:00:00. > :00:44.morning, folks, welcome to the Sunday Politics. Rising flood water,
:00:45. > :00:48.a battered coastline, the winter Sunday Politics. Rising flood water,
:00:49. > :00:54.storms forced the Government to take control. Is it hanging the
:00:55. > :00:57.Environment Agency out to dry? Embarrassment for the Government is
:00:58. > :00:59.the Immigration Minister resigns after he discovered he was
:01:00. > :01:01.a cleaner with no right to work here a cleaner with no right to work here
:01:02. > :01:07.for seven years. Ed Miliband a cleaner with no right to work here
:01:08. > :01:09.promised an end to what he called the machine politics of union fixes
:01:10. > :01:23.in the Labour Party, just doesn't feel right.
:01:24. > :01:26.In London after two days of disruption in the capital the Mayor
:01:27. > :01:37.Boris Johnson will be talking to ask about strife on the Underground All
:01:38. > :01:42.of that and after a week of very public coalition spats can David
:01:43. > :01:47.Cameron and Nick Clegg keep the coalition show on the road? Two
:01:48. > :01:53.senior party figures will go head to head. And with me, Helen Lewis, Nick
:01:54. > :01:57.Watt and Iain Martin who would not know they Somerset Levels from their
:01:58. > :02:02.Norfolk Broads, but that will not stop them tweeting their thoughts.
:02:03. > :02:08.We start with the strange Case of the Immigration Minister, his
:02:09. > :02:13.cleaner and some lost documents Yesterday Mark Harper tendered his
:02:14. > :02:15.resignation, telling the media he had discovered the cleaner who
:02:16. > :02:20.worked for him for seven years did not have the right to work in the
:02:21. > :02:25.UK. The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said he had done the
:02:26. > :02:30.honourable thing. I was sad to see him go, he was a strong minister.
:02:31. > :02:37.Had he been a member of the public he would not have done anything
:02:38. > :02:41.wrong, but he set himself a very high standard and he felt that
:02:42. > :02:46.standard and honourably stood down. This would seem like a good
:02:47. > :02:50.resignation, maybe unlike the Baroness Scotland one years ago on a
:02:51. > :02:57.similar issue, but have we been told the full story? We wait to see that.
:02:58. > :03:02.Labour have picked up saying he is an honourable man, that the reason
:03:03. > :03:06.why he resigned is these very owners checks that landlords and employers
:03:07. > :03:13.will have to perform on employees over their documentation. The most
:03:14. > :03:17.interesting line is that, we do not require them to be experts or spot
:03:18. > :03:23.anything other than an obvious forgery. The suggestion that there
:03:24. > :03:29.is the document he was presented with originality, which he lost was
:03:30. > :03:34.on home office paper and was perhaps not entirely accurate. That is the
:03:35. > :03:38.embarrassment. He is the minister putting through a bill that will
:03:39. > :03:44.demand tougher checks on people and he himself did not do enough checks
:03:45. > :03:48.to discover she was illegal. There is an odd bit where he involves the
:03:49. > :03:53.home office later to check her out as well. He writes a resignation
:03:54. > :03:59.letter and he has to hold himself to pay higher standard. He has done the
:04:00. > :04:03.David Laws approach to this, resign quickly and he can come back. David
:04:04. > :04:13.Cameron wants him to return swiftly to the frontbenchers. He is a state
:04:14. > :04:20.school educated lad. He is the kind of Tory that the Tories are in short
:04:21. > :04:24.supply of. He is a rising star. I would caution on this idea that it
:04:25. > :04:30.is customary that whenever anyone resigns, it is always thought they
:04:31. > :04:36.will come straight back into office. If only the outside world worked
:04:37. > :04:40.like that. It is not, in a company if the HR person resigns, he is such
:04:41. > :04:47.a great chap he will be back next week. There is a silver lining for
:04:48. > :04:53.David Cameron is he has been able to move Harriet Bond up as he moves
:04:54. > :05:01.everyone up. But nobody will see her in the whips office because she is
:05:02. > :05:06.not allowed to appear on television. And if you three want to resign Do
:05:07. > :05:13.not hate you are coming back next week. But we will do it with honour.
:05:14. > :05:18.It has been a hellish week for residents of coastal areas with more
:05:19. > :05:21.storms bringing more flooding and after Prince Charles visited the
:05:22. > :05:24.Somerset Levels on Tuesday the Government has been keen to show it
:05:25. > :05:32.has got a grip on the situation at last.
:05:33. > :05:37.For last weekend's Sunday Politics I made the watery journey to the
:05:38. > :05:43.village of Muchelney, cut off for a whole month. Now everyone has been
:05:44. > :05:50.dropping in. First it was Prince Charles on a park bench pulled by a
:05:51. > :06:02.tractor. He waded into the row about how the floods have been handled.
:06:03. > :06:08.Next it was the chair of the Environment Agency, Lord Smith, who
:06:09. > :06:14.faced angry residents. Sought the river is out. That is precisely what
:06:15. > :06:19.we are going to do. Where he faced, a resident, he did not need that
:06:20. > :06:25.many. David Cameron went for a look as well and gave the region what it
:06:26. > :06:30.wanted, more pumps, more money and in the long-term the return of
:06:31. > :06:35.dredging. There are lessons to learn. The pause in bridging that
:06:36. > :06:39.took place from the late 1990s was wrong and we need to get dredging
:06:40. > :06:44.again. When the water levels come down and it is safe to dredge, we
:06:45. > :06:51.will dredging to make sure these rivers and stitches can carry a
:06:52. > :06:55.better capacity. The Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has not been
:06:56. > :06:59.seen again because he is recovering from emergency eye surgery. In the
:07:00. > :07:07.meantime the floodwaters rose ever higher. Some residents were told to
:07:08. > :07:12.evacuate. In Devon the railway was washed away by the waves leaving a
:07:13. > :07:16.big gap in the network. Look at the weather this weekend. If you can
:07:17. > :07:21.believe it, the storms keep rolling in. What is the long-term solution
:07:22. > :07:27.for flood prone areas of the country? I am joined from Oxford by
:07:28. > :07:34.the editor of The Ecologist magazine, Oliver Tickell, and by
:07:35. > :07:40.local MP Tessa Munt. Tessa, let me come to you first. What do you now
:07:41. > :07:46.want the Government to do? I want it to make sure it does exactly as it
:07:47. > :07:48.promises and delivers what every farmer and landowner around here
:07:49. > :07:54.knows should have been done for years. First, to solve the problems
:07:55. > :07:58.we have right now, but to make sure there is money in the bank for us to
:07:59. > :08:06.carry on doing the maintenance that is necessary. Was it a mistake not
:08:07. > :08:11.to do the dredging? When the waters start to subside does dredging
:08:12. > :08:18.become a key part of this? Yes, of course. It is something the farmers
:08:19. > :08:23.have been asking for four years When you wander along a footpath by
:08:24. > :08:30.a river and you see trees growing and there is 60% of the capacity
:08:31. > :08:35.only because there is silt, it needs to have a pretty dramatic action
:08:36. > :08:41.right now and then we need to make sure the maintenance is ongoing
:08:42. > :08:48.Oliver Tickell, was it a mistake to stop the dredging? If the dredging
:08:49. > :08:53.had happened, the land would not be covered in water for so long?
:08:54. > :08:59.Clearly it is necessary to do at least some dredging on these rivers
:09:00. > :09:03.and in particular because these rivers are well above ground level.
:09:04. > :09:09.They are carrying water that comes down off the hills well above the
:09:10. > :09:15.level of the flood plain on the Somerset Levels. They naturally tend
:09:16. > :09:21.to silt up. But the key thing is that is only a small part of the
:09:22. > :09:26.overall solution. What we need is a catchment wide approach to improve
:09:27. > :09:30.infiltration upstream and you also need to manage the flood plain on
:09:31. > :09:38.the levels and upstream so as to have active flood plain that can
:09:39. > :09:43.store water. This idea it is just about dredging is erroneous.
:09:44. > :09:48.Dredging is a part of it, but it is a catchment wide solution. Dredging
:09:49. > :09:56.is only a small part of the solution he says. Yes, of course it is. But
:09:57. > :10:01.look here. With the farmer is locally, the landowners, they know
:10:02. > :10:06.this land will carry water for a few weeks of the year, that is not a
:10:07. > :10:11.problem. But this water has to be taken away and there is a very good
:10:12. > :10:15.system of drainage and it works perfectly well. In my area there are
:10:16. > :10:20.serious problems because the dredging has not taken place. There
:10:21. > :10:27.are lunatic regulations around were when they do do some of dredging,
:10:28. > :10:32.the Environment Agency is asked to take it away because it is
:10:33. > :10:37.considered toxic waste. This is barmy. We need to take the stuff out
:10:38. > :10:43.of the rivers and build the banks up so we create protection in the
:10:44. > :10:48.future. We have to make sure the dredging is done but make sure the
:10:49. > :10:55.drainage works well and we have pumps in places and we have
:10:56. > :11:02.floodgates put onto the rivers. We need to make sure repairs are done
:11:03. > :11:07.more quickly. All right, let me go back to Oliver Tickell. Is it not
:11:08. > :11:11.the case a lot of people on your side of the argument would like to
:11:12. > :11:17.see lands like the Somerset Levels return to natural habitat? Looe I
:11:18. > :11:22.would like a degree of that, but that does not mean the whole place
:11:23. > :11:30.needs to turn into wilderness so it will remain agricultural landscape.
:11:31. > :11:37.Everybody, all the interested parties who signed up to a document
:11:38. > :11:41.called vision 2034 the Somerset Levels envisages most of the area of
:11:42. > :11:46.the Somerset Levels being turned over to extensive grassland and that
:11:47. > :11:53.is what it is best suited for. Let me put that to Tessa Munt. Have you
:11:54. > :12:01.signed up to this where you will end up with extensive grassland? I have
:12:02. > :12:07.seen it, but grass does not grow if water is sitting on this land for
:12:08. > :12:12.weeks and weeks. What you have to remember is a lot of the levels are
:12:13. > :12:15.managed very carefully and they are conservation land and that means
:12:16. > :12:22.cattle are allowed to go out at certain times of the year and in
:12:23. > :12:31.certain numbers. It is well managed. Do you accept it should return to
:12:32. > :12:35.grassland? Grassland, fine, but you cannot call land grassland in the
:12:36. > :12:40.flipping water is on it so long that nothing grows. It is no good at
:12:41. > :12:46.doing that. You have got to make sure it is managed properly.
:12:47. > :12:52.Drainage has been taking place on this land for centuries. It is the
:12:53. > :12:56.case the system is there, but it needs to be maintained properly and
:12:57. > :13:01.we have to have fewer ridiculous regulations that stop action. Last
:13:02. > :13:06.year the flooding minister agreed dredging should take place and
:13:07. > :13:10.everything stopped. Now we have got the promise from the Prime Minister
:13:11. > :13:14.and I thank Prince Charles for that. Is it not time to let the local
:13:15. > :13:18.people run their land rather than being told what to do by the
:13:19. > :13:25.Environment Agency, central Government and the European Union?
:13:26. > :13:32.The internal drainage boards have considerable power in all of this.
:13:33. > :13:35.They wanted to dredge and they were not allowed to. The farmers want to
:13:36. > :13:42.dredge that is what is going to happen, but they have signed up to a
:13:43. > :13:46.comprehensive vision of catchment management and of environmental
:13:47. > :13:52.improvement turning the Somerset Levels into a world-class haven for
:13:53. > :13:56.wildlife. It is not much good if your house is underwater. The
:13:57. > :14:02.farmers themselves, the RSPB, the drainage boards, they have all
:14:03. > :14:07.signed up to this. The real question now is how do we implement that
:14:08. > :14:15.vision? You give the money to the drainage boards. At the moment they
:14:16. > :14:20.pay 27% of their money and have been doing so for years and years and
:14:21. > :14:24.this is farmers' money and it has been going to the drainage boards
:14:25. > :14:28.and they pay the Environment Agency who are meant to be dredging and
:14:29. > :14:33.that has not happened. We have to leave it there. We have run out of
:14:34. > :14:37.time. Last week saw the Labour Party
:14:38. > :14:41.adopts an historic change with its relationship with the unions.
:14:42. > :14:47.Changes to the rules that propelled Ed Miliband to the top. Ed Miliband
:14:48. > :14:52.was elected Labour leader in 20 0 by the electoral college system which
:14:53. > :14:57.gives unions, party members and MPs one third of votes each. This would
:14:58. > :15:02.be changed into a simpler one member, one vote system. A union
:15:03. > :15:07.member would have to become an affiliated member of the party. They
:15:08. > :15:15.would have to opt in and pay ?3 a year. But the unions would have 50%
:15:16. > :15:20.of the vote at the conference and around one third of the seats on the
:15:21. > :15:24.National executive committee. The proposals are a financial gamble as
:15:25. > :15:28.well. It is estimated the party could face a drop in funding of up
:15:29. > :15:34.to ?5 million a year when the changes are fully implemented in
:15:35. > :15:38.five years. The leader of the Unite trade union has welcomed the report
:15:39. > :15:46.saying it is music to his ears. The package will be voted on at a
:15:47. > :15:49.special one of conference in March. And the Shadow Business Secretary
:15:50. > :15:58.Chuka Umunna joins me now for the Sunday Interview. Welcome back. In
:15:59. > :16:02.what way will the unions have less power and influence in the Labour
:16:03. > :16:06.Party? This is about ensuring individual trade union members have
:16:07. > :16:12.a direct relationship with the Labour Party. At the moment the
:16:13. > :16:17.monies that come to us are decided at a top level, the general
:16:18. > :16:22.secretaries determine this, whether the individual members want us to be
:16:23. > :16:27.in receipt of those monies or not so we are going to change that so that
:16:28. > :16:31.affiliation fees follow the consent of individual members. Secondly we
:16:32. > :16:39.want to make sure the individual trade union members, people who
:16:40. > :16:48.teach our children, power via - fantastic British businesses, we
:16:49. > :16:52.want them to make an active choice, and we are also recognising that in
:16:53. > :17:01.this day and age not everybody wants to become a member of a political
:17:02. > :17:07.party. We haven't got much time The unions still have 50% of the vote at
:17:08. > :17:22.Labour conferences, there will be the single most important vote, more
:17:23. > :17:33.member -- union members will vote than nonunion members, their power
:17:34. > :17:42.has not diminished at all, has it? In relation to the other parts of
:17:43. > :17:45.the group of people who will be voting in a future leadership
:17:46. > :17:50.contest, we are seeking to move towards more of a one member, one
:17:51. > :17:57.vote process. At the moment we have the absurd situation where I, as a
:17:58. > :18:05.member of Parliament, my vote will count for 1000. MPs are losing. .
:18:06. > :18:12.They still have a lot of power. I am a member of the GMB union and the
:18:13. > :18:17.Unite union, also a member of the Fabians as well so I get free votes
:18:18. > :18:20.on top of my vote as a member of Parliament. We are moving to a
:18:21. > :18:26.system where I will have one vote and that is an important part of
:18:27. > :18:30.this. You asked how many people would be casting their votes. The
:18:31. > :18:37.old system, up to 2.8 million ballot papers were sent out with prepaid
:18:38. > :18:46.envelopes for people to return their papers were sent out with prepaid
:18:47. > :18:52.turnout. The idea that you are going to see a big change... Even if
:18:53. > :19:04.your individual party members. In one vital way, your purse strings,
:19:05. > :19:05.your individual party members. In the unions will be more powerful
:19:06. > :19:16.than ever because at the moment they have to hand over 8 million to
:19:17. > :19:18.than ever because at the moment they fraction of that now. They will get
:19:19. > :19:28.to keep that money, but then come the election you go to them and give
:19:29. > :19:36.them a lot of money -- and they will have you then. They won't have us,
:19:37. > :19:40.as you put it! The idea that individual trade union members don't
:19:41. > :19:44.have their own view, their own voice, and just do what their
:19:45. > :19:48.general secretaries do is absurd. They will make their own decision,
:19:49. > :19:55.and we want them to make that and not have their leadership decide
:19:56. > :19:59.that for them. Let me go to the money. The Labour Party manifesto
:20:00. > :20:06.will be reflecting the interests of Britain, and the idea that somehow
:20:07. > :20:10.people can say we are not going to give you this money unless you do
:20:11. > :20:14.this or that, we will give you a policy agenda which is appropriate
:20:15. > :20:20.for the British people, regardless of what implications that may have
:20:21. > :20:25.financially. They will have more seats than anybody else in the NEC
:20:26. > :20:31.and they will hold the purse strings. They will be the
:20:32. > :20:35.determining factor. They won't be. Unite is advocating a 70% rate of
:20:36. > :20:44.income tax, there is no way we will have that in our manifesto. Unite is
:20:45. > :20:57.advocating taking back contracts and no compensation basis, we would not
:20:58. > :21:07.-- there is no way we would do that. How many chief executives of the
:21:08. > :21:15.FTSE 100 are backing Labour? We have lots of chief executives backing
:21:16. > :21:19.Labour. I don't know the exact number. Ed Miliband has just placed
:21:20. > :21:31.an important business person in the House of Lords, the former chief
:21:32. > :21:39.executive of the ITV, Bill Grimsey. How many? You can only name one
:21:40. > :21:45.Bill Grimsey, there is also John Mills. Anyone who is currently
:21:46. > :21:50.chairman of the chief executive With the greatest respect, you are
:21:51. > :21:55.talking about less than half the percent of business leaders in our
:21:56. > :22:01.country, we have almost 5 million businesses, not all FTSE 100
:22:02. > :22:07.businesses, not all listed, and we are trying to get people from across
:22:08. > :22:22.the country of all different shapes and sizes. Let's widen it to the
:22:23. > :22:28.FTSE 250. That is 250 out of 5 million companies. The largest ones,
:22:29. > :22:33.they make the profits and provide the jobs. Two thirds of private
:22:34. > :22:37.sector jobs in this country come from small and medium-sized
:22:38. > :22:40.businesses, and small and medium-sized businesses are an
:22:41. > :22:51.important part of a large companies supply chains. So you cannot name a
:22:52. > :22:58.single chairman from the FTSE 2 0, correct? I don't know all the
:22:59. > :23:09.chairman. Are you going to fight the next election without a single boss
:23:10. > :23:12.of a FTSE 250 company? I have named some important business people, but
:23:13. > :23:22.the most important thing is that we are not coming out with a manifesto
:23:23. > :23:33.for particular interests, but for broader interest. Let me show you,
:23:34. > :23:46.Digby Jones says Labour's policy is, "if it creates wealth, let's kick
:23:47. > :23:53.it" . Another quote, that it borders on predatory taxation. They think
:23:54. > :23:59.you are anti-business. I don't agree with them. One of the interesting
:24:00. > :24:03.things about Sir Stuart's comments on the predatory taxation and I
:24:04. > :24:07.think he was referring to the 5 p rate of tax is that he made some
:24:08. > :24:14.comments arguing against the reduction of the top rate of tax
:24:15. > :24:17.from 50p. He is saying something different now. Digby of course has
:24:18. > :24:23.his own opinions, he has never been a member of the Labour Party. Let me
:24:24. > :24:27.come onto this business of the top rate of tax, do you accept or don't
:24:28. > :24:32.you that there is a point when higher rates of income tax become
:24:33. > :24:38.counter-productive? Ultimately you want to have the lowest tax rates
:24:39. > :24:44.possible. Do you accept there is a certain level you actually get less
:24:45. > :24:50.money? I think ultimately there is a level beyond you could go which
:24:51. > :24:54.would be counter-productive, for example the 75% rate of tax I
:24:55. > :25:07.mentioned earlier, being advocated by Unite in France. Most French
:25:08. > :25:15.higher earners will pay less tax than under your plans. I beg your
:25:16. > :25:22.pardon, with the 50p? Under your proposals, people here will pay more
:25:23. > :25:27.tax than French higher earners. If you are asking if in terms of the
:25:28. > :25:34.level, you asked the question and I answered it, do I think if you reach
:25:35. > :25:38.a level beyond which the tax burden becomes counter-productive, can I
:25:39. > :25:42.give you a number what that would be, I cannot but let me explain -
:25:43. > :25:49.the reason we have sought to increase its two 50p is that we can
:25:50. > :25:53.get in revenue to reduce the deficit. In an ideal world you
:25:54. > :25:57.wouldn't need a 50p rate of tax which is why during our time in
:25:58. > :26:07.office we didn't have one, because we didn't have those issues. Sure,
:26:08. > :26:13.though you cannot tell me how much the 50p will raise. In the three
:26:14. > :26:22.years of operation we think it raised ?10 billion. You think. That
:26:23. > :26:26.was based on extrapolation from the British library. It is at least
:26:27. > :26:32.possible I would suggest, for the sake of argument, that when you
:26:33. > :26:39.promise to take over half people's income, which is what you will do if
:26:40. > :26:49.you get your way, the richest 1 currently account for 70 5% of all
:26:50. > :26:56.tax revenues. -- 75%. Is it not a danger that if you take more out of
:26:57. > :27:06.them, they will just go? I don't think so, we are talking about the
:27:07. > :27:08.top 1% here. If you look at the directors of sub 5 million turnover
:27:09. > :27:23.companies, the average managing director of that gets around
:27:24. > :27:33.?87,000. Let me narrow it down to something else. Let's take the .1%
:27:34. > :27:38.of top taxpayers, down to fewer than 30,000 people. They account for over
:27:39. > :27:43.14% of all of the income tax revenues. Only 29,000 people. If
:27:44. > :27:50.they go because you are going to take over half their income, you
:27:51. > :27:57.have lost a huge chunk of your tax base. They could easily go, at
:27:58. > :28:02.tipping point they could go. What we are advocating here is not
:28:03. > :28:06.controversial. Those with the broadest shoulders, it is not
:28:07. > :28:16.unreasonable to ask them to share the heavier burden. Can you name one
:28:17. > :28:24.other major economy that subscribes to this? Across Europe, for example
:28:25. > :28:31.in Sweden they have higher tax rates than us. Can you name one major
:28:32. > :28:37.economy? I couldn't pluck one out of the air, I can see where you are
:28:38. > :28:42.coming from, I don't agree with it. I think most people subscribe to the
:28:43. > :28:49.fact that those with wider shoulders should carry the heavy a burden We
:28:50. > :28:53.have run out of time but thank you for being here.
:28:54. > :28:57.Over the past week it seems that Nick Clegg has activated a new Lib
:28:58. > :29:00.Dem strategy - 'Get Gove'. After a very public spat over who should
:29:01. > :29:03.head up the schools inspection service Ofsted, Lib Dem sources have
:29:04. > :29:06.continued to needle away at the Education Secretary. And other
:29:07. > :29:30.senior Lib Dems have also taken aim at their coalition partners. Here's
:29:31. > :29:33.Giles Dilnot. It's unlikely the polite welcome of these school
:29:34. > :29:36.children to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and his party colleague
:29:37. > :29:38.schools minister David Laws would be so forthcoming right now from the
:29:39. > :29:41.man in charge of schools Conservative Michael Gove. Mr Laws
:29:42. > :29:44.is said to have been furious with The Education secretary over the
:29:45. > :29:48.decision to remove Sally Morgan as chair of Ofsted. But those who know
:29:49. > :29:50.the inner working of the Lib Dems say that's just understandable. When
:29:51. > :29:53.you have the department not being consulted, it would be possible for
:29:54. > :29:57.him to not publicly comment. The remarkable thing would be if he
:29:58. > :30:07.hadn't said anything at all. We should be careful to understand this
:30:08. > :30:18.is not always part of a preplanned decision. There is a growing sense
:30:19. > :30:21.that inside Number Ten this is a concerted Lib Dem strategy, we also
:30:22. > :30:25.understand there is no love lost between Nick Clegg and Michael Gove
:30:26. > :30:31.to say the least, and a growing frustration that if the Lib Dems
:30:32. > :30:34.think such so-called yellow and blue attacks can help them with the
:30:35. > :30:42.election, they can also damage the long-term prospects of the Coalition
:30:43. > :30:45.post 2015. One spat does not a divorce make but perhaps even more
:30:46. > :30:47.significant has been Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander s
:30:48. > :30:50.recent newspaper interview firmly spiking any room for George Osborne
:30:51. > :30:53.to manoeuvre on lowering the highest income tax rate to 40p. All this
:30:54. > :30:56.builds on the inclusion in Government at the reshuffle of
:30:57. > :30:59.people like Norman Baker at the Home Office and Simon Hughes at Justice
:31:00. > :31:01.people who are happier to publically express doubt on Conservative
:31:02. > :31:15.policy, unlike say Jeremy Browne who was removed and who has made plain
:31:16. > :31:19.his views on Coalition. It is difficult for us to demonstrate that
:31:20. > :31:27.we are more socialist than an Ed Miliband Labour led party. Even if
:31:28. > :31:33.we did wish to demonstrate it, doing it in coalition with the
:31:34. > :31:37.Conservatives would be harder still. Nonetheless a differentiation
:31:38. > :31:43.strategy was always likely as 2 15 approached, so is there evidence it
:31:44. > :31:47.works? Or of the work we publish shows the Lib Dems have a huge
:31:48. > :31:53.problem in terms of their distinctiveness, so attacking their
:31:54. > :31:55.coalition partners or the Labour Party is helpful in showing what
:31:56. > :32:01.they are against, but there are bigger problem is showing what they
:32:02. > :32:06.are for. And one Conservative MP with access to Number Ten as part of
:32:07. > :32:12.the PM's policy board says yellow on blue attacks are misplaced and
:32:13. > :32:16.irresponsible. At this stage when all the hard work is being done and
:32:17. > :32:25.the country is back on its feet the Lib Dems are choosing the time to
:32:26. > :32:29.step away from the coalition. That is your position, but do you suspect
:32:30. > :32:35.coming up to the next election we will see more of this? I think the
:32:36. > :32:41.Lib Dems are about as hard to pin down as a weasel in Vaseline. And
:32:42. > :32:44.with the public's view of politicians right now, and wants to
:32:45. > :32:51.be seen as slicker than a well oiled weasel? And we have Lib Dem peer
:32:52. > :33:01.Matthew Oakeshott and senior Conservative backbencher Bernard
:33:02. > :33:05.Jenkin. Matthew, the Lib Dems are now picking fights with the Tories
:33:06. > :33:11.on a range of issues, some of them trivial. Is this a Pirelli used to
:33:12. > :33:18.Lib Dem withdrawal from the coalition? I do not know, I am not
:33:19. > :33:22.privy to Nick Clegg's in strategy. Some of us have been independent for
:33:23. > :33:29.some time. I resigned over treatment of the banks. That is now being
:33:30. > :33:34.sorted out. But what is significant is we have seen a string of attacks,
:33:35. > :33:40.almost an enemy within strategy When you have Nick Clegg, David Laws
:33:41. > :33:47.and Danny Alexander, the three key people closest to the Conservatives,
:33:48. > :33:51.when you see all of them attacking, and this morning Nick Clegg has had
:33:52. > :33:56.a go at the Conservatives over drug policy. There is a string of
:33:57. > :34:02.policies where something is going on. It is difficult to do an enemy
:34:03. > :34:08.within strategy. I believe as many Lib Dems do that we should withdraw
:34:09. > :34:12.from the coalition six months to one year before the election so we can
:34:13. > :34:16.put our positive policies across rather than having this tricky
:34:17. > :34:24.strategy of trying to do it from within. Why does David Cameron need
:34:25. > :34:29.the Lib Dems? He probably does not. The country generally favoured the
:34:30. > :34:33.coalition to start with. Voters like to see politicians are working
:34:34. > :34:38.together and far more of that goes on in Westminster then we see. Most
:34:39. > :34:46.of my committee reports are unanimous reports from all parties.
:34:47. > :34:54.Why does he need them? I do not think he does. You would be happy to
:34:55. > :34:59.see the Lib Dems go? I would always be happy to see a single minority
:35:00. > :35:04.Government because it would be easier for legislation. The
:35:05. > :35:07.legislation you could not get through would not get through
:35:08. > :35:12.whether we were in coalition or not. The 40p tax rate, there
:35:13. > :35:17.probably is not a majority in the House of Commons at the moment,
:35:18. > :35:21.despite what Nick Clegg originally said. It does not make much
:35:22. > :35:26.difference. What makes a difference from the perspective of the
:35:27. > :35:30.committee I chair is historically we have had single party Government
:35:31. > :35:34.that have collective responsibility and clarity. The reason that is
:35:35. > :35:39.important is because nothing gets done if everybody is at sixes and
:35:40. > :35:44.sevens in the Government. Everything stops, there is paralysis as the row
:35:45. > :35:50.goes on. Civil servants do not know who they are working for. If it
:35:51. > :35:56.carries on getting fractures, there is a bigger argument to get out If
:35:57. > :36:01.it continues at this level of intensity of the enemy within
:36:02. > :36:06.strategy as you have described it, can the coalition survived another
:36:07. > :36:10.16 months of this? It is also a question should they. I never
:36:11. > :36:17.thought I would say this, I agree with Bernard. Interestingly earlier
:36:18. > :36:21.Chuka Umunna missed the point talking about business support.
:36:22. > :36:24.Business is worried about this anti-European rhetoric and that is a
:36:25. > :36:29.deep split between the Liberal Democrats and the UKIP wing of the
:36:30. > :36:35.Tory party. That is really damaging and that is something we need to
:36:36. > :36:39.make our own case separately on Do you get fed up when you hear
:36:40. > :36:44.constant Lib Dem attacks on you What makes me fed up is my own party
:36:45. > :36:50.cannot respond in kind because we are in coalition. I would love to
:36:51. > :36:57.have this much more open debate I would like to see my own party
:36:58. > :37:00.leader, for example as he did in the House of Commons, it was the Liberal
:37:01. > :37:04.Democrats who blocked the referendum on the house of lords and if we want
:37:05. > :37:08.to get this bill through it should be a Government bill. We know we can
:37:09. > :37:12.get it through the Commons, but we need to get the Liberals out of the
:37:13. > :37:16.Government so they stop blocking the Government putting forward a
:37:17. > :37:26.referendum bill. And put millions of jobs at risk? I am not going down
:37:27. > :37:30.the European road today. It strikes me that given that the attacks from
:37:31. > :37:35.the Lib Dems are now coming from the left attacking the Tories, is this a
:37:36. > :37:40.representative of the failure of Nick Clegg's strategy to rebuild a
:37:41. > :37:47.centrist Liberal party and he now accepts the only way he can save as
:37:48. > :37:53.many seats as he can do is to get the disillusioned left Lib Dem
:37:54. > :37:57.voters to come back to the fold The site is we have lost over half our
:37:58. > :38:01.vote at the last election and at the moment there is no sign in the polls
:38:02. > :38:05.of it coming back and we are getting very close to the next election I
:38:06. > :38:10.welcome it if Nick Clegg is starting very close to the next election I
:38:11. > :38:15.to address that problem, but talking about the centre is not the answer.
:38:16. > :38:19.Most Liberal Democrat voters at the last election are radical,
:38:20. > :38:24.progressive people who want to see a much fairer Britain and a much less
:38:25. > :38:30.divided society and we must make sure we maximise our vote from
:38:31. > :38:34.there. We know what both of you want, but what do you think will
:38:35. > :38:38.happen? Do you think this coalition will survive all the way to the
:38:39. > :38:43.election or will it break up beforehand? I think it will break up
:38:44. > :38:49.beforehand. Our long-term economic plan is working. The further changes
:38:50. > :38:51.in policies we want to implement to sustain that plan are being held
:38:52. > :38:58.back by the Liberal Democrats. When sustain that plan are being held
:38:59. > :39:02.will they break up? It has lasted longer than I thought it would, but
:39:03. > :39:07.it must break up at least six months before the election. Do you think it
:39:08. > :39:12.will survive or not? The coalition before the election. Do you think it
:39:13. > :39:18.has delivered a great deal in many ways, but it is running out of
:39:19. > :39:19.steam. It depends what happens in the May elections. If the Liberal
:39:20. > :39:23.steam. It depends what happens in Democrats do not do better than we
:39:24. > :39:32.have done in the last three, there will be very strong pressure from
:39:33. > :39:38.the inside. You both agree. Television history has been made.
:39:39. > :39:52.Politics. Coming up: I will be Politics. Coming up: I will be
:39:53. > :40:00.Hello and a warm welcome to you on our local part of the show. This
:40:01. > :40:05.week a look at the attempts to improve standards in the north on
:40:06. > :40:12.our schools. Will it satisfy Michael Gove. We have with us John
:40:13. > :40:16.Stevenson. And coming ing coming ing , 40,000 people have had benefits
:40:17. > :40:22.cut as they have a spare room, but where are the smaller properties for
:40:23. > :40:27.them to move into? Let's talk about a weighty issue, the north`east is
:40:28. > :40:34.officially the fattest region in England. We are nearly seven out of
:40:35. > :40:39.10 people overweight. Cumbria, is apparently the fattest counties.
:40:40. > :40:43.John, do you think that the county is the fattest in the country? I am
:40:44. > :40:48.surprised by the statistics. I have no idea if they are accurate, but
:40:49. > :40:52.there is an obesity issue in the country, it must be looked at and we
:40:53. > :40:57.have to change people's lifestyles. That is the key issue, to improve
:40:58. > :41:03.people's health. Snrp can the Government do? It is complex. It is
:41:04. > :41:08.lifestyle, what we eat, parents, children, schools, Government has a
:41:09. > :41:14.role to play but there is personal responsibility coming into play.
:41:15. > :41:21.Nick Brown, this has not appeared this is down to choice. There is a
:41:22. > :41:26.limited amount that the Government can do? Public information and under
:41:27. > :41:31.standing is important. It is about things that are well understood like
:41:32. > :41:35.diet, drink, alcohol and exercise. We all have our responsibility, a
:41:36. > :41:39.personal responsibility and just to have that explained to us and then
:41:40. > :41:42.to focus on it, that is the right thing to do.
:41:43. > :41:47.Thank you very much. My body, of course, as you can tell
:41:48. > :41:52.is a temple! Now a new plan to raise standards in the region's
:41:53. > :41:58.underperforming schools at the end of 2013, 232 schools judged
:41:59. > :42:04.inadequate or acquiring improvement. Northumberland has been critised by
:42:05. > :42:10.off sed, Cumbria is awaiting a verdict on an inspection there.
:42:11. > :42:15.There is a former head who wants to set up his own chain offed academies
:42:16. > :42:21.in Cumbria. This community college in Penrith.
:42:22. > :42:26.Like the dance students, increasingly sure`footed. A rise in
:42:27. > :42:36.results has seen a surge at the tables and attracted the attention
:42:37. > :42:42.of Chris Wood head. 20 years on, I find myself in this Community
:42:43. > :42:47.College, Ullswater and on a Sunday night, a phone call from Sir
:42:48. > :42:52.Christopher woodhead, asking if we would be interested in developing a
:42:53. > :42:55.plan to support schools in difficulties.
:42:56. > :43:00.While this school is improving, Cumbria has a number of struggling
:43:01. > :43:06.schools. Three put into special measures since Christmas and more
:43:07. > :43:14.criticism is likely when a Ofsted inspection is published school. So
:43:15. > :43:19.Chris Woodhead sold us `` told us why he wants to help.
:43:20. > :43:22.I love Cumbria. Coming here for 50 years, climbing the rocks and
:43:23. > :43:27.walking the months. I know the people here. It is a place that I
:43:28. > :43:32.have a personal affection for. It is a place that it seems from the
:43:33. > :43:36.Ofsted reports, that there are some problems. If I can find ways to help
:43:37. > :43:42.improve education in Cumbria, that is what I want to do.
:43:43. > :43:47.This week, Ullswater governors agreed to work with Sir Chris.
:43:48. > :43:50.Spreading good work like this into struggling schools.
:43:51. > :43:58.We will work with the school, with the support and the expertise of Sir
:43:59. > :44:02.Chris, who can bring all kinds of ideas and contacts to the table in
:44:03. > :44:08.looking for improvements to the school. We have been approached by a
:44:09. > :44:11.number of schools in the Eden Valley, interested in being
:44:12. > :44:16.voluntary partners, but there will be other schools, to come, where our
:44:17. > :44:21.role is to support them in their improvement.
:44:22. > :44:28.Perhaps not everyone will be as enthusiastic as Ullswater as Sir
:44:29. > :44:32.Chris, he has had detractors but with the picture being painted of
:44:33. > :44:38.the bleak situation of schools in Cumbria, improvements are needed.
:44:39. > :44:42.There is a model that helped to raise standards in London schools,
:44:43. > :44:47.this is a model that could be used. There has been a bid discussed for
:44:48. > :44:52.?30 million to get this under way. We have a high level of
:44:53. > :44:56.unemployment. We have the lowest level of skill, I believe that the
:44:57. > :45:00.people, given the opportunity, can attain the skills. If we want to
:45:01. > :45:04.change the position of the north`east economically, this is
:45:05. > :45:09.critical. We have got to start now. It is a long`term thing. We will not
:45:10. > :45:13.see the benefit immediately but if we don't start somewhere, we will
:45:14. > :45:17.never achieve. It is a huge opportunity for the next generation.
:45:18. > :45:25.What is the best way to improve the standards? Are the academies the
:45:26. > :45:32.solution. With me is Vince k Allen. How do you feel about Sir Chris
:45:33. > :45:38.Woodhead running a chain of academies in Cumbria? I regard its
:45:39. > :45:44.as something of an irrelevence. We have looked at the Ofsted data from
:45:45. > :45:49.2012. We have seen that the picture of achievement from the north`east,
:45:50. > :45:54.to North Yorkshire to Cumbria is of improvement on the previous yearment
:45:55. > :45:57.the picture of there being a wide`scale failure on the part of
:45:58. > :46:04.schools is not something borne out of what Ofsted is saying. It causes
:46:05. > :46:11.concerns. What we see is what appears to be a Government practise.
:46:12. > :46:15.Targeting North Yorkshire, targeting Durham, targeting Northumberland,
:46:16. > :46:19.and now Cumbria. What they have in common is a lack of academies it is
:46:20. > :46:25.hard to see that the criticism that ises about made is borne by the
:46:26. > :46:29.information that the Ofsted produces.
:46:30. > :46:33.The inspectors were to say to Michael Gove that they are following
:46:34. > :46:40.an agenda than looking at the standards in schools? Looking at the
:46:41. > :46:45.data that Ofsted produced itself, based on the inspections on the
:46:46. > :46:49.schools, that is not the picture presented here, no.
:46:50. > :46:53.So there is no problem? There is always room to improve. One of the
:46:54. > :46:58.reasons that teachers come to the professionals is for the zeal to
:46:59. > :47:03.want to improve. Give the teachers an opportunity to develop their
:47:04. > :47:08.practise, improve what goes on in their schools and those around them,
:47:09. > :47:11.they will jump on that opportunity. What will not help is strike action.
:47:12. > :47:17.That is planned for next month? That is right. There is strike action set
:47:18. > :47:22.for the end of March. People will say that is one of the problems
:47:23. > :47:27.here. Teachers are obsessed with their problems, rather than thinking
:47:28. > :47:31.of the young? Teachers are interested in their problem, of
:47:32. > :47:36.course. They are far more interested in the problems of young people.
:47:37. > :47:40.They are not coming to ing it gives a huge income, but the issue with
:47:41. > :47:43.the strike action is that we wanted to negotiate with the Secretary of
:47:44. > :47:48.State for Some time, we did set a date for a strike in November. We
:47:49. > :47:52.pulled back from that when the Secretary of State said that there
:47:53. > :47:57.would be talks. The talks did not occur. We set a date in February. We
:47:58. > :48:02.held back. We are waiting for the discussions still to occur.
:48:03. > :48:07.Thank you very much. John Stevenson, two academies in
:48:08. > :48:10.Carlisle, in special measures, are they the solution? We have to be
:48:11. > :48:14.careful. There are successful and good performing schools in Cumbria.
:48:15. > :48:19.We have to acknowledge that a lot of students are receiving a good
:48:20. > :48:23.education. I support the academies programme, continuing from the last
:48:24. > :48:29.Labour Government policies. I think that they do work. We unfortunately
:48:30. > :48:33.have two failing academies but they are taken under the wing of a larger
:48:34. > :48:37.organisation. That is where you can improve the standards. You replicate
:48:38. > :48:40.the standards and ideas from other schools and bring them in to improve
:48:41. > :48:46.the school. What about Vince Allen's thought,
:48:47. > :48:50.that Cumbria is being picked on as there are not enough academies here,
:48:51. > :48:57.that is the reason for the drive, not the standards? I disagree. We
:48:58. > :49:04.want to improve education levels. We want to see secondary sools improve,
:49:05. > :49:08.I think that the academies there is greater freedom to schools and to
:49:09. > :49:14.the heads, that helps driving up the standards.
:49:15. > :49:19.Is this a Labour legacies `` legacy? And a lot of these authorities are
:49:20. > :49:23.run by Labour councillors? What we do not disagree on is the need to
:49:24. > :49:28.drive up standards. The debate is how best to do it. There are
:49:29. > :49:33.well`performing schools. I can think of those in my constituency, that
:49:34. > :49:40.are wholly in the public sector but standards are being driven up. So,
:49:41. > :49:46.obviously, Labour introduced a lot of academies, do you see a hidden
:49:47. > :49:50.agenda here? Or is is it just about the standards? I am not sure from
:49:51. > :49:56.the film what is proposed for Cumbria. I don't know enough about
:49:57. > :49:59.the education system in Cumbria to comment.
:50:00. > :50:04.The local education authorities have had their chance in places like
:50:05. > :50:11.Cumbria, Ofsted are suggesting that standards are not high enough, why
:50:12. > :50:16.not let someone like Sir Chris Wood Head run a chain of academies to
:50:17. > :50:20.chair the prak sis? But what evidence does that make things
:50:21. > :50:24.better? I am suspicious of that. I think it could be better to identify
:50:25. > :50:28.the problems in the schools and apply the resources to dealing with
:50:29. > :50:35.the problems, rather than hand it willing over to somebody else that
:50:36. > :50:40.says he has a solution `` handing it over to somebody else.
:50:41. > :50:43.And the ?30 million is not for Cumbria.
:50:44. > :50:47.For the north`east. Yes, for the north`east.
:50:48. > :50:53.I would welcome anything that got more money into the education system
:50:54. > :50:58.in the north`east. John Stevenson, it is the Government
:50:59. > :51:01.putting its money where its mouth is, if it is serious about the
:51:02. > :51:07.standards it should be putting in the money? We do put in money. The
:51:08. > :51:12.school's money is ring`fenced. If there is concern about standards,
:51:13. > :51:16.more can be done. A lot of money was put into the London schools, what
:51:17. > :51:23.about Cumbria and the north`east? It is not all about money it is about
:51:24. > :51:28.best practise. That why change of academies can be good, it can take
:51:29. > :51:33.the schools performing well and transport the skills to those
:51:34. > :51:37.failing it is not always about the money but about raising the
:51:38. > :51:41.standards. It is about supporting the teachers and the professional
:51:42. > :51:44.leadership in the schools. I am not convinced that the current
:51:45. > :51:49.Government are doing that. Money goes to favoured projects. It is
:51:50. > :51:56.taking away from everybody else. We have to leave it there.
:51:57. > :52:00.Now since Housing Benefit changes were introduced in April, some
:52:01. > :52:04.40,000 families have had money cut as they are judged to have a spare
:52:05. > :52:10.room, but some have been able to move families into a larger
:52:11. > :52:14.properties that has become Saudi Arabiaing bt, but the policy has run
:52:15. > :52:21.into a problem, there is a shortage of one`bedroom properties. For Jean,
:52:22. > :52:26.this two bedroom flat has been her home for more than 20 years, but now
:52:27. > :52:33.it is seen as too big for her needs. Despite being out of work, she has
:52:34. > :52:36.faced an ?11 a week cut in her benefit.
:52:37. > :52:42.I think that the bedroom tax is unnecessarily cruel in some cases.
:52:43. > :52:50.I have found myself not being in a position to put food on my table as
:52:51. > :52:55.easy `` easily as I could. By accessing a local food bank,
:52:56. > :53:03.occasionally, I have been given a bag with teabags in, bread, sugar,
:53:04. > :53:08.coffee, etc, and the blafks `` bafshgs. That enables me to be able
:53:09. > :53:14.to breathe a little more easily. You are living in a two bedroom flat.
:53:15. > :53:20.You are encouraged to move to a one bedroom. Have you looked into it? I
:53:21. > :53:23.did make an attempt to try to get a one bedroom property, but I was
:53:24. > :53:29.refused. A sanction on the vulnerable, or a
:53:30. > :53:34.chance for a fresh start? For Stacey it has been the latter. Part of a
:53:35. > :53:39.home swap scheme, in which tennants with spare rooms downsized and
:53:40. > :53:43.others upsized. In her case to a house with a garden.
:53:44. > :53:46.I understand the frustration for people having to move. They are
:53:47. > :53:51.leaving a house that they are lived in for a number of years but I do
:53:52. > :53:55.appreciate it for myself and growing families that need the space and
:53:56. > :53:58.would have had to wait a longer period of time before they
:53:59. > :54:03.benefitted. Ministers say that the taxpayer
:54:04. > :54:08.cannot subsidise spare bedrooms, but in areas of the north`east, there is
:54:09. > :54:15.a problem. Not enough one bedroom how home but a surplus of two and
:54:16. > :54:18.three bedroom properties. A situation, some claim, is being made
:54:19. > :54:24.worse by the Government. This is one of the number of council
:54:25. > :54:30.flats vacated by the tennants. In this area, 11 tower blocks, a
:54:31. > :54:35.year ago we had eight voids, at the moment that is 77 voids. That is not
:54:36. > :54:40.down to those who cannot pay the bedroom tax but it is a part of the
:54:41. > :54:48.picture. We may have to demolish housing, redesignate some flats.
:54:49. > :54:53.So turn a two bedroom flat to a one bedroom? Yes. Change it around. That
:54:54. > :54:57.reduces the rent. Social housing providers in
:54:58. > :55:01.Gateshead, Northumberland and Teesside report a rise in larger
:55:02. > :55:09.homes falling empty, but they complain of a shortage of smaller
:55:10. > :55:15.properties. Teesside based Coast and Country say it is has 2,000 tennants
:55:16. > :55:20.needing homes. Some face a wait of more than 30 years.
:55:21. > :55:26.As a result of the benefit changes, Housing Associations are seeing
:55:27. > :55:31.increase in arrears. Up to 50 %, so they cannot build new one bedrooms.
:55:32. > :55:35.Supporters say that action was necessary.
:55:36. > :55:40.I do think it is right that we recognise that 250,000 people
:55:41. > :55:45.Nashally are living in overcrowded accommodation and 400,000 people are
:55:46. > :55:49.living in accommodation that is greater than the needs. We have to
:55:50. > :55:54.find some solution to that problem. Bedroom tax or spare room subsidy?
:55:55. > :55:59.Even the name is contention. Ten months on from its introduction,
:56:00. > :56:03.opinions on the outcome are just as divided.
:56:04. > :56:08.John Stevenson, whatever the rights and the wrongs of the change, it
:56:09. > :56:14.will be effective in terms of the waiting list if there are not enough
:56:15. > :56:18.one bedroom homes. 30 years of waiting is ludicrous? This is an
:56:19. > :56:24.interesting point about housing Nashally. We are centralised, we
:56:25. > :56:27.make a policy beneficial for one part of the country. This is
:56:28. > :56:31.something that the government could look at where there is an
:56:32. > :56:35.overarching policy. So you are saying that the benefit
:56:36. > :56:39.change was wrong for a region like ours? No. I think that there are
:56:40. > :56:43.different circumstances for different parts of the country.
:56:44. > :56:49.But this has been applied across the country? Yes it has. And you can
:56:50. > :56:53.look at changing the tax rate as to London having separate issues to
:56:54. > :56:57.other parts of the country. In Carlisle, I have spoken with the
:56:58. > :57:03.Housing Association there, they don't have an issue with the number
:57:04. > :57:06.of one bedroom properties available. There are beneficiaries here, what
:57:07. > :57:10.the Government talked about is happening. People moving into larger
:57:11. > :57:15.homes that have been waiting for them. You found one, how many
:57:16. > :57:21.others? There were others that did not wish to appear on cameras. As
:57:22. > :57:26.few as that. I cannot give the numbers. There are
:57:27. > :57:32.some 7,000 people disadvantaged by the policy. Half of them living in
:57:33. > :57:35.the east of Newcastle. The overwhelming majority are those
:57:36. > :57:41.people in what is currently classed as two bedroom accommodation. They
:57:42. > :57:47.are only eligible for a single room now. How do they get into that? The
:57:48. > :57:52.truth of the matter is that when the mrgs were constructed, a generation
:57:53. > :57:56.ago, the average household size was 1. 9. Therefore it was logical for
:57:57. > :58:01.the local authorities, when they could build houses, to build the
:58:02. > :58:05.overwhelming of them as two bedrooms. That is what the local
:58:06. > :58:11.authority had to let to people. The assumption at the time was that
:58:12. > :58:15.people were renting. That is history. But it is
:58:16. > :58:19.interesting. It sets the terms for the tennants now.
:58:20. > :58:25.But tennants of the private sector do not have the spare room subsidy.
:58:26. > :58:28.So it was tackling a degree of unfairness? But social housing is
:58:29. > :58:38.social housing. It is there to make... Those in the private housing
:58:39. > :58:43.do not have more money... It costs more to rent a one bedroom flat in
:58:44. > :58:50.gentlemens Monday than it does to rent a two bedroom flat in more
:58:51. > :58:56.come. The Housing Benefit covers the one bedroom, if you are eligible in
:58:57. > :58:59.full but there is a claw back on the two bedroom... It is economic
:59:00. > :59:05.nonsense. This is madness when councils are
:59:06. > :59:12.reclassifying two bedroom flats as one bedroom? It shows it is a policy
:59:13. > :59:17.that should have been allowed to bed in when the houses wag provided? It
:59:18. > :59:24.has been brought in for two reasons. One we have to have saving.
:59:25. > :59:27.Given what happened under the last administration in terms of the
:59:28. > :59:32.economics. And there are a quarter of a million people in overcrowded
:59:33. > :59:37.accommodation. We have to look after their needs as much as those where
:59:38. > :59:41.they are in a `` accommodation with a spare room.
:59:42. > :59:48.Now, I guess you like me did not win millions on the lottery.
:59:49. > :59:52.But more than half of all north`east households do play the lottery each
:59:53. > :59:56.week. MPs think that the region does not get a fair share of the money
:59:57. > :00:06.raised. Here is that and the rest of the week's news in 60 seconds.
:00:07. > :00:10.The north`east deserves a larger share of funding for arts and
:00:11. > :00:17.culture, according to MPs. The capital gets ?69 per head, compared
:00:18. > :00:21.to just ?4. 50 in the rest of England. Almost half of all lottery
:00:22. > :00:25.grants go to London. The Prime Minister has been urged to ensure
:00:26. > :00:29.that the counties employers has the resources to investigate victims of
:00:30. > :00:33.potential abuse. Will the Prime Minister commit that
:00:34. > :00:38.if it proves necessary, his secretary will meet with the PCC,
:00:39. > :00:41.the Chief Constable and myself, to ensure that the team has the
:00:42. > :00:47.resources it needs to see the investigation to its conclusion. The
:00:48. > :00:53.victims deserve no less. Yoshg City Council facing budget
:00:54. > :01:05.cuts. It 40 posts to be `` 2 who `` 240 posts to be lost too.
:01:06. > :01:13.And Barbie toys could be not helping education for young children.
:01:14. > :01:19.So, arts funding. It is netable, that there is this
:01:20. > :01:24.imbalance in funding? That is true up to a point.
:01:25. > :01:32.The 40`1 ratio, that the report has put in front of the world seems too
:01:33. > :01:38.much. The ?69 for London per head. The funding comes from four separate
:01:39. > :01:43.sources. The private sector, the department's main budget, the Arts
:01:44. > :01:49.Council's budget and the National Lottery money stered the arts ``
:01:50. > :01:53.administered through the Arts Council. On the last budget, I
:01:54. > :01:56.agreed with the recommendation on the report there should be a
:01:57. > :02:01.ring`fenced amount for the regional arts. That is a modest
:02:02. > :02:04.recommendation, I think it is a good one.
:02:05. > :02:09.John, Carlisle has not got a theatre. What events have been cut
:02:10. > :02:15.this year? Is it time for change? We have Tulley House. That the Labour
:02:16. > :02:20.council decided to cut their budget. That is a problem for Tulley House,
:02:21. > :02:25.but I have sympathy. We accept that London is going to get the main
:02:26. > :02:31.resources. It attracts tourists and all of that, but still, I think that
:02:32. > :02:33.we in the region do get our fair contribution.
:02:34. > :02:38.Thank you very much. That is all we have time for. We are back at the
:02:39. > :02:40.same time, the same place next Sunday. In the meantime keep
:02:41. > :02:44.up`to`date with all of the Sunday. In the meantime keep
:02:45. > :02:56.Londoners who otherwise may not have a voice. Both of you, thank you so
:02:57. > :03:01.much. Andrew, it is back to you Can David Cameron get a grip on the
:03:02. > :03:04.floods? Can UKIP push the Conservatives into third place in
:03:05. > :03:08.the Wythenshawe by-election on Thursday? Is the speaker in the
:03:09. > :03:16.House of Commons in danger of overheating? All questions over the
:03:17. > :03:22.weekend. Let's look at the politics of the flooding. Let me show you a
:03:23. > :03:29.clip from Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, earlier on
:03:30. > :03:35.the BBC this morning. We perhaps relied too much on the Environment
:03:36. > :03:39.Agency's advice. I apologise. I apologise unreservedly and I am
:03:40. > :03:45.really sorry we took the advice of what we thought we were doing was
:03:46. > :03:48.the best. The Environment Agency is being hung out to dry by the
:03:49. > :03:54.Government and the Government has taken over the running of the
:03:55. > :03:59.environmental mess in the Somerset Levels. It is turning into a serious
:04:00. > :04:03.crisis by the Government and even more so for the people who are
:04:04. > :04:09.dealing with the flooding. There is no doubt that what has been revealed
:04:10. > :04:14.is it is not just about what the Government did or did not do six
:04:15. > :04:19.months ago. What is being exposed is an entire culture within the
:04:20. > :04:23.Environment Agency, fuelled often by European directives about dredging
:04:24. > :04:28.and all manner of other things, a culture grew up in which plants were
:04:29. > :04:32.put ahead of people if you like All of that is collapsing in very
:04:33. > :04:38.difficult circumstances by the Government and it is difficult for
:04:39. > :04:41.them to manage. Chris Smith would save the Environment Agency is
:04:42. > :04:46.acting under a law set by this Government and previous governments
:04:47. > :04:49.and the first priority is the protection of life, second property
:04:50. > :04:55.and third agricultural land and he is saying we are working within that
:04:56. > :04:59.framework. It is an edifying spectacle, they are setting up Lord
:05:00. > :05:03.Smith to be the fall guy. His term of office comes at the end of the
:05:04. > :05:08.summer and they will find something new. But the point Lord Smith is
:05:09. > :05:12.making is that dredging is important and it was a mistake not to dredge,
:05:13. > :05:17.but it is a bigger picture than that. I am no expert, but you need a
:05:18. > :05:24.whole skill solution that is looking not just bad dredging, but at the
:05:25. > :05:28.whole catchment area looking at the production of maize. It is harvested
:05:29. > :05:34.in autumn and then the water runs off the topsoil. You see the
:05:35. > :05:38.pictures of the flooding, it is all topsoil flooding through those
:05:39. > :05:42.towns. What you have got to have in the uplands is some land that can
:05:43. > :05:47.absorb that water and there are really big questions about the way
:05:48. > :05:51.we carry out farming. Chris Smith was meant to appear on the Andrew
:05:52. > :05:55.Marr show this morning, but pulled back at the last minute. There must
:05:56. > :05:59.be doubts as to whether he can survive to the summer. Where is the
:06:00. > :06:06.chief executive of the Environment Agency? I agree with Nick that Chris
:06:07. > :06:10.Smith has been setup in this situation. David Cameron went to the
:06:11. > :06:17.Somerset Levels on Friday for about half an hour, in and out, with no
:06:18. > :06:24.angry people shouting at him. You to a farm. It is agreed he has had good
:06:25. > :06:30.crisis. But we are seen as being a London media class who does not
:06:31. > :06:34.understand the countryside. You can imagine David Cameron in a pair of
:06:35. > :06:40.wellies. If this was happening in Guildford, it would not have dragged
:06:41. > :06:44.on for so long. Looe it is interesting how they are saying the
:06:45. > :06:49.Environment Agency has put words in front of everything else. The
:06:50. > :06:53.great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria thinks people should be
:06:54. > :06:58.sacked at the whim. He is talking about how the Environment Agency
:06:59. > :07:03.spent ?31 million on a bird sanctuary. It turns out the bird
:07:04. > :07:08.sanctuary was an attempt to put up a flood defence system for a village
:07:09. > :07:12.which has worked. That village has been saved. They compensated some
:07:13. > :07:17.farmers for the farmland they were not going to be able to farm and put
:07:18. > :07:26.a flood defence system further back to protect this village and then
:07:27. > :07:29.they built a bird sanctuary. It was not ?31 million to create a bird
:07:30. > :07:35.sanctuary, it was to save a village and it worked. But in 2008 the
:07:36. > :07:40.Environment Agency was talking about dynamiting every pumping agency
:07:41. > :07:45.There was a metropolitan mindset on the part of that agency. If it does
:07:46. > :07:51.what Owen Paterson, who is now off in an eye operation, suggested a
:07:52. > :07:56.plan to fix this, they will find a lot of what they want or need to do
:07:57. > :08:04.will be in contravention of European directives. The Wythenshawe
:08:05. > :08:09.by-election. There is no question Labour is going to win, probably
:08:10. > :08:14.incredibly convincingly, one poll showing 60% plus of the vote. It
:08:15. > :08:19.would be surprising if Labour was in any threat up there. The issue is,
:08:20. > :08:25.does UKIP beat the Tories and if so, by how much? The latest poll was
:08:26. > :08:32.showing it in second place as nip and tuck, but the feeling I have is
:08:33. > :08:35.UKIP will do better. And they have got a great local candidate. The
:08:36. > :08:40.Tories have not parachuted somebody in and they have got a local man in
:08:41. > :08:45.and that will help them. We have all been waiting to see if the Tories
:08:46. > :08:53.lose their head, but they might go chicken earlier than that. Will UKIP
:08:54. > :08:58.come second? It looks like that A poll this week showed that Labour is
:08:59. > :09:03.way ahead and UKIP possibly second. But it is an important by-election
:09:04. > :09:08.for UKIP. If they do well in the European elections, they should
:09:09. > :09:11.still be on a roll. They did really well in by-elections last year. If
:09:12. > :09:17.they do not do well, is it because they are not on payroll? Or in
:09:18. > :09:23.Manchester they have a fantastic leader of the council? Will UKIP
:09:24. > :09:27.come a good second? I think they will and if they do not, it might
:09:28. > :09:34.suggest Nigel Farage is losing its slightly. One thing to look out for
:09:35. > :09:40.is how little Labour are attacking UKIP. Their election strategy relies
:09:41. > :09:45.a lot on UKIP taking Tory votes But it could also take Labour votes
:09:46. > :09:50.Particularly in the north and we shall see. The results will be out
:09:51. > :09:57.on Thursday night. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bird ,
:09:58. > :10:03.his interventions have become more frequent and something was strange.
:10:04. > :10:10.Have a look. I am grateful to the honourable gentleman. Order, the
:10:11. > :10:15.Government Chief Whip has absolutely no business whatsoever shouting from
:10:16. > :10:20.a sedentary position. Order, the honourable gentleman will remain in
:10:21. > :10:28.the chamber. If we could tackle this problem. I say to the honourable
:10:29. > :10:32.member for Bridgwater, be quiet if you cannot be quiet, get out, it is
:10:33. > :10:51.rude, stupid and pompous and it needs to stop. Michael Gove. Order.
:10:52. > :10:57.You really... Order. You are a very over excitable individual. You need
:10:58. > :11:01.to write out 1000 times, I will behave myself at Prime Minister 's
:11:02. > :11:07.questions. He was talking to the Education Secretary and it is not
:11:08. > :11:16.1000 lines, it is 100 lines, at least it was in my day. Is he
:11:17. > :11:19.beginning to make a fool of himself? There was only one over excitable
:11:20. > :11:22.person there and that was the speaker and he is losing the
:11:23. > :11:27.confidence of the Conservative MPs, but he never had that in the first
:11:28. > :11:32.place. But he is an incredibly reforming speaker. He has this
:11:33. > :11:39.strange idea that Parliament should hold the Government to account. It
:11:40. > :11:44.will never catch on. It means very frequently there are urgent
:11:45. > :11:47.questions. The other day he called a backbench amendment on the
:11:48. > :11:53.deportation of foreign criminals. He could have found a way not to call
:11:54. > :11:57.that. He is a real reformer and the executive do not like that. That is
:11:58. > :12:05.true and he has allowed Parliament to flourish which has given us room
:12:06. > :12:09.to breathe at a time of a coalition Government when Parliament has more
:12:10. > :12:15.power. That is all that enough to overcome these increasingly mannered
:12:16. > :12:22.and some of them may be preplanned interventions? The last one was last
:12:23. > :12:30.week, and last week the speaker had a rather stressful week with the
:12:31. > :12:36.tabloids. Something is clearly up. I think it is a real shame. I think
:12:37. > :12:40.many of us when he was elected did not think he would make a great
:12:41. > :12:45.speaker and there are people like Douglas Carswell and Tory rebels who
:12:46. > :12:50.have said he is a fantastic speaker. He has given the Commons room to
:12:51. > :12:55.breathe and he has called on ministers to be held to account when
:12:56. > :13:00.they do not want to be. What do you think? He is seen as anti-government
:13:01. > :13:06.and he is pro-backbencher and that is what people do not like. People
:13:07. > :13:13.like Douglas Carswell are actually very strongly in support of him We
:13:14. > :13:17.carry the interventions every week on Prime Minister 's questions and
:13:18. > :13:21.we see them every week and they are getting a bit more eccentric. If I
:13:22. > :13:28.was having to keep that under control, I would be driven slowly
:13:29. > :13:33.mad. But his job is easier than mine. But if you look at his
:13:34. > :13:40.deputy, Eleanor Laing, she is very robust, but she is calm. Chap who
:13:41. > :13:49.does the budget is excellent. We are on throughout the week at midday on
:13:50. > :13:52.BBC Two. We will be back next Sunday at 11. If it is Sunday, it is the
:13:53. > :13:59.Sunday Politics.