:00:39. > :00:47.morning, folks, welcome to the Sunday Politics. Rising flood water,
:00:48. > :00:51.a battered coastline, the winter storms forced the Government to take
:00:52. > :00:56.control. Is it hanging the Environment Agency out to dry?
:00:57. > :01:00.Embarrassment for the Government is the Immigration Minister resigns
:01:01. > :01:05.after he discovered he was employing a cleaner with no right to work here
:01:06. > :01:09.for seven years. Ed Miliband promised an end to what he called
:01:10. > :01:13.the machine politics of union fixes in the Labour Party,
:01:14. > :01:17.Here in the East: The new plans in Essex aiming put an
:01:18. > :01:19.end to domestic violence. And hospice care in your own home
:01:20. > :01:23.brings help to those in need. And hospice care in your own home
:01:24. > :01:27.In London after two days of disruption in the capital the Mayor
:01:28. > :01:35.Boris Johnson will be talking to ask about strife on the Underground.
:01:36. > :01:37.Boris Johnson will be talking to ask about strife on the Underground All
:01:38. > :01:42.of that and after a week of very public coalition spats can David
:01:43. > :01:48.Cameron and Nick Clegg keep the coalition show on the road? Two
:01:49. > :01:53.senior party figures will go head to head. And with me, Helen Lewis, Nick
:01:54. > :01:57.Watt and Iain Martin who would not know they Somerset Levels from their
:01:58. > :02:02.Norfolk Broads, but that will not stop them tweeting their thoughts.
:02:03. > :02:09.We start with the strange Case of the Immigration Minister, his
:02:10. > :02:13.cleaner and some lost documents Yesterday Mark Harper tendered his
:02:14. > :02:16.resignation, telling the media he had discovered the cleaner who
:02:17. > :02:21.worked for him for seven years did not have the right to work in the
:02:22. > :02:26.UK. The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said he had done the
:02:27. > :02:30.honourable thing. I was sad to see him go, he was a strong minister.
:02:31. > :02:37.Had he been a member of the public he would not have done anything
:02:38. > :02:42.wrong, but he set himself a very high standard and he felt that
:02:43. > :02:46.standard and honourably stood down. This would seem like a good
:02:47. > :02:50.resignation, maybe unlike the Baroness Scotland one years ago on a
:02:51. > :02:58.similar issue, but have we been told the full story? We wait to see that.
:02:59. > :03:02.Labour have picked up saying he is an honourable man, that the reason
:03:03. > :03:07.why he resigned is these very owners checks that landlords and employers
:03:08. > :03:13.will have to perform on employees over their documentation. The most
:03:14. > :03:17.interesting line is that, we do not require them to be experts or spot
:03:18. > :03:24.anything other than an obvious forgery. The suggestion that there
:03:25. > :03:30.is the document he was presented with originality, which he lost was
:03:31. > :03:35.on home office paper and was perhaps not entirely accurate. That is the
:03:36. > :03:38.embarrassment. He is the minister putting through a bill that will
:03:39. > :03:44.demand tougher checks on people and he himself did not do enough checks
:03:45. > :03:48.to discover she was illegal. There is an odd bit where he involves the
:03:49. > :03:53.home office later to check her out as well. He writes a resignation
:03:54. > :03:59.letter and he has to hold himself to pay higher standard. He has done the
:04:00. > :04:04.David Laws approach to this, resign quickly and he can come back. David
:04:05. > :04:13.Cameron wants him to return swiftly to the frontbenchers. He is a state
:04:14. > :04:20.school educated lad. He is the kind of Tory that the Tories are in short
:04:21. > :04:25.supply of. He is a rising star. I would caution on this idea that it
:04:26. > :04:31.is customary that whenever anyone resigns, it is always thought they
:04:32. > :04:36.will come straight back into office. If only the outside world worked
:04:37. > :04:40.like that. It is not, in a company if the HR person resigns, he is such
:04:41. > :04:48.a great chap he will be back next week. There is a silver lining for
:04:49. > :04:53.David Cameron is he has been able to move Harriet Bond up as he moves
:04:54. > :05:01.everyone up. But nobody will see her in the whips office because she is
:05:02. > :05:03.not allowed to appear on television. And if you three want to resign Do
:05:04. > :05:10.And if you three want to resign? Do not hate you are coming back next
:05:11. > :05:15.week. But we will do it with honour. It has been a hellish week for
:05:16. > :05:20.residents of coastal areas with more storms bringing more flooding and
:05:21. > :05:23.after Prince Charles visited the Somerset Levels on Tuesday the
:05:24. > :05:30.Government has been keen to show it has got a grip on the situation at
:05:31. > :05:35.last. For last weekend's Sunday Politics I
:05:36. > :05:41.made the watery journey to the village of Muchelney, cut off for a
:05:42. > :05:45.whole month. Now everyone has been dropping in. First it was Prince
:05:46. > :06:00.Charles on a park bench pulled by a tractor. He waded into the row about
:06:01. > :06:05.how the floods have been handled. Next it was the chair of the
:06:06. > :06:11.Environment Agency, Lord Smith, who faced angry residents. Sought the
:06:12. > :06:18.river is out. That is precisely what we are going to do. Where he faced,
:06:19. > :06:22.a resident, he did not need that many. David Cameron went for a look
:06:23. > :06:28.as well and gave the region what it wanted, more pumps, more money and
:06:29. > :06:33.in the long-term the return of dredging. There are lessons to
:06:34. > :06:38.learn. The pause in bridging that took place from the late 1990s was
:06:39. > :06:43.wrong and we need to get dredging again. When the water levels come
:06:44. > :06:49.down and it is safe to dredge, we will dredging to make sure these
:06:50. > :06:53.rivers and stitches can carry a better capacity. The Environment
:06:54. > :06:58.Secretary Owen Paterson has not been seen again because he is recovering
:06:59. > :07:05.from emergency eye surgery. In the meantime the floodwaters rose ever
:07:06. > :07:10.higher. Some residents were told to evacuate. In Devon the railway was
:07:11. > :07:15.washed away by the waves leaving a big gap in the network. Look at the
:07:16. > :07:20.weather this weekend. If you can believe it, the storms keep rolling
:07:21. > :07:25.in. What is the long-term solution for flood prone areas of the
:07:26. > :07:29.country? I am joined from Oxford by the editor of The Ecologist
:07:30. > :07:37.magazine, Oliver Tickell, and by local MP Tessa Munt. Tessa, let me
:07:38. > :07:44.come to you first. What do you now want the Government to do? I want it
:07:45. > :07:47.to make sure it does exactly as it promises and delivers what every
:07:48. > :07:52.farmer and landowner around here knows should have been done for
:07:53. > :07:57.years. First, to solve the problems we have right now, but to make sure
:07:58. > :08:04.there is money in the bank for us to carry on doing the maintenance that
:08:05. > :08:07.is necessary. Was it a mistake not to do the dredging? When the waters
:08:08. > :08:15.start to subside does dredging become a key part of this? Yes, of
:08:16. > :08:20.course. It is something the farmers have been asking for four years.
:08:21. > :08:25.When you wander along a footpath by a river and you see trees growing
:08:26. > :08:32.and there is 60% of the capacity only because there is silt, it needs
:08:33. > :08:39.to have a pretty dramatic action right now and then we need to make
:08:40. > :08:43.sure the maintenance is ongoing. Oliver Tickell, was it a mistake to
:08:44. > :08:51.stop the dredging? If the dredging had happened, the land would not be
:08:52. > :08:57.covered in water for so long? Clearly it is necessary to do at
:08:58. > :09:02.least some dredging on these rivers and in particular because these
:09:03. > :09:05.rivers are well above ground level. They are carrying water that comes
:09:06. > :09:11.down off the hills well above the level of the flood plain on the
:09:12. > :09:17.Somerset Levels. They naturally tend to silt up. But the key thing is
:09:18. > :09:25.that is only a small part of the overall solution. What we need is a
:09:26. > :09:28.catchment wide approach to improve infiltration upstream and you also
:09:29. > :09:35.need to manage the flood plain on the levels and upstream so as to
:09:36. > :09:40.have active flood plain that can store water. This idea it is just
:09:41. > :09:46.about dredging is erroneous. Dredging is a part of it, but it is
:09:47. > :09:52.a catchment wide solution. Dredging is only a small part of the solution
:09:53. > :09:59.he says. Yes, of course it is. But look here. With the farmer is
:10:00. > :10:04.locally, the landowners, they know this land will carry water for a few
:10:05. > :10:09.weeks of the year, that is not a problem. But this water has to be
:10:10. > :10:15.taken away and there is a very good system of drainage and it works
:10:16. > :10:18.perfectly well. In my area there are serious problems because the
:10:19. > :10:26.dredging has not taken place. There are lunatic regulations around were
:10:27. > :10:29.when they do do some of dredging, the Environment Agency is asked to
:10:30. > :10:36.take it away because it is considered toxic waste. This is
:10:37. > :10:39.barmy. We need to take the stuff out of the rivers and build the banks up
:10:40. > :10:45.so we create protection in the future. We have to make sure the
:10:46. > :10:52.dredging is done but make sure the drainage works well and we have
:10:53. > :10:57.pumps in places and we have floodgates put onto the rivers. We
:10:58. > :11:04.need to make sure repairs are done more quickly. All right, let me go
:11:05. > :11:09.back to Oliver Tickell. Is it not the case a lot of people on your
:11:10. > :11:13.side of the argument would like to see lands like the Somerset Levels
:11:14. > :11:18.return to natural habitat? Looe I would like a degree of that, but
:11:19. > :11:29.that does not mean the whole place needs to turn into wilderness so it
:11:30. > :11:34.will remain agricultural landscape. Everybody, all the interested
:11:35. > :11:40.parties who signed up to a document called vision 2034 the Somerset
:11:41. > :11:43.Levels envisages most of the area of the Somerset Levels being turned
:11:44. > :11:50.over to extensive grassland and that is what it is best suited for. Let
:11:51. > :11:59.me put that to Tessa Munt. Have you signed up to this where you will end
:12:00. > :12:05.up with extensive grassland? I have seen it, but grass does not grow if
:12:06. > :12:09.water is sitting on this land for weeks and weeks. What you have to
:12:10. > :12:14.remember is a lot of the levels are managed very carefully and they are
:12:15. > :12:19.conservation land and that means cattle are allowed to go out at
:12:20. > :12:24.certain times of the year and in certain numbers. It is well managed.
:12:25. > :12:33.Do you accept it should return to grassland? Grassland, fine, but you
:12:34. > :12:38.cannot call land grassland in the flipping water is on it so long that
:12:39. > :12:45.nothing grows. It is no good at doing that. You have got to make
:12:46. > :12:50.sure it is managed properly. Drainage has been taking place on
:12:51. > :12:54.this land for centuries. It is the case the system is there, but it
:12:55. > :13:00.needs to be maintained properly and we have to have fewer ridiculous
:13:01. > :13:04.regulations that stop action. Last year the flooding minister agreed
:13:05. > :13:08.dredging should take place and everything stopped. Now we have got
:13:09. > :13:13.the promise from the Prime Minister and I thank Prince Charles for that.
:13:14. > :13:17.Is it not time to let the local people run their land rather than
:13:18. > :13:22.being told what to do by the Environment Agency, central
:13:23. > :13:29.Government and the European Union? The internal drainage boards have
:13:30. > :13:34.considerable power in all of this. They wanted to dredge and they were
:13:35. > :13:40.not allowed to. The farmers want to dredge that is what is going to
:13:41. > :13:43.happen, but they have signed up to a comprehensive vision of catchment
:13:44. > :13:49.management and of environmental improvement turning the Somerset
:13:50. > :13:55.Levels into a world-class haven for wildlife. It is not much good if
:13:56. > :13:58.your house is underwater. The farmers themselves, the RSPB, the
:13:59. > :14:05.drainage boards, they have all signed up to this. The real question
:14:06. > :14:13.now is how do we implement that vision? You give the money to the
:14:14. > :14:17.drainage boards. At the moment they pay 27% of their money and have been
:14:18. > :14:22.doing so for years and years and this is farmers' money and it has
:14:23. > :14:26.been going to the drainage boards and they pay the Environment Agency
:14:27. > :14:31.who are meant to be dredging and that has not happened. We have to
:14:32. > :14:36.leave it there. We have run out of time.
:14:37. > :14:40.Last week saw the Labour Party adopts an historic change with its
:14:41. > :14:45.relationship with the unions. Changes to the rules that propelled
:14:46. > :14:47.Ed Miliband to the top. Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader in 2010
:14:48. > :14:49.Ed Miliband to the top. Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader in 20 0 by
:14:50. > :14:55.the electoral college system which gives unions, party members and MPs
:14:56. > :15:00.one third of votes each. This would be changed into a simpler one
:15:01. > :15:04.member, one vote system. A union member would have to become an
:15:05. > :15:11.affiliated member of the party. They would have to opt in and pay ?3 a
:15:12. > :15:17.year. But the unions would have 50% of the vote at the conference and
:15:18. > :15:22.around one third of the seats on the National executive committee. The
:15:23. > :15:27.proposals are a financial gamble as well. It is estimated the party
:15:28. > :15:30.could face a drop in funding of up to ?5 million a year when the
:15:31. > :15:36.changes are fully implemented in five years. The leader of the Unite
:15:37. > :15:41.trade union has welcomed the report saying it is music to his ears. The
:15:42. > :15:47.package will be voted on at a special one of conference in March.
:15:48. > :15:55.And the Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna joins me now for the
:15:56. > :16:00.Sunday Interview. Welcome back. In what way will the unions have less
:16:01. > :16:06.power and influence in the Labour Party? This is about ensuring
:16:07. > :16:09.individual trade union members have a direct relationship with the
:16:10. > :16:15.Labour Party. At the moment the monies that come to us are decided
:16:16. > :16:20.at a top level, the general secretaries determine this, whether
:16:21. > :16:25.the individual members want us to be in receipt of those monies or not so
:16:26. > :16:27.we are going to change that so that affiliation fees follow the consent
:16:28. > :16:31.of individual members. Secondly, we of individual members. Secondly we
:16:32. > :16:33.want to make sure the individual trade union members, people who
:16:34. > :16:43.teach our children, power via -- teach our children, power via -
:16:44. > :16:51.fantastic British businesses, we want them to make an active choice,
:16:52. > :16:54.and we are also recognising that in this day and age not everybody wants
:16:55. > :17:01.to become a member of a political party. We haven't got much time.
:17:02. > :17:01.to become a member of a political party. We haven't got much time The
:17:02. > :17:07.party. We haven't got much time. The unions still have 50% of the vote at
:17:08. > :17:23.Labour conferences, there will be the single most important vote, more
:17:24. > :17:33.member -- union members will vote than nonunion members, their power
:17:34. > :17:42.has not diminished at all, has it? In relation to the other parts of
:17:43. > :17:45.the group of people who will be voting in a future leadership
:17:46. > :17:51.contest, we are seeking to move towards more of a one member, one
:17:52. > :17:57.vote process. At the moment we have the absurd situation where I, as a
:17:58. > :18:02.member of Parliament, my vote will count for 1000. MPs are losing...
:18:03. > :18:10.count for 1000. MPs are losing. . They still have a lot of power. I am
:18:11. > :18:15.a member of the GMB union and the Unite union, also a member of the
:18:16. > :18:20.Fabians as well so I get free votes on top of my vote as a member of
:18:21. > :18:24.Parliament. We are moving to a system where I will have one vote
:18:25. > :18:28.and that is an important part of this. You asked how many people
:18:29. > :18:30.would be casting their votes. The last time around, under the
:18:31. > :18:37.old system, up to 2.8 million ballot papers were sent out with prepaid
:18:38. > :18:47.envelopes for people to return their papers were sent out with prepaid
:18:48. > :18:52.turnout. The idea that you are going to see a big change... Even if
:18:53. > :19:04.your individual party members. In one vital way, your purse strings,
:19:05. > :19:06.your individual party members. In the unions will be more powerful
:19:07. > :19:16.than ever because at the moment they have to hand over 8 million to
:19:17. > :19:18.than ever because at the moment they fraction of that now. They will get
:19:19. > :19:29.to keep that money, but then come the election you go to them and give
:19:30. > :19:36.them a lot of money -- and they will have you then. They won't have us,
:19:37. > :19:40.as you put it! The idea that individual trade union members don't
:19:41. > :19:45.have their own view, their own voice, and just do what their
:19:46. > :19:49.general secretaries do is absurd. They will make their own decision,
:19:50. > :19:55.and we want them to make that and not have their leadership decide
:19:56. > :20:00.that for them. Let me go to the money. The Labour Party manifesto
:20:01. > :20:06.will be reflecting the interests of Britain, and the idea that somehow
:20:07. > :20:11.people can say we are not going to give you this money unless you do
:20:12. > :20:15.this or that, we will give you a policy agenda which is appropriate
:20:16. > :20:20.for the British people, regardless of what implications that may have
:20:21. > :20:25.financially. They will have more seats than anybody else in the NEC
:20:26. > :20:31.and they will hold the purse strings. They will be the
:20:32. > :20:35.determining factor. They won't be. Unite is advocating a 70% rate of
:20:36. > :20:44.income tax, there is no way we will have that in our manifesto. Unite is
:20:45. > :20:57.advocating taking back contracts and no compensation basis, we would not
:20:58. > :21:08.-- there is no way we would do that. How many chief executives of the
:21:09. > :21:15.FTSE 100 are backing Labour? We have lots of chief executives backing
:21:16. > :21:19.Labour. I don't know the exact number. Ed Miliband has just placed
:21:20. > :21:31.an important business person in the House of Lords, the former chief
:21:32. > :21:40.executive of the ITV, Bill Grimsey. How many? You can only name one
:21:41. > :21:46.Bill Grimsey, there is also John Mills. Anyone who is currently
:21:47. > :21:50.chairman of the chief executive? With the greatest respect, you are
:21:51. > :21:55.talking about less than half the percent of business leaders in our
:21:56. > :22:01.country, we have almost 5 million businesses, not all FTSE 100
:22:02. > :22:08.businesses, not all listed, and we are trying to get people from across
:22:09. > :22:23.the country of all different shapes and sizes. Let's widen it to the
:22:24. > :22:28.FTSE 250. That is 250 out of 5 million companies. The largest ones,
:22:29. > :22:33.they make the profits and provide the jobs. Two thirds of private
:22:34. > :22:37.sector jobs in this country come from small and medium-sized
:22:38. > :22:41.businesses, and small and medium-sized businesses are an
:22:42. > :22:52.important part of a large companies supply chains. So you cannot name a
:22:53. > :22:59.single chairman from the FTSE 250, correct? I don't know all the
:23:00. > :23:09.chairman. Are you going to fight the next election without a single boss
:23:10. > :23:13.of a FTSE 250 company? I have named some important business people, but
:23:14. > :23:23.the most important thing is that we are not coming out with a manifesto
:23:24. > :23:33.for particular interests, but for broader interest. Let me show you,
:23:34. > :23:46.Digby Jones says Labour's policy is, "if it creates wealth, let's kick
:23:47. > :23:54.it" . Another quote, that it borders on predatory taxation. They think
:23:55. > :24:00.you are anti-business. I don't agree with them. One of the interesting
:24:01. > :24:01.things about Sir Stuart's comments on the predatory taxation and I
:24:02. > :24:06.think he was referring to the 50p think he was referring to the 5 p
:24:07. > :24:11.rate of tax is that he made some comments arguing against the
:24:12. > :24:16.reduction of the top rate of tax from 50p. He is saying something
:24:17. > :24:21.different now. Digby of course has his own opinions, he has never been
:24:22. > :24:25.a member of the Labour Party. Let me come onto this business of the top
:24:26. > :24:31.rate of tax, do you accept or don't you that there is a point when
:24:32. > :24:36.higher rates of income tax become counter-productive? Ultimately you
:24:37. > :24:42.want to have the lowest tax rates possible. Do you accept there is a
:24:43. > :24:48.certain level you actually get less money? I think ultimately there is a
:24:49. > :24:51.level beyond you could go which would be counter-productive, for
:24:52. > :25:04.example the 75% rate of tax I mentioned earlier, being advocated
:25:05. > :25:11.by Unite in France. Most French higher earners will pay less tax
:25:12. > :25:19.than under your plans. I beg your pardon, with the 50p? Under your
:25:20. > :25:26.proposals, people here will pay more tax than French higher earners. If
:25:27. > :25:30.you are asking if in terms of the level, you asked the question and I
:25:31. > :25:37.answered it, do I think if you reach a level beyond which the tax burden
:25:38. > :25:42.becomes counter-productive, can I give you a number what that would
:25:43. > :25:48.be, I cannot but let me explain - the reason we have sought to
:25:49. > :25:51.increase its two 50p is that we can get in revenue to reduce the
:25:52. > :25:55.deficit. In an ideal world you wouldn't need a 50p rate of tax
:25:56. > :26:04.which is why during our time in office we didn't have one, because
:26:05. > :26:10.we didn't have those issues. Sure, though you cannot tell me how much
:26:11. > :26:17.the 50p will raise. In the three years of operation we think it
:26:18. > :26:25.raised ?10 billion. You think. That was based on extrapolation from the
:26:26. > :26:28.British library. It is at least possible I would suggest, for the
:26:29. > :26:34.sake of argument, that when you promise to take over half people's
:26:35. > :26:42.income, which is what you will do if you get your way, the richest 1%
:26:43. > :26:53.currently account for 70 5% of all tax revenues. -- 75%. Is it not a
:26:54. > :27:01.danger that if you take more out of them, they will just go? I don't
:27:02. > :27:07.think so, we are talking about the top 1% here. If you look at the
:27:08. > :27:18.directors of sub 5 million turnover companies, the average managing
:27:19. > :27:23.director of that gets around ?87,000. Let me narrow it down to
:27:24. > :27:33.something else. Let's take the .1% something else. Let's take the 0.1%
:27:34. > :27:38.of top taxpayers, down to fewer than 30,000 people. They account for over
:27:39. > :27:43.14% of all of the income tax revenues. Only 29,000 people. If
:27:44. > :27:51.they go because you are going to take over half their income, you
:27:52. > :27:58.have lost a huge chunk of your tax base. They could easily go, at
:27:59. > :28:02.tipping point they could go. What we are advocating here is not
:28:03. > :28:07.controversial. Those with the broadest shoulders, it is not
:28:08. > :28:16.unreasonable to ask them to share the heavier burden. Can you name one
:28:17. > :28:24.other major economy that subscribes to this? Across Europe, for example
:28:25. > :28:31.in Sweden they have higher tax rates than us. Can you name one major
:28:32. > :28:37.economy? I couldn't pluck one out of the air, I can see where you are
:28:38. > :28:42.coming from, I don't agree with it. I think most people subscribe to the
:28:43. > :28:47.fact that those with wider shoulders should carry the heavy a burden. We
:28:48. > :28:51.should carry the heavy a burden We have run out of time but thank you
:28:52. > :28:55.for being here. Over the past week it seems that
:28:56. > :28:59.Nick Clegg has activated a new Lib Dem strategy - 'Get Gove'. After a
:29:00. > :29:02.very public spat over who should head up the schools inspection
:29:03. > :29:04.service Ofsted, Lib Dem sources have continued to needle away at the
:29:05. > :29:08.Education Secretary. And other senior Lib Dems have also taken aim
:29:09. > :29:32.at their coalition partners. Here's Giles Dilnot. It's unlikely the
:29:33. > :29:34.polite welcome of these school children to Lib Dem leader Nick
:29:35. > :29:38.Clegg and his party colleague schools minister David Laws would be
:29:39. > :29:40.so forthcoming right now from the man in charge of schools
:29:41. > :29:43.Conservative Michael Gove. Mr Laws is said to have been furious with
:29:44. > :29:46.The Education secretary over the decision to remove Sally Morgan as
:29:47. > :29:49.chair of Ofsted. But those who know the inner working of the Lib Dems
:29:50. > :29:52.say that's just understandable. When you have the department not being
:29:53. > :29:55.consulted, it would be possible for him to not publicly comment. The
:29:56. > :30:04.remarkable thing would be if he hadn't said anything at all. We
:30:05. > :30:15.should be careful to understand this is not always part of a preplanned
:30:16. > :30:20.decision. There is a growing sense that inside Number Ten this is a
:30:21. > :30:23.concerted Lib Dem strategy, we also understand there is no love lost
:30:24. > :30:28.between Nick Clegg and Michael Gove to say the least, and a growing
:30:29. > :30:33.frustration that if the Lib Dems think such so-called yellow and blue
:30:34. > :30:37.attacks can help them with the election, they can also damage the
:30:38. > :30:44.long-term prospects of the Coalition post 2015. One spat does not a
:30:45. > :30:45.divorce make but perhaps even more significant has been Chief Secretary
:30:46. > :30:47.to the Treasury Danny Alexander's to the Treasury Danny Alexander s
:30:48. > :30:50.recent newspaper interview firmly spiking any room for George Osborne
:30:51. > :30:53.to manoeuvre on lowering the highest income tax rate to 40p. All this
:30:54. > :30:56.builds on the inclusion in Government at the reshuffle of
:30:57. > :30:59.people like Norman Baker at the Home Office and Simon Hughes at Justice
:31:00. > :31:02.people who are happier to publically express doubt on Conservative
:31:03. > :31:15.policy, unlike say Jeremy Browne who was removed and who has made plain
:31:16. > :31:19.his views on Coalition. It is difficult for us to demonstrate that
:31:20. > :31:28.we are more socialist than an Ed Miliband Labour led party. Even if
:31:29. > :31:34.we did wish to demonstrate it, doing it in coalition with the
:31:35. > :31:35.Conservatives would be harder still. Nonetheless a differentiation
:31:36. > :31:39.strategy was always likely as 2015 strategy was always likely as 2 15
:31:40. > :31:46.approached, so is there evidence it works? Or of the work we publish
:31:47. > :31:49.shows the Lib Dems have a huge problem in terms of their
:31:50. > :31:54.distinctiveness, so attacking their coalition partners or the Labour
:31:55. > :31:59.Party is helpful in showing what they are against, but there are
:32:00. > :32:05.bigger problem is showing what they are for. And one Conservative MP
:32:06. > :32:09.with access to Number Ten as part of the PM's policy board says yellow on
:32:10. > :32:15.blue attacks are misplaced and irresponsible. At this stage when
:32:16. > :32:19.all the hard work is being done and the country is back on its feet, the
:32:20. > :32:27.Lib Dems are choosing the time to step away from the coalition. That
:32:28. > :32:33.is your position, but do you suspect coming up to the next election we
:32:34. > :32:38.will see more of this? I think the Lib Dems are about as hard to pin
:32:39. > :32:43.down as a weasel in Vaseline. And with the public's view of
:32:44. > :32:48.politicians right now, and wants to be seen as slicker than a well oiled
:32:49. > :32:52.weasel? And we have Lib Dem peer Matthew Oakeshott and senior
:32:53. > :33:03.Conservative backbencher Bernard Jenkin. Matthew, the Lib Dems are
:33:04. > :33:09.now picking fights with the Tories on a range of issues, some of them
:33:10. > :33:14.trivial. Is this a Pirelli used to Lib Dem withdrawal from the
:33:15. > :33:21.coalition? I do not know, I am not privy to Nick Clegg's in strategy.
:33:22. > :33:27.Some of us have been independent for some time. I resigned over treatment
:33:28. > :33:33.of the banks. That is now being sorted out. But what is significant
:33:34. > :33:38.is we have seen a string of attacks, almost an enemy within strategy.
:33:39. > :33:42.When you have Nick Clegg, David Laws and Danny Alexander, the three key
:33:43. > :33:50.people closest to the Conservatives, when you see all of them attacking,
:33:51. > :33:54.and this morning Nick Clegg has had a go at the Conservatives over drug
:33:55. > :34:00.policy. There is a string of policies where something is going
:34:01. > :34:06.on. It is difficult to do an enemy within strategy. I believe as many
:34:07. > :34:10.Lib Dems do that we should withdraw from the coalition six months to one
:34:11. > :34:13.year before the election so we can put our positive policies across
:34:14. > :34:19.rather than having this tricky strategy of trying to do it from
:34:20. > :34:27.within. Why does David Cameron need the Lib Dems? He probably does not.
:34:28. > :34:31.The country generally favoured the coalition to start with. Voters like
:34:32. > :34:37.to see politicians are working together and far more of that goes
:34:38. > :34:41.on in Westminster then we see. Most of my committee reports are
:34:42. > :34:52.unanimous reports from all parties. Why does he need them? I do not
:34:53. > :34:57.think he does. You would be happy to see the Lib Dems go? I would always
:34:58. > :35:01.be happy to see a single minority Government because it would be
:35:02. > :35:05.easier for legislation. The legislation you could not get
:35:06. > :35:11.through would not get through whether we were in coalition or
:35:12. > :35:14.not. The 40p tax rate, there probably is not a majority in the
:35:15. > :35:20.House of Commons at the moment, despite what Nick Clegg originally
:35:21. > :35:23.said. It does not make much difference. What makes a difference
:35:24. > :35:28.from the perspective of the committee I chair is historically we
:35:29. > :35:33.have had single party Government that have collective responsibility
:35:34. > :35:36.and clarity. The reason that is important is because nothing gets
:35:37. > :35:43.done if everybody is at sixes and sevens in the Government. Everything
:35:44. > :35:48.stops, there is paralysis as the row goes on. Civil servants do not know
:35:49. > :35:54.who they are working for. If it carries on getting fractures, there
:35:55. > :35:58.is a bigger argument to get out. If it continues at this level of
:35:59. > :36:03.intensity of the enemy within strategy as you have described it,
:36:04. > :36:08.can the coalition survived another 16 months of this? It is also a
:36:09. > :36:13.question should they. I never thought I would say this, I agree
:36:14. > :36:20.with Bernard. Interestingly earlier Chuka Umunna missed the point
:36:21. > :36:23.talking about business support. Business is worried about this
:36:24. > :36:27.anti-European rhetoric and that is a deep split between the Liberal
:36:28. > :36:31.Democrats and the UKIP wing of the Tory party. That is really damaging
:36:32. > :36:34.and that is something we need to make our own case separately on.
:36:35. > :36:36.and that is something we need to make our own case separately on Do
:36:37. > :36:39.you get fed up when you hear constant Lib Dem attacks on you?
:36:40. > :36:44.constant Lib Dem attacks on you What makes me fed up is my own party
:36:45. > :36:50.cannot respond in kind because we are in coalition. I would love to
:36:51. > :36:57.have this much more open debate I would like to see my own party
:36:58. > :37:00.leader, for example as he did in the House of Commons, it was the Liberal
:37:01. > :37:04.Democrats who blocked the referendum on the house of lords and if we want
:37:05. > :37:09.to get this bill through it should be a Government bill. We know we can
:37:10. > :37:12.get it through the Commons, but we need to get the Liberals out of the
:37:13. > :37:17.Government so they stop blocking the Government putting forward a
:37:18. > :37:26.referendum bill. And put millions of jobs at risk? I am not going down
:37:27. > :37:31.the European road today. It strikes me that given that the attacks from
:37:32. > :37:36.the Lib Dems are now coming from the left attacking the Tories, is this a
:37:37. > :37:41.representative of the failure of Nick Clegg's strategy to rebuild a
:37:42. > :37:47.centrist Liberal party and he now accepts the only way he can save as
:37:48. > :37:48.many seats as he can do is to get the disillusioned left Lib Dem
:37:49. > :37:53.voters to come back to the fold? the disillusioned left Lib Dem
:37:54. > :37:57.voters to come back to the fold The site is we have lost over half our
:37:58. > :38:01.vote at the last election and at the moment there is no sign in the polls
:38:02. > :38:07.of it coming back and we are getting very close to the next election. I
:38:08. > :38:14.welcome it if Nick Clegg is starting to address that problem, but talking
:38:15. > :38:17.about the centre is not the answer. Most Liberal Democrat voters at the
:38:18. > :38:22.last election are radical, progressive people who want to see a
:38:23. > :38:26.much fairer Britain and a much less divided society and we must make
:38:27. > :38:32.sure we maximise our vote from there. We know what both of you
:38:33. > :38:37.want, but what do you think will happen? Do you think this coalition
:38:38. > :38:43.will survive all the way to the election or will it break up
:38:44. > :38:48.beforehand? I think it will break up beforehand. Our long-term economic
:38:49. > :38:51.plan is working. The further changes in policies we want to implement to
:38:52. > :38:58.sustain that plan are being held back by the Liberal Democrats. When
:38:59. > :39:02.will they break up? It has lasted longer than I thought it would, but
:39:03. > :39:10.it must break up at least six months before the election. Do you think it
:39:11. > :39:15.will survive or not? The coalition has delivered a great deal in many
:39:16. > :39:19.ways, but it is running out of steam. It depends what happens in
:39:20. > :39:23.the May elections. If the Liberal Democrats do not do better than we
:39:24. > :39:33.have done in the last three, there will be very strong pressure from
:39:34. > :39:38.the inside. You both agree. Television history has been made.
:39:39. > :39:42.You are watching the Sunday Politics. Coming up: I will be
:39:43. > :39:56.looking at Hello and welcome to Sunday Politics
:39:57. > :39:58.in the East. Coming up later in the programme:
:39:59. > :40:04.New plans to help victims of domestic violence raise questions
:40:05. > :40:07.about why they are taking so long. It has been progressing but I would
:40:08. > :40:12.say, from my perspective, it has not been progressing enough. And there
:40:13. > :40:15.is no place like home ` the growing number of people receiving hospice
:40:16. > :40:22.care in a familiar setting. I think people think hospitals are the best
:40:23. > :40:27.place but sometimes home... More often than not home.
:40:28. > :40:30.First though, let's meet our guests ` Alistair Burt, the MP for
:40:31. > :40:35.Bedfordshire, and Tim Young, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for
:40:36. > :40:38.Clacton. Let's start with the deselection of South Suffolk MP Tim
:40:39. > :40:41.Yeo this week. He of course lost a vote among all constituency party
:40:42. > :40:49.members after being accused by its executive of being virtually
:40:50. > :40:52.invisible. I think it is just a lack of visibility. I think a lot of
:40:53. > :40:56.members felt that we needed a little bit more input. And South Suffolk
:40:57. > :40:58.and Suffolk generally, being a blue area, really hasn't had
:40:59. > :41:02.infrastructure investment and I think we would have liked to have
:41:03. > :41:11.seen a bit more of that coming through. I believe... I have had a
:41:12. > :41:14.home there for 31 years, I have led campaigns to keep the health
:41:15. > :41:18.facility in Sudbury. I took part in the joint campaign to stop the A14
:41:19. > :41:21.from being tolled. I protected the countryside in my constituency being
:41:22. > :41:24.covered in electricity pylons. I think anybody who cares about those
:41:25. > :41:27.issues will know I did the best possible job for the constituency.
:41:28. > :41:33.Alistair, David Cameron backed Tim Yeo. Does it look like he is losing
:41:34. > :41:36.control of the party? Is this a Tory spring, do you think? No, I don't
:41:37. > :41:40.think so. In any case of deselection, there are usually
:41:41. > :41:43.long`standing issues. We have a very democratic party. They make the
:41:44. > :41:47.decisions about who the candidates are and I don't think it designates
:41:48. > :41:50.anything more than the normal run of these things, where you would see
:41:51. > :41:56.one or two deselections in a parliament. Tim Young, Labour of
:41:57. > :42:01.course not immune to these type of wrangles. How do you keep the
:42:02. > :42:05.constituency members happy? I think you have to work with them and be
:42:06. > :42:09.visible and I think that is one of the criticisms that has been
:42:10. > :42:12.levelled at Tim Yeo. But I do think it does show a rightward shift of
:42:13. > :42:15.the Conservative party. Because people like Tim Yeo, he had light
:42:16. > :42:19.views on climate change, in favour of gay marriage and I think, you
:42:20. > :42:23.know, they have got rid of him. I think that is part of the reason. I
:42:24. > :42:27.will be very surprised... Is that part of the reason? I would be very
:42:28. > :42:30.surprised if there is not a rightward shift in the person they
:42:31. > :42:33.do select. Alistair? I don't think so. Again, knowing something of the
:42:34. > :42:35.background with the deselections that have taken place recently,
:42:36. > :42:38.these are long`standing issues where an association has been in
:42:39. > :42:43.discussion for a lengthy period of time with their MP. I am not going
:42:44. > :42:48.to get into that. I mean, these are my colleagues. But... All right. You
:42:49. > :42:52.have been the Foreign Minister, you have been away for a couple of
:42:53. > :42:54.years, in the Middle East. Are you worried about neglecting your
:42:55. > :42:58.constituents? I have not been away for a couple of years. I have been
:42:59. > :43:01.doing my constituency business every weekend. I have been home. I was on
:43:02. > :43:05.Government duty abroad as a minister. This week I have been at
:43:06. > :43:08.the local hospital, a power station, handling a school problem, dealing
:43:09. > :43:11.with an issue of the supposed moving of the Magistrates' Court from
:43:12. > :43:14.Bedford to Luton and I have already been reselected by my association.
:43:15. > :43:16.Very briefly. First Anne Macintosh and now Tim Yeo, moderate
:43:17. > :43:21.Conservatives, mainstream Conservatives, both reselected.
:43:22. > :43:25.There does seem to be a pattern emerging. I think you want to stick
:43:26. > :43:29.to your own party. OK. Work out your problems in Falkirk and leave us to
:43:30. > :43:32.sort out ours. All right, we will leave it there. Thank you. Now to
:43:33. > :43:35.the issue of domestic abuse. Over the last few years, there have been
:43:36. > :43:38.four high`profile deaths in Essex where the police have been
:43:39. > :43:42.criticised for not doing enough. It is believed there are 44,000 victims
:43:43. > :43:45.in the county each year. Now, there will be special advisers in local
:43:46. > :43:50.hospitals to spot the signs of abuse in people who may be too scared to
:43:51. > :43:53.ask for help. The initiative is part of a community budgets pilot
:43:54. > :44:08.designed to get public bodies to work together to tackle the problem.
:44:09. > :44:11.It started in the county in 2011 but we have been told that progress in
:44:12. > :44:14.tackling domestic abuse has been too slow.
:44:15. > :44:18.It wears you down to a shell of a person. You just become a robot.
:44:19. > :44:22.There is nothing inside at all. You just wait for it to happen and then
:44:23. > :44:25.once it is over, it is over. For nine years, this woman, who we're
:44:26. > :44:28.calling Lucy, was in a relationship that became progressively more
:44:29. > :44:31.abusive. And was the abuse physically violent? Not until I
:44:32. > :44:34.became pregnant. That is really when it became physical. I remember I
:44:35. > :44:38.used to snore really, really badly and I remember waking up to this
:44:39. > :44:42.sharp blow to the stomach because I was snoring. And then I was like...
:44:43. > :44:46.It was like I was too scared to sleep. I was too scared to fall
:44:47. > :44:50.asleep, really. I wanted to protect me and my child but I knew that I
:44:51. > :44:53.couldn't sleep, not when he was around. I was too scared. Lucy was
:44:54. > :44:56.lucky. She escaped. Maria Stubbings, Jeanette Goodwin and Chrissie
:44:57. > :45:04.Chambers, along with her daughter Shania, were all killed by abusive
:45:05. > :45:06.partners in Essex. All three cases led to critical reports from the
:45:07. > :45:10.Independent Police Complaints Commission and to a rethink of how
:45:11. > :45:12.police, councils and others can help victims and catch perpetrators.
:45:13. > :45:15.Independent domestic abuse advisers are now on maternity wards and in
:45:16. > :45:18.Accident and Emergency departments in Essex hospitals, hoping to make
:45:19. > :45:29.contact with victims who would not otherwise seek help. It is really
:45:30. > :45:33.important that we do it here. We have access to clients who are in
:45:34. > :45:40.hidden groups, who would not normally go to a domestic abuse
:45:41. > :45:46.agency. They would always go to their hospital or GP and maybe
:45:47. > :45:50.disclose domestic abuse. So what we are doing is closing the net to
:45:51. > :45:53.catch all of the victims. We are asking them at an earlier interval
:45:54. > :45:56.so it is early intervention. We have been able to reduce the risk, make
:45:57. > :45:59.different arrangements for their well`being, their accommodation and
:46:00. > :46:06.so we are keeping the residents of Essex safe. The idea would be that
:46:07. > :46:10.we would wear these and it would record pretty much what we see and
:46:11. > :46:13.experience when we go to an incident. Since last month, Essex
:46:14. > :46:19.Police officers have been using body`worn video cameras when they
:46:20. > :46:22.attend domestic incidents. It is trying to capture the evidence that
:46:23. > :46:26.might have been missed otherwise. The exact comments made to us at the
:46:27. > :46:29.scene. Often we will arrive at an incident that may still be
:46:30. > :46:34.occurring, for instance may still be being committed when we arrive
:46:35. > :46:37.there. And hopefully it will lead to more convictions for domestic abuse
:46:38. > :46:43.that may otherwise have not led to a conviction. Essex is one of the
:46:44. > :46:46.areas where the Government's community budgets are being piloted,
:46:47. > :46:51.aiming to get public bodies working closer together. And there is a
:46:52. > :46:59.specific focus in Essex on domestic violence. Every single medium or
:47:00. > :47:02.high risk incident of domestic abuse that is known about in Essex is sent
:47:03. > :47:05.here, to the Central Referral Unit, where police work with Social
:47:06. > :47:08.Services and charities to make sure that victims get the support that
:47:09. > :47:12.they need. You talk about how everybody is now
:47:13. > :47:19.working together across Essex. We have had community budgets here as a
:47:20. > :47:24.trial for several years. Should that not already have been happening? It
:47:25. > :47:28.has been impacting in some areas. I don't know the full extent of them
:47:29. > :47:45.as it has happened before I came on board as such. And there have been
:47:46. > :47:48.some key successes in other areas of the community budgets, in relation
:47:49. > :47:51.to troubled families, family solutions and others. But as far as
:47:52. > :47:54.domestic violence goes, it has not been successful? No, it has been
:47:55. > :47:58.progressing. But I would say, from my perspective, it has not been
:47:59. > :48:02.progressing enough. Do you think the work that is happening now in Essex
:48:03. > :48:05.can stop us seeing a repeat of the domestic murders that we have seen
:48:06. > :48:09.here in recent years? I don't think we can ever say never. But we can
:48:10. > :48:12.certainly develop a process and hopefully a system that is effective
:48:13. > :48:15.and efficient. Lucy says if she hadn't escaped her abusive partner,
:48:16. > :48:19.she would not be here today. The question is whether the work
:48:20. > :48:22.happening now in Essex is enough to save others in her situation.
:48:23. > :48:24.Well, earlier I spoke to Nick Alston, Essex's Police and Crime
:48:25. > :48:28.Commissioner, who made domestic violence his number one priority in
:48:29. > :48:33.his manifesto. I asked him whether enough progress has been made. Well,
:48:34. > :48:38.I would say... I think we have made a lot of progress over that time. Of
:48:39. > :48:41.course I only came onto the scene 15 months ago. It took me a few months
:48:42. > :48:44.to, you know, understand the priority. You heard what the
:48:45. > :48:48.councillor had to say in the film. He has reservations. You're working
:48:49. > :48:51.with him and he says that it is not progressing enough. Well, he is
:48:52. > :48:55.sitting on the Essex Strategy Board with me. He makes a great
:48:56. > :48:58.contribution. He brings that County Council perspective. And frankly, I
:48:59. > :49:04.think we are really making progress. A lot has happened since I
:49:05. > :49:07.took over that board in June. We now have the criminal justice agencies
:49:08. > :49:13.working together to make sure we can make the court processes easier for
:49:14. > :49:17.the victims. We've got housing meeting now, seeing how can we think
:49:18. > :49:20.about housing to support them. We're working with a wonderful women's
:49:21. > :49:24.refuge movement to free the women refugees we've got in Essex. How can
:49:25. > :49:32.we supplement that by looking at housing? What about the
:49:33. > :49:35.perpetrators? You know, if we can get the perpetrators taken away from
:49:36. > :49:38.the victims, how are we going to house those? The Health Service have
:49:39. > :49:42.stepped forward, really stepped forward really well in the last few
:49:43. > :49:46.months. You saw in the film about the work that Safer Places are doing
:49:47. > :49:49.in hospitals. I put money from my budgets into working with GPs. We
:49:50. > :49:52.are putting money into trying to identify the problem before the
:49:53. > :49:55.women, it often is women., you know, suffer 30 or more incidents of
:49:56. > :49:58.domestic abuse before they contact the police. Let's get them
:49:59. > :50:01.signposting earlier. Let's get them telling people about their problems
:50:02. > :50:04.and getting those problems sorted. So I think Dick was saying, you
:50:05. > :50:08.know, the first two years might have been a bit slow but the last year, a
:50:09. > :50:12.lot has been happening. What about those community budgets? It is hard
:50:13. > :50:15.to see how they have improved things. Is the money being used well
:50:16. > :50:19.enough? For me, I mean community budgets did not mean too much to me
:50:20. > :50:23.until I came to really understand it. What we have to do is spend our
:50:24. > :50:27.money more sensibly to get upstream of the problem. Nick, I know you're
:50:28. > :50:31.very well aware that one in four calls to Essex Police is about
:50:32. > :50:35.domestic abuse. They are not all from women. Some are from men. When
:50:36. > :50:39.will you be in a position so that things will change for these people
:50:40. > :50:44.who are affected? They are changing now. They need to change faster and
:50:45. > :50:58.we need to go further but there are changing. You're quite right to
:50:59. > :51:01.highlight the problem, victims can be men. But we want to make sure
:51:02. > :51:05.that we respond quickly, effectively every time. We want to reduce the
:51:06. > :51:08.number of repeat incidents of domestic abuse and I think we are
:51:09. > :51:11.making a difference. Are there guarantees? There will never be
:51:12. > :51:14.guarantees. It always has happened and always will but the response is
:51:15. > :51:17.getting better and will continue to. Thank you for joining us. So let's
:51:18. > :51:21.talk about community budgets, first of all. Tim, you're very well aware
:51:22. > :51:25.of these budgets. It is welcome money, is it not? It is welcome
:51:26. > :51:28.money but where is the evidence that they are working? The thing about
:51:29. > :51:32.pilots is that they are a test and then get rolled out if they are
:51:33. > :51:35.successful. There is not a lot of evidence that the community budget
:51:36. > :51:39.pilot in Essex has been successful. In Slough they don't seem to have
:51:40. > :51:43.saved any money but I think domestic violence, Nick is also right, it is
:51:44. > :51:46.the right area to concentrate on. `` they have been slow. Alistair, why
:51:47. > :51:49.extend a pilot when we're not sure whether they have worked properly,
:51:50. > :51:52.sufficiently well? There are only four of them in the country and they
:51:53. > :51:56.essentially attempt to bring services together so they can be
:51:57. > :51:59.handled in a more cohesive manner. I think it takes time to prove these
:52:00. > :52:02.things on the ground but the evidence of what both your
:52:03. > :52:05.correspondents were saying just now, in relation to domestic
:52:06. > :52:08.violence, is that here is an area which has brought together to
:52:09. > :52:10.services and advisers and the Government is spending ?40 million
:52:11. > :52:13.to support advisers and specialist services for domestic violence. It
:52:14. > :52:16.has brought together the issues in relation to housing. Bringing in the
:52:17. > :52:19.issues relating to reporting. Because only one in four incidents
:52:20. > :52:23.of domestic abuse is reported. All of these things are actually coming
:52:24. > :52:27.together. So I would say you need time to see if this pilot is going
:52:28. > :52:30.to be successful and learn the lessons. Tim, Nick also said he was
:52:31. > :52:34.happy with progress on this. Are you happy? Over the last 12 months,
:52:35. > :52:38.there has been progress and Nick has led some of that so I would agree
:52:39. > :52:55.with that. This has been two, nearly three years now. I ask again, where
:52:56. > :52:58.is the evidence that it works? I think there was criticism there,
:52:59. > :53:01.from Essex County Council's representative, that progress has
:53:02. > :53:05.been too slow. Alistair? We have to be very careful about where we lay
:53:06. > :53:08.the blame here. The blame is with those who perpetrate violence. It is
:53:09. > :53:11.unacceptable. And the change in culture that is necessary to allow
:53:12. > :53:15.people to feel they can come forward and can report, they're going to be
:53:16. > :53:19.treated in a better way, this is a long`term, cumulative process. It is
:53:20. > :53:22.better now than it was, as everyone reports, but is still not good
:53:23. > :53:26.enough. The climate of fear in relation to this has got to be
:53:27. > :53:29.overcome. There has got to be much more confidence in people, in terms
:53:30. > :53:33.of talking about it. And also agencies and all the support that is
:53:34. > :53:35.going in, and there is over 100 different action plans. The
:53:36. > :53:38.Government is working on one very long`term programme which commenced
:53:39. > :53:41.in 2010 and has been through two action plans since. It is cumulative
:53:42. > :53:44.in changing the culture and atmosphere to make sure that
:53:45. > :53:47.perpetrators feel they are wrong, not those who experience violence.
:53:48. > :53:52.We will move on. Thank you. Perhaps we do not to dwell on it but
:53:53. > :53:55.we will all have to decide how we would like to end our lives. The
:53:56. > :53:58.hospice movement, which provides support for tens of thousands of
:53:59. > :54:02.people across the region is changing, caring for more and more
:54:03. > :54:08.of us in our own homes. Gareth George reports.
:54:09. > :54:17.Nearing the end of his life, Christopher needs round`the`clock
:54:18. > :54:20.care. Because Chris's pain is often quite high, we give a flat dose
:54:21. > :54:23.injection of pain relief and anti`anxiety medication. For
:54:24. > :54:28.Christopher, time is extremely precious. Because he is at home, not
:54:29. > :54:34.in a hospital or a hospice, he sees his two`year`old son Euan every
:54:35. > :54:41.single day. Just being at home with my family... With my possessions
:54:42. > :54:44.around me... And do you think other people should be given the
:54:45. > :54:53.opportunity to stay at home if they want to as well? Yeah, absolutely.
:54:54. > :54:57.Christopher's wife Karen is his full`time carer. She wants him to
:54:58. > :55:04.die in his own home. Yes, definitely. And how important will
:55:05. > :55:09.that be for you? Extremely important. From the minute we met,
:55:10. > :55:15.just we promised each other that we would be there. That I would be
:55:16. > :55:22.there. That's what we intended to do. It's very difficult. The
:55:23. > :55:28.emotions that he swings through in a day just leave you absolutely
:55:29. > :55:32.emotionally exhausted. `` that you swing through. You can go from being
:55:33. > :55:38.angry to being happy to being full of, "Why? Why is this the way it
:55:39. > :55:42.is?" You know, Chris and I have only been together for a short period of
:55:43. > :55:49.time and so whatever time we can have together is important to us. It
:55:50. > :55:55.does not make it easy but it is important to us. Yes. Chris and
:55:56. > :56:00.Karen are supported by nurses from the Arthur Rank hospice in
:56:01. > :56:03.Cambridge. For Chris and I, the hospice team, it is not just the
:56:04. > :56:12.physical help that they give us or the medical help but the emotional
:56:13. > :56:16.support. It is really important. I think people think hospitals are the
:56:17. > :56:21.best place or hospices are the best place. But sometimes home. More
:56:22. > :56:25.often than not home is the best place.
:56:26. > :56:28.And the demand for all hospice services is increasing right across
:56:29. > :56:33.the region, as our elderly population rises more quickly than
:56:34. > :56:37.the national average. According to a recent survey carried out by a
:56:38. > :56:40.hopice, almost two thirds of people over 65 are concerned there won't be
:56:41. > :56:47.enough hospice care available in the future. It has been hugely
:56:48. > :56:50.successful as a service. We have been averaging 2000 calls per month,
:56:51. > :56:54.which has only been running three or four months, so that's a good
:56:55. > :56:57.illustration of the demand that is out there. We are also starting to
:56:58. > :57:03.introduce this month a new rapid response element to the service. So
:57:04. > :57:08.the feedback so far has been very favourable from patients' families
:57:09. > :57:11.and local GPs. We will hoping to continue to develop and improve the
:57:12. > :57:15.service and that it will meet the need that is out there. Alistair, a
:57:16. > :57:20.growing and ageing population yet no more specific funding for hospice
:57:21. > :57:23.care. That is not right, is it? Well, in a debate in December, the
:57:24. > :57:33.Public Health Minister made clear that there is more support for
:57:34. > :57:37.hospices. There has been an extra ?60 million this year. But is it
:57:38. > :57:40.ongoing? Well, it will be. The whole process of care for those who are
:57:41. > :57:47.dying has changed markedly over our generation. Many more people now can
:57:48. > :57:50.go to hospices. There is a growing movement for home care. There are
:57:51. > :57:54.nine projects going on in terms of adult palliative care, one in terms
:57:55. > :57:57.of children care to see that what the ongoing costs are and how these
:57:58. > :58:06.will be worked through by NHS commissioners. This is a process, we
:58:07. > :58:09.are going to see more of the sort of care we have seen being displayed by
:58:10. > :58:13.Karen today because there is going to be more need for it. And there
:58:14. > :58:16.will be more support. But Tim, Labour failed to deliver on its
:58:17. > :58:19.election pledge in 2005 to double investment in the area. And since
:58:20. > :58:23.then demand has grown. Absolutely and I do not think this should be a
:58:24. > :58:27.party political issue. That was a really emotional film and there is a
:58:28. > :58:30.hospice that does great work in north`east Essex, it covers Clacton
:58:31. > :58:33.and Colchester. And we saw the chief executive just explain that. The ?60
:58:34. > :58:37.million capital, that is not revenue money, it is coming from the
:58:38. > :58:40.Government. Yes, where to find the money from? Only one third of
:58:41. > :58:43.funding comes from the Government and they do great fundraising
:58:44. > :58:47.initiatives. Is that balance right? Probably not in this day and age.
:58:48. > :58:51.But where do we find it? The balance as changed over time. We started
:58:52. > :58:54.with none whatsoever and it has gradually increased. Absolutely.
:58:55. > :58:57.What the Government is looking at now with its programmes studying
:58:58. > :59:01.palliative care is to whether or not that balance still needs to change.
:59:02. > :59:03.The costs are increasing for care of the elderly right across`the`board
:59:04. > :59:07.and this will have to be incorporated into it. People's
:59:08. > :59:10.choice about how they die is going to become increasingly important.
:59:11. > :59:14.This ?1 million hospices need to find everyday collectively, is that
:59:15. > :59:17.sustainable? I do not think it is but I think this is something that
:59:18. > :59:21.should be discussed cross party because this is an issue that is
:59:22. > :59:24.going to get more of a problem over time because there is more like
:59:25. > :59:27.limiting illnesses,more long term conditions but people are living
:59:28. > :59:30.longer. We need to get together, put our collective brains together. Do
:59:31. > :59:33.you agree, Alistair? And how you divide the care, because it will not
:59:34. > :59:37.come to hospitals. More comes through primary care and GPs. Then
:59:38. > :59:41.the stuff that comes through from charities and hospices. It is a
:59:42. > :59:45.mixture. I think what we have got to remain absolutely centred on is what
:59:46. > :59:48.the need of the patient is, the need of the family, and trying to provide
:59:49. > :59:53.it in its most flexible way possible. I think that is right.
:59:54. > :59:56.Thank you for that. Now, it is all systems go on political round`up
:59:57. > :00:07.this week, with buses and trains in the firing line.
:00:08. > :00:13.The millionaire who founded the inspiration trust which runs several
:00:14. > :00:18.schools in Norfolk is tipped to become the new head of Ofsted.
:00:19. > :00:23.Parents and ethics might have to pay to send their children to school if
:00:24. > :00:24.there are bus service is axed. It will come in at about ?500 per
:00:25. > :00:30.year. will come in at about ?500 per
:00:31. > :00:34.Financial worries at Bedford Hospital over a contract for
:00:35. > :00:37.services including hip replacement, which some believe could threaten
:00:38. > :00:43.the economic stability of the whole hospital. Potentially other services
:00:44. > :00:47.because no service stands alone. It was the local train service that
:00:48. > :00:51.came in for criticism from an MP in transport questions. Greater Anglia
:00:52. > :00:59.railways, who must have the most clapped`out, hearty stock in the
:01:00. > :01:06.world. The Minister had a suggestion. The bus service
:01:07. > :01:11.frequently fails to arrive or breaks down when it does. Could I recommend
:01:12. > :01:18.that Stagecoach orders a new fleet of buses made in my constituency?
:01:19. > :01:22.Tim, of course you are familiar with the Essex trains, are they as bad as
:01:23. > :01:28.they are made out? Is maybe the one and only time I agree him! Very
:01:29. > :01:32.good. The rolling stock is pretty poor and pretty old. I have not
:01:33. > :01:36.travelled on every railway in the world but it is pretty bad. Greater
:01:37. > :01:42.Anglia do need to up their investment. Alistair, what about the
:01:43. > :01:45.concerns of the viability of effort hospital? Just this month, we have
:01:46. > :01:49.seen the return of paediatric services to Bedford because of great
:01:50. > :01:54.work they have done to restore those from the problems they had in the
:01:55. > :01:57.autumn. The issue about orthopaedics falls from a study that is being
:01:58. > :02:02.carried out by local GPs and patients as to what services they
:02:03. > :02:06.will want from the community. But are you concerned? Absolutely not. I
:02:07. > :02:09.think the hospital is long`term absolutely viable because of the
:02:10. > :02:12.quality of care but not everything will come from the hospital in the
:02:13. > :02:16.same way as it used to because services are more flexible. We
:02:17. > :02:19.should listen to the GPs and patients as well as the hospital. Do
:02:20. > :02:24.you think the economic viability is under project? No, I do not. We have
:02:25. > :02:29.to wait until the review of hospitals in the area is done. I am
:02:30. > :02:33.sure that Bedford is a leading hospital and will have the quality
:02:34. > :02:38.that determines its future. Alistair and Tim, thank you for joining us.
:02:39. > :02:41.That is all for now. You can keep in touch through our website, where you
:02:42. > :02:43.will also find lights to the blog. We are back next week. Now,
:02:44. > :02:49.Londoners and particularly young Londoners who otherwise may not have
:02:50. > :02:56.a voice. Both of you, thank you so much. Andrew, it is back to you.
:02:57. > :02:56.a voice. Both of you, thank you so much. Andrew, it is back to you Can
:02:57. > :03:01.much. Andrew, it is back to you. Can David Cameron get a grip on the
:03:02. > :03:05.floods? Can UKIP push the Conservatives into third place in
:03:06. > :03:08.the Wythenshawe by-election on Thursday? Is the speaker in the
:03:09. > :03:16.House of Commons in danger of overheating? All questions over the
:03:17. > :03:22.weekend. Let's look at the politics of the flooding. Let me show you a
:03:23. > :03:29.clip from Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, earlier on
:03:30. > :03:36.the BBC this morning. We perhaps relied too much on the Environment
:03:37. > :03:40.Agency's advice. I apologise. I apologise unreservedly and I am
:03:41. > :03:45.really sorry we took the advice of what we thought we were doing was
:03:46. > :03:49.the best. The Environment Agency is being hung out to dry by the
:03:50. > :03:55.Government and the Government has taken over the running of the
:03:56. > :03:59.environmental mess in the Somerset Levels. It is turning into a serious
:04:00. > :04:03.crisis by the Government and even more so for the people who are
:04:04. > :04:10.dealing with the flooding. There is no doubt that what has been revealed
:04:11. > :04:15.is it is not just about what the Government did or did not do six
:04:16. > :04:20.months ago. What is being exposed is an entire culture within the
:04:21. > :04:23.Environment Agency, fuelled often by European directives about dredging
:04:24. > :04:26.and all manner of other things, a culture grew up in which plants were
:04:27. > :04:28.put ahead of people if you like. culture grew up in which plants were
:04:29. > :04:31.put ahead of people if you like All put ahead of people if you like. All
:04:32. > :04:33.of that is collapsing in very difficult circumstances by the
:04:34. > :04:39.Government and it is difficult for them to manage. Chris Smith would
:04:40. > :04:44.save the Environment Agency is acting under a law set by this
:04:45. > :04:48.Government and previous governments and the first priority is the
:04:49. > :04:52.protection of life, second property and third agricultural land and he
:04:53. > :04:57.is saying we are working within that framework. It is an edifying
:04:58. > :05:02.spectacle, they are setting up Lord Smith to be the fall guy. His term
:05:03. > :05:07.of office comes at the end of the summer and they will find something
:05:08. > :05:10.new. But the point Lord Smith is making is that dredging is important
:05:11. > :05:16.and it was a mistake not to dredge, but it is a bigger picture than
:05:17. > :05:20.that. I am no expert, but you need a whole skill solution that is looking
:05:21. > :05:27.not just bad dredging, but at the whole catchment area looking at the
:05:28. > :05:32.production of maize. It is harvested in autumn and then the water runs
:05:33. > :05:36.off the topsoil. You see the pictures of the flooding, it is all
:05:37. > :05:41.topsoil flooding through those towns. What you have got to have in
:05:42. > :05:44.the uplands is some land that can absorb that water and there are
:05:45. > :05:49.really big questions about the way we carry out farming. Chris Smith
:05:50. > :05:54.was meant to appear on the Andrew Marr show this morning, but pulled
:05:55. > :05:58.back at the last minute. There must be doubts as to whether he can
:05:59. > :06:04.survive to the summer. Where is the chief executive of the Environment
:06:05. > :06:09.Agency? I agree with Nick that Chris Smith has been setup in this
:06:10. > :06:15.situation. David Cameron went to the Somerset Levels on Friday for about
:06:16. > :06:21.half an hour, in and out, with no angry people shouting at him. You to
:06:22. > :06:28.a farm. It is agreed he has had good crisis. But we are seen as being a
:06:29. > :06:32.London media class who does not understand the countryside. You can
:06:33. > :06:36.imagine David Cameron in a pair of wellies. If this was happening in
:06:37. > :06:42.Guildford, it would not have dragged on for so long. Looe it is
:06:43. > :06:49.interesting how they are saying the Environment Agency has put words in
:06:50. > :06:51.front of everything else. The great-great-grandson of Queen
:06:52. > :06:56.Victoria thinks people should be sacked at the whim. He is talking
:06:57. > :07:01.about how the Environment Agency spent ?31 million on a bird
:07:02. > :07:06.sanctuary. It turns out the bird sanctuary was an attempt to put up a
:07:07. > :07:11.flood defence system for a village which has worked. That village has
:07:12. > :07:15.been saved. They compensated some farmers for the farmland they were
:07:16. > :07:19.not going to be able to farm and put a flood defence system further back
:07:20. > :07:28.to protect this village and then they built a bird sanctuary. It was
:07:29. > :07:31.not ?31 million to create a bird sanctuary, it was to save a village
:07:32. > :07:37.and it worked. But in 2008 the Environment Agency was talking about
:07:38. > :07:42.dynamiting every pumping agency. There was a metropolitan mindset on
:07:43. > :07:49.the part of that agency. If it does what Owen Paterson, who is now off
:07:50. > :07:54.in an eye operation, suggested a plan to fix this, they will find a
:07:55. > :07:58.lot of what they want or need to do will be in contravention of European
:07:59. > :08:07.directives. The Wythenshawe by-election. There is no question
:08:08. > :08:12.Labour is going to win, probably incredibly convincingly, one poll
:08:13. > :08:17.showing 60% plus of the vote. It would be surprising if Labour was in
:08:18. > :08:24.any threat up there. The issue is, does UKIP beat the Tories and if so,
:08:25. > :08:29.by how much? The latest poll was showing it in second place as nip
:08:30. > :08:35.and tuck, but the feeling I have is UKIP will do better. And they have
:08:36. > :08:38.got a great local candidate. The Tories have not parachuted somebody
:08:39. > :08:42.in and they have got a local man in and that will help them. We have all
:08:43. > :08:49.been waiting to see if the Tories lose their head, but they might go
:08:50. > :08:53.chicken earlier than that. Will UKIP come second? It looks like that A
:08:54. > :08:59.come second? It looks like that. A poll this week showed that Labour is
:09:00. > :09:04.way ahead and UKIP possibly second. But it is an important by-election
:09:05. > :09:08.for UKIP. If they do well in the European elections, they should
:09:09. > :09:12.still be on a roll. They did really well in by-elections last year. If
:09:13. > :09:17.they do not do well, is it because they are not on payroll? Or in
:09:18. > :09:24.Manchester they have a fantastic leader of the council? Will UKIP
:09:25. > :09:28.come a good second? I think they will and if they do not, it might
:09:29. > :09:34.suggest Nigel Farage is losing its slightly. One thing to look out for
:09:35. > :09:40.is how little Labour are attacking UKIP. Their election strategy relies
:09:41. > :09:45.a lot on UKIP taking Tory votes. But it could also take Labour votes.
:09:46. > :09:51.Particularly in the north and we shall see. The results will be out
:09:52. > :09:54.on Thursday night. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bird ,
:09:55. > :09:58.the House of Commons, John Bird: , his interventions have become more
:09:59. > :10:09.frequent and something was strange. Have a look. I am grateful to the
:10:10. > :10:12.honourable gentleman. Order, the Government Chief Whip has absolutely
:10:13. > :10:17.no business whatsoever shouting from a sedentary position. Order, the
:10:18. > :10:26.honourable gentleman will remain in the chamber. If we could tackle this
:10:27. > :10:28.problem. I say to the honourable member for Bridgwater, be quiet,
:10:29. > :10:28.problem. I say to the honourable member for Bridgwater, be quiet if
:10:29. > :10:33.member for Bridgwater, be quiet, if you cannot be quiet, get out, it is
:10:34. > :10:51.rude, stupid and pompous and it needs to stop. Michael Gove. Order.
:10:52. > :10:57.You really... Order. You are a very over excitable individual. You need
:10:58. > :11:02.to write out 1000 times, I will behave myself at Prime Minister 's
:11:03. > :11:08.questions. He was talking to the Education Secretary and it is not
:11:09. > :11:16.1000 lines, it is 100 lines, at least it was in my day. Is he
:11:17. > :11:19.beginning to make a fool of himself? There was only one over excitable
:11:20. > :11:23.person there and that was the speaker and he is losing the
:11:24. > :11:28.confidence of the Conservative MPs, but he never had that in the first
:11:29. > :11:32.place. But he is an incredibly reforming speaker. He has this
:11:33. > :11:39.strange idea that Parliament should hold the Government to account. It
:11:40. > :11:45.will never catch on. It means very frequently there are urgent
:11:46. > :11:48.questions. The other day he called a backbench amendment on the
:11:49. > :11:53.deportation of foreign criminals. He could have found a way not to call
:11:54. > :11:58.that. He is a real reformer and the executive do not like that. That is
:11:59. > :12:06.true and he has allowed Parliament to flourish which has given us room
:12:07. > :12:10.to breathe at a time of a coalition Government when Parliament has more
:12:11. > :12:16.power. That is all that enough to overcome these increasingly mannered
:12:17. > :12:23.and some of them may be preplanned interventions? The last one was last
:12:24. > :12:30.week, and last week the speaker had a rather stressful week with the
:12:31. > :12:36.tabloids. Something is clearly up. I think it is a real shame. I think
:12:37. > :12:41.many of us when he was elected did not think he would make a great
:12:42. > :12:46.speaker and there are people like Douglas Carswell and Tory rebels who
:12:47. > :12:50.have said he is a fantastic speaker. He has given the Commons room to
:12:51. > :12:55.breathe and he has called on ministers to be held to account when
:12:56. > :13:00.they do not want to be. What do you think? He is seen as anti-government
:13:01. > :13:07.and he is pro-backbencher and that is what people do not like. People
:13:08. > :13:13.like Douglas Carswell are actually very strongly in support of him We
:13:14. > :13:17.carry the interventions every week on Prime Minister 's questions and
:13:18. > :13:21.we see them every week and they are getting a bit more eccentric. If I
:13:22. > :13:28.was having to keep that under control, I would be driven slowly
:13:29. > :13:33.mad. But his job is easier than mine. But if you look at his
:13:34. > :13:41.deputy, Eleanor Laing, she is very robust, but she is calm. Chap who
:13:42. > :13:49.does the budget is excellent. We are on throughout the week at midday on
:13:50. > :13:52.BBC Two. We will be back next Sunday at 11. If it is Sunday, it is the
:13:53. > :14:00.Sunday Politics.