:00:00. > :00:17.The Government runs out of patience with the Police Federation. Evening
:00:18. > :00:22.all, I'm the mug tonight. It tells it to pull itself together or be
:00:23. > :00:26.pulled together. The Home Secretary cuts some of the public money it
:00:27. > :00:39.receives, but why should it get any at all. We tour the high and low of
:00:40. > :00:44.Europe who meet the bunch of people you have never heard of to meet
:00:45. > :00:49.those who want to be the President of the EU. Do many people know your
:00:50. > :00:53.policies? That is not the problem, they have to taken a interest in
:00:54. > :01:01.what we are proposing, I'm not running after the electorate. Can an
:01:02. > :01:06.inadequate cake be the reason for a footballer to quit his club. There
:01:07. > :01:17.is nothing wrong with the report, it is my rider, if you look there it
:01:18. > :01:21.explicitly says no brown ones! Two years ago when the Home Secretary
:01:22. > :01:26.went to the Police Federation annual conference in Bournemouth she was
:01:27. > :01:30.met with jeeres and boos. Today when she went to the same event she stuck
:01:31. > :01:33.it to them. The standing of the Police Federation could hardly be
:01:34. > :01:37.lower and today she told them if they didn't improve there would be
:01:38. > :01:43.laws to make them improve. For good measure, not that they will notice
:01:44. > :01:47.very much given the tens of millions they are sitting on, she will cut
:01:48. > :01:49.the grant they get from the taxpayer.
:01:50. > :01:59.It was a speech watched in near silence by the 2,000 officers in the
:02:00. > :02:03.room. This is my fifth... Theresa May has never enjoyed a warm
:02:04. > :02:08.relationship with the Police, this was not the day to build bridges. We
:02:09. > :02:15.have seen accusations of bullying a lack of transparency in the
:02:16. > :02:19.accounts, tactical campaign, huge reserve funds worth millions of
:02:20. > :02:25.pounds and a resounding call for change from your members. It would
:02:26. > :02:31.be the easiest thing in the world for me to turn a blind eye to these
:02:32. > :02:38.matters. To let things go on as they are, to deny the need for change. It
:02:39. > :02:45.would be the easy thing to do, but it would also be the wrong thing to
:02:46. > :02:50.do. The Home Secretary reeled off a list of police scandals, from
:02:51. > :02:54.Hillsborough to Stephen Lawrence, to plebgate, it was a forceful speech
:02:55. > :02:58.and the tone left some in the audience angry. Lots of public
:02:59. > :03:01.sector bodies under various Governments have gone through
:03:02. > :03:06.significant changes very quickly and it goes very wrong. You can't hand
:03:07. > :03:10.brake turn an aircraft carrier. I sat there and listened and didn't
:03:11. > :03:14.have a prepared question, I listened to everything you say, I would like
:03:15. > :03:17.to thank you, I know it doesn't correct but through 21 years of
:03:18. > :03:21.front line service I faced everything, including being
:03:22. > :03:29.attacked, hospitalised, saving lives, and for six years of
:03:30. > :03:33.full-time Fed Rep I represent every officer who suffers in the way I
:03:34. > :03:43.have. I have never had such an attack and personal kicking as every
:03:44. > :03:47.comment from what you said then. (Applause) It is almost two years
:03:48. > :03:51.since then Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell, was stopped outside the
:03:52. > :03:57.gates of Downing Street, when it emerged that PC Keith Wallis lied
:03:58. > :04:04.about his part in the row, it set off a whole chain of events that
:04:05. > :04:08.left the federation damaged. A review called bad behaviour, poor
:04:09. > :04:13.treatment of staff and hoarding of financial information. MPs also
:04:14. > :04:17.criticised the federation's ?26 million headquarters in Kent, with
:04:18. > :04:21.its own swimming pool and hotel. Last month the chairman and General
:04:22. > :04:24.Secretary said they would step down after what was described as a
:04:25. > :04:30.worrying loss of confidence in the organisation. As a result the Home
:04:31. > :04:33.Secretary said today that ?190,000 of public funding, to pay the
:04:34. > :04:38.salaries of the federation's top officials will be stopped. Police
:04:39. > :04:41.officers will have to opt in to federation membership rather than
:04:42. > :04:46.being automatically enrolled, and the organisation will have to open
:04:47. > :04:51.up all its bank its and respond to Freedom of Information requests for
:04:52. > :04:58.the first time. The federation was created by an act of parliament. And
:04:59. > :05:03.it can be reformed by an act of parliament. If you do not change of
:05:04. > :05:13.your own accord, we will impose change on you. Newsnight understands
:05:14. > :05:19.that some of the measures now being imposed is -- imposed had already
:05:20. > :05:23.been suggested, but were either dismissed or implemented. Officers
:05:24. > :05:26.say there is a clear danger for the Home Secretary if she forces this
:05:27. > :05:31.through without consultation. If you are the Home Secretary you do not
:05:32. > :05:34.need to make an enemy of the Police Federation. The Government seems at
:05:35. > :05:38.loggerheads with the Police Federation and seems determined in
:05:39. > :05:42.some way to punish it. If it punishes the federation it might end
:05:43. > :05:45.up punishing the whole of the Police Service, the knock I don't know
:05:46. > :05:51.effect of that is the -- the knock-on effect of that is the
:05:52. > :05:57.public get punished, the don't get the service they are paying for and
:05:58. > :06:00.deserve. It is a brutal few years for the Police Federation, the Home
:06:01. > :06:04.Secretary says it is time for change, and that change may not come
:06:05. > :06:11.without a fight. We talk about this with Mark Reckless, a Tory MP who
:06:12. > :06:17.sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, and Tony McNulty, a
:06:18. > :06:21.former of the committee. You were there? People were stunned, I
:06:22. > :06:25.thought she was magnificent, for a lot of people it was a stunned
:06:26. > :06:30.silence. It would have been so easy for her to paper over the cracks, to
:06:31. > :06:36.massage people's ego, to tell them it was the for the federation to
:06:37. > :06:40.choose whether to reform. Instead she gave an incredibly powerful and
:06:41. > :06:43.passionate performance, she just stuck to what she believed in and
:06:44. > :06:47.did everything possible to drive that through. And earlier on in the
:06:48. > :06:50.day I spoke to one of the key reformers who was really worried
:06:51. > :06:54.that actually the motion was going to be watered down, they would vote
:06:55. > :06:57.down some of the things and they wouldn't get the reform they wanted.
:06:58. > :07:00.For her to give such a powerful speech making the case for
:07:01. > :07:03.For her to give such a powerful was impressive. Did you ever try to
:07:04. > :07:09.reform the Police Federation when you were there? We worked alongside
:07:10. > :07:12.them, you will remember 26,000 of them marched outside the new Home
:07:13. > :07:15.Office because we to beinged some of their pay in a round of pay
:07:16. > :07:21.settlements. I would disagree with the analysis. I think she was unduly
:07:22. > :07:25.gratuitous, going for the person rather than the ball. She could have
:07:26. > :07:30.done, I agree in substance with most of the things she said, God they
:07:31. > :07:35.need to reform, I told the constables' committee when I met
:07:36. > :07:40.them recently. They get that. You thought she was playing politics? I
:07:41. > :07:44.thought it was to do with tomorrow and post-2015 Mr Cameron on his bike
:07:45. > :07:48.environment, which is unnecessarily given the seriousness with which
:07:49. > :07:52.they need to reform. Somebody said to me today she almost pulled the
:07:53. > :07:59.feet from the jaws of victory and someone who was there, senior fed
:08:00. > :08:03.person said to me they thought it was as much about revenge as reform.
:08:04. > :08:08.They get the notion of reform, even the most recalcitrant, I have been
:08:09. > :08:15.to some of their conferences in the past where it really felt like you
:08:16. > :08:20.got the claim and the next stop was the 1970s. I did a blog post with
:08:21. > :08:23.the constables and said you can't be as sluggish as in the past and
:08:24. > :08:26.expect any sort of respect from people. But she went overboard,
:08:27. > :08:29.there was too much politics there. There was a lot of politics there,
:08:30. > :08:34.wasn't there? I think there were politics there, but they weren't
:08:35. > :08:38.perhaps the politics people expected. When you heard her as a
:08:39. > :08:41.Conservative Home Secretary list this litany of things that had gone
:08:42. > :08:47.wrong with the police and say rather than a few bad apples this is more
:08:48. > :08:51.serious. When she said only 42% of black Caribbean people trust the
:08:52. > :08:54.police, that is unacceptable, that is why we had to change. What she's
:08:55. > :08:58.doing with stop and search many people would have thought why
:08:59. > :09:02.bother, Labour didn't for 13 years, yet she has taken hold of it and
:09:03. > :09:06.taken a lot of political risks, because she believes it is the right
:09:07. > :09:12.thing to do. Within you look at that conference, very few young officers,
:09:13. > :09:16.very few women, hardly any ethnic minorities and any graduates, she
:09:17. > :09:20.says we need a police force that serve the people they represent. I
:09:21. > :09:24.have criticised her on some issues in the past, but I was proud so her
:09:25. > :09:30.as our Home Secretary sitting there today. I think that is part serious
:09:31. > :09:34.and part pantomime. I'm in this perplexed because much of what she
:09:35. > :09:38.said I agreed with, but the pantomime was unnecessary. She had
:09:39. > :09:44.to threaten them, look at the organisation, look at the state it
:09:45. > :09:50.has got to? I spoke to key figures in the constables, they get the full
:09:51. > :09:55.36 elements of the report into how they should be changed. The Fed
:09:56. > :10:00.instigated it, you would think that she did. They had to, look at the
:10:01. > :10:05.state they were in? They know it is way past the last chance saloon. The
:10:06. > :10:08.bit of what is her vision for policing, a little bit not the bad
:10:09. > :10:13.caple routine but something that said to the people in the room, many
:10:14. > :10:17.of the catalogue of things I have gone through how appalling things
:10:18. > :10:23.have been through policing are historic and many weren't born in
:10:24. > :10:26.the room. Within you had a defending of police and crime commissioners
:10:27. > :10:29.and the passion she put into that, if the police for the first time
:10:30. > :10:33.don't like what is happening they can elect someone who can change the
:10:34. > :10:39.budget, the Chief Constable. They can but they don't. She said that is
:10:40. > :10:46.how we get change in policing. 15% turnout for PCCs. The Government
:10:47. > :10:52.cuts crime. There was a ballot box in one place where nobody voted.
:10:53. > :10:56.What about the public money, she mentions the ?190,000, it is a token
:10:57. > :10:59.figure. There are millions of tax-payers' money going to pay
:11:00. > :11:02.salaries of people doing nothing but looking after the interests of the
:11:03. > :11:06.Police Federation, which to all intents and purposes is a type of
:11:07. > :11:10.trade union? A lot of their members don't feel looked after. Do you
:11:11. > :11:14.think any public money should go for it? They have all the committees for
:11:15. > :11:18.different ranks, they didn't strike. They need to make savings so it
:11:19. > :11:21.costs less for officers and the public money doesn't need to go in.
:11:22. > :11:25.We don't need to have so much time of police officers spent with the
:11:26. > :11:28.fed rather than out on the streets. Overall I do think they need a
:11:29. > :11:32.federation, they are not allowed to strike. The most important element
:11:33. > :11:36.of this is getting a federation that represents its members as well as
:11:37. > :11:39.the public interest. I think now the Police Federation will take hold of
:11:40. > :11:42.this, run and deliver these reforms and we are seeing the changes we
:11:43. > :11:48.need in policing, crime is coming down. My experience is fed members
:11:49. > :11:53.and reps up and down the country doing a fantastic job, representing
:11:54. > :11:57.members through the most mundane of processes, that must continue but
:11:58. > :12:03.the reforms must happen. Crime is come down and there is the form we
:12:04. > :12:08.need. The number teenagers self-harming, cutting or poisoning
:12:09. > :12:12.themselves is increasing at a startling rate according to new
:12:13. > :12:15.figures prepared for the World Health Organisation. We will discuss
:12:16. > :12:20.in a moment, first, just how bad is the situation for young people in
:12:21. > :12:25.England? A decade ago a major study showed
:12:26. > :12:29.just under 7% of 15-16-year-olds in England self-armed, today that
:12:30. > :12:36.figure has almost trebled. A new study suggests it is now 20%, one in
:12:37. > :12:40.five of all 15-year-olds in England. The lead researcher thinks that
:12:41. > :12:46.level of self-harm indicates a much bigger problem. It is a real tip of
:12:47. > :12:52.the iceberg phenomena, I think, in terms of our other data also shows
:12:53. > :12:57.that for example 45% of girls feel low weekly. At age 11 that is
:12:58. > :13:02.significantly lower. As they progressed through adolescence, a
:13:03. > :13:06.whole series of markers of poor emotional well being seem to rise.
:13:07. > :13:11.What makes teenagers self-harm? Another large survey of young people
:13:12. > :13:14.earlier this year showed a water of those who self-harmed did so because
:13:15. > :13:19.they were bullied. But some of it was down to the every day trials of
:13:20. > :13:23.teenagehood. Difficult family relationships, and pressure to do
:13:24. > :13:33.well at school were also likely triggers. Now we have a clinical
:13:34. > :13:38.psychologist and author of the Skeleton Cupboard, Kat worked with a
:13:39. > :13:43.charity that intervenes to improve the mental health of young people.
:13:44. > :13:46.She herself self-harmed during the ages of 14-21. During that time you
:13:47. > :13:51.were self-harmling, what were you doing? Mostly cutting but also
:13:52. > :13:56.scratching, overdoses, anything I could do really. Why were you doing
:13:57. > :14:00.it? I mean I started when I was 14 and it kind of started by accident
:14:01. > :14:05.and what I found was the first time I did it I got a release from it.
:14:06. > :14:09.Ith very quickly came a very negative coping mechanism for me.
:14:10. > :14:13.You felt better afterwards that is what you mean? It is very
:14:14. > :14:19.counterintuitive. I imagine it is painful? Yeah. But afterwards you
:14:20. > :14:23.feel better? And also you get a certain adrenaline release when you
:14:24. > :14:26.self-harm, a lot of people get addicted to that sensation as well.
:14:27. > :14:32.Did you want people to know you were self-harming? No. I hid it for the
:14:33. > :14:36.first five years, which is no mean feat, and you know it took me five
:14:37. > :14:41.years to kind of come out of the closet about mental health problems
:14:42. > :14:45.so it was a really big deal to tell people for the first time. You were
:14:46. > :14:49.cutting on your arm were you? Yeah. So you wore long sleeves? For about
:14:50. > :14:55.six or seven years. What do you think you were doing? The first time
:14:56. > :14:58.I had never, ever heard of anyone self-harming, it wasn't one of those
:14:59. > :15:02.things where I had been on the Internet or seen someone else doing
:15:03. > :15:05.it, it was an accident and then I found out actually by going on-line
:15:06. > :15:11.that other people were doing it as well and actually I wasn't alone.
:15:12. > :15:14.Were you doing it because of a particular trigger, you were unhappy
:15:15. > :15:19.at a particular moment or a generalised thing? I started getting
:15:20. > :15:23.depressed when I was about 13. I have always been very anxious and
:15:24. > :15:28.had obsessive compulsive disorder, I was in a really low place and it
:15:29. > :15:35.just seemed to click and help for some reason. How did it help? It was
:15:36. > :15:40.just a kind of relief, I think a lot of people think self-harm is similar
:15:41. > :15:43.to suicide, but for a lot of young people they
:15:44. > :15:46.to suicide, but for a lot of young they stop them doi anything worse.
:15:47. > :15:54.It is a way of leasing emotions slowly. Tania Byron you see a lot of
:15:55. > :15:58.cases and deal with the families of people who self-harm, can you
:15:59. > :16:03.generalise about which social class it is most common in or which
:16:04. > :16:07.gender, it is most common among girls? It is but we are seeing more
:16:08. > :16:12.and more boys self-harming. You know the report today has really
:16:13. > :16:16.confirmed what mental health practicers who work with children
:16:17. > :16:23.and young people have known for years, there has been an increase in
:16:24. > :16:26.68% for admissions to hospital for young people self-harming, it
:16:27. > :16:29.crosses classes. We are seeing a lot of kids from back groupeds you
:16:30. > :16:34.wouldn't presume would have difficulties. Kids from nice homes
:16:35. > :16:41.and aspirational families, particularly those around exam time,
:16:42. > :16:45.they are under so much pressure that self-harming becomes a trigger. The
:16:46. > :16:49.intriguing question is why it is growing so much, it is not just
:16:50. > :16:53.exams is it? It is not, and chirp and young people do it for different
:16:54. > :16:58.reasons. A lot of people say it is attention seeking and a fad. And
:16:59. > :17:04.there are some young people who flirt with these behaviours and will
:17:05. > :17:07.stop. But there are young people like Kat who have significant
:17:08. > :17:11.issues, that self-harm is a coping mechanism. You see the self-harm but
:17:12. > :17:15.you need to understand what is triggering it, what is that young
:17:16. > :17:19.person anxious about, the depression, what else is going on in
:17:20. > :17:23.their life. In a sense it is more of a manifestation of other problems.
:17:24. > :17:27.Are there more sources of anxiety and depression now than then? We are
:17:28. > :17:31.seeing increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with
:17:32. > :17:35.anxiety and depression, and certainly in clinical services we
:17:36. > :17:39.are overwhelmed by young people who are presenting with these issues. We
:17:40. > :17:43.are also diagnosing more, that is not necessarily a God thing.
:17:44. > :17:47.Different the fact that 6% of the mental health budget is spent on
:17:48. > :17:50.children and young people's services, we are seeing services cut
:17:51. > :17:55.across the country. Waiting lists are so long that kids are chronic by
:17:56. > :17:58.the time they can be seen. We have a real crisis on our hands. We don't
:17:59. > :18:03.have the provision for these young people. They either end up in A or
:18:04. > :18:09.we don't know they are doing it, because they do it secretly until it
:18:10. > :18:13.becomes a chronic problem. I don't want to sound cynical, they grow out
:18:14. > :18:19.of it doesn't they? Some do, like they grow out of other adolescent
:18:20. > :18:26.behaviours which they transition through it. 50% of all mental health
:18:27. > :18:30.problems will show by the age of 14, 75% of all mental health problems
:18:31. > :18:37.excluding dementia will show by 24. Here we have a time in life that we
:18:38. > :18:39.know, neurobiologically we will see mental health problems, we are not
:18:40. > :18:44.invest anything that and spending the money we need to provide the
:18:45. > :18:47.services to people like Kat who need the support. When you go into
:18:48. > :18:50.schools to talk about this, what sort of response do you get, what
:18:51. > :18:57.are you saying to them apart from anything else? A lot of the team I
:18:58. > :19:00.will go on when there has already been an incident, a suicide attempt
:19:01. > :19:04.or there is knowledge that self-harm is going on. A lot of the time the
:19:05. > :19:08.kids, they are quite shocked that someone is coming in and talking to
:19:09. > :19:11.them so openly about their own experience, but they are relieved
:19:12. > :19:15.and you get a lot of young people come up to you after the class and
:19:16. > :19:23.confide in you and some of them are telling me things that they have
:19:24. > :19:29.never, ever told anyone Do they feel they are getting the support they
:19:30. > :19:32.need at school? No. We have been campaigning to get mental health on
:19:33. > :19:35.the curriculum. I have certainly been campaigning on that for about
:19:36. > :19:39.five years and we have seen no change at all. It seems like we are
:19:40. > :19:44.missing a real trick with PSHE lessons. If we could do mental
:19:45. > :19:47.health lessons in the way we do sex and relationship education we would
:19:48. > :19:51.target a huge amount of young people. You would support that view?
:19:52. > :19:56.Completely support that view. Absolutely, we are not helping
:19:57. > :19:59.children learn to grow in their emotional resilience, and children
:20:00. > :20:03.really do struggle with anxiety, there is a lot of pressure on kids,
:20:04. > :20:08.a lot of targets, a lot of testing, a risk avest society, kids raised in
:20:09. > :20:13.captivity, I could go on and on. This has to be a wake-up call, we
:20:14. > :20:18.have an election next year, where is is the investment in child and young
:20:19. > :20:25.adult mental health services and the most vulnerable of our generation.
:20:26. > :20:31.The Russian President Vladimir Putin was doubtless a bit busy signing a
:20:32. > :20:37.$400 billion deal to supply China with energy to pay much attention to
:20:38. > :20:45.wh Prince Charles has said about him. He is said to have compared him
:20:46. > :20:50.to Hitler in German. Germany, it is not too controversial, more about
:20:51. > :20:55.the law on internet discussions, more or less sooner or later some
:20:56. > :20:59.fool will liken someone to the Nazis. Is he right, we have been
:21:00. > :21:04.getting the reaction from the streets of action. He has no right
:21:05. > :21:09.to speak anything in England. There is freedom of -- he has a right to
:21:10. > :21:14.speak anything in England, there is a freedom of speech in England and
:21:15. > :21:17.Russia. Prince Charles is crazy, Putin is a good man. He has a right
:21:18. > :21:23.to have this opinion Putin is a good man. He has a right
:21:24. > :21:27.think Putin is like Hitler. I think Prince Charles is a little bit
:21:28. > :21:34.afraid of Putin. He doesn't kill people, Hitler killed people and he
:21:35. > :21:42.had a philosophy that was based on putting people into prison camps and
:21:43. > :21:48.killing them. It is not correct, our President is good. With us now is
:21:49. > :21:56.historian and author of Berlin, and Stalin grabbed, two a-- Stalingrad,
:21:57. > :22:00.two accounts of the Second World War. Does this account hold water?
:22:01. > :22:04.There is always a great danger in making any historical parallels, I
:22:05. > :22:08.am afraid the Second World War has become the dominant reference point
:22:09. > :22:12.for every crisis and conflict. It is dang us from that point. Having said
:22:13. > :22:22.that there is no doubt that there are certain disturbing echos, 1938
:22:23. > :22:35.and 1939, for example the whole question of Odessa, claims on a
:22:36. > :22:39.corridor to. Also discussion and mum merits that Ukraine should be
:22:40. > :22:44.partitions with Poland. The Poles wanted nothing to do with it. It is
:22:45. > :22:49.interesting to see the particular echos. Much more than the historical
:22:50. > :22:54.parallels is a question of mentality. German, of course, had
:22:55. > :23:00.this burning resentment, which Putin echoed with his fear that the
:23:01. > :23:06.collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopoliticle... You are
:23:07. > :23:10.comparing Hitler's and Germany's anxiety and anger about the treaty
:23:11. > :23:14.of Versailles with the way that Putin and much of modern Russia
:23:15. > :23:18.feels about the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet
:23:19. > :23:22.Union? Indeed. But also there is a similar national self-centeredness.
:23:23. > :23:29.A feeling that they are hemmed in and the rest of the world doesn't
:23:30. > :23:33.stand them. Thank God, on the other side, I don't think that Putin will
:23:34. > :23:35.be like Hitler who was furious he didn't have a war in 1938, in
:23:36. > :23:41.September. I don't think didn't have a war in 1938, in
:23:42. > :23:47.is crazy enough to want to actually have a war. If you were a real
:23:48. > :23:52.pessimist, you could see if this comparison would lead naturally to a
:23:53. > :23:56.comparison we are going to have some sort of confrontation? History is
:23:57. > :24:00.never predictive and it doesn't necessarily mean that anything is
:24:01. > :24:04.going to follow in the same pattern but you can see certain echos which
:24:05. > :24:11.is enough to make one fairly nervous. I think a lot of people
:24:12. > :24:17.have mentioned that and seen T As far as tactics go there are some
:24:18. > :24:22.similarities, if you look at German behaviour? The same game of playing
:24:23. > :24:27.four national self-determination amongst minorities and so forth. Do
:24:28. > :24:32.you think that we in the west, you have alluded to this already, that
:24:33. > :24:36.we in the west really understand how the world works to people
:24:37. > :24:38.we in the west really understand how themselves on the other side of the
:24:39. > :24:42.fence? I don't think we do. This is one of the problems, we have failed
:24:43. > :24:47.to understand why Russia feels the way it does. It doesn't recognise
:24:48. > :24:53.Ukraine as a separate one, they believe it is little Russia and an
:24:54. > :24:59.integral part of what they see as greater Russia. You could say that
:25:00. > :25:02.Hitler had a notion of huge Deutschland and the other parts that
:25:03. > :25:06.should belong. What is your prescription for that? I wouldn't
:25:07. > :25:12.dare make one, but I do think there are, thank God, differences, there
:25:13. > :25:16.is no way that Putin would dare to go to war in this particular way.
:25:17. > :25:21.But he is certainly going to extract everything he can without of the
:25:22. > :25:26.stablisation of Ukraine. We could think more broadly about the way the
:25:27. > :25:30.world is and how people in the different parts of the world might
:25:31. > :25:35.see it differently from us? Absolutely, the Chinese see it
:25:36. > :25:39.differently. They are very easy at the way Putin is playing the
:25:40. > :25:43.self-determination card. They are worried about Tibet and the extreme
:25:44. > :25:47.North West of China. They don't like any notions of playing very
:25:48. > :25:55.dangerous games. Thank you very much. Thank you. Dove droned on much
:25:56. > :25:58.of this week about the elections to the European Parliament. This is of
:25:59. > :26:03.course charity work, because the overwhelming likelihood is that most
:26:04. > :26:07.voters simply won't turn out tomorrow. This is not unconnected
:26:08. > :26:11.with the fact that so many consider the European Parliament a gross
:26:12. > :26:14.irrelevance. But there is another European election campaign being
:26:15. > :26:18.waged from which voters are even more estranged. It is the
:26:19. > :26:22.competition to become President of the European Commission, a position
:26:23. > :26:33.as subject to popular democracy as being head of the Chinese politic
:26:34. > :26:37.bureau. They are the candidates you have
:26:38. > :26:42.never heard of and you may know nothing about in the elections, we
:26:43. > :26:45.bring you the campaign for the top job in Europe, President of the
:26:46. > :26:58.Commission. Apparently this time it is different, you get to decide.
:26:59. > :27:09.Sort of. We try out the names on the unsuspecting electorate. What do you
:27:10. > :27:16.feel about Gida Hofstad. What about Martin Shults? No idea. I used to be
:27:17. > :27:28.ballad. By choice. It is a great hairstyle, easy to take care of. One
:27:29. > :27:31.joke curtesy of winninger of -- winner of Eurovision is this man,
:27:32. > :27:38.this centre right politician wants to be the next President of the
:27:39. > :27:43.European Commission, the law makers of Europe. We joined his battle bus
:27:44. > :27:49.in Athens with an ever-present police escort. It is the 35th
:27:50. > :27:54.European city he has visited since his campaign began. Do you think
:27:55. > :27:58.many people know your policies? I don't know, but that is not really
:27:59. > :28:02.my problem, of course it is my problem, but they have to take
:28:03. > :28:05.interest in what we are proposing. I'm not running after the
:28:06. > :28:11.electorate, they have to inform themselves. The President right now
:28:12. > :28:20.is Jose Manuel Barroso. He was chosen, like all his predesows --
:28:21. > :28:23.predecessors in a back room deal. The EU leaders must now pick a
:28:24. > :28:26.President taking into account the results of the elections of the
:28:27. > :28:33.European Parliament. What does that mean, stick with me here, it depends
:28:34. > :28:40.on interpretation, but some MEPs say Europe's 400 million voters will
:28:41. > :28:44.influence who gets the top job. That is why he's touring Europe. A hard
:28:45. > :28:52.hat essential these days for politicians interacting with the
:28:53. > :29:01.electorate. Here he is checking out the extension to the Athens Metro.
:29:02. > :29:08.The Greek Prime Minister also made him welcome. Mr Samaras is on the
:29:09. > :29:12.European Council, it doesn't look like he's waiting until the election
:29:13. > :29:19.results to let us know who he wants to be President. They understand
:29:20. > :29:23.about democracy in Athens, they invented the concept, literally
:29:24. > :29:25."power to the people", that is what the European Parliament claims is
:29:26. > :29:28.happening in the up coming elections, that voters are being
:29:29. > :29:38.given power in a way they have never had it before. But things aren't
:29:39. > :29:44.always as they seem. Perspective often shapes our view. That's clear
:29:45. > :29:50.in mini-Europe, Brussels tribute to the EU, here appearances can be
:29:51. > :29:56.deceptive, and critics say the same of the new European-style democracy.
:29:57. > :30:00.It is a very imperfect procedure, because in Britain you cannot vote
:30:01. > :30:05.for Mr Juncker, there is no party supporting him. Mr Shulz is the
:30:06. > :30:09.party of the socialist family, people can only vote for him in
:30:10. > :30:14.Germany. In Britain you didn't vote for him and Labour does not support
:30:15. > :30:20.him, what is the legitimacy of his nomination, I don't see that. To
:30:21. > :30:24.counter criticism the presidential candidates have held a series of
:30:25. > :30:30.live TV debates to an audience of... . Best skip over that. But Newsnight
:30:31. > :30:34.won't accept the long-held view that European politicians are frankly
:30:35. > :30:41.boring. We have scoured the biographies so you don't have to.
:30:42. > :30:52.Juncker is favourite, chosen by the centre right EPP. Martin Shulz was
:30:53. > :30:59.picked by socialist. Mr Hofstad is the choice of liberals and
:31:00. > :31:09.democrats. The far left have Greece's opposition leader. Mr
:31:10. > :31:15.Keller is one of two grown candidates. Take note though, this
:31:16. > :31:19.race is a Conservative and euro-sceptic free zone. Because none
:31:20. > :31:23.of those parties buy into it. Everybody nowadays is complaining
:31:24. > :31:27.about the low voters turnout, and for once we are doing a big leap
:31:28. > :31:32.forward for democracy, and giving people real choice, also putting
:31:33. > :31:34.faces on party programmes. Do you really believe TWHAUN of you will be
:31:35. > :31:39.the President of the Commission? Yes, absolutely, I strongly believe
:31:40. > :31:42.that one of us five will be commissioned President, because that
:31:43. > :31:49.would be following the treaties. I think the member states would deal a
:31:50. > :31:53.great blow to democracy if they were to disregard the vote of European
:31:54. > :31:58.citizens. But disregard it they may, despite
:31:59. > :32:04.all the trips around Europe, primarily on public fund, the treaty
:32:05. > :32:09.says the EU leaders still nominate the President. MEPs will vote or
:32:10. > :32:14.veto that choice. It is thought many, including David Cameron have
:32:15. > :32:19.no plans for any of the candidates on public view. Outside the pulse
:32:20. > :32:25.parliament amongst clued up Europeans I road tested the concept.
:32:26. > :32:29.As I understand it the MEPs say you vote, your vote counts towards
:32:30. > :32:35.choosing which party is the largest party in the parliament, the Lisbon
:32:36. > :32:41.commission nominates somebody and the MEPs vote on it? The general
:32:42. > :32:47.public get a superficial say in it, we don't get a vote, we just kind
:32:48. > :32:52.of, it is kind of pretending. Lots of people say this is the big new
:32:53. > :32:56.democracy in Europe, the big change? It don't like or sound like that to
:32:57. > :33:00.me. What it is, is an attempt to link
:33:01. > :33:04.the voters of Europe with the institutions that affect their
:33:05. > :33:08.lives. If they are paying attention the EU citizens will find out how it
:33:09. > :33:12.plays all out. Back now to the election, we do have
:33:13. > :33:20.a vote in, and it was the last day of campaigning for them today, din
:33:21. > :33:24.at the end by the enthusiasm for UKIP, Nick Clegg was still out there
:33:25. > :33:28.selling the healthy delights of the European all you can eat buffet.
:33:29. > :33:31.These elections present his party with something novel the their
:33:32. > :33:35.opponents used to be able to say what is the point of voting Lib Dem,
:33:36. > :33:41.they will never form a Government. But now they are the Government, or
:33:42. > :33:45.a bit of it at least, problem, we report now from Kingston where they
:33:46. > :33:52.have been a big force for years, but are now looking at quite another
:33:53. > :33:58.prospect. Doesn't look like a hot bed of
:33:59. > :34:03.activism. But when it came to turfing people out of their homes,
:34:04. > :34:09.house boats, Kingston river so Ied was the scene of high political
:34:10. > :34:14.drama and the local liberals' big chance. The pride in the Riverside
:34:15. > :34:19.heritage has come in for harsh criticism recent low. Last night 40
:34:20. > :34:26.families who lived right on the river, descended on the build hall
:34:27. > :34:30.in furious of the council's destruction of a long standing river
:34:31. > :34:33.tradition. Protesting with the safely middle-class boat people
:34:34. > :34:37.helped them bed into the council where they eventually took control
:34:38. > :34:41.from the Tories. Now the Liberal Democrats have won this town for 12
:34:42. > :34:47.years, this time tomorrow it could be all over. Roger rose to be leader
:34:48. > :34:53.of the only, having fought for the rights of those who prefer life on
:34:54. > :34:58.the Thames gentle way. Tories hate it, they can't understand why anyone
:34:59. > :35:03.would want to lead such an alternative life, they prefer to
:35:04. > :35:08.them as river gypsies and they were people like you and I? Now you are
:35:09. > :35:14.in Government you can't be the house boat campaigners, but y can't be the
:35:15. > :35:19.recipients of the protest vote? It has made it harder, there is no
:35:20. > :35:26.denying that, some people feel let down, I suppose, by some of the
:35:27. > :35:31.things which our parliamentary colleagues have had to do. In a
:35:32. > :35:34.sense that is coalition politics. There is no coalition in Kingston.
:35:35. > :35:41.You wait so long to be in power, and when we are it doesn't go the way we
:35:42. > :35:46.would hope. A polite understatement. Escaping third party obscurity has
:35:47. > :35:50.meant major unpopularity. In tomorrow's vote the Lib Dems might
:35:51. > :35:54.lose half their councillor, officials are briefing they could
:35:55. > :35:59.say goodbye to all of their MEPs. Lovely as it is to mess around on
:36:00. > :36:04.the river, campaigning in the local and European elections is more than
:36:05. > :36:11.just a past time, more than their rivals, the Lib Dem base is built on
:36:12. > :36:15.councillors, envelope stuffers and door knockers, they are all vital to
:36:16. > :36:20.the pet. Members of the European Parliament are a crucial part offier
:36:21. > :36:26.infrastructure, even if a training ground for future leaders. After six
:36:27. > :36:33.months of the worst-ever polls since they joined the coalition, can the
:36:34. > :36:37.Lib Dems face challenge from either two. It took years of local graft to
:36:38. > :37:10.build their place. So the Lib Dem's best chance at a
:37:11. > :37:15.decent scorecard is holding places where they are already dug in.
:37:16. > :37:20.Broadly keeping Tories out in southern spots like Kingston and
:37:21. > :37:26.Labour at bay elsewhere. Do these Thames side voters want more of the
:37:27. > :37:29.same? There are sometimes when you think oh my God what are they doing,
:37:30. > :37:34.on the whole they are not do too bad. We haven't got a post box on
:37:35. > :37:40.the estate, the bus doesn't run on Sunday, anyone with their 80s has to
:37:41. > :37:44.walk to the main road to get a bus. I'm lucky I live there. We have
:37:45. > :37:51.bikes riding on the pavement all the time. I don't think they have done
:37:52. > :37:59.wadly but Mr Cameron early in charge. I'm not so sure about that.
:38:00. > :38:03.A dreadful set of results won't be a surprise to any Lib Dem. Says this
:38:04. > :38:09.former adviser to Nick Clegg. But might bring forward the moment when
:38:10. > :38:13.bigger realities have to be face. Local Lib Dems have been in power
:38:14. > :38:17.locally over the years. They are paying the penalty for party at
:38:18. > :38:20.national level finally getting into power for the first time. The party
:38:21. > :38:25.is kinding it difficult to deal with understandably, but it is a
:38:26. > :38:29.challenge they have to face. If in the long-term the next five or
:38:30. > :38:33.sentence years that will clearly have an impact on the ability to
:38:34. > :38:37.calm pan. Whether fending off the Conservatives here or fighting
:38:38. > :38:44.Labour in the northern towns, or the SNP, UKIP or greens in other parts
:38:45. > :38:47.of the country. Being a national Government has Scotched the question
:38:48. > :38:51.Lib Dems used to get on the doorstep. What is the point of
:38:52. > :38:57.voting for you, you will never be in charge. But if decisions taken in
:38:58. > :39:04.coalition erode local support dramatically, in the long-term how
:39:05. > :39:08.will the party really sustain. The next few days will be painful,
:39:09. > :39:13.although they don't directly dictate next May. But the demand they will
:39:14. > :39:25.urge is what happens if the Lib Dems keep on losing, how does the party
:39:26. > :39:30.now in power stop its relevance floating away. The deputy leader of
:39:31. > :39:38.the Liberal Democrats is in Aberdeen. What's your explanation
:39:39. > :39:42.for why you are doing so badly? I'm not prepared to say that until the
:39:43. > :39:49.polls are closed and votes counted. That may be your line, but Nick
:39:50. > :39:54.Clegg's word published in the Guardian tomorrow, in the event of
:39:55. > :39:58.you getting no seats or up to two seats you should say you are
:39:59. > :40:03.disappointed but the party remains resolute this was expected at this
:40:04. > :40:08.point in electoral cycles? To be clear what we are saying is some of
:40:09. > :40:12.the polls if they were right would lead to a setback. I don't think we
:40:13. > :40:17.should judge them before they are closed, that is the point. As far as
:40:18. > :40:21.the overall position is concerned. We have fought the European
:40:22. > :40:26.elections on a straight and honest and pro-European ticket. We have to
:40:27. > :40:32.be it clearly a taken on UKIP, and we are in favour of European reform
:40:33. > :40:37.or to contemplate Britain leaving. We have nothing to be ashamed of and
:40:38. > :40:40.people do not say they don't know what the Liberal Democrats stand
:40:41. > :40:46.for. Perhaps they know too much and that is why you are predicting you
:40:47. > :40:51.will get a hammering? I'm not prepared to accept that. Your party
:40:52. > :40:57.is? Why is it issuing guidance to people as to bah they should say
:40:58. > :41:00.when -- to what they should say when confronted with terrible guidance? I
:41:01. > :41:06.will make a judgment of the results when I see them. If we have setbacks
:41:07. > :41:09.we have to evaluate how we mean and take it back. We have gone into
:41:10. > :41:13.coalition something that is a political party. I have been a
:41:14. > :41:20.member of this party for half a century. I didn't join it as a quick
:41:21. > :41:23.fix in Government. I believe we have accepted our responsibility and
:41:24. > :41:27.delivered radical changes on the tax cuts. Something that David Cameron
:41:28. > :41:33.said couldn't be done. We have probably delivered the most radical
:41:34. > :41:35.reform of pensions since Lloyd job. We have delivered apresent at
:41:36. > :41:40.thisesships for young people that wouldn't have happened without the
:41:41. > :41:53.Liberal Democrats. We have waived the way of coalition. Even at the
:41:54. > :41:57.price of the -- emplosion of the party? We are in Government and
:41:58. > :42:00.shouldn't walk away, but neither apologise for the things we have
:42:01. > :42:03.achieved. We have a situation, not from your point of view I understand
:42:04. > :42:09.it, but I find it extraordinary that a party that has helped bring down
:42:10. > :42:17.the deficit, interest rates low, seeing sustainable growth across all
:42:18. > :42:25.sectors, that has contributed t tax threshold to ?10. , 500. It is
:42:26. > :42:28.reasonable to say to people this is what we have done and more like
:42:29. > :42:35.that, but we didn't do it unless you vote for us. We have to fight for
:42:36. > :42:41.those votes. Thank you very much. The world of sport has spent the day
:42:42. > :42:49.trying to recover from the news that Tour de Romandie maying Yaya Toure
:42:50. > :42:53.might be considering leaving his club. He doesn't feel loved. There
:42:54. > :42:57.was confusion about whether the club it given him a birthday cake with
:42:58. > :43:03.enough icing on it. When you are screwing them for a rumoured
:43:04. > :43:13.?200,000 a week these things matter. We gave Stephen Smith a packet of
:43:14. > :43:26.Hob-Nobes for his birthday, which helped him consider shows of
:43:27. > :43:34.affection in the media. Not since Mary Antoinette decided to eat only
:43:35. > :43:38.cake has a scandal caused such a furore.
:43:39. > :43:47.# Happy birthday to you. Is he trying to have his cake and you
:43:48. > :43:55.know... . Cakegate is the truth. Have we seen the cake? Has the
:43:56. > :44:00.footage been doctored. Are you City engaging in a British Bake Off
:44:01. > :44:05.subterfuge. I won't believe a cake was involved until they send me a
:44:06. > :44:11.piece. It is an extraordinary saga. A grown man, he's 31, he should have
:44:12. > :44:17.reached the able where he doesn't want to be reminded of his birthday.
:44:18. > :44:28.There is a suggestion linked to Yaya Toure's agent where he felt that
:44:29. > :44:37.cake wasn't close to the one the middle eastern owners had. It is
:44:38. > :44:41.very childish f it was his mum and dad that forgot it that would be
:44:42. > :44:45.something. He has made this perhaps to get the recognition he wants and
:44:46. > :44:52.deserves really. He has been a fantastic and crucial player for us
:44:53. > :44:58.this year. Of course it is difficult for hard-working people like you and
:44:59. > :45:05.me to understand how highly strung they can attach such importance for
:45:06. > :45:16.a few FRIP rows. -- friperies. When it comes to perks and sweet meat,
:45:17. > :45:24.football is the new rock 'n' roll. Classic right to demand, Van Halen
:45:25. > :45:29.wanted the promoter to provide bowls of M with the brown ones taken
:45:30. > :45:35.out. There is method behind that apparent madness, if a promoter is
:45:36. > :45:41.bothered enough to extract the brown M, he will be bothered to supply
:45:42. > :45:44.the power supply and the clean towns that you have asked for and the
:45:45. > :45:50.aspect that you asked for and the security. As long as there are
:45:51. > :45:54.winners like Yaya Toure, clubs will indulge their players and agents,
:45:55. > :46:01.particularly as the summer transfer window opens. The Premier League is
:46:02. > :46:07.England as Hollywood, the power structures within it are very
:46:08. > :46:12.similar to Hollywood. The whole pressure comes from the talent. So
:46:13. > :46:16.the money comes into the game in huge amounts and is required to draw
:46:17. > :46:23.talent. Talent recognises that and therefore plays all sorts of games
:46:24. > :46:28.to ensure it gets more of that. Fans might wonder at the hissy fits,
:46:29. > :46:34.but if Yaya Toure stays with the champions this summer, what are the
:46:35. > :46:38.odds that season tickets will sell like... . Very popular things.
:46:39. > :46:43.That is the end of the round up about worries and dysfunction, we
:46:44. > :46:47.should maybe count our blessings, we don't live in Iran where it has
:46:48. > :46:56.apparently become a crime to be happy or dance to Farrell Williams'
:46:57. > :47:01.cheerful song of that name. Young people dancing on a video from were
:47:02. > :47:06.arrested and paraded on state TV before eventually being released. It
:47:07. > :47:13.just looks like they are having fun to most of us.
:47:14. > :47:17.# Because I'm happy # Clap along if you feel like
:47:18. > :47:24.happiness is a truth # Because I'm happy
:47:25. > :47:30.# Clap along if you know what happiness is for you.
:47:31. > :47:34.# Lap along if you feel that's what you want to do
:47:35. > :47:41.# Clap along if you know # What happiness is to you
:47:42. > :47:57.# Clap along if you feel like that's what you want to do.
:47:58. > :48:04.# Clap along if you feel like that's what you want to do. Good evening,
:48:05. > :48:08.could be a bit noisy tonight across England and Wales, heavy thundery
:48:09. > :48:10.rain working northwards. Heavy rain still there across northern England
:48:11. > :48:11.to