:00:35. > :00:39.Hello and welcome to the Daily Politics.
:00:40. > :00:41.MPs return to Westminster where they will get their say
:00:42. > :00:44.on Brexit this week, but will they be able to disrupt
:00:45. > :00:49.the process by inflicting any defeats on this minority government?
:00:50. > :00:52.A re-invigorated Theresa May is going nowhere says her deputy
:00:53. > :00:54.and we'll be hearing more from her about policies
:00:55. > :01:02.But how long will Conservative MPs allow her to stay in post?
:01:03. > :01:03.The Maduro government in Venezuela has been condemned
:01:04. > :01:08.after a deadly crackdown against political opponents.
:01:09. > :01:11.Is Jeremy Corbyn taking a hard enough line with the South American
:01:12. > :01:17.And the First Dog enters the Elysee Palace -
:01:18. > :01:20.why is it so important for a French President
:01:21. > :01:34.All that in the next hour and with us for the whole
:01:35. > :01:37.of the programme today is the chairman of the 1922
:01:38. > :01:40.Committee - the so-called shop steward of backbench Conservative
:01:41. > :01:47.Now, there's been plenty of government business over
:01:48. > :01:50.the summer with Brexit negotiations continuing in Brussels last week.
:01:51. > :01:54.Today though MPs return to Westminster and on Thursday
:01:55. > :01:58.they'll debate the EU Withdrawal Bill.
:01:59. > :02:01.There are certain to be critical voices, but when it comes to votes
:02:02. > :02:03.is the Government likely to suffer any defeats?
:02:04. > :02:06.The Government currently has a working majority of 13 thanks
:02:07. > :02:11.There are however nine Labour MPs who supported Leave
:02:12. > :02:18.If these Labour MPs support the bill, this would give
:02:19. > :02:23.the Government a larger Brexit majority of 31.
:02:24. > :02:26.That means the Opposition would need around 16 Conservative MPs to rebel
:02:27. > :02:34.Former Business Minister Anna Soubry said yesterday that she had given
:02:35. > :02:38.Theresa May an "absolute assurance" that she and other would not vote
:02:39. > :02:43.There could be closer votes as the Bill advances
:02:44. > :02:49.One point of controversy in the Bill is expected to be
:02:50. > :02:51.so-called Henry VIII powers, clauses which give Ministers
:02:52. > :02:54.the freedom to make changes to the law with less parliamentary
:02:55. > :03:02.In a moment I'll be talking to Liberal Democrat Leader,
:03:03. > :03:04.Vince Cable, but first let's talk to our Political Editor
:03:05. > :03:12.Welcome to the programme. So Parliament is back! Yes. You're
:03:13. > :03:15.back. It's lovely to be back. Looking forward to the months ahead.
:03:16. > :03:19.Theresa May is fighting on as she said over the summer, but there are
:03:20. > :03:24.dangers, big dangers ahead potentially, let's talk about that
:03:25. > :03:27.EU withdrawal Bill with a small majority how difficult could Tory
:03:28. > :03:32.rebels and Opposition parties make life for her? Well, they could make
:03:33. > :03:35.it very hard and very painful and very grumpy and very fractious.
:03:36. > :03:40.There isn't however a sense at this point that on the Tory backbenchers
:03:41. > :03:43.those who supported Remain have got any desire to somehow sink the
:03:44. > :03:47.Government to bring it crashing down. The numbers are so tight that
:03:48. > :03:51.a really small number of them could actually do so if they really felt
:03:52. > :03:56.like it and with a working majority of 13, it would only take six Tory
:03:57. > :04:00.rebels, just six of them, to defeat the Government on any of it. But
:04:01. > :04:04.although they have got real concerns about the Henry VIII powers and a
:04:05. > :04:09.whole variety of issues around the withdrawal Bill there isn't at the
:04:10. > :04:12.moment an appetite to really, really do the Government damage. Are they
:04:13. > :04:17.going to make it difficult? Are they going to try and make demands?
:04:18. > :04:21.Absolutely, but are they going to try and carry out a succour punch on
:04:22. > :04:26.Theresa May at a time when she is fragile, not at this stage. The
:04:27. > :04:29.challenge for the Government is to work out what's just grand standing
:04:30. > :04:34.because there will be a lot of that, it's Westminster after all and where
:04:35. > :04:38.are there genuine attempts to make this a better bit of legislation.
:04:39. > :04:42.Cabinet Ministers acknowledge they will have to budge in some areas.
:04:43. > :04:46.Brexit is the dominating issue for many people. There is a domestic
:04:47. > :04:50.aagained da and it seems that Number Ten wants to remind voters and us
:04:51. > :04:55.that they are still going to pursue a domestic agenda and perhaps park
:04:56. > :04:59.their tanks on Labour's lawn? I think that's certainly the case for
:05:00. > :05:04.two reasons. One when Theresa May moved into Number Ten she was
:05:05. > :05:08.obviously visibly more passionate about the changes she wants to make
:05:09. > :05:11.this this country that the European issue. I think that's quite clear.
:05:12. > :05:16.She has never been one of the Tory politicians to be obsessed by the
:05:17. > :05:20.European agenda. But here she finds herself having to do that as the
:05:21. > :05:22.biggest piece of business. So she herself personally wants to get
:05:23. > :05:25.things done. She wants to make changes to education and she wants
:05:26. > :05:31.to make changes in mental health, a variety of issues. The second reason
:05:32. > :05:34.is, the huge Tory election disappointment for that party also
:05:35. > :05:38.reminded them if they are to be in a position again of being a winning
:05:39. > :05:42.and convincing party, they've got to talk to the public more about things
:05:43. > :05:46.that they actually care about. Including lifting the public sector
:05:47. > :05:49.pay cut? Well, here we are in June and July after the election that was
:05:50. > :05:53.a continual source of speculation. Messages from parts of Government,
:05:54. > :05:57.Cabinet Ministers who made it clear around the Cabinet table after the
:05:58. > :06:01.election, they wanted to see movement. But we will see. It is up
:06:02. > :06:06.to the chancellor in a few weeks time to write a letter to the SSRB,
:06:07. > :06:12.the independent... They have the remit? Exactly. It is one of these
:06:13. > :06:16.strange issues this public sector pay. It is independently set by
:06:17. > :06:20.independent bodies who guarantee their independence, who guard it
:06:21. > :06:23.very carefully. But there, of course, operating in a political
:06:24. > :06:27.context. And it was interesting the first example of this we actually
:06:28. > :06:31.had after the election where you had Cabinet Ministers saying we've got
:06:32. > :06:35.to do something about this, a whole load of noises off, the first
:06:36. > :06:39.independent body that came back, the teachers review body, came back
:06:40. > :06:42.sticking to the 1%, but making it very clear they had only done that
:06:43. > :06:45.through gritted teeth because ministers made it clear they
:06:46. > :06:51.wouldn't be able to do anything else.
:06:52. > :06:59.Let's talk to Vince Cable. You have called for an exit from Brexit. It
:07:00. > :07:02.is tougher language than we heard from your predecessor you accepted
:07:03. > :07:05.the referendum result, you don't? We are not talking about accepting the
:07:06. > :07:09.referendum result. We are talking about having a new referendum. You
:07:10. > :07:13.can call it a first referendum on the facts once we know what the
:07:14. > :07:17.outcome of the negotiation is, we are in a different position from
:07:18. > :07:20.where we were when the referendum took place and the public should
:07:21. > :07:24.have a choice then. Do they want to proceed on the basis which they know
:07:25. > :07:28.the Government has secured or do they want an exit from Brexit? So
:07:29. > :07:31.you have become the Remain party? We are e-Six Nationsly the Remain
:07:32. > :07:34.party, that's right. There are many who say you haven't accepted the
:07:35. > :07:39.first referendum whatever you want to call it which did say that we
:07:40. > :07:45.should leave the EU? If it emerges that leaving the EU is so messy and
:07:46. > :07:48.complicated and so damaging, I think as David Davis once put it in a
:07:49. > :07:52.democracy people have the right to change their minds, and we'd like to
:07:53. > :07:57.give them that right. What do you say Graham Brady? The danger that
:07:58. > :08:01.what Vince Cable is advocating is the possibility that we go interest
:08:02. > :08:07.a rather tricky, complicated couple of years of uncertainty to another
:08:08. > :08:09.referendum followed by more years of uncertainty followed by another
:08:10. > :08:12.referendum to say whether or not we accept the outcome of that. This is
:08:13. > :08:16.a never ending process. The country made a decision. We need to get it
:08:17. > :08:20.right for the good of the country. Why are you thwarting it? We're not
:08:21. > :08:24.thwarting it. We think there are a hole lot of problems coming down the
:08:25. > :08:27.track. I think the process of leaving the European Union will be
:08:28. > :08:31.far more difficult and far more costly and far more messy and the
:08:32. > :08:41.Government are clearly not ready for it. And we think there needs to be
:08:42. > :08:44.check. To a degree, I accept this point, the never endum world, I
:08:45. > :08:53.would rather we never got into this, but we are we are and that's where
:08:54. > :08:57.we started. We need to know what the facts are, and where the country has
:08:58. > :09:00.got to and then we can have a rational decision on whether we are
:09:01. > :09:06.to jump off a cliff or stay where we are? Do you accept the EU withdrawal
:09:07. > :09:10.Bill? In other words the adoption of all the EU legislation into British
:09:11. > :09:16.law? No, we don't accept it as it is. And there are two basic points
:09:17. > :09:19.here. I mean one is the process issue the so-called Henry VIII
:09:20. > :09:22.clause... We will come to that in a moment, but the substance of the
:09:23. > :09:27.Bill, you don't support the fact that by adopting EU legislation that
:09:28. > :09:33.will allow continuity and certainty when the UK leaves? Well, that would
:09:34. > :09:37.be fine if it were just adopting everything that currently exists
:09:38. > :09:41.automatically, but of course, once you take away from Parliament
:09:42. > :09:44.supervision of legislation and institutions as you give the
:09:45. > :09:48.executive power there is nothing to stop them for example, let's just
:09:49. > :09:52.take a random case. Air quality and environment. They may just adopt the
:09:53. > :09:57.European standards as they are and that's the end of it, but it maybe
:09:58. > :10:02.in translating it into British law, they wish to dilute the standard. So
:10:03. > :10:05.the issues around process and substance are not completely
:10:06. > :10:09.separate. Why are you supporting the idea of giving more power to the
:10:10. > :10:13.executive? You are a champion of backbenchers and less power to
:10:14. > :10:18.Parliament? I am. I think this is a really tricky point. What we need to
:10:19. > :10:22.do now is an enormous amount of legislative change in a short period
:10:23. > :10:26.because we want that continuity, we want that clarity that the laws are
:10:27. > :10:30.going to be the same and that businesses and individuals can rely
:10:31. > :10:33.on that... But you don't know they are going to be the same. The
:10:34. > :10:36.executive could decide to dump some rights and keep others. The
:10:37. > :10:40.Government made it clear that the standards will be the same or
:10:41. > :10:43.higher. We, of course and it is a nonsense to suggest these are the
:10:44. > :10:49.only opportunities that Parliament will have to hold the executive to
:10:50. > :10:53.account. There are so many vehicles to do that. If they were to break
:10:54. > :10:56.faith we could bring them back to Parliament and stop it from
:10:57. > :10:59.happening. You are happy to give up the Parliamentary scrutiny that you
:11:00. > :11:04.have always said along with many of your colleagues on the backbenches
:11:05. > :11:07.is so critical to actually making the executive accountable? The
:11:08. > :11:11.Government is doing the right thing in keeping faith with a promise
:11:12. > :11:14.which is the repeal of the European Communities Act will be followed by
:11:15. > :11:18.the replication of all of that law in British law. That can only be
:11:19. > :11:22.done through this mechanism and I think if Vince tried to change the
:11:23. > :11:26.mechanism we would miss the deadlines that are involved. What
:11:27. > :11:30.difference can you actually make though, Vince Cable with 12 Liberal
:11:31. > :11:34.Democrat MPs? With our 12 MPs and our rather larger number of peers,
:11:35. > :11:38.we can make an intervention, but it is clearly... A wrecking sort of
:11:39. > :11:41.intervention? Not wrecking. My phrase is constructive opposition
:11:42. > :11:45.and that's where I want us to be! But we will be working with people
:11:46. > :11:49.in other parties who share our concerns both on the constitutional
:11:50. > :11:54.issues which Graham has acknowledged exist and the issues of substance
:11:55. > :11:58.staying in the single market and the customs union where the jobs and the
:11:59. > :12:01.economic future is. Who are you going fob working with in the other
:12:02. > :12:07.parties because it is not clear in the Labour Party how big the
:12:08. > :12:10.appetite is in terms of supporting the philosophy that you've outlined.
:12:11. > :12:14.Yes, they have said they want to stay in the single market and
:12:15. > :12:17.customs union during a transition period, and John McDonnell and
:12:18. > :12:21.Jeremy Corbyn are not enthusiasts for remaining in the single market?
:12:22. > :12:24.You're right. There is a wonderful lack of clarity about what the
:12:25. > :12:28.Labour Party want. You see can't rely on them to help your 12 Liberal
:12:29. > :12:32.Democrat MPs? They have moved a bit and an important way. They have
:12:33. > :12:35.accepted that if there is a transition, it has got to be within
:12:36. > :12:38.the single market and the customs union, but you're right, the Labour
:12:39. > :12:41.Party are all over the place in telling us where we go after that.
:12:42. > :12:47.Right, so you can't rely on them in terms of support... We maybe able to
:12:48. > :12:50.vote with them collectively or with large groups of backbenchers who are
:12:51. > :12:58.unhappy about it with some Conservatives. Have you spoken to
:12:59. > :13:01.some Conservative backbenchers? Parliament is a collegiate place, we
:13:02. > :13:05.are not totally tribal. Which amendments are you going to plan to
:13:06. > :13:09.put down when it comes to the committee stage, which is the stage
:13:10. > :13:13.after the second reading and the vote next week? We will see whether
:13:14. > :13:17.the Speaker takes that and whether it is voted on, but beyond that, we
:13:18. > :13:22.will be proceeding through the detail as it comes. What do you say
:13:23. > :13:26.to your Tory colleagues, Anna saoub bury said she won't be voting down,
:13:27. > :13:29.she said the second reading, but when it comes to cut knee and the
:13:30. > :13:33.powers that we've talked about, she will be looking at amendments,
:13:34. > :13:36.that's her job? And they need to make their own judgements and that's
:13:37. > :13:39.something that I think it is a difficult and complicated job being
:13:40. > :13:42.a member of Parliament because you have to balance these issues of
:13:43. > :13:46.scrutinising legislation and standing up sometimes for your
:13:47. > :13:49.party, especially if you're in Government and Anna and others have
:13:50. > :13:53.sor fan been clear that they are striking a balance in this. They
:13:54. > :13:58.don't want to damage the Government. And thet don't want to set in train
:13:59. > :14:02.a course of events that would be harmful to the country. Did the
:14:03. > :14:08.former Brexit minister speak out of turn when he said she really needed
:14:09. > :14:14.to look at where her loyalty lies? For all of us our loyalty is to our
:14:15. > :14:16.country, but we are in a very delicately poised Parliament with
:14:17. > :14:19.small majorities involved in all sorts of important things. Of
:14:20. > :14:26.course, people need to think carefully about how they vote. Why
:14:27. > :14:30.do you think there is any support for your position when you look at
:14:31. > :14:33.the general election result. The polls haven't moved. There isn't
:14:34. > :14:36.much evidence of buyers remorse and your vote share went down in the
:14:37. > :14:40.general election. Why are you pursuing a strategy that isn't going
:14:41. > :14:46.to be a vote winner for you? We don't know what's going to happen in
:14:47. > :14:50.the next two years. The general election was in a very different
:14:51. > :14:54.context, the process of negotiation hadn't properly started. There was a
:14:55. > :15:01.lot of debate about what soft and hard Brexit actually meant. I think
:15:02. > :15:04.a lot of people took our second referendum commitment as re-running
:15:05. > :15:07.the last one. Do you think people haven't understood the issues? The
:15:08. > :15:10.economic consequences are just beginning to become apparent through
:15:11. > :15:13.the exchange rate and it is affecting people's living standards,
:15:14. > :15:19.but it hasn't been dramatic one way or the other, but this will
:15:20. > :15:22.gradually emerge over time. The come Paralympicsities of extricating
:15:23. > :15:25.ourselves, things like the open skies agreement, all of this will
:15:26. > :15:29.start to hit people in a direct way that affects their lives.
:15:30. > :15:35.So you are hoping that everything will go wrong? No, I hope that the
:15:36. > :15:38.country is in the right place eventually and I believe that what
:15:39. > :15:43.is right for the country is that we stay within the institutions like
:15:44. > :15:45.the single market, the customs union, collaborative research, the
:15:46. > :15:48.good environmental standards which have served this country well. Vince
:15:49. > :15:50.Cable, thank you very much. The question for today
:15:51. > :15:54.is which of these politicians At the end of the show Graham
:15:55. > :16:03.will attempt to give As business get underway
:16:04. > :16:09.here in Westminster, Scotland's First Minister,
:16:10. > :16:11.Nicola Sturgeon, will be launching her programme for Government
:16:12. > :16:13.at Holyrood this afternoon. Let's speak to the BBC's Scotland
:16:14. > :16:26.Editor, Sarah Smith, who is there. Sarah, a disappointing election
:16:27. > :16:30.result for the SNP, is this something of a relaunch? They will
:16:31. > :16:34.not call it that but yes, an attempt to seize the agenda once more and
:16:35. > :16:40.get to the business of governing Scotland with powers that the
:16:41. > :16:43.Scottish and already has. So much Scottish politics in the first six
:16:44. > :16:47.months of the year was governed by another referendum, and the time
:16:48. > :16:50.spent talking about that led the SNP political opponents to say they were
:16:51. > :16:54.neglecting their day job. Saying that they were not spending enough
:16:55. > :17:01.time passing legislation and introducing reforms to Scottish
:17:02. > :17:03.schools and hospitals. Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, is
:17:04. > :17:09.grabbing initiative with her most ambitious plan yet, she will
:17:10. > :17:13.announce a huge raft of legislation, at least 16 new builds on top of the
:17:14. > :17:16.11 going through the Scottish Parliament and it will be a busy
:17:17. > :17:21.session, to make it clear that they are getting on with the day job.
:17:22. > :17:26.This is about saying she is in charge and running Scotland. It has
:17:27. > :17:32.obviously hit home that criticism of her, as you say, you neglecting her
:17:33. > :17:40.day job. Especially on the issue education? She has said that she
:17:41. > :17:44.wants to be judged on her record on education, on her government's
:17:45. > :17:49.record on education. She is inviting voters to pass judgment and they
:17:50. > :17:53.have not delivered. Scottish school standards are declining in reading
:17:54. > :17:57.and writing and maths. So, they've got to get an ambitious reform
:17:58. > :18:02.programme on the books if she is not going to be judged, as she invited
:18:03. > :18:07.voters to do, and wanting on education. And what about the
:18:08. > :18:10.independence issue? Has it been put on the back burner? It is firmly on
:18:11. > :18:15.the back burner. What was announced at Holyrood in a few months ago was
:18:16. > :18:20.that there would be a reset on the timetable and the First Minister was
:18:21. > :18:24.now willing to have another referendum before the UK left the
:18:25. > :18:28.EU. It is difficult to see how things change dramatically, it could
:18:29. > :18:32.happen before the next Scottish election in 2021 and then, if the
:18:33. > :18:38.SNP win an overall majority at Holyrood, then a referendum could be
:18:39. > :18:43.possible. Getting voters to trust the SNP on the economy, that is
:18:44. > :18:50.crucial as it could allow them to win the next 2021 elections and then
:18:51. > :18:53.take forward their plans for another referendum. It sounds like a busy
:18:54. > :18:58.session, Sarah Smith. Thank you. Now - my guest Graham Brady
:18:59. > :19:01.is dressed smartly in navy today - but the 1922 Committee -
:19:02. > :19:04.of which he is of course chair - is often referred to
:19:05. > :19:07.as 'the men in grey suits'. They're a mysterious group of Tory
:19:08. > :19:11.backbench MPs with the power to tap the party leader on the shoulder
:19:12. > :19:14.and make them stand down. And exactly who and what
:19:15. > :19:24.is the 1922 committee? The 1922 Committee was set up in
:19:25. > :19:30.1923, in 1922 the Conservative leader Andrew Bona Locke pulled out
:19:31. > :19:34.of what was the Liberals, and election followed, and a number of
:19:35. > :19:37.new Tory MPs. It was started as a forum for them but then all
:19:38. > :19:40.backbenchers were allowed to meetings and by the end of the
:19:41. > :19:43.Second World War it became the norm that Conservative leader 's work, on
:19:44. > :19:48.occasion, invited along to give account of themselves. That still
:19:49. > :19:57.happens today. Its importance has grown markedly over the years,
:19:58. > :19:59.influencing policy. Not making policy but influencing policy
:20:00. > :20:10.through the representations that are made. Made either red meetings --
:20:11. > :20:15.made at meetings. There is a hugely important task that was entrusted to
:20:16. > :20:21.the 1922 Committee since the 1960s, of overseeing the election of the
:20:22. > :20:28.leader of the Conservative Party. Voting 75 in favour of Mr Duncan
:20:29. > :20:34.Smith's leadership of the party. 1390 of not confident. The committee
:20:35. > :20:39.has the power to force a vote of no-confidence in a leader, which is
:20:40. > :20:43.what happened to Iain Duncan Smith in 2003. The Parliamentary party has
:20:44. > :20:46.spoken and the announcement has been made. I will stand down as leader
:20:47. > :20:51.when a successor has finally been chosen. Ladies and gentlemen, I have
:20:52. > :20:57.two announced that nominations for the leaders of the Conservative
:20:58. > :21:01.Party closed at 12 noon today. There was one valid nomination, that of
:21:02. > :21:09.the Right Honourable Michael Howard, member of Parliament for Folkestone
:21:10. > :21:13.and highs. Michael Howard led for just over two years, although he
:21:14. > :21:17.never became Prime Minister, he says it is always important to have the
:21:18. > :21:22.committee on side. Ultimate power resides with the backbenchers of
:21:23. > :21:29.Parliament, of the governing party. Certainly in the Conservative Party,
:21:30. > :21:33.because if you are only Prime Minister because you can command
:21:34. > :21:37.confidence of the House of Commons, you are unlikely to command the
:21:38. > :21:41.confidence of opposition parties in the House of Commons. So if you do
:21:42. > :21:44.not command the confidence of your own party, you don't command the
:21:45. > :21:47.confidence of the House of Commons which is what Parliamentary
:21:48. > :21:51.democracy is about. Conservative leaders should learn to keep the
:21:52. > :21:57.1922 Committee suite, something Margaret Thatcher lost sight by the
:21:58. > :22:01.end her leadership. -- suite. It's often been a force for stability
:22:02. > :22:07.within the Conservative Party but there can be occasions where one
:22:08. > :22:13.thinks tremendous divisions over Europe in the 1990s, under John
:22:14. > :22:17.Major, they were -- the 1922 Committee could not perform the
:22:18. > :22:22.valuable role of bringing greater stability to the affairs of the
:22:23. > :22:27.conservative party in parliament as the divisions were so great. They
:22:28. > :22:31.were called the men in grey suits, the current chairman of the 1922
:22:32. > :22:34.Committee sporting dark blue here, shows how things can change that
:22:35. > :22:35.Theresa May owes plenty to her backbenchers.
:22:36. > :22:39.And the current Chairman of the 1922 Committee is still here...
:22:40. > :22:45.Graham Brady, Michael Howard said that ultimate power resides with the
:22:46. > :22:49.party, and Theresa May had said that she would stay as long as the party
:22:50. > :22:54.still wanted her. How long would you like her to stay on as the leader?
:22:55. > :22:59.Well, I think she did a good thing last week in making it clear that
:23:00. > :23:04.she is around for the long and isn't about to cut and run. Of course,
:23:05. > :23:08.it's true that it is always subject to be supportive colleagues. There
:23:09. > :23:13.are two weighs any Prime Minister goes, their own party can choose to
:23:14. > :23:18.get rid of them or the electorate. You are happy for her to lead you
:23:19. > :23:23.into the next election? If she is, I am. We are solidly behind Theresa
:23:24. > :23:26.May and we know that she's got a big job to deliver. There is a
:23:27. > :23:31.complicated set of things to make progress on, not only brakes or some
:23:32. > :23:35.other domestic challenges which are really important. We want her to
:23:36. > :23:40.make progress. We had a general election just now. We did not get
:23:41. > :23:47.the result we wanted but we won. We got a share in the boats, and a
:23:48. > :23:52.number of those which propelled Tony Blair to landslide result. It was a
:23:53. > :23:54.disaster, she lost the majority and she thought she would get a bigger
:23:55. > :23:59.majority and she called a snap election when she promised
:24:00. > :24:05.faithfully not to do that. I think the election result was not what we
:24:06. > :24:11.would have wanted and a lot went wrong... What went wrong? Almost
:24:12. > :24:15.everything, in my view. Including significantly the fact that it was
:24:16. > :24:21.all focused as a presidential style campaign. It didn't work for Theresa
:24:22. > :24:24.May's style. I think she was getting across to the public well, before
:24:25. > :24:29.that as someone who could relax into the role and was becoming more
:24:30. > :24:33.obviously in tune with people more able to deal with that. She is the
:24:34. > :24:38.leader and she makes the decisions in the end. One of the complaints
:24:39. > :24:45.from your colleagues was that she did not communicate outside her
:24:46. > :24:49.coterie of two advisers, how big a problem was that? I think we have
:24:50. > :24:53.seen important changes in structure and personnel, one which is really
:24:54. > :24:56.important issue brought in more people around her who are closer to
:24:57. > :25:02.Parliamentary colleagues who are good at dealing with colleagues...
:25:03. > :25:08.Are the channels of communication open? They are always open with me
:25:09. > :25:11.but with far more colleagues, they are part of the process. You were
:25:12. > :25:18.always in contact with her, were you? Ahead of the election, head of
:25:19. > :25:23.the campaign. Things change in an election campaign. My position is
:25:24. > :25:27.predicated on me chairing the Parliamentary colleagues and when we
:25:28. > :25:30.get to an election campaign, Parliament is not sitting. There are
:25:31. > :25:35.no members of Parliament. Is the reason why you are so supportive of
:25:36. > :25:39.Theresa May because you are a Brexiteer and you think that she is
:25:40. > :25:44.the best bet in terms of delivering a Brexit you would like to see? The
:25:45. > :25:48.majority of your committee is meant to represent all Conservative
:25:49. > :25:54.backbenchers, people like you, Nigel Evans and Bernard Jenkins. What
:25:55. > :25:57.about those who are not Brexiteers? Who decided to remain, and still
:25:58. > :26:02.are, unlike Theresa May who did decide to remain but changed her
:26:03. > :26:09.mind? It's a representative body and has people representing all strands
:26:10. > :26:13.of opinion in the party. Now does it represent Anna Soubry, Nicky Morgan,
:26:14. > :26:20.Dominic Grieve, who are sceptical about their plans? It is important
:26:21. > :26:25.to us in doing our job, whether it be communicating with the leader of
:26:26. > :26:28.the party, dealing with the Chief Whip, the party chairman, who
:26:29. > :26:31.represents positions that we have on the board of the party. We need a
:26:32. > :26:36.spectrum of opinion to make it happen and we have. Is there a
:26:37. > :26:42.chance that it looks to summon' that you are representing the government,
:26:43. > :26:48.to backbenchers, rather than the other way around? I do not think it
:26:49. > :26:52.is the case, I think I have been elected as the chairman of the 22,
:26:53. > :26:56.an annual opportunity for election, for the last seven years because
:26:57. > :27:03.people think I'm prepared to say it how it is and stand up and be
:27:04. > :27:07.counted. Many colleagues came on here to talk about the leadership,
:27:08. > :27:15.how angry were you with the ministers, many in post? I think we,
:27:16. > :27:19.as a committee, this was generally the view of backbench colleagues, we
:27:20. > :27:22.were very keen that having come through the general election we
:27:23. > :27:25.should be able to make progress in government and the Prime Minister
:27:26. > :27:30.should be able to get on with the job and it is very important that we
:27:31. > :27:34.are not bogged down with internal discussions. It's not what the
:27:35. > :27:39.country expects. They elect people to get on with the job and, having
:27:40. > :27:47.come through a general election... She did not win the election in that
:27:48. > :27:51.sense of the word, strictly... You have a minority and a deal done with
:27:52. > :27:56.the DUP for ?1 billion, were you happy with that deal? There are
:27:57. > :28:00.responsibilities that fall to those in government to make sure they can
:28:01. > :28:04.do the job and serve the national interest. Were you happy with the
:28:05. > :28:09.deal? That is what we are seeking to do and governed with the support of
:28:10. > :28:17.the DUP, or, as you said in your package, there are nine Labour MPs
:28:18. > :28:23.who voted in favour so far of... And you are counting on them! More would
:28:24. > :28:30.be welcome... The deal with the DUP, would you have supported that
:28:31. > :28:35.advocated it? Having the security and ability to predict what is going
:28:36. > :28:40.to happen in government is quite important. Having that arrangement,
:28:41. > :28:43.which of course does not deal with matters of controversial domestic
:28:44. > :28:48.legislation in Northern Ireland, that is really very important for
:28:49. > :28:53.the good of the governors of our country. And would it be important
:28:54. > :28:56.for the governors of the country, since that ?1 billion was
:28:57. > :29:01.miraculously found, to secure that deal with the DUP in Northern
:29:02. > :29:06.Ireland, that actually it is right now for Theresa May's government to
:29:07. > :29:14.advocate and suggest to Depay bodies that the 1% cap on the public pay
:29:15. > :29:20.sector should be lifted? This needs to be dealt with cautiously. Why, do
:29:21. > :29:24.you support it or not? There is a tricky balance to be struck. Simply
:29:25. > :29:33.letting public sector pay take off without control does not do any
:29:34. > :29:37.favours. It does not do favours for lower paid people working in the
:29:38. > :29:40.public sector as there are economic consequences which impact tax
:29:41. > :29:47.revenues, and in mortgage rates, and so on. It is right to be cautious
:29:48. > :29:51.but it is also right that we do not seek to give people the impression
:29:52. > :29:56.that a decision that was taken in 2010 by the coalition government for
:29:57. > :30:00.very good reasons is going to be something which stays in perpetuity.
:30:01. > :30:04.There must be a point where there is some flexibility. So far, all of the
:30:05. > :30:12.recommendations of pay review bodies have been met in full. And they will
:30:13. > :30:15.continue to be. They only recommend on the basis that the Treasury
:30:16. > :30:21.suggests that to them, is that good for nurses and low-paid workers to
:30:22. > :30:25.get a pay rise? It is good for everybody to have a pay rise as long
:30:26. > :30:29.as it does not prejudice the sound economic management to the country.
:30:30. > :30:32.One of the things that has been dropped because of Theresa May's
:30:33. > :30:37.result in the general election is the expansion of grammar schools.
:30:38. > :30:43.You passionately campaign for that, how upset were you about that? I'm a
:30:44. > :30:46.practical person, I am pragmatic in politics. I think people should be
:30:47. > :30:49.free to have the kinds of schools that they want to have and that
:30:50. > :30:59.includes grammar schools. It is a shame, we would like to see some
:31:00. > :31:04.expansion as well. Now - this morning MPs have been
:31:05. > :31:07.debating the continuing political Protests have led to more than 120
:31:08. > :31:11.dead since April, with thousands President Nicolas Maduro declared
:31:12. > :31:14.victory in elections last month - which critics have described
:31:15. > :31:16.as a sham. The country's opposition
:31:17. > :31:18.leaders are hoping to drum up support from governments
:31:19. > :31:20.in Europe and yesterday met with French President Emmanuel
:31:21. > :31:21.Macron. Over the summer, the Labour leader
:31:22. > :31:30.was asked if he condemned What I condemn is the violence
:31:31. > :31:38.being done by any side, Violence is not going
:31:39. > :31:41.to solve the issue. The issues are partly structural,
:31:42. > :31:43.because not enough has been done to diversify the economy
:31:44. > :31:47.away from oil. That has to be a priority
:31:48. > :31:49.for the future. But we also have to recognise
:31:50. > :31:52.there have been effective and serious attempts in reducing
:31:53. > :31:53.poverty, improving literacy and improving the lives
:31:54. > :32:03.of many of the poorest people. We're joined now from parliament
:32:04. > :32:05.where MPs have been debating the crisis in Venezuela
:32:06. > :32:07.by the Labour MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group
:32:08. > :32:10.on the country, Graham Jones. And in the studio, Ben Chacko from
:32:11. > :32:13.the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign. He's also editor
:32:14. > :32:24.of the Morning Star. Welcome to both of you. Graham
:32:25. > :32:29.Jones, has the party gone far enough in condemning the situation in
:32:30. > :32:32.Venezuela and the government led by Nicolas Maduro? I think we made a
:32:33. > :32:37.strong statement at the start of the summer, with one of my neighbours.
:32:38. > :32:40.They put out a strong statement on behalf of the Labour Party and I
:32:41. > :32:43.thought it was acceptable but we need the opposition and the
:32:44. > :32:47.government who need to come together to condemn the regime in Venezuela.
:32:48. > :33:00.More needs to be done and we have all seen the television pictures and
:33:01. > :33:02.hear those stories. It is a tragic situation there. Has Jeremy Corbyn
:33:03. > :33:05.led from the front in condemning the government in Venezuela? He has made
:33:06. > :33:08.a statement that it is more about the Labour Party, it is an
:33:09. > :33:13.unequivocal but strong statement and we need to move on from that. Why is
:33:14. > :33:16.it down to the Labour Party? He said that he condemned violence on all
:33:17. > :33:21.sides. It sounded like Donald Trump condemning all sides in
:33:22. > :33:31.Charlottesville. Should he be condemning in fairly singular terms
:33:32. > :33:35.the impressive regime in Venezuela? You have the powerful and powerless,
:33:36. > :33:42.I do not conflate the two. Their risk responsibility in the regime
:33:43. > :33:48.and it is incumbent on all of us. To condemn the Venezuelan regime for
:33:49. > :33:52.human rights abuses, and how it is treated, democracy in Venezuela,
:33:53. > :33:59.there are various things, including trafficking drugs. Then, do you
:34:00. > :34:04.condemn the government in Venezuela? I think it was a very one-sided
:34:05. > :34:08.affair this morning, your television clip earlier showed, as many of the
:34:09. > :34:13.images that we have seen showed, many of these protesters are armed,
:34:14. > :34:18.they have home-made mortars, they are throwing Molotov cocktails,
:34:19. > :34:23.there are paramilitaries in August, there was an attack on the Supreme
:34:24. > :34:26.Court, everybody is talking as if these are peaceful protests and they
:34:27. > :34:29.are not. I do not deny that the government, there have been police
:34:30. > :34:32.officers who killed protesters and they have been arrested and charged
:34:33. > :34:37.but there is violence on both sides and everybody is talking as if the
:34:38. > :34:41.opposition are peaceful. Is it the opposition who have become more
:34:42. > :34:45.violent as the UN human rights watch have said as people in Venezuela are
:34:46. > :34:51.starving. Opposition politicians and protesters are being beaten,
:34:52. > :34:56.tortured, jailed and killed and it is being done by Nicolas Maduro's
:34:57. > :35:05.government with impunity? I do not think that is right at all. These
:35:06. > :35:10.are official lines from the UN human rights watch, that is their report,
:35:11. > :35:13.ready for their eating in Geneva? The majority of the deaths in the
:35:14. > :35:16.Venezuelan protests have not been caused by security forces and where
:35:17. > :35:20.they had been involved, they have been arrested and tried and police
:35:21. > :35:24.officers have been jailed for those incidents. It is a violent uprising,
:35:25. > :35:29.one of a succession by the Venezuelan right, to overthrow the
:35:30. > :35:33.presidency before the elections next year. If they were so confident that
:35:34. > :35:37.the president was unpopular, why can't they wait and win the election
:35:38. > :35:41.next year against the president? And what about holding a one-sided
:35:42. > :35:42.debate that has not fairly reflect the violence on the side of the
:35:43. > :35:53.protesters? I don't think there is many people
:35:54. > :35:59.hold that view. Some people signed Early Day Motions. If you're
:36:00. > :36:01.sympathetic, there is plenty of opportunity for the Venezuelan
:36:02. > :36:06.solidarity movement to garner the support of MPs to come and debate.
:36:07. > :36:09.The fact that they weren't there probably speaks volumes about what
:36:10. > :36:13.is right and what's wrong. So is it really responsible for the Labour
:36:14. > :36:18.leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who has heaped praise certainly on Maduro's
:36:19. > :36:22.regime in 2014, 2015 saying that actually it had success in policy
:36:23. > :36:26.areas like health and education, saying these were a cause for
:36:27. > :36:29.celebration? I think the current situation is not a cause for
:36:30. > :36:32.celebration. I don't think there is anybody that would agree with that
:36:33. > :36:38.and I have not heard Jeremy say anything to the extent he supports
:36:39. > :36:43.what is going on in Venezuela. He did in 2014. Should he just cut his
:36:44. > :36:50.links with any campaign that Maduro is involved in in Venezuela? I am
:36:51. > :36:57.not aware that he has any links with the current regime. It is a clear
:36:58. > :37:01.case that is a militaristic authoritarian regime, communist
:37:02. > :37:05.regime, I'm not surprised the Morning Star supports and is
:37:06. > :37:11.undermining the lives of the people in Venezuela. The economy has
:37:12. > :37:15.collapsed and that's why people have taken to protesting. The economy has
:37:16. > :37:19.collapsed. Inflation has soaredmed people are starving. There is
:37:20. > :37:23.anecdotal reports of peopleAgeing in bins and eating their own pets. Can
:37:24. > :37:27.you be surprised by the level of protest? People aren't prepared to
:37:28. > :37:31.wait as you said for another year for elections and they've been
:37:32. > :37:38.accused the Maduro of rigging the elections that have happened? I
:37:39. > :37:45.think that's an absurd allegation that the elections were rigged. That
:37:46. > :37:48.constituent Assembly was summoned because of the economic crisis,
:37:49. > :37:54.because there is an economic crisis. Whose fault is the economic crisis?
:37:55. > :37:58.And who was in charge of Venezuela in terms of squandering the oil? Do
:37:59. > :38:02.you believe that when a Government makes mistakes in its economic
:38:03. > :38:06.policy that gives a right to the Opposition to overthrow that
:38:07. > :38:08.Government? No, it doesn't. The Opposition, since winning the
:38:09. > :38:13.majority in the National Assembly which they did in 2015. But they
:38:14. > :38:18.claim those were rigged. They won the majority so I don't see why they
:38:19. > :38:23.would claim they were rigged. Since then there has been the opposition
:38:24. > :38:27.controlling the Parliament and control by Maduro and they have
:38:28. > :38:30.failed to work together. This was summoned as an attempt to get
:38:31. > :38:33.through the deadlock. The opposition boycotted the talks and boycotted
:38:34. > :38:38.the Assembly. They don't want to move forward on this. They don't
:38:39. > :38:41.want dialogue, they want to take to the streets to attack the police and
:38:42. > :38:45.overthrow the regime. What evidence is there to suggest that a Labour
:38:46. > :38:49.Government would follow any of the policies of the Venezuelan regime?
:38:50. > :38:52.Well, there seems to be a sneaking admiration on the part of Jeremy
:38:53. > :38:56.Corbyn... I don't think it is necessarily sneaking. Well, thank
:38:57. > :39:01.you. There is lots of evidence that Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell,
:39:02. > :39:04.the people running the Labour Party, actually have seen the Venezuelan
:39:05. > :39:08.Government as a model for economic policy. Now the fact that the
:39:09. > :39:11.Venezuelan Government has destroyed the economy of a country that should
:39:12. > :39:15.have been one of the wealthiest countries in South America and is
:39:16. > :39:20.therefore made the lives of its people a misery really ought to make
:39:21. > :39:24.people pause for thought and reflect on whether people like Jeremy Corbyn
:39:25. > :39:28.and John McDonnell are really people who could be trusted with the
:39:29. > :39:32.economy of our own country? Should the Government be working harder
:39:33. > :39:39.with the opposition parties then in Venezuela to do something about it?
:39:40. > :39:45.We should make it clear that we dep pri kate any Government that fails
:39:46. > :39:49.to allow proper political freedom in the way it does and the way it is
:39:50. > :39:54.dealing with the protesters. I think we have to condemn the complete lack
:39:55. > :39:57.of political freedom in Venezuela, but we have to be realistic about
:39:58. > :40:01.what we can do. The starting point has to be that we don't give them
:40:02. > :40:05.support. We don't support that there is a body of opinion in the United
:40:06. > :40:07.Kingdom of any significance that is on their side. All right, gentlemen,
:40:08. > :40:11.thank you very much for joining us. Now, what's the most
:40:12. > :40:13.effective way for parties Some people think the Conservatives
:40:14. > :40:17.need a new strategy to counter Jeremy Corbyn's success at appealing
:40:18. > :40:19.to young people during Some Conservative activists think
:40:20. > :40:25.they've found the answer. They've set up a new
:40:26. > :40:27.organisation designed "Activate" - as it's called -
:40:28. > :40:31.is not officially affiliated to the Conservative Party -
:40:32. > :40:34.but many are already describing it But polls suggest the party
:40:35. > :40:38.have their work cut out One recent YouGov poll gave Labour
:40:39. > :40:49.a whopping 52 point lead among Labour also enjoy big
:40:50. > :40:55.leads on policy issues. Only 4% of young people thought
:40:56. > :41:00.the Conservatives were best on issues like housing,
:41:01. > :41:02.compared to 44% who favoured So how are the Tories trying
:41:03. > :41:08.to turn this around? George Freeman - who chairs
:41:09. > :41:11.the Prime Minister's Policy Board - is organising a festival later this
:41:12. > :41:16.month that has been branded as "Tory Glastonbury",
:41:17. > :41:21.saying "Why is it the left who have Meanwhile
:41:22. > :41:24.the new Activate organisation say they aim to "engage young people
:41:25. > :41:27.in the right of centre politics and make a case
:41:28. > :41:29.for what Conservatism can offer." The group hasn't formally launched
:41:30. > :41:33.yet but it's had something of a rocky start since it got up
:41:34. > :41:37.and running online last week. Membership is priced
:41:38. > :41:39.between ?5 and ?500 - prompting claims it is too exclusive
:41:40. > :41:43.and out of touch with Activate also issued an apology
:41:44. > :41:57.after messages from a WhatsApp group apparently used by young
:41:58. > :41:58.Conservative activists were published by the
:41:59. > :42:08.Guido Fawkes website. It included controversial comments
:42:09. > :42:11.about "gassing" chavs and carrying And last night Activate's announced
:42:12. > :42:14.on their Twitter account that they were calling
:42:15. > :42:16.for Theresa May to resign and endorsing Jacob Rees-Mogg
:42:17. > :42:18.to take over as leader, but it wasn't clear if the group had
:42:19. > :42:22.been the victim of a hack. We're joined now from Nottingham
:42:23. > :42:28.by Sam Ancliff who is involved in the Conservative "grass roots"
:42:29. > :42:29.youth movement, Activate and from Glasgow by Rhea Wolfson
:42:30. > :42:40.who's been an organiser Welcome to the programme. Now,
:42:41. > :42:44.apparently, you're no longer affiliated with the group that
:42:45. > :42:48.you're supposed to be associated with, are you, or aren't you? So I
:42:49. > :42:53.have seen the same tweet which I imagine you're referring to and I am
:42:54. > :42:56.very much still part of the group and still the official spokesperson.
:42:57. > :43:01.What we are a victim of as you said earlier is a hack that's taken place
:43:02. > :43:04.on our Twitter. It has been an on going situation since Thursday and
:43:05. > :43:07.we are working with the police and with Twitter to get it resolved and
:43:08. > :43:11.we hope we will have access within the next 24 hours. Are you a member
:43:12. > :43:14.of the Conservative Party? I am a member, yes. Have you always been a
:43:15. > :43:19.member of the Conservative Party? Only in the last 18 months or so.
:43:20. > :43:22.Right. On the point of the Twitter announcement, just to clear up any
:43:23. > :43:29.confusion, right, you say that this recent tweet saying that you are no
:43:30. > :43:32.longer affiliated with Activate has been hacked basically, so it is a
:43:33. > :43:35.fake tweetment but what about the Twitter announcement calling for
:43:36. > :43:39.Theresa May to stand down and endorsing Jacob Rhys Mogg for
:43:40. > :43:49.leader. Is that Activate's position? Certainly not. You drew the par
:43:50. > :43:54.parallels between us and Momentum. We are not about any one politician.
:43:55. > :43:58.It would be wrong of us to endorse one candidate. We are about to
:43:59. > :44:02.helping engage and unite young Conservative voters and that's
:44:03. > :44:09.separate to any one politician. But as you say, it got off to a fairly
:44:10. > :44:12.tricky rocky start. You have had to clarify that you are part of
:44:13. > :44:18.Activate and their spokesperson and you have had your Twitter account
:44:19. > :44:21.hacked and you are saying you don't support Jacob Rhys Mogg or any Prime
:44:22. > :44:29.Minister, it is not going well, is it? We haven't officially launched.
:44:30. > :44:32.We were setting up our Twitter accounts and have been thrust into
:44:33. > :44:35.the public eye which is something we are happy to be in. We're
:44:36. > :44:41.interviewing on several platforms across the country. So we're getting
:44:42. > :44:44.great publicity from this. We have had teething problems because we
:44:45. > :44:48.weren't fully established and we were getting set-up and as soon as
:44:49. > :44:51.the teething problems are sorted out then I'm looking forward to a
:44:52. > :44:54.message that we can spread. As you rightly said, we don't support any
:44:55. > :44:57.one politician. What we do, we support the Conservative Party and
:44:58. > :45:01.we support the Government in their aims. Right. And whoever is at the
:45:02. > :45:07.head of that will always have our support. Do you have some sympathy
:45:08. > :45:11.with Sam, acsakeses of chaos, factional insfiting and accusation
:45:12. > :45:17.and counter-accusation, it sounds familiar to you, doesn't it? I think
:45:18. > :45:21.any parallels will fall flat on their face quickly. Just in the
:45:22. > :45:23.things that Sam expressed about having a youth organisation that
:45:24. > :45:27.brings people together to support the Government, that is entirely the
:45:28. > :45:33.opposite what Momentum was trying to do which was create a Labour Party
:45:34. > :45:38.and an opposition party that was ready to govern, but was going to
:45:39. > :45:42.engage people in the pliical realities of day-to-day life.
:45:43. > :45:46.Activate is off to a bad start just looking to appeal to young Tory
:45:47. > :45:50.voters because there aren't many out there. If they want to have success,
:45:51. > :45:54.look at how you can inspire young people. That was what Momentum was
:45:55. > :45:56.about. It was about a platform that was already putting forward a
:45:57. > :46:00.popular policy, that was reaching out to young people and saying the
:46:01. > :46:03.reality around you is terrible. You are getting a terrible deal. The
:46:04. > :46:08.Labour Party is the way to challenge that. Right. If Labour were in
:46:09. > :46:12.Government would you not be supporting them then? It's not about
:46:13. > :46:15.whether we would be supporting the Government. The Labour Party has
:46:16. > :46:18.transformed in the past two years into something that's really an
:46:19. > :46:24.incredibly exciting thing to be part and a huge part of is that is to do
:46:25. > :46:28.with Momentum, Momentum saying these are the things that people want,
:46:29. > :46:33.we're listening to people, but putting forward best practise.
:46:34. > :46:37.Momentum played an important role in the general election by utilising
:46:38. > :46:39.online tools that the Labour Party hadn't and showing they can be
:46:40. > :46:43.successful and now it will be a process of integrating that into the
:46:44. > :46:48.party. You had terrible teething problems too and there was
:46:49. > :46:54.infighting between groups on the left particularly a tempted coup on
:46:55. > :47:01.John Landsman who was one of the founders, you sympathize with Sam as
:47:02. > :47:09.he tries to set up Activate? I don't know what the internal workings are
:47:10. > :47:13.of Activate. There will be wrangling and always in Labour Party groups
:47:14. > :47:18.because people care passionately about what we do. Does this warm
:47:19. > :47:22.your heart? Does this fill you with joy Graham Brady that you could
:47:23. > :47:27.think about associating yourselves with a group like Activate? I don't
:47:28. > :47:30.think we are thinking about associating with Activate. We are
:47:31. > :47:33.careful about affiliating and associating with particular groups.
:47:34. > :47:36.I listened to Sam being interviewed and he made it clear that he and
:47:37. > :47:41.others have been treated unfairly and this is a story that is about
:47:42. > :47:44.somebody hacking their account and sending out messages that aren't
:47:45. > :47:49.coming from them at all. I don't think it would be fair to tar him
:47:50. > :47:53.with that brush. Right. Except there have been other whatsapp comments
:47:54. > :48:05.Sam that come out. Reportedly this was used as a precursor to Activate
:48:06. > :48:11.and it was, "Can we release compulsory birth control on chavs?"
:48:12. > :48:14.Did you support those comments. The whatsapp group in question was one
:48:15. > :48:18.of potentially hundreds out there. I know of a few that existed, but they
:48:19. > :48:22.are looking to maybe set something up. I do know that a couple of our
:48:23. > :48:26.members including myself was in that whatsapp group. I don't deny not
:48:27. > :48:30.being in there. I never saw that conversation take place until it
:48:31. > :48:36.came to light in the media, but they are disgusting comments. I come from
:48:37. > :48:41.a little town, a former mining town in Ashfield. I lived in a council
:48:42. > :48:44.house my whole life. I would probably be tarred by the same brush
:48:45. > :48:48.as these people are saying. I found out that one of the three people who
:48:49. > :48:54.are saying those disgusting comments is one of the people leaking to the
:48:55. > :48:57.media which brings to question the credibility of those comments. It
:48:58. > :49:01.makes it difficult to set up a group like this and the sort of thing
:49:02. > :49:05.you're trying to do and to appeal to young people for right of centre
:49:06. > :49:11.politics. What about the price range between ?5 or ?10 and ?500? It seems
:49:12. > :49:16.random in some ways, never mind expensive for young people to join?
:49:17. > :49:24.Our membership fees are ?5 for under 25, ?10 for anyone over that age. On
:49:25. > :49:29.the website, we are still in the early stages of setting up the
:49:30. > :49:32.website and getting it already. The platform we are using to take
:49:33. > :49:39.members as a shock platform so people can dine -- donate more. It
:49:40. > :49:43.will not be changing the future, it is not a huge priority, it is
:49:44. > :49:48.numbers on a web page. And do you think you need your own Momentum in
:49:49. > :49:52.the Conservative Party? I think Momentum is a little worrying and we
:49:53. > :49:55.should be concerned about what it has done to the Labour Party in
:49:56. > :50:01.making it more extreme and supporting a shift to the hard left.
:50:02. > :50:05.I would not want our own Momentum but I would like us to have the
:50:06. > :50:13.policies which help us connect to younger people and if that is by
:50:14. > :50:15.organising a Tory Glastonbury, fine! Get your tickets now! Thank you to
:50:16. > :50:17.both of you. Now, in this dog eat dog world,
:50:18. > :50:20.what do you do when the polls are bad and your approval
:50:21. > :50:22.rating is slumping? You don't roll over -
:50:23. > :50:25.you get yourself some good PR with either animals or children -
:50:26. > :50:27.that's the approach taken by the He's recently acquired himself
:50:28. > :50:31.a new labrador cross - called Nemo - perhaps in the hope
:50:32. > :50:33.of boosting his ailing ratings. So can politicians win us
:50:34. > :50:36.over with their pooches? Let's have a look back
:50:37. > :50:57.through the archive. # And they call it puppy love
:50:58. > :51:11.# I guess they'll never know... # How the young hearts really feels
:51:12. > :51:21.# And why I love her so # And they call dead puppy
:51:22. > :51:33.-- and they call it puppy love Lerma just because we are in our teens
:51:34. > :51:47.# Please tell them it isn't fair # To take away my only dreams
:51:48. > :51:52.# I cry each night # Might here is for you -- might
:51:53. > :52:04.cares # I hope and I pray
:52:05. > :52:08.# That maybe some day # You will be back in my arms once
:52:09. > :52:12.again # For all of you dog lovers out
:52:13. > :52:16.there... We're joined now by the French
:52:17. > :52:19.journalist Marie Le Conte, who has written about President Macron's
:52:20. > :52:26.dog, Nemo. Do you think it is enough to save
:52:27. > :52:31.his poll ratings? Probably not quite but it is definitely a start. French
:52:32. > :52:34.people love dogs, but also there is a tradition in France of the
:52:35. > :52:45.president having a dog and having a black labrador. There is definitely
:52:46. > :52:53.a strong start there. Why the black labrador, why the tradition in that
:52:54. > :53:05.breed? I'm not sure, there was one dog who followed the previous leader
:53:06. > :53:08.everywhere. There is a full volume autobiography by her! Of course! And
:53:09. > :53:12.following that, presidents decided to get their own black labrador,
:53:13. > :53:19.including Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy. Shouldn't he be
:53:20. > :53:24.striking out and getting a different breed? He had a dog, an Argentinian
:53:25. > :53:30.mastiff called Figaro, what happened to him? He is staying with one of
:53:31. > :53:34.his wife's children. And actually, one of Emmanuel Macron's problems at
:53:35. > :53:40.the moment is that, if anything, he has been too ambitious and done his
:53:41. > :53:43.own thing. It's a way of showing that he can do things in a
:53:44. > :53:47.conventional way. Has he gone up in your estimation is now he has a
:53:48. > :53:52.black labrador? I think that's rather a British kind of a dog and
:53:53. > :53:58.possibly a Tory kind of a dog. Perhaps it is a fifth columnist that
:53:59. > :54:01.we've got! And here, Prime Ministers, they do not tend to
:54:02. > :54:07.favour cats but they tend to have cats on Downing Street rather than
:54:08. > :54:13.dogs. Is that safer? Rather than going for the dog? I don't really
:54:14. > :54:18.know, I think someone did have ducks before, Emmanuel Macron has brought
:54:19. > :54:26.his back, they did have ducks in the garden. And what house can he do to
:54:27. > :54:30.boost his poll ratings, aside from just deflecting attention onto his
:54:31. > :54:38.new pooch? I think he needs to stop having the image of playing at being
:54:39. > :54:41.president, he needs to be more serious and focused, and try and
:54:42. > :54:46.take it step-by-step rather than decide to have sweeping reforms all
:54:47. > :54:50.at the same time. Thank you for being our correspondent and reporter
:54:51. > :54:53.on the new dog for President Emmanuel Macron. We will be watching
:54:54. > :54:56.him and his ratings as a result of the labrador!
:54:57. > :54:59.There's just time before we go to find out the answer to our quiz.
:55:00. > :55:05.The question was which of these is the odd one out?
:55:06. > :55:08.Jeremy Corbyn, Kerry McCarthy, Chris Williamson,
:55:09. > :55:26.I certainly do not have the answer, but I am prepared to guess. My guess
:55:27. > :55:31.is that maybe Jeremy Corbyn is the odd one out. Why? I'm wondering if
:55:32. > :55:34.all of the others are already a beacon and Jeremy Corbyn is just
:55:35. > :55:43.thinking about it. You are so smart, aren't you? -- vegan. Remi Corbyn is
:55:44. > :55:48.thinking about becoming a vegan, he is already a vegetarian. This might
:55:49. > :55:52.have given you a clue about diet. And we're joined now by one
:55:53. > :55:55.of those politician-vegans - Labour MP Kerry McCarthy
:55:56. > :56:01.and Nora Bergman who is I presume that you made all of
:56:02. > :56:08.these. I can see the eyes of the studio crew are thinking, which 1am
:56:09. > :56:12.I going to have? What is a vegan diet? So, the vegan diet means that
:56:13. > :56:19.you do not consume anything that comes from an animal. Not meat,
:56:20. > :56:26.dairy, eggs, and not funny. -- and no honey, so you need to find
:56:27. > :56:32.substitutes for everything, especially as a vegan chef. How
:56:33. > :56:37.difficult is it? Actually, it's not. In this world we are very advanced
:56:38. > :56:41.and we can find everything everywhere, even in local shops. So
:56:42. > :56:48.it isn't difficult and it is better for our planet. It is better for our
:56:49. > :56:56.health and important for animals. Have you been working on Jeremy
:56:57. > :57:01.Corbyn to become a vegan? I have not directly lobbied him! There are a
:57:02. > :57:05.couple of other MPs I have won over. I have been with Jeremy, he gave me
:57:06. > :57:09.a sandwich once when we were in Cumbria looking at flooding, and he
:57:10. > :57:15.assured me that it was vegan. It was very nice. Then he went and bought a
:57:16. > :57:28.cheese and onion pie because there was nothing I could eat there! I
:57:29. > :57:34.have been one for 20 or 25 years and it was a lot more difficult. Do you
:57:35. > :57:38.just eat cake? People think you only live on lentils and macrobiotic
:57:39. > :57:41.beige stuff but the danger is now, in the past, there were only healthy
:57:42. > :57:53.options but now you can get vegan junk food everywhere! It's
:57:54. > :58:04.tempting! You have been a vegan for two years? Two and a half Men is. Do
:58:05. > :58:08.you have a political star as a potential recruit? I just want... As
:58:09. > :58:13.many people as possible? And what would you say to Jeremy Corbyn to
:58:14. > :58:26.convince him to become a -- become a vegan? Be compassionate
:58:27. > :58:29.for animals. I have the vegetarian Society in my constituency. That
:58:30. > :58:33.does not mean that you are a vegetarian! I have eaten magnificent
:58:34. > :58:39.vegetarian food but I also like to eat meat. It is a small step to go
:58:40. > :58:50.towards being a vegan and it is not that difficult. Do you cope? I do.
:58:51. > :58:54.-- do you cook? Is there any politics in this at all? I think he
:58:55. > :58:58.was saying what he feels, he has been vegetarian for a long time. I
:58:59. > :59:02.think he just said that he was eating more vegan food and it is
:59:03. > :59:07.because there are more options around now. I'm not sure he will
:59:08. > :59:11.take the final plunge but it is good. Any step in the right
:59:12. > :59:16.direction is a good thing. You will continue the campaign. Did in any
:59:17. > :59:18.time as we are about to do the closing headings. The studio staff
:59:19. > :59:20.are saying do not touch it! The one o'clock news is starting
:59:21. > :59:25.over on BBC One now. I'll be back at 11:30 tomorrow
:59:26. > :59:36.with Andrew for live coverage Experience the power
:59:37. > :59:40.of the BBC Proms.