:00:38. > :00:41.Morning, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics. The battle lines
:00:41. > :00:45.are drawn. The question has been sorted. There's to be only one, not
:00:45. > :00:51.two. And if you're sweet 16 or 17 you might even get the chance to
:00:51. > :00:54.vote. What am I talking about? The referendum on Scottish independence.
:00:54. > :00:57.David Cameron and Alex Salmond will announce all the deal tomorrow.
:00:57. > :01:02.We'll be asking both sides if they're happy with the rules of
:01:02. > :01:05.engagement? This man has a tall order on his hands. He's charged
:01:05. > :01:08.with leading the Conservative Party to victory at the next election.
:01:08. > :01:13.We'll be asking Grant Shapps how he intends to do it in the Sunday
:01:13. > :01:17.interview. And should it be on your bike, Thrasher Mitchell? The Police
:01:17. > :01:20.Federation thinks so. But David Cameron does not, so far. We'll be
:01:20. > :01:30.talking about the Chief Whip's future and much much more in the
:01:30. > :01:34.week ahead. In London, after the Olympics, what legacy for the
:01:34. > :01:44.jobless youngsters? And Paralympians Sophie Christiansen on
:01:44. > :01:46.her battle to improve access on the They're articulate, they're plugged
:01:46. > :01:56.in, they're the hackiest hacks known to mankind. And they can
:01:56. > :01:57.
:01:57. > :02:00.tweet! Yes, three of the biggest brains in Pundit Land and they're
:02:00. > :02:02.cheaper than Pound Land. Welcome, Nick Watt, Janan Ganesh and Isabel
:02:02. > :02:05.Oakeshott. Let's go immediately to Scotland because tomorrow David
:02:05. > :02:07.Cameron and Alex Salmond will announce the deal they've done to
:02:07. > :02:10.facilitate a referendum on Scottish independence. In a moment we'll
:02:10. > :02:20.talk to those campaigning for and against. But first here's Susanna
:02:20. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:33.The battle lines have been drawn, and the guns loaded, metaphorically
:02:33. > :02:37.speaking. But now the fight over when and whether Scotland should
:02:38. > :02:41.have its own say seems to be over. The British Prime Minister and the
:02:41. > :02:45.Scottish First Minister appear to have put down their weapons and
:02:45. > :02:49.they are about to shake hands on a deal that will give Scottish people
:02:49. > :02:52.a referendum on their independence. Ever since the Scottish National
:02:52. > :02:56.Party trounced Labour at the elections to the Scottish
:02:56. > :03:04.parliament last year, there has been mounting pressure for a public
:03:04. > :03:09.vote. A Labour MP says it has been a battle well played. Alex Salmond
:03:09. > :03:14.is a very skilful operator, and I think he has managed to manoeuvre
:03:14. > :03:18.the UK government into a position whereby they are now forced to
:03:18. > :03:23.recognise the magnificent mandate the Scottish government won in
:03:23. > :03:30.order to hold this referendum, and that the referendum should be made
:03:30. > :03:33.in Scotland and run in Scotland for the people of Scotland. Edinburgh
:03:33. > :03:37.Castle has changed hands several times over the centuries and the
:03:37. > :03:41.question of who should rule Scotland has long been a
:03:41. > :03:46.controversial one. The deal on the table appears to be a referendum by
:03:46. > :03:56.the end of 2014, by which time 16 and 17 year olds would get the
:03:56. > :03:59.
:03:59. > :04:05.chance to vote. That is not what the SNP were fighting for - they
:04:05. > :04:12.wanted a second question on whether there should be devolved powers.
:04:12. > :04:16.One of those campaigning for a No vote on Scott and leaving the UK is
:04:16. > :04:21.glad that idea is not making the deal. At the beginning of this
:04:21. > :04:26.process Alex Salmond wanted to determine the timing, the body
:04:26. > :04:31.overseeing it, and frankly it began to look as if he wanted to fix the
:04:31. > :04:34.referendum in his own image. referendum could also be opening
:04:34. > :04:38.the doors to 16 and 17 year olds voting, although the Scottish
:04:38. > :04:43.parliament would have to decide on that. Some doubt younger voters
:04:43. > :04:48.would make any difference to the result. There are not enough 16 and
:04:48. > :04:53.17 year olds in Scotland. They only represent about 2.5 % of the
:04:53. > :04:59.electorate. There are not enough of them to set up opinion-poll, which
:04:59. > :05:06.at the moment are suggesting Yes vote might be as low as 37 %. Even
:05:06. > :05:10.if every 16 and 17 year-old turned up and voted yes, they could not
:05:10. > :05:20.swing things. A with the finishing touches on a referendum deal all
:05:20. > :05:21.
:05:21. > :05:25.but complete, all that is left now is to fire the starting gun.
:05:25. > :05:31.Now the deputy First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, joins us
:05:31. > :05:35.from Glasgow. Can you explain, why have you agreed to forgo a third
:05:35. > :05:42.choice on the ballot paper offering less than independence but a lot
:05:42. > :05:47.more devolution and present mealy for votes for 16 year-olds? The SNP
:05:47. > :05:51.have never said we wanted a second option on the ballot paper. We said
:05:51. > :05:56.it should not be prematurely ruled out and we thought it should be
:05:56. > :06:01.decided by the Scottish parliament. In any negotiation, both sides have
:06:01. > :06:06.to compromise. I am satisfied the outcome we have reached is approved
:06:06. > :06:10.by the First Minister and the Prime Minister tomorrow, guaranteeing a
:06:10. > :06:14.referendum in Scotland. At the start of this year we had David
:06:14. > :06:19.Cameron trying to dictate the timing, the wording of the question,
:06:19. > :06:26.the franchise, and these things will now be determined in Scotland.
:06:26. > :06:31.Have you not sold yourself short? The evidence suggests strongly that
:06:32. > :06:37.in a straight yes No vote, you will lose. We have two years ago. If you
:06:37. > :06:41.cast your mind back to the Scottish Parliament election, the SNP were
:06:41. > :06:45.15 points behind in the opinion polls. We went on a few months
:06:45. > :06:55.later to win a majority in the Scottish parliament. I am confident
:06:55. > :06:59.we can win a majority for Yes vote. The Yes vote will enable us to
:06:59. > :07:06.determine our own future so I am confident that is something we can
:07:07. > :07:13.win. You are up against a shambles of the Labour Party at that time.
:07:13. > :07:19.In the most recent reputable survey, it shows of 1000 Scottish people,
:07:19. > :07:29.prop up bowling, support for the union at 53 %, saw -- support for
:07:29. > :07:30.
:07:30. > :07:33.your position only 38. What will change? We now know there is a Tory
:07:33. > :07:37.Labour consensus in Scotland to roll back the progress of
:07:37. > :07:41.devolution. Whichever one of these parties is in government in
:07:41. > :07:46.Westminster, they want to take away free personal care for the elderly,
:07:46. > :07:54.bus passes away from pensioners, free health care at that point of
:07:54. > :07:58.need so that is what the no vote means. We know that both of those
:07:58. > :08:02.parties want to do that in the Scottish parliament and Westminster.
:08:03. > :08:08.Yes vote is a vote for Scotland to be in charge of the decisions about
:08:08. > :08:14.the future of our country. I think if we spell that out, opinion polls
:08:14. > :08:18.will start to turn around. You can take these decisions now, that is
:08:18. > :08:25.up to the Scottish parliament. have a budget that is year on year
:08:25. > :08:29.being reduced, and that is what is putting John Lambert for example
:08:29. > :08:36.from the Labour Party into a straight jacket. This will give
:08:36. > :08:41.Scotland control of our own resources. We can choose to invest
:08:42. > :08:47.in tackling child poverty, rather than �100 million a year on Trident
:08:47. > :08:51.nuclear weapons. You ditched the third choice in return for votes
:08:51. > :08:55.for 16 and 17 year olds because your party thinks teenagers in
:08:55. > :09:04.Scotland are more nationalist, but a recent poll of school children
:09:04. > :09:11.who will be 16 and 70, we found a small percentage wanted
:09:11. > :09:15.independence. -- 16 and 17. don't favour of votes for these
:09:16. > :09:21.people because we feel it gives us an advantage, we favour that
:09:21. > :09:25.because we feel it is right. Where we have had power to do so
:09:25. > :09:29.previously, we have already extended the franchise to 16 and 17
:09:29. > :09:33.year olds. We think it is the right thing to do and I'm glad the
:09:34. > :09:38.Scottish parliament will be in a position to make that choice.
:09:38. > :09:46.made the negotiations so you carry the can if it goes pear-shaped, you
:09:46. > :09:54.must be worried you threw away the choice of devolution Max. I don't
:09:54. > :09:58.think I am giving you an exclusive when the SNP's favoured
:09:58. > :10:04.constitution for Scotland is independence. That will be on the
:10:04. > :10:08.ballot paper in a referendum, the timing of which, the question for
:10:08. > :10:13.which will be determined in the Scottish parliament. A referendum
:10:13. > :10:19.made in Scotland, that is what we set out to achieve. Except for the
:10:19. > :10:24.fact it will be yes no question. In doing this deal with Westminster,
:10:24. > :10:34.and you were at the heart of the negotiations, did you seek and were
:10:34. > :10:36.
:10:36. > :10:41.you given reassurance... For that is a question for Labour and Tories,
:10:41. > :10:49.parties arguing against yes vote. They have to set out what the no
:10:49. > :10:54.vote means. They need to spell that out. I think we see those people
:10:55. > :10:58.that want more powers now beginning to turned towards Yes vote. We see
:10:58. > :11:05.more people in the Sunday papers today with that view because people
:11:05. > :11:15.who want change know that the only way of getting guaranteed that
:11:15. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:20.change is to vote yes in the referendum. Who said this quote?
:11:20. > :11:25.didn't hear the first part of it. This is not a referendum about
:11:25. > :11:32.national identity. I am a proud Scot, but this is a referendum that
:11:32. > :11:37.will determine where economic and political power resides. We want to
:11:37. > :11:41.make sure that just as we take decisions now over the future of
:11:41. > :11:48.the health service, so too can we make decisions about the future of
:11:48. > :11:50.the economy. It was Robbie Burns. Thank you for joining us this
:11:50. > :11:56.morning. The man charged with persuading
:11:56. > :12:00.people to keep the UK together, Alistair Darling, is now in our
:12:00. > :12:05.head in the studio. Do you agree with Michael Forsyth that David
:12:05. > :12:10.Cameron has washed his hands of the referendum like Pontius Pilate?
:12:10. > :12:16.know, I don't. Am pleased we have got this agreement particularly on
:12:16. > :12:21.there being one question about staying in the UK or leaving, and
:12:21. > :12:25.that is something the nationalists recognise they didn't have the
:12:25. > :12:30.support for a second, more muddled question. I am anxious to get on to
:12:30. > :12:34.the merits of it. Listening to Nicola Sturgeon, she rightly keeps
:12:34. > :12:38.going on about the economy, which is central, but I just wonder if
:12:38. > :12:42.she has reflected on the fact that their policy of keeping the pound
:12:42. > :12:46.within the fiscal union actually means that the Scottish parliament
:12:46. > :12:51.would have to have its budget agreed with what would remain with
:12:51. > :12:55.the UK as they are doing in the eurozone. A currency union takes
:12:55. > :13:00.you to a political union so it demonstrates that the sooner we get
:13:00. > :13:07.on to the merits of this argument and cut through the bluster and
:13:07. > :13:11.nonsense, the better it will be. have to years to get on to the
:13:11. > :13:16.substance, I'm just interested, given what will happen in Edinburgh
:13:16. > :13:20.tomorrow, more about the process. In your view was it sensible to
:13:20. > :13:26.hand over to Alex Salmond the wording of the question, votes for
:13:26. > :13:31.16 and 17 year olds, and to agree to delay the vote until 2014? Again,
:13:31. > :13:36.Michael Forsyth described it as a pawn in negotiation. The key thing
:13:36. > :13:41.at stake in these negotiations was to get the single question. As you
:13:41. > :13:46.have raised these other matters, let me deal with them. I would have
:13:46. > :13:50.preferred to have this referendum in the autumn of 23rd team because
:13:50. > :13:54.it two-year election campaign, longer than they take to elect the
:13:54. > :13:59.President of the United States, will try the patience of the public.
:13:59. > :14:04.In relation to 16 and 17 year olds, I personally don't think we should
:14:04. > :14:08.change the franchise for one particular referendum or election.
:14:08. > :14:11.However, I understand and it is perfectly understandably
:14:11. > :14:14.philosophically what the UK government has said we will not
:14:14. > :14:18.seek to block the Scottish Parliament for extending this
:14:18. > :14:22.franchise if that is what it wants to do. If they do do that, they
:14:22. > :14:31.will have to do rather more than what we have at the moment, whether
:14:31. > :14:35.it is Shia chance if the 16 or 17 year-old is on the register. In
:14:35. > :14:40.relation to the wording, and in relation to the spending, I am
:14:40. > :14:46.clear that you can't be both a player and a referee in this
:14:46. > :14:51.contest at the same time. The electoral commission has got to be
:14:51. > :14:54.arbitrary here and both sides, no matter how inconvenient it may be,
:14:54. > :14:59.needs to stick to that. The would you settle for the question that
:14:59. > :15:09.has been floated - do you agree that Scotland should be an
:15:09. > :15:11.
:15:11. > :15:15.I would prefer a question that is not tilted either way. A newspaper
:15:15. > :15:19.carried out an opinion poll using Alex Salmond's chosen words and the
:15:19. > :15:23.result was worse for him than the previous poll. I think we can win
:15:23. > :15:26.this on merits. But it's important in relation to fairness, people in
:15:26. > :15:30.Scotland feeling this is a fair campaign and they are hearing
:15:30. > :15:34.arguments on both sides, that both sides should agree the Electoral
:15:34. > :15:40.Commission is the arbiter here. They are independent, they have no
:15:40. > :15:45.axe to grind. Any attempt to weasel out of that would be very bad
:15:45. > :15:50.indeed. Your campaign is called Better Together. Why isn't Gordon
:15:50. > :15:55.Brown playing a major role? He has, he made two speeches in August in
:15:55. > :15:58.relation to this, two very good speech as they were as well. The
:15:58. > :16:02.reason we call that that is because it is what we believe her. We are
:16:02. > :16:07.proud of being both Scottish and British. We believe that Scotland
:16:07. > :16:11.has a lot to contribute to the UK. We are far more than the sum of our
:16:11. > :16:16.parts. The UK has done tremendous things and has got tremendous
:16:16. > :16:19.potential to do things. At a time like this, when you have
:16:19. > :16:24.unparalleled economic uncertainty, to set off in an uncertain
:16:24. > :16:28.direction, a step that would be impossible to leave, I think it
:16:28. > :16:32.would be a disaster. I think that most people in Scotland believe we
:16:32. > :16:36.are better together. If you are better together, would you shared a
:16:36. > :16:43.platform with David Cameron? I have no problem sharing platforms when I
:16:43. > :16:47.agree with others. I disagree with David Cameron, George Osborne, Nick
:16:47. > :16:50.Clegg, for what it matters, on the relation of the economy at the
:16:51. > :16:55.moment. But on the issue of what is best for the people of Scotland,
:16:55. > :16:59.best for the UK, we are better at together. If you look at the
:16:59. > :17:03.evidence, that is an argument we can win. We have 100 weeks in front
:17:03. > :17:06.of us before we can get into the polling stations. I think if we can
:17:06. > :17:09.put the arguments across convincingly, people can see that
:17:09. > :17:13.we are better as part of the UK, Scottish and British together, I
:17:13. > :17:17.think we can win the argument. Scotland does not take your advice
:17:17. > :17:22.and votes for independence, where does that leave your career? What
:17:22. > :17:27.would you do? It isn't about me, it's about the next 300 years, when
:17:27. > :17:32.me and you are long gone and forgotten. You will be around for a
:17:32. > :17:35.while yet! I hope I will be. But for the next two years, what I have
:17:35. > :17:39.focused on his winning the argument, the biggest single question that
:17:39. > :17:43.people in Scotland are going to be asked for the next 300 years. It is
:17:43. > :17:48.profoundly important and I think we can win that argument as long as we
:17:48. > :17:52.get on to the merits. Frankly, the other lot have had 80 odd years,
:17:52. > :17:58.since the SNP were set up, and they seem quite thin when it comes to
:17:58. > :18:03.the answers. Nick, is the Alex Salmond strategy,
:18:03. > :18:06.they say it is a referendum made in Scotland, but having to agree to
:18:06. > :18:12.yes or no, does that mean his strategy is beginning to unravel or
:18:12. > :18:17.not? I think it is a strategy of failure. Do you remember the slogan,
:18:17. > :18:21.free by 93? His slogan for this was that you should have the three
:18:21. > :18:28.questions, in or out and then the devo-max question. He, as a
:18:29. > :18:32.separatist, could not make the case for devo-max, massive evolution but
:18:32. > :18:37.short of independence, he could not make that case. He wanted civic
:18:37. > :18:41.Scotland to make that case. There was silence from them, so he's back
:18:41. > :18:45.to it in or out. He's not happy with a few things, but he's happy
:18:45. > :18:52.it's one question. It seems to me that Mr Cameron was prepared to
:18:52. > :18:56.give on everything, as long as he got the yes or no question and no
:18:56. > :19:01.third option? London took the view that it was worth giving everything
:19:01. > :19:08.away to get that? Then a significant thing from the SNP's
:19:08. > :19:12.point of view is the timetable, which gives the SNP, they hope,
:19:12. > :19:16.long enough to build up a real momentum for their campaign. I
:19:16. > :19:20.think the votes for 16 and 17-year- olds is a bit of a red herring. It
:19:20. > :19:25.is the timescale they are pinning their hopes on. The problem is, a
:19:25. > :19:30.lot can go wrong in two years, as well as right. Since Alex Salmond
:19:30. > :19:35.announced the campaign, support for independence has gone from 38%,
:19:35. > :19:39.down to 28%? Alex Salmond can only build that momentum by answering
:19:39. > :19:43.the substantive questions which Alastair Darling alluded to.
:19:43. > :19:46.Questions to do with currency, who stands behind RBS if the worst
:19:46. > :19:51.comes to the worst. The Government down here deserves some credit.
:19:51. > :19:54.Over the course of the year they have put a lot of pressure on the
:19:54. > :19:58.SNP on those questions and found them wanting. In January, Alex
:19:58. > :20:02.Salmond was seen in Westminster as an intimidating and shrewd operator.
:20:02. > :20:06.His reputation has not diminished entirely, but it is not quite as
:20:06. > :20:11.formidable as in January. A lot of that comes down to David Cameron
:20:11. > :20:17.applying pressure. He speaks 2014 because the Ryder Cup takes place,
:20:17. > :20:24.it's the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, is the Commonwealth
:20:24. > :20:27.nations of the United Kingdom. But it is also the 100 anniversary of
:20:27. > :20:31.the First World War and the 75th anniversary of the start of the
:20:31. > :20:37.Second World War, in which Scots were clearly part of a British
:20:37. > :20:42.project? I think the thing about Alex Salmond is that he is a
:20:42. > :20:46.brilliant opposition politician. But when it comes to confronting
:20:46. > :20:51.responsibility, he crumbles. The great independent, separatist Alex
:20:51. > :20:55.Salmond, they will have the same Queen. They will keep the pound.
:20:55. > :20:57.The great independent Alex Salmond, it turns out they would have to
:20:57. > :21:01.join the European Union, said they would have to have the euro. The
:21:01. > :21:03.reason why we are not happy about this is that it would mean that he
:21:04. > :21:08.would have to go through passport control to come and present this
:21:08. > :21:16.programme. You think I come from Scotland to present this programme?
:21:16. > :21:20.Strange character! 2014, we have had the referendum debate, Scotland
:21:21. > :21:25.votes for independence or not, how does it vote? I am sure there will
:21:25. > :21:29.vote to stay within the Union. I think it's as much an emotional
:21:29. > :21:32.issue as a logical one. The only opportunity for the SNP is
:21:32. > :21:37.persuading people that Scotland would be economically better off
:21:37. > :21:41.under independence. You are saying they would vote no? I think they
:21:41. > :21:45.will vote no, but the 'Yes' vote that there will be sufficiently
:21:45. > :21:50.large that the SNP will call for the third question later on, more
:21:50. > :21:55.power for the Scottish parliament. I think there will vote yes to
:21:55. > :21:59.remain in the United Kingdom, just look at the polls. Three no boats,
:21:59. > :22:02.but none of them have a vote. And how much they know about Scotland
:22:02. > :22:06.is another matter. The man tasked with sharpening up
:22:06. > :22:10.the Tory party image is having a tough ride. Trailing behind Labour
:22:10. > :22:14.and the polls, faced with a more confident Labour leader, the new
:22:14. > :22:19.chairman has some tricky tasks building up in his in-tray.
:22:19. > :22:24.Grant Shapps was made chairman and the September reshuffle. He had two
:22:24. > :22:28.years as housing minister. Known to some as the Duracell Bunny of the
:22:28. > :22:32.party because of his energy and optimism. His reputation has taken
:22:32. > :22:36.something of a knock from embarrassing revelations that he
:22:36. > :22:41.operated a marketing company under the pseudonym Michael Green. He's
:22:41. > :22:45.now in charge of Tory HQ and has bigger problems. First, there is
:22:45. > :22:49.the tricky mid-term challenges, like the local European elections
:22:49. > :22:54.and next month's by-election in Corby. Beyond that, he has to get
:22:54. > :22:58.the party into shape to win the elusive overall majority at the
:22:58. > :23:02.2015 election, something the Tories last manage 20 years ago. He's even
:23:02. > :23:12.had a clock installed in Central Office to remind party workers that
:23:12. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :23:23.they have only 935 days to go. In Conservative Party chairman Grant
:23:23. > :23:24.
:23:25. > :23:28.Shapps joins me now for the Sunday I'd like to look at the mountains
:23:28. > :23:32.you have to climb to get that elusive overall majority at the
:23:32. > :23:36.next election. Do you accept that if it is not mission impossible,
:23:36. > :23:41.you can hardly say that, it is a pretty tall order? Yes, it's going
:23:41. > :23:44.to be a difficult election. Let's not underestimate it. But I think
:23:44. > :23:48.them are some things that are encouraging, at the same time,
:23:48. > :23:51.reasons why we can win. We are middle term and that is always
:23:51. > :23:55.difficult, right in the middle of the parliament. If you look at
:23:55. > :23:58.historic trends, let alone a government where we are having to
:23:58. > :24:06.make difficult decisions on deficit and the rest of it, we are not
:24:06. > :24:11.Poling as badly as 83-87, when we were probably 10 points shy of
:24:11. > :24:15.where we were in the polls. It's not impossible. We need to work on
:24:15. > :24:18.the fact that we have a lot more MPs in place. We won 100 seats last
:24:18. > :24:22.time, people working hard for their communities on the ground. That's
:24:22. > :24:26.another reason, the incumbency factor, while there is a little bit
:24:26. > :24:32.of advantage and outside. But it's not going to be easy. How much more
:24:32. > :24:37.difficult has it become from the coalition's failure to redraw the
:24:37. > :24:43.boundaries and cut the size of the Commons? I think we drawing the
:24:43. > :24:46.boundaries is more than about cutting the size of the Commons.
:24:46. > :24:51.People should be able to vote and constituencies that are broadly the
:24:51. > :24:55.same size. It has made things more difficult for you? At Simile, it
:24:55. > :25:02.makes it harder. First hour we have a strategy in place that says we
:25:02. > :25:05.have a path to winning even on the existing, old boundaries. That is
:25:05. > :25:09.why we are getting candidates selected very quickly in the new
:25:09. > :25:12.year. We will have candidates in our most marginal seats we need to
:25:12. > :25:15.win. The second thing is that we haven't given up on boundaries. I
:25:16. > :25:19.think they are right, they are fair, we should have a smaller parliament,
:25:19. > :25:24.it would be cheaper to run and there are lots of reasons to have
:25:24. > :25:27.boundary changes. Are you in confidential talks with the Lib
:25:28. > :25:33.Dems about bringing back boundary reform in return for helping the
:25:33. > :25:40.Lib Dems that party finance? No. discussion at all? That, for a
:25:40. > :25:44.start, the vote has to take place next year, in October, when we know
:25:44. > :25:48.the final shape of the boundaries. It has to come back to Parliament
:25:48. > :25:53.and there will need to be a vote through the lobbies. A year is a
:25:53. > :25:58.long time, a week is a long time in politics and a year is a lifetime.
:25:58. > :26:01.You haven't given up hope? because it was in the coalition
:26:01. > :26:05.agreement, Nick Clegg said it was right for the basis of fairness. I
:26:05. > :26:11.believe him, absolutely right that it should happen. But I'm putting
:26:11. > :26:17.in place a strategy for us to win the election, regardless. In 2010,
:26:17. > :26:20.it was in the midst of a deep recession which you blamed Labour
:26:20. > :26:24.for. You were against a third term Labour government, a deeply
:26:24. > :26:30.unpopular Prime Minister. You now need 126 seats for a bare majority,
:26:30. > :26:36.not even a working majority. You need another 20 seats, minimum. You
:26:36. > :26:40.actually need a lot more after spending cuts, tax rises, squeezed
:26:40. > :26:44.living standards, anaemic growth, when I put it like that I'm
:26:44. > :26:47.beginning to think it his mission impossible. Let me convince you the
:26:47. > :26:51.other way. The mountain to climb last time was huge, but we got the
:26:51. > :26:55.biggest increase in the number of Conservative MPs at any time since
:26:56. > :27:00.1931. I already mentioned that I think in politics nowadays
:27:00. > :27:03.incumbency means more. MPs, like a generation ago, will work on
:27:03. > :27:06.everything from international, national affairs, down to the pot
:27:06. > :27:12.hole in your street. MPs are in touch with their constituents a lot
:27:12. > :27:15.more. It didn't work for the Spanish Prime Minister, the
:27:15. > :27:22.Socialist Prime Minister? 50% of European governments that have been
:27:22. > :27:26.up for election since the crash have lost. Incumbents lose. Let me
:27:26. > :27:31.put it this way. In the last election, regardless of political
:27:31. > :27:36.party, encumbered members of parliament had swings that work to
:27:36. > :27:40.buy 5% to 3% less against them because they were the incumbent.
:27:40. > :27:46.Incumbency is important. I want to slightly challenge the maths.
:27:46. > :27:50.Although you are right, you would think that 326 was the boundary,
:27:50. > :27:53.actually we are not that far short of where we need today. I can
:27:53. > :27:57.reveal a strategy, that we are going to defend on those marginal
:27:57. > :28:01.seats, but we are going to attack the 40 seats that we will need to
:28:01. > :28:05.win. We are going to focus and target on their seats in a way that
:28:05. > :28:11.we have never done before. I think targeting it is very important and
:28:11. > :28:14.it comes down to pavement politics and winning it, seat by seat. We
:28:15. > :28:19.are the party, we are the candidates that can best represent
:28:19. > :28:23.the community. The failure to get boundary changes is one millstone
:28:23. > :28:28.around your neck. Let's look at another, the budget of 2012. What
:28:28. > :28:35.that shows is that you are actually neck and neck with Labour until the
:28:35. > :28:39.Budget. Since then, Labour's lead is widening. I would suggest that
:28:39. > :28:44.what that shows is that people will accept hardship if there is
:28:44. > :28:48.competence. But after they saw this Budget, they thought, this is
:28:48. > :28:53.incompetence, we are not going to accept hardship for that? Well, you
:28:53. > :28:56.make reference to installing the countdown clock in Conservative
:28:56. > :29:01.Central Office. That is absolutely true. We are still slightly in the
:29:01. > :29:07.first half of the parliament. There is an awfully long way to run.
:29:07. > :29:10.Before we get obsessed with what is happening in mid-term, let's
:29:10. > :29:15.actually think forward two years, two and-a-half years, when people
:29:15. > :29:19.will be saying, has this government managed to deal with some of the
:29:19. > :29:24.overriding issues? The deficit, where we have taken a quarter off
:29:24. > :29:27.the deficit. Have we got a plan for the way forward? Has the Prime
:29:27. > :29:31.Minister described some of the real challenges? I thought in David
:29:31. > :29:35.Cameron's speech, when he was saying, our challenge is not
:29:35. > :29:40.arguing about Greece and all of that, as important as it is, China
:29:40. > :29:44.is producing an economy the size of Greece every three months. That is
:29:44. > :29:47.the big picture. How has this country going to compete? When you
:29:47. > :29:51.look at that graph of polling opinions and projected forward
:29:51. > :29:55.against the fact that we have a plan, compared to a fairly well
:29:55. > :29:59.received but empty speech by Ed Miliband, people are going to say,
:29:59. > :30:04.actually, who understands what is going on in this country? Who
:30:04. > :30:06.understands the position in the world and who has the big plan?
:30:06. > :30:10.Let's look forwards from that chart and talk about UKIP. That is
:30:10. > :30:14.another threat to your overall majority. Tory inclined voters were
:30:14. > :30:17.clear about this in Birmingham. They want a clear choice of a
:30:17. > :30:21.referendum and they want it sooner, rather than later. But all they get
:30:21. > :30:26.from your leader is weasel words about fresh consent and no
:30:26. > :30:31.timetable. Undeniably, there is a lot changing in Europe. We have 17
:30:31. > :30:36.countries in the eurozone. At some of the unbelievable flocks. We need
:30:36. > :30:39.to see what that resolution will be. As others have said, we need to be
:30:39. > :30:43.clear about the fact that we want to run more things from the UK,
:30:43. > :30:48.from the British Parliament. We think that we should be able to
:30:48. > :30:52.return powers. We should be able to put all that together and either at
:30:52. > :30:56.the election, or shortly after at the referendum, knowing what we are
:30:56. > :31:01.negotiating terms of powers that should be with the British
:31:01. > :31:06.Parliament, either put that to election or referendum. But you
:31:06. > :31:09.would get a referendum before the election? Two and-a-half years,
:31:09. > :31:13.very long time. We need to know what will happen in the eurozone
:31:13. > :31:19.and they need to settle that position. We to be out there saying,
:31:19. > :31:26.actually, these are the areas that need to be looked at. You ruled out
:31:26. > :31:33.and in or out referendum question are Britain's best interests are
:31:33. > :31:37.served by being in control? But as the years and get close together,
:31:37. > :31:40.you are trying to arrange a settlement in which we are more
:31:41. > :31:50.semi-detached. If you put that to people in a referendum, what is the
:31:51. > :31:54.
:31:54. > :31:59.choice? You vote for the semi- I can't tell you the details
:31:59. > :32:04.because they have not been negotiated. If you vote no, what
:32:04. > :32:09.happens? At the moment we have a situation where powers that could
:32:09. > :32:15.be better run in Britain can be taken in Europe. The answer is you
:32:15. > :32:19.would carry on as you are. We are saying we would either in the
:32:19. > :32:25.election or the referendum put in a new settlement that returns some of
:32:25. > :32:31.those powers. It you don't sharpen your message, you could lose a lot
:32:31. > :32:36.of the UK. Let's have a look at this opinion poll. 60% of your own
:32:36. > :32:41.supporters want a packed with UKIP in marginal seats because they are
:32:41. > :32:46.frightened that with a less than sharp message you will lose votes
:32:46. > :32:50.to UKIP. There whole issue of Europe moves around, and you asked
:32:50. > :32:56.people how important the Sears. I remember a poll a month ago when it
:32:56. > :33:00.came up with 3% as the most important issue. At other times it
:33:00. > :33:06.goes higher. I tend to be Euro- sceptic, I think we should have
:33:06. > :33:13.more powers but I think we should be in Europe. I am not going to do
:33:14. > :33:23.a pact with UKIP any more than I will be with the Lib Dems. There is
:33:23. > :33:28.a problem that the country, the government is a bunch of out of
:33:28. > :33:34.touch posh boys. The result of the Andrew Mitchell incident is that it
:33:34. > :33:40.reinforces that - do you agree? take knocks in government. We are a
:33:40. > :33:46.party of aspiration, we are behind people who want to strive. But do
:33:46. > :33:54.you accept Mr Mitchell has not that? Clearly, these incidents are
:33:54. > :33:57.not helpful. That is true, but before we take that to a ridiculous
:33:57. > :34:01.extreme and say there for this party can't support people who want
:34:01. > :34:07.to work hard in this country getting on and doing the right
:34:07. > :34:11.thing - people who work long hours... I want to stick to the
:34:11. > :34:19.subject for the moment. How many MPs have said to you Andrew
:34:19. > :34:25.Mitchell should go? I can't recall a single one. There were many MPs
:34:25. > :34:29.calling for this. Were you in the hall when his picture went up and
:34:29. > :34:34.euro and activists were booing at him? What does that tell you, your
:34:34. > :34:40.own people? About that whole affair, clearly he should never have been
:34:40. > :34:44.rude to the police. He would be the first person to accept that now. He
:34:44. > :34:49.was, and he apologised. The individual policemen concerned has
:34:49. > :34:55.accepted the apology, and other people are now piling in and saying
:34:55. > :35:01.that is not good enough. It is time to draw a line and move on. Let's
:35:01. > :35:09.look at Euro position. This book, How to create your own money making
:35:09. > :35:12.mint, how Michael Green is doing it right now. This is your book. Most
:35:12. > :35:15.people like to be got their business record. Look at Mitt
:35:15. > :35:20.Romney at the moment in the US. What was so embarrassing about
:35:21. > :35:27.yours that you had used a false name? I am not embarrassed, but
:35:27. > :35:31.firstly my main business, a printing company, as a hobby my
:35:31. > :35:36.wife and I started publishing business online which turned out to
:35:36. > :35:40.be relatively successful and it was about publishing some very boring
:35:40. > :35:45.things like how to write a newsletter. Why did you use the
:35:45. > :35:51.name Michael Green? Simply for the fact that I wanted to keep my
:35:51. > :35:56.interest in politics, which I wasn't in at the time, separate. I
:35:56. > :36:01.actually wrote on lying in my biography this is not my real name,
:36:01. > :36:08.the reason is that I am going into public service. You gave interviews
:36:08. > :36:13.as Michael Green, and your book you said would show people have to make
:36:13. > :36:16.$20,000 in 20 days. How do you do that? A There is a serious business
:36:16. > :36:23.which is in the context of online marketing is about creating a
:36:23. > :36:30.product online, putting it up and marketing it. There was a 45,000
:36:30. > :36:35.word manual. Have you done this? is certainly possible to do this
:36:35. > :36:41.online. Shouldn't you be Chancellor of the Exchequer if you can do
:36:41. > :36:47.that? This is largely marketed to the US market. The they are more
:36:47. > :36:51.gullible? Let me answer your question. My final question - isn't
:36:51. > :36:56.your whole affair, another embarrassment to your party, too
:36:56. > :37:02.posh and privileged we can now add Grant Shapps' sharp business
:37:02. > :37:08.practices? No, not at all. Everything we produced in business
:37:08. > :37:13.was about helping other people to get on. People could produce online
:37:13. > :37:19.guides, sell them on the internet. There was a massive market place in
:37:19. > :37:24.the United States, and so it was very brash. Do you wish you have
:37:24. > :37:30.used your real name? I was very open about it at the time, and now
:37:30. > :37:35.people are curious about it. Thank you for joining us.
:37:35. > :37:40.For it is coming up to midday, you are watching Sunday Politics. In 20
:37:40. > :37:50.minutes I will be looking at the week ahead with our political panel.
:37:50. > :37:51.
:37:51. > :37:57.Until then, the Sunday Politics across the UK.
:37:57. > :38:00.Welcome to the London section of Sunday Politics. Coming up, are
:38:00. > :38:05.disabled people being taken seriously when it comes to getting
:38:05. > :38:13.around on the London transport network? We will be hearing from
:38:13. > :38:20.Paralympian Sophie Christiansen. Instantly it is a problem. With me
:38:20. > :38:25.for the duration this week, Diane Abbott and Greg Hands. Firstly, the
:38:25. > :38:30.problems young people face in finding a job are proving hard to
:38:30. > :38:39.overcome. One in four under 25s in the capital is out of work. Next
:38:39. > :38:47.week, the TUC is holding a margin the capital. The Youth Contract is
:38:47. > :38:51.being created to help young people, but it could prove quite a task.
:38:51. > :38:57.For the last two years, the number of unemployed young Londoners has
:38:58. > :39:03.remained high. The current figure is 25%. It is a slight improvement
:39:03. > :39:13.on last year when the rate reached over 27%, but since 2010 there has
:39:13. > :39:13.
:39:13. > :39:19.been an overall increase. There are 10,000 people not in education,
:39:19. > :39:24.employment or training, so we went to knew when to find out what it is
:39:24. > :39:30.like for young people finding work. I was unemployed for most of the
:39:30. > :39:36.year. There are no jobs. If the job centre can be offered jobs, I will
:39:36. > :39:41.start tomorrow. I will be there. have applied for 20 jobs in the
:39:41. > :39:45.last week, had one interview and didn't get that because someone was
:39:45. > :39:51.more qualified than me. By just one to have enough money and go home
:39:51. > :39:57.and give my family food. I want to earn that money and take it home to
:39:57. > :40:02.my family. Earl's Court is the setting for an event called Youth
:40:02. > :40:07.Enterprise live this weekend, a Business For targeted at young
:40:07. > :40:11.people and Stephen Farrow has been setting it up. Welcome to you. What
:40:11. > :40:16.have you been picking up? The have noticed we have a lot of young
:40:16. > :40:21.people attending, mostly unemployed or looking for alternatives of
:40:21. > :40:25.going to work. We also have a lot of employers and we are picking up
:40:25. > :40:29.there government incentives like Youth Contract are not well known.
:40:29. > :40:37.People do not realise there is something out there to help young
:40:37. > :40:42.people and businesses. What, 2000 or a little bit more? For �2,000
:40:42. > :40:47.based on a minimum of 26 weeks placement of the young person.
:40:47. > :40:51.Offered to the company? Yes, as an incentive. I don't think it is
:40:51. > :40:56.enough. There are alternative ways this could have been handled to
:40:56. > :41:01.encourage businesses. One of the other problems is that businesses
:41:01. > :41:05.don't really trust hiring young people because they feel they may
:41:05. > :41:14.be lacking in certain skills. We need to look at how we can bridge
:41:14. > :41:19.that. There are a lot of schemes about bridging the gap. Is it the
:41:19. > :41:23.financial incentive that is not enough, or do businesses know about
:41:24. > :41:28.the scheme? Businesses don't know about it, and that is what we have
:41:28. > :41:33.heard this weekend. Even young people are not aware of it. When
:41:33. > :41:38.you do research into Youth Contract and look at the system of how you
:41:38. > :41:42.go about getting it, it is not simple. As a small business, if you
:41:42. > :41:46.only have a few employees and you have an option to bring someone on,
:41:46. > :41:50.to go through the rigmarole of setting it up, to wait for the
:41:50. > :41:57.payment, the incentive is not necessarily there. Greg Hands, we
:41:57. > :42:02.are hearing problems. A lot of my colleagues are doing jobs fairs in
:42:02. > :42:08.their constituencies. I did one in Imperial Wharf down the line from
:42:08. > :42:12.Earl's Court, it happens every year, so they can add a great deal. Youth
:42:12. > :42:17.unemployment is obviously a big problem and through the UK there
:42:17. > :42:22.are just over 1 million young people unemployed. The government
:42:22. > :42:25.is laying on a lot more apprenticeships. 500,000 new
:42:25. > :42:32.apprenticeships in the last year had started, a record number, and
:42:32. > :42:37.it is making a big difference on apprenticeships. Particularly if
:42:37. > :42:43.your main new scheme, no one knows about it and the incentives are not
:42:43. > :42:47.strong enough, there is a lot to be done. Doing things that job fairs,
:42:47. > :42:51.making sure we are doing whatever we can to match jobseeker's with
:42:51. > :42:56.the vacancies. There are 1 million young unemployed in this country,
:42:56. > :43:02.and that is a problem we inherited from the previous government. It is
:43:02. > :43:06.getting worse and we are concerned. These problems are very stubborn no
:43:06. > :43:13.government has been successful at dealing with this in recent years.
:43:13. > :43:17.That his true, but the current policy is not helping. When you
:43:17. > :43:22.make cuts of this government is making, it makes it even harder for
:43:22. > :43:26.young people's find jobs. This week I went to visit people on the work
:43:26. > :43:34.programme in Hackney, and the problem many of these people have,
:43:34. > :43:38.they are not necessarily job ready. We have to face the fact that so
:43:38. > :43:42.long as you continue to slash the public sector, and young people in
:43:42. > :43:46.boroughs like Hackney will find it even harder to get a job. Should it
:43:46. > :43:51.be the case that when you have to cut public spending in the public
:43:51. > :43:56.sector, it enabled the private sector to step in. We are moving in
:43:56. > :44:00.the right direction with apprenticeships. Yes, but the
:44:00. > :44:05.economics of a borough like Hackney is that the public sector has been
:44:05. > :44:10.the largest single employer for 25 years. Private companies will not
:44:10. > :44:14.be suddenly walking into Hackney and employing people. When Greg
:44:14. > :44:19.talks about apprenticeships, my father had one, young men doing
:44:19. > :44:24.real jobs. Some of these so-called apprenticeships are not really at
:44:24. > :44:28.the standard for public imagines. It is about sitting in a classroom.
:44:28. > :44:33.Some of what the government is talking about are not really
:44:33. > :44:38.helpful. Also, the apprenticeships are Again, young people don't know
:44:38. > :44:42.how to go about gaining an apprenticeship so we saw on the
:44:42. > :44:48.clip young people saying they go to the JobCentre and if they could get
:44:48. > :44:53.a job tomorrow they would start. That is true, those jobs are not
:44:53. > :44:57.available like they were 20 years ago. We understand that, but the
:44:57. > :45:01.problem is if somebody is not offered an alternative, an
:45:01. > :45:05.apprenticeship, a lot of the apprenticeships are being given to
:45:05. > :45:11.school leavers were they have had some vocational training. That is
:45:11. > :45:20.brilliant because that effectively, OK, we could say we will be
:45:20. > :45:30.freezing and niche figure, talking about not employment apprenticeship
:45:30. > :45:32.
:45:32. > :45:38.It becomes a social disorder problem, and employment. We saw
:45:38. > :45:46.that last year. The background to this is the appalling economic mess
:45:46. > :45:49.that has been taken over from Labour. Oh, please. Since the
:45:49. > :45:53.General Election, creating 1 million private sector jobs has
:45:53. > :45:57.more than offset the number of public jobs lost, it is an
:45:57. > :46:02.absolutely necessary rebalancing of the economy that had to take place
:46:02. > :46:11.for longer term benefit. We have not seen... A longer term benefit
:46:11. > :46:15.stop at their we have not seen that Now, the Paralympic Games was seen
:46:15. > :46:19.by many as a watershed in the way we understand disability. Its
:46:19. > :46:24.legacy should be a better city for disabled people. According to one
:46:24. > :46:28.of our most successful Paralympians, equestrian triple gold winner
:46:28. > :46:38.Sophie Christiansen, the capital is difficult to get around. In one
:46:38. > :46:40.
:46:40. > :46:47.Thank you. My little boy is in a wheelchair, so I think you are
:46:47. > :46:57.amazing. We are repositioning the train, say you have more room to
:46:57. > :46:59.
:46:59. > :47:06.Instantly, there is a problem. There is no access to the
:47:06. > :47:16.underground that isn't steps. So we now have to take a taxi or a bus to
:47:16. > :47:23.the nearest accessible tube station. Buses are normally accessible. But
:47:23. > :47:28.they operate on a first-come, first-served basis. So if there is
:47:28. > :47:32.another wheelchair or pushchair on the bus, I have to wait for the
:47:32. > :47:41.next one. It also means that I can't travel with another friend in
:47:41. > :47:51.a wheelchair. So, now I'm going to get a taxi. But that is much more
:47:51. > :47:57.
:47:57. > :48:07.expensive than getting the Tube in Here I am, finally. This is a good
:48:07. > :48:09.
:48:09. > :48:14.station for accessibility. But there could be more like this. I
:48:14. > :48:20.went out last year and came back absolutely disgusted at how
:48:20. > :48:29.inaccessible London was for Transport. London's Underground
:48:29. > :48:39.system is much older than Vienna's. But the UK should be leading by
:48:39. > :48:42.
:48:42. > :48:46.example. I've come to meet Chris Wright from a disability campaign.
:48:46. > :48:50.He thinks that things can be done without spending a massive amount
:48:50. > :48:54.of money. Adjustments for every station would be unreasonable. But
:48:54. > :48:58.there are other things that can be done. You can make sure that if you
:48:58. > :49:02.are dropped off at a particular station that there is not a bridge
:49:02. > :49:11.with steps on it from one platform to another, or that gates are not
:49:11. > :49:17.closed at the wrong time. Ramps have to be available. I was hoping
:49:17. > :49:23.that with the Paralympics coming to London, it would prompt Transport
:49:23. > :49:33.for London to make drastic improvements. For the sake of
:49:33. > :49:35.
:49:35. > :49:42.everyone who took part in the Games, I'm pleased to say that Sophie is
:49:42. > :49:47.with us, along with a lot of gold medals. Also here, TfL's
:49:47. > :49:50.commissioner, Peter Hendy. Sophie, here is your chance, what could p
:49:50. > :50:00.to be doing to provide or make things better for you in the
:50:00. > :50:00.
:50:00. > :50:08.capital? Well, my understanding is that Ken Livingstone pledged that
:50:08. > :50:14.by 2013 a third of the Underground to stations would be Stef Reid. But
:50:14. > :50:22.when Boris Johnson came in, that was reduced. -- Step-free. I would
:50:22. > :50:31.like to know why, and what your plans are to make it more
:50:31. > :50:38.accessible. So, the target of a third of Tube stations was actually
:50:38. > :50:42.never completely funded. In the spending review, we took out,
:50:42. > :50:45.regrettably, work on four or five Tube stations. But that does not
:50:45. > :50:50.mean we have not done anything about accessibility. What we do is
:50:50. > :50:56.never enough, because it is a very old system, it is very inaccessible
:50:56. > :51:00.for many people. In the next five, six, seven years, what we are going
:51:00. > :51:05.to concentrate on his making the big stations accessible, places
:51:05. > :51:09.like Victoria, where we are spending �5 million or �6 million.
:51:09. > :51:15.As a consequence, many more journeys will be accessible than if
:51:16. > :51:18.you did three or four smaller stations. We learned during the
:51:18. > :51:22.Paralympics that one of the things people valued was better
:51:22. > :51:26.information. The journey planner was adapted so you could find out
:51:26. > :51:33.where to put the wheelchair, where the steps and accessible parts of
:51:33. > :51:36.platforms were. We need to do more of that. We also discovered people
:51:36. > :51:39.liked those manual ramps that got you onto the train. We pledged to
:51:39. > :51:45.keep those. We have new trains coming, level with the platform.
:51:45. > :51:48.All of that is on its way. heard that the promise that was
:51:48. > :51:55.made his unfunded, he is saying. So the money is not there. What would
:51:55. > :52:05.you say about that? Obviously, from my point of view, step-free access
:52:05. > :52:07.
:52:07. > :52:14.should be made a priority. But I think the Paralympics have a legacy
:52:14. > :52:19.and I think the ramps are perfect. Are you definitely keeping those
:52:19. > :52:23.ramps? As far as the manual ramps go, we said we would not take them
:52:23. > :52:26.out. We need to make sure that the stations have staff on them in
:52:26. > :52:33.order to use them, but we will do that because it is an obviously
:52:33. > :52:36.good thing to do. You are right, it is never enough. What London, what
:52:36. > :52:41.the world has learned from seeing the Paralympics is that you can
:52:41. > :52:46.facilitate people's lives by giving access and travel, access to jobs
:52:46. > :52:52.and so on. Actually, Boris is always on to me to do more about
:52:52. > :53:00.these things. But money is a finite supply. But it did expose London's
:53:00. > :53:03.weakness. Nobody is going to deny that we had a good games dozed the
:53:03. > :53:07.witness commit the money is not there, why isn't it found?
:53:07. > :53:11.explains one thing, we have a very old system. If you had done these
:53:11. > :53:16.games in many parts of the world that had AMEC resistant built in
:53:16. > :53:19.the last 15 or 20 years, you would have had 100% accessible.
:53:19. > :53:27.managed to transform a large part of the system, we know what the
:53:27. > :53:32.problem is. We did, it is full of people. You need to make
:53:32. > :53:39.adjustments on what you spend money on. If you do Victoria, as we will
:53:39. > :53:45.do, as we have done King's Cross, suddenly thousands of journeys
:53:46. > :53:50.become accessible. Many of them have two entrances, the day they
:53:50. > :53:55.open, they make thousands and thousands... Are they all going to
:53:55. > :54:00.be absolutely incorporating all disability needs? Yes. All the way
:54:00. > :54:07.along the line. Maidenhead, Crossrail station? Yes, it is
:54:07. > :54:12.really good because they have the staff are trained to deal with this.
:54:12. > :54:16.Obviously when I get to Paddington, I'm stuck. You are saying there
:54:16. > :54:23.will be no excuse with this? The trains and new stations constructed,
:54:23. > :54:28.Crossrail will be folly accessible, along that route? Absolutely. The
:54:28. > :54:32.other point that is very important is that both mayors have been
:54:32. > :54:37.committed to stations that are staffed during all hours of
:54:37. > :54:41.operation. That is a big difference with once controlled by the mayor,
:54:41. > :54:45.as opposed to one outside the mayor's control, we are committed
:54:45. > :54:49.to having staff there that means that people can get assistance.
:54:49. > :54:57.Let's bring in our guest, Greg Hands. Peter Hendy can only do what
:54:57. > :55:01.he can do if he gets enough subsidy or help from you guys? The number
:55:01. > :55:06.of stations that a wheelchair accessible under Boris has
:55:06. > :55:09.increased under the last four years. I think I'm right in saying that
:55:09. > :55:13.every single London bus has a ramp and is accessible for people in
:55:13. > :55:18.wheelchairs. Not only for people with wheelchairs, mothers with
:55:18. > :55:22.prams, luggage, it's a big question, making the whole network more
:55:22. > :55:27.accessible to everyone. This will be an enormous benefit to them.
:55:27. > :55:32.Progress is happening. It's very expensive. Green Park, making that
:55:32. > :55:37.wheelchair accessible, cost about �50 million. It is a lot of money.
:55:37. > :55:43.It can't happen overnight, how would you prioritise this? We did
:55:43. > :55:47.manage to achieve more under a Labour mayor, and then very
:55:47. > :55:55.sympathetic to what Sophie said. On the one hand, the Government is
:55:55. > :55:58.putting pressure on the disabled, benefits, DLA, saying that more
:55:58. > :56:03.people should go out to work. But they don't have hope of going out
:56:03. > :56:13.and getting a job and playing their part in society if they cannot move
:56:13. > :56:15.
:56:15. > :56:21.I appreciate your work, with a really old system. But are there
:56:21. > :56:29.any short-term schemes that you can put in place while these stations
:56:30. > :56:33.The best they we can do is concentrate on better information.
:56:33. > :56:36.It's clear to me that we did better during the Paralympics than we had
:56:36. > :56:41.before in making the journey is that they can make. A lot of people
:56:41. > :56:44.that were not using the system, who found themselves able to use it
:56:44. > :56:47.through better information about which stations had stairs, where
:56:47. > :56:55.the lifts were and all of that kind of stuff. I think that is easy to
:56:55. > :57:04.do. Will we have to get off two or three stations away from our
:57:04. > :57:07.destination? What about cheaper taxi fares or schemes like that?
:57:07. > :57:11.think in London, the fact that the bus fleet is wholly accessible is
:57:12. > :57:19.one of the right answers to that. Outside of London, it is infinitely
:57:19. > :57:23.more difficult. I'm not sure I cannot -- can answer that, but
:57:23. > :57:33.fortunately I don't have to. What else has been happening this week?
:57:33. > :57:37.
:57:37. > :57:41.The biggest thing since Justin Bieber. The Boris express pulled
:57:41. > :57:44.into Birmingham to a rock-star reception. He fought his way to his
:57:44. > :57:49.gig, where he regaled Tory party members with stories about what he
:57:49. > :57:59.did to become London's number one. We stopped our capital from falling
:57:59. > :58:00.
:58:00. > :58:09.once again into the hands of a Cabaye of semi reformed Marxists
:58:09. > :58:13.car haters and bendy Bush -- bus fetishists! He went on to give full
:58:13. > :58:17.marks to Free Schools. The new Transport Secretary says it is full
:58:17. > :58:24.steam ahead with the new high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham.
:58:24. > :58:28.He said the project has not been derailed. Dealer Dicks may have
:58:28. > :58:33.been pure gold, but for some of the tourist attractions they could not
:58:33. > :58:43.compete, seeing a drastic drop in business over the Games. -- the
:58:43. > :58:46.To borrow a formulation from another programme, was Boris
:58:46. > :58:50.Johnson's appearance at the highlight of the week? If I was
:58:50. > :58:56.David Cameron, I would be beside myself. You can't do better than
:58:56. > :59:01.quote Max Hastings, who has known Boris for over 20 years. Charming,
:59:01. > :59:05.funny, but unfit to be Prime Minister. Max Hastings, no less.
:59:05. > :59:09.you agree with Ken Clarke, that he should be less concerned about
:59:09. > :59:13.photo opportunities and put his nose to the grindstone? He's doing
:59:13. > :59:20.a brilliant job as mayor for London. He got re-election in a really
:59:20. > :59:24.tight race, at a very difficult time. Very popular. But should he
:59:24. > :59:26.get his nose to the grindstone? Very popular in the Conservative
:59:26. > :59:32.Party command as is the prime minister. They are both doing their
:59:32. > :59:35.jobs very well indeed. Both will do those jobs for many years to come.
:59:35. > :59:40.About this rock-star thing, the photo opportunities, should he get
:59:40. > :59:44.his nose to the grindstone? nose is very much to the grindstone.
:59:44. > :59:48.He is working incredibly hard. We talked about Tube and bus
:59:48. > :59:51.improvements, crime improvements in the capital. There has been no let-
:59:51. > :59:55.up after re-election. Boris is working amazingly hard for the
:59:55. > :00:00.benefit of all Londoners. Will he be the next leader of the
:00:00. > :00:03.Conservative Party? We will have to wait and see. There is no vacancy.
:00:03. > :00:07.It is two-and-a-half years until the next election, let alone
:00:07. > :00:11.further than that. At the moment, David Cameron is very secure in
:00:11. > :00:16.that position. I don't think people north of the Wash, in the north of
:00:16. > :00:21.the country, would vote for Boris in a month of Sundays. The polling
:00:21. > :00:26.shows him to be very popular in the North of England. Does he get to
:00:26. > :00:31.parts that the leadership doesn't? Boris is very popular right across
:00:31. > :00:34.the board. You have to say that. It's a different job, being mayor
:00:34. > :00:39.for London, and being Prime Minister of the country. Both are
:00:39. > :00:49.in the right position. Thank you both very much indeed. With that,
:00:49. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :01:01.In a moment we will be looking ahead to the big stories that will
:01:01. > :01:04.dominate politics next week, but firstly the news with Tim Willcox.
:01:04. > :01:09.Five Royal Marines have been charged with murder in connection
:01:09. > :01:15.with an incident that took place while they were on after duty in
:01:15. > :01:20.Afghanistan last year. -- on active duty.
:01:20. > :01:23.This is a unique and troubling case for the Ministry of Defence, the
:01:23. > :01:29.first time British service personnel on operations in
:01:29. > :01:33.Afghanistan have been charged with murder. The alleged murder took
:01:33. > :01:40.place in Helmand last year, at a time when the men of 3 Commando
:01:40. > :01:43.were out on patrol. There was an engagement with an insurgent. It is
:01:43. > :01:48.understood the Royal Military Police have obtained footage from
:01:48. > :01:52.the time showing British personnel what to do with a captured and
:01:52. > :01:56.wounded man. Now that five marines have been charged, the Defence
:01:56. > :02:00.Secretary would only say it related to the question of whether the
:02:00. > :02:04.rules of war were properly followed. We are determined rules of
:02:04. > :02:09.engagement will be properly followed and abuse will be dealt
:02:09. > :02:12.with and that is what is happening now. For those rules of engagement
:02:12. > :02:17.set out the circumstances in which British forces can open fire.
:02:17. > :02:24.Though never made public, the rules mean that in most circumstances
:02:24. > :02:34.British forces can only open fire when indirect combat and the threat
:02:34. > :02:44.of an imminent attack. The director of services public prosecutions is
:02:44. > :02:45.
:02:45. > :02:47.likely to recommend this takes place behind closed doors. If found
:02:47. > :02:52.guilty, they could be sentenced to life.
:02:53. > :02:57.It has emerged that BBC executives question Jimmy Savile about
:02:57. > :03:03.allegations he had abused young girls. The former head of Radio 1
:03:03. > :03:10.said he asked Jimmy Savile about this in 1970s.
:03:10. > :03:14.Jimmy Savile was the DJ at Radio 1 from 1969-1989. For the first time
:03:14. > :03:18.we have learnt that questions were put to him by a senior executive
:03:19. > :03:23.about rumours that he was having inappropriate relationships with
:03:23. > :03:28.under-age girls. Derek was the Controller of the network at the
:03:28. > :03:33.time and said he challenged the DJ about the rumours. For what all
:03:33. > :03:37.these rumours we hear about you? And he said that is nonsense. It is
:03:37. > :03:42.easy now to say how could you believe him just like that? There
:03:42. > :03:47.was no reason to disbelieve him. He was the sort of man who were
:03:47. > :03:52.attracted rumours, after Raul. Another former Radio 1 executive
:03:52. > :04:01.has described that meeting as a formal one. The BBC says the issues
:04:01. > :04:03.raised here will be looked into as part of its two independent reviews.
:04:03. > :04:12.The Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has said allegations that
:04:12. > :04:21.former military chiefs offered to help aren't companies in -- wing
:04:21. > :04:29.defence contracts are deeply damaging. -- win. There will be
:04:29. > :04:34.more news on BBC One at 6:25pm. MPs will be returning to
:04:34. > :04:39.Westminster tomorrow as fresh as a field of daisies from their long
:04:39. > :04:49.party conferences. Has politics changed? Did the conference season
:04:49. > :04:50.
:04:50. > :05:00.pass you by a in the blink of an eye? He was a reminder. -- here is
:05:00. > :05:06.a reminder. To make blue go green, you have to include yellow. Oh look
:05:06. > :05:11.one problem, whereas my speech? One nation, we do not preach about one
:05:11. > :05:19.nation but practised class war, we just get behind people who want to
:05:19. > :05:24.get on in life. That is my faith - One nation. Let's get Britain on
:05:24. > :05:31.the rise. I am pleased to see you called me a blonde-haired mop. If I
:05:31. > :05:37.am that, then you are and Broome, David, clearing up the mess left by
:05:37. > :05:45.the Labour government. Let's get out there and do it, let's go for
:05:45. > :05:50.it. Thank you very much. The party conference season of 2012. Has the
:05:50. > :05:55.conference season changed anything, Nick Watt? Yes, in the sense that
:05:55. > :05:59.the party leaders have emerged from this much more confident. A good
:05:59. > :06:03.performance from Nick Clegg, a very good speech by Ed Miliband and a
:06:03. > :06:09.good speech by David Cameron, but how have the tectonic plates
:06:09. > :06:14.shifted? There has been a mild shifting for the Conservative Party.
:06:14. > :06:17.People are talking about how his speech was a lurch to the right, I
:06:17. > :06:21.don't believe that but it was a repositioning when the
:06:21. > :06:25.Conservatives were saying a few years ago we were scared of New
:06:25. > :06:30.Labour so we were going to copy them, but now they are not scared
:06:30. > :06:36.and they can be more confident about talking about the traditional
:06:36. > :06:41.areas of welfare. Do you agree with that, Isabel? They most important
:06:41. > :06:45.thing about conference season was Ed Miliband's position. Now the
:06:45. > :06:51.Tories take Ed Miliband as Labour leader far more seriously and they
:06:51. > :06:57.see him as a proper threat. Nothing has changed for Nick Clegg, his
:06:57. > :07:04.position is still really dire. He has not even had any movement in
:07:04. > :07:11.the polls. Nick Clegg did all right, but he is not all right? Which
:07:11. > :07:16.means the net impact the conference season has had is close to zero.
:07:16. > :07:19.Have could you say such a thing? Miliband is in a better position
:07:20. > :07:24.than he was a few weeks ago, that is cancelled out by the fact David
:07:24. > :07:29.Cameron is also in a better place. Nick Clegg is the only one who
:07:29. > :07:33.challenged the instincts of his party, but as ever he will receive
:07:33. > :07:39.no credit for it. The public have stopped listening to him, and the
:07:39. > :07:45.question for the Lib Dems is if and when he chooses to step aside
:07:45. > :07:51.before 2015. Ed Miliband gave a good speech, and the theme was
:07:51. > :07:56.pretty clear, but has he changed his beliefs? Has he shifted? No, he
:07:56. > :08:01.hasn't, and the danger for him is that would be the sort of speech
:08:01. > :08:06.Peter Mandelson would describe as a spray job. Nothing has really
:08:06. > :08:10.changed. The return of Westminster means the return of Parliament and
:08:10. > :08:16.Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. Look at this picture of
:08:16. > :08:23.this man who will have to sit beside the Prime Minister at PMQs.
:08:23. > :08:28.Andrew Mitchell, not looking very happy. Let me ask you, we'll do our
:08:28. > :08:32.man be sitting on that bench on Wednesday? I think so. The Prime
:08:32. > :08:38.Minister must regret not having been able to sack him at the time
:08:38. > :08:42.of the event. It is too late now. Nothing has substantially changed,
:08:42. > :08:47.he has done nothing worse and there are no new revelations so they are
:08:47. > :08:53.stuck with him. New Labour are determined to carry that Raul on.
:08:53. > :08:57.It is the gift that keeps on giving for Labour, isn't it? If he gets
:08:57. > :09:02.rid of Andrew Mitchell, he will receive no moral kudos for it
:09:02. > :09:07.because it will be seen to have been done reluctantly. If he
:09:07. > :09:11.doesn't get rid of him, he is lumbered with someone who will
:09:11. > :09:17.prove to be an ineffective Chief Whip. And he will be there every
:09:17. > :09:21.Wednesday. The gift that keeps on giving. The Tories struggled with a
:09:21. > :09:26.chief whip problem for the last few years. They have now compounded the
:09:26. > :09:31.problem with the reshuffle. Reports of 10 Cabinet ministers wanting him
:09:31. > :09:38.to go, report from Birmingham of Cabinet ministers on the record
:09:38. > :09:45.saying he should go. Andrew Mitchell was one of those
:09:45. > :09:48.Maastricht treaty whips. Downing Street have made a raw decision,
:09:48. > :09:54.they believe it is not the individual police officers driving
:09:54. > :10:00.this because they accepted the apology, they believe it is the
:10:00. > :10:05.Police Federation behaving like trade union. Very quickly, come
:10:05. > :10:10.Hallowe'en, will Mr Mitchell still be there? I think so, yes. To just
:10:11. > :10:15.about. I agree because David Cameron wants him to be there.
:10:15. > :10:21.my experience that means he will almost certainly be gone. Let me
:10:21. > :10:28.show you the front page of the Mail on Sunday this morning. Michael
:10:28. > :10:32.Gove - we are ready to walk out of Europe. He has not said that, it is
:10:32. > :10:39.his friends who have said that, probably a special adviser, someone
:10:39. > :10:45.close to him or someone like that. They are trying to sound Euro-
:10:45. > :10:50.sceptic without giving people like us a'. What is going on here at is
:10:50. > :10:54.a lot of political positioning in the run-up to a couple of big
:10:55. > :10:59.showdowns, EU wise in December, when David Cameron will go in there
:10:59. > :11:02.and say we want a new deal for Britain and then he will either get
:11:02. > :11:09.it, in which case it will be presented as a great victory for
:11:09. > :11:14.David Cameron, or he will not get it and have a hissy fit. He was a
:11:14. > :11:19.be under pressure to put a referendum in the manifesto. Yes,
:11:19. > :11:23.it is increasingly certain that will be in the manifesto. Funny, it
:11:23. > :11:28.is the most obvious thing that you threaten to leave this part of your
:11:28. > :11:37.negotiating position. I would not get my hopes up about the idea that
:11:37. > :11:41.this will work. They could say if you want to go, you go. We don't
:11:41. > :11:47.care. Even talking about this prospect, he is raising
:11:47. > :11:52.expectations which I don't think can be met. This was given to a
:11:52. > :11:55.very Euro-sceptic paper, and it does not have Michael Gove's
:11:55. > :11:59.fingerprints on it, but what are they up to? The they are
:11:59. > :12:04.deliberately raising the Barre of expectations of what they can
:12:04. > :12:12.deliver very high, but the reality is it will be very low. We are
:12:13. > :12:16.about to get three European summit back to back, and none of them will
:12:16. > :12:21.be leading to this new settlement because that will not be on the
:12:21. > :12:27.table until after the German elections next year. Then what will
:12:27. > :12:31.they deliver? The best the UK will get is possibly the repatriation of
:12:31. > :12:35.social and employment laws. If they think that is going to be a grand
:12:35. > :12:43.new settlement, I think they will struggle. I will be astounded if
:12:43. > :12:48.they even get that. This is the problem David Cameron is deferring.
:12:48. > :12:51.The why is it in Westminster and Whitehall, does everybody not yet
:12:51. > :12:57.realised if an attractive young woman is going around offering
:12:57. > :13:02.lobby contract she is from the Sunday Times with a hidden camera?
:13:02. > :13:11.There Sunday Times has an amazingly skilful insight team. It is
:13:11. > :13:19.something to do with pretty women. That is your lot for today. We will
:13:19. > :13:23.be back tomorrow with the daily politics and live on Wednesday for