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Quest Means Business
Boris Johnson Gets Down To Business After His Historic Election Win; The U.S. And China Has Announced A Trade Agreement; U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Wins Majority, Vows Brexit By January 31st; Big Vote on Trump Impeachment Set for Next Week; U.S. and China Reach Phase 1 Trade Deal. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired December 13, 2019 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:11]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: It's the end of the week and nearly end of trading in New York. There is an hour to go and we had a peak and a
valley and now, we are just tootling along in the last hour of trade. Very little movement on it. These are obviously trade related. I'll explain
the markets and the reasons why.
Trade Phase 1 complete. The U.S. and China announced a trade agreement.
Next stop. Brexit. Boris Johnson gets down to business after his historic election win last night.
And U.K. investors celebrate the end of uncertainty. Stocks are at an all- time high. Is this an early optimism to be followed by later pessimism?
Live from London on Friday the 13th, talking of dodgy dates, I'm Richard Quest. And in London, of course, I mean business.
Good evening. After months of buildup, today is a day of some sort of clarity, and it appears to be key victories for both Boris Johnson and
Donald Trump.
In the case of Donald Trump, it's a fight over China. Full coverage on both of the stories as we weave on to tonight's program, but we probably
must and we will start tonight here in London.
A victory. Boris Johnson says get Brexit done and let the healing begin. Voters in the U.K. last night, as you'll be well aware, delivered a
resounding win for his Conservative Party, not a landslide, but a comfortable majority.
The Prime Minister has now a strong majority a new mandate for Brexit. Across the aisle, a crushing defeat for the Labour Party. Jeremy Corbyn
says he will step down. The Liberal Democrats are in disarray. Party leader Jo Swinson lost her seat and has resigned. The Conservative triumph
did not extend to Scotland. The SNP swept the Board.
Boris Johnson says now's the time to heal the country's divisions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We are going to unite and level up. Unite and level up -- bringing together the whole of this incredible United
Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland together taking us forward, unleashing the potential of the whole country, delivering
opportunity across the entire nation.
And since I know that after five weeks, frankly of electioneering, this country deserves a break from wrangling, a break from politics, set a
permanent break from talking about Brexit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Boris Johnson there outside Number 10. Nic Robertson is outside the same Number 10, but now it's dark and probably drizzly tonight. But
the Christmas tree looks rather jolly. Look, a very different mood tonight than say 48 hours ago. And when you think Nick of the time that you've
been there and I've been done on Abingdon Green and the misery of a gridlocked British government for the last three years, tonight is very
different.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The traffic light just went green, the traffic disappeared. The road and the highway is clear
ahead for Boris Johnson at least in the sort of near future, the next few miles of road certainly, because with a stonking majority, he can
effectively do what he wants.
Get the divorce part of Brexit by the end of January. That's his aim. I mean, he has the numbers to do it. He said no more talking about Brexit,
but of course, you know after Christmas and the New Year, that's all we'll be talking about again because there is the future trade relationship and
that may put up a few more trucks and traffic in the road ahead of him.
But no, the gridlock is gone and this is what businesses in Britain wanted. And the response from European Union leaders has been equally positive. He
has had a positive phone call with the Irish Taoiseach, Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar. He has had a call with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.
You know, we've heard from Mark Rutta, the Prime Minister there in the Netherlands. All of it is, okay, you've got this well done. This is the
clarity we needed. We can move together. We'll move forward knowing this.
QUEST: There is no doubt, I mean, just for any viewers who are watching. There's no doubt that we can take this victory, even though, you know, that
there are many people in this country who still want to remain, but it was a vote to support a government whose principal policy is Brexit and I am
wondering because we'll talk about it in a moment.
Just tell us about those seats that the Conservatives won for the first time -- for the first time in decades?
[15:05:10]
ROBERTSON: Yes, I mean, I remember talking to people out on the campaign trail who said, ph, my goodness, oh my goodness, I can't do what I've done
in the past and vote for the Labour Party. I'm going to have to vote for the Conservatives, but it's the lowest thing I can do.
You know, it's not something that had countenance before, and that's happened. I mean, look at the Midlands in the U.K. where there was the
biggest shift towards a Conservative vote, and even in the northeast of England, you know, an industrial heartland, impoverished, you know, as
mines have closed, the shipyards have closed in the past 30 or 40 years. Economic decline yet, where Labour should or would have triumphed in the
past; now, they're gone Conservative, many of them.
QUEST: Thank you, Nic Robertson at Number 10. I want to continue developing this idea of the seats that they won. The election result was a
historic win for the Prime Minister.
It was the Conservative Party's biggest victory since Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister in '87. I remember that election well. For Labour, it was
a stunning loss, its worst general election performance since 1935.
You've got to look at seats like Lea and Blyth Valley across the North of England that seats went from Labour to Conservative for the first time
ever. Boris Johnson is now pushing this concept of a new one nation Conservative Party because if you look at the map today, they have seats
right the way through except to Scotland. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: It does look as though this one nation Conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate.
We must recognize the incredible reality that we now speak as a one nation Conservative Party, literally for everyone from Woking to Workington.
We in this one nation Conservative government will never ignore your good and positive feelings of warmth and sympathy towards the other nations of
Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The phrase originated with Benjamin Disraeli, who was Prime Minister in the 1870s. It's basically an idea that the rich help the poor
and that the whole country needs both.
Paddy O'Connell is a British broadcaster and columnist. He joins me now. Every Tory leader says one nation Tory, one nation conservatism, but the
difference here with Boris Johnson is he now actually has seats in the parts of the country where they are traditionally Labour.
PADDY O'CONNELL, BRITISH BROADCASTER AND COLUMNIST: The Q behind your head means quake. This is an earthquake, Richard. It's a landmark election. I
don't mean to be trivial when I say everything in British needs to be translated for your viewers.
One nation doesn't mean anything. One nation means at least two things. Firstly, what it says on the tip nation. We aren't one nation. We are the
Scots, the Welsh, the English, and the Irish who identifies Irish and the Irish -- and the British who identifies British living in Ireland.
So first of all, we've got the national question, but then there's the economy which you live and breathe, the rich and the poor. Now, this is a
play to say if you're poor and you voted for us, seen as looking after the rich, you can trust us. We're going to build the state. We're going to
look after you.
QUEST: Well, he said last night, Boris Johnson in his statement, the short one that he made. You know, he said, if you've lent us your vote --
O'CONNELL: That's correct.
QUEST: Because normally, you talk about I've given you my vote. If you've lent us your vote, intending to go back.
O'CONNELL: Yes, you're right, because this is like a rustbelt steel worker who votes for Trump saying, oh, I'm going to try Hillary Clinton. I mean,
try and tell your viewers around the world as you have done, these are seats which have never returned a Conservative Member of Parliament ever in
the history of the democracy.
QUEST: So, can we legitimately say that this election last night does legitimize Johnson's claim that the U.K. can leave the E.U.?
O'CONNELL: In England, and it will, by January the 31st, the U.K. will now leave the E.U. because of the way our Parliament works. But morally, the
Scots. There are 59 seats in Scotland and a passion for national identity. Forty eight of those seats went to the Scottish National Party which -- and
that was your question to me, what does one nation mean?
QUEST: But can Nicola Sturgeon have her referendum if Boris Johnson, who runs the national government won't allow it?
O'CONNELL: Under the Scotland Act, no. It's the Westminster government that has the power to call an election -- referendum. And he is saying no.
She is saying get out of my way, blondie. I mean, not saying that of course, but I'm being metaphorical.
[15:10:05]
QUEST: Right. And you've studied -- you have studied both sides of the Atlantic in terms of election. You've covered many U.S. elections, too.
Paddy, do you do any -- Donald Trump is going to try and make nice with Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson is going to have a certain arm's length
because he doesn't want to be tinged with the worst excesses of Trump, but he needs Donald Trump.
O'CONNELL: Both those countries are fractured, fissured and fed up. In Britain, people are absolutely exhausted. He said five weeks, it's been
three years. It's been 36 months of the people arguing. Families break up about this European question. There is 12 months ahead to do a deal with
Europe. Twelve months.
QUEST: Right. Trump today said that the deal with U.S. that he could do would dwarf your --
O'CONNELL: With the U.K.?
QUEST: With UK would dwarf anything --
O'CONNELL: Yes, he did.
QUEST: -- that the U.K. would do with E.U.
O'CONNELL: He has said that. He has said that and that is going to come down to the line by line detail. You know, because you've covered it.
When the Canadians tried to do a deal with the E.U., the woman who was the Trade Ambassador wept in front of the cameras and got back on the plane.
It took nine years.
I mean, we are talking about the most serious line by line details, whose - - what do they want from us, the U.K.? What are we going to give them? What markets have we got? How are we going to balance the 318 million
people in one trading bloc with nearly the same numbers in the other? That's British politics for the next 12 months after the Q for quake we've
just been through.
QUEST: So finally do you -- I mean, I want to -- is this nation tonight or tomorrow more at ease than it was? As I was coming here today on the trip,
I was looking at everybody. There's always a look in any country after an election as if you've just been through a nasty hangover.
O'CONNELL: Yes.
QUEST: But do you get the feeling that the country is just a little bit more, that's over.
O'CONNELL: I want to say that I know people in my life who passionately believe different political things. We are a parliamentary democracy and
Parliament has been bumper to bumper gridlock, like you get in New York with your show.
QUEST: Right.
O'CONNELL: This is a thumping parliamentary majority for Boris Johnson. Our system since the Civil War has been working on parliamentary majorities
or not. And therefore, what you have is progress, but I don't think you've yet got peace between the warring factions of our country.
QUEST: Good to see you, sir. Thank you, as always. Have a good weekend. Now, the U.K. election is just one of the factors investors are watching.
A Phase 1 trade deal between the United States and China is moving markets. After the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:15:22]
QUEST: A busy day for the markets around the world with all these developments on trade between U.S. and China and of course, Brexit and the
U.S. stocks have seesawed. They had all-time highs on Thursday and Chinese stocks up around two percent. Well, you can see the numbers for yourself.
Hong Kong's biggest game in three months and the U.K. election is pushing European stocks higher. We'll talk more about that in a moment.
The U.S. and China have reached a Phase 1 trade deal. The administration - - Trump administration will no longer impose tariffs that were due to kick in on Sunday. China has agreed to buy more American goods to reform its
policies on currency and intellectual property.
The U.S. President says he will start negotiations on Phase 2 right away. China is more cautious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIAO MIN, CHINESE VICE MINISTER FOR FINANCE (through translator): The consultation that in the second phase will depend on the implementation of
the Phase 1 agreement. I think this is understandable to you. We have just reached the first phase or Phase 1 agreement.
So the priority for us is to sign this agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: In Europe, stocks closed mostly higher. In heavy trading, the FTSE blue chip rose one percent in London even though the pound rose as well.
German stocks hit a two-year intraday high.
The real winner from the U.K. elections is the FTSE 250 with its big and the mid-sized companies less affected by currency fluctuations. The
multinationals, it was at a record high. Companies that could have been nationalized under a Corbyn government saw particularly strong gains.
And the chairman of London First told me on "The Express" when it comes to Brexit, businesses want clarity and now have more clarity than ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL DRECHSLER, CHAIRMAN, LONDON FIRST: The big issue for business was such a long period of uncertainty. Three years without a Parliament in
control of the destiny of the U.K., we now have a Prime Minister with a very clear majority. He is very clear about what he wants to do in terms
of the Withdrawal Agreement.
All the effort now will go into building a long term, positive relationship with the E.U., exactly as he said on the steps of Downing Street this
afternoon recognizing the importance of that relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, Jean-Claude Trichet was the President of ECB from 2003 to 2011. He joins me now tonight from Paris. Good to see you as always, sir.
The reality is, as a result of the election in Britain last night, European partners are under no doubt -- can be under no doubt now that the U.K. is
going to leave the E.U. and it really becomes a question of how to negotiate the best trade deal for the future.
JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE ECB: Absolutely. Clarification is so important after three years of total absence of clarity
on what was going on. So it's very, very understandable that there is a lot of happiness, I would say many circles, because things are clearer.
We know that we will eliminate no deal. We know that we are eliminating remain and things are again very, very clear. That being said, of course,
ahead of us, there is a negotiation of a trade deal. And even if we know that it is not a no deal, of course, and not remain, of course; still, the
negotiation is open and it would be a very, very important one.
So I hope very much that it would be negotiated as professionally as I would say sincerely on both sides and of course, as rapidly as possible
because again, uncertainty is the enemy.
QUEST: Even though one accepts that there can't be single market or full access because that would obviously be wrong if you're not a member. How
do we stop -- how do we stop the Europeans from wanting to punish the Brits to prove that being outside the E.U. is detrimental?
TRICHET: I don't think at all that there is any such intention, it would be strange to have this intention because in any case, it is the British
decision that created the cost. The cost will be borne, of course, by the British, largely because of the size of their economy, but the rest of
Europe will be also punished. So there is no such things.
I mean, we have to find out the best possible deal in my opinion, without punishing everybody but knowing of course, that the simple decision of the
U.K. created a cost for all of us, the main largest cost of course for the U.K. taking into account its own GDP dimension, but for all the others,
also there is a cost and the cost will be borne by the 27.
[15:20:16]
TRICHET: I regret very much as you know, personally, I regret very much that decision. I know that half of the U.K. also regret that decision. We
are all losing in this decision that goes without saying, but to present that of now a punishment on the U.K. does not fit at all with what is going
on. Certainly not.
QUEST: The ECB under new management as they used to say and yesterday, Christine Lagarde did her first press conference or this week she had her
first press conference, and she had her first meeting. It's early days of course.
But this idea of a strategic review of the ECB's mandates and procedures, what would you like to see come out of it?
TRICHET: Well, first of all, it's not a strategic review of the mandate. It's a strategy review of the way I would say, the ECB has to apply its
mandate, taking into account many changes, of course, over the last years.
So I think it's important. It is what the U.S. Fed is being -- has started also, and I think it's important. We will see exactly. There are a number
of points which are important. How do you judge the non-conventional measures? Are they transitory or are they permanent in some respect?
Second, how do you deal in the medium and long run with the two percent definition or price stability? And that's also very important. And of
course you have, how do you communicate to the government under a Parliament that they have themselves not to leave the Central Bank alone?
And that's important.
QUEST: Right. Finally, sir, has the earthquake subsided at the ECB? That it is not a PhD economist and a former Central Banker, and a top banker who
has got the job at the ECB, but a former Finance Minister and a politician? Is the earthquake over?
TRICHET: Well, I would say the first education of Christine was a lawyer education, exactly like Jay Powell. And from that standpoint, you have a
similarity -- similarity.
And then she was, during the first five years of her term at the helm of the International Monetary Fund -- monetary is in the IMF acronym and she
has been reappointed with the satisfaction of the international community. So I don't think there is any point in challenging her skills.
QUEST: Absolutely. Good to see you as always. Thank you and have a good Christmas and a good New Year.
TRICHET: A pleasure.
QUEST: Thank you.
TRICHET: A real pleasure.
QUEST: China confirmed a tentative trade agreement today. Markets had a hard time digesting the new information. In a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:25:15]
QUEST: Confusing all around with the news of the U.S.-China trade deal. The Dow jumped 140 points and then fell back by a similar amount. Now,
it's just flat. Stocks at their record levels, so we shouldn't get too excited. The Dow was up 220 points on Thursday on news of the agreement.
Clare Sebastian is in New York. Clare, two months ago, they said that they had a deal and they needed to work out the details. Is this the working
out the deal -- the result of that?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Richard. So two months ago they had a handshake. Now, as we are here today, they have a text.
The problem is we haven't seen that text yet, although we are assured in a White House briefing call that just ended that they will eventually make
that text public.
They also haven't signed it yet, Richard. That is now according to a senior administration official expected to happen in the first week of
January. They still have to go through legal and various other things, translations, and then eventually they expect Robert Lighthizer, the U.S.
Trade Representative and the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to get together and sign this deal.
But the markets are digesting just how much of a breakthrough this really is, Richard, since we don't know much of the detail yet.
QUEST: And that's really the impossible question to ask you, isn't it? Is this -- I mean, it's a long way to get the full deal, even though the
President said he wouldn't do itsy bitsy bits of it. But he has done.
So, we just don't know whether this is actually a smokescreen of a deal that allows the President to say he has got something or if it's really
made inroads on things like IP protection, joint ventures and all of that.
SEBASTIAN: Exactly, Richard. They say that they've tackled those things. We just now from the senior administration official on the call got a
little bit more information when it comes to intellectual property provisions, what they've done there. They say that China has made
commitments on things like trademarks, patents, pharmaceuticals, and things like that.
They didn't say what those commitments are, but there are two key issues here. One is Chinese agricultural purchases, which is something the
President has been pushing for, for months now. The administration says that they are aiming to get China to purchase $40 billion to $50 billion in
U.S. agricultural products per year for the next two years.
There are skeptics out there who say that is a big stretch given that China had only purchased $20 billion in 2017 before this trade war started. The
administration officials on this briefing call said that they are comfortable, U.S. farmers and ranchers can meet that goal, but there is
skepticism out there and plus, Richard, a lot of tariffs despite some rollback still remain in place.
QUEST: Clare, have a lovely weekend. Clare Sebastian and back to Britain when we return, Boris Johnson is promising the U.K. will leave by January,
the E.U., that's is. We'll look at why the Brexit timetables a bit more complicated than that. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS after a British election.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:00]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, there's more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in just a moment. Donald Trump gets a deal on trade, at the same time, this
articles of impeachment have voted through Capitol Hill. And now, there are parts Europe wants, it won't be easy level-playing fields with already
free trade agreements with the U.K.
Before that, this is CNN, and on this network, the facts always come first. After a strong Conservative Party victory in the U.K. general election, the
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to unite the country and deliver Brexit. In Scotland, the SNP made significant gains, Johnson told the
party leader Nicola Sturgeon, he remains opposed to a second referendum for Scottish independence.
The stage is now set for an impeachment vote against President Trump in the whole house. The Judiciary Committee voted on Friday to approve the two
articles of impeachment, it was along embitter partisan debate, the full house will vote next week, the White House is calling the whole thing a
desperate charade.
The U.S. and China have agreed to a phase 1 trade deal. U.S. officials says China has agreed to increase purchases for American products and
services by at least $200 billion over the next two years. President Trump says he's canceled a new round of tariffs that was due to take effect on
Sunday. The negotiations on phase 2 will start right away.
In Algeria, Abdelmajid Tebboune has been declared the winner in Thursday's presidential election. Results show he won 58 percent of the vote.
Protesters declaring the election a sham over the links of five candidates and to the former president and the ruling elite.
In New Zealand, six bodies have been recovered from White Island are now taken to Auckland for a post-mortem. Authorities are still working to
recover two more bodies. The recovery operation was launched despite the risk of another eruption. The official number of people who died is 14.
Fresh from the electoral victory, Boris Johnson is promising to move quickly to take the U.K. out of the EU. Earlier he said, he vowed his
government would work around the clock to deliver Brexit in the new year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, UNITED KINGDOM PRIME MINISTER: On Monday, MPs will arrive at Westminster to form a new parliament. And I'm proud to say that members
of our new one-nation government, a people's government will set out from constituencies that have never returned a Conservative MP for 100 years.
And yes, they will have an overwhelming mandate from this election to get Brexit done, and we will honor that mandate by January, the 31st.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: January, the 31st, get Brexit done. There's the clock. It's been the mantra of Johnson's campaign since the beginning. And we're seeing two
Brexit deadlines come and go so far already. Now, it looks like the Prime Minister will succeed, after all, if he can't do it now, he's never going
to do it take Britain out of the EU on the 31st.
In reality, the day Britain walks away on the beginning of the divorce, well, nothing really will happen. On the end of it, nothing happens.
Because the transition begins until December 2020. That's when the messy details of any exit will be negotiated. And Johnson has until June to
extend this transition period. He wants a trade deal and 10 months simply might not be long enough to do it.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU will make the most out of the time available.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: The United Kingdom and the European Union, we face so many challenges that we have in common
globally. And where we share the approach, where we share interests and where we share values. That, it is in our common interest in both entities
to come to a very good new relationship in an orderly way. So, we go step- by-step, but in an attitude that says we want to be good neighbors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:35:00]
QUEST: Meanwhile, Donald Trump says the United States is ready for trade deal 2. He's calling bigger and more lucrative than any deal between to
the U.K. and the EU. Speaking earlier, he championed Boris Johnson's win and the possibility of doing business with Britain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to congratulate, he's a friend of mine. It's going to be a great thing for the United States
also. Because it means a lot of trade, tremendous amount of trade. They want to do business with us so badly. Under the European Union, it was
very hard for them to do business with us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Now, join the conversation, go to your digital devices, and go to cnn.com-slash-join. And the question is which trade deal is more important
to the new British government. The EU or the U.S.? Cnn.com-slash-join. At first blush, it obviously seems like it would be the EU, it's the closest.
But if you look at the growth in traffic, and if you look at the closest neighbor in the sense of the ease of doing business, might it be the United
States?
Well, a little, especially on the services question. Mark Littlewood is with me. The Director-General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, good
to see you.
MARK LITTLEWOOD, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: Good to see you, Richard.
QUEST: You'll answer that question at the end. But before we go too much from that, Brexit will happen, but there is this negotiation now with the
EU in 10 months, can it be done?
LITTLEWOOD: I think it can be. You need to be a bit optimistic to think that 10 months is going to be enough. The bit we pretty much resolve now
is the details of our departure. We know what our exit is going to look like. How much money is the U.K. going to hand over to the EU for all of
the joint projects we've been working on.
That bit is being fixed. So, if you like the technical --
QUEST: The divorce --
LITTLEWOOD: The divorce is fixed. But what's the future relationship going to look like? That's still on the table, and we've got less than a
year really to sort that out. We could extend again. But I think people are sick and tired about that procrastination --
QUEST: Right --
LITTLEWOOD: Can it be done in a year?
QUEST: Right, but you have to accept, do you not that it can't be what you had before, which is market access, single market, Customs Union.
LITTLEWOOD: Well, it clearly can't be that, otherwise what would be the point of leaving --
QUEST: Maybe one of -- right, but what I'm saying is, you can't have all the benefits and none of the responsibilities --
LITTLEWOOD: That's right, this is a game of trade-offs. The more aligned we are with the European Union, the more for example we agree to follow
their rules or keep those, you know, simpatico in some way. Well, that helped keep trade with the European Union relatively frictionless. But it
then limits your room for maneuver when you're discussing trade deals with say the United States of America or other Commonwealth countries because
you've already agreed to one bloc of regulatory rules which the U.N. can't put on the table when you're dealing with the rest of the world.
So, you've got to see a sort of playing multi-dimensional chess. There's one going to the European Union, there's another going to the USA --
QUEST: Can the -- can the U.K. do it?
LITTLEWOOD: Well, I hope so and I think so. It's going to require us to up our game enormously. Because over the last three years, the British
government has shown itself completely incapable of playing single- dimensional chess, let alone balancing off various different chess boards at once, so, it's a challenge, but it's also an opportunity it does
actually put the destiny in the U.K.'s own hands. We're about to find out whether the U.K. is capable of mastering that destiny.
QUEST: Yes, on this question of one-nation Tory. The -- I've got a list here. Rother Valley --
LITTLEWOOD: Yes --
QUEST: Which has been labor since 1918 --
LITTLEWOOD: For record --
QUEST: Leeds since 1922.
LITTLEWOOD: Yes --
QUEST: Some of these seats, Wakefield, 32, some of them have never been anything -- Rother Valley, but Labor. They are now -- the electorate are
expecting protections on things like welfare state -- and the welfare state and for example the health service, that the Tories might not have offered
in the past.
LITTLEWOOD: Well, we're presuming that to some extent, and certainly, Boris Johnson's opening statement is all about the national health service,
we can now move on and get that done. This is going to be the big question I think for the Conservative Party. Traditionally, over the last 30, 40
years or so, it's been the affluent southern middle class --
QUEST: Right --
LITTLEWOOD: That have tended to vote Conservative, and the poorer areas in the midlands or in the north tended to vote Labor. That's sort of been
flipped on its head at the moment. The Conservatives didn't do well in affluent areas, did well in relatively lower income areas --
QUEST: Because of the remain question. But that will not be an issue, of course, in the next election. So, how does Boris Johnson come up with
simpatico policies for those new MPs --
LITTLEWOOD: Exactly --
QUEST: And those new things that doesn't destroy the traditional -- I mean, how -- what does it mean to be a one-nation Tory when it comes to the
NHS?
LITTLEWOOD: Well, that's a very good question. Everybody uses this term, one-nation Conservative, but I don't think there's a book of political
philosophy that you can buy that defines it. I think what it means is this, though, that what Boris Johnson means by it is he's not going to try
to govern in the interest of a particular identified geographical or class group.
[15:40:00]
He's not going to try and govern in the interest of the affluent middle classes for example or in the interests of the south or in the interest of
the city of London. He's going to try and find --
QUEST: Do you --
LITTLEWOOD: Policies that have universal impact. I think that's what he means by it.
QUEST: Do you believe the NHS is safe in the wider -- it's not going anywhere. But do you believe the NHS will thrive under this government?
LITTLEWOOD: I think that the NHS needs startling reform. If you throw more money at anything, you can probably improve its performance by
underlying it. I think we've got much to learn, probably less from the USA and more from Europe about how to actually --
QUEST: Right --
LITTLEWOOD: Run a successful health care system.
QUEST: Now, don't look at the screen. If I'm going to ask you which trade deal is more important. The U.K. or the -- so the EU or the U.S.?
LITTLEWOOD: Spot price right now over the next five years, I would say the EU. Over the next five to ten years, European Union matters more. Over
the next 20 or 25, more marginal.
QUEST: For the moment -- you and the wise viewer agree.
LITTLEWOOD: Well, that's good to know --
QUEST: Good to see you, sir --
LITTLEWOOD: Good to see you, Richard --
QUEST: Please do come back again.
LITTLEWOOD: Will do --
QUEST: We'll need you some more. Now, President Trump is a step closer to being impeached. The articles of impeachment have been passed by the
committee responsible, and now go to the whole house in both the committee and of course the house, they have a majority. It's almost inevitable he
will be impeached. But the implications, now, that's what we need to talk about next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved the articles of impeachment against President Trump. The vote was completely partisan. All 23
Democrats voted in favor, all 17 Republicans voted against. The two impeachment articles go to the full house next week, and frankly, it will
be astonishing if Donald Trump did not become the third U.S. President to be impeached.
Manu Raju joins me from Washington. Before we get into the meat and veg of, you know, what's next and all of that, just confirm -- I mean, you do
expect the house to impeach next week?
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. It would be a total --
QUEST: Right --
RAJU: Stunner if that didn't happen. We do expect --
QUEST: Right --
RAJU: Democrats to vote almost in unity with probably a handful will vote against those articles of impeachment. One independent will vote for it,
so, there will be more than enough of a majority, which is all they need to get those articles of impeachment approved.
[15:45:00]
QUEST: And because it's partisan in such a way, and it's going to fail in the Senate in that sense. Is it a failure this impeachment? I mean, wasn't
impeachment in the constitution always intended to have elements of bipartisan support because it was such a rare event?
RAJU: Well, it doesn't explicitly say that it must be bipartisan in the constitution, but it does -- there was an argument that the founders --
some of the founders as in their deliberations over putting impeachment in the constitution that they had hoped that it would be not a tool that would
be used by the masses.
It would be something that would have -- only be done in the most dire of circumstances where folks on both sides would agree that this needed to be
approved. Clearly, that's not the case here. And I've been talking to Democrats about exactly that. What they're saying is that this Republican
Party is in lock-step with the president, no matter what he does.
They are not willing to use the tool of impeachment. They contend that they have no choice, but to act because their --
QUEST: Right --
RAJU: View is that the president violated his oath of office, violated the constitution in how he leveraged the use of power of his office in pushing
Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. So they say that was their only choice, but their challenge is now selling that to voters back home.
QUEST: I listened to the president today talking about impeachment, horrible, nasty, sham, fake and all the things that he used to say about
it. But there's definitely an element of, you know, depending on how the trial is done, he's going to wear it as a badge of pride to his base. I
got impeached. And that's not what this was ever intended. It was supposed to be a badge of shame, and not pride.
RAJU: Yes, you know, and the president, you talk to people who know the president, he does not want to be impeached because it will be a stain on
his legacy, being that he would only be the third in American history to get impeached. That is not something any president wants. But you're
right, he is also going to use that at the same time to rally his base, try to contend that Democrats are simply out to get him on a witch-hunt, and
that he is the victim.
And that's -- he's been playing the victim card since the day he got elected --
QUEST: Right --
RAJU: And his base believes him when he makes that case to them. So, that's why you're seeing total Republican unity.
QUEST: Sure --
RAJU: His base still come out for him, even though he is going to have the stain on his record.
QUEST: Can I just refer you -- Manu, Democrats on the Hill who attacked the president over a new trade agreement with China. Now, you'll be aware
the Senate Majority, either Chuck Schumer issued a statement. He said "at first, President Trump seemed like the only president who would dare tackle
this challenge. But now according to reports, he has sold out for a temporary and unreliable promise from China to purchase some soybeans." Is
it your view that this is in trouble this deal?
RAJU: It still remains to be seen because we have just not seen any of the details yet about exactly what is in this. And -- but we do know is that a
lot of -- as you mentioned, people who had actually hoped that the president would take a tough line against China as some of his critics who
had said, OK, well, you'd taken this wrong, maybe we don't like the way you're going about it by levying these tariffs and coming -- and not seem
to have a real plan here are coming out critical about what they are seeing in these reports. But ultimately --
QUEST: Right --
RAJU: We have to see -- the president said multiple times, he's had a deal -- close to a deal and we have yet to see that really play out. So, the
question is, what is -- what are the details? And we just don't have any information about that quite yet, Richard.
QUEST: Manu, good to see you, have a lovely weekend, good to see you --
RAJU: Will do --
QUEST: Yes --
RAJU: Thank you.
QUEST: Boris Johnson gambled and won spectacularly. We'll explain how this election ripples, will -- be far beyond Downing Street and parliament
to the hearts of the country and across into Europe and the U.S. too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:00]
QUEST: Boris Johnson is urging healing in the U.K. after securing his strong majority for his party. The general election has shuffled the decks
on Brexit. The leadership of Britain's political parties, even the future of the union. CNN's Nick Glass now looks at the consequences of the Prime
Minister's successful gamble.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So hey, guys, where was the main man? Suddenly out he popped through a rock star reception.
JOHNSON: Thank you, thank you very much for coming.
GLASS: Unquestionably, this was Boris Johnson's night.
JOHNSON: We did it, we did it. We pulled it off, didn't we?
GLASS: A very personal triumph and a mandate to govern for the next five years with --
JOHNSON: The biggest Conservative majority since the 1980s.
GLASS: His campaign was acutely strategically managed, lots of photo opportunities, some invasion of serious interrogation, but one clear
promise repeated vigorously and monotonously.
JOHNSON: With this mandate, and this majority, we will last be able to do what?
CROWD: Get Brexit done!
JOHNSON: You've been paying attention.
GLASS: As the "BBC" showed graphically on the night, here was a crucial historic change. The red band of Labor-working class seats straddling the
north of England began to shrink, some turning Conservative blue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think he'll resign?
JEREMY CORBYN, LEADER, LABOR PARTY: Thank you very much.
GLASS: This election was fundamentally a leadership battle between two men, Boris Johnson and Labor's Jeremy Corbyn. One that Mr. Corbyn has
manifestly lost.
CORBYN: This is obviously a very disappointing night for the Labor Party. I want to also make it clear that I will not lead the party in any future
general election campaign.
GLASS: Mr. Corbyn is staying on as Labor leader to allow the party time for what he calls reflection. Expect some labor-infighting. After a toxic
campaign, there's clearly some residual fury at the way things have turned out.
EMILY THORNBERRY, LABOR SHADOW FOREIGN SECRETARY: This duplicitous, gutless, reckless Prime Minister has been elected on one issue alone.
Wrapping himself in the lie that he is the only person to get Brexit done.
GLASS: Naturally, the victorious Prime Minister raised his hands in triumph, going in and coming out of Conservative Party headquarters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting out --
GLASS: The Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon was even more excited. Live on "Sky News", she just learned that a colleague had
unseated the Liberal Democrat Party leader Jo Swinson. The SNP swept to a landslide in Scotland. Britain's political paralysis may be over, but now
a constitutional crisis looms.
Nicola Sturgeon is certain to push for another referendum on Scottish independence. But the Ulster Unionists losing seats in Northern Island,
there are additional signs of fracture within the United Kingdom.
JOHNSON: We will get Brexit done on time by the 31st of January. No ifs, no buts, no maybes.
GLASS: But after that, Boris Johnson faces perhaps the greater challenge of negotiating a trade deal with Europe. And then there's the broader
Churchillian question -- will he be able to lift what some observers perceive as widespread national despondency. Nick Glass, CNN, in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:55:00]
QUEST: Lots of movement and little change on the U.S. markets. We're in the final moments before the close. Despite a phase 1 deal, you saw all
this really at this part of the day. But it did evaporate and we are just bouncing around -- but it's well remembering, we're bouncing around a very
high levels.
The utilities in the tech were the best of the day, Dow is the worst at the bottom, down 2 percent. The best is American Express, obviously something
going on with that because we had American Express and the others also up there. The triple stack shows Dow doing nothing, S&P doing pretty little
much, the Nasdaq, I wouldn't get too excited about.
We will have a profitable moment with the markets looking like that. But they are -- I beg your pardon, there is something to mention, record high,
record high. So, we're well and truly on top and except for here. We'll be back in a moment with a profitable moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment. So, Boris Johnson has a safe, secure, sizeable majority that will allow him to govern for the next five years.
Obviously Brexit is the number one issue. But I think there's another issue that's very closely behind. It is how he will negotiate the trade
deals with the EU and the U.S. and whether they could be done next year.
Most people say they can't be. But you do have this government that -- what we called the Tory's one-nation Tory. Judging and governing for those
who are less fortunate in seats that have never been Conservative. Where issues of benefits, health care, welfare payments are of much greater
importance.
Now, I get the impression Boris Johnson truly means he wants to be a Disraeli one-nation Prime Minister. But can he hold that party? You see,
he used to have a party like this, now you've got a party like this. The two extremes. Those that were Labor and those that were strong, hard-line
Tory constituencies.
Can you govern a party at those extremes, with policies required at such detail? I don't know. But that's what Johnson is going to have to do, and
ultimately besides Brexit. That will be what he's judged on. At the next election, how many of those seats do they keep? And that's QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS for tonight, I am Richard Quest in London.
Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it is profitable. The bell is ringing, the day is done. I'll see you in New York on Monday.
END
