:00:37. > :00:41.Morning, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics. Walls are being
:00:42. > :00:44.re-painted in Belfast as Gerry Adams begins his fourth day in police
:00:45. > :00:49.custody in connection with one of the most brutal and shocking murders
:00:50. > :01:00.of the Troubles. That's our top story.
:01:01. > :01:03.He may have got egg on his face this week but Nigel Farage is a serious
:01:04. > :01:06.electoral threat in this month's elections. I'll ask the Conservative
:01:07. > :01:08.Party Chairman Grant Shapps how worried he is.
:01:09. > :01:13.And we're on the trail of Nick Clegg. You were voted the best
:01:14. > :01:19.Here in the East: how many young likely to be a good
:01:20. > :01:22.Here in the East: how many young people will be bothered to vote in
:01:23. > :01:24.the local and European elections? And the minor parties make their
:01:25. > :01:31.pitch for our support. and independence. We have a table
:01:32. > :01:38.full of Euro candidates here to debate what it means for London.
:01:39. > :01:41.And with me, as always, the best and the brightest political panel in the
:01:42. > :01:43.business - Nick Watt, Helen Lewis and Janan Ganesh. They'll be
:01:44. > :01:49.throwing metaphorical rotten eggs into the twittersphere.
:01:50. > :01:52.First this morning - Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein, has spent a
:01:53. > :01:55.fourth night in police custody after he was arrested in connection with
:01:56. > :02:09.the killing of Jean McConville more than 40 years ago. Sinn Fein has
:02:10. > :02:11.claimed that the arrest is politically motivated coming, as it
:02:12. > :02:15.does, during local and European election campaigns. Northern
:02:16. > :02:17.Ireland's deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, has indicated he
:02:18. > :02:20.might review the party's support for policing in the province if Gerry
:02:21. > :02:23.Adams is charged. The Jean McConville murder was one of the
:02:24. > :02:25.most notorious cases of the Troubles.
:02:26. > :02:32.The widowed mother of ten was kidnapped from her home in December
:02:33. > :02:37.1972, never to be seen alive again. The IRA denied involvement but in
:02:38. > :02:44.1999 admitted it had murdered her and several others, known as the
:02:45. > :02:47.Disappeared. Before his death, the former IRA commander Brendan Hughes
:02:48. > :02:55.pointed the finger at Gerry Adams, claiming:
:02:56. > :03:09.In April this year, either Bell was charged with aiding and abetting the
:03:10. > :03:14.murder. -- Ivor Bell. Gerry Adams has always insisted he is innocent
:03:15. > :03:18.of any part in the abduction and killing all burial of Mrs
:03:19. > :03:21.McConville. We were hoping to speak to the
:03:22. > :03:24.Northern Ireland Secretary, Theresa Villiers, but having agreed to do an
:03:25. > :03:31.interview with us this morning, she pulled out. But we are joined from
:03:32. > :03:36.Belfast by Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey. Welcome to the Sunday Politics. And
:03:37. > :03:48.the police just doing their job by questioning Gerry Adams? Gerry Adams
:03:49. > :03:53.said publicly some time ago that he was available to speak to the
:03:54. > :03:58.police, but that is not what this is about at the moment, because what we
:03:59. > :04:02.have here is clearly evidence in our mind of political interference in
:04:03. > :04:07.what should be due process. Gerry Adams made it clear some time ago he
:04:08. > :04:13.wanted to speak to the police, it was available at any time, and yet
:04:14. > :04:17.that request was not taken up until three weeks into an election and we
:04:18. > :04:22.believe that was deliberately orchestrated by a small number of
:04:23. > :04:29.people. What evidence can you present this morning that proves
:04:30. > :04:36.that claim? The direct circumstances Gerry Adams finds himself in at the
:04:37. > :04:46.moment, take that in stark contrast when they have dealt with members of
:04:47. > :04:55.the British Army for instance... That is just circumstantial. The
:04:56. > :04:59.PSNI know that the soldiers involved in that and a number of other
:05:00. > :05:05.high-profile killings of citizens here, and not one of those people
:05:06. > :05:10.has been arrested. In fact any of the people who were interviewed were
:05:11. > :05:20.interviewed by request. There was a stark contrast, in terms of how they
:05:21. > :05:25.have dealt with the British military involving state killings. We haven't
:05:26. > :05:31.got too much time. Sinn Fein said it would review its support for the
:05:32. > :05:36.PSNI if Gerry Adams is charged. That sounds like political interference
:05:37. > :05:42.in the police process. It's not because we have a clear mandate from
:05:43. > :05:47.the people who elect us. Policing has been an important part of the
:05:48. > :05:53.peace process here for many years, Sinn Fein plays an important role in
:05:54. > :05:58.local policing partnerships. We negotiate to make sure we have
:05:59. > :06:04.powers transferred here to elected representatives in the north. It is
:06:05. > :06:10.a long way to go before we have policing highly accountable, and
:06:11. > :06:27.making sure they deliver a very impartial service. How will he react
:06:28. > :06:32.if Gerry Adams is charged? I am still trying to get a clear answer.
:06:33. > :06:38.If Gerry Adams is charged, will you withdraw support for the Northern
:06:39. > :06:43.Ireland police service? We view this as a serious situation and a serious
:06:44. > :06:48.ongoing situation and we will monitor how this pans out. We have a
:06:49. > :06:53.very important role to play to support the police service here. We
:06:54. > :07:00.have done consistently, worked with them on a daily basis, but we will
:07:01. > :07:04.not accept political interference by a small number of people in the
:07:05. > :07:12.police who are undermining the police. We will not accept political
:07:13. > :07:17.policing. If there was evidence, and I emphasise the word if, because we
:07:18. > :07:21.have seen none, but if there were evidence to justify Gerry Adams
:07:22. > :07:27.being charged, why should he not be charged? It is my understanding from
:07:28. > :07:33.the family of Gerry Adams that there has not been a single shred of
:07:34. > :07:41.evidence put forward. I understand that, but if there was evidence, why
:07:42. > :07:45.should he not be charged? You put that caveat yourself and then you
:07:46. > :07:50.expect me to speculate, there is no way I will do that. The fact of the
:07:51. > :07:55.matter is there hasn't been one single shred of evidence put to
:07:56. > :07:59.Gerry Adams in the last few days, in fact what has been put to him is a
:08:00. > :08:05.range of issues of newspaper cuttings, books, statements made
:08:06. > :08:07.from people, including from people who didn't want their statements
:08:08. > :08:17.released until they have died. who didn't want their statements
:08:18. > :08:25.was charged, again I emphasise the word if, does the police process
:08:26. > :08:30.fall apart? The police process is a fragile entity, it requires work and
:08:31. > :08:31.we have been saying this publicly and privately with the Irish and
:08:32. > :08:46.British and privately with the Irish and
:08:47. > :08:48.process has to be nurtured and developed. We are not out of the
:08:49. > :08:54.woods yet. From a Republican point of view we have been working flat
:08:55. > :09:02.out. I just wanted a quick answer to my question, is a yes or no? What
:09:03. > :09:07.question I asking me? Is the peace process in jeopardy? It is fragile
:09:08. > :09:13.and I am not going to have words put into my mouth but I don't want to
:09:14. > :09:20.use. It has to be worked out and nurtured. Thank you for joining us.
:09:21. > :09:25.Nick Watt, you were a Northern Ireland correspondent like myself in
:09:26. > :09:29.days gone by. Where is this going to go? It shows how challenging the
:09:30. > :09:33.peace process is because on the one hand you have the unspeakable pain
:09:34. > :09:39.of the McConville family, but you also have the danger of not having
:09:40. > :09:43.mechanisms to deal with the past. South Africa is a good example, you
:09:44. > :09:47.have to have some mechanism to deal with the past because if you don't,
:09:48. > :09:58.you are going to have, as Sinn Fein have now, someone in a police cell
:09:59. > :10:01.but you don't have the arrests of the Bloody Sunday soldiers.
:10:02. > :10:09.Paramilitary prisoners were released after two years... We have seen no
:10:10. > :10:16.action against somebody accused of the Hyde Park bombings, it is not a
:10:17. > :10:23.one-way street. We have the decommissioning of IRA weapons by
:10:24. > :10:26.the IRA, therefore destroying crucial evidence. You have these
:10:27. > :10:31.inconsistencies because you don't have an mechanism for dealing with
:10:32. > :10:36.the past, but doing that is really difficult because of the pain of
:10:37. > :10:41.real people. Don't you get a feeling that here in London they are hoping
:10:42. > :10:45.he will not be charged? Definitely because it would be nice if
:10:46. > :10:54.everything went away, but the civil case of the family is taken out of
:10:55. > :10:57.the hands of the police. You can see here a real failure in Westminster
:10:58. > :11:06.to see this as anything other than settled. David Cameron we know sees
:11:07. > :11:09.himself as a chairman. I was speaking to a friend in Northern
:11:10. > :11:14.Ireland who said he has never met Gerry Adams and I think this is very
:11:15. > :11:19.revealing. They consider this as a settled issue that will not trouble
:11:20. > :11:24.Westminster again. It would be, but the relatives of the disappeared
:11:25. > :11:28.don't want it to be settled. This points to the reality that the
:11:29. > :11:33.Belfast agreement probably had to be done, but the moral price at which
:11:34. > :11:38.it was purchased was far greater than we were willing to admit during
:11:39. > :11:43.the euphoria. For a country that prides itself by the rule of law to
:11:44. > :11:51.tolerate the early release of prisoners and former pal and
:11:52. > :11:58.military -- paramilitaries, I think was a very serious matter. As for
:11:59. > :12:02.the PSNI, it only exists because its predecessor failed to command the
:12:03. > :12:09.confidence of the nationalist community. It is a very big deal if
:12:10. > :12:21.even the PSNI ends up falling into the same trap. We have to is leave
:12:22. > :12:23.it there I'm afraid. It was the Conservative's local election
:12:24. > :12:27.campaign launch on Friday, and what did David Cameron focus on? Burning
:12:28. > :12:30.local issues like the state of our roads, rubbish collection or care of
:12:31. > :12:32.the elderly? No. It was Europe. The Prime Minister re-iterated again his
:12:33. > :12:36.promise of an in-out referendum on our membership of the EU in 2017.
:12:37. > :12:39.And it's being reported this morning that he will share a platform with
:12:40. > :12:43.Nigel Farage in a pre-general election debate. Here's what the
:12:44. > :12:51.UKIP leader had to say about the issue when he was on the Marr Show
:12:52. > :12:55.this morning with Ed Miliband. David Cameron very often makes these vague
:12:56. > :13:02.promises, then doesn't deliver afterwards. I don't think he has any
:13:03. > :13:08.intention of allowing me into any of these debates. Perhaps Ed Miliband
:13:09. > :13:13.wants to debate? We have got to have the TV debates as we did join the
:13:14. > :13:18.last general election. I think David Cameron is doing everything he can
:13:19. > :13:23.to wriggle out of them. It is up to the broadcasters but whether they
:13:24. > :13:35.invite Nigel. My main desire is that the debates go ahead. We are joined
:13:36. > :13:41.now by Grant Shapps. Will he be included? The debates were not
:13:42. > :13:44.without problems, they took place during the campaign period and
:13:45. > :13:50.disrupted the flow of the campaign, taking it out of the regions, people
:13:51. > :13:54.getting to speak to the leaders so a longer period for that would be
:13:55. > :13:59.helpful. I think they are good idea and they should go ahead, but all of
:14:00. > :14:05.the negotiation about who is involved is yet to happen. So it is
:14:06. > :14:10.not a done deal that Nigel Farage will be included? That needs to be
:14:11. > :14:15.negotiated with the TV companies. The Conservatives believe we should
:14:16. > :14:23.have debates, but exactly the format and the timing, all of the -- that
:14:24. > :14:29.will be debated in the autumn, but first we have European elections,
:14:30. > :14:37.the Queen 's speech and a Scottish referendum. The local election
:14:38. > :14:46.campaign was launched on Friday. Why did you talk more about Europe than
:14:47. > :14:50.local councils? Both are important. The local elections are critically
:14:51. > :14:57.important for people, their local services. It is easy to forget, for
:14:58. > :15:00.example, that the council tax has been largely frozen since this
:15:01. > :15:05.Government came to power, a big contrast to Dublin under the
:15:06. > :15:12.previous Labour government. So why did you go on and on about Europe?
:15:13. > :15:21.Let me show you the poster used to launch your local election campaign.
:15:22. > :15:25.There it is, and in-out referendum on Europe, the day of the local
:15:26. > :15:30.elections, where is the word local? Is it in small print? I hear what
:15:31. > :15:34.you're saying, I am happy to be here to talk about the local elections.
:15:35. > :15:39.But you are right, they are on the same day, and not many people know
:15:40. > :15:43.that only by voting conservative can you get an in-out referendum. --
:15:44. > :15:52.Conservative. UKIP cannot deliver, we can, it is the same date, so
:15:53. > :15:54.people... This was the launch of the local election campaign. Why does
:15:55. > :15:59.the Prime Minister have to keep on promising something he has already
:16:00. > :16:06.promised? The actual referendum would be in 2017. He promised it
:16:07. > :16:10.before, he keeps repeating it because he knows people don't really
:16:11. > :16:14.trust him. I think it is a question of the fact that, actually, unless
:16:15. > :16:19.you remind people that the pledges there, that the only way to get an
:16:20. > :16:23.in-out referendum is to vote for it, this is a critical moment at
:16:24. > :16:29.which we need people to vote for that referendum if they want it. It
:16:30. > :16:33.is not the case, as I saw this morning, being said by Nigel Farage,
:16:34. > :16:37.that a referendum was promised before and not delivered. There was
:16:38. > :16:45.no referendum in the last manifesto. There will be in the next one. There
:16:46. > :16:54.was a cast-iron guarantee, in the Sun in 2006. Let's just clear that
:16:55. > :16:58.up... Once the Lisbon Treaty... In the Sun article, he said, we will
:16:59. > :17:02.have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Clearly, because that treaty
:17:03. > :17:08.had been passed before the general election, it is difficult to have a
:17:09. > :17:14.referendum on something in the past. We joined Europe in the 1970s,
:17:15. > :17:17.having a referendum on that! Look, that is about the future. Our
:17:18. > :17:23.relationship with Europe is absolutely critical. Most people in
:17:24. > :17:28.this country feel, I was not old enough to vote in that referendum,
:17:29. > :17:32.most of those who voted, they voted for a Common Market, that is not
:17:33. > :17:39.what we have got. We want to continue the work we have been doing
:17:40. > :17:43.in the EU Budget, what did UKIP do? They voted against it. We want more
:17:44. > :17:46.of those powers brought home, and we will put it to a referendum, and
:17:47. > :17:52.people will have to vote Conservative to get it. We have been
:17:53. > :17:56.looking at new research, almost two thirds of Conservative members are
:17:57. > :18:04.considering voting for UKIP, almost two thirds. I have a simple message
:18:05. > :18:13.here, which is this. If you vote for UKIP... Can we have it up? 30% are
:18:14. > :18:17.likely, 30% are possible. That is why it is important we are making
:18:18. > :18:21.these arguments. If you vote for UKIP, you are voting to take us
:18:22. > :18:27.further away from returning powers to this country, further from a
:18:28. > :18:31.referendum. It is support for Ed Miliband becoming Prime Minister,
:18:32. > :18:35.and he will do exactly what Labour have always done - hand away powers,
:18:36. > :18:40.and away the rebate for nothing in return, giving Europe even more so
:18:41. > :18:44.over the day-to-day affairs in Britain. Why are so many people
:18:45. > :18:48.considering voting UKIP? It is to hold your feet to the fire, they do
:18:49. > :18:52.not trust you on a referendum, so they will vote UKIP to force you to
:18:53. > :18:57.tap in your line. We have a very tough line. If I had said four years
:18:58. > :19:03.ago that this government would manage to cut the overall EU
:19:04. > :19:06.budget, would take us out of the bailout fund that Labour got us
:19:07. > :19:10.into, passing a law that no more powers can go to Europe without a
:19:11. > :19:15.referendum, if I had said that, people would say, I do not believe
:19:16. > :19:18.it will happen. Not only have we done these things, we are promising
:19:19. > :19:22.and in-out referendum, and the only way to get it is to vote
:19:23. > :19:26.Conservative. Nigel Farage has said, we can't change anything in
:19:27. > :19:32.Europe, and it is no wonder that the president of the European Commission
:19:33. > :19:37.has said, we love having these UKIP MEPs, because they don't turn up and
:19:38. > :19:42.vote, apart from when they vote against the cut in the budget. It
:19:43. > :19:47.goes beyond UKIP in your party, because this research also showed
:19:48. > :19:51.that those Conservative members most likely to vote for UKIP, they said
:19:52. > :19:55.they do not feel valued or respected by their own leadership, and they
:19:56. > :20:01.regard David Cameron as ideological eat more remote from them than UKIP.
:20:02. > :20:10.What I would say is look at that list... Let me take that step
:20:11. > :20:18.further. What people need our series solutions to serious problems. When
:20:19. > :20:24.people vote for a UKIP MEP, I will say, which one of the 40% of the
:20:25. > :20:28.MEPs who got in for UKIP last time are you voting for, the ones above
:20:29. > :20:33.left or defected, the ones have gone to jail? 40% have ended up not
:20:34. > :20:37.delivering. People have a right to know what to expect when they vote
:20:38. > :20:41.in these elections. They can look at our record at home, and this goes to
:20:42. > :20:48.the point you have raised about what we have done in Britain to get this
:20:49. > :20:51.economy back on track, recover from Labour's recession. We are prepared
:20:52. > :20:58.to take those decisions in Europe as well. Presumably, active
:20:59. > :21:03.Conservative members, they know that, so why do they not feel valued
:21:04. > :21:07.by the leadership? I spend time going up and down the country
:21:08. > :21:14.meeting Conservative members, and they are on the doorstep, last
:21:15. > :21:20.weekend 150 out in Enfield campaigning for the European and
:21:21. > :21:24.local elections... Why are they keen on UKIP? When I meet somebody who
:21:25. > :21:32.says that, not necessarily a member... Have you met members of
:21:33. > :21:41.say they will vote UKIP? No, but a vote for UKIP is... Do not do it,
:21:42. > :21:46.you will end up with Labour having more control, handing away powers to
:21:47. > :21:52.Europe. 51-year-old meeting members who say they will vote UKIP, you
:21:53. > :21:57.must be out of touch. -- if you are not meeting members. Some of your
:21:58. > :22:01.members are thinking of voting UKIP. I spend huge amount of time
:22:02. > :22:07.travelling around, I just told you about this action day in Enfield,
:22:08. > :22:11.where we had an enormous turnout. Those members were on the doorsteps
:22:12. > :22:16.pointing out that you can only get reform in Europe by voting
:22:17. > :22:22.Conservative. Labour and the Lib Dems will not deliver, UKIP can't,
:22:23. > :22:25.Conservatives will. You have not got that message across, because a
:22:26. > :22:35.YouGov poll shows, on Europe, who has the best policies? Tories 18%,
:22:36. > :22:41.Labour 19%, UKIP 27%. On the economy, Tories 27%, Labour 23, UKIP
:22:42. > :22:47.4. Why don't you shut up about Europe and talk about the economy?
:22:48. > :22:52.Look, on the 27th of May, we have European elections, as well as local
:22:53. > :22:55.elections. If I don't talk about the European elections, you would say
:22:56. > :22:58.what you said at the beginning about not talking about the local
:22:59. > :23:02.elections! These are serious elections, and the point I am tried
:23:03. > :23:06.to make is that the issues at stake are not peripheral, they are not
:23:07. > :23:10.unimportant. Our MEPs have been battling to cut red tape from a
:23:11. > :23:13.European level on small businesses, the same thing this government has
:23:14. > :23:16.been doing for small businesses domestic league, where for example
:23:17. > :23:23.every small business owner watching this show knows they have got ?2000
:23:24. > :23:25.back in employment announced on national insurance contributions. We
:23:26. > :23:31.are doing it at home, we are doing it in Europe, and it is important to
:23:32. > :23:45.tie that together. Ireland that Mr Cameron saying, you should stop
:23:46. > :23:55.banging on about Europe... -- I remember. This is before the last
:23:56. > :23:59.general election, as in days for the Lib Dems, 18%. Even then, you didn't
:24:00. > :24:04.win the election, and now you are only three or four points ahead, it
:24:05. > :24:11.doesn't look good for you, does it? Even then, the poll did not turn out
:24:12. > :24:15.to be what it was on the day. No, that is what happens, that is the
:24:16. > :24:17.voting intentions now! You are in a worse position than a year before
:24:18. > :24:25.the last election, which you didn't win. We are almost proving the point
:24:26. > :24:29.that you can take a clip at any moment in time, not sounding like a
:24:30. > :24:34.politician, but the only poll that matters is on the day. In just over
:24:35. > :24:40.a year's time, people will have a completely different picture to look
:24:41. > :24:45.at than these opinion polls. We have an economy from being a basket
:24:46. > :24:49.case, the great Labour recession knocking 7% of this economy, hurting
:24:50. > :24:54.every family, to a point where we the fastest-growing economy in the
:24:55. > :24:58.developed world. In a year's time, I hope people will see that we are the
:24:59. > :25:02.people who've taken the difficult decisions, got the economy to the
:25:03. > :25:05.right place, more security for you and your family. Do not give the car
:25:06. > :25:10.keys back to the people who crashed it in the first place. If I had a
:25:11. > :25:15.pound for every time I have heard that! It is clearly not getting
:25:16. > :25:23.through. On the Pfizer attempted of AstraZeneca, Mr Miliband called this
:25:24. > :25:27.morning for a tougher public interest test such big takeovers. Do
:25:28. > :25:34.you agree with that or not? Let me be absolutely clear, if there is any
:25:35. > :25:41.kind of joining, we are in favour of British jobs, British aren't deep,
:25:42. > :25:54.expanding our pharmaceutical sector. -- R But what Mr Mallon and wants
:25:55. > :25:59.to do with rent caps, he is anti-business. -- Mr Miliband. He
:26:00. > :26:11.wants to take us back to the bad old those. -- bad old days. Should there
:26:12. > :26:15.be a bigger public interest test? We have seen some takeovers that people
:26:16. > :26:20.have criticised, but others, like Bentley, Land Rover, which have been
:26:21. > :26:25.very successful. Should there be a tougher test?! We will have tests
:26:26. > :26:29.that ensured this get-together becomes a great Anglo-American
:26:30. > :26:34.project, or it doesn't happen, but the Miliband approach is simply to
:26:35. > :26:38.be anti-business, anti-jobs and anti-job security. Grant Shapps,
:26:39. > :26:41.thank you. A challenging week for the Liberal
:26:42. > :26:45.Democrats with a local election campaign overshadowed by another row
:26:46. > :26:52.with the Conservatives about knife crime. Adam has spent the day with
:26:53. > :26:56.Nick Clegg on the campaign trail. How nice! Nick Clegg is taking me on
:26:57. > :26:59.a political mini break to the Cotswolds. Yes, we are getting the
:27:00. > :27:04.train. He wants to highlight what his party is doing in local
:27:05. > :27:09.government, and a personal passion of his in Europe. Graham Watson, the
:27:10. > :27:15.Lib Dem MEP for the south-west, has been running a campaign to have
:27:16. > :27:20.prunes recognised as a laxative. Is that Lib Dems battling for Britain
:27:21. > :27:23.in Europe? It is not our front page manifesto commitment! It is one of
:27:24. > :27:31.many things that Graham does, he does many other things. In fact, he
:27:32. > :27:36.is a good example of an MEP who took a pioneering role, for instance, in
:27:37. > :27:43.making sure... There is the proven world, but also the crime-fighting
:27:44. > :27:46.role. -- prune. He has done work to make sure that when British
:27:47. > :27:52.criminals flee justice, we can bring them back. And he has promoted
:27:53. > :27:56.prunes! First stop, a gorgeous country pub, but it turns out
:27:57. > :28:02.everyone is a journalist or a very on message activist. Dark days,
:28:03. > :28:07.being a Lib Dem in the last few years? Strangely not. If you find
:28:08. > :28:11.you are a Lib Dem deep down, you do not get that disheartened, because
:28:12. > :28:14.you know that, locally, you are doing so well for the people that
:28:15. > :28:19.you live next door to that, actually, I find I am almost
:28:20. > :28:24.impervious to what happens on a national level. I am mayor of
:28:25. > :28:28.Cirencester. Have you taken any leadership lessons from Nick Clegg,
:28:29. > :28:33.inspiring new in your leadership of Cirencester? I think what he has
:28:34. > :28:38.demonstrated his patience. It has been a tough time, he has taken a
:28:39. > :28:43.lot of flak, and as the mayor of a town, lots of people agree with you
:28:44. > :28:47.and a fair few don't. You are a full on mayor, he is just a Deputy Prime
:28:48. > :28:53.Minister, do you outrank him? I don't think so, he is in government,
:28:54. > :28:59.I am not. So our there any normal people in here? We are from
:29:00. > :29:06.Swindon, you cannot get more abnormal. Are you a big fan of his?
:29:07. > :29:11.No! What has he done wrong? I don't believe in his views at all. Where
:29:12. > :29:20.has he got to? Nigel Farage would have had a pint! At this time in the
:29:21. > :29:24.morning a copy was more appropriate. I have no time for a drink of any
:29:25. > :29:28.kind, because now we are off to look at a local traffic blackspot. This
:29:29. > :29:35.is amazing, like a Lib Dem election leaflet brought to life, Lib Dems
:29:36. > :29:39.pointing at a road. High-vis jackets! Next we had to giggle full
:29:40. > :29:44.bath, but there will be no Regency sightseeing for us, oh no, Nick is
:29:45. > :29:54.taking us to an abandoned wilderness. We have just had a
:29:55. > :29:58.health and safety briefing, we have been told to look out for
:29:59. > :30:02.dive-bombing seagulls and an angry fox. That is the sort of thing Nick
:30:03. > :30:07.Clegg has to put up with. He wants to talk about the economy but he has
:30:08. > :30:13.to dodge the day's beat new story, letters leaked by a Tory suggesting
:30:14. > :30:23.that Lib Dems are soft on knife crime. Isn't that a new kind of
:30:24. > :30:28.warfare? I just think it is silly. They may think they are clever by
:30:29. > :30:38.catching some headlines but they are not helping people who worry about
:30:39. > :30:43.knife crime, like I do. We work together... Just like the
:30:44. > :30:48.Coalition! This is a co-working space where different businesses
:30:49. > :30:53.share the same office. My time with the Deputy Prime Minister is drawing
:30:54. > :30:57.to a close. We haven't talked about the most important story of the
:30:58. > :31:05.week, that you were voted the best looking party leader and the most
:31:06. > :31:09.likely to be a good cook. Right, this is news to me and I can
:31:10. > :31:14.guarantee you that my scepticism of opinion polls has just been
:31:15. > :31:20.confirmed. Just as well because the more serious polls don't look great
:31:21. > :31:27.for him or his party. Goodbye, and thanks for the offer of a ride
:31:28. > :31:33.home! He is still walking. Malcolm Bruce
:31:34. > :31:38.joins us now. According to Lib Dem briefing documents, you are likely
:31:39. > :31:43.to choose -- lose a big chunk of your MEPs. If you lose a lot, what
:31:44. > :31:47.would that say about a party that boasts of its pro-Europe
:31:48. > :31:54.credentials? It would be disappointing because we have the
:31:55. > :32:00.most hard-working MEPs. The worry that we have is that people think
:32:01. > :32:07.the European Parliament is not important but it takes decisions
:32:08. > :32:11.that affect us. They would be disappointing for Britain as well as
:32:12. > :32:16.the Liberal Democrats. Isn't the problem that the more you bang on
:32:17. > :32:22.about your pro-European credentials, the more you slip in the polls? I do
:32:23. > :32:33.think so, we have two weeks to go and we are campaigning extremely
:32:34. > :32:37.hard. You are forced in the polls. I can tell you there are people out
:32:38. > :32:43.there who do believe Britain should stay in the EU and they are worried
:32:44. > :32:48.that other parties will take us out. The Liberal Democrats are clear, we
:32:49. > :32:53.want to stay in, we will work for reform and do it effectively. If you
:32:54. > :32:59.lose the Liberal Democrats, Britain's influence in Europe will
:33:00. > :33:03.be weakened. Your track record in Europe shows you have been
:33:04. > :33:10.spectacularly wrong again and again. In your 2009 manifesto you said the
:33:11. > :33:15.European Central Bank and the euro have been tried and tested over ten
:33:16. > :33:21.years providing a clear picture of the benefits of Eurozone membership
:33:22. > :33:25.and that proved to be nonsense. It was nonsense everywhere. Every
:33:26. > :33:31.developed bank in the world was tried and tested and failed. Europe
:33:32. > :33:35.may not be perfect, but the question people have to decide is if we are
:33:36. > :33:43.going to leave Europe and be isolated on RM, or use our influence
:33:44. > :33:48.to reform it from inside. We have allies, you work with them, that is
:33:49. > :33:53.something the Lib Dems do better than any other parties. Your 2004
:33:54. > :33:59.manifesto, you claim that being outside the euro would lead to job
:34:00. > :34:06.losses and reduced prosperity. You were just plain wrong, weren't you?
:34:07. > :34:13.Yes, but the reason is that to some extent the euro did not observe any
:34:14. > :34:17.rules and regulations when it was set up. That is why we never
:34:18. > :34:24.recommended Britain should join at the outset because the criteria had
:34:25. > :34:30.not been met. In 2001 Nick Clegg was writing to the Financial Times...
:34:31. > :34:36.Your track record is important. He wrote that the Tisch monetary policy
:34:37. > :34:40.is not all it is cracked up to be. Britain would gain greater control
:34:41. > :34:51.over its affairs by joining the euro. How wrong can he be? We have
:34:52. > :34:55.always argued that the currency had to abide by strict criteria. It
:34:56. > :35:01.hasn't done so and that is one of the reasons it has failed. We
:35:02. > :35:07.recognise there is no future for Britain joining the euro and we are
:35:08. > :35:14.not advocating it. Lets put your 2010 manifesto on the screen. I
:35:15. > :35:20.didn't say it was not our long-term interest. If Europe succeeds as an
:35:21. > :35:28.entity, if the euro becomes one of the world leading currencies, there
:35:29. > :35:33.will come a point when it may be justified. In the circumstances we
:35:34. > :35:37.are in the moment, there is no recommended timescale. Let's get
:35:38. > :35:43.this right. Despite the Eurozone crisis which has cost millions of
:35:44. > :35:47.jobs, countries that were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the
:35:48. > :35:53.Eurozone now facing stagnation and some countries on the brink of
:35:54. > :35:58.deflation, you still won't rule out Britain joining? We are ruling it
:35:59. > :36:02.out in the foreseeable future. You can miss the point that we are
:36:03. > :36:07.working as a coalition partner in government that has secured recovery
:36:08. > :36:12.for the UK, and working as Liberal Democrats in the parliament that
:36:13. > :36:17.have cut back the European budget in cooperation with others. What would
:36:18. > :36:25.the world look like if it were right for Britain to join the euro? You
:36:26. > :36:29.have 27 states at the moment, with too many countries still struggling
:36:30. > :36:33.to meet the criteria so until you have a strong and cohesive enough
:36:34. > :36:39.single Eurozone in which all the countries can meet that criteria,
:36:40. > :36:45.Britain is better off out. So a more centralised Eurozone, that is what
:36:46. > :36:49.you would like Britain to join? No, because it can only happen by
:36:50. > :36:56.consent. Any circumstances in which any further powers would be
:36:57. > :37:01.transferred from the UK to the EU, we would support a referendum. You
:37:02. > :37:05.have just said that for the Eurozone to work, it has to be more
:37:06. > :37:11.centralised and you said if that happens, that is what Britain would
:37:12. > :37:15.join. I didn't say that, I said it would require the consent of all
:37:16. > :37:22.member states to agree to the criteria. We certainly do not
:37:23. > :37:28.envisage joining in the foreseeable future. Since you are the proud
:37:29. > :37:35.party of in, why weren't you just give us a referendum on in or out?
:37:36. > :37:40.Because it has to have a context. What David Cameron is doing is
:37:41. > :37:44.dangerous because I think the major players like Britain and France are
:37:45. > :37:48.not keen on the idea of being bullied into reforms on the
:37:49. > :37:51.instigation of just one member state which is threatening possibility to
:37:52. > :38:01.withdraw. They will have to agree to rules... Just have it now. Do you
:38:02. > :38:06.want in or out? To have a referendum against no background is to put it
:38:07. > :38:10.out of context. We are in the middle of a crisis, a year away from the
:38:11. > :38:19.general election. We have made it clear... You said we are in the
:38:20. > :38:25.middle of the Eurozone crisis? So we are not in the middle of it? What's
:38:26. > :38:29.the middle? The reality is that the Western world has gone through a
:38:30. > :38:34.deep crisis. The UK is coming out of it, the Eurozone is coming out of
:38:35. > :38:41.it. Greece have been able to borrow on the markets in recent weeks which
:38:42. > :38:43.is a sign of success. It is in our interest is the Eurozone succeeds
:38:44. > :38:48.and recovers and we should be part of it but not necessarily on the
:38:49. > :38:52.same conditions as everyone else. The Liberal Democrats work with
:38:53. > :38:59.others to deliver Britain's interests and if they are not there,
:39:00. > :39:03.their interests will be undermined. You are watching Sunday Politics. We
:39:04. > :39:19.say goodbye to viewers in Scotland now.
:39:20. > :39:24.Hello, and welcome to the part of the programme that is just for us
:39:25. > :39:27.here in the East. I'm Amelia Reynolds. Coming up, it elections
:39:28. > :39:30.count down. With less than three weeks to the local and European
:39:31. > :39:33.polls, we look at the key battle grounds in the East and ask how many
:39:34. > :39:37.young people will be bothered to vote. My vote isn't going to make
:39:38. > :39:40.any sort of difference. All the local electorate is all peak orders
:39:41. > :39:44.from their MPs in Parliament. ?? WHITE Plus what the minor parties
:39:45. > :39:47.have to say to tempt us on May 22. We actually need to stand up for
:39:48. > :40:05.ourselves and for the English nation and that's the purpose of the
:40:06. > :40:08.English Democrats. So, let's meet our guest. Andrew Lansley is the
:40:09. > :40:10.Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire and the Leader of the
:40:11. > :40:14.House of Commons. Andy Sawford became Labour MP for Corby and East
:40:15. > :40:16.Northamptonshire in 2012 and he's already a shadow minister for
:40:17. > :40:19.communities and local government. And Rupert Read is fighting to
:40:20. > :40:22.become the Greens' first MEP for the Eastern region. He is the party's
:40:23. > :40:24.national spokesperson on transport and he also teaches philosophy at
:40:25. > :40:28.the University of East Anglia. Welcome to all of you. Let's start
:40:29. > :40:38.with that date, May 22, just 18 days to go until the European and local
:40:39. > :40:41.council elections. And you know when elections are coming up and all the
:40:42. > :40:44.party leaders head your way. We've had Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband, Nigel
:40:45. > :40:47.Farage and, of course, the Prime Minister, who was in Colchester this
:40:48. > :40:49.week. David Cameron was there to launch changes to benefits for the
:40:50. > :40:53.long`term unemployed. Basically the choice is this. Either go to the job
:40:54. > :40:56.centre every day, do community work for nothing, or you could lose your
:40:57. > :41:02.benefits. Andrew Lansley, isn't this stigmatising people who, for
:41:03. > :41:04.whatever reason, cannot find a job. No, it's helping people who are
:41:05. > :41:08.long`term unemployed and, of course, it's in a situation where we've been
:41:09. > :41:11.able to have a substantial reduction in the number of people who are
:41:12. > :41:15.unemployed. In my own constituency it's gone down by a third since the
:41:16. > :41:17.elections. We've got 1.7 million more private`sector jobs. In
:41:18. > :41:21.Cambridge at the moment there are four vacancies for every person out
:41:22. > :41:24.of work. So what people who are long`term unemployed clearly need is
:41:25. > :41:26.they need the training, the work placements and intensive support
:41:27. > :41:40.that this helped to work programme is going to give them. Do you agree
:41:41. > :41:43.that that is what the help to work programme will give them? Isn't it
:41:44. > :41:47.right, Andy Sawford, to get a bit tougher? Well, of course it's right
:41:48. > :41:50.to try to help people into work, but actually this is a pretty
:41:51. > :41:53.astonishing admission of failure by the government, because it only
:41:54. > :41:58.applies after you've been out of work for three years. Now, clearly,
:41:59. > :42:01.we need to be making intervention much earlier, so Labour's compulsory
:42:02. > :42:03.jobs guarantee would kick in after two years, but for under
:42:04. > :42:06.25`year`olds the problem is stubbornly high on unemployment for
:42:07. > :42:10.under 25s still ` in my constituency and right across the region it would
:42:11. > :42:13.come in after a year. But we want to do much more and that is why voting
:42:14. > :42:17.for Labour councils across the region this May means that you will
:42:18. > :42:20.get a council that is really backing local job creation. Rupert Read, we
:42:21. > :42:23.have lower than average unemployment in the East, there are, as we've
:42:24. > :42:26.heard, loads of jobs available. So, it's good news, isn't it? Is this
:42:27. > :42:29.the way forward? No, we think that this scheme is really quite
:42:30. > :42:32.hopeless, and we're not alone in that. Oxfam and Salvation Army have
:42:33. > :42:34.already said that they won't participate. Forced volunteering is
:42:35. > :42:38.a completely absurd idea, it's an oxymoron. So we need to look at a
:42:39. > :42:41.solution which would actually work. In the Greens, we think we should
:42:42. > :42:44.reduce the length of the standard working week. Why don't we share out
:42:45. > :42:47.the jobs more? So that people who are overworked and people who are
:42:48. > :42:50.unemployed can find some sort of happy medium. They've tried it in
:42:51. > :42:54.some other countries to some success and that's the direction we should
:42:55. > :42:56.go in. OK, well, no agreement there. I wouldn't expect it, because all
:42:57. > :42:59.the parties are of course actively setting out their differing visions
:43:00. > :43:03.in the run`up to the local elections. Hundreds of seats are up
:43:04. > :43:05.for grabs in the East for some key council battle grounds. With the
:43:06. > :43:08.details, here's our political correspondent Andrew Sinclair.
:43:09. > :43:16.Elections taking place on just 20 councils across the East on May than
:43:17. > :43:19.22nd. Here they are. Anywhere that is coloured red or blue means that
:43:20. > :43:23.it's run by Labour or the Tories, grey means no overall control. Quite
:43:24. > :43:24.a few authorities like South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire
:43:25. > :43:27.have thumping Conservative majorities and they are very
:43:28. > :43:32.unlikely to change hands, but in others it is much closer. Let's have
:43:33. > :43:37.a look at Great Yarmouth, Brandon Lewis's constituency seat. Labour
:43:38. > :43:40.took control of the council last time round but have a majority of
:43:41. > :43:43.just one. Can they strengthen that, or can the Tories show they are
:43:44. > :43:47.capable of bouncing back? We're also watching the UKIP vote there very
:43:48. > :43:50.closely. They did very well in Yarmouth in last year's county
:43:51. > :43:57.council elections. What will happen this time round? Another interesting
:43:58. > :44:02.seat, Norwich, always interesting to watch. This was also a Labour gain
:44:03. > :44:06.last time round, but the Greens have been the main challengers there for
:44:07. > :44:08.some time. Lib Dems on just three and the Tories are nonexistent.
:44:09. > :44:12.Colchester, where both the Prime Minister and Nick Clegg have visited
:44:13. > :44:15.in the last week. Why? As you can see, the Lib Dems run it, but only
:44:16. > :44:20.with the help of Labour. This will be a good place to see if the core
:44:21. > :44:22.Lib Dem vote can hold up and if there is any sign of Conservative
:44:23. > :44:27.revival. Cambridge is being visited by dozens of big names. It's also in
:44:28. > :44:30.no overall control and there is a big battle going on between the Lib
:44:31. > :44:34.Dems who run it and Labour who'd like to run it. And then there's
:44:35. > :44:37.Milton Keynes. It used to be run by the Lib Dems. At the moment the
:44:38. > :44:42.Tories run it as a minority administration with Labour are
:44:43. > :44:44.pushing away. And because of boundary changes every seat is up
:44:45. > :44:50.for grabs this year, so anything could happen. Essex, Basildon and
:44:51. > :44:56.Southend are well worth watching. Both have Conservative run councils,
:44:57. > :44:59.but only just. But perhaps more interesting than which councils
:45:00. > :45:02.change hands will be how many seats change hands. More than 300 are up
:45:03. > :45:06.for grabs this year. The Tories, as you can see, have by far the largest
:45:07. > :45:11.number. Labour and the Lib Dems have about the same. UKIP and the Greens
:45:12. > :45:17.very few. The big question ` how much will this change on May 22nd?
:45:18. > :45:20.OK, that's where we stand with the numbers. Andy Sawford, if I could
:45:21. > :45:24.come to you first. Andrew was standing next to a big map there,
:45:25. > :45:29.not much red on it. You've got a huge mountain to climb, haven't you?
:45:30. > :45:32.The Eastern region, I think, you know, your viewers won't be
:45:33. > :45:35.surprised to hear me say it's not been a Labour stronghold compared to
:45:36. > :45:38.some other parts of the country. But actually we've made a lot of
:45:39. > :45:41.progress in recent years. We're looking to make very significant
:45:42. > :45:44.gains in terms of the council seats, take control of some councils like
:45:45. > :45:46.Milton Keynes in these elections, and obviously targeting these four
:45:47. > :45:51.Westminster gains. But we've made big progress in recent years in this
:45:52. > :45:54.area. Let's talk about South Cambridgeshire, Andrew Lansley. UKIP
:45:55. > :46:00.may gain some seats there. Are you worried? On what evidence? In the
:46:01. > :46:02.county council elections last year, there was one UKIP county councillor
:46:03. > :46:10.in South Cambridgeshire elections, there were none afterwards. So in
:46:11. > :46:15.any case, looking at all of these contests, there is one common theme.
:46:16. > :46:18.It is that we as Conservatives and the coalition government, we took7
:46:19. > :46:32.the mess that Labour left us, we are turning it around, we're cutting the
:46:33. > :46:35.deficit, creating jobs, one. `` 1.7million jobs. Inflation is at a
:46:36. > :46:39.five`year low, business confidence is at a ten year high. That is a
:46:40. > :46:42.basis... I'm interested in how you just batted off the UKIP question.
:46:43. > :46:48.Do you not take their challenge seriously then? Because there is a
:46:49. > :46:51.lot of support in this region. I've seen it, and I've seen the places
:46:52. > :46:55.where they have taken votes and they've taken votes from people who
:46:56. > :46:58.want some specific things. They want a referendum on Europe, and we in
:46:59. > :47:01.the Conservative Party argue on the way that they can get that because
:47:02. > :47:03.we will deliver it in the next Parliament. They want controlled
:47:04. > :47:08.migration, not uncontrolled migration like we had under Labour.
:47:09. > :47:12.We are doing that and putting that in place. And they want a strong
:47:13. > :47:16.economy, because a strong economy is the only way in which actually you
:47:17. > :47:20.have a strong country. Let me bring Rupert Read in here. Why is that
:47:21. > :47:23.kind of UKIP message appealing to voters in a way that the Green
:47:24. > :47:28.message does not seem to be getting through? UKIP have some super`rich
:47:29. > :47:32.backers and that might explain why their policies are hard`right,
:47:33. > :47:35.extremely unpleasant policies. We think when people find out more
:47:36. > :47:41.about UKIP policies, for example about the fact that they want to
:47:42. > :47:45.privatise the NHS. Let us talk about the Greens. You asked me about UKIP,
:47:46. > :47:49.the point is UKIP's policies, when people understand them, they may not
:47:50. > :47:52.like them any more. In the next few weeks of the campaign people are
:47:53. > :47:55.going to start switching on that basis to Green as a more positive
:47:56. > :47:59.alternative, are hopeful alternative to the existing parties. Let's talk
:48:00. > :48:07.about the Greens. The second biggest party on Norwich City Council, 15
:48:08. > :48:10.seats. But you haven't actually increased your total there since
:48:11. > :48:13.2010. We are fighting hard in Norwich against a Labour council
:48:14. > :48:20.which is quite well funded, again, by the National party apparatus. So
:48:21. > :48:23.we are the main challengers in Norwich, but we're also looking
:48:24. > :48:25.elsewhere in the region at this election to make breakthroughs. We
:48:26. > :48:33.are hoping to break through onto South Cambridgeshire Council and
:48:34. > :48:35.also onto South Suffolk. We think that the Green message in these
:48:36. > :48:39.local elections... Of course, our main focus now is the European
:48:40. > :48:41.elections, hoping to get me elected as our first Green parliamentarian.
:48:42. > :48:44.But we think we've got some real gains to make from the local
:48:45. > :48:48.elections as well. Andy Sawford, Labour were at an all`time low the
:48:49. > :48:51.last time they see to being fought. One would have expected you to be
:48:52. > :48:54.doing better at this stage. I think we will have to judge the results
:48:55. > :48:58.after these elections. We're working very hard to make the case that if
:48:59. > :49:02.you vote for a Labour council, and a Labour government next year you will
:49:03. > :49:04.get a government that is going to help to tackle the cost of living
:49:05. > :49:08.crisis, average families are ?1600 per year worse off. Many people are
:49:09. > :49:10.trapped in unemployment, many people live in rented accommodation in
:49:11. > :49:14.insecurity. Vote Labour and you will get double the number of social
:49:15. > :49:17.homes in your area, which is a great record. You will get the living wage
:49:18. > :49:25.from your Labour council. Lots of reasons to vote Labour. Well, it's
:49:26. > :49:28.obvious we are interested in what is going to happen on May 22, and if
:49:29. > :49:32.you're watching we presume you are as well. But it does seem that there
:49:33. > :49:35.is a large swathe of the population, to put it bluntly, who
:49:36. > :49:38.couldn't really care less. Only 32% of 18 to 24`year`olds voted in the
:49:39. > :49:41.last election, so why is that? And can politicians change it? Our
:49:42. > :49:50.reporter has been to Ipswich to find out.
:49:51. > :49:51.Two young people ` passionate about where they live, but have never
:49:52. > :49:58.voted. # I come from a small place where
:49:59. > :50:06.only a failure get broadcast... #. Pablo McSheen 23 and a keen
:50:07. > :50:15.musician. He recently recorded an album. He says that the estate where
:50:16. > :50:19.he grew up does not have enough facilities. They have a little youth
:50:20. > :50:26.club here but it does not cater for the 15`18 `year`olds. Sometimes they
:50:27. > :50:35.are standing around the road not doing anything with themselves. But
:50:36. > :50:38.Ipswich has seen changes. Millions have been spent on the waterfront
:50:39. > :50:44.and there is a new university drunk people to the town, like 21`year`old
:50:45. > :50:50.Esther. She moved from London three years ago today about your science
:50:51. > :50:55.degree. As a student you feel separated from the community and the
:50:56. > :51:00.University is the community. In the last local elections around one in
:51:01. > :51:06.three of under 24`year`olds voted, compared to over three quarters of
:51:07. > :51:09.over 65`year`olds. If you decide to leave the decision to others you
:51:10. > :51:14.cannot complain afterwards when their choice impacts on you
:51:15. > :51:18.directly. The mac schools and colleges could do more to engage us,
:51:19. > :51:26.to get us to come in and talk to young people about what local
:51:27. > :51:32.councils do. Today we have brought some young people together to meet
:51:33. > :51:37.the person who runs the council. We want to know why they are unlikely
:51:38. > :51:40.to vote. There are a lot of broken... I do not want to call it
:51:41. > :51:46.promises, but there are a few broken promises. In my mind I think that it
:51:47. > :51:50.is just me voting, so there may not be any change. Re/Max I feel as
:51:51. > :51:57.though my vote is not going to make any sort of difference. All of the
:51:58. > :52:06.local electorates take orders from the MPs in Parliament. If
:52:07. > :52:08.politicians are looking at making unpopular decisions they will
:52:09. > :52:12.targeted at the people who do not vote because that will not affect
:52:13. > :52:19.their jobs. If you do not want be targeted by politicians, we know
:52:20. > :52:24.more cuts will be coming, so you need to vote. We talked for an hour,
:52:25. > :52:30.but did it change anything? Only to look into it, something affects me
:52:31. > :52:34.and then I do not vote about it, that is silly. This campus will be
:52:35. > :52:38.used as a polling station, giving thousands of students are very local
:52:39. > :52:42.police to cast their votes. Students, like everyone else, have
:52:43. > :52:48.until Tuesday to register for the May elections. The question is, how
:52:49. > :52:53.many will bother? Broken promises, my vote does not
:52:54. > :52:57.count, I cannot make a difference. I will ask each of you to make your
:52:58. > :53:04.pitch to young people, potential voters. Keep it snappy. I totally
:53:05. > :53:09.relate to what those young people were saying. We are trying to say,
:53:10. > :53:14.do not give up on politics completely because the bad guys will
:53:15. > :53:18.win. In the recent budget, David Cameron and George Osborne were
:53:19. > :53:21.deliberately clearly appealing to older people. They are relying on
:53:22. > :53:33.young people not voting. Prove them wrong. Thank you. Lets not talk
:53:34. > :53:39.about goodies and baddies. But look at policies like zero our
:53:40. > :53:47.contracts, and employment for young people, that is really worrying. The
:53:48. > :53:51.cost of living traces particularly affects young people. They will be
:53:52. > :53:59.better off with Labour `` cost of living traces. We bring the youth
:54:00. > :54:02.Parliament to Westminster and I have seen a lot of people who take an
:54:03. > :54:06.interest in politics and see it through. I have seen the same be
:54:07. > :54:12.true in villages in South Cambridgeshire Fred the created a
:54:13. > :54:17.youth Council `` Grady created. Give young people a chance, in my opinion
:54:18. > :54:25.they take it up. It can appear a bit stuffy? Of course. No offence meant.
:54:26. > :54:31.As leader of the House of Commons, could you be doing work? You are
:54:32. > :54:37.absolutely right. The Hansard demonstrated this week that we have
:54:38. > :54:41.seen a doubling of the number of young people who are using social
:54:42. > :54:48.media to engage in politics. Yes, we can do that. In Parliament, one of
:54:49. > :54:52.the things we will be doing this week is creating a petitioning
:54:53. > :54:55.system to Parliament. We do not want Parliament just to be sending people
:54:56. > :54:59.there for five years and then five years later you decide whether to be
:55:00. > :55:04.let them. During that period people should be able to go to their
:55:05. > :55:08.Parliament, here are their issues debated and be listened to. I know
:55:09. > :55:13.that you use Twitter. How'd you combat the fact that government,
:55:14. > :55:21.local or national, feels out of touch with young people? I have a
:55:22. > :55:29.lot of engagement with young people, not just on Twitter. Face also gives
:55:30. > :55:35.me more local contact `` Facebook. To some extent, up one politician at
:55:36. > :55:44.a time, we have to rebuild trust of people. That has been broken. Over
:55:45. > :55:51.Iraq, for example. The Greens should be harnessing single issues.
:55:52. > :55:53.Absolutely. Polling is showing that the support for Greens is higher
:55:54. > :55:58.with young people and students is that young people realise that the
:55:59. > :56:02.future depends on putting into practice the kind of policies that
:56:03. > :56:07.we are putting forward is, like our green transport revolution, green
:56:08. > :56:11.energy revolution. Perhaps more people will be looking for more
:56:12. > :56:16.choice. This year the European elections to offer a lot of choice.
:56:17. > :56:25.Last time the vote share in the East was 31% for the Conservatives, 20%
:56:26. > :56:28.for UKIP, 14% by the Lib Dems, 10.5% for Labour and 9% for the Greens,
:56:29. > :56:34.but they are not the only ones citing the Europeans. But let's take
:56:35. > :56:42.a look at some of the other parties that are standing. The English
:56:43. > :56:46.Democrats have launched the the campaign. It is the UK state
:56:47. > :56:49.structure which we think is operating against England's
:56:50. > :56:51.interests. You only have to think about the fact that in Scotland and
:56:52. > :56:58.Wales there are free prescriptions for every body. In England you have
:56:59. > :57:03.to pay if you are elderly for residential care, in Scotland it is
:57:04. > :57:06.free. These are all examples of why we actually need to stand up for
:57:07. > :57:13.ourselves and the English nation. That is the purpose of the English
:57:14. > :57:17.Democrats. We believe that a Socialist union would be preferable
:57:18. > :57:23.because we believe it is based on what people need rather than what
:57:24. > :57:28.big business need. All of the European companies at the moment are
:57:29. > :57:34.cutting living standards, lowering the minimum wage. This is not
:57:35. > :57:41.anything to do with UKIP. This is me. I have been campaigning against
:57:42. > :57:45.our membership of the European Union since 1994 when I stood at the
:57:46. > :57:51.Dudley by`election. Nothing to do with UKIP. Our vote is a different
:57:52. > :57:54.road. We do not like it, we are opposed to it, because free movement
:57:55. > :57:59.seems to mean that they all come this way. We do not move the other
:58:00. > :58:06.way. Everyone is coming here and it is because the European Union have
:58:07. > :58:10.control of our borders. We'd like to withdraw from the EU and play the
:58:11. > :58:15.money back into our communities, because there are so many
:58:16. > :58:18.communities that need help at the moment that have been filled by the
:58:19. > :58:22.government. We have to stand for traditional marriage, the redefined
:58:23. > :58:29.marriage bill has been pushed through and we really want to see
:58:30. > :58:34.the abolition of that. And also for sanctity of human life. Of course,
:58:35. > :58:39.it is not all about elections and political life does go on. But news
:58:40. > :58:45.of help for deprived areas, police manager and a care homes can do, ``
:58:46. > :58:52.your home scandal, here is our 62nd round up.
:58:53. > :58:56.The government has rendered new assisted areas, mostly times along
:58:57. > :59:00.the east coast along with parts of Northamptonshire. No cash upfront,
:59:01. > :59:05.businesses go to the top of the pecking order for financial help.
:59:06. > :59:10.Plans to merge police control routes in Suffolk and Norfolk were
:59:11. > :59:17.scrapped. It was scuppered against the wishes of both chief constables.
:59:18. > :59:20.The trust and confidence of the people in Suffolk is absolutely
:59:21. > :59:26.imperative than this and I did not think it could be delivered.
:59:27. > :59:31.Shocking images of abuse were uncovered by BBC's Panorama. Norman
:59:32. > :59:34.Lamb promised a clamp`down. There are dreadful things that happen and
:59:35. > :59:40.we are they happen we have to take very effective action. Big protest
:59:41. > :59:45.in saffron Walden against hundreds of new homes. It is the old dilemma,
:59:46. > :59:55.towns need to expand but many do not want the development. And the road
:59:56. > :00:02.map 11 `` and the A11 has been opened.
:00:03. > :00:09.You happy with the bypass? We need to look at what is coming, not what
:00:10. > :00:13.happened. What about the A14? The old parties basically want to build
:00:14. > :00:20.more and. We say that enough is enough. Let us resist the kind of
:00:21. > :00:24.overdevelopment that we are facing in a large part of our region. We
:00:25. > :00:28.are talking about nine miles of road and it has been decades coming. What
:00:29. > :00:33.hope is there for the rest of the region and the infrastructure? That
:00:34. > :00:38.is illustrative of the fact that when the sun was shining Labour did
:00:39. > :00:45.not appear at the wrists. There are things that were not done by Labour
:00:46. > :00:51.and we are doing them. Yes it is the A11, yes it will be the A14, but
:00:52. > :00:56.just this week we have committed to rebuild Papworth Hospital. When I
:00:57. > :01:00.first came a member of Parliament went to see the Health Minister to
:01:01. > :01:03.try to get him to commit to the rebuilding of it and that was 17
:01:04. > :01:08.years ago. Under this coalition government, it is going to happen.
:01:09. > :01:13.So that was your highlight of the week! What about yours? I am
:01:14. > :01:20.guessing the assisted status for Corby? We have had for wasted years
:01:21. > :01:24.under this government. Just as they get the election we are being told
:01:25. > :01:27.that things that should have happened for years are now going to
:01:28. > :01:33.happen. We have been losing out for four years because the previous Tory
:01:34. > :01:38.county council and MP would not back assisted status for Corby. I have
:01:39. > :01:45.lobbied and no business in my area will have a fighting chance. That is
:01:46. > :01:55.all we have got time for. Thank you to all of our guests. That is all
:01:56. > :01:58.for now. We will be backing in Vienna to live in the next week when
:01:59. > :02:04.we will be looking at some of the target seats in the local election
:02:05. > :02:04.`` we will be back again at 11am next week.
:02:05. > :02:09.on our website. That is all we have got time for this week. Next week,
:02:10. > :02:17.London's local elections. Welcome back. Now, the Government is
:02:18. > :02:20.not very good at predicting the future. That's according to a report
:02:21. > :02:23.from a committee of MPs this morning who say that its Horizon Scanning
:02:24. > :02:25.programme that's supposed to identify potential threats, risks,
:02:26. > :02:31.emerging issues and opportunities isn't much good at reading the tea
:02:32. > :02:35.leaves. But can it really be any worse than our panel? Here they are
:02:36. > :02:45.predicting the future of then culture secretary Maria Miller
:02:46. > :02:49.before Easter. Can she survive? I'm getting out of
:02:50. > :02:55.the prediction game after I said Nick Clegg would win the debates.
:02:56. > :03:00.But I almost think she might. If there is a big event that moves this
:03:01. > :03:07.off the front pages. David Cameron will want to keep Maria Miller until
:03:08. > :03:13.at least his summary shuffle. I think they will get rid of her. I
:03:14. > :03:19.think they will do the decent thing after exhausting all other options.
:03:20. > :03:27.Maria Miller resigned a few days later of course! The best and the
:03:28. > :03:31.brightest, when did that slip in? This week it will be exactly a year
:03:32. > :03:38.until the General Election, so what better time to get our panel to gaze
:03:39. > :03:44.into their crystal balls again. What's the outcome of the election
:03:45. > :03:52.in 2015? I'm going to go with the polls and say Ed Miliband as the
:03:53. > :03:57.Prime Minister. But the polls are only a snapshot of opinion now, you
:03:58. > :04:05.think they will be the same in a year? No, I think they will narrow.
:04:06. > :04:09.I think UKIP's vote share will fall. I think they are currently coasting
:04:10. > :04:17.on a high and that will tailor way so they won't take as many votes off
:04:18. > :04:24.the Tories. Labour with a majority or is the largest party. Another
:04:25. > :04:30.liberal Conservative coalition, and I say that because he is already in
:04:31. > :04:36.touching distance of Labour. I don't think UKIP will get 15, maybe half
:04:37. > :04:40.of that, and most of the votes they lose will either not vote at all go
:04:41. > :04:45.to the Tories and that should be enough to be the biggest party in a
:04:46. > :04:51.hung parliament I don't envisage a Tory majority. I am also going to go
:04:52. > :04:55.with the polls. For Ed Miliband to be hoping to win at this stage, he
:04:56. > :05:03.has got to be way ahead in the polls. Labour needs to be much
:05:04. > :05:07.further ahead if he is going to win so David Cameron, probably the
:05:08. > :05:11.leader of the largest party. Last time after the election David
:05:12. > :05:15.Cameron went to the 1922 committee and announced he was Prime Minister
:05:16. > :05:19.as head of the Coalition. He has agreed this time he will consult
:05:20. > :05:24.them and it will be much more difficult for him to get a
:05:25. > :05:31.coalition. People at home have now concluded there will be a Liberal
:05:32. > :05:35.Democrat landslide! Are we going to have debates? Yes, probably further
:05:36. > :05:43.away from polling day then last time. That is the Liberal Democrat
:05:44. > :05:48.point, isn't it? Yes, it sucks all the life out of the campaign, so the
:05:49. > :05:51.last six weeks will be left to traditional campaigning. What did
:05:52. > :06:01.you make of this in the Sunday Times this morning, this two, three, five
:06:02. > :06:09.formula. There should be a Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg debate, then
:06:10. > :06:19.there should be another one with them and UKIP and the Greens. It
:06:20. > :06:24.might be testing the patience of the nation to tune into all of those. If
:06:25. > :06:29.you're going to say Nigel Farage should be there, the Green party
:06:30. > :06:35.should be too. They know that as soon as you put them on a podium
:06:36. > :06:40.next to them, he looks like he has equal stature and that is a problem.
:06:41. > :06:45.David Cameron does not want the debates to happen on the way they
:06:46. > :06:50.happened last time. It is generally regarded, Lynton Crosby believes
:06:51. > :06:55.they were a disaster for David Cameron because they allowed Nick
:06:56. > :07:01.Clegg to be the fresh person. He knows he cannot say no to them so
:07:02. > :07:05.the moment you see David Cameron suggesting that Caroline Lucas
:07:06. > :07:09.should be in the debate, you know he is not serious. What he will try to
:07:10. > :07:13.do is have more debates, have them outside the main part of the general
:07:14. > :07:17.election so that it doesn't dominate. The problem the David
:07:18. > :07:23.Cameron is that the campaign will be much longer. It is a five-week
:07:24. > :07:29.campaign so it is quite difficult for him to say we will only have one
:07:30. > :07:32.debate in that campaign. I think smother it with love, hopefully it
:07:33. > :07:38.will go to the courts for him and hopefully they will never happen and
:07:39. > :07:42.he will be delighted. The European election and the local elections are
:07:43. > :07:47.coming up. The three mainstream parties are saying it is a flash in
:07:48. > :07:53.the pan, they don't really matter and so on, but if UKIP comes a
:07:54. > :07:58.strong first, if Labour comes a poor second and the Tories come a poor
:07:59. > :08:04.third, it will have consequences for all three, and the Lib Dems come
:08:05. > :08:08.forth or even fish. It will have consequences and not just in the
:08:09. > :08:11.media but on the ground. One of the big stories is what will happen to
:08:12. > :08:20.the Lib Dems, they face losing all of their MEPs. A good result for
:08:21. > :08:24.them is lit -- in the local elections is losing 250 councillors.
:08:25. > :08:31.These are the most interesting elections we have had for some
:08:32. > :08:34.time. Are we heading for a Nick Clegg summer leadership crisis? I
:08:35. > :08:38.think we are heading towards reversing the clock back to where we
:08:39. > :08:44.were before the Eastleigh by-election. That quiet and things
:08:45. > :08:49.down for Nick Clegg. If they lose all their MEPs, and there is a real
:08:50. > :08:54.chance they will, Vince Cable will be out on manoeuvres because age is
:08:55. > :09:01.not on his side. If he can say Nick Clegg is a loser and a failure, he
:09:02. > :09:16.will be back. Will the Tories go into headless chicken mode if they
:09:17. > :09:23.come third? Yes, if UKIP come first there will not be as much panic as
:09:24. > :09:28.if Labour come first. Is Labour comes a poor second, will there be
:09:29. > :09:32.some pressure on Ed Miliband to reopen his attitude to the
:09:33. > :09:37.referendum? I don't think so and my colleague was talking to Labour
:09:38. > :09:41.sources who said he is absolutely not going to. That is something you
:09:42. > :09:46.can say definitely about him, he decides on a course and he sticks to
:09:47. > :09:51.it. There is one potential upside for David Cameron in a really bad
:09:52. > :09:55.Conservative results, it could strengthen his hand in the
:09:56. > :09:59.renegotiations of Britain's EU membership because he doesn't even
:10:00. > :10:07.need to say to Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande it is there. David
:10:08. > :10:12.Cameron hasn't just been fighting for his party into the local
:10:13. > :10:14.elections. He also got his knuckles wrapped by the Speaker, John Bercow,
:10:15. > :10:22.at Prime Minister's Question Time, for talking for too long. Take a
:10:23. > :10:27.look at this. There is a better future ahead of us but we must not
:10:28. > :10:32.go backward to the policies that put us in this mess in the first place.
:10:33. > :10:50.I don't know what they are paying him, Mr Speaker. Order, order. I
:10:51. > :10:53.haven't finished! In response to that question, the Prime Minister
:10:54. > :11:01.has finished and he can take it from me that he has finished. I can't
:11:02. > :11:07.remember a speaker ever speaking to a Prime Minister like that. Clearly
:11:08. > :11:12.in that case, John Bercow crossed a line. It is Prime Minister 's
:11:13. > :11:17.questions, he is entitled to answer the questions. There is really bad
:11:18. > :11:23.blood between those two, going back a long way. They hate each other and
:11:24. > :11:29.the worrying thing about that was the look of triumphalism on the
:11:30. > :11:32.speaker's face afterwards. He is a remarkable, revolutionary speaker
:11:33. > :11:37.who has made the House of Commons more relevant, he is holding the
:11:38. > :11:43.executive to account, but that look on his face showed he had crossed
:11:44. > :11:46.the line. Does he survive after the next election? He has improved the
:11:47. > :11:53.importance of the Commons, is that enough to keep him in the Speaker 's
:11:54. > :11:59.chair? The most public bit of the Commons is still the Prime Minister
:12:00. > :12:03.'s questions, and we can conclude that John Bercow's interventions
:12:04. > :12:10.take more time than any delays he complains about so I wouldn't be
:12:11. > :12:18.surprised if, in a few years' time, someone else replaces him. He is
:12:19. > :12:24.quite popular with Labour, is he not? Yes, he is married to a Labour
:12:25. > :12:29.activist and is notably sympathetic to Labour but I think this is a
:12:30. > :12:34.difficult situation. David Cameron also overstepped the line. As soon
:12:35. > :12:40.as the speaker says order, the idea is that the House was to order and
:12:41. > :12:46.David Cameron pushed him. They are both trying to score points off each
:12:47. > :12:53.other. We cover Prime Minister 's questions every week on the daily
:12:54. > :12:58.politics, and there is a danger that he sees it as an opportunity to do
:12:59. > :13:02.some grandstanding. You slightly sends his vanity gets the better of
:13:03. > :13:07.him. It is supposed to be Prime Minister 's questions. At the end of
:13:08. > :13:12.that session, the Speaker read out a statement from the Chief clerk, and
:13:13. > :13:17.immensely respected figure, saying he is taking early retirement. It is
:13:18. > :13:21.pretty clear that the reason he has decided to go early is because he is
:13:22. > :13:24.finding it tricky to maintain a cordial relationship with the
:13:25. > :13:29.speaker, and the speaker might want to think about his man management
:13:30. > :13:32.skills. That's all for today. The Daily Politics will be back on BBC
:13:33. > :13:36.Two at lunchtime from Tuesday onwards. Remember, it is a bank
:13:37. > :13:39.holiday tomorrow. I'll be back here at 11am next week. Remember - if
:13:40. > :13:44.it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.