:00:10. > :00:13.UKIP hails a remarkable night after significant gains in the local
:00:13. > :00:17.council elections. Nigel Farage claims a sea change in British
:00:17. > :00:22.politics as his party marks its strongest ever electoral
:00:22. > :00:25.performance. Send in the clowns, we have been abused by everybody, the
:00:25. > :00:28.entire establishment, and now they're shocked and stunned that we
:00:28. > :00:32.are getting over 25% of the vote everywhere we stand across the
:00:32. > :00:36.country. This is a real sea change in British politics.
:00:36. > :00:40.Labour have been making gains, but both coalition parties have lost
:00:40. > :00:44.seats. The Conservatives say they'll listen to voters. It's
:00:44. > :00:48.clearly not been a great night for any of the main parties, but I do
:00:48. > :00:51.think that we absolutely get the message.
:00:51. > :00:57.We will be live in Westminster to assess what the results mean for
:00:57. > :01:00.the political landscape. Also: The April Jones murder trial, the man
:01:00. > :01:04.accused of her murder cries in court as her father describes how
:01:04. > :01:08.he searched for his missing daughter.
:01:08. > :01:12.Three Afghan interpreters who worked for British forces go to the
:01:12. > :01:18.High Court demanding the right to settle in the UK.
:01:18. > :01:23.70 years on, the salvage operation to raise a World War II bomber shot
:01:23. > :01:28.down during The Battle of Britain. On BBC London: Former chairman of
:01:28. > :01:31.the London Assembly pleads guilty to assault after a row over parking.
:01:31. > :01:41.With some results still to come, the Conservatives hold on to Essex
:01:41. > :01:52.
:01:52. > :01:58.County Council, despite a push from Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC
:01:58. > :02:02.News at One. The UKIP leader called it a real sea change in British
:02:02. > :02:06.politics after his party achieved its best ever set of election
:02:06. > :02:09.results. Counts are still taking place in many councils but so far
:02:10. > :02:14.the UKIP party has won around a quarter of the votes in the seats
:02:14. > :02:18.it contested, gaining more than 40 seats, mainly at the expense of the
:02:18. > :02:22.Conservatives. It also finished second in the South Shields by-
:02:22. > :02:27.election, which was won by Labour. Contests are taking place in 34
:02:27. > :02:31.English councils, as well as in Anglesey in Wales. Here are the
:02:31. > :02:33.results so far. Of the 34 councils in England that
:02:34. > :02:37.held elections yesterday, ten have declared.
:02:37. > :02:43.The Conservatives so far have lost 100 seats. The Liberal Democrats
:02:43. > :02:46.are down by 18. Labour have made 64 gains. As our local Government
:02:47. > :02:51.correspondent Mike Sergeant reports, it's the success of UKIP with their
:02:51. > :02:56.42 seats that has been making waves. This report contains flash
:02:56. > :03:00.photography. Some may have called them clowns,
:03:01. > :03:05.but in the Counties of England UKIP are celebrating today. The party
:03:05. > :03:08.still doesn't have any Westminster MPs, or control any large
:03:08. > :03:14.authorities, for the first time, though, it does have a significant
:03:14. > :03:17.number of new councillors. Leader Nigel Farage accepts winning seats
:03:17. > :03:21.at the general election will be much harder, but today he was
:03:21. > :03:27.relishing the fact that other parties now have to take UKIP a lot
:03:27. > :03:30.more seriously. Send in the clowns. We have been abused by everybody,
:03:30. > :03:33.the entire establishment, and now they're shocked and stunned that we
:03:34. > :03:39.are getting over 25% of the vote everywhere we stand across the
:03:39. > :03:42.country. This is a real sea change in British politics.
:03:42. > :03:45.UKIP picked up support across large areas of England, from
:03:45. > :03:49.Gloucestershire to Hampshire, Essex and Lincolnshire. Still winning
:03:49. > :03:54.just a fraction of the seats on offer, but gaining a new foothold
:03:54. > :03:57.in local Government. Certainly UKIP have in these elections on this
:03:57. > :04:01.night clearly broken the tradition of English local Government. It is
:04:01. > :04:07.a performance that we would not ever have expected UKIP or any
:04:07. > :04:11.other minor party to have achieved in the past.
:04:11. > :04:15.But the night began with a gain for Labour as the party won the north
:04:15. > :04:19.Tyneside mayoral election. There's been progress in the County
:04:19. > :04:23.elections, too, for Ed Miliband's party, with a win in Derbyshire.
:04:23. > :04:26.These were a very difficult set of County Council election results for
:04:26. > :04:30.us four years ago but we are making progress and gaining seats,
:04:30. > :04:33.including in the south. Those, of course, are going to be the real
:04:33. > :04:39.battlegrounds, come the next general election. We have a lot of
:04:39. > :04:43.results yet to declare. As predicted, the by-election for
:04:43. > :04:46.the Westminster seat of South Shields went comfortably to Labour
:04:46. > :04:49.but again the talking point was UKIP, grabbing second in the poll.
:04:49. > :04:53.The Liberal Democrats were pushed down to 7th, a much poorer result
:04:53. > :04:57.than at the general election. difference is that last time when
:04:57. > :05:01.we had an election we were not in the Government. This time we are in
:05:01. > :05:05.the Government. Government parties, you know perfectly well, get
:05:05. > :05:08.hammered generally in by-elections. The Conservatives held on to many
:05:08. > :05:13.important councils, but accepts their vote was was squeezed across
:05:13. > :05:17.the country. We absolutely get the message. We know people want to see
:05:17. > :05:21.the economy fixed, they want to see a welfare capped, help for hard-
:05:21. > :05:23.working people. We are starting to make progress on those areas, the
:05:23. > :05:27.deficit down by a third and immigration cut by a third. There's
:05:27. > :05:32.much more to do. I think that's what these results are all about.
:05:32. > :05:35.As the results come in a more detailed picture is emerging and
:05:35. > :05:40.opinions being formed about how much political influence this man
:05:40. > :05:44.really has. As we heard, one of the places
:05:44. > :05:48.where UKIP performed well was in Lincolnshire where they gained 16
:05:48. > :05:54.seats. Three of them were won by members of the same family. Our
:05:54. > :05:58.correspondent Danny Savage is in Boston.
:05:58. > :06:02.The UKIP flags are flying here. You are right, they did very well here
:06:02. > :06:06.from having no councillors in Lincolnshire County Council to 16
:06:06. > :06:09.overnight. They believe if they have that sort in this part of the
:06:09. > :06:13.country come a general election, it would give them a member of
:06:13. > :06:17.parliament for UKIP in this part of Lincolnshire. You did mention there
:06:17. > :06:22.was one family that fielded five candidates, three of them were
:06:22. > :06:26.elected, two of them came second in their ballots. They're from the
:06:26. > :06:28.Ransome family and I have been speaking to the mum, she was
:06:28. > :06:34.elected last night and told me why they believed so many people had
:06:34. > :06:37.voted for UKIP here. I think that mainly it's the immigration
:06:37. > :06:41.problems, because we have just been swamped with people. I don't think
:06:41. > :06:44.it's a racist thing in any shape or form. Also, I think that people
:06:44. > :06:48.thought it's time to get somebody in there different who will do
:06:49. > :06:56.things, get rid of the potholes, all those sort of things that
:06:56. > :07:00.bother people on a daily basis. They're emphasising this isn't just
:07:00. > :07:05.about a one-policy party. The 2011 census found this part of the
:07:05. > :07:09.country has the largest amount of non-British EU passport holders in
:07:09. > :07:12.the country. Immigration is a big deal here. I have been speaking to
:07:12. > :07:17.Bostonians on the streets of the town today about why they think
:07:17. > :07:22.UKIP has done so well. It's clear people have got fed up with the
:07:22. > :07:27.lack of jobs and stuff here, due to foreigners coming in, migrant
:07:27. > :07:32.workers and that. I am not racist, I can't blame people coming here if
:07:32. > :07:40.they can better their lives, but I think there's too many in the town.
:07:40. > :07:45.There's no work for anybody, no housing. Benefits is changing.
:07:45. > :07:49.and again people have said to me they're not racist, but they say
:07:49. > :07:54.when it comes to large nonBritish EU population the EU needs to pay
:07:54. > :07:59.more money to help with different issues that's that's caused.
:07:59. > :08:05.We have Jeremy Vine to crunch some of the numbers to gauge how
:08:05. > :08:09.successful it's been for UKIP. Thank you. Early days still because
:08:09. > :08:14.voting is being counted today. If I show you the floor of the studio
:08:14. > :08:18.this is how we started. This is the result in 2009, the 27
:08:18. > :08:22.County Councils and the unitary authorities. You see the amount of
:08:22. > :08:27.blue, this is very Conservative areas. Where it's grey it mean no,
:08:27. > :08:31.sir overall control. If we have a look at the changes, the flashes
:08:31. > :08:36.there are where councils have changed hands. In the main, we
:08:36. > :08:39.heard there from Lincolnshire, going from Conservative to no
:08:39. > :08:42.overall control. Conservatives losing their foothold in some of
:08:42. > :08:47.their councils. What about the share of the vote
:08:47. > :08:51.for the parties? So far, we analyse key wards. This is what we have got.
:08:51. > :08:54.We have the Conservatives in first place, bear in mind these are very
:08:54. > :09:00.Conservative councils, lots of them. 36%.
:09:00. > :09:06.Second place, everyone is talking about this figure, 21% for UKIP. In
:09:06. > :09:15.third, Labour on 20%. They are seeking more of a surge at this
:09:15. > :09:21.stage of the parliament. Lib Dems on 13%. Greens 4%. 6% or others.
:09:21. > :09:24.The story everyone keeps coming back to is 21% there, UKIP. It's
:09:24. > :09:30.more dramatic if I show you the change on 2009. Last time these
:09:30. > :09:36.council seats were fought was a bad year for Labour. What's happened to
:09:36. > :09:40.the votes of the parties since that year? Four years on, here we are.
:09:40. > :09:49.Let's look at change. How the parties' positions have
:09:49. > :09:55.changed since 2009. It's very, very apparent. Plus 17% for UKIP. You
:09:55. > :09:58.also see the Conservatives are hurting, down 9%. As are their
:09:58. > :10:02.coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, down 11%. That may save
:10:02. > :10:08.some Conservative councillors if they're challenged by a Liberal
:10:08. > :10:13.Democrat who who -- whose challenge is weakening and vice versa. It's
:10:13. > :10:16.also the Labour figure of plus 8% we are focusing on here. Under Ed
:10:16. > :10:21.Miliband there's definitely been a comeback for Labour from the low
:10:21. > :10:26.days of Gordon Brown. But some saying the 8% isn't quite enough to
:10:26. > :10:29.make Labour certain of victory at the next general election.
:10:29. > :10:32.Let's talk to our political correspondent Norman Smith in
:10:32. > :10:36.Westminster. Nigel Farage describing it as a sea
:10:36. > :10:40.change in British politics. Is it? Well, it's not a sea change in the
:10:40. > :10:43.sense that UKIP have not stormed to victory and taken control of loads
:10:43. > :10:46.of councils, indeed they've not taken control of a single council.
:10:46. > :10:49.But what they've effectively and significantly done is piled up
:10:49. > :10:53.votes in different parts of the country, in different geographical
:10:53. > :10:58.areas, in different political constituencies, roughly one in four
:10:58. > :11:01.voters opting for UKIP. Now what is not clear is whether this is simply
:11:01. > :11:04.protest politics, people fed up with austerity and the
:11:05. > :11:08.establishment parties, fed up with business as usual, or whether the
:11:08. > :11:12.ground is actually beginning to break up and it's too early to say.
:11:12. > :11:18.What I think is significant is that Nigel Farage himself this morning
:11:19. > :11:24.cited the example of the old SDP, the social Democratic Party. They
:11:24. > :11:28.never broke the mould of British politics, never got a swathe of MPs
:11:28. > :11:33.at Westminster. They forced main parties to recalibrate their
:11:33. > :11:37.politics. It may be that that is the sea change which UKIP effect.
:11:37. > :11:40.The main parties and particularly the coalition parties are going to
:11:40. > :11:44.have to respond in some way, the question is how? They will all have
:11:44. > :11:49.to respond because UKIP is taking votes from all of them.
:11:49. > :11:54.Predominantly from the Conservatives and there is a
:11:54. > :11:59.conundrum for David Cameron. Some are saying go right, toughen up
:11:59. > :12:03.stance on immigration, forget about increasing overseas aid and to
:12:03. > :12:08.legislate for a European referendum in this parliament. The difficulty
:12:08. > :12:14.for Mr Cameron is his distinctive brand appeal at the last election
:12:14. > :12:19.was that he was a different sort of Conservative, so for David Cameron
:12:19. > :12:22.UKIP pose him with a real conundrum. Thank you.
:12:22. > :12:26.There will be live coverage on the BBC News channel with Huw Edwards
:12:26. > :12:32.throughout the afternoon as those counts continue. Later in the
:12:32. > :12:36.programme we will be speaking to our political editor Nick Robinson
:12:36. > :12:40.for analysis so far. The man accused of the murder of
:12:40. > :12:44.April Jones looked tearful in court as a written statement from the
:12:44. > :12:47.five-year-old's father was read to the jury. Paul Jones said, I cannot
:12:47. > :12:51.think of any reason why Mark Bridger would take April and hurt
:12:51. > :12:57.her, he is a father, too. He also described pacing up and down
:12:57. > :13:02.looking for his missing daughter, we can go to Mold Crown Court now.
:13:02. > :13:05.CCTV footage has been played to the court also. Yes, in the last few
:13:05. > :13:09.minutes the jury have been listening to the statements from
:13:09. > :13:13.April Jones' parents and learned of the deep sense of panic that fell
:13:13. > :13:18.upon them when they were told that their young daughter had gone
:13:18. > :13:21.missing on October 1st last year. Coral Jones' statement was emotive.
:13:22. > :13:25.It described how it had been a normal day, April going to school,
:13:25. > :13:28.going swimming and how in their family home she had been asked by
:13:28. > :13:33.her five-year-old if she could go out and play. Both Coral and Paul
:13:34. > :13:38.Jones initially said no to their daughter. But eventually relented.
:13:38. > :13:43.Coral Jones said April came in, zipped up her coat, told her not to
:13:43. > :13:48.be long and that was the last time I ever saw her. We also heard a
:13:48. > :13:53.statement from her father saying how April had been playful and
:13:53. > :13:56.wanted to go out and that he simply couldn't understand how Mark
:13:56. > :14:01.Bridger it's alleged would do something like this, him himself
:14:01. > :14:06.being a father. At that stage Mark Bridger was tearful in the dock. We
:14:06. > :14:10.have also heard evidence regarding one of April's half-sisters. And
:14:10. > :14:14.how in the time before the alleged abduction Mark Bridger had
:14:14. > :14:20.approached April's half-sister on Facebook, wanting to be her friend.
:14:20. > :14:24.She had responded saying, no, I don't know you. Several attempts
:14:24. > :14:28.were made to befriend her but she said no, I don't want to be your
:14:28. > :14:32.friend. Earlier we saw CCTV images that show Mark Bridger moving
:14:32. > :14:37.around Machynlleth before and after the time of April went missing. He
:14:37. > :14:40.denies the three charges against him of abduction, murder and
:14:40. > :14:44.perverting the course of justice by destroying April's body. Thank you
:14:44. > :14:47.very much. The chairman of the Royal Bank of
:14:47. > :14:51.Scotland, which is 82% owned by the taxpayer, says the Government
:14:51. > :14:56.should be able to start the process of selling off its stake next year.
:14:56. > :15:00.The bank has reported a pre-tax profit of �826 million for the
:15:00. > :15:04.first three months of the year, its highest for 18 months. Here is our
:15:04. > :15:10.chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym.
:15:10. > :15:14.�45 billion of taxpayers' money went into bailing out RBS, how do
:15:14. > :15:16.we get that back? Latest results showed a profit. In the boardroom
:15:16. > :15:26.there is planning for a possible sale of the Government shares from
:15:26. > :15:27.
:15:27. > :15:32.with the Government enabling the Government to sell shares from let's
:15:32. > :15:35.say the middle of 2014 on. It could be earlier that's a matter for the
:15:35. > :15:40.Government. Certainly the recovery process will be substantially
:15:41. > :15:44.complete in about a year or so's time. RBS has been blighted by big
:15:44. > :15:48.mistakes during the boom years and loans which went badly wrong.
:15:48. > :15:53.Analysts say the bank is on the road to recovery. A restructuring process
:15:53. > :15:56.of a bank takes many years. RBS has already been undertaking this for
:15:56. > :16:01.some time. By next year, we expect to see real results of their
:16:01. > :16:05.restructuring and their refocussing and a much cleaner focussed bank.
:16:05. > :16:11.That will be easier for investors to understand. In 2008, the Government
:16:11. > :16:15.paid an average of just over �5 for each RBS share. They're valued at a
:16:15. > :16:19.little over �4 in the public sector books. Ministers will want to sell
:16:19. > :16:25.somewhere between those figures. At around 295 this morning, the shares
:16:26. > :16:33.still have some way to go vment will be a 40% loss if they
:16:33. > :16:37.privatised today. In a year's time they may be back above �5. There's
:16:38. > :16:41.huge uncertainty over where the share price might go, persuading
:16:41. > :16:45.City investors to buy billions of pounds worth of RBS shares may be a
:16:45. > :16:50.tall order. Ultimately it will be a big call for George Osborne, selling
:16:50. > :16:54.at a loss would be politically difficult, but a major privatisation
:16:54. > :17:02.involving small shareholders ahead of the election must be tempting for
:17:02. > :17:06.him. It's just after 1. 15: The UK
:17:06. > :17:09.Independence Party achiefs its best ever set of local election results.
:17:09. > :17:15.Nigel Farage called it a remarkable night.
:17:15. > :17:18.And coming up, I'll be reporting from Dorset, where 20 sections of
:17:18. > :17:23.the south-west coastal path are closed or diverted this weekend due
:17:23. > :17:28.to land slips. On BBC London: It's a dream come
:17:28. > :17:33.true. A taste of success, how a partime de-Jay from Hackney went
:17:33. > :17:35.from music maestro to MasterChef. And we look at the planned �200
:17:35. > :17:45.million upgrade for the hoax million upgrade for the hoax
:17:45. > :17:46.
:17:46. > :17:51.It's the only one of its kind in the world and has been lying on the
:17:51. > :17:55.seabed for 70 years. Today work begins to retrieve a German Dornier
:17:55. > :17:58.17 bomber shot down over the English Channel during the Battle of
:17:58. > :18:03.Britain. The four-week salvage operation of the wreckage is just
:18:03. > :18:07.the start of a two-year restoration project. Nick Higham has been to
:18:07. > :18:11.meet the team hoping to safeguard this important bit of history.
:18:11. > :18:15.The summer of 1940, and the Battle of Britain rages over southern
:18:16. > :18:22.England in. Daily dog fights and bombing raids, the German Air Force
:18:22. > :18:26.seeks to destroy the RAF in the run up to a planned invasion. The
:18:26. > :18:30.Dornier 17, known as the flying pencil for its long, thin shape, was
:18:30. > :18:35.a deadly main stay of the bomber fleets attacking British cities and
:18:35. > :18:39.airfields. Gerhard Krems was a highly decorated wartime pilot who
:18:39. > :18:49.flew 250 bombing missions for the Luftwaffe. He's the last man alive
:18:49. > :18:54.to have flown a Dornier. Transtransit was agile and slanter
:18:54. > :18:58.and it was elegant. More than 70 years on noted a single Dornier was
:18:58. > :19:06.thought to survive. Two years ago a survey for the RAF Museum revealed
:19:06. > :19:11.the wreck of a plane lying on its back on the Goodwin sands. Divers
:19:11. > :19:15.confirmed it was a Dornier 17 and almost in tact. The plane, it's
:19:15. > :19:20.thought was shot down in August 1940s, damaged by RAF fighters it
:19:20. > :19:24.flew out over the channel rapidly losing power and height. The pilot
:19:24. > :19:30.trying to ditch. When the wing touched the surface the plane spun
:19:30. > :19:34.turning onto its back in. Due course it sank to the bottom. When we lift
:19:34. > :19:37.it, it needs to be nose down zbl. To raise the plane the salvage company
:19:37. > :19:41.has designed a special frame or cradle in which to lift the
:19:41. > :19:46.aircraft. It will take up to four weeks to build it under water much
:19:46. > :19:52.the plane is made of aluminium, which corrodes badly in sea water.
:19:52. > :19:58.One expert warns not to expect too much. In 20, 30 years you will find
:19:58. > :20:05.nothing from that Dornier, for example, so try it, but you
:20:05. > :20:10.shouldn't be highly optimistic. Do it, but don't start dreaming too
:20:10. > :20:12.early. But at Imperial College London they're more optimist being,
:20:13. > :20:16.working on a fragment of the plane scientists here believe they've come
:20:16. > :20:22.up with a way to preserve it for the long-term. We have a plan for
:20:22. > :20:28.cleaning it. We've been looking at some acid washes. Historically
:20:28. > :20:33.museums have used things like citric and phosphoric acid. We're looking
:20:33. > :20:37.at similar combinations. Citric acid works very well. Today it's a wreck
:20:37. > :20:43.on the floor of the English Channel. In two years, if all goes well,
:20:43. > :20:47.preserved with lemon juice, it will be on display.
:20:47. > :20:50.Lawyers for three Afghan interPrio terse who worked for British forces
:20:50. > :20:54.in Afghanistan are beginning legal action to win the right to settle
:20:54. > :21:01.here. They've asked for a judicial review of the British Government's
:21:01. > :21:05.decision not to treat them as the same was -- way as translators in
:21:05. > :21:09.Iraq, who were given the right to settle here after the war.
:21:09. > :21:13.Mohammed risked his life as an interpreter for British soldiers in
:21:13. > :21:17.Afghanistan. He fled to the UK after getting Taliban death threats, then
:21:17. > :21:22.had to fight for asylum. I was receiving intimidation threats. My
:21:22. > :21:26.family was receiving threats. It came to a point where I had to make
:21:26. > :21:31.a decision. I had to flee my country, which was not an easy thing
:21:31. > :21:35.to leave my family behind. Now he's one of three interpreters bringing a
:21:35. > :21:39.legal case against the British Government for the right of all
:21:39. > :21:42.Afghan interpreters to resettle here. Britain gave that right to the
:21:42. > :21:46.Iraqis. Lawyers argue it's discrimination not to offer the
:21:46. > :21:50.same. We're talking about a finite number of individuals with their
:21:50. > :21:54.depen dents. We have to realise that they are now in danger, directly
:21:54. > :21:58.because of that work, we must provide them with a proper
:21:58. > :22:01.resettlement package. There are no official figures, but it's believed
:22:02. > :22:06.at least 20 interpreters working for NATO in Afghanistan have been killed
:22:06. > :22:08.during the course of their duties over the past few years. The
:22:08. > :22:14.campaigners are putting more and more pressure on the Government to
:22:14. > :22:19.act. Many senior former military figures have made their their belief
:22:19. > :22:23.the UK owes its interpreters a debt of honour. The principle is
:22:23. > :22:26.established. We did it in Iraq for the same reasons. We did it because
:22:26. > :22:29.they stood shoulder to shoulder with our troops in the most hazardous of
:22:29. > :22:32.circumstances. We did it because after we left, their lives were at
:22:33. > :22:36.risk and those of their families as well. We recognise that in Iraq. Why
:22:37. > :22:41.can you not in Afghanistan? We think the situation in Afghanistan is
:22:41. > :22:45.different from the situation in Iraq. What we're now talking about
:22:46. > :22:48.is putting in place a generous, long-term offer to those people who
:22:48. > :22:52.are prepared to stay in Afghanistan and make their futures there,
:22:53. > :22:57.because we think that is the best way both for them and for
:22:58. > :23:02.Afghanistan, where it is practical. The Government has expected to
:23:02. > :23:05.announce plans for Afghan interpreters within weeks. After war
:23:05. > :23:11.in Iraq, around a thousand interpreters successfully applied to
:23:11. > :23:15.come to the UK. With much of the UK expected to
:23:15. > :23:19.enjoy that most unexpected phenomenon, sunny weather, over a
:23:19. > :23:22.bank holiday weekend. There's a warning about risks of walking too
:23:22. > :23:26.close to the cliffs in the south-west. In the last couple of
:23:26. > :23:29.months, there have been several land slips across the 630 mile long
:23:29. > :23:37.south-west coast path. Though the beaches are open, visitors are
:23:37. > :23:41.advised to exercise due care. Jon Kay is in lull worth for us.
:23:41. > :23:45.Yes, isn't that a sight for sore eyes, on a beautiful day like this,
:23:45. > :23:49.ahead of a bank holiday weekend, it's easy to forget that dreadful
:23:49. > :23:53.weather that we had throughout the winter, that rain and flooding. But
:23:53. > :23:57.it's still leaving its legacy on the landscape. This path here is open,
:23:57. > :24:03.but around the south-west and to Devon and Cornwall, 20 sections
:24:03. > :24:08.closed this bank holiday weekend. It's erosion that has made this
:24:08. > :24:12.coastline so special, shifting and shaping it over millions of years.
:24:12. > :24:19.But recent land slips here have brought spectacular and sudden
:24:19. > :24:24.change. Just this week, one cliff collapsed near Durdle Door. The
:24:24. > :24:32.South West of England alone there have been more than 30 land slips
:24:32. > :24:35.this year. Ologists the rain over the winter. -- geologists blame the
:24:35. > :24:40.rain over the winter. So visitors this weekend will find more than 20
:24:40. > :24:43.sections of the path closed or diverted. It's the wettest winter
:24:43. > :24:48.I've known since I have been worked for the ranger service. It's causing
:24:48. > :24:53.more land slips. We put closures in place to keep the public safe.
:24:53. > :24:57.must be really busy right now. we are, very busy. Of course, the
:24:57. > :25:03.dangers aren't just up on the cliff tops, but down on the beaches as
:25:03. > :25:07.well. Despite the warnings, we have seen holidaymakers well within the
:25:07. > :25:10.hazardous areas. The crucial summer season begin that's weekend and
:25:10. > :25:15.businesses which rely on tourism hope the land slips won't put
:25:15. > :25:19.visitors off. The message is that we're open, please come, and make
:25:19. > :25:24.sure that you use the diversions which are in place to keep you safe.
:25:24. > :25:29.So, school trips are having to keep their distance. Geography lessons
:25:29. > :25:36.suddenly brought into sharp focus. Dorset County Council says this has
:25:36. > :25:41.been the biggest land slip in over a decade, the biggest many people here
:25:41. > :25:46.can remember, even on a sunny day, that wet winter is still live living
:25:46. > :25:50.-- leaving its mark. These are the signs frantically being put up by
:25:50. > :25:54.Rangers in different parts of the coastline today. The irony is that
:25:54. > :25:57.rather than worrying about keeping people away, these land slips are
:25:58. > :26:04.actually attracting some tourists. We've met people here who have come
:26:04. > :26:10.down here deliberately to see them. Let's get more on the local election
:26:10. > :26:14.results and the picture emerging so far is that the UK Independence
:26:14. > :26:19.Party has received its best ever results. Nigel Farage halls said his
:26:19. > :26:23.party has sent a shock wave to the establishment. Let's get some
:26:23. > :26:27.analysis with our political editor Nick Robinson. A remarkable night
:26:27. > :26:32.for UKIP. Nigel Farage saying it is a sea change in British politics.
:26:32. > :26:36.could be the beginning of a sea change in British politics. It isn't
:26:36. > :26:40.yet. There's no doubt these are extraordinary results for UKIP, for
:26:40. > :26:44.example, to fight a by-election to come second with around a quarter of
:26:44. > :26:47.the vote, in an area of the north-east in which they had no
:26:47. > :26:52.organisation, no previous candidate, no real history at all is
:26:52. > :26:57.remarkable. To repeat that roughly quarter of the vote in councils
:26:57. > :27:02.throughout England and to gain councils is impressive. Why not a
:27:02. > :27:06.sea change yet? We don't know if this will be followed through. It is
:27:06. > :27:11.very likely, to be repeated in a year's time at European elections.
:27:11. > :27:14.UKIP in the past has done well at European elections and fallen away
:27:14. > :27:18.at a general election. The real test will be how much they can sustain
:27:18. > :27:23.this, how much they can sustain it under scrutiny they've never had
:27:23. > :27:27.before. One thing is clear, there will be no more references to them
:27:28. > :27:31.as clowns and loonies. Ken Clarke calls them clowns and a quarter of
:27:31. > :27:36.England has said- send in the clowns zbl. Much is going to be made now of
:27:36. > :27:40.the response of the three main parties to these results. Yes, one
:27:40. > :27:44.response first of all is to be politer about UKIP to say they've
:27:44. > :27:46.listened. When the Prime Minister speaks this afternoon is likely to
:27:47. > :27:50.unsay many of the things he's said in the past about UKIP. When they
:27:50. > :27:55.look at their results, each of the parties is going to find a bit of
:27:55. > :27:59.comfort and quite a lot of anxiety as well. The Tories are losing
:27:59. > :28:02.councils. They are losing councillors too. The comfort is the
:28:02. > :28:06.sense that they don't feel that under pressure from an Opposition
:28:06. > :28:10.that is about to sweep to power. Labour, of course, is making
:28:10. > :28:13.important gains and in important parts of the country that. Will make
:28:13. > :28:18.them feel good. There are certain areas of the country where the vote
:28:18. > :28:22.is not even as good as Tony Blair did in 2005 after the Iraq war,
:28:22. > :28:26.reason for real concern there. The Liberal Democrats have lost a lot of
:28:26. > :28:31.votes on the other hand, they're holding on in areas where they need
:28:31. > :28:35.to hold on to their members of Parliament. All of us, though, in
:28:35. > :28:40.truth, in the parties and commentators too are asking the
:28:40. > :28:45.question we can't know the answer to- is UKIP here to stay or is it a
:28:45. > :28:48.short-term te nom none? The BBC News website will have live
:28:48. > :28:56.text and video coverage of the results as they come in. For more
:28:57. > :29:01.analysis and a full breakdown of results in your area, go to
:29:01. > :29:11.bbc.co.uk /vote 2013. Bank holiday weekend beckons, is it
:29:11. > :29:13.
:29:13. > :29:15.Bank holiday weekend beckons, is it pressure in control in southern and
:29:15. > :29:19.central areas, but low pressure in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It's
:29:19. > :29:25.a dismall day there, heavy rain as times and yes, the white there is
:29:25. > :29:30.snow falling mainly over the Grampians and the Highlands. We have
:29:30. > :29:34.some drier, brighter weather into the far north. That cold air
:29:34. > :29:37.engaging with the rain producing the heavy snow over the hills. Heavy
:29:37. > :29:40.rain through the central belt and for Northern Ireland disappointing
:29:40. > :29:44.temperatures and strong winds. For much of England and Wales, though,
:29:44. > :29:48.it's a fine prospect for this afternoon. Lots of sunshine around,
:29:48. > :29:53.particularly for East Anglia and the south-east, where locally you could
:29:53. > :29:56.see 21 degrees somewhere. For the rest of this evening and overnight,
:29:56. > :30:01.we see the rain band across the north begin to edge southwards. As
:30:01. > :30:05.it does so, it will fizzle out. By dawn it will be through central
:30:05. > :30:09.area. Heavier bursts across North West England and for Wales and into
:30:09. > :30:13.the south-west. Ahead of it it's still mild though. Behind it, it
:30:13. > :30:18.turns drier for Scotland and Northern Ireland. But cold too with
:30:18. > :30:21.a touch of frost in rural spots. The rain bands associated with this
:30:22. > :30:26.weather front are continuing to spread southwards and east during
:30:26. > :30:29.Saturday. By around Saturday morning into the afternoon, it will be
:30:29. > :30:33.across south-eastern England and southern counties. A disappointing
:30:33. > :30:38.day there, bits and pieces of rain around. It won't brighten through
:30:39. > :30:42.the day. Behind it It will brighten up. Further rain pushing in for
:30:42. > :30:48.Scotland and Northern Ireland. Temperatures lower tomorrow
:30:48. > :30:50.generally across the board, 15 or 16. 11 in the north. For the rest of
:30:50. > :30:55.the weekend, Sunday and Monday, generally the further north and west
:30:55. > :30:59.you are, it will be cool and breezy with rain at times. But further
:30:59. > :31:04.south, mainly dry and where the sunshine comes out, it will be warm
:31:04. > :31:09.in that strong May sunshine. On Sunday, I think a disappointing
:31:09. > :31:16.start for most areas. We'll have a lot of cloud around. That sunshine
:31:16. > :31:20.is breaking through for central areas. It's warm in the south-east
:31:20. > :31:23.and for bank holiday Monday itself, a better start with more in the way
:31:23. > :31:27.of sunshine everywhere. Bit of rain across the far north and west where
:31:27. > :31:32.it remains cool. Those temperatures soaring up for England and Wales.
:31:32. > :31:42.20, 21, we could see 22 or 23 20, 21, we could see 22 or 23
:31:42. > :31:43.