:00:36. > :00:39.Afternoon folks, welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:40. > :00:42.Barack Obama jets into London to wish the Queen a happy birthday
:00:43. > :00:46.and tell the Brits we're better off staying in the EU.
:00:47. > :00:50.Boris Johnson says the president should keep his views to himself,
:00:51. > :00:55.but what impact will his comments have on the referendum?
:00:56. > :00:58.President Obama will meet David Cameron in Downing
:00:59. > :01:02.Top of their agenda, the fight against Islamic State.
:01:03. > :01:06.We'll discuss the military campaign against Isis.
:01:07. > :01:11.With less than two weeks until London goes to the polls
:01:12. > :01:14.to elect a new mayor, we'll take a look at the campaign to
:01:15. > :01:20.And who's had a good week and who's had a shocker?
:01:21. > :01:29.We'll review the political week in just 60 seconds.
:01:30. > :01:34.And with us for the duration, writer and journalist, Iain Martin,
:01:35. > :01:37.and the Guardian's political editor, Anushka Asthana.
:01:38. > :01:43.So Barack Obama arrived in the UK last night,
:01:44. > :01:45.ahead of a big lunch at Windsor Castle today to celebrate
:01:46. > :01:51.But it's President Obama's comments on the EU referendum -
:01:52. > :01:54.rather than his birthday wishes to our monarch - that are sure
:01:55. > :01:58.to dominate the headlines for the next 24 hours.
:01:59. > :02:01.We're expecting the president to say more in a press conference
:02:02. > :02:04.with the PM this afternoon, but in an article in today's
:02:05. > :02:09.telegraph he's already said: "The European Union doesn't moderate
:02:10. > :02:15.A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership.
:02:16. > :02:19.It enhances Britain's global leadership."
:02:20. > :02:22.President Obama's wholehearted support for the Remain campaign has
:02:23. > :02:25.obviously irritated Leave supporters, who have suggested
:02:26. > :02:28.the US president should keep his views to himself.
:02:29. > :02:30.Here's Nigel Farage talking to me last night
:02:31. > :02:33.on This Week about whether he's right to intervene.
:02:34. > :02:40.I was in Washington last year, meeting senators who
:02:41. > :02:43.thought the EU was like Nafta, just like a friendly trade club.
:02:44. > :02:48.A less generous one is that it's in his interests
:02:49. > :02:53.of big giant American corporate businesses
:02:54. > :02:55.that Britain stays part of the EU,
:02:56. > :03:00.Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership treaty.
:03:01. > :03:07.And earlier this morning, Boris Johnson also emerged
:03:08. > :03:10.to criticise Barack Obama for his stance on the UK's
:03:11. > :03:15.It's always very good to hear from Barack Obama.
:03:16. > :03:18.I'm a big fan of Barack Obama on any subject.
:03:19. > :03:21.But clearly, this is something where we have a disagreement,
:03:22. > :03:24.and I do think it's perverse that we're being urged
:03:25. > :03:29.by the United States to embroil ourselves ever more deeply
:03:30. > :03:33.in a system where our laws, 60% of them are now emanating
:03:34. > :03:37.from the EU, when the United States would not dream
:03:38. > :03:41.of subjugating itself in any way
:03:42. > :03:47.to any other international jurisdiction.
:03:48. > :03:49.Let's talk now to our correspondent Sarah Campbell,
:03:50. > :03:59.Sarah, I guess for the next couple of hours, any way, the politics gets
:04:00. > :04:04.put aside by the ceremony of this lunch between the president and the
:04:05. > :04:07.Queen. Indeed. It is a private lunch, but wouldn't it be
:04:08. > :04:11.fascinating to be a fly on the wall on that lunch? We're not going to
:04:12. > :04:16.hear about what is being discussed. As you say, the president and the
:04:17. > :04:20.First Lady due to be arriving by helicopter shortly. They will go
:04:21. > :04:25.into Windsor Castle. They have met the Queen on two previous occasions,
:04:26. > :04:30.a state visit in 2011 at Buckingham Palace. That was memorable for the
:04:31. > :04:33.picture of Michelle Obama with her arm around the waist of the Queen,
:04:34. > :04:37.going rather against royal protocol. It was taken as a sign that the two
:04:38. > :04:41.couples are quite close, that they have struck up a friendship. They
:04:42. > :04:46.met in 2009 again on a private visit. But when Mr Obama was asked
:04:47. > :04:49.in that Daily Telegraph interview, obviously this is a visit, very
:04:50. > :04:52.close to the EU referendum, that's why his comments about the EU have
:04:53. > :04:57.caused such headlines, but he said about the visit to the Queen and the
:04:58. > :05:01.timing that simply he wanted to wish her a happy birthday in person. That
:05:02. > :05:04.is of course what he's going to do here today. He will leave here, go
:05:05. > :05:08.back to London, have the press conference with David Cameron. This
:05:09. > :05:13.evening, another royal engagement, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and
:05:14. > :05:16.Prince Harry are hosting a dinner for the couple this evening. They
:05:17. > :05:22.met William in 2014. Michelle Obama has met Harry a number of times,
:05:23. > :05:26.because she's been a very vocal supporter of the Invictus Games. A
:05:27. > :05:32.royal connection between the first family and the Queen and the rest of
:05:33. > :05:37.the Royal Family. Two royal meals in one day for the president of a great
:05:38. > :05:42.republic. You wonder why they had a revolution in the first place. Let
:05:43. > :05:45.me ask you, is Michelle Obama, is the First Lady going to either the
:05:46. > :05:51.lurchl, dinner or both? Both. Absolutely. The couple are both.
:05:52. > :05:56.They will be arriving here very shortly. You remember presidents
:05:57. > :06:01.have been here before. The Queen famously has met 11 of the last 12
:06:02. > :06:07.US presidents. Two of them have been here at Windsor Castle, George Bush
:06:08. > :06:10.and Ronald Regan. He was riding into the great park with the Queen. A
:06:11. > :06:14.tight schedule today. I don't think we'll get that photo opportunity.
:06:15. > :06:19.But it will be an interesting visit no less. Enjoy yourself covering
:06:20. > :06:26.that event. If you want to get into the lunch, mention my name, I'm sure
:06:27. > :06:30.that open a few doors. I'll do my best. What do you think? The think
:06:31. > :06:35.the Brexiteers would be advised to take the day off. I mean... That's
:06:36. > :06:39.not bad advice. I'm in the a great fan of Barack Obama personally, but
:06:40. > :06:42.the guy looks great. He's about to be pictured all day being nice to
:06:43. > :06:47.the Queen. He's the leader of the free world. Let's face it, if there
:06:48. > :06:52.were an election tomorrow in which the two candidates were Nigel Farage
:06:53. > :06:57.and Barack Obama in Britain, Obama would win by a landslide. What about
:06:58. > :07:02.Boris, more chance? Possibly more chance. Two Americans, Boris and Mr
:07:03. > :07:06.Obama. There's a danger for Brexiteers that it looks to normal
:07:07. > :07:11.people watching the television news bulletins as though footage of Obama
:07:12. > :07:16.looking cool, followed by footage of angry Brexit man shouting about
:07:17. > :07:20.Obama. Are you saying that Nigel Farage being on my programme This
:07:21. > :07:28.Week is not the equivalent of Mr Obama being with the Queen? Close!
:07:29. > :07:31.It's quite an early intervention in the sense we're two months away from
:07:32. > :07:36.the day. It's a powerful intervention in the sense that the
:07:37. > :07:41.president doesn't, he doesn't speak in diplomatic code. He talks of we
:07:42. > :07:48.have shed blood together in common battles, we have stood for common
:07:49. > :07:52.values and so on. It's a no holds barred endorsement of the Remain
:07:53. > :07:55.position We definitely know what the president thinks from the article
:07:56. > :07:59.today. I think that it is very powerful. I mean, the Leave
:08:00. > :08:04.campaigners had an argument that perhaps all the Remain arguments
:08:05. > :08:06.were a bit OTT. The NHS would break down, there would be a lost
:08:07. > :08:11.generation, we're waiting for a plague of frogs. But this week it
:08:12. > :08:18.does start to feel a little bit like, you know, actually, these are
:08:19. > :08:21.pretty powerful arguments, the former US Treasury secretary, now
:08:22. > :08:25.President Obama. The Leave campaigners feel they need to hit
:08:26. > :08:30.back. That Boris Johnson article out today. That's in the Sun. Does he
:08:31. > :08:36.describe Mr Obama as part Kenyan? What he does is he refers to the
:08:37. > :08:41.Kenyan ancestry of Barack Obama. He talks about a Winston Churchill bust
:08:42. > :08:44.being moved out of the Oval Office when Barack Obama became president.
:08:45. > :08:48.Number Ten that actually happened before he joined. But nevertheless,
:08:49. > :08:54.that's the argument that Boris Johnson is making. He's essentially
:08:55. > :08:57.arguing that some said the ancestry, the Kenyan ancestry makes him
:08:58. > :09:00.anti-British. Oh, I see. People raising questions about that. Yvette
:09:01. > :09:05.Cooper this morning saying actually that is bad judgment. If he was
:09:06. > :09:09.anti-British, why urge us to stay in the EU which he thinks is in our
:09:10. > :09:15.interests? You could make that choice. They would say he's not
:09:16. > :09:21.talking about Britain's interests but support Forjatt the EU -- for
:09:22. > :09:26.the EU. There's a long while to go and This could all be forgotten. But
:09:27. > :09:32.so far this week the Remain has President Obama and Leave's got Mr
:09:33. > :09:38.Botham. And Marine Le Pen. And Bernie Ekey. -- Bernie Ecclestone.
:09:39. > :09:42.That was bad. Not a good comparison. By the time it gets to June 23,
:09:43. > :09:44.we'll see if we even remember any of this. A long way to go.
:09:45. > :09:51.What sports team did the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn,
:09:52. > :09:53.say he suspected the Queen privately supports, when he paid tribute
:09:54. > :10:03.a) St Louis Cardinals baseball team
:10:04. > :10:07.c) Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team
:10:08. > :10:13.d) Wigan Warriors rugby club
:10:14. > :10:16.At the end of the show, Iain and Anushka will give
:10:17. > :10:22.I bet you know it. Do you? Don't tell!
:10:23. > :10:25.So, we're expecting Barack Obama to give a joint press conference
:10:26. > :10:27.in the Locarno Room of the Foreign Office.
:10:28. > :10:29.It's a grand space, and David Cameron will be
:10:30. > :10:34.Before that, the president will hold talks on a range of issues
:10:35. > :10:42.Top of their agenda will be discussions on countering
:10:43. > :10:45.the terrorist threat from the so-called Islamic State.
:10:46. > :10:48.More than 25,000 fighters have been killed and 22,000 targets damaged
:10:49. > :10:54.or destroyed since August 2014, when coalition airstrikes
:10:55. > :11:00.in Syria and Iraq began, according to Downing Street.
:11:01. > :11:03.The president's visit comes as America increases
:11:04. > :11:08.The US has agreed to deploy an additional 200 military
:11:09. > :11:14.Eight Apache helicopters are also being deployed for the first time
:11:15. > :11:19.It comes as the Iraqi government puts an offensive to retake
:11:20. > :11:31.The Iraqi army has been make prog gross in a number of areas, but in
:11:32. > :11:36.the determination to retake Mosul, after three weeks of fighting, it
:11:37. > :11:40.had only captured three villages, casting doubt on whether it has the
:11:41. > :11:42.capability to take back Iraq's second city.
:11:43. > :11:45.Meanwhile in Syria, the truce, brokered as part of UN-led peace
:11:46. > :11:48.negotiations in Geneva, came under threat as opposition rebels
:11:49. > :11:53.The Syrian government has accused rebel groups of taking part
:11:54. > :11:57.in fighting around Aleppo, breaking terms of the truce.
:11:58. > :12:03.While rebels say they have been defending themselves.
:12:04. > :12:06.However, there was better news this week in Libya,
:12:07. > :12:11.with IS militants said to have been pushed out of the city of Derna,
:12:12. > :12:18.retreating along the coast to their stronghold of Sirte.
:12:19. > :12:23.Which they still hold along with about 180 miles of the Mediterranean
:12:24. > :12:25.coastline on either side of the city.
:12:26. > :12:30.Philip Hammond, travelled to Libya, where he said it was "quite
:12:31. > :12:33.possible" that the UK would receive a request from Tripoli for naval
:12:34. > :12:44.Let's talk now to our defence correspondent, Jonathan Beale.
:12:45. > :12:53.Let's begin in Iraq and then move on to Libya. How do you assess the
:12:54. > :12:57.position of the Iraqi forces as they attempt to retake Mosul at the
:12:58. > :13:01.moment? How serious is this setback? Well, I think it's a setback. What
:13:02. > :13:06.you've had from the US is the response that they have essentially
:13:07. > :13:11.put pressure on Iraq to accept these Apache helicopters, not a lot of
:13:12. > :13:16.them, eight, as you say. But there is now US artillery also surrounding
:13:17. > :13:22.Mosul, including rocket artillery. You've had an increase of US
:13:23. > :13:29.military personnel, another 200 people, US military personnel, in
:13:30. > :13:32.the country. And you have the US advisors going in to battalion
:13:33. > :13:37.level, not just brigade level, in other words getting closer to the
:13:38. > :13:43.fight. That tells you that I think Americans are worried that the
:13:44. > :13:46.Iraqis need support. They are obviously very cautious and not
:13:47. > :13:50.overriding the Iraqi government. But they realise the Iraqi security
:13:51. > :13:54.forces need help, if they are going to retake Mosul. And everybody, all
:13:55. > :13:58.the military commanders I've spoken to say, that is the goal this year.
:13:59. > :14:01.To be taken seriously they've got to start doing that. At the moment,
:14:02. > :14:07.they haven't been successful. What do you make of these figures coming
:14:08. > :14:12.out of Downing Street that 25,000 fighters have been killed in the
:14:13. > :14:18.accumulation of allied air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and in
:14:19. > :14:23.Syria? Well, I think the first thing to say is I think you should treat
:14:24. > :14:27.any figures cautiously, in that there are not boots on the ground as
:14:28. > :14:33.in most conflicts. This is also a claim that there are no civilian
:14:34. > :14:37.casualties. It's hard to identify exactly what's going on on the
:14:38. > :14:40.ground. That figure of 25,000 is the same essentially, the Downing Street
:14:41. > :14:45.street figure, as the US-led coalition figure. The problem has
:14:46. > :14:50.been in the past that they said there were only 25,000 fighters on
:14:51. > :14:54.the ground, they killed that number already and still there are more.
:14:55. > :14:59.You have to be cautious about the figures but yes, a lot of Is
:15:00. > :15:04.fighters have been killed. They are being targeted. US forces have been
:15:05. > :15:09.going into snatch senior IS commanders on the ground. A lot of
:15:10. > :15:12.people have been killed, IS commanders, fighters, still they are
:15:13. > :15:19.clearly able to hold a lot of ground. The focus now seems to be
:15:20. > :15:24.increasingly on Libya, where IS has a stronghold around the town of
:15:25. > :15:28.Sirte. Because of the attacks in Iraq and Syria, a number of IS
:15:29. > :15:33.people have fled from there and gone to there. They had a setback in
:15:34. > :15:38.Syria, am I right in thinking they're still around that town and
:15:39. > :15:40.the coastline, IS is pretty well dug in there? It's an important force in
:15:41. > :15:53.Libya? If you're talking about Syria...
:15:54. > :15:59.Sorry, I meant Libya. In the BR, IS is a huge worry for the US and for
:16:00. > :16:04.Britain that IS has strong foothold in Syria. That is why they have been
:16:05. > :16:11.hoping for this invites from one of the governments in Libya to put
:16:12. > :16:15.trainers on the ground. We had those reports earlier that 1000 British
:16:16. > :16:18.trainers were ready to go in. The invitation has not come in and it
:16:19. > :16:22.has become clear from my conversations with British ministers
:16:23. > :16:25.that they may not get the invitation. That said, Philip
:16:26. > :16:31.Hammond has said as support of the positivity, plus maritime support
:16:32. > :16:35.and train the coastguard to tackle the migration crisis, which is also
:16:36. > :16:39.linked to the chaos going on in Libya at the moment. But really,
:16:40. > :16:42.they haven't got a problem functioning government that is
:16:43. > :16:46.confident enough to invite foreign forces in. There will be a meeting
:16:47. > :16:51.with President Obama and other senior leaders like David Cameron in
:16:52. > :16:56.Hanover soon to talk about Libya and try and look at the way forward. But
:16:57. > :17:03.at the moment, the problem is that there was not a government that has
:17:04. > :17:07.much clout and has the confidence to invite foreign forces in, and that
:17:08. > :17:11.may backfire. So they are stuck at the moment. It is a worrying
:17:12. > :17:15.situation, and they are not able to do much. Thanks for joining us.
:17:16. > :17:18.We've been joined now from Southampton by the Conservative
:17:19. > :17:28.MP and chairman of the Defence Select Committee, Julian Lewis.
:17:29. > :17:34.Even if the Downing Street figures need to be taken with some kind of
:17:35. > :17:37.warning, is it not clear to you that although you oppose these air
:17:38. > :17:45.strikes, they are having an effect on degrading Islamic State in Iraq
:17:46. > :17:49.and Syria? Well, you do have to take such figures with caution and I
:17:50. > :17:55.noticed that a combined figure was given for alleged inflicted
:17:56. > :17:59.casualties in both Iraq and Syria. The truth is that there has been a
:18:00. > :18:04.credible air effort in Iraq, because there are forces on the ground,
:18:05. > :18:09.Iraqi government forces, in support of which the air strikes are being
:18:10. > :18:14.carried out. There have been far fewer such strikes in Syria. The
:18:15. > :18:20.problem in Syria is that the government cannot make up its own
:18:21. > :18:27.mind to choose one of the two not very attractive alternatives, namely
:18:28. > :18:32.that the Assad regime succeeds or that the Islamists succeed. An air
:18:33. > :18:37.power by itself is hardly ever decisive. Wars have to be won by
:18:38. > :18:43.ground forces with air power in support. In Syria, we lack the
:18:44. > :18:48.ground forces that we are supposed to be supporting, where the Russians
:18:49. > :18:52.have ground forces that they are supporting. It is called the Syrian
:18:53. > :19:00.army. But presumably you are not arguing for ground forces. No, I am
:19:01. > :19:05.not. In 2013, I was one of the 39 conservative and Lib Dem so-called
:19:06. > :19:12.rebels who prevented us picking the same disastrous mistake in Syria,
:19:13. > :19:16.namely pulling down another dictator and replacing it with another
:19:17. > :19:24.Islamist state, as had been made in both Iraq and Libya. So was a good
:19:25. > :19:31.thing that Mr Putin went in to essentially says Mr Assad? Well, it
:19:32. > :19:34.depends on whether you believe, as the Government believes, that there
:19:35. > :19:40.is a third democratic, pluralistic option other than the authoritarian
:19:41. > :19:48.dictatorship of Assad on the wrong hand and another Islamist radical
:19:49. > :19:51.state on the other. But assuming there is not an Islington Labour
:19:52. > :19:55.Party ready to take over Syria, which I think is a fair assumption,
:19:56. > :20:03.was it a good thing that Mr Putin stopped Assad been toppled? It is
:20:04. > :20:08.absolutely a good thing not to pull down Arab dictators if the result is
:20:09. > :20:16.that you get another radical Islamist state. So the answer is, it
:20:17. > :20:21.is not good that there are these dictators in power, it is just less
:20:22. > :20:30.bad than the alternative. I want to move on to Libya, because it is
:20:31. > :20:36.connect to the migration crisis. But firstly, you voted against these air
:20:37. > :20:40.strikes. Of course, those of us who began our journalism in the Vietnam
:20:41. > :20:46.era were well taught to take official figures with a pinch of
:20:47. > :20:48.salt, but could you not admit that the air campaign has been more
:20:49. > :20:53.effective than its critics have said, otherwise why would these
:20:54. > :21:02.Islamic State militants be fleeing Syria to go to Libya? I don't agree
:21:03. > :21:08.with that, for the simple reason that I did not vote against air
:21:09. > :21:12.strikes in Iraq. In Iraq, there were ground forces which can benefit from
:21:13. > :21:16.the use of air strikes and therefore, I supported them. In
:21:17. > :21:20.Syria, however, the only ground forces that really count are the
:21:21. > :21:23.ground forces of the Assad dictatorship on the one hand and a
:21:24. > :21:30.ground forces of the Islamists on the other. And in Syria, there is
:21:31. > :21:34.little evidence of air strikes by us having anything other than a
:21:35. > :21:41.marginal effect, which is exactly what critics like myself predicted
:21:42. > :21:48.at the outset. I should mention that these are my personal views. I
:21:49. > :21:55.understand that, we are only asking you to speak for yourself. Some of
:21:56. > :21:59.the reports we have been getting are that a number of IS people have fled
:22:00. > :22:05.from Syria to go to Libya, which brings me onto Libya. There is talk
:22:06. > :22:10.that the British may be asked to participate in what is being called
:22:11. > :22:13.a stabilisation force that will be deployed in Libya. My understanding
:22:14. > :22:16.is that it would be around the airport in Tripoli. They would
:22:17. > :22:23.secure that and then start to do some training. Whether that is right
:22:24. > :22:27.or wrong, should the Government get the permission of Parliament to do
:22:28. > :22:30.that, or is it within the Government's power to do it without
:22:31. > :22:35.Parliamentary approval? There is no doubt that the constitutional
:22:36. > :22:40.position is that the Government has the right not only to put forces
:22:41. > :22:44.into a country, but even to send forces to fight in a country without
:22:45. > :22:50.asking Parliament first. But it would be very risky for a government
:22:51. > :22:54.to take military action if it didn't have the support of Parliament.
:22:55. > :23:00.Sometimes a government has to take military action urgently and and, of
:23:01. > :23:06.course, it needs to try and get Parliamentary support thereafter.
:23:07. > :23:10.They are meeting in Hanover in Germany on day, and this may be one
:23:11. > :23:17.of the outcomes. The Germans, of course, will not participate, but
:23:18. > :23:24.the British, French, Americans and possibly the Italians would be
:23:25. > :23:27.involved. Does the Prime Minister have to come to Parliament to get
:23:28. > :23:35.approval for this or not? In advance, no. Retrospectively, it is
:23:36. > :23:39.not a constitutional requirement. But in practical political terms, it
:23:40. > :23:45.is a necessity. Julian Lewis, thank you for joining us. Anuskha, it is a
:23:46. > :23:54.complicated picture now with events in Iraq and Syria and now in Libya.
:23:55. > :23:58.In Libya, given what Jonathan Beale was telling us, there is really a
:23:59. > :24:05.government to support. This could be another quite a. One of the things
:24:06. > :24:08.Julian points to is the question of whether you have to come to
:24:09. > :24:13.Parliament and the complexity around this. One by one, some of the
:24:14. > :24:16.invasions we have been part of have led to a situation where people are
:24:17. > :24:20.very nervous now about whether we get involved. Let's remember that
:24:21. > :24:23.after they declared victory in Libya, two years later, the British
:24:24. > :24:29.Embassy was shutting down and everyone was having to leave. There
:24:30. > :24:33.is not the appetite now to go in, and yet some MPs I speak to feel
:24:34. > :24:36.terribly sad that we've therefore did not intervene earlier in Syria,
:24:37. > :24:43.which they thought might have been the right thing to do. But when you
:24:44. > :24:48.step back a bit and look, it is hard to see what our policy should be. We
:24:49. > :24:57.invaded Iraq and occupied it with the Americans, not a huge success
:24:58. > :25:06.story. We attacked Libya, but didn't occupy it, not a huge success story.
:25:07. > :25:10.We did not invade Syria. Other than some air strikes, we have barely
:25:11. > :25:19.attacked Syria. Not a great success story! Where to go next? This is an
:25:20. > :25:23.example of Obama's failure. Luckily, it will soon not be his problem.
:25:24. > :25:27.There is a presidential election coming. But that is frightening in
:25:28. > :25:33.itself in that we know what is happening with Trump and Hillary.
:25:34. > :25:36.The options don't look good. Mrs Clinton would be more of a
:25:37. > :25:42.traditional president. Exactly what I was going to say. Surely the chaos
:25:43. > :25:48.in the Middle East place to her strengths. Would mainstream middle
:25:49. > :25:52.ground voters really trust a Ted Cruz or Donald Trump to try and
:25:53. > :25:57.untangle this complexity and come up with a coherent western policy? I
:25:58. > :26:02.would suggest that Hillary Clinton has the advantage is there. We will
:26:03. > :26:07.leave it there. Julian Lewis is still listening, I don't blame you.
:26:08. > :26:12.Now, in March's Budget, George Osborne unveiled proposals
:26:13. > :26:14.to make every school in England an academy by 2022.
:26:15. > :26:17.But the Government's plans haven't been met with universal acclaim
:26:18. > :26:22.on the Conservative backbenches, with more than a dozen Tory MPs
:26:23. > :26:23.expressing reservations, before any bill containing
:26:24. > :26:25.the measures has even been brought before the Commons.
:26:26. > :26:27.Yesterday, Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, told us the reforms
:26:28. > :26:31.would boost performance in all schools.
:26:32. > :26:34.This is about ensuring that we have good schools
:26:35. > :26:37.in every part of the country and in every local authority area,
:26:38. > :26:41.that become academies can spread that best practice
:26:42. > :26:43.to underperforming schools in the area,
:26:44. > :26:46.and underperforming schools get strong sponsors
:26:47. > :26:51.It's all about improving the quality of schools so that when the parent
:26:52. > :26:54.drops off their child at the school gates,
:26:55. > :27:01.that the school they're going to is of a high quality.
:27:02. > :27:03.We've been joined from Hull by the Shadow Schools
:27:04. > :27:19.Can we step back from the business of whether schools should be forced
:27:20. > :27:23.to become academies. Is Labour still enthusiasm about the concept of
:27:24. > :27:28.academies? We have to look at parents and children's interest.
:27:29. > :27:33.Whatever a school is, whether it is an academy or community School, what
:27:34. > :27:37.matters is it performing for parents and children. That is why the idea
:27:38. > :27:44.of forcing every school to become an academy is nonsense. That is not
:27:45. > :27:49.what I asked you. I hesitate to say this, but your party started it with
:27:50. > :27:52.academies under the Labour government. It does not sound to me
:27:53. > :27:56.from what you have said that you are very enthusiastic about the concept
:27:57. > :28:03.any more. When academies came in, they came in to support schools that
:28:04. > :28:08.had a history of decades of not delivering for the young people. It
:28:09. > :28:15.was a radical solution to a radical problem, and it worked in most
:28:16. > :28:18.cases. But we then saw a situation where the new Coalition Government
:28:19. > :28:25.made it possible for any school that wanted to to become an academy. The
:28:26. > :28:29.schools that want to become academies already have that
:28:30. > :28:32.situation in place. Those schools that are performing at good or
:28:33. > :28:38.outstanding level, why should they be made to become academies and
:28:39. > :28:43.distract all the energy and spend public money on it? This is a wrong
:28:44. > :28:47.set of priorities. I will come onto that, but you are getting off the
:28:48. > :28:53.point I am trying to get you to address. Is it your view now that
:28:54. > :28:57.you should stick only to those schools which are in trouble and
:28:58. > :29:05.that they should become academies and the rest shouldn't? Not at all.
:29:06. > :29:09.We have a mixed estate now. Some schools are academies, some are
:29:10. > :29:12.community schools. Let's not get worked up about the structure of the
:29:13. > :29:18.school. All of these schools are welcome. Would you bring academies
:29:19. > :29:22.under local government control against? I think there needs to be
:29:23. > :29:26.local government oversight and accountability for local
:29:27. > :29:29.communities. This week, we had a situation where many parents
:29:30. > :29:35.couldn't get the school of their choice for the son or daughter. But
:29:36. > :29:42.that always happens. It is getting worse under this Government. 80% of
:29:43. > :29:47.parents got their first choice. But that is a loss of parents still but
:29:48. > :29:51.didn't. We need better school place planning to make sure the places are
:29:52. > :29:55.in the right place. At the moment, we have a Government creating
:29:56. > :30:00.schools in places where they are not needed and not addressing problems
:30:01. > :30:06.in places where the schools are needed, which is irresponsible and a
:30:07. > :30:09.waste of public money. Labour has described the idea of forcing
:30:10. > :30:16.schools to become academies as privatisation of the school system.
:30:17. > :30:23.How did you work that out? We can go down a lot of ideological table
:30:24. > :30:29.tennis on this, or we can focus on children and parents. But is it or
:30:30. > :30:35.isn't it privatisation? It does move towards marketisation of the school
:30:36. > :30:40.system, but that is a distraction... You would need to ask the people
:30:41. > :30:44.doing that. But your party is to blame. We still haven't got an
:30:45. > :30:48.answer from Nick Gibb or Nicky Morgan or the Prime Minister of why
:30:49. > :30:53.they want to force schools to become academies. That is the question. You
:30:54. > :30:57.are distracting a lot of attention of parents, teachers, head teachers
:30:58. > :31:04.on to things like what we saw this morning, where the key stage one
:31:05. > :31:07.test, a lot of effort was put into that and then it goes pear shaped at
:31:08. > :31:08.the last minute because the Government has not got its act
:31:09. > :31:17.together. 66% of secondary schools in England,
:31:18. > :31:20.only England, are now academies. Isn't this the clear direction of
:31:21. > :31:27.travel now? The Government is saying all schools should become academies.
:31:28. > :31:31.Sir Michael Wilshaw said, wrote to the Secretary of State and said
:31:32. > :31:34.seven large academy chains were failing and asked the Secretary of
:31:35. > :31:37.State to do something about it. We should have systems in place to
:31:38. > :31:41.address failure, whether it happens in an academy or in a maintained
:31:42. > :31:45.school. That's the key issue to focus on, not to say that every
:31:46. > :31:49.school must be an academy because we like that name above the door.
:31:50. > :31:58.That's ideological nonsense. Thank you for joining us. It wasn't in the
:31:59. > :32:03.Tory manifesto. It was kind of sprung on us by not the Education
:32:04. > :32:09.Secretary, but by the Chancellor in the Budget. Was this just an idea to
:32:10. > :32:13.give George Osborne something for what was then his campaign to be the
:32:14. > :32:17.next Prime Minister? David Cameron actually did first speak about this
:32:18. > :32:21.at his conference speech. I think they see this as an example of how
:32:22. > :32:25.they are big reformers, that they can really shake up the
:32:26. > :32:29.edgeindication system. So -- education system. So to that extent
:32:30. > :32:33.it was there to hit back against critics who were saying actually
:32:34. > :32:36.you're not doing anything, you're completely paralysed because of the
:32:37. > :32:42.EU referendum. But I think it's causing them some problem. Most of
:32:43. > :32:45.us would agree that Jeremy Corbyn had one of his best Prime Minister's
:32:46. > :32:54.Questions this week, six questions based on this. Courting a lot of
:32:55. > :32:57.Conservatives. Yeah, big figures Graham Braidy, Graham Stuart, the
:32:58. > :33:01.former chair of the education Select Committee. It's not the people who
:33:02. > :33:04.are against academies per se, you mention secondary schools, this is
:33:05. > :33:07.more of an issue for primary schools. Because they will be
:33:08. > :33:13.included in this plan. There's many more of them and they will be
:33:14. > :33:16.included. Does acad piesation improve standards and should good
:33:17. > :33:20.schools be forced to do it? Critics say no. The National Assocaition of
:33:21. > :33:24.Head Teachers, not really trouble makers as far as unions go, wrote to
:33:25. > :33:27.dozens of MPs this week to say village schools could be at risk
:33:28. > :33:30.because the Government are trying to push people into multiacademy chains
:33:31. > :33:36.and actually, that's not good for a lot of Conservative MPs. This is
:33:37. > :33:42.really, this is the completion of a very long Tory story going back to
:33:43. > :33:47.the early 1990s, when Major was under pressure to extend the grant
:33:48. > :33:53.maintained programme. In that sense, and force all schools to become
:33:54. > :33:59.grant maintained, and didn't. The sense among Tories was after that it
:34:00. > :34:02.petered out and it was re-invented as the academy programme. If they're
:34:03. > :34:06.going to do that, this is where the weakness is, you've got to get the
:34:07. > :34:10.politics absolutely right. Doing it in the terms that Andrew described
:34:11. > :34:15.in the Budget, let's face it George Osborne was looking for stuff to pad
:34:16. > :34:18.out a Budget which was pretty thin and to make him look like a leader
:34:19. > :34:22.in waiting. It made no sense whatsoever to have the Chancellor of
:34:23. > :34:28.the Exchequer announcing that or making such a big play of it, rather
:34:29. > :34:31.than doing it properly, calmly, via the Education Secretary and through
:34:32. > :34:38.proper consultation. No consultation or debate. She will strive to unpick
:34:39. > :34:41.it. She is listening. Innicy Morgan wants -- Nicky Morgan wants to do
:34:42. > :34:42.it, but she's listening to the critics. Probably more than tweaks.
:34:43. > :34:45.Concessions. Junior doctors are going
:34:46. > :34:47.on an unprecedented, all-out strike next Tuesday
:34:48. > :34:50.and Wednesday, in protest at the Government's decision to impose
:34:51. > :34:53.a controversial new contract. That decision was taken
:34:54. > :34:55.by the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, after negotiations
:34:56. > :34:58.with the British Medical Association failed to come up with a compromise
:34:59. > :35:01.both sides could back. Here is Jeremy Hunt announcing his
:35:02. > :35:03.decision in a statement Progress has been made on almost 100
:35:04. > :35:10.different points of discussion, with agreement secured with the BMA
:35:11. > :35:16.on approximately 90% of them. Sadly, despite this progress
:35:17. > :35:19.and willingness from the Government to be flexible on the crucial
:35:20. > :35:23.issue of Saturday pay, advising that a negotiated solution
:35:24. > :35:31.is not realistically possible. That was Jeremy Hunt in February,
:35:32. > :35:34.announcing his decision to impose a new contract on junior doctors,
:35:35. > :35:37.after the British Medical Association rejected
:35:38. > :35:40.a best and final offer We've been joined by a junior doctor
:35:41. > :35:54.and campaigner, Dagan Lonsdale. Welcome to the programme. As you
:35:55. > :36:00.move to an all-out strike, you must be concerned that the public support
:36:01. > :36:05.you have enjoyed so far could now atrophy. I think the first thing to
:36:06. > :36:09.say as we're a few days ahead of unprecedented action in the NHS, it
:36:10. > :36:12.is a real shame that the Government refuse continually to do the one
:36:13. > :36:15.thing that would stop strikes, the one thing in their power to stop
:36:16. > :36:18.strikes, that is to engage in a conversation with the people who
:36:19. > :36:23.work on the shop floor and look after the patients. The Government
:36:24. > :36:26.says it had 75 meetings with you and made 73 Government concessions. Why
:36:27. > :36:29.would one more meeting make a difference? The Government love to
:36:30. > :36:34.spin that they are the ones making all the concessions. The BMA have
:36:35. > :36:37.done that as well. A contract is not finished until the contract is
:36:38. > :36:40.finished. It is not good enough to simply throw your hands up in the
:36:41. > :36:43.air and say it's going to be imposed. You don't need to just
:36:44. > :36:47.listen to doctors. The vice-presidents of the Patients'
:36:48. > :36:51.Association today say there are legitimate safety concerns over the
:36:52. > :36:55.proposed contract and tone force it risks danger to patients and would
:36:56. > :36:59.be neglect. So there are lots of people, the heads of all the royal
:37:00. > :37:03.colleges, the junior doctors themselves, both grass-roots and BMA
:37:04. > :37:06.all saying it's time to talk with the Health Secretary and until we
:37:07. > :37:10.can have a negotiated settlement, we won't have an NHS that is safe and
:37:11. > :37:14.sustainable. Are patients going to be at risk next week? The first
:37:15. > :37:17.thing we need to be clear about is what's being proposed? The
:37:18. > :37:20.Government are trying to spin that junior doctors are leaving patients
:37:21. > :37:24.in the lurch. That is untrue. That's why I'm asking you, tell us the
:37:25. > :37:29.truth. We're having nine hours where care will be delivered by the most
:37:30. > :37:31.experienced doctors in the hospital, consultants and non-junior doctor
:37:32. > :37:35.grade doctors. To suggest that those professionals are unable to look
:37:36. > :37:40.after patients for nine hours is frankly insulting to them and - Are
:37:41. > :37:44.they at risk or not? The fact of the matter is that Trusts have had six
:37:45. > :37:48.weeks to prepare for this strike action. They have had plenty of time
:37:49. > :37:52.to mitigate the risk. So they won't be at risk? My view is with the
:37:53. > :37:58.notice that has been given to Trusts and the fact that Trusts have, in my
:37:59. > :38:02.case, hundreds of consultants, at their call they have plenty of time
:38:03. > :38:05.to make plans to make things safe. The fact remains, we don't want to
:38:06. > :38:08.have to cancel patient appointments, we don't want operations to be
:38:09. > :38:11.cancelled. We want to look after patients. What separates you now, is
:38:12. > :38:15.it all down now just to Saturday pay? Again, this is just an example
:38:16. > :38:21.of Government spinning and Government rhetoric. There are
:38:22. > :38:24.legitimate safety concerns about the contract primarily around the fact
:38:25. > :38:30.that seven day NHS was scribbled on the back of an envelope at the last
:38:31. > :38:34.election. If the Government was more generous with Saturday pay, would
:38:35. > :38:37.that pretty much do it? Again, I think this narrative that doctors
:38:38. > :38:41.are just interested in money is not the truth. It's not a narrative,
:38:42. > :38:45.it's a simple question. If the Government was more generous on
:38:46. > :38:50.Saturday pay, would that bring the dispute to an end? No. Absolutely
:38:51. > :38:53.not. Junior doctors have had a 15% real terms pay cut in the last five
:38:54. > :38:57.years. The pensions attacked twice. This is not about money. This is
:38:58. > :39:01.about a safe set of working conditions. What is the further
:39:02. > :39:05.concessions the Government has to do to bring the dispute to an end? In
:39:06. > :39:08.my view the first thing we need to do is have a full and Frank
:39:09. > :39:12.discussion about what seven-day NHS means, what we can afford and what
:39:13. > :39:16.can be safely staffed. Why haven't you had that in the 75 meetings
:39:17. > :39:20.you've had? That's a for Government. I notice they haven't put anyone up
:39:21. > :39:24.to debate the matter here. We see that a junior doctor is prepared to
:39:25. > :39:26.come and stand and defend the arguments that junior doctors have
:39:27. > :39:30.been putting forward but Government aren't prepared for debate. They
:39:31. > :39:34.know if they're debated on facts, the lack of staff and funding
:39:35. > :39:38.they'll be found wanting. This is a pledge to win votes in the election.
:39:39. > :39:42.What you would need to ends this is the Government to say we're going to
:39:43. > :39:47.deploy more star and we're going to deploy more funding? I think those
:39:48. > :39:50.are key issues if we want a fully functioning seven-day NHS with
:39:51. > :39:54.elective services across the weekend. I don't think that's
:39:55. > :39:57.unreasonable. You and I both know that's highly - you may be right by
:39:58. > :40:02.the way, in saying that's what needs to be done, that's not the issue for
:40:03. > :40:05.me. You and I both know that the Government is not going to do that.
:40:06. > :40:09.Where does this go? The first thing that needs to happen is that doctors
:40:10. > :40:13.and Government need to talk and that is so, so simple. You have been
:40:14. > :40:16.talking, we've ended up with a strike. You're absolutely right.
:40:17. > :40:19.There needs to be honest discussions. The Government need to
:40:20. > :40:23.be honest about what they can afford. It is not my job to come up
:40:24. > :40:27.with the policy that is funded, that is staffed. It is my job to make
:40:28. > :40:30.sure that patients are safe in the long-term of the NHS and that is
:40:31. > :40:36.what junior doctors have been fighting for. Where will this go?
:40:37. > :40:41.It's been extremely embarrassing and very damaging for the Government.
:40:42. > :40:48.Now it's crossing that line whereas you move to all-out action, I think
:40:49. > :40:54.you run a real risk of losing the public support and testing the
:40:55. > :40:58.public's patience really. Also, I think the idea that it was yet again
:40:59. > :41:06.a plea for more money and more resources. The country is still
:41:07. > :41:10.running a ?70 billion - 74. ?74 billion deficit at the top of the
:41:11. > :41:16.cycle, with the economy not looking too hot. I don't think there is
:41:17. > :41:21.going to be that much more money to go around. Maybe the Government
:41:22. > :41:24.should never have gone down this seven-day a week Health Service in
:41:25. > :41:28.the first place, if it hasn't got the extra resources? One of the big
:41:29. > :41:33.things ahead of the election they said they were going to sign up to
:41:34. > :41:36.the call for more money in the NHS but never quite explained where the
:41:37. > :41:39.money was actually going to come from. For the public with all of
:41:40. > :41:41.this, one of the things that's complicated is they don't understand
:41:42. > :41:46.what's going on in the contract. They don't know what this is about.
:41:47. > :41:50.On the one hand, bad news for Jeremy Hunt to get into such a big fight
:41:51. > :41:53.with the nation's doctors. On the other hand, clearly a bit of a risk,
:41:54. > :41:57.because most people don't get paid as much as doctors.
:41:58. > :42:06.We have to leave it there. We thank you for coming on. We'll keep an eye
:42:07. > :42:11.on this. Grateful to you. Straight to Windsor. There you can see the
:42:12. > :42:17.president has arrived with the First Lady. Just got off that enormous
:42:18. > :42:20.helicopter that the president of the United States has, speaking to the
:42:21. > :42:27.Queen. The Queen not wearing her crown today, some of you will have
:42:28. > :42:31.noticed. Juf a headscarf. She's meeting a small "r" republican.
:42:32. > :42:34.Prince Philip as well. We're told the chemistry between the four of
:42:35. > :42:39.them is actually rather powerful. That's why the Queen was very happy
:42:40. > :42:42.that both the president and the First Lady were coming to lunch.
:42:43. > :42:49.Prince Philip there organising things, as always, as he climbs into
:42:50. > :42:55.the car. They're going to lunch around 1pm at Windsor Castle. They
:42:56. > :42:58.are then, the president will then zoom back into London where he's
:42:59. > :43:02.going to meet the Prime Minister around 3pm. There we are, the
:43:03. > :43:07.president and First Lady of the United States have arrived at
:43:08. > :43:09.Windsor Castle to have lunch with the Queen to celebrate her 90th
:43:10. > :43:12.birthday. In just under two weeks' time,
:43:13. > :43:15.Londoners go to the polls to decide In a minute, we'll discuss the state
:43:16. > :43:19.of the campaign, but first, let's take a look at the runners
:43:20. > :43:23.and riders all hoping to take over I want London to be affordable
:43:24. > :43:43.to Londoners, because if it's not, London will cease to be
:43:44. > :43:50.the important city that it is. I think I've got the experience, the
:43:51. > :43:56.vision and the values to be a mayor Quite leftie Liberal
:43:57. > :44:07.Democrat manifesto. It's too dominated by
:44:08. > :44:15.egos, this election. If you want a really radical mayor,
:44:16. > :44:24.you do need to vote Green. There's huge division now in London,
:44:25. > :44:27.and as a Londoner born and bred, that's one of the things that
:44:28. > :44:38.worries me most. And we've been joined
:44:39. > :44:40.by Ayesha Hazarika, who was political advisor
:44:41. > :44:43.to Harriet Harman, and by Harry Phibbs, who writes
:44:44. > :44:56.for the Conservative Home website. A number of Conservatives I speak to
:44:57. > :45:00.say that Mr Goldsmith's campaign has been lacklustre. Boris Johnson is a
:45:01. > :45:04.tough act to follow. You go on a walk about and there's the mania of
:45:05. > :45:09.a pop star. That's a bit difficult for him. If we were talking about it
:45:10. > :45:14.in terms of the polls, I think it will all be about turnout. The poor
:45:15. > :45:18.old pollsters, we know to be sceptical about them. You think
:45:19. > :45:23.there's still a chance? The polls are now, one of the polls I saw was
:45:24. > :45:26.he was about 11 points behind. Yes, but then, we talk about lying
:45:27. > :45:30.politicians but you have lying electorate. Those polls saying it's
:45:31. > :45:34.going to be 50% turnout. I don't believe that for a second. There's a
:45:35. > :45:40.trouble, the problem for Zac with the turnout that a lot of
:45:41. > :45:43.Conservatives are on the edge, outer London, but London's bureaucratic
:45:44. > :45:47.entity don't think of themselves as Londoners, they think of themselves
:45:48. > :45:52.as living in Kent, Surrey or Essex. To try and persuade them, they find
:45:53. > :45:55.it slightly insulting to be called Londoners. To persuade them to vote
:45:56. > :45:59.is a challenge for the Conservatives. Is it a good way to
:46:00. > :46:03.Garner votes to call them liars? The opinion pollsters end up with these
:46:04. > :46:15.figures and you know, I think it's a problem for them. The attacks on the
:46:16. > :46:19.kind of people Sadiq Khan has been mixing with, when he was a lawyer,
:46:20. > :46:20.has been more virulent from the campaign. Is this a sign of
:46:21. > :46:29.desperation? Of course it is an issue. Jeremy
:46:30. > :46:35.Corbyn was challenged about his extremist links, and the idea that
:46:36. > :46:39.Sadiq Khan should say it is anti-Muslim for him to be questioned
:46:40. > :46:43.is ridiculous. It is not that he shares those views himself, but that
:46:44. > :46:46.it is poor judgment. Just as he nominated Jeremy Corbyn but says he
:46:47. > :46:51.doesn't agree with Jeremy Corbyn, then why is he standing up for
:46:52. > :46:56.people if he doesn't agree with those views? He is mad, we will be
:46:57. > :47:01.back with the Ken Livingstone thinks of people in City Hall pushing a
:47:02. > :47:07.divisive message. What do you say to that? It smacks of desperation from
:47:08. > :47:12.the Conservative campaign that they are having to resort to this. This
:47:13. > :47:19.is one of the worst political campaigns we have seen in a long
:47:20. > :47:26.time, and I include the Edstone, it is that bad! People feel that the
:47:27. > :47:29.Zac campaign failed to launch. When Zac was selected, people on the
:47:30. > :47:34.Labour side were worried because he is a charismatic guy, independent
:47:35. > :47:38.thinking. He is of the centre, seems gentle and kind, he could be a real
:47:39. > :47:43.threat. That it has almost been like the Zac has been locked away and a
:47:44. > :47:47.very nasty campaign is taking place which even Zac looks uncomfortable
:47:48. > :47:52.with. I know why they have done it. They have gone for the old school
:47:53. > :47:56.playbook, push a brutal message of fear. I don't think it will work in
:47:57. > :48:00.London. I think London is a very different type of city. It is a more
:48:01. > :48:05.tolerant city, and I think it has misjudged the mood of the country.
:48:06. > :48:09.You don't thing Zac has any questions to answer? He said to me
:48:10. > :48:11.that he regretted giving the impression that by appearing on
:48:12. > :48:20.platforms with these people, he shared their views. You mean Sadiq
:48:21. > :48:24.Khan. Sorry, yes. He was a human rights lawyer and the nature of that
:48:25. > :48:28.job is that you are mixing with people who are controversial. But he
:48:29. > :48:33.wasn't just doing it as a lawyer, he often appeared on platforms with
:48:34. > :48:37.them. As a lawyer, you have to represent whoever you are told to,
:48:38. > :48:45.but it was more than that, he appeared on platforms. Is that not a
:48:46. > :48:50.legitimate issue to raise? It is, and he has tried to explain himself
:48:51. > :48:54.about to go on and on and trans mayhem by association seems
:48:55. > :48:57.desperate. I think Sadiq should take heart from this. We have just seen
:48:58. > :49:06.Barack Obama arriving and they have tried to smear him in terms of being
:49:07. > :49:18.Muslim. Sorry, who? On this trip? You mean in earlier days. Yes, and
:49:19. > :49:25.it didn't go so well. David Cameron, of course, mentioned the people
:49:26. > :49:29.Sadiq had been sharing a platform within Prime Minister's Questions. I
:49:30. > :49:35.did it in the debate as well. But it turns out that one that we both
:49:36. > :49:42.mentioned is actually a member of the local Conservative Party and is
:49:43. > :49:47.supporting Sadiq Khan's local Conservative rival. That was news to
:49:48. > :49:53.the Conservative candidate for Tooting, who had no knowledge of him
:49:54. > :49:56.supporting him. It is a question of judgment. If you are repeatedly
:49:57. > :50:03.appearing on a platform and repeatedly trying to stick up for
:50:04. > :50:08.people... What is unfair about it saying that Zac Goldsmith is only
:50:09. > :50:14.being negative. He has a very positive manifesto which has not had
:50:15. > :50:19.much attention. The most important difference between what Zac and what
:50:20. > :50:28.Boris has been doing is over the tower blocks and what houses look
:50:29. > :50:39.like. There is an agenda for saying if we want new houses, you have to
:50:40. > :50:44.make them attractive and turn the NIMBYs into people who are
:50:45. > :50:46.pro-beauty in my backyard. So instead of new buildings meaning
:50:47. > :50:53.London gets more ugly, it is possible to have houses that are
:50:54. > :50:57.more attractive. And you wonder why Zac Goldsmith is 11 points behind
:50:58. > :51:08.with a slogan like that! Until now, the slogan has not been broadcast BA
:51:09. > :51:13.Bimby, not a NIMBY. I can already see the hashtag! The polls suggest
:51:14. > :51:17.that Labour will win London. I would suggest that the significance of
:51:18. > :51:26.that is that although Labour are doing badly in Scotland, England and
:51:27. > :51:32.in Wales, Mr Corbyn cannot afford to lose London. He is a London Labour
:51:33. > :51:35.MP. He is surrounded by London MPs. It is a metropolitan Labour Party
:51:36. > :51:41.now and he cannot you lose in his own backyard. No. I wrote about this
:51:42. > :51:45.a long time ago, saying London was almost like a cup final for Labour.
:51:46. > :51:49.They needed it to rally troops elsewhere in the country. There is a
:51:50. > :51:54.big debate in the Labour Party about what success means elsewhere, but
:51:55. > :52:00.London just has to come. Actually, it does look like Sadiq is on track
:52:01. > :52:04.to win, despite what you have been talking about. And I think Zac
:52:05. > :52:09.Goldsmith believes it is probably about judgment, and that is why they
:52:10. > :52:11.are talking about Sadiq's individuals with certain
:52:12. > :52:14.individuals. I think he might look back at the end of this and feel it
:52:15. > :52:17.was a bit grubby. There were leaflets at the beginning talking
:52:18. > :52:28.about radical people with Sadiq Khan. That was about politics, not
:52:29. > :52:32.religion. There were people who have appeared with Goldsmith himself. As
:52:33. > :52:36.someone who is non-white, why do we criticise non-white people when they
:52:37. > :52:41.appear in this way? It makes me uncomfortable. I know people on
:52:42. > :52:44.Zac's team who I am sure are not doing this in a grubby way and do
:52:45. > :52:49.think it is about judgment, but it could backfire with people feeling
:52:50. > :52:53.like this about it. I take that point, but it is pretty tame
:52:54. > :53:00.compared to mayoral contests in the United States, the dog whistle
:53:01. > :53:04.politics and borderline corruption. This has been a pretty gentle
:53:05. > :53:08.affair. I think the Goldsmith campaign, it might not work this
:53:09. > :53:13.time, but it worked for Boris twice and in both of those elections,
:53:14. > :53:17.everyone said, let Boris be Boris. They have cut his hair, they are
:53:18. > :53:21.constraining him, he is not the candidate he was, and it worked. It
:53:22. > :53:27.is all about targeting what is referred to as the doughnut, those
:53:28. > :53:30.voters in outer London. The use of the word radical is the deliberate
:53:31. > :53:35.to say to people who live in Outer London and who pay the taxes, you
:53:36. > :53:48.want a London run by Jeremy Corbyn and his friends? It is about
:53:49. > :53:54.associating that link. But the undertone is, do you want London to
:53:55. > :53:57.be run by a Muslim? Do you think Zac Goldsmith wants that question to be
:53:58. > :54:03.asked? I think his campaign team do. That is unfair. That is absolute
:54:04. > :54:09.nonsense. Jeremy Corbyn has been challenged about his links, rightly.
:54:10. > :54:13.Yvette Cooper challenged him and now she is saying to make the equivalent
:54:14. > :54:17.challenge to Sadiq Khan is racist. It is insulting to all the Muslims
:54:18. > :54:21.who don't have these extreme views. Of course he should be challenged
:54:22. > :54:26.and he should answer the questions being put. This time in two weeks,
:54:27. > :54:29.we will know the result, I think. It is a competitive system and they may
:54:30. > :54:31.still be counting! And you can see details
:54:32. > :54:33.of all the candidates standing for London Mayor
:54:34. > :54:36.and the London Assembly on the BBC's Continuing rows over Europe,
:54:37. > :54:45.McDonald's bans, Her Majesty's 90th plus the leader of the free world
:54:46. > :54:48.popping in for a visit. Here's the week's political
:54:49. > :54:54.news in 60 seconds. George Osborne kicked
:54:55. > :54:56.off the week warning GDP will be over 6% smaller,
:54:57. > :55:01.and Britain will be worse off The next day, the Leave campaign's
:55:02. > :55:09.heavyweight, Michael Gove, Treats people, I'm
:55:10. > :55:12.afraid, like children. Labour's NEC banned McDonald's
:55:13. > :55:14.from running a stall at the party's annual
:55:15. > :55:16.conference, a move that During PMQs, Jeremy Corbyn raised
:55:17. > :55:23.concerns about plans to turn Against the wishes of teachers,
:55:24. > :55:28.parents, school governors David Cameron insisted
:55:29. > :55:34.the Government will finish the job. On Thursday, the Business Secretary
:55:35. > :55:36.said he was willing to take a 25% stake in any rescue
:55:37. > :55:42.of Tata Steel's UK operation. And on the day of the royal 9-0,
:55:43. > :55:45.US President Barack Obama flew in to wish Her Majesty well
:55:46. > :55:48.and to give the British people a friendly warning of the dangers
:55:49. > :56:07.of the UK leaving the EU. You sometimes hear people say there
:56:08. > :56:10.is a disconnect between the Westminster bubble and what is
:56:11. > :56:15.happening in the real world. And when you look at the EU referendum
:56:16. > :56:18.and the arguments going on over the President's visit or whatever, even
:56:19. > :56:23.the London elections, and then you look at what is happening in Port
:56:24. > :56:28.Talbot, where proper jobs and communities are now at stake,
:56:29. > :56:33.critics say the Government has not had a consistent policy. You begin
:56:34. > :56:42.to see that there is a disconnect. There is a disconnect, and we in the
:56:43. > :56:47.media deserve criticism as well. It was a huge issue for three or four
:56:48. > :56:51.days, maybe slightly longer, and then it was just overtaken and
:56:52. > :56:54.disappeared and the story has not been reported with the same
:56:55. > :57:02.intensity. A few papers are accepted. And as you say, real jobs
:57:03. > :57:07.are at stake, thousands of them. The media attention span on this has
:57:08. > :57:11.been quite short. True, it was on the front pages for a few days and
:57:12. > :57:15.it is not now. We are still writing about it every day and listening to
:57:16. > :57:19.what MPs are saying about it. As you say, real jobs at risk and real
:57:20. > :57:23.questions about a long term industrial strategy that might get
:57:24. > :57:27.the steel industry through this difficult period with Chinese
:57:28. > :57:30.dumping that is going on. But as you say, we need to stay on it. And it
:57:31. > :57:35.looks like the Government may in four parts nationalisation, not done
:57:36. > :57:43.by the Tories since Mrs Thatcher stepped in to rescue Caledonian. It
:57:44. > :57:48.looks like they are about to concede. Personally, I think that is
:57:49. > :57:52.a mistake. I think the lesson from the banking crisis is that it is
:57:53. > :58:00.easy to demand nationalisation. But you can then often find yourself,
:58:01. > :58:06.ten years down the line, owning a share of an industry which has
:58:07. > :58:10.longer term problems. But very difficult to get out of this without
:58:11. > :58:16.serious investment from the UK do it. These companies are in trouble.
:58:17. > :58:20.The spark ah assets were losing ?2 million a day at one point -- these
:58:21. > :58:23.Tata assets were losing. There's just time before we go
:58:24. > :58:26.to find out the answer to our quiz. What sports team did
:58:27. > :58:29.the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, suggest
:58:30. > :58:39.the Queen privately supports? Which one was it? I am going with
:58:40. > :58:42.Wigan. I think it is Wigan. You are both wrong, it is Arsenal.
:58:43. > :58:44.Thanks to Iain, Anushka and all my guests.
:58:45. > :58:48.I'll be back on Sunday at 11am with the Sunday Politics,
:58:49. > :58:50.when I'll be talking to the Shadow Education Secretary,
:58:51. > :59:00.Actually, I will be on at a later time of 1:40 p.m.. I know you are
:59:01. > :59:02.looking forward to it.