15/04/2012 Sunday Politics South East


15/04/2012

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In the south-east: Trains, planes and automobiles, the Brighton

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1731 seconds

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straeugs congestion driving Hello, this is the Sunday Politics

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in the south-east. Coming up: Turning back the blue tide, with

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elections looming in Surrey, Kent and Sussex, can Labour win back the

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voters who abandoned them in 2010? With me today Labour commentators

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Paul Richards and Professor of politics at Sussex University, Tim

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Bell. Anyone been to the seaside over the weekend? Not this weekend,

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the weather wasn't that brilliant. If you drove to Brighton, seafront

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parking will have given you a shock. The city's green council wants to

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encourage day-trippers to think about alternatives to the car. Both

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our guests live in coastal Sussex, we will be in Brighton itself, will

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you still drive at �20 a day for parking? I wouldn't drive to

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Brighton at all, it's a difficult place to drive in. That's my view.

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You would avoid it altogether. Do you think any park something worth

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�20? It's a disaster. The choice will not be with us to take the car

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or not, it will be with us to go to Brighton or not, so for the economy,

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a seaside town and relies on visitors, it's a disaster for

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traders and people people whose livelihoods depend upon it. It's

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more expensive than Berlin, parking in Brighton. How much do you pay in

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east borne. It's cheaper, by the seafront to encourage people to go

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to the seafront because the council in Eastbourne isn't anti-car like

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the council in Brighton. We are learning more and more about the

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tkpwraoerp all the -- Green Party all the time. They're a council

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under pressure. It's austerity Britain. Parking is often an easy

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hit. We will talk to their leader in waiting in a moment. The obvious

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solution if you object to high parking charges is to travel by

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public transport. But the train doesn't completely take the strain

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in Brighton. Traffic congestion around the town's main main railway

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station has got so bad it adds considerable time and stress to a

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journey, and there are concerns that this could damage tourism and

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local business. Helen Drew reports.

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From London to Brighton in around 50 minutes, it's no wonder that

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Brighton railway station has 14.5 million passengers a year. It's the

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25th busiers station in the country. The chance of a quick onward

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journey can go off the rails the moment you walk out of the station.

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A lack of space at the front of the station can often lead to gridlock

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with buses and taxis. Sometimes in a taxi, sometimes on a bus. But as

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you can see here, it's shambolic. It's chaotic. The buses struggle to

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get in. Taxis struggle to get in and out. It's a mess. There's

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usually a queue of taxis and it stops the bus. It's an

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inconvenience to travel to and from and I do a lot of travelling. I

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find it's poorly laid out and getting into it and away from it is

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more problematic than it should be. Concerns shared by transport

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Minister Norman Baker. The traffic flows around the station are very

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poor. It takes a long time for buses and taxis to exit the area.

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There are jams down the road. There aren't proper cycle facilities

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either, which there ought to be. It's not attractive to make your

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onward journey, even if you can get on a bus or taxi, you don't get far

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quickly and that lengthens journey time. You have a train journey from

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London to Brighton about 49 minutes, at best, and you can take quite a

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long time getting just half a mile down the road. Actually, if we are

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going to get more people using public transport we have to sort

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out that last leg in Brighton. the end of last year Brighton and

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Hove city council held a consultation on how to improve it

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station and hasn't made a decision yet. One option is to close a

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nearby road to to private vehicles, many say that's not radical enough

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and some motor motorists are put off driving by high parking charges.

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Other options are move kwrg the taxi rank to the back of the

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station or relocating the buses. But tphoert of neither wants to

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move. The problem with moving the buses is there's nowhere else they

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can go. The road network won't allow bus routes to go to the

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northern entrance. Unless the buses stay here they're not going to be

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here at all. That would go against what is Government policy and local

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authority policy of trying to get buses and trains to integrate. If

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anything, I would like to see more room for more buses. Taxi companies

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are worried that because the council is run by the Green Party,

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buses may get priority, moving taxis around the back. It's not an

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option the drivers themselves want or passengers will want to be

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honest. The rear entrance of the station, the northern entrance, is

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actually the access roads are very, very complicated. It will add much

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more to the journey, more money to the journey. We do feel buses get

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favoured. And cyclists. And the Green Party, it seems to be pushing

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that way. Hopefully they will come around to our way of thinking and

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see the value of getting taxis and private hire. As well as there

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there possibly not space to accommodate all types of transport

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there's the time-scale. The council is planning to start the work next

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year, but people are already tired of the long-standing problem.

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very, very important they do something about this soon, because

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this situation has goth gone on long skwruf. It's been for years

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now a great example of trying to get a quart into a pint pot.

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people are not arriving at that point by public transport is going

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to increase further and carrying on as we are, I don't think is an

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option. Could the Green Party use the station revamp to get a step

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closer to their environmental ideology, ousting taxis and giving

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preference to buses? And is it acting quickly enough or are the

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benefits of a Fast Train line getting derailed with every bus and

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taxi queue? Joining me now from Brighton is the

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leader in waiting of Brighton and Hove City Council. Let's start with

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that point at the end of that report, will you oust the taxis

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from the southern entrance in favour of the buses? It's the

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suspicions of the drivers that's what you plan to do? We did a

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survey as the report mentioned of 1,1,200 people who use the station,

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over 70% access the station on foot and the next highest usage was bus

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and after that taxi and other forms. So, that's the way the lay of the

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land already. Just recognising that existing usage means we need to

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cater for those needs of the people coming on foot. We haven't got any

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firm plan yet. We will put out in May two or three detailed proposals

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for consultation so that in August we can decide move forward, and

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start construction. This is a complicated project. It's not just

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us, we have southern rail who have over �4 million of Government

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funding. We have developers for a block behind the station looking to

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move forward as well. There's an hotel being built, lots of

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independent things going on. Clearly people want it sorted and

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quickly. You realise, I assume, this is not the best welcome to

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Brighton. Absolutely. We have not been in power a year yet and we

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have made more progress on that than any administration pwr so so -

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- before we think we are making fast progress. What progress, you

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haven't done anything, you have asked a few questions? We have

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brought forward the funding for this and we are working with

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southern rail who have already got the funding from the Government.

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They're looking to create a cycle parking hub which is much needed

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for the area, lots of cycles are chained on railings which add to

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the unwelcoming nature. It's very difficult project to bring forward,

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given the fact no one person, no one body owns the whole area.

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clue is in the title, you are the Green Party and the greenest thing

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to do would be to favour buses over taxis, wouldn't it? Taxis play a

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part in transport and it's not about pitting one form against the

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other. They've all a part to play. It is a bit about that once you

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have a Tyne aoeu amount -- tiny amount of space of a station built

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in 1840s, you must wish sometimes you could put the station somewhere

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else? We have to deal with the city we have got and it's wonderful

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history. The taxi rank is on the private land controlled by the

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railway, it's not a council rank. This is part of the complexity, the

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railway company charge a fee for taxis to access that. So it's a

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real mix of issues going on. Stay with us, let's bring our guests in.

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Paul Richards, how bad is it as a first impression? It's really bad.

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Again it's a city that relies on visitors, holiday-makers and day-

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tripers, they come to the station and what do they see? A strategic

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nightmare. It's already saying it's been a year and we are making

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progress, there's no progress. There's pollution and so on. What

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would you do then. You can not cow- to you to developers and say there

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should be more shops which is one of the proposals, there should be

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space for the taxis. You wouldn't put it around the back, I don't

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think that helps. Drivers have to make a living and you want to see a

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taxi at the front of the station. He wants us all to walk or get

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bikes, that was the subtext of what he was saying. He doesn't want us

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to get on the bus or taxi. Let's bring in Tim for a second. You use

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this station regularly, you are a Professor at the University. It is

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a legacy obviously of a railway station built in 1840, it's 21st

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century thriving city, is there an answer? I think, if you know the

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station well it's in the middle of a hill. Very difficult to do much

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about. Unless you take a very, very expensive option. I can see why no

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council's grasped nettle on this for years. In some ways you have to

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admire the current council for trying to do something about it and

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push this on. Admiration there from Tim, not so much from Paul Richards

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who says you really aren't interested in anyone who doesn't

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either walk or cycle? That's untrue. We are looking to support everyone

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who needs to get to the station and make use of facilities. We know how

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critical that that link is to the success of Brighton's economy.

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taxi driver issue again for a second. Is there some sort of

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compromise, is it so terrible to ask drivers to go around the back

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to the other entrans. That would create more congestion around the

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back, that's sweeping it under the carpet. The basic rule in politics,

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if you take on taxi drivers, you rue the day. You sound like you are

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speaking from experience. They're a powerful lobby, they live in the

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city and have families and a lot of people listen to them driving

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around the city. Listen to the tkraoeurs. -- drivers. Nobody's

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talking about taking on the taxi lobby. It's not a lobby, it's hard

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working Brighton ians who want to earn a living. We are talking to

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them and the bus company and the pedestrians, cyclists, railway

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companies and we are trying to come to a resolution to meet the needs

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of the many, many different groups who depend on the station and the

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area around it. It's very challenging but this is not about

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picking on taxi drivers, we recognise they're an important part

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of the city. Thank you for joining Now, if you live in Hastings,

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Maidstone, objection instead, Lingfield, Crawley or Tunbridge

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wells, what, if anything, has Labour done to make you vote for

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them in your local elections on May 3rd? Currently, there are only two

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Labour-held councils in the south- east. Of course, at a parliamentary

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level Labour was wiped out at the last general election. The leader

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made much of the party's success in taking control of Gravesham council

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last year but was it really the start of a Labour comeback in the

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south-east as he suggested? Let's ask our guests what they're

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expecting to happen and what it will mean in a couple of weeks?

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First of all, how hungry is Labour for success? The south-east.

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Desperate, we know without winning in the sees we can't be in contepgs

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to form a Government tpepb. -- again. I take heart we have done it

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before. But it's hard and the party has to already talk to people who

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own their own cars, homes, go on holidays, feeling reason flee

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affluent and say vote Labour, that's a hard ask. Hungry, but

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deserving, are they? I don't think this election is going to be very

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much to do with what Labour to be honest,,, it's going to be with

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people's disaffection with the current Government and people use

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local elections to punish than reward, if you like, the opposition.

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Let's look at recent issues, granny tax, pasties, charitable donations,

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dinners in Downing Street and cuts, cuts on a local hrefpl. Level level.

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If Labour can't make inroads now, it's game over. They're going to

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need to make gains here, not just actually to give them heart, but

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also for the general election. It's important you have boots on the

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ground and boots on the ground is often councillors and friends and

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their relations actually, getting people in there is very important.

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Let's look on a micro local level at what might constitute success.

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Crawley council, if Labour could steal six seats from the

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Conservatives they would take overall control, is that sort of

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movement within their grasp? It is within the grasp. But it's going to

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be very hard. Don't forget what a low base we are coming from.

:44:13.:44:17.

Historically all the things you mentioned were to go to the arms of

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a protest party like the Lib Dems of course they're now the party

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doing these things. That's out of the equation, we hope that vote

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comes to Labour, of course. We have heard these councils in the past

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but we are at a low ebb. I think share of the vote needs to be

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significant, but also picking up a few councils here and there and

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more councillors across the south- east will be a strong sign that Ed

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is on his way to Downing Street. Some councils where Labour is

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completely unrepresented. On two that are have elections, tan Trent

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Bridge and Maidstone, they are never going to win those councils,

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so does it matter what happens there. I think what happens there

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matters in terms of the vote share. If you see a marginal increase in

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the Labour vote that's not brilliant. If you see a reasonable

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increase that's good. I don't think they'll be interested in seats in

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those places, they're going to be interested across the south-east

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generally. Hastings is one to watch. It's close, Labour holds the

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council 17 to Conservatives 14. Half the seats here are up for

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election. There is a new Tory MP who is clearly smart, passionate

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about her constituency. Labour could lose here, couldn't they?

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This would be a disaster. I think the people in the councillors in

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Hastings actually are fighting on local issues. What issues? Social

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behaviour, crime, regeneration of the town. We are talking about the

:45:39.:45:42.

National Health Service in this election which may seem

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counterintuitive but authorities have a public health role too and

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the Bill and those issues, that's generating support for Labour.

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do you think about happen in Hastings? If things go to plan, and

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they should do, this is the mid- term after all, it's an unpopular

:45:58.:46:01.

Government at the moment. Labour should do well. They will be

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looking to do well and if they don't they're going to be

:46:03.:46:06.

disappointed. Ed Miliband did make a lot out of Gravesham and the

:46:06.:46:11.

success of winning. Did he make too much of it? This week it's been

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about underpromising and overachieving. He seemed to think

:46:15.:46:19.

this was beginning a march in the south-east. If you are Ed Miliband,

:46:19.:46:22.

look at Bradford, you are doing reasonably well but not well enough

:46:22.:46:25.

to get into Downing Street. You are going to grab on to anything that

:46:25.:46:28.

you can get and Hastings could be one of those things. Is he ever

:46:28.:46:31.

going to reasonate in the south- east in the way Tony Blair did?

:46:31.:46:35.

not? If the policies are right, and if the campaigning is there, which

:46:35.:46:38.

it is on the ground, then why not? It wasn't all about Tony Blair and

:46:38.:46:42.

by the end of course he was not necessarily an asset either, he was

:46:42.:46:46.

at the beginning. So, yes, why not? He is a family man. He is southern.

:46:46.:46:52.

He is middle-class, what's not to like? Do you like him? Yes. Is the

:46:52.:46:57.

person you want to lead the party? I put some money on. It's not the

:46:57.:47:01.

same as wanting him to win. We are fully behind him. If it was a

:47:01.:47:05.

general election in a couple of weeks what would we see happen?

:47:05.:47:10.

General election, I still think... Here in the south-east? I think we

:47:10.:47:14.

would still see a coalition Government. Still see the

:47:14.:47:18.

Government doing reasonably well and Labour stand no chance because

:47:18.:47:21.

this isn't generally fertile territory for the Labour Party.

:47:21.:47:24.

They can pick up a few seats perhaps in 2015 and that could be

:47:24.:47:27.

enough to get them into Government, maybe as a coalition, maybe on

:47:27.:47:31.

their own. Brighton, Crawley, those kind of places should come our way.

:47:31.:47:37.

We will be be rounding up the results on May 6th. Now a roundup

:47:37.:47:47.
:47:47.:47:47.

of the week's events. The Home Office should take control

:47:47.:47:51.

of the borders agency, that's what members of the Home Affairs Select

:47:51.:47:55.

Committee, including the MP for Rochester and straou, are calling

:47:55.:47:58.

for. We have to get in it right, particularly with the Olympics this

:47:58.:48:01.

summer, large numbers of people coming to this country. It's a real

:48:01.:48:05.

opportunity to show Britain at its best.

:48:05.:48:09.

Businesses moving to discovery park in sandwich will get tax breaks

:48:09.:48:14.

from this week. An enterprise zone announced last summer comes into

:48:14.:48:19.

force. Surrey County Council is urging the the Transport Secretary

:48:19.:48:23.

to invest in more trains, longer station platforms, and upgraded

:48:23.:48:28.

infrastructure to get the economy moving. Muir ral Matters,

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originally from Australia but lived in Hastings for many years, once

:48:33.:48:35.

chained herself to a grill in the House of Commons campaigning for

:48:35.:48:40.

votes for women. Now politicians down under want to gift a statue in

:48:40.:48:49.

her honour to the town because she still matters.

:48:49.:48:53.

Does Muriel still matter? You have been doing your homework on Muriel.

:48:53.:48:57.

She is a wonderful woman and she was in Hastings until 1969 but

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stood for parliament in 1924. Thanks to women like her winning

:49:03.:49:07.

votes for women in the first place. She deserves a statue. Does that

:49:07.:49:10.

still reasonate with women voters? Will women turn out on May 3rd

:49:10.:49:15.

because of people like Muriel? reason they have the vote is

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because of women like her, and across the world you are seeing

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similar struggles, so of course they should be reminded of that

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same struggle took place here, thanks to women like Muriel.

:49:25.:49:28.

would welcome a statue? Definitely, I hope they welcome it with open

:49:28.:49:33.

arms. Does she still matter to you and those like you who study

:49:33.:49:37.

politics? You have to remind people about history and about the people

:49:37.:49:41.

who struggle for things we take for granted now. There's certainly

:49:41.:49:46.

nothing wrong with actually putting up a statue if that jogs a few

:49:46.:49:51.

people's memories and makes them realise how lucky we have-to--- we

:49:51.:49:59.

are to have a vote. My vote is in the 1800s, Karl Marx and Frederick

:49:59.:50:06.

Inkles used to use east borne as their holiday of choice. And he was

:50:06.:50:09.

buried at sea. There is no commemoration to that fact at all.

:50:09.:50:13.

Historical figures deserve a statue. We have learned something new on

:50:13.:50:18.

the show. Quickly, who would you have a statue for? Probably the

:50:18.:50:20.

Conservative Education Secretary, to go to the University of Sussex,

:50:20.:50:25.

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