:00:43. > :00:48.Good morning folks. Stop flowing snowballs for a second and
:00:48. > :00:53.concentrate, please, on this week's Sunday Politics. Nick Clegg has
:00:53. > :00:58.lost another Cabinet Minister. On Friday, his latest poll ratings are
:00:58. > :01:03.in single figures. A third of flights at Heathrow
:01:03. > :01:06.today are cancelled and that was before it started snowing! Why?
:01:06. > :01:11.Transport Secretary, Justine Greening is here for the Sunday
:01:11. > :01:15.interview. With the Government about to consult on gay marriage,
:01:15. > :01:19.an MP and a member of the Church of England's General Synod go Head to
:01:19. > :01:22.Head. And our regular panel of the best
:01:22. > :01:27.and the brightest political minds are back tweeting throughout the
:01:27. > :01:31.programme ready to analyse British politics in The Week Ahead.
:01:31. > :01:37.In London this week, who is suitable to run a free school? We
:01:37. > :01:47.look at what Tottenham Hotspur plants to do now it is staying put
:01:47. > :01:52.and redeveloping its North London All that coming up in the next hour.
:01:52. > :01:57.But first the news. Thank you.
:01:57. > :02:01.Herself Heavy snow swept across much of England overnight. Heathrow
:02:01. > :02:06.is cancelling over 350 flights during the day and other airports
:02:06. > :02:11.are warning of delays. Motorists have been stranded on the M40 and
:02:11. > :02:15.M25 motorways and some some rail services have been disrupted.
:02:15. > :02:19.Keith Royal reports. Here at Heathrow Airport, they took
:02:19. > :02:23.action yesterday by cancelling a third of today's flights. That was
:02:23. > :02:27.intended to ease pressure and reduce delays today. Despite the
:02:27. > :02:31.snow ploughs being out, there are delays and cancellations. Freezing
:02:31. > :02:35.fog has added to the problems at Heathrow. So passengers who may
:02:35. > :02:39.well have been disrupted because of the snow could well face face
:02:39. > :02:42.further delays. The advice is to check before leaving for the
:02:42. > :02:45.airport. On the roads, heavy snow falls and
:02:45. > :02:51.freezing temperatures have caused disruption in many parts of the
:02:51. > :02:55.country. Here on the A 14, driving conditions are described as
:02:55. > :02:58.hazardous with icy roads and slow moving traffic. In parts of the
:02:58. > :03:01.country, many drivers were forced to spend the night trapped in their
:03:01. > :03:04.vehicles. We were Half-way up this road,
:03:04. > :03:11.slipping all over the place, it was starting to get too dangerous, as
:03:11. > :03:14.soon as we saw the petrol station, we pulled in. As we get sleeping
:03:14. > :03:17.stuff to rest up for the night thinking it might be easier. But
:03:17. > :03:21.getting up this morning, we are having to dig our way out.
:03:21. > :03:29.The hay ways agency says it is managing to keep most main routes
:03:29. > :03:32.open, but urged motorists who venture out to take care.
:03:32. > :03:38.There are some delays on rail services. The worst of the snow is
:03:38. > :03:43.moving eastwards with freezing temperatures and icy conditions
:03:43. > :03:46.making travel difficult. The advice is slow down or stay at home.
:03:46. > :03:53.Diplomats at the United Nations are planning attempt to win approval to
:03:53. > :03:57.win res resolution against the Syrian Government. The regime's
:03:57. > :04:00.troops and tanks are reported to be tightening their grip on the city
:04:00. > :04:04.of Homs where 50 people are reported to have died.
:04:04. > :04:12.Mitt Romney has won the latest stage of the contest to be the
:04:13. > :04:18.Republican candidate in the US Presidential election. He is He has
:04:18. > :04:21.taken lead in Nevada. Newt Gingrich has vowed to fight on.
:04:21. > :04:27.More than 100 Conservative MPs have written to the Prime Minister
:04:27. > :04:31.calling on him to slash subsidies for onshore wind turbines. The MPs
:04:31. > :04:35.want planning rules changed to make it easier for local people to
:04:35. > :04:45.object to their construction. That's it. More news here on BBC
:04:45. > :04:47.How much worse can it get for the Lib Dems? Chris Huhne left the
:04:48. > :04:52.Cabinet this week in extraordinary circumstances. Nick Clegg will open
:04:52. > :05:00.the papers this week to read one opinion poll giving him less than
:05:00. > :05:07.10% of the vote if an election was held tomorrow. The the MP, injury
:05:07. > :05:13.Jeremy Browne joins me now. How certificate has Chris Huhne --
:05:13. > :05:19.serious has Chris Huhne leaving, damaged your party? Chris is an
:05:19. > :05:22.extremely high calibre, assertive, but talented politician and that
:05:22. > :05:28.was recognised by Conservatives as well as Liberal Democrats, but we
:05:28. > :05:31.are where we are. Ed Davey, his replacement, is acknowledged to be
:05:31. > :05:37.a competent and high calibre politician and I think he will do
:05:37. > :05:42.well in his new position. But you have lost two of your five
:05:42. > :05:47.Cabinet Ministers in less than two years, doesn't that undermine your
:05:47. > :05:51.credibility? I heard you talk about our opinion poll rating. You have
:05:51. > :05:55.got to remember, of course, three days before the last general
:05:55. > :05:57.election our opinion poll rating was wrong. So we are three years
:05:57. > :06:01.away from the next general election, what people want the Liberal
:06:01. > :06:04.Democrats to to do is concentrate what is best for Britain, not
:06:04. > :06:07.concentrate on what is in the interests of the Liberal Democrats.
:06:07. > :06:10.We are doing the right things in Government. We have a really
:06:10. > :06:13.difficult economic inheritance from Labour that we are working with the
:06:13. > :06:17.Conservatives to sort out. And what is interesting in the opinion polls
:06:17. > :06:20.is the most popular policies that the Government is putting into
:06:20. > :06:24.effect, cutting income tax for people on lower middle incomes, a
:06:24. > :06:29.better deal for pensioners, those policies are largely due to the
:06:29. > :06:31.Liberal Democrats involvement in the Government. So I think in the
:06:31. > :06:35.longer term people will want to give us credit for doing the right
:06:35. > :06:37.thing for Britain and will recognise what we are bringing to
:06:37. > :06:41.Government. If that is the case, can you
:06:41. > :06:45.explain why since the election the Tories have risen in the polls and
:06:45. > :06:48.your ratings have slumped to single figure as soon as. Well, there are
:06:48. > :06:52.two points there. One is do you want politicians who spend their
:06:52. > :06:55.life looking at their own self interest and trying to get the best
:06:55. > :06:58.poll rating or do you want politicians who work with others in
:06:58. > :07:00.the national interest to get Britain back on its feet again? The
:07:00. > :07:04.Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing. And it is true that we
:07:04. > :07:07.were in Opposition for decades and I think people got used to the
:07:07. > :07:11.Liberal Democrats being an opposition party, thinking like an
:07:11. > :07:15.opposition party, and it is taking time for people to adjust to us
:07:15. > :07:19.being a party of Government. But here is the point - our aspiration
:07:19. > :07:23.shouldn't be to be a more effective opposition party than the Labour
:07:23. > :07:26.Party. Our ambition should to be a more effective governing party than
:07:26. > :07:28.the Conservatives and we are bringing to the Government ideas
:07:29. > :07:33.like lifting people out of income tax, putting more money into the
:07:33. > :07:36.pockets of millions of people right around the country, thang would
:07:36. > :07:40.other -- than would have been the case. When people look at their pay
:07:40. > :07:43.slips or the ballot paper come the general election will acknowledge
:07:43. > :07:45.that the Liberal Democrats have done the right thing for Britain,
:07:45. > :07:48.by entering into a coalition Government at a time of great,
:07:48. > :07:50.great economic economic difficulty for our country and they will think
:07:50. > :07:55.more of the Liberal Democrats as a result.
:07:55. > :07:59.Well, it isn't showing in your poll ratings. You held an away day on
:07:59. > :08:08.Friday to work out how to restore your fortunes. What did you learn
:08:08. > :08:17.from the man dresd as -- dressed as a bumblebee? Stephen Lloyd who is
:08:17. > :08:22.doing a a fantastic job in Eastbourne was talk being the
:08:22. > :08:27.Eastbourne Buzz. The mascot was a bumblebee.
:08:27. > :08:31.You are not going to fight as a bumblebee? No, we won Eastbourne at
:08:31. > :08:36.the last general election from the the Conservatives as it happens, so
:08:36. > :08:40.it is I will strative of the -- ill strative of the Liberal Democrats
:08:40. > :08:45.to be a successful party. We are putting into effect our ideas. I
:08:45. > :08:49.will give you an example. Actually, don't because we have run
:08:49. > :08:54.out of time. Your Foreign Office minister and I want to ask a
:08:54. > :08:58.serious question, not about bumblebees. We are sending a �1
:08:58. > :09:02.billion destroyer to the Falklands. Now a nuclear sub is going too. We
:09:02. > :09:12.must think there is a chance of Argentinian military action,
:09:12. > :09:14.
:09:14. > :09:19.minister? Well, we are always prepared for every every every
:09:19. > :09:23.eventuality. Do we fear military action? Well, we are always
:09:23. > :09:28.prepared for every eventuality. This is the situation, Argentina is
:09:28. > :09:34.a big powerful country. It is a member of the G20, it has a
:09:34. > :09:39.population of 40 million people. The Falklands only has a population
:09:39. > :09:43.of 2,500, but we are determined that they should be able to decide
:09:43. > :09:50.their own future. And we are determined to uphold the principle
:09:50. > :09:53.of self-determination. Now, unemployment is up. Growth is
:09:53. > :09:58.flat lining, Vince Cable says we are in the midst of the economic
:09:58. > :10:01.equivalent of war. So if you were a Treasury Minister taking over the
:10:01. > :10:05.Department of Transport, you would want to have a look to see if its
:10:05. > :10:10.policies are the right ones to get us and the British economy moving.
:10:10. > :10:13.That minister is Justine Greening and until last October, she was
:10:13. > :10:18.economics secretary and she is now Secretary of State for Transport.
:10:18. > :10:21.This is what she found in her in- We have got the world's busiest
:10:21. > :10:24.International Airport, but Heathrow is operating at almost full
:10:24. > :10:29.capacity. And the Tories are sticking to their pledge not to
:10:29. > :10:35.allow a third runway. China is opening 97 new airports in the next
:10:35. > :10:38.ten years. And our European neighbours look like being their
:10:38. > :10:42.trading partners of choice. Boris thinks a new airport in the Thames
:10:42. > :10:45.is the only solution and he says ministers are increasingly
:10:45. > :10:49.interested in his idea. Back on the ground, rail passengers
:10:49. > :10:54.are being squeezed. Some were hit with New Year fare increases as
:10:54. > :10:59.high as 11%. And they won't have been amused to hear this week that
:10:59. > :11:06.the Chief Executive of Network Rail could be in line for a bonus of up
:11:06. > :11:16.In her first big television interview, Justine Greening is this
:11:16. > :11:17.
:11:17. > :11:22.Justine Greening, are you content that Heathrow cancelled a third of
:11:22. > :11:25.flights today before a flake of snow had fall snn. -- fall snn. We
:11:25. > :11:31.have asked Heathrow to get better prepared for for situations like
:11:31. > :11:35.today where we see snow falling overnight. Cancelling flights in
:11:35. > :11:40.advance, was one of the main main recommendations of the inquiry that
:11:40. > :11:44.Heathrow held into the debacle last year. They are trying to manage the
:11:44. > :11:49.airport and the most important thing is making sure that we put
:11:49. > :11:52.safety first. We got to get planes up into the air and down on to the
:11:52. > :11:59.ground safely. That does take more time to make sure wings are de-iced
:11:59. > :12:03.and the runways are clear. Our European airports have not
:12:03. > :12:06.cancelled a third of their flights? Both runways are are open. Part of
:12:06. > :12:11.the disruption is some flights didn't get away as planned last
:12:11. > :12:14.night. They have had to takeoff today. But we are not seeing the
:12:14. > :12:17.levels of disruption at the moment that we saw last year.
:12:17. > :12:20.They have cancelled a third of the flights, minister? Many of the
:12:20. > :12:25.passengers are able to book on to other flights leaving today. Sunday
:12:26. > :12:30.is a quiet day tor the airlines -- for the airlines. Hopefully we have
:12:30. > :12:34.managed disruption and Heathrow will continue to to learn how to
:12:34. > :12:38.cope with these situations. Many people won't see an
:12:38. > :12:44.improvement on 2010. You are content, you are happy with the way
:12:44. > :12:47.it has been handled? I think Heathrow put into action this
:12:47. > :12:51.winter resilience plan for the first time working with the
:12:51. > :12:55.airports and air traffic control, it was a owe ordernated effort and
:12:55. > :12:58.decision they took to cancel flights in advance so we didn't
:12:58. > :13:00.have passengers turning up and and finding their flights were
:13:00. > :13:05.cancelled so I think that was the right approach to take.
:13:05. > :13:08.One of the reasons they have had to cancel so many flights because they
:13:08. > :13:12.are already operating at capacity. Let's look at what the
:13:12. > :13:16.Conservatives said before the election. This is in your manifesto
:13:16. > :13:21."we will stop a third runway and link Heathrow directly to our high-
:13:21. > :13:28.speed rail network, providing an alternative to to thousands of
:13:28. > :13:32.flight." During the election debates, Greg Clarke said, "We have
:13:32. > :13:36.no plans to build anymore runways in the south-east." You have gone
:13:36. > :13:43.back on the extension to Heathrow, that is not happening in phase one.
:13:43. > :13:49.Is it still your policy to build no one no runways in the South East?
:13:49. > :13:54.We will see direct rail rail link to Heathrow. We have Heathrow
:13:54. > :13:58.Express linking... It won't happen in my lifetime then? I hope you
:13:58. > :14:02.survive longer than that, Andrew. That's 20 years away.
:14:02. > :14:05.I am sure you will be around. You are right to flag up this longer
:14:06. > :14:09.term question of capacity and it is about connectivity and making sure
:14:09. > :14:14.our international hub airport can be connected to the right places in
:14:14. > :14:18.the future and we have said that we want to look carefully at that.
:14:18. > :14:23.There aren't any plans, it has been clear that we ruled out a third
:14:23. > :14:27.runway at Heathrow. Is it your policy to build no more
:14:27. > :14:30.runways in the south-east? We said we will not support runways at
:14:30. > :14:34.Stansted or Gatwick or a third runway at Heathrow.
:14:34. > :14:38.Is it your policy to build no more runways in the South East? We have
:14:38. > :14:43.not said the South East because of course, as you have seen... You did
:14:43. > :14:48.in the general election, "We have got no plans to build anymore runs
:14:48. > :14:51.runways in the South East?". are quoting Greg Clarke rather than
:14:51. > :14:56.what was in our manifesto. We went into the election fighting against
:14:56. > :15:02.a third runway at Heathrow, but no second runway at Stansted and no
:15:02. > :15:11.extra runway at Gatwick. What we are seeing saying, it is time --
:15:11. > :15:14.saying, it is time to say what do You said there wouldn't be any more
:15:14. > :15:17.runways in the south-east, now you are not saying that. What
:15:17. > :15:23.politicians say during election campaigns, does that no longer
:15:23. > :15:27.matter? It does. But we've got to acknowledge the fact we are in a
:15:27. > :15:31.coalition government. The Lib Dem policy is not to build any runways
:15:31. > :15:36.in the south-east, they are not doing anything different. I think
:15:36. > :15:41.you aren't -- tying our entire policy based on one quote. The
:15:41. > :15:46.policy we went into the last election was very clear-cut about
:15:46. > :15:50.specific runways at specific airports. We haven't ruled them out
:15:50. > :15:52.completely in the south-east. always used to think that Heathrow
:15:52. > :15:56.had the greatest connections to everywhere in the world, but here
:15:56. > :16:01.are the figures for annual flights from China, including some of its
:16:01. > :16:05.big provincial cities. Germany is way ahead, France next, the
:16:05. > :16:09.Netherlands third and Britain a poor fourth. We know that trade
:16:09. > :16:13.follows direct flights. What are you going to do about this? It's
:16:13. > :16:16.one of the reasons we will be launching our draft strategy on
:16:16. > :16:20.aviation in March. It will look at how we can tackle these problems.
:16:20. > :16:27.It is fair to acknowledge that airports like Gatwick are now
:16:27. > :16:31.competing with Heathrow. That is at 95 % capacity. Not through the
:16:31. > :16:38.whole day. They are having new flights to places like Vietnam and
:16:38. > :16:42.Korea. It's not a hub airport. not, which is why it's right to
:16:43. > :16:47.take a longer term look at some of these challenges on connectivity.
:16:47. > :16:51.Isn't it fact that you were the MP for But the, on the Heathrow
:16:51. > :16:56.flightpath. You are hopelessly compromised when it comes to runway
:16:56. > :17:00.capacity. I don't agree with that. If you ruled out to every MP who
:17:00. > :17:04.has a transport interest in their constituency from being in my job,
:17:04. > :17:08.I don't think there to be any of us left. Boris Johnson said last month
:17:08. > :17:13.that the government was, code, increasingly interested in the idea
:17:13. > :17:17.of a new hub airport. Are you increasingly idea -- increasingly
:17:17. > :17:21.interested? I think the change that is happening is possibly more of a
:17:21. > :17:26.willingness to look longer term. And to acknowledge that this
:17:26. > :17:29.question of how we make sure our key international hub airport can
:17:29. > :17:33.be fit to serve this country, not just over the next 10 years but
:17:33. > :17:36.more in the long term, I think we've acknowledged that is a real
:17:36. > :17:40.issue, that we shouldn't ignore it and we should look at how we can
:17:40. > :17:44.address that. Let's get onto the Network Rail bosses. They are in
:17:44. > :17:47.line for big bonuses as part of this proposed new bonus scheme.
:17:48. > :17:51.What are you going to do about that? I'm going to go to the
:17:51. > :17:55.meeting next Friday and vote against them. I don't think this is
:17:55. > :17:59.the right time to have those sorts of decisions taken. I'm about to
:17:59. > :18:02.launch by rail strategy for the long term, which will have some
:18:03. > :18:06.serious recommendations about how we can see the industry taking more
:18:06. > :18:12.cost out of the railway, so that it is more efficient, we don't have to
:18:12. > :18:17.keep loading extra money and passengers. So you will go to this
:18:17. > :18:20.board meeting of network while coming up on Friday of this week,
:18:20. > :18:26.and as a special member you will stop this bonus scheme going
:18:26. > :18:31.through? I won't be able to stop it going through. The structure that
:18:31. > :18:34.the last government set-up means I can go and vote against it. The
:18:34. > :18:38.problem we've got is that won't necessarily change the result. The
:18:38. > :18:44.other problem we've got it is the members can vote against the bonus
:18:44. > :18:47.package but, at the end of the day, there vote was only advisory. It's
:18:47. > :18:52.one of the reasons why the rail strategy I'm going to be announcing
:18:52. > :18:56.will have some proposals and their to improve the governance. Are you
:18:56. > :19:00.sure you haven't got the powers if you go in and vote against it on
:19:00. > :19:05.Friday? I have got the power to vote against it, but you asked me
:19:05. > :19:10.if I could vote against it and stop it. Is it conceivable that Network
:19:10. > :19:14.Rail would ignore the vote of the Secretary of State for Transport?
:19:14. > :19:18.It is possible. The way in which the governance of Network Rail was
:19:18. > :19:22.set up under the last government simply doesn't allow me to go there
:19:22. > :19:26.and the veto it. But I can go land register on behalf of the taxpayer
:19:26. > :19:30.that people think this is the wrong bowlers from work at the wrong time.
:19:30. > :19:35.But if they ignore you, can't you just buy them? I don't think I'm in
:19:35. > :19:40.a position to fire them. Network Rail as a private company. The
:19:40. > :19:43.problem we've got is the members, who are Network Rail's version of
:19:43. > :19:46.shareholders, don't have enough power to hold their board to
:19:47. > :19:51.account. That is what I want to address in the paper coming out.
:19:51. > :19:54.will be an interesting meeting on Friday. Your predecessor in your
:19:55. > :20:01.job, Philip Hammond, said you were going to end Labour's war on the
:20:01. > :20:05.motorist. Are you pro-car? I've got a car like many people, so I want
:20:05. > :20:10.to make cars affordable. We need to make sure we put investment into
:20:10. > :20:13.our road system, so that we've got an awful lot of money going in to
:20:13. > :20:17.tackle congestion. It also means making sure that motoring is
:20:17. > :20:20.affordable on a day-to-day basis, which is why it last week I
:20:20. > :20:26.announced an initiative to make sure that people can get better
:20:26. > :20:31.quality and better value from when they take their car to a garage and
:20:31. > :20:36.get it serviced and the AA -- MOT. I'm also thinking of taking some
:20:36. > :20:43.action on cracking down on over the top insurance premiums. Philip
:20:43. > :20:48.Hammond wanted to raise the speed limit to 80 mph, do you?
:20:48. > :20:55.looking at the best way to approach the speed limit. It is clear to us,
:20:55. > :20:59.the public, that he did want to do it. What is your own view? My view
:20:59. > :21:04.is the most important thing I'm concerned about is keeping the
:21:04. > :21:08.traffic flowing. A lot of people would like to travel at 70 mph on
:21:08. > :21:13.our motorways but can't. It may well be that on some stretches when
:21:13. > :21:18.it is safe, we should up the limit to 80 mph. But the key objective
:21:18. > :21:23.I'm looking at is, what do we need to do to make sure our motorways
:21:23. > :21:28.are keep moving? Am going to be talking with hauliers to find out
:21:28. > :21:32.face-to-face about what their challenges of. Digital must be as
:21:32. > :21:35.interesting as a visit to net while -- it should almost be as
:21:35. > :21:41.interesting as your visit to Network Rail. Are you happy with
:21:41. > :21:45.the way the roads have coped with the snow? We put an awful lot of
:21:45. > :21:48.gritting and salt down. We are now winning recovery phase around the
:21:48. > :21:52.accidents that have happened. People who are travelling, think
:21:52. > :21:56.about whether your journey is necessary. If it is, make sure you
:21:56. > :22:01.are prepared. Take warm clothes, make sure you know your route.
:22:01. > :22:06.Because most journeys usually start and end on local roads, make sure
:22:06. > :22:10.you have a shovel in the back. week, the Church of England's
:22:10. > :22:14.General Synod will meet in London. An issue that divides them is gay
:22:14. > :22:18.marriage. So far, the Senedd and has banned partnership ceremonies
:22:18. > :22:21.in religious buildings. But now 100 priests have signed a letter
:22:21. > :22:25.demanding the right to conduct them in their churches. Last year the
:22:25. > :22:35.government ended a ban on the use for gay civil ceremonies and are
:22:35. > :22:40.
:22:40. > :22:45.looking at how to move that further The creation of Sybil partnerships
:22:45. > :22:49.in 2005 was, for some, the icing of the cake in changes in societal
:22:49. > :22:54.attitudes to homosexuality. What was illegal in the 1960s is now
:22:54. > :22:59.protected by law with a ceremony that recognises same-sex union. It
:22:59. > :23:03.is just not officially a marriage. Even though it was a civil
:23:03. > :23:07.partnership, I don't think any of our friends or ourselves saw it as
:23:07. > :23:11.anything other than a wedding. We had a wedding cake, we did all the
:23:12. > :23:17.things you normally do in a wedding. To us, it was definitely a marriage.
:23:17. > :23:21.It turns out that couple and cake makers, Gerhardt and Paul, personal
:23:21. > :23:25.attitude is the essential building block for the campaign for gay
:23:25. > :23:28.marriage. In practical terms, there are now almost no differences
:23:28. > :23:32.between civil partnership and marriage. We fought hard to ensure
:23:32. > :23:36.that. The issue for some people, however, is that it's massively
:23:36. > :23:41.symbolic that they are still not allowed to call their registered
:23:41. > :23:44.union by exactly the same name as everyone else. In the past five
:23:44. > :23:48.months it has become illegal to have a civil partnership ceremony
:23:48. > :23:52.in a religious building. But most churches have yet to decide to
:23:52. > :23:55.offer that to couples. Meanwhile, the government wants to push the
:23:55. > :24:01.issue much further and is committed to gay marriage as an option by the
:24:01. > :24:06.next election. Society is stronger when we make vows to each other and
:24:06. > :24:09.we support each other. So I don't support gay marriage in spite of
:24:09. > :24:16.being a Conservative, I support gay marriage because I am a
:24:16. > :24:20.Conservative. With such political will at work, it's quite hard to
:24:20. > :24:24.see where the row might be. But it's about the definition of one
:24:24. > :24:28.word. Marriage. And that, according to the Archbishop of York recently,
:24:29. > :24:32.is exclusively between a man and a woman. And that David Cameron would
:24:32. > :24:36.be acting like a dictator if he forced through any plans to change
:24:36. > :24:40.that. There is opposition in the Lords, and they Rob press rumours
:24:40. > :24:45.of up to 100 Tory MPs who might vote against any plans for a
:24:45. > :24:48.marriage. I think there will be some people within the party to
:24:48. > :24:52.have deeply held religious views that will not be supportive of that
:24:52. > :24:56.and that is fine, I respect that. But I think the party is a
:24:56. > :25:00.different party and I think the majority will support it. This
:25:00. > :25:05.seems to be about who has the right to choose. Gay couples to be
:25:05. > :25:09.married or religious bodies to say no? Supporters of gay marriage
:25:09. > :25:13.expect the government to side with them. Opponents are asking, will
:25:13. > :25:23.the courts or even the Human Rights Act be used to force them into
:25:23. > :25:24.
:25:24. > :25:27.something they may theologically Joining us now for opinion is a
:25:27. > :25:37.senior member of the Church of England Synod and the Liberal
:25:37. > :25:37.
:25:37. > :25:41.Democrat spokesman on home affairs, Philip Giddings, if the law already
:25:41. > :25:45.allows civil partnerships in a religious building, while we are
:25:45. > :25:48.arguing against one word? Because the heart of the matter is what
:25:48. > :25:51.that word means. Whatever Parliament or the government says,
:25:51. > :25:55.the square doesn't become a circle just because you pass a law saying
:25:55. > :25:59.it. Marriage is a social institution which has developed
:25:59. > :26:03.over many centuries and many generations, not just in our
:26:03. > :26:06.society but elsewhere. It has always been understood to be a
:26:06. > :26:11.relationship between a man and a woman for life. In the civil
:26:12. > :26:15.partnerships Act we have already made provision for same-sex couples
:26:15. > :26:18.to register their partnership, and they are under no legal disability
:26:18. > :26:24.and our legal system at the moment because of that. So what is being
:26:24. > :26:28.asked for? The point is marriage, the tradition of marriage, a man
:26:28. > :26:31.and a woman, that's why he doesn't want to change it. What the
:26:31. > :26:36.governments are going to be consulting on next month is equal
:26:36. > :26:39.marriage, but that his civil marriage. Same-sex civil marriage.
:26:39. > :26:45.We are clearly not going to be consulting on religious marriage.
:26:45. > :26:50.What would be allowed if we go forward, if the consultation Leeds
:26:50. > :26:54.to moving forward on the issue of gay marriage, his allow people to
:26:54. > :26:57.have a registry office marriage or use a premises that are licensed to
:26:57. > :27:01.have a civil marriage. You would like them to be married in church,
:27:01. > :27:06.too, wouldn't you? That's not a decision for me, it's a decision
:27:06. > :27:09.for faith communities. You'd describe people who oppose gay
:27:09. > :27:13.marriage in churches as dinosaurs. That's a decision for them. My
:27:14. > :27:18.personal view is the expression of commitment that is made in gay
:27:18. > :27:23.marriages is one that I would like the Church to recognise, but
:27:23. > :27:27.clearly that is a decision for them. How does it feel to be a dinosaur?
:27:27. > :27:31.I'm not quite sure what the definition of a dinosaur is! He is
:27:31. > :27:36.implying you are way out of date. Out of date is an interesting
:27:36. > :27:41.concept. There is an eternal provision, aside as a believer
:27:41. > :27:45.would say. I'm perfectly willing to stand on that ground. I think civil
:27:45. > :27:48.partnership, as presently constituted, personally I would
:27:48. > :27:53.prefer to be extended but that is another debate, I think civil
:27:54. > :27:57.partnership provides all the legal equality that is sought and our
:27:57. > :28:02.general commitment to equality. Most people think that civil
:28:02. > :28:05.weddings and civil partnerships are pretty much the same thing, married
:28:06. > :28:09.in all but name. Would it make any difference? Yes, because they are
:28:09. > :28:14.not the same Bo Storm marriages between a man and a woman. I think
:28:14. > :28:18.most people understand that. say it's up to the church, but if
:28:18. > :28:21.this law comes in, but human rights legislation and the European Court
:28:21. > :28:25.in Strasbourg, that is bound to get involved at some stage and the
:28:25. > :28:29.Church could be forced to do something it doesn't want to do.
:28:29. > :28:32.disagree. The legislation can and would make it very clear that under
:28:32. > :28:36.the Human Rights Act and the European Court of Human Rights,
:28:36. > :28:39.that it would simply not be possible to bring a case against
:28:39. > :28:43.the church which had chosen not to allow a marriage, a same-sex
:28:43. > :28:46.marriage to take place. What we are talking about his civil marriage.
:28:47. > :28:51.We are not talking about church has been forced to allow same-sex
:28:51. > :28:57.marriages. Would you like to withdraw the word dinosaur? Were
:28:57. > :29:00.you quoting me? Yes. It is a challenge for the churches. I think
:29:00. > :29:06.the churches have to move with the times. It is something that I hope
:29:06. > :29:10.they will seriously consider. churches are moving with the Times,
:29:10. > :29:15.some denominations are going to allow gay marriages in their houses
:29:15. > :29:21.of religion. Isn't the Church of England, which is already in some
:29:21. > :29:29.trouble in terms of its membership, going to be out of date and left
:29:29. > :29:35.behind? No. Like any voluntary association, particularly a church,
:29:35. > :29:39.it has its dog run, its teaching, and that is the ground on which we
:29:39. > :29:42.stand. Most churches will take the same position as the Church of
:29:42. > :29:47.England on this matter because of the long-standing, not just
:29:47. > :29:52.Christian churches, on the understanding of what marriage is.
:29:52. > :29:57.Most opinion... Being out of date is not an issue. But most people
:29:57. > :30:01.historically always regarded marriage as between a man and woman.
:30:01. > :30:07.But that public consensus has changed. An opinion poll suggests...
:30:07. > :30:10.It suggests otherwise. People don't feel so concerned about a same-sex
:30:10. > :30:14.couple getting together, good luck to them. The question is one
:30:14. > :30:18.weather that describes that as marriage. I entirely accept...
:30:18. > :30:24.There is an important point. The churches do have to make a better
:30:24. > :30:27.case about what marriage is. And while it is best... What I'd like
:30:27. > :30:31.to hear from the Synod is whether objective to civil marriages what
:30:31. > :30:41.they are doing. That is all we are talking about, not a religious
:30:41. > :30:41.
:30:41. > :30:47.marriage. There we go. We will have It is approaching 11.30am. You are
:30:47. > :30:52.You are watching the Sunday Politics. I will be looking at The
:30:52. > :31:02.Week Ahead. Before that, the Sunday Politics
:31:02. > :31:04.
:31:04. > :31:11.Hello. In the capital this week, football clubs are among the
:31:11. > :31:14.institutions being invited to set- up and run new schools. We look at
:31:14. > :31:19.whether Tottenham Hotspur is going to owe oblige.
:31:19. > :31:23.-- oblige. Here with us Richard Ottaway, among
:31:23. > :31:27.whose priorities is chairing the all party Parliamentary group on
:31:27. > :31:32.the limb pigs and Diane Abbott -- Olympics and Diane Abbott and of
:31:32. > :31:36.course, a a Shadow Health Minister. Let's kick off with council tax and
:31:36. > :31:43.Boris Johnson's decision to reduce his share of the council tax by 1%
:31:43. > :31:47.which means the average household will be �3.10 better off. Richard
:31:47. > :31:51.Ottaway, have you had enough time to think about how you are going to
:31:51. > :31:56.spend this windfall? This is a defining moment in the mayoral
:31:56. > :32:02.election. Under eight years of Ken, we had 150% rise in the council tax
:32:02. > :32:06.and here here Boris is producing a 16% cut over his term of office and
:32:06. > :32:10.that adds up and it is a stark contrast between the two candidates.
:32:10. > :32:16.Diane Abbott, what are you going to spend the money on? This is
:32:16. > :32:20.desperate stuff. Ken is gaining on Boris. He did very well withist
:32:20. > :32:24.fares campaign. This is a desperate bid by Boris. I think Ken is
:32:24. > :32:29.gaining on him. Londoners are realising this is hard times. You
:32:29. > :32:34.want a serious man, you want Ken and not Boris.
:32:34. > :32:38.A man we spoke to in the street this week said it didn't seem like
:32:39. > :32:43.the paperwork. She would say that if she had 150%
:32:43. > :32:47.increase in council tax. This is a kich principle. We want --
:32:47. > :32:52.Conservative Party principle. Boris marked it out clearly and I think
:32:52. > :33:01.it is well worth the effort. Yeah, London is not basically a
:33:01. > :33:09.Conservative town so tarting policies on Conservative principles
:33:09. > :33:15.will not help you. A teenager in Edmonton has become
:33:15. > :33:25.the first person in the UK to be jailed for breaching a gang
:33:25. > :33:26.
:33:26. > :33:36.Unlike ASBOs, aimed at stopping anti-social behaviours, gangbos are
:33:36. > :33:40.designed to stop young people have engaging in gang activity. The
:33:40. > :33:43.injunction stopped Dylan Martin from numerous actions including
:33:43. > :33:50.contacting gang members, wearing gang delurs and using the --
:33:50. > :33:53.colours and using the internet for inciting gang violence. In Edmonton,
:33:53. > :34:00.police are confident that these injunctions will have an impact.
:34:00. > :34:04.It is not just a legislation to divert them away and a bit of a
:34:04. > :34:10.toothless tiger. It will show that the legislation to put them in
:34:10. > :34:17.prison. Dylan Martin this week start add 15 month jail sentence,
:34:17. > :34:20.but could be out in half that way. Enfield Council's member is Ayfer
:34:20. > :34:28.Orhan. How many gang injunction have you taken out on young people?
:34:28. > :34:35.Well, this is the first in the country and we are committed to
:34:35. > :34:40.fight crime and gang related gang in Enfield. In the country it is
:34:40. > :34:44.the first... It was the breach of the injunction? And this young man
:34:44. > :34:50.breached it again the second time and found guilty in court and went
:34:50. > :34:53.to prison sadly and... dissimilar is this to ASBO and
:34:54. > :34:57.ASBOs. Was Enfield a council that took out lots of ASBOs because they
:34:57. > :35:02.get breached all the time and you don't take action against them?
:35:02. > :35:06.I know, but I think what we need to look at is the fact that Enfield
:35:06. > :35:09.Council is working in a collaborative way with the local
:35:09. > :35:13.police and with the other stakeholders in Enfield and we are
:35:13. > :35:18.really committed to fighting crime. This was an initiative we took and
:35:18. > :35:24.we are committed to the safety and security of our residents and for
:35:24. > :35:27.us, this was a very pinnacle decision we made. I mean this young
:35:27. > :35:32.man was an ideal candidate, unfortunately.
:35:32. > :35:36.Have you got other injunctions out on other people, who are perhaps
:35:36. > :35:40.abiding by the injunctions? Not at the moment, not that I am aware of.
:35:41. > :35:45.Do you expect to do this often? Do you expect other other councils to
:35:45. > :35:49.follow what you are doing here? hope so. I don't hope we do this
:35:49. > :35:59.often. I want to make sure we work with the police to put procedures
:35:59. > :35:59.
:35:59. > :36:03.in place so young people are deterred on taking - on becoming
:36:03. > :36:08.gang gang members and I don't know if you heard about the Glasgow
:36:08. > :36:13.situation where they organised a call-in, we have done something
:36:13. > :36:19.similar in Enfield and young people were invited to a local court...
:36:19. > :36:23.come in. People on the fringes or part of of gangs? They were invited
:36:23. > :36:27.and they came in voluntarily and I need to give them credit. They came
:36:27. > :36:33.in voluntarily and went through the jail and then into the docks as
:36:33. > :36:38.they would would do had they been arrested and had very hard fact,
:36:38. > :36:43.reality check at that court where they were confronted with people
:36:43. > :36:48.who had experienced gang violence. A a woman who lost her son to gang
:36:48. > :36:52.violence and in the local police... You had speakers, the speaker of
:36:52. > :36:56.America as well, but the purpose of this just to try and persuade
:36:56. > :36:59.people how it could ruin their lives? Absolutely. It is a long-
:36:59. > :37:02.term ruin, isn't it really? You have got injunction, you have got
:37:02. > :37:06.prison sentence and you come out and you try to build your life
:37:06. > :37:09.again and our message to the young people is actually it is not worth
:37:09. > :37:14.it and there are structures in Enfield working with our
:37:14. > :37:18.stakeholders to help you come away from gang crime and clearly, I
:37:18. > :37:21.think the fundamental message from Enfield is that you will either go
:37:21. > :37:25.to jail or you will die. What do you think, Diane Abbott,
:37:26. > :37:32.what did you make of it We, the Labour Government were proud of our
:37:32. > :37:37.ASBOs, but some saw the ASBOs as a badge of honour.
:37:37. > :37:41.And when they breached them, nothing happened? I was sceptical
:37:42. > :37:46.about ASBOs. But this is fine. This is one gang member behind bars, but
:37:46. > :37:50.there is dozens of them out on the streets of Enfield, not to say
:37:50. > :37:54.Hackney and Tottenham. When you say bring them to court and let them
:37:54. > :37:58.see the consequences of young, but I think you need to get them before
:37:58. > :38:02.the age of of twelve. Richard Ottaway, is this a scheme
:38:02. > :38:07.you would approve of? It is sad that he had to go to prison. It was
:38:07. > :38:10.inevitable, he clearly breached the terms of the injunction, but what
:38:10. > :38:14.these injunctions do is they break- up gang behaviour. It allows people
:38:14. > :38:17.to get in there and work with the kids. It stops gangs meeting at
:38:17. > :38:21.certain times and stops gangs meeting certain people and this is
:38:21. > :38:24.disruptive behaviour which is effective. We have seen it work in
:38:24. > :38:28.the United States and I congratulate you in Enfield for
:38:28. > :38:30.what you are doing. Richard Ottaway, Bernard Hogan-Howe,
:38:30. > :38:35.the Metropolitan Police Commissioner this week will launch
:38:35. > :38:38.his great big anti-gang strategy. You may not have wind of what he is
:38:38. > :38:41.going to do, but what would you like him to do? I would like to see
:38:41. > :38:45.him go further down this road. Early intervention with the kids
:38:45. > :38:50.trying to work with the kids, to talk them out of gang behaviour,
:38:50. > :38:55.realise that you know, a bit of carrot and a bit of stick to try
:38:55. > :38:58.and break it up. What has been happening over the last few years?
:38:59. > :39:03.Well, that's the thing. It is easy to say what we should do. But we
:39:03. > :39:07.have been talking about gangs for a decade in my part of London. There
:39:07. > :39:11.is the aim of trying to get them young, but residents want to see
:39:11. > :39:13.them go down, not just one person, but dozen of them need to be put
:39:13. > :39:19.behind bars. It will be interesting to see what
:39:19. > :39:24.progress you make. Their manager Harry Redknapp told a
:39:24. > :39:31.court last week that he had problems reading and writing, so
:39:31. > :39:36.perhaps it is apt that Tottenham hot Hotspur Football Club are
:39:36. > :39:45.thinking about opening a school. Andrew Creighon reports on what
:39:45. > :39:47.they might bring to the classroom The glory days are back. Spurs are
:39:47. > :39:51.winning trophies, sit third in the league and hit the headlines this
:39:51. > :39:55.week with the news that having flirted with the move to the
:39:55. > :40:03.Olympic Stadium, the replacement for white Hart lane was going to be
:40:03. > :40:08.built in the local areas. Spurs are staying on the same site. The new
:40:08. > :40:12.stadium will stretch into the distance behind me. The club club
:40:12. > :40:15.have resubmitted their planning application and within it, it
:40:15. > :40:20.contains space for an educational facility and quite possibly a
:40:20. > :40:24.school. The idea of using the new ground in
:40:24. > :40:27.this way was sparked by a letter from the Education Secretary,
:40:27. > :40:32.Michael Gove. In August 2010, he wrote to every premiership club in
:40:32. > :40:36.the country and asked them to consider sponsoring an academy or
:40:36. > :40:42.setting up a free school, but other football clubs in the London area
:40:42. > :40:49.are involved in running our schools. This is the Harefield Academy, set-
:40:49. > :40:56.up by board members of watt Watford football club. To get on to wall
:40:56. > :41:06.you have to be national... youngsters that are doing sport
:41:06. > :41:07.
:41:07. > :41:13.have driven forward the academic progress, achieving four A to C
:41:13. > :41:19.grades is the norm. And that wouldn't happen without
:41:19. > :41:25.Watford Watford Football Club? has evolved.
:41:25. > :41:29.Harefield has turned out 20 boys who have gone on to play
:41:29. > :41:34.professional football. The majority of our boys won't play
:41:34. > :41:39.in the premiership. So what we do here, we make sure we give the boy
:41:39. > :41:43.as safety net. If they don't achieve as a footballer, they get a
:41:43. > :41:47.good strong education and use their skills in another walk of life.
:41:47. > :41:57.But back in North London, what might a Tottenham school look like?
:41:57. > :42:05.
:42:05. > :42:09.But from we have learned the plans maybe controversial. Spurs have
:42:09. > :42:14.chosen a group called Wey Education to draw up the club's education
:42:14. > :42:18.strategy. The group are unpopular wm some -- with some campaigners.
:42:18. > :42:22.Tottenham, their education is about make ago profit out of State
:42:22. > :42:25.education. Their business model which they put forward to investors
:42:25. > :42:29.last year says they are confident that they can make a profit out of
:42:29. > :42:33.the current existing levels of funding.
:42:33. > :42:37.Another difficulty for Spurs could be the local controversy
:42:37. > :42:39.surrounding school reforms in Haringey. This year downhill
:42:40. > :42:42.Primary School made headlines around the country as one of a
:42:42. > :42:47.number of local primaries that could be forced to become an
:42:47. > :42:51.academy. A political argument that the club maybe keen to avoid.
:42:51. > :43:00.In the meantime, politicians are almost certain to want to keep
:43:00. > :43:04.being seen to be involved in Andrew Creighon there. It is always
:43:04. > :43:10.worth seeing Ed Balls and Tony Blair on the football field. I am
:43:10. > :43:16.joined by Rachel Wolf. What can football clubs bring and were
:43:16. > :43:24.Tottenham Hotspur to spur sue this idea, why -- pursue this idea, why
:43:24. > :43:27.would they be better? They are a wonderingful -- wonderful example
:43:27. > :43:31.of the number of organisations who want to get involved in improving
:43:31. > :43:35.standards for their community. You have seen a lot of football clubs
:43:35. > :43:39.around the country doing this. What can they bring? They can bring
:43:39. > :43:42.expertise in sport and in engaging people. A lot of people look up to
:43:42. > :43:45.football clubs. They see footballers as role models and when
:43:45. > :43:49.football clubs stand up and say, "We want to get involved in
:43:49. > :43:53.education. We believe in education and want to donate time and money
:43:53. > :43:58.and energy into making schools better." That sends a fantastic
:43:58. > :44:05.message to the community. Norwich Football Club is helping do the PE
:44:05. > :44:09.lessons for the Norwich Free School. One problem is the geography, there
:44:09. > :44:13.is a good community secondary school opposite. Location matters,
:44:13. > :44:16.doesn't it? Could there be any grounds for having a new school,
:44:16. > :44:21.taxpayer funded, right opposite an existing?
:44:21. > :44:26.We have a shortage of places at the moment. It is mostly primary, but
:44:26. > :44:29.it will feed through to secondary. That's your get out here. Let's
:44:29. > :44:34.assume that wasn't the issue? That's one of it. With free schools,
:44:34. > :44:37.you cannot set-up a free school unless you have a petition from
:44:38. > :44:40.parents saying, "This school will be the first choice for my child."
:44:40. > :44:43.Unless parents are getting behind this and saying this is an
:44:43. > :44:47.alternative we want. Yes, this is something we are looking for, the
:44:47. > :44:51.school doesn't get set-up and it is time we listened to communities and
:44:52. > :44:58.if they are calling out for an organisation like to the nam or any
:44:58. > :45:02.other -- any other to to set-up one, that's is wonder..
:45:02. > :45:12.The free school revolution hasn't swept into your constituencies. Any
:45:12. > :45:17.
:45:17. > :45:23.There's not much difference between the two. How you got a free school
:45:23. > :45:28.yet? We are working with some groups there. Why wouldn't that be?
:45:28. > :45:33.The want to have one. You want a free school? Yes. We have an
:45:33. > :45:39.academy, which is very similar. The last parents' night before it
:45:39. > :45:44.became an Academy, 60 parents turned up. The first parents' night
:45:44. > :45:48.after the academy status, 600 parents turned up. You've got to
:45:48. > :45:52.have the local community behind it. Whether it is an Academy or free
:45:52. > :45:59.school, it is the outcome and enthusiasm that is important.
:45:59. > :46:04.of academies in Hackney, and they have transformed the area. No free
:46:04. > :46:09.school yet. What about this idea of a football club doing a free
:46:09. > :46:13.school? We gave academies an awful lot of money. I've got five
:46:13. > :46:16.beautiful academies in Hackney, a lot of money was spent on them. Far
:46:16. > :46:21.different from the free school model. But we haven't got any pre-
:46:21. > :46:27.schools yet, and we do have a rather good primary schools. We do
:46:27. > :46:31.you think of free schools? embrace lots of things now. We have
:46:31. > :46:36.to have an open mind about them. With the academies, they are
:46:36. > :46:39.unpopular with a lot of teachers and teachers' unions, but every
:46:40. > :46:43.years people are clamouring to get into them. The only thing about
:46:43. > :46:46.free schools is will they really have the funding and offer
:46:46. > :46:49.something different? Anything that gets boys to go to school and stay
:46:49. > :46:55.at school rather than being out on the streets and getting up to no
:46:55. > :47:00.good must be a good thing. However, I'd prefer an Arsenal school than a
:47:00. > :47:06.Tottenham school! A Crystal Palace School! I bet you don't support
:47:06. > :47:13.Crystal Palace. I do. This idea of football and what they can bring,
:47:13. > :47:17.does a tide past it? It will appeal to young kids. Going to the Spurs
:47:17. > :47:22.School, Arsenal School, Crystal Palace school - this is something
:47:22. > :47:26.they can be proud of. It would generate the enthusiasm we need.
:47:26. > :47:30.is just a brand. But if it is a brand that attracts young people do
:47:30. > :47:35.come to school then that is fine. But we do have to be careful about
:47:35. > :47:38.having opposite and existing schools. You hope it is more than a
:47:38. > :47:42.branding, it can Jennie Willett raise standards for everybody.
:47:42. > :47:45.Everton are setting up a school for children who have been excluded
:47:45. > :47:49.from other schools. They are putting masses of time and energy
:47:49. > :47:53.and expertise in working out how to deliver that educational model. I
:47:53. > :47:58.think it's about people thinking about new ways of doing things. We
:47:58. > :48:01.are delighted that the government has put extra money, they announced
:48:01. > :48:03.600 million more funding for free schools in autumn, because there
:48:04. > :48:08.are thousands of groups we are working with who want to do this.
:48:08. > :48:14.It has captured what people want for their communities. What else
:48:14. > :48:24.has been happening in this city this week? Here is an idea in at 60
:48:24. > :48:24.
:48:24. > :48:28.The new Metropolitan Police chief has said it is essential Tasers are
:48:28. > :48:33.more readily available to police. But critics claim that the use of
:48:33. > :48:38.Tasers, alongside CS gas, is an inflammable accident waiting to
:48:38. > :48:43.happen. In Parliament, the Prime Minister offered reassurance that
:48:43. > :48:47.the Epsom and St Helier hospital merger will still be actively
:48:47. > :48:51.considered. Priority for the trust remains to secure the future of
:48:51. > :48:55.Epsom, St Helier and Sutton Hospital. A new proposed solution
:48:55. > :48:59.to the commuting problems Londoners are likely to face during the
:48:59. > :49:06.Olympics came from Transport for London chief, Peter Hendy. Wait for
:49:06. > :49:08.half-an-hour, have a beer, watch the games in the pub. Tottenham
:49:08. > :49:14.Hotspur football club have announced they now intend to build
:49:14. > :49:16.their new stadium in Tottenham, following the mayor's pledge of �18
:49:16. > :49:26.million and Haringey Council giving �9 million to improve the
:49:26. > :49:29.
:49:29. > :49:35.So much Tottenham. Let's talk about Tottenham. No, let's not. Stay a
:49:35. > :49:39.bit longer and have a beer, avoid London Bridge state -- station - is
:49:39. > :49:42.this going to work? A lot of work has gone into movements around
:49:42. > :49:46.London during the Olympics. Any Saturday afternoon there is
:49:46. > :49:50.Tottenham, Arsenal, rugby at Twickenham going on. But we do have
:49:50. > :49:54.to think ahead, we do have to plan. That is what TfL and Peter Hendy
:49:54. > :49:58.have been up to. You guys don't have to go to work during that time,
:49:58. > :50:03.you what during one of your long holidays. I will be at home,
:50:03. > :50:08.dealing with my hundreds of e-mails. You won't be affected by it Olympic
:50:08. > :50:13.traffic? I will be, Dravid will be a nightmare. But Peter Hendy is
:50:13. > :50:18.right on this. Anybody who can work from home should work for from home.
:50:18. > :50:23.A lot of people will... Do you think people will heed that message
:50:23. > :50:26.and companies will allow them to work at home? I think so. Traffic
:50:26. > :50:30.tales of in August anyway. When people are warned that something is
:50:30. > :50:33.going on, it does all quite considerably. Having the added
:50:33. > :50:39.encouragement of a beer or a lemonade whenever you want will
:50:39. > :50:44.make a difference. As politicians, for us, politics always goes on.
:50:44. > :50:47.Politics never stop. Bosses won't have any option. There's no point
:50:47. > :50:51.in people spending three hours in traffic. Talking about beer or
:50:51. > :51:01.lemonade, thank you very much indeed. With that, it's back to
:51:01. > :51:03.
:51:03. > :51:13.Goodwin lost his knighthood and Chris Huhne, he lost his job. What
:51:13. > :51:14.
:51:14. > :51:18.Bonuses still in the headlines. There will be more bankers bonuses
:51:18. > :51:21.coming out this week and next week. Now Justine Greening has told the
:51:21. > :51:25.Sunday Politics she's going to the Network Rail Board to vote against
:51:25. > :51:29.their bonus. It sounded like a development on this story.
:51:29. > :51:33.Technically, what Justine Greening was saying is she can't actually
:51:33. > :51:37.tell them what to do. But it sounds as if they will take very seriously
:51:37. > :51:45.her displeasure, and that will actually influence the outcome.
:51:45. > :51:48.Network Rail has been playing games as well. Clearly the law, she has
:51:48. > :51:52.convinced the law that she doesn't but she still can go along and make
:51:52. > :51:58.a point. I would suggest that the Secretary of State for Transport
:51:58. > :52:02.votes against the bonus scheme, in reality Network Rail can't continue.
:52:02. > :52:06.I don't think they can divide the will of the Secretary of State. I
:52:06. > :52:10.do wonder whether this backlash against bonuses is in danger of
:52:10. > :52:14.crossing the line. Last week the Hester hysteria was embarrassing.
:52:14. > :52:17.It's more than embarrassing now. Britain is what requiring a
:52:18. > :52:21.reputation internationally as a place which is not just tie in
:52:21. > :52:25.taxation and regulation, but which has also culturally hostile to
:52:25. > :52:28.business. That is a ruinous image to have. I really think that the
:52:28. > :52:33.British public have no problem with giving awards to people when they
:52:33. > :52:37.feel it is earned. When they feel the prices are right and when the
:52:37. > :52:41.services become efficient and when jobs aren't being cut. But in a lot
:52:41. > :52:45.of cases, particularly the rail companies, people feel the service
:52:45. > :52:49.isn't improving. In fact, it's getting worse. That is a problem
:52:49. > :52:53.that the government has to tackle. Would people be surprised to know
:52:53. > :52:59.that the head of Network Rail is on a salary of �560,000. Under this
:52:59. > :53:03.scheme he would be up for a bonus of 340,000, taking him pretty near
:53:04. > :53:08.to �1 million. He has not risk a penny of his own money. He hasn't
:53:08. > :53:11.got any competition because there's only one railway. This is a problem
:53:11. > :53:16.across the board on our public bodies. The Sunday Times today has
:53:16. > :53:21.a story about the Director of Communications at the qualities
:53:21. > :53:27.Commission who is earning an enormous demand. How can that
:53:27. > :53:32.possibly be justified? What is the answer to that? I think the problem
:53:32. > :53:36.is, I agree it with you, it seems to be very reactionary. It goes to
:53:36. > :53:40.the front pages come as something changes and then the cycle
:53:40. > :53:44.continues. What we need is a systematic approach to bonuses and
:53:44. > :53:49.rewards across the board, instead of having this ad hoc, populous
:53:49. > :53:52.response. I can't see why they don't just re-advertised the job
:53:52. > :53:56.for the qualities Commission. I'm sure he's very good at his job but
:53:56. > :54:01.he's only there on an interim basis. Let's re-advertised it and see who
:54:01. > :54:05.we can get for 50 grand. I find it amazing that someone can be on
:54:05. > :54:09.�250,000. It doesn't sound equal to me. It's at the equalities
:54:09. > :54:15.Commission. There's an important difference between public bodies
:54:15. > :54:18.and private enterprises. The government getting as involved in
:54:18. > :54:23.the private sector alarms me. storm clouds are gathering for Mr
:54:23. > :54:29.Cameron today. Very bad press, called shifty and weak by the
:54:29. > :54:34.Sunday Times. Who is responsible for the Sunday Times editorials?
:54:34. > :54:41.I'll not go there. Attacked in the Sunday Telegraph, too. One of the
:54:41. > :54:45.fall-out from Mr Chris Huhne's de boccia, the MPs trying to change
:54:45. > :54:49.run green policy now. What has happened is perhaps a bit of
:54:49. > :54:53.complacency has crept into the Tory leadership and into Number 10.
:54:53. > :54:57.Perhaps because over the last few weeks and months, the Labour
:54:58. > :55:02.leadership has been so weak. This has just allowed the government,
:55:02. > :55:05.the Tory lead government, to rest on their laurels a bit. What we see
:55:05. > :55:09.is a Prime Minister who is quite happy... For what I think is
:55:09. > :55:13.happening is Cameron's big advantage as a politician is he is
:55:13. > :55:17.a total pragmatist. He's been very good at balancing the group's
:55:18. > :55:21.between his backbenchers and vendors, the public and the Lib
:55:21. > :55:25.Dems. But all of these groups are getting further apart on all of the
:55:25. > :55:28.issues, whether it is the environment, bonuses or whatever.
:55:28. > :55:32.He's looking less like a pragmatist and more like someone who is quite
:55:32. > :55:36.inconsistent. That is where the right wing press are coming out
:55:36. > :55:40.against him. It's coming at a time when Mr Ed Miliband is showing
:55:40. > :55:43.signs of life. Supposedly. On Cameron, I think he'll be less
:55:43. > :55:47.worried about the MPs writing letters that he will be about
:55:47. > :55:52.criticism in newspapers that Number 10 takes very seriously, like the
:55:52. > :55:55.Times and Sunday Times. I think the Times criticism is fair. It points
:55:55. > :55:58.at something which has been noticeable recently. In the first
:55:58. > :56:02.18 months of the government they did a very good job of avoiding
:56:02. > :56:06.day-by-day, new striven tactical to-ing and fro-ing, in favour of
:56:06. > :56:09.big, strategic decisions on things like the economy and public sector
:56:09. > :56:14.reform. On the bonus issue and a few other things, they've lost a
:56:14. > :56:21.bit of that. This is a Prime Minister who boasts about having
:56:21. > :56:26.time for weekly date nights with Samantha, and says he has time to
:56:26. > :56:31.play Fruit Manger on his iPad. That looks like not just a normal person
:56:31. > :56:37.but someone who is likely idle for leading the country. Mr Miliband.
:56:37. > :56:41.Two good weeks. Is this a watershed? There is a danger of
:56:41. > :56:46.exaggerating how could it has been. The pattern that is a problem for
:56:46. > :56:51.him is he keeps seizing upon issues where Labour already have a lot of
:56:51. > :56:54.strength. Murdoch, the NHS, executive pay at the top. In order
:56:54. > :56:58.to gain ground as a leader of the opposition, you need to start
:56:58. > :57:04.pulling on issues where your party is not trusted. That means welfare
:57:04. > :57:08.abuse. On the Labour side, are based sensing this I think the
:57:08. > :57:12.press is very fickle. You can have two good weeks and then you can say
:57:12. > :57:17.he is on the up. In a week's time everything can change. It is
:57:17. > :57:20.interesting that in the longer term picture, Ed Miliband has come under
:57:20. > :57:26.a huge amount of personal pressure but he is still there and still
:57:26. > :57:31.raising issues people care about. He is going on the NHS as well as
:57:31. > :57:34.bonuses, but I wonder if he is at the risk of coming a cropper there.
:57:34. > :57:38.As a student union thing about the way he has gone about this. Three
:57:38. > :57:42.months to save the NHS. The NHS will still be there in three months.
:57:42. > :57:45.An advantage to that is the campaign has in-built victory. He's
:57:45. > :57:53.going to be able to say at the end of it, we still have a functioning
:57:53. > :57:57.NHS. It depends what happens. This bill was going to get completely
:57:57. > :58:01.changed. I think Ed Miliband is picking up on that and pushing it.
:58:01. > :58:08.There is an area where the bonus issue and the Ed Miliband issue a
:58:08. > :58:11.lines. As David Miliband argued recently, the left have been
:58:11. > :58:17.dawdling on how to distribute wealth but not have to created in