0:01:27 > 0:01:29In the North East and Cumbria... Voters have an opportunity to
0:01:29 > 0:01:33deliver a verdict on the Government's handling of the
0:01:33 > 0:01:43economy at the polls on Thursday. What can the parties expect? We're
0:01:43 > 0:01:43
0:01:43 > 0:29:37Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1674 seconds
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Hello and a very warm welcome to your local part of the show. Coming
0:29:39 > 0:29:41up... Should the Department for
0:29:41 > 0:29:47International Development and its 1,600 civil servants be moved from
0:29:47 > 0:29:50here in London to Tyneside? We speak to an MP about his
0:29:50 > 0:29:53parliamentary campaign to ship jobs out of Whitehall. Talking about
0:29:53 > 0:29:56that, the local elections and the renewed recession, my guests Bishop
0:29:56 > 0:30:03Auckland MP Helen Goodman, Newcastle Lib Dem Greg Stone, and
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill. Welcome one and all.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08First, voters across much of the North East and Cumbria go to the
0:30:08 > 0:30:11polls on Thursday. They may be called local elections but
0:30:11 > 0:30:14inevitably the outcome will also be seen as a verdict on the
0:30:14 > 0:30:16performance of David Cameron's government. It's likely to prove
0:30:16 > 0:30:19testing for both the coalition parties, while Labour needs to show
0:30:19 > 0:30:22its message is getting across. In the week that the economy
0:30:22 > 0:30:25officially went back into recession, Mark Denten travelled to Hartlepool,
0:30:25 > 0:30:35a town with its fair share of economic problems, to gauge the
0:30:35 > 0:30:39
0:30:39 > 0:30:45mood of voters. Hartlepool. It is traditionally a
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Labour town. The council has cut �19 million from its budget over
0:30:49 > 0:30:53the last three years. The place has the second-highest unemployment in
0:30:53 > 0:30:59the region and to port has just missed out on a multi-million pound
0:30:59 > 0:31:01international order. If that sounds a bit grim, today, the weather is
0:31:01 > 0:31:06doing a passable imitation of November even though it is the end
0:31:06 > 0:31:09of April. We're in a double dip recession as well. So what is the
0:31:09 > 0:31:19top issue of the mines -- on the minds of people at this local
0:31:19 > 0:31:24market? The cost of living has gone up so much. You find yourself with
0:31:24 > 0:31:29less every day. We just have to tighten our belts. My son has been
0:31:29 > 0:31:33on the dole for nearly one year. He does not get a letter in the door
0:31:33 > 0:31:38to say sorry, we cannot take you or are there is nothing going. He has
0:31:38 > 0:31:48just struggling at the moment like everyone. - Nahki is just
0:31:48 > 0:31:49
0:31:49 > 0:31:52struggling. -- he is just. Hartlepool's port recently missed
0:31:52 > 0:31:57out on a 125 million pound project, but could have bought badly needed
0:31:57 > 0:32:00jobs to the area. The contract for the wind turbines went to Scotland.
0:32:00 > 0:32:07While Labour say they are plenty of local issues around, these
0:32:07 > 0:32:11elections are mostly about passing a verdict on the Government.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Hartlepool is hurting at the moment. We have seen some savage cuts. They
0:32:15 > 0:32:20have increased the poverty in the town. Just with the tax credit
0:32:20 > 0:32:24changes, that has taken �2.6 million out of the economy. The
0:32:24 > 0:32:29shops and businesses could potentially close. Then it would be
0:32:29 > 0:32:33a ghost town. At the moment, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems have
0:32:33 > 0:32:39six councils between them. But both parties reject claims that
0:32:39 > 0:32:42coalition policies have made this time's economic problems worse.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Labour were in power for 13 years before the coalition Government
0:32:47 > 0:32:51took over. That was not even two years ago. Unemployment was still
0:32:51 > 0:32:56on the rise even then. Hartlepool has suffered, but I do not believe
0:32:56 > 0:32:59it has suffered any more than many other towns in the country. The
0:32:59 > 0:33:04coalition Government have had to make some savage cuts. We all
0:33:04 > 0:33:08accept that. When you take over trillions of pounds worth of debt
0:33:08 > 0:33:14from the previous Labour Government, they had little choice.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19regional growth fund has paid �1.5 billion in the region. Pensions are
0:33:19 > 0:33:26up 60% since the coalition was formed. I can only see the time
0:33:26 > 0:33:32going up, not down. And there are some positive economic signs in a
0:33:32 > 0:33:35yard just outside the time. Hartlepool steelworks has just
0:33:35 > 0:33:40secured a in multi-million pound contract for the Gulf of Mexico. It
0:33:40 > 0:33:43will safeguard 700 jobs. But I cannot get more or economic reasons
0:33:43 > 0:33:49to be cheerful? According to the smaller parties fight in the
0:33:49 > 0:33:53selection, the answer is, ditch the main parties. Massive cuts to the
0:33:53 > 0:34:00local Government expenditure has left the council in Hartlepool with
0:34:00 > 0:34:03an awful choice of making certain cuts. But the local Labour Party in
0:34:03 > 0:34:12Hartlepool have exacerbated the situation by overspending for here
0:34:12 > 0:34:16on year for the last 10 years. are at the bottom of every single
0:34:16 > 0:34:19deprivation League, a bad health, we are sitting at the bottom. If we
0:34:19 > 0:34:25need to send a message to the main parties that they have let us down
0:34:25 > 0:34:31and we want them to do something about it. Hartlepool - a battered
0:34:31 > 0:34:34economy and some voters are bound to deliver their verdict. They will
0:34:34 > 0:34:40be delivering the verdict on the people who run their time, and also
0:34:40 > 0:34:44the country. The sentiments we heard there are
0:34:44 > 0:34:46typical of what many people are thinking, which is that they're
0:34:46 > 0:34:51hurting and they're blaming the Government.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53The economic situation is not good. We saw that we are and technical
0:34:53 > 0:34:59recession. If you live at the unemployment position in the North
0:34:59 > 0:35:04East, although we have 24,000 more people employed than two years ago,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07but there was in 9,000 drop and youth unemployment has stabilised.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12It is good news from here, good news from the British Steel site,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15and good news for other investments in my constituency. We can see the
0:35:15 > 0:35:21private sector jobs coming through to replace the jobs and the state
0:35:21 > 0:35:25sector, but we can no longer afford to fund. Voters consensus have
0:35:25 > 0:35:28moved on from the effects of cuts to the fact that the strategy at
0:35:29 > 0:35:33the moment is not working on a national scale because we are in
0:35:33 > 0:35:38recession. This time last year, it was forecast that the Conservatives
0:35:38 > 0:35:42would lose hundreds of consuls. If we gained councils. Is that you're
0:35:42 > 0:35:45predicting this year?! Only a month ago, in Scarborough Borough, will
0:35:45 > 0:35:49be to concede that we had not previously held and to control of
0:35:49 > 0:35:53the council. We got more votes than all the other parties put together.
0:35:53 > 0:35:57There are people still prepared to go wide there and vote Conservative.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Stabilise the wisdom of what we're doing. If you see what is happening
0:36:01 > 0:36:04up to other countries who are trying dispenser way out of the
0:36:04 > 0:36:09recession... A America, for instance? American growth is
0:36:09 > 0:36:13slowing. Spain, Italy, and number of other European countries that
0:36:13 > 0:36:18are in recession. You cannot spend one's way out of debt. He might
0:36:18 > 0:36:24want to make this a referendum, but this should be about local issues.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29In it should be. But the two things are linked. So the cuts that the
0:36:29 > 0:36:35local councils are having to implement, and in Hartlepool, it is
0:36:35 > 0:36:38�132 per person, are because of the decisions taken by George Osborne.
0:36:38 > 0:36:45So what the Government is doing is hiding behind the cuts that they
0:36:45 > 0:36:54are making and forcing the local authorities to make them. In a
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Surrey, a much wealthier area, �2 per head. It is just not fair.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01may be able to trade on some dissatisfaction, but does it mean a
0:37:01 > 0:37:04lot if you have a number of councils in Hartlepool and
0:37:04 > 0:37:10Sunderland unless you breakthrough in places like Carlyle and North
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Yorkshire, where you vote is not strong? Across the North, people
0:37:14 > 0:37:19are concerned about the state of the economy and the squeeze on
0:37:19 > 0:37:24their living standards. In our regions, what we see is nine people
0:37:24 > 0:37:27chasing every job. But are you about to make the breakthrough when
0:37:27 > 0:37:31you need to commodities the places where you have not been winning in
0:37:31 > 0:37:34the past? We do have to wait and see. It is not my job to make
0:37:35 > 0:37:38forecasts. It is my job to point out to people that it really is
0:37:38 > 0:37:42worth going out and Rodin. These are very important local elections.
0:37:42 > 0:37:47There is a lot at stake. People need to send a message to David
0:37:47 > 0:37:52Cameron. This is going to be another hellish
0:37:52 > 0:37:57you for your party, is needed? The council is losing because of your
0:37:57 > 0:38:03party's decision to go into Government. But this situation was
0:38:03 > 0:38:09granted to us by the Labour Government. This situation arose
0:38:09 > 0:38:16from a Labour's problems. For boaters and seem to think that wave.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21-- Botha's. Who these are cuts that would have happened if they had won
0:38:21 > 0:38:27the election as well. We are having to deal with this. He predicted
0:38:27 > 0:38:31economic growth and it has not happened. We're trying to stabilise
0:38:31 > 0:38:35the economy, which is difficult to do in the North East. The situation
0:38:35 > 0:38:39I'm saying, I work in the private sector, I think there is optimism
0:38:39 > 0:38:42might there about the prospects for the North East. As Robert said,
0:38:42 > 0:38:48there has been some significant announcements in terms of large-
0:38:48 > 0:38:51scale manufacturing jobs and the North East. That balance of getting
0:38:51 > 0:38:55the private sector healthy and strong in the North East is one
0:38:55 > 0:38:58that Labour did not do well on. They had massive growth in the
0:38:58 > 0:39:03public sector on Labour Party payroll, but we need proper private
0:39:03 > 0:39:06sector jobs. Outside parts of North Yorkshire,
0:39:06 > 0:39:12due will be in retreat in places like North Tyneside, Sunderland,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Carlisle - that has to be worrying? We are fighting for every vote. But
0:39:15 > 0:39:18Conservative councils to give people better value for money. Just
0:39:18 > 0:39:25look at some of the crazy salaries being paid to council officials
0:39:25 > 0:39:29under Labour. If I can get your answer the question, if your party
0:39:29 > 0:39:33is in retreat in these places, or where support was built up during
0:39:33 > 0:39:37the time of Labour, that is a problem for a party that wants to
0:39:37 > 0:39:40be a national party, isn't it? Let's see but the results are on
0:39:40 > 0:39:44polling day. This Government helped us freeze the council tax two years
0:39:44 > 0:39:49ago. That is helping people in every single household and the
0:39:49 > 0:39:51North East. That is something that people have noticed. They do
0:39:51 > 0:39:57realise that whilst everyone has been squeezed, the Government are
0:39:57 > 0:40:05trying to help in that way. Other than the label councils, who
0:40:06 > 0:40:09are trying to take credit for this freeze,... There is there is a
0:40:09 > 0:40:13negotiation between be councils. But I just want to come back to
0:40:13 > 0:40:17private sector jobs and public sector jobs. This is really crucial
0:40:17 > 0:40:21to understanding what is going on. When you make cuts in the public
0:40:21 > 0:40:25sector, they also have knock-on impact on the private sector. This
0:40:25 > 0:40:30Government cut building schools for the future. That affected 103
0:40:30 > 0:40:34schools in our region. But also building firms, joiners. It has
0:40:34 > 0:40:38knock-on effects. Why haven't we seen Nick Clegg
0:40:38 > 0:40:43defending the Government in Newcastle? He is not and the
0:40:43 > 0:40:50country. We are the ones you're making it fairer, greener and more
0:40:50 > 0:40:53liberal. We have increased the pensions as well. The situation on
0:40:53 > 0:40:57the tax has been unfortunate in my view. We have been distracted by
0:40:57 > 0:41:01the media and their stories about Pastides. But thousands of people
0:41:01 > 0:41:03across the North-East have been taken out of paying tax. That is a
0:41:03 > 0:41:06real difference that the Liberal Democrats have made.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09Well, one way the Government could boost the region's economy is by
0:41:09 > 0:41:12transferring some of the tens of thousands of civil service jobs out
0:41:12 > 0:41:15of Whitehall to the North. The idea's not new. The last Labour
0:41:15 > 0:41:19government says it moved around 1,300 such jobs to the North East.
0:41:19 > 0:41:28But is it time to be a bit bolder and shift entire government
0:41:28 > 0:41:36departments out of London? Here's Fergus Hewison.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39London's landmarks - bringing in tourists. The success of
0:41:39 > 0:41:43governments have sought to move civil servants out of Whitehall and
0:41:43 > 0:41:48the south-east. -- successive governments. But how successful
0:41:48 > 0:41:53have they been? In 2010, Marine management organisation move into
0:41:53 > 0:41:57this building behind me in Tyneside, bringing with that 100 jobs. In the
0:41:57 > 0:42:01last nine years, at least 1,300 civil service posts have moved from
0:42:01 > 0:42:07the south and the North East. Not common for the weather, were there?
0:42:07 > 0:42:11But now, one MP has a more radical idea. I would like to see every
0:42:11 > 0:42:15region getting a Government department. It would be a huge
0:42:15 > 0:42:19cost-saving, taking jobs out of London. The real estate will then
0:42:19 > 0:42:23be available to sell or lease out and it would make a significant
0:42:23 > 0:42:27difference to Government revenues. So will, where could some of them
0:42:27 > 0:42:32go? Transport could go to Birmingham, education to Nottingham,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35communities and local Government to Liverpool and the Department for
0:42:35 > 0:42:40International Development and at 1,600 jobs to Newcastle. But some
0:42:40 > 0:42:43unions are not happy with the idea. We would welcome a more civil
0:42:43 > 0:42:47service jobs in the North East of England. But we would not welcome
0:42:47 > 0:42:52them on the basis of colleagues losing their jobs elsewhere in the
0:42:52 > 0:42:56country. We certainly wouldn't welcome them on the basis of the
0:42:56 > 0:43:01introduction of regional pay rates. This idea may never see the light
0:43:01 > 0:43:05of day. But it has produced for the debate about the centralised nature
0:43:05 > 0:43:10of Britain's Government. You have been a civil servant in
0:43:10 > 0:43:18London and you have been an MP. Do you agree with this idea? I think
0:43:18 > 0:43:22it is a good idea to have more jobs in the region. I don't know whether
0:43:22 > 0:43:26this is quite the right way of going about it. We have plan to
0:43:27 > 0:43:30move 20,000 jobs. I would like the business Department in our region.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35That would help us to peace our exports.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38This sounds like a good idea. The BBC made a bold statement. It moved
0:43:38 > 0:43:43departments to Salford. Couldn't the Government did the same? There
0:43:43 > 0:43:47were problems with that. We lost Jan Williams of breakfast TV
0:43:47 > 0:43:51because she would not move. It is not always easy for people to move
0:43:51 > 0:43:55because they have spices and other jobs and children in schools. If it
0:43:55 > 0:44:03was such a good idea, why didn't the previous governments do it? We
0:44:03 > 0:44:08do have a lot of Government jobs in Swansea and since Newcastle. We
0:44:08 > 0:44:10have a lot of jobs outside the capital. But the Government
0:44:10 > 0:44:14departments themselves, the minister going and with his
0:44:14 > 0:44:20officials, it does need to be in London. Because that is what
0:44:20 > 0:44:22Parliament is and that is where the Cabinet meetings are. This was
0:44:22 > 0:44:27raised in Parliament recently. We are looking to save money by
0:44:27 > 0:44:31closing down buildings in London and if there are obvious ways in
0:44:31 > 0:44:36which we can keep people there we will do it, but it is not proper
0:44:36 > 0:44:43via -- top of our priorities. Wedded to the region any favours or
0:44:43 > 0:44:46heighten our dependence on the public sector? That is the issue.
0:44:46 > 0:44:51The Liberal Democrats called for her jobs to be moved appear under
0:44:51 > 0:44:54the previous Government and we got a few hundred jobs for the Work and
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Pensions Society. Not all departments. The fact that those
0:44:58 > 0:45:02jobs are are on offer could be a good thing. But one of the problems
0:45:02 > 0:45:06and the North East is an over all dependence on the public sector. It
0:45:06 > 0:45:10is on the ball like this. We need to have that rebalance the economy,
0:45:10 > 0:45:14which has a stronger private sector. More public sector jobs and the
0:45:14 > 0:45:19North East is not the way to go. thought the unions would be in
0:45:19 > 0:45:23favour of this, but they're saying it is robbing Peter to pay Paul.
0:45:23 > 0:45:29Their main concern is about regional pay. We are opposed to
0:45:29 > 0:45:33paying public servants less. Are they are opposed to moving whole
0:45:33 > 0:45:37departments as well. That is clearly controversial. It might not
0:45:37 > 0:45:39be the most sensible way of doing things. But what we do need to
0:45:39 > 0:45:43remember is that what this Government has done is cut public
0:45:43 > 0:45:47sector jobs in the North East far more than public sector jobs in
0:45:47 > 0:45:49London. Now, it's been a wet old week. You
0:45:49 > 0:45:53might have noticed. But Mark has finally dried out from his
0:45:53 > 0:46:03experiences in Hartlepool and here he is to bring you the rest of the
0:46:03 > 0:46:04
0:46:04 > 0:46:09political news in 60 seconds. Ed Miliband has accepted an
0:46:09 > 0:46:13invitation to speak at the miners' colour in July. He will be the
0:46:13 > 0:46:17first Labour leader to attend since Neil Kinnock in 1989. Hundreds of
0:46:17 > 0:46:21because of March to London to protest at the BUPA's the tax. The
0:46:21 > 0:46:26petition has been signed by nearly 500,000 people. Residents in West
0:46:26 > 0:46:31Cumbria are not getting enough of the same nuclear we storage. That
0:46:31 > 0:46:37is according to town and parish councils. Conservative MPs di Ofcom
0:46:37 > 0:46:40has called for a fairer deal for schools in his constituency. I'm
0:46:40 > 0:46:47represent schools in Northumberland who looked enviously at counties
0:46:47 > 0:46:52and cities are where they have a greater degree of funding.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55change is not an option. parliamentary inquiry has found
0:46:55 > 0:46:59that people in the North East and Yorkshire received fewer honours
0:46:59 > 0:47:08such as obese and knighthoods, of which is blamed on a number of
0:47:08 > 0:47:12senior civil servants and military top brass to live in the south.
0:47:12 > 0:47:19Is there anything to be read into this decision by Ed Miliband to
0:47:19 > 0:47:23come to Durham? People have a good time. The important point is that
0:47:23 > 0:47:27in the past, people have accused New Labour of ignoring the
0:47:27 > 0:47:33heartlands and of taking some people for granted. This shows that
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Ed Miliband is not doing that. are ignoring the unions, maybe. He
0:47:37 > 0:47:41who pays the piper calls the tune. Ed wants to return some of the
0:47:41 > 0:47:45death or getting the job that he has. I had an invitation to attend
0:47:45 > 0:47:48the gala as well. Were you be going? Given the prospect of all
0:47:49 > 0:47:56new mining jobs in North Yorkshire, I suggested it should be held
0:47:56 > 0:48:01there! But Roberta said maybe you should come up. If it pulls out, I
0:48:01 > 0:48:06will stand in! What you make of this? As Robert
0:48:06 > 0:48:10says, Ed Miliband is a creature of the unions. He is dependent on them.
0:48:10 > 0:48:20If he wanted to avoid that, which he has done in the past, he would
0:48:20 > 0:48:23not go. I think it is more important for Ed Miliband to a rack
0:48:23 > 0:48:26up votes in Devon and Derbyshire and everyone else. I think he is
0:48:26 > 0:48:33making a case to be seen as the next Prime Minister. If the North
0:48:33 > 0:48:36East will go down this route, which I would regret, I think it is more
0:48:36 > 0:48:42about her plans rather than appealing to the country as a whole.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46It is not their 21st century, is it? I have just been to their
0:48:46 > 0:48:49miners' gala recently. It is a fantastic festival. It is about the
0:48:49 > 0:48:52culture of the North East. It will include international elements and
0:48:52 > 0:48:55going up to the cathedral, it is wonderful.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58And that's about all from us. If you want to keep up-to-date with
0:48:58 > 0:49:02the results of the local elections, you can join David Dimbleby on BBC
0:49:02 > 0:49:04One and on the News Channel from 11.35pm on Thursday night. I'll be
0:49:04 > 0:49:07in Hartlepool bringing you the picture from across the North East
0:49:07 > 0:49:10and Cumbria. The Newcastle mayoral referendum won't be counted until
0:49:10 > 0:49:13Friday. But we will be there for that, too. You need to tune into
0:49:13 > 0:49:17BBC Two from noon. I'll be tweeting like a good 'un
0:49:17 > 0:49:20throughout the two days to keep you up to date, and we'll bring you the