11/05/2014

:00:35. > :00:37.Morning, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics, where we're talking

:00:38. > :00:46.about the Europe-wide contest that really matters. No, not Eurovision.

:00:47. > :00:50.The European elections. There are local elections across England too

:00:51. > :00:53.on May 22nd. The party leaders are campaigning ahead of polling day.

:00:54. > :01:00.The results could be a pointer to the Big One, May 2015. We'll be

:01:01. > :01:03.speaking to the man in charge of Labour's election battle plan. Has

:01:04. > :01:06.the opposition really got its sights set on all-out victory in 2015? Or

:01:07. > :01:13.will it just be content with squeaking home? And you can't

:01:14. > :01:17.mention elections these days without talking about the impact of this

:01:18. > :01:30.man, Nigel Farage. I'll be asking him if UKIP really

:01:31. > :01:42.And I'm joined by three journalists guaranteed to bring a touch of

:01:43. > :01:45.Eurovision glamour to your Sunday morning. With views more

:01:46. > :01:48.controversial than a bearded Austrian drag act and twice the

:01:49. > :01:58.dress sense, it's Nick Watt, Helen Lewis and Janan Ganesh. So you might

:01:59. > :02:01.have thought you've already heard David Cameron promise an in-out

:02:02. > :02:03.referendum on EU membership in 2017 if he's still Prime Minister. Many

:02:04. > :02:09.times. Many, many times. if he's still Prime Minister. Many

:02:10. > :02:11.obviously doesn't think you've been listening, because he's been saying

:02:12. > :02:16.it again today. Here he is speaking to the BBC earlier. We will hold a

:02:17. > :02:20.referendum by the end of 2017. It will be a referendum on an in-out

:02:21. > :02:24.basis. Do we stay in a reformed European Union or do we leave? And

:02:25. > :02:27.I've said very clearly that whatever the outcome of the next election,

:02:28. > :02:30.and of course I want an overall majority and I'm hoping and

:02:31. > :02:33.believing I can win an overall majority, that people should be in

:02:34. > :02:42.no doubt I will not become Prime Minister unless I can guarantee that

:02:43. > :02:47.we will hold a referendum. Here's saying there that an overall

:02:48. > :02:51.majority there will definitely be a referendum. If these are the

:02:52. > :02:56.minority position, he won't form a new coalition unless they agree to a

:02:57. > :02:59.referendum, too. The Lib Dems a pulmonary agree to that. They

:03:00. > :03:03.probably will because the Prime ministers have a strong argument

:03:04. > :03:07.which is I gave you a referendum back in 2010 so the least I need is

:03:08. > :03:11.theirs and the Lib Dems are the only party who have stood in recent

:03:12. > :03:14.elections on a clear mandate to hold a referendum, so it is difficult for

:03:15. > :03:19.them to say no, there was interesting the interview he did

:03:20. > :03:22.earlier today. He named everything was going to ask for. The most

:03:23. > :03:27.controversial with him, as he said in his speech last year, he wants to

:03:28. > :03:32.take Britain out of the commitment to make the European Union and ever

:03:33. > :03:36.closer union. That is a very big ask, but the point is, he may well

:03:37. > :03:40.get it because the choice for the European Union now, France and

:03:41. > :03:46.Germany, is a clear wonderful do Britain in or out? Previously, it

:03:47. > :03:49.was can you put up with a British prime ministers being annoying? I

:03:50. > :03:54.think you'll find the answer is they are willing to pay a price but not

:03:55. > :03:57.any price to keep Britain in. In this scenario, Labour would have

:03:58. > :04:03.lost the election again because we are talking the slowly happen if Mr

:04:04. > :04:08.Cameron is the largest party or has an overall majority. Could you then

:04:09. > :04:12.see Labour deciding we had better go along with a referendum, too? I

:04:13. > :04:14.think that's unlikely because as I think that's unlikely because

:04:15. > :04:16.there's a huge upside for that for I think what's interesting is the idea

:04:17. > :04:21.he would for minority government. Would you get confidence and look at

:04:22. > :04:25.other options that might well happen with the way the arithmetic is going

:04:26. > :04:28.or is he going to hold out and say the only way I will be Prime

:04:29. > :04:33.Minister is in a majority Conservative government? No, the

:04:34. > :04:37.implication of his remarks was I wouldn't form a coalition government

:04:38. > :04:42.unless my coalition partners would also agree to vote for a referendum.

:04:43. > :04:46.He's basically talking about is negotiating strategy in those

:04:47. > :04:51.coalition talks. It's a red line and a huge opportunity for the Lib Dems,

:04:52. > :04:55.because they know David Cameron absolutely has to do, for accidental

:04:56. > :04:59.reasons, as a person who survives as Tory leader, to ask for that

:05:00. > :05:03.referendum, so they can ask anything they want in return and if I was

:05:04. > :05:06.Nick Clegg, I would work out in the next year one absolute colossal

:05:07. > :05:13.negotiating demand for those coalition talks. For a party around

:05:14. > :05:16.10% in the polls, they will do have the Prime Minister over a barrel on

:05:17. > :05:28.this one, assuming that coalition talks goes well. They could make

:05:29. > :05:32.Michael Gove Tbyte meeting. OK, we need to move on. So, the politicians

:05:33. > :05:35.are out and about on what used to be called the stump ahead of local and

:05:36. > :05:38.European elections in less than two weeks' time. But, without wanting to

:05:39. > :05:41.depress you on a damp Sunday morning, the party strategists are

:05:42. > :05:43.already hard at work on their campaign plans for the General

:05:44. > :05:47.Election next May. Yes, it's less than a year to go. They may have

:05:48. > :05:50.taken their time, but Labour's battleplan for 2015 is starting to

:05:51. > :05:52.take shape. As well as take promising to freeze your energy

:05:53. > :05:55.bills, and reintroduce the 50p rate of tax, Ed Miliband now says he

:05:56. > :06:01.wants to intervene in the housing market to keep rents down. There's

:06:02. > :06:06.even talk that the party leadership wants to bring more railway lines

:06:07. > :06:10.into public ownership. And Labour is gambling that its big push on the

:06:11. > :06:14.cost of living will see it through to the general election despite

:06:15. > :06:16.evidence that growth is firmly back. Labour's campaign chief Douglas

:06:17. > :06:24.Alexander hopes it all adds up to victory next May. But so far, the

:06:25. > :06:28.evidence is hitting home very thin. One survey today shows that 56% of

:06:29. > :06:32.people don't think Mr Miliband is up to the job of Prime Minister. As we

:06:33. > :06:35.head towards one of the least predictable general elections in 70

:06:36. > :06:40.years, has Labour got a message to win seats up and down the country?

:06:41. > :06:48.And Labour's election co-ordinator and Shadow Foreign Secretary,

:06:49. > :06:51.Douglas Alexander, joins me now. Welcome to Sunday Politics. A lot of

:06:52. > :06:55.these policies announced polar pretty well. By popular with the

:06:56. > :07:01.country. When you add them together, it's a move to the left and what

:07:02. > :07:03.would be wrong with that? I think is your packet suggests, the contours

:07:04. > :07:09.in the coming campaign are becoming clear. Our judgement is the defining

:07:10. > :07:13.issue of the year in British politics will be the widening gap

:07:14. > :07:16.between the wealth of the country and the finances of ordinary

:07:17. > :07:19.families. We believe it will be a cost of living election and we have

:07:20. > :07:23.been setting out our thinking in relation to energy prices and rent,

:07:24. > :07:26.but you will hear more from Labour Party in the coming months because

:07:27. > :07:31.we're now less than one year away from a decisive moment. If the

:07:32. > :07:35.leftish think tank suggested any of his policies in that Tony Blair

:07:36. > :07:42.years, you would have opposed them. Let's be clear, when not going for

:07:43. > :07:45.an interest but seeking to secure a majority for the only way to do that

:07:46. > :07:48.is not simply to appeal to your base, but to the centre ground. I

:07:49. > :07:54.believe we got genuine opportunities in the next year. You have the

:07:55. > :07:58.Conservatives in a struggle with UKIP on the right of politics. The

:07:59. > :08:02.Lib Dems 9% of trying to find their base, and there's a genuine

:08:03. > :08:06.opportunity in the next year for Labour to dominate the centre ground

:08:07. > :08:10.of politics and secure the majority Labour government we are planning

:08:11. > :08:21.for in the coming year. I notice you didn't deny you wouldn't have

:08:22. > :08:24.opposed. You say you have got an message for aspirational voters in

:08:25. > :08:28.the South. This is what John Denham said. He thinks you're talking too

:08:29. > :08:44.much to your core vote. He is right to recognise we took a

:08:45. > :08:47.terrible beating in 2010. 29%. If you look at what we've done in the

:08:48. > :08:52.last week, for example, the signature policy on rent Ed Miliband

:08:53. > :08:56.announced to launch the campaign, there's now more than 9 million

:08:57. > :09:00.people in the country in the private rented sector, more than 1 million

:09:01. > :09:03.families. Many of them are in the south-east. They are seeing

:09:04. > :09:08.circumstances where, suddenly, landlord will increase the rent and

:09:09. > :09:12.they put the pressure involved in schooling, health care facing the

:09:13. > :09:16.families, so it is important both in terms of policy and in terms of

:09:17. > :09:19.politics that we speak to the whole country, not simply to one part of

:09:20. > :09:27.it falls up what is the average rise in event last year? I don't know.

:09:28. > :09:34.Can you tell me? 1%. 1% not in real terms. I'm not sure what the problem

:09:35. > :09:38.is. It will happen to wages in last year, we are facing circumstances

:09:39. > :09:45.where people will be worse off, up to ?1600 off worse and frankly, if

:09:46. > :09:50.our opponents want to argue that the economy has healed and they deserve

:09:51. > :09:54.a victory lap, good luck to them because actually, what we are

:09:55. > :09:58.hearing from the Buddhist public, not just in the north and south, is

:09:59. > :10:02.not the cost living crisis is continuing and it affects families.

:10:03. > :10:07.There was nothing aspirational about your party election broadcast for

:10:08. > :10:11.the European elections. It looked like crude class war to money

:10:12. > :10:14.people. That's a bit of it. Bedroom tax. Isn't it going to look bad that

:10:15. > :10:20.two thirds of those affected are disabled? Who cares? They can't

:10:21. > :10:28.fight back. Shall be lay-offs and NHS nurses? The National Health

:10:29. > :10:38.Service? Oh yes. Mr Cameron? Who said that? Me. My gosh. The man has

:10:39. > :10:44.shrunk. He's actually shrunk. What shall we do with him? Can we hunt

:10:45. > :10:50.him? Nothing about Europe, Labour policy. News that the Tories would

:10:51. > :10:56.result in negative campaigning and smear. You didn't tell you would be

:10:57. > :10:59.just as bad. Let's start the party broadcast. The one thing guaranteed

:11:00. > :11:06.to have most people reaching for the remote control these days are the

:11:07. > :11:09.words, there now follows a party but the broadcast. I make no apology in

:11:10. > :11:14.the factory to be innovative in how we presented. It's factual. It was a

:11:15. > :11:19.policy -based critic of this government. And the Lib Dems role

:11:20. > :11:23.within it. So you're claiming it's factual to betray the camera and

:11:24. > :11:31.cabinet is not even knowing what the NHS is, -- the Cameron Cabinet. They

:11:32. > :11:36.attack the disabled because they can't fight back. The Pinellas

:11:37. > :11:43.Tanner severely Prime Minister Sun and he was treated during a short

:11:44. > :11:46.life by the NHS. It's a fact many disabled people across the country

:11:47. > :11:50.including in my constituency have been directly affected by the

:11:51. > :11:53.bedroom tax. And ultimately, this Conservative led government,

:11:54. > :11:59.including the Lib Dems, will be held accountable by the politicians. You

:12:00. > :12:03.say that, the Prime Minister, who had a severely disabled son of. I

:12:04. > :12:10.you not ashamed about? I shadowed Iain Duncan Smith of five months

:12:11. > :12:13.also they don't have the excuses of seeing that saying nobody told them

:12:14. > :12:16.the consequences of the bedroom tax. They went into this with their eyes

:12:17. > :12:20.open. They knew about the hardship and difficulty. If they were

:12:21. > :12:23.one-bedroom properties available across the country for people to

:12:24. > :12:30.move into, their argument would be OK but they knew they were dealing

:12:31. > :12:33.with the most vulnerable people. Did you sign off that part of the

:12:34. > :12:39.broadcast? Of course I stand by the fact of it. I wish David Cameron and

:12:40. > :12:43.Iain Duncan Smith would apologise to the disabled people of the country

:12:44. > :12:46.and the poorest people for the effects of the bedroom tax. I hope

:12:47. > :12:52.we get that apology between now and election. As someone who thinks

:12:53. > :12:58.integrity is important in politics, not ashamed of this kind of thing?

:12:59. > :13:00.It's important we scrutinise the policies of this government as well

:13:01. > :13:07.as adding a positive agenda for change. You want that you won't

:13:08. > :13:12.promise this is the last time we'll see such a negative press campaign?

:13:13. > :13:15.I don't think it is negative or personal to scrutinise the

:13:16. > :13:20.government. So we'll get more of this? I'm less interested in the

:13:21. > :13:25.background of the cabinet than their views. You call the upper-class

:13:26. > :13:29.twits. It's for the British public to make a judgement in terms of the

:13:30. > :13:36.British... That's how you depicted them. We are held in accountable for

:13:37. > :13:41.the bedroom tax, the NHS, taxation, and our record they have to defend.

:13:42. > :13:45.One reason are so fearful in this election is actually because they

:13:46. > :13:50.know they have a poor record. Let's look at other part of the election

:13:51. > :13:56.campaign. This poster. Particularly digitally doing the rounds. On that

:13:57. > :14:02.shopping basket, can you tell us which items take the full 20% VAT?

:14:03. > :14:06.It's representative of household shopping, which includes items like

:14:07. > :14:18.cleaning products, and we know that food is not that trouble. People

:14:19. > :14:25.don't go to the supermarket and say this is -- vatable. So you are

:14:26. > :14:34.denying that ?450 extra is being paid? Yes, where'd you get that

:14:35. > :14:41.figure? For an average family to pay ?450 a year extra VAT, they would

:14:42. > :14:47.have to spend ?21,600 a year on vatable products at 20%. The average

:14:48. > :14:51.take-home pay is only 21,009. They have got to spend on all sorts of

:14:52. > :14:55.things which are zero VAT. So in addition to the items, has a range

:14:56. > :15:01.of products people face in terms of VAT. How could an average family of

:15:02. > :15:10.?21,000 a year spent 21,006 and the pound a year on 20% vatable items?

:15:11. > :15:19.It's not an annual figure, is it? So what is it then? If it's an annual,

:15:20. > :15:22.what is it? The increased VAT in this parliament is calculated over

:15:23. > :15:31.the course of a Parliament. For the whole of the Parliament? And you're

:15:32. > :15:35.illustrated this with a shopping basket which almost has no VAT on it

:15:36. > :15:39.at all? People will be buying a weekly shop in the course of this

:15:40. > :15:44.Parliament every week. Did you sign off on this as well? Of course. It

:15:45. > :15:48.didn't dawn on you you're putting things on it which have no VAT? If

:15:49. > :15:54.you want to argue some people go to the shops and say these are vatable

:15:55. > :16:02.or not, I disagree. Even your rent cap announcement went wrong. You're

:16:03. > :16:12.working on the rent rises and it turns out it wasn't. It was a post

:16:13. > :16:15.your policy. It is the exception rather than the rule to have the

:16:16. > :16:19.position we have at the moment. In Northern Ireland we have seen the

:16:20. > :16:22.continued rise in terms of the rented sector but there is a

:16:23. > :16:31.widespread recognition that for those people in the rented sector,

:16:32. > :16:37.change is necessary. Are you coordinating this campaign? It seems

:16:38. > :16:46.accident prone. This is a party that has set the agenda more effectively

:16:47. > :16:50.than a Conservative party that said when David Cameron was elected he

:16:51. > :16:58.wasn't going to bang on about Europe. The day after the election

:16:59. > :17:05.we expect the Conservative party to be engulfed in crisis. I'm proud of

:17:06. > :17:08.what we talk about and I think there is a clear contrast about a party

:17:09. > :17:14.talking about issues people care about, and a Conservative party

:17:15. > :17:20.talking about exclusively a referendum. Are you in charge of the

:17:21. > :17:26.campaign? I am coordinating the campaign is, yes. The expensive

:17:27. > :17:31.election guru you have hired, has he been involved in any of this? We

:17:32. > :17:35.have started our discussions with him. You are going to have to brief

:17:36. > :17:43.him about British politics because he doesn't know anything about it. I

:17:44. > :17:48.make no apology for hiring him. He has a lot of experience in winning

:17:49. > :17:54.tight elections and that is what we are expecting. If you are expecting

:17:55. > :18:01.us to say, they have passed and we have to hold them accountable, then

:18:02. > :18:05.I am sorry but we have a campaign that holds the Government and the

:18:06. > :18:16.Conservatives to account for what I think is a very hopeless record in

:18:17. > :18:19.government. Thank you. He leads a party with zero MPs but

:18:20. > :18:22.his media presence is huge. He's had an expenses scandal, but the public

:18:23. > :18:25.didn't seem to mind. He's got a privileged background but he's seen

:18:26. > :18:28.as an anti-establishment champion. Nothing seems to stick to him, not

:18:29. > :18:32.even eggs. I speak of course of Nigel Farage. We'll talk to him in a

:18:33. > :18:35.moment, but first Giles has been out on the campaign trail ahead of

:18:36. > :18:37.elections that could make or break the UKIP leader.

:18:38. > :18:41.Nigel Farage likes a stage, and at this stage of the Euro and local

:18:42. > :18:46.election campaign he is, like his party, in buoyant mood. They feel

:18:47. > :18:51.they are on the verge of what they see as causing an earthquake in

:18:52. > :18:55.British politics. Today Nigel is filling thousands seat venues and

:18:56. > :19:03.bigger. Not that there's much sign of that at this press launch. But

:19:04. > :19:07.it's a threat with serious money behind it, that they believe the

:19:08. > :19:09.media and the political elite just haven't realised yet, much less

:19:10. > :19:12.learned how to counter it. Not that it's all been plain sailing.

:19:13. > :19:14.Offensive comments from some candidates has not only seen UKIP

:19:15. > :19:21.labelled as racist, but necessitated a rally by the party to visibly and

:19:22. > :19:24.verbally challenge that. The offensive idiotic statements made by

:19:25. > :19:28.this handful of people have been lifted up and presented to the great

:19:29. > :19:34.British public as if they represent the view of this party, which they

:19:35. > :19:45.do not. They never have and they never will. APPLAUSE

:19:46. > :19:54.I don't care what you call us, but from this moment on, please do not

:19:55. > :20:03.call must trust a racist party. We are not a racist party.

:20:04. > :20:05.The need to say that is not just about the European and local

:20:06. > :20:09.elections even at that campaign launch it's clear UKIP's leader has

:20:10. > :20:11.set his sights firmly on the ultimate prize. I come from the

:20:12. > :20:15.south of England and I would not want to be seen as an opportunist

:20:16. > :20:19.heading to the north, north Norfolk or whatever it will be. I will make

:20:20. > :20:26.my mind up and stand in the general election for somewhere in Kent, East

:20:27. > :20:29.Sussex, Hampshire, somewhere in my home patch. Back at UKIP HQ they are

:20:30. > :20:39.still drilling down how the last fortnight of campaigning should go.

:20:40. > :20:42.They aren't taking any chances, and one imagines having offices above

:20:43. > :20:45.those of Max Clifford is a reminder how fragile built reputations can be

:20:46. > :20:48.of the bubble bursting. They want their reputation to be built on

:20:49. > :20:51.votes and they know anything but significant success on May 22nd and

:20:52. > :20:59.some seats in Westminster in 2015 isn't going to be good enough. And

:21:00. > :21:02.after that, having sold yourselves as the honest outsiders, that stance

:21:03. > :21:06.is harder to maintain once your people are on the inside. And subtle

:21:07. > :21:11.changes from the past are already noticeable. The ordinary man of the

:21:12. > :21:14.people stance is still working. Characteristically outside a pub,

:21:15. > :21:21.Nigel Farage is glad handed by a customer. Two weeks to go, let's

:21:22. > :21:26.cause an upset. Wouldn't that be great? The only sign that such an

:21:27. > :21:38.interaction is different now is the ever presence of bodyguards who

:21:39. > :21:41.shadow his every move. Over lunch ahead of Question Time, a radio

:21:42. > :21:45.appearance, and then off to Scotland, I ask him if some of those

:21:46. > :21:48.minded to vote UKIP who see him as a man they'd be comfortable having a

:21:49. > :21:50.drink with are the sort of people he'd be entirely comfortable sitting

:21:51. > :21:53.down with. Every political party attracts support from across the

:21:54. > :22:01.spectrum and there will be some magnificent people who vote for us

:22:02. > :22:06.and some ne'er-do-wells. The one common thing about UKIP voters is

:22:07. > :22:10.that they are often not very political. And it's that people's

:22:11. > :22:12.army that if UKIP can get to a polling booth might just create that

:22:13. > :22:19.earthquake they want. Nigel Farage joins me now.

:22:20. > :22:21.earthquake they want. decided not to stand at the new work

:22:22. > :22:28.by election coming said if you lost it that the bubble would have

:22:29. > :22:47.burst. What did you mean by that? I was asked at seven 20p -- at 7:21pm

:22:48. > :22:53.if I would stand, I have decided by the next morning that I would not. I

:22:54. > :22:57.didn't know he was going to resign. You claim only a handful of UKIP

:22:58. > :23:04.candidates have ever said things that are either stupid or offensive,

:23:05. > :23:10.I'm right on that, yes? 0.1%, I'd rather it was non-. But why have you

:23:11. > :23:14.chosen a candidate to fight this by-election that has said many

:23:15. > :23:21.things most people would regard as stupid or offensive? Roger is

:23:22. > :23:26.fighting this for us, someone of 70 years of age who grew up with a

:23:27. > :23:31.strong Christian Bible background, in an age when homosexuality was

:23:32. > :23:35.imprisonable. He had a certain set of views which he maintained for

:23:36. > :23:41.many years which he now says he accepts the world has moved on and

:23:42. > :23:46.he is relaxed about it. The comments about homosexuality are not from the

:23:47. > :23:52.dark ages, they are from two or three years ago. From when he was a

:23:53. > :23:57.Conservative, yes, so will you be asking David Cameron that question?

:23:58. > :24:04.I have never seen a single comment from Roger that would be deemed to

:24:05. > :24:09.be offensive. Do you regard his comments on homosexuality as

:24:10. > :24:14.offensive? When he grew up, homosexuality was illegal in this

:24:15. > :24:25.country. But this was in 2012 but he said that. Most people have his age

:24:26. > :24:32.still feel uncomfortable about it -- of his age. In 2012 he said, if two

:24:33. > :24:38.men can be married, why not three, why not a commune. Many people in

:24:39. > :24:43.this country are disconcerted by the change in the meaning of marriage

:24:44. > :24:47.and in a tolerant society we understand that some people have

:24:48. > :24:52.different views. But he has changed his views now in only two years? He

:24:53. > :25:03.says he is more relaxed about it. Was he your candidate? He is a

:25:04. > :25:08.first-class campaigner who has had 30 years in industry, he served in

:25:09. > :25:13.the European Parliament, he is a good candidate. This morning's

:25:14. > :25:17.papers suggest you are about to select Victoria Ayling for Grimsby,

:25:18. > :25:22.but she is on camera saying that, of immigrants, I just want to send a

:25:23. > :25:27.lot back. This is all very interesting, and we can talk about

:25:28. > :25:31.it, all we could talk about the fact that in 12 days we have a European

:25:32. > :25:37.election and every voter across the UK can vote on it and it is really

:25:38. > :25:46.interesting. Are you happy to pick a candidate that says of immigrants, I

:25:47. > :25:50.just want to send a lot back? I have seen the tape, it is a complete

:25:51. > :25:58.misquote and she says it in the context of illegal immigrants. I

:25:59. > :26:02.have seen the full quote and in the context it is not about illegal

:26:03. > :26:06.immigrants. Let's come onto the European campaign, you have used a

:26:07. > :26:11.company that employs Eastern European is to deliver leaflets in

:26:12. > :26:17.London and the Home Counties. Have we? I'm told that in Croydon one

:26:18. > :26:23.branch might have done that. Have you found some indigenous Brits to

:26:24. > :26:27.deliver leaflets in Europe? We have thousands joining the party every

:26:28. > :26:31.month and they are not all indigenous because what is

:26:32. > :26:46.interesting is that in today's opinion polls, UKIP is above the Lib

:26:47. > :26:56.Dems and the Conservatives amongst the indigenous voting.

:26:57. > :27:03.We have not agreed a manifesto for the general election, we will do

:27:04. > :27:10.over the course of the summer. This is in your local election. We are

:27:11. > :27:14.having local elections in some part of the country but we are fighting a

:27:15. > :27:18.European election. It is impossible with the British media to have an

:27:19. > :27:24.intelligent debate on the European question. But as I say, we are also

:27:25. > :27:31.fighting the local elections too. You have promised these tax cuts,

:27:32. > :27:36.how much will they cost? I have met -- read the local election manifesto

:27:37. > :27:40.and it doesn't make those promises. We do talk about local services, we

:27:41. > :27:48.do talk about the need to keep council tax down but we don't talk

:27:49. > :27:52.about income tax. Absolutely not. In local election campaigning you say

:27:53. > :27:59.you would restore cuts to policing, double prison places, restore cuts

:28:00. > :28:05.to front line NHS, spend more on roads, how much would that cost? You

:28:06. > :28:11.are obviously reading different documents to me. We are voting for

:28:12. > :28:17.local councillors in district councils who have got little local

:28:18. > :28:24.budgets. Every party in a manifesto puts his aspirations in it. Have you

:28:25. > :28:29.read it? Of course I have, cover to cover, which is why I'm saying you

:28:30. > :28:36.are misquoting it. By the way, on the bubble bursting, you told that

:28:37. > :28:41.to Norman Smith of the BBC. 75% of British laws are now made in the

:28:42. > :28:47.European Union. Now AstraZeneca is potentially going to be taken over

:28:48. > :28:52.by Pfizer. The BBC is refusing to show the public that that decision

:28:53. > :28:55.cannot be taken here but by an elected European commissioner, and

:28:56. > :29:09.we sit and argue about what is in or not in the local election manifesto.

:29:10. > :29:12.It is my job, but let me come on to AstraZeneca. Is it your view that a

:29:13. > :29:24.British government should stop the takeover of AstraZeneca? It cannot.

:29:25. > :29:29.Can we please get this clear. I sat next to Chuka Umunna the other day

:29:30. > :29:34.at question time and he said what could and couldn't be done. He said

:29:35. > :29:38.I am being studiously neutral, and the reason is we don't have this

:29:39. > :29:45.power. That is what the European elections is about. Should France

:29:46. > :30:02.have the takeover of the food company Danan? We seem to do things

:30:03. > :30:06.to the Nth degree and nobody else does, perhaps because we have this

:30:07. > :30:15.culture and we obey it. In your view, you don't think Pfizer should

:30:16. > :30:19.be able to take over AstraZeneca? There is some good science within

:30:20. > :30:26.AstraZeneca which is in danger of being asset stripped and lost.

:30:27. > :30:31.Because it is run by a Swede and a Frenchman and most of its employees

:30:32. > :30:36.are overseas. I understand that but there are still some good science

:30:37. > :30:40.being produced here. What did you think of the Prime Minister saying

:30:41. > :30:45.he would not form a government after the election unless he was able to

:30:46. > :30:52.have a referendum in 2017? I sat here talking to you and you said to

:30:53. > :30:56.me that David Cameron had given a cast-iron guarantee that if David

:30:57. > :31:00.Cameron becomes Prime Minister he will have a referendum on the Lisbon

:31:01. > :31:05.Treaty, but he didn't deliver on that. He knows that people struggle

:31:06. > :31:11.to believe the renegotiation is worth a row of beans. He is saying

:31:12. > :31:15.he will not form a government unless he can go forward with the

:31:16. > :31:18.referendum. I know he is desperately trying to pretend to be Eurosceptic

:31:19. > :31:23.whilst at the same time saying he will campaign for Britain to remain

:31:24. > :31:27.in. In a sense, that is what this election is about. We have three

:31:28. > :31:30.traditional parties, all of whom passionately believe in the

:31:31. > :31:35.continued membership of the European Union and we have UKIP saying we

:31:36. > :31:40.want trade and cooperation but there is a bigger and better world out

:31:41. > :31:51.there. You are now travelling with I think four bodyguards, has this

:31:52. > :31:55.affected you and your family life? I can't stand it. I've always wondered

:31:56. > :31:59.about the place and on my own thing. Sadly we have a couple of

:32:00. > :32:02.organisations out there headed up by senior Labour Party figures who

:32:03. > :32:07.purport to be against fascism and extremism, who received funding from

:32:08. > :32:11.the Department of communities, from the trade unions, who have acted in

:32:12. > :32:16.a violent wait more than once. You are saying the Labour Party is

:32:17. > :32:20.behind the threats? No, I said a taxpayer funded, trade union funded

:32:21. > :32:24.and headed by senior Labour Party figures, and I'm happy for them to

:32:25. > :32:27.come to my meetings and have an itinerant with me, but it's not so

:32:28. > :32:33.much fun when there are banging you over the head. I is still keen to be

:32:34. > :32:39.an MP? Yes, what UKIP will then do is target before the general

:32:40. > :32:43.election next year for the one life be easier if you just went to the

:32:44. > :32:47.Lords? That's the last thing I want to do. There's an awful lot to do.

:32:48. > :32:52.Most of all, I will not rest until we are free from political union and

:32:53. > :32:54.government from Brussels. Nigel Farage, thank you for being with us.

:32:55. > :32:57.It's just gone 11.30am. You're watching the Sunday Politics. We say

:32:58. > :33:00.goodbye to viewers in Scotland, who leave us now for Sunday Politics

:33:01. > :33:02.Scotland. Coming up here in 20 minutes, our panel talks about the

:33:03. > :33:11.Welcome to the local part of the big stories of the week. First

:33:12. > :33:17.Welcome to the local part of the programme. Coming up, battle ground

:33:18. > :33:21.tactics. 11 days to go until the local elections, and the FIFA key

:33:22. > :33:26.seats stepped up. I think we will take everything. I think this might

:33:27. > :33:28.have been a UKIP minority led administration.

:33:29. > :33:33.Claiming new benefits, and the long wait for the disabled people to be

:33:34. > :33:37.assessed. Have changes to the system worked? There's no way I can live on

:33:38. > :33:43.something like ?83 per week. I just can't do it.

:33:44. > :33:53.Let's meet our guests. Jonathan sharply, Conservative MP to

:33:54. > :33:58.Huntingdon, Julian Herbert, and Stuart Agnew, UKIP MEP for the East

:33:59. > :34:02.of England. Welcome. Let's start with a key story for this region.

:34:03. > :34:07.The possible takeover of AstraZeneca by the giant American drug company

:34:08. > :34:12.Pfizer. If the deal goes ahead, for more than ?60 billion, there is real

:34:13. > :34:16.concern that the UK will lose out, in particular Cambridge, where

:34:17. > :34:20.AstraZeneca's building its new multi`million pound research Centre.

:34:21. > :34:23.Bringing around 2000 jobs to the city. It sparked an emergency

:34:24. > :34:27.Commons debate called by Julian Abbotts. The Prime Minister said he

:34:28. > :34:34.had had assurances from Pfizer that they were committed to the UK and

:34:35. > :34:37.Cambridge. Of course, there is no off on the table, but the

:34:38. > :34:41.commitments made so far I encouraging in terms of completing

:34:42. > :34:45.the Cambridge campus, making sure that's 20% of the combined

:34:46. > :34:50.company's total R workforces in the UK going forward. Julian

:34:51. > :34:52.Huppert, according to a Shadow Business Secretary, these assurances

:34:53. > :34:56.aren't worth the paper they are written on. You called the emergency

:34:57. > :34:59.debate, but basically you are powerless to stop this going ahead,

:35:00. > :35:04.I knew? The government doesn't have the power to stop it from happening.

:35:05. > :35:07.The law was changed in 2002 by the Labour government to take out that

:35:08. > :35:11.power. What I and Vince Cable and others have been doing is to work

:35:12. > :35:15.with Pfizer and with AstraZeneca to make sure that the British interest

:35:16. > :35:21.is protected, the skills base, the jobs. In the case of Cambridge, the

:35:22. > :35:24.2000 people moving to Cambridge with AstraZeneca's global headquarters

:35:25. > :35:28.and research help. I think it is very important to be able to work

:35:29. > :35:31.with both of them. If Pfizer offer enough money, AstraZeneca

:35:32. > :35:35.shareholders will choose to go ahead with the deal. We need to make sure

:35:36. > :35:39.that either way, they come here and stay here. I was completely shocked

:35:40. > :35:44.that apparently Ed Miliband refused to talk to Pfizer. We have thousands

:35:45. > :35:47.and thousands of jobs at stake in Cambridge and around Britain, and he

:35:48. > :35:52.was apparently too busy campaigning to have that discussion. At the end

:35:53. > :35:55.of the day, this is business and not politics. Surely the Prime Minister

:35:56. > :35:59.is posturing when he says he has had assurances from Pfizer? At the end

:36:00. > :36:03.of the day, there is nothing to stop Pfizer from changing its plan if it

:36:04. > :36:07.chooses. This is a key strategic issue for the country as well as

:36:08. > :36:11.this area. I was very pleased to see the Prime Minister not only

:36:12. > :36:13.personally engaging, but the Business Secretary and government as

:36:14. > :36:17.a whole taking great interest in this. And talking with both

:36:18. > :36:23.parties. But ultimately, yes, I agree. This is a business matter.

:36:24. > :36:27.Government is there to set the terms of business to operate in, to

:36:28. > :36:31.provide a low tax economy, web at Pfizer and AstraZeneca wants to come

:36:32. > :36:34.and work in this country. And where we have a low regulatory

:36:35. > :36:41.environment, but it is not for government to actually do business'

:36:42. > :36:44.job for it. Stuart Agnew, it is a big enough deal to come within EU

:36:45. > :36:49.merger regulations. Only the European Commission could possibly

:36:50. > :36:59.step in. A good reason to be in the EU? Well, they have the option to

:37:00. > :37:03.come in under Article 82 and 83, because as you say, it is big

:37:04. > :37:07.enough. It then goes out of our hands, unless they choose to put it

:37:08. > :37:12.back into our hands again, our Margulies and Mergers commission. We

:37:13. > :37:15.could find ourselves in position and just having to wait for the

:37:16. > :37:18.commission to tell us what is going to happen, which we feel is very

:37:19. > :37:22.unsatisfactory, and we should be making these decisions ourselves in

:37:23. > :37:25.this country. Julian Huppert, do you think the law needs to change when

:37:26. > :37:31.it comes to the sort of business? Certain businesses are protected,

:37:32. > :37:35.and they? I think it is worth having a look at it. I would be very

:37:36. > :37:38.uncomfortable with the idea of emergency legislation on something

:37:39. > :37:43.like this. Looking at our package of laws as a whole, it is sensible. I

:37:44. > :37:46.think the message we would send out internationally if we were to

:37:47. > :37:49.suddenly change our laws, that would be very damaging for Britain's

:37:50. > :37:52.interests, because when British companies wanted to buy a company

:37:53. > :37:56.anywhere else in the world, every other country were to be say, oh,

:37:57. > :38:03.no, we will be ultra`protectionist as well. I think Europe is important

:38:04. > :38:07.not because of the role they have, but one of the reasons AstraZeneca

:38:08. > :38:11.and Pfizer are attracted to Britain and our area is because of the EU

:38:12. > :38:15.connections. A huge amount of their workforce European citizens, and it

:38:16. > :38:18.is great to be in Europe for that. Thank you.

:38:19. > :38:22.Talking of Europe, only 11 days until the European elections on May

:38:23. > :38:26.22. This year, they coincide with elections in 20 councils across the

:38:27. > :38:30.region. So, when people vote for that any peas, some will also be

:38:31. > :38:33.electing a new round of counsellors. This is expected to

:38:34. > :38:38.make local elections more unpredictable, and might benefit

:38:39. > :38:44.UKIP, who have high hopes of muscling in on Tory/Labour battle

:38:45. > :38:49.grounds. Where else would UKIP whole campaign

:38:50. > :38:52.meeting? The pub is, of course, Nigel Farage's favourite location,

:38:53. > :38:57.although he would normally be drinking his beer by the pint. There

:38:58. > :39:02.is one thing the party in Basildon is not doing hearts, and that is

:39:03. > :39:06.optimism. I think we're going to smash them to pieces. Every

:39:07. > :39:10.Conservative and Labour activist you speak to, a pleasant conversation,

:39:11. > :39:14.but it is fuelled by Shia and utter panic. They did not expect us to

:39:15. > :39:18.make any gains in the council elections, and we did. We came top

:39:19. > :39:22.of the poll in Basildon with 34% across the borough. I think we will

:39:23. > :39:28.take everything on the council. I think this might be a UKIP minority

:39:29. > :39:31.led administration. We will find out on May 22 whether that is overly

:39:32. > :39:35.optimistic, but there is no doubt that here in Basildon and another

:39:36. > :39:38.councils across the used, where there is a straight fight between

:39:39. > :39:46.Labour and the Conservatives, that the rise of UKIP is going to have a

:39:47. > :39:48.significant impact. In Basildon, the Conservative council leader admits

:39:49. > :39:55.the Tories could lose the majority they have held for the last decade.

:39:56. > :40:00.Realistically, on May 23, we are going to be waking up to a council

:40:01. > :40:02.that is no overall control. I don't think so. It is a possibility,

:40:03. > :40:05.that is no overall control. I don't think so. It is a but I'm not ruling

:40:06. > :40:11.it out. Not something that is definite, however, . We might lose

:40:12. > :40:14.some votes to UKIP, but so will Labour. It will be very interesting.

:40:15. > :40:18.I think there is everything to play for.

:40:19. > :40:22.In great Yarmouth, UKIP has set their sights on disrupting another

:40:23. > :40:27.two`way battle, a Labour administration with a majority of

:40:28. > :40:31.one facing a challenge from the Conservatives. Here, another minor

:40:32. > :40:36.party is also hoping to make an impact. The Greens think they can

:40:37. > :40:41.fill the void left by the Liberal Democrats, who are not fielding a

:40:42. > :40:46.single candidate. People are fed up of the same old parties, and

:40:47. > :40:49.actually looking for positive change in their community, especially

:40:50. > :40:53.locally, and they want people to listen to them. I think they are

:40:54. > :40:57.tired of poor representation in a local areas. It is a different

:40:58. > :41:01.picture in Cambridge, one of the few areas where the Liberal Democrats

:41:02. > :41:08.find themselves defending their record as a ruling party. One thing

:41:09. > :41:11.we point to is having removed the tight straitjacket and growth, which

:41:12. > :41:14.would have caused a lot of small local companies to fly away when

:41:15. > :41:18.they grew bigger. We have allowed them to stay. It results in us

:41:19. > :41:22.having one of the highest level of average earnings in the country, and

:41:23. > :41:27.to have weathered the recession like few other places in the UK. Labour

:41:28. > :41:30.is fighting for control of Cambridge Council, and believe that their

:41:31. > :41:35.message about the cost of living is going down well with voters. We are

:41:36. > :41:38.a prosperous city, but we also have areas of the city that have been

:41:39. > :41:42.neglected by the Liberal Democrats in the last ten years, and we have

:41:43. > :41:49.people who have not seen the benefits of the growth that the city

:41:50. > :41:52.has been experiencing. We have the transport issues. We need to look

:41:53. > :41:58.hard at the private rented sector. We need to look at the investment

:41:59. > :42:01.the need to take place. This is an important council in a successful

:42:02. > :42:06.city. Whoever control is at the end of this election, they will have a

:42:07. > :42:10.lot to feel pleased about. Julian Huppert, let's talk about the

:42:11. > :42:15.threat of the Lib Dem administration in Cambridge. You are losing your

:42:16. > :42:20.grip. Are you not? This is one of the last remaining strongholds.

:42:21. > :42:23.We will see were happens in Cambridge. It is a straight fight

:42:24. > :42:31.between us and Labour. We are descending seats `` defending seats

:42:32. > :42:33.where Labour only managed to win a couple in 2010.

:42:34. > :42:40.UKIP on the Conservatives are out of the running. There is only one UKIP

:42:41. > :42:44.candidate in the Hull City, and the Conservatives have one out of 56

:42:45. > :42:48.councillors. I think we have a great record. One thing I am most proud of

:42:49. > :42:51.in Cambridge is, according to an independent and then, we are the

:42:52. > :42:54.most equal city in the entire country. That is something to be

:42:55. > :42:58.really proud after 40 years of Liberal Democrat leadership.

:42:59. > :43:03.Jonathan, what about the UKIP threat in Huntingdon? Five seats already,

:43:04. > :43:11.that will increase for UKIP, won't it? The liberal and Labour votes

:43:12. > :43:17.outside of Cambridge are very weak, and the battle is increasingly

:43:18. > :43:22.becoming between the Conservatives and UKIP. Why are you losing out to

:43:23. > :43:25.UKIP? We are not. I think they have been taking votes from Labour and

:43:26. > :43:29.the Lib Dems as much as us, and from people who have not voted in the

:43:30. > :43:31.past. But I think it is pretty poor that people like going to go into

:43:32. > :43:35.the local elections and vote on the basis of how they would vote in the

:43:36. > :43:39.European elections for a local election. The reason why the

:43:40. > :43:42.Conservatives have done very well in Huntingdon historically is because

:43:43. > :43:47.we provide the services that people want at a low cost, and that will

:43:48. > :43:49.continue. Stuart Agnew, do you think it is poor if people are voting

:43:50. > :43:58.locally on what they would choose for a European election? It isn't

:43:59. > :44:03.poor, it is their decision. We knew that they are more likely to go and

:44:04. > :44:06.vote at a European election, here is the balance of the local election

:44:07. > :44:12.next them, so they don't have to make a special extra trip. As

:44:13. > :44:18.regards Huntingdonshire, the UKIP success there is as a result of very

:44:19. > :44:22.hard work. Do you think people know locally what they are voting for

:44:23. > :44:28.when they vote UKIP? Your leader has ripped up the manifesto, and is

:44:29. > :44:31.keeping policy under wraps. That the general election manifesto. For

:44:32. > :44:34.local government, we want to make sure that we don't get this urban

:44:35. > :44:40.sprawl across the green fields will stop we want to see the brown fields

:44:41. > :44:45.built on first. Even if that is more expensive and inconvenient for the

:44:46. > :44:49.developers. We do not like the huge salaries paid to the officers on

:44:50. > :44:52.some of these councils. We want to see that comeback. We are keen on

:44:53. > :44:59.local referenda to involve local and decisions on planning. That is the

:45:00. > :45:02.way we go. Julian, as far as the Lib Dems go, people perhaps know your

:45:03. > :45:07.policies, but it seems as if they don't like them particularly. I am

:45:08. > :45:11.looking at places like Great Yarmouth, where you are fighting a

:45:12. > :45:15.single seat. I don't know the details there, that in Cambridge, we

:45:16. > :45:23.have absence from UKIP, in South Cambridgeshire, we have seats held

:45:24. > :45:25.by the former leader of the County Council where the Conservatives

:45:26. > :45:29.can't find any candidates. What I think is fascinating about people

:45:30. > :45:32.voting for UKIP considering it, is when Nigel Farage in the debate said

:45:33. > :45:35.he would not support something in the interests of British people if

:45:36. > :45:42.it involved doing something with Europe. I think that is chilling. We

:45:43. > :45:46.will have to move on. Thank you. From changes at the elections to

:45:47. > :45:49.changes in the benefits for disabled people, which are forcing some

:45:50. > :45:55.families into poverty. Personal independence payments have replaced

:45:56. > :45:57.the long`standing disability living allowance, but it has meant long

:45:58. > :46:03.delays were people waiting to be assessed. One man from Bedford has

:46:04. > :46:07.been waiting for eight months after being struck by a rare but serious

:46:08. > :46:11.condition of the nervous system. He has been struggling ever since. He

:46:12. > :46:16.spoke to Paul. I send the form back. Then I rang

:46:17. > :46:20.them up to make sure they had received the form, because it had

:46:21. > :46:24.been something like four weeks and they had not heard anything. They

:46:25. > :46:32.told me, yes, Mr Singh, we have got the form. It is a 14 week delay,

:46:33. > :46:38.however. Now, that is kind of battling when people are starting to

:46:39. > :46:44.struggle financially, they have not got 14 weeks. `` backfilling. I have

:46:45. > :46:46.had to lower my self`esteem and ask my friends and family is for

:46:47. > :46:52.financial help, which I have never done before in my life. That is just

:46:53. > :46:56.to keep myself and my family's head above water. I have contacted them

:46:57. > :47:01.on three other occasions, when I have gone through just to the

:47:02. > :47:06.dialtone, please wait, someone will be with you. The longest I have

:47:07. > :47:11.waited is literally 15 minutes. That is at a premium rate. You just can't

:47:12. > :47:19.keep doing that. I have just hung up. I've had to make a lot of

:47:20. > :47:23.cutbacks. We try to save as much energy as possible, because prices

:47:24. > :47:30.are going through the roof. Food has gone up, petrol. I have had to sell

:47:31. > :47:34.my car. I had problems selling it. I had to use that just to pay off the

:47:35. > :47:41.bills and everything. I would like the government is to wake up and

:47:42. > :47:47.realise people that have worked on a long`term basis, ten, 15, 25, 30

:47:48. > :47:54.years, if they do fall on a long or short term illness, they are genuine

:47:55. > :47:57.people. Jonathan, Mr Singh has been waiting

:47:58. > :48:02.for eight months. The system is not working, is it? It is a new system,

:48:03. > :48:06.and delays for people who need their disability are wrong and need to be

:48:07. > :48:10.addressed. The government has promised to review this and to deal

:48:11. > :48:14.with it, but let's go back to the basic issue. This is a new system

:48:15. > :48:19.brought in because the old one, 50% of people who got disability were

:48:20. > :48:23.not being assessed at all. Many who then got it were then never

:48:24. > :48:28.reassessed, and that has now changed and that is quite right. Are you

:48:29. > :48:32.satisfied, Julian, with how peps are working? Know, and I think this is a

:48:33. > :48:35.clear case of how it has not worked. There have been a collection of

:48:36. > :48:41.problems. Problems with assessments which have been running since 2008,

:48:42. > :48:44.and this is just another failure like that. We need to have systems

:48:45. > :48:48.which help people quickly. You need to make the right decision. Jonathan

:48:49. > :48:52.is right in that, but you can't just leave people hanging around

:48:53. > :48:57.waiting. Stuart, what is UKIP's position on this? You want to cut

:48:58. > :49:01.benefits and things, don't you? No, our policy is not to cut benefits.

:49:02. > :49:08.It is certainly to target them and those who have paid into the system

:49:09. > :49:11.in the first place. In this particular instance, we have a

:49:12. > :49:16.couple of private firms who have not done what they said they would do.

:49:17. > :49:21.Why not give them the push? Jonathan, more needs to be done,

:49:22. > :49:25.doesn't it? Yes, and the government has promised a review after year one

:49:26. > :49:30.and year two of the scheme. I hope as with all new schemes, they will

:49:31. > :49:34.be ironed out. I appreciate that a person waiting for their benefit

:49:35. > :49:38.when they need it will feel this is a higher situation, and this is why

:49:39. > :49:42.we need to act quickly. We will leave it there for the minute. And

:49:43. > :49:45.now, for our round`up of the week. Lord Howell infield defending

:49:46. > :49:51.himself against, this time of the charges of clocking in to Parliament

:49:52. > :49:53.for matter of minutes. And it has been a week of high`profile visits.

:49:54. > :50:06.Here is 60 seconds. Another election week, and another

:50:07. > :50:11.Cabinet minister was on walkabout in the region. This time, Michael

:50:12. > :50:15.Gove, the Education Secretary, in Harlow. The opportunity to spend

:50:16. > :50:19.time with young people and give them the quality tuition they need to

:50:20. > :50:23.succeed is a privilege. There was a royal visit as well, with hundreds

:50:24. > :50:26.of people welcoming the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in Chelmsford to

:50:27. > :50:32.celebrate 100 years of the dioceses. Meanwhile, Lord Hanning Field, the

:50:33. > :50:35.disgraced peer and former leader of Essex County Council, has been

:50:36. > :50:40.defending himself against charges of clocking in.

:50:41. > :50:44.Mothers in Basildon have also had their say. Among those listening,

:50:45. > :50:49.the Shadow Minister for women and equality is from Labour. Childcare,

:50:50. > :50:54.always top of the agenda. Too expensive, and it prevents women

:50:55. > :50:58.from playing a full part in the workplace. And pedal power came to

:50:59. > :51:01.the region, with the women's Tour of Britain.

:51:02. > :51:08.All five days are in the east, finishing in Bury St Edmunds today.

:51:09. > :51:13.Stuart Agnew, women, it seems, can cycle, but can we do politics? No

:51:14. > :51:18.female UKIP candidates in the East in the Euro election. That was not

:51:19. > :51:23.deliberate, I can promise you. The membership is split. I am not quite

:51:24. > :51:26.sure how much, male and female, but roughly 50`50. But in the Eastern

:51:27. > :51:30.region, the ladies did not throw their hats into the ring as election

:51:31. > :51:34.time, and we cannot force people to do that. In other regions, we have a

:51:35. > :51:43.very strong female line`up, and we to see seven UKIP women MEPs in

:51:44. > :51:47.three weeks. Jonathan, Labour campaigning on women's issues, but

:51:48. > :51:52.obviously, not many women at the top table in Cabinet at the moment.

:51:53. > :51:54.Locally, in the Eastern region, our number one candidate for the

:51:55. > :51:59.European list is a woman, and I am very pleased we have just elected a

:52:00. > :52:04.woman to fight a seat for the next general election in Cambridgeshire.

:52:05. > :52:08.But it is not 50`50. No, it is not enough will stop the Prime Minister

:52:09. > :52:11.has been quite clear on this. We are now selecting for the next election,

:52:12. > :52:16.keeping that in mind. We want to have more women in place, not only

:52:17. > :52:21.in parliament, but all the way to the Cabinet. It is not 50`50 in the

:52:22. > :52:24.Lib Dems either, Julian. No, and we are doing what we can to get more

:52:25. > :52:31.women into place. In our safest leads, almost everybody selected is

:52:32. > :52:37.a woman. I hope we will be much better. In Cambridge, we did very

:52:38. > :52:41.well. I've the executive councillors who win the city are women. It is a

:52:42. > :52:45.shame that Labour have only selected to among 15 candidates for the local

:52:46. > :52:50.elections. Thank you all. That is all for now.

:52:51. > :52:54.Don't forget, the blog for all the latest political updates. Next week,

:52:55. > :52:57.we're back at the same time, but we have a special Euro elections

:52:58. > :53:00.debate, with all the leading candidate in the east. I hope you

:53:01. > :53:03.will be able to join us. But for now, back to Andrew. I will see UNIX

:53:04. > :53:05.week. Have a good week. the website now. Now it is back to

:53:06. > :53:23.you, Andrew. Welcome back, let's go straight to

:53:24. > :53:28.our panel. What did you make of Mr Alexander's defence of the Labour

:53:29. > :53:30.party election broadcast? It is difficult for them because they

:53:31. > :53:35.started by saying they were not going to do negative campaigning and

:53:36. > :53:42.they have thrown that away for an advert which is funny but crude in

:53:43. > :53:50.the class war sense. He didn't look thrilled to be defending it. There

:53:51. > :53:53.is a page in Tony Blair's memoirs talking about negative campaigning,

:53:54. > :53:59.and he says that anything too extreme turns off the average voter

:54:00. > :54:10.so his line of attack on Hague was funny jokes but... I think this

:54:11. > :54:17.failed the Blair test, it was too vicious. If your strategy is to

:54:18. > :54:21.shore up your car vote, that advert was genius. If your strategy is to

:54:22. > :54:27.reach out to a broader number of voters, Middle Britain, then that

:54:28. > :54:31.advert was a complete disaster. It looks like there is a lot of

:54:32. > :54:42.negativity and smears all round in the next year. That definitely looks

:54:43. > :55:01.the way we are going. They will be essentially trying to re-run by --

:55:02. > :55:06.the American election. I am slightly puzzled why we cannot have our own

:55:07. > :55:12.election gurus who live here and understand the country. I should

:55:13. > :55:17.point out that the ?450 extra VAT that was claimed in that Labour

:55:18. > :55:23.poster, both Ed Balls and the Labour Treasury team have said that is ?450

:55:24. > :55:29.per year. Nonsense the VAT rise, one year. I should also point out that

:55:30. > :55:37.Nigel Farage said to Norman Smith, the BBC is always reliable Norman

:55:38. > :55:41.Smith that if you run in Newark and lost the bubble would burst. I

:55:42. > :55:46.should also point out that although a number of the tax rises I

:55:47. > :55:50.mentioned on council tax, minimum wage tax and some other things that

:55:51. > :55:56.UKIP wants to cuts, a couple of these are in the local manifesto but

:55:57. > :56:04.several are not. They are on the UKIP website, which is still current

:56:05. > :56:09.and dated 2014. We like to make sure we are absolutely right. Let's talk

:56:10. > :56:14.about Nick Clegg and Michael Gove and the latest spat. Let me show you

:56:15. > :56:23.this headline in the Observer this morning. From both the Independent,

:56:24. > :56:33.he called him a zealot, lunatic is of -- another word. Do we take this

:56:34. > :56:39.seriously? It hinges on this question of what counts as an area

:56:40. > :56:43.of need in education. The Lib Dems say an area of need is one where

:56:44. > :56:48.there are not enough school places to meet local demand. He says it can

:56:49. > :56:52.also be a place where there are surplus places but that is for a

:56:53. > :57:04.reason. Local places don't trust those schools to do a good job for

:57:05. > :57:09.their kids. It surprises me because there isn't a yawning distance

:57:10. > :57:15.between David Laws and Michael Gove. David Laws has found himself between

:57:16. > :57:19.a rock and a hard place because I asked -- as I understand it most Lib

:57:20. > :57:23.Dems don't like the free schools but Mr laws was quite sympathetic to it

:57:24. > :57:30.and he is now having to this respect it. When they asked people who are

:57:31. > :57:35.the most hated politicians in a poll were this week, Michael Gove is off

:57:36. > :57:49.the charts, far above David Cameron or George Osborne. This is

:57:50. > :57:52.tit-for-tat war. The Liberal Democrats believe Michael Gove had a

:57:53. > :57:56.hand in leaking the document that showed Nick Clegg was opposing the

:57:57. > :58:00.tougher Chris Grayling position on knife crime. They are saying there

:58:01. > :58:06.were Cabinet ministers who never usually attend the sub Cabinet

:58:07. > :58:10.meeting, they turned up and the document is leaked so what we are

:58:11. > :58:15.getting is tit for tat on that. It is inevitable but it is not good for

:58:16. > :58:21.either side of the Coalition. Voters will look at it and say it is

:58:22. > :58:31.politics of the playground. I read in the Mail on Sunday this morning

:58:32. > :58:36.that some Tory insiders are accusing Lib Dems of spreading rumours about

:58:37. > :58:43.the camera in marriage. The rebuttals of education story is that

:58:44. > :58:53.the free school meals is sucking money away. I always thought they

:58:54. > :58:59.would work together without fuss and yet it has been more the source of

:59:00. > :59:05.disagreement then I would have expected a couple of years ago. Is

:59:06. > :59:11.it serious? It is serious obviously, using that language, but is it fatal

:59:12. > :59:14.for the Coalition? I think it is a road bump because I don't think

:59:15. > :59:18.anybody wants to dissolve the Coalition. It is a challenge for

:59:19. > :59:22.Labour because where do they stand on the free schools? They invented

:59:23. > :59:27.the Academy programme so it is difficult for them to take a

:59:28. > :59:30.hands-off approach at this stage. There was a danger for Michael Gove

:59:31. > :59:34.that he looks ideological but the danger for the Liberal Democrats is

:59:35. > :59:38.that they are breaking the rules for the Coalition they said that they

:59:39. > :59:44.wouldn't break which is that they looked like opposition in

:59:45. > :59:50.government. Is Michael Gove's position safe? Very safe. If he

:59:51. > :59:57.moves in a reshuffle that will be to a a job. That's all for today. The

:59:58. > :00:00.Daily Politics will be back on BBC Two at lunchtime from Tuesday

:00:01. > :00:02.onwards. I'll be back here on BBC One at 11am next week. Remember if

:00:03. > :00:51.it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.

:00:52. > :00:52.What if the person that killed her...

:00:53. > :00:56.I found out she'd been taking drugs. Just let me explain.

:00:57. > :00:59.You wasn't at that party all night. Yeah, I was.

:01:00. > :01:02.What was she even doing there? Oi, you keep your mouth shut.

:01:03. > :01:05.She was exchanging a significant number of texts and calls

:01:06. > :01:07.with someone in the weeks leading up to her death.

:01:08. > :01:14.It's like we didn't really know her at all.

:01:15. > :01:17.You never know what goes on behind closed doors.