:01:43. > :01:53.While the new schools for skills to there children for work or label
:01:53. > :01:53.
:01:53. > :37:33.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2140 seconds
:37:33. > :37:38.them failures? The Shadow Education future. Will the new schools for
:37:38. > :37:41.schools prepare them for work or label them academic failures?
:37:41. > :37:46.don't show the right levels of initiative, can they work well in
:37:46. > :37:52.teams? Are the independent thinkers? Those are the sort of things we will
:37:53. > :37:54.be developing. Joining us is Stephen Twigg, the
:37:54. > :38:03.Shadow Education Secretary, and Stephen O'Brien, the Conservative
:38:03. > :38:10.MP. Welcome. Stephen O'Brien, since you were here last time, you have
:38:10. > :38:15.now been appointed the Prime Minister's special representative.
:38:15. > :38:22.Yes it is to an area in the Sahara would it is very fragile. There has
:38:22. > :38:25.been a lot of instability. It is an interest to try to stop that there
:38:25. > :38:31.is a security threat to our constituents here in England. At the
:38:31. > :38:35.same time, any international security is about the respect of the
:38:35. > :38:40.people in that part of the world and all people the world. What have you
:38:40. > :38:44.had to do it? It is a combination of some international development
:38:44. > :38:47.response, in terms of nutrition, but combining it with trying to get
:38:47. > :38:51.access to some of these places. That has meant working with some of the
:38:51. > :38:54.military to push back the advancing terrorists and their fellow
:38:54. > :38:58.travellers and that has been done very much in support of local
:38:58. > :39:04.African forces. Above all, getting an international dialogue going with
:39:04. > :39:09.the authority of the UN to get a better way forward for this area. We
:39:09. > :39:13.are currently in discussions. Stephen Twigg, are we beginning to
:39:13. > :39:17.see Labour party policy now begin to formulate? We have certainly seen
:39:17. > :39:19.some interesting announcements this week. It has been a very important
:39:19. > :39:24.week for the speeches that Ed Miliband and Ed Balls of meat.
:39:24. > :39:28.Clearly, the economy is going to be at the centre of the political
:39:28. > :39:31.debate for the next election. Our credibility is important when we are
:39:31. > :39:35.challenging the Government. Do you welcome beginning of policy that we
:39:35. > :39:41.are talking about? We talk about the benefits cap for three years, only
:39:41. > :39:43.capture the benefits budget as Labour is now supporting, I'm sure
:39:43. > :39:49.some people in the Labour Party don't think that's a good idea.
:39:49. > :39:53.have to make tough choices. I think the public recognise that the
:39:53. > :39:58.economy is in such a state that we cannot reverse everything this
:39:58. > :40:02.Government has done. We have got to have clear priorities. What we are
:40:02. > :40:11.saying is that right now the economy needs a boost. What we need right
:40:11. > :40:17.now, as is said, -- as Ed Miliband said, we need house-building. In my
:40:17. > :40:19.own area, we need to build new schools. That would get construction
:40:19. > :40:24.workers into work, creamy apprenticeship and the schools.
:40:24. > :40:27.Schools is what we will be document. When he was elected he was the
:40:27. > :40:33.youngest councillor in the country. A rising star in the Labour Party.
:40:33. > :40:38.This week, Jake Morrison has been suspended. He has had a bust up with
:40:38. > :40:47.a still rising star, his local MP. It has dragged on Joe Anderson. Is
:40:47. > :40:53.it just a personality clash or evidence of tension in the party?
:40:53. > :40:57.Jake Morrison is duly elected. Morrison's victory in 2011 was
:40:57. > :41:02.celebrated by the big names in Liverpool's Labour Party. Let's
:41:02. > :41:07.salute and applaud the idealism of Jake Morrison and other young Labour
:41:07. > :41:12.councillors around this country. how did it go so spectacularly
:41:12. > :41:17.wrong? I have loved it. I have had everything into serving the people.
:41:17. > :41:20.For me, there has been that difficult a behind-the-scenes that
:41:20. > :41:28.obviously the people of Liverpool don't really see. The difficulty
:41:28. > :41:38.behind-the-scenes has been with his local MP Luciana Berger. She said
:41:38. > :41:41.
:41:41. > :41:49.Councillor Morrison was ignoring members. Those who have paid to be
:41:49. > :41:54.part of the party who are ultimately to decide whether our return as a
:41:54. > :41:58.candidate and not a counsellor. Luciana wants me to speak to a
:41:58. > :42:08.script -- stick to a script. said that he was the only counsellor
:42:08. > :42:13.
:42:13. > :42:17.out of 14 who did not engage with have to break young politicians
:42:17. > :42:23.followed so publicly. There is a bigger issue here about the
:42:23. > :42:27.relationship between the national parties and local parties and their
:42:27. > :42:33.strategies. Trying to define clear strategy, a clear message for
:42:33. > :42:43.campaigning and local councillors who wanted to do it the wrong way.
:42:43. > :42:45.
:42:45. > :42:48.What started as a clash of personalities and start became a --
:42:48. > :42:51.personalities became about strategy. This kit was to keep those
:42:51. > :42:55.campaigning on the street happy and on-board.
:42:55. > :42:59.Stephen Twigg, it is simple, but what has gone wrong? I think it is
:42:59. > :43:01.sad that this has happened. I very much welcome the fact we have a lot
:43:01. > :43:06.of young people standing for public office. Jake was the youngest
:43:06. > :43:08.councillor when he was a leg did two years ago. That same night other
:43:08. > :43:11.young people were elected in Liverpool and other parts of the
:43:11. > :43:20.country. I want to encourage other young people to come forward and get
:43:20. > :43:22.involved. In that piece we saw Ed Miliband briefing his idealism. In
:43:22. > :43:28.the statement that perhaps unwisely Road he has put up on Facebook he
:43:28. > :43:33.says, " I would much prefer to be putting my time and energy into
:43:33. > :43:38.working for the people than pleasing the local MP." What is wrong with
:43:38. > :43:42.that statement? What is important is that councillors and MPs are working
:43:42. > :43:46.together to serve their community. Last night, I was meeting with
:43:46. > :43:49.councillors and party members in my constituency. We had a lot of debate
:43:49. > :43:54.and discussion about a whole range of issues. I know that Luciana meets
:43:54. > :43:56.with her local councillors on a very regular basis and works well with
:43:56. > :44:01.those local councillors. She has made her mark as a local MP, taking
:44:01. > :44:07.up issues that really matter to local people. But is it foreign MP
:44:07. > :44:11.to line manage their councillors? you? I don't line manage and I don't
:44:11. > :44:15.think Luciana does either. I work with councillors. He certainly
:44:15. > :44:19.feels, and I don't know if he is right or not. He feels that she has
:44:19. > :44:22.been pushing him down a certain route and telling him what to do. He
:44:22. > :44:26.clearly feels that as a local councillor he should be pretty much
:44:26. > :44:31.able to represent his people in the way he wants to. I have worked with
:44:31. > :44:33.Jake, for example, on the excellent happy that he has run to get
:44:33. > :44:37.defibrillators into schools in Liverpool and other parts of the
:44:37. > :44:40.country. His enthusiasm was great. There are lots of other councillors
:44:41. > :44:47.in Liverpool also showing that level of enthusiasm. I don't think the
:44:47. > :44:51.other councillors in the channel's constituency feel they are
:44:51. > :44:54.restricted by being expected to be part of a team. That is all that she
:44:54. > :44:59.was saying she wanted to see. quite difficult to draw conclusions
:44:59. > :45:04.because, you may, but generally we don't know what is happened. What
:45:04. > :45:08.you would agree, perhaps, is that this should have been headed off. It
:45:08. > :45:11.does seem like a personality clash, to some extent, and it should have
:45:11. > :45:15.been headed off before it reached the stage. It would have been better
:45:15. > :45:18.if we did not reach the stage, obviously. There is an investigation
:45:18. > :45:21.underway so I cannot comment on the individual details of the
:45:21. > :45:25.allegations. I think the lesson from this is that communication is
:45:25. > :45:29.important than that we need to work well together. Of course there will
:45:29. > :45:31.be differences of view between councillors and MPs but we can have
:45:31. > :45:38.those differences conducted in a constructive and friendly way.
:45:38. > :45:41.Stephen O'Brien, to some extent, this perhaps reflects tension as the
:45:41. > :45:44.racing between national leadership and local membership. We saw that
:45:44. > :45:52.recently with the Conservatives, with those comments alleged about
:45:52. > :45:55.lunatics. What is very clear, whilst I Sant venture into the private
:45:55. > :46:02.grief of the Labour Party, there is a need to remember, particularly as
:46:02. > :46:05.an MP, you are your constituent's representative in Westminster and
:46:05. > :46:09.not Westminster's representative in the constituency. You will have
:46:09. > :46:13.differences of view from time to time with the councillors. They have
:46:13. > :46:20.responsibilities. The heart elected and have a -- via elected and have a
:46:20. > :46:24.mandate to account for those. Just as we are a team or national level.
:46:24. > :46:27.It seems like a lack of respect sometimes. You need to be in very
:46:27. > :46:37.close touch with the local opinion of your constituents at all times.
:46:37. > :46:38.
:46:38. > :46:44.Doorknocking, and when you speak to the constituents on the doorway,
:46:44. > :46:48.should be the same. I have always been an opponent of onshore wind
:46:48. > :46:52.turbines. I am very pleased to see the party made an announcement
:46:52. > :46:54.yesterday that has brought that into the mainstream. That has been
:46:54. > :47:00.something where was illegal councillors -- with local
:47:00. > :47:04.councillors we have worked from the bottom up. What matters is to be
:47:04. > :47:08.able to work together with people to tune where you represent and what
:47:08. > :47:15.policies you adopt. Thank you. Now, had you decided on
:47:15. > :47:19.your career by the age of 14? Critics say that children are being
:47:19. > :47:28.effectively asked to do just that. Studios skills but by local
:47:28. > :47:30.businesses offer a more vocational gridlike alum -- curriculum where
:47:30. > :47:39.academic schools are more tech focused. Our children be asked to
:47:39. > :47:44.choose too soon? If the latest episode in the
:47:44. > :47:48.shake-up of the school system. Here in Burnley, this old mill is being
:47:48. > :47:50.transformed into new classrooms which specialise in construction and
:47:50. > :47:57.engineering. For example, in a normal school, you might start at
:47:57. > :48:03.9am and finished at 3pm. What we try to do is replicate the world works
:48:03. > :48:07.and we start at 8:30am and finish at 4:45pm. At this college, instead of
:48:07. > :48:11.a headteacher there will be a managing director. Students will
:48:11. > :48:15.start at the age of 14. Employers are saying that youngsters are
:48:15. > :48:19.coming out of schools really good and getting better GCSEs but not
:48:19. > :48:24.necessarily ready for the world of work. They don't show the right
:48:24. > :48:27.levels of initiative. Can they work well in teams? Are the independent
:48:27. > :48:34.thinkers? Those are the sort of things that we will be developing
:48:34. > :48:40.here. Getting lone goal shot. Meanwhile, in Cheshire, not for the
:48:40. > :48:45.Academy are planning on opening a new studio school on the same site.
:48:45. > :48:50.-- and Academy is planning. It will give some students the opportunity
:48:50. > :48:54.to specialise in media. Studios skills are for students of all
:48:54. > :48:57.abilities. Studios skills grow students an alternative who would
:48:57. > :49:01.wish to follow pathways that lead them either to university or into
:49:01. > :49:07.employment at 18. One of the important things is that when you
:49:07. > :49:13.get into work... Students at the Academy are already used to working
:49:13. > :49:19.with big names in the business. Lloyds are running this workshop. Do
:49:19. > :49:22.these youngsters have a career plan already mapped out? I want to do a
:49:22. > :49:26.gap year and then go to university and study law. I just think about
:49:26. > :49:30.what I need to do to get the job by concentrating in school and stuff.
:49:30. > :49:38.I've not thought about a lot. quite liked working with kids, maybe
:49:38. > :49:44.teaching. This design studio welcomes the idea of giving
:49:44. > :49:50.youngsters a head start in getting ahead. We are in the sort of digital
:49:50. > :49:53.industry and there is a huge skills shortage of programmers. A lot of
:49:53. > :49:57.people find that that is the area they want to get into but it is so
:49:57. > :50:00.difficult for them to start doing that once they are into their 20s
:50:00. > :50:05.cause the industry just move so quickly. The king of those basic
:50:05. > :50:10.skills at school would just be such an advantage. There are different
:50:10. > :50:12.schools of thought. Not everyone agrees with the plans. Teaching
:50:12. > :50:15.agrees with the plans. Teaching unions are concerned over the
:50:15. > :50:19.quality of teaching staff, funding being taken away from state schools
:50:19. > :50:21.and pushing youngsters into a work and pushing youngsters into a work
:50:21. > :50:24.environment too soon. We do have a concern that there is an obligation
:50:24. > :50:30.for the young people in these establishments to undertake some
:50:30. > :50:35.work. Children as young as 14 are being asked to do four hours of work
:50:35. > :50:39.per week. Once the pupils get to 16 and above, they're being asked to do
:50:39. > :50:45.two days of work per week. The rest of the week given over to study.
:50:45. > :50:47.Again, we think that is wrong. Government says the new schools and
:50:47. > :50:52.colleges will bridge the gap between education and employment. The
:50:52. > :50:56.changes will no doubt be a steep learning curve.
:50:56. > :51:01.We are joined, from London, by Martin Johnson from the Association
:51:01. > :51:06.of teachers and lecturers. We can today programme. These skills,
:51:06. > :51:11.studio schools for example, represent more choice for students
:51:11. > :51:14.who are more practical? For a few people in a few places. This is an
:51:14. > :51:17.interesting programme but one that could not be scaled up around the
:51:17. > :51:26.country for all kinds of reasons. Let me just say some of the things
:51:26. > :51:31.that are good. The first and most important one is the method of
:51:31. > :51:33.teaching and learning. I don't like to use the word vocational but it is
:51:33. > :51:39.applied learning that these youngsters are experiencing. In
:51:39. > :51:44.other words, they can relate what they need to know to the real world
:51:44. > :51:48.and that is the kind of teaching and learning that we needed all of
:51:48. > :51:54.schools, not just for a few. Nobody is going to be forced to go to this
:51:54. > :51:58.kind of skills they don't want to? Absolutely. So it is a good
:51:58. > :52:01.opportunity for those who do want to? That is the good side of it.
:52:01. > :52:08.What I am saying is that kind of teaching should spread across all
:52:08. > :52:10.our schools. The downside... I don't quite understand that argument. Some
:52:10. > :52:13.schools may be more academic focused, some be more academic
:52:13. > :52:17.focused, thumping more practically focused towards employment as these
:52:17. > :52:22.ones are. I don't understand what your objection is to that. Because
:52:22. > :52:30.this is the great error of our education system. That it is
:52:30. > :52:34.entirely, almost entirely, biased towards a very small minority of her
:52:34. > :52:41.youngsters who are academically minded. Most young people are not
:52:41. > :52:46.actually. Furthermore, all young people need to learn a range of
:52:46. > :52:49.skills and have a range of understanding far greater than the
:52:49. > :52:54.narrow academic regime that most of them have to put up with. Let me
:52:54. > :53:00.pick up that was my guests here. Mr O'Brien, your government's policy,
:53:00. > :53:04.what do you make of what Mr Johnson is saying? I welcome the policy
:53:04. > :53:06.because I think it gives an extra range of choice. Don't think it is a
:53:06. > :53:10.competitive issue of other schools but it adds to the range of
:53:10. > :53:14.opportunity. It is something I have argued a long time. But regularly as
:53:14. > :53:17.I come out of the manufacturing industry myself. There is a need to
:53:17. > :53:20.recognise that for many pupils, and to give them that confidence and
:53:20. > :53:23.parity of esteem, depending on whether attitudes like, whether it
:53:23. > :53:28.is academic applied learning, whether it is likely to be with
:53:28. > :53:32.practical skills rather than intellectual competitiveness, is to
:53:32. > :53:36.help all the young people through the education system, into things
:53:36. > :53:40.which are appropriate and they have an aptitude for rather than has been
:53:40. > :53:44.the case to push them up two stages and leave it to the next stage to
:53:44. > :53:48.deal with what is provided. This is a good opportunity to change that.
:53:48. > :53:53.In your constituency that are now studio schools. If anybody wants to
:53:53. > :53:59.do it, as you are saying it is a really good idea, actually, they
:53:59. > :54:03.can. I would encourage as anybody who wants to get one going in my
:54:03. > :54:05.school to do it. We don't have as many schools in my constituency.
:54:05. > :54:09.They don't go to the established high schools, they're going to 1's
:54:09. > :54:13.just outside with it is in Chester or further afield. That is
:54:13. > :54:20.inevitable. It is just Bieber geography configures. With a bit
:54:20. > :54:29.more of them under a Labour government? -- just the way the
:54:29. > :54:33.geography. Yes. We started them.Did you start them? The JCB was the
:54:33. > :54:39.first that was set up. There were none set up under Labour in the
:54:39. > :54:42.North. I think it does some brilliant things. I think we do want
:54:42. > :54:45.more of them but I agree with the point of Martin Johnson made which
:54:45. > :54:49.is that we want applied learning across all other schools and
:54:49. > :54:52.colleges. The direction of Michael Gove's policy is the precise
:54:52. > :54:59.opposite. I think that is bad for our economy as well as for young
:54:59. > :55:03.people. You are in support of free schools? We are talking about studio
:55:03. > :55:08.schools and UTC is. We have a lot of concern about free schools.
:55:08. > :55:11.reason I mention it is that these are the kind of skills that have
:55:11. > :55:16.greater independence, similar to free schools. There are
:55:16. > :55:19.similarities. What is really important is that we get schools
:55:19. > :55:22.were they're needed. One of the concerns I have expressed about free
:55:22. > :55:25.is that some of them are being created where there is spare
:55:25. > :55:33.capacity whereas in other parts of the country there is a shortage.
:55:33. > :55:36.That cannot be right. I don't agree... Close some down?It's not
:55:36. > :55:39.about closing them down it is about the decisions for the future. I will
:55:39. > :55:45.be sitting down some further thinking of is in a speech in the
:55:45. > :55:48.future. As far as free schools, of course, they offered a very type of
:55:48. > :55:51.opportunity which Martin has been arguing for. It is a greater range.
:55:51. > :55:57.Because of the freedom to set the curriculum to meet all of the beads
:55:57. > :56:01.of all the problems of -- pupils go to the schools, it is better.
:56:01. > :56:06.Letters extend them to others, that will be part of the argument I am
:56:06. > :56:12.making. I will be making a speech on this very subject. We have got to
:56:12. > :56:16.make sure that there will be good schools in all of our
:56:16. > :56:21.constituencies. We have a Secretary of State who never praises the great
:56:22. > :56:25.work that is going on in maintaining skills. I do not think that is their
:56:25. > :56:28.schools and that you need to start from summer. You need to get this
:56:28. > :56:34.roar of these much greater choices for young people. -- start
:56:34. > :56:39.somewhere. What do you make of what you appeared. I was going to come in
:56:39. > :56:45.to say that I think MPs of all parties and to think very carefully
:56:45. > :56:51.about free schools and academies. One of the things that we are very
:56:51. > :56:55.worried about is in practice the lactose -- the lack of up counter
:56:55. > :57:02.that two parents, the communities that they are supposed to serve and
:57:02. > :57:04.in fact to the taxpayers who fund them. We are starting to get very
:57:04. > :57:09.unsavoury stories about the financial shenanigans in a few, a
:57:09. > :57:14.small minority, but nevertheless a significant minority of these
:57:14. > :57:19.schools who are so independent that nobody knows what is going on.
:57:19. > :57:26.sounds intriguing but we believe that they you for your time.
:57:26. > :57:31.It is time for a round-up of the rest of the week's news.
:57:31. > :57:34.There will be no need to import gas for a decade, so claims the energy
:57:34. > :57:39.firm looking for Shell gas in Cheshire. Is far more underground
:57:39. > :57:43.than first thought. That is according to eye gas. 50p per unit,
:57:43. > :57:47.that is the minimum price that Blackpool's director of public wants
:57:47. > :57:56.to slap on booze to stop us harming our health. This would increase to
:57:56. > :58:03.�3 75, more than doubling the price. Wanderers then there are new shirt
:58:03. > :58:05.sponsors just after a week. They've dated to a backlash from the
:58:05. > :58:10.supporters. Farmers say they will fight plans to
:58:10. > :58:14.extend the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales parks. The
:58:14. > :58:21.authorities say the local economy stands to benefit. Our wonderful
:58:21. > :58:26.grounds. It should benefit a lot of businesses. The Government came to
:58:26. > :58:31.Knowsley Safari Park to launch its campaign to save the elephant.
:58:31. > :58:39.30,000 are poached rivalry in Africa each year.
:58:39. > :58:42.-- poached for ivory. Mr Brown, fracking, it looks like
:58:42. > :58:47.the prospect for a lot of drilling under large part of Cheshire. Good
:58:47. > :58:54.or bad? I am very interested in principle I think fracking has a lot
:58:54. > :58:58.to offer. I think gas as part of the mix that the energy provision of the
:58:58. > :59:01.future will have. We think it is important that we recognise that we
:59:01. > :59:08.have the opportunity were there is a lot to be done whether we know it
:59:08. > :59:11.could be operationalised. People won't want to see big drilling rigs
:59:11. > :59:17.arriving, will be? I have been taking a lot of advice on my own
:59:17. > :59:21.constituency and I think there is something where we recognise that
:59:21. > :59:25.this is an asset of the North West and that we should not be so
:59:25. > :59:29.parochial to say that we cannot can be at two national good. If this can
:59:29. > :59:32.be proved to delivered -- to be delivered safely and sustainable
:59:32. > :59:35.then this is something the North West is hoping to contribute to the
:59:35. > :59:39.national country. We have been the cradle of the economy and pass on
:59:39. > :59:43.this is a way to help in the future. I think there are serious concerns
:59:43. > :59:47.about safety and environmental factors. We would not rule it out.
:59:47. > :59:52.Gas is part of future energy mix and we've got to be very careful before
:59:52. > :59:54.proceeding to drilling. I do not think we are at that stage that.
:59:54. > :59:57.you welcome the Government's announcement that there is going to
:59:57. > :00:00.be tighter restrictions on where wind farms can be put up with people
:00:00. > :00:05.to not want them? I think there is real concern that the Government is
:00:05. > :00:08.stepping back from renewable, including wind farms. We need to
:00:08. > :00:13.have renewables alongside other more traditional forms of energy