05/05/2013 Sunday Politics South East


05/05/2013

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the true blue? As UKIP becomes the main county council opposition in

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Kent and West Sussex, we'll ask Nigel Farage what difference his

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2227 seconds

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Sunday Politics in the South East. Coming up later: Parting the red

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vote? Will UKIP's success in last week's county council elections help

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or hinder the Labour Party? Joining me in the studio today is the

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Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon Stephen Lloyd and the

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Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Chatham and Aylesford

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Tristan Osborne. In a few moments, we'll be speaking to the UKIP leader

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Nigel Farage. Tristan, you made much-needed gains on Thursday but

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not enough to be confident of the breakthrough you need at the next

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general election. Well, we topped the vote at 29% this time round.

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won seats in areas in which we need to form the next government, in

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constituencies like Dover, Harlow in Essex. We are on course for a

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victory in 2015 and we have made significant gains across the region.

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But under Tony Blair you had 22 seats and now you have 13. There is

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still more work to do but this is not the same time as when Tony Blair

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was here. We are in a recession at the moment. We have just been in

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government for 13 years. We have a lot more to build on. We are looking

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to make 40 games at the next general election and we are on course to

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make that. Stephen, you held on to all your feeds in Eastbourne, but

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further afield you took a beating. It was a challenge but in Eastbourne

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it was a fantastic result. doubled our majority in the one seat

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the Tories were targeting. We made a few losses in Lewis but we stole

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this -- we are still the second largest party in the county council.

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It is an incredibly strong result. Well, the impact of UKIP was felt

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across the South East in last week's elections - the party won 37 seats

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in our counties. They're now the main opposition to the Conservatives

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in Kent and West Sussex, leaving the Lib Dems trailing in their wake.

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Labour made significant gains, but the Tories lost their overall

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majority - and the control - of East Sussex. Lucinda Adam looks at how

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the political landscape has changed. They've been called fruitcakes,

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loonies and clowns, but who is laughing now? UKIP 137 seats across

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the south-east. They are now the opposition party in Kent and West

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Sussex. Although they took fewer seats in East Sussex, it was enough

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to take overall control of the away from the Conservatives. As the votes

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were counted, UKIP and Labour made significant gains. It was the

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Conservatives and Liberal Democrats who became coalition casualties. In

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Thanet, UKIP won seven out of the eight county council seats from the

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Tories. It is really because our policies resonate from the man on

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the ground. Immigration, lack of services or overloaded services,

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schools, health care. As the UKIP tally to 17, it gave council leader

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Paul Carter caused concern. party only just held on to a

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majority -- cause for concern. Losing 26 seats has slashed their

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majority from 59 to just six. Paul Carter lays the blame the

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government's door. One of the most stressful three hours of my life

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from one o'clock onwards this afternoon. If you get 25% of the

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voters voting UKIP, the consequences will be very close. The government

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has got 18 months to turn the country round. They got to rethink

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and recalibrate and tell us where they really want to take this

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country. While UKIP stole Labour's hopes of a comeback in Thanet, then

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now have seven out of eight councillors in Thanet. Edmund and

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was in town to celebrate. It is an unprecedented result to win seven

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out of eight seats here in Hastings. It reflects hard work, a

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message about the cost of living and jobs, the things that matter to

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people here in Hastings. I'm delighted with the gains we have

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made. Although Labour has gained three seats in Crawley and ten in

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Kent, it was not the revival they were hoping for. They haven't made

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the breakthrough they need. You look along the north Kent corridor, these

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results don't indicate to me that they have made a huge amount of

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headway there. If Labour were to win the election, they need to win these

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marginal seats across the south-east and the whole of the South of

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England. While the Liberal Democrats didn't lose seats in Kent, gains by

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the Lib Dems and Labour have pushed them into fourth place. But they

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lost 17 councillors across the south-east and Surrey. Most people

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for the -- who voted for UKIP point even know who their new councillor

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is. What are they going to do locally? Are they going to mend the

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roads or sort out social services? Now the votes are in, 37 newly

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elected UKIP councillors are enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend

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before work begins. What difference will they make to our county

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councils across the south-east? Lucinda Adam reporting. Joining us

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in the studio is the leader of the Conservative group on East Sussex

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County Council Keith Glazier, and from London, the UKIP leader and

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South East MEP Nigel Farage. Nigel Farage, thank you for joining us. I

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know you have been busy not least because you have been celebrating.

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As your knowledge to self, you have now got to prove that you can a

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difference in local government -- as you act knowledge yourself.

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Absolutely. We have now got to show that we will stand up for residents

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and aren't that county councils provide even better value for money.

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We will campaign against every single wind turbine development

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occurs they are ugly, useless and don't work. In the south-east, there

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are not applications due for onshore wind farms. They are popular here

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and they create jobs. Also, it in the county council, you don't have

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any influence in those decisions. No, it is very interesting to work

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out who has responsibly key for anything. In theory, it is the

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government. UKIP county councillors will not stop at this. It is the

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most expensive energy folly we have ever pursued. Immigration, let's

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face it, that is what you have been voted in on at county council level.

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You talked about wind farms, you lifted the smoking ban in pubs, but

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none of those issues are relevant to county council politics. We have got

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to come up with new policies now. What we have seen around the rest of

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the country, with the very small number of UKIP councillors that we

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had before last Thursday, UKIP elected representatives rolling

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their sleeves up, getting involved in communities and making a

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difference. You are quite right, a lot of this work will be nonparty

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political. I'm confident we have got a good group of people elected with

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a delight -- diverse range of backgrounds and it will reinvigorate

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local democracy. So what are you going to do? It won't be me doing

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anything because I won't be there! But we will fight hard if there is a

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big, contentious issue. The people feel awkward... Back with you in a

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moment. Keith Glazier. You were expecting to be the leader of East

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Sussex county council by now, but thanks to Nigel, you're just the

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leader of the Conservative party with no overall control. What

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happens now? We have got some independents who have gained some

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seats in East Sussex, and of course we have gained some and lost some as

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well. Clearly we now have to have some conversations to form the next

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administration for this county. is going to be interesting. You need

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to form some sort of coalition. You have got the Liberal Democrats, your

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traditional enemies in Sussex, which would you rather be in bed with? I

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would rather not be in bed with any of them, but I need to talk to all

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of the councillors who will form East Sussex county council going

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forward. A busy weekend for you then. Stephen

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Lloyd, UKIP took a lot of seats from you. That must have been a surprise.

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I don't think they took seats from us in East Sussex. They did. What we

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saw in Eastbourne was that most when the Conservatives. Clearly, as Nigel

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has alluded to, have had a very successful campaign. It will be

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interesting to see how it pans out over the next few months locally. On

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a national level, the Conservatives are the major problem. On the way

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here, I wonder whether this UKIP surge as the Tories' STP moment from

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30 years ago. This could play very well for you, Tristan. If the

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Conservatives go to the right, it is an open goal for you guys.

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Absolutely. We are winning back constituencies, divisions which will

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lead us to the next government. Labour is scoring well. What I would

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say is that where labour is not putting up a presence in some areas

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of Kent, you could have taken what was the Thatcherite vote. The

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right-wing vote. The right wing and that is unhappy with David Cameron

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and wants to go back to 1980s that right government. They want a return

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to Margaret Thatcher, Nigel. It has been hard labour for 100 years and

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in came UKIP from zero to 24%, and most of our voters are old Labour

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voters. There are lots of Labour and Lib Dem voters for UKIP, as well.

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Stephen Lloyd, would you like to see Keith work with your party or with

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UKIP? I think Keith has an interesting challenge. My

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suggestion, because clearly I'm here to give some helpful advice, is to

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perhaps discuss this with Labour in Hastings. That is interesting! The

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Lib Dems' loss of seats across Sussex in particular suggests that

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they may no longer be the South East's favourite protest party since

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they went into Coalition Government. Labour candidates were hoping to

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capitalise on this but they saw many of their protest votes go to UKIP.

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But, in the long term, could UKIP's success actually benefit the Labour

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Party? The Liberal Democrats have traditionally enjoyed success in

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local elections in the south-east as the party of the protest vote. But

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now their National Power is making them a party to protest against.

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They held seats in Eastbourne and Kent but lost 17 councillors in

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Sussex and Surrey. In the south-east, they are the party that

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which has suffered most overall. It is queer why there is a particularly

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big protest at this time, because we are in a situation where, for

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slightly different reasons, the three major national parties south

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of the border have all suffered in terms of their public popularity.

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Popularity with protest voters has earned the Green party their first

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MP. But this time around, they have failed to gain any seats

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across-the-board in Sussex. They did win their first county seat in Kent.

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It sends a message party wide that the Green party can be a force. It

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is an incredible breakthrough. years ago, the Green vote share was

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almost the same as UKIP. So why haven't they made more games? --

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more games? You have to take the flak that comes, it is not entirely

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surprising that there is a little bit of reaction against them for

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that reason. It is a very slow, steady pattern of progress. By

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contrast with UKIP, that looks decidedly unspectacular and

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unimpressive. The Conservatives, they need to work to win back voters

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lost to UKIP to reinforce their south-east chokehold. In seats like

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Hastings, it is labour, buoyed by their county council gains, who have

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their eye on winning the protest vote in 2015. The government is not

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in touch. It doesn't listen. With UKIP splitting the right-wing vote,

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could Labour turn around their fortunes in the south-east. I think

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there is a strategic dilemma for David Cameron. An obvious message to

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take from today with the success of UKIP is that we should be taking

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tough action on Europe, immigration, spending cuts and so on and so

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forth. In other words, shift further to the right. But the dangers are

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that you then lose out on the centre ground and you open up this wave of

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the electoral vote. The irony is that their success will put them

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under the spotlight of scrutiny. They could be a flash in the pan. A

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lot of them have got no experience of local government at all and do

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not understand how much time it will take. A lot of them may fall by the

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wayside. That has been the story of UKIP MEPs over the years. By the

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time the next election comes around, three or four of them have either

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gone, defected or are in prison. protest vote has brought

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multi-cultural politics to south-east regions. Time to talk to

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our guests of the day, Tristan and Stephen. You one he -- seats in

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Hastings, but not in planet. Why is your message going down well with

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some parts of the south-east but not others? Sarah Owen has worked very

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hard in Hastings to get those seven seats. But I would say is that

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Labour is now the only moderate and internationalist party on the agenda

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now. The Conservative party has conceded the centre ground to

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Labour. In planet, as I just mentioned, you had a Labour MP there

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before. Seven out of eight seats went UKIP. So that is where you need

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to target. The danger is that UKIP are going to steal your thunder.

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UKIP may take Conservative voters, but we are also winning in our own

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right in the key constituencies which will form our government of

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2015, in Dover, Hastings, Harley -- Harlow, Crawley. If we continue to

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do that and we continue to stay in the centre ground and have a one

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nation, moderate message that is socially liberal, we will win power

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in 2015. Stephen, big dangers for your party. Further afield, where

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there are not MPs, your losing dramatically. Where there is a

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strong local vote, we are winning. But there are only two of you.

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know, and I was interested in what Tristan was saying. Labour have not

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had the breakthrough they should have done. There is no way it is one

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nation. You have a real challenge. But the biggest problem in the UKIP

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rise -- is the UKIP rise. David, if you tack to the right, Tristan will

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be the winner here. None of this is about local government. As someone

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who wants to lead a good, local council, I think we need to

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absolutely understand what the 43,000 people in East Sussex meant

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when they voted UKIP. The 50,000 that voted for us, we know what they

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meant. Labour and liberals combined only just got the same vote as

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UKIP. There is a message here. We need to understand it, but equally

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we need to deliver good services for the people of East Sussex. Nigel

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Farage, you will be under scrutiny now, you know that. Ian thinks most

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of your councillors went last the difference. Here's speculating. I'm

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confident we will get good people in there who will do a good job. My

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method is to the other parties that something fundamental has changed

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here. UKIP is now a force in politics, it is here to stay, and

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roll on the European elections that we will have this time next year.

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Look what has happened the Greens. They have now got power in Brighton

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and Hove. They did win as much as they had hoped this time, this is

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the danger for your party. No, the Green party has never been more than

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a party strong in five or six cities across the country. It has never had

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that spread of support. Second question, you said this morning, you

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will announce job Parliamentary candidate shown next June. You're

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going to stand in Kent, surely? When I make my mind up, I'm sure I will

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do it as an exclusive with you! Lovely! . Now a round-up of the

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see CCTV cameras installed in an attempt to cut down a number of

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attacks on paramedics. Last, there were 98 assaults on South East and

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Berlin staff. Live animal exports resumed at the Port of Dover this

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week. Animal rights protesters are not

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pleased. Hastings and Ryan MP Amber Rudd has

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been criticised as describing the Hastings as a magnet for those on

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drugs. She defended herself and said she is still incredibly optimistic

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about Hastings. Sussex police has become the first force in the

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country to buy GPS devices to help those suffering from dementia.

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And then abrasions the Brighton council as it is confirmed the

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Alnwick Stadium will host two matches the Rugby World Cup 2015.

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I have got no issues. Stephen Lloyd, GPS tracking of

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dementia patients, a big issue in Sussex and a controversial one.

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Where do you stand? I think this has got to be a good idea. I work very

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got to be a good idea. I work very got to be a good idea. I work very

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closely with local police. You are supportive? Yes, I am. People with

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dementia can disappear for half a day and it is very worrying for the

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relatives. I certainly think it is worth exploring. Tristan, live

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animal exports. It has long been an issue in Dover and further afield.

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think this needs to be decided by scientists and farmers and groups

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that are experts in this field. Dover is a port. It needs to trade

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and it makes revenue for the country. We need to support our

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farmers. Needs to be done ethically and with expert guidance. You must

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have been celebrating after Amber Rudd's comments? I thought they were

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pretty outrageous, actually. Ill taste. The people of Hastings and

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why this week showed their vote by electing seven Labour councillors.

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We will build a coalition throughout one nation party. We have made

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significant gains this week and I look forward to the message coming

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from Ed. The message from Nick Clegg is that you are on a journey.

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Stephen, where would you like a party to be going now? Despite all

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the fuss about UKIP, we ended up with twice as many councillors. Most

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