:00:24. > :00:29.Afternoon, welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:29. > :00:35.Labour hold the Feltham by-election. The IMF warn of a 1930s type
:00:35. > :00:38.Depression. And the French have got it in for us. Again. But more
:00:38. > :00:42.important than any of this, it's the final Daily Politics of the
:00:42. > :00:47.year. Ah! But fear not, because it's our
:00:47. > :00:57.annual festive quiz. Hurray! It's that time again where
:00:57. > :00:58.
:00:58. > :01:02.we take stock, and look back over the events of the past 12 months.
:01:02. > :01:05.Well, that's going to cheer us all up! Maybe we should look to the
:01:05. > :01:09.future, at all the things that could happen next year. This could
:01:09. > :01:13.be a long programme. But fear not, because joining me today to battle
:01:13. > :01:21.it out for this brand new Daily Politics mug are the three wise men
:01:21. > :01:27.of politics. Labour's Charles Falconer. Chris
:01:27. > :01:34.Rennard from the Liberal Democrats. And, seeing as we've got two lords
:01:34. > :01:37.a leaping, we felt we needed a commoner. So we plumped for the
:01:37. > :01:40.Conservatives' Jacob Rees-Mogg. Welcome to show.
:01:40. > :01:50.And, like all good quiz shows, we've got buzzers. So let's give
:01:50. > :02:00.
:02:00. > :02:03.them a try. Calm down. A pygmy. I'm not Tony Blair.
:02:03. > :02:07.We'll split the quiz into three parts. Labour, Lib Dem. And first
:02:07. > :02:10.the Conservatives. Questions in a moment. But to kick us off, let's
:02:10. > :02:20.take a look back at their year. I should warn you, there's flash
:02:20. > :02:29.
:02:29. > :02:39.photography right from the start. And tonight, British forces are in
:02:39. > :02:41.
:02:41. > :02:46.Colonel Gaddafi said he would hunt you down like rats, but you showed
:02:46. > :02:51.the courage of Lyons. Any money in the box, Chancellor?
:02:51. > :02:59.If the rest of Europe heads into recession it may be hard to avoid
:02:59. > :03:09.one here in the UK. This is criminality, pure and
:03:09. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:26.What is on offer it isn't in Britain's interests so what did not
:03:26. > :03:38.
:03:38. > :03:44.Jacob Rees-Mogg, you are renting a better than you thought you would,
:03:44. > :03:49.but 2012 looks grim. The economy is in a difficult situation and the
:03:49. > :03:54.euro remains in crisis. There is no solution to the crisis, the thing
:03:54. > :03:57.they recommended last weekend amounted to nothing. Since the
:03:57. > :04:01.Chancellor has said that the biggest drag on the economy that is
:04:01. > :04:05.the uncertainty of the eurozone crisis, events are out of your
:04:05. > :04:09.government's control. Economic events often outside government
:04:09. > :04:13.control but the government cannot expect the economy to react
:04:13. > :04:18.immediately. They can set the framework where business can do
:04:18. > :04:22.business which is what this government is doing. Do you get the
:04:23. > :04:28.feeling, the official forecast does not say it, but there is an
:04:28. > :04:33.expectation of the session. clearly is difficult, but we are
:04:33. > :04:39.not in the position of Greece, or Ireland, where they are cutting
:04:39. > :04:43.public sector salaries by 6% in Ireland. There is a sense, it
:04:43. > :04:48.doesn't matter who would be in power now, it would be heavy
:04:49. > :04:54.pounding for any government. sense that the politicians have any
:04:54. > :04:58.control over events is huge at the moment. George Osborne has had to
:04:58. > :05:03.come back to the despatch box to revise his forecast. We have no
:05:03. > :05:08.control over Europe, I don't mean just the failure to agree. The
:05:08. > :05:18.eurozone, they cannot get that right. Politicians are looking to
:05:18. > :05:19.
:05:19. > :05:24.the public as a whole, as very diminished figures. In a way, I was
:05:24. > :05:29.struck by the way George Osborne had to rip up his economic policy
:05:30. > :05:35.effectively, he won't get the structural deficit down by 2015,
:05:35. > :05:40.the growth figures were wrong. And the country said, what do you
:05:40. > :05:46.expect? The idea that government is in control, what Chris said was
:05:46. > :05:54.admirable, but hopeless. It is whistling in the wind. The one
:05:54. > :06:03.issue the coalition thought its part of them in the agreement, was
:06:04. > :06:08.Europe, and Europe has come back to dominate politics. They are already
:06:08. > :06:14.planning for a summit at the end of January, it continues to be an
:06:14. > :06:21.issue. It clearly divides the coalition, does the coalition
:06:21. > :06:25.divide -- survive? There are large differences in the coalition, on
:06:25. > :06:31.how the health service might be changed, on Europe. It is not wrong
:06:32. > :06:36.in a coalition to have differences. No one country controls its own
:06:36. > :06:43.economy. If this country's economy and every other is to avoid
:06:43. > :06:51.problems, we need to work together more closely. An interesting answer.
:06:51. > :07:00.Could you answer my question? Does the Coalition survive? It is stable
:07:00. > :07:05.and strong. Will it remain so? next general election will be in a
:07:06. > :07:13.2015. You are tap-dancing around the Christmas tree. Suddenly for
:07:14. > :07:20.the first time, David Cameron is a hero among his own backbench MPs.
:07:20. > :07:27.He has always been, since the day he became leader. A hero to us and
:07:27. > :07:33.the country. He has done the right thing on Europe. And now? To ensure
:07:33. > :07:38.any agreement that comes through does not use the commission, that
:07:38. > :07:43.it has to be outside the framework. That is what is being discussed at
:07:43. > :07:47.the moment. If other treaties come through which they probably will,
:07:47. > :07:52.that is the time to renegotiate. The Conservatives are committed as
:07:52. > :08:02.a party to a renegotiation of our terms of membership, the coalition
:08:02. > :08:02.
:08:02. > :08:06.is not. I ultimately want a renegotiation of the treaties, but
:08:06. > :08:14.that comes with a majority Conservative government. Let's get
:08:14. > :08:24.on with the questions. Question one. Which of these pairs of shoes do
:08:24. > :08:35.
:08:35. > :08:39.Is it the gumboots? It is not. sparkling ones. It is. Who do these
:08:39. > :08:47.belong to? You were second in. You have to get this bit right. To a
:08:47. > :08:57.film star. They were from the Wizard of Oz Question two. Who's
:08:57. > :08:57.
:08:57. > :09:02.the tallest? Jacob Rees Mogg. Give me a chance
:09:02. > :09:10.to read out the names. Daniel Kawczynski it is the tallest MP in
:09:10. > :09:20.history. 6 ft 8? 6 ft 9. The average national height is... 5 ft
:09:20. > :09:20.
:09:21. > :09:24.9. He is the tallest MP ever. for Shrewsbury. Still no points!
:09:24. > :09:28.Now for the final question in this round. Time for a bit of popular
:09:28. > :09:35.culture. Who came second in this year's X Factor? Misha B. Marcus
:09:35. > :09:41.Collins. Amelia Lily. Or Two Shoes? It was Marcus he was second.
:09:41. > :09:51.you watch it? No, but I had spies giving the posts on what was going
:09:51. > :09:58.
:09:58. > :10:02.on. What are these cause? -- the scores?
:10:02. > :10:11.Let's move on to the Liberal Democrats. It's been quite a year
:10:11. > :10:21.for them. Let's take a look back. It was my turn tonight to get a
:10:21. > :10:29.
:10:29. > :10:39.Cause to listen and to engage. you not just have a slight argument
:10:39. > :10:46.
:10:46. > :10:56.This has become a deeply, and appallingly, personalised campaign.
:10:56. > :11:00.
:11:00. > :11:04.That is a new low in British It is not going to happen for three
:11:04. > :11:14.years but divorce is inevitable. am bitterly disappointed by the
:11:14. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:22.outcome of last week's summit. So, or Chris Rennard, you've lost
:11:22. > :11:27.the vote, you did terribly in the polls, you are now in cahoots with
:11:27. > :11:33.the most Euro-sceptic government in the history of this government --
:11:33. > :11:41.country. I long for the day when we could blame unpopularity on mid
:11:41. > :11:44.term. Used to benefit from it. have a few years to show it was
:11:44. > :11:47.worthwhile and people are better off because we are there. The
:11:47. > :11:51.Liberal Democrats have suffered but the country is better because we
:11:51. > :11:56.have done what we have done. country is heading back into
:11:56. > :12:04.recession. We are not in a situation of Greece, Ireland or
:12:04. > :12:08.Italy. We are better Ross, because the Lib Dems are here. Lower income
:12:08. > :12:12.families are paying lower income tax. And there is more free child
:12:12. > :12:18.care because of the Liberal Democrats. It would be worse if the
:12:18. > :12:22.Conservatives had overall majority. Do you like being in a coalition
:12:22. > :12:28.where you are portrayed as the nasty evil blood-sucking party and
:12:28. > :12:33.they do the cuddly things. I am sure they don't mean it. I think
:12:33. > :12:40.there is some validity in that argument. The vulnerable are now
:12:40. > :12:43.being protected. If it wasn't for the Lib Dems, you would have
:12:44. > :12:48.brought back the workhouse, kids would be going out in days.
:12:48. > :12:51.This isn't a realistic analysis of the coalition. The deserved his
:12:51. > :13:00.could have done a large number of things they have done through the
:13:00. > :13:05.coalition. The great thing the Lib Dems have brought is raising the
:13:05. > :13:10.Thresher -- tax threshold. There are good bits of the coalition.
:13:10. > :13:13.Politicians have to work with what the electorate gives them. Do you
:13:13. > :13:23.think Nick Clegg will survive as a Liberal Democrat leader?
:13:23. > :13:24.
:13:24. > :13:29.Liberal Democrats, the reason why the coalition is working is because
:13:29. > :13:32.stepping outside the coalition represents political disaster. The
:13:32. > :13:42.Liberal Democrats are bound in their own interest to get rid of
:13:42. > :13:42.
:13:42. > :13:47.Nick Clegg in 2014. To fight a new election? Precisely. It is unlikely
:13:47. > :13:54.on the basis of what we are seeing, they can say we supported the
:13:54. > :14:01.recovery of the economy. They have wrecked the position in Europe,
:14:01. > :14:09.what did they achieve? What is the answer? Labour can't say what they
:14:09. > :14:14.would do? I elected Nick Clegg as leader. He was then working in the
:14:14. > :14:21.European Commission. In trade talks with China. The answer to the
:14:21. > :14:29.question? The ambition of the party was to move from protest to power.
:14:29. > :14:33.Nick Clegg has achieved that. Charlie has a long memory and
:14:33. > :14:40.remember the Government's doing, do things which are popular,
:14:40. > :14:45.popularity can recover. He is formidably strong in TV debates.
:14:45. > :14:50.That could have been a one off, novelty value. There was a
:14:50. > :14:55.remarkable admission by Nick Clegg when he said to the Liberal
:14:55. > :14:59.Democrat MPs, I am not going to go down in history as the last leader
:14:59. > :15:07.of the Liberal Democrats by forcing a general election. If we went to
:15:07. > :15:11.the country now, we would be wiped The party will not end with the
:15:11. > :15:16.leadership of Nick Clegg. But he would be wiped out in a General
:15:16. > :15:20.Election now? I think people vote for individual MPs as much as for a
:15:20. > :15:23.government. If you look at the strength of the Bull Democrat MPs,
:15:23. > :15:31.many times you and others have forecast the demise of the Liberal
:15:31. > :15:36.Democrats. I never have. It's been pretty good. Can we get into the
:15:36. > :15:40.text? I'm sure we can, but I have had different questions with you,
:15:40. > :15:47.at many party conferences. When you said it will be so difficult for
:15:47. > :15:52.to fail, we have always bounced back. Our MPs will do well again.
:15:52. > :15:56.If you can't find it, we will have a blank space. What would you say
:15:56. > :16:01.if David Cameron said, Europe is such a big issue, we've got to go
:16:01. > :16:04.to the country, let's do it and fight over this issue? I do think
:16:04. > :16:07.it is more important than the coalition. If the Lib Dems were
:16:07. > :16:11.saying the price of coalition is that we signed up to the treaty,
:16:11. > :16:15.the Tories could not accept that. It would be impossible to go to an
:16:15. > :16:19.election. It is in the hands of the Lib Dems. If they want the
:16:19. > :16:23.coalition to work, it can be made to work. Are you tempted to take
:16:23. > :16:27.advantage of the politics of the moment? I am not. The Prime
:16:27. > :16:37.Minister gave a commitment to make it work for five years. We would be
:16:37. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:53.damaged at their electorate if we Let's get back to the quiz. The
:16:53. > :16:56.
:16:56. > :17:04.Daily Politics Christmas quiz. There is a cat, there is Ekaterina
:17:04. > :17:10.Zatuliveter. Which one? Is it the cat? Criminal proceedings? It is
:17:10. > :17:15.not. You get a penalty point for interrupting with the Ronan said.
:17:15. > :17:24.We have had Ekaterina Zatuliveter, Chris Huhne, or some election
:17:24. > :17:29.literature. Which is the wrong one out? It's pretty easy, really.
:17:29. > :17:34.was found not to be a Russian spy after all. Do you think Chris Huhne
:17:34. > :17:41.is a Russian spy? I was being flippant. I cannot work out between
:17:41. > :17:47.the four of them. Could it be it... No, forget it. I was going to say
:17:47. > :17:53.the cat again. You just said that the cat! No wonder you don't get on
:17:53. > :17:58.to proper quiz shows. The answer is Chris Huhne. Why? All the others
:17:58. > :18:02.have been in front of a judge so far. The Liberal Democrat wife
:18:02. > :18:06.stole the cat. The Russian was in front of a judge. Dodgy election
:18:06. > :18:12.literature from the Lib-Dems, that had to be in front of a judge. But
:18:13. > :18:17.Chris Huhne has not been in front of a judge. In 2011. Neither has
:18:17. > :18:27.the cat! That is a terrible question. You are obsessed with
:18:27. > :18:27.
:18:27. > :18:34.that cat. He was the shortest of these people? John Bercow... Sarah
:18:34. > :18:40.Teather. The correct answer. You have got to be quicker, you two. A
:18:40. > :18:50.soft life in the Lords has made them slow. Jacob has a Razorlight
:18:50. > :18:55.
:18:56. > :19:02.What does TOWIE stand for? What a useless shower! It is a television
:19:02. > :19:07.programme. It stands for... Because it is such a long name... The Only
:19:07. > :19:17.Way Is Essex. It is one of the scripted reality programmes. You
:19:17. > :19:19.
:19:19. > :19:29.have clearly not CNET. What does MIC stand for? Made in Chelsea.
:19:29. > :19:30.
:19:30. > :19:34.Have you seen that? You see, it is the posh version of TOWIE. They
:19:35. > :19:42.have really got their fingers on the Bozo of popular culture. Let's
:19:42. > :19:50.look at the scores. -- bowser. Charles and Chris, one. I think he
:19:50. > :19:57.has zero, actually. Charles, you are on 0. Chris is one, Jacob is
:19:57. > :20:00.three. Pulling away, I would say. Poled away! Being the politically
:20:00. > :20:10.neutral BBC, I am advised to say that we should take a look at
:20:10. > :20:43.
:20:43. > :20:47.Can you tell us why you have You must be the first Mafia boss in
:20:47. > :20:57.history that didn't know he was running a criminal enterprise.
:20:57. > :21:02.steps that the Government could take tomorrow. I'm not Tony Blair.
:21:02. > :21:05.It is not the job of politicians and we do not support strikes.
:21:05. > :21:15.Nobody wants to see the strike happen, in fact. But both sides
:21:15. > :21:16.
:21:16. > :21:20.So, Charlie Falconer. Unemployment is rising, heading towards 3
:21:20. > :21:27.million. Living standards have been squeezed more tightly than at any
:21:27. > :21:31.time since 1925. The economy is not growing. We stare recession in the
:21:31. > :21:37.face and the Labour opposition is behind in the polls. Explain.
:21:37. > :21:40.think no political leader is emerging with solutions. I think
:21:40. > :21:45.the situation is incredibly difficult. It's not surprising that
:21:45. > :21:48.we are not emerging. 18 months ago we lost a General Election. You are
:21:48. > :21:53.not surprised? I would have thought you would be 20 points ahead.
:21:53. > :21:57.Everybody recognises it is a very dire situation. We have just lost a
:21:57. > :22:02.General Election, 18 months ago. The other parties are being given a
:22:02. > :22:06.chance and it is very difficult. We got considerable advantages. We
:22:06. > :22:09.have remained united. We have not gone off the page as far as the
:22:09. > :22:16.public are concerned. There is still the choice to be made, is my
:22:16. > :22:22.feeling. If your party watches PMQs, do they think, we chose the wrong
:22:22. > :22:26.brother? I don't know what they think about that. There was a smile
:22:27. > :22:31.coming on your face. I was going to make a little quip. I'm not sure if
:22:31. > :22:35.they watch PMQs, even on your marvellous programme. I am sure
:22:35. > :22:38.there are people that do. But I don't think that is the medium that
:22:38. > :22:41.is influencing people on which leader to go for. The traditional
:22:41. > :22:46.view about what was going to happen in British politics was that it
:22:46. > :22:50.would depend on the economy. That view has been replaced by a sense
:22:50. > :22:53.of powerlessness of politicians. The one who appears most to have
:22:53. > :22:59.caught the mood over the next year or two is the one that will win.
:22:59. > :23:02.That is why I am not as surprised as you, obviously. No mainstream
:23:02. > :23:06.commentator thought Michael Foot had any solutions. At this
:23:06. > :23:13.particular point, he was doing much better in the polls than Ed
:23:13. > :23:16.Miliband. Michael Foot was doing better. What were the mainstream
:23:16. > :23:20.commentators say -- saying? Margaret Thatcher does have a way
:23:20. > :23:26.forward. Before the Falklands war, we thought she was going to lose
:23:26. > :23:33.the election. I was not around them. But it is because... You were not
:23:33. > :23:43.around? I was alive! You were living with Tony Blair. But I was
:23:43. > :23:44.
:23:44. > :23:47.Given that if it was a Conservative government there would be a protest
:23:47. > :23:51.vote, the anti-government vote would go to the Lib Dems as well,
:23:51. > :23:55.that would not happen. If you don't like this government, there is only
:23:55. > :24:02.one place in mainstream politics to go to, Labour. Doesn't it make it
:24:02. > :24:06.more surprising? Labour do not really have the benefit -- Lib-Dems
:24:06. > :24:12.do not have that benefit of protest. Before 2010, during the course of
:24:12. > :24:15.the campaign, people had lost confidence in Labour's policies on
:24:16. > :24:21.the economy. Since they have offered nothing difference in 2010,
:24:21. > :24:25.they cannot recover their position. Jacob Rees-Mogg, you are something
:24:25. > :24:32.of a specialist. What advice would you offer Ed Miliband to improve
:24:32. > :24:39.his appeal with the masses? Resign. I don't understand why they haven't.
:24:39. > :24:43.Ed Balls is so much more impressive. I don't think he's got any appeal.
:24:43. > :24:48.If you look at the Tory party, Howard went through leaders, when
:24:48. > :24:53.our leaders do not work out, we get a new one. It's a bit more ruthless.
:24:53. > :24:57.I'm becoming an increasing fan of Ed Balls. I think he is capable and
:24:57. > :25:06.an incredibly strong performer will stop you say that in an entirely
:25:06. > :25:10.Your party doesn't want Ed Miliband to fall on his sword? From our
:25:10. > :25:17.point of view, it's great. The longer the better. Does he survive
:25:17. > :25:21.until the next election? He does. You don't do regicide? There was
:25:21. > :25:25.quite a move to try and get rid of Gordon Brown in the build-up to the
:25:25. > :25:28.2010 election, when he was very low in the polls, very unpopular. The
:25:28. > :25:35.Labour Party would not budge. I think he will fight the next
:25:35. > :25:40.election. Since you are also good at this quiz, let's go back to it.
:25:40. > :25:47.Time for your final set of questions. Do since you like Ed
:25:47. > :25:51.Balls, Jacob. Ed Balls cries at which programme? You know before I
:25:51. > :25:57.had even mentioned the name. I know what he cries at. Is it the
:25:57. > :26:06.Antiques Roadshow? It is. The other choices were Question Time, some of
:26:06. > :26:12.us do cry at that. Downton Abbey. Or Lassia, I always cry at that.
:26:12. > :26:17.Which of these is the odd one out, Ken Mackintosh, Tom Harris, Johann
:26:17. > :26:23.Lamont. Kate McIntosh, the only one not running to be leader of the
:26:23. > :26:29.Scottish Labour Party? No. Macintosh? Ed Miliband couldn't
:26:29. > :26:37.remember his name? Correct answer. Let's see this clip. Can you name
:26:37. > :26:41.three of them? There is Tom Harris, Beria's Johann Lamont and a third
:26:41. > :26:47.candidate, who has also put himself forward. The front runner, Ken
:26:47. > :26:49.Mackintosh. Yes. The front-runner, but you can't made him?
:26:49. > :26:53.Mackintosh will be an excellent candidate.
:26:53. > :27:00.There, but for the grace of God, go close. I bet you would not have
:27:00. > :27:05.known? I have made worse mistakes than that. Let's have the final
:27:05. > :27:11.question. It is another popular culture one. Pop star Justin
:27:11. > :27:21.Bieber's plans are known as what? Bieberheads, Beliebers,
:27:21. > :27:29.
:27:29. > :27:39.Biebermaniacs. No! You just guessed. Yes. It is great route. From
:27:39. > :27:43.
:27:43. > :27:49.-- it is Beliebers, from the song, I am a Beliebers. You had a chance
:27:49. > :27:52.to get it right and you were wrong. I can't believe not one of them
:27:52. > :27:57.knew about TOWIE. To think Essex used to dominate the political
:27:57. > :28:06.culture. Time to find out who is the lucky winner. Charles has got
:28:06. > :28:13.two. Chris has got two. Jacob has got two. I went down! You took one
:28:13. > :28:21.away. No, I think I took one away from you. I think we need a recount.
:28:21. > :28:27.It's a bit like elections in Glasgow. I think Jacob won, myself.
:28:27. > :28:32.You get the mug. That is it for this week. We thank our three wise