:00:38. > :00:43.Morning folks, welcome to the Daily Politics. Employment up, the pound
:00:44. > :00:47.up, growth returning. Is the recovery well and truly under way?
:00:48. > :00:50.With more good news on the economy ministers are straining not to sound
:00:51. > :00:59.complacent. But where does it leave Labour?
:01:00. > :01:02.All good material for Prime Ministers' Questions - we'll have
:01:03. > :01:05.the action live at midday. What's more important, building new
:01:06. > :01:09.houses, or protecting our green and pleasant land? Survival expert Ray
:01:10. > :01:11.Mears will be here to tell us why the green belt is one of our great
:01:12. > :01:15.national treasures. And she's made a splash with her
:01:16. > :01:20.appearance on a popular TV show. But do politicians and reality
:01:21. > :01:27.television really mix? All that in the next 90 minutes of
:01:28. > :01:30.television gold. And with me for this marathon of public service
:01:31. > :01:38.broadcasting are two giants of the political stage: Matthew Hancock,
:01:39. > :01:51.Minister for Skills and Enterprise, and Maria Eagle, the Shadow
:01:52. > :01:57.Environment Secretary. Hancock and Eagle, it sounds like a
:01:58. > :02:01.detective series. I like it. Welcome to the show. First this morning,
:02:02. > :02:08.let's get the latest on the row about Lord Rennard.
:02:09. > :02:12.Yes, Liberal Democrat peers are to meet for the first time today since
:02:13. > :02:14.the row over Lord Rennard's future with the party began. Lord Rennard
:02:15. > :02:17.had his party membership temporarily suspended after he refused to
:02:18. > :02:21.apologise over claims he sexually harassed female party members. The
:02:22. > :02:25.peer, who denies the claims, has threatened to take legal action over
:02:26. > :02:29.his suspension. Speaking this morning on his regular phone-in on
:02:30. > :02:37.LBC radio the Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, admitted the party had not
:02:38. > :02:44.handled it well. I actually think the way we handled at last year was
:02:45. > :02:50.not great, it wasn't ideal. And, more than that, looking much further
:02:51. > :02:58.back, it is quite clear that when the women were first caused these
:02:59. > :03:02.distress many years ago, the party did not react, the alarm bells did
:03:03. > :03:09.not go off and there were not the procedures. I've apologised in
:03:10. > :03:17.person and public. But you were made aware of it into 1008 -- in 2008.
:03:18. > :03:25.This has been around for the best part of six years. It's not great
:03:26. > :03:30.leadership, is it? Well, as I said, the party clearly did not respond in
:03:31. > :03:39.the right way. Neither did you. You keep saying, the party. I take
:03:40. > :03:44.responsibility, I've apologised. Bet he's really glad he's doing a radio
:03:45. > :03:47.show! We're joined now from Brussels by
:03:48. > :03:52.Chris Davies who's Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament
:03:53. > :03:56.and a supporter of Lord Rennard. Welcome to the show. I understand
:03:57. > :04:01.that although URA supporter, you don't think he should be taking
:04:02. > :04:07.legal action, is that correct? I think he will probably win his legal
:04:08. > :04:10.action. The party has failed to carry out its own procedures
:04:11. > :04:16.properly and could therefore be forced to reinstate Chris as a party
:04:17. > :04:21.member. The Lords could then invited to join the group. But I don't think
:04:22. > :04:26.any of this will help. The reality is, the party is deeply divided.
:04:27. > :04:31.There is clearly no meeting of minds and people seem to be taking
:04:32. > :04:41.entrenched positions. Whatever the rights and wrongs, it will solve
:04:42. > :04:50.nothing any sense. Have you put that point to Chris Rennard? That is very
:04:51. > :04:54.difficult to answer. He is in a position of enormous pressure. I
:04:55. > :04:58.don't know how Batman has survived the amount of media pressure. That
:04:59. > :05:06.is why I tried to put it into context. -- how that man. Even if
:05:07. > :05:12.the crimes and allegations did take place, and he denies that, this is
:05:13. > :05:15.not an evil man in any sense. He is not Jimmy Savile. What I want to say
:05:16. > :05:19.most of all is people are talking generally about the idea of
:05:20. > :05:26.mediation, but I don't think anyone has put on the table any practical
:05:27. > :05:29.solutions. It seems to me there should be mediation. Obviously, be
:05:30. > :05:32.involved parties have two agree to that. They need to be some
:05:33. > :05:40.independent mediators, people with an objective position. For example,
:05:41. > :05:50.the MP who helped negotiate the coalition agreement. Respected
:05:51. > :06:00.people by all sides. And it needs to be hosted bats outside London,
:06:01. > :06:10.weight from the hothouse, held in private, no lawyers and kept secret
:06:11. > :06:19.until the risen agreement. -- until there is an agreement. You say he is
:06:20. > :06:28.not Jimmy Savile but at the very least this is Benny Hill. One party
:06:29. > :06:43.member has said the party is in danger of a bloodbath. Perhaps now
:06:44. > :06:49.the party is the most -- is most dangerously and object of ridicule.
:06:50. > :06:58.Yes, only the Lib Dems could have a sex scandal without any sex. We need
:06:59. > :07:05.to find a meeting of minds. This is a family. We are a relatively small
:07:06. > :07:08.family, lots of individuals concerned are making commentary, we
:07:09. > :07:13.all know each other and like each other. We have our fallouts, but by
:07:14. > :07:20.and large we like each other, and this division is very painful. Just
:07:21. > :07:26.to clarify, you are not putting yourself up as the leader of the
:07:27. > :07:31.Italian bottom pinching party? Yes, I'm grateful for that. That was a
:07:32. > :07:36.remark I made on a live interview and of course I don't in any way
:07:37. > :07:46.sanction behaviour which can be regarded as offensive. It's just
:07:47. > :07:49.unacceptable, of course. I'd been talking to Chris Rennard and I know
:07:50. > :07:54.the pain he's been going through. And because it is talk about sex
:07:55. > :07:59.scandals, people think it is like Jimmy Savile, they think it is like
:08:00. > :08:05.rape. It is nothing to do with that. We need a sense of proportion.
:08:06. > :08:15.However inappropriate the comments I made, I did not mean to cause
:08:16. > :08:22.offence. When you look at this, is it hard to avoid a sense of
:08:23. > :08:29.enjoyment at their misfortune? Or is it more there but for the grace of
:08:30. > :08:35.God? Well, I cannot comment on this particular case, of course, but it
:08:36. > :08:40.does bring to light a wider issue for politics. When women make these
:08:41. > :08:44.kinds of allegations in a work context, they have to be taken
:08:45. > :08:47.seriously. There has to be a process established in which they can have
:08:48. > :08:55.confidence to come forward and set out what has happened to them. There
:08:56. > :08:58.has to be a way of resolving it. For about six or seven years, these
:08:59. > :09:03.allegations were known at the top of the Lib Dem party and there was no
:09:04. > :09:06.process that had the confidence of the women. And we see the
:09:07. > :09:14.consequences of that failure of leadership in the Lib Dem party.
:09:15. > :09:17.Let's leave it there. Nicky Morgan might not yet be a
:09:18. > :09:20.household name, but in Conservative circles she is tipped as a rising
:09:21. > :09:24.star. She's currently a junior minister in the Treasury, but it's
:09:25. > :09:27.not for economic reasons that she has hit the headlines today.
:09:28. > :09:30.Speaking at an event organised by a Conservative think tank yesterday
:09:31. > :09:33.she said the party's message must contain less "hate" if it is to win
:09:34. > :09:36.the next election. She said the party need a "positive long-term
:09:37. > :09:49.plan" instead of talking about what they were against all the time. Is
:09:50. > :09:52.she right? I absolutely think that we'd not only got but should talk as
:09:53. > :10:00.much as possible about the positive plan. She doesn't think that. She
:10:01. > :10:04.thinks we're anti this and anti-that, we don't like them, we
:10:05. > :10:09.don't want them here. She says people are prostrated with that. She
:10:10. > :10:18.is talking about immigration, the debate around benefits and the EU.
:10:19. > :10:24.-- frustrated with that. I think we do have a positive vision and I
:10:25. > :10:28.agree that we need to go out and talk about it. Look at the
:10:29. > :10:33.unemployment figures this morning. Employment rose at the fastest rate
:10:34. > :10:37.on record. It is a fantastic part of the record of this Government, and I
:10:38. > :10:43.think that our forward-looking plans at the election need to be positive
:10:44. > :10:46.as well. The easy way to make them positive is to talk about what we've
:10:47. > :10:52.achieved in turning round the economy so far. It is not complete,
:10:53. > :10:59.and it is at risk if others come in and reverse some of the decisions.
:11:00. > :11:03.But there is a great chance for this country by insuring we have stronger
:11:04. > :11:06.economy and education, more secure personal finances. There is a
:11:07. > :11:13.fairness argument as well about making sure people who work hard and
:11:14. > :11:18.do well. Nicky Morgan is a colleague of view, she is in the Treasury say
:11:19. > :11:23.you would think she would be feeling the good news. But she is not. Issue
:11:24. > :11:39.reflecting our knees among a number of Tory MPs who feel the atmosphere
:11:40. > :11:52.is negative? -- is she reflecting unease? Well, she had the argument,
:11:53. > :11:56.here is the positive message that we need to sell. And I agree. Except
:11:57. > :12:00.she says that we never say we're on the side of these people. We want
:12:01. > :12:05.the stab in and we think this is great. She says that you never say
:12:06. > :12:11.that. Well, I say it all the time. Maybe you should report it more. The
:12:12. > :12:13.positive message is absolutely mission-critical. But positive
:12:14. > :12:17.messages are also about fairness, making sure the system is fair to
:12:18. > :12:22.those who do the right thing. That is a positive message. I think it is
:12:23. > :12:31.reasonable to be against something is. I am against more borrowing and
:12:32. > :12:34.removing the programme of living within our means that has helped to
:12:35. > :12:43.turn the economy around and lead to the positive news. Do you think even
:12:44. > :12:47.know it has been popular with the public, you are focused too much on
:12:48. > :12:52.immigration, benefit cheats, as you have described them - as has the
:12:53. > :13:03.Labour Party, to - and the negatives of the youth? -- the EU. I don't
:13:04. > :13:15.think I ever ever described them as benefit cheats. Not you, but your
:13:16. > :13:18.party. The great thing about turning the economy around is that a
:13:19. > :13:22.positive message is absolutely going to be there because things are
:13:23. > :13:25.starting to move in the right of action. Not that the job is done or
:13:26. > :13:29.that we're there, but that things are moving in the right direction.
:13:30. > :13:34.That inevitably leads to a positive message about family finances,
:13:35. > :13:38.security, the number of jobs, record numbers of jobs in the economy, and
:13:39. > :13:41.making sure we have a system that is fair for people who do the right
:13:42. > :13:46.thing. So we will hear a different tone, and that is what your
:13:47. > :13:50.colleague is saying. She is warning the Tories that they need to attract
:13:51. > :13:55.the aspirational voters who voted for Tony Blair. She thinks you are
:13:56. > :14:06.failing to do that. Well, we could always do more. This is what debates
:14:07. > :14:12.within parties are about. It is by Chile important -- vitally important
:14:13. > :14:17.to make sure we have a positive message. It has to be balanced and
:14:18. > :14:20.reasonable, but I think you can still talk about making sure the
:14:21. > :14:31.system is fair to people who do the right thing within that positive,
:14:32. > :14:36.balanced message. That's enough positivity!
:14:37. > :14:40.Now, more good news on the economy this morning - there's been another
:14:41. > :14:45.sharp fall in the number of people out work. It's a bigger fall than
:14:46. > :14:48.analysts were expecting. The news pushed up the value of the pound,
:14:49. > :14:52.which rose about half a percentage point against the euro. Yesterday,
:14:53. > :14:57.the International Monetary Fund said the UK would be the fastest growing
:14:58. > :15:00.economy in Europe this year. So, should we popping open the
:15:01. > :15:09.Champagne? Or are there pitfalls ahead? Jo Co has the details.
:15:10. > :15:13.Another day and another round of good economic news for the
:15:14. > :15:17.Government. The latest figures show unemployment has fallen again, it's
:15:18. > :15:21.now down to 7.1%, which is on the brink of the 7% point at which the
:15:22. > :15:25.Bank of England said they would consider raising interest rates.
:15:26. > :15:28.They thought that would take until 2016, but with the economy looking
:15:29. > :15:31.stronger we're almost there already. Yesterday's IMF forecast predicted
:15:32. > :15:36.the UK will grow faster than any other major European economy. It now
:15:37. > :15:41.expects growth of 2.4% this year, in line with the Office for Budget
:15:42. > :15:44.Responsibility's own forecasts. And having once accused George Osborne
:15:45. > :15:55.of playing with fire for sticking with austerity, the IMF chief
:15:56. > :16:01.economist had to eat his words. Nobody thought that consumers would
:16:02. > :16:07.go on a spending spree. So at the time it looked risky. Now in
:16:08. > :16:14.retrospect, at the time we didn't know. It was a reasonable call. The
:16:15. > :16:16.world's leading economic decision-makers and thinkers are
:16:17. > :16:20.gathering in the Swiss resort of Davos for the annual World Economic
:16:21. > :16:23.Forum. Jeremy Warner is among them, he's the Assistant Editor of the
:16:24. > :16:29.Daily Telegraph and writes about business and economics. UK growth
:16:30. > :16:35.forecast now revised significantly upwards to about 2.4% by the IMF,
:16:36. > :16:40.steady stream of good economic news. Is the recovery sustainable or is it
:16:41. > :16:47.just built on consumer spending and a growing housing bubble? As you can
:16:48. > :16:53.see, it's a beautiful Alpine day out here in Davos. It seems to be
:16:54. > :16:57.somewhat in tune with the mood of this meeting. There's a lot more
:16:58. > :17:01.optimism of an business leaders and thinkers out here this year, and
:17:02. > :17:09.particularly among the quite sizeable British contingent here.
:17:10. > :17:13.That said, there is a certain lack of, well, here we've got a bit of
:17:14. > :17:19.growth going again, the financial crisis seems to finally be behind
:17:20. > :17:24.us, but where do we go from here? There's a sort of absence of a big,
:17:25. > :17:31.new idea to galvanise business investment and really start to get
:17:32. > :17:38.the sinews of the economy working properly again. As you were just
:17:39. > :17:47.alluding to, we have a recovery but it is very much based on the old
:17:48. > :17:52.precrisis sort of growth. Rising house prices, increased consumption,
:17:53. > :17:57.we've got a widening current-account deficit again, we are spending far
:17:58. > :18:02.more than we are earning abroad, and so on and so forth. So there is that
:18:03. > :18:05.worry on the horizon that it's just not a sustainable thing. That
:18:06. > :18:12.reflects very much an international concern. We've got a bit of growth
:18:13. > :18:15.going back in Western economies, but is it really enough to get
:18:16. > :18:21.businesses investing again? The other side of this are the interest
:18:22. > :18:25.rate. The Bank of England governor may be putting himself as a hostage
:18:26. > :18:30.to fortune, Mark Carney said once unemployment levels came down to 7%,
:18:31. > :18:34.they would look at raising interest rates. Well, we are almost there. Is
:18:35. > :18:40.there any chance that there's going to be a rate rise before the
:18:41. > :18:45.election in 2015? I think it's pretty unlikely. They are going to
:18:46. > :18:49.have to do in some way recalibrate this forward guidance because, as
:18:50. > :18:52.you say, it looks as though the employment threshold is going to be
:18:53. > :18:59.met very quickly, possibly in the next few months. But Mark Carney is
:19:00. > :19:04.on record as believing that interest rates really do need to stay low for
:19:05. > :19:09.a long time, to underpin this recovery. I disagree with this
:19:10. > :19:14.stance. I think a small rise in interest rates now is absolutely
:19:15. > :19:22.necessary to take the heat out of what is plainly another nascent
:19:23. > :19:26.housing boom, housing bubble. And good people pause for thought about
:19:27. > :19:31.how much they are borrowing. We've only just come off the top of very
:19:32. > :19:41.high levels of household borrowing. They've only just started to come
:19:42. > :20:01.down. Now here we go again. Have a look at this graph.
:20:02. > :20:08.Labour used to talk about double-dip and triple dip, Ed Balls was on
:20:09. > :20:11.about flat-lining. These are the official figures. You were wrong on
:20:12. > :20:17.all accounts. The economy hasn't even been flat-lining since 2010. I
:20:18. > :20:21.don't think we've seen the growth that we would have anticipated.
:20:22. > :20:26.That's different. Be returned to growth we are seeing at the figures
:20:27. > :20:31.yesterday is entirely welcome, but I think we need to focus on who is
:20:32. > :20:36.benefiting from this growth. Your narrative for so long was not that
:20:37. > :20:41.there was growth but not enough, or not that there was growth but it was
:20:42. > :20:45.the wrong sort. Your party's narrative has been flat-lining, no
:20:46. > :20:49.growth at all. That child quite clearly shows you would just wrong.
:20:50. > :20:53.Look, there have been some revisions to statistics as we've gone along,
:20:54. > :21:03.which is always the case, statistics are revised... How far down did the
:21:04. > :21:07.economy go? There's no doubt of that fact that we have not grown to the
:21:08. > :21:12.extent we would have wished, that growth was choked off when the
:21:13. > :21:16.current Government came into office. Now I think it is entirely positive
:21:17. > :21:20.and good that we are seeing growth back in our economy. But I think we
:21:21. > :21:27.need to ask you is going to benefit from the economic... And, you know,
:21:28. > :21:30.the average person is ?1600 a year worse off. Living standards have
:21:31. > :21:34.been really hit during this period. I think we need to focus on the
:21:35. > :21:39.future on trying to make sure that everybody benefits from the
:21:40. > :21:43.growth... The return to growth in the economy that we are now starting
:21:44. > :21:48.to see. I just wonder where labour's narrative goes from here.
:21:49. > :21:52.To begin with, if the Government stuck to its plan that would be no
:21:53. > :21:56.growth. The Government sticks to its plan, there is growth. The growth is
:21:57. > :22:00.now accelerating. Then you said that there is growth but people are in a
:22:01. > :22:04.cost of living crisis, certainly a squeeze. But it could be that quite
:22:05. > :22:09.soon wages are going to overtake prices. So when cost of living is no
:22:10. > :22:12.longer a crisis, where do you go next? I don't think it is true to
:22:13. > :22:18.say, and the unemployment figures today showed that real wages are
:22:19. > :22:26.still rising at only half the level of prices. So we're not at the
:22:27. > :22:30.stage... I didn't say that. The productions Arteta will happen. I
:22:31. > :22:34.hope that it does. But the reality that people are still ?1600 a year
:22:35. > :22:37.worse off. By the end of this Parliament people are going to be
:22:38. > :22:45.absolutely worse off than they were at the beginning of it. You've said
:22:46. > :22:48.that figure of ?6,000 twice. Can we just agree that that's comparing
:22:49. > :22:52.only prices and wages, it doesn't take into account people coming out
:22:53. > :22:58.of tax altogether and other things that have mitigated it? It's a wage
:22:59. > :23:02.price comparison. It's a real terms figure, though. But it's not the
:23:03. > :23:07.whole story. You can never encapsulates the entire story in one
:23:08. > :23:12.figure, you know that will stop people are going to be worse off at
:23:13. > :23:18.the end of this Parliament than they were at the beginning. If Matthew
:23:19. > :23:21.Hancock and the Government think that real wages overtaking prices
:23:22. > :23:26.again towards the end of this year, which we hope they will and you
:23:27. > :23:30.start seeing an easing in that cost of living crisis, if they think
:23:31. > :23:34.that's going to be enough to satisfy people, I think they are out of
:23:35. > :23:39.touch. Although these unemployment figures are very good, they are good
:23:40. > :23:43.across all regions. It is mainly a rise in full-time appointment as
:23:44. > :23:48.well, not part-time jobs, which a lot of critics have been saying. But
:23:49. > :23:54.wages are rising by less than 1% and prices are rising twice as fast.
:23:55. > :24:01.People's incomes are still being squeezed. As Maria says, it is great
:24:02. > :24:04.news that the economy is recovering. The largest rise in
:24:05. > :24:11.employment in the history of this measure, which goes back to 1970.
:24:12. > :24:16.This is good. What about the living standards? On average earnings, that
:24:17. > :24:20.figure is a pre-tax figure. As you've said, we've cut taxes
:24:21. > :24:24.especially for the low-paid, by raising the tax threshold. And also
:24:25. > :24:28.it doesn't take into account things like we've kept mortgage rates low
:24:29. > :24:34.mortgage rates have been falling, which for many families has a big
:24:35. > :24:40.impact on their cost of living. One of the things I entirely agree with
:24:41. > :24:45.Maria on is that as this growth, we hope, in trenches, we've got to make
:24:46. > :24:49.sure that everybody benefits, and we've got to make sure that it keeps
:24:50. > :24:53.going and that it's sustainable. The idea that just because growth is
:24:54. > :24:58.going and the business leaders at Davos are saying they've got more
:24:59. > :25:03.confidence, the idea that the job is done is absurd. There is far more to
:25:04. > :25:10.do. After all, why are we here? Why am I, Asllani economist, in
:25:11. > :25:14.politics? It is to improve people 's living standards and prosperity. One
:25:15. > :25:18.swallow doesn't make a summer. It certainly doesn't. One swallow that
:25:19. > :25:21.is yet to appear is an improvement in the long-term unemployed. In
:25:22. > :25:27.fact, they are getting worse. 449,000, almost half a million
:25:28. > :25:34.people, have been unemployed for over two years. That rose by 14,000.
:25:35. > :25:38.Making sure that... I thought you were reforming welfare and taking
:25:39. > :25:42.jobs to these people you've not had jobs for a long time. Absolutely,
:25:43. > :25:47.and dealing with this is crucial. One reason that -- instead of
:25:48. > :25:50.putting people onto incapacity benefits and hiding them from the an
:25:51. > :25:54.appointment figures, we are now putting people back into jobseeker's
:25:55. > :25:58.allowance. For instance, the new Deal under Labour, which we got rid
:25:59. > :26:02.of, said that as soon as you were on the programme you came off the
:26:03. > :26:05.employment figures. Whereas our Work Programme is very clear that when
:26:06. > :26:08.you are on the programme you stay in the employment figures. In a way,
:26:09. > :26:12.we're taking off some of the massaging that has been done by
:26:13. > :26:20.governments of all colours. Whatever statistical table you put them in,
:26:21. > :26:24.they are unemployed. Do I want to get that number down? Of course I
:26:25. > :26:27.do. One of the most satisfying part of the unemployment figures is that
:26:28. > :26:32.youth unemployment is down 39,000. That has been far too high for far
:26:33. > :26:36.too long. There is much more we need to do. I think we will probably come
:26:37. > :26:42.back to the economy after Prime Minister's Questions. Who knows, it
:26:43. > :26:47.may come up! You will win a Daily Politics mug if you are right! Do
:26:48. > :26:53.you want to get your hands on one of these? It is Guess the Year. We will
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:26:55. > :27:25.this happened. MUSIC: "The Real Thing" by Tony de
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:28:36. > :28:41.It's coming up to midday here, just take a look at Big Ben, and that can
:28:42. > :28:44.mean only one thing. Yes, Prime Minister's Questions is on its way.
:28:45. > :28:46.If you'd like to comment on proceedings you can email us at
:28:47. > :28:53.daily.politics@bbc.co.uk or tweet your thoughts using the #bbcdp.
:28:54. > :28:54.We'll read some out after PMQs. And that's not all, Nick Robinson is
:28:55. > :29:29.here. Sponge Bob Square pants was on. It
:29:30. > :29:35.went viral, that story. I thought I would have some foreign ambassador
:29:36. > :29:43.saying it to me! Also, he was French! A tricky one for Ed Miliband
:29:44. > :29:49.today. The economy is the big issue, but how does he do it? In one sense
:29:50. > :29:52.it's not tricky because if you didn't do it the Prime Minister
:29:53. > :30:01.would just laugh at him. He has to do it. We will get the debate you've
:30:02. > :30:05.just had. You by the coalition's view that it's beginning to go in
:30:06. > :30:09.the right direction, not there yet, says Matt Hancock, or do you buy the
:30:10. > :30:13.Labour Party's view that, though, for most people it's not there. It
:30:14. > :30:15.could be that both things are true and the electorate has to weigh up
:30:16. > :30:20.the balance between some better economic news and that they are in
:30:21. > :30:21.their own purses and wallets, millions of people are not feeling
:30:22. > :31:15.it at all. Of course, we are not there yet.
:31:16. > :32:22.Lord Rennard, any developments there?
:32:23. > :32:37.I am sure the whole House will want me to send my commiserations to the
:32:38. > :32:47.soldiers who died. They had given so much time to troubled regions across
:32:48. > :32:51.the world. This morning I had meetings and in addition to duties
:32:52. > :33:03.in the House I will have extra meetings. I would like to associate
:33:04. > :33:06.myself with" is expressed. The trust supports the fast-growing network of
:33:07. > :33:12.church -based food banks which between them provided food for half
:33:13. > :33:17.a million people between April and December last year. With the Prime
:33:18. > :33:20.Minister be willing to meet with representatives of the trust to
:33:21. > :33:31.discuss with them the big challenges. I would be happy to meet
:33:32. > :33:35.with them. We have listened carefully to be Trussell Trust. One
:33:36. > :33:39.thing they wanted was to allow food banks to be promoted in job centres.
:33:40. > :33:43.We've allowed that to happen and it has increased the use of food banks,
:33:44. > :33:54.but I think it is important to do the right thing. The Prime Minister
:33:55. > :33:59.is aware of the tragic case of a two-year-old boy taken to an urgent
:34:00. > :34:02.care centre at 3am for the emergency care he needed. Despite the best
:34:03. > :34:07.efforts of a senior nurse and the paramedics who took him, he was
:34:08. > :34:11.tragically pronounced dead at 4am. I know we cannot comment on the case
:34:12. > :34:23.until a full report is published, but does he agree that the effect is
:34:24. > :34:31.that we are asking people where to go for help at moments of great
:34:32. > :34:36.personal stress? We must do more to explain the choice to help them
:34:37. > :34:39.decide. Will he meet with me on publication of the report to see if
:34:40. > :34:44.there are lessons that can be learned? I'm happy to meet with my
:34:45. > :34:49.honourable friend. This is an absolutely tragic case. I offer my
:34:50. > :34:53.deepest sympathies to the family. Anyone who is taking a desperately
:34:54. > :34:58.ill child to hospital in the night knows what an incredibly desperate
:34:59. > :35:03.time that can be. I understand the hospital is carrying out a full and
:35:04. > :35:10.combines an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this poor
:35:11. > :35:13.child's death. We must ensure that everything is done to avoid these
:35:14. > :35:21.terrible incidents happening in future. Mr Speaker, I want to start
:35:22. > :35:27.by paying tribute to the two British nationals killed in a suicide bomb
:35:28. > :35:30.attack in Afghanistan. Simon Chase had served Britain in the army and
:35:31. > :35:40.my condolences go to all his family and friends. Del Singh was one of
:35:41. > :35:43.the most decent people you could ever hope to meet. He was on
:35:44. > :35:46.international development worker who dedicated his life to helping people
:35:47. > :35:56.across the world. We'll grieve with his family. These recent events are
:35:57. > :36:02.a reminder of the horror unfolding there. We all hope for significant
:36:03. > :36:06.progress from today's talks. Last month, a joint statement was made
:36:07. > :36:10.about the plight of Syrian refugees which welcomed the Government's
:36:11. > :36:14.leadership in terms of the aid programme. The UN high commission of
:36:15. > :36:18.refugees has also called on Britain to be part of a programme to help
:36:19. > :36:23.resettle a small number of the most vulnerable refugees. 18 countries
:36:24. > :36:26.are part of that programme. Britain is not so far among them. Doesn't
:36:27. > :36:37.the Prime Minister agree that we should be? Firstly, may I completely
:36:38. > :36:41.agree about how terrible the allegations of torture are in that
:36:42. > :36:45.country? I think we are fulfilling our moral obligations to the people
:36:46. > :36:50.of Syria. We are the second largest bilateral aid donor. The money that
:36:51. > :36:54.British taxpayers are providing is providing food, shelter, water and
:36:55. > :36:59.medicine for literally hundreds of thousands of people. We are also
:37:00. > :37:03.fulfilling all our obligations in terms of asylum seekers. We've taken
:37:04. > :37:08.over 1000 asylum seekers from Syria in recent months. We are making sure
:37:09. > :37:12.that where we can help very vulnerable children who are ill,
:37:13. > :37:17.including a child in a British hospital today, we take action now
:37:18. > :37:23.as well. I don't believe you can solve a refugee crisis of this scale
:37:24. > :37:28.when you've got almost half of the 9 million population of Syria either
:37:29. > :37:32.displaced or at risk of displacement with a quota system where countries
:37:33. > :37:36.are taking a few hundred refugees. But where I do agree with him is
:37:37. > :37:40.that, if there are very difficult cases of people who don't belong in
:37:41. > :37:45.refugee camps, who then either disabled by these dreadful attacks
:37:46. > :37:50.or in very different circumstances, I'm happy to look at that argument.
:37:51. > :37:58.Britain always plays the right role in these desperate Unitarian crisis.
:37:59. > :38:02.I thank the Prime Minister for that answer. Let me make a few points in
:38:03. > :38:07.reply because it is an important issue. Firstly, we are all agreed on
:38:08. > :38:11.the leadership that this Government has shown in relation to Syrian aid.
:38:12. > :38:14.I pay tribute to the International Development Secretary and others. On
:38:15. > :38:18.the point of asylum seekers, those are the people who have been able to
:38:19. > :38:23.get here. We're talking about people who are in refugee camps at the
:38:24. > :38:27.moment. On his point of whether this consult the problem, of course it
:38:28. > :38:30.can't. But the UN is talking about a small number of the most vulnerable
:38:31. > :38:36.people here, including children who've lost their parents and
:38:37. > :38:42.victims of torture. I was somewhat encouraged by the end of the
:38:43. > :38:46.promised a's answer on this. We are proud of our tradition of taking
:38:47. > :38:51.refugees. Why did you not really get theirs and say we will take a few
:38:52. > :38:58.hundred refugees and set an example's I don't actually think
:38:59. > :39:02.there is a disagreement between us. Let me explain. Some countries are
:39:03. > :39:07.using this quota system of a way of saying, therefore I have fulfilled
:39:08. > :39:11.my obligations. When you've got, as I say, almost half of a 9 million
:39:12. > :39:14.population at risk of displacement, the fact that the French or the
:39:15. > :39:21.Swedes are going to take a 200 people, that is not fulfilling your
:39:22. > :39:23.obligations. Where is the massive amount of aid that Britain is
:39:24. > :39:30.putting forward, the second-largest in the world, is paying the
:39:31. > :39:33.important role. I think there are individual cases where we should be
:39:34. > :39:38.looking and I'm happy to look at those arguments and those issues.
:39:39. > :39:47.But let's not pretend that a small quota system can solve the problem
:39:48. > :39:53.of Syrian refugees. I do feel we are gradually inching forward on this
:39:54. > :39:59.issue. Let me be clear about this. It must not be an excuse for failing
:40:00. > :40:02.to provide aid, of course not. But we're not talking about either
:40:03. > :40:07.providing aid or taking vulnerable refugees. Were talking about doing
:40:08. > :40:10.both. Given the reasonable tone of the Prime Minister, will you now
:40:11. > :40:14.open discussions with the United Nations about Britain making its
:40:15. > :40:17.contribution to this programme? I think colleagues on all sides of
:40:18. > :40:22.this has want this to happen. Will you now say he will do so? I've made
:40:23. > :40:26.very clear where prepared to listen to the arguments about how we can
:40:27. > :40:31.help the most vulnerable people in those refugee camps. But some of the
:40:32. > :40:35.countries that are participating include in their quotas both asylum
:40:36. > :40:39.numbers and refugee numbers, which I think is not the argument we should
:40:40. > :40:44.be making. Let me be absolutely clear. Britain is leading the world
:40:45. > :40:55.in terms of the manor tarring aid in Syria. We should be proud of that.
:40:56. > :40:58.-- the humanitarian aid. Where there are extreme hardship cases, I think
:40:59. > :41:02.we should look at them again. That is the approach we should take. I
:41:03. > :41:07.think there should be all-party support for it and Britain can be
:41:08. > :41:11.proud of the role it is playing. I hope he will take this away and will
:41:12. > :41:16.open discussions with the United Nations. I don't think honourable
:41:17. > :41:28.members should grown on this issue, I really do not. -- should groan. I
:41:29. > :41:35.want to move on, Mr Speaker, to another subject. Today's welcome
:41:36. > :41:53.fall in unemployment... CHEERING.
:41:54. > :41:56.We welcome the fall in unemployment because whenever an individual gets
:41:57. > :42:02.back into work, it is good for them and whether their families. I do
:42:03. > :42:08.have to say to honourable members, braying like that doesn't do anybody
:42:09. > :42:14.any good. Can he confirmed that today's figures also show that
:42:15. > :42:19.average wages are down by ?1600 since the election, meaning that
:42:20. > :42:26.ordinary families are experiencing life getting harder. It is worth
:42:27. > :42:30.pausing for a moment over what these statistics show. They show long-term
:42:31. > :42:34.unemployment and youth unemployment going down. The claimant count is
:42:35. > :42:40.going down. And employment overall is going down. And the biggest ever
:42:41. > :42:46.quarterly increase in the number of people in work in our country. Now,
:42:47. > :42:50.there should not be one ounce of complacency, there is still a big
:42:51. > :42:56.amount of work to do to get Britain back on track, but there are 280,000
:42:57. > :43:01.more people in work. 280,000 more people with the security of a
:43:02. > :43:04.regular pay packets coming in for themselves and their family. Of
:43:05. > :43:08.course, we are seeing a slow growth in wages. Why? Because we are
:43:09. > :43:15.recovering from the longest and deepest recession in living memory.
:43:16. > :43:18.But I have to say because the leader of the opposition keeps quoting the
:43:19. > :43:22.bigger without the tax cuts we've put in place, user not recognising
:43:23. > :43:29.that actually this year people are better off, because we've controlled
:43:30. > :43:32.spending and cut taxes. Mr Speaker, all he has done is show he is
:43:33. > :43:40.absolutely complacent about the situation. He is trying to tell
:43:41. > :43:43.millions of families around this country that they are better off
:43:44. > :43:48.when they know they are worse up. It does not help the Prime Minister to
:43:49. > :43:56.tell the opposite. Let me take this figure. In Britain today, there are
:43:57. > :44:00.13 million people living in poverty. That is a shocking figure. And what
:44:01. > :44:04.is scandalous is that, for the first time ever, the majority of those
:44:05. > :44:12.people are living not in jobless families but in working families.
:44:13. > :44:14.What is his explanation for that? The explanation for this is what the
:44:15. > :44:19.Institute for Fiscal Studies has said. It said, wages have increased
:44:20. > :44:26.much less quickly for inflation. As I say, that is not surprise in. We
:44:27. > :44:30.had the bigger success in -- recession we've had in 100 years. It
:44:31. > :44:34.would be astonishing if that was not the case. The fact is, we are
:44:35. > :44:43.recovering from the mess that they left us. Every week, you come see --
:44:44. > :44:47.he comes here and raises a new problem that he created. Weird the
:44:48. > :44:52.betting problem, the banking problem, the deficit problem and now
:44:53. > :44:55.we add the cost of living problem. He is like an arsonist to those
:44:56. > :44:58.brands setting fire after fire and then complains when the fire brigade
:44:59. > :45:03.are not putting out the fire is fast enough. Why does he not start with
:45:04. > :45:11.an apology for the mess that he left us? He comes here every week and
:45:12. > :45:20.does is Bullingdon Club routine and all he shows, all these shows, is
:45:21. > :45:23.years absolutely -- is he has absolutely no understanding of the
:45:24. > :45:28.reality for millions of ordinary working people. They are working
:45:29. > :45:34.harder, for longer and for less. He is cutting taxes for millionaires.
:45:35. > :45:36.He cannot be the solution to the cost of living crisis because he
:45:37. > :51:08.just does not understand the problem.
:51:09. > :51:12.As the support for the Department for Transport, can the Prime
:51:13. > :51:16.Minister assured me he will support the College and make sure that the
:51:17. > :51:25.decision is taken quickly on debate, so that employers and young people
:51:26. > :51:30.can require the skills they need? I'm a great supporter of university
:51:31. > :51:32.technical colleges. They focus on vocational training and education.
:51:33. > :51:36.The new college announced last week is welcome news. It will open its
:51:37. > :51:49.doors in 2017. I look forward to working with him on this issue.
:51:50. > :51:53.Hundreds of new jobs have been brought to my constituency, an area
:51:54. > :51:59.where long-term unemployment has fallen by 35% and youth unemployment
:52:00. > :52:02.by 40%. Will my right honourable friend commended the good sense of
:52:03. > :52:07.these companies for coming to town with, we hear anchor doom or the
:52:08. > :52:11.same, and will he consider visiting top of himself to see how our
:52:12. > :52:15.long-term economic plan is delivering results? Always happy to
:52:16. > :52:19.visit Tamworth and spent time under the shadow of Sir Robert Peel. I've
:52:20. > :52:24.enjoyed visiting his constituency in the past. I think we are seeing a
:52:25. > :52:29.recovery, particularly in terms of jobs and getting people off the
:52:30. > :52:34.unemployed and register. It's worth noting that the figures also show
:52:35. > :52:38.full-time employment up 220,000, compared with just 60,000 increase
:52:39. > :52:43.in part-time employment. That shows people getting the full-time jobs
:52:44. > :52:49.they want. I'm happy to commend the businesses he is welcoming to
:52:50. > :52:53.Tamworth. Prime Minister, the green shoots of economic recovery are not
:52:54. > :52:57.being recognised across the entire UK. Does he intend speaking to the
:52:58. > :53:02.Governor of the Bank of England to make him aware of the fact that in a
:53:03. > :53:08.low-wage economy area, any signs or increase in inflation will
:53:09. > :53:15.undoubtedly be a devastating thing for many households. The point I
:53:16. > :53:20.make to the honourable gentleman is we want to secure a recovery in
:53:21. > :53:25.every region of our country and every nation of our United Kingdom.
:53:26. > :53:29.If we look at Scotland, that last quarter, the employment level went
:53:30. > :53:34.up by 10,000. There are 90,000 more people in work than a year ago. I
:53:35. > :53:37.think progress is being made and the Scottish economy is performing, but
:53:38. > :53:41.we should do everything we can to help make that happen. If we want to
:53:42. > :53:45.keep interest rates down, that is a matter for the Bank of England. But
:53:46. > :53:54.our role must be to continue the work on getting the deficit down. In
:53:55. > :53:56.doing that we have to make difficult decisions on spending. And it's not
:53:57. > :53:58.helped by the fact that all the difficult decisions we've made, not
:53:59. > :54:01.one single decision has been supported by the party opposite.
:54:02. > :54:04.Tiller the leader of the opposition has suggested we learn lessons from
:54:05. > :54:09.the Welsh assembly Labour government and how to run public services. With
:54:10. > :54:13.cuts to the NHS budget and the worst education system in the UK, does he
:54:14. > :54:17.agree that the only lesson we can learn from this is that those who
:54:18. > :54:26.care about public services should vote Conservative? I think it is now
:54:27. > :54:29.possible to look very closely at the decisions that the Labour government
:54:30. > :54:34.have made in Wales. The decisions they've taken and the effect of
:54:35. > :54:37.those decisions. If you take for instant the NHS, they haven't
:54:38. > :54:41.followed our approach of protecting the spending on the NHS, there's
:54:42. > :54:46.been an 8% cut to the budget in Wales. As a result, they haven't met
:54:47. > :54:50.and A targets since 2009. I also worry about some of the changes that
:54:51. > :54:53.have been made in education in Wales, because we want all children
:54:54. > :54:59.in our country to get the benefits of good basics in education, proper
:55:00. > :55:03.tests and league tables. This weekend Nigel Wilson, the chief
:55:04. > :55:07.executive of legal and General, one of our biggest financial puppies,
:55:08. > :55:10.urged the government to abandon its Help to Buy scheme in London to
:55:11. > :55:14.prevent house prices spiralling out of control. Does he agree with Mr
:55:15. > :55:21.Wilson that we should use the money instead to build new homes across
:55:22. > :55:26.the United Kingdom? We are building homes across the United Kingdom. One
:55:27. > :55:29.better than what she suggests is what we've done, which is give the
:55:30. > :55:33.power to the Bank of England to specifically advise on any potential
:55:34. > :55:36.problems in the housing market or in any other market. We've actually
:55:37. > :55:39.cleared up the mess of the regular to resist that we were left by the
:55:40. > :55:46.party opposite, so that proper warnings can be given in proper
:55:47. > :55:50.time. Under the party opposite, manufacturing was neglected on the
:55:51. > :55:58.sector halved in size. With this government investing in
:55:59. > :56:01.manufacturing excellence and -- the Manufacturing technology Centre in
:56:02. > :56:05.my constituency, and the success of companies like Jaguar Land Rover and
:56:06. > :56:09.Rolls-Royce to import and export markets, does the Prime Minister
:56:10. > :56:13.agree that they be surging manufacturing sector is part of this
:56:14. > :56:19.Government's long-term plan for the economy? Rebalancing our economy is
:56:20. > :56:23.absolutely part of our long-term economic plan. We want to see a
:56:24. > :56:27.balanced recovery, balanced between manufacturing and service, properly
:56:28. > :56:31.balanced between north and south, and making sure we win back these
:56:32. > :56:34.jobs and orders from overseas. The companies he quotes, like Jaguar
:56:35. > :56:37.Land Rover and Rolls-Royce, they have the full backing of the
:56:38. > :56:40.government. They have got the investment going into the
:56:41. > :56:44.apprenticeship schemes that are helping them. We've reformed UKTI so
:56:45. > :56:51.we can help them sell around the world. We are encouraging them to
:56:52. > :56:54.bring back jobs into the UK. Manufacturing jobs and exports are
:56:55. > :56:59.responding well. As the deputy Prime Minister knows, sorry is still the
:57:00. > :57:10.hardest word to say. Does the Prime Minister agree that Alex Salmond...
:57:11. > :57:14.Owes the people of Scotland and the apology... I say to members on both
:57:15. > :57:18.sides of the house, this is supposed to be questions to the Prime
:57:19. > :57:24.Minister, not a Punch and Judy show. Mr Michael McCann. Does the
:57:25. > :57:27.Prime Minister agree that Alex Salmond owes the people of Scotland
:57:28. > :57:33.and apology for a White Paper that dodges the tough questions, and does
:57:34. > :57:37.it explain that by adopting the pound that interest rates will go up
:57:38. > :57:43.because Scotland's lender of last resort will be a foreign bank? I
:57:44. > :57:48.agree. I think the White Paper, which would -- which we were told
:57:49. > :57:52.was going to answer all of the questions, actually left the most
:57:53. > :57:56.important questions about the future of the currency, Scotland's plays in
:57:57. > :57:59.the Europe union union, the future of defence jobs, the future
:58:00. > :58:04.financial services, it left those questions unanswered. That is why Mr
:58:05. > :58:10.Salmond is struggling to get his across. Whilst we can currently
:58:11. > :58:13.celebrate record levels of investment in North Sea oil and gas
:58:14. > :58:18.production and all the jobs that it supports, we do have to recognise
:58:19. > :58:21.there is growing concern at the lack of exploration. Will the Prime
:58:22. > :58:26.Minister therefore recommit the government to its tax stability
:58:27. > :58:30.policy and encourage as much exploration as possible to ensure
:58:31. > :58:33.future investment? I can certainly get my honourable friend that
:58:34. > :58:39.assurance. It is very important we make the most out of the asset that
:58:40. > :58:44.is the North Sea. That is what the Would Report is all about, and we're
:58:45. > :58:47.putting those proposals in place. The Chancellor has listened
:58:48. > :58:50.carefully to what he says about making sure that the tax system for
:58:51. > :59:01.the long-term encourages the maximum recovery. Del Synge was an
:59:02. > :59:05.extraordinary person, a passionate campaigner for justice. He dedicated
:59:06. > :59:09.his life for helping those in conflict. Can the Prime Minister
:59:10. > :59:12.assure the house that after the drawdown of troops this year, that
:59:13. > :59:19.the work of people like him will continue to be supported by this
:59:20. > :59:23.government? I share what she has said. It reminds us of the risks
:59:24. > :59:28.that aid workers take on our behalf to deliver this vital assistance
:59:29. > :59:32.around the world. I can give her the assurance she seeks. It's important
:59:33. > :59:37.for everyone to recognise that while our troops are coming home at the
:59:38. > :59:41.end of 2014, our commitment to Afghanistan will continue. Our
:59:42. > :59:45.commitment to its armed forces and our commitment to over $100 million
:59:46. > :59:48.a year in terms of our commitment to its aid and future development. We
:59:49. > :59:51.will need many more brave people to go on working with the Afghan
:59:52. > :00:00.government to deliver for the Afghan people. Formula One team McLaren is
:00:01. > :00:03.the largest employer in my constituency of Woking. The Prime
:00:04. > :00:07.Minister like to join me in congratulating them on the hundreds
:00:08. > :00:11.of new jobs that they are creating locally, on the global sell-out of
:00:12. > :00:16.their P1 sports car and the ?50 million worth of exports they will
:00:17. > :00:19.achieve this year in China? Yet more examples of the success of British
:00:20. > :00:28.business and of our long-term economic plan. I share my honourable
:00:29. > :00:32.friend's enthusiasm for McLaren and for the work of Ron Dennis, who
:00:33. > :00:37.helpfully brought one of his cars to our meeting in China where we were
:00:38. > :00:42.encouraging investment into the UK. This is the very highest end of
:00:43. > :00:45.British motor manufacturing, but it is worth recognising that we've got
:00:46. > :00:49.a vehicle rolling off a British production line every 20 seconds.
:00:50. > :00:54.The British motor industry is doing well, this Government is backing it
:00:55. > :00:58.and long may that continue. Can I also thank the Prime Minister and
:00:59. > :01:03.the leader of the opposition for their kind words about my friend,
:01:04. > :01:08.Delsing, a man who devoted his two short-lived working for peace and
:01:09. > :01:15.justice, not least in Palestine and Afghanistan. But, I ask the members
:01:16. > :01:22.this, new stock in affordable homes has fallen by a third since 2010.
:01:23. > :01:26.Why is that? Is it in part because Tory councillors like Hammersmith
:01:27. > :01:31.and Fulham are demolishing council houses, the most affordable type of
:01:32. > :01:38.housing, and selling the land for exclusively private development? I'm
:01:39. > :01:44.afraid he has got his figures wrong. Housing starts are 89% higher than
:01:45. > :01:49.the trough they left us in 2009. When it comes to affordable homes,
:01:50. > :01:54.we've already delivered over 100,000 affordable homes, we will deliver
:01:55. > :01:58.170,000 in total by 2015. The rate of affordable house building will
:01:59. > :02:02.soon be the highest it has been for two decades. That is a massive
:02:03. > :02:05.contrast with the Labour, where housing waiting lists almost
:02:06. > :02:15.doubled. If he doesn't believe me, he might want this quotation, and
:02:16. > :02:17.guess who it's from? We refused to prioritise building up new social
:02:18. > :02:25.housing. Who said that? The leader of the opposition. Can I commend the
:02:26. > :02:31.Prime Minister for his firm action against unscrupulous payday lenders
:02:32. > :02:35.and for driving the credit union expansion project? Would he now urge
:02:36. > :02:38.more employers to look at parting with their local credit union, so
:02:39. > :02:53.that many more people can access affordable credit through the
:02:54. > :02:56.payroll? The positive side of this is we need to expand credit unions
:02:57. > :03:00.faster. We should be looking at all the ways in which that can be done,
:03:01. > :03:17.including other organisations partnering with credit union links.
:03:18. > :03:27.What is the Prime Minister afraid of, and why doesn't he now publish
:03:28. > :03:30.and be dammed? We've got hundreds of thousands more people getting into
:03:31. > :03:34.work, able to provide for their families and get the peace of mind
:03:35. > :03:38.and security that people want in this country. That is what we are
:03:39. > :03:46.publishing today and that is real progress for our nation. 45% of
:03:47. > :03:51.people don't pay their utility bills by direct debit. 1 million of them
:03:52. > :03:56.don't have bank accounts. Get energy companies are charging an average
:03:57. > :04:01.?115 extra for people who don't pay by direct debit, hitting pensioners
:04:02. > :04:04.and the poorest of the most. Will my honourable friend look into this,
:04:05. > :04:08.given that the Government is doing everything possible by cutting
:04:09. > :04:21.energy bills? I'm happy to look into this issue. That is why we have
:04:22. > :04:24.taken the steps to compel the energy companies to put people on to the
:04:25. > :04:27.lowest tariffs. We want to make sure that everyone can take advantage of
:04:28. > :04:29.that. We've also cut energy bills by ?50, by rolling back the costs of
:04:30. > :04:32.some of the green measures. We should continue to make this market
:04:33. > :04:34.more competitive to give more choice to consumers, and to encourage the
:04:35. > :04:37.switching that happened a huge amount towards the end of last year,
:04:38. > :04:46.that has saved many people many hundreds of pounds.
:04:47. > :04:55.That began in a subdued mood, with Ed Miliband trying to take prime
:04:56. > :04:59.ministers questions seriously as part of his New Year 's resolution.
:05:00. > :05:12.His first question was what they should do about the massive Syrian
:05:13. > :05:16.refugee crisis. A bit of a disagreement. Then we went back to
:05:17. > :05:21.Punch and Judy because we turned to the economy and we heard all the old
:05:22. > :05:27.phrases as usual. Cost of living crisis... Clearing up the mess...
:05:28. > :05:36.You've heard it up before. Then it went a bit shout eat in the second
:05:37. > :05:42.half. -- shouty. We heard from one viewer that Ed Miliband might not be
:05:43. > :05:47.winning in the chamber but his words are resonating outside Westminster.
:05:48. > :05:52.Another said, Cameron boasted about employment figures and then said in
:05:53. > :05:57.the next sentence, let's not be complacent. But in another viewer
:05:58. > :06:00.said, is Ed Miliband trying to be the deliberate softy, trying to
:06:01. > :06:15.engage in discussion rather than confrontation? A final viewer had a
:06:16. > :06:19.Prime Minister 's questions game which is what question Ed Miliband
:06:20. > :06:27.will ask first. I won today by saying Syria. In what way people
:06:28. > :06:42.better off? The figures show you take into account the tax cuts and
:06:43. > :06:47.the employment rise, the total amount has risen. Getting people
:06:48. > :06:52.into work is one of the best ways to increase household income. If you
:06:53. > :06:56.take the fact that people are getting back into jobs and that we
:06:57. > :07:02.cut taxes, then, yes. That doesn't mean there isn't more to do. It does
:07:03. > :07:07.show that the long-term economic plan is working. If you are
:07:08. > :07:11.unemployed and you get into a reasonably well-paid job, you will
:07:12. > :07:20.obviously be better off. But I'm asking you, on average, if you take
:07:21. > :07:25.everything into account ash tax benefits, tax changes, pay rises and
:07:26. > :07:32.so on - are people better off or not? If you take everyone in the
:07:33. > :07:36.country, on average when people get back into jobs the amount of
:07:37. > :07:43.take-home pay goes up. So this is good news and it has an income
:07:44. > :07:53.impact. But what about the answer to my question? The answer is yes. I'm
:07:54. > :07:57.afraid it's not. People are on average ?25 a week worse off after
:07:58. > :08:03.you take into account pay rises, the impact of tax and benefit reforms.
:08:04. > :08:12.Everything you've done since 2010, they are ?25 a week on average were
:08:13. > :08:16.soft. What I was talking about was over the last year. Also, you need
:08:17. > :08:22.to take into account that mortgages have not gone up, they have gone
:08:23. > :08:26.down. And the bigger picture is the question why things been different?
:08:27. > :08:33.The national income in the recession fell by over 7%. So of course that
:08:34. > :08:36.has an on incomes. But the Prime Minister said people were better off
:08:37. > :08:41.and I'm asking you to give me figures to show that. The IAF as
:08:42. > :08:47.figures show that people are not as worse off as Labour is claiming, but
:08:48. > :08:55.they were soft. -- they are worse off. People coming into jobs
:08:56. > :08:59.increase their earnings of the nation. Over the last year, nobody
:09:00. > :09:04.denies this has been a difficult time. Our point is you have to ask
:09:05. > :09:09.why. We are the biggest recession in recent history, I think that point
:09:10. > :09:17.was made as well. If there is a cost of living crisis, as Labour calls
:09:18. > :09:25.it, a crisis, why retail sales rising by 5%? Well, I didn't you can
:09:26. > :09:32.assume that everyone in the country is increasing their spending. People
:09:33. > :09:37.who got spare money... But retail spending is going up. If it was a
:09:38. > :09:41.crisis, where would you get the money? I'm sure not everybody is
:09:42. > :09:45.increasing their spending. You're like him. He picked one example to
:09:46. > :09:55.make his case. I'm asking about the average. And talking on average,
:09:56. > :09:59.retail spending across the board is up 5%. I don't deny for a moment
:10:00. > :10:03.that living standards are being squeezed, but I'm asking you if it
:10:04. > :10:08.is as bad as you make out then how come people are spending so much in
:10:09. > :10:12.the shops? We are seeing all kinds of indications that it is a crisis.
:10:13. > :10:19.Over half a million people are going to food banks every week to make
:10:20. > :10:22.ends meet. That is up from 41,000. But you talk about the squeezed
:10:23. > :10:27.middle. You're not just talking about people at the bottom end of
:10:28. > :10:33.the income scale. Of course they are being squeezed. You talk about the
:10:34. > :10:38.squeezed middle. Mr Miliband made himself a champion of the middle
:10:39. > :10:42.class. My question is, if they are being squeezed so much - and that is
:10:43. > :10:46.where most of the retail sales rise comes from, it reflects middle-class
:10:47. > :10:56.spending - so if they are being squeezed, why are they spending so
:10:57. > :11:01.much? You cannot take an individual and say at one end of the other they
:11:02. > :11:06.are representative. We've got a very wide range of people and income.
:11:07. > :11:13.This election campaign is going to be fun. What is really interesting
:11:14. > :11:16.is how people want to talk about apples and pears and not admit that
:11:17. > :11:23.is what they're doing. I'm puzzled that the Prime Minister has gone
:11:24. > :11:26.back to an auld script that I put the Chancellor had abandoned. The
:11:27. > :11:30.Chancellor used a figure in his Autumn statement which was basically
:11:31. > :11:35.saying, we're all better off. You can only do that by not asking
:11:36. > :11:38.whether you, me, people around the country are themselves better off,
:11:39. > :11:42.but by including people who get jobs for the first time. Then you can
:11:43. > :11:49.make those figures work and you can argue that's a good thing because
:11:50. > :11:53.employment is a good thing. But it doesn't match the reality when
:11:54. > :11:57.people say, I'm in a job and I'm worse off. When I interviewed the
:11:58. > :12:01.Chancellor a few days ago I put it to and he abandoned the claim. He
:12:02. > :12:05.said, I accept that we are all poorer but we're poorer for a
:12:06. > :12:09.reason. The Prime Minister has gone back to using this of data.
:12:10. > :12:17.Forgiving, but I think it was struggling to make sense for most
:12:18. > :12:22.people. And the Labour to say, where are these new jobs coming from?
:12:23. > :12:26.Where is that extra consumption coming from? The answer is perhaps
:12:27. > :12:30.private sector borrowing. If you believe this is a recovery which may
:12:31. > :12:34.be dangerously based on more borrowing and another House price
:12:35. > :12:37.bubble, it is interesting one of the main reasons borrowing is coming
:12:38. > :12:43.down at the moment is because of the massive increase in stamp duty. You
:12:44. > :12:48.may actually think the fact people are spending more in the shops is a
:12:49. > :12:52.bad thing, not a good thing. Were going to have to move on, but I can
:12:53. > :13:00.assure you we will be coming back to both these issues. Maybe next time,
:13:01. > :13:10.they will have done their homework. Nick, go and play some music. Any
:13:11. > :13:17.particular selection? Something a bit more current. How do you stop
:13:18. > :13:20.towns and cities just spreading and spreading until there is no green
:13:21. > :13:23.and pleasant land left? Well, politicians and town planners
:13:24. > :13:27.devised one solution in the 1930s and 1940s: it was called the green
:13:28. > :13:30.belt. In our soapbox this week, the survivalist Ray Mears argues that
:13:31. > :13:31.this concept is under threat and that politicians need to take brave
:13:32. > :13:53.decisions. Welcome to Croydon. Home to more
:13:54. > :13:59.than 360,000 people, the most populous borough in London according
:14:00. > :14:05.to the last census. It is also home to this, the green belt. I was
:14:06. > :14:10.brought up to believe in Britain as a green and pleasant land. That is
:14:11. > :14:13.very important to me. We have incredible open spaces, deals,
:14:14. > :14:20.meadows, common land, woods and forests. They are not just for
:14:21. > :14:23.naturalists like myself, they are for everybody. I take great
:14:24. > :14:28.satisfaction from watching people enjoy them - runners, cyclists,
:14:29. > :14:33.businessmen walking home after a hard day in the office, stopping to
:14:34. > :14:38.listen to the sound of a blackbird. It is magical. They are important.
:14:39. > :14:42.They are good for us. If we are going to hang onto this green and
:14:43. > :14:54.pleasant land, we need to start by learning to cherish and value of
:14:55. > :14:58.green belts. This idea was conceived to prevent urban sprawl. It has
:14:59. > :15:05.proved to be one of the most successful acts in the history of
:15:06. > :15:10.conservation. Green belts are not just part of what makes is British,
:15:11. > :15:13.they are our greatest unofficial national park. These buffers are
:15:14. > :15:18.maturing into internationally important habitats, often richly
:15:19. > :15:23.diverse in species. They also create healthier air and make our towns,
:15:24. > :15:27.cities and villages happier, more relaxing places to live. It is
:15:28. > :15:33.really important that we preserve the green belt. It is very important
:15:34. > :15:38.to who we are. Can you imagine living in a world with no green
:15:39. > :15:43.spaces? Without that wonderful song? We've been asked to sign up to the
:15:44. > :15:46.concept of a big society. Well, here is an opportunity for politicians to
:15:47. > :15:51.put their money where their mouth is and do something good for the
:15:52. > :16:05.benefit of people for generations to come.
:16:06. > :16:14.Do you think the green agenda and the big society is still a priority
:16:15. > :16:17.for David Cameron? I doubt it. It is understandable. We have an economic
:16:18. > :16:22.war on. I think those are the moments you see Rick -- real
:16:23. > :16:26.greatness in politicians, where they can look at the bigger picture, what
:16:27. > :16:31.comes afterwards, the legacy they leave. Not just putting things back
:16:32. > :16:37.on track. Are any of these politicians doing that for you at
:16:38. > :16:41.the moment? No, I don't see that sort of greatness. If you look at
:16:42. > :16:44.Abraham Lincoln, you can see that greatness. At the height of the
:16:45. > :16:50.Civil War, he put things in place for national parks. We have to think
:16:51. > :16:56.beyond the simple things we are doing. And you think the politicians
:16:57. > :16:59.are failing to look beyond? I think we've got some pretty good
:17:00. > :17:03.politicians at the moment. They've really got their sleeves rolled up
:17:04. > :17:06.and both sides of the house are working to improve things. But there
:17:07. > :17:10.are bigger and long-term issues. Things that may not be at the top of
:17:11. > :17:15.the agenda now that in the future will be. What do you say about the
:17:16. > :17:19.shortage of housing? That's where the two sides of the argument rub up
:17:20. > :17:23.against each other. You are wanting to keep something that you say
:17:24. > :17:27.really goes to the heart of everybody's well-being, and there is
:17:28. > :17:32.this enormous pressure on housing, affordable housing, and councils
:17:33. > :17:36.want to look at the green belt. I agree, there is a need for housing.
:17:37. > :17:41.There are brown field sites we could build on. We could also look at the
:17:42. > :17:43.work opportunities and housing opportunities in the country more
:17:44. > :17:47.widely, rather than just concentrating them in the
:17:48. > :17:50.south-east. We need to spread the benefit of British society across
:17:51. > :17:53.the whole country. There a massive difference between some of the
:17:54. > :17:56.regions of Britain and the south-east. I'm lucky I get to
:17:57. > :18:02.travel the whole country. I'm shocked at some of the things icy.
:18:03. > :18:14.Do you think the green belt should be totally protected? The green belt
:18:15. > :18:17.should be sacrosanct. The you start to chip in to it, you start to pick
:18:18. > :18:20.a hole in it. You can't put that back. I think it was a really bright
:18:21. > :18:23.idea that was put forward. It was one of those great acts of politics.
:18:24. > :18:25.We need to hang onto it. If anything, we should be trying to
:18:26. > :18:29.extend the green belt and maybe encourage planners to create more
:18:30. > :18:33.green spaces within our cities, within the modern construction. It
:18:34. > :18:38.is good for our psyche as people. The green belt should be sacrosanct
:18:39. > :18:47.and the big society, the green agenda, it's no longer true, is it?
:18:48. > :18:51.I don't agree at all. I haven't heard him talk about it for very
:18:52. > :18:56.long time. Bigger picture here is we've put in protections on the
:18:57. > :19:01.green belt, but we've got to solve the housing problem. It's about
:19:02. > :19:06.getting houses in the right place. But what you've done is have said,
:19:07. > :19:09.it's very important the Government is pro-the green belt. You height of
:19:10. > :19:18.the problem putting the hatchet into it to local councils. To talk about
:19:19. > :19:22.the Big Society, part of that is giving local powers to local people.
:19:23. > :19:27.Making sure that housing is in the right place, rather than having a
:19:28. > :19:31.top-down direction, I think it's a big step forward. If I take my own
:19:32. > :19:35.constituency in West Suffolk, I have towns, like Hagar Hill, where there
:19:36. > :19:38.is support for expansion and improvement of the housing stock.
:19:39. > :19:41.Then I have towns like Newmarket where there is not an appetite. It
:19:42. > :19:48.would be far better to make sure that the planning system reflect
:19:49. > :19:51.those local feelings and support growth where Rick is supported, and
:19:52. > :19:55.that the benefits and the infrastructure go with it, rather
:19:56. > :20:01.than this being top-down. But we have strengthened the green belt
:20:02. > :20:07.because the green belt is a specific policy about specific areas. Should
:20:08. > :20:10.there be no building of affordable housing on green belt land? It
:20:11. > :20:16.should be absolutely the last idea to use green belt in that way. We
:20:17. > :20:19.should reinstate the presumption that you'd use brownfield, which has
:20:20. > :20:22.been removed by the current Government in the arrangements. I
:20:23. > :20:26.think we should do that. We've talked on the Labour side about
:20:27. > :20:29.trying to increase competition in house-building, bringing in smaller
:20:30. > :20:34.house builders who are happier with smaller brown field sites. You can
:20:35. > :20:40.do a lot by doing that. I agree with Matthew that there ought to be... In
:20:41. > :20:43.many places it is local people who value the green belt more than a
:20:44. > :20:48.planner sat in Whitehall would. Actually, with appropriate
:20:49. > :20:52.protections, giving the power to the local authorities and local people
:20:53. > :20:58.to decide where housing or to be, with appropriate protections, is the
:20:59. > :21:01.right way forward. The thing that is interesting as a lot of people who
:21:02. > :21:04.benefit from the green belt don't actually appreciate they are
:21:05. > :21:09.indulging, exercising themselves and taking in the air of green belt
:21:10. > :21:12.land. It's one of the great successes of the green belt. People
:21:13. > :21:17.don't even notice it is green belt. Do you agree it's good for local
:21:18. > :21:20.people to make that decision? Definitely. But we need to make sure
:21:21. > :21:24.that local people know what we're talking about here. We need to make
:21:25. > :21:28.sure that people know what is green belt. I'd like to see a survey done
:21:29. > :21:32.about green belt. Let's find out what species are there to start
:21:33. > :21:36.with. Let's use the green belt to educate our youth to the important
:21:37. > :21:40.things of the natural world, because we are constantly calling on them to
:21:41. > :21:45.take responsibility for the natural environment, which is critical to
:21:46. > :21:48.our welfare. Tiller there have been plenty of critics, that whilst the
:21:49. > :21:52.Government always boasts about people making their own decisions,
:21:53. > :21:56.there is always the ability to go over their heads and Rivera to a
:21:57. > :22:02.Whitehall quango or bureaucracy and local people are squeezed out. When
:22:03. > :22:06.local plans are in place, they are taken into account in that decision.
:22:07. > :22:11.Yes, there's an appeals process, but having a local plan that is signed
:22:12. > :22:16.off locally is now a material fact, whereas before that didn't exist. It
:22:17. > :22:22.has been structured so that local people 's voices are heard. Are
:22:23. > :22:25.heard and then ultimately can be ignored. No, because it's something
:22:26. > :22:31.is consistent with the local plan, that's what happens. Critics are
:22:32. > :22:35.saying that developers can go over their heads and then it will be a
:22:36. > :22:41.central planner... It's the big developers who want green belt, and
:22:42. > :22:46.nice, big, easy field to build on. Would you be prepared to stop them?
:22:47. > :22:50.Smaller builders want smaller sites. By increasing the competition
:22:51. > :22:54.that there is between builders, there's been a big trend towards
:22:55. > :22:58.much bigger building firms over the last few years, by doing that, by
:22:59. > :23:02.making local authorities provide land in their five-year forward look
:23:03. > :23:07.that is smaller bits of Brownfield land, by reinstituting the focus and
:23:08. > :23:11.priority given to brownfield of element, you can save a lot of our
:23:12. > :23:19.green belt. I think that is the way forward. More Lib Dem woes while
:23:20. > :23:23.we've been discussing the green belt. The QC who was appointed by
:23:24. > :23:29.Portsmouth City Council to investigate the local Lib Dem MP
:23:30. > :23:33.Mike Hancock, his investigation has concluded that claims of sexual
:23:34. > :23:34.misconduct by Mr Hancock towards a female constituency, he found her
:23:35. > :23:44.evidence credible. We've had George Galloway in a
:23:45. > :23:48.catsuit, in Nadine Dorries eating all sorts of unmentionables, but is
:23:49. > :23:54.it really right for our politicians to star in reality TV shows? It was
:23:55. > :23:59.the turn of Penny Mordaunt. She made some waves in the Saturday night ITV
:24:00. > :24:29.show Splash. Let's take a look at her in action.
:24:30. > :24:43.She joins us now. You had to show my worst one, it's not fair! That looks
:24:44. > :24:48.like it hurt. It did a bit. You were very brave to be up there. And to do
:24:49. > :24:51.a backflip as well. I think people that know we knew it was not my
:24:52. > :24:56.style to do a flop of the low board. I thought, good or bad, the
:24:57. > :25:04.outcome is going to be entertaining. It certainly was hard to watch. What
:25:05. > :25:11.did you hope to achieve or what have you achieved by being on the show?
:25:12. > :25:15.You mentioned the Big Society earlier, and I have a live though in
:25:16. > :25:20.my constituency that is dilapidated, we managed to get the pool open last
:25:21. > :25:23.summer but the project was running out of cash. My objectives were to
:25:24. > :25:27.raise some money, which we've done. We've also managed to get Tom Daley
:25:28. > :25:31.to be personally involved in the project. He is coming down with the
:25:32. > :25:35.elite divers, the synchronised teams, we have a gala this summer.
:25:36. > :25:39.We've raised enough money to provide swimming across the whole summer.
:25:40. > :25:44.For me, the lighter with right by the motorway as it comes into the
:25:45. > :25:47.city. In the summer you can see kids jumping off the side of the motorway
:25:48. > :25:53.into the creek and it's very dangerous. So we provided them with
:25:54. > :25:57.this. Why do you think, because George Galloway got a pretty bad
:25:58. > :26:00.time when he was on Big Brother, Nadine Dorries certainly got a bad
:26:01. > :26:06.time when she was on the celebrity jungle programme. Why did you get
:26:07. > :26:11.rather good press for doing this? I think because of two things. First
:26:12. > :26:16.of all, I had a reason for doing it. All of the money I was getting
:26:17. > :26:20.was going towards this organisation who were doing lots of fundraising
:26:21. > :26:24.for other charities as well. And also it's the nature of the
:26:25. > :26:28.programme and the challenge. It's about a personal, physical
:26:29. > :26:32.challenge. It's not about sitting round bitching about other people or
:26:33. > :26:36.doing something that is not true to yourself, something that you are
:26:37. > :26:39.interested in doing. I think people got that. I've been overwhelmed with
:26:40. > :26:47.the support. I didn't expect to have to be in the splash off, it was
:26:48. > :26:51.quite a shock! What did the whips say when you told them? They were
:26:52. > :26:55.fine. It was clear to them why it was different than from what perhaps
:26:56. > :26:59.some other colleagues have done. As MPs, we have to do a lot of
:27:00. > :27:03.different things. We have to deal with very serious issues, look at
:27:04. > :27:07.policy, come up with ideas, but at the same time we are about making
:27:08. > :27:10.life better for people in our patch. Sometimes that involves us doing
:27:11. > :27:15.daft things for all sorts of organisations. Most of the coverage
:27:16. > :27:20.was very positive about you. But something is happening in your party
:27:21. > :27:24.with the women MPs. We've learnt that Jessica Lee is standing down,
:27:25. > :27:33.and she was highly regarded. You've lost the Mensch, the weasel Brack --
:27:34. > :27:37.Louise Fulbrook, why? This is something that affects both sexes.
:27:38. > :27:41.Those individuals will have a personal reasons why. But you are
:27:42. > :27:46.short of women, you can't afford to lose women of that quality. No, I
:27:47. > :27:50.think there are things we can do in Parliament. We've had some debate
:27:51. > :27:52.about how we can support people better. There are financial
:27:53. > :27:56.pressures that people have, there are all sorts of family reasons why
:27:57. > :28:00.people find this quite a tough life. I think there is more across
:28:01. > :28:07.Parliament we could be doing to support people, but I think those
:28:08. > :28:14.are individual cases. Are you off for a lunchtime swim? Not until the
:28:15. > :28:19.bruising goes down! Do you fancy it, you two? I've got nothing but
:28:20. > :28:23.admiration for her. But first, it's time to put you out of your misery
:28:24. > :28:29.and give you the answer to Guess The Year. The year was 1994.
:28:30. > :28:38.Chris Morris from Essex has one. OK, that's all for today. Thanks to our
:28:39. > :28:42.guests. We will be back tomorrow at noon with all the big political
:28:43. > :28:47.stories of the day. We'll be joined by UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who we
:28:48. > :28:52.showed being hit on the head by a placard. And the man has been
:28:53. > :29:14.arrested for it! It means we can't talk about it. Goodbye!
:29:15. > :29:19.The average person moves home eight times during their life.