18/03/2012 Sunday Politics North West

And in the North West - The next Richard Branson? Entrepreneurs from

across the world come to Liverpool to get tips from the best in the

business. And in the North West - The next Richard Branson?

Entrepreneurs from across the world come to Liverpool to get tips from

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1714 seconds

Welcome to Sunday Politics North West. Coming up... Entrepreneurs

from across the globe flock to Liverpool to find out how its done

from the best in the business. My guests this week are the Labour

MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy and the Liberal Democrat MP for Burnley,

Gordon Birtwistle. And they'll be commenting on our stories over the

next 20 minutes. We start with a problem that's been

steadily getting worse - unemployment. The latest quarterly

figures show that the North West has seen a larger jump than

anywhere else in the country six times the national average. The

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has told this programme that he's

"worried". Our political editor Arif Ansari has the details.

A trade conference in Manchester for businesses dealing with India.

Economically India's surging as Britain stutters. The Business

Secretary, Vince Cable, drew from the tombola. And the winner is HSBC.

It was a banker. And while there were groans over the minister's

handling of the raffle, there are more serious concerns over the

government's economic strategy and rising unemployment. Of course it

is worrying M I feel for the people affected by it, but the only way to

get people back into work is to get the economy growing a game and out

of the crisis that we inherited. Nationally unemployment has

increased by 0.1% to 8.4%. In the North West it's increased by 0.6%

to 9.3% It means 317,000 people are out of work, an increase of 16,000

in 3 months. When the government introduced austerity measures in

the 2010, we saw not just the job losses occurring in the public

sector, but we saw the indirect consequence of that from firms

which supply goods and services into the public sector which were

shedding workers. But business confidence is

certainly returning here at the Jaguar Landrover factory on

Merseyside. Strong sales means the company is taking on another

thousand workers. But while Halewood's accelerating away the

jobs market in much of the region is in reverse. Good news for

Jaguar-Land Rover and for Merseyside. It is positive, the

plant increasing volume and to bring more people and Employment to

the area. Jobs are in reverse in other areas however. There is

reason to be concerned about this, isn't there? It is a case for

concern when people are not working but we must remember where we have

come from. A catastrophic collapse of the banking sector. A previous

government which overspent dramatically over the years, we

must get it straight. We have heard these arguments now for some time.

Is the strategy which the coalition is sticking with working? It has to

work, we have to pay down the debt. You cannot pay back that debt in

two years. It is a long-term project but manufacturing is

starting to pick up, in my constituency it is below the

national average because we are a manufacturing town. In other areas

of the north-west which was dependent on public sectors, that

has not worked. They said the private sector would step in but

that has not worked. It did in the last sector, the private sector to

gone 45,000. I have said, it is a concern that jobs have been lost

but these things take time to work through. We cannot have an economy

which a show reliance on the banking sector. It will not work.

We must get back to a balanced economy, that is what we are

working on. Did Labour rely too much on the public sector? No, and

we are seeing the consequences of a terrible economic policy. In his

constituency youth unemployment has gone up by 350 per cent. There is a

level of complacency about this strategy, cutting the public sector

too fast. When will it grow? Take youth unemployment, Op after the

economic crisis around the globe. Labour brought in the future jobs

fund straight away and youth unemployment fell. One of the first

things the coalition did when they came into power was to axe the

future job funds which was a betrayal of young people across the

north-west. Where is the evidence that the work programme is any

better? The future jobs are not was being operated in Burnley and it

did find work for young people, but they were unsustainable jobs. The

vast majority were in the public sector and then we got, apart from

having catastrophic financial positions, we got a bloated public

sector workforce. We have to reverse this. The work programme

has only just got started and it is working very well in Burnley. We

have seen statistics that we are getting young people off the

unemployment register into proper jobs. When will seek improvement in

the figures? It will be slow, you cannot turn around a ship which is

going in the wrong direction quickly. It is going in the wrong

direction! In the United States they have seen that their plan has

gone to a three-year low, but this is at a higher. If the government

is serious, instead of tinkering around with the work programme,

they should be creating jobs. They are not doing it. In band A, the

private sector are creating jobs. We have companies in Burnley who

are desperate for skilled staff and they cannot get them.

Well one way to avoid unemployment is to start up your own business.

This week the Global Entrepreneurship Congress has been

held in Liverpool - the first time the gathering has been held in

Europe at all. 3000 entrepreneurs came to hear from the likes of Sir

Richard Branson and former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy. But how

difficult is it for new businesses trying to launch? Elaine Dunkley

went along to find out. Multi-Millionaires, movers and

shakers and motivational speeches. The Global Entreprenuership

congress rolled into Liverpool and so did Richard Branson with a

message for anyone wanting to start their own business. Richard

Branson's speech had delegates on their feet but with the economy on

it's knees is it a good time to be starting up a new business. We are

here we have lots of young budding entrepreneurs who will be starting

the businesses of the future. In some ways it is easier when things

are tougher than his ear, everything costs less. It will be a

revolution, Doug people will create businesses and I'd think we are

about to see an entrepreneurial revolution. I am in the process of

starting a business, good people in Liverpool, I am expecting good

things. A Liverpool there are 108 new businesses starting every month,

but with one in Freathy failing in the first three years, it can be a

But the gamble has paid off for Liverpool Entreprenuer Dave Brown.

He set up his software company 3 years ago developing mobile phone

apps with a new approach- and business is booming. Just a really

good time to be doing what we are doing, on the back of the growth of

Apple. Even though they are job losses in certain industries,

certain areas, I think where we are in the mobile space is very

affluent. But whilst some are on the up others are on a downer youth

unemployment is running at a 17 year high. So what do Liverpool's

young business students think about their chances of success in the

future. In these times caution is understandable. Most people won't

succeed, that is what we have learnt. Only a few new businesses

will succeed. Maybe we will be one of the lucky few. In if you have

the right idea and a unique selling point, which will differ your

product, then yes. A R a d optimistic about the future? -- Are

you optimistic? In a way. Phil Kirby started his tea company 4

years ago. This week he closed both of his tearooms to focus on the

wholesale side of things. The problem for him, high business

rates, bruracracy and the banks. have seen advertising on billboards,

saying there is a small business in everybody. That looks great on the

face of it, but having just relocated to a new property we find

that our rates are higher than our rent. Hosting the Global

Entreprenuership congress has no doubt been a coo for the city

Liverpool- but with so many small businesses struggling it success

will be judged on the legacy it leaves behind.

Frank McKenna joins us in the studio. You were at the conference,

there were some big hitters, Sir Richard Branson, saying that it can

be easier to set up a business in tough times. If you have got a

smart idea, then you can find a niche market. Are often smaller

businesses will be able to be nimble and more flexible and a bit

smarter in the way in which they operate. For a new start up a can

be an easier time to develop a business. However, access to

finance is still difficult. If you have got existing premises and

staff than the bureaucracy which was referred to them, things like

business rates, are all tough challenges. Vince Cable, in his

much talk about a leaked letter, spoke about the lack of confidence

of company is finding funding. That is banks not lending. He must get

the balance right between what the government can offer in terms of a

framework, what you can expect banks to do, if you look at

business rates it is a great example. What are local authorities

supposed to do if they cannot increase council tax? They will go

after businesses. It is a catch 22 situation. What should the

government be doing? The have to look at the bureaucracy in tax

regimes. George Osborne has got to stand up on Wednesday and give us

some positive action on those issues. The other thing which needs

to be done, particularly in the north-west, is that we need to see

a recognition that the north and south divide still exists. The

decisions around the location of the Green Investment Bank are

nonsense, that does not rebalance the economy. There needs to be a

rebalancing between public and private expenditure but they must

be a rebalancing between the south- east and the North and north-west

which is still struggling through recession. Now it may bring Gordon

in, what can George Osbourne do to rebalance this? I agree with what

has been said. There is a desperate north and south divide. In North of

England is still struggling, the south-east is still booming. We

make things, we sell them abroad. Look at fell, in our report, the

tea company. His rates are �25,000. They are going to go up, again.

That is not helping small and medium businesses. I agree with you,

that needs to be looked at. I hope the Chancellor, in his Budget, will

look at things to help businesses. Putting up business rates may be a

start. Certainly helping businesses where they can to create jobs, to

create prosperity for the future is how we will get on. We will not get

on by providing jobs with no sustainability, we need real jobs

for real people in a real world. Business rates will be localised

under these proposals. The North will do worse, others will do

better, places like Wigan will be battered. It is likely that the man

you just saw on the film will face buyer higher business rates. It

will be worse. Last week we saw the economic secretary turn around and

say to a woman from Bolton, go and apply for a job at Nissan in

Sunderland. Ministers do not understand his situation. They need

a partnership between government and business. You don't think the

localised business rates will create more money for the area?

What will happen is that areas where there is a high take from

business rates, a greater concentration of businesses will do

better. Areas with less of that will do worse, places like Wigan

will see a double top whammy. It is a disastrous strategy. The

government should not be doing it. One to two local businesses think

of that? There is a concern, if they are told they cannot raise

expenditure through tax increases, where can they go to raise the

expenditure they need to generate services? Equally, what we need to

see is a greater engagement of the business community so that when

rates are raised locally they have a say in how areas are supported

and businesses supported. I am disappointed that a local

enterprise partnerships that have been created are simply not doing

the job of delivering for business. We have not enough private sector

leadership. We are out of time, thank you.

Now another key speaker at the congress was Sir Terry Leahy - best

known of course for running the supermarket chain Tesco and turning

it into a global success. But he's also recently completed a report

for the government, advising how Merseyside can develop. Sir Terry

was born in Liverpool and when he returned there this week he spoke

to Arif about what he was telling those would-be entrepreneurs.

Sir Terry Leahy speaking to our political editor Arif Ansari, Time

for the rest of the week's political news from the North West

with Abbie Jones. If you have an idea, if you are passionate, you

can start a new business. Tesco was started by an entrepreneur, he was

an immigrant to the United Kingdom. His parents came from Poland. His

first day of business was on a market stall, four pounds of

turnover which became Tesco. That is what entrepreneurs and

enterprise can do. Do you think the local government structures, the

way the region is run, are good enough? It is improving and it can

improve further. It is a city region, a region of 2 billion

people. The brand is Liverpool. I would have liked to see an elected

mayor for the region. -- 2 million people. Is it possible at this

stage? Not at this stage, but there could be an elected mayor for the

city. The local economic partnership which allows the

leaders of the City Region to deal with leaders of business. Between

them they can provide leadership for the economic and social

development of the city. It in a way, it is being able to make

politics attractive to successful people like you which is a

challenge in itself, isn't it? it is a challenge, it is tough

being a politician. I have been around politics enough to know how

difficult it is. You do want good citizens who have a knowledge of

other parts of life to step forward in leadership roles. But, we cannot

tempt you into the job? No art in Liverpool, I do not live here.

now for the rest of the political news with Abbie Jones. Workers at

BAe in Lancashire have voted to take one day's unpaid leave every

month. Two thousand staff at the Warton and Salmesbury sites took

the decision in order to avoid any compulsory redundancies. The MP for

St Helens North, Dave Watts, has been elected chairman of the

Parliamentary Labour Party. He replaces the Manchester MP Tony

Lloyd who's standing to become Police Commissioner. Lord Heseltine

received the freedom of the city of Liverpool this week. The former

Conservative Deputy Prime Minister has been honoured for supporting

regeneration on Merseyside over the decades. I am deeply moved, an

extraordinary distinction to be offered the freedom of the city

which has been out of conservative influence in local terms for a long

time. I am overwhelmed by what they have said to me. Cumbria County

Council says there are too many memorial benches in Grange-over-

Sands - more than 200. It wants people to find alternative ways to

pay their respects. Well this week we've had the jobs

figures, next week it's the Budget. The economy remains the dominant

political story. And on Monday there will be a special debate on

BBC1, presented by my colleague Ranvir Singh. And this is quite a

special programme Ranvir. We take the baton from your programme, we

have got 25 key players from around the region, it includes single

mothers struggling to pay bills. They are key players, we have got

politicians, we have entrepreneurs who are saying "is the recession

really going to be that bad for all of us in the end?" they are

wondering if it could create more creative thinking. We are trying to

look at five key areas, the cost of living, the demise of the High

Street, the effect on the vulnerable, job creation, and we

are looking for hope, at the end of this dark tunnel. There is some.

For thank goodness! Our Economy: The North West Tonight debate.

And, Our Economy: The North West Tonight debate is on Monday at

11:05 on BBC1. $$NEWLINEThanks Ranvir, and thank you to all my