Browse content similar to 15/09/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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after the summer recess, and the party conference season is already | :00:45. | :00:52. | |
Democrats. Have a great conference. Nick Clegg has some convincing to | :00:52. | :00:55. | |
Politics poll, his troops don't Nick Clegg has some convincing to | :00:55. | :01:03. | |
his coalition bedmates. The latest poll of the country also has the Lib | :01:03. | :01:07. | |
general election commander-in-chief, Paddy Ashdown! So can the Lib Dems | :01:07. | :01:33. | |
general election commander-in-chief, does that leave Labour? We will | :01:33. | :01:36. | |
general election commander-in-chief, to the shadow business secretary | :01:36. | :01:36. | |
In London, once one of her party's to the shadow business secretary | :01:36. | :01:42. | |
brightest hopes, Sarah Teather is now heading for the exit. We will | :01:42. | :01:46. | |
hear from Nick Clegg on what it And freshly showered from the Great | :01:46. | :01:59. | |
North Run and looking as fresh as daisies, the best and brightest | :01:59. | :02:04. | |
Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis and Iain Now, their leader is our Deputy | :02:04. | :02:14. | |
Prime Minister. They are the junior government. They like the colour | :02:14. | :02:19. | |
yellow and they have not won a general election since dinosaurs | :02:19. | :02:21. | |
walked the earth. Now they are behind UKIP in the polls, so as | :02:21. | :02:25. | |
walked the earth. Now they are party gathers for its annual bash | :02:25. | :02:29. | |
this year in Glasgow, what is on their mind? Who are the people | :02:29. | :02:33. | |
gathering at the Clyde this weekend? their mind? Who are the people | :02:33. | :02:39. | |
Before they started drinking, we councillors in England and Wales, | :02:39. | :02:49. | |
comrade. The first question we asked was, if the next election results in | :02:49. | :02:53. | |
a hung parliament, which team would you rather go into coalition with, | :02:53. | :02:58. | |
the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem councillors said Labour, two to | :02:58. | :03:08. | |
the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem Tories or Labour? It is not for | :03:08. | :03:13. | |
the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem to say. It is for the voters to | :03:13. | :03:18. | |
say. We will decide depending on councillors favoured a coalition | :03:18. | :03:23. | |
councillors. The next most popular rather play table football against? | :03:23. | :04:04. | |
councillors. The next most popular policy was scrapping the Trident | :04:04. | :04:05. | |
nuclear deterrent, supported by policy was scrapping the Trident | :04:05. | :04:11. | |
of councillors. Then there was the reinstatement of the 50p top rate of | :04:11. | :04:16. | |
income tax. 70% of councillors like the look of that. When it came to | :04:16. | :04:20. | |
the idea of banning the burka in public places like schools and | :04:20. | :04:24. | |
airports, 45% of councillors were in favour. Finally, a ban on topless | :04:24. | :04:32. | |
Page three model is won the support of 33% of councillors. Why is it so | :04:32. | :04:37. | |
popular, the idea of a mansion tax? It is a much fairer tax. We know | :04:37. | :04:42. | |
there are people out there with It is a much fairer tax. We know | :04:42. | :04:47. | |
expensive houses. Which of these is most important to you? Banning | :04:47. | :04:54. | |
Trident. The cold war ended in 1989. Another one was the idea of | :04:54. | :04:59. | |
banning the burka in public places. whatever they like. If they want to | :04:59. | :05:06. | |
banning the burka in public places. wear the birth or a kilt or if they | :05:06. | :05:13. | |
anything. We are the party of jobs. Thank you. Last night, a fully | :05:13. | :05:21. | |
clothed Nick Clegg rallied his troops, but if he was not around, | :05:21. | :05:25. | |
who would Lib Dem councillors want instead? Business Secretary Vince | :05:25. | :05:30. | |
Cable was most popular, with a third of the votes. In second place, the | :05:30. | :05:37. | |
party's president, Tim Farron, with 27%. 10% went to Danny Alexander, | :05:37. | :05:42. | |
while the business minister Joe Swinson received 7%. The Energy | :05:42. | :05:48. | |
Secretary Ed Davey scooped 6%, and in last place, Steve Webb, the | :05:48. | :05:56. | |
pensions minister, who got 5%. If any of these councillors want to | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
talk to me about it, I would be delighted to hear from them. Is | :06:00. | :06:15. | |
talk to me about it, I would be contenders. But our survey is not | :06:15. | :06:15. | |
the party, no matter what they do. their own poll which showed that 75% | :06:15. | :06:30. | |
the party, no matter what they do. Also meeting here this weekend, | :06:30. | :06:37. | |
the party, no matter what they do. Democrats like to think they have | :06:37. | :06:39. | |
got just as much va-va-voom, even if a big chunk of the country doesn't. | :06:39. | :06:47. | |
Add, back in his hometown. So, the Much of their party thinks they | :06:47. | :06:58. | |
Add, back in his hometown. So, the moving in the wrong direction. | :06:58. | :06:58. | |
Earlier, I spoke to former party moving in the wrong direction. | :06:58. | :07:02. | |
leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been put in charge of heading up the | :07:02. | :07:06. | |
leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been election campaign. I asked him if | :07:06. | :07:11. | |
the mood in Glasgow was grim. No. In many ways, as you know, Tory old | :07:11. | :07:17. | |
commentator that you are just as I am a hoary old member at the other | :07:17. | :07:21. | |
end of the camera, we have been midterm of a government, especially | :07:21. | :07:31. | |
when you are in government and the country is going for in a deep | :07:31. | :07:35. | |
economic crisis, has almost no relevance to where you might be | :07:35. | :07:39. | |
economic crisis, has almost no the nipple come to consider how | :07:39. | :07:43. | |
economic crisis, has almost no will vote in 600 days time -- when | :07:43. | :07:43. | |
the people come to consider how will vote in 600 days time -- when | :07:43. | :07:48. | |
will vote. We do not dismiss polls, but they are a snapshot of what | :07:48. | :07:53. | |
will vote. We do not dismiss polls, indication of where we will be. | :07:53. | :07:55. | |
will vote. We do not dismiss polls, guess is, for what it is worth, | :07:56. | :07:57. | |
will vote. We do not dismiss polls, as we come to the election, the | :07:57. | :08:01. | |
public will be in a very serious, probably frightened mood. Their | :08:01. | :08:06. | |
public will be in a very serious, thoughts will be, who maintains | :08:06. | :08:11. | |
public will be in a very serious, job, makes sure I don't have to | :08:11. | :08:14. | |
public will be in a very serious, to higher mortgage? The coalition | :08:14. | :08:18. | |
has delivered not only the required policies to make Britain's economy | :08:18. | :08:23. | |
prosperous, but also its society fair. That is what people will want | :08:23. | :08:26. | |
to play in it. But you are in a fair. That is what people will want | :08:26. | :08:35. | |
mood this morning. You tweeted that you were not happy with how the | :08:35. | :08:39. | |
There is probably something they Observer newspaper handled your | :08:39. | :08:54. | |
There is probably something they headline they chose to put on it | :08:54. | :08:56. | |
late last night was outrageous, misrepresentative and in one case in | :08:56. | :09:03. | |
Something about Ashdown wants a coalition with the Tories, or at | :09:04. | :09:09. | |
Something about Ashdown wants a least they gave that in for us | :09:09. | :09:13. | |
Something about Ashdown wants a inference. Let me make this point. | :09:13. | :09:18. | |
election. I am in charge of the campaign. Any journalist who in | :09:18. | :09:24. | |
these next two years says that any Liberal Democrat prefers anything | :09:24. | :09:26. | |
else in terms of the outcome of Liberal Democrat prefers anything | :09:26. | :09:31. | |
coalition but the result of the ballot box dictating that outcome, | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
that any prefer one side to another coalition determined by the electors | :09:34. | :09:42. | |
that any prefer one side to another in the votes, will get a bloody | :09:42. | :09:46. | |
that any prefer one side to another time from me, no matter who they | :09:46. | :09:49. | |
are. We take the warning. A survey of Lib Dem councillors shows that in | :09:49. | :10:08. | |
coalition with the Tories. That of Lib Dem councillors shows that in | :10:08. | :10:14. | |
clear sign that your activists want a change of direction. I don't think | :10:14. | :10:17. | |
it is news that as a left-wing party, we find it more congenial | :10:17. | :10:19. | |
with those on the left wing, but that is not the issue. You saw it | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
election. We are servants of the ballot box. We do watch the British | :10:23. | :10:26. | |
people require us to do to provide a stable government in the interests | :10:26. | :10:27. | |
of our country. I am sure you have stable government in the interests | :10:27. | :10:31. | |
of our country. I am sure you have got the point by now. I have fought | :10:31. | :10:34. | |
the Tories all my life. But when responsibility to amend the economic | :10:34. | :10:39. | |
crisis, was this right for the determine who are going to be in any | :10:40. | :10:46. | |
coalition, should there be one, determine who are going to be in any | :10:46. | :10:53. | |
voters and nobody else. It is not that. But your own internal polls | :10:53. | :10:59. | |
that is true. Nick Clegg has done that. But your own internal polls | :10:59. | :11:11. | |
what no other party leader has done. He took the coalition agreement | :11:11. | :11:16. | |
what no other party leader has done. the party, and they voted for it. So | :11:16. | :11:16. | |
different direction. I think we the party, and they voted for it. So | :11:16. | :11:25. | |
extraordinarily united. I did not expect them to be so under these | :11:25. | :11:29. | |
pressures, but they have surprised me and made me joyful at the same | :11:29. | :11:34. | |
time. The party has done what it done in local government for a long | :11:34. | :11:43. | |
time. We may have our private likes and dislikes, but the thing that | :11:43. | :11:52. | |
coalition is the ballot box. You have said that three times. I can | :11:52. | :11:58. | |
say it again if you like. Please don't! What if your party votes | :11:58. | :12:02. | |
say it again if you like. Please reinstate tuition fees as party | :12:02. | :12:07. | |
policy afternoon? We will have to listen to that and act accordingly. | :12:07. | :12:12. | |
You must listen to the voice of listen to that and act accordingly. | :12:12. | :12:16. | |
party and take it into account in what you do. I am always quite | :12:16. | :12:24. | |
answering hypothetical questions. I don't think it is likely to happen, | :12:24. | :12:26. | |
but if it did, we would have to don't think it is likely to happen, | :12:26. | :12:32. | |
distinguished Lib Dems was that don't think it is likely to happen, | :12:32. | :12:34. | |
your party conference voted for something, it was in the manifesto. | :12:34. | :12:40. | |
The manifesto is taken in its final form before the party for decision. | :12:40. | :12:42. | |
The party will express views at form before the party for decision. | :12:42. | :12:48. | |
stage in all sorts of ways. It did in my leadership, too. The manifesto | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
is democratically agreed by the party at the time of the election, | :12:52. | :12:53. | |
not before. The Tory conference party at the time of the election, | :12:53. | :12:59. | |
be about how they think they have been vindicated, that austerity | :12:59. | :13:03. | |
be about how they think they have worked, the economy is turning a | :13:03. | :13:07. | |
corner. But Nick Clegg's conference announcements will be about plastic | :13:07. | :13:11. | |
bags. Have you got the hang of this coalition think? Andrew, you can | :13:12. | :13:16. | |
always be guaranteed to put things in the most discreditable form! | :13:16. | :13:24. | |
always be guaranteed to put things is part of your charm. That was | :13:24. | :13:26. | |
always be guaranteed to put things about to be a minor announcement in | :13:26. | :13:26. | |
election. Isn't the biggest danger been very popular in terms of how | :13:26. | :13:50. | |
election. Isn't the biggest danger that the Tories, not you, if there | :13:50. | :13:53. | |
is an economic recovery, they will get the credit for it? I don't think | :13:53. | :14:05. | |
think the electorate does gratitude. The only time people cast a thank | :14:05. | :14:10. | |
Thatcher over the sale of council houses. We could have a different | :14:10. | :14:13. | |
discussion over whether that was a good idea. But what you have done is | :14:13. | :14:21. | |
the underpinning for the promise of government, we have stayed firm | :14:21. | :14:30. | |
the underpinning for the promise of very tough economic policy. But | :14:30. | :14:37. | |
the underpinning for the promise of you get the credit? What we have | :14:38. | :14:40. | |
done by ourselves, which the Tories would never have done, is make sure | :14:40. | :14:44. | |
that when the pain is felt, it is not the poor who feel it. We have | :14:44. | :14:49. | |
seen the biggest shift of taxation, lifting the poorest in the country | :14:49. | :14:53. | |
out of taxation, that has ever happened, including in the previous | :14:53. | :15:00. | |
Labour government. You are presiding over the biggest squeeze on living | :15:00. | :15:04. | |
standards in modern times. Because it is the biggest recession in | :15:04. | :15:06. | |
modern times. When you speak to it is the biggest recession in | :15:06. | :15:15. | |
2.5 million people who have been lifted out of taxation altogether | :15:15. | :15:19. | |
because of the Liberal Democrats, tax cut. You may be able to make the | :15:19. | :15:32. | |
because of the Liberal Democrats, connection, Andrew, you are a sharp | :15:32. | :15:36. | |
economic crisis and difficulty for the Tories had been by themselves, | :15:36. | :15:42. | |
none of that would have happened. We have sought to shift the burden | :15:42. | :15:46. | |
none of that would have happened. We from the poorest in this country. I | :15:46. | :15:48. | |
am part of that. So when we go into the next election, the message will | :15:48. | :15:52. | |
am part of that. So when we go into be that if you want to continue | :15:52. | :15:54. | |
Miliband? It is not much my style. have a prosperous economy and a | :15:54. | :16:16. | |
Miliband? It is not much my style. I've never much liked comments about | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
the other leaders. I do not intend to make it so in the future. Can I'd | :16:19. | :16:27. | |
finish up on Syria? You said after the Syria vote that Britain was | :16:27. | :16:30. | |
finish up on Syria? You said after hugely diminished country. Given it | :16:30. | :16:36. | |
both sides on a course which could now see Syria give up chemical | :16:36. | :16:39. | |
weapons without records to military action, would you like to withdraw | :16:39. | :16:44. | |
these remarks and admit that you should be proud and happy with what | :16:44. | :16:45. | |
Britain has done? No. You and I should be proud and happy with what | :16:45. | :16:53. | |
know, because we are old observers, that that would never have happened | :16:53. | :16:59. | |
underpinning of a threat to use resigned from that. We have no part | :16:59. | :17:06. | |
to play in the fact that Assad and Putin have moved towards peace for | :17:06. | :17:09. | |
to play in the fact that Assad and fear of military action. We decided | :17:09. | :17:09. | |
exactly the opposite. Why would fear of military action. We decided | :17:09. | :17:15. | |
liked to have seen our country join in with those who are serious about | :17:15. | :17:23. | |
upholding an international law which has restrained even than axes and | :17:23. | :17:25. | |
left others to make sure that we talent, but instead we resigned | :17:25. | :17:35. | |
left others to make sure that we moved towards peace. -- even the | :17:35. | :17:35. | |
Maxis and Stalin. But if it had moved towards peace. -- even the | :17:35. | :17:43. | |
would not have had the time to allow this to happen. It has avoided war. | :17:43. | :17:49. | |
Job done, British Parliament. That would be true if it was accurate but | :17:49. | :17:56. | |
it is not. The resolution proposed a delay, that we should wait until the | :17:56. | :18:02. | |
with the parliamentary vote. The frame was absolutely nothing to | :18:02. | :18:06. | |
with the parliamentary vote. The vote was going to incorporate that. | :18:07. | :18:08. | |
I do not think you can claim what vote was going to incorporate that. | :18:09. | :18:16. | |
remember that diplomacy, which was not reinforced by the threat of | :18:16. | :18:17. | |
military action, does not work. not reinforced by the threat of | :18:17. | :18:22. | |
is when diplomacy runs with a grain is happening over the last two | :18:22. | :18:49. | |
And you we would get to the Balkans eventually, and we did. His biggest | :18:49. | :18:57. | |
challenge is if the economy is get some credit for the Lib Dems, | :18:57. | :19:03. | |
when the Tories will want to halt it all. But his position is not to | :19:03. | :19:08. | |
when the Tories will want to halt it the necessary axeman. That is George | :19:08. | :19:08. | |
Osborne's role. Their role is to be Osborne's role. Their role is to be | :19:08. | :19:12. | |
the chaser party, taking the edge off. They will because of me going | :19:12. | :19:16. | |
on about the pupil premium and That is what you will hear from | :19:16. | :19:22. | |
of the cuts. Will that work? They them, how they have taken the edge | :19:22. | :19:27. | |
of the cuts. Will that work? They are in a pretty good position. Even | :19:27. | :19:27. | |
if they have lost two thirds of are in a pretty good position. Even | :19:27. | :19:33. | |
polls, I do not know anyone in Westminster methinks that will be | :19:33. | :19:37. | |
matched in their parliamentary representation. If they have 56 | :19:37. | :19:40. | |
matched in their parliamentary now, they might lose a dozen but | :19:40. | :19:47. | |
Strategically, they are in a better position than the reading of the | :19:47. | :19:52. | |
polls would tell you. I think Nick Clegg's survival has been one of the | :19:52. | :19:55. | |
stories of this Parliament. He is looking good at the comfort -- at | :19:55. | :20:02. | |
the conference. When he was at his lowest after the AV referendum, | :20:02. | :20:07. | |
people were saying he would survive and lead us into 2015 and beyond and | :20:07. | :20:09. | |
I thought that was fanciful. Believe and lead us into 2015 and beyond and | :20:09. | :20:13. | |
I thought that was fanciful. Believe it or not... Paddy Ashdown was | :20:13. | :20:15. | |
wrong, you were wrong and... I wasn't. I'm underestimated how bad | :20:15. | :20:22. | |
his rivals are. If you are Lib Dem member, however aggrieved you are | :20:22. | :20:27. | |
with Nick Clegg, you do not think, wouldn't it be great if Christian | :20:27. | :20:34. | |
in charge. Of course, the people do in charge. Of course, the people | :20:34. | :20:40. | |
of the way they vote, a different government and it is a consequence | :20:40. | :20:44. | |
of the way they vote, a different matter. If Janan Ganesh is right, | :20:44. | :20:59. | |
majority, which would be hilarious for the look on Paddy Ashdown's | :20:59. | :21:01. | |
parliament. And they are very puffed face. The danger is they get trapped | :21:01. | :21:17. | |
parliament. And they are very puffed up and they enjoy Parliament and | :21:17. | :21:20. | |
there is a possibility they will not be. While they are talking about the | :21:20. | :21:23. | |
Polish and themselves, they are be. While they are talking about the | :21:23. | :21:25. | |
talking about the issues facing be. While they are talking about the | :21:26. | :21:32. | |
coalition. It was interesting that he said that we are a left-wing | :21:32. | :21:37. | |
party, not a centre-left party or a centre party, but a left-wing party. | :21:37. | :21:44. | |
I'm going to put myself in the firing line and say that there is a | :21:44. | :21:48. | |
big split between the Tim Farron line who say they like Ed Miliband, | :21:48. | :21:53. | |
and another one, Jeremy Browne in the Home Office saying that Labour | :21:53. | :21:56. | |
are intellectually lazy. The risk clearly a clique around Nick Clegg | :21:56. | :22:05. | |
who wants to be a synthetic party, but that is not where the membership | :22:05. | :22:12. | |
who wants to be a synthetic party, activists are clearly of the left, | :22:12. | :22:16. | |
not just the centre-left. They are very pro-immigration and they want | :22:16. | :22:21. | |
strategy has to be to take the party to the centre. The something not | :22:21. | :22:26. | |
happen at some stage? The poll suggests it is a left-wing party. | :22:26. | :22:30. | |
happen at some stage? The poll Very left-wing. Other think the | :22:30. | :22:32. | |
happen at some stage? The poll would have yielded -- would have | :22:32. | :22:33. | |
yielded the same results before would have yielded -- would have | :22:33. | :22:41. | |
2010 election. This is reflected by the arithmetic. Whichever party | :22:41. | :22:43. | |
2010 election. This is reflected by biggest will most likely be the | :22:43. | :22:45. | |
2010 election. This is reflected by in coalition with the Lib Dems. | :22:45. | :22:49. | |
2010 election. This is reflected by Clegg's on latitude to choose is | :22:49. | :22:56. | |
exaggerated by us. The choice is no parliamentary arithmetic. But if you | :22:56. | :23:02. | |
remember the structure of the Lib Dems, they can tie themselves up in | :23:02. | :23:04. | |
infighting. -- the choice is not Dems, they can tie themselves up in | :23:04. | :23:14. | |
stable. And Nick Clegg has had a Dems, they can tie themselves up in | :23:14. | :23:17. | |
good conference last year, and will campaigners, labour activists who | :23:17. | :23:37. | |
have not forgotten what he has done in government and are determined to | :23:37. | :23:41. | |
get him. It will be a tough year and a half. Tougher than he imagined. | :23:41. | :23:46. | |
Now, not so long ago they were writing George Osborne's political | :23:46. | :23:50. | |
obituary. Be on the Omni shambles budget of 2012 and a lacklustre | :23:50. | :23:55. | |
performance of the British economy meant his reputation work -- was in | :23:55. | :24:03. | |
the dirt. -- the omnishambles. But things have changed. The Chancellor | :24:03. | :24:06. | |
is saying he has been vindicated. If runway, it looks as though the | :24:06. | :24:15. | |
British economy has taken off, quarter. Forecasts for the rest | :24:15. | :24:20. | |
British economy has taken off, the year have been revised up words. | :24:20. | :24:23. | |
What's more, the office for National recession never actually happened. | :24:23. | :24:31. | |
Unemployment is down in the three months to July and the number of | :24:31. | :24:40. | |
spasticity rate since 1997. On Monday, George Osborne said his | :24:40. | :24:42. | |
policies were bearing fruit. We Monday, George Osborne said his | :24:42. | :24:45. | |
our nerve when many told us to abandon our plans. As a result, | :24:46. | :24:51. | |
thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the British people, Britain is | :24:51. | :24:59. | |
turning a corner. The message for his Labour critics was clear. The | :25:00. | :25:02. | |
Chancellor thinks he was right and they were wrong. And Chuka Umunna | :25:02. | :25:06. | |
Good afternoon. Good afternoon.Do you accept that the economy has | :25:06. | :25:22. | |
turned a corner? I think it is good that a stalled recovery appears | :25:22. | :25:27. | |
turned a corner? I think it is good get this in perspective. We have | :25:27. | :25:29. | |
turned a corner? I think it is good three wasted years. We have the | :25:29. | :25:29. | |
worst economic recovery in history. three wasted years. We have the | :25:29. | :25:34. | |
worst economic recovery in history. Debt is up and we have record youth | :25:34. | :25:43. | |
2010. That is the situation. The worse because, on average, wages | :25:43. | :26:02. | |
2010. That is the situation. The talked about, Vince Cable has been | :26:02. | :26:04. | |
talking about this as well, is what is happening in the housing market. | :26:05. | :26:08. | |
It seems that much of the solution to powering the recovery in the | :26:08. | :26:14. | |
It seems that much of the solution of George Osborne lies in sorting | :26:14. | :26:16. | |
out the housing market but the problem is, we are at risk of being | :26:16. | :26:19. | |
another housing bubble. Because problem is, we are at risk of being | :26:19. | :26:24. | |
research that came out this week, we know that housing in the UK is three | :26:24. | :26:26. | |
times more expensive than in the US. know that housing in the UK is three | :26:26. | :26:30. | |
We know that house prices are rising five times faster than wages, but we | :26:30. | :26:32. | |
also know that the government is five times faster than wages, but we | :26:32. | :26:38. | |
building new housing at a slower rate, the slowest rate that we have | :26:38. | :26:46. | |
complaining about a housing bubble, isn't that like Satan complaining | :26:46. | :26:52. | |
about seven? -- seven. We all know that we cannot go back to business | :26:53. | :26:56. | |
as usual. We need to build a new model of growth. But the housing | :26:56. | :27:01. | |
bubble you talk about, it is not a bubble. It might turn into one. | :27:01. | :27:06. | |
bubble you talk about, it is not a said the risk of a bubble. It is | :27:06. | :27:08. | |
nothing like what happened on the I said, in 2009, we had the crash | :27:08. | :27:15. | |
and we knew we needed to reconfigure the way that our economy works. | :27:15. | :27:19. | |
Having an economy based on crisis is rebalance the economy. We saw the | :27:20. | :27:26. | |
unemployment statistics this week, and it is welcomed overall, that | :27:26. | :27:32. | |
unemployment has come down. At half up. And it went down in other parts. | :27:32. | :27:42. | |
We know that we need to rebalance our economy, so that we do not just | :27:42. | :27:49. | |
rely on consumption, but that we also that we grow our exports as | :27:49. | :27:55. | |
well. We know we have a continuing deficit. We always have a trade | :27:55. | :28:02. | |
scheme? We have not said that we deficit. There was never a trade | :28:02. | :28:27. | |
scheme? We have not said that we does at the moment, at the moment it | :28:27. | :28:31. | |
is inhalation to a new scheme but tomorrow -- next year it will be in | :28:31. | :28:37. | |
you do not sort out the supply of housing, then that is a recipe for | :28:37. | :28:42. | |
the problems we have seen. Our argument is build more houses. Help | :28:42. | :28:45. | |
but if you do not have the supply more people to buy them by all means | :28:45. | :28:48. | |
but if you do not have the supply you will end up with rising prices. | :28:48. | :28:53. | |
That is obvious. Labour said that government austerity would prevent | :28:53. | :28:54. | |
the return of growth. Austerity government austerity would prevent | :28:54. | :29:00. | |
were wrong. We never said that growth would never return. What | :29:00. | :29:05. | |
were wrong. We never said that said was that if you went for an | :29:05. | :29:05. | |
were wrong. We never said that overly extreme deficit reduction | :29:06. | :29:12. | |
recovery and you would choke growth. That is what we saw for three years. | :29:12. | :29:17. | |
If you say, look at the US economy, it has grown at three times the | :29:17. | :29:24. | |
If you say, look at the US economy, economy has grown at twice the rate. | :29:24. | :29:28. | |
But the British economy is growing quicker than the American or German | :29:28. | :29:31. | |
economy is now. But over time we have not seen that happen. But it is | :29:31. | :29:37. | |
now. That may be the case. But my point is that those three years | :29:37. | :29:42. | |
now. That may be the case. But my people undergoing huge stress and | :29:42. | :29:45. | |
worry. It is good that we have growth back again but the question | :29:45. | :29:49. | |
is, what kind of growth? What we have said... I'm going to come onto | :29:49. | :29:55. | |
that but your credibility depends on your previous analysis. And there | :29:55. | :29:57. | |
are doubts about it. This is what you said not that long ago. In | :29:58. | :30:05. | |
choked off growth. You were wrong. We were not wrong, because we had | :30:05. | :30:37. | |
choked off growth. You were wrong. not moving. Let's remind ourselves. | :30:37. | :30:39. | |
choked off growth. You were wrong. Claude Osborne was predicting that | :30:39. | :30:42. | |
the economy was going to grow by 6.9% between the start of this | :30:42. | :30:44. | |
Parliament and now. It has grown by 6.9% between the start of this | :30:44. | :30:50. | |
said that austerity would only 1.8%. We did not say we would never | :30:50. | :30:58. | |
said that austerity would only temporarily delay growth. We have | :30:58. | :31:01. | |
said that austerity would only looked through your speeches and Ed | :31:01. | :31:04. | |
Balls'. We can't find any reference to say this is simply delaying the | :31:04. | :31:09. | |
recovery. You said austerity would choke off growth. If that is true, | :31:09. | :31:13. | |
why has it returned now? Did we choke off growth. If that is true, | :31:13. | :31:19. | |
it would choke off growth for ever? choke off growth. If that is true, | :31:19. | :31:27. | |
We did not. You have changed your tune. I think your package at the | :31:27. | :31:29. | |
top of this programme, to frame tune. I think your package at the | :31:29. | :31:34. | |
around George Osborne, this is not a people's lives, and the people who | :31:34. | :31:40. | |
deserve huge credit for the growth we are seeing are our country's | :31:40. | :31:46. | |
businesses, who despite the tough economic times, have succeeded. | :31:46. | :31:49. | |
businesses, who despite the tough are the ones who have powered this | :31:49. | :31:50. | |
Westminster to take credit. But are the ones who have powered this | :31:50. | :31:57. | |
blame the government for lack of growth. So therefore, when the | :31:57. | :32:03. | |
growth comes, the government has to situation Britain is in now. We | :32:03. | :32:09. | |
growth comes, the government has to the recovery still has to reach | :32:09. | :32:12. | |
growth comes, the government has to parts of the country, but this is | :32:12. | :32:16. | |
the OECD annualised growth in the G-7, the world's guest economies. | :32:16. | :32:21. | |
That is looking pretty healthy. G-7, the world's guest economies. | :32:21. | :32:30. | |
is a recovery. I am not denying G-7, the world's guest economies. | :32:30. | :32:33. | |
we are seeing a stalled recovery, but who benefits from the growth? On | :32:33. | :32:39. | |
average, your viewers have sustained a £1500 pay cut. That is the second | :32:39. | :32:48. | |
biggest fall in the G20 since May 2010. Because we had the biggest | :32:48. | :32:55. | |
is falling, but we don't just want financial services sector and took | :32:55. | :33:21. | |
is falling, but we don't just want weight you can live off and that are | :33:21. | :33:28. | |
unemployment figures. Your criticism has been that all the new jobs are | :33:28. | :33:34. | |
part-time. They are not now, they employment, up 94,000. This is a | :33:34. | :33:46. | |
short time frame. It is since the recovery began. Half the jobs that | :33:46. | :33:55. | |
have been part-time jobs. Roughly who would like to work full-time. | :33:55. | :34:01. | |
Over the last 20 years, people now feel more insecure at work than | :34:01. | :34:04. | |
ever. The question is about what feel more insecure at work than | :34:04. | :34:08. | |
kind of growth and employment you are getting. The other point is | :34:08. | :34:14. | |
kind of growth and employment you uneven spread of this across our | :34:14. | :34:22. | |
north-east and north-west, the Humber, the east of England, they | :34:22. | :34:31. | |
agree that there was a regional imbalance, but the service sector is | :34:32. | :34:37. | |
growing, cheering and construction are growing and financial services | :34:37. | :34:42. | |
are in decline, so the rebalance is happening. It is not happening to | :34:42. | :34:45. | |
the degree we need to transform happening. It is not happening to | :34:45. | :34:51. | |
long-term, sustainable model of comprehensive industrial strategy | :34:51. | :35:00. | |
towards. Your party conference is coming up. I am sure you are looking | :35:00. | :35:07. | |
forward to it. Why do Ed Miliband's approval ratings get worse the more | :35:07. | :35:09. | |
people see of him? I don't accept approval ratings get worse the more | :35:09. | :35:17. | |
people see of him? I don't accept that. I have given you the figures. | :35:17. | :35:22. | |
Polls go up and down. I have said that on this programme before. But | :35:22. | :35:28. | |
Polls go up and down. I have said his approval rating has consistently | :35:28. | :35:33. | |
Polls go up and down. I have said gone down. What actually matters our | :35:34. | :35:34. | |
Whitney. What is wrong with Whitney? gone down. What actually matters our | :35:34. | :35:52. | |
Whitney. What is wrong with Whitney? We have been putting on votes. Let | :35:52. | :35:57. | |
me show you this. This is the net satisfaction rating. Your leader is | :35:57. | :36:01. | |
now more unpopular than Gordon Brown was when he took Labour to the worst | :36:01. | :36:07. | |
defeat in living memory. Gordon Brown did not put on anything like | :36:07. | :36:14. | |
this number of councillors. Votes are what matter, Andrew. Few people | :36:14. | :36:21. | |
think Ed Miliband is a capable leader. Twice as many people think | :36:21. | :36:26. | |
over Spurs who lives on the moon. These are polls. If you are talking | :36:26. | :36:32. | |
to me about over Spurs lit, that puts this into context, Europe | :36:32. | :36:43. | |
Presley. Since 2010, we have put on thousands of members. Compare that | :36:43. | :36:46. | |
to the Conservative Party, which has not won a general election since | :36:46. | :36:54. | |
1992. They will not disclose their membership figures. Why -- why won't | :36:54. | :37:00. | |
you pledge to renationalise Royal Mail? Because that would be like | :37:00. | :37:04. | |
writing a blank cheque. We don't know at the moment how much the | :37:04. | :37:07. | |
government would receive for the sale of Royal Mail? So how can I | :37:07. | :37:09. | |
judge how much it would cost to sale of Royal Mail? So how can I | :37:09. | :37:15. | |
irresponsible. But the government does not need to do this right now. | :37:15. | :37:22. | |
The entire country is against it. Sources in the City and Whitehall | :37:22. | :37:25. | |
tell me that if Labour pledged to renationalise it, it would kill | :37:25. | :37:29. | |
tell me that if Labour pledged to the flotation. So if you are against | :37:29. | :37:29. | |
it, why don't you do it? For me the flotation. So if you are against | :37:29. | :37:35. | |
pledge to renationalise Royal Mail cheque. But if you put it in the | :37:35. | :37:42. | |
prospectus, people in the City, cheque. But if you put it in the | :37:43. | :37:47. | |
know more about these things, say it would not happen, so why not do | :37:47. | :37:52. | |
know more about these things, say it Because that would be irresponsible. | :37:52. | :37:52. | |
at the check if it did not happen. I for billions to renationalise Royal | :37:52. | :38:04. | |
at the check if it did not happen. I have to deal with the facts. I | :38:04. | :38:06. | |
at the check if it did not happen. I not good deal with the plot somebody | :38:06. | :38:10. | |
at the check if it did not happen. I City. We have to be careful about | :38:10. | :38:16. | |
renationalise it now would be like government. That is why I am not | :38:16. | :38:26. | |
prepared to do that. Ed Balls will not be talking to you. You are | :38:26. | :38:29. | |
watching the Sunday Politics. Coming up in 20 minutes, I will be looking | :38:29. | :38:34. | |
at the week ahead with our panel. Until then, the Sunday Politics | :38:34. | :38:46. | |
at the week ahead with our panel. Welcome to us. Coming up later, | :38:46. | :38:49. | |
at the week ahead with our panel. one of her party's brightest hopes, | :38:49. | :38:51. | |
the Liberal Democrat Sarah Teather is now heading for the exit door. We | :38:51. | :38:55. | |
will hear from her leader Nick Clegg Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake is | :38:55. | :39:02. | |
with us this week, along with Kate Hoey, Labour MP for Vauxhall. Let's | :39:02. | :39:07. | |
start with something close to your heart. You were giving evidence | :39:07. | :39:11. | |
start with something close to your Lords committee this week about | :39:11. | :39:14. | |
start with something close to your legacy there is or is not, sporting | :39:14. | :39:19. | |
legacy and beyond. You sounded more optimistic than Sir Clive Woodward, | :39:19. | :39:23. | |
who also gave evidence there last week, and raised issues about the | :39:23. | :39:28. | |
need to invest in coaches and so on sensible policy investing money | :39:28. | :39:33. | |
need to invest in coaches and so on in the sportswear we were likely to | :39:33. | :39:37. | |
win medals. Where do you think we stand? It is still early days. But I | :39:37. | :39:43. | |
am pleased with what we are doing in London, because we are getting all | :39:43. | :39:56. | |
has been a great boost. This House of Lords committee will make a very | :39:56. | :40:01. | |
interesting report. I was talking about the grassroots initiatives and | :40:01. | :40:02. | |
what we were doing. A lot of what about the grassroots initiatives and | :40:02. | :40:11. | |
do in sport and recreation is about people. We can all have projects in | :40:11. | :40:15. | |
our communities where there are all about money. I was also pleased | :40:15. | :40:24. | |
that we are beginning to corner all about money. I was also pleased | :40:24. | :40:29. | |
in London. London has 33 boroughs, all doing their own thing, and we | :40:29. | :40:30. | |
many people that they will come all doing their own thing, and we | :40:30. | :40:45. | |
with a good board. Tom, do you feel all doing their own thing, and we | :40:45. | :40:48. | |
optimistic about this, when we know we have got rid of school sports | :40:48. | :40:52. | |
partnerships, and there is concern at primary school level about the | :40:52. | :40:56. | |
quality and amount of sport that kids are doing? Like Kate, I think | :40:56. | :41:03. | |
what we have done in terms of the buildings and stadia is fantastic. I | :41:03. | :41:07. | |
was at the copper box a couple of weeks ago for a basketball event, so | :41:07. | :41:11. | |
those facilities are in use, which is brilliant compared to what other | :41:11. | :41:15. | |
cities have achieved. We don't see growing out of the car parks on | :41:15. | :41:21. | |
cities have achieved. We don't see Olympic site, so that is positive. | :41:21. | :41:24. | |
There has been investment back into school sports. My local schools | :41:24. | :41:27. | |
There has been investment back into got something like £8,000 each to | :41:27. | :41:28. | |
ensure that they have got teachers got something like £8,000 each to | :41:28. | :41:36. | |
ensure that they have got teachers activities. In relation to some | :41:36. | :41:36. | |
sports like cycling, the legacy activities. In relation to some | :41:36. | :41:40. | |
continued and is being built on activities. In relation to some | :41:40. | :41:44. | |
government are making at national level to invest in cycling. If you | :41:44. | :41:49. | |
government are making at national look around London and walk on any | :41:49. | :41:49. | |
street at any time, you have to look around London and walk on any | :41:49. | :41:54. | |
you are seeing more people running and cycling. But it is too early to | :41:54. | :41:58. | |
make a complete judgement on the legacy. Comeback in ten years.If | :41:59. | :42:05. | |
make a complete judgement on the either of us or around. Moving on | :42:05. | :42:07. | |
the strains of coalition government on the Lib Dems have been evident | :42:07. | :42:11. | |
again, with Sarah Teather's public declaration that she can't be part | :42:11. | :42:14. | |
of it any more and will be standing down at the next election. The Brent | :42:14. | :42:18. | |
Central MP said her party was no longer seen as fighting for social | :42:18. | :42:22. | |
justice. She claimed the final straw for her was Nick Clegg's tougher | :42:22. | :42:26. | |
approach to immigration, including a plan for some immigrants to pay | :42:26. | :42:30. | |
approach to immigration, including a £1000 bond or deposit when applying | :42:30. | :42:30. | |
for visas. She also regretted the This was seen as a critic of Nick | :42:30. | :42:34. | |
party's support for the benefit This was seen as a critic of Nick | :42:34. | :42:50. | |
make of it? This week, I asked him This was seen as a critic of Nick | :42:50. | :42:58. | |
have known Sarah for many years and I was aware of that, so I was | :42:58. | :43:01. | |
had been disillusioned for some and I was aware of that, so I was | :43:01. | :43:08. | |
disappointed. I don't agree with the reasons she has given. I wish her | :43:08. | :43:16. | |
luck for whatever she goes on to do. Is it a problem with her or with the | :43:16. | :43:20. | |
identity of the party under your leadership? Well, the take one of | :43:20. | :43:25. | |
the things that Sarah cited as being one of the reasons she lost heart, | :43:25. | :43:30. | |
it was this decision to say that no households can receive more in | :43:30. | :43:35. | |
benefits than if you are a household earning £35,000 in work before tax. | :43:35. | :43:42. | |
I think most people would accept 35,000 before tax is set quite high | :43:42. | :43:51. | |
will stop that is something many households that watch this programme | :43:51. | :43:55. | |
would be earning themselves. Many would accept that it is not an | :43:56. | :44:00. | |
unfair thing to do, so I disagree with her on that. But I wish her | :44:00. | :44:10. | |
luck. Do you think she was not able to do what was required by grown-up | :44:10. | :44:15. | |
coalition politics? No, I take what Sarah said at face value. She is a | :44:16. | :44:20. | |
sincere person and she expressed her views in a heartfelt way. I am | :44:20. | :44:24. | |
disappointed that she slightly achieved. I worked hand in glove | :44:24. | :44:31. | |
with Sarah to stop the appalling act is under Labour of imprisoning | :44:31. | :44:39. | |
children in the immigration system. I worked with Sarah on something I | :44:39. | :44:44. | |
announced the week before I last -- the week before last, providing | :44:44. | :44:51. | |
announced the week before I last -- hours of preschool support for | :44:51. | :44:51. | |
toddlers. That was delivered because hours of preschool support for | :44:51. | :44:54. | |
of the work of Sarah Teather and other Liberal Democrats. Do you | :44:54. | :44:58. | |
think she was disloyal in the way she announced her feelings? These | :44:58. | :45:04. | |
things happen. How do you feel when a key member of your party...? It | :45:04. | :45:08. | |
critics predicted. If we had not Democrats have not lost our nerve. | :45:08. | :45:29. | |
critics predicted. If we had not worse shape. The emerging economy | :45:29. | :45:42. | |
critics predicted. If we had not achieved. But the problem is that | :45:42. | :45:44. | |
she has done that and she is likely feeling that the Lib Dems have | :45:44. | :45:50. | |
become desensitised to coalition government, not concentrating on the | :45:50. | :45:55. | |
key things like social justice. justice. The biggest expansion | :45:55. | :46:01. | |
key things like social justice. apprenticeships is social justice. | :46:01. | :46:01. | |
The pupil premium, £2.5 billion apprenticeships is social justice. | :46:01. | :46:06. | |
extra money for poor children is social justice. Those things would | :46:06. | :46:12. | |
Liberal Democrats. Remember one proposed that we raise the point | :46:12. | :46:18. | |
which you pay income tax, taking 3 million people in low pay out of | :46:18. | :46:20. | |
tax. David Cameron said that it million people in low pay out of | :46:20. | :46:25. | |
a nice idea and it cannot be done. It has been done because of us. | :46:25. | :46:30. | |
a nice idea and it cannot be done. not bow to anyone in my commitment | :46:30. | :46:33. | |
commitment but I think we have to fairness. Not only do feel that | :46:33. | :46:37. | |
commitment but I think we have delivered it in schools, workplaces | :46:37. | :46:48. | |
Menzies Campbell, one of your former leaders, described it as an act | :46:48. | :46:51. | |
Menzies Campbell, one of your former disloyalty. Do you agree? Clearly | :46:51. | :46:54. | |
Sarah made a important contribution on the instance -- made an important | :46:54. | :47:03. | |
division. She thinks she cannot continue and I regret that. In a | :47:03. | :47:08. | |
number of areas, including stopping children being put into prison for | :47:08. | :47:12. | |
immigration reasons, it was a huge achievement on her part. And we | :47:12. | :47:19. | |
immigration reasons, it was a huge disloyalty? What do you say about | :47:19. | :47:24. | |
newspaper to express those beliefs before conference. I'd prefer to | :47:24. | :47:31. | |
fantastic record in government. I'm focus on the fact that she had a | :47:31. | :47:36. | |
fantastic record in government. I'm think when she does this two Shias | :47:36. | :47:36. | |
facing a big challenge and a couple that similar to yours, but you're | :47:36. | :47:47. | |
facing a big challenge and a couple of years. I hope she will also be | :47:47. | :47:47. | |
leader says it has detracted. It is of years. I hope she will also be | :47:47. | :48:03. | |
unfortunate and Menzies Campbell says it was disloyal. Do you think | :48:03. | :48:15. | |
that? I think clearly Sarah felt she could not continue. Notwithstanding | :48:15. | :48:18. | |
the areas where the Lib Dems have government in relation to social | :48:18. | :48:23. | |
justice. But that is her decision. Some of the things you have to be | :48:23. | :48:30. | |
Presumably that has happened to Some of the things you have to be | :48:30. | :48:37. | |
like it has happened to a lot of Lib Dem members. She was not able to | :48:37. | :48:43. | |
deal with that. That is her problem, coalition, there are going to be | :48:43. | :48:54. | |
tough issues. The result was going to be negotiation and sometimes | :48:54. | :48:56. | |
tough issues. The result was going Liberal Democrats have succeeded in | :48:56. | :48:58. | |
getting our viewpoint across. In others, we have not. But we have had | :48:58. | :49:03. | |
real successes. The Conservatives wanted to introduce a policy of | :49:03. | :49:07. | |
real successes. The Conservatives at will in relation to employees and | :49:07. | :49:11. | |
that is something that we blocked. Kate Howey, not always known as | :49:11. | :49:15. | |
that is something that we blocked. loyalist, an independent thinker. | :49:15. | :49:17. | |
Sometimes your colleagues are not going to come down upon. What did | :49:17. | :49:22. | |
you make her decision to say what she did and go public? She obviously | :49:22. | :49:28. | |
timed it to be just before the conference, which leads to a lot of | :49:28. | :49:35. | |
self planning. Aiming to damage conference, which leads to a lot of | :49:35. | :49:45. | |
clearly not so happy since she was no longer a minister. When you stop | :49:45. | :49:49. | |
being a minister, you have to work out how you're going to work in | :49:49. | :49:53. | |
being a minister, you have to work way that is supportive of the party | :49:53. | :49:56. | |
being a minister, you have to work yourself to be able to represent | :49:56. | :50:00. | |
your constituents in a way. And difficult. I do not buy what a lot | :50:00. | :50:05. | |
of people were saying, that she difficult. I do not buy what a lot | :50:05. | :50:09. | |
definitely going to lose her seat, because I do not know. It also, | :50:09. | :50:32. | |
definitely going to lose her seat, sometimes... Why would you not want | :50:32. | :50:34. | |
to fight that? She won a famous by-election and has built up a | :50:34. | :50:36. | |
constituency. Do you feel it is by-election and has built up a | :50:36. | :50:45. | |
to pack it in? I'm going to fight my seat very hard. I am absolutely | :50:45. | :50:51. | |
certain that whoever is selected as the candidate for her seat will | :50:51. | :50:55. | |
certain that whoever is selected as fight it hard and rely on the base | :50:55. | :50:57. | |
that she has built up. Kate is entrenched. But it indicates that | :50:57. | :51:06. | |
she does not think it is winnable? indicates. She has made the decision | :51:06. | :51:14. | |
but they do not think that reflects will try very hard. She has made it | :51:14. | :51:22. | |
selected because it will be able to be used by the other parties against | :51:22. | :51:26. | |
them. By wonder if Labour are going to put anything on the literature | :51:26. | :51:28. | |
about this? Do you think they might some stage. One of the debates that | :51:28. | :51:40. | |
the Liberal Democrats are having at this moment is the impact on private | :51:40. | :51:43. | |
finance on the National Health Service. They accuse of the last | :51:43. | :51:47. | |
Labour government of insufficient transparency about which companies | :51:47. | :51:51. | |
were involved and a lack of regard for the long-term affordability | :51:51. | :51:58. | |
were involved and a lack of regard Tonight, there are concerns that | :51:58. | :51:59. | |
dozens of private finance projects could be under threat... A spiral of | :51:59. | :52:08. | |
future... A cloud has been hanging over private finance initiatives for | :52:08. | :52:11. | |
a few years, with many high-profile problems. PFI schemes were started | :52:11. | :52:15. | |
by the Conservative government in the 1990s. Despite initial criticism | :52:16. | :52:20. | |
from the Labour Party, they became PFI is an arrangement between a | :52:20. | :52:29. | |
private company in the public sector to build and maintain infrastructure | :52:29. | :52:31. | |
projects like hospitals with private capital. The state and then repays | :52:31. | :52:37. | |
that over 30 years, often at a high large debts have been stored up | :52:37. | :52:42. | |
that over 30 years, often at a high future taxpayers. Although the next | :52:42. | :52:46. | |
30 years of the contract might be favourable picture. I think some of | :52:46. | :52:59. | |
the processes that we have gone through have fallen short of the | :52:59. | :53:06. | |
accuracy and importance that should have been given to them. Through | :53:06. | :53:11. | |
that mechanism, we have not always received good value. One of the | :53:11. | :53:15. | |
worst examples is the South London health care trust. In 1998, new | :53:15. | :53:20. | |
hospitals were needed in South London and they were funded through | :53:20. | :53:24. | |
PFI deals. One of those was the Princess Royal Hospital. It was | :53:24. | :53:30. | |
PFI deals. One of those was the by a company called United Health | :53:30. | :53:35. | |
PFI deals. One of those was the care Bromley Ltd. Sunday Politics | :53:35. | :53:38. | |
has learned that public sector pension funds -- pension funds | :53:38. | :53:44. | |
invest in the parent company. These include Transport for London and the | :53:44. | :53:47. | |
London pensions authority which looks after several councils. The | :53:47. | :53:51. | |
deal with the South London health care trust is not untypical of PFI | :53:51. | :53:57. | |
arrangements. But the trust has struggled to repay its debt and | :53:57. | :54:01. | |
critics argued that it is ironic that other public bodies in the | :54:01. | :54:05. | |
relationship with the parent company crumbles. Trust board for London and | :54:05. | :54:14. | |
available for interview but both invested in the parent company. | :54:14. | :54:20. | |
There is an awful irony about it PFI situation where a private company | :54:20. | :54:23. | |
set up to run public services with public money is being propped up by | :54:23. | :54:31. | |
another public company also paid for on the one hand South London trust | :54:31. | :54:45. | |
backed by the same parent company. I backed by the same parent company. I | :54:45. | :54:50. | |
think it is appropriate for the pension funds to question what has | :54:50. | :54:55. | |
invest in a broad range of assets. PFI is. But it would be normal | :54:55. | :55:13. | |
in Woolwich and the Queen Mary in here as well as the Queen Elizabeth | :55:14. | :55:24. | |
in Woolwich and the Queen Mary in trusts. The hope is that these | :55:24. | :55:26. | |
hospitals will come out from under the shadow of a trust that could not | :55:26. | :55:36. | |
How does that strike you, that there is a kind of public pension fund | :55:36. | :55:40. | |
investment in these companies that are making this money out of these | :55:40. | :55:44. | |
deals? As your contributors said, it is ironic, but I think the principal | :55:44. | :55:50. | |
issue that we need to address is just the fact that PFI deals do | :55:50. | :55:53. | |
issue that we need to address is really represent good value from | :55:53. | :55:53. | |
money. In the NHS, we have had really represent good value from | :55:53. | :55:59. | |
billion worth of capital that is going to be paid for by £80 billion | :55:59. | :56:06. | |
worth of repayments by hospital trusts. That is why they have got | :56:06. | :56:10. | |
the difficulty that they have got. They are paying 6% of the revenue | :56:10. | :56:15. | |
that they get towards the PFI deal. It meant that some neighbourhoods | :56:15. | :56:17. | |
got hospitals now that they would It meant that some neighbourhoods | :56:17. | :56:22. | |
got hospitals now that they would spending. That is the point, we | :56:22. | :56:25. | |
needed the infrastructure. It is true that the info structure was | :56:25. | :56:28. | |
built, but at what cost in terms of the long-term legacy? They are | :56:28. | :56:34. | |
repayments. We have seen in the the long-term legacy? They are | :56:34. | :56:40. | |
three years that repayments have gone up by a third. It was the | :56:40. | :56:46. | |
Conservatives who started this but Gordon Brown and Tony Blair loved | :56:46. | :56:48. | |
them. If you are honest, do you Gordon Brown and Tony Blair loved | :56:48. | :56:52. | |
that perhaps as a Labour MP, they did not look at the detail? You | :56:52. | :56:57. | |
that perhaps as a Labour MP, they bought by the idea of a gleaming new | :56:57. | :57:01. | |
hospital, but you did not see the about it. I think it was a classic | :57:01. | :57:07. | |
example of whatever party is in power, politicians generally do | :57:07. | :57:13. | |
example of whatever party is in look at the long-term. They are | :57:13. | :57:18. | |
time. They said the debt was saved up for their children. I have had | :57:18. | :57:27. | |
is that yes, we have a new school, more. Isn't the central criticism | :57:27. | :57:42. | |
caveats that did not allow the users caveats that did not allow the users | :57:42. | :57:56. | |
cost, we have heard the anecdotal stories about how much money it | :57:56. | :58:01. | |
costs to change the light bulb because of the way the contracts are | :58:01. | :58:05. | |
configured. What we are debating is trying to go back over the existing | :58:05. | :58:09. | |
re-negotiate them down words in terms of price and also trying to | :58:09. | :58:15. | |
ensure that those who run the PFI contracts are not allowed to put | :58:15. | :58:19. | |
them offshore, thereby not paying quite as much tax to the UK taxpayer | :58:19. | :58:25. | |
Let us move on. It is time for the From 2009 at 22011, the Metropolitan | :58:25. | :58:39. | |
Police fired taser guns more often than any other force in in God and | :58:39. | :58:46. | |
Wales. They fired in 30 2% of cases. country. Labour MPs Chuka Ummuna and | :58:46. | :58:52. | |
Tessa Jowell have called for a change in the law to prevent shops | :58:52. | :58:58. | |
from squatters. Since a crackdown in Lambeth, the problem has increased | :58:58. | :58:59. | |
for commercial party owners in the Lambeth, the problem has increased | :58:59. | :59:04. | |
Four councils are taking legal decision to set affordable rents at | :59:04. | :59:10. | |
Four councils are taking legal 80% of Margaret -- market prices. | :59:10. | :59:16. | |
renting in the boroughs would not be Half of London's roads will be over | :59:16. | :59:23. | |
legal pollution limits in 2020 according to Jenny Jones from the | :59:24. | :59:28. | |
Green party. She says that 45% of the main road and network will have | :59:28. | :59:31. | |
harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide Two Labour colleagues who want to | :59:31. | :59:45. | |
see legislation to tackle squatting in commercial properties. Do you | :59:45. | :59:49. | |
agree? I do not. I think that is an easy thing to come out with but | :59:49. | :59:54. | |
agree? I do not. I think that is an believe that the people they are | :59:54. | :59:56. | |
commercial companies were buildings mostly good squatters, who have | :59:56. | :00:04. | |
commercial companies were buildings shocking and young people can, even | :00:04. | :00:15. | |
commercial companies were buildings ways where the owners of those | :00:15. | :00:18. | |
buildings are encouraged to enter into short-term agreements, as that | :00:18. | :00:22. | |
people will leave when they need the building. You cannot justify office | :00:22. | :00:24. | |
buildings sitting empty for long periods of time and people not being | :00:25. | :00:30. | |
able to use them. I do not think that this will happen. In let me ask | :00:30. | :00:40. | |
This concerns a number of London boroughs, where the mayor is now | :00:40. | :00:47. | |
rent. He will only put money into affordable rent is 80% of market | :00:47. | :00:54. | |
rent. He will only put money into affordable housing if the registered | :00:54. | :00:58. | |
landlord charges 80%. Is that right? Many people would think that is | :00:58. | :01:01. | |
landlord charges 80%. Is that right? affordable housing. 80% of market | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
rent in many parts of London will be unaffordable for many people. The | :01:05. | :01:12. | |
housing. The government are moving on that, but until we have addressed | :01:12. | :01:17. | |
the issue of supply, because the demand is social wrong, there will | :01:17. | :01:23. | |
always be pressure on rent and existing properties. We have got to | :01:23. | :01:27. | |
stop the rent is automatically going up every year by huge amounts, far | :01:27. | :01:32. | |
more than pay is going up. Which deserves a programme all to itself. | :01:33. | :01:45. | |
In a moment, more from our political Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says | :01:45. | :01:52. | |
victory for either the Conservatives Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says | :01:52. | :01:55. | |
or labour at the next election would put at risk the economic recovery | :01:55. | :01:59. | |
is. Speaking in Glasgow at the Liberal Democrat annual conference, | :01:59. | :02:00. | |
he said a coalition would allow Liberal Democrat annual conference, | :02:00. | :02:04. | |
party to balance politics and enable the government to finish the job of | :02:05. | :02:09. | |
party to balance politics and enable repairing the economy fairly. It is | :02:09. | :02:10. | |
my genuine belief that if we go repairing the economy fairly. It is | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
coalition and Islands politics, repairing the economy fairly. It is | :02:16. | :02:20. | |
fair nor sustainable. Labour would will get a recovery which is neither | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
fair nor sustainable. Labour would wreck the recovery, and under the | :02:26. | :02:28. | |
fair nor sustainable. Labour would same commitment to fairness as | :02:28. | :02:31. | |
ours, you would get the wrong kind Five people are being questioned in | :02:31. | :02:52. | |
connection with that blaze. A Syrian government minister has described | :02:52. | :02:54. | |
the agreement drawn up by America country's chemical weapons as a | :02:54. | :03:01. | |
The minister claims the deals helps the Syrians out of a crisis and | :03:01. | :03:06. | |
others war. The US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Israel to | :03:06. | :03:09. | |
brief the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the proposal. China | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
and France have also welcomed the deal, which says Syria has until | :03:13. | :03:18. | |
Friday to submit a competence of list of its chemical stockpile. | :03:18. | :03:23. | |
Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on winning his first half marathon | :03:23. | :03:27. | |
Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on He was taking part in the Great | :03:27. | :03:29. | |
North Run between Newcastle and South Shields. Farrar, who was the | :03:29. | :03:34. | |
favourite following his two gold Ethiopian's can mean many Serb | :03:34. | :03:43. | |
favourite following his two gold Kenenisa Bekele in a sprint finish. | :03:43. | :03:46. | |
A carnival atmosphere for the start was about the challenge. For others, | :03:46. | :03:52. | |
walking it, so I have no time in simply dressing up for fun. I am | :03:52. | :04:00. | |
walking it, so I have no time in mind. I just want to enjoy it and | :04:00. | :04:02. | |
appreciate the crowds and have a fantastic time. For elite athletes, | :04:02. | :04:09. | |
today's race was about who would be first over the line. Despite the | :04:09. | :04:13. | |
wind and rain, large crowds turned out for the world's most popular | :04:13. | :04:17. | |
half marathon, which attracts some of the finest women runners, two, | :04:17. | :04:25. | |
including the Kenyan. There were high hopes for Britain's double | :04:25. | :04:29. | |
Olympic champion Mo Farah, but after Shields, he was narrowly beaten | :04:29. | :04:36. | |
Ethiopian's Kenenisa Bekele. It Shields, he was narrowly beaten | :04:36. | :04:46. | |
thought I would come back and close Shields, he was narrowly beaten | :04:46. | :04:48. | |
the gap slowly. I managed to close Shields, he was narrowly beaten | :04:48. | :04:50. | |
it a little bit, but you can't take away what he has. Wheelchair athlete | :04:50. | :04:56. | |
more news on BBC One at 6:35pm. David Weir won his race for a fourth | :04:56. | :05:18. | |
more news on BBC One at 6:35pm. So, did anything happen while we | :05:18. | :05:19. | |
were away this summer? I thought heading now? Who better to answer | :05:19. | :05:27. | |
than the best political panel we could cobble together for a tenner? | :05:27. | :05:33. | |
Putting foreign affairs to one side for a moment, it seems that what | :05:34. | :05:38. | |
happened mystically was that it became more apparent that some sort | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
of recovery was underway at last, and that Mr Miliband still has not | :05:42. | :05:48. | |
yet resonated with the British public. These things are a problem | :05:48. | :05:55. | |
for Labour. Ed Miliband's mistake over the summer holiday was to take | :05:55. | :05:56. | |
a summer holiday. And it looked over the summer holiday was to take | :05:57. | :06:01. | |
the rest of the Labour Party had taken one too. They were not finding | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
issues they could make their own. The only person who made an impact | :06:04. | :06:09. | |
was Stella Creasy on online abuse. That is a huge problem, and it is | :06:09. | :06:13. | |
partly down to the fact that there is this intense message discipline. | :06:13. | :06:15. | |
They don't want to say anything is this intense message discipline. | :06:15. | :06:19. | |
of line until they have got all their ducks in a row. It makes the | :06:19. | :06:21. | |
party do at the moment. The terms of party do at the moment. The terms of | :06:21. | :06:27. | |
trade have swung in David Cameron's favour, but the political rhetoric | :06:27. | :06:31. | |
look at this headline from the is still with Mr Miliband. Let's | :06:31. | :06:40. | |
look at this headline from the Sunday Telegraph. That headline | :06:40. | :06:44. | |
might not be right, but the story is significant in that Mr Cameron is | :06:44. | :06:46. | |
still in danger on his right flank significant in that Mr Cameron is | :06:46. | :06:52. | |
doesn't need an enormous share of the vote to get an overall majority? | :06:52. | :07:00. | |
Westminster group think. Of course Ed Miliband is in trouble. The | :07:00. | :07:04. | |
Tories are reserved and. They are better organised, the economy is | :07:04. | :07:08. | |
recovering. That poses difficulties for Labour, but if you look at what | :07:08. | :07:10. | |
is happening on the ground, UKIP for Labour, but if you look at what | :07:10. | :07:18. | |
don't need to poll 15% in a lot for Labour, but if you look at what | :07:18. | :07:23. | |
to get five or 6% of the vote, and for Labour, but if you look at what | :07:23. | :07:24. | |
to say, this guy will never be prime that could potentially destroy the | :07:24. | :07:39. | |
to say, this guy will never be prime minister, but it is possible that by | :07:39. | :07:45. | |
Miliband could end up as prime minister. It is still all to play | :07:45. | :07:51. | |
for on both sides. If UKIP remains a threat to the Tory right flank and | :07:51. | :07:56. | |
the Tories themselves are not really a national party any more, I am | :07:56. | :07:59. | |
the Tories themselves are not really they will only target a few seats in | :07:59. | :08:02. | |
Scotland, they don't get any big seats in the big cities of the north | :08:02. | :08:05. | |
any more, they don't get the Ulster vote they used to get, so it is | :08:05. | :08:09. | |
possible that Labour, which is more nationally based and has seats in | :08:09. | :08:13. | |
the Midlands and the north and in Wales, so they could get in. I | :08:13. | :08:19. | |
agree. The advantage of having a bad summer is that Ed Miliband can go to | :08:19. | :08:25. | |
expectations. All he has to do is not dribble on the lectern, and | :08:25. | :08:29. | |
expectations. All he has to do is will be written up as spectacular. | :08:29. | :08:31. | |
expectations. All he has to do is He might not even use a lectin. | :08:31. | :08:39. | |
position. The electoral vagaries of the system work in his favour. He | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
still has a narrow poll lead, he is not out of the game at all. Of the | :08:44. | :08:47. | |
three main party leaders, the only one who can be confident about being | :08:47. | :08:54. | |
three main party leaders, the only in government after 2015 is Nick | :08:54. | :09:00. | |
electorally. But if it is this bad for Labour at the moment, what will | :09:01. | :09:06. | |
it be like if this recovery turns out to be real? It depends how much | :09:06. | :09:14. | |
they succeed. Chuka Umunna was shifting the debate are living | :09:14. | :09:17. | |
standards. They don't want to keep arguing about who called it right. | :09:17. | :09:20. | |
Do people feel richer than they arguing about who called it right. | :09:20. | :09:24. | |
in 2010? The data suggests that people don't feel richer than in | :09:24. | :09:28. | |
2010. Because they are not.That people don't feel richer than in | :09:28. | :09:33. | |
and pray that the economy is not as the next election. It is clear | :09:33. | :09:47. | |
and pray that the economy is not as Barber, who thought he fixed the | :09:47. | :09:51. | |
are all sorts of uncertainties Barber, who thought he fixed the | :09:51. | :10:06. | |
wrong for Osborne. Chuka Umunna Barber, who thought he fixed the | :10:06. | :10:08. | |
he would not get rid of help to Barber, who thought he fixed the | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
There are all these criticisms about Barber, who thought he fixed the | :10:11. | :10:14. | |
artificial schemes pumping up house prices, but he would not say that. | :10:14. | :10:19. | |
It is tortuous. You see this again and again. When asked if Labour | :10:20. | :10:27. | |
would repeal the bedroom tax, or the same thing with Royal Mail, it | :10:28. | :10:29. | |
happens again. They will be falling on people who have not had a meal in | :10:29. | :10:42. | |
coming out of the Labour Party. There is a kind and Gillette in | :10:42. | :10:45. | |
coming out of the Labour Party. them to a politician's career. When | :10:45. | :10:48. | |
they are under attack for a long time, the media get bored after | :10:48. | :10:51. | |
they are under attack for a long while and switch the story. It | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
happened to Osborne, who had a horrific 2012 and has recovered | :10:56. | :11:00. | |
bad press as he is getting at the moment, because people find it | :11:00. | :11:09. | |
tedious. Syria has been the big foreign-policy event this summer. It | :11:09. | :11:11. | |
has remarkably led to a Soviet- American initiative to get Syria to | :11:11. | :11:19. | |
give up its chemical weapons. The world will now expect the Assad | :11:20. | :11:25. | |
regime to live up to its public commitments. As I said at the outset | :11:25. | :11:27. | |
anything less than full compliance. John Kerry. Is this too good to | :11:27. | :11:44. | |
anything less than full compliance. true? Even superficially, it is | :11:44. | :11:46. | |
anything less than full compliance. very good. The only people who | :11:46. | :11:49. | |
emerge with any sense of triumph are the Russians, who have had their | :11:49. | :11:53. | |
emerge with any sense of triumph are biggest diplomatic coup. They are | :11:53. | :11:53. | |
back on the stage again. B if you biggest diplomatic coup. They are | :11:53. | :11:58. | |
want to know why Putin even has biggest diplomatic coup. They are | :11:58. | :12:02. | |
because of moments like this. They were humiliated after the end of the | :12:03. | :12:06. | |
Cold War, and a Nou Camp is a great power again. Then you have the Obama | :12:06. | :12:09. | |
situation, because he has ended between himself and his Secretary of | :12:09. | :12:13. | |
where he wanted to end up. He has between himself and his Secretary of | :12:13. | :12:32. | |
him any good. I was in the States, and it was open season on him. I | :12:32. | :12:40. | |
have never understood the idea of chemical weapons as a red line when | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
you can massacre people in their thousands through other means. But | :12:44. | :12:50. | |
chemical weapons are beyond the pale. The rebels are miserable. | :12:50. | :12:57. | |
chemical weapons are beyond the have run out of time. I will have to | :12:57. | :12:59. | |
ask you what you think about Syria next week, which gives you time | :13:00. | :13:04. | |
ask you what you think about Syria prepare. Your book on Fred the shred | :13:04. | :13:09. | |
is going well? It is.I am back tomorrow at noon with the Daily | :13:09. | :13:13. | |
Politics at noon on BBC Two, where we will have more from the Liberal | :13:13. | :13:15. | |
Democrat conference in Glasgow. we will have more from the Liberal | :13:15. | :13:18. | |
is the start of our Daily Politics conference coverage. Next week, | :13:19. | :13:22. | |
is the start of our Daily Politics will be back here at our normal | :13:22. | :13:24. | |
is the start of our Daily Politics of 11am, when we will be joined | :13:24. | :13:29. | |
is the start of our Daily Politics Grant Shapps. Remember, if it is | :13:29. | :13:30. | |
Sunday, it is the Sunday Politics. | :13:30. | :13:50. |