0:00:07 > 0:00:09It's been 10 years, three months and 27 days
0:00:09 > 0:00:10of cheaper and cheaper money.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14But today, it just got a little dearer.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17The Bank of England hikes interest rates by 0.25%,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19but who's that going to help?
0:00:19 > 0:00:22We ask whether the Bank has got its timing right.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Also tonight, a breaking story of fresh allegations of sexual
0:00:25 > 0:00:29harrassment by another Member of Parliament emerges.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32On the day the PM was forced to replace a Cabinet minister,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34could this herald a crisis for both her and the leader
0:00:34 > 0:00:37of the Opposition?
0:00:37 > 0:00:39And we speak Goldie - from breakdancer to DJ,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42grafitti and grills, a more mellow Goldie
0:00:42 > 0:00:49tells his life story.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Goldie fights with 19-year-old on the way to yoga. Goldie dies in
0:00:53 > 0:00:59knife fight on the way to yoga. Either way that's not going to look
0:00:59 > 0:01:02right!
0:01:02 > 0:01:05First tonight, the breaking political story.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09The Labour MP, Kelvin Hopkins, has been suspended from the party
0:01:09 > 0:01:10after it received allegations of inappropriate behaviour
0:01:10 > 0:01:13towards a young woman.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16The Labour Party is remaining relatively tight-lipped about it.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Our political editor, Nick Watt is here.
0:01:18 > 0:01:25Nick, what can you tell us?
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Kelvin Hopkins, a 76-year-old former shadow minister has been suspended
0:01:27 > 0:01:31from the Labour Party and that means the whip is suspended from him after
0:01:31 > 0:01:41an incident that took place in 2014 with a young Labour activist and he
0:01:41 > 0:01:45was addressing the Labour society at Essex University and it is alleged
0:01:45 > 0:01:52that he sent a text after saying, if only I was 40 years younger and this
0:01:52 > 0:01:58why he has been suspended, he then allegedly rubbed himself against
0:01:58 > 0:02:05her.By the event in the Daily Telegraph the woman reported it to
0:02:05 > 0:02:09the whip's office twice before he was made a Shadow Cabinet minister.
0:02:09 > 0:02:16So if that is to be believed, then the whips knew about this.Also Eva
0:02:16 > 0:02:26reported it in December 2015 in June Hopkins was appointed to the Shadow
0:02:26 > 0:02:34Cabinet. But he had been reprimanded by the office and the leader knew.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38The report to the leader's office was yes, he has been reprimanded,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42but the matter had been settled and the only information they knew at
0:02:42 > 0:02:50that stage was that he sent this text saying if only I was 40 years
0:02:50 > 0:02:56younger. It was only today that the further information came that he
0:02:56 > 0:03:03sent a text saying he wanted to meet outside the formal Essex University
0:03:03 > 0:03:08event and crucially only today that the information came through of this
0:03:08 > 0:03:13very serious sexual harassment, a sexual assault, that he had rubbed
0:03:13 > 0:03:18himself against her and that is why the Labour acted immediately.It is
0:03:18 > 0:03:22only after that Daily Telegraph produced that story that we have had
0:03:22 > 0:03:26that response from the Labour Party. So they're having to be made to
0:03:26 > 0:03:33react rather than being proactive. In the Sun there is more on Michael
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Fallon that may give a clue to his demise. We have a story about his
0:03:37 > 0:03:43behaviour.This is reporting and this may well explain why he
0:03:43 > 0:03:53resigned so quickly, that he is alleged to have told Andrea
0:03:53 > 0:03:58leadsome, his cabinet colleague, who complained of cold hands, he said, I
0:03:58 > 0:04:03know a warm place to put them. That is deeply inappropriate and that may
0:04:03 > 0:04:10well explain why he resigned so quickly. But there are allegations
0:04:10 > 0:04:16that there are serial examples of wholly inappropriate behaviour by
0:04:16 > 0:04:21Sir Michael Fallon.Those allegations would have gone to the
0:04:21 > 0:04:25Chief Whip's office, the Chief Whip is no I the Defence Secretary. You
0:04:25 > 0:04:32can look at two ways, he is a close ally of Theresa May, or she didn't
0:04:32 > 0:04:37act with Elan to produce a woman for that office.She likes to promote
0:04:37 > 0:04:42people she trusts. But there is fury that Gavin Williamson has been made
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Defence Secretary, because he was involved in the conversation with
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Michael Fallon, saying, is there anything more. The answer meant he
0:04:50 > 0:04:54resigned from the cabinet. Now Downing Street are saying that Gavin
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Williamson wasn't then involved in the next level of conversation,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00which is who should be our new Defence Secretary. But that is not
0:05:00 > 0:05:06how it has been seen. I have been in touch with somebody who worked close
0:05:06 > 0:05:12with Theresa May in the past and said many say this is the biggest
0:05:12 > 0:05:18and probably last mistake, that Gavin Williamson and his deputy
0:05:18 > 0:05:24Julia Smith are seen as parasites feeding off her weakness and using
0:05:24 > 0:05:28it to advance themselves. I have been looking at these issues and you
0:05:28 > 0:05:32see how angry Theresa May is, she is has been campaigning to change the
0:05:32 > 0:05:38culture at Westminster and now this is really sort of posing a challenge
0:05:38 > 0:05:46to her premiership.The dark clouds of an unlucky premiership are
0:05:46 > 0:05:51hovering over Theresa May. There is the feel of a Prime Minister
0:05:51 > 0:05:56struggling at times to control events. The Prime Minister has lost
0:05:56 > 0:06:00her Defence Secretary after he admitted that his behaviour had
0:06:00 > 0:06:06fallen short of the high standards expect of the armed forces. Theresa
0:06:06 > 0:06:14May has campaigned for decades to change the habits of male-Dom named
0:06:14 > 0:06:19world of -- male-dominated world of Westminster.Domestic violence is
0:06:19 > 0:06:24appalling. Many women were made to feel like they were making mountains
0:06:24 > 0:06:31out of mole hills.In a cruel twist the unravelling of this culture is
0:06:31 > 0:06:36now challenging her leadership.It is like a Greek tragedy what Theresa
0:06:36 > 0:06:41May's legacy will be. Nobody doubts that Theresa May hates this culture
0:06:41 > 0:06:46that she is having to wrangle with. Nobody would deny that. But the fact
0:06:46 > 0:06:53of the matter is she is too weak amongst her own people to be able to
0:06:53 > 0:07:00dole out the punishments I'm certain she would wants to.Traichl Theresa
0:07:00 > 0:07:06May is so week she embarked on a minimal reshuffle. But it left a
0:07:06 > 0:07:14sour taste and one said it has the intrigue of the house of cards with
0:07:14 > 0:07:28the surreal element of the Rick Mayall commend. Comedy.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Other Tories dismiss the febrile atmosphere at Westminster and say it
0:07:34 > 0:07:39is wrong to suggest that the Prime Minister is being weakened by the
0:07:39 > 0:07:43unmasking of a culture she has campaigned to reform.I'm astonished
0:07:43 > 0:07:48by this sort of narrative. She, it has been something she has been
0:07:48 > 0:07:53passionate about, all the equality issues, gender issues when people in
0:07:53 > 0:07:59the Conservative Party didn't talk about it, didn't care, and I am, I
0:07:59 > 0:08:09don't, I'm mystified by how somebody with such integrity has the
0:08:09 > 0:08:12narrative has built up that it is her fault. But some of goes back
0:08:12 > 0:08:17many years and will be very hard to prove. We have got to investigate
0:08:17 > 0:08:21the serious stuff and I'm sure she would be the first to say this and
0:08:21 > 0:08:25then draw a line, move on and sort the stuff out.The Prime Minister
0:08:25 > 0:08:30has led the way on this. She was clear about it on Monday. In the
0:08:30 > 0:08:35statement she was clear at Prime Minister's question and she has made
0:08:35 > 0:08:40it clear to the cabinet and said if you believe you don't meet the
0:08:40 > 0:08:44standard that is to be tolerated, then you have to think about your
0:08:44 > 0:08:50position. And to that extents, Michael Fallon realised he would not
0:08:50 > 0:08:55cross the bar she had set. That is down to her leadership and saying,
0:08:55 > 0:09:02we have to take this seriously and lead. It is not just about the
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Conservative Party, but the Labour Party they have something facing
0:09:06 > 0:09:12potential rape charges which is very serious.Theresa May is going on,
0:09:12 > 0:09:17but after her inner circle was wiped out in the general election, she
0:09:17 > 0:09:23will hope events don't conspire to make her an even more ice lapted
0:09:23 > 0:09:31figure. -- isolated figure.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32Our Political Editor Nick Watt.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34Well now to chew over the latest allegations
0:09:34 > 0:09:37from Westminster I'm joined by the LBC Presenter Iain Dale
0:09:37 > 0:09:39and the former aide to the Deputy Prime Minister,
0:09:39 > 0:09:44Polly Mackenzie.
0:09:44 > 0:09:50We heard Jess Philips saying it is a Greek tragedy. Wech is falling to
0:09:50 > 0:09:55bits.We have been here in the 90s with back to basics with a weak
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Prime Minister and day after day revelations about affairs and all
0:09:59 > 0:10:02sorts of things in Parliament. Everyone thought everybody in
0:10:02 > 0:10:08Parliament was having an affair. This is slightly different, sexual
0:10:08 > 0:10:16what racksment. Harassment.This is a plague on all their houses.No one
0:10:16 > 0:10:22has escaped. No party escapes, it is in the Lord's and the Commons and
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Theresa May has missed a an opportunity to put a new broom
0:10:27 > 0:10:35behind cleaning this out.Now the Gavan Williamson, it is because she
0:10:35 > 0:10:41is weak that Theresa May can't move to make a bolder move. But she wants
0:10:41 > 0:10:47to keep Gavin Williamson close.It is a bold move to put somebody from
0:10:47 > 0:10:53out side the cabinet there.Is it a sign of weakness.She is not weaker
0:10:53 > 0:10:58than she was yesterday.Which was weak.She is not in a great
0:10:58 > 0:11:06position. Gordon Brown put Jacqui Smith to Home Secretary, Margaret
0:11:06 > 0:11:14Thatcher did it with Cecil Parkinson.But not in this crisis.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18The whip's office have been part of problem, they covered up the
0:11:18 > 0:11:26problem. Where did this spread sheet come from.Gavin Williamson as
0:11:26 > 0:11:31Defence Secretary may well know about other examples of, we just
0:11:31 > 0:11:35don't know, of other bad behaviour that will come back to bite the
0:11:35 > 0:11:40cabinet.I think the reshuffle is a separate issue. What this story and
0:11:40 > 0:11:46it is across all parties, I don't think anyone should try to gain
0:11:46 > 0:11:50political capital, the complaints system does not work. People take to
0:11:50 > 0:12:01it the whips and it doesn't get used. The whips office this to
0:12:01 > 0:12:06control MPs.What people are shocked to know is that actually there has
0:12:06 > 0:12:12been a real culture of sexual misbehaviour and it is not about
0:12:12 > 0:12:18sex, but about power.Yes, Westminster is still male-dominated,
0:12:18 > 0:12:27it is older men in senior position, junior women and men... They felt
0:12:27 > 0:12:32uncomfortable and the men saying, I had no idea.It is not only talking
0:12:32 > 0:12:41of Theresa May and you can juxtapose with what Theresa May has done with
0:12:41 > 0:12:48what Ruth Davidson said about cleaning the stable. Here we have a
0:12:48 > 0:12:55situation where Jeremy Corbyn's own office of whips is also possibly
0:12:55 > 0:13:00compromised.It shows you that the system doesn't work and I have
0:13:00 > 0:13:05spoken with people in the whips office, around Parliament still, the
0:13:05 > 0:13:11issue here and there has to be a full inquiry. What I would like the
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Labour Party to do is to appoint somebody independent to come in and
0:13:15 > 0:13:20look at the situation.Let's look at the leadership on this. We don't
0:13:20 > 0:13:25know what is going on behind the scenes, but I do not know that
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Jeremy Corbyn has been out being condemning people in the last
0:13:29 > 0:13:3448-hours.I couldn't agree more. There are two problems. One is
0:13:34 > 0:13:37sexual abuse by a small number of people and a wider culture of
0:13:37 > 0:13:45secrecy and cover ups. I would like to see everybody who has made a
0:13:45 > 0:13:49complaint make a subject request to find out what records they have been
0:13:49 > 0:13:55keeping. They say they don't know. How do you have these complaints
0:13:55 > 0:14:00against Kelvin Hopkins and then the same, how could there be such a
0:14:00 > 0:14:07position where the woman who makes the complaints watches him walk into
0:14:07 > 0:14:11the Shadow Cabinet.He is an MP and she is not.The issue is curl churl
0:14:11 > 0:14:17of the -- cultural. It is women not coming forward and young men, they
0:14:17 > 0:14:21don't want their names splashed across the newspaper. There is no
0:14:21 > 0:14:25confidential way to report this and it is the power thing. A lot of
0:14:25 > 0:14:33people are scared.Power does not create Monday stores, power --
0:14:33 > 0:14:36monsters, it reveals monsters. That was said in house of cards. The
0:14:36 > 0:14:40problem is the whips, because the job of the whips is to get
0:14:40 > 0:14:46legislation through the House of Commons or stop it going through.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52Anything else is of secondary importance. There was a story
0:14:52 > 0:14:57condemning the 1922 committee for blocking David Cameron's attempts to
0:14:57 > 0:15:01give the whips power to sort this out, because they knew they would
0:15:01 > 0:15:08cover it up.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13The problem is a male MP's being sleazy and abusing power.Everyone
0:15:13 > 0:15:17thinking it's more useful to keep those things in a draw and use them
0:15:17 > 0:15:22as blackmail rather than sorting things out.Going back to the
0:15:22 > 0:15:25appointment of the new Defence Secretary, what would have been the
0:15:25 > 0:15:29ball thing that Theresa May could have done without the appointment?
0:15:29 > 0:15:35She should have an appointed and a woman, the first female...Why
0:15:35 > 0:15:40should she have done that? Just as a statement?Because an opportunity
0:15:40 > 0:15:45was there to put a woman into a job that men have historically done, an
0:15:45 > 0:15:48opportunity to say that she is bringing a new broom to appointments
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and dealing with sexual harassment by putting in somebody who doesn't
0:15:52 > 0:15:56have a history of doing it.And Milton would have been a popular
0:15:56 > 0:16:02choice to be Chief Whip, she is experienced, people say she has had
0:16:02 > 0:16:06good experience of the grievance procedure as well so she might have
0:16:06 > 0:16:13signalled a fresh start.Estimate he is deputy Chief Whip...Theresa
0:16:13 > 0:16:21May....When I saw her go into Downing Street eyes and dues either
0:16:21 > 0:16:26going to be Chief Whip or the new chairman of the Conservative Party,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29why Theresa May did not take the opportunity to have a new party
0:16:29 > 0:16:32chairman I do not know because everyone knows Patrick McLoughlin
0:16:32 > 0:16:37wants to step down.How damaging is it to the whole prosecution of
0:16:37 > 0:16:42politics in this country that we are having a slow drip of even more
0:16:42 > 0:16:46egregious and there are other things, the other night, John Mann
0:16:46 > 0:16:51said a Newsnight he knew of a rape at when spinster -- at Westminster,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55but he did not name names, but he would not be saying that unless he
0:16:55 > 0:17:00had a pretty good idea. So we know more is to come and how damaging is
0:17:00 > 0:17:04that to the standing of politicians who are standing is already damaged
0:17:04 > 0:17:12thanks to the expensive -- expenses scandal and so forth?All of my
0:17:12 > 0:17:15friends say to me you must be so relieved you never got into
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Parliament, when I told my mother I was not standing again she cheered.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24What a terrible thing, she ought to want her son to go into Parliament.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30I am glad I never became an MP.Do you still want to go into
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Parliament? Not particularly, not right now, but I don't think this is
0:17:33 > 0:17:39the issue.About hope politicians feel about their reputation. This is
0:17:39 > 0:17:43about victims. Watching us squabbling about who is up and who's
0:17:43 > 0:17:47down in the reshuffle is not the issue. The issue is people of all
0:17:47 > 0:17:50parties who feel they have been treated badly need to feel that they
0:17:50 > 0:17:57can come forward and talk about this and be believed and not victimised
0:17:57 > 0:18:01or which handed.Thank you all very much indeed.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03It hasn't happened in more than a decade, but there are no
0:18:03 > 0:18:04fanfares or fireworks.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06The Bank of England raised interest rates today -
0:18:06 > 0:18:08signalling a change in the economic weather.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13Is this a big moment, or time for a bit of shoulder shrugging?
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Why has the Monetary Committee done it?
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Is it because things getting out of hand and we need
0:18:18 > 0:18:19to tighten up a bit?
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Well, consumers are showing a prodigious appetite for credit,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23creating a growing pile of personal debt.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Money's been very cheap for a long time.
0:18:25 > 0:18:26But are they borrowing because they're trying
0:18:26 > 0:18:29to cope with 3% inflation and near stagnant wages?
0:18:29 > 0:18:32If so, then they're going to get a shock, because mortgages and other
0:18:32 > 0:18:34repayments are going to rise and inflation is not expected
0:18:34 > 0:18:35to fall any time soon.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38As for saving, it's unlikely that a 0.25% interest rate increase
0:18:38 > 0:18:41is going to turn us into a nation of savers - something that seems
0:18:41 > 0:18:43part of a dim and distant past.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Our Business Editor, Helen Thomas, has been trying to make sense
0:18:46 > 0:18:50of the Bank of England's move.
0:18:53 > 0:18:59Economic predictions or your average weather forecast? It is hard to see
0:18:59 > 0:19:05which engenders less faith. The first rise in interest rates in over
0:19:05 > 0:19:09ten years, it's not done too much to clear things up. Usually a rate rise
0:19:09 > 0:19:17would reflect strength, recovery, robust growth and confidence. This
0:19:17 > 0:19:22time, the economic weather feels a little different. So why is the bank
0:19:22 > 0:19:27acting now? The obvious and Sir is inflation, at 3% it is well above
0:19:27 > 0:19:34the bank 's 2% target. But most people agree that a temporary
0:19:34 > 0:19:38problem, related to a fall in the pound. It should start to fix
0:19:38 > 0:19:42itself. The Bank of England governor conceded the outlook is unusually
0:19:42 > 0:19:47uncertain thanks in part to Brexit bust up still, he said, it was time
0:19:47 > 0:19:56to move.In many respects today's decision is straight forward. With
0:19:56 > 0:19:59the economy growing and rates above its speed limit inflation is
0:19:59 > 0:20:03unlikely to return to the 2% target without some increase in interest
0:20:03 > 0:20:09rates.Once upon a time the Bank of England's key interest rate moved up
0:20:09 > 0:20:13and down with the UK economic fortunes. Higher interest rates
0:20:13 > 0:20:18turned the economic heat down. Increasing the cost of borrowing and
0:20:18 > 0:20:21reducing spending. These are the last four periods the bank of
0:20:21 > 0:20:25England was raising rates, quarterly economic growth in the year before
0:20:25 > 0:20:33the first height averaged 0.4%. Now quarterly growth has been averaging
0:20:33 > 0:20:40about 0.4%. Even more unusual, this rate hike comes as real wages have
0:20:40 > 0:20:45been falling. That is wage growth adjusted for inflation.I think they
0:20:45 > 0:20:49made a mistake. I think at best the decision to raise rates today was
0:20:49 > 0:20:54premature and at worst could be reckless. The risk is if you raise
0:20:54 > 0:20:57rates against the backdrop of economic weakness it tends to
0:20:57 > 0:21:00frighten the horses are little and what you may see is consumers who
0:21:00 > 0:21:05are already running with very high levels of debt against a backdrop of
0:21:05 > 0:21:09pretty tough financial conditions choose to build their savings of
0:21:09 > 0:21:12little bit more than the Bank of England would like an precipitate
0:21:12 > 0:21:17something of a steep slowdown than we are already seeing.So this
0:21:17 > 0:21:20wasn't a normal rate hike but as Mark Carney said we do not live in
0:21:20 > 0:21:26normal times. A decade of interest at virtually zero is certainly
0:21:26 > 0:21:29extraordinary and for some the central bank had to at least start
0:21:29 > 0:21:33the journey back to more conventional levels.Ultra low
0:21:33 > 0:21:37interest rates have costs as well as benefits and if you are in a
0:21:37 > 0:21:41position where interest rates are expected to remain near zero for the
0:21:41 > 0:21:45foreseeable it creates all sorts of distortions, misallocation is of
0:21:45 > 0:21:48resources and so on. If you can get interest rates back to mourn over
0:21:48 > 0:21:52levels then you have a margin to cut again if you need to. For example if
0:21:52 > 0:21:56the Brexit those Asians go badly the Bank of England will have more scope
0:21:56 > 0:22:01to cut rates in future done if it did not raise them today at all. --
0:22:01 > 0:22:06of the Brexit negotiations go badly. This only takes rates backs to where
0:22:06 > 0:22:11they were in the summer of 2016, before the post-referendum cut.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Still it all came with a gloomy outlook. In the banks view, the
0:22:16 > 0:22:21economy has hit its limit, the economic climate now is about as
0:22:21 > 0:22:28good as it's going to get. That's in part because productivity, a big
0:22:28 > 0:22:32determinant of economic potential, has flat lined since the financial
0:22:32 > 0:22:35crisis.The Bank of England are taking a conservative view about the
0:22:35 > 0:22:40UK's potential supply growth, they have seen growth around one and a
0:22:40 > 0:22:45half percent as being the long-term position. I think what is important,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49what businesses want to see is the right environment to invest and that
0:22:49 > 0:22:52we are investing in our skills and education and infrastructure and I
0:22:52 > 0:22:56think that is why actually what the business media wants is more action
0:22:56 > 0:23:03by Philip Hammond than Mark Carney and all eyes will be on the budget
0:23:03 > 0:23:11later this month.It's official, interest rates are rising again. But
0:23:11 > 0:23:12so is the pressure.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Well, what should we make of today's move?
0:23:17 > 0:23:18And is there anything in the American experience
0:23:18 > 0:23:20we should learn from - where rates have already
0:23:20 > 0:23:22been rising for a while?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24I'm joined from New York by Gillian Tett of the Financial
0:23:24 > 0:23:30Times and from Florida by Professor David Blanchflower,
0:23:32 > 0:23:37Looking at this side of the pond, inflation rise and an implement low,
0:23:37 > 0:23:45was this the right time to move, are we heading for more normal times?I
0:23:45 > 0:23:49am in the camp of people who think it was the right time to move and we
0:23:49 > 0:23:52have had extraordinarily abnormal times for the best part of the last
0:23:52 > 0:23:56decade. The ultralow interest rates were introduced initially as an
0:23:56 > 0:24:02emergency response after the financial crisis. That was a long
0:24:02 > 0:24:06time ago. I personally think getting back to a more normal world is
0:24:06 > 0:24:09healthy and it is something America has been doing now for 18 months,
0:24:09 > 0:24:17over 18 months. So far the markets have absorbed it fairly calmly.Are
0:24:17 > 0:24:21we now just going to accept in this country at least that growth is
0:24:21 > 0:24:26sluggish, growth is reasonably sluggish in the States, there is an
0:24:26 > 0:24:32acceptance that that indeed is the norm, that even in that position you
0:24:32 > 0:24:34raise interest rates and it looks like America will raise them next
0:24:34 > 0:24:41month even though growth is not that strong.Essentially what the central
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Bank of America is trying to do is exactly what Mark Carney is trying
0:24:44 > 0:24:47to do, it's like the pilot of an aeroplane trying to lose altitude
0:24:47 > 0:24:54very slowly over a long period of time. They are trying to return
0:24:54 > 0:24:58slowly to a more normal world without anybody noticing. Let's keep
0:24:58 > 0:25:03this in perspective, it's not exactly a dramatic rise. The rate
0:25:03 > 0:25:08rise we have seen in the US have not been dramatic either. But it's a
0:25:08 > 0:25:12sign the central bank is moving into a slightly more normal world and as
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Helen says, they are creating a reserve firepower for themselves to
0:25:16 > 0:25:20use if there is another crisis. Let's talk about that reserve
0:25:20 > 0:25:28firepower. We are joined by the former member of the Bank of England
0:25:28 > 0:25:30monetary policy committee David Blanchflower, is it necessary to
0:25:30 > 0:25:36create firepower or will it create firepower?No. I don't normally
0:25:36 > 0:25:41disagree with my friend Gillian, but I'm afraid this looks to be a big
0:25:41 > 0:25:46mistake to me. The way you create firepower is not to create a
0:25:46 > 0:25:50recession yourself. People want to raise rates so when a recession
0:25:50 > 0:25:55comes you can cut rates. This looks like an enormous mistake. There is
0:25:55 > 0:26:00nothing in the data whatsoever to sustain it. It looks to me like the
0:26:00 > 0:26:06rate rise which was done in July 2007 that I actually voted against.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10It was returned a few months later and then we went into recession. I
0:26:10 > 0:26:15think this is a huge mistake. The reality is there is absolutely no
0:26:15 > 0:26:20data that says you should do it now. With the uncertainty over Brexit,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23the uncertainty over the fiscal position of the government this
0:26:23 > 0:26:31looks like a big mistake.Not only do you have sterling on the floor,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34the uncertainty of Brexit, in the states you have a president who says
0:26:34 > 0:26:39he's going to cut taxes and simplify taxes would perhaps leads to more
0:26:39 > 0:26:42optimism but you don't necessarily have that coming out of Philip
0:26:42 > 0:26:49Hammond's briefcase.Right. What you have in the US is talk about the
0:26:49 > 0:26:55huge fiscal cut, huge stimulus going into the economy which is pushing
0:26:55 > 0:26:59up, growth is double what it is in the UK, real wages have risen in the
0:26:59 > 0:27:04US over the last for five years and they are down, be aware of the US is
0:27:04 > 0:27:09the slowest growing economy in Europe, growth is going to slow on
0:27:09 > 0:27:13any measure this looks disastrous. Real wages are down and there would
0:27:13 > 0:27:16you are going to do is raise the cost of borrowing to people not only
0:27:16 > 0:27:22to homeowners but firms who are going to cut their dividends. This
0:27:22 > 0:27:29looks like a huge mistake.Gillian, on the basis of the 0.25% increase
0:27:29 > 0:27:32your not going to have consumers jumping up and down and saying we
0:27:32 > 0:27:37are going to save because the debt mountain is growing so much we will
0:27:37 > 0:27:41have an increased tomorrow in mortgage rates and the APR and
0:27:41 > 0:27:49credit card will go sky-high? Kill mac not exactly sky-high, let's keep
0:27:49 > 0:27:54this in perspective. The question I would put to Daniel is what you make
0:27:54 > 0:27:59of things growing sharply in the UK, does that not concern you? How do
0:27:59 > 0:28:01you make sure consumers do not take a huge amount of credit David
0:28:01 > 0:28:11Blanchflower?You can deal with that, the FPC can deal with, the
0:28:11 > 0:28:14likelihood is retail sales are falling, they are about to plummet
0:28:14 > 0:28:17as people realise they should not have been saving so that will fix
0:28:17 > 0:28:23it. We have already seen that. This will make it much worse, it will
0:28:23 > 0:28:27lower output. That seems a really crazy way, you will force yourself
0:28:27 > 0:28:31into a recession. Yes it's a small mistake but it's better than making
0:28:31 > 0:28:36a big mistake. But I would rather not mistake at all. Yes credit is
0:28:36 > 0:28:39rising, it's been a surprise to the central bank but pretty dancing
0:28:39 > 0:28:45that. Because people's real wages are falling.So what you are arguing
0:28:45 > 0:28:49is you would like to create more of a consumer credit bubble even as the
0:28:49 > 0:28:54underlying fundamentals in the UK are not so healthy? That is simply
0:28:54 > 0:29:00eating your jam today and creaking more problems in the future?Well I
0:29:00 > 0:29:05mean the economy is being held together by the stimulus from the
0:29:05 > 0:29:08central bank. If you want to deal with the credit problems deal with
0:29:08 > 0:29:13that through credit restrictions or whatever but think about the streets
0:29:13 > 0:29:17of Hartlepool, Blackpool, Wakefield, do you think there is a credit boom
0:29:17 > 0:29:22going on? I don't think so. People are struggling, why do you think in
0:29:22 > 0:29:26those places people voted for Brexit? Not because there was a boom
0:29:26 > 0:29:32going on and they were doing great. That's not true. The economy is
0:29:32 > 0:29:35basically flat, there is some credit going on, people have been spending
0:29:35 > 0:29:39more than they should but the economy is hurting.Thank you both
0:29:39 > 0:29:40very much indeed.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Never before in the history of the EU have a group of elected
0:29:48 > 0:29:50members of any government - regional or national -
0:29:50 > 0:29:53been clapped in jail without trial, but a Spanish High Court judge has
0:29:53 > 0:29:55imprisoned eight members of the former Government
0:29:55 > 0:29:57of Catalonia, believing them to be a flight risk.
0:29:57 > 0:29:58The precedent being the former leader
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Carlos Puigdement and four members of his sacked Cabinet
0:30:00 > 0:30:01who are in Belgium.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05It looks as though a judge is about to issue a European arrest
0:30:05 > 0:30:07warrant for their return after they failed to appear in court
0:30:07 > 0:30:09in Madrid today to answer charges of rebellion,
0:30:09 > 0:30:18sedition and misuse of public funds.
0:30:18 > 0:30:26Today they were protests against the arrests in Barcelona. But Catalans
0:30:26 > 0:30:28are divided.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Catalans are divided over whether Puigdemont acted
0:30:30 > 0:30:32precipitously in leaving so what will he do next
0:30:32 > 0:30:35and how will his EU hosts, Belgium, respond to the warrant?
0:30:35 > 0:30:37Joining me from Brussels is Mark Demesmaeker
0:30:37 > 0:30:41from the Flemish nationalist party, the New Flemish Alliance.
0:30:41 > 0:30:52Good evening.Good evening.Tell me, what do you think Carles Puigdemont
0:30:52 > 0:30:57and his four colleagues should do - should they return to Spain if the
0:30:57 > 0:31:03arrest warrant is issued?It is not for me to tell what they should do.
0:31:03 > 0:31:09I understand why they're in Belgium, they're here to denounce this
0:31:09 > 0:31:17political trial... In front of the international community. They have
0:31:17 > 0:31:21used their rights as a European citizen to travel to Belgium and to
0:31:21 > 0:31:28stay here.But of course, because they did that, of course the others
0:31:28 > 0:31:32in Spain are being detained as a flight risk, what do you make of the
0:31:32 > 0:31:38arrests?It's not because of that, but what we have seen in Spain the
0:31:38 > 0:31:44last few weeks is outrageous. It is a shock for every democrat in the
0:31:44 > 0:31:53EU, it is a shock. This is obviously a political trial. Jailing,
0:31:53 > 0:31:58imprisoning elected members of a government is unprecedented, it is
0:31:58 > 0:32:04disturbing and unacceptable in the EU. That is my reaction.It looks as
0:32:04 > 0:32:08if there is going to be a European arrest warrant and Spain are going
0:32:08 > 0:32:13to ask for the extradition of Carles Puigdemont and the four others,
0:32:13 > 0:32:19perhaps as early as tomorrow. Do you think Belgium should comply with
0:32:19 > 0:32:25that as an EU member?Well this is something for the judge in Belgium
0:32:25 > 0:32:30to decide, politics doesn't interfere with this. So there is a
0:32:30 > 0:32:37procedure for that. It can take a while. And as I have understood,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Carles Puigdemont has a got Flemish lawyer who can assist him through
0:32:41 > 0:32:51this. But it is up to the judge to decide. So I have good faith in the
0:32:51 > 0:33:01Belgium judicial system. Which cannot be said of Spanish highly
0:33:01 > 0:33:06politicised system.So it is likely the judge will comply with it in
0:33:06 > 0:33:14Belgium?I can't decide on that... Would you be campaigning against the
0:33:14 > 0:33:19extradition and throwing your weight, you are, your party is part
0:33:19 > 0:33:23of coalition government, do you feel, would your party's position be
0:33:23 > 0:33:28that Carles Puigdemont should be extradited, should be returned,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32after all what he did was unconstitutional under Spanish law?
0:33:32 > 0:33:37Again this is not nor a political party or the Government to comment
0:33:37 > 0:33:44on. It is a matter for the judge to decide. There is a procedure and
0:33:44 > 0:33:49will follow it. What we have seen in other cases is after first hearing
0:33:49 > 0:34:02the defendant... Was released. And certainly when there is no... There
0:34:02 > 0:34:04is no terrorist allegation or something like that, which is not
0:34:04 > 0:34:08the case here, but we will see. It is up to the judge to decide. Do you
0:34:08 > 0:34:13think we should have heard more from Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU
0:34:13 > 0:34:18should have weighed in on this? Yes of course the EU is silent and this
0:34:18 > 0:34:24is a disgrace. It is a shame for the whole of the EU. The EU should not
0:34:24 > 0:34:31stick its head in the sand any more and should speak up. This is about a
0:34:31 > 0:34:38fundamental democratic values which are at stake. If the EU fails to
0:34:38 > 0:34:42defend our rights as citizens and democratic values, then our
0:34:42 > 0:34:47democracies will crumble and... Thank you very much I'm afraid I
0:34:47 > 0:34:51have to stop you there.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54The DJ and producer Goldie is considered one of the pioneers
0:34:54 > 0:34:56of dance music in this country.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Now 52, he winningly describes himself as 'the Doris Stokes of Drum
0:34:58 > 0:34:59'n' Bass'.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01He says it's because he likes to channel
0:35:01 > 0:35:04the spirits of his favourite musicians into his own records.
0:35:04 > 0:35:05In his new memoir, 'All Things Remembered',
0:35:05 > 0:35:08Goldie recounts his progress from care homes and fosters parents
0:35:08 > 0:35:10to life on the streets as a graffiti artist -
0:35:10 > 0:35:13to the nation's embrace with roles in James Bond and 'Strictly'.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15Goldie's been talking to our Culture Correspondent, Stephen Smith.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Beware some flashing lights in the film which,
0:35:17 > 0:35:23of course, befits the star.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Goldie, it's very nice to see you again, thanks for coming
0:35:25 > 0:35:27to talk to us on Newsnight.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30Yeah, I love your office!
0:35:30 > 0:35:33Producer, DJ, actor, reality TV veteran -
0:35:33 > 0:35:38Goldie's used to having his name up in lights, but in
0:35:38 > 0:35:41the beginning it was about seeing his name up in paint.
0:35:41 > 0:35:47Does graffiti still excite him?
0:35:47 > 0:35:49If we were to erase, let's erase graffiti.
0:35:49 > 0:35:56Let's erase it from the face of the earth.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Some people will applaud it, "Great stuff".
0:35:58 > 0:36:01It's going to be a very grey journey on the way to work.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04But some people would say it's very kind of solipsistic - you
0:36:04 > 0:36:06put your tag up, you don't necessarily put, you know, "end
0:36:06 > 0:36:08poverty," although some people do.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Some people may think it's all part of this kind of narcissistic culture
0:36:11 > 0:36:15we are in.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17I think the difference is that that's a social
0:36:17 > 0:36:21media, which is a finger at the end of a button - people liking and
0:36:21 > 0:36:25social media and emojis and everything else.
0:36:25 > 0:36:26People physically making an effort to go
0:36:26 > 0:36:28and paint something physically and go through the physical
0:36:28 > 0:36:34process is very primal.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Spaces like this - youth clubs, opportunities for the
0:36:38 > 0:36:42young, are vital, says Goldie.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44If we don't have that backdrop, if we
0:36:44 > 0:36:46don't have certain places for young people to express themselves, it
0:36:46 > 0:36:48will only be a boiling point.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50You look at the effects of what grime
0:36:50 > 0:36:55music has done.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58There's a place for young people within this grime thing
0:36:58 > 0:37:02to have their own voice, which has become the voice of UK all of a
0:37:02 > 0:37:06sudden, because of influx of different urban people.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10Goldie backs the Mayor of London's plans to
0:37:10 > 0:37:12invest £400,000 in regeneration projects to benefit young people
0:37:12 > 0:37:14among others.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18I had a meeting with Sadiq three months ago.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21And I saw the cultural plan, which a lot of
0:37:21 > 0:37:25people conservatively are against.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27"Why are we giving these kids somewhere to paint?
0:37:27 > 0:37:29Why are we giving them somewhere to do music?
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Because music's not going to run the Government."
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Well you haven't done a very good job of it so far, have you?
0:37:34 > 0:37:39It's time to change the way we look at it.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42Even if you're not an aficionado of drum and bass, you may
0:37:42 > 0:37:45know Goldie from his appearances on reality shows like Maestro and
0:37:45 > 0:37:50Strictly Come Dancing.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53He even played a baddie in a James Bond film.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57I see you later, Mr Bond.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59So you put your money where your mouth is.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02If it all goes wrong tomorrow, at least I'll stay in James Bond
0:38:02 > 0:38:04every Christmas for the next how many years.
0:38:04 > 0:38:05You know what I mean?
0:38:05 > 0:38:09That is in itself a great experience.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12He has come a long way from his childhood in care.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14I was saved by social workers.
0:38:14 > 0:38:15Underpaid.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Long hours.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22I think the care system for me, it was a really important
0:38:22 > 0:38:25place they learned about other cultures.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Knowing that the colour of my skin is what it is - what am I?
0:38:28 > 0:38:29Who am I?
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Trying to find identity was really important.
0:38:31 > 0:38:36I think those halfway houses have become very
0:38:36 > 0:38:39sterile and the aspect of red tape now, well you can't call them Aunts
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and Uncles, because they aren't related.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44I didn't mind calling them Auntie and Uncle, because it gave me
0:38:44 > 0:38:44a sense of family.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47And I think the people that write the rules of all
0:38:47 > 0:38:53that stuff forget they were young.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58One phrase in particular that really leapt out at me from your book,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01given what's happened this year, is where you say, "God forbid we'll
0:39:01 > 0:39:03have to be on fire before we make the
0:39:03 > 0:39:09right change in the housing situation.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11And stop making rabbit burrows full of speed bumps and
0:39:11 > 0:39:13bollards to stop everyone getting out of there."
0:39:13 > 0:39:18You can't read that after Grenfell without...
0:39:18 > 0:39:19Making a connection.
0:39:19 > 0:39:20Totally.
0:39:20 > 0:39:29What can you say about that?
0:39:29 > 0:39:30You know, you're stacking these people
0:39:30 > 0:39:33on the edge of a Borough that's 20 times richer than it.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37We're looking at the short-term, aren't we?
0:39:37 > 0:39:41In society, we are tapping into not even 3% of what we
0:39:41 > 0:39:43should be doing for tomorrow's children and I have said what
0:39:43 > 0:39:45we do today creates tomorrow.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50And what was done in those days, when
0:39:50 > 0:39:53you look at Grenfell and that situation, the atrocity it has
0:39:53 > 0:39:56caused, the heartache, people will never recover from that - young
0:39:56 > 0:39:58people in that situation will never recover.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03They will need mental help and help for a very long time.
0:40:03 > 0:40:04Those estates, those places, the youth
0:40:04 > 0:40:14clubs, the organisations around it, are important.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18Now in his 50s, Goldie's living in Thailand with his
0:40:18 > 0:40:21young family.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24He has released an album this year and his new memoir
0:40:24 > 0:40:27is the work of a man who says he counts his blessings.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Whisper it, but Goldie may be mellowing.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Yes, it has been hard and there's always
0:40:33 > 0:40:35going to be challenges - I was challenged yesterday.
0:40:35 > 0:40:36We're always going to be challenged.
0:40:36 > 0:40:44You were challenged to a fight, effectively?
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Yeah, effectively challenged to a fight by a teenager who was
0:40:46 > 0:40:47angry, barges past you.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48I get it.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52You're an angry young man, but you know what, have a nice day.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Because an older version of me was, A, that
0:40:54 > 0:40:56kid and, B, I've got a choice here.
0:40:56 > 0:40:57I'm on my way to yoga.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59Imagine that headline - "Goldie fights with
0:40:59 > 0:41:0119-year-old on way to yoga.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03Goldie dies in knife fight on way to yoga!"
0:41:03 > 0:41:08Either way, that's not going to look right.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11Bite your tongue, getting your head down and realising I had a
0:41:11 > 0:41:13choice and going to yoga.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15When I came out of that yoga session, I
0:41:15 > 0:41:25felt like that's a beautiful day I've just had.
0:41:26 > 0:41:34Tomorrow's front-pages, two on the sleaze story. And the Fallon story,
0:41:34 > 0:41:40one says, I was a victim of Fallon. The leader of the Commons complained
0:41:40 > 0:41:45to Theresa May about vile language used by Sir Michael and also that he
0:41:45 > 0:41:52was tactile and put his arms around her in unwanted attention and made
0:41:52 > 0:42:00comments of a sexual nature. The Guardian has more on Williamson's
0:42:00 > 0:42:06promotion. That that is all we have time for have a good evening. Good
0:42:06 > 0:42:09night.