20/06/2012

:00:46. > :00:49.Good morning. This is the Daily Politics. Today's top story:

:00:49. > :00:51.European leaders meeting in Mexico agree new plans to shore up the

:00:51. > :01:00.eurozone, including using the bailout funds to buy-up government

:01:00. > :01:02.bonds. But is Angela Merkel fully signed up? David Cameron picks a

:01:02. > :01:05.fight with the Argentine president over the Falkland Islands, telling

:01:05. > :01:10.Cristina Fernandez at the G20 she should respect the wishes of

:01:10. > :01:14.Falkland Islanders. Back home, Vince Cable gets ready to unveil

:01:14. > :01:19.his plans to curb executive pay but will a shareholder vote every three

:01:19. > :01:24.years really end what the PM described as crony capitalism?

:01:24. > :01:32.how much is enough? We'll hear from the economist, Lord Skidelsky, on

:01:32. > :01:37.how Britain has become a nation obsessed with consumption. We are

:01:37. > :01:47.invited to discover our souls in shopping. More stuff does not make

:01:47. > :01:48.

:01:48. > :01:51.us any happier. He said sipping wine from a silver goblet. All that

:01:51. > :01:53.to come before 1pm and, of course, Prime Minister's Questions at Noon

:01:53. > :02:03.today, starring William Hague and Harriet Harman, since Mr Cameron is

:02:03. > :02:04.

:02:04. > :02:11.in Mexico for the G20 meeting. That is over but he has gone to me the

:02:11. > :02:13.Mexican President, and also the richest man in the world. And we've

:02:13. > :02:16.been joined for the whole programme by the International Development

:02:16. > :02:26.Minister, Alan Duncan, and the Shadow Leader of the House, Angela

:02:26. > :02:30.

:02:30. > :02:37.Eagle. She has very carefully chosen her jacket to colour co-

:02:37. > :02:44.ordinate with my tie. Welcome to you both. We'll come to the big

:02:44. > :02:47.issue of the eurozone in just a moment. First, let's take a look at

:02:47. > :02:49.the other overnight story coming out of the G20 meeting. David

:02:49. > :02:51.Cameron's confrontation with the Argentinian President over the

:02:51. > :02:54.Falklands Islands. Yes, last night the Prime Minister told Cristina

:02:54. > :02:57.Fernandez de Kirchner that her country should respect the views of

:02:57. > :03:03.Falkland Islanders, who will vote in a referendum on the issue of who

:03:03. > :03:07.should control the islands next year. I wanted to make absolutely

:03:07. > :03:11.clear here, at the G20, to the Argentine President, that the

:03:11. > :03:16.people of the Falkland Islands have decided to hold a referendum about

:03:16. > :03:21.their future. If she believes in democracy, she should respect the

:03:21. > :03:25.outcome of that referendum. It was important to make that point and a

:03:25. > :03:27.made it with some vigour. David Cameron speaking after his

:03:27. > :03:36.discussion with the Argentinian President, Cristina Fernandez de

:03:37. > :03:41.Kirchner. The Prime Minister is making a very straightforward

:03:41. > :03:46.statement of principle. It was not his confrontation with her, it was

:03:46. > :03:52.her confrontation with him. Trying to thrust a letter into his hand

:03:52. > :03:57.while being filmed by a member of staff. He did not seek her out?

:03:57. > :04:02.Downing Street is saying he did. The Prime Minister has made a

:04:02. > :04:08.principled statement. It is the view we have held since the

:04:08. > :04:13.island's were invaded 30 years ago. We are commemorating that this

:04:13. > :04:17.month. In international law, the Prime Minister is 100% right. Her

:04:17. > :04:23.antics, which are trying to detract attention from domestic problems,

:04:23. > :04:31.are getting a bit out of hand. Labour policy is bipartisan on

:04:31. > :04:38.this? I do not know who did the media stunt. We were invaded 30

:04:38. > :04:43.years ago. It is a very important principle. Let me finish my

:04:43. > :04:48.sentence. Sovereignty is important. Self-determination is important. We

:04:48. > :04:52.will see what happens with the referendum next year. David Cameron

:04:52. > :04:57.is not speaking to the Argentinians about the Falklands. The

:04:57. > :05:02.Argentinians are refusing to talk to the Falkland Islanders. Wouldn't

:05:02. > :05:09.it be helpful if somebody talk to somebody? Always better to talk

:05:09. > :05:14.than resort to other issues. Jaw- jaw, better than war-war. Let's

:05:14. > :05:22.wait until we have the referendum. The views of the people that live

:05:22. > :05:26.in the Falklands will be tested. It will be plain for all to see.

:05:26. > :05:32.is there to talk about? Is it the policy of the Labour Party that the

:05:32. > :05:42.islanders can determine their own future? Of course it is. Let's see

:05:42. > :05:47.what they say in the referendum. The islands belong to the Falklands.

:05:47. > :05:55.We will not negotiate on a share off the boil. Of that is down to

:05:55. > :06:03.the Falkland Islanders. -- that is down. We're being very careful in

:06:03. > :06:06.following what Argentina is doing. This is mostly the sounding off of

:06:06. > :06:11.President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. We do not want to be

:06:11. > :06:16.provocative. We want to state the principle it is up to the islanders.

:06:16. > :06:21.There are facts. The Argentine economy is in a mess. It is

:06:21. > :06:25.interesting for the eurozone. It has never really recovered from the

:06:25. > :06:29.time in defaulted. That is not allowed him to international

:06:29. > :06:36.borrowing markets again. It is in a mess. Its military is apparently

:06:36. > :06:40.the same as it was in 1982. They have had no money to upgrade it.

:06:40. > :06:50.There does seem evidence the sabre- rattling from when Sarah's is to

:06:50. > :06:50.

:06:50. > :06:56.cover for this. -- Buenos Aires. Let's not be complacent about the

:06:56. > :07:01.mess here. You have these lines tripping off your tongue. Last time

:07:01. > :07:11.you work on the show, you told me they would not have a double dip.

:07:11. > :07:11.

:07:11. > :07:19.Net sort out the mess at home. Remember who created the mess!

:07:19. > :07:23.that case, I have to throw my hands up. Always blame the man in the

:07:23. > :07:25.pink tie. This afternoon, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable,

:07:25. > :07:28.will announce his plans for controlling the pay of Britain's

:07:28. > :07:31.most senior business people. After months of consultation, Mr Cable

:07:31. > :07:33.has decided on three measures which he hopes will go some way to

:07:34. > :07:37.limiting executive pay. His plans include forcing companies to have

:07:37. > :07:40.binding votes on executive pay every three years. Companies will

:07:40. > :07:44.then have to stick to their pay plans for the next three years or

:07:44. > :07:48.hold another shareholder vote. They will also have to publish a simple

:07:48. > :07:52.figure every year showing how much executives have been paid. And they

:07:52. > :07:56.will have to say how much an executive will be paid if they are

:07:56. > :08:00.sacked or quit. At the moment, shareholders vote every year on

:08:00. > :08:03.executive pay packages, but the result isn't binding. In January,

:08:03. > :08:13.David Cameron said shareholders and customers are being ripped off by

:08:13. > :08:13.

:08:13. > :08:18.the excessive growth in payment unrelated to success. Will the

:08:18. > :08:23.measures stop the crony capitalism that David Cameron talked about?

:08:23. > :08:28.is very important. We have seen a new sort of Army of people called

:08:28. > :08:33.management, who are getting extremely well paid, but not for

:08:33. > :08:38.taking a particular risk. Those who do take the risk - shareholders -

:08:38. > :08:44.have become divorced from management. I think you need to

:08:44. > :08:49.take a longer term view. A three- year horizon is a big step forward.

:08:49. > :08:54.That was not what Vince Cable intended to do. Has somebody got to

:08:54. > :08:57.him and watered the proposals down? He clearly said to the House of

:08:57. > :09:01.Commons there would be an annual binding vote on future pay policy

:09:01. > :09:08.and he wanted to increase the bar at which any future pay packages

:09:08. > :09:11.were endorsed to 75% and may have both gone. I think a three-year

:09:11. > :09:16.horizon is better. A lot of people are getting rewarded for short-term

:09:16. > :09:20.share increases. They should be rewarded for a much longer term

:09:20. > :09:24.improvement in the fortunes of companies. A three-year package is

:09:24. > :09:31.much better than a one-year package, where a manager can just organise

:09:31. > :09:36.its he has a share increased, do a takeover, get some money and then

:09:36. > :09:41.go. Vince Cable said he would get 75%. To think they have been

:09:41. > :09:48.watered down to some extent because people like you and your colleagues

:09:48. > :09:53.think it is better? I am not aware of such discussions. For someone

:09:53. > :09:58.with a commercial background, I think it is sensible step forward

:09:58. > :10:02.for reconnecting shareholder voting power with the decisions on

:10:02. > :10:07.remuneration for senior managers. This will do and go some way in

:10:07. > :10:14.trying to correct what David Cameron sees as excessive pay

:10:14. > :10:19.unrelated to success. It is an embarrassing climbdown. The

:10:19. > :10:24.Government stands up for the wrong people. It is standing up for

:10:24. > :10:29.shareholders. In the week after, it became clear that last year

:10:29. > :10:34.managers got an increase of 12% in their pay, taking it and average of

:10:34. > :10:41.nearly 5 million a year in the FT- SE 100, while everyone else had

:10:41. > :10:44.stagnating pay levels. The economy was not doing fantastically. It is

:10:44. > :10:50.not the time to water down what the Government announced it was going

:10:50. > :10:55.to do. That is what Vince Cable appears to be doing. What they

:10:55. > :11:00.should be doing is having an employee on a report. They should

:11:00. > :11:06.be publishing ratios of pay from the average to the highest for

:11:06. > :11:11.every company. They should also check and require fund managers to

:11:11. > :11:15.publish how they vote on executive remuneration packages. What is

:11:15. > :11:25.wrong with having workers on these remuneration boards and having a

:11:25. > :11:25.

:11:25. > :11:33.ratio between lowest and highest payers? You do not think I would be

:11:33. > :11:39.good for the corporate health of the country! What I am saying is

:11:39. > :11:43.introducing politics for political purposes... It is not a question of

:11:43. > :11:47.politics. How would it improve the corporate nature? It is important

:11:47. > :11:51.to see what the value of businesses are and how they treat the work

:11:51. > :11:57.force by looking at these ratios. It is an indication and it makes

:11:57. > :12:02.the point that businesses do not perform in a vacuum. Here are part

:12:02. > :12:06.of society. They should behave in a way that looks after all of the

:12:06. > :12:09.staff and not pay excessive increases, which takes no account

:12:09. > :12:19.of the wages squeeze and the real hardship a pupil and the society

:12:19. > :12:20.

:12:20. > :12:25.are suffering at the moment. -- that people and society is

:12:25. > :12:30.suffering from at the moment. companies may have a few employees

:12:30. > :12:35.who are paid a lot because they're very technically proficient people.

:12:35. > :12:44.Another sort of company might employ a lot of people, let save to

:12:44. > :12:49.ring road works, which is an Army of lower-paid people. -- let's say,

:12:49. > :12:57.doing road works. It should be up to them to explain that but the

:12:57. > :13:03.information should be out there. I have big news. Ministers will not

:13:03. > :13:08.attend the England quarter-final match against Italy in Kiev. They

:13:08. > :13:13.said there is still selective justice in the Ukraine. If they

:13:13. > :13:19.make it to the semi-finals, in Walsall, ministers will attend. No

:13:19. > :13:22.decision has been taken on the final, which is in the Ukraine.

:13:22. > :13:25.It's almost lunchtime and the news from Athens is that a government

:13:25. > :13:28.will be formed imminently. Which means, that by tea time, it will

:13:28. > :13:30.probably have collapsed! Nevertheless, world leaders, who

:13:30. > :13:33.have been gathering at one of their regular G20 beachside pow-wows,

:13:33. > :13:42.have apparently come up with yet another scheme to rescue countries

:13:42. > :13:52.in peril. The details will apparently be fleshed out at the EU

:13:52. > :13:52.

:13:52. > :13:56.summit next week. Nothing concrete was agreed in Mexico. So, what do

:13:56. > :13:59.we know? Spare a thought for those poor G20 leaders having to drag

:13:59. > :14:02.themselves away from the beach in Mexico and back to their respective

:14:02. > :14:04.countries. But have they actually achieved anything? For the first

:14:04. > :14:07.time, Angela Merkel has indicated that Germany may be prepared to

:14:07. > :14:13.allow the eurozone's bailout funds of around �600 billion to start

:14:13. > :14:16.buying the debt of the weaker eurozone members. It is hoped such

:14:16. > :14:21.a move would help to push down the borrowing costs of countries like

:14:21. > :14:23.Span and Italy. Steps are also being made towards a banking union

:14:23. > :14:28.within the eurozone, which could mean an EU-wide deposit guarantee

:14:28. > :14:30.scheme and a rescue fund for banks that get into difficulty. David

:14:30. > :14:33.Cameron said he believed there was important progress towards a

:14:33. > :14:36.solution to the eurozone crisis, although European leaders have said

:14:36. > :14:43.there will be nothing concrete until the EU summit at the end of

:14:43. > :14:46.the month. It has not been all smiles however. When referring to

:14:46. > :14:55.the new French government's plan to increase income tax for high

:14:55. > :15:05.France's European Affairs Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, dismissed the

:15:05. > :15:10.

:15:10. > :15:15.comments as misplaced British We've been joined by the new French

:15:15. > :15:17.Socialist MP for London and Northern Europe, Axelle Lemaire.

:15:18. > :15:25.Welcome back to the programme. Thank you.

:15:25. > :15:29.Now, all these reports were coming overnight that the eurozone

:15:30. > :15:37.countries in mex -- and Mexico seem to have agreed that that bail out

:15:37. > :15:42.funds could be used to buy Spanish and it Italian foreign debt, but I

:15:42. > :15:46.have looked to find where this agreement could be. I can't see

:15:46. > :15:51.anybody saying that, particularly Mrs Merkel? Well, the fact that

:15:51. > :15:55.they mentioned the bail out and link it to the Spanish debt problem

:15:55. > :16:01.is an improvement in itself. I think there is another source of

:16:01. > :16:09.agreement in the fact that they make reference to final communique.

:16:09. > :16:14.Make reference to growth enhancing measures. What does that mean?

:16:14. > :16:21.means that States at a domestic level, but probably at European

:16:21. > :16:25.level, will try to implement measures, and invest money in some

:16:25. > :16:30.identified sectors such as new technologies, inhe vation, where --

:16:30. > :16:34.innovation, where is there a potential to create growth and jobs.

:16:34. > :16:41.Mrs Merkel didn't even give a press conference before she left Mexico?

:16:41. > :16:45.She didn't need to because they agreed on a press communique.

:16:45. > :16:49.No, everyone gave a press conference. I think she didn't

:16:49. > :16:52.because she didn't want to be asked questions. The wires out of Germany

:16:52. > :16:56.are full of stories of the German Government playing down the idea

:16:56. > :17:03.that bail out funds could be used to buy sovereign debt? It is

:17:03. > :17:08.mentioned in the communique. No. No, it is not actually. The communique

:17:08. > :17:13.simply talks about ways to reduce the cost of sovereign debt. It

:17:13. > :17:17.doesn't mention using bail out funds to buy it? Your president

:17:17. > :17:22.wants it, doesn't he? Of course. And what I have heard about the the

:17:22. > :17:28.summit is that - it was harmonious, more than six months ago which

:17:28. > :17:32.shows that there is real improvement and they are all keen

:17:32. > :17:36.to come to a result. Last time you got rid of the Greek

:17:36. > :17:40.and the Italian governments? teams, the French and German teams

:17:40. > :17:47.are clearly discussing together ahead of the European summit and

:17:47. > :17:52.that's when things will be decided. Your president is going - he is on

:17:52. > :17:58.the way to increasing, it increase the top rate of tax to 75%. He has

:17:58. > :18:03.increased minimum wage. He is going to have new rules to stop stop

:18:03. > :18:07.factory closures. Is that the pro growth measure that would encourage

:18:07. > :18:11.businesses to invest in France? thing about the dividend tax. You

:18:11. > :18:19.talk about tax. We talk about growth. Why is that? Because the

:18:19. > :18:24.idea is to create an incentive for companies to reinvest their profits

:18:24. > :18:28.into investments so into the creation of new values instead of

:18:28. > :18:34.distributing the money to shareholders. Last year only, in

:18:34. > :18:38.France, 45 billion euros were paid to shareholders from CAC-40

:18:38. > :18:42.companies. That money could have been used in the investment

:18:42. > :18:47.products. If you were a shareholder, why

:18:47. > :18:51.would you invest if you you don't get a dividend? These in the long-

:18:51. > :18:58.term, these companies are likely to make bigger profits.

:18:58. > :19:03.Don't you want shareholders to get dividends and spend it? If you take

:19:03. > :19:06.them away, they won't spend it? is an opportunity to promote small

:19:06. > :19:09.and medium sized companies. It is a question of a long-term economic

:19:09. > :19:12.strategy. It is not about creating a tax haven.

:19:12. > :19:17.Does the British Government have a position on whether the bail out

:19:17. > :19:25.funds, one of which doesn't exist yet, which is the ESM, the other

:19:25. > :19:32.one does which is the EFSF. Does the British Government think these

:19:32. > :19:35.funds should be used to buy sovereign debt of Spain and et and

:19:35. > :19:40.Italy. I don't know. I don't know what has

:19:40. > :19:44.come the of the summit. The big picture is these decisions which

:19:44. > :19:51.look as as though they will be taken in France are unlikely to

:19:51. > :19:56.make France more attractive and and competitive. A a lot of investors

:19:56. > :20:04.can invest in UK companies instead of French ones if they are not

:20:04. > :20:11.going to get a dividend. A a lot of people will look elsewhere if

:20:11. > :20:17.France does this. A rich-hunt is unlikely to lead to the growth that

:20:17. > :20:24.President Hollande claimed? It does not seem to be lead to go growth

:20:24. > :20:30.here. The floor is is yours! reminds me of Mr Sarkozy's.

:20:30. > :20:34.We have had encouraging employment figures today. That's good news.

:20:34. > :20:38.The claimant count went up. The point that we have to keep on

:20:38. > :20:41.making. There is no quick fix. You can't pay off a mortgage with a

:20:42. > :20:47.mortgage. One of the advantages in the UK is very, very low interest

:20:47. > :20:50.rates. If we were to go the Ed Balls route and take out a bigger

:20:50. > :20:55.mortgage to pay off the mortgage, interest rates would go up. That

:20:55. > :21:01.would kill growth. There is long, slow, hard escape from the legacy

:21:01. > :21:08.we have inherited. You need a more balanced plan. This Government has

:21:08. > :21:13.driven us back into double dip recession. Only Italy and the UK

:21:13. > :21:17.are in a double dip recession. The plan we have got in this country is

:21:17. > :21:22.not working. We need a more balanced plan. We need a plan for

:21:22. > :21:26.jobs and growth. We need to invest in infrastructure, to kick start

:21:26. > :21:30.the economy and to create more jobs. Does Labour have a position on

:21:30. > :21:35.whether the bail out funds should be used to buy sovereign debt?

:21:35. > :21:40.it is for the eurozone to decide. I know that. I know that. It is yes

:21:40. > :21:44.or no? However, we think that the European Central Bank should be the

:21:44. > :21:49.lender of last resort. They have to have a mechanism for dealing with

:21:49. > :21:53.the problems that there are sheltering these countries.

:21:53. > :21:56.The ECB bought over 200 billion of sovereign debt last year. I will

:21:56. > :21:59.ask you one more time and it is yes or no, does Labour have a position

:21:59. > :22:03.on it? The minister has been on, he says he doesn't know. Does Labour

:22:03. > :22:06.have a position or not? We haven't got a position because we haven't

:22:06. > :22:10.seen what they are suggesting, but what we were saying earlier is that

:22:10. > :22:16.they have to have a lender of last resort. It has to be... No, you

:22:16. > :22:21.said that that twice. How do you feel about Mr Cameron

:22:21. > :22:27.touting for rich rich French folk come to go live in London? Either

:22:27. > :22:31.you try to help the rich or you try to create a friendly economic

:22:31. > :22:37.environment for businesses which is what they want to do in France.

:22:37. > :22:41.Would you advice the British Labour Party to go for a top rate of tax

:22:41. > :22:46.of 75%? I won't advice the Labour Party.

:22:46. > :22:49.They need all the help they can get? I will not comment on what UK

:22:49. > :22:54.does and I hope that's what British, that's what British politicians

:22:54. > :22:58.think. First of all, you want people to

:22:59. > :23:04.invest. You want people to start-up new businesses. But if they do

:23:04. > :23:11.really well, you will take away 75% of their income. You are mixing two

:23:11. > :23:17.issues here. There is the 75% rate concerning 3,000 individuals on one

:23:17. > :23:23.side and the whole pack of tax measures concerning companies which

:23:23. > :23:28.are very, which are very bald and likely to create growth. So it is

:23:28. > :23:32.two different issues. How much do you think taxing 3,000 individuals

:23:32. > :23:39.at 75% will raise? Probably not very much. What's the point in

:23:39. > :23:44.doing it then? It is symbolic. Happens if they come here?

:23:44. > :23:49.report was launched this morning in France. 20% of the French

:23:49. > :23:54.population, a fifth of the French population owns more than three-

:23:54. > :24:03.quarters of French properties, French values, French... There is a

:24:03. > :24:06.disproportion in how the wealth is owned and distributed. Unlike this

:24:06. > :24:12.country you have a wealth tax so it has not worked? Well, no, because

:24:12. > :24:16.it was cracked by Mr Sarkozy. The distributional figures were the

:24:16. > :24:21.same before he did that. I would suggest what will happen is that

:24:21. > :24:27.nobody will now pay themselves more than one million euros. It is a

:24:27. > :24:32.marginal rate. But nobody will pay themselves, why would you? It is on

:24:32. > :24:37.revenues only. What it means is that people will have - that rich

:24:37. > :24:42.bunch which spend a lot of money in France, will have less money to

:24:42. > :24:47.spend and that will inhibit your growth as well? Well, I think it is

:24:47. > :24:51.a pure cliche to think that when the 3,000 rich people spend money.

:24:51. > :24:59.This is likely to have the the economic effect of a entire

:24:59. > :25:05.community. When I say it is symbolic. London is a good example.

:25:05. > :25:09.If you can redistribute money to people who aren't as rich as that,

:25:09. > :25:13.they tend to spend it in the economy, but people who are very

:25:13. > :25:19.rich save it. Why don't we have a 75% tax then

:25:19. > :25:23.for the very rich? Are you in favour of a 75% rich tax? You will

:25:23. > :25:30.see what our manifesto says when we get to the election. I am not going

:25:30. > :25:34.to write it here. We have to have economies that are

:25:34. > :25:39.fairer. We have to get the right balance between rewarding - we have

:25:39. > :25:42.to get the right balance between rewarding success and ensuring that

:25:42. > :25:47.you don't. Are you for or against it? I am not

:25:47. > :25:53.going to make our tax policy in this programme much as you would

:25:53. > :25:57.like me to, Andrew. I am just looking for an opinion.

:25:57. > :26:01.Are you enjoying being a French Socialist member of the assembly?

:26:02. > :26:11.Very much. Until she came on to your programme.

:26:11. > :26:15.We love having her. I was in Paris yesterday, hence my pin. I received

:26:16. > :26:20.my Republican scar of. -- scarf.

:26:20. > :26:23.You should have wore it today. You are our line into the French

:26:23. > :26:26.national Assembly. Thank you.

:26:26. > :26:32.Andrew, have you noticed more French people coming over? I am

:26:32. > :26:40.going over to Paris in a few weeks time. I am going to help the

:26:40. > :26:49.economy. PMQs shorts shortly. We will be treated to Harriet mar man

:26:49. > :26:54.taking on -- Harman taking on William Hague. The PM went or the

:26:54. > :26:58.summit. He has a number of meetings and maybe he will find to have fun

:26:58. > :27:03.recharge his batteries. You will not see pictures of him on the

:27:03. > :27:08.beach. If he does get a moment to chillax, there is one thing we hope

:27:08. > :27:14.the PM did pack and that's the only way to drink his coffee, the Daily

:27:14. > :27:20.Politics mug! It is a perfect way for hiding a cocktail in the sun!

:27:20. > :27:26.If you want to your hands on one of these mugs, you can do so, but you

:27:26. > :27:31.have got to win the Guess the Year competition.

:27:31. > :27:41.Stop giving away our secrets! See if you can remember when this

:27:41. > :27:44.

:27:44. > :27:54.From stepping in the Baltic. The Iron Curtain has descend across the

:27:54. > :27:57.

:27:57. > :28:07.Continent. Next in importance was the

:28:07. > :28:13.

:28:13. > :28:20.After 40 years of Japanese domination, Korea makes a start on

:28:20. > :28:27.the road back to national independence. All japs have got the

:28:27. > :28:31.order to clear out. Britain's hospitality to the 2,000

:28:31. > :28:36.visitors include hostesses. They are ready and able to fix the

:28:36. > :28:40.delegates up with anything from afternoon tea to an afternoon at

:28:40. > :28:44.the dance. # Give me five minutes more

:28:44. > :28:51.# # Only five minutes more # Let me stay

:28:51. > :28:58.# Let me stay in your arms # Here am I

:28:58. > :29:02.# Begging or only five minutes more # Only five minutes more #

:29:02. > :29:08.To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics for your cocktail,

:29:08. > :29:13.send your answer to: You can see the full terms and

:29:13. > :29:17.conditions for guess the year on our website -- Guess the Year on

:29:17. > :29:23.our website. It is coming up to midday. Let's

:29:23. > :29:28.look at Big Big Ben. It is a glorious summer's day in

:29:28. > :29:33.Westminster. We have James Landale. Is it true because the press

:29:33. > :29:38.revealed that the flat that the Prime Minister was staying in, the

:29:38. > :29:42.G20 logo, if you turned the camera around, you could see he was beside

:29:42. > :29:47.a beautiful beach and Caribbean waters. So his people took pictures

:29:47. > :29:51.of journalist sitting in the sun. Two things happened. One, was the

:29:51. > :29:55.subsequent interview that took part a day later with the Chancellor, it

:29:55. > :29:58.was originally inside, there was a bland logo behind the camera. That

:29:58. > :30:02.was away from the windows, but yes, I am told that Downing Street

:30:02. > :30:09.officials have taken photographs of journalists relaxing and are

:30:09. > :30:13.threatening to release the photos if there is anymore comments...

:30:13. > :30:20.would any journalist be worried about relaxing in the sun for a

:30:20. > :30:24.while? It is a good question. Relaxed or gone to the sun?

:30:24. > :30:29.experience, I rarely get time to do that and if I don't somebody will

:30:29. > :30:38.find more work for me to do! So much to do about nothing at PMQs

:30:38. > :30:47.today? A bit of Syria, I think. I think we will have a bit of health

:30:47. > :30:54.are my well informed punts on what Harriet Harman to go on. Harriet

:30:54. > :30:58.Harman and William Hague are oldies at this. They have done it

:30:58. > :31:02.previously. So they have done this before. They know the routine.

:31:02. > :31:06.Occasionally there is the potential for sparks and health is clearly a

:31:06. > :31:12.live issue with the industrial action tomorrow and I think also

:31:12. > :31:16.there might be questions about rationing. There was a Freedom of

:31:16. > :31:20.Information Request. In the Health Service. That's where

:31:20. > :31:26.I suspect she might go. A lot of issues to go on? There is

:31:26. > :31:36.meat and there is lots of of humour. I expect chillaxing and Jeremy

:31:36. > :31:44.

:31:44. > :31:52.Browne. Mr Speaker! I have been asked to

:31:52. > :31:57.attending the G20 summit in Mexico. I am sure the whole House will wish

:31:57. > :32:02.to join me in paying tribute to the servicemen who have lost their

:32:02. > :32:08.lives in Afghanistan since the last Prime Minister's Question Time.

:32:08. > :32:12.Lance Corporal James Ashworth and corporal Alex guy of the 1st

:32:12. > :32:17.Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment. Our sincere condolences

:32:17. > :32:20.are with families and loved ones. Last week I visited the armed

:32:20. > :32:27.forces in Helmand where I was reminded of their exceptional work

:32:27. > :32:30.on behalf of our country. That work and the sacrifices must never be

:32:30. > :32:34.forgotten. I joined the Foreign Secretary in expressing our deepest

:32:34. > :32:39.sympathy to the families of our fallen heroes and prayed God will

:32:40. > :32:45.comfort them. Belfast International Air link into Heathrow is an

:32:45. > :32:49.invaluable asset to the economy of Northern Ireland. There are deep

:32:49. > :32:53.concerns that this link is at risk because the landing slots are

:32:53. > :32:59.allocated to carriers, rather than regional airports. Will the

:32:59. > :33:04.Government urgently publish a strategy that ensures our

:33:04. > :33:08.international airport maintains its link with Heathrow? The Department

:33:09. > :33:11.for Transport will consult on future aviation policy in the

:33:12. > :33:16.summer and a spot evidence on options about maintaining the

:33:17. > :33:23.status of the UK as an international hub for aviation. The

:33:23. > :33:27.London to Belfast link is important. There are 18,000 flights per year

:33:27. > :33:33.between the two Belfast airports and the five main London airports.

:33:33. > :33:43.I hope he agrees our steps to devolve power over passenger duty

:33:43. > :33:43.

:33:43. > :33:46.rates will also boost investment and tourism. As my right honourable

:33:46. > :33:51.friend will know from my recent letter to the Prime Minister, the

:33:51. > :33:56.situation at the Coryton oil refinery on the Thames is becoming

:33:56. > :34:00.increasingly difficult. In an attempt to secure our manufacturing

:34:00. > :34:04.and well-paid jobs and fuel supplies cut will he use the

:34:04. > :34:10.offices of the Prime Minister to secure an urgent summit, bringing

:34:10. > :34:17.together the heads to explore every single avenue possible to keep the

:34:17. > :34:21.refinery open? This is very disappointing news. My honourable

:34:21. > :34:28.friend has been very active on theirs. They have been helping the

:34:28. > :34:34.administrators secured the long term prospects for the refinery. We

:34:34. > :34:39.are looking at further options, working with the council's task

:34:39. > :34:46.force. The Ministry of State has met with representatives of the

:34:46. > :34:51.workforce and the local community. Can I join the Foreign Secretary in

:34:51. > :35:00.paying tribute to Lance Corporal James Ashworth of 1st Battalion

:35:00. > :35:06.Grenadier Guards and corporal Alex Clive of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

:35:06. > :35:10.They died serving our country with the utmost bravery. We join him in

:35:10. > :35:14.sending our deepest condolences to their family and friends. While we

:35:14. > :35:18.know there is still a long way to go before the people of Burma get

:35:18. > :35:22.the democracy to which they are entitled, the fact that progress

:35:22. > :35:29.has been made is due to the extraordinary commitment and

:35:29. > :35:35.courage of one Women, injuring more than two decades of house arrest.

:35:35. > :35:39.Will the Foreign Secretary join me in expressing our utmost admiration

:35:40. > :35:45.for Aung San Suu Kyi? I absolutely will. It is highly appropriate to

:35:45. > :35:48.raise this in Prime Minister's Question Time. I was the first

:35:48. > :35:54.European Foreign Minister to visit Aung San Suu Kyi and visit them at

:35:54. > :35:58.the beginning of this year. I found her not only in reputation but

:35:58. > :36:03.substance, and absolutely inspirational figure. There is

:36:03. > :36:09.still a long way to go - not only bringing democracy to Burma - but

:36:09. > :36:14.ending ethnic conflicts. We look to the Government of Burma to continue

:36:14. > :36:19.to travel on this road to release remaining political prisoners.

:36:19. > :36:23.Across all parties we look forward to giving Aung San Suu Kyi a

:36:23. > :36:28.tremendous welcome tomorrow. thank the Foreign Secretary for

:36:28. > :36:33.that answer. He was right to visit Burma when he did. Whilst we

:36:33. > :36:38.support the suspension of sanctions on Burma, will he reassure us the

:36:38. > :36:43.position of the British government will remain? Sanctions will be

:36:43. > :36:49.reimposed unless there is sustained progress towards democracy and the

:36:49. > :36:53.rule of law. That is very much our position. I have said that to be

:36:53. > :36:57.Foreign Minister of Burma. We argued with the European Union that

:36:57. > :37:01.sanctions and restrictive measures should not be lifted

:37:01. > :37:06.unconditionally but should be suspended. That is so they can be

:37:06. > :37:11.reimposed if progress comes to a stop. They have been suspended for

:37:11. > :37:16.12 months. We will review progress through that period. Having met the

:37:16. > :37:20.President of Burma, he is absolutely sincere in his

:37:20. > :37:23.intentions. There will be elements within the Government of Burma who

:37:23. > :37:27.are not so enthusiastic about these changes and who will be alarmed

:37:27. > :37:31.about success in recent by- elections of Aung San Suu Kyi and

:37:31. > :37:37.her party. We will keep up the pressure as well as a welcome for

:37:37. > :37:41.these changes. I thank the Foreign Secretary for that answer and to

:37:41. > :37:46.his commitment to keep up the pressure for progress. Can I turn

:37:46. > :37:52.to domestic issues? Specifically the National Health Service. This

:37:52. > :37:57.week, a survey showed that 90% of Primary Care Trusts, because of the

:37:57. > :38:04.financial pressure they are under, are restricting access to treatment.

:38:04. > :38:08.This will hit older people. How can he justify an elderly person with

:38:08. > :38:15.cataracts in both eyes being told they can only have surgery in one

:38:15. > :38:20.of them? How can he justify that? It is totally unacceptable if

:38:20. > :38:24.trusts are rushing on grounds of financial considerations. The NHS

:38:24. > :38:28.medical director has written to them to tell them the only criteria

:38:28. > :38:33.of decision must be clinical and not financial. If evidence is found

:38:33. > :38:36.they are ignoring that, the Secretary of State can intervene.

:38:36. > :38:42.The Department of Health were looking to cases where they using

:38:42. > :38:45.financial conditions. Allegations like this have been made before,

:38:45. > :38:54.including under the last government. The Department of Health is very

:38:54. > :39:01.clear about that a match to be welcomed across the House. There is

:39:01. > :39:08.evidence. It is not just cataract operations. There are 125 different

:39:08. > :39:14.treatments being rationed on the ground -- the grounds of cost. What

:39:14. > :39:21.should he say to an elderly patient who needs a hip replacement? Wait

:39:21. > :39:27.in pain or tried to pay it and go privately. I say three things. --

:39:28. > :39:31.tried to pay and Gove. Arbitrarily restricting access to operations

:39:31. > :39:38.was not just happening under the last government, it was allowed

:39:38. > :39:43.under the last government, such as in it 2007. Patients in Suffolk had

:39:43. > :39:52.to wait 14 weeks for routine surgery. The NHS Trust was told not

:39:52. > :39:56.to operate on non urgent cases until they waited a minimum of 20

:39:56. > :40:04.weeks. I would say, GPs and doctors should be going to work tomorrow,

:40:04. > :40:08.not on strike. We, on this side of the House, encourage them to go to

:40:08. > :40:15.work. I hope she and a Lord Bannside of the House was so

:40:15. > :40:21.clearly today there are those doctors should be at wet mire. --

:40:21. > :40:26.and all on that side of the House will say clearly. We do not want

:40:26. > :40:33.GPs to go on strike but we are proud of what we did in the NHS.

:40:33. > :40:38.More doctors, more nurses, cutting waiting lists. It is always the

:40:39. > :40:46.same. Labour builds up the NHS and the Tories track it down. Today he

:40:46. > :40:52.is saying he is 100% behind the Government's health plans. It is a

:40:52. > :40:55.different story in his own constituency, isn't it? Last month,

:40:55. > :41:01.the Foreign Secretary took to the streets, marching in protest

:41:01. > :41:06.against NHS cuts. Let's remind ourselves what the Prime Minister

:41:06. > :41:11.said about midwives. Just before the general election, the Prime

:41:11. > :41:16.Minister wrote for The Sun newspaper, because, professionally

:41:17. > :41:23.of course, they were all in it together. He said, we will increase

:41:24. > :41:29.the number of Maguire's by 3000. Can he confirm they have broken

:41:29. > :41:35.their promises? -- midwives. That was a long question of though I

:41:35. > :41:43.congratulate her on not having the Shadow Chancellor here today, which

:41:43. > :41:47.does help everyone concentrating. He is obviously Dom the Chancellor

:41:47. > :41:53.is at the G20. The Shadow Chancellor is presumably doing

:41:53. > :42:00.another opinion poll on what people think of him. On the questions that

:42:00. > :42:07.are asked... We are going to tell him that for nothing! On the

:42:07. > :42:15.questions of poor value under the Conservatives... I am glad she says

:42:15. > :42:21.GP should be at wet mire. She should tell that to her own

:42:21. > :42:27.spokesman. -- at work tomorrow. She said there would be a lot of public

:42:27. > :42:31.support for the action they are taking. There is a clear division

:42:31. > :42:36.across the floor of the House. It is perilous to go into the affairs

:42:36. > :42:41.of another constituency. That is nothing to do with funding or

:42:41. > :42:47.health reforms. I will tell her all about that separately if she would

:42:47. > :42:51.like. We are proud of what has happened in the National Health

:42:51. > :42:57.Service when we look at average waiting times for both in-patients

:42:57. > :43:01.and outpatients. They are lower than at the last general election.

:43:01. > :43:07.The best performance ever has now been detained for patients waiting

:43:07. > :43:12.after 18 weeks to be treated. The total number of qualified clinical

:43:12. > :43:16.staff is higher than at the election. There are 3900 more

:43:16. > :43:22.doctors since the election. Hospital infection levels are at

:43:22. > :43:27.their lowest level since surveillance of them began. And he

:43:27. > :43:33.never answered the question about midwives. Before the election, the

:43:33. > :43:38.leader of the opposition was all, yes we can. As soon as he became

:43:38. > :43:43.Prime Minister, it is no we cannot. Services rationed, patients

:43:43. > :43:48.suffering and public satisfaction at the new lead. That is the Tories

:43:48. > :43:58.on the NHS. The Prime Minister once told us he could sum up his

:43:58. > :44:00.

:44:00. > :44:09.priority in three letters - N H S. Isn't it more like, Ella well! --

:44:09. > :44:13.LOL! It obviously took a long time to think of that one. I have set

:44:13. > :44:19.out the achievements of the Government on the National Health

:44:20. > :44:25.Service, in in the King's Fund, in its latest report. -- event. They

:44:25. > :44:30.say there is no evidence of a decline in service quality or

:44:30. > :44:36.performance. Infection rates have not notice as they deteriorated but

:44:36. > :44:46.our remaining relatively stable. MRSA and ceded the Silk are

:44:46. > :44:53.reducing. These are important achievements in-house service. --

:44:53. > :44:57.C-difficile. They are a contrast with the number of managers

:44:57. > :45:02.doubling under the Labour Party. At contrast when they were last in

:45:02. > :45:07.power when the number of NHS managers rose six times as fast as

:45:07. > :45:17.nurses and a huge contrast with Wales where Labour is cutting NHS

:45:17. > :45:18.

:45:18. > :45:26.Given the appalling behaviour of Liberal Democrat Cabinet members in

:45:26. > :45:31.not supporting the Secretary of State for Culture Secretary, would

:45:31. > :45:35.my preferred Deputy Prime Minister arrange a divorce divorce from the

:45:35. > :45:45.yellow peril so we can govern with Conservative policies as a minority

:45:45. > :45:49.Government? LAUGHTER

:45:49. > :45:55.THE SPEAKER: Order. I'm sure members having heard the question

:45:55. > :46:00.will wish to hear the answer. I am sure they will, Mr Speaker. I

:46:00. > :46:05.think my honourable bringing up a divorce might be troubling to Mrs

:46:05. > :46:08.Bone and we should all seek to reassure her that he is only

:46:08. > :46:14.talking about a political one! But as someone who helped to negotiate

:46:14. > :46:18.the coalition and who values enormously our co-operation with

:46:18. > :46:21.the Liberal Democrats, I will not be advocating a divorce in the

:46:21. > :46:27.Government. Can the Foreign Secretary confirm

:46:27. > :46:30.that apart from Italy, the UK is the only country in the G20 in a

:46:30. > :46:36.double dip recession? Well actually, the actual fact of

:46:37. > :46:44.the matter is that the IMF forecast that in the coming year, the

:46:44. > :46:48.British economy - they may not want to know what is going to happen.

:46:49. > :46:52.The Shadow Chancellor, he is not here with his hand gestures, but he

:46:52. > :46:57.said we should take notice of the IMF and they say in the coming year

:46:57. > :47:00.the the British economy is going to grow faster than the German or

:47:00. > :47:04.French economy. That next year, growth in the British economy will

:47:04. > :47:09.be similar to that of the United States and twice that of the

:47:09. > :47:13.eurozone and that would not be happening had we not brought the

:47:13. > :47:20.excessive deficits and debts of the last Government under control.

:47:20. > :47:24.Thank you Mr Speaker. In light of the historic signing in China for

:47:24. > :47:30.record investment, the granting of the turn around cruise terminal in

:47:30. > :47:34.Liverpool and the support of the automotive industries for 1,000

:47:34. > :47:38.more jobs at Jaguar and saving the vaux Vauxhall would you say this

:47:38. > :47:43.Government had done more in two years to expand private enterprise

:47:43. > :47:49.on Merseyside than Labour did in its entire tenure?

:47:49. > :47:53.Well, yes I would, Mr Speaker. I would say - I would say exactly

:47:53. > :48:03.that. And I would point out that that success which she described is

:48:03. > :48:04.

:48:04. > :48:11.37%, British exports to China, going up 61%, British exports to

:48:11. > :48:14.India, going up 73% and that is also because the British Government

:48:14. > :48:19.is out there championing British business which the other side

:48:19. > :48:24.neglected to do. Account Secretary of State

:48:24. > :48:28.Secretary of State inform the House why it is in their proposals for

:48:28. > :48:34.regional pay that why he wants to see his nurses in Richmond,

:48:34. > :48:37.Yorkshire to be paid less than say nurses doing the same job say in

:48:37. > :48:41.Richmond, Surrey? Well there, is an issue that the

:48:41. > :48:46.pay review bodies are now now examining as the honourable member

:48:46. > :48:49.will know. They will report next month, but the case for local pay

:48:49. > :48:54.and they will make their recommendations, we can debate that,

:48:54. > :48:59.the case for local pay was was made by a Chancellor of the Exchequer

:48:59. > :49:03.who said it makes sense to recognise thighs that a more --

:49:03. > :49:09.recognise that a more considered approach offers the best route to

:49:09. > :49:13.employment. That Chancellor of the Exchequer was his neighbour, the

:49:13. > :49:20.right honourable member for kal caddy.

:49:20. > :49:24.THE SPEAKER: I'm sure Conservative backbenchers which to hear from one

:49:24. > :49:27.of their coalition colleagues. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

:49:27. > :49:32.The Department of Health accepts that radiotherapy is the cheapest

:49:32. > :49:36.and most effective way of treating cancer, despite this the department

:49:36. > :49:42.will spend over �1.5 billion on cancer drugs this career, but less

:49:42. > :49:47.than a third of that on radiotherapy. In the south-west

:49:47. > :49:52.several of our hospitals rely on charity to fund basic radiotherapy

:49:52. > :49:57.services... THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. Order. A

:49:57. > :49:59.one sentence question and a short sentence. So could the right

:49:59. > :50:04.honourable gentleman speak to the Prime Minister about authorising

:50:04. > :50:11.the investment that unused money into radiotherapy so hospitals in

:50:11. > :50:13.my region... LAUGHTER

:50:13. > :50:15.My honourable friend is right to point to the importance of

:50:15. > :50:18.radiotherapy. It is also important to stress that decisions on

:50:18. > :50:24.treatments should be made by clinicians based on whatever is

:50:24. > :50:29.appropriate for their patients, but we are investing over �150 million

:50:29. > :50:34.more over the next four years to expand radiotherapy capacity and I

:50:34. > :50:40.know my honourable friend will welcome that. As well as the fact

:50:40. > :50:44.that at the same time over 12,500 extra patients benefited from the

:50:44. > :50:49.�650 million Cancer Drugs Fund introduced by this Government.

:50:49. > :50:55.Thank you, Mr Speaker. The regional growth fund is the Government's

:50:55. > :50:58.flagship scheme for boosting jobs and growth in the regions. The

:50:59. > :51:04.recent National Audit Office report criticised it for spending too much

:51:04. > :51:11.money on projects creating too few jobs. In some cases, �200,000 per

:51:11. > :51:15.job. What is the Government doing about it? Well, the honourable

:51:15. > :51:19.member's region will benefit, including �235 million from the

:51:19. > :51:24.regional growth fund. Of course, it is important that that money is

:51:24. > :51:27.spent effective and my colleagues will do their up most to ensure

:51:27. > :51:31.that is happening, but it is important to remember his region

:51:31. > :51:36.benefits from so many other things the Government is doing, including

:51:36. > :51:43.infrastructure projects to support growth in the West Midlands and an

:51:43. > :51:51.enterprise zone in Birmingham City centre and an enterprise zone for

:51:51. > :51:56.the Black Country. Thank you, Mr Speaker. My constituent Ian Tapper

:51:56. > :52:03.has lost 300 cattle to Bovine TB. The last Government did nothing

:52:03. > :52:09.about this issue. Whilst I recognise the work this Government

:52:09. > :52:12.has has done, when it comes to disease control regular regulations

:52:12. > :52:16.there will be proportion nationality and nothing that is

:52:16. > :52:21.likely to detract from their livelihood? My honourable friend

:52:21. > :52:23.raises an important issue. Bovine TB is one of the most serious

:52:23. > :52:31.challenges facing the British cattle farming industry and last

:52:31. > :52:35.year around 26,000 cattle were slaughtered in England alone. DEFRA

:52:35. > :52:41.will be making an announcement tomorrow will how they intend to

:52:41. > :52:47.proceed on this subject. Cattle measures continue to be the found

:52:47. > :52:49.aches of our TB -- foundation of our TB control. I invite him to

:52:49. > :52:59.stand-by for an announcement tomorrow.

:52:59. > :53:01.The Foreign Secretary will be aware that today the 14th Dalai Lama is

:53:01. > :53:06.in London and will be visiting Parliament this afternoon. Will he

:53:06. > :53:14.use this opportunity to restate his Government's commitment to the

:53:14. > :53:18.Human Rights of Tibetans within Chin We -- China? We believe in the

:53:18. > :53:25.universalality of Human Rights. And that is a point that I often make

:53:25. > :53:28.to Chinese leaders including in the dialogue that I conduct with China

:53:29. > :53:34.on an annual basis. We have a formal Human Rights dialogue with

:53:34. > :53:38.China which we do not shy away from raising any of these cases. We do

:53:38. > :53:43.see, as did the last Government, we see Tibet as part of the people's

:53:43. > :53:48.Republic of China. But we also look for meaningful dialogue between

:53:48. > :53:51.representatives of the dal la la of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese and

:53:51. > :53:55.we will support that. Government has made clear its

:53:55. > :54:03.commitment to to root out tax avoidance by public officials and

:54:03. > :54:06.civil servants. Account deputy, can the Foreign Secretary make clear...

:54:06. > :54:11.Can the Foreign Secretary make clear that the Government will be

:54:11. > :54:14.robust in rooting out tax avoidance by the corporate sector who do jobs

:54:14. > :54:21.for Government or are employed by the Government?

:54:21. > :54:28.Yes, and I won't mention to the Deputy Prime Minister his slip!

:54:28. > :54:29.LAUGHTER It is between ourselves!

:54:29. > :54:35.LAUGHTER In these four four walls! Yes,

:54:35. > :54:38.absolutely, the Chancellor set out clear in the Budget his

:54:38. > :54:43.determination to deal with tax avoidance and to do so without

:54:43. > :54:49.warning in future and I know for the Chancellor -- I know if the

:54:49. > :54:54.Chancellor was here he would say that applies to the corporate

:54:54. > :54:57.section as well. The Government believes it is not

:54:57. > :55:01.reasonable or fair that households should receive a greater income

:55:01. > :55:06.from benefits than the average weekly wage for working households.

:55:06. > :55:11.In some cases, it can be more than double the average household income

:55:11. > :55:16.and our changes will mean no family on benefits will earn more than a

:55:16. > :55:19.working family's average salary, �26,000 for a couple and single

:55:19. > :55:25.parent households. This strikes the right balance between supporting

:55:25. > :55:31.families and providing incentives to work.

:55:32. > :55:35.Rents in my constituency are high. Jobcentre Plus, there are 900

:55:35. > :55:40.families who have between them 2,000 to 4,000. Their benefits will

:55:40. > :55:46.be cut on average on the 1st April by �200 a month. This will either

:55:47. > :55:51.cause them to rack up rents arrears or have to move. Mayor, Boris

:55:51. > :55:54.Johnson, says he will not preside over the removal of the poor from

:55:54. > :55:58.inner London. Boris gets it. Why doesn't the Government?

:55:58. > :56:03.Well, I know that the honourable member has long running concerns

:56:03. > :56:06.about this and has frequently expressed them and I think it is

:56:06. > :56:11.important to stress that for all but the most expensive parts of

:56:11. > :56:15.London, at least 30% of all private rental properties will be

:56:15. > :56:20.affordable. In London, under the system, that we inherited, 150

:56:20. > :56:24.families were receiving housing benefit of over �50,000 a year. And

:56:24. > :56:29.that is not acceptable to the taxpayers of this country in

:56:29. > :56:36.general. And our reforms are fair. Housing benefit will be paid to

:56:36. > :56:39.meet rents of almost �21,000 a year. There is also �190 million fund for

:56:39. > :56:42.discretionary payments to help local authorities with the changes

:56:42. > :56:46.and including assistance to renegotiate lower rents with

:56:46. > :56:49.landlords, but the principle remains and I say it again, it is

:56:49. > :56:53.not fair that people on housing benefit can afford to live in

:56:53. > :56:59.streets and homes that people out working hard are unable to live in

:56:59. > :57:02.themselves. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Wales is the

:57:02. > :57:06.only nation in the UK without a single yard of electified rail

:57:06. > :57:11.track thanks to the party opposite as a former Secretary of State for

:57:11. > :57:14.Wales, could the Foreign Secretary persuade the Government that

:57:14. > :57:20.extending track as far as Swansea, not just Cardiff, will be great for

:57:20. > :57:23.Wales and cheaper than the refurb of Tottenham court Station? Well,

:57:23. > :57:28.the Welsh Secretary is working hard on this. We are committed to

:57:28. > :57:31.electifying over 300 miles of railway routes which compares

:57:31. > :57:36.actually with just nine miles electified under the last

:57:36. > :57:39.Government. An interesting contrast in infrastructure investment. The

:57:39. > :57:43.Department for Transport is currently considering a business

:57:43. > :57:47.case for electification between Cardiff and Swansea, prepared in

:57:47. > :57:52.Wales, and I understand that the decision will be made by the summer

:57:52. > :57:54.and of course, it will depend on whether it is affordable and on the

:57:54. > :57:58.assessment of competing priorities as well.

:57:58. > :58:03.There is more work to do, but for the third month, unemployment has

:58:03. > :58:06.reduced in Scotland and for the second year in a year, Scotland is

:58:06. > :58:09.the best location for foreign investment in the UK. Would the

:58:09. > :58:12.Foreign Secretary take the opportunity to congratulate the

:58:12. > :58:17.Scottish Government and Scottish development international which is

:58:17. > :58:22.the lead agency that secures Foreign Secretary foreign direct

:58:22. > :58:26.investment? The honourable member is right to draw attention to the

:58:26. > :58:32.employment figures which we must never be complacent about and there

:58:32. > :58:38.is more work to do. The right honourable lady didn't ask about

:58:38. > :58:42.these and they show a fall in unloimt unemployment of 51,000.

:58:42. > :58:47.Importantly, youth employment coming down by 29,000 in the last

:58:47. > :58:53.quarter, but long-term unemployment is still rising and that remains a

:58:53. > :58:57.challenge. Of course, Scotland as part of the United Kingdom is an

:58:57. > :59:01.attractive place to invest in and I congratulate many Scottish people

:59:01. > :59:07.and businesses on their work. They would have harder work to do if

:59:07. > :59:13.Scotland were not part of the United Kingdom.

:59:13. > :59:19.While welcoming overseas students who come to this country to get a

:59:19. > :59:26.world-class education, will my honourable friend look on vice vice

:59:26. > :59:32.vice qulorce on chancellors who believe they can't compete? Last

:59:32. > :59:37.year 10,000 students -- -- 120,000 students were granted the right to

:59:37. > :59:43.extend their stay here? Yes. The Government has introduced reforms

:59:43. > :59:47.to stamp out abuse and restore order to the out of control student

:59:47. > :59:51.visa system. Making the immigration system easier for students,

:59:51. > :59:55.universities and the UK Border Agency to operate. So we are

:59:55. > :59:58.closing bogus colleges and regulating the remainder.

:59:58. > :00:04.Restricting the right-to-work here and bring dependants and making

:00:04. > :00:07.sure that all but the best go home at the end of their studies. On

:00:07. > :00:15.that basis, of course, talented students from around the world are

:00:15. > :00:21.welcome here in the United Kingdom. As MP for Rotherham, can I welcome

:00:21. > :00:25.the fact that the right honourable gentleman has realised the ambition

:00:25. > :00:31.thwarted in 2001 and briefly is in charge of the clattering trade.

:00:31. > :00:37.Will he he take this opportunity, as we have two Asian Nobel prize

:00:37. > :00:46.winners in the House of Commons this week, to invite a third,

:00:46. > :00:51.currently rotting in the Chinese goulag. From the dispatch mention

:00:51. > :00:56.his name and invite him here to London for next year?

:00:56. > :00:59.Well, it is the nice words about Rotherham are being exchanged at

:00:59. > :01:02.Prime Minister's Questions. I welcome the question from the right

:01:02. > :01:07.honourable member. We raise individual cases, of course, with

:01:07. > :01:11.the Chinese and often do so publicly, but I will assess which

:01:11. > :01:14.one to say raise and when to do so, of course, but the Human Rights

:01:14. > :01:19.dialogue that we have with China is very important and it is important

:01:19. > :01:23.that in China there is an understanding of our deep concerns

:01:23. > :01:33.about many of these cases. He can rest assured I will be raising them.

:01:33. > :01:41.

:01:41. > :01:44.N-the cause of deficit reduction, the Government is reducing funding

:01:44. > :01:47.to the police by 20% in real terms over four years. Can my right

:01:47. > :01:56.honourable friend assure me in the cause of deficit reduction he will

:01:56. > :02:00.be insisting on a reduction to the European Union budget by over 20%?

:02:00. > :02:04.Highly desirable as that would be, that contribution is not decided by

:02:04. > :02:09.a single decision of Government, but is the balance between two

:02:09. > :02:13.large figures determined in other ways. He can rest assured however,

:02:13. > :02:16.that we will be better at negotiating about this than the

:02:16. > :02:21.honourable members opposite. The Shadow Foreign Secretary is sit

:02:21. > :02:27.there and when he was Minister for Europe, the party opposite gave

:02:27. > :02:31.away �7 billion of the British rebate. For nothing in return and

:02:31. > :02:35.that was an abject failure of negotiation and leadership that we

:02:35. > :02:40.will not repeat. Does the Foreign Secretary agree

:02:40. > :02:47.with the words of the honourable member when he was quoted in the

:02:48. > :02:53.Newcastle Journal as Saying, "I see no regional argument for re-- I see

:02:53. > :02:56.no argument for regional pay.". pointed out the views expressed by

:02:56. > :03:04.the former leader of the Labour Party on local pay and regional pay.

:03:04. > :03:07.It is also worth pointing out that the last Government in 2007

:03:07. > :03:14.introduced local pay into Her Majesty's courts and tribunal

:03:14. > :03:19.service. Would my right honourable friend

:03:19. > :03:26.agree what a wonderful announcement it was for Rolls-Royce, future

:03:26. > :03:31.engineering jobs, bottom bardier look look -- Bombardier creating

:03:31. > :03:34.more jobs. This indeed is good news. It is

:03:34. > :03:40.good news for investment in this country. It is good news for Derby

:03:40. > :03:45.and the area and it is good news for the long-term security of this

:03:45. > :03:50.country that we are prepared to invest confidently in submarine

:03:50. > :03:54.technologies for the long-term. Account Foreign Secretary tell the

:03:54. > :04:03.House how the snooper's charter which the Government plans to intro

:04:03. > :04:08.durex differs from -- differs from -- -- introduction differs?

:04:08. > :04:13.differs from that. The proposal of the last Government was to hold all

:04:13. > :04:21.data in a central database. This is requiring provide torce hold on to

:04:21. > :04:26.-- providors to hold on to their data. This is designed to be a

:04:26. > :04:32.criminal's nightmare and unless we update it, unless we update our

:04:32. > :04:36.ability to detect terrorism, to detect criminality in this country

:04:36. > :04:42.then that will have a serious effect. I am plan to go look at

:04:42. > :04:49.this in detail. It is important for maintaining law and order.

:04:49. > :04:56.The highlight of the Olympic torch relay will take place on 6 6 July -

:04:56. > :05:00.- 6th July when it arrives in Southend. Would my right honourable

:05:00. > :05:03.friend agree the Olympic Games is an opportunity for our country to

:05:03. > :05:07.come together and celebrate this Government putting the great back

:05:07. > :05:12.into Britain? Well, the arrival of the torch in

:05:12. > :05:17.Southend is one of the highlights. The other highlight the fact that

:05:17. > :05:22.today it is passing through Richmond in Yorkshire. I would have

:05:22. > :05:26.dearly loved to have been there to see it, but that is one of the

:05:26. > :05:31.highlights. He is quite right there, is an enormous opportunity for this

:05:31. > :05:36.country. We are looking through the Olympic Games to secure over �1

:05:36. > :05:40.billion worth of iward investment to attract four million extra

:05:40. > :05:44.visitors include to go Southend, to use the Games, to inspire more

:05:45. > :05:52.young people to take up sport. It is a great moment for Britain.

:05:52. > :05:56.Thank you, Mr Speaker. We know that the Prime Minister likes - forgive

:05:56. > :06:01.me! We know the Prime Minister likes to chillax down the pub, but

:06:01. > :06:07.when it comes to Anglo-French relations, shouldn't he adopt a

:06:07. > :06:10.more sober approach? Well, the Prime Minister always has

:06:10. > :06:14.excellent relations with any president of France including with

:06:14. > :06:19.the new president of France and we should welcome and applaud the fact

:06:19. > :06:22.that the city we are standing in, sitting in today, is the seventh

:06:22. > :06:25.largest city for French people in the world and of course, they are

:06:25. > :06:35.welcome here in the United Kingdom whatever their Government is doing

:06:35. > :06:44.

:06:44. > :06:49.I think the Speaker's wrist watch must have come to a stop was at the

:06:50. > :06:55.main bone of contention was the NHS. A troublesome Tory MP wanted a

:06:55. > :07:01.divorce between the Tories and the Lib Dems. The Deputy Prime Minister,

:07:01. > :07:09.as he is always called by Simon Hughes, William Hague always said

:07:09. > :07:16.he was not up for a divorce. Johnny Depp and Vanessa parody up on their

:07:16. > :07:21.way to a divorce. They can also report that Ken Livingstone came

:07:21. > :07:28.top of the Labour Party NEC elections. He was top of the poll.

:07:28. > :07:37.He said he was not going to run for election again and he has. From

:07:37. > :07:45.Athens, the head of the Socialist Party, says Greece has a government.

:07:45. > :07:54.That is a first step chorus --! Let's find her what you thought

:07:54. > :08:02.about the elongated PMQs. -- find out. It was David Cameron and Ed

:08:02. > :08:07.Miliband eat your heart at. This from built in Doncaster, William

:08:07. > :08:13.Hague was as ever the great performer. I think Harriet Harman

:08:13. > :08:19.and the Labour Party actually like William Hague. We think he is

:08:19. > :08:23.lovely. Should David Cameron be looking over his shoulder? David

:08:23. > :08:31.Cameron can only dream about such a performance. Barton from

:08:31. > :08:36.Wolverhampton. A complete cheap shot up from Harriet Harman. In the

:08:36. > :08:40.Labour years it was not matched by productivity gains. The Government

:08:40. > :08:45.is claiming credit for increasing the number of doctors in the NHS.

:08:45. > :08:49.It takes seven years to train a doctor. All these doctors will have

:08:49. > :08:54.done the bulk of their training under the last Labour government.

:08:54. > :09:04.This from Ellis. It is good to know we will have high growth next year.

:09:04. > :09:10.Also orders been up and the deficit being paid off. -- being up.

:09:10. > :09:14.like our viewers when they do things like that. NHS, I know it is

:09:14. > :09:19.not up there in public concern with the economy, which are still the

:09:19. > :09:25.number one issue. It is becoming a problem from thicker -- for the

:09:25. > :09:31.Government, isn't it? The first couple of years this Parliament has

:09:31. > :09:36.been dominated by rows over NHS reform. You will recall how hard it

:09:36. > :09:40.was for the Government to get that through their paws. The impact of

:09:40. > :09:45.that legislation will begin to start having consequences. Those

:09:45. > :09:50.changes now will be operating on the ground. Harriet Harman started

:09:50. > :09:54.poking fun at those members of the Government, such as William Hague,

:09:54. > :10:01.who have been protesting against changes to their own hospitals in

:10:01. > :10:04.their own areas. William Hague said, the changes to the hospital in his

:10:04. > :10:14.constituency a lot about the broad thrust of government reforms will

:10:14. > :10:18.

:10:18. > :10:23.stop that is beginning to take effect. -- government reforms.

:10:23. > :10:28.There is also the problem with saying Hellyer hospital.

:10:28. > :10:33.Chairman of the NHS Confederation says, the NHS is heading for an

:10:33. > :10:38.iceberg. I do not think that is right. The floor of the House of

:10:38. > :10:44.Commons is not the best place and to allocate scarce NHS resources.

:10:44. > :10:50.We had the example of a politician same, by coming up to anything with

:10:50. > :10:54.radiotherapy? -- why can we not do anything? The act we have passed

:10:54. > :10:57.will gradually come into effect. GPs will have more power to decide

:10:57. > :11:03.for patients the kind of commissioning choices we were

:11:03. > :11:07.hearing during Question Time. But implementation of the Act were

:11:07. > :11:11.largely address this issue and bring to patients are more, if you

:11:11. > :11:20.like, consumer power through their GPs, to get the sort of decisions

:11:20. > :11:24.taken that they want. The magazine for GPs, GP Magazine, has published

:11:24. > :11:30.a Freedom of Information announcement. It shows that 90% of

:11:30. > :11:37.trusts are imposing restrictions on certain aspects of care - including

:11:37. > :11:42.hip and knee operations was up 90%! It has always been the case that

:11:42. > :11:46.NHS has limited resources for insatiable demand. There have to be

:11:46. > :11:52.mechanisms, given that price is not the mechanism, because things are

:11:52. > :11:57.free. We want to see choices made by clinicians will clinical reasons.

:11:57. > :12:01.Behind that is any budget. Budgets are not infinite. Within budget

:12:01. > :12:08.constraints, they're going to have to make these clinical decisions.

:12:08. > :12:15.Pat has always been the case in the NHS. They say it is getting worse.

:12:15. > :12:20.As with pensions, one of the real problems, is that as we get older,

:12:20. > :12:24.particularly as we get older and live possibly with infirmity, the

:12:24. > :12:29.demand on the NHS is dramatically increasing. As drugs and pioneering

:12:29. > :12:38.techniques cumin, some of the costs are also increasing above the rate

:12:38. > :12:43.of inflation. -- inflation will stop -- off inflation.

:12:43. > :12:46.confederation is blaming the lack of spending for these issues. The

:12:46. > :12:56.Government is committed to increasing spending in the NHS in

:12:56. > :13:01.real terms. Not by much. You would not have given that guarantee. You

:13:01. > :13:05.did not commit to increase in health spending. If you were in

:13:05. > :13:08.power, we would have the same problem. With which not have spent

:13:08. > :13:12.�3 million on a top down reorganisation of the National

:13:12. > :13:17.Health Service we did not tell the electorate about before the

:13:17. > :13:21.election, by forcing through the Health Bill in the House of Commons

:13:21. > :13:31.and the House of Lords. They should be dealing with Parrott has Asian

:13:31. > :13:37.

:13:37. > :13:41.properly. I think Alan has been -- inflation properly. I think there

:13:41. > :13:51.are being examples of people having to wait and not having access to

:13:51. > :13:53.

:13:53. > :13:55.treatment they need. This will grow and grow. Take a look at this. It's

:13:55. > :13:58.the EU's foreign policy supremo, Baroness Cathy Ashton. She used to

:13:58. > :14:03.be a Cabinet Minister in Gordon Brown's government. Here she is,

:14:03. > :14:08.about to meet the President of Serbia for a photocall. Somebody

:14:08. > :14:18.has to come with me because I do not know what he looks like. Who

:14:18. > :14:31.

:14:31. > :14:38.So, welcome again, Mr President. They got that in the end. We know

:14:38. > :14:42.what he looks like now. You often see on American television in the

:14:42. > :14:46.primary elections, American interviewers like me trying to get

:14:46. > :14:51.a moment with the candidate who has come from Tennessee or something.

:14:51. > :14:57.The first question is, what is the name of the President of

:14:57. > :15:02.Kazakhstan? It is not fair, it is it? I have been to press

:15:02. > :15:08.conferences where are I have stuck up by hand. It is the Romanian

:15:08. > :15:12.Foreign Minister in front of me and I go, sir! It is funny. It is a

:15:12. > :15:18.great clip. It is not fair. You cannot be expected to know the

:15:18. > :15:26.names of everyone. Of course not. People mistake me for my sister.

:15:26. > :15:31.That is what happens. I completely forgive them. Harold Macmillan had

:15:31. > :15:40.a wonderful technique when he could not remember a constituent. How is

:15:40. > :15:44.the old complaint? The Speaker has the most extraordinary memory. I

:15:44. > :15:50.have seen him on the street with constituents. It is like mahout is

:15:50. > :16:00.the operation you had three weeks ago? -- it is like, how is the

:16:00. > :16:01.

:16:01. > :16:07.operation? Once a week I get mistaken in the street for the

:16:07. > :16:13.streaker. You have to meet a lot of foreign politicians in your job for

:16:13. > :16:18.international aid. Do you have a problem? Normally I am very well

:16:18. > :16:23.briefed. I did give once at an Arab conference. The Foreign Minister

:16:24. > :16:32.was gracious enough to say, in this, we'll look the same. Do you carry

:16:32. > :16:36.photographs of them? -- we all look. When Neil Kinnock went to visit

:16:36. > :16:43.Ronald Reagan with Denis Healey Club rum Reagan thought Denis

:16:43. > :16:47.Healey was the British ambassador. --, Ronald Reagan thought. Can you

:16:47. > :16:50.imagine if no-one in Britain had to work more than a 15-hour week

:16:50. > :16:53.because we had enough money to lead a good life? Sounds great, doesn't

:16:53. > :16:56.it? Well, that was the prediction by the economist, John Maynard

:16:56. > :16:59.Keynes, 100 years ago. He was right about how much money we would have

:16:59. > :17:09.by now but his predictions about work were dead wrong. Robert

:17:09. > :17:25.

:17:25. > :17:32.Why are we so obsessed with economic growth? It makes as

:17:32. > :17:38.Richter. We need more riches to buy more. We are obsessed with

:17:38. > :17:43.consumption. To buy more, we need to work harder. We work in order to

:17:43. > :17:48.buy. This may explain something which would otherwise seem puzzling.

:17:48. > :17:53.About 100 years ago, John Maynard Keynes predicted that by now we

:17:53. > :17:59.would only be working 15 hours a week. Technology would have allowed

:17:59. > :18:07.work to be replaced by leisure. In fact we're still working 40 hours a

:18:07. > :18:12.week. There are two main reasons were the go on working such long

:18:12. > :18:18.hours. The first is, if there has been a big increase in inequality

:18:18. > :18:23.since the 1980s. There is the fact of human in sociability. We compare

:18:23. > :18:31.our fortunes with those of others and find them wanting. Advertising

:18:31. > :18:36.whips up the desire to have the self-destructing frenzy. We are

:18:36. > :18:43.invited to find our souls in shops. Surveys have shown that more Wells,

:18:43. > :18:48.a small stuff, does not make us any happier. There are certain basic

:18:48. > :18:54.foods like health, security, friendship, personality, respect,

:18:54. > :19:01.harmony with nature, leisure, which most people would accept has been

:19:01. > :19:04.part of a good life. By restoring the concept of enough to our

:19:04. > :19:13.vocabulary, can we expect to get off the gross treadmill and start

:19:13. > :19:16.to think about how to live agreeably and well? -- growth. And

:19:16. > :19:21.Lord Skidelsky has managed to tear himself away from the shops of New

:19:21. > :19:31.Bond Street to join us in the studio. Did you buy anything?

:19:31. > :19:38.not have any money. Why do you think he got it so wrong in terms

:19:38. > :19:48.of by now we would all be living the good life? He did not take into

:19:48. > :19:54.account sociability. There is no natural terminus. People never say,

:19:54. > :19:58.enough is enough. They're not just thinking about themselves and their

:19:58. > :20:02.wants. They up thinking about their wants relative to others. He

:20:02. > :20:09.underestimated the amount of inequality there would be by now.

:20:09. > :20:14.He thought everything would go up more or less together. In fact, a

:20:14. > :20:21.lot of people to have enough - more than enough. A lot of people are

:20:21. > :20:26.more wealthy than they were. Absolutely! Relatively speaking,

:20:26. > :20:31.what they call the median income - the average income - have diverged

:20:31. > :20:35.more and more since the 1980s. Taking human nature into account

:20:35. > :20:41.and people wanted to keep up with the Joneses, we will never think we

:20:42. > :20:46.have had enough in that broad sense. If we consult what we want and then

:20:46. > :20:50.compare that with others, you will never get there. If you think in

:20:51. > :20:55.terms of what is enough for the good life, if one can get back

:20:55. > :21:00.question addressed, people might start saying, I have got enough for

:21:00. > :21:05.a good life? I do not have to go on and on and on club wanting more and

:21:05. > :21:10.more and more. Is this a good calling from you at the time when

:21:10. > :21:20.actually what we need - arguably - is the people to go out and spend

:21:20. > :21:20.

:21:20. > :21:27.money in the shops? We need the We are going into the future. It is

:21:27. > :21:30.not politics today. It is not daily politics that we are in the

:21:30. > :21:36.business of. You are. We are. We are the Daily Politics.

:21:36. > :21:41.You are trying to do us out of a job! Then we won't have any money

:21:41. > :21:45.to spend. We have got a lot of repair work to do on our present

:21:45. > :21:52.economy before we can get in a position of saying, "Most people

:21:52. > :21:59.have enough." Is this desirable, Alan Duncan? He can't get enough of

:21:59. > :22:02.his iPad. People want modern inventions and to say there is

:22:02. > :22:05.enoughness, we could be gardening on the allotment and looking at the

:22:05. > :22:09.butterflies on half the income being happy.

:22:09. > :22:13.Couldn't Couldn't more people be doing that? People want their

:22:13. > :22:19.holidays and they want to pay their bills and want a better house. They

:22:19. > :22:23.want a better car and that's human nature and it is ghot it is not

:22:23. > :22:28.going to change and if Lord Skidelsky was right, the Chinese

:22:28. > :22:32.would there be in the Paddy fields. I thought David Cameron was into

:22:32. > :22:36.quality of life, but isn't that more, you know, thinking about what

:22:36. > :22:39.Lord Skidelsky is saying, rather than what you are outlining? No. I

:22:39. > :22:41.think David Cameron is right about well wellbeing and that's to do

:22:41. > :22:48.with things you can't count in terms of money like human

:22:48. > :22:52.relationships and things like that, a happy mar arjs good friends --

:22:52. > :22:57.marriage, good friends. But to say we should limit income in order to

:22:57. > :23:02.create jobs for other people are be satisfied with our lot because we

:23:02. > :23:06.have more leisure. To have good leisure, you need a good income too.

:23:06. > :23:10.Of course. No one is denying that. Enough is a good income in order to

:23:10. > :23:16.enjoy these things. What we are saying is if you go on with a

:23:16. > :23:20.single goal which is simply to increase gross dom domestic product

:23:20. > :23:25.and your own income forever and ever and ever, you are crowding out

:23:25. > :23:30.these other things. Some ideas for your next, manifesto,

:23:30. > :23:33.Andrew? Gross Domestic Product doesn't measure happiness or the

:23:33. > :23:38.things that don't have a price. And we have to have a balance between

:23:38. > :23:45.those things that you can't price in the market, the good life,

:23:45. > :23:48.leisure, happy family life, time to enjoy.

:23:48. > :23:52.Would you want to put a limit? have to look at how we value things

:23:52. > :23:57.and we have to think about the constraints that are coming into

:23:57. > :24:01.the way our economy works because the Earth can only sustain so much

:24:01. > :24:08.economic activity. We need to see what we can do about those which is

:24:08. > :24:13.what Alan spends his time doing, who have to live on on $3 a day.

:24:13. > :24:19.Lord Skidelsky, at the moment, the priority seems to be, helping

:24:19. > :24:24.unemployed people get into work, but people working longer. I think

:24:24. > :24:27.you are past retirement age, I hope I am not being rude, but you are

:24:27. > :24:32.still working? So you are not putting your feet up? There is a

:24:32. > :24:37.difference between idleness and leisure. I don't have to. I am not

:24:37. > :24:40.obliged at this point to work for a living. I have done my working for

:24:40. > :24:46.a living and I do what I want to do. One of the things I want to do is

:24:46. > :24:50.appearing on this show! Here. Here. That's not work.

:24:50. > :24:55.A pleasure. I am not getting paid for it. I don't have to do it.

:24:55. > :25:01.It is giving people more time to do things they want to do rather than

:25:01. > :25:06.what they have to do. And you are right, a lot of people, about 13

:25:07. > :25:09.million people in this country aren't even on below the minimum

:25:09. > :25:13.poverty line. Lord Skidelsky, we hope you will

:25:13. > :25:18.come back on the programme as part of your leisure time.

:25:18. > :25:22.I hope you will ask me. We will! The Greek Conservative

:25:22. > :25:26.leader is off to tell the President of Greece that he can form a

:25:26. > :25:31.Government. Who will be the next Prime Minister? We don't know the

:25:31. > :25:34.nature of the coalition, but at least by the end of the day there

:25:34. > :25:38.will be a new Prime Minister of Greece.

:25:39. > :25:43.Finally, wait. MPs have coined the term Parliamentary stone for the

:25:43. > :25:47.amount of flab they put on after being expose totted treats on offer

:25:47. > :25:54.-- to the treats on offer at Westminster. Here Adam who has

:25:54. > :26:02.blown our catering budget. Come with hee, with me while we

:26:02. > :26:06.test if Westminster types are as glut news as reports -- glutonous

:26:06. > :26:12.reports. Would you like a doughnut? I am a

:26:12. > :26:20.savoury person. I am Shadow Health Secretary, I

:26:20. > :26:26.don't think they are healthy enough. Not one of the plain ones? No. They

:26:27. > :26:33.have all got topings Yes, that was Bill Oddie.

:26:33. > :26:37.You have to be careful. You get invited to lots of breakfasts and

:26:38. > :26:42.lunches and it is impolite to refuse.

:26:42. > :26:46.But you will refuse us? And take steps like going to the gym where

:26:46. > :26:51.I'm heading. Some of their colleagues need help

:26:51. > :26:56.to be as virtuous which comes in Westminster's Weightwatchers group.

:26:56. > :27:04.We tracked down a member. temptation is the institution of

:27:04. > :27:10.House of Lords tea because a long day, you got lots of votes, you

:27:10. > :27:16.think "I will go and have a cup of tea." Before you know it, you are

:27:16. > :27:20.having a teacake and toast and it does build up.

:27:20. > :27:30.Ed Balls entered the London Marathon, David Cameron knows a run

:27:30. > :27:32.

:27:32. > :27:37.some days keeps the moobs at bay. Lord Adonis looks as if he could

:27:37. > :27:40.with a few doughnuts. It turns out this lot are healthier

:27:40. > :27:47.than we thought. Or are they? will have that one. Don't give that

:27:47. > :27:53.one away. It is the biggest one.

:27:53. > :28:00.We have got doughnuts. Yes, we have. Why have you got them all? I am

:28:00. > :28:05.looking after them. They are all fresh. Never tempted. You have not

:28:05. > :28:08.put on the Parliamentary stone, have you and you haven't.

:28:08. > :28:13.Discipline. Discipline. It is an unhealthy place to work,

:28:13. > :28:17.isn't it? There is food and booze everywhere. It can be and long days

:28:17. > :28:22.and a sedentary lifestyle. Don't use the lifts, use the stairs.

:28:22. > :28:26.I was running at 6am. Yes, but from the police!

:28:26. > :28:30.There is time to give you the answer to our Guess the Year

:28:30. > :28:37.competition, it was 1946. Remember the black and white footage? Alan

:28:37. > :28:44.just press that button and you will pick this week's winner. And it

:28:44. > :28:51.is... Dave O'Neill from London. It must be my long lost Irish cousin!

:28:51. > :28:55.That's it for today. Thanks to our guest, Alan Duncanan and ang --

:28:55. > :28:57.Alan Duncanan Angela Eagle. We will be back tomorrow with more