23/05/2014 BBC Oxford News

Good evening. Despite making gains nationally, UKIP doesn't have a

place on any of the district councils in our region and it's lost

the seat it had in Milton Keynes. In Swindon, local results are watched

with interest by politicians and pundits as it's seen as a barometer

for general elections. The Conservatives have kept control

there and won a seat from Labour. So far, councils here have remained in

the control of the same political parties, but there's no overall

result yet from Milton Keynes, where votes are still being counted

Another Tory win in West Oxfordshire. If the Conservatives

may have been fearing the UKIP factor, they need not have worried.

They gained two seats and strengthened their position in

Cameron's own constituency. Vote share went up compared to last year.

We held councils like Swindon and Tamworth, which were Labour for many

years before. I am confident that in spite of the difficulties, this is a

base from which we can go forward and win. Labour were celebrating,

too. Absolutely thrilled. I cannot believe it. I did not know which way

it would go. I am absolutely honoured that people have put their

faith in me. I am really touched and excited. They also gained two seats

in Cherwell. Swindon is often seen as a barometer for the country. So

Tory relief here, too, as the council stayed blue. This is

probably the best night we have had in the 14 years I have been coming

here. We have racked up record winds. It was generally a plague on

all your houses. We lost seats to UKIP and that has cost us. Better

news for Labour in Oxford. They hold control of the City Council,

finishing with 17 seats. The Lib Dems got five, the Greens, three.

The UKIP vote is essentially a protest vote about austerity. We

understand that. It is something that people feel very deeply, that

this government is not listening and it has caused the cost of living

crisis. We have policies to deal with that. We will deal with UKIP by

doing positive things. No seats for UKIP in Oxfordshire or Swindon but

they did get plenty of votes. We are up with the big boys and we are

sowing the seeds for the next time. Things can look completely different

next time. If that is true, next year's general election could be

hard to predict. There will be more on all the

election results on the Sunday Politics at 11am on Sunday morning.

That's here on BBC One. 450 workers had their last day at

Swindon's car factory today. Honda has closed one plant and cut

production at others. Before the recession the company employed

5,000, now the workforce is just 3,000. A special jobs fair was held

today to try and help people find new employment.

There were 200 jobs on offer in the room and more companies who could

not come but can hire. It was a day to look forward for Honda workers. I

have already got an interview with them. I am looking forward to that.

A new company that is coming to Swindon. The job I fancy is to work

for Aston Martin. It sounds a good job to me. There were fewer

volunteers this time around. Some 100 people have left jobs at Honda

against their wishes. The unions say that number could have been reduced.

More people could have been kept on but Honda decided to employ contract

workers. They pay them less than Honda workers. As a result we have

seen nearly 100 Honda workers being forced out of their jobs and

contractors staying in their jobs that previously Honda workers were

doing. The company would not talk today, insisting they must remain

flexible. They are doing all they can to safeguard jobs at the plant.

While production slows down here, other car firms are going flat out.

We cannot get hold of some of the cars. Honda was always in the middle

of the range. You are finding that BMW and Audi have brought prices

down, and that is nipping at the top end of Honda. Their main products

are getting squeezed in the middle. Will this be the last jobs fair for

workers leaving Honda? That depends on Japan. Not the Swindonians who

make the cars. A group campaigning for compensation

for people infected with HIV and hepatitis C during NHS treatment

have held a demonstration outside David Cameron's constituency office

in Witney. Many of the protestors suffer from bleeding disorders and

claim they were infected after receiving blood transfusions in the

1970s and 1980s. The government says it's looking into the situation.

People feel so frustrated with what has gone on over the years and the

continued procrastination. They have had enough. We are dying at least

one a month now. Over a thousand people have died. We're running out

of time. I feel very passionate, very passionate. It has ruined my

life. The family of a police officer whose

body was found in woodland have been pairing tribute to her. She has been

described as a beautiful mum, a caring sister and a selfless

daughter. Detectives say hard death is being treated as unexplained but

not suspicious. More bakers' shops have opened in

the last year but the number of shoe shops has fallen. Figures just

released show which firms are doing well and which are struggling to

keep a place on the High Street. The Federation of Small Businesses has

launched it's Keep Trade Local campaign in Buckinghamshire. And the

Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, put his money where his

mouth is. Independent, local and thriving.

This shop is keeping a presence on the High Street because most of

their Business is taking place online. We will never get passing

trade back in the High Street again. The way people shop has changed.

There is no regular trade any more on the High Street. That is what

brought the speaker and MP John Bercow to Winslow today, together

with the Federation of Small Businesses, to highlight the plight

of the small independent shop. We would like a broader mix across the

board, rather than ten charity shops. It would be better to have a

butcher and a baker and a hardware store. Selling pet food has put his

business among the winners. Last year more independent shops closed

than open. The economy and cost of living will continue to be the

political battle ground between now and polling day next year. All the

evidence of decades of general elections is that they have tended

to turn, not exclusively, but very significantly on how people are

doing, how they think they are going in 12 months to be doing and how

they think the country is doing. And for the Speaker, a spot of

spontaneous shopping in the form of pet food. I think he will enjoy his

feast. There are positive signs of a resurgence in this sector, but the

secret to success is offering a service the big players cannot

compete with. On the way is the weekend weather

forecast. That's it from us for tonight.

Some showers overnight or longer spells of rain. The risk we could

have some thundery showers through the early hours of the morning with

a band of rain moving up from the south. We are looking at

temperatures staying in double digits in most places. Lows of nine

to ten Celsius. The rain band coming in tomorrow morning could be quite

heavy in a few places and it will last tomorrow morning round about

until mid`morning and we will see it disappear but there will be showers

to follow. Those showers once again could be heavy with hail and

thunder. Sunny spells in between. You will be lucky if you catch the

sunshine. It stays unsettled through the bank holiday weekend. The best

day is Sunday with the odd shower. Coming up next is the national

weather forecast. you over to Peter Gibson and

National forecast. The bank holiday weekend weather is

not looking user-friendly although most places should get one decent

day out of the three and some places will get two. We have low pressure,

and there will be showers around over the next couple of days

particularly. Sunshine breaking through now and