going ahead. The idea of a Brexit referendum has gone away. Jeremy Corbyn as you say, in a terrible position, now on his way out. But also the whole Labour movement having to reconsider what they're about. Do they want to be as far left as Jeremy Corbyn took them, or they want to go back to that center ground which was made famous, of course by Tony Blair?

[01:05:05]

SOARES: And Max, his message throughout the campaign was very clear, which is get Brexit done. You said that there. And for now, the challenge will be, of course, how does he fulfill that? How quickly does he fulfill that promise? What kind of Brexit Are we going to get? And that I suspect we'll know, in the coming months.

FOSTER: Well, it's at the end of January, and what sort of Parliament could object to him when he campaigned on that? So that is almost certainly going to go through. But as you say, there's a bigger issue beyond that, the transition period, the year after that. Can it really be completely done and dusted within a year after January, that big trade agreement with Europe? Is that even feasible? He's certainly going to have a honeymoon period for a while. He's going to have to push through what he can for now. But next year is going to be extremely, extremely difficult for him. Also worth noting, I mean, you brought it up there the success of the Scottish nationalists in Scotland. They did largely campaign -- they always campaign on an independence referendum. They feel they have a mandate for that.

Boris Johnson said he wouldn't offer one. There's a real dilemma there, how do those two parties come together and compromise going forward? Because the Scottish nationalist absolutely dominate Scotland right now.

SOARES: Yes, and I think there's something I really like to get for discuss a bit later in the show because this could prove like you said, Max, a real challenge for Boris Johnson. Could this be the next -- prevent the constitutional crisis for him as we move on, as we know that she wants to call for an independence referendum. It's something that she said time and time again, Nichola Sturgeon. Max Foster is outside 10 Downing Street, very wet 10 Downing Street. Thanks very much, Max.

Well, it's still the early hours of Friday the 13th here in the UK. It's six minutes past six in the morning. An unlucky day for Britain's Labour Party. London's tabloids and some broadsheets wasted no time letting their views being known about Conservative majority.

The Daily Mail, have a look at this, is keeping the style of the festive season with their headline "Rejoice! Boris set for a thumping win." The Daily Mirror has a very different view showing a picture of Boris Johnson with a headline, "The nightmare before Christmas." And the Guardians' front page reads, "Labour in meltdown as Johnson seizes the majority."

Well, the Conservatives secured their election win, as major seat changes swept right across various parties. Anna Stewart takes a look for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: As soon as the initial exit poll landed, it was clear the Conservative Party were heading for a significant victory. And I want to show you the map of the U.K. after the 2017 election because this shows you the seats that the Conservative Party were after, the Labuor red wall that goes from the north of Wales through the Midlands and North East England.

Now, take a look at 2017 and then take a look at what happened this election. Many of those seats turning blue. These are seats that have voted for Labour for generations but they are also seats that voted for Brexit. And let's head to some of these seats right now. We've got Dudley North.

Now, this was a seat here in the West Midlands and we'll bring you over the data that we got tonight, an extraordinary result for a seat that voted to leave by 71 percent in 2016. And you can see that the margin was phenomenal. The Conservative Party winning by a margin of 31 percent increasing that vote in this Labour heartland. significantly. This was a seat that had been in the Labour's hands since 1997. And the Labour Party really, really suffering here.

Another significant result in the night was Bolsover in the East Midlands. Another big Brexit area, another area where the Labour Party got punished. Their share of the vote decreasing by 16 percent and the Conservative Party having a significant victory. And that is despite the Brexit party, a brand new party standing in this election, also taking some of the pro-Brexit vote. So a real victory here for the Conservative Party.

Another story from the exit poll that we knew going into the night was that the SNP, the Scottish National Party was going to do very, very well. And as we look at some of those scenes Dunbartonshire East, this was a win from the Liberal Democrats. And not just a win for the SNP from the Liberal Democrats, but this actually took away Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats seat. This was one of the most significant moments of the election.

And actually, in Scotland, we saw some significant results. You can see here, how much of it was turning yellow throughout the night. This was the night of drama. This was the night where seats changed. This was the night where we had shock, access, and a significant victory, the Conservative's best performance since Margaret Thatcher in 1987 giving them mandate to deliver Brexit. Anna Stewart from the CNN Results Center.

[01:10:07]

SOARES: Thanks very much, Anna. Well, the moment we got at 10:00 local, the exit poll. We saw the pound sterling resurging as a key exit poll predicted bit Conservative gains in U.K. election. It's telling -- if we have a look at what's doing right now. It rose to $1.34 on Thursday. That is the highest level, have a look at there, since May 2018.

For weeks, the pound has been steadily rising as traders bet on Mr. Johnson's victory. This gives traders some clarity, which is something that they've been wanting for -- wanting for some time, and some direction on what the -- what really they're trying to achieve when it comes to Brexit.

So I'm sure the markets will be rejoicing as well when they open about two hours. That's in two hours from now. We'll keep an eye on top of that. We'll bring you reaction from the FTSE 100 when stock markets here are open.

Well, the international community is already reacting to the U.K. election results. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, "Looking like a big win for Boris in the U.K." Well, the E.U. was looking closely at the results for some clarity on Brexit. The President of the European Council says they're ready to take the next steps.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHARLES MICHEL, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: You know that we are ready. We are ready for the next steps. We will see if it's possible for the -- for the British Parliament to accept the withdrawal agreement and to take a decision. And if it is the case, we are ready for the next steps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, they're ready for the next steps. Let's head to Brussels where E.U. leaders are gathering for summit. They will meet later today. And the results of the election is short to prompt a swift reaction. Melissa Bell is there. Melissa, I'm guessing like a bit like the stock markets. What Europe wanted was clarity. So what has been the reaction to today's results?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, exactly that is relief really that at last there is some clarity. When you think about it, European partners have really been for the last three and a half years nearly prisoners have a process that was not of their choosing, and over which they had very little control.

Sure, they could decide to speak as one of the 27. They could decide to stay firm once deals had been struck. But beyond that, they could just watch the sort of hapless partners in a process where successive British Prime Ministers tried to get their own deals through Parliament. This time and thanks, no doubt to Boris Johnson's very clear majority and the new parliamentary arithmetic, the expectation is that that withdrawal bill that he had managed to negotiate with European partners just a few weeks ago will come before the Commons next week, possibly next Friday. The expectation is that given his new majority, he will be able to get that through.

And then, of course, it is significant, Isa, for what happens thereafter. Because in a sense now, the expectation is that on the 31st of January, the United Kingdom leaves the E.U. But that is just the beginning of what is likely to be a fairly arduous process. Behind that, the one that is involved in trying to figure out what the future relationship between the United Kingdom and European Union will be and specifically what kind of trade agreement they're going to have.

Now, just a couple of hours, European leaders will meet here. No doubt, with that sense of relief amongst them to begin talking about just that, how the future of that process looks, Isa.

SOARES: Yes. And they'll have 11 months or so to hash out a deal on future agreements as you are now and I well know, this can take long trade agreements, Melissa. It can go on for years. So this is just the beginning. Thanks very much, Melissa Bell there. Good to see you.

Well, from U.K. politics to U.S. politics. America waited hours for a historic vote in articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, but it never came. We'll tell you why next. You are watching CNN.

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VAUSE: It seems 14 long hours of almost continual bickering and feigned outrage masquerading as debate just wasn't enough. Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee seemed intent on delaying a vote on the articles of impeachment. But just after 11:00 p.m., the Democratic Chairman of the committee adjourned and delayed a vote until Friday morning. After that, the articles move to the full house for approval. The acrimonious debate on Thursday was the last public hearing in the impeachment process and the last chance for lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, to grab some attention on primetime television.

They ranted, pounded the table, and traded insults, releasing what seems to have been years of pent up bitterness and anger. Republicans continued with a week's long effort to undermine the case for impeachment, because the Democrats are being motivated by blind hatred for the man who beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. There was, however, one point of agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO): Facts matter, and I hope that each and every one of us could agree at least on that simple point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Yes, they all agreed, facts do matter, but they could not agree on the conclusion drawn from the same set of facts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R-WI): The facts, you know, again speak for themselves. There was no impeachable offense here. And that's why Article 1 of the impeachments ended up falling flat on its face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now from Los Angeles, CNN Senior Political Analyst and senior editor for the Atlantic, Ron Brownstein. OK, Ron, let's get to here, but -- OK. But big picture, after two public hearings, as a testimony, not one Republican lawmaker could find anything questionable about the President's behavior, despite officials from within the current administration, forget about the Democrats, repeatedly testified they're troubled, or they were concerned, or there were alarmed.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (via Skype): Yes, the contrast between the career foreign service professionals and the Republicans in Congress has grown more and more striking as the story as evolved.

[01:20:00]

You know, we saw several of the officials in President Trump's own White House, going to the lawyer, the National Security Council because they were so alarmed by what they heard on the call, and in some cases, you know, what they experienced in other settings like the meetings with the Ukrainians in early July. John Bolton described the entire episode, according to one of his aides, as a drug deal.

Now, every Republican in the House is basically saying they are OK with it, or at least every Republican on the intelligence and judiciary committees. And the one thing we know, John, I think President Trump is a student of power, or precisely a student of weakness. And if he, I think, correctly interprets this episode as Republicans being afraid to defy him on anything, the one thing we can be sure about, is this won't be the last time that he will put them in that position of defending what's previously might have been considered indefensible.

VAUSE: Yes, I mean, after two days of this, the second day just seemed kind of nastier and louder. But there was one Republican congressman who seemed ready to call out the absurdity of it all. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM MCCLINTOCK (R-CA): I have not heard a new point or an original thought from either side in the last three hours. The same talking points have been repeated over and over again ad nauseam by both sides. Repeating a fact over and over doesn't make it true and denying a fact over and over doesn't make it false. Everybody knows this. Everybody watching knows this. This hearing has been enough of an institutional embarrassment without putting it on an endless loop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, he's right about the repetition by Republicans, but that is the point, right? And it seems to be working. You look at the polls, support for the impeachment is tapering off.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, you know, it is that kind of wedding moment where everything as we said not everyone has said it. I mean, that's what he was kind of alluding to. But, yes, I mean, one of the goals -- first of all, one of the goals of the Republicans has been to act in the process in a way that causes Americans who are paying only a limited amount of attention that kind of second tier of voters who are not, you know, on Twitter all day, not in front of the cable all day. It basically says this is just another partisan fight. This is not something unique. This is not a constitutional moment. This is just an extension of the daily kind of conflict between the parties.

But you're right, I mean, the support for impeachment has really quite plateaued very quickly. I mean, it's significantly higher than it was at any point during Bill Clinton's impeachment whenever he got up to beyond a third of the country, but it is following the pattern of the Clinton impeachment where kind of the lines were set early, and they never really moved very much through the whole process. In that case, about two-thirds of the country was opposing it. Here we are in something very close to 50/50. Some polls are slightly more than a support than an oppositions on the opposite direction. But essentially, a 50/50 split. And that kind of reflects the underlying divisions in the country that we -- you know, that we are living through in this deeply polarized and separated.

That's the other point. If you look at -- just look at the composition of who was on those committees, both intelligence and judiciary. And look at the face of the Democratic coalition versus the faces of the Republican coalition, the kind of voters they represent, where they represent. You see the two Americas that are really kind of, at this point, snarling at each other across the day in Congress.

VAUSE: On some of the -- there's some twisting and turning of facts and logic and, you know, Republicans, at some point, were sort of twisted and not sort of making bizarre arguments like this one here. Here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): If democrats can't prove that the Bidens are clean, then President Trump can't be guilty of abusing power if he's asking a reasonable question. They cannot prove that the questions into the Bidens are unreasonable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, it's kind of mindboggling to follow that logic. And that stuff might score points with the President, but with Republicans not directing -- directly addressing the substance of the impeachment charges, is there a price to pay by -- for the Republicans? It is a party which is bleeding support among college educated, mostly suburban voters and especially women.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, guilty until proven innocent in that -- in that formulation.

VAUSE: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Look, I mean, it is impressive for the President. It is a measure of the depth of is hold over his coalition, that his approval rating has not really changed during this entire episode, it's not declined, it's not increased, it's stayed where it's always been, somewhere between 40 percent and 44, 45 percent. But I think what has happened and the risk for Republicans is what this is doing is that is hardening the negative perceptions of the majority of voters who have consistently said that they disapprove of his performance in office.

I know we've talked about this a little before, but if you look at polling, you know, somewhere between 50 to 55 percent of Americans consistently say they don't like the job he is doing. And now, among those disapprovers, you get numbers like, for example, 94 percent saying, he considers himself above the law. 93 percent in another poll saying that his goal in Ukraine was to advance his own interests, not the national interest.

[01:25:04] So, while it's not shifting the overall balance, it is hardening a balance that is a challenge for Republicans. Donald Trump squeezed out an electoral college majority with the majority of the country voted against him. It's possible it could happen. But he's walking a very narrow path. And I do believe impeachment, while not significantly changing the overall balance is making that path a little bit narrower for him.

VAUSE: Yes, certainly not at the point where a lot of people thought we'd be, at this point, but it is still early days. And Ron, thank you very much for being with us. We appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, John.

VAUSE: Time for short break. When we come back, we'll head to London and we'll speak to the man who ran the communications office with Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London. So, what Mr. Johnson's strategy might be over the next five years at number 10? We'll try and find out.

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[01:30:26]

VAUSE: It's just gone 1:30 am here on the East Coast. Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

I'm John Vause at the CNN Center.

SOARES: And a very good morning to you, 6:30.

I'm Isa Soares here in London outside the Houses of Parliament.

Boris Johnson's gamble to call a snap election in the U.K. has paid off with his conservative party winning an absolute majority in parliament. Not only will Mr. Johnson remain prime minister, he now has the votes in parliament to adopt the Brexit agreement he worked out with the European Union. That withdrawal is set for January the 31st.

And here is how the election results are shaping out. We look at the numbers there -- 358; 642 constituencies have been declared out of 650. Conservatives a whopping win, 358; Labour, 203. A very good night for (INAUDIBLE) for Nicola Sturgeon's SNP, 48. Not so good for the LibDems tonight.

But clearly an incredible win for, and a majority for Boris Johnson. A clear mandate to get Brexit done, which has been his slogan throughout.

But many questions will be asked today about the future of the Brexit party. And also SNP -- will they call for an independence referendum, as we have heard from Nicola Sturgeon throughout.

Well, in the last few minutes, U.S. President Donald Trump has been congratulating Boris Johnson, tweeting -- if we can just bring up the tweet. "Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great win. Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new trade deal after Brexit. This deal -- excuse me -- has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris."

I'm sorry. I seem to be losing my voice.

CNN's Nina Dos Santos is at the Conservative Party headquarters. Nina -- quite a night for Boris.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Well, Boris Johnson has been in and out of the doors here of Conservative Party headquarters. He is still back in there now speaking to his team.

We saw the two chairmen of the Conservative Party -- James Cleverly and Ben Elliot leave just about 15 minutes ago and broad smiles on their faces. This really has been a very successful night here for some of these very instinctive politicians -- to borrow a word that is often used to describe Boris Johnson's friend Donald Trump, who you just quoted in that tweet from half an hour ago.

The reality is this is probably the biggest electoral victory for the Conservative Party since Margaret Thatcher famously delivered her version of that in 1987. But there are some things to note of change.

The Conservative Party from here on, because it has managed to break that so called northern red wall of Labour seats, further up in the north of the country, traditional working class heartlands there. This means that the Conservative Party will also be drawing from a different demographic.

It will have to change the way how it makes job policy. It will have to have a think about different kinds of party membership and electorate going forward. That appears to give the Conservative Party some extra zeal. And as you pointed out, they are also potentially on course -- a collision course with a newly-emboldened Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish National Party that will probably yet again agitate for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Remember that David Cameron, the former conservative prime minister, at the start of this Tory tenure about ten years ago, (INAUDIBLE), the prime minister who did give Scotland a chance to vote on that subject. So you can --- you can bet that there are some things that this conservative government will now have to tackle over the next five years, but this is a "stumping (ph) majority", quote/unquote, as Boris Johnson puts it to get Brexit done and delivered as fast as possible -- Isa.

SOARES: Nina Dos Santos there. Thanks very much -- Nina. We'll touch base with you throughout the hour.

Joining me now is Guto Harri, communications director for the Boris Johnson administration when he was mayor of London. He's now a senior adviser at Hanover Communications.

Thanks very much Guto for being with us. Give me your impression of what the night has been like. Did you see this coming?

GUTO HARRI, SENIOR ADVISER, HANOVER COMMUNICATIONS: Yes. I think Boris was fairly confident he was going to win. He didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't want to count his chickens before they hatched and all that kind of jazz.

But he framed this election right from the start. He was the one who set the pace. He was the one who set the tone.

[01:34:56]

HARRI: He was the one who set the parameters. And he stuck to it. He hasn't always stuck to the script, but he did on this one and he made it a simple choice. Or simply, simplified maybe --

SOARES: Yes.

HARRI: -- but a simple choice and (INAUDIBLE)

SOARES: But perhaps he's going to win and I think the majority of people were expecting him to win, but not by this amount. We're looking 360 for the Conservatives.

HARRI: It is astonishing. Astonishing. And it was an audacious attack, even without this level of success on Labour heartland. This was not going --

SOARES: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALKING)

HARRI: -- for the soggy (ph) voters in the middle. This was a straight grab, hard-core. Labour -- working class voters that --

SOARES: That never.

HARRI: -- have never contemplated voting conservative. And he is going to them as a publicly -- which in British terms is privately- educated individuals from the poshest school in the land, who love speaking Latin and Greek in his spare time, who --

SOARES: And that resonated.

HARRI: -- looks eccentric and he's a hate figure for some people on the left. But really the working classes when they met him thought that he was true to himself, that he's a man they could relate to. They trusted him to sort of deliver Brexit and to give them more police on the streets and better hospitals.

SOARES: Was it Brexit that was the deciding factor in those Labour heartlands? Or was it the fact that Corbyn wasn't strong enough? That his message, he went too much to the left. His message --

HARRI: Yes.

SOARES: -- wasn't clear on Brexit. HARRI: It was both. It was both in the end. I think the

overwhelming psychological drive here was the enormous sense of frustration in the United Kingdom --

SOARES: Yes.

HARRI: -- that Brexit has gone on, on and on.

SOARES: From both sides.

HARRI: It sounds ok. Yes.

And even people who don't want to Brexit just though in the end will someone just put us out of our misery, please. And Boris promised he's going to end the nightmare.

But secondly, as you rightly say, Jeremy Corbyn -- a lot of Labour people doubt whether he was fit to be prime minister, whether he could be trusted on security, whether the economics that have --

(CROSSTALKING)

SOARES: Yes.

HARRI: -- (INAUDIBLE) vast ways and industry and pushing it down towards a four-day working week. Whether that really is the recipe for success in a modern, highly competitive, globalized world it didn't really wash. And actually we now have the proof.

SOARES: And now as we come into the early hours of the morning here in London. All eyes will be in the Houses of Parliament and whether really Boris Johnson with his slogan getting Brexit done, whether he can get, you know, Brexit done in time.

HARRI: Yes.

SOARES: The schedule that he wants.

HARRI: He can certainly hit the next milestone. I think there is no doubt at all we'll be out, technically speaking we'll withdraw (ph) from Europe on the 31st of January.

SOARES: Yes.

HARRI: He's got the moral authority now. He's got the numbers in parliament. He's got the deal.

SOARES: Yes.

HARRI: Beyond that, there needs to be a trade deal with Europe. That is going to be a lot more complicated. And your president or President Trump in the States rather is raising a tantalizing prospect of an alternative to its close relationship with Europe.

SOARES: Which he always has. HARRI: Which he always has. And now, you know, someone like Boris

can try and deliver that. Now there'll be arguments about (INAUDIBLE) native chicken and, you know.

SOARES: But do you think that with Europe, 11 months you think that's realistic?

HARRI: I need people on both sides. I know enough lawyers who tell me, you can't do a trade deal in that and that's a sign (ph).

But I have heard so many people say that Boris couldn't get the E.U. to reopen the deal -- he did. That he wouldn't get a deal done in four or five weeks -- he did. That he couldn't win a general election in the middle of winter as an old Tory in Labour heartlands -- he has.

I'd known him long enough to know that he pushes the boundaries and breaks the rules and gets away with it time and time again. So, you know, never say never with him.

SOARES: Guto Harri -- thank you very much. Good to see you.

And now Mairead McGuinness is the vice president of the European Parliament. She joins me now from Brussels.

I want to get your thoughts on what we have seen in the last several hours here -- clear win for Boris Johnson. What is your reaction there?

MAIREAD MCGUINNESS, VICE PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Well, absolutely a very clear win for the British prime minister. And I suppose the morning after, the night before, we're more certain politically about the next steps in Brexit because for the last few weeks during the campaign we have been suspending discussions around Brexit.

But now that we know there is a clear majority in the House of Commons behind the Prime Minister Boris Johnson it looks like we will have a divorce on the 31st of January. I don't see any impediment to that but you know, one never knows.

Certainly from our side and the European Parliament have to ratify. So we will wait until the House of Commons does its work and the House of Lords. And then go through our own procedures. But it should be possible to complete this within the timeframe.

SOARES: Yes. And you've just heard my guest Mairead -- I mean that is we expect that to be smooth sailing given the numbers that he has.

Looking further ahead though in terms of the relationship with Europe, any trade deals with negotiations with Europe -- do you think it is realistic that 11 months it can be done?

MCGUINNESS: Well I'm going to say that depends because for the first time in a trade negotiation, we would have a country, the U.K., wanting to diverge from regulations that it's been with us on for the last number of decades. And therefore we don't know how much the prime minister will want to move away from our current standards, rules and regulations.

[01:40:00]

MCGUINNESS: If he is willing to stay close on these issues then perhaps we could have a rapid trade deal. I am not so sure that that is what is in his mind. And perhaps with this very large majority, he may decide to pull further away. So that might make it very difficult to complete the trade agreements by the end of 2020.

And I suppose people this morning in the U.K. will be happy perhaps to see Brexit done in January. That's only a little bit done, it's not completely finished. And I suppose we would have to be a bit patient to move those next stages.

There is a willingness here on the E.U. side to work with the United Kingdom, because we have all been trapped in this agony since the referendum in 2016. And there are huge agenda points here including climate change migration and all those other political issues.

So if we could get Brexit, if you like running, and get this divorce settled by the end of January and look to the future, I think with willingness on both sides that is a possibility to get a deal done. But I don't think it's going to be easy.

SOARES: No. And this is something that I am sure we'll see in the months ahead. Bear with me because there is music playing just behind me. I am not sure. I think that there is some sort of celebration of people turning out here -- Mairead.

But you said clarity, a sense of relief as well?

MCGUINNESS: Yes. I mean it's a strange morning I have to say because while I am certainly relieved that there's political clarity and we can move onwards -- I mean privately and personally, I'm said to see colleagues from the U.K. that worked with me at the parliament leaving. But I think the reality is now basing off of the U.K. is leaving in 2020. The divorce will happen in my view and on the 31st of January. Maybe before that, who knows. It depends on the timeframe on the House of Commons. And we have yet to hear what the prime minister thinks.

And there is no doubt that he went to the country with that slogan of getting Brexit done. And I imagine that there were people on the remain side who decided to vote for the Conservatives because of this awful uncertainty and weariness and the worry that was, you know, carpeting the United Kingdom and indeed all of the European Union.

So this morning as we wake up and take stock, and you know, the many people will be in pain in the Labour party. Interesting result from Northern Ireland. But for the Conservative Party, I'm sure they're in party mood this morning.

SOARES: Mairead McGuinness, at least they are here. I can tell you that much. Because the music is already playing. And it's only 6:40 in the morning.

Mairead McGuinness good to see you. Thank you very much.

Well, coming up on the show we will head to the other side of the pond to talking U.S. politics. How Donald Trump and Republicans prepare for a Senate trial as impeachment shifts from the House of Representatives.

That is coming up. Do stay right here.

[01:42:47]

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VAUSE: A dramatic night in Washington took an unexpected turn. After more than 14 hours of debate, the Judiciary Committee came to an abrupt end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D), NEW YORK: Pursuant to Committee Rule 2, the House Committee will now stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

NADLER: -- at which point I will move to divide the question so that each of us may have the opportunity to cast up or down votes on each of the articles of impeachment.

And so history be our judge, the committee is in recess.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman.

NADLER: What?

COLLINS: There is no consulting for the ranking member on your schedule for tomorrow, what you just blown up schedules for everyone? You chose not to consult the ranking member on a schedule issue of this magnitude?

So typical. This is the -- this is the kangaroo court that we are talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Democrats accused Republicans of delaying tactics so the vote on those articles of impeachment would happen in the middle of the night. The Judiciary Committee actually approved the article so they ruled it moved to the full House for a vote and that is likely next week.

Nathan Gonzales is a CNN political analyst, and editor and publisher of "Inside Elections". He joins us now from Washington.

So I mean Nathan -- in the big picture here, does this delayed vote by the Judiciary Committee actually have any significance? Any sort of real impact apart from, you know, disrupting Friday morning?

NATHAN GONZALES, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: No. I don't think it changes anyone's mind. I mean outrage is what the minority party does. Outrage is what the Republicans have specialized in.

And for the ranking member, Congressman Collins and his colleagues to drag out the process over 14 hours tonight and then be shocked that things are delayed or not going their way, is a bit disingenuous at best.

And so this is a prime example of why being in the minority, why elections matter, and why being in the minority in the House is important because you are unimportant when you're in the minority there.

VAUSE: It's no less fun being in the minority anyway, I guess. When it comes to that full House vote, though the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says she will not be whipping Democrats. It essentially is going to be left up to Democrats to decide this by themselves.

She said they can look at the facts. They can make their own decision. And there is a real chance though that there could be bipartisan support on this impeachment vote, but bipartisan support opposing the articles of impeachment. Is that a big problem for the Democrats?

GONZALES: Well, you know, we will have to see. I expect the President to be impeached by the House. There might be a handful of Democrats who don't support the articles of impeachment on the floor. But by and large I would expect Democrats to pass it, even some Democrats who represent competitive districts.

I'm just not sure anything has come up from within the inquiry that would've changed some of these Democrats minds. And some of these vulnerable Democrats don't have credible Republican challengers back home that are really holding their feet to the fire.

VAUSE: Well, from the House, the impeachment will then move to the Senate. That is where Republican Mitch McConnell calls the shots. He is absolutely confident the President will not be removed from office. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The President's counsel may or may not decide they want to have witnesses. The case is so darn weak coming over from the House, we all know how it is going to end. There is no chance the President is going to be removed from office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:49:58]

VAUSE: You know, McConnell is saying he's going to take -- you know, his marching orders, if you like, from the President's lawyers. And again -- is that a problem? I know it's not a criminal trial or a civil trial. It is a political trial.

But how does that -- how does that all work out?

GONZALES: Well, I would agree with the Leader that I don't expect the President to be removed, but this White House piece is something we haven't seen, you know, up to this point. The White House has decided not to comply with the Judiciary Committee or the investigations and the inquiry on the House side.

So even if the White House counsel shows up or -- then that would be a big unknown because presumably the White House counsel would be even closer to doing what the President wants. I mean the leader is in communication with the White House, but maybe we would get even more of a voice from the White House.

But there's thing about this, you know, the idea that House Republicans want Vice President Biden, or Hunter Biden called as a witness. We have to remember that that would mean that some Republican senators who have served with Vice President Biden in the Senate -- you are asking them to call their friend and former colleague, or his son to be on trial. And that is just not going to happen.

VAUSE: Especially considering that there is absolutely nothing to do with the Bidens in all this as it has been cleared over an dover again.

Nathan -- good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

GONZALES: Thank you.

VAUSE: We will take a short break. When we get back, high politics and high drama. Some of the highlights of the big night for Boris Johnson, as his conservative party wins big in the U.K. general election.

[01:51:24]

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SOARES: The last several hours have been pretty dramatic for the British politics. The Conservative Party has achieved an absolute majority in the general election as we have been showing.

And that basically means that Boris Johnson remains as prime minister paving the way for him to be at Number 10 for the next five years.

It has been a hugely symbolic defeat for Labour. That is a very different story to see that Jeremy Corbyn said he will not take his party into the next general election, but he is staying on for now.

In the last few minutes as well, we have heard Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson is stepping down. She wanted to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit.

So things moving very quickly. We will have much more on Jo Swinson and how the landscape is changing here in the U.K. for British politics.

I'm Isa Soares. Thanks very much for joining us.

We will be right back.

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