:01:24. > :01:27.In the East: The dissent in our Tory ranks pulling the party apart.
:01:27. > :01:37.And the region's rural schools facing a struggle for survival, as
:01:37. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :37:11.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2133 seconds
:37:11. > :37:14.the Government changes the way they Welcome to Sunday Politics East.
:37:14. > :37:18.Rural schools that could suffer through the change to the
:37:18. > :37:25.Government's funding formula. First, let's make the guests for
:37:25. > :37:34.this week. Sir Bob Russell, Liberal Democrat MP, and Jessica Asato,
:37:34. > :37:39.Labour's parliamentary candidate. We will also meet Brandon Lewis for
:37:39. > :37:44.Great Yarmouth, newly-appointed local government are Minister.
:37:44. > :37:47.Let us begin with a brief word about the rail franchise fiasco.
:37:47. > :37:50.The Government has halted the handover of the West Coast Main
:37:50. > :37:54.Line and suspended the bidding process for the ThamesLink
:37:54. > :37:59.franchise and a line from Fenchurch Street to Essex. Passengers at
:37:59. > :38:02.Milton Keynes, Northampton, and Essex had been looking forward to
:38:02. > :38:07.enhanced services, but rail user groups are now worried the changes
:38:07. > :38:11.will be delayed. We put those concerns to the Prime Minister.
:38:11. > :38:15.The rail service will continue as it is today, and we will continue
:38:15. > :38:19.with the mass of upgrades in terms of electrification of lines,
:38:19. > :38:22.improvements to stations and platforms, that all goes ahead. I
:38:22. > :38:25.am disappointed by what happened with the West Coast franchise
:38:25. > :38:30.arrangement. It should not have happened, I am very angry that it
:38:30. > :38:33.did happen, and we will get to the bottom of the mistakes made. But it
:38:33. > :38:39.is right to stop other franchising going ahead while we get to the
:38:39. > :38:44.bottom of it. Are you annoyed that improvements to local services are
:38:44. > :38:49.delayed? Of course. You used the word fiasco, there is no other word
:38:49. > :38:58.to describe it. I believe our railway should never have been
:38:58. > :39:04.privatised and fragmented. I think it is a public service and should
:39:04. > :39:09.be run by professionals, not the civil servants. Some civil servants
:39:09. > :39:13.have been blamed for this, is that fair? We have to wait for the
:39:13. > :39:17.outcome of the Government's own review of what happened, but it
:39:17. > :39:21.seems as though the government are passing the buck on civil servants.
:39:21. > :39:24.David Cameron said in the past that if there is a systemic failure it
:39:24. > :39:28.should be ministers that take the blame. In this case it looks as
:39:28. > :39:32.though there has been one, and there are some serious concerns,
:39:32. > :39:38.particularly if you see the delays that might happen to franchise
:39:38. > :39:44.agreements for the down the line. Some analysts say that other things
:39:44. > :39:48.could be delayed as well. What about the cost? We are told the
:39:48. > :39:54.cost could be �40 million to the British taxpayer, which is usually
:39:54. > :39:58.expense. I think that is an underestimate. We have a situation
:39:58. > :40:03.where these companies compete with each other, only a few companies
:40:03. > :40:07.actually get involved, and some faceless bureaucracy allocates them
:40:07. > :40:13.to the prize winners, but on this occasion it would appear that the
:40:13. > :40:18.prize winner should have been kept with Virgin trains and not handed
:40:18. > :40:21.over to first group, but here in the east we have experience in the
:40:21. > :40:25.past of first group, that we have a fragmented railway system, with
:40:25. > :40:29.Network Rail and the various operating companies, and we know
:40:29. > :40:33.from weekend travel what that means, it means buses rather than trains.
:40:33. > :40:38.Hopefully there will be an improvement at least on that, in
:40:38. > :40:41.the future. What about today's announcement from the Conservative
:40:41. > :40:47.Party conference, at that rail fares increases will be capped at
:40:47. > :40:49.1% above inflation. That is good news, is it not? If the
:40:49. > :40:53.Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had agreed with that, they should
:40:53. > :40:57.have voted with Labour has amendment when it went to
:40:57. > :41:02.Parliament, but they did not do that. Why have they changed their
:41:02. > :41:07.tune? Again, Labour has been making the Tories and Lib Dems follow
:41:07. > :41:11.their lead. They have anything else does say? I find it odd that after
:41:11. > :41:15.13 years of financial misrule that the Liberal Democrats have gone to
:41:15. > :41:20.government to try to sort out labour's financial mess.
:41:20. > :41:26.It is not just allegations of incompetency plaguing David Cameron,
:41:26. > :41:28.but a rift in the ranks. A poll this week found 61% of people
:41:28. > :41:32.believe the contest -- the Conservative Party to be divided.
:41:32. > :41:39.We reckon that around half of the Tory MPs in our region, the East,
:41:39. > :41:43.have spoken out or voted against their government on issues as
:41:43. > :41:46.varied as Europe, wind farms and House of Lords reform. Opposition
:41:46. > :41:49.to the coalition itself is the real nub of the problem, of which many
:41:49. > :41:59.in the party are blaming for the Conservatives' poor showing in the
:41:59. > :42:00.
:42:00. > :42:03.They visited the Basildon tractor plant together in May. The blue and
:42:03. > :42:07.yellow livery on your tractors are tailor-made for the politics of
:42:07. > :42:13.this coalition. The message was very clear. The economy may be in
:42:13. > :42:16.trouble, but the coalition is here to stay. Saying that -- since the
:42:16. > :42:25.last party conference, the Tories have fallen seven points in the
:42:25. > :42:29.opinion poll and have lost seats. The expect next year's county
:42:29. > :42:33.council elections to be tough, and the core of the by-election is
:42:33. > :42:37.looming. The grassroots are worried. There is an atmosphere of
:42:37. > :42:41.despondency. They would like to see us doing much better in the polls.
:42:41. > :42:47.The activists would like to see more conservative policies coming
:42:47. > :42:51.through and being announced. That is what they are open for we're at
:42:51. > :42:56.a tipping point as a party, and from this conference on birds,
:42:56. > :43:01.things have to become better. Nadine got it -- Nadine Dorries is
:43:01. > :43:04.often dismissed as a mother of maverick, but she says the local
:43:04. > :43:08.organisations believe that the Liberal Democrats are smothering
:43:08. > :43:13.the coalition. We have heard the Liberal Democrat saying about how
:43:13. > :43:17.much dominance they have in the party policy at the moment. What we
:43:17. > :43:22.need to do is be able to say, enough is enough, now it is perhaps
:43:22. > :43:27.time for a Conservative policy to dominate. She is not alone. A
:43:27. > :43:35.number of MPs have expressed doubts about the coalition. Stuart Jackson
:43:35. > :43:45.question the whole point of it. Others have fired warning shots
:43:45. > :43:46.
:43:46. > :43:50.across the Lib Dem bows. Ideally I think the coalition
:43:50. > :43:54.government should break-up sooner rather than later, and we should
:43:54. > :43:58.govern as a conservative minority government, then going to the
:43:58. > :44:05.electorate. I do not see how we can continue stumbling on with a
:44:05. > :44:11.difficult partner, until 2015. If a marriage is fading, perhaps you
:44:11. > :44:16.should divorce earlier than later. Such opinions are still held by a
:44:16. > :44:21.minority. Most of them still accept that coalition is the right thing,
:44:21. > :44:31.though not ideal. I would like to see a Conservative-led government.
:44:31. > :44:33.
:44:33. > :44:36.I would like us to be tougher on Europe. The Government want us to
:44:36. > :44:41.be grown-up and work together. it seems there is a potential
:44:41. > :44:45.divided in the party. We will all be behind David Cameron. If he
:44:45. > :44:49.looks like he is going to be a winner than 2015. If he looks like
:44:49. > :44:52.he is going to lose the 2015 Election and the polls remain
:44:52. > :44:58.stubborn as they are, I think a challenge to his leadership has a
:44:58. > :45:01.very real threat. Earlier this week, Andrew Sinclair
:45:01. > :45:05.met the Prime Minister and asked him if the coalition is holding him
:45:05. > :45:08.back. No, we are taking the action that the country needs to get us
:45:08. > :45:15.out the mess that was left by the last government. We have cut the
:45:15. > :45:20.deficit by a quarter, and also we have created one million new jobs
:45:20. > :45:24.in the private sector, which means unemployment has been falling
:45:24. > :45:27.rather than rising. We still have a long way to go with a huge amount
:45:27. > :45:33.to do. Coalition can sometimes be frustrating, but without a
:45:33. > :45:36.coalition we would not have a majority or get things done. I
:45:36. > :45:39.believe and my party believes in doing the right thing and the
:45:39. > :45:46.National Interest, which is making the coalition work. But a number of
:45:46. > :45:51.MPs from this region are worried about the direction of travel. Your
:45:51. > :45:56.party is splitting over the coalition. I do not accept that. I
:45:56. > :45:59.think the vast majority of Conservatives know that the it --
:45:59. > :46:04.these are tough times and they require making the coalition work.
:46:04. > :46:10.If we left the coalition we would not have a marriage -- a majority,
:46:10. > :46:13.and we would not be able to take the steps that are required.
:46:13. > :46:18.Difficult times that require strong leadership, which is what we're
:46:18. > :46:21.giving them. When MPs speak out, does that anger your worry you?
:46:21. > :46:26.There has never been a time in politics when certain backbenchers
:46:26. > :46:33.have not wanted to speak out. The key thing is to keep your eyes on
:46:33. > :46:38.the road. Brandon Lewis joins us now. Great Yarmouth are one of the
:46:39. > :46:43.councils that the Tories lost this year. You were hit by voters being
:46:43. > :46:49.disillusioned by the coalition, were you knocked? I think people do
:46:49. > :46:54.understand we are having to make tough decisions. I think that
:46:54. > :47:00.sometimes in local elections you have other parties that will
:47:00. > :47:04.benefit from certain things, and we must deliver to the country.
:47:04. > :47:10.you saying there was no dissatisfaction regarding the
:47:10. > :47:18.coalition at a grassroots level? do see various parties become small
:47:18. > :47:23.parts of the vote. Walsall Labour - - we saw Labour taking some other
:47:24. > :47:28.seats. Getting the finances right will be the right thing to do for
:47:28. > :47:32.the country. I will ask you again, did people have concerns that they
:47:32. > :47:37.voiced to you about the direction of the party and about the fact
:47:37. > :47:40.that you are in coalition with the Liberal Democrats? I never had
:47:40. > :47:45.anybody on the ground comment to me about being in the coalition,
:47:45. > :47:49.people understood why we were. Her members understood why we went into
:47:49. > :47:52.coalition. What people want to see is moving the country in the right
:47:52. > :47:57.direction, delivering for the people, and that is a long process,
:47:57. > :48:05.something we have to stay prole -- focused on. We gave a long list of
:48:05. > :48:08.MPs and in this region voicing dissent because they say the split
:48:08. > :48:14.is drowning out the Government's achievements, damaging the party.
:48:14. > :48:17.Do you have read? No, what you see across all political parties,
:48:17. > :48:21.particularly the Conservative party, everyone has various opinions on
:48:21. > :48:25.different issues, but what really matters at the end of the day is
:48:25. > :48:33.government policy, and what they are delivering. We're delivering
:48:33. > :48:39.good reforms and moving the country forward. We hope we can show people
:48:39. > :48:43.who need an outright majority -- that we need an outright majority
:48:43. > :48:47.in 2050. I am told Great Yarmouth has come second from bottom in the
:48:47. > :48:51.country for lack of educational and employment of a Trinity's. We have
:48:51. > :48:59.seen unemployment falling in Great Yarmouth and employment rights,
:48:59. > :49:04.which is really good news. The energy industry has great
:49:04. > :49:09.opportunities. The Enterprise Zone has given a real opportunities.
:49:09. > :49:13.What we need to make sure is that we have got the skills to match the
:49:13. > :49:17.jobs that are available. That is something the industry is keen on,
:49:17. > :49:21.and we are working together to deliver for Great Yarmouth and East
:49:22. > :49:29.Anglia. News from Birmingham and the confidence of a council tax
:49:29. > :49:33.freeze and the threat of a veto on EU budget. Will that silence the
:49:33. > :49:37.critics are? The council tax freezes are really important
:49:37. > :49:47.message. We understand just how much council tax and by its people
:49:47. > :49:47.
:49:48. > :49:52.and we wanted to do her best to make sure people who worked hard
:49:52. > :49:55.are helped. After years of council tax rises, we are now showing that
:49:55. > :49:57.we have an opportunity for a council tax freeze, and I hope
:49:57. > :50:03.councils across the country will take up the opportunity for the
:50:03. > :50:09.residents are. Thank you. Bob Russell, you were not happy with
:50:09. > :50:13.the coalition at first. I am a One nation Liberal Democrat, and
:50:13. > :50:19.Brandon is a very sensible person, completely different to the roll-
:50:19. > :50:23.call of the right wing MPs you had early on. I went along with the
:50:23. > :50:29.coalition because I think it was in the national interest. I remain a
:50:29. > :50:37.Liberal Democrat, and do not accept the criticism from the right-wing
:50:37. > :50:41.Tories. They do not like the coalition, but I tell you this,
:50:41. > :50:44.David Cameron would much prefer to work with sensible ministers like
:50:44. > :50:49.Brandon and Liberal Democrats than he would with some of those right-
:50:49. > :50:53.wing MPs earlier. Thank very much. Now to concern
:50:53. > :50:56.over the future of rural schools. Staff may have to be cut because a
:50:56. > :51:00.new government funding system means they could lose out on thousands of
:51:00. > :51:05.pounds. There will be winners and losers under the new rules but
:51:06. > :51:09.everyone agrees councils will have their hands tied in the future in
:51:09. > :51:19.smaller isolated schools, which are much more likely to miss the out.
:51:19. > :51:23.It is the end of a school day for For these youngsters, a firm grasp
:51:23. > :51:26.of figures will be handy in years to come, but for their head
:51:26. > :51:33.teachers there is plenty of number- crunching behind the scenes, as the
:51:33. > :51:40.government looks for a new funding formula. One wonders which schools
:51:40. > :51:44.will be hardest hit, and I am now head of two large primary schools.
:51:44. > :51:50.I am head of -- I have been head of a small village primary school and
:51:50. > :51:53.I know how important every penny is in such a school, where they are
:51:53. > :51:57.the heart of the community. A closure of a school could have a
:51:57. > :52:06.huge effect. Jane is the headteacher of the school and
:52:06. > :52:10.another more than -- and another, more than 300 pupils in total.
:52:10. > :52:14.Every school will get the same amount of money, topped up by
:52:14. > :52:18.funding per pupil. Council hands will be tied and it will not be
:52:18. > :52:22.easy for them to give extra money to schools that need it. One of the
:52:22. > :52:26.things that is inevitable and has already been started in some areas
:52:26. > :52:33.is greater federations of schools. That is sensible, but what we do
:52:33. > :52:37.not want to lose art-school suddenly leaving villagers. A
:52:37. > :52:39.school is often a key part of the community.
:52:39. > :52:43.The Education Secretary Michael Gove has been asking schools,
:52:43. > :52:48.parents and governors and councils what they think of his plans to
:52:48. > :52:52.change the funding formula as part of a move to a new education system
:52:52. > :52:58.in 2015. He says he wants things to be fairer, simpler and more
:52:58. > :53:05.consistent. He wants his department is said 10 key funding criteria to
:53:05. > :53:09.replace the 37 that councils can use currently. Officials hope to
:53:09. > :53:14.cushion any transition and say that no school will see more than a 1.5%
:53:14. > :53:18.annual reduction in its budget in the next two years.
:53:18. > :53:23.What schools really desperately need is the ability to be able to
:53:23. > :53:27.plan strategically. To have a funding stream and a funding
:53:27. > :53:32.mechanism which runs in parallel and supports that process. That has
:53:32. > :53:42.to be the main thing we would like to see. The Department for
:53:42. > :53:56.
:53:56. > :54:03.We have a huge variety of schools and a huge variety of pupils, and
:54:03. > :54:07.anything that does this realigns the formula and a big way.
:54:08. > :54:17.School similar in size to this have a budget of �850,000, and next year
:54:18. > :54:23.
:54:23. > :54:26.they could lose the equivalent of a Brandon Lewis, we are told councils
:54:26. > :54:30.will not be able to give geographically isolated schools as
:54:30. > :54:37.much money as they could in the past. Are you concerned at schools
:54:37. > :54:40.in your constituency will miss out? We heard that what is important is
:54:40. > :54:47.the Government is asking schools to feed in what they need, to make
:54:47. > :54:52.sure that we get a good system across all areas, as everyone has
:54:52. > :54:57.to deal with cuts. But we need to make sure we still have a
:54:57. > :55:00.maintainable system with schools that are an important part of the
:55:00. > :55:05.community continue in. But it does not seem fair that some schools
:55:05. > :55:10.will miss out on a teaching assistant next year. That is where
:55:10. > :55:14.it is important to make sure we look at what feedback comes in. The
:55:14. > :55:19.government can they respond to it to make sure it gets a strong,
:55:19. > :55:23.sustainable and robust system in place. Jessica Asato, there will be
:55:23. > :55:28.winners here, too, will you support under this criteria more money
:55:28. > :55:32.going into deprived areas? Absolutely Labour will support any
:55:32. > :55:37.changes that ensure that those areas with the most vulnerable
:55:37. > :55:41.pupils get the money that they need. But the real story here is that
:55:41. > :55:45.schools funding has decreased by the largest amount since the 19 50s.
:55:45. > :55:50.Capital funding has decreased by 57%, the biggest of any other
:55:50. > :55:54.department. Schools are already suffering because they do not have
:55:54. > :55:57.enough money for their budgets, and the Pupil Premium is simply going
:55:57. > :56:01.into a black hole to make up for what the government is not spending
:56:01. > :56:07.on it. Rural schools look like they're going to be losing out, and
:56:07. > :56:12.that is a concern. Bob Russell, you raise your eyebrows. The Pupil
:56:12. > :56:18.Premium has been a great boost for so many schools, but we're talking
:56:18. > :56:22.about rural schools, which closed under the last Labour government.
:56:22. > :56:26.There are mixed messages coming out a white hole, and one thing is for
:56:26. > :56:29.certain that Liberal Democrat campaigners across the eastern
:56:29. > :56:35.counties will be fighting against any closures. The Government have
:56:35. > :56:39.to make up their mind, are the centrally or locally controlled?
:56:39. > :56:44.How closely will you be watching you schools in your particular
:56:44. > :56:53.constituency to make sure they get their fair deal? I have poorer
:56:53. > :56:56.rural areas where we want to see schools of -- flourish. I see both
:56:56. > :57:01.sides of this. What is really important is we get a good policy
:57:01. > :57:05.to make sure everybody gets the support they need, and we get
:57:05. > :57:08.improved and better education to allow a far better aspiration in
:57:08. > :57:12.areas like Great Yarmouth, to match the skills with the job now
:57:13. > :57:16.available and growing. Thank you then much indeed.
:57:17. > :57:26.Now, Deborah McGurran's political round-up for the week, where Police
:57:27. > :57:38.
:57:38. > :57:42.Crime Commissioner has seen all He is hoping to persuade electors
:57:42. > :57:46.in Norfolk to vote in the new police commissioner Paul. While the
:57:46. > :57:49.future of research a were different paper of poll was causing concern
:57:49. > :57:54.for a environmentalists last week after news that the British
:57:54. > :58:01.Antarctic Survey could be moved from Cambridge. This is a step
:58:01. > :58:10.towards taking away the priority of polar science the stop high praise
:58:11. > :58:20.from Vince Cable. Education is exciting, a fusion
:58:21. > :58:22.
:58:22. > :58:32.It has not about left and right any more, the country is in a dire
:58:32. > :58:35.
:58:35. > :58:37.Collective courage to keep the What about the possible loss of the
:58:37. > :58:41.British Antarctic Survey to the region? I hope it does not happen,
:58:41. > :58:47.and I will be supporting my colleagues in Cambridge who want to
:58:47. > :58:53.keep it there. Even Al Gore as against it, so you never know.
:58:53. > :58:57.Jessica Asato, we have world renowned centres of excellence,
:58:57. > :59:05.like the John Innes plans centre, how important are the to the
:59:05. > :59:10.economy? They are very important, and the Antarctic Survey is world
:59:10. > :59:16.renowned. They discovered the wall and the ozone layer, giving us
:59:16. > :59:26.understanding about global warning. It centres like that disappear it
:59:26. > :59:27.
:59:27. > :59:31.The you agree, Sir Bob Russell? course I endorse that. The last
:59:31. > :59:36.centre of excellence was moved to Oxford under the Labour government
:59:36. > :59:41.and got moved to Oxford. It then disappeared within a cup love you