:00:38. > :00:39.Afternoon folks, welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:40. > :00:41.The Conservatives have admitted failing to declare tens of thousands
:00:42. > :00:46.of pounds in election spending in key marginal seats.
:00:47. > :00:49.The party blames an "administrative error" for a failure to declare
:00:50. > :01:02.all the expenses relating to its General Election 'Battlebus'.
:01:03. > :01:09.The Government vows to press ahead with plans to force all schools
:01:10. > :01:11.in England to become academies, despite fierce opposition
:01:12. > :01:13.from Labour and a growing number of Tory MPs.
:01:14. > :01:18.But do robots present an opportunity or a threat to our livelihoods?
:01:19. > :01:23.Labour's deputy leader is a cautious fan - he joins us live.
:01:24. > :01:26.And, as the Queen turns 90, we talk to the former MP who used
:01:27. > :01:29.to give her a daily account of all the gossip among her loyal
:01:30. > :01:49.Do you think we will be replaced by robots. I don't know what you're
:01:50. > :01:51.talking about. The microchip has landed.
:01:52. > :01:54.All that in the next hour and, if you're watching, Your Majesty,
:01:55. > :01:57.a very happy birthday from all of us here at the Daily Politics.
:01:58. > :01:59.Joining us on this auspicious occasion is Natalie Bennett,
:02:00. > :02:03.Natalie, of course, is a staunch Republican and she once said
:02:04. > :02:06.that the Royals should be evicted from Buckingham Palace and moved
:02:07. > :02:11.But we won't be reminding her of that at all today.
:02:12. > :02:16.First today the Conservatives have admitted failing to declare ?38,000
:02:17. > :02:20.The party has blamed an "administrative error"
:02:21. > :02:21.for failing to register the accommodation costs
:02:22. > :02:30.of activists involved in its 'Battlebus 2015' operation.
:02:31. > :02:32.The admission follows an investigation by Channel 4 News
:02:33. > :02:38.and their political correspondent Michael Crick joins me now.
:02:39. > :02:45.Welcome to the programme. You have been on the story for some time, I
:02:46. > :02:52.get the impression that every time you go back to it it gets bigger?
:02:53. > :02:55.Yes we keep finding more stuff and the Electoral Commission is having
:02:56. > :03:01.to widen its investigation. The key thing is, is when they conclude that
:03:02. > :03:05.investigation, because there is 12 months after that the candidates
:03:06. > :03:09.report their expenses, just a month after the election, so in other
:03:10. > :03:18.words something has to be done by the beginning of June when the 12
:03:19. > :03:23.months is up for there to be prosecutions relating to the
:03:24. > :03:29.declaration of expenses. There are two lots of declaration, locally and
:03:30. > :03:35.nationally. Locally each candidate can spend about ?15,000. There are
:03:36. > :03:38.national expenses which is just under ?19 million for the
:03:39. > :03:44.Conservatives. What we found is that there is all sorts of campaigning
:03:45. > :03:48.been going on involving these battle buses, where clearly we are taking
:03:49. > :03:52.activists to constituencies, putting them up in hotels and they were
:03:53. > :03:58.supporting the local individual candidates. Now the Electoral
:03:59. > :04:02.Commission guidelines say if you campaign in support of individual
:04:03. > :04:10.candidates, that counts as a local expense. The The cost has appeared
:04:11. > :04:14.on the national returns, but the cost of the hotels has not appeared
:04:15. > :04:18.anyone and that is what the Conservatives have admitted, because
:04:19. > :04:23.of this error should have been on the national returns and they're now
:04:24. > :04:27.going to rectify it. Where will they put it? They will put it on the
:04:28. > :04:31.national returns. I would argue it should be on the local returns,
:04:32. > :04:37.because they were staying in local hotels to support local candidates
:04:38. > :04:43.in the South West, tonight we will report on how the battle bus went to
:04:44. > :04:49.the Midlands and the north. Most of the candidates there became MPs and
:04:50. > :04:53.in most cases if the costs are apded to their local returns, then they're
:04:54. > :05:02.over the limit and they're in trouble in theory. The accommodation
:05:03. > :05:07.was booked, let me be kind, in an elliptical way? It was booked
:05:08. > :05:11.centrally, but sometimes it was booked through individuals, rather
:05:12. > :05:15.than through the party. This is a pattern we uncovered a few weeks ago
:05:16. > :05:22.in the three by-elections, you remember the big by-elections in
:05:23. > :05:27.2015 when the Tories were determined to thwart Ukip and in the South
:05:28. > :05:31.Thanet constituency where the Tories were determined to beat Nigel
:05:32. > :05:36.Farage. It is all sorts of expenses that the Conservatives claim should
:05:37. > :05:40.be national expenses, or they haven't been on any expense returns,
:05:41. > :05:48.which should be attributed to their local candidate. It is hard not to.
:05:49. > :05:57.If you turn up to a help a local candidate, it is not like helping a
:05:58. > :06:00.political broadcast, but if I'm helping a local candidate that cost
:06:01. > :06:04.must be for the local candidate. Yes, it is better than that in terms
:06:05. > :06:09.of proof, the people that were on the battle bus were proud of what
:06:10. > :06:14.they were doing and they were tweeting about it, putting it on
:06:15. > :06:20.Facebook and pictures of them and their candidates and we have
:06:21. > :06:32.obtained the scripts that they went around with, hello, I'm Mikel --
:06:33. > :06:40.Michael crick calling on behalf of your local candidate. And it will
:06:41. > :06:41.not surprise you we contacted the Conservative Party this morning.
:06:42. > :07:39.This what is they told us: Are they saying the battle bus we
:07:40. > :07:45.can charge to the national campaign. That is arguable. But we admit that
:07:46. > :07:52.the overnight accommodation or whatever it was, should have been a
:07:53. > :07:55.local? Yes, they say that was an administrative error. They argue
:07:56. > :08:00.that should be a national expense. We would say, hang on, you stayed in
:08:01. > :08:07.that hotel to fight in that seat and that hotel. So they're still trying
:08:08. > :08:16.to put it on the national ledger? Yes on the national ledger they were
:08:17. > :08:21.bnd 3.5 million under the limit. So if it is a local expense and if it
:08:22. > :08:25.was attributed to these seats locally, in most cases they would be
:08:26. > :08:29.over the limit, the candidate would have spent too much. The limits are
:08:30. > :08:35.important, in order to create a level playing field. Don't go away.
:08:36. > :08:38.Well we're joined now from Bristol from the former
:08:39. > :08:44.Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt, she lost her seat in Wells
:08:45. > :08:53.What is your reaction? It is an extraordinary reaction, the idea it
:08:54. > :08:59.is an error is tosh. The constituents in my area were
:09:00. > :09:04.completely foxed by the fact that they had millions of leaflets
:09:05. > :09:08.through their door. My agent said probably something like a quarter of
:09:09. > :09:12.a million pounds worth of paper was delivered through doors and all the
:09:13. > :09:18.leaflets referred to the fact that this was a campaign that all about
:09:19. > :09:21.23 seats, of which mine was one and 23 seats does not make a national
:09:22. > :09:29.campaign. We have photographs of people being briefed, there were
:09:30. > :09:36.people who didn't know who my successor, what my successor's name
:09:37. > :09:41.was, they couldn't pronounce his name, but they were knocking on
:09:42. > :09:46.doors campaigning. So we have local campaigning that is being masked as
:09:47. > :09:52.national campaigning. It is utter rubbish. Do you feel cheated? No,
:09:53. > :09:56.but I think my constituents should feel cheated. Because actually what
:09:57. > :10:00.we have in this country, we have been watching the American
:10:01. > :10:08.elections, what we have to make sure we don't get is some sort of
:10:09. > :10:13.ludicrous money-buying votes. That is what has happened. And when you
:10:14. > :10:17.look at my election returns, all of the spending is accounted for, we
:10:18. > :10:22.are clear and transparent about the way we have done everything. You can
:10:23. > :10:26.see every leaflet and the invoice from the printer and all of the
:10:27. > :10:30.information is there. It seems that this is not the way that the other
:10:31. > :10:45.parties have chosen to fight the campaign. Thank you. Michael Crick,
:10:46. > :10:51.is the question whether the commission allows to put it on the
:10:52. > :10:54.national register or it is on the constituency and they will be over
:10:55. > :10:59.the limit. I don't know entirely. They're trying to put it on the
:11:00. > :11:02.national ledger, but the commission is investigating what we have
:11:03. > :11:06.reported and what we said last night and it is not clear whether the
:11:07. > :11:09.admission by the Tories results from that investigation, whether they
:11:10. > :11:13.basically have been forced to say that, by the commission, but the
:11:14. > :11:18.Electoral Commission, the impression we get is they're being hardline,
:11:19. > :11:23.they have a reputation for being a feeble body. On this they realise
:11:24. > :11:27.something has gone wrong. The question is whether they will
:11:28. > :11:30.recommend to the police before the June deadline that there should be
:11:31. > :11:34.prosecutions, or the alternative would be to allow under the law a 12
:11:35. > :11:41.month extension for further investigations. Whether they go that
:11:42. > :11:44.far or whether they say, look, there was clearly misinterpretation of the
:11:45. > :11:52.rules and the rules need tightening up and they may go down that avenue.
:11:53. > :11:56.More on Channel 4 tonight? Indeed. We will tune in. And they say
:11:57. > :11:59.investigative journalism is dead. They're wrong.
:12:00. > :12:04.The question for today is: in a radio interview this week what did
:12:05. > :12:12.Hillary Clinton say she always carries around with her?
:12:13. > :12:16.c) A copy of Donald Trump's book
:12:17. > :12:19.At the end of the show we'll see if Natalie
:12:20. > :12:25.David Cameron says he will press ahead with plans to force every
:12:26. > :12:27.state school to become an academy despite increasingly vocal
:12:28. > :12:30.opposition, much of it from within his own party.
:12:31. > :12:32.One Tory MP has labelled the plans "Draconian,
:12:33. > :12:38.Academies were introduced by Labour and extended
:12:39. > :12:45.Currently, under Education Secretary Nicky Morgan,
:12:46. > :12:47.55% of secondary schools and 18% of primaries are academies -
:12:48. > :12:56.Last month George Osborne unleashed his big Budget idea -
:12:57. > :12:58.forcing all schools in England to become academies
:12:59. > :13:06.Nicky Morgan fleshed out the plans, which include ending the obligation
:13:07. > :13:11.to have parents as governors, scrapping qualified teacher
:13:12. > :13:13.status and giving schools taken over by a new head
:13:14. > :13:24.But, much like else in this Budget, opposition to the Chancellor's plans
:13:25. > :13:26.came swiftly and from all corners, including his own.
:13:27. > :13:29.More than a dozen Conservative MPs have so far raised
:13:30. > :13:30.concerns about the plans, including Stewart Jackson,
:13:31. > :13:36.who said the plans were "Draconian, heavy handed and top down".
:13:37. > :13:38.Critics even included a former Education Minister, Tim Loughton,
:13:39. > :13:41.who said he supported academies in principle, but was unhappy
:13:42. > :13:47.with a "compulsory and arbitrary" timeline being set.
:13:48. > :13:50.The Local Government Association said ministers needed to "consider
:13:51. > :13:53.the wishes of parents, communities, teachers
:13:54. > :13:58.and councils before imposing any new education structures".
:13:59. > :14:01.And a National Union of Teachers poll of its members found just 7%
:14:02. > :14:06.of schools leaders supported the forced academisation plans.
:14:07. > :14:08.But yesterday David Cameron defended the proposals
:14:09. > :14:10.at Prime Minister's Questions, saying it was time
:14:11. > :14:17.This is something started by the Labour government,
:14:18. > :14:20.given rocket boosters under this government.
:14:21. > :14:23.We see massive improvements in our schools because of academies
:14:24. > :14:27.and we say let's get on with it, finish the job, and give all of our
:14:28. > :14:38.I'm joined now by the Education Minister Nick Gibb.
:14:39. > :14:46.Are you going to rethink these plans? No the vision I set out is
:14:47. > :14:50.for all schools to become academies and that is the vision we will
:14:51. > :14:54.proceed with. It is about ensuring we have good schools in every part
:14:55. > :14:59.of the country and in every local authority area, because good schools
:15:00. > :15:05.that become academies can spread best practice to underperforming
:15:06. > :15:10.schools and underperforming schools get strong sponsors to improve edge
:15:11. > :15:14.kalgs. It is improving schools so when a parent drops off their child
:15:15. > :15:22.they can be confident the school is of high quality.
:15:23. > :15:28.You are not going to listen to the strength of feeling within your own
:15:29. > :15:34.party from elevated levels saying that Conservatives should be schools
:15:35. > :15:39.choice rather than imposing an arbitrary line, ideally any in
:15:40. > :15:44.principle but not the compulsion? We are listening and talking to
:15:45. > :15:46.colleagues in the House of Commons and local authorities and the
:15:47. > :15:51.teaching profession and we want schools to have flexibility and
:15:52. > :15:57.choice in how they might become academies, standing alone or not. We
:15:58. > :16:02.are talking about a period of six years and as a government we have to
:16:03. > :16:09.know where we are going to be in six years when increasing numbers of
:16:10. > :16:14.local authorities have 80% or 90% of academies. This is about giving
:16:15. > :16:19.professionals control of their school so they can raise standards
:16:20. > :16:27.of reading, maths, academic standards, and improve behaviour,
:16:28. > :16:34.and it is working. 350 pupils in schools that are sponsored academies
:16:35. > :16:40.that were underperforming and are not. Does the government have a
:16:41. > :16:46.mandate to do this? Six years is a fairly long timeline. Obviously not.
:16:47. > :16:53.There was no mention of this during the election. This is further
:16:54. > :16:57.privatisation, taking a public asset and putting it into private hands
:16:58. > :17:02.away from the control of communities. We believe all schools
:17:03. > :17:08.should be under local democratic control. We want to get rid of these
:17:09. > :17:11.schools and academies. There is simply not the evidence to say that
:17:12. > :17:17.academies Asian in itself improve standards. Schools around the
:17:18. > :17:23.country over recent years have fought off academies Asian and local
:17:24. > :17:32.communities have said they might do not want to be academies and it is
:17:33. > :17:37.being imposed. Many Tory MPs echoing those sentiments. One says,
:17:38. > :17:45.academies have little accountability or parental environment. --
:17:46. > :17:57.involvement. There is greater accountability. He is wrong? Yes. We
:17:58. > :18:02.take swift action when schools that are academies underperform. There
:18:03. > :18:05.are many examples of underperforming schools that stay underperforming
:18:06. > :18:11.every year. That cannot happen with the academies programme because we
:18:12. > :18:16.intervene swiftly to move academies and transfer them to better
:18:17. > :18:30.performing schools. 30 Tory MPs against this compulsion element of
:18:31. > :18:36.academies. We also have leading Tory councillors who have expressed anger
:18:37. > :18:44.and are calling on you to rethink the policy. Someone saying if it is
:18:45. > :18:48.not broke do not fix it. The Tory leader of Hampshire County Council
:18:49. > :18:53.urging the government to focus on dealing with schools where there are
:18:54. > :19:00.problems not win they are performing well. Schools that are performing
:19:01. > :19:03.well have a duty not just to sit as islands, we have to take the
:19:04. > :19:09.expertise of those strong head teachers and spread it to the
:19:10. > :19:15.underperforming schools. Even in Hampshire a quarter of secondary
:19:16. > :19:20.schools are not good or outstanding. It is not the fault of the people
:19:21. > :19:25.who are outstanding. We want them to collaborate to make sure that every
:19:26. > :19:32.school is high performing. You have failed to sell this policy. There is
:19:33. > :19:40.a lot of Tory strength of feeling against that. That is my fault. We
:19:41. > :19:44.need to do more to make the case. It is about ensuring there are no
:19:45. > :19:51.underperforming schools in our system and that is what parents
:19:52. > :19:59.want. Not a school that has been in special measures. We are talking
:20:00. > :20:05.about schools that are outstanding. Tristram Hunt the Shadow Education
:20:06. > :20:10.Secretary says you are in danger of not providing choice to parents. The
:20:11. > :20:14.whole point of the academy programme under Labour was to give parents a
:20:15. > :20:19.choice of schools and you want to take them all back under local
:20:20. > :20:22.authority control. Choice involves schools competing against each other
:20:23. > :20:26.seeking pupils that will give them the best results. The problem is
:20:27. > :20:34.Jerry picking of pupils and pushing out of pupils who they think will
:20:35. > :20:42.not perform. Our academies allowed to cherry pick? The local secondary
:20:43. > :20:49.school in my area takes from the same catchment area it did under
:20:50. > :20:52.local authority control. We have a whole philosophy education based on
:20:53. > :21:02.schools competing against each other line to get the best for themselves
:21:03. > :21:04.not for every pupil. What we saw in Brighton and Halls was getting
:21:05. > :21:09.schools to coordinate together to get the best possible result for
:21:10. > :21:14.every pupil in the area and that is what should be the foundation of
:21:15. > :21:19.education. Is this going to be in the Queen's Speech? We are hearing
:21:20. > :21:24.this is not going to be a piece of legislation. We never say what is in
:21:25. > :21:35.the Queen's Speech until the Queen's Speech. We are pressing ahead. That
:21:36. > :21:42.implies you are. We do not announce in advance what is in the Queen's
:21:43. > :21:48.Speech. An underperforming school, fewer than half getting five GCSEs,
:21:49. > :21:53.an academy took it over and nearly three quarters of children are
:21:54. > :21:57.getting five GCSEs or more. Could you look at an exception for rural
:21:58. > :22:03.schools who are doing brilliantly who do not want to be landed with
:22:04. > :22:07.the burden of helping other schools? Rural schools have a better chance
:22:08. > :22:13.of survival under a trust model that under the local authority because
:22:14. > :22:21.they can share back offices, cut costs. No exception from them being
:22:22. > :22:27.forced to academies? No. We want all schools to academies. We set out in
:22:28. > :22:36.their manifesto that we wanted academisation to continue. We have
:22:37. > :22:42.had to look six years ahead. We have authorities like Bournemouth won 87%
:22:43. > :22:47.of schools today are academy. Where are we going to be in five or six
:22:48. > :22:52.years? You must have known that when you were drying up the manifesto. We
:22:53. > :22:54.said we were going to continue with the academisation process and that
:22:55. > :22:58.is what we are doing. Now it's fast approaching 12:30pm,
:22:59. > :23:00.which is usually the time that the Queen likes to take her gin
:23:01. > :23:03.and Dubonnet while watching We know this from Buckingham Palace
:23:04. > :23:13.sources. And perhaps today she might make it
:23:14. > :23:16.a double because, in case you hadn't In the last hour or so the Prime
:23:17. > :23:21.Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have been leading
:23:22. > :23:24.the tributes in the Commons. As the sands of culture shift
:23:25. > :23:28.and the tides of politics ebb and flow, Her Majesty
:23:29. > :23:36.has been steadfast. A rock of strength for our nation,
:23:37. > :23:39.for our Commonwealth, and on many As her grandson Prince
:23:40. > :23:42.William has said, time and again, quietly and
:23:43. > :23:45.modestly, the Queen has shown us all that we can confidently
:23:46. > :23:47.embrace the future without compromising
:23:48. > :23:48.the things that are important. Whatever different views
:23:49. > :23:53.people across this country have about the institution,
:23:54. > :23:56.the vast majority share an opinion that Her Majesty has served
:23:57. > :23:59.this country and has overwhelming support,
:24:00. > :24:03.with a clear sense of public service and public duty, as the Prime
:24:04. > :24:06.Minister just indicated. She has carried out that duty
:24:07. > :24:21.with enormous warmth. We know that the Queen is popular
:24:22. > :24:24.but is the monarchy's popularity guaranteed?
:24:25. > :24:28.Joining me now is Tom Mludzinski from the polling company ComRes.
:24:29. > :24:36.Nothing has danger, has it? Politicians cannot get near the
:24:37. > :24:44.favourability and approval ratings for the Queen. This gets close to
:24:45. > :24:49.some of the Royal Family members, Prince Charles. The popularity of
:24:50. > :24:54.the marquee is fairly steadfast. There have been blips along the way
:24:55. > :25:00.around the time of Diana's death and the management of that but it has
:25:01. > :25:06.been fairly rock solid in terms of whether people want to keep the
:25:07. > :25:11.moderately or move to a republic. 75% have said they might want to
:25:12. > :25:16.keep the monarchy. There is not a difference between the Queen's
:25:17. > :25:20.personal popularity and the monarchy in general? The Queen is probably
:25:21. > :25:26.slightly more popular but so are the young royals, Prince Harry, Prince
:25:27. > :25:31.William and Kate Middleton are extremely popular, almost as popular
:25:32. > :25:35.as the Queen in many respects. It is the intervening period. Prince
:25:36. > :25:39.Charles is below his mother and his children. People are less keen on
:25:40. > :25:45.Prince Charles than Prince William so that will affect people's views
:25:46. > :25:48.towards succession. That is right but most people think it is right
:25:49. > :25:55.that Prince Charles should take over from the Queen and become king. Much
:25:56. > :26:01.depends on housekeeper forms on the roll and what sort of duties he
:26:02. > :26:06.takes on. The public profile he takes on when he is king.
:26:07. > :26:09.We're joined now from central lobby by the Conservative MP Adam Afriyie,
:26:10. > :26:16.So I guess the Queen is one of his constituents.
:26:17. > :26:23.As I mentioned earlier she is a republican.
:26:24. > :26:34.Are you going to be celebrating the Queen's birthday? I certainly will
:26:35. > :26:40.be. Can I correct you? She is not my constituent, I yam her subject and
:26:41. > :26:46.she is a resident and she is a very welcome resident. What is the
:26:47. > :26:51.difference? A resident does not have the right to vote. I yam her subject
:26:52. > :26:58.rather than her MP. Are you happy being her subject? I always find it
:26:59. > :27:04.quite churlish even better of those with the academic view that we
:27:05. > :27:09.should move from having a monarchy because in practice the Queen is a
:27:10. > :27:16.figurehead, head of state, she generates world peace and creates
:27:17. > :27:20.social cohesion so she is doing pretty much what we want to do
:27:21. > :27:27.though it seems churlish and bitter to say she should be removed as the
:27:28. > :27:31.monarch. That was not my question. I wondered whether on the 21st-century
:27:32. > :27:36.we should be regarding ourselves as subjects rather than citizens. It is
:27:37. > :27:43.a technicality in the wording. It means quite a lot. We are a
:27:44. > :27:48.democratic nation and it is the elected people like myself who form
:27:49. > :27:53.governments. The thing I have noticed about the Queen is she is
:27:54. > :27:58.always positive, optimistic, pulling people together and holding them
:27:59. > :28:05.together. Weight often we create laws about social be -- and trying
:28:06. > :28:13.to pull things together and she has played a greater role than many of
:28:14. > :28:15.us politicians. Today I am not celebrating the Queen's birthday, I
:28:16. > :28:23.am focusing on the election campaigns coming up. Why? I would
:28:24. > :28:29.congratulate the Queen as an individual for her many decades of
:28:30. > :28:34.service. She has done a huge amount of work, a huge job. In politics we
:28:35. > :28:40.are focusing on the upcoming elections. You could not have a
:28:41. > :28:50.toast? It would only take a few moments. I would have joined you in
:28:51. > :28:53.a drink of course! It is really important we think about the
:28:54. > :29:00.problems with our Constitution which were brought up in the elections
:29:01. > :29:05.pending story. In our first past the post system we have a problem in
:29:06. > :29:13.that the huge amount of focus is on swing voters in swing seats so... We
:29:14. > :29:18.are talking about the monarchy. We are talking about constitutional
:29:19. > :29:23.reform. What the Green Party's focus would be is on the House of Commons.
:29:24. > :29:32.You do not want to get rid of the monarchy? I am happy to retain the
:29:33. > :29:38.ceremonial monarchy like Sweden. What role does the Queen in this
:29:39. > :29:45.country have that the king of Sweden not have? She has the power to form
:29:46. > :29:57.the government. That is what the King does. There it is ceremonial.
:29:58. > :30:01.We have seen it in Belgium as well. The King brings various parties
:30:02. > :30:04.together. The Queen cannot give us a government we do not want. That is
:30:05. > :30:18.clear. FORCEDWHITE We have a constituency
:30:19. > :30:23.that relies on the her redry system. So does Denmark and Belgium. I want
:30:24. > :30:27.to start with House of Commons of the House of Lords. It is clear from
:30:28. > :30:35.all the polls and public sentiment that as long as the Queen is alive
:30:36. > :30:38.the monarchy is safe. No one, even Natalie Bennett has an appetite to
:30:39. > :30:47.do anything as long as the Queen is arrive. Does it come under more
:30:48. > :30:52.danger when she dies and Prince Charles comes to the throne. It is
:30:53. > :30:56.not a day to talk about death on her birthday. There is a danger of
:30:57. > :31:01.having a monarch that may not be in tune with the people. But what the
:31:02. > :31:04.Queen and Prince William have demonstrated that they recognise it
:31:05. > :31:08.is about being in tune with the nation. But Parliament is supreme
:31:09. > :31:14.here and at the end of the day if there were a situation which needed
:31:15. > :31:19.addressing it would be addressed. I get upset with the comments that
:31:20. > :31:22.smack of being sour when there is no practical matter that needs to be
:31:23. > :31:26.dealt with. The Queen is doing wonderful work for the country and
:31:27. > :31:37.the Government and the people and the common wealth and holding the
:31:38. > :31:47.nation together. Don't get sad. What do you say to a historian who said
:31:48. > :31:51.the Queen has done nothing that people will remember, unlike queen
:31:52. > :31:59.Victoria and she sees the role as just a job and she won't give her
:32:00. > :32:04.name to an era. I say thank you Mr Starkey, that is the point, that is
:32:05. > :32:10.why we have had a harmonious nation and government for at least 90
:32:11. > :32:15.years. If you had a referendum now, because it is the only way you could
:32:16. > :32:23.get rid of her, you would have to have a referendum, you would lose at
:32:24. > :32:30.the moment wouldn't you? We are not calling for that. We are calling for
:32:31. > :32:36.a referendum on proportional representation. We had one to change
:32:37. > :32:40.the voting system. You know that alternative vote is not proportional
:32:41. > :32:46.representation. We had that vote and you lost. That is a non-row
:32:47. > :32:50.portional system. Since this is the queen's birthday, we are not going
:32:51. > :32:55.to discuss proportional representation. Have you passed a
:32:56. > :33:00.law. Has she agreed to it. We will be together later in the evening, we
:33:01. > :33:02.will have to see about that one. Natalie Bennett twice in one day!
:33:03. > :33:06.Thank you for joining us. With Scottish, Welsh,
:33:07. > :33:08.local and mayoral elections coming up in just two weeks,
:33:09. > :33:11.the Green Party are hoping to turn what they term the green surge
:33:12. > :33:15.into votes at the ballot box. But despite achieving a record
:33:16. > :33:18.3.8% of the vote in last year's general election,
:33:19. > :33:20.the Greens failed to win any extra parliamentary seats,
:33:21. > :33:25.so will it be different this time? Our guest of the day
:33:26. > :33:27.Natalie Bennett thinks so. Here she is speaking at the party's
:33:28. > :33:29.local election campaign These are really exciting elections
:33:30. > :33:33.for the Green Party. We have more than 1,500 candidates
:33:34. > :33:38.up and down the country. Many of them will be out today
:33:39. > :33:41.knocking on doors, out delivering People are doing the hard
:33:42. > :33:45.work to turn that If you look back a bit
:33:46. > :33:53.to 2015, we outpolled You contrast that to 2010
:33:54. > :34:12.and we outpolled them in one. Natalie Bennett is here. Your
:34:13. > :34:17.counter parts in Scotland are set for a bumper election, some suggest
:34:18. > :34:21.they could win eight seats. Why is the party flat lining in England and
:34:22. > :34:26.Wales? I don't think that is true. What we have in England and Wales
:34:27. > :34:30.where we have proportional representation, the London Assembly
:34:31. > :34:38.and the Wales Assembly, our leader in Wales did a brilliant job in the
:34:39. > :34:44.first leader debate. But the Welsh party has dropped to 3% of the
:34:45. > :34:48.regional vote and that is down from 3.4% at the last Assembly election.
:34:49. > :34:54.Party membership in England and Wales has dropped from 66,000 to
:34:55. > :35:01.63,000 last year. You're going the wrong way? What we are seeing is
:35:02. > :35:06.63,000, contrast that with 12,000 when I became leader. But it is
:35:07. > :35:11.going down. I find there is two groups in the council elections,
:35:12. > :35:14.there is places like Sheffield, Liverpool, Oxford and of course
:35:15. > :35:19.Bristol, where in Bristol west we got close to winning our second
:35:20. > :35:24.Parliamentary seat. Places where we have been strong we are looking to
:35:25. > :35:30.become stronger. That is the thing, you're going to try and extend your
:35:31. > :35:34.presence and your vote in those areas, but you won't improve your
:35:35. > :35:39.standing in places where you're not. Where we are growing is the other
:35:40. > :35:44.group of councils where we are making an impact where we have a
:35:45. > :35:49.chance to win our first seats and I have been travelling around the
:35:50. > :35:53.country where even a couple of years ago there may not have been a Green
:35:54. > :35:58.Party. Now we have a chance to win our first councillor. People like
:35:59. > :36:04.the message that says we are tired, we are not happy with the council
:36:05. > :36:08.performance and we want a new Green broom asking questions and
:36:09. > :36:13.challenging. That is a message striking home in many communities.
:36:14. > :36:19.What about in London, the mayoral candidate polled as low as 2% in an
:36:20. > :36:26.opinion poll. That is down from 4.5% in 2012. What we seeing as the
:36:27. > :36:30.mayoral election heightens up and people are hearing what our
:36:31. > :36:36.candidate is saying, her slogan is the power of good ideas. She has
:36:37. > :36:42.good ideas that will translate into votes in the mayoral and the London
:36:43. > :36:45.Assembly, where we have already had two representatives and we have a
:36:46. > :36:50.chance to grow that representation here. What impact will the results
:36:51. > :36:55.have on your future leadership, will you stand for re-election as leader?
:36:56. > :37:00.Well as I have said, at the moment there is only one election I'm
:37:01. > :37:03.focussed on, which is the elections in May and the referendum. These are
:37:04. > :37:08.the elections the democratic elections for the whole people of
:37:09. > :37:14.England and Wales. Because you haven't made a decision? No the
:37:15. > :37:18.Green Party, it comes up every two years. At the moment I'm not
:37:19. > :37:23.thinking about that. People say if you're planning to stand again, you
:37:24. > :37:28.wob able to say so now, are you waiting for the results of election
:37:29. > :37:32.first? No I think it would be a distraction if I were to say
:37:33. > :37:38.anything. If you said you were standing again, why would that be a
:37:39. > :37:43.distraction? We want to focus on electing our first green councillor
:37:44. > :37:47.in Exeter and Newcastle. I'm not talking and anything else. You're
:37:48. > :37:51.taughting about -- talking about it. But it is coming up and people may
:37:52. > :38:00.want to know why you couldn't say yes. We have elections. Let's focus
:38:01. > :38:06.on the local elections where people debate local elections. We have been
:38:07. > :38:13.heading to an a presidential style of election and that is not right we
:38:14. > :38:17.should focus on the local elections. The Scottish green leader said
:38:18. > :38:22.greens believe in bringing power closer to the power, wouldn't a vote
:38:23. > :38:32.to the leave the EU bring power closer. Well we are campaigning to
:38:33. > :38:36.stay in. Jenny Jones isn't. Last year about 95% backed a remain
:38:37. > :38:39.campaign. The Green Party has people with different views. But we have no
:38:40. > :38:43.problems with that, because the Green Party doesn't whip. So we are
:38:44. > :38:48.comfortable with people having different views and as Jenny did,
:38:49. > :38:51.state her position and stating the Green position that we believe we
:38:52. > :38:55.need to work together on the joint problems that we face. We need to
:38:56. > :39:01.make decisions at the right kind of level. If we are thinking and
:39:02. > :39:03.pollution and workers' rights, we need to work at a European level.
:39:04. > :39:06.Thank you. Now, they're pre-programmed,
:39:07. > :39:08.are told what to say, and aren't No, I'm not talking
:39:09. > :39:11.about politicians. And they're getting
:39:12. > :39:14.smarter all the time, With technology advancing at speed,
:39:15. > :39:22.what will the rise of the robots mean for us mere humans
:39:23. > :39:24.and the jobs we do? Here's Tom Watson, the deputy leader
:39:25. > :39:26.of the Labour Party, Robots used to be the stuff
:39:27. > :39:43.of science fiction, but they're In his budget last month,
:39:44. > :39:54.George Osborne announced that driverless cars will be trialled
:39:55. > :39:58.on our roads as early as next year. A development that will have huge
:39:59. > :40:02.ramifications for the haulage industry, cab drivers and possibly
:40:03. > :40:09.the rail industry too. Management consultants Deloitte say
:40:10. > :40:12.that 11 million jobs will go when robots do the work that
:40:13. > :40:21.humans do today. The age of automation will unleash
:40:22. > :40:23.forces as profound and destructive as the Industrial Revolution did
:40:24. > :40:31.300 years ago. Our question has to be -
:40:32. > :40:34.do we make technology our friend I think we have to embrace it
:40:35. > :40:41.and I want the Labour The last machine age led
:40:42. > :40:51.to the Industrial Revolution From the factories and the railways
:40:52. > :40:59.to the town halls and public squares But it also left a terrible
:41:00. > :41:05.legacy of inequality, disease, slums, poverty,
:41:06. > :41:10.child labour and it took a combination of capitalist
:41:11. > :41:14.philanthropy, municipal leadership and the power of organised
:41:15. > :41:25.labour to change that. Despite their rhetoric,
:41:26. > :41:27.the Tories don't have a proper Because their ideology dictates
:41:28. > :41:32.that the market alone must We believe in harnessing the power
:41:33. > :41:43.of the enabling state to everyone gains from the benefits
:41:44. > :41:57.automation brings us. We are entering the second machine
:41:58. > :42:03.age, a new era of automation. It sound like science fiction,
:42:04. > :42:08.but this isn't the stuff of HG Wells, it is happening
:42:09. > :42:30.in Tonbridge Wells right now. We did ask to speak to a robot, but
:42:31. > :42:35.none was available. A bit like Conservative ministers. You
:42:36. > :42:40.mentioned this statistic that robots will claim 11 million jobs, isn't it
:42:41. > :42:44.in the nature of the reports that they're always wrong? Generally. But
:42:45. > :42:50.it points in the right direction. Deloitte said there a is high
:42:51. > :42:53.probability of 11 million jobs and a possibility it could be 19 million.
:42:54. > :42:58.If you look at analysts, there was a report from the Bank of America that
:42:59. > :43:03.say they think half of global manufacturing jobs will be
:43:04. > :43:12.automated, the jobs that are done by humans that would liberate $9
:43:13. > :43:15.trillion of labour costs. So there are big changes, technological
:43:16. > :43:21.advance is getting quick and that state of flux is greater and you can
:43:22. > :43:27.only deal with that change if you are prepared to put the empowering
:43:28. > :43:33.state at the heart, working with employers and workers to deal with
:43:34. > :43:38.the disruption. I can see the role of state skilling people for the
:43:39. > :43:42.changes, but governments, and it is also clear that you can see what
:43:43. > :43:47.jobs existing jobs could be in danger. The one thing governments
:43:48. > :43:56.can never do is see what new jobs will come. You can equip people to
:43:57. > :44:01.be ready to move. If youI were sitting here in 1994, we would never
:44:02. > :44:06.have seen all the jobs that the internet was going to create. That's
:44:07. > :44:12.right. But if you just say let's leave to it fate, let's leave it to
:44:13. > :44:17.the goods of the market, as as state you will miss opportunities. My
:44:18. > :44:21.argument is we need to institutions that bring the state together in
:44:22. > :44:28.partnering up workers and employers to make sure we are investing tax
:44:29. > :44:33.dollars in the right way. What else would it do? It doesn't predict the
:44:34. > :44:37.future. As I said, I see the point of making sure the people of the
:44:38. > :44:44.country have the best skills to be able to move which ever way the jobs
:44:45. > :44:50.are. But you risk huge investments in areas that don't turn out. The
:44:51. > :44:56.French Government did this in the pre-internet age and invented its
:44:57. > :45:01.own pre-internet technology. It doesn't exist now. You're to let
:45:02. > :45:10.entrepreneurs develop technology, but how you skill the workforce. If
:45:11. > :45:13.you look at the NHS, people are now wearing wearable medical devices,
:45:14. > :45:20.measuring their own health. We scowled have a revolution in health
:45:21. > :45:25.diagnostics creating a new generalers are of clinicians. We
:45:26. > :45:33.can't even digitise health records yet. We spent 12 billion failing to
:45:34. > :45:36.do that. We are good at fail, because on the left you have a sense
:45:37. > :45:40.of people go to protectionist measures and on the right there is
:45:41. > :45:46.the sense you can't plan ahead, because the state does haven't a
:45:47. > :45:54.role. You need sensible pragmat tichl.
:45:55. > :46:04.There is the Luddite tradition. Has that gone? In the British Retail
:46:05. > :46:10.Consortium a third of retail jobs would go in the next generation
:46:11. > :46:14.because of warehouse technology. They work very closely with
:46:15. > :46:21.employers to make sure that new jobs are created and the workforce are
:46:22. > :46:24.supported. You think particularly the union wing of the Labour Party
:46:25. > :46:31.which often oppose new technology in the 60s and 70s, these days are
:46:32. > :46:36.gone? They have an interest in protecting the interests of their
:46:37. > :46:42.workers. You cannot stop technological advance and you have
:46:43. > :46:48.to make it your friend or enemy but you can provide a safety net for
:46:49. > :46:52.workers in industries in transition. All of those poor journalists
:46:53. > :46:56.affected by the destructive power of technology, you have to find new
:46:57. > :47:00.ways to support information in the hands of citizens. There have been a
:47:01. > :47:06.lot of other journals jobs created in different ways, which often do
:47:07. > :47:12.not pay as much. How would you judge the performance of the Labour Party
:47:13. > :47:23.in the various elections in May? Certainly not doing interviews with
:47:24. > :47:28.you won I talk about 200 wins or whatever. Expectation management. I
:47:29. > :47:33.have no idea what the outcome of the elections in May will be because
:47:34. > :47:36.they are easy ways of separate elections and the local campaigns
:47:37. > :47:41.and local government elections are going to be unique. You are not
:47:42. > :47:49.going to give us a yardstick? I do not have one. How are relations with
:47:50. > :47:56.your leader? You support Trident. You want to curb the influence of
:47:57. > :48:02.some of Jeremy Corbyn's supporters. If that was the price it would be
:48:03. > :48:07.disastrous. We get on very well. I just wondered how you were getting
:48:08. > :48:12.on giving your various positions. Very positive. We have struck up a
:48:13. > :48:17.close personal friendship which allows you to have different views
:48:18. > :48:21.of the world than manage that. If Labour was to lose the London
:48:22. > :48:31.mayoral election I would suggest your performance in Scotland, Wales
:48:32. > :48:36.has been hemmed in, but would there be another leadership crisis? That
:48:37. > :48:42.is another way of getting me into expectations management. I spoke to
:48:43. > :48:48.Labour Party members. They hoops Jeremy and me as leader and deputy
:48:49. > :48:55.leader and it is up to them if they want to express their dissent. A big
:48:56. > :49:00.issue you have been associated with, then it will be 2012 you said there
:49:01. > :49:08.was a clear intelligence suggesting a power powerful paedophile network
:49:09. > :49:13.linked to parliament and Number 10. No one has been arrested much less
:49:14. > :49:18.charged. Operation Midland has been closed down. You were wrong? A
:49:19. > :49:23.number of people have been arrested and some of them convicted. Not to
:49:24. > :49:29.do with a paedophile ring connected to Parliament and Number 10. There
:49:30. > :49:33.is a public inquiry looking at that and various criminal inquiries that
:49:34. > :49:39.are not complete. There have been no arrests of a powerful paedophile
:49:40. > :49:49.ring involving fee is a Number 10. It was the information exchange. We
:49:50. > :49:56.know that. I did not know that. Used and by that statement? There have
:49:57. > :50:03.been no major political public figures charged as a result of this
:50:04. > :50:08.investigation. When you are a parliamentarian you have to see
:50:09. > :50:11.where you can make a difference. We have criminal inquiries and
:50:12. > :50:15.investigative journalism and a public inquiry and we have to let
:50:16. > :50:19.them do their work can see where the outcome comes. Come back and talk to
:50:20. > :50:26.us about this. I would be delighted. How does the Queen know
:50:27. > :50:29.what her loyal MPs are up to? But she also has other
:50:30. > :50:33.ways of finding out. One of the government whips,
:50:34. > :50:35.the Vice Chamberlain of the Household, writes Her Majesty
:50:36. > :50:41.a dispatch every evening to tell In the first year of the Blair
:50:42. > :50:46.government, this task fell to Janet Anderson,
:50:47. > :50:49.who has just published her missives BBC Radio 4 has dramatised a small
:50:50. > :50:52.selection of Janet's Wednesday 8th of April,
:50:53. > :50:56.your Majesty, last day before the Easter hols,
:50:57. > :50:59.so suffice it to say that honourable At 3pm Madam Speaker announced
:51:00. > :51:06.questions to your Prime Minister, only today it was your
:51:07. > :51:09.Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment,
:51:10. > :51:13.Transport and the Regions. Two million jobs being lost from our
:51:14. > :51:19.manufacturing sector... When John Bercow, a rather odious
:51:20. > :51:24.little Tory MP from Buckingham, tried to provoke your
:51:25. > :51:27.Deputy Prime Minister, This was the man, he boomed,
:51:28. > :51:36.who had been chairman of the National Federation
:51:37. > :51:38.of Conservative Students when Norman Tebbit closed it
:51:39. > :51:40.down because it was... Michael Fabricant is,
:51:41. > :51:51.the Conservative MP for Mid Staffs, who looks for all the world
:51:52. > :51:53.as though he wears a wig but won't admit it,
:51:54. > :51:55.could be described as... Your Majesty, your Secretary
:51:56. > :52:01.of State for Social Security, Harriet Harman, was first up
:52:02. > :52:03.for questions today. It is almost impossible
:52:04. > :52:17.to see her in action without recalling the hatchet job
:52:18. > :52:19.done on her by the Observer One really does wonder
:52:20. > :52:23.whether she is going to recover. Janet Anderson MP with humble duty
:52:24. > :52:25.reports Tuesday 9th of June 1998. Your Secretary of State
:52:26. > :52:28.for Social Security Harriet Harman was even spotted in the smoking room
:52:29. > :52:30.buying rounds of drinks, I can assure your Majesty this
:52:31. > :52:36.is not a regular occurrence. Mr John Bercow introduced a ten
:52:37. > :52:48.minute rule bill to prevent anyone who does not pay income tax
:52:49. > :52:51.or is resident outside the country Seems rather sensible,
:52:52. > :52:57.but what a shame it had to be introduced by such
:52:58. > :53:01.a tiresome little man. Bercow constantly bores us
:53:02. > :53:04.with his attempts to be more 11% of average earnings
:53:05. > :53:09.in the United Kingdom by contrast So irritating had this become
:53:10. > :53:19.in a recent debate on sport that Labour's Stephen Pound from Ealing
:53:20. > :53:26.was moved to comment, personally I would rather
:53:27. > :53:35.have a sex life. Janet Anderson is with us now,
:53:36. > :53:39.and we're also joined by the current occupant of that role,
:53:40. > :53:52.the Conservative MP Kris Hopkins. It is racy. What will you writing
:53:53. > :53:56.those things to the Queen for? I thought she could read Hansard if
:53:57. > :54:01.she wanted a parliamentary report. I got the sense she had a good sense
:54:02. > :54:05.of humour when I met her. I thought she might appreciate some of the
:54:06. > :54:09.gossip, what went on in the bars and the tearoom and what everyone was
:54:10. > :54:16.saying about each other. I think she did. Did she give you feedback? Not
:54:17. > :54:25.directly, but the Prime Minister did. Also her private secretary
:54:26. > :54:34.Robert Fellowes said to me how much she had enjoyed it. She used to read
:54:35. > :54:40.it every evening before dinner. As an aperitif before the main course.
:54:41. > :54:46.You going to write these daily digests to fill in the Queen what
:54:47. > :54:50.has been happening in Parliament? Janet perhaps adopted a radical
:54:51. > :54:56.approach. Are you going to do the same? I have been doing it for a
:54:57. > :55:01.year. The content remains private. It is a great privilege to write to
:55:02. > :55:06.our Majesty. I understood it was against the official secrets act to
:55:07. > :55:15.publish these so there may be space in the tower for you. You get taken
:55:16. > :55:20.hostage by the Queen. It is dramatic. I am picked up by a and
:55:21. > :55:29.said a biscuit and a cup of coffee. Is that as torturous as it becomes?
:55:30. > :55:33.There was a problem a few centuries ago when one member of the Royal
:55:34. > :55:39.Family came to the palace and did not return, so I am a hostage and
:55:40. > :55:50.win the Queen comes back I return. You are safely returned. I remember
:55:51. > :55:54.as they were leaving for Westminster Prince Philip said to me, if we do
:55:55. > :56:01.not come back safely, you get shot or something, don't you? He said, we
:56:02. > :56:07.will not be able to do that because you are going to ban handguns. They
:56:08. > :56:12.Bulls have a very good sense of humour. They were great company. The
:56:13. > :56:17.Queen is very adept at making you feel at ease. I remember my first
:56:18. > :56:22.morning in Buckingham Palace thinking, if my mother could see me,
:56:23. > :56:26.but she is so good and so skilled, and if we think of the hundreds of
:56:27. > :56:31.thousands of people she has to make small talk with almost daily, she
:56:32. > :56:38.makes you feel she is interested in you, she wants to hear what you have
:56:39. > :56:48.to say. Are you enjoying her birthday? Absolutely. Do you get a
:56:49. > :56:57.uniform? Morning suit, top hat. A wand of offers. You can perform
:56:58. > :56:59.magic tricks? It feels like that. When I was asked if I would consider
:57:00. > :57:20.taking the job my only rule was no ties. Do you get paid more? The
:57:21. > :57:31.role? The role comes as part of the government Whip roll. What is wrong
:57:32. > :57:37.with John Bercow? John would be the first to say he could be quite
:57:38. > :57:43.difficult when he first came in, but he is much more popular and I think
:57:44. > :57:48.he is a very good Speaker. You might want to re-edits some of those.
:57:49. > :57:51.There's just time before we go to find out the answer to our quiz.
:57:52. > :57:54.The question was: In a radio interview this week what did
:57:55. > :57:56.Hillary Clinton say she always carries around with her?
:57:57. > :58:00.Was it a) An American flag b) Hot sauce c) A copy of Donald Trump's
:58:01. > :58:04.So, Natalie, what's the correct answer?
:58:05. > :58:13.I do not know the answer. I was going to guess Donald Trump's route
:58:14. > :58:18.because it might be cathartic to have the punching session. The most
:58:19. > :58:26.logical answer would be coffee. It is hot sauce. I think she likes to
:58:27. > :58:32.add it to whatever she is eating. The Department for Education say
:58:33. > :58:33.that it is 66%, not 55%, of secondary schools that are
:58:34. > :58:53.academies. 5655 schools in total. You look like you've
:58:54. > :59:07.just seen the Grim Reaper. Well, it was a lot to take in,
:59:08. > :59:10.wasn't it?