11/05/2014 Sunday Politics Wales

Morning, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics, where we're talking

about the Europe-wide contest that really matters. No, not Eurovision.

The European elections. There are local elections across England too

on May 22nd. The party leaders are campaigning ahead of polling day.

The results could be a pointer to the Big One, May 2015. We'll be

speaking to the man in charge of Labour's election battle plan. Has

the opposition really got its sights set on all-out victory in 2015? Or

will it just be content with squeaking home? And you can't

mention elections these days without talking about the impact of this

Four Welsh MEPs will be elected on him if UKIP really

Four Welsh MEPs will be elected on the 22nd of

Four Welsh MEPs will be elected on boroughs. What will make a

difference to the way you vote? And I'm joined by three journalists

guaranteed to bring a touch of Eurovision glamour to your Sunday

morning. With views more controversial than a bearded

Austrian drag act and twice the dress sense, it's Nick Watt, Helen

Lewis and Janan Ganesh. So you might have thought you've already heard

David Cameron promise an in-out referendum on EU membership in 2017

if he's still Prime Minister. Many times. Many, many times. Well he

obviously doesn't think you've been listening, because he's been saying

it again today. Here he is speaking to the BBC earlier. We will hold a

referendum by the end of 2017. It will be a referendum on an in-out

basis. Do we stay in a reformed European Union or do we leave? And

I've said very clearly that whatever the outcome of the next election,

and of course I want an overall majority and I'm hoping and

believing I can win an overall majority, that people should be in

no doubt I will not become Prime Minister unless I can guarantee that

we will hold a referendum. Here's saying there that an overall

majority there will definitely be a referendum. If these are the

minority position, he won't form a new coalition unless they agree to a

referendum, too. The Lib Dems a pulmonary agree to that. They

probably will because the Prime ministers have a strong argument

which is I gave you a referendum back in 2010 so the least I need is

theirs and the Lib Dems are the only party who have stood in recent

elections on a clear mandate to hold a referendum, so it is difficult for

them to say no, there was interesting the interview he did

earlier today. He named everything was going to ask for. The most

controversial with him, as he said in his speech last year, he wants to

take Britain out of the commitment to make the European Union and ever

closer union. That is a very big ask, but the point is, he may well

get it because the choice for the European Union now, France and

Germany, is a clear wonderful do Britain in or out? Previously, it

was can you put up with a British prime ministers being annoying? I

think you'll find the answer is they are willing to pay a price but not

any price to keep Britain in. In this scenario, Labour would have

lost the election again because we are talking the slowly happen if Mr

Cameron is the largest party or has an overall majority. Could you then

see Labour deciding we had better go along with a referendum, too? I

think that's unlikely because as I think that's unlikely because

there's a huge upside for that for I think what's interesting is the idea

he would for minority government. Would you get confidence and look at

other options that might well happen with the way the arithmetic is going

or is he going to hold out and say the only way I will be Prime

Minister is in a majority Conservative government? No, the

implication of his remarks was I wouldn't form a coalition government

unless my coalition partners would also agree to vote for a referendum.

He's basically talking about is negotiating strategy in those

coalition talks. It's a red line and a huge opportunity for the Lib Dems,

because they know David Cameron absolutely has to do, for accidental

reasons, as a person who survives as Tory leader, to ask for that

referendum, so they can ask anything they want in return and if I was

Nick Clegg, I would work out in the next year one absolute colossal

negotiating demand for those coalition talks. For a party around

10% in the polls, they will do have the Prime Minister over a barrel on

this one, assuming that coalition talks goes well. They could make

Michael Gove Tbyte meeting. OK, we need to move on. So, the politicians

are out and about on what used to be called the stump ahead of local and

European elections in less than two weeks' time. But, without wanting to

depress you on a damp Sunday morning, the party strategists are

already hard at work on their campaign plans for the General

Election next May. Yes, it's less than a year to go. They may have

taken their time, but Labour's battleplan for 2015 is starting to

take shape. As well as take promising to freeze your energy

bills, and reintroduce the 50p rate of tax, Ed Miliband now says he

wants to intervene in the housing market to keep rents down. There's

even talk that the party leadership wants to bring more railway lines

into public ownership. And Labour is gambling that its big push on the

cost of living will see it through to the general election despite

evidence that growth is firmly back. Labour's campaign chief Douglas

Alexander hopes it all adds up to victory next May. But so far, the

evidence is hitting home very thin. One survey today shows that 56% of

people don't think Mr Miliband is up to the job of Prime Minister. As we

head towards one of the least predictable general elections in 70

years, has Labour got a message to win seats up and down the country?

And Labour's election co-ordinator and Shadow Foreign Secretary,

Douglas Alexander, joins me now. Welcome to Sunday Politics. A lot of

these policies announced polar pretty well. By popular with the

country. When you add them together, it's a move to the left and what

would be wrong with that? I think is your packet suggests, the contours

in the coming campaign are becoming clear. Our judgement is the defining

issue of the year in British politics will be the widening gap

between the wealth of the country and the finances of ordinary

families. We believe it will be a cost of living election and we have

been setting out our thinking in relation to energy prices and rent,

but you will hear more from Labour Party in the coming months because

we're now less than one year away from a decisive moment. If the

leftish think tank suggested any of his policies in that Tony Blair

years, you would have opposed them. Let's be clear, when not going for

an interest but seeking to secure a majority for the only way to do that

is not simply to appeal to your base, but to the centre ground. I

believe we got genuine opportunities in the next year. You have the

Conservatives in a struggle with UKIP on the right of politics. The

Lib Dems 9% of trying to find their base, and there's a genuine

opportunity in the next year for Labour to dominate the centre ground

of politics and secure the majority Labour government we are planning

for in the coming year. I notice you didn't deny you wouldn't have

opposed. You say you have got an message for aspirational voters in

the South. This is what John Denham said. He thinks you're talking too

much to your core vote. He is right to recognise we took a

terrible beating in 2010. 29%. If you look at what we've done in the

last week, for example, the signature policy on rent Ed Miliband

announced to launch the campaign, there's now more than 9 million

people in the country in the private rented sector, more than 1 million

families. Many of them are in the south-east. They are seeing

circumstances where, suddenly, landlord will increase the rent and

they put the pressure involved in schooling, health care facing the

families, so it is important both in terms of policy and in terms of

politics that we speak to the whole country, not simply to one part of

it falls up what is the average rise in event last year? I don't know.

Can you tell me? 1%. 1% not in real terms. I'm not sure what the problem

is. It will happen to wages in last year, we are facing circumstances

where people will be worse off, up to ?1600 off worse and frankly, if

our opponents want to argue that the economy has healed and they deserve

a victory lap, good luck to them because actually, what we are

hearing from the Buddhist public, not just in the north and south, is

not the cost living crisis is continuing and it affects families.

There was nothing aspirational about your party election broadcast for

the European elections. It looked like crude class war to money

people. That's a bit of it. Bedroom tax. Isn't it going to look bad that

two thirds of those affected are disabled? Who cares? They can't

fight back. Shall be lay-offs and NHS nurses? The National Health

Service? Oh yes. Mr Cameron? Who said that? Me. My gosh. The man has

shrunk. He's actually shrunk. What shall we do with him? Can we hunt

him? Nothing about Europe, Labour policy. News that the Tories would

result in negative campaigning and smear. You didn't tell you would be

just as bad. Let's start the party broadcast. The one thing guaranteed

to have most people reaching for the remote control these days are the

words, there now follows a party but the broadcast. I make no apology in

the factory to be innovative in how we presented. It's factual. It was a

policy -based critic of this government. And the Lib Dems role

within it. So you're claiming it's factual to betray the camera and

cabinet is not even knowing what the NHS is, -- the Cameron Cabinet. They

attack the disabled because they can't fight back. The Pinellas

Tanner severely Prime Minister Sun and he was treated during a short

life by the NHS. It's a fact many disabled people across the country

including in my constituency have been directly affected by the

bedroom tax. And ultimately, this Conservative led government,

including the Lib Dems, will be held accountable by the politicians. You

say that, the Prime Minister, who had a severely disabled son of. I

you not ashamed about? I shadowed Iain Duncan Smith of five months

also they don't have the excuses of seeing that saying nobody told them

the consequences of the bedroom tax. They went into this with their eyes

open. They knew about the hardship and difficulty. If they were

one-bedroom properties available across the country for people to

move into, their argument would be OK but they knew they were dealing

with the most vulnerable people. Did you sign off that part of the

broadcast? Of course I stand by the fact of it. I wish David Cameron and

Iain Duncan Smith would apologise to the disabled people of the country

and the poorest people for the effects of the bedroom tax. I hope

we get that apology between now and election. As someone who thinks

integrity is important in politics, not ashamed of this kind of thing?

It's important we scrutinise the policies of this government as well

as adding a positive agenda for change. You want that you won't

promise this is the last time we'll see such a negative press campaign?

I don't think it is negative or personal to scrutinise the

government. So we'll get more of this? I'm less interested in the

background of the cabinet than their views. You call the upper-class

twits. It's for the British public to make a judgement in terms of the

British... That's how you depicted them. We are held in accountable for

the bedroom tax, the NHS, taxation, and our record they have to defend.

One reason are so fearful in this election is actually because they

know they have a poor record. Let's look at other part of the election

campaign. This poster. Particularly digitally doing the rounds. On that

shopping basket, can you tell us which items take the full 20% VAT?

It's representative of household shopping, which includes items like

cleaning products, and we know that food is not that trouble. People

don't go to the supermarket and say this is -- vatable. So you are

denying that ?450 extra is being paid? Yes, where'd you get that

figure? For an average family to pay ?450 a year extra VAT, they would

have to spend ?21,600 a year on vatable products at 20%. The average

take-home pay is only 21,009. They have got to spend on all sorts of

things which are zero VAT. So in addition to the items, has a range

of products people face in terms of VAT. How could an average family of

?21,000 a year spent 21,006 and the pound a year on 20% vatable items?

It's not an annual figure, is it? So what is it then? If it's an annual,

what is it? The increased VAT in this parliament is calculated over

the course of a Parliament. For the whole of the Parliament? And you're

illustrated this with a shopping basket which almost has no VAT on it

at all? People will be buying a weekly shop in the course of this

Parliament every week. Did you sign off on this as well? Of course. It

didn't dawn on you you're putting things on it which have no VAT? If

you want to argue some people go to the shops and say these are vatable

or not, I disagree. Even your rent cap announcement went wrong. You're

working on the rent rises and it turns out it wasn't. It was a post

your policy. It is the exception rather than the rule to have the

position we have at the moment. In Northern Ireland we have seen the

continued rise in terms of the rented sector but there is a

widespread recognition that for those people in the rented sector,

change is necessary. Are you coordinating this campaign? It seems

accident prone. This is a party that has set the agenda more effectively

than a Conservative party that said when David Cameron was elected he

wasn't going to bang on about Europe. The day after the election

we expect the Conservative party to be engulfed in crisis. I'm proud of

what we talk about and I think there is a clear contrast about a party

talking about issues people care about, and a Conservative party

talking about exclusively a referendum. Are you in charge of the

campaign? I am coordinating the campaign is, yes. The expensive

election guru you have hired, has he been involved in any of this? We

have started our discussions with him. You are going to have to brief

him about British politics because he doesn't know anything about it. I

make no apology for hiring him. He has a lot of experience in winning

tight elections and that is what we are expecting. If you are expecting

us to say, they have passed and we have to hold them accountable, then

I am sorry but we have a campaign that holds the Government and the

Conservatives to account for what I think is a very hopeless record in

government. Thank you. He leads a party with zero MPs but

his media presence is huge. He's had an expenses scandal, but the public

didn't seem to mind. He's got a privileged background but he's seen

as an anti-establishment champion. Nothing seems to stick to him, not

even eggs. I speak of course of Nigel Farage. We'll talk to him in a

moment, but first Giles has been out on the campaign trail ahead of

elections that could make or break the UKIP leader.

Nigel Farage likes a stage, and at this stage of the Euro and local

election campaign he is, like his party, in buoyant mood. They feel

they are on the verge of what they see as causing an earthquake in

British politics. Today Nigel is filling thousands seat venues and

bigger. Not that there's much sign of that at this press launch. But

it's a threat with serious money behind it, that they believe the

media and the political elite just haven't realised yet, much less

learned how to counter it. Not that it's all been plain sailing.

Offensive comments from some candidates has not only seen UKIP

labelled as racist, but necessitated a rally by the party to visibly and

verbally challenge that. The offensive idiotic statements made by

this handful of people have been lifted up and presented to the great

British public as if they represent the view of this party, which they

do not. They never have and they never will. APPLAUSE

I don't care what you call us, but from this moment on, please do not

call must trust a racist party. We are not a racist party.

The need to say that is not just about the European and local

elections even at that campaign launch it's clear UKIP's leader has

set his sights firmly on the ultimate prize. I come from the

south of England and I would not want to be seen as an opportunist

heading to the north, north Norfolk or whatever it will be. I will make

my mind up and stand in the general election for somewhere in Kent, East

Sussex, Hampshire, somewhere in my home patch. Back at UKIP HQ they are

still drilling down how the last fortnight of campaigning should go.

They aren't taking any chances, and one imagines having offices above

those of Max Clifford is a reminder how fragile built reputations can be

of the bubble bursting. They want their reputation to be built on

votes and they know anything but significant success on May 22nd and

some seats in Westminster in 2015 isn't going to be good enough. And

after that, having sold yourselves as the honest outsiders, that stance

is harder to maintain once your people are on the inside. And subtle

changes from the past are already noticeable. The ordinary man of the

people stance is still working. Characteristically outside a pub,

Nigel Farage is glad handed by a customer. Two weeks to go, let's

cause an upset. Wouldn't that be great? The only sign that such an

interaction is different now is the ever presence of bodyguards who

shadow his every move. Over lunch ahead of Question Time, a radio

appearance, and then off to Scotland, I ask him if some of those

minded to vote UKIP who see him as a man they'd be comfortable having a

drink with are the sort of people he'd be entirely comfortable sitting

down with. Every political party attracts support from across the

spectrum and there will be some magnificent people who vote for us

and some ne'er-do-wells. The one common thing about UKIP voters is

that they are often not very political. And it's that people's

army that if UKIP can get to a polling booth might just create that

earthquake they want. Nigel Farage joins me now. When you

decided not to stand at the new work by election coming said if you lost

it that the bubble would have burst. What did you mean by that? I

was asked at seven 20p -- at 7:21pm if I would stand, I have decided by

the next morning that I would not. I didn't know he was going to resign.

You claim only a handful of UKIP candidates have ever said things

that are either stupid or offensive, I'm right on that, yes? 0.1%, I'd

rather it was non-. But why have you chosen a candidate to fight this

by-election that has said many things most people would regard as

stupid or offensive? Roger is fighting this for us, someone of 70

years of age who grew up with a strong Christian Bible background,

in an age when homosexuality was imprisonable. He had a certain set

of views which he maintained for many years which he now says he

accepts the world has moved on and he is relaxed about it. The comments

about homosexuality are not from the dark ages, they are from two or

three years ago. From when he was a Conservative, yes, so will you be

asking David Cameron that question? I have never seen a single comment

from Roger that would be deemed to be offensive. Do you regard his

comments on homosexuality as offensive? When he grew up,

homosexuality was illegal in this country. But this was in 2012 but he

said that. Most people have his age still feel uncomfortable about it --

of his age. In 2012 he said, if two men can be married, why not three,

why not a commune. Many people in this country are disconcerted by the

change in the meaning of marriage and in a tolerant society we

understand that some people have different views. But he has changed

his views now in only two years? He says he is more relaxed about it.

Was he your candidate? He is a first-class campaigner who has had

30 years in industry, he served in the European Parliament, he is a

good candidate. This morning's papers suggest you are about to

select Victoria Ayling for Grimsby, but she is on camera saying that, of

immigrants, I just want to send a lot back. This is all very

interesting, and we can talk about it, all we could talk about the fact

that in 12 days we have a European election and every voter across the

UK can vote on it and it is really interesting. Are you happy to pick a

candidate that says of immigrants, I just want to send a lot back? I have

seen the tape, it is a complete misquote and she says it in the

context of illegal immigrants. I have seen the full quote and in the

context it is not about illegal immigrants. Let's come onto the

European campaign, you have used a company that employs Eastern

European is to deliver leaflets in London and the Home Counties. Have

we? I'm told that in Croydon one branch might have done that. Have

you found some indigenous Brits to deliver leaflets in Europe? We have

thousands joining the party every month and they are not all

indigenous because what is interesting is that in today's

opinion polls, UKIP is above the Lib Dems and the Conservatives amongst

the indigenous voting. We have not agreed a manifesto for

the general election, we will do over the course of the summer. This

is in your local election. We are having local elections in some part

of the country but we are fighting a European election. It is impossible

with the British media to have an intelligent debate on the European

question. But as I say, we are also fighting the local elections too.

You have promised these tax cuts, how much will they cost? I have met

-- read the local election manifesto and it doesn't make those promises.

We do talk about local services, we do talk about the need to keep

council tax down but we don't talk about income tax. Absolutely not. In

local election campaigning you say you would restore cuts to policing,

double prison places, restore cuts to front line NHS, spend more on

roads, how much would that cost? You are obviously reading different

documents to me. We are voting for local councillors in district

councils who have got little local budgets. Every party in a manifesto

puts his aspirations in it. Have you read it? Of course I have, cover to

cover, which is why I'm saying you are misquoting it. By the way, on

the bubble bursting, you told that to Norman Smith of the BBC. 75% of

British laws are now made in the European Union. Now AstraZeneca is

potentially going to be taken over by Pfizer. The BBC is refusing to

show the public that that decision cannot be taken here but by an

elected European commissioner, and we sit and argue about what is in or

not in the local election manifesto. It is my job, but let me come on to

AstraZeneca. Is it your view that a British government should stop the

takeover of AstraZeneca? It cannot. Can we please get this clear. I sat

next to Chuka Umunna the other day at question time and he said what

could and couldn't be done. He said I am being studiously neutral, and

the reason is we don't have this power. That is what the European

elections is about. Should France have the takeover of the food

company Danan? We seem to do things to the Nth degree and nobody else

does, perhaps because we have this culture and we obey it. In your

view, you don't think Pfizer should be able to take over AstraZeneca?

There is some good science within AstraZeneca which is in danger of

being asset stripped and lost. Because it is run by a Swede and a

Frenchman and most of its employees are overseas. I understand that but

there are still some good science being produced here. What did you

think of the Prime Minister saying he would not form a government after

the election unless he was able to have a referendum in 2017? I sat

here talking to you and you said to me that David Cameron had given a

cast-iron guarantee that if David Cameron becomes Prime Minister he

will have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but he didn't deliver on

that. He knows that people struggle to believe the renegotiation is

worth a row of beans. He is saying he will not form a government unless

he can go forward with the referendum. I know he is desperately

trying to pretend to be Eurosceptic whilst at the same time saying he

will campaign for Britain to remain in. In a sense, that is what this

election is about. We have three traditional parties, all of whom

passionately believe in the continued membership of the European

Union and we have UKIP saying we want trade and cooperation but there

is a bigger and better world out there. You are now travelling with I

think four bodyguards, has this affected you and your family life? I

can't stand it. I've always wondered about the place and on my own thing.

Sadly we have a couple of organisations out there headed up by

senior Labour Party figures who purport to be against fascism and

extremism, who received funding from the Department of communities, from

the trade unions, who have acted in a violent wait more than once. You

are saying the Labour Party is behind the threats? No, I said a

taxpayer funded, trade union funded and headed by senior Labour Party

figures, and I'm happy for them to come to my meetings and have an

itinerant with me, but it's not so much fun when there are banging you

over the head. I is still keen to be an MP? Yes, what UKIP will then do

is target before the general election next year for the one life

be easier if you just went to the Lords? That's the last thing I want

to do. There's an awful lot to do. Most of all, I will not rest until

we are free from political union and government from Brussels. Nigel

Farage, thank you for being with us. It's just gone 11.30am. You're

watching the Sunday Politics. We say Hello. On the Sunday Politics Wales:

Can Plaid Cymru keep its seat in the European Parliament and how well

will the UK Independence Party do in Wales? I will be speaking to the

both parties lead candidates for the European elections on the 22nd of

May. If you saw Conchita Wurst win

Eurovision for Austria last night you may already have Euro fever. But

if not, here is the lowdown on the European election, with a little

help from British Eurovision winners Buck's Fizz.

Between 22nd and 25th of May, voters in 28 countries across the European

Union will be voting to elect 751 members of the European Parliament.

Four of those will be from Wales. The parliament's official base is in

the French town of Strasbourg, close to the German border, but it also

meets in Brussels. Elections have been held every five years since

1979. Before that members were drawn from national parliaments. Will the

new men and women have more power than the old? Is an elected European

Parliament a good thing anyway? The parliament is seen as the voice of

the people within the EU, representing its 500 million

citizens. Jill Evans has been an MEP for Plaid

Cymru for fifteen years and hopes to get re-elected this month. She is

the party's lead candidate and joins me now. What are your prospects of

forgetting we elected? Some of the poll suggest you have a fight on

your hands. We are campaigning very hard and we are getting a lot of

support. Our message is that only Plaid Cymru up it wields vast. We

have a record of working in the Welsh National interest. The seat

that you occupy is under threat. Where has the support gone? I think

we are working in a different context in this election. There is a

lot of awareness about Europe and a lot of concern. People have lost

faith in politics and politicians. It is important that people take an

active role in the process. We want change, but positive change in the

interest of Wales. The more that people know about Europe, the less

they like pro-European people like you? I want to have an honest

discussion about Europe. One in ten jobs in Wales depends on the EU. But

what we see on the British media is that the UK pays in more money than

it gets back. The situation in Wales is different. It is in our interest

to work positively in the EU. There have been some strident attacks on

UKIP from your party. It has even been suggested that they are not

Welsh. Is that back firing a bet if people are sceptical about the

European Union? The more you talk about UKIP the more damage it does

you? UKIP have not explained how what they want to do will help

Wales. They want to leave the EU which will damage Wales and the

Welsh economy. I do not think they are offering a positive message. If

we want to build the economy and create jobs and help agriculture and

industry we need to be in Europe. We need to change it but we need to

work as part of a positive partnership. On Friday, a member of

your party was criticising the other major parties are learning UKIP to

steer the agenda. Why are you not setting the agenda in Wales? Why is

Plaid Cymru not steering the agenda? We are proposing a radical reform.

We want Wales to be a member state in Europe in its own right. We want

Welsh ministers to board on Wales's Bihar. -- Wales's the half. If you

look at the benefits that Wales has -- that Wales would have as he

member state in Europe... So why do the people favour the idea of an

independent Wales? We need to have a proper discussion in Wales about our

future in Europe. There are going to be huge changes across Europe and I

want Wales's voice to be heard. We need to have a strong voice their to

make sure that Wales get all the benefits of being in Europe. You

talk about the benefits to Wales being in the EU. The problem is that

that is not a very distinctive message. I have been to Labour's

campaign events and they say the same thing. They said that many jobs

in Wales depend on the EU. It means you cannot carve out a niche? If you

look at the record of the other parties in the European Parliament

they do not vote in Wales's in chess. I am the only one who has

consistently voted for Wales. For example, voting to keep the payments

to our farmers and the youth guarantee scheme. There are several

issues on which Plaid Cymru's record is distinct from the other parties.

Let us top about the EU budget. It is being cut and you voted against

that. All over Europe, governments and businesses and people have had

to cut back. Why should the European Union the different? I was against

making cuts during times when people were suffering the most. I was

supporting a programme of investment. The cuts, cutting

pensions and so on, it has not worked. Everyone in Europe in

knowledge is now that what is needed is investment and creating jobs. I

want to see the EU investing. The upshot of that is that member states

like the UK have already decided to cut public spending and in that time

it you are saying they should still be getting a bigger share

proportionally to Brussels. You can understand why people may not find

that a very popular idea? If you look at Wales, it benefits

tremendously from the funding... But arguably the economy has not

benefited? Wobbly because we have suffered from UK policy. What we

need is investment. Wales has an effective regional policy. The UK is

very unequal. There is a big difference between rich and pure

areas. But is it an effective regional policy? Parts of Wales are

less prosperous than the UK. Have we gone backwards? We need a plan. A

plan for how the economy can recover. Where the funding fits into

that. It is not just about European funding. That is just a part of

European funding. We need a government in Wales with ambition

and courage. We do not have that. We will find out the result in a couple

of weeks. But the polls are bad. What does that say about Plaid

Cymru? Polls are pollsw. We are concentrating on our campaign. The

campaign is being led effectively. We are in good spirits as a party.

There was a good lecture given last week and people are contacting us

all the time to say that they are voting for us. We will keep

campaigning. Thank you for joining us.

So, the countdown to the election is under way. Here are all the numbers

you need to know. There are four Welsh seats up for

grabs in the European Parliament. Here, and across the rest of the UK,

voting will take place on the 22nd of May. That is a week next

Thursday. But we will not know who has won until the Sunday evening.

That is because voting has to be finished across the whole of the EU

before any results can be declared. In a polling booth, there is one

vote for your party of choice. The four Welsh seats will be distributed

based on the number of votes cast. The parties have already decided who

will be elected if they win one, two, or more seats. The MEPs will

represent Wales in the parliament for the next five years and help to

decide and oversee the EU's 135.5 billion Euro budget. About

two-thirds of that budget goes on farming subsidies and aid for poorer

regions, including Wales. Our MEPs draw up laws in areas like consumer

policy, environment, culture, and public health.

UKIP holds one of the four Welsh seats in the European parliament and

the candidate who hopes to keep it is Nathan Gill. I cannot help but

notice that on your Twitter, your name is nathangillMEP. I take it

from that that you think you are home and dry. It is to stop people

sending illegal tweets from my account. Why do you want to be a

MEPs if you think that the parliament is such a problem. I did

not think I would ever be involved in politics. It was the last thing

on my mind. Being a MEPs was not on my plan of things to do. -- MEP.

People need to vote on the European union. If you are against the

European Union and all the money that we send their and the crazy

laws and the loss of sovereignty there are only two Mac options. You

can vote for UKIP or one of the other parties that are for Europe.

We are the only opposition to the European project. We are the only

people to find out what is happening and bring the information back. It

is weird being in opposition to the institution. I cannot think of many

people who want to be in Westminster and want to abolish Parliament. That

is because Westminster has worked well for us. Now one was given an

opportunity to vote on whether they wanted to be part of a political

union with Europe. But the other parties are offering that now. Plaid

Cymru said they are relaxed about as referendum. You have served your

practice? No one believes David Cameron. He offered it in the past

and promised that he would give this a referendum on the U. Where is it?

She has been in government for years. It is not happening. Are you

in this to make sure that the Conservatives are honest? No. We are

a party in our own right. We want what is best for the British people.

We know that taking all those laws that are made in Brussels by

unelected bureaucrats and bringing those back to Britain where our MPs

are accountable. MEPs in Brussels do nothing. Jill Evans has been an MEP

for 15 years. What laws has she moved through the parliament? She

cannot. She said that Wales has benefited from EU funding. Under

UKIP we would never have had that investment. It is not rocket

science. There is no such thing as EU money. It is our money that has

gone to Brussels. They have taken a percentage. But the EU has decided

to spend that money... But how affective has that been? But is that

not a problem with the the way the money is being spent in Wales? The

opinion polls show that we are likely to get people elected. You

are happy to see the money that has come from the European Union to

Wales. -- you would be happy to not see that money come to Wales. Why

does the money have to go to Brussels before it gets to Wales? We

have two match funding. Happy people really benefited from that money? If

they have, why are they more against Europe? But are more Eurosceptic?

Traditionally we have managed to get many conservative voters. I have

been over Wales and the people who are cocking to us in the streets and

shaking our hands are saying they are voting for us. Labour voters,

Plaid Cymru voters, people who have never voted before. We have spoken

to people who do not know how to get their name on the electoral roll. It

is amazing. We are getting people from across the political spectrum.

In the last election, you got 13% of the boat. That is a slight increase

on the previous election. But your seat against you because there was a

collapsed in the Labour vote. Are you still in a situation where your

fortunes are dependent on other parties? Not Apple. I think the

debate that Nigel Farage had with Nick Clegg gave us a boost. People

became aware of the election. There is not much information in the

public domain. Many people we have spoken to have not received anything

from other political parties. We have gone into this with the purpose

of winning the election here in Wales. Do you think that you can?

Yes. We just need people to go and vote. They need to vote on the EU

not Westminster. The need to vote on whether they want to be part of this

political union. Do you want unelected bureaucrats making your

laws for you? But you are a single issue party, aren't you? Yes. Is

that because you do not want people to look at your other policies? No.

We will have a national conference. You are welcome to come. What is the

policy on the assembly? I will clear it up as I have on other shows. We

believe in referendum. If the people have decided and they have said in

two Mac elections, it would be hypocritical of us as a party. We

support what the people want. Thank you.

You can get the full list of candidates standing for election in

Wales by going online - the address is on the screen now. Next week we

will hear from the lead candidates from Labour and the

the website now. Now it is back to you, Andrew.

Welcome back, let's go straight to our panel. What did you make of Mr

Alexander's defence of the Labour party election broadcast? It is

difficult for them because they started by saying they were not

going to do negative campaigning and they have thrown that away for an

advert which is funny but crude in the class war sense. He didn't look

thrilled to be defending it. There is a page in Tony Blair's memoirs

talking about negative campaigning, and he says that anything too

extreme turns off the average voter so his line of attack on Hague was

funny jokes but... I think this failed the Blair test, it was too

vicious. If your strategy is to shore up your car vote, that advert

was genius. If your strategy is to reach out to a broader number of

voters, Middle Britain, then that advert was a complete disaster. It

looks like there is a lot of negativity and smears all round in

the next year. That definitely looks the way we are going. They will be

essentially trying to re-run by -- the American election. I am slightly

puzzled why we cannot have our own election gurus who live here and

understand the country. I should point out that the ?450 extra VAT

that was claimed in that Labour poster, both Ed Balls and the Labour

Treasury team have said that is ?450 per year. Nonsense the VAT rise, one

year. I should also point out that Nigel Farage said to Norman Smith,

the BBC is always reliable Norman Smith that if you run in Newark and

lost the bubble would burst. I should also point out that although

a number of the tax rises I mentioned on council tax, minimum

wage tax and some other things that UKIP wants to cuts, a couple of

these are in the local manifesto but several are not. They are on the

UKIP website, which is still current and dated 2014. We like to make sure

we are absolutely right. Let's talk about Nick Clegg and Michael Gove

and the latest spat. Let me show you this headline in the Observer this

morning. From both the Independent, he called him a zealot, lunatic is

of -- another word. Do we take this seriously? It hinges on this

question of what counts as an area of need in education. The Lib Dems

say an area of need is one where there are not enough school places

to meet local demand. He says it can also be a place where there are

surplus places but that is for a reason. Local places don't trust

those schools to do a good job for their kids. It surprises me because

there isn't a yawning distance between David Laws and Michael Gove.

David Laws has found himself between a rock and a hard place because I

asked -- as I understand it most Lib Dems don't like the free schools but

Mr laws was quite sympathetic to it and he is now having to this respect

it. When they asked people who are the most hated politicians in a poll

were this week, Michael Gove is off the charts, far above David Cameron

or George Osborne. This is tit-for-tat war. The Liberal

Democrats believe Michael Gove had a hand in leaking the document that

showed Nick Clegg was opposing the tougher Chris Grayling position on

knife crime. They are saying there were Cabinet ministers who never

usually attend the sub Cabinet meeting, they turned up and the

document is leaked so what we are getting is tit for tat on that. It

is inevitable but it is not good for either side of the Coalition. Voters

will look at it and say it is politics of the playground. I read

in the Mail on Sunday this morning that some Tory insiders are accusing

Lib Dems of spreading rumours about the camera in marriage. The

rebuttals of education story is that the free school meals is sucking

money away. I always thought they would work together without fuss and

yet it has been more the source of disagreement then I would have

expected a couple of years ago. Is it serious? It is serious obviously,

using that language, but is it fatal for the Coalition? I think it is a

road bump because I don't think anybody wants to dissolve the

Coalition. It is a challenge for Labour because where do they stand

on the free schools? They invented the Academy programme so it is

difficult for them to take a hands-off approach at this stage.

There was a danger for Michael Gove that he looks ideological but the

danger for the Liberal Democrats is that they are breaking the rules for

the Coalition they said that they wouldn't break which is that they

looked like opposition in government. Is Michael Gove's

position safe? Very safe. If he moves in a reshuffle that will be to

a a job. That's all for today. The Daily Politics will be back on BBC

Two at lunchtime from Tuesday onwards. I'll be back here on BBC

One at 11am next week. Remember if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday

Politics.