0:01:24 > 0:01:34And in the North West: A decade of dreams. As proud Preston marks ten
0:01:34 > 0:01:34
0:01:34 > 0:32:08Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1833 seconds
0:32:08 > 0:32:14years as a city, we ask what's Welcome to Sunday Politics North
0:32:14 > 0:32:22West. Coming up, as Preston marked 10 years as a city we wonder about
0:32:22 > 0:32:29its future. My guests this week are Alison McGovern, David Nuttall, and
0:32:29 > 0:32:34Bill Winlow. They will be commenting on our stories over the
0:32:34 > 0:32:39next 20 minutes. The MP for Tatton delivered his third Budget this
0:32:39 > 0:32:43week. George Osborne stuck to the plan, cutting the deficit. While
0:32:43 > 0:32:48the national headlines were dominated by changes to income tax,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52some specific measures affected the North West. The biggest
0:32:52 > 0:32:57announcement was upgrade in the railways. �130 million is to be
0:32:57 > 0:33:01spent improving speed and capacity. Manchester becomes the second city
0:33:01 > 0:33:06in the UK to get a so-called city deal, extra powers devolved from
0:33:06 > 0:33:10London. It will also get super-fast internet to support businesses, but
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Liverpool has missed out. There are moves towards regional pay that
0:33:13 > 0:33:21could mean public sector workers in the region getting paid less than
0:33:21 > 0:33:25other parts of the country. He our political editor has more details.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29GlaxoSmithKline, already a major employer in Ulverston, now it has
0:33:29 > 0:33:36plans to create hundreds of new jobs and says it is down to changes
0:33:36 > 0:33:41jobs and says it is down to changes in taxation. We will make the drugs
0:33:41 > 0:33:47in Britain. The simple dynamic is we will get a lower tax rate is we
0:33:47 > 0:33:52do more work in Britain. No wonder at the Prime Minister was visiting
0:33:52 > 0:33:58the pharmaceutical company in search of a tonic. If we are
0:33:58 > 0:34:05friendly to business, weaker manufacturing business -- we can
0:34:05 > 0:34:09manufacture in Britain. Some of those ingredients were in the
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Budget box. The Chancellor announced the upgrading of three
0:34:13 > 0:34:18railway lines. Manchester to Sheffield, Manchester to Bradford,
0:34:18 > 0:34:25and pressed into Blackpool. years, transport investment in the
0:34:25 > 0:34:29North of England was neglected. Not under this Government. Greater
0:34:29 > 0:34:34Manchester is getting a so-called city deal, the Treasury will return
0:34:34 > 0:34:38as much as �30 million a year to invest in the regional economy.
0:34:38 > 0:34:47Good intentions are blighted by the reality of rising unemployment and
0:34:47 > 0:34:50a flat economy. It is clear it is not a budget for this area. We have
0:34:50 > 0:34:58seen today, and the leader of the opposition make this point very
0:34:58 > 0:35:03clear, cutting the tax break is helping millionaires. -- cutting
0:35:03 > 0:35:07the 50p tax rate. The Chancellor is cutting more than he is investing.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12The debate is whether this will make things worse.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15He looks a bit lonely walking into the distance. David Nuttall, how
0:35:15 > 0:35:21does this Budget demonstrate that the coalition has the right
0:35:21 > 0:35:25economic strategy for this region? I think you have to set the budget
0:35:25 > 0:35:31in the context of the overall national position. We mustn't
0:35:31 > 0:35:41forget we are in a dire economic position. The last Labour
0:35:41 > 0:35:41
0:35:41 > 0:35:46government let this country in a terrible economic state. �1 item
0:35:46 > 0:35:49every �4 being spent was being borrowed. That is not sustainable.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53The coalition government had set out a path that will take several
0:35:53 > 0:36:03years to complete it actually start to enable this country to balance
0:36:03 > 0:36:03
0:36:03 > 0:36:13its books. You are already shaking your head. David Nuttall would say
0:36:13 > 0:36:16
0:36:16 > 0:36:20that. The Tories have to blame it on Labour, and you have to explain
0:36:20 > 0:36:24why George Osborne is now borrowing more. We have to ask ourselves, how
0:36:24 > 0:36:30much more money can we see taken out of our economy before things
0:36:30 > 0:36:36start to get even worse? Of course we can all have a political
0:36:36 > 0:36:40bunfight, but my constituents say to me the average family know that
0:36:40 > 0:36:48prices are going up in the shops and they have less money coming in.
0:36:48 > 0:36:58What was in the Budget to tackle that? There was a �220 tax cut for
0:36:58 > 0:36:58
0:36:58 > 0:37:02those on basic income tax. Then there is the VAT hike, tax credits
0:37:02 > 0:37:07changing so people pay more, the majority of people know that times
0:37:07 > 0:37:14are hard and they do not see much getting better. That worries me
0:37:14 > 0:37:20because it takes money out of the economy. Surely the Government is
0:37:20 > 0:37:26in debt in -- injecting money into the economy by raising the tax
0:37:26 > 0:37:31threshold. That is an important move. You must look at the net
0:37:31 > 0:37:39position people around. You cannot give with one hand and take away
0:37:39 > 0:37:46with the other. My constituents are finding times pretty tough. The VAT
0:37:46 > 0:37:50tax hike is still hitting people in the shops. We have the news of tax
0:37:50 > 0:37:55on older people rising. You must welcome some of the measures in
0:37:55 > 0:37:59there, the ones I mentioned in the beginning. The Budget does seem to
0:37:59 > 0:38:05be investing in the private sector, which they hope will then boost the
0:38:05 > 0:38:11economy. The GlaxoSmithKline announcement is welcome and I would
0:38:11 > 0:38:17pay tribute to the local MP who championed that. Do you agree the
0:38:17 > 0:38:20private sector needs to be boosted? The news we saw there is they took
0:38:20 > 0:38:25the decision some time ago and this is about where the investment is
0:38:25 > 0:38:28going to go, it is fantastic to year. I do not think anybody really
0:38:28 > 0:38:32thinks that is an overnight announcement in response to the
0:38:32 > 0:38:37Budget. I think it is a sign of the fact that Britain is open for
0:38:37 > 0:38:40business, and I am sure that were it not for the fact this government
0:38:40 > 0:38:45has announced a reduction in corporation tax they would not have
0:38:45 > 0:38:50made this decision. When I speak to businesses in my constituency, they
0:38:50 > 0:38:57are still really worried about finance, not seeing projects
0:38:57 > 0:39:00managed well... All these investments, is it enough to
0:39:00 > 0:39:05counter what is region has been put through regarding for instance
0:39:06 > 0:39:09public sector worker jobs going? Since the coalition came in,
0:39:09 > 0:39:15something like 40,000 public sector workers have lost jobs. Fortunately
0:39:15 > 0:39:23in Lancashire we have not had to sack anyone. How many have taken
0:39:23 > 0:39:27redundancy? 7,000. There must be a rebalancing of the economy, we need
0:39:27 > 0:39:32to get the private sector moving, and start making things again in
0:39:33 > 0:39:37Britain. You know yourself, local government have taken the biggest
0:39:37 > 0:39:44cuts of any government department. Howard is that hit the economy in
0:39:45 > 0:39:48the north-west? -- how is that hitting? I want you to answer
0:39:48 > 0:39:55whether you agree in principle with what the coalition have done by
0:39:55 > 0:40:01priding -- by boosting the private sector in this region? Nobody is
0:40:01 > 0:40:06private than me of the strides that have been made by the private
0:40:06 > 0:40:09sector in my part of the world. People bought Liverpool would be
0:40:09 > 0:40:16down and out when the recession came and we were not. The private
0:40:16 > 0:40:23sector has stayed pretty strong and robust. That is the approach I want
0:40:23 > 0:40:29to see. That too many years of hard work. There was lots of investment,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31and one of the biggest problems we have had in Merseyside is we had
0:40:31 > 0:40:35the North West Development Agency working very hard alongside the
0:40:35 > 0:40:38private sector to build up the economy of the north-west. All
0:40:38 > 0:40:46those projects were stalled over night when the new government came
0:40:46 > 0:40:54in and swept away the North West Development Agency. They have next
0:40:54 > 0:40:58to no resources. They have just been given an extra �31 million.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02have got a project in my own constituency where we had to �0.5
0:41:02 > 0:41:06million that should have been invested in the project, delayed
0:41:06 > 0:41:11for 18 months because of politics. The Lancashire Enterprise Zone is
0:41:11 > 0:41:17up and running and going well. We will attract further business into
0:41:17 > 0:41:24the area. It is important that we get engineering concerns into those
0:41:24 > 0:41:30areas. That is where I come back to the fact we have to build things.
0:41:30 > 0:41:36We have to sell things to the rest of the world. As a Liberal Democrat,
0:41:36 > 0:41:40how comfortable are you with some of the things in the Budget? Mostly
0:41:40 > 0:41:48comfortable, some things are clearly hours and some things are
0:41:48 > 0:41:53the Conservatives. The granny tax does not exist, that is nonsense.
0:41:53 > 0:42:02In a year, we will have extra pensions for people. Are you aware
0:42:02 > 0:42:07of that? You cannot deny that those people in that generation are
0:42:07 > 0:42:13unhappy. Of course I cannot because they are being told that through
0:42:13 > 0:42:17the media. I can see the logic of it, because it was not efficient.
0:42:17 > 0:42:24The 50p tax rate was also not a vision, it did not bring in much
0:42:24 > 0:42:33money. Politically speaking, was this not a gamble? It was not a
0:42:33 > 0:42:37gamble. The measures that are being brought in, that will only get the
0:42:37 > 0:42:44right, are going to raise five times as much as the Revenue that
0:42:44 > 0:42:49the 50p tax rate was racing. They were saying it would raise �100
0:42:49 > 0:42:53million, and these measures will raise five times that. George
0:42:53 > 0:42:59Osborne is a Cheshire MPs I always live in hope he will listen to
0:42:59 > 0:43:06people in the north-west, although my constituents tend to think he
0:43:06 > 0:43:10was on another planet, but they think he has the wrong priorities.
0:43:10 > 0:43:17We have mentioned the granny tax, actually, I think all people have
0:43:17 > 0:43:22already faced a difficult time, and I think they quite rightly feel...
0:43:22 > 0:43:27Half of the pensions do not pay any tax at all. I will have to stop you
0:43:27 > 0:43:32there. Preston is celebrating its past, but what about the future? 10
0:43:32 > 0:43:37years ago, it was the Golden Jubilee, and Preston became
0:43:37 > 0:43:47England's 50th city. One decade on, and with plans for investment in
0:43:47 > 0:43:48
0:43:48 > 0:43:51tatters, many are concerned Preston has lost its way.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56Famous for its bus station and having the first stretch of
0:43:56 > 0:44:01motorway in the country, Preston has been dubbed the third city of
0:44:01 > 0:44:08the north-west. But is it heading in the right direction? 10 years
0:44:08 > 0:44:15ago, it was granted city status with much royal fanfare.
0:44:15 > 0:44:22There were grand plans for Preston. A �700 million revamp 11 years in
0:44:22 > 0:44:29the making. Everything relied on the Tithbarn Project, but it
0:44:29 > 0:44:37collapsed when John Lewis pulled out of the scheme. It has been the
0:44:37 > 0:44:45work that dominated thinking in the City, Tithbarn, Tithbarn, really we
0:44:45 > 0:44:53have a decade of Tithbarn plight. For shoppers and traders that the
0:44:53 > 0:45:03lure of Tithbarn has left this huge hole. Pressed indeed a Plan B.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05
0:45:05 > 0:45:09is at it, it looks rough. -- it is a mess. They need to slash the
0:45:09 > 0:45:15rates and the car parking, they need to get people back into town.
0:45:15 > 0:45:23Some people see this as the time of -- as a sign of the economic Times,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27others see it as a poor policy. need to look at bringing tourism,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30the night-time economy, housing, there is a range of other things
0:45:30 > 0:45:34that need to be done. We need to pull it together, we need a
0:45:34 > 0:45:39figurehead, someone that will knock some heads together and say this is
0:45:39 > 0:45:43where we're going. Preston works alongside Lancashire County Council.
0:45:43 > 0:45:48The partnership has not always run smoothly, with political power
0:45:48 > 0:45:55struggles along the way. Press the needs a unitary and authority where
0:45:55 > 0:45:59the city council can decide for itself what is the ideal situation.
0:45:59 > 0:46:09We could perhaps have a revenue budget 10 times the size we have at
0:46:09 > 0:46:09
0:46:09 > 0:46:17the moment. As being part of a two- tier political system Helby back? -
0:46:17 > 0:46:22- help you back? It has in the past. This year, Preston will hold its
0:46:22 > 0:46:28prestigious Guild event. There is another cause for celebration, the
0:46:28 > 0:46:36university attracts over 3,000 international students. We have
0:46:36 > 0:46:41doubled in size. When you speak to people about being a city, that
0:46:41 > 0:46:44helps to convince people in China and other places to come here.
0:46:44 > 0:46:54years ago there were great expectations but many feel the city
0:46:54 > 0:46:55
0:46:55 > 0:47:00has landed on hard times. As Lancashire County Council MP, at
0:47:00 > 0:47:10you will know about Preston, does it need a Plan B? It certainly does.
0:47:10 > 0:47:11
0:47:11 > 0:47:14The project that has collapsed has been a real problem. The fact that
0:47:14 > 0:47:24that Tithbarn Project has not come in has wrecked the whole plan for
0:47:24 > 0:47:24
0:47:24 > 0:47:27the future. I have always felt this has been the wrong approach to take,
0:47:28 > 0:47:32especially as the economy is shifting. To bring in large
0:47:32 > 0:47:37department stores and those other things... What is the alternative?
0:47:37 > 0:47:41We need a plan B. You heard what the lady said, we need more cinemas,
0:47:41 > 0:47:51restaurants, cultural life. You will probably need a lot more
0:47:51 > 0:47:52
0:47:52 > 0:47:57smaller stores, pretty stores, to encourage people to go when. --
0:47:57 > 0:48:01boutique stores to encourage people to go in. That will be encouraged
0:48:01 > 0:48:11through the Enterprise Zone. could make a difference if it was
0:48:11 > 0:48:17
0:48:17 > 0:48:23not two-tier system? Preston is too small to become that. A unitary
0:48:23 > 0:48:29authority of 35,000 is too small. Is the problem that there is it too
0:48:29 > 0:48:37small -- is the problem that there is not an identity? I would agree
0:48:37 > 0:48:40with you. We were offered a unitary authority and we turned it down.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Now we're seeing a problem between Lancashire County Council and
0:48:44 > 0:48:52Preston. We need to get them to lay down their differences and start
0:48:52 > 0:48:55looking closely at these projects. Lancashire has a lot of planning
0:48:55 > 0:49:02authority over highways and traffic infrastructure, and that is not
0:49:02 > 0:49:10working very well. Any approach to Preston is very difficult, the town
0:49:10 > 0:49:15centre is very compact. The problem with a lot of regeneration is it
0:49:15 > 0:49:18can be this lack of real identity, obviously the government is pushing
0:49:18 > 0:49:24for elected mayors, thinking that will give it a boost. What would
0:49:24 > 0:49:27you say about that? I think what we heard in the piece is you need a
0:49:27 > 0:49:31clear vision and you need to have people accountable to delivering
0:49:31 > 0:49:34that vision. Certainly in Merseyside, we have been lucky in
0:49:34 > 0:49:40that all our local authority leaders have worked together to
0:49:40 > 0:49:48drive forward the economic vision. The economy does not respect
0:49:48 > 0:49:57administrative boundaries. Absolutely right. In Liverpool, we
0:49:57 > 0:50:07are about to have the mayoral election. But there will block it.
0:50:07 > 0:50:08
0:50:08 > 0:50:18No, Liverpool had decided to go ahead and elect a mayor. -- the we
0:50:18 > 0:50:18
0:50:18 > 0:50:22all decided to block it. -- Wirral. Greater Manchester, should be a
0:50:22 > 0:50:26Manchester mayor or a Greater Manchester mayor? I think it is for
0:50:26 > 0:50:36Manchester itself. We had a referendum in Bury North, they were
0:50:36 > 0:50:41not very happy. If any other cities -- if any of the citizens of
0:50:41 > 0:50:48Preston what to enjoy a great day out, I would recommend they come to
0:50:48 > 0:50:52my constituency! Now a round-up of other political news.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56The Home Secretary Theresa May has ordered an enquiry into the leak of
0:50:56 > 0:51:00controversial government documents referring to the Hillsborough
0:51:00 > 0:51:05disaster. They show a senior Merseyside police officer wrongly
0:51:05 > 0:51:08blamed drunken Liverpool fans in a briefing said to Margaret Thatcher.
0:51:08 > 0:51:14Work has started on a terminal in Liverpool which will allow journeys
0:51:14 > 0:51:21to start and end in the city. Pendle Council has bought the
0:51:22 > 0:51:26historic Brierfield Mills for �1.5 million.
0:51:26 > 0:51:32An MP is calling for a separate BBC radio station for Cheshire. Graham
0:51:32 > 0:51:37Evans says the county needs its own voice. In the north-west of England
0:51:37 > 0:51:42we have BBC Radio Merseyside and Radio Manchester, Radio Lancashire,
0:51:42 > 0:51:45but we have no BBC Radio Cheshire. It is an outrage. Tributes have