Browse content similar to 29/09/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Sunday Politics. David Cameron rushes out a scheme to help | :00:20. | :00:48. | |
house-buyers with deposits. Is he merely stoking a new house price | :00:48. | :00:53. | |
bubble? As Tory activist 's gather in Manchester, we will have the | :00:53. | :00:58. | |
results of our exclusive survey of Conservative councillors. I will be | :00:58. | :01:00. | |
speaking to Foreign Secretary William Hague. And Ed Miliband made | :01:00. | :01:06. | |
headlines with his pledge to freeze energy prices for 20 months after | :01:06. | :01:08. | |
headlines with his pledge to freeze the next election. But does the new | :01:08. | :01:09. | |
policy really stack up? Shadow the next election. But does the new | :01:09. | :01:20. | |
In the south, anger over fracking and HS2, I will ask the Prime | :01:20. | :01:21. | |
Minister and HS2, I will ask the Prime | :01:22. | :01:23. | |
believe that strikes on the Underground should be made illegal, | :01:23. | :01:26. | |
something the Prime Minister doesn't rule | :01:26. | :01:39. | |
With me are a trio of top political commentators. All three will be | :01:39. | :01:45. | |
tweeting their thoughts, or in some cases just their thought through the | :01:45. | :01:48. | |
show, using the hashtag #bbcsp. cases just their thought through the | :01:48. | :01:55. | |
Conservative Party conference gets afternoon. We have already been | :01:55. | :02:02. | |
bombarded with a series of policy announcements, a tax break for | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
married couples of up to £200 per year, more money on life extending | :02:06. | :02:10. | |
cancer treatments and, last night, the news that the second stage of | :02:10. | :02:13. | |
the Chancellor's Help To Buy scheme brought forward from the start of | :02:13. | :02:19. | |
next year. David Cameron says it is all about helping hard-working | :02:19. | :02:24. | |
people. Right now, you can't get, 95% mortgage. That means a typical | :02:24. | :02:33. | |
family with two people earning 20,000, 25,000, they are being | :02:33. | :02:34. | |
asked, to buy an average house, 20,000, 25,000, they are being | :02:34. | :02:43. | |
mortgage payment, but they can't get the mortgage. They can't buy their | :02:43. | :02:46. | |
flat or house. As Prime Minister, I'm not going to stand back while | :02:46. | :02:51. | |
people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder, to own their own | :02:51. | :02:52. | |
flat or home, is being trashed. housing ladder, to own their own | :02:52. | :02:58. | |
is why we need to act. A predictable attempt by party leadership to | :02:58. | :03:02. | |
kick-start the conference with eye-catching policies. The polls | :03:02. | :03:05. | |
show a big bounce for Ed Miliband and the Labour Party, with decent | :03:05. | :03:10. | |
numbers for UKIP. What do party councillors as they travel to their | :03:10. | :03:26. | |
For the Conservatives this weekend, conference, and as a scene setter we | :03:26. | :03:36. | |
asked ComRes to survey councillors are Finland and Wales. Councillors | :03:36. | :03:43. | |
asked ComRes to survey councillors like Tom, packing for conference at | :03:43. | :03:46. | |
home in Wellingborough. Immigration is an issue for him. He thinks there | :03:46. | :03:48. | |
are pros and cons. But we found is an issue for him. He thinks there | :03:48. | :03:55. | |
immigration has had a negative reflects into this wider issue of | :03:55. | :04:02. | |
our relationship with Europe. People possible influx of ovarian and | :04:02. | :04:08. | |
Romania emigrants. Obviously the issue of Europe is very big. -- | :04:08. | :04:18. | |
Ukrainian. His colleagues in Corby are worried about the rise of the UK | :04:18. | :04:23. | |
Independence Party. In our survey, nearly a quarter of Conservative | :04:23. | :04:26. | |
councillors thought that their party should make a pact with UKIP. The | :04:26. | :04:31. | |
concern is, yes, will they take If that happens, maybe we don't | :04:31. | :04:40. | |
concern is, yes, will they take back in. Maybe a partnership is | :04:40. | :04:43. | |
concern is, yes, will they take way to go. It depends what they | :04:43. | :04:50. | |
concern is, yes, will they take talking about them. A pact? Depends | :04:50. | :04:50. | |
what they say, anything is possible. What would you like to see? Ideally, | :04:50. | :05:06. | |
from my point of view, a national pact. David Cameron arrived in | :05:06. | :05:11. | |
Manchester last night. Around the same time as these activists from | :05:11. | :05:14. | |
London. I broke the news to them that in our survey just 26% of Tory | :05:14. | :05:23. | |
councillors think that the prime ministers in touch with the lives of | :05:24. | :05:29. | |
ordinary people. The same at all Conservatives, you don't judge | :05:29. | :05:32. | |
people by their background. It's not where they come from, it is where | :05:32. | :05:34. | |
they are going to. It is not a where they come from, it is where | :05:34. | :05:38. | |
problem that he is a bit on the where they come from, it is where | :05:38. | :05:40. | |
side? Cull you might describe him like that, I would not use those | :05:40. | :05:42. | |
words. Explain your T-shirt, it like that, I would not use those | :05:42. | :05:49. | |
phrase that a senior Cameron person is alleged to have used about you? | :05:49. | :05:55. | |
It is a humorous way of letting is alleged to have used about you? | :05:55. | :05:58. | |
party now that we are here to say important. We are not going away any | :05:58. | :06:01. | |
time soon. A sentiment you will important. We are not going away any | :06:01. | :06:06. | |
a lot at this conference, because just 22% of councillors in our | :06:06. | :06:09. | |
survey said that David Cameron was any good at listening to the people | :06:09. | :06:16. | |
that work hard for his party. That was Adam. Joining me now from the | :06:16. | :06:21. | |
Conservative Party conference in William Hague. Welcome to the Sunday | :06:21. | :06:26. | |
Politics. Good morning. Over one in five Tory councillors in our survey | :06:26. | :06:33. | |
support a pact with UKIP at the five Tory councillors in our survey | :06:33. | :06:36. | |
election. Why do you think that five Tory councillors in our survey | :06:36. | :06:39. | |
If it is one in five, it means a large majority did not want a pact | :06:39. | :06:41. | |
with UKIP at the next election. large majority did not want a pact | :06:41. | :06:46. | |
have noticed that UKIP, in local elections, has been receiving votes, | :06:46. | :06:49. | |
some of which would otherwise have been for the Conservatives. I think | :06:49. | :06:52. | |
we have to make sure that people election they are choosing between a | :06:52. | :06:58. | |
Conservative and Labour Government, as David Cameron as Prime Minister | :06:59. | :07:01. | |
or Ed Miliband. If people want to get a referendum on Europe, the | :07:02. | :07:07. | |
or Ed Miliband. If people want to way to do that is to have David | :07:07. | :07:07. | |
Cameron as Prime Minister. I think a Cameron as Prime Minister. I think a | :07:07. | :07:12. | |
general election is different from the local government perspective. It | :07:12. | :07:15. | |
is pretty unusual, some might say unprecedented, for a large chunk of | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
one of the big parties in this country to want to go into coalition | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
one of the big parties in this with a smaller party before an | :07:23. | :07:31. | |
happened? Looking at your survey, three times as many didn't want | :07:31. | :07:36. | |
happened? Looking at your survey, with statistics, you can highlight | :07:36. | :07:38. | |
it whichever way around you want to. The point is, we are not having | :07:38. | :07:43. | |
pacts with other parties, electoral pacts with other parties. You rule | :07:43. | :07:49. | |
it out? That is not going to happen. What we do want is to have a pact | :07:49. | :07:52. | |
it out? That is not going to happen. with the voters, if you like, as we | :07:52. | :07:56. | |
have often done in the Conservative Party. We have won over the voters | :07:56. | :08:00. | |
of other parties to support our policies and Prime Minister. That is | :08:00. | :08:02. | |
important with those people that say important with those people that say | :08:02. | :08:05. | |
they want to vote for UKIP. By default, they would produce a Labour | :08:05. | :08:09. | |
government in the exact opposite of many of the things they intend, | :08:09. | :08:14. | |
government in the exact opposite of Conservative and decide to vote | :08:14. | :08:15. | |
government in the exact opposite of UKIP instead in a general election. | :08:15. | :08:18. | |
That could help to produce a Labour government. The chairman of the | :08:19. | :08:25. | |
That could help to produce a Labour committee, the elected voice of | :08:25. | :08:29. | |
Conservative backbenchers, he says your party should spell out what had | :08:29. | :08:33. | |
once back from the European Union before next year's European actions. | :08:33. | :08:38. | |
Do you agree? We will be spelling out some things in the European | :08:38. | :08:44. | |
elections. I will be talking about this later on today. For instance, | :08:44. | :08:53. | |
European treaties the concept of ever closer union, a concept that in | :08:53. | :08:58. | |
believed in. We would like that ever closer union, a concept that in | :08:58. | :09:03. | |
consequences that would flow from that. We will be setting out the | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
examples and principles of the changes we want to say. Certainly | :09:07. | :09:13. | |
over the next year, not only before the European actions but the general | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
election, if you are saying, let have the exact list of anything | :09:16. | :09:22. | |
election, if you are saying, let negotiate, that is difficult because | :09:22. | :09:24. | |
there will be a negotiation of a new deal in Europe if David Cameron | :09:24. | :09:29. | |
there will be a negotiation of a new election. To some extent, that has | :09:29. | :09:35. | |
to be negotiated. Only 11% of your own councillors feel that people in | :09:35. | :09:38. | |
their area think that George Osborne is in touch with ordinary people. | :09:38. | :09:46. | |
is not for me to explain why people say what they say in surveys. The | :09:46. | :09:53. | |
important thing is what we are delivering for the country. What | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
George Osborne is delivering his renewed economic growth. 1.4 million | :09:56. | :10:00. | |
new jobs in the private sector, renewed economic growth. 1.4 million | :10:00. | :10:06. | |
for hard-working people, by reducing the tax for 25 million of them. | :10:06. | :10:09. | |
for hard-working people, by reducing Help To Buy scheme that we are | :10:09. | :10:12. | |
highlighting today. That is what really matters to people, actually, | :10:12. | :10:17. | |
I think you will find. Let's talk about helping ordinary people. Ed | :10:17. | :10:20. | |
Miliband is guilty freeze energy prices. What are you going to do | :10:20. | :10:28. | |
about energy prices, we already asked energy companies to put people | :10:28. | :10:36. | |
on their lowest tariffs. This has not been amended. -- implemented. | :10:36. | :10:45. | |
Why not? This is going to happen within this government. It is going | :10:45. | :10:51. | |
to happen within this government when the... Why hasn't it happened | :10:51. | :10:58. | |
now? People are suffering now from rising energy prices. It has not | :10:58. | :11:01. | |
happened because my colleagues have been implimenting it. In the case of | :11:02. | :11:07. | |
Ed Miliband's policy, if you are asking why it has not yet happened | :11:07. | :11:10. | |
under this Government, it didn't even survive a few our's scrutiny in | :11:10. | :11:16. | |
opposition. In a few hours he had to concede that if there was a big | :11:16. | :11:19. | |
change in oil prices then the policy would not work. The trouble is, | :11:19. | :11:23. | |
change in oil prices then the policy would dry up some of the investment | :11:23. | :11:30. | |
in the energy industry. I don't think it is a credible promise. | :11:30. | :11:33. | |
in the energy industry. I don't a party that presided over council | :11:33. | :11:33. | |
tax bills doubling in the next a party that presided over council | :11:33. | :11:40. | |
tax bills doubling in the next government, -- last government, | :11:40. | :11:46. | |
tax bills doubling in the next not very credible. Why is George | :11:46. | :11:48. | |
Osborne going against the European Well, we don't want to see the | :11:48. | :11:52. | |
European treaties used in a way Well, we don't want to see the | :11:52. | :11:56. | |
they should not be used. It's not necessarily over this particular | :11:57. | :12:01. | |
issue. It is over the power that the European Union has over our lives | :12:01. | :12:05. | |
and over this country. Can the bankers look after themselves? We | :12:05. | :12:08. | |
should be able to decide those things in our own country. We have | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
never signed up to such matters things in our own country. We have | :12:12. | :12:18. | |
European institutions. If you allow one thing that wasn't meant to be | :12:18. | :12:21. | |
decided to be decided, you find one thing that wasn't meant to be | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
there are another ten or 20 things that affect many other people. We | :12:25. | :12:26. | |
are very vigilant about what we that affect many other people. We | :12:26. | :12:32. | |
competence creep, with the European Union taking more powers than it was | :12:32. | :12:36. | |
meant to have. That is one of the referendum, do want a new deal in | :12:36. | :12:41. | |
Europe. That is what we intend to institution, ICAP, fined for fixing | :12:41. | :12:51. | |
the LIBOR rates. The founder of institution, ICAP, fined for fixing | :12:51. | :12:56. | |
company has donated £5 million to your party. Shouldn't you give it | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
back? Aren't you ashamed to accept that money? He has donated his own | :13:00. | :13:08. | |
Which he made out of ICAP. As people have to other parties, people are | :13:08. | :13:10. | |
free to do that and they should have to other parties, people are | :13:10. | :13:13. | |
free to do that. I am not aware have to other parties, people are | :13:13. | :13:16. | |
any plan for that to be repaid. Because you can't afford to. Let's | :13:16. | :13:21. | |
recap this. We have seen Tory MPs parrot propaganda lines from the | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
energy companies this week. We have the Chancellor going to court to | :13:26. | :13:29. | |
fight for unlimited banker bonuses. We have a top Tory donor the centre | :13:29. | :13:33. | |
fight for unlimited banker bonuses. of yet another city scandal. Ed | :13:33. | :13:36. | |
Miliband is right when he says you lot are on the side of the vested | :13:36. | :13:39. | |
interests so the rich and powerful, isn't he? Well, again, look at the | :13:39. | :13:47. | |
record. I just did! 1.4 million extra jobs in the private sector, 25 | :13:47. | :13:53. | |
million people with a tax cut, a Help To Buy scheme which is going to | :13:53. | :13:56. | |
help so many people, particularly young people have the house that | :13:56. | :14:03. | |
future. Council tax bills held down, welfare reform so that it pays to | :14:03. | :14:08. | |
work. Actually, this is a government achieving things for hard-working | :14:08. | :14:11. | |
While President Laugharne he's talking about peace, the Iranians | :14:11. | :14:32. | |
weapons programme. -- is talking. It would be hard to say from week | :14:32. | :14:37. | |
to week whether it is speeding up continuing with it. That is why | :14:37. | :14:45. | |
to week whether it is speeding up say the new message - the new words | :14:45. | :14:48. | |
- from Iranian leadership are very welcome. I said that to the Foreign | :14:48. | :14:52. | |
Minister in New York over the last few days but it is the actions that | :14:52. | :14:57. | |
will count. At the moment, the nuclear programme continues. We | :14:57. | :15:04. | |
negotiations on that and that will be a very important test as to | :15:04. | :15:07. | |
whether actions will match the words. When will we know it if we | :15:07. | :15:12. | |
are being strung along? He has strung as a long in the past as | :15:12. | :15:17. | |
are being strung along? He has nuclear weapons negotiator. When | :15:17. | :15:20. | |
will we know if he is not just doing that again? Over the next | :15:20. | :15:24. | |
will we know if he is not just weeks, it will be a very important | :15:24. | :15:27. | |
time. He has said there should be more transparency over the Iranian | :15:27. | :15:34. | |
transparent in many regards at the moment. The atomic agency is asking | :15:34. | :15:40. | |
for information that is not being given. One test is, in the coming | :15:40. | :15:47. | |
information? The information that the international of authority is | :15:47. | :15:51. | |
asking for about their nuclear programme. We will be able to form | :15:51. | :15:55. | |
a view of this in the coming weeks or months. It is important we test | :15:55. | :16:01. | |
their new willingness to talk to us important to find out whether they | :16:01. | :16:09. | |
asking, is the nuclear programme really continuing? Are they really | :16:10. | :16:15. | |
negotiations and offer something Speaking of being strung along, | :16:15. | :16:22. | |
what sanctions would President Assad face if, in six months - the | :16:22. | :16:31. | |
Year, Syria still has a chemical weapons arsenal. In the resolution | :16:31. | :16:36. | |
we voted through the UN Security Council on Friday night, is the | :16:36. | :16:44. | |
Council will take measures under Chapter seven of the UN Charter | :16:44. | :16:50. | |
Council will take measures under the event of non-compliance. Does | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
that allow full force? I did not catch that. Does that allow for | :16:53. | :17:00. | |
Security Council resolution about Iraq, which most people concluded | :17:00. | :17:05. | |
in not allow full force. It does not specify that. It talks about | :17:05. | :17:13. | |
terms seven of the charter. That is a message of the whole UN Security | :17:13. | :17:18. | |
Council that there will be measures - there will be consequences - if | :17:18. | :17:24. | |
the Assad regime does not comply. has a big commitment. I have spent | :17:24. | :17:33. | |
counterpart over the last week. Russia has said, this is something | :17:33. | :17:38. | |
you will have to do. We will work with Russia and others very closely | :17:38. | :17:43. | |
to check there is compliance will this resolution. Given the progress | :17:43. | :17:49. | |
that has been made, you must be very glad that the British House of | :17:49. | :17:53. | |
Commons stopped your rash to force against Syria. -- rush. The reason | :17:53. | :18:08. | |
credible threat of military action. has happened is because there was a | :18:08. | :18:14. | |
credible threat of military action. President Obama did not get it | :18:14. | :18:14. | |
through Congress. They have not President Obama did not get it | :18:14. | :18:21. | |
the vote in Congress. There is no other explanation as to why the | :18:21. | :18:25. | |
policy changed. It was because there was a debate about military | :18:25. | :18:30. | |
action in the West that the policy changed on theirs. That is why it | :18:30. | :18:35. | |
changed. We were not in a rush for military action. The boat put to | :18:35. | :18:40. | |
the House of Commons was to have inspectors reported. It was before | :18:40. | :18:50. | |
Russian and Syrian policy changed. We need to make sure that works | :18:50. | :19:02. | |
Russian and Syrian policy changed. practice. Thank you. What do you | :19:02. | :19:05. | |
make about this rushing forward with the help to buy scheme which | :19:05. | :19:09. | |
was meant to start next year - coming forward mad to the next | :19:09. | :19:14. | |
couple of weeks? I think it is a Government having an interest in | :19:14. | :19:28. | |
mortgage lending. -- there is a fundamental problem. It should have | :19:28. | :19:33. | |
been set much lower to exclude London and the South East where | :19:33. | :19:38. | |
houses are dramatically overvalued. Many economists think freezing | :19:38. | :19:44. | |
energy prices is a terrible policy. These policies can be popular. If | :19:44. | :19:49. | |
you have no chance of getting a deposit, the Government will make | :19:49. | :19:59. | |
Osborne tried every single lever. It looked like he could not do | :19:59. | :20:04. | |
anything to get the economy moving. It is moving. They have pulled it | :20:04. | :20:11. | |
forward and there are signs it is recovering. The reason why they | :20:11. | :20:14. | |
forward and there are signs it is doing this is they want to show | :20:14. | :20:17. | |
this week at the conference there are real sort of understandable | :20:17. | :20:21. | |
issues you can explain very simply that really up going to improve | :20:21. | :20:26. | |
people's lives. The Conservatives Miliband's speech last week. The | :20:26. | :20:35. | |
nuts. Much more cautious and -- language about the energy price | :20:35. | :20:49. | |
freeze. They are nervous that Ed Miliband may be touching a nerve on | :20:49. | :20:54. | |
that one. What we will get this week, I suggest, his Tory populism | :20:54. | :21:02. | |
to counter Miliband populism. I think we will see that and it will | :21:02. | :21:04. | |
be a mistake. As long as it is think we will see that and it will | :21:04. | :21:10. | |
about The Picture, they are on relatively strong ground. When the | :21:10. | :21:18. | |
political conversation changes to more fiddly things, particularities | :21:18. | :21:20. | |
standards, things that are some more fiddly things, particularities | :21:20. | :21:26. | |
below that picture, I do not think they can win a bidding war with | :21:26. | :21:31. | |
below that picture, I do not think Labour Party. It is about borrowing | :21:31. | :21:31. | |
against a party that stands for Labour Party. It is about borrowing | :21:31. | :21:43. | |
before the Labour conference, which is unemployment, GDP growth and | :21:43. | :21:48. | |
before the Labour conference, which warming economic picture. That does | :21:48. | :21:54. | |
not pay energy bills. Does not sound that the Tories have anything | :21:54. | :22:00. | |
not pay energy bills. Does not to counter the price freeze. -- | :22:00. | :22:02. | |
not pay energy bills. Does not does not sound. They have had a | :22:02. | :22:04. | |
week to think about a great attack line and they do not add anything. | :22:04. | :22:09. | |
the credibility test. Ed Miliband said, if there were a big spike | :22:09. | :22:32. | |
the credibility test. Ed Miliband energy prices, he would not be able | :22:32. | :22:33. | |
it is about credibility. Being seen as serious and grown-up is worth | :22:33. | :22:52. | |
it is about credibility. Being seen more than any burst of popularity. | :22:52. | :22:52. | |
with the election campaign, it My worry about the announcement | :22:52. | :23:01. | |
with the election campaign, it begins to lose credibility, begins | :23:01. | :23:06. | |
to seem a banana republic. It looks a lot less wise than it did last | :23:06. | :23:12. | |
week. I disagree. Every time energy bills go up and they will continue | :23:12. | :23:14. | |
to go up, it will be a reminder bills go up and they will continue | :23:14. | :23:19. | |
how much people are being hit in the pockets. People know by energy | :23:19. | :23:24. | |
prices are going up. There is a structural change in the world that | :23:24. | :23:28. | |
was not there before - China and India. These energy companies may | :23:28. | :23:33. | |
be making huge profit but, at the end of the day, what is driving | :23:33. | :23:40. | |
be making huge profit but, at the the cost of fuel is China and India. | :23:40. | :23:42. | |
Ed Miliband, great man that he is, I am not sure he can take on the | :23:42. | :23:47. | |
people Sammir on that one. How dare Labour's Conference in Brighton | :23:47. | :23:56. | |
last week. Dogged by criticism over the summer of his leadership style | :23:56. | :23:59. | |
and lack of policies, Mr Miliband tried to demonstrate his strength | :23:59. | :24:02. | |
of character with a series of bold announcements, and attempted to | :24:02. | :24:05. | |
position himself on the side of ordinary Brits. The Labour leader | :24:05. | :24:11. | |
told party members he would stand up to the strong and take on the | :24:11. | :24:13. | |
vested interests that hold back up to the strong and take on the | :24:13. | :24:17. | |
economy. In a speech in which he jokingly referred to himself as | :24:17. | :24:21. | |
economy. In a speech in which he action hero, Mr Miliband promised | :24:21. | :24:22. | |
to switch the forthcoming business action hero, Mr Miliband promised | :24:22. | :24:26. | |
tax cut from large firms to smaller businesses. He said he would force | :24:26. | :24:30. | |
big firms to train at an apprentice every time they bring in a worker | :24:30. | :24:35. | |
from outside the EU. He hinted that increasing the minimum wage would | :24:35. | :24:40. | |
be increased. He bowed to take on developers with a use it or lose it | :24:40. | :24:47. | |
threat to landowners and pledged to build 200,000 homes each year by | :24:47. | :24:52. | |
2020. He promised to freeze energy prices and reset the energy market. | :24:52. | :24:57. | |
The next Labour government will freeze gas and electricity prices | :24:57. | :25:06. | |
provoked a rash of headlines - hailing the return of red Ed macro. | :25:06. | :25:12. | |
It has also given him a spike in the polls. And Labour's Shadow | :25:12. | :25:15. | |
Ed Miliband says, our energy market is broken and does not work. In | :25:15. | :25:34. | |
what way is that market to date different from the one Labour left | :25:34. | :25:43. | |
companies that dominate the energy generate energy, and sell it on | :25:43. | :25:54. | |
companies that dominate the energy Miliband recognised when he was | :25:54. | :25:55. | |
Secretary of State and asked for more information from the company | :25:55. | :25:59. | |
Secretary of State and asked for is on hold serve costs and profits, | :25:59. | :26:01. | |
all the things we have done to mitigate against that in terms of a | :26:01. | :26:05. | |
warm front programme and everything Horsell market is too secretive | :26:05. | :26:13. | |
warm front programme and everything it is too much about such supply. - | :26:13. | :26:16. | |
- the wholesale market. We have been raising with the Government in | :26:16. | :26:18. | |
a co-operative way the argument been raising with the Government in | :26:18. | :26:25. | |
resetting the market. It has got worse in terms of speed at which | :26:25. | :26:32. | |
prices have gone up. Labour put wholesale and retail together. It | :26:32. | :26:34. | |
was the start this dates back to wholesale and retail together. It | :26:34. | :26:40. | |
was the start this dates back to privatisation. We took some reforms | :26:40. | :26:40. | |
realised it was not working and privatisation. We took some reforms | :26:40. | :26:48. | |
was broken and we need to reset privatisation. We took some reforms | :26:48. | :26:50. | |
Ed Miliband will be the first to onwards. Let's have a look at what | :26:50. | :26:55. | |
happened to energy prices under onwards. Let's have a look at what | :26:55. | :26:59. | |
Labour government. Electricity up 67%, gas up 139%. Overall prices up | :27:00. | :27:08. | |
by 48%. The market was broken and we saw prices biking as wholesale | :27:08. | :27:14. | |
prices went up. The tick action we saw prices biking as wholesale | :27:14. | :27:21. | |
the one Front programme, decent homes for social housing. -- we | :27:21. | :27:31. | |
programme. Trying to do things around social obligations needs | :27:31. | :27:35. | |
programme. Trying to do things be looked at. Gas and electricity | :27:35. | :27:43. | |
presided over but as a consequence of Labour policy. Beds have a look | :27:43. | :27:46. | |
at the breakdown of dual fuel - of Labour policy. Beds have a look | :27:46. | :27:52. | |
and electricity bill. -- let's have a look. The supply costs of getting | :27:52. | :27:59. | |
it to us and so on. The policies government - Green levies - are | :27:59. | :28:11. | |
energy bills. £112 on average bill of 1188. You have put the bill up. | :28:11. | :28:24. | |
obligations amount to £112. That helps the poorest insulate homes. | :28:24. | :28:29. | |
Overwhelmingly, looking at your wholesale costs are worth more than | :28:29. | :28:36. | |
half. What we have seen, based on figures we now have, in Eni macro, | :28:36. | :28:43. | |
a wholesale costs fell by 39% and that was not reflected in our bills. | :28:43. | :28:52. | |
Do you have plans to do anything about the £112? If you took that | :28:52. | :28:57. | |
off, you could cut bills by 10% tomorrow. Or if you were in power. | :28:57. | :29:02. | |
It is important that restimulate energy. It -- we stimulate. If we | :29:02. | :29:12. | |
do not have clean energy, we will be beholden for ever-more to fossil | :29:12. | :29:17. | |
do not have clean energy, we will fuels that are depleting. It will | :29:17. | :29:20. | |
create jobs and bring in investment will start in the last few years, | :29:20. | :29:30. | |
investment. If I could go back to whatever advance there are, looking | :29:30. | :29:38. | |
at whether the money raised through energy companies to deliver energy | :29:38. | :29:41. | |
efficiency, is that doing as well as it might? Could it be better | :29:41. | :29:46. | |
delivered by another agency? They are fair questions. We need to get | :29:46. | :29:53. | |
market. Can we make the market will competitive make sure when there is | :29:53. | :29:57. | |
downward pressure on wholesale prices, that is reflected on our | :29:57. | :30:02. | |
bills? That is the bigger picture argument. Also the freeze to help | :30:02. | :30:04. | |
As you complain about the energy prices, it was as a result of your | :30:04. | :30:17. | |
actions. Ed Miliband introduced prices, it was as a result of your | :30:17. | :30:21. | |
climate change act. He admitted prices would have to rise to pay for | :30:21. | :30:27. | |
decarbonisation. He said, we are going to minimise the costs as much | :30:27. | :30:30. | |
as possible, but it is true there is not a low-cost energy future out | :30:31. | :30:35. | |
there. It is important that we address the pressures on bills, | :30:35. | :30:38. | |
there. It is important that we also recognise that if we are going | :30:38. | :30:40. | |
to build a better future where we can have more home-grown British | :30:40. | :30:48. | |
renewables. Truth is it is about the market. I acknowledge I acknowledge | :30:48. | :30:59. | |
wholesale prices have fallen. They fell in 2009, we got a reduction in | :30:59. | :31:08. | |
bills of 5%. Which are saying that the big companies are overcharging | :31:08. | :31:13. | |
customers. We are seeing profits going up, but we haven't seen the | :31:13. | :31:16. | |
amount of investment suggested by those profits coming through. But | :31:16. | :31:24. | |
because your leader said in his speech in Brighton that Labour will | :31:24. | :31:27. | |
have a world leading commitment speech in Brighton that Labour will | :31:27. | :31:31. | |
Government to take out all carbon from energy generation by 2030. | :31:31. | :31:35. | |
Government to take out all carbon is not that far away. By 2030, no | :31:35. | :31:37. | |
more coal generation, no more gas generation, only much more expensive | :31:37. | :31:42. | |
nuclear and much more expensive without bills going up even further? | :31:43. | :31:51. | |
Hang on a second. The 2030 target to remove carbon from the electricity | :31:52. | :31:55. | |
supply, we have said we should set a target now because, actually, it | :31:55. | :31:59. | |
gives us more time to plan ahead and also allows investment to come in. | :31:59. | :32:02. | |
There is plenty of people with cash in their pockets not want to invest | :32:02. | :32:06. | |
what they are stalling because of the Government's hesitancy over | :32:06. | :32:09. | |
this. I just want a clarification here. My understanding is that your | :32:09. | :32:14. | |
commitment is to get rid of all carbon from power generation by | :32:14. | :32:19. | |
2030? From the letters city supply. Only electricity. We will still | :32:19. | :32:23. | |
2030? From the letters city supply. gas? We have always said we will | :32:23. | :32:27. | |
need gas for decades to come. So we are clear for that. But you will be | :32:27. | :32:37. | |
increasingly dependent on expensive nuclear. EDF are currently demanding | :32:37. | :32:41. | |
twice the market price to build plans in this country. Renewables | :32:41. | :32:48. | |
are two or three times the market price. Bills are going up under | :32:48. | :32:55. | |
are two or three times the market policies? On nuclear, we took a | :32:55. | :32:56. | |
decision under the Labour Government that we needed to revitalise the | :32:56. | :33:00. | |
sector, to hit targets on clean that we needed to revitalise the | :33:00. | :33:05. | |
energy and make sure it can do the heavy lifting. The Government at the | :33:05. | :33:08. | |
discussions with EDF about what heavy lifting. The Government at the | :33:08. | :33:14. | |
important, because I don't know heavy lifting. The Government at the | :33:14. | :33:16. | |
it's going to be, it is important that stands up to scrutiny in terms | :33:16. | :33:20. | |
of value for money. At the same time, I go back to market reforms. | :33:20. | :33:26. | |
difference, the jargon for nuclear, We will not just have a target for | :33:26. | :33:32. | |
difference, the jargon for nuclear, we will have it for renewables as | :33:32. | :33:35. | |
well. That is even more important, that we have a transparent market so | :33:35. | :33:36. | |
that we can have a robust target that we have a transparent market so | :33:37. | :33:42. | |
that we can have a robust target price to be judged against. Michael | :33:42. | :33:44. | |
Gove recognised in question time they used the term cosy cartel. | :33:44. | :33:56. | |
Gove recognised in question time Cameron saying something needs to be | :33:56. | :33:58. | |
done. I'm surprised David Cameron doesn't acknowledge that. You are | :33:58. | :34:04. | |
going to freeze prices for 20 months regulator to replace Ofgem. Will | :34:04. | :34:08. | |
that regulator have the power to regulator to replace Ofgem. Will | :34:08. | :34:11. | |
control prices? The new energy wholesale costs and prices, which it | :34:11. | :34:19. | |
moment. As a result of that it will have the power that, if the | :34:19. | :34:28. | |
wholesale prices fall, it can force the energy companies, if they don't, | :34:28. | :34:35. | |
to pass on reductions in bills to consumers. It will not have what we | :34:35. | :34:38. | |
see in some parts of the European Union, 15 of them, that have a | :34:38. | :34:43. | |
variety of price controls that set things at below inflation and what | :34:43. | :34:47. | |
have you. France, Spain, Italy. It will not do that. Why? Because we | :34:47. | :34:54. | |
are looking at a temporary price freeze to reflect a reduction in | :34:54. | :34:56. | |
are looking at a temporary price wholesale prices, to give the | :34:56. | :35:00. | |
British public respite from ever climbing bills while they get | :35:00. | :35:03. | |
reforms into the market. At the end of this, what we want is a more | :35:03. | :35:07. | |
competitive market that can be trusted, that is more transparent. | :35:07. | :35:12. | |
We do believe it is right that, actually, we need a regulator that | :35:12. | :35:16. | |
has much more of a role in making sure the market is managed | :35:16. | :35:19. | |
effectively. Are you accusing energy companies of profiteering? EU I am | :35:19. | :35:29. | |
accusing them of overcharging and not passing on wholesale reduction | :35:29. | :35:32. | |
costs to the customer in a fair way. Of making Carter -- cartel profits? | :35:33. | :35:44. | |
I do believe that the level of profits they have passed on to their | :35:44. | :35:49. | |
shareholders is high, compared to the reductions they could have | :35:50. | :35:53. | |
provided to consumers. Let's look at the evidence for that. Here are the | :35:53. | :35:59. | |
British owned companies, SSE and Centrica. In the last fiscal year | :35:59. | :36:03. | |
they made combined earnings of £4 billion. But they invested £3 | :36:03. | :36:10. | |
billion. The remaining money went to debt servicing and paying dividends, | :36:10. | :36:15. | |
which go into pension funds. Where in these figures is the | :36:15. | :36:18. | |
profiteering? My figures that I got through their reporting to Ofgem and | :36:18. | :36:28. | |
work done by other organisations, Witch and others, it shows that in | :36:28. | :36:33. | |
Centrica's case they have something like 8% return in profit margins on | :36:33. | :36:38. | |
the retail side. That goes up to 24% on the generation side. They have | :36:38. | :36:41. | |
passed on, in terms of profits, something I70 4% through evidence to | :36:41. | :36:46. | |
shareholders. But these figures don't show that. They have invested | :36:46. | :36:54. | |
£3 billion. I am reporting what has been reported by Ofgem. Ofgem has | :36:54. | :36:59. | |
not accused them of property in. They may well be, but we don't have | :36:59. | :37:03. | |
the evidence. I would accuse Ofgem of not doing the job they should be | :37:03. | :37:06. | |
doing, and they have held back from tackling the issue. It is | :37:06. | :37:12. | |
acknowledged, across the sector, across the big six, something like | :37:12. | :37:16. | |
50% of profits has gone over to dividends to shareholders. In | :37:16. | :37:21. | |
Centrica's case it is 74%. On the Centrica example, even though they | :37:21. | :37:24. | |
have had the highest profit margins, they have invested the least. It is | :37:24. | :37:32. | |
fair to question. We are running out of time. None of us really know what | :37:32. | :37:36. | |
the true price of energy is that is Labour's policy to reform his | :37:36. | :37:41. | |
crucial. That is because he merged the market and we can't tell the | :37:41. | :37:44. | |
difference. If they continue putting prices up, even after your price | :37:44. | :37:47. | |
freeze, if they don't invest in a way that they do, do you rule out | :37:47. | :37:51. | |
wholesale nationalisation? Absolutely. I want a more | :37:51. | :37:56. | |
competitive market and that is why we are resetting it. You are | :37:56. | :38:00. | |
watching Sunday Politics. Coming up in just over 20 minutes I will be | :38:00. | :38:04. | |
Welcome to Sunday Politics in the political panel | :38:04. | :38:17. | |
Welcome to Sunday Politics in the south. On today's show, a summer of | :38:17. | :38:24. | |
discontent in the shires about fracking and HS2, as the | :38:24. | :38:27. | |
Conservatives bring the conference season to a close. Is it a sign that | :38:27. | :38:33. | |
the leadership is out of touch? I will ask the Prime Minister just | :38:33. | :38:38. | |
that. Let me that two politicians who are with us for the next 20 | :38:38. | :38:42. | |
minutes. They will look for your vote at the next election. The | :38:42. | :38:49. | |
Labour candidate for Reading West and the Conservative candidate for | :38:49. | :38:58. | |
Southampton. What are you hoping for from the Conservatives? I am hoping | :38:58. | :39:03. | |
that we will continue to hold the line. I think it is important to cut | :39:03. | :39:08. | |
immigration, as we said we would. We are trying to make sure we get the | :39:08. | :39:12. | |
country growing. I want to see more of the same and continue along that | :39:12. | :39:18. | |
rain and make the progress we said we would. Did you feel the Ed | :39:18. | :39:25. | |
Miliband gave you plenty of ideas? I thought the conference was great. I | :39:25. | :39:29. | |
have worked in Reading on lots of community issues such as childcare. | :39:29. | :39:36. | |
We have had some stuff on small businesses and I felt that the | :39:36. | :39:40. | |
policies that were announced came directly out of the consultation | :39:40. | :39:45. | |
events we have done in Reading. You are both working hard already. Are | :39:45. | :39:53. | |
you going to get exhausted? You get used to it. I have been doing it | :39:53. | :40:02. | |
since 2007. It takes a lot to exhaust me. And you are only just | :40:02. | :40:08. | |
getting started. Now, the next election could well be a close run | :40:08. | :40:13. | |
thing so it is intriguing that a report has highlighted the number of | :40:13. | :40:17. | |
constituencies, many in our region, where the black and minority ethnic | :40:17. | :40:26. | |
is larger than the incumbent. Seeds in the South, that could make a big | :40:26. | :40:33. | |
difference. One in four lakh and minority ethnic. There are quite a | :40:33. | :40:37. | |
number of seeds this year in the region. We start with the two seeds | :40:37. | :40:42. | |
that you two guests are contesting. But also there is South Swindon, | :40:42. | :40:55. | |
Plymouth and a whole number of seeds where the BME population is larger | :40:55. | :40:59. | |
than the city. We are only counting marginal seats and not seeds that | :40:59. | :41:04. | |
are safe. Clearly, black and ethnic minorities will have a significant | :41:04. | :41:08. | |
impact at the next general election. The report says that if you are in | :41:08. | :41:17. | |
that group and you care about politics, you need to pay attention. | :41:17. | :41:21. | |
I think it is saying a number of different things. The operation was | :41:21. | :41:30. | |
performed 17 years ago to combat levels of underrepresentation. It is | :41:30. | :41:35. | |
also saying to the parties that every section of society will have | :41:35. | :41:39. | |
any impact in some way on the general election, but when you look | :41:39. | :41:45. | |
at pensioners, for example, the vote is regarded as being very powerful. | :41:45. | :41:53. | |
What we are saying to all political parties is that when it comes to | :41:53. | :41:58. | |
black and Asian and other ethnic communities, they want to hear what | :41:58. | :42:02. | |
the political parties are going to be offering them. They want the same | :42:02. | :42:08. | |
things as everybody else when it comes to education and health, but | :42:08. | :42:12. | |
there are political issues when it comes to combating unfair | :42:12. | :42:18. | |
discrimination across the social spectrum. These are things that | :42:18. | :42:21. | |
political parties at the moment do not have a policy on by and large. | :42:21. | :42:28. | |
We are saying that BME communities have the power and should realise | :42:28. | :42:32. | |
that they can make the demands to the politicians and the politicians | :42:32. | :42:37. | |
need to respond in return. You are highlighting places where there are | :42:37. | :42:44. | |
small my jollity is —— majorities. In England and Wales there are 168 | :42:44. | :42:52. | |
seats which is significant. Popular political assumptions is that it | :42:52. | :42:56. | |
only takes 100 seats to swing either way to determine who gets the keys | :42:56. | :43:00. | |
to Downing Street. Do you believe in this sort of thing, digging out | :43:00. | :43:08. | |
groups of the population? I am a bit uncomfortable with it. A lot of the | :43:08. | :43:14. | |
black and minority ethnic groups in Southampton, and lots of people | :43:15. | :43:20. | |
within those groups, have the same values as I do. Family, working | :43:20. | :43:25. | |
hard, taxes, some of them talk about immigration. The new communities | :43:25. | :43:31. | |
that are coming from eastern Europe are causing challenges in | :43:31. | :43:36. | |
themselves. Looking towards those groups of people, I find it | :43:36. | :43:41. | |
uncomfortable, this positive discrimination thing. They share | :43:41. | :43:46. | |
many of our values. They tend to vote Labour. They do. I am invited | :43:46. | :43:53. | |
to go and visit groups of people in a mosque, but they tell me all of | :43:53. | :44:00. | |
the things we have in common and they tell me they will vote Labour, | :44:00. | :44:06. | |
which is interesting. Why is that? I do not think that is entirely true. | :44:06. | :44:11. | |
It has been changing every single election and studies have shown that | :44:11. | :44:17. | |
the hold that Labour have had over the BME vote is going down. It was | :44:17. | :44:23. | |
93% but at the last election it was 68% and is heading downwards. That | :44:23. | :44:27. | |
vote is not going to any other party. I do take an issue with | :44:27. | :44:36. | |
saying everyone has the same values. To a certain extent, they | :44:36. | :44:42. | |
do. Single mothers have the same values as everyone else but at the | :44:42. | :44:45. | |
same time their policies which would benefit them, and I think the same | :44:45. | :44:52. | |
is true of ethnic. I have done some work with women of black African | :44:52. | :44:58. | |
origin about allowing them to make the best of themselves and run | :44:58. | :45:02. | |
businesses, and we have done some work with that recently, and | :45:02. | :45:05. | |
although this group of women have joined another mainstream business | :45:05. | :45:13. | |
group recently, there are challenges they have faced. We need to tackle | :45:13. | :45:18. | |
those head—on and work with those communities from the grassroots and | :45:18. | :45:23. | |
enable people to have a full part in our great British society. If you | :45:23. | :45:32. | |
knock on a door and find any issue, my view is that you deal with it and | :45:32. | :45:36. | |
work with it. That is what I will continue to do. And coming in. | :45:36. | :45:42. | |
Labour held their party conference last week in Brighton. We had lots | :45:42. | :45:47. | |
of policy announcements and a speech from the leader that went down well | :45:47. | :45:52. | |
in the hall. Did they do enough to recapture their glory days in the | :45:52. | :45:57. | |
South? We will not vote for you if you | :45:57. | :46:00. | |
support fracking in the next election! It is rapidly becoming all | :46:00. | :46:06. | |
about the next election and anti—fracking campaigner Clive from | :46:06. | :46:17. | |
Wilts words here. —— was here. We will be against any government that | :46:17. | :46:24. | |
supports fracking. For Southampton MP Alan Whitehead, the question was | :46:24. | :46:28. | |
how to get the question out of the bubble. This will be the conference | :46:28. | :46:34. | |
where a lot of the colour and texture of what the next Labour | :46:34. | :46:38. | |
government is going to look like is going to be unrolled. Tapping into | :46:38. | :46:47. | |
people's sense of community was one thing. Labour's Jim Murphy said they | :46:47. | :46:53. | |
had ignored southern voters who were patriotic and loved the Queen. I | :46:53. | :46:57. | |
think he is saying that it appeals to people who are part of their | :46:57. | :47:01. | |
community, live in their community, and use those services. Labour | :47:01. | :47:06. | |
values are the values of the community and I think that that | :47:06. | :47:10. | |
message does not just have to do ring in northern towns. I think the | :47:10. | :47:16. | |
more we have women in policy votes, I think the more policies will be | :47:16. | :47:22. | |
geared towards families. Men tend to think in a narrow way and the women | :47:22. | :47:27. | |
had a new dimension which we should really look at. Nowadays, with the | :47:27. | :47:33. | |
austerity and cutbacks, it is on the family where the pressure is. Women | :47:33. | :47:39. | |
understand that more than men. One of the Thames Valley's biggest | :47:39. | :47:49. | |
employers, Microsoft, was keen to influence Labour. We are concerned | :47:49. | :47:55. | |
that the UK needs a highly skilled workforce in order to compete. They | :47:55. | :48:07. | |
were selling a 3—D printer, but can it scan the voter's minds? Until it | :48:07. | :48:15. | |
can, conference is the best thing. I am proud of this. Do not pop it on | :48:15. | :48:26. | |
the radio! What about those little red policies, then? Some of them | :48:26. | :48:35. | |
seemed to unravel. The energy prices. Lose it or use it? Is that | :48:35. | :48:40. | |
something that will work in the South? We are really short on | :48:40. | :48:45. | |
housing and we need to tackle it. We have a growing population and we | :48:45. | :48:49. | |
need to house people. The energy stuff is vital and I think Ed Balls | :48:49. | :48:56. | |
made it vital that, with wholesale prices going down by 45%, people are | :48:56. | :49:04. | |
really feeling the pinch. We have to do something about it. I will | :49:04. | :49:09. | |
campaign about it. He took the side of the boat against big business. I | :49:09. | :49:21. | |
think that Labour's decarbonising policy will put another hundred and | :49:21. | :49:26. | |
£25,000 a year on bills rather than take it off. Ed Balls was Secretary | :49:26. | :49:37. | |
of State when gas prices doubled. Perhaps you should allow me to | :49:37. | :49:45. | |
speak... Well... He was the Secretary of State for energy and | :49:45. | :49:50. | |
had the chance to do this. Under Ed Balls, bills went down by £100. | :49:50. | :49:54. | |
Under this government, they have gone up by 300 quid. We are in a | :49:54. | :50:05. | |
situation where we have seen prices rising when he is in power. We saw | :50:05. | :50:11. | |
them double in the last years of the Labour government. It is tough out | :50:11. | :50:17. | |
there. What happens if there is a spike in the oil price? What happens | :50:18. | :50:23. | |
to infrastructure investment? What happens to all these things? Is it | :50:23. | :50:31. | |
popular with the public? If you were to say to someone that you are going | :50:31. | :50:34. | |
to freeze your bills, it would have a populist affect. What happens if | :50:34. | :50:43. | |
the lights go out? What then? What happens if that happens? You need | :50:43. | :50:51. | |
some way to subsidise it. He talked about informal reform but he ignored | :50:51. | :50:56. | |
some of the calls from union leaders at the beginning for more to be done | :50:56. | :51:07. | |
for work's writes. —— worker's writes. For me, we said that we | :51:07. | :51:14. | |
would freeze prices until 20 17th and lots of energy companies have | :51:14. | :51:17. | |
come on board and said they would freeze prices. It is about getting a | :51:17. | :51:25. | |
really tough regulator ready in 2017 to get a fair price for people like | :51:25. | :51:30. | |
you and me. That is important. He as ignored a lot of tough questions | :51:30. | :51:34. | |
from union leaders and the influence they have over the Labour Party by | :51:34. | :51:40. | |
going for populist measures instead. I disagree. We were united at the | :51:40. | :51:45. | |
conference. I think people expected a different conference but I did not | :51:45. | :51:50. | |
feel this. There has never been a better time for trade unionist and | :51:50. | :51:56. | |
members of the public to unite behind a common cause and I believe | :51:56. | :52:00. | |
that to be Labour. If you have been watching over the last couple of | :52:00. | :52:04. | |
weeks, you will know that we have been asking voters how they feel | :52:04. | :52:09. | |
about the main parties. We asked what animal they would be if they | :52:09. | :52:22. | |
were an animal. A Psion. A Psion because they are | :52:22. | :52:35. | |
quite ferocious. A lion. A hamster because they go round in a circle. A | :52:35. | :52:42. | |
spider so I could squash it. A leech. A fox so we can hunt it. A | :52:42. | :52:59. | |
crocodile. It has bitten us. An owl because they are wise but they are | :52:59. | :53:08. | |
old and statesman—like. A mongoose. Bear because it is stubborn. A | :53:08. | :53:16. | |
rhino. It is thick—skinned and barges ahead regardless of anything. | :53:16. | :53:24. | |
We will leave that but thick skin is what you need in government. I think | :53:24. | :53:31. | |
you do. If you are oversensitive then perhaps this will not be the | :53:31. | :53:36. | |
job for some people. It has been a summer of protest for Middle | :53:36. | :53:39. | |
England, at least the parts that lives around Bacombe. I spoke to the | :53:39. | :53:52. | |
Prime Minister before he headed to Manchester and asked him whether he | :53:52. | :53:56. | |
can be certain that the process fracking is safe. Certain as I can | :53:56. | :54:01. | |
be from looking at all of the evidence here and internationally, | :54:01. | :54:05. | |
listening to the scientific experts. It should only go ahead if | :54:05. | :54:09. | |
it is not to cause environmental damage. I think those questions are | :54:09. | :54:15. | |
being answered and so is the bigger question which is, do we want | :54:15. | :54:19. | |
plentiful supplies of inexpensive gas which will keep our energy bills | :54:19. | :54:23. | |
down and improve our record on climate change as well. Would it | :54:23. | :54:29. | |
make sense to do it in the north where an employment is higher? We | :54:29. | :54:33. | |
should be prepared to seek reserves of gas wherever they are. There are | :54:33. | :54:38. | |
some people, and let's be clear about this, there are some people | :54:38. | :54:44. | |
who do not want any form of fuel to be discovered if it has carbon in | :54:44. | :54:53. | |
it. I think they are being incredibly frustrating and naive. If | :54:53. | :55:02. | |
you replace coal with gas, they are so opposed to any carbon —based | :55:03. | :55:08. | |
industry that they cannot bear any form of industry to go ahead. Some | :55:08. | :55:12. | |
protests are coming from Conservative members. I am listening | :55:12. | :55:20. | |
and I think one of the reasons and things we need to do to encourage | :55:20. | :55:23. | |
local people to believe that fracking is acceptable is generous | :55:23. | :55:28. | |
payments to local members. This includes when Elwell is first dark | :55:28. | :55:34. | |
and then up to £10 million per well once it gets going. Communities can | :55:34. | :55:42. | |
benefit from this resource. The country can benefit. On HS2, I think | :55:42. | :55:46. | |
this is really important to an audience in the South East, R West | :55:46. | :55:55. | |
Coast Main Line is full and we need to build another one. The question | :55:55. | :56:00. | |
is whether we build an old Victorian one or a high—speed one. The worry | :56:00. | :56:04. | |
people have in other parts of the country is that too much of the | :56:05. | :56:10. | |
transport budget is going on this scheme. We will spend three times as | :56:10. | :56:18. | |
much on other transport and road schemes as we do on HS2. That will | :56:18. | :56:22. | |
mean improvements in the South East as well as going ahead with the | :56:22. | :56:29. | |
first stage of HS2. Can I ask a question about UKIP? Is there a | :56:29. | :56:35. | |
possibility that Nigel Farage is more in touch with the grass roots | :56:35. | :56:40. | |
than you are? I do not accept that. We have had to take very difficult | :56:40. | :56:46. | |
decisions with all of those cuts and deficit reductions. People have | :56:46. | :56:50. | |
asked whether it is worth it and I think it is worth it if we complete | :56:50. | :56:55. | |
the job of delivering a recovery for everybody and showing that if you | :56:55. | :57:01. | |
work hard and we are on your side. If you focus on the big task, | :57:01. | :57:05. | |
turning the country around, that is what matters. Prime Minister, and Q. | :57:05. | :57:13. | |
—— thank you. Labour have lost lots of votes there. In Southampton there | :57:13. | :57:19. | |
was a by—election and the Labour vote disappeared by half. I am not | :57:19. | :57:26. | |
picking it up in Reading at all. I knock on a lot of doors every week | :57:26. | :57:38. | |
and I am not picking it up. Issues on immigration and the blue Labour | :57:38. | :57:42. | |
approach. There were lots of union Jacks around the Labour conference | :57:42. | :57:50. | |
but is that what is —— Ed Miliband once? One of the issues has been | :57:50. | :57:59. | |
child—care and cost of living but I think everybody feels strongly about | :57:59. | :58:01. | |
the place that they live and a country that they live in and they | :58:01. | :58:05. | |
are proud of that. I believe that we are a party of the entire country, | :58:06. | :58:13. | |
and that is how you go forward. On Europe, are people talking about | :58:13. | :58:17. | |
that on the doorstep? Is that the reason they want to vote for UKIP? | :58:17. | :58:22. | |
No, I do not think it is. Immigration will help and earlier we | :58:22. | :58:28. | |
were talking about black and ethnic minority groups. Some of those | :58:28. | :58:31. | |
groups talk about immigration because they feel they are being | :58:31. | :58:35. | |
disadvantaged in the same way as everybody else. Immigration is a big | :58:35. | :58:39. | |
issue but Europe is not so much. UKIP has done a good job of linking | :58:39. | :58:51. | |
the two. Immigration much more than Europe although the two things are | :58:51. | :58:57. | |
linked. It is now time for our regular round—up of the political | :58:57. | :59:07. | |
week in the south. Sussex MP Caroline Lucas will be | :59:07. | :59:11. | |
prosecuted after fracking demonstrations. She is charged with | :59:11. | :59:14. | |
obstructing the highway and failing to move. Rather than a blockade, the | :59:14. | :59:21. | |
firefighter's protest was a four hour walk—out. A private company was | :59:22. | :59:27. | |
brought in as back—up and strikers lost a full day of pay. The largest | :59:27. | :59:33. | |
housing estate in Oxford for 30 years was approved by the City | :59:33. | :59:43. | |
Council. 900 homes will be built. In the end, it would be concrete and | :59:43. | :59:48. | |
bricks. We need this, we need somewhere to live. Nearly twice as | :59:49. | :59:55. | |
many potholes as usual need fixing in Oxfordshire causing an overspend. | :59:55. | :00:02. | |
So many wealthy Russians want our house in Dorset that one estate | :00:02. | :00:06. | |
agent has Russian speaking staff and a branch in Moscow. | :00:06. | :00:14. | |
In the end, it is the economy, isn't it? The pound in your pocket or not | :00:14. | :00:22. | |
in your pocket. A big issue. You think this will work for Labour? I | :00:22. | :00:28. | |
think the existing is to talk to people and find out what their needs | :00:28. | :00:32. | |
are. For conservatives, it is about getting the economy right. Interest | :00:32. | :00:37. | |
rates are low because of the action we have taken. Not so many people | :00:37. | :00:42. | |
are losing their houses as in previous recessions. And not long | :00:43. | :00:47. | |
until the election. Thank you, both, for coming in. That is the Sunday | :00:47. | :00:52. | |
Politics in the South. Thank you to my guests this week. Do not forget, | :00:52. | :01:00. | |
keep reading my blog for all things political. There is the address on | :01:00. | :01:04. | |
the bottom of your screen. It is off to | :01:04. | :01:05. | |
for. My thanks again to Mary McLeod and Emily Thornberry. Back to you, | :01:05. | :01:06. | |
Andrew. So, we'll David Cameron's marriage | :01:06. | :01:19. | |
tax break win over voters? How will So, we'll David Cameron's marriage | :01:19. | :01:27. | |
conference initiatives? And what is UKIP leader Nigel FarageFarage up to | :01:27. | :01:39. | |
with the Tories in Manchester? Joining us now is UKIP's Diane | :01:39. | :01:41. | |
On this business of a possible Tory- UKIP pact, in a general election, | :01:41. | :01:56. | |
let's see what David Cameron had to say about that earlier. I am not | :01:56. | :02:02. | |
looking for a packed. I think we need to give people a clear choice | :02:02. | :02:05. | |
at the general election. The British economy has turned a corner. We | :02:05. | :02:09. | |
at the general election. The British on the right track, we are seeing | :02:09. | :02:12. | |
more jobs, new businesses, we are beginning to get things moving | :02:12. | :02:15. | |
again. Do you want to stick with us, hard-working people, or do you want | :02:15. | :02:20. | |
to put it at risk with Ed Miliband hard-working people, or do you want | :02:20. | :02:25. | |
and his crazy plans to tax business out of existence? That was the Prime | :02:25. | :02:32. | |
there any appetite on the UKIP side discussions around the country, | :02:32. | :02:39. | |
there any appetite on the UKIP side would say no. It's being discussed, | :02:39. | :02:50. | |
is the media that is pushing this. It has reflected what has happened | :02:50. | :02:53. | |
conference season began. Labour It has reflected what has happened | :02:53. | :02:59. | |
trying to reclaim what I would call position. I'm not sure what the | :02:59. | :03:05. | |
Liberal Democrats or two, but the Conservatives are trying to react to | :03:05. | :03:11. | |
accusation they are lurching more to the right, which the media wants to | :03:11. | :03:16. | |
able to do some sort of pact with interpret as them possibly being | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
able to do some sort of pact with UKIP. Have you given any thought to | :03:20. | :03:26. | |
whatsoever. It is not on the radar. I have read comments, including | :03:26. | :03:33. | |
Carswell, the Eurosceptics, that they might form a potential, let's | :03:33. | :03:39. | |
call it, you know, cabinet. If there were UKIP members, I don't doubt | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
that Nigel Farage would be one of them. But I would reiterate it is | :03:43. | :03:46. | |
not discussions that are taking place. I am thinking more of an | :03:46. | :03:54. | |
have responded to that by saying, the moment, there are no ongoing | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
discussions. There is certainly constituency level or coming out of | :03:58. | :04:05. | |
believe any constituencies are Eurosceptics? I am not privy to | :04:05. | :04:14. | |
believe any constituencies are all 360 constituencies might be | :04:14. | :04:17. | |
discussing. All I can do is give you the example of the few I have seen | :04:17. | :04:22. | |
and know it is not on the agenda. Without a pact, it is perfectly | :04:22. | :04:24. | |
possible that you could fail to Without a pact, it is perfectly | :04:24. | :04:29. | |
a single seat at the next election, but put Ed Miliband into Downing | :04:29. | :04:34. | |
Street? Categorically not. There are a number of seats out there that are | :04:34. | :04:36. | |
very clear marginals, just like a number of seats out there that are | :04:36. | :04:53. | |
Izzard was. I believe there could be an MP -- just like Eastleigh was. If | :04:53. | :04:58. | |
you take enough votes away from an MP -- just like Eastleigh was. If | :04:58. | :05:02. | |
Tories, if you make sure that Labour wins? I will go back to the comment | :05:02. | :05:07. | |
I made. If you take Eastleigh as an example, a Liberal Democrat held | :05:07. | :05:12. | |
seat, even after that result, does not mean that UKIP is suddenly going | :05:12. | :05:17. | |
to be focusing on Tory seats. We are out there because people resonate | :05:17. | :05:21. | |
with our message. For the Liberal Democrats to make it abundantly | :05:21. | :05:24. | |
clear that they will not support a referendum, that they will not | :05:24. | :05:27. | |
support any discussion on leaving the queue, that could be a big | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
turn-off for voters. David Cameron says there is not going to be a | :05:31. | :05:33. | |
pact, Diane James says there is says there is not going to be a | :05:33. | :05:37. | |
going to be one. There might be says there is not going to be a | :05:37. | :05:39. | |
or at a constituency level. But says there is not going to be a | :05:39. | :05:41. | |
seems clear to me that there will not be a national one. So, does | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
David Cameron have a UKIP strategy? The only encouraging thing for | :05:46. | :05:49. | |
UKIP's successful David Cameron that the moment that he would only | :05:49. | :05:51. | |
that their support is so enormous that the moment that he would only | :05:51. | :05:55. | |
really need to win back maybe a third or a quarter of its to make a | :05:55. | :05:58. | |
decisive difference to the Tory share of the vote in 2015. The | :05:58. | :06:02. | |
question becomes, how much of that UKIP support is up for grabs? A | :06:02. | :06:07. | |
question becomes, how much of that last week suggested that 47% of | :06:07. | :06:09. | |
current UKIP voters would consider voting Tory if it meant preventing | :06:09. | :06:13. | |
Ed Miliband becoming Prime Minister. That number goes up to 57% against | :06:13. | :06:19. | |
recovery. So, plausibly, there is secondary question is, what does | :06:19. | :06:25. | |
David Cameron do to win over those people? He has tried a Europe will | :06:25. | :06:29. | |
referendum and it didn't work. He tried travelling up his immigration | :06:29. | :06:33. | |
policy and that didn't work. I wonder if it is time. You wait until | :06:33. | :06:38. | |
the run-up to 2015, when they start to focus on the explicit choice | :06:38. | :06:44. | |
Cameron, and that is what shifts a Cameron. We heard from William Hague | :06:44. | :06:52. | |
earlier in the programme, the Tory line is that if you vote UKIP you | :06:52. | :06:56. | |
could end up with Ed Miliband in Downing Street. That is the simple | :06:56. | :07:01. | |
appeal, isn't it? Yes, and I think Diane is right, I think the European | :07:01. | :07:08. | |
elections will show a good showing for UKIP. It is deemed the one where | :07:08. | :07:12. | |
you can play away. I think it will be hard for people to get excited | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
about that, I think that bounce be hard for people to get excited | :07:14. | :07:20. | |
fade away. In Eastleigh, they had a good ground game, that is difficult | :07:20. | :07:26. | |
for UKIP, that don't have that machinery sorted. How are they going | :07:26. | :07:28. | |
to fund that operation? But the machinery sorted. How are they going | :07:28. | :07:33. | |
bounce could fade away after the European elections. Even if they go | :07:33. | :07:39. | |
election, they are still immensely dangerous to the Conservative Party. | :07:39. | :07:43. | |
But there is really only two things David Cameron can do. One is to | :07:43. | :07:47. | |
But there is really only two things boring and talk about helping people | :07:47. | :07:49. | |
with their mortgage, helping with bread and butter issues. The second | :07:49. | :07:54. | |
thing is, those European actions, he tends to the natural Conservative | :07:54. | :07:57. | |
voters and says, you have had your fun, next year do you want me or Ed | :07:57. | :07:59. | |
Miliband us your prime and? The fun, next year do you want me or Ed | :07:59. | :08:03. | |
danger with David Cameron is saying, of course, there is not going to be | :08:03. | :08:07. | |
a pact, the danger is you will get a repeat of the 1977 election. John | :08:07. | :08:13. | |
Major said, famously, do not bind my hands. A series of Conservative | :08:13. | :08:19. | |
personally rule out membership of the euro, when the Conservative | :08:19. | :08:24. | |
membership was wait and see. That looked like a Prime Minister not in | :08:24. | :08:25. | |
charge of his party. The danger looked like a Prime Minister not in | :08:25. | :08:32. | |
Let's assume you do really well looked like a Prime Minister not in | :08:32. | :08:34. | |
the European actions and there is a widespread expectation that you | :08:34. | :08:41. | |
will, even in Downing Street. They might be managing expectations. | :08:41. | :08:45. | |
will, even in Downing Street. They stops you fading away as the general | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
election approaches? A number of reasons. As has been mentioned, | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
election approaches? A number of whole issue of the referendum pledge | :08:50. | :08:52. | |
has been proved to be an absolute nonsense. It is so contingent on if | :08:53. | :08:59. | |
I am re-elected, if it's not a coalition government, is, if, if. | :08:59. | :09:07. | |
That was fooled nobody. The issue of where voters are coming from, it is | :09:07. | :09:08. | |
because they have lost faith in where voters are coming from, it is | :09:08. | :09:12. | |
David Cameron says. There is nothing he is going to say that is convince | :09:12. | :09:19. | |
think that is my view and the view of a lot of UKIP. I am told that | :09:19. | :09:21. | |
they have expunged Nigel Farage of a lot of UKIP. I am told that | :09:21. | :09:29. | |
the fringes? It is a great scoop, on the front page. They are outside the | :09:29. | :09:33. | |
ring of steel. Even so, they won't programme, so they must be worried | :09:33. | :09:38. | |
paid money for adverts in the Tory about something. His people have | :09:38. | :09:43. | |
paid money for adverts in the Tory brochure and his name has been taken | :09:43. | :09:43. | |
out. Speaking of people the Tory brochure and his name has been taken | :09:43. | :09:48. | |
leadership is worried about, Boris Johnson, are we in any doubt as | :09:48. | :09:53. | |
leadership is worried about, Boris interview that he is now beginning | :09:53. | :09:59. | |
his long march back to Parliament? He does express feeling slightly sad | :09:59. | :10:01. | |
during the Syria debate that he He does express feeling slightly sad | :10:01. | :10:04. | |
not there, on the political front line to participate. I still do | :10:04. | :10:10. | |
not there, on the political front see why it is in his interest is to | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
move before 2015. No, I don't think he will move before, I think he | :10:14. | :10:17. | |
move before 2015. No, I don't think sending a signal to the existing | :10:17. | :10:17. | |
Tories in the Commons that when sending a signal to the existing | :10:17. | :10:29. | |
Me Dave goes, I will be back? He has the Vince Cable problem, if you | :10:29. | :10:33. | |
Me Dave goes, I will be back? He has the same thing too many times, | :10:33. | :10:36. | |
people get bored and factor it in. The interesting thing is him saying | :10:36. | :10:40. | |
that people have seven years before the electorate get bored of them. He | :10:40. | :10:45. | |
might be cresting that. He doesn't want to be Prime Minister, he is | :10:45. | :10:48. | |
much more ambitious than that. He wants to be an emperor. He was | :10:48. | :10:56. | |
asked, which Roman emperor would you like to be compared to? You said, | :10:56. | :11:02. | |
important. I don't think you are thinking big enough. See what I | :11:02. | :11:09. | |
important. I don't think you are to put up with, every Sunday? By | :11:09. | :11:09. | |
virtue of being born in the US, to put up with, every Sunday? By | :11:10. | :11:14. | |
could be president. Unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger. How about a deal | :11:14. | :11:24. | |
with Boris? He has made no secret, after Eastleigh, that he would be | :11:24. | :11:27. | |
open to a discussion. Let's call it no more than a discussion. He has | :11:27. | :11:31. | |
been adamant, however, he does not see any reason, any justification or | :11:31. | :11:36. | |
any opportunity where he would be able to have that discourse with | :11:36. | :11:42. | |
any opportunity where he would be David Cameron. Maybe it comes down | :11:42. | :11:45. | |
to that on both sides. I've no idea. We know that the Tories will be | :11:45. | :11:49. | |
to that on both sides. I've no idea. more Eurosceptic after the next | :11:49. | :11:52. | |
election? I can't imagine David Cameron's successor will be somebody | :11:52. | :11:56. | |
that supports EU membership in ideological direction of the party. | :11:56. | :12:04. | |
The leadership contest will be about 2018. If you are standing, when | :12:04. | :12:05. | |
this is a great deal for Britain membership, are you going to say | :12:05. | :12:12. | |
this is a great deal for Britain because the Prime Minister has | :12:12. | :12:15. | |
turned to leave rapid change two words in the working Time directive, | :12:15. | :12:17. | |
turned to leave rapid change two or are you going to become a leader | :12:17. | :12:20. | |
by saying, I want out? What would be a good conference for David Cameron | :12:20. | :12:32. | |
eye-catching announcement related to living standards. May be a clearer | :12:32. | :12:36. | |
line on energy prices? That would certainly help, that fightback has | :12:36. | :12:41. | |
been rubbish so far. The thing we should be looking out for are not | :12:41. | :12:44. | |
the polls immediately after, but the ones about the end of October, when | :12:44. | :12:48. | |
everything gets to settle down and then we will see what happens. In a | :12:48. | :12:53. | |
word, what is Nigel Farage out to get at the Tory conference? What is | :12:53. | :12:57. | |
he doing, other than mischief? I could almost say revenge. Revenge on | :12:57. | :13:05. | |
Mr Cameron? Yes. You know? Lord Ashcroft was there at the Labour | :13:05. | :13:11. | |
conference. You call it mischief, but there is every reason why he | :13:11. | :13:15. | |
should be there. We all call it mischief. Thanks for being with | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
should be there. We all call it Join me on Daily Politics for live | :13:19. | :13:22. | |
coverage of the Conservative Party conference tomorrow morning from | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
11:30 on BBC Two. We will bring conference tomorrow morning from | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
George Osborne's speech live and uninterrupted. I'll be back next | :13:30. | :13:34. | |
weekend when guests will include former Conservative Chancellor | :13:34. | :13:35. | |
Kenneth Clarke. Remember, if it former Conservative Chancellor | :13:35. | :13:38. | |
Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics. | :13:38. | :13:41. |