:00:09. > :00:13.The Lib Dem leader has been in Cornwall today telling voters
:00:14. > :00:16.that the snap general election in June will be their opportunity to
:00:17. > :00:20.Tim Farron is hoping his party will make a come-back in the county,
:00:21. > :00:23.after being wiped off the political map by the Conservatives
:00:24. > :00:36.He was flying into Newquay when the snap election was called
:00:37. > :00:38.and, for Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, along with all the other
:00:39. > :00:43.politicians, it has certainly thrown things up in the air.
:00:44. > :00:47.In Truro to promote his party's local election campaign,
:00:48. > :00:50.the message very quickly took on a national tone.
:00:51. > :00:53.We say, "Bring it on," because this is the opportunity for Britain
:00:54. > :00:56.to change its direction, for us to say, "The government
:00:57. > :00:58.is taking us in a direction that we as a country
:00:59. > :01:07.There is a possible hitch to Mr Farron's positioning
:01:08. > :01:11.as the pro-EU choice in a place like Cornwall, where the majority
:01:12. > :01:14.And his party lost all its MPs across its traditional south-west
:01:15. > :01:17.heartland back in 2015, so have the wounds caused
:01:18. > :01:20.by the Coalition had long enough to heal?
:01:21. > :01:23.The reality is that there desperately needs to be a strong,
:01:24. > :01:26.It will begin here in the West Country.
:01:27. > :01:28.This is the opportunity for the people of the West Country
:01:29. > :01:31.to say to the rest of the country, a good democracy is
:01:32. > :01:40.How excited the voters might be by the proposition
:01:41. > :01:42.of another trip to the polls, though, could be
:01:43. > :01:46.Difficult to know who to vote for, to be honest with you.
:01:47. > :01:50.I found Brexit so disheartening and the whole process
:01:51. > :01:52.so disheartening and, yeah, anything that would reverse
:01:53. > :01:56.that, from my point of view, would be really good but I can't see
:01:57. > :01:58.that the general election will do that.
:01:59. > :02:04.But with MPs set to approve the election tomorrow,
:02:05. > :02:12.Well, our political editor Martyn Oates has spent
:02:13. > :02:18.The south-west played a pivotal role in the last
:02:19. > :02:20.general election in 2015, with the Conservatives' annihilation
:02:21. > :02:23.of their former Coalition partners the Lib Dems helping to push them
:02:24. > :02:25.across the finishing line to their unexpected overall majority
:02:26. > :02:36.Just two years on, the Coalition seems a distant memory,
:02:37. > :02:41.subsumed in all the political drama that has happened since.
:02:42. > :02:43.Above all, of course, the EU referendum and Brexit,
:02:44. > :02:46.the reason the Prime Minister is now asking the Commons to approve
:02:47. > :02:53.The Lib Dems are now branding themselves as an explicitly
:02:54. > :02:56.anti-Brexit party, which might seem to be an arguable strategy
:02:57. > :02:59.in a region like ours where the majority voted to leave the EU.
:03:00. > :03:01.That leaves a substantial minority who voted Remain and,
:03:02. > :03:03.in the past at least, successive polls have shown
:03:04. > :03:07.that the EU is pretty far down the list of priorities when people
:03:08. > :03:14.decide how to vote in a general election.
:03:15. > :03:19.One thing that has become clear from all of the dramatic political
:03:20. > :03:22.events both here and abroad over the last couple of years is that
:03:23. > :03:28.the voters have an enormous capacity to surprise the politicians.
:03:29. > :03:33.In other news, HMS Enterprise sailed back home into Devonport today
:03:34. > :03:38.During the time away, the crew rescued more
:03:39. > :03:39.than 9,000 migrants, and even helped to
:03:40. > :03:48.Our defence reporter Scott Bingham has been onboard.
:03:49. > :03:51.Arriving back in Plymouth Sound, the final leg of the journey
:03:52. > :03:57.which has seen her sail a distance almost seven times around the world.
:03:58. > :04:03.HMS Enterprise left Plymouth on the 4th of June 2014.
:04:04. > :04:05.That means she has been on deployment nearly three years.
:04:06. > :04:07.During her deployment, she rescued over 9,000 migrants
:04:08. > :04:09.in the Mediterranean, more than any other
:04:10. > :04:19.I have seen my sailors reach over and pull a man from the sea
:04:20. > :04:30.who was going down for the last time, just his hand above the water.
:04:31. > :04:31.Professionalism, bravery, cool nerve.
:04:32. > :04:33.Absolutely humbling to watch them do it.
:04:34. > :04:35.My ship's company have been absolutely magnificent.
:04:36. > :04:37.Whilst the ship may have been away three years, Enterprise's crew,
:04:38. > :04:40.including the captain, works on a rotation with 15 weeks
:04:41. > :04:45.It means you can plan ahead and you're not away at sea
:04:46. > :04:57.You can come back, see your family, and then go back out again.
:04:58. > :05:00.These twins have been waiting since January to see Daddy again.
:05:01. > :05:11.Enterprise will now undergo a period of maintenance and sea trials
:05:12. > :05:18.before heading back out on deployment in July.
:05:19. > :05:21.The Sunday Independent newspaper has been saved.
:05:22. > :05:23.It stopped publication two weeks ago after its owner died.
:05:24. > :05:25.The 200-year-old paper has been bought by Peter Masters,
:05:26. > :05:27.a businessman who co-owns Truro City Football Club.
:05:28. > :05:30.It safeguards 17 jobs at the paper's headquarters in Liskeard,
:05:31. > :05:38.and the next edition will be back on sale on Sunday.
:05:39. > :05:43.Traditional holiday businesses say they're being affected by the growth
:05:44. > :05:46.of online sites such as Airbnb which allow people to let rooms
:05:47. > :05:50.Tourism leaders say although the good weather over
:05:51. > :05:52.Easter attracted plenty of visitors, there's concern there's now
:05:53. > :06:06.A good deal of sunshine and very little rain meant it was very
:06:07. > :06:08.pleasant for these visitors to Fistral Beach in Newquay.
:06:09. > :06:11.But even so, there's a feeling it hasn't been
:06:12. > :06:19.as busy as expected, or as usual.
:06:20. > :06:21.The feedback from the industry, certainly from hotels and holiday
:06:22. > :06:25.parks, it has been a good Easter, but I think there are some B
:06:26. > :06:27.and some other people who actually haven't seen the same level
:06:28. > :06:30.of business, so overall we are happy but we are not delighted.
:06:31. > :06:33.And he partly blames the online rental room service Airbnb.
:06:34. > :06:35.Airbnb have actually brought in a lot of new hosts in Cornwall.
:06:36. > :06:38.That is a lot of extra accommodation and I think in a way
:06:39. > :06:42.they are in danger of swamping the market for that type of product.
:06:43. > :06:44.So, we have tea and coffee making facilities.
:06:45. > :06:47.This guesthouse has done well but its owner says it's not
:06:48. > :06:50.Like many in the industry, he's concerned that some people
:06:51. > :06:57.doing Airbnb may not be aware of the rules and regulations.
:06:58. > :07:01.I mean, there is no doubt that Airbnb have got
:07:02. > :07:03.people talking about how the tourism industry works.
:07:04. > :07:06.But I think the tourist associations do need to play their part in making
:07:07. > :07:09.sure people are kept safe whilst they are enjoying their holidays
:07:10. > :07:11.because that is the biggest fear that we have, that standards
:07:12. > :07:14.are going to drop if organisations like Airbnb are going to be allowed
:07:15. > :07:24.to operate in the way they are operating at the moment.
:07:25. > :07:26.Cornwall's tourism organisation, Visit Cornwall, contacted Airbnb
:07:27. > :07:28.to suggest training for people wanting to rent out their rooms.
:07:29. > :07:32.In a statement, Airbnb says they are keen to work
:07:33. > :07:34.with Visit Cornwall to promote responsible home sharing and that
:07:35. > :07:37.Airbnb allows local families to share their homes and welcome
:07:38. > :07:46.Across the Tamar in Devon, we spoke with several
:07:47. > :07:52.Many have said that thanks to the school holidays
:07:53. > :07:55.being staggered this year they have been busier for a longer period
:07:56. > :07:59.We have had a really, really busy Easter.
:08:00. > :08:02.With the staggered school holidays, we have seen literally tens
:08:03. > :08:04.of thousands of people in the county, and at Crealy
:08:05. > :08:07.we have seen more families than ever before and we have
:08:08. > :08:11.It is always difficult when you have Easter so close to the bank
:08:12. > :08:13.holidays but we are very positive about bookings.
:08:14. > :08:16.I think people are looking longer-term and, of course,
:08:17. > :08:19.all the uncertainty in Europe, people are staying in the UK
:08:20. > :08:21.so that is great for us and we are very positive
:08:22. > :08:24.And tourism leaders across the region are hopeful that
:08:25. > :08:32.a bumper summer season is on the cards for the south-west.
:08:33. > :08:34.Well, let's see if the sunshine's likely to continue.
:08:35. > :08:53.Boss this time last year most of our reservoirs were close to 100% full
:08:54. > :08:58.but there are around 80-85% at the moment. There is not a great deal of
:08:59. > :09:03.rain in the forecast. More scenes like this, a picture taken by one of
:09:04. > :09:07.Isles of Scilly. Also in the North Isles of Scilly. Also in the North
:09:08. > :09:14.Cornwall coast into North Devon it has been a lovely day. The sun has
:09:15. > :09:23.set and the skies are continuing to be clear and cold air has moved over
:09:24. > :09:28.us tonight so it is cold enough for some frost. A cold start tomorrow,
:09:29. > :09:32.Perhaps a change overnight into Perhaps a change overnight into
:09:33. > :09:33.Thursday because a weather front is coming from the North producing a
:09:34. > :09:40.bit more cloud but still effectively bit more cloud but still effectively
:09:41. > :09:45.a dry story. Clear skies have caused the temperatures to drop and we
:09:46. > :09:53.could see the figures down as low as -1, -2 in a few places. We could see
:09:54. > :09:57.a sharp frost in some places tomorrow morning. Once it warms up
:09:58. > :10:04.tomorrow, temperatures will get back into double figures. A bit more
:10:05. > :10:08.cloud from the North later in the day into the evening and that will
:10:09. > :10:14.be across us on Thursday so it is not quite so fine, not as much
:10:15. > :10:19.sunshine, but still dry with temperatures between 12 and 14.
:10:20. > :10:23.Plenty of warmth across parts of Spain and Portugal. Fine weather
:10:24. > :10:27.through central Europe but the cold air is still across the north of
:10:28. > :10:32.Europe and some of that will gradually get dragged down across us
:10:33. > :10:39.as this area of high pressure stays to the west of Britain. This is as
:10:40. > :10:44.because into the weekend. Northerly winds mean relatively cool area.
:10:45. > :10:46.Despite being fine and dry, it could be a little bit warmer.
:10:47. > :10:50.That's all the news and weather from us tonight on this
:10:51. > :10:53.From all of us on the late team, goodnight.