05/09/2012 Daily Politics


05/09/2012

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Morning, folks. This is the Daily Politics. Today's top story:

:00:40.:00:42.

As David Cameron puts the finishing touches to his Government reshuffle,

:00:42.:00:45.

the Mayor of London Boris Johnson spoils the party, claiming the PM

:00:45.:00:49.

is preparing to ditch his promise not to build a third runway at

:00:49.:00:55.

Heathrow. Deputy PM Nick Clegg is keen to

:00:55.:00:59.

show off his latest recruit. Former Minister David Laws returns as

:00:59.:01:03.

Schools Minister. But as a Tory MP says the reshuffle marks the start

:01:03.:01:06.

of a divorce in the coalition, are the Lib Dems strengthened or

:01:06.:01:11.

weakened? After an eight-week break, Prime

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Ministers Questions returns. We'll have all the cheers, jeers and

:01:16.:01:21.

tears live from noon. And should British politicians take

:01:21.:01:23.

a leaf out of the American political playbook and push their

:01:24.:01:31.

wives - or husbands - into the limelight? Iraq knows what it means

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when a family struggles. He knows what it means to want something

:01:35.:01:40.

more for your kids and grandkids. Barack knows the American dream

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because he's lived it. All that to come before 1.00pm, and

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with us for the duration the brand new Conservative Party Chairman

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Grant Shapps and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Labour's

:01:52.:02:02.
:02:02.:02:03.

Rachel Reeves. Welcome to the Daily Politics. Before we get started,

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let's get something out of the way. We hear that wee Grant here has a

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bit of a problem. He doesn't like wearing ties, which is a bit of an

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issue for a politician. Apparently Mr Shapps hates them so much he

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spends as little as possible on them. This one cost �4? Yes, but

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Marks & Spencer's objected and said it was �5. On the Daily Politics we

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have noticed you're going for quite shiny ties - I don't want to say

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too shiny so we think you should go in for a new look in your new job.

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So how about these that we have rustled up here? Which camera is on

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here? That's very patriotic. have this one here for you.

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these yours, Andrew? Less of your heckling. Then we have another one

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- London too - little guards in a box at Buckingham Palace. That's

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also very nice, part of the era, and this, of course, is from my

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hometown, the world famous paisley pattern, which I think we nicked

:03:12.:03:19.

from somewhere in India, Raj Stan in the 19th century. A bit of

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history there. Yes, from the cotton mills. We have the three ties.

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Which one would you like? The one on your neck. No, the Lib Dem one.

:03:29.:03:39.
:03:39.:03:39.

Can't find a tie like this. They're all machine washable, by the way.

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The 2012 one. Going to try to take this away, like the mug. Oh, you

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have done that before. The other two will be on eBay later today.

:03:48.:03:58.
:03:58.:04:04.

LAUGHTER Now, after the big Cabinet moves -

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not that big - yesterday, this morning the Prime Minister has been

:04:07.:04:10.

finishing off his ministerial line- up with many of the more junior

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posts being filled. So let's have a look at how the class of 2012 is

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shaping up. What do we know, Jo? Well, we know pretty much

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everything. As Number Ten's reshuffle draws to a close, we can

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now have a good look at some of the key appointments in this new

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generation of Ministers. At the Business Department the fresh faces

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are Michael Fallon and Matt Hancock. That's being seen as a way for the

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Conservatives to keep a closer eye on Vince Cable, the Lib Dem

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Business Secretary. At Justice Chris Grayling replaces Ken Clarke

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at the Cabinet table. He's expected to take a harder line over prisons

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and the European court. Helen Grant, one of the 2010 intake, also gets a

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job. At Education the Lib Dem David Laws is back in Government two

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years after resigning over his expenses, and as Minister of State,

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this gives the party more influence at Michael Gove's Department. Liz

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Truss, another new girl, is also given a junior job. At Transport

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the new man in charge is Patrick McLoughlin, who unlike his

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predecessor says he has an open mind over a new runway at Heathrow.

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Simon Burns, the former Health Minister, joins him. And at Health

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David Cameron's old boss Andrew Lansley is out in favour of Jeremy

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Hunt. He's joined by Norman Lamb, an ally of Nick Clegg, and Anna

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Soubry and Dr Dan Poulter, both elected in 2010. So what does the

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Government look like after all these changes? Well, it includes

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more bright young things, with eight MPs from the 2010 intake

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beginning their climb up the Ministerial ladder. But as these

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are all junior posts the average age of the Cabinet is little

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changed, down from 54 to 52. And the number of women in the Cabinet

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has fallen from five to four. Baroness Warsi will continue to

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attend Cabinet despite being moved to a new position at the Foreign

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Office. Let's speak now to our deputy

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political editor James Landale. The warning has been at Heathrow, Boris

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Johnson trying to spoil the party for David Cameron. Yes, he clearly

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doesn't want to let this one drop. Yesterday he put out a statement

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raining on David Cameron's parade saying it was wrong to get rid of

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Justine Greening from the transport department simply because she was

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against a third runway and Boris Johnson is against a third runway.

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Today Boris Johnson decided to push that even further and has asked the

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Prime Minister not just to rule out any change of this policy into the

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next election, but he wants him to rule it out forever. This was

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something the Prime Minister's spokesman this morning was fairly

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dismissive of and saying the policy is the policy. The coalition

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agreement is the coalition agreement and governments don't get

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into what may or may not happen after the next election. The papers

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have reported that it is a tilt to the right. Lib Dems are saying

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they're going to hold them to the coalition agreement. Does this mark

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a start of a divorce in the coalition? Look, the point is this

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coalition remains. However much you change the personnel within it, it

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is still a coalition, and until such time it ceases to be a

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coalition it doesn't really matter how you change the personnel. Yes,

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you could have a bit more nuance here and there, but the agreement

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is pretty clear. The Liberal Democrats are making sure they're

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not going to change any of that they're saying if the Conservatives

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want to make more right-wing noises they can use that to their

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electoral advantage saying it's more important to have in their

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point of view Liberal Democrats in Government restraining these new

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right-wing Conservatives. On, for example, Heathrow, there might be a

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change of policy, but it's not going to be - Grant Shapps, the

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party chairman, made clear this - until the next general election.

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We're not talking about something that's going to happen in the next

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couple of years. We're talking about change to the Tory manifesto.

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Also on things like justice, yes, there might be a change in tone

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from Chris Grayling, but where exactly will he change policy? Is

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he suddenly going to turn on the taps and allow the prison numbers

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to go up and increase prison capacity. It won't be Lib Dems's

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restraining but the Treasury because they're just not going to

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give them the money. Thank you. Grant Shapps, what did Warsi do so

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wrong she had to be replaced by you? I don't think anything. I

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think she was a very good chairman. Whenever you reshuffle you always

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say why is that person not doing that job and doing something else

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and vice versa? The truth is at some point you need to move your

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team around. In the case of this Prime Minister... She went off in a

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huff to Yorkshire we're told. Before a reshuffle people say

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they're happy doing the jobs. I said the same about my housing job.

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It's with some regret I moved from that work because I would like to

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see it through, but she's about to do a important job at the Foreign

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Office. She's at a senior level, still going into the Cabinet, so I

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am sure her contribution will be there for a long time. I am told

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three Cabinet Ministers cried when they were fired or moved. Were you

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one? No. Are you sure? You're making me very emotional about it.

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Let me see if I can make you cry about something else - how many

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have you inherited? I haven't gotten into that. You're the

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chairman, and you don't know how many your party - any general

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fighting a war would want to know how many soldiers he has?

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appreciate the advice. Maybe I can help you because when Mr Cameron

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became Prime Minister - became leader of his party - not Prime

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Minister - in 2005, there were 300,000 Conservative members.

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According to a Conservative home survey just gone in July, there is

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now between 130 and 170,000, losing almost 50%. I treat this with

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scepticism for one reason because the truth is membership isn't

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entirely pooled centrally - some of it is, through a central system. A

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lot of place still work... You're denying the Conservative Party

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membership has plummeted? The truth is, and it's impossible to

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absolutely know because Conservative Party membership,

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actually, probably as with other parties, is handled at a local

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level and then pooled at a national level to try the find out figures.

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When I find out more about this, no doubt I'll come back and talk to

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you, but there will be lots of members not registered nationally.

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All the polls show people are worried about the economy, about

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jobs, about growth, about business, whether their business will still

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be in business. The Prime Minister has arranged the deck chairs on

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International Development, and who runs the Commons - not exactly in

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touch with public opinion, is he? think there has been change in

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probably half the Cabinet posts. Not the posts at the top. What he's

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tried to do is this - we want some stability within the Government in

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order to continue to tackle the really big issues of things like

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dealing with the deficit, but actually what you want to do have

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people who have a proven track record of delivery, so we have -

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we're about to bring into the Government - the man who delivered

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the Olympics, who got all the stadium built on time, the Chief

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Executive of LOCOG. That's somebody with - right, business people.

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me in the British history - a businessman who has been a success

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in British politics? Typically what we have seen from businessmen who

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have come in - I am thinking of Archie Norman or someone who has a

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very specific business background. What's different about this is he's

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not been running a business in the traditional sense -

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PROBLEM WITH SOUND Correct? Let me explain. There is a

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difference here. He's delivered through the public service the 2012

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Games, add staith stadia and had to battle the Whitehall machine from

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that perspective. He's an insider but good at delivery. The theme of

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the reshuffle is putting in place people who understand how to get

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the job done. We have passed all the legislation. We have had all

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the policy ideas. This half of the Parliament has to be about

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delivering it. That's what this team is about. You came in without

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a team for delivery? You wasted two years because you had people who

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couldn't deliver? Not at all. What you have in politics and in

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Parliament - you know, the process is a two-stage thing - three,

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really. You have to design the policy, something which has yet to

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happen for Her Majesty's opposition but a stage you have to go through.

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You have to implement that by passing the laws, which is a very

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elongated process. It took two years the pass the first bit of

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housing legislation getting through Parliament. We're into the third

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stage. What the Prime Minister has done is brought... You're into the

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first stage of implementation by what you just said. You said you

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designed the policies. You said you then had to make these policies law.

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Now you're going to implement. It's only after two years in power

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you're going to... I have said on your programme before democracy is

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a very slow process. I wish it was a lot faster. Let me ask you this -

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the deficit has started to rise again. The cuts have barely begun.

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88% of cuts have to be introduced. There is no growth in the economy,

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and you have increased the tax and regulatory burden on the economy.

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What difference will the reshuffle make to any of that? Well, let me

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just challenge your assumptions first of all. You're right that the

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deficit is proving difficult this year. It's absolutely true. No-one

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imagined the world economy in this position in Europe in particular

:13:30.:13:33.

all this way through. No-one - I think you have said that you have

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predicted it, but mainly economists weren't predicting three or five

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years after the start of this we'd be in this situation, so it's

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difficult. We're fighting strong head wind, but secondly it's not

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true to say that the deficit overall hasn't been cut. No, I

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haven't said that. I said the deficit is starting to rise again,

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and these are your Government figures, but never mind... Let's be

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clear. We dealt with a quarter... You have only cut the deficit by

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25% last year. It's now rising again. The deficit is under

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pressure. I absolutely agree. It's clear we're not getting as much

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growth as we would like, and the rest of Europe is getting none too.

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Let's not underestimate the problems. I must challenge your

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point about regulation. The surveys typically show that actually we

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have been making some headway on cutting regulation. I'll give you

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one simple example. Last week I got a housing development going which

:14:26.:14:31.

has been stalled for more than ten years in Kent. It will build 22,000

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homes in the next 20 years. How many quangos were involved in

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trying to get that going over those ten years? Answer: 63 of them. We

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have cut the number of kanggos down to virtually nothing and we are

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cutting the bureaucracy. Rachel Reeves, you're not denying the

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overall tax burden has risen under your Government? We have always

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said if we're going to deal with the deficit, we're going to reduce

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the spending... Yes or no? Let me explain. 8/10 of it has been

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reducing spending and the other has been reducing the tax burden. One

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last thing - people flippantly say most of the cuts have yet to come

:15:13.:15:17.

in. That's true if you work off the spending that was projected to go

:15:17.:15:20.

like this, but since we have already reduced the expenditure,

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you can take any moment in time, project forward and say, by there

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point you would have had all of that extra spending and the pain is

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going to be felt. It's not spent - you get that. I get you. You use

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the word "cut" where it matters. You must think it's much ado about

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nothing. The key personnel haven't changed, and the policies haven't

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changed. It's all well and good to say now we're going to move to

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implementation stage but we have had over two years now and all

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that's been delivered is a double- dip recession. I am still not at

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all convinced there are any policies in place to get us out of

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that situation. Of course there are problems in Europe and elsewhere.

:15:59.:16:03.

The reality is apart from Italy, we're the only one of the 20 most

:16:03.:16:06.

industrialised economies that's come back into recession, and the

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fact that we're in recession has to be due to the policies that have

:16:11.:16:14.

been implemented here in the UK, the decisions to cut as far and as

:16:14.:16:18.

fast as the Government have done have choked off economic growth,

:16:18.:16:22.

resulted in us going back into a recession. As you say, Andrew, also

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means that this year in the first four months of this year we're

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borrowing 25% more than we were doing a year ago, whereas -- with

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most people predicting borrowing this year will be more than last.

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That's not because the Government haven't made the cuts and put up

:16:39.:16:44.

tax. It's because tax revenue isn't coming in because businesses aren't

:16:44.:16:54.
:16:54.:16:56.

succeeding and Unemployment is high Before we move on, why is Downing

:16:56.:16:59.

Street spinning against Justine Greening for sticking to your

:16:59.:17:03.

party's promise not to build a third runway? He's been attacked

:17:03.:17:06.

and she had to be moved and only in the job for ten months. She's the

:17:06.:17:10.

one who is sticking to the manifesto pledge? We are all

:17:10.:17:13.

sticking to it. That's to be absolutely clear. For now. We are

:17:13.:17:23.
:17:23.:17:23.

not going to build a runway. It's back on - That's a bit disingenuous.

:17:23.:17:32.

Firstly, you went into the election - You were in favour of one.

:17:32.:17:39.

There's no problem. At least we are being honest. People in put any and

:17:39.:17:41.

Richmond didn't think you were going into the election saying you

:17:41.:17:46.

weren't going to build it in the next couple of years. When you go

:17:46.:17:49.

into an election you publish a manifesto and people expect you to

:17:49.:17:53.

stick to it and we are absolutely going to stick to it. I would

:17:53.:17:58.

suggest that you are both all over the place when it comes to this.

:17:58.:18:03.

You came to power being against it. And you are now in the process of

:18:03.:18:06.

changing your mind. You fought the last election being in favour and

:18:06.:18:10.

now you're against it. It's what called a muddle on the left and

:18:10.:18:14.

right. We'll come back to this after PMQs so hold that thought. We

:18:14.:18:18.

need to move on. Right, as we have been discussing, the reshuffle

:18:18.:18:21.

hasn't been solely a Conservative affair, with Nick Clegg getting in

:18:21.:18:25.

on the action too. The big news bringing David Laws back into

:18:25.:18:30.

Government as schools minister, and a Minister of State in the Cabinet

:18:30.:18:35.

Office. He was keen to show him off. The two joined the Breakfast Club

:18:35.:18:40.

in East London, where the Deputy Prime Minister enjoyed a bowl of

:18:40.:18:45.

porridge, whilst David Laws stuck to a single piece of toast. Mr

:18:45.:18:49.

Clegg used the visit to champion the pupil premium, money for

:18:49.:18:52.

schools for children from deprived backgrounds. The Liberal Democrats

:18:52.:18:59.

see this as one of their principal successes in Government. I attach

:18:59.:19:02.

particular personal significance to this. I heard and saw about this

:19:02.:19:05.

when I was travelling different cubs ten years ago and I first

:19:05.:19:09.

wrote about it ten years ago and David and I put it into our

:19:09.:19:12.

manifesto and put it into the coalition agreement and now it's

:19:12.:19:16.

coming to a school near you, so to speak. That is a very exciting

:19:16.:19:20.

journey for us to have seen. David in his new position in the

:19:20.:19:24.

department for education, among other things, will make sure that

:19:24.:19:28.

all schools use the premium as well as you have done. Nick Clegg there.

:19:28.:19:33.

We have been joined now by the Liberal Democrat MP, Martin Hoard.

:19:33.:19:39.

Welcome to the programme. He has two jobs, which is the most

:19:39.:19:43.

important? They are both important. In education he's clearly going to

:19:43.:19:48.

be championing the implementation, but the Cabinet Office role, with

:19:48.:19:51.

the free-roving brief is really quite significant. It will enable

:19:51.:19:55.

him to troubleshoot across issues where we don't have Lib Dem

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ministers, so that could be a very significant one that watch. What

:19:59.:20:05.

you like to see? Like defence? That's an obvious one. The Trident

:20:05.:20:12.

review is contentious within the coalition and there was a defence

:20:12.:20:16.

with Nick Harvey, but he's not there, so that's one area where

:20:16.:20:22.

David could offer advice and support. You have got David Laws

:20:22.:20:26.

back but everybody is saying this reshuffle is a move to the right.

:20:26.:20:29.

Menzies Campbell has also said so. Does that weaken the Liberal

:20:29.:20:33.

Democrats? I don't think it is. There are obviously the same number

:20:33.:20:36.

of Lib Dem ministers as before. We have important changes not just

:20:36.:20:40.

David, but people like Norman Lamb at health and Paul Burstow did a

:20:40.:20:45.

great job on the social care side, but Norman has enormous experience

:20:46.:20:48.

in mainstream NHS politics and policy, so that's going to be very

:20:48.:20:53.

important. I think overall, where there are some ministers who are

:20:53.:20:58.

being portrayed as sort of right- wingers going in, I think the point

:20:58.:21:01.

is if we stick to the agreement and the same is true on aviation, then

:21:01.:21:05.

we should be in for a reasonably smooth path. I think where the

:21:06.:21:09.

coalition has had problems in the last couple of years is where we

:21:09.:21:13.

have deviated from the agreement. That's the problem, because you say

:21:13.:21:17.

if you stick to the agreement, but we are seeing the Conservatives not

:21:18.:21:21.

sticking to the coalition agreement and you just haven't got that

:21:21.:21:24.

influence in Government to stop things happening like House of

:21:24.:21:27.

Lords' reform or tuition fees, which you went into the election

:21:27.:21:32.

promising one thing and did the total opposite. I wouldn't like to

:21:32.:21:36.

speculate if if we had in coalition with the Labour Party. There are

:21:36.:21:42.

issues like the NHS and - Which your conference voted against.

:21:42.:21:46.

Lords reform, that's where we have seen Conservative ministers perhaps

:21:46.:21:51.

not delivering or going off piste a little. The key message of the

:21:51.:21:56.

reshuffle is we now need to stabilise Government again. We have

:21:56.:21:59.

had a jittery year and we need to stabilise and look forward, but it

:22:00.:22:04.

needs to be rooted in the agreement and there's still plenty to do.

:22:04.:22:07.

Picking up on what Rachel is saying, do you think Jeremy Hunt should

:22:07.:22:13.

have been promoted to health? raised a few eyebrows. That's being

:22:13.:22:19.

nice. Do you think he should have been? It has raised Lib Dem

:22:19.:22:29.
:22:29.:22:30.

eyebrows too. With the exception of BSkyB issue, he's proved to be a

:22:30.:22:37.

part of a good team. Conservative ministers have been describing this

:22:37.:22:40.

as removing obstacles to getting policies done. That sounds like the

:22:40.:22:43.

Liberal Democrats here in those departments. Do you agree? No, I

:22:43.:22:48.

don't, obviously. I think there are some - actually there is a lot of

:22:48.:22:52.

stability on the Lib Dem side within senior ministerial level and

:22:52.:22:59.

the Secretary of State levels. The key people - Vince Cable and Ed

:22:59.:23:02.

Davey will be there pursuing the green business agenda and

:23:02.:23:05.

delivering on things like the Green Investment Bank and the green deal.

:23:05.:23:09.

Which we are still waiting for? Absolutely. They are on track and

:23:09.:23:12.

they'll be delivered, so the commitments are still there and

:23:12.:23:15.

they're powerful. On issues like aviation and planning we have to

:23:15.:23:19.

stick to the agreement and we'll be fine. Making sure that nothing

:23:19.:23:24.

happens before 2015. Do you see it as the start of divorce, hold on to

:23:25.:23:30.

what they've got, but planning for the 2015 election? Not at all. On

:23:30.:23:34.

Heathrow Airport, you may see both parties probably starting to begin

:23:34.:23:39.

to think about 2015 manifestos and when they might promise in the next

:23:39.:23:43.

Parliament. Ministers have - didn't have any policies in the

:23:43.:23:50.

south-east. You are against any new runways. The coallation agreement

:23:50.:23:54.

says none at Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport or Stansted Airport.

:23:54.:23:57.

If the Conservative Party want to discuss it and changing what goes

:23:57.:24:00.

in their manifesto that's fine, but they need to stick to the coalition

:24:00.:24:03.

agreement in the meantime. Talking about business and how important

:24:03.:24:06.

the economy is and there are many in business who feel that there is

:24:07.:24:11.

still a block on reform, on things like employment law and supply-side

:24:11.:24:15.

measures that could be done and Vince Cable, as Business Secretary,

:24:15.:24:20.

two new hench man around him, obviously he is seen as someone who

:24:20.:24:25.

has brought in the reports. Do you think it needs to change? I found

:24:25.:24:29.

it was not very motivating to staff to threaten employment rights. I

:24:29.:24:32.

don't think that's the solution to jobs and growth. We need to

:24:32.:24:36.

concentrate, but Vince and others are consVinced that's much about

:24:36.:24:41.

the green economy and stimulating Britain in the areas in which we

:24:41.:24:45.

are exceptional and not about deregulating and damaging

:24:45.:24:48.

employment rights. There may be changes that we can work through

:24:48.:24:51.

and trying to support Europe in trying to rescue the eurozone,

:24:51.:24:55.

which I think is actually the biggest block to growth, these are

:24:55.:25:01.

the important things and I don't think we need to focus on things

:25:01.:25:04.

like Beecroft. Thank you. The new Cabinet will meet this afternoon to

:25:04.:25:09.

have the first get-together since yesterday. There will be a run for

:25:09.:25:11.

the chairs, since there probably aren't enough. The Conservatives

:25:12.:25:15.

believing in a limited government of course. The Prime Minister is

:25:15.:25:18.

expected to say warm words and outline what he expects, but what

:25:18.:25:24.

the Cabinet really wants, all of them, is one of these. They don't

:25:24.:25:28.

care about their new jobs and smart offices. They just want a Daily

:25:28.:25:33.

Politics mug. And if they're lucky David Cameron might be giving them

:25:33.:25:38.

out this afternoon, but for all of you at home you have to enter the

:25:38.:25:41.

Guess the Year competition. We'll remind you how to enter, but we'll

:25:41.:25:51.
:25:51.:25:53.

see if you can remember when this happened.

:25:53.:26:00.

# Turn and face the strain # Changes... # How are you getting

:26:00.:26:10.
:26:10.:26:11.

on with the new coins? It's just terrible.

:26:11.:26:21.
:26:21.:26:22.

# You're never going to get my love # Mr Big stuff... #

:26:22.:26:26.

# The ink is black # The page is white

:26:26.:26:36.
:26:36.:26:39.

# Together we learn to read and write... # The Times and financial

:26:39.:26:43.

times will go to the tabloid shape. It's the modern thing. We're just

:26:43.:26:47.

doing it first. # I tip my head to the new

:26:47.:26:57.
:26:57.:27:19.

To be in with a chance of winning the mug send your answer to our

:27:19.:27:29.
:27:29.:27:32.

special quiz e-mail address: Now, it's coming up to midday here. Just

:27:32.:27:36.

looking at Big Ben. It's a beautiful day here in Westminster.

:27:36.:27:42.

A lovely late summer's day or early autumn day, depending on how you

:27:42.:27:50.

look at it. There hasn't been questions for eight weeks, so we

:27:50.:27:56.

welcome back Nick Robinson. I was told by a leading Tory that what

:27:56.:28:00.

happened early in the summer, when it was clear that they couldn't get

:28:00.:28:03.

the boundary changes through and that the economy still wasn't

:28:03.:28:06.

growing, that the Prime Minister looked over the abyss and thought,

:28:06.:28:11.

"I could be a one-term Tory Prime Minister. I better do something

:28:11.:28:14.

about it." And the reshuffle is part of doing something? Somebody

:28:14.:28:18.

said to me yet, he might only have two-and-a-half years and I think

:28:18.:28:22.

there is that sense that when you look at some of the ruthless

:28:22.:28:28.

changes, shoving Justine Greening out and having someone who is a

:28:28.:28:34.

climate change spep tick as the new Environment Secretary and --

:28:34.:28:37.

sceptic and the new environment and moving around Vince Cable, this is

:28:37.:28:41.

a man who has not lost faith in his economic strategy or Chancellor,

:28:41.:28:45.

but patience with the system to deliver the policies he's already

:28:45.:28:50.

announced. That's partly why they are so delighted to get the guy in

:28:50.:28:54.

from the Olympics, Mr Delivery, Paul Deighton to go around

:28:54.:28:59.

Whitehall saying, "Why isn't this working?" but that's partly because

:28:59.:29:03.

he thinks he might not be here any more and because it's the best

:29:03.:29:08.

chance of winning the next election, and get growth. You get a sense

:29:08.:29:14.

from David Cameron and Nick Clegg that when they make changes, like

:29:15.:29:18.

Mr Nick Clegg's wealth tax, or the change that David Cameron has made,

:29:18.:29:24.

which you have been through, they very much have an eye on their own

:29:24.:29:28.

backbenchers and they know have very few favours and they are doing

:29:28.:29:31.

things to play to that gallery? striking thing about this

:29:31.:29:36.

government and I find it a surprise constantly is it's much tighter at

:29:36.:29:39.

the top than many single party governments and much weaker at the

:29:39.:29:44.

bottom. In other words, you look back at economic crises of the past.

:29:44.:29:49.

Wilson devaluation and Heath on the U-turn and Thatcher on wets and

:29:49.:29:53.

dries and then devaluation. There were great battles in Cabinet.

:29:53.:29:57.

There is no battle in Cabinet about economic strategy. The Labour Party

:29:57.:30:02.

will probably say they wish there were, so I'm not making a point

:30:02.:30:05.

saying aren't they clever, but observing there is no that fight.

:30:05.:30:08.

Where is the tension in politics? It's between Liberal Democrats who

:30:08.:30:11.

don't like the direction their leadership is taking them in and

:30:11.:30:15.

many Tories who just dream of that majority we saw on Guess The year.

:30:15.:30:18.

Did you see that huge figure? Why haven't we got that, they'll be

:30:18.:30:22.

thinking. They want to be able to do things they think Tory

:30:22.:30:28.

governments ought to do and with a new justice sect who knows or the

:30:28.:30:33.

new party chairman. In a sense, they are ditching policies, because

:30:33.:30:37.

this was a Conservative reshuffle. It wasn't a Government reshuffle.

:30:37.:30:42.

It's a Tory reshuffle. The ditching policies hug a hoody and the husky

:30:42.:30:46.

and the greenness and no runway at Heathrow Airport. These are all

:30:46.:30:50.

positions they took in opposition for PR reasons. They didn't have

:30:50.:30:53.

big debates over the rights or wrongs. But took the positions

:30:53.:30:58.

because they were trying to reBrandt party and that rebranding

:30:58.:31:03.

is all unravelling now. Party organisations have those as symbols

:31:03.:31:07.

and much of that is unraveled. There is a big change since then,

:31:07.:31:17.
:31:17.:31:18.

the economic crisis. Hold that House will wish to pay tribute to

:31:18.:31:23.

the servicemen who have fallen, Lance Corporal Matthew Smith of 26

:31:23.:31:31.

Engineer Regiment and Guardsman Jamie Shadrick of the Grenadier

:31:31.:31:34.

Guards. We send our deepest condolences to their friends,

:31:34.:31:42.

family and loved ones. Their selfless service to our Government

:31:42.:31:46.

will never be forgotten. I would like to say to the House one word

:31:46.:31:50.

about the huge success this summer of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

:31:50.:31:55.

I want to send our congratulations to the superb performance of

:31:55.:31:59.

Britain's athletes and Paralympians. Want to say a huge thank you to all

:31:59.:32:04.

the volunteers who put such a smiling fas on these Games and a

:32:04.:32:06.

large well-done to all the organisers. I think they made the

:32:06.:32:10.

entire country proud and as they have promised, they have indeed

:32:10.:32:13.

inspired a generation. This morning I had meetings with Ministerial

:32:13.:32:18.

colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall

:32:18.:32:23.

have further such meetings today. Is the Prime Minister aware that

:32:23.:32:33.
:32:33.:32:44.

Look at the loud boos that greeted the Chancellor will halt the posh

:32:44.:32:47.

boys forever. Why doesn't he be a man and do the decent thing and

:32:47.:32:57.

call a general election? Very good to see the honourable gentleman

:32:57.:33:00.

back in such good form. I'm sorry when I was forming my government of

:33:00.:33:06.

all the talents I couldn't find him on my speed dial. But I have done

:33:06.:33:10.

something that new Labour never managed. I have taken a minor and

:33:10.:33:20.
:33:20.:33:27.

put them in the Cabinet and they Order. Order. The House must calm

:33:27.:33:31.

down. Nadine Dorries. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, you will be

:33:31.:33:37.

aware that the Deputy Prime Minister and local Democrats

:33:38.:33:42.

renegged on a promise. They said they'd deliver boundary changes. I

:33:42.:33:46.

wonder if the Prime Minister could answer if the Deputy Prime Minister

:33:46.:33:49.

goes to him and says in exchange for state funding of political

:33:49.:33:53.

parties he would deliver boundary changes, what would the Prime

:33:53.:33:58.

Minister's answer be? Well, I'm not in favour of extending state

:33:58.:34:01.

funding. I think it's very important that all political

:34:01.:34:04.

parties work hard tie tract members, to attract donations, and frankly,

:34:04.:34:11.

when we get those, we pay credit to people for funding political

:34:12.:34:16.

parties, which is in in the public interests. Mr Speaker, let me join

:34:16.:34:19.

the Prime Minister in paying tribute to Lieutenant Andrew

:34:19.:34:27.

Chesterman to have 3rd Lieutenant the Rifles, Lance Corporal Smith

:34:27.:34:35.

and Guardsman Jaimmy Shadrick of the Green deer Guards. They all

:34:35.:34:38.

died serving our country. They will never be forgotten, and our

:34:38.:34:42.

thoughts are with their family and friends. I also want to join the

:34:42.:34:45.

Prime Minister in thanking everyone involved in the Olympic and

:34:45.:34:51.

Paralympic games, our athletes, our fantastic volunteers and indeed our

:34:51.:34:55.

whole country that united in support of Team GB and did come

:34:55.:34:58.

together. It did show our country at its best, and we should all be

:34:58.:35:01.

proud of the achievement. Mr Speaker, after two-and-a-half years

:35:01.:35:06.

in Government, the Prime Minister returned from his summer break and

:35:06.:35:10.

told the nation that he now realised it was time to cut through

:35:10.:35:15.

the dither. LAUGHTER

:35:15.:35:22.

Who did he have in mind? LAUGHTER

:35:22.:35:26.

I must say, he's had all summer to think of a question, and that's the

:35:26.:35:33.

best - is that really the best he can do?! Let me - let me set it out

:35:33.:35:39.

for him. Let me explain what this reshuffle is all about. It is not -

:35:39.:35:42.

it is not that there are two economic departments in our country

:35:42.:35:47.

- the Treasury and Business. I want every single department to be about

:35:47.:35:52.

the economy. I want the Transport Department building roads. I want

:35:52.:35:56.

the Communities Department building houses. I want the Culture

:35:56.:36:00.

Department rolling out broadband. I want the Agriculture Department

:36:00.:36:03.

backing British food. This is gaff that means business, and we've got

:36:03.:36:07.

the team to deliver it. Mr Speaker, he mentions the reshuffle, and of

:36:07.:36:12.

course, it's good to see the Chancellor still in his place. I

:36:12.:36:17.

have to say to the - I have to say to the Prime Minister, he's come up

:36:17.:36:20.

with an ingenious solution to the problem of his part-time Chancellor

:36:20.:36:26.

- he's appointed another one - the former Justine Greening -- Justice

:36:26.:36:29.

Secretary. It's a job share. We'll see how they get on. I don't know

:36:29.:36:34.

if he remember, but a year ago, he published his national

:36:34.:36:37.

infrastructure plan alongside the autumn statement, and he said at

:36:38.:36:41.

the time of that plan it was an all-out mission to unblock the

:36:41.:36:47.

system. So can he tell us one year on of the road building projects

:36:47.:36:53.

announced in that plan, how many have actually started? Well, first

:36:53.:36:57.

of all, I'm glad he mentioned the issue of Chancellors because, of

:36:57.:37:01.

course, I have got my first choice as Chancellor. He's got this is

:37:01.:37:08.

third choice as Shadow Chancellor. And apparently, he still has to

:37:08.:37:13.

bring in the coffee every morning. That's just how assertive and butch

:37:13.:37:17.

the Leader of the Opposition really is. Now, he asked about

:37:17.:37:20.

infrastructure. He asks about infrastructure. If you look at what

:37:20.:37:30.
:37:30.:37:30.

is planned by this Government between 2010 and 2015, we will be

:37:30.:37:35.

investing �250 billion in infrastructure. That compares with

:37:35.:37:40.

just �113 billion between 2005 and 2010. That shows he's absolutely

:37:40.:37:43.

not got a clue. The difference between the Shadow Chancellor and

:37:44.:37:46.

the Chancellor is the Shadow Chancellor was right about the

:37:46.:37:52.

economy, and the Chancellor was wrong, and look, and look, I have

:37:52.:37:56.

to say - I have to say, Mr Speaker, the Paralympic crowd spoke for

:37:57.:38:00.

Britain. APPLAUSE

:38:00.:38:04.

Now, of course, characteristically, it's another Prime Minister's

:38:04.:38:07.

Questions - we're back. He doesn't answer my question. The answer is,

:38:07.:38:12.

none of the red-building programmes announced in his grand

:38:12.:38:15.

infrastructure plan have started. Let's look at another grand claim

:38:15.:38:22.

he made. In March he published his housing strategy, and he said our

:38:22.:38:25.

housing strategy is beginning to get Britain building again. Before

:38:25.:38:28.

he starts talking up his next announcement about housing, let's

:38:29.:38:32.

look at the last. Can he tell us since his announcement how many

:38:32.:38:37.

houses have started to be built? Housing starts are up 30% since

:38:37.:38:41.

2009, which was the lowest rate of house building since the 1920s.

:38:41.:38:47.

That is what his Government left. Now, he prays to the gunwales. Let

:38:47.:38:53.

us remember it is the Shadow Chancellor who landed us in this

:38:53.:38:59.

mess. Who was the City Minister when the City went bust? The Shadow

:38:59.:39:02.

Chancellor. Who was the man who gave us the biggest deficit budget

:39:02.:39:06.

in the developed world? The Shadow Chancellor. That is what that team

:39:06.:39:10.

has developed. That is why British people will never trust them again.

:39:10.:39:15.

Mr Speaker, I think sometimes he forgets - he's been Prime Minister

:39:15.:39:19.

for two-and-a-half years. He's got to defend his record, and he can't

:39:19.:39:23.

defend his record. Of course, again, he didn't answer my question. I

:39:23.:39:29.

asked him - I asked him about what happened to housing starts since he

:39:29.:39:35.

made his announcement. The reality is housing starts have fallen since

:39:35.:39:41.

then and are 20 - 24% lower than they were a year ago and lower than

:39:41.:39:44.

they were at time of the last Labour Government, so another grand

:39:44.:39:48.

claim, another grand claim that hasn't materialised. Now let's talk

:39:48.:39:54.

about planning. In March after 18 months of consultation, he hailed

:39:54.:39:57.

his flagship planning policy and said it was the biggest revolution

:39:57.:40:01.

in 60 years, but on Sunday, Mr Speaker, he said he was frustrated

:40:01.:40:07.

by the system, and the hoops we have to jump through, and he wanted

:40:07.:40:10.

to change it again. Mr Speaker, how is the Prime Minister so

:40:10.:40:15.

incompetent that he brings in a flagship planning bill, calls it a

:40:15.:40:20.

revolution, then six months later says it's not fit for purpose?

:40:20.:40:25.

national planning statement we inherited from Labour was over a

:40:25.:40:32.

thousand pages. It is now down to just 52 pages. We have radically

:40:32.:40:34.

simplifyed the planning system, something he should be praising

:40:34.:40:39.

rather than attacking. He might want to notice that today the World

:40:39.:40:43.

Economic Forum has come out and said for the first time in a decade

:40:43.:40:47.

instead of Britain going down did world competitiveness ratings,

:40:47.:40:51.

we're back in the top ten and rising. Let me read what they said:

:40:51.:40:56.

"The United Kingdom continues to make up lost ground in rankings

:40:56.:40:59.

this year, lost ground that happened under the last Labour

:40:59.:41:03.

Government." Now, there is a reason for that. It's because this

:41:03.:41:07.

Government is cutting regulation, cutting corporate tax, taking

:41:07.:41:12.

people out of tax, getting our businesses moving in this country,

:41:12.:41:15.

investing in the regional growth fund, delivering more

:41:15.:41:18.

apprenticeships than any other Government. That's what we're doing.

:41:18.:41:22.

What's he done this summer? Where are the policies on welfare and on

:41:22.:41:27.

education? Nothing. Where is the great plan for our economy? His

:41:27.:41:30.

only answer to a debt crisis is to spend more, borrow more and put up

:41:30.:41:38.

the debt. Back to the bunker, I'm afraid, after that one, Mr Speaker.

:41:38.:41:42.

I notice - I think the crimson tide is back as well.

:41:42.:41:45.

LAUGHTER Mr Speaker, over the last two-and-

:41:45.:41:48.

a-half years we have seen announcements on infrastructure

:41:48.:41:52.

failed, announcements on housing failed, announcements on planning

:41:52.:41:57.

failed. Now, what's the reason for this economic failure? The reason

:41:57.:42:00.

is his fundamental economic approach is wrong. After the summer,

:42:00.:42:04.

we now know that in his whole two- and-a-half years as Prime Minister,

:42:04.:42:12.

the British economy has not grown at all. So why doesn't he admit it?

:42:12.:42:17.

The real problem is this: plan A has spectacularly failed. Let me

:42:17.:42:21.

tell him what is actually happening in our economy, which is you're

:42:21.:42:26.

seeing the private sector growing and expanding. There are 900,000

:42:26.:42:30.

more people employed in the private sector than there were two years

:42:30.:42:35.

ago. We are now a net exporter of cars and motor vehicles for the

:42:35.:42:39.

first time since the 1970s. You're seeing the fastest rate of business

:42:39.:42:43.

creation that you have seen for decades. That is what is happening.

:42:43.:42:48.

Our economy is rebalancing. There is growth in the private sector.

:42:48.:42:54.

Our exports to China are up 72%,ed to inia, up 94%, to Russia up over

:42:54.:42:59.

a hundred per cent. That is what is happening. It is a hard road, a

:42:59.:43:02.

difficult road but we'll stick to that road because we'll deliver for

:43:02.:43:08.

the British economy. Mr Speaker, we're in the longest double-dip

:43:08.:43:12.

recession since the Second World War. How out of touch does this

:43:12.:43:18.

Prime Minister sound? And I - I have to say - and I have to say to

:43:18.:43:21.

Tory Members of Parliament, if they go to their constituents and start

:43:21.:43:25.

trying to blame everybody else - they have been in Government two-

:43:25.:43:28.

and-a-half years! It's happened on their watch. Now, Mr Speaker, Mr

:43:28.:43:32.

Speaker, we saw a reshuffle yesterday. He brought back the

:43:32.:43:37.

member for Yeovil who had been sacked. He promoted the Culture

:43:37.:43:41.

Secretary, who should have been sacked, and he left in place the

:43:41.:43:43.

part-time Chancellor that the whole country knows should be sacked.

:43:43.:43:49.

It's the same old faces, the same old policies and no change

:43:49.:43:54.

reshuffle. Mr Speaker, if he really wants to cut through the dither,

:43:54.:44:00.

there's no place like home. The big difference in British politics is

:44:00.:44:04.

that I don't want to move my Chancellor. He can't move his

:44:04.:44:09.

Shadow Chancellor. The fact is in spite of all the economic

:44:09.:44:15.

difficulty, this is a strong and united Government, and in spite -

:44:15.:44:18.

and in spite - in spite of all the opportunity, this is a weak and

:44:18.:44:28.
:44:28.:44:29.

divided opposition. THE SPEAKER: Order. Order! Order!

:44:29.:44:33.

There is going to be more, and it's going to be from a knight, Sir

:44:33.:44:38.

Malcolm Bruce. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I wonder if the Prime

:44:38.:44:43.

Minister has seen today that PWC have produced a report saying that

:44:43.:44:46.

Aberdeen needs to recruit 120,000 skilled people in the next ten

:44:46.:44:51.

years if we're to deliver our capacity in the global energy

:44:51.:44:56.

economy? Will the Government take steps to ensure that an energy

:44:56.:44:59.

academy and the necessary support for training is put in place so we

:44:59.:45:02.

can deliver growth for the United Kingdom? I think my Right

:45:02.:45:05.

Honourable friend raises a very important point, which is the

:45:05.:45:11.

growth of the economy around Aberdeen obviously linked to that

:45:11.:45:14.

area which has been extremely successful. I want to see that

:45:14.:45:17.

continue to expand. I'll listen carefully to what he says and what

:45:17.:45:20.

the Government can do to help provide that extra capacity, which

:45:20.:45:25.

I have seen for myself. Can the Prime Minister confirm that we know

:45:26.:45:31.

in the summer that the UK have borrowed �9.3 billion more in the

:45:31.:45:34.

first four months of this year than it did in the corresponding period

:45:34.:45:43.

We have cut the Budget Deficit by a quarter in two years, but obviously

:45:43.:45:46.

it's very challenging to get the deficit down. I would just note

:45:46.:45:52.

that Labour's answer to getting the deficit down is to borrow more. To

:45:52.:45:57.

borrow an extra �200 billion. The one way you cannot get borrowing

:45:57.:46:06.

down is to put borrowing up. Speaker, my constituents were

:46:06.:46:11.

delighted when BMW announced 250 million to increase Mini production

:46:11.:46:15.

and call their axe Ford plant the heart and home of this great

:46:15.:46:19.

British success story, does the Prime Minister agree that this kind

:46:19.:46:22.

of inward investment is vital to kickstart the economy and we must

:46:22.:46:26.

do more to prioritise policies to make the UK more attractive to

:46:26.:46:34.

investors? My honourable and friend have neighbouring constituencies

:46:34.:46:38.

and many constituents who work there say it's very good news that

:46:38.:46:43.

BMW are investing 250 million, on top of the 500 million announced

:46:43.:46:47.

last year. That is safeguarding over 5,000 jobs in the Oxford and

:46:47.:46:52.

Swindon plants. It is part of a huge recovery story for the British

:46:52.:46:55.

motor manufacturing industry. We are now net exporters. That hasn't

:46:55.:47:00.

happened since the 1970s and it's a huge credit to Jaguar Land Rover

:47:00.:47:06.

and Nissan and Toyota and BMW, to all the companies that are invest -

:47:07.:47:10.

- investing and choosing Britain. They are not choosing Britain

:47:10.:47:14.

because of the weather, but because we are cutting tax and investing in

:47:14.:47:23.

the infrastructure and they know this is a country open to business.

:47:23.:47:27.

Poor Wirral families face the indignity of food banks and Save

:47:27.:47:31.

The Children are launching their first campaign for British children.

:47:31.:47:36.

What is the Prime Minister doing to help? We target families who are

:47:37.:47:43.

the poorest in the country with the tax credits. But we should also

:47:43.:47:47.

praise the voluntary efforts that help the poorest families in this

:47:47.:47:50.

country too. Would my right honourable join me in paying

:47:50.:47:54.

tribute to the 23 people in our country who work with such

:47:54.:47:57.

commitment in the private sector, the one that generates the wealth

:47:57.:47:59.

of this country and would he welcome the fact that under this

:47:59.:48:03.

government we now have more people employed in the private sector than

:48:03.:48:07.

at any time in our history? I think the point he makes is very

:48:07.:48:12.

important. If you actually look at the figures and include all of the

:48:12.:48:15.

financial sector, there are more people employed in the private

:48:15.:48:19.

sector today, in Britain, than at any time in our history. What you

:48:19.:48:23.

seek - oh, the Shadow Chancellor says that's because we are if

:48:23.:48:26.

recession. It's because companies are choosing to employ people and

:48:26.:48:30.

the private sector is getting larger and that is good news.

:48:30.:48:34.

Employment is up 201,000 this quarter. Unemployment is down

:48:34.:48:38.

46,000 this quarter. The claimant count has fallen. The rate of

:48:38.:48:41.

unemployment is down. Youth is down and I would have thought the whole

:48:42.:48:47.

House would welcome those figures. Last Sunday, the Prime Minister

:48:47.:48:51.

told us there should be no more excuses for failure. Given that his

:48:51.:48:56.

policies have produced the longest double-dip recession since the war,

:48:56.:49:00.

with output down and borrowing up and a collapse in consumer

:49:01.:49:04.

confidence, is his failure to apologise because he doesn't take

:49:04.:49:10.

his own advice or because he considers that a record of

:49:10.:49:13.

outstanding success? This comes from an honourable lady who served

:49:13.:49:18.

in a government which after 13 years delivered us the longest and

:49:18.:49:21.

deepest recession since the war. And gave us the biggest budget

:49:21.:49:24.

deficit virtually any country in the developed world had. Of course,

:49:24.:49:28.

it takes time to get yourself out of a hole, as deep as the one that

:49:28.:49:38.

was dug by the Shadow Chancellor and the Leader of the Opposition.

:49:38.:49:43.

Does - over the summer Jaguar Land Rover announced the creation of

:49:43.:49:49.

1100 further jobs. This is in addition to the 750 jobs they are

:49:49.:49:54.

creating in my constituency. Does the Prime Minister agree there is a

:49:54.:49:58.

stark contrast between the rhetoric of the last Labour Government about

:49:58.:50:01.

reriefg the industry and the actions and delivery -- reviving

:50:01.:50:05.

the industry and the actions and delivery of this Government? He's

:50:05.:50:12.

right. In the last two years Jaguar Land Rover has hired an extra 8,000

:50:12.:50:16.

new workers. That is a massive success story for the West Midlands

:50:16.:50:23.

and for a great British brand, but also a big success for massive

:50:23.:50:25.

inward investment from the Indian parent company. We should praise

:50:25.:50:30.

all these and recognise we have to do even more to make Britain a

:50:30.:50:33.

really business-friendly country. With low rates of regulation and

:50:33.:50:36.

tax and lots of support for apprenticeships and infrastructure.

:50:36.:50:40.

That is what we are delivering on this side of the House and we'll

:50:40.:50:45.

continue to do so. Hundreds of young people from outside Europe

:50:45.:50:51.

chose London Metropolitan University, confident in British

:50:51.:50:54.

higher education. He needs to tackle visa fraud, but will he lift

:50:54.:51:00.

the threat to deport students who paid their fees and complied with

:51:00.:51:05.

all the rules? I know that the honourable gentleman speaks with

:51:05.:51:08.

considerable experience and obviously wants to speak up as well

:51:08.:51:11.

on behalf of his constituency. Having looked at this case and look

:51:11.:51:15.

at the action that the Border Agency has taken, it seems to me

:51:15.:51:19.

there was some real abuses going on. What I want to see is Britain open

:51:19.:51:23.

to students - and let's be clear, anyone who can speak English and

:51:23.:51:27.

who has a university place is able to come here and study at our

:51:27.:51:31.

universities, but quite rightly the immigration minister has been very

:51:31.:51:35.

hard in terms of closing down bogus colleges and making sure that good

:51:35.:51:38.

universities like this one, if they are not meeting the rules, they

:51:38.:51:41.

have to take action. That must be right if we're going to control

:51:41.:51:49.

immigration. Does the Prime Minister -- is the Prime Minister

:51:49.:51:54.

aware that in Watford in the last quarter of 2012, where the numbers

:51:54.:51:58.

have just come out, 327 new companies were incorporated? This

:51:58.:52:02.

is a record. This is way beyond anything else in history and I

:52:02.:52:06.

think he would agree it shows the Government's poll for encouraging

:52:06.:52:11.

private enterprise is succeeding. He makes a very important point. As

:52:11.:52:16.

I understand it, 2011 saw the fastest rate of new business

:52:16.:52:19.

creation of any year that we have seen in decades. That's what our

:52:19.:52:24.

economy requires. It takes time and patience, because we need a massive

:52:24.:52:26.

rebalancing, away from the public sector, towards the private. We

:52:26.:52:31.

need to see other industries, not just finance and retail succeed. We

:52:31.:52:34.

want to see the business regeneration happening right across

:52:34.:52:38.

the country. This rebalancing takes time. It is difficult, but it's the

:52:38.:52:40.

only long-term way out of the economic difficulty that we were

:52:41.:52:48.

left by the party opposite. Prime Minister is right to

:52:48.:52:52.

celebrate the most extraordinary Paralympics that we have seen and

:52:52.:52:57.

are seeing at the moment and the exceptional achievement of Team GB

:52:57.:53:03.

within those Games. What will he then say to Baroness Tanni Grey-

:53:03.:53:09.

Thompson and the others who have warned this week that his decision

:53:09.:53:13.

to cut disability living allowance will prevent disabled people

:53:13.:53:18.

participating in sport and threaten the legacy of the London Games?

:53:18.:53:22.

First, the message I would give to everyone in Paralympics GB, the

:53:22.:53:27.

separate team to Team GB is a huge congrallations for their massive --

:53:27.:53:30.

congratulations for their massive success. It's been truly inspiring

:53:30.:53:35.

being able to watch on television or the privilege of going there, to

:53:35.:53:39.

see absolutely packed stadiums for the Games. Not something everyone

:53:39.:53:43.

expected, but something that says a lot about our country and people.

:53:43.:53:47.

Answering the question directly, we are not cutting the money that is

:53:47.:53:51.

going into supporting disability. We are reforming the system,

:53:51.:53:53.

replacing disability living allowance with a personal

:53:53.:53:57.

independence payment and it is all about recognising people's needs.

:53:57.:54:00.

It has been worked up with the disability lobby very, very

:54:00.:54:07.

carefully and I think it will be improvement on the current system.

:54:07.:54:11.

The Prime Minister, I know, is well aware of the lack of capacity at

:54:11.:54:16.

Britain's airports, but in seeking to resolve this problem, will he

:54:16.:54:19.

consider of the opportunity presented by regional airports like

:54:19.:54:23.

those in Birmingham, that can help rebalance the economy? I think my

:54:23.:54:28.

friend makes a very good point about regional airports. Let me be

:54:28.:54:31.

frank, the very large infrastructure projects are

:54:31.:54:33.

extremely difficult for individual governments to take and to deliver.

:54:34.:54:38.

I think what we need to do is build a process that hopefully has cross-

:54:38.:54:43.

party support so we can look carefully at this issue and deliver

:54:43.:54:46.

changes that will address the problems of capacity that we'll

:54:46.:54:49.

have in future years and that address the issues of the hub

:54:49.:54:53.

status of the UK. I'm hoping to make an announcement about this

:54:53.:54:57.

over the coming days, but it's important we worse across party

:54:57.:55:00.

lines, because this won't happen unless parties actually sign up to

:55:00.:55:07.

a process that can deliver. wondered if I could cut through the

:55:07.:55:10.

waffle that the Prime Minister gave us in the answer to disability

:55:10.:55:15.

living allowance. The reality is that 600,000 disabled people will

:55:15.:55:21.

be losing an extra cost benefit. Instead of just giving warm words

:55:21.:55:26.

to disabled people in this country, why doesn't he take aside his

:55:26.:55:28.

immovable Secretary of State and say to him it's time we thought

:55:28.:55:33.

again on this one? The move from disability living allowance to

:55:33.:55:36.

personal independence payments has been an exercise of huge

:55:36.:55:39.

consultation, with the disability lobbies, to try to make sure that

:55:39.:55:43.

we get this right. The fact is there are hundreds of thousands of

:55:43.:55:47.

people on DLA, who have never had a recheck since they started to take

:55:47.:55:51.

on that benefit. There are many others on disability living

:55:51.:55:55.

allowance and I know this as a parent who filled out the form

:55:55.:56:00.

myself, who have to fill out reams without getting a proper medical

:56:00.:56:03.

check that would get them the benefit quicker. We are moving from

:56:03.:56:11.

an out-of-date system to a new that will help disabled people.

:56:11.:56:21.
:56:21.:56:29.

Selective dor sal rhizoo -- dorsal operations are only available

:56:29.:56:33.

outside the NHS. Will the Prime Minister look at this situation and

:56:33.:56:36.

help the families who are raising money for their children to have

:56:36.:56:41.

this operation across the country get NICE to change their mind?

:56:41.:56:45.

will look closely at this. I quite understand, as I said one moment

:56:45.:56:49.

ago, as a parent of a very disabled child, if there was anything you

:56:49.:56:53.

could do to get that child out of the wheelchair you would want that

:56:53.:56:57.

to happen. I've looked at this case. NICE actually says this operation

:56:57.:57:01.

is a treatment option for some children and young people, but it

:57:01.:57:03.

does caution against the potentially serious complications,

:57:03.:57:07.

because it's an irreversable operation and so there are risks

:57:07.:57:10.

involved. I'll look very carefully and see if there is anything more

:57:10.:57:20.

than NICE should consider. Prime Minister always advises the

:57:20.:57:23.

trade unions to go for remembering sillation and in the interests of

:57:23.:57:27.

fairness can I ask you to speak to his new Health Secretary and say

:57:27.:57:31.

would he involve himself in the dispute in Northumbria healthcare

:57:31.:57:34.

and ask their board to do what the people are doing and refer their

:57:34.:57:41.

dispute to the NHS Staff Centre for Resolution. He will have been

:57:41.:57:45.

listening carefully and I'm sure he will be able to discuss it with the

:57:45.:57:49.

honourable gentleman. I think it's very important that motorists have

:57:49.:57:56.

the right to renew their car tax at the Post Office, if they don't have

:57:56.:58:00.

internet access. The DVLA contract is up for renewal soon. Will the

:58:00.:58:05.

Prime Minister make sure it stays with the Post Office? I think he

:58:05.:58:08.

makes an important point, particularly representing, as he

:58:08.:58:11.

does, a far-flung rural constituency with people living

:58:11.:58:13.

across a number of different islands. I'm sure the Business

:58:13.:58:17.

Secretary will have been listening to what he says, although there's a

:58:17.:58:20.

limited amount of interference into contracts like these that can the

:58:20.:58:26.

Government can make. Does the Prime Minister have full confidence in

:58:26.:58:32.

his police and crime commissioner in Hampshire? What I would say

:58:32.:58:35.

about the commissioners is we haven't yet had the elections. We

:58:35.:58:39.

are going to have elections in November. I think it's a very good

:58:39.:58:42.

opportunity to broadcast from this House what an important set of

:58:42.:58:48.

elections these are. I want to see a new form of accountibility, it

:58:48.:58:50.

coming through our policing forces. I think it's an excellent reform

:58:51.:58:55.

and I'm sure one that many people want to turn out and vote and I

:58:55.:59:02.

hope vote for their local Conservative candidate. Over the

:59:02.:59:05.

summer, a number of commuters in my constituency suffered flooding and

:59:05.:59:10.

we were flooded in part because our drainage dykes are not cleared out,

:59:10.:59:14.

because the boards fear prosecution under conservation habitat

:59:14.:59:17.

legislation. Will the Prime Minister meet with his new

:59:17.:59:21.

Environment Secretary and take away this threat of prosecution so that

:59:21.:59:25.

drainage dykes that were built and dug to protect property, can do

:59:25.:59:29.

their job? As someone who represents a constituency that has

:59:29.:59:32.

been subjected to flooding, I know how many frustrations there can be

:59:32.:59:37.

in local communities when things that need to be done don't get done

:59:37.:59:40.

quickly enough. Sometimes that is the fault of different agencies.

:59:40.:59:43.

Sometimes it's the fault of landowners and locals authorities.

:59:43.:59:46.

All sorts of issues have to be crunched through, but I'm sure the

:59:46.:59:52.

Secretary of State will have been list being -- listening carefully.

:59:52.:59:55.

Can the Prime Minister confirm with no ifs or buts that there will be

:59:55.:00:00.

no third runway at Heathrow Airport whilst he leads his party? Clearly,

:00:00.:00:04.

while I do believe we need to establish a form of review that

:00:04.:00:08.

will bring parties together and make a decision about airport

:00:08.:00:15.

capacity, I will not be breaking my manifesto pledge. A letter from and

:00:15.:00:20.

a meeting with the Secretary of State for Defence has confirmed

:00:20.:00:23.

that the seabgd battalion, the Royal regiment of Fusiliers is the

:00:23.:00:29.

only one that should not have been cut on military grounds. Instead,

:00:29.:00:36.

what did happen was the further criteria that regimental losses be

:00:36.:00:42.

capped to one battalion, thus saving more other battalions in

:00:42.:00:46.

Scotland. Would the Prime Minister meet with me and others from across

:00:46.:00:54.

the House to discuss this issue? I'm very happy to around a meeting

:00:54.:00:57.

between my friend and the Defence Secretary and others. I think it's

:00:57.:01:01.

right to see the Army changing the structure not in the overall size,

:01:01.:01:06.

because with 82,000 regular soldiers and 30,000 territorials,

:01:06.:01:09.

the Army won't be changing in its overall size. It was difficult and

:01:09.:01:13.

it is difficult to do that in a way that respects regimental decisions

:01:13.:01:17.

and issues that I know a number of honourable members hold very dearly

:01:17.:01:20.

and it's important we do that across the United Kingdom. That is

:01:20.:01:23.

what the Government has set out, but I'm happy to arrange that

:01:23.:01:33.
:01:33.:01:36.

Comes to an end on a point of order, first PMQs in the new parliamentary

:01:36.:01:42.

season. The economy dollnating the exchanges between the two sides, as

:01:42.:01:49.

expected. We'll come to analysis of that in a

:01:49.:01:53.

moment but first, we'll hear what you thought of this exchange.

:01:53.:01:56.

the comments were about the economy - whoever and whichever party you

:01:57.:02:02.

support. So Diane from Truro, Cornwall said, "A reshuffle that

:02:02.:02:05.

failed to address the economic woes or failed economic policies was

:02:05.:02:11.

doomed to quickly break down. Ed Miliband left off from the break

:02:11.:02:17.

with a strong performance today" but heather said, "His dither at

:02:17.:02:21.

the start of PMQs is lame. He should be scoring multiple goals

:02:22.:02:29.

against David Cameron. If he can't, Labour are sunk" this one, "What is

:02:29.:02:31.

Labour's plan? Ed Miliband says their economic plan is wrong, that

:02:31.:02:34.

the Prime Minister has been in for two-and-a-half year, yet this

:02:34.:02:40.

follows a 30-year spending binge which accelerated under Gordon

:02:40.:02:45.

Brown", from Nathan in Kent, "I am one of the few Tory Party members

:02:45.:02:49.

Grant Shapps inherited, although my membership does expire this month,

:02:49.:02:54.

Ed Miliband has made a stack point at PMQs. David Cameron has been in

:02:54.:02:57.

for two-and-a-half years. He can't keep blaming the last Government.

:02:57.:03:02.

We're not buying that excuse anymore." There we go, not sure if

:03:02.:03:08.

we should be helping the Conservative Party to recruit. That

:03:08.:03:16.

may be the way - before we come on to the less important analysis,

:03:16.:03:19.

let's just get out of the way immediately the big issue that was

:03:19.:03:24.

raised at PMQs, which was that the Prime Minister accused Mr Miliband

:03:24.:03:29.

of not being butch enough. Are you butch enough, Grant Shapps? Well, I

:03:29.:03:32.

think what he was probably trying to describe... I am not asking

:03:32.:03:38.

about that I am asking about you. Yes, yeah, yeah. You are? Of course.

:03:38.:03:42.

What evidence do we have to show this? Do you make coffee for

:03:42.:03:46.

anyone? I haven't gone about making coffee for other people. Does that

:03:46.:03:51.

count? You write under another name. That's not butch. That's a pen name.

:03:51.:03:59.

That's right. Michael Brown. Green. I thought he used to advertise cars

:03:59.:04:03.

on television. Look, I think the point he was trying to make is

:04:03.:04:05.

simple - you have a shadow Chancellor he doesn't want. He

:04:05.:04:08.

didn't ask for this man. He actually appointed somebody else

:04:08.:04:13.

who ended up not doing it, tried to appoint a second person, has ended

:04:13.:04:17.

up with his third choice. Who was the second one? Nick will fill us

:04:17.:04:21.

in with the detail. Maybe I have had too long on the is unlounger.

:04:21.:04:26.

Clearly Alan Johnson was the Shadow Chancellor. I think he tried then

:04:26.:04:32.

not to appoint Balls and delayed. I... How can I forget - he was

:04:32.:04:36.

trying to get his brother David back in and convince him to do it,

:04:36.:04:41.

and he refused to do it for the second time. Who told you that?

:04:41.:04:46.

didn't reappoint straight away. did. It was done within an hour. I

:04:46.:04:50.

understand there was a conversation. You may know better. Look, he

:04:50.:04:56.

wanted his brother to do it. He wouldn't. He has ended up with Ed

:04:56.:05:05.

Balls. In the Cabinet meetings Balls is disrespecting his leader

:05:05.:05:09.

on his Blackberry, not interested in anything he says, but back to

:05:09.:05:12.

the Blair-Brown division that dogged the last Government, we

:05:12.:05:15.

realised how divisive it was and how it affected the running of this

:05:16.:05:19.

country. Of course, if David Cameron was butch enough he might

:05:19.:05:23.

have taken on his Chancellor and put a new one in. I think the

:05:23.:05:26.

Chancellor is doing a job any person who wants to see this

:05:26.:05:29.

country avoid the Greek deficit crisis or what's happening in Spain

:05:29.:05:36.

where, you know, rates are six, 7% to borrow money... That's... We're

:05:36.:05:39.

1.5% here. We have come to the conclusion you cannot solve the

:05:39.:05:42.

debt crisis by spending more money. I have this question for you, which

:05:42.:05:46.

is this: when are we actually going to hear anything at all from Her

:05:46.:05:49.

Majesty's opposition about what you would do in Government? Not a

:05:49.:05:54.

single policy, nothing. You have asked the question. I raise the

:05:54.:05:59.

question. Normally what you would do is allow the person to answer.

:05:59.:06:02.

We have been very clear that if we were in Government now, we would

:06:02.:06:07.

put forward a plan for jobs and growth that include teampsrary cut

:06:07.:06:12.

in VAT... More borrowing. genuinely bring forward more

:06:12.:06:15.

investing. This Government talks about infrastructure and roads,

:06:15.:06:23.

planning, housing, and as Ed Miliband said today none of it has

:06:23.:06:28.

been delivered. A bank bonus tax of 50% and using that money to create

:06:28.:06:33.

jobs for young people and the construction of 25,000 new

:06:33.:06:37.

affordable homes. Those - wait a second. Let me finish - that would

:06:37.:06:41.

help get the economy growing again, but by getting people back to work

:06:41.:06:50.

and helping businesses succeed and pay tax would help get that down.

:06:50.:06:54.

Without the tax receipts flowing in and with the benefits bill going up,

:06:54.:06:57.

the Government ends up borrowing more, not less. We need to get the

:06:58.:07:02.

economy back on track if we're going to get the deficit down.

:07:02.:07:08.

come to you in a minute - I have not forgotten you're there. Ice-

:07:08.:07:12.

skating - I have to hold up - LAUGHTER

:07:12.:07:17.

A quick reply? All it is, is a list of more taxes and more spending

:07:17.:07:22.

because, hold on... A tax cut for ordinary families? A tax cut for

:07:22.:07:27.

small businesses. We know the tax cut would be about �12.5 billion,

:07:27.:07:30.

so more debt, higher taxes. The question is when we were two-and-a-

:07:30.:07:34.

half years into opposition people were saying, where are the detailed

:07:34.:07:37.

policies? What would you actually do in all of these areas of

:07:37.:07:41.

Government... She just gave you some detail. You might not like

:07:41.:07:45.

them. That's a different matter. Policies that'll help get the

:07:45.:07:49.

economy moving again and the recession in. We're in a double-dip

:07:49.:07:52.

recession, the longest since the Second World War, and the deficit

:07:52.:07:57.

is beginning to increase by 25% in the first four months of this year.

:07:57.:08:01.

You have those two problems, and they're related because without the

:08:01.:08:07.

jobs and growth, the deficit goes up. Rather than a few abstract...

:08:07.:08:12.

Can I bring in the - ALL SPEAK AT ONCE

:08:12.:08:17.

He's a very patient man. Someone said to me this morning that the

:08:17.:08:20.

real - we saw these exchanges on the economy, and the Government is

:08:20.:08:23.

in a difficult position on the economy at the moment. There is no

:08:23.:08:29.

growth. If the third quarter produces no growth as well, that's

:08:29.:08:32.

a really difficult position the Government finds itself in. It is,

:08:32.:08:36.

but you have just seen them absolutely double up on their

:08:36.:08:39.

economic strategy. Clearly Labour and a lot of people think that's a

:08:39.:08:43.

mistake. They came under a huge amount of pressure in the build-up

:08:43.:08:45.

to this reshuffle including business. Business groups were

:08:46.:08:49.

saying why aren't you delivering? I thought the strike thing about

:08:49.:08:52.

Prime Minister's Questions were those facts. Ed Miliband in fact

:08:52.:08:57.

deployed a trip used against Gordon Brown when he was Leader of the

:08:57.:09:01.

Opposition. I remember in 2008-09 David Cameron would say how many of

:09:01.:09:05.

this opposition have happened - and the answer was always nil because

:09:05.:09:09.

it's easy to announce policies, and they get frustrated, whether Lib

:09:09.:09:13.

Dem or Tories, where's it gone? I suspect David Cameron will go back

:09:13.:09:18.

to the office and say, why aren't we getting roads built? It's one of

:09:18.:09:23.

the reasons he's trying to bring someone in. You're right. It would

:09:23.:09:26.

be incredibly hard if there is no third quarter growth. Remember

:09:26.:09:30.

behind the scenes in Government there is confusion about whether

:09:30.:09:33.

employment statistics are giving the real picture or growth

:09:33.:09:36.

statistics. The growth statistics are down. Some people think they're

:09:36.:09:43.

wrong and slightly overstated. Is the economy flat or dropping? It

:09:43.:09:46.

will be interesting over the next six months to see which is giving

:09:46.:09:50.

us a proper view. Gordon Brown suffered from this. He had some

:09:50.:09:53.

growth statistics that looked very bad in 2009. Actually, they were

:09:53.:09:55.

revised up. The economy was doing just a little bit better than

:09:56.:10:01.

people at the time were saying. Does Labour have any idea how big

:10:01.:10:06.

the deficit could go? Because it will have - I take your point that

:10:06.:10:09.

you think things you'll do will bring back growth, and so therefore

:10:09.:10:13.

in the longer term the deficit starts to come down, but in the

:10:13.:10:16.

short run it seems to me it's impossible to deny that the deficit

:10:16.:10:21.

goes up. Do you have any idea by how much that deficit can go up

:10:22.:10:26.

before the bond markets simply say, you're not on? Interest rates rise.

:10:26.:10:30.

If you look at the plan Alistair Darling set out before the last

:10:30.:10:34.

election, that was to half the deficit during the course of this

:10:34.:10:37.

Parliament. This Government have set out to eliminate the structural

:10:38.:10:41.

deficit during the course of this Parliament. They haven't. They're

:10:41.:10:46.

now putting it back by two years and going to borrow at least �250

:10:46.:10:49.

billion more. Now you have the ratings agencies saying growth is

:10:50.:10:53.

as important as the deficit numbers because actually, as I have been

:10:53.:10:58.

saying, without growth you can't get the deficit down. Can I remind

:10:58.:11:03.

you that when Alistair Darling unveiled his plan Britain was on

:11:03.:11:06.

negative watch by the ratings agencies. We are on negative watch

:11:06.:11:11.

then, and could you tell me what was - what was our yield on ten-

:11:11.:11:17.

year bonds? Well, the yield on ten- year bonds has barely changed since

:11:17.:11:21.

the election. It's gone up. That's not true. The ten-year bonds

:11:21.:11:26.

Britain was paying, the yield was similar to Italy's at that time.

:11:26.:11:29.

Italy's have gone up because of... No, the timing was the same. We

:11:29.:11:34.

were paying a lot more. No. We weren't. The point I am trying to

:11:34.:11:37.

get - I understand it's a difficult thing to do. There comes a point

:11:37.:11:43.

when you can - a tipping point on the deficit, and the difficulty for

:11:43.:11:46.

Labour is if you're going to add to the deficit is to know when that

:11:46.:11:50.

tipping point would be. Let me say about the eurozone countries like

:11:50.:11:53.

Greece and Portugal and Spain and Italy - none of those countries

:11:53.:11:59.

have the flexibility that the UK has. We've pursued under the last

:11:59.:12:01.

Government and this Government quantitative easing to keep

:12:01.:12:06.

interest rates low. Our currency was depreciating, which you can't

:12:06.:12:11.

have in the eurozone, so Britain was never going to be like Greece,

:12:11.:12:16.

Italy or Portugal because we have that flexibility in the UK to...

:12:16.:12:22.

Just as well we didn't join the euro. Let me just say about

:12:22.:12:25.

quantitative easing - �300 billion of Government bonds have been

:12:25.:12:29.

bought by the Bank of England. That has kept our interest rates low and

:12:29.:12:32.

means we're not going to default because we have a buyer of last

:12:32.:12:36.

resort of our Government bonds. more thing, and I now want to talk

:12:36.:12:41.

about the King of the water, also known as Boris Johnson. I found it

:12:41.:12:47.

quite remark - I remember the days of the Tory wets, and they always

:12:47.:12:50.

criticised Mrs Thatcher in coded language which was kind of deniable

:12:50.:12:53.

- not Boris Johnson. No, I don't think we have ever seen anything

:12:53.:12:57.

quite like this. Totally out there. It's a clear challenge to Mr

:12:57.:13:01.

Cameron. Let's just run the tape on what he has been saying on this

:13:01.:13:06.

airport capacity business. I am not criticising David, who I like and

:13:06.:13:10.

admire hugely. All I am saying is they need to end the ambiguity.

:13:10.:13:15.

I'll say this more clearly if you want in the press conference. They

:13:15.:13:20.

need to end the ambiguity about Heathrow because at the moment a

:13:20.:13:24.

lot of people think that there's going to be a U-turn and that

:13:24.:13:28.

they're sort of gearing up to ditch the commitment against the third

:13:28.:13:32.

runway. They're going to put another huge runway in the middle

:13:32.:13:37.

of London's western suburbs when that is not what the City needs.

:13:37.:13:42.

Boris Johnson wearing his helmet in case there are any in-coming

:13:42.:13:44.

missiles from Number Ten Downing Street. What he's doing there -

:13:44.:13:46.

he's putting the Prime Minister's feet to the fire and saying, all

:13:46.:13:50.

right. I accept you're not going to come it for a third runway this

:13:50.:13:53.

side of the next election. I want you to rule it out forever, which

:13:53.:13:59.

is the question the Labour MP asked in the PMQs very cleverly, and it's

:13:59.:14:04.

the last thing the Prime Minister wants to answer. Absolutely. John

:14:04.:14:07.

McDonald quoted back - he was quoting David Cameron back at

:14:07.:14:12.

himself when Cameron in, sorry 2009 at a Conservative Party event said,

:14:12.:14:19.

"No third runway no, if's no, but's." Zach's constituency.

:14:19.:14:25.

nearest equivalent to "read my lips", the famous quote by George

:14:25.:14:32.

Bush Senior before he raised tax. Would he stick to that as

:14:32.:14:37.

Conservative leader, cleverly worded, beyond the next election?

:14:37.:14:43.

The Prime Minister said, "I won't break my manifesto pledge," which

:14:43.:14:48.

means no runway before 2015, which in truth he has to say because of

:14:48.:14:51.

political reasons, and the Lib Dems wouldn't let him do it even if he

:14:51.:14:58.

wanted to change his mind. You're right. The row Boris Johnson wants

:14:58.:15:02.

is to put people out of their misery. They're not going to

:15:02.:15:05.

because all the parties are in a bind about runways. The trick David

:15:05.:15:08.

Cameron will now try to perform, having moved Justine Greening, is

:15:08.:15:14.

to have an independent commission on this. Sure, which won't report

:15:14.:15:17.

in the after the next election. don't know. I think they'll report

:15:17.:15:21.

before. I don't actually know the answer to that question. But you

:15:21.:15:26.

see, the equivalent of what they're trying do is what happened on high-

:15:26.:15:29.

speed rail where the Transport Secretary got the Tories onboard so

:15:29.:15:33.

whoever was in Government after the next election, it won't happen.

:15:33.:15:39.

Grant Shapps, are you in any doubt that Boris Johnson is running to be

:15:39.:15:43.

his successor? Boris said he isn't, so I'll take his word for it.

:15:43.:15:47.

would you do that? He's an honourable man. A man who was

:15:47.:15:51.

editor of the Spectator, promised not to become the Tory MP and

:15:51.:15:56.

within six months was the MP for Henley. No-one can second-guess

:15:56.:16:00.

Boris Johnson's mind. You're right. When you see these clips of Boris

:16:00.:16:03.

saying these things, don't forget, the Mayor of London is campaigning

:16:03.:16:08.

for his own airport solution which is the Thames estuary. You really

:16:08.:16:12.

don't think Boris is running to be the next leader? He says he's not.

:16:12.:16:22.
:16:22.:16:26.

You'll have to run against him, I He didn't deny it. On that crash

:16:26.:16:33.

revelation, of naughty, we say goodbye to Nick. Grant Shapps for

:16:33.:16:39.

next leader. Unemployment seems to be rarely out of the news at the

:16:39.:16:42.

moment, but is the media's, and for that, matter the Government's,

:16:42.:16:44.

fixation on youth unemployment overlooking a more fundamental

:16:44.:16:46.

problem? Colin Crooks is a social entrepreneur with 20 years'

:16:46.:16:49.

experience in creating jobs for unemployed people and he argues

:16:49.:16:52.

that by concentrating on the young we ignore a whole generation of

:16:52.:16:54.

unemployed men and women who've been left behind without any

:16:54.:17:04.
:17:04.:17:16.

prospect of work. Here's his Soapbox. Unemployment is a much

:17:17.:17:20.

more profound issue that politicians like to admit. It's

:17:20.:17:23.

especially concentrated in areas like this, which frankly they try

:17:23.:17:28.

to ignore and where the people have no voice. I believe that just

:17:28.:17:34.

concentrating on youth unemployment is a profound mistake. A generation

:17:34.:17:39.

of our people were brought up to work in the local factory. They

:17:39.:17:44.

weren't educated for anything else. As these jobs dried up, they were

:17:44.:17:51.

left completely stranded. In some parts of the country unemployment

:17:51.:17:57.

reaches 50% and even 60% and multiple Government initiatives

:17:57.:18:02.

have made very little difference to them. For me, these people

:18:02.:18:06.

represent a let-down generation and they are the victims of a terrible

:18:06.:18:10.

double whammy. There are up to 10 million people without a GCSE to

:18:10.:18:14.

their name. That means they can't even apply for most of the jobs

:18:14.:18:24.
:18:24.:18:25.

that are on offer. The secret to employibility and education is

:18:25.:18:29.

attitude. A child's attitude is largely determined by their parents.

:18:29.:18:33.

Home life, not school, is largely responsible for up to 90% of a

:18:33.:18:39.

child's educational outcome. Any investment in jobs and skills for

:18:39.:18:48.

parents will have a massive impact on their children. You Rennes

:18:48.:18:53.

social enterprises and create jobs in over 20 years. I know places

:18:53.:18:57.

like Eco Computers is one of social enterprises that kep hem people get

:18:57.:19:02.

back into work. They don't want charities or grants, but they just

:19:02.:19:05.

want contracts with real clients and they can create real work and

:19:05.:19:13.

real training. Why are those jobs? Typical government schemes

:19:13.:19:17.

concentrate on K Vs and interview skills, but they miss the point.

:19:17.:19:23.

They are honed at work, not in a classroom. The Government, local

:19:24.:19:27.

authorities and big business need to actively contract with

:19:27.:19:31.

organisations such as these that really understand the issues that

:19:31.:19:34.

people face and actively want to create jobs for the unemployment.

:19:35.:19:42.

If we do this we will breathe life back into our communities and

:19:42.:19:47.

create positive adult role models and prospects for our young people.

:19:47.:19:52.

Colin joins us now. Taking up the points in that film, the jobs are

:19:52.:19:55.

needed, so do you think in the economic situation that the country

:19:55.:19:59.

is in that there is the capacity for the sort of jobs to take on the

:19:59.:20:03.

people you've described? Absolutely. I've spent 20 years employing these

:20:03.:20:08.

people and creating jobs out of nothing and it's contracts and

:20:08.:20:12.

about getting local authorities and Government deciding to buy from

:20:12.:20:15.

social enterprises that work with these people. We don't want grants.

:20:15.:20:20.

What I want is a contract. I want Government departments to say, "I

:20:20.:20:23.

will buy a service from you, whether or not it's supplying

:20:24.:20:29.

toilet rolls or cleaners or whether it's recycling, I will buy from you

:20:29.:20:33.

in your area where you create people who have been oppressed and

:20:33.:20:38.

depressed for 20 years." Why isn't it happening? The bureaucracy in

:20:38.:20:42.

this system is phenomenal and the Government hasn't focused. The

:20:42.:20:45.

Government thinks about new deals and work programmes. Do they work?

:20:45.:20:48.

Barely, to be honest. It doesn't touch these people. It touches the

:20:48.:20:51.

people at the top who would probably get a job in any case. It

:20:51.:20:59.

does not touch the people at the bottom who are struggling. None of

:20:59.:21:02.

these work. We need for them to spend the money they are going to

:21:02.:21:05.

spend. I don't need any extra borrowing or loans. I want the

:21:05.:21:09.

Government to say, "We are already buying services for this building,

:21:09.:21:12.

why don't we buy them from this company here that's employing

:21:12.:21:17.

people who are hard to employ?" Grant Shapps, why isn't it

:21:17.:21:21.

happening? It's frustrating to hear when it doesn't happen. I know

:21:21.:21:24.

there is a nursery in my constituency that a contract with

:21:24.:21:28.

the local authority and they are employing people who otherwise

:21:28.:21:31.

would find it difficult to be in the market. I've seen it work. In

:21:31.:21:35.

my last role, partly as a local Government minister, I spent some

:21:35.:21:40.

time on this finding out why it was that councils feel they have to

:21:40.:21:44.

impose such incredible prequalification question airs to

:21:44.:21:47.

sell anything to that -- questionnaires to sell anything to

:21:47.:21:51.

that local Government and when a business can come in and be more

:21:51.:21:54.

flexible. It means the local authority buys uncome petively and

:21:54.:21:58.

it doesn't go to a social enterprise. Because they've never

:21:58.:22:01.

been good as procurement. They've been talking about for years. Why

:22:01.:22:07.

is not changing? It's like biting through, I don't know, what, to get

:22:07.:22:10.

to the people to make the changes. I was involved in trying to cut

:22:10.:22:14.

down the size of the application. We are saying to local authorities

:22:14.:22:18.

and you maybe come across this, they should not introduce these

:22:18.:22:21.

questionnaires if what they are buying isn't more than a certain

:22:21.:22:26.

figure which could be several hundred,000 pounds, but they will

:22:26.:22:31.

be directly involved in it and you don't want to contract wider still.

:22:31.:22:35.

We recognise the problem which isn't being dealt with. What about

:22:35.:22:38.

Colin's point that actually the programmes that the Government has

:22:38.:22:43.

put on track to try to employ people they barely work? I think

:22:43.:22:49.

you have to do a combination of things. You can do a programme -

:22:49.:22:53.

you made a great point, governments have tried over many years and

:22:53.:22:56.

guess what, it doesn't really help. You have to do it all together. One

:22:56.:23:01.

of the things I think will help is the lasting legacy is the universal

:23:01.:23:04.

credit and it's to Iain Duncan Smith's credit it's been brought in,

:23:04.:23:07.

because it means when you go to work you are better off through

:23:07.:23:11.

work and you have to do that as well as put in targeted support and

:23:11.:23:15.

I think again that offers the best opportunities to start to make the

:23:15.:23:19.

schemes actually work and be efficient to produce and create,

:23:19.:23:23.

because people get paid and it's worth doing. Unemployment is coming

:23:23.:23:27.

down from the figures, down by 46,000. Do you think that is a fair

:23:27.:23:31.

reflection of what is going on out there, particularly with - no?

:23:31.:23:35.

in the slightest. What is actually happening is it's coming down

:23:35.:23:40.

because people are paut into part- time jobs. If you look under --

:23:40.:23:45.

being put into part-time jobs, if you look under that, 30% of our

:23:45.:23:49.

working population, 10 million, don't work, so it's a bigger number.

:23:49.:23:52.

A lot would like to, but they're not counted? I meet them every day.

:23:52.:23:57.

They want a job. Is it the wrong emphasis focusing so much attention

:23:57.:24:00.

on the youth which is the point made by Colin in terms of looking

:24:00.:24:04.

for role models? You should be looking at the lost generation?

:24:04.:24:07.

thought that was an interesting point, because obviously

:24:07.:24:10.

unemployment at any age is a serious problem. The reason that

:24:10.:24:16.

politicians tend to focus on youth is because if you allow early on in

:24:16.:24:20.

someone's life worklessness to become a way of life that that

:24:20.:24:24.

becomes a problem throughout and the point is wider, which is if you

:24:24.:24:28.

look at the inactive economic population, who are inactive, it

:24:28.:24:33.

may well go much wider and things like making sure that it quite

:24:33.:24:36.

simply always pays you when you go out and do an extra hour's work you

:24:36.:24:40.

will always be better off than the welfare equivalent. Those things

:24:40.:24:45.

are as important. You would agree with this, Rachel, in terms of work

:24:45.:24:49.

paying? Of course. That's why tax credits were always important to

:24:49.:24:53.

get people to go back to work, but we have the real problem and Colin

:24:53.:24:59.

highlights it, underemployment and the difference between the GDP

:24:59.:25:04.

numbers that show us in recession and then the others that are

:25:04.:25:07.

decreasing, that some people only work part-time, because the work

:25:07.:25:14.

isn't really there and there is the creation of jobs, but not real --

:25:14.:25:18.

really giving people an income, but talking also about contracts for

:25:18.:25:22.

social enterprises. It's also an issue for small businesses in and

:25:22.:25:26.

around the country. Small businesses as well can't get

:25:26.:25:30.

contracts either from local Government or central Government

:25:30.:25:32.

because of the bureaucracy and they need to have the track records of

:25:32.:25:39.

success and the big contracts. It's a catch 22 situation. Colin, thank

:25:39.:25:45.

you very much. While political attention here in the UK is on

:25:45.:25:48.

David Cameron's reshuffle and the return of MPs to Westminter, over

:25:48.:25:55.

in the United States the race for the White House is unde rway. Last

:25:55.:25:57.

week, the Republicans held their convention, with a starring role

:25:57.:26:00.

for Ann Romney, the wife of the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney.

:26:00.:26:03.

This week, it's the turn of the Democrats, and last night Barack

:26:03.:26:13.
:26:13.:26:20.

Obama's wife, Michelle made a keynote speech. This is the man

:26:20.:26:29.

America needs. This is the man who will wake up every day with the

:26:29.:26:33.

determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solve, to

:26:33.:26:37.

fix what others say is beyond repair. This is the man who will

:26:37.:26:41.

work harder than anyone so we can work a little bit hard. I can't

:26:41.:26:45.

tell you what will happen over the next four years, but I can only

:26:45.:26:50.

stand here tonight as a wife, mother and grandmother, and an

:26:50.:27:00.
:27:00.:27:11.

American and make you some solemn commitment - this man will not fail.

:27:11.:27:19.

We must work like never before. And we must once again come together

:27:19.:27:26.

and stand together with a man we can trust. That's to keep moving

:27:27.:27:32.

this great country forward. My husband, our President, Barack

:27:32.:27:42.
:27:42.:27:42.

Obama. Thank you. God bless you. God bless America. That's the two

:27:42.:27:46.

First Ladies for the election campaign. It's very American. The

:27:46.:27:50.

speeches are pretty much devoid of substance. It's all emotion and

:27:50.:27:54.

bigging up your husband. Could you see that happening in this country,

:27:54.:27:57.

Mrs Miliband going in front of a Labour conference and saying these

:27:57.:28:03.

things about Ed? I just think it would be nice to see more women in

:28:03.:28:08.

front-line politics. That's not the issue. I'm talking about spouses

:28:08.:28:11.

here. If it's Hillary Clinton running it will be Bill that will

:28:11.:28:16.

have to do it. Should spouses play this role? I would like to come

:28:16.:28:20.

back to my point, because what we don't see in America or the UK or

:28:20.:28:25.

any countries are enough women. are only seeing them as women

:28:25.:28:29.

because they're married to men. are seeing them as the appendage of

:28:30.:28:35.

their husbands and we did see it a bit in the UK election in 2010.

:28:35.:28:41.

Will Mrs Mill -- Mrs Miliband do something like that? I very much

:28:41.:28:45.

doubt it. I with like to see the women making their decisions rather

:28:45.:28:48.

than supporting. One day I'll get them to answer the question I'm

:28:48.:28:52.

asking. Before we go, just time - we can't do the competition, so we

:28:52.:28:56.

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