:01:12. > :01:22.barricades in this region. They did have six councillors. Now they've
:01:22. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :38:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2234 seconds
:38:36. > :38:44.got 48. What does it mean for our the East of England. Coming up:
:38:44. > :38:47.Revenge of the fruitcakes. You can make massive gains in the East. The
:38:47. > :38:53.Prime Minister may have dismissed the other candidates as fruitcakes
:38:53. > :39:00.and with addicts but thousands of voters decide they want a slice of
:39:00. > :39:06.the action. -- fruitcakes and lunatics. Nobody trusts David
:39:06. > :39:14.Cameron anymore. That made a difference on the doorstep. Norfolk
:39:14. > :39:20.City Council goes from true will to no overall control. We have to
:39:20. > :39:27.scramble around for a coalition. That is not good for services or the
:39:27. > :39:33.people of Norfolk overall. But we now have two live with that. A full
:39:33. > :39:42.spectrum of opinions today. Health Minister and Norfolk MP, Norman
:39:42. > :39:49.Lamb, the UKIP director, Lisa Duffy, Brandon Lewis, local government
:39:49. > :39:56.Minister and Conservative MP, and George Nobbs, the Labour group
:39:56. > :40:01.leader on Norfolk county council. Later on, what happened partly by
:40:01. > :40:11.party across the region. But no doubt about the big story. The rise
:40:11. > :40:13.
:40:13. > :40:22.of the UKIP. Nobody saw this coming. Not even the UKIP. They
:40:22. > :40:31.hoped to pick up a handful of seats. But not as many as this. UKIP
:40:31. > :40:38.armload cemented as the third party. -- are now. Candidates uncovered a
:40:38. > :40:48.deep dissatisfaction. People in the three main parties are not listening
:40:48. > :40:51.
:40:51. > :41:00.to people. And another issue at play on the doorsteps. Top of peoples
:41:00. > :41:06.concerns was immigration. When we have 29 million Bulgarians and
:41:06. > :41:16.Europeans allowed access to this country, coming here for the system
:41:16. > :41:17.
:41:17. > :41:26.that they can get onto with benefits. Modern people are angry
:41:26. > :41:31.and frustrated and frightened. -- moderate. Many candidates who never
:41:31. > :41:37.expected to get elected are no county councils. Some of your
:41:37. > :41:46.councillors have yet to even be inside a city chamber. It is
:41:46. > :41:49.fabulous! They are not part of the professional political class.
:41:50. > :41:54.will now make decisions about schools, social services, and
:41:54. > :42:04.economic development. UKIP as the official opposition on the Norfolk
:42:04. > :42:05.
:42:05. > :42:08.county council. No longer a party of process. -- protest. It will be
:42:08. > :42:17.expected to scrutinise the work of a main oddity Conservative
:42:18. > :42:24.Administration. -- minority. The job of an opposition group is to
:42:24. > :42:31.scrutinise what the administration is doing. To look at detail at
:42:31. > :42:35.proposals and put forward alternatives. If you are a very
:42:35. > :42:41.small minority, late UKIP were, you can say and do things and it will
:42:41. > :42:50.not matter a great deal. But as the main opposition group, it does
:42:50. > :42:58.matter. The other parties are not certain what to expect. They are
:42:58. > :43:05.putting themselves up to make a protest to David Cameron. The new
:43:05. > :43:09.councils need to prove themselves as effective col -- politicians. If
:43:09. > :43:17.they do not, they run the risk of voters not taking them seriously
:43:17. > :43:21.again. I want to begin by talking about this extraordinary success.
:43:21. > :43:31.The same question for each of you. Norman Lamb, what do you the success
:43:31. > :43:32.
:43:32. > :43:38.of UKIP down to. Much of the Western world is facing economic turmoil.
:43:39. > :43:47.People are anxious about the future. There is a sense of powerlessness
:43:47. > :43:54.and remoteness from decision-making. People on low incomes with low skill
:43:54. > :43:57.bases see a threat to their jobs. We need to understand why people are
:43:57. > :44:04.anxious about remote power with the European Union bash which I
:44:04. > :44:12.personally think must change. It is vital that we are part of a single
:44:12. > :44:16.market and are trading nation but Europe must change. And some groups
:44:16. > :44:24.in society are affected by immigration. If you are at low
:44:24. > :44:34.skilled work and you will be anxious about the future. -- if you are a
:44:34. > :44:36.
:44:36. > :44:43.low skilled worker. Let's hear what others have to say. Brandon Lewis?
:44:43. > :44:49.There is a mixture of things. Immigration was an SU. Welfare
:44:50. > :44:54.reforms are so important. -- immigration was a concern. We need
:44:54. > :45:00.to show to people that we can make a difference. The benefits of welfare
:45:00. > :45:06.reform are only just beginning to come through. An important comment
:45:06. > :45:13.there was about councillors who have never been in a chamber before. I
:45:13. > :45:16.don't think that is a bad thing. Every politician when they are
:45:16. > :45:20.elected for the fast time is doing it for their community. The
:45:20. > :45:30.challenge now is to make sure these people are looking at the right
:45:30. > :45:36.thing for Norfolk. We have got Norman and Brandon who are both
:45:36. > :45:43.ministers in the same government. Normally with the opposition parties
:45:43. > :45:53.there is a choice of who you vote for. In this election it was only a
:45:53. > :45:54.
:45:54. > :46:04.choice of labour and UKIP. Both did well. Although I wish we did better!
:46:04. > :46:06.There was only one vote to dividing us in Thetford. So there is
:46:07. > :46:13.discontent not just with the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives
:46:13. > :46:19.being government together, but also on Norfolk county council, a lot of
:46:19. > :46:25.local concerns had made people sick and tired of the administration.
:46:25. > :46:35.said Duffy, what do you make of the claim that it does not matter if
:46:35. > :46:35.
:46:35. > :46:40.people have never been in a council chamber? -- Lisa Duffy. What I think
:46:40. > :46:46.is really fascinating is that we have got new, fresh people, with
:46:46. > :46:50.fresh ideas. They are passionate about their community. That is
:46:50. > :46:58.exciting, especially for a council like Norfolk were these fresh ideas
:46:58. > :47:04.are coming. You need to have real life experience. What Bill can you
:47:04. > :47:12.afford to pay, weird as the next job coming from? UKIP have stood up to
:47:12. > :47:20.be counted in representing real people. There has been talk about a
:47:20. > :47:25.lack of policy. What about education, transport, social care?
:47:25. > :47:31.Absolutely. And that is what you will get from the UKIP. We have a
:47:31. > :47:41.full local manifesto. We were clear about what we stand for. We have a
:47:41. > :47:44.
:47:44. > :47:50.zero whip system. We will deliver, working with other parties, to
:47:50. > :48:00.deliver what is right for local people. Wilma to disagreement
:48:00. > :48:07.amongst own members? -- well that? think it is correct we do not all
:48:08. > :48:15.fought like sheep. It is about bringing votes together. -- vote
:48:15. > :48:21.like sheep. How do the elections leave the tally of councils across
:48:21. > :48:31.the region? This is how it looked before the elections. The
:48:31. > :48:32.
:48:32. > :48:42.Conservatives dominant. And he that is no. -- here it is. UKIP up from
:48:42. > :48:52.
:48:52. > :49:00.six to 48. What does it mean for the other parties? If we cannot take
:49:00. > :49:07.control of this council now, we never can. Not totally disappointed.
:49:07. > :49:11.But we are the main opposition again. These were achievable targets
:49:11. > :49:21.for Labour but from great Yarmouth to catering, UKIP robs them of their
:49:21. > :49:21.
:49:21. > :49:29.prize. -- catering. A lot of those people have voted for UKIP. We have
:49:29. > :49:39.a lot of work to do. Any great Yarmouth, Labour field in seats they
:49:39. > :49:39.
:49:39. > :49:46.were hoping to take from the Tories. -- Labour fell short. People are fed
:49:46. > :49:50.up with Labour and the Conservatives and are looking for an alternative.
:49:50. > :50:00.Advances in team is shy feel to materialise for the Liberal
:50:00. > :50:06.
:50:06. > :50:14.Democrats. -- Cambridge. This is the first time we have not held a seat.
:50:14. > :50:16.The Greens suffered their first losses at county level. And it was
:50:16. > :50:26.difficult for the Conservatives, even though they were braced for
:50:26. > :50:26.
:50:26. > :50:36.losses will stop 88 less councillors than before. I am obviously
:50:36. > :50:37.
:50:37. > :50:47.disappointed. It was devastating. And your election that we expected
:50:47. > :50:54.
:50:54. > :51:01.to win. We were heading for first-class services in Norfolk. And
:51:01. > :51:09.we hoped to continue with the progress we have made. There were
:51:09. > :51:13.still many savings to be made but this has made a difference. Fresh
:51:13. > :51:22.political partnerships will now be put to the test. Some objected
:51:22. > :51:31.Conservatives. -- ejected. If this carries on, you could lose your seat
:51:31. > :51:37.in the next election. It is always a shame to lose councillors. But at
:51:37. > :51:43.the same time, Labour did not make big gains the expected to. There is
:51:43. > :51:53.a lesson for all the parties. Lots of work to do to years ahead of a
:51:53. > :52:03.general election. It fell short of the result you were expecting.
:52:03. > :52:06.
:52:06. > :52:14.a little! Not by much! Extraordinary to hear a conservative sounding so
:52:14. > :52:17.out of touch. Brandon, you contributed to some of the losses by
:52:17. > :52:26.making the biggest cut to any authority in Britain when you made
:52:26. > :52:32.the cut to the sport grant for a Yarmouth. Has that made a
:52:32. > :52:42.difference? That was a legacy from the financial settlement of the last
:52:42. > :52:43.
:52:43. > :52:47.Labour government. I've got �10 million extra for the Yarmouth. The
:52:47. > :52:57.last government left the place with �300 million per year less than
:52:57. > :53:03.
:53:03. > :53:07.before. They hadn't had the kind of losses that Labour left them.
:53:07. > :53:15.Lamb, are you no longer a party of protest just an unpopular part of a
:53:15. > :53:22.coalition government? It is a transition. We did pick up
:53:22. > :53:24.previously protest votes and now that is happening with UKIP. We are
:53:25. > :53:31.taking responsibility and doing the right thing working with another
:53:31. > :53:41.party in the national interest. Our mission is a strong economy and feel
:53:41. > :53:42.
:53:42. > :53:50.society. -- better society. Where we are able to get our message across
:53:50. > :53:57.on the ground, we actually did rather well. In many parts of the
:53:57. > :54:04.country where there are Liberal Democrats MPs. I want to talk about
:54:04. > :54:14.a 14, which needs investment. Can you confirm that your councillors
:54:14. > :54:15.
:54:15. > :54:21.will make it happen? We have to look at the priorities. What do we need
:54:21. > :54:28.to do to begin with, we can cuts be made? Let's look at wages and
:54:28. > :54:33.allowances. Not cutting frontline services, but those behind the
:54:33. > :54:43.scene. Different groups within councils, are needed? Not
:54:43. > :54:51.
:54:51. > :55:00.necessarily. In Cambridge we have a good team. Peter Reid clearly better
:55:00. > :55:06.good job because he got 67% of the vote. There is a danger that if you
:55:06. > :55:12.make a seductive promises, extra things, and cut taxes, people will
:55:12. > :55:20.end up disappointed and feel let down. We have cut taxes in Ramsey
:55:20. > :55:27.and deliver more services. It can be reflected in a county council. Are
:55:27. > :55:37.you seeing our town council is not important? Kill off all the elderly
:55:37. > :55:43.
:55:43. > :55:47.is critically important. -- here for the elderly. -- care. People who
:55:47. > :55:54.never voted before starting to vote for UKIP because they have no trust
:55:54. > :56:02.in the others. If this is engaging people in politics surely that is
:56:02. > :56:09.good news? Whoever you vote for, please do vote. We want more people
:56:09. > :56:17.engaged with politics. What ever reason people are getting involved,
:56:17. > :56:25.that for democracy is a good thing. It gets a debate going. Do you
:56:25. > :56:35.agree, Norman Lamb? I do. Particularly people who feel elated
:56:35. > :56:36.
:56:36. > :56:42.from the system. I agree with Lisa about that. -- eliminated.
:56:42. > :56:52.Guaranteeing that we provide efficient services with limited
:56:52. > :56:52.
:56:52. > :57:02.resources is difficult and these are difficult decisions being made.
:57:02. > :57:02.
:57:02. > :57:12.are the groups you think we could do with open councils? We need to look
:57:12. > :57:14.
:57:14. > :57:23.at every element. Name one.Chief Executive wages. So you would have
:57:23. > :57:33.him work for free? His council allowance... They do not get council
:57:33. > :57:35.
:57:35. > :57:44.allowances. We have two leave it there. What exactly does it mean for
:57:44. > :57:49.the councils? And for the voters? No overall control means that no
:57:49. > :57:59.individual party has enough councils to form a majority. -- enough
:57:59. > :58:01.
:58:01. > :58:10.councillors. The worst-case scenario is disagreements and stalemates.
:58:10. > :58:16.Here is some advice. As officers, we tread the line conscious that the
:58:16. > :58:23.next election can change results. We want every party and every council
:58:23. > :58:28.to have the opportunity to be involved. Obviously it is the
:58:28. > :58:35.cabinet making the majority of day-to-day decisions. Does it make
:58:35. > :58:43.your life more difficult? It just means you have to work harder
:58:43. > :58:53.engaging with all the leaders. George Nobs, and Norfolk Council
:58:53. > :58:55.
:58:55. > :59:02.or, -- a Norfolk councillor, let's talk about this booklet aimed about
:59:02. > :59:08.helping with this situation and giving advice. Brandon Lewis, there
:59:08. > :59:16.is the worry that decisions will not be made. I was actually an
:59:17. > :59:22.opposition leader for one year, and have been through this. And we were
:59:22. > :59:31.in the same situation with the Liberal Democrats. You need to work
:59:31. > :59:35.together to bring the best thing for your community. Either through a
:59:35. > :59:42.minority administration working properly with a small to get into a
:59:42. > :59:52.position with an overall majority. So, different ways of doing it.
:59:52. > :59:56.
:59:56. > :00:06.at the be stuck in Norfolk? -- well a deal? The task will be to approach
:00:06. > :00:06.
:00:06. > :00:16.the other group and try and do a deal. It is unlikely. Crooks can
:00:16. > :00:20.
:00:20. > :00:29.elect who they like as their leader -- trips. -- groups. No overall
:00:29. > :00:39.control is not a catastrophic situation. But there is the unitary
:00:39. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:48.status matter. They said, when we have this absolute power, we will
:00:48. > :00:52.share it. Any advice for the Conservatives on the council?
:00:53. > :00:59.at who you can work with, or you can do business with, and deliver the
:00:59. > :01:08.services. Particularly when you have issues like adult social care and
:01:08. > :01:15.children's care to deal with. Thank you all very much indeed. Some great