:00:07. > :00:09.Tonight on BBC London: In four weeks' time,
:00:10. > :00:11.these guys will cast their vote along with millions of Londoners,
:00:12. > :00:17.but this is the tightest seat in the capital,
:00:18. > :00:24.so we'll be finding out what issues could make a difference here.
:00:25. > :00:29.Will it be a difficult decision for the people of Croydon Central,
:00:30. > :00:32.where fewer than 200 votes separate the Tories from Labour?
:00:33. > :00:37.Definitely want a blue one because stability is absolutely key.
:00:38. > :00:41.They are working overall for the benefits for all the people
:00:42. > :00:45.Also on the programme: Rifling through hundreds
:00:46. > :00:48.The council trying to catch the fly-tippers
:00:49. > :01:15.And I've come to north London in search of the modern day clown.
:01:16. > :01:26.Wellcome to box parking Croydon, vibrant cultural quarter. It is
:01:27. > :01:31.constructed entirely out of shipping containers. There are plenty of
:01:32. > :01:37.places to eat lots of events. So plenty of choice but what about
:01:38. > :01:41.choice when it comes to politics because Croydon Central is the most
:01:42. > :01:47.marginal seat in the capital. The shade you how tight, at the last
:01:48. > :01:51.election, the Tories won it by just 165 votes, so back-ups it is not
:01:52. > :01:53.surprising that Jeremy Corbyn chose here to launch his election campaign
:01:54. > :01:58.a few weeks ago. In a seat where the vote was won
:01:59. > :02:05.by the Conservatives, beating Labour by just 165 votes,
:02:06. > :02:10.there's everything to play for. A lot has changed since 2015
:02:11. > :02:13.with Britain voting to leave the EU, so just what is the political
:02:14. > :02:18.appetite in Croydon Central? We've got some politically
:02:19. > :02:20.themed doughnuts here. And tell me why you want
:02:21. > :02:25.to vote Conservatives. Because because it's the most
:02:26. > :02:27.important time in our history that we need one party
:02:28. > :02:29.to go against Europe. Corbyn as leader and actually
:02:30. > :02:35.the party at working overall for the benefits of all the people
:02:36. > :02:40.rather than the elite at the top. Definitely want a blue one
:02:41. > :02:45.because stability is absolutely key. I like Jeremy Corbyn
:02:46. > :02:48.and I know a lot of people don't actually like him,
:02:49. > :02:50.but I think his ideas I think the Labour Party is going
:02:51. > :02:55.to represent younger people. Before long, we were out
:02:56. > :02:57.of Conservative and Labour Party doughnuts, and it was time to speak
:02:58. > :03:02.to some of the candidates. Gavin Barwell is confident
:03:03. > :03:04.of retaining the seat Croydon Central voted
:03:05. > :03:08.narrowly to leave the EU. He says the key issue
:03:09. > :03:10.is who can best lead We clearly feel that,
:03:11. > :03:16.in Theresa May, we've got the right candidate to provide that strong
:03:17. > :03:19.and stable leadership and that Jeremy Corbyn actually
:03:20. > :03:22.would represent a real threat to this country as we go
:03:23. > :03:24.through the Brexit negotiations. That's absolutely an issue
:03:25. > :03:27.that we will put front and centre, and it's very interesting that,
:03:28. > :03:30.if you look at my Labour opponent's leaflets,
:03:31. > :03:31.there's absolutely no mention So we are off now to meet Sarah
:03:32. > :03:36.Jones, who is Labour's candidate. She was up against Gavin Barwell
:03:37. > :03:48.last time, losing out She says she really fancies her
:03:49. > :03:55.chances this time around. She says her focus is on local issues, not
:03:56. > :03:59.the Labour Party's leader. Two years on, people can see the impact of the
:04:00. > :04:03.Conservative government and they are starting to understand that Barwell
:04:04. > :04:07.has broken his promises. People cannot get housing or get the jobs
:04:08. > :04:11.they want, people are struggling with their education. There supply
:04:12. > :04:16.teachers coming in because there are not enough staff to teach kids.
:04:17. > :04:21.People are beginning to question, is this the only way? And what about
:04:22. > :04:25.Ukip? Ukip needs to be around because we will be there when
:04:26. > :04:35.Theresa May fails to deliver. I didn't think so. They picked up
:04:36. > :04:39.nearly 5000 votes in 2015, finishing third and above the Lib Dems and
:04:40. > :04:43.greens, but things are looking more challenging on this occasion. We
:04:44. > :04:49.cannot ignore what happened in the local elections last week. Do you
:04:50. > :04:53.get worried that might affect your vote? It is a unique situation
:04:54. > :05:00.because we are in the middle of the general election and the Tories have
:05:01. > :05:05.taken a lot of our policies. We want a good Brexit agreement, but we do
:05:06. > :05:11.not believe the Tories at all. An hour do not run, there was
:05:12. > :05:15.indecision. -- on our do not run. And it is those voters the
:05:16. > :05:17.candidates will need to tempt if they are to win in London's tightest
:05:18. > :05:22.seat. On that dilemma, let's hit from the
:05:23. > :05:26.Lib Dems and the Greens. We do want a strong economy,
:05:27. > :05:29.but we've also got a social conscience so we do the right things
:05:30. > :05:33.for people that aren't as well I just want to bring
:05:34. > :05:36.the whole town together, stop it being divided,
:05:37. > :05:38.bring the whole town together We believe in a vote,
:05:39. > :05:44.a final vote, on the final Brexit We believe in progress
:05:45. > :05:50.and positive solutions. We want to see the economy
:05:51. > :06:04.work for everybody, not You should be able to see a full
:06:05. > :06:12.list of the candidates standing in Croydon Central on your screen now.
:06:13. > :06:16.Let's get the view of some of the people who live in the area who have
:06:17. > :06:23.kindly joint does this evening. You are making yourselves at home. Thank
:06:24. > :06:27.you very much indeed for being here this evening. I knew already
:06:28. > :06:31.thinking about the things that matter to you when deciding who to
:06:32. > :06:37.vote for? I know you founded a campaign to make people aware of the
:06:38. > :06:40.dangers of knife crime. My crime in Croydon has been in the news
:06:41. > :06:45.recently and we know it is a huge thing that we need to tackle. I feel
:06:46. > :06:49.like we need to tackle knife crime but also look at the prevention,
:06:50. > :06:54.what is causing it, and the prevention of young people getting
:06:55. > :06:58.kicked out of school, young people with mental health issues, and look
:06:59. > :07:03.who is supporting and what they can do to benefit young people who have
:07:04. > :07:08.been kicked out of school or who know not to have great life chances.
:07:09. > :07:13.Talking of young people, I know you are the co-founder of the
:07:14. > :07:17.not-for-profit organisation championing an inspiring tech
:07:18. > :07:21.business. Are you hearing noises that make you think young people
:07:22. > :07:27.will be looked after? You are hearing noises that the government
:07:28. > :07:32.is saying the right words. Morgan definitely be done. There is a lot
:07:33. > :07:40.more that can be done to get the skills relevant to the future,
:07:41. > :07:48.getting people into the tech industry. There is a lot more that
:07:49. > :07:52.can be done. You set up Croydon Citizen, Britain by local people for
:07:53. > :07:58.local people. Do you think politicians are engaged enough with
:07:59. > :08:03.young people? There could be more that could be done but the reality
:08:04. > :08:06.is, while young people are only able to vote from 18 onwards, they are
:08:07. > :08:12.not likely to be listened to as much. The other people that will win
:08:13. > :08:16.you an election. They are trying, but they would try harder if more
:08:17. > :08:22.young people were engaged in that way. You see local concerns from
:08:23. > :08:28.people. Do you feel politicians are engaged enough with local issues or
:08:29. > :08:32.is it a bigger picture? Right now, the challenges Brexit because you
:08:33. > :08:36.have this huge issue that will affect everything. Nobody knows what
:08:37. > :08:43.will happen. Everyone is focused on that. The local issues about
:08:44. > :08:47.housing, it is a big question in Crowden where prices have shot up so
:08:48. > :08:55.much. It is difficult to afford to live here. Do you guys agree that
:08:56. > :09:00.Brexit is overshadowing local issues? You are a pub landlady. You
:09:01. > :09:04.must hear a lot of people's concerns. There are a lot of
:09:05. > :09:13.concerns around Brexit, but also localised concerns around air
:09:14. > :09:16.quality, the state of our education, but how housing developments and
:09:17. > :09:25.wider regeneration will affect local people. And also around the NHS and
:09:26. > :09:29.our local hospital. The manifesto is not out yet. We have had a leaked
:09:30. > :09:33.draft of Labour's but what are some of the key things you want to see
:09:34. > :09:40.and do they make a difference to how you vote when you see those
:09:41. > :09:43.manifestos? I feel like Croydon, there is a lot of growth in
:09:44. > :09:50.investment and a lot of that is in terms of property. Prices are going
:09:51. > :09:54.up and local people are faced with the challenge of, how can you afford
:09:55. > :09:58.to stay in your local area? A lot of the things I will be looking for our
:09:59. > :10:03.investments in the skills where people can compete and future job
:10:04. > :10:10.markets and all the other things which enable people to not be pushed
:10:11. > :10:16.out of the homes they live in. What we are looking at is young people
:10:17. > :10:22.leaving school without any GCSEs who cannot even go to college. We are
:10:23. > :10:25.looking at the people investing in Croydon to take on apprenticeships
:10:26. > :10:28.and build their skill set and help young people out and make sure they
:10:29. > :10:32.have a job and a future career starting from when they leave
:10:33. > :10:39.school. Thank you so much, guys. Stay put for now because I did
:10:40. > :10:43.mention that leak of Labour's draft manifesto. I will get pearls of
:10:44. > :10:48.wisdom from someone who has been looking at it in more detail. This
:10:49. > :10:54.leaked manifesto from Labour, tell us your take on it. Leaked
:10:55. > :10:58.overnight. Labour's ruling body have met this afternoon and they have
:10:59. > :11:04.agreed what will be a few amendments and have agreed what it will be. A
:11:05. > :11:12.lot of stuff about transport in London. First commitment, they will
:11:13. > :11:20.pay for HS2, that north to south link, and Crossrail. Then this might
:11:21. > :11:24.prick up the is a people in these parts. They have said that they will
:11:25. > :11:28.end the practice of driver only operated trains. Labour is saying,
:11:29. > :11:32.we will put the guards back on the trains, and that was at the centre
:11:33. > :11:37.that dispute. Another thing they have said is something the mayor has
:11:38. > :11:41.been pushing for, they will hand over commuter rail services to the
:11:42. > :11:46.mayor and the transport for London. But what is not in it, you look
:11:47. > :11:53.through this document and what you do not see is the word Heathrow. Why
:11:54. > :12:01.might that be? The mayor is opposed to it. We also know that John
:12:02. > :12:05.McDonnell is against Heathrow. But we also know that the big unions
:12:06. > :12:11.want Heathrow and so do a lot of northern MPs so he not mentioned by
:12:12. > :12:19.name. Besides transport, a couple of other issues? Let's look at tax.
:12:20. > :12:24.Labour is saying they would tax people who are over ?80,000. The
:12:25. > :12:27.will pay for improvements of the NHS and things like that. That will hit
:12:28. > :12:33.more Londoners than anywhere else in the country, double the rate of
:12:34. > :12:37.people earn over ?80,000 in London. And then helped one. Lots of
:12:38. > :12:42.reorganisation is planned in London. Labour saying they will stop those
:12:43. > :12:49.and get local boards to look at plans again. Let's get the reaction
:12:50. > :12:54.of our guests to some of that stuff that has appeared so far in that
:12:55. > :12:59.leaked manifesto. I know it is very noisy, it is a very vibrant evening
:13:00. > :13:04.here. Karl mentioned something that is an issue down here, which is the
:13:05. > :13:09.long-running dispute of Southern rail and one of the things that has
:13:10. > :13:12.come out that manifesto is ending driver only trains, devolving
:13:13. > :13:18.commuter lines back to the hell, does any of that float your boat?
:13:19. > :13:25.There needs to be something happening the Southern rail. Because
:13:26. > :13:31.it has been such an issue to people to such a long time. We are in the
:13:32. > :13:38.middle of the public storm. We have got issues with bites of unions,
:13:39. > :13:44.huge capacity problems, more people travelling by railways than the
:13:45. > :13:50.1990s, and there needs to be more capacity. The one thing I have not
:13:51. > :14:00.seen in most proposals is, what we invest in increased capacity? There
:14:01. > :14:08.is a hard limit. Do you think things like this could make a difference to
:14:09. > :14:12.how you or people you would boat? Train lines and specifically
:14:13. > :14:17.anti-Southern feelings will play a part in manifestos. It is very nice
:14:18. > :14:21.but something in manifestos but it is not clear what difference it
:14:22. > :14:26.would make if it was taken over by the government. More would be needs
:14:27. > :14:32.to be done to explain to us the difference. What about that proposal
:14:33. > :14:34.of taxing people earning over ?80,000 in London? It would
:14:35. > :14:45.disproportionately hit people here in London? You could easily classify
:14:46. > :14:50.the tech industry as something that would suffer from taxes on higher
:14:51. > :14:55.salaries. I think they probably would be resistance to that. People
:14:56. > :15:00.do not want to be taxed more. But at the same time, there is an element
:15:01. > :15:05.of Venice to it, especially the tech industry, which is younger, they
:15:06. > :15:11.would be more accepting of it, if we knew what they would do for those
:15:12. > :15:17.taxes. We are waiting for those manifestos to come out. Do you
:15:18. > :15:23.believe what is in them? Does it make a difference to you? Or we are
:15:24. > :15:27.saying more young people need to vote, we are also looking at what we
:15:28. > :15:32.are voting for. We have the right to vote as well as the right not to
:15:33. > :15:35.vote, and I think we need to know that these people will put these
:15:36. > :15:42.things in place before we actually vote for someone to be there and to
:15:43. > :15:45.make all promises. Very briefly, if there was one thing you want the
:15:46. > :15:48.government to address that would make a difference to you and people
:15:49. > :15:57.living here in Croydon, what would it be? This is just my personal
:15:58. > :16:03.opinion, but housing has to be addressed. The NHS and social and
:16:04. > :16:09.health care. Investing in skills for the future. More support for young
:16:10. > :16:14.offenders, people with mental health issues in school before they remove
:16:15. > :16:20.the men kick them out. Thank you all very much indeed. That is all from
:16:21. > :16:24.us here in Croydon but now back to you in the studio.
:16:25. > :16:27.Staying with the general election and BBC London has learned that Ukip
:16:28. > :16:31.is not fielding candidates in at least a quarter
:16:32. > :16:34.The party suffered badly in the local elections
:16:35. > :16:36.but its London chairman has told this programme the decision
:16:37. > :16:43.to withdraw is to ensure pro-Brexit candidates win.
:16:44. > :16:49.Our political editor, Tim Donovan, reports.
:16:50. > :17:04.The man now known as the Brexit secretary was deployed today in a
:17:05. > :17:10.place which certainly wants it. 70% of people here boated Leave last
:17:11. > :17:16.year. With that job done, will Ukip support for the way he? What we are
:17:17. > :17:21.seeing is a large number of Ukip voters coming over to us. They voted
:17:22. > :17:32.Ukip because they wanted Brexit and now, you can deliver on Brexit? They
:17:33. > :17:37.all want a good deal. Ukip are standing in Thurrock and have made
:17:38. > :17:48.back in and rain Mbeki target. The leader visited yesterday. But in at
:17:49. > :17:54.least 18 seats, maybe as many as 25, they are not standing. The party's
:17:55. > :17:58.London chairman told me it was to protect pro Brexit former MPs. You
:17:59. > :18:10.could have decided not to stand against both remain as in place, the
:18:11. > :18:18.challenger is a strong Brexiteer, or levers in place, the position may be
:18:19. > :18:23.not as strong as they might like it to be. But surely those bad local
:18:24. > :18:30.election results for ominous? Do you think it is all over for the party?
:18:31. > :18:33.Absolutely not. Whichever party is in power, they hold their feet to
:18:34. > :18:39.the fire. We are not fooled by Theresa May, she voted Remain. How
:18:40. > :18:49.many seats the thing would change hands? In London, probably five,
:18:50. > :18:54.maybe ten. Not standing candidates also removes the potential for a
:18:55. > :18:59.humiliating vote collapse. This could be pragmatic and places as
:19:00. > :19:01.well as strategic Ukip's big significance could now be food does
:19:02. > :19:08.not pick them rather than who does. The former N-Dubz rapper Dappy has
:19:09. > :19:11.been arrested in Hatfield for allegedly having a knife
:19:12. > :19:13.and threatening a woman. The one-time Celebrity Big Brother
:19:14. > :19:15.contestant was held after armed police were called to a residential
:19:16. > :19:20.street yesterday afternoon. Dappy, whose real name
:19:21. > :19:21.is Constadinos Contostavlos, over 500 tonnes of rubbish piled up
:19:22. > :19:38.under the A40 in west London. It's been there for months but,
:19:39. > :19:41.today, action was finally started to do something about it
:19:42. > :19:52.as well as trying to find out Hidden away under the and 40, one of
:19:53. > :19:59.the largest fly-tips London has ever seen. It is Chris's job to sift
:20:00. > :20:05.through, looking for clues. Names and addresses both from the London
:20:06. > :20:09.area. It is a huge dirty job. It is impossible to sum up the scale of
:20:10. > :20:13.this. This rubbish goes all the way through these arches. There are bags
:20:14. > :20:21.of household waste, building materials, garden waste and massive
:20:22. > :20:24.items, bookcases, settees, mattresses, there is a bath right
:20:25. > :20:28.there. Part of the issue is who is responsible. The Highways Agency has
:20:29. > :20:32.the all this but it is up to the Council to enforce it and bring
:20:33. > :20:38.prosecutions against those responsible. Fly-tippers can be
:20:39. > :20:42.fined up to ?400 but is that enough of the deterrent? The prosecutions
:20:43. > :20:47.do work. They bring down the day-to-day fly-tipping. This is on a
:20:48. > :20:51.much bigger scale, this is organised crime. Hands lives nearby and
:20:52. > :20:56.alerted the council to the problem. It is absolutely disgusting. My
:20:57. > :20:59.biggest issue about this is the removal of the debris. It would be
:21:00. > :21:03.almost impossible to bring the material back out again because you
:21:04. > :21:07.would have to close the motorway, at least the slow lane, the move the
:21:08. > :21:11.material back up the slipway. Fly-tipping is an issue across the
:21:12. > :21:16.capital. Recent government figures show there were more than 320,000
:21:17. > :21:20.incidents in the space of a year. Fly-tipping is an epidemic and we
:21:21. > :21:24.are contributing to the problem. As we try to communicate in our
:21:25. > :21:31.campaign, people must realise that householders must not give people
:21:32. > :21:37.the bulky waste. The Highways Agency has blocked the road and is doing
:21:38. > :21:41.all they can to remove the rubbish. London council says it is working
:21:42. > :21:42.with an issue that blight communities and can damage the
:21:43. > :21:45.environment. If you suffer from coulrophobia,
:21:46. > :21:48.you might want to look away now or keep watching to be cured
:21:49. > :21:51.of your fear of clowns. Because the London Clown Festival
:21:52. > :21:54.begins this evening, and it redefines their traditional
:21:55. > :22:09.image of having big feet With the big red noses and silly
:22:10. > :22:15.hats, clowns have terrified but mostly entertained us for centuries.
:22:16. > :22:21.As always, the clowns bring down the house. They provide chaos, comedy
:22:22. > :22:28.and calamity. That kind of clown was made famous in the 1800s by Joseph
:22:29. > :22:34.Grimaldi, but what of London's 21st-century clowns? We gather a
:22:35. > :22:48.little crowd and watch Henry do a bit of the show. The audience gets
:22:49. > :22:59.on board. Then Neil turns up to improvise unending. Stop a minute.
:23:00. > :23:09.What was all that about? No idea! What is the essence of the clown? A
:23:10. > :23:12.clown is everybody's individual idiot, the core fall, the guy or
:23:13. > :23:17.girl who sings in front of the mirror in the mock bathroom in the
:23:18. > :23:19.morning, the person you are most honourable at. It is taking your
:23:20. > :23:27.inner squidgy person and put front inner squidgy person and put front
:23:28. > :23:31.of lots of other people. How is it different now? I do not think it is
:23:32. > :23:37.that different. The core is the same, we are silly idiots having fun
:23:38. > :23:41.and playing. Nowadays, the clown has a bad reputation because of the
:23:42. > :23:46.scary clown phenomena, yet our clowns are all different shapes and
:23:47. > :23:54.sizes. There are clowns with no red nose at all. The London clown
:23:55. > :24:00.festival is on for two weeks and there is not a custard pie or an
:24:01. > :24:02.oversized pair of shoes inside. No reason to be scared of the modern
:24:03. > :24:13.clown. There is a bit of rain in the
:24:14. > :24:17.forecast. Skies were pretty much like this across the capital for
:24:18. > :24:21.most of the day. The sunshine made a return later on. There are a few
:24:22. > :24:27.showers early this morning. Largely dry in cloudy. Some of these were
:24:28. > :24:33.heavy and thundery further west of London. It looks like this evening
:24:34. > :24:37.and the rest of the night, we will see a band of showery rain spreading
:24:38. > :24:42.up on the south. There could be the odd heavy burst mixed in but because
:24:43. > :24:51.of the cloud cover, that humid air will make it a murky night. Tomorrow
:24:52. > :24:56.is a cloudy day. There will be some showers in the forecast as well. A
:24:57. > :25:00.murky start, murky as well, showers work their way through the region
:25:01. > :25:05.during the morning. Into the afternoon, sunshine may well make a
:25:06. > :25:11.return with the heaviest showers becoming confined to the north of
:25:12. > :25:17.the region. 19-20d likely in feeling humid. That area of low pressure
:25:18. > :25:22.continues to spread northwards as we head into towards the weekend. A
:25:23. > :25:25.south-westerly wind. To the weekend, we lose the humidity and it turns
:25:26. > :25:33.fresher. In the sunshine, it will feel pleasant. They would tend to
:25:34. > :25:42.move through an come confined to the north and west of our region. 19 or
:25:43. > :25:46.20 degrees, it will feel warm in the south-westerly wind. In the Sunday,
:25:47. > :25:50.similar picture. Most of the showers to the north and west of our region,
:25:51. > :25:56.staying dry largely with temperatures 19 or 20 degrees.
:25:57. > :25:59.Before we go tonight, let me just give you a quick recap
:26:00. > :26:03.A draft manifesto leaked to the BBC says a Labour government
:26:04. > :26:05.would renationalise Britain's railways, abolish tuition
:26:06. > :26:07.fees and build thousands of new council homes.
:26:08. > :26:08.The Conservatives say Labour want to drag
:26:09. > :26:26.If you can't bear to wait until then, you can go to the BBC
:26:27. > :26:28.iPlayer and watch this all over again.