10/02/2013 Sunday Politics South

In the South: The starting gun's been fired, the

parties are picking their candidates, the big beasts are

hitting town - so what will be the real deciding issues in the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2455 seconds

Welcome to Sunday Politics South, my name's Peter Henley. On today's

programme: Oxford may be calling itself the

electric car capital of Europe, but just how many people are actually

using its 60 charging points? We'll be finding out shortly. First,

let's meet the two politicians who, as usual, are our guests of the day

for the whole of the next 20 minutes. George Hollingbery is the

Conservative MP for Meon Valley, and Alan Whitehead is the Labour MP

for Southampton West. There's a lot of national issues

here with the by-election. What do you think of David Cameron's week?

Progress in Europe - you must be pleased about that? It is good to

make sure the EU budget does not run away with itself. That is

positive. But it is different from the uncertainty that David Cameron

has plunged us into over a period of time in relation to the EU

because of what he has done in terms of trying to square a deal

with his own backbenchers. That is a long-term impact. What is

happening now a short term. Would you back the Prime Minister on the

way he has behaved over gay marriage? You voted in favour. But

most of your colleagues are against. On the European issue, we were told

nothing could change on that front. Renegotiating the terms seems worth

doing. Gay marriage. It was a matter of conscience. It didn't

matter that others voted against? If you talk to people about their

religious values, there are lots of religious people in the

Conservative Party, and colleagues who received thousands of letters,

they wanted to reflect the views of their constituents. You have had a

reply on Europe. On gay marriage, David Cameron, is he enhanced or

does he have a problem with his backbenchers? He has a problem.

There's a split down the back benches of the Conservatives. That

is not good for future government. It's been a busy political week in

the South of England. Chris Huhne's sudden resignation on Monday as MP

for Eastleigh triggered a by- election, then on Wednesday the

Liberal Democrats plumped for a February 28th polling day. So, a

decidedly short, sharp campaign, and over the last few days the

various parties have been scrambling to get candidates

confirmed, volunteers in place and their various big beasts booked in

for visits to a sometimes overlooked part of Hampshire, North

and East of Southampton. In the days of steam, Eastleigh was

known as a railway town. Now the airport is the biggest local

employer, and the bandwagon will drive down the M3 past new suburban

estates. The constituency stretches to the sea. That includes the home

of Hampshire cricket. It David Cameron can't take back a seat that

once boasted a 10,000 Conservative majority, the questions will be

asked. But what might stop him is the depth of local Lib Dem

organisation. 36 out of 36 council seats are held by Lib Dems. They

know the territory well. In the election for Police Commissioner, a

Lib Dem topped the polls in this area. It has not always been like

this. In 1994, Eastleigh's industrial roots were strong enough

to give Labour hope. Then it was a three-way marginal with Gordon

Brown joining a young Jack Straw on the doorsteps. These were the dying

days of the John Major government. UKIP's candidate barely registered.

Now they could make a big dent in votes on the right. If the

Conservatives were to lose, it would put pressure on Cameron's

leadership and lead to them asking all sorts of questions about, well,

what is the point of being in the coalition? Similarly, a range of

questions from the Lib Dems if they were to lose the seat. A lot of MPs

are going to be fearful of a similar challenge in their

constituencies. I think it is massive in terms of national as

well as local politics. Labour admits they are a long shot

but Ed Miliband needs to prove his appeal in the south. It is going to

be a short, sharp campaign, but the timing is set for a result to

remember. Well, joining us now are the

Liberal Democrat leader of Eastleigh council, Keith House, and,

from UKIP, Ray Finch, who was his party's candidate in Eastleigh in

2010. Keith, what I hear all the time is

the Lib Dems are well dug in. Sounds like the start of a war in

the trenches. But that is what you are, you are well prepared in

Eastleigh. He is that why you chose to have an early campaign?

thought it was best to remove the uncertainty. We are well entrenched

in Eastleigh. We work all year round alongside the key issue of

who is best placed to stand up for Eastleigh's electorate in

Parliament until the 2015 election. You only had two locals on the list

of candidate. Why do you have to have a local candidate? We felt,

with our track record, but we wanted somebody who is already part

of the local community, who already has a good record of being part of

the team, who has protected services from cuts and is part of

the community. UKIP has been organising in

Eastleigh for some time. What do you see as fertile ground here?

of it. His immigration a real issue? Of course it is. Immigration

is one of the major things. In the Mail today, 56% of Bulgarians said

they wanted to come to Britain on January 1st. It is going to affect

everybody. But we have other issues. We have all of them covered.

Frankly, as the polling today has said, we stand to gain more votes

both from the Lib Dems and Labour than we do from the Tories. We are

not the our riders for the Tory party. We are the party that

appeals all across the country. Keith, it is the protest vote and

people can't protest by voting Lib Dem any more. No, they protest by

voting for minor parties. The history of EC politics has been to

choose Lib Dem at every opportunity. -- beastly politics. The

Conservatives last held on to a seat in Eastleigh nine years ago.

It will be a close race. That is the choice people will have to

consider. Today when somebody who is part of the community or do they

not? Let's bring in the other side. It was Sir David Price's seat for

many years. Has it changed in its complexion? To some extent. If you

look back at the history, you can see what conservative organisation

is what it is. If you look at recent general elections, you can

see a strong underlying Conservative vote there. That is

what we need to find. We have got a fantastic local candidate. Vote for

a local MP you can trust, that is the slogan?

She fought the last general election, she stayed in with the

community, and the great thing about Maria is she is somebody who

lives in a relatively modest house in a modest part of town. She knows

what it is like to struggle along like others. This is somebody for

whom we say filling up a calf -- with petrol is not just something

you do, it is something you have to think about. The suggestion is she

is a loose cannon as well. Some of her views are against the

leadership. We want to concentrate on the issues that matter to people

- jobs, the economy, making sure we protect the right parts of the

countryside from inappropriate development. The Lib Dems have been

strong on that for many years. If the Conservative was to go into

other territory, that is for them to think about.

Back to you, George. Top of his priorities is fighting Tory plans

for gravel extraction. This is a Lib Dem. You supposed -- you are

supposed to be in coalition. It is hardly surprising that they

emphasise this. Both candidates will fight on the issues. We

understand the voters will not enjoy it if we sitter there and

knock seven bells out of each other, particularly about the previous

incumbent. We will be talking about benefit changes, immigration, the

economy and hole we solve issues, and actually, that is what people

want to hear about. While Labour playing their chances down? You are

the opposition. -- why half. It is true the Conservatives and Lib Dems

really are in it together. The previous MP voted for every single

one of the measures that have gone to prop up the Conservative-Lib Dem

coalition over the period. If we are talking about the economy, the

Lib Dems are culpable in what has happened in terms of the problem of

jobs, the difficulties of benefits, the house tax. All of those things,

they are completely in it together. Why not say that you have got more

chance in this seat? We will be going out, putting the message out

across Eastleigh, for example, the last autumn statement meant that

the average family was almost �600 worse off while millionaires were

getting a tax cut of �100,000. haven't yet selected a candidate.

These issues will have great resonance, I think, to people who

think they are left out by what the two coalition parties are doing. We

will have a candidate shortly. That is the message we will get across.

We don't say we are definitely going to win. We think we ought to

do well in terms of making sure the message is put across and making

sure people have a real alternative to vote for the politics of the

coalition that a serving are so badly at the moment.

If Nigel Farage had entered the race, it would be a different

situation, wouldn't it? No. Nigel has to lead the party. If we put

him up for every by-election, people would turn around and say we

are a one-horse Party. We are not. This is a chance of somebody to

make a breakthrough. It is now a four-way marginal. Is it?

course! Know. The reality is clear. This will be a close run thing by

the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. But most by-elections are a protest,

aren't they? They are about the future and the best representative

for local people. That is why we have selected Mike Thornton. He is

part of the community and is already doing the job. Should you

have a local as well? It always helps. It never hurts to have

somebody local on the ground. But it is always the best thing to get

the best person in. Wherever they come from, they can settle in. A

local candidate does not hurt. What Keith is saying is whoever you vote

for, you are going to get the government. We are ahead of the

Labour Party. We are the official opposition and we intend to win.

Thank you, both of you. Nearly a year ago, a new network of

electric car charging points was installed in Oxford. The hope was

they'd spark more people's interest in using electric vehicles. Now the

city's also about to get its own electric car club. But still sales

of electric cars haven't sped up as much as the government had hoped.

So what's it going to take to convince us all? Emma Vardy has

been to find out. Oxford claims to have more car

charging points per person than anywhere else in Europe. The city

was hailed the electric car capital when its new network was switched

on last year. What the government is doing is

making it easier to buy these vehicles. When a critical mass

kicks in, the price will come down. But despite hype, many are still

doubtful about ditching their fuel cars and chosing a greener option.

If I felt confident it was easily chargeable, I would think about it

a bit more. If it was more environmentally friendly. If it

becomes more efficient and cost- effective, I might consider it.

Until then, I think I will stick with our normal car. If I could do

250 miles a day in one, maybe. But not until.

So why haven't they caught on? Well, they can't go very far before

needing a charge. And they tend to be more expensive than ordinary

cars. But the government's determined to keep us moving

towards a battery-powered future. One day we may all have to say

goodbye to the petrol pump and instead plug into one of these.

This is one of more than 60 charging points around Oxford that

you can charge your car up for free! Of course, though, you need

Rather flash, eh? This Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car

that would set you back around �70,000. For that, you get to drive

more than 200 miles on a single charge. You could commute from

London to Oxford at just �2 pounds a journey. There are cheaper

battery powered cars, but hey, drive an electric sports car and

you'll turn a few heads. The number of electric cars being sold overall,

though, is still just a fraction of the total car sales each year.

Some charging points are only being used a handful of times each week.

In Milton Keynes, some have only been used once or twice.

It will grow and grow. If you are there and ready at the beginning,

it is easy for people when they want to.

But the market is changing. Tesla and other companies are bringing

out much more affordably-priced battery powered cars, and the

government's offering cash grants to help towards the cost of some

models. That is lots of fun to drive!

If you don't fancying buying your own electric car, Oxford's got

another answer. An electric car club's starting up, and soon

there'll be electric cars stationed around the city that people will be

able to borrow for a fraction of what it would cost to buy your own.

What makes people decide to join the club? People who need access to

a car but don't want the full expense of owning their own car,

people are a bit nervous the first time in an electric vehicle, but

after the first few times, you find you love it. They are lovely cars

to drive. It's been predicted that there'll

be two million electric cars by Britain's roads by 2020. The latest

figures show there's only 3,000 so far.

The government has made a great start getting charging posts out

onto the street and in support to people buying cars. There's still a

long way to go. Not enough people are buying the cars.

That elusive market turning point's yet to be found.

There's a long way to go before we get rid of our committal vehicles,

but electric cars are seen as a crucial way of meeting Climate

Change targets. -- our conventional vehicles.

She did not want to give that number back! But as the people were

saying, Allen, it is about confidence, isn't it?

There is a thing called a range anxiety in the alleged vehicle

market, and problems with price. But there are some rapid changes

under way in terms of the greater efficiency of battery technology.

It is going to make other ones drop in value like a stone. With an

increase in charging points, with an increase in availability of

repair stations and so on, there will be, I think, quite a security

as far as second-hand prices are concerned. The issue is the chicken

and egg one of making sure the people know their vehicles can

charge, can go a distance, and that their investment is going to be

good for the future. That is the breakthrough. Of course, you have

got to get the charging points in place. We are close to it, frankly.

The future is pretty bright. A number of new models are coming out

shortly. A number of the problems are being address. We will see that

increase in cars over the next few years. George, you were telling me

you were nearly hit by one. My own fault. Your background was in

business. Could you CDs... How could you market this better?

tipping point is where it all sits. If you can see the value of your

car falling through the floor, it is not great. The range thing is a

big issue. One has to consider marketing angles wider. I have

heard of scheme that will allow cars to be plugged in overnight at

a huge number of places. I have heard about the future garage,

where you fill up with a battery. You can get a new battery, stick it

in, and the other one comes out the other end.

Now our regular round-up of the political week in the South in 60

seconds. What a week. The Chancellor was

about to speak to bankers in Bournemouth. Yes, there are

thousands of them at JP Morgan, apparently, when Chris Huhne

changed his plea. The only proper course of action is to resign my

seat. Labour kicked off the campaign even before a date was set

and candidates chosen. It press both coalition parties for their

strategy on the economy. A number of empty shops has prompted the

Conservative council in Poole at to make it easier for businesses to

take over and convert bacon shops by removing the need to apply for

planning permission. Water bills are rising. Thames Water had the

largest hike. And after by election hot air, how

about some natural gas? Exploratory drilling -- drilling has been

approved in West Sussex. A British company is hoping to strike lucky

without resorting to the controversial fracking.

It could be a last blast for oil. Fracking. Any bid? Big claims are

made about how much is there. The question is how much is recoverable

and at what cost. It is very expensive. I have been to Texas to

look at the fracking going on there. If you do it to the extent they do

it in America, it is potentially catastrophic for the landscape. It

has got limits. It perhaps could work as a back up for other forms

of gas. But it is not the bonanza that some double claim. I have a

niche issue. But the bills are coming through. We are concerned

about polluting the water table. It is big trouble.

That's the Sunday Politics in the South. Thanks to my guests, Alan

Whitehead and George Hollingbery, and Keith House from Lib Dems and

Ray Finch of UKIP earlier - four parties with all to play for, all