:00:31. > :00:35.Good afternoon. Welcome to the Daily Politics. The Education
:00:35. > :00:39.Secretary wants to hundred of the worst-performing primary school sin
:00:39. > :00:42.England to be removed from local authority control and transformed
:00:42. > :00:46.into academies under different leadership.
:00:46. > :00:51.Ed Balls has been calling for a temporary cut in VAT to help boost
:00:51. > :00:57.the economy. IVF on the NHS - it's meant to be
:00:57. > :01:01.free for everyone, everywhere. But it's not always the case.
:01:01. > :01:05.Roll up your shirt sleeves, please get your woolly jumpers out because
:01:05. > :01:11.the Lib Dems are having an awayday than we will find out just what
:01:11. > :01:17.they get up to. All of that in the next half an
:01:17. > :01:21.hour. With us for the duration, Robert Winston. Welcome back to the
:01:21. > :01:24.programme. Let's talk about the economy, because the shadow
:01:24. > :01:31.chancellor, Ed Balls, has been delivering a speech on the very
:01:32. > :01:36.subject this morning. He has called for - get this - a tax cut! This is
:01:36. > :01:41.what he said. My suggestion to George Osborne, whilst he won't
:01:41. > :01:47.agree to reverse his mistaken VAT rise permanently, he should reverse
:01:47. > :01:51.its temporarily bed least until the economy is growing strongly again.
:01:51. > :01:55.By putting more money directly into people's pockets, it would boost
:01:55. > :01:59.consumer spending for consumers who are feeling the squeeze from rising
:01:59. > :02:05.prices and taxes, especially pensioners and those on low, fixed
:02:05. > :02:10.incomes. That was Ed Balls this morning. Just as the European
:02:10. > :02:15.sovereign debt crisis is reaching the peak, because countries have
:02:15. > :02:23.borrowed too much. Why would it be sensible for Britain to increase
:02:23. > :02:27.the size of its deficit? Ed Balls's. It is by reducing that you would
:02:27. > :02:34.increase retail spending. Retail spending is in a serious crisis at
:02:34. > :02:38.the moment. You would increase the deficit? You may do, but he is
:02:38. > :02:43.asking for it temporarily to give a boost to the economy. I think it is
:02:43. > :02:47.a good idea and it has been asked for in the House of Lords by a few
:02:47. > :02:53.distinguished economists. We still have a very weak pound. Let's stick
:02:53. > :02:59.to the deficit at the moment. There is no doubt a cut in VAT would
:02:59. > :03:04.increase the size of the deficit. A cut in VAT to 17.5% would cost
:03:04. > :03:11.about �12 billion. We have a deficit which is a percentage of
:03:11. > :03:14.our GDP, about the same as Greece. At the moment, do you know how much
:03:14. > :03:21.Greece has to pay in interest to get its debt away? It is a great
:03:22. > :03:26.deal of money. It has to pay between 16 and 26%. We pay, because
:03:26. > :03:33.the markets think we are getting our deficit down, we pay less than
:03:33. > :03:37.4%. Can you argue if we increased our deficit, if we reversed the
:03:37. > :03:41.deficit reduction plan, we wouldn't be paying a lot more for the debt?
:03:41. > :03:45.I would have to see the exact figures. It is difficult to make
:03:45. > :03:51.that assumption without knowing what the figures involved. Ed Balls
:03:51. > :03:55.is, I think pretty well aware of what that would be. He did not
:03:55. > :04:01.touch on that in his speech. We have a great size deficit but we
:04:01. > :04:04.paid German interest rates. We pay less than 4%. I really don't
:04:04. > :04:08.understand and there would be grateful if you could understand,
:04:08. > :04:13.if we increased our deficit, we would have to pay more in interest
:04:13. > :04:17.payments because of the bigger deficit? At the moment, people are
:04:17. > :04:22.paying vast sums of money we cannot afford. If we increase spending we
:04:22. > :04:25.would boost the economy and that is what Ed Balls is suggesting.
:04:25. > :04:30.will see, this debate is going to go on.
:04:31. > :04:35.Just as you were talking, Greek bank stocks we have been told, have
:04:35. > :04:41.hit 15 year lows because of the political turmoil.
:04:41. > :04:46.Because of the Greek banks hold a huge chunk of Greek Government debt.
:04:46. > :04:54.They were told to buy it. If it has to take a cut, the bank balance
:04:54. > :05:03.sheets will be shot. 15% interest, extraordinary. Only if you are not
:05:03. > :05:10.in full control of your senses! return isn't bad. It is time for
:05:10. > :05:15.the quiz. Since we have a science and fertility expert, we will give
:05:15. > :05:25.you a bit and an exam. Please don't panic, it won't have an impossible
:05:25. > :05:42.
:05:42. > :05:47.At the end of the show, Roberts will sort it out. He will answer it.
:05:47. > :05:52.It is very easy! Regular viewers of this programme,
:05:52. > :05:59.and I have been told there is at least three of you - will be a
:05:59. > :06:03.weather Government's revolutionary drive to organise public services
:06:03. > :06:08.in England has been driven back. Not on education, where Michael
:06:08. > :06:11.Gove is expanding Tony Blair's academies and introducing his own
:06:11. > :06:15.version of three schools. Independent schools that still
:06:15. > :06:19.state funded, depending on the number of pupils you can attract.
:06:19. > :06:23.Anita has the details. The Government's revolutionary
:06:23. > :06:29.drive to reform public services in England has been driven back on a
:06:29. > :06:34.couple of fronts. Just as comrade Lansley about it. But not in
:06:34. > :06:44.education. The Education Secretary Michael Gove is in fact, expanding
:06:44. > :06:44.
:06:44. > :06:49.the role... He is expanding the role of Tony Blair's academies and
:06:49. > :06:56.introducing his own free schools. Independent but state funded, as
:06:56. > :07:02.Andrew said. In December the Education Secretary compared
:07:02. > :07:06.himself to Chairman Mao. He said he was embarking on a long march to
:07:06. > :07:10.freedom of our education system. Promising a cultural revolution. In
:07:10. > :07:15.a speech to headteachers in Birmingham this morning, he laid
:07:15. > :07:19.out the latest thinking from his little red book. At the moment
:07:19. > :07:25.secondary-school so are considered failing if less than 35% of pupils
:07:25. > :07:30.get five GCSEs at grades A to C. This so called for target will rise
:07:30. > :07:38.to 50%. Schools unable to meet this target may be taken over by a
:07:38. > :07:44.neighbouring Academy. 60% of pupils basically reach -- reach basic
:07:44. > :07:47.levels of English and maths. 200 of the worst primary school as will be
:07:47. > :07:51.taken out of local authority control and turned into academies.
:07:51. > :07:57.This could involve significant change in terms of staffing and in
:07:57. > :08:05.some cases, the headteacher would be removed entirely. The glorious
:08:05. > :08:09.Revolution continues. David Blok is head of a primary school in south
:08:09. > :08:15.London. Fans of being with us. Is this a good idea?
:08:15. > :08:21.I don't think it is a very good idea. I worry about the capacity of
:08:22. > :08:26.good or outstanding schools to support failing schools. Parents in
:08:26. > :08:30.the school where I work expect to see me in the playground, expect to
:08:30. > :08:35.see the leadership team in the playground. Expect us to respond to
:08:35. > :08:40.their questions, to meet them regularly. I don't see how we can
:08:40. > :08:45.do this if we were having to look after a second school. I don't
:08:46. > :08:49.think it is about money, it is about the capacity of schools to
:08:49. > :08:54.run another school. I think what would happen is standards in the
:08:54. > :08:57.good or outstanding school would go down. If somebody asked you
:08:57. > :09:01.tomorrow please take over and neighbouring school which is
:09:01. > :09:07.struggling, you would say? I would say no, there aren't enough hours
:09:07. > :09:12.in the day. If we can go back to basics, why does a fine -- primary
:09:12. > :09:22.school fail? What happens there? think the primary reason why
:09:22. > :09:29.schools fail is because there aren't enough good teachers around.
:09:29. > :09:33.It is very, very difficult to find teachers in inner London who can
:09:33. > :09:38.deliver the goods. There is all sorts of reasons for this. Teachers
:09:39. > :09:42.can't afford to live in the inner city. I wonder about the standard
:09:42. > :09:46.of teacher-training. We find it very difficult to find good
:09:46. > :09:51.teachers. We have good teachers in the school, but at this time of
:09:51. > :09:54.year when we are looking for teachers for next year, it is hard.
:09:54. > :09:58.Schools can very, very easily dip into failure if they cannot find
:09:59. > :10:04.adequate staff. I would love you to stay with us because you might be
:10:04. > :10:09.interested in what Andrew and his panel say next.
:10:09. > :10:15.Little gremlins in our electronic script system. I am holding on to
:10:15. > :10:19.the old fashioned paper! With us now, the Conservative MP,
:10:19. > :10:25.chairman of the Education Select Committee, Graham Stuart. We tried
:10:25. > :10:28.to get a minister on, but although we could not get one, we are
:10:28. > :10:32.delighted we have used. You said when the Academy's Bill was going
:10:32. > :10:37.through last summer, not long after the coalition formed power, they
:10:37. > :10:40.may be rushing things. He said he would like to have longer to
:10:40. > :10:45.reflect on these changes, suggest changes and improvements to make
:10:45. > :10:51.sure there aren't any problems that have not been considered. Are they
:10:51. > :10:55.still rushing it? On the question of urgency, it is central. Is this
:10:55. > :11:01.system in need of small adjustments or does it need shock treatment?
:11:01. > :11:05.Are we falling behind competitors? What is the answer? We need to move
:11:05. > :11:11.fast. The Government did move on the passage of the Academy's bill.
:11:11. > :11:14.They said they would change things like special educational needs. You
:11:14. > :11:19.need to combine with careful consideration with a sense of
:11:20. > :11:24.urgency. The warning you gave last July, you wouldn't make? When you
:11:24. > :11:28.are trying to push the pace of changes, there is a risks that
:11:28. > :11:31.unforeseen and perverse consequences... I am not sure what
:11:32. > :11:37.you're saying, are they right to make these changes now or are they
:11:37. > :11:40.rushing them? Depends which changes you are talking about. These
:11:40. > :11:48.primary school is have been identified as failing for a long
:11:49. > :11:58.time. Are we going to continue accepting this? Hopefully we will
:11:59. > :12:00.
:12:00. > :12:05.get answers to the questions from the Government in the next few days.
:12:05. > :12:15.Fundamentally, are they right to say these 200 schools need external
:12:15. > :12:15.
:12:15. > :12:19.support and stimulus - they are. This was Shiv primary school Stiven
:12:19. > :12:22.more independent Academy sector, how does that alleviate the
:12:22. > :12:29.desperate need for more primary school places, which this country
:12:29. > :12:34.has. Financial Times saying we need another 140,000 extra places?
:12:34. > :12:38.about raising the quality, it is a different issue. What is the
:12:38. > :12:43.Government going to do? They are allocating from the devastated
:12:43. > :12:51.capital budget. Too much money was sent on monuments to political
:12:51. > :12:55.vanity. Huge, new schools were they put an existing schools, was a
:12:55. > :13:01.waste of money when there were dilapidated schools that needed
:13:01. > :13:08.repairing. We have a budget which has been overspent and Miss
:13:08. > :13:14.allocated in its use. Do you want these 200 primary schools to become
:13:14. > :13:18.academies? To be the praetorian guard of AC change? Do you want to
:13:19. > :13:23.see a lot more primary schools become academies? I am cautious
:13:23. > :13:29.about that. Primaries, by their nature tend to be smaller and more
:13:29. > :13:35.fragile, making them independent and autonomous without working out
:13:35. > :13:39.there is a whole series of supports around them is risky. Way you have
:13:39. > :13:42.200 schools which have failed repeatedly on a sustained period,
:13:43. > :13:47.there is a case of coming in, gathering whoever will be prepared
:13:47. > :13:52.to contribute... In secondary schools it is no longer just fail
:13:52. > :13:59.schools becoming academies. 47% of children in academies set up by
:13:59. > :14:05.Michael Gove, are from the richest 30% of the population. Under Labour,
:14:05. > :14:14.47 came from the poorest 20%. It is changing now? It is the same vision
:14:15. > :14:18.Tony Blair had, which is to see every school, independent school,
:14:18. > :14:23.secondary-school. Personally I am yet to be convinced on the primary
:14:23. > :14:27.issue. This did start under Tony Blair and the Tories have given it
:14:28. > :14:32.wings? I have a lot of time for Michael Gove, he is thinking very
:14:33. > :14:36.hard. There are big issues, valuing teachers more and getting more
:14:36. > :14:40.teachers in that are better qualified. If you look at the
:14:40. > :14:45.record of the academies, take south London, the Harris academies in
:14:45. > :14:49.Peckham and elsewhere, they have improved the educational standards.
:14:49. > :14:54.People who were underperforming on a performing very well. There is a
:14:54. > :15:00.strong case for what the Secretary of State is saying. A headteacher,
:15:00. > :15:03.just listening to Robert Winston, a Labour peer, he seems to think what
:15:03. > :15:09.Michael Gove is doing is the next logical stage which was started
:15:09. > :15:13.under the last Government? I am not sure how relevant and Academy is a
:15:13. > :15:16.four primary schools, it is a red herring. Are you not just
:15:16. > :15:24.frightened of the competition, you are the Establishment at the
:15:24. > :15:28.moment? No, my school is very oversubscribed. We're not afraid of
:15:28. > :15:31.competition from anybody. Primary school has are being tempted into
:15:31. > :15:36.becoming Academy's because their budget will go up and headteachers
:15:36. > :15:40.are mindful of budgets. All sorts of issues to do with governments
:15:40. > :15:44.and employment law which are not clear to me. We haven't decided at
:15:44. > :15:53.my school which way we will go. The reality is, we don't have enough
:15:53. > :15:59.information on which to make a Robert Winston, we are coming onto
:15:59. > :16:03.the issue you know a lot about. Babies, money and the National
:16:03. > :16:07.Health Service - there are not many issues as emotive as these. What
:16:07. > :16:11.happens when you roll them together? Should the state paid to
:16:11. > :16:16.help infertile couples have a child? Government guidelines say
:16:16. > :16:20.that women between the ages of 23 and 39 should be entitled to three
:16:20. > :16:27.cycles of IVF for free on the NHS, but it has emerged that in many
:16:27. > :16:31.areas, that is not being offered. Technicians at a private IVF clinic,
:16:31. > :16:35.doing some tricky science, but in the middle of an even tougher moral
:16:35. > :16:41.issue. Couples who are infertile are entitled to up to three cycles
:16:41. > :16:46.of IVF treatment for free on the NHS. That is the guidelines set out
:16:46. > :16:49.by the board who advise on the availability of healthcare, the
:16:49. > :16:53.National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE. But those are
:16:53. > :16:58.just guidelines. The Primary Care Trusts who administer healthcare in
:16:58. > :17:01.each local area are not obliged to stick to them. Across the country,
:17:01. > :17:06.almost three-quarters of Primary Care Trusts provide less than the
:17:06. > :17:11.recommended number of cycles. That is according to recent research by
:17:11. > :17:15.a Conservative MP. A small handful provide no IVF at all. This doctor
:17:15. > :17:20.at his private clinic sees some of the couples who end up paying for
:17:20. > :17:29.the treatment themselves. Some of them actually cry, because they
:17:29. > :17:32.feel they have been denied what they feel is their right. As
:17:32. > :17:38.taxpayers, they contribute to the economy. The prime minister waded
:17:38. > :17:43.into this emotive issue a week ago. The deputy chief executive of the
:17:43. > :17:48.NHS is writing to all primary care trusts, reminding them of the NICE
:17:48. > :17:51.guidance. Of course, some PCTs have worst deficits than others and a
:17:51. > :17:56.more difficult process to follow, but we want to make sure everyone
:17:56. > :18:01.has access to this treatment. this letter, which was actually
:18:01. > :18:05.cent in January, does not guarantee that anything will change. These
:18:05. > :18:10.decisions are delegated to local PCTs. You are almost bound to get
:18:10. > :18:15.variation between them. We know they will not take the decision not
:18:15. > :18:19.to fund IVF lightly. It will be because of cost pressures elsewhere.
:18:19. > :18:23.You always have to choose between funding cancer, maternity services
:18:23. > :18:28.and mental health services. NICE is revising its guidelines, and new
:18:28. > :18:31.ones will be issued next year. But for this treatment to be free for
:18:31. > :18:35.everyone everywhere, that guidance will have to be toughened up and a
:18:35. > :18:40.lot of money will have to be found to pay for it.
:18:40. > :18:44.Lord Winston is still with us. What you don't know about this is not
:18:44. > :18:48.worth knowing. On the question of health budgets, there is so much
:18:48. > :18:53.pressure. We have an ageing population, you know the arguments.
:18:53. > :19:00.Can we afford to give people the chance to have a child when that is
:19:00. > :19:06.not a life-or-death issue? There are several issues here. Firstly,
:19:06. > :19:09.being infertile of course causes massive pain, and there is a proper
:19:09. > :19:17.case for proper reproductive medicine within the NHS. But the
:19:17. > :19:21.real issue is something more subtle. At present, the NHS is not costing
:19:21. > :19:25.out what it really costs to deliver the service. In my view, they are
:19:25. > :19:31.charging too much. If you centralise these services, you
:19:31. > :19:37.could have staff costs per cycle of around �500 to �800 per cycle. If
:19:37. > :19:42.you add in the drugs, it is still under �1,000. What is it currently?
:19:42. > :19:46.It is based on the private sector, which charges �3,000, which is
:19:46. > :19:51.massive profiteering. It is a big issue for the health bill coming
:19:51. > :19:55.through parliament. The health service is not good at costing a
:19:55. > :20:00.range of packages. If the PCTs were charged what the economic grade
:20:00. > :20:05.really was, they could deliver three cycles, and they could do
:20:05. > :20:12.much better medicine. That is a real issue for the health service.
:20:12. > :20:16.That is a strong word, profiteering. I mean that. You cannot justify, in
:20:16. > :20:20.London, most private clinics are charging more than �3,000 for a
:20:20. > :20:23.bare IVF cycle without the consultation fee and without
:20:23. > :20:28.investigation and without seeing the consultant and without
:20:28. > :20:33.ultrasound, simply as the upfront fee, paid in advance by the patient
:20:33. > :20:37.before they have anything done. What would be the cost to them? To
:20:37. > :20:41.the provider? I think the cost to the provider is about half that.
:20:41. > :20:47.Massive salaries are being made. The freezing of embryos, which will
:20:47. > :20:52.be more important if you are going to reduce multiple birth rates,
:20:52. > :20:59.people are being charged at �350 a year to destroy an embryo. Liquid
:20:59. > :21:03.nitrogen costs 50 pence a litre. To do this eight times will still not
:21:03. > :21:10.cost more than �5. The costs being charged in the private sector, on
:21:10. > :21:15.which the NHS is based in some of its fees, make this and realistic.
:21:15. > :21:20.A let us accept your premise that it is an unfair and an real cost
:21:20. > :21:24.that PCTs are paying. But still, on that price list you have things
:21:24. > :21:29.like hip-replacement, knee replacements, things which are
:21:29. > :21:34.fairly cheap. Some will say, do more of those and fewer of the IVF
:21:34. > :21:38.treatments, because one transforms a life and the other is a choice.
:21:38. > :21:42.That is not true. Having a child transforms your life more than
:21:42. > :21:46.anything else. We are living in a society which does not value the
:21:47. > :21:51.most important thing, the next generation. For people who are
:21:51. > :21:56.unable to have children, of course nobody has a right to have a child.
:21:56. > :22:03.But everybody in the UK has the right to get health treatment which
:22:03. > :22:06.is due to the pain they are suffering. In my view, the pain of
:22:06. > :22:10.infertility is as serious as the treatments you are talking about.
:22:10. > :22:13.We touched on that in the stuttering review added of
:22:13. > :22:16.education policy. Andrew Lansley has been pushed back in some of his
:22:16. > :22:21.ambition. It is called a watered down blueprint. Are you happy with
:22:21. > :22:25.what we have? No, because I have not seen the Bill as it comes
:22:25. > :22:28.through the House of Lords. We know a lot about what is in it. At least
:22:28. > :22:33.they have got some academic medicine and evidence that there
:22:33. > :22:39.will be experts in the commissioning process. But DD10 of
:22:39. > :22:43.that deal, it is still a very big bill. You will have a tough time in
:22:43. > :22:46.the Lords. I think we probably will have a tough time in the Lords.
:22:46. > :22:55.There are situations where the Labour Party will agree with the
:22:55. > :22:59.Government. But I think we will see a considerable extended stage.
:22:59. > :23:03.There is still a big problem in healthcare, which is what you do
:23:03. > :23:06.with the people who need support in the community after they leave the
:23:06. > :23:12.hospital and how you follow them up properly and give them adequate
:23:12. > :23:15.healthcare. Those are big issues which are not fully worked out yet.
:23:15. > :23:25.Now, we love a good awayday on the Daily Politics. We have cake
:23:25. > :23:25.
:23:25. > :23:29.competitions and play petanque. In fact, I came second last year. In
:23:29. > :23:32.the petanque. I did not do the cakes. The Liberal Democrats have
:23:33. > :23:38.not one, but two away-days. And they are off on one now. Giles has
:23:38. > :23:43.more. Roll up your sleeves, be relaxed.
:23:43. > :23:49.Try to forget to buy and your boss. I want you to think about some
:23:49. > :23:53.works stuff, but in a relaxed and fun way. You are probably wondering
:23:53. > :23:59.why I am wearing sunglasses. It is because the future for us is so
:23:59. > :24:03.bright, I have to wear shades. Oh, dear, oh, dear. Yes, the
:24:03. > :24:06.awayday, once the preserve of companies keen to try and get their
:24:06. > :24:10.employees to bond. It was not long before politics had embraced them
:24:10. > :24:14.as well, taking the reins of the Conservative Party in 1997, William
:24:14. > :24:19.Hagues or the awayday as key. He also had a secret weapon to pull
:24:19. > :24:24.over his party's fusty image, the jumper, the dress down look that
:24:24. > :24:26.says, we are all equals. Despite the bijou nature of the Liberal
:24:26. > :24:30.Democrat parliamentary party, its leaders have also seen the awayday
:24:30. > :24:34.as a way of knitting the party together and forging his identity.
:24:34. > :24:39.But does the political awayday served as nothing more than a
:24:39. > :24:43.slightly dodgy photo op? Sadly, paintballing has yet to feature on
:24:43. > :24:48.a political awayday, much favoured by companies. But the politicians
:24:48. > :24:54.do go in for those team problem- solving exercises - building trust.
:24:54. > :24:57.The problem is, one day in politics, your colleagues catch you, the next
:24:57. > :25:01.day they let you fall flat on your face.
:25:01. > :25:06.Just like the office! You saw him in the film and he
:25:06. > :25:12.joins us now - former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik. What do
:25:12. > :25:17.you get up to? It is feel good. Whatever we have said in Parliament,
:25:17. > :25:22.we are all basically pulling the same way. The only thing we do not
:25:22. > :25:28.do is sing the Lib Dem national anthem, the Gland. I will not sing
:25:28. > :25:32.it for you. -- of the Land. would like to keep our viewers! Do
:25:32. > :25:41.you play bonding games? Sometimes, but they tend to be in the evening.
:25:41. > :25:44.In the daytime, there are worthy discussions about policy. There is
:25:44. > :25:49.always the hardy perennial about what went wrong with tuition fees.
:25:49. > :25:52.In the evenings, we have dinner and a quiz. Then there is a surprise so
:25:52. > :25:58.tough questions about politics, and everyone gets competitive. Do you
:25:58. > :26:02.play any other games? Where are you reading with that question? It is
:26:02. > :26:06.an awayday. We do not do the paintballing stuff. I was not
:26:06. > :26:10.thinking of that. Are you being a bit naughty? No, I was just asking
:26:10. > :26:19.if you play any other games. Does anything could come of these
:26:19. > :26:24.events? Sometimes you get clarity in policy areas which have caused
:26:24. > :26:28.controversy. That will be an issue with health. Sometimes you can also
:26:28. > :26:31.get bonding with a leader if he has been controversial. But it is not
:26:31. > :26:36.guaranteed. Sometimes you come back, and everything is the same as it
:26:36. > :26:46.was before. You still hope to be your party's mayor for London
:26:46. > :27:08.
:27:08. > :27:12.candidate. Let's look at your Power to the people! There is
:27:12. > :27:15.nothing like using an old '70s sitcom opening titles for a
:27:15. > :27:21.campaign. Mr Clegg does not seem to want you to be his candidate.
:27:21. > :27:24.he said that? He said it to the Welsh Liberals. He said, we have
:27:24. > :27:28.even had a Liberal Democrat celebrity flying the Welsh flag in
:27:28. > :27:32.the depths of the Australian jungle. That is one fresh tree disaster
:27:32. > :27:37.that we are not responsible for. I would not call that a wholehearted
:27:37. > :27:41.endorsement. He was using me as cover for the Forestry Commission
:27:41. > :27:47.disaster of policy. But we picked upon that and said we thought it
:27:47. > :27:51.was a bit partisan. The leader has withdrawn from that position. I
:27:51. > :27:58.have had a lot of negative briefing from some mysterious sources in the
:27:58. > :28:01.party. What are they afraid of, the fact that I have a profile? We have
:28:01. > :28:11.run out of time. There is just time before we go to
:28:11. > :28:16.
:28:16. > :28:21.find out the answer to our exam. Robert, what is the correct answer?
:28:21. > :28:24.I suppose it is sexual reproduction, isn't it? I do not know if they
:28:24. > :28:28.will be doing that at the Liberal awayday. He is right.
:28:28. > :28:31.Before we go, we didn't have time to pick a winner to our guess the
:28:31. > :28:40.year competition, so you get to pick a winner today, Robert Winston.
:28:40. > :28:45.The answer was 2002. I have two here. End Livingstone guess the
:28:45. > :28:52.year. From Yeovil in Somerset. I will be back tonight for This Week