Browse content similar to 03/02/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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One Lib Dem leaving the cabinet to be replaceed by another, might | :00:08. | :00:11. | |
sound like musical chairs, here is a clue why it is much more | :00:11. | :00:15. | |
significant, while David Cameron has been saying what a fine Energy | :00:15. | :00:19. | |
Secretary we have lost. Obviously I want to thank him for the very good | :00:19. | :00:28. | |
work he has done in Government Across Westminster other stories | :00:28. | :00:33. | |
are heading back, -- Tories are holding back the tears, as Chris | :00:33. | :00:37. | |
Huhne heads out of the office into a criminal prosecution. | :00:37. | :00:42. | |
Opinion has always been divided over Chris Huhne, some cannot stand | :00:42. | :00:46. | |
him, others describe their feelings as closer to hate. | :00:47. | :00:49. | |
Banker bashing has been the game of the week, more today and more | :00:49. | :00:54. | |
coming next week, is this a real attempt to change capitalism, or | :00:54. | :00:58. | |
the politics distraction. We will mull over a week of lost bonus, | :00:58. | :01:07. | |
lost Knighthoods and lost jobs. Good evening, it started with a | :01:08. | :01:13. | |
quiet night and a car driving along the M11. Today it ended, a cabinet | :01:13. | :01:23. | |
:01:23. | :01:25. | ||
career. John Terry said goodbye to the England captaincy, and Fred | :01:25. | :01:32. | |
Goodwin to his Knighthood, and Chris Huhne is no longer Energy | :01:32. | :01:38. | |
Secretary, it is easier to replace him than the football captain. | :01:38. | :01:45. | |
What started with a flash on a camera in 2003, has today triggered | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
hundreds more flash bulbs. In the frame, a man fight to go clear his | :01:49. | :01:52. | |
name and save his career -- fighting to clear his name and save | :01:52. | :01:58. | |
his career, and his ex-wife. Both could face jail if found guilty, | :01:58. | :02:02. | |
there are implications for the Liberal Democrats and the coalition. | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
After spending six months considering the case, the Crown | :02:06. | :02:09. | |
Prosecution Service took the unusual step of letting it be known | :02:09. | :02:15. | |
last night that they would make a statement on camera at 10.00am. | :02:15. | :02:19. | |
have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring | :02:19. | :02:24. | |
criminal charges against both Mr Huhne and Miss Pryce, for | :02:24. | :02:29. | |
perverting the course of justice. The essence of the charges is that | :02:29. | :02:36. | |
between March and May 2003, Mr Huhne, having allegedly committed a | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
speeding offence, falsely informed the investigating authorities that | :02:40. | :02:46. | |
Miss Pryce was the driver of the vehicle in question, and she | :02:46. | :02:52. | |
falsely accepted that she was the driver. It was Mr Huhne's affair | :02:52. | :02:56. | |
with his media adviser that had led to the break up of his marriage of | :02:56. | :03:00. | |
26 years, there followed a divorce and allegations in a newspaper from | :03:00. | :03:05. | |
his ex-wife, that someone, in 2003, had accepted speeding points to | :03:05. | :03:11. | |
save him from a driving ban. Today, Miss Pryce, his ex-wife, was saying | :03:11. | :03:15. | |
nothing. I'm sorry I can't comment on anything, thank you. | :03:15. | :03:19. | |
Facing a criminal prosecution, Chris Huhne decided he had no | :03:19. | :03:23. | |
option but to resign from the cabinet. I'm innocent of these | :03:23. | :03:28. | |
charges, and I intend to fight these in the courts, I'm confident | :03:28. | :03:33. | |
a jury will agree. So as to avoid any distraction, to either my | :03:33. | :03:38. | |
official duties or my trial defence, I am standing down and resigning as | :03:38. | :03:42. | |
energy and climate change secretary. I will, of course, continue to | :03:42. | :03:47. | |
serve my constituents in Eastleigh. Thank you, that's all I want to say | :03:47. | :03:51. | |
today. Chris Huhne's departure has unDowning Streetedly changed the | :03:51. | :03:55. | |
top table dynamic within the coalition. He seemed to almost | :03:55. | :03:59. | |
relish getting into arguments with his Conservative called colleagues, | :03:59. | :04:04. | |
and what's more, he let people know that's what he was doing. | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
Now he's gone, well the Liberal Democrats could have more | :04:08. | :04:11. | |
difficulty in showing their supporters and potential voters | :04:11. | :04:16. | |
that they are still a distinct party. Not a wholly-owned | :04:16. | :04:20. | |
subsidiary of the Conservatives. was someone who was going to stand | :04:20. | :04:24. | |
up strongly on environmental issues, hugely important to the grass roots. | :04:24. | :04:28. | |
He wasn't going to give ground. He believed the best means of | :04:28. | :04:32. | |
negotiating in a coalition was to stand firm, and say there are some | :04:32. | :04:37. | |
lines that cannot be crossed. What is notable about the Lib Dems on | :04:37. | :04:45. | |
issues like Europe, and vad, on tuition fees, -- VAT and on tuition | :04:45. | :04:48. | |
fees they have capitulated too quickly, and Chris Huhne would | :04:49. | :04:52. | |
stand for what he believed in. Although Chris Huhne and Nick Clegg | :04:52. | :04:56. | |
would say they were friends, they haven't always been friendly during | :04:56. | :05:01. | |
the 2007 leadership contest, Mr Huhne turned his aggressive, take | :05:01. | :05:06. | |
no prisoners-style of politics, on his opponents. Why have you issued | :05:06. | :05:11. | |
a briefing document called "calamity Clegg". I haven't? This | :05:11. | :05:16. | |
has come from your office to the Politics Show? I didn't see it. | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
Don't you know what goes out of your office? It is impossible to | :05:19. | :05:21. | |
check everything that goes out of the office, this is a large | :05:21. | :05:25. | |
campaign, going right the way across the country, I can assure | :05:25. | :05:29. | |
that hasn't had my authorisation. Chris Huhne is seen at Westminster | :05:29. | :05:34. | |
as extremely effective politician. He was central to the coalition | :05:34. | :05:40. | |
negotiations. Someone who, it is reported, hadn't given up on being | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
leader himself one day. Today the man who is Liberal Democrat leader | :05:46. | :05:51. | |
and Deputy Prime Minister, said he wished his one-time opponent a | :05:51. | :05:56. | |
speedy return to Government. Chris Huhne is a close friend and great | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
colleague, and who has done an outstanding job in energy and | :06:00. | :06:03. | |
climate change. He has been a pioneer in new ground-breaking poll | :06:04. | :06:08. | |
sits w I believe will stand the test -- policies, which I believe | :06:08. | :06:11. | |
will stand the test of time. If he clears his name, I have made it | :06:11. | :06:14. | |
clear to him I would like to see him back in Government in a key | :06:14. | :06:17. | |
position. Chris Huhne's place as Secretary of | :06:17. | :06:21. | |
State for Energy and climate change has gone to Ed Davey, an ally of Mr | :06:21. | :06:25. | |
Clegg. The balance of power within the Liberal Democrats has shifted | :06:25. | :06:28. | |
today. Meanwhile, Chris Huhne faces a court appearance in two weeks | :06:28. | :06:35. | |
time, and a fight for his future, and his liberty. | :06:35. | :06:39. | |
David Grossman is with me now, one man in a grey suit leaving the | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
cabinet, another man in a grey suit taking his seat. A lot of people | :06:42. | :06:46. | |
thinking it is a fuss about not very much? It is a safe bet to say | :06:46. | :06:49. | |
President Obama isn't in the situation room receiving a briefing | :06:49. | :06:55. | |
on who Ed Davey is, however, I do this move, this change in climate | :06:55. | :06:58. | |
change and Energy Secretary, could have an impact on British | :06:58. | :07:00. | |
Government policy. Chris Huhne saw it almost as a personal crusade to | :07:00. | :07:04. | |
make sure that the Government lived up to its pledge to be the | :07:04. | :07:07. | |
Koreanest ever. He thought Britain should lead the way, and then other | :07:07. | :07:12. | |
nations would follow. And in that, he faced considerable opposition, | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
not least from George Osborne, who thought that we shouldn't go any | :07:15. | :07:19. | |
further and faster than any other country. But there was a big battle | :07:19. | :07:22. | |
there. Why did Chris Huhne do that? Partly, no doubt, he believed it | :07:22. | :07:26. | |
absolutely. But he also thought it was very good politics to show to | :07:26. | :07:30. | |
the Liberal Democrat base that being in coalition had tangible | :07:30. | :07:34. | |
benefits they cared passionately about. Will Ed Davey be as | :07:34. | :07:37. | |
effective? We don't know. But I can tell you tonight that some | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
Conservative MPs, who fear that the recovery will be hobbled by green | :07:41. | :07:45. | |
taxes, are a little bit happier, and green groups are a little less | :07:45. | :07:49. | |
happy. That is the politics within the coalition, what about within | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
the Lib Dems themselves? When the coalition of formed, we all thought | :07:53. | :07:57. | |
we would get lots of weekly briefings about big rows and bust- | :07:57. | :08:01. | |
ups within the cabinet. Largely, that hasn't happened. Where it has | :08:01. | :08:04. | |
happened, it has involved Chris Huhne. On one famous occasion he | :08:04. | :08:08. | |
slapped down a leaflet on the cabinet table about the AV | :08:08. | :08:11. | |
referendum and demanded to know which Conservative had authorised | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
it. The Lib Dem base like that, they like to know that the love-in | :08:15. | :08:18. | |
wasn't a complete love-in, that there was somebody inside the | :08:18. | :08:21. | |
cabinet who shared their instinct, which is to pull the hair and flick | :08:21. | :08:24. | |
the ears of the Conservatives, to fight them. Because that's what | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
they wanted to do. It is not clear who else will be doing that vocally | :08:28. | :08:30. | |
and visibly inside the cabinet right now. | :08:30. | :08:33. | |
Thank you very much. The Lib Dems lost one cabinet | :08:33. | :08:37. | |
minister right at the start of the coalition, when David Laws resigned | :08:37. | :08:41. | |
from the Treasury over expenses claims, now in losing a second | :08:41. | :08:49. | |
senior figure, unless the well of party talent is deep, are they in | :08:49. | :08:53. | |
danger of losing ground in the coalition. The point made there, he | :08:53. | :08:59. | |
won't be missed by all cabinet colleagues? David's analysis is | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
really oversimplistic. Chris was a senior politician in our party and | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
in the cabinet, he did a robust job. There may be people on the cabinet | :09:07. | :09:11. | |
table, the Tory side, who weren't so keen on somebody determined to | :09:11. | :09:17. | |
push the environmental agenda, which he was. If they think Ed | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
Davey won't be as strong they are mistaken. So there is no | :09:21. | :09:24. | |
difference? They have both been committed to a change of culture | :09:24. | :09:27. | |
about how we look at energy internationally, how we deal with | :09:27. | :09:30. | |
the risk of climate change, how we deal with our environment. Both | :09:30. | :09:35. | |
have been jointly owning, as we all have, led by Nick, the policy, | :09:35. | :09:39. | |
there will be equally robust determination at the cabinet table | :09:39. | :09:44. | |
from Ed Davey as Chris Huhne. everybody found Chris Huhne to be | :09:44. | :09:47. | |
Mr Congeniality, at least in the Conservative Party, he did stake | :09:47. | :09:51. | |
out particular areas of difference and differenceate himself in a | :09:51. | :09:59. | |
which Nick Clegg hasn't. I don't think so. Chris cited during the AV | :09:59. | :10:03. | |
campaign of Chris's complaint at the cabinet, that the Tories turned | :10:03. | :10:06. | |
on Nick and misrepresented our position. He was right to do that, | :10:06. | :10:10. | |
the party thought he was right to do that. I seem to remember Vince | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
Cable, on a fairly regular basis, says things that might not appeal | :10:14. | :10:19. | |
to all the Tories about how to deal with high executive pay, rightfully | :10:19. | :10:25. | |
so too. I remember Nick Clegg last week was clear about going further | :10:25. | :10:29. | |
and faster about taking poorer people out of the tax, not a | :10:30. | :10:32. | |
position adapted by George Osborne or the Prime Minister. Our team in | :10:32. | :10:35. | |
the cabinet, they fire on all cylinders, and yes there are | :10:35. | :10:39. | |
different positions, you know the score, we are there, as a coalition, | :10:39. | :10:44. | |
in the national interest, clearing up the mess, sorting out the legacy | :10:44. | :10:47. | |
left by Labour. We are different parties, Chris was a Liberal | :10:47. | :10:51. | |
Democrat, different from Tories, and Ed Davey is likewise. | :10:51. | :10:53. | |
mentioned Vince Cable there. Vince Cable is still in the cabinet, | :10:53. | :11:00. | |
although he had one or two problems with one of the newspapers and his | :11:00. | :11:03. | |
comments about Rupert Murdoch, David Laws we know about. You | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
haven't got this endless well of talent you can draw on. You mustn't | :11:07. | :11:10. | |
be as careless as a party in Government as you have been? | :11:10. | :11:16. | |
have just had a parliamentary away day together, the 57 MPs, there is | :11:16. | :11:22. | |
huge talent, that is why egg Nick was very able to -- why Nick was | :11:22. | :11:28. | |
very able to appoint Ed, really good track record and job as a | :11:28. | :11:32. | |
minister dealing with difficult issues like the Post Office. Others | :11:32. | :11:36. | |
promoted, Norman Lamb going to the DTI, two women in the party | :11:36. | :11:42. | |
promoted, one to be Nick's PPS, and the other. We have lots of talent, | :11:42. | :11:45. | |
we are not without talent. We contribute at all levels on the | :11:45. | :11:48. | |
coalition Government. A number of people today have been suggested | :11:48. | :11:53. | |
that Davey difficult is a talented man, and could be -- daich daich | :11:53. | :11:58. | |
daich is ale it lented man -- Ed Davey is a talented man and could | :11:58. | :12:05. | |
be the leader next? There won't be a leadership election for a long | :12:05. | :12:09. | |
time with Nick Clegg. His job is to change the policies | :12:09. | :12:14. | |
on green issues, and remind the cabinet that we are the greenest | :12:14. | :12:17. | |
party in Government. If it is about the green investment bank, he will | :12:17. | :12:21. | |
carry on Chris's legacy. We wish Chris well, we hope he can clear | :12:21. | :12:27. | |
his name soon and be back, in the meantime Ed will fight the good | :12:27. | :12:34. | |
fight for green democracy. We have assembled the collective wisdom of | :12:34. | :12:37. | |
Danny Finkelstein, Catherine MacLeod, who used to be an adviser | :12:37. | :12:41. | |
to Alistair Darling, and Evan Harris, a Lib Dem MP until 2010, | :12:41. | :12:45. | |
now a member of the party's policy committee. Was there real friction | :12:45. | :12:50. | |
in cabinet or a lot of spin about differentiating on various issues? | :12:50. | :12:56. | |
It is certainly true that Chris Huhne is not the most pap later | :12:56. | :12:57. | |
Liberal Democrat among Conservatives. Liberal Democrats | :12:57. | :13:02. | |
will see that as a good thing. He's an effective politician and big | :13:02. | :13:05. | |
figure. At the same time, certainly at the top, and throughout the | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
party, they will be worried that Government ministers had to resign, | :13:08. | :13:11. | |
it doesn't make the Government look good, it is not exactly an | :13:11. | :13:14. | |
advertisment when somebody in the cabinet is charged, or has a | :13:14. | :13:18. | |
criminal charge, there could be a by-election, that is very | :13:18. | :13:22. | |
disruptive if things don't go well for Chris Huhne. If they do go well, | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
there will be a problem with having Ed Davey in the cabinet and what to | :13:26. | :13:31. | |
do with Chris Huhne. This is a destablising moment. Nobody likes | :13:31. | :13:35. | |
that, eventhough Chris Huhne isn't their favourite Liberal Democrat. | :13:35. | :13:39. | |
destablising moment, and also this question of differenciation, and | :13:39. | :13:42. | |
the things that you and people in the grass roots of the Liberal | :13:42. | :13:46. | |
Democrats want to see? I don't disagree with what Danny just said, | :13:46. | :13:51. | |
I do disagree with David Grossman saying the coalition is otherwise a | :13:51. | :13:55. | |
love-in. It isn't, it is two parties who are disagreeing on many | :13:55. | :13:59. | |
things, working together and agreeing to compromise. It is not a | :13:59. | :14:02. | |
love in local Government when Labour and Conservatives have to | :14:02. | :14:06. | |
work together to get stuff through a council. It is not in other | :14:06. | :14:09. | |
European democracies. Part of the problem with understanding why | :14:09. | :14:12. | |
Vince Cable and Chris Huhne are seen as so exceptional, is the | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
media's problem in understanding that a coalition is people | :14:15. | :14:19. | |
disagreeing, ending up agreeing, but arguing along the way. I think | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
it is valid to say, that other people in the cabinet will have to | :14:23. | :14:26. | |
do what Chris Huhne did, which was to stand up for green policies, | :14:26. | :14:30. | |
against, for example, George Osborne. Do you expect more of that | :14:30. | :14:33. | |
will have to happen, that there will have to be more | :14:34. | :14:36. | |
differenciation, so the Liberal Democrats are not, as it were, | :14:36. | :14:40. | |
swallow load up? Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have made it | :14:40. | :14:44. | |
clear they want to stress the differenciation more in the third | :14:44. | :14:47. | |
and fourth years of the Government than in the first year. Many of us | :14:47. | :14:50. | |
think in the first year it wasn't done enough. That is already | :14:50. | :14:58. | |
happening. People like Ed and the cabinet will have to do that. It is | :14:58. | :15:01. | |
not straight forward for him to do that as a new cabinet minister, | :15:01. | :15:05. | |
there is a challenge for the rest of the cabinet ministers there. | :15:05. | :15:09. | |
this a big deal or not? It is a big deal, for the Liberal Democrats, | :15:09. | :15:12. | |
although I'm sure that Nick Clegg would prefer he didn't have to lose | :15:12. | :15:17. | |
another member of the cabinet. Chris Huhne was there really in his | :15:17. | :15:22. | |
own right, he had only been beaten by 500 votes for the leadership. He | :15:23. | :15:28. | |
was pretty strong, he wasn't there through Nick Clegg's patronage, he | :15:28. | :15:36. | |
earned his way to the cabinet. Ed Davey is there through Nick Clegg's | :15:36. | :15:41. | |
patronage, and is less of a threat to Nick Clegg. It is a question of | :15:41. | :15:44. | |
stature, Ed Davey may have the talent to gain the stature, I don't | :15:44. | :15:48. | |
know enough of his style to know that. He doesn't have that now | :15:48. | :15:52. | |
compared to Chris Huhne. The Liberal Democrats have definitely | :15:52. | :15:57. | |
lost some weight. That will damage them, and has to be set against the | :15:57. | :16:02. | |
fact that it gives Nick Clegg more of a free hand. There is no doubt | :16:02. | :16:05. | |
that Chris Huhne put pressure on Nick Clegg to act as he might not | :16:05. | :16:10. | |
otherwise have done. My own view, different from your's, is that the | :16:10. | :16:13. | |
coalition works best and will work best for the Liberal Democrats, | :16:14. | :16:22. | |
when you achieve a degree of coming together. I noi you want more | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
differenciation -- I know you want more differenciation, I'm not sure | :16:25. | :16:30. | |
that you will get there. I'm not sure Liberal Democrats will take | :16:30. | :16:39. | |
your prescription for that. We will be opposing each other, we | :16:39. | :16:42. | |
require the electorate, this happens in coalitions across the | :16:42. | :16:46. | |
world to recognise, not only what our contribution to the coalition | :16:46. | :16:50. | |
has been, which is strong on climate change, and fairness and so | :16:50. | :16:54. | |
forth, tax fairness, for example, but also know which bits of the | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
Government record were not things that the Liberal Democrats will | :16:57. | :17:02. | |
want to do more of in a future parliament. So that does require | :17:02. | :17:11. | |
people with -- who are slightly bowl shi to be about that. It will | :17:11. | :17:16. | |
take time to get into the swing of it. It is turning into a love had | :17:16. | :17:25. | |
in? It is. Not that much of a love- in, I think Ed Davey will be a very | :17:25. | :17:28. | |
popular person for the Liberal Democrats, he has been an effective | :17:28. | :17:32. | |
campaigner for many years, he might represent the soul of the Liberal | :17:32. | :17:35. | |
Democrats in the cabinet, they will like that. I don't think Chris | :17:35. | :17:38. | |
Huhne did do that, I don't think his appointment to the cabinet has | :17:38. | :17:42. | |
necessary strengthened the cabinet. It's 9% you are on, you have to do | :17:42. | :17:46. | |
something about that, otherwise at the next election you will have a | :17:46. | :17:51. | |
smash. So ...I Don't think not being different, being seen as | :17:51. | :17:55. | |
different from the Tories, or the Government as a whole is a recipe. | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
People like the Tories, they will vote Tory, they won't vote Liberal | :17:59. | :18:02. | |
Democrat. The left vote is not coming back. You made a decision, | :18:02. | :18:05. | |
which was brave, and I think correct, to have a coalition with | :18:05. | :18:08. | |
the Conservatives, but if you are a left voter, who voted Liberal | :18:08. | :18:11. | |
Democrat for that reason, you are not going to vote for the Liberal | :18:11. | :18:15. | |
Democrats who joined with the Conservatives in coalition. You | :18:15. | :18:19. | |
underestimate the electorate. left is as much about civil | :18:19. | :18:23. | |
liberties, Labour, maybe we will talk about this later, Labour on | :18:23. | :18:26. | |
civil liberties still disappoint many people, who care about human | :18:26. | :18:31. | |
rights, and the Human Rights Act, for example. Maybe, the left of the | :18:31. | :18:34. | |
Liberal Democrat party will be more inclined to vote Liberal Democrat | :18:34. | :18:37. | |
tonight than it was last night. will find out in a minute. Let's | :18:37. | :18:40. | |
move on, while for the Government there was the excitement of a | :18:40. | :18:43. | |
cabinet resignation and mini- reshuffle, for the opposition today | :18:43. | :18:47. | |
there was a return to what Ed Milliband sees as a good subject | :18:47. | :18:51. | |
for him, bad bankers, irresponsible capitalism, and the prospect of our | :18:51. | :18:58. | |
rows about bankers' bonuss in a Commons debate on Tuesday. Mr | :18:58. | :19:03. | |
Miliband called for one-nation banking, after the Fred Goodwin | :19:03. | :19:08. | |
scandal this week. Are bankers' bonuses the plilgts of | :19:08. | :19:13. | |
distraction, because it is easier to find a few scapegoats than jobs. | :19:13. | :19:19. | |
We have this report. We are a discontented country, | :19:19. | :19:23. | |
discontent with bankers has become the thing that unites protestors, | :19:23. | :19:28. | |
politicians, punddilts -- pundits. Today the Labour leader tapped into | :19:28. | :19:33. | |
this discontent a bit more. This is a call for banking to recognise, | :19:33. | :19:37. | |
and continuing on its current path will lead to further isolation from | :19:37. | :19:43. | |
society, greater public anger, and more years in which banking is a | :19:44. | :19:53. | |
:19:54. | :19:54. | ||
subject of lurid newspaper headlines. He had some radical | :19:54. | :19:59. | |
solutions, a community bank and even an investment bank? It means a | :19:59. | :20:01. | |
more diverse and competitive banking system, rooted in our | :20:02. | :20:04. | |
communities, as the Government makes decisions about the disposal | :20:04. | :20:08. | |
of some of its shares, and the changes in the banks, it needs to | :20:08. | :20:12. | |
bear this in mind. It also means, in my view, looking at the case for | :20:12. | :20:17. | |
a British investment bank, which will provide Government-backing for | :20:17. | :20:21. | |
entrepeneurs, particularly small and medium-sized ones, when the | :20:21. | :20:28. | |
market fails. Ed Milliband today invoked Disraeli, Victorian Britain, | :20:28. | :20:32. | |
rich and poor, who hated each other and knew very little of each | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
other's lives. But modern Britain does hate bankers, while liking | :20:36. | :20:43. | |
Tories. U guff asked voters are bankers | :20:43. | :20:47. | |
bonuses of �1 million, justified, unjustified for state-owned banks | :20:47. | :20:53. | |
only, or generally unjustified. A clear 61% were against such bonuses | :20:53. | :20:57. | |
all together, just 8% thought they were OK given global competition. | :20:57. | :21:01. | |
There was no dramatic variation between Labour, Conservative or | :21:01. | :21:05. | |
Liberal Democrat voters. The public simply don't like bankers. It is | :21:05. | :21:08. | |
not a question of whether one bank is in the private sector other | :21:08. | :21:12. | |
another bank is in the public sector. They think all bankers' | :21:12. | :21:16. | |
bonuss are far too much. The public have simply taken against bankers | :21:16. | :21:21. | |
as a breed. Why doesn't that translate to support over Labour? | :21:21. | :21:25. | |
One of the striking things is despite the drama of the bankers' | :21:25. | :21:29. | |
bonuses, despite the flatlining of the British economy, people trust | :21:29. | :21:33. | |
the Tories more than they trust Labour on the economy. They want | :21:33. | :21:36. | |
David Cameron and George Osborne, not Ed Milliband and Ed Balls. | :21:36. | :21:41. | |
If bad economic news drives banker bashing, get ready for some more. | :21:41. | :21:45. | |
The national institute, a respected forecasting group, thinks Britain's | :21:45. | :21:49. | |
economy is set to shrink by 0.1% this year, at odds with the | :21:49. | :21:53. | |
official forecast of 0.7% growth. The Institute for Fiscal studios | :21:53. | :21:58. | |
says the pain is hardly started when it comes to cuts. Even by | :21:58. | :22:02. | |
April only 6% of the planned cuts to current spending will have been | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
made. Markets can fail, uncontrolled globalisation can | :22:06. | :22:12. | |
slide into Monday mop liesation. was the -- Monopolisation. It was | :22:12. | :22:16. | |
the Prime Minister who kicked off the banker bashing two weeks ago, | :22:16. | :22:20. | |
some Conservatives think there is a limit to what it can achieve? | :22:20. | :22:24. | |
people look for a scapegoat in a financial crisis. Though it makes | :22:24. | :22:28. | |
us feel better it doesn't solve the underlying problems. It might be | :22:28. | :22:32. | |
better thinking about how to get growth going again and changing the | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
way people in the City are renumerated more broadly, rather | :22:36. | :22:39. | |
than looking for individuals to pick on. Conveniently for the | :22:39. | :22:42. | |
politician, slowly, quietly, the atmosphere around Westminster | :22:42. | :22:52. | |
towards bankers is turning negative. It is clear from that, that people | :22:52. | :22:56. | |
really don't want bankers to have bonuses period. In that sense Ed | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
Milliband is pushing at an open- door. Why isn't he making more | :22:59. | :23:03. | |
headway in this, why do the polls also find it is the Tories who are | :23:03. | :23:07. | |
more trusted on this than Labour? People made up their minds about | :23:07. | :23:12. | |
bankers and bonuses a long time ago. Nobody understands why bankers are | :23:12. | :23:15. | |
being paid such a lot of money. Meanwhile, everybody knows there is | :23:16. | :23:19. | |
a crisis of unemployment, I think Ed Milliband, myself, would make | :23:19. | :23:26. | |
much greater impact if he was talking about jobs and growth, and | :23:26. | :23:30. | |
the ills of unemployment. It is a very easy distraction for the | :23:30. | :23:33. | |
leadership of the Labour Party, and the Tory Party. I think George | :23:33. | :23:37. | |
Osborne and David Cameron must be delighted that the focus is on | :23:37. | :23:41. | |
bankers and bank bonuses and not on jobs and growth. Today we have | :23:41. | :23:45. | |
heard that in America unemployment is going down, Germany has had the | :23:45. | :23:49. | |
lowest unemployment for 20 years, what is going wrong in Britain, why | :23:49. | :23:53. | |
are we not asking that question every day. That is the equality | :23:53. | :23:58. | |
agenda, the fairness and hating the bankers is easy, creating the jobs | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
isn't happening? It is very difficult. The problem for Ed | :24:01. | :24:04. | |
Milliband is a bit like the problem for William Hague when he started | :24:04. | :24:08. | |
to talk about asylum and immigration. Every poll said that | :24:08. | :24:11. | |
would work, every person who you asked said it was a big problem for | :24:11. | :24:15. | |
emthey, and yet it didn't do anything for the -- for them, and | :24:15. | :24:18. | |
yet it didn't do anything for the Conservative vote. Partly it is | :24:18. | :24:22. | |
already baked into the cake, people know the Labour Party is against | :24:22. | :24:25. | |
rich people having big salaries, they rather suspect the | :24:25. | :24:28. | |
Conservative Party doesn't mind so much, that is already priced in. It | :24:28. | :24:31. | |
doesn't shift votes when you concentrate on it. If I were Ed | :24:31. | :24:37. | |
Milliband I would be concentrating on all the things not priced in, | :24:37. | :24:40. | |
and concentrating on the issues not just we have talked about, but | :24:40. | :24:44. | |
welfare benefits too, there he can change people's perception of | :24:44. | :24:46. | |
Labour. He may think they are important, and indeed it is the | :24:47. | :24:51. | |
case that Conservatives are uncomfortable on these things. | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
Liberal Democrats be distinctive about this, we heard Nick Clegg | :24:55. | :24:59. | |
saying we won't standby eyedly about bankers' bonuses, and there | :24:59. | :25:07. | |
is a lot of standing eyedly by? That remains to be seen. The | :25:07. | :25:12. | |
removal of the Knighthood and million pound bonus are popular | :25:12. | :25:17. | |
gesture, Liberal Democrats support populus gestures when they don't | :25:17. | :25:20. | |
hurt a number of people. But I think the opportunity for the | :25:20. | :25:24. | |
Liberal Democrats and the Tory, if they are wise to allow it and pick | :25:24. | :25:30. | |
it up, is getting rid, not just of bankers' knighthoods but bankers' | :25:30. | :25:33. | |
tax havens and avoidance tricks. These things can be measured, | :25:33. | :25:38. | |
eventhough it sounds boring, that the marginal rate paid by the | :25:38. | :25:43. | |
richest in the country, the tax rate, is not lower than the | :25:43. | :25:48. | |
marginal tax rate paid by Mr and Mrs average. Joofrpblgts there is a | :25:48. | :25:52. | |
clash between thisish -- There is a clash between this issue of growth, | :25:52. | :25:57. | |
and chaiting bankers across the country -- chasing bankers across | :25:57. | :26:01. | |
the country for tax. I'm of the view that bankers are overpricing | :26:01. | :26:04. | |
labour, and they are paying too much. But I'm also very worried | :26:04. | :26:07. | |
about whether people are going to bother to do business in this | :26:07. | :26:11. | |
country, and move their businesses to this country, if they feel that | :26:11. | :26:16. | |
there is a mood of vindictiveness towards people in financial | :26:16. | :26:19. | |
services. That could be a problem for Labour, could it not, you said, | :26:19. | :26:23. | |
and most people could agree with you, jobs is the issue and growth, | :26:23. | :26:28. | |
if it was seen to be penalising a few bankers by taking away a | :26:28. | :26:32. | |
Knighthood and an old bonus it wouldn't matter, but if it was seen | :26:32. | :26:38. | |
to be penalising a sector for jobs it would matter and Labour would | :26:38. | :26:41. | |
not look good on that? There is a million jobs in financial services | :26:41. | :26:45. | |
in this country, it is very important. Where people are Iing | :26:45. | :26:49. | |
this about Britain sitting in France, or Hong Kong, and wherever | :26:49. | :26:54. | |
they are sitting and saying a single man having his Knighthood | :26:54. | :27:00. | |
striped away for what, why not a group of Knights, everybody was | :27:01. | :27:03. | |
cupable. If we are going to jeopardise the financial services | :27:03. | :27:07. | |
industry of this country it is very serious. I want to pursue this | :27:07. | :27:12. | |
point, Danny made it in a slightly different way, is it not what David | :27:12. | :27:16. | |
Miliband thought about, is preaching to your own choir, it is | :27:16. | :27:19. | |
already priced in by the voters, which is why Ed Milliband is not | :27:19. | :27:25. | |
making more headway in this? I did read what David Miliband had to say, | :27:25. | :27:29. | |
I thought he was trying to settle some scores. I'm not exactly sure | :27:29. | :27:34. | |
what he was wanting to do. With his brother? It was a conversation | :27:34. | :27:38. | |
perhaps they could have it in private. I don't know if he was | :27:38. | :27:42. | |
reminding us he was still there. That's not fair. It was apparently | :27:42. | :27:52. | |
:27:52. | :28:05. | ||
what he was saying but he was saying more than that. Tax fairness, | :28:05. | :28:09. | |
why should it be described by the BBC as penalising a sector. I don't | :28:09. | :28:19. | |
:28:19. | :28:27. | ||
think people will leave the country if we say there is going to be | :28:27. | :28:31. | |
stronger People are saying jobs will go and bankers will flee the | :28:31. | :28:34. | |
city. That is a different argument from saying to bankers, I don't | :28:34. | :28:37. | |
know everybody that doesn't think bankers are paid too much. Saying | :28:37. | :28:41. | |
to bankers who have signed a contract to come and do a job to | :28:41. | :28:51. | |
:28:51. | :28:58. | ||
say we have changed our minds and rules mid-game we will not pay you. | :28:58. | :29:08. | |
:29:08. | :29:15. | ||
That is what they would say. that moment we will have to leave | :29:15. | :29:21. | |
now. In a minute the review show, what have you got for us? Tonight I | :29:21. | :29:24. | |
talk to Daniel Radcliffe about his big post-Harry Potter And The | :29:24. | :29:29. | |
Chamber Of Secrtes lead in The Woman In Black. We tour the British | :29:29. | :29:34. | |
Museum exhibition on Hajj, Roman Polanski tackles modern morality | :29:34. | :29:38. | |
and Carnage, and the thriller set in World War I. All that coming up | :29:38. | :29:48. | |
:29:48. | :29:48. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds | :29:48. | :30:30. | |
in a moment. Before we go, tomorrow Mitt Romney tried to prove that the | :30:30. | :30:36. | |
Democrats don't have all the best tunes? You know that song | :30:36. | :30:41. | |
# Oh beautiful # For spacious skies | :30:41. | :30:48. |