:00:00. > :00:09.Coming up: for the news where you are.
:00:10. > :00:14.John Bercow's decision to seek a third term
:00:15. > :00:19.in Buckingham. and what it means for voters
:00:20. > :00:21.The Ukip councillor who broke the law
:00:22. > :00:24.by parking in a disabled bay, using a blue badge that
:00:25. > :00:27.And production of the Mini is halted in Oxford, as workers strike
:00:28. > :00:41.The longest serving MP in our region,
:00:42. > :00:43.Labour's Andrew Smith, has announced he's standing down
:00:44. > :00:45.and won't be a candidate in the general election.
:00:46. > :00:46.He's represented Oxford East for 30 years.
:00:47. > :00:49.He says the next parliament is likely to run until 2022,
:00:50. > :00:52.by which time he'd be 71, and he feels it's time
:00:53. > :01:00.Meanwhile, in Buckingham, John Bercow, says he'll be seeking
:01:01. > :01:01.a third term as Speaker of the Commons.
:01:02. > :01:04.It means fewer options for voters in his constituency.
:01:05. > :01:06.Traditionally, the main parties don't contest the Speaker's seat -
:01:07. > :01:18.John Bercow has been MP for Buckingham for nearly two decades.
:01:19. > :01:23.But most of us know he better as Speaker of the House of Commons.
:01:24. > :01:27.Tried to calm down and behaves like an adult.
:01:28. > :01:32.If you can't, if it's beyond you, leave the chamber, get
:01:33. > :01:38.Since Bercow took office as Speaker in 2009 the main political parties
:01:39. > :01:46.have not stood against him in his constituency.
:01:47. > :01:49.If he's going to be an MP for a town, he's got to be
:01:50. > :01:51.able to get in touch with his constituents.
:01:52. > :01:55.We've got to be able to get in touch with him.
:01:56. > :01:56.It can be a bit annoying if you've got
:01:57. > :02:00.different views to the speaker but it's just the way it goes, someone's
:02:01. > :02:03.It's annoying you don't have a vote that counts
:02:04. > :02:09.because you can't vote the other parties.
:02:10. > :02:17.Which is the entire point of having a vote in an election.
:02:18. > :02:20.confirmed that he will be standing for a third term as speaker.
:02:21. > :02:22.What choice do people here in
:02:23. > :02:26.Labour and Conservative parties have already said they won't be fielding
:02:27. > :02:29.Ukip and the Greens have previously fielded
:02:30. > :02:31.candidates here in Buckingham and now billable Democrats say they will
:02:32. > :02:37.be putting up opposition in Buckingham too.
:02:38. > :02:39.78,000 electors in one particular constituency, in this
:02:40. > :02:42.case Buckingham, are effectively denied a proper choice in general
:02:43. > :02:49.This is a particularly important election, possibly the
:02:50. > :03:04.There's less than a month for parties to choose
:03:05. > :03:06.a candidate to stand, the deadline for
:03:07. > :03:10.A 17-year-old boy has been jailed for six years for a hate crime
:03:11. > :03:12.in which a transgender man was attacked and robbed
:03:13. > :03:15.Owen Wise verbally abused him, making references to him
:03:16. > :03:18.being transgender and punched him in the face before stealing his
:03:19. > :03:21.21-year-old Michael Thorpe was also involved in the attack.
:03:22. > :03:26.He'ss been sentenced to two years and three months.
:03:27. > :03:28.A Ukip councillor from Buckinghamshire has been fined
:03:29. > :03:31.for parking in a disabled bay, using a blue badge that
:03:32. > :03:34.Chris Adams is a member of both Buckinghamshire County Council
:03:35. > :03:38.He was caught using his friend's parking pass in Portsmouth last
:03:39. > :03:40.September, even though a multistorey car park was nearby.
:03:41. > :03:52.Christopher Adams stood for Ukip in Aylesbury
:03:53. > :03:58.But it was here, in Portsmouth, last September, where the 50-year-old
:03:59. > :04:01.Ukip councillor was confronted by a parking warden for wrongly
:04:02. > :04:04.Portsmouth Magistrates' Court heard he'd travelled for a three day Ukip
:04:05. > :04:06.conference in Bournemouth, with his friend who
:04:07. > :04:09.But later that week - without his friend -
:04:10. > :04:11.he attended a wedding and used the permit to park.
:04:12. > :04:14.In his county council constituency - there's been mixed
:04:15. > :04:26.A person in authority should really be above and beyond that.
:04:27. > :04:28.They should show a good example to the
:04:29. > :04:41.He's meant to be a role model demonstrating what you'd
:04:42. > :04:50.The court heard he'd wrongfully used the permit -
:04:51. > :04:53.despite being close to a multi storey car park.
:04:54. > :04:55.When questioned by the warden, who confiscated the badge,
:04:56. > :04:59.he admitted to being "a naughty boy".
:05:00. > :05:01.Being a naughty boy makes light of it.
:05:02. > :05:13.There is no excuse for doing that, certainly not under the
:05:14. > :05:16.The Ukip councillor later pleaded guilty in court
:05:17. > :05:22.He's been fined more than ?350 and ordered to pay around
:05:23. > :05:38.In a statement, the council does as it takes abuse of the blue badge
:05:39. > :05:42.system very seriously and investigate all instances reported
:05:43. > :05:44.to them. They said they can refuse to renew a blue badge if it has been
:05:45. > :05:48.Police are hunting a man who failed to return
:05:49. > :05:50.to prison in Buckinghamshire on Sunday.
:05:51. > :05:51.Jayvan Burton was released from Springhill Prison
:05:52. > :05:53.near Aylesbury last Thursday on a temporary licence.
:05:54. > :05:56.He's serving a sentence for robbery, attempted robbery and burglary.
:05:57. > :06:04.Pangbourne retained fire station in Berkshire is to close,
:06:05. > :06:07.A second retained station, at Wargrave near Henley,
:06:08. > :06:09.has been told it can stay open for another year.
:06:10. > :06:12.Beyond that, the Fire Authority says it will depend if savings
:06:13. > :06:19.the number of firefighters on-call can be increased.
:06:20. > :06:22.A 24-hour strike has halted production of the Mini in Oxford.
:06:23. > :06:24.Workers at the pressing plant in Swindon also walked out,
:06:25. > :06:27.in a dispute over BMW's plans to close the final
:06:28. > :06:30.The firm says it's disappointed at the action,
:06:31. > :06:31.but that customers orders should not be affected.
:06:32. > :06:41.Andy Howard sent this report from Swindon.
:06:42. > :06:44.This factory in Swindon didn't make anything today,
:06:45. > :06:46.because most of the staff walked out, for the first time
:06:47. > :06:53.Let's say his annual wage is ?30,000 - he would've been expecting ?20,000
:06:54. > :07:09.But that pension plan has suddenly been scrapped.
:07:10. > :07:12.Now, he says he'd get more like ?14,000 a year or even less
:07:13. > :07:16.If Trevor lives to 80, he could be about ?120,000 worse
:07:17. > :07:20.I feel very disappointed, I feel like the company has let me down.
:07:21. > :07:23.I've worked there for 36 years and now they are trying
:07:24. > :07:34.Today the picket line was full of similar stories.
:07:35. > :07:35.I would stand to lose in excess of
:07:36. > :07:40.That's money myself and my family would
:07:41. > :07:43.I want to retire with dignity
:07:44. > :07:44.and respect and BMW should honour
:07:45. > :07:52.Even the union's assistant general secretary visited, to add his voice.
:07:53. > :07:55.Our people are being treated differently in the UK than Germany,
:07:56. > :07:58.The company need to sit down with us and
:07:59. > :07:59.negotiate a proper deal that will satisfy
:08:00. > :08:00.everybody, unfortunately we
:08:01. > :08:02.are a long way from that at the moment.
:08:03. > :08:05.BMW's statement said this type of pension is "unsustainable
:08:06. > :08:08.and unaffordable in the long term", and they are changing it now
:08:09. > :08:10.to "protect existing and future pensions...and ensure long term
:08:11. > :08:11.competitiveness of the UK operation".
:08:12. > :08:12.Whether you think they're masterpieces or not,
:08:13. > :08:15.there was no progress on the production line here today.
:08:16. > :08:35.Work's begun to build the first new council homes
:08:36. > :08:39.A long-disused piece of land in Caversham is being cleared
:08:40. > :08:41.to make way for seven pre-fabricated blocks -
:08:42. > :08:41.each containing four two-bedroom flats.
:08:42. > :08:43.The timber-clad modular units will be delivered
:08:44. > :08:46.to the site in June, and should be ready by the autumn.
:08:47. > :08:49.The intention is that the temporary homes will go to families
:08:50. > :08:50.on the council's growing waiting list -
:08:51. > :09:02.many currently in bed and breakfast accommodation.
:09:03. > :09:16.There has been a huge increase in people coming to the Council for
:09:17. > :09:20.help. We have over 100 people in this accommodation. This will give
:09:21. > :09:24.them their own front doors, 28 families will be able to bring their
:09:25. > :09:25.children to school. They will have much better accommodation only have
:09:26. > :09:32.Alexis has the details for tonight and into the weekend.
:09:33. > :09:33.South Today is back in BBC Breakfast tomorrow morning.
:09:34. > :09:38.What a glorious day we had today and tomorrow there will
:09:39. > :09:40.be slightly more cloud, although temperatures
:09:41. > :09:44.This cloud is sinking its way southwards,
:09:45. > :09:48.There is the chance we could have a touch of frost out
:09:49. > :09:51.There is also the chance for some patchy drizzle where
:09:52. > :09:54.Temperatures in most places overnight tonight will
:09:55. > :09:58.drop to around six or seven Celsius, but will be lower than this in the
:09:59. > :10:01.So, to start the day tomorrow, we'll have some sunshine
:10:02. > :10:03.through the morning, but through the afternoon,
:10:04. > :10:06.it will cloud over and we may see some patchy rain at times,
:10:07. > :10:07.mainly light and drizzle here and there.
:10:08. > :10:09.There will be some drier periods as well.
:10:10. > :10:11.Temperatures reaching a high of 13 Celsius, so
:10:12. > :10:14.very similar to today's's Celsius, although there will be a good deal
:10:15. > :10:17.Tomorrow night, we import some mild air.
:10:18. > :10:19.So Friday will feel a little bit warmer.
:10:20. > :10:21.Through the course of today, there will be some
:10:22. > :10:24.sunshine, varying amounts of cloud and a weather front is moving
:10:25. > :10:27.This will arrive through Friday night into Saturday and the
:10:28. > :10:30.So for the weekend, we are looking at some
:10:31. > :10:34.But this month as a whole has been very dry, barely
:10:35. > :10:37.There will be some rainfall, meaningful rainfall,
:10:38. > :10:40.for the start of next week, which is good news for farmers
:10:41. > :10:44.As we look ahead to the rest of the week, tomorrow, after a
:10:45. > :10:47.cloudy start, well, in fact, a sunny start for most places -
:10:48. > :10:48.it will cloud over through the afternoon.
:10:49. > :10:50.And patchy drizzle can't be ruled out.
:10:51. > :11:02.A warmer day on Friday and feeling cooler over the weekend.
:11:03. > :11:09.similar story across the UK. Thomas matter has that story.
:11:10. > :11:15.Good evening, before we get to the forecast, I want to show you a map
:11:16. > :11:21.which depicts how dry it has been during the course of April. Brown is
:11:22. > :11:27.below average rainfall, blue is above average. You can see how Brown
:11:28. > :11:32.the map is. Some areas in the south, some counties have only seen a few
:11:33. > :11:35.percent so far in April. Not necessarily a good thing at all. The
:11:36. > :11:36.rest of the