02/12/2012 Sunday Politics North East and Cumbria


02/12/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 02/12/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Here in the North East and Cumbria...

:01:18.:01:20.

An emphatic win for Labour in the Middlesbrough by-election, but it

:01:20.:01:24.

is UKIP again making the headlines. How far can the party go in the

:01:24.:01:34.
:01:34.:01:34.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2136 seconds

:01:34.:37:10.

Hello and a warm welcome to your local part of the show just for the

:37:10.:37:14.

North East and Cumbria. My guests this week are the Labour

:37:14.:37:16.

MP for Houghton & Sunderland South, Bridget Phillipson.

:37:16.:37:19.

And hot from the Palace, where he received a CBE this week,

:37:19.:37:23.

Conservative Jeremy Middleton. In a moment, as new figures show

:37:23.:37:25.

the South continues to get the lion's share of transport spending,

:37:25.:37:29.

we ask if the region's ambitions to dual the A1 or build a Tees Valley

:37:29.:37:34.

Metro will ever be met? But our top story this week is

:37:34.:37:36.

Labour's victory in the Middlesbrough by-election. Andy

:37:36.:37:39.

MacDonald was elected to the seat with a majority of more than 8.000,

:37:39.:37:45.

taking 60% of the vote. He said is was a message from the voters of

:37:45.:37:53.

Teesside to the coalition government. We sent a message to

:37:53.:38:00.

David Cameron any government. You do not understand us. You do not

:38:01.:38:05.

speak for us and you are a government that does not care about

:38:05.:38:09.

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were not expected to

:38:09.:38:12.

win in what is, after all, safe Labour territory, but they could

:38:12.:38:14.

hardly have been happy being shunted into third and fourth place

:38:14.:38:17.

by UKIP. Their candidate took second place, the party's best ever

:38:17.:38:27.

result in the North East. I think that UK Independence Party is

:38:27.:38:32.

pouring even better in the north and it is in the south. And it

:38:32.:38:41.

makes it a light that we are any sudden, was the Conservative Party.

:38:41.:38:46.

I hope we will be sending a member of the European Parliament back in

:38:46.:38:56.
:38:56.:39:02.

2014. This was a very poor result for you, wasn't it? Yes, I stood in

:39:02.:39:07.

the Hartlepool by election and duly finished 4th, despite been a

:39:07.:39:17.

marvellous candidate! But we came back and effectively won the

:39:17.:39:22.

general election. The last by- election in this part of the world

:39:22.:39:29.

was in Sedgefield and we were third in that one, but when it came to

:39:29.:39:34.

the general election, we were in second place. These are mid-term

:39:34.:39:42.

effects. By it are you going backwards? I know Middlesbrough is

:39:42.:39:46.

a Labour seat, but you found be a late 1,000 people wanting to vote

:39:46.:39:53.

for you. In mid-term by-election, the Conservatives did not do very

:39:53.:40:03.

well in Middlesbrough. The Liberal Democrats did slightly better. I in

:40:03.:40:09.

the past, when there was a mid-term by-election, used to rally round

:40:09.:40:15.

the liberals of the wanted to make a protest vote. Now, because the

:40:15.:40:17.

Liberal Democrats are in the coalition, the are looking for

:40:17.:40:22.

another party to do that and in this case, it appeared to be UK

:40:22.:40:28.

Independence Party. It was a fantastic result for us. It was a

:40:28.:40:35.

low turnout, but we actually increased or share of the vote. It

:40:35.:40:40.

is a great vote for Labour. By but it was a sea you were going to win.

:40:40.:40:46.

It does not saying much of the message out? I thing it is

:40:46.:40:52.

important that in Andy McDonald, we have a lot lumpy -- n p 8 there

:40:52.:41:00.

will be speaking out on local issues on behalf of local people.

:41:00.:41:05.

Up and down the country, whether it is Middlesbrough or Croydon or

:41:05.:41:12.

Corby, we are doing very well. People are so angry about cuts,

:41:12.:41:17.

which the election was largely fought on. Is it very disappointing

:41:17.:41:23.

that the turnout was just over one quarter? He is, turnout is always

:41:23.:41:31.

an issue on a cold and wet November day. By-election turnouts are

:41:31.:41:35.

notoriously low. It was not as bad as some of those we have seen

:41:35.:41:42.

recently. This was the good result for Labour and I am delighted that

:41:42.:41:50.

I have a new colleague in Andy McDonald joining me in Parliament.

:41:50.:41:54.

But this could actually lead to a threat to you're Euro seats in the

:41:54.:42:04.
:42:04.:42:06.

North East, Germany? When people come to the main issue, they are

:42:06.:42:11.

going to see the difference between the Labour and Conservative Party,

:42:11.:42:15.

come the general election, they will see that the economy is

:42:15.:42:23.

improving. A but a one point, the Liberal Democrats over to the

:42:23.:42:28.

Conservative Party into second place in the North East. Is there

:42:28.:42:32.

not a worry that UK Independence Party may now take the place of

:42:32.:42:40.

both of your party's in that respect? The problem we have at the

:42:40.:42:44.

moment is too much debt, but they do not want to vote in the Labour

:42:45.:42:49.

Party, who will make that debt higher. That will be the main issue

:42:49.:42:55.

which will decide to the want to be Prime Minister - David Cameron or

:42:55.:43:03.

Ed Miliband. Thank you both very much for now.

:43:03.:43:06.

Now, MPs on the Transport Select Committee have this week heard

:43:06.:43:09.

claims that the North East is falling well behind when it comes

:43:09.:43:11.

to spending on roads and railways. According to Treasury figures, the

:43:11.:43:14.

region will have less money spent on transport infrastructure over

:43:14.:43:24.
:43:24.:43:25.

the next five years than anywhere else in England. The A1 in north

:43:25.:43:29.

Northumberland. For decades, the police from businesses and drivers

:43:29.:43:39.
:43:39.:43:40.

to the government, please give us the money for at dual carriageway.

:43:40.:43:44.

While London is getting millions of pounds of shiny new transport

:43:44.:43:49.

projects, what can we expect in the North East? According to one

:43:49.:43:59.
:43:59.:43:59.

transport expert in Parliament, we can expect one of these. Lunn did

:43:59.:44:06.

well received 84 % of transport spending, compared to six % in the

:44:06.:44:16.
:44:16.:44:17.

North East. It is only amounting to �5 per head for the North East. Be

:44:17.:44:23.

even if we spent all were transport finance on the A1 this year, we

:44:23.:44:27.

would only be able to put a dual carriageway on one mile of the road.

:44:27.:44:36.

It would take another 36 years for the job to be finished. It has led

:44:36.:44:40.

to a lack of investment for many decades. It takes a long time to

:44:40.:44:45.

build a road and for that investment to come or not come.

:44:45.:44:52.

government has made the A1 he writ of strategic importance, but the

:44:52.:44:59.

coalition partners are frustrated by the lack of funding. He it is

:44:59.:45:04.

very frustrating. That is why I am keeping on battling forwards. We

:45:04.:45:10.

need a clear economic voice to speak to the government with. And

:45:10.:45:14.

to here is another transport project for the future. These

:45:14.:45:19.

parties's pictures are for E �220 billion Tees Valley Metro. It would

:45:19.:45:28.

like Teesside to Darlington. Six years on, we have new artist's

:45:28.:45:35.

impressions because the Tees Valley Metro is still not here. There will

:45:35.:45:41.

be a new station at the James Cook hospital and other train stations.

:45:41.:45:51.
:45:51.:45:54.

It is not exactly great progress, but officially, at Maine 10 mmac --

:45:54.:46:01.

Tees Valley Metro is officially up and running. The way will have the

:46:01.:46:06.

station at the hospital up and running shortly and the art of this

:46:06.:46:10.

are looking at fees to. It would be lovely if it was done as the Big

:46:10.:46:16.

Bang, but it cannot be done. We will see improvements to the rich

:46:16.:46:26.
:46:26.:46:28.

and improvements to stations in the next few years. Improvements are

:46:28.:46:32.

promised for the stations, but commuters say that is not what they

:46:32.:46:36.

were promised. We are of a lovely hanging baskets and the stations,

:46:36.:46:45.

but that is not what we are promised. B E D Tees Valley Metro.

:46:45.:46:52.

Vital improvements are still awaited. But his transport money

:46:52.:46:57.

better spent in the prosperous south or where it is needed most,

:46:57.:47:01.

in the less prosperous north? Transport is one of the key issues

:47:01.:47:03.

identified in a report into the economic future of the North,

:47:03.:47:06.

published this week by the IPPR think-tank. But how sound is the

:47:06.:47:09.

economic case for more transport spending? With me Ross Smith from

:47:09.:47:16.

the North East Chamber of Commerce. We would like the money to be spent

:47:16.:47:22.

in the north, but there are insane traffic problems in the south and

:47:22.:47:26.

given the prosperous nature of that part of the country, is the money

:47:26.:47:31.

not better spent there? If we do not have the infrastructure

:47:32.:47:35.

investment in the north, we will be fighting with one arm tied behind

:47:35.:47:44.

our back. Why does the company's not put their hands in their

:47:44.:47:49.

pockets? If it is so advantageous to them, why did they not get

:47:49.:47:55.

involved? Infrastructure Investment has to be delivered by the United

:47:55.:48:01.

Kingdom government. By if private business was to put the money in,

:48:01.:48:06.

we did not encourage the government to be the match that sort of sum or

:48:06.:48:12.

encourage them to get involved more? The amount of money pales

:48:12.:48:20.

into insignificance compared to what the United Kingdom needs to

:48:20.:48:26.

pretend to pretend to the port in terms of investment. If you could

:48:26.:48:33.

persuade the government to do one thing, what would it be? Ironically

:48:33.:48:42.

enough, or project has not include any infrastructure spending. We

:48:42.:48:45.

need to have flights direct from the North East to the United States

:48:45.:48:55.
:48:55.:49:00.

of America. Labour did not pretty dual carriageway on the A1 or build

:49:00.:49:05.

the Tees Valley Metro. Are the guilty of failing to invest in the

:49:05.:49:09.

infrastructure? I do not think we got everything right. We should

:49:09.:49:16.

have done more to bring down the disparity in spending between the

:49:16.:49:19.

south and the North East. There is a strong case for the dual

:49:19.:49:26.

carriageway of the A1. But in my constituency, there are problems.

:49:26.:49:31.

Be do not have the real like in my constituency in that is holding

:49:31.:49:35.

back investment. I accept that times are tough, but we need to use

:49:35.:49:40.

the money we have more wisely, which is why I have been

:49:40.:49:44.

campaigning for a better bus service. We do not even have the

:49:44.:49:51.

decent bus service denied constituency, never mind a train

:49:51.:50:01.
:50:01.:50:01.

link. Is the big increase in infrastructure spending require?

:50:01.:50:08.

agree completely that there is an investment problem. The Treasury

:50:08.:50:14.

report also points out that it only takes into account spending in the

:50:14.:50:19.

region, but does not take into account spending between regions.

:50:19.:50:26.

It does not take into account, for instance, improvements to the north

:50:26.:50:29.

coast east coast line, where they ate a lot of money has been

:50:29.:50:39.

invested. A use that is why but then with the situation? -- argues

:50:39.:50:49.

satisfied? Non, not at all. We need to get more spent here. We have got

:50:49.:50:53.

the Investment on the East Coast line and electrification of the

:50:53.:51:03.
:51:03.:51:06.

Trans Pennine writ. You have got hundreds of millions coming in.

:51:07.:51:10.

the north the scene still have done worse than the north-west and

:51:10.:51:17.

Yorkshire. Is it because we have less conservative voters here?

:51:17.:51:23.

think you have to ask why some Conservative Party's parts of the

:51:23.:51:27.

country are doing better than in Labour controlled council parts of

:51:27.:51:32.

the country and vice versa. It is keen to see investment in

:51:32.:51:37.

infrastructure. What you have to do is make a great business case for

:51:37.:51:41.

it. If you look at the likes of Manchester, they are coming

:51:41.:51:47.

together and putting forward the good case. That is the argument.

:51:47.:51:54.

The North East has failed to put its case forward. It is one of a

:51:54.:52:00.

number of areas that we have to look at. I think it is the question

:52:00.:52:05.

of finding which will deliver the best benefits for the region. It is

:52:05.:52:08.

true that the North East is suffering in comparison to other

:52:08.:52:17.

areas. We have so far more so than other areas, whether it is cuts to

:52:17.:52:22.

council services, we have seen disproportionate cuts in the North

:52:22.:52:26.

East and it is hampering investment and jobs in this part of the world.

:52:26.:52:29.

And tomorrow evening the BBC's Inside Out programme looks at how

:52:29.:52:32.

much congestion on the A1 is costing the region's economy and

:52:32.:52:35.

how it impacts on our health. That is at 7.30pm on BBC One.

:52:35.:52:37.

Now, budget restrictions in our local councils are affecting

:52:37.:52:41.

everybody, but are young people in particular losing out?

:52:41.:52:44.

In Newcastle, the council says it soon will not be able to offer

:52:44.:52:47.

youth services, while in Cumbria, a �1 million cut in the budget will

:52:47.:52:50.

mean that many unemployed teenagers will no longer get access to

:52:50.:53:00.
:53:00.:53:04.

careers advice. Choosing the right job, one that all awful in the you

:53:04.:53:12.

happy and pay the bills. It is easier said than done. I am corner,

:53:12.:53:21.

I am 16 and I want to be a teacher. Lock of options, but how do you get

:53:21.:53:27.

to where you want to be? They ADB career advice and put me through a

:53:27.:53:37.
:53:37.:53:37.

number of interviews. I am now doing a Certificate in catering.

:53:37.:53:45.

This scheme is paid for in part by Cumbria County Council. But they

:53:45.:53:49.

have �1.1 million cut in spending next year and this will have the

:53:49.:53:55.

serious impact. It is highly likely we will have to cut our services

:53:55.:53:59.

and schools in the future. It is really important that we can work

:53:59.:54:06.

with young people in the early years, because the best way to stop

:54:06.:54:10.

youth unemployment is to stop young people becoming unemployed in the

:54:10.:54:15.

first place. The cow so needs to save �18 million over the next here.

:54:15.:54:21.

They say the most vulnerable people will still receive help to get into

:54:21.:54:27.

work. But outside the classroom, the worry is that will be left to

:54:27.:54:32.

charities to provide the guidance, charities where budgets are already

:54:32.:54:38.

stretched. It just gives you the chance to have a future and move on

:54:38.:54:44.

in life. Taylor and his friends are hoping that the skills they learn

:54:44.:54:52.

here will stand them in good stead for the future jobs market. But cut

:54:52.:55:01.

like, at 8011 to 18 year-olds are in danger of not either been in

:55:01.:55:05.

unemployment when they leave school or not been in any sort of training

:55:05.:55:11.

or education. We can plug some of the gaps, but only in places where

:55:11.:55:17.

we get that funding. Young people need direction and advice, even

:55:17.:55:21.

when the reach their twenties. We get great advice in school, but we

:55:21.:55:27.

need it elsewhere as well. They county council is consulting on the

:55:27.:55:31.

budget plans until January, but people are hoping hear that it will

:55:31.:55:38.

not threaten the job foundation courses in the future. Councils

:55:38.:55:42.

have no duty to provide this advice, which is probably why it has been

:55:42.:55:46.

cut, but you see how much of a difference it makes when it is such

:55:46.:55:51.

a struggle to get a job. Here is, as used on there, the most

:55:51.:55:56.

important thing is to create the jobs. One of the top priorities of

:55:56.:56:03.

the government is to create more youth jobs. You have got the work

:56:03.:56:06.

experience six scheme, which hundreds of thousands of young

:56:06.:56:11.

people are getting involved with. Young people say the biggest hurdle

:56:11.:56:17.

to getting a job is not having experience. That is addressing that.

:56:17.:56:22.

We have over �1 billion in subsidy going to employees to take on young

:56:22.:56:26.

people. It is underpinned by the biggest ever apprenticeship

:56:26.:56:31.

programme in the country. New jobs are getting created and the are

:56:31.:56:35.

getting created here in the north. Took councils have to take some of

:56:35.:56:42.

the blame here? Why are they putting such a fundamental service?

:56:42.:56:47.

They're facing great difficulties. They are having to cut across the

:56:47.:56:55.

board. The but they do have a choice. They are opting to cut

:56:55.:57:05.
:57:05.:57:07.

services to young people. We have seen some great success is in job

:57:07.:57:11.

creation programmes, in comparison to the current ones being run. But

:57:11.:57:17.

youth unemployment is at absolute crisis point it might constituency.

:57:17.:57:25.

The government is not acting to put that right. The figures from the

:57:25.:57:29.

work programme short that, despite what you're saying, you have not

:57:29.:57:35.

got to grips with getting young people back to work. Due there are

:57:35.:57:41.

a great number of prop programmes. The figures were pretty

:57:41.:57:48.

catastrophic. Youth unemployment in this country than the European

:57:48.:57:52.

Union average. It is lower than the average in the United States and

:57:52.:57:59.

lower than the likes of Spain, which have huge youth unemployment.

:57:59.:58:02.

The irony catastrophic position because they spent too much money.

:58:02.:58:07.

It is going in the right direction here. Youth unemployment is going

:58:07.:58:13.

down. You have to have the right economic policy for this to happen.

:58:13.:58:17.

I do very much. It has been a week of torrential

:58:17.:58:20.

rain and flooding, not to mention some severe frost, but it takes

:58:20.:58:23.

more than that to deter our intrepid reporter Megan. She has

:58:23.:58:26.

donned her wellies and thermals to wade right into the middle of this

:58:26.:58:33.

week's political news. Mind you, she only managed it for 60 seconds.

:58:33.:58:38.

A project to generate energy from waste on Teesside is the first to

:58:38.:58:44.

benefit from the government's Green Investment Bank. It will receive �8

:58:44.:58:49.

million. An open cast mine would blight the local community,

:58:49.:58:57.

according to the local MP. Another is to close to houses. Election

:58:57.:59:02.

should be hell for those who run a national parks, such as North

:59:02.:59:08.

Yorkshire and Cumbria. We want thriving businesses and thriving

:59:08.:59:13.

communities and we need to make sure that they are undertaken by

:59:13.:59:18.

people chosen by the people. They will respond to them an answer to

:59:18.:59:23.

them in the decisions they make. A Teesside MP faced the 600 pound

:59:23.:59:27.

repair bill from a car hire company, even though he said the car was not

:59:28.:59:37.

damaged. He has golden for tighter rules to protect customers. --

:59:37.:59:41.

called for. And that is about it from us. It is

:59:41.:59:44.

the Autumn Statement on Wednesday and BBC local radio and Look North

:59:44.:59:46.

will be assessing what it means for this region.

:59:46.:59:50.

And I dare say I will have something to say too, if you would

:59:50.:59:53.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS