:00:32. > :00:34.After the M5 crash, a Somerset MP who was there pleads with the
:00:34. > :00:38.Government to abandon plans to increase the motorway speed limit.
:00:38. > :00:48.Plus, the MP once known as Red Dawn announces she's quitting. I will be
:00:48. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :32:07.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1878 seconds
:32:07. > :32:09.asking Dawn Primarolo if she's Good afternoon. It's a week on
:32:09. > :32:14.since the worst motorway accident in a generation killing seven
:32:14. > :32:19.people on the M5 in Somerset. Today we're asking if Government
:32:19. > :32:25.proposals to raise the speed limit to 80mph should be scrapped?
:32:25. > :32:27.Plus, remembering the fallen. We hear from the West MP who's
:32:27. > :32:32.organising the nation's centenary commemoration of the Great War.
:32:32. > :32:42.And standing down after 24 years. The Labour MP for South Bristol,
:32:42. > :32:43.
:32:43. > :32:48.Dawn Primarolo, says she will leave The Government is being urged to
:32:48. > :32:52.quietly drop its plans to raise the speed limit on motorways to 80mph.
:32:52. > :32:54.Road safety campaigners and some of the West's MPs have urged the new
:32:54. > :32:59.Transport Secretary to scrap the plan, a week after the worst
:32:59. > :33:03.accident on our motorways in more than a generation. Seven people
:33:03. > :33:13.were killed and many more injured in a 34 car pile-up on the M5 in
:33:13. > :33:13.
:33:13. > :33:19.Taunton. Here's Charlotte Callen. The West Country motorways. Built
:33:19. > :33:24.in the 1960s to speed up journeys. Modern roads, but these cars didn't
:33:24. > :33:29.have today's modern safety equipment. A sophisticated
:33:29. > :33:32.signalling system to warn motorists of hazards... So the 70 mile an
:33:32. > :33:36.hour speed limit was introduced to reduce the number of serious
:33:36. > :33:41.accidents. It is ridiculous if you're expected to dog talk about -
:33:41. > :33:45.- dawdle along at 70 miles an hour. More than 40 years later,
:33:45. > :33:51.statistics show these are now the safest roads. I will consult on
:33:51. > :33:55.increasing the limit at 80 mph. Speeding up journey times improving
:33:55. > :33:59.productivity, and delivering hundreds of millions of pounds of
:33:59. > :34:03.net economic benefit. It is thought almost 50% of motorists break the
:34:03. > :34:10.speed limit and these will Great Yorkshire Show traffic police
:34:10. > :34:15.patrolling the M4 see it every day. The speed of traffic we saw, as we
:34:15. > :34:18.were to observe, is around 80 mph. The government hopes the increase
:34:18. > :34:22.will give a much-needed boost to the economy but the risks are
:34:22. > :34:27.higher. Some warned that average speeds could be pushed to nearer 90
:34:27. > :34:36.mph. If we were to raise the limit to 80 miles an hour, the average
:34:36. > :34:39.speed of traffic would creep up to 90. In commissions, -- in
:34:39. > :34:47.collisions, there is enormous potential for them to be more
:34:47. > :34:52.serious in terms of outcomes. a week ago, this was the scene of
:34:52. > :34:57.chaos as 34 cars collided on the M5. The fire, so intense, rescuers
:34:57. > :35:01.could not get close. In all, seven people were killed and although it
:35:01. > :35:07.is still not clear it speed was to blame, road safety experts say it
:35:07. > :35:10.is a reminder of how dangerous our motorways can be. Will she at the
:35:10. > :35:14.very least have a look at her predecessor's plan to encourage
:35:14. > :35:20.faster speeds on the motorways by increasing the speed? Safe driving
:35:20. > :35:23.on motorways isn't about the maximum speed limit. It is about
:35:23. > :35:30.Smart driving in terms of not driving too close to people in
:35:30. > :35:34.front of you, it is about breaking in a way that isn't too quick to
:35:34. > :35:39.surprise motorists behind to. Government will open consultation
:35:39. > :35:42.on their plans over the coming months, digging them -- giving
:35:42. > :35:48.millions of motorway users a chance to have their say, to 4th stock the
:35:48. > :35:50.MP for Wells was caught up in that accident and she joins me now along
:35:50. > :35:54.with the -- along with a motoring journalist.
:35:54. > :36:00.It must have been an awful experience. What happened was mac
:36:00. > :36:06.we were going southbound. I was going to Taunton. As we approach
:36:06. > :36:12.the junction, as I looked along the carriageway, I couldn't believe
:36:12. > :36:16.that there was a bomb fire on the hard shoulder. As we got closer, I
:36:16. > :36:21.realised it was a fire. As he came alongside, there was one of the
:36:21. > :36:25.lorry that had moved on to the hard shoulder and we did the same. To be
:36:25. > :36:32.honest, all of those lanes of traffic, the heat was so intense,
:36:32. > :36:37.we wouldn't be able to get out or to anything. There was no chance.
:36:37. > :36:40.What I saw was, you know, jack- knifed lorries, several other
:36:40. > :36:45.lorries on fire, and realised there were a number of cars that had
:36:45. > :36:50.slipped there. It was truly awful. There is no suggestion at the
:36:50. > :36:54.moment that Speed had anything to do with it. I don't know that. I am
:36:54. > :37:00.not party to what is being investigated. There is always a
:37:00. > :37:05.question about your ability to stop. My memory says there was no problem
:37:05. > :37:11.with anything with vision on the southbound carriageway at all.
:37:11. > :37:15.There was very little traffic on the southbound side. Unusually,
:37:15. > :37:18.actually. So, is this a wake-up call to what can happen when things
:37:18. > :37:24.go wrong on motorways? Is it a good time to rethink increasing the
:37:24. > :37:29.speed limits? I think not. I have always been of a mind that speed
:37:29. > :37:34.doesn't kill, bad driving kills. Opposite, we can't jeopardise any
:37:34. > :37:39.investigation into this tragic event but I don't think speed was
:37:39. > :37:42.the issue there because the lorries were ahead of the pack and they are
:37:42. > :37:47.limited to 56 mph. One of the biggest problems on the motorways,
:37:47. > :37:51.the safest in the world, it is tailgating, people driving too
:37:51. > :37:54.close together. You do see that and you see it would lorries especially
:37:54. > :38:03.when payslips from one another and to leave so little space between
:38:03. > :38:08.the two. If something like that, a bit of fog... This is when it comes
:38:08. > :38:14.back to speed. You might be right it doesn't -- it doesn't kill, but
:38:14. > :38:18.it reduces your thinking time. speed limit was introduced in the
:38:18. > :38:26.mid-60s. In those days, most cars could only dream of doing 70 miles
:38:26. > :38:31.an hour. So it was almost an irrelevance. It was only the
:38:31. > :38:36.upmarket cars that could do that. I think that when those cars had drum
:38:36. > :38:41.brakes, skinny tyres, they have to make an appointment to get to a
:38:41. > :38:45.roundabout, now cars stop so quickly, that top -- at 10 Mullah
:38:45. > :38:50.will make very little difference. Our reaction time has to come into
:38:50. > :38:55.play. There is speed combined with human reaction. That is going to be
:38:55. > :39:01.fatal. If we add more speed into the framework, that is going to be
:39:01. > :39:06.a problem. One of the other things is, to be honest, there is almost
:39:06. > :39:11.universal disregard for the speed and it. What is the point? As I
:39:11. > :39:15.understand it, it is down to the Association of Chief Police
:39:15. > :39:21.Officers to actually enforced. And if you have one force that doesn't
:39:21. > :39:31.and you go over to a county border... The word on the street is
:39:31. > :39:37.that most motorway cops will give you the temper cent here and there.
:39:37. > :39:43.-- the 10%. Reaction times, even a nanosecond of delay on modern cars
:39:43. > :39:49.with anti-lock braking systems and proper tyres and everything else,
:39:50. > :39:54.OK, but a dog the economic argument, the Government is talking about it,
:39:54. > :40:01.we won't spend so loll on the motorways, we will be at meetings
:40:01. > :40:05.earlier. I drive into London. I use a gas car. I keep a fairly moderate
:40:05. > :40:10.speed and I can do the store -- I can do the journey in three hours.
:40:10. > :40:14.The fact is the economic plan behind it, that is not the case,
:40:14. > :40:21.because if you don't get there, forget the economics. I agree with
:40:21. > :40:28.you. That is tosh. Most of the time you think, if only I could do 70
:40:28. > :40:32.mph. But at three in the morning, I can't see why you don't do 80 mph.
:40:32. > :40:37.The other thing is that people think that if we read the -- if we
:40:37. > :40:42.raise the speed limit, people will go at 90 mph. Give the police a
:40:42. > :40:46.chance to enforce it. They have a chance now. We need to see what the
:40:46. > :40:51.police officers are going to enforce and do it universally.
:40:51. > :41:01.Bringing the MOT to a more distant, and having it every two years, that
:41:01. > :41:04.
:41:04. > :41:08.is going to add to the safety The nation paused at 11 o'clock as
:41:08. > :41:12.a mark of respect and gratitude to the millions that died for this
:41:12. > :41:16.country. In every town earned City and in countless villages across
:41:16. > :41:20.the West Country, we remembered those that paid the ultimate price.
:41:20. > :41:24.Of all the conflicts, the First World War still holds the horror of
:41:24. > :41:28.its own, an entire generation wiped out in the mud of northern Europe.
:41:28. > :41:33.Soon, we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of that conflict and
:41:33. > :41:38.the World Show MP has been appointed by the Prime Minister to
:41:38. > :41:45.co-ordinate those activities. It sounds like a big job, what are the
:41:45. > :41:48.plans? It is a big event. In fact, I think it is probably the seminal
:41:48. > :41:53.event of modern times. The Second World War, of course, which we have
:41:53. > :41:56.been marking, followed on as a result of the Great War so it is
:41:56. > :42:02.right and appropriate that we should make a special effort to
:42:02. > :42:05.Marx is a special events. -- to mark this special event. We will
:42:05. > :42:10.the caddie many projects to starting -- that are starting to
:42:10. > :42:14.get going already. Grass roots level, and build on those, so we
:42:14. > :42:19.can have some national expression of this extraordinarily important
:42:19. > :42:24.event. What sort of resonance do you think the Great War has with
:42:24. > :42:29.today's generations? You would be surprised. There is a real feeling
:42:29. > :42:35.in the country that we need to honour the fallen. More than that,
:42:35. > :42:39.to learn the lessons of conflict, so we don't repeat this thing for.
:42:39. > :42:42.It was supposed to be the war that ended all wars, but 100 just some
:42:42. > :42:47.politicians are still sending young men and women to fight and die for
:42:47. > :42:53.their country. -- a 100 years on. Wooded peas be a better way of
:42:53. > :42:57.remembering? We must all aspire to peace and nobody understands that
:42:57. > :43:00.more than the men and women that serve in the armed forces. The
:43:00. > :43:05.whole thing about defence is prevention rather than conflict so
:43:06. > :43:10.that is a sentiment that people would certainly share. We must
:43:10. > :43:14.remember, the sacrifice made by so many hundreds of thousands in this
:43:14. > :43:19.country and abroad during the Great War and the conflicts that followed
:43:19. > :43:24.on from it. Today for it - at today's fights with Europe are very
:43:24. > :43:29.different. Very much within the EU framework and do you accept that
:43:29. > :43:36.for all its failings, the European Union you has ensured that war with
:43:36. > :43:40.Germany would now be unthinkable. War with Germany is unthinkable. I
:43:40. > :43:47.think that would be the case with a remark we had the European Union.
:43:47. > :43:51.There is, of course, a powerful streak that holds that the European
:43:51. > :43:56.Community in the post-war years prevented conflict, and that was
:43:57. > :44:01.one of the stated ambitions of that organisation. Of course, we are in
:44:01. > :44:05.the first decade of the 21st century, and we have moved on. It
:44:05. > :44:11.is not possible to conceive Mercer three of a conflict on the
:44:11. > :44:17.conscience of Europe of the sort we had last century. -- it is not
:44:17. > :44:22.possible to conceive mercifully. The West's must stash no longer
:44:22. > :44:25.serving MP is to stun gun at the next election. Dawn Primarolo has
:44:25. > :44:29.represented Bristol South since 1997. She was oak minister in the
:44:29. > :44:36.Labour government mac and she is now a deputy speaker. She is with
:44:36. > :44:43.us know. Where are you going? my time to move on. It is difficult
:44:43. > :44:48.to explain but it is a huge privilege -- privileged and
:44:48. > :44:54.fantastic job to do. I have been allocated six times and carried the
:44:54. > :44:59.People's Trust, and I just feel it is time. Had enough? You can never
:44:59. > :45:08.have enough of being an MP. It is a fabulous job and a great privilege
:45:08. > :45:13.but it is time for me to reform. have observed your career. Quite a
:45:13. > :45:18.change in your political outlook because you were known as Red Dawn.
:45:18. > :45:22.You were an assistant to Tony Benn. He refused to pay poll tax,
:45:22. > :45:27.campaigned against the first Gulf war, you opposed one-member-one-
:45:27. > :45:31.vote, and now just sort of part of the Establishment, current you?
:45:31. > :45:39.don't know about that. I have always been prepared to speak my
:45:39. > :45:46.mind. And I still am. I accept the disciplines I have always done. I
:45:46. > :45:50.go with the majority view once it has been taken. I remember the
:45:50. > :45:56.pressure I phase when I was addicted. I was the only Labour MP
:45:56. > :46:02.outside London if you draw the line from the Wash to the 7th. That was
:46:02. > :46:08.a huge pressure on me and does more Labour MPs joined me, it helped me
:46:08. > :46:14.to slow down a little bit. Did you ever accept this label? Have you
:46:14. > :46:17.moved? Duke of Risley have. I was called Red Dawn because I was the
:46:17. > :46:24.only Labour MP in the South West which makes you read. Somebody said
:46:24. > :46:31.to me that it is good to have something like that attached to you.
:46:31. > :46:36.My combination of that and my surname, which people struggle to
:46:36. > :46:40.survive -- pronounce, it makes you memorable. Some lovely things that
:46:40. > :46:43.Ed Miliband has said about you today. I have been reading Tony
:46:43. > :46:48.Blair's book and he says he whenever suitable for government
:46:48. > :46:52.and he only gave you a job because you were a crony of Gordon Brown.
:46:52. > :46:57.think he would agree that if you believe everything you read about
:46:57. > :47:03.yourself, you would not think very highly of yourself. I am very proud
:47:03. > :47:07.of what I did. People comment, they have commented on Tony a lot, and I
:47:07. > :47:12.am sure he doesn't take notice, either. What has Labour got to do,
:47:12. > :47:16.you can speak freely now, to get re-elected. Labour is in a good
:47:16. > :47:21.position when we compare where we are now, and Ed Miliband is, to
:47:21. > :47:27.David Gammon and in his first year, we are Poling at a much better rate.
:47:27. > :47:31.The clear message we have to get across is one of hope. There is an
:47:31. > :47:36.alternative to this vicious cutting... Middle-ground or move to
:47:36. > :47:42.the left? It is for everybody. Every family, every individual,
:47:42. > :47:47.every parent, every grand parent, every sister, brother, uncle, aunt,
:47:47. > :47:50.they are worried about what the future holds for them and more
:47:50. > :47:54.importantly young people. We have got to give young people hope they
:47:54. > :47:59.will get a job, we've got to make sure people understand they will be
:47:59. > :48:03.cared for in their dotage which I hope I will be eventually, but not
:48:03. > :48:07.just yet, David! We have got to show we know what to do on the
:48:08. > :48:10.economy, and we'd do. Thank you. I will see you again and,
:48:10. > :48:14.of course. Earlier this year, Somerset County
:48:14. > :48:21.Council became the first to cut its funding for the arts. So, six
:48:21. > :48:25.months on, has the curtain come down?
:48:25. > :48:31.Hello Mr council leader, give me my money! I haven't got any money, so
:48:31. > :48:35.go away! The people involved in the arts, it is no punch and Judy joke.
:48:35. > :48:39.They are so passionate about what they do, this time last year they
:48:39. > :48:42.were fighting for their funding. Armed with a cake showing the money
:48:42. > :48:46.for arts as a slice of the council's budget, dozens of
:48:46. > :48:49.protesters marched on the council meeting to decide their fate. They
:48:49. > :48:54.were joined by a famous faces concerned for the counter's hogged
:48:54. > :48:59.rock future. This is the first council in the UK to come up with
:48:59. > :49:04.such a proposition as this. We will cut the arts budget by 100%. This
:49:04. > :49:09.is lunacy. This is not about us, preposterous love is making
:49:10. > :49:13.preposterous fees. It is art for a everybody. The council voted
:49:13. > :49:18.through the �165,000 cut, meaning all 10 arts organisations lost
:49:18. > :49:22.their grants from April. Six months on, have they won the fight to
:49:22. > :49:28.survive? At this theatre, they were worried about having all their
:49:28. > :49:32.grants taken away. You lose the funding and about point, people
:49:32. > :49:37.really dig in and try to find a way to adapt and find a different
:49:37. > :49:41.future. If they can't, they won't. And you will see places start to
:49:41. > :49:45.close over the next year, I am sure. If they can adapt and find
:49:45. > :49:49.different uses for their buildings, different ways of presenting
:49:49. > :49:53.programmes, they will survive a. Adapting is the key for these
:49:53. > :49:59.artists meeting in Taunton. They are all having to work with less
:49:59. > :50:04.money now, but none had actually faulted for. At some stage, we need
:50:04. > :50:09.to arrive at a position of clarity. At that stage, where there will
:50:09. > :50:13.have to be some decisions made about whether the programme
:50:13. > :50:19.develops in a more commercial -- commercial sense or does the
:50:19. > :50:24.community side attract? For some, technology is the future. Theatre
:50:24. > :50:28.is having less actors on the stage and is beaming in productions.
:50:28. > :50:35.have reduced the number of companies producing live on our
:50:35. > :50:39.stage. We may well increase the number of companies performing on
:50:39. > :50:43.our cinema screen. It is not just stuffer that for committed but
:50:43. > :50:47.local people. People in Somerset have been fantastic the way they
:50:47. > :50:56.have responded and I have heard of stories of fund-raising events.
:50:56. > :51:01.There is a real spirit of raising money. What does the poster boy of
:51:01. > :51:09.the anti-cuts campaign at make of things? Already what I am seeing is
:51:09. > :51:16.firstly a remarkable sort of spirit emerging. Actually, companies, they
:51:16. > :51:20.are determined not to go down, and they are saving the leaking ship.
:51:20. > :51:25.Artists will continue to produce great work, however much they
:51:25. > :51:31.suffer. It is a good idea for them to suffer, somehow, they will
:51:31. > :51:36.produce greater work. But I don't buy that as a concert. There is a
:51:36. > :51:40.determination to survive. It cannot be on these terms, when all people
:51:41. > :51:46.are doing is trying to survive it. Gathering friends around seems the
:51:46. > :51:52.key to survival for many of these groups. As long as that lasts, the