29/02/2012

:00:43. > :00:47.Morning, folks. This is the Daily Politics. Is the Coalition

:00:47. > :00:51.disintegrating before our very eyes? Or is it all political

:00:51. > :00:54.posturing to save Nick Clegg's skin? It is said public spats over

:00:54. > :00:57.health and House of Lords reform are fuelling mistrust between the

:00:57. > :01:03.two Coalition parties. We'll be asking, can the coalition stay the

:01:03. > :01:05.course? Employers are expected to urge the Government to alter its

:01:05. > :01:13.work experience schemes after complaints that young people are

:01:13. > :01:23.being exploited. It's a leap year, it's February 29th. Who will be

:01:23. > :01:23.

:01:23. > :01:26.asking who the questions at PMQs? We'll have all the action at midday.

:01:26. > :01:28.And, as part of its campaign against government cuts, one of

:01:28. > :01:34.Britain's biggest unions calls for civil disobedience during the

:01:34. > :01:38.Olympics. All that and more coming up in the next 90 minutes. With us

:01:38. > :01:41.for the duration we've bagged ourselves a couple of cheap interns.

:01:41. > :01:43.Signing up to the unpaid Daily Politics work experience programme

:01:43. > :01:53.this week are Foreign Minister Jeremy Browne and Shadow Cabinet

:01:53. > :01:54.

:01:54. > :01:57.Office Minister Michael Dugher. us then! You see we have not opted

:01:57. > :02:00.out of any government work programme so far. But then we

:02:00. > :02:03.haven't opted into anything either. And if you've been a tad confused

:02:03. > :02:07.about the Government's different work programmes, don't worry. So

:02:07. > :02:09.are we. The Employment Minister, Chris Grayling, is trying to put

:02:09. > :02:12.people straight about the whole thing this morning. Representatives

:02:12. > :02:17.from dozens of companies are meeting Mr Grayling to discuss

:02:17. > :02:19.concerns about the schemes. Several firms have already withdrawn from

:02:20. > :02:26.certain programmes after protests that unemployed young people are

:02:26. > :02:31.being exploited. We are joined now by Michael Bradley, from Right to

:02:31. > :02:38.Work, who has been campaigning against these schemes. Welcome to

:02:38. > :02:43.the Daily Politics. Who pays your salary? I am paid by trade unions

:02:43. > :02:46.and campaign groups, who give donations against the Right to Work

:02:46. > :02:56.campaign. Are you a full-time employee of the Socialist Workers'

:02:56. > :03:01.Party? I get money from them. Socialist Workers' Party, its

:03:01. > :03:06.policy is against parliamentary democracy. Is that right? It is for

:03:06. > :03:10.a revolutionary, Marxist overthrow of the Government? I would argue we

:03:10. > :03:17.are for real democracy. Parliamentary democracy does not

:03:17. > :03:21.represent people very well. believe in the revolutionary

:03:21. > :03:26.overthrow of the British political system? I believe ordinary working

:03:26. > :03:31.people should have the ability to control their lives. That is a

:03:31. > :03:38.revolution you would like? The sort of thing that is going on in Egypt

:03:38. > :03:43.at the moment. I do not think it went too well for you there. He

:03:43. > :03:50.said, given you back rank, let me just get the right quote... Of he

:03:50. > :03:55.who does not work does not eat? Probably Lenin. He would have

:03:55. > :04:00.supported these work-experience schemes. There are 1 million

:04:00. > :04:04.unemployed young people in this country at the moment. It took

:04:04. > :04:10.protests outside McDonald's and Tesco's to have a serious debate.

:04:10. > :04:15.The sort of thing we saw with claimant after claiming showing

:04:15. > :04:20.letters they had received from the DWP to show these schemes are

:04:20. > :04:26.corrosive. We need to have a serious debate. That is a serious

:04:26. > :04:31.point. It took the protests to get this into the public debate. It was

:04:31. > :04:35.not the Labour Party, nor the Lib Dems. It certainly was not the

:04:35. > :04:37.Conservatives. It took the demonstrations. The scheme was

:04:37. > :04:42.working. People were getting opportunities they would not

:04:42. > :04:46.otherwise have got. It has not come into public debate in a way that

:04:46. > :04:52.has worked well. It has made a number of big companies to have

:04:52. > :04:58.second thoughts about Ted. I find this hugely frustrating. I spend a

:04:58. > :05:03.lot of time in Asia as a Foreign Office minister. People are looking

:05:03. > :05:08.for real opportunities in life. They are trying to establish

:05:08. > :05:12.themselves in working life. These schemes are what young people need.

:05:12. > :05:18.What a great opportunity to get work experience and no more about

:05:18. > :05:23.it! What is wrong with it? Nothing wrong with training schemes and

:05:23. > :05:29.work experience. Do not coerce people on to the schemes. Why can't

:05:29. > :05:34.they receive a minimum age for doing a 30 L week? McDonald's has a

:05:34. > :05:39.turnover of �15 billion. It is hoped this will lead to a job, at

:05:39. > :05:44.least on a minimum wage or better. Companies like Tesco's have decided

:05:44. > :05:49.they will allow a minimum wage. Despite government figures of 50%

:05:49. > :05:53.success rate, there is no real evidence of this battle. The only

:05:53. > :06:01.examples we have are the for 200 people who went on to the scheme

:06:02. > :06:07.that Tesco and 300 you got a job. Everybody is in favour of training

:06:07. > :06:11.schemes and work experience. Do not coerce people. What would be wrong

:06:11. > :06:18.with a bit of coercion? These people are living on benefits that

:06:18. > :06:21.the rest of the tax payers pay. Ed Miliband has said we cannot have a

:06:21. > :06:25.something for nothing society. It has to be something for something.

:06:25. > :06:29.What is wrong with saying, if you're taking benefits, we were not

:06:29. > :06:36.take them away but we would like you to do some work experience. We

:06:36. > :06:41.think that could lead to a job. are in favour of work experience.

:06:41. > :06:46.The New Deal was a tougher scheme. The reason why it is really

:06:46. > :06:50.important is it is not just about skills for work, it is about soft

:06:50. > :06:55.skills - making sure that people are not losing the habit of getting

:06:55. > :07:02.up in the morning and arriving at work. It has to be a proper pathway

:07:02. > :07:07.to a real job. Labour keeps on saying mess. You cannot guarantee

:07:07. > :07:12.that work experience will lead to a real job. You can say, if it gives

:07:12. > :07:17.you some of the softer skills about the work force, then it will help

:07:17. > :07:21.you. It is not an apprenticeship. What you can also do is make sure

:07:21. > :07:25.there when people are on a placement, they are not locked in

:07:25. > :07:32.for too long just doing the placement. They need time to do a

:07:32. > :07:38.proper job search as well. cannot Micra manage that! You can.

:07:38. > :07:42.You can have an agreement between the JobCentre, the job-seeker and

:07:42. > :07:50.the employer. If someone still has time to look for a full-time job,

:07:50. > :07:54.if they get offered a job they can come off the placement. No one

:07:54. > :07:59.objects to any body campaigning. You do not just campaign or stand

:07:59. > :08:05.outside shops you think are behaving badly over work experience.

:08:05. > :08:09.You invade them. You tried to close them down. You break the law.

:08:09. > :08:14.agree with the statement made by Len McCluskey. If working people

:08:14. > :08:20.are not being represented by politicians, they should have the

:08:20. > :08:24.right to take industrial action and they should have the right to civil

:08:24. > :08:29.disobedience. Do you really think it's right? You have put forward

:08:29. > :08:34.your case. You could stand outside McDonald's, Tesco's, or whichever

:08:34. > :08:41.shop has attracted your ire and you could speak to people going in. You

:08:41. > :08:47.could hand out leaflets. You could shout. You do not do that. You

:08:47. > :08:52.intimidate people from going in. Correct? The LEA fitting process it,

:08:52. > :08:58.putting placards outside, is what is going on. If there had not been

:08:58. > :09:02.an occupation of Tesco's or McDonald's, we would not be sitting

:09:02. > :09:07.around this table. The usual political discourse that should go

:09:07. > :09:11.on in this country, those of ordinary people have been abandoned.

:09:11. > :09:17.You think you are within your rights to disrupt trade and to

:09:17. > :09:20.intimidate customers? intimidation at all has gone on.

:09:20. > :09:25.There is long tradition in Britain dating back to the suffragettes and

:09:25. > :09:29.so on. If politicians do not represent you, you have to take

:09:30. > :09:36.industrial action or take action ourselves. Is this the start of a

:09:36. > :09:41.revolutionary moment? It is a process in British society with

:09:41. > :09:44.health, pensions and taxes, ordinary people were not take it

:09:44. > :09:46.anymore. Britain's biggest union has threatened to disrupt the

:09:46. > :09:49.London Olympics as part of its battle against cuts to public

:09:49. > :09:51.sector pensions. Len McClusky, the General Secretary of Unite, urged

:09:51. > :09:57.other unions opposed to the Coalition's pension plans and

:09:57. > :10:00.austerity measures to also target the Olympics. He also called on the

:10:00. > :10:06.public to back the unions by engaging in all forms of civil

:10:06. > :10:08.disobedience within the law during the Games. Well, this is what the

:10:08. > :10:15.Conservative Chairman, Baroness Warsi, said - that Len McCluskey's

:10:15. > :10:18.comments were appalling. Comments like this have far reaching

:10:18. > :10:22.ramifications, not just in relation to the culture they create in the

:10:22. > :10:26.country at a time when the Olympics are on time and on budget and

:10:26. > :10:32.everyone is preparing for this celebration. We do not want people

:10:32. > :10:38.looking at Britain and thinking, well I be said? Will the service's

:10:38. > :10:42.work? And to send out these messages in this year are deeply

:10:42. > :10:48.irresponsible, hugely selfish. I am delighted that some members from

:10:48. > :10:52.the Labour Party are beginning to come out and distance themselves. I

:10:52. > :10:59.would like to see it Ed Miliband condemn these comments and distance

:10:59. > :11:04.himself from them and ask Len McCluskey to retract them. Are you

:11:04. > :11:11.distancing yourself from these comments? Last night, Tessa Jowell,

:11:11. > :11:15.the shadow Olympics Minister, made the position absolutely clear. I

:11:15. > :11:22.made a comment on Twitter this morning. Ed Miliband has made his

:11:22. > :11:32.position clear, that it is totally unacceptable. Len McCluskey is the

:11:32. > :11:32.

:11:33. > :11:37.General Secretary of Unite. The policies of Unite are up to the

:11:37. > :11:43.union. As Jeremy Brown is implying, the financial links between Labour

:11:43. > :11:51.and Unite are clear. They have the biggest financial backer. If you

:11:51. > :11:55.think it is so disposal, get him to retract them. People like Jeremy

:11:55. > :12:01.says we're in the pockets of the unions where we agree with them. We

:12:01. > :12:08.have made it clear, we do not think it is acceptable. It is not in the

:12:08. > :12:17.interests of Unite members. We are not going to cut links with people

:12:17. > :12:24.who work the factory floors, work in hospitals. Kid you not say, we

:12:24. > :12:29.are financed by the union but we do not agree with what it says?

:12:29. > :12:33.will say that. Labour Party campaigns relied and healthily on

:12:33. > :12:37.funding from the union. We have seen the Labour Party checked with

:12:37. > :12:39.the unions before tabling amendments, questions in the House

:12:39. > :12:44.of Commons to make sure that the unions approve of what Labour is

:12:44. > :12:47.doing in the House of Commons. The idea that there is a distance

:12:47. > :12:51.between the union that made Ed Miliband the leader of the Labour

:12:52. > :13:01.Party and Ed Miliband being able to act freely from the union, no one

:13:02. > :13:03.

:13:03. > :13:06.believes that. Donors do things that political parties do not like.

:13:06. > :13:10.The Labour Party have vastly more money than the Liberal Democrats

:13:10. > :13:15.because they get huge amounts of tied donations from the unions. It

:13:15. > :13:20.comes with votes at Labour conferences, selection of the

:13:20. > :13:24.Labour leader. There are tens of thousands of politicians around the

:13:24. > :13:29.camp a -- country who have put themselves forward so to help with

:13:29. > :13:36.the Olympic Games. The fact that Unite wants to sabotage the games,

:13:36. > :13:40.along with the Labour Party... do not think you can say that.

:13:40. > :13:45.have an honest relationship with a number of trade unions. I will not

:13:45. > :13:49.apologise for the historic links of the Labour Party with working

:13:49. > :13:54.people. It is an honest relationship. We can say, we do not

:13:54. > :14:00.agree with you. It is not right for the country. Ed Miliband has made

:14:00. > :14:05.that clear. We have made our position absolutely clear. What

:14:05. > :14:13.will you do as a government with the disobedience and strikes?

:14:13. > :14:17.will put contingency measures in place. A lot of people will have

:14:17. > :14:23.cause for great alarm. We need to make sure they remain a celebration.

:14:23. > :14:26.Millions of people want the Games to be a success. Now, the evenings

:14:26. > :14:36.are getting lighter, the weather is getting warmer, spring is in the

:14:36. > :14:37.

:14:37. > :14:44.air. So, it's time for the political party spring conferences!

:14:44. > :14:47.Even I do not have to go to them. But, as the Conservatives meet this

:14:47. > :14:53.weekend, and the Lib Dems get ready to assemble next weekend, the

:14:53. > :14:57.tensions between the parties have once again risen. The last few

:14:57. > :15:01.weeks have seen coalition waters get ever more choppy. Other parties

:15:01. > :15:05.drifting apart? In the latest Lib Dem intervention on a Health Bill,

:15:06. > :15:10.Nick Clegg wrote to MPs and peers of principle for more amendments.

:15:10. > :15:14.He said we want to see changes made to the Bill. The official spokesman

:15:14. > :15:18.of the Prime Minister said, we do not see any need for any further

:15:18. > :15:23.significant changes to the Bill. Another story is the House of Lords

:15:23. > :15:27.reform. It is a totemic Lib Dem policy. Over 80 Conservative

:15:27. > :15:31.backbenchers will try to scupper the introduction of elected peers.

:15:31. > :15:35.Lord Matthew Oakeshott said the Conservatives could kiss goodbye to

:15:35. > :15:38.propose changes to constituency boundaries that could favour the

:15:38. > :15:41.Conservatives. There are other clouds on the horizon. The

:15:41. > :15:46.Government is calling for the European our Convention of Human

:15:46. > :15:52.Rights to be rewritten. Many Lib Dems are happy with how it operates.

:15:52. > :15:56.I am joined by Philip Davies and Andrew George. Should Nick Clegg

:15:56. > :16:00.really be conducting, effectively, a campaign against government

:16:00. > :16:03.legislation, when he is the Deputy Prime Minister in terms of writing

:16:03. > :16:13.to Lib Dem peers and MPs about concessions under members to the

:16:13. > :16:14.

:16:14. > :16:22.No, his responsibility is to support the Government. Those of us

:16:22. > :16:26.who want to disagree we sit on the back benchers. -- backbenches. He

:16:26. > :16:31.can't be part of the Government when he wants and part of the

:16:31. > :16:35.opposition. Andrew George, isn't this all posturing? There are no

:16:35. > :16:39.real concessions? This was to save his own skin? I think there have

:16:39. > :16:43.been some important concessions. It's made the bill less bad, but

:16:43. > :16:47.not good enough yet to pass. I disagree with Philip. I think one

:16:47. > :16:51.of the great things about this being the first coalition in living

:16:51. > :16:57.memory is that we are in unchartered waters and I think it's

:16:57. > :17:00.great that we are having debates in open rather than behind closed

:17:00. > :17:07.doors of the Cabinet and that in fact it enables the whole country

:17:07. > :17:10.to take part in the kind of debates which really - that allow

:17:10. > :17:16.Parliament to hold the Government to account. What happens to

:17:16. > :17:20.collective responsibility then? Well, is that such an important

:17:20. > :17:24.thing, or is it more important to make sure there is genuine debate

:17:24. > :17:28.in the country and people can see the process by which political

:17:29. > :17:31.decisions are taken? I don't think it damages the coalition or the

:17:31. > :17:38.strength of the Government. I think the Government is doing a very good

:17:38. > :17:41.job and I think it's doing a doubly good job because it's enabling open

:17:41. > :17:46.debate. Collective responsibility isn't that important and on Lords

:17:46. > :17:50.reform there are many who won't support those proposals? Well, yeah,

:17:50. > :17:56.but we are backbenchers. We are not part of the Government. We are not

:17:56. > :18:00.picking and choosing as a minister what we'll support and what we are

:18:00. > :18:07.not. That is the job and that is what we intend. Rather than running

:18:07. > :18:12.a Government within a government. How important is the reform?

:18:12. > :18:16.not sure it's as important as some people make out and I think that,

:18:17. > :18:22.my own personal opinion, is that we should approach the opinion of

:18:22. > :18:26.Lords reform considering first what we want, if we want, a second

:18:26. > :18:31.chamber. It's only after we have answered that question, what do we

:18:32. > :18:35.need a second cham ber for, is it for -- chamber for, is it for

:18:35. > :18:39.scrutiny, then in which case some of the options under the reform

:18:39. > :18:44.proposals coming out of Government I think will actually cause debate

:18:44. > :18:50.across the parties. Briefly, in the next election would you like to see

:18:50. > :18:57.joint coalition candidates? Philip Davies? Absolutely not, no.

:18:57. > :19:02.Gentlemen, thank you. Speaking of unsurprising stories, we just heard

:19:03. > :19:06.two there. The Prime Minister has condemned Len McClusky now. That is

:19:06. > :19:16.also filed under least surprising story of the day. We are joined by

:19:16. > :19:17.

:19:17. > :19:22.let's call them the coalition eJanke lists. -- evangelist. The

:19:22. > :19:27.Conservative MP, Nick Boles. I was trying to think of that American

:19:27. > :19:33.movie, where there was the great evangelist there and he talked in

:19:33. > :19:38.tongues. Held snakes. You've not done that. No. Let's see if we can

:19:38. > :19:42.help you here. On this Health Bill now, with Nick Clegg and Shirley

:19:42. > :19:45.Williams with this posturing letter, it's licence dissident isn't it?

:19:45. > :19:49.think what British people want us to do is get on with the bill and

:19:49. > :19:53.get it into law and get on the job of improving the NHS and dealing

:19:53. > :19:58.with the big challenges that are coming up, integrating social care

:19:58. > :20:01.and healthcare to make a real difference. It's licenced dissent,

:20:01. > :20:04.isn't it? The House of Lords has to pass legislation and they are

:20:04. > :20:07.entitled to put forward amendments and I think the Prime Minister's

:20:07. > :20:12.made clear that so long as they are about clarifying the intent that is

:20:12. > :20:18.already in there in the bill, not changing the fundamental measures,

:20:18. > :20:21.then that is something - That's undergraded the role of competition.

:20:21. > :20:25.We had the health minister telling Nick Robinson on the news last

:20:25. > :20:29.night he's had a complete rethink about the role of competition. That

:20:29. > :20:32.is not clarifying, but rewriting? It's not true. That's what he said.

:20:32. > :20:37.It's always been clear that what works in competition and what works

:20:37. > :20:42.with the reforms that the last Government brought in, was on fixed

:20:42. > :20:47.price and the LSE did research and discovered that helps increase

:20:47. > :20:51.standards. What doesn't work is competition on price. The original

:20:51. > :20:53.draft of the bill perhaps wasn't as clear as it could have been on that.

:20:53. > :20:57.What the Lords have done, they've made that clearer. We have accepted

:20:57. > :21:01.it in the Commons. If they need slightly different language to make

:21:01. > :21:04.it even clearer, than that won't cause any problem. Is there anyone

:21:04. > :21:08.who wants to keep this on the road? The coalition is very important for

:21:08. > :21:11.the national interest. This country is teetering on the brink of a

:21:11. > :21:14.disaster. Many European countries have slipped over that brink. We

:21:14. > :21:21.have not, because two parties came together to do some very difficult

:21:21. > :21:24.things. One of the difficult things and you agree in principle, but the

:21:24. > :21:30.coalition agreement doesn't lay down what the proposals would be,

:21:30. > :21:35.House of Lords reform. How many Conservative backbenchers will

:21:35. > :21:39.oppose the reform? I think there will be clearly some rebellions. I

:21:39. > :21:43.don't think there will be so many that it threatens our majority. We

:21:43. > :21:50.are hoping that the Labour Party will support the reforms, given

:21:50. > :21:54.they have - Will they support Nick Clegg? Our manifesto commitment was

:21:54. > :22:00.for 100% elected House of Lords. I think we need to reserve judgment

:22:00. > :22:06.until we see what the proposals are from the Government. We don't know

:22:06. > :22:10.what the Government proposals are. 80% over a period of time will be

:22:10. > :22:18.elected and a chamber of 450. is a massive change. There are

:22:18. > :22:22.different views. I know that. What about your views? We are saying

:22:22. > :22:28.it's not unreasonable to wait until the Government puts the proposals

:22:28. > :22:32.out there. Would you be in favour of an elected chamber in which -- a

:22:32. > :22:37.second chamber in which 80% is elected? Our manifesto commitment.

:22:37. > :22:42.Never mind that. I'm asking you. It's 100%. Your view? I'm saying

:22:42. > :22:48.that my view is that we stood on a manifesto and some of us -

:22:48. > :22:55.haven't made up your mind? Yes. are the Government. We'll wait to

:22:55. > :23:01.see the proposals. Our manifesto is 100%. Depressing, isn't it? Not

:23:01. > :23:06.even in favour of democracy. We'll let our viewers pick up on that.

:23:06. > :23:11.Why not talk about your manifesto? It's such a reactionary party.

:23:11. > :23:19.puttier manifesto in the bin and broke the promises. You had your

:23:19. > :23:22.chance to answer the question. Let me ask you this - was it -- the

:23:22. > :23:28.boundary changes that the Conservatives are keen on, was the

:23:28. > :23:33.deal with the Lib Dems, was the AV referendum for the boundary changes

:23:33. > :23:37.or is it the House of Lords for the boundary changes? I haven't been

:23:37. > :23:42.involved in any deals. You are getting as bad as him. I support

:23:42. > :23:49.the changes on their own merits. understand that. It's better to

:23:49. > :23:53.have fewer MPs. You see, on the Sunday Politics, we had this debate

:23:53. > :23:57.between Matthew Oakeshott and Philip Davies there and Matthew

:23:58. > :24:01.Oakeshott said if you don't give us reform of the House of Lords we

:24:01. > :24:08.won't give you the boundary changes. He speaks for himself. I understand

:24:08. > :24:14.that. What I'm trying to ask was, what was the prid pro quo? I'm in

:24:14. > :24:18.favour of AV referendum. Oh, no. listen. I'm in favour of AV and the

:24:18. > :24:28.boundary changes and Lords reform and I voted for all three. There

:24:28. > :24:28.

:24:28. > :24:33.was no deal. There is no trade-off. I support all three independently.

:24:33. > :24:37.The Conservatives I have spoken to -- I just voted for what I believed

:24:37. > :24:40.in. Some have thought that the boundary changes had been in return

:24:40. > :24:45.for the AV referendum and you've had that. Is that true or not?

:24:45. > :24:47.don't know whether they think that or not. I think it's the

:24:47. > :24:50.understanding in the Parliamentary party, but we have a commitment in

:24:50. > :24:53.the programme of Government for the coalition to bring forward a bill

:24:53. > :25:00.on the House of Lords reform. We had a commitment in our manifesto,

:25:00. > :25:04.as did the others, for a democratic chamber. It was not Lords reform,

:25:04. > :25:10.so even if your party can't deliver Lords reform you still think you

:25:10. > :25:14.should get the boundary changes? Yes, because as Jeremy said they

:25:14. > :25:19.are independent in themselves. Matthew Oakeshott is a licenced

:25:19. > :25:23.grenade thrower for the party. They don't make party policy. They are

:25:23. > :25:30.out there to broaden the envelope of debate. I wasn't holding him up

:25:30. > :25:34.as the font of all wisdom. opportunity -- there's only four

:25:34. > :25:38.Prime Ministers alive and I had the opportunity to talk with John Major,

:25:38. > :25:46.which was a privilege and I asked him about the coalition. He thought

:25:46. > :25:50.it was the better than when he was Prime Minister. We'll leave it here

:25:50. > :25:55.and move on. Gentlemen, thank you. We'll move on to something a little

:25:55. > :25:59.lighter. Now, as it's the 29th February, I'm going to read the

:25:59. > :26:02.next link. There's been uproar after it's been reported in the

:26:02. > :26:04.Daily Mail that Woking Borough Council has spent �30,000 on

:26:04. > :26:09.Diamond Jubilee mugs for all their primary schoolchildren, despite

:26:09. > :26:13.being heavily in debt. Mugs indeed! Especially when all they really had

:26:13. > :26:16.to do if they wanted a piece of high-class crockery, that could be

:26:16. > :26:23.passed down from generation to generation to help remember a

:26:23. > :26:27.golden age, was of course... Enter the Guess the Year competition.

:26:27. > :26:30.Someone who I imagine will be quite cross to hear about this is the

:26:30. > :26:39.Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles. You may remember after we discussed

:26:39. > :26:44.him last week, he tweeted this, "I claim my tag, cough up at AF Neil."

:26:44. > :26:49.We are pretty strict about giving away mugs. You've all been warned,

:26:49. > :26:53.but just this once. Eric Pickles we got your request, so I'm proud to

:26:53. > :27:00.present you with a mug for your big lunch. I could not be happier. Let

:27:00. > :27:05.us check where it is made. I hope it's a British mug. I could not be

:27:05. > :27:10.happier! I regard this as the pinnical of political success!

:27:10. > :27:13.said he couldn't get a mug unless he came on the programme.

:27:13. > :27:22.Apparently I'm going to be reminding you how to enter, but

:27:22. > :27:32.let's see if you can remember when this happened.

:27:32. > :27:38.# Bad boys, stick together, never sad boys... #

:27:38. > :27:45.# Give me your money just give me your money #. It's like toy money.

:27:45. > :27:55.Not impressed. Too heavy in my purse.

:27:55. > :28:09.

:28:09. > :28:17.# I hopped into my car... # MUSIC # What a feeling

:28:17. > :28:26.# I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life... #

:28:26. > :28:36.# Gold, always believe in your soul # You've got the power to know... #

:28:36. > :28:41.

:28:41. > :28:51.So, to be in with a chance of winning the mug send your answer to

:28:51. > :28:53.

:28:53. > :29:03.our special quiz e-mail address: You can see all the conditions -

:29:03. > :29:04.

:29:04. > :29:10.yawn, yawn - six committees have looked at it. Go to the website! It

:29:10. > :29:16.will be up on the screen somewhere! 23 boxes have been ticked. Let's

:29:16. > :29:20.move on. It's coming up to midday. We'll look at Big Ben. It's Prime

:29:20. > :29:27.Minister's questions. There it is. That's not all. Nick is here after

:29:27. > :29:32.his splin did interview last night with the health -- splendid

:29:32. > :29:36.interview with the health last night. The competition -- the

:29:36. > :29:40.Health Secretary last night. The competition will be there. All MPs

:29:41. > :29:44.will have been told talking about Len McClusky as much and as often

:29:44. > :29:49.as possible. It's a gift to the coalition. I think there will be a

:29:49. > :29:55.contest between two stories. Maybe the gift that keeps on giving.

:29:55. > :29:58.suspect it will. Len likes a turn of phrase. People tell us we

:29:58. > :30:05.shouldn't be like Greece. What's wrong with Greece? The food is

:30:05. > :30:08.great and the weather superb and they have general strikes. Len is a

:30:08. > :30:13.man with a lively turn of phrase, but if you were sitting in Ed

:30:13. > :30:17.Miliband's office at the moment you might think he would have thought

:30:17. > :30:22.more carefully before opening his mouth. I watched the interview on

:30:22. > :30:25.the news with the Health Secretary. He seemed to do and this might be a

:30:25. > :30:31.slight exaggeration, but a U-turn in regard to competition, but just

:30:31. > :30:37.as a viewer, watching him, he seemed to me to be - to say a

:30:37. > :30:41.broken man would be an exaggeration, but he seemed subdued and exhausted

:30:41. > :30:46.and how did I ever get into this? He's weary of it. There has been

:30:46. > :30:51.more scrutiny for this bill. The number of days and amendments. It's

:30:51. > :30:55.a record. They thought they were through and more amendments now.

:30:55. > :30:58.The change on competition, be clear, is over years not days, weeks or

:30:58. > :31:02.months. What he is saying when he became Shadow Health Secretary he

:31:02. > :31:05.thought you could have competition on price and he was persuaded after

:31:05. > :31:09.becoming Health Secretary that that was a bad idea and in theory at

:31:09. > :31:19.least the competition is on quality only. We'll see if it is four times

:31:19. > :31:28.

:31:28. > :31:36.According to Revenue and Customs, some families earning just 13,000

:31:36. > :31:44.ear bullies over �1,000 a year in tax credits from April. -- a year

:31:44. > :31:48.will lose over �1,000 a year. Did he mislead the public? What we have

:31:48. > :31:53.done is increase tax credits for the lowest paid people in our

:31:53. > :31:57.country. We have lifted over a million low-paid people out of

:31:57. > :32:02.income tax altogether by raising the personal allowance. If he is

:32:02. > :32:11.worried about taxation issues, he should have a word with Ken

:32:11. > :32:17.Livingstone, and asked if he will pay his taxes. Many Irish people

:32:17. > :32:22.were moved by what the Prime Minister said about Bloody Sunday.

:32:22. > :32:27.Is it becoming increasingly clear that eurozone support for Ireland

:32:27. > :32:32.is conditional on them saying less in their referendum? Will the Prime

:32:32. > :32:35.Minister's support Ireland whatever it decides? We are certainly very

:32:35. > :32:40.good friends of the Republic of Ireland and the people of the

:32:40. > :32:45.Republic of Ireland. It is their choice to sign the treaty and their

:32:45. > :32:55.choice to have a referendum on that treaty. People's views in a

:32:55. > :32:56.

:32:56. > :33:01.referendum should be respected. Speaker, before turning to other

:33:01. > :33:04.matters, does the Prime Minister agreed that the allegations by

:33:04. > :33:09.Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the Leveson Inquiry about

:33:09. > :33:13.widespread corrupt behaviour at the heart of the pressure and police a

:33:13. > :33:17.devastating and such behaviour can have no place in the national

:33:17. > :33:21.institution of our country? Does he further agree that this underlines

:33:21. > :33:24.the importance of the police inquiries which should get to the

:33:24. > :33:28.bottom of the allegations without fear or favour and the Leveson

:33:28. > :33:33.Inquiry itself? I completely agree with the right honourable gentleman

:33:33. > :33:38.about this issue. There is all- party support for the Leveson

:33:38. > :33:43.Inquiry, which needs to get on with its work which it is conducting in

:33:43. > :33:48.a thorough way. Also proper support for the police inquiry. Of course

:33:48. > :33:52.there is always a debate about what is right for newspapers to do to

:33:53. > :33:57.get stories in the public interest but it is hard to think of any

:33:57. > :34:03.circumstances in which it is right for police officers to take money.

:34:03. > :34:06.Can I thank him for that answer? On the Leveson Inquiry, can I ask in

:34:06. > :34:11.the weeks and months ahead to ensure that none of his senior

:34:11. > :34:15.ministers do anything to undermine its work? Would he accept that the

:34:15. > :34:22.Education Secretary was billed judge to say last week that the

:34:22. > :34:25.inquiry is hoeing a chilling effect on freedom of expression? -- is

:34:25. > :34:31.having. Will he disassociate himself with these colleagues and

:34:31. > :34:36.urge his colleagues not to undermine the Leveson Inquiry?

:34:36. > :34:40.answered this question last week. The Education Secretary, as the

:34:40. > :34:46.rest of the Cabinet fully support the Leveson Inquiry. They wanted to

:34:46. > :34:50.proceed with the very important work it does. That is the position

:34:50. > :34:54.of the Education Secretary and the position of the entire government.

:34:54. > :34:57.I do thank the Prime Minister for that answer. The Education

:34:57. > :35:01.Secretary said the big picture is there is a chilling atmosphere

:35:01. > :35:05.towards freedom of expression which emanates from the debate around

:35:05. > :35:09.Levison. I hope the Education Secretary will have heard the words

:35:09. > :35:12.of the Prime Minister of the start let me move on from one area where

:35:12. > :35:19.I hope they can be cross-party agreement to an area where there is

:35:19. > :35:24.not. On Sunday, the man who ran the NHS for six years, said about the

:35:24. > :35:29.prime minister's bill, it is a mess. It is unnecessary. It misses the

:35:29. > :35:33.point. It is confused and confusing and is setting the NHS back. Why

:35:33. > :35:39.does the Prime Minister believes that with every week that goes by,

:35:39. > :35:42.there are more damning indictments of the NHS bill? Let me make one

:35:42. > :35:47.further point Macro about the Leveson Inquiry. What my right

:35:47. > :35:51.honourable friend, the Education Secretary was saying, what is

:35:51. > :35:56.important for all of us in this House to say, while these inquiries

:35:57. > :36:01.are going on, I think it is important for politicians who come

:36:01. > :36:06.on and benefit at times when the press is less hard-hitting than in

:36:06. > :36:11.recent years, it is important for us to say we support a free,

:36:11. > :36:17.vibrant, robust press. That is an important point and that is what he

:36:17. > :36:20.is saying. Turning to the health reforms, the right honourable

:36:20. > :36:26.gentleman did actually say something last week that I agreed

:36:26. > :36:32.with. He said the NHS will have to change because of the rise of the

:36:32. > :36:36.age of the population, to -- because of the rise in long-term

:36:36. > :36:39.conditions and the rise in expectations and cost. He is right

:36:40. > :36:45.it has to reform. The problem for the Labour Party is they are

:36:45. > :36:48.against the money that needs to go into the NHS, which they say is

:36:48. > :36:54.irresponsible. They supported competition and choice in the past

:36:54. > :36:59.but they do not support it any more. Mr Speaker, he seems to have

:36:59. > :37:03.forgotten the question I asked. It was about Nigel Crisp, who ran a

:37:03. > :37:07.health service for six years. He was the chief executive of the

:37:07. > :37:13.National Health Service. He says the bill is a mess and confusing.

:37:13. > :37:22.Let me ask about somebody else who appeared on the Conservative

:37:22. > :37:25.Party's platform of the spring conference in 2010. He hosted a

:37:25. > :37:29.Health Secretary's health speech and he advised the Labour

:37:29. > :37:33.government and he is a GP at the head of the clinical commissioning

:37:33. > :37:38.group in Tower Hamlets. He said, we care deeply about the patients we

:37:38. > :37:44.see every day. We believe the improver we all want to see in the

:37:44. > :37:49.NHS can be achieved without the bureaucracy generated by this Bell.

:37:49. > :37:53.They say no. This man is in charge of a clinical commissioning group.

:37:53. > :38:00.Isn't it time you recognised he has lost the confidence even of the GPs

:38:00. > :38:04.he says wants to be at the heart of his reform? There are 8200 GP

:38:04. > :38:11.practices covering 95% of the country implementing the health

:38:11. > :38:17.reforms. That is what they want to see happen. He asked me if I will

:38:17. > :38:23.be sent to those people who run the NHS over the last decade. -- I will

:38:23. > :38:26.listen. Let me give him a selection of people and what they think of

:38:26. > :38:35.competition. Log das I said, the right competition for the right

:38:35. > :38:41.reasons can drive us to do more. This is what John Hatton said. They

:38:41. > :38:46.do not want to listen to Labour ministers! Competition can make the

:38:46. > :38:51.NHS more equitable. That is the view of a Labour Secretary of State.

:38:51. > :38:55.What about an adviser to the last government whose specific date

:38:55. > :38:59.looked at competition. He said, the measure the effects of competition

:38:59. > :39:06.have not been trivial. The introduction of competition within

:39:06. > :39:11.the NHS could be credited with saving hundreds of lives. The truth

:39:11. > :39:17.is, he does not want to listen to past Labour ministers because he is

:39:17. > :39:23.taking a totally opportunistic position in opposition to their

:39:23. > :39:30.spell. -- this Bill. The reason we think that 95% of GPs are now

:39:30. > :39:35.having to implement part of these changes is that he has imposed them.

:39:35. > :39:40.One doctor the text -- addresses this in the last line of his letter.

:39:40. > :39:47.He says, your government has interpreted our commitment to

:39:47. > :39:52.patients and support for the bill. It is not. 98% of the Royal College

:39:52. > :39:58.of GPs oppose the bill. I have to say, it is hard to keep track of

:39:58. > :40:01.opposition to this Bill. In the last seven days alone, the Royal

:40:01. > :40:06.College of Physicians have caught their first emergency general

:40:06. > :40:10.meeting in their history about the Bill. He has lost the support of

:40:10. > :40:14.the British Geriatrics Society and the Royal College of paediatrics

:40:14. > :40:18.and Child Health. Every week that goes by, more and more health care

:40:18. > :40:23.organisations come out against this Bill. Can the Prime Minister gives

:40:23. > :40:30.that has a list of significant health organisations who are still

:40:30. > :40:35.wholehearted supporters of the Bill? He specifically said... It

:40:35. > :40:41.this is important. The Prime Minister has been asked a question.

:40:41. > :40:48.Let's hear the answer. He said that 98% of GPs oppose the reforms.

:40:48. > :40:54.was the figure. Beth we give him the actual figures. There are

:40:54. > :41:02.44,000 members of the Royal College of GPs. Out of a total of 44,000,

:41:02. > :41:10.just 7% responded opposing the Bill. 7%! What about the Royal College of

:41:10. > :41:16.physiotherapists? 50,000 were College of physiotherapists, 2%.

:41:16. > :41:26.2%! I know that is enough for the unions to elect to leader of the

:41:26. > :41:28.

:41:28. > :41:36.Labour Party but that is about as far as it will go. Mr Speaker...

:41:36. > :41:40.They are obviously well trained today, Mr Speaker. Let me tell them,

:41:40. > :41:48.their support for the Health Bill is digging their own burial at the

:41:48. > :41:54.next general election. Now, I did ask him a specific question. I know

:41:54. > :42:00.by now he does not like to answer the questions. I asked him a simple

:42:00. > :42:06.point, who supports this Bill? No answer came from this Prime

:42:06. > :42:11.Minister. Let me refresh his memory as to who opposes the Bill. There

:42:11. > :42:19.is no need for the Deputy Prime Minister to be smacking. He

:42:19. > :42:23.supports the Bill. He supports it, Mr Speaker. There is firm

:42:23. > :42:29.leadership for you. Mr Speaker, let me refresh his memory as to those

:42:29. > :42:33.who want the Bill withdrawn. The Royal College of GPs, the Royal

:42:34. > :42:38.College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal

:42:38. > :42:42.College of radiologists, the Faculty of Public Health, the

:42:42. > :42:47.Chartered Society of physiotherapists, the Community

:42:47. > :42:57.Practitioners and Health Visitors Association and the Patients'

:42:57. > :43:01.Association. Mr Speaker, doesn't it ever occurred to him... Mr Speaker,

:43:01. > :43:11.doesn't it ever occurred to him but just maybe they are right and he is

:43:11. > :43:15.wrong? -- that just may be. didn't mention the National

:43:15. > :43:18.Association of primary care, the Association of Chief executives and

:43:18. > :43:28.voluntary organisations supporting the Bill, the foundation trusts

:43:28. > :43:31.

:43:31. > :43:36.network supporting the bill. Lord Darzai, Labour minister. For weeks

:43:36. > :43:44.in a row of the NHS questions but not a single question of substance

:43:44. > :43:49.- not one. All about process -- process and politics. We all know

:43:49. > :43:59.it is leap year. Maybe just this once and get to ask the question.

:43:59. > :44:00.

:44:00. > :44:06.We all know what he is against but what is he for? Thank you Mr

:44:06. > :44:13.Speaker. In my area, there are plans for 120 metre high wind

:44:13. > :44:16.turbine is between the beautiful villages just than a mile apart.

:44:16. > :44:21.Does the Prime Minister agree that such giant turbine should not be

:44:21. > :44:28.built so close to residential areas without local people having a say?

:44:28. > :44:33.We do want to see a balanced energy policy. There are two changes we

:44:33. > :44:38.are making which will be welcomed. We are cutting the subsidy to

:44:38. > :44:43.onshore wind. It has been over subsidised and wasteful of public

:44:43. > :44:47.money. When the localism at fully comes into place, it will give

:44:47. > :44:51.local communities a greater say over issues like wind turbines. We

:44:51. > :44:55.try to do that earlier by abolishing the regional special

:44:55. > :45:01.strategies the last government put into place. We lost back case in

:45:01. > :45:05.the court and we need the localism act to come into force. The Prime

:45:05. > :45:09.Minister answered the question to might honourable member for

:45:09. > :45:17.Hammersmith with a little more abuse than we wanted. Does he

:45:17. > :45:25.recognise there are 200 couples in his own constituency who will lose

:45:25. > :45:35.working tax credit, possibly to the level of �3,800 or more? Can he say

:45:35. > :45:36.

:45:36. > :45:39.how would he answer those couples We have had to take difficult

:45:40. > :45:44.decisions because of the deficit. In taking those we have protected

:45:44. > :45:49.the poorest families by increasing the child tax credit. We have also

:45:49. > :45:53.held the poorest, who are in work, by lifting one million people out

:45:53. > :46:01.of income tax. The question is back to Labour. You left us with this

:46:01. > :46:05.mess. What would you do about it? This summer, in my constituency as

:46:05. > :46:09.Gloucester, as everywhere around the country, people will be looking

:46:09. > :46:13.forward to the start of the Olympic Games in our country. A great

:46:13. > :46:17.opportunity to celebrate ow well the UK manages the great global

:46:17. > :46:21.events, but not everybody sees it as that sort of an opportunity. The

:46:21. > :46:24.General Secretary of Unite sees it as an opportunity for a general

:46:24. > :46:28.strike. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that nothing could be

:46:28. > :46:35.further from the spirit of the Olympics? Nothing could do more

:46:35. > :46:41.damage to the reputation of our country? Thank you. I think my

:46:41. > :46:46.honourable friend speaks for the whole country when he says what the

:46:46. > :46:51.General Secretary said "I'm calling upon the general public to engage

:46:51. > :46:55.in civil disobedience." Let's remember, it's the biggest, single

:46:55. > :46:58.donor to the party opposite, providing around one third of their

:46:58. > :47:02.money and had more role than anybody else in putting the right

:47:02. > :47:11.honourable gentleman in his place. It's not good for them just to put

:47:11. > :47:16.out a tweet. They need to condemn this utterly and start helping.

:47:16. > :47:20.top-down re-organisation of the NHS, no reduction in front-line police

:47:20. > :47:23.officers, and no cuts to tax credits for low-income families.

:47:23. > :47:28.Why does the Prime Minister find it so hard to keep his promises to the

:47:28. > :47:33.British public? We promised to increase spending on the NHS. We

:47:33. > :47:37.are boosting spending. We promised the cancer drugs fund and it's

:47:37. > :47:41.10,000 people who have had extra drugs through the fund. We promised

:47:41. > :47:45.to have doctors growing faster than the number of brewer cats and since

:47:45. > :47:48.the election the number -- bureaucrats and since the election

:47:48. > :47:56.the number is up. That's what coalition policies are doing for

:47:56. > :48:00.the Health Service. Will the Prime Minister close the loophole for

:48:00. > :48:06.multi-national companies that allows the migrant cap to be

:48:06. > :48:12.flouted using Inter company transfers, or is this another

:48:12. > :48:17.policy that would fall victim to the curse of Nick Clegg? I think on

:48:17. > :48:22.this one my honourable friend is being unfair. We do have a tough

:48:22. > :48:26.migrant cap for migrant workers. Business said how important it was

:48:26. > :48:28.to have intercompany transfers, but only at relatively high salary

:48:29. > :48:32.levels. That is what we have put in place. I think that demonstrates

:48:32. > :48:39.that over time we'll be able to both control immigration, but do so

:48:39. > :48:43.in a way that doesn't damage business. We now know that the

:48:43. > :48:50.Government was made aware of fraud allegations at A4E before the Prime

:48:50. > :48:53.Minister appointed that company's chairman as his family Czar. As the

:48:53. > :48:57.Prime Minister is in danger of requiring a reputation for ill-

:48:58. > :49:01.judged personal appointments, bill he tell the House what independent

:49:01. > :49:05.checks he believes should be carried out before such

:49:05. > :49:09.appointments are made and whether any were carried out in respect of

:49:09. > :49:13.Emma Harrison? Let me be absolutely clear. I was not aware of any

:49:13. > :49:16.allegations of irregularities when she became an adviser to the

:49:16. > :49:22.Government on troubled families. At the time she was appointed there

:49:22. > :49:25.were no formal investigations into A4E, just the company's own probe

:49:25. > :49:29.into irregularities. I do think this issue needs to be properly

:49:29. > :49:34.dealt with. I'm concerned that subsequent to her appointment

:49:34. > :49:40.information needed to be passed up the line more rapid l to ministers.

:49:40. > :49:44.I've asked the Cabinet Secretary -- rapidly to ministers. I've asked

:49:44. > :49:49.the Cabinet Secretary to look into it. He perhaps might want to put

:49:49. > :49:56.into his question that Emma Harrison was given a CBE by the

:49:56. > :50:01.last Government. Of course, all of the allegations that are being made

:50:01. > :50:06.are all intercontracts that the Government handed out. A little

:50:06. > :50:13.more transparency about that might be a good thing. Will the Prime

:50:13. > :50:17.Minister join me in paying tribute to the courage of Paul Conroy who

:50:17. > :50:20.was injured showing the world the horrors of the Syrian regime and

:50:20. > :50:24.thanking all those who helped to secure his safe possessage to

:50:24. > :50:29.Lebanon? I certainly join the honourable lady. It is very

:50:29. > :50:34.important, the role that the media do in being in very difficult

:50:34. > :50:38.places, like in Homs, in Syria, to brick the truth and news to the

:50:38. > :50:43.world -- bring the truth and news to the world. That is what Paul

:50:43. > :50:47.Conroy was doing. I pay tribute to him and above all pay tribute to

:50:47. > :50:50.the very brave people who helped to get him out of Syria, many of whom

:50:51. > :50:56.have paid an incredibly high price. I can tell the House that Paul

:50:56. > :50:59.Conroy is now safe. He's been in our embassy in Beirut in Lebanon.

:50:59. > :51:05.He's been properly looked after and I'm sure that soon he will want to

:51:05. > :51:08.come home. Last October the Chancellor announced a new policy

:51:08. > :51:14.called credit easing. Can he tell us how many businesses have been

:51:14. > :51:18.helped? The Chancellor said at the time of the statement that the

:51:18. > :51:28.policy would be in place at the time of the Budget that is what

:51:28. > :51:32.

:51:32. > :51:37.will happen. THE SPEAKER: Order: Thank you, Mr Speaker. High streets

:51:37. > :51:40.across the country, including those in low soft in my constituentcy,

:51:40. > :51:45.are facing tough trading conditions at present, including the prospect

:51:45. > :51:50.of a 5.6% increase in business rates. Can the Prime Minister

:51:50. > :51:55.outline what the Government are doing to support traders, to enable

:51:56. > :51:58.hem to grow their businesses and to create jobs? I think the honourable

:51:58. > :52:01.gentleman is right to raise this. There are real concerns about the

:52:01. > :52:05.hollowing out of some of the high streets and number of empty

:52:05. > :52:10.properties. What we have done is doubled small business rate relieve

:52:10. > :52:13.schemes and that has helped an estimated 330,000 small firms and

:52:13. > :52:18.removing legal red tape requiring rate payers to fill in paperwork to

:52:18. > :52:24.claim that relief, which Labour refused to do in office. Also,

:52:24. > :52:27.working with Mary Portas, we have a whole plan to try to help the high

:52:27. > :52:30.street, and it is vital for towns and cities across the country.

:52:30. > :52:40.Prime Minister may have seen the headlines in the newspapers today

:52:40. > :52:45.

:52:45. > :52:48.that the happiest people live in Northern Ireland? As the major

:52:48. > :52:53.party of Government for the last five years, we in the DUP are not

:52:53. > :52:56.surprised by that. One thing that overshadows that happiness of

:52:56. > :53:00.course is the high and escalating price of petrol and diesel, which

:53:00. > :53:05.is the highest, not only in the United Kingdom, but the highest in

:53:05. > :53:10.the European Union. Can the Prime Minister bring happiness to all

:53:10. > :53:15.parts of the United Kingdom by agreeing to do away with the August

:53:15. > :53:17.fuel tax rise and reduce fuel allowances as soon as possible?

:53:17. > :53:21.delighted to hear that the people of Northern Ireland are the

:53:21. > :53:29.happiest in the United Kingdom. I have to say that their

:53:29. > :53:33.representatives in this House don't always give that impression! Maybe

:53:33. > :53:36.I've been missing something! We recognise that families and

:53:36. > :53:42.businesses are continuing to feel the pressure from very high prices.

:53:42. > :53:45.We cut fuel duty and scrapped the automatic stabiliser. That has made

:53:45. > :53:52.prices six pence lower than they would have been under previous

:53:52. > :53:55.plans, but clearly we are impacted here by the high oil price. This

:53:55. > :53:59.week the Government took tough action on unacceptable tax

:53:59. > :54:03.avoidance. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that the principle of

:54:03. > :54:09.paying a fair share of tax should apply to both banks and former

:54:09. > :54:12.mayors of London? I think he makes an important point, whether it is

:54:12. > :54:17.Barclays bank or frankly it is Ken Livingstone, people should pay the

:54:17. > :54:22.proper amount of tax and I hope that HMRC will look carefully at

:54:22. > :54:26.all these cases. Frankly, for Londoners, many of whom live in

:54:26. > :54:33.Labour-controlled areas, with high Labour council taxes, will be

:54:33. > :54:38.pretty angry about what they have seen and probably say that Red Ken

:54:38. > :54:41.has been caught red-handed. The IFS has reported that the Government's

:54:41. > :54:45.tax and benefit changes will hit families with children five times

:54:45. > :54:49.higher than those without. Is this what the Prime Minister means by

:54:49. > :54:54.the most family friendly Government ever? Is it fair or is it just

:54:54. > :54:58.another broken promise? What this Government has done is increase tax

:54:58. > :55:02.credits for the least-well-paid to lift people out of tax and

:55:02. > :55:06.introduce free nursery care for two, three and four-year-olds and expand

:55:06. > :55:10.for those families. All those things have made a difference.

:55:10. > :55:16.Incidentally, she didn't mention she is sponsored by the Unite union

:55:16. > :55:26.and she could have taken this opportunity to condemn their leader.

:55:26. > :55:30.

:55:30. > :55:34.Thank you. THE SPEAKER: Order. Let's here Mr Metcalfe. Since it

:55:34. > :55:39.broke over working -- work experience, has the Prime Minister

:55:39. > :55:42.had any businesses and/or organisations come forward to

:55:42. > :55:48.support this very important and publicly popular initiative that

:55:48. > :55:52.will help young people get the skills they need to get into work?

:55:52. > :55:55.I think my honourable friend is entirely right. The whole country

:55:55. > :56:00.wants to see more young people given the opportunity that work

:56:00. > :56:03.experience provides. The good news is since this row has been going on

:56:03. > :56:08.in the pages of our newspapers, we have actually had expressions of

:56:08. > :56:12.interest from 200 small and medium- sized employers who want to get

:56:12. > :56:16.involved in this programme. I think it's time for businesses in Britain

:56:16. > :56:20.and for everyone in Britain who wants to see people have work

:56:20. > :56:24.experience stand up against the Trotskyites of the Right to Work

:56:24. > :56:34.campaign and recognise the deafening silence from the party

:56:34. > :56:35.

:56:35. > :56:40.opposite. Happily, Mr Speaker, I am able to welcome the Prime

:56:40. > :56:44.Minister's commitment to the reform of the European Convention on Human

:56:44. > :56:48.Rights and the powers of the European Court on human rights.

:56:48. > :56:54.Will the Prime Minister give a commitment to allow this House a

:56:54. > :56:58.proper debate whenever the declaration is published? Will he

:56:58. > :57:03.ensure that once again the principle of subsiduary is

:57:03. > :57:07.respected and the British courts have a proper say on what goes on

:57:07. > :57:10.in this country? I do want to see it get a fairer hearing. That is

:57:10. > :57:15.what was contained in the speech I made at the Council of Europe,

:57:15. > :57:19.about the reform of the court. So it doesn't become a court of the

:57:19. > :57:22.fourth instance, so someone has been in front of a local court, the

:57:22. > :57:25.Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court and then to the ECHR. We have

:57:25. > :57:29.do have proposals for reform. Clearly, what is debated in this

:57:29. > :57:33.House we now have the backbench committee that has a large number

:57:33. > :57:37.of days in this House and perhaps they will give over time - not

:57:37. > :57:43.enough I hear - they've got more than enough and they can make over

:57:43. > :57:47.a day for that. Does the Prime Minister agree that one of the best

:57:47. > :57:50.ways to deliver on our commitment to the fairness agenda is to go

:57:50. > :57:56.ahead as quickly as possible in implementing the coalition

:57:56. > :58:00.agreement to raise the tax threshold to �10,000? What the

:58:00. > :58:04.coalition agreement commitments us to is real increases in that

:58:04. > :58:07.threshold. We have achieved that in budgets over the last two years. In

:58:07. > :58:12.spite of the difficult conditions we face in the economy. I do think

:58:12. > :58:20.it's a good idea to lift people out of tax. It particularly helps low-

:58:20. > :58:26.paid people and low-paid women. MoD is buying tankers from South

:58:26. > :58:32.Korea, when the work could be done here. The MoD says and I quote, "It

:58:32. > :58:35.will not consider wider employment industrial and economic factors in

:58:35. > :58:41.procurement." Why wouldn't this complacent Prime Minister stand up

:58:41. > :58:47.for world-class British industry? do stand up for world-class British

:58:47. > :58:52.industry. As I said, when I travel the globe I'm happy to have Rolls-

:58:52. > :58:58.Royce on an aeroplane with me. It's just a pity when I do so I get

:58:58. > :59:03.attacked by the Labour Party. the Prime Minister aware of the

:59:03. > :59:09.tragic death of my constituent, Penny Heggarty? Her husband

:59:09. > :59:14.believes that his wife's death is just one example of cyst stemmic

:59:14. > :59:18.management failures of the local NHS Trust? Will the Prime Minister

:59:18. > :59:23.assure him and other constituents that recent work to improve the

:59:23. > :59:27.management will continue and that this Trust will be turned around?

:59:27. > :59:33.can certainly give that assurance. Firstly, I'm sure the whole House

:59:33. > :59:37.will want to send the deepest condolences of the family. I know

:59:37. > :59:41.my friend the Minister of State for health has het local MPs. Clearly,

:59:41. > :59:45.patients have got the right to expect far better standards of care.

:59:45. > :59:49.I know that the CQC and Monitor have raised concerns about

:59:49. > :59:59.standards at the Trust. As he says, it is being turned around, but that

:59:59. > :00:02.

:00:02. > :00:06.work needs to be undertaken with all speed.... Bedroom tax as

:00:06. > :00:11.grossly unfair and shows the UK Government simply failing to listen

:00:11. > :00:16.to the voice of reason put forward by housing professionals, social

:00:16. > :00:21.landlords and individuals. Does the Prime Minister accept that widows

:00:21. > :00:24.and widowers, left in the family home can lose up to 25% of their

:00:25. > :00:31.housing benefit support if he continues with this? Is it just

:00:31. > :00:35.he's unfeeling or just determined to get his way? The Irish ewe is

:00:35. > :00:44.this - we need to reform housing benefit. If we hadn't done anything

:00:44. > :00:49.about it it was expected to cost over �24 billion a year. As his own

:00:49. > :00:53.welfare spokesman, the member for Birmingham said, they would

:00:53. > :00:57.scarcely believe it is could costing the UK that much. That is

:00:57. > :01:01.too high. I'm getting slightly frustrated with the statements in

:01:01. > :01:05.principle of reform. They said they are in favour of a benefit cap, but

:01:05. > :01:10.they vote against it. They say they are in favour of welfare reform,

:01:10. > :01:15.they oppose it. They recognise housing benefit's out of control,

:01:15. > :01:19.but every attempt to deal with it, they frustrate it. On this Leap Day

:01:19. > :01:22.when men throughout the country will be nervously hoping that their

:01:22. > :01:25.girlfriends might make a commitment to them, can I ask the Prime

:01:25. > :01:29.Minister to give romance a nudge and to remind us and to confirm

:01:29. > :01:35.with us that the reforms through the welfare system will always,

:01:35. > :01:41.always support hard-working families? I was wondering where she

:01:41. > :01:47.was going with that for one moment or two. She is absolutely right. It

:01:47. > :01:50.is a Leap Year, where all things can happen. The absolute thing is

:01:50. > :01:59.both through the tax system and welfare system, we should encourage

:01:59. > :02:06.families to come together and stay together and celebrate commitment.

:02:06. > :02:15.Is the Prime Minister aware that the entry clearance office in Abu

:02:15. > :02:19.Dhabi has rejected an application by Mrs Makood John to come from

:02:20. > :02:24.Pakistan to attend her granddaughter's wedding in

:02:24. > :02:28.Manchester? Would he specify what kind of employment a 72-year-old

:02:28. > :02:33.woman who does not speak English and has never left Pakistan is

:02:33. > :02:43.liable to be obtaining in my constituency, where unemployment is

:02:43. > :02:47.10.6%? Will he overrule this mad decision and allow her the

:02:47. > :02:57.opportunity to attend her granddaughter's wedding? If the

:02:57. > :02:58.

:02:58. > :03:03.Home Secretary has said - SPEAKER: I'm sure you are bringing

:03:03. > :03:08.this to an end. You have been very lucid. I'm bringing this to an end.

:03:08. > :03:12.If the Home Secretary has whispered to him that she can appeal, the

:03:12. > :03:21.wedding is on 2nd April and the appeal procedure is too slow to

:03:21. > :03:27.make that possible! To answer the question, I wasn't aware of the

:03:27. > :03:31.individual case. There are hundreds of thousands of people who travel

:03:31. > :03:34.between Pakistan and Britain every year. We do have to have tough

:03:34. > :03:40.controls to prevent the abuse of our immigration system, but I would

:03:40. > :03:43.suggest that he takes up the case individually with the immigration

:03:43. > :03:53.minister, who has a superb grip on these issues and will be able to

:03:53. > :03:54.

:03:54. > :03:59.give him some satisfaction. Under Tony Blair's regime we could sleep

:03:59. > :04:04.safely at night, because we knew Lord Prescott could take over if

:04:04. > :04:10.Tony Blair is incapacitated. What would happen if the Prime Minister

:04:10. > :04:13.is so? I've been waiting for some time, because I know that my

:04:13. > :04:16.honourable friend has asked this question to almost every single

:04:16. > :04:20.Cabinet minister, including the Deputy Prime Minister, who I think

:04:20. > :04:27.replied that he seemed to have a more bid fascination with the end

:04:27. > :04:34.of the leader of the party. All I can say is, I have no plans to be

:04:34. > :04:41.incapacitated. Further to the question - to the answer that the

:04:41. > :04:48.Prime Minister gave to my friend on the Leveson Inquiry, he's obviously

:04:48. > :04:52.that we need -- absolutely right that we need a free press. But they

:04:52. > :04:57.will not thank him if he goes along with the chairman of the PCC in his

:04:57. > :05:06.proposal to use the defamation bill to legislate for a new system. That

:05:06. > :05:13.bill is coming forward in September. This would preement -- pre-empt the

:05:13. > :05:17.Leveson Inquiry. I've absolutely no intention of pre-empting the

:05:17. > :05:22.inquiry in anyway at all. I think if we look back to the debate we

:05:22. > :05:28.had, both the leader of the Labour Party and I said it was important

:05:28. > :05:32.to trust Leveson to get on with the job to give every single that we

:05:32. > :05:37.want -- signal to be able to adopt what is recommended. I think there

:05:37. > :05:39.is an understanding, but given that there is that understanding, I

:05:40. > :05:42.repeat, it's important that honourable members on all sides

:05:42. > :05:52.stress the importance of a free press in the health of our

:05:52. > :05:53.

:05:53. > :05:58.democracy. Hard-working families in my constituency are absolutely

:05:58. > :06:05.surprised that a benefit cap for some �26,000 is being opposed by

:06:05. > :06:09.the party opposite. Will my right honourable friend agree with me, we

:06:09. > :06:13.will always make work pay and provide benefits for those unable

:06:13. > :06:17.to work? I'm delighted that he caught your eye, because today is

:06:17. > :06:22.the day that the welfare bill becomes an Act. For the first time

:06:22. > :06:27.we will have a proper cap on welfare, supported by this side.

:06:27. > :06:37.Opposed by that side, but backed by the overwhelming majority of people

:06:37. > :06:46.

:06:46. > :06:54.Picking up on some remarks the Education Secretary made about

:06:54. > :07:02.saying how Levison was intimidating proper journalism. We moved on for

:07:02. > :07:07.the 4th week in a road to health. A lot of bounding back and forth as

:07:07. > :07:14.to who supports and does not support the Bill. This is what you

:07:14. > :07:20.thought? Or those points were reflected. Ed Miliband totally

:07:20. > :07:27.mastered David Cameron for the 4th successive week. The Prime Minister

:07:27. > :07:33.quote 8000 GP practices in favour of his attempt to privatise the NHS.

:07:33. > :07:39.This is less than 20%. There are 40,000 practices in the country.

:07:39. > :07:44.Just rights, the real problem is that all sides are twisting facts

:07:44. > :07:50.to support themselves. No one is offering proper proof as to whether

:07:50. > :07:55.the bill is good on not. Ed Miliband was elected as a civil

:07:56. > :08:02.libertarian. We have seen attacks on the Government. We see him today

:08:02. > :08:07.eight leading an attack on Michael Gove and compressed freedom. Alan

:08:07. > :08:12.is saying, Ed Miliband is becoming a one-trick pony. He has found the

:08:12. > :08:17.only thing he thinks he can make headway on - that being house.

:08:17. > :08:23.on the logistics, but what is the timetable for the Health Bill?

:08:23. > :08:27.are waiting to see if the House of Lords will reach the amendments

:08:27. > :08:33.tonight. This is what the Liberal Democrats have asked full. It is

:08:33. > :08:37.not sure if they will be reached tonight. If there was a big defeat,

:08:37. > :08:44.and it would have to be a big one, one that the gunmen want to take

:08:44. > :08:49.back to the House of Commons to reverse, we would have to take it

:08:49. > :08:55.right back. If the guerrilla warfare continues but does not blow

:08:55. > :09:00.the built in an important part, when do we expect this to finish

:09:00. > :09:04.its parliamentary Jenny and get the Royal Assent? Essentially, this

:09:04. > :09:14.week and next week but the end of the process provided the Government

:09:14. > :09:16.

:09:16. > :09:19.does not suffer a major defeat. Prime Minister could not say what

:09:19. > :09:25.the members the Government would table in response to the pressure

:09:25. > :09:31.from Nick Clegg. Some are uncontroversial and have been

:09:31. > :09:37.agreed. There is a dispute from lawyers. Department of Health

:09:37. > :09:40.lawyers say it is not. Shirley Williams is pushing to say surely

:09:40. > :09:44.there is somewhere we can give ourselves protection. At this stage,

:09:44. > :09:51.we cannot be sure whether the detail is enough to win over the

:09:51. > :09:57.sceptics in the House of Lords. Shirley Williams is in her 50th yet

:09:57. > :10:01.of active politics. People are dancing to the tune of Baroness

:10:01. > :10:08.Williams. If she is on side, Liberal Democrat peers will go with

:10:08. > :10:14.her. If she is not on side, Nick Clegg will lose the vote at his own

:10:14. > :10:20.party conference. She has enormous power. They must be dancing in the

:10:20. > :10:28.aisles on the Tory backbenches. is an interesting theme. Ed

:10:28. > :10:35.Miliband has talked about health for for month -- for weeks running.

:10:35. > :10:42.We had the phrase, cursive Clegg, we had Peter Bone, who usually

:10:42. > :10:47.makes a joke about his wife. This week he said, what happened if the

:10:47. > :10:53.Prime Minister is incapacitated? What Nick Clegg become acting Prime

:10:53. > :10:58.Minister? What is the constitutional answer to that?

:10:58. > :11:02.theory, there was always a debate about whether Margaret Beckett for

:11:03. > :11:08.the acting Prime Minister. She was Acting Leader of the Labour Party

:11:08. > :11:13.for a period. It is effectively up to the Cabinet to agree who they

:11:13. > :11:17.regard as their leader and therefore the Prime Minister. Nick

:11:17. > :11:24.Clegg would be unlikely to get the accent, and less it was for a day

:11:24. > :11:28.or two. It is interesting that is not clear. If, God forbid, there

:11:28. > :11:33.should be a terrible terrorist attack on the Prime Minister and we

:11:33. > :11:40.should lose our Prime Minister, in the United States it is quite clear

:11:41. > :11:45.what would happen. It was less clear when Ronald Reagan was shot.

:11:45. > :11:52.In the French and German constitution's it is quite clear

:11:52. > :11:57.what happens. We do not know what would happen. Isn't that dangerous?

:11:57. > :12:03.Nick Clegg said, the convention is that the Cabinet would elect the

:12:03. > :12:08.person they regarded to be acting Prime Minister. What if the Cabinet

:12:09. > :12:16.could not meet? After 9/11, the Cabinet could not meet in the

:12:16. > :12:24.United States. Nick Clegg is quite skilful in as. When terrible

:12:24. > :12:27.unemployment figures come at, Cameron 12... Nick Clegg will be

:12:27. > :12:32.the Deputy Prime Minister. I am trying to discuss the serious issue

:12:32. > :12:38.of succession in the event of a major national tragedy. You went on

:12:38. > :12:42.to Party politics. I guess I should move on. There is a procedure for

:12:42. > :12:49.who take certain decisions. I was talking to a very senior civil

:12:49. > :12:53.servant the other day about the fact, there was a scene in the last

:12:53. > :12:57.episode of Spooks. It was the decision of a minister about

:12:57. > :13:03.shooting down a plane. Civil servants trained ministers for the

:13:03. > :13:08.tension of that sort of situation. Could you make that decision?

:13:08. > :13:12.Although there is a theoretical chain of hierarchy, the Prime

:13:12. > :13:17.Minister, Defence Secretary, Home Secretary, after the tests it is

:13:17. > :13:22.found that certain people would be unavailable on the phone. They were

:13:23. > :13:28.not all that good in a dry run. the United States it is clear that

:13:28. > :13:35.only the President could take that decision. In the aftermath of 9/11,

:13:35. > :13:42.the President was not available. It became a real issue. If another jet

:13:42. > :13:48.approaches New York, Washington, could we shoot it down? Dick Cheney

:13:48. > :13:57.was incapacitated. Who could take that decision? They are big issues

:13:57. > :14:04.that matter in extra mess. Let's move armfuls DUP the Tory Party

:14:04. > :14:11.would want William Hague to do it. -- let's move on. We did not mean

:14:11. > :14:17.to talk about this. In America and France, you were talking about the

:14:17. > :14:22.succession of the head of state. I think the Deputy Prime Minister

:14:22. > :14:27.deputises for the Prime Minister, as the name would suggest. In time

:14:27. > :14:33.you would expect the leader to be from the larger of the two parties

:14:33. > :14:38.in the coalition. How would you sum up the condition of the coalition?

:14:38. > :14:43.Pretty good. We are governing effectively in the national

:14:43. > :14:51.interest. We have a huge economic clout that is hanging over as the

:14:51. > :14:55.start we have a problem with our deficit. -- over us. Some people

:14:55. > :15:03.come together in the national interest. Do you think it would

:15:03. > :15:10.survive the duration until 2015? read lots of newspaper columns St

:15:10. > :15:16.it might last a few months and then collapse. Some said it would

:15:16. > :15:26.collapse in 2011. Some said it would collapse in 2012. Now it says

:15:26. > :15:29.

:15:29. > :15:36.it would collapse in 2013. I will list some commentators if you like.

:15:36. > :15:41.The Telegraph, the Spectator, the recent Spectator. There are a lot

:15:41. > :15:47.of people who have a vested interest in the coalition failing.

:15:47. > :15:52.No party won the last general election. The two parties have come

:15:52. > :15:57.together to govern in the national interest. We do not agree on

:15:57. > :16:03.everything. According to Reuters, the Industry Minister of Argentina

:16:03. > :16:07.has said it is time the country stopped importing UK goods in

:16:07. > :16:14.protest at Britain's position on the Falkland Isles. What is your

:16:14. > :16:20.response to that? I want us to have cordial relations with Argentina. I

:16:20. > :16:24.do not want there to be a tit for tat on-trade. Anyone in a

:16:24. > :16:29.supermarket can see Argentinian wine on the shelves. Many people

:16:29. > :16:33.enjoy buying that. It would be unfortunate if we got into that

:16:33. > :16:38.situation. Do you have your headline for tonight? William Hague

:16:38. > :16:44.is going to be the next acting Prime Minister. We worked it out,

:16:44. > :16:49.didn't we? Should we have an English parliament? It is not top

:16:49. > :16:59.of everyone's agenda, apart from the English Democrats. He ate his

:16:59. > :17:02.

:17:02. > :17:06.Robin Tilbrook. -- here is. Back in 1998, Labour began the process of

:17:06. > :17:11.devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Since then, the

:17:11. > :17:15.only part of the United Kingdom not to have its own voice is England.

:17:15. > :17:20.Opinion polling now shows that we English are increasingly conscious

:17:21. > :17:25.of being English. Overwhelmingly, we are looking for an All-England

:17:26. > :17:30.solution to the unfairness is of devolution. I say that means an

:17:30. > :17:37.English parliament. Colchester was once the capital of the Roman

:17:37. > :17:43.province of Britain. This is the Roman wall and legend has it this

:17:43. > :17:48.is the very spot on which the Civil War cannon, known as hunted empty,

:17:48. > :17:53.had its great fall. The Government has now set up a modern Humpty damp

:17:53. > :18:03.tea in the shape of its West Lothian coalition. It intends they

:18:03. > :18:05.

:18:05. > :18:10.will propose and -- ate vote of English votes for English lords.

:18:10. > :18:13.The fall of English votes for English laws will leave only two

:18:13. > :18:18.workable constitutional options. Either an English parliament and

:18:18. > :18:22.government within the federal UK or independence for England. If the

:18:22. > :18:26.British Unionist establishment does not soon respond to growing English

:18:26. > :18:31.resentment, then the window of opportunity for a federal United

:18:31. > :18:36.Kingdom will close. The only option would beat independence for England.

:18:36. > :18:42.If that happens, then the United Kingdom would be as dead as the

:18:42. > :18:52.die-hard royalist officers who were shot on this spot in 1648 by a

:18:52. > :18:55.firing squad of English Colchester is the fabled come lot

:18:55. > :18:59.of King Arthur and may have been where the original round table was.

:18:59. > :19:03.I say that England now needs a real round table, around which to build

:19:04. > :19:08.a consensus on England's future. Just like the Scots did with their

:19:08. > :19:11.Scottish constitutional convention. The key to that convention was the

:19:11. > :19:16.Scottish claim of right, whichage knowledged the sovereign will of

:19:16. > :19:20.the Scottish people. I agree with that principle. We need to apply it

:19:20. > :19:30.to England. The people of England are the sovereign to any English

:19:30. > :19:31.

:19:31. > :19:36.Democrat. Robin is with us now. Has the publicity surrounding Scottish

:19:36. > :19:39.independence helped your cause? think it has. I think it's focused

:19:40. > :19:43.people's attention on the fact that England's left out of the current

:19:43. > :19:47.devolution settlement. Do you think that will increase over - if it

:19:47. > :19:53.goes on for two years, that campaign, there will be more focus

:19:53. > :19:56.and you'll exploit that, if you like? Yes. We wouldn't say exploit,

:19:56. > :20:01.because what we have been campaigning about this is what we

:20:01. > :20:05.want, ten years ago. We are finding that people are more aware of the

:20:05. > :20:11.issues, they've woken up to the fact that there is that difference.

:20:11. > :20:17.For instance, last year, we had the whole business of tuition fees and

:20:17. > :20:24.that is coming into effect now. People are aware that Scotland is

:20:24. > :20:29.still free and not in England. Some will be required to pay �9,000 a

:20:29. > :20:34.year here. You have said in your film the research by the think-tank

:20:34. > :20:39.IPPR and people are feeling perhaps for the reasons you've laid out,

:20:39. > :20:43.being English, but it's not the same as wanting to advocate for an

:20:43. > :20:47.English Parliament? I think that's right, but you have to bear in mind

:20:47. > :20:54.we are a relatively small party and very little resources apart from

:20:54. > :20:57.what we put into it ourselves and what we are arguing is a big issue,

:20:57. > :21:02.with the establishment parties having had much more ability to

:21:02. > :21:06.argue it and more access to the media. I think what is happening as

:21:06. > :21:10.people become aware of the issue, people are becoming more and more

:21:10. > :21:13.that they want something done. necessarily as far as an English

:21:13. > :21:17.Parliament. For instance, the West Lothian question and the Commission

:21:17. > :21:21.has been set up to look at that, would that not be enough to address

:21:21. > :21:24.that issue of Scottish MPs are voting on matters that don't effect

:21:24. > :21:28.their constituents? It's quite an interesting reflection on the way

:21:28. > :21:34.the Commission has been set up. Firstly, if you look at the

:21:34. > :21:39.membership of the Commission, hardly any of them could be

:21:39. > :21:44.characterised as being English. The terms of reference of the

:21:44. > :21:47.Commission itself, it doesn't mention England. By calling it the

:21:47. > :21:51.West Lothian question you are trying to disguise the fact it's

:21:51. > :21:55.actually an English question being looked at, not some sort of

:21:55. > :21:58.Scottish question. Well, Michael Dugher, do you think the wishes, as

:21:58. > :22:03.Robin said, people want something done, though they are not sure what.

:22:03. > :22:08.The issued are missed, looking at this is the wrong angel and lots of

:22:08. > :22:12.people have written in regard -- angle and lots of people have

:22:12. > :22:16.written in about being concerned in England. There are issues in terms

:22:16. > :22:19.of English identity and I think it's income bent on all the

:22:20. > :22:24.mainstream parties to engage with those legitimate concerns and

:22:24. > :22:29.grievances. In terms of the English Democrats, I'm in Barnsley. We have

:22:29. > :22:33.a Labour-led council which is doing very well. The neighbouring council

:22:33. > :22:37.is run by an English Democrat mayor and he's a basket case as a -- and

:22:37. > :22:41.it's a basket case as a local authority. There is a seriousness

:22:41. > :22:45.to this. You have to be careful what you vote for. Because the

:22:45. > :22:52.Labour councillors on the council are making it so. They've been

:22:52. > :22:55.causing difficulties for many years. Some of them went to prison in

:22:55. > :23:00.Donnagate and we have a mayoral system in place. Is it an issue we

:23:00. > :23:03.don't want to look at? Or is this something that is simmering?

:23:03. > :23:07.think it's a legitimate issue and it's a good subject to discuss. The

:23:07. > :23:11.problem the United Kingdom has is there is such a balance, 84% of

:23:11. > :23:14.people live in England. I don't think there is a big appetite for a

:23:14. > :23:18.whole parallel English Parliament, but whether we can look at trying

:23:18. > :23:24.to get the system to work better so it recognises all four component

:23:24. > :23:32.parts of the country, that is a good debate to have. Thank you. If

:23:32. > :23:34.Scotland goes for devo -max then it can't be ignored. We move on,

:23:34. > :23:39.because we are very international. Apparently he's the bookies'

:23:39. > :23:43.favourite to be the next President of France. He's in town meeting Ed

:23:43. > :23:53.Miliband and Mr Miliband won't be the only person Francois Hollande

:23:53. > :23:56.

:23:56. > :24:00.will want to shmooze. What Ireland the UK and Latvia all have in

:24:00. > :24:04.common, they are one constituency with a seat in the National

:24:04. > :24:07.Assembly of France. The seat of deputy for northern Europe is up

:24:07. > :24:13.for grabs in June for the first time and any French citizens living

:24:14. > :24:18.in the ten countries are able to vote. Some of you are thinking,

:24:18. > :24:21.good Lord, was Joan of Arc not a sign and Waterloo and Trafalgar not

:24:21. > :24:27.enough? London a constituency in the French National Assembly you'll

:24:27. > :24:34.be telling me they are selling bri, in there next. Throwing that aside,

:24:34. > :24:37.this is probably why the French presidential election candidate,

:24:37. > :24:42.Francois Hollande is in town. He would like them on board, because

:24:42. > :24:46.there are more French living in London than there are in Lille or

:24:46. > :24:52.Bordeaux or Strasbourg. That's important because London's home to

:24:52. > :24:58.half the French in this new constituency. Or maybe Francois

:24:58. > :25:02.Hollande wanted to meet Ed Miliband and as he is, but not the Prime

:25:03. > :25:12.Minister. Where does Nicolas Sarkozy first come? Yep, the UK.

:25:13. > :25:18.

:25:18. > :25:23.Perhaps for his rival it seems the UK is an easy does it. He's a man,

:25:23. > :25:28.not a woman! We have Agnes Poirier. He always marks our cards on such

:25:28. > :25:32.matters. London, as it was in the last elections, is a big part of

:25:32. > :25:40.the campaign. Has there been much campaigning? Here. I wouldn't know,

:25:40. > :25:43.because I vote in France. I love the pilgrimage. You just came to

:25:43. > :25:52.see us? I'm based here. Do you know about the candidates? Yes.

:25:52. > :25:55.women? Does the National Front have a candidate too? I don't think so.

:25:55. > :25:59.They probably wouldn't get many votes in London. I know of the two

:25:59. > :26:04.candidates, but it's not only for London. It's for the ten countries.

:26:04. > :26:09.It's Britain by which we mean largely the London area, indeed

:26:09. > :26:14.central London, Ireland, Scandinavia and the Baltic states,

:26:15. > :26:23.but the overwhelming number are based in London? Yes. It's one seat

:26:23. > :26:29.for northern Europe. Covering half a million people? Yep. Explain why

:26:29. > :26:33.Francois Hollande policy of the top rate of tax of 75% would attract

:26:33. > :26:39.French Londoners who fled France because of the high rate of tax?

:26:39. > :26:45.did surprise quite a few people when he said everyone who earns

:26:45. > :26:51.more than 1 million euro a year will be taxed 75%. He did create a

:26:51. > :26:56.surprise there. Ecalled it the patriotism tax, so we'll see.

:26:56. > :27:01.you are so that you are up the road to Geneva, Monaco and London. It's

:27:01. > :27:06.all good news for London? All the well-educated civilised French

:27:06. > :27:11.people will pour into our capital city? Look, you know, with the

:27:11. > :27:21.recession you might come to such a decision too. It is quite daring to

:27:21. > :27:22.

:27:22. > :27:26.say we'll tax the rich by 75%. I just point out, minister, that

:27:26. > :27:32.the socialist Francois Hollande is only proposing this for 150,000

:27:32. > :27:41.euros or 45%, which in practice is 7% less than your coalition

:27:41. > :27:45.Government pree sides over? Bishop presides over? Do you like that.

:27:45. > :27:51.The Budget next month and subconstituent ones will address

:27:51. > :27:57.all tax issues. Agnes, I smts that Nicolas Sarkozy is narrowing the

:27:57. > :28:00.gap with Francois Hollande -- notice that Nicolas Sarkozy is

:28:01. > :28:04.narrowing the gap with Francois Hollande, with the Le Pen vote?

:28:04. > :28:10.They has led a robust and even vicious campaign, Nicolas Sarkozy,

:28:10. > :28:17.in the sense that he's extremely critical and he has asked former

:28:17. > :28:27.enemies from his own party to come and - It's still all to play for?

:28:27. > :28:27.

:28:27. > :28:32.It's extremely open. Again, you have got Le Pen and another man.

:28:32. > :28:37.75% from Labour? I don't think so. I got an answer there. I'll quit

:28:37. > :28:42.while I'm ahead. Come back and see us. You are our election

:28:42. > :28:46.correspondent. That's it. Thanks to all the guests. The answer to Guess

:28:46. > :28:49.the Year was 1983. We'll pick the winner tomorrow. So many of you