11/01/2012

:00:43. > :00:47.Morning, folks. Welcome to the Daily Politics. The stand-off

:00:47. > :00:52.between Westminster and Edinburgh. Scotland's First Minister wants a

:00:52. > :01:02.referendum on independence in the autumn of 2014, the 700 for

:01:02. > :01:07.anniversary of Bannockburn. What will the question or questions be?

:01:07. > :01:12.Can the Government meet its net migration targets?

:01:12. > :01:17.2011 did not end well. 2012 has not begun much better. Can the Labour

:01:17. > :01:22.leader win over his doubters at the first Prime Minister's Questions of

:01:22. > :01:27.the year? Add to the's favourite physicist on

:01:27. > :01:32.why it is time to go for the nuclear option. -- and television's

:01:32. > :01:36.favourite physicist. I am a professor of nuclear physics and I

:01:36. > :01:41.have always believed that nuclear power is a good thing. I am not

:01:41. > :01:46.paid by the nuclear industry or any environmental movement and so I

:01:46. > :01:53.have no agenda. All of that in the next 90 minutes

:01:53. > :01:57.of public service British broadcasting at its finest. Yes, we

:01:57. > :02:01.are still the British Broadcasting Corporation, for now at least. To

:02:01. > :02:06.help us through this constitutional morass, we plucked a pair of

:02:06. > :02:09.politicos from the furthest corners of the United Kingdom. We have

:02:09. > :02:13.Labour's Douglas Alexander, a Scotsman, he does not mind popping

:02:13. > :02:18.down to Westminster every now and then. And an Englishman, Damian

:02:18. > :02:22.Green, the immigration minister. He may have a new body to police in a

:02:22. > :02:26.couple of years if Alex Salmond gets his way. He may also have to

:02:26. > :02:31.rebuild Hadrian's Wall to keep out those pesky Celts. Only a Scotsman

:02:31. > :02:35.could use that kind of language, and through. As an independent

:02:35. > :02:40.Scotland moved one step closer? Alex Salmond announced yesterday

:02:40. > :02:45.that he wanted to hold a referendum on independence in the autumn of

:02:45. > :02:48.2014. That was in response to calls from David Cameron for the Scottish

:02:48. > :02:52.leader to come clean on his intentions for the proposed poll.

:02:52. > :02:56.He has been talking to BBC Scotland about what he wants from the

:02:56. > :03:01.referendum. We need a referendum which is built and made in Scotland,

:03:01. > :03:05.produced by the Scottish Parliament and offered to the Scottish people

:03:05. > :03:09.for decision. Those are our conditions. When you see the

:03:09. > :03:13.discussion paper that we put out, everyone in Scotland virtually,

:03:13. > :03:16.certainly reasonable people in England as well, will say that is

:03:16. > :03:22.fair enough. Why on earth should the Prime Minister want to trample

:03:22. > :03:27.over Scotland in his side's 10 boots? That was Alex Salmond. I am

:03:27. > :03:30.joined by our Scotland political editor, Brian Taylor. Welcome to

:03:30. > :03:35.the programme. The question on the ballot paper will be crucial. Alex

:03:35. > :03:39.Salmond does not want it to be a straight yes or no because he

:03:39. > :03:47.presumably does not think he can win it on that basis. He says he is

:03:47. > :03:52.not averse. He says his preference is for the question on independence,

:03:52. > :03:56.yes or no, but he is open to the idea of having also on the ballot

:03:56. > :04:01.paper devolution Max, whereby all spending would be controlled in

:04:01. > :04:06.Scotland, but defence and foreign affairs would be across the UK. He

:04:06. > :04:09.favours that because he favours a range of options, he says, but

:04:09. > :04:14.strategically and tactically he is trying to divide Unionist opinion.

:04:14. > :04:17.That option of devolution Max is pretty close to what the Liberal

:04:17. > :04:21.Democrats would find appealing intellectually. He is trying to

:04:21. > :04:28.prise them away from their Tory coalition partners and prise apart

:04:28. > :04:32.the Unionist perspective on this, more generally. We saw that from

:04:32. > :04:37.the Commons coming from the UK Government. Alex Salmond was

:04:37. > :04:47.critical of David Cameron and then very co-operative towards the

:04:47. > :04:47.

:04:47. > :04:50.Liberal Democrats's Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore. The Prime

:04:50. > :04:56.Minister's spokesman has made clear that David Cameron will be

:04:56. > :05:00.personally involved in Scottish independence issues with other

:05:00. > :05:03.parties. There will be a battle over this. Yes, and at the moment

:05:03. > :05:11.there is a battle between two parliaments and two governments

:05:11. > :05:17.about the nature of the referendum. That sounds like it is just process,

:05:17. > :05:21.but it is not. It is so that the outcome would be accepted as valid,

:05:21. > :05:25.because independence is a matter for the wider UK. Alex Salmond is

:05:25. > :05:29.seeking for a mandate to open negotiations with the UK Government,

:05:29. > :05:34.with the aim of Gordon becoming an independent country. In that regard,

:05:34. > :05:37.of course the UK Government has an interest. But the perspective have

:05:37. > :05:43.to be made in Scotland and designed in Scotland, according to Alex

:05:43. > :05:46.Salmond, and above all held in Scotland. I am sure we will return

:05:46. > :05:53.to Edinburgh over the coming days. We will return in a few moments

:05:53. > :05:57.because we will be joined by Bruce Crawford from the SNP. If Alex

:05:57. > :06:01.Salmond says that he is the Scottish First Minister ante has

:06:02. > :06:06.majority in the Holyrood Parliament, we are having this referendum in

:06:06. > :06:16.2014, what do you do? He introduced me as an Englishman and I am

:06:16. > :06:16.

:06:16. > :06:25.actually blush. I was born in Paris. -- I am actually Welsh. I was born

:06:25. > :06:30.near Cardiff. What is the answer to your question? He should read the

:06:30. > :06:34.law. The law says that the devolution settlement means that

:06:34. > :06:38.constitutional matters are reserved for Westminster. It is absolutely

:06:39. > :06:42.clear that it is for the Westminster Parliament to do

:06:42. > :06:46.constitutional matters. understand that, but what if he

:06:46. > :06:50.says this is a consultation referendum and we are just getting

:06:50. > :06:54.Scottish opinion? Then if he gets the result that he wants, I do not

:06:54. > :07:03.know if that is Scottish independence or devolution Max,

:07:03. > :07:07.that becomes unstoppable, doesn't it? In a democracy acting outside

:07:07. > :07:13.the law does not mean it is unstoppable. That would be very bad.

:07:13. > :07:17.The law does not recognise the difference between a consultation

:07:17. > :07:20.referendum and a decision referendum. It is clear that Alex

:07:20. > :07:24.Salmond is playing Grandmother's footsteps and moving gently towards

:07:24. > :07:29.what he wants. We do not know what he wants. It has the air of

:07:29. > :07:33.somebody talking a big game, wanting independence, and now

:07:33. > :07:37.backing away from it because he is frightened of what the Scottish

:07:37. > :07:41.people will say. Do you welcome David Cameron's decision to

:07:41. > :07:45.basically put this on the agenda? It was put on the agenda by the

:07:45. > :07:48.Scottish people and the decision that they reached in May. The truth

:07:48. > :07:53.is that there is a gap between a political mandate and the legal

:07:53. > :07:56.authority. There is no doubt that the SNP won an overwhelming victory.

:07:56. > :08:03.They campaigned to have a referendum, but they were silent on

:08:03. > :08:05.when that would be. The Scotland Act, which established the Scottish

:08:05. > :08:12.Parliament, made clear that constitutional matters were

:08:12. > :08:18.reserved for Westminster. I always believe that the sensible approach

:08:18. > :08:21.is to align the political mandate with authority. Let's not have

:08:21. > :08:26.Scotland's future dictated by legal wranglings in the court and

:08:26. > :08:30.arguments about process. The central truth is that Alex Salmond,

:08:30. > :08:33.despite a lifetime committed to independence, is looking to fix the

:08:33. > :08:39.question first of all, secondly to fix the timing, and thirdly,

:08:39. > :08:42.despite all of the bluster, to put the question immediately to the

:08:42. > :08:46.Scottish people for a decisive answer. We all know that a

:08:46. > :08:51.referendum is coming. Right now Scotland is pause. The one person

:08:51. > :08:54.that most is the verdict of the Scottish people is Alex Salmond. He

:08:54. > :08:57.knows that the most recent opinion poll published on Monday in the

:08:57. > :09:03.Glasgow Herald showed support for Scottish independence running at

:09:03. > :09:08.29%. That is higher than it has been. For the last 40 years it has

:09:08. > :09:12.been somewhere around 35% support for independence. Of course the SNP

:09:12. > :09:17.are popular in Scotland but they have not managed to close the gap

:09:17. > :09:21.between how they do in Holyrood and how much support they have for

:09:21. > :09:26.independence. Let's go to Bruce Crawford, Cabinet Secretary for the

:09:26. > :09:31.SNP. Thank you for joining us. What official legal advice had you had

:09:31. > :09:34.in Edinburgh about the legality of a referendum? There is lots of

:09:34. > :09:39.legal advice available to us about the legality of an advisory

:09:39. > :09:48.referendum. What have you had? me tell you what is currently

:09:48. > :09:52.available. Hemsworth and O'Neill, the leading constitutional lawyers,

:09:52. > :09:55.they have a legal textbook on that, and they are clear that an advisory

:09:55. > :09:59.referendum can be held by the Scottish Parliament. It is also

:09:59. > :10:03.quite clear from Stephen Tierney, the leading professor at Edinburgh

:10:03. > :10:11.law school that that is the case, provided we craft the question

:10:12. > :10:15.properly. Let me add 1 point. just want to put this to you. I

:10:15. > :10:20.understand these are published works by professors, that have been

:10:20. > :10:25.in the public domain for a while. But have you, as the Scottish

:10:25. > :10:35.Government, consulted your official legal authorities and got official

:10:35. > :10:39.

:10:39. > :10:47.advice? We would not have published a consultation February 2010 paper

:10:47. > :10:50.without that advice. We do not publish legal advice. Apologies for

:10:50. > :10:55.interrupting, but I am actually seeking facts. I am not arguing

:10:55. > :11:00.with you, I just want the facts. You say that you will not publish

:11:00. > :11:04.it, but do you have an official document by Scotland's official

:11:04. > :11:10.legal authorities, giving you advice on the legality of a

:11:10. > :11:14.referendum? Our advice is very clear. We are completely able to

:11:14. > :11:17.hold an advisory referendum. Where we do not have an argument with

:11:17. > :11:21.Michael Moore, who handled this reasonably in the House of Commons

:11:22. > :11:28.yesterday, unlike David Cameron he wants to come in with his side's 10

:11:28. > :11:32.boots all the time and dictate to Scotland, where we do not have an

:11:32. > :11:35.argument with Michael Moore is that we do not have the power for a

:11:35. > :11:40.binding referendum. If they want to bring in legislation in that regard,

:11:41. > :11:46.so be it. Would you be happier to have an early referendum Van Orton

:11:47. > :11:52.2014? We made it very clear in the election campaign exactly when the

:11:52. > :12:02.referendum would be. It is for all of the sensible reasons. We will

:12:02. > :12:07.bring forward the legislation in 20th January 13, -- in January,

:12:07. > :12:10.2013. Then there are issues like the gold report, which said there

:12:11. > :12:17.must be six months between are the passing of the legislation and the

:12:17. > :12:21.holding of the election and the European elections in 2014. We said

:12:21. > :12:25.we would do it then and that is exactly what we will do. I am still

:12:26. > :12:30.not quite clear whether you have a document with official legal advice

:12:30. > :12:34.on it as opposed to a professor here or there. He seems to think he

:12:34. > :12:38.has legality. He is quoting a professor at Edinburgh University.

:12:38. > :12:42.I am a graduate of Law at Edinburgh University. The fact is that the

:12:42. > :12:46.British Government has legal advice that confirms the position, we

:12:46. > :12:52.understand from what Michael Moore held in the Commons yesterday,

:12:52. > :12:55.which is widely held, that Westminster holds the constitution

:12:55. > :12:58.when they devolve powers to the Scottish Government. That does not

:12:58. > :13:02.mean they cannot be a referendum and I would like to see one. That

:13:02. > :13:06.is why Michael Moore did something reasonable, aligning the political

:13:06. > :13:09.mandate with the authority. Bruce Crawford has been a lifetime a

:13:09. > :13:17.stylist and he cannot give you a credible isolation as to why it

:13:17. > :13:24.should be in 2014. -- lifetime nationalist. It should be 2013. Why

:13:24. > :13:27.delay? We have had this argument for 40 years. Bruce Crawford?

:13:28. > :13:31.said during the election campaign that we would hold it in the second

:13:31. > :13:35.half of the Parliament. I think it would be strange if we suddenly

:13:35. > :13:38.decided not to do that. It might be for others to change their minds on

:13:38. > :13:48.the basis of what they have said in election campaigns but we stick to

:13:48. > :13:51.

:13:51. > :13:56.that. You did not but the time in your manifesto. -- put the time. I

:13:56. > :14:01.do apologise for interrupting you. I want to get my point across.

:14:01. > :14:04.viewers are short on facts. They do not follow this every day. Can we

:14:04. > :14:12.establish that the time of the referendum, that to claim a mandate

:14:12. > :14:18.for, was not in your manifesto? True? Yes, but... Yes? But Alex

:14:18. > :14:23.Salmond said that was when it would be throughout the campaign.

:14:23. > :14:27.have been interrupting me quite a lot. On you go. I apologise. This

:14:27. > :14:30.is one of the most important decisions in Scotland's history. It

:14:31. > :14:34.is right that we give the people of Scotland time to consider the

:14:34. > :14:37.matter properly, in an orderly fashion, with the proper

:14:37. > :14:41.information in front of them so they can make their decision about

:14:41. > :14:44.the future of their own country. Can I come back to a factual issue?

:14:44. > :14:48.You said you made it clear throughout the campaign for the

:14:48. > :14:52.timing of the referendum. My journalistic colleagues in Scotland

:14:52. > :14:56.who covered the campaign so that did not come out until four days

:14:56. > :15:03.beforehand. There was a seven-week campaign and Alex Salmond did not

:15:03. > :15:11.give them the timing until four days before. Isn't that true?

:15:11. > :15:15.anyone disputing... Is that true? Four days before. Is anyone

:15:15. > :15:18.seriously disputing the fact that in terms of the process in which we

:15:18. > :15:22.are involved currently, in terms of what the people of Scotland

:15:22. > :15:26.understood when they went to the ballot box, when we were talking

:15:26. > :15:30.about an election campaign for referendum but it would be in 2014?

:15:31. > :15:35.Is it or is it not true that Alex Salmond only gave us the timing of

:15:35. > :15:41.the referendum four days before Scotland went to the polls? I will

:15:41. > :15:45.repeat that... No, answer the question. I would need to go back

:15:45. > :15:49.and look at the detail. What is absolutely clear here is that

:15:49. > :15:54.everyone understood exactly what they were doing on the day of their

:15:54. > :15:58.particular election campaign in 2007, when they gave the Scottish

:15:58. > :16:02.National party a clear mandate to run the referendum. Even Jim Murphy

:16:02. > :16:06.said in the New Statesman in November last year that this should

:16:06. > :16:09.be built in Scotland and for once I agree with him. We know it is a

:16:09. > :16:14.busy time for you up there so I thank you for joining us and

:16:14. > :16:23.putting up with my interruptions. I will be in Edinburgh tonight so if

:16:23. > :16:27.you are around I will buy you a What would you say to Alistair

:16:27. > :16:31.Darling, a man of huge credibility who saw the country through the

:16:31. > :16:36.banking crisis, heading up the pro- union campaign against Alex

:16:36. > :16:41.Salmond? I hope he will have a prominent role in the case

:16:41. > :16:45.defending Scotland's interests in the UK. I don't think we need to

:16:45. > :16:48.assign jobs yet, but it is clear this will be a cross-party campaign.

:16:48. > :16:53.I got that, but what about Mr Darling heading up the people

:16:53. > :16:58.against it? It has to be a very credible figure and Alastair

:16:58. > :17:04.Darling is, but I will not pick the leader of the campaign. I will take

:17:04. > :17:06.that as an maybe. Not ruled out. Now, immigration to Britain from

:17:06. > :17:09.outside the European Union is linked to unemployment in these

:17:09. > :17:12.depressed economic times - that's according to the Government's

:17:12. > :17:15.Migration Advisory Committee. "No, it's not" says another report

:17:15. > :17:17.published yesterday - this time by the National Institute of Economic

:17:17. > :17:23.and Social Research which found no correlation between immigration and

:17:23. > :17:30.unemployment. Oh well, you pays your researcher, you takes your

:17:30. > :17:33.choice, I suppose. But whatever the truth about the impact of

:17:33. > :17:36.immigration this government has committed itself to reducing it. So

:17:36. > :17:41.how's it going, and are they anywhere near hitting their target?

:17:41. > :17:45.Here's Jo. Yes, Andrew. Now net migration - the difference between

:17:45. > :17:50.the number of people entering and leaving the UK - hit a peak of

:17:50. > :17:56.252,000 in 2010. David Cameron has pledged to reduce it to the 'tens

:17:56. > :17:59.of thousands' by 2015 and it was a key part of his party's manifesto.

:17:59. > :18:01.To achieve this, the government have so far imposed restrictions on

:18:01. > :18:05.non-EU workers, overhauled the student visa system and will

:18:05. > :18:15.announce reforms of the family migration and settlement routes.

:18:15. > :18:34.

:18:34. > :18:37.But many critics don't think it's Oxford University's Migration

:18:37. > :18:40.Observatory found the biggest issue is that we cannot control or limit

:18:40. > :18:42.British or EU migration, so all cuts need to be made to non-EU

:18:42. > :18:44.immigration. And even the independent Office for Budget

:18:44. > :18:47.Responsibility, the Coalition's fiscal watchdog, has estimated that

:18:47. > :18:49.average annual migration will be 140,000 until 2016, saying "there

:18:49. > :18:59.is insufficient reason to change our average net migration

:18:59. > :19:04.

:19:04. > :19:11.Well, as chance would have it, the immigration Minister Damian Green

:19:11. > :19:16.is still with us, along with Douglas Alexander. Damian Green,

:19:16. > :19:21.the net migration in 2010 was over 250,000, nearly quarter of a

:19:21. > :19:26.million, and last year it looks like being just under 250,000, so

:19:26. > :19:32.basically No change. Are you sure you're going to get it down to tens

:19:32. > :19:35.of thousands in three years? seems to peak in 20th September 10.

:19:35. > :19:41.We note that in the last three years of the Labour government the

:19:41. > :19:46.migration was going through the roof. In 20th September 10, he was

:19:46. > :19:51.slightly up, and 20th March 11 was down further. You cannot go from a

:19:51. > :19:55.quarter of a million to under 100,000 in three years. That is why

:19:55. > :20:01.we have taken the longest of measures that were just detailed

:20:01. > :20:09.and why we took them early on. you expected to be this year?

:20:09. > :20:17.will be lower than 250,000. It will be in the tens of thousands.

:20:17. > :20:23.the 100,000? -- under 100,000? Yes, that is the same thing. That is why

:20:23. > :20:33.we took the action early on. We knew it would be a huge job, and it

:20:33. > :20:34.

:20:34. > :20:38.was turning round an oil tanker. Almost everyone agrees, even Chris

:20:38. > :20:48.Bryant and he agrees net migration is too high. We all know we have to

:20:48. > :20:50.

:20:50. > :20:53.bring it down. And you will do that without any further action? You'll

:20:53. > :21:01.get from 250,002 down to 80 or 90,000 that the most in three

:21:01. > :21:04.years? There will be further action. We have had to consultations in the

:21:04. > :21:08.last part of the year which will make announcements in the coming

:21:08. > :21:14.months, the first on breaking the link between coming into work and

:21:14. > :21:18.stain and settling permanently, and then the family migration. But also

:21:18. > :21:22.the point is often lost in the debate is that we announced all of

:21:22. > :21:26.our student measures last year that they actually come into place bit

:21:26. > :21:30.by bit so some have been in place since last April, but another a

:21:30. > :21:34.huge slice will commend this April, so there will be new, effective

:21:34. > :21:44.measures. We have abolished the automatic right for students who

:21:44. > :21:46.

:21:46. > :21:52.come here to come in and that only comes in in April. Britain's future

:21:52. > :21:56.to be a creative hub for the world, to develop our creativity, and at

:21:56. > :22:01.one of the ways of doing that is to get the best and brightest Dudus

:22:01. > :22:05.from around the world to come and study here. They have to pay fees -

:22:05. > :22:11.- brightest students. If they get good degrees and they work hard,

:22:11. > :22:14.why would we not want them to stay here and get jobs? We do want the

:22:14. > :22:18.best and brightest to stay here and that is the key to a successful

:22:18. > :22:26.policy. First or getting the numbers down, that is the bedrock,

:22:26. > :22:30.but also making sure that we are much better at being selective if

:22:30. > :22:34.the that not just to we allowed to stay that encourage, amid all the

:22:35. > :22:39.measures we have taken to cut the numbers, we have taken measures to

:22:39. > :22:48.increase some routes. We have set up an entrepreneur's route and have

:22:48. > :22:50.twice as many coming in. In London, and the number of leading

:22:50. > :22:54.universities in the country, they are complaining that it is

:22:54. > :22:59.difficult for them to attract the best and the brightest.

:22:59. > :23:04.transition causes people to worry. We found with the work is a limit

:23:05. > :23:10.we put on and with the student changes that in anticipation of

:23:10. > :23:15.change, everyone predicted the -- doom and gloom. But we did find the

:23:15. > :23:19.system was perfectly efficient and as a hard example we introduce the

:23:19. > :23:22.limit which was supposed to stop the doom-mongers saying that we

:23:22. > :23:28.would not get skilled workers, but that limit has been under

:23:28. > :23:34.subscribed every month since we brought it in so it is not stopping

:23:34. > :23:37.a single valuable worker from coming to the country. I have

:23:37. > :23:41.details of software engineer companies find it difficult to

:23:41. > :23:44.attract people, but I cannot go into the details because of time.

:23:44. > :23:49.There was a net migration of 2 million into the country during the

:23:49. > :23:55.Labour years. Was it too much? said the transitional controls at

:23:55. > :24:00.the time of the accession of the new countries to the European Union

:24:00. > :24:04.should have been changed. We should have acted earlier and more

:24:04. > :24:08.decisively and we introduced an Australian points based system to

:24:08. > :24:13.get the skills you want, but not the unskilled workers you don't

:24:13. > :24:17.want. In retrospect, could we have moved earlier, I think we could.

:24:17. > :24:21.But in that sends you have to judge the issues dependent on the economy

:24:21. > :24:26.at the time. The rules do matter. You want controlled immigration

:24:26. > :24:30.that enforcement matters as well. And this is only a few months after

:24:30. > :24:35.one of the biggest fiascos we have seen at UK borders for many years,

:24:35. > :24:39.which was where the most generous description was that we did not

:24:39. > :24:45.know what was happening on Britain's borders. It is now a

:24:45. > :24:50.matter for the courts. Rules matter, but enforcement matters as well.

:24:50. > :24:54.you think there is a link between the 600,000 people who came from

:24:54. > :24:58.Eastern Europe after 2004, hard working, often well-educated,

:24:58. > :25:02.picked up English quickly, became an asset to the country, and the

:25:02. > :25:07.fact that youth unemployment rose by 450,000 in the same period?

:25:07. > :25:13.There has to be something. There is contested evidence in terms of the

:25:13. > :25:17.accession countries. Some suggest that the level of skills did not

:25:17. > :25:21.impact on job creation at the time because they tended to be less a

:25:21. > :25:27.skilled jobs, but is it the case that the net outflow of people

:25:27. > :25:34.compared to the rest of the European Union broadly matches,

:25:34. > :25:38.those were about equal. We hope you will come back and we don't have to

:25:38. > :25:41.cheat by getting you in at the guest of the day. -- Getting Even

:25:41. > :25:45.as the guest of the day. Now finally some good news on

:25:45. > :25:48.government delivery. On Monday it was revealed that after some 20

:25:48. > :25:58.months in office the David Cameron had completed every stage of the

:25:58. > :26:08.application - or app. He has got to the end of Angry Birds on his i-Pad.

:26:08. > :26:08.

:26:08. > :26:11.What will he do with his time? Fear not, Prime Minister, for your ever-

:26:11. > :26:14.loyal education secretary, Michael Gove, has announced this morning

:26:14. > :26:17.that school pupils will be learning how write new games for tablet PCs

:26:17. > :26:27.and smart phones for the Prime Minister and the rest of us to

:26:27. > :26:30.

:26:30. > :26:34.enjoy. But if you can't wait that long, we've got a real game for you

:26:34. > :26:43.to play with a real prize. One of these in fact, a brand spanking new

:26:43. > :26:53.Daily Politics mug. We'll remind you how to enter in a minute, but

:26:53. > :26:53.

:26:53. > :27:49.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 56 seconds

:27:49. > :27:59.let's see if you can remember when It what it in this quiet street of

:27:59. > :28:14.

:28:14. > :28:16.detached Victorian houses that the To be in with a chance of winning a

:28:16. > :28:19.Daily Politics mug, send your answer to our special quiz email

:28:19. > :28:22.address. That's dpquiz@bbc.co.uk. And you can see the full terms and

:28:22. > :28:32.conditions for Guess The Year on our website - that's

:28:32. > :28:40.

:28:40. > :28:43.Feed in the oil. The sun shining and others look for, and I was

:28:43. > :28:50.looking forward to only two things, Prime Minister's Questions and Nick

:28:50. > :28:56.Robinson. I am just doing my Angry Birds. I wonder if Alex Salmond has

:28:56. > :29:02.done all it? A I bet he has. What is going to happen? Westminster is

:29:02. > :29:07.a buzz about Scotland but it won't necessarily come up. Angus

:29:07. > :29:11.Robertson may get his chance to ask a question. Interesting to know if

:29:11. > :29:14.Ed Miliband chooses to use any of his questions to talk about that as

:29:14. > :29:19.a way of expressing solidarity amongst Unionist parties. Clearly

:29:19. > :29:22.Ed Miliband needs to find a subject on which she is on Secure ground.

:29:23. > :29:27.He has had a shaky few days since the start of the new year. The last

:29:27. > :29:31.thing he wants to do is give David Cameron opportunity to taunt him

:29:31. > :29:35.off for his backbenchers to look grim while the Tories waving order

:29:35. > :29:44.papers, so it is the sort of day where people were last something

:29:45. > :29:49.If you are cruel to Ed Miliband, and the last thing he said he

:29:49. > :29:54.wanted do was dispatching as Labour leader, but we know that David

:29:54. > :29:58.Cameron pays a price when he seems dismissive and arrogant. The truth

:29:58. > :30:05.is he reserves enormous amounts of courtesy for everyone in the House

:30:05. > :30:07.of Commons, except for two people, and they are both called Ed. He is

:30:07. > :30:10.uncharacteristically rude to them personally in a way he is not

:30:11. > :30:19.really with people. Even if he fundamentally disagrees with them.

:30:19. > :30:21.He goes out of his way to question the wisdom of their points. Do you

:30:21. > :30:26.get the impression that the Westminster Establishment is

:30:26. > :30:33.running around now trying to get up to speed on Scotland? Absolutely,

:30:33. > :30:39.on the legalities, how it works. is different for you. It was just a

:30:39. > :30:42.question for me, and we naturally excluded you. He just excluded you

:30:42. > :30:47.from the Westminster Establishment. Paisley lads don't have to rush to

:30:47. > :30:51.get up to speed. They are looking at the legalities of it, what

:30:51. > :30:54.unearth devolution maximum means. I am trying to find myself a nice

:30:54. > :31:01.flat in Edinburgh. I will look for one tonight. Let's go over to the

:31:01. > :31:04.I am sure the whole House will wish to join me in paying tribute to the

:31:04. > :31:10.servicemen that have fallen in the service of our country since we

:31:10. > :31:13.last met. Captain Tom Jennings from the Royal Marines. Squadron Leader

:31:13. > :31:23.Anthony Downing from the Royal applause. Private John King from

:31:23. > :31:24.

:31:24. > :31:30.first Battalion the rifles. And a member of the Gurkha regiment who

:31:30. > :31:32.died after a long time in hospital. Their outstanding courage and

:31:32. > :31:36.selflessness will never be forgotten. They gave their lives

:31:36. > :31:40.defending our country and making it more secure and our thoughts should

:31:40. > :31:43.be with their families and friends. I had meetings with ministers,

:31:43. > :31:49.colleagues and others this morning and I will have further such

:31:49. > :31:54.meetings later today. The whole House would wish to associate

:31:54. > :31:59.itself with the Prime Minister's tribute to the fallen. Can I ask

:31:59. > :32:03.the Prime Minister in joining me in congratulating crowns which country

:32:03. > :32:13.food on a �15 million in best met in creating a state of the art

:32:13. > :32:13.

:32:13. > :32:18.facility in my constituency? -- �50 million investment. They are now

:32:18. > :32:21.employing 1200 people. Unfortunately the Food Standards

:32:21. > :32:30.Agency is blocking exports from this excellent plant to the Far

:32:30. > :32:33.East. Can the Prime Minister assure me that job-destroying and an

:32:33. > :32:41.necessary regulation will not be tolerated by this Government?

:32:41. > :32:45.joined my friend in welcoming them to his constituency. It is vital

:32:45. > :32:49.that we balance our economy with greater emphasis on business

:32:49. > :32:53.investment and exports. In terms of exports to China, they went up by

:32:53. > :32:59.over 20% last year. I will certainly do everything I can to

:32:59. > :33:07.help resolve the situation and I am happy to ask a minister from DEFRA

:33:07. > :33:12.of to meet with my honourable friend to discuss this issue.

:33:12. > :33:15.Miliband. Can I join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to

:33:15. > :33:19.Captain Tom Jennings from the Royal Marines, Squadron Leader Anthony

:33:19. > :33:23.Downing from the Royal Air Force, Private John King from first

:33:23. > :33:31.Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, and the riflemen from the Gurkha

:33:31. > :33:36.regiment? All of them showed enormous courage and bravery. They

:33:36. > :33:41.are making sacrifices on our behalf and our deepest condolences go to

:33:41. > :33:44.their family and friends. Mr Speaker, the Chancellor said in the

:33:44. > :33:48.Autumn Statement that train fares would only rise by 1% above

:33:48. > :33:51.inflation. Can he therefore explain why railway companies this month,

:33:51. > :33:56.on some of the busiest commuter routes, have increased their fares

:33:56. > :34:06.by up to 11%? The power was given to them to do that by the last

:34:06. > :34:07.

:34:07. > :34:13.Labour Government. Ed Miliband. Mr Speaker... No, Mr Speaker. The

:34:13. > :34:18.Prime Minister is wrong. The last Labour Government stopped them

:34:18. > :34:24.doing that and this Prime Minister, when he came to office, reversed

:34:24. > :34:28.that policy. The policy that we introduced. That is why the

:34:28. > :34:32.companies are able to rake the fares. That is why someone

:34:32. > :34:36.travelling from Northampton to London will see a rise on the

:34:36. > :34:43.season-ticket of over �300. Will he now stand up to the train companies,

:34:43. > :34:45.get a better deal for commuters and change his policy? I know the

:34:45. > :34:50.honourable gentleman has had a difficult start to the year. He has

:34:50. > :34:55.made it worse by getting it wrong. Labour allowed in 2009 fare

:34:55. > :35:01.increases of up to 11% because they introduce this idea of flexibility

:35:01. > :35:09.of 5% over and above the RPI plus 1% which was the case. And what was

:35:09. > :35:13.the case in 2009 is the case today. The key issue is this. There are

:35:13. > :35:16.only two places that money for railways can come from, the

:35:16. > :35:20.taxpayer or the traveller. What really matters is whether we are

:35:20. > :35:26.going to put money into railway investment and that this Government

:35:26. > :35:29.is doing that. We are electrifying the Great Western main line. We are

:35:29. > :35:35.building CrossRail. We are led to find the line between Manchester

:35:35. > :35:41.and Liverpool. We are putting millions into CrossRail and we are

:35:41. > :35:44.building HS2 as well. I am afraid the Prime Minister is just wrong

:35:44. > :35:48.about the facts. The last Labour Government saw the train companies

:35:48. > :35:53.taking advantage of consumers, ripping them off by increasing

:35:53. > :36:00.fares more on the busiest routes. We stopped it. We took a way that

:36:00. > :36:04.power from them. He came to office and he brought the power back. He

:36:04. > :36:08.made the wrong decision. As for the idea that this is all to help the

:36:08. > :36:14.passenger, the Audit Office warned last month that the problem was

:36:14. > :36:21.this money would result in increasing train operating company

:36:21. > :36:27.profits. Will he now go back and reverse his policy? We originally

:36:27. > :36:32.set out an RPI plus 3% policy the train fares. We found money in the

:36:32. > :36:37.Autumn Statement to reduce that to RPI plus 1%. I have to say to him,

:36:37. > :36:42.if you want to see more money going into our railways, presumably he

:36:42. > :36:48.supports the latter occasion of the Great Western main line and

:36:48. > :36:51.electrification of the railway lines in the North West, he will be

:36:51. > :36:54.touring the country saying that his support these things but he is

:36:55. > :36:59.never prepared to take difficult decisions in order to support them.

:36:59. > :37:03.But it is time... The answers from the Prime Minister will be heard.

:37:03. > :37:07.The Prime Minister. I think it is time for him to listen to his

:37:07. > :37:10.defence secretary who wrote very candidly over Christmas there is a

:37:11. > :37:16.difference between populism and popularity, and that differences

:37:16. > :37:22.called credibility. Time to have some, I think. Instead of his pre-

:37:22. > :37:29.prepared lines, he should get his facts right about his own policy.

:37:29. > :37:32.He is just wrong. He is wrong. He says that he is continuing the

:37:32. > :37:35.policy of the last Labour Government and he is simply wrong

:37:35. > :37:39.on the facts. The last Labour Government saw what the train

:37:39. > :37:43.companies were doing and said we were going to put an end to it. The

:37:43. > :37:48.Prime Minister said at the weekend that he wanted to take action

:37:48. > :37:55.against crony capitalism and he has failed at the first hurdle. I ask

:37:55. > :38:00.him for the last time, Mr Speaker, will he now reverse the policy?

:38:00. > :38:04.are now on to the issue of how people are paid. On the issue of

:38:04. > :38:10.the rail fares, let me be absolutely clear. Labour introduced

:38:10. > :38:14.the policy of 5% flexibility. They changed it for one year only for an

:38:14. > :38:24.election year. But they had no intention of making that permanent

:38:24. > :38:25.

:38:25. > :38:28.and if he does not know that, he should. If he wants to get on to

:38:28. > :38:38.the issue of executive pay, I think he is entirely right to raise this

:38:38. > :38:43.issue. Order! I want to hear the answer and however long... Order!

:38:43. > :38:48.Order! However long it takes, I will. The Prime Minister. Thank you,

:38:48. > :38:51.Mr Speaker. I think he is right to raise the issue of executive pay,

:38:51. > :39:01.and unlike the last Government that did nothing for 13 years, this

:39:01. > :39:04.

:39:04. > :39:08.Government will act. Roger Gale. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I understand

:39:08. > :39:13.that my right honourable friend has recommended me for one you present

:39:14. > :39:18.and I am about to ask for another. -- new present. He is talking

:39:18. > :39:23.drivel, I am afraid. My constituents have been paying up to

:39:23. > :39:28.10% increases under the last Labour Government for the last four years.

:39:28. > :39:33.In congratulating this Government in its courageous decision to

:39:33. > :39:36.pursue HS2, can I ask my right honourable friend now to turn his

:39:36. > :39:40.attention to a piece of unfinished business left by the last

:39:40. > :39:44.Government? High-speed one at present only runs effectively from

:39:44. > :39:50.St Pancras to Ashford. Can it be driven through to Thanet so that we

:39:50. > :39:56.can enjoy the sort of benefits that in the future will be enjoyed by

:39:56. > :40:00.Birmingham? I congratulate my friend for his well deserved honour

:40:00. > :40:04.for his service to his constituents over many years. He is entirely

:40:05. > :40:09.right. Regulated fares went up by over 18% and unregulated fares by

:40:09. > :40:12.over 23% under the last Government. On the issue of high-speed one, I

:40:12. > :40:17.will certainly look at what he says, but I think it is an advertisement

:40:17. > :40:20.of what you can get by linking up our country with high-speed rail,

:40:20. > :40:24.shortening commuter distances and helping change the economic

:40:24. > :40:32.geography of our country, so that we can actually build a stronger

:40:32. > :40:39.economy. Over 80,000 pensioners in Liverpool will lose up to �100 this

:40:39. > :40:43.winter following the Government cuts to winter fuel allowance. Will

:40:43. > :40:50.the Prime Minister a Dock Labour's policy so that elderly customers

:40:50. > :40:53.are automatically put onto the cheapest tariff for gas and

:40:53. > :40:58.electricity? Rather like the leader of a party, there seems to be an

:40:58. > :41:04.outbreak of collective amnesia on the potty benches. What we have

:41:04. > :41:09.done is keep the last policy on the winter fuel allowance. -- on the

:41:09. > :41:13.party benches. We are keeping all of our promises about the winter

:41:13. > :41:16.fuel allowance what we have gone one further than that. They

:41:16. > :41:22.introduced higher cold weather payments only for election year and

:41:22. > :41:27.we have made them permanent. Prime Minister will have

:41:27. > :41:31.experienced first-hand the quality of nursing in my constituency. What

:41:31. > :41:36.steps are being taken to make sure that the patients throughout the

:41:36. > :41:43.country are receiving the highest possible standards of nursing out

:41:43. > :41:46.from the NHS? The honourable lady is right because I will never

:41:46. > :41:49.forget the time that I spent at the Royal Cornwall Hospital and the

:41:49. > :41:53.happy days that I had there. It was a privilege to go back last year.

:41:53. > :41:57.We do have high standards of nursing care in our country. The

:41:57. > :42:00.overwhelming majority of nurses do a great job. I do not think we are

:42:00. > :42:04.serving a constituent properly if we highlight the few cases where it

:42:04. > :42:08.does go wrong. As we have seen in the reports, there are areas where

:42:08. > :42:13.it does go wrong. It is incumbent on Government to remove the

:42:13. > :42:17.bureaucracy that can get in the way of nurses. It is also important to

:42:17. > :42:22.higher at best practice in the best hospitals in our country. -- to

:42:22. > :42:25.highlight the best practices. I saw a wonderful hospital in Salford and

:42:25. > :42:33.I want to copy that so that we look after the nutritional and care

:42:33. > :42:38.needs of people that are vulnerable in our hospitals. Ed Miliband.

:42:38. > :42:44.want to ask the Prime Minister about Scotland. We, on this side of

:42:45. > :42:48.the house, believe that United Kingdom benefits the people of

:42:48. > :42:52.Scotland and the people of the rest of the United Kingdom in equal

:42:52. > :42:57.measure. We are stronger together and weaker apart. Does the Prime

:42:57. > :43:01.Minister agree with me that we must make the case for the union, not

:43:01. > :43:07.simply against separatism, but the positive case about the shared

:43:07. > :43:14.benefits to us all of Scotland's part in the United Kingdom? The

:43:14. > :43:20.shared economic interests, the NHS, the Defence Systems, at the BBC,

:43:20. > :43:23.and above all the values that we share together? I am happy to say

:43:23. > :43:26.that the honourable gentleman and I will be 100% in agreement. I

:43:26. > :43:29.passionately believe in the future of United Kingdom and I

:43:29. > :43:33.passionately believe that we are stronger together, rather than

:43:33. > :43:37.breaking apart. I am sad that we are even having this debate because

:43:37. > :43:40.I support United Kingdom so strongly. We have to respect the

:43:40. > :43:43.fact that Scotland voted for a separatist party at his

:43:43. > :43:48.parliamentary elections. The first thing that it is right to do is to

:43:48. > :43:50.make clear the legal position about a referendum. That is what my right

:43:50. > :43:54.honourable friend the Scottish Secretary has been doing. We have

:43:54. > :43:58.made the offer that we will devolve the power to hold that referendum

:43:58. > :44:01.so that a referendum can be held and made in Scotland. I look

:44:01. > :44:06.forward to having the debate, friendly, because I think there

:44:07. > :44:11.have been too many in the SNP that are happy to talk about the process.

:44:11. > :44:16.-- frankly. They want to talk about the process but not the substance.

:44:16. > :44:21.When I listen to them, it is not a referendum that they want, but then

:44:21. > :44:25.never-referendum. Let's have the debate and keep our country

:44:25. > :44:30.together! Can I agree with the country and say that this is not a

:44:30. > :44:33.fight about process between the Westminster Government and the

:44:33. > :44:36.Scottish Government or between the British Prime Minister and the

:44:36. > :44:40.Scottish First Minister? I think the way to tackle that is to have

:44:41. > :44:43.immediate cross-party talks in Scotland about issues around the

:44:43. > :44:46.timing of the referendum, the nature of the single question

:44:46. > :44:53.referendum, and the vital involvement of the Electoral

:44:53. > :44:56.Commission. Does the Prime Minister also agree with me that we must get

:44:56. > :45:02.beyond process and have a discussion about the substantial

:45:02. > :45:05.issues involved? This is a momentous decision that our

:45:05. > :45:09.children and grandchildren will have to live with if we get it

:45:09. > :45:12.wrong. We need a serious, thoughtful, and inclusive debate on

:45:12. > :45:16.what the choices are other benefits to Scotland of staying in the

:45:17. > :45:20.United Kingdom. On this important issue, the people of our country

:45:20. > :45:28.deserve nothing less than that serious debate about the benefits

:45:28. > :45:32.I think the Right Honourable Gentleman is right on those three

:45:32. > :45:37.points. On the process of negotiation it is important that

:45:37. > :45:42.the SNP have made clear what it is they want to do. I am very happy

:45:42. > :45:46.for the UK government to speak directly to the Scottish government

:45:46. > :45:51.and let's come to a conclusion about the best time and wait to

:45:51. > :45:56.hold this referendum. It must be clear, legal, decisive, he must be

:45:56. > :46:00.fair. Those are the absolute keys. I agree with the Honourable

:46:00. > :46:06.Gentleman. As soon as those processes are settled, we need to

:46:06. > :46:09.get on to the substance. The only point I would make about the timing,

:46:09. > :46:15.as the animal gentlemen who are so keen to leave the UK, I don't

:46:15. > :46:18.understand why they wanted put off the question for so long. What

:46:18. > :46:23.action will the Prime Minister take to tackle the appalling issue of

:46:23. > :46:30.false marriage both in the UK and globally? I think the Honourable

:46:30. > :46:35.Lady is right to raise this issue. We have taken some steps to crack

:46:35. > :46:39.down on the practice of false marriages which takes place is in

:46:39. > :46:42.too many communities in our country. We are looking specifically as to

:46:42. > :46:46.whether we should take further legal powers and make it it a

:46:46. > :46:50.criminal offence. We're taking a personal interest in this and we

:46:50. > :46:56.should take every available step to say it is an acceptable in 2012 in

:46:56. > :47:00.a civilised country like ours to have such a barbaric practice.

:47:00. > :47:05.Nottinghamshire police surveys eight deep area of deprivation and

:47:05. > :47:11.faces high crime levels and have ambitious crime reduction targets,

:47:11. > :47:13.but HMI see say they are one of five forces facing some of the

:47:14. > :47:17.biggest challenges on the front line forces and government cuts

:47:18. > :47:20.will impact on frontline policing. Is it not time to implement the

:47:20. > :47:25.police funding formula to give my local police the resources they

:47:25. > :47:30.need? I will look carefully at what the Honourable Lady says, but all

:47:30. > :47:33.police forces are having to make efficiencies. I would raise the

:47:33. > :47:37.chief constables for the steps they have taken to deliver the

:47:37. > :47:40.efficiency is without affecting frontline policing. And that the

:47:40. > :47:45.same time they should still be delivering a reduction in crime

:47:45. > :47:49.levels. In terms of Nottinghamshire police, there are still 47 officers

:47:49. > :47:52.working in back office jobs and trained police officers working in

:47:52. > :47:56.HR, finance and corporate development. There is still further

:47:56. > :48:02.work to be done to civilian eyes those parts of the police force and

:48:02. > :48:07.make sure we get all of our officers on the front line.

:48:07. > :48:12.Following the murder of my constituents, Jane Clough, by a

:48:12. > :48:17.former partner and a rapist, I presented a bail Amendment Bill to

:48:17. > :48:21.the house. In October, a justice team agreed to change the law.

:48:21. > :48:26.Could the Prime Minister confirm to the house, and to Jane's parents,

:48:26. > :48:32.who was at in the gallery today, when that will happen? On behalf of

:48:32. > :48:37.the house can I pay tribute to my Honourable Friend on what -- on the

:48:37. > :48:40.work he has done on this case, and our sympathies go out accordingly.

:48:41. > :48:44.We accept there should be a right of appeal against Crown Court

:48:44. > :48:47.decisions allowing bail. There is that right in magistrates' courts.

:48:47. > :48:51.So there is a strong case for changing the law and we will be

:48:51. > :48:55.tabling an amendment in the Lords to the legal-aid sentencing and

:48:55. > :48:59.punishing offenders Bill creating the right of appeal to High Court

:48:59. > :49:02.judges against the granting of bail by a Crown Court. I hope this will

:49:02. > :49:10.improve the law and be more helpful to victims and give some

:49:10. > :49:14.satisfaction to the family he is The Scottish government was elected

:49:14. > :49:21.with an overwhelming mandate to deliver an independent referendum

:49:22. > :49:26.in the second half of the parliamentary term. It is a fact.

:49:26. > :49:32.In contrast, the Conservative Party has less Members of Parliament and

:49:32. > :49:36.there are giant pandas in Edinburgh Zoo. -- then there are -- than it

:49:36. > :49:40.there are giant pandas. Why is the Prime Minister tried to emulate

:49:40. > :49:46.Margaret Thatcher by dictating to Scotland? Why the opposite, we want

:49:46. > :49:49.to give the Scotland took hold a lead -- hold a legal referendum.

:49:50. > :49:52.That is the power we hold and right across this house there is a

:49:52. > :49:56.uniform believe it needs to happen. Discussions can now be entered into

:49:56. > :50:00.about the timing of the referendum, about the precise nature of the

:50:00. > :50:09.referendum so we make sure it is fair, decisive and the people of

:50:09. > :50:15.Care of our elder people is one of the most pressing issues facing

:50:15. > :50:20.this country today. Will the Prime Minister join me in welcoming page

:50:20. > :50:24.UK's Care in crisis campaign launched on Monday and will he

:50:25. > :50:29.commit that the White Paper due in the springtime will represent a way

:50:29. > :50:32.forward on this vital issue? Can I pay tribute to my Honourable Friend

:50:32. > :50:37.for the work he has done on this issue and also to the Age Concern

:50:37. > :50:41.campaign. We have a huge challenge to rise to this agenda and we want

:50:41. > :50:45.to do so through the white paper. There are three elements. We have

:50:46. > :50:49.to make sure we do something about the rising cost of domiciliary care,

:50:49. > :50:53.we have to improve the quality of care people receive and we have to

:50:53. > :50:58.address the issue of people having to sell their homes and assets to

:50:58. > :51:00.pay for care. So we are looking hard at all of these issues and

:51:00. > :51:08.working out a way forward that will be right for our care system and

:51:08. > :51:17.that the country can afford. Since the Sunday Times showed that in the

:51:17. > :51:22.last two years but 1,000 richest persons in Britain by �137 billion,

:51:22. > :51:27.enough to pay off the entire deficit, will he therefore tax them

:51:27. > :51:31.to fund the creation of one million jobs which is a far better way of

:51:31. > :51:37.cutting the deficit than prolonged war austerity? For a minute I

:51:37. > :51:41.thought he was talking about the Prime Minister he served under. I

:51:41. > :51:44.think it is absolutely essential that as we reduce the deficit and

:51:45. > :51:50.take difficult decisions that we are fair and seen to be fair. The

:51:50. > :51:54.fact is, what we have done so far is having the top 10 % of the

:51:54. > :51:58.country Payne 10 times more than the bottom 10 %. And crucially, the

:51:58. > :52:02.top 10 % of earners are not paying just more in cash terms, but as a

:52:02. > :52:05.percentage of their income. As we go ahead with the agenda I want to

:52:05. > :52:12.make sure that people behave responsibly and the government does

:52:12. > :52:17.as well. The I am sure you and the Prime Minister both want to

:52:17. > :52:22.congratulate Tony wattling here has served as a postmaster for over 60

:52:22. > :52:29.years and has still not retired. He is carrying on. However, residents

:52:29. > :52:34.have been let down by no post office out reach position. Can we

:52:34. > :52:39.encourage the Post Office to use their general subsidy to insure

:52:39. > :52:46.that villagers are served and not left stranded? I joined my friend

:52:46. > :52:50.in paying tribute to the postmaster, and it is people like that who keep

:52:50. > :52:54.our country going. In terms of the government, we have committed �1.3

:52:54. > :52:58.billion to improving the network. As a condition of the funding, the

:52:58. > :53:02.Post Office must maintain at least 11,500 branches but the point she

:53:02. > :53:12.makes about mobile post offices is a good one. This is a way you can

:53:12. > :53:14.

:53:14. > :53:19.serve many communities and make They the Deputy Prime Minister is

:53:19. > :53:23.reported to have said in the last few days that, in due course, the

:53:23. > :53:28.United Kingdom will sign up to the same EU treaty that the Prime

:53:28. > :53:37.Minister rejected only a short time ago. Was the Deputy Prime Minister

:53:37. > :53:45.The position is very straightforward. We did not sign

:53:45. > :53:50.the treaty because we were not getting the safeguards, so that

:53:50. > :53:53.situation will not change. What coalition partners what to put in

:53:53. > :53:57.their manifesto for the next election is entirely up to them --

:53:57. > :54:03.want to put in. Does the Prime Minister agreed with me that people

:54:03. > :54:07.should pay their taxes, keep their businesses onshore Switzerland and

:54:07. > :54:12.leave pensioners high and dry. What is the Prime Minister doing to

:54:12. > :54:16.stamp out these predatory business practices? A my Honourable Friend

:54:16. > :54:20.makes an interesting point. That all the lectures about predatory

:54:20. > :54:27.capitalism and different taxation, that the one person that the leader

:54:27. > :54:31.of the opposition chose to advise him on this basis or his companies

:54:31. > :54:37.in the British Virgin Islands. funding for the United Kingdom

:54:37. > :54:40.Resource Centre in the technology sector has been cut. Given that

:54:40. > :54:44.there are one million women unemployed and women make up only

:54:44. > :54:49.12.3 % of people in science and technology, could the Prime

:54:49. > :54:55.Minister look again at funding and then look at Ghent to restore

:54:55. > :55:00.Britain as a leading role for science in this country which

:55:00. > :55:03.nurtured the talents of Rosalind Franklin. The I will look THE

:55:03. > :55:07.Honourable Lady sets out. Despite having to make difficult decisions

:55:07. > :55:11.across of spending areas, we did not cut the science budget. Indeed

:55:11. > :55:14.in the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor provided a series of

:55:14. > :55:19.enhancements for specific science- based projects. I would have a

:55:19. > :55:24.specific one she mentioned and get back to her. -- I will have a look

:55:24. > :55:27.at the specific one. Today is the 10th anniversary of the opening of

:55:27. > :55:31.Guantanamo Bay, a despicable institution which still holds one

:55:31. > :55:36.UK National to this day. Will the Prime Minister commit to do all

:55:36. > :55:41.that he can to make sure that 2012 is the last year that that

:55:41. > :55:43.institution operates? Mike Wright on will Friend the Foreign

:55:43. > :55:47.Secretary is working hard much - my Right Honourable friend the Foreign

:55:47. > :55:52.Secretary is working hard with the US to bring this chapter to a close.

:55:52. > :55:58.He will know we have also taken steps as a government and country

:55:58. > :56:01.to achieve some closure about what happened in the past as a

:56:01. > :56:06.settlement of those people, and setting up a proper inquiry to make

:56:06. > :56:14.sure that the British government was not complicit in any weight in

:56:14. > :56:19.terms of torture to those people or elsewhere. A moment ago the Prime

:56:19. > :56:24.Minister was clear that his government economic policy should

:56:25. > :56:29.be fair and seen to be fair. Could he therefore confirm that the 50 %

:56:29. > :56:36.tax rate on incomes above �150,000 will remain in place for the

:56:36. > :56:38.duration of the Parliament? We take the view of the former Shadow

:56:38. > :56:42.Chancellor when he introduced it, saying it should be a temporary

:56:42. > :56:46.measure. We should also take a judgment on how much money this tax

:56:46. > :56:49.is actually raising. The purpose of the tax system is to raise money

:56:49. > :56:59.for the funds we need to put into the public services, and I think

:56:59. > :56:59.

:56:59. > :57:02.it's important we look at how it Would the Prime Minister

:57:02. > :57:08.congratulate the Secretary of Transport and the good workers of

:57:08. > :57:11.bombarding a for securing a �188 million contract on 28th December

:57:11. > :57:15.and the announcement on the Toronto stock exchange that was so

:57:15. > :57:19.important to the workers in Derbyshire? I congratulate everyone

:57:19. > :57:23.for winning that contract, and as I said from the dispatch box before,

:57:23. > :57:26.I want the government to be a good customer of British firms and to

:57:26. > :57:31.work with its supply chain, and not to make the mistakes that the last

:57:31. > :57:40.government made, which drew up the contract for the railway service

:57:40. > :57:45.The Prime Minister will probably be aware that the chief executive of

:57:45. > :57:49.the Stock Exchange top 100 companies is paid 35 times much as

:57:49. > :57:53.a hospital consultant who keeps saving lives. If he is going to act

:57:53. > :57:59.tough on high pay, can he give a date, a year from now, in the

:57:59. > :58:03.lifetime of the parliament, when we will see that obscene 35 times

:58:03. > :58:07.multiple can't cover -- come tumbling down? On the issue of pay

:58:07. > :58:11.ratios, we should make progress. We can start with the government

:58:11. > :58:15.setting out its own pay ratios as an act of leadership. I think this

:58:15. > :58:19.government has shown some leadership, not least by cutting

:58:19. > :58:23.ministers' pay or freezing them and by having total transparency across

:58:23. > :58:29.government on pay. On the issue of the specific case, the point of it

:58:29. > :58:34.make is this, if this year we have seen a 49 % increase in pay but

:58:34. > :58:37.only a 4% increase in the FT-SE 100 index. I am not against people

:58:37. > :58:40.running great companies being paid lots of money if they are growing

:58:40. > :58:43.and expanding them, but what we shouldn't have his rewards for

:58:44. > :58:53.failure. Frankly, the last government had 13 years to deal

:58:54. > :58:55.

:58:55. > :59:01.Does the Prime Minister think that it can ever be fair for a single

:59:01. > :59:05.family to receive �100,000 per year in housing benefit alone? I think

:59:05. > :59:11.my Honourable Friend makes an important point. The top people's

:59:11. > :59:15.pay issue and this issue are linked. We need to get rid of something for

:59:15. > :59:19.nothing culture in this country, because frankly we inherited and

:59:19. > :59:22.out of control benefit system way you did get families on tens of

:59:22. > :59:26.thousands of pounds in housing benefit, and out of control

:59:26. > :59:30.immigration system where it paid to cheat, and then out of control

:59:30. > :59:37.banking system where reward was not linked to success. Unlike the last

:59:37. > :59:40.government, we will deal with all these things. Prime minister, the

:59:40. > :59:45.Cumbrian healthy economy is in crisis, a real crisis. How does he

:59:45. > :59:50.propose to deal with it? The first and most important thing is that we

:59:50. > :59:53.are committed to year-on-year increases in NHS spending. That is

:59:54. > :59:58.not a position backed by his own party. Alongside the extra money,

:59:58. > :00:02.we also need to make sure there is reform so we give clinicians a

:00:02. > :00:04.leading role in the health service and also, frankly, we need to do

:00:04. > :00:09.more on the public health and health promotion agenda because

:00:09. > :00:13.that is the best way to reduce demands on our NHS. But there is

:00:13. > :00:17.one extra thing to achieve, which is to look at the links between

:00:17. > :00:21.alcohol and crime and alcohol and hospital admissions which is

:00:21. > :00:31.putting massive pressure on our NHS and is an issue Y one the

:00:31. > :00:34.

:00:35. > :00:40.government to deal with. -- I want Ethnic cleansing and apartheid are

:00:40. > :00:47.evil. Sadly, successive governments have supported a country where

:00:47. > :00:53.these vile actions are inflicted on indigenous people. We welcomed the

:00:53. > :00:57.Arab Spring, but the longer Arab winter continues for Palestinians.

:00:57. > :01:02.Prime minister, on Tuesday last week, the Israeli government said

:01:02. > :01:06.it was to recede the forced evictions of -- proceed with the

:01:06. > :01:13.40,000 evictions of Bedouin Arabs. Is it not time we treated Israel as

:01:13. > :01:17.we did apartheid South Africa? I would say to my Honourable Friend

:01:17. > :01:21.is, first of all, we should respect the fact that Israel is a democracy,

:01:21. > :01:24.a country that has a right to exist and the country frequently

:01:24. > :01:30.threatened by its neighbours, but we are also a country that should

:01:30. > :01:32.stand up for Clear human rights and for clear rights and wrongs in

:01:32. > :01:36.international relations. On the issue of settlements, this garment

:01:36. > :01:39.has been very clear that it does not agree with the practice -- his

:01:39. > :01:43.government has been very clear he does not agree with the practice. I

:01:43. > :01:45.raised the issue with the Israeli Prime Minister in a new year

:01:45. > :01:54.telephone call and the government will continue to act and vote on

:01:55. > :01:59.the issue of illegal settlements. 14-year-old girl in my constituency

:01:59. > :02:03.has leukaemia and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. Despite

:02:03. > :02:06.an incredible campaign by her family to get more people to join

:02:06. > :02:10.the blood stem cell register, Bethany still does not have a match

:02:10. > :02:14.and is having to look overseas. What plans does the government have

:02:14. > :02:19.to improve public awareness about this vital issue and increase the

:02:19. > :02:24.number of potential bone marrow donors in the UK? First of all, the

:02:24. > :02:27.Honourable Lady is right to speak up for Bethany specifically, but

:02:27. > :02:31.also for all bone marrow cancer sufferers. It is not widely

:02:31. > :02:34.understood enough about the need to get more people on to the register

:02:34. > :02:38.because of the importance of trying to get a match and the government

:02:38. > :02:42.will be spending about �4 million this year to help promote that and

:02:42. > :02:48.make it happen. But all this in our own constituency and way can

:02:48. > :02:53.promote the idea and encourage people to do what she says. Could I

:02:53. > :02:57.draw my Right Honourable Friend's attention to the excellent paper

:02:57. > :03:03.published this morning which seeks to build on the government's

:03:03. > :03:06.initiatives in building up Cadet forces on the one hand, and getting

:03:06. > :03:12.more military personnel into schools as teachers on the other

:03:12. > :03:16.hand, and proposes that we set up in some of our most deprived

:03:16. > :03:20.communities military academies and free school administered by the

:03:20. > :03:24.Reserve forces and cadet associations. Let me pay tribute to

:03:24. > :03:27.my Honourable friend who does so much to speak up for our reserve

:03:27. > :03:31.forces and for our cadet forces which I incredibly valuable assets

:03:31. > :03:36.in the country. It is worth noting that this year the cadet force will

:03:36. > :03:40.be doing a huge amount to save and preserve our war memorials from the

:03:40. > :03:44.appalling crime they have been suffering in terms of metal theft.

:03:44. > :03:48.I will look very carefully at the report suggests. I think we should

:03:48. > :03:51.be empowering our cadet forces to expand and maybe go into parts of

:03:51. > :03:54.the country where they have been present in the past, and I think

:03:54. > :04:04.the link he makes between cadet forces and schools is one that is a

:04:04. > :04:08.

:04:08. > :04:15.very, very good idea and one we Thank you Mr Speaker. My

:04:15. > :04:19.constituent is 32 years of age, has lived alone for eight years and was

:04:19. > :04:28.forced on to housing benefit because of redundancy. That benefit

:04:28. > :04:34.has just been cut by nearly 50 %. Which does the Prime Minister think

:04:34. > :04:39.is most likely? That her landlord will reduce the rent by 50 % or my

:04:39. > :04:43.constituent will be made homeless? Can I congratulate the Honourable

:04:43. > :04:46.Lady before her conferment in the New year's Honours List. Although I

:04:46. > :04:52.disagree with many of the thing she has tried to do over her political

:04:53. > :05:01.career, mostly disarm Britain at one decidedly, I praise her for her

:05:01. > :05:07.persistent efforts and she quite rightly... I'm sorry, let me answer

:05:07. > :05:11.the question directly. All parties are committed to reform housing

:05:11. > :05:14.benefit. That was Labour's commitment before the last election.

:05:14. > :05:19.The housing benefit bill is completely out of control. Labour's

:05:19. > :05:26.own welfare spokesman said last week that at �20 billion it had to

:05:26. > :05:32.be -- be changed. As we have seen housing benefit reform, we have

:05:32. > :05:41.seen rent levels come down. We have stopped riffing off the taxpayer.

:05:41. > :05:46.The first PMQs of 2012 have finished. The Prime Minister had to

:05:46. > :05:50.deal with questions first from Ed Miliband on rail fares. We do not

:05:50. > :05:55.hear much about that at PMQs, but if you are commuter paying those

:05:55. > :06:00.increases, then it is a big issue. He used his final two questions to

:06:00. > :06:03.ask about Scotland, where there seemed to be almost complete

:06:03. > :06:08.agreement on a two front benches about the union. But not

:06:08. > :06:12.necessarily about how to handle Alex Salmond. We will hear from our

:06:12. > :06:17.experts in a minute. They have just downgraded eurozone growth in the

:06:17. > :06:24.third quarter of last year to 0.1%, which is pretty much flat. It looks

:06:24. > :06:28.like the eurozone is in the process of entering recession. What other

:06:28. > :06:33.viewers saying? There was basically a debate about whether Ed Miliband

:06:33. > :06:38.was right to go on railway fare to begin with. "Of all the big issues,

:06:38. > :06:43.Ed Miliband chose rail fares, and they are increasing to support

:06:43. > :06:52.investment. You can agree or disagree with the policy but the

:06:52. > :06:59.money has to come from somewhere. He is trying to look serious." "He

:06:59. > :07:02.failed to address the issues of rail fares properly." "Who was

:07:02. > :07:10.right on the welfare question when they both said each other was

:07:10. > :07:20.wrong?" To "I thought Ed Miliband's performance was flash on rail fares.

:07:20. > :07:21.

:07:21. > :07:31.Going on Scotland was a way not to take a kicking." And on Scotland, ",

:07:31. > :07:32.

:07:32. > :07:37.--"Why can at the whole of the UK not have a vote on

:07:37. > :07:40.Scotland?""Imagine if we had a referendum on leaving the European

:07:40. > :07:44.union only to hear that the European Parliament said that it

:07:45. > :07:54.would be illegal and would have to be held on their terms. I hope this

:07:54. > :08:02.gives you an idea of the feelings in Scotland."That is not actually

:08:02. > :08:05.the issue. The question is the question and the timing. And also

:08:05. > :08:09.the question is if the Scottish Parliament does it without coming

:08:09. > :08:13.to an agreement with Westminster whether it is then legally binding,

:08:13. > :08:17.and if not, would it be open to challenge in the courts? Not just

:08:17. > :08:22.the referendum results, not just a holding of the referendum, but even

:08:22. > :08:28.the decision of Holyrood to pass a built to call for a referendum, it

:08:28. > :08:34.is blamed in Westminster, that would be open to legal challenge. -

:08:34. > :08:40.- it is claimed in Westminster. Alex Salmond look for a referendum

:08:40. > :08:45.on his own terms, and not those laid out in the Scotland Act? If he

:08:45. > :08:48.does that, it will be challenged, as night follows day. There will be

:08:48. > :08:53.a legal challenge, and a legal challenge long before they get to

:08:53. > :08:56.the vote. It will end up in the Supreme Court in London. It seems

:08:57. > :08:59.inevitable that somebody will challenge it. What was incredible

:08:59. > :09:04.was the lack of clarity as to whether the Government itself would

:09:04. > :09:08.want to challenge it. I heard on the news last night that they were

:09:08. > :09:12.open to negotiations or see you in court. I got calls afterwards to

:09:12. > :09:15.say hold on, they were not threatening to take the Scottish

:09:15. > :09:22.Parliament to court. I asked if they were promising not to take

:09:22. > :09:30.them to court and of course the answer did not come. There is an

:09:30. > :09:34.implied threat, but no explicit threat, that there would be legal

:09:34. > :09:38.action and a chance of success. What do you think the way forward

:09:38. > :09:47.should now be? Everybody has agreed there should be a referendum. Alex

:09:47. > :09:50.Salmond got erected on the basis of one. -- elected. There is an

:09:50. > :09:58.argument about what the question should be and how many there should

:09:58. > :10:02.be. And should it be the Electoral Commission that holds it? One of

:10:02. > :10:08.the founding fathers of modern Scottish nationalism sits on the

:10:08. > :10:12.Electoral Commission. Or should it be something else which would not

:10:12. > :10:15.be quite so impartial? What is the way forward? I think the way

:10:15. > :10:21.forward is for raised more people to say this is a momentous choice.

:10:21. > :10:25.We want a fair, clear and decisive outcome. It is in nobody's

:10:25. > :10:30.interests for the prospect of a referendum to be subject to legal

:10:30. > :10:36.wrangling. Let's get back to basics. If Alex Salmond does not fear the

:10:36. > :10:41.verdict of the Scottish people, what is stopping him getting on

:10:41. > :10:46.with it? What does he fear about letting the franchise being exactly

:10:46. > :10:49.the same franchise as saw him elected as First Minister last May,

:10:49. > :10:55.and David Cameron are elected as Prime Minister of the United

:10:55. > :11:01.Kingdom last year. Let's deal with the basic issues. Affair franchise,

:11:01. > :11:05.fair rules for funding the campaign, make sure the question is fair and

:11:05. > :11:09.the outcome is decisive. People of common sense have a strong interest

:11:09. > :11:12.in that happening on both sides of the border. What we saw in a panic

:11:12. > :11:15.response of the First Minister yesterday, jumping into a

:11:15. > :11:19.television studio in front of the camera, when Michael Moore was

:11:19. > :11:23.speaking at Westminster, that rather gave the game away that

:11:23. > :11:27.despite the fact as First Minister you cannot call the date, as Prime

:11:27. > :11:34.Minister you can no longer call the date for a general election, he

:11:34. > :11:38.regards this as his private placing. This is way too serious and

:11:38. > :11:45.important to be the plaything of anyone at Holyrood or Westminster.

:11:45. > :11:50.Do you think the question should be a simple yes or no to independence?

:11:50. > :11:57.Absolutely. There are two options. Scotland can be a separate

:11:57. > :12:02.sovereign state, which I did agree with that Alex Salmond has spent

:12:03. > :12:08.his life fighting for that. He is only floating devo max as a get out

:12:08. > :12:11.of jail card. He wants to claim that somehow Scotland is still on

:12:11. > :12:18.the march. What we heard from Nicola Sturgeon and the deputy

:12:18. > :12:22.leader of the SNP was very clear. A one question referendum is the

:12:22. > :12:25.position of the Labour Party North and South of the border, the

:12:25. > :12:29.Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. There is a cross-party

:12:29. > :12:32.consensus to resolve this with a single question. The reason Alex

:12:32. > :12:37.Salmond keeps talking up devo max is, for all of his bluster and

:12:37. > :12:42.claims to be brave heart, he is scared. I thought that devo max was

:12:42. > :12:49.going to take over from the Angry Birds and I was looking for the app.

:12:49. > :12:51.I can't find it! You wanted to make a point? Douglas himself gave a

:12:51. > :12:55.speech recently talking about whether it would be sensible to go

:12:55. > :13:01.further and give more powers to the Scottish Parliament. Some people

:13:01. > :13:06.read that as suggesting that Labour would back devo max in the future.

:13:07. > :13:14.What is devo max? The truth is that nobody is agreed on what it is, but

:13:14. > :13:20.the concept is clear at least, lots more powers than now. Many people

:13:20. > :13:25.are saying that it needs this will independence, in other words spot

:13:25. > :13:32.and responsible for tax and spending policies. -- Scotland

:13:32. > :13:36.responsible. The Labour Party are interested in devo max. They point

:13:36. > :13:39.to Sir Menzies Campbell, preparing for the Liberal Democrats, and says

:13:39. > :13:43.they will go down that route. difference between Ming Campbell

:13:43. > :13:47.and myself on one side of the argument and Alex Salmond on the

:13:47. > :13:51.other, he sees devolution as a staging-post to independence. I

:13:51. > :13:54.have never bought that. I see it as a fundamentally different

:13:54. > :13:58.destination for Scotland within the United Kingdom. There are ways in

:13:58. > :14:03.which devolution can be improved but that is wholly separate from

:14:03. > :14:09.the fundamental question, which is should Scotland remain part of the

:14:09. > :14:12.United Kingdom? I think there is a really important point about the

:14:12. > :14:15.integrity of the process. We all agree that this is a decision that

:14:15. > :14:18.could have an impact for hundreds of years. The devolution settlement

:14:18. > :14:22.was three years ago and people have been talking about Bannockburn

:14:22. > :14:27.seven centuries ago. This is really big stuff. The fairness us to be

:14:27. > :14:32.beyond reproach. It will be bad enough if we end up with court

:14:32. > :14:37.cases in the run-up to a referendum. Imagine if we had a referendum with

:14:37. > :14:43.three or four questions, several options, no to get more than 50%.

:14:43. > :14:47.What do you do? You would have court cases after the fat, which

:14:48. > :14:50.would be disastrous. Bringing it back to the South of England, where

:14:50. > :14:59.rail fares are particularly important if you are commuting into

:14:59. > :15:03.London, then I have something for you, Mr Alexander. We have

:15:03. > :15:07.Munchkins beavering away in the darkness, it never allowed out, and

:15:07. > :15:10.they have come up with research from House of Commons library. It

:15:10. > :15:15.shows that David Cameron was right when he said that there were rises

:15:15. > :15:23.of 6% under Labour. He was also right about the train fares being

:15:23. > :15:26.waved the year before the election. But it was only for one year.

:15:26. > :15:29.and we said that because economic circumstances had deteriorated it

:15:29. > :15:35.was right to remove from the railway companies the power to

:15:35. > :15:39.adjust, so that some fares went up significant link. When he came into

:15:39. > :15:42.office, he gave the power back to the railway companies to fiddle the

:15:42. > :15:52.figures, if you like, to make sure that the fares could be

:15:52. > :15:58.significantly higher in some areas. Either the taxpayer pays for it or

:15:58. > :16:02.the fair player. We saw a significant report last week saying

:16:02. > :16:06.that the money does not find its way back to the Department of

:16:06. > :16:10.Transport. I should not have brought that up at all! I was just

:16:10. > :16:20.thinking of our English viewers that were bought with its Gotland

:16:20. > :16:23.

:16:23. > :16:26.and wanted something that matters. I was going to go home and play

:16:26. > :16:31.angry birds but there is something else to do. You have to listen to

:16:31. > :16:34.Radio 4 when a new programme will be on where it shows you how

:16:35. > :16:39.decisions are taken and it looks at the question of Scotland. And the

:16:39. > :16:42.man he used to be the top official for Alex Salmond in Scotland, in St

:16:42. > :16:48.Andrew's House, two former Secretaries of State for Scotland.

:16:48. > :16:55.We have someone who was a political adviser to Alex Salmond, all

:16:55. > :17:00.discussing at 8:00pm, BBC Radio 4, because this is an exploration of

:17:00. > :17:05.the way it works, what are the legalities and how this might be

:17:05. > :17:11.decided. I can still play Angry Birds at the same time. But is the

:17:11. > :17:14.joy of radio. 8pm tonight, do not miss it. Until recently it look

:17:14. > :17:20.like Britain was on the brink of nuclear renaissance. Nuclear power

:17:20. > :17:23.seemingly has it all, low carbon, abundant, relatively cheap. But a

:17:23. > :17:26.new era of nuclear power has not a lot -- arrived, because in the wake

:17:26. > :17:33.of the Fukushima disaster in Japan the industry has something of a PR

:17:33. > :17:36.problem. So can at nuclear ever live up to its early promise? One

:17:36. > :17:46.professor thinks it can. He will join us in a moment, but first

:17:46. > :17:48.

:17:48. > :17:52.I am a professor of nuclear physics and have always believed that

:17:52. > :17:57.nuclear power is a good thing. I am not in the pay of the nuclear

:17:57. > :18:01.industry, nor any environmental movement, so I have no axe to grind.

:18:01. > :18:06.I have no agenda, but I firmly believe that if you want an energy

:18:06. > :18:16.supply that is affordable, secured, reliable and isn't going to destroy

:18:16. > :18:21.

:18:21. > :18:27.our planet's climate, then we cannot afford to live without it.

:18:27. > :18:30."Radioactivity" - Kraftwerk. It is a source of concern to me that

:18:30. > :18:35.people think we can get rid of the reliance on coal and gas by moving

:18:35. > :18:43.to renewables. Solar, wind and wave power will be very important in the

:18:43. > :18:47.future, but if we are to avert the catastrophe of climate change while

:18:47. > :18:52.still retaining standards of living with reliance on energy than we

:18:52. > :18:56.have to change our views on nuclear power. The mood around the world

:18:56. > :19:01.turned against nuclear in the wake of the Fukushima disaster back in

:19:01. > :19:06.March. It is an understandable reaction. But as I learned when I

:19:06. > :19:10.visited Japan, no one died as a result of the meltdown. And,

:19:10. > :19:18.thankfully, so far, there have been no radiation associated health

:19:18. > :19:22.risks. Human civilisation has only been around for 10,000 years. And

:19:22. > :19:25.look what science and technology have achieved in the last 100 years.

:19:25. > :19:29.So to worry about how we are going to deal with nuclear waste

:19:29. > :19:35.thousands of years in the future is utterly irrational. That is

:19:35. > :19:39.assuming, of course, we survive climate change. Nothing is perfect.

:19:39. > :19:44.There are, of course, consequences when things go wrong, and we do

:19:44. > :19:51.seem to have a special fear of radiation. But whatever we decide,

:19:51. > :19:55.it has to be based on a careful assessment of the science. And Jim

:19:55. > :19:58.it joins us now. Thank you for coming onto the programme. You said

:19:58. > :20:01.nobody died in the incident, but tens of thousands of people were

:20:01. > :20:06.forced to leave their homes and many of them will not ever return.

:20:06. > :20:12.It is more than just a PR problem. Absolutely. We should not downplay

:20:12. > :20:17.the effect it has had on 80,000 or so inhabitants who had to be moved

:20:17. > :20:22.out of the exclusion zone. And, yes, it has turned lives upside down.

:20:22. > :20:26.The point is we are not trying to say that this is wonderful and

:20:26. > :20:31.beautiful and safe. Accidents do happen, but they happen in all

:20:31. > :20:34.industries. So it is a price worth paying? They may be fairly rare,

:20:34. > :20:40.but looking at Chernobyl and Fukushima, these are things we

:20:40. > :20:44.might have to risk. The example I always say it is if we think of the

:20:44. > :20:49.disaster in India, in the wake of that we did not say we would stop

:20:49. > :20:53.all chemical industry. Accidents happen and we have to try and avert

:20:53. > :20:57.them. It does not mean we go and live in caves. Were you surprised

:20:57. > :21:01.that after decades of the promises of nuclear power that it hasn't

:21:01. > :21:06.happened? Certainly in the UK successive governments have dilly

:21:06. > :21:11.dally over what we are going to do. Either it is not happening or of

:21:11. > :21:15.something is happening there is a lack of transparency. Damian Green,

:21:15. > :21:18.would you be pushing ahead with this more quickly with nuclear

:21:18. > :21:23.power and a new range of generators if it were not for the Liberal

:21:23. > :21:27.Democrats? I am not sure. Fukushima was such a future event that any

:21:27. > :21:29.sensible government will have looked at it. We got the chief

:21:29. > :21:34.nuclear inspector to look at both the weight we produce nuclear power

:21:34. > :21:39.in the country and also the government arrangements to stop

:21:39. > :21:42.disasters happening and he has given the industry a clean bill of

:21:42. > :21:47.health. There are projects on the go and people planning to build new

:21:47. > :21:52.reactors. There was a delay under the previous government where there

:21:52. > :22:00.was a gap, but we are pushing ahead. He does have to play a role. If you

:22:01. > :22:05.want clean energy in the future, Nuclear has to play a part. Is a

:22:05. > :22:08.big part the subsidy issue? If you do not provide a subsidy for new

:22:08. > :22:16.nuclear power it will not happen quickly because people will not

:22:16. > :22:19.come forward and pay for it. Clearly we are not in an era of

:22:19. > :22:24.subsidies available for big energy companies, but there are companies

:22:24. > :22:29.coming forward with proposals for new reactors. Would Labour have a

:22:29. > :22:31.subsidy? We need to see what the energy companies can do in terms of

:22:31. > :22:36.financing this. But Labour was clear that by the time we left

:22:36. > :22:43.office there was an important role for a new build nuclear, but the

:22:43. > :22:47.financing is complex. About 15 % of the energy mix is contributed by

:22:47. > :22:51.nuclear and all of them are going to be decommissioned by 2027. So

:22:51. > :22:55.that is why we were moving when we left office not just to say in

:22:55. > :22:59.principle we wanted a new-build of nuclear weather complex policy and

:22:59. > :23:02.finance issues, but making sure could be British workers and jobs

:23:02. > :23:06.generated as a result of the construction of the new facilities.

:23:06. > :23:12.Do you think we will see a new range of them? The other point is

:23:12. > :23:14.that without subsidies, certainly Nuclear will become competitive

:23:14. > :23:18.economically long before other renewable energy sources. But there

:23:18. > :23:22.is also the issue of whether we want to impose some sort of a

:23:22. > :23:25.carbon tax on fossil fuel burning. It is not so much worrying about

:23:25. > :23:30.nuclear, people worry more about climate change which is more

:23:30. > :23:34.immediate. Thank you for coming on to the programme. When that they

:23:34. > :23:37.were leaders did Gordon Brown's awkward smiles all William Hague's

:23:37. > :23:43.baseball cap become more memorable than anything they said?

:23:43. > :23:47.Politicians spend a lot of effort telling us about their policies

:23:47. > :23:51.because they save their hot air for something more useful and focus on

:23:51. > :24:00.their image instead. We have been taking a look at whether style is

:24:00. > :24:04.just, or even more, important than At his relaunch yesterday Ed

:24:04. > :24:07.Miliband wanted to talk values, but pesky hacks wanted to discuss

:24:07. > :24:12.whether he is too gawky to the Prime Minister, an accusation he

:24:12. > :24:17.brushed aside. We had a terrible result in the 2010 election. I

:24:17. > :24:22.think people forget about this. We got 29 % of the vote. That is our

:24:22. > :24:27.second lowest result since universal suffrage was introduced.

:24:27. > :24:32.That is pretty bad, right? I don't think anyone is saying we are in

:24:32. > :24:40.that opinion in the opinion polls. I want authority and conviction.

:24:40. > :24:44.Dennis! Dennis! You look How to look and sound like a leader

:24:45. > :24:48.is one of the film's -- themes of the new Margaret Thatcher, has

:24:48. > :24:53.cinemas packed, although she did not always get the photocalls quite

:24:53. > :24:57.right. But, she looked like a superstar compared to Michael Foot,

:24:57. > :25:02.whose brilliant brain was often overshadowed by his dishevelled

:25:02. > :25:07.donkey jacket. Labour had cottoned on to the image thing by the time

:25:07. > :25:11.Tony Blair became Prime Minister, so much so that it is reported

:25:11. > :25:15.advisers agonised over what kind of spectacles he should wear. Though

:25:15. > :25:20.his successor could not quite translate private charm into public

:25:20. > :25:23.poise. One American pollster reckons the best way of spotting

:25:23. > :25:28.leadership potential is to show voters clips of politicians

:25:28. > :25:38.speaking with the sound turned off. Which, luckily, is again we can

:25:38. > :25:45.

:25:45. > :25:55.play at home. What do you think These are the best dancers I have

:25:55. > :25:57.

:25:57. > :26:02.ever seen in my interview career! Mac -- best answers. His style is

:26:02. > :26:05.as important as substance. For the first time in 2010, people said

:26:05. > :26:11.they were voting on the character and personality of the leader as

:26:11. > :26:16.for the policies they were exposing. In an age of televised debate. When

:26:16. > :26:21.there is less ideological differences than they might believe,

:26:21. > :26:24.people make judgments about character. So why bother saying

:26:24. > :26:30.anything at all? Just renewing silence? That might have been the

:26:30. > :26:33.best answer I could have given. I think the issue is authenticity.

:26:33. > :26:37.You talk about Alastair Darling. The reason he is seen is a serious

:26:37. > :26:41.figure is not because of the suits he wears all the way he combs his

:26:41. > :26:46.hair, it's the suggestion that people get him. Kenneth Clarke is

:26:46. > :26:49.the same on Conservative benches. But at some level voters reach a

:26:49. > :26:53.basic judgment about individuals in politics and that is partly about

:26:53. > :26:58.image but more, I would argue, about the longer judgment they

:26:58. > :27:02.reach about character and values. But it does not change easily. Is

:27:02. > :27:05.that the problem for Ed Miliband? It is difficult to shift it.

:27:05. > :27:09.Somebody like Kenneth Clarke, I remember the time of the ambulance

:27:09. > :27:13.drivers' strike, he was hardly cuddly at that point. Many of us

:27:13. > :27:17.were deeply aggrieved with how he conducted himself. But over a

:27:17. > :27:20.lifetime in politics, even his harshest critics would say this is

:27:20. > :27:26.a substantial, serious politician who graces politics with his

:27:26. > :27:29.presence. The danger is trying to create an image. If you're a

:27:29. > :27:31.politician you think you need to create an image and you need

:27:31. > :27:37.something just to do that, then voters will smell you as in

:27:37. > :27:42.authentic. The image of the women in 1975 is very different from the

:27:42. > :27:46.ones we have seen now. But the substance was the same. Does Ed

:27:46. > :27:50.Miliband have an image problem? Do the polls tell us that? He does,

:27:50. > :27:53.but I was listening to the point about him changing. He is less well

:27:53. > :27:56.regarded and David Cameron was when he had been leader of opposition

:27:56. > :27:59.parties for 18 months, but David Cameron became Prime Minister

:27:59. > :28:04.because his position changed dramatically with the public at

:28:04. > :28:09.some point after that. Ed Miliband is not down-and-out but he has a

:28:09. > :28:12.serious problem. People do not quite get him. On three

:28:12. > :28:16.characteristics that you have to have to be prime minister, he is

:28:16. > :28:20.much behind his opponents and some of it is about your opponent. He is

:28:20. > :28:24.well behind on been seen as a capable leader, good in a crisis or

:28:24. > :28:28.having a clear vision for Britain. Put that with the economy, and

:28:28. > :28:32.understanding his position, we do not know. It is almost 1 o'clock

:28:32. > :28:36.and we have to leave it there. Time to but to add your misery for the

:28:36. > :28:42.guest beer competition. It was 1966. But we are still printing out all

:28:42. > :28:46.the answers, so we will pick a winner tomorrow. Right, that is it

:28:46. > :28:52.for today. Our first PMQs of 2012. Thanks to all the guests. We will