:00:47. > :00:51.Daily Politics. The government junks its plan to force companies to sell
:00:51. > :00:55.cigarettes in plain packages. Labour accuses Conservatives of giving in
:00:56. > :00:59.to lobbying. Have you spotted any green shoots of recovery? We will
:00:59. > :01:02.discuss this week's positive economic news.
:01:02. > :01:07.George Osborne signals that he will not raise taxes after the next
:01:07. > :01:10.election. It means he will have to take the cash from public spending
:01:10. > :01:14.instead. And could you ditch the car and
:01:14. > :01:23.cycle everywhere instead? Adam has been to Cambridge to see whether
:01:23. > :01:27.Britain could go mad for bikes. All of that coming up in the next
:01:27. > :01:31.hour. And with us for the duration, two political journalists who are
:01:31. > :01:35.always top of the class. Helen Lewis of the New Statesman and David
:01:35. > :01:41.Woolley from the sun. They have not brought me an Apple because they are
:01:41. > :01:45.not allowed to take back lunches to school any more.
:01:45. > :01:48.Actually considering plans to force firms to sell cigarettes in plain
:01:48. > :01:53.packaging, ministers have decided there is not enough evidence that it
:01:53. > :01:57.will put people off smoking. The Health Secretary has been accused of
:01:57. > :02:03.putting jobs in the tobacco industry ahead of saving lives. One
:02:04. > :02:08.Conservative MP said that it was a day of shame for the government. The
:02:08. > :02:12.decision does not apply to Scotland, where SNP ministers have said that
:02:12. > :02:15.they are still looking at the idea. The Speaker granted labour and
:02:15. > :02:20.urgent question on the subject this morning. It has led to unusually
:02:20. > :02:27.fiery exchanges in the Commons for a Friday, where not much usually
:02:27. > :02:33.happens. With the best. Can the Minister confirm that Lynton Crosby
:02:33. > :02:38.had no involvement whatsoever in today's decision? -- look at this.
:02:38. > :02:43.There can be no greater responsibility on government than
:02:43. > :02:48.the health of the nation. Every single Health Minister on that side
:02:48. > :02:52.has declared their personal support for standard packaging. Ministers
:02:53. > :03:00.should be ashamed to come to the House today, dragged to the House
:03:00. > :03:06.today to set out this disgraceful U-turn. We have decided to wait to
:03:06. > :03:10.see, quite properly, the evidence as it emerges from Australia. And I
:03:10. > :03:16.make it very clear, Mr Speaker, there is no change in the policy of
:03:16. > :03:22.this government, and forgive me, but the order paper is quite clear. I
:03:22. > :03:28.see it for me. It says that there will be a publication in the library
:03:29. > :03:36.today, a written statement on precisely this matter. I'd just
:03:36. > :03:45.heard a whole load of nonsense going up in smoke. Going up in smoke,
:03:45. > :03:52.cigarettes, get it? Let us talk to our Political Correspondent, Ben
:03:52. > :03:55.Wright. Welcome back to these shores. They looked at this for a
:03:55. > :03:59.year. There are a lot of accusations going around but do we have any idea
:03:59. > :04:04.of what really happened? We know the government have decided not to make
:04:04. > :04:10.a decision on this. Two years ago, the Department of Health seemed keen
:04:10. > :04:13.on this. Andrew Lansley said there were certainly arguments that plain
:04:13. > :04:19.packaging would deter young people from smoking, which is why the
:04:19. > :04:22.government started a consultation. It was very popular. 600,000 people
:04:22. > :04:25.responded to it and the government had that evidence. But we had a
:04:25. > :04:29.sense that they were cooling on it because it did not appear in the
:04:29. > :04:33.most recent Queen's Speech and then today the government confirmed what
:04:33. > :04:43.many suspected, that they will not pursue this any time soon. The
:04:43. > :04:46.
:04:46. > :04:48.government's argument, that they have to wait for evidence from
:04:48. > :04:52.Australia. Labour are incredulous and think that the government have
:04:52. > :04:58.caved into big business. They are trying to make political history
:04:58. > :05:02.about Lynton Crosby, the man behind the Conservatives was% forthcoming
:05:02. > :05:07.political campaign, who worked for tobacco companies in Australia. The
:05:07. > :05:13.government has denied any link between the two, but it is
:05:13. > :05:19.uncomfortable for them. Labour think it is -- that they are on the right
:05:19. > :05:22.side of this. Our colleague on the BBC say that Whitehall sources say
:05:22. > :05:32.that the government is to abandon its plans to reduce a minimum
:05:32. > :05:34.
:05:34. > :05:41.alcohol price as well, which again was another measure. There is a
:05:41. > :05:47.sense of a clearing the decks here on alcohol and tobacco. Would I be
:05:47. > :05:50.wrong in thinking that? You might be absolutely right. Lynton Crosby may
:05:50. > :05:54.have had no lobbying influence for the tobacco industry but I'm sure he
:05:54. > :05:57.is one of those people in government saying, look, do we really want to
:05:57. > :06:02.start bearing down on people who like a drink and likely smoke? Do we
:06:02. > :06:07.want to look like a nanny state, the sort of people who Nigel Farage and
:06:07. > :06:12.UKIP are appealing to at the moment? That is exactly what people like
:06:12. > :06:15.Clinton Crosby are saying, I'm sure, which is why some of these health
:06:15. > :06:22.initiatives, bearing down on cheap alcohol, are being brushed aside as
:06:22. > :06:25.the election gets closer. We have even laid on the good weather for
:06:25. > :06:31.your return! Thank you very much. You hear the sound of the next
:06:31. > :06:35.election? We do. It looks like Lynton Crosby is involved, but he is
:06:35. > :06:39.actually involved. Labour will be looking at the idea that this has
:06:39. > :06:43.been done because his lobbying firm lobbied for tobacco companies. David
:06:43. > :06:48.Cameron has not helped with this because he has not said whether or
:06:48. > :06:51.not he has spoken to Lynton Crosby about it. This is seen to be
:06:51. > :06:53.clearing the decks, getting the barnacles off the boat. Let's not
:06:54. > :06:58.focus on anything that is not immigration, welfare or the economy.
:06:58. > :07:07.That is the strategy for the Conservatives for the next election.
:07:07. > :07:09.And let's get away from things that might get the Westminster elite, the
:07:09. > :07:14.kind of voters that the Conservatives did not get enough of
:07:14. > :07:19.the last election, so forget this business about cigarettes and
:07:19. > :07:24.minimum pricing for booze. What is baffling about this, it was more
:07:24. > :07:27.than three years ago when they first announced this. So we have had three
:07:27. > :07:32.years of discussions and consultation about it, and it is
:07:32. > :07:36.clear that to go for further consultation now shows that they are
:07:36. > :07:40.kicking it into the long grass. it is still controversial,
:07:40. > :07:43.particularly on the tobacco side. We're told that the Department of
:07:43. > :07:47.Health wanted to go ahead with plain packaging and that Number Ten were
:07:47. > :07:50.worried about the impact on jobs. I would also suggest that they might
:07:50. > :07:57.be worried about the impact on vote when it came to minimum alcohol
:07:57. > :08:01.pricing. Doctor Sarah Woolaston, a Tory MP, she said it was a day of
:08:01. > :08:07.shame for this government and the only winners were big Tobacco, big
:08:07. > :08:12.alcohol and big undertakers. And we know that she is quite vexed about
:08:12. > :08:20.minimum alcohol pricing as well. She works as a GP and sees the effect of
:08:20. > :08:23.this on people. The weirdest thing we're seeing are the Shakespearean
:08:23. > :08:29.tones we see in the House of Commons, a substitute for the fact
:08:29. > :08:33.that we know her heart is not in it. Almost felt a bit sorry for her.
:08:33. > :08:36.there any case for not moving to plain packaging? I see some people
:08:36. > :08:42.say that it would only up the demand for counterfeit cigarettes, but they
:08:42. > :08:52.would continue the brands, they will be available elsewhere and brought
:08:52. > :08:55.in huge numbers. The evidence does not stack up on that. There is the
:08:55. > :09:01.Jacob Rees-Mogg argument that people should be free to kill themselves if
:09:01. > :09:09.they want to. Except we have to pay for it when they are clean
:09:09. > :09:11.themselves. The trouble is, passive smoking, we know that children in
:09:11. > :09:16.households with a parent smoke up or health outcomes. And the packaging
:09:16. > :09:22.industry creates these colourful packaging is, and there are many
:09:22. > :09:25.jobs there. -- the colourful packaging. And cigarettes still
:09:25. > :09:30.break-ins something like four times the amount that it costs the NHS to
:09:30. > :09:37.treat people with tobacco related illnesses. Is that right?There is a
:09:37. > :09:43.big income revenue. It's time for our daily quiz. The question for
:09:43. > :09:47.today, George Osborne revealed to journalists yesterday across the
:09:47. > :09:51.road from here that he was given the latest trendy electronic gizmo for
:09:51. > :10:01.his birthday. Apparently when Paltrow and Michael Gove have one.
:10:01. > :10:11.
:10:11. > :10:21.job on wristband or a iToaster% were you at the lunch? You know the
:10:21. > :10:25.
:10:25. > :10:30.answer? Keep it to yourself! -- job on wristband. Look very carefully
:10:30. > :10:34.and you might just be able to see the early signs of a smile on
:10:34. > :10:44.George's face. It is not his favourite burger chain doing freak
:10:44. > :10:45.
:10:45. > :10:49.reject fries with every order, I'm talking about the green shoots
:10:49. > :10:53.pushing up through the undergrowth. But can we call them green shoots of
:10:53. > :11:01.economic recovery? Politicians do not. Earlier this week, the IMF
:11:01. > :11:04.raised the UK's economic growth forecast from 0.7% to 0.9%. Not that
:11:04. > :11:07.they really have a clue, but nonetheless, that is what they did.
:11:07. > :11:15.At the same time, they cut the forecast for emerging market
:11:15. > :11:20.economies including China. A recent chamber of commerce survey found
:11:20. > :11:23.that UK business confidence was at a six-year high. Other indicators
:11:23. > :11:28.found that the service sector, by far the biggest in this economy,
:11:28. > :11:33.grew at its fastest race for over two years in June. And the housing
:11:33. > :11:36.market, which as been in the doldrums since the great crash, is
:11:36. > :11:44.also showing signs of bouncing back, not just in London. Across the
:11:44. > :11:49.country. Mortgage approvals are at a three-year high. And sales of new
:11:49. > :11:54.cars were up by 13% last month. That is the 16th consecutive month of
:11:54. > :12:00.growth. Interestingly, car sales are on their back. Even the bankers have
:12:00. > :12:04.had good news. Moody's has upgraded the UK banking sector outlook from
:12:04. > :12:10.negative to stable. It is the first time that they had been upgraded
:12:10. > :12:14.since the financial crisis way back in the autumn of 2008. Of course, it
:12:14. > :12:19.turns out that we needn't have felt so travel sick at the beginning of
:12:19. > :12:22.2012 as we did not experience a 2012 as we did not experience a
:12:22. > :12:28.double dip recession after all. No, the Office of National Statistics
:12:28. > :12:38.revised the figures for the first quarter of last year from 0.1%, to
:12:38. > :12:39.
:12:39. > :12:45.this good news, I'm joined by Vicky Redwood from capital economic, and
:12:45. > :12:49.Charlie Elphick, the Conservative MP. Are we seeing green shoots?
:12:49. > :12:54.Well, there is a sense that the economy is definitely healing. Do
:12:54. > :12:56.not think anyone wants to get complacent. We need to be optimistic
:12:56. > :13:03.but recognise that there are likely to be bumps on the road because it
:13:03. > :13:09.is a difficult recovery. But think there a definite sense that the
:13:09. > :13:13.economy is healing. This latest news is positive. Is that the official
:13:13. > :13:18.wording you have been told to use in case we end up back in recession?
:13:18. > :13:24.After last time, no one talks about green shoots! Healing is a positive
:13:24. > :13:28.word. There may yet be bumps in the road. I think it is genuinely agreed
:13:28. > :13:34.-- generally agreed among economists and nonpartisan observers, that
:13:34. > :13:39.there is a recovery on its way, but at the moment, not necessarily a
:13:39. > :13:45.particularly robust one. Would you agree? I think it is starting to
:13:45. > :13:48.look like the real deal. We need to be aware that things were so bad
:13:48. > :13:53.before that even a modest improvement feels like great news.
:13:53. > :13:58.There are question marks over whether it is the type of recovery
:13:58. > :14:01.that we want. It seems to be driven by consumers borrowing more and not
:14:01. > :14:07.an increase in exports. That is the difficulty. If you look at the
:14:07. > :14:15.engine of this week recovery, it is not exports, which are pretty flat,
:14:15. > :14:19.despite a 25% evaluation. It is not business investment, which is way
:14:19. > :14:26.down in real terms compared with a few years ago, even though British
:14:26. > :14:30.companies have �750 billion ready to invest in the corporate treasuries.
:14:30. > :14:32.It is not government investment, because that is half what it was. It
:14:32. > :14:39.is consumer spending, another spending boom done on borrowed
:14:39. > :14:43.money. But importantly, the deficit is down and we are starting to live
:14:43. > :14:46.within our means. But household debt is rising. We have had more
:14:46. > :14:50.private-sector jobs created. Mortgage interest rates are at a
:14:50. > :14:56.record low, but I'd agree there is more to do to encourage business to
:14:56. > :15:00.invest. As things heal and consumers recover confidence, I think we will
:15:00. > :15:04.see business recover confidence, and some of that �750 billion in cash
:15:04. > :15:10.reserves will start to be spent and I hope will strengthen the recovery.
:15:10. > :15:19.Let's nail this down. It is household spending that is leading
:15:19. > :15:22.this recovery, consumer demand at 70% of the total demand in the
:15:22. > :15:25.economy, but living standards are being squeezed. It seems to me that
:15:25. > :15:31.the only way that household the man can be rising is because people are
:15:31. > :15:35.borrowing. Right or wrong? wouldn't be a problem if their
:15:35. > :15:39.incomes were rising, but we have a squeeze on their incomes, it looks
:15:39. > :15:44.like they are dipping into savings a bit. That might be because they feel
:15:44. > :15:48.more confident and that will kick-start a recovery and get a
:15:48. > :15:55.virtuous circle going. We need to be careful. What could go wrong? As
:15:55. > :16:00.they say in the meerkat commercial? What could possibles go wrong?
:16:00. > :16:04.Europe is still a big risk. Things have gone quiet and that is
:16:04. > :16:08.reassuring, but there could be a ticking timebomb and that could blow
:16:08. > :16:14.up the banking system. Emerging markets are looking a bit dodgy as
:16:14. > :16:21.well, aren't they? China, Brazil, India? We don't have that much
:16:21. > :16:24.direct exposure to them. unluckily. The politics of this is
:16:24. > :16:28.interesting though, because for Labour we have talked about this
:16:28. > :16:34.before, here we are the mid-term in the cycle, you would expect Labour
:16:34. > :16:37.to be 15, 20 points ahead, they are not, even though the past three
:16:37. > :16:41.years have not been an economic success for the coalition. If will
:16:41. > :16:46.is growth coming, what happens to their lead then? They need to switch
:16:46. > :16:51.their attack, you were talking about the figures going from 0. 7 to 0. 9
:16:51. > :16:55.and people can't really keep track of that. It is not in some ways a
:16:55. > :16:58.useful measure of how people feel about the economy. We know that
:16:58. > :17:03.people are, they are not, they are not the standard of living is not
:17:03. > :17:07.where it was before the crash. lower. It won't recover until after
:17:07. > :17:13.the next election. What Labour would have do is say, do you feel like it
:17:13. > :17:17.has recovered? Do you feel like your money is going as far as it used to?
:17:17. > :17:20.Direction is everything in politics, isn't it. Although these figures we
:17:20. > :17:25.are talking about, most folk watching this programme will have
:17:25. > :17:31.almost no impact on them at all, because the recovery is so small,
:17:31. > :17:35.but a sense that things are getting better often works. It is about the
:17:35. > :17:39.C word, confidence. If people feel the medicine is starting to work,
:17:39. > :17:43.particularly if we have a small decimal point rise over the next few
:17:43. > :17:47.months, the next year, people will begin to question as they move to an
:17:48. > :17:53.election, whether they want to go back to Labour, who they may feel
:17:53. > :17:56.caused the economic crash, or to carry on with the same treatment we
:17:57. > :18:01.have been going through. That is the question they will face. In the US
:18:01. > :18:05.where a real recovery is under way the interest rates are beginning to
:18:05. > :18:09.rise, and at some stage the bank, Federal Reserve is talking about
:18:09. > :18:15.monetary policy going back to normal. I would suggest you don't
:18:15. > :18:20.want that to happen in this country, at least, till after the election,
:18:20. > :18:23.you need artificially loose monetary policy for the foreseeable future.
:18:23. > :18:26.That goes to the heart of the collection choice. Do you want more
:18:26. > :18:30.borrowing which will raise your mortgage rates, more spending, more
:18:30. > :18:35.debt, more tax, or do you want with the Conservatives to keep mortgage
:18:35. > :18:40.interest rates low, live within our means and not have net teches rises.
:18:40. > :18:46.It has been the bankers keeping interest rates low, not you.
:18:46. > :18:51.Government are setting out a credible economy... How can it be
:18:51. > :18:55.credible when you are borrowing more than you said you would? We set out
:18:55. > :18:58.a clear plan. That didn't workWe have been reducing deficit. We got
:18:59. > :19:03.the confidence of the markets, that is the most important thing, the one
:19:03. > :19:06.thing that will put that under threat is the Labour policy of more
:19:06. > :19:09.borrowing, more spending and the rest of it. It is not credible.
:19:09. > :19:12.Stick with us. We will stick with the economy.
:19:12. > :19:16.Let us look at George Osborne in front of the Treasury Select
:19:16. > :19:26.Committee yesterday, he raised questions about welfare and how he
:19:26. > :19:26.
:19:26. > :19:31.will tackle the deficit after 2015. You are not doing it on the deficit,
:19:31. > :19:35.because the deficit has stayed the same for three year, you have given
:19:35. > :19:38.it until after the next election. Interestingly opposition to what I
:19:38. > :19:45.am doing on the economy, is crumbling, so that is another way of
:19:45. > :19:52.saying I am getting more support for what I am doing. How committed is
:19:52. > :19:55.the Government to an 80-20 split? am clear that tax increases are not
:19:55. > :20:01.required to achieve this, this can be achieved with spending reduction,
:20:01. > :20:04.I am not sure where the opposition is, because they say they match
:20:04. > :20:08.current spending, and I don't know whether they have committed to the
:20:08. > :20:14.spending plan, I don't know whether they would have big tax increases, I
:20:14. > :20:19.suspect they would. That is for them to explain. Nay have said they would
:20:19. > :20:25.increase borrowing to lower borrowing. Do you know what this is
:20:25. > :20:29.like? Have you struggled to pay your rent? I have had a fortunate up
:20:29. > :20:34.bringing, my father set up his own business, that was successful. I
:20:34. > :20:38.have worked since I left education, so, but I come back to this point,
:20:38. > :20:44.which is, this money is not being used for anything other than trying
:20:44. > :20:49.to help people get into work. you ever been to a food bank
:20:49. > :20:53.Chancellor. No, I have not.Talking about good use of public money, what
:20:53. > :21:00.is the maximum that can be claimed as housing benefit for a one bedroom
:21:00. > :21:05.flat in London? I don't have that? �250. What is the maximum a member
:21:05. > :21:10.of this House can claim for a one bedroom flat in London? I don't have
:21:10. > :21:17.the number. �350. Is that fair?It is up to Parliament to make
:21:17. > :21:23.decisions, it is up to IPSA to make now the decision. You don't have a
:21:23. > :21:30.view whether that is fair use of money. I want to reduce the costing
:21:30. > :21:34.of welfare. Chancellor there struggling when it
:21:34. > :21:41.came to some of the details of what people have to pay for rent and so
:21:41. > :21:45.on. Would you like to see, in the next manifesto, a commitment that
:21:45. > :21:50.what further deficit reduction needs to be done in the new Parliament,
:21:50. > :21:53.will not be done by raising taxes? Very much so, I think, I mean
:21:53. > :21:58.instinctively a tax cut, all Conservatives are tax cutters and
:21:58. > :22:01.what we should be looking at is departmental spending, there is a
:22:01. > :22:05.book produced by the taxpayer alliance, the bumper book of
:22:05. > :22:12.Government waste. It should be required reading for every minister
:22:12. > :22:16.looking at the savings that could be made and whether we can reduce... No
:22:16. > :22:20.doubt there is scope for further efficiency savings, and I think that
:22:20. > :22:26.is what what Government should be focussing on, not people saying will
:22:26. > :22:32.you pay more taxes? For the purpose of the Department of Honesty, can we
:22:32. > :22:36.agree, given it look, according to the IFS, there will be a black hole
:22:36. > :22:40.of 20-30 billion that will need to be found if you are to stick to your
:22:40. > :22:44.deficit reduction plan through to 2018, that if you are not going to
:22:45. > :22:50.increase tax and you want that in the manifesto, the 65% of Government
:22:50. > :22:54.spending that is now ringfenced, these ringfencing has to come off.
:22:54. > :22:59.That is a question for the manifesto committee. It is a question for you
:22:59. > :23:04.today My own view is that healthcare spending is right to ringfence it
:23:04. > :23:10.because the country is getting older. You would keep health
:23:10. > :23:13.spending ringfenced. I would.You would keep international aid
:23:13. > :23:18.ringfenced for the next Parliament The Prime Minister is passionate.
:23:18. > :23:23.Would you keep it for the next Parliament I expect it would be.Do
:23:23. > :23:27.you want it to be kept I think it is right to help developing nations.
:23:27. > :23:32.Military spending procurement that is ringfenced too, under the
:23:32. > :23:36.Conservative plans, and pensions, would remain ringfenced as well, I
:23:36. > :23:43.assume? . They would, from my understanding. So how are you going
:23:44. > :23:48.to find �30 billion if you are not going to raise taxes, and you
:23:48. > :23:52.continue to ringfence 65% of Government spending? The Chancellor
:23:52. > :23:56.said, he set out a clear strategy, in his judgment, he doesn't think it
:23:56. > :24:03.is necessary to increase taxes, and he thinks he can find those savings,
:24:03. > :24:13.and make... The in the remaining 35% of Government spending. And that is
:24:13. > :24:13.
:24:13. > :24:17.the Chancellor's judgment. When you have taken 20% out of most
:24:17. > :24:22.departmentals He has ringfenced most of it. The protection of certain
:24:22. > :24:24.departments and welfare, will become an increasing barrier, we have seen
:24:24. > :24:27.certain departments squeezed very hard, they have to make lots more
:24:28. > :24:31.savings in the next Parliament. It is becoming questionable whether
:24:31. > :24:36.that can be done. Is it credible to continue that all the cuts continue
:24:36. > :24:40.to fall, on tn increasingly smaller part of spending, that isn't
:24:40. > :24:46.ringfenced? It is easy initially to make efficiency savings. But they
:24:46. > :24:50.have done that. I think it will get harder. The thing that surprises me,
:24:50. > :24:53.is that some of the ringfencing is self imposed. Some of it is because
:24:53. > :24:56.of circumstances you are in coalition, would you not like to
:24:56. > :25:02.take the opportunity, if you formed an overall majority Government, to
:25:02. > :25:06.free yourself from some of these spending cut restraints? As I said
:25:06. > :25:11.health spending which the big ringfence is important. Not as big
:25:11. > :25:14.as the pensions ringfence. Because the population are getting old,
:25:14. > :25:19.because the costs of healthcare are going to increase, you have to have
:25:19. > :25:22.that in place, in order to ensure the nation is kept healthy and well,
:25:22. > :25:27.so I don't think there is much option practically speaking other
:25:27. > :25:30.than to do that. You see the politics of this developing, because
:25:30. > :25:35.I think, my sense is it is unsustainable for the Conservatives
:25:35. > :25:39.to stick to this line that there will be no tax rises, but they will
:25:39. > :25:46.find �30 billion from the small bit of public spending that is not
:25:46. > :25:50.ringfenced. The trap for Labour is are you going to increase taxes?
:25:50. > :25:55.Liberal Democrats want a mansion tax, what you where listening to is
:25:55. > :26:01.George Osborne a man who thinks he's won't get an Jo all majority, he can
:26:01. > :26:07.argue from being in a coalition next. There is no Wray to do it
:26:07. > :26:11.without tax increase, unless you raid pensions.
:26:11. > :26:15.-- it is not working age people, a lot of that is retirement age
:26:15. > :26:19.people, and they have been protected so far. So we see the parameters of
:26:19. > :26:23.the election campaign coming, Conservatives saying, we won't cut
:26:23. > :26:26.tax, but we are still going to, sorry we won't increase tax but we
:26:27. > :26:31.are going to ringfenced all the nice things in public spending, and
:26:31. > :26:36.Labour have been asked questions, would you increase tax? And will you
:26:36. > :26:41.ringfenced anything? They have to tear down the ringfenced, they can't
:26:41. > :26:46.get to grips if I was going to set up a business I would set up
:26:46. > :26:50.fencing. And become rich.They are round everything. I think the reason
:26:50. > :26:57.the Conservatives have tone this is because they want to be more touchy
:26:57. > :27:00.feelly, we will look after health, the elderly. Are you surprised he
:27:00. > :27:04.says international aid will be ringfenceds. I think the triple lock
:27:04. > :27:09.on pensions has to go. That is a tough one fighting an election.
:27:09. > :27:13.before the election. So they will lie to us before the election.
:27:14. > :27:19.that unusual? I just check. Like to know which particular lies I am
:27:19. > :27:24.being told. Bet you a tenner if you get an overall majority
:27:24. > :27:29.international aid isn't ringfenceds. I belt you a tenner it is. Right.
:27:29. > :27:33.Deal done! Thank you both for being with us. It is all the rage in
:27:33. > :27:38.Westminster, Boris does it, careful, don't get two excited. David Cameron
:27:38. > :27:42.used to do it until he became Prime Minister. George Young, Andrew
:27:42. > :27:46.Mitch, they do it. They are all cyclist, most of the country relies
:27:46. > :27:53.on the car and public transport but a group of MPs has argued that a
:27:53. > :27:58.quarter of all journeys in the UK should be made by bike. Any way, can
:27:58. > :28:03.we become a nation of cyclists? Can the Government mandate us to become
:28:03. > :28:07.a nation of cyclist? We went to the most cycle friendly city to find
:28:07. > :28:13.out. In this place, they love bikes.
:28:13. > :28:18.And I am sticking to tradition. I have hired Cambridge's only
:28:18. > :28:23.rickshaw to discover the city's secret recipe for cycling success.
:28:23. > :28:27.The stats here are amazing, one in three people commute to work by
:28:27. > :28:32.bike, more than half the population psychles at least once a week, no
:28:32. > :28:36.other place in the UK comes anywhere close.
:28:36. > :28:41.There are bikes everywhere. You can see that a lot of money has
:28:41. > :28:46.been invested in infrastructure. Rod Cantrell is responsible for much
:28:46. > :28:52.of it as the City Council's cycle champion. In the past, we are the
:28:52. > :28:57.first to introduce a covered cycle parking space, within the shopping
:28:57. > :29:00.centre, we are about to invest in an additional 500 cycle racks in the
:29:00. > :29:05.city centre, we are the first in the UK to have a multi-storey cycling
:29:05. > :29:09.park at the railway station, where the plan ing committee has approved
:29:09. > :29:14.that this week. It is no just big projects like this new bike bridge.
:29:14. > :29:17.There are smaller schemes too. People can come along, and they can
:29:17. > :29:22.park their bikes and they can hire for free, a pushchair to use for
:29:22. > :29:26.their young children, as they go round the city centre, come back,
:29:26. > :29:32.return it and cycle home. It also helps that in the place
:29:32. > :29:38.where DNA was discovered, cycling is in the city's genetic code.
:29:38. > :29:44.anybody in their 70s how did you get round in your 20s? They cycled. I is
:29:44. > :29:49.not like we are a not a cycling nation. We have got so used to car,
:29:49. > :29:54.people can't see beyond the end of the Bonnet. If you get on a bike.
:29:54. > :29:58.Educate people about how easy it is to cycle, people will cycle.
:29:58. > :30:02.driver Mark workforce a firm who are trying to inject that spirit into
:30:02. > :30:08.business. The big curious companies deliver
:30:08. > :30:11.parcels to their office. Then their fleet of cyclists take it the last
:30:11. > :30:14.mile into town. Their boss is taking part in an EU
:30:14. > :30:19.project to expand the concept across the map.
:30:19. > :30:24.The idea is to move that hub and have two or three of them on the
:30:24. > :30:29.edge of the city centre, perhaps at park and ride sites where the access
:30:29. > :30:35.is good by road and vans drop off, the goods get consolidated and we
:30:35. > :30:39.can do the last mile by bike, or electric van. And to top it all off
:30:39. > :30:43.the Tour de France will come through here next year. Although not sure I
:30:43. > :30:52.will be taking part. Who knew that driving one of these would prove so
:30:52. > :30:59.different? We are currently dealing with the
:30:59. > :31:03.whiplash injuries claim on that particular right. -- right. We are
:31:03. > :31:06.joined by Boris Johnson's cycling Commissioner, Andrew Gilligan. Who
:31:06. > :31:10.would have thought it? Is it realistic that we will ever get to a
:31:10. > :31:17.stage where a quarter of all journeys are made by bike two we did
:31:17. > :31:26.a census in central London and we found out the 24% of all traffic on
:31:26. > :31:33.the roads is bikes already. Is a bike equal to a car? That is right.
:31:33. > :31:38.That is central London in the morning rush-hour. Some roads, it is
:31:38. > :31:42.64%. We have huge numbers already and we have to cater for them. It is
:31:42. > :31:47.not 24% of all journeys because lots of people use the tube and the bus,
:31:47. > :31:57.but it is a big deal. Does it make any sense to go in for this
:31:57. > :31:58.
:31:58. > :32:01.Stalinist plan, 25% of road journeys must be, or should be, by a bicycle
:32:01. > :32:09.by whatever year, as opposed to a general desire to get people onto
:32:09. > :32:19.bikes? The idea of a target is to give TEFL something to aim for. It
:32:19. > :32:22.
:32:22. > :32:26.is not a compulsion. -- TfL. We are investing in cycle routes to aim to
:32:26. > :32:31.get people to feel more confident on their bikes. People feel that it has
:32:31. > :32:34.got riskier. Within the last week, we have seen the first person to die
:32:34. > :32:39.cycling one of Boris Johnson's bikes. She was on one of these
:32:39. > :32:44.superhighways that you are looking to build more of. I have stopped
:32:44. > :32:50.cycling in London because I think it has got more and more dangerous. I
:32:50. > :32:55.have found other cyclists more and more aggressive and unpleasant.
:32:55. > :32:59.was the first death on a Boris bike in three years. 25 million journeys.
:32:59. > :33:03.It is the fourth this year, the fourth death of a cyclist. By this
:33:03. > :33:06.point last year, there were nine. The overall number of deaths are
:33:06. > :33:11.coming down and the number of serious injuries might be rising,
:33:11. > :33:16.but it is rising roughly over the last several years in proportion
:33:16. > :33:21.with the rise in journeys. The actual rate has not changed. That is
:33:21. > :33:28.one of the key reasons, it is not really more dangerous. There are 182
:33:28. > :33:34.million cycle journeys in London, and of those 14 ended in death.
:33:34. > :33:44.There is no question that you can see huge increases in London, the
:33:44. > :33:46.
:33:46. > :33:49.number of bikes on the road. Nitrates that back to 7/7, you got
:33:49. > :33:53.the sense that after the bombings, more people thought they would go by
:33:53. > :33:57.bike. Would I see the same in Manchester or a Glasgow Leeds?
:33:57. > :34:05.seeing ambitious plans in Manchester. They have plans to put
:34:05. > :34:09.segregated lanes in on one of the main roads in the city centre. They
:34:09. > :34:14.are further behind but they are catching up. There is a mood towards
:34:14. > :34:18.cycling interventions across the country, the Western world. It is
:34:18. > :34:23.the sign of an advanced city. Dublin, Edinburgh, New York, they
:34:23. > :34:30.are all doing it. Edinburgh they are doing it because they cannot build
:34:31. > :34:36.the trams! Are you a cyclist? trying hard to overcome my prejudice
:34:37. > :34:43.because I am a confirmed pedestrian. My encounters with cyclists are
:34:43. > :34:48.sweaty men getting into the left in lycra. I know that all the evidence
:34:48. > :34:53.suggests this is great for health and transport policy, but there is
:34:53. > :35:03.probably a big culture shift that needs to happen. We're trying to
:35:03. > :35:06.remove the lycra from cycling. The problem is, you're right, it is
:35:06. > :35:11.disproportionately done by young, impatient men. And one of the
:35:11. > :35:17.purposes of these new groups is to get less confident cyclists on the
:35:17. > :35:21.roads, and broaden the appeal. More older people, more women, lower the
:35:21. > :35:24.testosterone level a bit and change the culture. A lot of people
:35:24. > :35:28.complained that cyclists can be rather aggressive and we want to
:35:28. > :35:32.change that but it is a long-term goal. Argue one of these middle-aged
:35:32. > :35:41.men in lycra? I would contest at I am not a middle-aged man! -- argue
:35:41. > :35:45.one. I did not mean to intrude into your private life. I am in
:35:45. > :35:55.cross-country runner. That is why you are so thin. I feel that
:35:55. > :35:55.
:35:56. > :35:58.cyclists tend to polarise opinion. You ivory lycra loud, or you are a
:35:58. > :36:04.cycling zealot and you think everyone must have a cycle lane. I
:36:04. > :36:09.think of the big problem is that while road traffic accidents have
:36:09. > :36:14.come down, the number of accidents involving cyclists has gone up. If
:36:14. > :36:19.we are pushing forward with this, we need to do more on cycle lanes, and
:36:19. > :36:22.that is going to cost money. thing about cyclists, more people
:36:22. > :36:27.cycling is good for everyone. Even if you never get on a bike, it means
:36:27. > :36:31.less traffic and fewer cars. It means less pollution and less
:36:31. > :36:36.competition for a seat on the tube. Investing in cycling is a cheap way
:36:36. > :36:46.to build transport capacity in a time of austerity. The bike lanes in
:36:46. > :36:50.London will cost 30 million pounds for 15 miles, and that is good to
:36:50. > :36:56.have a capacity of 1000 and hour. Putting extra capacity of a similar
:36:56. > :36:59.amount on the cheap lines would cost a lot more. But a lot more traffic
:36:59. > :37:04.jams in one lane, with the cars queueing to get past. There has been
:37:04. > :37:08.a reduction in car traffic in London. As there are?The Victoria
:37:08. > :37:13.embankment, traffic has gone down by 31% because of the congestion
:37:13. > :37:19.charge. -- has there been. Car ownership is falling off a cliff.
:37:19. > :37:23.There is not a single borough in London were 50% of households own a
:37:23. > :37:27.car. We understand that David Cameron is going to make an
:37:27. > :37:34.announcement in the next month. heard that. I heard was going to be
:37:34. > :37:38.last month but it was put off by the murder in Woolwich. I think there is
:37:38. > :37:44.talk of a cycling champion for the country and there will be more
:37:44. > :37:49.money. Is that going to be you?I have my hands full. I heard it was
:37:49. > :37:52.going to be a cycling lane with a gate through Downing Street, with no
:37:53. > :37:57.police officers on control. might be right! Kabul we're talking
:37:57. > :38:02.it being dangerous, there is no question that in terms of health,
:38:03. > :38:07.cycling is a good thing. -- although we are talking about it being
:38:07. > :38:13.dangerous. The perceived risks of cycling are outweighed by the health
:38:13. > :38:17.benefits. You will live two years longer on average. Generally, it is
:38:17. > :38:23.not that dangerous. There are 182 million cycle journeys in London of
:38:23. > :38:28.which 14 last year ended in death. It is fairly safe, but not as safe
:38:28. > :38:34.as it could be, or that it will be. Argue still cycling everyday?
:38:34. > :38:41.here on bike. It took about 25 minutes. I could not have done it
:38:41. > :38:45.quicker any other way. It is less than an inch long and it weighs
:38:45. > :38:49.barely a 10th of a gram. The declining numbers of the honey bee
:38:49. > :38:58.are creating a problem for the UK. The government has just launched an
:38:58. > :39:03.urgent review of the threat. The loss of bee numbers is costing our
:39:03. > :39:13.farmers almost �200 billion a year. Our Sunday Politics reporter,
:39:13. > :39:18.Tristan Pascoe, has been to Dorset to assess the potential sting.
:39:18. > :39:22.Honey is big business. In the UK, we produce around 25,000 metric tonnes
:39:22. > :39:28.of the stuff year. At a sharp decline in bee colonies across
:39:28. > :39:35.Europe is giving beekeepers the blues. And the issue is not just
:39:35. > :39:40.confined to honey. It is estimated one third of the food we eat is
:39:40. > :39:43.pollinated by bees. So news that around a third of honey bee colonies
:39:43. > :39:47.did not survive the winter is a major concern. The government says
:39:47. > :39:54.the losses are the worst since they began collecting data. Dorset
:39:54. > :39:59.beekeeper, Ian Homer, is one of hundreds affected. Five years ago,
:39:59. > :40:02.there were similar losses. 30 years ago, 70% losses. It is not unusual
:40:02. > :40:09.to have these losses. It is unpleasant but it is not unusual.
:40:09. > :40:13.Pollen is the protein that the bees need. Nectar, or honey, is the
:40:14. > :40:21.carbohydrate. The European commission say the declining
:40:21. > :40:24.colonies is due to pesticides used in agriculture. From December, these
:40:25. > :40:31.pesticides will be banned for a two-year trial. It is a short time.
:40:31. > :40:36.The moratorium comes in in December. By that time, the autumn crop will
:40:36. > :40:40.be in the ground. For beekeepers, the period will be less than two
:40:40. > :40:46.years. Ideally, we would like to see a longer period where object of
:40:46. > :40:50.research can be carried out. object of research. The value of
:40:50. > :40:55.bees is not just to the honey market. As far as wider pollination
:40:55. > :41:03.goes, there is a range of fruit and vegetables, and the figure is close
:41:03. > :41:08.to �1 billion. 15 minutes away from the a period,
:41:08. > :41:14.at an agricultural college, bee colonies have also declined. --
:41:14. > :41:18.apiary. I think it is fair to say that we are five weeks behind
:41:18. > :41:21.because of the long winter. Here, there are fears about the impact of
:41:21. > :41:28.the pesticide ban. Our biggest concern is that we return to
:41:28. > :41:33.spraying, which drifts and can affect the honey bee. And a range of
:41:33. > :41:39.other insects and wildlife? It is not just the honey bee. It is the
:41:39. > :41:44.pesticides. They deal with all pollinators, which are critical to
:41:44. > :41:47.good crop yields. If we do not have them, food prices will rocket.
:41:47. > :41:54.Environment campaigners are calling on the government is to make the
:41:54. > :41:57.issue a priority. Come up with an action plan. Farmers and growers
:41:57. > :42:01.need some help to find better ways of producing and protecting crops in
:42:01. > :42:07.ways that they can be sure I'm not honey bees and other vital
:42:07. > :42:12.pollinating insects. -- sure are not harming honeybees. Let's use the
:42:12. > :42:21.time that we have now during the ban on pesticides to help farmers to
:42:22. > :42:25.find other ways of growing crops and use safer chemicals. The government
:42:25. > :42:31.says it is against the proposal for a ban because scientific evidence
:42:31. > :42:36.does not support it. Back in Dorset, beekeepers remain pragmatic.
:42:36. > :42:39.In an ideal world, I would like to see no pesticides used, but we do
:42:39. > :42:42.not live in that world. Pesticides are designed to kill insects that
:42:42. > :42:52.are causing harm, and there is a fine line between killing insects
:42:52. > :42:55.that are causing harm and killing insects that are not causing harm.
:42:55. > :43:01.We asked for an interview with the government environment minister but
:43:01. > :43:07.none was available. DEFRA said this morning that by the end of the year
:43:07. > :43:10.we will have a long-term strategy in place to ensure that these and
:43:10. > :43:16.pollinators can thrive. We're joined by the shadow environment Minister,
:43:16. > :43:19.Barry Gardiner. Look into the programme. -- welcome to the
:43:19. > :43:22.programme. How worried should we be about this problem? It is easy to
:43:23. > :43:28.make jokes about it but how worried should we be? We should be very
:43:28. > :43:33.worried about it. We have a real problem. If you look at the
:43:33. > :43:38.reduction in crop yield, that is significant for our farmers and also
:43:38. > :43:42.significant for the cheque. Seven years ago, when I was in the
:43:42. > :43:48.department, I put through the first slug of money in the budget am a �6
:43:49. > :43:58.million, for research into bee diseases. At the time, the Treasury
:43:59. > :44:00.
:44:00. > :44:04.thought I was insane! I said, well, look, understand that it will cost
:44:04. > :44:09.�200 million a year to the economy if we do not get this resolved. And
:44:09. > :44:14.we still have not got it resolved. We need to. What has provoked the
:44:14. > :44:22.government to promise an urgent and comprehensive review of white bees
:44:22. > :44:27.are declining? Well, we have had the European directive on this. -- why
:44:27. > :44:34.bees are declining. That has placed a ban on these pesticides for two
:44:34. > :44:41.years. Particular chemicals which some think could be a major
:44:41. > :44:47.contributor of the decline. Indeed. It is a competition. The reason the
:44:47. > :44:49.government said they did not want to support the ban, first of all at
:44:49. > :44:59.staining and then voting against, they say they have not done adequate
:44:59. > :45:00.
:45:00. > :45:04.field trials. What we need is long-term field trials as well as
:45:04. > :45:12.laboratory trials in place here. And we need to be looking at integrated
:45:12. > :45:17.pest control management, because farmers have two make sure that the
:45:17. > :45:22.crops are resistant. And we need to make sure that they harbour
:45:22. > :45:29.pollinated. And it is getting that long-term programme of research to
:45:29. > :45:33.do this. But the farmers do not seem to be happy with this ban. They are
:45:33. > :45:37.not. Actually, as one of the beekeepers said, they said that
:45:37. > :45:42.their fear is that farmers might start using worst pesticides, which
:45:42. > :45:48.are going to do more damage. And this is also a consideration. But
:45:48. > :45:54.that is why it is important that we have the precautionary system
:45:54. > :45:57.accepted by the government. It is there from the United Nations, and
:45:57. > :46:00.we have accepted and integrated that into our own legislation. We should
:46:00. > :46:03.be applying a precautionary principle that says that in
:46:03. > :46:10.circumstances where we know there is the potential for a threshold of
:46:10. > :46:13.harm, as we can see here with the bee population, then we take the
:46:13. > :46:19.percussion and we say that yes, we were put aside what we know maybe
:46:19. > :46:22.the economic loss here until we have resolved the problem. And we act in
:46:22. > :46:26.a precautionary way. That is what the government failed to do. I am
:46:26. > :46:29.glad that they have got behind the ban and they have said that they
:46:29. > :46:34.would accept it because Europe is introducing it. But we need them to
:46:34. > :46:44.be arguing in Europe now for a much longer term solution, and a longer
:46:44. > :46:45.
:46:45. > :46:50.term ban to get the adequate research in place. Have you been
:46:50. > :46:54.following? We were told engrain grained in us when being litted
:46:54. > :46:59.kinds, you can swap a fly but the bees, they are the good guys n the
:46:59. > :47:05.same way the spider is the good guy, and, yeah, it come out true, that
:47:05. > :47:10.bees are very important part of our... All the creepy-crawlies are
:47:10. > :47:14.good guy, If you think of the number of crops. Rape seed is pollinated by
:47:14. > :47:19.beetles, not bee, and yet people don't like beetles when they see
:47:19. > :47:25.them. They have a function in the ecosystem and the point here, is
:47:25. > :47:31.that its economic. We, you know, we use nature, because she is valuable,
:47:31. > :47:34.but we abuse nature because she is free. And unless we value our
:47:34. > :47:39.natural capital, properly, we are never going to get our decision
:47:39. > :47:44.making right, because we are leaving out one very important factor in the
:47:44. > :47:47.cost benefit analysis. Do you have a policy on bees? We did a leader on
:47:48. > :47:52.bees saying this. It is a bigger point about the Government's dodgy
:47:52. > :47:57.relationship with evidence. They opposed to European Directive on the
:47:57. > :48:02.basis neen anybodies didn't kill bee, if you give a toddler three
:48:02. > :48:07.glasses of red wine and send them to school, they will make it there but
:48:07. > :48:11.they won't be any use when they get there. Neonics are useless at
:48:11. > :48:15.pollinating things. In two years time, where do you think we should
:48:15. > :48:21.be? We should have an extension of the ban, so we can have a proper
:48:21. > :48:24.period to examine this. We need to have done, by that stage, very sound
:48:24. > :48:28.peer reviewed field trials, alongside the laboratory trials that
:48:28. > :48:34.have been done. Thank you.
:48:34. > :48:38.Now, two US Congress women want parts of the moon to be designated
:48:39. > :48:45.as a National Park. They do! They say space tourism is the next big
:48:45. > :48:50.thing and we need to protect the historic lunar landing sites, there
:48:50. > :48:55.is no souvenir shop up there yet, we can't have people taking bits of the
:48:55. > :49:00.moon willy-nilly. I will be talking to Spaceman Doug from the Space
:49:00. > :49:10.Museum and David Morris, but first a reminder of the historic Apollo
:49:10. > :49:17.
:49:17. > :49:27.That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
:49:27. > :49:46.
:49:46. > :49:51.They have got the flag up now and Bringing back the memory, I am
:49:51. > :49:56.joined by Doug Millard who is known as Spaceman Doug, from the Science
:49:56. > :50:01.Museum and David Morris who sits on the Parliamentary space committee.
:50:01. > :50:07.He is in our Salford studio. What kind of stuff have we left up there?
:50:07. > :50:12.There is lots, there is about 1700 tonnes in total. 1700 tonnes?That
:50:12. > :50:16.is everything apart from Apollos as well. Apollo left about 100 objects
:50:16. > :50:22.on the moon. I mean, shouldn't we be clearing this up, rather than trying
:50:22. > :50:28.to protect it? How do we get there? Apollo cost in today's money �170
:50:28. > :50:33.billion, so until we go back, which which is what this is all about it
:50:33. > :50:39.is going to be difficult. understanding is that as of now,
:50:39. > :50:42.there are no plans to go back to the moon, is that correct? Well, there
:50:42. > :50:46.are aspiration, there are private companies that are looking how that
:50:47. > :50:51.might be done, but we, we must not take what NASA did for granted, it
:50:51. > :50:54.was a tremendous undertaking. are not planning to do it, are they?
:50:54. > :50:59.Not a the moment. They are developing craft that will be able
:50:59. > :51:04.to, but no programme at the moment. David Morris, should we start to
:51:04. > :51:08.prepare for space tourism on the moon? Space tourism. We are talking
:51:08. > :51:13.possibly 100 years in the future. It is good that it has been flagged up
:51:13. > :51:18.and it has been recognised that there could be some kind of tourism
:51:18. > :51:23.pilfering going on, should we go back to the moon in a tourism guise,
:51:23. > :51:27.and a National Park created, but it would be commonsense to be frank as
:51:27. > :51:34.Neil Armstrong said, one small step for mankind, the moon belongs to all
:51:34. > :51:37.of us. So, the US Congressional loan, it is not up to them to
:51:37. > :51:45.designate part of the moon a National Park, first of all it is
:51:45. > :51:49.not national, and it is not a park. That is right. You know, the UN 1967
:51:49. > :51:53.space treaty said, things that are going on in space, or things that we
:51:53. > :51:59.are putting into space should not be subject or Astral bodies to one
:51:59. > :52:03.nation itself. I think it is probably pre-empting
:52:03. > :52:08.legislation, probably 100, 200 years hence, it really is jumping the gun,
:52:08. > :52:13.but, yeah, it is good to debate it, isn't it. There is a lot of space
:52:13. > :52:19.junk round, which is orbiting the earth. There is a cloud of it round
:52:19. > :52:25.us, there is stuff going round the sun. Stuff going round the sun, from
:52:25. > :52:29.us? Yeah. A bit of rocket, a bits of Apollo still going round the sun.
:52:29. > :52:33.it breaks up coming into the atmosphere it goes into orbit not
:52:33. > :52:38.round the earth. A lot of the redundant stuff was crashed on the
:52:38. > :52:42.moon, which is what this about, but one or two items are in orbit round
:52:42. > :52:48.the sun, so long-term orbit. What are these two American Congress
:52:48. > :52:51.women up to, do you think? Is it a stunt? Far be it from me to say, it
:52:51. > :52:56.is aenable question, there will come a time when more people are going
:52:56. > :53:01.back to the moon, and the question is, how, how do you deal with that?
:53:01. > :53:07.I mean, these are very important sites. I don't know how would would
:53:07. > :53:12.police them, but... I mean, do, do we really need David Morris, this
:53:12. > :53:17.concept of a National Park? Would think in a way the whole of the moon
:53:17. > :53:21.is a kind of earth park, that we have a duty to protect. Don't we
:53:21. > :53:27.just need a kind of monument, or something that marks where Apollo
:53:27. > :53:30.first landed on the moon? Wouldn't that be enough? This is the anomaly
:53:30. > :53:35.of the whole situation. Apparently not one nation can claim the whole
:53:35. > :53:39.of the moon but certain nations can claim a portion of it.
:53:39. > :53:43.Can they? Yes. That is the anomaly in the whole situation. I think the
:53:43. > :53:49.two Congress women are probably exploring that loophole and probably
:53:49. > :53:54.trying to put down a marker in space tourism for the future, to create a
:53:54. > :53:58.National Park, let us be honest about this, 200 years time, maybe,
:53:58. > :54:04.there would be the capabilities the technology to have space tourism on
:54:04. > :54:08.the level where you could go to see the moon landing site, where similar
:54:08. > :54:12.to Stonehenge, what is left up there now? I am no expert on the moon
:54:12. > :54:17.itself, but there are lieu mar winds up there, would the land not be
:54:17. > :54:22.covered by dust by now? Do you want to be a space tourist?
:54:22. > :54:27.interesting thing is international law. There 1967 treaty, the outer
:54:27. > :54:31.space treaty, surely the best UN treaty but we can talk about people
:54:31. > :54:36.being able to claim bits of space. People would want to mine asteroid,
:54:36. > :54:42.this will become a thing people be argue about. Countries might go to
:54:42. > :54:46.war over who owns bits of space. will have to leave it there. I think
:54:46. > :54:53.we will have plenty of time to talk about this before anything happens.
:54:53. > :55:02.Spaceman Doug. Thank you both. Who has the played a blinder and who
:55:02. > :55:06.has had a shocker? Here is our guide to the political week in 60 seconds.
:55:06. > :55:11.Ed Milliband always wanted to unite his party, and Len McCluskey tried
:55:11. > :55:18.just that, so Ed announced the union Labour relationship must change.
:55:18. > :55:22.do not want any individual to be paying money to the Labour Party, in
:55:22. > :55:26.affiliation fees unless they have deliberately chose into do so. G
:55:26. > :55:31.government posted notice it will sell off Royal Mail offer offering a
:55:31. > :55:37.free share parcel to staff. The union may start strike action. MPs
:55:37. > :55:41.got public flak over a proposed 11% pay rise in 2015. Not that they
:55:41. > :55:45.asked for one! And G4S are in the dock again, this time for
:55:45. > :55:49.overcharging by tens of millions of pounds on electronic tagging
:55:49. > :55:54.contracts I am asking the Serious Fraud Office to consider whether an
:55:54. > :56:00.investigation is appropriate, into what happened at G4S.
:56:00. > :56:09.And suits you Sir, as one MP snubs dull grey. Robert Halfon knows when
:56:09. > :56:16.he's been tangoed! That is the week in 60 seconds.
:56:16. > :56:22.Another thing we can add, the news has come that Alan Whittaker famous
:56:22. > :56:27.broadcaster has passed away at the age of 87. Helen, where are we now
:56:27. > :56:34.with the end of this week as we head to the summer recess, where is Mr
:56:34. > :56:39.Miliband and the unions? ? Cessation of hostilities. Len McCluskey said
:56:39. > :56:43.he could deal with it. Other smaller unions are grumpy. Tony Blair swung
:56:43. > :56:47.behind him. The first time we have seen Tony Blair and Len McCluskey
:56:47. > :56:52.agree on anything. That will bubble on as we forced through the detail.
:56:52. > :56:57.He needs to do this, he needs to have some kind of' blueprint, in
:56:57. > :57:02.place or to Selby the Labour Conference or all hell could Blake
:57:02. > :57:07.out? That is a fair thing to say. He has got the luxury of time, and it
:57:07. > :57:11.does feel in the same with way with tobacco and alcohol pricing he will
:57:11. > :57:15.be saved by the bell. We understand there could be a bit of a man
:57:15. > :57:19.anyreshuffle but it is going to involve a bunch of popties nobody
:57:19. > :57:26.has heard of being replayed by another bunch nobody has heard of.
:57:26. > :57:30.What we are being told it will be a second tyre, so if that is the case
:57:30. > :57:33.-- tier, it races the question how do you promote the people from the
:57:33. > :57:38.second tier up into the Cabinet without removing somebody from the
:57:38. > :57:42.Cabinet? It will probably be a bit of a shuffle to tinge deing at the
:57:42. > :57:46.edges, maybe bringing new people into, and clearing out a bit of
:57:46. > :57:52.deadwood. Some could have more time on their hand than they were
:57:52. > :57:59.bargaining for. Before we go, the question was what electronic gizmo
:57:59. > :58:08.has Mr Osbourne been spotted wearing?
:58:08. > :58:13.I am told an i-toaster, it toasts your eyes! It is the Jawbone
:58:13. > :58:17.wristband. The George bone! I have got one myself, I am not sure it
:58:17. > :58:23.works. It might. Any way it is sup poetsed
:58:23. > :58:30.to tell you what you have eat, how many calorie, Don't you know what
:58:30. > :58:35.you were eating by the fact you ate it. It is a gizmo. Does it go
:58:35. > :58:40.alcohol and cigarette intake. didn't like wearing it because it
:58:40. > :58:45.did count the alcohol a bit! That is it for today. Hanks to Helen Lewis