07/12/2015 Daily Politics


07/12/2015

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LineFromTo

Hello and welcome to the Daily Politics.

:00:37.:00:39.

Thousands of homes remain without power in North West England

:00:40.:00:41.

and Scotland following some of the worst flooding seen in years.

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The Prime Minister, who's been chairing an emergency

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meeting of the crisis committee, Cobra, will visit some of the worst

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More armed patrols on Britain's transport network

:00:57.:01:04.

following a suspected terrorist knife attack at the weekend.

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Should the number of Bishops in the House of Lords be cut to make

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We'll be finding out who's managed to bag Cartoonist of the Year.

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All that in the next hour and with us for the duration two new MPs,

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Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns caused a bit of a shock

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when she un-seated Labour's Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls.

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And Labour's Neil Coyle un-seated Liberal Democrat MP,

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and Justice Minister, Simon Hughes in Southwark and Bermondsey.

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Jenkyns, Andrea Marie, the Conservative Party candidate,

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Coyle, Neil, Labour Party 22,000... CHEERING.

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What is it like toppling a big political beast? I am pinching

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myself still, seven months later. I can't believe I'm wearing the same

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jacket is then. No one would have noticed if you hadn't said

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anything. What does it feel like though? It's amazing, really. That

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night of the election, my mum, I walked in at the weekend and she was

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playing it over again. It's such a privilege. It's a great honour to be

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here and I'm loving every moment of it. Did you speak to Ed Balls? Heard

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from him since? He was very gracious on the evening. He was, on the

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night. What about you? Simon Hughes was very much part of the furniture

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in Southwark and Bermondsey. He had a solid reputation for doing

:03:16.:03:18.

casework and they were big boots to fill and I've had more than 4000

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people approach me since May, and it feels a long time ago already. You

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are thrown in at the deep end to get on with the job casework arrives and

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you have to do it. Does the shadow of your predecessors haunt you

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because they were so associated with the seat? A little. It is not even a

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shadow. I still see Simon out in the constituency. There is a reality to

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who is not wanted. And all of the casework has been handed over, so

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there is a continuation for some of the people who you was helping you

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now see me. The number one issue closes to your heart? Health, that

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is the reason I went into politics. What do you want to try and achieve?

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Having lost my heart father through eight hospital infection, and

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antibiotic resistance has been on the agenda. Two weeks ago I launched

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a hands hygiene campaign and there is a shocking statistic that 25% of

:04:16.:04:23.

commuters in London have PCs on their hands. So hand hygiene is

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important to stop infection -- faeces on their hands. We will leave

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it there. It is time for the daily quiz.

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The question for today is who does our guest of the day Andrea Jenkyns

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c) Christine Lagarde or d) current Miss World, Rolene Strauss?

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At the end of the show, Neil and Andrea will give us

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Now to the floods, which have left a trail of devastation

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And with more rain forecast for the North West and Scotland,

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there appears to be no immediate end to the misery.

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Thousands of people remain without power and many have had to spend

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With many transport links still cut, health care will be restricted

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today and some schools will stay closed.

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David Cameron will visit some of the worst affected areas this afternoon.

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He's been chairing a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergencies

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Let's talk now to our correspondent, Carole Walker.

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Give us the latest in terms of response from Cobra. As you say,

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David Cameron chaired the meeting, bringing together the relevant

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ministers and representatives of some of the emergency services who

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joined it down the line from some of the badly affected areas. What the

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government is doing is focusing on the immediate crisis, so that is

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about checking to make sure that everyone is safe. If there are

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people in their homes you need to be evacuated that they are taken to

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safety. Looking at problems with transport links on the roads and

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bridges that have been cut. On the railway lines, what more can be done

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to restore some of those vital links. Looking as well at the issue

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of power. We know that tens of thousands of homes were cut off at

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some stage. Some of those supplies have been put back on, but not all

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yet restored. The government is trying to see what more it can do on

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that because it creates huge problems for hospitals, care homes

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and the like. We will then move into the second phase, which is looking

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at what more needs to be done to help some of those communities which

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now have to cope with the terrible mess and aftermath of the flooding.

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When Liz Truss makes a statement in the House of Commons we will hear

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more details about. Beyond that, we are told the government will look at

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the basis for its planning of the flooding, a review of the

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assumptions made. We heard from Rory Stewart, the environmentalist,

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saying -- environment Minister, saying some places at their highest

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ever rail fall in a short space of time. They are trying to save the

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basis of planning is the right one or it needs to be prepared for more

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incidents like this. The criticism, as you know, is that despite the

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money spent after the last round of severe flooding, they really could

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not withstand this deluge this time round. Clearly the flood defences,

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even the new flood defences put in place, in many places they were

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quite inadequate with the flood waters so high that they came over

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the top of the defences. The government is saying some of those

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flood defences did make a difference and gave householders and businesses

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longer to prepare and evacuate. But there was still huge amounts of

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damage and difficulty course. Yes, local communities and council

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leaders are already saying they need more defences and more money spent.

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The government says it is spending ?2.3 billion over this parliament on

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flood defences. The question is whether it is being spent

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flood defences. The question is and whether the government needs to

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look again at the sort of defences it is building. Carroll,

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Westminster, thank you. Let's talk now to the

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Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, Tell us your experiences over the

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weekend because you were really caught up with it, along with many

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constituents. Yes, I don't think I had an experience as bad as many

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people here. I am stood on the street by the bridge, no distance

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from a seer, and businesses are deluge and out of business potential

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it -- no distance from us here. Hundreds of families are out of

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their homes, probably the Christmas and it is heartbreaking. My

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experience is pretty limited in the context. It is a real reminder that

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the weather is changing. It certainly appears to be. And we are

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not getting once in a hundred years deluge is, they are happening on an

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annual basis. That is something we need to mitigate against. Let's turn

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to how you would do it. In some ways the level of rain was unprecedented,

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but you say we are seeing more of this sort of climate extreme. Would

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you agree it's impossible to protect against such extreme weather events?

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First of all, a bit difficult to hear you, but I think I got it. In

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the end, very cautious about pointing the finger at anyone. The

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reality is that this was extreme weather, but the problem is we are

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getting more extreme weather more often. This is Cumbria and we are

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used to challenging and difficult weather conditions. We are made of

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tough stuff up here. But this is an incredible thing, which has taken

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everybody by surprise. The question we need to ask ourselves is, whether

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it was right to cancel some of the funding for flood defence schemes

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over the last few years. The last three governments bear some

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responsibility for that. Knowing that if you can protect against

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these extreme circumstances, then the amount of money you save and the

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amount of misery you prevent is infinitely greater than the outlay

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of spending money on the schemes. Which schemes specifically? You said

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they were promised up the previous floods and then they will shelve and

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should have been funded, that would be during the coalition time, so

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which one specifically? There were around 300 across the country which

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I protested against at the time, and they included one on the River Kent,

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just yards away from us over to the left. If you spend money in advance

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on these things, then obviously, if you get extreme weather, then as a

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consequence you are preventing billions of pounds of damage, not to

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mention the human misery that those things lead to. I absolutely buy

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that climate change is happening and this is a consequent change, and

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it's a consequence of activity over decades, so where do I point the

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finger? At all others, humankind is responsible. Even if you don't

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believe it is human created, it is clearly climate change. This is

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happening more and more often, so the investment in flood defences is

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necessary and a wise investment. It depends how it is spent, I suppose.

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Five years ago Carlisle got a ?35 million flood defence scheme and now

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it is one of the worst affected areas. In a sense, it has obviously

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been spent in the wrong way or there isn't any amount of money that can

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protect against that sort of freak weather. To an extent, you are

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right. It is freak weather and I'm very cautious about pointing the

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finger at anyone. The main job is to put an arm around people. Because it

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was the government the Liberal Democrats were involved in last

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time? No, on these schemes, I pointed the finger then and

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criticised those schemes in 2012. But the point I'm making, if you

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look at individual schemes, some will have been overwhelmed even with

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this weather. But some have actually succeeded. A few years ago here in

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Kendal, about 500 yards away from where I am stood, that was the part

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that flooded all the time and we spend ?1 million on a flood defence

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scheme and it is an area which has been broadly protected in this awful

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weather. So flood defence schemes work. If you think about the

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insurance claim is not being paid out because of that scheme, as an

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individual one, and the human misery not caused because the scheme has

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been built, it is worth every penny and it is the back. Actually, the

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scale of investment that we need to be thinking of is that much greater

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-- and it is paying back. Briefly, on insurance, what sort of situation

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are people in in terms of claiming for the widespread damage that has

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been done? Some people have had great response from their insurers,

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many others have had a poor response, a delayed response. And

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others, frankly people who often have no money whatsoever, they find

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themselves in a situation where they have chosen not to insure the

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property because they had no cash to start off with. For those people, I

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feel desperately sorry and we need to get alongside those people. There

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are people who will be out of their homes at Christmas and have nothing

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at all and no prospect of anything coming back in terms of insurance.

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This is a human catastrophe and we have to stand with those people.

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Tim, thank you very much. There were schemes that were cancelled, Andrea

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Jenkyns, under the Coalition Government, between 2010 and 2015.

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Was it a mistake? It's a difficult decision of any government to make.

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We were recovering from the worst recession in peace time, so where do

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you put the money? Whichever department it is, you cannot money

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-- magic money out of thin air. Whichever one you take it from, it

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leaves another one short. I am pleased we have this ?2.3 billion

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investment. My heart goes out to the community and its devastating

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families. It wasn't that long ago, 2009, there were similar. When you

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say you have to find the money or take it from another department,

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what Tim Farren is saying, is that you could prevent the spend that has

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to come to repair the damage. The government has a long-term economic

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plan and we see short-term measures that have long-term costs and

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consequences down the line. The flood prevention budget was cut by a

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third when the coalition took office in 2010.

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It was cut although the government argues it was up to local

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authorities to do some of the spending, but could they really are

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forced to deal with that sort of devastation we are seeing here? It

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was unprecedented, the amount of rain. The big thing is, we have ?2.3

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billion of investment. Over the course of Parliament. Last week,

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Darfur announced a cut to the flood prevention and coastal erosion

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budget. Is that short-sighted? The Environment Agency Chief Executive,

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out and said that they have adequate funding, now. Going forward, the

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chief executive, we are going in the right direction. My heart goes out

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to the people here who does not get help from that. We need to learn to

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be better next time. The Environment Agency said the flood defences put

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in place in 2010 they could survive a 1 in 100 year event, 2 years

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later, they are breached. Is Tim Farron right that Labour would have

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to pledge as much money because these things are happening all the

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time, they are not won in 100 year event is? What is genuinely

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long-term? Too often from Conservative ministers we see

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numbers in a column that are supposed to add up and they don't.

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Would Labour commit? If they went government, would you like to see

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them commit vast sums of money? Committed to protecting communities

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and make sure that flood prevention is save money is a sensible

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measure. The Environment Agency had a 20% staff lost since 2010. Right

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now, we are seeing the threat and closure of five fire stations in

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Cumbria alone, these are not sensible measures that protect

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communities long-term. What would you do different as the Labour

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Party? Team announced the review, ?2.4 billion, what specific measures

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protect communities long-term? If we are saying infrastructure needs to

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be put in place now, let's get on with it rather than, as we have had

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from this covenant, cuts to budget that have long-term consequences. We

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have had long-term investment which the Environment Agency said is good.

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They do not have the resources when faced with .net cuts. It is about

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how you spend it, which is what Tim Farron was saying, not just money.

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Insurance, that must be a nightmare for people. How are they getting

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insurance? Lots of viewers would ask how can you get insured if you live

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in a flood areas? I lived in Boston, Lincolnshire for five years. That

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was the same insurance, difficult in the Fens. Something has to be done.

:17:57.:17:58.

Should the government but the Fens. Something has to be done.

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on insurance companies to still give people a reasonable package of cover

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in areas where these sort of things will happen? We need to look into

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it. Better correspondence with those organisations. People need

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insurance, it is their lives, what they have built up. The government

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needs to focus on prevention and making sure insurance is available.

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Insurance companies need to pay up quicker. We had flooding in

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Southwark, businesses and residents found it difficult to get payments

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as quick as they needed to move on with their lives and keep their

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businesses open. We will leave it there.

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Extra uniformed and undercover police,

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backed by a growing number of armed officers, have been drafted in to

:18:37.:18:39.

protect London's transport network, after a suspected terrorist-related

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Let's talk now to our Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner who's

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Frank, do you think now lone wolf attacks, which this seems to be,

:18:46.:18:58.

seen as the most likely ongoing threat? How do the police prepare

:18:59.:19:03.

for it? I want to just pre-faced this by saying I will put some

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distance between what I am saying and the incident you referred to. I

:19:07.:19:10.

will talk in entirely generic terms. There is an ongoing threat.

:19:11.:19:18.

Because of the incredible volume of very slick propaganda videos coming

:19:19.:19:24.

out of Syria, out of Isis. Which is aimed at a vulnerable and

:19:25.:19:26.

impressionable people, who perhaps feel they are not part of society,

:19:27.:19:32.

no great loyalty to Britain. A lot of this propaganda is very effective

:19:33.:19:38.

at radicalising and turning people. And encouraging them to carry out

:19:39.:19:42.

attacks in countries like France, Belgium, Britain, etc. Basically,

:19:43.:19:46.

countries that are part of the correlation that are confronting

:19:47.:19:50.

so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. -- part of the coalition. This

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has increased since the Paris attack. The air strikes are

:19:57.:20:00.

definitely hurting Isis. They are hemming them in, hurting their will

:20:01.:20:04.

supplies, their sources of revenue. Their way of hitting back is to

:20:05.:20:09.

encourage people to do so called... Lone Wolf, I don't like that

:20:10.:20:13.

expression, there is always some kind of connection. The police and

:20:14.:20:17.

the security services are most concerned about the people who they

:20:18.:20:23.

call SVEs spontaneous violent extremists. People who are

:20:24.:20:28.

call SVEs spontaneous violent of any network or plot, they don't

:20:29.:20:29.

necessarily need to have gone to Syria. But they have served a lot of

:20:30.:20:35.

violent extremist propaganda online and have decided to do something in

:20:36.:20:40.

response to it. The former First Minister of Scotland at the weekend,

:20:41.:20:43.

Alex Salmond, said none of the seven foiled plots by the security

:20:44.:20:47.

services was directed from Syria, he claims. Underlining your claim that

:20:48.:20:52.

actually, this is something connected to what is going on, but

:20:53.:20:58.

is home-grown. Yes. Just because it is not directed by them, there is no

:20:59.:21:03.

evidence that San Bernardino with the murder of 14 people in

:21:04.:21:08.

California, was directed by them. But the fact is, it is inspired by

:21:09.:21:13.

them and what is going on. People who carry these things out are doing

:21:14.:21:18.

it in the name of Isis. Even if Isis doesn't even know they are doing it.

:21:19.:21:23.

That is what is worrying. It gives the psychopathic violent, murderous

:21:24.:21:26.

people, with criminal intent and sometimes criminal background, some

:21:27.:21:35.

kind of cloak of a bigger, some sort of, bigger, higher aim. Actually,

:21:36.:21:39.

what they are doing is just murdering innocent people. Boris

:21:40.:21:43.

Johnson has entered the debate on the military side, the conflict

:21:44.:21:47.

aside, do we have to let the Russians back President Assad's

:21:48.:21:50.

boots on the ground to defeat Isil. In a way, is he not stating the

:21:51.:21:54.

obvious, the unspoken that Britain has two, to some extent, gone in on

:21:55.:22:01.

that side, in order to defeat Isis. I would disagree with that. There is

:22:02.:22:05.

very little fighting between Isis and the Assad regime. The President

:22:06.:22:10.

Assad regime have mostly for the non-ISIS rebels, which is why when

:22:11.:22:13.

Russia came in with their air strikes, look at the map of those

:22:14.:22:18.

air strikes. Almost all of them, the vast majority, over 80% of them,

:22:19.:22:22.

have been hitting the rebels, non-ISIS rebels, closest to Assad's

:22:23.:22:27.

forces. Identify the Russians want boots on the ground. They have

:22:28.:22:31.

probably in excess of 1000 people now, some special forces, but most

:22:32.:22:36.

of them force protection, to protect their warplanes and their bases,

:22:37.:22:42.

their camps. They don't want another Afghanistan type ground campaign and

:22:43.:22:45.

Britain does not want to get involved in that, if we can avoid

:22:46.:22:52.

it. Thank you. The yell from a passenger, has rather You Ain' tNo

:22:53.:22:56.

Muslim Bruv captured social media. -- has rather captured.

:22:57.:22:59.

The more people who recognise that, they have nothing to do with Islam,

:23:00.:23:06.

the better. It is something incredibly accurate. What about the

:23:07.:23:13.

police presence? There was a huge furore over claims that George

:23:14.:23:16.

Osborne was going to cut back on police numbers. He didn't, in the

:23:17.:23:20.

end, probably as a result of that pressure, are you happy with the

:23:21.:23:24.

police presence on the street? We need to say that the police are

:23:25.:23:28.

doing a great job. It is not easy for them. We need to commend them

:23:29.:23:35.

for their bravery. Are there enough police on the street? Crime has gone

:23:36.:23:39.

down. But with this threat? With this threat?

:23:40.:23:43.

I think it is a joined up... Approach that we need. It is all the

:23:44.:23:53.

services. I mean, I was... This threat has been going on a while. I

:23:54.:23:59.

was in Bali, ten years ago and I just missed the Harley bombs, by 20

:24:00.:24:05.

seconds by jumping into a taxi, that has left an impression on me, my

:24:06.:24:09.

parents and I almost got blown up -- Bali bombing. We have got to pull

:24:10.:24:15.

together. Cross-party. And defeat it. We are doing the right thing.

:24:16.:24:19.

The fact that the police were there within a few minutes and they

:24:20.:24:25.

captured him... In order to be cross-party, we need consensus. In

:24:26.:24:30.

Southwark, only 16% of knife crimes last year have been solved.

:24:31.:24:34.

Inexcusable to pretend that crime is a sensible or reasonable level. The

:24:35.:24:37.

police do not have the resorts is they need. We have lost 200 police

:24:38.:24:44.

and PC SOs since 2010. As usual, with the budget, we have had smoke

:24:45.:24:48.

and mirrors. Because of the amount of extra money going into

:24:49.:24:50.

counterterrorism, we will still lose all of the PCSOs in London who

:24:51.:24:56.

provide front-line intelligence. There is a target. We have aborted

:24:57.:25:00.

seven attempts in the last 12 months, the police are doing a

:25:01.:25:05.

fantastic job. That is also the security services. If you want to

:25:06.:25:08.

increase levels of police on the cheap network, you need the police

:25:09.:25:16.

to do it. -- on the tube. Are there community relations which are

:25:17.:25:18.

strained in your constituency? When I met with arms to talk about the

:25:19.:25:24.

rise of Islamophobia, they talked about the additional measures. To

:25:25.:25:30.

tackle the radicalisation. -- imams. Those relationships will be

:25:31.:25:34.

strained, the more we lose police in the borough. It prevents the passing

:25:35.:25:39.

on of information on individuals that imams have become concerned

:25:40.:25:45.

about. That is a real risk. There is already an arrest every other day in

:25:46.:25:47.

London at someone suspected... Watched a bishop contribute

:25:48.:25:49.

in the House of Lords recently? Maybe you even remember Archbishop

:25:50.:25:54.

Geoffrey Fisher crowning Queen My guests and myself were too

:25:55.:25:56.

young. But is it right that

:25:57.:26:06.

in modern Britain, Christianity A new report by the Commission

:26:07.:26:08.

on Religion and Belief in British Public Life is calling

:26:09.:26:12.

for significant changes in the role of Christianity

:26:13.:26:14.

in our multicultural society. The report contends that British

:26:15.:26:18.

institutions need to change to reflect a "general decline"

:26:19.:26:20.

in Christian affiliation. It says a "new settlement"

:26:21.:26:24.

is needed to reflect the fact that almost half the population doesn't

:26:25.:26:27.

identify with any religion. The Commission says faith schools

:26:28.:26:33.

are "socially divisive" and that selection of pupils based on

:26:34.:26:35.

their faith should be phased out. It calls for acts

:26:36.:26:42.

of faith worship in assemblies to be ended, and replaced with a

:26:43.:26:45.

"time for reflection". And in the House of Lords,

:26:46.:26:50.

the number of Anglican bishops should be cut to make room

:26:51.:26:53.

for leaders of other faiths. Major national and civil events,

:26:54.:26:55.

such as the coronation of the monarch,

:26:56.:26:58.

should be reformed to give them more And the government should re-focus

:26:59.:27:00.

anti-terrorism legislation to promote freedom of speech,

:27:01.:27:12.

particularly on campuses. The National Secular Society has

:27:13.:27:16.

said the report is full of "handwringing,

:27:17.:27:18.

but no concrete solutions". But the Church of England says the

:27:19.:27:19.

Commission "misunderstands" the role of faith schools, and says most

:27:20.:27:22.

public opinion is opposed to the And the vicar and religious

:27:23.:27:25.

commentator, Giles Fraser is with us It gives us ace shot on where we

:27:26.:27:53.

are. Christianity down, other religions up -- eight snapshot.

:27:54.:27:59.

Secularism at. What do you do in that context? That is correct. That

:28:00.:28:05.

is exactly what is happening. How do you get your national institutions

:28:06.:28:08.

to reflect that reality? That is important. What it doesn't do is

:28:09.:28:13.

that it doesn't get the fact that religion is becoming not something

:28:14.:28:15.

about the great and the good any more. It is becoming something much

:28:16.:28:19.

more on the street, something much more fractured and diverse. That is

:28:20.:28:25.

why it is growing. Right. That is something that this commission

:28:26.:28:28.

doesn't really get to. It doesn't get too... It is still talking in

:28:29.:28:36.

terms of established religion, how you perform the various different

:28:37.:28:39.

institutions. At the same time, there is a sort of bottom up growth

:28:40.:28:43.

of religion, in a different way which is not being addressed. But

:28:44.:28:47.

not organised religion. Disorganised religion. Disorganised religion. If

:28:48.:28:54.

the report says and you agree, that Christianity is going down and other

:28:55.:28:57.

religions are going up, does that and should that necessarily

:28:58.:29:01.

correspond with the deep Christianisation of public life?

:29:02.:29:10.

De-Christianisation. One has to be specific. Bishops in the House of

:29:11.:29:14.

Lords, my personal view is that I completely agree. You would say yes.

:29:15.:29:18.

I would get rid of bishops in the House of Lords. Their role is widely

:29:19.:29:22.

seen as not having a sort of mandate. From religious communities.

:29:23.:29:29.

What about having Christian assemblies and singing hymns in

:29:30.:29:32.

schools, should that stay or go? Here is the problem. The problem

:29:33.:29:38.

with it becoming a moment of reflection, it becomes so

:29:39.:29:42.

generalised that it ends up having no contact whatsoever. It becomes

:29:43.:29:45.

even more boring than it can be already. It is too sanitised. It

:29:46.:29:54.

becomes a sort of mushy spiritualism where there isn't really any

:29:55.:29:58.

content, that is my problem. I would prefer to have lots of different

:29:59.:30:06.

forms of contribution. But not a sort of Esperanto of religion, which

:30:07.:30:11.

is rather dull. You would like to see a plurality of representation,

:30:12.:30:16.

religion, but still religious as opposed to nonreligious? As you

:30:17.:30:18.

argued, many people are not religious at all. I take your point

:30:19.:30:22.

about it being ground roots, although I am not sure in what form

:30:23.:30:26.

that takes. Does this report is not reflect the vast numbers of people

:30:27.:30:29.

who just don't think religion, in any sense, is important? It is

:30:30.:30:37.

important, but not in the way the report describes it. Most of the

:30:38.:30:41.

news items we have at the moment are the affect of religion and

:30:42.:30:44.

religiosity on the world and politics. And that is essential,

:30:45.:30:50.

that we up our religious literacy. It's pretty low in this country and

:30:51.:30:54.

it's part of the reason we don't understand the world. If you look at

:30:55.:31:01.

places, towns in this country that have high religious literacy they

:31:02.:31:04.

often have good relationships between different faith communities.

:31:05.:31:07.

Leicester is a really good example. Places like that are good. Do you

:31:08.:31:13.

think the UK should still be thought of as a Christian country? When

:31:14.:31:18.

people claim that... That is the bases, the history, the attrition --

:31:19.:31:26.

tradition. It claimed to be a Protestant country to keep the

:31:27.:31:30.

Catholics out from France, and so forth, and when people say it, I get

:31:31.:31:34.

nervous. I think they are trying to usher in something. When the far

:31:35.:31:37.

right say they are a Christian country, they mean they are not a

:31:38.:31:42.

Muslim country. When people say not in my name, I agree with that. Would

:31:43.:31:47.

you say it is still a Christian country? In the main, I would. Giles

:31:48.:31:53.

is one of the vicars who read my bands at my wedding. Would you,

:31:54.:32:01.

Andrea? I think there is the other element. Why is religion important?

:32:02.:32:05.

Surely it is about finding your place in the world and the

:32:06.:32:09.

community, and white are we looking for differences rather than

:32:10.:32:15.

commonalities -- why are we? What about in schools? Faith schools are

:32:16.:32:20.

divisive. People laud the fact that they get good results but you're

:32:21.:32:23.

going in on the basis of your religion. In Northern Ireland they

:32:24.:32:27.

have been trying to move away, unsuccessfully, in some instances

:32:28.:32:31.

from segregation on religious lines. Are they a good thing? Yes, and for

:32:32.:32:36.

this reason. We are different and we believe in different sorts of

:32:37.:32:41.

things. The idea that we impose a similarity and command and control

:32:42.:32:44.

of ethics and religion from the top is ridiculous. We need to have that

:32:45.:32:48.

diversity in the education system. Tony Blair was a huge fan of the

:32:49.:32:54.

faith school system and it really started under him, but if successive

:32:55.:32:58.

governments are trying to have an egalitarian school system, is it

:32:59.:33:03.

desirable? The scrutineers what they are teaching and how the students

:33:04.:33:10.

come out. But bishops are less than 3% of the members of the House of

:33:11.:33:13.

Lords and we should look at involving other religions in the

:33:14.:33:17.

House of Lords rather than the hereditary peers. I think it's bad

:33:18.:33:24.

religion. You think it is bad for the state, but I think it's bad her

:33:25.:33:27.

religion for us up to the establishment. I think it takes off

:33:28.:33:33.

the edge for us to be more concerned with dressing up and speaking out.

:33:34.:33:37.

That is the problem with bishops in the House of Lords. The Church of

:33:38.:33:41.

England says if the law on collective worship were repealed,

:33:42.:33:46.

schools would risk losing a reflection of the full breadth of

:33:47.:33:53.

human experience. Are they right? It is a nonsense of particular brand of

:33:54.:33:56.

Christianity to be imposed on people. No one obeys the law. That

:33:57.:34:02.

is clearly a nonsense that has to be changed. I prefer to see it go and

:34:03.:34:08.

it become a mushy spiritualism. What about religious studies as a subject

:34:09.:34:13.

at school? It has been compulsory up to GCSE level. Should it stay? I

:34:14.:34:19.

would be happy for it to be opened up for the study of non-religions

:34:20.:34:23.

and atheists and secularists. So many people are put off religion at

:34:24.:34:28.

school. I would like there to be a living playing field and people be

:34:29.:34:31.

put off atheism as well. -- level playing field. You are going to the

:34:32.:34:39.

lowest common denominator then. The report also wants more nonreligious

:34:40.:34:42.

slots on thought for the day on Radio 4. Does that make sense? My

:34:43.:34:47.

problem is this. It does seem a bit like getting people who want to say

:34:48.:34:53.

they hate football going on match of the day. It is a religious slot and

:34:54.:34:56.

I think it should stay that way. But the sum onto, and rubbish religion

:34:57.:35:02.

-- for someone to come on to rubbish religion would be nonsense on songs

:35:03.:35:05.

of praise, and also one Thought Of The Day. What about more separation

:35:06.:35:10.

between church and state? Are there other ways you would like to see it

:35:11.:35:16.

happen on the basis of this report? You have the choice of swearing in

:35:17.:35:20.

when you enter Parliament. Should you keep all of that? I would,

:35:21.:35:26.

personally. No one tells you you have to turn around during prayers,

:35:27.:35:29.

that was a surprise. It is to protect those behind. You turn

:35:30.:35:36.

around and face the back of the benches. Nobody tells you before

:35:37.:35:39.

this first time in the chamber. There are some strange customs. Are

:35:40.:35:45.

you offended by them in any way? I haven't met anyone offended by it.

:35:46.:35:49.

You have a choice not to be there if you are offended by that practice.

:35:50.:35:53.

The truth is the disestablishment is coming in the future of the country

:35:54.:35:57.

and nobody will give at the Parliamentary time it requires. The

:35:58.:36:00.

MPs have more interesting and important things to do, but it will

:36:01.:36:02.

come. Giles Fraser, thank you. Now let's take a look at what's

:36:03.:36:04.

in store for us this week. David Cameron is today announcing a

:36:05.:36:07.

major expansion of the government's shared-ownership scheme, which he

:36:08.:36:10.

says will allow nearly 200,000 The European Council President,

:36:11.:36:12.

Donald Tusk, is writing to EU leaders today to set out his

:36:13.:36:18.

position on Britain's renegotiation. He'll say that plans to strip EU

:36:19.:36:22.

migrants of their benefits could be On Wednesday, Jeremy Corbyn will

:36:23.:36:25.

face David Cameron for The decision on whether to build

:36:26.:36:30.

a third runway at Heathrow airport A cabinet committee formed to help

:36:31.:36:42.

make the decision is due to meet And Jeremy Corbyn says he will

:36:43.:36:46.

attend a fundraising dinner on Friday, organised

:36:47.:36:49.

by the Stop the War Coalition. This is despite some of his own MPs

:36:50.:36:51.

calling on him not to attend. Let's talk now to Isabel Hardman

:36:52.:36:55.

from the Spectator and Rafael Behr Welcome. Are we going to get this

:36:56.:37:10.

decision on Heath Row, or the direction of travel? First week

:37:11.:37:14.

heard it would be delayed until next year but now we are told it will

:37:15.:37:18.

happen before the end of the year. The official spokeswoman for the

:37:19.:37:21.

Prime Minister said today we would get the clear direction by the end

:37:22.:37:24.

of the year which sounds to me a little different to a clear

:37:25.:37:28.

decision, but she did say we should not get too worried about semantics.

:37:29.:37:33.

It may be that some sort of holding statement is issued. But we are

:37:34.:37:36.

assured that there are meetings taking place over the next week that

:37:37.:37:40.

means we will get a direction, whatever it means. It's going to be

:37:41.:37:45.

difficult because the cabinet is split, and certainly the reports of

:37:46.:37:49.

the delay would be centred around problems of pollution and air

:37:50.:37:53.

quality. It's all a bit embarrassing, really. You remember

:37:54.:37:56.

the Chancellor's Autumn Statement the other week and he said that we

:37:57.:38:01.

are the builders. Such an important part of the agenda on paper that

:38:02.:38:05.

they get off with infrastructure and are retooling the country, but we

:38:06.:38:08.

have known for a decade that Britain, in theory, needs new

:38:09.:38:12.

airport capacity and as soon as possible and the reality is that

:38:13.:38:18.

there find political reasons why it's difficult to put it at Heathrow

:38:19.:38:23.

Airport because our MPs near Heathrow Airport and then wanted

:38:24.:38:26.

because their constituency don't want the noise of the overflights.

:38:27.:38:30.

And one of those MPs wants to be the Mayor of London, Zac Goldsmith, so

:38:31.:38:33.

it's hard to disentangle what is a practical and abroad strategic

:38:34.:38:38.

reason to put it at Heathrow Airport or Gatwick, and what is just sort of

:38:39.:38:42.

tactical calculations to avoid a split in the Conservative Party.

:38:43.:38:46.

That is just a bad look for the government when they're trying to

:38:47.:38:50.

suggest they have broader strategic infrastructure. We look forward to

:38:51.:38:53.

hearing what the direction of travel is. It sounds like a fudge term.

:38:54.:39:00.

Let's turn to the EU renegotiation, talking of potential fudging and

:39:01.:39:04.

Donald Task and the letter going out to member states. The sticking point

:39:05.:39:08.

is the same, that the one that could bring support the Prime Minister is

:39:09.:39:13.

this moratorium on in work benefits. It is problematic to say the least.

:39:14.:39:18.

This is why he has let the timetable slip. He had originally said that he

:39:19.:39:22.

would hope to present his plan and agree it with EU leaders at the EU

:39:23.:39:27.

Council summit in December but admitted last week that he cannot do

:39:28.:39:30.

this and he will be looking at the February meeting to do it. As

:39:31.:39:35.

Raphael says, the government keeps saying it is a government that

:39:36.:39:38.

delivers, not just on infrastructure but also on renegotiation. At the

:39:39.:39:43.

moment, you can see the Eurosceptics rubbing their hands with glee at

:39:44.:39:47.

this being a government that does not seem to deliver on the

:39:48.:39:49.

renegotiation as well as airport decisions. How will he be able to

:39:50.:39:54.

dress up the renegotiation on the basis of the broad areas he wants a

:39:55.:40:00.

deal on when Eurosceptics will say that there is no substance and he

:40:01.:40:02.

hasn't achieved anything substantial? Some of them are almost

:40:03.:40:08.

in the bag. There is the big symbolic point about exempting

:40:09.:40:13.

Britain from closer union, which makes it sound like some great

:40:14.:40:16.

federalising project. The signals we are getting from other continental

:40:17.:40:20.

leaders is you can probably find a way around it. It does come down to

:40:21.:40:24.

the specific point about migrant access to benefits, and the

:40:25.:40:27.

technical problem with that is that you probably have to go to the

:40:28.:40:32.

Lisbon Treaty and that can't be changed because it's about the fair

:40:33.:40:35.

treatment of workers across the European Union. People have other

:40:36.:40:39.

things to deal with on the continent, the migrant crisis,

:40:40.:40:43.

Syria, and it's not on anyone's agenda to have a treaty

:40:44.:40:46.

renegotiation, and if you do have that, other country leaders and

:40:47.:40:50.

other populations will say, if we are all putting in the bid to change

:40:51.:40:55.

the way the EU works, we have a few grievances of our own. What the

:40:56.:40:58.

Prime Minister has to do is somehow turn around and say, I got a deal

:40:59.:41:02.

and it's brilliant, now let's move on and discuss the wider issue of

:41:03.:41:05.

whether Britain should be a member of the EU and that is a tricky bit

:41:06.:41:12.

of footwork to exercise. Let's talk about Jeremy Corbyn attending a Stop

:41:13.:41:17.

the War meeting despite advice not to do so. -- to do so. There does

:41:18.:41:23.

seem to be a rift that is not going to go away within the Labour Party

:41:24.:41:29.

any time soon. Both sides are becoming steadily more defiant, so

:41:30.:41:32.

if Jeremy Corbyn were feeling weak, he might have decided he had a hot

:41:33.:41:36.

date with his allotment that meant he could not have attended but he

:41:37.:41:40.

says he will keep going. His critics have been very outspoken on the

:41:41.:41:47.

airway, that they have been encouraging the abuse of MPs on

:41:48.:41:51.

social media. They wrote an ill-advised post about the origins

:41:52.:41:54.

of Islamic State which suggested that their worldview is not

:41:55.:41:56.

necessarily something the Labour leader would want to align himself

:41:57.:42:01.

with, but he is happy to. There is the broader point about the Labour

:42:02.:42:05.

moderates, as they see themselves, what they want clarity, is whether

:42:06.:42:09.

or not Jeremy Corbyn is happy for people who simply aren't in the

:42:10.:42:13.

Labour Party to become part of the party by osmosis. There is party

:42:14.:42:18.

differences. Obviously there will be some that don't have use MPs like,

:42:19.:42:22.

but they want the sense Jeremy Corbyn that he is the leader of the

:42:23.:42:25.

Labour Party and there is a boundary Way you support Labour MPs and

:42:26.:42:31.

around the campaign there are other hard left parties, the Socialist

:42:32.:42:36.

workers party, and Liberty, who have traditionally not been the Labour

:42:37.:42:40.

Party. If Jeremy Corbyn is happy for them to dictate terms to Labour MPs

:42:41.:42:44.

as part of an extra Parliamentary whipping operation on the hard left,

:42:45.:42:48.

that's a big change in the structure of the Labour Party and the

:42:49.:42:51.

moderates want clarity on whether that is part of the Jeremy Corbyn

:42:52.:42:54.

agenda. On the point about showing strength here by not going for the

:42:55.:43:00.

date with the allotment, is that what it is? Does Jeremy Corbyn feel

:43:01.:43:06.

stronger to do that? Certainly. The old by-election at the end of last

:43:07.:43:10.

week where expectations were low and I joined in those low expectations,

:43:11.:43:14.

the fact that the Labour Party managed to hold a seat quite

:43:15.:43:17.

uncomfortably and a lot of people turned out, there is a feeling that

:43:18.:43:20.

punctuated the end of a difficult week and few weeks for the Labour

:43:21.:43:25.

leader and now they can say, OK, we have proved that people will still

:43:26.:43:29.

turn out for us and now other MPs who don't like Jeremy Corbyn, get

:43:30.:43:33.

back in your box and let's make it work. That's the mood around the

:43:34.:43:36.

operation of the moment. He is disinclined to yield to that

:43:37.:43:41.

pressure right now. Thank you to both of you. Have a good week.

:43:42.:43:42.

Well, let's talk a little more about Jeremy Corbyn and Stop the War

:43:43.:43:45.

Joining us now from Momentum, the campaign group closely associated

:43:46.:43:49.

Before I come to you, should Jeremy Corbyn step back from his

:43:50.:43:59.

involvement with stop the war? We should not be snobbish about

:44:00.:44:03.

allotments. But given some of the misguided statements about Paris

:44:04.:44:10.

reaping the whirlwind and the disruption outside the Labour Party

:44:11.:44:12.

office while we were trying to campaign to win the by-election.

:44:13.:44:17.

There are concerns there. It is not my place as a backbench Labour MP to

:44:18.:44:20.

dictate to the leader what he chooses to do. Some MPs have been

:44:21.:44:25.

saying to Jeremy Corbyn that he should not be involved with the

:44:26.:44:29.

organisation that says things that you outline. Everyone has to make

:44:30.:44:33.

those choices. Jeremy's strategy seems to be the same as Ed Miliband,

:44:34.:44:37.

reach out to the left, rather than the centre. It means engaging with

:44:38.:44:42.

Stop The War more than the business community and I'm nervous that we

:44:43.:44:46.

end up in the same position in Twenty20, which would be deeply

:44:47.:44:49.

unfortunate for my constituents who need a Labour government. Listening

:44:50.:44:56.

to both Neil Coyle, this is an organisation that is not the Labour

:44:57.:44:59.

Party, so should the Labour leader B is closely involved with something

:45:00.:45:00.

like Stop The War? I have come on here to speak about

:45:01.:45:11.

Momentum first of all. We will come onto that. It is an interesting

:45:12.:45:16.

discussion, Jeremy Corbyn or Ed Miliband should have reached out to

:45:17.:45:20.

the business community, rather than grassroots organisations. The idea

:45:21.:45:25.

that reaching out to the hard left and that whole terminology... He

:45:26.:45:31.

said to the left, not hard left. It is to the people. Over the summer it

:45:32.:45:36.

was mass mobilisation of people who felt disenchanted with the

:45:37.:45:39.

increasingly unequal society. Increasing levels of homelessness,

:45:40.:45:43.

poverty. A lot of the values in our society, young people in particular

:45:44.:45:47.

feeling they are not tapping into what represents them. There is a new

:45:48.:45:52.

mood. To present this in a dichotomous way is a

:45:53.:45:54.

misrepresentation. Perhaps it is being presented that way because MPs

:45:55.:45:58.

like Neil Coyle have come in for quite a lot of abuse and

:45:59.:46:07.

intimidation. Talk us through what happened last week to you. Before

:46:08.:46:10.

the vote on Syria there was abuse and threats that came through. I

:46:11.:46:13.

don't hold Jeromy or Momentum momentum responsible -- Jeremy.

:46:14.:46:20.

107,000 people e-mailed the Labour Party. Less than 1% of those e-mails

:46:21.:46:24.

were read. Encouraging that tell your MP what to do atmosphere I

:46:25.:46:28.

ended up with people who felt they could dictate to me what I should do

:46:29.:46:32.

in Parliament. I have 107,000 constituents, less than 1000

:46:33.:46:37.

supporting against the war. Some people felt they could tell me what

:46:38.:46:43.

to do. Amongst those people, some threatened to stab, others

:46:44.:46:47.

threatened to slap me. Because of my brilliant constituency, more people

:46:48.:46:50.

offered to buy me a drink and I have had people who have offered security

:46:51.:46:54.

on a voluntary basis. Is that the role of the people you have talked

:46:55.:46:59.

about? To do that to MPs, put them under pressure in that way because

:47:00.:47:02.

they don't agree on this issue over Syria? Absolutely not, I was

:47:03.:47:08.

completely condemn abuse on the internet, trolling is horrible and I

:47:09.:47:12.

am sorry you had to experience that. Taking the lead from Jeremy Corbyn

:47:13.:47:17.

of making it about substance, politics, not about personalities

:47:18.:47:19.

and not being personal ad attacking people, I would not condone that at

:47:20.:47:25.

all. But, do you think that if Labour MPs are not representing the

:47:26.:47:29.

views of their constituents or members of Momentum, this grassroots

:47:30.:47:34.

organisation that is closely aligned on the left wing, if you like, of

:47:35.:47:38.

the Labour Party, do you think there should be pressure for those MPs to

:47:39.:47:41.

go and have people that better reflects the views of people in

:47:42.:47:45.

Momentum? To answer your question about Momentum's role in providing

:47:46.:47:50.

that, did someone think that providing a tool to say if you want

:47:51.:47:53.

your voice heard on an issue which really matters, where people will

:47:54.:47:58.

die as consequences of air strikes, to say if you feel strongly about

:47:59.:48:03.

this issue, you can lobby this MP, your MP respectfully. Using a tool

:48:04.:48:08.

provided by Momentum and you should explicitly keep it... It hasn't been

:48:09.:48:14.

all respectful. A lot of it has, but not all of it. Of course. Internet

:48:15.:48:17.

trolling is something that predates Momentum. It exists across all sorts

:48:18.:48:25.

of society and the misogyny associated is unpleasant. Let's talk

:48:26.:48:28.

about this deselection and reselection. Do you think MPs like

:48:29.:48:33.

Neal who don't agree with you should be deselected as somebody else

:48:34.:48:39.

reselected? -- Neil. That is not our responsibility. Lots of people have

:48:40.:48:44.

said that Momentum would not campaign for deselection but it does

:48:45.:48:48.

not try with the report about a Momentum event which was attended by

:48:49.:48:51.

John McDonald, the Shadow Chancellor. The Lambeth branch

:48:52.:48:55.

launch in Chuka Umunna's constituency. The leaflet given at

:48:56.:49:02.

entry said Socialist party, formerly militant. We call for a vote of no

:49:03.:49:06.

confidence in Chuka Umunna. Mandatory reselection is only a

:49:07.:49:09.

challenge to those who refuse to carry out the wishes of the people.

:49:10.:49:13.

Momentum Does support reselection and deselection of candidates.

:49:14.:49:18.

Absolutely. I was not at the event on Thursday. This was from

:49:19.:49:22.

conservative home, Mark Wallace. He is a conservative. He was there

:49:23.:49:27.

clearly. Do you deny those leaflets were being handed out? I was not at

:49:28.:49:30.

the event on Thursday but my understanding from speaking to

:49:31.:49:33.

people who were, is that it was an event hosted by Momentum. Lambeth.

:49:34.:49:40.

Some Socialist party people turned up. They were not invited.

:49:41.:49:45.

Momentum's goal is for Labour to win the election in 2020 and build the

:49:46.:49:50.

Labour Party and engage with grass roots. If a small section of people

:49:51.:49:53.

came in, which I believed it happened... They were handing out

:49:54.:49:58.

leaflets at the door. Are you saying it was hijacked? That is my

:49:59.:50:02.

understanding. Do you condemn those leaflets and what they are saying

:50:03.:50:07.

about entry into the Labour Party? It is not the place for non-Labour

:50:08.:50:12.

Party members to campaign on the selection or deselection of

:50:13.:50:15.

candidates. If those Socialist party people... What will Momentum do to

:50:16.:50:20.

prevent other non-Labour Party taking over your event in future?

:50:21.:50:24.

This is one example, but they are doing it all over the country. I

:50:25.:50:27.

have been to many Momentum meetings and there is by and large a positive

:50:28.:50:31.

and inclusive atmosphere where people are doing politics

:50:32.:50:33.

differently. We have groups where someone is beating at the front

:50:34.:50:37.

often and there is facilitation into small groups -- is speaking. It is

:50:38.:50:42.

generally positive and inclusive. New Labour Party members often,

:50:43.:50:46.

people who were previously disengaged or people of the Labour

:50:47.:50:50.

Party. Answer the question, what is the aim? Walthamstow Labour

:50:51.:50:56.

councillor. Stella Creasy Labour MP. She reports about intimidation to

:50:57.:51:00.

her office staff. If Labour councillor suggested any MP who

:51:01.:51:03.

supported the killing of innocents in this way should automatically go

:51:04.:51:08.

through a ballot for reselection, is that councillor Ron? That is not

:51:09.:51:12.

Momentum's position. We understand that, we have had Momentum on

:51:13.:51:17.

before. But what are you doing to try to de-escalates what seems to be

:51:18.:51:21.

happening at the behest of momentum Momentum Momentum events. It is a

:51:22.:51:29.

tiny minority of what is going on, if you go to those events. Going

:51:30.:51:34.

forward, there will be... Momentum Is a new organisation. It has come

:51:35.:51:38.

out suddenly off the back of a campaign which mobilised a lot of

:51:39.:51:42.

people. It is taking a while to build up that organisation. There

:51:43.:51:47.

will be a clear statement about attendance of meetings and events

:51:48.:51:49.

that are open to the public, open to everyone. These may be teething

:51:50.:51:56.

problems. It may be a case, Tom Watson said Momentum were a bit of a

:51:57.:52:02.

rabble, I will ask you if that is there or not. This is an

:52:03.:52:04.

organisation who wants to make the most of the new members, new young

:52:05.:52:08.

people engaged in politics. Which standard politics hasn't done. When

:52:09.:52:14.

Jeremy won, I was hopeful that a lot of the momentum created by Momentum

:52:15.:52:19.

would be carried forward and they would be genuine debate and

:52:20.:52:22.

discussion. Unity in purpose. At the moment, that is not what we are

:52:23.:52:26.

seeing. Labour councillors, not just MPs, the local level, Jeremy Corbyn

:52:27.:52:32.

at local level is Labour councillors. They are being told

:52:33.:52:34.

they need to set budgets for Momentum in Lewisham. Momentum Need

:52:35.:52:39.

to do more to tackle those who pretend to represent Jeremy Corbyn

:52:40.:52:43.

when they are actually another political party. You looked

:52:44.:52:48.

surprised, are you surprised? I am not sure about that particular

:52:49.:52:52.

incident. You are not aware of what Momentum are doing at local level? I

:52:53.:52:57.

don't believe it was Momentum. It was widely reported, you do not seem

:52:58.:53:00.

to know what is happening within Momentum, that is worrying.

:53:01.:53:05.

Everything seems to be reported as Momentum and we are about mass

:53:06.:53:08.

mobilisation, popular power. Would you accept you have not got control

:53:09.:53:11.

of what is going on in your name? Not my name. No, Momentum. It is

:53:12.:53:19.

growing as an organisation. We have set in place structures which will

:53:20.:53:24.

ensure... You need to get on with it. This point about popular power

:53:25.:53:29.

is interesting. Labour councillors are elected by the general public.

:53:30.:53:32.

Labour MPs are selected and elected, it is not Momentum's place to say

:53:33.:53:37.

that we are the representative of people, that is not who you are.

:53:38.:53:42.

Momentum Is enabling people to come together and campaign on issues

:53:43.:53:46.

which affect them. And also to aim towards building a more

:53:47.:53:49.

compassionate, just and equal society which doesn't involve

:53:50.:53:51.

trolling people, bullying people. society which doesn't involve

:53:52.:53:55.

is more inclusive and representative. We will leave it

:53:56.:53:56.

there on that positive note. Now this may be news to you,

:53:57.:53:58.

but abuse and intimidation in In fact, before a West Yorkshire

:53:59.:54:01.

by-election in 1872, people couldn't vote in secret, and this meant they

:54:02.:54:06.

were often pressured to back And one

:54:07.:54:09.

of the original ballot boxes used in that by-election is on display

:54:10.:54:12.

in Pontefract, as Ros Ball reports. The historic market town

:54:13.:54:21.

of Pontefract in West Yorkshire, famous for its old castle,

:54:22.:54:23.

the site of many sieges during the 17th century English

:54:24.:54:28.

Civil War and where King Richard II And, of course, Pontefract

:54:29.:54:32.

cakes made from licorice. But this town's 1872 by-election

:54:33.:54:41.

also deserves a place in history. to vote, could do so in a private

:54:42.:54:49.

booth, much like we do today. Before the introduction,

:54:50.:54:54.

the Ballot Act, that year, Either by a show of hands,

:54:55.:54:56.

by making your choice out loud or This left the electorate wide

:54:57.:55:01.

open to bribery and intimidation. At Pontefract Museum, they have the

:55:02.:55:09.

real star of that 1872 by-election. This is one of the five original

:55:10.:55:18.

boxes from the by-election. We have two in the museum service,

:55:19.:55:21.

here. This one on display in the

:55:22.:55:25.

Pontefract Museum is somewhat taller On the top you can see the red wax

:55:26.:55:28.

seals, which were used to prove using the stamps used to make

:55:29.:55:39.

Pontefract cakes. I understand you want me to cast

:55:40.:55:55.

a vote? We have a small ballot paper here

:55:56.:55:57.

to find out who your favourite In case you were wondering,

:55:58.:56:01.

Liberal MP Hugh Childers Hmmm...

:56:02.:56:05.

Which candidate? The BBC's own self-styled

:56:06.:56:17.

Paisley interrogator? Or the smooth, daytime velvet

:56:18.:56:20.

glove that hides an iron fist? Sorry, this is a private booth,

:56:21.:56:24.

check your 1872 Ballot Act! I would have said there was no

:56:25.:56:43.

contest, who would you have chosen in the secret poll? Whoever lets me

:56:44.:56:47.

keep this mark. That is a good answer, you have been thinking about

:56:48.:56:51.

that. Voter registration, are you worried? Not enough people will be

:56:52.:56:56.

signed up for voter registration? I am not, personally. I know the

:56:57.:57:00.

government had the campaign in the lead up to the 20 15th election.

:57:01.:57:04.

There are more people registered. With the new registration, 96% have

:57:05.:57:11.

been registered. The other 4% will be called nine times. There are

:57:12.:57:17.

measures in place. There is a lot more money going into local

:57:18.:57:21.

government. Are you reassured? I am not sure there is more money going

:57:22.:57:25.

to local government but Southwark Council have done a lot to make sure

:57:26.:57:29.

people are still on the ballot. We have 17,000 students and young

:57:30.:57:32.

professionals moving in and out of the constituency, that is the big

:57:33.:57:36.

risk. For the government to write off 1 million people off the ballot

:57:37.:57:38.

paper just before the boundary review is very political. It is

:57:39.:57:46.

propaganda. Briefly. We want complete transparency. If people can

:57:47.:57:51.

move home and sort out... Why not have automatic registration? If

:57:52.:57:55.

people can sort out their gasp, electric bill and council tax, it is

:57:56.:58:00.

easy online, it is simple. Let's go to the quiz.

:58:01.:58:02.

There's just time before we go to find out the answer to our quiz.

:58:03.:58:05.

The question was, who does our guest of the day

:58:06.:58:07.

Is it a) Margaret Thatcher? b) Enya?

:58:08.:58:10.

c) Christine Lagarde? or d) Current Miss World, Rolene Strauss?

:58:11.:58:13.

The answer is: b) Enya.

:58:14.:58:15.

Andrea is a singer and songwriter and has compared herself to Enya

:58:16.:58:18.

# There is only one choice # We must unite

:58:19.:58:29.

# As one voice # We shall gain #

:58:30.:58:36.

Have you ever had a number one? I haven't. I am releasing a song for

:58:37.:58:42.

the Royal British Legion next year. You are still singing at least. For

:58:43.:58:44.

charity, anyway. I won't ask you to sing, but I will

:58:45.:58:45.

not ask. I'll be here

:58:46.:58:50.

at noon tomorrow with all the big

:58:51.:58:55.

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