13/02/2013

:00:42. > :00:46.Good morning, this is the Daily Politics. Today's top story: It is

:00:46. > :00:50.not just the Romanians putting horsemeat in our burgers, two

:00:50. > :00:55.British companies were raided last night. The authorities are

:00:55. > :00:58.promising a, quote, relentless investigation - as they would! And

:00:58. > :01:03.politicians are talking about systemic fraud.

:01:03. > :01:07.We will be going to the House of Commons in half-an-hour for Prime

:01:07. > :01:13.Minister's Questions. Will Ed show some beef, will Dave get kebabed?

:01:13. > :01:17.The Bank of England says prices will continue to rise faster than

:01:17. > :01:20.the 2% inflation target for years to come. What will that do to our

:01:20. > :01:25.pay packets and our living standards?

:01:25. > :01:31.And in our weekly soap box, find out why the former BBC newsreader

:01:31. > :01:35.Alice Arnold says we simply don't have enough women on TV. I want to

:01:35. > :01:43.see two women on every panel, I want to see equal representation of

:01:43. > :01:48.women, meaning at least 50%. Speaking on behalf of the minority

:01:48. > :01:50.here today, all of that is coming up in the next hour-and-a-half of

:01:50. > :01:54.public service broadcasting at its finest.

:01:54. > :02:00.Joining us for the duration, the Business and Equality's Minister,

:02:00. > :02:04.big title, Jo Swinson, from the Lib Dems, and Labour's Shadow Attorney

:02:04. > :02:08.General, Emily Thornberry, -- Emily Thornberry.

:02:08. > :02:12.But news has broken from the High Court where Renault alliance of

:02:12. > :02:15.schools, councils and teaching unions have lost their appeal

:02:15. > :02:19.against the grading of last year's GCSE English exams. They have

:02:19. > :02:24.claimed that the raising of the mark required for a grade C between

:02:24. > :02:30.papers taking in January and June was unlawful. But the court

:02:30. > :02:34.disagreed. The regulators and the exam boards have been successful in

:02:34. > :02:38.maintaining that they put up the boundaries to protect standards.

:02:38. > :02:43.Did the high courts make the right decision? The court has made its

:02:43. > :02:48.decision. Do you agree? It shows why GCSEs needed to be reformed,

:02:48. > :02:52.which is what we are doing. Everybody feels for those pupils

:02:52. > :02:56.who had studied hard and got to the situation where they thought they

:02:56. > :03:00.would get a particular grade and did not achieve that, we all

:03:00. > :03:05.understand that and I understand why they went to court. But the

:03:06. > :03:11.court has made its decision. So you backed the decision to say that

:03:11. > :03:14.Ofqual and the exam boards could mark papers in a more tough way

:03:14. > :03:18.than they did in January? They have obviously had the advantage of

:03:18. > :03:23.looking at all of the issues and evidence put forward. They have

:03:23. > :03:27.come to that decision. I think the whole case underlines the problems

:03:27. > :03:31.that were inherent with the GCSE system of too much reliance on

:03:31. > :03:34.majority, all of which we are now changing to make sure standards are

:03:34. > :03:38.protected but there for there will be also more certainty for pupils

:03:38. > :03:43.and teachers preparing for those exams. So tough luck to those

:03:43. > :03:47.students who missed getting a C grade and will have got a D grade

:03:47. > :03:52.all our, they have missed their places at college and an

:03:52. > :03:55.apprenticeship courses. It is tough? I understand it is very

:03:55. > :03:59.difficult for them, but it is important that we have exams with a

:04:00. > :04:04.particular standard that employers can rely on, that they know when

:04:04. > :04:09.they take on somebody with a GCSE in English at a particular grade

:04:09. > :04:14.that it means a particular standard. That is why we need to sort out the

:04:14. > :04:17.GCSE system. The Government is doing that. Emily Thornaby -- Thom

:04:17. > :04:24.Berry, standards have to be maintained, the High Court back

:04:24. > :04:29.that? If they had a chase between simply taking the GCSE in January

:04:29. > :04:33.or again in June, they would get kids with two different standards.

:04:33. > :04:38.Or if they would to employ somebody from England as opposed to Wales,

:04:38. > :04:42.because in Wales they have let these kids have their GCSE grade C.

:04:42. > :04:47.I have not read the judgment yet, but from what I have learned, the

:04:47. > :04:53.court has said, first of all, they were right to take the case to

:04:53. > :04:58.court because there is a lot of uncertainty, and in the end they

:04:58. > :05:01.have taken the least worst option in terms of what to do. But it is

:05:01. > :05:06.extremely unfair on these kids, it is a baseline when it comes to

:05:06. > :05:14.getting a job or going further into education. What could have been

:05:14. > :05:18.done instead? The difficulty is about... Jo talks about majority,

:05:18. > :05:22.meaning you can do assessments during the time going up to a GCSE.

:05:22. > :05:26.We need to make sure there is a level playing-field for everyone.

:05:26. > :05:30.What should have been done in this case? If they had, as in Wales,

:05:30. > :05:33.said they would we grade those exams, that would have meant

:05:33. > :05:38.standards would have differed from the previous year and perhaps the

:05:38. > :05:43.following year? The social question is why there was a variation in the

:05:43. > :05:47.first place. Why was it that pickets take the exams in January...

:05:47. > :05:56.Why was it seemed more necessary to make it more difficult for the kids

:05:56. > :06:01.in June? -- why was it seemed to be one necessary? It is not fair to

:06:01. > :06:05.say it is about assessments. If we want to find out who is good at

:06:05. > :06:10.English and who is not, assessments are important. You need a mixture

:06:10. > :06:14.of assessments. I'm good at exams but it is not fair that other kids

:06:14. > :06:19.who are probably brighter than me who were not good at exams ended up

:06:19. > :06:24.with a worse grade. Why couldn't we have had a situation where Michael

:06:24. > :06:28.Gove said we would recreate the results? In Wales the Welsh exam

:06:28. > :06:36.board was ordered by the Welsh education minister to recreate the

:06:36. > :06:44.results. As an export, there was no easy and fair way to do this. -- as

:06:44. > :06:48.we explored. In January, papers were graded differently. To say to

:06:48. > :06:55.those January kids, you were graded too generously, that would not have

:06:55. > :07:01.seemed to be fair. But why did we not to regraded those people with C

:07:01. > :07:04.grades so that they do not lose out? It would effectively be unfair

:07:04. > :07:10.on people the following year. Because there was the problem in

:07:10. > :07:14.January, a genuine and dust -- injustice took place, there was no

:07:14. > :07:17.easy or simple way to deal with that. So the courts have come out

:07:17. > :07:23.with his judgment and they have been in a better place to look at

:07:23. > :07:28.the evidence. The more important political point is about

:07:28. > :07:31.politicising GCSEs. People need to have confidence in GCSEs. Michael

:07:31. > :07:35.Gove has undermined GCSEs, said he would introduce something else,

:07:35. > :07:40.then he has not. Mixed economic news this morning,

:07:40. > :07:44.the Bank of England has predicted that inflation, running at above

:07:45. > :07:49.its 2% target rate for months and months and months and a few more

:07:49. > :07:54.months will actually continue to do so for another two years at least.

:07:54. > :07:57.It might even hit 3% or more by the summer. Because this is much higher

:07:57. > :08:01.than the rate at which earnings are increasing in the public or private

:08:01. > :08:05.sectors, it means living standards will continue to be squeezed each

:08:06. > :08:09.and every year of this Parliament. The outgoing Governor of the Bank

:08:09. > :08:14.of England Mervyn King was more cheery than usual. He said there

:08:14. > :08:17.were grounds for cautious optimism that the British economy would

:08:17. > :08:22.manage a slow and steady recovery despite the disappointing negative

:08:22. > :08:28.growth figures of the last quarter of 2012. Growth is likely to be

:08:28. > :08:32.weak in the near term, but further out a continued easing in domestic

:08:32. > :08:35.credit conditions, supported by a one of the programmes of the Bank

:08:35. > :08:41.and the funding for lending scheme, together with a strong will global

:08:41. > :08:46.backdrop, underpinned a slow but steady recovery in output. The hour

:08:46. > :08:49.to cut -- the outgoing Governor of the Bank of England, he has a few

:08:49. > :08:55.more months before he is replaced by the Governor of the Central Bank

:08:55. > :09:00.of Canada. Jo Swinson, it looks like for every year this coalition

:09:00. > :09:04.is in power, living standards will have fallen every year? It is an

:09:04. > :09:10.incredibly difficult time for the economy, recovering from a massive

:09:10. > :09:15.economic recession where we saw more than 6% wiped off the value of

:09:15. > :09:19.our economy. It is a slow process to get back. But we want to build a

:09:19. > :09:23.stronger economy and a more fair society, which is where we have

:09:23. > :09:28.record low interest rates which is helping people struggling with

:09:28. > :09:33.mortgage repayments, it is important that we retain that. And

:09:33. > :09:38.also we need to create a fairer tax system. As Liberal Democrats we

:09:38. > :09:41.have prioritised a tax cut for ordinary working people, more than

:09:41. > :09:46.25 million of them, and the 2 million lowest paid people have

:09:46. > :09:50.been taken out of income tax altogether. Can you name any other

:09:50. > :09:55.major economy where living standards will have fallen for five

:09:55. > :10:00.years in a row, as they will have by 2015? I don't think it is milk

:10:00. > :10:03.and honey in other countries. you name another one? We have

:10:03. > :10:08.thankfully got unemployment coming down, lower unemployment than

:10:08. > :10:11.France, the eurozone or the United States. We have the same

:10:11. > :10:16.unemployment rate as the United States, don't get carried away. And

:10:16. > :10:19.let me bring you back to living standards, could you name and other

:10:19. > :10:24.major economy where living standards... They started falling

:10:24. > :10:28.in 2008 in the last two years of the Labour government, can you name

:10:28. > :10:31.another economy where living standards will have fallen for

:10:31. > :10:35.seven years in a row? I am not an encyclopaedia of inflation rates in

:10:35. > :10:39.every other country around the world, but I'm also not suggesting

:10:39. > :10:45.that this is not a difficult time for British families. That is why

:10:45. > :10:46.we are trying to help people with the cost of living, for example not

:10:46. > :10:51.having the planned increases in fuel duty, by cutting income tax on

:10:51. > :10:54.people on low and middle-income start but living standards are

:10:54. > :10:59.still learning. If you are on an average or below-average income,

:10:59. > :11:03.your living standards will have fallen relentlessly since 2007, and

:11:03. > :11:07.will continue to fall, if the Governor of the Bank of England is

:11:07. > :11:13.right, for the foreseeable future. The economy had a massive heart

:11:13. > :11:18.attack in 2008, there is no quick and easy way out of that. Following

:11:18. > :11:21.Labour plans would mean massive rises in interest rates and

:11:21. > :11:25.hundreds more pounds of with -- of mortgage repayments for people.

:11:25. > :11:31.There is no easy way out, whoever was in power would probably be

:11:31. > :11:37.presiding over a fall in living standards? There is not an easy way

:11:37. > :11:41.out, of course there is not. But I think there is a limit to what you

:11:41. > :11:45.can do when it comes to monetary policy. I think the Bank of England

:11:45. > :11:48.is doing their best, I think there is not much more to be done. I

:11:48. > :11:51.think the important thing is about fiscal policy, how much the

:11:51. > :11:56.Government is prepared to spend, what we will do about the

:11:56. > :12:00.infrastructure, how can we kick- start the economy and how can they

:12:00. > :12:05.be kick-starting the economy by giving a tax cuts to millionaires?

:12:05. > :12:08.It is nonsense. I don't understand why the Liberal Democrats after two

:12:08. > :12:11.years in government still don't understand what tax credits are,

:12:11. > :12:15.why they work and why it is that ordinary families are being

:12:15. > :12:20.undermined when they are in work because the taxman is not giving

:12:20. > :12:24.them as much as they were getting before in tax credits. We are

:12:24. > :12:27.cutting income tax bills for people on low and middle incomes. Emily is

:12:27. > :12:31.right on capital investment, investing in structure, that is why

:12:31. > :12:34.the Government announced at the Autumn Statement another �5.5

:12:34. > :12:39.billion of investment in things like schools, transport and

:12:39. > :12:44.science... Only one in five of the project has been started, why

:12:44. > :12:48.aren't doing it? Things don't begin overnight, Emily. Can you give an

:12:48. > :12:55.example of where substantial spending on infrastructure has

:12:55. > :13:01.kick-started growth? After a Second World War. Is that the best you can

:13:01. > :13:09.do?! It is a very big example. best thing you can do is a post

:13:09. > :13:14.Warwick Avenue, with no comparison to today! -- a post oil economy. It

:13:14. > :13:19.was not coming out of war when we were taking 40% of our GDP being

:13:19. > :13:24.spent on defence in 1945, we had a massive switch back into the

:13:24. > :13:27.defence economy. And we build homes... Give me a modern example.

:13:27. > :13:33.If you build homes you are giving someone somewhere to live. We have

:13:33. > :13:38.so many people in housing waiting lists in London and the south-east.

:13:38. > :13:44.Give me another example? Give me a modern example. You won't let me

:13:44. > :13:50.use the best example. We have to go back to 1945? Because it is the

:13:50. > :13:57.best example. Setting up the NHS, building homes. Have you got

:13:57. > :14:00.another one? No, take that one, it is then -- it is a good one.

:14:00. > :14:04.Government said something today, which you are both culpable off,

:14:04. > :14:08.one of the reasons why inflation is high is because of your policy

:14:08. > :14:12.which she supported and Labour, as did the Conservatives, to investing

:14:12. > :14:17.green energy, which the governors said was, quote, a self-inflicted

:14:17. > :14:19.goal in terms of the damage done to real take-home pay. At a time when

:14:19. > :14:24.living standards were under difficulty, fuel bills were rising

:14:24. > :14:34.because of world fuel prices, you make it even worse with you green

:14:34. > :14:45.

:14:45. > :14:51.We have to govern for today and we have to govern for the future.

:14:51. > :14:56.though this middle-class obsession with comfortable living is raising

:14:56. > :15:00.energy costs for ordinary working people at the worst possible time?

:15:00. > :15:03.This is something that it will affect everyone if we don't deal

:15:03. > :15:12.with it. The report which was commissioned under the previous

:15:12. > :15:22.Government, should the costs of reacting climate change away the

:15:22. > :15:22.

:15:22. > :16:20.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 57 seconds

:16:20. > :16:24.How was horsemeat labelled as beef in Britain?!

:16:24. > :16:28.Last month, food inspectors and Ireland found traces of DNA in

:16:28. > :16:33.beefburgers bound for the UK. 10 million suspect burgers were taken

:16:33. > :16:38.of British and Irish shelves, including Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and

:16:38. > :16:44.Iceland. Last Thursday it was revealed that some Findus lasagnes

:16:44. > :16:47.sold as beef were found to contain up to 100% horsemeat. Comigel, the

:16:47. > :16:50.French supplier of the Findus lasagnes, said it had traced the

:16:50. > :16:56.source of the horsemeat to Romania. After meeting with food industry

:16:56. > :16:58.heads on Saturday, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson warned of

:16:59. > :17:04.an international criminal conspiracy. The next twist came

:17:04. > :17:09.closer to home last night, with the Food Standards Agency suspending

:17:09. > :17:14.work at the Peter Boddy Slaughterhouse. Both companies deny

:17:14. > :17:20.any wrongdoing. This is what the FSA said. We have found horsemeat

:17:20. > :17:30.produced at the plant in West Yorkshire being sent to a location

:17:30. > :17:30.

:17:30. > :17:34.and wealth Wales. We entered the premises yesterday. We spoke to the

:17:34. > :17:41.staff and we seized the products and found that horsemeat had been

:17:41. > :17:48.used as though it was beef in kebabs and burgers at that promises.

:17:48. > :17:51.We can now speak to the political correspondent Chris Major -- Chris

:17:51. > :17:55.Mason and Central Lobby. Does the Government have control of

:17:55. > :18:03.this crisis? This is being asked not least because it is a problem

:18:03. > :18:07.here rather than a problem over there. Given the raids in West

:18:07. > :18:10.Yorkshire and west Wales. There are plenty, not least the shadow

:18:10. > :18:13.environment secretary Mary Creagh, trying to make a winning honours.

:18:13. > :18:18.She has given me some written parliamentary answers that she

:18:18. > :18:22.requested. Let's give you some insight into their scale of the

:18:22. > :18:27.horse meat slaughtering industry in the UK, 14,000 horses slaughtered

:18:27. > :18:32.at six registered abattoirs around the UK last year, and specifically

:18:33. > :18:36.on that haul row about the horsemeat and whether it is safe

:18:36. > :18:41.and whether any of this chemical could have got into the human food

:18:41. > :18:48.chain, we have found from a written answer from the Department of

:18:48. > :18:52.Health that it nine samples tested positive last year. It keeps the

:18:53. > :18:57.focus for the Environment Secretary, who is heading to a Brussels this

:18:57. > :19:00.year, there are plenty, not just in the Labour benches but some in the

:19:00. > :19:07.Conservative fold, wondering if he has been as proactive as he could

:19:07. > :19:11.ever been in handling the crisis. Will now joined by the Conservative

:19:11. > :19:16.member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. He spent

:19:16. > :19:22.many years as a farm and he should know about this. Before the weekend,

:19:22. > :19:29.government ministers were saying that one way to avoid this is to

:19:29. > :19:32.buy British. Is that still a way to avoid it? I think it is to buy Farm

:19:32. > :19:38.Assured Products, it is a shame that we still have this in

:19:38. > :19:43.Yorkshire and Wales. It is fair and proper that we can slaughter horses

:19:43. > :19:47.in this country. Some doing their slaughtering, provided the horses

:19:47. > :19:52.are healthy, are not acting illegally. It is the people who are

:19:52. > :19:56.taking this meat and processing as beef and stamping it as beef. One

:19:56. > :20:00.of the issues has been we have not been able to trace processed

:20:00. > :20:06.products properly, we have not known where it has come from and

:20:06. > :20:10.where and how it has been... You do not do the testing. It is not just

:20:10. > :20:15.the testing. One of the problems is that for years, 10 and more, it has

:20:15. > :20:19.only been a paper trail. I agree we need more testing but this is a

:20:19. > :20:29.wake-up call, not only about the testing but about what is on that

:20:29. > :20:37.

:20:37. > :20:42.In 2012, under your coalition Government, at least 796 samples

:20:42. > :20:48.were tested for me to identification. Testing for other

:20:48. > :20:52.meat species. As part of the local authority sampling programmes. Some

:20:52. > :20:58.of the samples were unsatisfactory, but none had been tested for the

:20:58. > :21:01.presence of horsemeat. We have had evidence before the select

:21:01. > :21:05.committee and what the FSA have argued is, they have been acting on

:21:05. > :21:10.information and they did not have any information to say that

:21:10. > :21:17.horsemeat was there. I don't think they have tested for horsemeat,

:21:17. > :21:24.rightly or wrongly since 2003. Those putting the horse meat into

:21:24. > :21:29.the beef are not going to tell you! We need to do more testing. We need

:21:29. > :21:33.to be clear, it is not the people who are slaughtering the horses. It

:21:34. > :21:38.is the people doing the processing and acting illegally. That is why

:21:38. > :21:44.we are testing. I accept the opposition is only doing their job

:21:44. > :21:48.by bringing this to the forefront, but this is not happening overnight.

:21:48. > :21:55.It has been a disaster waiting to happen for many years. We know that

:21:55. > :22:02.under Labour, you didn't test for horsemeat since 2003? We also know

:22:02. > :22:07.that once this blot got in, they split the FSA into three and the

:22:07. > :22:12.past responsible for testing was put into the Department of

:22:12. > :22:16.Environment, and they did not do any testing. We raised this a few

:22:16. > :22:23.weeks ago... Labour and Conservative have a lot to answer

:22:23. > :22:30.for? Once we are alerted by the Irish, and is it unfortunate we get

:22:30. > :22:34.alerted by the Irish and not at home. David Cameron has not taken

:22:34. > :22:40.the issue seriously and has been talking about an international

:22:40. > :22:45.conspiracy and has not brought in the police. I believe the Secretary

:22:45. > :22:50.of State has got a grip of it. If you overplay this, you immediately

:22:50. > :22:55.create a food scare and that is in nobody's interest. Then there is a

:22:55. > :23:00.food scare. The food scare is the fact people have been eating horses,

:23:00. > :23:05.when they should have been eating beef. It is wrong. The bigger issue

:23:05. > :23:10.is making sure any horse meat that has entered was healthy to enter

:23:10. > :23:15.the chain. If you don't know it is there in the first place, how can

:23:15. > :23:20.you do that? In hindsight we can all be clever over this, but we

:23:20. > :23:24.have to put the situation right now. You don't have to be particularly

:23:24. > :23:28.clever to work out that it you are not testing for horsemeat, you

:23:29. > :23:34.won't discover horsemeat. You don't need to be the Brain of Britain to

:23:34. > :23:39.do that. In the last year, you have seen a collapse in the price of

:23:39. > :23:45.horsemeat and beef prices very high. That is where we were slow in

:23:45. > :23:49.working out the fact that perhaps people are substituting it. But

:23:49. > :23:54.they are acting illegally. It comes back to the decline in living

:23:54. > :23:58.standards. People on below average salaries are having to buy the

:23:58. > :24:06.cheaper things in the supermarket to put food on the table for the

:24:06. > :24:10.family. It is the cheaper stuff that has been most hurt by this.

:24:10. > :24:17.Would you eat processed meat at the moment? I have had some very

:24:17. > :24:21.recently. So you would? Yes I would. The issue about the labelling is

:24:21. > :24:27.the important one. People eat horsemeat happily in other

:24:27. > :24:34.countries. The problem is, people not knowing what is on the label.

:24:34. > :24:39.Problem is... If it has been snuck into the food chain. In France you

:24:39. > :24:43.can eat a horse steak in a restaurant, but that is up front.

:24:43. > :24:49.Because it has been done secretively, we don't know the

:24:49. > :24:52.province of these horses and what they may have been suffering from.

:24:53. > :24:59.And criminal acts of not having what is supposed to be in the

:24:59. > :25:04.product, what is on the label. I have a very serious nut allergy, I

:25:04. > :25:10.rely on labelling to keep rely. It does Demi there is not that

:25:10. > :25:16.confident. Winnie to make sure the people responsible are feeling the

:25:16. > :25:21.full force of the rule. Why did you cut 450 trading standard jobs?

:25:21. > :25:28.These are the people who do the testing? Local authorities make

:25:28. > :25:33.their own budgets. We have made sure there is regional and national

:25:33. > :25:39.co-operation. They can co-operate across authorities. There has been

:25:39. > :25:43.a 24% fall in enforcement visit since the cuts. We have had the

:25:43. > :25:50.discussion about the economy. I won't say there is some magic way

:25:50. > :25:55.where we can cut the deficit without there being any cuts.

:25:55. > :26:01.this is more dangerous than the result? Potentially? I don't accept

:26:01. > :26:08.this has to be the case. We are making it easier for national and

:26:08. > :26:12.regional authorities... There is no reason why we cannot produce a

:26:12. > :26:16.valued beefburger in this country. We have had people who have been

:26:16. > :26:21.cutting corners and acting criminally to make money. Let's be

:26:21. > :26:27.blunt about this. An assured Burger at a reasonable price is safe to

:26:27. > :26:32.eat and you have beef in it. It is a criminal elements in the

:26:32. > :26:36.slaughter industry that are to blame for this and we have to have

:26:36. > :26:40.it put right by the police. beef burgers are on you tonight?

:26:40. > :26:44.They are. Prime Ministers Questions coming up

:26:44. > :26:46.in just a few minutes. Which reminds me to tell you about a

:26:46. > :26:50.Valentine's Day treat tomorrow. Yes, don't bother booking a fancy

:26:50. > :26:59.restaurant and flowers. You can stay in and watch a five-hour

:26:59. > :27:04.special themed event night on BBC Parliament instead! For it is the

:27:04. > :27:12.50th anniversary of Harold becoming leader of the Labour Party. Ah yes,

:27:12. > :27:14.Jo remembers it well. And it is proving to be quite a controversial

:27:14. > :27:16.broadcast, with rumours swirling round Westminster that modern-day

:27:16. > :27:19.political correctness means there won't be any photographs of the

:27:19. > :27:21.great man wielding his famous pipe, just in case millions of

:27:21. > :27:24.impressionable teenagers are watching BBC Parliament on

:27:24. > :27:34.Valentine's Day and feel the need to race out and light up

:27:34. > :27:48.

:27:48. > :27:52.There will be no pictures of Harold Wilson's smoking cigars, which he

:27:52. > :27:55.only did behind-closed-doors with brandy.

:27:55. > :27:58.And talking about cheap, political gimmicks it's time now to tell you

:27:58. > :28:02.how you can win our weekly Daily Politics mug! Yes, Harold had his

:28:02. > :28:05.pipe, Winston had his cigar, Maggie had her handbag. And I've got a

:28:05. > :28:09.cheap bit of porcelain with a sticker on it.

:28:09. > :28:19.We'll remind you how to enter in a minute, but let's see if you can

:28:19. > :28:46.

:28:46. > :28:56.I don't think he will ever forgive any of us for leaving the party

:28:56. > :28:56.

:28:56. > :29:40.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 57 seconds

:29:41. > :29:44.To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug, send your

:29:44. > :29:52.answer to our special quiz e-mail address: And you can see the full

:29:52. > :29:56.terms and conditions for Guess The It's coming up to midday here, just

:29:56. > :29:59.take a look at Big Ben. That can mean only one thing! Yes, Prime

:29:59. > :30:09.Minister's Questions is on its way. And that's not all, Nick Robinson

:30:09. > :30:09.

:30:09. > :30:13.is here. The Governor of the Bank has opened the door for Mr Miliband

:30:13. > :30:17.to come in and have a go at the Prime Minister on the economy in

:30:17. > :30:21.general and living standards in particular? Although the Governor

:30:21. > :30:27.is saying growth is coming, he is saying inflation will be above

:30:27. > :30:33.target over the next two years. What does that mean? A squeeze on

:30:33. > :30:39.living standards. It is and how most people experience the economy.

:30:39. > :30:45.They experience it in terms of what can we afford to pay for? The

:30:45. > :30:50.shrinkage in their real earnings caused by no economic growth and no

:30:50. > :30:54.pay increases. I think that will help Ed Miliband at Prime

:30:54. > :31:00.Minister's Questions. I think he will want to do it because he has a

:31:01. > :31:03.big speech on the economy tomorrow. I had meetings with ministerial

:31:03. > :31:08.colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in his house

:31:08. > :31:12.I will have further such meetings today.

:31:12. > :31:17.My constituent, Constable Philippa Reynolds is being buried this

:31:17. > :31:22.afternoon having been killed on duty with the PSNI in Londonderry.

:31:22. > :31:26.I am sure the House will join me in expressing sympathy to her family

:31:27. > :31:31.and acknowledging her dedicated service. A horsemeat scandal has

:31:31. > :31:35.not only undermined confidence in the safety of the food we eat, but

:31:36. > :31:39.threatens a very successful meat industry. Can the Prime Minister

:31:39. > :31:43.assure me this Government will follow every leader until each

:31:43. > :31:48.individual person or business responsible for any criminal or

:31:48. > :31:54.fraudulent act, has been called, exposed, prosecuted and then

:31:54. > :32:00.expelled from ever again having any part in the UK food industry?

:32:00. > :32:04.I support what he has said. Let me join him in praising Constable

:32:04. > :32:10.Reynolds. She died going about her job, keeping people safe in the

:32:10. > :32:15.community she loved. As well as wishing the two others injured

:32:15. > :32:19.officers a full recovery, I sent my deepest condolences to her

:32:19. > :32:23.colleagues and loved ones. On the issue of this appalling situation

:32:24. > :32:32.quickly bulk-buying beef products in supermarkets are finding out it

:32:32. > :32:36.could be horsemeat, let me say this, on 15th January it was, the Irish

:32:36. > :32:40.authorities identify problems in a number of beef products. On 16th

:32:41. > :32:46.January, I said to the house I had asked EFSA to conduct an urgent

:32:46. > :32:51.investigation. Now there has been more testing and tracing and has

:32:51. > :32:55.led to the results from Findus and others about not just contamination,

:32:55. > :32:58.but in some instances horsemeat been passed off as beef. It is

:32:58. > :33:04.unacceptable and that is why it is right the Secretary of State has

:33:04. > :33:09.led these meetings. We have agreed a tougher inspection regime and we

:33:09. > :33:13.have asked Hospital, schools and prisons to test their products with

:33:13. > :33:17.their suppliers will stop the police and the Ed Husain raided two

:33:17. > :33:21.premises, one in West Yorkshire, the other in West Wales. If there

:33:21. > :33:25.has been Criminal Law Act to the tee, there should be the full

:33:25. > :33:29.intervention of the last Tilstock we also asked for a meaningful

:33:29. > :33:39.tests from retailers and producers and those will be published in full.

:33:39. > :33:46.

:33:46. > :33:51.I am delighted to discover that I now represent a Midlands

:33:51. > :33:56.constituency. Can we celebrate a county which touches both sides of

:33:56. > :34:00.the Scottish border by celebrating Cumbria day? I am looking forward

:34:00. > :34:04.to joining my honourable friend at the celebration of Cumbria day in

:34:04. > :34:07.the House of Commons. He is incredibly fortunate to represent

:34:07. > :34:11.one of the most beautiful and brilliant constituencies in the

:34:12. > :34:17.House of Commons. I remember particularly the time we spend at

:34:17. > :34:25.an outstanding poll been a very beautiful part of our world in his

:34:25. > :34:29.constituency. -- an outstanding Can the Prime Minister tell us

:34:29. > :34:32.whether, at the end of this Parliament, living standards will

:34:32. > :34:38.be higher or lower than at the beginning?

:34:38. > :34:42.What we are doing is helping working people by taking 24 million

:34:42. > :34:46.people and giving them a tax cut this year, and living standards

:34:46. > :34:50.will certainly be higher for those people on the minimum wage working

:34:50. > :34:54.full-time whose income tax bill has already been halved under this

:34:54. > :35:00.Government. A Mr Speaker, it was ever such a

:35:01. > :35:07.simple question and I just want a simple answer. In 2015, people will

:35:07. > :35:11.be asking, am I better off now than I was five years ago? What is his

:35:11. > :35:15.answer? The answer is people will be a lot

:35:15. > :35:20.better off than they were under Labour, with a record deficit, with

:35:20. > :35:23.an reformed welfare, with a busted banking system. They will have seen

:35:23. > :35:27.a government that has got the deficit down, cut income taxes,

:35:27. > :35:32.dealt with the banks. And as the Governor of the Bank of England

:35:32. > :35:37.said today, is on the road to recovery.

:35:37. > :35:41.Or he shows is how out-of-touch she is. He is even out of touch with

:35:41. > :35:45.his own Office of Budget Responsibility -- all he shows his

:35:45. > :35:50.heart out of touch he is. Those figures show that by 2015 people

:35:50. > :35:55.will be worse off than in 2010, because prices have been rising

:35:55. > :36:00.faster than earnings under him. Why is this happening? Because he told

:36:00. > :36:04.us the economy would be growing. He told us the economy would be

:36:04. > :36:08.growing, but the truth is it has been flatlining. Will he

:36:09. > :36:14.acknowledge that it is his failure to get growth which means we are

:36:14. > :36:18.having falling, not rising, living standards in this country?

:36:18. > :36:22.He's says prices are rising, I would remind him that inflation is

:36:22. > :36:27.low under this Government and we inherited from Labour, it has been

:36:27. > :36:32.cut in half from its peak. But it has question is, have you had to

:36:32. > :36:36.take difficult decisions to deal with the deficit, to get on top of

:36:36. > :36:41.the problems faced, to reform welfare and clean up our banks, you

:36:41. > :36:45.bet we have! But no one in this country is in any doubt about why

:36:45. > :36:50.we have had to take difficult decisions, because of the mess that

:36:50. > :36:56.he left. First of all, the deficit is going

:36:56. > :36:59.up, not down, under him, because of his economic failure. Secondly, we

:36:59. > :37:06.have a flatlining economy, this will be the question of the next

:37:06. > :37:09.two years, declining living standards as a result. Amidst

:37:09. > :37:15.falling living standards, there is one group for whom the good times

:37:15. > :37:23.will come as April. Mr Speaker, can he just remind us what the thinking

:37:23. > :37:27.was when he decided to provide an average tax cuts of �100,000 for

:37:27. > :37:34.everyone earning over �1 million in this country? He should be familiar

:37:34. > :37:37.with the figures. When he put the top rate of tax up to 50p,

:37:37. > :37:42.millionaires paid �7 billion less in tax. That is what happened under

:37:42. > :37:48.his plans. But I will tell him what will happen in April, every single

:37:48. > :37:51.taxpayer in this country, all 24 million of them, will see a tax

:37:51. > :37:57.cuts as we raise the personal allowance and get close to the goal

:37:57. > :38:01.that we have of being able to earn �10,000 without paying any income

:38:01. > :38:06.tax at all. The biggest tax cuts has been for the hard-working

:38:06. > :38:11.people on a minimum wage going out to work day after day, who have

:38:11. > :38:14.seen income tax bills cut in half. That is who we stand for and who we

:38:14. > :38:20.are helping. No matter how much he blusters,

:38:20. > :38:25.will be he knows the truth. He has cuts tax credits, raised VAT and

:38:25. > :38:34.people are worse not better off. Last week he attended the Tory

:38:34. > :38:44.party wins the ball. He auctioned off a portrait of himself for

:38:44. > :38:55.

:38:55. > :38:59.�100,000... LAUGHTER. And then, Mr Speaker... JEERING. And then he

:38:59. > :39:05.declares that the Tories were the party of privilege no longer, with

:39:05. > :39:10.no hint of irony! You could not make it up! We are turning up --

:39:10. > :39:15.talking about people earning �20,000 a week. What is it about

:39:15. > :39:20.them that made him think that, this April, they needed extra help to

:39:20. > :39:25.keep the wolf from the door? May I remind him that this government has

:39:25. > :39:29.helped working people by freezing council tax, cutting petrol duty,

:39:29. > :39:35.cutting tax for 24 million people and legislating so they get below

:39:35. > :39:41.his tariff on energy bill. That is what we have done was having a top

:39:41. > :39:44.rate of tax higher than any year he was in the Treasury. He talks about

:39:44. > :39:48.important political events and speeches, perhaps he can confirm

:39:48. > :39:54.this. I have an invitation. He is going to make a major speech

:39:54. > :39:58.tomorrow, and I have the invitation. This is the invitation. Ed Miliband

:39:58. > :40:08.is going to make a major speech on the economy on Thursday. It won't

:40:08. > :40:10.

:40:10. > :40:15.have any new policies in it. JEERING.

:40:15. > :40:19.Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker... Let me tell him, he would be most welcome

:40:19. > :40:24.to attend and you might learn something. And every week that goes

:40:24. > :40:28.by, the evidence mounts against him on the economy. There is a living

:40:28. > :40:33.standards crisis for the many, and all he does is stand up for review

:40:33. > :40:37.at the top. We have a failing Prime Minister, he is out of touch and he

:40:37. > :40:41.stands up for the wrong people. Once again, nothing to say about

:40:41. > :40:45.the deficit, nothing to say about welfare, nothing to say about

:40:45. > :40:49.growth. And now he will make a speech tomorrow which she kindly

:40:49. > :40:55.invites me to, but if there aren't any policies, what will be the

:40:55. > :40:59.point of coming? -- which he kindly invites me to. Let me refer him to

:40:59. > :41:03.his policy guru, the honourable member for Dagenham, responsible

:41:03. > :41:09.for the Labour manifesto. He says this, simply opposing the cuts

:41:09. > :41:15.without an alternative is no good. That is right, the whole friend --

:41:15. > :41:19.front bench opposite is no good. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The welfare

:41:19. > :41:23.state and the NHS are there to support our constituents when they

:41:23. > :41:28.call on difficult times -- fall on difficult times. Will you assure

:41:28. > :41:32.the House that he will not allow them to be abused by illegal

:41:32. > :41:36.immigrants and nationals coming here as benefit tourists? I think

:41:36. > :41:40.he makes a very important point. Britain has always been an open and

:41:40. > :41:47.welcoming economy, but it is not right to power systems are being

:41:47. > :41:51.abused, and that is why yesterday I chaired a Whitehall committee

:41:51. > :41:56.meeting which are the minister for immigration is leading, where we

:41:57. > :42:01.will look at every single one of our systems - housing, health,

:42:01. > :42:05.benefits. And to make sure that we are not a soft touch for those who

:42:05. > :42:09.want to come here. I think it is vital we get this right. There are

:42:09. > :42:13.many parts of our current arrangement which do not pass a

:42:13. > :42:17.simple commonsense test in terms of access to housing, access to the

:42:17. > :42:21.health service, access to justice and other things which should be

:42:21. > :42:26.the right of all British citizens but are not the right of people who

:42:26. > :42:29.just come here. If he is really serious about

:42:29. > :42:33.tackling and the serious problem of misleading labelling and the

:42:33. > :42:43.contamination of products, what possible future is there for the

:42:43. > :42:45.

:42:45. > :42:49.future of his coalition with the The coalition must be clearly

:42:49. > :42:54.labelled at all points. But he references this important point,

:42:54. > :42:59.retailers, I think, beret real responsibility. At the end of the

:42:59. > :43:02.day, they are putting products on their shelves and they have to say

:43:02. > :43:07.that they are really clear about where the meat came from, what it

:43:07. > :43:14.was, who it was supplied by. It is up to them to test that, it is

:43:14. > :43:18.vitally important. Will he confirm that with the plans

:43:18. > :43:28.to cut social care bills at �75,000, we are finally starting to defuse

:43:28. > :43:30.

:43:30. > :43:33.the ticking timebomb of residential care... MEMBERS SPEAK OVER HER.

:43:33. > :43:37.I think the honourable lady makes an important point and, frankly, I

:43:37. > :43:41.would have thought that every member of parliament has heard this

:43:41. > :43:46.from her own -- their own constituents and in groups with age

:43:46. > :43:50.-- in meetings with groups like Age Concern etc. It seems unfair that

:43:50. > :43:54.the fickle finger of fate can pick you out for dementia or Alzheimer's

:43:54. > :43:59.and you lose the house you have invested your lifetime savings in.

:43:59. > :44:04.It is not there. This government has come up with the money to put a

:44:04. > :44:07.cap on what any family has to spend. It is the biggest pro and HET --

:44:07. > :44:12.pro Inheritance move that any government has made in 25 years.

:44:12. > :44:16.The intention is not that people should have to spend �75,000, but

:44:16. > :44:20.because we have put a cap in place there should be a proper insurance

:44:20. > :44:27.market. I don't want anyone to spend anything, that is what these

:44:27. > :44:30.reforms will help achieve. The Prime Minister is right for a

:44:30. > :44:38.shock that many revelations that food products may contain 100%

:44:38. > :44:42.horse. Does he share my idea that, if tested, many of his answers

:44:42. > :44:48.contain 100% boar? It is a very good line, but this is

:44:48. > :44:52.a serious issue. I hope it... People are genuinely worried about

:44:52. > :44:57.what they are buying at the supermarkets and I think we have to

:44:57. > :45:07.get a grip rather than making jokes. I will think of another one by the

:45:07. > :45:15.

:45:15. > :45:21.Does the Prime Minister take a dim view of people who say one thing

:45:21. > :45:26.and then do another question mark or a. We must hear the honourable

:45:26. > :45:36.lady. Like campaigning against greenfield developments and then

:45:36. > :45:39.

:45:39. > :45:46.voting for it as the Liberal pulled Democrat candidate in Eastleigh has.

:45:46. > :45:51.All reporting to support fan ownership of football clubs while

:45:51. > :45:56.under minding the community buy-out with Pompey? First of all, can I

:45:56. > :46:01.wish her well in her campaign to help Portsmouth Football Club. On

:46:01. > :46:05.the issue of the Eastleigh by- election, and I hope all my

:46:05. > :46:10.honourable friends will be joining me on the campaign trail. What I

:46:10. > :46:17.would say, if you want a straight- talking candidate, that does

:46:17. > :46:21.exactly what it says on the tin, Maria Hutchins is a local mother, a

:46:21. > :46:26.fantastic campaigner and will make a wonderful member of Parliament.

:46:26. > :46:30.May I ask the Prime Minister for his help, because I have to say to

:46:30. > :46:36.the house, I am defeated in my attempts to get a response from

:46:36. > :46:42.south-west London NHS on behalf of my constituents, who has pulmonary

:46:42. > :46:47.hypertension, chronic lung disease and heart disease. There won't

:46:47. > :46:52.respond to my correspondent as to whether they will agree to look at

:46:52. > :46:57.allowing Professor Madden, in his prescription for his treatment. I

:46:57. > :47:01.can get no response and my constituents may die should he not

:47:02. > :47:06.get a decision. I am happy to take up the case she quite rightly

:47:06. > :47:11.raises. If she gives me the details I will see what I can do to get a

:47:11. > :47:14.better answer from the health authorities. Each year many dozens

:47:15. > :47:20.of my constituents have to sell their house in order to pay for

:47:20. > :47:23.social care. It is random and unfair. Would the Prime Minister

:47:23. > :47:30.agreed to proposals announced last week will start to mitigate this

:47:30. > :47:34.issue? He makes an important point. As he says, it is random who can

:47:34. > :47:40.end up suffering from dementia and then suddenly find because they

:47:40. > :47:44.could be spending five, 10 or even more years in a care home, it wipes

:47:44. > :47:48.out all of their savings they have carefully put away through a hard

:47:48. > :47:52.working life. To cap the cost for the first time is a major

:47:52. > :47:57.breakthroughs. It is a progressive move and it will help hard-working

:47:57. > :48:01.families that one to save and pass on their house to their children.

:48:01. > :48:06.It will be this Government that has made it possible. Since the

:48:06. > :48:13.coalition came to power, 350 libraries have closed. The

:48:13. > :48:18.community Secretary has dismissed those campaigning to save local

:48:18. > :48:23.libraries, those parents hoping to teach their children to read, those

:48:23. > :48:31.who want to study history and literature, as just a bunch of

:48:31. > :48:35.luvvies. What happened to the big society? I strongly support the

:48:35. > :48:40.libraries. In my own constituency, we were very hard to make sure

:48:40. > :48:45.libraries will be staying open, and they will be staying open. He asks

:48:45. > :48:49.about the big society, I think part of the answer to keep library is

:48:49. > :48:53.open is to tap the community to volunteer to keep them open. And I

:48:53. > :48:58.am sure that he will welcome the report this week that volunteering

:48:58. > :49:02.is up, charitable giving is up and I think the big society has a big

:49:02. > :49:08.role to play in keeping libraries are open, sometimes in the teeth of

:49:08. > :49:18.opposition from Labour councils. Saturday I spoke at an event in my

:49:18. > :49:19.

:49:19. > :49:24.constituency organised by Clift -- charity gave. Would he agree we can

:49:24. > :49:30.do much more to combat this problem by encouraging countries to do

:49:30. > :49:34.their own assessment collection and also companies to be transparency

:49:34. > :49:40.of profits and taxes made in each country operation? He makes an

:49:40. > :49:43.important point. There were we have done or what some are less

:49:44. > :49:50.developed countries has seen their taxpayers sometimes as much as

:49:50. > :49:55.trouble. We need to do more in all these countries. It is a vital part

:49:55. > :49:59.of development. The issue he raises regarding tax transparency, I also

:49:59. > :50:06.agree with and that is why I we're putting it ahead of the G8 agenda

:50:06. > :50:12.for the G8 meeting in June in Northern Ireland. This agenda

:50:12. > :50:18.blinkers to go the developing and developed countries. -- brings

:50:18. > :50:22.together. The Prime Minister gave the house and update on the EU

:50:22. > :50:27.talks on the budget. The Prime Minister will know that a regional

:50:27. > :50:31.aid which comes on the EU plays an important role so some of the

:50:31. > :50:34.regional assemblies, when it comes to attracting inward investment.

:50:34. > :50:43.Can he give the house and up days on the continuation of regional

:50:43. > :50:47.aid? What I say to him, the outcome of the Budget leaves the overall

:50:47. > :50:53.regional aid Britain will be receiving, broadly similar to the

:50:53. > :50:56.last period at around 11 billion euros. There are changes in the

:50:56. > :51:01.definitions of regions because of the transition region that has come

:51:01. > :51:05.in. What we need to do is sit down as the United Kingdom and workout

:51:05. > :51:09.how best to make sure the money is divided between Wales, Northern

:51:09. > :51:13.Ireland, Scotland and England. There are transition regions in

:51:13. > :51:19.England looking to benefit. I'm sure we can have fruitful

:51:19. > :51:21.discussions and come to a good conclusions will stop his he amused

:51:21. > :51:26.the leader of the opposition and the Deputy Prime Minister are both

:51:26. > :51:31.trying to claim credit for his brilliant move to achieve a real

:51:31. > :51:37.tattoos cut in the EU budget? he hope there will follow his lead

:51:37. > :51:42.and both call for a referendum to be put to the British people?

:51:43. > :51:47.hope that first of all they will convince their MEPs to vote for the

:51:47. > :51:51.budget reductions. I think that it would be helpful. I hope we can

:51:51. > :52:00.make some progress on his referendum issues. The shadow

:52:00. > :52:05.chancellor, who is shouting as ever, was asking the question would

:52:05. > :52:12.Labour support any referendum. MPs said Carmel "it depends on how

:52:12. > :52:19.stupid we are". He went on to say, "we have not ruled out a

:52:20. > :52:23.referendum". But the leader said they do not want a referendum.

:52:23. > :52:28.According to a Freedom of Information and so there were 4,000

:52:28. > :52:31.fewer uniformed police officers on London's streets after the Prime

:52:31. > :52:35.Minister's first two years in office. With the percentage of

:52:35. > :52:40.crimes in London been sold down as up, why has the Prime Minister

:52:41. > :52:48.broken his promise to protect frontline policing? Crime is down

:52:48. > :52:53.by 10%, not just generally but specifically in his area in Harrow

:52:53. > :52:58.Community area. It is a greater reduction than for the whole of the

:52:58. > :53:03.Metropolitan Police area. The number of neighbourhood police

:53:03. > :53:11.officers is up to 3418 and there are few officers in back-office

:53:11. > :53:15.jobs. In 2010 the 1346 of them, and now there is less than 1004 Stock

:53:15. > :53:25.what we have seen is a reform agenda for the police, there have

:53:25. > :53:28.

:53:28. > :53:34.been spending reductions but crime is down and visible policing is up.

:53:34. > :53:41.Up with Japan, of the eurozone and Switzerland all talking down their

:53:41. > :53:49.currencies despite the statements by the G7 yesterday, does my right

:53:49. > :53:59.honourable friend a Greek the most important aim of the G20 meeting in

:53:59. > :53:59.

:53:59. > :54:07.Moscow this coming weekend, should be to establish means to prevent

:54:07. > :54:17.competitive devaluation. Which, in the 1930s... Aaron was

:54:17. > :54:28.

:54:28. > :54:32.Which in the 1930s, as I can remember from my father's

:54:32. > :54:40.experience... Queers widespread unemployment and the protectionism

:54:40. > :54:45.that goes with it. -- career as the stock and would like to confirm he

:54:45. > :54:49.was not only alive in the 1930s, he was absolutely thriving.

:54:49. > :54:54.What he says is important. No one wants to see a string of

:54:54. > :54:59.competitive devaluations. What happen to sterling as a result of

:54:59. > :55:03.the deep recession here was a depreciation. I don't think you

:55:03. > :55:07.depreciate your way to growth, what other country you are. What you

:55:07. > :55:11.should do is use the benefit when there is a structural change to

:55:11. > :55:17.make sure you increase your competitiveness, and that is what

:55:17. > :55:21.Britain needs to do. Can I say to the Prime Minister in relation to

:55:21. > :55:27.care for the elderly, he cannot have it both ways down to delivery

:55:28. > :55:32.and quality, and at the same time council cuts. In Coventry, an extra

:55:32. > :55:38.28 million has to be cut from the budgets. Birmingham, 600 million

:55:38. > :55:43.plus an early 1000 jobs over a period of two to three years in

:55:43. > :55:48.Coventry. Can we have a fair deal for the elderly, and can we have a

:55:49. > :55:52.fair deal for Coventry? What I would say, at the start of this

:55:52. > :55:58.Government when we made the decision not to cut the NHS, we did

:55:58. > :56:01.put NHS money into adult social care in local Government. We

:56:01. > :56:05.recognise the importance of that budget will stop I would also

:56:05. > :56:09.argued the move this week to caps social care costs, of course it

:56:09. > :56:15.does not solve the whole problem, but if you can create a cap and

:56:15. > :56:18.more people will be charged, you can in -- a greater assurance

:56:18. > :56:22.market of people can protect themselves against a loan to UN

:56:22. > :56:27.cost of social care and that should see more money coming into this

:56:27. > :56:30.vital area. Will a Prime Minister John knee in a welcoming figures

:56:30. > :56:34.from the Council of Mortgage lenders which shows the number of

:56:34. > :56:38.first-time buyers has hit a five- year high? I'll certainly join Mike

:56:38. > :56:43.honourable friend of. It has been a problem that has dogged the economy

:56:43. > :56:47.over the last few years. No one wants us to go back to 110%

:56:47. > :56:51.mortgages we had during the boom times. But we need to make

:56:51. > :56:55.available to young people, the chance that both earning a decent

:56:55. > :56:59.salary, to be able to buy a decent flat or decent house with a

:56:59. > :57:04.mortgage that does not require a massive deposits. That has not been

:57:04. > :57:07.possible for people in recent years. The Bank of England moved on the

:57:07. > :57:11.refund for lending scheme is feeding through to the mortgage

:57:11. > :57:21.market and making available on mortgages at a decent, long-term

:57:21. > :57:27.

:57:27. > :57:30.Further to the exchange by the leader of the opposition earlier,

:57:30. > :57:37.were the Prime Minister tell the house he will personally benefit

:57:37. > :57:44.from the millionaire's tax cuts to be introduced this April? I will

:57:44. > :57:49.pay all the taxes that are due in the proper way. The point I made to

:57:49. > :57:53.him is that all the years he sat on the side of the house, there was a

:57:53. > :58:01.top rate of tax that it was lower than the one we are putting in

:58:01. > :58:06.place for star I did not hear any grinning from him then. A typical

:58:06. > :58:09.council taxpayer in my constituency will pay �124 more than they did in

:58:09. > :58:13.2010, because the money made available to the was Government has

:58:13. > :58:19.been used by the Labour Government's in Cardiff to fund

:58:19. > :58:24.their pet project of the assembly. Does the Prime Minister share the

:58:24. > :58:29.concern that hard-working families in Wales a funding Labour bought

:58:29. > :58:35.policies in Cardiff Bay? On he makes an important point. This

:58:35. > :58:39.Government has made available money for its angst -- council tax freeze.

:58:39. > :58:43.People in Wales and know who to blame if they council tax is not

:58:43. > :58:47.for us and. It is the Labour Assembly Government in Wales. They

:58:48. > :58:55.are to blame and they are charging hard-working people more for their

:58:55. > :59:00.council tax. Last October we remember the Prime Minister

:59:00. > :59:06.promising to legislate to falls energy companies to put customers

:59:06. > :59:10.on the lowest tariff. Can he tell us why his energy bill contains no

:59:10. > :59:14.such commitment and why he has broken that promise? He is

:59:14. > :59:18.completely wrong, of the energy bill does exactly what I said in a

:59:18. > :59:28.house. It is legislating to force companies to give people the lowest

:59:28. > :59:29.

:59:29. > :59:39.tariff. Up all do it, or duck. is discourteous opera-house to

:59:39. > :59:50.

:59:50. > :59:54.I have called the good doctor, let's hear from him! Schools in

:59:54. > :59:58.Cambridge have been underfunded for decades by that government and the

:59:58. > :00:03.previous one. Pupils in Cambridgeshire get �600 per pupil

:00:03. > :00:12.per year less than the English average, the worst in the entire

:00:12. > :00:17.country. Does he agree that this is unfair? Will he plan to end this

:00:17. > :00:22.discrepancy in this Parliament? will look at what he has said.

:00:22. > :00:26.Obviously we have protected the school's budget so the per pupil

:00:26. > :00:30.funding is the same through the parliament, so headteachers come

:00:30. > :00:33.plan on that basis. By encouraging academy schools and free schools we

:00:33. > :00:39.are making sure that more of the education money goes directly to

:00:39. > :00:43.them. The IFS described the Chancellor's

:00:43. > :00:50.tax changes and benefit cuts as giving with one hand and taking

:00:50. > :00:54.away with many others. Does the Prime Minister think that this is

:00:54. > :00:58.fair on hard-working families where, at the same time, he is giving to

:00:58. > :01:03.millionaires with both hands? I don't agree with the honourable

:01:03. > :01:07.lady that that is what the IFS says. As I quoted last week, the ifs

:01:07. > :01:11.point out that the highest increase in terms of tax payments has come

:01:11. > :01:14.from the better off, and the changes the Government has made a

:01:14. > :01:19.particularly helping hard-working people on the minimum wage, who

:01:19. > :01:24.will see their income tax bill cut in half. That is what we are

:01:24. > :01:28.dealing. We won't forget the abolition of the 10p tax rate which

:01:28. > :01:33.helped every hard-working family in this country.

:01:33. > :01:41.I know the Prime Minister is a wet about the Community exchange

:01:41. > :01:43.happening on Friday, which is a meeting between 50 businesses and

:01:44. > :01:49.50 charities and community organisations -- I know the Prime

:01:49. > :01:54.Minister is aware about the Community Exchange. I know he will

:01:54. > :01:57.congratulate one company who have offered 150 hours of their time to

:01:57. > :02:01.help local charities. I hope the Prime Minister will really

:02:01. > :02:05.encourage all colleagues and ministers to initiate these

:02:05. > :02:10.proceedings in their constituencies, because it is the Big Society in

:02:10. > :02:14.action. I think my honourable friend was

:02:14. > :02:19.absolutely right. A very large parts of the Big Society was

:02:19. > :02:22.businesses coming to help voluntary groups and charities. I think it is

:02:23. > :02:27.excellent he is doing that good work, I pay tribute to those

:02:27. > :02:33.joining him. As I said earlier, it is good news that volunteering is

:02:33. > :02:38.up, charitable giving us up, the Big Society was getting bigger.

:02:38. > :02:43.he still eating processed beef? am following very carefully what

:02:43. > :02:48.the Food Standards Agency as saying, and what did Food Standards Agency

:02:48. > :02:53.say is there is nothing unsafe on our shelves. -- what the Food

:02:53. > :02:56.Standards Agency say. A review into the procedures at the northern

:02:56. > :03:00.Lincolnshire and Goole Hospital Trust is being carried out because

:03:00. > :03:05.of a high mortality rate. This is of considerable concern to my

:03:05. > :03:12.constituents. Can he assure them that whatever recommendations come

:03:12. > :03:17.out will be implemented in full? Certainly. It is important we get

:03:17. > :03:20.to the bottom of any hospital with an unnaturally high mortality rates.

:03:20. > :03:25.It is important these investigations are properly carried

:03:25. > :03:26.out and we all learned the investigations of the Mid Staffs

:03:26. > :03:31.inquiry report. Order.

:03:31. > :03:36.Prime Minister's Questions comes to an end. Ed Miliband went on exactly

:03:36. > :03:39.what this programme was talking about in the run-up to PMQs, the

:03:39. > :03:44.squeeze on living standards looks like continuing and therefore

:03:44. > :03:49.living standards by election year, 2015, are likely to be lower than

:03:49. > :03:53.in 2010. Mr Miliband questioned the Prime Minister Ahmad, and he had

:03:53. > :03:59.difficulty in answering. It turns out Mr Miliband is not the only

:03:59. > :04:04.person watching the Daily Politics. Apparently David Cameron watches it,

:04:04. > :04:08.because he quoted John credits from the Daily Politics saying that

:04:08. > :04:12.Labour can't just go on opposing cuts unless we have some

:04:13. > :04:19.alternatives, so it is good to see the Prime Minister and leader of

:04:19. > :04:23.the opposition taking note from us. We would expect no less! It was a

:04:23. > :04:26.difficult PMQs for the Prime Minister, because the living

:04:26. > :04:32.standards issue is difficult for the coalition government. There was

:04:32. > :04:38.much mention of the Eastleigh by- election coming up in February --

:04:38. > :04:45.later in February. A full list of the candidates appears on the BBC

:04:45. > :04:49.website. Gary Mitchell said, of course

:04:49. > :04:53.living standards are falling, it what happens when reality strikes

:04:53. > :04:58.after a decade of living high on the hard on borrowed money. Any

:04:58. > :05:02.suggestion that things would be different under Labour is laughable.

:05:03. > :05:08.But Jacqueline says, my standard of living has declined almost monthly.

:05:08. > :05:12.Food is ridiculously high, fuel is extortionate, I am cold for most of

:05:12. > :05:16.the day. Helen said, I could write Ed

:05:16. > :05:20.Miliband's major speech on the economy tomorrow, never allow

:05:20. > :05:24.Labour to govern the country again. And this e-mail, the Prime Minister

:05:24. > :05:30.said that every taxpayer would pay less tax from April, I won't be

:05:30. > :05:34.paying less tax because I am over 65 and there are no increases in

:05:34. > :05:39.age-related allowances. And this e-mail, the body language

:05:39. > :05:42.says it all. Ed Miliband addresses the questions directly to camera

:05:42. > :05:46.and looks at him. Cameron turns half sideways and does not address

:05:46. > :05:50.the question asked. He has done this for months, is he frightened

:05:50. > :05:54.of being stabbed in the back? I think he is frightened of being

:05:54. > :06:00.wonder by Ed Balls, who is always teasing him? Labour have talked

:06:00. > :06:05.about how he loses his temper and go as red in the face. This is a

:06:05. > :06:09.guess, but I suspect this is a technique. People forget that the

:06:09. > :06:13.House of Commons is very small. When you while the Prime Minister,

:06:13. > :06:19.the leader of the opposition is about as close as I am to Andrew, a

:06:19. > :06:26.small number of feet away. When at his side is Ed Balls, who shared

:06:26. > :06:36.start but what he does, is he does that. That is a flatline symbol. He

:06:36. > :06:38.

:06:38. > :06:45.does it every week, and it annoys Enough from our independent

:06:45. > :06:50.observers, let's hear from Nick Robinson! We watch it on a very big

:06:50. > :06:55.screen. It is noticeable, he is stopping himself looking directly.

:06:55. > :06:59.Every time he is looking one way or the other because, frankly, I think

:06:59. > :07:04.it helps him to keep his temper and also to remember that he is not

:07:04. > :07:07.just talking to people in there, he is talking to people out here. When

:07:07. > :07:11.you're watching television, you forget that the microphones used

:07:11. > :07:15.are very direction or in there, meaning they pick up the sound

:07:15. > :07:19.around the microphone that is put on by the sound engineers, not the

:07:19. > :07:23.wall of noise. If you are standing at the dispatch box, it can feel

:07:23. > :07:27.like being at a noisy football ground at times. Sometimes you hear

:07:27. > :07:32.this because they lauded and you think it is not that noisy, but it

:07:33. > :07:36.is extraordinary. -- is sometimes you hear the Speaker say or do.

:07:36. > :07:42.There is a difference between what people think in the chamber and

:07:42. > :07:45.outside. I was looking at tweets, the view of my colleagues in the

:07:45. > :07:53.press gallery thought that can run effortlessly rode Ed Miliband's

:07:53. > :07:55.questions. -- thought that David Cameron effortlessly road. But the

:07:55. > :08:01.front page to of the Evening Standard tonight talks about the

:08:01. > :08:05.squeeze in living standards. That is very powerful for Labour to run

:08:05. > :08:11.with the. It gets away from deficits and growth figures, as it

:08:11. > :08:14.were, statistical things which people don't feel. I thought the

:08:14. > :08:20.Prime Minister was on the robes because it is hard to come up with

:08:20. > :08:24.a convincing reply to that. -- was on the ropes. I can't think of

:08:24. > :08:30.their time in modern politics including, even, post-modern, going

:08:30. > :08:32.back Emily's favourite, the Second World War, when a government was in

:08:32. > :08:36.power for five years and then went to the people with living standards

:08:36. > :08:40.are low at the end of the five years than at the start when it

:08:40. > :08:45.came into power. I think the Macmillan government in the 50s and

:08:45. > :08:49.60s, under Wilson, rising living standards, even the 70s were up and

:08:49. > :08:56.down but at the end of the decade standards were higher than at the

:08:56. > :09:00.start. You can argue, as I'm sure you will, that it is unprecedented?

:09:00. > :09:04.It is not easy, life is very difficult out there. People are

:09:04. > :09:06.struggling and it is not straightforward. There is no

:09:06. > :09:10.straightforward answer. It a different coloured government had

:09:10. > :09:15.been in power, do you really think that living standards would not

:09:15. > :09:19.have been squeezed? We will never know. It is hard for both of you.

:09:19. > :09:24.When we look at the PMQs discussion about the economical Thames and

:09:24. > :09:27.policies put forward by Labour, there is not really... And I can

:09:28. > :09:31.tell you if you want to hear! Borrowing a lot to put up interest

:09:31. > :09:34.rates does not help living standards more than the investment

:09:34. > :09:38.the coalition is making infrastructure and trying to keep

:09:38. > :09:43.income tax bills low. It is difficult when you have rising food

:09:43. > :09:47.and energy prices etc. If you look at other countries in the world,

:09:47. > :09:52.they face similar challenges. You just need to look at the eurozone.

:09:52. > :09:56.I think we would much rather be in the situation of the UK economy

:09:56. > :10:00.than in many others in Europe. not sure that German or American

:10:00. > :10:04.living standards have fallen over a five-year period. It is also not

:10:04. > :10:08.true in France, although we will see what Mr Miliband's friend

:10:08. > :10:12.Francois Hollande managers, because the French government is in trouble.

:10:12. > :10:17.The interesting thing for Labour, Your recent opinion poll was much

:10:17. > :10:20.stronger, they are where you would expect an opposition to be in mid-

:10:20. > :10:25.term with an unpopular government, but on the economic issue, your

:10:25. > :10:29.leader is not great. In some ways you are still behind. It may be

:10:29. > :10:34.enough in these unprecedented circumstances for the coalition in

:10:34. > :10:37.2015 to say it is terrible but it is now getting a bit better.

:10:37. > :10:41.don't think it will be enough, I don't think it will get better

:10:41. > :10:44.enough. I hope it does, but I genuinely think they are on the

:10:44. > :10:47.wrong course and I think the longer they are in government and the

:10:47. > :10:53.longer they do what they're doing, the more long-term damage they will

:10:53. > :10:57.do. You just need to look around and see what they are doing. They

:10:57. > :11:04.simply should not be bleeding were patient because the patient is

:11:04. > :11:09.lying on the ground. The more they do it, the worse it gets? You'll be

:11:09. > :11:13.improperly a loyal in front of the camera, but you and I know... --

:11:13. > :11:18.you are being properly or oil in front of the camera, but you and I

:11:18. > :11:22.know... I think it is an honest answer. There is concern in the

:11:22. > :11:28.Labour high command about Labour's economic position? There is real

:11:28. > :11:31.anxiety given that there has been no growth, why is it that the

:11:31. > :11:37.ratings and economic competence are about even Stevens in most of the

:11:37. > :11:42.polls? That is a real source of anxiety, one of the reasons the

:11:42. > :11:46.Labour leader is giving a speech tomorrow. It was not a Labour press

:11:46. > :11:51.release that said there was no new policies, but it is someone well

:11:51. > :11:54.connected with the Labour Party who has been a candidate and to pick

:11:54. > :11:58.that up behind the scenes and said there is an important speech but

:11:58. > :12:02.there are no new policies, it was linked to the Guido Fawkes block.

:12:03. > :12:11.But the speech tomorrow tells you something about selling anxiety

:12:11. > :12:16.which means weak -- about an -- about an anxiety. They have really

:12:16. > :12:20.struggled about this. The big political event before the summer

:12:20. > :12:25.is the Budget on March 20th, it went appallingly for the coalition

:12:25. > :12:29.last time. It was the turning-point in the polls, it became known as

:12:29. > :12:35.the omnishambles Budget. And the pressure is on the Chancellor not

:12:35. > :12:39.to look impotent in the face of bad economic situation. What is

:12:39. > :12:43.intriguing is when you look at what the Government's are saying, and

:12:43. > :12:46.the Governor of the Bank of England was saying, the figures are not

:12:46. > :12:53.showing it but the economy is recovering. There must be an

:12:53. > :12:57.argument in the Treasury, do you do nothing...? I covered and was a

:12:57. > :13:04.White House correspondents for the 1980 American presidential election,

:13:04. > :13:10.and what's was asked was this question, do you feel better today

:13:11. > :13:14.than you did in 1976? That won it for Reagan. Overwhelmingly, the

:13:14. > :13:18.Americans did not feel they were better off. That might be your

:13:18. > :13:21.problem and 2015. One of the statistics going in the right

:13:21. > :13:27.direction is unemployment, which really matters to people, whether

:13:27. > :13:31.they, their children and friends and family are able to be in work.

:13:31. > :13:36.But the question is overall, it worked for Reagan and it could work

:13:36. > :13:41.for Mr Miliband. In terms of the economy that is key to people's

:13:41. > :13:47.everyday lives. I think the other key question is would you trust

:13:47. > :13:50.Labour with the economy? And many people just don't. I think we have

:13:51. > :13:54.had difficulties over the last couple of years, and because we had

:13:54. > :13:58.a new government with a lot of interest in it being a coalition,

:13:58. > :14:02.let's see how they are doing, we got very little space to be able to

:14:02. > :14:06.put forward our alternative. During those two years the coalition did

:14:06. > :14:11.very well with this line, we are clearing up the mess left by Labour,

:14:11. > :14:21.which is simply a lie. There was an international crisis. We need the

:14:21. > :14:31.

:14:31. > :14:36.time to put forward our case. We usually seen Nick Clegg sitting

:14:36. > :14:42.alongside David Cameron. But he has gone to Mozambique. Judging the

:14:42. > :14:47.reception he got during yesterday's buyout of Deputy Prime Minister's

:14:47. > :14:55.Questions, he won't be missing the Commons one bit.

:14:55. > :14:58.In May 2010, but there were 735 Peers. As of yesterday they were

:14:58. > :15:03.810 and the Deputy Prime Minister has indicated he wants to maintain

:15:03. > :15:08.the coalition agreements soon maintained a number of peers to

:15:08. > :15:13.vote at the next General Election tiles stop we had before was a

:15:13. > :15:17.proposal to make the House of Lords smaller and more legitimate which

:15:17. > :15:21.did not make progress. With all due respect to the Deputy Prime

:15:21. > :15:25.Minister, he is talking absolute rubbish that stop the second

:15:25. > :15:30.reading of the House of Lords Reform Bill got the biggest

:15:30. > :15:34.Parliamentary majority of this Parliament. It was because the

:15:34. > :15:42.Deputy Prime Minister did not want to put scrutiny through this House

:15:42. > :15:46.that he did not go on. It was his decision to abandon the Bill.

:15:46. > :15:51.know the big reforms the Deputy Prime Minister had plans have

:15:51. > :15:56.broadly failed. There are, across the country, numerous public

:15:56. > :16:03.servants there with the busier in trays and the Deputy Prime Minister,

:16:03. > :16:10.who had been laid off. With savings to the economy, isn't it time to

:16:10. > :16:16.mothball his department until he has something significant to bring.

:16:16. > :16:19.If we're going to rejuvenate the British economy, we have to breathe

:16:19. > :16:25.life back into local communities by letting go of some of the powers in

:16:25. > :16:29.Whitehall. We have to embark on political and economic or

:16:29. > :16:39.decentralisation, the likes of which the Labour Party did not do

:16:39. > :16:40.

:16:40. > :16:46.in 13 years of Government. Nick Clegg is in charge of

:16:46. > :16:52.constitutional reform. The Lib Dems came to power in this pop Fenebahce

:16:52. > :17:01.coalition St, "we are urgently needs fundamental, political

:17:01. > :17:05.reform?. Labour puts paid to that stop we need changes to lobbying

:17:05. > :17:10.and transparency. The right to recall MPs when they had been

:17:10. > :17:14.accused of wrongdoing. We have proposals for electoral

:17:14. > :17:19.registration. And there has been some progress. What have you

:17:19. > :17:25.achieved? I would have much preferred to have changed the

:17:25. > :17:29.voting systems will we got a house of Commons people voted for and we

:17:29. > :17:34.had a Democratic elected House of Lords. We had one in 10 MPs in

:17:34. > :17:37.Parliament, so without the other parties, and in the case of the

:17:37. > :17:42.coalition sticking to the agreements and Labour sticking to

:17:42. > :17:46.saying what they want to achieve in terms of constitutional reform, we

:17:46. > :17:52.wouldn't achieve it on our own. What's a mark would you give

:17:52. > :17:58.yourself? I would give the Liberal Democrats 10 out of 10 were trying

:17:58. > :18:01.to push reform. There is still so much we want to achieve. In-house

:18:01. > :18:09.of Lords reform, you could not carry a coalition partners with

:18:09. > :18:13.that and Labour made it difficult. Creating fewer and more equal size

:18:13. > :18:18.constituencies. His is on the statute book so we could come in

:18:18. > :18:26.the next Parliament. Urinate on that. The power of recall for

:18:26. > :18:31.disgraced MPs. He is still being worked on. You lost the case of the

:18:31. > :18:34.alternative vote referendum? put it to the country and we live

:18:34. > :18:38.in a democracy but stock we are cutting income tax for people on

:18:38. > :18:44.low incomes, investing more money to help the poorest pupils in

:18:44. > :18:47.schools and kick-starting the Green economy with green investment banks.

:18:47. > :18:52.Some of the issues on constitutional reform, we have not

:18:52. > :18:57.been able to do. You could have done the boundary changes on the

:18:57. > :19:03.merits. You had the votes. You could have out voted Labour. Nick

:19:03. > :19:07.Clegg was talking about the broken scales of democracy. That is how he

:19:07. > :19:13.described the current bank redistribution to stop but in the

:19:13. > :19:17.end, you voted for the broken scales? We have a constitutional

:19:17. > :19:23.reform package and are conservative partners did not stick to their

:19:23. > :19:27.side of the deal. You cannot have one side deciding to run off and

:19:27. > :19:33.pick bits of it's an odd to the other bits without its being of

:19:33. > :19:39.consequence. It he said in November, there is no prospect of securing in

:19:39. > :19:45.real terms cut in the EU budget? You were going to tell me. You tell

:19:45. > :19:50.me, that is how it works. I don't know where the quote comes from.

:19:50. > :19:56.It's his Nick Clegg, now he is taking the credit Laurie real-terms

:19:56. > :19:59.cuts. The to be fair, the impact he has with his European counterparts

:20:00. > :20:04.in building relationships to get to the situation we did at the

:20:04. > :20:08.European Council, does not happen overnight. He said the Prime

:20:08. > :20:14.Minister had no friends. He said the Prime Minister had no friends

:20:14. > :20:20.in Europe. The deputy Prime Minister does have friends in

:20:20. > :20:28.Europe. So he deserves the credit? He has worked alongside many other

:20:28. > :20:33.countries. His Westminster, is its selling Nick Clegg or buying Nick

:20:33. > :20:36.Clegg? Liberal Democrats do not argue this, there has been a

:20:36. > :20:42.constitutional reform under this Government, but did not involve a

:20:42. > :20:47.law. It is called a coalition. As observers, we don't stop often

:20:47. > :20:52.enough and say, none of us predicted a coalition, and none of

:20:52. > :20:57.us predicted it would be stable. Whether you like it or loathe it,

:20:57. > :21:01.people who write political history and people who analyse politics

:21:01. > :21:07.will say, the coalition is probably here to stay as a feature of

:21:07. > :21:11.British politics. We had fixed-term parliaments, that is one

:21:11. > :21:16.constitutional reform. The reason nobody remembers it, there wasn't a

:21:16. > :21:19.debate. It just happens, like changing lightbulbs. Now, you may

:21:19. > :21:22.have noticed that our two guests of the day are both female. Does that

:21:23. > :21:32.matter? Is it a good thing? Or something we should be doing more

:21:32. > :21:34.Just under a quarter of MPs are women. The media and the BBC in

:21:34. > :21:37.particular, have been criticised for not having enough female voices.

:21:37. > :21:40.Alice Arnold was until recently, one of those voices heard reading

:21:40. > :21:50.the news or the shipping forecast on Radio Four. Here's her take on

:21:50. > :22:01.

:22:01. > :22:08.why there aren't enough women on I play a bit of golf. Occasionally

:22:08. > :22:14.I'd play in corporate golf days - I know, a woman in a man's world.

:22:14. > :22:17.Sometimes I am the only women surrounded by 100 men hitting the

:22:17. > :22:21.ball in different directions. They are not always the best golfers,

:22:21. > :22:26.but they are up there. Why are they there? Because they had been

:22:26. > :22:34.invited. Research has been done into the lack of representation of

:22:34. > :22:40.women in the media. I want to know what changed, if anything.

:22:40. > :22:45.Last month, the BBC ran the women experts training day. The women

:22:45. > :22:49.were brilliant. From space scientists to architectural

:22:49. > :22:55.historians. The argument that women experts don't exist was blown out

:22:55. > :23:03.of the walk up. With only room for 30 women on the course, there were

:23:03. > :23:08.2000 applicants. This is a dangerous time. It is a dangerous

:23:08. > :23:13.time because we have done a little bit. I can seek producers all of

:23:13. > :23:18.the country congratulating themselves because there is a woman

:23:18. > :23:23.on the panel. I don't want to see a woman on the panel, I want to see

:23:23. > :23:30.two on every panel. I want to see equal representation of women, and

:23:30. > :23:33.that means at least 50%. That is how to get the best people. It is

:23:34. > :23:43.not that women don't know how to play the game, they just haven't

:23:44. > :23:45.

:23:45. > :23:51.been invited. I don't like slow late. In golf or in white. I one

:23:51. > :24:01.change, and I want it not. No more excuses. I am not looking for a

:24:01. > :24:01.

:24:01. > :24:06.birdie, a solid Park would Booth. - And Alice Arnold has come in from

:24:06. > :24:13.that very cold golf course and joins us now. You want equal

:24:13. > :24:20.representation, the 50%, how do you suggest it happens? It would be

:24:20. > :24:25.small, little steps that are not working. More research has been

:24:25. > :24:30.done and the results will come out in April. It has not been published

:24:30. > :24:34.yet, but it looks like there has been very little change over the 18

:24:34. > :24:41.months since the last shocking research results were revealed. The

:24:41. > :24:46.only way to do it is to have quotas, but temporary time, but to say we

:24:46. > :24:51.are going to say we will make sure we have 50% representation and then

:24:51. > :25:01.see how it catches up in the future. We should have quotas in order to

:25:01. > :25:01.

:25:01. > :25:08.change? I think we need to make sure we have women on programmes.

:25:08. > :25:13.How do you do it? We and producers are inviting people on, they know

:25:13. > :25:18.who on men and who are women. They should invite according Leasowe

:25:18. > :25:23.what is presented to the public is equal. In terms of ethnicity and

:25:23. > :25:29.background. We don't have enough of that stock is the assumption that

:25:29. > :25:33.because you have a woman, the gendered it is done. What about the

:25:33. > :25:41.Liberal-Democrat MPs? There are hardly any women? I want there to

:25:41. > :25:46.be more women. What's I am saying, saying it is one thing, but in need

:25:46. > :25:51.to have quotas to achieve it? the last election, it we had quotas

:25:51. > :25:55.we would have ended up in the same situation we have got. Even if we

:25:55. > :26:01.had quotas, we would have been in a similar situation. You still have

:26:01. > :26:06.to make sure women get elected. It is quicker and easier to change the

:26:06. > :26:11.guests you have on the media Parliament and getting women into

:26:11. > :26:18.Parliament. What do you think? Should there be quotas introduced

:26:18. > :26:23.to try to guarantee representation in the media? It started to work

:26:23. > :26:31.for us in the Labour Party. I was elected -- you were elected on a

:26:32. > :26:38.women's shortlists? There were 42 of us going for my seat. There are

:26:38. > :26:43.lots of women out there. We had 26, 27% of the Parliamentary Labour

:26:43. > :26:49.Party who are women. There is still a long way to go, but to get up to

:26:49. > :26:53.50% Rhydian need to continue to have an all-woman shortlist. What

:26:53. > :26:56.happened to meet, it wasn't just about the party taking you see

:26:56. > :27:03.Risley, but people were saying to me, have you thought about being an

:27:03. > :27:08.MP. I started to think back myself more seriously because of that.

:27:08. > :27:12.said the pool is bigger than people think. Often the argument is put

:27:13. > :27:17.forward that the reason we don't have more women represented on

:27:17. > :27:23.panels or women MPs is there isn't the pool to choose from. Is there

:27:23. > :27:28.an enough evidence to say there are qualified women in business, and

:27:28. > :27:33.media to pick them? 2000 women applied to go on the women Experts

:27:33. > :27:37.workshop. It was a shock to everybody pulls up the women I

:27:37. > :27:43.worked with on the workshop were incredible and highly qualified.

:27:43. > :27:49.The these ladies Arthur Lee pushy, do we need to have more women who

:27:49. > :27:58.are prepared to push themselves? am not sure it is a quality you

:27:58. > :28:04.should encourage. Why should you have to be pushy? Should we not be

:28:04. > :28:08.encouraging people to ask them? It we don't do that, the next

:28:08. > :28:14.generation coming up below us, the children now watching are still

:28:14. > :28:22.seeing the same proportion of women will stop not if they're watching

:28:22. > :28:32.today it will stop this is pretty unusual. It has taken 100 years to

:28:32. > :28:41.

:28:41. > :28:45.get 22% of women MPs. We have got OK, that's all for today. Thanks to

:28:45. > :28:48.our guests. The One o'clock News is starting over on BBC One now. We'll