:00:36. > :00:37.Morning folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.
:00:38. > :00:40.Morning folks. Welcome to the Sunday Pressure on Culture Secretary Maria
:00:41. > :00:45.Miller mounts as the Tory press Tory voters and even a Tory Minister
:00:46. > :00:48.turn against her. That's our top story.
:00:49. > :00:52.The economic outlook is getting rosier. But Ed Miliband is having
:00:53. > :00:56.none of it. The cost of living crisis is here to stay, says Labour.
:00:57. > :01:06.Shadow Minister Caroline Flint joins us for the Sunday Interview.
:01:07. > :01:09.And we bring you the Sunday Politics Gallery. But which former world
:01:10. > :01:15.leader is behind these paintings of world
:01:16. > :01:21.Here in the East, what has Durope ever done for us? We can reveal
:01:22. > :01:21.surprising new figures showhng just how much
:01:22. > :01:31.new London borough. A blue flint for regeneration or economic Armageddon?
:01:32. > :01:36.And with me as always, the best and the brightest political panel in the
:01:37. > :01:40.business - Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis and Nick Watt. Their tweets will be
:01:41. > :01:45.as brief as a Cabinet Minister's apology.
:01:46. > :01:50.A frenzy of betting on the Grand National yesterday. But there was
:01:51. > :01:53.one book on which betting was suspended, and that was on the fate
:01:54. > :01:56.of Culture Secretary Maria Miller, now the 2/1 favourite to be forced
:01:57. > :01:59.out the Cabinet. She galloped through her apology to the Commons
:02:00. > :02:03.on Thursday in just 32 seconds. But speed did her no favours. There s
:02:04. > :02:07.been mounting pressure on her to resign ever since, especially from
:02:08. > :02:08.Tories. And this weekend the Chairman of the Independent
:02:09. > :02:11.Parliamentary Standards Authority, Ian Kennedy, said it's time MPs gave
:02:12. > :02:26.away the power to decide how colleagues who break the rules are
:02:27. > :02:32.punished. An inquiry into Maria Miller's expenses claims was launch
:02:33. > :02:37.in 2012, following allegations he claimed ?90,000 to fund a house she
:02:38. > :02:41.lived in part time with her parents. She had designated this her second
:02:42. > :02:44.home. She was referred to the Parliamentary Standards
:02:45. > :02:51.Commissioner, who recommended that she repay ?45,000. But this week the
:02:52. > :02:55.Commons Standards Committee, comprising of MPs from all parties,
:02:56. > :03:02.dismissed the complaint against Maria Miller and ordered her to
:03:03. > :03:09.repay just ?5,800 for inadvertently overclaiming her merge claimants.
:03:10. > :03:13.She was forced to apologise to the Commons for the legalistic way she
:03:14. > :03:18.dealt with the complaints against her. But Tony Gallagher told the
:03:19. > :03:22.Daily Politics on Friday: We got a third call from Craig Oliver who
:03:23. > :03:27.pointed out, she is looking at Leveson and the call is badly timed.
:03:28. > :03:29.I think if you are making a series of telephone calls to a newspaper
:03:30. > :03:31.organisation investigating the conduct of a Cabinet Minister, that
:03:32. > :03:35.comes close After that interview Craig Oliver
:03:36. > :03:40.contacted us, saying there was no threat in anyway over Leveson. I
:03:41. > :03:44.mead it clear at the time. Tony Gallagher is talking rubbish about
:03:45. > :03:48.me, and you can use that. The Daily Telegraph have released a tape of a
:03:49. > :03:52.phone call between Maria Miller s aid, Joanna Hindley, and a reporter
:03:53. > :03:58.investigating her expenses claim. Joanna Hindley said:
:03:59. > :04:05.Maria's obviously been having quite a lot of editor's meetings around
:04:06. > :04:10.Leveson at the moment. So I'm just going to kind of flag up that
:04:11. > :04:13.connection for you to think about. The Prime Minister is sticking by
:04:14. > :04:16.his Culture Secretary, but this weekend's crescendo of criticism of
:04:17. > :04:19.her presents him with a problem and he could be wishing Maria Miller
:04:20. > :04:25.would just fall on her sword. Even over 80% of Tory voters in a Mail on
:04:26. > :04:28.Sunday poll think she should go On the Andrew Marr Show, the Work and
:04:29. > :04:35.Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, defended his colleague. I've
:04:36. > :04:40.known her always to be a reasonable and honest person. But is she doing
:04:41. > :04:43.the Government or her any good by staying in office at the moment do
:04:44. > :04:47.you think? This is a matter the Prime Minister has to take
:04:48. > :04:51.consideration of and she herself. My view generally is I'm supportive of
:04:52. > :04:56.Maria, because if we are not careful we end one a witch-hunt of somebody.
:04:57. > :04:59.And I'm joined now by the Conservative MP, Bob Stewart, and
:05:00. > :05:00.the man in the white suit, former MP and anti-sleaze campaigner Martin
:05:01. > :05:03.Bell. Welcome and anti-sleaze campaigner Martin
:05:04. > :05:07.Stuart sturkts let me put this to you, a Conservative MP told this
:05:08. > :05:12.programme, this is a quote, she has handled this appallingly. Downing
:05:13. > :05:16.Street has acted like judge and jury, for Craig Oliver to get
:05:17. > :05:20.involved is disastrous. She's been protected by the whips from the
:05:21. > :05:24.start. What do you say to that? It's not great, is it? The fact of the
:05:25. > :05:30.matter is the question one should ask is, did she deliberately try to
:05:31. > :05:35.make money? Did she deliberately try to obscure ate? The answer is she
:05:36. > :05:39.certainly didn't deliberately try to make money, in the system, which was
:05:40. > :05:45.the old system, and with regard to obscure ago, I wasn't there, but
:05:46. > :05:48.let's put it this way. She was going through a quasi-judicial process and
:05:49. > :05:54.might have ended up in court, so she has a right to defend herself. Hold
:05:55. > :05:58.on o you said she doesn't do it to make money, she remortgaged the
:05:59. > :06:02.house a couple of times to earn more interest to us, the taxpayer, and
:06:03. > :06:05.when interest rates went down she didn't reduce the amount she was
:06:06. > :06:13.charging in expenses. Well, the point is the adjudicator said there
:06:14. > :06:16.was ?45,000 she was owed. And then a committee, Standards Committee, said
:06:17. > :06:20.actually it should be reduced. That was mainly MPs but there are three
:06:21. > :06:24.lay members. Yes, but they don't have the vote. OK, fine, that is
:06:25. > :06:28.where it is wrong and we've got to get it sorted. Let me put another
:06:29. > :06:33.quote from our Conservative MP. He didn't want to be named. None of you
:06:34. > :06:39.do at the moment. I'm being named. But you are backing her. George
:06:40. > :06:41.young in cahoots. He's been leading on the Standards Committee to find
:06:42. > :06:46.her innocent. The Standards Committee is unfit for purpose. I
:06:47. > :06:51.think the Standards Committee should be revisited. I think the system is
:06:52. > :06:57.still evolving. And I think actually we ought to have totally independent
:06:58. > :07:01.judgment on MPs' pay and allowances. We haven't have not got there yet
:07:02. > :07:06.and that is where it is wrong. Martin Bell, have MPs interfered in
:07:07. > :07:10.the Maria Miller process and with the current Standards Commissioner
:07:11. > :07:13.in the same way that they saw off a previous Commissioner they thought
:07:14. > :07:21.was too independent? Andrew it is exactly the same. Yesterday I looked
:07:22. > :07:27.at a diary entry I made for May 2000, I said, dreadful meeting
:07:28. > :07:33.standards and privileges, they are playing party politics. One of them
:07:34. > :07:39.told Elizabeth fill kin to her face the gossip in the tea room was she
:07:40. > :07:42.had gone crazy. Nothing's changed. What this shows is most of all,
:07:43. > :07:48.what's the committee for? If it is just going to rubber stamp what the
:07:49. > :07:54.party wants and its mates, I don't see any point. But it hasn't rubber
:07:55. > :07:57.stamped. It's changed it. Well, it has watered down. That's why we
:07:58. > :08:04.should make it totally independent and it shouldn't be involved in the
:08:05. > :08:10.House of Commons. It is plus plus ca change isn't it? MPs', scandal, and
:08:11. > :08:16.MPs closing ranks for one of their own. Has the Commons learned
:08:17. > :08:20.nothing? And this is after the expenses scandal, where everything
:08:21. > :08:24.was out for everybody to see, you would think MPs would be careful.
:08:25. > :08:28.This is before the expenses scandal. We are looking at an historical
:08:29. > :08:32.event, during your time, Martin not mine. I'm clean on this. You
:08:33. > :08:37.campaigned for him as an independent. I did, he was a good
:08:38. > :08:42.friend of mine. And now you've joined the club. And now you are
:08:43. > :08:45.defending Maria Miller? I'm defending someone who hasn't been
:08:46. > :08:49.proved guilty of anything beyond the fact she was rather slow to come
:08:50. > :08:53.forward with evidence. My point on that, is I understand that. MPs are
:08:54. > :08:58.being lambasted the whole time these days. There were a heck of a lot of
:08:59. > :09:03.them, Martin, who are utterly decent. She didn't try to make
:09:04. > :09:06.money. We've just been through that. I don't think that's right. The jury
:09:07. > :09:12.is out on that. What should have happened in the Miller case, Martin
:09:13. > :09:15.Bell? I don't think there should be a committee on standards. I think
:09:16. > :09:19.the Commissioner should make a report. There has been to be justice
:09:20. > :09:25.for the MP complained against. Then the committee of the whole House can
:09:26. > :09:29.consider it. But we are, the House of Commons, then as now is incapable
:09:30. > :09:36.of regulating itself. That's been proving yet again. She made a
:09:37. > :09:40.perfunctory apology. She threatened and instructed the Standards
:09:41. > :09:45.Commissioner investigating her, and her special adviser linked expenses
:09:46. > :09:49.to Leveson, when trying to stop the Daily Telegraph from publishing I
:09:50. > :09:53.mean, is that the behaviour of a Cabinet Minister? Well, it's
:09:54. > :09:57.probably not the behaviour of someone that's got time on their
:09:58. > :10:03.hands. She's a very busy Cabinet Minister. Well, she had enough time
:10:04. > :10:09.to write lots of letters to the Standards Commission ser. She felt
:10:10. > :10:14.under such threat. She had the time. She had to make the time. Die know
:10:15. > :10:16.the lady is not trying desperately to make money. I
:10:17. > :10:21.the lady is not trying desperately that. The fact of the matter is
:10:22. > :10:25.this was an old, old system, that we've tried to put right, or the
:10:26. > :10:30.Commons has tried to put right. I agree that MPs shouldn't get
:10:31. > :10:36.involved in this. Should we get rid of this committee? It serves no
:10:37. > :10:39.purpose except to cause trouble The adjudicator has said that and it
:10:40. > :10:44.should be the end of it. It shouldn't come back to the Commons.
:10:45. > :10:47.Although her special adviser threatened them over Leveson she was
:10:48. > :10:53.and is the Minister responsible for trying to introduce something like
:10:54. > :11:00.Leveson and that is something a big chunk that the press doesn't want.
:11:01. > :11:06.She is a target. It has a good record on this issue. It played wit
:11:07. > :11:11.a straight bat. The facts aren't in dispute are they? Will she make it
:11:12. > :11:14.to the next cabinet reshuffle and then go? Iain Duncan Smith said it
:11:15. > :11:21.is a matter for the Prime Minister. In my view, as things stand, I
:11:22. > :11:27.question did she deliberately want to make money? I don't think she
:11:28. > :11:31.did. Should she go? No. Should she be reshuffled? I don't know.
:11:32. > :11:36.Goodness me, you are asking someone who will never be reshuffled,
:11:37. > :11:40.because he will never make it. I was only asking for your opinion, not
:11:41. > :11:45.your ability to do it. This is a problem for Cameron isn't it? It is
:11:46. > :11:52.a problem for Cameron. There is nothing wrong with returning to be
:11:53. > :11:57.badge benches, as you know. Hear, hear. To that. Stick with me. Helen,
:11:58. > :12:04.can she survive? Is I'm going out of the prediction game when I said
:12:05. > :12:10.Clegg is going to win the date, so I owe Janan a tenner on that one.
:12:11. > :12:17.Grant Shapps has supported her. She was ringed by Sir George young and
:12:18. > :12:22.Jeremy Hunt... This is pretty devastating. On past form David
:12:23. > :12:27.Cameron hates having to bounce people out of the cabinet. He will
:12:28. > :12:31.want to keep Maria Miller until the summer reshuffle. This is a question
:12:32. > :12:33.mark on whether she survive this is. This isn't damaging to the
:12:34. > :12:38.Conservative or the Labour Party, it is damaging to everyone. This is
:12:39. > :12:42.catastrophic damage to the entire political establishment. Every
:12:43. > :12:46.single speech that David Cameron and Ed Miliband have given since 20 9,
:12:47. > :12:49.talking about restoring trust, they can wipe them from their computers,
:12:50. > :12:54.because voters are going to look that there and say, this lot haven't
:12:55. > :12:59.learnt anything. They are giving perfunctory apologies and then you
:13:00. > :13:06.have MPs sitting in judgment on MPs and rather than paying back ?45 000,
:13:07. > :13:11.she pays back ?5,800 after MPs have been into it. Damage is huge. Just
:13:12. > :13:15.getting rid of one Cabinet Minister, you will need to do more than that.
:13:16. > :13:18.You will notice that Labour haven't made huge weather of this. No,
:13:19. > :13:24.goodness me, they have their own skeletons. Exactly. The person who
:13:25. > :13:29.has made hay out of this is Nigel Farage, who has not been backwards
:13:30. > :13:34.in coming forward. He doesn't seem to care about skeletons. The Prime
:13:35. > :13:38.Minister has be-Gunby backing her, but that's not popular even with
:13:39. > :13:42.Tory voters. How does he get out of this? This is the problem for him.
:13:43. > :13:48.Five years ago his reaction to the expenses scandal was seen by many
:13:49. > :13:53.Tory backbenchers as excessive. They felt hung out to dry by a man who is
:13:54. > :13:58.independently wealthy. To go from that to making a special exemption
:13:59. > :14:01.to Maria Miller because it is politically suitable is more
:14:02. > :14:04.incendiary and provocative. It is not just upsetting the voters and
:14:05. > :14:08.the Daily Telegraph but a good number of people behind him. I think
:14:09. > :14:14.they will get rid of her. I think the Government, to paraphrase
:14:15. > :14:21.Churchill, will zoo the decent thing after exhausting all options, of the
:14:22. > :14:26.European elections a reshuffle. The culture department has gone from a
:14:27. > :14:29.baulk water in haul to one of the most politically sensational jobs
:14:30. > :14:33.because of its proximity to the Leveson issue. She has to be
:14:34. > :14:48.replaced by someone Lily skillful and substantial. Mr Cameron is not
:14:49. > :14:55.short of smart women? Nikki Morgan, the education department, these are
:14:56. > :15:01.absolutely outstanding women and the problem that the generation elected
:15:02. > :15:09.in 2005, Maria Miller generation, there are some really good people
:15:10. > :15:13.elected in 2010. You are not responsible for hacking into the
:15:14. > :15:23.culture Department's Twitter account last night? I was out at the time!
:15:24. > :15:27.They all say that! One so, Maria Miller is like a modern-day Robin
:15:28. > :15:35.Hood... She robs the poor to help the rich. Which one of us has not
:15:36. > :15:44.embezzled the taxpayer? I reckon it is the lady. You have the perfect
:15:45. > :15:53.cover. We would not know how to would we? You cannot tweet from a
:15:54. > :15:57.mobile device, can you? Play it safe. No, do something dramatic
:15:58. > :16:01.Have lots of pledges. Have just a few pledges. Ah, there must be a
:16:02. > :16:04.Labour policy review reaching its conclusion because everyone has some
:16:05. > :16:12.free advice for the party about its message and the man delivering it.
:16:13. > :16:17.Here's Adam. He is well liked by the public don't quite buy him as a
:16:18. > :16:21.leader. The papers say he is in hock to the unions and the party has a
:16:22. > :16:24.lead in the polls but it is not solid. Bartenders Neil Kinnock. That
:16:25. > :16:32.is what they said Winnie solid. Bartenders Neil Kinnock. That
:16:33. > :16:40.the 1982 election. The whole country deserves better and we will work to
:16:41. > :16:42.ensure that the day will come when with the Labour government, the
:16:43. > :16:51.country will get better. Someone who was there can see some spooky
:16:52. > :16:53.parallels. The important lesson from 1992 is it cannot rest on your
:16:54. > :16:59.laurels and hope for the best, you cannot sit on a lead of seven points
:17:00. > :17:02.because the election narrows that and you cannot rely on the
:17:03. > :17:06.government not getting its act together because the Conservative
:17:07. > :17:11.Party was well funded and organised, the double whammy posters, the tax
:17:12. > :17:16.bombshell, but incredibly effective and the message was unified and they
:17:17. > :17:21.beat us on the campaign. The lesson for Labour today is this lead will
:17:22. > :17:28.evaporate quite possibly over the next few months and we might go into
:17:29. > :17:31.the election behind in the polls. But Ed Miliband is getting
:17:32. > :17:37.conflicting advice about how to avoid 1992 happening. Be bold, be
:17:38. > :17:41.cautious and then, the idea that Labour can squeak into office with
:17:42. > :17:46.just 35% of the vote, which worries some people. Each month, the Labour
:17:47. > :17:53.Party meets around the country and last week, everybody spoke about the
:17:54. > :17:58.dangers of this 35% strategy. They were increasingly unhappy and it is
:17:59. > :18:04.very important that those people around the leader naturally have a
:18:05. > :18:09.duty to protect him and they make sure he gets this message that while
:18:10. > :18:14.there is total support for him, they do want this key year in the run-up
:18:15. > :18:21.to the General Election to be putting out an alternative which we
:18:22. > :18:24.can defend on the doorstep. The doorstep where Neil Kinnock made his
:18:25. > :18:32.concession speech is crammed with Spanish back hackers. The old Labour
:18:33. > :18:36.offices are no a budget hostel. Labour headquarters is down the road
:18:37. > :18:40.and they are putting the finishing touches to a speech Ed Miliband will
:18:41. > :18:43.give this week about the cost of living and I am told he will drop
:18:44. > :18:50.hints about new policies in juicy areas like housing, low pay, growth
:18:51. > :18:53.and devolving power. As for the charge that they are not radical
:18:54. > :18:58.enough, his people say they want to be bold but they have to be credible
:18:59. > :19:02.as well. They say that Labour is more united than it has ever been
:19:03. > :19:06.but there has been some grumbling that the cost of living campaign is
:19:07. > :19:11.not the same as a vision for the country. And that Ed Miliband was
:19:12. > :19:14.not statesman-like enough at Prime Minister's Questions and one figure
:19:15. > :19:20.who sat at the same table in the Neil Kinnock years summed it up like
:19:21. > :19:22.this. Things are OK but it feels like we're playing for the draw
:19:23. > :19:37.Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint joins me now for the Sunday
:19:38. > :19:43.Interview. This 35% victory strategy, it does not sound very
:19:44. > :19:46.ambitious? I am campaigning to win this election with a majority
:19:47. > :19:53.government and everybody else around the table is also. But we want to go
:19:54. > :19:57.to every corner of the country and win votes for Labour and win seats,
:19:58. > :20:05.that is what we are working towards. To avoid last time, the coalition
:20:06. > :20:11.bartering. But that 35% is a victory strategy so are you saying there is
:20:12. > :20:16.no 35% strategy and that no one at the heart of Labour is not arguing
:20:17. > :20:20.for this? We are working to win around the country and to win all of
:20:21. > :20:26.those battle ground seats and we must have a strategy that appeals to
:20:27. > :20:29.a cross-section of the public but within that, that broad group Queen
:20:30. > :20:39.Elizabeth Olympic Park and. You could do that with 35% of the vote?
:20:40. > :20:44.There is lots of polling and everyone looks at this about what we
:20:45. > :20:45.need to do to get seats and we want to have a comprehensive majority at
:20:46. > :20:53.the next election to win to have a comprehensive majority at
:20:54. > :20:58.this country. Last week, we have been reading reports of splits in
:20:59. > :21:03.the party over policy and on tactics, even strategy. A struggle
:21:04. > :21:10.for control of the General Election manifesto, we are told. What are you
:21:11. > :21:13.arguing over? I said on the committee and just listening to the
:21:14. > :21:18.film before, it is about being radical but also credible and we are
:21:19. > :21:25.talking about evolution and that is an important subject but we are also
:21:26. > :21:28.united and to be honest, in 201 people were writing us off saying we
:21:29. > :21:34.would turn on ourselves and that has not been the case. We are not
:21:35. > :21:38.arguing about the fundamentals, we are discussing the policies that are
:21:39. > :21:41.coming up with different colleagues and talking about how we can make
:21:42. > :21:43.coming up with different colleagues sure they are presented to the
:21:44. > :21:49.public and that is part of a process. That is a discussion, not
:21:50. > :21:53.disagreement. The Financial Times, which is usually pretty fair,
:21:54. > :21:59.reports a battle between Ed Miliband's radical instincts and the
:22:00. > :22:05.more business fiscal conservatism of Ed Balls. What side are you on? I am
:22:06. > :22:10.for radical change, I am for energy and I believe strongly we must be
:22:11. > :22:16.formed the market and people might portray that as anti-business but
:22:17. > :22:19.this is about more competition and transparency and others coming into
:22:20. > :22:27.this market so our policy on this is radical, not excepting the status
:22:28. > :22:34.quo. It is also for business. Opinion polls show that few people
:22:35. > :22:40.regard Ed Miliband as by Minister material -- Prime Minister material.
:22:41. > :22:48.That has been true since he became leader. And in some cases, they have
:22:49. > :22:52.been getting worse. Why is that Opinion polls say certain things
:22:53. > :22:56.about the personalities of leaders, David Cameron is not great either.
:22:57. > :23:03.And they were not great when he was in opposition. At this stage, he was
:23:04. > :23:13.getting 49% as Prime Minister real material and Ed Miliband, 19. -
:23:14. > :23:17.Prime Minister material. When you look at certain questions that the
:23:18. > :23:21.public is asked about who you think you would trust about being fair in
:23:22. > :23:25.terms of policy towards Britain who understands the cost of living
:23:26. > :23:32.crisis, they very much identify with Ed Miliband. We are ahead in the
:23:33. > :23:39.polls. Ed Miliband has made that happen. We have one more
:23:40. > :23:42.councillors, we have been running in by-elections and we have held this
:23:43. > :23:47.government over the barrel over six months on energy prices. That is to
:23:48. > :23:53.do with his leadership. The more that voters save him, the less they
:23:54. > :24:00.seem convinced. In 2011, he had been leader for one year, and only 1 %
:24:01. > :24:10.regarded him as weird, by 2014, that was 41%. Look at that! Look at that
:24:11. > :24:12.weirdness! What people need is to know where the Labour Party stands
:24:13. > :24:18.on fundamental issues. And in those areas, particularly the cost of
:24:19. > :24:22.living and fairness and people being concerned that we are entering into
:24:23. > :24:27.a period where people will be worse for the first time ever at the end
:24:28. > :24:33.of the Parliament, these things are important and Ed Miliband is part of
:24:34. > :24:39.our success. Definitely. I think this is ridiculous, to be fair, he
:24:40. > :24:44.is not a politician that says, I am dying with the Arctic monkeys, I
:24:45. > :24:52.know who is the number one. He did not play that game. -- down. He is
:24:53. > :24:56.not either there to portray himself as someone who was with the
:24:57. > :25:02.children, I know everything about popular culture. His authenticity is
:25:03. > :25:06.the most important thing. People do not think he is authentic, unless
:25:07. > :25:09.they think we were at is authentic. Is it true that his staff applaud
:25:10. > :25:16.they think we were at is authentic. him when he comes back after giving
:25:17. > :25:24.even a mediocre speech? I have never heard that. I have never heard about
:25:25. > :25:27.him being applauded. And I am pleased to applaud him with he makes
:25:28. > :25:31.speeches, I have given him a standing ovation. You have to do
:25:32. > :25:38.that because the cameras are rolling! No, he made a good speech.
:25:39. > :25:42.Five minutes without notes. It took a long time to memorise I don't
:25:43. > :25:48.blame him! The cost of living. Focusing on that, it has paid
:25:49. > :25:52.dividends. But inflation is falling and perhaps collapsing, unemployment
:25:53. > :25:59.is falling faster than anybody thought, as we can see. Wages are
:26:00. > :26:02.rising, soon faster than prices Retail sales are booming, people
:26:03. > :26:08.have got money in their pockets Isn't the cost of living crisis
:26:09. > :26:15.narrative running out of steam? I do not think so and I should say that I
:26:16. > :26:19.welcome any sign of positive changes in the economy, if anybody gets a
:26:20. > :26:26.job in Doncaster, I am pleased by the end of this Parliament families
:26:27. > :26:32.will be over ?900 worse off because of tax and benefit changes and the
:26:33. > :26:35.working person is ?1600 worse off and it is the first government since
:26:36. > :26:40.the 1870s where people will be at the end of the Parliament. We
:26:41. > :26:43.believe the government made wrong choices that lead the rich off at
:26:44. > :26:51.the expense of those on middle and lower incomes. -- let the rich. The
:26:52. > :26:57.average family ?794 worse off from tax and benefit changes. That has
:26:58. > :27:02.been backed up. They are those figures. But he has skewed these
:27:03. > :27:07.figures by including the richest, where the fall in tax and the
:27:08. > :27:12.penalty they pay is highest. If you take away the richest, it is nowhere
:27:13. > :27:16.near that figure. Everybody agrees and even the government and
:27:17. > :27:22.knowledges that at the end of their tenure in Parliament, people will be
:27:23. > :27:26.worse off. 350,000 extra people who would desperately like full-time
:27:27. > :27:30.work who are working part-time and 1 million young people unemployed and
:27:31. > :27:36.the reason the cost of living has a residence is people feel that. I was
:27:37. > :27:40.in a supermarket and at Doncaster and someone summed this up, he said
:27:41. > :27:45.I work hard and at the end of the week, beyond paying bills, I have
:27:46. > :27:53.got nothing else. If you take away the top 10% who are losing over
:27:54. > :28:00.?600,000, the average loss comes down to around ?400, less than half
:28:01. > :28:06.of what you claim. That figure is totally misleading. These are the
:28:07. > :28:12.figures from the IFS. It still shows... Whatever way you shape
:28:13. > :28:15.this, people will still be worse off, families worse off because of
:28:16. > :28:22.these changes to tax and benefits and working people because wages
:28:23. > :28:27.have not kept up with prices. Your energy portfolio, you back the
:28:28. > :28:31.enquiry into the big six companies and you intend to go ahead with the
:28:32. > :28:36.price freeze and reconfigure the market even before it reports. If
:28:37. > :28:40.you win, this is a waste of time? Whilst we have had this process
:28:41. > :28:45.before the announcement, we always feel if it goes that way, there
:28:46. > :28:48.might be areas we have not thought of that the enquiry will also draw
:28:49. > :28:52.attention to that we might want to add on. You are right, our basic
:28:53. > :28:58.reforms for the new regulator, to separate generation supply, we will
:28:59. > :29:02.pursue that. What happens if this report concludes that your plans are
:29:03. > :29:07.not correct? You will still go ahead? I don't think so. Actually,
:29:08. > :29:12.if you look at the report that Ofgem produced, some of the issues Labour
:29:13. > :29:17.has been drawing attention to like vertical integration, they cover
:29:18. > :29:22.that. I was asking about the Competition Commission? The report
:29:23. > :29:29.last week is a result of working together and I think it is clearly
:29:30. > :29:33.accepted in this sector, look at SSE last week, they will separate the
:29:34. > :29:54.business. We are pushing at the open door. It has already pulled out of
:29:55. > :29:58.gas. So it follows if you freeze energy prices across the market it
:29:59. > :30:01.might be the right thing to do but there will be a cost in terms of
:30:02. > :30:05.jobs and investment, correct? Well, I met with SSE last weekand the
:30:06. > :30:10.chief executive and talked about these issues. The jobs changes are
:30:11. > :30:13.partly about them looking at how they could be more efficient as a
:30:14. > :30:16.company. On offshore wind that wasn't really to do with the price
:30:17. > :30:19.freeze. That was more to do with issues around confidence in that
:30:20. > :30:25.area and therefore willing to put the money into it, as well as
:30:26. > :30:30.technical issues as well But there'll be job losses. Is that a
:30:31. > :30:35.price worth paying? We believe the reason we are having a price freeze
:30:36. > :30:38.is these companies have been overcharging customers and haven't
:30:39. > :30:42.been investing in their organisations and making them more
:30:43. > :30:46.efficient. I do not believe a price freeze is linked to job losses.
:30:47. > :30:49.These companies do need to be more efficient. Goal for all of us is
:30:50. > :30:53.realising the fantastic opportunity for more jobs and growth from an
:30:54. > :30:57.energy sector that has certainty going forward. That's what Labour
:30:58. > :31:00.will deliver. Caroline Flint, thank you.
:31:01. > :31:03.It's 1130 and you're watching The Sunday Politics. We say goodbye to
:31:04. > :31:05.viewers in Scotland, who leave us now for Sunday Politics Scotland.
:31:06. > :31:18.Coming up Hello and welcome to Sunday Politics
:31:19. > :31:23.in the East. Coming up, we dxplain why David Cameron has been waxing
:31:24. > :31:27.lyrical about our region. E`st Anglia is one of the fastest`growing
:31:28. > :31:31.parts of our country with world`class companies and
:31:32. > :31:37.universities. The ball starts rolling in this year's EU elections.
:31:38. > :31:43.We ask, what has been EU done for us? And Nick Clegg is back hn the
:31:44. > :31:47.debate over Europe, making the case that we are all better off thanks to
:31:48. > :31:53.the EU. I want more people to listen to the facts and not the fiction,
:31:54. > :31:57.and appreciate that whatever its imperfections, it is better for us,
:31:58. > :32:05.it creates jobs and prosperhty and strength in numbers.
:32:06. > :32:12.First, high guests, Lib Dem MP for Cambridge Julian Huppert, and
:32:13. > :32:19.Douglas Carswell of the Conservatives. I would like to speak
:32:20. > :32:24.about this week's promise of a new era for rail passengers in the East.
:32:25. > :32:28.?2 billion is being spent in the next five years overhauling services
:32:29. > :32:32.in the region. Work is alre`dy underway to link Cambridge `nd
:32:33. > :32:37.Peterborough to the South coast with a tunnel under London. One LP argued
:32:38. > :32:44.the case for faster trains to Norwich at the end use. Will ye
:32:45. > :32:54.agree with me that East Anglia needs faster and better rail
:32:55. > :32:58.infrastructure? I pay tribute to the honourable lady and others for the
:32:59. > :33:03.work they are doing on the Norwich task force. This is an important
:33:04. > :33:06.project. I welcome the interest shown by business leaders and local
:33:07. > :33:11.authorities. East Anglia is one of the fastest whirring parts of our
:33:12. > :33:18.country with world`class universities. I look forward to the
:33:19. > :33:24.task force report. Meetings this week in Essex to back
:33:25. > :33:30.the business campaign behind Norwich in 90. Canada knocked growth? It is
:33:31. > :33:36.key. Chloe Smith has done an important job in spearheading this
:33:37. > :33:40.campaign. Norwich in 90 also means Colchester in 40. That will be great
:33:41. > :33:45.news for Essex. Railways arteries. We need them to flow properly to
:33:46. > :33:55.bring growth and jobs. Is about linked to the South coast `` good
:33:56. > :33:56.news about links to the South coast. Are these small strategic
:33:57. > :34:03.investments the way forward rather than huge schemes? We need `s much
:34:04. > :34:10.as we can get. HST will makd a huge difference for capacity on the West
:34:11. > :34:18.Coast, but we also need improvements locally. Ideally, we would get a
:34:19. > :34:22.connection out to Oxford. If you can connect regional towns, that has
:34:23. > :34:27.huge potential for growth. White investment in transport links is one
:34:28. > :34:33.of the plus points put forw`rd by the pro`European lobby. This week,
:34:34. > :34:38.the UK Independence Party l`unched its local campaign for the Duropean
:34:39. > :34:42.elections, while party leaddrs Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage traddd blows
:34:43. > :34:46.in a live television debate. What exactly have our Euro end is issued
:34:47. > :34:51.for us at the end of their five years? It certainly secured a love
:34:52. > :34:57.of funding for the East. Figures obtained by this programme secured
:34:58. > :35:01.that `` revealed that more than ?1 billion has come our way. I wonder
:35:02. > :35:05.if that is something that UKIP's candidate for the region, P`trick
:35:06. > :35:13.Flynn, will be celebrating. We went to Brussels to find out why our MEPs
:35:14. > :35:19.feel they have done a good job. It is nearly election time, and in
:35:20. > :35:21.Brussels, there has been an end of term feeling this week as the party
:35:22. > :35:24.is nearly election time, and in Brussels, there has been an end of
:35:25. > :35:26.term feeling this week as the parties prepare and win over a
:35:27. > :35:30.sceptical public. Europe has always been a divisive issue, parthcularly
:35:31. > :35:33.in our country. There are some who think that what goes on herd is
:35:34. > :35:37.completely irrelevant and ott of touch with ordinary life and that
:35:38. > :35:42.those who were elected here in 009 have wasted five years of their
:35:43. > :35:47.lives. Perhaps not surprisingly most of our MEPs feel it has been
:35:48. > :35:51.worthwhile. Lib Dems, by far the most Euro friendly of the p`rties
:35:52. > :35:56.here, believe the EU has done nothing less than save the dconomy.
:35:57. > :36:01.Their MEP for the East says it is only by coordinating rescues and
:36:02. > :36:03.regulations that we have made it through the recession. With all our
:36:04. > :36:16.problems and the complexitids, the European Union has survived. We have
:36:17. > :36:20.almost, not quite, fixed thd banking system. But how much of that is down
:36:21. > :36:22.to the EU and how much is down to government being sensible and
:36:23. > :36:32.working together? I don't think that if we had left it to governlent on
:36:33. > :36:34.their own, this would have happened. For the Conservatives, it is all
:36:35. > :36:38.about stopping Europe from having too much of a say in our lives. New
:36:39. > :36:44.girl Vicky Ford, here visithng fishermen in Kings Lynn, talks about
:36:45. > :36:49.her fight against red tape, banking regulations and winning back power
:36:50. > :36:51.from Brussels. We have said and continued to say that our
:36:52. > :36:56.relationship with Europe nedds to change. The fishing industrx is one
:36:57. > :37:01.in `` area where we have already brought back powers from Brtssels.
:37:02. > :37:04.This is irresponsible and dangerous! The reason I am winning
:37:05. > :37:08.those negotiations, and thex are worth a lot of money, is because the
:37:09. > :37:15.other people around the table know that we are serious about gdtting it
:37:16. > :37:21.better deal for Britain. Thhs week, a new freight line opened in Ipswich
:37:22. > :37:24.part funded by Europe. Labotr likes to talk about the investment and the
:37:25. > :37:29.economic benefits that comp`nies and communities have had in recdnt
:37:30. > :37:31.years. I am very proud to bd on committees in the European
:37:32. > :37:39.Parliament. They determine rules there about how many from Etropean
:37:40. > :37:45.funding can come to businesses, councils, European `` universities
:37:46. > :37:49.and so on in our region. And to ensure the vital transport routes,
:37:50. > :37:52.that we have had investment. In fact, Monty topped it all up, the
:37:53. > :37:57.region has done well when it comes to European funding. This is the
:37:58. > :38:01.office where they look out for pots of money and help businesses and
:38:02. > :38:05.MEPs to bid for it. We generally don't get as much as other regions
:38:06. > :38:09.in England because we are rdlatively more affluent, however, we have made
:38:10. > :38:15.some good investments, so wd have had ?300 million from the Etropean
:38:16. > :38:19.social fund, but if we look at some of the other funds, we have been
:38:20. > :38:23.very competitive. Looking at the research and innovation funding
:38:24. > :38:32.?663 million so far. That h`s come to our universities, and ?47 million
:38:33. > :38:48.of that has come to ethnic dnemies `` SNP.
:38:49. > :38:53.Critics will point out that we have paid much more money that you
:38:54. > :38:57.Brussels than we have ever received, but those who work here
:38:58. > :39:02.CEU is more than just about money. They think they have done a good
:39:03. > :39:06.job. It is now up to voters to decide.
:39:07. > :39:13.As promised, here is Patrick Flynn, the lead candidate for UKIP in the
:39:14. > :39:20.East. ?1.2 billion to this region over the last seven years from
:39:21. > :39:24.Europe. That has to be a good thing. It is our own money back at
:39:25. > :39:27.something like 30p in the pound If someone took ?30 out of your wallet
:39:28. > :39:31.or purse and gave you a tenner back and asked you to be grateful and
:39:32. > :39:36.told you what to spend it on, you might not think that is the most
:39:37. > :39:40.fantastic deal in the world. But as we saw, our universities, transport
:39:41. > :39:44.system, our councils and farmers, they are all getting money. We could
:39:45. > :39:49.pay them much more ourselves if we were left with our own funds. The
:39:50. > :39:52.point is, we are putting far more in. We are putting far more in.
:39:53. > :39:56.You're a massive net donor to the European Union, and that is before
:39:57. > :40:00.you even take account of thd cost of regulation and the downside of
:40:01. > :40:06.membership. We are getting ` rotten deal. The business argument,
:40:07. > :40:12.locally, Corby, had and I h`ve a base in Corby. They have warned
:40:13. > :40:16.against leaving the EU, sayhng that you just throw up barriers to
:40:17. > :40:23.business. If we have got thdse big manufacturers employing thotsands of
:40:24. > :40:27.people, saying that, it is damaging to business, isn't it? I relember
:40:28. > :40:30.when the boss of Nissan in Sunderland said he would certainly
:40:31. > :40:36.leave the EU if we'd join the Eurozone. We didn't join thd euro
:40:37. > :40:43.and we have doubled employmdnt there since then. We turn out products at
:40:44. > :40:46.competitive prices and make money all over the world and that is not
:40:47. > :40:55.dependent on our membership of the EU. Region `` the reasons some
:40:56. > :41:02.companies here are getting foreign investment, now, leave the DU and
:41:03. > :41:07.there is a risk that the investment drops away. There is no such risk.
:41:08. > :41:11.There is a risk, because thdse foreign investors want to use
:41:12. > :41:18.Britain as a gateway for access to Europe. Yes, we carry on tr`ding
:41:19. > :41:22.with Europe. The trade minister in the last government, the boss of the
:41:23. > :41:26.CBI for many years, Mr big business in Britain, he said that if we left
:41:27. > :41:30.the EU within 24`hour is we would have our own free`trade deal with
:41:31. > :41:34.it, and the reason why was because Germany in particular would insist
:41:35. > :41:38.on it. We are the Eurozone's boost export market in the world. That if
:41:39. > :41:43.you have access to Europe, xou will have to abide by the regulation If
:41:44. > :41:50.anyone exports to another country, they have to abide by the export and
:41:51. > :41:59.import relations to those countries. We import ?50 billion more from
:42:00. > :42:05.Europe every year than we exported them. It is massively in thdir
:42:06. > :42:10.interests. Let me go to Julhan Huppert. What about the assdrtion in
:42:11. > :42:16.that film by our live demo LEP that Europe saved our economy? There is
:42:17. > :42:21.no doubt that if we were to leave or even flirt with leaving it will hit
:42:22. > :42:25.the recovery that is now happening. It will cost jobs and growth. When I
:42:26. > :42:30.talk to companies around Calbridge, they are terrified by the idea of
:42:31. > :42:33.pulling out. It will cause them in its problems. UKIP do like to
:42:34. > :42:42.scaremongering. We have seen time again. Students can go on a Rasmus
:42:43. > :42:48.schemes, have interactions, we innovate because of our connections
:42:49. > :42:52.with Europe. Douglas Carswell. Patrick is absolutely right. The
:42:53. > :42:56.idea that trade and investmdnt between Europe and the country
:42:57. > :43:01.depends on EU manage it is `bsurd. Switzerland is four times more trade
:43:02. > :43:07.her head with Europe from ottside the single market than we do from
:43:08. > :43:15.within. The EU is a scam. The Euro Cross is in Brussels and thd
:43:16. > :43:23.political elite are rules for their advantage. What is the diffdrence
:43:24. > :43:32.between you and Patrick, thdn? Both of us agree we want to leavd the EU.
:43:33. > :43:36.Why not join UKIP then? The way to withdraw from the EU is to lake sure
:43:37. > :43:41.that David Cameron is in nulber ten after the next election, we have the
:43:42. > :43:44.referendum he promises as in 20 7, which will give my constitudnts the
:43:45. > :43:49.opportunity to vote to leavd. That is a clear pathway to exit. I think
:43:50. > :43:55.it is urgent that we do it. Why do you think UKIP have such a strong
:43:56. > :43:58.called in the East? Douglas is completely wrong about the Swiss
:43:59. > :44:02.model. The Swiss themselves have pointed out that they struggle to
:44:03. > :44:06.make deals. I was talking to a Swiss company recently who said they do
:44:07. > :44:11.not have any peace, they can't lobby, but they are bound bx the
:44:12. > :44:18.same rules. They have all of the disadvantages without any of the
:44:19. > :44:23.benefits. Douglas also pointed out wide David Cameron and Ed Mhliband
:44:24. > :44:26.could not talk in the debatd we had last week. The Labour and
:44:27. > :44:34.Conservative editions are both to avoid talking about the isste. I
:44:35. > :44:39.want to put 1.2 Patrick O'Flynn Wouldn't it be better if Caleron
:44:40. > :44:45.could renegotiate powers with Europe, rather than coming out?
:44:46. > :44:48.Renegotiation is a cruel deceit on the British public, right from the
:44:49. > :44:54.Treaty on `` Treaty of Rome onwards, the aim has been the creation of a
:44:55. > :44:57.superstate. Powers are not coming back, and if we do not like the
:44:58. > :45:02.rules of the membership club, the honourable thing is to leavd. I want
:45:03. > :45:08.to bring in Nick Clegg here, because he was fresh from this week's
:45:09. > :45:10.televised debate, when he vhsited eight pharmaceuticals company in
:45:11. > :45:16.Cambridge. It was there that I met with him to talk about his frank
:45:17. > :45:24.exchange was Nigel Farage. H have to and how he thought he had pdrformed.
:45:25. > :45:29.I ain't `` enjoyed enormously. When somebody like Nigel Farage, and many
:45:30. > :45:32.populist politicians like that in other European countries, when they
:45:33. > :45:35.come along and say, I can lhst all the problems off your shoulders
:45:36. > :45:39.because it is somebody else's fault and we don't need to allow people to
:45:40. > :45:42.come into our country and wd don't need to deal with all the fhddly
:45:43. > :45:45.things easy, I can understand that if it very attractive thing to hear
:45:46. > :45:51.will stop nevertheless, he hs convincing a lot of people hn this
:45:52. > :45:57.region. The UKIP that stands at 21% here, and last year, 16 by`dlections
:45:58. > :46:02.went UKIP. We now have over 50 councillors at county and dhstrict
:46:03. > :46:08.level. They are a force to be reckoned with. Indeed, it is an
:46:09. > :46:13.attractive but dangerous ard denied. Immigration is a central
:46:14. > :46:18.issue here. Yeast has the hhghest number of EU immigrants in the
:46:19. > :46:21.country, but at the same tile, as we have got that, and yes, thex are
:46:22. > :46:26.contributing to the economy, there is pressure being put on schools, on
:46:27. > :46:30.housing, on hospitals. Do you accept that there is that pressure? I
:46:31. > :46:33.accept that, in any community in any part of the world where there is a
:46:34. > :46:36.change of people moving in `nd out, you need to reflect that in the way
:46:37. > :46:42.that you support schools and hospitals. That is exactly what we
:46:43. > :46:45.do. But you have to look at the bigger picture. One in seven of the
:46:46. > :46:49.businesses in this country were created by people who came from
:46:50. > :46:53.elsewhere in the world, pay their taxes, play a constructive role and
:46:54. > :47:02.create jobs. Thank you very much. Do you think your leader's debate
:47:03. > :47:06.with Nigel Farage helped hil? It has raised the profile of Nigel Farage.
:47:07. > :47:11.It may well have helped Nigdl Farage, but it helped the Lhberal
:47:12. > :47:15.Democrats. It was an import`nt message. We have had myths `bout
:47:16. > :47:18.Europe for decades with nobody stepping up to challenge thdm. I am
:47:19. > :47:22.really proud that Nick Clegg did that. We saw Nigel Farage m`king
:47:23. > :47:26.stuff up in the debate. That will work for a while, but what we need
:47:27. > :47:33.now is not just Lib Dems making the factual case, but to see other
:47:34. > :47:37.people. I wish the Conservatives and Labour party hats and courage to
:47:38. > :47:39.stand up, but we know they have their own internal problems. It is
:47:40. > :47:46.important to make the case `bout why we benefit from Europe. And one of
:47:47. > :47:49.those benefits is that 60% of trade in this region is done with Europe.
:47:50. > :47:53.Are you prepared to just throw that away? Aye of course not. We have
:47:54. > :48:00.already established that tr`de with European countries does not depend
:48:01. > :48:03.on membership of the EU. Yot picked up Nick Clegg there on the lassive
:48:04. > :48:08.issue of open`door immigrathon. Until we get the ability to control
:48:09. > :48:11.our borders again, until we can have both volume control and quality
:48:12. > :48:14.control over immigration from two dozen or more neighbouring
:48:15. > :48:18.countries, we will never give immigration a good name in this
:48:19. > :48:22.country again. I also picked up Nick Clegg underwriting support for UKIP
:48:23. > :48:30.in the East, and that is to the disadvantage of the Tories. Some
:48:31. > :48:34.politicians argue that we should withdraw from the EU. I'm htgely
:48:35. > :48:39.pleased by the developments. The fact is, there's only party that
:48:40. > :48:42.will allow us to vote to le`ve, and that is the Conservatives. This
:48:43. > :48:48.debate will run on and on. Gentleman, thank you very mtch.
:48:49. > :48:52.We have also been looking at long`running political sagas in our
:48:53. > :48:59.62nd round of political news this week.
:49:00. > :49:02.The future of maternity unit at hospitals in Clacton and Harwich was
:49:03. > :49:07.raised by Douglas Carswell this week. Last week, the managelent team
:49:08. > :49:11.of the already troubled trust decided to ship units anywax, which
:49:12. > :49:16.has caused anger and concern locally. While Julian Huppert was
:49:17. > :49:20.concerned by the underfunding of mental health services in C`mbridge.
:49:21. > :49:23.Health care in Cambridge has been underfunded for years, ment`l health
:49:24. > :49:26.care particularly so. Controversial plans for a w`ste
:49:27. > :49:32.incinerator at Kings Lynn h`ve been scrapped finally after years of
:49:33. > :49:35.wrangling. A five`year battle, workers from a car park company in
:49:36. > :49:41.Basildon have wind compensation from its parent company after thdir
:49:42. > :49:43.pensions were hit by the firm going into administration.
:49:44. > :49:48.Cambridge MP Andrew Lansley discussed how a woman Mr Kil for a
:49:49. > :49:53.store manager when he was chopping at Tesco. I was the only person
:49:54. > :49:55.there in a seat, and therefore I must be the manager and I would know
:49:56. > :50:02.where she could find washing powder!
:50:03. > :50:07.Douglas Carswell, hasn't had any of mistaken identity? I have ndver been
:50:08. > :50:13.mistaken for anything other than me, I'm afraid to say. Cert`inly not
:50:14. > :50:17.for a Liberal Democrat! And not mistaken for being a UKIP mdmber? We
:50:18. > :50:27.shall have to see. Right! OK! Interesting reaction. Julian
:50:28. > :50:29.Huppert, what about you? A tour guide at Westminster has a ginger
:50:30. > :50:34.goatee and occasionally looks like the end we are sometimes confused
:50:35. > :50:39.for each other. It can be qtite useful, because people tell me what
:50:40. > :50:43.is going on in a way that the staff talk about and that they don't tell
:50:44. > :50:49.the other MPs. Thank you both very much indeed. That is all for now.
:50:50. > :50:59.You can keep in touch on our website. You can also follow links
:51:00. > :51:05.from that website to our Political Editor's bog `` blog.
:51:06. > :51:06.Next week, we are on at the later time of
:51:07. > :51:16.Dobson. Tim Donovan is back in the chair next week. And with that, back
:51:17. > :51:25.to Andrew. Welcome back and time now to get more from our panel. So they
:51:26. > :51:30.can justify their meagre patents. This cost of living mantra will last
:51:31. > :51:36.all the way until the election. Cannot? Ed Miliband leaves he is
:51:37. > :51:41.onto something and for most of this Parliament, inflation has
:51:42. > :51:45.outstripped wages. That is going to go the other way and wages will
:51:46. > :51:50.rise, to which you say Ed Miliband has nothing to say. He says if you
:51:51. > :51:54.think people are going to feel better in the blink of an eye, you
:51:55. > :51:58.are a Conservative and do not understand the depth of this and he
:51:59. > :52:02.is taking the message from a presidential election in America in
:52:03. > :52:07.2012 and make Romney was ahead on some of the economic indicators but
:52:08. > :52:12.Barack Obama was ahead on the key one, do you believe this candidate
:52:13. > :52:16.will make your family's life better? The message that Ed Miliband
:52:17. > :52:22.will try to say is the next election is about whose side are you on?
:52:23. > :52:23.will try to say is the next election he believes Labour will be on the
:52:24. > :52:27.side of more voters than conservatives. It would be crazy for
:52:28. > :52:33.Labour not to talk about the cost of living because even if wages exceed
:52:34. > :52:37.inflation next year, it is not as if voters will walk around feeling like
:52:38. > :52:42.Imelda Marcos, they will still feel as if they were struggling and not
:52:43. > :52:49.just compared... Retail sales are slowing? That is not the sign of
:52:50. > :52:56.palpable disparity. Circumstances are better than three years ago but
:52:57. > :53:00.not better than five years ago. The Reagan question will still be
:53:01. > :53:05.employed, are you better off than at the last election? But things in
:53:06. > :53:11.America were actually getting worse when he asked that. I covered that
:53:12. > :53:14.election, that is why it resonated and they did get worse. The
:53:15. > :53:20.election, that is why it resonated Ayatollah had quadrupled the price
:53:21. > :53:23.of oil. This is based on things getting relatively better, after a
:53:24. > :53:29.very long wait, so the cost of living critique will have to adapt?
:53:30. > :53:35.It will but it gets out of a very sticky spot and the IFS says wages
:53:36. > :53:39.will not outstrip inflation and by that time they can start talking
:53:40. > :53:44.about other things, plans for the railways and tuition fees and at the
:53:45. > :53:46.moment, everything is up for grabs. Labour know that every time they
:53:47. > :53:52.talk about something they want to do, the question is, how do you pay
:53:53. > :53:55.for it? They can talk about the economy and they don't have
:53:56. > :54:01.substantial things to say. Is it true that Mr Iain Duncan Smith was
:54:02. > :54:06.going to make a major announcement on benefit cheats? Or something to
:54:07. > :54:10.do with that this morning? But he decided against it because of the
:54:11. > :54:14.tobacco over Maria Miller? It would be very odd to go on to The Andrew
:54:15. > :54:18.Marr Show to have a chat and see what he is having for lunch. Patrick
:54:19. > :54:23.went from the Guardian said he was going to set out higher financial
:54:24. > :54:26.penalty phase for providing inaccurate information in claims.
:54:27. > :54:33.This is a bad day to do that, given that MP expenses are treated far
:54:34. > :54:39.more lenient the than any one from Joe public. That would be
:54:40. > :54:43.fascinating, if true. And he is making a very big speech on well for
:54:44. > :54:49.tomorrow and this tweet from Patrick went at the Guardian, he has proper
:54:50. > :54:53.sized on welfare matters and he tends to know what is going on. But
:54:54. > :54:58.it would be deeply unfortunate if that was the message today. How can
:54:59. > :55:01.he make a speech that has anything about cracking down on benefit
:55:02. > :55:10.claimants? Not today but I am not sure tomorrow. Do you get the
:55:11. > :55:15.impression that nobody in both main parties is very confident of winning
:55:16. > :55:19.in 2015? I column last week said the result, the most likely result from
:55:20. > :55:24.one year on is another hung parliament and which government
:55:25. > :55:28.results from that depends on the mathematical specifics of whether
:55:29. > :55:32.the Tories can do a deal as well as Labour, leaving everything in the
:55:33. > :55:35.hands of Nick Clegg or whether one party can do a straightforward deal
:55:36. > :55:42.but I do not detect any sense of exuberance or confidence in either
:55:43. > :55:45.camp. And the Tories are still shooting themselves over losing the
:55:46. > :55:49.boundary commission reforms because that was going to net them 20 seats
:55:50. > :55:51.and they lost that because they messed up the House of Lords reform
:55:52. > :55:54.and messed up the House of Lords reform
:55:55. > :55:58.themselves. The former US President, George W Bush, has been a busy boy
:55:59. > :56:02.and here at the Sunday Politics we thought you'd like to see the
:56:03. > :56:06.results of his artistic endeavours. Time for the gallery.
:56:07. > :56:54.I was a prize to find myself saying, some of these are not bad! --
:56:55. > :57:01.surprised. Vladimir Putin? I like the one of Tony Blair but his early
:57:02. > :57:06.ones of dogs, to be in the presence of the master is to see his portrait
:57:07. > :57:12.of a Joanne Love. He is not of the Turner prize but I was surprised. He
:57:13. > :57:18.gets the mask of Vladimir Putin also Tony Blair. I was impressed
:57:19. > :57:22.that he did not allow personal or political grudges to influence his
:57:23. > :57:26.artwork. Jacques Chirac, he comes out of this incredibly well! And
:57:27. > :57:33.Angela Merkel comes out astonishingly well. Quite generous
:57:34. > :57:37.as well. Tony Blair is the best one and the reason is he had the closest
:57:38. > :57:41.relationship with them and he has talked about this portrait, saying
:57:42. > :57:47.he was quite fond of him and you can see that. These are awful, they
:57:48. > :57:54.would not get you an A-level but you must admire him to have the guts to
:57:55. > :58:00.do this, and display them publicly! An A-level? Just doing joined up
:58:01. > :58:05.numbers gets you that these days! What do you do when you retire? This
:58:06. > :58:09.is less embarrassing than some of the other things people have done.
:58:10. > :58:17.As good as Churchill? I don't know... No! Churchill was brilliant!
:58:18. > :58:20.And on that! That's all for today. Tune into BBC Two every day at
:58:21. > :58:23.lunchtime this week for the Daily Politics. And we'll be back at the
:58:24. > :58:27.later time of 2:30pm next Sunday after the London Marathon. Remember,
:58:28. > :58:34.if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.