09/01/2013

:00:48. > :00:52.Good morning folks! Welcome to the Daily Politics. We have been doing

:00:52. > :00:54.this for 10 years. It's my first day back at the coal-face here at

:00:54. > :00:57.Westminster. So it's a Happy New Year from me!

:00:57. > :01:02.Yes, of course I've already been here for two days! Some would be

:01:02. > :01:08.talking about shirkers and strivers! Anyway, today's top

:01:08. > :01:12.stories! Huge changes are being planned to

:01:12. > :01:15.the way prisoners are supervised after they get out of jail. Private

:01:15. > :01:23.companies may take over from the probation service for all but the

:01:23. > :01:26.most dangerous offenders. And they'll be paid by results.

:01:26. > :01:29.The actor, Geoffrey Palmer, will be taking a look at plans to stick a

:01:29. > :01:31.high-speed railway through the heart of the Cotswolds where he

:01:31. > :01:34.lives. And guess what? He's none too keen.

:01:34. > :01:36.It's the first Prime Minister's Question Time of the New Year of

:01:36. > :01:44.course! So stand by for the resumption of political hostility

:01:44. > :01:50.that we've all so sorely missed over the season of good will.

:01:50. > :01:53.And, it's happy birthday to us! Yes the Daily Politics is 10 years old

:01:53. > :01:57.this week! We'll be looking back at some of the highlights of the last

:01:57. > :02:02.decade. And, like all 10-year-olds, throwing an enormous strop if the

:02:02. > :02:06.cake and presents aren't good enough.

:02:06. > :02:10.All that in the next hour and a half. Prime Minister's Questions is

:02:10. > :02:13.at noon of course. And joining us throughout today's programme is the

:02:13. > :02:21.Treasury Minister, Sajid Javid, and the shadow Secretary for Work and

:02:21. > :02:24.Pensions, Liam Byrne. But first, today the Government's

:02:24. > :02:27.telling us how it plans to make private companies take over the

:02:27. > :02:29.supervision of most ex-offenders once they leave prison. The role of

:02:29. > :02:33.the traditional public probation service will be scaled back and it

:02:33. > :02:36.will now only deal with the most violent of them. The new companies

:02:36. > :02:38.will be paid by results, in an effort to reduce the hundreds of

:02:38. > :02:42.thousands of crimes currently committed each and every year by

:02:43. > :02:48.prisoners who have just got out of jail. This was the Justice

:02:48. > :02:53.Secretary, Chris Grayling, earlier this morning.

:02:53. > :03:00.Very often people walk out of the front door of a prison, �46 in

:03:00. > :03:06.their pocket. Either with no support, or with the Probation

:03:06. > :03:12.Service in a few days. I want them going straight on to a new rehab

:03:12. > :03:17.course, if that is what they need, or if they dropped out of school.

:03:17. > :03:22.We start to help them get their lives back together again.

:03:22. > :03:26.Has the Probation Service failed to do its job properly? I wouldn't put

:03:26. > :03:31.it like that, but if you look at the reoffending rate as a country,

:03:31. > :03:36.it is probably one of the worst in the world. It is almost 50% of

:03:36. > :03:41.people in terms of all prisoners released. If you look at people

:03:41. > :03:45.convicted for 12 months or less, it is as high as 60%. It is

:03:45. > :03:50.unacceptable, so we have to look at better ways. What Chris has talked

:03:50. > :03:54.about, and the former Justice Secretary talked about, is have

:03:54. > :03:58.rehabilitation, and these things we should be looking at. On those

:03:58. > :04:03.figures, you would argue they have not done their job, or you wouldn't

:04:03. > :04:08.be looking at this radical new approach? It would be unfair to say

:04:08. > :04:12.it is all to do with the Probation Service. We have to look at new

:04:12. > :04:16.ways of doing things. That means widening the scope of people who

:04:16. > :04:22.can provide rehabilitation services, bring in the private sector and

:04:22. > :04:27.charities. Also this approach of payment by results. Let's look at

:04:27. > :04:33.payment by results. Why do you think that it will do a better job?

:04:33. > :04:37.It sets the right incentives. If you get charities and private

:04:37. > :04:40.sector groups involved, given the right incentives they can bring

:04:40. > :04:45.about results in the criminal justice system we will be looking

:04:45. > :04:50.for. They will get paid. It is a bit like the work programme put in

:04:50. > :05:00.place. It has been criticised formed failing to meet its own

:05:00. > :05:01.

:05:01. > :05:06.modest targets. Are these the sort of models you want to emulate?

:05:06. > :05:11.is not fair. The work programme has just come into place. Then there is

:05:11. > :05:19.800,000 people on it. It is bringing results. Let's look at the

:05:19. > :05:23.reoffending rate so. It is even worse than you said. 90% of those

:05:23. > :05:30.sentenced in England and Wales in 2011 had offended before. There

:05:30. > :05:37.needs to be a rethink? Payment by results is an answer that can work.

:05:37. > :05:40.What troubles us about this announcement is it is a bit of a

:05:40. > :05:44.big bang approach to something that is high risk. Chris Grayling has

:05:44. > :05:50.shut down a couple of important pilots. He has gone straight for

:05:50. > :05:55.this kind of model, that he, as the minister put in place on the work

:05:55. > :06:01.programme. It failed disastrously. The Government set its own minimum

:06:01. > :06:08.performance standard at the work programme, with people needing to

:06:08. > :06:13.be got into jobs. Only two people out of every 100 got into jobs.

:06:13. > :06:18.you backing the idea of the versifying... The theory can work.

:06:18. > :06:24.It is the practice. The devil is in the details and Chris Grayling has

:06:24. > :06:28.a track record as a dodgy builder. Be very, very cautious about this.

:06:28. > :06:32.Cancelling the pilots in the way we saw this morning is a mistake.

:06:32. > :06:36.Proceed with caution. Let's go to harry Fletcher, who has been

:06:36. > :06:42.listening to this, he is from the union that represents probation

:06:42. > :06:47.staff. I'm not sure how much you heard about that, but let's look at

:06:47. > :06:53.reoffending rates, because it was brought up by the minister. In 2011,

:06:53. > :06:57.90% of those sentenced in England and Wales had offended before.

:06:57. > :07:01.Doesn't this show the Probation Service as it stands has failed?

:07:01. > :07:06.Ministers are confusing prisoners who got 12 months or less with

:07:06. > :07:10.prisoners to got 12 months or more. Anybody under 12 months does not

:07:10. > :07:19.get any assistance. The fact Chris Grayling has said this morning, in

:07:19. > :07:24.future they will get assistance. The bad news is, the decision to

:07:24. > :07:29.outsource two thirds of existing probation work, when the Ministry

:07:29. > :07:34.of Justice's own statistics show that last year, we were set about a

:07:34. > :07:37.dozen targets and we exceeded or hit absolutely everyone of them,

:07:37. > :07:42.including reducing reoffending by the amount required by the Ministry

:07:42. > :07:47.of Justice. The Probation Service has already been in receipt of

:07:47. > :07:51.awards for excellence. The timing of this is bizarre. We have a

:07:51. > :07:55.public sector organisation that is doing very well. But it is being

:07:55. > :08:01.punished by the threat of privatisation. Why would you be

:08:01. > :08:06.outsourcing on the basis of those results? It is nice to hear Liam is

:08:06. > :08:11.welcoming the theory of this. so Harry's point. They have just

:08:11. > :08:15.received an award for excellence and being touted abroad as a public

:08:15. > :08:20.service to follow. The reoffending rate say it all. We need to look at

:08:20. > :08:25.a new way of doing this. It is only sensible to look out new providers,

:08:25. > :08:30.and frankly, have a bit of competition. There is nothing wrong

:08:30. > :08:36.with competition in public services. If it leads to new ideas, it is a

:08:36. > :08:46.good thing. Better results is a good thing, and value for money is

:08:46. > :08:46.

:08:46. > :08:50.good as well. If the proposal was that Probation Service should work

:08:50. > :08:55.in partnership with the private sector, we already work in

:08:55. > :08:59.partnership with the private sector with tagging, that would be OK. But

:08:59. > :09:05.they want to outsource two thirds of the work. And probation trusts

:09:05. > :09:09.won't be able to bid for bat, it is a private sector monopoly. We have

:09:09. > :09:13.spoken to the Ministry of Justice who has said you will be able to

:09:13. > :09:18.bid for the work. If you are going to be able to bid for the work

:09:18. > :09:22.alongside other providers, it is a level playing field? I want to see

:09:22. > :09:26.the detail. Before Christmas I was being told quite clearly that the

:09:26. > :09:30.probation trust wouldn't be able to bid for the work because it would

:09:30. > :09:36.put public money at risk. If there has been a reversal, it is good

:09:36. > :09:40.news. But we need to see the detail before we can announce further. If

:09:40. > :09:43.this is a fair competition, and in the past competitions in the

:09:43. > :09:49.justice sector has not been fair, Prison Service, maintenance

:09:49. > :09:53.contracts, outsourcing of bail beds, that would be a different matter.

:09:53. > :09:57.But our experience has been the actual process of competition is

:09:58. > :10:02.not fair. What about the idea of payment by results, what do you

:10:03. > :10:07.think about that? It would work if we were in a situation where the

:10:07. > :10:11.economic climate it is very positive. The best way of getting a

:10:11. > :10:15.criminal out of crime is to get them into work. The problems we

:10:15. > :10:19.have is the vast majority of the people we deal with are illiterate.

:10:20. > :10:23.They have problems with drugs and alcohol and they have more than two

:10:23. > :10:27.mental health issues. We have to deal with those problems first.

:10:27. > :10:32.Then we can look at pat ways to work. But there aren't the jobs out

:10:32. > :10:36.there and if 50 people applied for one job and five of them are

:10:36. > :10:41.criminals, I know who won't be shortlisted. That is the difficulty.

:10:41. > :10:45.How do you measure a result if you pay someone? Is it someone who

:10:45. > :10:50.comes out of prison never has to reoffend again and the company get

:10:50. > :10:56.paid? Or do you cut the number of re offences, bearing in mind people

:10:56. > :10:59.reoffend many times. How do pay the company? Part of the reason for

:10:59. > :11:03.this announcement and the consultation as a result of that,

:11:03. > :11:09.is to look at these ideas and get him put on this. But reoffending is

:11:09. > :11:14.one of the measurements. If you can get that down, it is key. The.

:11:14. > :11:21.Harry made, I am glad he is welcoming competition. In needs to

:11:21. > :11:24.be a level playing field. But also, as Harry said, up until now, people

:11:24. > :11:30.that have been convicted for less than 12 months have not received

:11:30. > :11:33.any rehabilitation help. But that wasn't the role of the Probation

:11:33. > :11:37.Service. It is good to see the Government will include such people.

:11:37. > :11:47.If we are going to get the reoffending rate down, we need to

:11:47. > :11:50.include all offenders. Well, there were furious exchanges in the House

:11:50. > :11:53.of Commons yesterday as MPs debated whether or not to cap increases to

:11:53. > :11:56.benefits and tax credits to less than the level of inflation.

:11:56. > :11:59.In other words, a real-terms cut. The Government won the vote,

:11:59. > :12:03.insisting that it would be unfair to people who work hard and who

:12:03. > :12:06.have seen their own pay hardly rising, if they did anything else.

:12:06. > :12:08.Here's Jo. The Government's victory last night

:12:08. > :12:13.means that most working-age benefits and tax credits will now

:12:13. > :12:16.increase by 1% every year up to 2015. Because inflation is expected

:12:16. > :12:17.to be considerably higher, that'll mean a real-terms cut for people

:12:17. > :12:27.receiving payments including jobseeker's allowance, income

:12:27. > :12:30.support and maternity pay. The Work and Pension Secretary, Iain Duncan

:12:30. > :12:33.Smith said the move was fair because it brings the increase in

:12:33. > :12:36.benefits closer to the rise in average earnings, which was 1.4%

:12:36. > :12:41.last year. Mr Duncan Smith says he believes that this will all save

:12:41. > :12:44.the taxpayer as much as �2 billion a year by the end of the Parliament.

:12:44. > :12:53.Which is essential if the Government is going to cut the

:12:53. > :12:56.welfare bill, which is �195 billion and projected to keep on rising.

:12:56. > :12:59.Labour opposed the move in angry scenes in the Commons, arguing that

:12:59. > :13:09.by the Government's own admission it would hit women, single parents

:13:09. > :13:12.

:13:12. > :13:15.and disabled people. Let's take a look at some of last night's debate.

:13:15. > :13:20.If you look at it over the period since the beginning of the

:13:20. > :13:25.recession, payments for those in work have risen by about 10% and

:13:25. > :13:28.for those on benefits have risen by 20%. What we're trying to do over

:13:28. > :13:33.the next few years, get that back into a fair settlement and

:13:33. > :13:37.eventually it will go back on to inflation. We want to create and

:13:37. > :13:42.hand back society, not a handout society. It does not help those on

:13:42. > :13:47.lower earners by cutting taxes and recycling their hard-earned money

:13:47. > :13:55.on benefits. It is not Britain's millionaires picking up the tab, it

:13:55. > :14:04.is working families. This is a 'The Strivers Tax Bill, pure and simple.

:14:04. > :14:10.What would he say to the policeman in my constituency... Is it fair

:14:10. > :14:15.that people out of work have seen their benefits go up by 5.2%. My

:14:15. > :14:19.salary has been frozen when I risk my life every day. That is what

:14:19. > :14:24.this bill is about. I am ready to say what we did wrong, I have not

:14:24. > :14:28.heard a word to say what they have done wrong. It is intolerable to

:14:28. > :14:32.blame the unemployed for their poverty and our deficit. That is

:14:32. > :14:38.why I'm voting for the amendment and against this rotten bill.

:14:38. > :14:41.Bill is part of a war waged by the rich, who are doing all they can to

:14:41. > :14:47.divide individuals answer communities against each other. It

:14:47. > :14:50.is a reckless and dangerous measure which is likely to be massively

:14:50. > :14:55.counter-productive and destabilise already struggling groups in

:14:55. > :14:58.society and push them into greater despair and desperation.

:14:59. > :15:04.billion over this Parliament of savings have been opposed by the

:15:04. > :15:10.opposition. It is equivalent of adding another �5,000 of debt for

:15:10. > :15:14.every working family in the country. We hear much about taxing the rich,

:15:14. > :15:19.yet in this Parliament, the richest will pay more in tax than under any

:15:19. > :15:23.single year of the previous Government. More tax on capital

:15:23. > :15:30.gains, more stamp duty, is available to avoid and have a tax

:15:30. > :15:40.and more when they take out their pension policy.

:15:40. > :15:40.

:15:40. > :15:43.That gives you a flavour Abbott was A lively debate. Sajid Jafid, the

:15:43. > :15:47.Chancellor at the Tory conference talked about people getting up

:15:47. > :15:51.early to go to work and passing by houses where curtains were drawn,

:15:51. > :15:58.people were asleep, living on benefits. He obviously didn't like

:15:58. > :16:03.that. It was an implication of exiefrz, so why on the changes have

:16:03. > :16:10.-- skivers, so why on the changes have you made people will be poorer

:16:10. > :16:13.and the year after that �534 poorer? Firstly, in those working

:16:13. > :16:21.families, they would only be poorer if you looked at the changes in

:16:21. > :16:26.isolation and that wouldn't be right. Those are library figures

:16:26. > :16:30.and net figures. It isn't. I have to confirm what he has said. These

:16:30. > :16:34.are for the �280 worse off that is from the House of Commons Library,

:16:34. > :16:41.which I've looked at and that includes the personal allowance and

:16:41. > :16:43.the figure of �534 worse off is from the Institute of Fiscal

:16:44. > :16:47.Studies and includes the rise in the personal allowance. You'll find

:16:47. > :16:50.it only includes a change in the personal allowance that was

:16:50. > :16:59.announced in the Autumn Statement. It does not include the change in

:16:59. > :17:05.the personal allowance. It includes all. There is also the VAT increase

:17:05. > :17:08.going up. There's a council tax freeze. There is change in fuel

:17:08. > :17:13.duty. On the tenth anniversary I was going to do my homework.

:17:13. > :17:18.sure you do that. These include the personal allowance changes, which

:17:18. > :17:21.do help, overall these families who you are talking about, walking past

:17:21. > :17:26.the curtains of those who are supposedly not going to work, they

:17:26. > :17:34.will be worst off? Well, I know you always do your homework. I've done

:17:34. > :17:39.mine, but we won't get into that. The figure I have is the average

:17:39. > :17:43.family will save because the personal allowance changes. �594,

:17:43. > :17:46.for all the changes in the entirety a year. That is a significant

:17:46. > :17:50.saving and then you have a council tax freeze and the increases in

:17:50. > :17:53.fuel duty that did take place. There are other changes taking

:17:53. > :17:58.place in the tax and benefits system that are helping working

:17:58. > :18:03.families and we have to look at them in the round. There is a wider.

:18:03. > :18:07.The tax credit system, which was part of the changes debated

:18:07. > :18:11.yesterday was so widespread that under the previous government nine

:18:11. > :18:17.out of ten families with children were receiving some kind of tax

:18:17. > :18:22.credit. Nine out of ten families, that is. With universal credit a

:18:22. > :18:25.lot less people will receive the benefits in their entirety, a lot

:18:25. > :18:29.less families, but it will be targeted at people that need the

:18:29. > :18:35.help and set up in a way that those families will be better off by

:18:35. > :18:38.taking a job. So you can't have a system of welfare where nine out of

:18:38. > :18:44.ten are receiving tax credits. We have changed that. It will be six

:18:44. > :18:47.out of ten. We have got to have a welfare system that is better spent

:18:47. > :18:51.and better targeted towards families. Can we establish that

:18:51. > :18:56.these working families that the Chancellor was so keen to support,

:18:56. > :18:59.as a result of the changes in yesterday's Bill, they will be

:18:59. > :19:03.worse off? You can't have changes to the welfare system when tax

:19:03. > :19:07.credits are such a big chunk, to which tax credits, as the system

:19:07. > :19:10.has been set up, go to working families, without having an impact

:19:10. > :19:13.on those recipients. The Chancellor is hitting the person walking in

:19:13. > :19:18.street and the ones behind the curtains who are not working? He

:19:18. > :19:22.has hit both, hasn't he? We are having a big change to welfare.

:19:22. > :19:28.That was the importance of the Bill yesterday to try to bring about

:19:28. > :19:34.savings and it's affected families both on tax credits and JSA.

:19:34. > :19:39.does Labour support a 1% cap on people who go to work in the public

:19:39. > :19:44.sector, but not a 1% cap for those who are getting benefits? Because

:19:44. > :19:47.we set the 1% cap sudden be an average. So for those at the very

:19:47. > :19:51.top of the income spectrum, we have said they shouldn't get a rise at

:19:51. > :19:57.you will. Sure, but they're not. For those at the very bottom, there

:19:57. > :20:03.should be an exemption. We always said there should be a value for

:20:03. > :20:06.the public sectors under �21,000 and that's why you have Labour

:20:06. > :20:11.councils introducing living wages for Dinnerladies and teaching

:20:11. > :20:15.assistants, those who are paid the very least. 1% on average. A lot of

:20:15. > :20:19.people in the public sector and protection for those at the bottom.

:20:20. > :20:26.Even so, if I can give you the figures from recent years, if you

:20:26. > :20:35.look at the benefit rises. Take 2009. Benefits up 5%, pay went up

:20:35. > :20:41.1.5%. 2010, benefits 1.1%, payment up 0.5%. 2011, benefits up 3%, pay

:20:41. > :20:44.up 2.5%. 2012, benefits 5.2%, payment up 2.3%. Every year in

:20:44. > :20:48.recent history if you've been on benefits you have done better than

:20:48. > :20:52.getting a pay rise. This is very important argument. Two points in

:20:52. > :20:55.response. First, we always look not just at wages, but at the family

:20:55. > :20:59.income. I personally want family income to rise faster when

:21:00. > :21:04.someone's in work than when they're on benefits. That's why we wanted

:21:04. > :21:10.tax credits to rise. But the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats

:21:11. > :21:14.actually froze the rise in tax credits and that's 3,5,000 people

:21:14. > :21:18.in his constituency and 11,000 in mine. The Bill squeezed them

:21:18. > :21:23.further. What that means is that those people who are in work are

:21:23. > :21:27.getting hit twice, they are hit by wages that are stagnating and hurt

:21:27. > :21:32.by tax being squeezed. My second point is, now think about what is

:21:32. > :21:37.coming in the years ahead. So, in the years that this Bill is in

:21:37. > :21:43.effect, actually earnings are forecast to grow by the Office for

:21:43. > :21:47.Budget Responsibility by between 3% panned 4%. That's -- and 4%. That's

:21:47. > :21:56.earnings. That is absolutely right. If you look at the OBI. That's not

:21:56. > :22:03.right. Outlook, earnings will grow. Public sector. Firstly, as this

:22:03. > :22:08.government will tell you, basing any policy on OBR is fool's gold.

:22:08. > :22:14.That's why they're in a mess. Public sector pay is frozen or

:22:14. > :22:19.rising by 1% overall for the future. Private earnings are rising by less

:22:19. > :22:26.than 2% at the moment. There is no - I know of no business currently

:22:26. > :22:29.planning 3% or 4% pay rises. Tell me one. Let me bring you back to

:22:29. > :22:33.this. That's why tax credits need to be protected. At a time when

:22:33. > :22:37.wages are squeezed you need tax credits to take up the slack. It's

:22:37. > :22:40.this government that is actually freezing tax credits and proposing

:22:40. > :22:45.to squeeze them at a time that the very richest in our country are

:22:45. > :22:51.being given a �2,000 a week tax cut. We can't see how that is fair.

:22:51. > :22:55.knows that's wrong. Frankly, he is wrong. You set it up. He knows

:22:55. > :22:59.about the tax cuts for the richest is completely wrong. He said tax

:22:59. > :23:03.credits sudden go up. He voted against this Bill yesterday, so

:23:03. > :23:07.really you need to explain how you are going to fund the changes.

:23:07. > :23:11.There is up to �5 billion of savings to get the changes. How

:23:11. > :23:15.will you do that and at the same time cut the deficit? Keeping in

:23:15. > :23:19.mind, that Liam was the Cabinet Secretary responsible for spending

:23:19. > :23:22.in the previous government and he left the note to the new government

:23:22. > :23:26.saying, "There's no money left." He might have thought it was a joke. I

:23:26. > :23:31.think it was a rare moment of honesty. Let's see more now and

:23:31. > :23:36.tell us how you will do that. you wish you had never left that

:23:36. > :23:42.note? It's a good joke, but it's haunted you. These notes go back to

:23:42. > :23:48.Churchill in the 1920s and a little later on. There's an old tradition

:23:49. > :23:53.of them. They are normally kept private. Only one successor has

:23:53. > :23:58.meant it. I left a Budget that I co-wrote with Alistair Darling

:23:58. > :24:04.which would cut the deficit in four years. The basic point is this - �3

:24:04. > :24:09.billion a year is being handed back to Britain's top-rate taxpayers.

:24:09. > :24:13.That's complete rubbish. It's an HMRC figure. It's not. They say

:24:14. > :24:20.it's the static costs. Let him explain why he thinks it's not

:24:20. > :24:24.right. I understand this. Let him explain why. What he conveniently

:24:24. > :24:29.wants to ignore are behaviourial changes when you have a tax change.

:24:29. > :24:33.When you have a tax change people change their behaviour. HMRC's

:24:33. > :24:39.study said when you take behaviour into account it's about �100

:24:39. > :24:44.million, not �3 billion. That's why if you want to tax the wealthiest

:24:44. > :24:48.you need to do it in a way where it's not easy for them to avoid it,

:24:48. > :24:53.stamp duty and changes in personal pension contribution allowances and

:24:53. > :24:58.changes in capital gains tax and that's what we have son, so each --

:24:58. > :25:03.son, so each year the wealthiest are paying more. We'll come back to

:25:03. > :25:09.this. We have to move on. Very interesting. I did a lot more

:25:09. > :25:17.homework than I needed to! Hold onto your socks for a moment - we

:25:17. > :25:21.have an important announcement.. FANFARE

:25:21. > :25:24.Yes, as you know each week we give away a prize that the rich and

:25:24. > :25:28.mighty can only dream of. Yes, the Daily Politics Mug! But in honour

:25:28. > :25:31.of our 10th birthday - have we mentioned its our 10th birthday? -

:25:31. > :25:34.for one week only we've bust the budget, stuck a happy birthday

:25:35. > :25:44.sticker on the side of it and we've got permission from the head of

:25:45. > :25:48.finance to give away not one, but two! Oh, how eBay will groan! Sajid

:25:48. > :25:51.and Liam have already got theirs - they're quick off the mark these

:25:52. > :26:01.Treasury boys. But now two of you can try and join a club that is

:26:02. > :26:09.

:26:09. > :26:19.surely unique. Let's see if you can remember when this happened.

:26:19. > :26:23.

:26:23. > :26:32.# Everybody, move feet and feel united... #

:26:32. > :26:39.# I will go down with this ship # And I won't put my hands up and

:26:39. > :26:44.sursurrender... # -- and surrender... #

:26:44. > :26:48.# I don't know what it is # That makes me feel like this

:26:49. > :26:53.# I don't know who you are # But you must be kind of

:26:53. > :27:03.superstar... # The people have spoken for the

:27:03. > :27:38.

:27:38. > :27:43.# Danger, danger Lots of clues there. To be in with

:27:43. > :27:50.a chance of winning one of our special special mugs, look at it,

:27:50. > :27:59.send your answer to our special address: You can see the full terms

:27:59. > :28:03.and conditions on the website. they can't guess what that year's

:28:03. > :28:07.going to be, they should be banned from watching. Thereby cutting our

:28:07. > :28:10.audience to close to zero. It's coming up to midday. There's Big

:28:10. > :28:15.Ben behind me there. It's only meaning one thing, Prime Minister's

:28:15. > :28:20.questions and also that Nick Robinson is here. Haby knew year.

:28:20. > :28:28.Welcome back. -- happy new year. Welcome back. A cheap one. That's

:28:28. > :28:31.all we can afford. The cheque isn't in the account yet! We have this

:28:31. > :28:34.relaunch of the coalition on Monday, that's what Labour called it. We

:28:34. > :28:39.read in this morning's papers that there's another document where they

:28:39. > :28:45.mark their own homework. Even marking their own homework, we are

:28:45. > :28:49.told, they failed on 70 promises. Thanks to a rather good political

:28:49. > :28:54.photographer called Steve Back who has an extremely long lens, he

:28:54. > :28:58.managed to get one of the political advisers to the Prime Minister,

:28:58. > :29:01.Patrick Rock, who was carrying documents along, who said he might

:29:01. > :29:09.have well as stapled it to his forehead and posted it to the

:29:09. > :29:12.Cabinet. Which said and I quote, "I think the danger of bad headlines,

:29:12. > :29:16.about the Government failing to meet certain targets, can be

:29:16. > :29:19.avoided by simply publishing a document without any fanfare on the

:29:19. > :29:22.Government's website." I don't think that plans going quite to

:29:22. > :29:27.plan. "We might be accused of slipping out the difficult points a

:29:27. > :29:33.couple of days we got more favourable coverage." It's just

:29:33. > :29:39.possible! I wouldn't wish to predict. Only by churlish people.

:29:39. > :29:45.Or people of an unkind disposition. Was there always the plan to

:29:45. > :29:52.publish this? Well, the coalition document, they saw that this week.

:29:52. > :30:00.No, marking your own homework? don't know about that. You have not

:30:00. > :30:04.seen it. It talked about cutting the deficit. Welfare reform. I was

:30:04. > :30:12.gob-smacked by it. Were you on holiday? I was working, watching

:30:12. > :30:17.him, which is work! What about this new document, you must have had

:30:17. > :30:22.input into this? I haven't seen such a document. I have seen the

:30:22. > :30:29.coalition document, mid-term review which talks all about the successes.

:30:29. > :30:34.What about 6% growth by 2012, failed. Cut the deficit by lots

:30:34. > :30:40.more, no we only got 25% and it's rising again. Living standards

:30:40. > :30:44.still being squeezed by as much as 1920s. Will it have all that in?

:30:44. > :30:49.think the document would say that given the Interance that we had,

:30:49. > :30:53.the world's largest deficit that we have done a damn good job of

:30:53. > :30:56.putting the country back on its feet and also of cutting the

:30:56. > :31:06.deficit and bringing back prosperity back to Britain. Is that

:31:06. > :31:09.

:31:09. > :31:13.eight out of ten? Over to Prime This morning I had meetings with

:31:13. > :31:20.ministerial colleagues and others and an additional to my duties, I

:31:20. > :31:23.will have further such meetings today. The as the Prime Minister

:31:23. > :31:29.agree if public servants are having a 1% pay rise, it is only fair that

:31:29. > :31:33.those on benefits should be given the same increase? I think he is

:31:33. > :31:37.entirely right. These are difficult decisions. But they should be made

:31:37. > :31:43.in the context of the fact that over the last five years benefits

:31:43. > :31:50.have gone up by 20%, average earnings are only up by 10%. It is

:31:50. > :31:54.right to have a 1% cap on out-of- work benefits, a 1% cap on tax

:31:54. > :31:59.credits and the 1% cap on public sector pay. What is inexplicable is

:31:59. > :32:03.the position of the party opposite to support a 1% public sector pay

:32:03. > :32:13.cap, but one more for welfare claimants. It is not fair, not

:32:13. > :32:18.right and they should think again. Mr Speaker, can the Prime Minister

:32:18. > :32:22.tell us that why am Monday when he published his mid-term review

:32:23. > :32:27.committee failed to publish his audit of coalition broken promises?

:32:27. > :32:34.We will be publishing absolutely every single auditor of every

:32:34. > :32:40.single promise, or 399 pledges set out in the mid-term review. Unlike

:32:40. > :32:44.the party opposite, this will be full, frank and completely on

:32:44. > :32:48.varnished and will see it this afternoon. Let me perhaps remind

:32:48. > :32:55.him of some of the pledges. We said we would cut the deficit, it is

:32:55. > :33:00.down by 25%. We said we would cut immigration, it is down buys 25%.

:33:00. > :33:10.We said we would rebalance the economy, one million public-sector

:33:10. > :33:10.

:33:10. > :33:15.jobs. He is going to have to do better than that. Because this is

:33:15. > :33:21.what his advisers said. Key said, they shouldn't publish the secret

:33:21. > :33:29.ordered because it had problematic areas and V2 and favourable copy,

:33:29. > :33:35.and identified broken pledges. It is a far cry from the Rose Garden.

:33:35. > :33:41.This is what they said, we should throw open the doors to enable the

:33:41. > :33:46.public to hold politicians to account. So, have another go. It is

:33:46. > :33:56.a simple questions. Was it his decision not to publish the audit.

:33:56. > :34:00.

:34:00. > :34:06.I quote from his adviser, "it would overshadow favourable coverage..."

:34:06. > :34:11.it is early in the year, so calm down. You had difficult times ahead.

:34:11. > :34:19.Was it his decision not to publish the ordered? It is my decision it

:34:19. > :34:24.is being published this afternoon. Is this really the best he can do?

:34:24. > :34:28.He has had a week, sitting in the Canary Islands with nothing else to

:34:29. > :34:33.think about. He cannot ask about unemployment because it is falling.

:34:33. > :34:37.P cannot ask about business creation because it is rising. He

:34:37. > :34:40.does not want to talk about the deficit because we have got it down

:34:40. > :34:47.for a start he cannot ask about welfare because he knows he is on

:34:47. > :34:51.the wrong side of the argument. Speaker, the only people on the

:34:51. > :34:58.wrong side of the arguments are him and his Chancellor, who are trying

:34:58. > :35:04.to divide the country. Let's see if we can get a sneak preview of the

:35:04. > :35:14.secret Audit. We have not seen it, but can we get a sneak preview.

:35:14. > :35:20.This is what the coalition agreement said, "we will stop top

:35:20. > :35:28.down reorganisations of the NHS". I think we can all agree it is a

:35:28. > :35:34.promise that has been broken. Can he confirm that is on the list?

:35:34. > :35:39.What will be Virk, 5,000 more doctors in the NHS, 6,000 fewer

:35:39. > :35:44.managers. But he talks about wanting to divide the country, the

:35:44. > :35:49.division is this, two parties that have come together in the national

:35:49. > :35:54.interest to take the difficult decisions, and one party that

:35:54. > :35:58.refuses to apologise for the past, refuses to talk about the deficit,

:35:59. > :36:05.has no economic policy to think of. That is the division in British

:36:05. > :36:08.politics. I have to say, if he cannot even admit he has broken his

:36:08. > :36:12.promise on a top-down reorganisation of the NHS, I don't

:36:13. > :36:20.have high hopes for the secret Audit. Let's talk about another

:36:20. > :36:28.broken promise, this time on women. He's had this in his modest way,

:36:28. > :36:35."he said we want to make sexual inequality history. That needs a

:36:35. > :36:39.serious commitment, clear policies and clear leadership". Will the

:36:39. > :36:45.secret audits acknowledge another broken promises that the changes he

:36:45. > :36:49.is making... I think the part-time Chancellor should calm down. Will

:36:49. > :36:59.he admits that the tax and benefit changes he is making are hitting

:36:59. > :37:00.

:37:00. > :37:04.women three times as hard as men? There are more women in work than...

:37:04. > :37:08.There is excessive noise in the chamber. The questions from the

:37:08. > :37:12.opposition must be heard and the answers from the Prime Minister

:37:12. > :37:16.must be heard. He will be able to see when this document is published,

:37:16. > :37:22.there are more women in work than at any time in our history, pension

:37:22. > :37:25.reforms are helping women and of public-sector -- public sector pay

:37:25. > :37:31.freeze that excludes the lowest paid is helping women and we are

:37:31. > :37:34.helping women with extra childcare. Mr Speaker, what a contrast between

:37:34. > :37:39.a Government that is prepared to publish every piece of information

:37:39. > :37:45.about every pledge and what has been achieved. And the party

:37:45. > :37:49.opposite that cannot apologise for the mess they left this country in.

:37:49. > :37:55.After that answer, it is no wonder he did not take any questions from

:37:55. > :38:00.women jealous from his relaunch a press conference. -- journalists.

:38:00. > :38:04.Let's turn to his biggest broken promise, the chancellor hits hard

:38:04. > :38:09.working people and the most vulnerable with his strivers tax.

:38:09. > :38:13.At the same time he is giving this April, a massive tax cuts to

:38:13. > :38:18.millionaires. If his audit is going to be a candid assessment, won't he

:38:18. > :38:25.have to admit he has broken that symbolic promise that we are all in

:38:25. > :38:29.this together? He knows the facts about the top rate of tax. His move

:38:29. > :38:34.to 50 pence Mensa millionaires paid 7 billion a less in taxes, than

:38:34. > :38:43.they did previously. Under this Government, the top rate of tax

:38:43. > :38:49.will be higher than it every year than under his Government. Let's

:38:49. > :38:54.have an audit of his promises. He promised us a costed deficit-

:38:54. > :38:59.reduction programme. Nothing. He promised us proper reforms of

:38:59. > :39:05.welfare. Nothing. He promised us how he would show how he would have

:39:05. > :39:08.a new policy and tuition fees. Nothing. I have audited all of the

:39:08. > :39:13.Government spending programmes and I have identified one where waste

:39:13. > :39:23.is appalling. The �5 million of money that goes to his party every

:39:23. > :39:25.

:39:25. > :39:31.year. We get nothing from it. Speaker. Mr Speaker, the more he

:39:31. > :39:38.blusters, the less convincing he is. He is cutting the top rate of

:39:38. > :39:42.income tax at by an average of �107,000 for everyone earning over

:39:42. > :39:48.�1 million in Britain. At the same time he is raising taxes on

:39:48. > :39:54.everyone else. He is a PR man who cannot even do a relaunch. Halfway

:39:54. > :39:59.through his Parliament, we know they are incompetent, break their

:39:59. > :40:03.promises and other nasty party is back. If is perfectly clear what

:40:03. > :40:07.has happened since the start of this year. It is this Government

:40:07. > :40:12.that is setting out its plans for the future. It is his party that is

:40:12. > :40:17.on the wrong side of the argument on welfare. It has nothing to say

:40:17. > :40:20.about the deficit, no credible policy on the economy. He has a

:40:20. > :40:28.shadow Chancellor who will knock back, but cannot sack. Nothing has

:40:28. > :40:33.changed in politics, nothing has changed in labour. Does he agree

:40:33. > :40:37.with me, that we should be cutting taxes for hard-working people in

:40:37. > :40:42.Basildon it rather than taking money away from them, only to

:40:43. > :40:49.return their own money through tax credits? He is entirely right. He

:40:49. > :40:53.will know in April, every working family will see a �220 tax cut as

:40:53. > :40:57.we left the tax threshold further. Everyone will benefit. In our view,

:40:58. > :41:01.what we should be doing is cutting people's taxes, rather than take

:41:01. > :41:08.more in taxes and recycle it through the massive tax credits

:41:08. > :41:13.business. That is what we believe on the side of the house. Isn't it

:41:13. > :41:17.a clear example of how out of touch this Prime Minister is, that while

:41:18. > :41:21.the overwhelming majority of the public want to maintain the ban on

:41:21. > :41:26.fox and stag hunting, that he actually plans to repeal it. Can he

:41:26. > :41:32.tell us why? As I explained before Christmas, I have never broken the

:41:32. > :41:42.law, and the only little red purse I pursue these days are in this

:41:42. > :41:42.

:41:42. > :41:51.house. -- pests. Does the Prime Minister accept... Order, order. I

:41:51. > :41:56.am sure the House wishes to hear the words. Does the Prime Minister

:41:56. > :42:00.accept that under this Government that we brought in an 11% rise in

:42:00. > :42:06.the child elements of the tax credit, followed by a 5% rise and a

:42:06. > :42:09.recent rises build on those, meaning a cash increase of �470 in

:42:09. > :42:14.the child elements of the tax credit, under this Government?

:42:14. > :42:18.makes an important point on how we focused help on those most in need.

:42:18. > :42:22.Because we have lifted the income tax threshold, someone a minimum

:42:22. > :42:26.wage who works full-time has seen their income tax bill cut in half

:42:26. > :42:31.under this Government. We are on the side are people who want to

:42:31. > :42:35.work hard, get on and provide for their families. There are more than

:42:35. > :42:38.one million children living in poverty who do not qualify for a

:42:38. > :42:42.free school meal. Several children's charities are concerned

:42:43. > :42:47.that number will increase when the Universal credit is introduced.

:42:47. > :42:51.Will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to allay their fears by

:42:51. > :42:54.giving a guarantee that any child who qualifies for a free school

:42:54. > :43:00.meal under the current rules, will keep the entire Commons when the

:43:00. > :43:03.rules have changed? I will look carefully at what he says. By

:43:03. > :43:07.universal credit will actually be extending help to more people and

:43:07. > :43:11.more families, because it will be helping those people who are only

:43:11. > :43:16.able to work a few hours a week, and helping them with childcare as

:43:16. > :43:22.well. It is good to see the Prime Minister out running over Christmas,

:43:22. > :43:26.and setting the pace on welfare reform. For I have been out

:43:26. > :43:31.training for the London Marathon to raise funds for my local children's

:43:31. > :43:34.hospice. Will he join me in praising or the fund raisers and

:43:34. > :43:39.volunteers for local hospices, and reaffirmed Government support that

:43:39. > :43:43.schemes like the capital fund for hospices, which my local hospice

:43:43. > :43:49.are currently applying? First of all, can I wish him every good luck

:43:49. > :43:54.for the London Marathon. It is more than I am capable of, I can

:43:54. > :44:00.reassure him. We are continuing to support children's hospices by

:44:00. > :44:04.carrying on with the �10 million funding. We have added an

:44:04. > :44:07.additional �720,000, by making �60 million of capital funding

:44:07. > :44:11.available to adults and children hospices. In the coalition

:44:11. > :44:16.agreement, a full audit of which will be published today - we will

:44:16. > :44:24.be demonstrating how we will fulfil our pledge for a per patient

:44:24. > :44:27.funding system for palliative care. It will help or hospices. Can the

:44:27. > :44:32.Prime Minister confirm that single mum, Magee from my constituency,

:44:32. > :44:37.who works all the hours she can in Tesco, but does not earn enough to

:44:37. > :44:45.gain from the new tax allowances, will, after these changes to tax

:44:45. > :44:49.credit and Universal Credit, be a staggering �1,255 a year worse off?

:44:49. > :44:54.Everybody is affected by these changes. Everyone on tax credits

:44:54. > :44:57.will be affected by the fact there is only a 1% increase. Everyone on

:44:57. > :45:03.out-of-work benefits will be affected by the fact there is only

:45:04. > :45:07.a 1% increase. But the question is, if we are saving �5 billion through

:45:07. > :45:12.these changes, which I believe our fair, how is it the party opposite

:45:12. > :45:16.would fill in as �5 billion black hole? Would they take it off the

:45:16. > :45:23.NHS? Take it off the defence budget? It is time we had some

:45:23. > :45:27.questions from the party opposite. Can I thank the coalition

:45:27. > :45:31.Government for allocating �10.7 million to Edinburgh Super

:45:31. > :45:37.connected city with. It will revolutionise internet use been

:45:37. > :45:42.part of my constituency. But like constituents are frustrated at

:45:42. > :45:51.Edinburgh council's year-long procurement process. What can we do

:45:51. > :45:55.It's vitally important that everyone has access to broadband

:45:55. > :45:58.and increasingly we have the overwhelming access to superfast. I

:45:58. > :46:01.suspect that Edinburgh City Council has seen some of the same problems

:46:01. > :46:06.that councils up and down the country have seen about getting

:46:06. > :46:09.state aid clearance. We now have that for broadband in England, but

:46:09. > :46:13.I'm happy to look at his situation, but that's been one of the problems

:46:14. > :46:18.that has been holding back this vital programme. You shouldn't have

:46:18. > :46:24.to fill in long forms from the Revenue, you're working, you need

:46:24. > :46:29.help, we want to help you. I'm sure the Prime Minister recognises his

:46:29. > :46:35.words to families receiving child benefit. How many families could

:46:35. > :46:39.face a fine for not filling out a long tax form? The point about the

:46:39. > :46:44.child benefit change is that 85% of families who receive child benefit

:46:44. > :46:49.will go on getting that benefit. But the question we all have to ask

:46:49. > :46:54.is, is it right for people earning �20,000 or �30,000 to go on giving

:46:54. > :46:57.child benefit to people earning �70 or �90,000? We don't believe it is

:46:57. > :47:00.right, but apparently the Labour Party think it's right to give

:47:00. > :47:09.child benefit to millionaires. We don't think that's a good use of

:47:09. > :47:13.money. The Prime Minister rightly recognises that there needs to be a

:47:13. > :47:16.new relationship between this country and the EU. He has said,

:47:16. > :47:19.and I agree, that the British people must be offered a real

:47:19. > :47:22.choice with regard to our continued membership. I hope he can confirm

:47:22. > :47:26.to the House that it's his intention to seek a fresh

:47:26. > :47:30.settlement and then to seek the consent of the British people to

:47:30. > :47:33.that settlement. I can confirm that is exactly what I believe this

:47:33. > :47:36.country should do. I think it's the right thing for Britain, because I

:47:36. > :47:39.think it's right that we are involved in the single market, we

:47:39. > :47:42.are active players in the EU, but there are changes we would like in

:47:43. > :47:46.our relationship that would be good for Britain and Europe. I think

:47:46. > :47:50.because of the changes taking place in the eurozone, which is driving a

:47:50. > :47:59.lot of change in the EU, there's every opportunity to achieve that

:47:59. > :48:03.settlement and then seek consent for it. A college of Lord March

:48:03. > :48:08.land's said he likes foreign travel, meeting foreign leaders, but he's

:48:08. > :48:15.not too keen on the detailed policy of his new job, I wonder if the

:48:15. > :48:24.Prime Minister knows anybody else like that? Is that - all morning

:48:24. > :48:28.he's had to this of that -- had to think of that! It's important that

:48:28. > :48:32.we ministers in both Houses who are linking up with the fast-growing

:48:32. > :48:37.countries in the world and that's why our exports to China are up 50%

:48:37. > :48:47.and to India 50% and we are connecting Britain with the fast-

:48:47. > :48:55.

:48:55. > :49:02.growing parts of the world. Bearing in mind that Bills that may be

:49:02. > :49:08.thought to effect the Royal prerogative require the sig -- sig

:49:08. > :49:14.indication of the -- the signature of the Queen at second reading, can

:49:14. > :49:23.the Prime Minister tell us whether he has yet heard from the Palace

:49:23. > :49:28.whether if regards any of the major constitutional changes proposed in

:49:28. > :49:38.the suck succession to the crown bill is intruding on the Royal

:49:38. > :49:38.

:49:38. > :49:43.prerogative or on the corn nation both, which the Queen took? -- core

:49:43. > :49:48.nation oath, which the Queen took? Throughout the process of bringing

:49:48. > :49:51.forward this proposal, which is a proposal that the heads of all the

:49:51. > :49:55.Commonwealth realms have also signed up, throughout that process,

:49:55. > :50:04.there's been very, very thorough contact between Number Ten and

:50:04. > :50:09.between the Palace. All of the issues are settled and agreed.

:50:09. > :50:12.People in high flood risk areas cannot understand why the

:50:12. > :50:16.Government has effectively abandoned efforts to reach

:50:16. > :50:20.agreements with the industry and fear they will not be able to

:50:20. > :50:25.insure their homes after June 2013. Why is the Prime Minister fiddling

:50:25. > :50:28.while the country floods? I'm happy to put the honourable gentleman

:50:28. > :50:33.right. The discussions are still under way. They've made very good

:50:33. > :50:37.progress. I'm confident that we will reach an agreement, as he said.

:50:37. > :50:40.The current agreement doesn't run out until June this year. I'm

:50:40. > :50:44.regularly updated on the discussions. I know from my own

:50:44. > :50:48.constituency, which has been subjected to regular flooding, just

:50:48. > :50:51.how important they are. We have put in an extra �120 million in terms

:50:51. > :50:57.of flood defences and I think everyone can now see that the flood

:50:57. > :51:02.defence work that has been done over recent years has made a

:51:02. > :51:06.significant difference when we have had high levels of rainfall.

:51:06. > :51:12.the Prime Minister confirm to the House that disability benefits are

:51:12. > :51:16.being uprated as usual and will not be subject to changes? She is

:51:16. > :51:22.entirely right. Disability living allowance, which is the key benefit

:51:22. > :51:26.received by disabled people, is not subject to the 1% cut. The cap is

:51:26. > :51:29.for benefits that are for people in the in-work benefits area. It's

:51:29. > :51:34.very important we go on paying disability living allowance in the

:51:34. > :51:38.way we have been. Can the Prime Minister confirm that my

:51:38. > :51:42.constituent who is a nurse, as well as a single father to two children,

:51:43. > :51:47.will lose �400 a year as a result of the Chancellor's cuts to child

:51:47. > :51:51.benefit and other benefits? result of the cuts to child benefit

:51:51. > :51:55.are that the best-off 15% families in this country will no longer

:51:55. > :52:01.receive child benefit at all. That is what is going to happen. That

:52:01. > :52:06.safes around �2 billion a year and again, Labour has now voted against

:52:06. > :52:09.83 billion of welfare changes. You have to start filling in the blanks

:52:09. > :52:15.of where you are going to make up this money. I think it is right

:52:15. > :52:18.that we say to people earning �60 up to �80,000 or more you shouldn't

:52:18. > :52:21.be receiving child benefit. It's not an easy decision. The

:52:22. > :52:27.Government is about making decisions and frankly opposition is

:52:27. > :52:33.frankly about making them too. I recommend that the Prime Minister

:52:33. > :52:36.takes a look at Monday's excellent backbench debate on corporate tax

:52:36. > :52:42.avoidance and can I ask what he hopes to achieve on this vital

:52:42. > :52:46.issue at the G8? I will certainly look closely at the debate and read

:52:46. > :52:49.the Hansard, because this is a vital issue for not just our

:52:49. > :52:53.country, but it needs to be settled internationally. That is why I've

:52:53. > :52:58.put the issue of corporate tax avoidance at the heart of the G8

:52:58. > :53:05.this year. We are also looking closely at what we can do here in

:53:06. > :53:09.the UK. Further to the question from my friend in Hacky South, may

:53:09. > :53:14.I ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number

:53:14. > :53:19.of families who are still unaware they are no longer aware to child

:53:19. > :53:28.benefit, particularly bearing in mind the bill will come through the

:53:28. > :53:32.nation's letterboxes in April 2015?! Obviously, we have written

:53:33. > :53:37.out to 800,000 families. There's been a huge advertising cam tape.

:53:37. > :53:41.This has been properly covered right across the media. I have to

:53:41. > :53:44.say, it's absolutely extraordinary, in a week when Labour are

:53:44. > :53:48.complaining about difficult welfare decisions for people who are in

:53:48. > :53:53.work and for people who are out of work, they also want to make a

:53:53. > :53:57.priority of opposing taking away child benefit from people earning

:53:57. > :54:01.�100,000 or �150,000. You really have to start taking some

:54:01. > :54:10.responsible decisions about how we deal with our deficit and get our

:54:10. > :54:13.economy under control. Will the Prime Minister join me in

:54:13. > :54:19.congratulating the businessman and entrepreneurs and staff who work at

:54:19. > :54:21.the job centre in my constituency, whose efforts over the last two-

:54:22. > :54:27.and-a-half years have ensured that unemployment in my constituency is

:54:27. > :54:30.down by a quarter since last election? I will certainly join my

:54:30. > :54:33.honourable friend. People in our job centres in the country do an

:54:33. > :54:37.excellent job helping people to find work and to make sure they get

:54:37. > :54:40.all the help they need. The fact is that the unemployment rate today is

:54:40. > :54:45.now lower than the rate that we inherited at the last election.

:54:45. > :54:48.Over the last year, job creation in Britain was faster than in any

:54:49. > :54:51.other G7 country. We still have a long way to go to rebalance the

:54:52. > :54:56.economy, to get the growth in the private sector that we need.

:54:56. > :54:59.However, we are on the right track. One million new private sector jobs

:54:59. > :55:02.over the last two years. The fastest rate of new business

:55:02. > :55:05.creation for decades. There are good signs that the economy's

:55:05. > :55:09.rebalancing. We need to encourage that by staying on top of our

:55:09. > :55:13.deficit and getting the deficit down, rather than just giving in on

:55:13. > :55:20.every decision as we have seen today from the Labour Party.

:55:20. > :55:25.According to the Children's Society, up to 40,000 soldiers, 150,000

:55:25. > :55:29.teachers and 300,000 nurses will lose out as a result of his

:55:29. > :55:37.decision to cut tax credits and other benefits. Why are hard-

:55:37. > :55:39.working people like this paying for his economic failure?

:55:39. > :55:43.honourable lady needs to remember why we are having to take the

:55:43. > :55:46.decisions in the first place. It's to deal with the record budget

:55:46. > :55:52.deficit for the mess left by the Labour Party. That is the

:55:52. > :55:56.background to this. But the real question about public sector

:55:56. > :56:00.workers and soldiers and teachers and people who work in our public

:56:00. > :56:05.services, they are being restricted to a 1% increase, so why on earth

:56:05. > :56:08.does the Labour Party think that people on out-of-work benefits

:56:08. > :56:13.should see their incomes go up faster? That is the question you

:56:13. > :56:17.need to answer. We are being fair, because we are restricting the

:56:17. > :56:22.increase on tax credits, on public sector pay, but also asking the

:56:22. > :56:26.same of those on out-of-work welfare. What we see that is unfair

:56:26. > :56:29.is backing the public sector pay increase, but wanting welfare to go

:56:29. > :56:37.through the roof. It's wrong and not fair and Labour must see they

:56:37. > :56:40.have to change their mind. Last week I visited TH White Group and

:56:40. > :56:44.herd about their healthy order book and recruitment plans for this year.

:56:44. > :56:48.However, like many British employers, they cannot find enough

:56:48. > :56:51.engineers to hire. Britain's universities lead the world in

:56:51. > :56:56.teaching science and engineering and yet we have an annual short

:56:56. > :57:00.fall of 60,000 graduates and nine out of ten post-graduate students

:57:00. > :57:05.in those subjects are from overseas what more can we do to plug this

:57:05. > :57:10.critical skills gap? I think she is entirely right and we have to

:57:10. > :57:12.tackle this problem at every level. That means making sure we are

:57:12. > :57:15.teaching maths and science and stem subjects properly in schools and

:57:15. > :57:18.there are signs that the number of people taking those subjects are

:57:18. > :57:22.increasing. We need to make sure that universities are properly

:57:22. > :57:26.funded and tuition fees will make sure that is the case. We also need

:57:26. > :57:33.to raise the profile about engineering and that's one of the

:57:33. > :57:35.reasons why we introduce the �1 million prize for engineering. That

:57:35. > :57:41.combined with the 34 university technical colleges will help to

:57:41. > :57:45.make sure we train the engineers we need for the future. It's more

:57:45. > :57:48.important than ever in Northern Ireland that we seek to continue

:57:48. > :57:51.moving forward, away from violence. We need to create stability and I'm

:57:51. > :57:56.sure the Prime Minister will agree that full participation in and

:57:56. > :57:59.support for the political and democratic process by everybody, so

:57:59. > :58:03.the people's issued can be addressed and politicians address

:58:03. > :58:06.those is vital. In that context and the context of what is happening,

:58:06. > :58:11.will the Prime Minister agree to meet with us to discuss the

:58:11. > :58:14.forthcoming legislation in Northern Ireland, so we can look at measures

:58:14. > :58:17.to increase democratic participation by people in deprived

:58:17. > :58:20.communities, look at the deplorable state of the electoral register in

:58:20. > :58:23.Northern Ireland, which is in a bad state and also deal with the

:58:23. > :58:28.discrimination against elected members of this House from Northern

:58:28. > :58:32.Ireland, who play by the rules while others get money while not

:58:32. > :58:35.taking their seats? All that needs to be addressed. I agree to meet.

:58:35. > :58:42.We have a meeting with a number of members of his party straight after

:58:42. > :58:47.to talk about the issue of how to make sure we can cover the military

:58:47. > :58:51.covenant. He makes a number of points. I would throw back that

:58:51. > :58:54.part of the challenge to him and his party, as to others, we need to

:58:54. > :58:57.build a shared future in Northern Ireland, where we breakdown the

:58:57. > :59:00.barriers, barriers of segregation that have been in place for many,

:59:01. > :59:06.many years and I think that is part of the challenge to take away many

:59:07. > :59:11.of the tensions that we have seen in recent days. Just in case

:59:11. > :59:14.anybody was ever in any doubt, could the Prime Minister confirm

:59:15. > :59:23.who he is closest to politically? Is this Lord Tebbit or the Deputy

:59:23. > :59:33.Prime Minister? I managed to get through Christmas without spending

:59:33. > :59:34.

:59:34. > :59:44.any time with either of them. I am closer to all Conservatives than I

:59:44. > :59:46.

:59:46. > :59:50.am to anyone from any other party. Yesterday the Secretary of State

:59:50. > :59:55.for Health received a report recommending that the downgrading

:59:55. > :00:00.of maternity services and closure of the A&E department at Lewisham

:00:00. > :00:04.hospital, does the Prime Minister recall the coalition promise to end

:00:04. > :00:09.the enforced closure of A&E and maternity services? If this is not

:00:09. > :00:14.to be on the list of broken promises will he ensure that these

:00:14. > :00:19.closures do not go ahead? What the Government and I specifically

:00:19. > :00:24.promised is that there should be no closures or no re-organisations

:00:24. > :00:29.unless they had the support from the GP commissioners and unless

:00:30. > :00:32.there was public and patient engagement and evidence. Let me be

:00:32. > :00:37.absolutely clear. Unlike under the last government, when the closures

:00:37. > :00:41.and changes were imposed in a top- down way, if they do not immediate

:00:41. > :00:46.those criteria they will not happen. The Prime Minister will remember

:00:46. > :00:50.that this House gave the green light to stem Cel research some

:00:50. > :00:58.years ago. We now find that the court of justice of the EU is

:00:58. > :01:08.hindering progress by bringing into question the patent researches.

:01:08. > :01:10.Will the Prime Minister do what he can to clear the block snadges

:01:10. > :01:14.blockages? He makes an important point, because it's a competitive

:01:14. > :01:20.advantage that we have in this country, that we took difficult

:01:20. > :01:23.decisions about stem Cel research. It's important that we continue to

:01:23. > :01:27.lead in that area, not only for economic and scientific reasons,

:01:27. > :01:30.but because we want to make sure that people with long-term

:01:31. > :01:33.conditions, that children with disabilities and other concerns,

:01:33. > :01:37.that we crack those problems for the future and without that level

:01:38. > :01:42.of research I don't believe we shall. I'll look carefully and

:01:42. > :01:45.write to him with an answer. Is the Prime Minister proud of the growth

:01:45. > :01:49.of food banks across this country, including in my own constituency?

:01:49. > :01:53.Has he visited one and if not, will he? I'm proud of the fact that in

:01:53. > :01:56.this country there are one million more people in work than they were

:01:56. > :02:00.when this Government came to office, that we have made sure that the

:02:00. > :02:04.lowest paid are not paying income tax, that we protected the poorest

:02:04. > :02:07.families in our country. I'm proud of all of those things. But unlike

:02:07. > :02:17.him, I don't look down or talk down at people who work hard in our

:02:17. > :02:25.

:02:25. > :02:29.The first Prime Minister's Questions of 2013. Just two more

:02:29. > :02:35.years of back to go until the next election. The leader of the

:02:35. > :02:41.opposition went on this about to be published Government marking of its

:02:41. > :02:46.own homework. What promises it kept, what it hasn't. It did not deliver

:02:46. > :02:52.it with the mid-term assessment and Monday afternoon. But it is coming

:02:52. > :02:57.out this afternoon. No doubt that is what will dominate tonight, as

:02:57. > :03:00.we seek what promises the Government has kept. Interesting Ed

:03:00. > :03:06.Miliband went on that rather than continuing the argument yesterday

:03:06. > :03:10.on capping of welfare payments. We will ask why he did that in a few

:03:10. > :03:14.moments, but first we get what you thought of it.

:03:14. > :03:19.The Ed Miliband might have gone on something different, but dealers

:03:19. > :03:22.focused on the welfare debate. A lady in Manchester so this

:03:22. > :03:28.Government is only hitting workers on low incomes. My husband as a

:03:28. > :03:33.civil servant and has not seen his wage rise for two years. I am a

:03:33. > :03:36.carer for a disabled daughter. This from Ray Jones in Kent. Today

:03:36. > :03:40.I witnessed again, Ed Miliband going on about broken promises when

:03:40. > :03:45.he chooses not to recognise the world is a different place than

:03:46. > :03:50.when those promises were made. Jacklin says, someone needs to be

:03:50. > :03:56.putting a stop to the campaign of hatred with shirkers and strivers

:03:56. > :04:00.nonsense. Mr Miliband does little to inspire confidence.

:04:00. > :04:04.Another man says, Ed Miliband had an open goal, had six attempts but

:04:04. > :04:08.missed the goal. And David in Blackburn, but 13

:04:08. > :04:12.years I have held the view that previous governments have the most

:04:12. > :04:17.incompetent collection of ministers ever assembled. Now, I am not so

:04:17. > :04:20.sure. Interesting scene, on the one hand

:04:20. > :04:29.you have the Government worried about some aspects of the welfare

:04:29. > :04:34.debate. Hence a couple of questions allowing the Prime Minister to say,

:04:34. > :04:41.we're not freezing that benefits, we're not freezing VAT benefit,

:04:41. > :04:46.pensioners will be fine. Ed Miliband went on the publication of

:04:46. > :04:51.the document about promises kept and promises broken. It was a gift

:04:51. > :04:55.Ed Miliband could not resist. You open your newspaper this morning,

:04:56. > :05:00.and there is the story that Government tried to bury, an

:05:00. > :05:04.assessment of their own broken promises. In a sense, when you are

:05:04. > :05:08.leader of the opposition, sometimes you have to go with the news. I

:05:08. > :05:18.think that his wife. But but sides are nervous. There is no doubt that

:05:18. > :05:20.

:05:21. > :05:28.Labour, they have fought very hard on the idea of welfare. He will be

:05:28. > :05:32.seen as being a friend of shirkers and not workers. Plus the Tories

:05:32. > :05:38.are nervous. A whole series of planted questions by Government

:05:38. > :05:42.whips, allowing the Prime Minister to produce these facts as PMQs was

:05:42. > :05:49.going on. We are not hitting the disabled, we are not hitting

:05:49. > :05:53.pensioners. It suggests to me, along with their abandonment of the

:05:53. > :06:01.wording of workers and shirkers. You won't hear them using it any

:06:01. > :06:07.more. David Cameron and Nick Clegg made it clear that they won't use

:06:07. > :06:11.it. You're getting a nervousness on both sides of politics, as they

:06:11. > :06:16.tried to grapple with this will Furman them. Does this mean you

:06:16. > :06:21.will desist from using this language? I have used it before

:06:21. > :06:25.reporting a conversation I had on a doorstep in my constituency.

:06:25. > :06:30.said at the Labour conference, many people on the doorstep at the last

:06:30. > :06:33.election felt too often we were for the shirkers and not the workers.

:06:33. > :06:38.The new told the London School of Economics last year, we are the

:06:38. > :06:43.party of workers, not shirkers. Who are the shirkers? There are people

:06:43. > :06:47.in Britain who we do not think are doing enough to get a job. What I

:06:47. > :06:52.was doing was reporting conversations I had on the doorstep

:06:52. > :06:56.in my own constituency. What we won't do is use this as a political

:06:56. > :07:01.strategy in the way George Osborne tried to do when he presented his

:07:01. > :07:08.wealth or built. This well For our rating Bill is not needed. Non-

:07:08. > :07:13.Labour Government comes to Parliament. George Osborne wanted

:07:13. > :07:17.to frame this in unnecessary legislation to force the vote so he

:07:17. > :07:21.could try and present Labour as on the wrong side of an argument. What

:07:21. > :07:26.he forgot to tell the House when he presented the Budget, is that

:07:26. > :07:31.overwhelmingly, this bill hits tax credits and 68% of the people hit

:07:31. > :07:35.are in work. We did a lot of that at the beginning of the programme.

:07:35. > :07:40.You were worried Labour was seen as a party of shirkers and not workers,

:07:40. > :07:44.why was that? I heard those conversations from my constituents.

:07:44. > :07:50.Why do people think that? I think there is the sense we did not move

:07:50. > :07:54.fast enough to reform incapacity benefit. We introduced some

:07:54. > :07:58.important changes. We wanted to test it, and get it right. The

:07:58. > :08:03.Government went on a different approach, and now we have the chaos

:08:03. > :08:07.in the work capability assessment. They moved to fast before getting

:08:07. > :08:11.the foundations strong. This is an important debate and we have said,

:08:11. > :08:21.there is a Labour way to bring down spending, there is a Tory wait. The

:08:21. > :08:21.

:08:21. > :08:27.Labour way his -- the Tory rate is to hit her working people. Up to

:08:27. > :08:33.the crash in 2008, employment rose in this country, unemployment

:08:33. > :08:42.wasn't rising. But the welfare bill still rose. The wood two parts of

:08:42. > :08:47.the welfare bill, it went up by �70 billion. Overwhelmingly it was

:08:47. > :08:53.pensions and tax credits. We make no apology for and reducing tax

:08:53. > :08:59.credits. But my point is, you were saying that if only unemployment

:08:59. > :09:03.would come down further, if there was more people in work, we would

:09:03. > :09:07.cut the welfare bill. You had more people in employment, and the

:09:07. > :09:16.welfare bill rose under Labour. What happens to out-of-work

:09:16. > :09:21.benefits? GSA, BSA, income support and housing benefit fell by �7.8

:09:21. > :09:26.billion. But the welfare bill rose, even at the time of rising

:09:26. > :09:32.employment and living standards, over all, you increased spending on

:09:32. > :09:35.welfare. You can have the semantic conversation or you like. Pensioner

:09:35. > :09:41.went up by 30 billion ANH tax credits went up by nearly 30

:09:41. > :09:45.billion. We think those are good things. I understand, but it does

:09:45. > :09:49.not automatically follow, as the experience of the last Labour

:09:49. > :09:54.Government has shown, just because unemployment is falling and

:09:55. > :09:59.unemployment is rising, welfare goes down. We think there are good

:09:59. > :10:04.parts to the social security system, tax credits and pensions. Tax

:10:04. > :10:09.credits mean you are better off in work. Tax credits have been cut so

:10:09. > :10:18.hard you are better off... could earn �60,000 a year and get

:10:18. > :10:22.tax credits and the you? You could earn �60,000 a year under Labour

:10:22. > :10:26.and get tax credits for stopped giving it is right? We said over

:10:26. > :10:36.the last couple of years there should have been an increase in the

:10:36. > :10:43.

:10:43. > :10:50.Tax credits have been hit so hard, you are better off on benefits than

:10:50. > :10:56.you are in work. Working families are being forced to pay. During the

:10:56. > :11:01.last decade, welfare spending in real terms went up by 45%. It

:11:01. > :11:06.represents a total today one in every �3 that is raised in taxes.

:11:06. > :11:16.It was a Budget out of control. When Liam used divisive language

:11:16. > :11:21.talking about shirkers... Please let me answer. You had trouble

:11:21. > :11:25.answering the question, I want to help out. The problem is, he did

:11:25. > :11:33.and want to acknowledge the reality. I wish he would be honest again

:11:33. > :11:36.when he was talking about there being no money left. I want him to

:11:36. > :11:40.acknowledge the welfare budget was out of control. If you are going to

:11:40. > :11:47.deal with the largest deficit of any industrialised country when we

:11:47. > :11:54.came to power, you have to deal with the welfare budget. If this is

:11:54. > :11:59.you helping him out, what are you like when you are being unhelpful?

:11:59. > :12:03.This is a debate we might have to have until 2015. What I thought was

:12:03. > :12:09.interesting about the debate yesterday was David Miliband's

:12:09. > :12:14.contributions. He stood up and said, I don't want any more to have an

:12:14. > :12:19.argument that says if Labour is opposed to a welfare cap, that it

:12:19. > :12:24.is in favour of higher deficits and more borrowing. I want to have a

:12:24. > :12:30.debate about what changes you want to make. It is an interesting

:12:30. > :12:36.debate. If Labour are going to say they are uncomfortable with this 1%

:12:36. > :12:39.blanket cap on a series of benefits and tax credits as well, and

:12:39. > :12:43.certain Liberal Democrats like Charles Kennedy us saying, we want

:12:43. > :12:50.to amend the Bill. Are there things they would like to cut more in

:12:50. > :12:59.order to allow tax credits to rise with inflation. Pension benefits,

:12:59. > :13:04.for example. On the front pages today, he I am doing a programme on

:13:04. > :13:11.Radio Four at 8pm tonight. Do you means test winter fuel allowance or

:13:11. > :13:17.the bus pass? Is that a debate you want to get going? We want to bring

:13:17. > :13:24.down out of work benefits. More people should be got into work.

:13:24. > :13:28.That is what is happening. They can only be two years you can spend on

:13:28. > :13:35.JSA. We have said there is a cap on the amount of time you can spend on

:13:35. > :13:40.JSA. It you cannot get a job, we will invest in making sure there is

:13:40. > :13:44.one for you. It is a clear message we want to send. We are the party

:13:44. > :13:50.of work. Bringing down unemployment is how you make welfare savings

:13:50. > :14:00.first. It is only the start of what is going to be a big debate. Nick

:14:00. > :14:06.

:14:06. > :14:09.Robinson, thanks for being with us. Mind you Cup. -- my new Cup.

:14:09. > :14:12.If you are watching this in Birmingham and want to get to

:14:12. > :14:15.London in a hurry, help is at hand. The Government is planning to build

:14:15. > :14:19.a new high-speed line connecting the capital and the West Midlands.

:14:19. > :14:22.But you'll have to wait until 2026 to use it! Later this month, the

:14:22. > :14:25.Secretary of State for Transport is expected to announce the route for

:14:25. > :14:28.phase two of the scheme connecting the East Midlands, Manchester and

:14:28. > :14:31.Leeds. But the High Speed Rail scheme or HS2 as it's known, has

:14:31. > :14:35.its opponents. Former cabinet minister, Cheryl Gillan, described

:14:35. > :14:38.it as a cancer at the weekend. And campaigners have gone to court to

:14:38. > :14:40.get the project delayed, altered or stopped. Nowhere has opposition

:14:40. > :14:43.been as vigorous as in the Chilterns, where the actor,

:14:43. > :14:53.Geoffrey Palmer, lives. We asked him to explain why he's so opposed

:14:53. > :14:58.

:14:58. > :15:01.I had lived in the Chilterns for nearly 50 years. Lovely countryside

:15:01. > :15:07.and an Area of Outstanding, natural beauty. It is quiet and peaceful.

:15:07. > :15:13.But it will mark the on much longer if Mr Cameron thrusts a high-speed

:15:13. > :15:18.railway from Birmingham to London through it. It will cost equivalent

:15:18. > :15:22.of 60 hospitals. It would be the most expensive railway in the world

:15:22. > :15:28.and the single most expensive infrastructure project undertaken

:15:28. > :15:32.by a British Government. Do we need it? The Government, having lost the

:15:32. > :15:36.business and Baron mental arguments, last year the Transport Secretary

:15:36. > :15:43.said the reason she was giving the project to go ahead is because we

:15:43. > :15:48.were sitting on a capacity time bomb. If we don't act now, the West

:15:48. > :15:52.Coast Main Line will be full. But now we know her figures were wrong.

:15:52. > :15:57.Just last month, after several appeals under the Freedom of

:15:57. > :16:07.Information Act, the Government was forced, reluctantly to disclose the

:16:07. > :16:11.true, official figures. They show that in 2011, during the evening

:16:11. > :16:16.rush-hour from 4pm until 7pm on weekdays, long-distance trains

:16:16. > :16:26.leaving Euston station had, on average, just over half of their

:16:26. > :16:32.

:16:32. > :16:42.For me, that's it. End of story. We don't need it. So, Mr Cameron, stop

:16:42. > :16:45.

:16:45. > :16:50.this vanity project and leave our Jeffrey Palmer couldn't have been

:16:50. > :17:00.clearer and here with us is Stephanie Boston the director of

:17:00. > :17:01.

:17:01. > :17:05.Conserve the Chilterns and Countryside. There is political

:17:05. > :17:10.commitment to this project. Is your campaign effectively over? It's

:17:10. > :17:16.going to happen. Absolutely not. Please don't think for one minute,

:17:16. > :17:19.despite the fact we have been called NIMBYs we are not anti-high

:17:19. > :17:24.speed rail. You just don't want it through your area? We don't believe

:17:24. > :17:30.that the current route is the right route for a number of reasons.

:17:30. > :17:36.Indeed, even in April this year, at a Public Accounts Committee, which

:17:36. > :17:40.was reviewing the lessons that could be learned from HS1 the major

:17:40. > :17:46.projects authority highlighted this project as being on amber and red.

:17:46. > :17:52.That means viability is actually in question. Now, that report has not

:17:52. > :17:56.been released, despite a letter to Frances Maude, signed by 12 MPs and

:17:56. > :18:01.despite many requests from many other people. We have not had

:18:01. > :18:04.access to that. It seems that the Government are ploughing ahead.

:18:04. > :18:10.They are not considering all the other proposals that have been put

:18:10. > :18:16.forward. Where would you like the route to go? The best route we can

:18:16. > :18:22.currently see is the Heene row hub route. That still goes through the

:18:22. > :18:26.Chilterns, but it's in a tunnel, and it provides more connectivity

:18:26. > :18:30.and the connectivity that was originally specified by the

:18:30. > :18:36.Government, is it picks up on Crossrail and at strad Ford to go

:18:36. > :18:39.to Europe and it goes -- Stratford to go to Europe and it goes north

:18:39. > :18:46.to Birmingham, which are on the current route and west as well. Can

:18:46. > :18:49.I just add one more point? This Heathrow hub route is also

:18:49. > :18:53.partially privately funded, so I don't know why we are looking at

:18:54. > :19:01.spending all the taxpayers' money when actually there is a better

:19:01. > :19:06.route. It's supported by the institute of directors and Unite

:19:06. > :19:10.and the investors. Why are you ploughing on ahead, to use

:19:10. > :19:15.Stephanie's words, when there is a much better and viable alternative

:19:15. > :19:20.that won't cost as much? I respect Stephanie's case and she is

:19:20. > :19:28.standing up for her region. And the country. But as they said, she is

:19:28. > :19:33.not against HS2 as a concept. We could debate the particular route

:19:33. > :19:36.all day long, but the important thing is, which I don't think came

:19:36. > :19:41.through in the clip, there is going to be a capacity problem.

:19:41. > :19:45.Projections do show that by the mid-2020s there will be a capacity

:19:45. > :19:50.issue on the West Coast Main Line. Why do the figures show something

:19:50. > :19:55.completely different? Long-distance trains leaving Euston on week days,

:19:55. > :20:00.between 4pm and 7pm, only 52% of seats were occupied on peak trains

:20:00. > :20:05.it went down to as low as 34%? That is not capacity. We are looking

:20:05. > :20:08.ahead to 2026. You are saying it's going to be right up to 100%?

:20:08. > :20:11.course. It's been growing. If you look at the trends in the last

:20:11. > :20:15.decades, it's been going up. Not just on the West Coast Main Line,

:20:15. > :20:19.but across the country. The question really is that we are

:20:19. > :20:24.going to need new capacity in the UK and when we develop that

:20:24. > :20:29.capacity should we have traditional rail lines that are outof date, or

:20:29. > :20:35.modern rail lines -- out of date, or modern rail lines like the

:20:35. > :20:42.countries we are competing with? You are both West Midlands MPs? Is

:20:42. > :20:46.the money well spent here, Liam Byrne, bearing on mind it won't be

:20:46. > :20:49.online until 2026? Of course. There are already huge capacity issues

:20:49. > :20:53.within the West Midlands. It's the cross-roads of the country and

:20:53. > :20:56.unless you can get trains through it, then it has a knock-on impact

:20:56. > :21:00.on the rest of the country. I do think this is a vital bit of

:21:00. > :21:04.infrastructure. With one condition, which is that they don't build a

:21:04. > :21:08.marshalling yard taking out a third of the industrial land in the city

:21:08. > :21:14.of Birmingham, which is in my constituency. That site is better

:21:14. > :21:19.developed more thousands of jobs. Overall, this infrastructure is

:21:19. > :21:23.right. I think HS2 and their leaderboard needs to do a --

:21:23. > :21:27.leadership, needs to do a better job about listening. There are big

:21:27. > :21:30.concerns about the hub in London. Also concerns in Birmingham. Let's

:21:30. > :21:35.try to get as much support as possible behind the route and lock

:21:35. > :21:41.it down and let's get on. We need it, but they need to listen to

:21:41. > :21:45.valid concerns. Stephanie, what do you say to that? I do believe that

:21:46. > :21:50.we shouldn't modernise the country and my group do as well and so do

:21:50. > :21:53.many people, but it's how we do. Aat some point we will reach

:21:53. > :21:58.capacity, but we have time to consider how to do it right. This

:21:58. > :22:02.is the biggest infrastructure project in the history of the UK.

:22:02. > :22:07.We must investigate every option and there are voices clamouring to

:22:07. > :22:10.the Government to say, why rush this through? Why deposit this

:22:10. > :22:16.hybrid Bill within the five-year term? Is it a legacy project for

:22:16. > :22:22.David Cameron? Is that why? If you look at the environment assessment

:22:22. > :22:30.we have not, considering this is going through a major consultation,

:22:30. > :22:35.we have not covered them proper. We'll have the results on the

:22:35. > :22:41.judicial reviews at the end of the month. There are bet are routes for

:22:41. > :22:44.the rest of the country. Thank you very much for making your case. So,

:22:44. > :22:46.its been 10 years and something like 1,500 programmes since we

:22:47. > :22:50.first brought you the Daily Politics. We've lived through boom,

:22:50. > :22:53.we've lived through bust. We've seen Mr Blair and Mr Brown ride off

:22:53. > :22:56.into the sunset and a coalition of former enemies emerge. There have

:22:56. > :23:05.been Budgets, election campaigns and periodic outbursts of loathing

:23:05. > :23:10.across the Despatch Boxes that would make your hair curl. Thank

:23:10. > :23:12.you for watching, if you've stuck with us throughout the last decade.

:23:12. > :23:15.And, just to celebrate this landmark in public service

:23:15. > :23:25.broadcasting, well, maybe, more of a bump than a landmark, here are a

:23:25. > :23:35.

:23:35. > :23:39.Good morning, folks. It's a new year and new term at Westminster

:23:40. > :23:49.and a new look to the BBC's political programmes. Welcome to

:23:49. > :23:53.the first-ever edition of the Daily Politics. Joining me is George

:23:53. > :23:58.Osborne. Straight to the first caller. It's Bill. The one piece of

:23:58. > :24:01.advice I would give to Bill is there are some pretty clever

:24:01. > :24:07.financial products which enable you to, in effect, pass on your home or

:24:08. > :24:11.the value of your home to your son or daughter and then get personal

:24:11. > :24:18.care paid for by the State. I probably shouldn't be advocating

:24:18. > :24:21.this. And with these people, expect the unexpected! How we provide

:24:21. > :24:24.education and opportunity for children with learning difficulties

:24:24. > :24:28.and disabilities is vitally important. What I want to know is,

:24:28. > :24:33.do you want David Cameron to be Tory leader? When the time comes

:24:33. > :24:39.then I'll make my position absolutely clear. I got in

:24:39. > :24:47.Parliament in 2001. Give me a break! Andrew and Jenny were in

:24:47. > :24:52.confident mood. Under 20 minutes. That's optimistic. It's one mile.

:24:52. > :24:57.Our flowers Andrew and Jenny were wilting. Well, we waited and waited.

:24:58. > :25:01.And there they were, plucky, but pathetic. The cookies are four of

:25:01. > :25:06.the Tory policies that you have stolen. David Cameron gets a policy

:25:06. > :25:09.and 24 hours later it's in tatters. It's in pieces. Because you stole

:25:09. > :25:15.it. Would you like to be Prime Minister? I'm very, very happy. No,

:25:15. > :25:20.no, no. I'm very happy. They are shouting, yes. I'm very, very happy

:25:20. > :25:27.doing what - you know and I know how lucky am to be in the job I am.

:25:27. > :25:33.Lucky, lucky, lucky, Boris. We are joined by Peppa Pig. The question

:25:33. > :25:43.to the Labour Party is you have all the Civil Servants and all the data.

:25:43. > :25:47.

:25:47. > :25:51.We have a mug for you. Have a bite of that Oh, yeah. Delicious! It's a

:25:51. > :25:58.glorious day opposite Parliament here in the heart of Westminster.

:25:58. > :26:01.Oh, yes, and the studio's also run out of power. I told Anita to get a

:26:01. > :26:11.shilling. I'm wearing a frock with no pockets for change, so sorry

:26:11. > :26:13.

:26:13. > :26:16.about that. I'm sometimes mistaken for a former England team football

:26:16. > :26:19.manager, but one thing you'll never mistake me for is a Liberal

:26:19. > :26:29.Democrat. We are celebrating the coalition's first birthday with a

:26:29. > :26:30.

:26:30. > :26:36.cake. Would you like to join in? That's what Lord Prescott thinks!

:26:36. > :26:39.Welcome to the new all-singing and dancing Daily Politics. I know you

:26:39. > :26:44.and Mr Osborne like to play up differences, but when you drill

:26:44. > :26:47.into the figures you are not that far apart. When I talked about the

:26:47. > :26:55.equivalents the viewing figures plummeted so I'll not get into that

:26:55. > :26:58.again. The bonus tax will raise much? I haven't got quite the - I

:26:58. > :27:08.know we have worked out that figure. I'll have to get back to you on

:27:08. > :27:18.

:27:18. > :27:21.that. Cup, saucer or thorm os! -- thermos! # Happy birthday to you.

:27:21. > :27:31.# Happy birthday to you. # Happy birthday dear Daily

:27:31. > :27:32.

:27:32. > :27:36.Politics. # Happy birthday to you!

:27:36. > :27:46.Did you bake that? Nick Robinson knew there would be cake. Are you

:27:46. > :27:47.

:27:47. > :27:51.ready, one, two, three. I'm covered in glitter! This is why Nick has

:27:51. > :27:57.come. I've been given a knife, but I've been told not to use it. Who

:27:57. > :28:00.is going to answer that question?! What a wonderful cake. We'll have

:28:00. > :28:05.that now. You have have to answer the quiz. Time for the result of

:28:05. > :28:14.the Guess the Year competition. Very, very easy this week, really.

:28:14. > :28:21.Yes, it was... 2003. You press the buzzer, Liam. Look behind. Two

:28:21. > :28:26.winners. Emma and Lynne. Of course, we have two winners. Nick, thank

:28:26. > :28:30.you for coming in to share. Thanks to all the viewers who sent

:28:30. > :28:37.birthday wishes on our tenth anniversary. Will we let the guests

:28:37. > :28:41.have a piece of cake? We will, but it's capped at 1%! We are dividing

:28:41. > :28:44.it equally. Except for pensioners and the disabled. Happy birth,

:28:44. > :28:48.Andrew? Thank you. And to you too. Thanks to all of the guests over