24/04/2017 Daily Politics


24/04/2017

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 24/04/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello and welcome to the Daily Politics.

:00:37.:00:38.

Jeremy Corbyn takes his campaign north of the border,

:00:39.:00:42.

but can he reverse Labour's fortunes in Scotland?

:00:43.:00:44.

Meanwhile, the Labour leader is criticised for appearing

:00:45.:00:47.

to question his party's policy on Trident.

:00:48.:00:49.

The Conservatives dub him a risk to national security.

:00:50.:00:55.

Are the Conservatives planning a tax bombshell in the next Parliament?

:00:56.:00:58.

The 2015 manifesto promised not to raise VAT, income tax

:00:59.:01:02.

The polls might make it look clear, So why is everyone talking

:01:03.:01:11.

It's Macron and Le Pen in the final round of the French Presidential

:01:12.:01:19.

election as voters say au revoir to the established

:01:20.:01:21.

All that in the next hour and with us for the whole

:01:22.:01:31.

of the programme today the Shadow Defence Secretary,

:01:32.:01:34.

Nia Griffith, and the former Conservative minister,

:01:35.:01:38.

First today Jeremy Corbyn is heading to Scotland today to address

:01:39.:01:43.

He will reaffirm Labour's commitment to repeal what he calls

:01:44.:01:47.

the "vicious" Trade Union Act and will say the party will "never,

:01:48.:01:50.

ever apologise" for its close ties to the unions.

:01:51.:01:54.

Let's talk to our correspondent, James Shaw, who's in Aviemore.

:01:55.:02:01.

We know what he is expected to say, is it going to do anything to

:02:02.:02:09.

Labour's political fortunes in Scotland? That is the question. What

:02:10.:02:15.

I think I know this from the bullet points we have heard from what

:02:16.:02:18.

Jeremy Corbyn is going to say, there didn't seem to be anything that was

:02:19.:02:22.

differentiated specifically for Scotland. Note policies tailored to

:02:23.:02:29.

Scotland. It is the message we expect Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour

:02:30.:02:33.

Party to put out across the UK. We have to wonder if it is the right

:02:34.:02:40.

strategy because Scotland is a very different policy than the rest of

:02:41.:02:43.

the UK. Different things matter here and there are different political

:02:44.:02:47.

threats. The most obvious of those threats, as far as Labour is

:02:48.:02:52.

concerned is Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish Nationalists party. What

:02:53.:02:55.

are the voices saying in labour north of the border? It has to be

:02:56.:03:02.

said, they don't look particularly good. We only have to go back to

:03:03.:03:07.

2015 and the fact Labour lost all but one of their 41 MPs in Scotland.

:03:08.:03:12.

Things really haven't improved since. They got worse during the

:03:13.:03:17.

Scottish elections last year, where they dipped below the Conservatives,

:03:18.:03:22.

so they are, according to the polls, in third place. He would think there

:03:23.:03:27.

would have to be a serious effort by Labour to make a distinctive and

:03:28.:03:31.

persuasive offer to voters in Scotland really for them to make any

:03:32.:03:40.

improvement in the polls they have at the moment. Although there are

:03:41.:03:42.

factors like Brexit, which might make some people lean back towards

:03:43.:03:44.

labour, whereas they happens in the past. As you say, it puts a

:03:45.:03:49.

different I mentioned to the selection from Scotland. To steal a

:03:50.:03:53.

phrase from Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader in Scotland, has the Tory

:03:54.:04:00.

party reached its peak, in other words, it is only downwards for the

:04:01.:04:05.

SNP Web both the Tories and Labour could pick up seats and the Liberal

:04:06.:04:10.

Democrats? Ruth Davidson will make that case throughout this campaign.

:04:11.:04:16.

She has suggested the election in 2015 is that is when sentiment in

:04:17.:04:20.

favour of independence was at its strongest and she hopes it is ebbing

:04:21.:04:26.

away. There are a couple of seats in Scotland where the Conservatives are

:04:27.:04:29.

second to the SNP and they will be fighting very hard to try and get

:04:30.:04:35.

into first place, to try and claw back some MPs in Scotland, so that

:04:36.:04:42.

Ruth Davidson can make the case that they have peaked and there is less

:04:43.:04:46.

of a case for an independence referendum. Less of a case for

:04:47.:04:50.

Scottish independence, she would argue. James, thank you very much.

:04:51.:04:53.

The Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, says

:04:54.:04:55.

Jeremy Corbyn would put Britain's security at risk if he wins

:04:56.:04:57.

the general election and becomes Prime Minister.

:04:58.:04:59.

Mr Fallon, who has been in Bristol this morning

:05:00.:05:01.

at the headquarters of Airbus, attacked the Labour leader

:05:02.:05:03.

for calling into question Labour's commitment to the Trident nuclear

:05:04.:05:05.

weapons system and for suggesting he would be reluctant to authorise

:05:06.:05:09.

a drone strike on the leader of the Islamic State terror group.

:05:10.:05:13.

Labour want to be the next government.

:05:14.:05:15.

himself forward seriously as the next Prime Minister

:05:16.:05:18.

somebody who would not authorise strikes against terrorists, who

:05:19.:05:23.

wouldn't support our nuclear deterrent, and who would undermine

:05:24.:05:25.

So it is very important we do point out this is somebody who

:05:26.:05:33.

could be Prime Minister in six weeks' time.

:05:34.:05:35.

Mr Fallon was responding to Jeremy Corbyn's appearance

:05:36.:05:37.

As well as being asked about how he would deal with Islamic State,

:05:38.:05:42.

the Labour leader was also asked if the party's manifesto

:05:43.:05:45.

would include a commitment to renew the Trident nuclear missile system.

:05:46.:05:49.

The Shadow Defence Secretary, our guest Nia Griffith,

:05:50.:05:52.

had previously said the manifesto would include such a commitment.

:05:53.:05:56.

We haven't completed work on the manifesto yet,

:05:57.:06:03.

as you would expect less than 100 hours into this

:06:04.:06:07.

No, no, we're having that discussion within the Labour Party

:06:08.:06:13.

and we will produce our manifesto early in May.

:06:14.:06:15.

Do you think killing the leader of Isis would be helpful

:06:16.:06:19.

I think the leader of Isis not being around

:06:20.:06:23.

would be helpful and I'm no supporter or defender in any way

:06:24.:06:26.

whatsoever of Isis, I'm sure you would see,

:06:27.:06:28.

but I would also argue that

:06:29.:06:30.

the bombing campaign has killed a large

:06:31.:06:31.

number of civilians, many of

:06:32.:06:34.

whom were virtually prisoners of Isis so you've got to think about

:06:35.:06:37.

Jeremy Corbyn. Nia, we're number wiser as to whether the renewal of

:06:38.:06:52.

Trident will be in the Labour Party manifesto?

:06:53.:06:55.

It will be in the manifesto because that has been our policy and it has

:06:56.:07:00.

been confirmed time after time that the Labour Party is committed to the

:07:01.:07:10.

Trident policy. Have you made it clear to Jeremy Corbyn? I have, and

:07:11.:07:15.

it has been agreed it will be in the manifesto. So are you surprised

:07:16.:07:19.

yesterday he said the Labour policy on this might not be in the

:07:20.:07:23.

manifesto, in fact he said it hadn't been written. It is firmly our

:07:24.:07:27.

policy and it will be in the manifesto. But the Labour Party

:07:28.:07:31.

leader doesn't agree with you that yet isn't in the manifesto so it

:07:32.:07:35.

throws doubt on it. But the important thing is, we have

:07:36.:07:39.

reaffirmed clearly, it is part of our policy and we are firmly

:07:40.:07:43.

committed to the nuclear deterrent. What was your reaction when you

:07:44.:07:48.

heard that yesterday? We know Jeremy Corbyn has had his own personal view

:07:49.:07:51.

on these issues. But this is something we have been committed to

:07:52.:07:56.

for a long time. In 2007 we set the ball rolling for the renewal of the

:07:57.:08:06.

Trident and we are clear what our policy is. You have had these

:08:07.:08:09.

discussions with him presumably, and he is still opposed to it, is that

:08:10.:08:11.

sustainable during an election campaign that his views are at odds

:08:12.:08:14.

as to the Labour Party policy on this issue? When people vote they

:08:15.:08:19.

will be voting for a political policy and it is important they know

:08:20.:08:25.

what that policy is. Our policy is clear, we are committed to the

:08:26.:08:30.

nuclear deterrent. This would be the first time Labour leader didn't

:08:31.:08:36.

agree with something in its own party manifesto? I am setting out

:08:37.:08:40.

what our policy is and exactly where we stand on it for the manifesto.

:08:41.:08:45.

Should people not be voting for Labour if they want to see Jeremy

:08:46.:08:50.

Corbyn as Prime Minister. The important thing is, we are a team,

:08:51.:08:55.

we are working as a party and it is not a presidential election, it is

:08:56.:09:00.

about who is in government and an election between political parties

:09:01.:09:04.

in this country. How can it be a deterrent if Jeremy Corbyn as Prime

:09:05.:09:08.

Minister has stated he would never use it in any circumstance, it is no

:09:09.:09:14.

longer a deterrent? We are prepared to use it. It is important we are

:09:15.:09:20.

clear that you also deal with countries and potential enemies by

:09:21.:09:24.

being clear from the outset that you are prepared to use force, that you

:09:25.:09:28.

have forced to back up your negotiations. Nobody wants to use

:09:29.:09:33.

force as a first option. Everybody wants to negotiate first, try to get

:09:34.:09:38.

peaceful settlements. But if you have the option of force,

:09:39.:09:41.

conventional forces initially, but the ultimate deterrent as well, you

:09:42.:09:52.

are more likely to actually sustain peace and security at the end of the

:09:53.:09:55.

day. New have said you would use it as a last resort, but Jeremy Corbyn

:09:56.:09:58.

has said he won't. And if you win the election, he will be Prime

:09:59.:10:00.

Minister, and it will be him pushing the button, or on this case, not

:10:01.:10:05.

pushing the button. What he said, he will not use a first strike. What we

:10:06.:10:10.

have to be clear about, is we are prepared to use the nuclear

:10:11.:10:14.

deterrent and we are prepared to use it. How is it going to look to

:10:15.:10:18.

voters when you have a party leader who is sticking to the line he has

:10:19.:10:22.

always had and you have a different approach? It is party policy and the

:10:23.:10:27.

overwhelming membership of our party support this policy and that is

:10:28.:10:32.

where we are. It doesn't matter about party policy if the leader

:10:33.:10:36.

will not enact and uphold that party policy? It is important we set out

:10:37.:10:40.

what our party policy is so that people do know. But he wouldn't use

:10:41.:10:46.

it? It is important people know that we are fully committed to the

:10:47.:10:50.

nuclear deterrent. It doesn't really matter, does it in this instance? We

:10:51.:10:55.

know what Jeremy Corbyn's views are, this is a matter of last resort and

:10:56.:11:02.

nuclear weapons will probably never be used? Nia has done a remarkable

:11:03.:11:06.

job, as she does all the time honestly trying to put the point of

:11:07.:11:11.

view of where the party is. But it doesn't stack up. You have

:11:12.:11:15.

circumstances where the Prime Minister is required to make

:11:16.:11:18.

decisions. The Prime Minister alone has to make those decisions. You

:11:19.:11:22.

cannot go into election with a party policy is one thing or the would-be

:11:23.:11:27.

Prime Minister's stated views are another in circumstances such as

:11:28.:11:31.

this. The only deterrent a country has is those who might

:11:32.:11:43.

oppose or threaten the country knows exactly where its leadership is in

:11:44.:11:47.

times of crisis. We do not know that, we cannot know that as long as

:11:48.:11:50.

Jeremy Corbyn leads the Labour Party and says what he says. Nia. It is

:11:51.:11:53.

important people know where we stand on this and it is important we have

:11:54.:11:56.

that deterrent. Are you reassured by Jeremy Corbyn who would be head of

:11:57.:12:01.

this country's national security and defence as if Labour wins the

:12:02.:12:06.

election? We are committed to the deterrent and it is our policy and

:12:07.:12:12.

in the manifesto. Presumably, he would scrap the Trident renewal as

:12:13.:12:16.

Prime Minister? The important issue is we are committed to the nuclear

:12:17.:12:20.

deterrent and we will have a review with the spending commitments in the

:12:21.:12:24.

defence budget and we will have to look carefully, as has every

:12:25.:12:29.

government who have come in before. He did have an opportunity to say

:12:30.:12:34.

that the Trident would stay in place because it is already there, he

:12:35.:12:38.

refused to say that. But I am saying the Trident programme will stay in

:12:39.:12:42.

place and of course we will look at all the other spending commitments.

:12:43.:12:46.

He said he wouldn't necessarily be prepared to use drones to strike on

:12:47.:12:53.

the head of Isis, as the Lee Markham and he has been criticised for that.

:12:54.:12:57.

You are a Foreign Office minister and you have to admit when you look

:12:58.:13:01.

at the Middle East now, we have had coalition air strikes, drone attacks

:13:02.:13:05.

on Jihadi John, there hasn't been a removal of the threat of Isis or

:13:06.:13:10.

peace in Syria? There has been significant depletion of the

:13:11.:13:16.

leadership of Isis overtime. They are still there. Significant figures

:13:17.:13:21.

have been killed. If someone poses a threat to the United Kingdom and you

:13:22.:13:24.

have an opportunity to remove that threat, it is incumbent on a leader

:13:25.:13:31.

to do that. Of course, all the other things about seeking peaceful

:13:32.:13:34.

solutions go without being said. We know that, that is what the process

:13:35.:13:40.

of diplomacy does all the time. But there are occasions in a conflict

:13:41.:13:44.

situation where something arises and an immediate decision is needed and

:13:45.:13:47.

something that can affect what is happening on the battlefield and the

:13:48.:13:52.

the safety of innocent people can be done, can be achieved. That is why

:13:53.:13:59.

the policy of removing leaders of Isis and Al-Qaeda it in the Arabian

:14:00.:14:04.

Peninsula, that is wider policy is being followed. It is not a policy

:14:05.:14:08.

on its own, it is a policy with other things. Let's move on.

:14:09.:14:12.

The Conservative Party chairman, Patrick McLoughlin, has appeared

:14:13.:14:14.

to contradict the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, over

:14:15.:14:15.

Last week The Chancellor said that commitments made

:14:16.:14:19.

in the 2015 manifesto had constrained his "ability to manage

:14:20.:14:21.

Mr Hammond was referring to the so-called tax triple lock

:14:22.:14:25.

in which the Conservatives promised not to make any rises

:14:26.:14:27.

to National Insurance, VAT or income tax.

:14:28.:14:29.

Mr Hammond recently had to drop a planned rise in Class 4

:14:30.:14:31.

National Insurance Contributions because it appeared to contradict

:14:32.:14:35.

Mr McLoughlin was asked about this by Andrew

:14:36.:14:39.

Philip Hammond, the Chancellor said this week that your election promise

:14:40.:14:45.

in 2015, it was in your manifesto, not to raise taxes, had

:14:46.:14:49.

tied his hands when it came to managing the economy.

:14:50.:14:51.

The simple fact is, what we've got to do,

:14:52.:14:59.

is we've got to do the best things for the economy and we will be

:15:00.:15:02.

setting out in our manifesto in a few weeks, what the policies

:15:03.:15:05.

You don't agree with your Chancellor?

:15:06.:15:09.

What Philip was saying is some of the areas he wants

:15:10.:15:14.

What the party will do, in its manifesto, it will set out

:15:15.:15:18.

all the issues which we are fighting on, and it will set out very clearly

:15:19.:15:22.

the choice we have in this country and that's the important thing.

:15:23.:15:31.

Alistair Burt, should there be the triple tax log in the Conservative

:15:32.:15:34.

manifesto? I think there should be considering

:15:35.:15:44.

protection for pensioners, whether it should remain the same in new

:15:45.:15:48.

circumstances, I don't think... Djurdic be explicit in the way it

:15:49.:15:53.

was in the last manifesto that a Tory government will not put up

:15:54.:15:57.

income tax, VAT or national insurance contributions -- should it

:15:58.:16:02.

be explicit? If you are looking for the next manifesto to be exactly the

:16:03.:16:07.

same as the last... On that issue, should it be there, that explicit

:16:08.:16:12.

commitment? I'm quite sure that what will be in the manifesto is

:16:13.:16:16.

protection for pensioners in the way in which a new government seized

:16:17.:16:20.

that likely. I don't know if the triple lock will be there. I'm not

:16:21.:16:24.

asking you about pensioners, and asking you about taxpayers. The

:16:25.:16:30.

triple tax lock, the commitment that the Conservatives made not to

:16:31.:16:34.

increase VAT, national insurance... I would have flexibility. You drop

:16:35.:16:41.

it. I would have flexibility because that is what a Chancellor needs but

:16:42.:16:45.

the circumstances from this manifesto are different from 2015

:16:46.:16:48.

and I don't make taxation policy so I would like a policy that is right

:16:49.:16:52.

for the country and what the government and the Chancellor will

:16:53.:16:55.

propose will set it out in the context of where the economy is

:16:56.:16:59.

going. If it is a contest with any terms of low tax, this is a lower

:17:00.:17:04.

tax party. We will come to the record... You try to put up national

:17:05.:17:10.

insurance contributions which was in direct contravention of the last

:17:11.:17:15.

commitment. The average pay pays ?1000 less than when we came into

:17:16.:17:20.

office, 31 million people have the production altogether. Interns of

:17:21.:17:24.

tax policy, we are absolutely the right place. If it is going to vary

:17:25.:17:28.

from what it was in the past, that is fine. You have made it clear you

:17:29.:17:31.

want flexibility do you agree with Philip Hammond, you don't want that

:17:32.:17:37.

triple tax lock, but you would like to see it dropped but that it would

:17:38.:17:43.

give you flexibility to put up taxes. Flexible the in an economy

:17:44.:17:47.

which would still be a lower tax economy under the Conservative

:17:48.:17:50.

Party. You could put them up. It would give us flexible team in all

:17:51.:17:54.

the centres you need for an economy is growing where growth feeds into

:17:55.:17:59.

revenues. You cannot say at this stage that everything we had in the

:18:00.:18:03.

previous manifesto must automatically be... I'm not saying

:18:04.:18:08.

should be. I'm asking you what is the most effective policy as far as

:18:09.:18:11.

you are concerned in the Conservative policy and you think

:18:12.:18:14.

the triple tax lock was a mistake. I don't think it was a mistake, it was

:18:15.:18:18.

right for that manifesto and it has been followed through but a new

:18:19.:18:21.

manifesto and situation with an election gives a chance for the

:18:22.:18:26.

party to say something. Do you think you could roll out there being any

:18:27.:18:30.

increases in VAT, income tax... Of course I can't. So you can't claim

:18:31.:18:36.

you could be the lower tax party because you could put up taxes. I

:18:37.:18:41.

think if you were to try and assess who might be the lower tax party,

:18:42.:18:44.

you might look at the record and are we not a lower tax party that our

:18:45.:18:49.

rivals and those who would seek to take power? When did you last put up

:18:50.:18:54.

VAT? I can't remember. It was in 2011 and you said you would not do

:18:55.:19:00.

it, but it went up. If the average for those of basic rate income tax

:19:01.:19:05.

lower now than it was in 2010? It is lower, you know is. You promised not

:19:06.:19:10.

to put taxes up, that was the point of the triple tax lock, to promise

:19:11.:19:14.

you would not put up those income taxes. Tax policy has got to take

:19:15.:19:19.

account of what is happening in Ikeme as a whole any government has

:19:20.:19:23.

got the opportunity both to raise and lower element of taxation but it

:19:24.:19:28.

is direct or indirect in order to produce... So it was a mistake in

:19:29.:19:31.

the last manifesto. The Chancellor always need the ability and that

:19:32.:19:37.

constraint it. That policy worked for the time and it was important

:19:38.:19:40.

but of course you want the government that has the ability to

:19:41.:19:47.

change. I understand what it is... It's about trust. I agree with that

:19:48.:19:51.

but if circumstances change and people need to make changes, it is

:19:52.:19:56.

explained and you are able to move forward. If everything is always

:19:57.:20:00.

pinned down, this was in the manifesto, it must never change in

:20:01.:20:04.

the future, we have a new manifesto and we can be judged on that but

:20:05.:20:09.

also on overall tax policy over the past few years which is indisputably

:20:10.:20:13.

lower tax than it was. Let's leave it there for the moment.

:20:14.:20:15.

Now, tactical voting along Brexit lines is the talk of the town

:20:16.:20:18.

The Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, suggested yesterday that his party

:20:19.:20:23.

may not stand against some MPs who are "good Brexiteers".

:20:24.:20:29.

He gave as examples the Conservative MP David Nuttall

:20:30.:20:34.

And this morning, the Ukip branch in Bournemouth West have said

:20:35.:20:38.

that they will not stand against the sitting

:20:39.:20:40.

They said that because Mr Burns is pro-Brexit, it "does not make

:20:41.:20:44.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, said yesterday

:20:45.:20:49.

that there are "no circumstances whatsoever" in which his party

:20:50.:20:52.

would enter a coalition with either Labour or the Conservatives.

:20:53.:20:58.

But senior Lib Dem Vince Cable has called the only Green

:20:59.:21:00.

MP, Caroline Lucas, a "good progressive".

:21:01.:21:03.

And he urged Liberal Democrats in Brighton Pavilion to support her.

:21:04.:21:07.

The Green Party supports a so-called "Progressive Alliance" and they've

:21:08.:21:09.

said that they won't stand against the Remain-supporting

:21:10.:21:11.

Labour MP, Rupa Huq, in Ealing Central and Acton.

:21:12.:21:18.

And the former Labour Prime Minister, Tony Blair,

:21:19.:21:24.

He has said that it is a big issue than party allegiance.

:21:25.:21:32.

Joining me now is Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics

:21:33.:21:34.

It is going to be a significant issue? It could be if you look at

:21:35.:21:43.

that you could promise to stand out against good Brexiteers. That could

:21:44.:21:46.

have consequences. If Theresa May wins back half of the YouTube vote,

:21:47.:21:51.

it could bring the 40 or 50 Labour seeped into play -- half of the Ukip

:21:52.:21:58.

vote. The Lib Dems are gambling on the Leave voters do not turn out to

:21:59.:22:03.

take advantage of Remainers. You talked about it being as significant

:22:04.:22:07.

in terms of Ukip not standing against good Brexiteers but some

:22:08.:22:12.

people might say they are all about Brexit and this issue so why

:22:13.:22:15.

withdraw from a seat because the sitting MP is pro-Brexit if they

:22:16.:22:20.

have a whole other manifesto? I suppose what they are returning to

:22:21.:22:26.

is the 2010 fact that Lord Pearson essentially made with the

:22:27.:22:29.

Conservatives which was driven by the goal of ensuring the House of

:22:30.:22:33.

Commons is packed with as many Eurosceptics as possible and Ukip up

:22:34.:22:37.

worrying that if they took 15% of the vote in Chester, for example,

:22:38.:22:42.

they could keep Labour in that seat. I thought they were supposed to be

:22:43.:22:46.

about more than just Brexit. I guess they are. They have been trying to

:22:47.:22:52.

get some traction with this anti-Islam issued in the last few

:22:53.:22:56.

days and talking about electoral reform but the reality, most Ukip

:22:57.:23:01.

followers would concede that their share of the national vote will go

:23:02.:23:06.

down as six or 7%. For Theresa May that has massive consequences, for

:23:07.:23:10.

the Labour Party, in the last three years they have been panicking about

:23:11.:23:14.

the rise of Ukip but I think they have too worried about the collapse

:23:15.:23:18.

of Ukip because those votes going back to the Tories will have all

:23:19.:23:22.

sorts of repercussions. What about the progressive alliance between the

:23:23.:23:26.

greens, the Lib Dems and Labour? Will that only function at a local

:23:27.:23:32.

level where individual agreements are made? I imagine so but I'm not

:23:33.:23:36.

sure it will function at all, we're not seeing the kind of unity you

:23:37.:23:41.

need for that kind of pact to take place with less than 50 days until

:23:42.:23:45.

the election. It is complicated, but if you take the Lib Dems as an

:23:46.:23:49.

example, they are hoping they can give the Tories a bloody nose in the

:23:50.:23:52.

south-west but look at some of the seats. Some have a majority Leave

:23:53.:24:04.

vote so how are they going to get traction in seat where voters are

:24:05.:24:07.

saying, my voting tactically for the Lib Dems or what I really want and

:24:08.:24:10.

what I voted for in the referendum which is Brexit? I'm not sure this

:24:11.:24:12.

is going to be a massive realignment, I think the evidence is

:24:13.:24:15.

mixed. I think we will go from one region to the next thinking, how it

:24:16.:24:20.

did playing out? Has Ukip hit the Tories in more northern seat where

:24:21.:24:25.

voters view the Conservative Party is toxic or the Labour Party in

:24:26.:24:29.

southern seats where they are shifting from Ukip to the

:24:30.:24:34.

Conservatives? Are these suggestions of tactical voting from a position

:24:35.:24:38.

of weakness and desperation or come up with social media, could there be

:24:39.:24:43.

quite a impact, not just the split between Ukip and the Tories but in

:24:44.:24:47.

the left as well? My own view is that it is a big, exciting debate

:24:48.:24:52.

that we get into before an election but it never materialises. A bit

:24:53.:24:57.

like 18 to 24-year-olds turning out to vote to change history, it never

:24:58.:25:01.

really happens. We will have this discussion after the election and

:25:02.:25:04.

find that there was very minimal tactical voting generally. We will

:25:05.:25:11.

see a shift from Ukip to the Conservatives, not so much tactical

:25:12.:25:15.

but expressive, traditional social conservatives coming home if you

:25:16.:25:20.

like, I don't think that is tactical. The Labour Party may find

:25:21.:25:24.

itself getting hit on multiple fronts a really bad day, the

:25:25.:25:28.

desertion back to Theresa May, perhaps a drift to the Lib Dems in

:25:29.:25:32.

some seats but also another tactical decision, I'm staying at home. We

:25:33.:25:36.

will talk more about that. Thank you for coming in.

:25:37.:25:39.

What did you make of Tony Blair saying that the issue but Brexit is

:25:40.:25:44.

more important than party allegiance? I think this election is

:25:45.:25:47.

about many things at the economy will feature strongly, taxation

:25:48.:25:52.

policy will figure strongly and we are clear we will not hit lower and

:25:53.:25:57.

middle income earners. It will be the everyday things as much as

:25:58.:26:01.

anything, I don't think Brexit will be the only topic by any means.

:26:02.:26:05.

Tactical voting could help you, the greens have said they will not stand

:26:06.:26:10.

against the Labour MP, Rupa Huq, and you must welcome that. It is very

:26:11.:26:16.

important that it is only the Labour Party can make an alternative

:26:17.:26:20.

government to the Conservatives and if people want to vote for a

:26:21.:26:23.

possessive -- Progressive party, they have to vote Labour because

:26:24.:26:26.

that is the only way we can deliver change that people want. What about

:26:27.:26:31.

in seat where it might help if you allowed the greens or the Lib Dem

:26:32.:26:34.

and it not be a Tory candidate winning? You would not be in favour

:26:35.:26:39.

of that? It is important people have the choice to vote Labour and we

:26:40.:26:44.

represent the whole country. We have an opportunity to stand in every

:26:45.:26:47.

constituency and we will do. One of the greens keep target seat is

:26:48.:26:54.

Bristol West where the the sitting MP is pro-Remain soap would you then

:26:55.:27:01.

back some sort of pact like that? It is important that people who vote

:27:02.:27:05.

Labour are voting for a Labour government. Green MP does not have

:27:06.:27:09.

enough MPs to make a mini party in Westminster. It is important people

:27:10.:27:15.

understand that Westminster at 650 MPs and you can only have a

:27:16.:27:17.

significant impact and form another government is if you have a large

:27:18.:27:23.

political party. But you could have more seats if you did deals with the

:27:24.:27:28.

Lib Dems and with the Green party and kept Theresa May out of Downing

:27:29.:27:33.

Street. . It is important that we are determined to win the election

:27:34.:27:38.

and as Labour. What do you make about the tactical voting that is

:27:39.:27:42.

being talked about? I agree with Matthew, his talked about an awful

:27:43.:27:46.

lot because it is interesting stuff and part of the democratic process

:27:47.:27:50.

but when push comes to shove, people first weekend to vote in our system

:27:51.:27:55.

knowing that only a vote for their candidate is the most likely thing

:27:56.:27:59.

to get them elected. We have eight straightforward system, the more

:28:00.:28:02.

that your candidate gets, the more likely they are to win. People talk

:28:03.:28:07.

about pacts of the major parties have a vested interest in saying

:28:08.:28:13.

clearly, vote for us. I agreed that people have to realise that the only

:28:14.:28:16.

alternative government is a Labour Party want and that is why they had

:28:17.:28:19.

to vote Conservative to make sure that doesn't happen. We are clear on

:28:20.:28:23.

what people should be doing, they should be voting for us if they want

:28:24.:28:27.

strong, stable leadership which is what we offer. You will welcome the

:28:28.:28:32.

Ukip called the sake you should not stand against good Brexiteers? I

:28:33.:28:35.

welcome the thing that helps a Conservative be elected. We are all

:28:36.:28:41.

very fixed now, now the referendum is out of the way, we are working to

:28:42.:28:45.

make this success, so whether you voted Remain or not, it doesn't

:28:46.:28:50.

matter, what we have to do is commit ourselves as the Prime Minister has

:28:51.:28:54.

said, to making sure that leaving the EU is in the best interests of

:28:55.:28:57.

all of us and that is where the Conservative Party is. I think some

:28:58.:29:00.

people find it difficult to get their heads around that. How

:29:01.:29:04.

difficult will it be for Remain Labour MPs who are in areas where

:29:05.:29:08.

there was a high turnout for Leave? It is very clear what our policy is

:29:09.:29:13.

that we voted for in Article 50 because we of the Democratic vote in

:29:14.:29:18.

the referendum for Brexit but we want to get the best deal we can to

:29:19.:29:23.

ensure we can protect jobs. We want a good rapport with our European

:29:24.:29:28.

neighbours so we can export our goods and keep our factories here

:29:29.:29:29.

and make sure we protect jobs. A Ukip government would explicitly

:29:30.:29:33.

ban Sharia law in Britain. The party has been giving more

:29:34.:29:35.

detail of its integration agenda this morning,

:29:36.:29:38.

after the leader, Paul Nuttall, revealed yesterday that a pledge

:29:39.:29:40.

to ban the burqa would also be Here's the Ukip deputy

:29:41.:29:43.

leader, Peter Whittle. No parallel system should ever be

:29:44.:29:51.

allowed to impinge on the integrity There must be no tolerance

:29:52.:29:54.

of systems which deny The rights of women,

:29:55.:30:00.

for these are the most effected by such practices,

:30:01.:30:06.

should and must extend to all parts of our society regardless

:30:07.:30:15.

of religion or ethnicity. Now the public are

:30:16.:30:17.

rightly alarmed at the growth in Sharia courts

:30:18.:30:18.

and the apparent unwillingness of the political powers to face

:30:19.:30:22.

up to this. I am joined by Margo Parker, Ukip's

:30:23.:30:30.

equality spokesperson. Banning sharia law and sharia

:30:31.:30:42.

courts, they don't have any standing under the British legal system so

:30:43.:30:46.

how are you going to ban them, will you go round and stop them taking

:30:47.:30:51.

place? When we sit down and put this together, which will be part of our

:30:52.:30:57.

manifesto, this will be part of not allowing women to be second-class

:30:58.:31:00.

citizens so they will be represented fairly and only one law of the land.

:31:01.:31:05.

The one law of the land is absolutely supreme. It is supreme.

:31:06.:31:13.

It needs to be clarified. Women that are, for example, perhaps not as

:31:14.:31:19.

loud to have a share of a home, all sorts of things because they are

:31:20.:31:22.

disadvantaged. We must explore this, it has got to be done. How will you

:31:23.:31:29.

do it, how will you stop sharia courts sitting. Today was just a

:31:30.:31:33.

press conference with some small sound bites to tell you this is why

:31:34.:31:39.

we want more integration. We don't want women to be second-class

:31:40.:31:45.

citizens. But all women in this country are under a legal system we

:31:46.:31:50.

all share, whether or not there is a parallel court system that deals

:31:51.:31:54.

with domestic issues like divorce. If they are to be underlined in

:31:55.:32:02.

public in Britain, it has to go through our legal system, so I don't

:32:03.:32:08.

know what will change? A lot of women are disadvantaged by sharia

:32:09.:32:11.

law and we have evidence of that. So we have to make sure women are not

:32:12.:32:15.

subject to being second-class citizens. Paul Nuttall has called

:32:16.:32:21.

the burqa a barrier to integration but wouldn't it be a barrier to a

:32:22.:32:32.

multicultural society? No, you don't have people completely covering

:32:33.:32:37.

their faces working for the BBC. You are against religious freedom? Not

:32:38.:32:47.

at all. Women didn't and were not subjected to cover their faces in

:32:48.:32:52.

Iran, then they have a revolution and women cannot be High Court

:32:53.:32:54.

judges and then they have to cover their face. In Britain when women

:32:55.:33:01.

choose to wear the headscarf, it is their choice. But let me remind you

:33:02.:33:07.

what happened in July the 7th. A man dressed as a woman covered his face

:33:08.:33:12.

and got all the way to Rome so there is a security issue. It is not a

:33:13.:33:18.

barrier to integration? I think it is a barrier to integration. If it

:33:19.:33:24.

is about people'sfaces being covered on CCTV footage, what will you do

:33:25.:33:28.

about people wearing balaclavas, helmets or masks? They cannot in

:33:29.:33:35.

banks. Face covering is banned in France already, it is going to be

:33:36.:33:39.

banned in Germany. It is pending regulation in Austria. Does that

:33:40.:33:45.

make it right? I think it does, I think we are ahead of the curve

:33:46.:33:49.

here, standing of the women and saying, you don't have to do this if

:33:50.:33:53.

it is oppressive just because a man has told you to do it. You are

:33:54.:34:01.

wanting to ban it. Yes we are. Will you be telling women what to do? No,

:34:02.:34:06.

I will be saying that this is religious freedom, you don't have to

:34:07.:34:10.

cover your face because this is what men in a religious order has told

:34:11.:34:16.

you what to do. He want to ban women wearing the veil, you want to ban

:34:17.:34:22.

sharia courts and sharia law, in which way is it not anti-Moslem? It

:34:23.:34:29.

is not anti-Moslem. You could ban the courts the ultraorthodox run but

:34:30.:34:35.

you haven't called for that or any other expressions people might use

:34:36.:34:41.

in terms of their religion, the cross? We have called for

:34:42.:34:46.

integration and not segregation. Their ARC immunities around the

:34:47.:34:49.

country where women are segregated. They don't integrate in society.

:34:50.:34:54.

Perhaps they are not necessarily allow to speak the language. We have

:34:55.:34:59.

all sorts of instances where women are held back. We want them to

:35:00.:35:04.

realise their potential. Alistair Burt, would you support banning the

:35:05.:35:09.

burqa? No, in every society he would not tell people what to wear. There

:35:10.:35:17.

are places where it is part of the procedure where a woman would not be

:35:18.:35:19.

able to be fully covered in court, for example and in other security

:35:20.:35:25.

situations, but you cannot get integration if you tell people what

:35:26.:35:30.

to wear. I agree with Alistair and rather than imposing and dictating

:35:31.:35:34.

and telling communities exactly what Ukip thinks they should do, we are

:35:35.:35:39.

proud we have some Muslim MPs and they are working with the

:35:40.:35:44.

communities. This is on the side of women. Women who have had to have

:35:45.:35:48.

their vote done for them. You have seen this throughout the country

:35:49.:35:52.

where there have been pockets where they have not been allowed to

:35:53.:35:59.

integrate. We have FGM, and a situation for any woman or young

:36:00.:36:03.

child to go through. It has got to stop. There has been no

:36:04.:36:07.

prosecutions. The law is very clear in making sure... Why haven't we

:36:08.:36:14.

prosecuted anybody? The law is there to protect all others and that is

:36:15.:36:19.

the point. Why have we had no prosecutions, they do in France. On

:36:20.:36:25.

the issue of FGM, as I understand, you are proposing the parents of

:36:26.:36:28.

girls who are forced to have that are also prosecuted. That law was

:36:29.:36:38.

extended by David Cameron in 2015. So what are you proposing? Beef it

:36:39.:36:44.

up and make sure you do have prosecutions. It cannot carry on

:36:45.:36:50.

like this. It is shocking that young women are brutalised. How would you

:36:51.:36:55.

go about getting prosecutions? Doctors and health visitors have got

:36:56.:36:59.

to have an examination. There are no prosecutions. The evidence hasn't

:37:00.:37:06.

been brought to court. A couple of weeks back, in the West Midlands

:37:07.:37:11.

there had been a series on television about FGM. On Twitter,

:37:12.:37:15.

somebody from the West Midlands Police said we don't like to

:37:16.:37:18.

interfere with the family system, even though we know this might have

:37:19.:37:24.

happened. It was outrageous. I wrote to the West Midlands Chief Constable

:37:25.:37:29.

and I got a letter back. They must prosecuted vigorously, these

:37:30.:37:33.

actions. It is akin to where domestic violence used to be. It is

:37:34.:37:38.

a domestic, people said. On acceptable. It cannot be right if

:37:39.:37:42.

the law is being broken that any police force allows that to happen.

:37:43.:37:47.

Is it been followed through? When you look at the numbers, they are

:37:48.:37:52.

very high. David Cameron quoted something like over 130,000. It does

:37:53.:37:58.

seem incredible there haven't been prosecutions. Is enough effort being

:37:59.:38:03.

made to follow through? I sincerely hope to. It has risen in public

:38:04.:38:08.

prominence, people were not aware of it a little time ago, so it has to

:38:09.:38:13.

be out there. The answer is make sure people can feel can come

:38:14.:38:21.

forward and not stigmatise them. That is what we need to get the

:38:22.:38:25.

evidence amid the prosecution. What about banning sharia courts and

:38:26.:38:31.

sharia law, so there isn't a parallel legal system in this

:38:32.:38:35.

country? It is not recognised in our law. So the important thing is that

:38:36.:38:43.

we work with the Muslim communities. We have some excellent women Muslim

:38:44.:38:48.

MPs in the Labour Party. So let's make sure that we are working

:38:49.:38:55.

together and we are making sure discrimination in all its forms is

:38:56.:39:02.

eliminated. It absolutely vital we do so. Women's rights must be

:39:03.:39:06.

indivisible in any part of the United Kingdom. Thank you very much.

:39:07.:39:10.

So, we might have our own election to occupy us, but until Theresa May

:39:11.:39:13.

made the surprise announcement last Tuesday, much of our attention

:39:14.:39:16.

was focused on events across the Channel.

:39:17.:39:21.

Last night the 11 candidates in the French Presidential election

:39:22.:39:23.

were whittled down to two: the centrist candidate

:39:24.:39:25.

Emmanuel Macron will face the leader of the Front National,

:39:26.:39:29.

Marine Le Pen, in the final round in a fortnight.

:39:30.:39:32.

Here they are after last night's result.

:39:33.:39:33.

TRANSLATION: Today, Sunday the 23rd of April,

:39:34.:39:35.

As the country is going through an unprecedented

:39:36.:39:39.

moment in its history, marked by terrorism, economic

:39:40.:39:41.

challenges, social suffering of workers and urgent environmental

:39:42.:39:47.

problems, they have responded in the most beautiful way,

:39:48.:39:49.

TRANSLATION: We've made the first step which will take

:39:50.:39:58.

the French people to the Elysee Palace.

:39:59.:40:00.

It confers on me the immense responsibility of defending

:40:01.:40:08.

the French nation, its unity, its security, its culture,

:40:09.:40:13.

He works here in London and is a supporter of Marine Le Pen.

:40:14.:40:33.

Surely it is over her, Fillon is endorsing Emmanuel Macron. If enough

:40:34.:40:43.

of the voters go Emmanuel Macron, he has got it? It is not that clear. We

:40:44.:40:48.

have seen French voters change their minds very quickly in the primary

:40:49.:40:57.

and the Republicans. There is still two weeks to go and there is going

:40:58.:41:02.

to be a debate in about one week where Emmanuel Macron will have to

:41:03.:41:05.

explain his project for fans in front of Marine Le Pen. French

:41:06.:41:10.

people will get a chance, after five years of waiting, to decide if they

:41:11.:41:16.

want to go forward with defending their identity. You are a banker,

:41:17.:41:23.

and some people will say, how are you, who has obviously benefited

:41:24.:41:29.

from globalisation, supporting a woman who is anti-globalisation? I

:41:30.:41:38.

had to leave my country to find my work. It is a minority, there has

:41:39.:41:45.

been millions of jobs destroyed in France. Thousands of women raped and

:41:46.:41:53.

this is the price French people are not prepared to pay. With Marine Le

:41:54.:41:57.

Pen as the President you can go back to France and have a job similar to

:41:58.:42:02.

the one you have here? I will be able to have a decent live in

:42:03.:42:05.

France. I have an education that has been paid for and it doesn't matter

:42:06.:42:14.

how rich I am. You are in favour of her protectionist views and

:42:15.:42:17.

policies? With all this competition from countries with lower social

:42:18.:42:25.

systems which don't respect the work's rights as we do, it is

:42:26.:42:30.

essential we have a state to protect us. One of the things that is

:42:31.:42:35.

interesting, the two candidates have gone against the mainstream

:42:36.:42:40.

candidates, they are painting themselves as the non-establishment

:42:41.:42:43.

candidates. But in a way, Emmanuel Macron doesn't even have a party,

:42:44.:42:47.

isn't he the populist who will ride the wave more than remain the pen

:42:48.:42:53.

who has become more established? It is interesting because I watched the

:42:54.:42:57.

speech of Emmanuel Macron and he painted himself as trying to change

:42:58.:43:01.

the system. I think if you look at the facts, he has been a minister

:43:02.:43:07.

for two years, during which unemployment increased and before

:43:08.:43:10.

that he was an adviser of President Hollande. So his policies were

:43:11.:43:18.

directly inspired by him. The train yourself as an anti-system candidate

:43:19.:43:22.

is hard. You could argue Marine Le Pen has been part of the system for

:43:23.:43:29.

years, as has her party, she has representation at local town hall

:43:30.:43:32.

level and is very much part of the establishment? Do you know any other

:43:33.:43:41.

establishment member who has had their House bombed? No, but I'm

:43:42.:43:45.

trying to say she is part of the political establishment in France,

:43:46.:43:49.

do you not think she is? She is always trying to put the French

:43:50.:43:52.

people ahead of the system, that is why I support her. Were you

:43:53.:43:59.

surprised at how both Francois Fillon and the Socialist candidates

:44:00.:44:02.

are out, the mainstream parties have been voted against? Yes they have,

:44:03.:44:07.

it is an extraordinary situation with the country as apparently as

:44:08.:44:12.

divided into four parts as we have seen from the results. It is not for

:44:13.:44:18.

an outsider to pronounce in terms of individual parties, but the sense of

:44:19.:44:23.

uncertainty in France because of the process, the almost even split

:44:24.:44:27.

between the major blocks. But the two main establishment parties have

:44:28.:44:32.

not gone forward. But we suspect the establishment parties, because of

:44:33.:44:36.

their interest on the issues that they consider important for France

:44:37.:44:39.

may come together and support Emmanuel Macron. It was a terrible

:44:40.:44:45.

showing for the Socialist party in France, you must have felt low

:44:46.:44:49.

watching that? The French system is, they vote once and they can almost

:44:50.:44:54.

experiment, if you like, and see if their candidate can come anywhere.

:44:55.:45:02.

That is what we have seen. The socialist candidate got 6%. They

:45:03.:45:08.

have been looking elsewhere, looking clearly for Emmanuel Macron in this

:45:09.:45:14.

case. I think we will see a coalescence of people coming

:45:15.:45:18.

together to back Mr Macron because he can appeal both to the more

:45:19.:45:25.

left-wing socialist side and also to the business minded right-wing side.

:45:26.:45:28.

I think he will go forward. Thank you for coming in.

:45:29.:45:31.

So let's see what else is happening in The Week Ahead.

:45:32.:45:33.

As we've already heard, both Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon

:45:34.:45:35.

are addressing the Scottish TUC conference today.

:45:36.:45:37.

Wednesday is a big day in the Prime Minister's diary,

:45:38.:45:40.

as it's the last PMQs before parliament dissolves next week.

:45:41.:45:45.

She's also playing host to Jean-Claude Juncker

:45:46.:45:48.

in Downing Street and possibly the EU's chief Brexit

:45:49.:45:50.

Thursday is "Prorogation" or the formal end of

:45:51.:45:54.

It starts the period between the end of one session and the State Opening

:45:55.:46:01.

Not to be confused with dissolving parliament when an election

:46:02.:46:05.

is formally called, which will be next Wednesday.

:46:06.:46:08.

And the week rounds off with the European Council meeting

:46:09.:46:11.

on Saturday where EU Heads of Government are set

:46:12.:46:13.

to agree on the negotiating terms of Brexit talks.

:46:14.:46:17.

We're joined now by Fraser Nelson from the Spectator and Kate Proctor

:46:18.:46:20.

Welcome to both of you. We heard Tony Blair calling for voters to put

:46:21.:46:34.

party allegiance aside and focus more on backing candidates who are

:46:35.:46:38.

Andy Hodd Brexit. How much is tactical voting is going to be

:46:39.:46:42.

present in this election -- antique hard Brexit. Not so much in England.

:46:43.:46:51.

In Scotland there will be a lot of tactical voting anti-nationalist

:46:52.:46:55.

voting because there is another referendum on the cards and anybody

:46:56.:46:58.

who's does not want it is likely to vote for a candidate most likely to

:46:59.:47:03.

stop the SNP. Scotland is where the tactical action will be. Do you

:47:04.:47:08.

agree that this is being done from a position of weakness rather than

:47:09.:47:12.

strength? Tactical voting comes up every time but there is something

:47:13.:47:17.

serious behind this and I think in England it will be the way forward

:47:18.:47:21.

for a lot of people. Speaking to people over the weekend, they are

:47:22.:47:24.

making it their agenda to choose a party they would not normally

:47:25.:47:29.

choose. In terms of the issues, we talk about tax and security, but in

:47:30.:47:36.

last week's PMQs Jeremy Corbyn focused a lot on the debt and

:47:37.:47:39.

deficit. If the economy still going to be centre stage? Not to the same

:47:40.:47:46.

extent. The Conservatives are moving to the left economically, Theresa

:47:47.:47:50.

May is stealing Ed Miliband's plans for up energy ice cap and wants to

:47:51.:47:55.

clear the way for more tax rises as they did in the last budget. The

:47:56.:48:01.

pledge not to raise taxes will vanish in this manifesto for the

:48:02.:48:05.

Tories and they will move towards the Labour Party is economically. I

:48:06.:48:08.

don't think there will be as big a battle ground. She will be teased

:48:09.:48:13.

for stealing Miliband's policies but she will say, if you don't like

:48:14.:48:18.

that, you are you going to vote for? And on energy, she will be teased

:48:19.:48:24.

for that, but in your mind are they literally stealing some of the

:48:25.:48:28.

proposals from Labour? They even said state intervention in the

:48:29.:48:31.

energy market would be a terrible thing. They seem to be doing that a

:48:32.:48:36.

lot at the moment, it is about positioning. I know Theresa May is

:48:37.:48:39.

unlikely to think that Jeremy Corbyn is much of a threat but if you hark

:48:40.:48:46.

back to Miliband's policies, that is where the crossover between Cameron

:48:47.:48:49.

and an Miliband existed previously and Theresa May will go after those

:48:50.:48:53.

policies to get back some of those voters. One of the other policies

:48:54.:48:58.

Labour is committed to is the triple lock on pensions which some people

:48:59.:49:01.

might be surprised about but we're talking about a group of people who

:49:02.:49:05.

do vote. And the Conservatives are yet to confirm that. Will it be in

:49:06.:49:14.

the manifesto? I don't think so, it is a very expensive pledge and it

:49:15.:49:17.

was only in there to bribe pensioners at the last election and

:49:18.:49:20.

it worked and they got a majority but now Theresa May does not need to

:49:21.:49:24.

bribe anybody with Labour as weak as they are. Expensive badges like that

:49:25.:49:30.

and other promises to pensioners will vanish. -- expensive pledges.

:49:31.:49:36.

And it also has done its job. There was a time when pensioner income was

:49:37.:49:41.

below that of the working age but now disposable income is almost the

:49:42.:49:45.

same for pension houses and working age houses so it's time to abolish

:49:46.:49:49.

it. And raising the state pension age is something on the agenda.

:49:50.:49:55.

Interesting to see if that comes up in the manifesto or if it will be

:49:56.:49:58.

kicked into the long grass because raising the state pension age, there

:49:59.:50:01.

was meant to be an announcement on that. Were you surprised that the

:50:02.:50:07.

Labour Party has committed itself to keeping the triple lock on pensions?

:50:08.:50:12.

Not at all. It is hugely expensive and it sounds like the kind of thing

:50:13.:50:17.

they think is a good idea and it is a vote winner, especially those over

:50:18.:50:23.

55 and 16 onwards. It is hugely popular but as evidence has shown,

:50:24.:50:30.

it is financially in viable -- 55 and 60. It will be difficult for

:50:31.:50:36.

them to see it through. And PMQs on Wednesday, what are you expecting?

:50:37.:50:42.

Theresa May is in good form and seems to be relishing this election

:50:43.:50:47.

and she will try to handbag Jeremy Corbyn as much as possible. He might

:50:48.:50:52.

attack her from the right, we have had this effective Tory tax

:50:53.:50:56.

bombshell line from Labour and he might try that again is the strange

:50:57.:50:59.

to see him resorting to it but he does not have that much ammunition.

:51:00.:51:03.

Thank you very much. Enjoy the campaign.

:51:04.:51:04.

Now, on Friday's programme, Laura Perrins from the Conservative

:51:05.:51:06.

Woman website claimed that the Shadow Brexit Secretary,

:51:07.:51:09.

Keir Starmer, sent his children to private school.

:51:10.:51:11.

Keir Starmer says his children go to a local state primary in Camden,

:51:12.:51:16.

Laura Perrins has since issued an apology and we're also happy

:51:17.:51:21.

Now, with the election every political party

:51:22.:51:27.

will be taking a long, hard look at their priorities

:51:28.:51:30.

As they write their manifestos, they'll be trying to decide

:51:31.:51:33.

where to be generous, and where to make savings.

:51:34.:51:35.

When it comes to a government's first duty, the defence

:51:36.:51:38.

of the realm, we spend what is the Nato target -

:51:39.:51:40.

But the writer Andrew Sabisky argues that isn't enough,

:51:41.:51:47.

and is challenging the parties to commit to trebling -

:51:48.:51:49.

This London memorial, honouring the thousands of

:51:50.:52:20.

airmen who died flying Bomber Command in the Second World

:52:21.:52:24.

War, is a magnificent reminder of our glorious

:52:25.:52:26.

But here in the present, decades of funding cuts have

:52:27.:52:30.

But the problem is not just recruitment.

:52:31.:52:43.

We are building aircraft carriers but without the escorts needed

:52:44.:52:46.

The Army has fewer than 200 main battle tanks left and

:52:47.:52:51.

we've lost the capacity to build more.

:52:52.:52:56.

In Iraq and Afghanistan our troops fought bravely but lacked the

:52:57.:52:58.

resources to defeat the insurgencies they faced and had to be bailed

:52:59.:53:01.

At the moment we spend 2% of our national

:53:02.:53:13.

But if we want to be a truly global power, then we

:53:14.:53:19.

And that means increasing the military's budget.

:53:20.:53:30.

On our doorstep, a weak Europe faces the

:53:31.:53:33.

terrifying threat of a resurgent Russia that could conquer our

:53:34.:53:36.

allies, Estonia and Latvia, in just 60 hours.

:53:37.:53:41.

And our Ministry of Defence is not equipped to deal with

:53:42.:53:44.

We are far too reliant on the US, with the unstable

:53:45.:53:52.

A dangerous and uncertain world calls

:53:53.:53:59.

Now that there's an election, I'm challenging the parties to commit to

:54:00.:54:07.

trebling our defence expenditure from 2% to 6% of GDP.

:54:08.:54:10.

Protect our nation, save our military, and spend the six.

:54:11.:54:25.

Well done for timing it with the procession. Why 6%, why not four or

:54:26.:54:41.

five? Could we have lost so much capability over the last few decades

:54:42.:54:47.

and particularly since 2010, the Defence Select Committee report in

:54:48.:54:52.

2016 that since then we had lost 20% of our conventional capabilities.

:54:53.:54:55.

I'm not saying we should spend 6% for ever but maybe for the next five

:54:56.:55:02.

years, a really big boost, some heavy equipment buying and then

:55:03.:55:08.

taper down toward a long-term target of 4%. Let's get reaction to that,

:55:09.:55:14.

do you back that? We are absolutely committed to the 2% spending that

:55:15.:55:18.

Nato requires. That will be in the manifesto. Definitely. Does Jeremy

:55:19.:55:27.

Corbyn support that? He does and has talked about it at the dispatch box

:55:28.:55:31.

and we have talked about in treating B 2% but what we will be doing is

:55:32.:55:36.

not fiddling the figures in the way that I have to say that the

:55:37.:55:39.

Conservatives have done. How have they done that? Trying to include

:55:40.:55:44.

things like pensions as part of that 2%, we want it to be as we can delay

:55:45.:55:49.

did it in 2010 but Andrew highlighted the point that we have

:55:50.:55:54.

spending slashed since the 2010 defence review and that is the

:55:55.:55:58.

problem we have got. You indicated you would like to spend more than

:55:59.:56:03.

2%? How much more? I said we're looking carefully at what we would

:56:04.:56:06.

need to spend and we would want a proper review to look at some of the

:56:07.:56:09.

gaps that Andrew is highlighting and where we might need to put in more

:56:10.:56:15.

money. That might not be enough for you, not even America spends that

:56:16.:56:22.

much of GDP, 6%. White should we? Again, I'm not saying we should do

:56:23.:56:26.

it for ever and it is not a partisan issue, there is plenty of blame for

:56:27.:56:29.

the last Labour government as well as the Tories but because of the

:56:30.:56:32.

capabilities we have lost and we urgently need to restore, such as

:56:33.:56:37.

the fact that we don't have the airborne capabilities to patrol our

:56:38.:56:42.

season against submarines, it is gone. The figures when we get down

:56:43.:56:49.

to it, we spend around 50 billion on defence now, that would put it up to

:56:50.:56:52.

150 billion and it would be bigger than the NHS budget. Where does that

:56:53.:56:58.

extra ?100 billion come from? Are you comfortable with the defences as

:56:59.:57:03.

they are now, particularly as outlined? I'm comfortable that from

:57:04.:57:06.

the time of the last election we increased the commitment to that 2%

:57:07.:57:12.

of GDP and we said the cuts were done and we have an investment

:57:13.:57:16.

programme in machinery and the goods people need and it is stable in

:57:17.:57:21.

company with partners and Nato to go to the sort of figures you are

:57:22.:57:25.

talking about I think is impractical. We have to work with

:57:26.:57:28.

others for our defence capability. It would mean massive cuts to other

:57:29.:57:33.

parts of public spending. It would mean a few. I think certain

:57:34.:57:36.

sacrifices may have to be made particularly by the older generation

:57:37.:57:41.

who are currently recipients of extremely expensive pledges like the

:57:42.:57:47.

triple lock, free NHS prescriptions and so on. In order to fund defences

:57:48.:57:51.

but are you saying we are in a more dangerous world than in the Cold War

:57:52.:57:57.

for example? I wouldn't say it was necessarily less dangerous given the

:57:58.:58:01.

highly unpredictable and unstable leadership in Russia, North Korea

:58:02.:58:05.

and of course the Middle East is a powder keg. You would agree with

:58:06.:58:11.

that? We are living in a dangerous world, whether as dangerous as the

:58:12.:58:16.

Cold War, and there were cuts to defences. You're been accused of the

:58:17.:58:21.

figures. I don't think we did that at all but what we said at the last

:58:22.:58:25.

election was those cuts came to an end, we would go back to the 2% and

:58:26.:58:31.

we make that pledge which people said we would not do but we have

:58:32.:58:34.

done and it means more money is coming into the forces now. It is

:58:35.:58:38.

essential we keep up our defenders and work with others and you need a

:58:39.:58:42.

strong economy to do that. I don't think you would get it by trying to

:58:43.:58:46.

put in as much as you are suggesting. I'm afraid we have run

:58:47.:58:51.

out of time. Thank you for coming in and to you two. From all of us here,

:58:52.:58:55.

goodbye.

:58:56.:58:58.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS