08/09/2014 North West Tonight

Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson...

The Wigan councillor disciplined for spending thousands callhng sex

Robert Bleakley, who also sdnt explicit texts, is told not to

Demonstrations as rail fares rise more than double

I've said goodbye and I madd my peace.

Why actress Julie Hesmondhalgh was at a MPs' debate

And I've been hearing about a new era for this football club `nd the

man from America who came to make it happen.

A Wigan councillor has been deemed to have such a poor attitudd towards

women that he's been barred from speaking to female council officers.

Councillor Steve Bleakley r`n up a ?2500 bill to explicit sex lines

He was caught watching porn on a council computer

But despite this, tonight Robert Bleakley is still in office.

The council says it's powerless to remove him and that is up to voters

Clare Fallon's in Wigan for us this evening.

This all came to light when the counsellor checked its mobile phone

contract and discovered that the phone given to this counsellor had

racked up this phone bill. He had used it to call premium ratd sex

lines and to send a number of texts that were sexist and extremd. I

can't find an example of those text that I could read on the telly, but

once said that "no wonder women are just cooking and watching the

material". This is not the first time his actions have been called

into question. He has been given sanctions for accessing pornography

on a council issued laptop. He used to be a live demo counsellor but he

was removed from the party because of allegations against his

behaviour. Let me bring the chief executive of the Council. What

sanctions are you imposing? No contact with women, isn't that

extreme? Is an extraordinarx measure and we are not happy to put it in

but we are at our wits end to regulate his behaviour. My job is to

protect my hard`working fem`le members of staff who has had enough

of this member's un`excusable behaviour. It is unacceptable.

Especially for someone who hs in a position of trust. It's

unacceptable. Some people whll be listening to what you're saxing and

find it remarkable that he has not been removed from office. Why is

that? Everything changed in 201 and the only thing that we can do is

impose the type of sections three Mack sanctions that we are hmposing

on him. He has been previously suspended for three years bdcause of

attacks that he made on cle`ners way back in time, so his behaviour has

not changed. He continues to abuse women throughout the organisation,

at senior levels, he doesn't learn from his bad behaviour. His reaction

is that we should shove our reports were monkeys shove their nuts. Thank

you for your time. We have tried to contact him to get is response to

this story, but when we went to his house, he saw our cameras, he turned

around his car and drove aw`y. As things stand, we do not havd a

result from him on this story. Thank you.

Tonight, rail fares on some Northern Rail routes have more than doubled

The new charges are for trains between 4:00pm

The company says it had no choice, it had to raise revenue.

Season ticket holders aren't affected, but those who buy daily

Some campaigners believe it will hit part`time workers hardest

Here's our transport correspondent Judy Hobson.

No to fare increases. That was the message from campaigners here this

morning. From today, anybodx buying daily tickets will pay more. How

much more depends on the rotte. And any returned between Wigan green

fields will now cost ?11. This same ticket between Wigan and Manchester

now cost ?9 20. Davenport to Woods Moore goes up to pounds. It's going

to impact people who work part`time. People who travel outside

of the morning peak to try `nd make a savings are now going to be hit

with more expensive fares in the evening. Northern Rail says that

more than 80% of passengers won t be affected. They say that fard

increases mean that taxpayers pay less for the services. Were still

get good value compared to taking the bus or travelling by car and

parking. The Company believds fare increases will ease overcrowding

Thomas O what to do passengdrs think of the new costs? It will m`ke it

more difficult for us as sttdents. I agree with this because shoppers

filled the trains so commutdrs who are paying weekly or monthlx fares

can't actually get on the trains. This is not the end of it. From

January, rail fares nationwhde will increase.

Wirral Council is to lose 500 jobs, which it blames on "unprecedented

The authority has already m`de cuts of ?100 million but now it s

confirmed it needs to make further savings of ?45 million by 2017.

It's considering scrapping some school crossing patrols,

cutting library hours and bringing in a charge for some car parks.

The Labour leader Ed Miliband has paid tribute to the Heywood and

Middleton MP Jim Dobbin, who died the weekend while on a Parlhamentary

Committee trip to Poland. The 73`year old had represented the

constituency since 1997. Mr Miliband described him as a man who was

He was a member of Parliament who always put the people of his

constituency first. He was ` man of faith which underpins everything he

did and she was a lifelong public servant, having worked in the NHS

for many years before coming to this house.

Countryside campaigners say too many green`field sites are being

developed in the North West because of new housing targdts

The Campaign to Protect Rur`l England says 16 schemes involving

more than 3000 homes have bden approved on appeal since ch`nges to

People living in Cheshire told tonight's Inside Out progralme they

feel powerless to stop their green space being built over.

I'm disappointed, I think, as well because the Localisl Bill

quite clearly stated that they were taking responsibility away

from the man in Whitehall so that communities could s`y how

they would like their village or town to develop in the future.

However, that didn't count with the development and the devdlopment

And you can see more on that story on Inside Out North West on BBC One

One of the region's most high profhle MPs

The Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley, Nigel Evans, is fachng a

reselection meeting in which members of his party must decide whdther to

stick with him or choose a new candidate for the general election.

In April, Mr Evans was found "not guilty" of nine sexual offences

As our chief reporter explahns, some members of his party h`ve lost

After the last 11 months th`t I have gone through, nothing

His life was changed forever by a five`week trial at which he had

The jury at Preston cleared him of all counts.

But during the trial, there had been stories about his private lhfe

On day one back at work in his constituency though,

Mr Evans was keen to put thd past behind him and get down to work

But there were questions th`t needed to be asked and answdred

Are you concerned that the revelations that came out dtring

this trial may have harmed xour credibility with the people here?

Not from what I am hearing on the streets.

That was April and now we'rd in September, and tonight local

Tory party officials will ddcide whether they wanted to reselect

Mr Evans to fight on their behalf at the next general election.

Do you still have faith in Lr Evans as your MP?

I think it's just time for him to go after all

If he can make promises and keep them and he can make what

he says happened, then I don't really see why we have

to look at the past because at the end of the day, you have to

look forward with everything, in life and with everything.

Tonight, Mr Evans will discover whether the

Well, let's go live to Clitheroe where that selection meeting will

Our political editor Arif Ansari is following events for us.

This is the kind of procedure that most MPs are very used to. Ht is

normally a formality, even ` celebration, as the existing MPs

says he would like to continue into the next general election and their

party says absolutely, we are right behind you. Tonight, it will be very

different. Nigel Evans will go before them, make a speech `ware

that some of them will have grave doubts about him, he will t`lk about

loyalty and his commitment to the constituency and he will ask them to

support him in what will be a secret ballot. They will take that on board

but they will also make a jtdgment on whether he is right and proper to

continue as their candidate and also whether he can win at the election.

Some people may think it's tnfair on Mr Evans given that he w`s found

It's some of the detail that came out in that court case. Particularly

his close relationship with alcohol and his close relationship with

young West minister workers. Some simply felt it was inappropriate and

felt that it is time for hil to move on. We don't know how many people

actually believe that. We whll find that out in about a half hotr. This

is not a retrial of Nigel Evans but we are still feeling the aftershocks

of what was a traumatic perhod for Mr Evans.

And you can find out what h`ppens to Nigel Evans in our late bulletin

Remembering the "Great Send Off" to the Gre`t War.

A century on, the 700 Port Sunlight volunteers are honoured.

Looming marvellous ` the Bolton schoolgirl who means business.

If I start now, I will have ten years experience.

I've said my goodbyes and I've made my peace.

Hayley Cropper deciding to take her own life in one of Coronation

The character was suffering from pancreatic cancer which only

has a 3% survival rate, the lowest of all the common cancers.

Now the woman who played her is trying to raise awareness

Julie Hesmondalgh was at Westminster for a parliamentary debate

And I asked her earlier how important it might prove to be.

We are hoping that it's going to be really significant

because obviously this is the first time that this issue has gone right

into the heart of Parliament and getting the MPs to sit tp and

woeful figures that say pancreatic cancer hasn't had any improvement

in survival in a 40 years, or barely any.

So we are hoping that they light sit up and take notice and try to make

a difference and join us in trying to make a difference about that

And those survival rates th`t you allude to are desperately poor,

They're really poor and a lot of that is to do with it behng very

difficult cancer to detect and it's such a mysterious bit

of your body anyway, most people don't know wherd it is.

It is often misdiagnosed by many medical professionals.

How important do you think having the issue out there

on a primetime soap opera w`s in getting to this point, and

Anything that is in a progr`mme like a Coronation Street, any issue

that is addressed in it, is immediately going to be in people's

On a more specific level, there was a petition that got up to

10,000 signatures very quickly, which meant that we could ddliver

We needed to get to 100,000 to make this parliamentary debate h`ppen

and then there was a mad push at the end on social media,

right up until the deadline at the 11th hour, we got 106,000 shgnatures

And in hindsight, when this day is done, what do you

I hope that the Government will decide to increase funding

significantly for pancreatic cancer and that survival rates, as

of a direct result of that, will improve over the next few ydars

It will be a great day for those who have already lost friends

A century ago, 700 employees from the Lever

Brothers factory in Wirral dnlisted to fight in the First World War

It was the largest number of volunteers to sign up

And this weekend, hundreds of people joined in a recreation of the "Great

A hundred years ago, 700 men from here signed up to fight in the First

World War. Yesterday, members here joined forces to march and remember

their legacy. It was the largest amount of volunteers to sign up

anywhere in the country. Thdy worked together in a factory, live together

in the village, and socialised together. The removal of those

people must've had a massivd effect on a village life, and many didn't

come back. The crowds were given a sendoff with the original speech

spoken here. Before you go to take part in the greatest war thhs has

ever seen `` world has ever seen him take faith. If they didn't know what

the terror was. They just hdard boom boom, the guns. This is my granddad

who signed up. Luckily, he was fortunate enough to come hole. A

hundred years ago, the volunteers then caught the train and p`raded

through the city. The reports of the men who went to war showed that many

were injured and many were killed, never making it back to thehr

families. The tour touched us here in Britain,

but it was rooted in the Northwest this weekend.

Yes, the Tour de France might have skirted the region in July,

but the Tour of Britain was given a great send

Stage Two started in Knowsldy this morning with the safarh park

It was also a memorable weekend for Widnes Vikings who have made

the Super League play`offs for the very first time.

A second half hat trick frol Stefan Marsh helped secure a 32`12 win at

Bradford yesterday, which confirms the Vikings top eight place.

Coach Dennis Betts has described it as a fantastic achievement.

You can see more on The Super League Show at 11:35pm

The new owner of Barrow football club says he's fully prepardd to

spend the millions of pounds it will take to transform the club

Paul Casson was born and brdd in the town but has made

his fortune in America's telecommunications industry.

On Saturday, he watched his team stay top of the

Conference North with a 1`0 win over Worcester but his ambitions are

A new start under an old boy who brought some Texan

swagger to the club starting its very own American dream.

We're making a dream for other people.

It feels like there's a buzz about the ground.

You're doing great things for the club, mate.

He might have a Texan twang to his voice these days,

Born and brought up in the town he stood on the terraces to watch

his local football team frol the age of eight and although he won't put

a specific figure on how much he is planning to spend, he did tdll me it

We thought about how much it's likely to cost and we figurdd out we

could probably afford it so we'll just see what happdns.

Saturday was an unofficial handover from old to new and

a chance to thank the man who served the last 15 years and saved the club

Brian Keen, now the club's life president.

The kindness of the fans and everybody, it has been overwhelming.

The past directors and I kept it going, battled it all, but we are

I have to pinch myself to bdlieve that it has actually happendd

and is very exciting, every schoolboy's dream to own

These are heavy days for Barrow s supporters.

Another win for Barrow and that not only keeps thel

at the top of the table but adds to the feeling that this

really is the start of a new era for this club and most supporters I

We'll be up there with the big teams.

We'll get in the proper divhsions so it's fantastic for the town.

Ambitious plans to transforl the ground are already taking place

With international football meaning no Premier League or Championship

fixtures, the weekend's football spotlight was

on Leagues One and Two with Match of the Day at Boundary Park.

Oldham's 1`0 win ended Fleetwood's unbeaten start to the season.

Jonathan Firt scored the only goal, converting from the spot

after Stephen Schumacher brought down Danny Philliskirk.

And what a win for Rochdale, Peter Vincenti scored twice

Accrington Stanley and Tranlere served up a 5 goal thriller at

The Crown Ground with Stanldy's late winner lifting them off

It was 2`2 with just nine mhnutes to go when Stanley made the most

of a fumble from goalkeeper Peter Brezovan to record thdir first

win of the campaign, Kai Nahsmith with the all`important goal.

The new Rugby Union season has kicked off in disappointing fashion

for Sale Sharks who lost thdir opening Premiership match to Bath.

They had a second half lead after Danny Cipriani converted this

try from Mark Easter, but they couldn't hold on and

eventually went down by 29 points to 20, coach Steve Diamond blaling his

I'm sure they will improve. I'm sure they'll be fine. Exciting thmes

It was fantastic. Great to talk to everybody. Thank you.

If you have children or grandchildren,

you probably recognise thesd colourful things ` loom bands.

They're the latest craze and can be woven to make bracelets and toys.

But rather than just collect them, a ten`year`old from Bolton has turned

You go all the way around. Ht takes patience and concentration to make a

bracelet out of loom bands, but Isabel has made over 200. This is my

favourite one out of all of them. I like it because it is something to

do when you are bored. I got into it because people at school wanted me

to make them for them. For this ten`year`old, it is a busindss. I

lost my iPod and I don't like my one direction songs but I love them but

they were all gone. From a disaster came a dream. Selling loom bands at

school, she now has enough to replace her iPod and buy prdsents

for her brothers and sister. We like the idea that children take their

own responsibility for their future by looking at the monetary value of

everyday items. It is good to see somebody putting their own time and

effort into raising money into buying something that they like I

am very proud of her and I think she has learned some wonderful lessons

and I hope this determination continues. Instead of when H am 20,

starting a business and not knowing anything, if I start now, I will

have ten years experience. Hsabel is keen to stay ahead of the m`rket and

when this craze passes, she plans to open a sweet shop. On her w`y to a

million already. I've got one at that Isabel made for

me. Treasure that. And she contributed

towards the profit by buying it from her.

I also have one. A young nehghbour made everyone in my house one and

didn't charge a Pennie. He hs missing a trick.

I have some good news for use. It looks like it could be drivd for the

next few days. It is mainly dry and mostly fine all thanks to this area

of high pressure. Our winds will change direction as we go through

the week but it is light and variable as we head through the

night. It will be another cool nights. If you jump ahead to

Thursday and Friday, the we`ther will be variable, but it is not a

bad picture. As we speak, there is quite a bit of cloud around, but

most of that will fade away tonight. We have a beautiful full moon

tonight, if you saw it last night, it was a back tabular mostlx full

moon. `` a spectacular mostly full moon. The temperatures will be

around four Celsius and it will be a bit snippy tomorrow morning. In

towns and cities, it will bd close to double figures. This is our

picture, try and find. Sunshine amounts will be variable or stop it

will come and go. Out towards the coast, you will see the best of the

sunshine. That could repeat tomorrow. You can see the whnd, it

is light and variable indirdction but it is less than five miles per

hour. The numbers aren't spectacular, 17 or 18 Celsits at the

very best. It is the fact that it is dry for the next couple of days and

foreseeable future that is good news.

Is your heating on yet? No, not yet. We discussed it in our

house and decided not to. Who voted it down?

It was you, wasn't it. You said no. Very stingy. Thank you for

watching.