mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. the duke and duchess of cambridge has released a new photograph of princess charlotte to mark her second birthday. the picture was taken by the duchess at their home in norfolk. the couple released a similar photograph of charlotte last year to celebrate her turning one. with all the sport, here's will perry at the bbc sport centre. it has been a tense and dramatic world golf title so far. mark selby injohn higgins are still battling it out at the crucible. there was a likejohn higgins was going to victory—mac, yesterday he had a big lead but today he reappeared rejuvenated. john higgins was now finding themselves in traps he was struggling to get out. he needed to hit the red here to escape the snooker, but he tried again and again. have you ever seen anything like that before. after some encouragement, finally a different outcome. before long mark selby had clawed his way back and turned the match around. john higgins looked like he needed a break. the evening saw no letup from th

mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. a new photograph of princess charlotte has been released by the duke and duchess of cambridge to mark her second birthday tomorrow. the picture of the toddler was taken earlier this month by her mother at their home on the sandringham estate in norfolk. the royal couple said they're "delighted" to share the photo to mark their daughter's special day. i'm back with the late news at 10.30 now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. hello, i'm will perry, with the latest from the bbc sport centre. only one place to start this bank holiday monday, and mark selby has shown real character to not only get back into his world snooker championship final againstjohn higgins, but now lead by 13—11. it has been a magnificent afternoon. at one point, john higgins yesterday was 10—4 up. he is now 13—11 down, so was 10—4 up. he is now 13—11 down, so be winning six of the seven sessions available on offer this afternoon. in the final ten years ago,john afternoon. in the f

mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. new photograph of princess charlotte has been released by the duke and duchess of cambridge to mark her second birthday tomorrow. the picture of the toddler was taken earlier this month by her mother at their home on the sandringham estate in norfolk. the royal couple said they're ‘delighted' to share the photo to mark their daughter's special day. time to hear about the weather prospects. for many of us not looking too bad, heading out and about on this bank on a monday. some sunshine, in one or two places in the north west turning warm indeed. parts of south—west scotland seeing temperatures of 21 degrees. further south, a swirl of cloud cover hefty showers breaking out. even the odd rumble of thunder. this will continue across central and southern england. maybe south wales, as the gate to the rest of the afternoon. elsewhere, not too many showers. ending the day with temperatures around the mid teens. this evening and tonight, showers tending to fade away, and tonight, showers

mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. now for our bbc one viewers in scotland, it's time for reporting scotland. in iraq, the battle for control of mosul grinds on, with iraqi forces gradually encircling the old city to try to remove fighters loyal to so—called islamic state. but seven months after nearby christian towns were liberated from the grip of is, their inhabitants still haven't returned. the area east of mosul known as the nineveh plains was once home to around 200,000 iraqi christians, but they fled when is arrived in 2014. many live in camps in kurdish controlled erbil. some have gone abroad. 0ur correspondent paul adams has been to the largest christian town, qaraqosh, once home to 50,000 people but which remains almost entirely empty. waiting to go home, the christians of qaraqosh came to erbil more than two and a half years ago. their lives are still on hold. we meet this couple at the door to the cramped two—room cabin, they have agreed to take us back to qaraqosh to see why it is so hard to return. th

mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. they might be vital for the economy, carrying five billion people every year to shop, work and study, yet bus services outside of london are in crisis, according to campaigners. councils across england and wales have cut their bus budgets by a third since 2010, affecting thousands of routes. and it's the young, the less well off and those living in small villages, towns and the countryside who are suffering the most. our transport correspondent richard westcott reports. time's running out for many of our buses. they carry three times more people than the trains but thousands of council—subsidised routes have gone in recent years. this is the 267 late—night service from bath to frome. it's one of the services that is facing cuts across the country, and in fact come september the funding for this service is going to run out completely. most of the passengers on this bus are young, like holly, who works lates in a restaurant. and josh, who goes to college in bath. they can't afford t

we can do a brilliant job in the west midlands going forward. looking at the problems faced in the area you are in charge of, the employment rate is 65% below the english average and the homeless rate is almost twice the national average. are you pledging to change those? will that be demonstrable?” wa nt to those? will that be demonstrable?” want to be judged those? will that be demonstrable?” want to bejudged on those? will that be demonstrable?” want to be judged on the things i promised. in our planet we were very clear, and this is a businesslike approach, you say what you are going to do and we have made targets of what we will achieve in the next few yea rs what we will achieve in the next few years and in the next three years i will bejudged on years and in the next three years i will be judged on that. years and in the next three years i will bejudged on that. we have been specific about the number of houses we will build. we have talked about thoseissues we will build. we have talked about those issues and i want a very early r

west midlands is all to play for. it's a very mixed picture but it doesn't underestimate the challenge facing the labour party. and in parts of the country we've had results that aren't as good as we would hope. what accounts for that, do you think?” good as we would hope. what accounts for that, do you think? i think there is a number of issues. firstly, when you look at where we are in the national opinion polls, labour has managed to hold its vote share reasonably well from 2013. what has happened is the ukip vote has collapsed and it has come in the main, gone to the conservatives, which has handed them a tranche of seats they lost four years ago. that has been part of the problem. we must also do a lot better. we have a general election on the 8th ofjune. we have five weeks to determine the future for the next five years for this country. i believe we now need to get on the ground, knock on doors, talking to people. reminding them labour values are fundamentally devalu es them labour values are fundamentally de

west midlands, tees valley, derbyshire, lancashire, south wales and glasgow. these were the places they used to weigh the labour vote, so certain were they of their heartland support. this map, from the guardian, shows the labour gains. and this one shows the tory gains — they are everywhere. so where does labour think they'll win the general election? campaign manager, andrew gwynne, joins me now from salford. nice of you to join us, andrew gwynne. based on what you have seen today, do you still believe you can win the general election? well, of course we fight elections to win because we are in this game to change britain for the better. so, before a single vote has been cast for the general election, of course we are fighting for every single labour vote in every part of the united kingdom that we will be contesting. do you believe you can win it on this result? of course, you have to believe in politics that you can win. i do believe that we can win if we get our message across, our policies across. if labour candidates, if labour party members hit the g

not least that west midlands metro mayor, a crucial battle ground area, the west midlands full stops in tate sees labour would have opened to have taken. quite a blow not do. interesting we will see the big party leaders in their broader region today trying to capitalise and boost their support. we must be careful with the local elections not to read too much into the general elections. people vote on local issues, voter turnout is different. but with that caveat, the broad general thrust of the results suggested the conservatives are and are doing very well indeed, labour less well. although a small bit of hope for the liberal democrats. they share up significantly from where opinion polls have been suggesting they are. different from you get. 146, six sees defended, hundred and 46 seats lost. not good for them. interesting the ukip effect because i was talking to rob board of the university of manchester yesterday who has charted the ukip performance, the ups and downs over several years. he said there is evidence that the ukip the boat has switched for the conservatives. maybe not

west midlands. she said she is going to strengthen our hand in the forthcoming brexit talks. jeremy corbyn is in the east midlands. he says his party is facing a challenge ona says his party is facing a challenge on a historic scale that says he can close the gap on the tories. tim barron is in south london. the liberal democrats say they would raising come tax by a penny in every pound to allow £6 billion of extra money to go towards the nhs and social care. the conservatives did well in the vote for the six new metropolitan mayos. the conservatives did well in the votes for six metropolitan area mayors and although former labour cabinet member andy burnham won greater manchester, his party also one in liverpool. the former retail sector boss andy street won a tight contest with labour for the west midlands area around birmingham. he says he hopes the government will continue to invest in the region. the good news is that in the deal between the west midlands and central government to set up the m

at this aerospace factory, she toured the floor with the new west midlands mayor. i am taking nothing for granted. i need support across the united kingdom to strengthen my hand, and only a vote for me and my team will ensure britain has the strong and stable leadership we need. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out onjune 8th. that is why she claims this contest could be close. after winning the west midlands first metro mayor contest yesterday, the conservatives are confident of turning this labour territory blue. in wolverhampton, a sense from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party has let itself down over the past few years. i am not very confident in the current leader. i have no confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in theresa may. jeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing. his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting leicester and the east midlands, mr corbyn conceded labour faced a huge challenge. of course i am disappointed with the election results on thursday. we're giving a message about how our economy and

mark easton, bbc news, the west midlands. in iraq, the battle for control of mosul grinds on, with iraqi forces gradually encircling the old city to try to remove fighters loyal to so—called islamic state. but seven months after nearby christian towns were liberated from the grip of is, their inhabitants still haven't returned. the area east of mosul known as the nineveh plains was once home to around 200,000 iraqi christians, but they fled when is arrived in 201a. many live in camps in kurdish controlled erbil. some have gone abroad. our correspondent paul adams has been to the largest christian town, qaraqosh, once home to 50,000 people but which remains almost entirely empty. waiting to go home, the christians of qaraqosh came to erbil more than two and a half years ago. their lives are still on hold. we meet this couple at the door to their cramped two—room cabin. they have agreed to take us back to qaraqosh to see why it's so hard to return. the area was liberated in october. isis have gone. but it's a ghost town. na

at this aerospace factory she toured the floor with the new west midlands mayor. i am taking nothing for granted. i need support across the united kingdom to strengthen my hand and only a vote for me and my team will ensure britain has the strong and stable leadership we need. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out onjune 8th. that is why she claims this contest could be close. after winning the west midlands first metro mayor contest yesterday, the conservatives are confident of turning this labour territory blue. in wolverhampton a sense from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party has let itself down over the past few years. i am not very confident in the current leader. i have no confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in theresa may. jeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing. his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting leicester and the east midlands, mr corbyn conceded labour faced a huge challenge. of course i am disappointed with the election results on thursday. we're giving a message about how our economy and s

of the west midlands. on 8 june, to elect the strong and stable leadership and conservative government working together in the west midlands and strong conservative leadership in government. >> richard? >> number 2. >> this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues, i will have further such meetings later today. >> in 2015 a group called the socialist campaign for labor victory, drove a plan to disband am i 5 for nuclear deterrence. my right honorable friend allowing anyone who has a plan to write or serve in her cabinet. >> i can tell that is a resounding no. can i commend my honorable friend who has a record of defending the country, he raised the point that the leader of the opposition has chosen just such a person. the plan to disband am i 5 and scrap nuclear deterrence was endorsed by the right honorable gentlemen and the shadow chancellor on a gain of a weekend and right honorable gentlemen refusing to say he would strike against terrorism and commit to nuclear deterrence and refusing to kee

andy street was the victor in a tight contest for mayor in the west midlands area. he says he hopes the government will continue to invest in that region. the good news is in the deal that was struck between the west midlands and central government we did get substantial new money. yes, we can make a good start with the money we have already got. another thing the mayor has got to do is championed this region and say this region is a brilliant case for central government continuing to invest in the west midlands. yes, i will be talking to the prime minister about that. labour's campaign coordinator, ian lavery, rejected the idea that mr burnham had snubbed the party's leader. jeremy beadle exactly what was expected of him. because andy was not there at that particular time, i am not sure why, but i have got to dispel this myth that there is a rift between andy burnham and jeremy corbyn because there is not. they are quite good friends and they served in the shadow cabinet right up served in the shadow cabinet right up until the time where he decided to seek nominati

of the west midlands. on 8 june, to elect the strong and stable leadership and conservative government working together in the west midlands and strong conservative leadership in government. >>

we need to take back control of the west midlands from london. we've been run directly by london politicians for a0 years, and they have let us down. people here voted against having a mayor, it's really clear from the campaign so far, they don't want an mayor at all still. the reason we're having one is the government says to have more money, we have to have one. we need a west midlands mayor as a champion and advocate, as a social entrepreneur, to deliver the self—made place. and as a consensus builder. that person's got to speak up for us in london, and around the world. and that person's also got to deal with the issues that can only be dealt with on a regional basis. to fight the cuts that we constantly get from westminster, and also to keep control and open up the secret combined authority.

the whole of the west midlands. on 8 june, to elect the strong and stable leadership and conservative government working together in the west midlands and strong conservative leadership in government. >> richard? > this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues, i will have further such meetings later today. >> in 2015 a group called the socialist campaign for labor victory, drove a plan to disband am i 5 for nuclear deterrence. my right honorable friend allowing... >> i can tell that is a resounding no. can i commend my honorable friend who has a record of defending the country, he raised the point that the leader of the opposition has chosen just such a person. the plan to disband am i 5 and scrap nuclear deterrence was endorsed by the right honorable gentlemen and the shadow chancellor on a gain of a weekend and right honorable gentlemen refusing to say he would strike against terrorism and commit to nuclear deterrence and refusing to keep control of our borders keeping our country safe. the right honora

the conservatives managed to win that west midlands metro mayor. she sees it as a strong statement and appealed for her hand to be strengthened in negotiations with the eu. jeremy corbyn is taking her on with the eu. jeremy corbyn is taking heron in with the eu. jeremy corbyn is taking her on in the same territory, because he has come to an area that isn‘t held by the labour party. he isn‘t held by the labour party. he is in isn‘t held by the labour party. he isina isn‘t held by the labour party. he is in a key conservative marginal in derby north, surrounding himself with a rural idyll, where he is going to be speaking to campaigners. his message to his supporters were that what labour needs to do now is keep calm and carry on campaigning. he paints himself as the outsider who will take on the establishment. he told his activists not to be too downbeat when you look at the opinion polls, because the gap between labour and the conservatives was not as big as some were predicting. in scotland, the first minister, nicola sturgeon, said the co

but the fact the tories have won in west midlands is striking. it may only be by three or 4000 votes, but you look at places like walsall which is pretty solidly labour, coventry, wolverhampton, they are doing well. that doesn't bode well for labour in june. we have heard all along that the conservatives are aware that theresa may seems to be the one figure that people like to see. so they are pushing her towards the front of the campaign. very much so. the party has been absent from this. it's all been about the reason may and her strong and stable leadership. my local team. it's rather presidential. it's not just the west midlands were the tories have done well it is also tees valley, places that are solidly labour and have been for years. although there is a blue tide, the labour party can point to successes in manchester and liverpool, they are making as big a deal as they possibly plausibly camp of their successes there. there is now addressing this up. the tories have done extremely well in areas that labour has traditionally been able to c

if you look elsewhere, in the west midlands, and the street the west midlands, and the street the conservative just managed to win. that was a close race. and third tees valley, the conservatives 1—dayer, and that wasn't much predicted. if you stand back from these mayoral contest, perhaps from these mayoral contest, perhaps from these cities in the north we will see a new kind of politics for the labour party and even for the conservatives, who knows. tony, thank you very much, as ever. tony, thank you very much, as ever. well, as we've heard, labour have suffered poor results in the elections. they have lost a number of key strongholds, including lancashire, derbyshire and bridgend. but they have taken two of the metro mayoral contests in manchester and liverpool, from where our deputy political editor, john pienaar, reports. are you fit to lead the labour party? he does not look happy, even a bit tense, defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take. and then, you would almost believe that labour was having a good day. almost. we have had some difficult results overnight.

let's speak with west midlands political reporter kathryn sta nczyszyn. midlands political reporter kathryn stanczyszyn. she is at a kuyt in stratford—upon—avon. —— count. what are the results to look out for? warwickshire has been controlled by the conservatives since 2013 but it isa the conservatives since 2013 but it is a minority administration and the tories say that they are very hopeful tonight of taking full control of warwickshire. 0f hopeful tonight of taking full control of warwickshire. of course, as you say, historic battleground between labour and the conservatives. in the north warwickshire constituency it has been hotly contested over the last two elections. it has been held by the conservatives since 2010 but was a labour stronghold before that. labour in warwickshire say they hope to gain on their 22 seats but we are not sure if that is wishful thinking more than anything else because the tories need only two more seats, they persuaded an independent candidate on the county council couple of months ago to come to the conservative

south wales, west midlands and parts of the west country up to 19 degrees. what about a big change into next week? not really. if it's rain you're after, you are going to have to wait. things are going to stay largely dry, certainly for the first half of the week. that's all from me. more later on. good afternoon. it is 2pm. welcome back to viewers on bbc two and the bbc news channel for our special live coverage of the local election results in england and wales and scotland. thousands of councillors being elected overnight and today, responsible for delivering your essential public services and all of this happening, unusually, during a general election campaign. that also has an impact. we'll have results as they're declared and we'll be getting

campaigning in the west midlands, she urged voters to give her a strong mandate to negotiate brexit. jeremy corbyn — who's been visiting the east midlands — says his party faces a huge challenge to win the general election. but he insisted the gap between labour and the tories isn't as great as the pundits have been saying. the liberal democrats say they would put a penny in the pound on income tax to go towards the nhs and social care. party leader tim farron said politicians needed to be honest about financing the health service. the ukip leader paul nuttall urges his supporters to "stay on the pitch" despite suffering heavy losses on thursday. he said voters would return if theresa may failed to deliver on brexit. the french authorities warn the media and the public not to spread documents hacked from the centrist candidate emmanuel macron‘s campaign team in the run—up to sunday's presidential election. three men appear in court charged with the murder of businessman, guy hedger, who was shot dead at his home near ringwood in dorset. all the sport now. hello and welcome to

the whole west midlands has been traditionally labour. the fact we think it is all to play for shows how far we have come in this campaign. you cannot run it entirely as a business but there are transferable skills and the most important thing is to build a team of leaders. this is about the group of people who would lead and i have shown an ability to bring people together and work as a team. the new mayor will oversee 28 parliamentary constituencies. 2 million residents vote for a mayor who will have a budget of 36.5 million a year, less than 1% of the turnover andy street presided over atjohn lewis. it is not conservative blue but labour read that appears to have the advantage in this region. labour have an active campaign based to mobilise. in this heavily brexit voting area, sion simon has come up with a slogan that sums up what he believes the mayor can do. he wants to keep the campaign locally focused. take back control, i have heard that before. i have made this argument for seven years. here being in charge of our destiny, runnin

brightness in north—west england and the west midlands to end the afternoon. eastern england prone to heavy possibly thundery showers. fewer showers in northern ireland compared with what we have seen so far. bright in southern scotland. lively bursts towards the south east. further north we will see the rain continue. light and patchy. it will move north through the first—half of the night. the showers will fade away. turning try and clearer from any for the start of sunday. across parts of scotland, temperatures dropping to three, four deg. a bright enough start to sunday morning. cloud thickening in northern ireland, producing patchy rain through the morning. that spreads to scotland in the afternoon. eastern scotland, northern ireland and north wales, cannot rule out an isolated shower. driver sunday afternoon. it will feel warmer. temperatures getting above 20 degrees for some. heavy rain into scotland and northern ireland for a monday. it spreads east, may be affecting parts of northern england. the further south and east you are, dry with sunny spells

after winning the west midlands first metro mayor contest yesterday, the conservatives are confident of turning this labour territory blue. and, in wolverhampton, a sense from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party has let itself down over the past few years, and i'm not very confident in the current leader. i've just got no real confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in theresa. butjeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing, and his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting leicester, in the east midlands, mr corbyn conceded labour faced a huge challenge. of course i'm disappointed in the election results on thursday, but we're out there giving a message about how our economy and society could be very different. and where is the ukip leader? after losing all 146 council seats it was defending this week, paul nuttall insisted the party's voters would return. ukip does have a great future. itjust has to stay on the pitch, hold its ground, and people will come back to us. the snp were the biggest winners in the scottish council elections, replaci

but north wales, the west midlands, north—west england, starting the day with some sunshine, and actually a relatively chilly start to the day here. a fine start for northern ireland and much of scotland, but some extra cloud across caithness and sutherland, fringing into parts of aberdeenshire, certainly across the northern isles, where there will be the odd spot of rain. much of northern england seeing fine weather, with some sunshine to start off the day. now, as we go through the day, there will be a lot of dry weather once again. some spells of sunshine, but we will see this very patchy, showery rain moving its way northwards, and then into the afternoon, the chance that we could spark off some really quite vicious downpours and thunderstorms. not everywhere, but if you catch one, well, you will know about it, a lot of rain in a short space of time. temperatures in the south up as high as 22, maybe 23 degrees. a little bit cooler, still, further north. but, as we go through thursday night into the early hours of friday, that humid air continues to trundle northwards. some hit—and�

that's more of wales and the west midlands. but the east midlands, east anglia, into parts of yorkshire, rather cloudy. maybe the odd spot of drizzle, but essentially it's dry. some rain in the northern isles. warm in the sunshine, cool with the cloud. warmer in south—east england. the breeze is less noticeable on the north sea coast. a bit more cloud into scotland as we go on through tuesday night into wednesday morning. but then for wednesday, we will start elsewhere clear and quite chilly. temperatures lower than this away from large cities and town centres. some areas will be close to freezing, as wednesday begins, so gardeners take note of the potential impact on delicate plants of this cold temperature. a sunny start on wednesday especially in england and wales. southern scotland and northern ireland seeing sunny spells. more cloud across the north of scotland, the further north you are in scotland, some outbreaks of rain around. but again, there's some warmth in the sunshine. warmer around the north sea coast compared

in wolverhampton aerospace factory she the floor with andy street, the new west midlands mayor. i'm taking nothing for granted in the next five weeks, i need support from across the united kingdom to centre my hand and only a vote for me and my team will ensure britain has the strong and stable leadership we need to ensure that we get the best deal for britain from brexit. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out onjune eight which is why she claims this contest could be close but after winning the west midland first metro mayor contest yesterday the tories are clearly confident of turning much of this labour dominated territory blue. and in wolverhampton ascends from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party have let themselves down a lot over the last few years. and i am not very confident in the current leader. i've just got no real confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in the theresa. jeremy corbyn! but jeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing and his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting best in the east midlands he conceded labo

but north wales, the west midlands, north—west england, starting the day with some sunshine, and actually a relatively chilly start to the day here. a fine start for northern ireland and much of scotland, but some extra cloud across caithness and sutherland, fringing into parts of aberdeenshire, certainly across the northern isles, where there will be the odd spot of rain. much of northern england seeing some fine weather, with some sunshine to start of the day. now, as we go through the day, there will be a lot of dry weather once again. some spells of sunshine, but we will see this very patchy, showery rain moving its way northwards, and then into the afternoon the chance that we could spark off some really quite vicious downpours and thunderstorms. not everywhere, but if you catch one, well, you will know about it, a lot of rain in a short space of time. temperatures in the south up as high as 22, maybe 23 degrees. a little bit cooler, still, further north. but, as we go through thursday night into the early hours of friday, that humid air continues to trundle northwards. some hit—an

we must stop that by winning support here in the east midlands and in the west midlands and across the whole of the united kingdom. we must also expose the nonsensical policies that jeremy corbyn and the labour party are putting forward in this election campaign, because they simply do not add up. we know labour would wreck the economy and that would render all of their promises totally undeliverable. now, by contrast, would we are doing is taking positive, credible deliverable promises out to voters. cobb policies like capping energy prices to support working families. protecting workers pensions against irresponsible bosses. bringing in mental health laws to end injustice. that is the positive message that will be taking out over the next 29 days, out into the community is out onto the streets. it is a positive message and what i say to people is that it message and what i say to people is thatitis message and what i say to people is that it is not about how people have voted before, this election is about who people want to lead our country for the next five years. this election is

here in the west midlands people now have a strong local champion in the new mayor, andy street. the question people now face in the general election is, who should lead the country for the next five years, me orjeremy corbyn? not a single vote has been passed in the election yet. none of the votes cast yesterday will count in the general election on the 8th ofjune in the minds of european politicians, there is not a mandate to take into the brexit negotiations. i'm taking nothing for granted in the next five weeks. i need support across the ice ‘s kingdom to strengthen my hand for the only vote for me and my team will ensure britain has the strongest leadership we need in order to ensure we get the best deal for britain from brexit. on wednesday you clearly implied there was some in brussels who are trying to meddle in this election. what evidence do you have of that? we saw a number of statements coming out from brussels. what people have seen over the last week is that these negotiations are going to be tough at times. that means they need strong and stable leadership here i

one of the most hotly contested battlefields during general elections is the west midlands — with its clusters of marginal seats which have a habit of swinging back and forth between labour and the conservatives. and this one is no exception. a succession of senior politicians have already beaten a path to the region's doorsteps as our west midlands political editor patrick burns reports. where once they built spitfire fighters in erdington, they now make jaguar cars. one reason why the midlands is the only uk region running a trade surplus with china. but if having a prize business asset like that on its doorstep really does much for erdington itself, well, there is precious little evidence of it here in and around the high street. it is one of the most deprived constituencies in britain, 63% of the electorate here have voted leave in the referendum. and for many voters here there is no doubt about the number one issue now. brexit, it is what happens now. now we know that it is actually going to go ahead and we have got a date. well, i think we should have more say in our government.

at this aerospace factory she toured the floor with the new west midlands mayor. yellow i am taking nothing for granted. i need support across the united kingdom to strengthen my hand foot of only a vote for me and my team will ensure britain has a strong and stable leadership we need. theresa may needs tory voters to turn out on june eight. that is why she claims this contest could be close. after winning the first metro mayor contest yesterday, the conservatives are confident of turning this labour territory blue. in wolverhampton ascents from some of allegiances shifting. the labour party has let itself down over the past few years. iam not itself down over the past few years. i am not very confident in the current leader. i have no confidence in labourat the current leader. i have no confidence in labour at the moment. more confidence in two recent me. jeremy corbyn did not seem down after yesterday's drubbing. his supporters are as fired up as ever. visiting leicester and the east midlands, mr corbyn conceded labour faced a huge challenge. of course i am disa

six areas of england will elect new metro mayors — greater manchester, liverpool, the west midlands, tees valley, the west of england and cambridge and peterborough. they'll mostly be responsible for economic development. doncaster and north tyneside are also voting for local authority mayors. local elections won't necessarily tell us much about how people might vote in a national contest, but as the results come in on friday, party leaders will seize on anything that suggests they have momentum heading into the general election on the 8thjune. thank you very much, again. looking forward to the local elections tomorrow. it's the most prominent arts prize in britain and for years it's been the preserve of young british artists. but this year, for the first time since 1991, the turner prize has scrapped the age limit and two artists over 50 have made it to the shortlist. our arts correspondent, david sillito, has been speaking to one of them. you certainly didn't expect this? no, not at all. not at all. not at all! i mean, it does make me laugh. it's been a strange day for lubaina himi

midlands as well. further east, further north, dry and bright and sunny for the most part. a lot of fine, dry weather and turning increasingly warm. good morning, you are watching bbc breakfast. at least 19 people have been killed and more than 50 others injured, in what police are treating as a terror attack at a concert here in the centre of manchester. crowds fled in panic from the manchester arena, after an explosion at the end of a performance by the singer ariana grande late last night. a loud bang was heard, and witnesses reported the smell of burning. screaming, shouting, just people... mad, chaotic rush to the nearest exit. suddenly, like, something really

it's not just the west midlands were the tories have done well it is also tees valley, places that are solidly labour and have been for years. although there is a blue tide, the labour party can point to successes in manchester and liverpool, they are making as big a deal as they possibly plausibly camp of their successes there. there is now addressing this up. the tories have done extremely well in areas that labour has traditionally been able to count on. the times front page says may cause the landslide, heavy losses for labour and ukip. —— theresa may on course for landslide. we mustn't extrapolate but one is round the corner and we do it anyway. let's do it. what can you safely conclude? one can safely conclude that she's going to win in june. that is fairly obvious. sticking your neck out here. personally, i'm sticking my neck out, i don't think it will be the 140 or 160 margin some people are saying. i think it's more likely to be around 80 or 70. actually, if you extrapolate out the local election results, they did slightly less well in the local election results than some

greater manchester, liverpool, the west midlands, tees valley, west of england, cambridge and peter brock. they will mostly be responsible economic development. doncaster and north tyneside are also voting for local authority mayors. local elections were necessarily tell us much about how people might vote in a national contest, but as the results come in on friday party leaders will move on anything that suggests they have momentum heading into the general election onjune the eighth. just time to tell you that the royal mint has confirmed some new £1 coins will enter circulation. it says such variants were always likely due to the volume of queens being made at speed. lots more on our website. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: juventus on the verge of the champions league final after a 2—0 victory away to monaco in their semi—final first leg. bertrand traore scores twice for ajax, as they win their europa league semi—final first leg 4—1 against lyon. and illie nastase won't be

eastern side of wales, the west midlands and down into the south—west of england that we may well see some really violent thunderstorms as, as i say, with a bit of sunshine you could add four or five degrees to some of the temperatures through cardiff and over towards london. three evening, we will find a migration of the thunderstorms if they do break out ever further towards the east, all the while still the danger of something coming out of france pushing north on the breeze. the cloud and rain is there to be had all the while across the north of scotland. even as we start tuesday. for a time we are between two weather systems. still as i say a lot of cloud hanging on across the north of scotland and murky conditions and then as we get on into the day the weather front will push through northern ireland and bring rain into scotland and arc its way through the north and west of england and down into wales. it will ta ke england and down into wales. it will take an age before it gets right down into the far south—eastern corner. and then once that is away, pressure builds and wedne

we are in the west midlands. the prime minister has been at a primary school in birmingham where she was talking to simulate three pupils who are about eight years old. —— talking to some year three pupils. this is one of the first free schools in the country. interestingly, the seat where that primary school is has a huge labour majority, more than 20,000. that says something about the prime minister's ambitions for this general election. we are off for another visit to the west midlands elsewhere. i thought i would let you know about life on this bus. at the back, you can see the blue screens. surprisingly enough, theresa may is behind those screens. with her chief aides. she has her security and her advisers and then you get towards the front where you get the rest of the front where you get the rest of the media. a lovely spread for lunch. tis, copies. —— tea and coffee. this bus will be following every m ove coffee. this bus will be following every move the prime minister makes. i can't promise to br

the contest in west midlands is particularly interesting. west midlands is a labor voting area but the conservative lewis managinghn director has been running a high-profile campaign with the backing of theresa may. suggestions are that he must just he much -- he just might swing through matt: those have been moving to use yesterday. these are the local elections. how will the conservatives do and to what extent can they extrapolate from local international? >> analysis tends to indicate they are going to make gains. they will gain hundreds of seats in the local councils. there are more than 2000 seats up for election. the question is whether it is going to be 100, a good results, 400, as some people have suggested which would be a fantastic result for theresa may. it is difficult to extrapolate this because people are not always voting about brexit or scottish independence. they may be voting about parking restrictions or school around the corner. we can see the general direction of travel from tomorrow's results. the editor a buckle. >> bl

midlands as well. some of it sitting very low across the moors in the south—west in the western hills of wales. further east, further north, dry and bright and sunny for the most part. you still have the weather front close to the northern isles. cloud and the odd shower passing through the central belt of scotland. not a great deal changes very rapidly through the day. it stays fairly cloudy in the southern counties of both england and wales. the cloud knowing ever eastwards. a lot of fine weather in the midlands, northern england, the central part of scotla nd northern england, the central part of scotland as well. more cloud for northern ireland later on. eventually, the weather front thickening the cloud in the west of scotland. if you are heading to chelsea and the next few days, you have certainly picked a good year, because look at this! fine and settled fare all the way, thanks to the high pressure. on wednesday it will certainly have risen up, influencing much more of the british isles for t

midlands will have rain and parts of wales, and parts south west. it will hold up for most places but in the north of scotland will see a touch of frost. it will be a lovely day across of frost. it will be a lovely day a cross m ost of frost. it will be a lovely day across most of scotland, a bit of low cloud on the north coast. it isn't a in the northern ireland to, and ina isn't a in the northern ireland to, and in a bit of cloud in england and wales. a bit of rain in the south wales, the southeast should be brighter. 11 or 12 degrees on the north sea coast, and i'm upper teens in the north—west. sunday is a quiet day, light winds on the north sea coast but grey and cool. in the west, it is a decent day. 18 celsius forecast in belfast. this is bbc world news. i'm kasia madera. our top story... dramatic gains for the conservative party in local elections here in the uk. with just five weeks to go until the snap general election, the party and the prime minister are trying to avoid looking complacent. iam not i am not taking anything for granted.

of the midlands and into the west of the midlands and into the west country and central and southern england. with a bit of sunshine you could add 45 degrees to the temperatures across the southern counties and towards east anglia but through the evening with the sunshine, the storms could drift further towards the east, and all the while notice the cloud and rain is sitting there across scotland. overnight, much of that weather, but not all will move into the north sea to allow the next set of fronts to line up to the western side and northern parts of the british isles for tuesday. quite windy there, maybe gales on the western side of scotla nd maybe gales on the western side of scotland and the rain comes through northern ireland quickly and then across northern and western parts of the british isles. the tail end not producing a lot of rain towards the south where it will eventually get a shower and a thickening of the crowd —— cloud, but that is pretty much it. more details on the bbc website. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. the headlines... japan protests as north korea fi

campaigning in the west midlands, she urged voters to give her a strong mandate to negotiate brexit. labour are pledging not to raise council tax dashing contacts for those earning more than £80,000 a year. the liberal democrats say they would put a penny in the pound on income tax to go towards the nhs and social care. party leader tim farron said politicians needed to be honest about financing the health service. the ukip leader paul nuttall urges his supporters to "stay on the pitch" despite suffering heavy losses on thursday. he said voters would return if theresa may failed to deliver on brexit. the french authorities warn the media and the public not to spread documents hacked from the centrist candidate emmanuel macron‘s campaign team in the run—up to sunday's presidential election. at least 80 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by islamist militant group boko haram in nigeria more than three years ago — have been freed. a government official said their release followed negotiations with their captors. a has—been actor best known for playing an actor in the 80s is called

midlands we might see some really violent thunderstorms and with a bit of sunshine you can maybe add four or 5 degrees to some of the temperatures and over towards the london area. through the evening we will find a migration of the thunderstorms and that could be further east and all the while there is the danger of something coming out of france and the cloud and rain is there to be had all the while across the north of scotland, even as we start tuesday. for a time you we re as we start tuesday. for a time you were betwixt and between the weather systems but still a lot of cloud hanging on across the north of scotla nd hanging on across the north of scotland and pretty murky conditions. as we go into the day. we will push the weather front through northern ireland and that will bring rain into scotland and it will bring rain into scotland and it will arc its way through the north of england and into wales but it will take an age before it gets into the far south—eastern corner and once that is away, pressure will build and wednesday looks like a glorious day with some very pleas

that's more of wales and the west midlands. parts of yorkshire, rather cloudy. maybe the odd spot of drizzle once again. essentially dry. some rain in the northern isles. cold with the cloud. warmer in south—east england. the breeze is less noticeable on the north sea coast. a bit more cloud into scotland through tuesday night into wednesday morning. wednesday, starting elsewhere clear and quite chilly. temperatures lower than this away from large cities and town centres. gardeners take note of the potential impact on delicate plants of this cold temperature. a sunny start on wednesday especially in england and wales. southern scotland and northern ireland seeing sunny spells. more cloud the further north you are in scotland. some outbreaks of rain around. some warmth in the sunshine again. warmer around the north sea coast compared with recent days. on thursday, most places staying dry. variable cloud and sunny spells. cloud building in the south of the uk. we begin to get showers and outbreaks of rain. that will lift north in friday and saturday. not a washo

campaigning in the west midlands, she urged voters to give her a strong mandate to negotiate brexit. jeremy corbyn — who's been visiting the east midlands — says his party faces a huge challenge to win the general election. but he insisted the gap between labour and the tories isn't as great as the pundits have been saying. the liberal democrats say they would put a penny in the pound on income tax to go towards the nhs and social care. party leader tim farron said politicians needed to be honest about financing the health service. the ukip leader paul nuttall urges his supporters to "stay on the pitch" despite suffering heavy losses on thursday. he said voters would return if theresa may failed to deliver on brexit. the french authorities warn the media and the public not to spread documents hacked from the centrist candidate emmanuel macron‘s campaign team in the run—up to sunday's presidential election. three men appear in court charged with the murder of businessman, guy hedger, who was shot dead at his home near ringwood in dorset. now on bbc news it's time for the trave