Browse content similar to 02/01/2018. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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She thinks she'll still be in charge
at the end of the year... | 0:00:05 | 0:00:09 | |
Because in the United Kingdom
in 2018, everyone deserves | 0:00:09 | 0:00:11 | |
the chance to succeed. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:15 | |
He thinks he could Prime
Minister before long... | 0:00:15 | 0:00:19 | |
Backing the things which most people
want, | 0:00:19 | 0:00:21 | |
but are blocked
by vested interests. | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
We are a government in waiting. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:26 | |
So how will 2018 pan out? | 0:00:26 | 0:00:30 | |
A new year, but old
politics is dead. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:32 | |
Everything changed in 2017
and the parties are playing | 0:00:32 | 0:00:34 | |
by new rules, so it's a fine time
to ask where we are going. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:40 | |
Who better than the members
of our prestigious panel of pundits | 0:00:40 | 0:00:42 | |
and pollsters to provide a map
of the route ahead? | 0:00:42 | 0:00:48 | |
Also tonight, there's been six
days of unrest in Iran, | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
is it theocracy vs democracy? | 0:00:50 | 0:00:53 | |
And what does it mean
for the reformist President Rouhani, | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
that his reforms have evidently not
won over the people? | 0:00:55 | 0:01:02 | |
Cherie Blair offers
a new year suggestion on how | 0:01:02 | 0:01:04 | |
to promote economic growth. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:07 | |
That there is a vast opportunity
that is being underused in every | 0:01:07 | 0:01:10 | |
single country across the world. | 0:01:10 | 0:01:14 | |
That opportunity is women. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:16 | |
And in the last year, almost 1,000
bank branches have shut. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
Three of those were in
Holywell in Flintshire. | 0:01:20 | 0:01:22 | |
We see why it hurts,
and what traders can do about it. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:29 | |
They all say that they are for
the businesses and that and yet | 0:01:29 | 0:01:32 | |
they're is not helping us at all. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:33 | |
They're making it harder
for us to get to them. | 0:01:33 | 0:01:36 | |
Because if we run out of change
or need to do a bank for cash | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
and that, you can't just nip
to the bank any more. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:42 | |
You've got to physically go
to a town somewhere else. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:52 | |
Hello, happy new year. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:53 | |
Hopefully. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:54 | |
But who will it be
a happy new year for? | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
That's where we start tonight
as we take advantage of the fact | 0:01:57 | 0:02:00 | |
that 2018 is still in its warm-up
phase to look at politics here, | 0:02:00 | 0:02:03 | |
and how it might evolve. | 0:02:03 | 0:02:05 | |
As always, the big battle is the one
between the Conservatives and Labour | 0:02:05 | 0:02:08 | |
and rarely has the choice
between them been as stark. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:13 | |
So how a minority Conservative
government gets on, | 0:02:13 | 0:02:15 | |
and whether Labour can threaten
it is an obvious issue | 0:02:15 | 0:02:17 | |
for the year ahead. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:18 | |
But in some ways, a lot
of the action in politics these days | 0:02:18 | 0:02:22 | |
is within the two main parties. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:23 | |
They both have huge great cracks
down the middle of them, | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
and yet both have survived 2017
in one piece. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:31 | |
Can they really survive the storms
of Brexit and 2018 without at least | 0:02:31 | 0:02:34 | |
one of them suffering a big rupture? | 0:02:34 | 0:02:38 | |
Well, we'll reflect on that shortly,
but first, Chris Cook has been | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
looking at the queue of storms
heading the way of the | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
government in 2018. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:48 | |
The government is facing an Olympiad
of challenges this year. Here are | 0:02:52 | 0:03:00 | |
five events that will probably
define whether 2018 is remembered as | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
a success. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:05 | |
The most important one,
of course, is Brexit. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
We are heading to leave the EU
in the spring of next year, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
but the initial deal,
whatever it is, needs to be | 0:03:10 | 0:03:13 | |
agreed by this autumn. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:14 | |
So we have time to get it
through the various parliaments. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:16 | |
Ireland remains a big
issue for a deal. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
A lot of Brexiteers wanted
to diverge from the EU's rule | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
books and want the UK,
including Northern Ireland, | 0:03:22 | 0:03:24 | |
to move as a single block. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:29 | |
But our government has already
agreed there may need to be full | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
alignment with those rules
with the internal market | 0:03:31 | 0:03:33 | |
and the Customs Union,
which relate to cooperation | 0:03:33 | 0:03:35 | |
on the island of Ireland. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:38 | |
That seems irreconcilable. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:41 | |
There may also be difficulties
managing expectations. | 0:03:41 | 0:03:46 | |
The EU has said our current... | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
Negotiating position means we will
only get a deal like that granted to | 0:03:49 | 0:03:53 | |
Canada. And we won't get details of
that signed off in the coming year. | 0:03:53 | 0:04:03 | |
Only outline principles. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:04 | |
Anaemic growth was the norm
before the referendum, | 0:04:04 | 0:04:06 | |
that's all we've had since,
and it remains the expectation | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
for the coming years. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:11 | |
That will mean a continued
squeeze on wages. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
One of the most painful facts
of life about post-crisis Britain | 0:04:13 | 0:04:16 | |
looks likely to continue. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:17 | |
Weak growth will also mean weak tax
revenue growth and that complicates | 0:04:17 | 0:04:20 | |
tasks like the introduction
of Universal Credit. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:21 | |
It would always be hard and fiddly,
but doing this on a budget | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
makes everything harder. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:27 | |
The benefit being much less generous
than it had been planned to be adds | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
a lot of pain into the mixture. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
The NHS and social care are another
troublesome problem. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:43 | |
The care services are
desperate for money, | 0:04:44 | 0:04:45 | |
and we are well off our
target at the moment. | 0:04:45 | 0:04:48 | |
So far, the public has seemed quite
relaxed about longer waits, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:50 | |
but the clinical problems it creates
are mounting and public | 0:04:50 | 0:04:53 | |
indifference may soon turn. | 0:04:53 | 0:04:54 | |
Finally, keep an eye
on universities. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:56 | |
While well shielded from austerity,
they are perhaps the most pro-Remain | 0:04:56 | 0:04:58 | |
sector in the country and they're
having their funding reviewed. | 0:04:58 | 0:05:00 | |
And a new regulator's coming in. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:04 | |
Which has already caused
some consternation. | 0:05:04 | 0:05:06 | |
If you were trying to foment
a culture war, it's harder to think | 0:05:06 | 0:05:09 | |
a better way to get going. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:12 | |
It's not all doom and gloom. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:14 | |
Precisely because polls
suggest the British | 0:05:14 | 0:05:16 | |
public aren't optimistic. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:17 | |
So a middling finish might be
greeted quite warmly. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
But it's certainly a gruesome
set of obstacles ahead | 0:05:21 | 0:05:23 | |
for a minority government. | 0:05:23 | 0:05:28 | |
Chris Cook's guide to
the government's challenges. | 0:05:29 | 0:05:33 | |
In terms of the Labour opposition,
2017 was quite a year. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:35 | |
One in which old rules were broken,
particularly the rules of thumb | 0:05:35 | 0:05:38 | |
by which political experts manage
to look like experts. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:40 | |
Here's a quick look back
at our new year programme | 0:05:40 | 0:05:43 | |
this time last year,
and what our panel had to say | 0:05:43 | 0:05:45 | |
about Jeremy Corbyn. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:48 | |
Ignore the fact the guests
are sitting at school desks, no-one | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
can remember what we were thinking,
but it seemed like a good | 0:05:50 | 0:05:54 | |
idea at the time. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:58 | |
The question I put was,
can Labour recover? | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
It is very difficult
to see how Labour can move | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
on from its current situation. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:04 | |
Actually, when the polls
get it wrong they tend | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
to understate Labour,
not overstate Labour, | 0:06:06 | 0:06:09 | |
so if they're wrong,
they're quite likely to be wrong | 0:06:09 | 0:06:11 | |
the other way round. | 0:06:11 | 0:06:14 | |
Obviously, Corbyn's no
good, but he may go. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:16 | |
Imagine that Ed Balls came
back into Parliament, | 0:06:16 | 0:06:18 | |
imagine Ed Balls was leading
the Labour Party. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:21 | |
Imagine that Theresa May stumbles. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:23 | |
Actually, I think it's worse
than you're saying though for Corbyn | 0:06:23 | 0:06:28 | |
because what I get in focus groups
is not that people don't like him. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:31 | |
He's literally irrelevant. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:36 | |
That was last year. You're going to
see some of those faces again. | 0:06:36 | 0:06:39 | |
We're joined by the LBC
presenter Iain Dale, | 0:06:39 | 0:06:42 | |
the founder of Britain Thinks,
Deborah Mattinson, | 0:06:42 | 0:06:46 | |
who you heard there, Faiza Shaheen, | 0:06:46 | 0:06:47 | |
the director of the Centre
for Labour and Social Studies, | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
and by the Times columnist Matthew
Parris. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
We should start with last year and
you weren't the only one who said it | 0:06:52 | 0:06:57 | |
last year. You got a lot right. You
didn't show it! What happened last | 0:06:57 | 0:07:05 | |
year, that the pundits got Jeremy
Corbyn wrong? The central thing that | 0:07:05 | 0:07:09 | |
happened was that younger voters
turned out to vote. When you are | 0:07:09 | 0:07:13 | |
predicting what is going to have an
election, the best tools you have | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
are how people have behaved last
time. What we all did, this is why | 0:07:17 | 0:07:20 | |
it wasn't just pollsters that
politicians, canvassers, everybody | 0:07:20 | 0:07:25 | |
read it wrong. Everybody was
assuming that young people, as they | 0:07:25 | 0:07:30 | |
have done in the past, said they
were going to vote and yes, they | 0:07:30 | 0:07:34 | |
were going to support labour and
they did not turn out. This time the | 0:07:34 | 0:07:38 | |
experts were confounded because they
did turn out, that made a big | 0:07:38 | 0:07:42 | |
difference. Matthew, have a go at
this interesting question, will the | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
young people turn up next time? What
would be the working assumption now? | 0:07:45 | 0:07:50 | |
I don't know why you are asking us,
we got it so wrong last time. Get | 0:07:50 | 0:07:54 | |
some new pundits! You should never
underestimate the Conservative | 0:07:54 | 0:08:00 | |
Party's capacity to fail to infuse
the population. It wasn't just | 0:08:00 | 0:08:06 | |
Jeremy Corbyn's success but the
Conservative Party just didn't fizz. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:14 | |
Young people want a bit of fizz and
we underestimated the hunger for | 0:08:14 | 0:08:18 | |
that. How do you think these new
rules that prevailed last year will | 0:08:18 | 0:08:23 | |
last? Will it go back to the old
style of business? We make a mistake | 0:08:23 | 0:08:27 | |
when we make this about individuals
or specifics of rules. What has | 0:08:27 | 0:08:32 | |
happened is that a number of
conservative ideologies, about the | 0:08:32 | 0:08:36 | |
way we run the economy, whether it's
about the way in which posterity has | 0:08:36 | 0:08:41 | |
spectacularly failed and cost people
in society, or whether it be the | 0:08:41 | 0:08:45 | |
setup on Brexit. A lot of people can
see that these ideas are not | 0:08:45 | 0:08:50 | |
delivering any more. Things have
changed. How do we expect young | 0:08:50 | 0:08:55 | |
people to support market
fundamentalism when they themselves | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
don't have any capital? You can't be
capitalist when you don't have any | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
capital. We look at this issue of
young people, we talk it up to | 0:09:02 | 0:09:07 | |
individuals but there is something
much deeper here. It's about the way | 0:09:07 | 0:09:10 | |
in which the plates of society and
the economy are shifting. For the | 0:09:10 | 0:09:17 | |
time. Things have changed and people
have changed their views | 0:09:17 | 0:09:20 | |
accordingly. There are three battles
in politics. Within Tories, Labour | 0:09:20 | 0:09:28 | |
and Tories and Labour. Let's go back
to the Tories. We didn't play your | 0:09:28 | 0:09:31 | |
election predictions. Iain. The
Tories have held it together in the | 0:09:31 | 0:09:40 | |
last year, will they get through
2018 together as a party? Theresa | 0:09:40 | 0:09:45 | |
May's objective was to make it to
Christmas and quite unbelievably. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:49 | |
The chance to get rid of her was on
June the 9th and they didn't get rid | 0:09:49 | 0:09:53 | |
of her. There hasn't been a king or
queen over the water, no wonder they | 0:09:53 | 0:09:58 | |
can unite around and replace Theresa
May with. That's still the case now. | 0:09:58 | 0:10:03 | |
That will probably be the case this
time next year. We will still be in | 0:10:03 | 0:10:09 | |
that position. She is an ever
stronger a position than people | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
think. Strong enough to carry out
quite a wide-ranging reshuffle. She | 0:10:11 | 0:10:17 | |
will say, I date you to get rid of
me. Including Boris? -- I dare you. | 0:10:17 | 0:10:23 | |
Including Boris and the Chancellor.
She can certainly move one of them. | 0:10:23 | 0:10:27 | |
I might regret saying this but the
big battles over Brexit have already | 0:10:27 | 0:10:31 | |
been had in 2017. The big battle
this year will be in the House of | 0:10:31 | 0:10:36 | |
Lords. That could be trickier for
Theresa May than anybody realises. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:40 | |
We have a two-year parliament, they
can't invoke the Parliament act | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
until after we have left the EU.
Because the deal would have been | 0:10:43 | 0:10:47 | |
done. The only way out is if the
House of Lords cut up rough. The | 0:10:47 | 0:10:51 | |
only way out of that is a general
election. I rather question your | 0:10:51 | 0:10:55 | |
confidence in her longevity. She is
like a ping-pong ball, balanced on a | 0:10:55 | 0:10:59 | |
fountain. She is like a weevil, she
wobbles but never falls down. She | 0:10:59 | 0:11:04 | |
has no weight of her own, one
stumble and accident, and accidents | 0:11:04 | 0:11:08 | |
happen in politics. There have been
so many since the election. She | 0:11:08 | 0:11:13 | |
stumbled over Graham fell, the
machinations over Brexit. She has | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
got through those -- over Grenfell
Tower. What do you mean that Brexit | 0:11:17 | 0:11:21 | |
is sorted out now? We haven't said
that. We will be confronted with | 0:11:21 | 0:11:26 | |
Norway or Canada. What is going to
happen? The conversation about | 0:11:26 | 0:11:30 | |
Brexit this year will throw up so
much. Yes, in the House of Lords, | 0:11:30 | 0:11:35 | |
but also in terms of trade. Trade
isn't just about the movement of | 0:11:35 | 0:11:38 | |
goods any more. It will also be
about the issue of movement of | 0:11:38 | 0:11:42 | |
people. So much will have to be an
done and redone this year. When we | 0:11:42 | 0:11:47 | |
have a Conservative Party that isn't
united, that doesn't have a vision | 0:11:47 | 0:11:52 | |
for Brexit... And Labour does?
Really? Really? Really? They offer | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
something different. What is easy
movement because no one can define | 0:11:56 | 0:12:02 | |
it crossed my -- what does easy
movement mean. Is Brexit holding the | 0:12:02 | 0:12:08 | |
party together? No. To be fair,
though, I don't think there is one | 0:12:08 | 0:12:13 | |
that holds the Labour Party
together, either. That's the | 0:12:13 | 0:12:15 | |
problem. There are three groups of
people, one, the diehards, | 0:12:15 | 0:12:22 | |
passionate about Brexit, the
devastated pessimists, they have | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
their heads on their desks and are
beside themselves with sorrow. About | 0:12:26 | 0:12:31 | |
one third each, there is a third in
the middle who are swing voters. | 0:12:31 | 0:12:36 | |
They are a bit more relaxed either
way. It's very hard to envisage any | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
kind of solution. I can. I think
there is a Brexit that can more or | 0:12:40 | 0:12:46 | |
less look inside the Conservative
Party. Iain, this issue may never | 0:12:46 | 0:12:52 | |
explode. The Brexit that will
satisfy the Conservative Party is | 0:12:52 | 0:12:56 | |
that we formally leave the European
Union but to all intents and | 0:12:56 | 0:12:58 | |
purposes stay within the European
Union. That won't satisfy everybody! | 0:12:58 | 0:13:04 | |
That might satisfy you but not me.
Or many others. That's the problem. | 0:13:04 | 0:13:10 | |
We have to real people like you in
like a fish, very gradually. That is | 0:13:10 | 0:13:14 | |
not possible. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:17 | |
Is another area again where the
Conservatives are not going to | 0:13:17 | 0:13:21 | |
deliver. They have built up these
promises and they will fail. People | 0:13:21 | 0:13:24 | |
will be angry. Let's come to Labour.
Labour have held it together. By not | 0:13:24 | 0:13:34 | |
saying anything on anything. That
might be the right tactic. To stay | 0:13:34 | 0:13:38 | |
quiet. Of course, there are
political tactics. And what is clear | 0:13:38 | 0:13:43 | |
about what Labour offered in the
last election and what word is that | 0:13:43 | 0:13:47 | |
when the manifesto came out and they
talked about bringing the rail | 0:13:47 | 0:13:51 | |
services back into public ownership,
the talked about housing, they | 0:13:51 | 0:13:53 | |
talked about what they would do with
homelessness and the NHS. They offer | 0:13:53 | 0:14:01 | |
something different to young people.
Bribes? Unfunded bribes. I different | 0:14:01 | 0:14:07 | |
way to fund the economy. More want
-- more money for everyone. There | 0:14:07 | 0:14:14 | |
was a poll yesterday which suggested
more people feel that Labour's | 0:14:14 | 0:14:17 | |
values are closely matched to their
own values. Many more than the | 0:14:17 | 0:14:22 | |
Conservatives. If that is the case,
how come the Conservatives are | 0:14:22 | 0:14:28 | |
polling so much further ahead of
their own values? Why is it | 0:14:28 | 0:14:32 | |
basically level pegging? Theresa May
still outranks Jeremy Corbyn as best | 0:14:32 | 0:14:37 | |
Prime Minister by a mile. Can you
envisage Labour pulling ahead | 0:14:37 | 0:14:44 | |
significantly? Yes I can. I can't
underestimate the Conservative | 0:14:44 | 0:14:50 | |
Party's ability to discuss the
electorate. We will see in the | 0:14:50 | 0:14:53 | |
London elections in May what happens
to the Tories in London. British | 0:14:53 | 0:14:59 | |
people may want to vote for a mangy
aardvark rather than vote for the | 0:14:59 | 0:15:04 | |
President Conservative Party --
present Conservative Party. That is | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
what worries me. Is this the year we
get off Brexit as a conversation? Is | 0:15:07 | 0:15:12 | |
it possible to talk about
something... The headlines of the | 0:15:12 | 0:15:18 | |
newspapers tomorrow, NHS tells
hospital to cancel routine | 0:15:18 | 0:15:21 | |
operations. Winter crisis cripples
the NHS. The guardian on the same | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
topic. It is the issue that most
people are concerned about. 51%. At | 0:15:24 | 0:15:31 | |
the NHS is now 45%, the highest it
has been for 16 years. It is rising | 0:15:31 | 0:15:38 | |
up. People are getting more and more
concerned. It relates to Brexit, | 0:15:38 | 0:15:42 | |
people link the two together. Just
give the HS a few billion more as an | 0:15:42 | 0:15:48 | |
emergency and the immediate crisis
subsides -- the NHS. It doesn't | 0:15:48 | 0:15:52 | |
solve the problem but it takes it
out of the headlines, that is what | 0:15:52 | 0:15:54 | |
they will do. It is what they always
do. But people are using the NHS. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:59 | |
This is what people get wrong, the
public are constantly using these | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
services, they have seen a change.
There is a time lag. They are | 0:16:01 | 0:16:06 | |
frustrated. They won't just be upset
about Brexit but about seeing more | 0:16:06 | 0:16:09 | |
homeless people on the street, but
how difficult it is to get | 0:16:09 | 0:16:14 | |
appointments. 2018 will be a year
where these trends and these | 0:16:14 | 0:16:17 | |
mistakes and butter from Di
Dougherty at the Conservatives and | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
their policies are going to lay out.
-- and the defunct ideology. Housing | 0:16:19 | 0:16:26 | |
is the highest level of concern
since the 70s. The economy is | 0:16:26 | 0:16:30 | |
something that is not being talked
about. That is a real challenge for | 0:16:30 | 0:16:33 | |
Theresa May. A lot depends on who
she points as her deputy if she does | 0:16:33 | 0:16:38 | |
that. She needs to effectively own
the Brexit agenda. A bit like the | 0:16:38 | 0:16:43 | |
Second World War, there needs to be
a church or in charge. I can't | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
compare Theresa May to Winston
Churchill. -- Billy needs to be a | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
Churchill in charge. There needs to
be a figure a Atlee bit like who can | 0:16:51 | 0:16:57 | |
run domestic politics. -- a bit like
Atlee. Where does this end this | 0:16:57 | 0:17:02 | |
year? Do any of you expect a general
election. You also know last year. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:09 | |
No. Only if the House of Lords does
play up. I can't foresee other | 0:17:09 | 0:17:17 | |
circumstances. And political parties
intact at the end of this year? Sort | 0:17:17 | 0:17:21 | |
of. We stumble on. Muddle through
scenario? With no new leaders? It is | 0:17:21 | 0:17:29 | |
a shame. We will be treading water
at such a crucial time for this | 0:17:29 | 0:17:33 | |
country. Less of a shame. What about
third parties? Do any of you think | 0:17:33 | 0:17:38 | |
another party, third party... No.
Labour has changed and Corbyn offers | 0:17:38 | 0:17:49 | |
something different. A new Labour.
There is something very different | 0:17:49 | 0:17:53 | |
here on offer. It speaks to people's
concerns and their needs and their | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
worries. Exactly. I think that as
well. That is a good question on | 0:17:57 | 0:18:03 | |
which we will finish. Muddle through
and finished the year where we | 0:18:03 | 0:18:07 | |
start. Thank you and happy New Year. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:09 | |
In Iran, six days of riots,
spreading to around 50 cities | 0:18:09 | 0:18:12 | |
and towns with over 20 people dead. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:13 | |
Something is up, but what exactly? | 0:18:13 | 0:18:16 | |
Unlike the protests a decade ago,
when educated urban youths protested | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
against a disputed election result
that gave power to a hardline | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
president, today it seems that many
poorer or unemployed Iranians | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
are on the streets. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:28 | |
And in power now is not a hard
liner, but a moderate, | 0:18:28 | 0:18:30 | |
President Hassan Rouhani. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:35 | |
He's the one the West has bet on,
signing a nuclear deal with him | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
in the hope he'd soften the regime. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:40 | |
Well, Iran's supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is blaming | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
enemies of the country. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:43 | |
The US has condemned the regime
and said all freedom-loving people | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
must stand with the cause
of the Iranian people. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:50 | |
John Sweeney has been looking at how
the unrest has evolved. | 0:18:50 | 0:18:57 | |
Welcome to a small town in Iran. | 0:18:57 | 0:18:59 | |
It was burning last night. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:06 | |
The numbers of protesters are small,
but uprising in the likes of this | 0:19:06 | 0:19:08 | |
town could be big trouble
for the regime. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:11 | |
They are shouting, "Death
to the dictator" | 0:19:14 | 0:19:18 | |
and that's not good news
for the supreme leader, | 0:19:18 | 0:19:23 | |
Ali Khamenei and his iron fist,
the Revolutionary Guards. | 0:19:23 | 0:19:25 | |
We want freedom! | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
We want freedom! | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
In 2009, millions took
to the streets of Teheran to protest | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
against vote rigging. | 0:19:33 | 0:19:36 | |
Why should much smaller numbers
in 2018 pose a problem? | 0:19:36 | 0:19:44 | |
What they thought was a controlled
burn has essentially spread | 0:19:44 | 0:19:49 | |
into a wildfire that you're seeing
in cities and provincial towns, | 0:19:49 | 0:19:52 | |
places we haven't seen protests
since the 1979 revolution. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:54 | |
I think that's interesting,
especially when you | 0:19:54 | 0:19:56 | |
look at the numbers. | 0:19:56 | 0:20:00 | |
You had millions of people taking
to the streets of Teheran, | 0:20:00 | 0:20:03 | |
you're finding that hundreds at most
a few thousand people are taking | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
to the streets right now. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:07 | |
I think that's interesting. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:14 | |
The numbers aren't big
but the geography is. | 0:20:14 | 0:20:17 | |
This map, produced by opponents
of the regime, points to how | 0:20:17 | 0:20:19 | |
widespread the protests are. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:21 | |
This is an uprising
from across the country, but even | 0:20:21 | 0:20:24 | |
more toxic to the powers
that be in Teheran, | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
it's coming from below. | 0:20:27 | 0:20:32 | |
Many of these cities, even Iranians
don't know where they are. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
They are small towns. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:36 | |
What we know about these
demonstrators is that they are poor, | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
many of them voted for Rouhani
a few months ago. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
They are disappointed in him,
in President Rouhani. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
Many of them did not vote,
they don't have a leader | 0:20:44 | 0:20:47 | |
but they are frustrated,
they are angry and they want change. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:54 | |
But the regime does not. | 0:20:54 | 0:21:02 | |
These are its motorbike warriors,
on the streets of Teheran to keep | 0:21:02 | 0:21:05 | |
things the way they are. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:13 | |
Their master, Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei, | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
blaming amongst others
Western spies. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:16 | |
TRANSLATION: Following recent
events, the enemies have united | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
and are using all their means,
money, weapons, policies | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
and security services to create
problems for the Islamic Republic. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:29 | |
His president, Hassan Rouhani,
took a more sober tone, | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
calling the protests
and opportunity, not a threat. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:37 | |
Donald Trump has been banging
the drum for regime change. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
So has he once again identified
an angry working-class space? | 0:21:41 | 0:21:47 | |
Whether we want it or not,
Donald Trump is the president | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
of the United States. | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
And as such, many
Iranian protesters, | 0:21:52 | 0:21:55 | |
they want to hear from him. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
They want the support
of the American president. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:01 | |
Whether it's Barack Obama,
George Bush or Donald Trump, | 0:22:01 | 0:22:06 | |
they want the American President,
British Prime Minister, | 0:22:06 | 0:22:09 | |
leaders of different countries
supporting their movement. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:19 | |
This was the scene
outside the Iranian | 0:22:21 | 0:22:22 | |
Embassy today. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:23 | |
The people making the noise
here are quite different to | 0:22:23 | 0:22:26 | |
the demonstrators back
in Iran, the people driving | 0:22:26 | 0:22:28 | |
the latest uprising. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:29 | |
Historically, it's been the well
travelled, people with passports, | 0:22:29 | 0:22:31 | |
the wealthy, who try and overturn
the regime in Teheran. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:34 | |
This time it's the poor
are, this time it's | 0:22:34 | 0:22:41 | |
the base and that is what makes it
so dangerous for the regime and also | 0:22:41 | 0:22:45 | |
so difficult to call. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:49 | |
But how deep is the hunger
for actual revolution? | 0:22:49 | 0:22:53 | |
You don't really have to look far
to understand what could potentially | 0:22:53 | 0:22:56 | |
happen here. | 0:22:56 | 0:23:01 | |
The Arab uprisings in 2011
are a perfect example, Egypt, Libya | 0:23:01 | 0:23:05 | |
and Syria, which the Iranian
government has a hand in, a perfect | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
example of a situation they don't
want Iran to turn out to be. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:12 | |
The new year hasn't
started so well for the | 0:23:12 | 0:23:16 | |
supreme leader and his iron fist. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:21 | |
Too much force and blood spilt
will drive the uprising. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:23 | |
Too little and the regime
could lose control. | 0:23:23 | 0:23:28 | |
Azadeh Moaveni is a journalist
and academic who has been | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
covering the Middle East
for nearly two decades. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:35 | |
We're also joined from New York
by Ian Bremmer who's the president | 0:23:35 | 0:23:37 | |
of the Eurasia Group,
a political risk research | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
and consulting firm,
which published its annual report | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
on the world's geopolitical
challenges today. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:50 | |
Just take me through what the fault
line is, what is the divide? Is it | 0:23:50 | 0:23:58 | |
secular and clerical, rich and poor,
economic? What is the divide. I | 0:23:58 | 0:24:03 | |
think what we're seeing in terms of
what is unfolding on the streets is | 0:24:03 | 0:24:07 | |
a very young, very radical, very
disenfranchised command of the | 0:24:07 | 0:24:11 | |
population that feels frustrated
with economic conditions it is under | 0:24:11 | 0:24:19 | |
-- segment of the population. You
can see from the radical nature of | 0:24:19 | 0:24:24 | |
the slogans, they have little stake
in the system, so frustrated that | 0:24:24 | 0:24:28 | |
they can't imagine reform, they just
want their difficulties to end. Some | 0:24:28 | 0:24:32 | |
of them are very traditional, some
of them are religious, some of them | 0:24:32 | 0:24:36 | |
may believe in the system but find
it very corrupt in many aspects. | 0:24:36 | 0:24:42 | |
It's complicated, in a way! Exactly.
It isn't theocracy versus democracy | 0:24:42 | 0:24:49 | |
like a Philip Pullman novel where it
is the Conservative clerics against | 0:24:49 | 0:24:53 | |
the forces of progression? No, we
have to remember that six months ago | 0:24:53 | 0:24:59 | |
there was an election and Rouhani
won on a landslide, 70 million | 0:24:59 | 0:25:03 | |
Iranians voted, it turned out, voted
for his platform of economic change | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
with hope, wanting to integrate into
the world. But the government of | 0:25:07 | 0:25:14 | |
Rouhani has had a challenge. These
are the people who are not seeing | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
anything trickle-down. Are the
protesters calling for him to be | 0:25:17 | 0:25:21 | |
pulled down or for the ayatollah? I
think that the protesters are crying | 0:25:21 | 0:25:29 | |
in rage. I think they don't have
clear demands, they aren't | 0:25:29 | 0:25:34 | |
articulating -- they are
articulating their rage at not | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
having their grievances met or
considered. I think you put Iran at | 0:25:36 | 0:25:42 | |
number five on the global risks in
terms of your Iran US relations | 0:25:42 | 0:25:48 | |
today. It is ironic because Rouhani
is the guy that the West has been | 0:25:48 | 0:25:53 | |
backing over the last few years,
investing a lot of hope in him. Is | 0:25:53 | 0:25:58 | |
this the end of that strategy? Does
it work now? Well, it is the end of | 0:25:58 | 0:26:05 | |
the West, right, in a sense that you
have the Europeans still supporting | 0:26:05 | 0:26:11 | |
reformists in Iran and the Iranian
nuclear deal but not the United | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
States, not the club administration.
To the extent that these | 0:26:14 | 0:26:20 | |
demonstrations showed the viability
of Rouhani, they potentially lead to | 0:26:20 | 0:26:27 | |
a hardline backlash which plays into
Trump's anti-Iran, anti-work with | 0:26:27 | 0:26:34 | |
these people narrative and leads to
more conflict. I think that the US | 0:26:34 | 0:26:41 | |
Iranian fight is likely to become
considerably more challenging over | 0:26:41 | 0:26:44 | |
the course of this year. And I also
agree that the people who are | 0:26:44 | 0:26:49 | |
demonstrating right now come from a
lot of different walks of life. They | 0:26:49 | 0:26:52 | |
are very courageous because the
dangers they face from this regime, | 0:26:52 | 0:26:57 | |
for them and their families, is the
ultimate. It reminds me of what we | 0:26:57 | 0:27:01 | |
saw in Syria in the early days of
the anti-President Assad protests. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:06 | |
But they did not go well, they were
severely repressed and Assad is | 0:27:06 | 0:27:13 | |
firmly in charge. Your guest
mentioned about Egypt. Sure, what | 0:27:13 | 0:27:17 | |
happened? The military still in
charge, a new president brought in | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
who never really had power and Egypt
feels like how it used to. Small | 0:27:20 | 0:27:26 | |
demonstrations in rusher around the
country, severely disenfranchised | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
people who have no voice and not
going to get one. Despite what we're | 0:27:30 | 0:27:35 | |
seeing, the likelihood that we are
on the brink of regime change, | 0:27:35 | 0:27:40 | |
something that can't be repressed,
remains very low. Do you think that | 0:27:40 | 0:27:46 | |
the outcome of this is repression or
accommodation of grievances? It | 0:27:46 | 0:27:50 | |
could be both. You had Rouhani and
members of Parliament and | 0:27:50 | 0:27:55 | |
significant figures within the
government acknowledged these | 0:27:55 | 0:28:00 | |
grievances and the importance of
having space for them to articulate | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
them, but lawfully, not through
vandalism and hooliganism. That's | 0:28:03 | 0:28:08 | |
why speaking to people in Teheran
varies and villains -- there is | 0:28:08 | 0:28:14 | |
ambivalence about what is happening.
There is a recognition of the | 0:28:14 | 0:28:17 | |
grievance but it will be quickly
criminalised because it is | 0:28:17 | 0:28:22 | |
destructive. Do you think it's
helpful when President Trump | 0:28:22 | 0:28:27 | |
blusters into the debate and
supports people? Obama was famously | 0:28:27 | 0:28:31 | |
much more cautious about supporting
protests in 2009. Does it help to | 0:28:31 | 0:28:38 | |
bolster the administration in Iran
if Trump comes in or not? It | 0:28:38 | 0:28:43 | |
certainly helps Trump domestically,
there is no pro-Iran regime | 0:28:43 | 0:28:50 | |
sentiment in the US, there is no
lobby for it. Trump made his first | 0:28:50 | 0:28:54 | |
visit outside the US to Riyadh,
which is very unusual. He doubles | 0:28:54 | 0:29:00 | |
down on that by going after the
Iranian. The Israelis are planning a | 0:29:00 | 0:29:06 | |
naming of a railway station after
him. All the constituents that Trump | 0:29:06 | 0:29:12 | |
cares about, it's great. In terms of
whether it's going to help those who | 0:29:12 | 0:29:16 | |
are demonstrating on the Trump
providing support, no, it's probably | 0:29:16 | 0:29:21 | |
useless and marginal. First of all
because the US isn't making the | 0:29:21 | 0:29:26 | |
moves and does not have influence on
the ground in Iran today. They are | 0:29:26 | 0:29:30 | |
going to a gauge in backlash against
these demonstrators anyway and they | 0:29:30 | 0:29:36 | |
are going to blame foreign actors
irrespective of what Trump says so I | 0:29:36 | 0:29:40 | |
don't think it plays out on the
ground in Iran one bit. We are going | 0:29:40 | 0:29:44 | |
to talk about this more. Thank you
for joining us. | 0:29:44 | 0:29:49 | |
More projecting ahead now. | 0:29:49 | 0:29:50 | |
Because it's time for one
of our Viewsnight spots, | 0:29:50 | 0:29:52 | |
and each day this week we'll be
running one of these, | 0:29:52 | 0:29:54 | |
and each offering a view on a big
idea that will be preoccupying | 0:29:54 | 0:29:58 | |
us in 2018. | 0:29:58 | 0:29:59 | |
Tonight, it's the human rights
lawyer Cherie Blair, | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
on a suggestion to boost
global economic growth. | 0:30:01 | 0:30:04 | |
Women's rights, what's the point? | 0:30:05 | 0:30:08 | |
Now, you've enjoyed a few bank
holidays over the last couple | 0:32:26 | 0:32:29 | |
of weeks, but that phrase
is becoming increasingly archaic | 0:32:29 | 0:32:32 | |
and irrelevant in a world
where banks don't have branches, | 0:32:32 | 0:32:35 | |
that can take holidays. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:38 | |
Here is an astonishing fact
that our technology editor has | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
uncovered: since the beginning
of last year, the four big British | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
banks have closed or announced plans
to close 18% of their branches. | 0:32:43 | 0:32:46 | |
About 1,000. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:48 | |
That's 18% in about a year. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:54 | |
Now you might say who needs cash
in the age of contactless payments? | 0:32:54 | 0:32:57 | |
But it's not altogether that simple. | 0:32:57 | 0:32:59 | |
As long as some people use cash,
small retail businesses | 0:32:59 | 0:33:01 | |
need physical banks. | 0:33:01 | 0:33:02 | |
Well, David Grossman
is our technology editor and he has | 0:33:02 | 0:33:05 | |
been to a town with a population
of about 9,000 people | 0:33:05 | 0:33:08 | |
to see how departing banks
affect commercial life, | 0:33:08 | 0:33:09 | |
and how shops might themselves
respond, by moving to alternatives | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
to old-school banking services. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:13 | |
All is not well in Holywell. | 0:33:13 | 0:33:17 | |
The only bank that's guaranteed
to stand by this part of Flintshire | 0:33:17 | 0:33:20 | |
is the one that separates it
from the River Dee. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:24 | |
Until last year, there were four
banks on the high street. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:29 | |
One after another,
three of them closed. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:36 | |
Each hole in the wall became
just a hole in a wall. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
The cash points of the one remaining
bank now has a permanent queue. | 0:33:44 | 0:33:49 | |
For a lot of people, they only came
into town for the banks. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:54 | |
So, because the banks had gone,
it was easier to go somewhere | 0:33:54 | 0:34:00 | |
in the town where there is a bank
so they can do their shopping | 0:34:00 | 0:34:04 | |
and banking at the same time. | 0:34:04 | 0:34:05 | |
Karen Lloyd runs a flower
shop in Holywell. | 0:34:05 | 0:34:07 | |
She says the banks' departure has
been devastating for small | 0:34:07 | 0:34:10 | |
businesses like hers who need
branches to deposit | 0:34:10 | 0:34:12 | |
their cash takings. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:18 | |
They all say that they are for
businesses and that and yet they're | 0:34:18 | 0:34:21 | |
not helping us at all and making it
harder for us to get to them. | 0:34:21 | 0:34:25 | |
Because if we run out
of change or you need to do | 0:34:25 | 0:34:28 | |
a bank for cash and that,
you can't just nip | 0:34:28 | 0:34:30 | |
to the bank any more. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:31 | |
You've got to physically go
to another town somewhere else. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:35 | |
Of course, this isn't just
happening in this town, | 0:34:35 | 0:34:37 | |
it's happening all over the UK. | 0:34:37 | 0:34:38 | |
The government has opened up
banking to competition | 0:34:38 | 0:34:40 | |
and many of the newcomers
into the market are online only. | 0:34:40 | 0:34:43 | |
Clicks don't need many bricks. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:47 | |
In an effort to stay competitive,
the traditional banks are dropping | 0:34:47 | 0:34:52 | |
branches faster than a dead tree
in a storm. | 0:34:52 | 0:34:56 | |
All over the UK, the scars
of missing bank signs. | 0:34:56 | 0:34:59 | |
At the start of 2017 the big
four UK banks had 5354 | 0:34:59 | 0:35:03 | |
branches between them. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:06 | |
Since then, Barclays
has closed 98 branches. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
HSBC, 129. | 0:35:11 | 0:35:13 | |
Lloyds, which includes Halifax
and Bank of Scotland, | 0:35:14 | 0:35:16 | |
have closed or announced
they will close 250 and RBS, | 0:35:16 | 0:35:18 | |
including NatWest, have closed
or announced they will close 471. | 0:35:20 | 0:35:24 | |
That's a total of 948 branches gone
or going in a little over a year. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:31 | |
For most towns, the story would end
there, with empty buildings | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
and a sense of decline. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:39 | |
And so it might have done
for Holywell had it not been | 0:35:39 | 0:35:42 | |
for a chance conversation
between the local MP | 0:35:42 | 0:35:44 | |
and a tech executive. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:48 | |
I met David Hanson, the MP
for the Yeovil constituency | 0:35:50 | 0:35:52 | |
and we were talking about the issues
that Holywell was facing | 0:35:52 | 0:35:59 | |
and as Square is a relatively
new business to the UK, | 0:35:59 | 0:36:02 | |
we only launched in March of this
year, we were really keen to get | 0:36:02 | 0:36:07 | |
close to a town like Holywell
to understand the problems that | 0:36:07 | 0:36:10 | |
small businesses have there and see
if there was anything | 0:36:10 | 0:36:12 | |
we could do to help. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:13 | |
I have a three metre one,
which is a bit on the long side. | 0:36:13 | 0:36:17 | |
Square is already big in the US,
it allows small businesses | 0:36:17 | 0:36:19 | |
like Phil Jones' computer store
in Holywell to take card | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
payments with a smartphone. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:23 | |
There's no contract
and there is a fixed fee. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:27 | |
In partnership with the town
council, Square has given free card | 0:36:27 | 0:36:30 | |
readers to any business
that wanted one. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:32 | |
Over 90% have signed up. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:38 | |
I took cards up until 2014 and then
I stopped taking cards. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:45 | |
Why? | 0:36:45 | 0:36:46 | |
The payment terminal I had
was costing me a lot of money | 0:36:46 | 0:36:51 | |
as rental and I had minimum
processing fees every month | 0:36:51 | 0:36:54 | |
and there were different
variable costs with different | 0:36:54 | 0:36:55 | |
types of transactions. | 0:36:55 | 0:36:57 | |
Some lower than Square,
some higher than Square. | 0:36:57 | 0:36:58 | |
So in average, even if I wasn't
using it, it was costing over 40 | 0:36:58 | 0:37:02 | |
odd pounds a month just
to have a machine here. | 0:37:02 | 0:37:04 | |
For many businesses in Holywell,
that outlay just didn't make sense | 0:37:04 | 0:37:10 | |
so they were locked in a world
of cash but now, without | 0:37:10 | 0:37:13 | |
the physical banks,
they and their customers needed | 0:37:13 | 0:37:15 | |
to process their cash. | 0:37:15 | 0:37:17 | |
Sweeny Ted Palmer has cut hair
in Holywell for decades. | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
He is typical of a cash
locked business. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:22 | |
His haircuts cost £6. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:26 | |
Having a card reader made no sense. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:28 | |
Initially, he was resistant
to Square's help. | 0:37:28 | 0:37:30 | |
£6, please. | 0:37:30 | 0:37:32 | |
But now he says he wouldn't go back. | 0:37:32 | 0:37:39 | |
People do ask me, do I take card
and I've lost custom over it. | 0:37:39 | 0:37:43 | |
On a couple of occasions, I've cut
people's hair and they said, | 0:37:43 | 0:37:47 | |
do you take card and I said no
and they said they would get | 0:37:47 | 0:37:50 | |
the cash from the machine and I've
watched them out of the window go | 0:37:50 | 0:37:54 | |
and carry on. | 0:37:54 | 0:37:55 | |
Free haircut? | 0:37:55 | 0:37:56 | |
Yeah, just not bother coming back. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:57 | |
So to me it was
a no-brainer, really. | 0:37:57 | 0:37:59 | |
As long as it was viable,
you know, it's another | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
service that I can offer. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:04 | |
And people are carrying
less and less cash. | 0:38:04 | 0:38:09 | |
The banks still visit Holywell,
this NatWest mobile banking | 0:38:09 | 0:38:14 | |
van sets up once a week
in the council car park. | 0:38:14 | 0:38:18 | |
Whilst it's true many
can now bank online, | 0:38:18 | 0:38:22 | |
once you get out of town,
internet connection isn't | 0:38:22 | 0:38:24 | |
always good enough. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:25 | |
Free card payment readers aren't
going to solve those challenges. | 0:38:25 | 0:38:29 | |
The town council says the project's
main benefit is to restore some | 0:38:29 | 0:38:32 | |
self belief in Holywell. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:36 | |
Yeah, I can happily see a turnaround
from the dismay of the original | 0:38:36 | 0:38:41 | |
banks shutting to people
being positive about the town. | 0:38:41 | 0:38:47 | |
We need to make a lot of changes. | 0:38:47 | 0:38:51 | |
It's not a silver bullet that
can solve everything, | 0:38:51 | 0:38:53 | |
but it certainly helps. | 0:38:53 | 0:39:01 | |
First, technology came
for the record shops | 0:39:01 | 0:39:04 | |
and the toy shops and book
shops and travel agents. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:06 | |
The fact that it's now come
for the bank branches | 0:39:06 | 0:39:09 | |
may feel inevitable. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:12 | |
Viewed from a busy City,
even a reasonable evolution. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:14 | |
But viewed from many rural towns,
the departure of the banks can feel | 0:39:14 | 0:39:17 | |
more like a dire threat
to their economic life. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:21 | |
Good luck to the last bank in
Holywell. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:30 | |
That's all for this evening. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:32 | |
But before we go, remember when acid
house was the seen as the most | 0:39:32 | 0:39:35 | |
corrupting force facing society? | 0:39:35 | 0:39:36 | |
Ruining the minds of our youth... | 0:39:36 | 0:39:37 | |
How things change -
rave culture is now at home | 0:39:37 | 0:39:41 | |
on the BBC's children's channel
Cbeebies - perhaps some | 0:39:41 | 0:39:43 | |
of the people Mrs Thatcher
were worried about are now | 0:39:43 | 0:39:46 | |
running the channel..? | 0:39:46 | 0:39:48 | |
Hey Dougie's songs are getting
so many young people moving | 0:39:48 | 0:39:51 | |
that its soundtrack has even
made its way on to | 0:39:51 | 0:39:53 | |
BBC Radio 6 music. | 0:39:53 | 0:39:55 | |
Even if you weren't in a gravel pit
with a big speaker in 1989 we're | 0:39:55 | 0:39:59 | |
sure you'll enjoy this.... | 0:39:59 | 0:40:00 | |
Goodnight. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:01 | |
MUSIC: Hey Duggee "Stick Song" | 0:40:01 | 0:40:03 | |
# Stick, stick, stick, stick | 0:40:03 | 0:40:08 | |
# Sticky, sticky, stick, stick.# | 0:40:08 | 0:40:10 | |
# Stick, stick, stick, stick | 0:40:10 | 0:40:14 | |
# Sticky, sticky, stick, stick.# | 0:40:14 | 0:40:16 | |
# Stick, stick, stick, stick | 0:40:16 | 0:40:20 | |
# Sticky, sticky, stick, stick.# | 0:40:20 | 0:40:25 | |
# Sticky, sticky, stick, stick.# | 0:40:27 | 0:40:33 |