:00:32. > :00:35.Welcome to the Daily Politics. Public-sector workers are told you
:00:35. > :00:40.will work until you are 66 and most will have to pay more into your
:00:40. > :00:44.pension. Will it be music to their ears? With the number of strikes
:00:44. > :00:48.over pensions looming, the TUC accuses the Government of an
:00:48. > :00:52.inflammatory intervention. The Greek Prime Minister wants to
:00:52. > :00:56.steer through a new period of austerity measures.
:00:56. > :01:04.Would you tie the knot in London Zoo or maybe your local football
:01:04. > :01:08.club? We will be talking about the marriage Act of 1994.
:01:08. > :01:16.All that's coming up in the next half-an-hour, and with me his
:01:16. > :01:20.Philip Collins and Sue Cameron. This morning, let's turn our eyes
:01:20. > :01:24.to Greece, because the Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou has
:01:24. > :01:29.carried out a Government reshuffle in his latest attempt to tackle
:01:29. > :01:34.financial crisis. Rehoused replace the finance minister who drew up
:01:34. > :01:37.the austerity measures. Changing the finance minister and having a
:01:37. > :01:41.cabinet reshuffle, will it do it in terms of persuading the public they
:01:41. > :01:45.must take on board these measures? I doubt it, it is a desperate
:01:45. > :01:50.measure. Not many other things are available to him. The Greek
:01:50. > :01:54.Government needs to put through an austerity package, it is hard to
:01:54. > :01:58.see what they can do other than that. They have been spending too
:01:58. > :02:03.much for too long. They have to find a way to get these cuts, or
:02:03. > :02:07.some cuts of that magnitude through. Whether there are any politicians
:02:07. > :02:11.in the Greek governing party who will sufficiently persuade the
:02:11. > :02:16.public this is something that needs to happen, is open to doubt.
:02:16. > :02:20.they don't, which you could argue seems likely, a have just been
:02:20. > :02:24.talking there has been a press conference with Nicolas Sarkozy and
:02:24. > :02:28.Angela Merkel from Germany, and it looks like an 80% false of
:02:28. > :02:33.defaulting -- 80% chance of defaulting on their debts, will
:02:33. > :02:38.there be another banking crisis? That is ultimately at risk.
:02:38. > :02:42.Everybody has a different view of it. The great public, I do not
:02:42. > :02:47.think they will accept this. They have been on the streets and it is
:02:47. > :02:51.the middle classes, not just the usual suspects and the lefties.
:02:51. > :02:56.Even within Europe, there are very different views as to what should
:02:56. > :03:05.happen. The German public are deeply suspicious of handing over
:03:05. > :03:10.lots more money to Greece. Yet, the head of the ECB seems to be saying,
:03:10. > :03:15.if you'd taken over all view, it's not quite so bad! Which seems
:03:15. > :03:18.incredible, unless there is an over-reaction. One of the issues is
:03:18. > :03:23.about the exposure of other banks in other countries who are already
:03:23. > :03:26.under pressure like Portugal, Ireland and Spain. If their
:03:26. > :03:32.exposure is so great and Greece defaults, it is logical to think
:03:32. > :03:35.the banks will be under threat? They will, and the French and
:03:35. > :03:39.German banks in the worst-case scenario, and through them, the
:03:39. > :03:44.British banks as well. This comes back to the European Central Bank
:03:44. > :03:49.which has committed a substantial sum to Greece. If it defaults, it
:03:49. > :03:53.is in trouble. The European Central Bank would be in trouble with the
:03:53. > :03:57.default on the great debt. Becomes back to the IMF who have given a
:03:57. > :04:01.lot of money and it comes back to Germany who are the principal
:04:01. > :04:09.driver of the single currency and the single beneficiary of the
:04:09. > :04:14.single currency. German public opinion is as every bit important
:04:14. > :04:19.as Greek opinion. Also it comes back to the survival of the Euro
:04:19. > :04:23.and whether Greece can stay in it? A lot of people are saying, quite
:04:23. > :04:30.rightly I think, you can sometimes give them 10 billion to get them
:04:30. > :04:35.through to the middle of next week, but in the end their economy, the
:04:35. > :04:40.Greece economy isn't as competitive as places like Germany. It is not
:04:40. > :04:44.in the same league. Can you keep on giving them a bit more, doing a
:04:44. > :04:47.sticking-plaster? In the end wouldn't it be better to take a
:04:47. > :04:51.really tough line one way or another? We will find out what
:04:51. > :04:55.happens in the next few weeks. Let's turn to public sector
:04:55. > :04:59.pensions because it has been a source of some dispute between the
:04:59. > :05:03.Government and the unions. Last year the Government asked Lord
:05:03. > :05:07.Hutton to conduct a review of public sector pensions. Recommended
:05:07. > :05:10.employee contributions should be increased, that the pension age
:05:11. > :05:15.should rise and final salary schemes should be replaced with a
:05:15. > :05:20.career average schemes. George Osborne announce plans to raise
:05:20. > :05:24.pension contributions by 3% in the Budget. But unions have complained
:05:25. > :05:30.it amounts to a pay cut. This week, teachers and civil servants voted
:05:30. > :05:35.for strike action. Today, Danny Alexander will confirm details of
:05:35. > :05:38.the Government's proposals. Final salary deals will go under pension
:05:38. > :05:42.age for public sector workers will rise to 66 in line with the state
:05:42. > :05:46.pension age. He will criticise union bosses who have called
:05:46. > :05:49.strikes. He will also say the lowest paid workers won't have to
:05:49. > :05:55.pay higher contributions, but some on higher salaries could see their
:05:55. > :05:59.contributions rising by more than 3%. With Nick positions in progress,
:05:59. > :06:02.unions have complain he is jumping the gun. Mr Alexander says he is
:06:02. > :06:07.offering a fair deal, but many in the public sector don't see it that
:06:07. > :06:10.way. We want a good pension for people who work in the public
:06:10. > :06:15.sector, who devote their lives for teaching our children, looking
:06:15. > :06:19.after us when we are sick or policing our community. But we also
:06:19. > :06:22.want something that is fair for the taxpayer. It is a good thing people
:06:22. > :06:27.are living longer, but it has made it more expensive to provide
:06:27. > :06:31.pensions. It is also the case the amount the taxpayer, the rest of
:06:31. > :06:36.the population who are not working in the public sector, pays for
:06:36. > :06:43.these pensions has increased. was the Chancellor, George Osborne.
:06:43. > :06:50.I am joined by a fit assistant general sector of Unison and
:06:50. > :06:56.Matthew Hancock, MP. The Government is expecting public sector workers
:06:56. > :07:01.to pay increased contributions at a time in the middle of a two year
:07:01. > :07:06.pay fees, inflation is at just under 4%, how can they afford that
:07:06. > :07:10.increased contribution? We know these times are difficult and there
:07:10. > :07:15.is a combination of the short-term problem in the public finances
:07:15. > :07:20.where we are paying �120 million of interest every day. Also a longer
:07:20. > :07:24.term problem, which we have to deal with, thankfully, good news we are
:07:24. > :07:29.living longer. So pensions are more expensive. You have made the
:07:29. > :07:34.distinction, the longer term issue of affordable pensions and the
:07:34. > :07:36.current problem with the deficit. Low-paid workers and the unions
:07:36. > :07:41.articulating the argument, why are you making low-paid workers bear
:07:41. > :07:46.the brunt of paying off the deficit, as they see it as a result of the
:07:46. > :07:54.banking crisis now, when things are difficult? Under these proposals,
:07:54. > :07:59.as you saw in the package, the lowest paid... Only under 18,000.
:07:59. > :08:05.The lowest paid wouldn't be asked to contribute more and there is
:08:05. > :08:09.progress city built into this precursor -- proposal. It is worth
:08:09. > :08:14.explaining to review its -- viewers, ending a final-salary scheme and
:08:14. > :08:21.moving it to career average, means those who are less well paid 10 to
:08:21. > :08:27.get better pensions on average. We are still talking about retaining
:08:27. > :08:32.the defined benefit system, which is among stab vest in the world. So,
:08:32. > :08:37.public sector workers who work hard and contribute will still be able
:08:37. > :08:40.to get among the best pensions available in the country. But they
:08:40. > :08:44.will have to work six years longer, increase their pension
:08:44. > :08:49.contributions up to something like three and 5%, it is quite a
:08:49. > :08:53.dramatic increase. You're talking about people in the public sector
:08:53. > :08:58.and the Government has talked about them, as if history has not played
:08:58. > :09:02.any part, historically they have had lower wages. They have made a
:09:02. > :09:06.decision to take public sector jobs because they wanted to do public
:09:06. > :09:11.service and the pensions were good. But now they will be cut? It is
:09:11. > :09:14.still going to be the best pension in the country available in the
:09:15. > :09:20.public sector. But I come back to the central point, we are living
:09:20. > :09:24.longer. Pensions are more expensive. As you said, public sector workers
:09:24. > :09:29.may have to work longer, but we're all going to have to do that,
:09:29. > :09:32.because we are all living longer and that is a good thing. These are
:09:32. > :09:36.changes proposed to deal with what is essentially a good thing, living
:09:36. > :09:41.longer. Do you accept that point, they will still be the best
:09:41. > :09:45.pensions, the public sector pensions? Times have changed,
:09:45. > :09:49.people are living longer and pensions have to adapt? If is a
:09:49. > :09:53.shame this is happening on the airwaves when we had negotiated
:09:53. > :10:00.process going on, and it would have been nice if we could have had
:10:00. > :10:03.those discussions in a negotiation. The unions have been out there
:10:03. > :10:07.saying we are balloting our members before the decisions have taken
:10:07. > :10:11.place, it is the same thing? few look at some of the discussions,
:10:11. > :10:15.we want some principles that take us into central discussions, such
:10:15. > :10:20.as the health service and the local Government scheme, both of which
:10:20. > :10:24.are schemes include surplus. 130 billion in the local Government
:10:24. > :10:27.scheme, 2 billion in the Government's scheme. The
:10:27. > :10:31.contribution members are being asked to make to their pension
:10:31. > :10:36.won't go into their pensions, it is going straight to the Treasury.
:10:36. > :10:39.This is taxing our members. Importantly, if they are going to
:10:39. > :10:44.reduce the contribution rate for low-paid workers, the vast majority
:10:44. > :10:48.of low-paid workers are contracted out and in the discussions we are
:10:48. > :10:52.having at the moment, those people won't be allowed to have access to
:10:52. > :10:56.the pension scheme. That is almost a quarter of all local Government
:10:56. > :11:00.staff. These are things you're bringing up the negotiations.
:11:00. > :11:06.George Osborne has said they are extremely close to a deal, is that
:11:06. > :11:10.how you see it? We are not close to a deal. What we are trying to do is
:11:10. > :11:15.have some principles that we can take into the central discussions.
:11:15. > :11:19.It will be those discussions that has the deal. We cannot agree in
:11:19. > :11:24.principle for low-paid workers who have been outsourced to the private
:11:24. > :11:29.sector, not to have admissibility to those pensions. It is a red line,
:11:29. > :11:34.so there is more talks to have around that. There is an acceptance
:11:34. > :11:38.final-salary schemes have to go, is that accepted by your union? It is
:11:38. > :11:41.not accepted by our union, it is a matter for the health trade unions
:11:41. > :11:46.to discuss in their pension the decisions with the Civil Service.
:11:46. > :11:51.It is not something we have agreed. We are not there and we hope our
:11:51. > :11:55.talks can go one throughout June and into July. What I would like to
:11:55. > :12:03.see the Treasury do, and this is such an important point, his take
:12:03. > :12:08.some advice. I am sure they have taken actuarially advice? I don't
:12:08. > :12:12.think they have, they are being advised by economists. If those
:12:12. > :12:15.services that have been opted-out or privatise are not allowed to
:12:15. > :12:20.contribute to the pensions, the pension schemes themselves will
:12:20. > :12:24.fail. And that is very, very important. The other important
:12:24. > :12:28.elements of this area of discussion, which is the average wage earner in
:12:28. > :12:32.the public sector is able to contribute, they won't be able to
:12:32. > :12:38.afford to. These schemes will fail and if they were taking actuarial
:12:38. > :12:42.advice they would know that. that position realistic? I think
:12:42. > :12:46.perhaps despite today come and there have been a few trade unions
:12:46. > :12:51.clearly upset at what the Chancellor and Daniel exam there
:12:51. > :12:58.have been saying, but I do think behind the scenes there has been a
:12:58. > :13:03.lot more closeness in any decisions. -- Daniel Alexander. I think the
:13:03. > :13:07.Government is right, I have heard it from trade union people, too. As
:13:07. > :13:12.long as they can keep the talks going and there is room to
:13:12. > :13:15.discussion. I don't think, some of the things clearly have got to
:13:15. > :13:20.happen, they have got to pay more, they cannot have that much
:13:20. > :13:24.difference between the private and public sector, it is not real life.
:13:24. > :13:28.But the speed in which they do it, there is a lot of things that could
:13:28. > :13:34.be negotiated. My guess would be behind the scenes they will keep
:13:34. > :13:38.the lid decisions going. Nobody is going to go on strike in the
:13:38. > :13:44.summer! What would beep the point of a teacher going on strike in the
:13:44. > :13:49.summer? The point is, there are certain things they have not
:13:49. > :13:53.accepted, but the union's new about increasing the pension age for
:13:53. > :13:59.public-sector workers, they knew contributions would go up. Throwing
:13:59. > :14:04.hands in the air, is it going to wash? There is a certain amount of
:14:04. > :14:09.both sides bouncing each other. The knitter see Asians have been evenly
:14:09. > :14:12.tempered, it has been cut from what I hear of it. It is a shame some
:14:12. > :14:17.unions have said they will strike, and it is a shame the Government
:14:17. > :14:21.had responded by bringing forward some of the knitters emissions.
:14:21. > :14:28.That hasn't helped, Matthew Hancock, in terms of process and how you
:14:28. > :14:31.handle these things. Why has the Government, why have ministers set
:14:31. > :14:38.out their position before it has been styled and sealed with the
:14:38. > :14:42.unions? I am not part of them goes emissions, but they know the
:14:42. > :14:46.Government takes them seriously. Most unions are participating in
:14:46. > :14:49.negotiations in good faith will stop there is a couple of unions
:14:49. > :14:54.who have unfortunately, called for strike action whilst the
:14:54. > :15:01.negotiations are still on. I don't see how that helps. For instance,
:15:01. > :15:07.Unison and the Government have been negotiating in good faith and it is
:15:07. > :15:12.important they continue. I come back to the big picture point,
:15:12. > :15:15.which is we have a difficult, challenging me to overcome and
:15:15. > :15:22.continuing with those knitters emissions can be nothing but a good
:15:22. > :15:25.thing. On one of the points, if you do extend the working age to 66,
:15:25. > :15:28.there is a knock on effect, an implication for young people
:15:28. > :15:31.getting into the job market. Bearing in mind the high youth
:15:31. > :15:41.unemployment. If people keep in their jobs or those years, what
:15:41. > :15:46.
:15:46. > :15:52.Are you saying that we should not live longer?! I really have to say,
:15:52. > :15:57.we have got nurses, ambulance staff, people who are using their brains,
:15:57. > :16:03.but also their muscle to work with patients. What will we do with
:16:03. > :16:09.these staff? It is not stopping at 66. It is open-ended. It will move
:16:09. > :16:13.to 67 and then 68. Imagine working at 68 years of age, turning up to
:16:13. > :16:18.an emergency situation. We are living longer, but we are still
:16:18. > :16:24.suffering with our eyesight, away hearing. We are not as fit as you
:16:24. > :16:32.would like to portray. For example, we have obesity, diabetes... Public
:16:32. > :16:35.sector workers would argue that they are still working. There is no
:16:35. > :16:41.private sector pension scheme which is open-ended. This is an open-
:16:41. > :16:46.ended element that is unacceptable. I have to stop you there. Thank you
:16:46. > :16:49.very much. Now, once upon a time, long, long ago - and some of you
:16:49. > :16:53.may even remember - you could only get married in a church or registry
:16:53. > :16:55.office. But now you can tie the knot in some pretty obscure places,
:16:55. > :17:02.ranging from HMS Belfast on the Thames to your favourite football
:17:02. > :17:10.club or museum. That's all down to one man's work. Gyles has been to
:17:10. > :17:14.I could tell you that the man we are featuring today has changed the
:17:14. > :17:18.rules to give wild animals the vote, but that is not true. He actually
:17:18. > :17:23.changed the rules so that those who wanted to could get married not in
:17:23. > :17:28.a church or a registry office, but anywhere they light, like London
:17:28. > :17:32.Zoo. In there, you could have about 90 guests. You would come on to
:17:32. > :17:36.this patio and have drinks and canapes. Then you have this
:17:36. > :17:40.fabulous outback experience. Gyles Brandreth, when you came up with
:17:40. > :17:45.this plan, was this what you had in mind? I always want to get married
:17:45. > :17:48.myself in the Sahara desert, and this is almost as good. You can get
:17:48. > :17:54.married and find that you have emus and Wallabies as witnesses. What a
:17:54. > :17:58.way to start married life. I emus aside, what first got you involved
:17:58. > :18:06.in changing the Marriage Act? constituent of mine came to see me
:18:06. > :18:10.one day. She told me that she and a castle, and she had wedding
:18:10. > :18:13.receptions there. Why couldn't she have weddings there? She said, not
:18:13. > :18:16.everybody is religious. We have this beautiful constituency. You
:18:16. > :18:20.can get married in Chester Cathedral, but not in Chester
:18:20. > :18:24.Castle. It does not seem fair. And I thought my goodness, this
:18:24. > :18:29.constituent has got it right. And I was determined to do something
:18:29. > :18:36.about it. How did you get it through? With difficulty. I put it
:18:36. > :18:38.in at a private member's bill, and did not get my way. So I put it in
:18:39. > :18:43.as a private member's bill, but not one that would be given government
:18:43. > :18:48.time. I had to persuade people that this was necessary. The Government
:18:48. > :18:52.thought, maybe it is not a bad idea. Mr Major, then prime minister,
:18:52. > :18:55.liked what he called bite-size chunks of policy. And I gave the
:18:55. > :18:58.impression to the opposition that they should support it because the
:18:58. > :19:02.Government was really against it. I am not sure if that was a
:19:02. > :19:07.respectable thing to do, but I got everybody on board. So you drove
:19:07. > :19:11.this through pretty much alone? Totally alone. In some of the
:19:11. > :19:16.debates, I was the only person in the chamber. It was me, the
:19:16. > :19:21.Government whip on the front bench, and the Speaker. That was it. The
:19:21. > :19:28.problem with a private member's bill that does not have the support
:19:28. > :19:33.of the Government and everybody is that one person crying object can
:19:33. > :19:37.scupper your chances. On one of those days, I was thinking the
:19:37. > :19:42.chamber was empty, but an enemy was lurking between the benches. When I
:19:42. > :19:47.came to propose it, I would hear a voice going "object!". And then it
:19:47. > :19:52.would be put -- postponed to another day. But eventually, I
:19:52. > :19:57.succeeded in passing the 1994 Marriage Act. As many as are of
:19:57. > :20:02.that opinion, say aye. To the contrary, no. It is fun to think
:20:02. > :20:06.that in years to come, people getting married, that has been made
:20:06. > :20:10.possible by my little piece of legislation. I am hoping that all
:20:10. > :20:13.over the land, they will be raising their champagne glasses after they
:20:13. > :20:17.have tested one another and the mother of the bride and the
:20:17. > :20:22.bridesmaids, and eventually they will get round to me.
:20:22. > :20:26.This is all I have ever done. I am the person who gave the world the
:20:26. > :20:31.1994 Marriage Act. That is my achievement, and I am proud of it.
:20:31. > :20:33.It has she changed the shape and face of marriage. It has made
:20:34. > :20:37.weddings better and happier and brighter for people. In the early
:20:37. > :20:42.days, people did raise a glass to me. Occasionally, they would even
:20:42. > :20:50.sent me a piece of wedding cake. Feel free to revive that tradition.
:20:50. > :20:54.He is very proud, Gyles Brandreth. And told that was the emu enclosure
:20:54. > :20:59.they were standing in. Was this just frippery, despite
:20:59. > :21:04.that explanation about it having an impact, or did it matter?
:21:04. > :21:08.matters to the quality of people's lives. A lot of people do not
:21:08. > :21:12.necessarily want to get married in a church. And some people think the
:21:12. > :21:18.registry office is a bit scruffy, as they often were and still are.
:21:18. > :21:21.So you have much more choice. Your wedding day is, for most people,
:21:21. > :21:28.one of the most important days of your life. Being able to choose
:21:28. > :21:32.where you have it makes a real difference. In a way, so many laws
:21:32. > :21:35.that are endlessly passed through Parliament better day, churning out
:21:35. > :21:39.this stuff, and it does not have any impact. Either it doesn't make
:21:39. > :21:45.a difference or it has a bad effect. The last Labour government passed a
:21:45. > :21:49.new criminal offence for every day they were in office from 1997 to
:21:49. > :21:54.last year. I will not ask you to name them all. Did you get married
:21:54. > :22:02.anywhere interesting? I got married twice, actually. Although only to
:22:02. > :22:04.one person. My wife is from an Indian family, so we set up a
:22:04. > :22:09.reception in a garden square and had an Indian wedding first. I
:22:09. > :22:13.don't know if that was possible prior to Gyles Brandreth. Probably
:22:13. > :22:17.not. I may have had to thank all to blame for my marriage, depending on
:22:17. > :22:22.your point of view. Then we trooped round the corner to have an
:22:22. > :22:27.Anglican ceremony in the Church nearby. So we did it twice. If I
:22:28. > :22:32.have Gyles Brandreth to thank for that, let's raise a glass. Raise a
:22:32. > :22:36.cup of tea to Gyles Brandreth. And the fact that it was a private
:22:37. > :22:43.member's bill, that does not happen often, does it? Quite a lot of them
:22:43. > :22:46.just get dropped, unless the government goes a long and says,
:22:46. > :22:52.perhaps you would like to shove this through for us. There are a
:22:52. > :22:56.few things that stand out which are less happy. But it did make a huge
:22:57. > :23:02.difference. David Steel's abortion Bill killed off backstreet
:23:02. > :23:06.abortions overnight. It has been a busy week. Royal
:23:06. > :23:10.Ascot, or should that be bashcot? Andy Murray won something.
:23:10. > :23:17.Christine Billy Kee and Frank Lampard got engaged, but what has
:23:18. > :23:21.been happening in politics? Let's look back.
:23:21. > :23:25.The Government binned its plans to offer financial incentives to
:23:25. > :23:28.councils in England to reinstate weekly rubbish collections, an
:23:28. > :23:32.issue close to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles's heart. The
:23:32. > :23:35.NHS Future Forum delivered its findings, which though embraced by
:23:35. > :23:40.the Prime Minister and his deputy, did not win them immediate plaudits
:23:40. > :23:43.from everyone. Why is it that we are told to walk
:23:43. > :23:48.like this? The unions flexed their muscles,
:23:48. > :23:52.threatening to bring up to 750,000 public sector workers out on strike
:23:52. > :23:55.over pension changes. Also throwing his weight around,
:23:55. > :23:59.education Secretary Michael Gove announced the takeover of 200 pre-
:23:59. > :24:03.schools. These are schools where young people are leaving without a
:24:03. > :24:06.secure foundation in reading, writing and maths for as a feeling
:24:06. > :24:09.the heat, but staying in the kitchen - Labour leader Ed Miliband
:24:09. > :24:15.sought to silence his critics with a speech positioning himself and
:24:15. > :24:18.his party. We will never encourage a sense of
:24:18. > :24:23.responsibility if society is becoming more and more unfair and
:24:23. > :24:27.more divided. Let's stay with Ed Miliband, the
:24:27. > :24:31.Labour leader. Rumbles of discontent, reports of a rift with
:24:32. > :24:36.his brother David. Is he in trouble? He is in less trouble
:24:36. > :24:43.after this week. He has had a good week. Are you talking about Prime
:24:43. > :24:47.Minister's questions? Yes. I think he made a good speech, his best
:24:47. > :24:51.speech as leader on Monday. It had a real argument to it. It is
:24:51. > :24:55.important that he makes the same speech another ten times, because
:24:55. > :25:00.that needs to become his story. Responsibility is a good story, and
:25:00. > :25:07.he needs to become associated with it. He should drop the idea of the
:25:07. > :25:12.squeezed middle -- he should drop in the idea of the squeezed middle.
:25:12. > :25:15.He has something interesting to say, and that is crucial. If Labour
:25:15. > :25:20.backbenchers think their leader has something interesting to say which
:25:20. > :25:25.is a good critic of the Government, which this is, he will be fine.
:25:25. > :25:29.he got a narrative now? There has been a lot of talk in Labour
:25:29. > :25:35.circles, with MPs been divided about whether they should do a
:25:35. > :25:41.mayor car park on the deficit and say we overspent. Would that help
:25:41. > :25:46.further, or is it a -- irrelevant? So of the angst against him, he had
:25:46. > :25:51.a bad week last week, but some of it is overdone. The guy has only
:25:51. > :25:56.been in the job eight months. If you think back to the Tories after
:25:57. > :26:00.they lost in 1997, they have William Hague, who was a brilliant
:26:00. > :26:08.speaker. Brilliant performance after brilliant performers, but did
:26:08. > :26:11.they do well at the following election? No. It would also be
:26:12. > :26:16.absolutely loopy for them, even Labour at its balmiest, the longest
:26:16. > :26:21.suicide note in history under Michael Foot, to change leaders now.
:26:21. > :26:30.To an extent, it is a storm in a teacup. I agree. He has done a much
:26:30. > :26:34.better job this week, and he needs to still discontent. Is it helpful
:26:34. > :26:37.that the former Prime Minister Tony Blair comes out a couple of times
:26:37. > :26:43.this week to attack the direction that Mr Miliband is taking the
:26:43. > :26:47.party? They don't agree, there is no doubt about that. Tony Blair has
:26:47. > :26:53.something to teach the Labour Party as the only one to win three
:26:53. > :26:57.elections for it. So his council is worth listening to. The crucial
:26:57. > :27:05.question is the economic one. My view is that they should take some
:27:05. > :27:10.responsibility for what happened, but they are not going to it.
:27:10. > :27:14.thought that was some people's view. But it is not the leadership's view.
:27:14. > :27:18.Ed Balls made that clear in his lecture. Ed Miliband is clear that
:27:18. > :27:22.he does not think Labour spent too much. He does not think that was a
:27:22. > :27:26.contributory factor to the deficit. They will not change their policy
:27:26. > :27:30.on that. It is all very well for people like me to demand that they
:27:30. > :27:32.do, but they are not going to for us but usually on a Friday, we like
:27:32. > :27:35.to end the programme with our favourite pictures of the week.
:27:35. > :27:38.Today we couldn't resist showing you what happened when a news
:27:38. > :27:43.presenter in Australia tried to crack a joke with the Dalai Lama
:27:43. > :27:51.ahead of his appearance on Channel 9's Today programme.
:27:51. > :27:58.So are the Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop. Pizza? Pizza shop.
:27:58. > :28:08.pizza shop, and says "Can you make me one with everything?" What is
:28:08. > :28:18.that? I am sorry. Do you know what I mean? "Can you make me one with
:28:18. > :28:24.
:28:24. > :28:29.everything?" theoretically possible. He knew it wouldn't work, so why
:28:29. > :28:32.did he do it? A salutary warning to anyone trying to be funny. That is
:28:32. > :28:37.why we don't do jokes on this programme. That is all for this
:28:37. > :28:40.week. I will be back on Sunday with The Politics Show at midday on BBC
:28:40. > :28:44.One. Amongst my guests will be former Labour minister Lord Hutton,