:01:26. > :01:36.Here in the East Midlands: Seven cyclists killed so far this
:01:36. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :39:03.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2246 seconds
:39:03. > :39:07.year. Now a campaign has won new Seven cyclists killed so far this
:39:08. > :39:10.year. That's the terrible toll in one county of the East Midlands. We
:39:10. > :39:19.meet the schoolchildren campaigning for improvements after the death of
:39:19. > :39:23.a friend. If you are riding a bike, you have to wear a helmet. And if
:39:23. > :39:27.not, don't ride a bike. And "read all about it". The sale
:39:27. > :39:29.of our biggest local newspapers. Hello, I'm Marie Ashby. Joining me
:39:30. > :39:32.this week, the Conservative MP for Harborough, Sir Edward Garnier, and
:39:32. > :39:35.Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South.
:39:35. > :39:39.We've been banging on about it for long enough. Now our MPs have
:39:39. > :39:42.cottoned on, too. They've decided to hold a summit to discuss why
:39:42. > :39:45.we're doing so badly when it comes to getting our hands on Government
:39:45. > :39:52.cash. In the recent round of Regional Growth Fund handouts, the
:39:52. > :39:59.East Midlands came bottom of the East, and our neighbours in the
:39:59. > :40:02.This week, our MPs heard from the author of a report which we
:40:02. > :40:05.featured last month outlining the scale of the problem.
:40:05. > :40:12.Some people will say it's about time you all got your heads
:40:13. > :40:18.together. Well, there will be many things we disagree about in terms
:40:18. > :40:21.about political party but we want to get the best for our region and
:40:21. > :40:26.for our counties and constituencies and if there is government money
:40:26. > :40:36.going, we want to get out dips on it. How important is it for you to
:40:36. > :40:40.join forces on this? Very important. We have collaborated, for example,
:40:41. > :40:46.under Glenfield Heart Hospital. And on a railway line through Sheffield
:40:46. > :40:50.into our two areas. Of course some might say there are some obvious
:40:50. > :40:54.and tedious political battle lines which we fired across but on an
:40:54. > :40:58.issue like this, if there is government money either coming from
:40:58. > :41:04.Whitehall or in directive from the European Union, we want to get our
:41:05. > :41:11.hands on it. The work at the meeting, Lilian. How did it go? --
:41:11. > :41:14.you were at the meeting. We need to make sure we are singing from the
:41:14. > :41:18.same hymn sheet but it was worrying the East Midlands is ready losing
:41:18. > :41:22.out, both when it comes to a regional growth and money but also
:41:22. > :41:25.on the building of affordable homes, which we know are desperately
:41:25. > :41:30.needed here because we have a rapidly growing population.
:41:30. > :41:40.desert not tell the story, actually, that there were so few MPs at the
:41:40. > :41:43.meeting? -- does it not? You say this is very important. Meetings
:41:43. > :41:51.are arranged at short notice and the summit will take place in the
:41:51. > :41:56.new year, when we can all get there. But it is no good pressure groups
:41:56. > :42:06.as saying, turn up tomorrow. Our diaries do not work like that.
:42:06. > :42:10.I do feel we are feeling the loss of the development agencies.
:42:10. > :42:13.let's see how things go. A worrying rise in the number of
:42:13. > :42:16.cyclists who've been killed in one of our counties this year has led
:42:16. > :42:19.to calls for stricter safety rules for people out cycling and for
:42:19. > :42:22.improvements to our roads to make it safer for them. There have been
:42:22. > :42:25.seven deaths so far this year in Nottinghamshire, compared to two
:42:25. > :42:31.last year. Rebecca Sheeran's been to a school where two of their
:42:31. > :42:34.pupils have lost their lives. More and more people are taking up
:42:34. > :42:38.cycling but some shocking statistics show just how dangerous
:42:38. > :42:41.the roads are in Nottinghamshire, so now a new campaign that has
:42:42. > :42:47.started says wearing one of these and selling bikes with these should
:42:47. > :42:52.be compulsory. Lessons in cycling safety have an
:42:52. > :42:58.added poignancy at this school near Nottingham. Two children have been
:42:58. > :43:02.killed in separate cycling accidents this year. Jack and Corey
:43:02. > :43:06.or waiting for their friends to turn up for a game of football. He
:43:06. > :43:11.never arrived. He was killed in an accident with a car on his way to
:43:11. > :43:16.join them. Now they are campaigning for cycling safety. Nobody could
:43:16. > :43:22.believe it. Everybody was just grieving, crying. When you came in,
:43:22. > :43:26.it was horrible. Tears in their eyes. What happened to Harrison, it
:43:26. > :43:31.was horrible. And now what is reality and realising what had
:43:31. > :43:35.happened and we cannot bring him back. You have got to be safe on
:43:35. > :43:40.the road. The deaths of two pupils from the school are part of
:43:40. > :43:45.alarming increase in the number of cycling deaths in Nottingham. The
:43:45. > :43:51.toll began in January, with the death of a cyclist in colic. Two
:43:51. > :43:55.were killed in separate accidents. In May a cyclist was killed by a
:43:55. > :44:01.train at a level crossing in Mansfield, and then another died on
:44:01. > :44:05.the road. In July and September came the deaths of the two school
:44:05. > :44:08.children, bringing the total to seven so far. By comparison,
:44:08. > :44:14.Leicestershire has had two fatal cycling accidents and Derbyshire
:44:14. > :44:18.has had none. There was already a cycle safety campaign under way
:44:18. > :44:22.here and Ashfield but the two tragic deaths of children from this
:44:22. > :44:25.school added urgency to that campaign and now it has been taken
:44:25. > :44:30.all the way to Whitehall for government support. And the
:44:30. > :44:36.campaign has won the backing of a local MP, who helped campaigners
:44:36. > :44:40.take their case to the Department for Transport. I think we need to
:44:40. > :44:46.begin a serious debate. I do not want to impose anything on anybody.
:44:46. > :44:52.I want people to think about how motorists and cyclists can be safer,
:44:52. > :44:55.improving road junctions, improving speed limits, wearing helmets.
:44:55. > :45:00.Let's come to a national consensus on how we can reduce the number of
:45:00. > :45:07.deaths -- of deaths, particularly young people. We need to make it
:45:07. > :45:14.safer. A Jack and Corrie have raised �3,500 for safer cycling
:45:14. > :45:18.equipment. Now they want to see a change within the law. We are
:45:18. > :45:23.fighting to get the legalisation of helmets to be repulsed. If you are
:45:23. > :45:27.riding a bike, you have got to wear a helmet. And if not, you don't
:45:27. > :45:30.ride a bike. We should make it clear that those deaths are being
:45:30. > :45:33.investigated. Pam Shaw is the Road Safety Officer
:45:33. > :45:36.for Nottinghamshire County Council. That was a very powerful film from
:45:36. > :45:39.people deeply affected, but many cyclists will say it's motorists
:45:39. > :45:42.that are the problem? But many cyclists will say it is motorists
:45:42. > :45:49.who are to blame. I'd can understand that they might. We
:45:49. > :45:56.would like to think that every bomb road-users have some responsibility
:45:56. > :46:01.for their actions on the road. -- that all road-users. Any death is
:46:01. > :46:05.one too many but these figures, seven so far, are horrific. What
:46:05. > :46:08.are you doing about it in Nottinghamshire? They are extremely
:46:09. > :46:13.shocking and our sympathies go to the family and friends of any who
:46:13. > :46:17.have died this year. They are extremely high numbers. However,
:46:17. > :46:22.the trend for all casualties in Nottinghamshire in the first nine
:46:22. > :46:25.months of this year have reduced on last year. It is just the
:46:25. > :46:30.circumstances around these deaths and accidents are such that the
:46:30. > :46:34.people have died, which is unfortunate. We are constantly
:46:34. > :46:42.during campaigns and training. We do a lot of training in primary
:46:42. > :46:50.schools. But you want a change in the law? We would like to see the
:46:50. > :46:54.encouragement and introduction of wearing helmets. Car seatbelt
:46:54. > :46:58.wearing was not so popular until a few years ago but now nobody thinks
:46:58. > :47:08.twice about putting those on. We would like the same to happen with
:47:08. > :47:10.
:47:10. > :47:15.cycle helmets. Sue has got a point. -- she has got a point. Should not
:47:15. > :47:19.be that everybody on the road on a bicycle should wear a helmet? I
:47:19. > :47:24.were encourage people to wear a helmet. I always wear a helmet and
:47:24. > :47:28.I get my children to do so as well. We know three of those deaths were
:47:28. > :47:32.caused by HGV vehicles and wearing a helmet in those circumstances
:47:32. > :47:37.would not save you. We need to tackle the major killers and one of
:47:37. > :47:39.those is drivers going too fast and junctions not being safe, not
:47:39. > :47:43.having the right cycle infrastructure like cycle lanes and
:47:43. > :47:51.looking at junctions and making them safe for cyclists. It does not
:47:51. > :47:56.mean we should not about those things. All of those things help
:47:56. > :48:05.but those schoolboys say you should not get on a bike if you don't wear
:48:05. > :48:10.a helmet. You are not -- you are saying it should not be compulsory.
:48:10. > :48:14.We are saying that other road users need to become aware of bicycles
:48:14. > :48:24.and slow down. The main problem in at most accidents is not the
:48:24. > :48:25.
:48:25. > :48:29.cyclists, it is the driver. What about legislation? Is it the way to
:48:29. > :48:34.tackle the problem? These easy solution to every problem is to say
:48:34. > :48:38.to pass a law. Actually, it is common sense. Those boys have got
:48:38. > :48:45.the message. If you want to ride a bike, wear a helmet. It strikes me
:48:45. > :48:52.that if a 15-year-old boy can't wear that, so can a 25-year-old,
:48:53. > :48:58.35-year-old, 45-year-old adult. Talk to a head injury doctor or the
:48:58. > :49:04.head injuries tragic -- charity. Is it enough to him to let people make
:49:04. > :49:08.their own minds up on this? -- is it enough to let people make up
:49:08. > :49:12.their own minds? Yes. Look after yourself because it is the sensible
:49:12. > :49:17.thing to do. Wearing his seatbelt is the sensible thing to do and we
:49:17. > :49:21.have a law on that. I think a lot of motorcyclists would be thankful
:49:21. > :49:30.because, again, it was unpopular to wear a motorcycle helmet and about
:49:30. > :49:38.his role. Now there are many. Some people need that extra
:49:38. > :49:43.encouragement. -- and now it is the law. I know my sons were not so
:49:43. > :49:47.keen on that. Yes. We need to get national education and awareness
:49:47. > :49:53.raising programmes. All of their it is perfectly true that every parent
:49:53. > :50:01.should ensure their child never lose their house without a helmet
:50:01. > :50:04.on. You cannot rely on Parliament to mollycoddle you. Of course it is
:50:04. > :50:12.medically extremely sensible to wear a helmet, and she would have
:50:12. > :50:17.to be an idiot not to wear one. -- and you would. It depends on the
:50:17. > :50:21.facts of every case. HGV and car drivers often fail to pay proper
:50:21. > :50:28.attention to other road users and cyclists are very often the victims.
:50:28. > :50:33.Bear in mind, if you are a cyclist, the chances of you being seriously
:50:33. > :50:38.hurt or killed are very high. If you're in a tin box, you are
:50:38. > :50:47.probably OK. If your eyes cyclist, where high-visibility clothing, put
:50:47. > :50:57.your hat on and just be sensible. - - if you are a cyclist. They is
:50:57. > :50:58.
:50:58. > :51:04.some research that -- there is some research that some drivers give
:51:04. > :51:07.cyclists wider berth if they are not wearing a helmet. If they are
:51:07. > :51:12.competent cyclists they will be using the road appropriately.
:51:12. > :51:15.Though that can be true. We want to encourage the drivers to think
:51:15. > :51:20.about the other road users and cyclists in particular, to make
:51:20. > :51:30.sure they are giving them sufficient room, not squeezing them
:51:30. > :51:31.
:51:31. > :51:35.in. What more can be done? think we have seen a huge increase
:51:35. > :51:43.and interest in cycling safety. Compulsory helmets is not something
:51:43. > :51:46.on the list. There are many things, including making HGVs is safer and
:51:46. > :51:53.junctions and increasing cycling infrastructure, like cycle lanes,
:51:53. > :51:57.and that is what we need to be doing. Frankie for joining us. --
:51:57. > :52:00.thank you. Here's a story to bring a bit of
:52:00. > :52:03.warmth amid all the cynicism of politics. Stephen Green, the first
:52:03. > :52:06.person with Down's syndrome to become a councillor, has taken up
:52:06. > :52:14.his post at Nuthall Parish Council. Stephen attended his first meeting
:52:14. > :52:19.earlier this week, and we were there. A war welcome and a first
:52:19. > :52:25.for local democracy, as Stephen Green takes his seat at the parish
:52:25. > :52:31.council in Nottinghamshire. Stephen will be helped at meetings
:52:31. > :52:37.by his father, Grenville. Steve Ben decided he wanted to do it because
:52:37. > :52:44.I asked him if he would like to do it. -- Stephen. It is a learning
:52:44. > :52:48.curve for Stephen. It is a learning curve for the council and hopefully
:52:48. > :52:55.we will all get something out of it, something positive. I think it is
:52:55. > :53:00.brilliant. I think you will be an asset to the council. -- I think he
:53:00. > :53:04.will be. I have been trying for this for ages are welcome to him.
:53:04. > :53:08.among the items on the agenda are keeping the fees of a local bowls
:53:08. > :53:14.club at the same level as last year and offering more work experience
:53:14. > :53:17.to local youngsters. Routine parish council stuff. But it was a small
:53:17. > :53:20.slice of history at this meeting in the making.
:53:20. > :53:23.Stephen's appointment made headline news and our local papers have been
:53:23. > :53:25.making some of their own. Six of our regional newspapers, including
:53:25. > :53:28.the Nottingham Post, Derby Telegraph and Leicester Mercury,
:53:28. > :53:31.have a new owner. The Daily Mail and General Trust is selling a
:53:31. > :53:34.majority stake in its regional newspaper division to Trinity
:53:34. > :53:39.Mirror. The new media group Local World includes over 70 regional
:53:39. > :53:47.titles and local websites. Richard Baker is a duty editor at
:53:47. > :53:52.the Nottingham Post. How's the news going down in the newsroom? I think
:53:52. > :53:56.it has gone down reasonably well. It has been a very uncertain time
:53:56. > :54:00.because we are facing historic change and it is important for us
:54:00. > :54:04.we tried to take positive steps to give people what they want through
:54:04. > :54:12.the routes they want to consume their news. We no new owners are
:54:12. > :54:16.planning to invest heavily so we are pleased with that. What
:54:16. > :54:21.difference do you think a change in ownership will mean to the readers
:54:21. > :54:27.of your paper? Will they notice a difference? And not really. What we
:54:27. > :54:32.have to keep arise on is what our audiences are up to because our
:54:32. > :54:39.decisions are entirely based on what audiences are doing. -- keep
:54:39. > :54:47.our eyes on. There is a massive audience for the website. We have
:54:47. > :54:51.to look at that and follow where the audience is going. Our MPs like
:54:51. > :54:56.yourselves concerned about the future of newspapers? Do you care
:54:56. > :55:06.what happens? At salute reef. I have been working in the trade
:55:06. > :55:08.because I was a newspaper lawyer. - - absolutely. I do care as a Member
:55:08. > :55:15.of Parliament because people care at a local level about their local
:55:15. > :55:18.paper. It is their paper and they want to see it survive. There is
:55:18. > :55:23.something missing in their lives if they do not have their local paper
:55:23. > :55:33.reporting on local stories. But few of them are going out to buy their
:55:33. > :55:36.
:55:36. > :55:40.paper? Many a using social media define their news but undoubtedly,
:55:40. > :55:43.the Nottingham Post plays a role. They like to know what is happening
:55:43. > :55:53.in their city and their neighbourhood and it is a way for
:55:53. > :55:54.
:55:54. > :56:01.us to tell people what we are up to. And what your constituents up to.
:56:01. > :56:05.More and more people are consuming venues via a different media.
:56:05. > :56:09.we are also doing is making news available via laptops and
:56:10. > :56:13.smartphones because it is important to us we continued to serve people
:56:13. > :56:17.with news in the means that they want. We have to keep our eyes on
:56:17. > :56:27.what the audience wants. We are a business and we have to make money.
:56:27. > :56:35.The way to do that is to follow the audience. For we have already seen
:56:35. > :56:42.a local paper go from a daily paper to a weekly? Are if the broad side
:56:42. > :56:48.they're not going to have their newspapers everyday -- if people
:56:48. > :56:52.decide, we could then give them every week. I think what they are
:56:52. > :56:55.interested in is staying in the business they are part of. And why
:56:56. > :57:02.on thing that is so important is that it is a centre of professional
:57:02. > :57:08.journalism. -- and one think that is so important. Lots of people are
:57:08. > :57:12.not proper journalists. You why professional journalist and so is
:57:12. > :57:21.he. It is important there is a local source of professionally
:57:21. > :57:25.reported years. An important thing to make clear is that the
:57:25. > :57:30.Nottingham Post has purely in nursing and journalists. If they do
:57:31. > :57:35.not live in Nottingham they work in Nottingham. We have to stay
:57:35. > :57:45.connected where local communities and I do not know of any other
:57:45. > :57:45.
:57:45. > :57:53.organisation with SMA local journalists. -- with so many local
:57:53. > :57:57.journalists. Nothing stays the same forever. We have been around in
:57:57. > :58:01.this community for 140 years. We have not managed to stay in
:58:01. > :58:08.business that way by staying the same. It is nonsense to say we can
:58:08. > :58:18.stay the same as we were 40 years ago, 100 years ago. But were you
:58:18. > :58:18.
:58:18. > :58:25.suffer more job losses with these changes? -- but will you? We have
:58:25. > :58:31.no indication this is what is going to happen. A lot about the future
:58:31. > :58:41.for local papers? People get their local news in so many ways. -- what
:58:41. > :58:51.about? Of encase strength of local news is how we can focus on its
:58:51. > :58:55.
:58:56. > :58:59.local neighbourhoods. -- I think a strength. We now have an app where
:58:59. > :59:07.we can look at what they are reporting even if I do not get the
:59:07. > :59:15.newspaper. A you paying for it?! Are I have to get it through my
:59:15. > :59:25.assistant because he has a smartphone and I don't! Fend you. -
:59:25. > :59:26.
:59:26. > :59:28.Time now for our regular 60-second round-up of some of the other
:59:28. > :59:30.political stories in the East Midlands this week, with our
:59:30. > :59:38.political editor, John Hess. Accommodation for the homeless
:59:38. > :59:41.could be halved if Leicester City Council gets its way. The council,
:59:41. > :59:43.which needs to reduce its homelessness services budget by
:59:43. > :59:46.�3.7 million by 2015, says new proposals aim to support people
:59:46. > :59:54.into independent living. A consultation period will run until
:59:54. > :59:58.February. It already gives �174 million worth of work to local
:59:58. > :00:03.firms or wants to do more. The Tory deputy leader on Harborough council
:00:03. > :00:07.has been sacked for opposing controversial plans for 1,800 new
:00:07. > :00:15.homes. The council says there will decide next month whether to press
:00:16. > :00:19.ahead with a fresh appraisal of the district's future housing needs.
:00:19. > :00:21.And Jon Ashworth picked up a gong this week. The Labour MP for
:00:22. > :00:24.Leicester South has won Total Politics magazine's MP of the Month
:00:25. > :00:32.award for his campaign to reinter the suspected bones of Richard III
:00:32. > :00:35.We haven't seen you since you became a sir in September. You lost
:00:35. > :00:45.your job as Attorney General and got knighted. Did it feel a bit
:00:45. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :00:56.like compensation? And don't think the Prime Minister put it quite
:00:56. > :01:01.like that! -- I don't think. It sweetened the pill. Is that why it
:01:02. > :01:07.happened? Tell me a member of Parliament who does not like a bit
:01:07. > :01:10.of attention and getting a knighthood. My children call my
:01:11. > :01:15.wife Lady GaGa! So that is all right! A lot of rubbish is talked
:01:15. > :01:19.about the honours system. It is free, it doesn't cost anything and
:01:19. > :01:28.it gives a lot of people a lot of pleasure, not least me this
:01:28. > :01:33.September. It is a way for the country to say thank you. If his
:01:33. > :01:40.right it should be used to recognise fantastic service when
:01:40. > :01:47.people have gone over and above. -- it is right. What about