20/06/2012 Daily Politics


20/06/2012

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Good morning. This is the Daily Politics. Today's top story:

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European leaders meeting in Mexico agree new plans to shore up the

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eurozone, including using the bailout funds to buy-up government

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bonds. But is Angela Merkel fully signed up? David Cameron picks a

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fight with the Argentine president over the Falkland Islands, telling

:01:02.:01:05.

Cristina Fernandez at the G20 she should respect the wishes of

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Falkland Islanders. Back home, Vince Cable gets ready to unveil

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his plans to curb executive pay but will a shareholder vote every three

:01:14.:01:19.

years really end what the PM described as crony capitalism?

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how much is enough? We'll hear from the economist, Lord Skidelsky, on

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how Britain has become a nation obsessed with consumption. We are

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invited to discover our souls in shopping. More stuff does not make

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us any happier. He said sipping wine from a silver goblet. All that

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to come before 1pm and, of course, Prime Minister's Questions at Noon

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today, starring William Hague and Harriet Harman, since Mr Cameron is

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in Mexico for the G20 meeting. That is over but he has gone to me the

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Mexican President, and also the richest man in the world. And we've

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been joined for the whole programme by the International Development

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Minister, Alan Duncan, and the Shadow Leader of the House, Angela

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Eagle. She has very carefully chosen her jacket to colour co-

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ordinate with my tie. Welcome to you both. We'll come to the big

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issue of the eurozone in just a moment. First, let's take a look at

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the other overnight story coming out of the G20 meeting. David

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Cameron's confrontation with the Argentinian President over the

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Falklands Islands. Yes, last night the Prime Minister told Cristina

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Fernandez de Kirchner that her country should respect the views of

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Falkland Islanders, who will vote in a referendum on the issue of who

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should control the islands next year. I wanted to make absolutely

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clear here, at the G20, to the Argentine President, that the

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people of the Falkland Islands have decided to hold a referendum about

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their future. If she believes in democracy, she should respect the

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outcome of that referendum. It was important to make that point and a

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made it with some vigour. David Cameron speaking after his

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discussion with the Argentinian President, Cristina Fernandez de

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Kirchner. The Prime Minister is making a very straightforward

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statement of principle. It was not his confrontation with her, it was

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her confrontation with him. Trying to thrust a letter into his hand

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while being filmed by a member of staff. He did not seek her out?

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Downing Street is saying he did. The Prime Minister has made a

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principled statement. It is the view we have held since the

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island's were invaded 30 years ago. We are commemorating that this

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month. In international law, the Prime Minister is 100% right. Her

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antics, which are trying to detract attention from domestic problems,

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are getting a bit out of hand. Labour policy is bipartisan on

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this? I do not know who did the media stunt. We were invaded 30

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years ago. It is a very important principle. Let me finish my

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sentence. Sovereignty is important. Self-determination is important. We

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will see what happens with the referendum next year. David Cameron

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is not speaking to the Argentinians about the Falklands. The

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Argentinians are refusing to talk to the Falkland Islanders. Wouldn't

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it be helpful if somebody talk to somebody? Always better to talk

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than resort to other issues. Jaw- jaw, better than war-war. Let's

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wait until we have the referendum. The views of the people that live

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in the Falklands will be tested. It will be plain for all to see.

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is there to talk about? Is it the policy of the Labour Party that the

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islanders can determine their own future? Of course it is. Let's see

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what they say in the referendum. The islands belong to the Falklands.

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We will not negotiate on a share off the boil. Of that is down to

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the Falkland Islanders. -- that is down. We're being very careful in

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following what Argentina is doing. This is mostly the sounding off of

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President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. We do not want to be

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provocative. We want to state the principle it is up to the islanders.

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There are facts. The Argentine economy is in a mess. It is

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interesting for the eurozone. It has never really recovered from the

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time in defaulted. That is not allowed him to international

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borrowing markets again. It is in a mess. Its military is apparently

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the same as it was in 1982. They have had no money to upgrade it.

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There does seem evidence the sabre- rattling from when Sarah's is to

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cover for this. -- Buenos Aires. Let's not be complacent about the

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mess here. You have these lines tripping off your tongue. Last time

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you work on the show, you told me they would not have a double dip.

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Net sort out the mess at home. Remember who created the mess!

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that case, I have to throw my hands up. Always blame the man in the

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pink tie. This afternoon, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable,

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will announce his plans for controlling the pay of Britain's

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most senior business people. After months of consultation, Mr Cable

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has decided on three measures which he hopes will go some way to

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limiting executive pay. His plans include forcing companies to have

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binding votes on executive pay every three years. Companies will

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then have to stick to their pay plans for the next three years or

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hold another shareholder vote. They will also have to publish a simple

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figure every year showing how much executives have been paid. And they

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will have to say how much an executive will be paid if they are

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sacked or quit. At the moment, shareholders vote every year on

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executive pay packages, but the result isn't binding. In January,

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David Cameron said shareholders and customers are being ripped off by

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the excessive growth in payment unrelated to success. Will the

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measures stop the crony capitalism that David Cameron talked about?

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is very important. We have seen a new sort of Army of people called

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management, who are getting extremely well paid, but not for

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taking a particular risk. Those who do take the risk - shareholders -

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have become divorced from management. I think you need to

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take a longer term view. A three- year horizon is a big step forward.

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That was not what Vince Cable intended to do. Has somebody got to

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him and watered the proposals down? He clearly said to the House of

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Commons there would be an annual binding vote on future pay policy

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and he wanted to increase the bar at which any future pay packages

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were endorsed to 75% and may have both gone. I think a three-year

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horizon is better. A lot of people are getting rewarded for short-term

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share increases. They should be rewarded for a much longer term

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improvement in the fortunes of companies. A three-year package is

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much better than a one-year package, where a manager can just organise

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its he has a share increased, do a takeover, get some money and then

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go. Vince Cable said he would get 75%. To think they have been

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watered down to some extent because people like you and your colleagues

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think it is better? I am not aware of such discussions. For someone

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with a commercial background, I think it is sensible step forward

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for reconnecting shareholder voting power with the decisions on

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remuneration for senior managers. This will do and go some way in

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trying to correct what David Cameron sees as excessive pay

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unrelated to success. It is an embarrassing climbdown. The

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Government stands up for the wrong people. It is standing up for

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shareholders. In the week after, it became clear that last year

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managers got an increase of 12% in their pay, taking it and average of

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nearly 5 million a year in the FT- SE 100, while everyone else had

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stagnating pay levels. The economy was not doing fantastically. It is

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not the time to water down what the Government announced it was going

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to do. That is what Vince Cable appears to be doing. What they

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should be doing is having an employee on a report. They should

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be publishing ratios of pay from the average to the highest for

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every company. They should also check and require fund managers to

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publish how they vote on executive remuneration packages. What is

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wrong with having workers on these remuneration boards and having a

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:11:25.:11:25.

ratio between lowest and highest payers? You do not think I would be

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good for the corporate health of the country! What I am saying is

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introducing politics for political purposes... It is not a question of

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politics. How would it improve the corporate nature? It is important

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to see what the value of businesses are and how they treat the work

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force by looking at these ratios. It is an indication and it makes

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the point that businesses do not perform in a vacuum. Here are part

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of society. They should behave in a way that looks after all of the

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staff and not pay excessive increases, which takes no account

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of the wages squeeze and the real hardship a pupil and the society

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are suffering at the moment. -- that people and society is

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suffering from at the moment. companies may have a few employees

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who are paid a lot because they're very technically proficient people.

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Another sort of company might employ a lot of people, let save to

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ring road works, which is an Army of lower-paid people. -- let's say,

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doing road works. It should be up to them to explain that but the

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information should be out there. I have big news. Ministers will not

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attend the England quarter-final match against Italy in Kiev. They

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said there is still selective justice in the Ukraine. If they

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make it to the semi-finals, in Walsall, ministers will attend. No

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decision has been taken on the final, which is in the Ukraine.

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It's almost lunchtime and the news from Athens is that a government

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will be formed imminently. Which means, that by tea time, it will

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probably have collapsed! Nevertheless, world leaders, who

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have been gathering at one of their regular G20 beachside pow-wows,

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have apparently come up with yet another scheme to rescue countries

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in peril. The details will apparently be fleshed out at the EU

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summit next week. Nothing concrete was agreed in Mexico. So, what do

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we know? Spare a thought for those poor G20 leaders having to drag

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themselves away from the beach in Mexico and back to their respective

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countries. But have they actually achieved anything? For the first

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time, Angela Merkel has indicated that Germany may be prepared to

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allow the eurozone's bailout funds of around �600 billion to start

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buying the debt of the weaker eurozone members. It is hoped such

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a move would help to push down the borrowing costs of countries like

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Span and Italy. Steps are also being made towards a banking union

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within the eurozone, which could mean an EU-wide deposit guarantee

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scheme and a rescue fund for banks that get into difficulty. David

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Cameron said he believed there was important progress towards a

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solution to the eurozone crisis, although European leaders have said

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there will be nothing concrete until the EU summit at the end of

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the month. It has not been all smiles however. When referring to

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the new French government's plan to increase income tax for high

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France's European Affairs Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, dismissed the

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comments as misplaced British We've been joined by the new French

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Socialist MP for London and Northern Europe, Axelle Lemaire.

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Welcome back to the programme. Thank you.

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Now, all these reports were coming overnight that the eurozone

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countries in mex -- and Mexico seem to have agreed that that bail out

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funds could be used to buy Spanish and it Italian foreign debt, but I

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have looked to find where this agreement could be. I can't see

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anybody saying that, particularly Mrs Merkel? Well, the fact that

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they mentioned the bail out and link it to the Spanish debt problem

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is an improvement in itself. I think there is another source of

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agreement in the fact that they make reference to final communique.

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Make reference to growth enhancing measures. What does that mean?

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means that States at a domestic level, but probably at European

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level, will try to implement measures, and invest money in some

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identified sectors such as new technologies, inhe vation, where --

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innovation, where is there a potential to create growth and jobs.

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Mrs Merkel didn't even give a press conference before she left Mexico?

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She didn't need to because they agreed on a press communique.

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No, everyone gave a press conference. I think she didn't

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because she didn't want to be asked questions. The wires out of Germany

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are full of stories of the German Government playing down the idea

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that bail out funds could be used to buy sovereign debt? It is

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mentioned in the communique. No. No, it is not actually. The communique

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simply talks about ways to reduce the cost of sovereign debt. It

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doesn't mention using bail out funds to buy it? Your president

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wants it, doesn't he? Of course. And what I have heard about the the

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summit is that - it was harmonious, more than six months ago which

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shows that there is real improvement and they are all keen

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to come to a result. Last time you got rid of the Greek

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and the Italian governments? teams, the French and German teams

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are clearly discussing together ahead of the European summit and

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that's when things will be decided. Your president is going - he is on

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the way to increasing, it increase the top rate of tax to 75%. He has

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increased minimum wage. He is going to have new rules to stop stop

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factory closures. Is that the pro growth measure that would encourage

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businesses to invest in France? thing about the dividend tax. You

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talk about tax. We talk about growth. Why is that? Because the

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idea is to create an incentive for companies to reinvest their profits

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into investments so into the creation of new values instead of

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distributing the money to shareholders. Last year only, in

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France, 45 billion euros were paid to shareholders from CAC-40

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companies. That money could have been used in the investment

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products. If you were a shareholder, why

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would you invest if you you don't get a dividend? These in the long-

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term, these companies are likely to make bigger profits.

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Don't you want shareholders to get dividends and spend it? If you take

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them away, they won't spend it? is an opportunity to promote small

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and medium sized companies. It is a question of a long-term economic

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strategy. It is not about creating a tax haven.

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Does the British Government have a position on whether the bail out

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funds, one of which doesn't exist yet, which is the ESM, the other

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one does which is the EFSF. Does the British Government think these

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funds should be used to buy sovereign debt of Spain and et and

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Italy. I don't know. I don't know what has

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come the of the summit. The big picture is these decisions which

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look as as though they will be taken in France are unlikely to

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make France more attractive and and competitive. A a lot of investors

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can invest in UK companies instead of French ones if they are not

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going to get a dividend. A a lot of people will look elsewhere if

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France does this. A rich-hunt is unlikely to lead to the growth that

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President Hollande claimed? It does not seem to be lead to go growth

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here. The floor is is yours! reminds me of Mr Sarkozy's.

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We have had encouraging employment figures today. That's good news.

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The claimant count went up. The point that we have to keep on

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making. There is no quick fix. You can't pay off a mortgage with a

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mortgage. One of the advantages in the UK is very, very low interest

:20:42.:20:47.

rates. If we were to go the Ed Balls route and take out a bigger

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mortgage to pay off the mortgage, interest rates would go up. That

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would kill growth. There is long, slow, hard escape from the legacy

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we have inherited. You need a more balanced plan. This Government has

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driven us back into double dip recession. Only Italy and the UK

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are in a double dip recession. The plan we have got in this country is

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not working. We need a more balanced plan. We need a plan for

:21:17.:21:22.

jobs and growth. We need to invest in infrastructure, to kick start

:21:22.:21:26.

the economy and to create more jobs. Does Labour have a position on

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whether the bail out funds should be used to buy sovereign debt?

:21:30.:21:35.

it is for the eurozone to decide. I know that. I know that. It is yes

:21:35.:21:40.

or no? However, we think that the European Central Bank should be the

:21:40.:21:44.

lender of last resort. They have to have a mechanism for dealing with

:21:44.:21:49.

the problems that there are sheltering these countries.

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The ECB bought over 200 billion of sovereign debt last year. I will

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ask you one more time and it is yes or no, does Labour have a position

:21:56.:21:59.

on it? The minister has been on, he says he doesn't know. Does Labour

:21:59.:22:03.

have a position or not? We haven't got a position because we haven't

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seen what they are suggesting, but what we were saying earlier is that

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they have to have a lender of last resort. It has to be... No, you

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said that that twice. How do you feel about Mr Cameron

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touting for rich rich French folk come to go live in London? Either

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you try to help the rich or you try to create a friendly economic

:22:27.:22:31.

environment for businesses which is what they want to do in France.

:22:31.:22:37.

Would you advice the British Labour Party to go for a top rate of tax

:22:37.:22:41.

of 75%? I won't advice the Labour Party.

:22:41.:22:46.

They need all the help they can get? I will not comment on what UK

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does and I hope that's what British, that's what British politicians

:22:49.:22:54.

think. First of all, you want people to

:22:54.:22:58.

invest. You want people to start-up new businesses. But if they do

:22:59.:23:04.

really well, you will take away 75% of their income. You are mixing two

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issues here. There is the 75% rate concerning 3,000 individuals on one

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side and the whole pack of tax measures concerning companies which

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are very, which are very bald and likely to create growth. So it is

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two different issues. How much do you think taxing 3,000 individuals

:23:28.:23:32.

at 75% will raise? Probably not very much. What's the point in

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doing it then? It is symbolic. Happens if they come here?

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report was launched this morning in France. 20% of the French

:23:44.:23:49.

population, a fifth of the French population owns more than three-

:23:49.:23:54.

quarters of French properties, French values, French... There is a

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disproportion in how the wealth is owned and distributed. Unlike this

:24:03.:24:06.

country you have a wealth tax so it has not worked? Well, no, because

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it was cracked by Mr Sarkozy. The distributional figures were the

:24:12.:24:16.

same before he did that. I would suggest what will happen is that

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nobody will now pay themselves more than one million euros. It is a

:24:21.:24:27.

marginal rate. But nobody will pay themselves, why would you? It is on

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revenues only. What it means is that people will have - that rich

:24:32.:24:37.

bunch which spend a lot of money in France, will have less money to

:24:37.:24:42.

spend and that will inhibit your growth as well? Well, I think it is

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a pure cliche to think that when the 3,000 rich people spend money.

:24:47.:24:51.

This is likely to have the the economic effect of a entire

:24:51.:24:59.

community. When I say it is symbolic. London is a good example.

:24:59.:25:05.

If you can redistribute money to people who aren't as rich as that,

:25:05.:25:09.

they tend to spend it in the economy, but people who are very

:25:09.:25:13.

rich save it. Why don't we have a 75% tax then

:25:13.:25:19.

for the very rich? Are you in favour of a 75% rich tax? You will

:25:19.:25:23.

see what our manifesto says when we get to the election. I am not going

:25:23.:25:30.

to write it here. We have to have economies that are

:25:30.:25:34.

fairer. We have to get the right balance between rewarding - we have

:25:34.:25:39.

to get the right balance between rewarding success and ensuring that

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you don't. Are you for or against it? I am not

:25:42.:25:47.

going to make our tax policy in this programme much as you would

:25:47.:25:53.

like me to, Andrew. I am just looking for an opinion.

:25:53.:25:57.

Are you enjoying being a French Socialist member of the assembly?

:25:57.:26:01.

Very much. Until she came on to your programme.

:26:02.:26:11.

We love having her. I was in Paris yesterday, hence my pin. I received

:26:11.:26:15.

my Republican scar of. -- scarf.

:26:16.:26:20.

You should have wore it today. You are our line into the French

:26:20.:26:23.

national Assembly. Thank you.

:26:23.:26:26.

Andrew, have you noticed more French people coming over? I am

:26:26.:26:32.

going over to Paris in a few weeks time. I am going to help the

:26:32.:26:40.

economy. PMQs shorts shortly. We will be treated to Harriet mar man

:26:40.:26:49.

taking on -- Harman taking on William Hague. The PM went or the

:26:49.:26:54.

summit. He has a number of meetings and maybe he will find to have fun

:26:54.:26:58.

recharge his batteries. You will not see pictures of him on the

:26:58.:27:03.

beach. If he does get a moment to chillax, there is one thing we hope

:27:03.:27:08.

the PM did pack and that's the only way to drink his coffee, the Daily

:27:08.:27:14.

Politics mug! It is a perfect way for hiding a cocktail in the sun!

:27:14.:27:20.

If you want to your hands on one of these mugs, you can do so, but you

:27:20.:27:26.

have got to win the Guess the Year competition.

:27:26.:27:31.

Stop giving away our secrets! See if you can remember when this

:27:31.:27:41.
:27:41.:27:44.

From stepping in the Baltic. The Iron Curtain has descend across the

:27:44.:27:54.
:27:54.:27:57.

Continent. Next in importance was the

:27:57.:28:07.
:28:07.:28:13.

After 40 years of Japanese domination, Korea makes a start on

:28:13.:28:20.

the road back to national independence. All japs have got the

:28:20.:28:27.

order to clear out. Britain's hospitality to the 2,000

:28:27.:28:31.

visitors include hostesses. They are ready and able to fix the

:28:31.:28:36.

delegates up with anything from afternoon tea to an afternoon at

:28:36.:28:40.

the dance. # Give me five minutes more

:28:40.:28:44.

# # Only five minutes more # Let me stay

:28:44.:28:51.

# Let me stay in your arms # Here am I

:28:51.:28:58.

# Begging or only five minutes more # Only five minutes more #

:28:58.:29:02.

To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics for your cocktail,

:29:02.:29:08.

send your answer to: You can see the full terms and

:29:08.:29:13.

conditions for guess the year on our website -- Guess the Year on

:29:13.:29:17.

our website. It is coming up to midday. Let's

:29:17.:29:23.

look at Big Big Ben. It is a glorious summer's day in

:29:23.:29:28.

Westminster. We have James Landale. Is it true because the press

:29:28.:29:33.

revealed that the flat that the Prime Minister was staying in, the

:29:33.:29:38.

G20 logo, if you turned the camera around, you could see he was beside

:29:38.:29:42.

a beautiful beach and Caribbean waters. So his people took pictures

:29:42.:29:47.

of journalist sitting in the sun. Two things happened. One, was the

:29:47.:29:51.

subsequent interview that took part a day later with the Chancellor, it

:29:51.:29:55.

was originally inside, there was a bland logo behind the camera. That

:29:55.:29:58.

was away from the windows, but yes, I am told that Downing Street

:29:58.:30:02.

officials have taken photographs of journalists relaxing and are

:30:02.:30:09.

threatening to release the photos if there is anymore comments...

:30:09.:30:13.

would any journalist be worried about relaxing in the sun for a

:30:13.:30:20.

while? It is a good question. Relaxed or gone to the sun?

:30:20.:30:24.

experience, I rarely get time to do that and if I don't somebody will

:30:24.:30:29.

find more work for me to do! So much to do about nothing at PMQs

:30:29.:30:38.

today? A bit of Syria, I think. I think we will have a bit of health

:30:38.:30:47.

are my well informed punts on what Harriet Harman to go on. Harriet

:30:47.:30:54.

Harman and William Hague are oldies at this. They have done it

:30:54.:30:58.

previously. So they have done this before. They know the routine.

:30:58.:31:02.

Occasionally there is the potential for sparks and health is clearly a

:31:02.:31:06.

live issue with the industrial action tomorrow and I think also

:31:06.:31:12.

there might be questions about rationing. There was a Freedom of

:31:12.:31:16.

Information Request. In the Health Service. That's where

:31:16.:31:20.

I suspect she might go. A lot of issues to go on? There is

:31:20.:31:26.

meat and there is lots of of humour. I expect chillaxing and Jeremy

:31:26.:31:36.
:31:36.:31:44.

Browne. Mr Speaker! I have been asked to

:31:44.:31:52.

attending the G20 summit in Mexico. I am sure the whole House will wish

:31:52.:31:57.

to join me in paying tribute to the servicemen who have lost their

:31:57.:32:02.

lives in Afghanistan since the last Prime Minister's Question Time.

:32:02.:32:08.

Lance Corporal James Ashworth and corporal Alex guy of the 1st

:32:08.:32:12.

Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment. Our sincere condolences

:32:12.:32:17.

are with families and loved ones. Last week I visited the armed

:32:17.:32:20.

forces in Helmand where I was reminded of their exceptional work

:32:20.:32:27.

on behalf of our country. That work and the sacrifices must never be

:32:27.:32:30.

forgotten. I joined the Foreign Secretary in expressing our deepest

:32:30.:32:34.

sympathy to the families of our fallen heroes and prayed God will

:32:34.:32:39.

comfort them. Belfast International Air link into Heathrow is an

:32:40.:32:45.

invaluable asset to the economy of Northern Ireland. There are deep

:32:45.:32:49.

concerns that this link is at risk because the landing slots are

:32:49.:32:53.

allocated to carriers, rather than regional airports. Will the

:32:53.:32:59.

Government urgently publish a strategy that ensures our

:32:59.:33:04.

international airport maintains its link with Heathrow? The Department

:33:04.:33:08.

for Transport will consult on future aviation policy in the

:33:09.:33:11.

summer and a spot evidence on options about maintaining the

:33:12.:33:16.

status of the UK as an international hub for aviation. The

:33:17.:33:23.

London to Belfast link is important. There are 18,000 flights per year

:33:23.:33:27.

between the two Belfast airports and the five main London airports.

:33:27.:33:33.

I hope he agrees our steps to devolve power over passenger duty

:33:33.:33:43.
:33:43.:33:43.

rates will also boost investment and tourism. As my right honourable

:33:43.:33:46.

friend will know from my recent letter to the Prime Minister, the

:33:46.:33:51.

situation at the Coryton oil refinery on the Thames is becoming

:33:51.:33:56.

increasingly difficult. In an attempt to secure our manufacturing

:33:56.:34:00.

and well-paid jobs and fuel supplies cut will he use the

:34:00.:34:04.

offices of the Prime Minister to secure an urgent summit, bringing

:34:04.:34:10.

together the heads to explore every single avenue possible to keep the

:34:10.:34:17.

refinery open? This is very disappointing news. My honourable

:34:17.:34:21.

friend has been very active on theirs. They have been helping the

:34:21.:34:28.

administrators secured the long term prospects for the refinery. We

:34:28.:34:34.

are looking at further options, working with the council's task

:34:34.:34:39.

force. The Ministry of State has met with representatives of the

:34:39.:34:46.

workforce and the local community. Can I join the Foreign Secretary in

:34:46.:34:51.

paying tribute to Lance Corporal James Ashworth of 1st Battalion

:34:51.:35:00.

Grenadier Guards and corporal Alex Clive of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

:35:00.:35:06.

They died serving our country with the utmost bravery. We join him in

:35:06.:35:10.

sending our deepest condolences to their family and friends. While we

:35:10.:35:14.

know there is still a long way to go before the people of Burma get

:35:14.:35:18.

the democracy to which they are entitled, the fact that progress

:35:18.:35:22.

has been made is due to the extraordinary commitment and

:35:22.:35:29.

courage of one Women, injuring more than two decades of house arrest.

:35:29.:35:35.

Will the Foreign Secretary join me in expressing our utmost admiration

:35:35.:35:39.

for Aung San Suu Kyi? I absolutely will. It is highly appropriate to

:35:40.:35:45.

raise this in Prime Minister's Question Time. I was the first

:35:45.:35:48.

European Foreign Minister to visit Aung San Suu Kyi and visit them at

:35:48.:35:54.

the beginning of this year. I found her not only in reputation but

:35:54.:35:58.

substance, and absolutely inspirational figure. There is

:35:58.:36:03.

still a long way to go - not only bringing democracy to Burma - but

:36:03.:36:09.

ending ethnic conflicts. We look to the Government of Burma to continue

:36:09.:36:14.

to travel on this road to release remaining political prisoners.

:36:14.:36:19.

Across all parties we look forward to giving Aung San Suu Kyi a

:36:19.:36:23.

tremendous welcome tomorrow. thank the Foreign Secretary for

:36:23.:36:28.

that answer. He was right to visit Burma when he did. Whilst we

:36:28.:36:33.

support the suspension of sanctions on Burma, will he reassure us the

:36:33.:36:38.

position of the British government will remain? Sanctions will be

:36:38.:36:43.

reimposed unless there is sustained progress towards democracy and the

:36:43.:36:49.

rule of law. That is very much our position. I have said that to be

:36:49.:36:53.

Foreign Minister of Burma. We argued with the European Union that

:36:53.:36:57.

sanctions and restrictive measures should not be lifted

:36:57.:37:01.

unconditionally but should be suspended. That is so they can be

:37:01.:37:06.

reimposed if progress comes to a stop. They have been suspended for

:37:06.:37:11.

12 months. We will review progress through that period. Having met the

:37:11.:37:16.

President of Burma, he is absolutely sincere in his

:37:16.:37:20.

intentions. There will be elements within the Government of Burma who

:37:20.:37:23.

are not so enthusiastic about these changes and who will be alarmed

:37:23.:37:27.

about success in recent by- elections of Aung San Suu Kyi and

:37:27.:37:31.

her party. We will keep up the pressure as well as a welcome for

:37:31.:37:37.

these changes. I thank the Foreign Secretary for that answer and to

:37:37.:37:41.

his commitment to keep up the pressure for progress. Can I turn

:37:41.:37:46.

to domestic issues? Specifically the National Health Service. This

:37:46.:37:52.

week, a survey showed that 90% of Primary Care Trusts, because of the

:37:52.:37:57.

financial pressure they are under, are restricting access to treatment.

:37:57.:38:04.

This will hit older people. How can he justify an elderly person with

:38:04.:38:08.

cataracts in both eyes being told they can only have surgery in one

:38:08.:38:15.

of them? How can he justify that? It is totally unacceptable if

:38:15.:38:20.

trusts are rushing on grounds of financial considerations. The NHS

:38:20.:38:24.

medical director has written to them to tell them the only criteria

:38:24.:38:28.

of decision must be clinical and not financial. If evidence is found

:38:28.:38:33.

they are ignoring that, the Secretary of State can intervene.

:38:33.:38:36.

The Department of Health were looking to cases where they using

:38:36.:38:42.

financial conditions. Allegations like this have been made before,

:38:42.:38:45.

including under the last government. The Department of Health is very

:38:45.:38:54.

clear about that a match to be welcomed across the House. There is

:38:54.:39:01.

evidence. It is not just cataract operations. There are 125 different

:39:01.:39:08.

treatments being rationed on the ground -- the grounds of cost. What

:39:08.:39:14.

should he say to an elderly patient who needs a hip replacement? Wait

:39:14.:39:21.

in pain or tried to pay it and go privately. I say three things. --

:39:21.:39:27.

tried to pay and Gove. Arbitrarily restricting access to operations

:39:28.:39:31.

was not just happening under the last government, it was allowed

:39:31.:39:38.

under the last government, such as in it 2007. Patients in Suffolk had

:39:38.:39:43.

to wait 14 weeks for routine surgery. The NHS Trust was told not

:39:43.:39:52.

to operate on non urgent cases until they waited a minimum of 20

:39:52.:39:56.

weeks. I would say, GPs and doctors should be going to work tomorrow,

:39:56.:40:04.

not on strike. We, on this side of the House, encourage them to go to

:40:04.:40:08.

work. I hope she and a Lord Bannside of the House was so

:40:08.:40:15.

clearly today there are those doctors should be at wet mire. --

:40:15.:40:21.

and all on that side of the House will say clearly. We do not want

:40:21.:40:26.

GPs to go on strike but we are proud of what we did in the NHS.

:40:26.:40:33.

More doctors, more nurses, cutting waiting lists. It is always the

:40:33.:40:38.

same. Labour builds up the NHS and the Tories track it down. Today he

:40:39.:40:46.

is saying he is 100% behind the Government's health plans. It is a

:40:46.:40:52.

different story in his own constituency, isn't it? Last month,

:40:52.:40:55.

the Foreign Secretary took to the streets, marching in protest

:40:55.:41:01.

against NHS cuts. Let's remind ourselves what the Prime Minister

:41:01.:41:06.

said about midwives. Just before the general election, the Prime

:41:06.:41:11.

Minister wrote for The Sun newspaper, because, professionally

:41:11.:41:16.

of course, they were all in it together. He said, we will increase

:41:17.:41:23.

the number of Maguire's by 3000. Can he confirm they have broken

:41:24.:41:29.

their promises? -- midwives. That was a long question of though I

:41:29.:41:35.

congratulate her on not having the Shadow Chancellor here today, which

:41:35.:41:43.

does help everyone concentrating. He is obviously Dom the Chancellor

:41:43.:41:47.

is at the G20. The Shadow Chancellor is presumably doing

:41:47.:41:53.

another opinion poll on what people think of him. On the questions that

:41:53.:42:00.

are asked... We are going to tell him that for nothing! On the

:42:00.:42:07.

questions of poor value under the Conservatives... I am glad she says

:42:07.:42:15.

GP should be at wet mire. She should tell that to her own

:42:15.:42:21.

spokesman. -- at work tomorrow. She said there would be a lot of public

:42:21.:42:27.

support for the action they are taking. There is a clear division

:42:27.:42:31.

across the floor of the House. It is perilous to go into the affairs

:42:31.:42:36.

of another constituency. That is nothing to do with funding or

:42:36.:42:41.

health reforms. I will tell her all about that separately if she would

:42:41.:42:47.

like. We are proud of what has happened in the National Health

:42:47.:42:51.

Service when we look at average waiting times for both in-patients

:42:51.:42:57.

and outpatients. They are lower than at the last general election.

:42:57.:43:01.

The best performance ever has now been detained for patients waiting

:43:01.:43:07.

after 18 weeks to be treated. The total number of qualified clinical

:43:07.:43:12.

staff is higher than at the election. There are 3900 more

:43:12.:43:16.

doctors since the election. Hospital infection levels are at

:43:16.:43:22.

their lowest level since surveillance of them began. And he

:43:22.:43:27.

never answered the question about midwives. Before the election, the

:43:27.:43:33.

leader of the opposition was all, yes we can. As soon as he became

:43:33.:43:38.

Prime Minister, it is no we cannot. Services rationed, patients

:43:38.:43:43.

suffering and public satisfaction at the new lead. That is the Tories

:43:43.:43:48.

on the NHS. The Prime Minister once told us he could sum up his

:43:48.:43:58.
:43:58.:44:00.

priority in three letters - N H S. Isn't it more like, Ella well! --

:44:00.:44:09.

LOL! It obviously took a long time to think of that one. I have set

:44:09.:44:13.

out the achievements of the Government on the National Health

:44:13.:44:19.

Service, in in the King's Fund, in its latest report. -- event. They

:44:20.:44:25.

say there is no evidence of a decline in service quality or

:44:25.:44:30.

performance. Infection rates have not notice as they deteriorated but

:44:30.:44:36.

our remaining relatively stable. MRSA and ceded the Silk are

:44:36.:44:46.

reducing. These are important achievements in-house service. --

:44:46.:44:53.

C-difficile. They are a contrast with the number of managers

:44:53.:44:57.

doubling under the Labour Party. At contrast when they were last in

:44:57.:45:02.

power when the number of NHS managers rose six times as fast as

:45:02.:45:07.

nurses and a huge contrast with Wales where Labour is cutting NHS

:45:07.:45:17.
:45:17.:45:18.

Given the appalling behaviour of Liberal Democrat Cabinet members in

:45:18.:45:26.

not supporting the Secretary of State for Culture Secretary, would

:45:26.:45:31.

my preferred Deputy Prime Minister arrange a divorce divorce from the

:45:31.:45:35.

yellow peril so we can govern with Conservative policies as a minority

:45:35.:45:45.

Government? LAUGHTER

:45:45.:45:49.

THE SPEAKER: Order. I'm sure members having heard the question

:45:49.:45:55.

will wish to hear the answer. I am sure they will, Mr Speaker. I

:45:55.:46:00.

think my honourable bringing up a divorce might be troubling to Mrs

:46:00.:46:05.

Bone and we should all seek to reassure her that he is only

:46:05.:46:08.

talking about a political one! But as someone who helped to negotiate

:46:08.:46:14.

the coalition and who values enormously our co-operation with

:46:14.:46:18.

the Liberal Democrats, I will not be advocating a divorce in the

:46:18.:46:21.

Government. Can the Foreign Secretary confirm

:46:21.:46:27.

that apart from Italy, the UK is the only country in the G20 in a

:46:27.:46:30.

double dip recession? Well actually, the actual fact of

:46:30.:46:36.

the matter is that the IMF forecast that in the coming year, the

:46:37.:46:44.

British economy - they may not want to know what is going to happen.

:46:44.:46:48.

The Shadow Chancellor, he is not here with his hand gestures, but he

:46:49.:46:52.

said we should take notice of the IMF and they say in the coming year

:46:52.:46:57.

the the British economy is going to grow faster than the German or

:46:57.:47:00.

French economy. That next year, growth in the British economy will

:47:00.:47:04.

be similar to that of the United States and twice that of the

:47:04.:47:09.

eurozone and that would not be happening had we not brought the

:47:09.:47:13.

excessive deficits and debts of the last Government under control.

:47:13.:47:20.

Thank you Mr Speaker. In light of the historic signing in China for

:47:20.:47:24.

record investment, the granting of the turn around cruise terminal in

:47:24.:47:30.

Liverpool and the support of the automotive industries for 1,000

:47:30.:47:34.

more jobs at Jaguar and saving the vaux Vauxhall would you say this

:47:34.:47:38.

Government had done more in two years to expand private enterprise

:47:38.:47:43.

on Merseyside than Labour did in its entire tenure?

:47:43.:47:49.

Well, yes I would, Mr Speaker. I would say - I would say exactly

:47:49.:47:53.

that. And I would point out that that success which she described is

:47:53.:48:03.
:48:03.:48:04.

37%, British exports to China, going up 61%, British exports to

:48:04.:48:11.

India, going up 73% and that is also because the British Government

:48:11.:48:14.

is out there championing British business which the other side

:48:14.:48:19.

neglected to do. Account Secretary of State

:48:19.:48:24.

Secretary of State inform the House why it is in their proposals for

:48:24.:48:28.

regional pay that why he wants to see his nurses in Richmond,

:48:28.:48:34.

Yorkshire to be paid less than say nurses doing the same job say in

:48:34.:48:37.

Richmond, Surrey? Well there, is an issue that the

:48:37.:48:41.

pay review bodies are now now examining as the honourable member

:48:41.:48:46.

will know. They will report next month, but the case for local pay

:48:46.:48:49.

and they will make their recommendations, we can debate that,

:48:49.:48:54.

the case for local pay was was made by a Chancellor of the Exchequer

:48:54.:48:59.

who said it makes sense to recognise thighs that a more --

:48:59.:49:03.

recognise that a more considered approach offers the best route to

:49:03.:49:09.

employment. That Chancellor of the Exchequer was his neighbour, the

:49:09.:49:13.

right honourable member for kal caddy.

:49:13.:49:20.

THE SPEAKER: I'm sure Conservative backbenchers which to hear from one

:49:20.:49:24.

of their coalition colleagues. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

:49:24.:49:27.

The Department of Health accepts that radiotherapy is the cheapest

:49:27.:49:32.

and most effective way of treating cancer, despite this the department

:49:32.:49:36.

will spend over �1.5 billion on cancer drugs this career, but less

:49:36.:49:42.

than a third of that on radiotherapy. In the south-west

:49:42.:49:47.

several of our hospitals rely on charity to fund basic radiotherapy

:49:47.:49:52.

services... THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. Order. A

:49:52.:49:57.

one sentence question and a short sentence. So could the right

:49:57.:49:59.

honourable gentleman speak to the Prime Minister about authorising

:49:59.:50:04.

the investment that unused money into radiotherapy so hospitals in

:50:04.:50:11.

my region... LAUGHTER

:50:11.:50:13.

My honourable friend is right to point to the importance of

:50:13.:50:15.

radiotherapy. It is also important to stress that decisions on

:50:15.:50:18.

treatments should be made by clinicians based on whatever is

:50:18.:50:24.

appropriate for their patients, but we are investing over �150 million

:50:24.:50:29.

more over the next four years to expand radiotherapy capacity and I

:50:29.:50:34.

know my honourable friend will welcome that. As well as the fact

:50:34.:50:40.

that at the same time over 12,500 extra patients benefited from the

:50:40.:50:44.

�650 million Cancer Drugs Fund introduced by this Government.

:50:44.:50:49.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The regional growth fund is the Government's

:50:49.:50:55.

flagship scheme for boosting jobs and growth in the regions. The

:50:55.:50:58.

recent National Audit Office report criticised it for spending too much

:50:59.:51:04.

money on projects creating too few jobs. In some cases, �200,000 per

:51:04.:51:11.

job. What is the Government doing about it? Well, the honourable

:51:11.:51:15.

member's region will benefit, including �235 million from the

:51:15.:51:19.

regional growth fund. Of course, it is important that that money is

:51:19.:51:24.

spent effective and my colleagues will do their up most to ensure

:51:24.:51:27.

that is happening, but it is important to remember his region

:51:27.:51:31.

benefits from so many other things the Government is doing, including

:51:31.:51:36.

infrastructure projects to support growth in the West Midlands and an

:51:36.:51:43.

enterprise zone in Birmingham City centre and an enterprise zone for

:51:43.:51:51.

the Black Country. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My constituent Ian Tapper

:51:51.:51:56.

has lost 300 cattle to Bovine TB. The last Government did nothing

:51:56.:52:03.

about this issue. Whilst I recognise the work this Government

:52:03.:52:09.

has has done, when it comes to disease control regular regulations

:52:09.:52:12.

there will be proportion nationality and nothing that is

:52:12.:52:16.

likely to detract from their livelihood? My honourable friend

:52:16.:52:21.

raises an important issue. Bovine TB is one of the most serious

:52:21.:52:23.

challenges facing the British cattle farming industry and last

:52:23.:52:31.

year around 26,000 cattle were slaughtered in England alone. DEFRA

:52:31.:52:35.

will be making an announcement tomorrow will how they intend to

:52:35.:52:41.

proceed on this subject. Cattle measures continue to be the found

:52:41.:52:47.

aches of our TB -- foundation of our TB control. I invite him to

:52:47.:52:49.

stand-by for an announcement tomorrow.

:52:49.:52:59.

The Foreign Secretary will be aware that today the 14th Dalai Lama is

:52:59.:53:01.

in London and will be visiting Parliament this afternoon. Will he

:53:01.:53:06.

use this opportunity to restate his Government's commitment to the

:53:06.:53:14.

Human Rights of Tibetans within Chin We -- China? We believe in the

:53:14.:53:18.

universalality of Human Rights. And that is a point that I often make

:53:18.:53:25.

to Chinese leaders including in the dialogue that I conduct with China

:53:25.:53:28.

on an annual basis. We have a formal Human Rights dialogue with

:53:29.:53:34.

China which we do not shy away from raising any of these cases. We do

:53:34.:53:38.

see, as did the last Government, we see Tibet as part of the people's

:53:38.:53:43.

Republic of China. But we also look for meaningful dialogue between

:53:43.:53:48.

representatives of the dal la la of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese and

:53:48.:53:51.

we will support that. Government has made clear its

:53:51.:53:55.

commitment to to root out tax avoidance by public officials and

:53:55.:54:03.

civil servants. Account deputy, can the Foreign Secretary make clear...

:54:03.:54:06.

Can the Foreign Secretary make clear that the Government will be

:54:06.:54:11.

robust in rooting out tax avoidance by the corporate sector who do jobs

:54:11.:54:14.

for Government or are employed by the Government?

:54:14.:54:21.

Yes, and I won't mention to the Deputy Prime Minister his slip!

:54:21.:54:28.

LAUGHTER It is between ourselves!

:54:28.:54:29.

LAUGHTER In these four four walls! Yes,

:54:29.:54:35.

absolutely, the Chancellor set out clear in the Budget his

:54:35.:54:38.

determination to deal with tax avoidance and to do so without

:54:38.:54:43.

warning in future and I know for the Chancellor -- I know if the

:54:43.:54:49.

Chancellor was here he would say that applies to the corporate

:54:49.:54:54.

section as well. The Government believes it is not

:54:54.:54:57.

reasonable or fair that households should receive a greater income

:54:57.:55:01.

from benefits than the average weekly wage for working households.

:55:01.:55:06.

In some cases, it can be more than double the average household income

:55:06.:55:11.

and our changes will mean no family on benefits will earn more than a

:55:11.:55:16.

working family's average salary, �26,000 for a couple and single

:55:16.:55:19.

parent households. This strikes the right balance between supporting

:55:19.:55:25.

families and providing incentives to work.

:55:25.:55:31.

Rents in my constituency are high. Jobcentre Plus, there are 900

:55:32.:55:35.

families who have between them 2,000 to 4,000. Their benefits will

:55:35.:55:40.

be cut on average on the 1st April by �200 a month. This will either

:55:40.:55:46.

cause them to rack up rents arrears or have to move. Mayor, Boris

:55:47.:55:51.

Johnson, says he will not preside over the removal of the poor from

:55:51.:55:54.

inner London. Boris gets it. Why doesn't the Government?

:55:54.:55:58.

Well, I know that the honourable member has long running concerns

:55:58.:56:03.

about this and has frequently expressed them and I think it is

:56:03.:56:06.

important to stress that for all but the most expensive parts of

:56:06.:56:11.

London, at least 30% of all private rental properties will be

:56:11.:56:15.

affordable. In London, under the system, that we inherited, 150

:56:15.:56:20.

families were receiving housing benefit of over �50,000 a year. And

:56:20.:56:24.

that is not acceptable to the taxpayers of this country in

:56:24.:56:29.

general. And our reforms are fair. Housing benefit will be paid to

:56:29.:56:36.

meet rents of almost �21,000 a year. There is also �190 million fund for

:56:36.:56:39.

discretionary payments to help local authorities with the changes

:56:39.:56:42.

and including assistance to renegotiate lower rents with

:56:42.:56:46.

landlords, but the principle remains and I say it again, it is

:56:46.:56:49.

not fair that people on housing benefit can afford to live in

:56:49.:56:53.

streets and homes that people out working hard are unable to live in

:56:53.:56:59.

themselves. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Wales is the

:56:59.:57:02.

only nation in the UK without a single yard of electified rail

:57:02.:57:06.

track thanks to the party opposite as a former Secretary of State for

:57:06.:57:11.

Wales, could the Foreign Secretary persuade the Government that

:57:11.:57:14.

extending track as far as Swansea, not just Cardiff, will be great for

:57:14.:57:20.

Wales and cheaper than the refurb of Tottenham court Station? Well,

:57:20.:57:23.

the Welsh Secretary is working hard on this. We are committed to

:57:23.:57:28.

electifying over 300 miles of railway routes which compares

:57:28.:57:31.

actually with just nine miles electified under the last

:57:31.:57:36.

Government. An interesting contrast in infrastructure investment. The

:57:36.:57:39.

Department for Transport is currently considering a business

:57:39.:57:43.

case for electification between Cardiff and Swansea, prepared in

:57:43.:57:47.

Wales, and I understand that the decision will be made by the summer

:57:47.:57:52.

and of course, it will depend on whether it is affordable and on the

:57:52.:57:54.

assessment of competing priorities as well.

:57:54.:57:58.

There is more work to do, but for the third month, unemployment has

:57:58.:58:03.

reduced in Scotland and for the second year in a year, Scotland is

:58:03.:58:06.

the best location for foreign investment in the UK. Would the

:58:06.:58:09.

Foreign Secretary take the opportunity to congratulate the

:58:09.:58:12.

Scottish Government and Scottish development international which is

:58:12.:58:17.

the lead agency that secures Foreign Secretary foreign direct

:58:17.:58:22.

investment? The honourable member is right to draw attention to the

:58:22.:58:26.

employment figures which we must never be complacent about and there

:58:26.:58:32.

is more work to do. The right honourable lady didn't ask about

:58:32.:58:38.

these and they show a fall in unloimt unemployment of 51,000.

:58:38.:58:42.

Importantly, youth employment coming down by 29,000 in the last

:58:42.:58:47.

quarter, but long-term unemployment is still rising and that remains a

:58:47.:58:53.

challenge. Of course, Scotland as part of the United Kingdom is an

:58:53.:58:57.

attractive place to invest in and I congratulate many Scottish people

:58:57.:59:01.

and businesses on their work. They would have harder work to do if

:59:01.:59:07.

Scotland were not part of the United Kingdom.

:59:07.:59:13.

While welcoming overseas students who come to this country to get a

:59:13.:59:19.

world-class education, will my honourable friend look on vice vice

:59:19.:59:26.

vice qulorce on chancellors who believe they can't compete? Last

:59:26.:59:32.

year 10,000 students -- -- 120,000 students were granted the right to

:59:32.:59:37.

extend their stay here? Yes. The Government has introduced reforms

:59:37.:59:43.

to stamp out abuse and restore order to the out of control student

:59:43.:59:47.

visa system. Making the immigration system easier for students,

:59:47.:59:51.

universities and the UK Border Agency to operate. So we are

:59:51.:59:55.

closing bogus colleges and regulating the remainder.

:59:55.:59:58.

Restricting the right-to-work here and bring dependants and making

:59:58.:00:04.

sure that all but the best go home at the end of their studies. On

:00:04.:00:07.

that basis, of course, talented students from around the world are

:00:07.:00:15.

welcome here in the United Kingdom. As MP for Rotherham, can I welcome

:00:15.:00:21.

the fact that the right honourable gentleman has realised the ambition

:00:21.:00:25.

thwarted in 2001 and briefly is in charge of the clattering trade.

:00:25.:00:31.

Will he he take this opportunity, as we have two Asian Nobel prize

:00:31.:00:37.

winners in the House of Commons this week, to invite a third,

:00:37.:00:46.

currently rotting in the Chinese goulag. From the dispatch mention

:00:46.:00:51.

his name and invite him here to London for next year?

:00:51.:00:56.

Well, it is the nice words about Rotherham are being exchanged at

:00:56.:00:59.

Prime Minister's Questions. I welcome the question from the right

:00:59.:01:02.

honourable member. We raise individual cases, of course, with

:01:02.:01:07.

the Chinese and often do so publicly, but I will assess which

:01:07.:01:11.

one to say raise and when to do so, of course, but the Human Rights

:01:11.:01:14.

dialogue that we have with China is very important and it is important

:01:14.:01:19.

that in China there is an understanding of our deep concerns

:01:19.:01:23.

about many of these cases. He can rest assured I will be raising them.

:01:23.:01:33.
:01:33.:01:41.

N-the cause of deficit reduction, the Government is reducing funding

:01:41.:01:44.

to the police by 20% in real terms over four years. Can my right

:01:44.:01:47.

honourable friend assure me in the cause of deficit reduction he will

:01:47.:01:56.

be insisting on a reduction to the European Union budget by over 20%?

:01:56.:02:00.

Highly desirable as that would be, that contribution is not decided by

:02:00.:02:04.

a single decision of Government, but is the balance between two

:02:04.:02:09.

large figures determined in other ways. He can rest assured however,

:02:09.:02:13.

that we will be better at negotiating about this than the

:02:13.:02:16.

honourable members opposite. The Shadow Foreign Secretary is sit

:02:16.:02:21.

there and when he was Minister for Europe, the party opposite gave

:02:21.:02:27.

away �7 billion of the British rebate. For nothing in return and

:02:27.:02:31.

that was an abject failure of negotiation and leadership that we

:02:31.:02:35.

will not repeat. Does the Foreign Secretary agree

:02:35.:02:40.

with the words of the honourable member when he was quoted in the

:02:40.:02:47.

Newcastle Journal as Saying, "I see no regional argument for re-- I see

:02:48.:02:53.

no argument for regional pay.". pointed out the views expressed by

:02:53.:02:56.

the former leader of the Labour Party on local pay and regional pay.

:02:56.:03:04.

It is also worth pointing out that the last Government in 2007

:03:04.:03:07.

introduced local pay into Her Majesty's courts and tribunal

:03:07.:03:14.

service. Would my right honourable friend

:03:14.:03:19.

agree what a wonderful announcement it was for Rolls-Royce, future

:03:19.:03:26.

engineering jobs, bottom bardier look look -- Bombardier creating

:03:26.:03:31.

more jobs. This indeed is good news. It is

:03:31.:03:34.

good news for investment in this country. It is good news for Derby

:03:34.:03:40.

and the area and it is good news for the long-term security of this

:03:40.:03:45.

country that we are prepared to invest confidently in submarine

:03:45.:03:50.

technologies for the long-term. Account Foreign Secretary tell the

:03:50.:03:54.

House how the snooper's charter which the Government plans to intro

:03:54.:04:03.

durex differs from -- differs from -- -- introduction differs?

:04:03.:04:08.

differs from that. The proposal of the last Government was to hold all

:04:08.:04:13.

data in a central database. This is requiring provide torce hold on to

:04:13.:04:21.

-- providors to hold on to their data. This is designed to be a

:04:21.:04:26.

criminal's nightmare and unless we update it, unless we update our

:04:26.:04:32.

ability to detect terrorism, to detect criminality in this country

:04:32.:04:36.

then that will have a serious effect. I am plan to go look at

:04:36.:04:42.

this in detail. It is important for maintaining law and order.

:04:42.:04:49.

The highlight of the Olympic torch relay will take place on 6 6 July -

:04:49.:04:56.

- 6th July when it arrives in Southend. Would my right honourable

:04:56.:05:00.

friend agree the Olympic Games is an opportunity for our country to

:05:00.:05:03.

come together and celebrate this Government putting the great back

:05:03.:05:07.

into Britain? Well, the arrival of the torch in

:05:07.:05:12.

Southend is one of the highlights. The other highlight the fact that

:05:12.:05:17.

today it is passing through Richmond in Yorkshire. I would have

:05:17.:05:22.

dearly loved to have been there to see it, but that is one of the

:05:22.:05:26.

highlights. He is quite right there, is an enormous opportunity for this

:05:26.:05:31.

country. We are looking through the Olympic Games to secure over �1

:05:31.:05:36.

billion worth of iward investment to attract four million extra

:05:36.:05:40.

visitors include to go Southend, to use the Games, to inspire more

:05:40.:05:44.

young people to take up sport. It is a great moment for Britain.

:05:45.:05:52.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We know that the Prime Minister likes - forgive

:05:52.:05:56.

me! We know the Prime Minister likes to chillax down the pub, but

:05:56.:06:01.

when it comes to Anglo-French relations, shouldn't he adopt a

:06:01.:06:07.

more sober approach? Well, the Prime Minister always has

:06:07.:06:10.

excellent relations with any president of France including with

:06:10.:06:14.

the new president of France and we should welcome and applaud the fact

:06:14.:06:19.

that the city we are standing in, sitting in today, is the seventh

:06:19.:06:22.

largest city for French people in the world and of course, they are

:06:22.:06:25.

welcome here in the United Kingdom whatever their Government is doing

:06:25.:06:35.
:06:35.:06:44.

I think the Speaker's wrist watch must have come to a stop was at the

:06:44.:06:49.

main bone of contention was the NHS. A troublesome Tory MP wanted a

:06:50.:06:55.

divorce between the Tories and the Lib Dems. The Deputy Prime Minister,

:06:55.:07:01.

as he is always called by Simon Hughes, William Hague always said

:07:01.:07:09.

he was not up for a divorce. Johnny Depp and Vanessa parody up on their

:07:09.:07:16.

way to a divorce. They can also report that Ken Livingstone came

:07:16.:07:21.

top of the Labour Party NEC elections. He was top of the poll.

:07:21.:07:28.

He said he was not going to run for election again and he has. From

:07:28.:07:37.

Athens, the head of the Socialist Party, says Greece has a government.

:07:37.:07:45.

That is a first step chorus --! Let's find her what you thought

:07:45.:07:54.

about the elongated PMQs. -- find out. It was David Cameron and Ed

:07:54.:08:02.

Miliband eat your heart at. This from built in Doncaster, William

:08:02.:08:07.

Hague was as ever the great performer. I think Harriet Harman

:08:07.:08:13.

and the Labour Party actually like William Hague. We think he is

:08:13.:08:19.

lovely. Should David Cameron be looking over his shoulder? David

:08:19.:08:23.

Cameron can only dream about such a performance. Barton from

:08:23.:08:31.

Wolverhampton. A complete cheap shot up from Harriet Harman. In the

:08:31.:08:36.

Labour years it was not matched by productivity gains. The Government

:08:36.:08:40.

is claiming credit for increasing the number of doctors in the NHS.

:08:40.:08:45.

It takes seven years to train a doctor. All these doctors will have

:08:45.:08:49.

done the bulk of their training under the last Labour government.

:08:49.:08:54.

This from Ellis. It is good to know we will have high growth next year.

:08:54.:09:04.

Also orders been up and the deficit being paid off. -- being up.

:09:04.:09:10.

like our viewers when they do things like that. NHS, I know it is

:09:10.:09:14.

not up there in public concern with the economy, which are still the

:09:14.:09:19.

number one issue. It is becoming a problem from thicker -- for the

:09:19.:09:25.

Government, isn't it? The first couple of years this Parliament has

:09:25.:09:31.

been dominated by rows over NHS reform. You will recall how hard it

:09:31.:09:36.

was for the Government to get that through their paws. The impact of

:09:36.:09:40.

that legislation will begin to start having consequences. Those

:09:40.:09:45.

changes now will be operating on the ground. Harriet Harman started

:09:45.:09:50.

poking fun at those members of the Government, such as William Hague,

:09:50.:09:54.

who have been protesting against changes to their own hospitals in

:09:54.:10:01.

their own areas. William Hague said, the changes to the hospital in his

:10:01.:10:04.

constituency a lot about the broad thrust of government reforms will

:10:04.:10:14.
:10:14.:10:18.

stop that is beginning to take effect. -- government reforms.

:10:18.:10:23.

There is also the problem with saying Hellyer hospital.

:10:23.:10:28.

Chairman of the NHS Confederation says, the NHS is heading for an

:10:28.:10:33.

iceberg. I do not think that is right. The floor of the House of

:10:33.:10:38.

Commons is not the best place and to allocate scarce NHS resources.

:10:38.:10:44.

We had the example of a politician same, by coming up to anything with

:10:44.:10:50.

radiotherapy? -- why can we not do anything? The act we have passed

:10:50.:10:54.

will gradually come into effect. GPs will have more power to decide

:10:54.:10:57.

for patients the kind of commissioning choices we were

:10:57.:11:03.

hearing during Question Time. But implementation of the Act were

:11:03.:11:07.

largely address this issue and bring to patients are more, if you

:11:07.:11:11.

like, consumer power through their GPs, to get the sort of decisions

:11:11.:11:20.

taken that they want. The magazine for GPs, GP Magazine, has published

:11:20.:11:24.

a Freedom of Information announcement. It shows that 90% of

:11:24.:11:30.

trusts are imposing restrictions on certain aspects of care - including

:11:30.:11:37.

hip and knee operations was up 90%! It has always been the case that

:11:37.:11:42.

NHS has limited resources for insatiable demand. There have to be

:11:42.:11:46.

mechanisms, given that price is not the mechanism, because things are

:11:46.:11:52.

free. We want to see choices made by clinicians will clinical reasons.

:11:52.:11:57.

Behind that is any budget. Budgets are not infinite. Within budget

:11:57.:12:01.

constraints, they're going to have to make these clinical decisions.

:12:01.:12:08.

Pat has always been the case in the NHS. They say it is getting worse.

:12:08.:12:15.

As with pensions, one of the real problems, is that as we get older,

:12:15.:12:20.

particularly as we get older and live possibly with infirmity, the

:12:20.:12:24.

demand on the NHS is dramatically increasing. As drugs and pioneering

:12:24.:12:29.

techniques cumin, some of the costs are also increasing above the rate

:12:29.:12:38.

of inflation. -- inflation will stop -- off inflation.

:12:38.:12:43.

confederation is blaming the lack of spending for these issues. The

:12:43.:12:46.

Government is committed to increasing spending in the NHS in

:12:46.:12:56.

real terms. Not by much. You would not have given that guarantee. You

:12:56.:13:01.

did not commit to increase in health spending. If you were in

:13:01.:13:05.

power, we would have the same problem. With which not have spent

:13:05.:13:08.

�3 million on a top down reorganisation of the National

:13:08.:13:12.

Health Service we did not tell the electorate about before the

:13:12.:13:17.

election, by forcing through the Health Bill in the House of Commons

:13:17.:13:21.

and the House of Lords. They should be dealing with Parrott has Asian

:13:21.:13:31.
:13:31.:13:37.

properly. I think Alan has been -- inflation properly. I think there

:13:37.:13:41.

are being examples of people having to wait and not having access to

:13:41.:13:51.
:13:51.:13:53.

treatment they need. This will grow and grow. Take a look at this. It's

:13:53.:13:55.

the EU's foreign policy supremo, Baroness Cathy Ashton. She used to

:13:55.:13:58.

be a Cabinet Minister in Gordon Brown's government. Here she is,

:13:58.:14:03.

about to meet the President of Serbia for a photocall. Somebody

:14:03.:14:08.

has to come with me because I do not know what he looks like. Who

:14:08.:14:18.
:14:18.:14:31.

So, welcome again, Mr President. They got that in the end. We know

:14:31.:14:38.

what he looks like now. You often see on American television in the

:14:38.:14:42.

primary elections, American interviewers like me trying to get

:14:42.:14:46.

a moment with the candidate who has come from Tennessee or something.

:14:46.:14:51.

The first question is, what is the name of the President of

:14:51.:14:57.

Kazakhstan? It is not fair, it is it? I have been to press

:14:57.:15:02.

conferences where are I have stuck up by hand. It is the Romanian

:15:02.:15:08.

Foreign Minister in front of me and I go, sir! It is funny. It is a

:15:08.:15:12.

great clip. It is not fair. You cannot be expected to know the

:15:12.:15:18.

names of everyone. Of course not. People mistake me for my sister.

:15:18.:15:26.

That is what happens. I completely forgive them. Harold Macmillan had

:15:26.:15:31.

a wonderful technique when he could not remember a constituent. How is

:15:31.:15:40.

the old complaint? The Speaker has the most extraordinary memory. I

:15:40.:15:44.

have seen him on the street with constituents. It is like mahout is

:15:44.:15:50.

the operation you had three weeks ago? -- it is like, how is the

:15:50.:16:00.
:16:00.:16:01.

operation? Once a week I get mistaken in the street for the

:16:01.:16:07.

streaker. You have to meet a lot of foreign politicians in your job for

:16:07.:16:13.

international aid. Do you have a problem? Normally I am very well

:16:13.:16:18.

briefed. I did give once at an Arab conference. The Foreign Minister

:16:18.:16:23.

was gracious enough to say, in this, we'll look the same. Do you carry

:16:24.:16:32.

photographs of them? -- we all look. When Neil Kinnock went to visit

:16:32.:16:36.

Ronald Reagan with Denis Healey Club rum Reagan thought Denis

:16:36.:16:43.

Healey was the British ambassador. --, Ronald Reagan thought. Can you

:16:43.:16:47.

imagine if no-one in Britain had to work more than a 15-hour week

:16:47.:16:50.

because we had enough money to lead a good life? Sounds great, doesn't

:16:50.:16:53.

it? Well, that was the prediction by the economist, John Maynard

:16:53.:16:56.

Keynes, 100 years ago. He was right about how much money we would have

:16:56.:16:59.

by now but his predictions about work were dead wrong. Robert

:16:59.:17:09.
:17:09.:17:25.

Why are we so obsessed with economic growth? It makes as

:17:25.:17:32.

Richter. We need more riches to buy more. We are obsessed with

:17:32.:17:38.

consumption. To buy more, we need to work harder. We work in order to

:17:38.:17:43.

buy. This may explain something which would otherwise seem puzzling.

:17:43.:17:48.

About 100 years ago, John Maynard Keynes predicted that by now we

:17:48.:17:53.

would only be working 15 hours a week. Technology would have allowed

:17:53.:17:59.

work to be replaced by leisure. In fact we're still working 40 hours a

:17:59.:18:07.

week. There are two main reasons were the go on working such long

:18:07.:18:12.

hours. The first is, if there has been a big increase in inequality

:18:12.:18:18.

since the 1980s. There is the fact of human in sociability. We compare

:18:18.:18:23.

our fortunes with those of others and find them wanting. Advertising

:18:23.:18:31.

whips up the desire to have the self-destructing frenzy. We are

:18:31.:18:36.

invited to find our souls in shops. Surveys have shown that more Wells,

:18:36.:18:43.

a small stuff, does not make us any happier. There are certain basic

:18:43.:18:48.

foods like health, security, friendship, personality, respect,

:18:48.:18:54.

harmony with nature, leisure, which most people would accept has been

:18:54.:19:01.

part of a good life. By restoring the concept of enough to our

:19:01.:19:04.

vocabulary, can we expect to get off the gross treadmill and start

:19:04.:19:13.

to think about how to live agreeably and well? -- growth. And

:19:13.:19:16.

Lord Skidelsky has managed to tear himself away from the shops of New

:19:16.:19:21.

Bond Street to join us in the studio. Did you buy anything?

:19:21.:19:31.

not have any money. Why do you think he got it so wrong in terms

:19:31.:19:38.

of by now we would all be living the good life? He did not take into

:19:38.:19:48.

account sociability. There is no natural terminus. People never say,

:19:48.:19:54.

enough is enough. They're not just thinking about themselves and their

:19:54.:19:58.

wants. They up thinking about their wants relative to others. He

:19:58.:20:02.

underestimated the amount of inequality there would be by now.

:20:02.:20:09.

He thought everything would go up more or less together. In fact, a

:20:09.:20:14.

lot of people to have enough - more than enough. A lot of people are

:20:14.:20:21.

more wealthy than they were. Absolutely! Relatively speaking,

:20:21.:20:26.

what they call the median income - the average income - have diverged

:20:26.:20:31.

more and more since the 1980s. Taking human nature into account

:20:31.:20:35.

and people wanted to keep up with the Joneses, we will never think we

:20:35.:20:41.

have had enough in that broad sense. If we consult what we want and then

:20:42.:20:46.

compare that with others, you will never get there. If you think in

:20:46.:20:50.

terms of what is enough for the good life, if one can get back

:20:51.:20:55.

question addressed, people might start saying, I have got enough for

:20:55.:21:00.

a good life? I do not have to go on and on and on club wanting more and

:21:00.:21:05.

more and more. Is this a good calling from you at the time when

:21:05.:21:10.

actually what we need - arguably - is the people to go out and spend

:21:10.:21:20.
:21:20.:21:20.

money in the shops? We need the We are going into the future. It is

:21:20.:21:27.

not politics today. It is not daily politics that we are in the

:21:27.:21:30.

business of. You are. We are. We are the Daily Politics.

:21:30.:21:36.

You are trying to do us out of a job! Then we won't have any money

:21:36.:21:41.

to spend. We have got a lot of repair work to do on our present

:21:41.:21:45.

economy before we can get in a position of saying, "Most people

:21:45.:21:52.

have enough." Is this desirable, Alan Duncan? He can't get enough of

:21:52.:21:59.

his iPad. People want modern inventions and to say there is

:21:59.:22:02.

enoughness, we could be gardening on the allotment and looking at the

:22:02.:22:05.

butterflies on half the income being happy.

:22:05.:22:09.

Couldn't Couldn't more people be doing that? People want their

:22:09.:22:13.

holidays and they want to pay their bills and want a better house. They

:22:13.:22:19.

want a better car and that's human nature and it is ghot it is not

:22:19.:22:23.

going to change and if Lord Skidelsky was right, the Chinese

:22:23.:22:28.

would there be in the Paddy fields. I thought David Cameron was into

:22:28.:22:32.

quality of life, but isn't that more, you know, thinking about what

:22:32.:22:36.

Lord Skidelsky is saying, rather than what you are outlining? No. I

:22:36.:22:39.

think David Cameron is right about well wellbeing and that's to do

:22:39.:22:41.

with things you can't count in terms of money like human

:22:41.:22:48.

relationships and things like that, a happy mar arjs good friends --

:22:48.:22:52.

marriage, good friends. But to say we should limit income in order to

:22:52.:22:57.

create jobs for other people are be satisfied with our lot because we

:22:57.:23:02.

have more leisure. To have good leisure, you need a good income too.

:23:02.:23:06.

Of course. No one is denying that. Enough is a good income in order to

:23:06.:23:10.

enjoy these things. What we are saying is if you go on with a

:23:10.:23:16.

single goal which is simply to increase gross dom domestic product

:23:16.:23:20.

and your own income forever and ever and ever, you are crowding out

:23:20.:23:25.

these other things. Some ideas for your next, manifesto,

:23:25.:23:30.

Andrew? Gross Domestic Product doesn't measure happiness or the

:23:30.:23:33.

things that don't have a price. And we have to have a balance between

:23:33.:23:38.

those things that you can't price in the market, the good life,

:23:38.:23:45.

leisure, happy family life, time to enjoy.

:23:45.:23:48.

Would you want to put a limit? have to look at how we value things

:23:48.:23:52.

and we have to think about the constraints that are coming into

:23:52.:23:57.

the way our economy works because the Earth can only sustain so much

:23:57.:24:01.

economic activity. We need to see what we can do about those which is

:24:01.:24:08.

what Alan spends his time doing, who have to live on on $3 a day.

:24:08.:24:13.

Lord Skidelsky, at the moment, the priority seems to be, helping

:24:13.:24:19.

unemployed people get into work, but people working longer. I think

:24:19.:24:24.

you are past retirement age, I hope I am not being rude, but you are

:24:24.:24:27.

still working? So you are not putting your feet up? There is a

:24:27.:24:32.

difference between idleness and leisure. I don't have to. I am not

:24:32.:24:37.

obliged at this point to work for a living. I have done my working for

:24:37.:24:40.

a living and I do what I want to do. One of the things I want to do is

:24:40.:24:46.

appearing on this show! Here. Here. That's not work.

:24:46.:24:50.

A pleasure. I am not getting paid for it. I don't have to do it.

:24:50.:24:55.

It is giving people more time to do things they want to do rather than

:24:55.:25:01.

what they have to do. And you are right, a lot of people, about 13

:25:01.:25:06.

million people in this country aren't even on below the minimum

:25:07.:25:09.

poverty line. Lord Skidelsky, we hope you will

:25:09.:25:13.

come back on the programme as part of your leisure time.

:25:13.:25:18.

I hope you will ask me. We will! The Greek Conservative

:25:18.:25:22.

leader is off to tell the President of Greece that he can form a

:25:22.:25:26.

Government. Who will be the next Prime Minister? We don't know the

:25:26.:25:31.

nature of the coalition, but at least by the end of the day there

:25:31.:25:34.

will be a new Prime Minister of Greece.

:25:34.:25:38.

Finally, wait. MPs have coined the term Parliamentary stone for the

:25:39.:25:43.

amount of flab they put on after being expose totted treats on offer

:25:43.:25:47.

-- to the treats on offer at Westminster. Here Adam who has

:25:47.:25:54.

blown our catering budget. Come with hee, with me while we

:25:54.:26:02.

test if Westminster types are as glut news as reports -- glutonous

:26:02.:26:06.

reports. Would you like a doughnut? I am a

:26:06.:26:12.

savoury person. I am Shadow Health Secretary, I

:26:12.:26:20.

don't think they are healthy enough. Not one of the plain ones? No. They

:26:20.:26:26.

have all got topings Yes, that was Bill Oddie.

:26:27.:26:33.

You have to be careful. You get invited to lots of breakfasts and

:26:33.:26:37.

lunches and it is impolite to refuse.

:26:38.:26:42.

But you will refuse us? And take steps like going to the gym where

:26:42.:26:46.

I'm heading. Some of their colleagues need help

:26:46.:26:51.

to be as virtuous which comes in Westminster's Weightwatchers group.

:26:51.:26:56.

We tracked down a member. temptation is the institution of

:26:56.:27:04.

House of Lords tea because a long day, you got lots of votes, you

:27:04.:27:10.

think "I will go and have a cup of tea." Before you know it, you are

:27:10.:27:16.

having a teacake and toast and it does build up.

:27:16.:27:20.

Ed Balls entered the London Marathon, David Cameron knows a run

:27:20.:27:30.
:27:30.:27:32.

some days keeps the moobs at bay. Lord Adonis looks as if he could

:27:32.:27:37.

with a few doughnuts. It turns out this lot are healthier

:27:37.:27:40.

than we thought. Or are they? will have that one. Don't give that

:27:40.:27:47.

one away. It is the biggest one.

:27:47.:27:53.

We have got doughnuts. Yes, we have. Why have you got them all? I am

:27:53.:28:00.

looking after them. They are all fresh. Never tempted. You have not

:28:00.:28:05.

put on the Parliamentary stone, have you and you haven't.

:28:05.:28:08.

Discipline. Discipline. It is an unhealthy place to work,

:28:08.:28:13.

isn't it? There is food and booze everywhere. It can be and long days

:28:13.:28:17.

and a sedentary lifestyle. Don't use the lifts, use the stairs.

:28:17.:28:22.

I was running at 6am. Yes, but from the police!

:28:22.:28:26.

There is time to give you the answer to our Guess the Year

:28:26.:28:30.

competition, it was 1946. Remember the black and white footage? Alan

:28:30.:28:37.

just press that button and you will pick this week's winner. And it

:28:37.:28:44.

is... Dave O'Neill from London. It must be my long lost Irish cousin!

:28:44.:28:51.

That's it for today. Thanks to our guest, Alan Duncanan and ang --

:28:51.:28:55.

Alan Duncanan Angela Eagle. We will be back tomorrow with more

:28:55.:28:57.

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