:00:40. > :00:41.Hello and welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:42. > :00:43.The Chancellor Philip Hammond says the Government must "hold its nerve"
:00:44. > :00:48.in the face of calls for increased public spending.
:00:49. > :00:50.Hundreds of thousands of children are vulnerable,
:00:51. > :00:52.living in families with drinking and drug problems, according to the
:00:53. > :01:03.The President of the European Commission,
:01:04. > :01:10.Jean Claude Juncker, criticises members of the European Parliament
:01:11. > :01:13.as "ridiculous" after they fail to turn up to hear him speak.
:01:14. > :01:16.And what does Emmanuel Macron's decision to stage a big speech
:01:17. > :01:18.in the Palace of Versailles say about the French
:01:19. > :01:24.All that in the next half hour, and with us for the whole
:01:25. > :01:29.of the programme today is the Children's Commissioner
:01:30. > :01:40.Let's kick off with Jean Claude Juncker's outburst in the European
:01:41. > :01:43.The President of the European Commission was in Strasbourg
:01:44. > :01:46.to talk to MEPs, but not many turned up to the meeting.
:01:47. > :01:49.There are only a few members in the plenary
:01:50. > :01:56.TRANSLATION: I would ask you to rephrase that -
:01:57. > :02:05.I will never again attempt a meeting of this kind.
:02:06. > :02:12.Our Europe reporter Adam Fleming is in Strasbourg and joins us now.
:02:13. > :02:23.Jean-Claude Juncker very upset that not many people rocked up to hear
:02:24. > :02:28.him talk. Yes, you have been to Strasbourg before. Many times. Yes,
:02:29. > :02:32.and it is actually much quieter today, the corridors in Strasbourg.
:02:33. > :02:36.Certainly this morning it was. Things have picked up in the last
:02:37. > :02:40.hour or so as MEPs has started coming into the building, and there
:02:41. > :02:45.are various theories about why the chamber was an empty this morning.
:02:46. > :02:49.One MEP said loads of his colleagues have started their seven-week
:02:50. > :02:53.holiday already, and this is the last session of the Strasbourg
:02:54. > :02:57.parliament before the holiday starts, so his theory is lots of
:02:58. > :03:00.people were not turning up at all. Others say the real work of
:03:01. > :03:06.Parliament is done in much lower profile committees and meetings with
:03:07. > :03:09.delegations from other countries, the Council, the commission, and
:03:10. > :03:13.people were in the meeting this morning, right through to a very
:03:14. > :03:18.senior MEP who just told me on the quiet that the reason many people
:03:19. > :03:21.didn't turn up to your this report about how the Maltese six-month
:03:22. > :03:24.presidency of the EU had gone, was because people thought it was one of
:03:25. > :03:29.the worst presidency is on record, so loads of different theories for
:03:30. > :03:34.why the chamber was so empty. I was in there, and there were definitely
:03:35. > :03:38.fewer than 100 people listening to Mr Juncker speak alongside the
:03:39. > :03:44.Maltese Prime Minister, and lots of those people were Mr Juncker's and
:03:45. > :03:47.the Maltese primer Minister's officials. Thank goodness you turned
:03:48. > :03:54.up to swell the ranks in the European Parliament! That was while
:03:55. > :04:03.telling off, wasn't it, from the European Parliament President? --
:04:04. > :04:07.that was a royal telling off he got from the European Parliament
:04:08. > :04:10.president. Yes, Antonio Tajani told him off for the language he used. It
:04:11. > :04:18.is similar to Westminster in that you are not allowed to use certain
:04:19. > :04:22.bad language, so he got a ticking off, but that didn't stop him. Mr
:04:23. > :04:26.Juncker said he would never come to a session like this again, but
:04:27. > :04:30.whether that means you will never come and sit in the plenary in
:04:31. > :04:39.Strasbourg again, or whether he would never come to a session like
:04:40. > :04:45.that again, it wasn't clear, but he meant what he said. Did some MEPs
:04:46. > :04:50.think that was a threat to Mr Juncker? I think some of them would
:04:51. > :04:54.quite happily not see Mr Juncker again, people like the Eurosceptics,
:04:55. > :04:58.Nigel Farage and his fellow MEPs who have made a career out of dissing
:04:59. > :05:04.him in the chamber. There is also some confusion about the timetabling
:05:05. > :05:06.for what is happening in this Strasbourg session because some of
:05:07. > :05:10.the timetabling for what is happening tomorrow, on the last
:05:11. > :05:16.European summit and the Brexit negotiations, that has been
:05:17. > :05:22.cancelled so a lot of MEPs and figures can head off to France for
:05:23. > :05:25.the funeral of Simone Veil, one of the first presidents of the European
:05:26. > :05:31.Parliament, so there is some confusion about what is happening in
:05:32. > :05:35.Strasbourg as well. We will leave it there, but it is a bit dispiriting
:05:36. > :05:39.if nobody turns up to see you talk, isn't it? I am finding it difficult
:05:40. > :05:45.not to be a bit smug year because the last time I spoke lots turned up
:05:46. > :05:47.to me. But never is a long time. Yes, let's see if he sticks to that.
:05:48. > :05:52.And the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has rebranded,
:05:53. > :06:05.Is it: A - the Ministry of Fun, B - the Ministry of Zeitgeist,
:06:06. > :06:07.C - the Department for National Heritage, or D - DCMS?
:06:08. > :06:10.At the end of the show Anne will hopefully give
:06:11. > :06:18.Since the election the Government has been petitioned to "end
:06:19. > :06:20.austerity" and boost public spending.
:06:21. > :06:21.On public spending, the Queen's Speech left many
:06:22. > :06:23.questions unanswered, although the Chancellor emphasised
:06:24. > :06:25.the Government is still intent on eliminating the deficit
:06:26. > :06:29.But ahead of the Autumn Budget, several Cabinet ministers are said
:06:30. > :06:31.to be ready to argue with the Treasury about why
:06:32. > :06:36.Public sector pay is in the headlines at the moment.
:06:37. > :06:38.Boris Johnson being one of the leading Cabinet members
:06:39. > :06:40.calling for a scrapping of the 1% cap.
:06:41. > :06:44.Education Secretary Justine Greening is understood to be lobbying hard
:06:45. > :06:48.for more cash as pressure grows on the schools budget.
:06:49. > :06:51.The NHS always needs more money, and Jeremy Hunt will be keen to
:06:52. > :06:54.do what he can to avoid a future winter care crisis.
:06:55. > :06:57.And of course, related to this is the funding of social care.
:06:58. > :07:00.In the last budget the Government pledged some more cash,
:07:01. > :07:05.but as the Conservatives have had to ditch their controversial plans
:07:06. > :07:08.to make people pay using their homes the pressure to find a solution
:07:09. > :07:13.Theresa May came under fire during the last election campaign
:07:14. > :07:22.for cuts to policing, with London's Met Police
:07:23. > :07:24.Commissioner Cressida Dick saying that they're stretched,
:07:25. > :07:26.and just today the Local Government Association has said that
:07:27. > :07:29.if austerity is coming to an end, they should be at the
:07:30. > :07:32.However, speaking to the CBI last night
:07:33. > :07:35.Philip Hammond indicated he was in no mood to relax
:07:36. > :07:37.the Government's austerity measures, saying, "We must hold our nerve."
:07:38. > :07:41.Speaking on the Today Programme this morning the former
:07:42. > :07:43.Conservative Chancellor Nigel Lawson supported Mr Hammond.
:07:44. > :07:55.It's not easy to pursue financial discipline, it never is.
:07:56. > :07:59.Neither tax rate increases are popular, nor are a firm hand
:08:00. > :08:01.on public expenditure - although there are always has to be
:08:02. > :08:08.That is not easy and popular, but it's necessary, and I think
:08:09. > :08:10.people understand we need to pay our way, and indeed
:08:11. > :08:13.that is the road to economic success which will improve living
:08:14. > :08:22.We've been joined by the Conservative MP Oliver Letwin,
:08:23. > :08:24.and by Labour's campaign chief, Andrew Gwynne.
:08:25. > :08:30.Welcome to both of you. Is it right that senior Conservatives are on the
:08:31. > :08:35.airwaves fighting like ferrets in a sack over public sector pay? What
:08:36. > :08:38.happened to collective responsibility? Think it is natural
:08:39. > :08:41.there is a conversation going on about how to deal with the reality
:08:42. > :08:46.going on on the doorsteps. The public now wants to see some
:08:47. > :08:52.increases in spending on key public services, social care, the NHS,
:08:53. > :08:55.schools, you went through them. And there is therefore a serious issue
:08:56. > :09:02.about how to reconcile that with deficit reduction. I am on the side
:09:03. > :09:05.that believes, as Philip Hammond was saying earlier today and Nigel
:09:06. > :09:08.Lawson was saying, we do need to retain deficit reduction and
:09:09. > :09:13.therefore I think we need to see some moderate tax increases. I don't
:09:14. > :09:17.think we can go on the spending binge Jeremy Corbyn and his team
:09:18. > :09:21.have laid out. But should there be this public disagreement and spat
:09:22. > :09:27.over a key area of policy within government amongst those running the
:09:28. > :09:30.Government? It is actually a serious conversation about what we should
:09:31. > :09:33.do, interesting that the media calls it a spat. I think it is perfectly
:09:34. > :09:37.reasonable to have that conversation but at a certain stage a decision
:09:38. > :09:40.needs to be made and I think that should be done in a proper and
:09:41. > :09:43.considered way as part of a package by Philip Hammond in his autumn
:09:44. > :09:46.budget and by then we will know where we are. On the pay cap, you
:09:47. > :09:50.said you think deficit reduction should continue, and people would
:09:51. > :09:55.agree with that, do you think that pay cap for public sector workers
:09:56. > :09:58.should be lifted? I think we need to pay some serious attention to what
:09:59. > :10:07.the review body says. There is a process here and they go through
:10:08. > :10:10.where he is, and when we began this whole thing public sector pay was
:10:11. > :10:13.well above the private sector in a couple of places and no it is not.
:10:14. > :10:16.The review body is there and we should listen to what they have to
:10:17. > :10:18.say. It sounds like they will do what the review body says. Is that
:10:19. > :10:22.enough for you, Andrew Gwynne? I take no delight at the fact that we
:10:23. > :10:26.know have senior Conservatives at Cabinet level running the charge of
:10:27. > :10:30.anti-austerity. The point is in the election people sent out a very
:10:31. > :10:35.clear message, that they have been hurting for a long period of time,
:10:36. > :10:41.that public sector pay has not kept up with private sector pay. Nurses,
:10:42. > :10:46.for example, have lost on average 14% of the value of their salary.
:10:47. > :10:50.And when did that happen, Andrew Gwynne? Wendy public sector pay fall
:10:51. > :10:56.behind private sector pay? In the course of the previous two
:10:57. > :11:00.Parliaments, and the point is... Not broadly speaking. The grass show at
:11:01. > :11:04.the time of the crash private sector pay was behind public sector pay and
:11:05. > :11:07.to some extent the pay restraint equalled that out, and now
:11:08. > :11:11.relatively recently in the last year or so it looks as if public sector
:11:12. > :11:23.pay is now following behind private sector pay, just
:11:24. > :11:27.to be clear, so not over the course of the two parliaments. The point is
:11:28. > :11:30.it is collective, isn't it? Over the course of the two Parliament you
:11:31. > :11:32.have had wage restraint in the public sector, over those seven
:11:33. > :11:34.years when the coalition and the Conservatives single-A have been in
:11:35. > :11:37.power, which has now led to the issue we are discussing, and I think
:11:38. > :11:41.it is only right that teachers, nurses, police officers, the Armed
:11:42. > :11:46.Forces, that they get a pay rise. And don't they deserve that, Oliver
:11:47. > :11:51.Letwin, for the work they do? The cost of living is rising, as
:11:52. > :11:55.inflation hits 2.9%, so that pay restraint is even tougher for these
:11:56. > :11:59.people. They deserve a decent pay rise. As I was saying, there is a
:12:00. > :12:06.properly constituted process for this. It is not the sort of amateur
:12:07. > :12:09.things were one politician makes an argument, I make an ardent, but it
:12:10. > :12:13.is not just a matter for politicians. There are serious
:12:14. > :12:18.issues here, like can you recruit... Of course there is a process but
:12:19. > :12:22.they want to know who is supporting them. We need to know, for example,
:12:23. > :12:25.are we failing to attract enough nurses? There is clearly a problem
:12:26. > :12:28.with recruitment, and how much is that to do with pay and how much
:12:29. > :12:35.with other things? That is something the public sector pay body is there
:12:36. > :12:38.to decide, and as you said it is really in the last year or two it
:12:39. > :12:41.has gone one way rather than the other, so it is good to get them to
:12:42. > :12:45.do their work, look at it, then have a package and a budget to deal with
:12:46. > :12:49.it. Let's look at how you would pay for it. Labour said during the
:12:50. > :12:54.election campaign you would like to see a 2% rise on top of the 1% that
:12:55. > :12:58.at the moment is capped, is that broadly right? In your words it
:12:59. > :13:04.would cost about ?4 billion a year? Yes. How would you pay for a? In the
:13:05. > :13:09.manifesto we set out alongside that the changes we would seek to
:13:10. > :13:14.taxation, capital gains tax, corporation tax, taxing the top 5%
:13:15. > :13:18.of incomes, that was set out. Of course Philip Hammond has now got
:13:19. > :13:21.the real headache. If all these senior ministers are demanding an
:13:22. > :13:25.end to austerity and it is not just public sector pay, but more money
:13:26. > :13:31.for schools, local government, this, that and the other, and he already
:13:32. > :13:33.has ?2 billion black hole from the U-turn on national insurance
:13:34. > :13:37.contributions he had to make in his spring budget so he has a big
:13:38. > :13:41.problem coming in the autumn budget, if he is going to have to find the
:13:42. > :13:47.magic money tree that you said doesn't exist. What is he going to
:13:48. > :13:51.do? He will have to look at, as you mentioned, tax rises, or spending
:13:52. > :13:55.cuts. You think it should be tax rises? Yes, I think we will need to
:13:56. > :13:58.see some modest tax rises to achieve that because we need to continue I
:13:59. > :14:01.think with the deficit reduction programme. The big difference
:14:02. > :14:04.between the two parties now is not whether there is a need for some
:14:05. > :14:08.extra spending in key services, although there may be different
:14:09. > :14:11.amounts and emphasis. The real argument is are you going to borrow
:14:12. > :14:16.your way out of this and ditch the whole effort to reduce the deficit?
:14:17. > :14:19.I don't think that would be wise. We want to be protected against when
:14:20. > :14:24.the next downturn comes and need to get a balanced budgets are therefore
:14:25. > :14:28.if we want to spend more we need to raise them. Does that mean the tax
:14:29. > :14:31.cuts that had been announced but not yet implemented, are those now
:14:32. > :14:35.vulnerable? I am talking about raising the personal tax allowance
:14:36. > :14:40.promised, raising the threshold when you start paying the higher rate of
:14:41. > :14:45.tax? Are those now vulnerable? I am not the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
:14:46. > :14:48.The Chancellor of the Exchequer in the budget has these judgments to
:14:49. > :14:53.make. I agree with you that it is difficult, these judgments, but it
:14:54. > :14:58.ought to be made as an overall compute package and not have, you
:14:59. > :15:01.know, on news programmes, speaking way in advance about which
:15:02. > :15:06.programmes... You say you are in favour of ministers discussing in
:15:07. > :15:10.public... Not about the detail. But broadly speaking, yes, I understand
:15:11. > :15:14.that, but as a package would you like to see that as part of the
:15:15. > :15:18.discussion, those two issues? I would like to see the Chancellor
:15:19. > :15:36.have an overall package good for business, individuals and
:15:37. > :15:40.which delivers extra spending for key services. That is not an easy
:15:41. > :15:43.question to solve and I am not going to make his life more difficult by
:15:44. > :15:45.trying to solve it here on the Daily Politics programme. I am not
:15:46. > :15:47.equipped... I am sure you are equipped but you're just being very
:15:48. > :15:49.reticent. Andrew Gwynne, can you give an example where Labour is
:15:50. > :15:59.willing to say no to more spending? There are some things we would
:16:00. > :16:03.prioritise like ending the bedroom tax and making sure some of the
:16:04. > :16:07.sanction regime was scrapped. Jeremy Corbyn there that will benefit
:16:08. > :16:12.should be unfrozen, did he mean that? You know that all the chatter
:16:13. > :16:18.that then surrounded and all of that... We came back and we said no
:16:19. > :16:21.summer we will have to look at that at some future stage but it is not
:16:22. > :16:28.part of our costed programme. You were the one who listed the people
:16:29. > :16:34.who were asking for pay rises. Would you say yes to all of them? To the
:16:35. > :16:38.local government Association who now wants and perhaps justifiably, more
:16:39. > :16:41.money for councils because they saw perhaps the biggest brunt of cuts
:16:42. > :16:45.falling on local government, would you say yes to more spending for
:16:46. > :16:49.them? That was part of our manifesto, we did commit to an extra
:16:50. > :16:52.?1.5 billion for local councils because the local government
:16:53. > :16:59.information unit into server they have done, their members have shown
:17:00. > :17:03.that three quarters of councils are fearful for their financial future,
:17:04. > :17:08.to be able to provide basic legal services. We have said ?1.5 billion,
:17:09. > :17:14.fully costed... Yes to more spending so there is there a concrete example
:17:15. > :17:18.where you will say to a group of people, we can't afford a pay rise
:17:19. > :17:22.for you ought we are not good to spend more money? Absolutely and our
:17:23. > :17:29.manifesto set out what our priorities were. What were they?
:17:30. > :17:34.Give me one example. I had giving an example, ?1.5 for local government,
:17:35. > :17:40.?8 billion extra for social care. But where have you said no to more
:17:41. > :17:44.spending? The point is we have set out what our spending plans are in
:17:45. > :17:48.the manifesto, there are a lot of other things that are not in the
:17:49. > :17:52.manifesto because we have said no. What are they? I'm not going to list
:17:53. > :17:57.everything that is not in our manifesto. One might think it is
:17:58. > :18:02.because you can't. When you view this discussion from the outside, do
:18:03. > :18:07.you think it is right to get a pay rise over and above 1% broadly,
:18:08. > :18:12.there are other examples of people getting more already, to public
:18:13. > :18:16.sector workers? I get paid out of the public purse and I'm not
:18:17. > :18:19.advocating for me but when I talk to police officers dealing with gangs,
:18:20. > :18:22.teachers in some of the toughest areas and nurses as well, what I
:18:23. > :18:28.have been surprised about is they are saying they can expect to work
:18:29. > :18:31.in those jobs for ten years. I had not anticipated that would be the
:18:32. > :18:35.case and they say it is because the work is tough and we do recognise
:18:36. > :18:38.that and we need to make it something that incentivises people
:18:39. > :18:41.do not just go there in the first place and trained but actually
:18:42. > :18:45.stayed there in the long term. I know you don't want to predict what
:18:46. > :18:50.will happen in the Autumn Statement and Phillip Hammond has said he is
:18:51. > :18:57.not death, do you think he is under pressure and pressure he will fight
:18:58. > :19:03.hard to resist? He is a very serious Chancellor and he is aware like the
:19:04. > :19:07.rest of us of two necessities, as we see it in the Conservative Party.
:19:08. > :19:11.One is to do something about the key public services and also to continue
:19:12. > :19:15.with deficit reduction. I know that will not be agreed by Mr Corbyn who
:19:16. > :19:19.wants a borrowing splurge but that is a position that I think many
:19:20. > :19:23.people in this country support and Philip it exactly the manse to see
:19:24. > :19:27.through a package that will do that. Theresa May has reportedly asked the
:19:28. > :19:31.Lib Dems for help getting bills passed. Have you heard this and are
:19:32. > :19:38.you working with them? I'm not charged with doing anything now. My
:19:39. > :19:41.view is that in Parliament is sensible to cooperate with anybody
:19:42. > :19:43.and everybody to get the right legislation through. Thank you.
:19:44. > :19:45.Young people get a number of personal freedoms
:19:46. > :19:47.But there's an argument that the laws relating
:19:48. > :19:52.Jenny Kumah's been looking into them.
:19:53. > :19:54.At 16, you're old enough to legally consent to sex,
:19:55. > :19:57.but you're not old enough to get married without your
:19:58. > :20:04.You can only do that once you turn 18 -
:20:05. > :20:06.unless you're in Scotland, where 16-year-olds can freely marry.
:20:07. > :20:12.So even if you do get married at 16, it would be illegal
:20:13. > :20:13.for you to celebrate by buying a drink.
:20:14. > :20:16.That's because the minimum age that you can buy alcohol
:20:17. > :20:27.But it's not illegal for an adult to buy a child aged 16 or over beer,
:20:28. > :20:30.wine or cider if they're eating a meal together in a licensed venue.
:20:31. > :20:34.It's also not illegal for children aged between five and 16
:20:35. > :20:39.to drink alcohol at home or on private property.
:20:40. > :20:43.At 16 you can legally have sex, you can possibly get married,
:20:44. > :20:46.but sexting laws mean that if you and your spouse share sexual
:20:47. > :20:49.images of yourselves on your phone or on social media,
:20:50. > :20:57.But once you turn 18, that kind of behaviour isn't illegal.
:20:58. > :21:00.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you can't be arrested
:21:01. > :21:03.or charged with a crime if you're under ten, but in Scotland
:21:04. > :21:05.the age of criminal responsibility is eight -
:21:06. > :21:19.Is there a case to unify the ages when you can legally start doing all
:21:20. > :21:23.these things? I think what that shows is this massive complexity,
:21:24. > :21:27.this is something which has grown up historically over time and there has
:21:28. > :21:30.not been a clear view and unsurprisingly most children and
:21:31. > :21:33.parents are at sea with what it means. Some unification of that, it
:21:34. > :21:38.does not mean everything has to be the same age but some thought behind
:21:39. > :21:42.it and some simplification would be welcome. Talking about the report
:21:43. > :21:48.into childhood vulnerability, the figures were quite shocking to me,
:21:49. > :21:52.670,000 children in England grow up in high risk family situations. They
:21:53. > :21:56.are huge but also probably an underestimation because we have been
:21:57. > :22:00.very cautious in those figures. Looking at children growing up with
:22:01. > :22:04.families who may be misusing alcohol, there could be a figure
:22:05. > :22:07.that could be nearly a million. We have chosen one where they are
:22:08. > :22:11.getting treatment which is less than 20,000. They are very significant
:22:12. > :22:17.and stark but actually we know they are many more. What do you mean by
:22:18. > :22:19.vulnerable? There must be a wide variation in these situations. These
:22:20. > :22:22.are children who are the odds stacked against them, difficulties
:22:23. > :22:26.in succeeding because of the negative aspects in their lives.
:22:27. > :22:30.Part of the reason for doing this, if you ask anybody in government any
:22:31. > :22:34.minister or specialist, how they define vulnerable, they will come up
:22:35. > :22:38.with a different answer and no one at the moment can define how many
:22:39. > :22:42.they are or what it means. Everybody is floundering, they know we are
:22:43. > :22:48.kind to help vulnerable children but nobody can agree on what they are.
:22:49. > :22:52.This is attempting the ones to put a suggestion in place that actually
:22:53. > :22:56.unifies what vulnerable means and start counting how many there are.
:22:57. > :23:01.It is an extent people will say that is just process, having a
:23:02. > :23:06.definition... But important process. How important is it in terms of
:23:07. > :23:10.helping people? At the moment anybody who looks at vulnerability
:23:11. > :23:13.will be looking at it through the eyes of web-based .com at the Home
:23:14. > :23:17.Office it is kids who come into contact with the law, and health it
:23:18. > :23:23.is keen to turn up at A but children are not simple like this,
:23:24. > :23:27.these more durable -- of these are multiple vulnerabilities. Until we
:23:28. > :23:32.do this we cannot work at the size of the job or how to solve it. There
:23:33. > :23:36.is a big question about taking note and taking advice and action to make
:23:37. > :23:41.this a priority. If this problem getting worse if this is the first
:23:42. > :23:44.done you feel you are confident about the data, we don't know how it
:23:45. > :23:48.stands in comparison? People will be able to say it is getting worse from
:23:49. > :23:51.their experience but the honest answer is that we simply don't know
:23:52. > :23:54.because this is the first time that has been done. In a year I hope to
:23:55. > :23:58.be able to come back and tell you that but part of the difficulty is
:23:59. > :24:03.we don't know. How much power do you actually have to efforts to change?
:24:04. > :24:08.I can't make people do that but there is a lot of work I can bring
:24:09. > :24:12.to bear. I can collect data, this is publicly available, and I can now go
:24:13. > :24:15.on and fill those gaps and bring people together and really put
:24:16. > :24:21.forward very robust and I hope irresistible arguments that cannot
:24:22. > :24:24.be resisted. I can work across Parliament and ultimately
:24:25. > :24:29.responsible to Parliament and kids themselves. There are big asks here
:24:30. > :24:33.but also a great way to the people behind who I think can help make
:24:34. > :24:35.this happen. I want consent to drive this story. Thank you.
:24:36. > :24:37.Yesterday the French president, Emmanuel Macron, chose the grand
:24:38. > :24:40.backdrop of the Palace of Versailles for a set-piece speech
:24:41. > :24:42.in which he said it was his mission to reform France.
:24:43. > :24:44.His decision to summon parliamentarians to Versailles
:24:45. > :24:49.sparked a backlash, with some leftwing politicians
:24:50. > :24:50.boycotting the speech, accusing Macron of acting
:24:51. > :24:55.So does the choice of setting for a big political speech make
:24:56. > :25:09.Faire a l'homme, en fin, un pays digne de lui.
:25:10. > :25:27.It is great to be here in free Benghazi and in free Libya.
:25:28. > :25:34.If anybody asks if President Kennedy's words ring true today,
:25:35. > :25:39.For here they will find people who emerged from the ruins of war
:25:40. > :26:06.We're going to build a wall, folks, don't worry.
:26:07. > :26:19.Memorable speeches in memorable venues.
:26:20. > :26:23.We've been joined by the French political journalist Marie le Conte.
:26:24. > :26:31.What does it say about Emmanuel Macron's presidency and his
:26:32. > :26:38.ambitions by holding this big speech in the site? It is actually quite
:26:39. > :26:41.amusing comedy is a person French president to go to the site to talk
:26:42. > :26:49.to the National Assembly and the Senate. And also it is such a strong
:26:50. > :26:52.message. Louis XIV famously built Versailles so he could have the
:26:53. > :26:58.nobility close to him and keep an eye on them and the message is, I'm
:26:59. > :27:05.now in charge, this is it. We have to go beyond the two main parties
:27:06. > :27:12.which I'd effectively destroyed! But is there an irony that he has chosen
:27:13. > :27:17.the grandeur and this sumptuous palace to talk about renewal and
:27:18. > :27:24.bridging the gap between rich and poor? Definitely and the French
:27:25. > :27:29.press had a field day with it. Yesterday Liberation had a painting
:27:30. > :27:34.of him half naked as Zeus throwing thunder! It will be interesting to
:27:35. > :27:38.watch because on the one hand he is drunk to have those sweeping reforms
:27:39. > :27:46.and change the country but he clearly has that ego -- he is
:27:47. > :27:51.attempting those sweeping reforms. He is using all those iconic
:27:52. > :27:58.locations but do you think he will succeed? I don't know, I think there
:27:59. > :28:03.is a fine line between trying to become like a liberal strongman and
:28:04. > :28:08.doing that and ending up looking a bit silly. And it is part of the
:28:09. > :28:11.idea as well, abstention was so high in the second round of the
:28:12. > :28:18.parliament the election, he got elected and his party got elected
:28:19. > :28:22.but I think with only like 40 French -- 43% of people. This idea that
:28:23. > :28:31.it's all fine, I'm definitely president! Were you impressed? We
:28:32. > :28:35.love the buildings but Mike counterpart in France talks about
:28:36. > :28:37.children come back to Calais. We have got to race through the quiz.
:28:38. > :28:43.Do you know what the new name is? But the department will not be
:28:44. > :28:46.changing the logo as it It's already costing around
:28:47. > :28:49.?3,000 for the rebrand. Thanks to all our guests,
:28:50. > :28:51.especially Anne. I'll be back at 11.30am tomorrow
:28:52. > :28:55.with Andrew for live coverage