:00:37. > :00:41.Hello and welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:42. > :00:43.Labour say they will hire 10,000 extra police officers
:00:44. > :00:46.paid for by reversing cuts in capital gains tax.
:00:47. > :00:48.But why didn't the Shadow Home Secretary
:00:49. > :00:54.It was the dinner date from hell according to EU sources,
:00:55. > :01:01.but should we really believe the account of a spurned lover?
:01:02. > :01:04.It was 20 years ago today that Tony Blair marched down Downing Street
:01:05. > :01:10.But what's the legacy of Labour's most electorally successful leader?
:01:11. > :01:12.And an installation artist has been commissioned
:01:13. > :01:22.What will Cornelia Parker make of the contest?
:01:23. > :01:31.And with us for the whole programme today is someone who thinks politics
:01:32. > :01:33.is more of a science than an art, political scientist, Philip Cowley.
:01:34. > :01:44.First this morning, Labour have said they will create 10,000 more police
:01:45. > :01:47.officers in England and Wales if they win the general election -
:01:48. > :01:50.and they'll pay for the policy by reversing cuts to Capital Gains Tax.
:01:51. > :01:52.But there's some confusion about how much it will cost.
:01:53. > :01:56.In a radio interview earlier this morning
:01:57. > :01:58.Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said the sum was only ?300,000.
:01:59. > :02:01.But that would only amount to ?30 per police officer.
:02:02. > :02:03.She then corrected herself and said the figure was ?80 million.
:02:04. > :02:13.In a further clarification, Labour said it would in fact cost
:02:14. > :02:27.In the past couple of hours, Jeremy Corbyn was asked about that figure.
:02:28. > :02:35.And Diane Abbott's interview. She directed the figure. -- corrected.
:02:36. > :02:39.And it will be paid for by not going ahead with the cuts
:02:40. > :02:43.REPORTER: Is it a bit embarrassing your Shadow Home Secretary
:02:44. > :02:47.Trying to get voters to put their trust in you in this election?
:02:48. > :02:51.It will be absolutely clear now, today and in the manifesto.
:02:52. > :02:53.I'm not embarrassed in the slightest.
:02:54. > :03:02.That was Jeremy Corbin, the Labour leader.
:03:03. > :03:08.I'm happy to say Diane Abbott is with me now. It is embarrassing? It
:03:09. > :03:14.is embarrassing that you don't know your figures on a key policy. I do
:03:15. > :03:19.know the figures, and I did seven interviews that morning and that was
:03:20. > :03:24.the seventh. I do know my figures. You did not know them in that
:03:25. > :03:32.interview. It was with LBC. We can have a listen. How much were 10,000
:03:33. > :03:39.police officers cost? -- would. If we recruit 10,000 policemen and
:03:40. > :03:46.women over a four-year period, we believe it will be about ?300,000
:03:47. > :03:57.will stop ?300,000? What are you paying them? ! Sorry. How much will
:03:58. > :04:09.they cost? They will cost... It will cost... About ?80 million. About ?80
:04:10. > :04:16.million? Yes. That is hugely embarrassing. Not just misspeaking,
:04:17. > :04:21.you just don't know your figures and you are not on top of your brief. If
:04:22. > :04:27.I didn't know my figures why was I able to do six other interviews and
:04:28. > :04:32.give the figures correctly. You need to ask why the Conservative Party is
:04:33. > :04:39.so anxious to move the debate away from the 20,000 police officers. We
:04:40. > :04:42.will come onto that. But back to the interview, never mind that you did
:04:43. > :04:48.six interviews, this is an election campaign and, front benches and
:04:49. > :04:53.government ministers are expected to do many interviews and this was a
:04:54. > :04:56.major policy announcement. You want to make this a cornerstone of your
:04:57. > :05:06.manifesto. You didn't know the figures. I did know my figures. Why
:05:07. > :05:09.didn't you say then? I misspoke. If I didn't know them I wouldn't have
:05:10. > :05:15.been able to repeat them correctly in six other interviews. Which other
:05:16. > :05:19.interviews did you correct them? In one other I heard you said it was
:05:20. > :05:23.all going to be in the manifesto. I did six other interviews. You
:05:24. > :05:34.decided to talk about the figures and they are basic figures.
:05:35. > :05:37.?300,000, which would have meant 30 pounds per police officer, that is
:05:38. > :05:42.embarrassing. Did you not know them at all and you were guessing when
:05:43. > :05:48.you were asked about it on air? I knew the figures. I repeated there
:05:49. > :05:53.many times. I have not heard you repeat there many times. You don't
:05:54. > :05:57.want to talk about policing, I'm concerned about that, which is
:05:58. > :06:01.something the public is concerned about, anyone to go over and over
:06:02. > :06:06.the Nick Ferrari interview. That issue of fault, Diane Abbott. We
:06:07. > :06:10.were prepared to talk about the issue of policing and the claims you
:06:11. > :06:14.are making that the police force has been underfunded anyone to recruit
:06:15. > :06:18.more officers, but by going on air in a major interview where you just
:06:19. > :06:28.completely fluffed the figures, whether you knew them or not, that
:06:29. > :06:31.does not do your cause any good. The public will understand that you are
:06:32. > :06:37.not willing to talk about the real issues, and the real issues are that
:06:38. > :06:44.we have lost 20,000 police officers since 2010 and we are seeing a rise
:06:45. > :06:53.in fired on crime. You want to be Home Secretary. Yellow macro --
:06:54. > :06:57.violent crime. I dispute that you did know those figures, and how can
:06:58. > :07:00.you claim that you want to be Home Secretary in charge of the police
:07:01. > :07:07.forces of England and Wales question not have you instilled confidence --
:07:08. > :07:10.England and Wales? People that listened to any of the interviews I
:07:11. > :07:15.gave this morning with the exception of the LBC interview will know that
:07:16. > :07:18.I do know the figures and I wish you were prepared to talk about
:07:19. > :07:23.policing. We are going to talk about that. We have a Conservative on the
:07:24. > :07:28.programme, but people will be worried that you are not across what
:07:29. > :07:32.you should be in terms of this brief that you came on the airwaves to
:07:33. > :07:37.announce as a key part of your holiday. Is it important to attach
:07:38. > :07:42.the right figures to major spending commitments? Of course, and that is
:07:43. > :07:47.why I did that in six interviews out of seven. It is also important that
:07:48. > :07:51.this programme is prepared to talk to the Labour spokesperson about
:07:52. > :07:56.policing because people deserve to know what the Labour Party is trying
:07:57. > :08:03.to do. You are trying to reverse the cuts to capital gains tax, so what
:08:04. > :08:07.level will it be under Labour? We are going to reverse the cuts in
:08:08. > :08:14.capital gains tax in order to fund... But what level will it be?
:08:15. > :08:20.Just let me say what it is important to have 10,000 more police meant
:08:21. > :08:25.because we have lost 20,000 under Theresa May -- more policemen. We
:08:26. > :08:30.have seen a rise in violent crime and we have some of the lowest rates
:08:31. > :08:37.of capital gains tax in Europe. What will they be under Labour? What will
:08:38. > :08:44.the two levels of capital gains tax be? We will bring them back to where
:08:45. > :08:51.they were. What are those levels? It will save us nearly ?2.7 billion and
:08:52. > :08:55.that is what we are going to use, to pay for the 10,000 policemen and
:08:56. > :08:59.other areas of our manifesto, and in case you say that none of it is
:09:00. > :09:04.costed, we will produce a manifesto which is costed and is paid for and
:09:05. > :09:07.we hope as the campaign progresses that people like yourself will be
:09:08. > :09:12.more willing to talk about the issues. We will, but voters want to
:09:13. > :09:17.know that they can trust you with the figures and the finances. One
:09:18. > :09:20.more time, because I think you donor what the levels of capital gains tax
:09:21. > :09:27.would be if you reverse them -- I think you don't know. It is not the
:09:28. > :09:31.figure we have put out, that is the figure in the government's on Red
:09:32. > :09:35.but, if we reverse the cuts that the government has announced, that we
:09:36. > :09:42.will raise at least ?2.7 billion -- Redbook. We believe we can put that
:09:43. > :09:53.money to better use than on tax cuts for the top 5%. Dominic, we can have
:09:54. > :09:58.a look at the substance of the issue, there have been cuts, and
:09:59. > :10:02.last month the leader of policing said said it is in a perilous state,
:10:03. > :10:05.the issue of policing, and that is a real message for the Conservatives
:10:06. > :10:10.to take into the election after being in power for seven years. Our
:10:11. > :10:18.message is that if you are at the crime survey for England and Wales,
:10:19. > :10:27.violent crime is down by 22%. Not accorded to the macro -- according
:10:28. > :10:33.to police recordings. It is also true to say, on the crime survey,
:10:34. > :10:37.there has been an uptake against the person although the ONS said that is
:10:38. > :10:41.not statistically important, but you will not get more investment in the
:10:42. > :10:50.NHS and policing unless you have got a strong handle on the economy and
:10:51. > :10:55.just look at the shambles of Diane Abbott this morning. Imagine if that
:10:56. > :11:01.was regarding the economy as a whole. We have discussed that as a
:11:02. > :11:04.whole. We are going to look at a further cut to policing under the
:11:05. > :11:10.Conservative government? There will be any further cuts? I was asked to
:11:11. > :11:15.talk about Brexit, but I'm happy to talk about crime. At the moment we
:11:16. > :11:18.are happy to talk about our record. There have been difficult decisions
:11:19. > :11:29.when it comes to the police budget. It has dropped by 22%. The public
:11:30. > :11:36.concern that it -- the public care most about crime and that has
:11:37. > :11:40.dropped. They said there was also an increase, and you will know that
:11:41. > :11:47.Biden crime, and knife crime is what frightens the public -- violent
:11:48. > :11:49.crime. You can't answer the basic figures, how you going to pay for
:11:50. > :11:54.this and how many police you are going to put on the street. You
:11:55. > :12:01.can't answer questions about your record in losing police officers.
:12:02. > :12:04.Violent crime is down by 22%. The independent watchdog says what is
:12:05. > :12:08.happening is an unconscious form of rationing. If you want to be
:12:09. > :12:12.measured on your record, according to the watchdog that record is not
:12:13. > :12:20.very good. You can take a selective quote. It is not a selective quote.
:12:21. > :12:25.What I'm going to point to, since 2010, seven years, what has happened
:12:26. > :12:28.to crime and violent crime, which is the attack Labour are going on, it
:12:29. > :12:35.is down, and the public know it. No one seems the thinks Diane Abbott is
:12:36. > :12:48.going to be a strong custodian of law and order. Do you accept... I
:12:49. > :12:52.think Joe is asking the questions. Knife crime has gone up in the
:12:53. > :12:58.Metropolitan Police area. I don't have the geographical figures.
:12:59. > :13:01.England and Wales, violent crime down by 22% since 2010, and there
:13:02. > :13:08.has been an increase recently, but even the ONS said it is
:13:09. > :13:11.significantly insignificant, and we will run on our record, you have
:13:12. > :13:14.nothing credible to say on this issue and no one trusts you on this
:13:15. > :13:19.issue because you cannot get the basic facts right. There was a press
:13:20. > :13:25.release which was put out by Labour which mentioned the 300 mil in
:13:26. > :13:31.pounds figure. -- ?300 million figure. You did not use that in your
:13:32. > :13:34.interview and that reduces your credibility and allows opponents to
:13:35. > :13:39.attack you in the way that Dominic is. It reduces the media credibility
:13:40. > :13:43.because they are not prepared to talk about. You can blame the media,
:13:44. > :13:48.but it doesn't help your cause if you give ammunition to your
:13:49. > :13:53.opponents. What does it do to Labour campaigners when they are having to
:13:54. > :13:57.fight fires unnecessary fires on a key cornerstone? What people want to
:13:58. > :14:01.know is what the government is going to do about the rise in violent
:14:02. > :14:12.crime and gun crime in areas like London and this is what we are not
:14:13. > :14:16.hearing. The ONS says the uptake in violent crime is small, but they say
:14:17. > :14:23.that this is a warning on what is to come. In London there has been an
:14:24. > :14:25.increase. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner says she is worried
:14:26. > :14:31.about that, you saying that has nothing to do with police cuts?
:14:32. > :14:36.Across the board, what voters worry about is not what we put in in terms
:14:37. > :14:39.of either money or in terms of numbers of police officers and
:14:40. > :14:46.PlayStation is, they care about the end product -- and police stations.
:14:47. > :14:51.But we are not complacent. If you look at the changes we have made on
:14:52. > :14:54.stop and search and also sentences for knife possession, we will
:14:55. > :14:58.continue to be vigilant and have zero tolerance on those most serious
:14:59. > :15:03.levels of crime for the what we are not going to do is take one isolated
:15:04. > :15:09.statistic for one isolated area and not defend our record. Which is
:15:10. > :15:13.strong. The ONS says even after taking better reported into account,
:15:14. > :15:19.homicides and knife crimes are showing small but genuine increases.
:15:20. > :15:22.People may ask if cuts are going to continue under a Tory government if
:15:23. > :15:28.you win the election, those figures are only going to increase. What the
:15:29. > :15:33.country understands is we have to look at our code according to our
:15:34. > :15:40.cloth and you can't rely on the Labour Party for that -- we have to
:15:41. > :15:43.cut our code according to our cloth. You have got to trust the strong
:15:44. > :15:49.leadership and only the Tories are giving this to you. Looking at this
:15:50. > :15:57.issue. I remember Tony Blair. Tough on the causes of crime. Could this
:15:58. > :16:02.become a bigger issue? The exchange has become symbolic of the exchange
:16:03. > :16:06.so far and the election so far, Labour have put out a policy which
:16:07. > :16:10.they have done nearly every day, and a policy which does very well when
:16:11. > :16:15.you poll about individual policies. The attack then comes not be policy
:16:16. > :16:18.detail but on whether Labour can deliver and that is basically what
:16:19. > :16:24.we are going to see every week for the rest of the election. If there
:16:25. > :16:27.is an import to Diane's interview this morning, that is it, because it
:16:28. > :16:32.speaks to confidence which is the attack line that the Conservatives
:16:33. > :16:36.are pushing. In this exchange it is policy detail against competence.
:16:37. > :16:38.And that is what we will see for the next 5-6 weeks. Thanks for joining
:16:39. > :16:43.us. Now, when European Commission
:16:44. > :16:46.President, Jean Claude Juncker, met Theresa May at Downing Street
:16:47. > :16:48.last week, the European Commission described
:16:49. > :17:01.the meeting as "constructive." But an alternative account of the
:17:02. > :17:04.meeting appeared in a German In it, an EU source was quoted
:17:05. > :17:07.as describing Theresa May as being "in a different galaxy"
:17:08. > :17:11.and that Mr Juncker as "ten times more sceptical" about the prospects
:17:12. > :17:13.for a deal on leaving the meeting. Our political correspondent, Vicki
:17:14. > :17:16.Young is with the Prime Minister in the west country this afternoon
:17:17. > :17:24.and joins us now from St Austell. Give us the account from Downing
:17:25. > :17:30.Street of the meeting. They say they will not get involved in any kind of
:17:31. > :17:34.war and they do not recognise what has been said. What is interesting
:17:35. > :17:39.is that they will have to get used to the idea of what we have seen
:17:40. > :17:47.since the EU left the vote last year, that Theresa May has not been
:17:48. > :17:51.able to dictate what is going on. She was still able to do that
:17:52. > :17:55.through the House of Commons, but now those negotiations are under way
:17:56. > :18:01.there will be two sides to the story. They will not be very pleased
:18:02. > :18:07.that this version has been leaked out by whoever did that, and they
:18:08. > :18:11.will continue to approach this in a very constructive manner and have to
:18:12. > :18:18.be careful with their words as they go into this, saying they want
:18:19. > :18:23.Brexit to be good is no reason they shouldn't be that that is the
:18:24. > :18:28.challenge from the other side. A beautiful backdrop there, Vicky, in
:18:29. > :18:35.Saint or stall, why is the prime Minster there? No coincidence she
:18:36. > :18:40.has come here, because this used to be the Liberal Democrat heartlands,
:18:41. > :18:45.but in the last election they were walked in washed away in a blue tide
:18:46. > :18:49.with the Conservatives taking every seat, and Theresa May is here to
:18:50. > :18:52.make sure there is no chance of a Liberal Democrat comeback. And it's
:18:53. > :18:58.a pattern we have seen already, coming to areas where there has been
:18:59. > :19:01.a vote in favour of Brexit, and a sizeable Ukip vote, and the
:19:02. > :19:04.Conservatives are confident they can attract some of those people who
:19:05. > :19:08.would look towards Theresa May is the person to deliver Brexit. But it
:19:09. > :19:12.will be interesting to see how the kind of stories we have been hearing
:19:13. > :19:16.about, the difficulties she could face and the negotiations to come,
:19:17. > :19:19.how that will go down and it would help her in some ways. The
:19:20. > :19:23.Conservatives hope that people will look and say the negotiations will
:19:24. > :19:26.be tough and she has promised to deliver for Britain and in areas
:19:27. > :19:31.like this which voted to leave, they might look at her and see that as a
:19:32. > :19:37.vote winner. There is no sizeable Labour vote in these areas, so she
:19:38. > :19:42.is seen as someone in contest with the Liberal Democrats. They say even
:19:43. > :19:46.though they are a pro-EU party, they say in local elections, even in
:19:47. > :19:49.areas that voted to leave they have done well, but I think the Tories
:19:50. > :19:51.feel pretty confident they will be able to hold onto many of the seats
:19:52. > :19:52.in the South West. And joining us now from Brussels
:19:53. > :19:56.is the Irish MEP and Vice President of the European
:19:57. > :20:08.Parliament, Mairead McGuinness. So, the gloves are off, EU officials
:20:09. > :20:14.are briefing against the UK in the European press. Is this the way the
:20:15. > :20:17.negotiations should be conducted? That is a tabloid version of
:20:18. > :20:22.probably what is going to have to happen over the next couple of
:20:23. > :20:24.weeks, which is that both sides have set out their negotiating
:20:25. > :20:29.priorities, the parliament, the council and the commission are clear
:20:30. > :20:32.and the United Kingdom is in the middle of an election campaign, so
:20:33. > :20:37.we will have to wait for some time until we see absolute clarity from
:20:38. > :20:40.the UK side. But I think both parties in the negotiations know
:20:41. > :20:44.that they have to reach agreement on a number of issues, that we have a
:20:45. > :20:48.certain amount of time in which to do that, and that we do have to get
:20:49. > :20:52.on with it. My own view is that the renegotiations cannot start until
:20:53. > :20:57.July, or maybe after August, so that would tighten the time frame, but in
:20:58. > :20:59.a sense preparatory work is what is really important so the council
:21:00. > :21:03.meeting at the weekend is crucial because of the clarity it has
:21:04. > :21:11.delivered on citizens rights and budgetary issues and on the issue of
:21:12. > :21:16.Ireland. And also from the Parliamentary side. Your voice is
:21:17. > :21:25.quite low in my earpiece. I will shout as loud as I can
:21:26. > :21:32.without it being embarrassing in the studio. You said this was tabloid
:21:33. > :21:36.gossip. There was an article in a German newspaper, a broadsheet
:21:37. > :21:42.newspaper in Germany, do you think this sort of tone that those sorts
:21:43. > :21:47.of comments that were briefed to the newspaper is the way the
:21:48. > :21:52.negotiations should be conducted by the EU? Clearly there were a number
:21:53. > :21:58.of people at this famous dinner. What hasn't been discussed is the
:21:59. > :22:03.food. The words were discussed. What has emerged is apparently, I wasn't
:22:04. > :22:07.at the dinner, I can only reflect in what I read in the English version
:22:08. > :22:13.of the article. There was a sense in which they sat down together,
:22:14. > :22:17.president Juncker and Prime Minister May, there was perhaps not a meeting
:22:18. > :22:22.of minds on the issues. There may be a view from one side there's no
:22:23. > :22:26.understanding. Beyond that, this will play out over a number of days,
:22:27. > :22:31.maybe weeks, because there is an election campaign, there is a
:22:32. > :22:35.reality at all levels in the Parliament, commission and council
:22:36. > :22:39.and on the UK side as well, when the negotiations start we'll have to
:22:40. > :22:44.leave that outside of the room and deal with issues that matter to
:22:45. > :22:47.people. It is about a question of border in Northern Ireland, we will
:22:48. > :22:53.not allow that to happen again. It is budget and citizen's rights.
:22:54. > :22:57.Dominic, if these reports are right, they sounded pretty comprehensive,
:22:58. > :23:01.the Prime Minister, according to the briefings is either being poorly
:23:02. > :23:05.briefed herself on the negotiations or is hopelessly naive. Which is it?
:23:06. > :23:10.Neither, they are not credible, those reports. We can expect, on all
:23:11. > :23:18.sides to get tittle tattle which makes it into the media. Mairead
:23:19. > :23:24.McGuinnessaged I will stay resolute. Theresa May won't be pushed around.
:23:25. > :23:32.Equally, be constructive, sober and positive guying forward. ? No
:23:33. > :23:35.contrast to the media tittle tattle, the EU finalised their guidelines.
:23:36. > :23:40.We probably agree on two thirds of issues. We will have two years on
:23:41. > :23:44.the final third. Lots of gaps still a bridge. If you are going to have
:23:45. > :23:49.tough moments in negotiation, who do you trust to lead us through it? I
:23:50. > :23:53.would say Theresa May has a firm hand on negotiations. That's your
:23:54. > :24:00.line. If you're looking at the terms and tone of the negotiation, even
:24:01. > :24:06.Mairead McGuinness said there wasn't a meeting of mints... It is the
:24:07. > :24:11.start of the negotiations. I accept. That but Theresa May saying we want
:24:12. > :24:15.to makes Brexit a success and asking clawed Juncker to say the same,
:24:16. > :24:20.that's naive. He needs to make it look less attractive to leave the EU
:24:21. > :24:27.than it is to remain part of the EU. Isn't that a naive thing to say in
:24:28. > :24:33.respect of the EU partners? It would be politically count he prods Octive
:24:34. > :24:39.for the EU. Jean-Claude Juncker isn't the only voice in this. I was
:24:40. > :24:44.reading the speeches in February mar raid McGuinness made. The Irish will
:24:45. > :24:50.not wanted trade barriers to go up. It would be damaging to the UK
:24:51. > :24:55.agricultural market. Let's not focus on loose, loose. If the negotiations
:24:56. > :25:00.continue down the lines of Theresa May being on another galaxy and, as
:25:01. > :25:05.you say, there wasn't a meeting of minds when they met then, but
:25:06. > :25:10.actually t will end up with economic mass seism come on the side of the
:25:11. > :25:18.EU if they make it difficult for the UK? Theresa May is in an election
:25:19. > :25:22.campaign. The EU of the 27 are on a campaign where they're united to
:25:23. > :25:29.deal with Brexit. What's clear in this Parliament is people have got
:25:30. > :25:32.over the shock and disappointment and and are pragmatic setting out
:25:33. > :25:37.what the issues are. I hope we can reach a good agreement. It requires
:25:38. > :25:40.us all to stand back and look at the issues. There has to be some
:25:41. > :25:45.progress on the withdrawal agreement. I believe we'll need a
:25:46. > :25:50.transition period. We want to have a good trading relationship. There's
:25:51. > :25:55.no doubt the situation, after Brexit, cannot be the same as today.
:25:56. > :25:58.That's where there are some difficult negotiations ahead. First
:25:59. > :26:04.of all, for people to recognise that. To some extent, the reporting
:26:05. > :26:07.of that particular dinner may do no harm that there were different views
:26:08. > :26:13.coming. Perhaps there was no meeting of minds. It may focus minds after
:26:14. > :26:17.the election campaign about what can be achieved and how. Really, I
:26:18. > :26:21.always say if we put people first, then I think we can work towards
:26:22. > :26:25.solutions that are good for the European Union. And that perhaps
:26:26. > :26:29.don't harm the UK. After all, you've made the decision. We've to deal
:26:30. > :26:34.with the consequences of it. We don't want to see the EU of 27
:26:35. > :26:39.disunited. From an Irish point of view, we know well our issues will
:26:40. > :26:44.only be defended and won by the EU 27 sticking together. When you look
:26:45. > :26:50.at Ireland's position, whose side would you say you're on, mar raid
:26:51. > :26:55.McGuinness? Is it your biggest trading partner which you share a
:26:56. > :27:00.land border or Jean-Claude Juninger and the 27? Are you saying whose
:27:01. > :27:06.side are you on? The sound is really bad. Are you on the UK's bigger
:27:07. > :27:14.trading partner? I'll cut across you. I hard. Good. In terms of
:27:15. > :27:18.sides, I've said this to minister David Davis, the Republic of
:27:19. > :27:23.Ireland, we're part of the European Union of 27. Our Taoiseach has made
:27:24. > :27:28.that clear. We sit on that side of the table and negotiate with the UK.
:27:29. > :27:32.We have a long history with the UK. We are neighbours, traders, as you
:27:33. > :27:38.are with us. We both value that relationship and want to make sure
:27:39. > :27:42.it is not deeply damaged. Or food sector, farmers would be really
:27:43. > :27:47.badly affected. When it comes to sides, you have to understand there
:27:48. > :27:52.are two sides. We're firmly with the EU 27. It allows us to understand
:27:53. > :27:59.fully the issues which affect both of us. If you want absolute clarity,
:28:00. > :28:03.the EU 27. Mar raid said there has to be some progress made on the
:28:04. > :28:08.withdrawal, the divorce bill. Without some sort of progress made,
:28:09. > :28:14.they're not going to talk about an EU trade deal. Do you accept that
:28:15. > :28:19.now? It has to be done 234 stages? I certainly welcome the fact the EU
:28:20. > :28:23.position has shifted. We need to tie up all the details of the exit deal
:28:24. > :28:27.before moving on. I'm fine with that. The think the Government is
:28:28. > :28:31.too. We need to work out the principles which will inform the
:28:32. > :28:36.exit agreement. Whether on financial liabilities and as sets we would be
:28:37. > :28:41.entitled to, be also EU nationals. We need to make rowing rest on the
:28:42. > :28:49.future agreement. There will be no deal until we agree the whole deal.
:28:50. > :28:54.The fundamental principle of the way the EU goes about its diplomacy.
:28:55. > :28:58.When you listen to what Government ministers said so far, the snap
:28:59. > :29:02.election being called. Theresa May said she wanted to strengthen her
:29:03. > :29:06.hand because of the opposition. Amber Rudd implied and suggested it
:29:07. > :29:11.was about being given a mandate to be more flexible. You're pleased EU
:29:12. > :29:14.has moved, you say. Are you going to move and would be support the
:29:15. > :29:20.Government moving too in these negotiations? I think any
:29:21. > :29:25.negotiation, you need a leader, set of principles, objectives. We've got
:29:26. > :29:28.that. There will come a moment when in order to get that win/win deal,
:29:29. > :29:35.there will be need to be flexibility. I think, not just
:29:36. > :29:39.because we've a strength in mandate after from the British people after
:29:40. > :29:42.this election, but not having the transitional arrangement by an
:29:43. > :29:48.election. That will be useful. It was interesting to see the CBI and
:29:49. > :29:55.British Chamber of Commerce agreeing with that. Business feels more
:29:56. > :30:00.confident about that. In terms of elections, mayor raid, German
:30:01. > :30:03.elections, not just Theresa May having elections here when
:30:04. > :30:08.discussing these negotiations. If Northern Ireland decided to hold a
:30:09. > :30:14.border pole, is it your understanding a united Ireland would
:30:15. > :30:19.have automatic membership? This was expressed on Saturday. What the Good
:30:20. > :30:26.Friday Agreement outlines so that in the eventual time if it occurred a
:30:27. > :30:30.referendum of the people decided they wanted a united Ireland, that
:30:31. > :30:33.new entity would be if you can members of the European Union. This
:30:34. > :30:38.was important that be depth with now and is on the table. From our side,
:30:39. > :30:43.I represent a border constituency with Northern Ireland, I travel
:30:44. > :30:48.through Northern Ireland to get to my constituents in Donegal. It is
:30:49. > :30:51.important the EU 27 understand the Irish questions. The point they may
:30:52. > :30:58.all the time is peace is so important. It is as important as mix
:30:59. > :31:02.and % much more important. On the staging of the negotiations, we need
:31:03. > :31:08.goodwill for real progress to be made. I think after election
:31:09. > :31:12.campaigns, when we look at the timeline ahead, goodwill will be
:31:13. > :31:14.found hopefully on both sides. Philip, what do you make of the
:31:15. > :31:24.reporting of this meeting? You use the word divorce, and anyone
:31:25. > :31:27.who is in a divorce this is to one side of the marriage, and they get a
:31:28. > :31:32.false picture, and is some scepticism is required. I'm
:31:33. > :31:36.interested in the politics of this, some of the people discussing the
:31:37. > :31:40.report implied it will do Theresa May damage, but I thought it would
:31:41. > :31:46.have the opposite. She will be able to present herself as standing up
:31:47. > :31:49.for British interests against Europeans who are snooty and aloof
:31:50. > :31:54.and looking down on Britain and willing to do us harm and that will
:31:55. > :31:59.do the Conservative message no harm at all in this election. There are
:32:00. > :32:04.many people that do not regard the EU institutions as doing a good
:32:05. > :32:06.thing. That is how she will present it and I think that is how it will
:32:07. > :32:11.go down with most voters. Thanks. So, it was 20 years ago today that
:32:12. > :32:14.Tony Blair walked triumphant down Downing Street to the
:32:15. > :32:17.delight of adoring crowds - all Labour party
:32:18. > :32:25.activists, of course. It was the first of three general
:32:26. > :32:30.election wins for the Labour Party. Tony Blair remains the most
:32:31. > :32:32.successful leader of the Labour Party to date.
:32:33. > :32:36.If you'd said to me at 18, 19, you're going to be a politician, I
:32:37. > :32:41.# May be, you're never gonna feel this way
:32:42. > :32:43.# You're never gonna know me but I know you
:32:44. > :33:04.# And I can't see the woods from the trees...#
:33:05. > :33:06.Piccadilly Circus flashing on the screen there.
:33:07. > :33:19.# Can only get better now I've found you...#
:33:20. > :33:34.It has been an immense privilege to serve as the Prime Minister
:33:35. > :33:43.of the United Kingdom over the last six and a half years.
:33:44. > :33:46.Two of the new Conservative intake of MPs, Andrew
:33:47. > :33:48.Lansley for Cambridgeshire South and Theresa May, the new member of
:33:49. > :33:59.# I look at things now in a different light than I did before
:34:00. > :34:19.# Can only get better now I've found you
:34:20. > :34:37.# Can only get better now I've found you #.
:34:38. > :34:40.We're joined now by the Guardian commentator, Paul Mason, who's
:34:41. > :34:45.a critic of Tony Blair and former Labour strategist, who's a big fan.
:34:46. > :34:56.Welcome to both of you. A bit of a stature for you. Were you a Labour
:34:57. > :35:01.man in 1997, Paul Mason? I was a Labour man, and if Jeremy Corbyn
:35:02. > :35:06.gets in on the 9th of June it will be a different set of people
:35:07. > :35:14.welcoming him. I was there the next morning, at work, on a business
:35:15. > :35:17.magazine, where people work voting Labour, the rank and file, and the
:35:18. > :35:22.leaders were Tories, but some of them said they had flipped, they
:35:23. > :35:28.couldn't vote Tory and that was the nature of Tony Blair's achievement.
:35:29. > :35:34.The coalition then was too broad? No, it is the one that Tony Blair
:35:35. > :35:41.built in power with people whose wealth is not owned basically and
:35:42. > :35:47.with the City, basically. The bigger stake of Blair and Brown -- the big
:35:48. > :35:54.mistake. They just got too close to people with money. Do you agree? I
:35:55. > :35:59.agree with part of that. The biggest failure I think of the Labour
:36:00. > :36:04.government under Blair and Brown was that we drifted too far from the
:36:05. > :36:12.unions and that movement. The TUC and the unions needed modernising.
:36:13. > :36:17.If we had invested more time in the union movement and modernising it, I
:36:18. > :36:23.think that was a mistake, and we are paying the price now. Jeremy Corbyn
:36:24. > :36:28.was put into power, and Ed Miliband before him, by failing unions. It
:36:29. > :36:33.should be stronger and more representative than it is. Tony
:36:34. > :36:39.Blair should have been bolder? Those five pledges were too modest? You
:36:40. > :36:46.should always under promise and over perform and in his actions you can't
:36:47. > :36:49.fault him in terms of... Tax credits, a fire hose playing on
:36:50. > :36:54.rising inequality, the things he achieved which people thought were
:36:55. > :36:58.possible, the Buddha Steve reflected the modesty of what people thought
:36:59. > :37:00.government could do -- the modesty reflected the modesty of what people
:37:01. > :37:10.thought government could do. He was bowled. People criticise him for his
:37:11. > :37:18.foreign policy issues. Regarding domestic successes, the minimum wage
:37:19. > :37:21.and building new hospitals and schools, devolving power, do you
:37:22. > :37:28.concede that they did have a long list of achievements? I celebrated.
:37:29. > :37:39.There was a debate within New Labour, overtop Dan Flavin is and
:37:40. > :37:45.bottom-up, community politics -- over top down Fabian is. Millions of
:37:46. > :37:48.working class voters are moving away from Labour because they don't think
:37:49. > :37:57.they are being empowered by. I would argue for top I don't agree with
:37:58. > :38:03.that analysis. That forgets John Prescott's red achievement. He
:38:04. > :38:09.brought in the decent homes programme. 2 million homes
:38:10. > :38:12.modernised and he also brought in Brownfield development, the city
:38:13. > :38:16.revolution. If you go to major cities they are a great success
:38:17. > :38:22.because of the work of Tony Blair and John Prescott. If it were such a
:38:23. > :38:28.great success at every level, why is there so much hatred of Tony Blair?
:38:29. > :38:33.In my view, sometimes you can win too much, the Tory party have taken
:38:34. > :38:39.a long time to recover from Margaret Thatcher's great victories. She won
:38:40. > :38:45.so much, they ran from her 20 years, and the same thing is happening in
:38:46. > :38:54.the Labour Party. Tony won too much and that spokespeople. Do you agree?
:38:55. > :39:00.-- spooks people for top I agree with some of that, and they were
:39:01. > :39:04.desperate to get over the betrayal myth which has hampered Labour, the
:39:05. > :39:12.problem was, the majority was so great, that why are you doing these
:39:13. > :39:15.modest wings. I spoke to one Labour MP and he said he got his first
:39:16. > :39:24.betrayal that one week after being elected. The problems with Iraq in
:39:25. > :39:30.2003, but the left was already fairly bitter about Labour, before
:39:31. > :39:32.that, you can find complaints that Labour was selling out and they were
:39:33. > :39:37.achieving the change that had been promised. They did achieve the
:39:38. > :39:40.change that they promised, but because of the majority people had
:39:41. > :39:45.this perception that Britain was going to change overnight. They did
:39:46. > :39:48.not expect that big a landslide and they could have reformed things in a
:39:49. > :39:52.more meaningful way but they had not planned for it and they did not want
:39:53. > :39:59.to make a mistake. The left of the Labour Party have unfairly
:40:00. > :40:01.criticised them for that. The left is not obsessed with the
:40:02. > :40:09.underachievement aspect. Foreign policy? It is Iraq. Number one. And
:40:10. > :40:15.then the lead up to the catastrophe of 2008. It was not just that they
:40:16. > :40:22.overregulated. Under regulated is the claim. Tony Blair was attacking
:40:23. > :40:27.the FSA on being too hard on the City, but if you do that and the
:40:28. > :40:32.economy explodes, no wonder that the people who pay the price say, never
:40:33. > :40:36.again you are going to do that. What about the open-door policy on
:40:37. > :40:43.Eastern European immigration for top one Tony Blair's greatest single
:40:44. > :40:47.achievements. The people who joined the European Union had the right to
:40:48. > :40:52.live in Britain. What about transition arrangements? We had jobs
:40:53. > :41:01.vacant and we needed people to come here. The second thing, cementing
:41:02. > :41:03.the accession countries into the European Union was a way of
:41:04. > :41:11.strengthening our geopolitical position. We wanted those European
:41:12. > :41:16.partners. I disagree with that. My disagreement is stronger with
:41:17. > :41:20.hindsight. He opened the door, first of all, they did not prepare people.
:41:21. > :41:25.They said not many will come, but millions came. And then they kept
:41:26. > :41:31.denying that there was going to be any impact on people's wages and
:41:32. > :41:34.conditions and the concept of citizenship, this is an abstract
:41:35. > :41:38.contract, we don't care that your grandad worked in this factory,
:41:39. > :41:43.somebody else can arrive with the same citizenship as you and I think
:41:44. > :41:49.people were and are prepared by us, the Labour movement and party for
:41:50. > :41:53.that shock. -- under prepared. That boosted support for the left and
:41:54. > :41:57.then Ed Miliband and now Jeremy Corbyn as leader. One of the
:41:58. > :42:05.interesting things. There has been a Twitter feed reliving 1997, and it
:42:06. > :42:08.was interesting, the extent which Euroscepticism was there bubbling
:42:09. > :42:14.away with the referendum party at the time. One other point about
:42:15. > :42:18.1997, we saw people walking their into Downing Street on the day Tony
:42:19. > :42:21.Blair became Prime Minister, and I saw a map of the route he would take
:42:22. > :42:27.you where everyone would be. That was planned. To the very last
:42:28. > :42:31.detail. Nothing on that scale is happening in this election because
:42:32. > :42:34.this is a snap and action and everyone is flying by the seat of
:42:35. > :42:36.their pants and that is why you get the mistakes we have this morning
:42:37. > :42:42.about police numbers and why we have had compatible gaffes. We'll Labour
:42:43. > :42:51.ever win a landslide election again? -- will. Not long ago people were
:42:52. > :42:53.writing off the Tory government, and not that long ago people said he
:42:54. > :42:56.would never get a majority government again and I think that
:42:57. > :43:00.will be proven wrong very soon. Thanks for joining us.
:43:01. > :43:03.Can you be a Labour MP if you're not prepared to support your leader
:43:04. > :43:08.Well, Labour MP John Woodcock thinks so and he wants to be a Labour
:43:09. > :43:11.Here he is talking to some of his constituents.
:43:12. > :43:14.I don't think he would be fit to be Prime Minister,
:43:15. > :43:17.even if it were possible that it was going to happen.
:43:18. > :43:23.To try to reassure people like you and your son, I said,
:43:24. > :43:29.I will stand up for the Labour Party in Parliament.
:43:30. > :43:38.And so, if it came to it I wouldn't allow it to happen.
:43:39. > :43:47.John Woodcock joins us now. There is a meeting tomorrow, you worried you
:43:48. > :43:55.are about to be deselected? I hope not. Like so many of my Labour
:43:56. > :43:58.colleagues across the country, I have two, after recovering from the
:43:59. > :44:02.shock of the election being called, we have been working our socks off,
:44:03. > :44:09.we have thousands of leaflets going out. That are arriving on people's
:44:10. > :44:14.doorsteps as we speak. Paid for by the National Labour Party. I really
:44:15. > :44:20.hope that I will be able to go through with the other candidates to
:44:21. > :44:25.become the official candidate. How can you stand under a Labour banner
:44:26. > :44:31.when you will not back the Labour leader to run the country? It is
:44:32. > :44:37.highly unusual. I understand why it is controversial for many people but
:44:38. > :44:41.I just thought, I should be honest. People know what I think about
:44:42. > :44:49.Jeremy's leadership qualities. They have a particular view in the barrow
:44:50. > :44:58.about Jeremy Corbyn, -- in Barrow about Jeremy Corbyn, much of it to
:44:59. > :45:02.do with the views he has on Trident. So rather than being asked question
:45:03. > :45:07.and having to fight it, which I would have been doing physics weeks,
:45:08. > :45:15.I thought I would being honest. -- doing for six weeks. But you can't
:45:16. > :45:21.stand as a Labour Party candidate after what you have said. He would
:45:22. > :45:24.not have your vote. You would rather see Theresa May, Conservative, as
:45:25. > :45:28.Prime Minister, then Jeremy Corbyn? That is not what I have said. Who do
:45:29. > :45:39.you want to be Prime Minister? Labour will not win this election.
:45:40. > :45:42.The polls have been wrong before. The Tories are desperate to make you
:45:43. > :45:46.believe and the public believe that the polls are wrong. They're going
:45:47. > :45:51.around saying it's really on a knife edge. No, the reason they do that is
:45:52. > :45:56.because they want an absolute whitewash. They want hundreds of
:45:57. > :46:00.Tory MPs coming back. The question is not actually who will be Prime
:46:01. > :46:05.Minister. We know that Theresa May will come back. It is whether
:46:06. > :46:08.communities like Barrow in Furness, communities across the north of
:46:09. > :46:13.England will retain a strong Labour voice rather than a Tory nodding
:46:14. > :46:18.dog. When you say Jeremy Corbyn will not have your vote, what does that
:46:19. > :46:23.mean in practice? In the purely theoretical circumstances, because
:46:24. > :46:29.this is not going to happen, but, if it came to it, if there was a
:46:30. > :46:34.majority I would demand Labour picked a leader who could better
:46:35. > :46:40.command a majority in the House of Parliament and could be a better
:46:41. > :46:43.Prime Minister. As I say, Jo, this is a completely theoretical
:46:44. > :46:47.circumstances because we know that the Tories have called this election
:46:48. > :46:51.because they are 20 points ahead in the polls. Would you stand as an
:46:52. > :46:55.independent? I want to be on the Labour ticket. I want to be the
:46:56. > :47:01.official candidate. I have poured all my resources into that. We had a
:47:02. > :47:06.really difficult meeting with my local party members. As you can mam,
:47:07. > :47:10.strong views were aired. We calm out of that meeting resolving to do the
:47:11. > :47:15.very best we could to keep the Tories out. It is ironic, many of
:47:16. > :47:20.the people who talk about a progressive alliance, it seems to be
:47:21. > :47:24.the ones who want to stop me being the candidate in Barrow in Furness
:47:25. > :47:29.and hand the seat on the plate to the Tories... John Woodcock, I'll
:47:30. > :47:34.have to finish it there. Philip, can he really be the Labour candidate?
:47:35. > :47:39.This election? I'm ask the sceptical. That question of who you
:47:40. > :47:44.back is not unimportant. You need to decide which party and leader? When
:47:45. > :47:50.it comes to a vote of confidence, who do you back even if it is
:47:51. > :47:57.theoretical. John Woodcock's not saying much more than #3r50i6 Attlee
:47:58. > :48:02.other Labour MPs are saying. There is a difference between private and
:48:03. > :48:06.publicly? Absolutely. A lot of people on the doorsteps are saying
:48:07. > :48:09.Jeremy Corbyn will not be Prime Minister. You can have me as your
:48:10. > :48:15.Labour MP. I'll stand up for the area. You don't want a massive
:48:16. > :48:20.Conservative majority. In that sense, a lot offed woodcock message
:48:21. > :48:25.is being said by Labour MPs on doorsteps across the country. You
:48:26. > :48:30.says speblingt he's gone too far. You' just being honest, perhaps more
:48:31. > :48:34.so than some of his Labour... I know other Labour MPs said they'd rather
:48:35. > :48:38.have Theresa May as Prime Minister than Jeremy Corbyn. They won't say
:48:39. > :48:42.that publicly. He's not saying that. No, he didn't say that, nor did
:48:43. > :48:47.Neil. Any Labour Prime Minister is better than a Tory Prime Minister.
:48:48. > :48:52.You've spoken to Labour candidates who would pre-Theresa May?
:48:53. > :48:53.Privately. But it is a purely theoretical question. We will know
:48:54. > :49:01.that in June. Now, on Thursday there are
:49:02. > :49:04.local elections across the UK. In Scotland, the SNP hope to make
:49:05. > :49:07.further headway in places that have and a resurgent Scottish
:49:08. > :49:09.Conservative Party Adam's been Glasgow to
:49:10. > :49:13.gauge the parties' prospects. The crown jewel of Scottish local
:49:14. > :49:16.government, the home The City Council controls an annual
:49:17. > :49:22.budget of ?2.2 billion and is a big influence on the lives of every
:49:23. > :49:24.Glaswegian. Labour have been in charge
:49:25. > :49:28.since the year of my birth, 1980, but the SNP are desperate
:49:29. > :49:32.to seize control. Let's take our vision to the people
:49:33. > :49:37.and let's do this, OK. The SNP has tried and failed
:49:38. > :49:40.to win here before. Now the big idea on the
:49:41. > :49:44.leaflets is people power. Giving each ward
:49:45. > :49:47.?1 million to spend. If they wanted to run a project
:49:48. > :49:50.in the community they can go to the community council
:49:51. > :49:56.and they can make that decision themselves, the people,
:49:57. > :49:59.the local community. Where they didn't have
:50:00. > :50:01.that chance before. After four decades in charge,
:50:02. > :50:06.Labour is trying to look It's continuity, of trying to change
:50:07. > :50:13.and transform the city of Glasgow. We've invested heavily in our school
:50:14. > :50:16.estate and we've radically transformed our housing estate
:50:17. > :50:21.and we've got ambitions now to have a technological revolution
:50:22. > :50:24.in the schools where youngsters will have access to tablets
:50:25. > :50:27.and iPads to make sure they can get The 454,000 voters on the River
:50:28. > :50:33.Clyde make the choice using a proportional system called
:50:34. > :50:37.the single transferable vote, STV, which means the other
:50:38. > :50:43.parties do get a look in. It means there are no
:50:44. > :50:49.votes which are wasted. People can have perceptions
:50:50. > :50:52.in different elections that their vote might not
:50:53. > :50:54.count for anything. Which means it's super exciting
:50:55. > :50:58.and it's very important that everybody gets to the polls
:50:59. > :51:00.and makes their voice heard. One-party politics is not a good
:51:01. > :51:03.idea and I think we're seeing that nationally at the moment,
:51:04. > :51:06.having one party in control, in the Last time round the Tories won
:51:07. > :51:11.a single councillor, but this time they're trying
:51:12. > :51:15.to reach out beyond leafy Handing leaflets,
:51:16. > :51:20.speaking to people. Are there wards that you would not
:51:21. > :51:23.have campaigned in before? We're campaigning right
:51:24. > :51:26.across the city for every vote. And I think for the first
:51:27. > :51:29.time people are coming What ever happens here in Glasgow,
:51:30. > :51:33.the result will tell us Have Labour gone as
:51:34. > :51:37.low as they can go? Have the SNP gone
:51:38. > :51:39.as high as they can? How strong is the Tory
:51:40. > :51:43.resurgence here in Scotland? All really useful information ahead
:51:44. > :51:59.of the general election in June. Let's pick up on those questions.
:52:00. > :52:04.Ruth Davidson says peak has been reached. Labour holding on to
:52:05. > :52:11.Glasgow. Critically important to them. And the resurgence of the
:52:12. > :52:17.Tories general. Well, the interesting thing is they use STV.
:52:18. > :52:20.What it means in most councils in Scotland, you don't have single
:52:21. > :52:25.party control in the way you do across large swathes of England or
:52:26. > :52:29.Wales. Glasgow is one of the few councils left in Scotland which is
:52:30. > :52:35.single-party controlled by Labour. There was a lot of talk last time it
:52:36. > :52:39.was fought in 2012 it would fall and cease to be held by Labour. I think
:52:40. > :52:43.this time it is probably coming. There is an interesting question
:52:44. > :52:47.about whether Labour can cling on to the few councils it controls. And
:52:48. > :52:52.whether the SNP can do well enough to push for single party control in
:52:53. > :52:54.a few other councils. Broadly speaking, what's the impact of the
:52:55. > :52:58.General Election on these local elections? I think it is really
:52:59. > :53:01.weird. We are are we've hardly talked about them in the last couple
:53:02. > :53:07.of weeks. They've got completely drowned out by the General Election.
:53:08. > :53:14.You've all the Scotland, all of Wales and the English shire counties
:53:15. > :53:24.up for election. The Metro mayors. A lot going on. It is about 5,000
:53:25. > :53:28.council seats in total. One is it will tell much less telling about
:53:29. > :53:32.the general election. They are not that good a read across. And second,
:53:33. > :53:35.the impact the General Election will have on the local elections because
:53:36. > :53:41.it is being fought in the middle of this general election campaign. That
:53:42. > :53:45.we don't know yet. In is sense, it is being overshadowed, do you think
:53:46. > :53:50.more attention should be given to these local elections as an
:53:51. > :53:56.indication of what's coming a few weeks later? In their own right it
:53:57. > :53:59.is important. We should be focusing on it more because of not what it
:54:00. > :54:01.will tell us about the General Election but what it tells us about
:54:02. > :54:02.local government. George Osborne's first day
:54:03. > :54:04.as a Newspaper editor, Boris Johnson gets a taste
:54:05. > :54:07.of his own medicine and a council seat in Wales
:54:08. > :54:09.where no one's standing. Here's Ellie with the Daily Politics
:54:10. > :54:13.desk of election news. Theresa May was busy this weekend
:54:14. > :54:16.but then, so were the people Don't worry, there's still five
:54:17. > :54:23.weeks to find someone at home. Amber Rudd's been tweeting how
:54:24. > :54:26.excited she is to be reselected for further chances to look
:54:27. > :54:29.awkward in high vis. Strangely calm as the Lady of May
:54:30. > :54:33.and terrified driving a boat. Elsewhere, in election news,
:54:34. > :54:39.finally the purple smoke emerged over Hartlepool and the Ukip leader
:54:40. > :54:42.Paul Nuttall announced he would be standing as a candidate
:54:43. > :54:48.125 miles away in Boston Skegness. Now, remember Boris Johnson last
:54:49. > :54:51.week calling Jeremy Corbyn... You're is a muddle
:54:52. > :55:01.headed mugwubble... Today, Labour's Deputy Leader Tom
:55:02. > :55:06.Watson labelled the foreign secondary a Kaagy handed
:55:07. > :55:10.cheese-headed fob doodle. An election of sensible debate and
:55:11. > :55:16.dictionaries! A dictionary might have been useful for whoever wrote
:55:17. > :55:25.this Labour campaign leaflet. Blocking unstainable housing and
:55:26. > :55:30.sporting fcilities... He'll maybe take comfort in knowing his ex-wife
:55:31. > :55:34.Karen failed in her own nomination. Gloria has been told when the
:55:35. > :55:39.election is following this campaign video. The choice of the 9th June.
:55:40. > :55:44.Anyone wanting to vote for her or anyone else on June 9thth might want
:55:45. > :55:49.to consider getting in a day earlier on election day! George Osborne's
:55:50. > :55:53.starting an another new role today as editor of the London Evening
:55:54. > :55:59.Standard. I have to get in there. We've a paper to get off stone.
:56:00. > :56:05.George, it's all done on computer these days. The Government won't
:56:06. > :56:10.appeal against the ruling on autodiesel cast before the General
:56:11. > :56:14.Election. It wanted to delay its air pollution strategy. And finally,
:56:15. > :56:19.spare a thought for the 1,000 or so people who live in Usker. A little
:56:20. > :56:26.place near Breck enwhere no-one wants to stand to be councillor. It
:56:27. > :56:28.looks set to be unrepresented as people got to the other pole pole,
:56:29. > :56:30.the local elections. Now, the sculptor Cornelia Parker
:56:31. > :56:32.has been commissioned as the official artist
:56:33. > :56:34.of the upcoming general election, the fifth time someone
:56:35. > :56:36.has been given the role. Cornelia is a former Turner Prize
:56:37. > :56:39.nominee famed for her installations including blowing up a shed and
:56:40. > :56:42.mimicking the house from the film Psycho on the roof of the
:56:43. > :56:44.Metropolitan Museum of Art She was selected by the Speaker's
:56:45. > :56:48.Advisory Committee on Works of Art, and will be given ?17,000
:56:49. > :56:50.to capture the essence The final artwork will join the
:56:51. > :56:58.Parliamentary Art Collection Why you did you want to accept the
:56:59. > :57:07.role? I was working in America a lot last year. I was obsessed with the
:57:08. > :57:12.American elections. Then, also the Le Pen, Macron, it seems like a very
:57:13. > :57:18.pivotal moment with Brexit. I only knew a week ago I was up for this.
:57:19. > :57:23.The whole snap election and snap... You weren't aLen in your surprise.
:57:24. > :57:26.There were many others. Any ideas popped into your head in the week
:57:27. > :57:34.about how you might reflect it? There have been ideas. Some have not
:57:35. > :57:39.or are not repeatable. Shame, tell me about those afterwards. Anything
:57:40. > :57:46.bearing in mind you have to show this piece of work? I videoed
:57:47. > :57:50.Halloween on my iPhone in New York in relation to the American general
:57:51. > :57:56.elections. A full screen video piece. The politics of my work is
:57:57. > :58:01.open to interpretation. It is there. Bubbling through? It is. Can we
:58:02. > :58:05.expect something explosive to coin a phrase? I don't know. I heard David
:58:06. > :58:12.Cameron's got a nice new shed. He has. I'm taking photographs daily of
:58:13. > :58:18.mundane things which might have a political slant. I've just lost my
:58:19. > :58:24.social media virginity. Congratulations! I'm doing
:58:25. > :58:28.Instagram. Election artist 2017 if anyone wants to check in on my
:58:29. > :58:34.images. What is the point of election art? I don't know. I
:58:35. > :58:39.suppose it is a bit like war art. You're embedded somehow. You observe
:58:40. > :58:45.and reflect on it, I suppose. The work goes on display in accept. I'll
:58:46. > :58:47.have time to look back on it all and work out what's happening. Let me
:58:48. > :58:49.draw this to a close! The 1pm news is starting
:58:50. > :58:53.over on BBC One now. I'll be back at 1130 tomorrow
:58:54. > :58:56.with Andrew for live coverage This is perhaps
:58:57. > :59:26.the most unstable moment