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Richard Cottrell to contest Euro elections over Hinkley

Richard Cottrell, European MP for Bristol 1979 - 89, has announced his intention to stand in the elections to the European Parliament in June 2014. He will be standing as an independent 'Stop Hinkley Point' candidate, in protest at the building of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley, Somerset.

The insanity of placing another reactor at Hinkley Point must be stopped, for the safety of present and future generations. To that end, I propose to raise my personal standard at the European elections next June. I intend to dramatise the dangers and madness, by standing as a Stop Hinkley Point independent candidate with the stated aim of projecting this madness into the arena of European politics.

– Richard Cottrell
Councils to merge

Councils to merge management

West Somerset District Council and Taunton Deane Borough Council will merge management to save almost £2m a year. Credit: ITV News West Country

Two councils in Somerset are to merge management to save money.

At separate meetings tonight, West Somerset District Council based in Williton and Taunton Deane Borough Council voted in favour of the deal which will see savings of almost £2m a year.

Opponents fear it'll mean dozens of job cuts.

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Charlotte Leslie is "Backbencher of the Year"

Charlotte Leslie MP Credit: Fiona Hanson/PA Wire

Charlotte Leslie, MP for Bristol North West has been named "Backlbencher of the Year" in the annual Spectator Magazine "Parliamentarian of the Year Awards"

She was praised for her work over scandals at the Mid-Staffs Hospital and for her efforts to expose "cover-ups" over wrong-doings.

In particular she has called for the resignation of NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson who, she has said, presided over a regime of cover-ups and fear.

The Spectator citation read: "Charlotte Leslie took on the NHS establishment over the Francis Report when even the government was afraid to.

"She used FOI requests and every parliamentary device at her disposal to claim her scalp and showed the Tory party how its done."

Ms Leslie said: "I am humbled to receive this award and I am glad that this vital scrutiny of the NHS has been recognised.

"But the most important things is that the work goes on and I will continue to seek to expose wrongdoing in our NHS which is, in the vast majority of cases, magnificent but which has, over the years, sheltered those who have let it down and punished those who tried to do something about it."

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Faulty plumbing costs £2.5bn

Club owner said plumbing damage cost up to £400,000

In the South West 66% of people said they do not always expect their plumber to do a good job.

John Sutcliffe's sports club was left with a dangerous boiler and faulty heating after hiring a rogue plumber, his company had taken out a loan to cover the costs.

He said: "For the first quarter of 2011, our revenue suffered."

"The reinstallation costings of the wet system alone, would be approaching almost £100,000," he added, "the consequential losses were somewhere in the region of £250,000 to £400,000 to the club".

Faulty plumbing costs £2.5bn

Two thirds of South West expect plumber to do bad job

Faulty plumbing work is costing us more than £2.5 billion a year, according to a survey of home owners which reveals many do not use qualified plumbers, as they put price ahead of experience when hiring a plumber.

  • In the South West 66% of people said they do not always expect their plumber to do a good job
  • 12% said they would hire an unqualified plumber to undertake plumbing work
  • 29% said they don't check the professional credentials of the plumber they hire
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