08/01/2014

:00:38. > :00:42.Morning folk, happy New Year, this is the Daily Politics.

:00:43. > :00:46.The gloves are off, let battle commence, the general election is

:00:47. > :00:51.only 16 months away, but blink and you might miss it. The parties are

:00:52. > :00:55.flexing their political muscles over the economy. We will be asking who

:00:56. > :00:59.is in better shape? It a New Year, have the party leaders resolved to

:01:00. > :01:07.be nice to each other? I doubt it. Find out in the first PMQs of 2014.

:01:08. > :01:10.Auntie moved to Salford but should other big institutions like the

:01:11. > :01:13.Royal Opera House and the House of Lords move north in an effort to

:01:14. > :01:17.rebalance the country away from London?

:01:18. > :01:21.And do you know your one nation from your big society? We will be asking

:01:22. > :01:27.if political slogans should be consigned to the political scrap

:01:28. > :01:31.heap. All that and more in the next 90 my

:01:32. > :01:37.opinion, of public service broadcasting, at its finest, this

:01:38. > :01:41.2014 BAFTA's very announced this morning I think we were nominated

:01:42. > :01:46.againment at least for what though? It is a daytime show. I can't go

:01:47. > :01:51.there. With us for the theration two straight talking MPs guaranteed not

:01:52. > :01:54.to utter the words global race, hard-working families, or the cost

:01:55. > :01:58.of living crisis. At least that is what it says here.

:01:59. > :02:03.I will believe it when I hear it. Welcome to the financial secretary

:02:04. > :02:07.to the Treasury Sajid Javid and the Shadow Business Secretary Chuka

:02:08. > :02:12.Umunna. Who are clearly share the same dress designer, suit designer,

:02:13. > :02:17.tie, hair stylists did you co-ordinate before you came here? We

:02:18. > :02:21.checked. We are not going to recommend an honour for our

:02:22. > :02:25.hairdresser. We will keep that to the Prime Minister. I am told that

:02:26. > :02:30.have signed a contract in blood to be slogan-free for 90 minutes. We

:02:31. > :02:36.will have a swear box and we will, no, we are not, we are going to have

:02:37. > :02:39.a slogan box. We will announce the winner at the end of the programme.

:02:40. > :02:43.Something to look forward to. First this morning let us talk about how

:02:44. > :02:46.we vote, because a report by the heck tration commission has

:02:47. > :02:51.recommended that voters should be required to show prove of

:02:52. > :02:55.identification at poling stations to stop vote-rigging, the Commission

:02:56. > :02:59.wants political candidates to agree to a strengthened Code of Conduct,

:03:00. > :03:02.which would prevent them from handling any postal votes. Do you

:03:03. > :03:06.agree with that? Should we have ID when we vote? I am pleased the

:03:07. > :03:10.Electoral Commission have looked into this, I haven't had time to

:03:11. > :03:15.study the report, it has just come out. I, also some of the action we

:03:16. > :03:17.have taken as a government, such as individual voter registration I

:03:18. > :03:22.think will make a difference, trying to cut fraud, this particular idea

:03:23. > :03:26.of using ID cards, I would like to look at the evidence, one thing that

:03:27. > :03:30.does concern me is that voter participation getting more people

:03:31. > :03:34.out there to vote, in every election, it is key. Do you think

:03:35. > :03:38.that would put them off? I would like to look at the #e6d. So it is

:03:39. > :03:41.something we will respond to in due course, it is the right thing to do,

:03:42. > :03:45.to look at the evidence the Electoral Commission will put

:03:46. > :03:48.forward. But you are not convinced yet What about you, do you think in

:03:49. > :03:52.order to try and tackle the problem, which they say isn't massive and

:03:53. > :03:56.widespread, but there are areas they are concerned about, that that, like

:03:57. > :04:00.many other countries would help reduce fraud? We need sensible

:04:01. > :04:07.reform to clampdown on electoral fraud but I am not sure about this

:04:08. > :04:12.proposal on photo ID. I have to say. Why? It was used in Northern Ireland

:04:13. > :04:17.from 2003, which is of course, you know, a certain situation, and what

:04:18. > :04:23.you saw there was voter registration, massively decimated

:04:24. > :04:27.the vote Errol was decimated. We have to be careful we don't use a

:04:28. > :04:30.sledge hammer to crack a nut. The heck trag tral commission has said

:04:31. > :04:35.they think probably only in a handful of case, a very small number

:04:36. > :04:40.has there been fraud, there have only been two convictions for

:04:41. > :04:43.electoral fraud between 2008 and 2011. We have to maintain the

:04:44. > :04:49.integrity of the system, but I think we have to be careful. How else

:04:50. > :04:54.would you tackle it? They identify 16 areas that were of greater ris,

:04:55. > :04:58.including Birmingham, Blackburn, gladded for, Burnley, Calderdale and

:04:59. > :05:04.numerous others, and they have also drawn attention to the fact they are

:05:05. > :05:10.worried about fraud, or vote-rigging in areas where there are, or is a

:05:11. > :05:16.high proportion of south Asian population, do you think in those

:05:17. > :05:20.cases we need stricter rules? What is important they said they don't

:05:21. > :05:24.think it is a widespread programme. It is a few areas, it is quite

:05:25. > :05:28.isolated. I don't think it a problem of any particular community, it is

:05:29. > :05:32.important to look at ways to cut it, that is why I think the individual

:05:33. > :05:35.voter registration is an important change, that will make a difference,

:05:36. > :05:39.but they are rightly independent, they are charged to look at this, so

:05:40. > :05:44.we should look at that carefully, there is no party politics in this

:05:45. > :05:47.at all, it is about getting, having confidence in our electoral system

:05:48. > :05:52.and that is why we should look what the they have to say. This is very

:05:53. > :05:58.much them, they are saying's We have to be careful. The Electoral

:05:59. > :06:02.Commission said today it wasn't just an issue impacting those... They

:06:03. > :06:07.said they had drawn focus to those. They were careful to say it isn't an

:06:08. > :06:10.issue only for those communities. In individual voter registration, we

:06:11. > :06:14.are not opposed to that in principle, but the way in which it

:06:15. > :06:19.is done in a rushed man e I think is a concern. I look in my own

:06:20. > :06:22.constituency for example and we have big issues in terms of the number of

:06:23. > :06:29.people who are not registered to vote who could be on the roll. We

:06:30. > :06:33.would need, you have to ensure you address under registration, before

:06:34. > :06:37.you move towards individual registration. We have get more

:06:38. > :06:45.people on the register, there is about three million who aren't on

:06:46. > :06:49.the register, an area like mine, it is underregistered. Briefly on

:06:50. > :06:54.postal vote, they want to tighten up the rule about who handles them. Is

:06:55. > :06:57.that a good idea? Some of the rules have been tightened up, I think

:06:58. > :07:01.again, we should look at this carefully, we should take what they

:07:02. > :07:05.have got to say seriously but we shouldn't rush to a decision on the

:07:06. > :07:08.first day of the report. Now in case you haven't notice we

:07:09. > :07:15.appeared to is slipped into a new years with all the mince pie, bran

:07:16. > :07:19.di, tury stuffing, you may not have been suitably alert to realise we

:07:20. > :07:23.waved goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014. It is not passed David Cameron

:07:24. > :07:27.or George Osborne by, they were up and about at the begin of the week

:07:28. > :07:31.doing their morning stretches and trying to make all the running on

:07:32. > :07:36.the economy, with Mr Osborne announcing of the ?25 billion of

:07:37. > :07:42.cuts he thinks will have to be made in public spending, a big chunk,

:07:43. > :07:45.about 50% will need to come from the welfare budget. Jo has the details.

:07:46. > :07:49.Yes, David Cameron and George Osborne have been hitting the gym as

:07:50. > :07:55.part of their New Year's resolution to beat Labour in the debate oh the

:07:56. > :08:00.economy. There have been cent good indicators, including the British

:08:01. > :08:05.Chamber of Commerce, whose latest survey predicts the recovery will

:08:06. > :08:09.gather momentum. Car sales at their highest level since 2007 and the UK

:08:10. > :08:11.construction sector, growth remains strong.

:08:12. > :08:17.The Conservatives are determined to stay the course on the economy, and

:08:18. > :08:22.deficit reduction until 2015. And have outlined further cuts of ?25

:08:23. > :08:26.billion. They plan to make after the next election. Much of which will

:08:27. > :08:32.fall on the welfare budget, with housing benefits stripped for under

:08:33. > :08:37.25, and high earns, Labour have been puffing and panting as they try and

:08:38. > :08:41.catch up on the economy, with some critics accusing them of not having

:08:42. > :08:45.a proper plan, instead, Labour have decided to change the game, and have

:08:46. > :08:49.been trying to deliver a knock out blow over the cost of living.

:08:50. > :08:53.They have certainly been successful this making the Government back

:08:54. > :08:56.pedal over things like energy prices, Labour have some way to go

:08:57. > :09:02.to convince the public they are credible on the economy. In a poll

:09:03. > :09:05.last month 39% of people thought David Cameron and George Osborne

:09:06. > :09:12.best at handling the economy. Compared to just 23% who thought the

:09:13. > :09:17.two Eds were the best bet. Thanks for that. Chuka Umunna, you

:09:18. > :09:22.saw on the graph there only 23% of voters trust Labour to handle the

:09:23. > :09:29.economy. You have a lot of ground to make up by May 2015. These are

:09:30. > :09:32.surveys and polls and what will matter when people go to the ballot

:09:33. > :09:37.box. This poll was consistent. It has been a minority have trusted you

:09:38. > :09:42.since the election to run the economy. Look, we need to get the

:09:43. > :09:47.support of the British people across the whole swathe of a government's

:09:48. > :09:51.policy agenda and get their votes at the general election. What is clear,

:09:52. > :09:55.I am not sure I accept that, what is clear is that the biggest issue

:09:56. > :10:01.facing people are their living standards, I am trying to avoid

:10:02. > :10:08.using the slogan. I didn't say the whole piece there, but look, I mean

:10:09. > :10:12.people on average are earn earning ?1600 less than in 2010. So that

:10:13. > :10:19.needs to be addressed. I wouldn't deny we need to deal with the

:10:20. > :10:23.deficit and debt. I think we are at 75% now, it is forecast to go up to

:10:24. > :10:27.80%. And so, you know, undoubtedly, there are going to be tough

:10:28. > :10:31.decisions that we will need to be made, which, we have accepted, but

:10:32. > :10:36.ultimately if you want the deal with the public finances you have to put

:10:37. > :10:40.them on a long-term sustainable footing and that involves getting

:10:41. > :10:45.more people into work, but ensuring their earn more in work, that means

:10:46. > :10:51.we need to reconfigure the economy. We cannot go back to a growth model

:10:52. > :10:57.where you are seeing house prices, private consumption, and, you know,

:10:58. > :11:01.contrary -- contributing the to growth. You mean like under the last

:11:02. > :11:06.Labour Government We should have better regulated the banks and we

:11:07. > :11:10.have seen the economy grow where it hasn't been as balanced as what we

:11:11. > :11:14.would like. If you talk to people on my constituency here in Streatham,

:11:15. > :11:18.sure, things are ticking up, if you talk to people in other parts of

:11:19. > :11:23.London, other parts of the country, they are not feeling that, so we

:11:24. > :11:28.have to get a much more balanced form of growth, and a form of growth

:11:29. > :11:32.which sees more money going into people's wage packets.

:11:33. > :11:37.If Labour does win the next election, we hear you will be a more

:11:38. > :11:42.important figure in the Cabinet thannel balls. I don't know about

:11:43. > :11:48.that, I very much doubt that. In the economist it has got us all

:11:49. > :11:51.aTwitter. These days it says Labour's economic strategy will be

:11:52. > :11:55.to boost the business department at the expense of the Treasury. Ed

:11:56. > :11:58.balls is the Treasury you are the business department I have seen this

:11:59. > :12:02.piece which has caused some interest, in some senses, it misses

:12:03. > :12:07.the point because I think one of the big things we need to do is push

:12:08. > :12:15.power down and out. If we are going to address the need to rebalance the

:12:16. > :12:19.economy geographically, we need to see less obsession about what is

:12:20. > :12:23.going on at the centre, and we need to push power down. Like the

:12:24. > :12:34.business department would. You have offices all over the country. That

:12:35. > :12:39.is is a good example. If you look at the Biz, it has got eight regional

:12:40. > :12:44.office, two in Bristol and Cambridge there are no staff, so I think there

:12:45. > :12:51.is a London-centric... Do you know who wrote this blog bigging you up

:12:52. > :12:59.It is Jeremy Cliff. Who used to work for you. Is he the one who changed

:13:00. > :13:06.your Wikipedia entry to make you Britain's Obama. Oh, you did that

:13:07. > :13:13.yourself! He will not be the first journalist who. Researchers office

:13:14. > :13:18.of Chuka Umunna, campaign intern Streatham Labour Party. I think you

:13:19. > :13:23.know, it mentions it you had, you went round for a coffee to Margaret

:13:24. > :13:29.Thatcher's house. Then she banned me for six years. From Downing Street.

:13:30. > :13:34.That was a good expensive coffee. Lots of journalists have worked

:13:35. > :13:42.for... I did won't -- didn't work for her. It doesn't mean Tim

:13:43. > :13:49.Montgomorie edits Conservative Home. He bigged you up. You remember what

:13:50. > :13:56.Diane Abbott said, Ed ball, don't mess with him. Sajid Javid. Let me,

:13:57. > :14:00.these... You can try and rumble me. Can I begin, can we take it as given

:14:01. > :14:05.all the central office talking points, you have had them out. I

:14:06. > :14:11.have been watching every interview. You did it with Jeremy Paxman on

:14:12. > :14:18.Newsnight. Can we get, can you give us a clear indication, of what areas

:14:19. > :14:22.of welfare the 12 billion of cuts will come from? Well, first we have

:14:23. > :14:26.why are we talking about this is because Britain has to make a

:14:27. > :14:29.decision, if we are going to keep the growth going, this is important.

:14:30. > :14:34.That is the central office talking point. We had them all. The context

:14:35. > :14:39.is important. We have had that. Our viewers watch Newsnight. That is

:14:40. > :14:43.probably why they are so small! They have, I heard you on the radio in

:14:44. > :14:47.Sweden and France, I follow you everywhere, what is the answer to my

:14:48. > :14:51.question? Can you give its an indication of where the 12 billion

:14:52. > :14:54.cuts will come from? I can tell you there will be 25 billion in total

:14:55. > :14:58.after the election. That is what is necessary to sustain the recovery.

:14:59. > :15:03.Of that as you said 12 billion will come from the welfare budget. Give

:15:04. > :15:07.us a broad brush. It is not because we think the welfare budget, there

:15:08. > :15:11.is something hugely wrong with it and that is the only place to go. It

:15:12. > :15:16.is, we want a welfare system that work, that continues to be reformed.

:15:17. > :15:20.I understand that, for the sake of this discussion let us assume you

:15:21. > :15:36.love welfare, you cuddle it before you go to bed. Where will the cuts

:15:37. > :15:44.come The housing benefit for Under 25s is just under ?2 billion, right?

:15:45. > :15:51.This is a party proposal. I can't give you exact numbers. Some

:15:52. > :15:54.reputable think-tanks have said it is about ?2 billion. You will not

:15:55. > :15:58.taking housing benefits away from under 25-year-olds who have their

:15:59. > :16:03.own children? You probably won't take it away because you cuddle

:16:04. > :16:10.welfare every night. You won't take it away from disabled folk who are

:16:11. > :16:14.under 25? We will be only able to set that out when we get closer to

:16:15. > :16:18.the election. You are looking like a couple of hundred million, not ?2

:16:19. > :16:23.billion there? The important thing is, we are setting out the tough

:16:24. > :16:27.decisions that need to be made. We are prepared to make those

:16:28. > :16:31.decisions. You are not prepared to give... If they think it is not

:16:32. > :16:34.welfare, they can tell us they will cut the NHS, like they cut it in

:16:35. > :16:39.Wales, they can tell us it is going to be schools, or it will be more

:16:40. > :16:43.borrowing that will put the recovery at risk. We are prepared to make the

:16:44. > :16:47.decisions. Is Labour? You said if the Government stayed with its

:16:48. > :16:52.current spending and tax plans, that there wouldn't be a recovery. Did Ed

:16:53. > :16:59.Balls predict a triple recession? We didn't. I'm not too sure where - if

:17:00. > :17:03.you let me finish. I'm not sure he did. I don't think that is what has

:17:04. > :17:08.been said. We said that if he went for an overly austere fiscal

:17:09. > :17:13.consolidation programme, you risk there being months of no growth.

:17:14. > :17:18.Didn't he say there would be a double dip? That is what happened.

:17:19. > :17:23.Didn't he say there would be a double dip? I don't recall saying

:17:24. > :17:28.that. I do. I was at the Labour Party Conference. He said - at the

:17:29. > :17:33.Labour Party Conference, he did say - I will look in the quotes here. He

:17:34. > :17:36.is commenting on Osborne's strategy to the Labour faithful. He said,

:17:37. > :17:44."There is nothing credible about this plan that leads to a double-dip

:17:45. > :17:48.recession." I think the point that that was was said - which conference

:17:49. > :17:55.is this taken from? I don't know. Can I pick up on one thing? Sure.

:17:56. > :17:58.Forever you hear - we heard some of the Central Office talking points,

:17:59. > :18:04.this allegation that Labour wants to borrow and spend more. No, we don't.

:18:05. > :18:08.Actually, we have said - we have set out a range - in the same way the

:18:09. > :18:11.Government hasn't said anything, the Conservative Party hasn't said at

:18:12. > :18:16.this moment everything that will be in the manifesto. You can say that

:18:17. > :18:19.again! We have said a range of things - public sector pay

:18:20. > :18:24.increases, we wouldn't give the Winter Fuel Allowance to the 5%

:18:25. > :18:31.richest pensioners. Again, that is a couple of million, too? We would

:18:32. > :18:33.like - and I see no reason why this shouldn't happen, the Office for

:18:34. > :18:37.Budget Responsibility to audit our plans and then they can determine

:18:38. > :18:48.that. If they won't do it, I'll do it! I'm not sure... I'll do you

:18:49. > :18:55.both! Can I ask you... I might give my forecasts. Can I ask this? Are we

:18:56. > :19:02.heading for a decent chunky increase in the minimum wage? What has been

:19:03. > :19:05.in the news - rightly so - the Department of Business has asked the

:19:06. > :19:09.Low Pay Commission to look into this. They will report back shortly.

:19:10. > :19:12.Would you be in favour of one? What would be the argument against it? If

:19:13. > :19:16.you increase the minimum wage, people would pay more tax and you

:19:17. > :19:21.would have to pay them a bit less welfare. What would be the argument

:19:22. > :19:25.against a chunky rise in the minimum wage, given that the current minimum

:19:26. > :19:30.wage is back at the value it was in 2004? It is 10% lower than where it

:19:31. > :19:34.was in 2008. That is a strong case to look at it. What would be the

:19:35. > :19:38.case against it? There are plenty of people who say there could be an

:19:39. > :19:43.impact on the job market. Who says that? Many economists. Who says

:19:44. > :19:48.that? I could find you a number of economists. One would do. You could

:19:49. > :19:52.look at Alastair Heath, one of your best friends. He would tell you that

:19:53. > :19:57.an increase in the minimum wage could have an impact on jobs. Right.

:19:58. > :20:03.It could. You have to look at these things. The important thing is that

:20:04. > :20:07.the right place to look at this decision is the Low Pay Commission.

:20:08. > :20:13.Would you like to see one? It should be looked at. Alright. We are proud

:20:14. > :20:16.to have introduced the National Minimum Wage. It is good to see the

:20:17. > :20:20.Conservative Party has come round to the need for a National Minimum

:20:21. > :20:25.Wage. We want to strengthen it. We have the former Deputy Chair... You

:20:26. > :20:29.would back that rise? Let me say two things. It is important we can

:20:30. > :20:33.continue with the social partnership approach where the Government,

:20:34. > :20:36.employee organisations and employer organisations sit down together and

:20:37. > :20:39.set the rate with reference to what the likely impact is going to be on

:20:40. > :20:44.jobs. Within that, we are looking at how we can strengthen it. It is not

:20:45. > :20:48.just an issue of the National Minimum Wage, we need to do

:20:49. > :20:51.everything we can to incentivise more employers to pay the living

:20:52. > :20:55.wage. From a fiscal point of view, you are doing less after people have

:20:56. > :21:01.been paid through tax credits than you would otherwise be doing. We

:21:02. > :21:08.need to leave it there. You can have too much fun(!)

:21:09. > :21:11.So, it's a new year. But 2014 already has something of a retro

:21:12. > :21:14.feel to it. Britain's manufacturing lots of cars again. Ministers are

:21:15. > :21:17.telling us to buy British. Politicians are making speeches

:21:18. > :21:25.about immigration. And the English cricket team are rubbish again. Why

:21:26. > :21:32.don't we let in as many Bulgarians and Romanians that want to come if

:21:33. > :21:34.they can play cricket? Yes, they've managed the dubious achievement of

:21:35. > :21:38.only the third Ashes whitewash in history. So there'll be no

:21:39. > :21:41.tickertape parade or trip to Downing Street when they come back from

:21:42. > :21:44.Australia, and they won't have a chance to compete for the famous urn

:21:45. > :21:48.again until 2015. But if you're watching, Alastair Cook - and why

:21:49. > :21:51.wouldn't you be tuning in from your hotel room in the middle of the

:21:52. > :21:55.night? Then don't worry, there's still one prize you can win. Yes,

:21:56. > :21:58.it's the Daily Politics mug. And the good news is this is one hallowed

:21:59. > :22:04.trophy the Aussies can't take off you - because you have to live in

:22:05. > :22:08.the UK to enter. Got you! What a consolation prize! We'll remind you

:22:09. > :22:10.how to enter in a minute, but let's see if you can remember when THIS

:22:11. > :22:21.happened. # Just love to dance

:22:22. > :22:31.# He wants to dance # He's got to dance. #

:22:32. > :22:43.# Don't go breaking my heart # I couldn't if I try

:22:44. > :22:52.# Oh, honey, if I get restless # Baby, you're not that kind. #

:22:53. > :22:57.For our most beloved great teacher...

:22:58. > :23:04.# If you leave me now # You take away the biggest part of

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:23:12. > :23:16.# And just when it hit me # Somebody turned around

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:23:34. > :23:41.To be in with a chance of winning a Daily Politics mug, send your answer

:23:42. > :23:49.to dpquiz@bbc.co.uk. You can see the full terms and conditions for Guess

:23:50. > :23:53.The Year on bbc.co.uk/dailypolitics. Now, it is coming up to midday.

:23:54. > :23:57.Let's look at Big Ben for the first time this year. Prime Minister's

:23:58. > :24:03.Questions on the way. If you would like to comment on proceedings, you

:24:04. > :24:06.can e-mail us at daily.politics@bbc.co.uk or tweet

:24:07. > :24:14.your thoughts using #bbcdp. We will read some out after Prime Minister's

:24:15. > :24:17.Questions. Nick Robinson, fresh from his documentary last night, and his

:24:18. > :24:22.ratings battle against Nigella Lawson, is here. If you missed it,

:24:23. > :24:33.go to the back of the class and watch this. Ladies and gentlemen,

:24:34. > :24:39.can I gather you around? If I were to ask you how many immigrants are

:24:40. > :24:44.there in Britain as a proportion as a whole, is it a half, is it more

:24:45. > :24:52.than a half, say three-quarters? Sir, you think... The eighth. It is

:24:53. > :25:00.not as much as people think? That is about an eighth. You think about a

:25:01. > :25:04.quarter of the British population were born abroad? A quarter. Ladies

:25:05. > :25:12.and gentlemen, I can now announce the result. Who got closest to the

:25:13. > :25:21.immigrant population of Britain on our pie chart? Peter Snow, eat your

:25:22. > :25:30.heart out! The answer is - well done, Sir - an eighth! APPLAUSE

:25:31. > :25:36.There were no depths you were prepared not to go to to compete

:25:37. > :25:42.with Nigella in the ratings, even to using a pie chart, a REAL pie chart!

:25:43. > :25:48.I was doing a rehearsal before the pie filling started to fall out. The

:25:49. > :25:54.point of that - it was based on a piece of national opinion poll - is

:25:55. > :25:57.that on average - this is just an average - people think the immigrant

:25:58. > :26:01.population in Britain is a third and it is only an eighth. It is one

:26:02. > :26:09.example of where there are some misconceptions about immigration

:26:10. > :26:15.that - I was about to use a word to colour the debate. Those who live

:26:16. > :26:22.here but who are not born here, is that right, that is the definition?

:26:23. > :26:27.Correct. Part of the reason - in a sense, people no longer know what

:26:28. > :26:32.they mean by immigrants. Do you mean someone who might regard themselves

:26:33. > :26:35.as a British Pakistani, or a British Indian, although in fact they are

:26:36. > :26:40.the third generation. Are you talking about them? Or are you

:26:41. > :26:45.talking about people who have moved? In America, they used to say by the

:26:46. > :26:51.third generation you were the fully-fledged American? Yes. We

:26:52. > :26:55.still kind of think that if you come from immigrant parents or

:26:56. > :27:07.grandparents, there's still a sense in some parts of the country, "You

:27:08. > :27:11.are some kind of an immigrant." The fact - this is for people who didn't

:27:12. > :27:15.see the film - the fact that the debate about the right response to

:27:16. > :27:18.immigration now covers particularly for Labour, the issue about the

:27:19. > :27:23.economics, what can you do about implementing the minimum wage? What

:27:24. > :27:27.can you do about agency workers and so on? Conservatives have echoed

:27:28. > :27:30.some of those things. Immigration is treated more like a normal policy

:27:31. > :27:33.debate and it is becoming disassociated from race. Of course,

:27:34. > :27:37.there is always going to be a factor about race and religion and so on.

:27:38. > :27:43.And concerns about that. It seems to me, for the obvious reason that the

:27:44. > :27:46.big wave of immigration ten years ago now was white European and

:27:47. > :27:50.Christian, you could have strong views about immigration without

:27:51. > :27:55.people then necessarily saying, "I know where you are coming from." Did

:27:56. > :27:58.you see the programme last night? I didn't. I will watch it on iPlayer.

:27:59. > :28:03.The interesting thing about what Nick says is I found at the 2010

:28:04. > :28:06.general election, the people, those of my constituents who raised the

:28:07. > :28:11.issue of immigration with me more than any other groups, were my black

:28:12. > :28:16.and Asian constituents. Was that because of perceived unfairness that

:28:17. > :28:21.East Europeans, they thought, had a "better or easier deal"? The Asian

:28:22. > :28:24.community, they often say, there are tougher rules on marriage, about

:28:25. > :28:28.bringing brides from abroad, that apply to us, but they don't apply to

:28:29. > :28:33.a poll. I would say two things. First of all, the sense of being

:28:34. > :28:37.undercut in terms of wages and also the jobs going to somebody else.

:28:38. > :28:43.Secondly, in terms of the pressure on resources. Essentially, it is - I

:28:44. > :28:47.find - and I will no doubt find this out when I watch it on iPlayer - the

:28:48. > :28:52.immigration debate is a proxy for an economic debate. A lot of it has to

:28:53. > :28:58.do with if you look at the shape of our labour market, we rank fifth in

:28:59. > :29:02.terms of the size of percentage of our workforce. Actually, I really

:29:03. > :29:06.think that is what ultimately what it goes to. We will have to go over

:29:07. > :29:08.to the House in a minute. Did you watch the programme? I didn't see

:29:09. > :29:17.the programme. I will be watching it. Why? Why do I bother? You go to

:29:18. > :29:23.all this effort. You make a pie, you make a programme and they can't

:29:24. > :29:26.bother to watch? You have two proud British-born sons of British

:29:27. > :29:32.immigrants here. We understand this debate quite a lot. We have lived

:29:33. > :29:37.here all our life. It is not about race. It should never be about race.

:29:38. > :29:41.There are legitimate, sensible reasons where it is economics and it

:29:42. > :29:48.should never be a no go area for politicians. Just before we go over,

:29:49. > :29:54.a sad event in Westminster today. Paul Goggins, much-liked MP on both

:29:55. > :29:59.sides of the House, has died. There is always a danger with that phrase.

:30:00. > :30:02.It is true. I do think - I have walked through the House of Commons

:30:03. > :30:07.to come here and somebody broke the news to an MP I was talking to.

:30:08. > :30:11.People were very sad. A lovely guy. I only met him three years ago when

:30:12. > :30:14.I came into Parliament. In that time, I immediately identified him

:30:15. > :30:20.as one of the nicest MPs around across the House. Manchester MP,

:30:21. > :30:26.Paul Goggins. He had been a social worker. He was involved in social

:30:27. > :30:30.care, ran a children's home. Then went on to become a Home Office

:30:31. > :30:33.Minister. He spoke with real passion for his area. He was a passionate

:30:34. > :30:39.Catholic as well. This was a guy, whether you agreed with him or not,

:30:40. > :30:43.that people thought he was rooted in his community and in a set of values

:30:44. > :30:50.he was passionate about. Not an old man? No. Barely 60. People may

:30:51. > :30:54.remember that he was taken ill, he had a stroke after being out running

:30:55. > :30:59.just before Christmas. There were worries then. He had been unwell

:31:00. > :31:08.since. It will form part of PMQs. Let's go over to the House.

:31:09. > :31:14.Captain Richard Holloway of the royal engineers was tragically

:31:15. > :31:18.killed after being engaged in enemy fire in Afghanistan on 23rd

:31:19. > :31:23.December. He was a highly respected soldier and our deepest sympathies

:31:24. > :31:26.should be with his parent, his brother and girlfriend who he left

:31:27. > :31:31.behind. Mr Speaker our thoughts should also go to the victims of the

:31:32. > :31:35.US helicopter crash in Norfolk about which details are still merges and

:31:36. > :31:41.Mr Speaker, today, I know that the sudden death this morning of Paul

:31:42. > :31:45.Goggins, MP for Wythenshawe and sell will have shocked even in the house.

:31:46. > :31:51.He was a kind and brilliant man who believed in public service, he cared

:31:52. > :31:54.about the welfare of children and the importance of social work and he

:31:55. > :32:00.brought his own clear experience to bear as an MP, and as a minister. He

:32:01. > :32:04.did vital work as a Northern Ireland minister playing an essential role

:32:05. > :32:09.in delivering the essential devolution of policing and justice

:32:10. > :32:15.powers in Northern Ireland. He was liked and admired across the House

:32:16. > :32:19.and treated everyone in whatever circumstances with respect. He will

:32:20. > :32:23.be greatly missed and we send our condolences to his wife, his

:32:24. > :32:29.children and to his family. Mr Speaker, this morning I had meetings

:32:30. > :32:34.with colleagues an other, I shall have further such meetings today. I

:32:35. > :32:37.a sure that the House will want to be associated with the comments my

:32:38. > :32:42.right honourable friend. Paul Goggins in particular was a good,

:32:43. > :32:48.and decent man, and I know he will be sorely missed on all sides of the

:32:49. > :32:50.House. Yesterday, Mr Speaker, the British Chamber of Commerce found

:32:51. > :32:56.that manufacturing exports and services were growing strongly. Does

:32:57. > :33:01.my right honourable friend agree with me that this shows despite more

:33:02. > :33:08.work that needs to be done, it is crucial that the Government sticks

:33:09. > :33:12.to its long-term economic plan? I thank my right honourable friend for

:33:13. > :33:16.what he said and what he said about Paul Goggins as well. It's a report

:33:17. > :33:19.from the British Chamber of Commerce, there is still a lot more

:33:20. > :33:21.work to do, we have to continue to get the deficit down, we have to

:33:22. > :33:25.continue economic growth, keep getting more people into work, there

:33:26. > :33:29.shouldn't be one ounce of complacency, but the report did find

:33:30. > :33:33.that manufacturing balances are at a high, ex fors are up and services

:33:34. > :33:37.are growing strongly, if we stick to the plan we can see this country

:33:38. > :33:42.rise, and our people rise with it too.

:33:43. > :33:45.Mr Speaker, I join the Prime Minister in paying tribute to

:33:46. > :33:48.Captain Richard Holloway of the Royal Engineers who was killed in

:33:49. > :33:53.action in Afghanistan. His death just two days before Christmas is a

:33:54. > :33:58.reminder of the risks being taken on our behalf every day by the members

:33:59. > :34:01.of the armed force, he showed courage and bravery and our

:34:02. > :34:04.sympathies are with his family and friends. I join the Prime Minister

:34:05. > :34:09.in sending condolences to the families of the victims of the US

:34:10. > :34:13.helicopter crash in Norfolk. I want to pay tribute to our friend and

:34:14. > :34:17.colleague Paul Goggins. He was one of the kindest, most decent people

:34:18. > :34:22.in this House. He was is one of the deepest

:34:23. > :34:27.principle. It shone throughout his career, social worker, councillor,

:34:28. > :34:32.MP, and minister. And it is a measure of the man and

:34:33. > :34:37.his ability, that he earned the respect, trust, and affection of all

:34:38. > :34:42.sides in Northern Ireland. The Labour Party has lost one of its

:34:43. > :34:48.own, and one of its best. Our deepest condolences to go to his

:34:49. > :34:54.wife, his children, and indeed to his whole family.

:34:55. > :34:58.Mr Speaker, the whole county will be concerned about the price paid by

:34:59. > :35:02.those affected by the floods and storm, I pay tribute to of work the

:35:03. > :35:04.emergency service, can the Prime Minister update the House on the

:35:05. > :35:07.number of people affected and what action is being taken to ensure

:35:08. > :35:13.areas that could be affected by further flooding have all the

:35:14. > :35:17.necessary support? First of all can I thank the Leader of the Opposition

:35:18. > :35:23.for his very moving words about Paul Goggins and for what he said. In

:35:24. > :35:25.terms of flooding it is an extremely difficult situation for those

:35:26. > :35:29.affected. Seven people have lost their lives since this began, I

:35:30. > :35:33.think he is right to pay tribute to the emergency services, to the

:35:34. > :35:36.Environment Agency worker, to the flood wardens and to the many

:35:37. > :35:40.neighbours and individuals who have shown bravery and courage and spirit

:35:41. > :35:45.over the Christmas period at helping neighbours and friends. As it is an

:35:46. > :35:48.ongoing situation let me bring the House up-to-date. There are

:35:49. > :35:52.currently 104 flood warnings in place in England and Wales, that

:35:53. > :35:55.means that more flooding is sadly expected and immediate action is

:35:56. > :36:01.required. There are 186 flood alerts, meaning

:36:02. > :36:06.that even further flooding is possible beyond what we expect more

:36:07. > :36:11.rapidly. Although the weather is improving the river levels remain so

:36:12. > :36:14.high the flooding could come at short notice, there are a number of

:36:15. > :36:18.concerns including Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Somerset and

:36:19. > :36:23.Oxford shire. Giving the threats which could last for receive days to

:36:24. > :36:28.come, I urge the members of the public to follow the advice of the

:36:29. > :36:33.emergency services in those areas at risk. At a national level we have

:36:34. > :36:38.been co-ordinating this under COBRA and it will continue to meet until

:36:39. > :36:43.the threat has passed. Mr Speaker, I thank the Prime

:36:44. > :36:48.Minister for that answer. I know he and the Environment Secretary will

:36:49. > :36:52.keep the House up-to-date. Can he tell the House whether it is clear

:36:53. > :36:55.why it took so long for some of the energy distribution companies to

:36:56. > :36:59.restore power to homes over the Christmas period, and what steps

:37:00. > :37:03.does he believe can be taken to ensure that doesn't happen again? I

:37:04. > :37:07.think he is right, in all these circumstances, no matter how good

:37:08. > :37:11.the preparation, there are lessons to learn, I think there are lessons

:37:12. > :37:14.to learn on this occasion on the positive side the Environment Agency

:37:15. > :37:18.warning service worked beer than in the past. The flood defences did

:37:19. > :37:21.protect, up to one million homes over the December and Christmas

:37:22. > :37:25.period. There are some negatives there and we need to learn lesson,

:37:26. > :37:29.some of the energy companies didn't have enough people over the holiday

:37:30. > :37:34.period for emergency response, and I saw that for myself in Kent. So we

:37:35. > :37:37.need to learn these lesson, my right honourable friend will be leading

:37:38. > :37:40.this exercise, the Energy Secretary is already looking at the levels of

:37:41. > :37:43.compensation and the preparedness and the speed of response from

:37:44. > :37:47.energy companies, but I would welcome from all members, all

:37:48. > :37:52.constituencies affected by flooding what they see on the ground about

:37:53. > :37:57.lessons that can be learned so we can make sure preparedness is better

:37:58. > :38:00.in future. Given the scale of risk exposed by these floods and the

:38:01. > :38:03.expected impacts of climate change, can the Prime Minister commit to

:38:04. > :38:06.DEFRA providing a report to this House by the end of this month,

:38:07. > :38:10.giving a full assessment of the future capability of our flood

:38:11. > :38:14.defences and flood response agency, and whether the investment plans in

:38:15. > :38:19.place are equal to the need for events of this kind? I am happy to

:38:20. > :38:25.make that commitment. As he knows, in this current four year period we

:38:26. > :38:29.are spending ?2.3 billion compared with 2.1 billion in the previous

:38:30. > :38:35.period. The money is going into flood defences, as we saw, with the

:38:36. > :38:41.early December flooding action about 800,000 homes protected by previous

:38:42. > :38:44.flood defence, and a further 200,000 houses affected over Christmas, it

:38:45. > :38:48.makes sense to look again at the proposals that are in the programme

:38:49. > :38:52.for flood defence work, and to see what more can be done. As well as

:38:53. > :38:59.the Government money, we are keen to lever in more private sector and

:39:00. > :39:02.Local Authority money, I am happy to commit for the Environment Secretary

:39:03. > :39:06.to come back and report to the House about the level of expenditure in

:39:07. > :39:10.the years going ahead. Thank you Mr Speaker, further to the

:39:11. > :39:15.Prime Minister's remarks on the recent flooding would he join me in

:39:16. > :39:18.paying tribute to Bournemouth Borough Council, the Dorset

:39:19. > :39:21.emergency services as well as local residents in dealing with two

:39:22. > :39:29.evacuations in my constituency, one of which is still on going due to

:39:30. > :39:34.the river bursting its bank, given the changing weather pattern, could

:39:35. > :39:39.I ask what more could be done to improved river and sea defences?

:39:40. > :39:43.Well, as my honourable friend knows, in Bournemouth and the Dorset area

:39:44. > :39:47.we have had 290 homes flooded so far, I agree with him that the work

:39:48. > :39:51.of the emergency services, the work of the Environment Agency has been

:39:52. > :39:56.excellent, I think many Local Authorities, including my own have

:39:57. > :40:01.had good plan, put them into place competently but not every Local

:40:02. > :40:04.Authority does as well. In terms of the Bournemouth and Poole area, the

:40:05. > :40:08.Bournemouth beach management scheme of round ?14 million is going to be

:40:09. > :40:15.invested over the next five years bs and that should protect round 2500

:40:16. > :40:19.properties by 201819. I would be interested to hear about what more

:40:20. > :40:24.he thinks could be done. The Prime Minister will be aware

:40:25. > :40:29.that the majority of new housing benefit claimants are in work. He

:40:30. > :40:33.will be aware that private sector landlords are refusing to take

:40:34. > :40:37.tenants on benefit, or evicting them. What does he say to

:40:38. > :40:45.hard-working families, faced with losing their homes because of his

:40:46. > :40:49.housing benefit cuts? We say we are cutting your tax, in April this year

:40:50. > :40:53.we will lift to 10,000 poub the amount of money that someone can

:40:54. > :40:59.earn before they start paying income tax, that makes a big difference,

:41:00. > :41:02.for someone on the minimum wage, they will see their tax bill come

:41:03. > :41:07.down by two thirds, we do have to take action on the housing benefit

:41:08. > :41:11.bill, housing benefit accounts for ?23 billion of Government spending,

:41:12. > :41:16.when we came into office, there were some families in London, who were

:41:17. > :41:22.getting housing benefit payment of 660, 70, ?80,000. They shout how

:41:23. > :41:27.many, one was too many, that is why we have capped housing benefit.

:41:28. > :41:31.If the Government decided to mitigate the scale of the cuts it

:41:32. > :41:39.plan, can my right honourable friend tell me how I explain to students

:41:40. > :41:43.doing PSHE wild they should avoid taking on debt but it is all right

:41:44. > :41:47.for the Government to ignore the same debt. Think he makes an

:41:48. > :41:50.important point. We have taken difficult decision to get the

:41:51. > :41:54.deficit down, to get the country back on track, and that has meant

:41:55. > :41:59.difficult decisions in terms of departmental spending and also

:42:00. > :42:02.welfare, now the party opposite is now Ngola Baka to where it started.

:42:03. > :42:05.They are saying they want to mitigate the level of cuts and

:42:06. > :42:09.therefore they want to spend more, they want to borrow more, they want

:42:10. > :42:14.to tax more, we may be at the start of a New Year but they have gone

:42:15. > :42:19.back to where they were three years ago.

:42:20. > :42:23.Mr Speak, does the Prime Minister recognise the concerns of families

:42:24. > :42:27.and communities about the impact of fixed odds betting terminal, gaming

:42:28. > :42:34.machines where people can gamble up to ?300 a minute on the high

:42:35. > :42:38.streets? No, I share concerns about this issue and I think it is welcome

:42:39. > :42:41.we have having this debate in the House of Commons today. I think

:42:42. > :42:44.there are problems in the betting and gaming industry, and we need the

:42:45. > :42:48.look at them. I think it is worth listening to the advice of his own

:42:49. > :42:53.shadow minister, who said that we should look, I accept the argument

:42:54. > :42:56.that empirical evidence is needed before making changes because it

:42:57. > :43:00.might create another problem somewhere else. This is a problem.

:43:01. > :43:03.It needs looking at. We have a review under way, we are clearing up

:43:04. > :43:07.a situation that was put in place under the last Government, but I

:43:08. > :43:12.think if we work together we can sort it out.

:43:13. > :43:16.Mr Speaker, let me say the 2005 gamble act limited the number of

:43:17. > :43:22.machines to four per betting shop, but it didn't go nearly far enough,

:43:23. > :43:27.in the action that should have been taken. And let me just say, Mr

:43:28. > :43:31.Speaker, he asked about evidence. Local communities from Fareham to

:43:32. > :43:35.Liverpool are saying that these machines are causing problems for

:43:36. > :43:38.families and community, now local communities believe they already

:43:39. > :43:43.have the evidence, shouldn't they be given the power to decide whether

:43:44. > :43:48.they want these machines, or whether they don't want them? I think he is

:43:49. > :43:52.making it a reasonable point. Let me deal with the fact, fixed odds

:43:53. > :43:57.betting terminals were introduced in 2001, after the Labour Government

:43:58. > :44:01.relaxed gambling regulations, the second fact is there are now fewer

:44:02. > :44:05.of these machines now, than there were when Labour were in office, and

:44:06. > :44:09.of course, to his point he has just made, councils already have powers

:44:10. > :44:12.to tackle the issue and I believe that councils should make full use

:44:13. > :44:17.of that power. I am not arguing that is job done, there may well be more

:44:18. > :44:21.to do, but we have a review under way, this is an issue for the

:44:22. > :44:24.Department of Culture, Media and Sport, if he has ideas I would ask

:44:25. > :44:29.him to put them into this review, but as I say, he might want to

:44:30. > :44:33.listen to his own shadow minister, who has recently as November said

:44:34. > :44:40.there is no evidence to support a change to stakes and prizes for

:44:41. > :44:43.fixed odds betting terminal, there seem seems to be something of a

:44:44. > :44:48.change but I think ewe can sort it out. Our ideas are in our motion

:44:49. > :44:53.today, and if he wants to vote for it we would be happy for him to do

:44:54. > :44:58.so. Mr Speaker, he says there are already powers, he says there are

:44:59. > :45:02.powers in place, but the Mayor of London, and the Conservative head of

:45:03. > :45:06.the Local Government Association have said local authorities do not

:45:07. > :45:09.have the power to limit the number of machine, in one in three calls to

:45:10. > :45:14.the gambling helpline are about these machines and they are

:45:15. > :45:19.clustered in deprived areas, for example, there are 348 in one of the

:45:20. > :45:22.most deprived boroughs, Newham. Can he at least give us a timetable for

:45:23. > :45:27.when the Government will decide whether to act. We will be reporting

:45:28. > :45:30.in the spring as a result of the review that is under way. It is

:45:31. > :45:35.important we get to grips with this. There is something of a pattern. We

:45:36. > :45:39.had the problem of 24-hour drinking and that needed to be changed and

:45:40. > :45:44.mitigated - we have done that. We had the problems created by the

:45:45. > :45:48.deregulation of betting and gaming. We need to sort that out. We have

:45:49. > :45:55.also had problems in the banking industry and elsewhere, that we have

:45:56. > :46:01.sorted out. If he wants to... As I said, if he wants to input ideas

:46:02. > :46:06.into that review, that is the right way forward. May I pay tribute to

:46:07. > :46:11.Paul Goggins and say how much he will be missed in this House? My

:46:12. > :46:16.right honourable friend is on the record as saying that he would like

:46:17. > :46:21.to say the A64 on the future roads list. Can he ensure that the present

:46:22. > :46:25.economy, which is very buoyant in North Yorkshire, is not held back by

:46:26. > :46:35.the congestion on that road and the poor safety? Will he join with me

:46:36. > :46:40.and that he can travel with much greater safety on the A64? The

:46:41. > :46:44.honourable lady is right to raise this issue. The quality and the

:46:45. > :46:47.capacity of the road system in Yorkshire has been and is a major

:46:48. > :46:51.issue. The Government has taken some important steps to help. There is

:46:52. > :46:55.more work to be done. I know the Chancellor was listening carefully

:46:56. > :47:00.and I am sure we can look at this for the future roads programme. What

:47:01. > :47:04.plans does the Government have to close the loophole which allows

:47:05. > :47:11.businesses to pay agency workers less than their fellow employees

:47:12. > :47:15.doing the same job? I looked into this loophole carefully over the

:47:16. > :47:19.Christmas period when the party opposite raised it. I discovered two

:47:20. > :47:24.things about this loophole. The first is, it was introduced and

:47:25. > :47:29.agreed by the last Labour Government and the TUC. That is loophole fact

:47:30. > :47:34.number one. Loophole fact number two - he shouts CBI - this is what they

:47:35. > :47:40.said about it. They said, "Further gold plating of EU rules can only

:47:41. > :47:44.cost jobs." Then we have the Recruitment and Employment

:47:45. > :47:48.Federation. "These arrangements were agreed after consultation with the

:47:49. > :47:53.last Government and business unions. Is the Labour Party saying they want

:47:54. > :48:01.to deny British temps the option of permanent employment?" The IOD say

:48:02. > :48:05.this, "It's a bad idea all round. The initial response to this for

:48:06. > :48:11.employers will be to employ fewer people on higher wages. What a great

:48:12. > :48:17.start to the New Year!" Only Labour could come up with an idea like

:48:18. > :48:26.that! Thank you, Mr Speaker. There is considerable interest from

:48:27. > :48:30.businesses in the Marr time and -- maritime and marine sector to

:48:31. > :48:34.relocate. What can the Government do to send a clear message to

:48:35. > :48:38.entrepreneurs that Portsmouth is open for business? I think my

:48:39. > :48:41.honourable friend is right to raise this issue. There are two things

:48:42. > :48:46.specifically that we can do to help Portsmouth at this time. The first

:48:47. > :48:50.is the Portsmouth and Southampton City Deal, that will bring jobs and

:48:51. > :48:55.investment. Secondly, as to emphasise the fact that this massive

:48:56. > :48:59.programme of modernising the Royal Navy with the aircraft carriers, the

:49:00. > :49:03.Type-45s, these are by and large going to be based in Portsmouth,

:49:04. > :49:07.creating jobs, making sure that it remains one of the most important

:49:08. > :49:13.homes for the Royal Navy, but she is right. Added to that, there is a

:49:14. > :49:16.future in Portsmouth in other marine industries and we should do

:49:17. > :49:23.everything we can to encourage business to locate there. I would

:49:24. > :49:27.also like to pay my sympathies to Paul Goggins' family, he was a

:49:28. > :49:32.lovely, lovely man. Mr Speaker, the Government has cut ?1.8 billion from

:49:33. > :49:45.the social care budget, which means nearly 500,000 fewer people are

:49:46. > :49:49.eligible for social care. With home care charges up, and the

:49:50. > :49:52.Government's care cap nothing more than a care con, why isn't the Prime

:49:53. > :49:54.Minister being honest with older people about the real care costs

:49:55. > :50:00.they will face under this Government? Well, what I would say

:50:01. > :50:03.to the honourable lady is this. Difficult decisions have had to be

:50:04. > :50:07.taken across Government spending. If you look at health and social care,

:50:08. > :50:11.we protected the health budget so it is going up in real terms and we

:50:12. > :50:16.have put some of that health budget up to ?3 billion into social care to

:50:17. > :50:20.help local authorities. We now want to get local authorities and local

:50:21. > :50:23.Health Services working even more closely together to deal with the

:50:24. > :50:27.problems of blocked beds and making sure there are care packages when

:50:28. > :50:30.they leave hospital. In areas of the country where this is working, you

:50:31. > :50:38.can see the benefits. We want to make that happen across the country.

:50:39. > :50:41.Mr Speaker, our excellent Local Enterprise Partnership estimates

:50:42. > :50:45.that Buckinghamshire has a ?12 billion economy with 30,000

:50:46. > :50:52.registered businesses and European head offices of over 700 foreign

:50:53. > :50:56.companies. They need the security of long-term economic policies. Will

:50:57. > :51:00.the Prime Minister assure me that as our economic growth is so clearly

:51:01. > :51:05.returning, unlike the party opposite, he will not gamble with

:51:06. > :51:11.their future and he will stick steadfastly to his long tried and

:51:12. > :51:15.tested economic policies? I'm very grateful to my right honourable

:51:16. > :51:18.friend. There is a vibrant economy right across the Thames Valley,

:51:19. > :51:22.including in Buckinghamshire. That is going to be based on sticking to

:51:23. > :51:26.our long-term economic plan, particularly important for the

:51:27. > :51:30.companies she mentions is keeping our rates of corporate tax low so we

:51:31. > :51:34.attract businesses and make sure companies want their headquarters

:51:35. > :51:37.here. That is the right answer. Not the answer of the party opposite,

:51:38. > :51:43.which is to put a close sign over the British economy. Thank you, Mr

:51:44. > :51:46.Speaker. A year ago, the Prime Minister said he would make damned

:51:47. > :51:50.sure that foreign companies pay higher taxes. But in The Financial

:51:51. > :51:54.Times at the weekend, it was shown that technology companies, like

:51:55. > :52:00.Apple and eBay, are paying even less. Why isn't the Prime Minister's

:52:01. > :52:04.tough talk adding up to very much? I think we are - he is being a little

:52:05. > :52:09.unfair. We are making progress on this very difficult issue. We raised

:52:10. > :52:12.at the G8 the importance of having international rules on tax reporting

:52:13. > :52:17.and having more countries working together on tax reporting and huge

:52:18. > :52:20.progress has been made, not least in the European Union where, for the

:52:21. > :52:24.first time, countries like Luxembourg and Austria, that have

:52:25. > :52:29.always held out against this information exchange, are now taking

:52:30. > :52:32.part. The OECD work is going ahead apace. That is partly because

:52:33. > :52:38.Britain has put its full efforts behind this vital work. Mr Speaker,

:52:39. > :52:41.Paul Goggins was a very decent and humble man, and one of the most

:52:42. > :52:45.effective and fair Ministers this House has seen. He will be sadly

:52:46. > :52:49.missed. The Prime Minister will know that the science is clear that the

:52:50. > :52:54.extreme weather conditions affecting our communities, including the Kent

:52:55. > :52:58.estuary, are a destructive and inevitable consequence, in part, of

:52:59. > :53:01.climate change. Given that he has said that this should be the

:53:02. > :53:07.greenest Government ever, will he now agree to support carbon

:53:08. > :53:11.reduction targets so we can take real action to protect people and

:53:12. > :53:16.property? I agree with my honourable friend that we are seeings more

:53:17. > :53:19.abnormal weather events. Colleagues across the House can argue about

:53:20. > :53:22.whether that is linked to climate change or not. I suspect that it is,

:53:23. > :53:26.but the point is whatever one's view, it makes sense to invest in

:53:27. > :53:30.flood defences, it makes sense to invest in mitigation, it makes sense

:53:31. > :53:34.to get information out better. We should do all of those things. As

:53:35. > :53:38.for carbon reduction targets, this Government is committed to carbon

:53:39. > :53:42.reduction targets. We worked with the last Government to put the

:53:43. > :53:47.Carbon Act into place. It wouldn't have happened without our support.

:53:48. > :53:55.We also have the Green Investment Bank up and running in Edinburgh.

:53:56. > :54:02.Thank you, Mr Speaker. Government cuts having closed the police cells

:54:03. > :54:08.in Bassetlaw, I now discover the police are having to patrol villages

:54:09. > :54:13.using public transport. That begs the question I would like to ask the

:54:14. > :54:20.Prime Minister. If the police are waiting at a bus stop having

:54:21. > :54:25.arrested someone, should they go upstairs, should they go downstairs,

:54:26. > :54:28.or should they not arrest at all? The first thing to say to the

:54:29. > :54:32.honourable gentleman is he didn't mention that recorded crime in the

:54:33. > :54:48.Bassetlaw community safety partnership is down by 27%. What is

:54:49. > :54:53.so noticeable... 27%. 27%. What is very noticeable is every honourable

:54:54. > :54:57.member opposite is getting up and complaining about the need to make

:54:58. > :55:02.reductions in departmental spending. Frankly, this is like back to the

:55:03. > :55:05.future. We are back now to where we were three years ago, when we said

:55:06. > :55:09.you've got to make difficult decisions, you've got to make some

:55:10. > :55:13.cuts and get the deficit down. They lived in total denial. They are back

:55:14. > :55:31.to where they were three years ago. It may be the New Year. It is the

:55:32. > :55:35.same old Labour Party. May I thank the Prime Minister and everyone over

:55:36. > :55:41.the years who has paved the way to bring this about. May I invite my

:55:42. > :55:50.right honourable friend to visit Bletchley Park and see for himself

:55:51. > :55:55.Alan Turin's remarkable achievements? This is excellent news

:55:56. > :55:59.that this Royal Prerogative Mercy has been granted in this very

:56:00. > :56:05.special case. I would be delighted to go to Bletchley Park, one of my

:56:06. > :56:12.wife's family worked there during the war and speaks incredibly highly

:56:13. > :56:16.about what he was like to work with. The work that was done in his

:56:17. > :56:22.constituency was vital in winning the war. #6 Thank you, Mr Speaker.

:56:23. > :56:27.Before Christmas, I was contacted by a seriously ill constituent of mine

:56:28. > :56:30.who is waiting for a kidney transplant. He needs five-hour

:56:31. > :56:34.dialysis sessions three times a week. But in the Prime Minister's

:56:35. > :56:39.Britain, he's been told by the Jobcentre that he is fit for work.

:56:40. > :56:44.On Monday, the Chancellor promised to take ?12 billion more from the

:56:45. > :56:47.Welfare Budget. Will the Prime Minister guarantee there will be no

:56:48. > :56:51.further cuts to benefits for the sick and disabled? Well, first of

:56:52. > :56:55.all, what I would say on the specific issue of his constituent,

:56:56. > :57:00.if he wants to write to me with the individual case, I'm happy to look

:57:01. > :57:04.at that individual case. In terms of making sure dialysis machines are

:57:05. > :57:09.available and the expertise is available, we are putting more money

:57:10. > :57:13.into the NHS, even though the advice from the Labour Party was to cut.

:57:14. > :57:17.The reason we have been able to put more money into the Health Service

:57:18. > :57:21.is we have taken tough and difficult decisions about welfare. Because we

:57:22. > :57:25.have put a cap on the amount of money a family can get, we have been

:57:26. > :57:31.able to invest in our Health Service. Because we have put a cap

:57:32. > :57:34.on housing benefit, not giving ?70,000 to some families, we have

:57:35. > :57:38.invested in our Health Service. We want to see more dignity, security

:57:39. > :57:46.and stability in the lives of Britain's families and we are making

:57:47. > :57:54.choices consistent with that. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Soaring car sales

:57:55. > :57:59.have helped supply chain companies create manufacturing jobs. 200 in

:58:00. > :58:02.the last year. Another 400 planned. Does the Prime Minister agree that

:58:03. > :58:04.this shows we are successfully rebalancing the economy and that we

:58:05. > :58:09.need to stay the course with policies that are clearly working?

:58:10. > :58:16.Very grateful for my honourable friend and what he says. I went with

:58:17. > :58:19.him to the opening of the new warehouse in his constituency, which

:58:20. > :58:22.has generated hundreds of jobs and it is going to be vital for the

:58:23. > :58:26.supply chain in his constituency. What these businesses want to see is

:58:27. > :58:30.a consistent economic policy, keeping interest rates down, getting

:58:31. > :58:33.the deficit down, cutting taxes for hard-working people, helping

:58:34. > :58:37.businesses to take more people on, investing in education, in skills

:58:38. > :58:41.and in controlling welfare. Those are the elements of our long-term

:58:42. > :58:48.plan. That is what we will stick to. Two months ago, I asked the Prime

:58:49. > :58:51.Minister whether a councillor who was suspended by the Labour Party

:58:52. > :58:56.should return to Pakistan given the arrest warrant for him. He attended

:58:57. > :59:02.the Prime Minister's party in October as an invited guest. Why is

:59:03. > :59:09.the Prime Minister still hiding on whether he should return to face

:59:10. > :59:14.justice? The first is this. I think it will be interesting hear. --

:59:15. > :59:18.interesting to hear. The allegations he mentions are disputed and are

:59:19. > :59:22.currently subject to legal action. I'm limited in what I can say. What

:59:23. > :59:27.he failed to mention to the House last time he raised this is that the

:59:28. > :59:36.allegations date from the time when he was a Labour councillor. And I'm

:59:37. > :59:40.informed, Mr Speaker, that during his time as a Labour councillor, the

:59:41. > :59:46.Labour Party did absolutely nothing about these allegations. So, perhaps

:59:47. > :59:49.next time, when he stands up and asks a questions in the House of

:59:50. > :59:56.Commons, he will give us the full facts. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I

:59:57. > :00:06.associate myself with the tributes to Paul Goggins? His work on the

:00:07. > :00:10.reform of the law will go on. My constituent Christopher Scott died

:00:11. > :00:15.as a result of taking a legal high called AMT. Will my right honourable

:00:16. > :00:18.friend support my cause, calls from the Coroner and calls from

:00:19. > :00:23.Christopher's family to make sure that this dangerous drug and others

:00:24. > :00:29.like it are outlawed? My honourable friend is right. To raise this

:00:30. > :00:33.issue. Can I offer my condolences to the family of my honourable friend's

:00:34. > :00:36.constituent? As he knows with the rules that we have, hundreds of

:00:37. > :00:40."legal highs" have already been banned and our temporary drug orders

:00:41. > :00:44.allow us to outlaw substances within days of them coming on to the

:00:45. > :00:59.market. We are not complacent. We have asked the advisory Council for

:01:00. > :01:02.the misuse of drugs to assist. May I join the Prime Minister and the

:01:03. > :01:09.Leader of the Opposition in paying warm tribute to Paul Goggins? He was

:01:10. > :01:13.a fine, decent and honourable man who was a great friend to Northern

:01:14. > :01:18.Ireland and a great friend to all of its people and he will be sadly

:01:19. > :01:21.missed, not only in this House, but throughout Northern Ireland. We

:01:22. > :01:26.offer sincere condolences to his wife and family at this difficult

:01:27. > :01:30.time. May I also commend the Prime Minister, and welcome the fact that

:01:31. > :01:33.he has committed to the triple lock guarantee for pensioners, if he's

:01:34. > :01:38.returned as Prime Minister in the next Parliament? Can I ask him to

:01:39. > :01:42.clarify whether if he is elected as Prime Minister again in 2015, and in

:01:43. > :01:51.the next Parliament, he will commit to retaining the Winter Fuel

:01:52. > :01:59.Allowance? Well, first of all, can I thank him for what he said about

:02:00. > :02:03.Paul Goggins? On the issue of pensions, it is important to

:02:04. > :02:06.recognise, we are only able to make this commitment to the triple lock,

:02:07. > :02:10.which has been important in this Parliament because we have made a

:02:11. > :02:15.commitment to raise the pension age to 66 and then progressively 67 and

:02:16. > :02:18.so on. That means that this pension increase is affordable. We made a

:02:19. > :02:22.very clear pledge for this Parliament about the pensioner

:02:23. > :02:26.benefits. I'm proud of the fact we are fulfilling it. We will set out

:02:27. > :02:32.our plans in the next manifesto. What I would caution people about is

:02:33. > :02:35.the belief that somehow if you don't pay for instance Winter Fuel

:02:36. > :02:40.Allowance, or the other benefits, if you don't pay them to those paying

:02:41. > :02:44.tax at 40p, you save a small amount of money. We will set out our plans

:02:45. > :02:48.in the manifesto. But absolutely vital is saying to Britain's

:02:49. > :02:51.pensioners, you have worked hard, we want to give you dignity and

:02:52. > :03:00.security in old age and the triple lock makes that possible. Is my

:03:01. > :03:05.right honourable friend that in my constituency there has been a large

:03:06. > :03:08.fire of waste carpets burning since September 3rd last year and the

:03:09. > :03:14.residents have been suffering from the fumes and smoke and that the

:03:15. > :03:19.Fire Brigade can't put out the fire for fear of polluting the water

:03:20. > :03:21.supply? Can I have my right honourable friend's support in

:03:22. > :03:24.urging the Environment Agency and the local authority to get this

:03:25. > :03:30.material off the site and give residents their lives back? I will

:03:31. > :03:35.certainly look in more detail into the issue that he raises. I

:03:36. > :03:39.understand the concern it's causing. My understanding is that

:03:40. > :03:42.environmental concerns, in particular that waste might run off

:03:43. > :03:46.and pollute local water supplies, these have hampered the efforts to

:03:47. > :03:49.extinguish the fire. I understand the local recovery group is meeting

:03:50. > :03:53.this week to see what more can be done to remove this waste. I'm happy

:03:54. > :04:00.to intervene with him on his behalf to make sure this makes progress.

:04:01. > :04:02.The Prime Minister's anti-independence campaign launched

:04:03. > :04:06.an initiative this week encouraging people outside Scotland to take part

:04:07. > :04:10.in the debate. Given that initiative, why will the Prime

:04:11. > :04:17.Minister not meet the First Minister on television? The calls for this

:04:18. > :04:21.debate show a mounting frustration amongst those calling for Scotland's

:04:22. > :04:25.separation from the rest of the United Kingdom, because they know

:04:26. > :04:29.they are losing the argument. They are losing the argument about jobs,

:04:30. > :04:32.they are losing the argument about investment. They have completely

:04:33. > :04:35.lost the argument about the future of the pound sterling. They are

:04:36. > :04:39.losing the argument about Europe. And yes, there should be a debate,

:04:40. > :04:44.but it is a debate between people in Scotland. The leader of the

:04:45. > :04:50.in-campaign should debate with the leader of the out-campaign. He, as

:04:51. > :04:59.the lackey of Alex Salmond, wants to change the terms of the debate. I'm

:05:00. > :05:03.not falling for that one. In the 13 years before 2010, there was net

:05:04. > :05:07.migration of nearly four million people into the UK. Mostly into

:05:08. > :05:12.England and in many cases, as a result of work permits issued by the

:05:13. > :05:14.then Government. Will my right honourable friend give me an

:05:15. > :05:20.assurance that this Government will keep in place its cap on the number

:05:21. > :05:26.of workers from outside the European Union? I can give my honourable

:05:27. > :05:29.friend the assurance he seeks. We should keep the cap on economic

:05:30. > :05:32.migrants from outside the European Union. We should continue with all

:05:33. > :05:35.the action we are taking to make sure that people who come here are

:05:36. > :05:40.coming to work and not to claim. I think what we need to do next is to

:05:41. > :05:45.recognise that the best immigration policy is not only to have strong,

:05:46. > :05:48.border controls, but also to have an education approach which is

:05:49. > :05:52.educating our young people for jobs in our country and a welfare system

:05:53. > :05:56.that encourages them to take those jobs. It is three sides to this

:05:57. > :06:02.argument - immigration, education and welfare. This Government has a

:06:03. > :06:15.plan for all three. Could I agree with the Prime Minister? No! The

:06:16. > :06:18.leader of the "no" campaign in Scotland cannot get a debate with

:06:19. > :06:22.the leader of the "yes" campaign in Scotland - that is absurd. The

:06:23. > :06:28.leader of the "yes" campaign in Scotland demands a debate with

:06:29. > :06:32.somebody that doesn't have a vote. In these circumstances, does the

:06:33. > :06:35.Prime Minister agree with me that in politics, as in shipbuilding, empty

:06:36. > :06:57.vessels make the most noise? I'm not finished. There is more.

:06:58. > :07:08.Without seeking to give offence to the Prime Minister, could I tell him

:07:09. > :07:15.that the last person Scotts want to have their -- Scots want to have as

:07:16. > :07:26.that representative is a Tory toff from the Home Counties, even one

:07:27. > :07:28.with a fine haircut? I accept every part of the honourable gentleman's

:07:29. > :07:33.question. I well remember when he came to Question Time, not with an

:07:34. > :07:37.empty vessel, but with a model of the vessel that he wanted built so

:07:38. > :07:39.near to his constituency, and I'm proud that this Government is

:07:40. > :07:46.building that vessel and indeed another one like it. I also accept

:07:47. > :07:50.that while I'm sure there are many people in Scotland who would like to

:07:51. > :07:56.hear me talk about this issue, my appeal doesn't stretch to every

:07:57. > :07:59.single part. The key point he is making is right. The reason the

:08:00. > :08:03."yes" campaign head and the "no" campaign head can't get a debate is

:08:04. > :08:06.because those who want to break up the United Kingdom, they know they

:08:07. > :08:10.are losing the argument so they want to change the question. It's the

:08:11. > :08:19.oldest trick in the book and we can all see it coming.

:08:20. > :08:26.The Speaker deciding to let it overrun by, almost ten minutes.

:08:27. > :08:33.That watch I sent him for Christmas has not managed to wind up yet. An

:08:34. > :08:37.interesting Prime Minister's Questions because it was very

:08:38. > :08:41.low-key, it started with the Leader of the Opposition asking about the

:08:42. > :08:45.recent floods that have hit so much of the country, and then he did

:08:46. > :08:51.these three question, then he sat down, normally he does all six at

:08:52. > :08:55.once but he moved on to another three about the fix odds betting

:08:56. > :09:00.terminal, an important, interesting issue but not a kind of one of huge

:09:01. > :09:04.national significance, that was low-key as well. Normally we get

:09:05. > :09:10.what you thought of that, but before we do, I want to can Nick, is this a

:09:11. > :09:16.slow start to the New Year or are we seeing an attempt by the Leader of

:09:17. > :09:21.the Opposition, to change the tone of PMQ is There is one other thing

:09:22. > :09:25.that many MPs heard about the death of Paul Goggins who you heard

:09:26. > :09:29.tributes from all sides, and obviously very sincere tributes too,

:09:30. > :09:33.only just before, so that would have had a stilling effect any way, a

:09:34. > :09:36.subduing effect on the House of Commons. Ed Miliband looked

:09:37. > :09:41.emotional about it. He is a colleague, a friend, so I think that

:09:42. > :09:44.would have had an effect. But I think there is something more going

:09:45. > :09:48.on. I know that Ed Miliband was beginning to believe that Prime

:09:49. > :09:52.Minister's Questions had got out of control, it was a shouting match, on

:09:53. > :09:57.the rare occasion I am not here and in the gallery of the Mc, you can

:09:58. > :10:01.scarcely hear a single word. Occasionally you will see MPs lean

:10:02. > :10:05.backwards, it is not because they are falling asleep. There is a

:10:06. > :10:10.speaker, for us it in the front of us, we have to lean forward, simply

:10:11. > :10:13.to hear what is being said through the microphones, and I think Ed

:10:14. > :10:17.Miliband took the view something needed to change, he could, think of

:10:18. > :10:24.all the things he could have done, he could have make jokes about the

:10:25. > :10:28.MP's hairdresser getting an MBE, he could have talked about cuts, he

:10:29. > :10:33.chose the serious issues and asked about them in a low-key way. One

:10:34. > :10:36.fascinating possibility, it is only a possibility, is has he talked to

:10:37. > :10:42.the Prime Minister about changing it. I am told that in the past, Neil

:10:43. > :10:45.Kinnock once talked to John Major about changing the tone of Question

:10:46. > :10:50.Time, that both sides would change it. They sort of agreed to disarm

:10:51. > :10:54.for a period. I am told it lasted for a matter of weeks rather than a

:10:55. > :10:58.great long stretch of months but they both fell felt it had got out

:10:59. > :11:03.of control. I have no evidence it has happened in this case but I know

:11:04. > :11:09.it was being discussed by some people in the office. The viewers

:11:10. > :11:14.noticed the more low-key subdued, and most of the reaccuse swhuns in

:11:15. > :11:17.favour of it, so David said a quiet House today. Wouldn't it be nice if

:11:18. > :11:22.they behaved in such a manner all the time. And that was backed up by

:11:23. > :11:26.Ken Norman in Hertfordshire, how refreshing to hear a sober debate

:11:27. > :11:30.without the shouting, and mud-slinging, more please. But, as

:11:31. > :11:35.always, there is somebody on the other side. Peter said how tedious

:11:36. > :11:41.it is when there is no punch up in the chamber between the leader, do

:11:42. > :11:45.try harder. Then this on Twitter. "I see Ed Miliband hasn't eaten his

:11:46. > :11:50.Christmas turkey as it is sitting next to him." Jean said David

:11:51. > :11:54.Cameron can't seem to accept he has been in power for nearly four years

:11:55. > :11:58.and takes no soant for anything, and even though Ed Miliband didn't raids

:11:59. > :12:02.it, one of our viewers on the subject of David Cameron's

:12:03. > :12:09.hairdresser who received that offer, his haircut wasn't worth ?90.

:12:10. > :12:14.Boom-boom! There maybe a danger for Labour in this, let me put this to

:12:15. > :12:18.you and get your reaction, Mr Ed Miliband asked questions on the

:12:19. > :12:23.floods, and on these betting terminals, in a very serious

:12:24. > :12:28.responsible way, and he got replies in a suitable vain from the Prime

:12:29. > :12:32.Minister. And that is Mr Miliband finished. Other Labour backbenchers

:12:33. > :12:37.stand up and ask more party political question, which allows the

:12:38. > :12:43.preponderance then to come back, party politics, take this, Labour

:12:44. > :12:49.are useless replies, and Mr Miliband has not had a shot at saying the

:12:50. > :12:53.Tories are useless. I maybe this low-key approach could skew PMQs in

:12:54. > :12:56.favour of the Prime Minister. I couldn't disagree more. It tend to

:12:57. > :13:00.suggest most of the country are watching and they are not. Of course

:13:01. > :13:03.they are it is the Daily Politics. No disrespect to this programme, we

:13:04. > :13:08.have a major problem in our country, with the way that party politics is

:13:09. > :13:14.regarded. I wrote a piece over the weekend. It is too tribal. It is

:13:15. > :13:18.adversarial and we need to address that, and that is one of the reasons

:13:19. > :13:22.why we are reforming the way our party work, this is a broader thing

:13:23. > :13:27.than you say the relationship between Labour and the trade union,

:13:28. > :13:31.this is how we recorrect people with politics, we have an issue in the

:13:32. > :13:37.media. I remember when I was Ed's Parliamentary private secretary.

:13:38. > :13:42.Which Ed? Ed Miliband. When we were coming back from about a bout of

:13:43. > :13:46.PMQs and Ed had done six questions on a Foreign Affairs issue, and we

:13:47. > :13:51.were stopped by a member of the lobby who said why did do you that?

:13:52. > :13:56.And you know, couldn't you have done three on that and three a bit more

:13:57. > :14:01.kind of knock about? And I lost it and said to the member of the lobby,

:14:02. > :14:04.for God's sake we have got, I have got constituents who are fighting,

:14:05. > :14:07.who have been sent over into theatre, in this situation, I am, I

:14:08. > :14:13.can't remember if it was Libya or Syria, one of the other, it may have

:14:14. > :14:17.been Afghanistan, and I said and this is what you think we should

:14:18. > :14:22.reduce PMQs too? You are complaining there is not enough knock about. You

:14:23. > :14:27.are complaining that it was too serious today? This is as much a an

:14:28. > :14:31.issue for us as the media as well. Because very often people will not

:14:32. > :14:34.for example put us on television programmes unless we are about to

:14:35. > :14:39.have a massive knock about on a particular issue. How do we know?

:14:40. > :14:44.You were not approached to appear on this programme on the basis you will

:14:45. > :14:48.bash him. I am not suggesting that is the case. Andrew, I am not

:14:49. > :14:53.suggesting that is always the case, you will have a discussion with the

:14:54. > :14:58.producers about what the point of view is. Maybe, maybe it isn't as

:14:59. > :15:02.good television as some of those texts and e-mails would suggest. I

:15:03. > :15:07.question what is the function of PMQs? I think if you were a Martian

:15:08. > :15:11.from outer space landing in the middle of it and saying, human, what

:15:12. > :15:17.is this about and they say this is how they scrutinise the leader of

:15:18. > :15:24.their country, they would be "What? " Think the sombreness had to do

:15:25. > :15:29.with the sad news of Paul Goggins. Also turn to Nick's.About the topics

:15:30. > :15:33.Ed raised. We know one of the most important ones is the economy, it

:15:34. > :15:37.will dominate politics right up until the election, we heard from Jo

:15:38. > :15:40.earlier, lots of good news continues to come in, I am not surprised Ed

:15:41. > :15:47.didn't want to raise the issue of the economy. He could have gone on

:15:48. > :15:50.12 billion welfare cuts. Because these are questions that the

:15:51. > :15:54.Conservatives still... What about the point of maybe having a, you

:15:55. > :15:58.know, it doesn't always have to be a massive knock about. Come on, the

:15:59. > :16:05.economy, people talk about the economy lots. We are running out of

:16:06. > :16:10.time. I have no doubt it is just about Paul Goggins. Ed Miliband had

:16:11. > :16:14.lots of successes, it wasn't like he didn't know how to make this system

:16:15. > :16:22.work, I I know he had got to a stage of thinking "I've had enough of

:16:23. > :16:31.this. Even shouts at each other." We have to move on. Maybe they could do

:16:32. > :16:34.more on Foreign Affairs. So many international issues round, not one

:16:35. > :16:40.was raised today. Nick, thank you, you are off to make

:16:41. > :16:52.another documentary? I am having a rest! I will be a pie salesman.

:16:53. > :16:56.Simple Simon met a pie man. Any way what do Oasis and Nora Batty have in

:16:57. > :17:04.common, they are great northern icon, it is it time for icons to

:17:05. > :17:07.call Pickfords and up sticks to a northern city? Patrick Diamond who

:17:08. > :17:18.is a Labour councillor thinks so, and here is his soapbox.

:17:19. > :17:37.What happens when you move national treasures north? Well, this.

:17:38. > :17:44.The BBC's decision to shift iconic programmes to Salford has helped

:17:45. > :17:49.transform the Manchester docks into a 200 acre MediaCity. It is

:17:50. > :17:54.providing facilities and space to over 100 small and medium size

:17:55. > :18:00.businesses as well as ITV and the BBC. Help stimulating a burgeon

:18:01. > :18:04.north-west economy. -- burgeoning.

:18:05. > :18:08.Evidence suggests that UK MediaCity is having a positive effect on the

:18:09. > :18:13.creative economy of the north-west of England. It is exactly the this

:18:14. > :18:15.approach, public investment stimulating private sector

:18:16. > :18:19.entrepreneurship that we need more of in Britain. We should be looking

:18:20. > :18:23.for ways of repeating this project in different parts of the country.

:18:24. > :18:27.If Britain is going to move beyond the economic crisis to sustainable

:18:28. > :18:33.economic recovery we need to take bold and brave decisions.

:18:34. > :18:37.Since the 2008 economic crisis, growth has been even more heavily

:18:38. > :18:42.skewed towards London and the south-east of England. But if the

:18:43. > :18:45.BBC can look north, why shouldn't other cultural institutions do the

:18:46. > :18:50.same? Like the Royal Opera House. Or what about the British Museum, which

:18:51. > :18:53.could develop a presence outside the capital city? What about the House

:18:54. > :18:59.of Lords? Which makes the laws for the whole of the UK, why shouldn't

:19:00. > :19:05.it develop a much stronger regional presence?

:19:06. > :19:12.If we are going to ensure a brighter future for the north of England and

:19:13. > :19:16.a sustain sbl economic recovery it is time to rebalance Britain. There

:19:17. > :19:19.is lots of people and businesses in the north are doing for themselves,

:19:20. > :19:22.but we need more investments and we need more leadership. It is time to

:19:23. > :19:29.get away from the London-centric approach, it is time to look north.

:19:30. > :19:33.Well Patrick Diamond has come South Today. What is the primary

:19:34. > :19:40.motivation here? Is it for cultural reasons? Is it sending a signal to

:19:41. > :19:44.region lice big institution? There is two issue, one is about economic,

:19:45. > :19:51.we know since the economic crisis and the recovery which is under way,

:19:52. > :19:54.actually our economy is becoming more regionally inbalanced and we

:19:55. > :20:01.need to address that urgently, but there is a genuine issue about the

:20:02. > :20:06.balance of cultural funding, we spend ?69 per resident compared to

:20:07. > :20:10.4.60 on residents in the rest of the country, that is a deeply inbalanced

:20:11. > :20:15.skewing away from the rest of the country. Tourists Weiss, when you

:20:16. > :20:20.think about a global capital like London, don't that just make sense

:20:21. > :20:23.in way? Of course, in relation to cultural institution like the Opera

:20:24. > :20:26.House there will be some orientation to London, I accept that, but the

:20:27. > :20:31.question is about balance. I think that in the UK our economy and

:20:32. > :20:35.issues like the funding of cultural institutions have become too

:20:36. > :20:39.inbalanced and the question I want to explore is how can we address

:20:40. > :20:42.that to make it fair tore the rest of the UK. In you were running the

:20:43. > :20:46.Royal Opera House and you had to walk in and say guys, we have

:20:47. > :20:50.decided we are going to move up to Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, where

:20:51. > :20:55.ever it is, you would be prepared do that and feel it would happen

:20:56. > :20:59.easily, because these thins are not taken lightly. There are issues

:21:00. > :21:02.about the transition. I wouldn't want the Royal Opera House the leave

:21:03. > :21:06.London all together but there was a proposal to establish an Opera House

:21:07. > :21:09.in Manchester, it didn't come to fruition but it was a very good idea

:21:10. > :21:13.and it is something we should be looking to do in the future. If you

:21:14. > :21:19.look at the example of MediaCity in Salford, look at what it is doing,

:21:20. > :21:23.there are more than 100 small and medium size businesses, there is a

:21:24. > :21:26.burgeoning sector in the north-west. This is something we should be

:21:27. > :21:29.looking to encourage. Briefly, most people moved or a lot of people

:21:30. > :21:36.moved up there, how many jobs were created for people who lived in the

:21:37. > :21:39.local yaefr? There are issues about how the move was done. But it

:21:40. > :21:44.doesn't take away from the basic issue how can we use public

:21:45. > :21:51.investment to stimulate private sector end en-- entrepreneurship. Is

:21:52. > :21:54.London the be-all-and-end-all? Isn't even everything policically geared

:21:55. > :21:59.to making London that is the cash cow that is supposed to feed the

:22:00. > :22:02.rest of the country. It is significant and it will remain that

:22:03. > :22:08.way. Doesn't policy make it that way. But the pies racing an

:22:09. > :22:13.important issue. I was born in Rochdale, and I care very deeply

:22:14. > :22:17.about the whole north, and the issues, and they exist, so

:22:18. > :22:20.questions, how do we deal with it? One point important is Patrick said

:22:21. > :22:25.the situation got worse after the recession, the truth of it is this

:22:26. > :22:31.is something that Labour didn't address during their time in office.

:22:32. > :22:36.The situation got worse, including during the boom years. If you look

:22:37. > :22:40.at job, according to the ONS during Labour's period in office, for every

:22:41. > :22:45.ten jobs generated in the south there was only one job generated in

:22:46. > :22:49.the north. That may be -- made the inbalance much worse. Since then

:22:50. > :22:53.employment in the north is up by more than 200 thousand, it is up in

:22:54. > :22:59.every region, unemployment is down and we are using public money

:23:00. > :23:04.sensibly where we can to help generate jobs. Let me say two

:23:05. > :23:09.things, we should be careful. It is not just imbalances, it is within

:23:10. > :23:13.regions as well. Look at the disparity between areas in London.

:23:14. > :23:18.Secondly wro, can do the knock about, it is ridiculous to say we

:23:19. > :23:24.didn't do anything to push power down and out. Just a moment, we set

:23:25. > :23:27.up the Rio de Janeiro, on the whole well regarded, Lord Heseltine said

:23:28. > :23:31.it was a mistake for the Government to establish it. I think the move of

:23:32. > :23:36.the BBC is good. I am surprised you didn't mention what Vince Cable has

:23:37. > :23:41.done the investment bank in Edinburgh, those are good things but

:23:42. > :23:44.the local enterprise partnerships which are the main vehicle that the

:23:45. > :23:47.Government has put in place have been totesly insufficient, because

:23:48. > :23:58.they haven't been given appropriate budget or the power to help us deal

:23:59. > :24:01.with its. What would you move up to a northern city from London? It is

:24:02. > :24:05.not a question of moving jobs from one part of the sector to another.

:24:06. > :24:09.We need to be more ambitious and creative and the private sector is a

:24:10. > :24:14.key part. The issue is about how we use public investment.

:24:15. > :24:17.We are going to talk about political slogans. Before we do, have a look

:24:18. > :24:28.at this. # Everybody's talking at me. #

:24:29. > :24:31.Out in the "big society" is an enormous opportunity. What I have

:24:32. > :24:36.tried to set out with "one nation" a clear sense of where Britain will

:24:37. > :24:40.go. The Chancellor is going too far and too fast. Jobs are up.

:24:41. > :24:46.Construction is up. Manufacturing is up. Cutting too far and too fast. We

:24:47. > :24:53.are in a global race today. No-one owes us a living. Cost of living

:24:54. > :24:57.crisis. It is Labour that wrecks our economy. It is we Conservatives who

:24:58. > :25:05.clear it up! We are Britain. We are better than this.

:25:06. > :25:14.We are joined by Simon Danczuk, Labour MP. He said he's had enough

:25:15. > :25:22.of these phrases. What brought you to this? I was talking about all

:25:23. > :25:26.political parties. There is too many soundbites in politics. I am trying

:25:27. > :25:28.to do good public service. I am trying to save the public from

:25:29. > :25:34.having to listen to all this stuff. It is what people tell me on the

:25:35. > :25:43.street. Sajid is from Rochdale, if he knocked on doors saying, "We are

:25:44. > :25:57.all in this together," he would get short shrift. It reached a low point

:25:58. > :26:01.on the One Nation one. One Nation is a great concept. It is a concept -

:26:02. > :26:09.they should use it as a concept rather than a slogan. What do you

:26:10. > :26:12.say to him? There are times, particularly around 2001, when the

:26:13. > :26:22.height of so-called control freakery, where people became

:26:23. > :26:30.automotons. I don't think there's anything... Are you going to let me

:26:31. > :26:34.get a word in? You are speaking far too fast! Very good. I don't think

:26:35. > :26:37.there is anything wrong with slogans per se. If you crowbar it into

:26:38. > :26:41.everything and don't back it up with policy, that is a problem. We have

:26:42. > :26:45.backed it up with policy. It is not that kind of... See how much of

:26:46. > :26:52.these phrases - fill in the missing word. Labour isn't? Working. New

:26:53. > :26:58.Labour New? New Britain. No, New Labour, New Danger. Britain

:26:59. > :27:07.deserves? Better. Are you what we are thinking? Thinking what we are

:27:08. > :27:16.thinking? I agree with? Nick! Maggie, Maggie, Maggie... ? Out,

:27:17. > :27:25.out, out. Never had it... ? So good. Who was that? McMillan. What year?

:27:26. > :27:33.'64? No, '57. Alarm clock Britain from Nick Clegg. That did not...

:27:34. > :27:37.Only because it was so bad. I have a fear, I don't think you will win.

:27:38. > :27:43.Right. They love these phrases. You think so? Yes. A few of them were

:27:44. > :27:48.used in PMQs today. Sajid, someone has written in to say you used

:27:49. > :27:56."tough decisions" at least twice. I do like that. In the north South

:27:57. > :28:01.piece, Chuka Umunna could have said "One Nation" and he didn't. You guys

:28:02. > :28:07.are keeping a tally. Here is the tally. LAUGHTER You will thank me

:28:08. > :28:11.for interrupting you now. Sajid had three slogans repeated in the course

:28:12. > :28:21.of the show. You, Chuka Umunna, had none! You get the Daily Politics

:28:22. > :28:25.mug. Another one! Two more and you have the full set! Good luck in your

:28:26. > :28:28.campaign. You can have a mug, too! Because you raised a good point.

:28:29. > :28:37.Time to put you out of your misery and give you the answer to Guess The

:28:38. > :28:43.Year. 1976 was the answer. Callaghan took over as Prime Minister from

:28:44. > :28:46.Wilson. The winner is? John Whitby in Cornwall. Hope you haven't been

:28:47. > :28:50.flooded out down there. That is it. We thank all our guests. The One

:28:51. > :28:54.O'Clock News is starting on BBC One. We will be back tomorrow at noon

:28:55. > :28:56.with the Daily Politics. From all of us here, bye-bye.