:00:44. > :00:54.Good morning. Stop throwing snowballs for just a second and
:00:54. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:28.concentrate on this week's Sunday Politics. Hello, I'm Annabel Tiffin.
:01:28. > :01:30.In the next 20 minutes in the North West: Deja vu in the Wyre as
:01:30. > :01:34.campaigners gear up to fight a fourth application for underground
:01:34. > :01:44.gas caverns. We'll be talking to the company which wants to put them
:01:44. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :31:08.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1764 seconds
:31:08. > :31:12.Hello, deja-vu in the wire as campaigners gear up to fight a 4th
:31:12. > :31:22.application for underground gas caverns. We will be talking to the
:31:22. > :31:29.
:31:29. > :31:34.company that wants to put them there. -- Wyre. David Miliband has
:31:34. > :31:40.been back in the news and he has been seeing some harsh words about
:31:40. > :31:45.his brother Ed Miliband or at least the Labour Party, saying they will
:31:45. > :31:49.alienate the business community, how have these words gone down?
:31:49. > :31:56.Labour needs to continue its new thinking that has happened around
:31:56. > :32:06.the policy. What about those who say that Labour face electoral
:32:06. > :32:08.
:32:08. > :32:15.disaster? I think it says some things that people will be
:32:15. > :32:23.interested in. This week, potential job losses in your constituency,
:32:23. > :32:27.that must be worrying? It is. It sounds like there will be up to 350
:32:27. > :32:33.jobs going in the pharmaceutical industry. They have been going
:32:33. > :32:43.through some difficult times. What that means is they will be spending
:32:43. > :32:44.
:32:44. > :32:48.less on research and development. You will be having a visit to
:32:48. > :32:52.Macclesfield in the near future to see what can be done about
:32:52. > :32:58.contracting opportunities to make good use of the skills we have in
:32:58. > :33:01.the area. Well let's stay with the theme of the ecomony because
:33:01. > :33:04.there's growing concern that BAE Systems is on the verge of losing a
:33:04. > :33:07.major deal to supply Eurofighter Typhoons to the Indian Air Force.
:33:07. > :33:10.The company has two factories in Lancashire, at Warton and
:33:10. > :33:13.Salmesbury. India has entered into exclusive negotiations with a
:33:13. > :33:15.French competitor which produces the Rafale fighter. As our
:33:15. > :33:22.Political Editor Arif Ansari reports, the final decision could
:33:22. > :33:27.affect dozens of firms. RAF Typhoon aircraft in combat over Libya last
:33:27. > :33:37.year. It's a highly regarded piece of military engineering. But
:33:37. > :33:37.
:33:37. > :33:42.India's not so keen. We have called on the Prime Minister to personally
:33:42. > :33:52.get involved over there. If this needs a delegation to India let's
:33:52. > :33:55.start talking to them. The Prime Minister's already tried. India's
:33:55. > :33:58.preparing for its largest ever arms deal, worth about $11 billion. But
:33:58. > :34:05.now this plane the French Rafale has won "preferred bidder" status
:34:05. > :34:09.meaning exclusive negotiations. is not a good place to be but there
:34:09. > :34:14.have been comments in the press and some colleagues have been saying we
:34:14. > :34:24.have lost but we have not lost and it is important at this stage that
:34:24. > :34:25.
:34:25. > :34:27.we up the ante because we can still win this. Here they are. The
:34:27. > :34:30.Eurofighter Typhoon is built by a consortium of countries - the
:34:30. > :34:32.Rafale is purely French. The Typhoon flies faster. And higher.
:34:33. > :34:35.But crucially, the Rafale is cheaper. It's not just worrying for
:34:35. > :34:45.BAE Systems but the entire supply chain. Euravia Engineering is not
:34:45. > :34:46.
:34:46. > :34:55.directly affected. But concern is shared across the areospace sector.
:34:55. > :35:00.In Lancashire alone we have 2,500 injured leading businesses. About a
:35:00. > :35:09.quarter of the total Lancashire employment base will be involved in
:35:09. > :35:11.this. This weekend a British defence minister is in India as the
:35:12. > :35:21.lobbying effort continues. But for now France is winning this
:35:22. > :35:22.
:35:22. > :35:28.financial dogfight. Is the feeling in India that this is a done deal
:35:28. > :35:33.and the contract is going to France? It is important to remember
:35:33. > :35:40.that a bloke France is apparently the sole contender for this deal we
:35:40. > :35:44.have not yet heard a formal announcement. When we get down to
:35:44. > :35:50.the final negotiations there have been suggestions that the French
:35:50. > :35:58.might get across the line but in India anything can happen. The
:35:58. > :36:03.details do seem to lean towards the sole provider being France. There
:36:03. > :36:13.has been some speculation here that the decision may have been down to
:36:13. > :36:18.poor relations between Britain and India? This is all about economics.
:36:18. > :36:24.India is making a huge investment here, more than $10 billion. They
:36:24. > :36:30.are looking for a good deal. France was the lowest bidder. They have
:36:30. > :36:36.now come out as the preferred negotiation partner. This is also
:36:36. > :36:42.about transfer of technologies to Indian firms. What can India get
:36:42. > :36:49.out of it? We will hear eventually hoopoe the best deal forward.
:36:49. > :36:55.can we expect a final decision? may be some months away from a
:36:55. > :37:02.final announcement being in mind that negotiations will now kick off.
:37:02. > :37:12.It is yet unclear how and when we will hear exactly how it will be
:37:12. > :37:18.
:37:18. > :37:23.rolled out. Thank you for joining us. We heard that this is not a
:37:23. > :37:31.done deal but with a preferred bidder it may well be. David
:37:31. > :37:37.Cameron went out there with a delegation, what more can he do?
:37:37. > :37:43.have the MoD with a defence minister out there right now. We
:37:43. > :37:49.need to seek what we can do, economic issues are or related to
:37:50. > :37:55.this, then we can make the best case. We are not the preferred
:37:55. > :38:00.provider on an economic basis. What we need to do is redouble our
:38:00. > :38:04.efforts. It is a bit embarrassing for David Cameron that he went out
:38:04. > :38:10.there and appeared to have a special relationship and now they
:38:10. > :38:20.have just gone off with the French. It is a tough economic climate.
:38:20. > :38:20.
:38:20. > :38:30.you think that BA Engineering are paying the price for Labour and the
:38:30. > :38:40.
:38:40. > :38:49.air defence policy? It is paying the price of the labour government
:38:49. > :38:56.ordering more than it could afford. I do not think so. We might still
:38:56. > :39:00.have a chance but the French have lobbied very hard for this. I'd
:39:00. > :39:10.think it might be the case that Nicolas Sarkozy has just edged
:39:10. > :39:13.ahead of David Cameron in terms of relationships abroad. Another story
:39:13. > :39:23.in the news this week - Pilkington glass in St Helens. Jobs are going
:39:23. > :39:43.
:39:43. > :39:49.with production going to China. And now in this case, France. There are
:39:49. > :39:55.jobs coming and going. Have we got the skills base that can make the
:39:55. > :40:01.sort of product that the rest of the world wants? We still produce
:40:01. > :40:07.some very good things. Labour has been accused of not concentrating
:40:07. > :40:11.on manufacturing. That is a relative measure compared to how
:40:11. > :40:16.successful our financial services have been over the last decade.
:40:16. > :40:19.That will push the proportion of manufacturing down a bit further.
:40:19. > :40:29.It is worth saying that we are seeing some good figures in some
:40:29. > :40:48.
:40:48. > :40:51.countries. -- in some companies. Now, this weekend's likely to be
:40:51. > :40:54.the coldest so far this winter and when the temperature falls, demand
:40:54. > :40:57.for gas surges. But where we store our gas reserves has been a topic
:40:57. > :41:00.of fierce debate in Lancashire for more than eight years now. An
:41:00. > :41:02.application's currently in to build the UK's biggest gas storage
:41:02. > :41:05.facility under the Wyre Estuary - public consultation closes this
:41:05. > :41:08.week. An active campaign's been set up to oppose the plans. Sounds
:41:08. > :41:18.familiar? Well, that's because it's the FOURTH time it's happened.
:41:18. > :41:20.
:41:20. > :41:25.Stuart Pollitt reports. For the last decade there has been
:41:25. > :41:29.uncertainty over what happens to this land. If most of the people
:41:29. > :41:34.who live nearby had their way the answer would be nothing but there
:41:34. > :41:37.are plans to build the largest underground gas storage facility.
:41:37. > :41:39.June Jackson's family has farmed this land for generations. She's
:41:39. > :41:48.spent years battling her own landlords and their plans to
:41:48. > :41:53.develop these fields. It has been extremely time-consuming. We have
:41:53. > :41:58.had volumes after volumes of planning applications. Most of
:41:58. > :42:07.these filing cabinets are full of information regarding the gas
:42:07. > :42:12.storage. Plans to store gas here have also dominated Howard's life.
:42:12. > :42:19.It is putting people's safety at risk. They are concerned about
:42:19. > :42:24.storing vast quantities of gas in this area. In terms of the
:42:24. > :42:27.Environment it is very dangerous. Halite Energy plans to drill more
:42:27. > :42:36.than 1,000 feet underground to create 19 salt caverns which could
:42:36. > :42:38.store 20% of the country's gas. We are here on a Site of Special
:42:38. > :42:44.Scientific Interest, can you understand why people are not keen
:42:44. > :42:50.that you are going to be building? We make a lot of environmental
:42:50. > :42:56.improvements. Everything we do above ground will be carefully
:42:56. > :43:06.blended into the environment. There are 70 of these facilities
:43:06. > :43:06.
:43:06. > :43:09.worldwide. It has a well-tested and mature approach. Cold winters for
:43:09. > :43:13.the last two years have highlighted the vulnerable state of the UK's
:43:13. > :43:23.gas supplies. Eddie Proffitt, who represents major gas users, says
:43:23. > :43:28.
:43:28. > :43:32.that must change. DUP is short of gas storage. -- the UK. We need
:43:32. > :43:35.something. But it hasn't been welcomed by a succession of
:43:35. > :43:37.planning bodies. This scheme was first proposed in 2003. The
:43:37. > :43:40.following year a second application was submitted. After a public
:43:40. > :43:44.inquiry it was refused by the Secretary of State in 2007. A year
:43:44. > :43:48.later Canatxx submitted a third application. In January 2010,
:43:48. > :43:52.Lancashire County Council refused that. Now a fourth application has
:43:52. > :43:55.been lodged by Canatxx's successor company Halite Energy. The area's
:43:55. > :44:05.MP, an opponent of this scheme, says the company should take the
:44:05. > :44:07.
:44:07. > :44:15.hint. They keep trying to apply and I think the message should go out
:44:15. > :44:17.no means No Oh, what part of the objections do you not understand?
:44:17. > :44:20.Halite says it's learnt from previous applications and that this
:44:20. > :44:28.one is very different. But June's just hoping that when a decision's
:44:28. > :44:32.made on it early next year then she'll finally be able to move on.
:44:32. > :44:39.I am sincerely hoping that this is the last time and this time next
:44:39. > :44:46.year I can have a huge bonfire with all of this! Can't you take the
:44:46. > :44:51.hint? Why don't you just give up? It is a substantially different
:44:51. > :44:58.application this time and things have moved on. It is generally the
:44:58. > :45:05.same thing though, isn't it? How is it not? It is half of the scheme
:45:06. > :45:10.originally proposed. Different things are now employees. We need
:45:10. > :45:19.to understand the position in natural gas. We have declining
:45:19. > :45:24.North Sea reserves. We are now importing natural gas. We are using
:45:25. > :45:28.more renewables. I understand your arguments for why you want it but
:45:29. > :45:38.at the end of the dead people do not want it and they want it to go
:45:38. > :45:42.away. It is important that people understand that in France and Italy
:45:42. > :45:47.they have 57 and 80 this days' storage and in this country we only
:45:47. > :45:53.have 40 days storage. This is a call the country. We need this to
:45:53. > :45:58.keep energy prices down, to keep our house is warm. We are keen to
:45:58. > :46:03.get across to people the facts of this application and the planning
:46:03. > :46:06.application that we have now is fully available for inspection. It
:46:06. > :46:13.involved significant consultation with the public and to go back to
:46:13. > :46:18.the previous applications to understand why they did not succeed.
:46:18. > :46:24.You are at the same company but just with a different name? It is a
:46:24. > :46:30.brand-new team. But it is the same company that has put in these
:46:30. > :46:35.previous applications. Nor, we are a brand new company. But Companies
:46:36. > :46:40.House says you have just changed your name. The reason I am pressing
:46:40. > :46:44.you on that is I am wondering how fear it is that companies can come
:46:44. > :46:50.back with application after application after application in
:46:50. > :46:56.the same place. You can see in this case there is a national need for
:46:56. > :47:00.more gas storage. We have to weigh that up against the local interest.
:47:00. > :47:10.Why are we having all these public inquiries if they will just come
:47:10. > :47:13.
:47:13. > :47:17.out with a new one? The localism bill was trying to get around that.
:47:17. > :47:24.I think the Government's whole approach to planning is in a bit of
:47:24. > :47:33.a mess. This will probably go to the Secretary of State. What limits
:47:33. > :47:36.the planning applications? We are talking about reforms of planning.
:47:36. > :47:43.The Localism Act comes into force in the Spring. Presumably this sort
:47:43. > :47:50.of development might get a kinder reception now? With this particular
:47:50. > :47:57.case because there is a national infrastructure issue around it
:47:57. > :48:02.things will still be required. It is critical. I think it is a bit
:48:02. > :48:07.rich for Jonathan to talk about how planning policy might be in a mess
:48:07. > :48:14.because we have been burdened for the last 30 years with a top down
:48:14. > :48:19.bureaucratic approach which we have got to get rid of. This goes to the
:48:19. > :48:24.Secretary of State but that is not localism. We are taking out the
:48:24. > :48:28.infrastructure policy commission. Out with these infrastructure
:48:28. > :48:33.projects where we do not need to have the same rights of appeal that
:48:33. > :48:42.gives more power to be local community. There's a heavy emphasis
:48:42. > :48:46.there on what's good for the economy rather than social concerns.
:48:46. > :48:53.With this particular case there are some major issues and concerns
:48:53. > :49:03.which will be revisited. It is not just this application which our
:49:03. > :49:09.
:49:09. > :49:13.future on gas storage is Hinchcliffe. -- hinged with. Well,
:49:13. > :49:16.we'll have to stop it there because it's time to take a look at what
:49:16. > :49:19.else has been going on in the region, with Gill Dummigan.
:49:19. > :49:21.Liverpool Council's finally won its battle to allow cruises to begin
:49:21. > :49:24.and end there. Until now cruiseliners have only been allowed
:49:24. > :49:27.to make less lucrative stop off visits. But the council's agreed to
:49:27. > :49:30.repay up to �9 million of government subsidy. The former
:49:30. > :49:33.leader of Bury council, Bob Bibby, has been released on bail - after
:49:33. > :49:35.being arrested on suspicion of corruption. Mr Bibby and another
:49:35. > :49:38.Conservative councillor Jim Taylor, were questioned about allegations
:49:38. > :49:41.that they accepted bribes over a planning application. They've been
:49:41. > :49:44.bailed until April. A report into how to transport electricity in the
:49:44. > :49:52.north of the region has concluded that pylons are the cheapest option.
:49:52. > :49:59.Campaigners for underground cables say they're disappointed. When you
:49:59. > :50:08.are in the middle of nowhere in the best parts of the rule England I
:50:08. > :50:11.think you want them to go somewhere else. -- rural England.
:50:11. > :50:13.hundreds of jobs could go at the drugs giant Astra Zeneca in
:50:13. > :50:17.Cheshire as the company sheds more than 7,000 posts globally. Unions
:50:17. > :50:26.fear up to 10% of jobs at the firm's Alderley Edge site are under
:50:26. > :50:34.threat. We were talking about the House of Commons beer that some
:50:34. > :50:40.want banned. I did not realise MPs could suggest beers. That is right.
:50:40. > :50:45.A beer from my constituency was a previous supplier. I am probably