07/09/2011

:00:23. > :00:26.Morning folks and welcome to the Daily Politics.

:00:27. > :00:32.Coming up in the next hour and a half - Is the 50p tax rate holding

:00:32. > :00:36.back an already feeble recovery? A group of leading economist think so

:00:36. > :00:38.and are calling on the Chancellor to scrap it. We'll ask if they're

:00:38. > :00:42.right. The train arriving on Platform two

:00:42. > :00:47.is from Germany. MPs ask why the contract from Thameslink trains

:00:47. > :00:50.went abroad. Warnings our planes could be going

:00:50. > :00:58.abroad too if the Government doesn't do anything about airport

:00:58. > :01:03.expansion in the South East. there any question you would like

:01:03. > :01:08.me to ask her? I would give the lessons in how ring to be a

:01:08. > :01:12.reporter later. I will give you some lessons on how to be an ever

:01:12. > :01:15.do because I was your boss. And could small, local TV stations

:01:15. > :01:25.be just what British viewers have been waiting for - our guest the

:01:25. > :01:27.

:01:27. > :01:30.Culture Scretary thinks so. I like that.

:01:30. > :01:34.All that coming up in the programme, and of course, the first Prime

:01:34. > :01:37.Minister's questions of the new political term. Now the new series

:01:37. > :01:46.of Strictly Come Dancing may have Jason Donovan and Edwina Curry, but

:01:46. > :01:49.we can top that. Oh yes! Doing the Lambada we have shadow culture

:01:49. > :01:55.secretary, Jeremy Hunt. And the shadow environment secretary, Mary

:01:55. > :01:58.Creagh's also here. I'm told yoga's more her thing.

:01:58. > :02:02.Anyway, there will be no dancing on the show today, we have much more

:02:02. > :02:04.serious matters to discuss. Yes, Parliament got right back into

:02:04. > :02:07.the swing of things yesterday evening, subjecting the Prime

:02:07. > :02:11.Minister to his twice-yearly grilling in front of the Liaison

:02:11. > :02:13.Committee. In the forefront of MPs' minds was the News of the World

:02:13. > :02:18.hacking scandal following yesterday's evidence from News

:02:18. > :02:21.International executives. But the Prime Minister warned the committee

:02:21. > :02:28.not to use the scandal as an opportunity to get back at

:02:28. > :02:34.journalists over the MP's expenses scandal.

:02:34. > :02:37.We must not be seen to be the fall and leaping on this opportunity to

:02:38. > :02:43.over regulate the media. It is a vital industry for Britain and an

:02:43. > :02:47.important part of our democracy. We want it to be free, vigorous and be

:02:47. > :02:51.able to uncover wrong doing. No there is a danger of the pendulum

:02:51. > :02:56.swinging too far the other way and I think MPs have a particular

:02:56. > :03:01.responsibility. In the end, what ever the Levison report comes up

:03:01. > :03:07.with we need to be able to legislate and put it in place.

:03:07. > :03:16.Jeremy Hunt, in what way cut as -- pendulum swing too far the other

:03:16. > :03:20.way? I think what he was saying is that things have gone wrong in the

:03:20. > :03:26.wake things have been regulated and there were not enough safeguards in

:03:26. > :03:31.place. But, we depend on a free society. In phone hacking it was

:03:31. > :03:35.uncovered by journalists in the Guardian by reporting which has

:03:35. > :03:40.been compared to Watergate in terms of how impressive it was. He is

:03:40. > :03:43.saying don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, in a free

:03:43. > :03:48.society we need a vigorous press that holds politicians to account

:03:48. > :03:52.and we don't want to lose that. you get rid of the Press Complaints

:03:52. > :03:59.Commission, which seems to be on the cards, what would replace it?

:03:59. > :04:02.We need something that stops short of politicians regulating the

:04:02. > :04:07.content of newspapers. Because what makes our newspaper industry able

:04:07. > :04:12.to do its job well, is the fact people like me as Culture Secretary,

:04:12. > :04:17.has no control over what goes into them. We need something that gives

:04:17. > :04:23.the public more confidence than the PCC was able to do. Her what would

:04:23. > :04:27.independent regulation look like? We don't want to Prix just --

:04:27. > :04:31.prejudge largest is never so. We hope he will come back within the

:04:31. > :04:34.year with his recommendations on this aspect. What the Prime

:04:34. > :04:39.Minister has said, let's look at the concept of independent

:04:39. > :04:43.regulation. Regulation at arm's length from politicians but also

:04:43. > :04:47.from editors and does have the power to credibly sanction

:04:47. > :04:55.newspapers that stepped out of line, but stopped short of politicians

:04:55. > :05:01.telling newspapers what they can write. Did you ever discuss the

:05:01. > :05:07.Murdoch attempt to take over all of BSkyB with David Cameron? No, this

:05:07. > :05:12.is something which is as soon as I got the job in deciding on this

:05:12. > :05:17.merger it was a quasar judicial process, which was meaning I was

:05:17. > :05:22.deciding like a judge. It is a role laid down in the enterprise at so

:05:22. > :05:26.it was a decision I made on my own. If you never discussed the matter

:05:26. > :05:31.with the Prime Minister, how were you able to tell the Commons the

:05:31. > :05:35.Prime Minister's conversations with Murdoch executives had been a

:05:35. > :05:40.relevant? They were irrelevant for this merger because what ever

:05:40. > :05:45.conversations he may have had about the merger, nothing was transmitted

:05:45. > :05:49.that to me. I was deciding this on my own. As I said in my statement,

:05:49. > :05:53.it is the only decision I have had as a minister I was deciding on my

:05:53. > :05:57.own without any reference to the Cabinet or the Prime Minister.

:05:57. > :06:01.you don't know what he said, it is hard to decide whether it was a

:06:01. > :06:05.relevant? It was a relevant for this merger because he did not

:06:05. > :06:09.communicate with me any instructions. He was letting me

:06:09. > :06:14.decide this on my own, which is the right thing under the law Labour

:06:14. > :06:19.passed into 1002. A Will you publish the minutes of the meetings

:06:19. > :06:23.you have had with Murdoch executives? I already have. Every

:06:23. > :06:27.conversation? The minutes of meetings we have had were part of

:06:27. > :06:35.the process. At the outset we published the Times of the meetings

:06:35. > :06:37.and who was present. Then as soon as the merger was abandoned, we

:06:38. > :06:42.then publish the minutes of the meeting so people could see what

:06:42. > :06:48.was discussed. When Labour was in power it substantially used under

:06:48. > :06:53.the ability of one media company to get a hold of another media company.

:06:53. > :06:59.It made it a more liberal regime, but now you want to tighten it

:06:59. > :07:04.again? That's right, we have written about the rules on media

:07:04. > :07:10.ownership. We did say to Jeremy, of the rules on which she could reject

:07:10. > :07:15.the BSkyB bid won narrowly drafted. We have written to Jeremy asking

:07:15. > :07:18.for was to work on a cross-party basis for some short-term, quick

:07:18. > :07:21.legislation to be passed through to tighten up the rules. We want to

:07:21. > :07:26.hear from you were the you are prepared to work on a cross-party

:07:26. > :07:30.basis to do that? We have gone a lot further than the proposals Ivan

:07:30. > :07:34.has made and we have talked about whether to remove politicians from

:07:34. > :07:38.the process altogether. One of the problems in this process was,

:07:39. > :07:44.although I was deciding in a quasar judicial role and I sought

:07:44. > :07:48.independent advice at every SAT -- stage, people won't trust what a

:07:48. > :07:54.politician does with media barons. You are talking about that but you

:07:54. > :08:03.have not done it? We need to talk up that before Levison reports. It

:08:03. > :08:08.goes through the the 2013 Queen's Speech and may not be in place in

:08:09. > :08:15.2015. Why is there a rush to do this? Will there be any other

:08:15. > :08:19.takeovers? Who knows but what this sorry episode has shown is the

:08:19. > :08:23.current system of regulation is not a fit for purpose. I appreciated

:08:23. > :08:27.talking about a number of things, but is it your intention to do

:08:27. > :08:33.anything this side of lovers and? We will listen to all suggestions

:08:33. > :08:38.but this is headline-grabbing by Labour. If there was another bit, I

:08:38. > :08:43.would have the opportunity to refer this to Ofcom for investigations on

:08:43. > :08:47.grounds of fit and proper person, on the grounds of media plurality.

:08:47. > :08:51.All the safe grounds people would be concerned about exist. Ofcom has

:08:51. > :08:55.the time at any time to withdraw a broadcasting licence from someone

:08:55. > :09:00.it deems not to be a fit and proper broadcaster. There are protections

:09:01. > :09:04.in place, but we want to go further. It is right to hear what the report

:09:04. > :09:11.says before we decide what to do. It does not look like you will get

:09:11. > :09:15.it. But you found out on the Daily Politics. We also heard of

:09:15. > :09:18.opposition trying to get headlines, who would ever have heard of that!

:09:18. > :09:20.Now, should trains running on British railways be built in

:09:20. > :09:24.Britain? The contract to build new trains for the Thameslink network

:09:24. > :09:26.was awarded in July to Siemens who will build the trains in Germany

:09:26. > :09:28.rather than the Derby-based manufacturer, Bombardier. The

:09:28. > :09:33.decision's prompted accusations that the Government's failing to

:09:33. > :09:36.protect British industry. The awarding of second contract for

:09:36. > :09:46.Crossrail trains has now been delayed until the New Year. This

:09:46. > :09:49.

:09:49. > :09:53.morning the Transport Secretary explained the Government's decision.

:09:53. > :09:57.It is astonishing the French and Germans managed to build so many of

:09:57. > :10:02.their own trains. Have you discussed this with officials on

:10:02. > :10:07.how we can be slotted into that same astonishing category? It is my

:10:07. > :10:12.perception we need to look at how these things are done in other EU

:10:13. > :10:16.member states. We need to consider how socio-economic factors are

:10:16. > :10:22.taken into account in other EU member states, while being fully

:10:22. > :10:27.compliant with EU procurement law. We need to look at how other member

:10:27. > :10:31.states seek to take into account of their strategic, national interests

:10:31. > :10:37.without breaching EU procurement law. We need to see if there are

:10:37. > :10:44.lessons we can learn for the way we do public procurement in the UK.

:10:44. > :10:49.That was Philip Hammond, and joining us now is Steve from

:10:49. > :10:54.Siemens. He is not hear it, but we hope to get him later on. Listening

:10:54. > :10:59.to Philip Hammond it sounded like a regret. That decision was not the

:10:59. > :11:02.right decision for British industry, it was regrettable it had to go to

:11:02. > :11:06.Siemens and now afterwards, Philip Hammond is saying we will have a

:11:06. > :11:11.look at the rules and see if we can interpret them differently to

:11:11. > :11:17.favour home-grown companies without breaking EU regulations? There was

:11:17. > :11:19.an element of that in his tone and I don't want to be someone who is

:11:19. > :11:25.continually blaming the last Government. All Government makes

:11:25. > :11:29.mistakes. Do you think he has regrets? The procurement system was

:11:29. > :11:34.set up by the last Government and then you have to stick to the rules.

:11:34. > :11:38.What Philip feels is the rules were very narrowly set on cost grounds

:11:38. > :11:43.and made it difficult to take into account what he described as socio-

:11:43. > :11:50.economic factors, long-term, strategic implications of trains

:11:50. > :11:56.being built in the UK as opposed to be been built a board. -- abroad.

:11:56. > :12:00.The contract for the new South West Trains going to Hitachi, which will

:12:00. > :12:05.create 500 jobs, we have shown we are learning from perhaps some of

:12:05. > :12:08.the mistakes in the way that put your money happened. You say they

:12:08. > :12:12.were narrowly set but there was room for manoeuvre. Do you think

:12:12. > :12:18.the Government failed to manoeuvre correctly in the way France and

:12:18. > :12:21.Germany seems to be able to do so they can award their own companies.

:12:21. > :12:26.You can interpreted differently and the Government was a naive and did

:12:26. > :12:30.not do that? I don't think you can, once the procurement is set up, you

:12:30. > :12:34.get judicially reviewed if you don't follow that process to the

:12:34. > :12:39.letter. So the way you have to do it is to allow yourself at the

:12:39. > :12:44.outset to take into account socio- economic factors, which allows the

:12:44. > :12:50.bidders to construct their bids accordingly. We obviously do want

:12:50. > :12:54.to want it train building industry in the UK. What do you accept on

:12:54. > :12:58.the socio-economic argument, not only would jobs be lost at the

:12:58. > :13:01.Derby-based, Bombardier there will be an knock on effect to the skill

:13:01. > :13:08.set in that area and the supply chain of companies where there will

:13:08. > :13:12.also be redundancies? It will have a huge impact. It is regrettable.

:13:13. > :13:16.British-based companies have to put in competitive bids. It is right we

:13:16. > :13:20.have an open procurement system and it is right they have to compete

:13:20. > :13:24.with the best of what is on offer internationally. But I think there

:13:24. > :13:28.are a lot of things we can learn from the way that process happened.

:13:28. > :13:32.Jeremy Hunt is blaming Labour for the way the system is set up, but

:13:32. > :13:38.it was difficult for the Government to do anything about. Labour has

:13:38. > :13:42.said they should call in a review, but they can't can make? They could

:13:42. > :13:47.have pause the contract and that was set out in the Comprehensive

:13:47. > :13:52.Spending Review last year. What we have in Parliament today is the

:13:52. > :13:58.1,400 Bombardier workers who were laid off and a city of Derby led by

:13:58. > :14:02.the Tories, now considering whether to do its judicial review. You do

:14:02. > :14:07.admit this is a system set up by Labour? The it was, and we are only

:14:07. > :14:09.at the preferred bidder status so there is a question from Chris

:14:09. > :14:14.Williamson and Margaret Beckett, the contract has not been finally

:14:14. > :14:21.awarded. It does take the biscuit that somehow blame is being

:14:21. > :14:27.attached to a Tory council for this. This is a procurement process.

:14:27. > :14:32.is extraordinary a Tory Government is using taxpayers' money. We need

:14:32. > :14:36.to have modern infrastructure. What benefit would there be in pausing a

:14:36. > :14:39.process if the performance for process was set up to make it

:14:39. > :14:44.difficult or impossible to make any other decision than the one we made.

:14:44. > :14:48.We need to move forward and make sure we learn lessons going forward.

:14:48. > :14:53.There is also a point that Jeremy Hunt did make an this is a

:14:53. > :14:57.competitive tender. Companies bid from right across Europe. If you

:14:57. > :15:01.look at the figures, a large proportion of British companies win

:15:01. > :15:06.French and German contracts and only a small percentage of foreign

:15:06. > :15:11.companies win British contracts. That is just the way the cookie

:15:11. > :15:18.crumbles, you cannot complain about every bit that does not go

:15:18. > :15:22.Britain's way? They have been thousands of jobs done in Derby and

:15:22. > :15:28.a cross the supply chain. This is when the Government's thrust

:15:28. > :15:31.towards growth is about rebalancing the economy and we fail to see how

:15:31. > :15:35.this decision does that. Looking ahead to Cross Road, are you

:15:35. > :15:45.confident and hope for it there will be tenders that will be

:15:45. > :15:46.

:15:46. > :15:51.That is why we want to change these processes. We can have a better

:15:51. > :15:55.discussion that we are having with Mary. She accepted there were

:15:55. > :15:59.mistakes in the process and they are unfortunate mistakes and we

:15:59. > :16:03.regret those. It is incredibly difficult and exactly the wrong

:16:03. > :16:08.time in terms of what we are trained to do with the economy. But

:16:08. > :16:13.there was little else if we -- we could have done and the way forward

:16:13. > :16:18.is to say, how can we do this better in the future?

:16:18. > :16:24.Do win wonders for the German economy, production rose by 4% in

:16:24. > :16:29.July. -- it is doing wonders. No doubt the people in Derby will be

:16:29. > :16:32.celebrating that! We can be masters of our destiny," or at least that's

:16:32. > :16:35.what the Chancellor George Osborne told an audience in the City of

:16:35. > :16:37.London last night. He gave a very gloomy prognosis for the British

:16:38. > :16:40.economy, but insisted that there was no alternative to his deficit

:16:40. > :16:43.reduction plan. So how can economic growth be promoted? Well, writing

:16:43. > :16:46.in the Financial Times this morning, 20 leading economists have called

:16:47. > :16:51.on the Chancellor to scrap the top 50p tax rate, which they say is

:16:51. > :16:58.hindering Britain's competitiveness. But it is a sticky political as

:16:58. > :17:00.well as economic issue. Here's Jo. The 50p tax rate, which is paid on

:17:00. > :17:10.earnings above �150,000, was introduced by Labour and came into

:17:10. > :17:13.force just before the election in. April 2010. -- in April 2010. The

:17:13. > :17:16.Conservatives did not pledge to scrap it, they thought to do so

:17:16. > :17:19.would allow Labour to claim they were favouring the rich. George

:17:19. > :17:22.Osborne has said he regards it as a temporary tax, but he also said in

:17:22. > :17:26.the 2010 Spending Review, "Those with the broadest shoulders bear

:17:26. > :17:30.the greatest burden." However, there is currently a review as to

:17:30. > :17:33.whether the tax raises money, or actually does economic damage.

:17:33. > :17:35.Today's letter to the Financial Times from 20 economists makes that

:17:35. > :17:38.point, arguing that it makes the UK less competitive internationally

:17:38. > :17:42.and less attractive as a destination for both foreign

:17:42. > :17:49.investment and talented workers. But in a Com Res poll published

:17:49. > :17:51.yesterday, 57% were against abolishing the 50p rate. Many

:17:51. > :17:54.Conservative MPs would support scrapping the 50p rate, but if it

:17:54. > :18:04.was to go, many Liberal Democrats would want another form of wealth

:18:04. > :18:04.

:18:05. > :18:10.tax on the most expensive land or property. We had hoped to be joined

:18:10. > :18:16.by a signatory of that letter, but he has not made it, probably on the

:18:16. > :18:22.same train as the man from Siemens! Good job we have two guests or we

:18:22. > :18:28.would be talking to ourselves! The Chief Secretary to the Treasury,

:18:28. > :18:34.Danny Alexander, he says the scrapping the 50p rate is, cloud

:18:34. > :18:38.cuckoo land. Do you agree? cannot afford to do it. The

:18:38. > :18:42.economists talk about the long-term damage and we agree and have always

:18:42. > :18:47.said it is a temporary measure. But we have always said when dealing

:18:47. > :18:51.with this incredible economic mess we are in, we have to do it in a

:18:51. > :18:55.way that is fair and everybody has to play a part. So we have to be

:18:55. > :19:00.careful thinking about these measures to do so anyway that

:19:00. > :19:05.continues to maintain public support for a very tough set of

:19:05. > :19:10.economic policies. So it is a very fine judgements. I understand you

:19:10. > :19:16.will not do it now, back which you are implying you wish you do not

:19:16. > :19:21.have it -- but you are complying. Do your Liberal-Democrat Coalition

:19:21. > :19:28.partners agree? We all agree weenies competitive tax rates.

:19:29. > :19:34.does not mean anything. -- we need competitive. Is 50p at a long-term

:19:34. > :19:39.competitive rate? The Chancellor said it is temporary

:19:39. > :19:45.and we believe it needs to be. you Liberal-Democrat partners agree

:19:45. > :19:50.it is temporary? Danny Alexander and George Osborne are an the

:19:50. > :19:54.Treasury and the need to do things to make further UK economy more

:19:54. > :20:02.competitive and make sure up the tax burden is fairly sped, they

:20:02. > :20:05.have to make that judgment. I am not asking for a judgement. I have

:20:05. > :20:11.not seen his senior Liberal Democrat member of the Government

:20:11. > :20:17.say it should only be temporary -- a senior. Have you? What you have

:20:17. > :20:25.seen them say is there is a very strong case for moving the burden

:20:25. > :20:31.of taxation it from earned income to unearned income. -- of taxation

:20:31. > :20:35.from. Capital gains tax, those kinds of things. That is an old-

:20:35. > :20:42.fashioned description. Nobody has described it as that for ages! The

:20:43. > :20:47.Tories got rid of that description! So working hard and saving money

:20:47. > :20:52.and getting a derisory rate of interest, that is unearned income?

:20:52. > :20:58.You are asking me what the Liberal Democrats are saying. You have used

:20:58. > :21:02.the phrase. That is what some have said. There is an understanding in

:21:02. > :21:08.Liberal Democrats circles that we need competitive and fair rates of

:21:08. > :21:13.taxation but how we do it is a matter for the Chancellor. We have

:21:14. > :21:19.our economist in another studio now. Is it... Up I know you would keep

:21:19. > :21:25.the 50p tax rate, but as Labour envisage this rate stays

:21:25. > :21:30.indefinitely? -- I know. It we want a progressive taxation policy that

:21:30. > :21:35.leads to a balanced and prosperous economy and it is clear the 50p

:21:35. > :21:42.rate has to stay. That is the policy at the moment. Do you change

:21:42. > :21:47.it? Until the recovery is secured. The figures we saw last night, at

:21:47. > :21:54.the recovery is not secured. I what policy is about a tax cut for part

:21:54. > :22:00.-- for families. The VAT rise has taken �450 out of people's pockets

:22:00. > :22:04.and if you give that to middle income families, they will span

:22:04. > :22:07.that on the high street which is where we need to see jobs created.

:22:07. > :22:13.Well, joining us now is one of the signatories to that letter, Michael

:22:13. > :22:18.Ben-Gadd, of City University. Real wages are in decline, inflation it

:22:18. > :22:25.is rocketing, manufacturing is contracting, High Street is in

:22:25. > :22:31.meltdown, the eurozone is in crisis, why would you make scrapping the

:22:31. > :22:35.50p tax rate the priority? I do not know if it is the priority. But to

:22:35. > :22:40.follow what on what was said, at a do not understand the moral

:22:40. > :22:46.imperative on insisting those people already paying 24% of income

:22:46. > :22:52.tax that they should be punished further. Beyond that, this happens

:22:52. > :22:57.to be a tax that if anything, it is counter-productive. According to

:22:57. > :23:05.all the theoretical and Imperial models, it raises no extra revenue,

:23:05. > :23:11.it just punishes people. Let me make it very clear, and not one of

:23:11. > :23:16.those people who think lowering taxes is ever self financing. I am

:23:16. > :23:21.not making an argument in favour of reductions in taxation, it is a

:23:21. > :23:26.necessary evil and if government spending is as high as it is, it

:23:26. > :23:30.has to be financed. But this particular tax not only does not

:23:30. > :23:35.raise revenue, but it lowers the size of the economy. Or we do not

:23:35. > :23:39.know that yet because we will not know what the revenue implications

:23:39. > :23:43.art of the rate until all the self- assessment has happened -- we do

:23:43. > :23:48.not. People in higher brackets are in the self-assessment category A

:23:48. > :23:52.and we do not go -- not get those figures in until January so we do

:23:52. > :23:57.not know what the revenue implications have been on the 50p

:23:57. > :24:03.tax rate. We have a theoretical models of human behaviour. And when

:24:03. > :24:08.you raise taxes, you get lower economic activity. That is not

:24:08. > :24:13.controversial. But at what point our taxes so high? This is not just

:24:13. > :24:17.about 50p book that on top of National Insurance contributions

:24:17. > :24:23.that brings the effective marginal tax rate to something in the order

:24:23. > :24:28.of 64%, not counting all the rest. It is an enormous disincentive to

:24:28. > :24:33.walk -- to work and all the previous experience we have does

:24:33. > :24:37.suggest it brings no extra revenue. But Chancellors have to deal with

:24:37. > :24:43.priorities and if he had money to spare, would it be more sensible

:24:43. > :24:49.for him to take people out of the 40% tax bracket who are now in

:24:49. > :24:54.there, heads of English departments at comprehensive schools, they need

:24:54. > :24:58.more relief than those on those -- than those on the 50% rate? It is

:24:58. > :25:04.not about if they need relief and I will put aside the moral argument,

:25:04. > :25:08.but I suggest this is one of the rare instances. I do not believe

:25:08. > :25:13.you can expand government consumption because of some

:25:13. > :25:17.multiplier that you will get higher output to pay for it, I do not

:25:17. > :25:22.believe that cutting taxes pays for itself. It may make the economy

:25:22. > :25:26.bigger, but it will also make the deficit bigger. This is unusual

:25:26. > :25:32.because the rate has been set so high that it is not going to have

:25:32. > :25:37.any effect and it will improve the overall performance of the economy.

:25:37. > :25:41.Professor, I am glad you made it. If the figures come out in January

:25:41. > :25:47.and show the 50p rate has not raise more revenue, what would your

:25:47. > :25:52.attitude be? I do not think we should rely on the figures, I would

:25:52. > :25:57.like to see the Independent office for but it responsibility looking

:25:57. > :26:02.at this. But the Professor said it is an enormous disincentive to

:26:02. > :26:07.work... But they are doing that taxing come up why can these

:26:07. > :26:17.figures not be reliable? It is a macro-economic framework we are

:26:17. > :26:17.

:26:17. > :26:21.looking that. And am not talking about that. The idea if you are on

:26:21. > :26:27.a 140,000 and if you get 150,000 you are not going to work, that is

:26:27. > :26:32.nonsense. What would the. Be of a 50 p rate if it did not raise

:26:32. > :26:36.revenue? -- what would the purpose be. Mack that is a good question

:26:36. > :26:41.and is important, but we need to make sure that taxis and system is

:26:41. > :26:44.fair in tough times. -- the taxation system.

:26:44. > :26:47.Now, we're delighted that Mary and Jeremy decided to grace our sofa

:26:47. > :26:50.rather than the Strictly Come Dancing dance-floor. There are many

:26:50. > :26:56.perks to coming on the show. But I'm afraid the only winners here

:26:56. > :26:58.will be you, the viewers. Sorry, guests. It doesn't matter how well

:26:58. > :27:02.you do, you won't be winning one of these.

:27:02. > :27:12.We'll remind you how to enter in a minute, but let's see if you can

:27:12. > :27:12.

:27:12. > :27:55.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 42 seconds

:27:55. > :28:05.Of I now are open colder Hall, of Britain's first atomic power

:28:05. > :28:24.

:28:24. > :28:28.To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug, send your

:28:28. > :28:32.answer to our special quiz email address - that's dpquiz@bbc.co.uk.

:28:32. > :28:42.And you can see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year on

:28:42. > :28:42.

:28:42. > :28:46.our website. Put we got the year, didn't we? --

:28:46. > :28:49.we got. We did, unusually.

:28:49. > :28:53.That was Eisenhower. It's coming up to midday here, just

:28:53. > :28:57.take a look at Big Ben, and that can mean only one thing. Yes, Prime

:28:57. > :29:03.Minister's Questions is on its way. We have not had one since the

:29:03. > :29:07.second week in July. And that's not all, James Landale is here. Good to

:29:07. > :29:12.have you here, I do not know where to begin. If you were briefing Ed

:29:12. > :29:16.Miliband this morning, where would you start? So much has happened!

:29:16. > :29:20.would say you have to talk about the economy, it is the only issue

:29:20. > :29:25.that has matters, a lot has changed since Parliament last discussed

:29:25. > :29:29.this. Regardless of the ammunition David Cameron has got, he has to

:29:29. > :29:35.say what Labour says about it and test the position of the government.

:29:35. > :29:41.Which you agree with that, Mary? can see George Osborne brief think

:29:41. > :29:45.the Prime Minister as we sit and look at the chamber. -- briefing.

:29:45. > :29:50.But the other interesting question is what have the backbenchers been

:29:50. > :29:55.talking about. What are we going to say about riots? What about

:29:55. > :30:00.planning comic Europe? Those other issues. It will be interesting to

:30:00. > :30:04.see what we get about that today. And the Liberal Democrats, they

:30:04. > :30:08.seem to be on the strategy of being in government but a bit semi-

:30:08. > :30:16.detached now. It is differentiation, loyal

:30:16. > :30:21.differentiation. That is my own phrase for it!

:30:21. > :30:24.Liberal Democrats! LD! We are a few weeks away from the Liberal-

:30:24. > :30:28.Democrat common -- conference and they have to recover from that

:30:28. > :30:32.awful elections in May and have had to repair ground, and they are

:30:32. > :30:37.doing that by appealing to other voters, particularly those who felt

:30:37. > :30:41.abandoned by the Liberal Democrats and one of the ways they have done

:30:41. > :30:45.that is by saying that three schools, it is not a nasty Tory

:30:45. > :30:49.policy but will help the disadvantaged in society, and bail-

:30:49. > :30:54.out differentiation t take place by doing that. Getting scratchy in the

:30:54. > :30:59.Coalition? I think that is a good phrase, we

:30:59. > :31:02.can be loyally different and also head for the same goal. If we had a

:31:03. > :31:07.Cabinet meeting yesterday and there was a good sense of camaraderie and

:31:07. > :31:17.a sense that some of the things are not totally representative. Let's

:31:17. > :31:29.

:31:29. > :31:39.In Afghanistan. Lance Corporal Paul Watkins. Corporal mark Palin. James

:31:39. > :31:40.

:31:40. > :31:45.Wright. Lieutenant Daniel claque. Sergeant Barry Western Front kilo

:31:45. > :31:53.company. We should also remember a senior

:31:53. > :31:56.aircraft meant James Smart who died in a road traffic accident in Italy

:31:56. > :32:01.on 20th July whilst supporting operations in Libya. I pay tribute

:32:01. > :32:06.to their outstanding courage and selfishness. -- selflessness. They

:32:06. > :32:09.have given their lives serving our country and made our world safer

:32:09. > :32:16.and secured. Our thoughts and deeper sympathy will be with their

:32:16. > :32:20.families, friends and colleagues. This week sees the 10th anniversary

:32:20. > :32:23.of 200 macro so we should remember all of those who lost their lives

:32:23. > :32:27.that they and those who died in pursuit of a safer future

:32:27. > :32:30.throughout the last decade. I had meetings with ministerial

:32:30. > :32:36.colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in this house

:32:36. > :32:39.I will have further meetings today. The whole House will agree with the

:32:39. > :32:43.tributes the Prime Minister just made to members of the armed forces

:32:43. > :32:46.who made the ultimate sacrifice defending the country. Earlier this

:32:46. > :32:50.week the Government pushed through legislation which says terror

:32:50. > :32:53.suspects must be given access to mobile phone as an the internet and

:32:53. > :32:57.which ends relocation orders so they cannot be kept out of London

:32:57. > :33:03.in the run-up to the Olympics, or the Queen's Jubilee without

:33:03. > :33:06.emergency legislation. Well decent law-abiding people out there will

:33:06. > :33:10.be shocked to discover he is weakening protection for him whilst

:33:10. > :33:15.pushing through what people think is a charter of rights for would-be

:33:15. > :33:20.terrorists? I don't agree with that. We consulted very carefully with

:33:20. > :33:23.the police and security services in order to try to get to a better

:33:24. > :33:27.position. Control orders didn't have the confidence of the public,

:33:27. > :33:32.they didn't work in too many cases and the arrangements we have put in

:33:32. > :33:39.place will keep this country safe and have greater public consultants

:33:39. > :33:43.-- confidence. Can I thank the house and all of my

:33:43. > :33:46.Hexham constituency for the messages of support whilst I was in

:33:46. > :33:51.hospital. I am now recovered, thanks to the outstanding care of

:33:51. > :33:56.the NHS and its hard-working doctors and nurses. Would the Prime

:33:56. > :34:00.Minister agree with me, as many doctors and nurses did it must be

:34:00. > :34:04.our mission to improve and reform the NHS so the service we so

:34:04. > :34:09.cherish will improve with the challenges we face ahead?

:34:09. > :34:13.Can I say how good it is to see him back in his place and fully

:34:13. > :34:18.recovered. He is right, the point of our health reforms is to put

:34:18. > :34:22.doctors in charge, dish patients greater choice, heal the divide

:34:22. > :34:26.between health and social care and I believe will lead to a stronger

:34:26. > :34:36.NHS and better outcomes for patients.

:34:36. > :34:40.

:34:40. > :34:50.Ed Miliband. Can I stop by joining the Prime Minister by giving our

:34:50. > :35:08.

:35:08. > :35:12.condolences to the servicemen who All of them demonstrated tremendous

:35:12. > :35:16.bravery and courage in the line of duty and we send our deepest

:35:16. > :35:21.condolences to their family and friends. Let me also joined the

:35:21. > :35:27.Prime Minister in remembering all of those who died in the terrorist

:35:27. > :35:30.attacks of September 11th, 2001. We all said at the time we would never

:35:30. > :35:36.forget, and it is right we pay particular attention on this, the

:35:36. > :35:39.10th anniversary of September 11th so for the victims and their

:35:39. > :35:46.families, we show we are true to the words we spoke in the aftermath

:35:46. > :35:50.of those terrible attacks. Let me also, as the House returns, thank

:35:50. > :35:55.the police service he did such a tremendous job in the riots over

:35:55. > :35:58.the summer. It is on the subject of policing I want to start my

:35:58. > :36:02.questions to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister wants to hold

:36:02. > :36:05.his elections for police commissioners, not alongside local

:36:06. > :36:10.elections as a resolute -- originally intended, but in

:36:10. > :36:16.November next year. How much extra money does he expect this to cost?

:36:16. > :36:24.It will cost an extra �25 million. This money won't be taken from the

:36:24. > :36:29.police budget. Mr Speaker, he is making about policy worse by

:36:29. > :36:35.wasting money. He could easily have decided, if he wanted to postpone

:36:35. > :36:41.these elections, to have them in 20th May 13. And indeed, subsequent

:36:41. > :36:45.elections will be held in 20th May 16. Can the Prime Minister tell us

:36:45. > :36:51.why he has decided to waste this money in this way? It is important

:36:51. > :36:56.to get this policy right and make sure it works. First of all, why is

:36:56. > :37:03.the party opposite so frightened of an election? What have they got to

:37:03. > :37:08.fear? And on the subject he called it, the Right Honourable Gentleman,

:37:08. > :37:14.called it that policy. Let me tell him what his own shadow policing

:37:14. > :37:17.minister said. He said this, only direct election, based on

:37:17. > :37:22.geographic constituencies will deliver a strong connection to the

:37:22. > :37:28.public which is crucial. Why is he so frying have having an election

:37:28. > :37:33.and proper police accountability? We know what the public know, this

:37:33. > :37:38.is the wrong priority for the country. What did we see during the

:37:38. > :37:42.riots? We saw visible, effective policing. The Prime Minister tells

:37:42. > :37:48.us the country cannot afford the current police budgets. We have got

:37:48. > :37:53.to cut the number of police officers by 16,000. But he tells

:37:53. > :38:00.the country it can afford �100 million and more as a result of his

:38:00. > :38:06.decision to waste money on 42 elected politicians earning over

:38:06. > :38:11.�120,000 a year. Mr Speaker, that could pay for 2000 extra police

:38:11. > :38:16.officers. Isn't the truth this is the wrong priority at the wrong

:38:16. > :38:23.time for the country? As ever he has got his figures are wrong.

:38:23. > :38:28.Because, the police authorities that only 6% of the country have

:38:28. > :38:32.heard of will be abolished and that all save money. Let me put it to

:38:32. > :38:37.him again, why is he frightened of direct elections so the police

:38:37. > :38:43.become accountable? He was responsible for the last Labour

:38:43. > :38:47.manifesto and this is what the last Labour Prime Minister said "the

:38:47. > :38:53.Home Secretary will bring forward proposals for directly elected

:38:53. > :39:00.representatives to give local people more control over policing".

:39:00. > :39:04.Why the U-turn? Mr Speaker, we know he has got the wrong priorities on

:39:04. > :39:09.the police and he is refusing to back down. He hasn't just got the

:39:09. > :39:13.wrong priorities on the police, but on the health service as well. Can

:39:13. > :39:17.the Prime Minister tell us, Mr Speaker, why the number of people

:39:17. > :39:25.who have had to wait more than six months for an operation has gone up

:39:25. > :39:30.by more than 60% since he came to office? I am not surprised he want

:39:30. > :39:35.to change the subject, because on policing he was having his collar

:39:35. > :39:40.felt because he has done a U-turn on the policy he used to be

:39:40. > :39:44.committed to. In our health service, as I said some moments ago, what we

:39:44. > :39:51.are seeing is more cancer patients getting treatment, more doctors in

:39:51. > :39:57.the NHS, fewer bureaucrats, a reduction... I know they don't like

:39:57. > :40:03.hearing. Order. There is too much noise and what is beginning to

:40:03. > :40:07.sound like orchestrated heckling. It should stop. The Prime Minister.

:40:07. > :40:12.The trouble is, they don't like hearing good news about what is

:40:12. > :40:16.happening in the National Health Service. And the fact is, if you

:40:16. > :40:22.look at the waiting times for outpatients, they have fallen since

:40:23. > :40:27.the last elections. Ed Miliband. is a complete non- answer, he

:40:28. > :40:32.cannot even answer the question. Mr Speaker, we are talking about

:40:32. > :40:36.people up and down this country who have been waiting longer for their

:40:36. > :40:41.operations. And the Government chief whip, he should care about

:40:41. > :40:44.these people who have been waiting longer for their operations. Let me

:40:45. > :40:53.tell the Government chief whip and the whole front bench what we are

:40:53. > :40:58.talking about. The number of people, 20th June 11, 20th June 10 the

:40:58. > :41:05.number of people waiting for operation for over six months, up

:41:05. > :41:10.by 20%. Those waiting for a heart operation, up by 62%. Those waiting

:41:10. > :41:16.for orthopaedic operations, of Price 72%. Those waiting For I

:41:16. > :41:21.surgery, the country and I asking for a simple explanation from the

:41:21. > :41:26.Prime Minister, why as he happen? The amount of time people are

:41:26. > :41:30.waiting for an out-patient operation has gone down. That has

:41:30. > :41:34.what happened. We have targets for 90% of people to get their

:41:34. > :41:40.treatment at within 18 weeks and those targets are being met. He may

:41:40. > :41:44.not like the truth, but that is the truth. I have to say to him, that

:41:44. > :41:48.is why you now see the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College

:41:48. > :41:55.of Physicians, the Royal College of Nurses all supporting our health

:41:55. > :42:05.reforms. He even C Lord Desai, the former health minister supporting

:42:05. > :42:07.

:42:07. > :42:13.our health reforms. Labour have got themselves in a position of

:42:13. > :42:17.reposing all reforms on the NHS. Speaker, a figure Prime Minister is

:42:17. > :42:22.on another planet. He had his holidays interrupted, fair play to

:42:22. > :42:27.him, but it took time off his holiday to tell the morning News,

:42:27. > :42:32.the whole health profession is now on board for what is being done. Mr

:42:32. > :42:37.Speaker, does he read the newspapers? Only on Tuesday of this

:42:37. > :42:42.week, the BMA, the Royal College of GPs and the Royal College of

:42:42. > :42:46.midwives all rejected his bill, and that was this week. The truth is,

:42:46. > :42:50.under this Government we are seeing reckless and needless

:42:50. > :42:55.reorganisation of our public services. Police numbers down and

:42:55. > :43:00.waiting lists up. Under Labour quasar police officers up and

:43:00. > :43:04.waiting lists down. Why doesn't he do the right thing for the future

:43:04. > :43:08.of our public services and scrap both of these dangerous plans?

:43:08. > :43:18.Isn't it interesting he does not dare, in six questions mention the

:43:18. > :43:22.

:43:22. > :43:28.economy. And when it comes sue the health reforms, when it comes to

:43:28. > :43:31.our health reforms, let me quote him at what the man his governments

:43:31. > :43:40.at plucked from the NHS to run the Department of Health, Lord Darzi

:43:40. > :43:45.says about these reforms "proposals for the NHS reform have ACAS this

:43:45. > :43:48.in the right direction and are to be welcomed". So now you have

:43:48. > :43:53.people working in the health service supporting the changes we

:43:53. > :44:01.are making and Labour wanting to cover the money and also cut the

:44:01. > :44:05.reform. Isn't it's no surprise the health minister said this "it is a

:44:05. > :44:11.tough fact of life, that what Labour says matters less almost

:44:11. > :44:19.more than what anybody else says". I could not have put that better

:44:19. > :44:24.myself. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that building

:44:24. > :44:30.stronger families and stronger communities is absolutely essential

:44:30. > :44:34.and key in dealing with anti-social and delinquent behaviour? She is

:44:34. > :44:39.absolutely right. I think this is important and I'm sure there will

:44:39. > :44:43.be all-party agreement on this, as well as a tough response from the

:44:43. > :44:46.criminal justice system to the riots, some exemplary sentences and

:44:46. > :44:51.the doubt by the court system and by praise or those who have been

:44:51. > :44:54.involved in speeding up the justice system. At the same time we need to

:44:54. > :44:58.do more to strengthen communities, strengthen families, increased

:44:58. > :45:02.discipline in schools and make sure the welfare system supports

:45:02. > :45:05.responsible behaviour. We will be bringing forward proposals along

:45:05. > :45:09.those lines and I hope they will have support from everyone in this

:45:09. > :45:15.house. Before the summer the Prime

:45:15. > :45:19.Minister took part in a TV documentary which highlighted crime

:45:19. > :45:23.and anti-social behaviour in my constituency. In his assessment,

:45:23. > :45:26.would he expect crime and anti- social behaviour on that estate and

:45:26. > :45:35.across Leicester to increase or decrease when he cuts 200 police

:45:35. > :45:40.officers from the Leicestershire I want to see crime and anti-social

:45:40. > :45:46.behaviour go down. And today, on the one in 10 of police officers

:45:46. > :45:50.are on the beat at one time. There are 25,000 police officers in back

:45:50. > :45:54.office jobs and not on the frontline, so we all have a

:45:54. > :45:59.responsibility to get the budget deficit under control. His party

:45:59. > :46:02.has committed to a �1 billion cut in the police, but we have to

:46:02. > :46:07.recognise it is about getting officers on the front line, and

:46:08. > :46:13.that is the debate we should be engaged in. In the way of the riots,

:46:13. > :46:18.can I commend the government and the mayor of London's support for

:46:18. > :46:21.communities like Enfield that were badly hit. Is this not a good time

:46:21. > :46:26.to support a global day of prayer that will take place in Wembley in

:46:26. > :46:29.London? I pay tribute to what the Mayor has done and to what the

:46:29. > :46:34.Department of community and local government has done to make sure

:46:34. > :46:38.money is available to rebuild communities. And the good thing

:46:38. > :46:41.about the high street support scheme of �20 million is 29 local

:46:42. > :46:47.authorities have already registered for VAT and I hope the money will

:46:47. > :46:55.be spent quickly to rebuild the high streets. -- for that. Does the

:46:55. > :46:59.Prime Minister support the closure of local police stations? It is up

:46:59. > :47:02.to Chief Constable has to work out how best to police their areas. But

:47:02. > :47:06.what I am finding from talking with police constables across the

:47:06. > :47:10.country is they want to put resources into visible policing on

:47:10. > :47:14.the streets. And they have the support of a government could sink

:47:14. > :47:18.the paperwork, outperforming pay and pensions, taking be difficult

:47:18. > :47:25.decisions to make sure we have more police on the streets than we what

:47:25. > :47:30.under Labour. Will the Prime Minister join me in sending a very

:47:30. > :47:35.clear message to the travellers at the a legal Dale Farm site that we

:47:35. > :47:39.all hope they move off peacefully it to avoid an unforced affection,

:47:39. > :47:43.but be in no doubt that the Government fully support Basildon

:47:43. > :47:48.council and Essex police in reclaiming this green belt land on

:47:48. > :47:52.behalf of the law-abiding majority? -- illegal. I give my support to

:47:52. > :47:56.the Essex police and to all the county and district councils that

:47:56. > :48:01.have been involved, and I pay tribute to the honourable member

:48:01. > :48:06.for the hard work he has put in on this. This is a basic issue of

:48:06. > :48:10.fairness. Everyone in this country has to obey the Lord, -- obey the

:48:10. > :48:14.law, including that law about planning permission and building on

:48:14. > :48:17.green belt land. When this has been done without permission, it is an

:48:17. > :48:24.illegal development and those people should be moved away, and I

:48:24. > :48:28.agree with the way he put that question. The Prime Minister oppose

:48:28. > :48:33.Labour's and T gangs laws and the riots happened and he is backing

:48:33. > :48:38.them. Now he wants to scrap we location powers, what happens

:48:38. > :48:43.before he admits them mess he is replacing them with his putting

:48:44. > :48:49.national security at risk? -- the mess. I do not accept that. When we

:48:49. > :48:52.looked at control orders in the review, we listened carefully 2am I

:48:52. > :48:58.five, the security services, the Metropolitan Police and all those

:48:58. > :49:02.involved -- we listened carefully to MI5. We make sure we had a

:49:02. > :49:07.system that was illegal, because the courts on picked so many of the

:49:07. > :49:13.last changes, that the public can have confidence end and there are

:49:13. > :49:18.safe. On the day when 200 people from Bombardier in Derby are here

:49:18. > :49:22.to see if we can change the arrangements for the Thameslink

:49:22. > :49:26.contract, can the Prime Minister give hope about future contracts

:49:26. > :49:36.and changing the tender arrangements? Ms we were left in

:49:36. > :49:39.from the last government! -- of the mass. -- the mess. I want to help

:49:39. > :49:43.Bombardier, that is an excellent company that employs people in

:49:43. > :49:48.Derbyshire and has done a brilliant job in this country for so many

:49:48. > :49:53.years. But before people shout from the party opposite, let me remind

:49:53. > :49:58.them, this procurement process was designed and initiated by the

:49:58. > :50:03.previous government and it is no good them shuffling off their

:50:03. > :50:06.responsibility, it is their responsibilities. Why does the

:50:06. > :50:11.government cannot agree with the police that children as young a

:50:11. > :50:17.seven it should be banned from having shotgun licences,? -- as

:50:17. > :50:25.young a seven. We should and forced proper laws and if they need

:50:25. > :50:30.toughening, I will look at that. Speaker, the Liberal Democrats make

:50:30. > :50:39.up 8% of this Parliament but seem to be influencing the free school

:50:39. > :50:44.policy, many issues like health and abortion. Order, order! The

:50:44. > :50:48.question from the honourable lady will be heard! Does the Prime

:50:48. > :50:58.Minister think it is about time we told the Deputy Prime Minister who

:50:58. > :51:05.

:51:05. > :51:10.is the boss? -- he told. I wanted to hear the question, but I want to

:51:10. > :51:20.hear the Prime Minister's answer! know the honourable lady is

:51:20. > :51:21.

:51:21. > :51:31.extremely frustrated about... Maybe I should start again! I am going to

:51:31. > :51:42.

:51:43. > :51:47.Thank you, Mr Speaker, having scrapped the future jobs fund and

:51:47. > :51:53.BMAs, at young people not in education and employment and

:51:53. > :51:59.training is at a record high of 18.4%. When, Mr Speaker, when of

:51:59. > :52:03.things going to get better for our young people? -- when of things.

:52:03. > :52:06.This is a difficult situation in terms of young -- of youth

:52:06. > :52:12.unemployment, a situation getting worse during the economic good

:52:12. > :52:17.times, and there was a 40% increase in youth unemployment during the

:52:17. > :52:20.last government. There is now are a disturbing increase in those not in

:52:20. > :52:26.education and employment and training over 18, under 18 it is

:52:26. > :52:30.coming down. The steps we are taking on to improve schooling, to

:52:30. > :52:36.raise the participation age to 18 and increase the level of

:52:36. > :52:39.percentage -- of apprenticeships for to 380 this year. And we are

:52:39. > :52:42.introducing a biggest back-to-work programme that has taken place in

:52:42. > :52:46.this country since the 1930s and will be made available to young

:52:46. > :52:52.people in danger of being left out of employment, education and

:52:52. > :52:59.training. I have been working with local businesses, my councils and

:52:59. > :53:03.other organisations to help promote the economy. Given the economic

:53:04. > :53:06.background, it is imperative that we grow both the local and national

:53:06. > :53:12.economy. Can the Prime Minister tell us what new measures the

:53:12. > :53:17.government will introduced to help promote such growth? -- will

:53:17. > :53:23.introduce. I enjoyed seeing first- hand what is happening in Cumbria

:53:23. > :53:27.to get the local economy moving. The action we are taking improve --

:53:27. > :53:32.includes cuts in corporation tax, Enterprise Zones, but specifically

:53:32. > :53:36.for Cumbria, the money we are investing for super-fast broadband

:53:36. > :53:44.will help that county, at the degree the more it -- particularly

:53:44. > :53:49.the most rural areas, to make sure everybody can benefit. CCTV played

:53:49. > :53:53.a vital role in the arrest of many people in the riots cannot why is

:53:53. > :54:01.he undermining best and the protection of freedoms Bill? We are

:54:01. > :54:06.not! When the Prime Minister comes to consider next week's vicars

:54:06. > :54:10.report on the banks which have been rescued with fantastic amounts of

:54:10. > :54:14.taxpayers' money, would he have no truck with the argument that the

:54:14. > :54:19.banks cannot be reformed to prevent another crisis because they are

:54:19. > :54:24.struggling to cope with the crisis they have already created? Never

:54:24. > :54:28.again should British taxpayers have to bail out banks too big to fail!

:54:28. > :54:33.He is right that this Government must take action to reform the

:54:33. > :54:36.banks and that is what we are doing. We have set out how we are getting

:54:36. > :54:40.rid of the tripartite structure that failed under the last

:54:40. > :54:43.government, we are putting the Bank of England back in charge, and we

:54:43. > :54:49.are making sure we cannot have these catastrophic bank failures

:54:49. > :54:54.that cost the taxpayer in the future. We look forward to

:54:54. > :54:58.receiving the report. There are two things to a Secure, the safe and

:54:58. > :55:04.secured banking system, and also proper bank lending to small

:55:04. > :55:11.businesses particularly, and that is what government policy will aim

:55:11. > :55:15.for. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister will be aware that

:55:15. > :55:21.his government are consulting on their changes to housing benefit

:55:21. > :55:26.claims under the criteria of under occupancy, this will adversely

:55:26. > :55:33.affect 450,000 disabled people, 33,000 in the north-east alone his

:55:33. > :55:37.stand to lose an average of �607 per year, a substantial number in

:55:37. > :55:42.my constituency. How does this meet the government's fairness test?

:55:42. > :55:46.This is a specific exclusion to deal with people who have careers

:55:46. > :55:50.living in the home, -- but we have to reform housing benefit. Housing

:55:50. > :55:56.benefit was one of those budget items that was out of control. In

:55:56. > :56:02.London, we had some families claiming �80,000 of housing

:56:02. > :56:09.benefits just for one family. So this doesn't need to be reformed. -

:56:09. > :56:13.- does need a. He says, how many? Frankly, too many! It is no good

:56:13. > :56:17.for the party opposite to complain about every reduction to public

:56:17. > :56:22.spending when they left us with the budget -- with the biggest budget

:56:22. > :56:28.deficit in Europe! The Prime Minister has listened to Liberal-

:56:28. > :56:31.Democrat colleagues by delaying the police elections until next year.

:56:31. > :56:38.Will he now listen to Conservative colleagues and take that

:56:38. > :56:42.opportunity to hold a referendum on Europe? That is an ingenious way of

:56:42. > :56:46.putting the question! As a explained yesterday, I want us to

:56:46. > :56:50.be influential in Europe about the things that matter to our national

:56:50. > :56:55.interest, promoting the single market, pushing forward for growth,

:56:55. > :57:01.getting low energy prices. But I do not see the case for a referendum

:57:01. > :57:05.on Europe. We are in Europe and we have to make it work for us! Does

:57:05. > :57:08.the Prime Minister agree with his Housing Minister that because of

:57:08. > :57:13.the economic policies of the government, we now have a great

:57:13. > :57:20.crisis? And when he does a U-turn, it will he cut VAT, which has

:57:20. > :57:25.Labour's policy, will he give tax cuts to the rich? -- will he cut.

:57:25. > :57:31.He obviously had time to read this, which says that increasing VAT was

:57:31. > :57:35.the policy of Labour in the last election. He should focus on the

:57:35. > :57:42.fact the person responsible for Labour's economic policy at the

:57:42. > :57:49.lack -- at a last election said it had no credible policy. And nothing

:57:49. > :57:53.has changed for Labour! Will the Prime Minister join me in

:57:53. > :57:56.congratulating members from both sides of this House in both houses

:57:56. > :58:00.of this Parliament for their generosity in responding to the

:58:00. > :58:05.letter from Mr Speaker and the Lords be kept in supporting a gift

:58:05. > :58:10.for her Majesty the Queen for her forthcoming died end -- Diamond

:58:10. > :58:14.Jubilee from this Parliament? delighted to join the honourable

:58:14. > :58:18.gentleman in praising everyone who contributed to this very

:58:18. > :58:23.imaginative and I think sensible gift for her Majesty's Diamond

:58:23. > :58:29.Jubilee. And perhaps I can pay it a particular tribute to him, if

:58:29. > :58:32.because he has worked so hard to make this work. -- because. To have

:58:32. > :58:37.a Diamond Jubilee is an extraordinary think we will be able

:58:37. > :58:44.to celebrate this lifetime. With electricity and gas bills going up

:58:44. > :58:50.by 20%, and 6 million families in this country now facing a fuel

:58:50. > :58:56.poverty, does the Prime Minister still think it was right to cut the

:58:56. > :59:00.winter fuel payments to pensioners by �100? We are going ahead with

:59:00. > :59:04.the winter fuel payments set out by the last Labour government in that

:59:04. > :59:08.budget. At the same time, we are increasing the cold weather

:59:08. > :59:18.payments on a permanent basis. So this Government is being more

:59:18. > :59:26.generous than the last government! In looking to address the economic

:59:26. > :59:31.recovery, is it better to help those who have as little as �100 a

:59:31. > :59:38.week of tax, but those who take home more than 10 times that amount

:59:38. > :59:45.after tax? Let me point out two things we have done. One is to lift

:59:45. > :59:51.�1 million -- �1 million out of income tax, a Coalition agreement.

:59:51. > :59:55.-- 1 million people. We have increased in over two years by �290

:59:55. > :00:00.the tax credits that code to the poorest families in the country,

:00:00. > :00:05.and that is why we have taken difficult decisions -- that go to.

:00:05. > :00:13.But we have not had an increase in child poverty. In better economic

:00:13. > :00:18.times under the last government, child poverty went up. Bringing

:00:18. > :00:22.Siemens manufacturing wind turbines to the Humber is vital for jobs and

:00:22. > :00:26.a breakthrough on renewable energy and hopefully increasing the UK

:00:26. > :00:31.industry in this area. Local councils and businesses are doing

:00:31. > :00:35.what they can to attract Siemens to the area, but we face strong

:00:35. > :00:40.foreign competition. Will this Government do what the last

:00:40. > :00:45.government did and back this? Will the Prime Minister do everything he

:00:46. > :00:50.can to secure this? I agree with this, it is vital for the future of

:00:50. > :00:53.the economy and for the future of the area she represents. I met with

:00:53. > :00:57.Mum -- with members of parliament from Humberside to discuss this and

:00:57. > :01:01.have spoken to the head of Siemens about the importance of this

:01:01. > :01:05.investment, we are carrying on with this extra money to go into the

:01:05. > :01:10.development of this industry and we packet all the way. At the meeting

:01:10. > :01:15.this morning with organisations working dent the Horn of Africa,

:01:15. > :01:20.representatives expressed their gratitude that the British

:01:20. > :01:23.Government has been so generous -- in the Horn of Africa. That famine

:01:24. > :01:28.is getting worse, will this Government continue to provide

:01:28. > :01:32.international leadership to help the people in East Africa? I can

:01:32. > :01:36.certainly give the honourable lady that assurance. The response of the

:01:36. > :01:40.British public has been remarkable. These are difficult times, but they

:01:40. > :01:43.have shown an incredible generosity and led the world in the

:01:43. > :01:48.contributions they have made. And because this Government has made

:01:48. > :01:52.the decision to fulfil a pledge of reaching 0.7% of national income

:01:52. > :01:56.going into aid, we are leading the world in the amount of money we are

:01:56. > :02:00.putting into the Horn of Africa back to vaccinate children, to save

:02:00. > :02:05.lives and to recognise this is an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Does

:02:05. > :02:09.the Prime Minister agree with me that his Housing Minister is an

:02:09. > :02:14.absolute star? In the face of declining planning permissions for

:02:14. > :02:22.new build homes, in the face of the lowest number of new homes being

:02:22. > :02:27.built at this year in 12 months, lower than any year of Labour's

:02:27. > :02:35.administration for house building, his Minister's great idea is to ask

:02:35. > :02:42.councils to build more moorings for houseboats! Fantastic!,. I thought

:02:42. > :02:46.he was doing so well until he got all political! -- I thought. House

:02:46. > :02:51.building is too low in this country and it is a shocking statistic that

:02:51. > :02:55.the typical first-time buyer is now in their mid-thirties. So we do

:02:55. > :03:01.need to change and more houses to be built, and I think my Housing

:03:01. > :03:06.Minister is doing a first class job! While much attention is being

:03:06. > :03:11.paid to the military activities in Libya over the summer, will the

:03:11. > :03:16.Prime Minister join me in congratulating captain Steve Norris

:03:16. > :03:20.and the crew in the work they are doing to combat drugs in the

:03:20. > :03:26.Caribbean? They intercepted �50 million of cocaine over the summer

:03:26. > :03:32.and have been helping humanitarian affects after hurricane Irene.

:03:32. > :03:36.is an important point. We should focus on and praise the incredible

:03:36. > :03:41.work our services have done in Libya and Afghanistan, there are

:03:41. > :03:45.the ongoing tasks like trucks in the West Indies, protecting the

:03:45. > :03:50.Falkland Islands, the work took prevent piracy off the Horn of

:03:50. > :04:00.Africa, all these tasks people are giving a lot of time and effort to

:04:00. > :04:06.

:04:06. > :04:13.and we should praise and thank them Neighbour leader, Ed Miliband went

:04:13. > :04:18.on elected police leaders. And then on to waiting lists where there are

:04:18. > :04:25.some figures we will look at in a minute. The dog that did not bark

:04:25. > :04:29.was the economy, even though it is on everybody's minds at the moment.

:04:29. > :04:37.Wondering whether there will be any growth this quarter in the British

:04:37. > :04:41.economy. We speculated, and many of you have speculated on Twitter that

:04:41. > :04:45.Labour could not go on the economy because this is the day Alastair

:04:45. > :04:51.Darling's book comes out. It did not happen and we will hear from

:04:51. > :04:58.our experts in a minute. But we want to hear from you first.

:04:58. > :05:01.Matt in Highgate said David Cameron wrong-footed Ed Miliband on

:05:01. > :05:04.policing and the NHS. I would have thought questions on the economy

:05:04. > :05:10.would have been a more productive area for the leader of the

:05:10. > :05:14.opposition. For example the cuts seem to have snuffed out growth.

:05:14. > :05:20.And of a handsome and Al says it was a win for Ed Miliband. The

:05:20. > :05:24.Prime Minister could not answer the questions put to him and at the

:05:24. > :05:30.same time sacking 16,000 police officers. The silence on the Tory

:05:30. > :05:36.benches on that one was clear. This comes from Steve in Wiltshire,

:05:36. > :05:38.saying belabour are two-faced when it comes to wasting money when it

:05:38. > :05:43.was there party that got this country into this mess in the first

:05:43. > :05:48.place. This on a says that they are making

:05:48. > :05:54.police redundant, so much for not affecting frontline services.

:05:54. > :05:59.Police stations are being closed and others downgraded.

:05:59. > :06:03.There was also this from David in Hexham about the elections for

:06:03. > :06:08.police commissioners. The Prime Minister asked why Ed Miliband is

:06:08. > :06:13.so frightened of an election it sounds as though the Prime Minister

:06:13. > :06:17.is intending these to be political. On waiting lists we had a few.

:06:17. > :06:23.Chris Kelly said what a joke, one side says waiting lists have gone

:06:23. > :06:27.up, one side says they have gone down. My mother had to wait six

:06:27. > :06:33.months for eye treatment and it seems like a long time for me.

:06:33. > :06:36.Andy from East Sussex says I will have waited 36 weeks for my knee

:06:36. > :06:40.operation if it goes ahead in September.

:06:40. > :06:44.This came from a Freedom of Information request in earlier in

:06:44. > :06:49.the year. We will try to get more recent ones, but hospital waiting

:06:49. > :06:53.times have increased by 60% over the last year, with patients having

:06:54. > :06:56.to wait several months for vital tests. And hundreds of patients

:06:56. > :07:04.have waited more than 13 weeks to find out if they have cancer or

:07:04. > :07:09.heart disease. Let me ask you both this. Why, six

:07:09. > :07:13.years after it has been founded and 100 bn the year being spent on it,

:07:13. > :07:18.why do we have a health system where everybody has to wait six

:07:18. > :07:24.months? I think we need to reform the NHS and bring down those

:07:24. > :07:28.waiting times. If I may say it was a very selective use of statistics

:07:28. > :07:32.by Ed Miliband. He picked on one particular elements were waiting

:07:32. > :07:37.times may have gone up, but there are other elements where they may

:07:37. > :07:42.have gone down. But with the NHS, we are meeting the target to treat

:07:42. > :07:46.90% of people within 18 weeks. The reason for that is we made a very

:07:46. > :07:51.big call to protect spending on the NHS at a time of massive cuts

:07:51. > :07:56.elsewhere. At a time when the Labour Party went into the last

:07:56. > :08:00.election saying there were cuts pending on the NHS. Ed Miliband's

:08:00. > :08:05.Polar Sea he stood on at the last election means the situation would

:08:05. > :08:11.have been a whole lot worse. both parties have been in power for

:08:11. > :08:16.long periods of time. You have both always said the health service is a

:08:16. > :08:19.priority. And you had both spent a lot of money on it as well. And we

:08:19. > :08:23.have a health system, and I don't think it is true in France and

:08:23. > :08:29.Germany, and if you have insurance it is not true in the United States,

:08:29. > :08:35.people are waiting six months to have scams, tests. It is very

:08:35. > :08:40.worrying. You need these things right away. Under the Labour Party,

:08:40. > :08:46.the average waiting time was below under 18 weeks. It was 18 months

:08:46. > :08:51.when we came into power. It was 10 weeks on average when we left power

:08:51. > :08:56.in 20th May 10. What we have seen this year is a huge disruption of

:08:56. > :09:00.the NHS, a reorganisation of the NHS and people worrying about their

:09:00. > :09:06.jobs and being made redundant. Standards are slipping, but it is

:09:06. > :09:11.waiting times in A&E or on waiting lists for operations. Prior

:09:11. > :09:16.understand that, he said it is running it better than you, you

:09:16. > :09:21.said you run it better than they are. What is it about our health

:09:22. > :09:25.service that still has people, people who are distraught, worried

:09:25. > :09:31.and have nowhere else to go because they cannot afford to go deprive it,

:09:31. > :09:38.having to wait six months for quite crucial medical procedures? If I

:09:38. > :09:40.could just make the point that I think we will both agree on. When

:09:40. > :09:46.you do international comparisons with other systems in other

:09:46. > :09:51.countries, the NHS does very well. He does very well across a range of

:09:51. > :09:55.indicators. One of the most important things about the NHS is

:09:55. > :10:03.it is one of the only Systems in the world where people on lower

:10:03. > :10:08.incomes are less likely to get the treatment they need quickly.

:10:08. > :10:13.sadly disrupted. The answer to your question, Andrew is it is an

:10:13. > :10:17.ideological playground. The Conservatives have come in what the

:10:17. > :10:24.marketing of services and have created disorder and uncertainty.

:10:24. > :10:28.That is impacting on frontline patient services. So, the Alastair

:10:28. > :10:34.Darling book is so toxic, that for a while Labour won't be added to

:10:34. > :10:41.talk about the economy? I think Ed Balls will have a thing or two to

:10:41. > :10:47.say about the economy this afternoon. They have an economic

:10:47. > :10:50.policy, they have something to say about the 50 pence debate which is

:10:50. > :10:56.mainly if there is going to be a review of it is should be carried

:10:56. > :11:00.out by the Op Art and not be HMRC. But clearly the Alastair Darling

:11:00. > :11:05.Baulk means any questions to anybody to the Labour Party must

:11:05. > :11:09.begin with the question, do you agree with Alastair Darling your

:11:09. > :11:16.economic policy at the moment is not credible. Do you agree with

:11:16. > :11:20.that? I don't agree with that. The have a very clear policy. We went

:11:20. > :11:26.into the last election saying we would halve the deficit. You never

:11:26. > :11:34.told us how? We didn't, and we went in Government. What one major thing

:11:34. > :11:38.would you cut? The Government has cut too far, too fast and that

:11:38. > :11:44.means... We have been clear about some of the things we would do.

:11:44. > :11:49.What one major thing would you cut? We are not in Government at the

:11:49. > :11:54.moment. I'm not asking for 20, just one would be night. The talked-

:11:54. > :12:01.about 12% Police cuts and we think the 20% Police cuts the Government

:12:01. > :12:04.is doing is too much. But we agreed 12% is feasible. We were looking at

:12:04. > :12:11.the Welfare Reform and we would have been able to make savings in

:12:11. > :12:15.the NHS. Because we wouldn't have been undertaking a �2 billion

:12:15. > :12:19.restructuring of the NHS, we would have had a stable NHS where we

:12:19. > :12:23.could have squeezed greater efficiency. Within the Labour Party

:12:23. > :12:28.there is a debate about how they earned the right to talk about the

:12:28. > :12:36.economy, do they talk too much about the past? There's an argument

:12:36. > :12:40.the next election won't be about cutting and the rates as it is, but

:12:40. > :12:44.what is fascinating is what process they go through to reach that point.

:12:44. > :12:49.It is very much a live debate within the party at the moment.

:12:49. > :12:53.other thing we saw happening is because of Nick Clegg's policy as

:12:53. > :13:02.you have called it, Royal difference elation, something like

:13:02. > :13:07.that. The Tory backbenchers are saying if he can do that, we want

:13:07. > :13:13.some of that. We saw a reflection of that on the floor just now. It

:13:13. > :13:18.is an issue now for party discipline. If you talk to MPs,

:13:18. > :13:23.Conservative backbenchers, they will say, if the Chief Whip said

:13:23. > :13:28.you do not raise it, then you do not raise it. But so many Liberal

:13:28. > :13:35.Democrats are wanting difference policies talked about, there's no

:13:35. > :13:40.restraint on the backbenches. It allows all the latent issues will

:13:40. > :13:47.be more vocal about it. I've been Europe is one of them. Rumbling on

:13:47. > :13:54.the backbenches? The to normal for any Government. If we had won the

:13:54. > :13:58.last General Election, it is how Westminster happens. The Cabinet is

:13:58. > :14:05.united and we recognise we need an enterprise economy and that means

:14:05. > :14:10.having competitive tax rates. But it has to be done fairly, we have

:14:10. > :14:15.to carry the country with us. We agree completely on that. We will

:14:15. > :14:20.have to leave it there. Are you going to the party conferences?

:14:20. > :14:25.will be. The Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester, but not in that

:14:25. > :14:29.order. I can tell you can't wait!

:14:29. > :14:31.I am looking forward to it, that is how sad I am.

:14:31. > :14:38.It is the highlight of the political year.

:14:38. > :14:43.The highlight of my life. It you live in the flightpath of a

:14:43. > :14:47.major airport you're probably not a fan of airport expansion. There was

:14:47. > :14:51.a plan to build a third runway at Heathrow but it was scrapped as the

:14:51. > :15:01.result of an election pledge from the Conservatives. Now, no new

:15:01. > :15:19.

:15:19. > :15:24.runways are planned in the south- International air travel is the

:15:24. > :15:27.lifeblood of multinational companies. And despite advances in

:15:27. > :15:33.video-conferencing, that face-to- face meeting is vital and demand

:15:33. > :15:37.for that is growing. Heathrow is operating at 98% capacity at the

:15:37. > :15:41.moment. The government has ruled out runway three as an option or

:15:41. > :15:45.any increase incapacity in the south-east, so the prospects for

:15:45. > :15:49.business travel of frankly week. The government is doing a good job

:15:49. > :15:56.of looking at how to make airports better rather than bigger in the

:15:56. > :16:01.south-east. But the truth is that 68% are stacking above our heads

:16:01. > :16:05.and the problem comes back to capacity again. Another proposed

:16:05. > :16:09.solution is high-speed rail, a great idea for joining up the north

:16:09. > :16:19.and south of the country, but it only releases 4% of capacity at

:16:19. > :16:22.

:16:22. > :16:24.Heathrow, so worth having, but not a gain changes. -- a game change of.

:16:25. > :16:30.Long-term, there are various proposals for new airports, the

:16:30. > :16:34.Thames estuary, Birmingham, but for business, those solutions will not

:16:34. > :16:38.come soon enough. One argument against increasing capacity or is

:16:38. > :16:43.climate change concerns and the Government is right to put pressure

:16:43. > :16:48.on airlines and airports to do as much as possible to combat carbon

:16:48. > :16:53.emissions. But we have to recognise if you cannot fly out of London,

:16:53. > :16:57.people may fly out of Frankfurt. The government could look at

:16:57. > :17:00.unpopular solutions like making plane tickets on affordable to

:17:00. > :17:04.family and friends and allowing businesses to take those tickets,

:17:04. > :17:10.but I think the government should look again at expanding airport

:17:10. > :17:18.capacity in the south-east. Otherwise, we risk business being

:17:18. > :17:23.done in Frankfurt or Paris instead of London.

:17:23. > :17:27.And Baroness Valentine is here. On your last point about risking

:17:27. > :17:32.losing business to Frankfurt for example, is their hard evidence --

:17:32. > :17:37.hard evidence London has lost business to other European capitals

:17:37. > :17:42.as a result of not having deferred runaway? People expect companies

:17:42. > :17:48.will move from say Paris -- from London to say Paris or Geneva,

:17:48. > :17:53.teams are being put together our offshore. 50% tax is not helpful,

:17:53. > :17:58.immigration tax as well, so the issue of being open to business,

:17:58. > :18:04.for the UK to be seen to be open, is driving people offshore. But it

:18:04. > :18:07.is difficult when people here, if they are losing business if that

:18:07. > :18:12.has not happened specifically because of a third runway, and also

:18:12. > :18:16.that does not seem to be much support for this Heathrow expansion.

:18:17. > :18:21.The Coalition parties opposed a third runway, Boris Johnson is on

:18:21. > :18:28.board, you have a local authorities and environmental bodies, is this

:18:28. > :18:32.argument dying a death? We are all worried about the economy. The UK

:18:32. > :18:39.is a global trading nation and our links are the lifeblood of that

:18:39. > :18:45.global trade. Heathrow is running at 98% capacity. And that is

:18:46. > :18:50.thoroughly unhealthy now, but when demand doubles by 2050, it is set

:18:50. > :18:55.to double, it is constraining fat demand and it is not helpful to the

:18:55. > :18:59.economy. But you do not have support, politically,

:19:00. > :19:05.environmentally, nobody is backing your case. That is not entirely

:19:05. > :19:10.true. Many people understand the economic argument that you need the

:19:10. > :19:17.National -- international air links to make future international

:19:17. > :19:20.relationships, and build relations with emerging economies and all the

:19:20. > :19:25.economies. So there is support from business saying we need this. You

:19:25. > :19:29.would have to ask other people. We are concerned the government does

:19:29. > :19:34.not avoid this. It seems the Government and the opposition are

:19:34. > :19:39.avoiding this. Looking at the environmental aspect, one of the

:19:39. > :19:45.big push us by the campaigners when they opposed the third runway, --

:19:45. > :19:51.one of the big issues. There could be unsafe for nitrogen dioxide

:19:51. > :19:58.levels, it is claimed, what do you say to that? One is carbon-dioxide

:19:58. > :20:01.and won his local noise. There are different arguments around each.

:20:01. > :20:05.There is a trade-off between what you do with cars running around

:20:05. > :20:11.Heathrow and what you do with the air, and you can offset depending

:20:11. > :20:15.on what you do. Can I put the economic argument to you? The

:20:15. > :20:20.government's message and priority at the moment is promoting growth,

:20:20. > :20:24.you of boosting jobs and trying to get economic productivity and no to

:20:24. > :20:27.a third runway that would do exactly that. Baroness Valentine

:20:27. > :20:32.makes a good point about the importance of thinking about growth,

:20:32. > :20:39.but it has to be sustainable growth. I do not think it is sustainable to

:20:39. > :20:43.keep on expanding Heathrow. Where is the capacity going to go? We --

:20:43. > :20:48.we want the economy to grow over the next decade and the question is,

:20:48. > :20:53.is it sustainable to keep adding lanes to the M25 or keep growing

:20:53. > :20:59.Heathrow, do we look at something else? You sped -- she said high-

:20:59. > :21:03.speed rail would reduce the need for flights by 4%, but look at what

:21:03. > :21:08.happens to Japan. Way you have a fully developed high-speed rail

:21:08. > :21:13.network, it has a massive impact on the number of domestic flights --

:21:13. > :21:19.way you have. Look at the air travel between Tokyo and Osaka, it

:21:19. > :21:22.has been massively affected. Will high-speed rail be enough to absorb

:21:22. > :21:27.that extra capacity without expanding an airport in the south-

:21:27. > :21:32.east? I do not say it would be a panacea that deals with the entire

:21:32. > :21:36.problem, there is a trade-off. We have other airports in London and

:21:36. > :21:41.we have to find a sustainable way of dealing with the pressures at

:21:41. > :21:45.Heathrow and I do not think a third runway would be sustainable. If you

:21:45. > :21:49.ruling out a third runway in the south-east? We want to try more

:21:49. > :21:54.imaginative ways to tackle the problem. The maximum it would

:21:54. > :21:58.replace from Heathrow is 4%, domestic flights. It has nothing to

:21:58. > :22:05.do with our connections to the rest of the world and even if you took

:22:05. > :22:10.out 4%, you will be talking about about 94%. Other airports run to

:22:10. > :22:15.75%, so that is not the solution. Labour supported a third runway and

:22:15. > :22:19.you are now reviewing the policy, are you going against it? It is

:22:19. > :22:24.under review and we want to make sure if there is airport expansion

:22:24. > :22:28.in the south-east, it is compatible with our obligations two emissions.

:22:28. > :22:33.We need to make sure that it is hoped sustainable and carbon

:22:33. > :22:37.emissions, we have a big issue with air quality in London, particularly

:22:37. > :22:42.with the Olympics coming up where we could face large fines from the

:22:42. > :22:46.EU. We have not ruled out and put expansion in the south-east, not

:22:46. > :22:50.unlike the Conservatives. With high-speed rail, a lot of

:22:50. > :22:54.Conservative MPs are fighting against it. It is not a short-term

:22:54. > :23:04.solution and will not be ready by 2024 stop only to Manchester, I

:23:04. > :23:09.mean Birmingham. -- by 2020. Only to Manchester, I mean Birmingham.

:23:09. > :23:15.The Japanese started then network in 1964, so it takes a very long

:23:15. > :23:21.time. -- the network. Is the Government doing have a long term

:23:21. > :23:24.think? A long-term thing is to have a shift from air travel to rail

:23:24. > :23:27.travel and that is what we are doing. No time for another

:23:27. > :23:31.question! Now the moment the Culture

:23:31. > :23:33.Secretary has been waiting for. It's his big idea and he won't be

:23:34. > :23:36.knocked off course by trifling matters like the phone hacking

:23:36. > :23:38.scandal or decisions about the ownership of one of our major

:23:39. > :23:42.broadcasters. Because Jeremy Hunt has identified what the British

:23:42. > :23:49.public have been crying out for - local city-based TV stations of the

:23:49. > :23:56.kind common in the United States. Here is David Thompson with a sneak

:23:56. > :24:03.preview of what we've got to look forward to.

:24:03. > :24:08.We cut to ABC news channel, a weekday mornings. -- welcome to.

:24:08. > :24:12.Sadly, which almost certainly will not have meteorologists called

:24:12. > :24:18.Casanova, but if Jeremy Hunt gets his way, we will get local

:24:18. > :24:23.television stations like they do it in the USA. The Culture Secretary

:24:23. > :24:27.wants to see as many as 20 news stations, with the first starting

:24:27. > :24:32.by 2013. The project would be funded by a �40 million chunk of

:24:32. > :24:37.the TV licence fee but would be self financing after that. Are in

:24:37. > :24:41.the morning, breaking news is crucial... Fans say it will hold

:24:41. > :24:47.local politicians to account and give community is a bespoke news

:24:47. > :24:51.service, so local news for local people. -- communities. Opponents

:24:51. > :24:55.claim it many places will not get a station because of signal problems

:24:55. > :24:59.and that it might not be financially viable. Local TV has

:24:59. > :25:05.been tried in this country but has yet to succeed as it has in the USA

:25:05. > :25:09.and Europe. Whatever the rights and wrongs, however, Jeremy Hunt

:25:09. > :25:13.probably does not want to see this. Obviously, the people who live here

:25:13. > :25:19.are not satisfied with this explanation. White, so what do you

:25:19. > :25:24.want now? -- the right. If I have to teach you have to be a reporter,

:25:24. > :25:29.I will do that later. Do that later, but the lady expressed herself and

:25:29. > :25:34.I am here, is there a question you would like to ask me? I would give

:25:34. > :25:39.you lessons in how to be a reporters. I will give you lessons

:25:39. > :25:49.in how to be an editor, because I was once you're past. For you were

:25:49. > :25:53.

:25:53. > :25:58.ones, but what happened? -- I was once you're past. -- your boss. You

:25:58. > :26:03.were ones, what happens. Local newspapers are closing in droves,

:26:03. > :26:08.why it local television stations? The need to adapt their model and

:26:08. > :26:13.people are passionate about what is going on in their area -- they need

:26:13. > :26:17.to. Local papers and radios are popular, why are we won of the only

:26:17. > :26:21.countries that does not have good local television? What are local

:26:21. > :26:25.television stations closing all the time if they are so popular?

:26:25. > :26:29.have never had a model before that brings down the cost sufficiently

:26:29. > :26:33.and the model does not cover the whole country, but unfortunately,

:26:33. > :26:40.because we are working with existing transmitters. It covers

:26:40. > :26:44.60%, most of the local -- of the major towns, and it is, but we can

:26:44. > :26:51.bring down the Costa around the cost of running a local newspaper.

:26:51. > :26:57.-- bringing the cost. I would expect them in larger places to do

:26:57. > :27:02.a lot of broadcasting. People are never going to know when

:27:03. > :27:08.the and-a-half of broadcasting is. That is a condescending view of the

:27:09. > :27:13.world. The what is wrong with that?! -- what is. It depends on

:27:13. > :27:22.the assumption that only broadcast by Andrew Neil at the BBC are worth

:27:22. > :27:26.watching! What is wrong with that?! Under these plans, on that hour and

:27:26. > :27:31.a half a day, that is 30,000 additional broadcast hours of local

:27:31. > :27:37.news that we do not currently have. Local news is under threat already,

:27:37. > :27:41.a regional news on the BBC networks and on the ITV network, why

:27:41. > :27:49.shouldn't -- shouldn't we be use that instead? The issue is cost and

:27:49. > :27:53.quality. -- should and we increase that instead? Is this going to be

:27:53. > :27:58.sustainable and is the amount of advertisers out there to support a

:27:58. > :28:08.local television station Alba and where will they be? It is unlikely

:28:08. > :28:08.

:28:08. > :28:15.to be out in wild Scotland or wild Wales. I am very surprised Labour

:28:15. > :28:18.is against this. We are not against it! We are asking questions. Let me

:28:18. > :28:23.finish, look at the general election last year, that was

:28:23. > :28:31.transformed by those leaders' debates, couldn't we have that in

:28:31. > :28:41.our country for local democracy? Speaking of local participation, if

:28:41. > :28:41.

:28:41. > :28:47.you can get the winner. It is John Stevens, the winner.

:28:47. > :28:54.Do not give the address. He is only the media Secretary! The year was