:00:36. > :00:38.Morning all, welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:39. > :00:41.Ministers say Europe's leaders will be flicking a V-sign to the voters
:00:42. > :00:45.if they back Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the EU commission.
:00:46. > :00:48.But it looks like David Cameron's bid to block the man
:00:49. > :00:50.heading for one of Europe's top jobs has failed.
:00:51. > :00:52.We'll be asking where this leaves his plans to change
:00:53. > :00:57.George Osborne likes High Speed 2 so much
:00:58. > :01:04.He says linking big northern cities will let them take on the world.
:01:05. > :01:13.The polls are still looking tricky for Ed Miliband, but we'll speak to
:01:14. > :01:16.And they used to call it the prawn cocktail offensive.
:01:17. > :01:25.What are the political parties doing to try to win support from business?
:01:26. > :01:29.It's a shorter programme today because
:01:30. > :01:34.Consider us a gentle under-arm serve
:01:35. > :01:36.to get you warmed up for the tournament.
:01:37. > :01:39.And with us for the show is Katja Hall,
:01:40. > :01:42.newly promoted as Deputy Director-General of the CBI,
:01:43. > :01:45.the organisation representing businesses that together
:01:46. > :01:48.employ about a third of the private sector workforce in the UK.
:01:49. > :01:52.First, the High Speed 2 rail line between London
:01:53. > :01:56.and Birmingham isn't due to open until 2026,
:01:57. > :02:00.but the government's already talking about a follow-up.
:02:01. > :02:04.High Speed 3 would link Manchester and Leeds and help build
:02:05. > :02:07.a super-city in the north to rival the economic power of London.
:02:08. > :02:10.The chancellor George Osborne's been speaking in Manchester this morning,
:02:11. > :02:23.I have set out a vision of the northern powerhouse, not to rival
:02:24. > :02:27.the south but the its brother in arms as we fight for Britain's share
:02:28. > :02:33.of the global economy. Let's bring our northern cities together. The
:02:34. > :02:38.northern powerhouse cannot be built overnight, it is a long-term plan
:02:39. > :02:43.for a country serious about its long-term future. It means jobs and
:02:44. > :02:47.prosperity, security for people of a few two decades, and I make this
:02:48. > :02:50.promise to you, I will work tirelessly with anyone across
:02:51. > :03:01.political divides in any of these great cities to make the northern
:03:02. > :03:08.powerhouse a reality. Does this have the feel of a recycled idea. It
:03:09. > :03:11.never catch me happens. We absolutely need to do more to
:03:12. > :03:16.promote growth across the UK. In a sense we have to move away from this
:03:17. > :03:20.idea that it is London or the rest of the UK, we should do our best to
:03:21. > :03:26.maximise growth across all parts of the UK. This northern hub is primed
:03:27. > :03:31.to connect, transport links are a key part of that.
:03:32. > :03:37.Bearing in mind how much controversy around High Speed 2, and we are
:03:38. > :03:44.still years away from that happening if it finally does go ahead, what
:03:45. > :03:49.help with baby of high-speed three? We need to cease in more detail.
:03:50. > :03:54.High Speed Rail Bill invincible is a good thing but given the costs
:03:55. > :03:59.involved we want to make sure it is good value for taxpayers money.
:04:00. > :04:04.Do you think it is a bit short of detail because it is just an idea
:04:05. > :04:06.that is good to talk about, George Osborne knows seriously it will not
:04:07. > :04:11.leave the buffers? I think it should be a serious idea
:04:12. > :04:15.and one we are talking about. He is talking about starting a
:04:16. > :04:20.conversation about how we can connect our cities in the north
:04:21. > :04:24.better two has an important role to play but we should be looking to
:04:25. > :04:30.connect East with West. What about trying to spread the
:04:31. > :04:34.centre focus away from London, is that something you, in your
:04:35. > :04:39.position, think is desirable. You say it is something you would like
:04:40. > :04:43.but if everybody wants to be in London and the south-east shouldn't
:04:44. > :04:46.the focus be there? Too often the debate is either
:04:47. > :04:51.London or the rest of the UK but we need to have both. This isn't a
:04:52. > :04:55.0-sum game, we can have a successful and prosperous London in the
:04:56. > :04:59.south-east but also vibrant cities across the whole of the UK and in
:05:00. > :05:05.the past public policy has tried to close the gap that is solving the
:05:06. > :05:08.wrong problem, we should be focusing on maximising growth across all
:05:09. > :05:11.parts of the UK, three strong local leadership and also through good
:05:12. > :05:14.transport and infrastructure connections.
:05:15. > :05:18.In case you hadn't had enough of the football, the question for
:05:19. > :05:22.How much is England's departure from the tournament apparently going
:05:23. > :05:33.Or c) Nothing, in fact it might boost economic productivity
:05:34. > :05:35.as people are less distracted at work.
:05:36. > :05:41.we'll see if Katja can give us the correct answer.
:05:42. > :05:45.The Prime Minister's going to meet with Herman Van Rompuy later today,
:05:46. > :05:47.he's the president of the European Council,
:05:48. > :05:51.to one of the top jobs in Brussels
:05:52. > :05:55.going to former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker.
:05:56. > :05:58.But it looks like this is one fight Cameron is set to lose
:05:59. > :06:01.with EU officials briefing that Juncker
:06:02. > :06:05.will become President of the European Commission.
:06:06. > :06:08.It's all politically tricky for the prime minister who wants to
:06:09. > :06:10.renegotiate Britain's membership of the EU and Juncker's appointment
:06:11. > :06:15.could be a big blow to Cameron's reform agenda.
:06:16. > :06:17.Over the weekend, the work and pensions secretary
:06:18. > :06:19.Iain Duncan Smith said EU leaders were "flicking two fingers" at
:06:20. > :06:25.And, Juncker does seem to be at odds with
:06:26. > :06:29.Cameron's vision for Europe, he's said the free movement of people is
:06:30. > :06:32.one EU principle that won't be on the table for negotiation.
:06:33. > :06:35.This all comes amid concerns from British business about the
:06:36. > :06:44.In a report out today, Business for Britain, a group of
:06:45. > :06:48.business leaders urging reform, say "only very considerable reforms" can
:06:49. > :06:53.Our political correspondent Ben Wright is now one of Europe's
:06:54. > :06:56.leading experts in all things to do with Jean-Claude Juncker
:06:57. > :07:09.Do you think it is all over for David Cameron in terms of trying to
:07:10. > :07:15.block this appointment? Barring some surprise injury time events I think
:07:16. > :07:19.he will be the nomination for commission president.
:07:20. > :07:23.The European Parliament still needs to have a vote on it but Herman van
:07:24. > :07:27.Rompuy has been desperate to get all the European leaders to agree to
:07:28. > :07:33.find a consensus on who they want their nomination and following the
:07:34. > :07:36.European elections, he emerges as the frontrunner because he was the
:07:37. > :07:40.nominee of the European People's party, the biggest group of parties
:07:41. > :07:44.in the European Parliament, but we know that for weeks David Cameron
:07:45. > :07:47.and the Brits have been trying to stop them, they have been trying to
:07:48. > :07:52.muster a coalition of the rain to oppose him, but it is like as though
:07:53. > :07:58.with days to go the Brits have failed and he is very likely to be
:07:59. > :08:02.the next commission president. Is this a case of David Cameron not
:08:03. > :08:07.going to bow out without a fight, trying to say to his own
:08:08. > :08:11.backbenchers I am trying really hard even though it is a lost cause?
:08:12. > :08:15.He has tried to frame this as a glorious defeat for Britain and he
:08:16. > :08:20.wants to show to his MPs that he really made a fight of it. Yesterday
:08:21. > :08:24.Downing Street said they were going to demand a vote so that at least
:08:25. > :08:30.David Cameron can put on record his objections to Jon Courtland -- to
:08:31. > :08:38.Jean-Claude Juncker and he wanted to flush out other European countries
:08:39. > :08:42.who say they are uncomfortable with him as well but not declaring their
:08:43. > :08:47.opposition publicly. By pushing for a vote that is what David Cameron is
:08:48. > :08:50.hoping to do. It is up to Herman van Rompuy to decide if he wants to go
:08:51. > :08:52.down the route of a vote and that is one of the things they will be
:08:53. > :08:55.talking about today. This is not one of the things they will be
:08:56. > :08:57.whether European Council and Herman van Rompuy want to be, it is not
:08:58. > :09:01.really where Angela Merkel wants to van Rompuy want to be, it is not
:09:02. > :09:07.be, she privately had doubts this process, but critical in this whole
:09:08. > :09:10.thing has been the German political establishment, the German media,
:09:11. > :09:15.have really pushed him and they believe because he does have the
:09:16. > :09:19.backing of the European Parliament and he is from the largest group of
:09:20. > :09:23.parties in the parliament he has a mandate, he has legitimacy to be the
:09:24. > :09:26.next president of the European Commission and that is decisive in
:09:27. > :09:27.terms of him becoming the next president of the European
:09:28. > :09:29.Commission. With us now is David Buik, he's
:09:30. > :09:32.an advisor to Business for Britain and he's been warning about the
:09:33. > :09:35.threat the EU poses to the City. And by Peter Wilding from
:09:36. > :09:49.British Influence which campaigns to Welcome. You say that we need
:09:50. > :09:52.considerable reforms of the European Union, what specifically are you
:09:53. > :09:56.referring to? It is down to regulation where our
:09:57. > :10:00.biggest concern is. Many of your viewers may not realise all the
:10:01. > :10:03.other major centres such as Paris, Brussels, they are all Mickey Mouse
:10:04. > :10:08.in comparison to London in terms of a business centre particularly for
:10:09. > :10:12.financial services. Gordon Brown made a serious mistake of agreeing
:10:13. > :10:17.that in 2009 adverse conference was held with President Obama that was
:10:18. > :10:22.trying to agree global regulation. It set us back three years, and in
:10:23. > :10:25.terms of the banking sector and all things financial, London is very
:10:26. > :10:29.much a mover and shaker, he should have got on with his own business.
:10:30. > :10:33.Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone which he could have used
:10:34. > :10:37.terms of dealing with other people weather was a slight difference of
:10:38. > :10:41.opinion. Is he over stating the case in terms
:10:42. > :10:43.of the European Union having too much control over financial
:10:44. > :10:50.regulation and the city here being at a disadvantage?
:10:51. > :10:55.Up to a point. Britain as is David said, London, is the leading
:10:56. > :11:06.financial financial centre in Europe. The rules me to govern
:11:07. > :11:11.London are the rules covered by the entire European space will stop if
:11:12. > :11:18.we have one rule Britain can easily sell its services throughout Europe.
:11:19. > :11:21.London profit enormously from the financial centre. We have three
:11:22. > :11:25.quarters of Europe's banks, headquarters here. There is an
:11:26. > :11:29.umbilical cord between London and Frankfurt and Paris and Europe and
:11:30. > :11:35.the world, and everybody including the United States are trying to call
:11:36. > :11:40.a mate and harmonise financial services law, to the benefit of
:11:41. > :11:44.London. I using mistake by saying the city
:11:45. > :11:48.suffers as a result of a collision, because what you are interested in
:11:49. > :11:57.is Britain pulling out. Absolutely not. The best deal of
:11:58. > :12:02.David Cameron can do it, taking up on Peter's point, part of the
:12:03. > :12:04.problem is we have lulled ourselves into doing business with the
:12:05. > :12:09.European Union which is a huge mistake. We have neglected the rest
:12:10. > :12:14.of the world and as a result of which we are not as competitive in
:12:15. > :12:19.many areas as we might do. London is the head of the financial industry,
:12:20. > :12:24.but if we have our regulation dominated, it is not a question of
:12:25. > :12:27.people moving, it is a question of banks just reappropriated no capital
:12:28. > :12:30.to other part of the world which is very dangerous.
:12:31. > :12:35.Why do we want to have an umbilical cord to the eurozone or the European
:12:36. > :12:40.Union which has been so badly damaged by the recession and which
:12:41. > :12:44.people argue is on a sliding scale downwards, isn't David Wright said
:12:45. > :12:51.we would be better cutting our ties to some extent there, and building
:12:52. > :12:57.business elsewhere. You can have the best of both worlds, you do have the
:12:58. > :13:01.best of both worlds, we can win in Europe and we can galvanise our
:13:02. > :13:04.business to win in other foreign markets. The fact is we are the
:13:05. > :13:09.second least were deleted economy in Europe, we are not bound by red
:13:10. > :13:15.tape, we are winning this battle for reform, and it is just too
:13:16. > :13:20.narrow-minded and short-sighted to save right, it is all this time,
:13:21. > :13:25.let's leave it and hope we can be a buccaneering pirate state conquering
:13:26. > :13:29.the world. I understand where he is coming from and in terms of exports,
:13:30. > :13:33.business, industry and commerce I am not really an power to argue with
:13:34. > :13:36.him because I know he is probably right but with regard regulation and
:13:37. > :13:42.financial service, no disrespect, you are profoundly wrong. Because,
:13:43. > :13:49.the simple reason is so important that people understand that
:13:50. > :13:53.everything from my tied to your very smart suit comes from the banking
:13:54. > :14:00.fraternity, and if we allow regulation to be dominated by a
:14:01. > :14:04.federalist Europe we are in serious trouble. What do you think, David
:14:05. > :14:10.Buick protecting the interests of the city which many people regard as
:14:11. > :14:13.the cause of the crash in 2008, and actually they should come under some
:14:14. > :14:16.sort of regulatory structure, we always hear about, not more
:14:17. > :14:21.regulation. Without knowing what they are. You are right to highlight
:14:22. > :14:24.the importance of the city to the whole UK and we shouldn't forget
:14:25. > :14:30.that banks in the UK financial services system, it is the planning
:14:31. > :14:34.for the rest of the UK economy so it is essential for us, but the city
:14:35. > :14:37.has prospered because we are in the European Union, because we have
:14:38. > :14:45.access to the single market. Should we witness the enormous benefit we
:14:46. > :14:47.get from the biggest single market on our doorstep.
:14:48. > :14:50.You would be campaigning when it comes closer to a referendum if that
:14:51. > :14:54.is what happens after the next election for Britain to stay in the
:14:55. > :14:58.European Union, not me or only weeks out with a fungus we want to see
:14:59. > :15:06.Britain in the youth and fighting for reform. There is too much
:15:07. > :15:12.regulation in Brussels. We shouldn't forget quite a lot of the revelation
:15:13. > :15:16.comes from the UK. We were right to introduce regulation of course in
:15:17. > :15:19.the aftermath of the crisis. We made an enormous contribution to
:15:20. > :15:24.financial regulation. Now we seem to be blown away as irrelevant to the
:15:25. > :15:28.conversation and it is a great pity. What about looking ahead, if there
:15:29. > :15:32.were to be a referendum, you say you are confident about reform. If
:15:33. > :15:42.Jean-Claude Juncker is appointed as president is that reform? We are
:15:43. > :15:44.mixing politics with personality. The fact of Jean-Claude Juncker is
:15:45. > :15:51.entirely separate from the need music coming from, for example, in
:15:52. > :15:55.London, the ambassadors of the countries that are absolutely behind
:15:56. > :15:58.David Cameron, they want reform. What kind of reform do they want,
:15:59. > :16:02.they want the single market convicted for a start, they wanted
:16:03. > :16:06.free trade agreements with United States sorted out, democratic
:16:07. > :16:09.accountability. A team member states will sign up to that Meyer and I
:16:10. > :16:13.want you to watch Friday because what you will see is a reform agenda
:16:14. > :16:21.agreed and David Cameron will probably get a nice for polio --
:16:22. > :16:30.portfolio, a lot of things are being done here. In a diplomatic. We
:16:31. > :16:38.shouldn't concentrate on man. You've got nothing to worry about. Isn't it
:16:39. > :16:40.wonderful, he's a great advocate. Jean-Claude Juncker is a federalist
:16:41. > :16:44.and for groin achieve that under Jean-Claude Juncker is a federalist
:16:45. > :16:47.and for groin achieve that a federalist agenda is difficult. I'll
:16:48. > :16:52.leave it there. You can continue the discuss outside. We will. Thank you.
:16:53. > :16:56.It's been a tricky time for Ed Miliband. The weekend brought more
:16:57. > :16:59.polls suggesting the voters haven't warmed to him personally. Despite
:17:00. > :17:03.Labour's continuing lead over the Conservatives. Former leader, Neil
:17:04. > :17:05.Kinnock yesterday rallied to his defence after a series of former
:17:06. > :17:10.Cabinet Ministers expressed concerns. Here are a few of the
:17:11. > :17:15.criticisms. What Ed is trying to do is approach politics in a rather
:17:16. > :17:18.different way, probably the way in which Tony Blair and New Labour
:17:19. > :17:26.approached it. Do you think it's working? It may well be successful.
:17:27. > :17:31.It may? I would say to you that electoral aRelate mettic is probably
:17:32. > :17:36.on his side -- aRith meltic. Has to convince people he has the capacity
:17:37. > :17:41.to lead the country. I think he does, but people don't believe that.
:17:42. > :17:45.Can Labour win an outright majority? If it gets his position right. It
:17:46. > :17:48.would be difficult for us to do that but it could still be done.
:17:49. > :17:52.Charles Clarke talking to me recently. Some less than helpful
:17:53. > :17:57.thoughts from Peter Mandelson there and Charles Clarke. One man who says
:17:58. > :18:01.Ed Miliband is actually the most underrated leader of modern times is
:18:02. > :18:10.the Labour MPed an former minister, Michael Meacher and he joins us now
:18:11. > :18:14.-- MP and former minister. What about Ed Miliband's profile? I think
:18:15. > :18:20.it's very important for all those who believe he is a fine leader to
:18:21. > :18:26.make the case very strongly now. I think there are two groups of people
:18:27. > :18:30.who are behind the back-biting and sniping. One is that people in the
:18:31. > :18:34.Parliamentary Labour Party who never wanted Ed Miliband as leader and
:18:35. > :18:39.lose no opportunity to stab him in the back, I think December pickibly.
:18:40. > :18:41.Who are you referring to in particular? Nobody in particular but
:18:42. > :18:48.we see nit the newspapers all the time. Unfortunately they are not
:18:49. > :18:54.named and they should be -- despicably. There's a second group
:18:55. > :18:58.who realise Ed Miliband is likely to make major changes that are needed
:18:59. > :19:01.in the economy and in the structure of the society and who see that the
:19:02. > :19:05.interests are threatened, the one who is are concerned. So why are the
:19:06. > :19:11.voters not convinced. If he is, as you have tried to outline, making
:19:12. > :19:15.such powerful arguments in the way the country needs to change, why are
:19:16. > :19:19.voters not coming to his aid and supporting him? Well, they are
:19:20. > :19:26.coming to the aid of the Labour Party. We virtually had a majority.
:19:27. > :19:31.One might say after the economic situation we've had over the past
:19:32. > :19:34.few years that an opposition party, in fact if you look at them
:19:35. > :19:38.previously, they are way ahead, it's not about nearly getting to a
:19:39. > :19:43.majority, it's about getting ahead? But you could argue the opposite. If
:19:44. > :19:47.there is a recovery, a surge and improvement in living standards that
:19:48. > :19:50.George Osborne continually talks about, it's surprising the Tories
:19:51. > :19:54.are still behind. Labour is well in the lead. The latest polls show
:19:55. > :19:59.there was an overwhelming majority of 40. Well in the lead. Three or
:20:00. > :20:04.four points, that's narrowed now. Peter Mandelson says Ed Miliband is
:20:05. > :20:08.confused and unconvincing. David Blunkett's warned Labour being in
:20:09. > :20:11.the wilderness until 2030 and Charles Clarke doesn't at the moment
:20:12. > :20:15.think voters are backing Ed Miliband. You can call them
:20:16. > :20:18.Blairites, part of the Blairite conspiracy but they know a thin ah
:20:19. > :20:23.two about politics and they were like you in administrations when
:20:24. > :20:27.Labour won elections? -- thing or two. Yes, but I don't support what
:20:28. > :20:30.they are saying. I don't believe we are going to lose, I think we are
:20:31. > :20:36.going to win. I don't believe even if we did lose it would be out for a
:20:37. > :20:40.generation, I think that's rubbish. And the idea that we are not
:20:41. > :20:43.connecting is extraordinary. The only person in politics who is
:20:44. > :20:47.actually connecting with people is the man who is saying that the real
:20:48. > :20:51.problem is living standards, people don't feel part of the recovery,
:20:52. > :20:55.that there is a huge problem with the NHS, we are not building enough
:20:56. > :21:02.houses and energy prices are far too high. He's the one person who's
:21:03. > :21:06.doing that. Why are so many people in your own party feeding stories
:21:07. > :21:12.to, as you say, the right-wing press? I think because they still
:21:13. > :21:17.cannot get over things, they are in a state of denial that Ed Miliband
:21:18. > :21:21.won, they wanted David Miliband to win. Well, he didn't. We have a
:21:22. > :21:25.democratic process and Ed Miliband won. If Blair was there, he'd be
:21:26. > :21:30.insisting on total absolute loyalty and Ed is a generous, open-minded,
:21:31. > :21:33.fair-minded man and they should respect that. We have ten months to
:21:34. > :21:37.go in a very important election which Labour can clearly win and
:21:38. > :21:42.they shouldn't throw it away. Does the disloyalty, as you see it,
:21:43. > :21:46.extend to the Shadow Cabinet? I frankly don't know. If you don't
:21:47. > :21:49.know where the disloyalty is exactly coming from, apart from blaming the
:21:50. > :21:53.press, how are you so sure that it's there, apart from the comments we
:21:54. > :21:59.have heard publicly? You seem to be talking about a mass disloyalty? I
:22:00. > :22:03.don't think it's a mass disloyalty but I think there are a number of
:22:04. > :22:07.individuals who I strongly suspect. Who are they? I'm not going to name
:22:08. > :22:11.them but the fact is they are almost certainly members of the Shadow
:22:12. > :22:15.Cabinet because a considerable number did want David Miliband. Do
:22:16. > :22:20.you think Ed Balls is on the move? Those are the stories that his
:22:21. > :22:24.supporters are the ones that are briefing against Ed Miliband. Do you
:22:25. > :22:27.think that could be true? I don't know whether it's true or not but
:22:28. > :22:31.what I would say in regard to Ed Balls that we do need to have an
:22:32. > :22:34.economic narrative which convinces people and prolonged austerity and
:22:35. > :22:39.cuts going all the way to 2020 are not the way to do it. We need a much
:22:40. > :22:44.more positive emphasis on growth. So he's wrong is he, Ed Balls? He does
:22:45. > :22:48.believe in growth but he also says he's going to continue with Tory
:22:49. > :22:52.cuts until 2020 which is unhelpful. A lot of people have said to me on
:22:53. > :22:57.the doorstep, if Labour is going to continue with cuts all the way to
:22:58. > :23:00.2020, that is a powerful argument. We need to present our economic
:23:01. > :23:04.policy much more forcibly. Thank you. Let's get down to
:23:05. > :23:07.business and specifically, what does the business world want from the
:23:08. > :23:11.next Government? We've got a top representative from the world of
:23:12. > :23:19.commerce right here in the studio so we'll ask her in a minute. Here's
:23:20. > :23:28.Adam first. Welcome to Internet world for all
:23:29. > :23:39.things Internet. It's part of London Tech-week.
:23:40. > :23:45.It seems to have worked worked because of the Government. Things
:23:46. > :23:49.connect almost daily. That's been transformational. That's the slick
:23:50. > :23:54.geeks back to Westminster to find out what the parties claim as their
:23:55. > :23:58.prime business policies. George Osborne's spokesman spoke about it
:23:59. > :24:04.and came back with a very specific response. Not. He said the Tory's
:24:05. > :24:06.best policy for business was "our long-term economic plan". Vince
:24:07. > :24:11.Cable's people couldn't think of just one so came up with three. A
:24:12. > :24:16.new focus on apprenticeship, sorting out funding for small and medium
:24:17. > :24:22.sized enterprises and a long-term joined up industrial strategy.
:24:23. > :24:26.And what about Labour? An advise tore the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls
:24:27. > :24:30.said the party's number one policy for business was not having an EU
:24:31. > :24:36.referendum unless there's a transfer of power to Brussels. But some
:24:37. > :24:39.Labour types worry that Ed Miliband looks antibusiness with one former
:24:40. > :24:43.Cabinet Minister telling me the party has absolutely nothing that
:24:44. > :24:47.looks like a platform for attracting the corporate world. Ed's people say
:24:48. > :24:51.he's just pro-consumer. Back at Internet world, it looks
:24:52. > :24:56.like they are learning how to sit on a bean bag. It's a workshop teaching
:24:57. > :24:59.entrepreneurs how to pitch, but what business friendly policies would
:25:00. > :25:05.they pitch to the politicians? They need to keep business rates low,
:25:06. > :25:10.probably need to cut them for some small businesses. I know especially
:25:11. > :25:15.high street businesses are suffering, as are independent shops.
:25:16. > :25:19.If they had an entrepreneurial bank that had a certain amount of money,
:25:20. > :25:24.you are not given the money and can only apply for it two days after
:25:25. > :25:29.training. Create a mid level highly skilled
:25:30. > :25:32.migrant programme visa for people that have experienced with small to
:25:33. > :25:37.large companies where they know how to grow them instead of having
:25:38. > :25:42.people highly skilled only to a point of doctors and only 200 of
:25:43. > :25:47.them. How about one of these for every BBC correspondent? It would
:25:48. > :25:52.make me much more productive! Or maybe not...
:25:53. > :25:55.Good try, Adam. Katya, how significant is it for Labour that
:25:56. > :25:58.there are articles apparently circulating around the business
:25:59. > :26:02.community how to Miliband proof your invest.s if Labour wins the next
:26:03. > :26:06.election? I think for business leaders, they are pragmatic and will
:26:07. > :26:11.work with whoever is elected. There are quite a lot of proposals under
:26:12. > :26:15.Labour that businesses would support so we Reich this things on
:26:16. > :26:19.industrial strategy, we like the proposals on schools for example.
:26:20. > :26:24.Equally, there are ideas that we are not so keen on, like energy price
:26:25. > :26:30.freezes and forced sell off of bank branches. What did you think when
:26:31. > :26:34.Adam held up the piece of paper or the card with Labour's industrial
:26:35. > :26:38.business strategy? I think overall the cards were really interesting. I
:26:39. > :26:41.think on Osborne, absolutely we should give the Government credit
:26:42. > :26:45.and it's the Tories as well as the Liberal Democrats
:26:46. > :26:47.and it's the Tories as well as the reducing the importance of reducing
:26:48. > :26:51.the deficit. We agree with Labour that staying in the EU is important.
:26:52. > :26:55.We should be getting reforms as well. Just some interesting
:26:56. > :27:00.perspectives from those cards. Can Ed Miliband go into the next
:27:01. > :27:03.election without a single big business publicly backing him? I
:27:04. > :27:08.think we have to have good engagement with all the party
:27:09. > :27:11.leaders and we do actually. We have engagement across the political
:27:12. > :27:15.spectrum and that's important. You will find the business leaders are
:27:16. > :27:19.pragmatic and will want to work with whoever is in Government. How are
:27:20. > :27:23.the Tories perceived by the business community, by you? If we look at
:27:24. > :27:26.their record so far, and this is the coalition Government, like the
:27:27. > :27:30.deficit stuff, like what they have done on tax. What don't you like?
:27:31. > :27:34.Some of the rhetoric on immigration and we don't like the immigration
:27:35. > :27:40.target. We think that's an arbitrary target and should be scrapped. Again
:27:41. > :27:43.for the Government, we think that on delivery they have been a bit
:27:44. > :27:48.sluggish on infrastructure delivery. What about big business buys forced
:27:49. > :27:51.to walk away when we had the talk about AstraZenica. What did that say
:27:52. > :28:00.about the Government's support for big business? We are a trading
:28:01. > :28:03.nation and that benefits us. What's important for Government is that
:28:04. > :28:07.they have a strong industrial strategy and when they get
:28:08. > :28:13.commitments from companies who want to buy UK companies, the commitments
:28:14. > :28:18.are made to stick. Now the answer to the quiz, how much is England's
:28:19. > :28:23.departure from the World Cup going to cost?
:28:24. > :28:29.You see, you are asking not the biggest football fan and I can tell
:28:30. > :28:36.you my spending hassen been affected. I would two for C.
:28:37. > :28:41.Nothing? ! Really. You would be surprised it's a ?1.3 billion black
:28:42. > :28:44.hole within the British economy. Do you think that's nonsense? I think
:28:45. > :28:47.we are a footballing loving nation and will continue to spend on beer
:28:48. > :28:55.and barbecues so as long as the weather stays nice! Sausages will be
:28:56. > :29:00.sold after all. Thanks to our guests, particularly you, Katja.
:29:01. > :29:02.Wimbledon is coming up this week. Bye.