:00:09. > :00:12.Britain's put on negative watch by a leading ratings agency. With
:00:13. > :00:17.unemployment up, years of austerity ahead, and a budget round the
:00:17. > :00:20.corner, what is the adrenaline jab the country needs. FITCH, the
:00:20. > :00:22.ratings agency, is worried about the shocks we can't predict, and
:00:22. > :00:29.the growth we can't seem able to generate.
:00:29. > :00:32.So can the do anything to get big business to spend some of the
:00:32. > :00:35.billions they are sitting on. We will hear from the Shadow
:00:35. > :00:39.Chancellor, Ed Balls. Are too many children failing to
:00:39. > :00:42.reach literacy standards, are the standards too lax. The new head of
:00:42. > :00:52.the schools inspectorate, Ofsted, is here in the studio.
:00:52. > :00:55.The uprising in Syria has been going in for a year, we ask is the
:00:55. > :00:58.opposition too fractured. David, we are chuffed to bits you
:00:58. > :01:04.are here. Cameron and Obama cosy up in the
:01:04. > :01:12.White House. Are the Tories more pally with the American right.
:01:13. > :01:17.Why one banker has given Goldman Sachs the blues.
:01:17. > :01:22.(plays the blues) Good evening, in the last two hours
:01:22. > :01:25.the ratings agency, FITCH, has announced it has revised the UK's
:01:26. > :01:31.economic outlook to negative. They point to the risk and uncertainty
:01:31. > :01:36.to the possibility of reducing risk and debt by the middlele of the
:01:36. > :01:40.decade, and the eurozone crisis which it says could intensify. The
:01:40. > :01:46.UK could find itself losing the coveted triple-A rating. We will
:01:46. > :01:50.speak to Ed Balls in a moment. Paul Mason is here, what does it mean?
:01:50. > :01:54.We still have our triple-A rating, that means British debt is among
:01:54. > :01:58.the safest in the world. Peg put on negative watch by a second of the
:01:58. > :02:05.three being -- being put on a negative watch by a second of the
:02:05. > :02:08.three big agencies, the other one last was -- was last month. FITCH
:02:09. > :02:15.is concerned about three things. The first is the eurozone crisis,
:02:15. > :02:19.what they are seeing is that the eurozone credit crunch has narrowed
:02:19. > :02:23.the shock absorption of the UK economy. If anything more bad
:02:23. > :02:28.happens we may have to hike borrowing. That is problem number
:02:28. > :02:32.one. The second is the pressures on the Government to try to rein in on
:02:32. > :02:38.the austerity. FITCH says there is a danger the Government will cut
:02:38. > :02:42.less fast, or raise, maybe even cut om taxes, under pressure. Given the
:02:42. > :02:45.-- some taxes, under pressure. Given the Government is clear it is
:02:45. > :02:50.not going to do. That read between the lines of what FITCH is really
:02:50. > :02:53.worried about over the next few years the coalition fails, and
:02:53. > :02:56.replaced by another Government committed to a slower pace of
:02:56. > :02:59.austerity. The final thing they are worried about and that is what
:02:59. > :03:01.Vince Cable is worried about, where is the growth coming. They are
:03:01. > :03:04.worried when the Government statisticians look again later this
:03:05. > :03:09.year at the UK economy, we might find we have shrunk even more than
:03:09. > :03:13.we thought. If we have, it is a whole bigger hill to climb. These
:03:13. > :03:17.guys are paid to put fine detail on to risk analysis, they just
:03:18. > :03:21.slightly notched up the risk of lending to the UK.
:03:21. > :03:24.A week today the budget will be on the table, as we have been hearing,
:03:24. > :03:27.there in Westminster and over the phone from Washington, they are
:03:27. > :03:35.still arguing about what should be done. One of the big curiosities in
:03:35. > :03:40.our economy is what can be done to get big business spending. We have
:03:40. > :03:43.been told there is no money, that is not true. The corporate City is
:03:43. > :03:46.spending on several hundred billion pounds, that doesn't get out to the
:03:46. > :03:51.real economy. Why not? And how can that change?
:03:51. > :03:55.This is bank, and here are people in suits doing bank-a-like things,
:03:55. > :04:02.like lending people money, or not lending people money. But are
:04:02. > :04:06.things about to change? This doesn't look like a bank, and
:04:06. > :04:10.it doesn't look like a hole in the wall, but why, in future, couldn't
:04:10. > :04:15.it be a bank, that is the question one of the Prime Minister's own
:04:15. > :04:20.advisers asked me recently. They point today Travis Perkin, every
:04:20. > :04:26.day lending plilding equipment to builders up and down the country.
:04:26. > :04:29.If you are lending other things why not lend money, lasering the
:04:29. > :04:33.economy in the bits that needed it. As the Government presses ahead
:04:33. > :04:35.with public spending, they are expecting the private sector to
:04:35. > :04:42.meet half way with investment, driving the economic recovery. It
:04:42. > :04:45.is not really happening. corporates are sitting on around
:04:45. > :04:49.about �730 billion in cash. That is very high by historic standards.
:04:49. > :04:55.The reason they have the cash is they have been very good at cutting
:04:55. > :04:59.cost, building profits through the downturn. The future for all the
:04:59. > :05:02.corporates is one certain, we live in a volatile world. I don't think
:05:02. > :05:08.it is by any means certain these corporates will want to run down
:05:08. > :05:11.cash in a big way. It may be high cash balances are here to stay.
:05:11. > :05:14.There are, of course, policies in play to get money into the real
:05:14. > :05:20.economy. The Government will soon announce how it will underwrite
:05:20. > :05:24.loans from banks to small business, credit easing. This week will also
:05:24. > :05:27.bring a report on non-bank financing. But the sluice gates to
:05:27. > :05:31.the �730 billion will probably remain shut.
:05:31. > :05:35.One new Tory MP, working closely with the leadership on this, says
:05:35. > :05:39.they know they need to do more? debate has so far focused on the
:05:39. > :05:43.fiscal measures who will we tax, and where will we spend money. This
:05:43. > :05:46.is an area that is not non-fiscal, it doesn't relate to tax and spend.
:05:46. > :05:52.But getting money into the real economy is really going to oil the
:05:52. > :05:55.recovery. So this should be a big part of it. What Governments should
:05:55. > :05:58.be doing is trying to accelerate this process, because if companies
:05:58. > :06:02.invest, that is how we get jobs and that is how we get growth.
:06:02. > :06:05.The problem for the Chancellor is so acute, solutions might have to
:06:05. > :06:09.include ideas that were once ruled out of bounds for Conservatives.
:06:09. > :06:12.The most important thing is confidence, a credible strategy for
:06:12. > :06:15.how we will grow the industries, the businesses of tomorrow. I think
:06:15. > :06:18.that does mean that all of us, Conservatives who believe in
:06:18. > :06:21.industry, need to embrace it and set out a Conservative industrial
:06:21. > :06:25.policy for the next generation, backing the industries of tomorrow,
:06:25. > :06:28.the sectors of tomorrow, so we have a sustainable recovery. There is
:06:28. > :06:32.attention within the coalition on exactly how to rebuild confidence
:06:32. > :06:36.in the economy. The current strategy rests on getting banks and
:06:36. > :06:41.other actors to start lending again, but there are some Lib Dems who
:06:41. > :06:43.think this is not enough, you need a more muscular approach, set up
:06:43. > :06:47.your own state bank and take control. In his letter to the Prime
:06:47. > :06:51.Minister, leaked recently, Business Secretary, Vince Cable, called for
:06:51. > :06:57.the Royal Bank of Scotland to be turned into a state infrastructure
:06:57. > :07:00.bank, able to get money flowing direct to industry, great and small.
:07:00. > :07:04.But RBS becoming a state bank is a no-no for Conservatives, for the
:07:04. > :07:08.Liberal Democrats the idea has its attractions. One possible solution,
:07:08. > :07:12.and I think we will see whether or not it is a solution by the success
:07:12. > :07:17.or otherwise of the Green Investment Bank, is the possibility
:07:17. > :07:21.of some sort of state infrastructure bank. We have RBS
:07:21. > :07:25.that we own 86% of already, maybe that would be the vehicle for
:07:25. > :07:29.creating a state infrastructure bank. But I think we need to see
:07:29. > :07:32.how successful the Green Investment Bank to see whether or not it will
:07:32. > :07:38.make a positive difference. Whatever the mechanism, they need
:07:38. > :07:42.to get a move on. Forecast by the Government's own office of budget
:07:42. > :07:45.responsibility, insists companies will get stuck in, a 10% increase
:07:45. > :07:48.this year, that is double the rate we have seen before, so possibly
:07:48. > :07:51.wishful thinking. I think the Government needs to see corporate
:07:51. > :07:54.spend. We know that the Government, which has been a big engine of
:07:54. > :07:58.growth in this economy, before the recession, is not going to be
:07:58. > :08:01.present. So we are going to have to see more activity from the
:08:01. > :08:04.corporate sector. The challenge for Government is to create the
:08:04. > :08:10.conditions in which corporates think they can make good money by
:08:10. > :08:17.spending those cash balances. This is a builders' merchants,
:08:17. > :08:22.these are builders. Oh, and there's a dummy. How odd! But then again,
:08:23. > :08:26.this could be a bank soon. Ahead of the budget what we have focused on
:08:27. > :08:31.so far ahead of the debate is tax and spend. But it will be as much
:08:31. > :08:34.about getting companies to relax and lend. The increased threat from
:08:34. > :08:37.a downgrade from another ratings agency this evening, makes the dash
:08:37. > :08:46.for growth even more urgent. I spoke to the Shadow Chancellor,
:08:46. > :08:52.just before we came on air. The credit ratings agency, FITCH, has
:08:52. > :08:59.warned the UK is on a negative outlook, your response to that?
:09:00. > :09:02.credit ratings agencies are a weather vane, they tell you the way
:09:02. > :09:06.things are moving. There is a growing worry our economy is not
:09:06. > :09:10.growing, unemployment is rising, and our borrowing is not coming
:09:10. > :09:14.down, as George Osborne planned. I said to George Osborne always,
:09:14. > :09:18.don't set your policy by the credit ratings agency, they are a weather
:09:18. > :09:22.vane and they say the weather is going in a difficult direction for
:09:22. > :09:25.the economy. FITCH is not saying spend more, they are saying not
:09:25. > :09:30.reducing debt quickly enough, your policy would make that even worse?
:09:30. > :09:36.FITCH were the people who said four years ago, sub-prime mortgages,
:09:36. > :09:40.keep them on triple-A. So they are wrong, then? The credit ratings
:09:40. > :09:43.aegsz have consistently got the financial crisis wrong, they said
:09:43. > :09:47.Lehman Brothers was a safe bet. My point to George Osborne was you
:09:47. > :09:51.should never make your policy by the credit ratings agency.
:09:51. > :09:54.George Osborne shouldn't really worry about it, broadly, it is not
:09:54. > :09:58.a worry? If it wasn't for the fact that George Osborne set this as his
:09:59. > :10:03.test. Go back a year-and-a-half ago, he said he would have stronger
:10:03. > :10:07.growth, unemployment down, borrowing down, all that has
:10:07. > :10:11.disappeared, because the economy has flatlined, unemployment is
:10:11. > :10:15.rising. The only thing he has been saying for the last six months is
:10:15. > :10:20.he can't change course because he will lose the support of the credit
:10:20. > :10:23.ratings agencies, even now, this is the second ratings agency in a
:10:23. > :10:28.month-and-a-half who have moved things to negative. George Osborne
:10:28. > :10:33.made the wrong call to let the ratings agencies dictate the policy.
:10:34. > :10:41.It is the wrong policy, too far, and too fast and it is not working.
:10:41. > :10:45.A week away from the budget, and the Chancellor is looking at
:10:45. > :10:51.convoluted schemes to sort things out. Does it take you back to the
:10:51. > :10:57.good old days of Brown and Balls? Is unemployment going to come down
:10:57. > :11:00.and growth happen. If the economy isn't growing you can't say keep
:11:00. > :11:03.going. The clever tricks policies, do you think we have all done a bit
:11:03. > :11:08.of that? The thing about George Osborne at the moment is he wants
:11:08. > :11:14.you to focus on the tricks policy, the 100-year bond. Like Gordon
:11:14. > :11:18.Brown did? The thing was. You say no, but, yes he did? Every
:11:18. > :11:21.Chancellor now and then has gimmicks, the question is, are the
:11:21. > :11:25.fundamentals going in the right or wrong direction. George's problem
:11:25. > :11:31.is the economy is not growing. He's doing nothing about it. He's saying
:11:31. > :11:34.steady as she goes, he wants to say he can't change course whatever,
:11:34. > :11:39.the problem is, it is deeply complacent in this situation. I
:11:39. > :11:42.want the budget to be fair, but I want a budget for growth and jobs,
:11:42. > :11:47.without that we can't get the deficit down. Let's lock at
:11:47. > :11:52.policies, the 50p rate, -- look at policies, the 50p rate, much talked
:11:52. > :11:54.about, if that goes, would you reintroduce it? I would be
:11:54. > :11:57.surprised if David Cameron allows this to happen. We have had
:11:57. > :12:01.speculation in the last few weeks from the Liberal Democrats saying
:12:01. > :12:05.we will let you get rid of the 50p rate, if you replace it with a
:12:05. > :12:09.mansion tax. That is not a worry, it will stay? I think it will stay
:12:09. > :12:14.next week. Who could possibly think, when fuel bills are going up, when
:12:14. > :12:20.child benefit is being cut, when Working Tax Credits are cut, who
:12:21. > :12:25.thinks the priority is not people on �30,000, but only people above
:12:25. > :12:29.�150,000. You think they have that policy right? I would be amazed if
:12:29. > :12:33.they take it away. George Osborne clearly wants to, that would be so
:12:33. > :12:38.out-of-touch. If took it away you would -- if he took it away, you
:12:38. > :12:42.would reinstate it? I have said no tax rate is set in stone, but is it
:12:42. > :12:48.a priority to get rid of the 50p rate, no. You said it would be
:12:48. > :12:52.absurd to get rid of it, logically you would reinstate it if they did?
:12:52. > :12:56.If there was a general election right now, our manifesto would not
:12:56. > :13:00.say get rid of the 50p rate. off the fence for a minute, mansion
:13:01. > :13:05.tax, you said you support the mansion tax, would you introduce it
:13:05. > :13:10.and it become a Labour policy? mansion tax needs careful thought
:13:10. > :13:15.and done properly it can't be done in a way for fish low income widows
:13:15. > :13:20.with lots of wealth -- for low income widows with lots of wealth.
:13:21. > :13:25.I will say I will make it work. don't want to make it your idea?
:13:25. > :13:29.was originally a Vince Cable idea, originally something David Miliband
:13:29. > :13:32.supported in the leadership election. I support it too.
:13:32. > :13:42.child benefit, you are actually supporting a lot of new tax for
:13:42. > :13:42.
:13:42. > :13:49.rich people, you would still retain for rich people? Some things we
:13:49. > :13:53.would do is bring back the bow bank tax for youth jobs. Don't cut
:13:53. > :13:58.pension tax relief for the highest income earners, use that to
:13:58. > :14:01.reinstate the tax credit cuts. Use stamp duty avoidance to stop the
:14:01. > :14:06.terrible cut in Working Tax Credit. Child benefit, you would keep that
:14:06. > :14:11.for everyone, even the rich? believe in universal child benefit,
:14:11. > :14:14.I always have. Ed Balls thank you. In today's unemployment figures we
:14:14. > :14:19.learned 1.15 million young people are out of work. Do they have the
:14:19. > :14:22.skills they need. The new Chief Inspector of Schools, Sir Michael
:14:22. > :14:26.Wilshaw, will warn tomorrow that too many primary school pupils in
:14:26. > :14:29.England leave without being able to read properly. We are falling
:14:29. > :14:34.behind international competitors, he will pledge to raise the bar,
:14:34. > :14:38.and warn teachers they have to get specialist training in teaching
:14:38. > :14:44.phonics, a system of sounding out letter combinations. We were given
:14:44. > :14:49.an exclusive preview. Hammer, hammer, shake, shake, shake.
:14:49. > :14:54.One essential skill, not in the job advert for Her Majesty's Chief
:14:54. > :14:57.Inspector of Schools is, the ability to sit for long periods on
:14:58. > :15:02.a tiny classroom chair. Sir Michael Wilshaw, who took the job in
:15:02. > :15:11.January, has clearly mastered this, now he wants to revolutionise the
:15:11. > :15:14.teaching of English. This lesson is teaching synthetic
:15:14. > :15:19.phonics, virtually all primary schools teach children to read like
:15:19. > :15:23.this now. Sir Michael is a big fan. This teacher would have been
:15:23. > :15:28.trained in the use of phonics, that is putting letters and sounds
:15:28. > :15:33.together and merging that in what is called a systemic and synthetic
:15:34. > :15:40.way. But the kids seem to think it is fun? It is fun. But not all
:15:40. > :15:44.English teaching is going so well. In his short time as Chief
:15:44. > :15:48.Inspector, Sir Michael has started something of a debate within the
:15:48. > :15:54.teaching profession about whether existing standards are actually
:15:54. > :15:58.high enough. Consider this, out of all the children who get the
:15:58. > :16:03.satisfactory grade aged 11 in literacy, half of them don't go on
:16:03. > :16:09.to get five good GCSEs. So what is going on?
:16:09. > :16:19.Sir Michael's report is called Moving English Forward, it is very
:16:19. > :16:19.
:16:19. > :17:05.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:17:05. > :17:09.In the lest learning was hampered The school Sir Michael is advising
:17:09. > :17:13.today is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School in Battersea south
:17:13. > :17:16.London. It was judged satisfactory in its last Ofsted inspection, but
:17:16. > :17:24.as we know, Sir Michael does not regard that as good enough. Since
:17:24. > :17:30.then it has been working hard to improve health by a good school
:17:30. > :17:34.nearby, with which is now shares a head. To encourage reading it has a
:17:35. > :17:37.library with books donated by Selfridges. They can come with
:17:37. > :17:40.reading volunteers which we have. The class teachers can use the
:17:40. > :17:45.library to support the curriculum in the work they are doing, it is
:17:45. > :17:50.fantastic, lovely. For Sir Michael instilling a love of reading for
:17:50. > :17:55.its own sake is vital if we are to address the problem with literacy.
:17:55. > :17:59.Do you enjoy reading? Yeah. reading at home, do you read at
:17:59. > :18:03.home? Every night. Michael Wilshaw has long held the attention of
:18:03. > :18:08.politicians. He was head of one of the earliest and most successful of
:18:08. > :18:15.the Blair Government's new academy schools. Gordon Brown too visited,
:18:15. > :18:19.but he was less keen than his predecessor of setting schools free
:18:19. > :18:23.from local authority control. Now, under David Cameron, the academy
:18:23. > :18:28.programme is accelerating, with the addition of free schools set up by
:18:28. > :18:31.parents or other groups, this puts more power in the hands of Ofsted.
:18:31. > :18:35.Michael Wilshaw was seen as so critical to this new schools
:18:35. > :18:38.revolution, that the rumour was he was really picked for the job of
:18:38. > :18:41.Chief Inspector from a shortlist of one.
:18:41. > :18:47.There is a rumour that you were not really given a lot of choice about
:18:47. > :18:51.taking this job or not? No, I'm a believer in free will, I took on
:18:51. > :18:54.this job because I want to replicate what I did with the
:18:55. > :18:58.school I was leading across the country, and I want to see children
:18:58. > :19:02.doing well across the different phases.
:19:02. > :19:06.Another school day comes to an end, critics say there is a tension at
:19:06. > :19:10.the heart of the Government's education reform, on the one hand,
:19:10. > :19:13.schools are supposedly being set free from central control, yet on
:19:13. > :19:21.the other, there is a powerful Chief Inspector telling them how to
:19:21. > :19:25.achieve success. Sir Michael Wilshaw is here, and we
:19:25. > :19:28.will speak to Mary Bousted from the Association of Teachers and
:19:28. > :19:33.lectures, in a secretary. Are literacy standards for pupils in
:19:33. > :19:38.England too low? Standards in literacy and reading went up over a
:19:38. > :19:42.ten-year period between 1995 and 2005. But since then, standards
:19:42. > :19:47.have stalled. What we are seeing is that other nations are doing much
:19:47. > :19:51.better than us. We have fall in what is the interNational League
:19:51. > :19:56.stables from 7th to 23rd. Other countries, as I have said. So our
:19:56. > :20:00.standards should be higher? That that, in effect, means, is
:20:00. > :20:04.something like one in five children in primary schools, at the age of
:20:04. > :20:08.11, are leaving Primary School without the national average. What
:20:08. > :20:10.that really means is that they can't access the curriculum, in
:20:10. > :20:14.secondary school. They find it difficult to pass examinations,
:20:14. > :20:17.they find it difficult to proceed to the next stage of their
:20:17. > :20:22.education and training, and of course, they find it difficult to
:20:22. > :20:26.get jobs. Let's get to the root of that, what are teachers doing, that
:20:26. > :20:31.make standards so low? We have to make sure that phonics teaching,
:20:31. > :20:35.you saw in the clip how important phonics is, is taught well. To do
:20:35. > :20:38.that properly, we need to make sure the trainers, the training
:20:38. > :20:42.providers, the universities that train teachers teach it well.
:20:42. > :20:46.percentage of teachers are not doing that now? In talking to quite
:20:46. > :20:49.a few teachers in the primary sector, they will say they have
:20:49. > :20:53.been inadequately trained in the training institutions, and that
:20:53. > :20:56.they need a lot more professional development in the teaching of
:20:56. > :21:03.phonics, which is not an easy thing to do, in their primary schools. We
:21:03. > :21:07.have to make sure that the training provideers train teachers, and the
:21:07. > :21:10.teaching of phonics, also schools and leaders in schools car yie on
:21:10. > :21:13.the professional development in the -- carry on that professional
:21:13. > :21:19.development in the schools. There is this tension, you talk about
:21:19. > :21:23.setting them free, but the rhetoric you are using now is about needing
:21:23. > :21:29.to keep them to the guidelines of what you want to happen. If they
:21:29. > :21:31.want to teach X, Y and Z, are they allowed to do that? Came from an
:21:31. > :21:36.academy background, an autonomous institution, I believe very firmly
:21:36. > :21:38.that is what works, giving power, resources and freedom to people on
:21:39. > :21:42.the ground, the head teachers and teachers in the school to make a
:21:42. > :21:46.difference is the right approach. There is an irony now that you have
:21:46. > :21:50.become this chief? But, it is a big but, but we have to make sure this
:21:50. > :21:54.freedom works and standards are rising and people working in those
:21:54. > :21:59.free institutions are held to account. What would you promise
:21:59. > :22:03.then. You are now going to be in this place, for five years, you are
:22:03. > :22:08.replacing LEAs, essentially, with a different kind of bureaucracy,
:22:08. > :22:12.people have got to be able to measure your success, right?
:22:12. > :22:17.Remember there are only 1500 academys and a few more free
:22:17. > :22:21.schools, the great majority of provision isn't in academys yet,
:22:22. > :22:25.they will be increasing over the next few years. We have to make
:22:25. > :22:28.sure accountability matches freedom. In answer to your question, what do
:22:28. > :22:37.I expect, I expect better results from primary school children at the
:22:37. > :22:43.ages of seven, a vital age, and 11 as well. What with would that mean
:22:43. > :22:48.better results? At the moment 70% have between A-C in their grades?
:22:48. > :22:51.Many leave without the national average. If one in four did?
:22:52. > :22:55.they hit the national average that is no guarantee either of success
:22:55. > :23:00.at GCSE. One of the things I will be urging the Government to do is
:23:00. > :23:06.look at standards at the age of 11 to see if that level 4, which is
:23:07. > :23:10.the national average, is sufficient as a predictor for success five
:23:10. > :23:14.years later. But it should go higher? As soon as possible. When
:23:14. > :23:18.would we start looking for a change now? As soon as we put the
:23:18. > :23:22.necessary changes in. Thanks very much.
:23:22. > :23:27.To you Mary Bousted, literacy standards are too low, and your
:23:27. > :23:30.teachers have accepted that? don't think Sir Michael's read his
:23:30. > :23:36.own report very well. The report says, for example, about phonics
:23:36. > :23:41.that in most schools, all schools teach phonics, and the strengths in
:23:41. > :23:46.teaching phonics far outweigh the weaknesses, that is what his own
:23:46. > :23:52.inspectors have written in the report produced today. In key stage
:23:52. > :23:55.one 80% reached the standard, standards have plateaued at key
:23:55. > :24:01.stage II, that is entirely predictable in the testing regime
:24:01. > :24:07.we have got. In key age IV. Is that about the way they are tested?
:24:07. > :24:12.is, in the report it says that, national tests, and an preparation
:24:12. > :24:17.for national tests nar rogue the English curriculum. It may be one
:24:17. > :24:20.of the major causes that children at Primary School with an
:24:20. > :24:26.overemphasis on test items can't access the National curriculum.
:24:26. > :24:31.know you don't want to debate directly? I'm happy. He has said
:24:31. > :24:36.literacy standards are too low, you would agree with that? I would say
:24:36. > :24:38.there are always improvements to be made. There are real problems
:24:38. > :24:42.outlined in the report, the difference in standards between
:24:42. > :24:45.boys and girls, the fact that the standards of writing are lower than
:24:46. > :24:50.reading, although writing is a harder skill. I would also say that
:24:50. > :24:56.in this report it details some myths about English teaching, which
:24:56. > :25:00.your correspondent brought out. It says, for example, that lessons are
:25:00. > :25:05.too pacey and action-packed, there is a focus on lesson activities
:25:05. > :25:08.rather than outcomes, and teachers are writing far too detailed lesson
:25:08. > :25:11.plans. All those activities are not what teachers have to do, they are
:25:11. > :25:15.a direct result of Government interference. Do you see this as a
:25:15. > :25:19.chance for teachers to have more freedom, or do you think Ofsted
:25:19. > :25:25.will be more domineering? I think you have the answer very clearly.
:25:25. > :25:29.Ofsted has got a very clear agenda, it is not an agenda around teacher
:25:29. > :25:32.empowerment. It is interesting Sir Michael talking about initial
:25:32. > :25:36.teaching training providers and phonics, his own inspectorate come
:25:36. > :25:40.in and give these providers very good results for the teaching of
:25:40. > :25:44.phonics. What we have to do, and the question you asked Sir Michael
:25:44. > :25:48.is absolutely right. How is it you say you set schools free, and then
:25:48. > :25:51.you all have to teach like this. In your report it said the report is
:25:51. > :25:55.very critical, I have read it very carefully, actually it is very
:25:55. > :25:58.balanced and said there is an awful lot of very good work being done in
:25:58. > :26:02.terms of literacy and reading in schools.
:26:02. > :26:06.Two points to you, just to come back. One, your words don't match
:26:07. > :26:10.what your report says, and two, that you are not really for teacher
:26:10. > :26:14.empowerment at all, you are poacher turned game keeper? Of course I'm
:26:14. > :26:17.for teachers, teachers make the difference. That is at the heart of
:26:17. > :26:20.the academy programme, it is the heart of the changes that are being
:26:20. > :26:24.made by the Government. We want to give more power, more resources to
:26:24. > :26:28.teachers on the ground to make the difference. But we need children to
:26:28. > :26:35.be able to read so that they can access the curriculum, they can
:26:35. > :26:39.read and write extensively, both in Primary School and secondary school,
:26:39. > :26:43.we are falling behind our inter-- primary school and secondary school,
:26:43. > :26:46.we are falling behind our international competitors, if we
:26:46. > :26:53.are going to grow economically and with a cohesive society, we need
:26:53. > :26:57.all children to read and write well. Tomorrow Michael Wilshaw will face
:26:57. > :27:02.the much trickier task of being interviewed by the BBC's School
:27:02. > :27:05.Report, you can catch them there. One year ago tomorrow marks the
:27:05. > :27:09.official beginning of the Syrian uprising, a war where the violence
:27:09. > :27:14.is rising and solutions are shrinking. In Washington President
:27:14. > :27:20.Obama and David Cameron made clear any direct intervention remains off
:27:20. > :27:27.the agenda and restated the need for a diplomatic conclusion. All
:27:27. > :27:36.this in the allegations of a widespread attack on the population.
:27:36. > :27:44.First, we ask why the regime is proving so resistant.
:27:44. > :27:49.A year on, the images of anger and grief in Syria have barely changed.
:27:49. > :27:53.Today in Idlib, there were funerals for those killed in a Government
:27:53. > :27:59.assault. While according to unverified YouTube footage, troops
:27:59. > :28:04.were again gathering outside Deraa. The same town where the longest of
:28:04. > :28:08.the Arab uprisings took off in ernest, 12 months and perhaps
:28:08. > :28:13.10,000 deaths ago. The spark was a demonstration
:28:13. > :28:18.demanding the release of young people arrested for scribbling
:28:18. > :28:24.anti-regime graffiti. Soon they were burying fellow
:28:24. > :28:28.protestors, shot by Government troops.
:28:28. > :28:37.It was the first taste of the state-sponsored brutality that
:28:37. > :28:42.would target even children. This is evidence of how 15-year-old Tamra
:28:42. > :28:48.from Deraa was tortured in detention, his arm broken, teeth
:28:48. > :28:53.knocked out, before his dead body was finally returned to his parents.
:28:53. > :28:58.TRANSLATION: He had two drill holes in his hand, and a fracture. His
:28:58. > :29:02.pelvis had five bullets, a total of 11 bullets, not including the drill
:29:02. > :29:06.holes. When I brought him home to his mother, she couldn't have
:29:07. > :29:11.identified him, were it not for a childhood injury.
:29:11. > :29:15.Deaths like this have fuelled the uprising. As thousands have turned
:29:15. > :29:24.out to demand, not just freedom, but justice, and increasingly
:29:24. > :29:33.vengence. From Deraa the uprising sproud to
:29:33. > :29:40.Douma, and other towns, including Homs. Last summer troops besieged
:29:40. > :29:45.Jisr ash-Shugur, skilled scores in Hama, and attacked other cities.
:29:45. > :29:48.Fighters were in Damascus and Douma, they were driven out of there, and
:29:49. > :29:53.Homs, scene of the worst violence in the last few weeks. A year on,
:29:53. > :29:59.how come President Assad is still in power. The rebellion has spread,
:29:59. > :30:03.showing remarkable resilience and bravery. It is acquiring arms from
:30:03. > :30:07.defecting soldiers, much of the Arab world, as well as the west
:30:07. > :30:11.backs it politically, and sanctionss have helped half the
:30:11. > :30:17.value of the Syrian currency. But it is not enough. Because the
:30:17. > :30:21.regime, as far as we can see, remains united and ruthless, while
:30:21. > :30:26.its enemies, the opposition leaders, and their foreign backers, are
:30:27. > :30:32.often divided or uncertain. Most protestors I met recently in
:30:32. > :30:38.Syria were desperate for any form of foreign assistance.
:30:38. > :30:44.Arms supplies, a no-fly zone, a protected humanitarian corridor.
:30:44. > :30:48.But with the outside world unwilling to intervene, they are
:30:48. > :30:52.hopelessly outgunned by Government forces. And President Assad has
:30:52. > :30:56.played on the country's religious divide. Christians form a large
:30:56. > :31:01.minority in largely Sunni Muslim Syria, as do the all Wight
:31:01. > :31:07.community the President belongs to t -- all law Wight community the
:31:07. > :31:15.President loings to. And some -- belongs to, and some believe they
:31:15. > :31:19.would be targeted. You heard shouts calling for the deaths of the
:31:19. > :31:24.Alawites and the Christians, forcing them outside the country
:31:24. > :31:33.into Beirut. You had some shouts against the Jews, for example.
:31:33. > :31:38.Someone in Deraa actual accused them of spreading infidelly --
:31:38. > :31:41.infidelity and other things. Here life look normal, it is hard to
:31:41. > :31:44.know if people fear the opposition or the regime. For whatever reason,
:31:44. > :31:48.most still aren't joining the revolution.
:31:48. > :31:52.The central Government is pretty much coherent, it is pretty much
:31:53. > :31:59.intact, they are still doing everything that any state would do.
:31:59. > :32:02.A lot of Syrians believe this level of violence is temporary. That the
:32:02. > :32:12.Government will go out of this and the whole country will go out of
:32:12. > :32:18.this. Even though they will be bruised, but intact. President
:32:18. > :32:24.Assad thinks the violence is temporary, e-mails downloaded from
:32:24. > :32:27.his account, shows a leader un touch -- out-of-touch with the
:32:28. > :32:31.crisis with his luxury lifestyle. Meanwhile the parents of the
:32:31. > :32:38.murdered schoolboy, live in two rented rooms in the Jordanian
:32:38. > :32:43.desert, God is with them, they tell me, as for the world, they believe
:32:43. > :32:48.is against Syria. I'm joined by two Syrian opposition
:32:48. > :32:53.activists who come from rather different aspectives, one holding
:32:53. > :32:57.dual Syrian and British nationality, and spent much time in Homs, and a
:32:57. > :33:01.member of the opposition group building the Syrian state.
:33:01. > :33:05.Welcome to you both. Danny, do you want the outside world to be arming
:33:05. > :33:09.the opposition now? Of course, that is the only way for us to defend
:33:09. > :33:13.ourselves. You can see, I'm seeing what is going on in my home town.
:33:13. > :33:17.We have only two areas which aren't protected by the Free Syrian Army.
:33:17. > :33:21.The army, the Assad forces actually went in there, stabbed the
:33:21. > :33:24.civilians, raped the women and killed the children. These are two
:33:24. > :33:28.areas that aren't protected by the Free Syrian Army, all the other
:33:28. > :33:34.areas are protected. Where should those arms come from, you have
:33:34. > :33:41.taken moves to ask for them? These arms should be coming from outside,
:33:41. > :33:48.from Europe, America, the US, UN, Turkey, Lebanon. I'm not a
:33:49. > :33:53.politician, or a journalist, I'm a guy from Syria living there since
:33:53. > :33:57.the revolution. You meet Joe Liberman? They said they wouldn't
:33:57. > :34:01.give us arms but there will be an intervention soon. This is all talk,
:34:01. > :34:06.we have been hearing that for eight months, we have seen no action
:34:06. > :34:10.whatsoever. At some point, you have got to say this has been going on a
:34:11. > :34:15.year. Whatever arguments you were mooting about not arming the
:34:15. > :34:21.opposition, has got to reach a turning point, hasn't it? Actually
:34:21. > :34:25.not. To the contrary, because since arming the opposition started, the
:34:25. > :34:28.death toll increased dramatically, it is particularly the area where
:34:28. > :34:34.the Free Syrian Army was based crushed by the regime is where we
:34:34. > :34:37.have seen significant death tolls. It is where the area where the Free
:34:37. > :34:41.Syrian Army claims to be protecting civilians, where it failed to
:34:41. > :34:45.protect them. It withdrew from the areas and left the civilians to be
:34:45. > :34:48.massacred by the regime. I understand why Danny and people
:34:48. > :34:52.like him carry arms to protect themselves. I didn't carry arms. I
:34:52. > :34:57.would like to answer this quickly. If anyone is going to say we don't
:34:57. > :35:01.want arms in Syria, let them live in Syria for two months, let them
:35:01. > :35:08.see families die and women rape and let them say that. If we can't
:35:08. > :35:11.protect ourselves from the army, how will we stop the army stabbing,
:35:11. > :35:16.kidnapping women, and kidnapping and raping children, without an
:35:16. > :35:20.army to protect them. We have two areas in Homs not protected by the
:35:20. > :35:25.Free Syrian Army, they went in there and raped women, ten-year-old
:35:25. > :35:30.girls, cutting them to pieces. have family there. My parents live
:35:30. > :35:35.in Homs not protected by the Free Syrian Army, they are still safe,
:35:35. > :35:39.relatively, nobody is safe. The military is strong, we are
:35:39. > :35:43.concerned about people like you, we want you to live to build the
:35:43. > :35:47.country. We don't want the young people to die in front of such a
:35:47. > :35:51.brutal regime. We need them. This is a battle for democracy, the road
:35:51. > :35:55.to democracy doesn't go through arming. Don't you worry about that,
:35:55. > :35:59.the point is you are on the cusp, or you have already entered civil
:35:59. > :36:02.war in some place, don't you worry you will lose even more members of
:36:02. > :36:05.your family through that? You do not understand something, we are
:36:05. > :36:08.already losing members of our families. We are being picked up,
:36:08. > :36:12.we are being tortured by the army. The women are being raped and
:36:12. > :36:16.kidnapped from the street. How are we going to protect ourselves. This
:36:16. > :36:20.area I was sitting in was protected by the free Syrian arm year, they
:36:20. > :36:25.were bombarding the whole area. Isn't -- army, they were bombarding
:36:25. > :36:31.the whole area. Isn't that better than them coming in and torturing
:36:31. > :36:35.us, I would rather be shot by a gun than tortured. Most of the members
:36:35. > :36:40.of my group are all inside Syria, they are against the army. The
:36:40. > :36:46.majority of Syrians are against the army, they know. I'm sorry about
:36:46. > :36:50.that, no. They know the regime and how brutal it is, they know how it
:36:50. > :36:53.is to confront them with arms. They are concerned about their safety.
:36:54. > :36:58.Syria has all that it takes to enter full scale civil war.
:36:58. > :37:02.extraordinary thing is s you can debate the question of arms, but
:37:02. > :37:08.the regime does not look unstable, it does not look divided, the
:37:08. > :37:13.opposition, does? The regime is divided. The divisions in the
:37:13. > :37:16.opposition are not weakening, or making the regime stronger, we
:37:16. > :37:20.shouldn't overestimate the opposition, there is no opposition
:37:20. > :37:25.in Syria, we don't have institutions like here, they are
:37:25. > :37:30.only famous writers and university professors, people openly citsiegs
:37:30. > :37:33.the regimes. We shouldn't -- criticising the regimes. If the
:37:33. > :37:37.international community come to international consensus for one
:37:37. > :37:42.political solution for Syria, the Syrian opposition will unite around
:37:42. > :37:45.it. Russia is starting to change its rhetoric do you think? Russia
:37:45. > :37:48.won't change their opinion. There is one more thing to put on the
:37:48. > :37:51.stable. Anyone who says we do not want intervention or arms in Syria,
:37:51. > :37:56.go and live there for one whole month, see the massacres in front
:37:56. > :37:59.of your eyes, pick up pieces of bodies from the street, then say
:37:59. > :38:03.that. See women being raped by 12 men a day and then say we don't
:38:03. > :38:08.want arms. We are being killed and massacred there, nobody is doing
:38:08. > :38:12.anything about it, where is the humanity in the world. It is the
:38:12. > :38:15.regime killing in Damascus and areas not controlled by the Free
:38:15. > :38:19.Syrian Army. The regime is still brutal this is not the way to
:38:19. > :38:26.confront it. I have the sound out from inside, everyone wants arms,
:38:26. > :38:32.that is what they want inside. A basketball game, with photo
:38:32. > :38:37.opportunities galore, a rose garden in full bloom, and a much heralds
:38:37. > :38:42.trip on Air Force One, a privilege for a foreign leader. The anglo-
:38:42. > :38:46.American relationship has never looked so "special" but cosy. Not a
:38:46. > :38:49.single meeting has been organised between David Cameron and the
:38:49. > :38:53.Republican candidates, one of whom may end up leading the free world
:38:53. > :38:57.in eight months time. Was this a clever official, or a refusal to
:38:57. > :39:01.get mixed up in a sometimes ugly race at the moment, or an oversight
:39:01. > :39:05.that could have serious reprecussions down the line. We in
:39:05. > :39:10.Britain think you are a wonderful President. Gone are the days of
:39:10. > :39:14.Thatcher and Regan, and the inacceptable ties between
:39:14. > :39:18.Conservatives and rup Republicans. The sight of a story -- Republicans,
:39:18. > :39:23.the sight of a Tory Prime Minister standing side-by-side with a
:39:23. > :39:27.Democratic president is hard low a new one.
:39:27. > :39:32.What of taking in a basketball game with his Democratic counterpart in
:39:32. > :39:37.a swing state in a presidential election year. Last night's vit --
:39:37. > :39:42.visit to Ohio hardly amounted to David Cameron riding Democratic
:39:42. > :39:47.donkey right out. He feels most at home with a party America considers
:39:47. > :39:51.to be its left, this was fuel for their fire what if the Republican
:39:52. > :39:56.elephant? That is not in the room. Couldn't even get five minutes in
:39:56. > :40:03.his diary. The message from last night's big winner, Rick Santorum,
:40:03. > :40:07.was pretty clear. The best chance of winning the election is to
:40:07. > :40:12.nominate a conservative to go up against Barack Obama and take him
:40:12. > :40:18.on, on any issues. Why have the British and American right fallen
:40:18. > :40:21.owl of love, if the Republicans -- fallen out of love. If the
:40:21. > :40:28.Republicans return to the White House, what for the Prime Minister
:40:28. > :40:33.who may need to be reminded that an elephant never forgets. My guests
:40:33. > :40:37.join me now. Why would he ruin the party, the relationship never
:40:37. > :40:41.looked closer, they are pretty statesman-like. David Cameron has
:40:41. > :40:48.had a good visit and good time in Washington. He has been very well
:40:48. > :40:51.received. The special relationship remains strong. I do think this was
:40:51. > :40:55.a lost opportunity for the Prime Minister, he could have met with
:40:55. > :40:59.senior Conservative officials, the Republicans run the House of
:41:00. > :41:04.Representatives on Capitol Hill, he could have met leading Republican
:41:04. > :41:09.figures to talk about exchanges ideas on cutting debts, reducing
:41:09. > :41:13.Government spending, advancing a pro-growth agenda. The rather chumy
:41:13. > :41:16.relationship developed with Barack Obama will be viewed with disdain
:41:16. > :41:20.by many Conservatives here on Washington. Let's not forget Barack
:41:20. > :41:23.Obama is in deep trouble in the polls. Some polls suggested the
:41:23. > :41:27.Republicans will win the presidential election in November.
:41:27. > :41:31.This is a presidency in very deep trouble on the economic front, and
:41:32. > :41:40.it is rather short-sighted, I think, of the Prime Minister's advisers,
:41:40. > :41:44.not to set up any meetings with Conservatives in Washington. Don't
:41:44. > :41:51.you think it is a bit short-sighted for David Cameron, we have
:41:51. > :41:55.basketball in a swing date, he's in danger of looking like a prop?
:41:55. > :41:58.have no doubt on election day he will be rooting for Barack Obama,
:41:58. > :42:05.this is a man he wants to do business with for the next five
:42:05. > :42:08.years, he wanted him to win last time and this time. There has never
:42:08. > :42:11.been more distance between the British Conservatives and American
:42:11. > :42:15.Conservatives. I don't think David Cameron think he has anything to
:42:15. > :42:19.learn from what most Tories view as a political freak show in America.
:42:19. > :42:22.This is very different from the Cameroon-style politics. They have
:42:22. > :42:25.policies on cutting tax, but they are not policies the British
:42:25. > :42:28.Government is very interested in. When you look at somebody like Rick
:42:29. > :42:34.Santorum, it is hard to know where David Cameron would start, isn't
:42:34. > :42:39.it? I think there is a lot of common ground, actually, between
:42:39. > :42:43.the broader Conservative movement in Britain and America.
:42:43. > :42:47.marriage? It is not a gay marriage issue. There is a lot of social
:42:47. > :42:51.divide on matters. If you look at economic questions, cutting
:42:51. > :42:55.spending and economic debt. They don't want Government? There is a
:42:55. > :43:03.great deal of common ground there. I think it is rather foolish,
:43:03. > :43:08.actually, of the Cameron advisory set to actually decline meetings
:43:08. > :43:13.with American Conservatives. This is a very short-sighted approach,
:43:13. > :43:16.they will regret that in the long run if there is a change of power
:43:17. > :43:20.in Washington. Even now the dirty secret is there are a lot of
:43:20. > :43:23.Conservative policies they probably share? Yes, of course, if there is
:43:23. > :43:28.a change of Government David Cameron will swallow hard and do
:43:28. > :43:31.his best to get along with his new friend Mitt Romney. But Presidents
:43:32. > :43:35.and prime ministers have always managed to bridge these problems
:43:35. > :43:39.when they emerge. When the Republicans have their convention I
:43:39. > :43:45.would be surprised if there is any senior Conservative there.
:43:45. > :43:49.would we put ourselves in a position of losing the special
:43:49. > :43:54.relationship if it happens? Regan and Thatcher weren't close before
:43:54. > :44:00.he became Prime Minister, it is just the way these politics work.
:44:00. > :44:02.David Cameron wants to see people in America, he wants entrepeneurs,
:44:02. > :44:06.west coast Silicon Valley figures, not the Conservatives, certainly.
:44:06. > :44:09.This is the middle of a Conservative battle right now. If
:44:09. > :44:13.you see one candidate you have to see them all, you risk getting
:44:13. > :44:18.drawn into that. Why do that, when you could get your picture taken
:44:18. > :44:22.with the guy. Nothing really matters in opposition, it only
:44:22. > :44:27.matters when you are talking to the leader himself? I think it does
:44:27. > :44:30.matter. Because President Obama's viewed here domestically by
:44:30. > :44:34.Conservatives as a huge big Government disaster. This is a
:44:34. > :44:38.political warzone here, there is no middle ground, and I think for
:44:38. > :44:43.British Conservatives to be fawning over the most left-wing left in
:44:43. > :44:47.modern American history, is a huge mistake. That's going to generate,
:44:47. > :44:50.I think, a significant rift and divide between Conservatives on
:44:50. > :44:55.both sides of the Atlantic. It is not going to help Cameron in the
:44:55. > :44:58.long run at all. Does it worry you that there are elements of the
:44:58. > :45:03.Conservative Party that in love with the Obama, that can't be great
:45:03. > :45:09.for the right, can it? I think it is actually extremely short-sighted
:45:09. > :45:15.afterall. I don't know there has always been a rather strange
:45:16. > :45:22.Democrat tradition in the Conservative Party. The Cameroons
:45:22. > :45:25.have always been for Obama, I would doubt if a Conservative candidate
:45:25. > :45:30.in America has lost an moment's sleep over not meeting David
:45:30. > :45:35.Cameron. We will not do the papers tonight. Paul, there was one story
:45:35. > :45:39.in today's New York Times, we should say, caught your eye?
:45:39. > :45:42.bosses of Goldman Sachs in Manhatten must have woken up with a
:45:42. > :45:48.fit of the blues. In the New York Times they have one of those
:45:48. > :45:53.letters we all dream of writing to our boss, basically telling them to
:45:53. > :45:57.get lost. Greg Smith in London has accused the company of being toxic,
:45:57. > :46:01.ripping off its clients, calling the clients Muppets, of not
:46:01. > :46:09.reacting when the newspapers call them the vampire squib of Wall
:46:09. > :46:14.Street. In the markets people have been sanguine about this, people
:46:14. > :46:20.have said they know what Goldman sack are like, they trade with them.
:46:20. > :46:25.Others -- Goldman Sachs are like, they trade with emthis. Nobody
:46:25. > :46:31.surprise -- them. Nobody wants to sit around the table with them. So
:46:31. > :46:37.we have a blues song dedicated to everyone who works for Goldman here
:46:37. > :46:44.and across the world, dedicated for them. This is the Vampire Squib
:46:44. > :46:52.Blues. # Well I woke up this morning
:46:52. > :46:57.# I was told I was leaving today # And I woke this morning
:46:57. > :47:07.# And I was told I was leaving today
:47:07. > :47:15.# Well I told myself # Gonna finally have my say
:47:15. > :47:22.# That's the toxic culture # Toxic to the core down inside
:47:22. > :47:30.# It's the toxic culture # Toxic to the core inside
:47:31. > :47:34.# When I go out recruiting # It seems I have lost all my pride
:47:34. > :47:40.# Well you show your junk to the clients
:47:40. > :47:45.# And big big trades # You deal in bad products
:47:45. > :47:50.# That is how you make your money # I'm leaving that street
:47:50. > :47:55.# And coming home no more # Leave the vampire squibs