:00:43. > :00:48.Politics. The Prime Minister's back in the Commons today to tell MPs how
:00:49. > :00:53.his plan to block Jean-Claude Juncker went. It didn't go
:00:54. > :00:58.brilliantly. Can David Cameron still win significant reform in Europe or
:00:59. > :01:03.is the UK heading for the exit? It's no longer known as a prawn
:01:04. > :01:08.cocktail offensive. Today, Ed Balls is trying to persuade companies
:01:09. > :01:11.Labour will keep taxes low and run a pro-business Government. Golf is one
:01:12. > :01:16.of the most popular sports in the world. But is it worth sacrificing
:01:17. > :01:22.all that land? We'll hear from someone who wants to make golf
:01:23. > :01:27.courses extinct. And Prince Charles is back in the headlines with new
:01:28. > :01:30.claims he's tried to influence Government ministers on grammar
:01:31. > :01:37.schools. Should the king in waiting keep his views to himself?
:01:38. > :01:43.All that in the next half an hour. With us for the whole programme is
:01:44. > :01:47.Jenny Jones. The Green Party's only member of the House of Lords and she
:01:48. > :01:52.sits on the London Assembly. She spent the weekend at Glastonbury
:01:53. > :01:56.Festival. We are grateful to her for changing out of her wellies before
:01:57. > :02:01.coming to the studio. Let's start with Europe. David Cameron lost his
:02:02. > :02:04.battle to stop Jean-Claude Juncker becoming president of the EU
:02:05. > :02:10.Commission. Despite insisting he was the wrong man for the job, last
:02:11. > :02:14.night the Prime Minister phoned Mr Juncker his congratulations. Awkward
:02:15. > :02:19.conversation. Some Conservatives said if Mr David Cameron couldn't
:02:20. > :02:25.block the appointment of Mr Juncker, a supporter of a more federal
:02:26. > :02:29.Europe, his membership of the EU is doomed to failure and puts the
:02:30. > :02:36.country on the road to leaving the EU. Mr Cameron says he's ready to
:02:37. > :02:41.move on and keep fighting in Britain's interest. The
:02:42. > :02:45.vice-president of the EU Commission insisted Mr Cameron and Mr Juncker
:02:46. > :02:50.would be able to work together to achieve reform. I've known Mr
:02:51. > :02:55.Juncker many years. He's a very committed pro-European. He's a
:02:56. > :03:00.pragmatic politician. Been in Government for many years. Has been
:03:01. > :03:06.the chairman of the Eurogroup. He knows the reality. He works within
:03:07. > :03:10.the reality. Jenny Jones, he lost his battle. Have his hopes of
:03:11. > :03:15.renegotiation in the EU been shot to pieces? I think Juncker could accept
:03:16. > :03:19.that if they want to keep Britain in, the general feeling is they do,
:03:20. > :03:23.they will probably negotiate. I don't think we've lost completely.
:03:24. > :03:27.David Cameron had to stand out against him but, at the same time,
:03:28. > :03:33.it is the European Parliament who should pick that post. It is not for
:03:34. > :03:39.the European council. You agreed with Jean-Claude Juncker becoming
:03:40. > :03:43.the President on that basis? I'm fairly eurosceptic. I don't take
:03:44. > :03:48.much of a stand on who should be the President. Now he's in, I think he
:03:49. > :03:54.will be somebody who will negotiate and start to, perhaps, change
:03:55. > :03:59.things. Did David Cameron handle this well or badly? He had to do it.
:04:00. > :04:06.But he was a bit obvious about it. He put a lot of backs up. Perhaps
:04:07. > :04:07.some more delicate negotiations. The Green Movement does not seem to be
:04:08. > :04:13.the party Green Movement does not seem to be
:04:14. > :04:22.voters anymore. We saw the is rise of parties in Spain. UKIP here, not
:04:23. > :04:28.the Greens. The Greens have a solid agenda. Sometimes it is difficult to
:04:29. > :04:32.sell that. We don't have many dog whistle policies. That's what
:04:33. > :04:35.happened in this election. People who are saying the shocking things
:04:36. > :04:41.are getting votes. They are more in touch. He won another MEP. But maybe
:04:42. > :04:45.it's because it is not just the policies that are perhaps extreme
:04:46. > :04:51.and appealing, they are just not appealing at all, it seems? When
:04:52. > :04:56.people get Greens in power, I think they do like it. As you say, we got
:04:57. > :05:03.anothermen which I'm very pleased about. The south-east finally
:05:04. > :05:08.delivered a green MEP. Do they like the Greens in power? What about
:05:09. > :05:14.Brighton? Labour keeps voting with the Tories. So it is someone else's
:05:15. > :05:18.fault? We are doing incredible things. It will be very interesting
:05:19. > :05:26.to see what happens in the elections next year. Someone described
:05:27. > :05:33.soldiers as hard killers? I don't know who it is. The fact is we have
:05:34. > :05:36.no whip in the Green Party. I cannot be accountable for every Green Party
:05:37. > :05:40.person who says strange things. Let's leave it there.
:05:41. > :05:44.The Prime Minister had to deal with major political fall-out last week
:05:45. > :05:48.after his former head of communications Andy Coulson was
:05:49. > :05:53.found guilty of being involved in the conspiracy of hacking phones of
:05:54. > :05:59.celebrities, royals, politicians and ordinary members of the public. He's
:06:00. > :06:04.due to be sentenced this week but the jury couldn't agree with further
:06:05. > :06:09.counts. This morning, the Crown Prosecution Service decided Andy
:06:10. > :06:13.Coulson will face a retrial. We'll hopefully speak to Robin Brant at
:06:14. > :06:18.the Old Bailey. At the moment, he's tied up. We'll come back to it in a
:06:19. > :06:21.few moments. Is Labour anti-business? Not
:06:22. > :06:26.according to Ed Balls. That's his message in a speech he's giving this
:06:27. > :06:32.morning at a leading business school in Central London. The Shadow
:06:33. > :06:36.Chancellor hopes to woo captains of industry with a pledge to maintain
:06:37. > :06:40.the lowest rate of Corporation Tax in the G7 group of advanced
:06:41. > :06:44.economies. Something the CBI welcomed as crucial for economic
:06:45. > :06:52.growth. It is not just about letting big business keep more of their
:06:53. > :06:56.profits. Balls stated giving tax breaks to encourage longer term vent
:06:57. > :07:02.with lower rates of capital gains tax. But Labour's romance comes with
:07:03. > :07:07.tough love message. With a commitment to tackle loop holidays
:07:08. > :07:12.with tax avoidance with renewed vigour. The party promises further
:07:13. > :07:18.pro-business announcements this week. Will this be enough to brush
:07:19. > :07:23.off suggestions that a profound dead hand is blocking bold reforms? Ed
:07:24. > :07:28.Balls spoke a few moments ago. He's what he said. Some would say the
:07:29. > :07:34.Blair/Clinton attempt to forge a third way did not succeed. Steps
:07:35. > :07:40.were taken to improve the prospects of lower paid workers and more
:07:41. > :07:45.generous tax credits but not enough was done to improve the prospects of
:07:46. > :07:50.a non-university educated workforce while the failure of financial
:07:51. > :07:55.regulation led to a global financial crisis and a global recession which
:07:56. > :07:58.followed and hit middle and lower income families particularly hard. I
:07:59. > :08:02.have some sympathy with that argument. We didn't do enough on
:08:03. > :08:06.skills. The failure of all parties in the UK and in all countries in
:08:07. > :08:12.the developed world to see the crisis coming was a huge error.
:08:13. > :08:16.That was Ed Balls. With me is the shadow Shadow Treasury Minister and
:08:17. > :08:22.the Conservative Party grand Shapes. Welcome.
:08:23. > :08:26.Let's pick up what Ed Balls was saiding, the third way under Tony
:08:27. > :08:32.Blair was a failure in trying to get skills to the non-university
:08:33. > :08:36.workforce? I think that's right. It was something we is very important.
:08:37. > :08:42.We fakeed a lot on higher education when we were in Government. 50%
:08:43. > :08:48.target? That was wrong? No it was the right policy to adopt. There is
:08:49. > :08:51.the other 50% which didn't focus on until the end of our term in office.
:08:52. > :08:54.That's something we've been talking about in the last few years. An
:08:55. > :09:01.important part of our offer going forward. What's new in the speech
:09:02. > :09:06.today? A lot is a restatement of policies Labour's put forward.
:09:07. > :09:10.What's new? We've set out plans about tackling tax avoidance but the
:09:11. > :09:15.wider system of taxation forbusinesses. We want to continue a
:09:16. > :09:19.conversation with the business community around the possibility of
:09:20. > :09:24.introducing an allowance for corporate equity in order to try and
:09:25. > :09:28.rebalance the system we have at the moment which is geared towards debt
:09:29. > :09:32.financing of businesses. We want to consider how to encourage the long
:09:33. > :09:38.ermism from can witty financing of businesses. As I understand it,
:09:39. > :09:45.since you brought up corporate equity, this is for people who would
:09:46. > :09:52.invest in businesses. A takes break for rich people? It is an allowance
:09:53. > :09:55.if introduced it will encourage greater long ermism. The
:09:56. > :10:01.short-termism of the economy is a problem. If we can get grater
:10:02. > :10:06.long-term thinking into investment that's good for jobs and growth. It
:10:07. > :10:11.is good for everybody. There's nothing to disagree with. It is a
:10:12. > :10:17.good point about short-termism. The lack of private investment has
:10:18. > :10:22.improved recently but otherwise been extremely low. Most business people
:10:23. > :10:26.will be watching Ed Balls in disbelief. They spent the last four
:10:27. > :10:31.years attacking business. Give us examples. He set up the idea that
:10:32. > :10:36.there are predator businesses, good businesses. Then one of the
:10:37. > :10:41.ministers on the shadow ministers on the Labour side described Waitrose
:10:42. > :10:46.and John Lewis as being the predators at one point. Most
:10:47. > :10:50.business people feel Labour set out on a deliberate agenda to undermine
:10:51. > :10:59.business, they are anti-business. Right now on his feet is Len
:11:00. > :11:04.McCluskey, the union baron who's successfully in the process of
:11:05. > :11:09.organising a general strike and will clues the policies. That's not goat
:11:10. > :11:14.to do with Labour's business policy. Let's pick up your first point which
:11:15. > :11:18.is more salient in terms of an anti-business agenda. Club would say
:11:19. > :11:22.you're in the pocket of the a business which people are beginning
:11:23. > :11:25.to not support either? Business is the only way to create jobs. If
:11:26. > :11:33.you're watching this send you're one of the two million people who have a
:11:34. > :11:37.pro-at sector job which didn't exist in 2010, you understand business is
:11:38. > :11:43.the only with a to do that. The problem for Ed Balls and Ed Miliband
:11:44. > :11:48.is they are owned, literally, by... Let me finish. Len McCluskey who's
:11:49. > :11:54.insisting on anti-business policies. It is impossible to separate the two
:11:55. > :11:59.things. You have embarked on an anti-business agenda. The only
:12:00. > :12:05.example Grant gave was original thoughts... Let me give you another.
:12:06. > :12:10.I want that answered first and this being in the pocket of the unions.
:12:11. > :12:15.What Grant said in his long and irrelevant anti-is he's unable to
:12:16. > :12:20.see the difference between a policy that is pro-business but against
:12:21. > :12:24.business as usual. The way the committee's Rouen means we've after
:12:25. > :12:28.three years of flat lining got growth in the economy. People are
:12:29. > :12:32.not feeling that recovery in their pocket in their household budgets.
:12:33. > :12:37.Why? Because the economy is not built in order to make sure that
:12:38. > :12:43.prosperity's shared across all of our country. Grant's made this one
:12:44. > :12:50.point of our Corporation Tax policy, we would not go ahead with the plant
:12:51. > :12:54.cut, we would keep it at 21%. It is true because we'd use every penny of
:12:55. > :13:00.that money to cut and freeze business rates for small and
:13:01. > :13:04.medium-sized enterprises. Grant's argument only works if he believes
:13:05. > :13:11.small and Meadup sized enterprises in our country are not worth it.
:13:12. > :13:15.Let grant answer that. They will give help to small and medium-sized
:13:16. > :13:22.businesses in terms of cutting business rates. One thing that's
:13:23. > :13:26.very hard to argue against is this country rejuvenated employment
:13:27. > :13:31.through business. The first thing we did was to scrap Labour's job tax
:13:32. > :13:35.which would have made it more expensive to employ people. We've
:13:36. > :13:39.made it easier to employ people in this country. The fact Labour still
:13:40. > :13:45.doesn't understand it is business that creates all the jobs in this
:13:46. > :13:48.country is the sole reason why every Labour Government in history has
:13:49. > :13:53.left unemployment higher than when they were first elected. You're not
:13:54. > :13:57.cutting the corporation takes to 20%. You could raise it. You could
:13:58. > :14:03.be the lowest in the G7 if you win the election if you come to an ta's
:14:04. > :14:10.level, it is 26.5%. Are you keeping it at 21% or would you raise it? We
:14:11. > :14:15.think 21% is a competitive rate of Corporation Tax in the G7. We want
:14:16. > :14:21.to retain that. Even if you won the election you wouldn't put it up? The
:14:22. > :14:29.policy only envisages it goings up to 21%. With a freeze in business
:14:30. > :14:35.rates for small and mediumised enter prices. I don't think Labour is
:14:36. > :14:40.anti-business. Labour has it wrong on this Corporation Tax. Being
:14:41. > :14:44.competitive is one thing. Allowing corporations to get away with
:14:45. > :14:50.criminal activities is wrong. They have not been in power to be fair?
:14:51. > :14:55.When they were. The Labour Party is not the party we want them to be.
:14:56. > :15:02.You want higher Corporation Tax? Indeed. We need to make businesses
:15:03. > :15:09.know they have to give back to society. You have not tackled tax
:15:10. > :15:14.einvestigation. We've created an economy where jobs are being
:15:15. > :15:20.produced. We are seeing record falls in unemployment. We want to see an
:15:21. > :15:25.investment. Why no private investment? Firms have not had faith
:15:26. > :15:30.in you, had the certainty to put their money, which they've been
:15:31. > :15:35.sitting on, into the economy? We know the economy's facing difficult
:15:36. > :15:39.periods of recovery. We have the fastest growing economy in the
:15:40. > :15:51.advanced world. Labour is now fundamentally anti-business. That is
:15:52. > :15:56.not true. This is the final point. He is too weak to stand up to the
:15:57. > :16:03.union paymasters. Len McCluskey, that is why Labour has become
:16:04. > :16:07.anti-business these days. Back to the hacking trial and Andy
:16:08. > :16:10.Coulson is facing a retrial over allegations of a conspiracy to pay
:16:11. > :16:21.police officers for royal telephone directories. We can speak to Robin
:16:22. > :16:24.Brant. Poll -- fill us in. . It is not over for could cows, he learned
:16:25. > :16:31.last week he was a guilty man when it came to phone hacking. They were
:16:32. > :16:35.unable to... Allegations of misconduct, and that involves
:16:36. > :16:40.corrupt payments to police officers for phone directories from the royal
:16:41. > :16:46.household in 2003, 2005, so the CPS have spent the weekend desiding and
:16:47. > :16:50.it believes it is in the public interest to retry, retry Andy
:16:51. > :16:56.Coulson and Clive Goodman. We don't know when that will happen. There
:16:57. > :16:59.are legal issues about add misbuilt of his conviction and the huge
:17:00. > :17:05.publicity surrounding the case last week, but in principle the CPS wants
:17:06. > :17:08.to go again. -- add misbuilt.
:17:09. > :17:14.-- add misability. The earliest known written reference
:17:15. > :17:17.to golf was in 1457, when King James II of Scotland banned the sport
:17:18. > :17:19.because it was keeping his subjects from their archery practice.
:17:20. > :17:21.Since then it's proved pretty popular.
:17:22. > :17:25.But our guest of the day here isn't a fan - not because it stops her
:17:26. > :17:28.practising with her bow and arrow, but because of the impact all those
:17:29. > :17:28.lush green 18-hole courses have on the environment.
:17:29. > :17:47.Here's her soapbox. Lots of sports grapple
:17:48. > :17:48.with ethical issues. There's corruption, there's
:17:49. > :17:59.the deaths of construction workers. The Olympics had a lot
:18:00. > :18:01.of dodgy sponsors. We're always asking
:18:02. > :18:04.if there's drug taking and why people are being paid minimum wages
:18:05. > :18:07.for making some of the goods. So why on earth would I pick
:18:08. > :18:09.on golf? This is a fun day out
:18:10. > :18:12.for the family, but it's a very different sort of species from the
:18:13. > :18:15.18-hole golf courses that currentsly That's about the same
:18:16. > :18:21.as is covered with houses. We have to ask,
:18:22. > :18:24.is having land for housing more In the south-east of Croydon,
:18:25. > :18:28.there's more land given over to Donald Trump, a bit of a dinosaur
:18:29. > :18:53.himself, is threatening to take his balls away if the Scottish
:18:54. > :18:56.Government allows a windfarm to be And this is in an area with the most
:18:57. > :19:02.stringent environmental regulations. Some golf courses might be good
:19:03. > :19:05.for wildlife, but many are not. One study found that only four
:19:06. > :19:08.in ten golf course managers had done anything to help with wildlife,
:19:09. > :19:11.and only one in ten had undertaken You don't get this sort
:19:12. > :19:15.of perfect green without a lot That's
:19:16. > :19:37.a practise that should have gone out Very scary. Aim joined by Cheryl
:19:38. > :19:39.Gillan. First of all. Can I establish are you wanting to close
:19:40. > :19:45.to some done existing courses so land can be used for housing or are
:19:46. > :19:51.you saying no more? I'm not saying I hate golf. We have to rethink
:19:52. > :19:58.perhaps our priority, in London, on the golf courses we have, which are
:19:59. > :20:05.in nice leafly areas with green space, we could build a year's
:20:06. > :20:09.supply of housing or we could grow 48,000 tonnes of food, or we could
:20:10. > :20:14.do a lot of other things like create more space for children to play. It,
:20:15. > :20:17.it really worries me we are selling off school playing fields for
:20:18. > :20:23.housing and children are getting more obese. That sort of thing
:20:24. > :20:29.suggests we have our priority wrong. Have you? The Government going on
:20:30. > :20:34.about house building, golf courses perhaps not exactly an essential,
:20:35. > :20:38.that land could be used? She has almost started an argument against
:20:39. > :20:44.what she is proposing. By growing more food we have, I believe it is
:20:45. > :20:49.6% of men and 4% of women do the recommend mended amount of exercise.
:20:50. > :20:58.We have an epidemic of obesity. One the great assets are golf courses.
:20:59. > :21:01.Four million people play golf. We should be encouraging use of these
:21:02. > :21:04.green space, we should be encouraging more use of golf courses
:21:05. > :21:08.because say it form of exercise that is good for the young, and for the
:21:09. > :21:13.old, and it is an extremely popular game. It went through a plateau in
:21:14. > :21:18.2008 but it is starting to grow again. It is fantastic form of
:21:19. > :21:24.exercise, and it is also very green. I think it is important to remember
:21:25. > :21:27.that where golf courses are managed properly they really are absorbed
:21:28. > :21:30.well into the environment, althoughly say there are some
:21:31. > :21:34.environments which are not suitable for golf course, where there is
:21:35. > :21:38.irreplaceable environmental situations is for example, ancient
:21:39. > :21:42.woodland. I would Mac-Moyes on the assets not concrete them over. What
:21:43. > :21:47.do you say to that, particularly on the green issue about it, and also
:21:48. > :21:54.the fact that yes, people need to do more exercise. I a degree about the
:21:55. > :21:57.exercise. The -- agree. We are fairly well-off for green says in
:21:58. > :22:01.London. People can do things in the parks we have got. It is more about
:22:02. > :22:07.golf courses are fairly sterile, grass is a fairly sterile sort of
:22:08. > :22:11.green space, as far as wildlife is concerned is. You need bramble and
:22:12. > :22:18.you need all sorts of undergrowth. Things that are untidy. Plus nay
:22:19. > :22:22.don't see wildlife benefit. As part of, part of a regime, you know, so,
:22:23. > :22:27.you are talking about changing all the golf courses and making them
:22:28. > :22:32.rethink how they lose their land. I know you are not a Gough for, I have
:22:33. > :22:36.been on many courses where they are not the sterile place, there is
:22:37. > :22:41.plenty of brambles and wooded rough. One of the courses I play on is
:22:42. > :22:46.teeming with wildlife. It is a question of how it is managed by the
:22:47. > :22:51.club, I also think that that is an important part, but can I also say
:22:52. > :22:56.we could have sympathetic round the edge of courses. You admit it would
:22:57. > :23:00.be good to use some of it, particularly in Surrey, Middlesex,
:23:01. > :23:06.where there are golf course, some would argue they could be elitist.
:23:07. > :23:13.Surrey has more than 2% of its area with golf courses on. They are not
:23:14. > :23:18.closing in large numbers with the exception of municipal golf course,
:23:19. > :23:21.maintaining the golf course, and in encouragement for people to take
:23:22. > :23:26.more exercise. We are all drowning in our own fat in this country, it
:23:27. > :23:31.is about time we did a bit more. I admit I have never played golf, but
:23:32. > :23:37.I am puzzled by the fact it is so much exercise because it looks
:23:38. > :23:42.leisury to me. There is not much, a swing here and walk there. My
:23:43. > :23:47.husband who is not in the first flush of youth. That I go round the
:23:48. > :23:50.golf course this is the sort of exercise that keeps them mobile. It
:23:51. > :23:57.is gentle exercise but it is exercise. That is the key thing. All
:23:58. > :24:05.right. Thank you you. The Prince of Wales has strong opinions on a range
:24:06. > :24:10.of issues. A fresh stir has been caused by a radio 4 documentary,
:24:11. > :24:16.which takes a look at Charleses the. Cam painer. Her is David Blunkett,
:24:17. > :24:21.recalling when the Prince lobbied him on grammar schools I would
:24:22. > :24:25.explain that policy was not to expand grammar schools, and he, he
:24:26. > :24:30.didn't like that, he was very keen that we should go back to a
:24:31. > :24:34.different era, where youngsters had what he would have seen as the
:24:35. > :24:39.opportunity to escape from their background, whereas I wanted to
:24:40. > :24:42.change their background. Do you think it was right for him to talk
:24:43. > :24:47.about an issue but the Government had a policy on? I can see
:24:48. > :24:51.constitutionally there is an argument that the heir to the throne
:24:52. > :24:56.should not get involved in controversy. The honest thing I
:24:57. > :25:00.didn't mind. We have been joined by the Conservative MP Michael Ellis
:25:01. > :25:04.and our guess of the day Jenny Jones is still here. Welcome to you. What
:25:05. > :25:09.relationship should the monarchy have with the Government? Well, the
:25:10. > :25:15.Prince of Wales has a not only a right to be be kept in informed of
:25:16. > :25:19.matters but a duty to keep himself informed of what is going on in
:25:20. > :25:24.Government and in politics. Keeping informed is different to
:25:25. > :25:27.interfering. Well, of course interfering and being controversial,
:25:28. > :25:30.getting involved in party politics is another matter, but there is no
:25:31. > :25:35.indication of evidence that he the Prince of Wales does that. He he has
:25:36. > :25:40.a responsibility to train himself for the position that he will
:25:41. > :25:44.eventually inherit. We can't expect our heirs to the throne to live in
:25:45. > :25:49.splendid isolation and at the moment of their accession to be experts in
:25:50. > :25:52.the art of monarchy. It is a complicated art and it is one that
:25:53. > :25:59.clearly the Prince of Wales takes very seriously. He has been
:26:00. > :26:06.preparing himself for many year, he is a passionate advocate for those
:26:07. > :26:10.who are disadd van tajs, he doesn't have to completely abstain from all
:26:11. > :26:13.forms of controversy. Doesn't he have a right and role to play in
:26:14. > :26:16.public debate? That is an interesting question. I would say
:26:17. > :26:20.there are two problem, the first is the smallest one and that is we
:26:21. > :26:23.don't know what he say, because, the monarchy won't answer any Freedom of
:26:24. > :26:29.Information requests, that is the least they could do, along with
:26:30. > :26:35.paying tax, but the second thing is a bigger issue. They do pay tax. I
:26:36. > :26:38.know but they should answer Freedom of Information requests. Why are
:26:39. > :26:44.they playing any role in politics at all? I understand, it is lovely they
:26:45. > :26:48.come out and they wave to people, but really why, why is the Queen
:26:49. > :26:52.opening Parliament and reading somebody else's speech? What is the
:26:53. > :26:58.point? We have a constitutional monarchy. It is time we changed it.
:26:59. > :27:00.If you have a Republican agenda which some do, you will be
:27:01. > :27:02.displeased by the which some do, you will be
:27:03. > :27:06.displeased Prince of Wales involving himself in matters that are of
:27:07. > :27:09.public interest, if you accept we live in a constitutional monarchy
:27:10. > :27:13.and most people support the Royal Family, it is only reasonable to
:27:14. > :27:18.expect people, like the Prince of Wales, to take interest in matters
:27:19. > :27:21.that the public. That is one thing, talking about reviving grammar
:27:22. > :27:26.school, getting involved in dron shall arguments of climate change,
:27:27. > :27:31.that moves beyond the symbolic role of being the head of a government,
:27:32. > :27:36.and head of state, adds we have here. There is no obligation on the
:27:37. > :27:44.heir to the throne to abstain from all forms of controversy. Should he?
:27:45. > :27:50.He would be criticises a Edward VII and Edward VIII did. If he spent all
:27:51. > :27:54.his time in Monte Carlo. I don't have any problem with his having
:27:55. > :28:00.views and expressing them, we should know what they are. If he is writing
:28:01. > :28:05.secret letters to the Government. Why should they be made public. Why
:28:06. > :28:15.should he have fewer rights an anybody else? Those in the Guardian
:28:16. > :28:21.and on the left... Are they really? Ministers should be able to
:28:22. > :28:26.differentiate between alert, that, that is advising them that is
:28:27. > :28:30.requesting of them things from the constituents and the Prince of
:28:31. > :28:35.Wales, they are able to make the assessments. Time to cut back on the
:28:36. > :28:38.whole royal thing, make them figureheads and let us get on with
:28:39. > :28:42.the business of Government without them. Thank you very much for coming
:28:43. > :28:46.on. That it is for today. Thanks to all of our guests on the programme,
:28:47. > :28:50.particularly Jenny Jones for being our guest of the day. I will be here
:28:51. > :28:52.tomorrow. We are on for an hour with all the big political stories of the
:28:53. > :28:55.day. Join me then.