:01:28. > :01:31.And in the North West - The next Richard Branson? Entrepreneurs from
:01:31. > :01:39.across the world come to Liverpool to get tips from the best in the
:01:39. > :01:42.business. And in the North West - The next Richard Branson?
:01:42. > :01:52.Entrepreneurs from across the world come to Liverpool to get tips from
:01:52. > :01:52.
:01:52. > :30:27.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1714 seconds
:30:27. > :30:30.Welcome to Sunday Politics North West. Coming up... Entrepreneurs
:30:30. > :30:35.from across the globe flock to Liverpool to find out how its done
:30:35. > :30:38.from the best in the business. My guests this week are the Labour
:30:38. > :30:41.MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy and the Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley,
:30:41. > :30:43.Gordon Birtwistle. And they'll be commenting on our stories over the
:30:43. > :30:47.next 20 minutes. We start with a problem that's been
:30:48. > :30:50.steadily getting worse - unemployment. The latest quarterly
:30:51. > :30:53.figures show that the North West has seen a larger jump than
:30:53. > :30:56.anywhere else in the country six times the national average. The
:30:56. > :31:04.Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has told this programme that he's
:31:05. > :31:08."worried". Our political editor Arif Ansari has the details.
:31:08. > :31:13.A trade conference in Manchester for businesses dealing with India.
:31:13. > :31:23.Economically India's surging as Britain stutters. The Business
:31:23. > :31:26.
:31:26. > :31:29.Secretary, Vince Cable, drew from the tombola. And the winner is HSBC.
:31:29. > :31:32.It was a banker. And while there were groans over the minister's
:31:32. > :31:37.handling of the raffle, there are more serious concerns over the
:31:37. > :31:42.government's economic strategy and rising unemployment. Of course it
:31:42. > :31:47.is worrying M I feel for the people affected by it, but the only way to
:31:47. > :31:50.get people back into work is to get the economy growing a game and out
:31:50. > :31:53.of the crisis that we inherited. Nationally unemployment has
:31:53. > :31:57.increased by 0.1% to 8.4%. In the North West it's increased by 0.6%
:31:57. > :32:07.to 9.3% It means 317,000 people are out of work, an increase of 16,000
:32:07. > :32:15.
:32:15. > :32:20.in 3 months. When the government introduced austerity measures in
:32:20. > :32:25.the 2010, we saw not just the job losses occurring in the public
:32:25. > :32:29.sector, but we saw the indirect consequence of that from firms
:32:29. > :32:32.which supply goods and services into the public sector which were
:32:32. > :32:34.shedding workers. But business confidence is
:32:34. > :32:37.certainly returning here at the Jaguar Landrover factory on
:32:37. > :32:39.Merseyside. Strong sales means the company is taking on another
:32:39. > :32:43.thousand workers. But while Halewood's accelerating away the
:32:43. > :32:48.jobs market in much of the region is in reverse. Good news for
:32:48. > :32:52.Jaguar-Land Rover and for Merseyside. It is positive, the
:32:52. > :33:02.plant increasing volume and to bring more people and Employment to
:33:02. > :33:09.
:33:09. > :33:14.the area. Jobs are in reverse in other areas however. There is
:33:14. > :33:17.reason to be concerned about this, isn't there? It is a case for
:33:17. > :33:23.concern when people are not working but we must remember where we have
:33:23. > :33:27.come from. A catastrophic collapse of the banking sector. A previous
:33:27. > :33:32.government which overspent dramatically over the years, we
:33:33. > :33:37.must get it straight. We have heard these arguments now for some time.
:33:37. > :33:43.Is the strategy which the coalition is sticking with working? It has to
:33:43. > :33:47.work, we have to pay down the debt. You cannot pay back that debt in
:33:47. > :33:51.two years. It is a long-term project but manufacturing is
:33:51. > :33:58.starting to pick up, in my constituency it is below the
:33:58. > :34:02.national average because we are a manufacturing town. In other areas
:34:02. > :34:05.of the north-west which was dependent on public sectors, that
:34:05. > :34:11.has not worked. They said the private sector would step in but
:34:11. > :34:17.that has not worked. It did in the last sector, the private sector to
:34:17. > :34:23.gone 45,000. I have said, it is a concern that jobs have been lost
:34:23. > :34:30.but these things take time to work through. We cannot have an economy
:34:30. > :34:36.which a show reliance on the banking sector. It will not work.
:34:36. > :34:42.We must get back to a balanced economy, that is what we are
:34:42. > :34:49.working on. Did Labour rely too much on the public sector? No, and
:34:49. > :34:55.we are seeing the consequences of a terrible economic policy. In his
:34:55. > :34:59.constituency youth unemployment has gone up by 350 per cent. There is a
:34:59. > :35:09.level of complacency about this strategy, cutting the public sector
:35:09. > :35:09.
:35:09. > :35:13.too fast. When will it grow? Take youth unemployment, Op after the
:35:13. > :35:16.economic crisis around the globe. Labour brought in the future jobs
:35:17. > :35:20.fund straight away and youth unemployment fell. One of the first
:35:20. > :35:23.things the coalition did when they came into power was to axe the
:35:23. > :35:28.future job funds which was a betrayal of young people across the
:35:28. > :35:36.north-west. Where is the evidence that the work programme is any
:35:36. > :35:40.better? The future jobs are not was being operated in Burnley and it
:35:40. > :35:46.did find work for young people, but they were unsustainable jobs. The
:35:46. > :35:52.vast majority were in the public sector and then we got, apart from
:35:52. > :35:57.having catastrophic financial positions, we got a bloated public
:35:57. > :36:04.sector workforce. We have to reverse this. The work programme
:36:04. > :36:06.has only just got started and it is working very well in Burnley. We
:36:06. > :36:11.have seen statistics that we are getting young people off the
:36:11. > :36:17.unemployment register into proper jobs. When will seek improvement in
:36:17. > :36:22.the figures? It will be slow, you cannot turn around a ship which is
:36:22. > :36:29.going in the wrong direction quickly. It is going in the wrong
:36:29. > :36:33.direction! In the United States they have seen that their plan has
:36:33. > :36:37.gone to a three-year low, but this is at a higher. If the government
:36:37. > :36:44.is serious, instead of tinkering around with the work programme,
:36:44. > :36:48.they should be creating jobs. They are not doing it. In band A, the
:36:48. > :36:51.private sector are creating jobs. We have companies in Burnley who
:36:51. > :36:55.are desperate for skilled staff and they cannot get them.
:36:55. > :36:57.Well one way to avoid unemployment is to start up your own business.
:36:57. > :37:00.This week the Global Entrepreneurship Congress has been
:37:00. > :37:06.held in Liverpool - the first time the gathering has been held in
:37:06. > :37:09.Europe at all. 3000 entrepreneurs came to hear from the likes of Sir
:37:09. > :37:12.Richard Branson and former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy. But how
:37:12. > :37:19.difficult is it for new businesses trying to launch? Elaine Dunkley
:37:19. > :37:24.went along to find out. Multi-Millionaires, movers and
:37:24. > :37:27.shakers and motivational speeches. The Global Entreprenuership
:37:27. > :37:29.congress rolled into Liverpool and so did Richard Branson with a
:37:29. > :37:32.message for anyone wanting to start their own business. Richard
:37:32. > :37:37.Branson's speech had delegates on their feet but with the economy on
:37:37. > :37:41.it's knees is it a good time to be starting up a new business. We are
:37:41. > :37:46.here we have lots of young budding entrepreneurs who will be starting
:37:46. > :37:56.the businesses of the future. In some ways it is easier when things
:37:56. > :37:59.
:37:59. > :38:03.are tougher than his ear, everything costs less. It will be a
:38:03. > :38:10.revolution, Doug people will create businesses and I'd think we are
:38:10. > :38:15.about to see an entrepreneurial revolution. I am in the process of
:38:15. > :38:21.starting a business, good people in Liverpool, I am expecting good
:38:21. > :38:27.things. A Liverpool there are 108 new businesses starting every month,
:38:27. > :38:29.but with one in Freathy failing in the first three years, it can be a
:38:29. > :38:32.But the gamble has paid off for Liverpool Entreprenuer Dave Brown.
:38:32. > :38:38.He set up his software company 3 years ago developing mobile phone
:38:38. > :38:44.apps with a new approach- and business is booming. Just a really
:38:44. > :38:48.good time to be doing what we are doing, on the back of the growth of
:38:48. > :38:53.Apple. Even though they are job losses in certain industries,
:38:53. > :38:57.certain areas, I think where we are in the mobile space is very
:38:57. > :39:00.affluent. But whilst some are on the up others are on a downer youth
:39:00. > :39:03.unemployment is running at a 17 year high. So what do Liverpool's
:39:03. > :39:09.young business students think about their chances of success in the
:39:09. > :39:13.future. In these times caution is understandable. Most people won't
:39:13. > :39:19.succeed, that is what we have learnt. Only a few new businesses
:39:19. > :39:23.will succeed. Maybe we will be one of the lucky few. In if you have
:39:23. > :39:33.the right idea and a unique selling point, which will differ your
:39:33. > :39:40.product, then yes. A R a d optimistic about the future? -- Are
:39:40. > :39:44.you optimistic? In a way. Phil Kirby started his tea company 4
:39:44. > :39:47.years ago. This week he closed both of his tearooms to focus on the
:39:47. > :39:55.wholesale side of things. The problem for him, high business
:39:55. > :39:59.rates, bruracracy and the banks. have seen advertising on billboards,
:39:59. > :40:03.saying there is a small business in everybody. That looks great on the
:40:04. > :40:08.face of it, but having just relocated to a new property we find
:40:08. > :40:10.that our rates are higher than our rent. Hosting the Global
:40:10. > :40:13.Entreprenuership congress has no doubt been a coo for the city
:40:13. > :40:23.Liverpool- but with so many small businesses struggling it success
:40:23. > :40:23.
:40:23. > :40:29.will be judged on the legacy it leaves behind.
:40:29. > :40:34.Frank McKenna joins us in the studio. You were at the conference,
:40:34. > :40:39.there were some big hitters, Sir Richard Branson, saying that it can
:40:39. > :40:44.be easier to set up a business in tough times. If you have got a
:40:44. > :40:49.smart idea, then you can find a niche market. Are often smaller
:40:50. > :40:54.businesses will be able to be nimble and more flexible and a bit
:40:54. > :40:59.smarter in the way in which they operate. For a new start up a can
:40:59. > :41:04.be an easier time to develop a business. However, access to
:41:04. > :41:08.finance is still difficult. If you have got existing premises and
:41:08. > :41:15.staff than the bureaucracy which was referred to them, things like
:41:15. > :41:20.business rates, are all tough challenges. Vince Cable, in his
:41:20. > :41:25.much talk about a leaked letter, spoke about the lack of confidence
:41:25. > :41:30.of company is finding funding. That is banks not lending. He must get
:41:30. > :41:36.the balance right between what the government can offer in terms of a
:41:36. > :41:40.framework, what you can expect banks to do, if you look at
:41:40. > :41:45.business rates it is a great example. What are local authorities
:41:45. > :41:51.supposed to do if they cannot increase council tax? They will go
:41:51. > :41:55.after businesses. It is a catch 22 situation. What should the
:41:55. > :42:01.government be doing? The have to look at the bureaucracy in tax
:42:01. > :42:06.regimes. George Osborne has got to stand up on Wednesday and give us
:42:06. > :42:10.some positive action on those issues. The other thing which needs
:42:10. > :42:16.to be done, particularly in the north-west, is that we need to see
:42:16. > :42:18.a recognition that the north and south divide still exists. The
:42:19. > :42:24.decisions around the location of the Green Investment Bank are
:42:25. > :42:27.nonsense, that does not rebalance the economy. There needs to be a
:42:27. > :42:32.rebalancing between public and private expenditure but they must
:42:32. > :42:37.be a rebalancing between the south- east and the North and north-west
:42:37. > :42:42.which is still struggling through recession. Now it may bring Gordon
:42:42. > :42:47.in, what can George Osbourne do to rebalance this? I agree with what
:42:47. > :42:54.has been said. There is a desperate north and south divide. In North of
:42:54. > :43:01.England is still struggling, the south-east is still booming. We
:43:01. > :43:07.make things, we sell them abroad. Look at fell, in our report, the
:43:07. > :43:12.tea company. His rates are �25,000. They are going to go up, again.
:43:12. > :43:17.That is not helping small and medium businesses. I agree with you,
:43:17. > :43:23.that needs to be looked at. I hope the Chancellor, in his Budget, will
:43:24. > :43:30.look at things to help businesses. Putting up business rates may be a
:43:30. > :43:35.start. Certainly helping businesses where they can to create jobs, to
:43:35. > :43:40.create prosperity for the future is how we will get on. We will not get
:43:40. > :43:46.on by providing jobs with no sustainability, we need real jobs
:43:46. > :43:52.for real people in a real world. Business rates will be localised
:43:52. > :43:57.under these proposals. The North will do worse, others will do
:43:57. > :44:02.better, places like Wigan will be battered. It is likely that the man
:44:02. > :44:07.you just saw on the film will face buyer higher business rates. It
:44:07. > :44:14.will be worse. Last week we saw the economic secretary turn around and
:44:14. > :44:19.say to a woman from Bolton, go and apply for a job at Nissan in
:44:19. > :44:25.Sunderland. Ministers do not understand his situation. They need
:44:25. > :44:29.a partnership between government and business. You don't think the
:44:29. > :44:33.localised business rates will create more money for the area?
:44:33. > :44:36.What will happen is that areas where there is a high take from
:44:36. > :44:40.business rates, a greater concentration of businesses will do
:44:40. > :44:48.better. Areas with less of that will do worse, places like Wigan
:44:48. > :44:53.will see a double top whammy. It is a disastrous strategy. The
:44:53. > :45:01.government should not be doing it. One to two local businesses think
:45:01. > :45:04.of that? There is a concern, if they are told they cannot raise
:45:04. > :45:10.expenditure through tax increases, where can they go to raise the
:45:10. > :45:14.expenditure they need to generate services? Equally, what we need to
:45:14. > :45:18.see is a greater engagement of the business community so that when
:45:18. > :45:23.rates are raised locally they have a say in how areas are supported
:45:23. > :45:26.and businesses supported. I am disappointed that a local
:45:26. > :45:31.enterprise partnerships that have been created are simply not doing
:45:31. > :45:38.the job of delivering for business. We have not enough private sector
:45:38. > :45:41.leadership. We are out of time, thank you.
:45:41. > :45:44.Now another key speaker at the congress was Sir Terry Leahy - best
:45:44. > :45:47.known of course for running the supermarket chain Tesco and turning
:45:47. > :45:50.it into a global success. But he's also recently completed a report
:45:50. > :45:53.for the government, advising how Merseyside can develop. Sir Terry
:45:53. > :45:55.was born in Liverpool and when he returned there this week he spoke
:45:55. > :45:58.to Arif about what he was telling those would-be entrepreneurs.
:45:58. > :46:01.Sir Terry Leahy speaking to our political editor Arif Ansari, Time
:46:01. > :46:07.for the rest of the week's political news from the North West
:46:07. > :46:13.with Abbie Jones. If you have an idea, if you are passionate, you
:46:13. > :46:18.can start a new business. Tesco was started by an entrepreneur, he was
:46:18. > :46:23.an immigrant to the United Kingdom. His parents came from Poland. His
:46:23. > :46:28.first day of business was on a market stall, four pounds of
:46:28. > :46:34.turnover which became Tesco. That is what entrepreneurs and
:46:34. > :46:40.enterprise can do. Do you think the local government structures, the
:46:40. > :46:45.way the region is run, are good enough? It is improving and it can
:46:45. > :46:49.improve further. It is a city region, a region of 2 billion
:46:49. > :46:57.people. The brand is Liverpool. I would have liked to see an elected
:46:57. > :47:01.mayor for the region. -- 2 million people. Is it possible at this
:47:01. > :47:06.stage? Not at this stage, but there could be an elected mayor for the
:47:06. > :47:10.city. The local economic partnership which allows the
:47:10. > :47:14.leaders of the City Region to deal with leaders of business. Between
:47:14. > :47:20.them they can provide leadership for the economic and social
:47:20. > :47:23.development of the city. It in a way, it is being able to make
:47:23. > :47:29.politics attractive to successful people like you which is a
:47:29. > :47:33.challenge in itself, isn't it? it is a challenge, it is tough
:47:33. > :47:37.being a politician. I have been around politics enough to know how
:47:37. > :47:45.difficult it is. You do want good citizens who have a knowledge of
:47:45. > :47:53.other parts of life to step forward in leadership roles. But, we cannot
:47:53. > :48:00.tempt you into the job? No art in Liverpool, I do not live here.
:48:00. > :48:03.now for the rest of the political news with Abbie Jones. Workers at
:48:03. > :48:06.BAe in Lancashire have voted to take one day's unpaid leave every
:48:06. > :48:09.month. Two thousand staff at the Warton and Salmesbury sites took
:48:09. > :48:12.the decision in order to avoid any compulsory redundancies. The MP for
:48:12. > :48:15.St Helens North, Dave Watts, has been elected chairman of the
:48:15. > :48:18.Parliamentary Labour Party. He replaces the Manchester MP Tony
:48:19. > :48:22.Lloyd who's standing to become Police Commissioner. Lord Heseltine
:48:22. > :48:25.received the freedom of the city of Liverpool this week. The former
:48:25. > :48:35.Conservative Deputy Prime Minister has been honoured for supporting
:48:35. > :48:36.
:48:36. > :48:39.regeneration on Merseyside over the decades. I am deeply moved, an
:48:39. > :48:44.extraordinary distinction to be offered the freedom of the city
:48:44. > :48:51.which has been out of conservative influence in local terms for a long
:48:51. > :48:54.time. I am overwhelmed by what they have said to me. Cumbria County
:48:54. > :48:57.Council says there are too many memorial benches in Grange-over-
:48:57. > :49:05.Sands - more than 200. It wants people to find alternative ways to
:49:05. > :49:08.pay their respects. Well this week we've had the jobs
:49:08. > :49:11.figures, next week it's the Budget. The economy remains the dominant
:49:12. > :49:17.political story. And on Monday there will be a special debate on
:49:17. > :49:25.BBC1, presented by my colleague Ranvir Singh. And this is quite a
:49:25. > :49:30.special programme Ranvir. We take the baton from your programme, we
:49:30. > :49:35.have got 25 key players from around the region, it includes single
:49:35. > :49:40.mothers struggling to pay bills. They are key players, we have got
:49:40. > :49:46.politicians, we have entrepreneurs who are saying "is the recession
:49:46. > :49:50.really going to be that bad for all of us in the end?" they are
:49:50. > :49:54.wondering if it could create more creative thinking. We are trying to
:49:54. > :49:57.look at five key areas, the cost of living, the demise of the High
:49:57. > :50:05.Street, the effect on the vulnerable, job creation, and we
:50:05. > :50:09.are looking for hope, at the end of this dark tunnel. There is some.
:50:09. > :50:12.For thank goodness! Our Economy: The North West Tonight debate.
:50:12. > :50:18.And, Our Economy: The North West Tonight debate is on Monday at
:50:18. > :50:21.11:05 on BBC1. $$NEWLINEThanks Ranvir, and thank you to all my