:00:42. > :00:46.Welcome to the Daily Politics. Today's top story, Labour discuss Ed
:00:47. > :00:54.Miliband's plans for changing the party 's links with trade unions. As
:00:55. > :00:59.a contributing jewel report into vogue as to vote rigging.
:01:00. > :01:04.Limited budgets mean not all parts of the coast can be protected from
:01:05. > :01:12.flooding. We will debate whether we should let us see back in?
:01:13. > :01:17.A Conservative MP deselected by his constituency party, we will discuss
:01:18. > :01:20.why Tory activists appear to be flexing their muscles. Should pubs
:01:21. > :01:21.in England and Wales big event blanket permission to open late
:01:22. > :01:33.during the World Cup? All that in the next hour, and with
:01:34. > :01:38.us for the whole programme today is the independent crossbench peer
:01:39. > :01:44.Julie Newberg who until 2011 was a member of the Liberal Democrats.
:01:45. > :01:48.There is kick-off with the tube strike in London due to start at 9pm
:01:49. > :01:53.this evening and last until Thursday. This morning the leader of
:01:54. > :01:56.the train drivers union Bob Crow called the London radio station LBC
:01:57. > :02:02.which was broadcasting a phone in show with Boris Johnson.
:02:03. > :02:08.All we want is an opportunity to talk about the tube. We have not
:02:09. > :02:13.condemned to score points, we want an opportunity to speak to the Mayor
:02:14. > :02:19.of London about the problems. It is good of you to call on, Bob, and I
:02:20. > :02:24.respect your position and the fact you are the leader of a very
:02:25. > :02:28.important union in our country and our city. I have got to tell you,
:02:29. > :02:38.the best way to engage with us and with me is for you guys, the RMT, to
:02:39. > :02:44.call off the strike and then I will be more than happy, of course, to
:02:45. > :02:47.sit down and talk with you. They were talking across the
:02:48. > :02:51.airwaves, shame they haven't managed to sit down and talk together in
:02:52. > :02:54.recent weeks to stop the strike action going ahead as Boris Johnson
:02:55. > :02:59.would like. Should the laws surrounding strike action be
:03:00. > :03:04.changed? It probably should be, in just the proportion of the papers
:03:05. > :03:08.who are the Tube workers themselves voting for strike action.
:03:09. > :03:12.I defend peoples right to withdraw their labour, there are a few
:03:13. > :03:16.exceptions and I would say the fire service that can strike, they
:03:17. > :03:19.probably shouldn't be able to. But clearly the Tube workers should be
:03:20. > :03:26.allowed to strike if they decide to do so. It must be 50% or more,
:03:27. > :03:30.because otherwise it seems the minority is holding Londoners to
:03:31. > :03:34.ransom. It is incredibly irritating, and it does have a terrible impact
:03:35. > :03:39.on the economy and in my view we should be clear if they are going to
:03:40. > :03:46.do it they have got to have a good reason, they should sit and before
:03:47. > :03:53.this. Should the law be changed? I would have thought so. What about
:03:54. > :03:56.turnout in local and European elections because there will be
:03:57. > :04:03.trade union members who have decided to go out on strike and say, MPs,
:04:04. > :04:08.MEPs, sometimes elected with far lower thresholds than 50%? The
:04:09. > :04:14.differences when you're voting in an election, there is an argument that
:04:15. > :04:17.says people should have two vote, it should be compulsory. It seems to me
:04:18. > :04:24.where it is a specific issue which is different from a general election
:04:25. > :04:28.or a European election, the union is actually deciding to withdraw
:04:29. > :04:32.labour, so the people who are part of union have to make a decision,
:04:33. > :04:39.each of them throwing in a vote, I think. It is slightly different from
:04:40. > :04:42.general elections. What about talks between the two sides? Why can't
:04:43. > :04:46.there be some sort of mediation where they meet and compromise?
:04:47. > :04:53.There has been some mediation but it all fell apart. There should be a
:04:54. > :04:57.lot more talking before you get to the moment where they say we are
:04:58. > :05:01.going on strike. It feels to me, and I thought the exchange between Bob
:05:02. > :05:08.Crow and Boris Johnson suggested that, they haven't been meeting
:05:09. > :05:13.regularly, why not? Time for our quiz and as we have
:05:14. > :05:16.been discussing, from 9pm this evening London's Underground will be
:05:17. > :05:22.hit by a 48-hour strike. What has Boris Johnson offered Bob Crow in an
:05:23. > :05:30.effort to get him to sit down for talks? Is it a pina colada?
:05:31. > :05:43.A pay rise for all drivers. The job of deputy mayor, or a pair of
:05:44. > :05:48.Bermuda shorts? Plenty of time to think about it.
:05:49. > :05:51.Today could be a historic one for Labour as the party discusses
:05:52. > :05:54.changes to this link to the unions with Ed Miliband looking to scrap
:05:55. > :05:59.the voting system that propelled him to power three and a half years ago.
:06:00. > :06:04.A number of changes are being considered by Labour's governing
:06:05. > :06:08.body, the National Executive including abolishing the electoral
:06:09. > :06:12.college method and electing party leaders. Under the current system
:06:13. > :06:16.the electoral college gives unions, party members and MPs one third of
:06:17. > :06:20.the vote each. But Ed Miliband wants to change this to a simple one
:06:21. > :06:24.member, one vote. Trade union members will have two become an
:06:25. > :06:29.affiliated member of the party, in order to vote in leadership
:06:30. > :06:33.elections by opting in and paying ?3 per year. Labour will hold a one-off
:06:34. > :06:37.conference next month to approve the new rules, but it will not result in
:06:38. > :06:42.any changes to the way policies are voted for at the party's annual
:06:43. > :06:46.conference. The proposals are not just a political gamble for Mr
:06:47. > :06:49.Miliband but a financial one as well. It is estimated the party
:06:50. > :06:55.could face a drop in funding of ?5 million when the funding changes are
:06:56. > :07:00.fully implemented within five years. Ahead of the meeting a confidential
:07:01. > :07:02.internal Labour Party report into allegations of vote rigging in
:07:03. > :07:09.Falkirk was leaked to the Guardian. Our political correspondent has all
:07:10. > :07:13.the detail of this and he joins us now.
:07:14. > :07:19.First of all, let's have a look at these reforms. Labour making big
:07:20. > :07:23.player of the fact they are reforming the party, one member, one
:07:24. > :07:30.vote. Does the influence of the unions diminished under these or is
:07:31. > :07:36.it smoke and mirrors? It depends who you ask. What began
:07:37. > :07:41.with a bar room brawl involving Eric Joyce, the MP for Falkirk, almost
:07:42. > :07:45.two years ago, has rolled on ever since then through Joyce saying he
:07:46. > :07:52.would stand down as a member of the Labour Party, to the whole row
:07:53. > :08:02.around for quick and allegations of vote rigging, in this confidential
:08:03. > :08:05.report. At the heart of it is the central question about the role of
:08:06. > :08:08.the trade unions. The party made the case that by changing the leadership
:08:09. > :08:12.election rules to one member, one vote, it means people are certain
:08:13. > :08:17.people, will not have multiple votes and therefore ordinary party
:08:18. > :08:20.members, whether they have joined directly or through an affiliated
:08:21. > :08:27.union, will have their individual say. Others say that because of the
:08:28. > :08:31.potential for Labour to be starved of funding because of these changes,
:08:32. > :08:34.they would be more reliant on the unions to go knocking on their door
:08:35. > :08:42.and say can you throw some pennies in our part one did not elections,
:08:43. > :08:46.round -- in our pot when general elections, round?
:08:47. > :08:58.--, and investigator went to Falkirk to
:08:59. > :09:03.try to find out the situation. Members were pressurised into
:09:04. > :09:06.competing direct debit forms, members signatures were forged.
:09:07. > :09:11.There is evidence they were forged on application forms or direct
:09:12. > :09:17.debits, they make the case that ultimately members were recruited in
:09:18. > :09:22.an attempt to manipulate party processes, that is essential,
:09:23. > :09:26.overarching conclusion. On one occasion a batch of 40 obligation
:09:27. > :09:35.forms was received by the party with a letter for Len McCluskey stating
:09:36. > :09:39.Tom Watson, senior Labour MP who happened to employ Karie Murphy,
:09:40. > :09:43.saying they are OK. Labour and the Unite General secretaries agree
:09:44. > :09:48.these will be processed. You get a sense of just how involved those
:09:49. > :09:51.senior figures from the union and the Labour Party are involved in
:09:52. > :09:57.this whole process around Falkirk. The real concern from Labour that
:09:58. > :10:01.there are practices going on that simply were unacceptable, machine
:10:02. > :10:05.politics as Ed Miliband called it. Unite all of it, they say the whole
:10:06. > :10:14.thing is a stitch up, and misrepresentation of Karie Murphy,
:10:15. > :10:19.Stephen Deans, they are furious. With this is the former Labour Home
:10:20. > :10:23.Secretary Alan Johnson. I am sure he is equally across all the detail.
:10:24. > :10:28.Let's take the details of the reform. It is about Labour breaking
:10:29. > :10:32.its links with the unions. Is it not the case unions will still have 50%
:10:33. > :10:37.of votes at the party conference, nothing changes there, and union
:10:38. > :10:42.members could outvote party members when it comes to voting for the
:10:43. > :10:47.leader, so what has changed? Who said this was about breaking the
:10:48. > :10:50.link with the unions? I have been arguing for 20 years, ever since
:10:51. > :10:54.John Smith introduced the first tranche of reforms that that
:10:55. > :10:58.relationship which is precious and important and we should never lose,
:10:59. > :11:04.would be much healthier if members made a conscious decision, union
:11:05. > :11:09.members of affiliated unions, made a conscious decision to pay the
:11:10. > :11:12.political levy, but as the system at the moment, and opt out system, and
:11:13. > :11:18.take that one step further and make another conscious decision to the
:11:19. > :11:22.associate members of the Labour Party is really further even than I
:11:23. > :11:29.thought we would go 20 years ago. An affiliated member will now have the
:11:30. > :11:37.same rights in terms of the leadership election. We allow
:11:38. > :11:42.students in, pensioners. 2.7 million people we are talking about. The way
:11:43. > :11:47.we detail what you pay to be a Labour Party member is a matter for
:11:48. > :11:55.us. It would be ridiculous and I didn't argue this other time if you
:11:56. > :11:59.turned ?3 50 affiliate into a ?45 membership fee. I hope they go on to
:12:00. > :12:08.beat members but these are cleaners, hospital porters, train drivers.
:12:09. > :12:13.These working people. It is absolutely important to have them as
:12:14. > :12:16.an associate member and it was never about breaking the links with the
:12:17. > :12:20.unions, it was about strengthening them.
:12:21. > :12:24.In your mind reducing the amount of influence union leaders have over
:12:25. > :12:29.their members and therefore as a Labour Party policy. Only in the
:12:30. > :12:32.sense that I call them ghost in the machines, levy paying members are
:12:33. > :12:40.pushed around as numbers, 1 million year, 1000 there. And their views,
:12:41. > :12:46.as I found out, are very different to what activists tell you their
:12:47. > :12:50.views are. That wasn't reflected. The important point about this is
:12:51. > :12:55.each of these associate members will be attached to a constituency party.
:12:56. > :12:57.It will be the Labour Party that controls the ballots for
:12:58. > :13:00.leadership, the Labour Party involves them in our local
:13:01. > :13:07.campaigns. Not a trade union general secretary who with all June respect
:13:08. > :13:13.in this day and age cannot decide how that this thousands of members
:13:14. > :13:17.then. -- with all due respect. Would it have been healthier to break that
:13:18. > :13:23.influence the bit more by stopping the big unions having so much say on
:13:24. > :13:30.forming policy at conferences? And Miliband said last July he will
:13:31. > :13:37.start an opt in system, rather than opt out. That has ramifications for
:13:38. > :13:41.the vote of confidence because these people are signing to be levied
:13:42. > :13:45.payers and the vote of confidence will depend on a number of people
:13:46. > :13:49.who make that decision, but our policy for a long time is no longer
:13:50. > :13:52.15 minute debates about Middle East by the seaside, it is in a national
:13:53. > :13:57.policy forum where trade unions have a third of the vote and that is very
:13:58. > :14:00.healthy. Except we were just hearing there from our reporter and Len
:14:01. > :14:04.McCluskey, if you take the financial hit which is going to come in
:14:05. > :14:09.somewhere, you cannot predict by how much, the Labour Party and the
:14:10. > :14:15.Labour leadership will be more reliant on the funds from the
:14:16. > :14:19.political funds, from the unions and union leaders themselves, they will
:14:20. > :14:26.control the amount they give later the -- Labour. The principle has to
:14:27. > :14:30.come first. How much to think will be lost? Lots of people would
:14:31. > :14:34.contribute to the Labour Party on the basis of a much healthier
:14:35. > :14:38.relationship, one member, one vote. We cannot be sure of that, but I am
:14:39. > :14:45.proud of my leader for taking the principal decision. Because of the
:14:46. > :14:48.hit you are going to take, and maybe over time you will recoup some of
:14:49. > :14:52.that lost money if people are attracted to the idea of opting in
:14:53. > :14:56.as Labour Party members, but what about the reliance on the unions who
:14:57. > :15:04.will still have a large amount of money and they will control it? I
:15:05. > :15:06.hope the trade unions contribute to the Labour Party, they formed it.
:15:07. > :15:16.Not like hedge funds which which money into the Tory party and got a
:15:17. > :15:26.tax cut. It is not about making it look as if it is some kind of
:15:27. > :15:30.transaction. Do you think this is going to transform, as Alan Johnson
:15:31. > :15:37.and Ed Miliband and others feel it is this relationship between the
:15:38. > :15:41.unions and party members and labour? We know each other well. You started
:15:42. > :15:45.this 20 years ago and I think this is another step on a road which the
:15:46. > :15:50.Labour Party has found difficult to take. Which is one member, one
:15:51. > :15:57.vote. I think there will be a financial hits, but I don't know how
:15:58. > :16:03.much. The contribution people who opt in will have to make will be
:16:04. > :16:08.larger than ?3 50. Some of that will be tricky for a lot of people. Do I
:16:09. > :16:16.think it is a good idea to go down this path, yes I do? I was part of
:16:17. > :16:21.the Labour Party as a student. I do think this is improvement. The
:16:22. > :16:30.problem is I don't think it goes far enough, even now. Let's look at
:16:31. > :16:35.Falkirk. It has been leaked. The party refused to publish it last
:16:36. > :16:39.September. There was no evidence to suggest rules were breached. This
:16:40. > :16:42.morning that report has been leaked by the Guardian and we know members
:16:43. > :16:48.were recruited without their knowledge and signatures were forged
:16:49. > :16:55.on Labour Party application forms. They published it online, I have not
:16:56. > :17:00.even read it. We heard it from our reporter, and it is listed here,
:17:01. > :17:05.members were recruited without their knowledge. Shouldn't people be
:17:06. > :17:10.disciplined? The police looked into this and dropped it. As far as the
:17:11. > :17:17.Labour Party's procedures are over Falkirk, I will leave it to them. We
:17:18. > :17:20.are going onto a by-election. If Falkirk have acted as an accidental
:17:21. > :17:28.catalyst for these changes, well done Falkirk. What about the trust
:17:29. > :17:35.of people into candidate selection? It does nothing to improve that.
:17:36. > :17:37.It's completely undermines it. If you have serious allegations and
:17:38. > :17:44.conclusions that have been found in this report? The reason why the
:17:45. > :17:50.report was not published is that people gave evidence to the Labour
:17:51. > :17:56.Party in confidence. And if people give and are told it is
:17:57. > :18:00.confidential, first you will get to the truth quicker and you don't let
:18:01. > :18:05.them down by publishing it. Do you think they should have published it?
:18:06. > :18:12.No, I don't. As a non-expert on Falkirk, looking at how small the
:18:13. > :18:17.story is to date, certain newspapers tried to blow this up into the crime
:18:18. > :18:22.of the century, it was dealt with and has gone on to mean huge changes
:18:23. > :18:30.to the party. I did try to read it this morning. I have to say it is
:18:31. > :18:38.ethical to read. -- difficult to read. The issue about the forgery of
:18:39. > :18:41.signatures is serious. I'm not saying other parties don't have
:18:42. > :18:48.that, but it is serious and you have to take it seriously. There is this
:18:49. > :18:52.strange thing, I think it happens in the three main party -- parties, you
:18:53. > :19:00.can receive membership as a present. Why you would want membership of a
:19:01. > :19:06.political party as a gift, I don't know. But it looks like people have
:19:07. > :19:10.been pressured into doing something they don't want to do. Let's talk
:19:11. > :19:20.now to the Conservative Party Chairman, Grant Shapps.
:19:21. > :19:23.Labour is finally saying it has a healthy relationship with the
:19:24. > :19:28.unions, you have one member, one vote. All the things the Tories have
:19:29. > :19:31.been asking for, you must want to congratulate Alan Johnson and his
:19:32. > :19:37.colleagues? The unions will be handed a lot more power, the union
:19:38. > :19:40.barons anyway, because they will have a political fund they will be
:19:41. > :19:44.able to give cash to Ed Miliband two when he is struggling and carry on
:19:45. > :19:47.buying their policies and their candidates, as happened in that
:19:48. > :19:53.Falkirk report. It is much more serious than you think, Alan by the
:19:54. > :19:57.way and involves 40 other seats as well. It means they can carry on
:19:58. > :20:00.selecting the leader. For the viewers watching this programme, Ed
:20:01. > :20:06.Miliband is, who said he was going to stand up to this stuff cannot
:20:07. > :20:09.stand up to those union barons, and there's no chance he will stand up
:20:10. > :20:14.for you, me and people watching this programme when it comes to cutting
:20:15. > :20:20.the deficit or getting welfare and immigration under control. Families
:20:21. > :20:25.will find his weak approach to this will affect their future. Are you
:20:26. > :20:31.worried that Labour could become a mass membership party as your
:20:32. > :20:38.numbers dwindle? Our numbers are not dwindling. What are they now?
:20:39. > :20:44.174,000. We don't ordinarily let people who join for ?1 vote. I hear
:20:45. > :20:48.Alan Johnson saying that the Labour Party does. In the end it is right
:20:49. > :20:54.to have this opting in system. So many different things, but one of
:20:55. > :20:58.the key recommendations is that unions don't automatically sign
:20:59. > :21:03.people up for labour associations as happens at the moment. People should
:21:04. > :21:08.opt in instead. Lots of union members, a councillor in my area, is
:21:09. > :21:10.a union member and he is a conservative. As long as people get
:21:11. > :21:19.the choice of which political party they send those affiliation fees to.
:21:20. > :21:23.This will hand the unions even more power and Ed Miliband has failed on
:21:24. > :21:27.the test he set himself to take on those union barons and is handing
:21:28. > :21:31.them more control. For ordinary people, the unions are in control of
:21:32. > :21:35.the Labour Party and that means Ed Miliband is looking out for their
:21:36. > :21:42.bosses are not for you. Let's talk about a man who served as UKIP's,
:21:43. > :21:45.wealth spokesman for a year and is the former leader of a kidnapping
:21:46. > :21:53.gang in Pakistan, as was revealed by BBC Newsnight last night. He was a
:21:54. > :22:02.member of the Conservative Party in 2008 and left and joined UKIP. I
:22:03. > :22:07.should just add, he attempted to rejoin the party last week after
:22:08. > :22:10.having been the UKIP spokesman. Because he is a spokesman for
:22:11. > :22:16.another party we rejected that application. We have a letter
:22:17. > :22:22.welcoming him rejoining the Conservative Party from the 30th of
:22:23. > :22:26.January. " I am delighted you have taken the decision to help turn
:22:27. > :22:34.Britain around by becoming a member of the party". Why did he receive a
:22:35. > :22:37.welcoming letter? We reserve the right to scrutinise the application
:22:38. > :22:42.and before that person is fully accepted we can take a decision on
:22:43. > :22:47.their membership will stop he is not now a member of the Conservative
:22:48. > :22:55.Party. He has had a letter from the lead Deputy Chairman, so this will
:22:56. > :22:58.not be automatic saying, I am just dropping you a brief e-mail saying I
:22:59. > :23:03.am delighted you have rejoined the Conservative Party. If somebody goes
:23:04. > :23:09.online and joins the party, which I hope many of your viewers will
:23:10. > :23:14.today. Well done, you have got your plug in. You go into an automatic
:23:15. > :23:21.system and you will receive some letters. But reserve the right to
:23:22. > :23:26.scrutinise anyone's membership and he is not a member of the party as a
:23:27. > :23:30.result of that. And in fact, anyone who is associated with another
:23:31. > :23:36.party, we would always look very carefully, particularly when someone
:23:37. > :23:42.has been speaking as a spokesman this and else, in this case UKIP.
:23:43. > :23:44.When he was a member of the Conservative Party, it was shortly
:23:45. > :23:51.after he was convicted and jailed, was that a mistake? Anyone is
:23:52. > :23:55.welcome to join the party ordinarily unless we have reason to
:23:56. > :23:58.investigate. Then they would become a member and that would be it. What
:23:59. > :24:03.has happened more recently in the last week, there has been reason to
:24:04. > :24:09.be concerned about this particular member and we have reacted as we
:24:10. > :24:12.described. We were talking earlier in the programme about strike rules
:24:13. > :24:18.bearing in mind there will be a chip strike this evening. Do you think
:24:19. > :24:24.those rules should be changed? For commuters, of which I am one on a
:24:25. > :24:30.Wednesday morning, to wake up and not be able to use the tube as you
:24:31. > :24:37.should be able to is ridiculous. Should the rules be changed? I am
:24:38. > :24:44.very sympathetic to the idea we need to do more. Given the discussion we
:24:45. > :24:49.have just had, if Labour and the leader came out now and were
:24:50. > :24:55.absolutely clear they condemn this strike it does not help anyone, let
:24:56. > :25:02.alone people... Do you think strike rules should be changed? I am
:25:03. > :25:05.sympathetic to look at these issues, the first thing is to stop
:25:06. > :25:10.the strike that will start tomorrow. One thing that would be very helpful
:25:11. > :25:16.and put a bit of distance between Labour and the unions, is if they
:25:17. > :25:23.would come out and condemn this strike. Thank you very much.
:25:24. > :25:26.Yesterday, the long serving Conservative MP was officially
:25:27. > :25:31.deselected by his constituency party in Suffolk. He is the second
:25:32. > :25:36.conservative in the last week to be told by local party Minden --
:25:37. > :25:41.members they will not be a candidate next year. He spoke to a BBC
:25:42. > :25:45.reporter after the vote. I think it is right for the whole membership of
:25:46. > :25:53.my party to vote whether I would be the candidate or not. It was a knife
:25:54. > :25:57.edge result and I respect the outcome and I will give my full
:25:58. > :26:02.support to my successor. After 30 years as an MP, it should not end
:26:03. > :26:06.this way? You take part in democracy and you don't know how elections
:26:07. > :26:11.will come out, sometimes you win them, sometimes you lose them. We've
:26:12. > :26:14.been joined by Paul Goodman who is editor of the Conservative Home
:26:15. > :26:17.website and used to be a Conservative MP and by the
:26:18. > :26:19.Conservative MP Anne McIntosh, who was deselected by her local
:26:20. > :26:28.constituency party last week. Welcome to the Daily Politics. Why
:26:29. > :26:32.were you deselected? I am obviously disappointed at the outcome of the
:26:33. > :26:35.ballot which does seem to be the result of some ungentlemanly
:26:36. > :26:39.behaviour which has brought discredit to the Conservative Party.
:26:40. > :26:45.I am delighted this is going to be looked into so I don't wish to
:26:46. > :26:48.comment at this stage. When you say it is being looked into? By the
:26:49. > :26:55.highest ranks of the Conservative Party. Is this about a fallout
:26:56. > :26:59.between you and a person in your constituency? So it would appear.
:27:00. > :27:05.Can I make a general comment about why it is so important to have
:27:06. > :27:13.Conservative associations? It exists under the Conservative constitution
:27:14. > :27:19.to elect councillors, MPs and MEPs and after the election to support
:27:20. > :27:26.them. My association is a very new one. The seat was only reconstituted
:27:27. > :27:37.on a boundary change in 2010. I was told in 2009 by the preferred
:27:38. > :27:42.candidate, who has - and now it has become public knowledge who the
:27:43. > :27:55.preferred candidate is, that has now happened. The whole party voted you
:27:56. > :28:02.out? I was voted out of the constituency of 11,000 voters. But
:28:03. > :28:07.within the association? I don't want to pre-empt the results of an
:28:08. > :28:12.enquiry and draw too many parallels but we had a very favourable enquiry
:28:13. > :28:18.in June last year, supported by the board of the party. If the results
:28:19. > :28:23.of that enquiry become more public knowledge, we might have seen and
:28:24. > :28:27.more different run of the ballot. I have had no personal disagreement
:28:28. > :28:34.with the overwhelming majority of the members of my association, the
:28:35. > :28:39.wider public. I had huge messages of support from them. Why has she been
:28:40. > :28:45.deselected? Is the association flexing their muscles? I don't know
:28:46. > :28:49.about that specific case because I have been in Yorkshire. But we do
:28:50. > :28:56.see a trend affecting associations which sees more and more MPs being
:28:57. > :29:01.treated as constituency workers. There is also a general fall in
:29:02. > :29:10.their status which has happened since the expenses scandal. Without
:29:11. > :29:13.making any comment, that is feeding through generally into the body
:29:14. > :29:19.politic. I don't know what happened up there and I could not comment.
:29:20. > :29:30.Tim Yeo said it was about policy issues. He was candid about his
:29:31. > :29:33.stance on climate change... If that is the case, why wasn't Crispin
:29:34. > :29:38.Blunt who was up in front of a reselection ballot in Reigate where
:29:39. > :29:44.his sexuality was said to be the issue, why wasn't he deselect it? I
:29:45. > :29:49.think with these cases, the member of Parliament and the association it
:29:50. > :29:55.is a bit like a marriage. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it breaks
:29:56. > :30:01.down. It is hard to generalise. Was it about policy in your case? I was
:30:02. > :30:06.told immediately after the ballot, which was a great surprise to
:30:07. > :30:12.everybody... Did you think you would come through? I think the party
:30:13. > :30:17.expected me to come through and as I said, ungentlemanly behaviour which
:30:18. > :30:24.I think the party has promised to look into. But it was a case I am
:30:25. > :30:29.still on the candidate's list and I can apply for any seat. One way
:30:30. > :30:32.forward would be to have an open primary and let the residents decide
:30:33. > :30:36.who they want to go forward in this case. The important thing to whole
:30:37. > :30:45.site off, it is not for the association for the number of --
:30:46. > :30:50.member of Parliament should meet. It is for the member of Parliament to
:30:51. > :31:06.be elected and be a servant of the country, constituency and the
:31:07. > :31:11.association. Clearly there is a right for association, I don't want
:31:12. > :31:14.to speak about the specifics. There must be the possibility for
:31:15. > :31:18.associations or constituency members if you like, of a particular party
:31:19. > :31:25.to say we don't want you to carry on. It is a bit like a marriage. It
:31:26. > :31:29.is very reminiscent of the relationship between synagogues,
:31:30. > :31:32.compilations, and their rabbis, or churches and their priests. There is
:31:33. > :31:37.something about the chemistry of the relationship, very often. I do think
:31:38. > :31:40.ultimately they ought to be able to decide, but it has to be fairly and
:31:41. > :31:49.due process and I think all of that needs testing out. Do you think it
:31:50. > :32:00.has changed? Is it also about some Tory MPs being out of touch, or not
:32:01. > :32:07.in line with their Tory activists? We fell into disrepute over the
:32:08. > :32:09.expenses issue. And there is no, no on outside interest. I am in a
:32:10. > :32:12.privileged position being the chairman of the committee that
:32:13. > :32:18.relates closely to local interest, but if you get a policy on a free
:32:19. > :32:26.vote which in fact on same-sex marriage, I came to my policy
:32:27. > :32:30.decision on my own back, but if I had voted any other way I would have
:32:31. > :32:35.had even greater problems in the constituency. What are you going to
:32:36. > :32:42.do? I am not good to give a running commentary, I will not let the
:32:43. > :32:48.machinations of the party... I am keeping an open mind. If I felt I
:32:49. > :32:50.had done anything wrong, there is a question of my standing in the
:32:51. > :32:53.community, allegations have been made about me I have not been able
:32:54. > :33:02.to repeat and I take a long-term view on that.
:33:03. > :33:06.Never mind being deselected, and for that matter never mind losing your
:33:07. > :33:10.seat at the next election, suddenly it seems many MPs just will not
:33:11. > :33:14.bother with the whole thing at all in 2015. A number of politicians
:33:15. > :33:17.from all parties have decided to stand down. Focus has been placed on
:33:18. > :33:21.a number of Conservative women who have announced that recently. Giles
:33:22. > :33:28.has been talking to two MPs about why being an MP can be harder than
:33:29. > :33:32.you think. Many MPs are planning their every election campaign for
:33:33. > :33:34.2015 but a noticeable number, particularly women recently, have
:33:35. > :33:40.decided not to bother. They are standing down. What might
:33:41. > :33:44.make an MP feel it is not worth it? Charlotte Leslie will fight 2015 she
:33:45. > :33:49.has found it tough from the marathon of trying to win in 2010. They
:33:50. > :33:55.scrape you of the tarmac, and dump you in this machine of Parliament.
:33:56. > :33:58.If you had to devise somewhere to make people who worked in a place
:33:59. > :34:06.out of touch you couldn't do much better. On what other planet would
:34:07. > :34:08.you have promotions, but there is openly not based on merit but other
:34:09. > :34:13.considerations, on what planet would want to be able to bully the
:34:14. > :34:19.workforce in the way the expectation is the whips do it? It is just mad.
:34:20. > :34:23.For those who want to get out into their constituency being tied to
:34:24. > :34:27.Westminster votes gets in the way. It is quite reasonable to wait for
:34:28. > :34:31.six hours in the chamber to make a speech, speak for six minutes, which
:34:32. > :34:37.changes absolutely nothing, and sometimes you do feel like a sheep
:34:38. > :34:43.going through the sheep dip. You don't feel very much more than a bit
:34:44. > :34:47.of lobby fodder. It is important we hold government to account regularly
:34:48. > :34:50.but do need to be here every week? Perhaps once a month we should have
:34:51. > :34:55.a week where we work in the constituency. There could be
:34:56. > :34:58.different ways to do it. Then you get back to your constituency at the
:34:59. > :35:03.last thing you want them to say is we never see her now she has gone to
:35:04. > :35:06.London. Thursday night, you hit the ground running, Friday, Saturday,
:35:07. > :35:10.Sunday you are out there in your constituency doing as much as
:35:11. > :35:15.possible. Monday comes around again and you are exhausted. It is not
:35:16. > :35:19.just be a new MP. For one who wants to leave after 14 years to be
:35:20. > :35:24.something else, being in opposition come be tricky. If you are in
:35:25. > :35:29.opposition it is much harder work to get changed so that makes a
:35:30. > :35:35.difference. But as an individual MP you can still do things in
:35:36. > :35:39.opposition, it is just a bit soul breaking when you find all the time
:35:40. > :35:44.everything you want to do gets slapped down. The expenses row is
:35:45. > :35:50.still toxic, even for those never involved. The public can be harder
:35:51. > :35:54.and harsher, and told one MP's wife was backed up. Recess is often busy
:35:55. > :36:01.but seen as holiday, but MPs do get it. I can see why people don't like
:36:02. > :36:03.politicians, and I am one. We all go on television and we think it is
:36:04. > :36:07.clever not to answer the question when you're sitting at home wanting
:36:08. > :36:15.them to answer the question. She is admitting things many others have
:36:16. > :36:18.said to me that she is using a voice to do what she came in to do what
:36:19. > :36:22.she came into view, change things. You can and should be in a position
:36:23. > :36:25.to change things and you can't replace that. That is the most
:36:26. > :36:33.fantastic thing, I wouldn't change it for the world. That is a prize
:36:34. > :36:37.worth having. Paul Goodman is still with us and we
:36:38. > :36:40.have been joined by Laura Sandys is who has announced she is not
:36:41. > :36:44.standing in the next election will stop I don't know how much you want
:36:45. > :36:49.to say about why you are not standing.
:36:50. > :36:56.It is to do with family issues. No big decision is 100% right. It is
:36:57. > :37:00.with regret. But we move onwards and upwards. As Charlotte right? The way
:37:01. > :37:06.she described it at the beginning, lobby fodder, who works in an
:37:07. > :37:10.environment where whips are borrowing you and telling you what
:37:11. > :37:16.to do other promotions are not done on merit, who would do it --
:37:17. > :37:21.bullying you? There needs to be a review of how Parliament works. It
:37:22. > :37:25.needs the Institute of government to look at this. How do we ensure
:37:26. > :37:28.people who come in mid-career, if you come in very young it becomes
:37:29. > :37:33.normality. If you come and much older it becomes a fourth career. We
:37:34. > :37:37.have got a bit of a crisis with certainly people in mid-career who
:37:38. > :37:44.are finding just the place a little bit odd, a little bit lacking we
:37:45. > :37:48.need to look up what gives a professional environment, what is a
:37:49. > :37:54.professional way to achieve things stop do you not think it is run
:37:55. > :37:58.professionally? It has evolved over many years but doesn't accommodate
:37:59. > :38:01.well those people who have come from different careers. If we are trying
:38:02. > :38:05.to ensure there is that diversity in Parliament, we have got to ensure it
:38:06. > :38:11.is an environment that actually we all get satisfaction from.
:38:12. > :38:14.There were major changes to the way Parliament is one, it is clearly not
:38:15. > :38:18.enough. I think a possible explanation is
:38:19. > :38:22.the commons are still stuck between two worlds. It is done between the
:38:23. > :38:26.old world where you are an elected representative, you got your money
:38:27. > :38:30.from the unions or private business, and the New World where you are a
:38:31. > :38:34.professional politician who is paid by the taxpayer and is a
:38:35. > :38:36.constituency worker. To my mind the Commons still hasn't really sorted
:38:37. > :38:42.out the tension between those two roles and you have got MPs who are
:38:43. > :38:46.there expected to be constituency workers, but at the same time they
:38:47. > :38:49.are sometimes expected to be ministers. Maybe that is something
:38:50. > :38:55.that sooner or later Parliament has got to sort out. They I distinguish
:38:56. > :38:58.between the issue of being a professional politician which I
:38:59. > :39:04.think Parliament sits extremely well, and being somebody who hasn't
:39:05. > :39:10.had a profession outside. In some ways the difference in what I would
:39:11. > :39:15.call normality is quite extreme. But they are other people politicians
:39:16. > :39:19.say they want to attract. What about the question of women? It clearly
:39:20. > :39:22.isn't just a question of women, although there are these
:39:23. > :39:28.conservative women who are new MPs in 2010, disappointing for the
:39:29. > :39:33.Conservative party they are standing down. Is there a particular issue
:39:34. > :39:37.for women? I am a member of the House of Lords, I was a Lib Dem
:39:38. > :39:41.working peer, I am now a crossbencher because no peak until
:39:42. > :39:48.you what to do so it is preferable. -- nobody can tell you what to do. I
:39:49. > :39:55.think when you listen, actually listen, it sounds a bit like a bear
:39:56. > :40:00.pit. Maybe the people who started right at the beginning, professional
:40:01. > :40:03.politicians, you get in you and to it. Particularly women coming in in
:40:04. > :40:14.mid-career, they think what is going on here? I don't see this as women's
:40:15. > :40:17.issues. I have been a little bit amazed by the media obsession with
:40:18. > :40:23.his woman business because if you look at the people stepping down
:40:24. > :40:28.none of us have got children, we are not facing their source of family
:40:29. > :40:34.issues. We expect our environment to respect ourselves. I think we will
:40:35. > :40:38.know more at the end of the Parliament when we see who is going.
:40:39. > :40:42.It is worth pointing out in a little about women, there are at least
:40:43. > :40:49.three conservative male MPs going early, James Arbuthnot is going, he
:40:50. > :40:53.could stay. Charles Hendry, they are all in their 50s who are going. That
:40:54. > :40:56.is telling you something about what is happening in the Commons. I
:40:57. > :41:01.didn't like the change to the professional politician model, it
:41:02. > :41:05.wasn't for me, which is why I went. Undoubtedly I think in a row about
:41:06. > :41:09.the deselection is, and in the issues we are discussing, you are
:41:10. > :41:13.seeing in the background is the question about what it is members of
:41:14. > :41:17.Parliament should be. One of the MPs said to me it is fine if you have
:41:18. > :41:22.got an issue to Champion, if you come in as a backbencher and within
:41:23. > :41:27.months you can concentrate on something to make your name, for
:41:28. > :41:31.example. Is that key? It is key for some people. Others come and they
:41:32. > :41:36.very much want to make their way up the ladder, the junior ministers, or
:41:37. > :41:39.ministers. The way Parliament is working is that sort of person is
:41:40. > :41:43.going to go through the system quicker, they need to come in and
:41:44. > :41:49.leave faster stop your Nokia to have so many voices of experience who can
:41:50. > :41:54.talk about what has gone before and what you can learn from the past.
:41:55. > :41:58.Later today Laura our guests along with several other Conservative MPs
:41:59. > :42:01.from the conservative modernisers group will publish a mini manifesto
:42:02. > :42:07.about business and the environment stop what is it all about? We have
:42:08. > :42:12.been surprised about this coming from the outside, government seems
:42:13. > :42:16.to be obsessed with GDP. Topline sales. There is no work, no mention
:42:17. > :42:24.even in the corporate plan of profit. What we are doing is looking
:42:25. > :42:28.at growing the economy, but not necessarily ensuring it is
:42:29. > :42:33.competitive. We are launching this manifesto. What we are looking for
:42:34. > :42:36.is to get profitability, more high profile within government, resource
:42:37. > :42:41.productivity, we are obsessed with Labour productivity. We should be
:42:42. > :42:48.looking... Labour productivity is down. We should be bearing down on
:42:49. > :42:51.the inputs manufacturing, steel, inputs and resources we are putting
:42:52. > :42:58.into manufacturing, rather than this obsession with productivity. We want
:42:59. > :43:03.people in work. We must increase our competitiveness. The idea is to make
:43:04. > :43:07.this happen? We want a new business sector, remade in Britain,
:43:08. > :43:15.recycling, turbo-charging that whole area. We also want to ensure we have
:43:16. > :43:30.got waste as a concept needs to move from death row which is a negative
:43:31. > :43:38.department -- Defra, and get more out of less. And the green agenda?
:43:39. > :43:44.Making sure we don't use more than we need to. Getting some spin off
:43:45. > :43:52.businesses as a result. Is this the Tory modernisers fight, the answer
:43:53. > :43:57.to comments? It is a recasting of the low carbon, green economy. We
:43:58. > :44:03.have always been determined to save the Green economy is about improving
:44:04. > :44:09.bottom-line figures. What we don't believe in is GDP, and
:44:10. > :44:12.old-fashioned, 1970s, the British Leyland, is really the way to judge
:44:13. > :44:18.our economy. We need to be competitive and efficient. Are you
:44:19. > :44:24.challenging climate change sceptics in your party? That is a different
:44:25. > :44:29.issue to this report. It is key people develop policy of the back of
:44:30. > :44:33.evidence for stop and it happens that 90% of scientists believe in
:44:34. > :44:36.man-made climate change. I am certainly not the expert that will
:44:37. > :44:51.question them. A few in my body think they know climate science
:44:52. > :44:55.better than the 98% of scientists. In Should pubs in England and Wales
:44:56. > :44:59.be allowed to open extra late during the football World Cup this summer?
:45:00. > :45:02.Last week the Home Office decided against issuing blanket permission,
:45:03. > :45:04.saying that it doesn't count as an exceptional, one-off event. But
:45:05. > :45:08.yesterday David Cameron reversed that decision and there's now going
:45:09. > :45:11.to be a fresh consultation. In a moment we'll debate the issue. First
:45:12. > :45:18.though, here's what members of the public thought about the Home
:45:19. > :45:23.Office's original decision. People want to sit in the bar and
:45:24. > :45:27.spent time with their friends and family and watch the football. You
:45:28. > :45:31.don't get the same atmosphere watching it at home. A couple of
:45:32. > :45:36.jars and watch it with your mates. People aren't going to go out on the
:45:37. > :45:41.streets and wrecked things. On the government side, the economy, pubs
:45:42. > :45:52.need all the income they can get. It will be a massive blow because we
:45:53. > :45:55.will lose a lot of revenue. We've been joined by Brigid Simmons from
:45:56. > :45:59.the Beer and Pub Association, and Gloria Elliot from the Noise
:46:00. > :46:02.Abatement Society. Why shouldn't these decisions be
:46:03. > :46:08.taken locally, surely in some places it would be appropriate for some
:46:09. > :46:14.pubs to open late and some not? Absolutely. There is the temporary
:46:15. > :46:20.event notice which every single pub and licensed premises in England and
:46:21. > :46:26.Wales can extend -- applied to to extend their hours. I don't know
:46:27. > :46:29.what the fuss is about because if they apply now there is plenty of
:46:30. > :46:34.time to get the extension and the council would have enough time to
:46:35. > :46:39.think if it is appropriate or not. They know their local pub better
:46:40. > :46:49.than anyone. I you signed up to that? The cost to each pub is ?25.
:46:50. > :46:53.We are still closing 26 pubs a week. We have had help from the Prime
:46:54. > :46:58.Minister on beer duty and I hope we get more help this year. We need to
:46:59. > :47:05.support the pubs. People can apply for temporary notices. But on the
:47:06. > :47:10.14th of June, England against Italy does not start until 11pm when the
:47:11. > :47:17.pubs are closing. What do you say to that? They have got to think about
:47:18. > :47:20.the residents living close by, many of which are not football fans and
:47:21. > :47:26.have to go to work on the Monday morning. The foot wall is lovely,
:47:27. > :47:31.everyone is looking forward to it, the Italian match. You just don't
:47:32. > :47:35.want the pubs to be open? Yes, I shall be there at my local pub
:47:36. > :47:42.because it is an exciting match. But the point is, if there is not soft
:47:43. > :47:49.touch management in place taking care of the residents as well so the
:47:50. > :47:54.right are given the extension, not the badly managed pubs. It is to
:47:55. > :47:59.protect everybody. Why should there be some kind of national, central
:48:00. > :48:06.blanket guidance? It does seem excessive. That is the law, if you
:48:07. > :48:12.give national extension you have to give it to all premises. We actually
:48:13. > :48:20.issue noise control guidance and we have issued in local conjunct -- in
:48:21. > :48:24.conjunction with the Local Government Association and the
:48:25. > :48:27.police, guidance to make sure pubs are well managed during the World
:48:28. > :48:31.Cup. If we don't allow it to be watched in pubs, people will watch
:48:32. > :48:37.bigger screens set up by local authorities and that is much more
:48:38. > :48:40.difficult to control. They will buy supermarket alcohol and they won't
:48:41. > :48:44.eat food. Food sales during the Diamond Jubilee and the royal
:48:45. > :48:52.wedding went up, more than beer sales. I can see the profitability
:48:53. > :48:56.from the pub's point of view and that is a lot of money that will be
:48:57. > :49:02.deprived from pubs who are struggling? I don't think there
:49:03. > :49:06.should be a national decision, it should be a local decision. If local
:49:07. > :49:12.authorities decide to put up a big-screen dash and I take the point
:49:13. > :49:20.that it can cause disruption and have unruly people around, but you
:49:21. > :49:31.can have unruly people around pubs. We know the World Cup comes round.
:49:32. > :49:35.It is not a one off is it? It is not a one off, we should have done this
:49:36. > :49:42.for the Olympics, we didn't. Tourette's did not come to central
:49:43. > :49:48.London as a result. -- tourists. We need to support an industry that is
:49:49. > :49:52.struggling. This is one good way of doing it and we will work as cloaks
:49:53. > :49:57.Lee as we can with the Home Office, police and local authorities to make
:49:58. > :50:08.sure it is properly controlled and people are properly controlled.
:50:09. > :50:13.Yesterday, the Environment Secretary was called to the House of Commons
:50:14. > :50:16.to answer questions about the government's response to the
:50:17. > :50:21.flooding in Somerset. Here are some highlights. Recent Met Office
:50:22. > :50:28.figures showed Somerset received more rainfall than it normally would
:50:29. > :50:32.have received over an entire winter. The high tides experienced in
:50:33. > :50:35.January and February exacerbated the situation by preventing water from
:50:36. > :50:42.flowing out to sea resulting in rivers overtopping their banks and
:50:43. > :50:47.flooding the surrounding land. Emergency services and Environment
:50:48. > :50:51.Agency staff deserve our thanks. Despite these efforts it is clear
:50:52. > :50:57.the residents in Somerset have been badly let down. When the water first
:50:58. > :51:01.rose it took too long to provide the pumps and other assistance they
:51:02. > :51:05.needed. We have seen meeting after meeting but little coherence to the
:51:06. > :51:12.government's strategy for dealing with this crisis. We have had
:51:13. > :51:24.nothing but help from the Secretary of State. COBRA has done a great job
:51:25. > :51:29.and I am very grateful to the Secretary of State. As I stood in
:51:30. > :51:36.Burrowbridge yesterday morning with the river again breaching the banks,
:51:37. > :51:39.the residents of Burrowbridge, I had to say, expressed relief to me the
:51:40. > :51:46.Prime Minister committed in this House on Wednesday to the river is
:51:47. > :51:50.being dredged. But I had to say to the Secretary of State, there was
:51:51. > :51:59.some cynicism about whether this would happen in practice.
:52:00. > :52:01.This morning the head of the Environment Agency for England again
:52:02. > :52:05.warned that his organisation's budget can't be stretched to protect
:52:06. > :52:10.every single coastal area at risk of flooding. So should we abandon flood
:52:11. > :52:14.defences in some areas? We're joined from Dundee by Professor Rob Duck
:52:15. > :52:19.who's an expert on flooding, and in our studio is the Somerset MP Tessa
:52:20. > :52:23.Munt. Rob Duck, the chairman of the
:52:24. > :52:28.Environment Agency says we need to decide whether to protect town or
:52:29. > :52:35.country because we cannot protect both? Unfortunately we cannot
:52:36. > :52:41.protect everywhere and we will have two sacrifice some land. Which land
:52:42. > :52:46.would you sacrifice? We have reclaimed land from the sea over
:52:47. > :52:51.centuries. We have got to look at what we have used it for, how we
:52:52. > :52:56.have and bank debt, drained it and so on. That is land the sea would
:52:57. > :53:02.formerly have inundated and is no longer able to do so. We have to
:53:03. > :53:05.look at perhaps returning some of the land back to the sea in order
:53:06. > :53:15.that our cities can be properly protected. Do you accept that, Tessa
:53:16. > :53:22.Munt? I don't. There has to be a decision made? One has to protect
:53:23. > :53:25.life and property, but you cannot write off the whole of rural
:53:26. > :53:29.communities in this country. I have been asking every year for some
:53:30. > :53:36.recognition to be given to the value of the land. Of course in my area we
:53:37. > :53:41.are in a flood plain and everybody accepts there will be some flooding
:53:42. > :53:44.for a time. It is a matter of getting the water off the land, they
:53:45. > :53:53.need to take protective measures. When the Environment Agency came
:53:54. > :53:59.along on Boxing Day last year sorry, the year before last, he was trying
:54:00. > :54:04.to protect his nursery business in my constituency and put a physical
:54:05. > :54:07.barrier up out of the silt that had built up in the drain he lives a
:54:08. > :54:12.James Hunt two, he was served with a notice for court action for trying
:54:13. > :54:19.to protect his business. It is madness. Tessa Munt is saying we
:54:20. > :54:31.cannot abandon our communities in the way you are implying? I would
:54:32. > :54:34.not wish to abandon rural communities but we have to look at
:54:35. > :54:38.some of the land we have claimed from the sea in the past and
:54:39. > :54:44.consider returning these two marine inundation. One of the problems is,
:54:45. > :54:50.we have reduced the capacity of water, or the capacity for water
:54:51. > :54:55.that comes in on the in flowing tide, and there isn't sufficient
:54:56. > :55:02.volume for it to flow into. If that coincides with high run-off from the
:55:03. > :55:07.lands, a storm surge coinciding with that, that is when we have problems.
:55:08. > :55:14.Our efforts have to be concentrated in the cities. That is going to
:55:15. > :55:17.happen again and again, so sitting there and saying we cannot let it
:55:18. > :55:23.happen is not realistic. It is costing ?100,000 a week to pump off
:55:24. > :55:28.the water from farmland, is it affordable? It is, we have to take
:55:29. > :55:34.reasonable steps to protect everybody. Why don't we build town
:55:35. > :55:39.houses or houses on stilts as there have been in Bury Saint Edmunds and
:55:40. > :55:44.other places, so your stuff that is movable like your car, is at a low
:55:45. > :55:49.level so you don't lose your carpets and your furniture every time. What
:55:50. > :55:54.about returning some of the reclaimed land? It is not realistic.
:55:55. > :56:00.We should be able to give some protection. In Highbridge there are
:56:01. > :56:06.perfectly good sluice gates. We have to make sure when the tide is coming
:56:07. > :56:15.in it does not come in and hit, and we can pump over the top. Is it
:56:16. > :56:17.affordable? We don't know the implication of future weather
:56:18. > :56:23.patterns, so we don't know if it is affordable. I am not sure whether we
:56:24. > :56:28.can tell that. We may have to make some hard choices. I have a problem
:56:29. > :56:33.with the tone of this debate that is going on. We have been talking
:56:34. > :56:37.particularly about the Somerset Levels and this is land reclaimed
:56:38. > :56:43.hundreds of years ago, not stuff reclaimed two weeks ago, it is
:56:44. > :56:46.ridiculous. They are established communities. There has been
:56:47. > :56:50.something wrong with the tone in the way people have been talking about
:56:51. > :56:54.that. The Environment Agency and others who have not even sympathetic
:56:55. > :57:01.reflection on what is happening to those people. Are you unhappy with
:57:02. > :57:08.the government's response? I am happy something is being done. Is it
:57:09. > :57:16.too late? Of course it is, we had flooding in April. So you can't be
:57:17. > :57:22.very happy? It is better to have something and nothing isn't it? This
:57:23. > :57:27.is a catchment area that has several rivers and I accept the fact some of
:57:28. > :57:31.them are canals that our dog, but there are natural rivers and
:57:32. > :57:37.problems that have not been solved for up to 15 years. How much would
:57:38. > :57:40.it cost to defend our coastal areas if this weather will continue in
:57:41. > :57:45.years to come and possibly get worse? I don't think I can give you
:57:46. > :57:51.a sensible answer. It would cost way beyond anything we could possibly
:57:52. > :57:57.afford. We have to be selective, we have got to make choices. I should
:57:58. > :58:02.also add, we know the Somerset Levels have been drained since the
:58:03. > :58:04.13th and 14th century, but we have been claiming land in other areas
:58:05. > :58:10.from the sea since the Second World War. So there are areas where we
:58:11. > :58:15.have been doing it comparatively recently. We are building on the
:58:16. > :58:22.flood Lane, why? Thank you very much.
:58:23. > :58:25.There's just time before we go to find out the answer to our quiz. The
:58:26. > :58:29.question was, from 9.00pm this evening London will be hit by a
:58:30. > :58:32.48-hour tube strike. But what has London Mayor, Boris Johnson offered
:58:33. > :58:39.the union boss, Bow Crow, if calls off the strike and sits down with
:58:40. > :58:46.him for discussions? Answer is A. I may be wrong. I would have thought
:58:47. > :58:50.the deputy mayor ideas not a bad one. I don't know what the answer
:58:51. > :58:58.is. It is a Pina Colaba, you are right. That is all for today. Thanks
:58:59. > :59:01.to my guests. Andrew and I will be back tomorrow. Good buy.