:00:25. > :01:45.brightest hopes, Sarah Teather is now heading for the exit. We will
:01:45. > :01:56.hear from Nick Clegg on what it signifies.
:01:56. > :01:58.hear from Nick Clegg on what it And freshly showered from the Great
:01:58. > :02:04.North Run and looking as fresh as daisies, the best and brightest
:02:04. > :02:14.Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis and Iain Now, their leader is our Deputy
:02:14. > :02:18.Prime Minister. They are the junior government. They like the colour
:02:18. > :02:21.yellow and they have not won a general election since dinosaurs
:02:21. > :02:25.walked the earth. Now they are behind UKIP in the polls, so as
:02:25. > :02:29.walked the earth. Now they are party gathers for its annual bash
:02:29. > :02:33.this year in Glasgow, what is on their mind? Who are the people
:02:33. > :02:39.gathering at the Clyde this weekend? their mind? Who are the people
:02:39. > :02:49.Before they started drinking, we councillors in England and Wales,
:02:49. > :02:53.comrade. The first question we asked was, if the next election results in
:02:53. > :02:57.a hung parliament, which team would you rather go into coalition with,
:02:57. > :03:07.the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem councillors said Labour, two to
:03:07. > :03:13.the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem Tories or Labour? It is not for
:03:13. > :03:18.the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem to say. It is for the voters to
:03:18. > :03:22.say. We will decide depending on councillors favoured a coalition
:03:22. > :03:35.is on the table. Who would you rather play table football against?
:03:35. > :03:51.because I am winning. So in the winning 's which ones are heading
:03:51. > :04:02.popular policy was a mansion tax on house is worth more than £2 million,
:04:02. > :04:04.popular policy was a mansion tax on councillors. The next most popular
:04:04. > :04:09.policy was scrapping the Trident nuclear deterrent, supported by
:04:09. > :04:13.policy was scrapping the Trident of councillors. Then there was the
:04:13. > :04:18.reinstatement of the 50p top rate of income tax. 70% of councillors like
:04:18. > :04:22.the look of that. When it came to the idea of banning the burka in
:04:22. > :04:27.public places like schools and airports, 45% of councillors were in
:04:27. > :04:34.favour. Finally, a ban on topless Page three model is won the support
:04:34. > :04:42.of 33% of councillors. Why is it so popular, the idea of a mansion tax?
:04:42. > :04:46.It is a much fairer tax. We know there are people out there with
:04:46. > :04:49.It is a much fairer tax. We know expensive houses. Which of these is
:04:49. > :04:56.most important to you? Banning Trident. The cold war ended in
:04:56. > :04:59.1989. Another one was the idea of banning the burka in public places.
:04:59. > :05:06.whatever they like. If they want to banning the burka in public places.
:05:06. > :05:18.wear the birth or a kilt or if they anything. We are the party of jobs.
:05:18. > :05:23.Thank you. Last night, a fully clothed Nick Clegg rallied his
:05:23. > :05:28.troops, but if he was not around, who would Lib Dem councillors want
:05:28. > :05:33.instead? Business Secretary Vince Cable was most popular, with a third
:05:33. > :05:39.of the votes. In second place, the party's president, Tim Farron, with
:05:39. > :05:45.27%. 10% went to Danny Alexander, while the business minister Joe
:05:45. > :05:50.Swinson received 7%. The Energy Secretary Ed Davey scooped 6%, and
:05:50. > :05:57.in last place, Steve Webb, the pensions minister, who got 5%. If
:05:57. > :05:59.any of these councillors want to talk to me about it, I would be
:05:59. > :06:09.delighted to hear from them. Is talk to me about it, I would be
:06:09. > :06:17.certainly isn't. What do you think contenders. But our survey is not
:06:17. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues wagging in Glasgow, because the
:06:22. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:22. > :06:25.their own poll which showed that 75% Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:25. > :06:29.of the country will never vote Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:29. > :06:37.the party, no matter what they do. Also meeting here this weekend,
:06:37. > :06:39.the party, no matter what they do. Democrats like to think they have
:06:39. > :06:43.got just as much va-va-voom, even if a big chunk of the country doesn't.
:06:43. > :06:54.Add, back in his hometown. So, a big chunk of the country doesn't.
:06:54. > :06:58.Much of their party thinks they a big chunk of the country doesn't.
:06:58. > :07:01.moving in the wrong direction. Earlier, I spoke to former party
:07:01. > :07:02.moving in the wrong direction. leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been
:07:02. > :07:06.put in charge of heading up the leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been
:07:06. > :07:15.election campaign. I asked him if the mood in Glasgow was grim. No. In
:07:15. > :07:19.many ways, as you know, Tory old commentator that you are just as I
:07:19. > :07:28.am a hoary old member at the other end of the camera, we have been
:07:28. > :07:32.midterm of a government, especially when you are in government and the
:07:32. > :07:34.country is going for in a deep economic crisis, has almost no
:07:34. > :07:38.relevance to where you might be economic crisis, has almost no
:07:39. > :07:43.the nipple come to consider how economic crisis, has almost no
:07:43. > :07:47.will vote in 600 days time -- when the people come to consider how
:07:47. > :07:47.will vote in 600 days time -- when will vote. We do not dismiss polls,
:07:47. > :07:52.but they are a snapshot of what will vote. We do not dismiss polls,
:07:52. > :07:55.indication of where we will be. will vote. We do not dismiss polls,
:07:55. > :07:58.guess is, for what it is worth, will vote. We do not dismiss polls,
:07:58. > :08:01.as we come to the election, the public will be in a very serious,
:08:01. > :08:06.probably frightened mood. Their public will be in a very serious,
:08:06. > :08:11.thoughts will be, who maintains public will be in a very serious,
:08:11. > :08:14.job, makes sure I don't have to public will be in a very serious,
:08:14. > :08:20.to higher mortgage? The coalition has delivered not only the required
:08:20. > :08:25.policies to make Britain's economy prosperous, but also its society
:08:25. > :08:30.fair. That is what people will want to see. I think coalition politics
:08:30. > :08:34.are here to stay and we have a role to play in it. But you are in a
:08:34. > :08:37.are here to stay and we have a role mood this morning. You tweeted that
:08:37. > :08:44.you were not happy with how the Observer newspaper handled your
:08:44. > :08:52.there anything we can do to help? There is probably something they
:08:52. > :08:56.arguments with the interview. The headline they chose to put on it
:08:56. > :09:03.late last night was outrageous, misrepresentative and in one case in
:09:03. > :09:09.Something about Ashdown wants a coalition with the Tories, or at
:09:09. > :09:13.Something about Ashdown wants a least they gave that in for us
:09:13. > :09:17.Something about Ashdown wants a inference. Let me make this point.
:09:17. > :09:23.campaign. Any journalist who in election. I am in charge of the
:09:23. > :09:26.campaign. Any journalist who in these next two years says that any
:09:26. > :09:29.Liberal Democrat prefers anything else in terms of the outcome of
:09:29. > :09:32.Liberal Democrat prefers anything coalition but the result of the
:09:32. > :09:34.ballot box dictating that outcome, that any prefer one side to another
:09:34. > :09:42.coalition determined by the electors that any prefer one side to another
:09:42. > :09:46.in the votes, will get a bloody that any prefer one side to another
:09:46. > :10:08.time from me, no matter who they are. We take the warning. A survey
:10:08. > :10:13.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in coalition with the Tories. That
:10:13. > :10:15.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in clear sign that your activists want
:10:15. > :10:17.a change of direction. I don't think it is news that as a left-wing
:10:17. > :10:20.party, we find it more congenial with those on the left wing, but
:10:21. > :10:24.that is not the issue. You saw it election. We are servants of the
:10:24. > :10:27.ballot box. We do watch the British people require us to do to provide a
:10:27. > :10:30.of our country. I am sure you have stable government in the interests
:10:30. > :10:33.of our country. I am sure you have got the point by now. I have fought
:10:33. > :10:39.the Tories all my life. But when responsibility to amend the economic
:10:39. > :10:46.crisis, was this right for the determine who are going to be in any
:10:46. > :10:53.coalition, should there be one, determine who are going to be in any
:10:53. > :10:59.voters and nobody else. It is not about what we like. I understand
:10:59. > :11:06.that. But your own internal polls leadership are not taking the party
:11:06. > :11:11.with them on that. I don't think that is true. Nick Clegg has done
:11:11. > :11:15.what no other party leader has done. He took the coalition agreement
:11:15. > :11:18.what no other party leader has done. the party, and they voted for it. So
:11:18. > :11:24.it is not true to say that members different direction. I think we
:11:24. > :11:26.it is not true to say that members extraordinarily united. I did not
:11:26. > :11:31.expect them to be so under these pressures, but they have surprised
:11:31. > :11:39.me and made me joyful at the same time. The party has done what it
:11:39. > :11:43.done in local government for a long time. We may have our private likes
:11:43. > :11:52.and dislikes, but the thing that time. We may have our private likes
:11:52. > :11:57.coalition is the ballot box. You have said that three times. I can
:11:57. > :12:02.say it again if you like. Please don't! What if your party votes
:12:02. > :12:06.say it again if you like. Please reinstate tuition fees as party
:12:06. > :12:12.policy afternoon? We will have to listen to that and act accordingly.
:12:12. > :12:16.You must listen to the voice of listen to that and act accordingly.
:12:16. > :12:23.party and take it into account in what you do. I am always quite
:12:23. > :12:26.answering hypothetical questions. I don't think it is likely to happen,
:12:26. > :12:31.but if it did, we would have to don't think it is likely to happen,
:12:31. > :12:34.distinguished Lib Dems was that don't think it is likely to happen,
:12:34. > :12:40.your party conference voted for something, it was in the manifesto.
:12:40. > :12:42.The manifesto is taken in its final form before the party for decision.
:12:42. > :12:48.The party will express views at form before the party for decision.
:12:48. > :12:52.stage in all sorts of ways. It did in my leadership, too. The manifesto
:12:52. > :12:53.is democratically agreed by the party at the time of the election,
:12:53. > :12:59.not before. The Tory conference party at the time of the election,
:12:59. > :13:02.be about how they think they have been vindicated, that austerity
:13:02. > :13:07.be about how they think they have worked, the economy is turning a
:13:07. > :13:11.corner. But Nick Clegg's conference announcements will be about plastic
:13:11. > :13:16.bags. Have you got the hang of this coalition think? Andrew, you can
:13:16. > :13:23.always be guaranteed to put things in the most discreditable form!
:13:24. > :13:26.always be guaranteed to put things is part of your charm. That was
:13:26. > :13:31.about to be a minor announcement in the middle of his speech. But it was
:13:31. > :13:34.discovered beforehand. It has not the middle of his speech. But it was
:13:34. > :13:37.discovered beforehand. It has not been very popular in terms of how it
:13:37. > :13:41.has been received, but that is not the central message. That leads
:13:41. > :13:47.has been received, but that is not to what I think is the biggest
:13:47. > :13:52.election. Isn't the biggest danger that the Tories, not you, if there
:13:52. > :14:04.is an economic recovery, they will get the credit for it? I don't think
:14:04. > :14:10.think the electorate does gratitude. The only time people cast a thank
:14:10. > :14:13.Thatcher over the sale of council houses. We could have a different
:14:13. > :14:21.discussion over whether that was a good idea. But what you have done is
:14:21. > :14:30.the underpinning for the promise of government, we have stayed firm
:14:30. > :14:37.the underpinning for the promise of very tough economic policy. But
:14:37. > :14:40.the underpinning for the promise of you get the credit? What we have
:14:40. > :14:44.done by ourselves, which the Tories would never have done, is make sure
:14:44. > :14:49.that when the pain is felt, it is not the poor who feel it. We have
:14:49. > :14:53.seen the biggest shift of taxation, lifting the poorest in the country
:14:53. > :14:59.out of taxation, that has ever happened, including in the previous
:14:59. > :15:04.Labour government. You are presiding over the biggest squeeze on living
:15:04. > :15:05.standards in modern times. Because it is the biggest recession in
:15:05. > :15:15.modern times. When you speak to it is the biggest recession in
:15:15. > :15:19.2.5 million people who have been lifted out of taxation altogether
:15:19. > :15:32.because of the Liberal Democrats, tax cut. You may be able to make the
:15:32. > :15:36.because of the Liberal Democrats, connection, Andrew, you are a sharp
:15:36. > :15:39.economic crisis and difficulty for everybody. But it is clear that
:15:39. > :15:41.economic crisis and difficulty for the Tories had been by themselves,
:15:41. > :15:45.none of that would have happened. We have sought to shift the burden
:15:45. > :15:48.none of that would have happened. We from the poorest in this country. I
:15:48. > :15:52.am part of that. So when we go into the next election, the message will
:15:52. > :15:54.am part of that. So when we go into be that if you want to continue
:15:54. > :15:57.am part of that. So when we go into have a prosperous economy and a
:15:57. > :16:07.society, only the Liberal Democrats will deliver that. Tim Farron says
:16:07. > :16:10.want to diss him. Can you confirm he likes Ed Miliband and he does not
:16:10. > :16:15.want to diss him. Can you confirm that there will be no dissing of Ed
:16:15. > :16:19.Miliband? It is not much my style. I've never much liked comments about
:16:19. > :16:27.the other leaders. I do not intend to make it so in the future. Can I'd
:16:27. > :16:30.finish up on Syria? You said after the Syria vote that Britain was
:16:30. > :16:36.finish up on Syria? You said after hugely diminished country. Given it
:16:36. > :16:39.both sides on a course which could now see Syria give up chemical
:16:39. > :16:41.weapons without records to military action, would you like to withdraw
:16:41. > :16:48.these remarks and admit that you action, would you like to withdraw
:16:48. > :16:50.these remarks and admit that you Britain has done? No. You and I
:16:50. > :16:56.these remarks and admit that you know, because we are old observers,
:16:56. > :17:02.that that would never have happened underpinning of a threat to use
:17:02. > :17:06.resigned from that. We have no part to play in the fact that Assad and
:17:06. > :17:09.Putin have moved towards peace for to play in the fact that Assad and
:17:09. > :17:14.fear of military action. We decided exactly the opposite. Why would
:17:14. > :17:16.fear of military action. We decided liked to have seen our country join
:17:16. > :17:24.in with those who are serious about upholding an international law which
:17:24. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we talent, but instead we resigned
:17:35. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:35. > :17:43.Maxis and Stalin. But if it had moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:43. > :17:49.would not have had the time to allow this to happen. It has avoided war.
:17:49. > :17:56.Job done, British Parliament. That would be true if it was accurate but
:17:56. > :18:01.it is not. The resolution proposed a delay, that we should wait until the
:18:01. > :18:03.inspectors came back. That time frame was absolutely nothing to
:18:03. > :18:08.inspectors came back. That time with the parliamentary vote. The
:18:08. > :18:15.vote was going to incorporate that. I do not think you can claim what
:18:15. > :18:17.vote was going to incorporate that. remember that diplomacy, which was
:18:17. > :18:21.not reinforced by the threat of military action, does not work.
:18:21. > :18:25.not reinforced by the threat of is when diplomacy runs with a grain
:18:25. > :18:30.of military action that it works. illustration of that, look at what
:18:30. > :18:35.is happening over the last two weeks. By regret to say that our
:18:35. > :18:49.country, which has always been in disengagement, had no part to play
:18:49. > :18:56.And you we would get to the Balkans eventually, and we did. His biggest
:18:56. > :19:03.challenge is if the economy is get some credit for the Lib Dems,
:19:03. > :19:07.when the Tories will want to halt it all. But his position is not to
:19:07. > :19:08.when the Tories will want to halt it the necessary axeman. That is George
:19:08. > :19:12.Osborne's role. Their role is to be Osborne's role. Their role is to be
:19:12. > :19:16.the chaser party, taking the edge off. They will because of me going
:19:16. > :19:22.on about the pupil premium and That is what you will hear from
:19:22. > :19:26.of the cuts. Will that work? They them, how they have taken the edge
:19:26. > :19:27.of the cuts. Will that work? They are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:27. > :19:31.if they have lost two thirds of are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:31. > :19:36.popular support, according to the polls, I do not know anyone in
:19:36. > :19:37.Westminster methinks that will be matched in their parliamentary
:19:37. > :19:40.representation. If they have 56 matched in their parliamentary
:19:40. > :19:48.now, they might lose a dozen but Strategically, they are in a better
:19:48. > :19:53.position than the reading of the polls would tell you. I think Nick
:19:53. > :19:59.Clegg's survival has been one of the stories of this Parliament. He is
:19:59. > :20:04.looking good at the comfort -- at the conference. When he was at his
:20:04. > :20:09.lowest after the AV referendum, people were saying he would survive
:20:09. > :20:13.I thought that was fanciful. Believe and lead us into 2015 and beyond and
:20:13. > :20:15.I thought that was fanciful. Believe it or not... Paddy Ashdown was
:20:15. > :20:21.wrong, you were wrong and... I wasn't. I'm underestimated how bad
:20:21. > :20:27.his rivals are. If you are Lib Dem member, however aggrieved you are
:20:27. > :20:31.with Nick Clegg, you do not think, wouldn't it be great if Christian
:20:31. > :20:34.was in charge? Nick Clegg is the best they have. -- Chris Huhne was
:20:34. > :20:40.in charge. Of course, the people do in charge. Of course, the people do
:20:40. > :20:44.government and it is a consequence of the way they vote, a different
:20:44. > :20:51.matter. If Janan Ganesh is right, and they lose 15 seats in the next
:20:51. > :20:57.pivotal in the next government. It Possibly the most amusing outcome
:20:57. > :21:00.would be a Labour or Tory overall majority, which would be hilarious
:21:00. > :21:06.for the look on Paddy Ashdown's face. The danger is they get trapped
:21:06. > :21:09.constantly in talking about the politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:09. > :21:16.parliament. And they are very puffed politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:17. > :21:20.parliament. And they are very puffed up and they enjoy Parliament and
:21:20. > :21:23.there is a possibility they will not be. While they are talking about the
:21:23. > :21:25.Polish and themselves, they are be. While they are talking about the
:21:25. > :21:31.talking about the issues facing be. While they are talking about the
:21:31. > :21:37.coalition. It was interesting that he said that we are a left-wing
:21:37. > :21:44.party, not a centre-left party or a centre party, but a left-wing party.
:21:44. > :21:46.I'm going to put myself in the firing line and say that there is a
:21:46. > :21:50.big split between the Tim Farron firing line and say that there is a
:21:50. > :21:54.line who say they like Ed Miliband, and another one, Jeremy Browne in
:21:54. > :21:57.the Home Office saying that Labour are intellectually lazy. The risk
:21:57. > :22:05.clearly a clique around Nick Clegg who wants to be a synthetic party,
:22:05. > :22:12.but that is not where the membership who wants to be a synthetic party,
:22:12. > :22:17.activists are clearly of the left, not just the centre-left. They are
:22:17. > :22:23.very pro-immigration and they want strategy has to be to take the party
:22:23. > :22:26.to the centre. The something not happen at some stage? The poll
:22:26. > :22:30.suggests it is a left-wing party. happen at some stage? The poll
:22:30. > :22:33.Very left-wing. Other think the happen at some stage? The poll
:22:33. > :22:39.would have yielded -- would have yielded the same results before
:22:39. > :22:40.would have yielded -- would have 2010 election. This is reflected by
:22:40. > :22:43.the arithmetic. Whichever party 2010 election. This is reflected by
:22:43. > :22:44.biggest will most likely be the 2010 election. This is reflected by
:22:44. > :22:49.in coalition with the Lib Dems. 2010 election. This is reflected by
:22:49. > :23:01.Clegg's on latitude to choose is exaggerated by us. The choice is no
:23:01. > :23:04.parliamentary arithmetic. But if you remember the structure of the Lib
:23:04. > :23:15.Dems, they can tie themselves up in infighting. -- the choice is not
:23:15. > :23:18.stable. And Nick Clegg has had a good conference last year, and will
:23:18. > :23:21.have another one this year. The economy is better than it was a
:23:21. > :23:21.have another one this year. The ago. It could still go quite well
:23:21. > :23:27.for him. Yes, it is one of the ago. It could still go quite well
:23:27. > :23:31.stories of this Parliament, his survival and the way in which he has
:23:31. > :23:37.prospered. But there are a lot of campaigners, labour activists who
:23:37. > :23:41.have not forgotten what he has done in government and are determined to
:23:41. > :23:46.get him. It will be a tough year and a half. Tougher than he imagined.
:23:46. > :23:49.Now, not so long ago they were writing George Osborne's political
:23:49. > :23:55.obituary. Be on the Omni shambles budget of 2012 and a lacklustre
:23:55. > :24:03.performance of the British economy meant his reputation work -- was in
:24:03. > :24:06.the dirt. -- the omnishambles. But things have changed. The Chancellor
:24:06. > :24:15.is saying he has been vindicated. If runway, it looks as though the
:24:15. > :24:20.British economy has taken off, quarter. Forecasts for the rest
:24:20. > :24:23.British economy has taken off, the year have been revised up words.
:24:23. > :24:31.What's more, the office for National recession never actually happened.
:24:31. > :24:40.Unemployment is down in the three months to July and the number of
:24:40. > :24:42.spasticity rate since 1997. On Monday, George Osborne said his
:24:42. > :24:45.policies were bearing fruit. We Monday, George Osborne said his
:24:45. > :24:51.our nerve when many told us to abandon our plans. As a result,
:24:51. > :24:59.thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the British people, Britain is
:24:59. > :25:02.turning a corner. The message for his Labour critics was clear. The
:25:02. > :25:06.Chancellor thinks he was right and they were wrong. And Chuka Umunna
:25:06. > :25:21.Good afternoon. Good afternoon.Do you accept that the economy has
:25:21. > :25:27.turned a corner? I think it is good that a stalled recovery appears
:25:27. > :25:29.turned a corner? I think it is good get this in perspective. We have had
:25:29. > :25:34.three wasted years. We have the worst economic recovery in history.
:25:34. > :25:43.Debt is up and we have record youth programme if they feel better or
:25:43. > :25:47.worse off, compared to 2010, the majority will tell you they feel
:25:47. > :25:54.worse because, on average, wages are down by £1500 compared to May of
:25:54. > :26:02.2010. That is the situation. The one of the things we have seen
:26:02. > :26:06.talked about, Vince Cable has been talking about this as well, is what
:26:06. > :26:08.is happening in the housing market. It seems that much of the solution
:26:08. > :26:14.to powering the recovery in the It seems that much of the solution
:26:14. > :26:18.of George Osborne lies in sorting out the housing market but the
:26:18. > :26:21.problem is, we are at risk of being another housing bubble. Because
:26:21. > :26:26.problem is, we are at risk of being research that came out this week, we
:26:26. > :26:29.know that housing in the UK is three times more expensive than in the US.
:26:29. > :26:32.know that housing in the UK is three We know that house prices are rising
:26:32. > :26:38.five times faster than wages, but we also know that the government is
:26:38. > :26:40.five times faster than wages, but we building new housing at a slower
:26:40. > :26:46.complaining about a housing bubble, rate, the slowest rate that we have
:26:46. > :26:52.complaining about a housing bubble, isn't that like Satan complaining
:26:52. > :26:56.about seven? -- seven. We all know that we cannot go back to business
:26:56. > :27:01.as usual. We need to build a new model of growth. But the housing
:27:01. > :27:06.bubble you talk about, it is not a bubble. It might turn into one.
:27:06. > :27:08.bubble you talk about, it is not a said the risk of a bubble. It is
:27:08. > :27:15.nothing like what happened on the I said, in 2009, we had the crash
:27:15. > :27:19.and we knew we needed to reconfigure the way that our economy works.
:27:19. > :27:26.Having an economy based on crisis is rebalance the economy. We saw the
:27:26. > :27:32.unemployment statistics this week, and it is welcomed overall, that
:27:32. > :27:42.unemployment has come down. At half up. And it went down in other parts.
:27:42. > :27:48.We know that we need to rebalance our economy, so that we do not just
:27:48. > :27:53.rely on consumption, but that we grow our productive sectors. And
:27:53. > :28:00.also that we grow our exports as well. We know we have a continuing
:28:00. > :28:11.deficit. We always have a trade deficit. There was never a trade
:28:11. > :28:14.surplus under Labour. Want to come onto what you have mentioned but
:28:14. > :28:18.scheme? We have not said that we would you scrap the help to buy
:28:18. > :28:21.scheme? We have not said that we would do that. Why not if it is
:28:21. > :28:27.causing the bubble? If you let me finish, on one hand what that scheme
:28:27. > :28:34.does at the moment, at the moment it is inhalation to a new scheme but
:28:34. > :28:38.tomorrow -- next year it will be in you do not sort out the supply of
:28:38. > :28:43.housing, then that is a recipe for the problems we have seen. Our
:28:43. > :28:45.argument is build more houses. Help more people to buy them by all means
:28:45. > :28:48.but if you do not have the supply more people to buy them by all means
:28:48. > :28:52.but if you do not have the supply you will end up with rising prices.
:28:52. > :28:54.That is obvious. Labour said that government austerity would prevent
:28:54. > :29:00.the return of growth. Austerity government austerity would prevent
:29:00. > :29:04.were wrong. We never said that growth would never return. What
:29:04. > :29:05.were wrong. We never said that said was that if you went for an
:29:05. > :29:11.were wrong. We never said that overly extreme deficit reduction
:29:11. > :29:17.recovery and you would choke growth. That is what we saw for three years.
:29:17. > :29:24.If you say, look at the US economy, it has grown at three times the
:29:24. > :29:28.If you say, look at the US economy, economy has grown at twice the rate.
:29:28. > :29:31.But the British economy is growing quicker than the American or German
:29:31. > :29:37.economy is now. But over time we have not seen that happen. But it is
:29:37. > :29:42.now. That may be the case. But my point is that those three years
:29:42. > :29:44.now. That may be the case. But my people undergoing huge stress and
:29:45. > :29:48.worry. It is good that we have growth back again but the question
:29:48. > :29:55.is, what kind of growth? What we have said... I'm going to come onto
:29:55. > :29:57.that but your credibility depends on your previous analysis. And there
:29:57. > :30:05.are doubts about it. This is what you said not that long ago. In
:30:05. > :30:33.You and the Labour Party said it had choked off growth. You were wrong.
:30:33. > :30:38.We were not wrong, because we had three years where the economy was
:30:38. > :30:41.not moving. Let's remind ourselves. Claude Osborne was predicting that
:30:41. > :30:46.the economy was going to grow by 6.9% between the start of this
:30:46. > :30:55.Parliament and now. It has grown by 1.8%. We did not say we would never
:30:55. > :30:58.have a return to growth. You never said that austerity would only
:30:59. > :31:03.temporarily delay growth. We have looked through your speeches and Ed
:31:03. > :31:09.Balls'. We can't find any reference to say this is simply delaying the
:31:09. > :31:13.recovery. You said austerity would choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:13. > :31:19.why has it returned now? Did we choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:19. > :31:26.it would choke off growth for ever? choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:26. > :31:29.We did not. You have changed your tune. I think your package at the
:31:29. > :31:34.top of this programme, to frame tune. I think your package at the
:31:34. > :31:39.around George Osborne, this is not a people's lives, and the people who
:31:39. > :31:46.deserve huge credit for the growth we are seeing are our country's
:31:46. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough economic times, have succeeded.
:31:49. > :31:52.businesses, who despite the tough are the ones who have powered this
:31:52. > :31:57.growth. It is not for us in Westminster to take credit. But you
:31:57. > :32:03.blame the government for lack of growth. So therefore, when the
:32:03. > :32:07.growth comes, the government has to take some credit. Look at the
:32:07. > :32:12.situation Britain is in now. We know the recovery still has to reach many
:32:12. > :32:21.parts of the country, but this is the OECD annualised growth in the
:32:21. > :32:25.G-7, the world's guest economies. That is looking pretty healthy. That
:32:25. > :32:33.is a recovery. I am not denying that That is looking pretty healthy. That
:32:33. > :32:38.we are seeing a stalled recovery, but who benefits from the growth? On
:32:39. > :32:48.average, your viewers have sustained a £1500 pay cut. That is the second
:32:48. > :32:54.biggest fall in the G20 since May 2010. Because we had the biggest
:32:54. > :32:58.financial services sector and took the biggest crash. Financial
:32:58. > :33:07.services are still in decline. Financial services are about 10% of
:33:07. > :33:12.the economy. They are not the only contributor to the economy. The
:33:12. > :33:16.point is, who benefits? Unemployment is falling, but we don't just want
:33:16. > :33:21.people to have any job, we want them to have decent jobs that pay a
:33:21. > :33:28.weight you can live off and that are more secure. Let me show you the
:33:28. > :33:33.unemployment figures. Your criticism has been that all the new jobs are
:33:33. > :33:37.part-time. They are not now, they are full-time. Full-time
:33:37. > :33:46.unemployment, up -- full-time employment, up 94,000. This is a
:33:46. > :33:50.short time frame. It is since the recovery began. Half the jobs that
:33:50. > :33:56.have been created since May 2010 have been part-time jobs. Roughly
:33:56. > :34:01.107,000 people are working part-time who would like to work full-time.
:34:01. > :34:03.Over the last 20 years, people now feel more insecure at work than
:34:03. > :34:07.ever. The question is about what feel more insecure at work than
:34:07. > :34:14.kind of growth and employment you are getting. The other point is the
:34:14. > :34:21.uneven spread of this across our economy. In places like the
:34:21. > :34:29.north-east and north-west, the Humber, the east of England, they
:34:29. > :34:33.have seen unemployment increase. I agree that there was a regional
:34:33. > :34:40.imbalance, but the service sector is growing, cheering and construction
:34:40. > :34:44.are growing and financial services are in decline, so the rebalance is
:34:45. > :34:49.happening. It is not happening to the degree we need to transform our
:34:49. > :34:53.economy so that we have a long-term, sustainable model of
:34:53. > :34:55.growth. That is why we need a comprehensive industrial strategy
:34:55. > :35:04.that all of government works towards. Your party conference is
:35:04. > :35:09.coming up. I am sure you are looking forward to it. Why do Ed Miliband's
:35:09. > :35:20.approval ratings get worse the more people see of him? I don't accept
:35:20. > :35:26.that. I have given you the figures. Polls go up and down. I have said
:35:26. > :35:33.that on this programme before. But his approval rating has consistently
:35:33. > :35:35.gone down. What actually matters our votes. Under Ed Miliband's
:35:35. > :35:39.leadership, the Labour Party have votes. Under Ed Miliband's
:35:39. > :35:50.put on almost 2000 extra councillors in places like Canada case, even
:35:50. > :35:56.Whitney. What is wrong with Whitney? We have been putting on votes. Let
:35:56. > :36:00.me show you this. This is the net satisfaction rating. Your leader is
:36:00. > :36:07.now more unpopular than Gordon Brown was when he took Labour to the worst
:36:07. > :36:14.defeat in living memory. Gordon Brown did not put on anything like
:36:14. > :36:21.this number of councillors. Votes are what matter, Andrew. Few people
:36:21. > :36:26.think Ed Miliband is a capable leader. Twice as many people think
:36:26. > :36:32.over Spurs who lives on the moon. These are polls. If you are talking
:36:32. > :36:39.to me about over Spurs lit, that puts this into context, Europe
:36:39. > :36:44.session with polls! -- Elvis Presley. Since 2010, we have put on
:36:44. > :36:47.thousands of members. Compare that to the Conservative Party, which has
:36:47. > :36:58.not won a general election since 1992. They will not disclose their
:36:58. > :37:02.membership figures. Why -- why won't you pledge to renationalise Royal
:37:02. > :37:05.Mail? Because that would be like writing a blank cheque. We don't
:37:05. > :37:09.know at the moment how much the government would receive for the
:37:09. > :37:13.sale of Royal Mail? So how can I judge how much it would cost to buy
:37:13. > :37:17.it back? That would be irresponsible. But the government
:37:17. > :37:23.does not need to do this right now. The entire country is against it.
:37:23. > :37:26.Sources in the City and Whitehall tell me that if Labour pledged to
:37:26. > :37:34.renationalise it, it would kill off the flotation. So if you are against
:37:34. > :37:36.it, why don't you do it? For me to pledge to renationalise Royal Mail
:37:36. > :37:43.would be like writing a blank cheque. But if you put it in the
:37:44. > :37:50.prospectus, people in the City, who know more about these things, say it
:37:50. > :37:54.would not happen, so why not do it? Because that would be irresponsible.
:37:54. > :37:59.It would be like writing a cheque for billions to renationalise Royal
:37:59. > :38:05.Mail. You would not have too right at the check if it did not happen. I
:38:05. > :38:09.have to deal with the facts. I am not good deal with the plot somebody
:38:09. > :38:14.might be speculating about in the City. We have to be careful about
:38:14. > :38:18.this. For me to pledge to renationalise it now would be like
:38:18. > :38:22.writing a bank cheque . We are going to be a fiscally responsible
:38:22. > :38:28.government. That is why I am not prepared to do that. Ed Balls will
:38:28. > :38:29.not be talking to you. You are watching the Sunday Politics. Coming
:38:29. > :38:47.up in 20 In the East Midlands: County
:38:47. > :38:53.councils had to cut millions of pounds from their budgets and now
:38:53. > :38:59.they are turning to you for ideas. If they were in an orchestra, they
:39:00. > :39:05.would be on fiddles. That is absolutely untrue. Nick Clegg tells
:39:05. > :39:11.us that he thinks we are warming to the Lib Dems. I get the impression
:39:11. > :39:15.that people in the East Midlands, much as other parts of the country,
:39:15. > :39:26.are developing a begrudging respect. My guests this week are Jessica Lee
:39:26. > :39:30.and Graham Allen. First, thousands of youngsters are heading off to
:39:30. > :39:35.university, but thousands are into. East Midlands has some of the lowest
:39:35. > :39:41.figures are people going to university in the country. Graham's
:39:41. > :39:46.constituency is officially the lowest. Teachers travel to
:39:46. > :39:52.Westminster to meet the educational secretary to voice their concerns.
:39:52. > :40:02.How did it go? It went well. We spent over an hour speaking to the
:40:02. > :40:08.Education Secretary. What they need is small bite—size bits of learning
:40:08. > :40:14.to build their confidence, motivate them and show them they can achieve.
:40:14. > :40:24.I'll be bothered about loosening the modules —— are they bothered? My
:40:24. > :40:30.kids don't like that, there are frightened of it. So why not stick
:40:30. > :40:38.with what we have gotten the moment. It has provided a tremendous
:40:38. > :40:46.improvements. 90% are more —— 90% more people from my constituency are
:40:46. > :40:54.going to university. We have to help young people in the East Midlands to
:40:54. > :40:59.aspire. Not everybody is good at the exams. If there is continuous
:40:59. > :41:08.assessment throughout the year, it helps? It changes the way of
:41:08. > :41:14.helping. It can help them to meet the changes that are suggested. In
:41:14. > :41:19.my constituency, the system that we have had for many years of building
:41:19. > :41:23.people up is actually working. There are no tangible improvements. My
:41:23. > :41:31.worry is that if we change for the sake of it, it will frighten the
:41:31. > :41:35.life out of the youngsters and my constituency, we will arrest that
:41:35. > :41:40.development and kids in my patch won't get that chance that we have
:41:40. > :41:45.all worked so hard to give them. I hope the Secretary of State has
:41:45. > :41:48.listened to us and hope he will come back with some minor changes to help
:41:48. > :41:54.children and my constituency to flourish as in others. We have a
:41:54. > :41:58.good and improving uptake for university and our constituency. It
:41:58. > :42:04.is right that the Education Secretary met with Graham. I think
:42:04. > :42:09.that is good news. I find Michael Gove very approachable and amenable
:42:09. > :42:15.to ideas. We need to follow it up and see what response we get there.
:42:15. > :42:19.We will follow that with interest. What are you most prepared to see
:42:19. > :42:25.dashed libraries closed, care for the elderly cut or other council
:42:25. > :42:31.services? Leicestershire county council says
:42:31. > :42:35.it needs to find £110 million worth of savings in the next five years.
:42:35. > :42:41.In Nottinghamshire the figure is £154 million. And Derbyshire county
:42:41. > :42:46.council says it has took at £157 million. Leaders from Leicestershire
:42:46. > :42:50.have been in Westminster this week to meet Conservative MPs from the
:42:50. > :42:56.county. In Nottinghamshire the county council has launched a public
:42:56. > :43:02.consultation. It wants to hear what services the public are prepared to
:43:02. > :43:08.seek at. We went out with the leader of the council to meet the voters.
:43:08. > :43:13.£154 million has to be cut from Nottinghamshire county council. They
:43:13. > :43:19.are asking you how they can do that. I am here to find out your
:43:19. > :43:22.views. I have the leader of the county council with me. Shall we
:43:22. > :43:28.asked people what they think? Yes. More people on the ground doing the
:43:28. > :43:37.actual work and not too many managers. What do you say to that?
:43:37. > :43:43.It is interesting to hear these views. There will be further job
:43:43. > :43:48.losses. There will be job losses in management as well as elsewhere in
:43:48. > :43:52.the management. You have built a new library building, to me there was
:43:52. > :43:57.nothing wrong with the old library building. You should look to do
:43:57. > :44:03.something in the library for the children, you might save money doing
:44:04. > :44:14.it that way. There is no money for the youth. Where do you think this
:44:14. > :44:19.man can cut the £154 million from their county council's budget? We
:44:19. > :44:25.haven't got a bus station for a start. We are waiting for one of
:44:25. > :44:32.them for quite a long time. It has been delayed again. You will have it
:44:32. > :44:43.by next winter. You can only cut so much. You need the services. Why not
:44:43. > :44:47.ask government as they can cut any of their budget, the Houses of
:44:47. > :44:54.Parliament? They have decided we should be cutting our budgets. You
:44:54. > :45:00.never see anybody saying, we are going to cut the site of our budget.
:45:01. > :45:06.The county council and a waste of time. Why are they a waste of time?
:45:06. > :45:12.If they were in an orchestra, they would be on fiddles. What do you say
:45:12. > :45:16.to that? It is absolutely untrue. I understand why people might have
:45:16. > :45:24.that perception. Fair play to Alan Rhodes to take
:45:24. > :45:29.part in that. You are never going to be sure how people are going to
:45:29. > :45:32.react to you when you're out in the street. The Conservative Council
:45:32. > :45:36.light Leicestershire are having to go cap in hand to Westminster to
:45:36. > :45:41.Conservative MPs to say, do not cut funding any more. We have got to
:45:41. > :45:46.deal with the reality. Most people in my constituency understand that.
:45:46. > :45:54.They are understand that the country has overspent and the appreciate
:45:54. > :46:00.that. They need MPs to make the case to request for funds in a way that
:46:00. > :46:01.they think will best serve their community. I think most people
:46:01. > :46:06.understand that. Nottinghamshire county council have announced they
:46:06. > :46:14.will stop paying their workers are living wage. How can they afford
:46:14. > :46:23.that? —— are going to start peeing. I think he has been courageous going
:46:23. > :46:30.out to the public and speaking to them about this. —— I hope this is
:46:30. > :46:34.opening up a dialogue with people saying, if you want good services
:46:34. > :46:40.local or a good health service, you will have to pay for it. I would
:46:40. > :46:44.like to see local people deciding what they are prepared to pay,
:46:44. > :46:49.politicians of all parties going out to convince them on the arguments
:46:49. > :47:00.and engage with them. If you fit it to people that if we pay a lot —— a
:47:00. > :47:02.little more for our police then we have less crime. If you invest in
:47:02. > :47:07.children, early intervention, that'll pay back in the long term.
:47:07. > :47:14.People are not stupid, they get these arguments. At the moment, all
:47:14. > :47:21.parties say that if we cut the fat out, it will be OK. Where can these
:47:21. > :47:25.cuts come from? I think this is what MPs need to do. To make those
:47:25. > :47:30.representations. Where can these continuing cuts come from?
:47:30. > :47:37.Foreigners start, you heard on the film there, the man was pointing out
:47:37. > :47:42.that there are too many chiefs. —— for a start. There has been a lack
:47:42. > :47:46.of accountability in the public sector for a long time. For
:47:46. > :47:51.example, I was horrified to read that under the last Labour
:47:51. > :48:08.government, they ordered 28 luxury coaches. What about elderly care?
:48:08. > :48:13.Local industry should be benefiting. There are savings that
:48:13. > :48:19.can still be made. I absolutely believe that. Where can these cuts
:48:19. > :48:23.be made? I will give you an example, I think people need to have a longer
:48:23. > :48:30.sighted view as well. For Derbyshire, the new Labour county
:48:30. > :48:32.council at the moment are having a consultation idiot. There are no
:48:32. > :48:43.decisions made. —— consultation period. £157 million they had to
:48:43. > :48:51.save and Derbyshire. That is a lot more than the —— than they were
:48:51. > :48:57.having to save. I think that this process is important. People can
:48:57. > :49:03.find those savings. Focus on keeping the front line services. I think it
:49:04. > :49:07.will pay off in the long term. You think that front line services will
:49:08. > :49:13.be protected? I cannot see what Derbyshire county council will do. I
:49:13. > :49:19.am saying that should be the priority. I would have one, cut
:49:19. > :49:23.central government out of the loop on raising money and let local
:49:23. > :49:29.people, local politicians, argue it out. I have faith in my politics
:49:29. > :49:33.that I can convince people that they should pay an adequate amount of
:49:33. > :49:39.hassle tax. Other taxes should be allowed to be raised if the local
:49:39. > :49:46.electorate agreed to it. —— council tax. Is that Labour Party policy?It
:49:46. > :49:52.is not. I am working hard to win over the Labour Party. Most other
:49:52. > :49:58.weathering —— Western democracies have councils that are independent
:49:58. > :50:02.and that listen to local people. That is the sort of system we need
:50:02. > :50:06.to build in this country, otherwise we will be back here next year
:50:06. > :50:11.having the same discussion. I hope not. The Lib Dems are holding their
:50:11. > :50:18.annual conference. They are looking to see how they can
:50:18. > :50:23.win here in the East Midlands. We have only one MEP N control of one
:50:23. > :50:29.district Council. Nick Clegg told us that he sees that as an improvement.
:50:29. > :50:34.It is a lot better than it used to be. For 70 years we were not
:50:34. > :50:39.represented a Parliamentary level. I am aware that in the last three
:50:39. > :50:43.years while we have been in coalition, we have suffered in the
:50:43. > :50:48.polls and there has been a temporary it to our popularity. I get the
:50:48. > :50:52.impression that people in the East Midlands, much as in other parts of
:50:52. > :50:56.the country, are developing a begrudging respect that we have
:50:56. > :51:03.stuck with it. If we had not, we would not begin to see the start of
:51:03. > :51:10.an economic recovery. Without the unanimity —— unity and resolve of
:51:10. > :51:13.the Lib Dems, we would not see a change like we have. Better state
:51:14. > :51:22.pensions, more apprenticeships, the people —— pupil premium in school,
:51:22. > :51:27.most notably as of next April, no one in the East Midlands will have
:51:27. > :51:33.to pay a penny in income tax from the first £10,000 the peak. All of
:51:33. > :51:39.that are good Liberal Democrat achievements. But I think we need to
:51:39. > :51:43.shout about them more. In two years ago you were here with the Prime
:51:43. > :51:55.Minister announcing a new enterprise scheme. I am frustrated that some of
:51:55. > :52:00.these enterprise zones have got stuck on various details. I would
:52:00. > :52:05.like to see the enterprise zone at the site I did visit myself, move
:52:05. > :52:09.forward as quickly as possible. It is a great way of attracting
:52:09. > :52:15.investment and generating jobs locally. Will your rallying cry be
:52:15. > :52:21.to the Liberal Democrat conference, hang on? Is that the best you can
:52:21. > :52:28.do? It is more uplifting than that. We have done great things in
:52:28. > :52:37.government. We are the only party of the liberal central ground. If you
:52:37. > :52:41.want a party that believes in a stronger economy, doing the
:52:41. > :52:46.difficult job is to do that, and a fairer society, then the Liberal
:52:46. > :52:50.Democrats are the only party able to deliver that in British politics. We
:52:50. > :52:56.will hear from an East Midlands Lib Dem hoping to make a breakthrough.
:52:56. > :53:03.Vince Cable was here to visit the biggest live them success story in
:53:03. > :53:09.the East Midlands. The party is in charge here. He was realistic of the
:53:09. > :53:15.challenges facing the Lib Dem is making more games in the area. We
:53:15. > :53:21.have got a base in several areas. We have been strong in other parts of
:53:21. > :53:26.the area, Leicester for many years. We have had a base in Nottingham,
:53:26. > :53:31.not now, Chesterfield used to be a state we had control of. It has
:53:31. > :53:35.fallen away now and we recognise that reality. Being an government
:53:35. > :53:40.has been a mixed blessing politically. We get criticised for
:53:40. > :53:45.everything that goes wrong, but we are now beginning to get the message
:53:45. > :53:49.across that we have made a positive contribution in government. You can
:53:49. > :53:55.always rely on Vince to be a straight talker.
:53:55. > :54:01.You are part of the largest Lib Dem branch in these midlands. It is the
:54:01. > :54:06.exception not the rule? You have said we have got a good story to
:54:06. > :54:13.tell where we run the council, where we have had this load —— big
:54:13. > :54:20.increase in membership. Things are going really well, we have a lot of
:54:20. > :54:27.support in other areas, Ashfield we had a close result in the county
:54:27. > :54:32.council elections. There are a lot of places in the East Midlands where
:54:32. > :54:38.there is support. Nick Clegg said last year that Lib Dem voters who
:54:38. > :54:49.went to the Labour Party are our lost cost? No. I do not believe
:54:49. > :54:53.that. There are lots of people who are inclined towards the Labour
:54:53. > :54:59.Party whose supporters because they see as campaigning on local issues.
:54:59. > :55:05.There are a lot of people who say the main problem is the man at the
:55:05. > :55:13.top for your party. Nick Clegg read a remarkable performance in the 2010
:55:13. > :55:19.debate. His ratings are very low. You have got to look at the facts,
:55:19. > :55:25.Nick Clegg's ratings are lower than Margaret Thatcher 's where before
:55:25. > :55:29.she left. We are still winning in our constituency where Nick Clegg as
:55:29. > :55:34.leader. We have a huge amount of support in our area. We are
:55:34. > :55:40.campaigning and doing well. We have the enterprise zone that is bringing
:55:40. > :55:45.thousands of jobs. We have a company that is bringing lots of jobs into
:55:45. > :55:50.our area. The Lib Dems are growing in some areas? They are not growing
:55:50. > :55:57.in Nottingham North. We are recruiting a lot of people there. I
:55:57. > :56:02.feel sorry for councillors of all political parties. They suffer from
:56:02. > :56:08.what the people do at the top level. People cannot vote for who the Prime
:56:08. > :56:14.Minister is directly, so they take it out in the local councillors. I
:56:14. > :56:16.think you will find that they will take it out on the Liberal
:56:16. > :56:21.Democrats. Now one trusts the Liberal Democrats because of Nick
:56:21. > :56:26.Clegg and the promises he broke in those very debates. It goes back to
:56:26. > :56:31.that, that's what many people think. We have delivered on the main
:56:31. > :56:39.policies that we have been involved in. I signed a letter to Nick Clegg
:56:39. > :56:47.when the votes came in on tuition fees. What about your party,
:56:47. > :56:52.Jessica? I think we have had is accessible marriage of convenience.
:56:52. > :56:58.I am going for an overall majority, all mean parties will be seeking
:56:58. > :57:03.that for the general election. In the key areas of the can make and
:57:03. > :57:06.welfare reform, where there have been significant improvements in
:57:06. > :57:12.reforms, there has been agreement by the two parties. —— economy. We will
:57:12. > :57:19.see separate campaigning by the leaders in the run—up to the general
:57:19. > :57:22.election. You say you would rather not have another coalition
:57:22. > :57:28.government? If there is another hung parliament, twice as many of them
:57:28. > :57:35.would rather be in a coalition government with the Labour Party and
:57:35. > :57:42.with you lot. I think that it has been, for the national interest, no
:57:42. > :57:46.one got a majority as we know. Two parties came together to form an
:57:46. > :57:52.coalition. There will be a natural separation. When will that happen?
:57:52. > :57:59.We will see natural campaigning, we will hear announcements from the
:57:59. > :58:05.party leaders. We would want to be an government on our own and put our
:58:05. > :58:10.own views across. We will be going for the maximum number of seats and
:58:10. > :58:17.we will fight the election on that. We will campaign for what we believe
:58:17. > :58:22.in. It will all depend on what the public does. The arithmetic last
:58:22. > :58:28.time was we could only go into the coalition with the Conservatives. We
:58:28. > :58:34.may be in agreement with the Conservatives but we have different
:58:34. > :58:41.priorities. We want tax cuts for the millions, we want that. I want to
:58:41. > :58:48.break up the happy coalition couple here. Every week in the House of
:58:48. > :58:51.Commons, I say the Liberal Party and the Conservative party marched
:58:51. > :58:55.through the lobbies to do things on health service, detrimental things
:58:55. > :59:00.to schools, to actually start to undermine our country. Then they
:59:00. > :59:05.come out and say, we are not really friends, we do not really work
:59:05. > :59:10.together. Yes they do. Night after night when they could fate ——
:59:10. > :59:14.thought certain things down, they are supporting this government
:59:14. > :59:17.together and they are both going to take the consequences in the next
:59:18. > :59:20.election. It has been suggested the best way forward as a party is to
:59:20. > :59:28.dozens yourself from the Conservatives. —— is to distance
:59:28. > :59:33.yourself. When do you think it is good to happen? We have different
:59:33. > :59:37.priorities to the Labour Party in Conservative Party. We have common
:59:37. > :59:43.to government with them to clean up the mess they Labour Party left. We
:59:43. > :59:55.believe in low earners and middle income earners into... Thank you
:59:55. > :00:00.very much. Here is a round—up. Millions of pounds worth of
:00:00. > :00:03.government funding is up for grabs for East Midlands's businesses.
:00:04. > :00:14.Companies are being invited to bid for the next round of the regional
:00:14. > :00:19.growth fund. 16% of shops here are empty, 2% above the national
:00:19. > :00:26.average. Be careful what you treat for. Gloria did they found she had
:00:26. > :00:33.as a prize Twitter. She treated this morning that she asked for is the
:00:33. > :00:39.gestures. The first suggestion came back because I follow these things
:00:39. > :00:44.very clearly. How happy are you that the leader of the Labour Party will
:00:44. > :00:56.still be in place come the next election? Why reject that advice and
:00:56. > :01:03.take advice from the Shadow Chancellor, I cannot think.
:01:03. > :01:08.You have got to be sober full. Does David Cameron follow you, Graham? I
:01:08. > :01:15.am sure he is one of my most avid followers. From the last programme I
:01:15. > :01:25.appeared on, and man treated to say I should not wear red Sox. I have
:01:25. > :01:29.tweeted today. Do you treat for yourself? I do about 90%. We will
:01:29. > :01:45.have to leave it there. Thank you deserves a programme all to itself.
:01:45. > :01:51.In a moment, more from our political Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says
:01:51. > :01:55.victory for either the Conservatives Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says
:01:55. > :01:59.or labour at the next election would put at risk the economic recovery
:01:59. > :02:00.is. Speaking in Glasgow at the Liberal Democrat annual conference,
:02:00. > :02:04.he said a coalition would allow Liberal Democrat annual conference,
:02:04. > :02:09.party to balance politics and enable the government to finish the job of
:02:10. > :02:15.repairing the economy fairly. It is my genuine belief that if we go
:02:15. > :02:19.repairing the economy fairly. It is coalition and Islands politics,
:02:19. > :02:22.repairing the economy fairly. It is dominating blood on their own, you
:02:22. > :02:24.will get a recovery which is neither fair nor sustainable. Labour would
:02:24. > :02:29.wreck the recovery, and under the fair nor sustainable. Labour would
:02:29. > :02:35.same commitment to fairness as ours, you would get the wrong kind
:02:35. > :02:37.Two 19-year-old woman arrested after a stabbing on Thursday have been
:02:37. > :02:41.released without charge. Police a stabbing on Thursday have been
:02:41. > :02:45.trying to discover if there is a link between the killing and a fire
:02:45. > :02:51.four hours later in which four Five people are being questioned in
:02:51. > :02:54.connection with that blaze. A Syrian government minister has described
:02:54. > :03:01.the agreement drawn up by America country's chemical weapons as a
:03:01. > :03:06.The minister claims the deals helps the Syrians out of a crisis and
:03:06. > :03:08.others war. The US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Israel to
:03:08. > :03:13.brief the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the proposal. China
:03:13. > :03:17.and France have also welcomed the deal, which says Syria has until
:03:17. > :03:22.Friday to submit a competence of list of its chemical stockpile.
:03:22. > :03:27.Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on winning his first half marathon
:03:27. > :03:29.Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on He was taking part in the Great
:03:29. > :03:33.North Run between Newcastle and South Shields. Farrar, who was the
:03:33. > :03:42.favourite following his two gold Ethiopian's can mean many Serb
:03:43. > :03:45.favourite following his two gold Kenenisa Bekele in a sprint finish.
:03:46. > :03:52.A carnival atmosphere for the start was about the challenge. For others,
:03:52. > :04:00.walking it, so I have no time in simply dressing up for fun. I am
:04:00. > :04:02.walking it, so I have no time in mind. I just want to enjoy it and
:04:02. > :04:08.appreciate the crowds and have a fantastic time. For elite athletes,
:04:08. > :04:13.today's race was about who would be first over the line. Despite the
:04:13. > :04:17.wind and rain, large crowds turned out for the world's most popular
:04:17. > :04:25.half marathon, which attracts some of the finest women runners, two,
:04:25. > :04:29.including the Kenyan. There were high hopes for Britain's double
:04:29. > :04:36.Olympic champion Mo Farah, but after Shields, he was narrowly beaten
:04:36. > :04:46.Ethiopian's Kenenisa Bekele. It Shields, he was narrowly beaten
:04:47. > :04:50.thought I would come back and close the gap slowly. I managed to close
:04:50. > :04:56.it a little bit, but you can't take away what he has. Wheelchair athlete
:04:56. > :05:01.David Weir won his race for a fourth time. More than £200 million has
:05:01. > :05:16.been raised since the Great North That is it for now. There will be
:05:16. > :05:19.more news on BBC One at 6:35pm. So, did anything happen while we
:05:19. > :05:27.were away this summer? I thought heading now? Who better to answer
:05:27. > :05:33.than the best political panel we could cobble together for a tenner?
:05:33. > :05:38.Putting foreign affairs to one side for a moment, it seems that what
:05:38. > :05:41.happened mystically was that it became more apparent that some sort
:05:41. > :05:48.of recovery was underway at last, and that Mr Miliband still has not
:05:48. > :05:54.yet resonated with the British public. These things are a problem
:05:54. > :05:56.for Labour. Ed Miliband's mistake over the summer holiday was to take
:05:56. > :06:00.a summer holiday. And it looked over the summer holiday was to take
:06:00. > :06:04.the rest of the Labour Party had taken one too. They were not finding
:06:04. > :06:09.issues they could make their own. The only person who made an impact
:06:09. > :06:12.was Stella Creasy on online abuse. That is a huge problem, and it is
:06:13. > :06:15.partly down to the fact that there is this intense message discipline.
:06:15. > :06:18.They don't want to say anything is this intense message discipline.
:06:18. > :06:21.of line until they have got all their ducks in a row. It makes the
:06:21. > :06:26.party do at the moment. The terms of party do at the moment. The terms of
:06:27. > :06:30.trade have swung in David Cameron's favour, but the political rhetoric
:06:30. > :06:39.look at this headline from the is still with Mr Miliband. Let's
:06:39. > :06:44.look at this headline from the Sunday Telegraph. That headline
:06:44. > :06:46.might not be right, but the story is significant in that Mr Cameron is
:06:46. > :06:51.still in danger on his right flank significant in that Mr Cameron is
:06:52. > :06:59.doesn't need an enormous share of the vote to get an overall majority?
:07:00. > :07:04.Westminster group think. Of course Ed Miliband is in trouble. The
:07:04. > :07:08.Tories are reserved and. They are better organised, the economy is
:07:08. > :07:15.recovering. That poses difficulties for Labour, but if you look at what
:07:15. > :07:18.is happening on the ground, UKIP still pose a danger to Cameron.
:07:18. > :07:19.is happening on the ground, UKIP don't need to poll 15% in a lot
:07:19. > :07:22.is happening on the ground, UKIP those marginal seats, they just
:07:22. > :07:24.is happening on the ground, UKIP to get five or 6% of the vote, and
:07:24. > :07:34.that could potentially destroy the Tory lead. Lots of commentators
:07:34. > :07:39.that could potentially destroy the to say, this guy will never be prime
:07:39. > :07:45.minister, but it is possible that by default or by accident, in a very
:07:45. > :07:50.Miliband could end up as prime minister. It is still all to play
:07:50. > :07:56.for on both sides. If UKIP remains a threat to the Tory right flank and
:07:56. > :07:59.the Tories themselves are not really a national party any more, I am
:07:59. > :08:02.the Tories themselves are not really they will only target a few seats in
:08:02. > :08:05.Scotland, they don't get any big seats in the big cities of the north
:08:05. > :08:09.any more, they don't get the Ulster vote they used to get, so it is
:08:09. > :08:12.possible that Labour, which is more nationally based and has seats in
:08:12. > :08:18.the Midlands and the north and in Wales, so they could get in. I
:08:19. > :08:25.agree. The advantage of having a bad summer is that Ed Miliband can go to
:08:25. > :08:29.expectations. All he has to do is not dribble on the lectern, and
:08:29. > :08:31.expectations. All he has to do is will be written up as spectacular.
:08:31. > :08:38.expectations. All he has to do is He might not even use a lectin.
:08:38. > :08:44.position. The electoral vagaries of the system work in his favour. He
:08:44. > :08:47.still has a narrow poll lead, he is not out of the game at all. Of the
:08:47. > :08:54.three main party leaders, the only one who can be confident about being
:08:54. > :09:00.three main party leaders, the only in government after 2015 is Nick
:09:00. > :09:06.electorally. But if it is this bad for Labour at the moment, what will
:09:06. > :09:14.it be like if this recovery turns out to be real? It depends how much
:09:14. > :09:16.they succeed. Chuka Umunna was shifting the debate are living
:09:17. > :09:20.standards. They don't want to keep arguing about who called it right.
:09:20. > :09:24.Do people feel richer than they arguing about who called it right.
:09:24. > :09:28.in 2010? The data suggests that people don't feel richer than in
:09:28. > :09:33.2010. Because they are not.That people don't feel richer than in
:09:33. > :09:38.the basis on which Labour will fight the next election. It is clear that
:09:38. > :09:42.Labour are unclear on what to say or do next. They have just got to hope
:09:42. > :09:45.and pray that the economy is not as soundly based as it appears to be
:09:45. > :09:53.and that George Osborne is Tony Barber, who thought he fixed the
:09:53. > :09:57.just before the next crash. There are all sorts of uncertainties
:09:57. > :10:00.just before the next crash. There China, the bond market, the housing
:10:00. > :10:01.bubble might be blown up, and Labour just had to hope something goes
:10:01. > :10:07.wrong for Osborne. Chuka Umunna just had to hope something goes
:10:07. > :10:11.he would not get rid of help to just had to hope something goes
:10:11. > :10:14.There are all these criticisms about just had to hope something goes
:10:14. > :10:19.artificial schemes pumping up house prices, but he would not say that.
:10:19. > :10:27.It is tortuous. You see this again and again. When asked if Labour
:10:27. > :10:29.would repeal the bedroom tax, or the same thing with Royal Mail, it
:10:29. > :10:41.happens again. They will be falling on people who have not had a meal in
:10:41. > :10:45.coming out of the Labour Party. There is a kind and Gillette in
:10:45. > :10:47.coming out of the Labour Party. them to a politician's career. When
:10:47. > :10:51.they are under attack for a long time, the media get bored after
:10:51. > :10:55.they are under attack for a long while and switch the story. It
:10:55. > :11:00.happened to Osborne, who had a horrific 2012 and has recovered
:11:00. > :11:08.bad press as he is getting at the moment, because people find it
:11:08. > :11:10.tedious. Syria has been the big foreign-policy event this summer. It
:11:10. > :11:19.has remarkably led to a Soviet- American initiative to get Syria to
:11:19. > :11:24.give up its chemical weapons. The world will now expect the Assad
:11:24. > :11:27.regime to live up to its public commitments. As I said at the outset
:11:27. > :11:44.anything less than full compliance. John Kerry. Is this too good to
:11:44. > :11:46.anything less than full compliance. true? Even superficially, it is
:11:46. > :11:49.anything less than full compliance. very good. The only people who
:11:49. > :11:53.emerge with any sense of triumph are the Russians, who have had their
:11:53. > :11:56.emerge with any sense of triumph are biggest diplomatic coup. They are
:11:56. > :12:02.back on the stage again. B if you want to know why Putin even has
:12:02. > :12:04.back on the stage again. B if you because of moments like this. They
:12:04. > :12:09.were humiliated after the end of the Cold War, and a Nou Camp is a great
:12:09. > :12:13.power again. Then you have the Obama situation, because he has ended
:12:13. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama where he wanted to end up. He has
:12:16. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama concession from Syria, but the way
:12:16. > :12:21.he got there was so embarrassing. It concession from Syria, but the way
:12:21. > :12:25.made him look weak and erratic as a leader. There were contradictions
:12:25. > :12:32.between himself and his Secretary of State last week, and it has not
:12:32. > :12:37.between himself and his Secretary of him any good. I was in the States,
:12:37. > :12:41.and it was open season on him. I have never understood the idea of
:12:41. > :12:45.chemical weapons as a red line when you can massacre people in their
:12:46. > :12:50.thousands through other means. But chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:50. > :12:57.pale. The rebels are miserable. chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:57. > :12:59.have run out of time. I will have to ask you what you think about Syria
:12:59. > :13:05.next week, which gives you time ask you what you think about Syria
:13:05. > :13:11.prepare. Your book on Fred the shred is going well? It is.I am back
:13:11. > :13:14.tomorrow at noon with the Daily Politics at noon on BBC Two, where
:13:14. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow.
:13:18. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:18. > :13:21.conference coverage. Next week, is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:21. > :13:24.will be back here at our normal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:24. > :13:30.of 11am, when we will be joined is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:30. > :13:50.Grant Shapps. Remember, if it is Sunday, it is the Sunday Politics.