:00:36. > :00:43.Welcome to the Daily Politics Christmas special.
:00:44. > :00:46.David Cameron's been out wining and dining with his European chums.
:00:47. > :00:49.He claims "really good progress" was made during talks about the UK's
:00:50. > :00:53.relationship with the European Union.
:00:54. > :00:55.Other leaders in Brussels demured, but spoke
:00:56. > :01:03.of a willingness to look for compromises.
:01:04. > :01:07.This man, against all the odds, became Labour Party leader.
:01:08. > :01:11.And only this morning calls for this man's face to be replaced
:01:12. > :01:20.Yes, we'll be asking who's had a good year and who's had a bad?
:01:21. > :01:23.We sent our intrepid reporters out to find out what YOU think.
:01:24. > :01:36.This is like a really rubbish version of Top Gear.
:01:37. > :01:43.Hello boys and girls. I am Santa from the frozen far north, I have
:01:44. > :01:49.come to see who in the whacky world of the Daily Politics has been nice,
:01:50. > :02:01.but more important to me, who has been naughtty.
:02:02. > :02:07.The Prime Minister trying to nudge his way into the programme. Trying
:02:08. > :02:11.to up stage Santa. You have to wait your time. Why has the Santa guilt a
:02:12. > :02:20.Swedish accent. I thought he was from Lapland. I think it is called a
:02:21. > :02:23.disguise. I have been a good boy Santa, I know some people who
:02:24. > :02:29.haven't been so good. Who is that? More is coming up in the next hour.
:02:30. > :02:31.And look who we found in the Daily Politics
:02:32. > :02:35.Helen "I want a game for Christmas" Lewis from the New Statesman.
:02:36. > :02:37.And Danny "The Lord" Finklestein from the Times.
:02:38. > :02:47.The Prime Minister insists he has taken a "big step" towards a better
:02:48. > :02:55.After a four-hour dinner with EU leaders in Brussels last night,
:02:56. > :03:02.a path in place to renegotiate the terms of the UK's EU membership.
:03:03. > :03:04.But he accepts securing a deal by the next key summit in February
:03:05. > :03:21.Let's listen to what the PM had to say last night.
:03:22. > :03:24.Prime Minister it is now your turn to say something.
:03:25. > :03:28.I knew that was going to happen. I would say the good news
:03:29. > :03:31.is that there is a pathway And I am confident of that,
:03:32. > :03:35.after the discussion we had. But the truth is this,
:03:36. > :03:38.it will be very hard work - not just hard work on welfare,
:03:39. > :03:40.but actually hard work on all of the issues
:03:41. > :03:42.we have put forward, because they are substantial,
:03:43. > :03:44.they involve real change, and they will need real
:03:45. > :03:47.decisions by all 28 members I think you can see
:03:48. > :03:52.from the conclusions published tonight, the nature of the progress,
:03:53. > :03:56.the conclusions make very clear that the European council agreed
:03:57. > :03:59.to work closely together, to find mutually satisfactory
:04:00. > :04:01.solutions in all the four areas at the European council meeting
:04:02. > :04:19.on the 18th to the 19th That was the Prime Minister. Third
:04:20. > :04:22.Third time lucky but we got there in the end.
:04:23. > :04:24.And joining us now from Brussels, UKIP leader, Nigel Farage.
:04:25. > :04:30.We can see you, can we hear you? I hope so. You are loud and clear,
:04:31. > :04:34.that is a relief. The Prime Minister seems to be
:04:35. > :04:37.getting somewhere, he has four baskets of demands, three of them
:04:38. > :04:42.seem to be going along pretty well. They are quite important, if vague,
:04:43. > :04:47.and he is still negotiating on the fourth one, that is not a bad result
:04:48. > :04:53.so far A path ray to progress, you couldn't invent. It look, there is
:04:54. > :04:58.only one demand here, that needs any real action, the rest can be
:04:59. > :05:00.promises on a piece of paper. He wanted a cut, migrant benefits for
:05:01. > :05:03.up to four that the eastern Europeans won't
:05:04. > :05:08.agree to it, nowhere overnight, and so we will
:05:09. > :05:13.come back here, on the 11th nowhere overnight, and so we will
:05:14. > :05:18.February, for a special summit, at which there will be a deal. The deal
:05:19. > :05:21.will be, that will restrict migrant benefit bus we will restrict
:05:22. > :05:25.benefits for British citizens who have lived abroad for a period of
:05:26. > :05:32.year, that is what the deal will be. But we haven't talked about any of
:05:33. > :05:36.the big stuff. You remember the Bloomberg speech, the big
:05:37. > :05:38.renegotiation of Britain's relationship with Europe,
:05:39. > :05:42.questioning whether we could control the border, all of that is out the
:05:43. > :05:45.window, it is down to one basic demand, which he can't get, without
:05:46. > :05:52.British people paying some of the price too. If the people had gone
:05:53. > :05:55.for a deal which involved free trade with the European Union, but
:05:56. > :05:59.released us from many of the political obligations but we stayed
:06:00. > :06:03.inside the EU with free trade, would you have supported staying in in
:06:04. > :06:08.Would I support deal with our European neighbours, where we that
:06:09. > :06:16.had a free trade deal, where we had reciprocity on student exchanges, a
:06:17. > :06:22.format and forum in which we could agree common minimum standards but
:06:23. > :06:26.the supremacy of our own law in our own Parliament and control our
:06:27. > :06:32.borders, of course. If we stayed within the European Union. You can't
:06:33. > :06:35.stay inside a political union who since 1957 have insisted upon the
:06:36. > :06:40.supremacy of European law and do those thing, what it goes to prove
:06:41. > :06:44.is that actually what Harold Wilson did 40 years ago was deliberately
:06:45. > :06:48.lie, to the British public, and I don't think we are going to be
:06:49. > :06:55.gulled again. Danny, what do you say to Nigel Farage, many of the really
:06:56. > :07:01.big issuesness the Conservatives have been concerned about control of
:07:02. > :07:04.British borders, getting out of all the European regulation, out of the
:07:05. > :07:10.CAP, all of that, just free trade agreement, none of that is really on
:07:11. > :07:13.the table? I don't think the relationship will be completely
:07:14. > :07:17.transformed by the negotiation, I think Nigel is correct. In the end
:07:18. > :07:20.Eurosceptics like me will have to make a difficult choice, between a
:07:21. > :07:26.European Union that does have probably more power than we would
:07:27. > :07:32.like to see, that isn't I think in the regulatory way everything would
:07:33. > :07:39.want, versus what I regard as paying a higher cost, than Nigel thinks we
:07:40. > :07:42.will play for not being inside... Are this renegotiations peripheral
:07:43. > :07:46.or imagine natural? I can only speak for myself, you know, if I look at
:07:47. > :07:50.it I am certainly very interested to know whether the European Union is
:07:51. > :07:55.willing to agree that there should be no closer union. Nigel may say
:07:56. > :07:59.that is pointless, to me I think it will be, if the European Union were
:08:00. > :08:04.to refuse to agree to that demand. Do I think that this will mean that
:08:05. > :08:10.the decision is fundamentally different? No, I hoped originally, I
:08:11. > :08:13.think, that this would coincide with the eurozone's own constitutional
:08:14. > :08:16.decisions and therefore it would become the negotiations would make
:08:17. > :08:21.it even clearer for me, but in the end, you know, we will be left with
:08:22. > :08:25.the balance and it is a striking a different balance. I think that the
:08:26. > :08:31.relationship with other European nations and how we reduce for
:08:32. > :08:35.example trading barriers and costs of regulation, is more easily done
:08:36. > :08:39.inside a European single market and we can't create that all by ourself,
:08:40. > :08:45.we have to pay some attention to what others think. Helen, how
:08:46. > :08:50.strongly will Labour, as the Labour Party, campaign to stay in They have
:08:51. > :08:53.got a problem which is that Jeremy Corbyn is much cooler on Europe that
:08:54. > :08:57.many of his MPs. I don't think there is a problem with the exception of
:08:58. > :09:03.the occasional pure Eurosceptic, Who are well established. The The party
:09:04. > :09:07.is united. Alan Johnson is leading the Labour campaign, he is so
:09:08. > :09:15.well-respected a lot of them wish he were leader. Will Mr Corbyn pub the
:09:16. > :09:19.Labour machine we hind the stay in? All through the leadership is this
:09:20. > :09:22.the hill you want to die on, is is something he is willing to concede
:09:23. > :09:26.to people. He has been willing to concede this is not an issue he
:09:27. > :09:30.wants to stamp his foot and have a fight with the party. Nigel Farage
:09:31. > :09:32.don't go, stay, we have more to talk to you about. Let us move on the
:09:33. > :09:34.polls. So the polls on Europe -
:09:35. > :09:38.should we stay in or leave - So as a festive treat we sent,
:09:39. > :09:43.not one, not two, but three Daily Politics reporters out
:09:44. > :09:45.with the most unscientific instrument known to mankind -
:09:46. > :09:47.the Daily Politics mood-box - to spread a little bit
:09:48. > :09:56.of Christmas cheer. I don't know about you,
:09:57. > :09:58.but the topic of discussion at my Christmas dinner
:09:59. > :10:02.is going to be - EU, Are you going to be
:10:03. > :10:16.voting in or out? When it comes to the EU referendum,
:10:17. > :10:19.are you going to vote in or out? Just my knowledge is not that great,
:10:20. > :10:27.but the financial benefits I like being able to travel
:10:28. > :10:31.there without any problems. What language
:10:32. > :10:39.are you speaking? I feel if we left we would be
:10:40. > :11:00.all alone, we would be Pop a ball in the inbox
:11:01. > :11:05.for me, would you. It seems a bit stupid
:11:06. > :11:13.to be on your own. Out, out, I am an Englishman
:11:14. > :11:24.not a European. So hopefully people will think it's
:11:25. > :11:33.some sort of modern art. Do you not discuss politics
:11:34. > :11:51.round your Christmas dinner table? Well, we have given up and come
:11:52. > :11:59.for gluhwein instead. But as you can see, the result
:12:00. > :12:01.is overwhelmingly for in. It's very unscientific,
:12:02. > :12:37.but it's a very Merry How do you read the polls at the
:12:38. > :12:41.moment? Think the momentum has shifted, since the May 7th general
:12:42. > :12:46.election and there is no question that the energy and the excitement
:12:47. > :12:48.has been on the side, of those of us who want to leave behind the
:12:49. > :12:54.European Union and move on to something more positive and better,
:12:55. > :12:57.but you are right, obviously, if we took the Lord Ashcroft poll which
:12:58. > :13:03.showed the leave side 8 points ahead we might get terribly excited. There
:13:04. > :13:06.is long way to go. I think this, the big scare factor, the idea if we
:13:07. > :13:11.weren't part of the European Union, they wouldn't buy our goods, I think
:13:12. > :13:14.that really is deminute Iraning as a fear factor, I think people
:13:15. > :13:19.understand that trade takes place, all over the world, between
:13:20. > :13:22.countries who very rarely have political union, I think the migrant
:13:23. > :13:26.crisis and the sheer numbers of people coming to Britain, and some
:13:27. > :13:31.very big questions today, about are the figures we have had since 2004
:13:32. > :13:36.the right ones or indeed are they much higher, I think that concern,
:13:37. > :13:40.add to that now, fears about security, fears about terrorism, and
:13:41. > :13:43.I think this argument that we should be controlling our borders, will in
:13:44. > :13:48.my view become the central part of this referendum campaign. So it is
:13:49. > :13:54.your view then, that immigration, the migrant crisis, that will become
:13:55. > :13:59.the dominant theme of the in-out referendum? The question is, I think
:14:00. > :14:03.in the end the question is this, is Britain safer and more secure being
:14:04. > :14:08.part of the European Union, or taking part control of our own
:14:09. > :14:12.lives? I think increasingly, there is an argument that actually,
:14:13. > :14:16.controlling your borders, being as far away from a common European
:14:17. > :14:19.asylum policy, that frankly is inviting terrorism, to come into
:14:20. > :14:23.Europe, is the right and sensible place to be. Of course many people
:14:24. > :14:27.on the other side will say the exact opposite, that at a time of
:14:28. > :14:33.terrorism and insecurity, and danger, we need to be inside the
:14:34. > :14:37.European Union, we need to work with our European allies, to combat
:14:38. > :14:42.terrorism, as we did with the French, after the attacks on Paris
:14:43. > :14:49.and as we are doing with the Germans too, that the argument of security
:14:50. > :14:53.will be used as a reason for staying inside the
:14:54. > :14:57.Thank we want to deal with cross-border crime of our European
:14:58. > :15:01.neighbours, people trafficking and terrorism, we can do that as
:15:02. > :15:06.sovereign governments, through Interpol. The point I'm making is
:15:07. > :15:10.that of the 1.5 million people who have settled in Europe this year as
:15:11. > :15:14.part of the EU's common asylum policy, barely a single one of the
:15:15. > :15:19.McBean security checked and, increasingly, we are seeing the
:15:20. > :15:23.Greek being used by jihadists as a means of getting into Europe. But
:15:24. > :15:26.there is no doubt and once they have German passports, or French
:15:27. > :15:30.passports in three or four years' time, they can all come to Britain
:15:31. > :15:35.and that becomes a really important fundamental argument. All right. A
:15:36. > :15:37.lot of issues there which we will have plenty of time to talk about in
:15:38. > :15:50.2016. For the moment, if the deed is done, some dealers done in February,
:15:51. > :15:52.at the next summit, it raises the opportunity of having the referendum
:15:53. > :15:57.in June though there could well be a number of hurdles in the way of
:15:58. > :16:00.doing that and if not June, September. Let
:16:01. > :16:01.doing that and if not June, questions. Do you think it will be
:16:02. > :16:10.now in 2016 and if so, when? It'll questions. Do you think it will be
:16:11. > :16:15.certain. -- in June. questions. Do you think it will be
:16:16. > :16:22.go to France that day for questions. Do you think it will be
:16:23. > :16:25.be. From the Prime Minister 's perspective, the possibility
:16:26. > :16:28.be. From the Prime Minister 's and 17-year-olds getting the
:16:29. > :16:32.be. From the Prime Minister 's could delay the whole process by six
:16:33. > :16:36.months, that type the way. Secondly, the Prime Minister will look at next
:16:37. > :16:40.summer and maybe even more migrants will come into Europe across the
:16:41. > :16:45.Mediterranean and through the Western Balkans. Thirdly, he will
:16:46. > :16:54.calculate that the outside divided. He will see that there is boat
:16:55. > :16:57.leave, leave EU, the peace negotiations have failed and, hey
:16:58. > :17:00.presto, on the very morning the Prime Minister looks as most
:17:01. > :17:04.presto, on the very morning the vulnerable renegotiation, a senior
:17:05. > :17:10.presto, on the very morning the rumpus there. For all those reasons,
:17:11. > :17:19.he will go in early, not late. Very interesting. Get that in my diary.
:17:20. > :17:20.That's that trip to France kibosh. Nigel, stable is one more time,
:17:21. > :17:22.please. After UKIP dramatically won
:17:23. > :17:24.the European elections last year, Mr Farage warned the political
:17:25. > :17:27.establishment to expect an upset But it turned out that the self
:17:28. > :17:32.styled "People's Army" didn't have quite as much firepower as he had
:17:33. > :17:36.hoped, winning only one seat. Since then the party has been
:17:37. > :17:42.fraught with division and infighting and in the latest volly,
:17:43. > :17:44.the party's only MP Douglas Carswell told the BBC that UKIP needs a fresh
:17:45. > :17:48.face as leader, with an optimistic I've been brought up around fish,
:17:49. > :18:16.but it weren't for me, I'd be one of those flavours that
:18:17. > :18:23.some people adore and others find and get diagnosed with HIV and get
:18:24. > :18:26.the retroviral drugs. I don't break my word,
:18:27. > :18:37.so I shall be writing to the UK Ukip National Executive in a few
:18:38. > :18:41.minutes, saying that I am standing Every single one of our major donors
:18:42. > :18:57.came out publicly in support character, in the terms
:18:58. > :19:07.of the way he is perceived. I've never heard so much
:19:08. > :19:09.twaddle in all my life. I'm gay, you can't get more gay
:19:10. > :19:14.than me, and I'm the leader of Ukip And I do hereby declare
:19:15. > :19:25.that Jim McMahon is duly elected as the member
:19:26. > :19:45.of Parliament... Nigel Farage, all the good and bad
:19:46. > :19:51.bits there. It's been an eventful year. Had it been good or bad
:19:52. > :19:55.overall from your perspective? In 2014, four .5 million votes and won
:19:56. > :20:01.the European elections, and that was amazing. In this year 's general
:20:02. > :20:06.election we still got 4 million votes. That was deemed to be a
:20:07. > :20:10.failure. Here we are now, seven months on from the election, our
:20:11. > :20:15.supporters 25% higher than it was in the general election but I have
:20:16. > :20:21.never in over 20 years of Ukip Sena party that is more solidly united
:20:22. > :20:25.around policy, direction and leadership than it is today and what
:20:26. > :20:31.we have had, ever since that general election, is one individual, mostly
:20:32. > :20:37.in private, but today, in public, criticising the leadership. That's
:20:38. > :20:40.fine. Since you mentioned him, and is the season of goodwill for
:20:41. > :20:43.Douglas Carswell, although he may did not get the message from your
:20:44. > :20:46.office, he has not held back. Let's hear him.
:20:47. > :20:48.Sometimes a start-up needs to change gear and change of management
:20:49. > :20:53.And the Oldham by-election to me said very clearly that I think
:20:54. > :21:08.That doesn't sound much like unity, Nigel Farage, but... As I say to
:21:09. > :21:18.you, I have the unanimous support of the Ukip National executive, the
:21:19. > :21:20.MEPs and, amazingly, 91.4% of Ukip voters in recent opinion polls
:21:21. > :21:25.support my leadership so my position has never been secure. More secure.
:21:26. > :21:30.There's one person who does not agree with this. He managed to get
:21:31. > :21:38.elected sub is quite important. He did but so what? He's one person. We
:21:39. > :21:43.cannot have one individual, every single time better Ukip conference,
:21:44. > :21:47.it finishes with a story of disunity and it's all being caused by one
:21:48. > :21:52.person and, frankly, I think it's going to have to rent. How will it
:21:53. > :22:01.have to rent? He's going to have to put up or shut up. -- to end. Either
:22:02. > :22:05.he have to say Ukip are unified behind leadership and deal with
:22:06. > :22:08.immigration is a fundamental issue in British politics, and not
:22:09. > :22:11.something we should shy away from, either he's going to have to accept
:22:12. > :22:17.that or do something different. Leave the party? I do know what he
:22:18. > :22:23.wants to do. In the end, it will not be me that makes this decision. It
:22:24. > :22:27.will be Douglas. We know he agrees with us on the question of European
:22:28. > :22:31.membership. The difficulty is, we think controlling immigration,
:22:32. > :22:36.having an Australian side point system is the right way forward, he
:22:37. > :22:43.seems to think and feel it's too awkward to talk about. Do you regret
:22:44. > :22:47.him joining Ukip? No, of course not. That was a big part of building our
:22:48. > :22:50.momentum, winning the by-election, Rochester, all of that was part of
:22:51. > :22:58.our journey and actually, the People's Army is growing. He's been
:22:59. > :23:06.part of that. He must decide whether he wants to continue. Otherwise, in
:23:07. > :23:10.your mind, you should leave? We cannot have, I don't think our
:23:11. > :23:15.national executive will allow one individual to give an impression to
:23:16. > :23:20.the country that Ukip is divided when, actually, it's very united.
:23:21. > :23:28.Have you spoken to him? When did you last speak to him? A week ago, ten
:23:29. > :23:33.days ago. How was that? He wanted to vote for the intervention in Syria,
:23:34. > :23:36.but we, as a party traditionally, have been low interventionist in
:23:37. > :23:41.things like this. I can live with that. His criticisms over the
:23:42. > :23:45.by-election frankly pretty invalid. If 2.5 years ago we got a quarter of
:23:46. > :23:52.the vote, in a Northern by-election, people would have said it was
:23:53. > :24:01.phenomenal and it was democratically an easy feat. OK, thank you. Danny,
:24:02. > :24:04.what say you? They have a Parliamentary party of one and they
:24:05. > :24:09.are split. Funnily enough I'm on his side in this. There was a base for
:24:10. > :24:13.Ukip and it is people who share Nigel Farage's view basically on
:24:14. > :24:18.immigration. I don't belong to that base and Douglas Carswell doesn't.
:24:19. > :24:25.Douglas Carswell is a libertarian who believes in halving the
:24:26. > :24:31.expenditure on health service, privatising education, National
:24:32. > :24:34.Health Service, and he thinks that the country should have a liberal
:24:35. > :24:41.immigration policy. It does not fit with Ukip. The limits on Ukip not
:24:42. > :24:44.set by Nigel Farage, but are set by the fact Ukip takes a strong opinion
:24:45. > :24:49.which is acceptable to a group of people and will never go beyond it
:24:50. > :24:53.so intrinsically cock in my view, the Ukip project is limited and will
:24:54. > :24:59.never be successful. The interviews we have done with Douglas Carswell,
:25:00. > :25:01.there has been a bit of a division on key issues between Douglas
:25:02. > :25:06.Carswell and the rest of the party but in terms of disunity, it hasn't
:25:07. > :25:11.just been about Douglas Carswell. There has been in fighting with
:25:12. > :25:16.Suzanne Evans and Patrick Flynn. How do you see them progressing in 2016?
:25:17. > :25:20.As a fight for Nigel Farage to get as enemies out of the party. It's a
:25:21. > :25:24.mirror of what's happening in the Labour Party except on a tiny scale.
:25:25. > :25:28.It could be resolved with an arm wrestle basically and one would be
:25:29. > :25:31.in charge of the other. That's a huge problem, there's been a
:25:32. > :25:35.persistent question about what is Ukip doing with Nigel Farage? Nick
:25:36. > :25:39.Clegg stood down from Ed Miliband stood down, there was no question
:25:40. > :25:44.dollar so did Nigel Farage be changed his mind. There was no
:25:45. > :25:50.question their parties would not manage without them. His resignation
:25:51. > :25:55.was rescinded within 48 hours. Is it possible it has peaked? I think the
:25:56. > :26:00.big difficulty would be whether what happens to Europe or the EU
:26:01. > :26:03.referendum, I think Nigel Farage is right, the way to fight membership
:26:04. > :26:07.of the European Union is on immigration and Douglas Carswell and
:26:08. > :26:11.a number of other people don't agree. After the European referendum
:26:12. > :26:16.they will have a serious problem after that. Remember, it's the third
:26:17. > :26:27.week of June. Douglas Carswell is Ukip but it sounds like Nigel Farage
:26:28. > :26:32.wants to be an independent candidate. England are playing Wales
:26:33. > :26:36.on that day in the US 16 on the third Thursday of June. Ever living
:26:37. > :26:45.and playing Australia at Lord's, I would understand it. That would be
:26:46. > :26:47.Though Ukip's gene For the ral election
:26:48. > :26:52.squib, they weren't the only upstart party looking to light a fire under
:26:53. > :26:54.the British political establishment in 2015.
:26:55. > :26:56.The Scottish National Party, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru
:26:57. > :26:58.all had high-hopes, though the traditional third party,
:26:59. > :27:00.the Liberal Democrats, could only cross their fingers
:27:01. > :27:03.and wait for their worst which turned out to be far worse
:27:04. > :27:23.For me, it's about making Scotland's voice heard.
:27:24. > :27:26.What are you looking at doing is basically...
:27:27. > :27:42.Plaid Cymru will not apologise for speaking up for Wales
:27:43. > :27:50.And the other parties, the Liberal Democrats
:27:51. > :27:59.If this exit poll is right, Andrew, I will publicly eat my hat
:28:00. > :28:09.Caroline Lucas is duly elected as a member of Parliament.
:28:10. > :28:21.And therefore I announce I will be resigning
:28:22. > :28:23.as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
:28:24. > :28:25.The new leader of the Liberal Democrats,
:28:26. > :28:41.And to look back over the year, we're joined by the SNP's Culture,
:28:42. > :28:47.Media and Sport spokesperson, John Nicolson MP.
:28:48. > :28:53.you do all of that. Simultaneously and in reverse order, too. An
:28:54. > :28:57.amazing year for the SNP. and in reverse order, too. An
:28:58. > :29:00.another amazing one coming up. and in reverse order, too. An
:29:01. > :29:06.year, too. What have you achieved since May?
:29:07. > :29:10.year, too. What have you achieved different things. The first thing
:29:11. > :29:12.year, too. What have you achieved is, as working MPs, I think there is
:29:13. > :29:17.a general acknowledgement the is, as working MPs, I think there is
:29:18. > :29:21.speaker no less saying a couple of times who was impressed with the
:29:22. > :29:25.work ethic of the SNP and the Queen is said to have said they are a lot
:29:26. > :29:30.more Scots in Parliament on these to be. And around, it's just that we
:29:31. > :29:34.all turn up and get involved. Unlike a lot of previous Scots on the Tory
:29:35. > :29:38.side, you've also got Scottish accidents. Indeed, although the
:29:39. > :29:47.Scottish Tories do now have Scottish voices. They used to talk
:29:48. > :29:51.Scottish Tories do now have Scottish Malcolm Rifkind and now they roll
:29:52. > :29:57.their Rs like no tomorrow. Like what? I thought were just broken all
:29:58. > :30:01.the rules of daytime television! How do you handle the widespread
:30:02. > :30:05.expectation in do you handle the widespread
:30:06. > :30:09.the UK that you are going to do very well in the Hollywood election in a
:30:10. > :30:12.Scottish Parliament elections in May. How do you handle these
:30:13. > :30:16.expectations because, in a sense, if you don't do incredibly well, the
:30:17. > :30:17.narrative will be they did all right but didn't do as well as they
:30:18. > :30:25.thought. Behave naturally. All these rules
:30:26. > :30:30.about talking up and down expectation, they can seem very
:30:31. > :30:34.forced and false, so either you lay out your manifesto, you debate, you
:30:35. > :30:38.fry to be open and transparent, and you ask for the people's mandate.
:30:39. > :30:43.You will be disappointed, of course, if you don't get another overall
:30:44. > :30:48.majority in Edinburgh. Of course. The polls suggest you will
:30:49. > :30:52.comfortably:? The polls suggest the SNP will do as well as they did last
:30:53. > :30:59.time and it did very well last time. Viewer might not know the whole
:31:00. > :31:02.system was set up to prevent anybody, because the worry of the
:31:03. > :31:07.time devolution was set up from the smaller parties at the time was that
:31:08. > :31:12.Labour, especially west coast Labour would dominate, and so there was a
:31:13. > :31:15.commission that was set up to device an electoral system that would allow
:31:16. > :31:18.the smaller parties a look in. It was never meant to happen, the
:31:19. > :31:23.overall majority, the SNP has been in Government for eight years. Is
:31:24. > :31:30.Let us assume that you win comfortably, so there is no real
:31:31. > :31:33.threat, but who is second? Who is the longer term potential threat,
:31:34. > :31:38.Labour or Conservative? This is interest. You would think it is the
:31:39. > :31:41.Labour Party, but we are seeing something interesting that happening
:31:42. > :31:46.in Scotland which is the Conservative Party is tacking to the
:31:47. > :31:51.left. They have a very articulate leader in Ruth Davidson, she is a
:31:52. > :31:57.breath of fresh air, many people think, and she is clearly trying to
:31:58. > :32:01.position herself as the champion of unionism. From a centrist type
:32:02. > :32:04.position? Precisely. I know myself I found on the doorstep some people
:32:05. > :32:07.telling me they have always voted Labour, they are not in favour of
:32:08. > :32:11.Scottish independence, and they are going to vote Tory next time round.
:32:12. > :32:17.I have never heard that before. That is is a big jump for people. They
:32:18. > :32:25.used to of course. They were the last party to get more than 50%.
:32:26. > :32:30.1955. Not many people remember that. This is becoming a narrative for
:32:31. > :32:38.today. I thought I would throw in a bit... It was called the cultural
:32:39. > :32:42.cringe where Scots felt that hay to affect that particular, also, you
:32:43. > :32:50.would get that Kelvinside accent. The morning side. Do you feel we are
:32:51. > :32:56.intruding here? Mussolini was a wonderful man you know. Exactly.
:32:57. > :33:02.Exactly. Is it not possible, listening to what John has to say
:33:03. > :33:07.there, and thinking that it is possible, that the Liberal Democrat
:33:08. > :33:11.recovery may not be as such? Now the Scottish Labour Party as John is
:33:12. > :33:17.saying may not recover that much either. We may look back on 2015 as
:33:18. > :33:21.watershed in our politics. The Scottish Labour Party has a big
:33:22. > :33:26.battle ahead. I can conceive of them coming third. My question is,
:33:27. > :33:33.isn'ting with being an SNP MP boring? You are so on message, so we
:33:34. > :33:40.have talked about, I agree it can go to ware and are you end up in a Ukip
:33:41. > :33:45.situation. You are slightly robotic. I find, that is on message to say
:33:46. > :33:50.robot, robot, every time you talk to an SNP MP. We have had this
:33:51. > :33:54.conversation before. Many times. We were told the problem with the SNP
:33:55. > :34:00.MPs was they were a rabble, uncontrollable. Clapping, and
:34:01. > :34:06.behaving in an odd way. Braveheart. Precisely, with bode, I think a lot
:34:07. > :34:09.of the -- wode. A lot of them were surprised to discover we spoke
:34:10. > :34:15.English, and the narrative has changed. From being uncontrollable,
:34:16. > :34:20.to being to controlled. You cannot ea seriously look at Tommy Shepherd,
:34:21. > :34:25.me, Dr Phillipa and say we are clones. We are very different people
:34:26. > :34:32.with different backgrounds, and... I did go to your party conference and
:34:33. > :34:36.it was new Labouresque. I take my hat off to you. I would be
:34:37. > :34:40.interested to know what Andrew thinks, I think it is an
:34:41. > :34:47.extraordinary thing, the party tends to agree with the policies. But also
:34:48. > :34:50.it is early days. It is. We have more ground to cover there, because
:34:51. > :34:51.we need to find out what is happening with our three wise
:34:52. > :34:53.reporters. Remember, we've sent them out
:34:54. > :34:55.with a tinsel-trimmed This time I think they are asking
:34:56. > :34:59.whether Labour's been bad So, my little reindeers,
:35:00. > :35:03.shall we do Labour, Labour, have they had
:35:04. > :35:09.a good year or a bad year? Who would have thought
:35:10. > :35:28.they had a good year? So, you don't even want to know
:35:29. > :35:31.what the question is? The Labour Party, did
:35:32. > :35:34.they have a good year or a bad Take a ball, pop it
:35:35. > :35:58.in the box you think. This year, I don't think they did
:35:59. > :36:02.well in the election and I don't think they've done themselves any
:36:03. > :36:03.favours with Corbyn. I just met five Corbyistas who don't
:36:04. > :36:13.want to be filmed because they don't But I think people are expecting
:36:14. > :36:28.quite a lot and I don't know Haven't seen anyone in a Christmas
:36:29. > :36:43.jumper for a while. I think they'll do well
:36:44. > :36:48.in the future hopefully. Happy New Year then
:36:49. > :36:51.for Jeremy Corbyn. Has it been a good year
:36:52. > :37:10.in politics for you? Yes, our member of Parliament voted
:37:11. > :37:15.against bombing Syria. So the winter weather has
:37:16. > :37:17.got the better of us. But Labour seem to have had more
:37:18. > :37:21.people think they've had a bad year And with us now the Labour
:37:22. > :37:47.MP, Tulip Sadiq. How would you describe Labour's
:37:48. > :37:52.year? V it has been surprising. Elaborate. An understatement? There
:37:53. > :37:56.were lots of people saying I will eat my hat if Jeremy Corbyn gets
:37:57. > :38:02.elected as leader. I hope they are enjoying their hats right now. A lot
:38:03. > :38:06.of hats have been digested. You nominated Jeremy Corbyn, is that
:38:07. > :38:10.what you wanted, has it turned out the way you expected? When I
:38:11. > :38:13.nominated Jeremy, who I have known for a long time, I never expected
:38:14. > :38:18.him to win. I never thought Jeremy Corbyn would be leader of the Labour
:38:19. > :38:22.Party, and I voted for Andy Burnham but I nominated Jeremy. No, I didn't
:38:23. > :38:29.expect it in all honesty. Is it what you want or wanted? I like the fact
:38:30. > :38:34.we have so many new member, we have a thousand new new Labour members in
:38:35. > :38:40.my constituency. I like that. Do I like the infighting? Probably not.
:38:41. > :38:44.It has been pretty bad. If you have a marginal seat like mine, you
:38:45. > :38:49.concentrate on your seat and the issues that are important to your
:38:50. > :38:54.constituents. I will admit the PLP meetings haven't been pleasant. Do
:38:55. > :38:58.you blame one side or the other. I don't blame anyone in particular,
:38:59. > :39:01.after a big election like this the surprising result, there is going to
:39:02. > :39:05.be some kind of fall out. Even if my constituency when I stood against
:39:06. > :39:08.other people, there was always a fall out afterwards, that is what we
:39:09. > :39:14.are seeing at the moment. I don't blame anyone. It has been difficult
:39:15. > :39:18.for anyone. Danny, after Oldham, do you think that been a turning point
:39:19. > :39:23.for Jeremy Corbyn, I mean, do you any in a sense they were able to say
:39:24. > :39:28.then, you are going have to give I us a bit more time? His position is
:39:29. > :39:32.fundamentally strong. If you win the leadership election with 60%, your
:39:33. > :39:35.position is strong. He has a strong thesis about how the Labour Party
:39:36. > :39:39.can win again, which I happen to think is ridiculous, but he believes
:39:40. > :39:44.it coherent and he would imagine I would think it ridiculous. I
:39:45. > :39:49.wouldn't be phased by that. He has a clear view, clear support for
:39:50. > :39:52.activist, in my view he has a problem in the Parliamentary party.
:39:53. > :39:57.Has to bring the party behind him and recognise it is him or them.
:39:58. > :40:00.They won't conciliate with them, the internal fighting will not cease and
:40:01. > :40:05.therefore he has to either win that battle or lose the leadership. Is
:40:06. > :40:09.that how you see it? Does he have to beat the side, the par part of the
:40:10. > :40:13.Parliamentary party that doesn't support him and is rumoured to be
:40:14. > :40:18.moving against him at some future point, or does he need to reach out
:40:19. > :40:22.to them? I think he did reach out. There were very few Corbyn voters in
:40:23. > :40:26.that Shadow Cabinet. He made an effort. There have been things that
:40:27. > :40:31.undermined that. The problem is when is the crisis point. There are
:40:32. > :40:38.undoubtedly MPs who want to do that. It is very possible that is a deke
:40:39. > :40:44.Khan could win the mayoral election. The demographics could work. And And
:40:45. > :40:47.Scotland, if that is a horror hoe for Labour, nobody will be
:40:48. > :40:50.surprised. There is blow that everybody will say the voters have
:40:51. > :40:57.spoken and we know this isn't going to work for 2020. That was Madame
:40:58. > :41:03.Mao's line last night. Otherwise to work for 2020. That was Madame
:41:04. > :41:07.known as Diane Abbott. She said May elections are important but they are
:41:08. > :41:12.not make or break. They might be horribly undermined. As we saw with
:41:13. > :41:14.Ukip they were expecting to do very well and were undermined.
:41:15. > :41:19.Ukip they were expecting to do very destabilising for a party. Does that
:41:20. > :41:22.wing of the party have to just accept it, or will they go? In terms
:41:23. > :41:27.of accept it, or will they go? In terms
:41:28. > :41:30.that has been going on for influencing and taking over parts of
:41:31. > :41:34.the Labour Party that could choose new candidates after boundary, is
:41:35. > :41:40.that how it will happen? The best option is for them to conciliate
:41:41. > :41:46.him, and deed with him n the process make him look weak and make the
:41:47. > :41:47.activists disaffected because he is moving to the centre, then they
:41:48. > :41:51.activists disaffected because he is could move against him on the ground
:41:52. > :41:55.he isn't competent and get a slightly left-wing leader.
:41:56. > :41:58.he isn't competent and get a tackle him head on he will gain and
:41:59. > :42:00.strengthen. Est talks about Syria, you voted against air strike, in
:42:01. > :42:04.line with Jeremy Corbyn but it was a you voted against air strike, in
:42:05. > :42:08.street. Do you think that there should be a free vote or other
:42:09. > :42:13.issues like Trident. I didn't vote in line with Jeremy Corbyn. I voted
:42:14. > :42:16.with my conscience, it was the most difficult decision I have made. It
:42:17. > :42:21.is not about changing your recycling from Monday to Thursday. This is
:42:22. > :42:26.about lives, this is about the feature of Syria, war, I thought
:42:27. > :42:29.long and hard about it. I didn't think I am voting against, it wasn't
:42:30. > :42:33.like that, I looked at the reasons David Cameron put forward and I
:42:34. > :42:39.didn't feel he had a compelling case, based on evidence. In terms of
:42:40. > :42:43.a free vote. Just imagine going back to your constituency and saying I
:42:44. > :42:47.voted for war because I was whipped to do so. I think it sounds
:42:48. > :42:51.ridiculous, I think you should have a free vote on something like this,
:42:52. > :42:54.not on everything but on Syria I agreed with the free vote. On other
:42:55. > :42:59.key issues like Trident? Trident is another one we will have to debate
:43:00. > :43:04.and see, but for example high speed rail 2 is one of those where I would
:43:05. > :43:08.like a free vote because I am going to vote against. You want free votes
:43:09. > :43:13.on a lot of issues not necessarily a matter of life and death. I have
:43:14. > :43:17.been an MP since May, not very long, for me a free vote does appeal. I
:43:18. > :43:23.don't know if it appeals to people who have been in politics for a long
:43:24. > :43:26.time, to me it does. Is that sustainable, when you are Her
:43:27. > :43:30.Majesties loyal opposition, but in the past we have expected, because
:43:31. > :43:33.of history and tradition, that parties are whipped a certain way,
:43:34. > :43:40.that leaders persuade their party, or most of then. I think it is
:43:41. > :43:44.sustainable. It is a perfectibly reasonable thing to have more free
:43:45. > :43:49.votes in parliament the, it will make it more difficult to govern and
:43:50. > :43:52.to govern party, but there is nothing wrong with it. One has to
:43:53. > :43:57.remember of course Jeremy Corbyn didn't want a free vote. One of the
:43:58. > :44:01.problems with the analysis is they want people to vote with their
:44:02. > :44:07.conscience and have free votes. On the other hand they want to vote
:44:08. > :44:11.with the membership. They clash. You select MEP Members of Parliament
:44:12. > :44:16.whose conscience is the same of the member, that leads you down only one
:44:17. > :44:20.route. What about the voting public, you touched on the elections next
:44:21. > :44:25.year, does Jeremy Corbyn have cut through with some of these remarks
:44:26. > :44:30.that have certainly been labelled in the media as tonne wise, rightly or
:44:31. > :44:35.wrongly. Things like shoot-to-kill, or Jihadi John. Is that the sort of
:44:36. > :44:44.thing that the public gets? I think from what I have heard from people
:44:45. > :44:48.who have been up to Oldham, not singing the National Anthem was one,
:44:49. > :44:51.shoot-to-kill was another. The other thing to remember is most people
:44:52. > :44:55.aren't that interested in politics, they don't have the pleasure of
:44:56. > :44:59.doing it full-time, but so my worry for what will happen over the next
:45:00. > :45:04.year is people will become board of the idea that Jeremy Corbyn is not a
:45:05. > :45:09.centrist leader, he doesn't have a broad appeal, that will become that
:45:10. > :45:13.is received wisdom. It doesn't stop it being true, however, Jeremy
:45:14. > :45:16.Corbyn has a great appeal to the Labour membership. Membership. It is
:45:17. > :45:20.yet to be proven he can build a winning majority, in Parliament.
:45:21. > :45:22.Christmas is all about overindulgence, so let's have
:45:23. > :45:27.another instalment of our festive moodbox with our top
:45:28. > :45:34.This time Dasher, Prancer and Dancer are asking whether it's been a good
:45:35. > :45:48.Do you think it's been a good year or a bad year
:45:49. > :45:55.I vote Conservative and I'm quite happy with a lot of the measures
:45:56. > :46:11.The Conservatives have they had a good year or a bad year?
:46:12. > :46:13.We've only been here for two months.
:46:14. > :46:17.We are facing redundancies so as far as I'm concerned it's bad
:46:18. > :46:24.I think maybe a good year but I think mainly
:46:25. > :46:27.because they surprised people at the start of the year and I don't
:46:28. > :46:29.think anybody thought they were going to have quite
:46:30. > :46:39.They still have obviously cuts to social security to carry out.
:46:40. > :46:42.And they've got the referendum and they've got the resurgent
:46:43. > :46:49.Labour Party, so they've got a lot on their plate.
:46:50. > :46:51.They won an election against all the odds.
:46:52. > :46:54.And the Labour Party is falling apart in front of its eyes,
:46:55. > :46:56.so I suspect the Conservatives are very happy at the moment.
:46:57. > :46:59.Scrooge, bah humbug, don't really care, not good for me.
:47:00. > :47:02.Would you say the Conservatives had a good year or a bad year.
:47:03. > :47:11.I hate Labour, let's put it that way.
:47:12. > :47:14.They got elected, so a good start, I suppose.
:47:15. > :47:17.A good year or a bad year for the Conservative party?
:47:18. > :47:31.Who has got the best Christmas jumper?
:47:32. > :47:48.No, this is a lady who expressed a view that she wanted me to pop it
:47:49. > :47:49.in because she's late for work.
:47:50. > :48:03.This is like a really rubbish version of Top Gear.
:48:04. > :48:05.Adam, Giles, my little Christmas elves, move aside
:48:06. > :48:16.Pretty 50-50 but actually just about a good year.
:48:17. > :48:21.And with us now the Tory MP, James Cleverley.
:48:22. > :48:28.Welcome to the programme. Most Tories will believe that had a
:48:29. > :48:33.pretty good year, 2015. Do you think next year will be so good? It's fair
:48:34. > :48:36.to say when you win a general election against expectations, it
:48:37. > :48:42.can be a good year. Next year will be a more complicated year. We are
:48:43. > :48:46.likely to have a referendum. Conservatives on both side about and
:48:47. > :48:49.that will make it interesting. There's a number of things which
:48:50. > :48:54.have not gone quite right and a number of things which could
:48:55. > :48:58.continue to go wrong in 2016. Tax credits is a huge U-turn. There's
:48:59. > :49:05.been the bullying issue at Tory Central office. The House of Lords,
:49:06. > :49:08.do keep on losing there. You have the eager negotiations. Syria is an
:49:09. > :49:14.unfinished story and we have no idea how that could end. And he throw,
:49:15. > :49:21.not exactly the smack of firm government. Anyone that thought
:49:22. > :49:24.running a government with a microscopically small majority was
:49:25. > :49:27.going to be easy or getting business to the House of Lords was going to
:49:28. > :49:36.be easy needed their bumps felt, quite frankly. But actually,
:49:37. > :49:39.certainly in terms of the government side of the list, I think we are
:49:40. > :49:42.still making good progress even though there have been bumps on the
:49:43. > :49:46.road and on the internal party matters, it's always difficult. I
:49:47. > :49:53.think the party leadership is getting ahead of that now. Danny,
:49:54. > :49:57.what is the risk of the Tories ripping themselves apart over Europe
:49:58. > :50:03.next year? Assuming the referendum next year. Do you think, there will
:50:04. > :50:07.be divisions obviously, Mr Cameron will still manage to keep the show
:50:08. > :50:12.on the road? The danger will come after the European referendum
:50:13. > :50:20.regardless of the result. If David Cameron wins the referendum and
:50:21. > :50:23.decides to be on the main side, the people on the Leeds side may have
:50:24. > :50:27.more of a split and obviously, if you were to lose the referendum
:50:28. > :50:32.having recommended it, you would have a serious problem. His
:50:33. > :50:37.leadership would be on the line is prime and stuff. Yes, I would think
:50:38. > :50:42.so. It could be very difficult but in advance of it, during it, the
:50:43. > :50:46.referendum itself will mean that it won't cause a huge problem. That was
:50:47. > :50:58.one reason why David Cameron decided to have one. If he was to come back
:50:59. > :51:03.and get most of what he's looking for, and there was some kind of
:51:04. > :51:10.agreement on the migration issue, do you think he could carry the
:51:11. > :51:14.Parliamentary party on that? Some people in the party who are going to
:51:15. > :51:17.campaign to leave come what may and there are some people who will stay
:51:18. > :51:23.come what may. A lot of people in the middle are willing to see what
:51:24. > :51:31.comes back with. I think the centre of gravity is probably towards the
:51:32. > :51:34.remain but I think there is a very big majority of Conservative MPs who
:51:35. > :51:41.will campaign to leave. Do you think in the black to abandon the
:51:42. > :51:44.campaign, collective responsibility? He will have to let Eurosceptic
:51:45. > :51:49.ministers go their own way as Harold Wilson did. I think there is a
:51:50. > :51:53.numbers issue there. We have the slots of government which need to be
:51:54. > :51:59.filled. We have a relatively modest Parliamentary party and by the time
:52:00. > :52:03.you take people on the wrong side of referendum campaign, you're not
:52:04. > :52:06.going to have people spare. It'll be the pragmatic thing to do and,
:52:07. > :52:10.whilst this is a really important issue, it's not the only issue we've
:52:11. > :52:16.got to worry about. There could be many other issues too. How serious
:52:17. > :52:22.is this bullying scandal among what was the youth wing of the
:52:23. > :52:28.Conservative Party but it seems to go on, involving Grant Shapps
:52:29. > :52:33.resigning, Andrew Feldman, the existing chairman, his involvement
:52:34. > :52:38.as well. Hugely significant as regards the people involved and the
:52:39. > :52:39.activities of the pace. By the next general election, it will not
:52:40. > :52:42.feature politically in the general election, it will not
:52:43. > :52:49.all in my opinion but that does not mean to
:52:50. > :52:53.all in my opinion but that does not and important I suspect in
:52:54. > :52:55.all in my opinion but that does not there will be some serious
:52:56. > :52:56.allegations revealed by the individuals involved with it
:52:57. > :53:05.directly. It will not be so serious individuals involved with it
:53:06. > :53:07.for people in the indirect socialised with it. Grant Shapps has
:53:08. > :53:10.already resigned so it serious enough.
:53:11. > :53:16.already resigned so it serious they suddenly have
:53:17. > :53:19.already resigned so it serious Telford, Lucy Allen,
:53:20. > :53:24.already resigned so it serious manufactured a death threat, I think
:53:25. > :53:29.it was, on twitter. She said she conflated two e-mails. If she wants
:53:30. > :53:34.to see death threats, she should look after my twitter, she wouldn't
:53:35. > :53:38.have do manufacture them. Now there is a bullying story that we have
:53:39. > :53:42.these recordings in the London standard
:53:43. > :53:47.these recordings in the London messages. That
:53:48. > :53:48.these recordings in the London taken particularly seriously
:53:49. > :53:52.these recordings in the London of the other allegation. It is also
:53:53. > :53:54.the case by the way what you said about social media, the whole
:53:55. > :53:59.question of about social media, the whole
:54:00. > :54:06.media will become a story this year and even bigger and how you do that
:54:07. > :54:09.will become more and more. . . She's now bullying on old-fashioned voice
:54:10. > :54:15.mail. It certainly sounds like an important issue to investigate, yes.
:54:16. > :54:19.We tried to contact her this morning but we could not get hold of her. If
:54:20. > :54:22.you would like to give her side of the story on this programme in
:54:23. > :54:28.January, we would be very accommodating. Has it got
:54:29. > :54:34.significance beyond the Tory party? It is a juicy juicy story but it's
:54:35. > :54:41.about a lot of people mostly but not heard of. Yes, Jeremy Corbyn talks
:54:42. > :54:47.about the right-wing press and they have pursued and followed the story
:54:48. > :54:50.even though it's extremely inconvenient for David Cameron
:54:51. > :54:55.because Lord Feldman is a close friend of his. All parties have
:54:56. > :54:58.these problems, people care about small things and get worked up about
:54:59. > :55:11.them. Labour has its own problems and allegations of abuse some SNP
:55:12. > :55:13.MPs are overenthusiastic with their tweets. We have to leave it there.
:55:14. > :55:16.Merry Christmas to you. Now we like to think
:55:17. > :55:18.that the Daily Politics has launched Who can forget David Cameron's
:55:19. > :55:21.Big Board extravaganza, or George Osborne's special slot,
:55:22. > :55:30.Parliamentary Doctor? He advised people how to avoid tax.
:55:31. > :55:33.HMRC. And we're sure this Secret Santa
:55:34. > :55:36.appearance eventually propelled one backbench Labour MP
:55:37. > :55:38.onto much greater things. The first clue is that
:55:39. > :55:51.he's a Labour MP. He's been a member of Parliament
:55:52. > :55:54.since 1983 for the smallest He was one of just 12 Labour
:55:55. > :56:03.MPs to back Plaid Cymru in the Scottish National Party's
:56:04. > :56:06.call for an enquiry into the war Finally, he chairs the Parliamentary
:56:07. > :56:18.wing of CND and described Gordon Brown's backing
:56:19. > :56:43.for Trident as sad and upset. Du think that helped him become
:56:44. > :56:44.Labour leader? Yes,. Different year, 2015.
:56:45. > :56:50.The Daily Politics Secret Santa 2015.
:56:51. > :57:08.Welcome. Now you couldn't guess who it was at the beginning, have a go
:57:09. > :57:16.now. Who do you think it is? This MP has worked as a bus conductor. A
:57:17. > :57:20.London MP. A season-ticket holder. A season-ticket holder at Fulham FC.
:57:21. > :57:23.Another of his passions of collecting comics. He was first
:57:24. > :57:30.elected in the Blair landslide of 1997. Have a guess. I resolved my
:57:31. > :57:34.watch that clip of Jeremy Corbyn I would never guess. This is like
:57:35. > :57:38.asking how old someone looks. The potential for offence. Don't worry
:57:39. > :57:47.this London MP is very difficult to offend. I'm refusing. He won the
:57:48. > :57:53.presidency of the student union LSE and defeated his rival, Danny
:57:54. > :57:58.Filkins dying. I recognise him. Steve Pound. It is Stephen Pound.
:57:59. > :58:07.You can reveal yourself within reason. You can take it off. You are
:58:08. > :58:13.sweltering, I know. Have you got any presence? There he is, I should
:58:14. > :58:19.stay. It is Stephen Pound. It's not the real Santa Claus. I hope no
:58:20. > :58:30.children are watching. What gave it away? Even from the beard, the nose,
:58:31. > :58:35.I know him. Sorry. You didn't disguise yourself well enough. Had
:58:36. > :58:40.about any presence for us? Indeed I have and well done Finkelstein. I
:58:41. > :58:52.have a little something in my sack for you. Danny, I should've given as
:58:53. > :58:58.two years ago. The sack? Andrew, a front bench opposition MP could not
:58:59. > :59:06.get you anything. That's the quality... He has forgotten his
:59:07. > :59:13.lines. I have something rather special for you. That sounds
:59:14. > :59:25.ominous. Shall I whip it out? Grope around in there. Thank you very
:59:26. > :59:26.much. I know what this is. Sorry, I have got to say goodbye. Happy
:59:27. > :59:28.Christmas. A happy Christmas and a peaceful
:59:29. > :59:31.and joyous New Year to you all. It cannot be true, Holmes!
:59:32. > :59:50.It cannot!