:00:07. > :00:10.Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers walk out in the
:00:10. > :00:18.biggest strike for five years in protest at plans to reform their
:00:18. > :00:27.pensions. Teachers and civil servants marched through cities up
:00:27. > :00:31.and down the UK, amid warnings of more strike action to come. We are
:00:31. > :00:34.here because we are very angry and because of what we see as an
:00:34. > :00:39.assault on our pensions. thousands of children it was a
:00:39. > :00:45.welcome day off school, but many parents were unimpressed. Everybody
:00:45. > :00:48.in private industry is having to take cuts, so I believe it should
:00:48. > :00:51.be the same for the public sector. Also on tonight's programme:
:00:51. > :00:54.Troubled times at Lloyds, as 15,000 more job cuts are announced.
:00:54. > :00:56.A vision of the trams that should be on Edinburgh's streets. Instead,
:00:56. > :01:00.they're years behind schedule, way over budget and may even be
:01:00. > :01:04.scrapped. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
:01:04. > :01:09.are on their way to Canada, their first official trip overseas. They
:01:10. > :01:12.land within the hour. And the favourite, Maria Sharapova,
:01:13. > :01:22.wins a place in the Wimbledon final. She'll face the Czech, Petra
:01:23. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:49.Good evening, welcome to the BBC News at Six.
:01:49. > :01:51.Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have staged a one-
:01:51. > :01:55.day strike in protest at the Government's plans to reform their
:01:55. > :02:01.pensions. In England and Wales around 12,000 schools were either
:02:01. > :02:03.shut or partially closed as teachers went out on strike. At
:02:03. > :02:06.least 105,000 civil servants joined them, causing disruption to some
:02:06. > :02:13.courts, ports, tax offices and Jobcentres, though the unions claim
:02:13. > :02:22.the number who walked out was much higher. Here's our political editor,
:02:22. > :02:29.Nick Robinson. Strike day. The one that saves their pensions or the
:02:29. > :02:33.first in a bitter battle with the Government? For some this was a
:02:33. > :02:38.protest against the cuts. For most, though, it was about their own
:02:38. > :02:44.retirement. They say they shouldn't pay more to pay for bankers'
:02:44. > :02:48.mistakes. Ministers say their pensions are simply unaffordable.
:02:48. > :02:51.Here they come, public sector workers to be march. The question
:02:51. > :02:56.though is whether they have the public with them or whether he
:02:56. > :03:04.living in Downing Street does. It was in school where is the main
:03:04. > :03:07.impact was felt. This one of around 12,000 which closed fully or
:03:07. > :03:15.partially in England and Wales. One parent did play teacher for the day.
:03:15. > :03:20.Just one problem - he was the Education Secretary. Not a word he
:03:20. > :03:24.would use to describe those on strike today, like Gary, an English
:03:24. > :03:29.teacher from Fulham. We were here because we're very angry because
:03:29. > :03:34.what we see as an assault on our pensions. If I took you into any
:03:34. > :03:39.office or any shop here, they would think your pension was incredibly
:03:39. > :03:42.good, wasn't they? They certainly would and it is an idea that you
:03:42. > :03:46.look after public sector workers because they were doing tough jobs
:03:46. > :03:49.and it is a way of showing that value where sometimes the wages
:03:49. > :03:54.don't necessarily match up. could you explain to an office
:03:54. > :03:58.worker or in a shop or restaurants they should pay more tax so that
:03:58. > :04:05.you don't have to pay more for your pensions? Pensions are a right for
:04:05. > :04:10.people and be that we all demand better pensions. The strikers' case
:04:10. > :04:16.sa is that proposed pension changes will cost the average teacher �74 a
:04:16. > :04:20.month, make them work to 6 and give them a smaller pension. The
:04:20. > :04:25.Government says pension pots are protected, that workers under
:04:25. > :04:29.�15,000 a year will pay no more and all will get guaranteed payouts.
:04:29. > :04:33.have to have reform that make sure that pensions are fair and afford
:04:33. > :04:39.income future. The truth Su just need some extra cash and quickly to
:04:39. > :04:43.help pay down the deficit. The cost of public service pensions have
:04:43. > :04:47.risen dramatically. Over the last ten years costs have increased bay
:04:47. > :04:51.third. It wasn't just teachers striking today. The Public and
:04:51. > :04:58.Commercial Services Union said it was their biggest strike, but
:04:58. > :05:03.Ministers claim many ignored the picket lines. Like this one in
:05:03. > :05:06.Newcastle, or airports. understand the anger of workers who
:05:06. > :05:12.feel they are being singled out by a reckless and provocative
:05:12. > :05:16.Government. But I also believe this action is wrong. Negotiations are
:05:16. > :05:19.ongoing. So it is a mistake to go on strike, because of the effect on
:05:19. > :05:25.the people who rely upon those services. That condemnation from
:05:25. > :05:29.the leader of the party the trade unions created infuriated one
:05:29. > :05:33.teaching union. Very to say, and I'm ashamed to say this, the
:05:33. > :05:37.response of the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has been a disgrace.
:05:37. > :05:41.CHEERING The police were out in force today
:05:41. > :05:47.blocking protesters from going off the agreed route and using stop and
:05:47. > :05:51.search powers to avoid trouble. So far at least they've succeed. The
:05:51. > :05:55.political trouble over pensions though may only just have begun.
:05:55. > :05:58.This is the visible side of this dispute. What really counts is
:05:58. > :06:03.what's happening away from the cameras. Negotiations about exactly
:06:03. > :06:08.what the unions will accept and what Ministers insist theically can
:06:08. > :06:10.afford. Well, the impact of the strike has
:06:10. > :06:14.been felt right across the UK, particularly in England and Wales,
:06:14. > :06:16.where millions of parents had to take time off work or make other
:06:16. > :06:19.arrangement to look after children who couldn't go school. Our north
:06:19. > :06:29.of England correspondent, Ed Thomas, spent the day in Stockton-on-Tees
:06:29. > :06:32.
:06:32. > :06:37.to see how one community has been coping. 9.00am and it is all quiet
:06:37. > :06:42.at Winston Primary. But over at the park it is a different story. The
:06:42. > :06:46.strikes meant that parents of Stockton-on-Tees needed a Plan B.
:06:46. > :06:52.Looking after the children today? Yes. You have got sympathy with the
:06:52. > :06:55.teachers for this strike? Very some sympathy with the teachers'
:06:55. > :07:00.predicament but I think they've dissident too early. They should be
:07:00. > :07:07.in the same boat as everybody else. I've definitely got sympathy with
:07:07. > :07:12.them. From what I've heard, they need to stand their ground.
:07:12. > :07:17.sympathy was in short supply as 7- year-old Joshua's house. Today he
:07:17. > :07:22.was schooled at home while mum Yvonne had an unpaid day off work.
:07:22. > :07:26.That leaves my employer short staffed, so he's had to pull staff
:07:26. > :07:31.from his other branch to cover me. That leaves them short staffed, so
:07:31. > :07:36.it has upset them at work. Obviously, the children are missing
:07:36. > :07:41.out on going to school. And here's the pharmacy where Yvonne works.
:07:41. > :07:45.The changes they have had to make here have cost them money. Every
:07:45. > :07:52.disruption and every financial loss is a worry. Obviously as far as the
:07:52. > :07:56.business is concerned, you can't in fact absorb it all the time. It
:07:56. > :07:59.depends how long it is going to go on. What about the thousands of
:07:59. > :08:03.parents who can't afford to take time off work? Here like elsewhere
:08:03. > :08:09.in the country many of them have turned to places like this -
:08:09. > :08:13.creches, daycare centres, after- school clubs, anywhere to help them
:08:14. > :08:18.look after their children. Usually this is a breakfast and after-
:08:18. > :08:21.school club only, but today 11- year-olds played with 3-year-olds.
:08:21. > :08:25.It is all after some desperate phone calls from parents.
:08:25. > :08:30.parent this morning said, "I don't know what I would do if you weren't
:08:30. > :08:35.here. I have no family. Where sells there for me to go and I cannot
:08:35. > :08:41.take time off work." So what happens next when it comes to time
:08:41. > :08:43.off will be down to the unions and the Government.
:08:43. > :08:46.Ministers insist public sector pensions must change to stay
:08:46. > :08:49.affordable. They say greater life expectancy means that people will
:08:49. > :08:51.have to work longer to fund their retirement. But how do the numbers
:08:51. > :08:59.actually stack up? Our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym,
:08:59. > :09:02.has been having a closer look. The debate about paying for pensions
:09:02. > :09:06.has centred on whether they are affordable. An independent
:09:06. > :09:10.Commission headed by the former Labour Minister, Lord Hutton,
:09:10. > :09:15.recommended radical reform. That's what the Government's adopted. But
:09:15. > :09:18.the Hutton report shows that public sector costs as a share of GDP are
:09:18. > :09:23.set to fall. Right now they are nearly 2%. They are likely to come
:09:24. > :09:27.down, although the report has a range of possible outcomes. Does
:09:27. > :09:31.that mean they are affordable? point about public sector pensions
:09:31. > :09:33.their cost over time is not actually rising as a proportion of
:09:33. > :09:37.national income. In part because we've had public sector pensions
:09:37. > :09:42.for such a long time, in part because of some of the reforms that
:09:42. > :09:45.the last Government put in place. The real issue is that they are
:09:45. > :09:50.significantly more generous than the pensions that workers in the
:09:51. > :09:55.private sector get. They do cost a large amount of money. In the short
:09:55. > :09:59.term Ministers point out the taxpayer cost is going up. Payouts
:09:59. > :10:02.to public sector pensioners this financial year will be nearly �6
:10:02. > :10:06.billion, taking account of contributions by current staff Four
:10:07. > :10:11.years they will rise to more than �8 billion, even allowing for
:10:11. > :10:17.contribution increases planned by the Government. There are key
:10:17. > :10:20.questions being asked about fairness. Why should taxpayers fund
:10:20. > :10:24.pensions for the public sector than are more secure than for other
:10:24. > :10:28.workers? But is it right to drag public sector provision down in a
:10:28. > :10:34.so-called race to the bottom? There's widening gap between the
:10:34. > :10:38.sectors when it comes to pensions. In the private sector just 34% of
:10:38. > :10:43.workers are in an occupational scheme, but in the public sector
:10:43. > :10:47.the figure is 84%. Private sector pension provision is nat qat at
:10:47. > :10:51.present. That's not a reason to water down public sector pension
:10:51. > :10:55.provision, but the reality for public and private sector workers
:10:55. > :11:00.is they are all going to have to get used to spending a bit less,
:11:00. > :11:04.saving a bit more and retiring a bit later. The arguments over
:11:04. > :11:12.what's fair and sustainable are complex. If you want to know more
:11:12. > :11:16.about these issues, look at our website - bbc.co.uk/news.
:11:16. > :11:19.Our industry correspondent, John Moylan, is at TUC headquarters in
:11:19. > :11:24.central London. There is some dispute about how many people went
:11:25. > :11:28.on strike today. Can you gauge now what impact this one-day strike
:11:28. > :11:33.had? Interestingly public service unions will be meeting here
:11:33. > :11:43.tomorrow at the TUC headquarters. They'll be asking the same question.
:11:43. > :11:44.
:11:44. > :11:48.We know schools were ris erupted, we think 11 ,000 schools were
:11:48. > :11:52.closed. The Government says 105,000 people walked out of Government
:11:52. > :11:55.posts. The union says the number was double that. The Government
:11:55. > :12:03.insists tonight that essential services were maintained. The
:12:03. > :12:07.bottom line is that today was always about a shot across the
:12:07. > :12:11.boughs for the Government, the ang there were millions of public
:12:11. > :12:14.sector workers feel. The big question is whether this will be
:12:14. > :12:19.turned into concessions from Government when both sides meet to
:12:19. > :12:22.talk about pension reform next week. A man who murdered his neighbour,
:12:22. > :12:24.before mutilating her body nine years ago, has been told he will
:12:24. > :12:27.spend the rest of his life in prison. Danilo Restivo, who's
:12:27. > :12:31.Italian, beat Heather Barnett with a hammer at her home in Bournemouth
:12:31. > :12:37.in 2002. As he passed sentence, the judge said the murder was so
:12:37. > :12:40.serious that no minimum term would be appropriate.
:12:40. > :12:43.Emergency laws will be brought forward to overturn a legal ruling
:12:43. > :12:46.about police bail. Senior police officers have expressed deep
:12:46. > :12:50.concern about restrictions over holding suspects on bail for more
:12:50. > :12:52.than four days. The Policing Minister, Nick Herbert, said the
:12:52. > :12:58.emergency legislation was needed because there wasn't enough time to
:12:58. > :13:01.wait for a Supreme Court appeal. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation
:13:01. > :13:03.has moved a step closer to taking full control of BSkyB. The
:13:03. > :13:09.Government has provisionally accepted plans to spin off Sky News
:13:09. > :13:12.as a separate company. The Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, agreed the
:13:12. > :13:20.controversial proposals. But he's given opponents one week to raise
:13:20. > :13:24.any objections to the deal. 15,000 more jobs are to go at
:13:24. > :13:29.Lloyds. The latest cuts mean that by 2014 the banking group will have
:13:29. > :13:32.shed a total of 45,000 jobs. It's also announced plans to pull out of
:13:32. > :13:40.half the countries in which it operates. Our business editor,
:13:40. > :13:44.Robert Peston, has the details. Huge numbers, why have they had to
:13:44. > :13:53.do this? Well, Sophie, branches like the Lloyds branch behind me
:13:53. > :13:57.may not be closing. But this 45,000 jobs that Lloyds is shedding, it is
:13:57. > :14:02.without precedent for a going concern, at least in my experience.
:14:02. > :14:06.If you want to try and visualise that number of jobs, it's the
:14:06. > :14:12.number of people that will fill Liverpool as Anfield stadium to the
:14:12. > :14:17.brim. It's a small town in terms of the number of people. Why is Lloyds
:14:17. > :14:21.doing? It is because it feels hate to rebuild its finances, its
:14:21. > :14:24.profitability following the problems it has had since the
:14:24. > :14:28.credit crunch. I spoke to the new chief executive, Antonio Horta-
:14:29. > :14:32.Osario. He told me Lloyds, our biggest retail bank, simply won't
:14:32. > :14:36.be able to support the British economy's recovery unless and until
:14:36. > :14:42.its own finances are fixed. And there is another thing. We as
:14:42. > :14:47.taxpayers own 41% of Lloyds. So the rise in its share price today of
:14:48. > :14:54.almost 10% is good news for taxpayers. But we have invested
:14:54. > :14:59.more than �20 billion in saving this bank. Even after today's share
:14:59. > :15:03.price rise, the value of our stake is still almost �7 billion less
:15:03. > :15:12.than what we paid for that stake, so there is lots more work to do
:15:12. > :15:15.until we as taxpayers get our money Our top story: Hundreds of
:15:15. > :15:19.thousands of public sector workers have gone on strike in protests
:15:19. > :15:23.against plans to reform pensions. Coming up, a mother-in-law to be
:15:23. > :15:33.whose blunt advice for her son's bride-to-be has made her an
:15:33. > :15:49.
:15:49. > :15:52.40 years old, and is the end of the Now, it is �200 million over budget
:15:52. > :15:55.and years behind schedule. Tonight, city councillors in Edinburgh will
:15:55. > :16:00.try to decide what to do about the long-running and controversial
:16:00. > :16:09.plans to put trams back on the streets. One option is to scrap it
:16:09. > :16:13.The traffic congestion at the heart of Scotland's capital is supposed
:16:13. > :16:19.to have eased by now. A continental style tramline should have already
:16:19. > :16:22.been running here, taking some cars and buses off the roads. But this
:16:22. > :16:28.stretch of track has been laid so badly that it needs ripped up and
:16:28. > :16:31.replaced. And that is just the start of a long line of problems.
:16:32. > :16:35.Think Millennium Dome. Think Channel Tunnel. Think about the
:16:35. > :16:39.saga of the building of the new Scottish parliament. In fact, the
:16:39. > :16:45.Edinburgh trams are now so massively overdue and over budget
:16:45. > :16:48.that the whole project has been nicknamed Holyrood on wheels. And
:16:48. > :16:57.whatever Edinburgh's politicians decide tonight, there is no way
:16:57. > :17:01.they can turn to get the budget back on track. Before tramline from
:17:01. > :17:07.Edinburgh airport to the waterfront was supposed to cost no more than
:17:07. > :17:12.�545 million. Now a shorter route, stopping at the city centre, has an
:17:12. > :17:17.estimated cost of up to �773 million. Even if construction is
:17:17. > :17:23.cancelled, up to �740 million will still be needed to pay off
:17:23. > :17:27.contractors. It's a disgrace, really, isn't it? All of that money
:17:27. > :17:31.down the drain. They should just stop and not waste any more money,
:17:31. > :17:35.don't waste any more time and close the street. The council leader
:17:35. > :17:39.claims contractual wrangles and unforseen the Engineering problems
:17:39. > :17:44.for busting the budget, and overrun she has described as a small glitch.
:17:44. > :17:48.I did indeed describe it as a glitch, a glitch in the long term.
:17:48. > :17:54.�200 million, we don't know precisely what the figure is. Let's
:17:54. > :17:58.assume it was that figure. It's not unusual in projects of this size.
:17:58. > :18:01.public inquiry will eventually be held. But councillors must first
:18:01. > :18:07.decide whether or not continuing with construction would be to pour
:18:07. > :18:10.good money after bad. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
:18:10. > :18:14.are due to touch down in Canada within the hour for their first
:18:14. > :18:18.overseas tour as a married couple. During their nine-day stay they
:18:18. > :18:23.will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial and take part in a
:18:23. > :18:29.cooking class and rodeo. After that, they fly to California for a three-
:18:29. > :18:33.day visit. Nicholas Witchell is in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
:18:33. > :18:36.William and Catherine, heading off on their first overseas visit
:18:36. > :18:42.together. An important test for both of them, but particularly for
:18:43. > :18:47.Kate. This could be will be intense, what she wears, how she looks. It
:18:47. > :18:51.will all be picked over in unique detail. Does it matter? Well, to
:18:51. > :18:55.the extent that William and Kate had no central to the monarchy and
:18:55. > :19:01.the image it presents, it does. Waiting for them on the streets of
:19:01. > :19:05.Canada's capital, tearing all day tomorrow. It's a country which,
:19:05. > :19:09.broadly speaking, remains loyal to the Crown and committed to the
:19:09. > :19:14.monarchy. Canada seems rather flattered that the couple have
:19:14. > :19:18.chosen the country for their first international visit together. It
:19:18. > :19:22.works for Canada and, of course, it works for the couple as well.
:19:22. > :19:27.Canada is a country where they are assured of a warm welcome. Not
:19:27. > :19:31.perhaps on the hysterical scale of William's last visit 13 years ago,
:19:31. > :19:36.when he and his brother came for a holiday and where William was
:19:36. > :19:39.mobbed by screaming girls. But make no mistake, the William and Kate
:19:39. > :19:44.show 2011 has many admirers. Hours before the arrival, some were
:19:44. > :19:49.already getting into place to create a couple who, one day, as
:19:49. > :19:52.things stand, will be the King and Queen of Canada as well. I think
:19:52. > :19:57.Canadians have a love affair with the monarchy, and I think they will
:19:57. > :19:59.be no different. We would love to have them as king and queen. Is a
:19:59. > :20:03.new generation commit something I can relate to, being closer to
:20:04. > :20:08.their age. The visit will begin in traditional fashion at the War
:20:08. > :20:13.Memorial, where William will lay a wreath and Catherine a Posy. After
:20:14. > :20:18.that, they will travel across this huge country, a chance to embrace
:20:18. > :20:21.the heritage and give Canadians a new perspective on royalty.
:20:21. > :20:26.The Russian Maria Sharapova is through to her second Wimbledon
:20:26. > :20:36.final. She beat German wild card Sabine Lisicki and will face the
:20:36. > :20:39.
:20:39. > :20:43.8th seed, Petr King Viv Cover. -- Patrick Piggott Cover.
:20:43. > :20:47.Compared to the established galaxy of stars in the men's game, in the
:20:47. > :20:50.women's game we have had to cope with some relatively new names,
:20:50. > :20:54.especially since the Williams sisters and the top three seeds
:20:54. > :20:58.have gone out. The Wimbledon crowds are a
:20:58. > :21:05.knowledgeable bunch. That may be some things are too obscure. Like
:21:05. > :21:12.who is contesting the women's semi- finals? Anna Kournikova? No.
:21:12. > :21:20.Sharapova and... Abinger Road do? Azarenka is playing... Another lady,
:21:20. > :21:30.who I am sure is a fantastic tennis player. Victoria Azarenka was
:21:30. > :21:40.indeed playing the 8th seed, Petra Kvitova. Copyists say it is fresh.
:21:40. > :21:41.
:21:41. > :21:48.In deep deciding set, covered Cover -- Kvitova pulled away. The other
:21:48. > :21:57.semi-final had Maria Sharapova against the unseeded Sabine Lisicki.
:21:57. > :22:06.Lisicki sped to a 3-0 lead. The German opponent was swept aside in
:22:06. > :22:10.straight sets. All of which centre court action allowed the men's
:22:10. > :22:14.semi-finalists to have a relaxed day before their finals tomorrow.
:22:14. > :22:18.Andy Murray ended his quarter-final wincing from a strain. He seems to
:22:18. > :22:22.be moving easily enough now. Today may be the chance for a gentle
:22:22. > :22:27.workout and stretch. Tomorrow, Andy Murray, the self confessed boxing
:22:27. > :22:32.fan, will be nothing short of a full blooded about. Rafael Nadal
:22:32. > :22:40.was displaying his talent today, by foot and rocket, and by just being
:22:41. > :22:45.a hump of Spanish be. I love you! Rare brilliance, tough to beat.
:22:46. > :22:50.It's been a strange thing, Andy Murray's progress to the semi-
:22:50. > :22:55.finals. We haven't had the angst, the drama, the wild over-excitement
:22:55. > :23:03.of recent British Wimbledon runs. That might be to his benefit. But
:23:03. > :23:08.that will all change tomorrow. It Your relationships with your in-
:23:08. > :23:12.laws are not always easy. But when one bride to be visited her
:23:12. > :23:16.fiance's parents in Devon, the visit turned into something of a
:23:16. > :23:20.public disaster. Her future mother- in-law centre a few rays e-mail
:23:20. > :23:24.complaining about her staggering bad mother once -- bad manners and
:23:24. > :23:29.a lack of grace. The 29 year-old was so shocked that she sent it to
:23:29. > :23:33.friends and know it is an intimate sensation. I'm going to give you
:23:33. > :23:38.some really easy tips on how to look after... A bit of gardening
:23:38. > :23:43.advice from nursery owner Carolyn born. But it is her lessons in
:23:43. > :23:48.etiquette that have made her name. A few weeks ago, her stepson
:23:48. > :23:53.Freddie took his fiancee, Heidi Withers, back to the family home in
:23:53. > :23:59.Devon. Afterwards, she received an e-mail from her prospective mother-
:23:59. > :24:09.in-law, apparently criticising her table manners and attacking brash
:24:09. > :24:20.
:24:20. > :24:23.celebrity behaviour. In the message, It seems the e-mail that Carolyn
:24:23. > :24:28.Bourne sent from here to her daughter-in-law to be was meant to
:24:28. > :24:32.be private. But somehow it was forwarded on to other people, who
:24:32. > :24:38.then sent it on to more people, and then it went viral. It has now been
:24:38. > :24:41.seen by millions of people all over the world. They were keeping a very
:24:41. > :24:45.polite silence today. But neighbours said that lessons had
:24:46. > :24:51.been learned. To put it in an e- mail, it puts it in the public
:24:51. > :24:55.domain. It is not a very clever thing to do. Today, internet users
:24:56. > :24:59.have described Carolyn Bourne as the mother-in-law from hell and
:24:59. > :25:07.defender of the nation's manners. The wedding takes place in the
:25:07. > :25:12.More on our main story, today's strike by teachers in England and
:25:13. > :25:17.Wales. Civil servants right across the UK. Nick Robinson is in Downing
:25:17. > :25:22.Street with his assessment. Is this the start of more things to come?
:25:22. > :25:25.Well, there is no doubt that there are many other unions taking
:25:25. > :25:28.consideration of action, even the doctors union said they might
:25:28. > :25:33.consider industrial action, although not outright strikes, for
:25:33. > :25:38.the first time since 1975. In Downing Street, they are hoping
:25:38. > :25:42.that the unions have noticed that it didn't seem to be that 750,000
:25:42. > :25:46.people turned out, the chaos in the airports didn't happen, the unions
:25:46. > :25:50.looked divided at times and the Labour Party leadership were clear
:25:50. > :25:53.that they were opposed. In a sense, you have people shake it up.
:25:53. > :25:59.Ministers and union leaders tried to see just how tough the other
:25:59. > :26:03.side are. Both sides know that it would be about the noise of the
:26:03. > :26:08.streets, it will be a rather boring set of negotiations about rather
:26:08. > :26:16.boring and details charts and figures about contributions and
:26:16. > :26:20.benefits. That is how it will be Let's look at the latest weather.
:26:20. > :26:25.What do you have in store? Fine weather to start July. That
:26:25. > :26:29.doesn't necessarily mean sunny. Most places are looking al-Ahmar
:26:29. > :26:39.and bright. This photo was taken this afternoon, close to Hemel
:26:39. > :26:41.
:26:41. > :26:46.Hampstead. The cloud will melt away, and it will turn brighter. One or
:26:46. > :26:53.two heavy showers, even the odd clap of thunder. It settles down
:26:53. > :26:57.into a dry night, eight here and chilly 1. A cool start to July. A
:26:57. > :27:01.bit more cloud in western Scotland and Northern Ireland. Plenty of
:27:01. > :27:04.spots of rain possible. We will see that how developing, particularly
:27:04. > :27:09.in eastern England. One or two showers are likely. For the
:27:09. > :27:14.majority it will be a drive day, but more cloud in the afternoon.
:27:14. > :27:17.Still dry and fine for the majority. One or two showers in north-east
:27:17. > :27:21.England and perhaps the borders of Scotland. For Western Scotland it
:27:21. > :27:25.will be a predominantly gloomy day, with a little bit of light rain
:27:25. > :27:30.possible. The same fund Northern Ireland, lots of cloud. Many places
:27:30. > :27:34.will stay dry. Temperatures are up to 15 or 16 degrees. Good spells of
:27:34. > :27:38.sunshine early on across Wales. As we go through the middle part of
:27:39. > :27:43.the day, expect a fair bit of cloud. Still sunny intervals, lifting the
:27:43. > :27:48.temperatures a degree or so higher. 18 or 19 in Cardiff, the same for
:27:48. > :27:51.south-east England. Dry and bright for the majority. They do one or
:27:51. > :27:58.two showers in East Anglia. I'm pretty confident that Wimbledon
:27:58. > :28:02.will be dry for the big Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal match. Not
:28:02. > :28:07.spectacularly sunny over the weekend. The same goes right across
:28:07. > :28:17.the country, looking dry, but don't expect blue-sky is everywhere and
:28:17. > :28:17.
:28:17. > :28:19.don't expect the heat of last A reminder of the main news:
:28:19. > :28:24.Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have gone on strike