:00:41. > :00:46.Good afternoon. Welcome to the Daily Politics. A thawing of
:00:46. > :00:49.diplomatic relations. And not just between the Mayor of London and the
:00:49. > :00:55.Chancellor, as Boris and George meet in Beijing to love bomb the
:00:55. > :00:58.Chinese. 600,000 economically inactive EU migrants are in the UK
:00:59. > :01:02.according to a study published this morning. Are they taking more in
:01:02. > :01:06.benefits and from public services than they are contributing in
:01:06. > :01:09.taxes? President Obama versus Congress. Still no agreement as the
:01:09. > :01:13.impasse that has shut down the US government continues. Thursday's
:01:14. > :01:19.deadline threatens another economic crisis. It is the job everyone is
:01:19. > :01:23.talking about. At Westminster at least. We will put the candidates
:01:23. > :01:38.to replace Nigel Evans as Deputy Speaker through their paces. That
:01:39. > :01:42.is in the next hour. With us for the first part of the programme
:01:42. > :01:44.today is Colleen Graffy, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
:01:44. > :01:54.and associate professor of law at Pepperdine University based here in
:01:54. > :01:58.London. Welcome to the programme. You are thousands of miles away on
:01:58. > :02:00.the other side of the world and who should you bump into, but a fellow
:02:00. > :02:03.senior Conservative politician. Boris Johnson and George Osborne
:02:03. > :02:06.are in China. The timing of their visit apparently a complete
:02:06. > :02:13.coincidence. If you believe that, you believe anything. Boris is
:02:13. > :02:16.drumming up business for London and the Chancellor for the whole of the
:02:16. > :02:18.UK. The visit marks a thawing of relations with Beijing after David
:02:18. > :02:21.Cameron met Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who is a
:02:21. > :02:24.strong critic of the Chinese regime, last year. This morning, the
:02:24. > :02:27.Chancellor was asked whether Britain had promised his hosts that
:02:27. > :02:32.there will be no more meetings with the Dalai Lama. The Prime Minister
:02:32. > :02:40.said in the House of Commons he has not got any plans to meet the Dalai
:02:40. > :02:47.Lama. He has met the Dalai Lama. He does not have plans to meet him
:02:47. > :02:51.again. I do not think diplomatic and economic relations are entirely
:02:51. > :02:54.intertwined. The economic relationship between these two
:02:54. > :03:01.great nations is getting stronger and stronger. Everyone wants a
:03:01. > :03:08.slice of the cake when it comes to the Chinese investment. Is that a
:03:08. > :03:10.sign of demise in the US? And absolutely not. President Obama
:03:10. > :03:15.took this pivot to Asia and the absolutely not. President Obama
:03:15. > :03:21.reason was the United States is focused on the potential that is
:03:21. > :03:26.happening in Asia. The problems and there to hear is what you do about
:03:26. > :03:30.human rights. Not only that, but also the environmental record. The
:03:30. > :03:35.United States looks at this talk of the rise of time as a superpower
:03:35. > :03:40.has been premature. They have demographic, human rights and
:03:40. > :03:44.environmental issues. You still want the trade, but you need
:03:44. > :03:49.something to deal with the other issues. The Chancellor said that
:03:49. > :03:54.the two are separate in some ways. The Prime Minister met the Dalai
:03:54. > :04:00.Lama, but that should not stop investment and trade missions going
:04:00. > :04:04.ahead. If they are connected, why did China cut-off relations because
:04:04. > :04:10.he met the Dalai Lama? They are clearly connected for China. Even
:04:10. > :04:15.though we are trying to separate them. I understand why lucrative
:04:15. > :04:20.trade is a potential. If you go to China, and you see the growth is
:04:20. > :04:25.astonishing. The image of tiger needs to change. They are cutting
:04:25. > :04:29.edge. What they are doing is amazing and we have catching-up to
:04:29. > :04:34.do. Some of the concerns might be for example, do you want them to
:04:34. > :04:45.engage in building nuclear power plants question mark they should be
:04:45. > :04:53.a question -- plants? There should be a question about that. Security
:04:53. > :04:55.issues must be being raised. But Great Britain could capitalise on
:04:55. > :05:01.the expense and reluctance you are Great Britain could capitalise on
:05:01. > :05:09.expressing on behalf of the US. His it is a matter of time are finding
:05:09. > :05:11.ways. These institutes cropping up all over the United States
:05:11. > :05:15.ways. These institutes cropping up associated with universities. They
:05:15. > :05:23.sound fantastic. They have a lot of money. Self- censure should when
:05:23. > :05:28.universities want to invite the Dalai Lama -- self-censorship. They
:05:28. > :05:37.feel the pressure. That would be my concern. Walk would be the leverage
:05:37. > :05:46.if they are engaged in building nuclear power plants -- what would
:05:46. > :05:50.be? Britain's relationship with Europe is often rocky, shall we say.
:05:50. > :05:53.The latest report from the European Commission on the effects of
:05:53. > :05:56.migration on our social security system is unlikely to help it. In
:05:56. > :05:58.fact, the headline figures will have had people spluttering into
:05:58. > :06:01.their cornflakes. The report says that over 600,000 inactive EU
:06:01. > :06:03.migrants are living in the UK. That is the equivalent of a city the
:06:03. > :06:06.migrants are living in the UK. That size of Glasgow. However, the
:06:06. > :06:08.European Commission says that figure includes school pupils,
:06:08. > :06:14.retired people and those taking time out to raise children, not
:06:14. > :06:18.just job seekers. That figure has significantly risen - up from just
:06:18. > :06:21.over 430,000 just six years ago. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,
:06:21. > :06:24.has responded by calling for a delay in migrants' access to
:06:24. > :06:26.benefits. And the Department for Work and Pensions has said they are
:06:26. > :06:29.strengthening the habitual residence test and limiting how
:06:29. > :06:32.long some migrants can claim benefits. However, some question
:06:32. > :06:36.long some migrants can claim whether this is the correct
:06:36. > :06:39.approach. One pro-Europe think tank, the Centre for European Reform,
:06:39. > :06:47.says the great majority of EU immigrants come to Britain to work.
:06:47. > :06:53.says the great majority of EU Who is right? Are they a help or
:06:53. > :06:58.hindrance to the economy? Jonathan Todd, welcome to the programme. The
:06:58. > :07:03.European Commission has been critical of reports about this
:07:04. > :07:08.600,000 figure, pointing out they are not all people out of work. But
:07:08. > :07:14.you say they are not earning money and therefore not contributing to
:07:14. > :07:21.the economy. You have to bear in mind that the percentage is much
:07:21. > :07:27.lower than the percentage of UK nationals that are inactive. 30% of
:07:27. > :07:33.European Union migrants, compared to 43% of UK nationals that are not
:07:33. > :07:37.active. The majority come to the UK to work and contribute more to the
:07:37. > :07:42.welfare system than they take out, because they tend to be younger
:07:42. > :07:49.than the average population and of working age. They pay more in
:07:49. > :07:53.taxation than receiving welfare benefits. You do accept there has
:07:53. > :07:58.taxation than receiving welfare been an increase in numbers of
:07:58. > :08:05.economically inactive European Union migrants? There has been a
:08:05. > :08:11.big leap, taking into account about how much you say they contribute in
:08:11. > :08:18.taxes. There is a big leap in the number of European Union migrants
:08:18. > :08:25.in the UK. When you consider these people are net contributors to the
:08:25. > :08:31.UK welfare system, the more you have, the better off the system is.
:08:31. > :08:38.Downing Street put out comments in response. They have rebuffed your
:08:38. > :08:43.claims that there is no evidence that benefit tourism are tracks
:08:43. > :08:48.European Union migrants. Hence the argument for doing nothing about it.
:08:48. > :08:52.You ripping Commission has asked the UK Government for over three
:08:52. > :08:56.years to have figures to back up the claim -- the European
:08:56. > :09:00.Commission. They have still not been able to give us figures. You
:09:00. > :09:05.would have read it yourself in the Daily Telegraph. They do not have
:09:05. > :09:12.figures to back up that claim. Obviously, if there were evidence
:09:12. > :09:18.of systematic abuse of benefits by a EU migrants, we would be prepared
:09:18. > :09:22.to look at the system and see if rules had to be changed. There are
:09:22. > :09:28.safeguards already to prevent benefit tourism. You are taking
:09:28. > :09:33.legal action against the British Government against plans to
:09:33. > :09:38.strengthen curbs against that. We are taking legal action because the
:09:38. > :09:43.UK is not applying the European Union rules they agreed to. They
:09:43. > :09:48.are applying their own rules on top of that and therefore they are
:09:48. > :09:53.unfairly depriving people, many of whom have worked in the UK for many
:09:53. > :09:58.years, of benefits. Other countries have concerns. They tend to be
:09:58. > :10:04.different to the concerns of the UK. In the Netherlands, they are most
:10:04. > :10:09.concerned about the exploitation of European Union migrants and the
:10:09. > :10:16.social legislation not been properly applied. In Germany, the
:10:16. > :10:20.main concern is unemployed people from poorer member states, becoming
:10:20. > :10:26.a burden for some of the larger cities in Germany. It is not the
:10:26. > :10:32.same concern as in the UK. One of the plans is that migrants would
:10:32. > :10:35.have to be resident in Britain for between six and nine months before
:10:35. > :10:45.being entitled to some benefits. What problems do you have with
:10:45. > :10:48.that? The portray is that -- the point is they cannot stay for more
:10:49. > :10:52.than three months unless they can prove they have sufficient
:10:52. > :10:57.financial means to not be a burden on the UK. If they are not working
:10:57. > :11:02.and they do not have financial means, they cannot stay in the UK
:11:02. > :11:08.for longer than three months under the European Union law. You say the
:11:08. > :11:14.Government have not got the figures. Did they say they will provide
:11:14. > :11:18.them? We have been waiting for over three years to get the figures. We
:11:18. > :11:26.were promised them earlier this year. They still have not delivered.
:11:26. > :11:30.Thank you very much. John Springford is with us. He has
:11:30. > :11:36.written a report on benefit tourism. We are joined by Stewart Jackson, a
:11:36. > :11:41.Conservative MP. The Government has not provided figures, which means
:11:41. > :11:47.there probably are no figures to back up their claim that benefit
:11:47. > :11:55.tourism attracts these people to the UK. There is anecdotal evidence
:11:55. > :12:02.that is the case. I think they should have provided it. When I
:12:02. > :12:05.moved my bill, we were promised we would have a toughening up and the
:12:05. > :12:10.habitual residence test. You will would have a toughening up and the
:12:10. > :12:14.not hear me say it often, I am broadly sympathetic to some of the
:12:14. > :12:15.complaints of the European Union because the Government should be
:12:15. > :12:24.ahead of this. That is said, -- because the Government should be
:12:24. > :12:30.that said, it is not the business, defending, it is saying people --
:12:30. > :12:34.to people you should exercise your treaty rights and be studying,
:12:34. > :12:39.looking for work. If you're not, you should leave this country. They
:12:39. > :12:44.say many of the figures, it is a myth, a perception, it is not the
:12:44. > :12:56.reality. They have figures to back up what they say. You make it sound
:12:56. > :13:00.as if we are talking about millions of people but when you compare it
:13:00. > :13:05.to the British population it is live. They have not contributed. If
:13:05. > :13:10.you are a pensioner from Portugal, you have not contributed. If you
:13:10. > :13:14.are a schoolchild, nobody would expect you to contribute. But the
:13:15. > :13:20.children have to be housed and have health care and have school places.
:13:20. > :13:24.The strain in hot spots like Peterborough, my constituency, is
:13:24. > :13:33.acute. That is where we are right to say there is an element of
:13:33. > :13:35.benefit tourism, particularly from -- from the Czech Republic and
:13:35. > :13:42.Slovakia. Who is right? I do not -- from the Czech Republic and
:13:43. > :13:50.think there is much evidence of this. Part of my report I put out
:13:50. > :13:55.tried to look at the number of people classed as a benefit tourist,
:13:55. > :14:03.and that is where the 0.8% figure comes from. We looked at European
:14:03. > :14:10.Union mights in Britain. We could only find that 0.8% of those
:14:10. > :14:15.migrants after a year's residents are taking up Jobseeker's Allowance.
:14:15. > :14:19.If they were benefit tourists, you would expect them to get on the
:14:19. > :14:28.unemployment role as quickly as possible. The data is not robust.
:14:28. > :14:32.The Government has routinely said that they are not collecting
:14:32. > :14:38.figures on child tax credits sent abroad. It is higher when you look
:14:38. > :14:43.at child benefit. The figures are not as high as perhaps some people
:14:43. > :14:50.would expect. After year's residents, too 0.1% on child
:14:51. > :14:57.benefit, 1% on child tax credits. 20% in the UK for each. We simply
:14:57. > :15:01.do not know how many European Union migrants are in the country. I
:15:01. > :15:06.would contend the situation will get worse, not least the
:15:06. > :15:08.differential in earnings between a Romanian worker and a UK household
:15:08. > :15:13.differential in earnings between a income is so huge, people will come
:15:13. > :15:16.and when they do not find work, they will access benefits, which is
:15:16. > :15:27.what the Government needs to look at.
:15:27. > :15:36.These at two relatively small countries. But they are in many
:15:36. > :15:41.cases living in abject poverty. I countries. But they are in many
:15:41. > :15:43.wouldn't say that, but they are Porro. The things we know about
:15:43. > :15:47.Central and Eastern European migrants to Britain is they tend to
:15:47. > :15:51.be young, entrepreneurial people who want to come and find work. They
:15:51. > :15:56.tend to be relatively highly educated. It seems to me that
:15:56. > :16:00.Romanian and Bulgarian migrants aren't going to change that picture.
:16:00. > :16:03.The government haven't come up with the evidence all the figures. Even
:16:03. > :16:08.their own MPs are saying they should have come up with some strong
:16:08. > :16:10.anecdotal evidence. It does seem like there needs to be more
:16:10. > :16:15.anecdotal evidence. It does seem information. I wonder whether, are
:16:15. > :16:19.individuals asked when they receive a benefit what their nationality is?
:16:19. > :16:25.That's the point. One of the things the government said is they don't
:16:25. > :16:29.routinely check that. It's bonkers. The other is, if you are British and
:16:29. > :16:33.living in Spain, can you immediately claim benefits? You can claim
:16:33. > :16:36.living in Spain, can you immediately benefits but it differs for
:16:36. > :16:42.different EU countries. In France and Spain you can. And you can still
:16:42. > :16:48.claim benefits from here if you are a pensioner, although that's being
:16:48. > :16:52.tightened up. You certainly can. A lot of these benefits systems have
:16:52. > :16:56.the contributory principle. It means you pay some money in to a pot and
:16:56. > :17:02.then you can draw that down over time. Whereas British benefits
:17:02. > :17:07.aren't like that. The Spanish are tougher. You have to register when
:17:07. > :17:10.you are moving, getting married and changing jobs. They've used the free
:17:10. > :17:14.movement directive legislation in a quite Draconian way in Spain,
:17:14. > :17:19.because of their youth unemployment. Let's come back to the basic
:17:19. > :17:21.principles. If you take the information that is out there,
:17:21. > :17:25.critics can rightly claim that David Cameron, whose pledging to
:17:25. > :17:29.renegotiate EU rules governing and if it's for migrants, is campaigning
:17:29. > :17:35.on a problem that is either very small or doesn't really exist. It
:17:35. > :17:39.does exist. Almost 40% of children in primary schools in my
:17:39. > :17:42.constituency don't speak English as their first language, maternity
:17:42. > :17:46.service are under pressure, housing. In terms of a cost benefit analysis,
:17:46. > :17:51.for every one person we recruit, a decent person wants to make money
:17:51. > :17:55.for themselves and send money back to, say, Romania, there's a
:17:55. > :17:59.low-wage, low skilled British person who's not getting benefit, skills
:17:59. > :18:03.and training. That is the problem, it's the services that migrant
:18:03. > :18:07.families use. They may well be someone in a family earning a decent
:18:07. > :18:10.wage but the school places, the strain on health services, that's
:18:10. > :18:16.where local people are feeling the pain of this. There may well be
:18:16. > :18:25.areas... There are, aren't there? Daily e-mail well be. -- there may
:18:26. > :18:30.well be. If you are saying there is no resource implication for that for
:18:30. > :18:33.teaching children to speak English... I am not saying there are
:18:33. > :18:35.no resource invocations, the question is what you do about it. Do
:18:36. > :18:38.no resource invocations, the you try to prevent them from having
:18:38. > :18:42.no resource invocations, the access to the services or try to
:18:42. > :18:47.expand the services in order to be able to educate them? Who pays for
:18:47. > :18:52.that? Migrants themselves, they are net contributors to the UK
:18:52. > :18:56.Treasury. Use some of that money. But the services at the moment are
:18:56. > :19:01.under that strain. Is their claim to the argument that one should delay
:19:01. > :19:05.benefits that come to migrants. More time should elapse before EU
:19:05. > :19:10.migrants can claim those benefits? Are we talking about services? What
:19:10. > :19:15.are we going to do, are we going to prevent children from having their
:19:15. > :19:19.education? What is the logical conclusion to that argument? The
:19:19. > :19:30.government has to look at that small number of local authorities where
:19:30. > :19:33.the problem is most acute and set up funding for them. But you are right,
:19:33. > :19:36.we need to delay benefits. We need to make it clear that you are coming
:19:36. > :19:39.to the UK to work or study or be self-employed. But you are not going
:19:39. > :19:41.to be allowed to do so because it is in breach of the EU rules. How are
:19:41. > :19:43.they at breach here and not in breach of the EU rules. How are
:19:43. > :19:45.Spain? You said there are more onerous conditions in other
:19:45. > :19:49.countries. Because they've had the political will to change and nuance
:19:49. > :19:54.the free movement directive in a way that we have not in this country.
:19:55. > :19:59.Can we do what they are doing, if they are not being prosecuted? I'm
:19:59. > :20:03.sure it is about the interaction between the social welfare system
:20:03. > :20:07.and EU law. So in Spain, because you have to pay into a pot, then it's
:20:07. > :20:10.harder to get benefits straightaway. Whereas in Britain,
:20:10. > :20:13.you just receive benefits based on your need. We need to look at the
:20:13. > :20:16.you just receive benefits based on contributory principle. We are the
:20:16. > :20:21.third most generous benefit payers out of all the 27 countries. People
:20:21. > :20:26.make a rational decision, if they are not in work than they are going
:20:26. > :20:30.to be in a relatively good and strong benefits regime from their
:20:30. > :20:37.point of view. But you will just beyond £70. Your potential earnings
:20:37. > :20:46.in work are much higher. The biggest incentive is clearly to come to
:20:46. > :20:49.work, not to languish on benefits. If you think British politicians can
:20:49. > :20:52.be bloody-minded, try America. There, a row between the Democrats
:20:52. > :20:56.and the Republicans, or at least some of them, has closed down large
:20:56. > :20:59.parts of the Federal Government. Worse still, the US could be forced
:20:59. > :21:03.to default on its debts unless a compromise is reached by Thursday,
:21:03. > :21:05.and so far, talks have failed to produce a solution. The fight
:21:05. > :21:08.started over Obamacare, the President's dream of health
:21:08. > :21:13.insurance for all. And it could have an impact on these shores as well. A
:21:13. > :21:18.taste of America right here in the heart of London. Unfortunately, life
:21:18. > :21:23.where this stuff comes from ain't quite so sweet. America is in a bit
:21:23. > :21:27.of trouble right now. Government gridlocked, workers sent home and
:21:27. > :21:30.the possibility of the world 's greatest superpower defaulting on
:21:30. > :21:34.its debt, which, I don't want to get too technical here, is a bad thing.
:21:34. > :21:39.But how did it get into this state and what does it mean for us? The
:21:39. > :21:40.Republicans, who control the upper house of the US Congress, have
:21:40. > :21:45.Republicans, who control the upper refused to pass a budget, which
:21:45. > :21:55.means large swathes of the federal government have been forced to
:21:55. > :21:57.close. It started with Obamacare. The president's plan for a universal
:21:57. > :22:00.health insurance scheme for all Americans. Obamacare for many people
:22:00. > :22:04.in the US is a symbol of a fundamental shift of the political
:22:04. > :22:10.philosophy towards socialism. Socialism is a nasty word in the US.
:22:10. > :22:13.Whether it is a good idea or bad, and I think many Americans,
:22:13. > :22:18.certainly those of us outside America, think it's a good idea,
:22:18. > :22:21.that is almost beside the point. They have been talks, but if
:22:21. > :22:25.Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal, the US could also hit
:22:25. > :22:29.its borrowing limit, and that's dangerous for all of us. NEETs
:22:29. > :22:33.hitting the debt ceiling is a bit like hitting your credit card limit.
:22:33. > :22:39.If it hits it then it will have two stop spending on a whole number of
:22:39. > :22:43.things. Nobody knows which things those be or how they will be
:22:43. > :22:48.prioritised in spending. The worst thing that could happen for the rest
:22:48. > :22:52.of the world would be if the US Government stopped paying the
:22:52. > :22:57.interest on its outstanding debt. I think that is very unlikely but it
:22:57. > :23:02.could be very nasty scenario. And none of it is good news for us. If
:23:02. > :23:06.you imagine US companies now potentially having to send staff
:23:06. > :23:10.home because of the US work is not working, that can trickle back to
:23:10. > :23:14.us. Perhaps orders from British companies aren't coming in because
:23:14. > :23:19.they are not needed in the US. That is the first instance, purely
:23:19. > :23:22.through our trade flow. And the other is through what potentially
:23:22. > :23:27.can happen to the US Government bonds. If the US do default, the
:23:27. > :23:33.value of these bonds will fall. That could mean that the pension funds of
:23:33. > :23:39.ordinary people well outside the US can be affected. So how might it pan
:23:39. > :23:45.out? Predicting it is hard. The best way that it could resolve itself
:23:45. > :23:52.would be a short-term agreement, a continuing resolution to enable the
:23:52. > :23:56.government to pay its bills for certain things. Like social
:23:56. > :24:01.security, interest on the debt. That would have the time limit attached
:24:01. > :24:05.to it. That would give more time for negotiations. It has undoubtedly put
:24:05. > :24:09.Republicans and Democrats in the spotlight. Unless the deal is done
:24:09. > :24:15.soon, it might not be the kind of Fame politicians normally crave.
:24:15. > :24:20.Colleen Graffy, we gaze away from a Fame politicians normally crave.
:24:20. > :24:25.very dangerous moment? Yes, this could actually happen. I know it
:24:25. > :24:30.sounds like the Republicans are being obstinate and under this, but
:24:30. > :24:37.we had to understand that the underlying issue is that we are
:24:37. > :24:41.spending money we don't have. We've got a $17 trillion debt. So the
:24:41. > :24:47.Republicans are saying, enough, we can't keep on raising the debt
:24:47. > :24:51.limit. Part of that is that Obamacare is another entitlement
:24:51. > :24:56.that the Republicans and many say we cannot afford. Is that... The
:24:56. > :25:02.initial cause of the stalemate was this opposition to Obamacare, which
:25:02. > :25:07.is really a sideline to what is at stake here. The Republicans... It's
:25:07. > :25:12.connected because it's an entitlement that you can't put into
:25:12. > :25:18.the box once you let it out again. But it's been agreed. Yes, but Obama
:25:18. > :25:25.did not do a very good job of negotiating it because he did not
:25:25. > :25:31.get one single Republican vote. It's connected. The Republicans probably
:25:31. > :25:35.overreached in pulling that as part of that. But now the Democrats are
:25:35. > :25:39.overreaching by saying that they want to now cut back on this thing
:25:39. > :25:42.called the sequester, which is that there is that there's
:25:42. > :25:48.across-the-board cuts if they don't negotiate a proper budget. Now the
:25:48. > :25:51.Democrats are overreaching, and they thought they had an agreement over
:25:51. > :25:57.the weekend. Susan Collins, a respected moderate Republican
:25:57. > :26:01.senator, had come up with a very good compromise and it was
:26:01. > :26:07.dismissed. They are looking over the brink. Will they pull back? Will
:26:07. > :26:13.this face-off diminish as Thursday looms and they will agree? The
:26:13. > :26:17.Republicans will rollover? No one knows. However, the bond market
:26:17. > :26:21.tomorrow will be responding. That will put a lot of pressure on
:26:21. > :26:24.members of Congress. I think that Obama to a certain extent is
:26:24. > :26:29.enjoying this because it is giving a black eye to the Republicans. He
:26:29. > :26:33.will hope that this means in the mid-term elections in November, that
:26:33. > :26:36.he will be able to get a majority in the house will stop it now it is
:26:36. > :26:40.going to look really bad for him because he is not showing leadership
:26:41. > :26:45.in getting this negotiating them. But minds will be focused when
:26:45. > :26:51.people look at the effect globally. How dangerous is it for the global
:26:51. > :26:53.economy? It is, because people you invest in the United States because
:26:53. > :26:58.they have confidence in their investments. If we default, that
:26:58. > :27:01.changes the whole calculation is an investment in the United States.
:27:01. > :27:07.That has repercussions globally. We just heard the steam Lagarde over
:27:07. > :27:13.the weekend saying that this is very serious indeed. -- Christine
:27:13. > :27:18.Lagarde. Hopefully America will pull back and commit. What else can
:27:18. > :27:23.happen between now and then, who is going to move? They look at the
:27:23. > :27:28.effect on growth in America and worldwide, will both sides realise
:27:28. > :27:32.it's just not worth it? They will probably want something, each side
:27:32. > :27:35.will want something. There are some areas where they will not
:27:35. > :27:39.compromise. There's this thing called a medical tax device, which
:27:39. > :27:44.is something both sides agreed on, which would have been an easy thing
:27:44. > :27:48.to agree on. But Obama had said no to that. So now they are playing
:27:48. > :27:53.hardball, thinking that they've got the votes in order to not
:27:53. > :27:57.prevent... To prevent the Republicans from getting anything
:27:58. > :28:04.they want. It's a game of chicken. It will go right up to the end. So
:28:04. > :28:10.far, the moderates who put forward a proposal, it was not accepted over
:28:10. > :28:16.the weekend. It will be interesting to see what happens. It's scary to
:28:16. > :28:18.see. Time now to look at what's on the political agenda this week
:28:18. > :28:21.Tomorrow, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, appears in front of the
:28:21. > :28:24.Home Affairs Select Committee over why one of the world's most wanted
:28:24. > :28:27.Al-Qaeda terror suspects, Anas al-Libi, who was captured in Libya
:28:27. > :28:32.by US Special Forces last weekend, was given asylum in Britain. Tuesday
:28:32. > :28:36.also sees the latest appeal in the row over Government plans to go
:28:36. > :28:43.ahead with the HS2 high-speed rail project. The Supreme Court will hear
:28:43. > :28:47.appeals by objectors to the scheme. On Wednesday, the result of the
:28:47. > :28:51.election for the new Deputy Speaker will be announced. Wednesday also
:28:51. > :28:55.sees the results of a ballot on strike action by post office workers
:28:55. > :28:58.in the communications Workers Union. On Thursday, the report by the
:28:58. > :29:02.Government's Social Mobility Tsar, Alan Milburn, will be published. The
:29:02. > :29:05.former Labour Health Secretary was appointed by Nick Clegg as an
:29:05. > :29:09.independent reviewer of social mobility. Joining us now are Craig
:29:09. > :29:11.Woodhouse, political correspondent on The Sun, and Kate Devlin from The
:29:11. > :29:24.Herald. Joining us from our Westminster
:29:24. > :29:27.studio is Craig Woodhouse, political correspondent on The Sun,
:29:27. > :29:32.and Kate Devlin from the Herald. We have Boris Johnson and George
:29:32. > :29:37.Osborne in Beijing. Of racing in from the same hymn sheet? That
:29:37. > :29:41.remains to be seen. It is an important and serious trip. Lots of
:29:41. > :29:47.announcements and hopefully a lot of investment for the UK, which is
:29:47. > :29:50.what the commission wants. Interesting they are there together
:29:50. > :29:54.and there are suggestions that many in the coalition did not want to
:29:54. > :30:02.see Boris Johnson alone getting the credit. Are they cross, Craig
:30:02. > :30:07.Woodhouse, that Boris Johnson is out there, George Osborne, both
:30:07. > :30:12.rivals to succeed David Cameron. Is it about who must come out best?
:30:12. > :30:17.Possibly. There is the suggestion that Boris Johnson did not know the
:30:17. > :30:21.Chancellor was going over. A little strange as they are run a joint
:30:21. > :30:24.ticket this afternoon. You would wonder if Downing Street would be
:30:24. > :30:31.nervous if they got together over dinner. It is about investment for
:30:31. > :30:37.Britain, and whether that is a London, or Manchester, it has to be
:30:37. > :30:40.a good thing. You would like to be a fly on the wall in the
:30:40. > :30:49.restaurant! What about Labour repositioning? It is probably not
:30:49. > :31:01.quite going as they wanted. It is possibly a fair year. -- fairly if.
:31:01. > :31:06.Last week we had frontbenchers and it created an expectation, people
:31:06. > :31:09.taking over the important jobs you may be had something different to
:31:09. > :31:15.say, it does not look like it on what they said about free schools.
:31:15. > :31:25.Tristram Hunt had to make an apology for his comments that they
:31:26. > :31:30.were just four a vanity project. It has created a difficult first week
:31:30. > :31:39.for those who took over serious jobs. A purge of the Blairites is
:31:39. > :31:44.how it was labels. But some said it was a move to the centre. This is
:31:44. > :31:51.par to the problem with the reshuffle -- part of the problem.
:31:51. > :31:56.Ed Miliband, announcing price controls, bringing back socialism.
:31:56. > :32:00.Suddenly you have the purge of the Blairites is a mixed message. It
:32:00. > :32:06.was a sacking of those who were disloyal and replacing them with
:32:06. > :32:10.loyal ones. It has left them in a tricky position. Rachel Reeves
:32:10. > :32:14.saying they will be tougher than the Tories on welfare. We would
:32:14. > :32:21.have to wait and see what they would come up with that is tougher.
:32:21. > :32:26.They must have been told that welfare is where they are weak. The
:32:26. > :32:31.Tories have been telling them that for a year. Lots of articles in
:32:31. > :32:37.newspapers have been telling them that. This was not the biggest
:32:37. > :32:42.surprise. It is something that they seem to have maybe potentially made
:32:42. > :32:48.a hostage to fortune for themselves by suggesting they will be tougher
:32:48. > :32:53.than the Tories. It seems to me that that is something that would
:32:53. > :32:58.be difficult to keep. On the cost of living, Labour seemed to be
:32:58. > :33:03.setting the agenda. It seemed to be uncomfortable for David Cameron,
:33:03. > :33:11.having to respond to the energy price freeze. The this is the great
:33:11. > :33:17.challenge. It is perfect politics. The big challenge for the Tories is
:33:17. > :33:22.to find a way of suggesting they are on the same side as people. We
:33:22. > :33:26.will cut your energy bills. A simple six words. Explain why that
:33:26. > :33:30.is wrong and you cannot do it in six words, and that is the
:33:30. > :33:34.challenge for the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats, who are
:33:34. > :33:40.trying to show themselves as the party of fairness. They are not in
:33:40. > :33:45.the debate. The Liberal Democrats said that you cannot do anything
:33:45. > :33:49.about bringing energy bills down. It is a message that the public do
:33:49. > :33:55.not want to hear, even if it is true. The coalition wants to be
:33:55. > :34:00.able to rise on a growing optimism in the economy. We will see
:34:00. > :34:05.unemployment figures, which they are hoping will be good. They need
:34:05. > :34:09.to see wages rising and that is where we will feed it in our
:34:10. > :34:18.pockets, rather than reacting in horror when we open and energy bill.
:34:18. > :34:21.Labour's new Cabinet line-up were out and about over the weekend. One
:34:21. > :34:24.of the fresh faces on show was former TV historian, Tristram Hunt,
:34:24. > :34:26.who is now Shadow Education Secretary. In a newspaper interview
:34:26. > :34:30.he apologised for making derogatory comments about free schools. Later,
:34:30. > :34:37.he spoke to Andrew Marr to clarify the party's position. First here he
:34:38. > :34:42.was back in 2010. £250 million allocated for building
:34:42. > :34:48.schools for the future is under threat by the Department of
:34:48. > :34:52.Education to fund vanity projects for a under-employed professionals
:34:52. > :34:56.to set up Swedish schools. If you are a group of parents,
:34:56. > :35:02.entrepreneurs, teachers, interested in setting up a school, the Labour
:35:02. > :35:09.government will be on your side if it is an area where they need
:35:09. > :35:12.school places. I've been joined now by Labour's Meg Hillier, the former
:35:12. > :35:15.Children's Minister and rgw Liberal Democrat MP Duncan Hames for the
:35:15. > :35:24.rest of the show. He is eating his words? The reality is that free
:35:24. > :35:30.schools are opening. But what is clear about what Tristram Hunt said,
:35:30. > :35:34.which is good news, is that we want qualified teachers and standards to
:35:34. > :35:39.be maintained and proper financial scrutiny. Try to get the details of
:35:39. > :35:45.a budget of a free school in your area and it is impossible. Labour
:35:45. > :35:49.supports them. Tristram Hunt has made it clear. He apologised for
:35:49. > :35:54.what he said and they now support the policy. If you listened to
:35:54. > :35:59.Stephen Twigg, it is not so different from what we were saying
:35:59. > :36:03.before. The position has not changed as much as that. Maybe the
:36:03. > :36:12.position of Tristram Hunt has changed. In my area we have one
:36:12. > :36:18.free school, and we are saying... I am supporting any school that
:36:18. > :36:31.provides a good education. Even in an area where there are places.
:36:31. > :36:37.They can open anywhere they want, not where the places are needed,
:36:37. > :36:43.and that is the problem with them. A are you saying Tristram Hunt has
:36:43. > :36:51.taken the policy to fork -- too far and you would only support them in
:36:51. > :36:59.certain circumstances? What qualifies as an area of need? In
:36:59. > :37:03.south London, there has been a problem about secondary school
:37:03. > :37:07.provision in one area. I met somebody setting up a free school,
:37:07. > :37:15.they just wanted a good school in the area. In my area, we have had a
:37:15. > :37:25.new academy and a free school Open. We will take what is on offer if it
:37:25. > :37:31.provides the right education. It is not easy, but let's say Labour is
:37:31. > :37:36.supporting free schools where there is need and you can debate about
:37:36. > :37:42.whether there is a need. It they are they, they will stay. Tristram
:37:42. > :37:51.Hunt has been on a crash course at the labour retraining free school!
:37:51. > :38:00.They are proving a success. 174 Ready and more soon. The majority
:38:00. > :38:05.in areas represented by Labour MPs. -- already. Labour should have
:38:06. > :38:08.welcomed this all along. Tristram Hunt has seen the light, has the
:38:08. > :38:13.welcomed this all along. Tristram rest of the party? If they are a
:38:13. > :38:16.good school and where it is needed, I would welcome it, whoever is
:38:16. > :38:20.good school and where it is needed, providing it. If you have them
:38:20. > :38:26.where there is no need for places, that is a waste of public money.
:38:26. > :38:36.There are point is that it is up to parents and organisations are --
:38:36. > :38:40.the point is. It is not down to the Government to tell them where to
:38:40. > :38:45.set them up. We are looking at budgets. The issue is cost, if you
:38:45. > :38:50.over providing areas and have under provision in others. There are
:38:50. > :38:54.areas where you have too many schools in one area and not in
:38:54. > :39:00.another in the same county. If there are plenty of places but
:39:00. > :39:10.terrible schools, what you do? You have to make sure you are improving
:39:10. > :39:14.them. Sometimes the Government forces them to become another type
:39:14. > :39:19.of school. We get obsessed with structures. We need good quality
:39:19. > :39:23.teaching, making sure the results are good. The Chief Inspector of
:39:23. > :39:29.Schools said that. What about unqualified teachers? It happens in
:39:29. > :39:34.the private school system. Should they have qualified teachers? Free
:39:34. > :39:36.schools will have qualified teachers and unqualified teachers,
:39:36. > :39:42.if that is what they want. It has teachers and unqualified teachers,
:39:42. > :39:46.happened in the independent sector of the years. Real experts in Sport
:39:46. > :39:53.and science and other areas teach in schools without qualifications
:39:53. > :39:59.and a huge leap successful. Is that a dangerous precedent? I agree with
:39:59. > :40:02.making it easier for people to come into the profession. But a
:40:02. > :40:10.qualification and standard of teaching is important. We adopted a
:40:10. > :40:14.policy which Labour announced support for that teachers in free
:40:14. > :40:17.schools should have qualified teaching status and that is
:40:17. > :40:23.something we would like to see. What about the issue of choice? The
:40:24. > :40:29.argument is about places primarily. If there are places, should you
:40:29. > :40:35.have a free school? Should it be only where there is a shortage of
:40:35. > :40:39.places? The take up of places at these new schools will demonstrate
:40:39. > :40:44.if that has occurred in places where they are needed. I went past
:40:44. > :40:50.one this morning, the Oasis South Bank academy. I looked in the
:40:50. > :40:57.window and I saw a young black boy getting one-to-one tuition from his
:40:57. > :41:01.teacher. It was 8:15am. He was not there under obligation, he was
:41:01. > :41:07.hungry to learn. That school should be proud they give him this
:41:07. > :41:12.opportunity to learn. I am proud we have given at school the
:41:12. > :41:18.opportunity. That just -- that does not just happen in free schools.
:41:18. > :41:24.They all provide tuition at the beginning of the day. Labour are
:41:24. > :41:28.jubilees started the academies, which the Conservatives have taken
:41:28. > :41:32.on and to support free schools? Do you agree, it is an obsession with
:41:32. > :41:39.structures and creating a divide where there is not one? It has not
:41:39. > :41:44.been about structures, it is more powers to head teachers to see how
:41:44. > :41:48.they think it is best fit to organise their schools. And taking
:41:48. > :41:53.away those things that have given rise to ridiculous grade inflation
:41:53. > :41:58.in some cases which are not a reflection of the ability of
:41:58. > :42:07.children. At least now they have powers to do what is in the best
:42:07. > :42:11.interest of their students. More changes are announced this week.
:42:11. > :42:16.The cost of living and the energy bill discussion. When it comes to
:42:16. > :42:20.fuel prices, your Energy Secretary made it clear they would do nothing
:42:20. > :42:26.about the rocketing prices and cannot. I noticed the Liberal
:42:26. > :42:31.Democrats were criticised for telling the truth in that piece
:42:31. > :42:36.earlier. Fossil fuel prices keep going up. We use so much of it in
:42:36. > :42:41.the energy system, it forces up prices. The only long-term way to
:42:41. > :42:48.get the bills down is to use energy more efficiently through greater
:42:48. > :42:53.insulation. Or you could abandon the green taxes. They are a tiny
:42:53. > :42:59.part of the bill. The increase announced this week by one company,
:42:59. > :43:05.£15 of that increase, per year, for a family, could be put down to
:43:05. > :43:09.these green taxes. A lot of those are not about supporting green
:43:09. > :43:15.sources of energy, but funding support for those paying their
:43:15. > :43:17.bills, up to £135 a year on the warm homes discount and for the
:43:17. > :43:22.bills, up to £135 a year on the poorest families to have help with
:43:22. > :43:28.bills. We have to have a debate about this. A large part of the
:43:28. > :43:34.increase is about world commodities. An increasing portion of the bills
:43:34. > :43:41.is down to the green taxes. He said they are not. They are. In a few
:43:41. > :43:44.years, they will be one-third of the average bill. We need to be
:43:44. > :43:49.honest about that. We would all the average bill. We need to be
:43:49. > :43:55.agree we need to help to subsidise those in fuel poverty, poor people,
:43:55. > :44:00.elderly people, to make them more fuel-efficient. If you do not do
:44:00. > :44:05.anything about green taxes, what can you do to bring the bills down?
:44:05. > :44:11.The green subsidies come and we need a mix in the energy economy,
:44:11. > :44:15.must not go on any longer than absolutely required. What we are
:44:15. > :44:17.doing is increasing transparency so people will be moved on to the
:44:17. > :44:22.doing is increasing transparency so cheapest tariff, which is not
:44:22. > :44:24.happening at the moment. We also need to know how much money the
:44:24. > :44:29.happening at the moment. We also energy companies make at of the
:44:29. > :44:33.green tariffs. We need a proper debate about this. The Labour Party
:44:33. > :44:40.gave for the popular freezing of bills. It is working, but it will
:44:40. > :44:45.not work when the lights go out and the unintended consequences go
:44:45. > :44:53.through the floor. We need a cross- party policy. The issue about bills,
:44:53. > :44:59.we need to take steps. When we see commodity prices drop, bills do not
:44:59. > :45:03.drop. The price goes up when the gas wholesale price goes up but not
:45:03. > :45:11.down when it drops. You have to look at the investment of energy
:45:11. > :45:17.companies. What is wrong with freezing energy prices for 20
:45:17. > :45:21.months? I heard the announcement from the company last week who said
:45:21. > :45:25.that having frozen energy prices they were now increasing them and
:45:25. > :45:32.they would be frozen for another 12 months before they are increased
:45:32. > :45:37.again. People know the Government, forcing a freeze, it will be
:45:37. > :45:44.preceded by a big increase and after. Back is the problem. This is
:45:44. > :45:48.why you need a 20 year approach. The problem with the Government
:45:48. > :45:52.discussion about forcing people to be on the lowest tariffs, we saw
:45:52. > :45:57.that thrown out of the window the moment that was announced. The
:45:57. > :46:03.market is not working. We need to open it up to new entrants, so we
:46:03. > :46:09.get different suppliers to run a challenge to the big companies.
:46:09. > :46:13.It's recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty, the
:46:13. > :46:16.South Downs National Park boasts some of the UK's most beautiful
:46:16. > :46:19.landscape. But it's hosting a growing controversy too, because
:46:19. > :46:22.Brighton and Hove Council last week lodged a planning application to the
:46:22. > :46:24.park authorities to build a permanent site for travellers
:46:24. > :46:27.alongside an existing temporary site. And in this usually quiet
:46:27. > :46:38.corner of Sussex, the debate is raging. This is a quiet beauty spot
:46:38. > :46:45.in Sussex, but it is also the centre of a fight about who can live here.
:46:45. > :46:49.If we have a permanent site, we all have a home. I know a lot of the
:46:49. > :46:54.community say, well, they are travellers, why don't they want to
:46:54. > :46:58.travel? We can't travel, you are not allowed, you pull into a camp and
:46:58. > :47:02.you get evicted. We want our children raised the way that we have
:47:02. > :47:06.been raised, in our community and society. It shouldn't be illegal to
:47:06. > :47:19.want to react our kids the way that we were brought up. This extended
:47:20. > :47:22.family of Irish travellers has been living in the Brighton area for
:47:22. > :47:24.decades. Now they seek some stability, so their children can
:47:24. > :47:26.attend school and have better access to health care. So they are eagerly
:47:26. > :47:29.waiting for the decision about building a permanent travellers site
:47:29. > :47:31.at Holstein, after Brighton and Hove City Council submitted plans to the
:47:31. > :47:35.South Downs National Park authority. Families can stay for up to three
:47:35. > :47:38.months at the existing transit site here. But the city council was to
:47:38. > :47:43.create 12 permanent pitches on that here. But the city council was to
:47:43. > :47:47.field. Future residents will have to sign a lease, pay rent and council
:47:48. > :47:52.tax, like all social housing tenants. No one is saying this is
:47:52. > :47:57.going to be a single solution that solves all problems, but it's going
:47:57. > :48:00.to help. We have local permanently based families on the transit sites.
:48:00. > :48:05.Moving them onto a permanent site will release spaces and increase our
:48:05. > :48:10.capacity. This will reduce the pressure on open spaces. But there
:48:10. > :48:13.is strong local opposition. There are concerns about water pollution
:48:13. > :48:19.and the impact on local infrastructure. Our objection to
:48:19. > :48:23.this site is not anti-traveller. Many people have been accusing us of
:48:23. > :48:26.being somehow racist to say this. It is not, it is about the
:48:26. > :48:31.practicalities of this particular site. It is the wrong proposal in
:48:31. > :48:35.the wrong place. It is a national park. People fought long and hard to
:48:35. > :48:39.get that designated. Regional targets for traveller pitches were
:48:39. > :48:41.scrapped last year, and now each council is responsible for
:48:41. > :48:46.identifying the need for sites in its own area and meeting those
:48:46. > :48:50.needs. A public consultation on the proposals is likely to start in the
:48:50. > :48:56.next few weeks. Meanwhile, three generations of this family hope that
:48:56. > :49:03.their dream of living together at a permanent site will become a reality
:49:03. > :49:09.soon. Have Brighton and Hove been braving their decision? They've been
:49:09. > :49:12.a pain in the backside. They have effectively put a site at the
:49:12. > :49:16.entrance to Brighton and Hove saying all sorts of an cup and some welcome
:49:16. > :49:20.here. My constituency, which neighbours it, have had the knock-on
:49:20. > :49:22.effects of that. We've had people from all around the country
:49:23. > :49:27.alighting on Brighton and Hove and other parts of Sussex, seeing us as
:49:27. > :49:31.a soft touch. I've no problem with legitimate traveller sites, we have
:49:31. > :49:35.one in my constituency which has been absolutely fine and people
:49:35. > :49:41.recognise it and respected. What I can't go along with his the enormous
:49:41. > :49:44.amount of illegal encampments, where we get people coming from other
:49:44. > :49:51.parts of the country, alighting on sports fields, cricket grounds and
:49:51. > :49:54.parks, causing mayhem and leaving a mess for those council tax payers
:49:54. > :49:58.who have to pick up the bill afterwards. But there is a legal
:49:58. > :50:04.obligation for councils to find sites that are appropriate. We need
:50:04. > :50:08.to take our fair share. Are you? One thing we have just done last week is
:50:08. > :50:11.agreed with the other districts in West Sussex that we are going to set
:50:11. > :50:16.up a transit site. All the districts are going to pay for that. That
:50:16. > :50:21.gives the police more powers when groups of travellers come along and
:50:21. > :50:25.illegally set up a camp in the most inappropriate place. They can move
:50:25. > :50:30.them onto somewhere legitimate. They have to go somewhere. You campaigned
:50:30. > :50:36.against a site in your constituency in 2008, before you became an MP.
:50:36. > :50:39.Why? I don't think that was a sight. There is a site in my constituency
:50:39. > :50:43.which does not have planning permission. The council was
:50:43. > :50:46.consulting about suitable locations. There have been some suitable
:50:46. > :50:51.locations in Wiltshire, but there were also some suggest which were
:50:51. > :50:54.unsuitable. That one was in a flood plain. We do need legitimate transit
:50:54. > :51:01.sites, if we are able to ensure there is somewhere at acceptable for
:51:01. > :51:04.these people to go to, when otherwise we would find them on
:51:04. > :51:10.cricket pitches and other unsuitable locations. As I understand it, this
:51:10. > :51:13.one in the footage we've seen, the proposal is for 12 permanent caravan
:51:13. > :51:19.pitches and 21 in a proposal is for 12 permanent caravan
:51:19. > :51:23.Descriptions of it as a super camp... We do need to recognise that
:51:23. > :51:24.we do need to have some legitimate provision of transit sites if we
:51:24. > :51:28.don't want them cropping up in provision of transit sites if we
:51:28. > :51:31.places which would not be appropriate. We've had a number of
:51:31. > :51:34.sites and happy that have been very well managed. They have been clever
:51:34. > :51:37.sites and happy that have been very ways of working to try and make sure
:51:37. > :51:40.we help the people on illegal ways of working to try and make sure
:51:40. > :51:44.encampments to move to proper sites. One of the big problems is,
:51:44. > :51:47.especially in London, a lot of the sites were sold off years ago. It's
:51:47. > :51:51.very difficult to find them in more dense areas, which is presumably why
:51:51. > :51:55.people are moving to every is like Sussex. It's all down to local
:51:55. > :51:59.areas. There's got to be a proper approach, otherwise travellers are
:51:59. > :52:02.pushed from pillar to post, families are broken up and causes
:52:03. > :52:06.difficulties for the local community. It needs coordination
:52:06. > :52:11.from the government and local authorities working together. We
:52:11. > :52:14.have a duty to house people, but it's got to be done in a way that
:52:14. > :52:18.works for everybody. There's an election in the House of Commons on
:52:18. > :52:23.Wednesday. All MPs can vote but only MPs from the Government's side can
:52:23. > :52:26.stand. The election is for the role of Deputy Speaker. At least seven
:52:26. > :52:30.Conservative MPs have thrown their hats in the ring. But no Lib Dem has
:52:30. > :52:35.joined the race, although there is still just time. Joining us now from
:52:35. > :52:45.our Westminster studio are two of those candidates, Eleanor Laing and
:52:46. > :52:52.Simon Burns. Welcome. Good luck. We've got some questions for you. We
:52:52. > :53:00.need to ask you your knowledge, first, we want to hear your pitch.
:53:00. > :53:06.You've got 30 seconds. I am passionate about democracy, the
:53:06. > :53:12.dignity of the House of Commons and about its vital, essential role as
:53:12. > :53:16.the forum for a national debate. I would like to be part of the
:53:16. > :53:21.speaker's team, not just to keep order in the chamber, but to stand
:53:21. > :53:24.up for the rights of the backbenches, to hear the voice of
:53:24. > :53:35.the backbenchers against overbearing governments. Thank you very much.
:53:35. > :53:39.Simon, can you be as disciplined? Given my 26 years in the House of
:53:39. > :53:44.Commons, I have a House of Commons in my veins, both as a backbencher,
:53:44. > :53:48.six years on a select committee, as a whip in particular. I've been able
:53:48. > :53:53.to work with colleagues, to understand what makes them tick,
:53:53. > :53:59.what makes Parliament tick. I believe I've got a lot to offer in
:53:59. > :54:04.ensuring that one has a fair House of Commons, where backbenchers are
:54:04. > :54:08.able to get their point of view and hold the government to account, and
:54:08. > :54:18.also be firm in a land hundredweight. -- light handed way.
:54:18. > :54:27.Eleanor Laing, we will stop with you. -- start with you. What are the
:54:27. > :54:34.titles the deputy speakers are officially known by? The senior one
:54:34. > :54:42.is the Chairman of ways and Means. The next one is the first deputy
:54:42. > :54:46.chairman of ways and Means. The third one is the second deputy
:54:46. > :54:52.chairman of ways and Means. Very good, all correct. Simon Burns, the
:54:52. > :54:59.Chiltern hundreds is one of the ways to stop being an MP. Can you name
:54:59. > :55:07.them? The Chiltern hundreds? They are a mythical place that is an area
:55:07. > :55:14.of profit for the Crown, which to files you from being an MP. I admire
:55:14. > :55:19.you for that explanation. You didn't give us the names. It is Stoke,
:55:19. > :55:31.desperate and burn. Well done far having an answer.
:55:31. > :55:42.Eleanor Laing, what would the Speaker do in the event of a tied
:55:42. > :55:45.vote? He would cast his casting vote on the side of the status quo, or
:55:45. > :55:58.the government of the day. Very good. Simon, the 1911 Parliament act
:55:58. > :56:01.limits the power of the Lord's to two sessions. What is the date of
:56:01. > :56:04.the second Parliament act which two sessions. What is the date of
:56:04. > :56:14.limits the power of the Lords to one session? 1949. Gosh! Well done! You
:56:14. > :56:18.are both very good. We will go to the personality questions. This is
:56:18. > :56:35.for Eleanor Laing. Who is the MP for Ashton under Lyme? Dennis Skinner.
:56:35. > :56:42.It's David Hayes, Labour MP. What is Andrew Lansley's official title, by
:56:42. > :56:46.which he is paid an official salary? Lord President of the council.
:56:46. > :56:52.That's somebody else, Nick Clegg. It is Lord Privy Seal. That means your
:56:52. > :56:57.next question, who is the current Lord President of the Council? It's
:56:57. > :57:07.the leader of the House of Lords. No, it's Nick Clegg. This is why we
:57:07. > :57:16.are practising. This is my favourite question. Simon Burns, which Member
:57:16. > :57:22.of Parliament called the current speaker a sanctimonious dwarf.
:57:22. > :57:29.That's cruel, you know it was me! What are your relations like with
:57:29. > :57:33.the Speaker? I get an all right with John, we've been friends for a long
:57:33. > :57:38.time, long before we were in the House of Commons. Simon Burns, I'm
:57:38. > :57:42.sure relations have much improved. We have very little do with each
:57:42. > :57:47.other, except in the chamber. We will work together professionally if
:57:47. > :57:52.the cards are dealt that way. Thank you for being such good sports. Good
:57:52. > :58:00.luck. Who do you fancy as deputy speaker? They are pretty impressive
:58:00. > :58:03.at answering those questions. We will be hearing from all of them
:58:03. > :58:08.before the election. Apparently they are going to be speaking to the
:58:08. > :58:12.Parliamentary Labour Party. There's a hustings denied, there are seven
:58:12. > :58:17.in the race. I think we've only got one woman deputy in a team of four
:58:17. > :58:22.at the moment, that is something to perhaps they're in mind as well.
:58:22. > :58:27.What about you? The two favourites are the two you've just had. I'm a
:58:27. > :58:29.great friend of Eleanor's. The one who's got the edge is Henry
:58:29. > :58:32.Bellingham, he is the only one who who's got the edge is Henry
:58:32. > :58:35.can say that MySQL back ancestor who's got the edge is Henry
:58:35. > :58:36.assassinated Prime Minister, so the executive had better not mess with
:58:36. > :58:49.the chair in future! That's all for today. Thanks to our
:58:49. > :58:53.guests. The one o'clock news is starting over on BBC One now. I'll
:58:53. > :58:55.be here at noon tomorrow with all the big political stories of the
:58:55. > :59:01.day. Join me then. Bye-bye.