19/04/2017 North West Tonight

Welcome to North West Tonight with Annabel Tiffin

Our top story: George Osborne stands down as Tatton MP

while the Prime Minister gets the election campaign

We'll get the latest from our Political Editor,

Nina Warhurst, in Cheshire and Stuart Flinders who's in Bolton.

Also in tonight's programme: Cleaning up a costly mess -

removing the botched cavity wall insulation which homeowners say

A colony of rare butterflies is destroyed -

in a suspected arson attack at a Lancashire conservation area.

And we'll take a look at the garden - designed to help prevent

George Osborne has announced that he is standing down as an MP

after 16 years representing the Tatton constituency in Cheshire.

The former Chancellor, who has been appointed Editor

of the Evening Standard newspaper, says he wants to take

The news comes on the day the region's MPs voted

on the Prime Minister's plans to hold a snap election.

Our Political Editor Nina Warhurst is in Knutsford tonight.

Only last month, he was defending himself against criticism

about his other commitments and was given the backing

You are right. Less than a month ago, I stood in this exact spot

saying I had spoken to him and he had practically told me it was his

desire to stay, serving the people of Tatton and remaining their MP.

But that nickname "Five jobs George" may have to be reviewed because he

says he wants to go on writing the fitting -- Britain he loves so he is

leaving politics to work as editor of the London Evening Standard. I

also talked about how the people of Tatton told me how they love him.

This report now on whether after two days and nights the end of the love

affair. He said he would carry on until the

election but he just didn't think it would happen quite yet. The

soon-to-be ex-MP for Tatton, calling time on the Commons for now anyway.

It has been a great privilege being the member of Parliament for Tatton

for 16 years. I love this country, its diversity and optimism and those

are the values I espouse dozen member of the parliament and as

Chancellor but now I would aspire to this by user -- as editor of the

great British newspaper. They are getting rid -- getting ready to say

goodbye of their MP here. Have you heard he is not standing? Good. You

might I think so as well. He hasn't got time for us. He is a very busy

man. So I can understand why he would want to do it. Elected in

2001, he became the youngest Tory MP in the Commons with affluent

constituency in Cheshire and he became the face of posterity

politics. Eight Chancellor with a mantra. We are all in this together.

The self-styled powerhouse, and having been gift from the... He has

a new job now, one of several highly paid posts. Some questioned his

commitment to Tatton and wanted him out. He achieved an awful lot for

the area. At the constituency Tory chairman wanted him to stay. Are you

proud of him? Yes, I am. I don't want him to go but I understand his

reasoning and I expect the -- respect his decision. With one less

job to do, in the next few weeks he will be packing up his things and

moving out of this constituency office. Whoever replaces him will

most likely have a slightly lower profile, but bear in mind that

before George Osborne it was Martin Bell. And before him it was Neil

Hamilton. Politically, this is a constituency that attracts

attention. George Osborne himself is not ruling out a return to politics

in the future. So, Tatton will need a new MP and

George Osborne is not the only of the regions MP to announce he is not

standing again. That's right. Today we learned that the Lib Dem MP

Forsythe board will also resign after 16 years in politics. He said

he doesn't want to work through the night make chaos of Brexit. The

Democrats of course whether most Pro-remain party. There were just

two rebels in the north-west voted against the general election going.

One was Graham Stringer and the other was Liz McInnis. Graham

Stringer told me earlier that he couldn't back the general election

because he said the Prime Minister's reasons are political, using it to

force through an agenda of cuts and he cannot endorse that. Those

rebellions are the smallest of Jeremy Corbyn's worries at the

moment. One MP released a statement earlier today and he said he wants

to stand as Labour MP for the region but he cannot endorse Jeremy Corbyn

saying he doesn't think he can do the job and he doesn't even believe

Jeremy Corbyn believes that. He says it's time he stands down before the

next general election. Thank you. Begotten by election in Manchester

has been helped over and will be contested on general election day as

well. -- the Gorton by-election. George Osborne was sacked

from his job at Chancellor by Theresa May in one of her first

acts after succeeding David Cameron as Prime Minister last year

and she's in the region tonight. Hours after MPs resoundingly voted

to back her plans for a general election on June 8th,

she was in Bolton to start Stuart Flinders is there for us

tonight - this underlines how important this region is likely

to be again in this election. I think so. Two words you will hear

again and again from two reason may from this campaign and listen out

for them, strong and stable. During a short speech to reporters here

tonight she promised that under the Conservatives, there would be strong

and stable government. Here is what she had to say. A clear choice at

this election. It's a choice between strong and stable leadership under

the Conservatives all week and unstable coalition of chaos led by

Jeremy Corbyn. So, the campaign starts here in Bolton. I spent the

day in the town gauging opinion. To warn you, if you are a Bolton

Wanderers supporter, you may find some images distressing.

They know all about fine margins here. A win for the Wanderers last

night would have all but sealed promotion to the championship. A

draw means that could go either way. And it could go either way into the

town 's three Parliamentary constituencies this election time.

Bolton South East is solid neighbour -- labour. But Bolton West is a Tory

marginal. Labour's majority here in Bolton North East with its famous

town Hall is less than 5000, which makes it a target for the

Conservatives this time around. So Bolton really is a battle ground.

Get it? So, what are the issues the parties will need to go to war on

here? Is Brexit the main issue? I think so. More than the national

health? Yes, until we sort Brexit out you can't really sought much

else out. I think Labour will probably be better for me. Because

of the NHS? Yes. Keeping continuity around Brexit so keeping that clear

and concise. Does that mean you would vote Tory? It will be in my

thinking. Immigration. Which party is best in dealing with immigration?

I don't know, Ukip. However we get rid of the Tory party and they

crazy, awful austerities policies is fine by me. Whether or not the

Wanderers make the headlines over the next few weeks, Bolton will be

in the news as the political parties put the boot into each other.

So why did two reason may choose Bolton to start the campaign? This

church will is in the constituency of Bolton North East which is a

target seat for the Conservatives. I asked one of her aides why here? And

she said, pure chance. Thank you, Stuart.

Sticking a pin in a map! Prison inspectors have branded HMP

Garth in Lancashire, "very unsafe" in their latest

report with violence amongst inmates having

increased "substantially" The Chief Inspector of Prisons says

the jail near Leyland has gone into a steep decline over

the last two years. The prison service says

a new governor is now in place and improvements are being made

to address the issues Eight people have been arrested

in Lancashire on suspicion Police carried out a series

of early morning raids at properties in Blackburn,

Preston and Blackpool. Eight women, believed

to have been brought to the UK from Romania,

are being helped Seven men and one woman

are being questioned in custody. Rail services between the North West

and London are facing major disruption following a fire that

damaged signal cables Repair work is ongoing

and services should get back Still to come on North West Tonight:

A colony of rare butterflies is destroyed in a suspected arson

attack at a Lancashire And planning for the future -

the designer garden that Many of us have had cavity

wall insulation put in - to make our homes greener,

warmer and to save money. But now some are blighted by damp -

because it was wrongly installed. Thousands of homes in the region

are now having it removed - Today victims took their

case to Parliament. Abbie Jones is here now with more

on her exclusive investigation. Done properly, this

kind of insulation can Almost a million people

in the North West have had it put The industry says complaints

are very low, but campaigners say damp and mould can take years

to show itself and consumers often In Lancashire, a thermal imaging

company found the insulation had failed in over a third of council

and housing association properties. Now the government's being asked

to urgently investigate the true We've had cracks, we've had

plaster falling off. We haven't been able

to have people at home. A single mum from Crumpsall

in Manchester, Jeanette jumped at the chance to save money

with cavity wall insulation. But the damp got so bad, Jeanette's

insulation had to be removed. In Ashton-under-Lyne, Gillian's

bedroom is riddled with mould. To meet government

targets, some installers putting it in wrongly and pushing it

on homeowners where it was Blackpool, Southport,

Fleetwood, Lancaster, are exposed to driving rain

which can seep into bricks and But that's where extraction

expert Damian Mercer He takes out failed insulation

across and says the cost It is a massive problem

in the Northwest. I know of 1200 homes right

now that have the problem. The scale of the problem

is horrendous. In Poulton-le-Fylde,

Grace has damp - but her installer We have construction rubble

causing damp on the inside. You should never have had

cavity wall insulation in Cavity wall insulation is often free

as it is subsidised by the government but it costs thousands to

take it out. The real irony is this insulation is supposed to make our

homes greener but when it has to be removed, where does it end up?

Landfill. Dyson says it is satisfied it examined her property and doesn't

believe her dad is due to installation. The government says it

is committed to insuring consumers up protected and it has strict

standards. There is a 25 year guarantee. But those who believed --

believe their homes have been ruined say that is lacking.

Nigel Donohue is the head of CIGA which represents cavity wall

Why did installers fit this stuff when they shouldn't have?

Well, can I firstly say that I am sympathetic for

I am aware of the cases you have mentioned. Jeannette had carried --

cavity wall insulation but the installer didn't supply a guarantee

and we are doing everything to put that right. It seems like everyone

who expressed an interest had it pumped into willy-nilly whereas in

some properties it is obviously not appropriate. In terms of the failure

rate of the product, as the largest divider, we have issued 6 million

guarantees and out of those we've only ever had a claim of less than

0.25%. Before an installation there is a survey to make sure the

property is suitable. It wasn't done in some of these cases, as you

probably heard. All surveys were inadequate. I would like to think

that in the very few cases that you've mentioned, the industry has

dealt with that and the runs had been put right. Some people may not

be aware of the guarantees. A lot of people weren't aware of your

organisation and the fact they might be covered. What is your advice to

them? We supply a very robust guarantee scheme. If somebody has a

problem with cavity wall insulation they should immediately contact

CIGA. In the worst-case we can direct them to somewhere. So you're

not going to wriggle out of it? We will put it into context in the

north-west. 1 million properties are treated with cavity wall insulation

and only four in 1000 properties have been affected. That is

remediation, repair. On the whole it was a very effective product that

has had a significant and beneficial impact. And he got it in your house?

I have, yes. It's an installer that is still trading and there are no

problems whatsoever. Thank you for your time this evening.

Conservationists say years of work have been wiped out by a series

of arson attacks on a wildlife reserve in Lancashire.

Heysham Moss was targetted three times in three days.

And the fires have wiped out a colony of rare butterflies

which were only reintroduced there three years ago.

Our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest, has the story.

June 2014 and the large heath butterfly returns

This extremely rare species was reintroduced after a breeding

programme organised by Chester Zoo and the Lancashire Wildlife Trust.

April 2017 and the hopes of three years ago have gone up in flames.

Someone set fire to the moss causing extensive damage.

We've worked really hard to get species that haven't been

here for a long time back and this has set us back a good few years.

Whoever did this was nothing if not determined.

They set three consecutive fires on three consecutive nights and,

in so doing, they've succeeded in destroying around

Why people would want to do this - depriving the kids and grandkids

in years to come - of a fabulous place and some

John Lamb says the fire will have completely wiped out the large heath

butterfly population they had worked so hard to nurture.

Well, the butterfly would have been in a chrysalis, in a cocoon,

attached to the vegetation very low down.

So, as you can see, it's all been burnt off.

Potentially, we could have lost the entire population.

You know, we've been doing this since 2013

What chance of reintroducing the species back here?

We will literally had to start from scratch but we could be looking

at a few years before we are in that position again.

Anyone with information about the fire is being urged

The floods we have seen in recent years have caused misery as we know.

The Royal horticultural Society says the danger of flooding has increased

because many of us have paved over our front gardens.

Taking inspiration from the River Ribble.

A Chelsea Flower Show, Gold Award winning garden designer,

creating grand designs for parking spaces.

A lot of people like to block paved driveways. This is a new product

that will let water soaked through. Supported by United Utilities,

John wants to inspire more thought Most people have two cars in a

family. It's not about saying, you can't do it, is about using

materials that will let water permeate through rather than

run-off. The north-west has been hit

by severe flooding in recent year, some of it blamed on householders

paving over front That speeds up rain water flow

and overwhelms drains. It's heartbreaking when you sleep

people's homes ruined. If everyone can just do a little bit, it can be

quite small, but the cumulative effect can have a major affect on

the drainage system. Alongside a greener driveway,

plants could help slow Lots of plans would be happy to be

damp or wet. Willows or hydrangeas. Much smaller things as well, right

down to tiny little things. John's green-over-grey garden design

goes on display at the RHS Tatton Flower Show in the summer

and will be something to enjoy Steve Saul, BBC North West

Tonight, Lancashire. My garden is like a mud bath!

We've had too much rain. Too much concrete on it! Diane.

This land has actually been quite dry. It's the dog running around in

the mud, isn't it? Good evening. High pressure has

dominated quite a bit so April has been relatively dry. More rain over

the next couple of days and particularly towards the weekend we

will see more weather fronts coming towards us and temperatures below

were a bit. But there will be some spells of sunshine early doors. The

cloud gradually started to build today and for most of us it was a

great day with sunshine in short supply.

For the next couple of hours, grey and gloomy and I'm sure that's the

picture outside your window. The light will be very much as it was

last night with a lot of cloud cover and some drizzly stuff but nothing

to write home about. Over high-level, cloud will be low

visibility will not be brilliant tomorrow. The saving grace in the

forecast, and there's always a positive, is that temperatures will

be up in relatively mild air. When you get up tomorrow morning, it

won't be cool but it will look quite grey for the first few hours. Here

comes the rain again, the remnants of that weather front. When you get

to around ten o'clock most of that should have moved away and, fingers

crossed, you may well see more in the way of sunshine than today.

Hopefully the cloud will thin. Even if it's not brilliant sunshine, it

will be bright. The sun will have some warmth to it. So feeling a bit

better than today. But it will be in short supply. For the next couple of

days it is more of the same with a drop in temperatures towards the

weekend, but only a little drop. Mowing the lawn time?

I think you need to dry days for that.

Thank you for watching. We are back with a late news at 10:25pm goodbye.

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take back control and forge our own destiny in the 21st century.

Ukip members have campaigned for this for 23 years,

but this is only the beginning of regaining control,

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