17/07/2013 Daily Politics


17/07/2013

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Daily Politics. Shocking failings in the NHS put 11

:00:44.:00:50.

hospitals in special measures, but who's to blame - this government or

:00:50.:00:58.

its Labour predecessor? Or both? David Cameron warned was the next

:00:58.:01:08.
:01:08.:01:08.

big scandal waiting to happen - so he waited three years to do anything

:01:08.:01:14.

about it. Today we finally get a bill to regulate lobbying.

:01:14.:01:21.

Boris wants to turn it into the 33rd London borough, but Heathrow wants a

:01:21.:01:31.
:01:31.:01:34.

third runway - the airport's boss joins us live.

:01:34.:01:39.

And you thought the Heathrow flight path was loud? We'll measure noise

:01:40.:01:44.

levels in the Commons as political temperature rises. Order, order.

:01:45.:01:51.

There is still far too much shouting.

:01:51.:02:01.
:02:01.:02:03.

All that coming up in the next 90 minutes of scorching hot political

:02:03.:02:05.

debate. And keeping cool in our air-conditioned studio this morning

:02:05.:02:09.

is Westminster's hottest political talent. Labour's Chuka Umunna, he's

:02:10.:02:14.

the Shadow Business Secretary, and the Planning Minister, Nick Boles.

:02:14.:02:18.

Welcome to you both. First this morning, yesterday's damning report

:02:18.:02:26.

into serious failings in NHS hospitals continues to resonate here

:02:26.:02:33.

at Westminster. Indeed, the terms of the political debate may have

:02:33.:02:37.

changed with the Health Secretary trying to position himself as the

:02:37.:02:44.

champion of NHS patients rather than the NHS itself. Thousands may have

:02:44.:02:48.

met an early death in the 14 hospitals concerned, but what really

:02:48.:02:58.
:02:58.:03:01.

seemed to matter in the Commons was who was to blame. Rob the last

:03:01.:03:08.

government left the NHS with a system covering up weak leadership,

:03:08.:03:12.

and failed to prioritise compassionate care. This system's

:03:12.:03:19.

reputation, this is uncomfortable for honourable members, mattered

:03:19.:03:26.

more than individual patients. Targets mattered more than the ball.

:03:27.:03:30.

At health questions, the Health Secretary claimed this was an

:03:30.:03:40.
:03:40.:03:48.

historical report about the past. I measures. Most viewers, if you asked

:03:48.:03:55.

them, is your treatment good treatment, from the NHS, they would

:03:55.:04:04.

say, yes, I get a good service. Were there failings? Clearly. But in this

:04:04.:04:10.

report, there is a claim that Labour ministers, colleagues of mine in

:04:10.:04:14.

government, deliberately and wilfully sought to cover up failings

:04:14.:04:24.
:04:24.:04:27.

in the NHS. Nowhere in this report, I would happily handed to Nick Boles

:04:27.:04:35.

now, we know what page it is on, but nowhere in this report didn't say

:04:35.:04:41.

there was evidence that that happened. A lot of this relates to

:04:41.:04:45.

more salad tea. Andy Burnham, he was one of a number of Labour Health

:04:45.:04:48.

Secretary is, in 2009, asked for a proper investigation into those

:04:48.:04:55.

hospitals with high mortality rate. That was produced in April 2010, I

:04:55.:05:01.

believe, and identified hospital trusts which needed to be looked at,

:05:01.:05:09.

50 of them. Do you feel ashamed or at least disappointed that all of

:05:09.:05:11.

these serious failings in the health service still existed after 13 years

:05:11.:05:16.

of Labour government? I would not claim that every element of NHS

:05:16.:05:20.

service provision was perfect under my government, and I am disappointed

:05:20.:05:24.

that failings impacted on families and would have caused upset. People

:05:24.:05:27.

died because of inadequacy of care, in many cases. Sir Bruce Keogh and

:05:27.:05:37.
:05:37.:05:38.

the NHS has said in defence of this wild claim of 13,000... I did not

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say 13,000, I understand that it is controversial and it is not in the

:05:45.:05:47.

report, but many people died because of inadequate care. That happened in

:05:47.:05:54.

Mid Staffordshire. Professor Brian John and, he says labour ignored his

:05:54.:05:58.

findings about high mortality rates. We don't accept that. We

:05:58.:06:05.

commissioned in 2009, Andy Burnham asked the NHS to look into high

:06:05.:06:13.

mortality rates. Professor Brian Jarman said he e-mailed Andy Burnham

:06:13.:06:18.

and said there were an alarming number of patient deaths, therefore

:06:18.:06:26.

that was a red flag . Are Ness Thornton said it would be more

:06:26.:06:33.

appropriate to take it up with the Care Quality Commission -- Baroness

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Thornton said. Andy Burnham looked at the hospitals where there were

:06:37.:06:44.

high mortality rate. This is an independent review, produced and

:06:45.:06:52.

commissioned by the Government, and it has not shown any findings that

:06:52.:06:59.

Andy Burnham did not act properly. Tame side get a very bad press in

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this. It is claimed that Labour ignored a whistleblower in 2005,

:07:06.:07:11.

warnings to Parliament in 2006, a coroner 's report in 2006 and

:07:11.:07:17.

warnings from Andrew Lansley, when he was the Shadow health minister,

:07:17.:07:27.
:07:27.:07:27.

in 2009. Both wary as the evidence to back this up? The way in which

:07:27.:07:30.

these hospital trusts were identified was based on mortality

:07:30.:07:40.
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figures. It may have got worse under this government. Am I saying the NHS

:07:41.:07:49.

was perfect during my party's time in government? No. Even if we spent

:07:49.:07:57.

the whole of the GDP on the health service, it would never be perfect,

:07:57.:08:00.

but after all the money spent, after the feeling in this country that he

:08:01.:08:04.

helped service is, quote, the envy of the world, that so many people

:08:04.:08:13.

should be dying from substandard care? It is the question of the

:08:13.:08:19.

numbers. Anybody dying is a matter of regret. You would not want that

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to happen to anyone, it does not matter how many numbers. But what

:08:28.:08:35.

Sir Bruce Keogh says is that, on the whole, the NHS had massively

:08:35.:08:40.

improved after decades of neglect. You would have seen this in the

:08:40.:08:45.

Sunday papers, there has been an attempt to deliberately smear one

:08:45.:08:50.

individual on the Labour front bench at the moment, Andy Burnham, because

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they have TV tested him, he is one of our most effective communicators.

:08:55.:08:59.

Let me come on to Nick Boles. Stephen Dorrell, the former

:08:59.:09:06.

Conservative Health Secretary, said that patients listening to what

:09:06.:09:10.

happened yesterday will think it is divorced from any focus of what is

:09:10.:09:15.

important to them, the quality of care delivered by the health

:09:15.:09:21.

service. But your party decided to play politics. I don't think it is

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playing politics to say that when concerns were raised by patients and

:09:26.:09:32.

health service workers that they were not adequately considered or

:09:32.:09:38.

brought into the public domain. It is not Conservatives that were

:09:38.:09:42.

running the Care Quality Commission, are Ness Young was appointed by the

:09:42.:09:49.

last government and the regulator, Bill Moyers, they have both said

:09:49.:09:59.

that there was a real pressure. It derived from the approach of the

:09:59.:10:09.
:10:09.:10:10.

last government that they could manage the NHS, which is a total

:10:10.:10:15.

error. You cannot manage show an organisation of that size. You

:10:15.:10:19.

guarantee the funding, which the Labour Party would not do, by the

:10:19.:10:22.

way, we stand up for patients' interest. If you weren't playing

:10:22.:10:28.

politics, why was this figure of 13,000 deaths allowed to be briefed

:10:28.:10:31.

out at the weekend to all the major Sunday newspapers when we know that

:10:31.:10:37.

Sir Bruce Keogh said it is clinically meaningless and

:10:37.:10:39.

academically reckless to use such statistical measures? Nobody ever

:10:39.:10:49.
:10:49.:10:51.

sent me a piece of paper is saying, 13,000 deaths. I am very junior and

:10:51.:10:59.

not a health minister, but you would have thought we would all have been

:10:59.:11:04.

told that. If you see David Cameron's statement following Mid

:11:04.:11:08.

Staffordshire, he said, the author of the report does not blame any

:11:08.:11:13.

specific policy, does not blame the last Secretary of State for health.

:11:13.:11:18.

He says we should not seek scapegoats. Yet you are seeking to

:11:18.:11:24.

scapegoat Andy Burnham. We are trying to hold the Labour Party and

:11:25.:11:30.

its last Secretary of State for health responsible for a system

:11:30.:11:35.

whereby they wanted to manage the NHS, they wanted to resist any

:11:35.:11:39.

attempt to show that things were not working in the NHS. That will never

:11:39.:11:41.

work. They need to take responsibility. The Labour Party

:11:42.:11:44.

does not take responsibility for anything, they need to take

:11:44.:11:48.

responsibility. Two of the places getting a bad rap, Basildon and

:11:48.:11:51.

Tameside health trust 's, they are two of the worst. Since you came to

:11:51.:11:53.

power you have cut 128 nursing post at Tameside and over 300 from

:11:54.:11:56.

Basildon. Severn Trent have cut front-line staff by 1117.

:11:56.:11:59.

Professor Keogh said there is absolutely no financial reason for

:11:59.:12:02.

these decisions. My trust in Lincolnshire is in special measures

:12:02.:12:08.

and as a result of this report it is urgently trying to recruit 200 extra

:12:08.:12:13.

nurses. The government does not any more tell them what they should do

:12:13.:12:17.

with their money. They have a responsibility to spend it

:12:17.:12:22.

responsibly and we have a responsibility to show everyone if

:12:22.:12:30.

things are going one as a result of poor management. Baroness Young

:12:30.:12:34.

claimed that David Cameron misrepresented her comments. She

:12:34.:12:44.
:12:44.:12:44.

asked him to correct it. But her quota is on the record. -- her quota

:12:45.:12:51.

is on the record. Now, get your ear defenders ready.

:12:51.:12:55.

That was last week's PMQs, of course, which got pretty noisy - but

:12:55.:13:05.
:13:05.:13:07.

just how noisy? Order, order, there is still far too much shouting on

:13:07.:13:12.

both sides of the chamber. The Prime Minister, I think, is concluding his

:13:12.:13:22.
:13:22.:13:22.

answer. Tessa Munt and Alan Cairns, two backbench MPs were there.

:13:22.:13:32.
:13:32.:13:33.

Look at Tessa Munt, what are you holding? That is my iPad, it is a

:13:33.:13:38.

decibel monitor. I will be using it today, I don't believe it will be

:13:38.:13:43.

any different from normal. You will be using this app on our behalf to

:13:43.:13:47.

measure how noisy it was. How noisy was it last week? I put the decibel

:13:47.:13:57.

count on the iPad and it crossed the 100 mark for the first time. It was

:13:57.:14:00.

a most intimidating environment last week, it was an absolute bearpit.

:14:00.:14:03.

100 on the decibel count is apparently just short of a power

:14:03.:14:12.

drill. If that is on a persistent basis, you can imagine. A jet flying

:14:12.:14:22.

over is 103 decibel is, that is the noise you are putting up with and

:14:22.:14:25.

the noise the party leaders have to fight against. Did John Bercow

:14:25.:14:27.

struggle to keep everything under control? I think it is sometimes

:14:27.:14:34.

quite difficult, it is almost impossible to be heard. You will

:14:34.:14:39.

hear him call for order repeatedly. It gives some indication. It is

:14:39.:14:43.

quite difficult to get us to pay attention. I don't do any shouting,

:14:43.:14:46.

I think it isn't dignified and unnecessary. It is the last one of

:14:46.:14:49.

the term this Wednesday, I would imagine there is no question there

:14:49.:14:59.
:14:59.:14:59.

will be some shouting. Whose fault is it? Tessa Munt says she does not

:14:59.:15:04.

shout but whose fault is it that they get to that level of crescendo?

:15:05.:15:13.

The week before last, the Prime Minister won convincingly and... So

:15:13.:15:16.

the issue would accept that context and therefore, last week, the Labour

:15:16.:15:22.

Party came out and it was simply survival for Ed Miliband and come on

:15:22.:15:29.

that basis, the whips had probable eyes that probably organised louder

:15:29.:15:33.

voices to support him. If you are on the opposition and your own side

:15:33.:15:37.

behind you are silent, it must be the most lonely place in the world

:15:37.:15:41.

and that's the purpose of the noise behind, to show support for your own

:15:41.:15:47.

site, for your leader, and to give him confidence. You are shaking your

:15:47.:15:51.

head, Tessa Munt. It's childish, pathetic. I would rather hear what

:15:51.:16:00.

they say. I struggle to listen to the little speakers I have on the

:16:00.:16:05.

back of the seats. You can't hear a word said. People on television here

:16:05.:16:10.

it better because they have the equipment. But it is pathetic, and I

:16:11.:16:15.

think it just is despicable, really, because it makes the whole thing an

:16:15.:16:20.

absolute playground. It doesn't give us any respect of politicians. If

:16:20.:16:23.

you did that in the council chamber, there's no question you would be

:16:23.:16:28.

thrown out. That's what should be happen. We should listen, have

:16:28.:16:34.

respect, because how does anybody expect us to get respect if we don't

:16:34.:16:38.

behave in a sensible grown-up manner? How louder do think it will

:16:38.:16:44.

be? I think some people might be frightened of being named by the

:16:44.:16:50.

speaker, and I think it will probably get to about 90 today.

:16:50.:16:56.

think higher than that. All right, we have taken nap addiction. Come

:16:56.:17:01.

back to us after PMQs. Thanks. Now, before the last election, David

:17:01.:17:04.

Cameron said that Lobbying was the next big scandal waiting to happen.

:17:04.:17:08.

Well, he turned out to be quite a clairvoyant. Today the government

:17:08.:17:11.

publishes a bill to regulate the business of lobbying and try to put

:17:11.:17:15.

an end to the perception that politicians are cabs for hire.

:17:15.:17:21.

Here's Jo Le Taxi. Very good. Yes, the debate about lobbying was

:17:21.:17:24.

reignited earlier this year when Conservative MP Patrick Mercer was

:17:24.:17:27.

one a of a number of parliamentarians caught on camera

:17:27.:17:33.

offering themselves out as hired consultants. I could normally

:17:34.:17:43.
:17:44.:18:07.

wrong-doing but resigned the Tory Whip following the Panorama and

:18:07.:18:10.

Daily Telegraph sting back in May, prompting calls for the government

:18:10.:18:13.

to take action. The Coalition Agreement had promised to regulate

:18:13.:18:17.

lobbying through introducing a statutory register of lobbyists.

:18:17.:18:20.

Over three years later, the government are today publishing a

:18:20.:18:23.

bill that would set up this statutory register and introduce new

:18:23.:18:27.

measures to reform party funding The move comes at a time when David

:18:27.:18:30.

Cameron is facing pressure over decisions to drop plans for plain

:18:30.:18:36.

cigarette packaging and a minimum price for alcohol. With the

:18:36.:18:39.

opposition claiming he has been lobbied by his election strategist

:18:39.:18:42.

Lynton Crosby, whose firm has been advising tobacco giant Philip Morris

:18:42.:18:45.

International. And Labour are also under fire over their links to the

:18:45.:18:49.

trade unions and claims that Unite has been trying to fix parliamentary

:18:49.:18:59.
:18:59.:19:00.

selection processes. Andrew. Thanks for that. David Cameron thought

:19:00.:19:06.

lobbying was going to be the next big scandal. Why did he hire a

:19:06.:19:12.

lobbyist as his election strategist? Mr Crosby is an expert strategist

:19:12.:19:16.

and has run a series of elections for the Australian Prime Minister,

:19:16.:19:23.

and for Michael Howard. And Boris Johnson's election campaign. What he

:19:23.:19:27.

does in his other time of his own business. He is employed by the

:19:27.:19:31.

Conservative Party, not by the government. Secondly, he's only

:19:31.:19:35.

employed for one day a week and thirdly, the Conservative Party pays

:19:35.:19:42.

him. He will call for paper, calls the tune. The Prime Minister decides

:19:42.:19:47.

what he will do with his time. The unions on the other hand, are paying

:19:47.:19:51.

the Labour Party and have a secure place in the Labour Party's

:19:51.:19:56.

constitution, they vote for the leader and policy. There is a

:19:56.:20:01.

fundamental difference between these two situations. Will Lynton Crosby

:20:01.:20:06.

is that one day a week between now and election? If his time increases,

:20:06.:20:09.

he will be able to less work for other people and more work for the

:20:09.:20:15.

Conservative Party. A lobbyist, it becomes your full-time study just?

:20:15.:20:22.

Should he? He doesn't lobby the Prime Minister, ministers. If

:20:22.:20:27.

anything, we tried to lobby him to make sure he understands why our

:20:27.:20:33.

policies are important. How do you know he hasn't lobbied ministers?

:20:33.:20:37.

Because the Prime Minister has made it clear he's never lobbied him on

:20:37.:20:43.

any other subjects... He's not made it clear he hasn't had a discussion

:20:43.:20:49.

about tobacco with Mr Crosby. said he has not been lobbied. Have

:20:49.:20:56.

you ever had a discussion, Chuka with a union leader about any of

:20:56.:21:00.

your policies? Have they ever had a role in the election of your leader?

:21:00.:21:07.

Yes, he would've lost to David Miliband but for hit their boat. We

:21:07.:21:11.

are paying a relatively modest sum to an election strategist. There was

:21:11.:21:16.

a big difference. It's not one of the great secrets of British

:21:16.:21:21.

politics that the unions have been influencing the Labour Party. A

:21:21.:21:27.

level political science, we learn that. What influence if any Mr

:21:27.:21:34.

Crosby, with his lobbying, has had on your government policy? We have

:21:34.:21:39.

been very clear he's employed by the Conservatives for one day a week to

:21:39.:21:44.

provide election strategy advice. The does not have any role, not any

:21:44.:21:49.

contact with civil servants. He's not lobbying and is not allowed to.

:21:49.:21:52.

I think there is an important distinction to be made between big

:21:52.:21:57.

tobacco, alcohol, commercial interests, and trade unions which

:21:57.:22:02.

represent millions of working people. Many people working in the

:22:02.:22:07.

studio. There is an important distinction but the key thing here

:22:07.:22:12.

is transparency and accountability. The extent to which the Labour Party

:22:12.:22:17.

has contributions from the unions is on public record. The problem with

:22:17.:22:21.

lobbying, this argument Nick is making, we'd paid Lynton Crosby to

:22:21.:22:31.

coming to us and we will be him, I've never heard of anybody

:22:31.:22:35.

suggesting that. Transparency and accountability, will this bill the

:22:35.:22:39.

government is introducing today, we are putting down amendments to this,

:22:39.:22:43.

to makes sure all of the lobbying companies in the country fully

:22:44.:22:46.

disclose who their clients are and the extent to which they get money

:22:47.:22:52.

from them. Secondly, to ensure people like Lynton Crosby are also

:22:52.:22:57.

covered by these rules. The idea he won't have any impact on policy

:22:57.:23:01.

whatsoever is ludicrous. Let me put that to him. Will Lynton Crosby's

:23:01.:23:07.

list of clients the public as a result of this bill? The rules will

:23:08.:23:12.

apply to all people who are lobbying on behalf of companies in the UK.

:23:12.:23:19.

we will see the company 's he has? don't know the details of the bill.

:23:19.:23:23.

Let's be clear, Andrew, the Labour Party was in government for 13

:23:23.:23:28.

years. We had Bernie Ecclestone giving Tony Blair �1 million and

:23:28.:23:32.

surprise surprise, Tony Blair turns around and does not ban cigarette

:23:32.:23:38.

advertising in the sporting events. Oh please, come on. Of course, it's

:23:38.:23:48.

taken three years. Andrew. didn't you do it in 13 years?

:23:48.:23:51.

tobacco advertising for example, we banned billboard advertising, banned

:23:52.:23:58.

smoking in public places, banned smoking advertising in sport, and

:23:58.:24:01.

actually come as a result of some of the issues raised, Tony Blair said

:24:01.:24:05.

at the time, it wasn't so much what happened but we introduced so many

:24:05.:24:10.

of the disclosable switch mean people know what he contributed. Let

:24:10.:24:18.

me finish. Why didn't you introduce a lobbying register? Let me finish

:24:18.:24:26.

my sentence. Answer my question. As a result of the rules we

:24:26.:24:32.

introduced, we do now know what is paid to political parties and all so

:24:32.:24:36.

there are certain rules where overseas companies can no longer

:24:36.:24:41.

contribute into election campaigns which didn't exist under the

:24:41.:24:45.

Conservatives. Are there more things we can do? Of course there are but

:24:45.:24:49.

why we're putting down amendments to this bill but to say nothing

:24:49.:24:53.

happened about transparency in 13 years is nonsense. Do you think

:24:53.:25:01.

there should be a requirement that trade unions, we have to count an

:25:01.:25:08.

audit of its membership to prove its accuracy? I think there is an

:25:08.:25:13.

independent audit of their members and they are not carrying about at

:25:13.:25:17.

themselves. It will be interesting to see how they propose doing it and

:25:17.:25:22.

who will fund it but transparency and accuracy of membership figures

:25:22.:25:26.

for trade unions is a good thing. I don't think they will disagree with

:25:26.:25:31.

that but let's look at the detail. What does Lynton Crosby get for one

:25:31.:25:36.

day a week? I don't know but is an expert man and I'm sure he charges a

:25:36.:25:42.

lot more than I do, to be frank. It's so sought after, its backstory

:25:42.:25:45.

so compelling, it's so often the topic of conversation for television

:25:45.:25:48.

viewers up and down the country that, naturally, it now has its own

:25:48.:25:52.

Wikipedia page. Of what do I speak? Well, the trusty Daily Politics mug,

:25:52.:25:59.

of course. We've had nothing to do with this page. We wouldn't blow our

:25:59.:26:03.

own mug's trumpet. We'll leave it to our many fans and followers to do

:26:03.:26:07.

that. In fact this one's a mock-up. And we're in good company because

:26:07.:26:13.

Chuka here has a famous wikipedia page. Everyone loves my page.Now

:26:13.:26:17.

the page used to include the flattering quote "may end up as the

:26:17.:26:20.

UK's Barack Obama". Chuka has made it absolutely clear that he had

:26:20.:26:28.

nothing to do with putting that quote on the page. Transparency.

:26:28.:26:32.

Nothing, nothing, nothing. In fact, Chuka has criticised journalists who

:26:32.:26:35.

have compared him to the US President. So it couldn't have been

:26:35.:26:41.

him, could it? I have never compared to the US president though I have

:26:41.:26:44.

once or twice head Barack Obama saying he is really American's

:26:44.:26:48.

Chuka. Now, our mug doesn't need bigging up because we know that

:26:48.:26:52.

hundreds of you will compete to win one in Guess The Year. Particularly

:26:52.:26:55.

after that introduction. We'll remind you how to enter in a minute.

:26:55.:27:05.
:27:05.:27:05.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds

:27:05.:28:07.

But let's see if you can remember next government. And I am, indeed,

:28:07.:28:17.
:28:17.:28:23.

Daily Politics mug, send your answer to our special quiz email address.

:28:23.:28:27.

And you can see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year on our

:28:27.:28:37.
:28:37.:28:37.

website. I'm going to let you do that next time. It's coming up to

:28:37.:28:47.
:28:47.:28:47.

midday here. Just take a look at Big Ben. Another glorious sunny day here

:28:47.:28:53.

in Westminster. I hope it's lovely where you are, too. It is PMQs. The

:28:53.:28:58.

final one before the summer recess. We should be in for some fireworks.

:28:58.:29:04.

Nick Robinson is here. I think the situation in Albania may come up.

:29:04.:29:14.
:29:14.:29:15.

Maybe? Maybe the NHS and lobbying? No, really? The only thing that is

:29:15.:29:19.

equally predictable is the noise level, unless the speaker has

:29:19.:29:21.

decided to intervene. What's intriguing about this is how the

:29:21.:29:25.

Tories have decided in recent weeks to increase the pressure on Labour,

:29:25.:29:29.

to increase the volume. If you saw the tactics Jeremy Hunt used

:29:29.:29:36.

yesterday, they are very similar to what David Cameron did two weeks ago

:29:36.:29:40.

to Ed Miliband on the trade unions in PMQs, to come from nowhere, Bell

:29:40.:29:44.

to your opponent around the head, get your backbenchers screaming

:29:44.:29:52.

behind you, in order to say, we are all together on this. -- belt your

:29:52.:29:56.

opponent. That is believed well for the Tories. They have done it on

:29:56.:30:03.

welfare, the trade unions. And the NHS. I am blaming Len McCluskey for

:30:03.:30:11.

this hot weather, by the way. always his fault! Tactically, what

:30:11.:30:16.

do you do if you are Ed Miliband? Last week, they reacted, they were

:30:16.:30:21.

organised, the whips were there. The tribal loyalties reasserted

:30:21.:30:25.

themselves. The question is whether you try to equal the noise or tried

:30:25.:30:31.

to take the heat out of it and appear statesmanlike. Since this is

:30:31.:30:38.

the last PMQs until September, let's go to the last PMQs until September.

:30:39.:30:43.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, this morning I had meetings... I had meetings

:30:43.:30:53.
:30:53.:31:00.

with ministerial colleagues and People using Scunthorpe General

:31:00.:31:06.

Hospital today are asking for reassurance. Given Serb Bruce Keogh

:31:06.:31:12.

says now is not the time for hasty reactions or recriminations, will

:31:12.:31:16.

the Prime Minister committed the resource and support as well as the

:31:16.:31:20.

challenge to ensure that the Scunthorpe Hospital delivers

:31:20.:31:30.
:31:30.:31:30.

high-quality care across all departments? Let me echo what he

:31:30.:31:38.

said about the Keogh reporter. It is a good report and it says that even

:31:38.:31:47.

those hospitals which have been investigated, in many instances they

:31:47.:31:57.

delivered care. This government is putting the money in, �12.7 billion

:31:57.:32:02.

extra over this Parliament. We will help those hospitals that are

:32:02.:32:07.

challenged to make sure they provide the best they can in the NHS.

:32:07.:32:12.

I am sure you will be as delighted as I am to know that unemployment in

:32:12.:32:20.

Watford has fallen once again to the lowest level since the end of 2009.

:32:20.:32:25.

I hope that the Prime Minister will agree with me that this is a good

:32:25.:32:27.

example of government policy is a good example of government policies

:32:27.:32:36.

to small businesses working, because they are the ones that provide the

:32:36.:32:46.
:32:46.:32:49.

thousands of jobs and apprentices shown at the Watford jobs fair two

:32:49.:32:58.

weeks ago. He is right, today 's unemployment figures are welcome and

:32:58.:33:03.

they show a very significant fall in the claimant count, 20,000 in the

:33:03.:33:07.

last month. It is encouraging, and some of that is because of the extra

:33:07.:33:08.

resources we put into apprenticeships. Over 1 million

:33:08.:33:11.

people have started apprenticeships in this Parliament. I hope the fall

:33:11.:33:13.

in unemployment will be welcomed across the House.

:33:13.:33:16.

The vast majority of doctors and nurses working in the NHS perform to

:33:16.:33:18.

a very high standard, day in, day out. But everybody in the country

:33:18.:33:20.

will be concerned that some hospitals are letting people down.

:33:20.:33:22.

Sir Bruce Keogh's report found frequent examples of an adequate

:33:22.:33:24.

numbers of nursing staff. Will the Prime Minister tell us what he is

:33:24.:33:26.

doing to ensure adequate numbers of nurses? The Keogh report is

:33:26.:33:30.

excellent. When you have a problem of high mortality rates,

:33:30.:33:35.

relatively, in some hospitals, it is important to hold an investigation,

:33:35.:33:41.

get to the truth and then take action to deal with that. We are

:33:41.:33:46.

putting �12.7 billion into the NHS. Over the course of the last year we

:33:46.:33:53.

have seen an extra 900 nurses in our NHS. That backs up the 8500 extra

:33:53.:34:00.

clinical staff since this government came to office.

:34:00.:34:03.

But the reality is thereof 4000 fewer nurses than when the Prime

:34:03.:34:09.

Minister came to power. One of the issues raised in this report was

:34:09.:34:15.

about nursing staff. It was also reflected in the Francis report

:34:15.:34:18.

about benchmarks for the numbers of nursing staff. If there are over

:34:18.:34:25.

4000 fewer nurses, is that helping or hindering sorting out these

:34:25.:34:29.

problems? He makes the link between the 11 hospitals put into special

:34:29.:34:32.

measures and nursing numbers. He might be interested in the figures.

:34:32.:34:39.

Eight of the 11 hospitals identified actually have more nurses today than

:34:39.:34:46.

in 2010. If, for instance, you take the hospital in Scunthorpe that was

:34:46.:34:52.

just mentioned, although that is on the list of the 11 hospitals,

:34:52.:34:56.

thereof 100 extra nurses working there than three years ago. When it

:34:56.:35:03.

comes to clinical staff, ten of the 11 hospitals have higher numbers of

:35:03.:35:09.

clinical staff. In the Francis report, Francis did not support

:35:09.:35:13.

mandatory nursing numbers. All well-run hospitals will have the

:35:13.:35:18.

right number of nurses and doctors and care assistant. One of the

:35:18.:35:25.

purposes of these reports is to make sure hospitals are better run.

:35:25.:35:28.

That his reforms are diverging money from patient care and across the

:35:28.:35:35.

health service the number of nurses is falling -- but his reforms are

:35:35.:35:40.

diverging money from patient care. On deaths from cancer, the

:35:40.:35:44.

government planned legislation on plain cigarette packaging, he

:35:44.:35:49.

changed his view after he hired Lynton Crosby, who also happens to

:35:49.:35:53.

work for big tobacco in the shape of Philip Morris. Are we really

:35:53.:35:58.

supposed to believe it is a coincidence? It is clear he does not

:35:58.:36:02.

want a proper conversation about the health service. He had not done his

:36:02.:36:07.

homework on nursing numbers. He asks about plain packaging on cigarettes.

:36:07.:36:12.

Let me be clear, the decision not to go ahead for the time being is a

:36:12.:36:16.

decision made by me and the Health Secretary. If you don't agree with

:36:16.:36:21.

the decision, you can attack me for making it. Funnily enough, it is the

:36:21.:36:27.

same decision made by the last government. I have got here the

:36:27.:36:31.

latter that the former health Secretary of State roads to a

:36:31.:36:36.

minister explaining why he wasn't going ahead. He said this, this is a

:36:36.:36:41.

letter to the honourable member for Dulwich, he said, no studies have

:36:41.:36:44.

shown that introducing plain packaging of tobacco would cut the

:36:44.:36:47.

number of young people smoking. Given the impact the plan would

:36:47.:36:54.

have, we would need strong and convincing evidence to go ahead. To

:36:54.:37:00.

summarise, if his attack on me is that we are not doing something he

:37:00.:37:05.

decided not to do, I would suggest a different line of questioning.

:37:06.:37:14.

Once again, the Prime Minister doesn't know his fact. In February

:37:14.:37:19.

2010, my right honourable friend in his tobacco strategy set out quite

:37:19.:37:24.

clearly that he was in favour of having plain cigarette packaging.

:37:24.:37:30.

That quote is from earlier. Here is the difference, my right honourable

:37:30.:37:35.

friend moved to that position in February 2010. He used to be in

:37:35.:37:43.

favour of plain cigarette packaging, then changed his mind.

:37:43.:37:51.

Can he now... Can he now... Can he now and so the question that he has

:37:51.:37:56.

not answered four weeks - has he ever had a conversation with Lynton

:37:56.:38:01.

Crosby about plain cigarette packaging? I will answer, he has

:38:01.:38:06.

never lobbied me on anything. But if he wants a lobbying scandal, why

:38:06.:38:12.

doesn't he try the fact that the trade unions by aye his policies and

:38:12.:38:18.

candidates, they even bought and paid for his leadership. The whole

:38:18.:38:26.

of the country will have heard those same weasel words he is sticking to.

:38:26.:38:30.

He can't deny that he had a conversation with Lynton Crosby

:38:30.:38:35.

about this issue. Even by the standards of this Prime Minister,

:38:35.:38:45.
:38:45.:38:45.

this is a disgraceful episode. His own honourable member of the Totnes,

:38:45.:38:53.

they described it as a day of shame for this government. He is the Prime

:38:53.:39:01.

Minister of Benson and hedge funds is, and he knows it! Can't you see

:39:01.:39:05.

there is a devastating conflict of interest between having your key

:39:05.:39:09.

adviser raking it in from big tobacco and then advising you not to

:39:09.:39:16.

go ahead with plain packaging? this on a day when this government

:39:16.:39:20.

is doing something they never did for 13 years, publishing a lobbying

:39:20.:39:27.

bill. Let us remember why we need one. We had former Labour ministers

:39:27.:39:31.

who describe themselves as cabs for hire, we had Cabinet ministers

:39:31.:39:35.

giving passports for favours, a Prime Minister questioned by the

:39:35.:39:40.

police under cash for honours. They are in no position to lecture anyone

:39:40.:39:46.

on standards in public life. Isn't it remarkable on the day of a

:39:46.:39:50.

massive fall in the claimant count, a fall in unemployment, a rise in

:39:50.:39:55.

employment, he has nothing to say? Last year he said this, next year,

:39:55.:40:01.

unemployment will get worse not better, under his policies. Isn't it

:40:01.:40:10.

time to admit you were wrong? The reality that he cannot admit is

:40:10.:40:16.

against the advice of every major public health organisation, he has

:40:16.:40:21.

caved in to big tobacco. That is the reality about this Prime Minister,

:40:21.:40:26.

and he knows it. It is Andy Coulson all over again. He is a Prime

:40:26.:40:31.

Minister who doesn't think the rules apply to him. Dinners for donors,

:40:31.:40:41.
:40:41.:40:45.

Andy Coulson and now big tobacco in Downing Street. He always stands up

:40:45.:40:49.

for the wrong people. The reason his leadership is in crisis is he can't

:40:49.:40:53.

talk about the big issues. We are getting to the end of a political

:40:53.:40:56.

session where the deficit is down, unemployment is falling, crime is

:40:56.:41:00.

down, welfare is capped, Abu Qatada is back in Jordan. This country gets

:41:00.:41:10.
:41:10.:41:18.

stronger every day, every day, he Thank you, Mr Speaker. I know the

:41:18.:41:21.

Prime Minister will want to thank those fantastic NHS staff who are

:41:22.:41:27.

rolling up their sleeves and doing everything they can to Jews avoided

:41:27.:41:30.

the early deaths. They are asking the Prime Minister for minimum unit

:41:30.:41:37.

pricing in order to help them do that job. To stop people falling

:41:37.:41:41.

into addiction in the first place. Minimum pricing is falling into

:41:42.:41:46.

death row, will the Prime Minister give it a reprieve until we know the

:41:47.:41:51.

outcome of the Sheffield report and the Scottish reports, at least?

:41:51.:41:55.

fights a strong and noble campaign on an issue that she cares a great

:41:55.:42:01.

deal about. What we are able to do is introduce something... Order, the

:42:01.:42:06.

question has been asked, let's hear the answer. We can introduce

:42:06.:42:10.

something the last government never did, to say it should be illegal to

:42:10.:42:18.

sell alcohol to lower the price of duty plus VAT. That is something, in

:42:18.:42:21.

all the binge drinking problems we had under Labour, they never managed

:42:21.:42:30.

to do. In February I asked the Prime

:42:30.:42:33.

Minister if he thought it was fair that Mr and Mrs Goodwin, both

:42:33.:42:36.

registered blind, should pay bedroom tax? He promised to look into the

:42:36.:42:40.

case. His family wrote to the Prime Minister but did not receive a

:42:40.:42:46.

reply. Why didn't the Prime Minister keep his word? I will look urgently

:42:46.:42:53.

at this case. I reply to honourable members' correspondence right across

:42:53.:42:57.

the house, and I always will. In terms of the spare room subsidy, we

:42:57.:43:01.

put into place fair rules where it does not affect pensioners and

:43:01.:43:05.

people who need that spare room. I have is when I write back, there is

:43:06.:43:10.

one question I won't be able to answer, which is we still don't know

:43:10.:43:14.

whether the party opposite are going to replace this, because they will

:43:14.:43:20.

not give us an answer. This summer, when Labour members are

:43:20.:43:30.
:43:30.:43:32.

in Blackpool on their Unite beach towels, can they assure me that his

:43:32.:43:36.

government, free both from week leadership and Len McCluskey, will

:43:36.:43:45.

not put into law the welfare benefits as a human rights? He makes

:43:45.:43:51.

a good point. Last week there was a rare piece of candour from the

:43:51.:43:57.

Labour Party. They now have a welfare reform they are in favour

:43:57.:44:03.

of. They want to make welfare are human rights. That is the policy of

:44:03.:44:07.

the Labour Party. They oppose the welfare cap, they oppose getting the

:44:07.:44:12.

deficit down and they want to make benefits a human rights.

:44:12.:44:21.

Will the Prime Minister joined... Order, let's have some order. Mr

:44:21.:44:26.

Campbell must be heard. Will he join with me in wishing a speedy recovery

:44:26.:44:30.

to the right honourable member for North Belfast, Mr Nigel Dodds, who

:44:30.:44:36.

was injured when seeking to resolve problems in his constituency during

:44:36.:44:38.

the recent unacceptable disturbances? Will he also join with

:44:38.:44:43.

many in Northern Ireland who want to see an initiative headed up by Dr

:44:43.:44:48.

Richard Haass from the USA and the considerable effort and goodwill

:44:48.:44:52.

that will be required to resolve all of the outstanding issues which have

:44:52.:45:00.

been plagued by violent opposition for too long? Everyone was concerned

:45:00.:45:05.

to hear about the honourable member knocked over in his constituency and

:45:05.:45:09.

I gather he is now improving. We look forward to welcoming him back

:45:09.:45:15.

to this House. On this issue, it's very important we see responsibility

:45:15.:45:19.

on all sides in Northern Ireland and we do take steps in making sure

:45:19.:45:23.

these marches can go ahead in a way which respects the fact that

:45:23.:45:27.

communities must be good neighbours to each other. That's what's

:45:27.:45:37.
:45:37.:45:39.

required and I know we will help in any way we can. Overall, over 4500

:45:39.:45:44.

foreign national offenders were removed from the UK in 2012 and the

:45:44.:45:54.
:45:54.:45:55.

rate has remained consistent by then that the number of foreign nationals

:45:55.:45:58.

in England and Wales is still too high and while it is lower than at

:45:58.:46:01.

the election, we can do more and which is why the Justice Secretary

:46:01.:46:03.

is looking to secure transfers with countries in the high as the portion

:46:03.:46:06.

of offenders. Foreign national offenders will be deported except in

:46:06.:46:13.

exceptional circumstances but I do think everyone can celebrate the

:46:13.:46:16.

removal of Abu Qatada who went back to Jordan and can I congratulate the

:46:16.:46:22.

Home Secretary on her hard work? the Home Secretary has deported Abu

:46:22.:46:28.

Qatada, something the previous government failed to do, will he do

:46:28.:46:32.

all he can to send foreign nationals in prison in our country back to

:46:32.:46:37.

prison in their own country and saving British taxpayers hundreds of

:46:37.:46:43.

millions of pounds as a result? absolutely agree about this issue

:46:43.:46:46.

and the fact it requires real drive from the centre of this government

:46:46.:46:50.

and which is why we held a national meeting on this, why we are trying

:46:50.:46:58.

to sign compulsorily agreement with Albania and Nigeria and I will make

:46:58.:47:02.

sure these issues are raised in meetings with foreign national

:47:02.:47:05.

prisoners to be returned. We shouldn't rule out steps, including

:47:05.:47:10.

helping countries like Jamaica, with around prison regimes so it easier

:47:10.:47:14.

to return people. It's a major priority for the government and they

:47:14.:47:19.

want us to do better. The Prime Minister claims he did not know that

:47:19.:47:27.

Lynton Crosby worked for a tobacco company but he's the heart of Tory

:47:27.:47:32.

party strategy. Why is he developing a bad habit, perhaps an addictive

:47:32.:47:39.

one, of turning a blind eye as to who his advisers actually work for?

:47:39.:47:44.

Let me explain, the role of Lyndon Crosby is to advise me about how to

:47:44.:47:50.

defeat a divided and useless Labour Party. And I have to say, on the

:47:50.:47:59.

basis of today's evidence, I'm not sure he's really necessary. In my

:47:59.:48:08.

Welsh constituency... Order, we must have a question from Mr Davies.

:48:08.:48:13.

my Welsh constituency, patients have to wait 36 weeks for treatment. Next

:48:13.:48:18.

door, English constituencies wait 18 weeks. What lessons does the Prime

:48:18.:48:22.

Minister believed the government can learn from how the NHS has been

:48:22.:48:27.

managed in Wales over these years? There's a very clear lesson which is

:48:27.:48:32.

going to vote Labour. You can see what's happening in Wales, where

:48:32.:48:37.

Labour are in control of the NHS, they cut the budget by 8%, and, as a

:48:37.:48:43.

result, you can now see in Wales, they haven't met a single waiting

:48:43.:48:49.

time targets since 2009. Meanwhile, in England, we are increasing

:48:49.:48:53.

spending on the NHS. The Shadow Chancellor keeps pointing at the

:48:53.:48:59.

Health Secretary, but here's the man who said it would be irresponsible

:48:59.:49:05.

to increase spending on the NHS. If you want to do better, you need to

:49:05.:49:15.
:49:15.:49:18.

move the two people next to you, and you need to do it fast. Order.

:49:18.:49:24.

Flynn should be heard with courtesy. Will the Prime Minister study the

:49:24.:49:32.

precise meaning of the word" question" and" answer" and the need

:49:32.:49:37.

for a link between the two? Following the record number of

:49:37.:49:43.

unanswered questions, and the record number of preprepared party

:49:43.:49:49.

political diatribe last week at question Time. A demeaning spectacle

:49:49.:49:53.

which changed him and his office. Can he give me an answer today to

:49:53.:50:02.

this question. Which is relevant and courteous? I'm assuming that one was

:50:02.:50:06.

quite complicated for a whips question is how we obviously thought

:50:06.:50:09.

of it himself, but this government is far more transparent than its

:50:09.:50:13.

predecessors about the information be published, the public spending

:50:13.:50:23.

data, far more transparent than the last government. I'm pleased to say

:50:23.:50:25.

unemployment in Northampton North continues to go down. Does the Prime

:50:26.:50:31.

Minister agree with me that today's jobs figures prove that this

:50:31.:50:35.

government's economic policy has not led to the disappearance of 1

:50:35.:50:38.

million jobs which was a forecast made by the leader of the

:50:38.:50:45.

opposition? I do think it's extraordinary, on this day there is

:50:45.:50:49.

a fall in unemployment at the leader of the opposition had nothing to say

:50:49.:50:53.

about it. He hasn't asked a full set of questions about the economy since

:50:54.:51:00.

February because he knows that our policies are working, Britain's

:51:00.:51:03.

economy is mending, and he's absolutely right, the forecast was

:51:03.:51:11.

made that, we would not make up for the loss of public sector jobs with

:51:11.:51:15.

jobs in the private sector. They are shouting because they don't want to

:51:15.:51:19.

hear good news about falling unemployment. People do want to know

:51:19.:51:27.

about more businesses, and the economy making progress. Too much

:51:27.:51:34.

shouting on both sides of the House. How many of the Conservative

:51:34.:51:38.

Party's millionaire donors asked the Prime Minister to cut the 50p top

:51:38.:51:44.

rate of tax? That was definitely a whips hand-out, no doubt about that

:51:44.:51:52.

one. Let me explain to the honourable lady and it dashed an

:51:52.:51:58.

important distinction... Order, calm down. The top rate of tax and this

:51:58.:52:05.

government is higher in every year than in any year under the previous

:52:05.:52:10.

government. The way it works in her party is that trade unions give

:52:10.:52:16.

Labour money which buys the policies, the candidates, the MP,

:52:16.:52:21.

even the leader. I'm not surprised they are worried about the product

:52:22.:52:27.

they ended up with. Enfield has the early advantage of a welfare cap for

:52:27.:52:34.

the last three months. With JS a falling twice the rate of the rest

:52:34.:52:38.

of the country. With youth unemployment at a lower level, the

:52:38.:52:44.

lowest since early 2009, can the Prime Minister ensure where Enfield

:52:44.:52:49.

leaves, the country follows. I paid tribute to the people in Enfield to

:52:49.:52:53.

find jobs. The welfare cap is not only bike because it would be wrong

:52:53.:52:57.

for people out of work to be able to earn more than a typical family in

:52:57.:53:05.

work, but people seeing a welfare cap coming down the road, are

:53:05.:53:11.

finding jobs and that's good news for them and the economy. Would

:53:11.:53:16.

Adrian B Croft, being asked to provide a report on government

:53:16.:53:26.
:53:26.:53:26.

regulars, is the doughnut for the party? That is he a donor for the

:53:26.:53:34.

party? I think his report was an excellent report. In terms of

:53:34.:53:39.

encouraging enterprise, jobs. Wealth creation. Let me explain one more

:53:39.:53:44.

time, there is a big difference, if you are a trade union and you give

:53:44.:53:47.

money to the Labour Party, you can pick the candidates and vote for

:53:47.:53:52.

them, you can pick the leader and vote for him, pick the policies and

:53:52.:53:59.

vote for him. I was elected by a one member, one vote membership system.

:53:59.:54:09.
:54:09.:54:09.

He was elected by a trade union stitch up. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

:54:09.:54:13.

Any government should be able to introduce a reasonable cap on very

:54:13.:54:18.

high claims for taxpayer funded benefits but if we are all in it

:54:18.:54:23.

together, then why is the government resisting the introduction of a cap,

:54:23.:54:26.

sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds, individual case is the

:54:26.:54:28.

government resisting the introduction of a cap, sometimes

:54:28.:54:34.

hundreds of thousands of pounds, individual cases over �1 million,

:54:34.:54:41.

farm support system? This government has the huge amount of tax reform to

:54:41.:54:45.

make sure people pay their taxes they owe. And of course, we always

:54:45.:54:54.

look at the Common agricultural policy to make sure it's fair.

:54:54.:55:00.

Speaker, in order to save the Prime Minister time, I was a member of the

:55:00.:55:08.

Unite union since the age of 16 as an engineering apprentice, and I'm

:55:08.:55:18.
:55:18.:55:18.

quite happy to debate who spent their youths more productively. On

:55:19.:55:23.

the 26th of June, in response to a question from my honourable friend

:55:23.:55:31.

from Ealing North, on the Tory dinners for donors, the Prime

:55:31.:55:36.

Minister said he would be happy to publish the Gold report. Is there a

:55:36.:55:39.

reason he hasn't done so, is because he hasn't done so, is it because

:55:39.:55:46.

he's ashamed of the fact his party has had more donors than a late

:55:46.:55:53.

night kebabs shop? It's a time when we ought to remember the donation of

:55:53.:56:00.

Mr Mills. �1.6 million to the Labour Party, who got advice about how to

:56:00.:56:03.

dodge his taxes. When they get an answer to when you're going to pay

:56:03.:56:12.

the money back, I will answer his question. While still hoping the

:56:12.:56:17.

Prime Minister will agree with the CBI and me and withdraw support for

:56:17.:56:22.

HS2, he will remember last November giving me an undertaking that people

:56:22.:56:29.

who are disrupted by this project will be generously compensated. It's

:56:29.:56:36.

here where, on phase one, HS2 has not yet the basic consultation and

:56:36.:56:41.

on current plans, won't do for three months. Really please intervene,

:56:41.:56:45.

speed up the process, before those constituents and other peoples whose

:56:45.:56:51.

lives are affected, are totally ruined? She's absolutely right to

:56:51.:56:56.

raise this. We will set out further consultation later this year. We are

:56:56.:57:01.

committed to a very generous and fair compensation scheme. Matters

:57:01.:57:03.

relating to compensation are important which is why we must make

:57:03.:57:06.

sure we get the decisions right but the Transport Secretary will be

:57:06.:57:15.

happy to meet with hair and discuss her constituents concerns. The Prime

:57:15.:57:19.

Minister has certainly been helping the Jersey registered companies with

:57:19.:57:27.

their ex-sports. Perhaps he could tell the House whether the reason he

:57:27.:57:32.

took a man with him to Kazakhstan was because he donated �300,000 to

:57:32.:57:40.

the Tory party. -- exports. Let's remember which government it was who

:57:40.:57:45.

will make sure Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, pay taxes properly,

:57:45.:57:49.

it's this one. I will tell you directly why I took him to

:57:49.:57:56.

Kazakhstan. His company employs tens of thousands of people in this

:57:56.:58:01.

country, it's investing billions into the North Sea, and major

:58:01.:58:06.

British energy company and I'm proud of the fact that we fly the flag for

:58:06.:58:09.

British energy companies and so, when I finished taking them to

:58:09.:58:15.

Kazakhstan, I will take them to India, China, Malaysia. We are not

:58:15.:58:18.

embarrassed about business, industry, enterprise and jobs on

:58:18.:58:28.
:58:28.:58:45.

this side of the House. We want more Angela Merkel, have they examined

:58:45.:58:53.

the evidence that it is the existence of the European single

:58:53.:59:00.

currency, which is a major cause of despair which is now sweeping across

:59:00.:59:05.

southern Europe, and threatens democracy of Portugal, Spain and

:59:05.:59:14.

Greece? When I meet with Angela Merkel, we often discuss the single

:59:14.:59:18.

currency. I think it's important that, whatever 1's personal views

:59:18.:59:22.

about the single currency, and I never want Britain to join it, we

:59:22.:59:24.

have to respect those countries which are in the single currency and

:59:24.:59:28.

want to make it work. I believe there's an opportunity for Britain,

:59:28.:59:32.

at the same time is doing that, to argue that the European Union itself

:59:32.:59:36.

needs to change. We need make this organisation where members of the

:59:36.:59:41.

single currency can be comfortable and members want not, can be

:59:41.:59:45.

comfortable also. I think Angela Merkel understands that. I think the

:59:45.:59:49.

Prime Minister from Italy, who I will be meeting with straight after

:59:49.:59:52.

the session, understands that, as well, which is why it is achievable

:59:52.:59:56.

to get a better settlement for Britain, and one we can get in a

:59:56.:00:01.

referendum by the end of 2017. Prime Minister failed to say next

:00:01.:00:05.

week when it's going to give back the stolen cash given to the

:00:05.:00:11.

Conservative Party. When will you give it back? I have to say, the

:00:11.:00:16.

whips hand out have been very active this week. What we need to see is

:00:16.:00:22.

when are we going to get the payers money given back from Mr Mills's

:00:22.:00:26.

donation? Never mind a donation which happened 20 years ago. This

:00:26.:00:32.

happened at 20 weeks ago. One of the first activist government was to

:00:32.:00:38.

bring a request to fund a security measures in Jewish free schools.

:00:38.:00:43.

Parents in Hendon in my constituency where paying for this additional

:00:43.:00:49.

security measures from their own pocket. After the last government

:00:49.:00:54.

refused to help. As his funding arrangement ends in 2015, can I ask

:00:54.:00:58.

them to support my campaign for the Education Secretary to continue with

:00:58.:01:02.

this scheme? I will look very carefully about my honourable friend

:01:02.:01:08.

says. I'm a strong supporter of free schools and also, the community

:01:08.:01:15.

Security trust which has provided a lot of security for schools. My

:01:15.:01:17.

right honourable friend, the Education Secretary, will be happy

:01:17.:01:22.

to look to see how we can continue to give support. Given the scandal

:01:22.:01:26.

of price-fixing in the oil and gas industry, is currently being

:01:26.:01:29.

investigated by the European Union, does the Prime Minister agree with

:01:29.:01:33.

me that it's important to be absolutely transparent about the oil

:01:33.:01:41.

and gas companies that Lynton Crosby's firm represents? Have they

:01:41.:01:45.

got nothing to say about unemployment, improving education,

:01:45.:01:52.

capping welfare? It pains me to point this out to the honourable

:01:52.:01:59.

lady but she has received �32,000 from affiliated trade unions. Let me

:01:59.:02:02.

explain the difference. With Lynton Crosby, the Conservative Party gives

:02:02.:02:07.

them money to help us get rid of labour. That's the way it works.

:02:07.:02:11.

With the Labour Party, the unions give you money and that's the way it

:02:11.:02:18.

works. And yet she says this. On her website, " I'm a member of Unison

:02:19.:02:24.

and Unite and I rightly raise trade union issues in Parliament." That is

:02:24.:02:34.
:02:34.:02:48.

will be heard. Many water companies in England are

:02:48.:02:53.

paid huge dividends. They've avoided paying tax and are not properly

:02:53.:02:59.

accountable. And proposing an annual increase of �80 a year on water

:02:59.:03:04.

rates. With the primers to make sure no public subsidy is given to Thames

:03:04.:03:09.

Water or any other water company which puts the profits and its

:03:09.:03:12.

shareholders had the interests of ordinary ratepayers and the tax

:03:12.:03:18.

payers of his undermine? Let me be clear, I've always had companies

:03:18.:03:22.

should pay the tax they owe. I don't want to comment on individual

:03:22.:03:27.

companies but that is the case. Any support from government must be

:03:27.:03:32.

targeted to benefit customers bills and provide value for taxpayers.

:03:32.:03:35.

There is merit in the Thames tunnel proposal and we need to look back

:03:35.:03:38.

carefully because it would be a benefit for London, for his

:03:38.:03:42.

constituents, and for everybody in London but I sure we will use

:03:42.:03:45.

everything at our disposal to get the best deal for London, and for

:03:45.:03:55.
:03:55.:03:58.

taxpayers. Did the Prime Minister asked Lynton Crosby... ? We can run

:03:58.:04:02.

through this one again. Let me have another go at explaining it. It

:04:02.:04:07.

works like this. The Conservative Party gives Lynton Crosby money and

:04:07.:04:13.

he helps us attack the Labour Party, right? But trade unions give

:04:13.:04:18.

money to the Labour Party. The other way round. For that, they buy your

:04:18.:04:24.

candidates. They buy your MPs. They buy your policies and even give you

:04:24.:04:31.

this completely hopeless leader. Last but not least, Andrew

:04:31.:04:40.

Griffiths. My constituent was diagnosed with cervical cancer at

:04:40.:04:46.

the age of 25 when she had her first smear test. Sadly, she had to have a

:04:46.:04:49.

hysterectomy. We'll Prime Minister join me in congratulating her on her

:04:49.:04:53.

drop your pants and save your life campaign, to raise awareness of

:04:53.:05:00.

cervical cancer? Willingly agreed to talk to the Health Secretary about

:05:00.:05:05.

her wish to bring the age at which young people can have a smear test

:05:05.:05:12.

down from 25 down to 20? I paid tribute to his constituents for the

:05:12.:05:15.

bravery in raising this campaign and speaking so frankly about it. This

:05:15.:05:20.

screening programme we have had in the NHS has been one of its greatest

:05:20.:05:23.

successes in terms of early diagnosis of saving lives and we

:05:23.:05:26.

should always be asking what the latest evidence is for the screening

:05:26.:05:30.

programme and when it should start and I'm sure my right honourable

:05:30.:05:40.
:05:40.:05:51.

friend will want to talk to him of this session. We will not see the

:05:51.:05:56.

light can until the 13th of September. The NHS and lobbying

:05:57.:06:00.

dominated the exchanges between the front benches, and also the

:06:00.:06:03.

backbench exchanges with the Prime Minister. It was another rowdy

:06:04.:06:07.

house, very noisy, we will give you the exact decibel count a little

:06:07.:06:12.

later. The Prime Minister was in a kind of boisterous mood, I think,

:06:12.:06:17.

would be the best way to describe them. We will see what it means in a

:06:17.:06:22.

second. Let's find out what you thought. Ian Whiteley said, a win

:06:22.:06:25.

for Dave, although Ed landed a couple of blows.

:06:25.:06:32.

The Prime Minister for Benson and Hedges was a good one. He should

:06:32.:06:35.

have stuck to the Keogh reports and left Lynton Crosby to the

:06:35.:06:39.

backbenches. Jim from Nuneaton, by linking to a

:06:39.:06:42.

hospital care to nursing staff numbers, Cameron had Miliband in a

:06:42.:06:49.

tight corner by explaining that the worst hospitals had more staff than

:06:49.:06:53.

three years before. Another viewer says, I can't tell of Miliband is

:06:53.:06:57.

waving or drowning. For once, David Cameron has found

:06:57.:07:02.

the right way to answer a question with an answer which is relevant to

:07:02.:07:06.

the question. A good set of questions from Miliband. Cameron's

:07:06.:07:11.

claims are not justified. PMQs is nothing more than

:07:11.:07:14.

prearranged soundbites and preplanned noise. At the end of

:07:14.:07:19.

term, Ed Miliband had a very good day, clearly highlighting his

:07:19.:07:29.
:07:29.:07:30.

difficulty when dealing with facts over spin, validating the difference

:07:30.:07:33.

between what Keogh said and what the Tories have spun. Jacqueline says

:07:33.:07:36.

that David Cameron plays with words. Obviously he had a conversation

:07:36.:07:43.

about the cigarette packaging. Nick, summer recess, we are right in

:07:43.:07:46.

the middle of the electoral cycle. The polls don't help us too much,

:07:46.:07:49.

one Pole said Labour were 11 points ahead, then another one said that

:07:49.:07:56.

Labour and the Tories were neck and neck. Although it is not exactly

:07:56.:08:00.

clear what is happening, the Tories head to this recess in a better mood

:08:01.:08:10.

than they thought a couple of months ago? Much better. You describe David

:08:10.:08:13.

Cameron as boisterous. His backbenchers were cheerful. The

:08:13.:08:17.

opposite is the case at times with Labour, they looked alarmed at

:08:17.:08:24.

times. Organised, but not looking as cheerful. Why are they cheerful?

:08:24.:08:28.

Partly the list which the Prime Minister gave out, the deficit is

:08:28.:08:37.

down. Compared to 2010.Abu Qatada has gone home, the European

:08:38.:08:42.

referendum private member's bill the other day, it does not get them

:08:42.:08:48.

closer to rest the random but it has cheered them up and got them onside.

:08:48.:08:52.

The economic news is possibly the most important, which is it is a

:08:52.:08:56.

little bit better than it was. Everybody is waiting for the next

:08:56.:08:59.

GDP figures, but if it confirms that not only was there no trouble dip,

:08:59.:09:06.

there was no double-dip, it feels like relatively good news. The

:09:06.:09:12.

Tories feel better about themselves, which is why David Cameron has

:09:12.:09:17.

spurned a mini reshuffle which was down for tomorrow. It was going to

:09:17.:09:20.

involve, I am told, a widespread reshuffle underneath the Cabinet to

:09:20.:09:24.

prepare for a Cabinet Mac Pro reshuffle ahead of the election, but

:09:24.:09:32.

the Prime Minister thought, why disrupt the good mood? A reshuffle

:09:32.:09:36.

upsets some people you fire, disappoint those who do not get

:09:36.:09:42.

promoted and you perhaps upset those who feel passed over. And yet the

:09:42.:09:47.

fundamental feature of British living standards at the moment is

:09:47.:09:51.

they are still in decline. We saw worse than expected inflation

:09:51.:10:00.

figures, last week, and although average earnings rose a bit, 1.7,

:10:00.:10:05.

earnings are still not keeping pace with prices. I would suggest that

:10:05.:10:15.
:10:15.:10:19.

for all the bluster and boisterous behaviour and so on, the

:10:19.:10:23.

Conservatives can't really feel good about themselves until living

:10:23.:10:29.

standards start to rise again. It is very difficult to win an election

:10:29.:10:39.
:10:39.:10:45.

with living standards in decline. Nobody is pretending we are out of

:10:45.:10:51.

the woods, but employment is growing and jobs have been created in a way

:10:51.:10:58.

that has surprised all of us, I don't think anybody would expect

:10:58.:11:02.

that jobs would come through as constant -- consistently as they

:11:02.:11:07.

have. Families are still feeling squeezed. The only answer to that is

:11:07.:11:11.

the one which we have been pushing since 2010. We have to get

:11:11.:11:13.

government borrowing down, jobs growing and we have to help

:11:13.:11:15.

businesses export. Those are arguments being made very

:11:15.:11:17.

effectively in Prime Minister's Questions by the Prime Minister, and

:11:17.:11:21.

it is just showing signs that it might work. That is why I think

:11:21.:11:25.

there is room for optimism, but no sense of comfort about where we are.

:11:25.:11:28.

Lynton Crosby was mentioned a lot, the Australian lobbyist and election

:11:28.:11:32.

Guru now working for the Conservatives. He is expected to

:11:32.:11:34.

lead the Conservative election campaign, to be the chief adviser,

:11:34.:11:38.

come 2015. He has just been door step to buy a television crew.

:11:38.:11:41.

Did you ever lobby the Prime Minister on tobacco? The Prime

:11:41.:11:44.

Minister has said everything that needs to be said on that issue.

:11:44.:11:50.

Well, that was a piece of seminal television! It took the debate on

:11:50.:11:58.

enormously! You may mark! I've now got six seconds of Lynton Crosby, I

:11:58.:12:03.

was told this morning I only had four! Six seconds of public service

:12:03.:12:10.

broadcasting at it finest! At least we know what he looks like now! You

:12:10.:12:14.

out to get Crosby because you are frightened of him? I don't think we

:12:14.:12:20.

are frightened of him. He has sharpened up the Tory act, you can

:12:20.:12:24.

data the resurgence of Mr Cameron two when Mr Crosby got stuck into

:12:24.:12:31.

providing strategy. The big issue is about their potential conflict and

:12:31.:12:35.

what conversations the Prime Minister has had with Lynton Crosby

:12:35.:12:39.

in respect of tobacco. Time and time again, we saw it in the exchange is

:12:39.:12:43.

now in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister has been asked, have

:12:43.:12:46.

you had a conversation involving any mention of tobacco with Lynton

:12:46.:12:52.

Crosby? Time and again, you has failed to answer. You are right in

:12:52.:12:56.

the sense that Crosby undoubtedly has changed the way in which they

:12:56.:13:01.

are seeking to campaign. My prediction is that we will see the

:13:01.:13:06.

most vile, nasty and personal campaign in the lead up to this

:13:06.:13:12.

election. We have 95 weeks to go. I think it will be the most vile we

:13:12.:13:16.

have seen in political history. You have seen the kind of personal

:13:16.:13:21.

remarks and smears that have been heaped on Andy Burnham over the last

:13:21.:13:25.

48 hours. Actually very different to when the Prime Minister gave his

:13:25.:13:30.

statement on Mid Staffordshire. I think we will see more of that. I

:13:30.:13:35.

understand that is the way Mr Crosby does things. But the reason for

:13:35.:13:41.

junking the policy... There were two policies, and the reason for junking

:13:41.:13:47.

the minimum pricing for alcohol policy and the policy for having

:13:47.:13:51.

plain packaging for cigarettes could be that the Prime Minister has

:13:51.:13:57.

succumbed to lobbying from Mr Crosby, that is a possibility. We

:13:57.:14:04.

have no evidence. The other reason could be that Mr Crosby gave advice

:14:04.:14:08.

in a get the barnacles off the ships strategy, get rid of politics

:14:08.:14:12.

involving posh boys telling ordinary people what to do. That second

:14:12.:14:18.

reason, you can agree or disagree with it, but it would be an entirely

:14:18.:14:23.

legitimate piece of political advice to give, correct? That may or not be

:14:23.:14:27.

the case, I don't know. But if they will go down the politics of smear

:14:27.:14:33.

route, I don't actually think... are smearing the Prime Minister by

:14:33.:14:38.

saying he is in the pocket of big Tobacco. He needs to answer the

:14:38.:14:46.

question. I have lots of years in the pockets of big Tobacco. Pension

:14:46.:14:56.
:14:56.:14:57.

and Dell -- bends -- Benson and Hedge fund is, I believe was said.

:14:57.:15:01.

We are talking about the decibel levels in the House of Commons, but

:15:01.:15:07.

I think we have a general problem in British politics at the moment. Does

:15:07.:15:12.

this type of thing, the politics of smear, the shouting you see in the

:15:12.:15:17.

House of Commons, encourage more people to engage with politics or to

:15:17.:15:21.

walk away from it? One of the challenges for both parties in the

:15:21.:15:25.

lead up to the general election is, is the way we conduct ourselves and

:15:25.:15:29.

do our politics going to encourage people to take an interest and vote,

:15:29.:15:33.

or will it switch them off? I think people are more political than ever

:15:33.:15:38.

but I think one of the big problems we have is that they are switched

:15:38.:15:41.

off party politics more than ever. A lot of people watching this

:15:41.:15:44.

programme will watch it because they like PMQs, but a lot of people

:15:44.:15:49.

don't. Reign I don't think the suggestion that Lynton Crosby simply

:15:49.:15:53.

said to get rid of these policies because it is a way of pursuing a

:15:53.:15:58.

Tory election strategy free of distractions gets him or the Prime

:15:58.:16:03.

Minister quite off the hook. Mr Crosby is in the room and is in

:16:03.:16:08.

effect wearing two have, one is the paid representative of what Labour

:16:09.:16:13.

calls big Tobacco, the large tobacco firms, particularly Philip Morris,

:16:13.:16:19.

if he is in Norris but happens to be there on one occasion because he is

:16:19.:16:22.

being paid for by the Conservatives, there is not transparency about why

:16:22.:16:32.

he is giving the advice he is giving and on whose behalf. The sooner he

:16:32.:16:36.

takes a full-time position with the Tories, if he is doing their

:16:36.:16:43.

election campaign, the better, I would imagine? The Lib Dem leader

:16:43.:16:47.

Nick Clegg is also saying that he is not a government policy adviser, but

:16:47.:16:52.

here's highly influential with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

:16:52.:16:57.

In part, that is about telling them what not to do, policy wise. It just

:16:57.:17:01.

happens that one of the things he told them not to do, because it

:17:01.:17:05.

would be a destruction, was in the interest of one of his paid clients.

:17:06.:17:15.
:17:16.:17:18.

We will see if he survives over the summer. Thank you. It might as well

:17:18.:17:28.
:17:28.:17:34.

rain until September. I remember when he went to arrest and in rails

:17:34.:17:36.

unasked for some asparagus tips and she came back and said, we haven't

:17:36.:17:43.

got any but we do have some Benson & Hedges. Good one. I've not had that

:17:43.:17:48.

one before. We could get you a gig somewhere else. Now earlier we asked

:17:48.:17:53.

two MPs to measure the noise levels in the commons during PMQs. We will

:17:53.:17:57.

get them to do stand-up comedy next time. Tessa Munt and Alun Cairns

:17:57.:18:03.

join us now again from Central Lobby. How loud was it? 89. It was

:18:03.:18:08.

quite loud but didn't quite cross the 90 mark I suggested. It was more

:18:08.:18:12.

subdued in last week. There was cautioned a little bit by the whips

:18:12.:18:17.

not to be too loud about, as I said earlier, last week there was a web

:18:17.:18:23.

operation to come out in strong support for Ed Miliband and then we

:18:23.:18:27.

retaliated on our side. Your decibel reading was the same as the food

:18:28.:18:33.

blender so pretty noisy. What about you Tessa Munt? Somebody was looking

:18:33.:18:40.

over your shoulder because it wasn't from you, to say you hit 92?

:18:40.:18:47.

actually went to 95 and 96 and then 97. Oh my goodness. Yours was lot

:18:47.:18:57.
:18:57.:18:58.

higher. That is Liverpool Anfield football ground which can get to 98.

:18:58.:19:03.

It was terrifically loud. You were sitting at the back and I was the

:19:03.:19:07.

front. My Lib Dem colleagues were quieter but I had some extremely

:19:07.:19:12.

noisy colleagues behind me. Allah coalition partners. You're blaming

:19:12.:19:20.

the Conservatives. -- oh, you are blaming your coalition partners.

:19:20.:19:27.

They were in full song behind me. I suspect my gadget picked them up

:19:27.:19:36.

clearly. Where you out of the chamber, only getting 94 question

:19:36.:19:43.

mark. I suggest the reason it went high at the front is because the

:19:43.:19:49.

noise came from the other side, rather than from our side but I

:19:49.:19:53.

think the important issue to recognise if it's a terrible

:19:53.:19:56.

environment to ask a question and a difficult environment to answer it,

:19:56.:20:01.

and that's why each side is basically trying to put the other

:20:01.:20:06.

side. That's not the purpose of PMQs. The purpose is to scrutinise

:20:06.:20:10.

the Prime Minister. He told me it serves the purpose, Tuesday night is

:20:10.:20:14.

the time of the week he gets to know everything which is going on in

:20:14.:20:18.

every department in case the question comes up. OK, thank you

:20:18.:20:22.

very much for being our noise level watchers and have a good summer

:20:22.:20:30.

break. Is that what you do with your Tuesday night? Absolutely, I do

:20:30.:20:38.

symptoms from the Commons din over their long summer break, well, they

:20:38.:20:41.

could spend some time under the Heathrow flight path. That's where I

:20:42.:20:44.

live. According to a government report, noise pollution levels of at

:20:44.:20:47.

least 57 decibels affect almost 260,000 people living near the

:20:47.:20:50.

airport. But Heathrow insists it needs a third runway and today is

:20:50.:20:56.

making its submssion to the Davies Commission on airport capacity. It

:20:56.:20:58.

conveniently won't report until after the next general election.

:20:58.:21:01.

Heathrow's Chief Executive, Colin Matthews, has got on his soapbox for

:21:01.:21:11.
:21:11.:21:20.

travelling nearly half a million flights. Heathrow is how the world

:21:20.:21:24.

's conscience come to the UK and how the UK connects to the world. --

:21:24.:21:31.

continents. They bring trade, which brings economic growth, which brings

:21:31.:21:36.

jobs, and the world economy is changing. The fastest growing

:21:36.:21:40.

economies are the most distant ones today and the UK is in the global

:21:40.:21:44.

competitive race to win in those marketplaces before our competitors.

:21:44.:21:48.

We are one of the world 's most successful airport and, unlike other

:21:48.:21:53.

UK airports, we had the scale to compete with Paris, Amsterdam,

:21:53.:22:00.

Frankfurt, and Dubai. We bring transfer traffic from right across

:22:00.:22:05.

Europe to Philip Long haul aircraft every single day of the year. That

:22:05.:22:08.

makes them efficient, economically viable, and means we fly long-haul

:22:08.:22:15.

routes we wouldn't otherwise have flown from the UK. But there is no

:22:15.:22:19.

more room here to put on new flights to many of the world 's

:22:19.:22:22.

fastest-growing economies. The choice for government is this, do we

:22:22.:22:25.

build on the strength of Britain has had to many of the world 's

:22:25.:22:27.

fastest-growing economies. The choice for government is this, do we

:22:27.:22:36.

build on the strength of Britain has had to throw or close it and at and

:22:36.:22:42.

new airport would. Closing Heathrow as the Mayor would suggest would

:22:43.:22:50.

cost 100,000 jobs and be bad news and thousands of businesses which

:22:50.:22:54.

are based around Heathrow in the last 50 years want more

:22:54.:22:57.

international links on their doorstep, not fewer. Today we have

:22:58.:23:02.

put forward new options for a third runway at Heathrow. Our proposals

:23:02.:23:06.

show how we can add more flights at Heathrow and still improve the

:23:06.:23:10.

environmental performance of the airport and with new aircraft

:23:10.:23:14.

technology, we show how we can have more flights and reduce the amount

:23:14.:23:20.

of noise. The debate is complex and there is no easy answers but

:23:20.:23:23.

Heathrow is more convenient for passengers, better placed for

:23:23.:23:28.

business and will deliver economic growth more quickly and cost less so

:23:28.:23:38.
:23:38.:23:45.

Welcome to the programme. During the enquiry into terminal five, in 1999,

:23:45.:23:50.

BAA said they did not want a third runway so what's changed? People

:23:50.:23:54.

recognise just how important it is to the UK that we have direct

:23:54.:23:58.

connections to economies around the world. Those economies which are

:23:58.:24:02.

growing, China, India, they are a long way away and you can't take a

:24:02.:24:05.

shorthaul flight there, you can't take a train and you have to have

:24:05.:24:13.

long haul flights. We trade 20 times more with countries whom we have

:24:13.:24:19.

direct, rather than directing in transit. There's an element of trust

:24:19.:24:23.

for people living under the flight path, your proposal doesn't rule out

:24:23.:24:29.

a fourth runway, so your plan has no limit? There is a trust question and

:24:30.:24:32.

Dubai can airport commission taking an objective data driven view of

:24:33.:24:42.
:24:43.:24:44.

what's best for this country. -- and we welcome. It is fundamentally a

:24:44.:24:49.

political decision. I think the economic cycle. We need the growth

:24:49.:24:53.

but noise is a real issue. It impact on local people is an issue and

:24:53.:24:59.

therefore it's right we choose the best option. But you can't rule out

:25:00.:25:05.

plans for a fourth runway in ten years time? I don't know on what

:25:05.:25:09.

basis someone historically said that because it's not our decision. It's

:25:09.:25:13.

a government decision which says what is our aviation policy. We are

:25:13.:25:17.

making our case today to the Davies Commission and we look forward to

:25:17.:25:21.

them coming to view. We think there's good evidence to say it

:25:21.:25:27.

matters to the UK. Over 700,000 people live under the current flight

:25:28.:25:31.

path. You mentioned the environmental impact. If a third

:25:32.:25:37.

runway was used to capacity, it would lead to 220,000 extra

:25:37.:25:41.

aeroplanes flying over London every year emitting 23.6 million tonnes of

:25:41.:25:48.

CO2 every year. If you want the globally low carbon solution, you

:25:48.:25:54.

would put your most efficient hub as close as possible to London. If you

:25:54.:25:58.

want low carbon solutions, you would definitely have your best hub as

:25:58.:26:03.

close as possible to London. In terms of noise, it's a real issue.

:26:03.:26:07.

We can drive noise down with a third runway because aircraft are getting

:26:07.:26:12.

quieter, we can develop operating procedures which means less of a

:26:12.:26:19.

noise reaches the ground and we can improve the scheme on the ground.

:26:19.:26:22.

third runway at Heathrow, no efforts and bats, that's what David Cameron

:26:22.:26:29.

said before the last election. have you said up a commission which

:26:29.:26:32.

is considering a third runway at Heathrow? We are looking at all the

:26:32.:26:38.

options. Like many commitments made in the manifesto, we are going to

:26:38.:26:42.

stick to my commitment until the next election. And beyond, and wait

:26:42.:26:47.

for the Davies Commission to report. It's overwhelmingly in our

:26:48.:26:51.

country 's national interest to have a hub airport capable of connecting

:26:51.:26:56.

us with a growing market of the world. You would like to see a third

:26:56.:27:06.

runway? We don't know where to put it. What about expanding Gatwick and

:27:06.:27:10.

Stansted where you have more room? They are all options we are looking

:27:10.:27:16.

at. They have intense political difficulties attached to them, as

:27:16.:27:21.

does the third runway at Heathrow. None of these things are easy. None

:27:21.:27:24.

of them is politically comfortable, but all of us, as parties, have to

:27:25.:27:28.

grapple with it and I think we all agree the Davies Commission is the

:27:28.:27:35.

right way to get very high quality objective answers. Lynton Crosby,

:27:35.:27:39.

let's think of him, is this another barnacle you have to get off the

:27:40.:27:44.

boat? We have a clear policy which we are going to maintain. We will

:27:44.:27:48.

only look at it again once we have the full advice from the Davies

:27:48.:27:52.

Commission in 2015. After the next election, which is kicking it into

:27:53.:27:58.

the long grass. It's not, it's a huge important project and it's

:27:58.:28:08.

important we look at it thoroughly. Labour has flip-flopped on this. The

:28:08.:28:14.

issue is, the difference between our position, we don't have an automatic

:28:14.:28:17.

preference for a third runway but the shame of this is it a classic

:28:17.:28:22.

example of the big infrastructure decision where you need cross-party

:28:22.:28:26.

agreement and we reached it two and half years ago... I hate to

:28:26.:28:34.

interrupt you but we have to do is leave it. Just time to give you the

:28:34.:28:39.

result to Guess the Year. The answer was 1970. James Fletcher is the

:28:39.:28:47.

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