09/07/2014 Daily Politics

Morning folks. Welcome to the Daily Politics.

Elizabeth Butler-Sloss is to lead a wide-ranging inquiry into

allegations of historic child abuse among the political establishment.

But is the 80-year-old Baroness and former appeal court judge

Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman attacks Gordon Brown

for failing to make her deputy prime minister.

Was Mr Brown sexist or Ms Harman just not up to the job?

They are hoping some of the stardust rubs off.

Is it time for Prime Ministers stopped sucking up to celebrities?

We take a look at why politicians should always

Did you set it up like that? That is the kind of thing that you would do!

LAUGHTER Did you set it

up like that? That is of course, prime Minister's

questions at midday. And with us for the duration,

two politicians who we couldn't find in embarrassing photos, and

believe me we've looked, Education Minister Liz Truss and shadow

Attorney General Emily Thornberry. First this morning, her

appointment was announced just yesterday but there are already

calls as the chair of a wide-ranging

inquiry into allegations of child Her brother Michael Havers was

Attorney General at the time some of these allegations of child abuse

were being made in the early 1980s. The campaigning Labour MP Simon

Dancuzk told our correspondent Norman Smith that she was the

wrong person to lead the inquiry. -- Simon Danczuk. I think that she

could reconsider her position, I find it surprisingly neither she nor

the government realise that her relationship with her brother was

connected to Geoffrey Dickens and all of this palaver around it. It

beggars belief that it had not been considered in the first place. The

Home Office stressed that she is a figure of unemployed -- she is a

figure of unimpeachable integrity and that overshadows any kind of

family affiliation. Yes, but she sits in the House of Lords, some of

the people accused of this kind of abuse may sit alongside her and that

is not look good to the wider public.

Is it right for an independent enquiry into historic sexual abuse

at Westminster and other parts of the establishment to be led by an

80-year-old stole wort of the establishment? This is a decision

which has been made by the Home Secretary, Theresa May, she is a

woman of unimpeachable integrity, former High Court judge, she has a

lot of experience into looking into these issues. She is also a member

of the establishment. Age should not come into it, it is how good you are

and how capable you are of getting a job done. She's extremely

experienced, she has worked on human trafficking, and it has been judged

she will be the best person to do the job. When she sits in the House

of Lords she's not sitting beside people who are into human

trafficking but she could well be sitting beside people against whom

allegations will be made. It is not right to question her integrity as a

former High Court judge, she has been chosen by the Home Secretary,

someone who is right to do the job. She will be ably assisted by a

number of other people on the enquiry, they will have full access

to all of the files. Theresa May has made it clear that no stone will be

left unturned, such a critical issue, so important to keep our

children safe. Questioning the integrity of Baroness Butler Sloss

is not a good way to start. What is your position? When people ask for

independent enquiries, they often want a judge to lead it, it is

judges do come with a feeling of trust from the government. She used

to be in the Court of Appeal. She is the chair of a major child abuse

enquiry in the past. Yes, but, her brother was Lord favours, Attorney

General, and if you remember, in fact, Geoffrey Dickens gave a couple

of dossiers, one to the Home Office and the other to the DPP, two

copies. The DPP copy has also gone missing! -- Lord have is. -- Lord

Havers. I do not question her integrity, but I'm surprised that

the Home Office did not look at this because I think they have put her in

a very difficult position. I think that she has been chosen by the Home

Secretary, Home Secretary will have looked at the various candidates

available. As Emily points out, she has a great deal of experience in

this area. Somebody who has the long history of working in areas like

family law is bound to have known some of the people involved, there

is a large establishment. As I say, I think she is absolutely committed

to making sure that the enquiry is conducted with integrity. There is a

motocross politics and government to once and for all open up areas that

previously... Does it worry you that this Lady's brother was Attorney

General at the time the allegations were originally made and nothing was

done about those allegations. The Home Secretary will have taken that

into account when making a decision. Might surprise some people. She will

have looked at who was the best person to I know Elizabeth Butler

Sloss, I think she's a woman incredible ability and integrity,

I'm sure that is why she has been chosen by the Home Secretary. May I

say one other thing, it has been said that the Lord try to stop the

naming of Peter Heymann in the House of Commons, that is another issue.

Peter Heymann turned out to be a notorious paedophile. It was covered

up for years and years. Even when his secret flat in Notting Hill was

discovered, with apparently horrible things in it, he was only ticked

off. Letters, letters from all kinds of people. Exactly. The idea has

been floated that it should be made illegal for institutions like

schools and hospitals not to report abuse, what do you say? We welcome

this, it is something we have been thinking about for a long time on

the Labour side, I have had discussions with the NSPCC, I know

that they have been against this until recently. I welcome the change

of heart. Do you know what, I think there were terrible things that came

out of this, one of the things which really got to me was when one young

girl, one woman who had been a young girl, was told by a nurse to keep

her eyes closed, to keep her eyes closed and pretend that she was

asleep so they Jimmy Savile would not prey upon her. And yet that

nurse did not report back to the police. There are pros and cons to

mandatory reporting, that is something we are considering, we are

open to the idea. You have opposed it in the past. We have posted in

the past because of the issue of whether we up with over reporting,

whether we end up with social services becoming overwhelmed? Do we

end up with not actually dealing with the real cases we need to deal

with, and do we end up putting children in more danger? One of the

countries that has used mandatory reporting, Australia, and the

evidence is very next. America, Australia, Canada, Northern Ireland.

Nobody questions the desire to hold perpetrators to justice and hold

them to account, the question is, how best to do it? We are looking at

it, and we think, we think the case is very closely balanced, but we are

prepared to speak with experts. What all of these various enquiries are

showing is there is a serious issue here, we need to address that and we

need to think again. I personally think that if someone is in loco

parentis, if somebody has been given the trust of a child, and they see

their child being abused, if a child abuse complains about abuse, we

should look at whether or not they are morally obliged to a port,

whether it should go further than that. -- morally obliged to report.

Do you really expect whips to open their black books, all of the

secrets that are in there? My understanding is that the

Conservative whips along with whips of other parties have agreed to open

up their books and that is right. We need to look at this. I presume it

will be restricted to just child abuse issues. Presumably, the idea

that there is a whip in the 1980s he said, "we know about them

interfering with little boys, we hold it against them..." He said it

on the record and he said it laughing. That is extraordinary.

Labour's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has said she

expects Ed Miliband to give her the job of deputy Prime Minister

if Labour win an overall majority in next year's general election.

In a speech last night she hit out at Gordon Brown for failing to

give her the job when she first became deputy leader back in 2007.

"Imagine my surprise", she said, "when having won a hard-fought

election to succeed John Prescott as deputy leader of the Labour Party, I

discovered that I was not to succeed him as deputy prime minister."

"If one of the men had won the deputy leadership would that have

But Harman's comments were swiftly rebuffed by Gordon Brown's

"It's utter bilge from Harriet", he said, "done to make her attack on

Dave to look non-partisan." "As every man and woman who ever

worked for him could attest, Gordon judged people on only one thing:

Later, speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on Newsnight, Ms Harman

indicated that she expected Ed Miliband to give her the job:

I do expect to be Deputy Prime Minister when, as I hope, we win the

election with a majority next year. And if that comes to pass and you do

not become the deputy promised, will that make Ed Miliband a sexist? That

is too many conjectures, I hope that we will win the election and I hope

to be deputy promised but I hope that there will be more women MPs

delivering more equality for women out in the country. That is

important. I am a -- I am a huge fan of Harriet

Harman, everybody knows that, Labour has pushed the agenda in terms of

women. We should be judged on our policies. Was Gordon Brown sexist

for not the role deputy promised? If I was Gordon Brown, I would have

given her the role in a shot, she is an extraordinary woman with a great

deal to offer, she is not backward in coming forward! We have a lot of

women like that and the Labour Party, almost half the Shadow

Cabinet are women who are like that, I put my hands up, I am one of the

bolshie women in the Shadow Cabinet. We are not silenced. Despite Gordon

Brown, do you think Gordon Brown made a decision based upon sexism,

if he had made a decision based upon sexism,

if he won the debris do leadership, made a decision based upon sexism,

if he won the debris would Alan Johnson have been deputy promised? I

was a backbencher at the time, I was not in the inner circle, I just know

what I think: Harriet Harman is amazing and I would have made her

Deputy Prime Minister. In the end it is up to leaders to decide, and as

for the next election, we have got to win that first. If she wins the

election it will be up to Ed to decide. You have not said if he was

all was not sexist, and if he was sexist, he did not think she was up

to the job. I have always been a fan of hers and always supported hers.

-- her. In the end, what matters is what we do as a party, particularly

when we are in government in racing to women. If Gordon Brown did not

think that she was up to the job, was it right to make -- was it right

not to make a deputy promised, because that would have been wrong.

The most important thing is that women listen to and we policies, you

can see when women are not listened to in government, you look at, for

example, in my brief, the way in which violence against women and

girls has been downgraded until recently in my opinion in terms of

prosecutions. Six pimps were prosecuted last year! That sort of

thing shows that this is not front and centre, this is not on the

table. This is not about Harriet Harman... I take your point... Let's

put Harman... I take your point... Let's

this in the context of the main political party, and compare us with

the Tories. We are light years ahead. Really, one could have

listened to the interview and said that she is making gear to Ed

Miliband that she should be made deputy promised. Should Ed Miliband

promised her the role now, the ticket is, Ed Miliband, Harriet

Harman, she will be the deputy prime ministers. Know, the ticket is

Labour needs to win should you promise. At will make the decisions,

Ed is very much in charge. -- Ed will make the decisions. Half the

Shadow Cabinet are women and we have policies which are developed early

because we are there. She is the second Labour woman who has come out

and said that Gordon Brown was responsible for windowdressing.

Caroline Flint. Yes, she was the first one, in the Labour Party there

is a culture of putting women in positions and not and being

tokenistic. Really, come on! The Secretary of State was sacked

because she was too old and replaced by somebody who was older!

now? There are three. Is it good enough? No, it is not good enough.

We have got more women than ever before. There is a pipeline, women

need to get experience at a ministerial level and they need to

build up in a meritocratic process by which we can succeed. If you look

at Ed Miliband's back office, if you look at who is controlling his

operator, it is not women. They are in the Shadow Cabinet, but not in

the back room. What about you? Are you expecting a job? I am very much

enjoying the job I am doing. I have the responsibility for raising

standards in schools, to make sure our children get the best education

possible. It is hugely satisfying. If you got offered a Cabinet job,

you would not see it as window dressing? It is up to the Prime

Minister. In the Conservative Party we have robust debates and if you

look at the promotion to the culture secretary, he has been put in that

job because he is brilliant. You are not happy with the number of women.

We want more women MPs on the Conservative Party site. We want to

open up what politics and we want to bring more women through the

pipeline. He has his bag carriers who are always his man, David

Cameron. With Labour two women in the previous Labour Cabinet Bove

said Gordon Brown did windowdressing. If you read Alistair

Campbell's diaries, you can see what a masculine Government the Labour

Government work. I do not think they had real power, those women. Let's

see if in the reshuffle Ed Miliband promises Harriet Harman Deputy Prime

Minister. They went from outstanding to be

in special measures in just a few years,

so did Ofsted get it spectacularly wrong in its verdict on

the Birmingham schools at the centre This morning the chief inspector

of schools and head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has been

grilled by MPs on whether his inspectors failed to spot a creeping

Islamification of these schools. Some previously outstanding schools

have got into difficult problems within relatively short time scales.

Has that made you reassess about the previous attitude towards the

inspection of outstanding schools? Yes, we do really inspect

outstanding schools where there is a dip in performance and where our

risk assessment processes trigger an inspection. I think we need to

repeat this. These schools once judged to be outstanding decline

rapidly. We inspect schools once in every five years and in the case of

academies, once every seven. We are going to change that. There will be

more frequent inspections. But even within those shorter inspection

schedules, schools can slip. How was it that these schools went from

outstanding to being put into special measures in the space of a

few years? Parkview in Birmingham went from outstanding to inadequate

in two years. First of all, Sir Michael has done a fantastic job of

chief inspector of schools. He is overhauling the inspection system

and is bringing on training and more high-quality inspectors and is

bringing in-house companies that used to run inspections. What he

admitted this morning at the select committee was that things that were

going on in those schools that should have been noticed by a

inspectors were not noticed. Why did they go from outstanding to special

measures in such a small space of time? Because the initial inspection

that took place did not recognise things that were going on in the

school that were problematic. Such as? The overseas visits. They did

not know about them? They did, but they did not recognise it was an

issue. They did not think taking Muslim kids to medical on school

funds was an issue? Correct and that is why Sir Michael has said that was

an issue and that is why the inspection has been corrected this

time around. He has admitted the inspections were not conducted as

they ought to have been earlier on and that is hence the change in the

judgement. But we all know there are issues across the board, there are

lessons to be learned. What has been going on in these schools is not

right. Children have not been taught British values, they have not learnt

those shared values. I want to find out why they seem to go wrong so

quickly. The man you just praise, Sir Michael Wilshaw, in March this

year he was suggesting a light touch inspection of schools that had

already been categorised as outstanding. That will not happen

now, will it? The policy has changed since these investigations. He was

suggesting they change the policy to have only light touch inspection of

schools that were outstanding. Given what was made as standing in

Birmingham, I am suggesting this will not be taken on board. That is

what he is saying. So he was wrong? Yes, and he has changed his view on

that issue, just as the view has been changed on no notice

inspections. We are introducing no notice inspections to make sure

schools doing those wrong things are caught out. He suggested these

schools, quote, in a speech to the Association of School and College

leaders, that these schools should no longer be subject to full and

routine inspections in the way they are now. If we had gone down that

road, we would never have found out what was happening because they were

outstanding schools. That is right. He was wrong. There are two issues.

First of all is the quality of inspectors and inspections. Those

inspectors who went in in 2012 should have spotted things they did

not spot. That is being addressed through better training. The second

is how do we monitor outstanding schools? That is where he is saying

there needs to be a change in approach to recognise it is not just

about fantastic performance in league tables, but it is also about

are those schools teaching British values? We introduced new guidelines

this week which Ofsted will be looking at in their inspection

framework. We have changed because we recognise there is an issue.

Teachers and parents started raising concerns about some of these schools

in Birmingham as early as 2002. Your party remained in power for eight

years after that. Why did Labour do nothing about it? We want to

introduce a local person... I am asking you why did you not do

anything about it? It has been accepted there were mistakes made.

Why? I do not know, but I know mistakes have been made. What we

want to do, and we want the Conservatives to pick it up and do

it, not because it is our idea, but to have someone locally whose

responsibility it is to take it over. Whether you are a free school

or an academy or whatever, you will be answerable. You cannot run all

these plethora of new schools and academies like this. That body was

meant to be Birmingham City Council. When these issues first

arose all of these schools were under Birmingham council control,

and many still are, and yet no action was taken. The school in the

photograph is an academy and it is answerable to Whitehall. I am not

making a party political point. It was a handful of academies that were

failing. We did not want all schools to be made independent and

answerable to Michael Gove in Whitehall, it does not work. Many of

the schools in Birmingham are answerable to Birmingham City

Council and it is clear it has questions to answer. Somebody

locally responsible for standards up and down the country that we can

make sure... That is Birmingham City Council's job. The council should

take the responsibility for academies and free schools as well?

They should take responsibility for their maintained schools. She is

talking about how do you regulate the academies and the free schools?

It cannot all be done by Ofsted or Whitehall. She has come up with a

proposal. What is your reaction? She is not acknowledging many of these

schools are still maintained schools under local authority control. They

are answerable to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of State has

taken action. I thought the Tory party really believed the man and

woman in Whitehall does not know best. That used to be your mantra.

You are now saying that the man and woman in Whitehall do know best. We

are creating regional schools commissioners who will have

delegated powers of the Secretary of State. What does that mean? It

sounds like your proposal! Let me tell you the difference. That is

good news. The commissioners' policy involves recreating local policy

bureaucracy at local level. There is not quite a meeting of minds there.

Westminster is abuzz with feverish speculation. Who is going up and who

is going down? Leave her alone. It is all people are talking about in

Westminster's tearooms. But making an educated guess is a mug's game.

You can see where this is going. Some might say reshuffles merely

replace old mugs with new ones. If you want to clear out your old

mugs, you just have to enter guess the year.

Let's see if you can remember when this happens. And all over the world

countless millions are awaiting to take part in spirit in the last

journey of his Majesty King George V. # When the dawn flames in the

sky, my love moves. #. # You ain't given no money, you

can't buy no clothes to wear... # Keep your feet of my doorstep...

To the new sovereign and Queen Elizabeth and the little lady who is

heir to the throne, long life and all happiness.

To be in with a chance of winning, send your answer to our e-mail

address. You can see the full terms and conditions on the website. The

clue is the funeral of the King which sparked a constitutional

crisis. Don't give it away. It is coming up to midday. Prime

Minister's Questions is on its way, the penultimate one until the summer

recess. If you would like to comment on proceedings, and please try and

be polite, send us an e-mail. Or you can tweet your thought using the

hash tag. We may read some out if they are nice and literate and not

nasty. Speaking of not nasty, Nick Robinson is here. You did not say

not nice! nasty. Speaking of not nasty, Nick

Robinson is here. You did What is going to happen? What is the leader

of the opposition going to go on today? It would be odd if he did not

pick up on the child abuse enquiry, but my instinct is it would be odd

if he did not pick up on whether Baroness Butler-Sloss is the right

person for the enquiry. If I were Ed Miliband, I would be tempted to push

him on that. Last week you were talking about Ed Miliband's claim

that David Cameron got his figures on waiting times in the NHS. A bit

tempting to quote the House of Commons library who said the Prime

Minister produced simplistic data and withdrew it when it was

suggested it was a very partial description. But they then reissued

it. We all regard what the House of Commons library says as gospel. All

they did was change the commentary, they did not change the data. They

continued to save the data was not possibly the best data to give you

an indication of waiting times. They took away the other explosive,

political language. There was criticism of Ed Miliband...

I'm sure that the whole house would like to join me in paying tribute to

all of those involved in the start of the Tour de France in Britain,

this event showcased the best of Yorkshire and the whole that Britain

has two offer. I was delighted to see such incredible support

throughout the race. This morning I had the meetings with ministerial

colleagues and others and I shall have further such meetings later

today in addition to my duties in the house. We join with the good

news that the parameter has just relayed. Northern Ireland equality

commission is threatening legal action against the family-owned

bakery, because they would not print a political message on a cake. The

requested message was completely against the company 's Christian

values, does the Prime Minister agree that so-called equality is now

being viewed by many as an oppressive threat to

agree that so-called equality is now being viewed by many as an religious

freedom and does he further agree that such freedoms should be

protected by the introduction of a conscience clause? I'm not aware of

the specific case that the honourable gentleman raises, I shall

go away and have a look at it, but I do think a commitment to equality in

terms of racial equality, terms of equality to those of different

sexes, able who have disabilities, or indeed tolerance and equality of

people who may have a different sexuality, all of that is a very

important part of being British. Mrs Caroline Spelman. CHEERING

. Order, I would like the question to be heard, I would like all

questions to be heard. With the Prime Minister welcomed the

president MP and quiet of the German parliament, who has come to sing a

joint concert with our Parliament choir, in Westminster Hall tonight,

to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War, and the third

Centenary of the monarchy. I would be very happy to welcome this German

choir, I suspect after last nights results they will be in rather good

voice! LAUGHTER In a serious moment, it is important

that we commemorate the key battles and Armistice Day, as we commemorate

the key battles and Armistice Day, has become up in Britain we will

mark it inappropriate ways. As we come up. -- as we come up. It is

important that we learn the lessons of the conflict and we commemorate

those that fail. Ed Miliband. I would like to join the Prime

Minister in paying tribute to the way that the Tour de France was made

such a brilliant success for Britain. I was proud to be watching

it on the streets, as I know that he was, I was in Leeds, with hundreds

of thousands of people lining the streets. All of us have been

horrified by the instances of child abuse that have been uncovered, and

the further allegations that have been made, and all of the victims of

child abuse are not just owed justice but an apology that it took

so long for their cries to be heard. Does the Prime Minister agree that

all enquiries, including by the police and by those he has set up,

must go wherever the evidence leads them in whatever institution of the

country, including our own, to get at what happened? Pro Minister. I

absolutely agree with the right honourable gentleman, child abuse is

a despicable crime and the victims lived with the horror for the rest

of their lives, it is vital that whether it is the two enquiries

announced by the Home Secretary or indeed vital police enquiries that

are being carried out, that no stone is left unturned. The horror of the

Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris cases just show what people were able to

get away with. It was almost an occasion that they were committing

crimes in plain sight and it took far too long to get to the bottom of

what happened and for justice to be done, that is absolutely what this

government is looking to achieve. On the issue of 114 missing files from

the Home Office, can you clarify when ministers were first informed

and what action they took? Do you agree that the review by Peter

Wanless cannot simply be into the original review, but it must seek to

discover what happened to the files, who knew what, and whether

information was covered up, and this review must also have full

investigative powers? First of all, Parliamentary question last October

that revealed the points about the 2013 enquiry, what I would say: It

is absolutely vital that Peter Wanless, who I think is an excellent

record in this regard, and will carry out the review in absolutely

the right way, that he has all of the powers that he needs. Let's be

clear, if he wants more powers, if the enquiry wants to have a greater

power and ability, then he can absolutely ask for it. It must go

exacting where the evidence leads. We are determined to get to the

bottom of what happened. The most important thing in relation to these

files, is to clarify what happens to them and why they went missing. I

welcome the overarching enquiry, which has been set up by the Home

Secretary. Can the prime ministers say more about what the terms of

reference about that enquiry will be? Will he consider a very sensible

recommendations made today by Peter Wanless, around making the covering

up of abuse a criminal offence, and ensuring there is an obligation on

institutions to report abuse where it can. Taking the second point

first, can we change the law -- should we change the law so that

there is a requirement to report and make it a criminal offence not to

report? The government is looking at that and both reviews will be able

to examine this particular point and advise us accordingly, it may well

be time to take that kind of step forward. On the issue of the terms

of reference of the wider lessons learned review, we are discussing

those at the moment, we are happy to take suggestion from other parties

in this house. The main aim as I have said before, you have got a

number of enquiries being carried out into specific hospitals

including the saddle enquiry, you have the enquiry being taken place

inside the BBC, and other enquiries into Welsh children's homes. --

including the Jimmy Savile enquiry. What is vital is that government

land all of the lessons of the review, and where I think the

Elizabeth Butler Sloss review can help is by having a panel of experts

who can advise us about all of the things that need to change in these

institutions. For instance, the church, the BBC, the NHS, but also,

if necessary, in this place and government as well. I welcome what

he has said, clearly cultural change is absolutely crucial. Turning to

another matter, the health service, last week the Prime Minister said

the waiting times in accident and emergency had gone down but within

24-hour House of Commons library had called him out. Average waiting

times have gone up. Will he now correct the record? What I said last

week at prime ministers questions last week is absolutely right and...

SHOUTING If he goes on the website of the

organisation... If you remember, at the end of prime Minster 's

questions there were some points of order, and I said very specifically

that the number of people waiting longer than 18, 26 and 52 weeks to

begin treatment are lower than they were at any time under the last

government. That was directly contradicted by the Shadow Health

Secretary, and I want to give the figures to the house now so that

people can see that I got my facts right. SHOUTING

April, 2010,, 217,000 people waiting over 18 weeks. It is now 186,000,

that is Lola! March, 2010, 92,000 people waiting 26 weeks, it is now

59,000, Lola. In terms of waiting 52 weeks, 52 weeks for treatment, in

April, 2010, 21,000 people waiting that long, now it is 510, that is

Lola! -- that is lower. Very clear that he does not want to

talk about accident and emergency, where he was called out, let's go to

the common-sense definition of what a waiting time is... As always, does

not matter how long it takes, the question will be heard. The brain,

the yelling, the calculated heckling may as well cease, because we will

simply go for as long as is necessary.

It is not how long you wait to be assessed, it is the time between

arriving at the accident and emergency and leaving! The number of

people waiting more than four hours is at its highest level in a decade,

why does he not just admit the truth, which everybody in the

country knows: People are waiting longer in accident and emergency.

The figures I gave last week are correct and published by the health

and social care information Centre, the average waiting time, 77

minutes, when the Shadow Health Secretary was Health Secretary the

average waiting time was now 30 minutes. We can trade statistics

across the floor of the house, and I am absolutely clear the health

service is getting better, but there is a reason it is getting better, it

is because we have taken a couple of big strategic decisions: We said put

more money into the NHS, they said that was irresponsible. We said cut

the bureaucracy in the NHS, they wanted to keep. -- the average

waiting time was 77 minutes when the Shadow Health Secretary was Health

Secretary. Now the average waiting time is 30 minutes.

CHEERING I would far rather have the Shadow

Health Secretary than there are Health Secretary any day of the

week! And I will tell you, I will tell you, I will tell you what has

happened in the health service, I will tell you what has happened in

the health service: Top-down reorganisation that nobody wanted

and nobody voted for, and it has diverted billions of pounds away

from patient care. The contrast that we see is between the complacent

claims of the Prime Minister, and people 's everyday experience.

People are spending longer in accident and emergency and hospital

accident and emergency is have missed therefore our target for the

last 50 weeks in a row. -- accident and emergencys. He pretends things

are getting better but patients, NHS staff and the public can see it is

getting worse right before their eyes. He still has to defend a man

who presided over the mid Staffordshire disgrace, standards of

patient care were so bad that patients were drinking out of dirty

vases, because of standards in labour's NHS. This is the point: The

reason we have been able to cut bureaucracy and the reason we have

been able to put more money into the NHS is because we have taken

difficult decisions. -- Labour's. Including having a 1% pay cap in the

NHS, which Labour said they would support but this week they have

decided that they will back strikes instead. Mr Speaker, I have here, I

have here the Labour briefing on strikes. SHOUTING

It says this, do we support strikes? No. Will we condemn

strikes? No. There we have it, that is his leadership summed up in one

go, have they got a plan for the NHS? No! Have they got a plan for

the economy? No SHOUTING Issey remotely up to the job? No!

Is the Prime Minister aware that British airways are to cease the

link between Aberdeen and London city, in favour of increased

services to already well served outpost of last go, Edinburgh and

Dublin? Will he support the campaign to maintain this language is vital

for business economy of northern Scotland. I am happy to look into

this issue, it is an absolutely vital service, particularly when you

consider how strong the economy in north-east Scotland is performing

with North Sea oil and gas. I'm happy to look at the issue with him.

Jonathan Edwards. Tomorrow I shall be alongside striking teachers,

firefighters and nurses, the backbone of local communities. His

reported plans to ban public sector workers from joining their neighbour

are a silent threat to stop people supporting. I have made it clear

that I do not think the strikes are right, I condemn them, it is a pity

we do not have so much clarity on the issue from the party opposite or

indeed from his party. I would like to give one example, the National

union of teachers is proposing a strike based upon a ballot that they

had almost two years ago on a very small turnout of their members.

Really, is it right to continue with this situation when so many

children's education is this situation when so many

children's going to be so badly disrupted?

Speaking on the opposition backbenchers on December nine, 2002,

the prime ministers said "I find the European arrest warrant highly

objectionable. " I still think it is highly objectionable. Does the Prime

Minister? The point I make, we have made a series of changes to the

European arrest warrant, so that you do not have the problem of people

being arrested, for instance, for things which are not a crime in this

country. Question we have got to ask, we have got to achieve this

vast opt out. The head of the civil service says the business case for

universal credit has not been signed off. The Department for Work and

Pensions says it has. Who is telling the truth? The budget for universal

credit has been signed off every year by the Treasury and will

continue to do so. The good news is that next year we will have one in

eight Jobcentre is rolling out universal credit I thought we had

found the party opposite would be in favour of a system that makes work

pay, but they have gone back into the whole of being against every

single welfare change and everything that is getting this country moving.

The safer Internet centre estimates up to 30 websites host UK online

pornography images, another form of sexual abuse. Does the Prime

Minister agree posting such material has to be recognised for what it is?

A criminal, sexual offence against its victims. My honourable friend is

absolutely right. This is an appalling offence and a dreadful

thing for someone to do and it has criminal intent. I am glad she is

championing this caused and looking at the amendment she is suggesting,

I hope to take up this cause. We have to make sure we do far more to

do deal with porn and Internet porn. If the business case for his

universal credit proposals is robust, why is the head of the home

civil service saying he has not signed it off? What has happened is

universal credit has been signed off in each and every year by the

Treasury. I make no apology for the fact we are rolling it out slowly.

We have learned the lesson of the last Labour Government, in which he

played a prominent part, where tax credits were introduced in one go

and was a complete shambles. The Northwest air ambulance has three

helicopters and has flown thousands of missions since 1999, one of which

saved the life of a friend of mine after a car crash. There are 27 such

error services throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. One of them

may become a royal air Ambulance Service. Will he paid tribute to

those who man the helicopters, saving people throughout the

country, and heaped praise on thousands of people who raise funds

every week on wet street corners in the United Kingdom to ensure they

carry on flying and saving lives? My honourable friend is absolutely

right. Our air ambulances provide an invaluable service and we must all

pay to read to the men and women who starve them who often have to

undertake very difficult landings and take-offs to rescue people and

get them to hospital. It is right up and down the country people are

giving charitably to fund these vital services. I am sure the Prime

Minister will agree that dealing with terrorism and violence and a

commitment to a democratic means were fundamental in moving Northern

Ireland forward taking us to where we are today. Will the Prime

Minister agree that in the Northern Ireland of 2014 Republican threats

of violence for political ends must not only be deployed, but that

everyone, and governmental bodies in Northern Ireland and the community,

must stand up against such threats and commit themselves to fundamental

freedoms and supporting democracy and the rule of law? All threats of

violence are unacceptable and should be condemned on all sides. What I

hope we can achieve in the coming weeks, and it will take compromise

and brave decisions on all sides, it is to get the talks process on going

again with commitments from his own party, as well as the DLP and Sinn

Fein, to discuss these things to make progress. If we do not make

progress on this issue, you leave space open for extremists on all

sides of the debate to start pushing their ideas, which would be

unhelpful for the future of Northern Ireland. The long-term economic plan

is working. Unemployment is down a third in the last year and as the

summer approaches, I am walking the boundary of my constituency to

promote the local area. Can I invite him to join me for part of the walk

for a fantastic charity in my constituency? I wish my honourable

friend well and he is making an enticing invitation and I am a big

fan of what the Peak District has to offer. It is notable in his

constituency at the claimant count has fallen by 42% since the election

and the youth claimant count has come down by 39% in the last year.

We are seeing an economic revival and we need to stick to our plans to

get the deficit down, help people with tax cuts, make it easier for

firms to employ people and to reform our welfare and immigration systems.

That is the plan we will stick to and it is delivering. A 62-year-old

man in Eccles, a carer for his wife with Alzheimer's, sought an urgent

GP appointment for her. He was told it would be five weeks to see her

GP, two weeks to see any GP or he could take to the A If this is

the way the NHS tree is the way the NHS trees dementia, does the Prime

Minister not agree Labour's plan to give these patients the right to see

a GP immediately? There are 1000 more GPs today than there were when

I became Prime Minister. We are reintroducing a name to GP for a

frail, elderly people, which Labour got rid of. That is one of the

reasons, combined with the disastrous GP contract that Labour

introduced, there is so much pressure on our accident and

emergency system. We must learn from the mistakes Labour made rather than

repeat them all over again. Is the Prime Minister aware that 16 to

18-year-oldss in Northumberland who may live 15 miles from further

education or 20 miles from high school are facing charges up to

several thousand pounds in charges to get education because the

Labour-controlled council has reversed the support given by the

previous Liberal Democrat administration? Will he deployed

this decision and see what central Government can do to promote fairer

access to education. Responsibility for education and training rests

with local authorities and clearly there is local authority have made

this decision. We have introduced a ?180 million bursary fund to support

the most disadvantaged pupils and that is something his council can

make the most of. But this is another example of the fact that

labour costs you more. Mr Speaker, it is estimated that each day 179

British girls are at risk of being subjected to FGM, joining a total of

170,000 in the United Kingdom who have been cut. Next week he hosts a

summit on this issue. Does he agree with me that FGM is not cultural, it

is criminal? It is not tribal, it is torture. Will he please read the

report of the select committee published next Thursday, implement

it in full so that we can eradicate this horrendous abuse from our

country? Can I commend the honourable gentleman for the work of

the Home Affairs Select Committee has done on this issue. This is a

brutal, appalling practice which should have no place in the world

and certainly no place in Britain and it is appalling that people

living in our country are being subjected to this practice. I will

study the report closely. The whole aim of the conference is to make

sure these two practices of early, enforced marriage and female genital

mutilation are wiped out on our planet. Does my right honourable

friend accept it would be totally unacceptable to have a statutory

limitation on overseas aid without having a similar statutory provision

covering defence expenditure to guarantee our NATO commitments? What

I would say is we are in the happy position of this country of meeting

the 2% spending on defence which NATO members are meant to undertake

and when we hold the NATO conference in Wales in September we should be

encouraging other countries to do the same and to meet some of the new

park that targets for spending on new equipment that can be used in

NATO operations. We can also be proud of the fact we are meeting the

promise we made our spending 0.7% on overseas aid which is saving lives

all over the world. I would not divorce it from our defence spending

because the money we spent in places like Somalia, Nigeria or Pakistan is

about reducing the pressures of asylum and immigration and

terrorism, making our world safer. That is what our defence budget

should be about and it is what our aid budget is about as well.

Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis mean patients can be out of work for

years if they do not get the right treatment and we should look at the

wider benefits rather than the initial cost of that treatment. I

agree. My understanding is that work is carried out and I will look at

the particular condition she raises. Businesses across Lincolnshire

report growing conference that confidence in growing order books,

highly skilled workers benefiting from the tax cuts this Government

has introduced and hard-working apprentices enjoying opportunities

they did not have a few years ago. Does the Prime Minister agree the

Shadow Chancellor's plans of borrowing yet more money, whilst

heaving tax on businesses and making it more expensive for people to hire

workers is an economic scam? We have got to stick to the plan and that

plan involves training young people and we are on track to hit 2 million

apprentices trained under this Government. The worst thing to do

would be to start spending and borrowing and taxing more, which are

the proposals of the opposition. With the Prime Minister explain why

it is the only people who feel there are no problems in the National

Health Service are members of the Conservative Party? What I would say

is every single health system are right across the developed world is

facing huge challenges and pressures. Pressures of an ageing

population, new drugs and treatments coming on stream and the pressures

of children surviving with conditions that need to be treated

throughout their lives. How do we respond? Our response has been to

fund the health service and protected from cars and to reform

the health service so there are more doctors and more nurses. The figures

speak for themselves because you can see more people being treated. 40

million more people are getting GP appointments. It is because we have

taken the difficult decisions Labour have not taken in Wales and that is

why in Wales at UC longer waiting lists and real problems with the

NHS. Should taxpayer money be used to gather information on MPs which

is then retained by a Chief Whip or shredded? If my honourable friend is

referring to the situation that took place in the Welsh assembly which I

was reading about overnight, that seems to be a worrying development.

If he is referring to something else, he could perhaps write to me

and I will get back to him. Would the Prime Minister look into the

case of a young mother in my constituency who has a significant

spinal injury that has left her unable to walk? Her GB has

spinal injury that has left her unable to walk? Her GB referred her

for an urgent appointment with a neurosurgeon. Could the Prime

Minister explain why urgent on his watch means a four-week wait lying

in pain? I will look at the KC raises and I am happy to look at

individual cases, but the figures quoted earlier demonstrate when you

look at people waiting 18 weeks, 26 weeks or 52 weeks, they are lower

now than at any time under the last Labour Government. I am very happy

to look at the individual case. Is the Prime Minister aware that since

2012 when he made his promise to increase access to innovative

radiotherapy for cancer patients, the number has decreased in some

hospitals by 70% and state-of-the-art machines are lying

idle because NHS England will not allow doctors to use them? Can I ask

him to meet with me and other campaigners like Lawrence Dallaglio

to discuss this scandal? I read the report that Lawrence Dallaglio was

referring to over the weekend and I am happy to meet with her and him to

discuss this. We have introduced the Cancer Drugs Fund which is also for

innovative treatment. I know there have been changes in the way

radiotherapy has been carried out and new technology that is being

used, which may be part of the explanation. Jobs growth Wales has

been a huge success in tackling youth unemployment outperforming

similar schemes across the United Kingdom. Will the Prime Minister

join me in congratulating Welsh businesses and enterprises, the

Welsh Government and the young people of Wales who have made this a

success? In doing so he can end his agenda of attacking Wales at every

opportunity and he might even get a welcome in the hillside! I want to

do everything I can to support economic recovery in Wales and that

is why, for instance, in September when the NATO conference comes to

Wales, an initiative launched by me, there will be a very strong welcome

in the valleys and this will be the first time that a serving American

president has ever been to Wales. We are doing everything we can to help

business in Wales employ more people and grow the economy.

On Monday I hosted a meeting in Birmingham to mark the agreement of

a great deal which will see over ?350 million invested in Birmingham

and Solihull. It will help to create 19,000 jobs and generate up to ?110

million from local partners and private investment. With employment

is just 1.5% and down by over 28,000 across the whole region, does this

not demonstrate the model bolstered by those growth funds is working?

But how does my right honourable friend plan to build on this success

and encourage the most ambitious local enterprise partnerships to

promote the local economy still further? As I said at the meeting,

the growth deal is a very big step forward for Birmingham and the West

Midlands and will result in more jobs and investment. It will see new

railway stations and transport links built, but we need to be more

ambitious in terms of the money we need to find in central Government

to support these schemes. I also hope local councils will look at

every piece of unused Brownfield land and we will look at every piece

of extra development they put on the table. It is offering this region

just ?10 ahead 37 days before the election and it is too late. You can

tell the difference between this gentleman and any other issues. He

might want to explain why the leader of Birmingham City Council, the

Labour leader, said this is good news for Birmingham. A number of

major projects will be accelerated. Transport routes will be approved

and other money will go into site development. He needs a bit more

time with this gentleman. Tomorrow Britain faces damage and disruption

from strikes, none backed by a majority of union members. Since the

Right Honourable member became leader of the Labour Party he has

taken 30 million from them and will not stand up to that union barons.

Will he votes to stop this licensed sabotage? My honourable friend makes

a very good point and the time has come to look at setting thresholds

in strike ballots. I mentioned the NUT strike earlier. I note they are

paid for by the unions, but they might want to listen to this because

it will disrupt our children's' education. The ballot took place in

2012, it is based on a 27% turnout. How can it be right for our

children's education to be disrupted by trade unions acting in that way.

It is time to legislate and it will be in the Conservative manifesto.

One viewer has said that it was good to see proper discourse but soon it

descended once again into heckling. One point was picked to try to score

points on whereas waiting times have gone down in all other areas. On the

first three questions, on a and A, three direct questions from Ed

Miliband, waffle and brother from David Cameron, and pantomime time on

the Tory backbenches. -- on a and E. Teflon Dave dodges another question,

according to one viewer. Stop this statistical nonsense, make it a

worthwhile exercise. Another viewer, once again, David Cameron answering

a question nobody has asked. Isn't that the point of statistical rows!

And not for the first time. Broadly supportive Labour leader, on the

enquiries into this historic sex abuse case. Did we learn anything

new from one -- from what the Prime Minister told us? The big

overarching enquiry, looking at why institutions including the BBC

failed to deal with sexual abuse, even when some people were alerted

about it, the Prime Minister seems like he does not see it as a way of

enquiring into the allegations that there was a conspiracy or a cover up

in the establishment, meaning there were paedophiles in high places in

politics in both the Commons and the Lords, in the judiciary and

elsewhere. Does not sound to me like he thinks it is that sort of

enquiry. The reason I focus on that, that is critical to whether Butler

Sloss gains that confidence. If she is looking at the legal framework,

the culture, she can easily say that the fact that her brother was the

Attorney General may not have any relevance. If she is expected to

hear from the victims, then it seems to me there are real questions to

ask. The MP who has campaigned on this, Simon Danczuk, successor to

Cyril Smith in Rochdale, he has questions as well. To times of

waiting lists, we will try to untangle them. Waiting lists to get

in for an operation, a procedure, some kind of treatment, and there

are waiting times, if you go to the accident and emergency. Let's take

accident and emergency first, can we accept this trust that there are

more people waiting over four hours for a and E treatment than their

were before? It has almost trebled since 2009.

There are more people going to a and E. Record numbers, as a result of

the health service. More people waiting. What we saw at PMQ 's, we

had a similar debate at last weeks PMQ 's, is a battle over different

types of statistics, by Mr mention the statistic, that times have

reduced from 77 minutes down to 30 minutes... -- PMQ s. What I will say

is that what people will be looking at is what is going on in the local

area, in terms of my local area and the King Lynn hospital, times are

going down, people are getting better service and fewer complaints.

The proof is in the pudding. Hold on, hold on, these figures are quite

clear, these figures are your government figures. On major a and

E, it has doubled, there is three types of a and E, on the majors,

overall it has trouble. -- trebled. -- A

The last figures I have seen, they are better than what we have now.

Four weeks ago I went into A I'm trying... You are going to give me

an anecdote. It took five and a half hours for me to have an x-ray. That

is what people are experiencing. We all have individual anecdote,

somebody can come and say something different. The point I'm trying to

make... The percentage in the most recent figures for June, at major

A centres that waited less than four hours, 95%, the difference has

been the increasing number of people going to accident and emergency.

When you go in you can get assessed, you get treated, both of those are

different times. It is the time going in and how long it takes you

to go in and come out the other side. I come from an accident prone

family, we are constantly there! LAUGHTER

You are the one! You are the one! I knew there was a cause! I was there

for five and half hours. People watching this, you can trade

numbers, but... That is what Ed Miliband was doing with the Prime

Minister. When you try to hold the government to account you trade

numbers, it gets lost, people only hear numbers. What they know is what

they know. What they know is what they have experienced themselves,

people are experiencing longer waits at accident and emergency. I do not

think that is true. It is not because more people are falling off

their bicycles. Excepting your family. On both of these exchanges,

this week and last week, Ed Miliband has failed to score. That is because

the Prime Minister makes up statistics as he goes along. I am

trying to look at the figures, instead of by Minister D that's

macro instead of politicians trading insult to do not know the figures.

Can we accept that the figures show that there are more people waiting

more than four hours for accident and emergency and there were when

the government came to power? -- I'm trying to look at the figures,

instead of politicians who do not know the figures arguing and trading

insults. I trust the figures, I shall take your word for it. The

second kind of waiting time, the wait for an operation. Do you accept

that the numbers waiting for operations on the 18, 26 and 52

weeks, has come down? Yes, no problem with that. It also depends

upon what you look at. 18, 26, 52... The question, what is it they are

waiting for? It depends... That is true of any government. Knee

operations and hip operations, real-life experiences that people

have got to wait longer to have an operation that key is a very painful

condition. Will use a prize that when your government left power,

21,000 people were waiting more than 52 weeks for an operation? -- were

you surprised? And that is now down to 500. I was not aware of that, it

would be interesting to know what kind of operations we are talking

about. With that suggest the Tories are not making quite as big a mess

of the NHS as you have suggested? They are making a mess, they have

spent billions of pounds on top reorganisation they did not need.

They are failing to keep up with demand. On this other waiting list

I've now talking about, although, as the Prime Minister said, only 180

6000, 186,000 people had to wait more than 18 weeks, there are now 3

million people, in the 18 week category. 3 million people waiting

for a procedure. It has doubled in recent years. The NHS is now under a

lot of pressure, a lot more than before. What we know is a record

number of patients are using the NHS and we are seeing growing figures in

accident and emergency and this is the whole point of what we have done

in terms of critical commissioning, making more efficient use of

services, making sure services are redesigned to fit the modern age,

making sure more things can be accessed. It is not more efficient

if you have to go to accident and emergency because you cannot get an

appointment with your GP, you can say it is more efficient but it is

not correct! Can I finish my point? You are talking nonsense. Increased

doctors, decreased managers, that is -- increased doctors, decreased

managers, that is what we have got. And all of these figures are

English, remember. both of them. There was a figure

used by David Cameron last week, which he repeated this week, which

is a misleading figure. It is not untrue, they can be not very

helpful, not the right way to look at things. The phrase they used was

simplistic which was taken down. I will agree with her on that. I agree

with Liz Truss that despite having that ammunition, Ed Miliband did not

score a political point. In the test of the crucible of Prime Minister 's

questions, having that ammunition you would expect him to do well and

interestingly he did not do it. It is quite striking about the big

politics of the NHS, there is a big opportunity for a big opportunity

for Labour with it, they founded it in the first place and there are

increasing warnings the NHS will run out of money whoever is in power.

David Cameron seems to be able to insulated himself in the Commons by

pointing at Andy Burnham and saying, you used to run it and it is a

mess, and pointing at the Welsh assembly saying it is a mess. Policy

is very important. You and I know if you talk to experts, they genuinely

believe there is a funding crisis. The taxpayer will have to give more

money or we all as consumers of health will have to pay directly

through charges, some four of insurance. The King's fund is quite

clear there is a major problem coming in 2016. And beyond that.

What people forget, the statistic I remember is the era of cuts in the

NHS, Margaret Thatcher increased spending on the NHS by more than 3%

above inflation. I think that was too little, but under both Tory and

Labour plans, it is not going up at all. Spreading your wisdom and

diplomacy across the studio. Is that your next job? We have to

move on. See you next week for the final one. Of course.

Remember the champagne-filled days of cool Britannia where pop stars

were invited through the doors of Number Ten?

Well, last week our Dave had his own chill out in honour

Journalist Tanya Gold thinks that, in her words,

a "gruel Britannia" is the last thing our political system needs.

In our soapbox this week, which contains flash photography,

Politics is show business for ugly people, so the saying goes, but

should their worlds ever meet? I think politicians should resist the

temptation of courting people who trivialise politics. His main

interest was a Champagne supernova in the sky, but Tony Blair thought

it significant to court with this. How we do not miss the vapid days of

cool Britannia. Oh, it seems we do. Last week a party was thrown to

honour the entertainment industry. A gaggle of celebrities gathered to

hear the Prime Minister say to them, you make your can be so proud. Why

not the fishing industry? Celebrity is trivial and when it touches

politics, that seems trivial as well. Of course, the mix of

celebrity and politics is not new, but it is surprising politicians

have not learned their lesson. Another visitor to Mrs Thatcher was

Jimmy Savile and he had many holidays at Chequers during which he

used to write, in case of national emergency, phone Jimmy Savile, on

every notepad in the house. Sometimes the celebrity becomes

genuinely politicised. Russell Brown believes abolishing democracy will

make Britain a greater place. His narcissism is nothing strange, but

politicians should perhaps do better and recognise it. The death of

naivete and fake television niceness is not a terrible thing. Why should

we exalt only creatures who speak to children in children's words. Clear

them away completely. Tanya Gold is with us now. Is the

attraction between politicians and celebrities mutual? Sometimes. For

instance in 20 first 2002 at a Labour conference Kevin Spacey

appeared. Last week at the Tory party there were Ronnie Corbett,

Cilla Black and Bruce Forsyth. I think sometimes it is. Politicians

like celebrities because they think the electorate like celebrities and

they think it makes them look glamorous. Personally I would rather

my politician looked effective. Is narcissism at the centre of it? I

think a lot of celebrities have a tendency towards narcissism, you

have to think you can headline Glastonbury and solve world

problems. Not everybody is a narcissist, but a lot of celebrities

are. Do you think if Ed Miliband comes Prime Minister he should spend

no time at all with celebrities and a lot more time with fishing

representatives are people from the rail industry? I wish the world was

like that, I think that is how it should be, but sometimes in order to

get a message through, using a celebrity happens. We saw it

recently using rape in war. Angelina Jolie. Yes, but I would like to

think it would bring as much publicity if it had only been

William Hay, that it wouldn't have. Is Angelina Jolie trivial or does

she bring something to the cause? I thought she has done a tremendous

job and it has made a difference. Firstly, the creative industries are

incredibly important to our economy. We had one of the biggest creative

sectors than virtually any country in the world. Last week we held a

reception for maths teachers. The reality is the press are not as

interested in them. Boris Johnson has had time to meet with Will

Smith, but he has not been to a food bank? Has he got his priorities

wrong? I do not have any knowledge of Boris Johnson's diary, but

politicians work with all people across all groups. The point about

the creative industries reception is the way it was built up by the press

because the press were interested in celebrities. Other things are

equally as important, but they do not get attention. Sometimes you

need to use celebrities to get attention. Professor Brian Cox is a

fantastic physicist and we want more kids to do physics and that is a

good way to get that message across to young people. Celebrities can be

helpful and they are an inevitability. Should they not touch

them with a barge pole? At the same time as William Hague was appearing

with Angelina Jolie he was a member of Government decimating support

centres for victims of rape in Britain. I thought she was being

used. Imagine our delight when an ambitious Tory minister Matt Hancock

was snapped this week ringing in front of graffiti calling for his

boss to be sacked. And after Ed Miliband's sandwich gaffe, we could

not resist trailing through our awkward photos of the political

elite. We start with Mike Hancock himself posing for total politics

magazine. Fantastic. With us now is a man who

has tried to keep politicians out of pictures, former spin doctor Lance

Price. We have only got a couple of minutes, but this would never have

happened in your day. It happens and all governments and all

politicians. You have to keep an eye on them. There are some that you can

see which were avoidable. There are others like Nigel Farage with the

microphone is the way the camera chose to take the picture. You can

do all kinds of things. If you take enough pictures of somebody, you can

make them look stupid. It is a bit more difficult with TV pictures.

Iain Duncan Smith, when he was Tory leader, they used to cover the fire

signs and the exit signs. We used to do that for other people. Would you

have put Gordon Brown or Tony Blair on a boat? They look comfortable.

You make these things a bit more interesting. You try to make people

look more human. I put Tony Blair on a Tube train by himself trying to

look like an ordinary member of the public. He was hanging on looking

completely stupid and it was a disaster. Did he ask for the

refreshment card? We love politicians, but they are not

ordinary folk. One of Parliamentary candidate to eat a photograph which

he had a photograph taken with four lady councillors and it said by four

get one free on the sign behind. If you think of the banana and David

Miliband there was he at that point, and I am a big fan of his, but it

was a mistake to get himself into, he was putting himself forward as a

potential leader of the Labour Party. When he should have been

looking prime ministerial he was walking down the street with a

banana. That was avoidable. Sometimes politicians do it on

purpose. John Prescott was vying with Peter Mandelson when Tony Blair

went on holiday over who was at the helm and he got a photo taken with a

crab. Guess the year, hit the button. This is the winner. Thank

you to all of our guests. The one o'clock News is on BBC One and we

will be back here tomorrow at noon with the Daily Politics.

The big story is the public sector strikes.

Why do we feel the need to continuously upgrade?