:00:00. > 3:59:59thank you. That's it from us. They will be
:00:00. > :00:07.continuing coverage throughout the continuing coverage throughout the
:00:08. > :00:11.Labour's Shadow Chancellor hits the road in Luton, as the election
:00:12. > :00:13.100 extra police officers in Northamptonshire
:00:14. > :00:22.are to be trained and equipped with tasers.
:00:23. > :00:28.And cloudy conditions continue, but slightly warmer conditions tomorrow.
:00:29. > :00:31.Join me later for all the details. Labour began their election campaign
:00:32. > :00:34.in Luton today with a visit from Shadow Chancellor,
:00:35. > :00:38.John McDonnell. He was supporting Luton North MP
:00:39. > :00:40.Kelvin Hopkins ahead But with both Luton seats,
:00:41. > :00:44.Labour strongholds. Marching to battle at the very start
:00:45. > :00:55.of this 49-day election campaign. Shadow Chancellor John McDonald
:00:56. > :00:57.here in Luton North with MP Kelvin This is one of only three Labour
:00:58. > :01:06.seats in our region. Labour won this seat
:01:07. > :01:09.by a comfortable majority in 2015. The aim today and for the next
:01:10. > :01:12.seven weeks to make sure those who voted
:01:13. > :01:15.Labour stick with Labour. In 2015, the constituency
:01:16. > :01:17.of Luton North had a Neighbouring Luton South,
:01:18. > :01:27.a slimmer majority of 5,700. You should never take
:01:28. > :01:28.people for granted. She has called this election
:01:29. > :01:33.I think for party political purposes, not for the interests
:01:34. > :01:36.of the country and she has seen the polls and I think she is taking
:01:37. > :01:39.people for granted. That is why, when I campaign,
:01:40. > :01:43.I go to every seat - whether it is Labour, Liberal or Tory,
:01:44. > :01:46.because people need to know what our I have never been part
:01:47. > :01:49.of the establishment myself. I have always campaigned
:01:50. > :01:57.on that basis. I have spoken my mind,
:01:58. > :01:59.or I have voted according to Sometimes not with
:02:00. > :02:02.the whips in my party. But do those who voted Labour last
:02:03. > :02:09.time believe the party can deliver? I vote Labour, I have
:02:10. > :02:12.always voted Labour. I think I am going to carry
:02:13. > :02:18.on dealing with them a lot. I have been doing it
:02:19. > :02:20.for years, and I think Labour's own supporters
:02:21. > :02:24.here may be confident The bigger battle is
:02:25. > :02:27.convincing the rest Earlier, I spoke with our
:02:28. > :02:34.political correspondent Andrew Sinclair about why Luton
:02:35. > :02:47.was so significant to Labour. I think there are two reasons. The
:02:48. > :02:52.first is that Labour knows that has a fight on its hands in the
:02:53. > :02:56.selection and needs to round up support in its existing seat. They
:02:57. > :03:02.want to start the campaign on a positive note indices that have been
:03:03. > :03:06.Labour for a long time. The second reason is campaign tactics. Labour
:03:07. > :03:11.and the Conservatives always grappled with the M1 corridor. In
:03:12. > :03:18.these seats, you have a whole pile of marginal swing seats like Luton,
:03:19. > :03:22.Milton Keynes, Northampton. It is said that if you can win over voters
:03:23. > :03:27.in these seats, you stand a very good chance of winning the election.
:03:28. > :03:32.That is why Labour is going to focus a lot of firepower in this area. The
:03:33. > :03:36.Tories this time around don't seem concerned. They said that the last
:03:37. > :03:40.time these seats were up for grabs, our majorities went up. They think
:03:41. > :03:44.they are going to be OK this time around. Labour believe they have a
:03:45. > :03:52.distinctive message and the going to be taking it there as much as they
:03:53. > :03:57.can. Debenhams has announced it is going to close a major distribution
:03:58. > :04:00.centre. That pits 200 jobs at risk. It is part of the plan to reduce
:04:01. > :04:00.stocks and closing some of its stores.
:04:01. > :04:03.Police in Northamptonshire say that 100 extra officers are to be trained
:04:04. > :04:06.Until now, only officers in the regional unit
:04:07. > :04:08.covering four counties were able to use the device.
:04:09. > :04:18.But now, local officers will be trained to use them and it's hoped
:04:19. > :04:20.they'll offer a faster response to incidents.
:04:21. > :04:22.In 2015, we filmed with Northamptonshire Police Constable
:04:23. > :04:26.He had been called to a domestic disturbance, only to be confronted
:04:27. > :04:37.PC Prentice was hit in the stab vest.
:04:38. > :04:40.If the knife had been any longer, it would have caught his neck.
:04:41. > :04:42.Afterwards, he told BBC look east, a Taser could
:04:43. > :04:45.It doesn't make it just safer for myself, and
:04:46. > :04:47.my colleague dealing with the incident,
:04:48. > :04:48.it makes it safer for the
:04:49. > :04:56.If you have to strike with batons, it can often
:04:57. > :04:57.lead to broken bones and long lasting injuries.
:04:58. > :05:01.If we were able to have the flexibility or option to
:05:02. > :05:04.have a taser present, it would mean that it could all be
:05:05. > :05:07.It's normally limited to specialist and firearms units,
:05:08. > :05:17.but now 100 front-line officers are being trained to use taser.
:05:18. > :05:20.figures from our region, for taser being deployed but not necessarily
:05:21. > :05:25.Hertfordshire has seen the highest jump, from 60 incident in 2015 to
:05:26. > :05:29.Bedfordshire rose from 70 to nearly 110 and Cambridgeshire
:05:30. > :05:31.In Northamptonshire, Taser was deployed
:05:32. > :05:33.over 100 times, only fired on eight occasions.
:05:34. > :05:35.But the force says more taser capability will increase
:05:36. > :05:39.It allows the officers to use greater distance,
:05:40. > :05:42.not have to get so close to an individual who has a weapon for
:05:43. > :05:46.It serves as one of the number of tackle options available
:05:47. > :05:52.to the officers and they will have to use a good decision-making and a
:05:53. > :05:56.proportionate use depending on the threat that is proposed.
:05:57. > :05:58.Nationally, 64 police officers are assaulted
:05:59. > :06:08.Northamptonshire Police hope more tasers will afford them
:06:09. > :06:15.Next tonight, the latest in our series looking
:06:16. > :06:18.at the candidates vying to become Cambridgeshire's
:06:19. > :06:21.The winning candidate will control a multi-million pound budget,
:06:22. > :06:23.with direct powers over housing and growth.
:06:24. > :06:25.Tonight is the turn of the English Democrats.
:06:26. > :06:29.Their candidate is a former Peterborough city councillor,
:06:30. > :06:31.who's "pro-car" and if elected, will invite the US President Donald
:06:32. > :06:35.Our political reporter Mousumi Bakshi put Stephen
:06:36. > :06:40.I am Stephen Goldspink, running for the English Democrats
:06:41. > :06:43.and the first thing I would do if elected their is
:06:44. > :06:45.collect information from residents about traffic problems and issues,
:06:46. > :06:52.transport issues, around their area and try and get in and solve them.
:06:53. > :07:00.How much money has been set aside for affordable housing?
:07:01. > :07:01.?170 million, of which 70 million are to
:07:02. > :07:05.Tell us one thing that people might not know
:07:06. > :07:11.People might not know that I am a fan of the 1970s pop
:07:12. > :07:13.group The Sweet and that I invited them to Peterborough
:07:14. > :07:15.in 2004 and set up my own concert.
:07:16. > :07:23.Because I understand what people want in Cambridgeshire.
:07:24. > :07:27.I will do my best to make sure that any houses that we build are
:07:28. > :07:28.accessible to the majority of the population.
:07:29. > :07:32.Where is your favourite place to go in Cambridge?
:07:33. > :07:34.My favourite place to go in Cambridgeshire...
:07:35. > :07:38.I guess that would have to be out on the Fens where I live.
:07:39. > :07:42.I just love driving across the Fens, the big open spaces.
:07:43. > :07:45.And we'll hear from the other candidates next week.
:07:46. > :07:47.But before that, there is a special programme called
:07:48. > :07:49.A Mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough tonight straight
:07:50. > :07:54.after this bulletin on BBC One at 10:45pm.
:07:55. > :07:58.A new bike share scheme in Cambridge is proving controversial,
:07:59. > :08:02.The O-FO project allows cycles to be hired out via an app.
:08:03. > :08:05.Users can then leave them anywhere in the city once they've
:08:06. > :08:12.But there are concerns it could lead to bikes being dumped.
:08:13. > :08:15.With congestion on four wheels a problem in Cambridge, there is a
:08:16. > :08:19.Many of us use our bikes to get around here, but now
:08:20. > :08:30.there is something new in this old university city.
:08:31. > :08:33.Fresh from China, where the company claims to have 30
:08:34. > :08:35.million active users, with Ofo, you simply tap
:08:36. > :08:37.the bike number in the app, unlock, and off you go.
:08:38. > :08:42.We chose Cambridge because it is the cycling capital of the UK.
:08:43. > :08:44.Once you finish your journey, you literally kick the
:08:45. > :08:48.stand out, put the bike to one side, lock the back wheel and end
:08:49. > :08:53.But it is precisely because there is no
:08:54. > :08:56.docking system like so-called Boris bikes in London that it is causing
:08:57. > :09:02.At City Cycle Hire, they already rent out more than 500
:09:03. > :09:04.bikes and they are worried about safety.
:09:05. > :09:07.We rigorously check our bikes after every use from a customer.
:09:08. > :09:13.I can't see how this is possible with the Ofo scheme.
:09:14. > :09:16.Cambridge has already had a cycle share scheme go wrong.
:09:17. > :09:18.More than 20 years ago, many of the green bikes
:09:19. > :09:23.Although Ofo say they know where bikes have been left
:09:24. > :09:28.because of GPS on the smartphone app, some still have real concerns.
:09:29. > :09:35.It could be a dump-anywhere scheme if
:09:36. > :09:37.people aren't careful and what we don't want is for all of the
:09:38. > :09:39.responsibility effectively to fall on the council,
:09:40. > :09:41.because there aren't even phone numbers on these bikes
:09:42. > :09:46.The local council says Ofo haven't answered
:09:47. > :09:48.all their questions, so I put one to the firm.
:09:49. > :09:53.How are you going to ensure these bikes aren't
:09:54. > :09:55.left in irresponsible places or even just dumped?
:09:56. > :09:58.We have actually paid positions, we will be an employer
:09:59. > :10:02.within Cambridge, employing an on the ground team
:10:03. > :10:04.to round the bikes up and make sure that they are
:10:05. > :10:07.evenly distributed around the city where they are needed most.
:10:08. > :10:08.The project is being trialled for three
:10:09. > :10:11.weeks in the city, but more yellow bikes
:10:12. > :10:19.With the local council watching how the scheme will work in practice.
:10:20. > :10:33.A lot of cloud across the region, temperatures not as low as last
:10:34. > :10:37.night. The thickest of the cloud could produce some spots of light
:10:38. > :10:42.rain or drizzle. Some clear intervals, so it is possible that we
:10:43. > :10:46.will have lows of five or 6 degrees. Temperatures rising by the end of
:10:47. > :10:49.the night. The picture for tomorrow is relatively cloudy with this
:10:50. > :10:54.weather system coming from the north. That will introduce cooler
:10:55. > :10:59.here, but the day itself is relatively mild. Despite cloud cover
:11:00. > :11:04.and the lack of sunshine, there may just be some brighter spells at
:11:05. > :11:06.times, but it does look generally cloudy. We still may record
:11:07. > :11:12.about that and the UK outlook, Helen Willetts.
:11:13. > :11:18.The sunshine make such a difference this time of year, only 12 or so
:11:19. > :11:21.degrees under the cloud today but 19 in eastern Scotland not far away
:11:22. > :11:23.from St Andrews. Also in north-east