27/11/2013

:00:40. > :00:45.This is the Daily Politics. Waging war on EU migration, the Prime

:00:46. > :00:49.Minister says he wants to make it harder for EU immigrants to claim

:00:50. > :00:52.benefits in the UK, and they will not qualify for jobless benefits

:00:53. > :00:56.until they have been here for three months. They will not receive

:00:57. > :01:00.housing benefit immediately either. It has led to what EU commission

:01:01. > :01:04.accusing Mr Cameron of an unfortunate overreaction and warning

:01:05. > :01:08.that Britain risks being seen as the nasty country of the EU. We will ask

:01:09. > :01:14.the Bulgarian ambassador if he is right. Will it get nasty at PMQs? It

:01:15. > :01:21.normally does, tune in for the action at midday.

:01:22. > :01:24.And we will be discussing pigs in the trough, not MPs and their

:01:25. > :01:30.expenses, or even Andrew and his noises, the real thing!

:01:31. > :01:37.All that and more coming up in the next 90 minutes and with us for the

:01:38. > :01:40.duration two former BBC employees who have moved on to bigger and

:01:41. > :01:44.better things, I wish we all could! That is what it says down here.

:01:45. > :01:52.Esther McVey, formerly of the Heaven And Earth Show, Shopping City and

:01:53. > :01:57.How Do They Do That? , who was now the employment must. Owen Smith used

:01:58. > :02:02.to work on Radio 4's flagship Today programme, never heard of it either!

:02:03. > :02:06.For the better-known programme in Wales, Dragon's Eye, we all watched

:02:07. > :02:11.that! He is now the shadow Welsh secretary, I do not know whether

:02:12. > :02:17.that is a promotional deal motion. Welcome to you both. What a thing to

:02:18. > :02:24.say! If we decide to take an early lunch... Just move in here. We do

:02:25. > :02:29.not get the autocue! Let's talk about their current day jobs, Esther

:02:30. > :02:33.is pretty rare these days, let me get this right, she's female, a

:02:34. > :02:37.Tory, she has a seat in the North of England, and she is not standing

:02:38. > :02:43.down at the next election, a bit unusual. At the last count, there

:02:44. > :02:49.are three standing down, three and a half if you include Louise Mensch!

:02:50. > :02:55.And you have managed to escape the exodus. Absolutely, I am a

:02:56. > :03:00.Conservative MP on Merseyside, you said the North, but in my hometown.

:03:01. > :03:06.Merseyside is the North, isn't it? Yes, I was just pointing it out

:03:07. > :03:10.specifically. Sarah Wollaston, another one of the 2010 intake, she

:03:11. > :03:21.says something needs to be done to detoxify this role of being a female

:03:22. > :03:26.Tory MP. And? Go on! Is she right? Absolutely not! For me, someone who

:03:27. > :03:31.tried for ten years to become a Conservative MP, and the only one on

:03:32. > :03:37.Merseyside, it was because I believe in what are timeless values. It is

:03:38. > :03:41.not always a sexy message, sometimes that is the difficulty, living

:03:42. > :03:46.within your means, saving, looking after yourself, having these sort of

:03:47. > :03:52.freedoms to do things, not always sexy, but it is the truth. It is

:03:53. > :03:55.about a long-term message, about building strong foundations, it is

:03:56. > :03:59.about being secure, and all of these things, we have just got to reach

:04:00. > :04:03.out and make sure that they are relevant at the moment, which we

:04:04. > :04:08.know they are, with making sure workdays, making sure education

:04:09. > :04:13.system is sound, so you know... It was not a Jew for a speech, just a

:04:14. > :04:16.question! So you do not agree with Sarah Wollaston, do you agree with

:04:17. > :04:21.Nick Boles that you are seen as the party of the rich? Absolutely not,

:04:22. > :04:26.it is a party that cut through all classes, all parts of the country,

:04:27. > :04:30.all different regions, all different ethnicities, because it is built on

:04:31. > :04:34.very strong foundations and core values. Everybody knows you have to

:04:35. > :04:38.live within your means, everybody knows... But you are proportionally

:04:39. > :04:43.more southerners, you are an exception. That being the case, we

:04:44. > :04:47.need to make sure I am no longer the exception, that we go out and build

:04:48. > :04:50.on what we have got, but it is the oldest party, it is always

:04:51. > :04:55.modernising, the first to have a female leader, all these things. So

:04:56. > :04:58.you do not agree with Sarah Wollaston, you do not agree with

:04:59. > :05:03.Nick Boles, are there any of your colleagues that you agree with?

:05:04. > :05:09.Yeah, the rest of them! They all believe that this is the party to be

:05:10. > :05:14.in. Either way this is the party that is actually digging the country

:05:15. > :05:18.out of the mess, and that is what we always do, isn't it? Pick up the

:05:19. > :05:22.pieces when we have been left in debt, left in a vulnerable position,

:05:23. > :05:27.and that is what we do. It is good to see you so on message! Listen, I

:05:28. > :05:33.am not on message, hang on a sec, Andrew, I am not on message, this is

:05:34. > :05:37.the reason I bought for ten years to become a Conservative MP, because

:05:38. > :05:43.that is what I believe in. It is not about message, that is the reason I

:05:44. > :05:47.did it. I do not know why this individual Tory MP decided to

:05:48. > :05:50.resign, but the reason the papers are running a story about the Tory

:05:51. > :05:53.party potentially not being a welcoming place for women is that

:05:54. > :05:56.there is still a perception that the Tory party went through what was

:05:57. > :06:01.effectively a spin operation, trying to present itself as having

:06:02. > :06:06.modernised, and did manifestly has not. Spin operation?! You would

:06:07. > :06:11.never get Labour doing that! They have tried to present themselves as

:06:12. > :06:16.a modernised party... The key thing is, you said, I do not know why she

:06:17. > :06:20.stood down, and that is why what you have just said was all hyperbole and

:06:21. > :06:27.a spin. You don't know why. I want to come on to Scotland, and

:06:28. > :06:31.Labour's attitude towards it. Do you agree with the Welsh First Minister,

:06:32. > :06:35.Carwyn Jones, that Scotland should not be allowed to keep sterling as

:06:36. > :06:38.part of a currency union? I don't think he said that. What he said

:06:39. > :06:44.was, in the event that Scotland voted to leave the UK, he would hope

:06:45. > :06:47.and expect that the Welsh Assembly Government, the Welsh people more

:06:48. > :06:53.broadly, as part of a currency union, would have some say... He

:06:54. > :06:58.described it as a recipe for instability, and these things matter

:06:59. > :07:02.in a time of crisis. I think that is entirely right, it would be

:07:03. > :07:05.destabilising in Scotland left the UK. I think what he said was that he

:07:06. > :07:10.would expect the Welsh people and the Welsh government, as one of the

:07:11. > :07:13.parties in the union, one of the parties in the currency union, to

:07:14. > :07:18.have a proper seat at the table in any negotiation that followed a

:07:19. > :07:22.referendum to get Scotland to leave the union. I would be uncomfortable

:07:23. > :07:27.being part of a currency union with competing governments trying to run

:07:28. > :07:31.it. I think that is a legitimate concern. Are you against it? I would

:07:32. > :07:36.be worried that if Scotland were to leave the union, we would expect

:07:37. > :07:41.there to be a currency union between a Scotland outside the Union in

:07:42. > :07:45.other respects, but inside the currency. What he was pointing out

:07:46. > :07:51.was two things, that there are many and answered questions in

:07:52. > :07:55.yesterday's white paper, and that Wales would expect to have a say in

:07:56. > :08:00.how it would play out. Are you against a currency union of Scotland

:08:01. > :08:03.went independent? Personally, I do not think Scotland will go

:08:04. > :08:08.independent. I would like to put on record that I do not think they are

:08:09. > :08:12.going to. Look, Scotland is having a referendum, and you can only have

:08:13. > :08:17.the debate if you assume, on some of the questions that people like me

:08:18. > :08:20.asked, that it goes independent. You can do other questions that assume

:08:21. > :08:25.that it stays part of the Union, but if it did go independent, would

:08:26. > :08:28.Labour support a currency union Kaymer on current evidence and

:08:29. > :08:32.polling, it is reasonable to assume they will not, but I would expect

:08:33. > :08:36.there to be a very detailed discussion between the British

:08:37. > :08:41.government... Of course there will be a detailed discussion, Alex

:08:42. > :08:45.Salmond is not fixing independence until 2016, that is not what I asked

:08:46. > :08:52.you. It is very hard to say, isn't it, whether it would be the rest of

:08:53. > :08:56.the UK at that point, Britain's interests to expel Scotland from the

:08:57. > :09:00.currency union? Since devolution, why has Wales been the worst

:09:01. > :09:06.performing part of the UK? In what sense? According to the centre for

:09:07. > :09:11.public policy at the University of Glasgow, in terms of productivity,

:09:12. > :09:15.per capita GDP, unemployment, performance of schools and

:09:16. > :09:18.hospitals. What more do I need to say? That is a very sweeping

:09:19. > :09:22.generalisation, I do not think it stands up to scrutiny. I have read

:09:23. > :09:28.the research, and I do not think it stands up. In terms of per capita

:09:29. > :09:32.GDP? We have declined versus England in terms of per capita GDP, but the

:09:33. > :09:37.overall amount of GDP generated by Wales over that period as increased,

:09:38. > :09:40.the volume of jobs has increased, productivity on three or four

:09:41. > :09:44.different measures has increased. The reality is that we know that

:09:45. > :09:46.Wales, like the north-east of England and other post-industrial

:09:47. > :09:50.parts of Britain, like the north-west, are parts of Britain

:09:51. > :09:53.where it is more difficult to generate economic growth, and that

:09:54. > :09:58.is why we have seen those parts struggling to a greater extent.

:09:59. > :10:03.Let's be clear, Wales is hit harder by the policies of the Tory

:10:04. > :10:08.governorate in Westminster, worse economic performance in Wales as a

:10:09. > :10:12.result of greater difficulties. You'll be pleased to know that an

:10:13. > :10:19.employment, when you talk about national things like jobs, you be

:10:20. > :10:23.pleased to know that unemployment is significantly down... We outweigh

:10:24. > :10:30.over and we have to stop. It is a good start! Jo. It is more than a

:10:31. > :10:35.year since Andrew Mitchell clashed with a police officer as he cycled

:10:36. > :10:38.out of Downing Street, but did he use the word pleb? Yesterday the

:10:39. > :10:41.Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to support

:10:42. > :10:45.either the former chief whip, who insists he did not, or the police

:10:46. > :10:48.officer, who says he did. Both are sticking to their stories, this is

:10:49. > :10:53.what Andrew Mitchell had to say yesterday. I have told the truth

:10:54. > :11:01.about these incidents. The police did not. My reputation was

:11:02. > :11:06.destroyed. I was vilified relentlessly over 33 days, with over

:11:07. > :11:11.808 females received during the course of that first week. -- 800

:11:12. > :11:15.hate e-mails. I and my family were driven from my home, with as many as

:11:16. > :11:18.20 journalists and photographers camped outside. My children were

:11:19. > :11:24.followed by the press. My 92-year-old mother-in-law was

:11:25. > :11:29.pursued in Swansea. I was spat out in the street. I lost my job after a

:11:30. > :11:33.career spanning more than 25 years in Parliament, serving my

:11:34. > :11:38.constituents, my party and my country. Andrew Mitchell giving a

:11:39. > :11:44.press conference yesterday, Esther McVey, do you feel sorry for him? I

:11:45. > :11:47.do, and I think that was very heartfelt, because you have the

:11:48. > :11:52.trial in the media, speculation, nobody got to the root of what

:11:53. > :11:57.happened, and yet people felt free to say whatever they wanted to, and

:11:58. > :12:02.when you look at what happens to his family, what happened to his wife,

:12:03. > :12:06.his mother-in-law, his daughter, you know, you have to reflect on that

:12:07. > :12:10.and think what the man as an individual has gone through. He

:12:11. > :12:15.started off with the word the truth, and that is what we are searching

:12:16. > :12:20.for. It is still disputed. That goes to the very heart, really, of, you

:12:21. > :12:26.know, the police, the organisation, is this something we have faith in?

:12:27. > :12:30.I think it is really important... Have you lost faith in the police?

:12:31. > :12:34.No, but they need to get to the bottom of this to ensure that

:12:35. > :12:39.everybody has faith, that they will always be treated fairly. What we

:12:40. > :12:43.are looking at here is an unfair situation, and an unresolved

:12:44. > :12:48.situation. Was David Cameron wrong to sack him, in effect? At the time,

:12:49. > :12:53.what he needed to do was not have a distraction of what was going on in

:12:54. > :12:59.the House, he was the chief whip, so in that regard, you thought, I do

:13:00. > :13:02.not want this stopping us getting on with our day-to-day business,

:13:03. > :13:04.because whether it is opposition, the media or whatever, it would

:13:05. > :13:09.constantly being pulled back to the person, rather than the job to get

:13:10. > :13:15.the country right. I understood what he did, and so Andrew did not want

:13:16. > :13:19.to be a distraction to the Government business... I think he

:13:20. > :13:26.would like to come back. You know what? He may well do. Do you think

:13:27. > :13:30.so? If he is exonerated? There is not an opportunity for him to be

:13:31. > :13:34.completely exonerated, he would have to take some sort of libel action

:13:35. > :13:38.himself. You think he should clear his name once and for all? I cannot

:13:39. > :13:43.say what he should and should not do, but if he believes that is the

:13:44. > :13:46.party should follow, and he's a very tenacious man, obviously a strong

:13:47. > :13:52.man, if he thinks that he can put his family through that, then that

:13:53. > :13:55.is what he should pursue and do. What about the police? Esther McVey

:13:56. > :14:01.talked about the trust in the police, we have had this statement

:14:02. > :14:06.from the CPS, one officer charged, five others facing misconduct

:14:07. > :14:09.proceedings. How do you feel about the police now? Disappointed,

:14:10. > :14:13.because I think all of us want our police to be as well respected and

:14:14. > :14:17.well trusted as they have been traditionally, and this has clearly

:14:18. > :14:23.cast a pall over policing in Britain, and we do need to trust our

:14:24. > :14:27.police. It is a vital part of our society, people have got trust and

:14:28. > :14:31.faith in the honesty, above all else, the police, and therefore this

:14:32. > :14:35.is a serious matter. I know there is now one prosecution that is being

:14:36. > :14:39.taken forward, but it is still a question of the said, she said,

:14:40. > :14:43.there are still contested evidence about who said what at the gates of

:14:44. > :14:51.Downing Street. But I think the whole affair, as it has played out,

:14:52. > :14:55.has been deeply unfortunate. As it poisoned relations between the

:14:56. > :15:00.police and politicians particularly? No, because most people operating as

:15:01. > :15:05.politicians in their constituencies or in Westminster work extremely

:15:06. > :15:08.well alongside local and national plea, and I think there are still

:15:09. > :15:13.respect and trust. And still a general belief the police will act

:15:14. > :15:17.honestly but we do and you need to see further reforms. It's crucial we

:15:18. > :15:22.have standards in the police that people can properly respectful we

:15:23. > :15:26.have the report from Lord Stevens in which he said, in respect of this

:15:27. > :15:30.Plebgate affair, it underlines to have stronger standards,

:15:31. > :15:35.investigative standards, the recommendation you should merge the

:15:36. > :15:40.IPCC and the HMI C. They shouldn't investigate themselves? There seems

:15:41. > :15:43.to be missed trust and duplication because it is the police

:15:44. > :15:47.investigating the police, quite often. I think we need to review

:15:48. > :15:51.that to restore some trust. Should Andrew Mitchell be given his job

:15:52. > :15:56.back? I don't know, it's a question for the Prime Minister. I don't know

:15:57. > :16:00.what he said Downing Street also I know what he says and what the

:16:01. > :16:05.policeman said he says, so I'm not in a position to judge. If the said

:16:06. > :16:10.what he is alleged to have said, it's a serious thing. Why do this

:16:11. > :16:15.become such a big issue? In part, it's about the perception that the

:16:16. > :16:18.Tories are the party which represents the village and the rich

:16:19. > :16:23.in this country and that's why it rang true for lots of people.

:16:24. > :16:27.Fundamentally, it actually getting the country back on its feet and

:16:28. > :16:32.getting an extra million people into employment. And cutting taxes.

:16:33. > :16:37.Astor, the notion of the Tory party is that party of the workers is

:16:38. > :16:42.ridiculous. I will have to stop you there. Andrew. Now how do you try

:16:43. > :16:45.and see off UKIP and please your backbenchers all in one go? Talk

:16:46. > :16:48.tough on immigration, of course, especially EU immogration. David

:16:49. > :16:52.Cameron has outlined a number of new measures to crack down on EU

:16:53. > :16:56.migrants coming to the UK in the future. Writing, ironically, in that

:16:57. > :16:58.most pro-Eu of papers, the Financial Times, the Prime Minister said

:16:59. > :17:03.people were deeply concerned about levels of migration from Bulgaria

:17:04. > :17:13.and Romania. So what are the details? The Borgen British

:17:14. > :17:19.podcasting has the information. Brigitte Nyborg, you can call me.

:17:20. > :17:22.David Cameron has today announced a number of restrictions to welfare

:17:23. > :17:25.for current and future migrants from other EU countries, which he hopes

:17:26. > :17:28.to implement next year with the support of the Liberal Democrats. Mr

:17:29. > :17:34.Cameron says migrants shouldn't be able to receive out-of-work benefits

:17:35. > :17:37.for the first three months. And payments will be stopped after six

:17:38. > :17:40.months unless the claimant has a genuine chance of a job. An earnings

:17:41. > :17:43.threshold will also be introduced, new migrants will not be able to

:17:44. > :17:47.claim housing benefit immediately. And anyone not seeking work will be

:17:48. > :17:50.sent back and won't be able to return for 12 months. The

:17:51. > :17:53.announcement comes ahead of the restrictions affecting Bulgarian and

:17:54. > :17:56.Romanians being able to come here and work, which have been in place

:17:57. > :18:02.since 2007, expiring at the end of next month. Mr Cameron also wants to

:18:03. > :18:06.restrict the numbers coming to the UK from current and new EU countries

:18:07. > :18:18.in the future, saying the right of free movement in Europe couldn't be

:18:19. > :18:22.unqualified. But European Commissioner Laszlo Andor has warned

:18:23. > :18:25.David Cameron of hysteria and the UK being seen as a nasty country. While

:18:26. > :18:28.Labour's Yvette Cooper said the Prime Minister was playing catch-up

:18:29. > :18:31.and copying their idea. Andrew, back to you. Thanks, Borgen. I'm joined

:18:32. > :18:35.now by the head of UKIP's policy unit, Tim Aker. You have a policy

:18:36. > :18:41.unit? When did that happen? If David Cameron got that through, we would

:18:42. > :18:46.have more controlled migration from Eastern Europe and still all the

:18:47. > :18:50.benefits of labour capital. You can tell there's an election round the

:18:51. > :18:53.corner because David Cameron starts talking like a Eurosceptic. They've

:18:54. > :18:56.already said the knot breeze to this, they're not least the right to

:18:57. > :19:01.residency proposals so they take Mr the European Court of Justice. If he

:19:02. > :19:07.gets this through, it's a step in the right direction but we have

:19:08. > :19:13.known this when Bulgaria and Romania joined. Why now am so late, are they

:19:14. > :19:19.talking about it now? We have known for ages the restrictions are coming

:19:20. > :19:24.off in January. And this is now November for the why has he waited

:19:25. > :19:30.so long? He hasn't waited so long. It's two years worth of work, Iain

:19:31. > :19:34.Duncan Smith, Teresa May, putting these in place and fermenting them.

:19:35. > :19:39.There are various stages you got to deal with, domestic legislation but

:19:40. > :19:43.you have got to see what is acceptable, what would be working

:19:44. > :19:48.within the EU framework. None of this will be in place by January.

:19:49. > :19:53.Yes, it will, actually. The two things in place will be the habitual

:19:54. > :19:58.residence test, a tougher, stronger more accurate thing which wasn't

:19:59. > :20:03.there before. The other thing in place in January is the six months

:20:04. > :20:08.in the country, which is coming from the Home Office. You don't need

:20:09. > :20:15.legislation for that? So it happening? It's not a border control

:20:16. > :20:21.issue, to benefit issue. You're not restricting the numbers. European

:20:22. > :20:24.commissioners are very unhappy with this so they will do what they have

:20:25. > :20:27.done over the rights to residency proposals, they will take it to the

:20:28. > :20:34.European court of justice. That takes a long while. There are two

:20:35. > :20:42.parts to this. It will take a while but the numbers will still come.

:20:43. > :20:45.200,000 Roma here. You need to have a serious discussion about where the

:20:46. > :20:50.EU has competence and it doesn't control the borders. You are quite

:20:51. > :20:55.right, the commission standing alone here. We have now gathered support

:20:56. > :20:58.across various countries across Europe who are like-minded with us

:20:59. > :21:04.and it shows how far removed the commissioners's views are the people

:21:05. > :21:09.on the ground. It's taken two years to get on the ground. Iain Duncan

:21:10. > :21:14.Smith was in Paris last week, and we are getting a critical mass who are

:21:15. > :21:19.thinking the same things. We will have the habitual residence test,

:21:20. > :21:22.the removal after six months, and in the various other things which are

:21:23. > :21:28.coming will be in place next year. I will come to Labour in a minute.

:21:29. > :21:31.Which European countries agreed welfare payments should be stopped

:21:32. > :21:35.after six months? They have different rules of the moment, so

:21:36. > :21:39.you have places like Germany, they would say you have got to have done

:21:40. > :21:45.stuff so long, different rules, we are all different. But they don't

:21:46. > :21:48.agree with that specifically? Whether it's from general taxation

:21:49. > :21:51.or the insurance rules or contributory system in the paid

:21:52. > :21:55.into, so the rules are slightly different. Which country agrees that

:21:56. > :21:59.those not seeking work will be removed and not able to attend the

:22:00. > :22:06.12 months? That its future work going on for the other four David

:22:07. > :22:09.Cameron... You told me you had all these countries lined up who were

:22:10. > :22:16.backing us. And they will be Germany, Spain, Denmark... All these

:22:17. > :22:19.countries support that? They are working with us, that's right. Where

:22:20. > :22:24.is the evidence any of these countries reporters on this? These

:22:25. > :22:27.are the negotiations which have been done the two years. I follow German

:22:28. > :22:32.and French politics carefully and I'm not aware of those governments

:22:33. > :22:38.supporting this. Were you at the same meeting of Iain Duncan Smith

:22:39. > :22:41.two weeks ago in Paris? Are you telling me Iain Duncan Smith had a

:22:42. > :22:46.breakthrough at these meetings and France and Germany will support the

:22:47. > :22:51.return to host country after 12 months? I am saying is this is what

:22:52. > :22:55.we are all agreeing at the moment for the David Cameron is leading the

:22:56. > :22:59.way. I'm asking a game for them to the French and Germans agree with

:23:00. > :23:05.this or not? If they do, where are they on the record saying they do

:23:06. > :23:39.so? You do your domestic, consensus of opinion,

:23:40. > :23:45.benefits for the first three months? Yes I supported as eight months ago.

:23:46. > :23:49.Does Labour support stopping payments after six months and less

:23:50. > :23:53.of a genuine chance for a job? On all of these things, actually. We

:23:54. > :23:57.have not seen the details for that we have only seen one article, so it

:23:58. > :24:02.needs to be looked at. They are pretty clear policies. Will new

:24:03. > :24:07.migrants not be able to claim housing benefit immediately? I

:24:08. > :24:10.think, again, alongside the three-month rule, that's probably

:24:11. > :24:16.reasonable. Do you agree those not seeking work should be removed and

:24:17. > :24:21.not be able to return for 12 months? Again, I want to see the

:24:22. > :24:25.detail. They are talking about... They are saying if they see beggars

:24:26. > :24:29.and vagrants from Eastern Europe and they can't show that they are

:24:30. > :24:33.queueing up to do any work, they will be removed. Do you agree with

:24:34. > :24:42.that? Howard sack the other going to determine that question how will

:24:43. > :24:48.they know? -- how are they going to determine that? So you might not

:24:49. > :24:55.support that? We need to see the detail, Andrew. The key thing, the

:24:56. > :25:02.law changes. The reality is, Labour... Left us in this mess. It

:25:03. > :25:08.was the way we dealt with immigration. You have done this. The

:25:09. > :25:18.key thing, the reason we have been ahead of the game... You haven't.

:25:19. > :25:21.You have to let him speak. If that Cooper gave a speech in which she

:25:22. > :25:27.said you should title the habitual residency. Too late. We have been

:25:28. > :25:33.doing it for two years. People should be of claim benefits abroad.

:25:34. > :25:39.And dealing with a minimum wage. Excuse me. Excuse me. Can I just...

:25:40. > :25:45.It's all about party politics. Listen to me. This is an unpleasant

:25:46. > :25:49.arms race for the three of you, trying to be nasty to foreigners.

:25:50. > :25:55.That's what the three of you wondering. Labour, of all parties,

:25:56. > :26:01.which allowed for mass immigration when you were in power, for you now

:26:02. > :26:06.to try to outdo the Tories in being nasty. Migrants, it really is quite

:26:07. > :26:11.remarkable. Labour has learned the lesson that we fail to appreciate

:26:12. > :26:14.what a big impact it would have on working-class communities where

:26:15. > :26:19.there's a lot of low-wage people. And now we want to recognise the

:26:20. > :26:21.fact that we should put in place transitional controls, we should

:26:22. > :26:29.have thought about the impact on the working classes. Should've,

:26:30. > :26:36.could've, would have. Excuse me. Be quiet, both of you. A final question

:26:37. > :26:40.to my UKIP guest. Do you think a lot of Romanians and Bulgarians will

:26:41. > :26:45.come in January? Yes. Potentially for the if I was in their position,

:26:46. > :26:48.and very low standard of living. These two have been bickering for

:26:49. > :26:58.years over this issue. UKIP is on the rise. The Tory held seat, if

:26:59. > :27:01.third now. Congratulations. Are you determine to speak over every time I

:27:02. > :27:05.speak? You're doing pretty well so far. Nobody said the challenge of

:27:06. > :27:10.being the UK's foremost broadcaster was an easy one. Trying to maintain

:27:11. > :27:14.impartiality during such a turbulent debate is nigh on impossible. Maybe

:27:15. > :27:19.I shouldn't confess this but, well, I feel I'm among friends. Well, I

:27:20. > :27:24.did until I started this programme! The question is this: In or out? Can

:27:25. > :27:27.we still dip our Scottish shortbread into our English breakfast tea? And,

:27:28. > :27:39.if the biscuit gets soggy and falls in, whose turn is it to clean up the

:27:40. > :27:43.Daily Politics mug? Not me! Well, my bravehearts, you can make the

:27:44. > :27:45.choice. Destiny can be in your hands whether you're from Paisley or

:27:46. > :27:51.Penge, Portadown or Pontypridd! But only if you win this little beauty.

:27:52. > :27:53.Well read. We'll remind you how to enter in a minute. But let's see if

:27:54. > :28:09.you can remember when this happened. We have become a grandmother. Other

:28:10. > :28:15.grandson. Called Michael. -- they grandson.

:28:16. > :28:28.# How can we dance when our world is turning? # How do we sleep whilst

:28:29. > :28:35.our Beds are burning? Here we are for the first time in the House of

:28:36. > :28:42.Commons televised. # Here we are, back to reality. I still think I'm

:28:43. > :29:00.doing what I believe to be right. # I hear your voice, it's like an

:29:01. > :29:08.angel sighing # I have no choice, I hear your voice # Feels like flying.

:29:09. > :29:16.# I close my eyes. To be in with a chance of winning a

:29:17. > :29:21.Daily Politics mug, send your answer to our special quiz email address.

:29:22. > :29:23.That's dpquiz@bbc.co.uk. And you can see the full terms and conditions

:29:24. > :29:41.for Guess The Year on our website. He has been fired, I can tell you.

:29:42. > :29:45.Let's take a look at Big Ben. . Yes, Prime Minister's Questions is on its

:29:46. > :29:47.way. If you'd like to comment on proceedings you can email us at

:29:48. > :29:51.daily.politics@bbc.co.uk. Or tweet your thoughts using the hashtag

:29:52. > :29:59.#bbcdp. We'll read some out after PMQs. Nick Robinson is here fresh

:30:00. > :30:06.north of the border. There is not an earthquake in Messman stuck because

:30:07. > :30:17.Big Ben was bouncing up and down. -- in Westminster. I have got to ask,

:30:18. > :30:21.what a beautiful Mr Miller band to do today? It will be interesting to

:30:22. > :30:28.see if he wants to mention immigration. -- Ed Miliband. I doubt

:30:29. > :30:31.that. I think you'll want to talk about health. Let's go straight to

:30:32. > :30:38.the Commons. This morning I had meetings of

:30:39. > :30:41.ministerial colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in this

:30:42. > :30:48.House, I shall have further such meetings later today.

:30:49. > :30:54.This week I have launched a cross-party campaign with the

:30:55. > :31:00.support of the GMB union to provide justice for the 3230 workers and

:31:01. > :31:03.their families who were victims of blacklisting by 44 construction

:31:04. > :31:07.companies. We have written to all the companies involved and will post

:31:08. > :31:12.their responses on our website. Will the Prime Minister join me in this

:31:13. > :31:18.campaign to support hard-working people and stamp out the terrible

:31:19. > :31:21.disease of blacklisting? I am very glad to join my honourable friend,

:31:22. > :31:25.and I congratulate him on the work that he has done on this issue.

:31:26. > :31:30.Blacklisting is illegal, blacklisting is wrong. This sort of

:31:31. > :31:34.intimidation is wrong, just as intimidation of non-striking workers

:31:35. > :31:37.or indeed managers is also wrong. I am happy to condemn both forms of

:31:38. > :31:48.intimidation, and I hope others will as well. Mr Ed Miliband. Mr

:31:49. > :31:52.Speaker... Mr Speaker, following his U-turn on payday lending, can I ask

:31:53. > :31:57.the Prime Minister why he has moved in two short months from believing

:31:58. > :32:01.that intervening in broken markets is living, and I quote, in a Marxist

:32:02. > :32:07.universe, to believing it is a solemn duty of government? Well, as

:32:08. > :32:11.I have said, there are some dreadful practices that take place in the

:32:12. > :32:14.payday lending market, and there are some very disturbing cases, and

:32:15. > :32:22.frankly for 13 years they did absolutely nothing about it! So I am

:32:23. > :32:25.proud of the fact, I am proud of the fact that we have intervened to

:32:26. > :32:30.regulate this market properly, and we are also going to be put in place

:32:31. > :32:35.a cap. Mr Speaker, let me be very fair to the right honourable friend.

:32:36. > :32:38.I followed very carefully his interview on Desert Island discs,

:32:39. > :32:46.and I think it is there to say that he is no longer a follower of marks,

:32:47. > :32:51.he is having angels instead. -- Engels. Ed Miliband!

:32:52. > :32:59.You would have thought he would be spending his time as Prime Minister,

:33:00. > :33:03.Mr Speaker. What is surprisingly off what is surprising, Mr Speaker, is

:33:04. > :33:09.that the Chancellor said just a few weeks ago, and I quote, that

:33:10. > :33:13.attempts to fix prices crash endeavour and blunt aspiration. For

:33:14. > :33:19.the avoidance of doubt, can he just reassure us that his U-turn had

:33:20. > :33:24.nothing to do with the prospect of losing a vote in parliament the

:33:25. > :33:27.following day? I am sorry the right honourable gentleman has had a

:33:28. > :33:34.slight sense of humour failure, not a very good start to these

:33:35. > :33:37.exchanges! I have done a little bit of research, Mr Speaker, and in

:33:38. > :33:43.three years he has never asked me a question about payday lending, not

:33:44. > :33:46.once! Not a single question. I have been asked about all sorts of

:33:47. > :33:50.things, look, it is right to intervene when markets are not

:33:51. > :33:57.working and people are getting hurt, that is what we are doing. 13

:33:58. > :34:00.years they had, they looked at a cap in 2004, and they rejected it. That

:34:01. > :34:04.was when he was working in the Treasury. We have looked at a cap,

:34:05. > :34:08.we looked at the evidence from Australia and elsewhere, it is the

:34:09. > :34:13.right thing to do, and I am proud that we are doing it. Ed Miliband!

:34:14. > :34:20.Mr Speaker, even by his standards, this is a bit rich. On the 22nd of

:34:21. > :34:25.May 2012, they voted against capping payday lenders. On the 4th of July

:34:26. > :34:30.2011, they voted against capping payday lenders. On the 3rd of

:34:31. > :34:33.February 2011, they voted against capping payday lenders. We were for

:34:34. > :34:40.it, they were against it. Clearly, he wants to claim... Clearly, he

:34:41. > :34:44.wants to claim this is a principled decision, so can the Prime Minister

:34:45. > :34:49.explain why the Government intervening to cap the cost of

:34:50. > :34:54.credit is right, but the Government capping energy bills is communism? I

:34:55. > :34:59.feel like one of those radio hosts who says, and your complaint is,

:35:00. > :35:04.caller? We are taking action when they did not take action. We are

:35:05. > :35:11.doing the right thing. He should be standing up and congratulating as.

:35:12. > :35:16.He wants to turn... He wants to turn to energy, let me turn specifically

:35:17. > :35:19.to energy. The point is we do not have control of the international

:35:20. > :35:24.price of gas, so what we need to do is have more competition to get

:35:25. > :35:28.profits down, and roll back the costs of regulation to get prices

:35:29. > :35:33.down. That is a proper energy policy, and when it comes... We know

:35:34. > :35:36.his version of intervention, his version of intervention is take

:35:37. > :35:43.money from the Co-op and do not ask any questions! Ed Miliband! Mr

:35:44. > :35:51.Speaker, Mr Speaker, here is the reality... Here is the reality, this

:35:52. > :35:57.is not a minor policy adjustment, it is an intellectual collapse of their

:35:58. > :36:01.position, because the two months, because for two months they have

:36:02. > :36:06.been saying that if you take action to intervene in markets, it is back

:36:07. > :36:12.to the 1970s, it is Marxism, and now they realise they are on the wrong

:36:13. > :36:18.side of public opinion. That is the reality. Now, on energy, on

:36:19. > :36:23.energy... On energy, he must realise... Order! We will get

:36:24. > :36:28.through Question Time. However long it takes! I appealed to members

:36:29. > :36:33.simply to calm down and think of the electorate, who we are here to

:36:34. > :36:39.serve. Very straightforward, Ed Miliband! They are shouting because

:36:40. > :36:42.they have no answer, Mr Speaker, and he must realise the gravity of the

:36:43. > :36:47.situation, when there are figures this week showing 31,000 deaths as a

:36:48. > :36:52.result of the cold winter, with around 10,000 as a result of cold

:36:53. > :36:57.homes. So can he explain how things are going to be better this winter

:36:58. > :37:01.than they were last? Well, what they will be this winter, and this is a

:37:02. > :37:04.vitally important issue, what there will be is the cold weather payments

:37:05. > :37:09.that we have doubled from their previous level. They will be in

:37:10. > :37:14.place. The Winter fuel payment will be in place, the warm homes discount

:37:15. > :37:18.that helps two million people in our country, that will be in place. The

:37:19. > :37:23.increase of the pension, that will be in place. Now, look, every excess

:37:24. > :37:28.deaths in the winter is a tragedy, and there were 31,000 last year. He

:37:29. > :37:34.might care to recall that when he was Energy Secretary, there were

:37:35. > :37:38.36,500. Ed Miliband! Mr Speaker, I asked him a very specific question,

:37:39. > :37:44.how will it be better this winter than last? On the reality, prices

:37:45. > :37:48.are going to be higher than last. For the average household, the

:37:49. > :37:54.British Gas bill went up ?123 this week, and it was also revealed that

:37:55. > :38:00.the profits of the energy companies are up 75% in the last year alone.

:38:01. > :38:04.Why, under his government, is unacceptable for the British people

:38:05. > :38:10.to pay exorbitant prices to fund exorbitant profits? What is

:38:11. > :38:13.intellectual incoherence is not to address the fact that there were

:38:14. > :38:18.36,500 winter deaths when he was standing here as Energy Secretary,

:38:19. > :38:21.and that number was low at last year. What is intellectual

:38:22. > :38:26.incoherence is to promise a price freeze for 20 months' time when you

:38:27. > :38:30.do not control the global price of gas, incoherent and a total con.

:38:31. > :38:34.While we are on the collapse of intellectual positions, more

:38:35. > :38:37.borrowing, more spending, more taxing - exactly the things that got

:38:38. > :38:43.us into this mess in the first place, and he remains committed to

:38:44. > :38:47.each and everyone! Ed Miliband! Mr Speaker, I will tell you what is a

:38:48. > :38:53.con, it is saying one thing before the election and then another thing

:38:54. > :38:56.as Prime Minister. Here is what the honourable member for Richmond, here

:38:57. > :38:59.is what the honourable member for Richmond said about him, he likes

:39:00. > :39:04.reading out tweets, Mr Speaker, maybe will listen to this one. If

:39:05. > :39:09.the PM can casually drop something that was so central to his

:39:10. > :39:15.identity, he can drop anything. Hashtag green crap, that is this

:39:16. > :39:21.Prime Minister all over! The truth is that any action he takes on the

:39:22. > :39:24.cost of living prices is that he is being dragged there kicking and

:39:25. > :39:29.screaming. On the cost of living prices, he is not the solution, he

:39:30. > :39:33.is the problem. Nobody believes that he or his cabinet had any sense of

:39:34. > :39:39.the pressures facing the people of Britain! I think everyone can

:39:40. > :39:44.recognise a collapse when they see one, we just saw one right now!

:39:45. > :39:48.Isn't it interesting... Isn't it interesting, the week before the

:39:49. > :39:52.autumn statement, he cannot ask about the economy because it is

:39:53. > :39:55.growing? He cannot ask about the deficit because it is falling, he

:39:56. > :40:00.cannot ask about the numbers on work because they are rising. People can

:40:01. > :40:03.see that we have a long-term plan to turn our country around, and people

:40:04. > :40:06.can also see him sitting in his room, desperate for bad news to suit

:40:07. > :40:15.his own short-term political interests!

:40:16. > :40:24.Mr George Freeman! Mr Speaker, one in eight men will be diagnosed with

:40:25. > :40:29.prostate cancer, the silent killer of middle-aged men. Survival rates

:40:30. > :40:32.have risen to 80% because of improvements in science and

:40:33. > :40:39.charities which have gone from five blokes raising $500 to the world's

:40:40. > :40:42.biggest prostate charity. With the Prime Minister meet with me and

:40:43. > :40:45.representatives of UK research charities to help the UK innovate

:40:46. > :40:49.more quickly I think my honourable friend raises a very important

:40:50. > :40:53.issue, where everybody wants to see more research and better outcomes in

:40:54. > :40:57.terms of prostate cancer, and can I personally praise for that

:40:58. > :41:05.magnificent growth on his top lip? I have noticed a number of my

:41:06. > :41:08.colleagues suddenly resembling banditos and others on these

:41:09. > :41:12.benches, not something I am fully capable of myself, I am jealous on

:41:13. > :41:16.those grounds as well! But this is important, better diagnosis, better

:41:17. > :41:21.knowledge and information are all vital to beat prostate cancer. The

:41:22. > :41:25.Prime Minister one said he wanted to see rising living standards for

:41:26. > :41:30.all, not just rewards for those in high finance. Why, then, real wages

:41:31. > :41:37.down by over ?1600, while bank bonuses are up by 83%? That is

:41:38. > :41:40.happening because we are cutting taxes, disposable income went up

:41:41. > :41:47.last year, and what we have done is lit the first ?10,000 that people

:41:48. > :41:51.turn out of tax altogether. That is worth ?700 for every person who pays

:41:52. > :41:56.that tax. That is something he should be welcoming. In addition, we

:41:57. > :42:01.have frozen the council tax, cuts the petrol duty, and helped in all

:42:02. > :42:05.sorts of ways with family incomes. Every single step opposed by the

:42:06. > :42:11.party opposite. Mr Richard Fuller. Thank you, Mr Speaker. This

:42:12. > :42:15.foundation provides an lifting support for people living with

:42:16. > :42:17.dementia in Bedfordshire and for their carers. -- uplifting.

:42:18. > :42:22.Following his challenge on dementia last year and ahead of the G8 Summit

:42:23. > :42:24.that he will host in London next month, can my right honourable

:42:25. > :42:28.friend send a message to my constituents about his commitment to

:42:29. > :42:32.achieving real progress on dementia research and care? I am very

:42:33. > :42:35.grateful to my honourable friend for raising this issue. I think for too

:42:36. > :42:39.long in our country people thought of dementia as a natural part of

:42:40. > :42:43.ageing, rather than what it is, a disease that we should be fighting

:42:44. > :42:45.with all the energy that we are fighting heart disease and fighting

:42:46. > :42:50.cancer. As part of the dementia challenge, we will double research

:42:51. > :42:56.funding over the lifetime of this Government, from 26 million to up to

:42:57. > :42:59.66 million per year in 2014-15, but we also want to see an increase in

:43:00. > :43:04.diagnosis rates, because getting to grips with this early, and we want

:43:05. > :43:08.the rates to go to two thirds. I think is constituents will welcome

:43:09. > :43:11.those pledges. Through the G8 chairmanship, we can galvanise

:43:12. > :43:16.action around the world as well. Mr Speaker, REPORTER: Years the people

:43:17. > :43:20.of Scotland were promised they would receive a detailed and costed white

:43:21. > :43:24.paper to answer all their questions. Instead they got a thick document

:43:25. > :43:27.full of false promises. In the absence of detailed costings, it was

:43:28. > :43:31.not a blueprint for independence but a wish list. Given that the entire

:43:32. > :43:35.white paper is based on the assumption that Scotland would keep

:43:36. > :43:40.the pound as part of a sterling zone with no Plan B, can the Prime

:43:41. > :43:42.Minister tell us whether that lack of Plan B calls into question the

:43:43. > :43:45.entire credibility of the white paper? I very much agree with the

:43:46. > :43:50.honourable gentleman. We have been waiting a long time for this

:43:51. > :43:56.document. We were told it would answer every question, and yet no

:43:57. > :44:00.answer on the currency, no answer on the issue of EU membership, no

:44:01. > :44:05.proper answers one NATO. We were left with a huge set of questions,

:44:06. > :44:10.and for Scottish people, also the prospect of a ?1000 bill has the

:44:11. > :44:15.price of separation. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

:44:16. > :44:27.Thank you, Mr Speaker! We are celebrating a year after new owners

:44:28. > :44:31.of the former Pfizer site and with our commitment to small and

:44:32. > :44:38.medium-sized enterprises in Kent, we now have 1400 jobs and 60 companies.

:44:39. > :44:43.Would the Prime Minister agree with me that when the private sector

:44:44. > :44:50.needs a proactive government, we can replicate these sorts of successors

:44:51. > :44:54.around the country? Can I praise for the work she in. Clearly it was a

:44:55. > :44:59.blower Pfizer made their decision and I think many people thought it

:45:00. > :45:02.would be the end of that site in terms of jobs and investment but

:45:03. > :45:06.because of the hard work she is put in, and also my right honourable

:45:07. > :45:10.friend, the Business Secretary, and the science minister, a huge amount

:45:11. > :45:15.of work, the enterprise zone is working well, attracted over 20

:45:16. > :45:20.high-tech companies, and Pfizer is now staying with 500 jobs as well.

:45:21. > :45:23.It has been a success and shows if you work with the private sector,

:45:24. > :45:29.you can get good results like this. Andy McDonald. The disability

:45:30. > :45:31.benefits Consortium, over 50 charities have signed a letter to

:45:32. > :45:37.the Secretary of State calling for immediate action to exempt disabled

:45:38. > :45:43.people from the bedroom tax. Why on earth does he and his government

:45:44. > :45:48.refused to listen? What we have done is exempt disabled people who need

:45:49. > :45:51.an extra room but it does, I think, come back to a basic issue of

:45:52. > :45:56.fairness. And that basic issue with this. People in private sector

:45:57. > :46:00.rented accommodation who get housing benefit and don't get a subsidy for

:46:01. > :46:04.a spare room whereas people in council houses do get a subsidy for

:46:05. > :46:10.spare rooms and that's why I think it was right to end that, thinking

:46:11. > :46:17.of the 1.8 million people in our country on housing waiting lists. I

:46:18. > :46:21.wonder what the is to have a chance to watch any of the fantastic rugby

:46:22. > :46:25.league World Cup semifinal match which took place between England and

:46:26. > :46:29.New Zealand at the weekend? The tournament has been a great success

:46:30. > :46:33.and shortly rugby fans will have the Rugby union World Cup to look

:46:34. > :46:39.forward to in 2015 with games in England and Wales. Will he agree

:46:40. > :46:43.with me that the great interest in rugby presents an opportunity for my

:46:44. > :46:50.constituency to attract visitors to the birthplace of the game? I think

:46:51. > :46:54.he is absolutely right that it is the best possible advertisement for

:46:55. > :46:59.his time and I have done a public meeting in his high Street and know

:47:00. > :47:04.what a varied reception you can get in the town of rugby. It's hard to

:47:05. > :47:08.keep up with a quantity and quality of rugby union and rugby league

:47:09. > :47:12.games. I made a wager with a New Zealand Prime Minister I would wear

:47:13. > :47:16.a kiwi cuff link if they won in the rugby union match and they did so

:47:17. > :47:25.last week but fortunately, nobody noticed. The Prime Minister has

:47:26. > :47:30.vowed to fight for the UK with its head, heart and soul, but when it

:47:31. > :47:35.comes to a debate of guts, we now have a blueprint for independence.

:47:36. > :47:42.We know what his UK will look like. Will he now stop being pathetic and

:47:43. > :47:46.debate the issues with the first Minister? I'm enjoying the debate

:47:47. > :47:50.were having now, which is where it should take place. Of course, there

:47:51. > :47:55.should be a debate including televised debates, but this is a

:47:56. > :47:59.debate between people in Scotland. This is not a debate between the

:48:00. > :48:02.leader of the Conservative Party and the UK Prime Minister and the

:48:03. > :48:06.Scottish first Minister? It's a debate between the leader of the no

:48:07. > :48:10.campaign and the leader of the yes campaign. And they should fight it

:48:11. > :48:14.out on the facts. And on the issues. I know you want to find every

:48:15. > :48:19.destruction possible because when it comes the economy, jobs, Europe, all

:48:20. > :48:26.the arguments are for staying together. For future reference, you

:48:27. > :48:33.shouldn't be yelling at the Prime Minister like an overexcited puppy

:48:34. > :48:43.dog. It is unseemly. You can do a lot better if you try. Mary McLeod.

:48:44. > :48:48.Small businesses and traders, 40 million people employed in them, in

:48:49. > :48:53.Bradford and I is the web, 825 new business has been set up in the last

:48:54. > :48:58.two years. -- I saw worth. Will you join with me in encouraging

:48:59. > :49:02.businesses to become champions in all of our secondary schools to

:49:03. > :49:10.inspire another generation of entrepreneurs? First of all, the new

:49:11. > :49:14.businesses setting up in Britain, we do have 400,000 more businesses than

:49:15. > :49:18.three years ago, but the point she makes about encouraging businesses

:49:19. > :49:21.into schools to inspire young people about enterprise, about small

:49:22. > :49:26.business and what that can involve, I think it's really important and I

:49:27. > :49:29.would urge all MPs to make the most of small business Saturday and in

:49:30. > :49:32.the visits they make to primary schools and secondary schools to

:49:33. > :49:40.push the case for good business access and discussions. Four weeks

:49:41. > :49:45.ago in Eccles, I met a woman, 55 years old, a mother married to

:49:46. > :49:48.Tony. For the last four years, Joyce had problems in their memory and on

:49:49. > :49:53.her 55th birthday she was diagnosed with onset dementia. Her family are

:49:54. > :49:56.devastated but his inspirational woman and now fighting for better

:49:57. > :50:02.services for people in similar circumstances. Will he ensure at the

:50:03. > :50:07.G8, in London in two weeks time, there is a real plus for increase in

:50:08. > :50:13.research and quality of care and support and prevention as well as

:50:14. > :50:17.the important search for a cure? She's absolutely right. There was no

:50:18. > :50:20.one single thing we have to do. The research budget is going up but we

:50:21. > :50:24.also need to work within the health and social care sector to improve

:50:25. > :50:27.standards but frankly, we also need to make our communities more

:50:28. > :50:32.dementia friendly and something all of us can do is actually to become a

:50:33. > :50:36.dementia friend, a simple relatively short test, and that of learning,

:50:37. > :50:42.about how to help people in our communities with dementia. It's when

:50:43. > :50:45.people are trying to go on a bus, or access their bank account, or go to

:50:46. > :50:54.the post office, how they live their lives with something we can all make

:50:55. > :51:01.a difference too. Last Friday, on the border between Gibraltar in

:51:02. > :51:06.Spain, one about the dramatic pouches was opened, clear breach of

:51:07. > :51:10.our sovereignty, -- diplomatic pouches. I ask what further

:51:11. > :51:17.measures, political and indeed any other measures we can take towards

:51:18. > :51:23.Spain, to stop this harassment of our people in Gibraltar? First of

:51:24. > :51:27.all, he is right to raise this because it is a breach of the

:51:28. > :51:30.principle of state immunity and the principles underlying in the Vienna

:51:31. > :51:35.Convention on diplomatic conventions. It's a serious action

:51:36. > :51:38.which took place. We asked the Spanish authorities to investigate

:51:39. > :51:41.and they have done that and we are perceived and expiration. We are

:51:42. > :51:45.reassured this will not happen again but that me be absolutely clear, we

:51:46. > :51:51.will always stand up for the rights of people in Gibraltar and for the

:51:52. > :51:54.sovereignty of Gibraltar. Earlier the Primus tag line for the

:51:55. > :51:59.government is doing in relation to fuel poverty in the winter. -- the

:52:00. > :52:04.Prime Minister. Outlined. The further north, incomes are lower,

:52:05. > :52:10.the Colbert is, and fuel prices are higher. What additional measures can

:52:11. > :52:14.he take to ensure the alleviates the problems suffered by people in

:52:15. > :52:17.Northern Ireland? I do think the cold weather payments are perhaps

:52:18. > :52:21.the key thing because they are triggered I load temperatures and

:52:22. > :52:28.they kick in at ?25 a week, which makes the biggest difference. The

:52:29. > :52:32.warm homes discovered, the energy companies themselves are putting in

:52:33. > :52:36.place to help tackle fuel poverty. The measures under the last

:52:37. > :52:43.government, fuel poverty is lower today than it was when the party

:52:44. > :52:48.opposite was in office. It is my right honourable friend aware of the

:52:49. > :52:54.concern in Suffolk about using a road toll to pay for improvements to

:52:55. > :53:00.be a 14? And the consequent risk but introducing tolls on the roads may

:53:01. > :53:06.undermine support for the sensible concept of road pricing? I am well

:53:07. > :53:10.aware of the strong feelings about this issue and had been approached

:53:11. > :53:15.by many MPs but I believe that road tolls can play an important part in

:53:16. > :53:19.providing new road capacity. It's important we find way to praise for

:53:20. > :53:25.road capacity, but I understand the concerns about this individual case.

:53:26. > :53:31.Does he realise he has something in common with the SNP? While he

:53:32. > :53:39.refuses to back a call on a freeze on energy bills, they were not there

:53:40. > :53:46.to grips with the energy companies, what does he think this says to the

:53:47. > :53:48.millions of Scottish people? Getting to grips with energy bills means

:53:49. > :53:54.more competition in the market which we are delivering. We were left the

:53:55. > :53:58.big six by the party opposite and we see new companies coming in and

:53:59. > :54:04.people like the leader of the opposition sensibly deciding to

:54:05. > :54:07.switch their energy supply, good or very principle. We need to go back

:54:08. > :54:12.the costs of the levies, and we're looking at that, as well. The Prime

:54:13. > :54:17.Minister will be aware that MPs from rural areas across party lines have,

:54:18. > :54:23.for many years, campaigned for a fair funding formula for schools.

:54:24. > :54:27.Ably led by David kidney, the former Labour MP, and by the Honourable

:54:28. > :54:31.member for Buster, the issue has been brought to a head again and we

:54:32. > :54:41.have been expected to expect news shortly. Can't reassure teachers

:54:42. > :54:44.they won't be disappointed? I do understand the concerns because

:54:45. > :54:48.these funding formulas are built up over many years and there are places

:54:49. > :54:52.in the country which do feel disadvantaged, particularly in rural

:54:53. > :54:58.areas, who can suffer exclusion and poverty and feel there is not proper

:54:59. > :55:07.reflection in the funding formula. The Education Secretary will see

:55:08. > :55:11.what he can do. In my constituency, the engine room of the economy is S

:55:12. > :55:21.M Es full sub while business rates rising by an average ability of

:55:22. > :55:26.thousand pounds in this Parliament? Really are extending the freezer

:55:27. > :55:30.business rates that the last government was going to get rid of

:55:31. > :55:34.that we are extending the freeze on business rates for the last

:55:35. > :55:37.government is going to get the dog. --.

:55:38. > :55:55.we are on the subject of how to help business. How on earth can it be a

:55:56. > :55:58.good idea to say you want to increase corporation tax as you go

:55:59. > :56:08.into the next Parliament? That seems, to me, absolutely mad in

:56:09. > :56:13.terms of a new Labour jobs tax. By the end of this year, over 8000

:56:14. > :56:18.people in our country would have been diagnosed with pancreatic

:56:19. > :56:21.cancer. Only 4% will even have the chance of a five-year survival

:56:22. > :56:26.rate. And these figures have not changed for the last 30 years. When

:56:27. > :56:33.the Prime Minister join the all-party group and pancreatic

:56:34. > :56:40.cancer UK to improve these dreadful outcomes? There is always an issue

:56:41. > :56:45.raised by those charities who are campaigning on some of the less

:56:46. > :56:48.well-known and less prevalent cancers that they don't get a fair

:56:49. > :56:52.share of the research funding. It's an issue I had taken up by the

:56:53. > :56:56.Health Secretary and I think we need to make sure we are spreading

:56:57. > :57:01.research funding and the work we do into cancer fairly across different

:57:02. > :57:16.disciplines and cancers. Could I repeat, energy companies are making

:57:17. > :57:21.77% profits per customer in 2012. Does the Prime Minister agree that

:57:22. > :57:26.this is unacceptable? And, if so, what immediate steps is he proposing

:57:27. > :57:32.to take to protect customers from blatant profiteering? What we need

:57:33. > :57:36.to do is create a more competitive energy market. We inherited a

:57:37. > :57:41.situation with just six big companies, we have seen seven new

:57:42. > :57:44.companies coming to the market, and the number of people with

:57:45. > :57:50.independent suppliers like the leader of the opposition, has

:57:51. > :57:53.doubled during this Parliament, so we're making progress. I always

:57:54. > :57:56.follow up the Honourable gentleman says, because recently gave an

:57:57. > :58:00.interview when he went on the radio and said about Labour 's policies,

:58:01. > :58:06.and said, I don't know our position on welfare, education, how we would

:58:07. > :58:15.run the NHS. I think? That would be a good thing. -- I think a question

:58:16. > :58:18.on that would be a good thing. What lessons has he learned from the

:58:19. > :58:23.failures of the last Labour government which, despite claiming

:58:24. > :58:27.just 13,000 immigrants will arrive in the UK, deliberately allowed more

:58:28. > :58:33.than 1 million to come into our country? I think he raises an

:58:34. > :58:36.important point because of course the benefits within the EU of free

:58:37. > :58:41.movement, but there should be proper transition controls. We increase the

:58:42. > :58:44.transition controls on Bulgaria and the mania from five years to seven

:58:45. > :58:49.years, when we became the government, but it still baffles me

:58:50. > :58:54.why the last Labour government decided to have no transitional

:58:55. > :59:00.controller told for the a predicted 14,000 Polish people would arrive to

:59:01. > :59:07.work in Britain but it was over 700,000. It is a shameful direction

:59:08. > :59:13.of duty. The Prime Minister will be aware that the Mayor of London,

:59:14. > :59:18.Boris Johnson, proposes to close nearly every single ticket office on

:59:19. > :59:26.the London Underground network. With over 700 jobs being lost. Does the

:59:27. > :59:31.Prime Minister believe that that is the way to raise living standards

:59:32. > :59:34.for ordinary Londoners? The best way to happen Londoners is to make sure

:59:35. > :59:39.we have a safe and affordable tube station and use modern technology to

:59:40. > :59:42.deliver that. I think the conversation the Honourable Lady

:59:43. > :59:45.needs to have is with the trade union would have done so much damage

:59:46. > :59:50.to our underground, and we ought to be having on our underground,

:59:51. > :00:00.permanent systems which provide a good service. Mr Speaker, earlier

:00:01. > :00:05.this week, in Brighton, I was tested for HIV. This Sunday, it was world

:00:06. > :00:08.AIDS Day. With the Prime Minister agree that in view of the fact in

:00:09. > :00:15.this country, one in five people with HIV don't know they have it,

:00:16. > :00:18.regular testing is to be in courage? I absolutely pay tribute to my

:00:19. > :00:23.honourable friend and to all Honourable friends around this House

:00:24. > :00:25.and in politics who campaigned so persistently and consistently on

:00:26. > :00:30.this issue. It's vitally important we improve the livelihoods of people

:00:31. > :00:34.with HIV and AIDS in the UK, but also vital we go on working

:00:35. > :00:38.internationally including through the aid budget, to tackle HIV and

:00:39. > :00:41.AIDS around the world but I think we can be proud of the money we have

:00:42. > :00:45.put into things like the global fund and the fact, in this country, we

:00:46. > :00:52.have achieved not .7% of gross national income when other countries

:00:53. > :00:57.are broken promises. He's very keen to encourage energy users to switch

:00:58. > :01:00.energy providers to get the best tariff. Why is it so difficult, over

:01:01. > :01:04.the last three years, for mobile phone providers to be able to

:01:05. > :01:10.switch? I think right across these utilities we want to see it made

:01:11. > :01:13.easier for people to switch full sub we have done that on banks and is

:01:14. > :01:16.now easier to switch bank account because of the hard work of a

:01:17. > :01:20.Chancellor of the Exchequer. It's now easier to switch energy. Because

:01:21. > :01:25.of the excellent work of climate change secretary. But it also be

:01:26. > :01:30.easier to switch on other utilities, so it is an important bit of work we

:01:31. > :01:35.are doing. The number of apprenticeships in Cornwall has

:01:36. > :01:39.doubled since 2010. It helps to create a stronger economy and a

:01:40. > :01:42.fairer society. Will he meet with me and a delegation of young people

:01:43. > :01:46.from Cornwall to see how we can further promote these worthwhile

:01:47. > :01:49.schemes? I am delighted with the news from Cornwall about the number

:01:50. > :01:53.of apprenticeships. It's been a major financial commitment to help

:01:54. > :01:59.fund apprenticeships. It's making a real difference but we have lots to

:02:00. > :02:02.do to tackle worthlessness and unemployment for people between the

:02:03. > :02:11.ages of 16 and 24 for the always happy to meet with him when I'm in

:02:12. > :02:16.Cornwall. House prices are going up. At a time when real wages are coming

:02:17. > :02:19.down. Does the Prime Minister accept that when interest rates go up,

:02:20. > :02:26.after the election, this will detonate a sub-prime debt crisis of

:02:27. > :02:29.his making? The greatest danger in terms of interest rate is if we had

:02:30. > :02:34.a government that believed in more borrowing, more spending and more

:02:35. > :02:37.taxes. That is what would drive up interest rates, that is what would

:02:38. > :02:39.head the cost of living, and that is what every family in this country

:02:40. > :02:48.should dread. Order. That's the end of primers as

:02:49. > :02:55.questions. The first exchange between them were on payday loans.

:02:56. > :03:07.And regulations to cap them in various ways.

:03:08. > :03:14.Mr Cameron said that the opposition had decided not to do it in power,

:03:15. > :03:18.they both have the same policy, not an unrewarding exchange between the

:03:19. > :03:22.two. They then got onto the issue of the number of people who died last

:03:23. > :03:26.winter because of the cold, and the fears of the number that will this

:03:27. > :03:30.year, that will happen this year, and that brought us onto energy

:03:31. > :03:34.prices and the usual exchanges about whether there should be a freeze or

:03:35. > :03:37.not and what was the answer to rising energy prices. We may talk

:03:38. > :03:43.about that in a moment. And the other thing of note, what I think

:03:44. > :03:48.was generally pretty in distinguished exchange, Diane Abbott

:03:49. > :03:53.asking a question about London and about the London Underground, which

:03:54. > :04:00.those of us in the studio take to be the launch of her mayoral campaign.

:04:01. > :04:06.We know these things! We don't, really. Half the backbenchers want

:04:07. > :04:11.to go for that job! Diane from Cornwall said, a good week for Ed

:04:12. > :04:14.Miliband who adroitly linked payday lenders to energy costs and the fear

:04:15. > :04:20.of cold weather deaths and NHS backlogs. Jim brought in from

:04:21. > :04:24.Nuneaton said, David Cameron summed the situation up nicely at the end

:04:25. > :04:28.of his exchange with Ed Miliband, desperately searching for bad news

:04:29. > :04:32.on which to score political points. But this is from Bernard Whitaker,

:04:33. > :04:36.Newcastle upon Tyne, can run all over the place and payday loans, he

:04:37. > :04:43.struggles on electricity. -- Cameron. Alan Waugh would, a very

:04:44. > :04:47.interesting point, is Tory ideology becoming inconsistent under David

:04:48. > :04:51.Cameron? Interventionist tendencies. From John Smith, nothing

:04:52. > :04:57.from Labour on the economy, the thing that troubles the majority of

:04:58. > :05:02.hard-working folk. The reason MPs or a number of them were wearing red

:05:03. > :05:07.ribbons is as a sign for international AIDS day, which is

:05:08. > :05:12.this Sunday, and there was a question about AIDS testing in the

:05:13. > :05:17.exchanges there. Immigration did not come up, interesting thing is that

:05:18. > :05:22.the issue that regularly comes top of the polls after the economy is an

:05:23. > :05:27.issue about immigration, but the mother of Parliaments does not talk

:05:28. > :05:30.about it on the one bit that is broadcast on network television. You

:05:31. > :05:35.said Ed Miliband would not raise it, I think we all agreed, in that it

:05:36. > :05:39.would have been an opportunity to do what David Cameron briefly did at

:05:40. > :05:43.the end, when a Tory backbencher raised it. The Prime Minister was

:05:44. > :05:46.then able to say Labour got it wrong in 2004, the lack of transitional

:05:47. > :05:52.controls to prevent so many polls and other Eastern European is coming

:05:53. > :05:57.over. But that is is chosen topic of the day, this climb-down.

:05:58. > :06:03.Interestingly, while we have been on air, the EU commission have been

:06:04. > :06:07.reacting. We heard earlier one EU commission speaking on the Today

:06:08. > :06:11.programme, very critical of David Cameron's article in the Financial

:06:12. > :06:13.Times, and now a justice commissioner has said it is

:06:14. > :06:18.non-negotiable for member states, the issue of freedom of movement,

:06:19. > :06:22.and went on to say, a woman called Vivian Reading, that Britain had

:06:23. > :06:28.always been in favour of enlarging the EU and now politicians seem

:06:29. > :06:31.unhappy with it. What is striking on these benefits tightening up is that

:06:32. > :06:34.the Liberal Democrats wanted it to be known that they had accepted

:06:35. > :06:39.them, not just as it were acquiesced, but that they were in

:06:40. > :06:43.favour, and the Labour Party's only criticism was that they recommended

:06:44. > :06:47.tightening up earlier. So there is now a cross-party consensus about

:06:48. > :06:50.the need to tighten up benefit controls. You only have to look at

:06:51. > :06:54.the opinion polls that were all over the front pages the other day, the

:06:55. > :06:59.Daily Mail, to know why. It is not just the top issue regularly, but

:07:00. > :07:03.people's concern about the influx of EU migrants, you are talking about

:07:04. > :07:12.very high numbers in the opinion polls. So UKIP calling the shots

:07:13. > :07:15.again. But is it UKIP? You could say that UKIP is breathing down their

:07:16. > :07:19.necks ahead of the European elections, the last set of migration

:07:20. > :07:23.statistics were not good for the Government, so they may be trying to

:07:24. > :07:26.get in pre-emptively. We know this 1st of January deadline looms, the

:07:27. > :07:30.point at which Romanians and Bulgarians can, if they choose, come

:07:31. > :07:34.and work freely, there are plenty here already, of course, working

:07:35. > :07:40.self-employed or on special work permits. But there is also coming up

:07:41. > :07:44.in Parliament a Tory backbench rebellion on this issue of Romania

:07:45. > :07:49.and Bulgaria. There are all sorts of political reasons. Partly because

:07:50. > :07:52.they are worried about UKIP. If all three age of parties are now

:07:53. > :07:55.effectively saying the same thing, the only party that has got a

:07:56. > :08:01.different story, tougher than all three of them, is UKIP. That is

:08:02. > :08:08.true. The reason I cavil with you slightly... Did you?! If UKIP did

:08:09. > :08:12.not exist, the fact that the predictions were for 14,000 polls to

:08:13. > :08:17.come per year and the total over ten years was more than 700,000, that

:08:18. > :08:21.would have created a climate of public anxiety, whether UKIP were

:08:22. > :08:26.there ten. They have not created it, they have served the wave of

:08:27. > :08:32.anxiety. I accept your cavil, I will then go up and see it means! Let's

:08:33. > :08:37.come back to the issue of energy prices, at a time when we know that

:08:38. > :08:42.more old people dying because of cold, as they did last winter, the

:08:43. > :08:45.need to, and that there is a fear of whether that will happen again,

:08:46. > :08:50.given that energy prices have gone way ahead of any possible income

:08:51. > :08:57.increased that old people have had, is it not really embarrassing that,

:08:58. > :09:03.at the same time, the energy can show a 75% increase in profits? Of

:09:04. > :09:05.course it is an embarrassing thing for them, and it is obviously

:09:06. > :09:12.something that we have really got to deal with what we are doing, and the

:09:13. > :09:17.thing that I suppose I admire the nerve of Ed Miliband was to put

:09:18. > :09:20.legislation in place which rapidly increased the prices, the green

:09:21. > :09:26.levies, and now he is saying, he would want to freeze prices. What we

:09:27. > :09:29.have got to do is remove what Government can genuinely do, and

:09:30. > :09:33.that will be looking at the green levies, looking at what we can do

:09:34. > :09:36.there, bringing the prices down. We have to do that, it has to be

:09:37. > :09:41.affordable for the people on the ground. The green levies are one

:09:42. > :09:47.issue, you both have always sung from the same song sheet, Labour and

:09:48. > :09:50.conservative. But they did introduce a more, you are quite right. But

:09:51. > :09:55.there is an additional problem, because the green levies do not

:09:56. > :09:59.extend to profits. If they have got 75% increase in profits, there is

:10:00. > :10:02.something systemically wrong with the market, and yet you have been in

:10:03. > :10:10.power for over three and a half years now, and I see no changes that

:10:11. > :10:13.you have made to the energy market. You are quite right. We have got to

:10:14. > :10:17.make sure the markets work. We believe any market, and we have to

:10:18. > :10:20.make sure they are going to work. That is why David Cameron has said

:10:21. > :10:25.we are bringing more people into the marketplace, and we are going to do

:10:26. > :10:29.it within a time frame. Yes, this is something we have to accelerate. The

:10:30. > :10:34.Autumn Statement coming up next week, it is almost certain, I think,

:10:35. > :10:38.talking about this, that there will be movement on the green levies.

:10:39. > :10:43.Some of them will be scrapped or diminished or put onto general

:10:44. > :10:48.taxation. We'll Labour supports that? I don't know, we need to look

:10:49. > :10:52.at their proposals. You are responsible for a lot of the green

:10:53. > :10:56.levies. The current government introduced more of the green levy

:10:57. > :11:01.cost than the last Labour government. You did introduce a lot.

:11:02. > :11:06.In order to try and encourage, incentivise renewables... They

:11:07. > :11:11.account for 10% of the bill. But I mean, I want to make this point, Mr

:11:12. > :11:15.Miliband talks about the need for a price freeze, yet the 2008 climate

:11:16. > :11:21.change act, for which she was responsible, had a specific

:11:22. > :11:25.intention of raising energy prices. That was the specific intention,

:11:26. > :11:30.because it put a lot of money into onshore wind, which was twice the

:11:31. > :11:35.normal price of electricity, and offshore wind, which is three times

:11:36. > :11:40.that, and solar power as well. Now, the intention was to do it, so now

:11:41. > :11:44.to call for a price freeze on it seems either inconsistent or

:11:45. > :11:48.hypocritical or both. No, the intention was to try to deal with

:11:49. > :11:52.the prospect of climate change by getting the energy companies to take

:11:53. > :11:55.greater responsibility for paying for developing the next generation

:11:56. > :12:02.of carbon neutral and carbon free energy. Which are more expensive.

:12:03. > :12:05.You are entirely right that it is not down to the energy levies, it is

:12:06. > :12:09.not down to the green levies. It is to do with the fact that you have

:12:10. > :12:15.vertically integrated energy companies, who both generate,

:12:16. > :12:19.transmit and sell to consumers. Which you created. The last Tory

:12:20. > :12:26.government is what privatised energy in this country. Not a Mac, we are

:12:27. > :12:33.going historic now! You allowed them to be integrated. Tell us a bit more

:12:34. > :12:38.about... We need to freeze the bills because people... We know that is

:12:39. > :12:42.Labour policy, we have covered the freeze quite a lot on this

:12:43. > :12:45.programme. You will be with me for the Autumn Statement next Thursday,

:12:46. > :12:51.it has been delayed a day. Any hints you can do? We know these green

:12:52. > :12:54.levies are going to be shifted in some way. It may turn out to be

:12:55. > :12:58.complex. It would be interesting to see whether he wants to announce it

:12:59. > :13:01.on his big day or get it out of the way so that it is not all that

:13:02. > :13:05.anybody talks about, that is one thing that is worth watching for.

:13:06. > :13:09.But he has got to raise some money to pay for the goodies promised by

:13:10. > :13:14.both the Liberal Democrats and the Tories at their party conferences.

:13:15. > :13:17.One brief thoughts on price? The Treasury always looks for pain-free

:13:18. > :13:20.ways of putting taxes up, that is why there was the fuel duty

:13:21. > :13:24.escalator, remember that? Marvellous, we can put money on

:13:25. > :13:29.petrol, nobody will mind, but then of course people do mind. After the

:13:30. > :13:33.protest it never went up again. Or let's put it on energy bills, they

:13:34. > :13:36.will not mind, that is green. What we discover is that civil servants

:13:37. > :13:41.come up with ways to put bills up painlessly, and politicians

:13:42. > :13:44.discover, actually, people find it quite painful. And when they all

:13:45. > :13:51.agree, it is incumbent on us to look harder at the issues. Which is why

:13:52. > :13:59.you have got journalists here. Well done! Toady! I'm going to give him a

:14:00. > :14:02.fiver afterwards. Going back to a story we covered earlier, the

:14:03. > :14:05.announcement that David Cameron will restrict benefits for out of work EU

:14:06. > :14:10.migrants, attempting to limit numbers coming year in the future

:14:11. > :14:13.just five weeks before restrictions relaxed on Bulgarians and Romanians

:14:14. > :14:18.coming to the UK to live and work. Speaking earlier on the BBC, Alp

:14:19. > :14:21.Mehmet from Migration Watch UK is that Mr Cameron is just doing what

:14:22. > :14:27.everyone else in Europe would like to do. He suggests that we are the

:14:28. > :14:30.nasty country or likely to be labelled as a nasty country. Is he

:14:31. > :14:34.saying that to the Germans, I wonder, who have some other

:14:35. > :14:39.concerns? Or the French, who have already acted? Or any of the other

:14:40. > :14:42.countries? In Dade, does he say that to the Romanians and Bulgarians that

:14:43. > :14:47.I talked to say, you are mad for opening up in this way? -- indeed. I

:14:48. > :14:51.welcome what the Prime Minister is proposing for I believe he is

:14:52. > :14:56.proposing. We do need to tighten the benefits system, we cannot have

:14:57. > :15:00.uncontrolled access to the labour market in this way. It was never

:15:01. > :15:05.intended for that purpose. It was never intended for countries that

:15:06. > :15:09.are so far and bounced from the sort of countries that Romania and

:15:10. > :15:15.Bulgaria are at the moment. Joining us is the Bulgarian Ambassador

:15:16. > :15:18.Konstantin Dimitrov. Welcome to the Daily Politics. What is your

:15:19. > :15:21.reaction to David Cameron's financial Times article in which

:15:22. > :15:28.each attempts to limit welfare benefit in a number of ways to

:15:29. > :15:33.migrants? I think it's an expected political announcement in the form

:15:34. > :15:38.of an article. It is to be read very carefully, to be studied, to be

:15:39. > :15:41.consulted back in my capital. It is, which is very important to us, and

:15:42. > :15:49.indirect confirmation that the UK Government will lift the remaining

:15:50. > :15:53.restrictions to access to the labour market for Bulgarians and Romanians,

:15:54. > :16:00.levelling them up with the rest of the citizens of the European Union.

:16:01. > :16:05.And I had confirmation from the Foreign Office that this is indeed

:16:06. > :16:10.the message among the Alliance of the article in question. So there is

:16:11. > :16:15.no doubt in your mind that the final restrictions on Bulgarians and

:16:16. > :16:18.Romanians will be lifted in January? That they will have the same rights

:16:19. > :16:24.of movement across European borders as the rest of the EU? May I make an

:16:25. > :16:30.important decision, the right of movement is there but the right to

:16:31. > :16:36.work legally was subject to some administrative restrictions which

:16:37. > :16:38.will go. They will go, and it's a different subject altogether, the

:16:39. > :16:44.issue of the access to your social welfare system. I understand that. I

:16:45. > :16:58.would like to have a triple distinction in this amalgam of

:16:59. > :17:02.notions. Let me ask you this. Are you broadly sympathetic to the

:17:03. > :17:07.tightening up of welfare benefits for EU migrants? In principle, we

:17:08. > :17:13.stick to the view that those who have access to benefits should have

:17:14. > :17:19.contributed to the gross domestic product of each nation where the

:17:20. > :17:24.National 's work. However, there are two conditions attached to it. One

:17:25. > :17:28.of them if they should be a non-discriminatory attitude to

:17:29. > :17:33.specific citizens from a specific country in the EU, and indeed, all

:17:34. > :17:40.national legislative measures should be in full compliance with

:17:41. > :17:47.applicants in EU legislation. Is it the case, as I think I have seen you

:17:48. > :17:53.have said, that noble dairy 's who have applied to come and work here

:17:54. > :18:00.have been turned down anyway? -- no Bulgarians. Those who have provided

:18:01. > :18:04.the necessary documents have been granted to work here in the specific

:18:05. > :18:10.category to which they belong, in other words, there hasn't been a

:18:11. > :18:15.trend of the number of workers so far because it is contrary to the

:18:16. > :18:19.new legislation, so, in other words, the 1st of January, once the

:18:20. > :18:24.floodgates opened, the access to your labour market, you will see a

:18:25. > :18:31.situation of access through work permits towards the situation of

:18:32. > :18:38.finding work without the permit characteristic for the transitional

:18:39. > :18:42.periods. Are you saying we will not see the floodgates opening? We will

:18:43. > :18:47.not see a sudden rush of large numbers of Bulgarians and Romanians

:18:48. > :18:51.coming to work in this country? We are not crystal ball gazers but the

:18:52. > :18:59.analysis suggests that because of the factors I explained below, the

:19:00. > :19:02.easy access to your labour market for legally working Bulgarians

:19:03. > :19:09.before the 1st of January, we don't see any objective be requisite for a

:19:10. > :19:13.rising coming of our complete clearance. Moreover, there is a

:19:14. > :19:18.large-scale information campaign of the existing restrictions to the

:19:19. > :19:22.access of your social welfare system and indeed, the need for people to

:19:23. > :19:28.be absolutely immaculate in terms of the documents they will have to have

:19:29. > :19:33.two even applied for work here in the period after the New Year

:19:34. > :19:40.coming. The gap in living standards in GDP between Bulgaria, Romania and

:19:41. > :19:49.the western part of the EU, France, Germany, the UK, it is large. That

:19:50. > :19:54.is true. Are you not worried, as movement for jobs becomes friction

:19:55. > :19:59.free, that you lose a lot of your best and brightest? We are very

:20:00. > :20:04.worried and if I have to be very honest with you, it is a problem of

:20:05. > :20:09.a brain drain for Bulgaria, much more than the influx of the best

:20:10. > :20:13.qualified nurses and doctors, entrepreneurs or financiers into

:20:14. > :20:20.your country. I can understand why that is a worry. Do you think

:20:21. > :20:25.Britain is becoming a nasty country in its attitude towards this? I

:20:26. > :20:30.don't think so but there was a nasty anti-bug Aryan campaign from certain

:20:31. > :20:43.politicians and certain media which I will not name. -- antibody Aryan.

:20:44. > :20:52.Go on. -- anti-Bulgarian. I am too much of an ambassador. Now, have all

:20:53. > :20:57.you Borgen fans caught up on last weekend's episodes? We are obsessed

:20:58. > :21:00.on this programme. If you have you'll know that Brigitte Nyborg's

:21:01. > :21:03.new party makes a break through in the Danish Parliament after her MPs

:21:04. > :21:06.tackle the contentious issue of Danish pork and animal welfare

:21:07. > :21:10.standards. Put your hands over your ears. Well, believe it or not, that

:21:11. > :21:13.issue is also very topical here because a number of celebrity chefs

:21:14. > :21:16.have joined forces to try and change what we feed our pigs. Here's

:21:17. > :21:18.Thomasina Miers, winner of MasterChef and co-founder of the

:21:19. > :21:30.Wahaca restaurant chain with her soapbox.

:21:31. > :21:35.For 9000 years of humans have lived alongside domestic pigs, they have

:21:36. > :21:44.been the perfect partner for consuming wasted humans produce and

:21:45. > :21:49.converting it into calories and pork roast to eat, but that changed a

:21:50. > :21:52.decade ago. After the outbreak of foot and mouth disease and its

:21:53. > :21:57.devastating consequences for British livestock in 2001, politicians and

:21:58. > :22:04.-- introduced a ban on feeding catering waste on pegs without

:22:05. > :22:08.considering the impact. The ban them became permanent across the EU. We

:22:09. > :22:13.now have a crazy system with pegs are being fed food humans could eat

:22:14. > :22:19.and much of it is Sawyer, where rainforests are being cut down at an

:22:20. > :22:24.alarming rate. -- soy. It is used for animal feed and Europe now

:22:25. > :22:29.produces 40 million tonnes a year which is not sustainable. Many pig

:22:30. > :22:33.farmers are now going out of business because of the expensive

:22:34. > :22:37.price of grain when I have a ready-made food source in the form

:22:38. > :22:40.of food waste for their livestock, a significant portion of farmers now

:22:41. > :22:45.want to feed their livestock pigs will. The UK is also out of step

:22:46. > :22:50.with the rest of the world. The government of other countries like

:22:51. > :22:53.Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, China and many states in America but

:22:54. > :22:57.organise the best way of telling food waste into a valuable resource

:22:58. > :23:01.is to feed it to livestock. Inside are banning the practice, the

:23:02. > :23:06.Japanese support pig farmers who want to use food waste as feed.

:23:07. > :23:13.Eco-pork is sold on the same supermarket shelves where the waste

:23:14. > :23:16.originated. Working in restaurants can we separate food waste into food

:23:17. > :23:22.bins to avoid cross contamination, and easy solution. Recycling food

:23:23. > :23:27.waste into livestock feed is also a print way of increasing Europe's

:23:28. > :23:33.food security for the future. And Thomasina Miers joins us now.

:23:34. > :23:37.Welcome to the programme. It didn't work last time because there was

:23:38. > :23:42.that cross contamination. What makes you think it will be different now?

:23:43. > :23:45.Last time, you talk by the single incident of foot and mouth which had

:23:46. > :23:49.devastating consequences, so a temporary ban was put on the pigs

:23:50. > :23:53.will industry which sadly spread across the EU and is now

:23:54. > :23:57.semipermanent. That's what we're trying to change for the in New

:23:58. > :24:01.Zealand, China, America, South Korea, Japan, they have a very good

:24:02. > :24:09.swill system for the day take the catering waste, cook it to a certain

:24:10. > :24:14.level, which safely killed pathogens including foot and mouth, and make

:24:15. > :24:18.it two double foot of in the UK, we are throwing out 15 million tonnes

:24:19. > :24:22.of food waste a year, just in the UK. If you took a globally the food

:24:23. > :24:27.waste your chucking out and fed it to animals, you would be liberating

:24:28. > :24:35.enough grain to feed 3 billion people. You said it had devastating

:24:36. > :24:38.consequences, that one incident. How do you reassure people that that

:24:39. > :24:45.incident wouldn't be repeated? There are several things to do. If you

:24:46. > :24:47.listen to our detractors, they are highlighting a lethal outbreak of

:24:48. > :24:51.foot and mouth disease again but foot and mouth is already out

:24:52. > :24:54.there, it's everywhere, it's a question of controlling it. Proper

:24:55. > :25:00.investigations were not done at the time. It was a remiss farmer who

:25:01. > :25:05.wasn't doing the correct heat treating. It was one farmer. We're

:25:06. > :25:11.talking about factories, having proper regulations, like the food we

:25:12. > :25:15.eat is pasteurised and cooked. It wasn't necessarily downed that

:25:16. > :25:22.farmer treating outbreak. The type of foot and mouth was similar to one

:25:23. > :25:26.in South Africa the year before. Proper investigations were not done

:25:27. > :25:31.so it absolutely not sure it was foot and mouth. You've obviously

:25:32. > :25:35.thought about it carefully, thought that what happened in the past. Have

:25:36. > :25:41.you had any response from the EU or government? They passed a blanket

:25:42. > :25:44.ban. We are trying to engage the subject of politicians because,

:25:45. > :25:48.apart from anything else, the health scares of what we're doing at the

:25:49. > :25:51.moment, are really scary, so 50 million tonnes of food waste are put

:25:52. > :25:58.into landfill, which is completely untreated for the rodents, rats,

:25:59. > :26:06.Vernons -- seagulls are scavenging on it. I can see the sense of the

:26:07. > :26:10.argument. What we got to do is have consumer confidence there. People

:26:11. > :26:16.are fearful of there being another food scare. I think that's what we

:26:17. > :26:23.have got to do, allay peoples fears, explain clearly, as you are doing

:26:24. > :26:26.very coherently. And putting regulation in place to ensure it

:26:27. > :26:31.couldn't have this contamination gainful we look at the human food,

:26:32. > :26:37.look after pig food. I say, start lobbying your local MPs. Would you

:26:38. > :26:44.support it? I think, when you hear him make the arguments, they sound

:26:45. > :26:49.plausible. I only read about it last week. What is striking is so minute

:26:50. > :26:53.of the interested parties, pig producers, veterinarians, so opposed

:26:54. > :26:56.to it, and the reason they are opposed to it is they think we don't

:26:57. > :27:03.have the structures in place, the treatment plants, the means to

:27:04. > :27:10.separate out the waste to guarantee you weren't feeding pigs to pigs.

:27:11. > :27:18.You can feed animals to animals, only chickens and pigs but not to

:27:19. > :27:22.beef. It looks like it ought to be interesting. The sustainability

:27:23. > :27:26.issues you raise are very important. I think we need to be

:27:27. > :27:31.very, very clear that we could do something like this safely, because

:27:32. > :27:37.the downside is enormous. You can understand it in a way. I understand

:27:38. > :27:41.it as a mother of two children, as someone who has been friends of

:27:42. > :27:45.farmers who lost livestock. It was horrific, foot and mouth for the it

:27:46. > :27:49.wasn't proven it was caused by the swill industry, number one. It

:27:50. > :27:53.happens across the world safely. America, New Zealand, Japan. If they

:27:54. > :27:59.can do it, why can't we? The third thing is, what is the third thing?

:28:00. > :28:04.Don't worry. It's always terrible things first, second and third.

:28:05. > :28:10.Maybe the farmers are the ones who have to convince Festival. Convince

:28:11. > :28:18.them and create a new economy. -- convince farmers. OK, we have run

:28:19. > :28:24.out of time. Now, it's time to put you out of your misery and give you

:28:25. > :28:33.the answer to Guess The Year. Esther press that big red button now! The

:28:34. > :28:36.answer was 1989. She is my best friend. OK, that's all for today.

:28:37. > :28:40.Thanks to our guests. The One O'Clock News is starting over on BBC

:28:41. > :28:43.One now. We'll be back tomorrow at noon with all the big political

:28:44. > :28:49.stories of the day. Anne Widdecombe will be with us so do join us then.

:28:50. > :28:51.Bye bye. Bye bye.