16/07/2014 Daily Politics


16/07/2014

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Morning folks and welcome to the Daily Politics.

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Men were sacked, women promoted - but how different does government

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A new Foreign Secretary and European Commissioner.

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The last Conservative Europhile around the cabinet table, out.

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Is Britain moving closer to a European exit?

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The last Prime Minster's Questions before MPs swap

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the green benches for the beach - we'll bring you that live at noon.

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You bad mouth them - then you have to meet them.

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We bring you the most cringe-worthy political encounters.

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All that coming up in the next 90 minutes of the very

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And after yesterday's brutal ministerial

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reshuffle, a little compassion here at the Daily Politics.

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Despite losing his job yesterday, we've kept him on.

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He was a cabinet office minister, now just a plain MP - Ken Clarke.

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And she's not male or stale, and she's still got her job - for now.

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Ken, were you jumped -- did you jump or you pushed? I was obviously going

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to retire. I thought I was going to retire the last time. I agreed with

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David I would do a couple of years. As by far the oldest member of the

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Government, decided to leave. The press were very slow to realise I

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was demob happy. I saw a smile on your face. Wednesday, Thursday and

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Friday of last week I was at Trent Bridge for a Test match. On Monday I

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came down and handed in my retirement. David knew it was

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coming. We had a very good chat. I have only just started being a

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minister. I was beginning to pick it up I! You are a slow learner. If he

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had asked you to stay, would you have stayed? He would have had to

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persuade me. He persuaded me to come back to the front bench about six

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years ago when I was the most rebellious backbencher in the House

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of Commons. I was rather surprised to get the invitation. Better to be

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an insider than outside. You are going to stand as an MP again? Yes.

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I am a political anorak. I find the process of governance is

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fascinating. I find politics fascinating. What do you make of

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these changes? It has been billed as ladies table the consequence of

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ladies day is we have the same number of women MPs in the Cabinet

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as 2011. Even then it was only five. David has always brought women in.

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He has lost three from the Cabinet already. I hope this lot will have a

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good long stint. They will only have nine months. You must point on

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merit. But where people are of equal talent, I would give women the

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preference because we need more women in politics.

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preference because we need more women in It is a shame we don't have

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so many women in politics. These are good women. Maybe people will stop

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commenting on their gender, criticising what they wear etc, and

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just accept it is a government... We are a long way from that. Maybe so.

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Why did he take so long? Tony Blair used to reshuffle once every nine

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months. John Reid had five Cabinet jobs in four years. I think he has

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gone back to a better tradition of having a big reshuffle once, twice

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at the most common in the course of a parliament. There is no point in

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appointing a minister who will not master is or her brief to get on

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with doing something. These ministers have only got ten months

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where they will not do very much. They only have two demonstrate their

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ministerial calibre. They have to campaign more. He should leave them

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in post after the election when they win it. Can the Tories win an

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overall majority? I think it is a tall order. If you were to look me

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in the eye and tell me you knew who was going to win the next election

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precisely, I wouldn't believe you. I am looking you in the eye but I am

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not telling you that. The cynicism about politics, the anti-political

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nihilism, more difficult than ever before. But we are more likely to be

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the biggest single party. before. But we are more likely to be

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challenge for the Conservative Party is to get the overall majority. If

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it is a minority government, should Mr Cameron do another deal with the

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Lib Dems or run a minority government? I don't understand this

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minority government 's tough because you cannot do anything. We are in

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the middle of a financial crisis. The next comment has to take

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stronger steps. A coalition. I feared a hung parliament. I didn't

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think British politicians could do it. I thought we were all too

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tribal. The big success was to form a coalition and put the national

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interest first. It is the only way to handle it. You have done public

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sector reform. You have logged the forces of conservatism in the eye

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and done it. -- looked. Why move Michael Gove, the most successful

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public service reform, according to his supporters, and give the people

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who opposed them a scalp? I don't know. I was as surprised as

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everybody else. My guess is, to just quieten the subject down in the

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run-up to the election, when Margaret, despite my protests,

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insisted on moving me from the Department of Health and putting me

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on to education, I argued the toss. She insisted on moving me. I cannot

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remember what reason she gave me. It was pretty silly! I realised that he

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rapidly her intention was to quieten me down before the election. Michael

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will be back. The run-up to the election is more important than the

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school reform to the prime Minister? If you live in a Parliamentary

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democracy, you have to accept that tough things need to be done in the

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first two or three years. By the last ten months you have to start

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campaigning because you want to finish the job, which I hope we

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will. I am glad you are here today. Liz, it is your turn! After

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everything that happened yesterday, it was very dramatic, much more

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extensive than anybody thought, can expect a Labour reshuffle? I have no

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idea. I have heard nothing. Don't know anything. No idea. Do you think

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there should be a Labour re-shore full? You know that is a matter for

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Ed Miliband and it is way above my pay grade. I don't know if I am

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allowed to, but one of the things I wanted to ask Ken was, obviously it

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is more of a Eurosceptic Cabinet now, and you have fought all your

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political life for a moderate one nation Conservative Party. Do you

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think you're leaving means that is gone? We are going to talk about

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Europe. You have two weight! One of my views about the reshuffle is,

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that is the thing I am most worried about. You can come back to that.

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But other look at the team for a labourer. The Guardian ICM poll this

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week had you in second place behind the Conservatives. -- for a

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labourer. Doesn't that indicated time to freshen up your team? I have

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no idea if there is going to be a reshuffle. I think it is going to be

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really tough before the general election. For all the parties, for

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the reasons Ken said. The biggest problem is that people are so fed up

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with politicians. They don't hear anything we say because we often

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don't sound like them or look like them. You don't think your team

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sounds or looks like them? When you are knocking on doors, people's view

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about politics and politicians, not trusting us, not believing us, not

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believing we care about what they do, I believe my party does. I am

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under no illusions about the scale of the challenge. Do you agree with

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Ken Clarke that it will be very difficult for the Conservatives to

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have an overall majority? Would be very difficult to have an overall

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majority for Labour? I think it is too close to call. We are playing to

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win. There is a big fight over the next ten months. Why have the

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opinion polls narrowed over the last few months, so much so that the

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Conservatives have even gone ahead in several? I think people are

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thinking about what is happening in their lives. Certainly over the

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course of the European elections, we saw UKIP do very well, taking votes

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of the Tories. Why have the Conservatives gone ahead? People are

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generally looking for parties and provide an answer to the problems

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they face. UKIP have come in with easy answers that I do not believe

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the answers. That has had an impact. Charles Clarke thinks the most

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output -- outcome is a Tory overall majority because Ed Miliband lacks

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credibility. I do not agree with Charles Clarke. Ed is a passionate

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and tough leader. It is going to be incredibly tough. It is all to play

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for and we are playing to win. He is a big beast, Charles Clarke. I hate

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that term! He is a worse leader than Neal Kinnock, he says of Ed

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Miliband. I don't agree with that. The most important thing Ed has

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identified is that the economy was not working for people on Middle or

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low incomes even before the financial crash. That is because of

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the structure of the economy, connotation from across the world.

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Not just low skilled jobs but middle skilled jobs are being lost. He

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identified that first and foremost. We have had many opinion polls where

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we have had a lead. Some have gone down, some will go up macro. The

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central issue is how we get our economy to work for ordinary

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people, not just those of the top. He was the first to identify that I

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believe we have the policies to sort those problems. I will not call you

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big beast. That is the least of my worries!

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Ken wasn't the only big beast to leave cabinet - but he was

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And yesterday also saw the departure of Foreign Secretary William Hague.

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So what does this all mean for the Conservative Party and

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Well Andrew, while David Cameron was reshuffling his ministerial pack

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yesterday, Jean Claude Juncker was confirmed as the new President - or

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Cameron thinks his ace in Europe is this man - the relative

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He is currently the Conservative leader in the House of Lords

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and now the PM's nominee for European Commissioner.

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But will Mr Juncker see him as an ace or a joker?

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He'll be doing the job as Mr Cameron tries to renegotiate Britain's

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membership of the EU ahead of the proposed in/out referendum in 2017.

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A referendum in which the new Foreign Secretary - jack of all

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trades - Philip Hammond, has said he could contemplate voting to leave.

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And the European Court of Human Rights could also be in the

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firing line, as the departure of Dominic Grieve as Attorney General

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is seen as clearing the way for a tougher stance on the human rights

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And joining us now is UKIP's deputy leader, Paul Nuttall.

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He is in the entertainment capital of Europe, known as Strasberg. You

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can see he is enjoying himself. -- Strasbourg. It is the Las Vegas of

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the German, Franco border. Is this the most Eurosceptic Cabinet we have

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ever had, Ken Clarke? No, it is not. I am the most outspoken pro-European

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who has left the Cabinet but I am not the only pro-European by a long

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way. Who is left? There is nobody in the Cabinet who wants to leave the

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European Union. The others can speak for themselves. I was in a position

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as the elder statesman of being slightly more outspoken than some of

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my colleagues. Pre-Harold Macmillan... I heard Harold

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Macmillan make an announcement. Let's not go there. What went wrong?

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I don't know, really. It was a reaction to the fall of Margaret

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Thatcher, and Conrad Black buying the Daily Telegraph, but this is

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probably not the time. Paul Nuttall, although Mr Clarke finds it quite

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hard to admit, this is the most Eurosceptic cabinet that has ever

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have in this country, certainly on the Tory part of it. It has been put

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together against you. This is an anti-UKIP cabinet, isn't it? Once

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again, the Conservatives are trying to play catch up. Cameron has had

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for years to try to do something about the European Union. The only

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offered a referendum from a position of weakness because of the strength

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of UKIP. Cameron remains Prime Minister, and he is a committed

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Europhile, though he said he would go into the renegotiation, he has

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already said then he will campaign to stay within the European Union.

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So negotiations are pie in the sky, and I listened yesterday to

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Jean-Claude Juncker in the chamber yesterday when he said quite clearly

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the biggest issue the Briton is freedom of movement of peoples, and

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that is not on the table. So the whole thing is pie in the sky. As

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the great Sean Connery once said in the Untouchable in a row macro you

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don't go to a gunfight carrying a knife. Is Mr Cameron a Europhile? I

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think he and the Cabinet will recommend a yes vote, and try to

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negotiate. Is he a Europhile? He is not as pro-Europe is me. Jean-Claude

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Juncker is not as pro-Europe as you. The idea that David Cameron is an

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isolationist nationalist, which is what Euroscepticism is sometimes a

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youth is for -- a euphemism for, is nonsense. Rea that is how he has

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ended up, not just here, but in other countries. He has not altered

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the policy, the new Cabinet will not alter the policy that had me in it.

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The idea is to achieve a process of reform and to exclude people how a

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modernised, reformed Europe is in British interests. Ken, Ken! Hold

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on, I want to bring in Liz Kendall. Doesn't labour have to re-burnish

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its offerings? I am a strongly pro-European politician, because I

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think it is in our national interests, our jobs and investment

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depend on it, and it is vital for a whole range of other issues

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important for the country. What I think the problem... I didn't ask

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about David Cameron, with respect, I asked about Labour, and I said that

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Labour's policy does not seem to be in June with the British people.

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Every time you criticise David Cameron, whether it was the veto a

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couple of years ago, or being out on a limb over Juncker, his poll

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ratings rise. OK, but sometimes you have to argue what you believe in,

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and I believe that a reformed Europe that is turbo-charging jobs and

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growth with proper reform... What makes you think you will ever get

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that? I believe there are countries you can build alliances with, who

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want to see... Did you listen to Mr Juncker yesterday? Actually, when we

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were in government, the way that we got change was by building

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alliances, often across political parties with leaders of different

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persuasions, about how Europe has to change. If your approach is about

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repatriating powers alone, rather than the bigger prize, which is a

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reformed Europe, that is a mistake. You could be electing your pension

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by the time that happens. Why are you soap as a mystic about change?

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Because I have told people tell you, like -- tell me, like you, like Ken,

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that we will change, and it never happens. Can I explain why we are in

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a different situation now? Number one, because we have had the

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financial crash, and that is more a kick up the proverbial than anything

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that has happened before. Quite frankly, we should have spent the

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last couple of weeks not talking about jobs for the boys, but jobs

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for people in this country across Europe. Paul Nuttall is still with

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us, what do you make of all that? Repatriations of powers is not on

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the table. Mr Juncker made that perfectly clear for is that what he

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said was he was not opposed to it but it would require the support of

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27 other member states so it just isn't going to happen. The way that

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this guy was appointed guest today, backroom deals, behind closed doors

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-- appointed yesterday, and Mr Juncker is the epitome of it. This

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place is not going to change. It is going to roll on. They have pushed

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us closer to the exit door, which is a good thing. Why are you taking a

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dive in the polls? We are not. ICN gets us consistently wrong. You are

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now down to 9%. In one ICN poll, if it was other ones, I would worry, I

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am not bothered about this one. I know he used to be your special

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adviser, but this chap, Jonathan Hill, that no one seems to have

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heard of, why put a total unknown as the British commissioner candidate,

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and at the same time expect to be given a major job, a major economic

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portfolio? Surely this makes it a lots less likely? The European

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Commissioners are not all high profile national politicians. Cathy

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Ashton, never mind Mandelson, she has done a very good job actually,

:21:57.:22:02.

the higher representative, the foreign affairs leader in the

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council. If you had heard of Cathy Ashton before she was sent there, I

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would be very surprised indeed. Jonathan Hill firstly had the great

:22:13.:22:16.

privilege of working with me as my legal aid when we were in employment

:22:17.:22:22.

in DTI. He was John Major's right-hand man. When John Major was

:22:23.:22:29.

Prime Minister. He has been back in government for some time. He has

:22:30.:22:33.

been in the Cabinet to some time. He understands the economy and

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business, you made money in business. To say he is a wheeler

:22:36.:22:43.

dealer operator is wrong, I am sure he can do that, it is part of

:22:44.:22:47.

politics, but he is actually extremely intelligent. Let's go back

:22:48.:22:55.

to Liz Kendall, this thing we could be on the brink of some massive

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European reform. I didn't say that, Andrew. I said that is what our goal

:22:59.:23:06.

has got to be. I believe we have chances to do it, we would have to

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work very hard on it and it won't happen with this government. We now

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have is a president of the European Commission somebody who yesterday

:23:16.:23:22.

said that he regarded the euro is the thing, the mechanism that had

:23:23.:23:26.

saved the European Union, had been great for the European Union, and

:23:27.:23:31.

that that was the kind of Europe you wanted. If that is the case, shall I

:23:32.:23:39.

tell you what youth unemployment is in Spain, Italy? No, you don't need

:23:40.:23:44.

to tell me things like that. It was not caused by the euro. I know there

:23:45.:23:50.

are horrific levels of unemployment. How will you get a coalition to

:23:51.:23:55.

change with attitudes like that? I think it is probably more about

:23:56.:23:59.

getting the leaders of the different countries who believe that Europe

:24:00.:24:03.

needs to reform to get agreement. I am not saying the president of the

:24:04.:24:05.

commission or the commissioners don't have an important role, but I

:24:06.:24:10.

think ultimately it is about the leaders of the different European

:24:11.:24:13.

countries coming together and realising, Europe has got to change

:24:14.:24:17.

if we are going to focus on the things that matter to people. To the

:24:18.:24:21.

people we are supposed to represent. It is very general. In the end, I

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think it is about the leaders of the country. The European Commission

:24:29.:24:31.

president has a role. Juncker was right about one thing yesterday, you

:24:32.:24:37.

cannot change the free movement of people. No one is proposing that we

:24:38.:24:44.

do. Excuse me, your party is. You have a UKIP guy who brings it back

:24:45.:24:49.

to immigration. If you are to say the whole argument is about bigotry

:24:50.:24:52.

and prejudice, fair enough. The changes we wish to make is to make

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it clearer that people cannot come here just to claim benefit. Not many

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do, not many have, we are not very good at reporting it, we and the

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Germans and everyone else. There are 2 million Brits working in Europe.

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Paul Nuttall, I will give you the final word because you have the most

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difficult gig this morning, being down the line. Bring us back to

:25:13.:25:21.

immigration, come on! It is bigoted to be concerned about immigration,

:25:22.:25:24.

but you go into any council estate in the North of England, or places

:25:25.:25:28.

like Essex, and say that, when we have a million of our own kids

:25:29.:25:32.

unemployed. What we need to do is to control our own borders, have a

:25:33.:25:34.

points -based system to everyone where we can choose who comes and

:25:35.:25:39.

who doesn't into our country. While we have freedom of movement of

:25:40.:25:43.

peoples, that is not possible. We will have to leave it there.

:25:44.:25:49.

Now, a reminder yesterday, as if we needed one,

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of why it's safer to broadcast from a hermetically sealed studio.

:25:59.:26:01.

Never mind the wind, rain and occasionally disruptive

:26:02.:26:03.

As he tried to update viewers on the latest on the reshuffle, Sky's

:26:04.:26:07.

Political Editor, Adam Boulton, was stopped in mid-flow - by a fly.

:26:08.:26:11.

if we look at the changing complexion of this Cabinet, compared

:26:12.:26:19.

to the last one, the one yesterday, and what we can see is... . Graeme

:26:20.:26:28.

ad, do you want to take a pause? You have been talking nonstop. Are you

:26:29.:26:35.

OK? I swallowed a fly. I have recovered now. He did well there to

:26:36.:26:42.

recover. I have been asked to point out that an animal was hurt. Who

:26:43.:26:48.

knows what happened to the fly. We do sympathise with your plight. We

:26:49.:26:54.

have the perfect remedy. Filled with hot or cold liquid,

:26:55.:26:57.

flies or other airborne insects can And, if you pay attention,

:26:58.:27:00.

it could be yours. I speak, of course,

:27:01.:27:03.

of a Daily Politics mug. What better receptacle to grace

:27:04.:27:06.

a Sky News screen? We'll remind you how to enter

:27:07.:27:08.

in a minute, but let's see if you MUSIC. I went into this agreement

:27:09.:27:27.

because I was not prepared to tolerate a situation of continuing

:27:28.:27:29.

violence. We have decided that the National

:27:30.:27:57.

union of Mineworkers shall organise a return to work on choose day.

:27:58.:28:14.

And you can see the full terms and conditions for Guess The Year

:28:15.:28:38.

on our website, that's bbc.co.uk/dailypolitics.

:28:39.:28:39.

It's coming up to midday here, just take a look at Big Ben,

:28:40.:28:42.

Yes, Prime Minister's Questions is on its way.

:28:43.:29:03.

It is the final PMQs of the summer, so if you would like to comment on

:29:04.:29:08.

proceedings, you can e-mail us, And that's not all;

:29:09.:29:18.

Nick Robinson is here. Mr Miliband has not been in the news

:29:19.:29:29.

recently. It has been the Tory, reshuffle, other matters. He will be

:29:30.:29:35.

in the news very soon because he is going to the White House. There was

:29:36.:29:40.

a report on the Today programme, he will be there and very soon, next

:29:41.:29:44.

week. Ed Miliband will make his visit to the White House. I don't

:29:45.:29:48.

think he will mention that. He will try to put his own characterisation

:29:49.:29:51.

on the reshuffle, because he knows that the right throughs in the

:29:52.:29:56.

Sunday paper will have to characterise it in a particular way

:29:57.:30:00.

and he needs to put his imprint on the reshuffle. With these very good

:30:01.:30:04.

employment statistics, he has to be very wary that David Cameron doesn't

:30:05.:30:07.

say again you don't want to talk about the economy, you asked me

:30:08.:30:10.

about health, about this, about that, it is time you spoke about the

:30:11.:30:17.

economy. The unemployment figures are incredible, amazing how quick it

:30:18.:30:20.

has gone down, but average earnings fell yet again. And yesterday or the

:30:21.:30:25.

day before, I can't run a ball which, inflation went up as well, so

:30:26.:30:29.

the gap between earnings and prices, which everyone expected to start a

:30:30.:30:35.

narrow now, is actually widening again. Which allows Ed Miliband to

:30:36.:30:39.

say that the cost of living crisis, as he calls it, is not a short-term

:30:40.:30:44.

thing, it is for the long-term. It would be surprising if he was not to

:30:45.:30:48.

use this last opportunity before the summer to try and reinforce that. He

:30:49.:30:52.

has to do a good performance because he has had, frankly, a difficult

:30:53.:30:56.

couple of months, but he has his visit to the White House today, he

:30:57.:31:01.

also has the national policy reform, Labour's big policy-making

:31:02.:31:03.

conference this weekend. There will be a big speech on Saturday when we

:31:04.:31:13.

Are planning to campaign on the summer months? -- are they planning.

:31:14.:31:23.

Labour got it kicking last time from political journalists. I was

:31:24.:31:28.

speaking to a Labour insider at the other day and there is an obsession

:31:29.:31:32.

with having several stories a day during the summer to make up for

:31:33.:31:38.

that. Let's go over to the final Prime Minister's Questions of the

:31:39.:31:39.

summer. In addition to my duties in this

:31:40.:31:43.

House, I shall have further meetings today. Given his commitment to

:31:44.:31:51.

equality, with the Prime Minister explain why 75% of his cabinet are

:31:52.:31:58.

still men? I think the honourable lady is being a little bit churlish.

:31:59.:32:06.

The government before my one had four women Cabinet ministers and

:32:07.:32:13.

three additional women attending cabinet. We have five members of the

:32:14.:32:16.

covenant and an additional three attending. In terms of the

:32:17.:32:22.

Conservative Party, I am leading a coalition government. When it comes

:32:23.:32:27.

to Conservatives sitting around the Cabinet table, I am proud to say one

:32:28.:32:38.

third of them are now women. Having -- having rightly reaffirmed

:32:39.:32:40.

his confidence in the Transport Secretary, can I urge my right

:32:41.:32:47.

honourable friend to urge him to give early priority to the

:32:48.:32:53.

improvement of the railway line serving East Anglia? I am well aware

:32:54.:32:59.

of this problem and some of the campaigns and I know my right

:33:00.:33:03.

honourable friend, the transport minister, now backed by a larger

:33:04.:33:06.

team of ministers in the transport department, will give that their

:33:07.:33:16.

urgent attention. Mr Ed Miliband. Mr Speaker, we have always said that

:33:17.:33:22.

we will support the Government when they do the right thing. So can I

:33:23.:33:27.

join thousands of parents across the country in congratulating him on

:33:28.:33:32.

getting rid of the Education Secretary. Why did he demote him? To

:33:33.:33:44.

answer the question... I hope the whole House can come together in

:33:45.:33:51.

this way, which is the right honourable member for North West

:33:52.:33:55.

Hampshire has served in this House of Commons for over 40 years and he

:33:56.:34:00.

will be retiring at the next election. And so when it came to

:34:01.:34:04.

replacing an extra ordinary politician, and someone who has

:34:05.:34:09.

given so much to this country, as the Chief Whip, I wanted to find the

:34:10.:34:13.

very best candidate and I am proud to have done so in the former

:34:14.:34:19.

Education Secretary. He has obviously got a very short memory,

:34:20.:34:24.

Mr Speaker. This is what he used to say about the Education Secretary. I

:34:25.:34:28.

want to trust the Education Secretary to get on with that job

:34:29.:34:35.

for many years. Rather than saying, I am now going to show view over

:34:36.:34:39.

somewhere else. Why did he do it? Is it the shortage of primary school

:34:40.:34:44.

places? The unqualified teachers or the failure of his free school 's?

:34:45.:34:50.

He achieved a record number of academies, new free schools,

:34:51.:34:55.

standards are rising the country and reforms that will endure. But isn't

:34:56.:35:02.

it extraordinary, not a day of a record -- on the day of a record

:35:03.:35:07.

increase in employment in our country, he will do anything not to

:35:08.:35:11.

talk about economic recovery, deficit falling, economy growing,

:35:12.:35:17.

numbers of work increasing. I am not surprised he does not want to talk

:35:18.:35:20.

about people in work, his own job looks a bit shaky. I am bound to say

:35:21.:35:27.

if it has all been such a great success, I still don't know why he

:35:28.:35:30.

said -- sacked the Education Secretary. Let's talk about the

:35:31.:35:41.

figures. The economic recovery is not benefiting most working people,

:35:42.:35:45.

who are working harder for a longer for less. There are 7 million people

:35:46.:35:51.

who are in working families who are paid so little they are in poverty.

:35:52.:35:55.

Does he think the economy is working for them. Let me bring the House

:35:56.:36:03.

up-to-date on the unemployment figures. We see employment by

:36:04.:36:11.

254,000 this quarter. We see women's employment up. We see youth

:36:12.:36:15.

unemployment up. And we see the unemployment count falling by

:36:16.:36:20.

121,000. And we have reached an important milestone in our country,

:36:21.:36:24.

which is more people in work in our country than ever before in our

:36:25.:36:29.

history. We can now say that since this government came to office,

:36:30.:36:33.

there are 1.8 million more people in work. That is a record that we can

:36:34.:36:40.

be proud of. And something that the Labour leader has raised a week

:36:41.:36:43.

after week, long-term youth unemployment, that is now lower than

:36:44.:36:47.

when this comment came to office. Now of course it is disappointing

:36:48.:36:53.

that pays not rising faster. But let me remind him what the director of

:36:54.:36:56.

the Institute for fiscal studies said. He said that we have had a

:36:57.:37:01.

great big recession. The biggest recession in 100 years. It would be

:37:02.:37:05.

astonishing of household incomes have not fallen and earnings have

:37:06.:37:09.

not fallen. That is what has happened. We know who is responsible

:37:10.:37:14.

for the great economic recession. Extraordinarily, they are still in

:37:15.:37:20.

their jobs. He is in his fifth year as Prime Minister and all he can do

:37:21.:37:28.

is try and blame someone else. And he just does not get it. He just

:37:29.:37:34.

doesn't get it. This week we saw shocking figures about another group

:37:35.:37:36.

suffering from the cost of living crisis. Millions of young people

:37:37.:37:41.

whose earnings are falling faster than everyone else. One in four of

:37:42.:37:45.

them living with their parents because they cannot afford to buy a

:37:46.:37:50.

house or even rent one. Does he honestly think they are feeling the

:37:51.:37:55.

benefit of the recovery? Of course we want living standards to recover

:37:56.:37:59.

faster. There are two things you need to do to make that happen.

:38:00.:38:02.

Firstly, get more people into work. We want living standards to recover

:38:03.:38:05.

faster. There are two things you need to do to make that happen.

:38:06.:38:11.

Firstly, get more people into work. -- yesterday Labour announced it is

:38:12.:38:16.

their policy to put up taxes on middle income people. Perhaps he can

:38:17.:38:20.

get to his feet and tell us which taxes on which people. I ask the

:38:21.:38:26.

questions and he fails to answer them. And the reality is he has the

:38:27.:38:31.

worst record on living standards of any prime minister in history. But

:38:32.:38:42.

there is one group... I will tell them what is weak. It is saying a

:38:43.:38:45.

month ago he is happy with his team and then sacking part of his team.

:38:46.:38:50.

There is one group feeling the benefit of the recovery. Can he

:38:51.:38:54.

confirmed that while average pay is down ?1600 a year since the last

:38:55.:39:00.

election, last year the top 1% took home an extra ?15 billion after the

:39:01.:39:08.

millionaires tax cut? I am happy with my team. Looking at the Shadow

:39:09.:39:11.

Chancellor, I am pretty happy with his team, too. Let me explain that

:39:12.:39:20.

one of the things which happened yesterday was the deputy leader of

:39:21.:39:23.

the Labour Party on the radio said this. I think people on middle

:39:24.:39:27.

incomes should contribute more through their taxes. That is what

:39:28.:39:34.

she said. There we are. That is their policy. The squeezed middle

:39:35.:39:39.

will be squeezed more. Now he needs to tell us which people are going to

:39:40.:39:45.

pay which taxes, because on this side of the House we have cut

:39:46.:39:51.

council tax, petrol duty, the jobs tax, we have increased the marriage

:39:52.:39:56.

couple's allowance. Labour will put a tax on your job, your mortgage,

:39:57.:40:00.

your home and your pension. Where are the middle income tax? --

:40:01.:40:09.

coming? This is totally desperate stuff. He has nothing to say about

:40:10.:40:12.

the cost of living crisis. That is the reality. His reshuffle had

:40:13.:40:19.

nothing to do with the country and everything to do with his party.

:40:20.:40:22.

After four years of this government we have a recovery people cannot

:40:23.:40:27.

feel, a cost of living crisis people cannot deny and a prime Minister

:40:28.:40:32.

people cannot believe. He talks about five years under this

:40:33.:40:35.

government. We have got record numbers in work. The economy

:40:36.:40:39.

growing. Record numbers of businesses. Record numbers of women

:40:40.:40:47.

in work. In this party, the leader reshuffles the party -- the Cabinet.

:40:48.:40:54.

In his party, the Shadow Cabinet desperately want to reshuffle the

:40:55.:41:02.

leader. I am sure the right honourable

:41:03.:41:07.

gentleman is delighted to be lauded in such fashion. It is just like the

:41:08.:41:18.

old days, Mr Speaker! Mr Speaker, as the prime minister is enjoying a

:41:19.:41:21.

week in which he is making a lot of new best friends, when he gets to

:41:22.:41:26.

the Brussels summit, would he give a particularly warm greeting to the

:41:27.:41:30.

man who may yet be his best, certainly his newest, Mr Juncker,

:41:31.:41:38.

who yesterday called for more European reform and one applicant

:41:39.:41:42.

states who want to join the European Union face a complex, difficult and

:41:43.:41:45.

drawn-out period of up to perhaps five years? As we don't meet before

:41:46.:41:53.

the Scottish referendum, barring a recall, shouldn't the Scottish

:41:54.:41:58.

voters bear those words in mind? This is a remarkable moment where

:41:59.:42:01.

the right honourable gentleman, Jean-Claude Juncker, has said

:42:02.:42:05.

something with which I wholeheartedly agreed. It is

:42:06.:42:10.

noticeable what he said. That there would not be new members joining the

:42:11.:42:13.

European Union and the next five years. That is very important in the

:42:14.:42:16.

context of the Scottish referendum debate. He says we're not going to

:42:17.:42:21.

meet again before the Scottish referendum. In terms of my diary, I

:42:22.:42:24.

think the House of Commons will be in September. Can the prime Minister

:42:25.:42:31.

explain why he has now given more knighthoods to men that he sacked

:42:32.:42:36.

and he has given Cabinet jobs to women? Always interesting to take a

:42:37.:42:43.

lecture from a party that gave a knighthood to Fred Goodwin! I have

:42:44.:42:47.

appointed more women to the front bench, more women to the Cabinet, on

:42:48.:42:51.

the basis they deserve those jobs. I want a team that reflects modern

:42:52.:42:55.

Britain and can be everything that modern Britain needed to be. I make

:42:56.:43:00.

no apology for saying that I think in public life we should recognise

:43:01.:43:04.

public service, people who have worked hard, who have contributed to

:43:05.:43:07.

our nation, our government, I think it is a good thing to do. Mr

:43:08.:43:14.

Speaker, people with autism have specific social and communications

:43:15.:43:18.

needs which can cause distress and misunderstanding, particularly when

:43:19.:43:23.

they are admitted to hospital for a routine or emergency treatment. With

:43:24.:43:27.

the Prime Minister join me in congratulating Baroness Angela Brown

:43:28.:43:32.

and the National Autistic Society, who tomorrow are going to launch the

:43:33.:43:37.

new hospital passport for people with autism? I think that will make

:43:38.:43:40.

a great difference to a lot of people's lights in this country. I

:43:41.:43:46.

thank the honourable lady, my right honourable friend, from raising this

:43:47.:43:50.

issue. Baroness Browning has worked very hard on this issue over the

:43:51.:43:54.

years, as has my right honourable friend, with the autism Bill, which

:43:55.:43:58.

is making a huge difference to the way we help young people with these

:43:59.:44:03.

conditions. I absolutely join her in making sure these services are

:44:04.:44:10.

properly put together. Given the recent data shows the gender pay gap

:44:11.:44:14.

is increasing again, can the prime Minister confirm the excellent news

:44:15.:44:18.

that any woman not receiving equal pay for equal work will have their

:44:19.:44:22.

salary topped up from Tory party funds? What I would say to the

:44:23.:44:29.

honourable gentleman is the first of all it is welcome news that under

:44:30.:44:33.

this government the pay gap and those below the age of 40 has all

:44:34.:44:37.

but disappeared. We are making progress. In terms of the leader of

:44:38.:44:41.

the house of lords, I am happy to confirm she would do the same job as

:44:42.:44:43.

her confirm she would do the

:44:44.:44:47.

predecessor, and receive the same amount of money. Charlotte Helix is

:44:48.:44:55.

part of an international research project seeking to establish a link

:44:56.:45:00.

between the DNA of anorexia nervosa sufferers. This afternoon the

:45:01.:45:03.

project is coming to Parliament seeking to obtain DNA samples from

:45:04.:45:07.

former sufferers, including my honourable friend, the member for

:45:08.:45:12.

Braintree. Will my right honourable friend commend the work done by

:45:13.:45:21.

Charlotte I very much thank my honourable friend for raising this

:45:22.:45:31.

issue. I would commend the bravery of all those who have spoken out

:45:32.:45:34.

about their experience with eating disorders. It is not an easy thing

:45:35.:45:38.

to do. We need to learn more about his condition so we can provide the

:45:39.:45:41.

right kind of support, and in that context I think what the government

:45:42.:45:51.

is doing is important as well. Mr Speaker, we now know for certain

:45:52.:45:55.

that taxpayers last year were robbed of around ?1 billion because of the

:45:56.:46:02.

botched Argand basement fire sale of Royal mail. Will he now do as the

:46:03.:46:08.

select committee have asked, and publish the list of those

:46:09.:46:13.

preferential investors, and when will somebody be held to account for

:46:14.:46:19.

this right Royal mail fiasco? I have to say, I just completely disagree

:46:20.:46:22.

with the honourable gentleman. For year after year, Royal mail lost

:46:23.:46:28.

money, the taxpayer had to back it up, and we have achieved what no

:46:29.:46:33.

previous government have achieved, the successful privatisation of the

:46:34.:46:36.

Royal mail. The taxpayer has received money from that sale and we

:46:37.:46:40.

now receive the tax on the profits of Royal mail, rather than the

:46:41.:46:47.

mismanagement of the Labour years. Mr Speaker, later this year in North

:46:48.:46:51.

Yorkshire will become the best connected county, in terms of

:46:52.:46:55.

superfast broadband. It is usually helpful for the growing hospitality

:46:56.:47:01.

and tourism industry, and received a recent boost from the visit of the

:47:02.:47:07.

Tour de France. Does my right honourable friend agree that rolling

:47:08.:47:13.

out superfast broadband is a great boost for all sectors, not just

:47:14.:47:16.

hospitality, to help build on the wonderful economic legacy of the

:47:17.:47:22.

Tour de France? Can I first of all thank my honourable friend that he

:47:23.:47:24.

gave me and the people of Harrogate gave me for the Tour de France, the

:47:25.:47:29.

completion of that final stage, marred only by Mark Cavendish's very

:47:30.:47:33.

tragic accident in the Tour de France, but it was an extraordinary

:47:34.:47:36.

event and showed his constituency and the whole of Yorkshire it

:47:37.:47:45.

absolutely in it best light. We are putting ?790 million into superfast

:47:46.:47:49.

broadband access, we have around 400,000 new premises being upgraded

:47:50.:47:53.

every week. I think frankly everyone in this house has a duty to get out

:47:54.:47:57.

there and help to advertise what is happening with broadband, and to

:47:58.:48:03.

encourage take-up rates. Thank you, Mr Speaker, it is fundamental, is it

:48:04.:48:11.

not, that the holder of the office of Attorney General should be fairly

:48:12.:48:16.

independent, defend the rule of law, and be ready to speak legal truth to

:48:17.:48:25.

power. Given the distinction and respect with which the holder of

:48:26.:48:29.

that office pursued that role, what possessed the Prime Minister to

:48:30.:48:34.

dismiss him yesterday? First of all, can I absolutely say I absolutely

:48:35.:48:39.

agree with the right honourable gentleman that the Attorney General

:48:40.:48:43.

gives on varnished, independent advice, but I also believe in

:48:44.:48:46.

government that when someone has served extremely well for four

:48:47.:48:50.

years, there are often times when it is right to bring on new talent, and

:48:51.:48:53.

to make the most of all the talent you have in your party. That is the

:48:54.:48:57.

approach I take as Simon is to, and I explained that very clearly to my

:48:58.:49:02.

team. Mr Speaker, the number of young people coming off the

:49:03.:49:04.

unemployment register across North Yorkshire is at a record high. Would

:49:05.:49:12.

the Prime Minister agree that today's small business bill,

:49:13.:49:14.

Conservative inspired, is yet another boost to the women and men

:49:15.:49:19.

who are creating the jobs to make this happen? I thank my honourable

:49:20.:49:23.

friend for his question, today's bill will help make the United

:49:24.:49:27.

Kingdom the most attractive and easy place to start, finance and grow a

:49:28.:49:31.

small business. That is our ambition. He is absolutely right

:49:32.:49:36.

about these unemployment figures, in his own constituency, the claimant

:49:37.:49:39.

count has fallen by 37% in the last year, I50 since the election.

:49:40.:49:47.

Long-term youth claimant count, because this is the most important

:49:48.:49:52.

thing, to make that young people are getting those opportunities -- to

:49:53.:49:55.

make sure, it is down 60% in the last year. The last two European

:49:56.:50:02.

commissioners from the UK have held major portfolios, central to our

:50:03.:50:08.

interest. The outgoing commissioner has been the spokesperson for

:50:09.:50:13.

foreign affairs, and her predecessor helped the trade portfolio. So can I

:50:14.:50:18.

ask the Prime Minister what post does he hope to secure for his

:50:19.:50:23.

nominee, Lord Hill, is the consolation prize for his failure to

:50:24.:50:28.

stop the appointment of Mr Juncker? And how, this time, does he intend

:50:29.:50:33.

to build support for his objective? First of all, I think it is a good

:50:34.:50:38.

moment for everyone across the house to pay tribute to Cathy Ashton,

:50:39.:50:42.

effectively the Foreign Minister for Europe, over the last four years, in

:50:43.:50:45.

what is a gruelling and exhausting job. I think there is an

:50:46.:50:50.

opportunity, whether there will be a resolution or not, I don't know, but

:50:51.:50:53.

I think there is an opportunity to make sure that Britain has an

:50:54.:50:58.

important portfolio, one where we can maximise our influence in the

:50:59.:51:02.

areas we care about most, which are areas to do with our economy, and we

:51:03.:51:07.

will work very hard to do that. I think Lord Hill, with his experience

:51:08.:51:10.

in the previous Conservative government, and this government,

:51:11.:51:15.

holding as it is this equivalent post Baroness Ashton held before she

:51:16.:51:18.

became a Commissioner, will do a very good job for our country. As

:51:19.:51:24.

you know, my constituency is very dependent on investment in the oil

:51:25.:51:28.

and gas industry, where the unemployment rate is currently 0.5%.

:51:29.:51:32.

Therefore the Prime Minister will understand there is some concern

:51:33.:51:35.

with the reshuffle where both the Treasury Minister and the energy

:51:36.:51:41.

manager Hull Minister responsible for that industry has changed again

:51:42.:51:49.

-- the energy minister responsible. I think my honourable friend makes

:51:50.:51:53.

an important point, North Sea oil is absolutely vital, making sure we

:51:54.:51:58.

have the tax regime appropriately in place and implementing the Would

:51:59.:52:01.

review is something we are committed to. -- the Wood review. On the 4th

:52:02.:52:10.

of August, people from across the country will come together to mark

:52:11.:52:14.

100 years since the outbreak of the First World War. It is an important

:52:15.:52:17.

opportunity to commemorate a conflict that changed Britain for

:52:18.:52:20.

ever. Can I asked the primaries to if he will join for us supporting

:52:21.:52:26.

the 1418 now lights out campaign, and if he will encourage people

:52:27.:52:29.

across the UK to turn out their lights between ten and 11pm on the

:52:30.:52:35.

4th of August, so, as a country, we can pay fitting tribute to those who

:52:36.:52:39.

sacrificed and serve our country a hundred years ago? I think the

:52:40.:52:44.

honourable gentleman is right to recommend this campaign, I think it

:52:45.:52:53.

is a way to get particularly young people engaged in what happened a

:52:54.:53:00.

century ago, and to understand the consequences for Europe, the world

:53:01.:53:03.

and our society. There are a lot of events that will take place to

:53:04.:53:06.

commemorate appropriately the First World War. One of the most

:53:07.:53:09.

significant will be tomorrow, when the Imperial War Museum, has a major

:53:10.:53:15.

investment and is reopening for the public. I know my own George and

:53:16.:53:18.

enjoy going there, many people I hope will make the best of it. With

:53:19.:53:25.

the Northwest and Cheshire's proud history of contribute in

:53:26.:53:27.

significantly to our national economy, with my right honourable

:53:28.:53:32.

friend agree how rapidly the safety of element of fracking is to boost

:53:33.:53:37.

the competitors of the country, but also in the north-west to continue

:53:38.:53:42.

to be a significant contributor to our wealth and welfare? My right

:53:43.:53:45.

honourable friend makes a significant point, and it is true

:53:46.:53:49.

that in the Northwest we have seen the claimant count in his

:53:50.:53:52.

constituency come down 40% in the last year, but if we want to sustain

:53:53.:53:56.

the increase in employment and sustained economic growth, we should

:53:57.:54:00.

not hold ourselves back from new of energy, including unconventional

:54:01.:54:05.

gas. And it is striking that in the United States they have something

:54:06.:54:11.

like 100,000 unconventional gas wells dug, whereas in the whole of

:54:12.:54:14.

Europe it is something like 100. We have is about three quarters of as

:54:15.:54:20.

much of unconventional gas in the US there is in America, I don't want us

:54:21.:54:31.

to miss out. -- in the new as there is in America. -- in the European

:54:32.:54:34.

Union. Parliament might be about to break down for the summer, but can I

:54:35.:54:38.

tell the Prime Minister that even that won't stop people having

:54:39.:54:43.

babies, getting injured and needing routine emergency care on the NHS.

:54:44.:54:48.

So, in the light of the forthcoming report into safety at Stafford

:54:49.:54:52.

hospital by the sea QC, can he have a word with his friend, the

:54:53.:54:55.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, and make sure that the Treasury is going

:54:56.:55:00.

to fund, in full, the changes to health services across North

:55:01.:55:03.

Staffordshire that the University hospital in Stoke-on-Trent has to

:55:04.:55:06.

provide, and which has to provide at no extra cost to the health of

:55:07.:55:13.

people in Stoke-on-Trent? I take into account what the honourable

:55:14.:55:17.

lady says, I am regularly advised about the situation in

:55:18.:55:19.

Staffordshire. Changes need to take place. This inspection is absolutely

:55:20.:55:24.

vital. I think the important thing in the health service is to not try

:55:25.:55:27.

to hide problems but properly address them. Today, Bruce Keogh is

:55:28.:55:32.

reporting a year on from his report when he took something like 11

:55:33.:55:35.

hospitals into special measures, and what he'll show is that all of them

:55:36.:55:41.

are making improvements, five of them are able to come out of special

:55:42.:55:45.

measures, and making sure we make improvements in all of our

:55:46.:55:49.

hospitals. I thank the Prime Minister for supporting the West

:55:50.:55:53.

Country, particularly the Railway Inn Dawlish and -- the railway in

:55:54.:55:59.

Dawlish and broadband. I think the honourable lady makes an

:56:00.:56:15.

important point. We must continue supporting transport infrastructure

:56:16.:56:18.

in the south-west. We have the important report on Dawlish coming

:56:19.:56:21.

out. The work is being done right now, in terms of making sure it is

:56:22.:56:26.

more resilient. We have had the important announcement about the

:56:27.:56:29.

sleeper service down to the south-west, and announcement about a

:56:30.:56:32.

number of other road and rail schemes. I will look very carefully

:56:33.:56:36.

watches says about fair funding, but it is very important that everyone

:56:37.:56:40.

can see that these situations are fair. The office will budget

:56:41.:56:47.

responsible to show that the government's new system of school

:56:48.:56:50.

fees will add ?15 billion more expected to the government debt than

:56:51.:56:55.

expected by the end of the parliament. Hasn't the government

:56:56.:56:59.

got it all wrong when it comes to cherish and fees? What we were told,

:57:00.:57:03.

Mr Speaker, by the party opposite was that no one would take up these

:57:04.:57:06.

loans, no one from poorer backgrounds would go to university,

:57:07.:57:11.

and the numbers going to university would collapse. What has actually

:57:12.:57:16.

happened is record numbers are going to universities, record numbers from

:57:17.:57:19.

lower income homes are going. Obviously, we need to make sure that

:57:20.:57:24.

the system is cost efficient, but I am satisfied it is working, and the

:57:25.:57:27.

Chancellor announced in his recent budget that far from having problems

:57:28.:57:32.

with the funding, we are uncapped in the numbers that can go to

:57:33.:57:36.

university. That is the aspiration society we are building in this

:57:37.:57:41.

country. Unemployment has more than halved in my constituency since

:57:42.:57:47.

2010. York is poised to benefit from a multiple Ian Pannell benefit

:57:48.:57:52.

through three -- multi-million pound benefit. Would my right honourable

:57:53.:57:59.

friend not agree that this clearly demonstrates our commitment to

:58:00.:58:03.

tackling the north-South divide, and delivering a northern lead economic

:58:04.:58:12.

plan? I am delighted to share with my honourable friend that the

:58:13.:58:15.

claimant count in his constituency is down by 42% over the last year,

:58:16.:58:20.

and down by 61% since the election. I know Labour don't want to hear

:58:21.:58:23.

about falling unemployment numbers, the numbers of people in work, but

:58:24.:58:27.

the fact is every single one of these people getting a job is about

:58:28.:58:31.

someone having a livelihood and the chance to provide for their family,

:58:32.:58:35.

that is what this is about. He is absolutely right to raise the

:58:36.:58:40.

importance of the agricultural industries and linked industries in

:58:41.:58:44.

Yorkshire. I am sure that the new agriculture and environmental

:58:45.:58:47.

secretary will want to make an early visit to her birthplace of

:58:48.:58:54.

Yorkshire. Specialist spinal cord injury beds are a precious resource

:58:55.:58:59.

for people and patients in desperate need. Why is it, therefore, that on

:59:00.:59:05.

the Prime Minister's watch, specialist beds at the Stoke

:59:06.:59:11.

Mandeville spinal injuries centre of being used for people who do not

:59:12.:59:16.

have spinal cord injuries? Obviously, decisions are for

:59:17.:59:20.

individual trusts and individual clinical commissioning groups

:59:21.:59:23.

themselves, but we made two important decisions as a government,

:59:24.:59:28.

first to fund the NHS with extra money, ?12.7 billion in this

:59:29.:59:32.

Parliament, and second to abolish the bureaucracy that had built up

:59:33.:59:36.

under Labour with 17,000 fewer bureaucrats. Both those decisions

:59:37.:59:40.

were opposed by the Labour Party, but we can see 7000 more doctors,

:59:41.:59:45.

4000 more nurses, more patients treated and an NHS that is doing

:59:46.:59:51.

well. Mr Speaker, in the recent case of Nicholson on the question of

:59:52.:59:57.

assisted dying, Lord Neuberger said that Parliament had the opportunity

:59:58.:00:04.

to reform the law, in the knowledge that if Parliament does not act, the

:00:05.:00:08.

courts may. This could raise serious constitutional issues. Does he agree

:00:09.:00:12.

that whatever your views on the subject, what the public really want

:00:13.:00:24.

is a debate in this house? First of all, I would say it is good that a

:00:25.:00:31.

debate is being held and it would be worthwhile reading the debate that

:00:32.:00:36.

takes place on Friday in the other place. I am very happy for a debate

:00:37.:00:42.

to be held here, and there are now opportunities for backbenchers to

:00:43.:00:46.

hold debates in the chamber, and I am sure the new Leader of the House

:00:47.:00:47.

of Commons, who I am sure we all want to welcome to his place, will

:00:48.:00:48.

be listening carefully to that request. For myself, I am not

:00:49.:00:50.

convinced that further steps need to be taken. I worry about legalising

:00:51.:00:54.

euthanasia, and people might be pushed into things that they don't

:00:55.:00:58.

actually want for themselves, but by all means let's have the debate. to

:00:59.:01:07.

returning to the issue of taxes and the wealthy, when will the Prime

:01:08.:01:13.

Minister publishes tax return? On the subject of taxes and

:01:14.:01:19.

middle-income people, when will we get an answer from Labour about what

:01:20.:01:23.

was it the deputy leader of the party meant when she said, and let

:01:24.:01:29.

me repeat it, that she thinks people on middle incomes should contribute

:01:30.:01:35.

more through their taxes? There is one party in this house with a big

:01:36.:01:43.

tax problem and I am looking at it. Given that poor mental health is the

:01:44.:01:47.

single biggest driver of well-being in this country, Willy act on a

:01:48.:01:51.

recommendation from the think tank forum and tackle poorly supporting

:01:52.:01:58.

mental health by this government signing up to the employers mental

:01:59.:02:05.

health framework? I will look very carefully at the report he mentions.

:02:06.:02:09.

I think it is important, and he helped to do this in government,

:02:10.:02:12.

that we now have a situation where mental health is given proper parity

:02:13.:02:15.

of esteem through the NHS Constitution. We have made good

:02:16.:02:20.

progress in terms of making available talking therapies for

:02:21.:02:24.

mental health patients in the NHS. I will look carefully at the report.

:02:25.:02:38.

a short break in the transmission there. We are not quite sure why. Ed

:02:39.:02:50.

Miliband when first of all on Michael Gove. He did not get much an

:02:51.:02:56.

answer from prime Minister. He then went on more to the wider issues of

:02:57.:03:05.

the economy. Mr Miliband concentrated on how wages, average

:03:06.:03:09.

earnings, are still trailing prices. The gap has actually got wider

:03:10.:03:14.

because the CPI measure of inflation rose last month, whereas average

:03:15.:03:19.

earnings fell last month compared to the previous month. Mr Cameron, of

:03:20.:03:26.

course, suggesting the positive. He concentrated on the very strong

:03:27.:03:28.

employment figures that came out today. Let's see what you thought

:03:29.:03:35.

and then we hear from our guests. Helen Manning says nobody could

:03:36.:03:39.

describe Ed Miliband as a big beast today. Pour predictable performance

:03:40.:03:46.

again. He needs a new PR guru. David Axelrod is just not cutting it.

:03:47.:03:51.

Daniel from Southampton says Ed Miliband was weak again. The

:03:52.:03:55.

questioning on Michael Gove was boring and did not address any real

:03:56.:04:01.

issues. He has nothing to say on jobs and the economy. Diane

:04:02.:04:05.

Richardson from Welwyn Garden City says, shock horror, the Government

:04:06.:04:07.

front bench slightly more packed with women. Until mid-2015 Cameron

:04:08.:04:19.

turns me off. Edberg Stone says Rather than saying more people than

:04:20.:04:22.

ever are in work, wouldn't it be better to say that more people since

:04:23.:04:29.

1066 are back in work. Statistics do not have time with ordinary voters.

:04:30.:04:33.

Another reviewer says with all the people in work one would think it

:04:34.:04:37.

was going great guns. Tax returns will never bring down the deficit,

:04:38.:04:42.

no matter how many people are in work.

:04:43.:04:48.

I don't think they do. I may be out on a limb but I don't think they do.

:04:49.:05:03.

Do you think, Nick, the Prime Minister was fully aware of what we

:05:04.:05:09.

are all saying... That he was handing a scalp to the educational

:05:10.:05:13.

establishment by sacking Michael Gove, and a gift to the Labour

:05:14.:05:18.

Party? I agree with the first part but not the second. Of course he

:05:19.:05:21.

knew he was handing a gift to the political establishment. He knew

:05:22.:05:25.

that teachers would be celebrating. I interviewed yesterday -- Michael

:05:26.:05:31.

Gove yesterday and said to him that many teachers would be having an

:05:32.:05:34.

extra glass of wine tonight, and he was humorous enough to say that yes,

:05:35.:05:39.

no doubt they will. He is trying to comfort himself. If you remove a

:05:40.:05:43.

target, that helps you are electorally. Michael Gove is now not

:05:44.:05:49.

a target in the general election. What Lynton Crosby and others around

:05:50.:05:54.

the prime Minister want people who do not distract from the message

:05:55.:05:57.

about leadership and the economy. Those are the Tories believe are the

:05:58.:06:02.

two trump cards. Nothing should get in the way. The model is Jeremy

:06:03.:06:08.

Hunt. Make the health service boring. Keep it out of the news. It

:06:09.:06:17.

is not quite as high-profile as it was when Lansley was in charge. It

:06:18.:06:27.

may not be so much in the political news, the political lobby is not so

:06:28.:06:31.

interested, but there are stories every day about health and rightly

:06:32.:06:37.

so. It is a big winning issue for them but compared to what it was

:06:38.:06:42.

like before it is quieter. I can now exclusively reveal what Michael

:06:43.:06:49.

Gove's status is. Are you a big fan of the Game Of Thrones? Love it. How

:06:50.:06:54.

can you understand politics if you do not watch it? You are going to

:06:55.:06:58.

have to collect -- correct do not watch it? You are going to

:06:59.:07:04.

exclusively reveal that David Cameron, when he asked Michael Gove

:07:05.:07:07.

to take on the role of Chief Whip, told him that he was a big fan of

:07:08.:07:12.

Game Of Thrones and he wanted him to be like the hand of the King. This

:07:13.:07:20.

is the Charles dance character. -- Charles dance. He is the most

:07:21.:07:23.

powerful person in the seven kingdoms. Can I also point out that

:07:24.:07:31.

his son takes a crossbow, while he is sitting on the privy, and kills

:07:32.:07:41.

him. Is that what we mean... The sun kills the Michael Gove character. My

:07:42.:07:54.

advice to Michael Gove therefore is not to go to the privy! And if he

:07:55.:08:02.

does go, leave the door open! I have to go online in order to mug up on

:08:03.:08:12.

this. It is said on the Game Of Thrones website that when there is a

:08:13.:08:16.

weak leader, the job of the candidate King, Michael Gove, is to

:08:17.:08:23.

clear up the political mess. And the King makes a bit of a mess and the

:08:24.:08:30.

hand wipes. Forgive me, but that is the slogan. We have gone to the

:08:31.:08:38.

lowest common dominator. What they have not taken into account, because

:08:39.:08:45.

one of the things about the Game Of Thrones is that the women, the

:08:46.:08:47.

female characters, are really strong. They are not windowdressing,

:08:48.:08:54.

like some say the Cabinet is. They are a strong women in their own

:08:55.:09:01.

right. Powerful. Their weapons are their brains and arrows and nights

:09:02.:09:05.

as well. They are not beyond a bit of killing. Michael Gove's wife,

:09:06.:09:14.

Sarah Vine, columnist, re-tweeted a -- an article this morning in which

:09:15.:09:19.

the headline was, a shabby days work which Cameron will live to regret.

:09:20.:09:25.

If that is not out of Game Of Thrones I don't know what it is. US

:09:26.:09:30.

certainly tempting me to find out more about Game Of Thrones! You are

:09:31.:09:40.

still watching the uneven line! I can remember it! Does it still

:09:41.:09:50.

linger on as a problem for the Government? The history of these

:09:51.:09:56.

sorts of reshuffles is it depends how the people who suffer react.

:09:57.:10:00.

Michael is being told he is in the heart of government. He will be at

:10:01.:10:05.

meetings twice a day. I believe they intend to have him. He is a valuable

:10:06.:10:13.

political strategist. Will he find it unsatisfying and frustrating? He

:10:14.:10:21.

has had his profile reduced. He is too controversial before the

:10:22.:10:28.

election. To be fair to him, I don't recall is Secretary of State for

:10:29.:10:31.

education who did anything that was not unpopular with the teaching

:10:32.:10:37.

unions. Back in the dark ages, I have been Secretary of State for

:10:38.:10:40.

education myself, and I was not the pin-up of the teachers trade unions

:10:41.:10:43.

introducing grant-maintained schools. Reshuffles otherwise are

:10:44.:10:51.

over within a couple of days of them taking place. They fascinate the

:10:52.:10:56.

political bubble, the establishment, on quite a considerable scale

:10:57.:11:01.

because the celebrity culture nowadays is all. The average members

:11:02.:11:05.

of the public will not remember who did what job or who is doing it now.

:11:06.:11:10.

You do not think it will cut through? It contains the message

:11:11.:11:20.

there are a lot more women about. It is the economy, stupid. That is what

:11:21.:11:26.

this election is about. You are trying to suggest there are new

:11:27.:11:32.

crises and which they have never been before. Western democracy,

:11:33.:11:37.

people believe health care is in crisis. It is constantly changing,

:11:38.:11:42.

higher pressures, you are going up an escalator going downwards,

:11:43.:11:45.

infinite demand... You always have turbulent emotional politics in

:11:46.:11:52.

health. What matters is the recovery from the recession. We have this

:11:53.:11:55.

simplistic argument, should people be feeling better off now to the

:11:56.:12:01.

answer is, if only it weren't so easy. You have got to have several

:12:02.:12:06.

more years of constructing a modern, competitive economy. That is

:12:07.:12:10.

the only way of raising lifestyles, not Ed Miliband talking about

:12:11.:12:21.

prices. I welcome the new jobs. It is always better to be in work if

:12:22.:12:25.

you can then be on benefits. People are not seeing a difference. What

:12:26.:12:29.

they think is unfair is they see people at the top getting tax cuts

:12:30.:12:34.

and they feel that they are benefiting a lot more than ordinary

:12:35.:12:50.

people. But they will. We should have been doing a lot more in

:12:51.:12:54.

earlier on in terms of getting the skills that people need, building

:12:55.:12:57.

the right infrastructure, really getting banks lending to businesses

:12:58.:13:02.

and businesses investing, too. I think we have not seen anywhere near

:13:03.:13:06.

enough progress on that. It is all very well saying to people that they

:13:07.:13:14.

need to wait a few more years. Can you shed any light on what Harriet

:13:15.:13:17.

Harman meant when he -- when she said on the radio that people on

:13:18.:13:22.

middle incomes should contribute more? I would imagine she was saying

:13:23.:13:26.

that we have a progressive tax system in this country and if you

:13:27.:13:29.

did not want that we would have a flat rate of tax. She was not saying

:13:30.:13:33.

that we wanted to tax people on middle incomes more. Why would you

:13:34.:13:42.

put it that way though? It -- it has always been the case in this country

:13:43.:13:45.

that people on middle incomes pay more. That is what happens at the

:13:46.:13:51.

moment. She is not proposing they are going to be taxing people on

:13:52.:14:02.

middle incomes more. Harriet has caused a little consternation. She

:14:03.:14:05.

does need to explain why she said it. You do contribute more in a

:14:06.:14:13.

progressive tax system. You wonder why she would say it. She was on LBC

:14:14.:14:24.

on July the 14th. It was in an answer about work working class

:14:25.:14:28.

people on middle class people get back from the tax system in terms of

:14:29.:14:36.

public services. She debating with the idea that middle-income people

:14:37.:14:39.

do not get anything back in return for what they contribute. The quote

:14:40.:14:43.

says that yes, people on middle incomes should contribute more

:14:44.:14:47.

through their taxes. I have not seen it in its full context. Can be

:14:48.:14:53.

interpreted either way. Unless you support a flat rate tax system...

:14:54.:15:02.

Final thought from Munich before the summer months? What is telling about

:15:03.:15:08.

it is simply the determination of the Tories that they were not on the

:15:09.:15:10.

back foot today, and that Ed Miliband went into the summer still

:15:11.:15:15.

relatively speaking on the back foot. He will not be pleased that

:15:16.:15:20.

people are having their incomes squeezed but pleased that it

:15:21.:15:23.

confirms what he has warned about. The Tories will feel they got

:15:24.:15:27.

through a difficult day. Michael Gove been shelved out. Ed Miliband

:15:28.:15:31.

did not get one of those victories. Damian McBride said the other day

:15:32.:15:36.

that every week was a test. This week the Labour Party will not be

:15:37.:15:40.

able to save a won. I don't think their loss.

:15:41.:15:51.

When Will Mr Miliband see Mr Obama in the White House? Next week. I am

:15:52.:16:01.

not sure which of them has the most political difficulties. He has not

:16:02.:16:12.

got a narrative is that once you get onto the economy, poor old Ed

:16:13.:16:18.

Miliband is all at sea. I disagree. Have a nice summer, I hope

:16:19.:16:21.

Parliament is not recalled and heft as you again -- I have to see you

:16:22.:16:25.

again. We are sitting on "abundant shales

:16:26.:16:30.

at depth", according But should we be fracking it,

:16:31.:16:32.

or leaving well alone? The fashion designer,

:16:33.:16:36.

Vivienne Westwood, has been touring the country to try

:16:37.:16:37.

and raise awareness about shale gas We will be speaking to Vivienne

:16:38.:16:40.

in a moment, but first, Here is her soapbox. This is shale

:16:41.:16:59.

gas mining in the USA, otherwise known as fracking. It involves

:17:00.:17:06.

pumping water, sand and chemicals down a well at high pressure to

:17:07.:17:11.

fracture the rocks and extract gas trapped within them. This mining is

:17:12.:17:18.

widespread in the USA, and our government wants to do it here. Back

:17:19.:17:27.

in 2011, shale gas exploration was halted in Blackpool. A report

:17:28.:17:33.

concluded that fracking had most likely caused two minor earthquakes.

:17:34.:17:46.

There are also concerns that water supplies close to drilling could

:17:47.:17:51.

become polluted by the dangerous chemicals used for extraction, and

:17:52.:17:57.

with methane gas, as is the case here. Fracking is an issue that

:17:58.:18:07.

concerns all of us, not just politicians in Westminster. It will

:18:08.:18:13.

lead to the production of more fossil fuels, which will hasten

:18:14.:18:21.

climate change. We need to wage war on climate change, and the first

:18:22.:18:28.

battle is to stop politicians from forcing fracking upon us. That is

:18:29.:18:36.

why I joined anti-fracking road testers at the village of all, in

:18:37.:18:44.

West Sussex last year, -- Balcombe, where there were plans for

:18:45.:18:48.

exploratory drilling. 48% of British people don't know what fracking is,

:18:49.:18:53.

yet the government wants to inflict it upon us without explanation.

:18:54.:19:01.

There is no democratic mandate for fracking. David Cameron said he was

:19:02.:19:07.

going to create the greenest government ever, but has instead

:19:08.:19:09.

supported the shale gas industry. And we're joined now

:19:10.:19:19.

in the studio by Vivienne Westwood. Welcome to the programme. You talk

:19:20.:19:28.

there about the dangers of fracking at the Royal Society and Royal

:19:29.:19:31.

Academy of engineering have reviewed the risks, particularly the ones you

:19:32.:19:34.

talked about, tremors and water contamination. Do you agree that

:19:35.:19:40.

those health risks perhaps look less romantic than originally thought

:19:41.:19:43.

when fracking was first raised as an option? Absolutely not, the opposite

:19:44.:19:53.

is true -- less traumatic. Heavy volume shale gas extraction has only

:19:54.:19:59.

been going on for eight years. It is a new industry. When it started,

:20:00.:20:03.

that is when everyone joined in to it in America, and it was only for

:20:04.:20:07.

eight years that this was going on. What we have found in America is

:20:08.:20:11.

that it has now plateaued, it has peaked, and so there were hundreds

:20:12.:20:18.

of people who tried to set up and get this stuff out of the ground,

:20:19.:20:23.

which they did. But now they are all getting into debt, because they have

:20:24.:20:26.

to keep drilling more and more, they can't service their debt. So it is

:20:27.:20:31.

not a success, let's just say that anyway, but that is not what you

:20:32.:20:39.

asked B. The evidence for pollution is incredible -- not what you asked

:20:40.:20:44.

me. The evidence for pollution is incredible in America, people have

:20:45.:20:48.

denied it, but the statistics are overwhelming. The risks have been

:20:49.:20:52.

reviewed here, and they say they can be managed effectively. We have

:20:53.:20:56.

spoken to companies who feel that the risks of tremors are minimal,

:20:57.:21:01.

and water contamination, but do you think, despite what Vivienne

:21:02.:21:04.

Westwood says, it could be a game changer here in the way many people

:21:05.:21:09.

think it has been in the States? I think it good. We still have to

:21:10.:21:13.

prove it is extractable in the quantity it potentially could be. I

:21:14.:21:19.

think it is a no-brainer. It is not a new technology. We have been

:21:20.:21:23.

injecting water and a mix of chemicals into the geology for 40 or

:21:24.:21:27.

50 years. It can be done properly, it does not have these environmental

:21:28.:21:32.

hazards. While I think today we are a healthy, democratic society, if we

:21:33.:21:37.

had today's planning law and debating system in the 19th

:21:38.:21:41.

century, we would never have had the Industrial Revolution, and here we

:21:42.:21:44.

have a potentially hugely valuable national resource. It can be

:21:45.:21:49.

extracted perfectly safely, and it could make a big contribution to our

:21:50.:21:54.

economy, and we can't have a debate for years and years and years about

:21:55.:21:57.

fanciful notions of what has gone wrong, which nobody in America would

:21:58.:22:02.

recognise. Vivienne Westwood also said you are hardly the greenest

:22:03.:22:05.

government ever, that David Cameron promised. Do you agree that has

:22:06.:22:11.

gone? We are in favour of cutting carbon emissions, we have set

:22:12.:22:15.

targets for that. I would point out the Americans have reduce to their

:22:16.:22:19.

carbon emissions going for the shale gas. No, they haven't. The Germans

:22:20.:22:25.

who have gone for renewables on a monster scale have seen their

:22:26.:22:29.

emissions go up. Our government is committed to international targets,

:22:30.:22:32.

but we need to pursue them in a sensible position. Vivienne, you are

:22:33.:22:39.

holding your head in your hands in despair, why? Because it is all

:22:40.:22:43.

completely wrong, everything Kenneth has just said is completely wrong.

:22:44.:22:48.

First of all, it has only happened for eight years, you check it,

:22:49.:22:52.

high-volume, it is the difference between... The power involved is the

:22:53.:22:56.

difference between riding a horse and cart or a Turbo racing car. It

:22:57.:23:02.

is incredibly different. That has been happening for only eight years.

:23:03.:23:09.

Apart from which, the point about this fracking is that there are 400

:23:10.:23:15.

times more for clients in our little country than there are in America.

:23:16.:23:20.

For clients, that is what happened in Blackpool -- four times more full

:23:21.:23:39.

clients -- fault lines. Liz Kendall, do you have any worries about it? I

:23:40.:23:47.

support fracking so much as we regulate it properly. We need to do

:23:48.:23:52.

that alongside a big issues like carbon capture and storage and

:23:53.:23:54.

renewables. It was interesting what Ken said about other countries, one

:23:55.:23:58.

of the reasons Germany has made such progress on renewables, it has

:23:59.:24:02.

massive private sector investment alongside public investment, because

:24:03.:24:07.

it has a clear, long-term target, and that is the point where I think

:24:08.:24:14.

the government has fallen down. Germany is building 12 new

:24:15.:24:19.

late-night coal plants, which is the dirtiest coal in the world. Fracking

:24:20.:24:27.

is dirtier than coal. It produces more pollution, because of the

:24:28.:24:33.

methane leakage. We are going to leave it there, but Vivienne

:24:34.:24:38.

Westwood, thank you. O God, all right then.

:24:39.:24:41.

You call him the wrong person for the job.

:24:42.:24:44.

You condemn his appointment as a "mistake".

:24:45.:24:45.

This evening David Cameron is off to Brussels, where he's due to

:24:46.:24:50.

meet the man he tried, but failed, to block as European Commission

:24:51.:24:53.

But here at the Daily Politics, we don't like to spare politicians'

:24:54.:24:57.

blushes, so we've put together a compilation of some more of those

:24:58.:25:00.

It is six months. You can't say anything about the immigrants,

:25:01.:25:11.

because all these Eastern Europeans are coming in. You should never have

:25:12.:25:15.

put me with that bigoted woman, whose idea was that? Just

:25:16.:25:21.

ridiculous. I am mortified by what has happened, I have given her my

:25:22.:25:24.

sincere apologies. I misunderstood watches said, and she has accepted.

:25:25.:25:30.

-- what she said. I did not have sexual relations with

:25:31.:25:48.

that woman. Indeed, I did have a relationship with her, in fact it

:25:49.:25:54.

was wrong. I liked the music. Was that Perry

:25:55.:26:52.

Como or Andy Williams? I can't remember. What has been your most

:26:53.:26:58.

awkward political Inkatha? It was a little bit awkward when the new

:26:59.:27:01.

Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, twice called me Rachel Reeves on

:27:02.:27:07.

question Time -- political encounter. More embarrassing for him

:27:08.:27:17.

than me. Awkward? When my mum came and helped in the general election,

:27:18.:27:20.

she was doing some telephone canvassing, and some they had said

:27:21.:27:24.

something not particularly nice about me, and she said that is my

:27:25.:27:28.

daughter you are talking about, at which point I had to remove her from

:27:29.:27:32.

the telephone. That is what mums are there for. Ken, you only have 40

:27:33.:27:40.

order years of an awkward moment -- 40 years. I have had people shout

:27:41.:27:46.

silly things at me when campaigning. I have met constituents in the most

:27:47.:27:58.

extraordinary places. You still have time. Forgetting people 's names, I

:27:59.:28:03.

have that all the time. That happens all the time, George! Absolutely.

:28:04.:28:09.

It's time to put you out of your misery, and give you

:28:10.:28:12.

The one o'clock news is starting over on BBC One now.

:28:13.:28:26.

Now, there's no Daily Politics on Thursday and Friday, as we make

:28:27.:28:28.

But I am here tomorrow night, with Michael Portillo and

:28:29.:28:32.

Alan Johnson joining me for This Week at 11.25 pm on BBC One, that's

:28:33.:28:36.

And I am back next Monday and Tuesday for two final

:28:37.:28:45.

Imagine the number of women this industry supports.

:28:46.:29:10.

This World investigates the true cost of fashion.

:29:11.:29:13.

It took less than 90 seconds for the eight-storey building to collapse.

:29:14.:29:18.

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