:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to BBC Points West. so it's goodbye from me -
:00:07. > :00:09.Tonight we're in Swindon with exactly four weeks to go
:00:10. > :00:15.We start a tour of the West taking our sofa out on the road,
:00:16. > :00:30.unpacking the key issues and speaking to you the voters.
:00:31. > :00:37.I like Jeremy Corbyn. I want to continue that. So it is Theresa May
:00:38. > :00:39.The U? I think so. We'll be looking at
:00:40. > :00:41.the issue of housing and asking whether anyone
:00:42. > :00:50.has a solution. The South African grandmother
:00:51. > :00:55.fearing deportation after undergoing a medical examination to see
:00:56. > :01:03.if she's fit to fly. Every minute of every day,
:01:04. > :01:05.even Christmas Day, your birthday, there's somebody in here working
:01:06. > :01:07.on your blood. And the little girl with leukaemia
:01:08. > :01:11.seeing what happens A South African grandmother staying
:01:12. > :01:23.in Bristol with her family because she's too ill to fly home
:01:24. > :01:26.fears her deportation has Irene Nel's visa has
:01:27. > :01:31.expired and the Home Office But her family say she
:01:32. > :01:35.won't get the treatment 73 years old and living
:01:36. > :01:42.in constant fear. For nearly five years now
:01:43. > :01:45.the South African grandmother has been fighting for the right to stay
:01:46. > :01:49.here in the UK with her daughter Desree, her three sons
:01:50. > :01:53.and seven grandchildren. I'm terrified, I can't
:01:54. > :01:56.take that any more. The day they come to arrest me
:01:57. > :02:00.and say I must go, that is going to It was during a visit here back
:02:01. > :02:06.in 2012 when Irene fell ill and was diagnosed
:02:07. > :02:09.with kidney failure. She's still very ill and needs
:02:10. > :02:11.dialysis three times a week to stay alive,
:02:12. > :02:14.treatment that the family say she But the treatment is expensive,
:02:15. > :02:22.legally Irene has no right to be here, and so the Home Office have
:02:23. > :02:25.been warning for more than a year that she will have
:02:26. > :02:27.to be deported. It has caused so much
:02:28. > :02:31.stress and worry. I am terrified they are going
:02:32. > :02:34.to come back and say, Today, Irene and Desree need
:02:35. > :02:40.to head to a police station for Irene to sign on to prove
:02:41. > :02:43.she's still in Bristol. They have to do this regularly
:02:44. > :02:46.but there's always the fear that this might be the day they get
:02:47. > :02:49.the news bad news. Although Irene and Desree
:02:50. > :02:52.dread their visits here, the visits themselves are normally pretty
:02:53. > :02:55.straightforward and don't take very long at all,
:02:56. > :02:58.sometimes just a matter of minutes. However, today, something that
:02:59. > :03:01.seemed to be different. They have been in there for more
:03:02. > :03:04.than an hour already. We don't know what
:03:05. > :03:06.is going on, we will They've done a medical
:03:07. > :03:18.assessment on mum. To me, that looks
:03:19. > :03:20.like they are trying It just shows they are not going
:03:21. > :03:29.to sit back and go, let her stay. They are going to try
:03:30. > :03:37.and get my mum out. So this evening, after yet
:03:38. > :03:41.another difficult day, there are still no answers
:03:42. > :03:45.and the future for Irene It's four weeks to polling day,
:03:46. > :03:57.a key day in the election calendar as nominations have closed
:03:58. > :04:01.and we now know who To mark the occasion,
:04:02. > :04:05.Points West is taking to the road We're in Regent Street in
:04:06. > :04:16.the constituency of Swindon South, a place which has backed the winning
:04:17. > :04:32.party ever since When Swindon South votes Labour so
:04:33. > :04:33.does the rest of the country. In the last couple of elections they have
:04:34. > :04:36.gone Tory as has the rest of the UK. Over the next four weeks
:04:37. > :04:38.we'll be out and about, taking our red sofa to different
:04:39. > :04:41.places in the West, profiling some of the key marginal constituencies
:04:42. > :04:44.and touching on some of the hot Later in the programme,
:04:45. > :04:48.we'll be talking to our political editor
:04:49. > :04:53.Paul Barltrop, discuss housing and the political wheeling
:04:54. > :04:57.and dealing of the day, but first, Robin Markwell has been
:04:58. > :05:02.taking the temperature of this Yes, Brenda from Bristol,
:05:03. > :05:19.another one. A battlebus would
:05:20. > :05:24.have cost too much. Well, at least you can
:05:25. > :05:26.do U-turns in this. Forget about exiting the EU,
:05:27. > :05:35.trying to leave the town's most famous landmark
:05:36. > :05:37.was challenging enough. The south of the town has
:05:38. > :05:40.always been a tussle It's currently held
:05:41. > :05:42.by the Conservatives They say whoever wins
:05:43. > :05:48.here wins Downing Street Swindon was a town
:05:49. > :05:50.forged by the railways. Labour's leaked manifesto says
:05:51. > :05:53.renationalising those will be But while tradiitional Labour voters
:05:54. > :05:58.welcome the policies it's the leader who
:05:59. > :06:01.still divides opinion. You've got to have a bit
:06:02. > :06:13.of a personality and I'm sorry, I don't think
:06:14. > :06:15.Corbyn's got it. He is a very good
:06:16. > :06:19.university talker and with his own little liberal set
:06:20. > :06:22.around him but I don't think he is the right man to run the
:06:23. > :06:24.country. Down the barbers, they're not
:06:25. > :06:26.talking holidays but politics. Darren's a Corbyn supporter
:06:27. > :06:28.who likes his policies But he thinks he's getting
:06:29. > :06:33.the brush off by the press. It is breaking through the media
:06:34. > :06:37.for Jeremy Corbyn, I think, He will speak for me
:06:38. > :06:45.and speak for a lot of people Head south from the Parks area
:06:46. > :06:49.and you'll see just how much Spacious new homes are springing
:06:50. > :06:52.up to house the town's The employment boom is driven
:06:53. > :07:02.by the service sector. The firm Carpeo is typical-
:07:03. > :07:04.creating hundreds of jobs, That will take effect
:07:05. > :07:11.on the 11th of May 2017. Their director is also good
:07:12. > :07:16.at sticking to the script. I think people probably do
:07:17. > :07:20.want strong and stable Yes, I'm not giving away who I am
:07:21. > :07:26.voting for, of course. But it has sunk in
:07:27. > :07:30.there, it is embedded. It is probably the key
:07:31. > :07:33.issue of the campaign. On the streets of South Swindon
:07:34. > :07:35.today it is clear this election is more than just Brexit
:07:36. > :07:38.all May versus Corbyn. There was talk too about
:07:39. > :07:41.cuts to local services This is a battle being fought out
:07:42. > :07:46.on many fronts and it We'll be back later in the programme
:07:47. > :08:05.at the National Self-Build Centre, You'll be seeing a lot of him over
:08:06. > :08:09.the next four weeks. Don't away because I will be at the national
:08:10. > :08:12.self build Centre. But now for a look at the rest
:08:13. > :08:15.of the day's news, here's Alex. A court has heard how a man
:08:16. > :08:19.beat his former partner with an iron before setting her alight
:08:20. > :08:21.in her own home in Swindon. 32-year-old Anthony Porter
:08:22. > :08:24.was today jailed for life after admitting murdering
:08:25. > :08:26.Andraya Lyons in December. Her family's appealed to any one
:08:27. > :08:28.in a violent relationship A fun loving and bubbly mother,
:08:29. > :08:41.someone who saw the good in They expressed their grief
:08:42. > :08:48.outside court today. We miss her so much
:08:49. > :08:54.and our lives have been completely devastated by the act
:08:55. > :08:57.of one evil, vicious, selfish, manipulative and
:08:58. > :09:00.cowardly individual. Her partner Anthony Porter had
:09:01. > :09:04.a problem with drink and drugs and a history of violence
:09:05. > :09:09.towards women, including Andraya. The court heard that on the night
:09:10. > :09:16.of the 9th of December they were at Andraya's works
:09:17. > :09:20.Christmas party at a hotel in Swindon
:09:21. > :09:22.when Porter became aggressive and Andraya left with friends saying
:09:23. > :09:25.it was over between them. But Porter got back into her house
:09:26. > :09:28.drunk and using cocaine. He beat her with an iron,
:09:29. > :09:30.broke her nose, stamped on her, before dousing her with white
:09:31. > :09:33.spirits setting the house Post Mortem examination show Andraya
:09:34. > :09:39.was unconscious but still breathing Porter gave himself up
:09:40. > :09:44.to the police, saying But the judge didn't accept that,
:09:45. > :09:50.saying he clearly intended to kill Andraya, adding what he did to her
:09:51. > :10:04.unconscious body was appalling. She had tried to separate from
:10:05. > :10:09.Porter but he was still living with her because she does want him to be
:10:10. > :10:12.homeless. I would simply say to people they can come forward and
:10:13. > :10:17.speak to the police with the confidence they will treated
:10:18. > :10:23.sensitively. If they can't speak to the police, there are other agencies
:10:24. > :10:25.such as Women's Aid who will give that help and support.
:10:26. > :10:27.Porter serve 17 and a half years in jail before
:10:28. > :10:29.being considered for parole, and will remain under licence
:10:30. > :10:35.An inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl
:10:36. > :10:38.from Gloucestershire has heard she died after a horse
:10:39. > :10:43.Bonnie Armitage was taking part in the Cotswold Hunt
:10:44. > :10:47.It ruptured a major artery, even though she was wearing a chest
:10:48. > :10:51.Her father describe her as a "positive, glass half full2
:10:52. > :11:02.kind of girl who could ride before she could walk.
:11:03. > :11:04.coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
:11:05. > :11:06.The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, based in Gloucestershire
:11:07. > :11:08.is celebrating a double anniversary today.
:11:09. > :11:10.Made up of hundreds of soldiers from over 20 different nations,
:11:11. > :11:15.the ARRC has pioneered the command and control operation of NATO troops
:11:16. > :11:21.But its relatively short history can actually be traced back much further
:11:22. > :11:24.with surprising links to the county it now calls home.
:11:25. > :11:28.Here's our Gloucestershire reporter, Steve Knibbs.
:11:29. > :11:31.It gives me great pleasure to formally rename this
:11:32. > :11:38.2008 and RAF Innsworth became Imjin Barracks - the Allied Rapid
:11:39. > :11:45.Formed in 1992 it was the first of NATO's high readiness
:11:46. > :11:49.Its role - to command and control troops during military
:11:50. > :11:53.Some of the things it has done in the operational
:11:54. > :11:56.deployed sense have been genuinely game changing.
:11:57. > :12:01.The deployment to Afghanistan was extraordinary in so much
:12:02. > :12:05.it was a declaration of trust, particularly by the US because it
:12:06. > :12:10.devolved under command of a British officer.
:12:11. > :12:12.A very substantial US force, the first time this had been
:12:13. > :12:16.there since the Second World War, 45,000 American troops.
:12:17. > :12:21.The ARRC may be only 25 years old but its origins can be traced
:12:22. > :12:24.back 200 years to the Battle of Waterloo where you'll also find
:12:25. > :12:30.The ARRC formed out of the former 1st British Corps,
:12:31. > :12:35.set up originally by the Duke of Wellington in 1815.
:12:36. > :12:39.In the entrance hall at Cirencester Park hangs a huge
:12:40. > :12:43.portrait of Wellington atop his infamous steed Copenhagen.
:12:44. > :12:46.It was commissioned by Henry, the third Earl Bathurst
:12:47. > :12:50.from Cirencester, who at the time was Secretary of State
:12:51. > :12:57.He was responsible for putting Napoleon into St Helena for
:12:58. > :13:02.He was, I supposed to a certain extent, the equivalent of
:13:03. > :13:08.He would have been heavily involved in the first corps, especially
:13:09. > :13:13.Two centuries on, the ARRC is conscious of the role
:13:14. > :13:15.it could play in future military history books.
:13:16. > :13:19.In uncertain times its role this year to command NATO ground troops
:13:20. > :13:28.should they be deployed anywhere in the world.
:13:29. > :13:31.Welcome back to Swindon, where we've taken our red
:13:32. > :13:35.sofa out of the studio for a little runaround.
:13:36. > :13:38.Tonight we're in the constituency of Swindon South, one of the key
:13:39. > :13:41.marginals in this election and we've come to the
:13:42. > :13:51.In a moment we'll be talking housing, but I'm joined now
:13:52. > :13:59.by our political editor Paul Barltrop.
:14:00. > :14:06.One of the big stories of today is the close of nominations,
:14:07. > :14:24.What is interesting as to who is standing as to who it is not
:14:25. > :14:27.standing. There has been talking between the parties. 31
:14:28. > :14:34.constituencies across the West counties. Conservatives, Labour and
:14:35. > :14:43.Lib Dem candidates everywhere. Ukip a massively down sitting at less
:14:44. > :14:46.than half the seats. They have been telling supporters to vote
:14:47. > :14:50.Conservatives but that is not the case in Cheltenham. What is
:14:51. > :14:55.happening there is interesting. Isn't a 15 heads of the Lib Dem
:14:56. > :14:59.seed, taken by the Conservatives. Cheltenham last day's referendum
:15:00. > :15:02.voted to remain so the anti-Brexit Lib Dems fancied their chances of
:15:03. > :15:08.getting it back. They have suffered a double blow today. Ukip withdrew
:15:09. > :15:12.their candidate and many of their supporters in Cheltenham likely to
:15:13. > :15:15.vote Conservative. At the same time, the Greens say they will put up a
:15:16. > :15:17.candidate after their offer of an anti-Tory pact was rejected.
:15:18. > :15:20.At the moment in Stroud, Cheltenham and Gloucester there are three
:15:21. > :15:27.Conservative MPs and it was a really great opportunity to return three
:15:28. > :15:29.candidates from the Green, Labour and Lib Dems across those
:15:30. > :15:34.It is very frustrating that we didn't get to
:15:35. > :15:36.the stage of talking to the other parties.
:15:37. > :15:39.People of Cheltenham won't have a Ukip candidate so I would
:15:40. > :15:43.hope they will look at what they want to achieve, look at the
:15:44. > :15:46.manifestos, listen to the arguments and then make the best choice
:15:47. > :16:01.I think it'll play very big in the selection.
:16:02. > :16:07.We have had Tim Farron for the Lib Dems them in the West Country today.
:16:08. > :16:11.He seems to live yet at the moment. What has been very action? This is
:16:12. > :16:15.an important reason for them, they want to take back places like
:16:16. > :16:18.Cheltenham. He visited there today met a group of supporters trying
:16:19. > :16:24.their best not to look disappointed but the reality is he just hopes
:16:25. > :16:27.Labour and the green supporters in Cheltenham or do some tactical
:16:28. > :16:36.voting. For many voters, that is something they want to be aware of.
:16:37. > :16:38.Help yourself to a cup of tea! We're in a show home which is then built
:16:39. > :16:40.inside the centre. For many voters, the lack
:16:41. > :16:42.of affordable housing is one Even today, a report has come out
:16:43. > :16:46.saying there just aren't enough houses out there,
:16:47. > :16:48.which is why prices Some of our councils, however,
:16:49. > :16:52.are starting to build again but it's not quite the council homes
:16:53. > :16:54.you might imagine. In Bristol, they may be
:16:55. > :17:00.building council houses. But elsewhere, our councils
:17:01. > :17:03.are turning their hand to building houses for profit
:17:04. > :17:08.to make extra money In Bath North East Somerset,
:17:09. > :17:12.they've set up a new housing The old council house
:17:13. > :17:16.building in Keynsham They're going to build
:17:17. > :17:19.new flats in Bath. While others, like this one
:17:20. > :17:22.in Kingsmead Square, This has been empty
:17:23. > :17:26.for about four years. It used to be managed by the social
:17:27. > :17:28.housing company, Curo. And now the lease is up,
:17:29. > :17:33.the council's taken it back. Nine properties have already
:17:34. > :17:35.been let in this way, The problem is at the moment our
:17:36. > :17:40.sources of funding are reducing and we are having to be creative
:17:41. > :17:43.to find new ways of generating revenue to provide the services
:17:44. > :17:47.we want to provide. In Swindon, they're hoping to make
:17:48. > :17:52.?3.5 million in two years These initiatives may be adding
:17:53. > :18:06.to the country's housing stock, Sadly, though, according to one
:18:07. > :18:09.local government think tank, all this commercial activity
:18:10. > :18:11.is unlikely to end in Many places aren't doing
:18:12. > :18:14.it for that reason. Places are engaging with this
:18:15. > :18:17.because they want to find a way of filling in holes that
:18:18. > :18:19.exist in budgets already. The amount of public
:18:20. > :18:21.services is increasing, people need to find
:18:22. > :18:25.a way of generating people need to find a way of
:18:26. > :18:27.generating the money from somewhere. All this commercial
:18:28. > :18:29.activity is a huge cultural But building new houses is now
:18:30. > :18:33.a political imperative. And how the different parties
:18:34. > :18:35.approach the problem could win or lose them votes
:18:36. > :18:43.at the ballot box. We're joined now by Harvey Fremlin,
:18:44. > :18:47.the director of the centre here and Julien Robinson,
:18:48. > :18:50.an estate agent who himself is trying to get onto
:18:51. > :19:01.the housing ladder. Welcome to my lovely home! How much
:19:02. > :19:07.would it cost me to buy a semidetached house in Swindon? A
:19:08. > :19:14.three-bedroom, in the region of ?240,000. Is there a demand for
:19:15. > :19:20.them? What is the cue? The housing market is strong, that is a demand
:19:21. > :19:24.very much from various people, first-time buyers, investors from
:19:25. > :19:30.upsizing and downsizing. Can people afford it, obviously they can all
:19:31. > :19:34.the prices would have come down? Our people financing its? First-time
:19:35. > :19:40.buyers find it harder so they are financing and saving up for a
:19:41. > :19:47.deposit. The bank of mum and dad is helping out. Rental prices are so
:19:48. > :19:53.high. You need ?25,000 as a deposit on a house costing 250,000. Harvey,
:19:54. > :19:59.lots of people here tonight are going to this auction buying land
:20:00. > :20:05.and houses for renovation. Is that way of doing cheaper?
:20:06. > :20:11.It is. We find we have got to mix of people. People who wanted buying
:20:12. > :20:18.plots of land and we've got people who will take on a property that not
:20:19. > :20:22.have been maintained over the years and it is a cheaper way for them to
:20:23. > :20:26.get onto the housing ladder. Perhaps they can sell it on and move up the
:20:27. > :20:30.ladder that way. How much would it cost me if I wanted to buy a plot of
:20:31. > :20:36.land? What is the minimum you could arrange a plot of land for me? It is
:20:37. > :20:42.the number one question we get asked. There are so many variables
:20:43. > :20:47.depending on where that plot of land is, the accessibility, services. One
:20:48. > :20:51.thing to consider is where that plot is, there will be a natural cap to
:20:52. > :20:56.the value of any home. No matter what you end up building on it.
:20:57. > :21:00.We've got lots of land available across the UK at the value of
:21:01. > :21:04.70-80,000. Then you've got to build the house
:21:05. > :21:12.on top of it. How much is that going to be? 100,000?
:21:13. > :21:19.100,000 plus, realistically. Depending on the Dude you have taken
:21:20. > :21:23.and the design and specification, you could have equity in the home so
:21:24. > :21:29.it is worth more than the many you have spent.
:21:30. > :21:34.We watch these TV programmes about building your own health and that is
:21:35. > :21:39.always a crisis and drama. It wouldn't make good TV unless
:21:40. > :21:44.there was a crisis. If we were to commission a TV series is to be the
:21:45. > :21:48.family that designed a nice efficient house, stuck to the budget
:21:49. > :21:52.and moved in when they expected to. But that doesn't make good TV. But
:21:53. > :21:56.that is the majority of people who build their own homes.
:21:57. > :22:02.It'd be an important issue during this election. That is it from me.
:22:03. > :22:06.Over the next four weeks our red city will be on tour. Maybe you will
:22:07. > :22:10.be sitting is one day. If you want to build your own home you need one
:22:11. > :22:16.of these. It would look better on you, Alex.
:22:17. > :22:18.Thank you for leaving me a bit of sofa.
:22:19. > :22:20.Now many of us don't like injections or blood tests
:22:21. > :22:22.but for children it can be particularly daunting.
:22:23. > :22:24.So to help young people overcome their fears
:22:25. > :22:27.some hospitals are allowing them to become scientists
:22:28. > :22:32.Jenny Walrond joined nine-year-old Idara at Musgrove Park
:22:33. > :22:38.Blood tests and other invasive treatments are a fact of life for
:22:39. > :22:43.She has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
:22:44. > :22:50.But today she is finding out what happens to her blood samples.
:22:51. > :22:59.Hi, Idara, nice to meet you, welcome to the laboratory.
:23:00. > :23:07.She is becoming a lab scientist for a few hours.
:23:08. > :23:08.Every minute of every day, even Christmas Day,
:23:09. > :23:11.your birthday, there is somebody in here working on
:23:12. > :23:20.It benefits the patient but it is a benefit for our
:23:21. > :23:22.staff because it provides an opportunity for them to engage with
:23:23. > :23:25.patients where usually the laboratory doesn't even though
:23:26. > :23:28.they are directly involved with patient care.
:23:29. > :23:31.Idara's visit has been organised through a charity called
:23:32. > :23:36.Harvey's Gang, named after Harvey Buster Baldwin who had
:23:37. > :23:39.leukaemia and wanted to know where his blood went.
:23:40. > :23:44.Sadly, Harvey died in 2014 but his curiosity has led
:23:45. > :23:48.to children in other hospitals being allowed into labs.
:23:49. > :23:55.They can see why they need to have these tests done so we can then
:23:56. > :23:59.ensure they can carry on with their treatment.
:24:00. > :24:15.My best bit was interesting about the cells.
:24:16. > :24:25.My next interesting one was the blood around here.
:24:26. > :24:27.And when she next has her blood taken Idara knows
:24:28. > :24:48.Ian is on Ian is on the roof with the weather.
:24:49. > :25:11.It will be warm but it will be brighter with cloudy faces. We
:25:12. > :25:14.watched a band of showers forming across Somerset today and March its
:25:15. > :25:24.way northwards. They were persistent across the Bristol Channel. Still a
:25:25. > :25:29.chance of a few showers forming for the rest of this evening. Here is a
:25:30. > :25:37.wider look. Tonight, showery rain moving northwards and it will give a
:25:38. > :25:47.wider in the. Tomorrow, a bit oddly potluck story with showers
:25:48. > :25:52.distribution out towards the west. So, for the rest of this evening
:25:53. > :25:57.shower with fading but up comes that band of rain during the course of
:25:58. > :26:04.tonight. No great amounts, modest amount. It will be a mile and humid
:26:05. > :26:13.night, temperatures between 11-13dC. The cloud base lower. Tomorrow,
:26:14. > :26:17.still a lot of cloud alone but the heat gets to work on that and it's a
:26:18. > :26:21.bubble up giving way to sunnier spells, some of you will stay dry
:26:22. > :26:25.through the rest of the day but others less so. It has for heavy
:26:26. > :26:31.showers but temperatures tomorrow into the upper teens. That is all
:26:32. > :26:33.we've got time for. That is all we have got time for. See you later.