Browse content similar to 07/10/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Watch out Birmingham, Conservatives are coming. To all scruple asked | :00:46. | :00:51. | |
what people really think up the party and the Prime Minister. -- | :00:51. | :01:01. | |
:01:01. | :01:05. | ||
our poll will last. I still think he is a bit aloof. What about the | :01:05. | :01:09. | |
party faithful? We will ask the Defence Secretary about a state of | :01:10. | :01:15. | |
the party. And Ed Miliband made his party happy, but what about the | :01:15. | :01:25. | |
voters? We last-day shadow Foreign Secretary. And here in Scotland, | :01:25. | :01:28. | |
could the train wreck that is the west coast rail franchise derail | :01:28. | :01:30. | |
future Scotrail bids? We'll go live to the Conservative conference and | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
:01:40. | :01:41. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1912 seconds | :01:41. | :33:33. | |
We opened up a franchise system so that there would be more | :33:33. | :33:38. | |
flexibility, its flexibility that we believe passengers wanted. The | :33:38. | :33:43. | |
problems are not in the design or specification, there in the | :33:43. | :33:53. | |
:33:53. | :33:54. | ||
Is it not time that ministers took some... Up the franchise system is | :33:54. | :34:04. | |
:34:04. | :34:04. | ||
not discredited then why are they are two investigations into? | :34:04. | :34:08. | |
understanding is that the investigations and into the process | :34:08. | :34:16. | |
that was used, the methodology, used to evaluate. I have not heard | :34:16. | :34:21. | |
anything to suggest that the change in the franchise specifications, | :34:21. | :34:25. | |
the way in which the franchises are designed, has been challenged by | :34:25. | :34:33. | |
these reviews. The former Director General of train-operating | :34:33. | :34:41. | |
companies calls it a shame four- line. -- shameful. Should ministers | :34:41. | :34:49. | |
take responsibility for a shambles? To ministers obviously take over | :34:49. | :34:52. | |
all responsibility for what happens in their apartment but we have | :34:52. | :34:56. | |
moved on from the days when ministers were expected to manage | :34:56. | :35:02. | |
every detail of the work in their apartment. They have to hold their | :35:02. | :35:08. | |
civil servants to account. Ask questions. Of course they do. But | :35:08. | :35:18. | |
:35:18. | :35:23. | ||
they cant be involved in the -- in every last aspect. Thank you, Mr | :35:23. | :35:32. | |
Hammond. What do you make of that? That will not have been | :35:32. | :35:42. | |
:35:42. | :35:42. | ||
uncomfortable viewing for Greening. He did not complete the sentence | :35:42. | :35:47. | |
after saying he was shown the pictures anonymously. Unlike | :35:47. | :35:52. | |
Justene Greening, who clearly did not keep as close an eye as he | :35:52. | :35:59. | |
should have done. I am glad you gave him a real grilling. The | :35:59. | :36:05. | |
impression of incompetence has been created by this Government. Over | :36:05. | :36:09. | |
and again we get these types of major failures. But Conservatives | :36:10. | :36:13. | |
can speak about whatever they like at their conference but unless they | :36:13. | :36:18. | |
repair the impression of incompetence or policy, they will | :36:18. | :36:25. | |
not get boats. Mr Hammond was responsible for the franchise | :36:25. | :36:32. | |
system and it has not worked. and I agree that greening is in an | :36:32. | :36:37. | |
even more difficult position. I have never bought into the idea | :36:37. | :36:42. | |
that civil servants are beyond criticism but it is impossible to | :36:42. | :36:50. | |
conceive of the situation without ministerial involvement. You are | :36:50. | :37:00. | |
:37:00. | :37:01. | ||
Welcome to Sunday politics Scotland. Our politicians that best people to | :37:01. | :37:06. | |
prioritise and target universal benefits? The former Auditor | :37:06. | :37:14. | |
General says not necessarily. And the warning from an academic of | :37:14. | :37:22. | |
unintended consequences for rape victims. I am concerned this will | :37:22. | :37:25. | |
lead to more acquittals. That Judy's will put the complainant and | :37:25. | :37:33. | |
pink, she was drinking, wore revealing clothing. The Scottish | :37:33. | :37:37. | |
Greens have voted to join the campaign for Scottish independence. | :37:37. | :37:42. | |
And calls for the Government to change the way it awards rail | :37:42. | :37:45. | |
franchises after the decision to scrap the West Coast Main Line | :37:45. | :37:53. | |
Should the taxpayer money be spent and public services without charge? | :37:53. | :37:58. | |
Or should it be targeted for those most in need? That debate has just | :37:58. | :38:04. | |
taken place at the heart of Scottish politics and the former | :38:04. | :38:08. | |
Auditor-General, Robert Black, has said that Holyrood's spending | :38:09. | :38:15. | |
commitments have become unsustainable. For 12 years he was | :38:15. | :38:20. | |
the top public spending watchdog official. He has recently retired | :38:20. | :38:25. | |
and free to talk candidly. He is questioning whether it is | :38:25. | :38:29. | |
sustainable to keep providing a range of public services to | :38:29. | :38:32. | |
everybody without charge. And even if it is, is that the most | :38:32. | :38:40. | |
effective use of public funds? affordability must be questioned. | :38:40. | :38:46. | |
Every round on three services as a PoW and that is not there for other | :38:46. | :38:56. | |
:38:56. | :39:00. | ||
things. -- every pound. It sparked a heated debate. Talks about | :39:00. | :39:09. | |
securing public services and three everything. But he has already | :39:09. | :39:17. | |
brought into �0.7 billion worth of cuts. Robert Black says that | :39:17. | :39:23. | |
promises were not properly costed and in the menials budgets should | :39:23. | :39:33. | |
:39:33. | :39:35. | ||
be cuts. For instance, travel fare concessions rising towards �0.5 | :39:35. | :39:39. | |
billion per year. The NHS Ellis double what it was a decade ago. | :39:39. | :39:49. | |
The cost of care of elderly rises annually. Whether Scotland votes | :39:49. | :39:55. | |
for independence or not these spending pressures will not go away. | :39:55. | :40:01. | |
Mr Black also asked, his Holyrood costing too many -- passing too | :40:01. | :40:10. | |
many on costed laws? And why do we have such a clutter of public | :40:10. | :40:15. | |
bodies and over-complex partnerships? Do we really neat 32 | :40:15. | :40:19. | |
councils? He says that he speaks for other public sector leaders who | :40:20. | :40:29. | |
:40:30. | :40:31. | ||
I am joined by the former health minister and a representative from | :40:31. | :40:38. | |
the Scottish Council up all up -- voluntary -- the Scottish Council | :40:38. | :40:43. | |
voluntary organisations. Robert Black is saying that it ever party | :40:43. | :40:51. | |
is in power, some things are just not functioning. It is amusing how | :40:51. | :40:54. | |
much a couple of speeches have blown open a debate that should | :40:54. | :41:00. | |
have been happening for their 13 years. And a real world a great | :41:01. | :41:05. | |
many people asking why politicians have not been having a more | :41:05. | :41:11. | |
measured debate about affordability, priorities. And why this assumption | :41:11. | :41:16. | |
that if you throw lots of money, government money, at a problem, it | :41:16. | :41:20. | |
will fix it? We have 13 years of devolution under our belt and | :41:20. | :41:24. | |
should be asking hard questions about the limitations of the | :41:24. | :41:34. | |
decision-making during that period. Why has that not happened? | :41:34. | :41:38. | |
reaction of labour to the SNP speech was interpreted as Labour | :41:38. | :41:42. | |
imposing Conservative cuts. There was no consideration of long-term | :41:42. | :41:47. | |
implications. Susan is correct, the elephant in the financial room has | :41:47. | :41:53. | |
been universal benefits. Middle- class benefits. The very poorest in | :41:53. | :41:57. | |
our communities are not benefiting from universal services. Poverty | :41:57. | :42:02. | |
and inequality has increased since the Scottish Parliament came in. So | :42:02. | :42:06. | |
people are not part of that process. And a lot of people don't gain from | :42:06. | :42:13. | |
universal services. I do not want to dwell on this but lots of these | :42:13. | :42:18. | |
benefits came in under Labour. Rock lack has argued that they were not | :42:18. | :42:22. | |
costed probably. How do you frame their conversation in a way that | :42:22. | :42:26. | |
does not allow your opponents to say you have just trying to deprive | :42:26. | :42:36. | |
:42:36. | :42:37. | ||
people in need? There is a responsibility that it expands over | :42:37. | :42:40. | |
the whole the Holyrood bubble, including commentators and the | :42:40. | :42:46. | |
media. I hear people saying, that is just politics, it has got to be | :42:46. | :42:50. | |
this way. We did not say that when the banks went wrong. We did not | :42:51. | :42:54. | |
say that when there were questions about the media, we happily a | :42:54. | :42:59. | |
person inquiry. We should shine a light on how hour politics | :42:59. | :43:04. | |
functions. Part of the dynamics during a debate in this country is | :43:04. | :43:09. | |
the fear that it will be perceived as an electoral liability to speak | :43:09. | :43:14. | |
honestly and openly, or you will get some headlines screaming at you | :43:14. | :43:19. | |
from a newspaper. But we spent a long time creating an institution | :43:20. | :43:25. | |
in Edinburgh that was meant to be open to ideas. We have not got that | :43:25. | :43:34. | |
and that is a very serious issue. Robert Black said that MSPs do not | :43:34. | :43:38. | |
understand we the voluntary and private sectors operate and risk | :43:38. | :43:44. | |
cutting funds from organisations doing a good job. Not just MSPs but | :43:44. | :43:54. | |
:43:54. | :43:55. | ||
councillors. I imagine you think that is fair comment. I think it is. | :43:55. | :43:59. | |
People in communities can make decisions. It links to your | :43:59. | :44:04. | |
question, when you involve people in designing services and making | :44:04. | :44:08. | |
decisions about the services and priorities they want, then actually | :44:08. | :44:13. | |
we can make the hard choices about budgets and universal services. | :44:13. | :44:18. | |
About what we need to seek to sustain communities. The fact is, | :44:18. | :44:23. | |
that has not happened and there as a distinct lack of understanding | :44:23. | :44:29. | |
about the way the charity and private sectors operate. In the | :44:30. | :44:37. | |
third sector we're still time to procure people services. -- trying. | :44:38. | :44:42. | |
So the whole system needs a culture change. You can have the best | :44:42. | :44:46. | |
legislation in the world but it is what happens in practice at a local | :44:46. | :44:51. | |
level, in terms of implementing legislation, if that is key for | :44:51. | :45:01. | |
:45:01. | :45:03. | ||
business and the voluntary sector. We needed to have more space. | :45:03. | :45:09. | |
Adjacent to the political process. Yet that can still influence it, a | :45:09. | :45:14. | |
bit more like and do it less heat around issues. But we have to be | :45:14. | :45:18. | |
careful that we do not let the political parties off the hook. | :45:18. | :45:23. | |
There had been a lot of commissions, a lot of data has been amassed | :45:23. | :45:28. | |
around public spending. An independent financial review was | :45:28. | :45:31. | |
published two years ago and it is only now we're starting to talk | :45:31. | :45:40. | |
about some of the things raised. The former Auditor General also | :45:40. | :45:44. | |
said that spending pressures will continue regardless of how the | :45:44. | :45:47. | |
independence referendum goes. And he said we cannot wait for the | :45:47. | :45:55. | |
debate. Do you agree? I do, because it is about the future of Scotland | :45:55. | :45:59. | |
and what we can afford in terms of public services. The problem of | :45:59. | :46:04. | |
this debate is we're having it in the context of a block grant, and | :46:04. | :46:10. | |
not in terms of a progressive taxation system for Scotland. | :46:10. | :46:15. | |
People seem to want Scandinavian levels of public services and pay | :46:15. | :46:20. | |
American levels of taxation. That is frankly unaffordable. We need a | :46:20. | :46:25. | |
full and frank debate. I agree with Susan, needed better space, but | :46:25. | :46:34. | |
frankly, Commission is not the way forward. If it is about tax-raising, | :46:34. | :46:39. | |
tax spending powers, to recover level, would that forced a more | :46:39. | :46:47. | |
mature debate? I think the fact that we have had a spending only | :46:47. | :46:51. | |
Parliament in place has not helped, it has been too easy for every | :46:51. | :46:55. | |
party to say that they will spend more than the other lot. That has | :46:55. | :47:03. | |
got to stop. But the whole question of taxation is not the only one at | :47:03. | :47:06. | |
least here. We need to move away from talking about a affordability | :47:06. | :47:11. | |
and how much money we have and move and took priorities and what would | :47:11. | :47:17. | |
make a difference. The other thing we have learned over the years is | :47:17. | :47:21. | |
that a lot of multi- million-pound government back policies have not | :47:21. | :47:27. | |
done up in the changes in this country that we intended. My | :47:27. | :47:32. | |
experience is that people outside of the political poll are up for | :47:32. | :47:41. | |
that conversation much more so than As civil servants to prepare to | :47:41. | :47:47. | |
depend a look decision to hand the West Coast Main Line franchise to | :47:47. | :47:50. | |
FirstGroup the need a critical discovery, mistakes had been made | :47:50. | :47:55. | |
and the minister had to pull the plug. The whole do battle has | :47:56. | :47:59. | |
proved embarrassing and raised questions about compensate of the | :47:59. | :48:09. | |
:48:09. | :48:13. | ||
Government. -- good tackle. -- debacle. We are well used to delays | :48:13. | :48:17. | |
on a British Railways. But not detained or cancellation we saw | :48:17. | :48:22. | |
this week. The UK Government had to concede there were serious flaws in | :48:22. | :48:28. | |
the way the West Coast franchise had been a lot at. The put back | :48:28. | :48:33. | |
FirstGroup had been seriously miscalculated. Two investigations | :48:33. | :48:38. | |
have been ordered. One will look at what went wrong with the West Coast | :48:38. | :48:42. | |
franchise, the other will look at the wider franchise programme. | :48:42. | :48:46. | |
There is now concern that the ScotRail franchise could be put | :48:46. | :48:55. | |
back. It is due for renewal in 2014. There could be a delay at the | :48:55. | :48:59. | |
inquiry does not give us answers to the questions being asked at the | :48:59. | :49:06. | |
moment. It could be the case that not just ScotRail but many | :49:06. | :49:13. | |
franchises across the UK could be delayed. Peps transport Scotland | :49:13. | :49:21. | |
say the timetable will not slide. The process is led by an expert | :49:21. | :49:29. | |
team who are drawing an external expertise and and when required. | :49:29. | :49:34. | |
Passengers are being reassume that when Virgin's franchise ends, | :49:34. | :49:41. | |
services will still run. I am extremely angry and apologetic. We | :49:41. | :49:49. | |
must get to the bottom of it. will cost taxpayers �100 million. | :49:49. | :49:54. | |
As the franchise system is scrutinised aviation policy is also | :49:54. | :49:59. | |
being questioned. Could a her roots are critical for Scottish financial | :49:59. | :50:03. | |
health. His concern businesses are being strangled by a lack of | :50:03. | :50:13. | |
:50:13. | :50:22. | ||
Services at Heathrow will be given over to a longer haul flight | :50:23. | :50:27. | |
overseas. The Government has postponed a decision on Heathrow's | :50:27. | :50:32. | |
third runway until after the 2015 election. Meanwhile, passengers are | :50:32. | :50:36. | |
not impressed at the amount of tax they have to pay for flights. | :50:36. | :50:41. | |
Airlines and travel agents want a review of air passenger duty. | :50:42. | :50:47. | |
an expensive tax for outbound and inbound travellers. Our concern is | :50:47. | :50:51. | |
the inequality of it, trying to dispense with many people being hit | :50:51. | :51:01. | |
twice. The UK Government has been on a difficult journey this week. | :51:01. | :51:03. | |
Passengers and business would smooth and efficient links. They | :51:03. | :51:09. | |
demand ministers and officials delivered just that. | :51:09. | :51:12. | |
Listing to that at the Conservative Party conference is the Scottish | :51:12. | :51:19. | |
Cup -- Scotland Office Minister and MP David Mundell. Thank you for | :51:19. | :51:24. | |
joining us. With the West Coast rail fiasco, the Transport Minister | :51:24. | :51:28. | |
says it was deeply regrettable and unacceptable. How would you | :51:28. | :51:35. | |
describe it? It was completely unacceptable. It was not followed | :51:35. | :51:39. | |
in the procedure that it should have been. That is why there are | :51:39. | :51:43. | |
two inquiries into it. The West Coast Main Line is a very important | :51:43. | :51:46. | |
route, not just for my own constituency and Scotland, but for | :51:46. | :51:50. | |
the whole of the United Kingdom. When we go through these | :51:50. | :51:56. | |
complicated procedures, they have to be absolutely in order. The | :51:56. | :52:03. | |
Government has put its hand up. Richard Branson said that he was | :52:03. | :52:06. | |
not pleased with the way it had been done but that he was pleased | :52:06. | :52:10. | |
with the honesty of the governor's approach in think it was wrong and | :52:10. | :52:15. | |
unacceptable. The Government has not put its hand at, but simply | :52:15. | :52:19. | |
blamed the Civil Service, which is a shabby thing to do. It used to be | :52:19. | :52:25. | |
ministers who would take it on the chin and admit it was their fault. | :52:25. | :52:30. | |
This is a very complicated and detailed process. What is clear is | :52:30. | :52:34. | |
that it was some of the calculations in that process that | :52:34. | :52:43. | |
were at fault in terms of getting the wrong assessment. Different | :52:43. | :52:46. | |
bidders were given different information, which clearly is | :52:46. | :52:50. | |
completely unacceptable. It is important that we have these | :52:50. | :52:56. | |
reviews so that we know exactly what did go wrong and learn from | :52:56. | :53:00. | |
that and get ahead and get the franchise awarded, either to the | :53:00. | :53:05. | |
existing holder or to a new bidder, because the West Coast Main Line is | :53:05. | :53:09. | |
extremely important for Scotland and the United Kingdom, and we | :53:09. | :53:14. | |
wanted working as effectively as possible. What assurances can you | :53:14. | :53:22. | |
give that this will not affect the ScotRail franchise bid? | :53:22. | :53:26. | |
There is no reason to suggest it would affect the ScotRail franchise. | :53:26. | :53:30. | |
You have heard that in your package. The benefit of the ScotRail | :53:30. | :53:35. | |
franchise is that it is a very discreet franchise because it | :53:35. | :53:41. | |
essentially covers the Scottish geography. Yes, but it is the model | :53:41. | :53:46. | |
that is the problem. The Government is now saying that it could take a | :53:46. | :53:49. | |
year to work out an appropriate franchising model for this. They | :53:49. | :53:55. | |
could be delays on that. Can you give a guarantee that the 2014 | :53:55. | :53:58. | |
deadline will not be affected? not have any reason to think at | :53:58. | :54:04. | |
this time that it will be affected. The Scottish Government themselves | :54:04. | :54:07. | |
and Transport Scotland, who you have just spoken to, seemed very | :54:07. | :54:10. | |
confident they will be able to do it, and they do not think that | :54:10. | :54:14. | |
anything that will come out of this review will impact to delay the | :54:14. | :54:19. | |
ScotRail franchise. You may have got it right now when saying that | :54:19. | :54:25. | |
you will review it, but UK matter that from a bad place. You did but | :54:25. | :54:28. | |
actually initiate this yourself and you had no concerns ourselves, and | :54:28. | :54:32. | |
it was only when Richard Branson said it would be a judicial review. | :54:33. | :54:37. | |
Your conference this week is about reassuring voters that you are a | :54:37. | :54:41. | |
competent government, but this itself, even if you do not add in | :54:41. | :54:47. | |
claims about the economy, hardly speaks to competent governments. | :54:47. | :54:52. | |
Nobody is suggesting that this was a good thing. We have put our hands | :54:52. | :54:55. | |
up and said it was unacceptable. We have said that we will take forward | :54:55. | :55:01. | |
a review of it. It is not the first time that there has been a serious | :55:01. | :55:05. | |
issue with the rail network. Under the last Labour government, the | :55:05. | :55:09. | |
East work French-led -- the East Coast network franchise collapsed. | :55:09. | :55:12. | |
These things happen. Peopling government have to take them in | :55:12. | :55:20. | |
their stride, move Ford and learn from this experience is. Let's look | :55:20. | :55:24. | |
at some stories in the papers today. The Sunday Telegraph has the story | :55:24. | :55:30. | |
that the Prime Minister is promising a for council tax freeze. | :55:30. | :55:36. | |
On BBC today, he spoke about that as well. That is a fantastic idea | :55:36. | :55:41. | |
that your colleagues in Scotland should be rushing to embrace? | :55:42. | :55:48. | |
you know and your viewers know is that they -- is that issues like | :55:48. | :55:52. | |
council tax are devolved matters in Scotland, and therefore will be | :55:52. | :55:58. | |
decided in Scotland. The council tax freeze as is being set out, it | :55:58. | :56:01. | |
is up to the Scottish Government whether or not that continues. I | :56:01. | :56:06. | |
welcome the debate that Johann Lamont has instigated in Scotland | :56:06. | :56:09. | |
about different measures in Scotland. I think it will move | :56:09. | :56:13. | |
forward the political debate. That debate is already happening in | :56:13. | :56:16. | |
England in terms of what we can afford against the resources we | :56:16. | :56:19. | |
have, and if we move forward and have that debate in Scotland, | :56:19. | :56:23. | |
Scottish politics will take a step forward. Having had the debate, | :56:23. | :56:28. | |
David Cameron says the council tax freezes a very useful thing to do | :56:28. | :56:35. | |
for people on lower incomes. Isn't the principle just the same? It is | :56:35. | :56:41. | |
a debate to be had in Scotland on a devolved issue. We supported the | :56:42. | :56:45. | |
council tax freeze as it has been applied in Scotland, because it has | :56:45. | :56:51. | |
helped those on low incomes. There is a debate to be had in Scotland | :56:51. | :56:55. | |
in relation to the use of resources that we have available and what is | :56:55. | :56:59. | |
the best use of those resources. I welcome that debate in Scotland, | :56:59. | :57:02. | |
because in the past, the Conservatives tried to take that | :57:02. | :57:09. | |
debate forward and were met with a wall of negativity. Other parties | :57:09. | :57:12. | |
in Scotland are now waking up to the fact that there is a limited | :57:12. | :57:16. | |
amount of money and you have to make decisions about how to deploy | :57:16. | :57:19. | |
a those resources. I hope to see those debates happening in the | :57:19. | :57:25. | |
Scottish Parliament. From another newspaper article today, you are | :57:25. | :57:31. | |
quoted in Scotland on Sunday saying the SNP referendum plan well let | :57:31. | :57:36. | |
teenagers down, because you are saying 16 and 17 year-olds would | :57:36. | :57:39. | |
have to have a separate register which could be difficult to | :57:39. | :57:43. | |
implement, and therefore it is not fair for those who would not be | :57:43. | :57:47. | |
able to take part in the independence referendum. Should be | :57:47. | :57:54. | |
not just see that as a clear steer that this is of the table now? | :57:54. | :57:59. | |
don't think so. We are looking to reach agreement with the Scottish | :57:59. | :58:03. | |
Government in the near future on the basis that the referendum can | :58:03. | :58:07. | |
go ahead. We have set from the start, David Cameron has been very | :58:07. | :58:13. | |
clear that he was willing to facilitate the referendum according | :58:13. | :58:18. | |
to the SNP mandate in be manifesto last year. We have been working | :58:18. | :58:23. | |
closely with them. There have been detailed negotiations which I have | :58:23. | :58:28. | |
been involved in. We are close to getting in a -- agreement on the | :58:28. | :58:34. | |
referendum taking place. 16 and 17 year-olds is one of the issues. The | :58:34. | :58:40. | |
SNP position has been that they would give the vote to people who | :58:40. | :58:45. | |
were on the electoral register. That means that not all teenagers | :58:45. | :58:49. | |
would get the vote. That is a matter for them to explain to those | :58:49. | :58:53. | |
teenagers in Scotland as to why they have decided to go down that | :58:53. | :58:58. | |
route. I still don't support 16 and 17 year-olds voting, because I do | :58:58. | :59:02. | |
not think you should change the franchise for a particular election. | :59:02. | :59:06. | |
Let me ask you, when we have spoken about the debate which has been | :59:06. | :59:09. | |
raised in Scotland about universal benefits, do you think the way it | :59:09. | :59:12. | |
has been framed at the moment is the most constructive way to bring | :59:12. | :59:19. | |
it forward? I think it is very helpful that we have that debate. | :59:19. | :59:24. | |
We cannot continue in Scotland to pretend that everything can be free | :59:24. | :59:29. | |
for everybody. But his the something for nothing tag fair or | :59:29. | :59:38. | |
not? I think what is clear is that there are consequences to decisions. | :59:38. | :59:41. | |
The consequences I see in my own constituency of free higher | :59:41. | :59:45. | |
education is that there are Colleges suffering. If people make | :59:45. | :59:50. | |
decisions that money will be spent in one area, they have to stand up | :59:50. | :59:53. | |
and be prepared to accept the consequences in other areas, and we | :59:53. | :59:58. | |
have not had that in Scotland. We have had an approach where | :59:58. | :00:01. | |
everybody has joined in a communal view that everything can be for | :00:01. | :00:08. | |
nothing. It can't. David Mundell, thank you very much. | :00:08. | :00:18. | |
:00:18. | :00:20. | ||
And now we can have a catch up with A church service has taken place in | :00:20. | :00:23. | |
Machynlleth this morning to remember the missing five year-old | :00:23. | :00:27. | |
April Jones. She was a do to close to her family's home last Monday | :00:27. | :00:33. | |
evening. A 46-year-old man, Mark Bridger, has been charged with her | :00:34. | :00:41. | |
abduction and murder. In the warm October sunshine, they | :00:41. | :00:48. | |
came in their hundreds. Virtually a whole town, walking quietly deep in | :00:48. | :00:58. | |
:00:58. | :01:02. | ||
Then into the church for a special service for April. A poem for her | :01:02. | :01:11. | |
mother in praise of motherhood. she is a sadness dealer, a cut knee | :01:12. | :01:21. | |
:01:22. | :01:25. | ||
he lair, had me tighter wrongness writer, Kerouac and chocolates -- | :01:25. | :01:30. | |
carer and chocolate Sheriff. While... Sometimes. | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
:01:40. | :01:41. | ||
Then the Lord's Prayer, into languages, but with one message. | :01:41. | :01:46. | |
The service was relayed by speakers to those outside. Deep down, they | :01:46. | :01:49. | |
know April is not coming back, but many here are still praying for a | :01:50. | :01:56. | |
miracle. As the Conservative Party | :01:56. | :01:59. | |
conference gets under way in Birmingham this afternoon, the | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
Prime Minister has confirmed the Government needs to find more in | :02:02. | :02:08. | |
welfare cuts by the next election. He said the rich will also has -- | :02:08. | :02:12. | |
the rich will have to pay more to help reduce the deficit. But he has | :02:12. | :02:16. | |
rejected demands for a mansion tax on properties over �2 million a. | :02:16. | :02:21. | |
I do not believe that we should be a country where if you work hard | :02:21. | :02:25. | |
and saved and buy a house and to pay the mortgage and invested it, I | :02:25. | :02:28. | |
don't want to be a country that comes after you every year with a | :02:29. | :02:33. | |
massive tax, so that is not going to happen. | :02:33. | :02:38. | |
We can get more on this from our political correspondent who is at | :02:38. | :02:41. | |
the Conservative conference in Birmingham this lunch time. The | :02:41. | :02:48. | |
Prime Minister is very clear that that -- that there is still a lot | :02:48. | :02:51. | |
to be done to reduce the deficit. Yes, and he made it clear several | :02:51. | :02:55. | |
times that he wants the rich to pay their share, but he did not spell | :02:55. | :03:00. | |
out what he thinks that means. He is not going to take up the Liberal | :03:00. | :03:04. | |
Democrat idea of a mansion tax. He does not like the idea of new | :03:04. | :03:11. | |
council tax banding is either a. We have had a flurry of announcements | :03:11. | :03:16. | |
today about capping rail fares. All that begs the question of where | :03:16. | :03:19. | |
he's going to find the money. He has made it clear that the bid | :03:19. | :03:22. | |
target is the welfare budget, which means more cuts to benefits, | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
something that will be difficult and controversial when people are | :03:25. | :03:29. | |
already struggling. Thank you very much. | :03:29. | :03:34. | |
That is all the news for now. There is more on BBC One at 6:30pm this | :03:34. | :03:42. | |
evening. Good afternoon. Scotland's Health | :03:42. | :03:45. | |
Secretary has said that the 24 week limit for terminating pregnancies | :03:45. | :03:51. | |
should be reduced. Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Alex Neil said | :03:51. | :03:54. | |
that legislation should be looked at in an independent Scotland, but | :03:54. | :03:57. | |
made it clear that his views were personal. | :03:57. | :04:03. | |
Jeremy Hunt has backed a reduction from the current 24 weeks to 12. Mr | :04:03. | :04:06. | |
Neil was quoted as saying that there was a case for reduction, but | :04:06. | :04:09. | |
that he did not know if 12 weeks was realistic. | :04:09. | :04:13. | |
Homeless young people are being failed by a lack of support, a | :04:13. | :04:18. | |
group of MSPs has claimed. A report by the equal opportunities | :04:18. | :04:20. | |
committee says that many youngsters were profoundly disadvantaged by | :04:21. | :04:27. | |
not having basic life skills such as cooking and budgeting. Some are | :04:27. | :04:29. | |
also place in sub-standard accommodation. The committee is | :04:29. | :04:32. | |
calling on the Scottish Government to check which councils like | :04:32. | :04:36. | |
strategies to deal with the problem. We are not asking the Government to | :04:36. | :04:40. | |
do anything that is not already there. We are asking them to work | :04:40. | :04:45. | |
with local authorities to make sure there is more of a uniform process | :04:45. | :04:48. | |
across the local authorities in Scotland so that it is not a | :04:49. | :04:51. | |
postcode lottery for support for young people. | :04:51. | :04:56. | |
More than �1 million has been given to local authorities to help | :04:56. | :05:00. | |
support people with autism. It is the first time cash has been | :05:00. | :05:05. | |
allocated since ministers launched their strategy last year. Around 30 | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
organisations will benefit from the Government's Autism Development | :05:09. | :05:11. | |
Fund. Time to look at the weather | :05:11. | :05:20. | |
So far this weekend, the weather has been lovely in this part of the | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
country, which is because of this area of high pressure which | :05:23. | :05:26. | |
continues to dominate the forecast this afternoon and into the | :05:26. | :05:30. | |
beginning of next week. This afternoon is mainly dry across the | :05:30. | :05:38. | |
country with some lovely spells of sunshine. Further North West, some | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
cloud here at times with showers, feeling pleasant in the sunshine | :05:42. | :05:52. | |
:05:52. | :06:01. | ||
with like winds. They Green Park are now officially | :06:01. | :06:09. | |
signed up to the S Scotland campaign. -- the Green Party. Our | :06:09. | :06:15. | |
political correspondent was at their conference. The Greens are | :06:15. | :06:17. | |
not normally obsessed with constitutional affairs. They care | :06:17. | :06:23. | |
more about the environment. But Scotland is due to make it back his | :06:23. | :06:26. | |
decision to the hundred Years In the Hat decided to be a farmer | :06:27. | :06:35. | |
their broad commitment to independence. -- its by his | :06:35. | :06:42. | |
decision in 300 years, the Green Party have decided. The debate | :06:42. | :06:48. | |
taking place buying these stores is so important. It started with a | :06:48. | :06:58. | |
chance for delegates to its tune. The after the political meditation, | :06:58. | :07:07. | |
his speeches. Patrick Harvie had previously accused the yes Scotland | :07:07. | :07:10. | |
movement as being dominated by their SNP but he said that progress | :07:10. | :07:18. | |
had been made. It has evolved into the kind of organisation should | :07:18. | :07:25. | |
have been on day one. I think it would be quite bizarre for us not | :07:25. | :07:30. | |
to be involved with the main campaign that is looking to achieve | :07:30. | :07:35. | |
that Yes vote. Being involved gives us the opportunity to put forward a | :07:35. | :07:43. | |
radically different agenda about what the yes vote is all about. | :07:43. | :07:46. | |
However it is fair to say that the party are not overly enthusiastic | :07:47. | :07:56. | |
about independence. I am not a gung-ho about independence. It is | :07:56. | :08:05. | |
not for Christmas, at his for life. Yes Scotland later held a fringe | :08:05. | :08:12. | |
meeting. The their Greens have distinct arguments that favour | :08:12. | :08:22. | |
:08:22. | :08:26. | ||
independence. Would they be joining up? The answer was yes. Patrick | :08:26. | :08:31. | |
Harvie is here now. Thank you for coming in. You're at decision to | :08:32. | :08:36. | |
run your own independence campaign as well as signing up to the yes | :08:36. | :08:39. | |
Scotland campaign would suggest that you still have reservations | :08:39. | :08:47. | |
that the SNP will dominate the campaign. I suspect they will do | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
the same thing and I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing for a | :08:50. | :08:54. | |
political party to do. It is important that we speak up for the | :08:54. | :08:58. | |
reasons why we support Scottish independence but also protect the | :08:58. | :09:02. | |
Green Party's independence. Our distinctive and much more radical | :09:02. | :09:07. | |
vision of what independence is about should come across during the | :09:07. | :09:14. | |
campaign. In areas where that could be depression - for example it is | :09:14. | :09:21. | |
important that you market your own territory - let's start by having a | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
look at a story today that could potentially be very divisive. Just | :09:25. | :09:31. | |
to get your opinion on it. Scotland On Sunday, the abortion law changed | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
after independence. If the health minister saying this is his | :09:34. | :09:39. | |
personal opinion. He believes that the 24 week when it should be | :09:39. | :09:43. | |
reduced. We have spoken to him this morning and he says it is not | :09:43. | :09:48. | |
government of party policy, either now or in an independent Scotland, | :09:48. | :09:55. | |
because it could be a matter of conscience. Although he personally | :09:55. | :10:03. | |
supports it. How divisive would that be? I certainly hope it does | :10:03. | :10:08. | |
not become as polarised an issue as it is in some countries. That does | :10:08. | :10:12. | |
not support either women's rights to access reproductive health | :10:13. | :10:17. | |
services, or the white one of the debate. I am very clear that | :10:17. | :10:23. | |
reproductive rights go hand in hand with reproductive health. My party | :10:23. | :10:26. | |
and by at committed to supporting and defending a woman's right to | :10:26. | :10:30. | |
choose. As soon as I read that article I immediately put in a | :10:30. | :10:35. | |
written question asking whether the government remains committed to | :10:35. | :10:39. | |
reproductive health services which are accessible and support | :10:39. | :10:42. | |
reproductive rights of women. That will always need to be defended. | :10:42. | :10:47. | |
But I think a new health secretary, so soon after being appointed, | :10:47. | :10:50. | |
should have been a bit more thoughtful about how his comments | :10:50. | :10:55. | |
would be interpreted. They will worry many people, that the SNP is | :10:55. | :10:59. | |
about to make a pitch for a set of policies that I don't think they | :10:59. | :11:05. | |
actually want to pitch for. This is an irresponsible way to present a | :11:05. | :11:11. | |
personal opinion so soon after becoming the new Health Secretary. | :11:11. | :11:15. | |
You also disagree with the First Minister that at there is a yes | :11:15. | :11:20. | |
vote then everything can be signed and sealed in times for the | :11:20. | :11:27. | |
Holyrood election of 2016. Do you think that is credible? I am very | :11:27. | :11:31. | |
concerned about that time scale and have met the Scottish Government to | :11:31. | :11:36. | |
discuss it. The idea that within 16 months you can not only conclude | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
negotiations with the UK Government - which are remember, will not | :11:39. | :11:43. | |
really begin until the summer after the referendum because it will be | :11:43. | :11:49. | |
you key election to get through, the new UK government would begin | :11:49. | :11:52. | |
negotiations in earnest - so what would become 89 months to conclude | :11:52. | :11:59. | |
that it was nations about legalities, mechanics, assets, debt, | :12:00. | :12:08. | |
liabilities -- eight of nine months, all of the organisational | :12:08. | :12:13. | |
architecture, reserve functions, as well as thinking about how the | :12:13. | :12:17. | |
Scottish Parliament must change, to be able to hold an independent | :12:17. | :12:21. | |
government to account, I think that the headlong rush. We would end up | :12:21. | :12:31. | |
:12:31. | :12:34. | ||
making stakes on that time scale. So what would 2016 B? I would like | :12:34. | :12:39. | |
to see a normal Scottish Parliament election but a wider, civic process | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
much like a constitutional conventions but allowing people to | :12:42. | :12:47. | |
debate what kind of constitution the one for Scotland. To | :12:47. | :12:49. | |
participate it could need to involve all sides. So there would | :12:49. | :12:52. | |
need to be time for people to get over the shock of the result. | :12:52. | :12:56. | |
Because it would appear surprising result for some people. But | :12:56. | :12:59. | |
everybody needs to participate in the discussion about what can the | :12:59. | :13:06. | |
constitution we want. Once that is in place we can transfer of power. | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
At that point should it be a referendum about what has been | :13:09. | :13:15. | |
negotiated in the settlement? would be for the people to debate | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
in the civic process. I would want an absolute ban on nuclear weapons | :13:19. | :13:24. | |
operating on the Clyde but also participation in a nuclear defence | :13:24. | :13:29. | |
alliance like any talk. Others would oppose that but I think we | :13:29. | :13:32. | |
should debate the issues with participation from everybody in | :13:32. | :13:40. | |
Scotland. A much longer process than that which has outline by | :13:40. | :13:50. | |
:13:50. | :13:56. | ||
their SNP. My view is that it been the to be. Statistics recently | :13:56. | :14:06. | |
:14:06. | :14:07. | ||
published do about rape fall a long history of campaigns about sexual | :14:07. | :14:12. | |
violence. But has it succeeded in dispelling the myth that rape | :14:12. | :14:18. | |
victims are asking for it? Recent sadistic suggest not. A 23% thought | :14:18. | :14:24. | |
a woman was partially responsible act drunk when attacked. 17% | :14:24. | :14:29. | |
thought she was partially to blame if she were revealing clothing. 15% | :14:29. | :14:34. | |
shed she was partly to blame if flouting. 8% said rate could be a | :14:34. | :14:44. | |
:14:44. | :14:48. | ||
woman's fault that she had lots of The pornography is increasingly | :14:48. | :14:53. | |
violent and extreme, and XTC lay it accessible. It tells young men and | :14:53. | :14:58. | |
women that they should increasingly be available for sex, never say no, | :14:58. | :15:02. | |
and always enjoy it. This has become part of the culture, and | :15:02. | :15:08. | |
normal way of looking at women. It is everywhere. Women fear these | :15:08. | :15:15. | |
prejudices could work against them and the courts. To the concern is | :15:15. | :15:18. | |
that this will be two more acquittals. That jurors will look | :15:18. | :15:23. | |
at the evidence, the complainant, and pink, she was drinking, she | :15:23. | :15:28. | |
wore revealing clothing, the therefore she is somehow | :15:28. | :15:35. | |
responsible. How can negative stereotypes be smashed? In a | :15:35. | :15:38. | |
ground-breaking project will be so trying to encourage older children | :15:38. | :15:45. | |
to make sure youngsters get the message that no means no. We wanted | :15:45. | :15:50. | |
to train the young and mentors to going to classes and to talk about | :15:50. | :15:55. | |
quite difficult subject. Rate, eight violence, other forms of | :15:55. | :16:01. | |
abusive behaviour. FOR the first time police are trying to get me | :16:01. | :16:09. | |
into top one another about where to draw the line. Will these attempts | :16:09. | :16:13. | |
change the prevailing culture of prejudice. I enjoy my a | :16:13. | :16:17. | |
representative of Rape Crisis Scotland. In Edinburgh is human | :16:17. | :16:23. | |
rights lawyer, John Scott. Thank you both are coming in. Women look | :16:23. | :16:33. | |
:16:33. | :16:34. | ||
at this prevailing culture, why does it persist? I think attitudes | :16:34. | :16:38. | |
which really made a woman for every 10 to be put to lay engrained | :16:38. | :16:42. | |
within the Scottish Society and by the UK as a whole. Abbey efforts to | :16:42. | :16:47. | |
try to improve and challenge these attitudes. The 10 to focus on the | :16:47. | :16:52. | |
victims rather than the perpetrators. We need a much more | :16:52. | :16:59. | |
sustained approach. We need to transform attitudes within Scotland. | :16:59. | :17:03. | |
What is undoubted is that it stops people coming forward and the first | :17:03. | :17:13. | |
:17:13. | :17:17. | ||
place because of fear of being blamed. Let me ask a legal point | :17:17. | :17:22. | |
that seems to be emerging. When that decision was made to end | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
corroboration and retrials, criminal trials, the idea that was | :17:27. | :17:31. | |
getting rid of it could be quite useful and boost the number of | :17:31. | :17:34. | |
convictions and. Now there's a sense that getting rid of co- | :17:34. | :17:39. | |
operation might have the opposite effect. If these attitudes, as we | :17:39. | :17:42. | |
have seen in the film, art displayed by jurors took rape | :17:42. | :17:50. | |
victims. There is a potential problem. The question of attitudes | :17:50. | :17:55. | |
is far more important than those of evidence, like for more | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
requirements for corroboration. The work of the pylons reduction Unit, | :17:59. | :18:03. | |
that is exactly the sort of thing that, along with improved media | :18:03. | :18:08. | |
coverage, which will have a greater chance of defecting attitudes. To | :18:08. | :18:12. | |
simply abolish corroboration - and the MRC that happen things which | :18:12. | :18:18. | |
this Government have done which I consider to be brave and right, | :18:18. | :18:23. | |
trying to do something serious about reducing prison overcrowding | :18:23. | :18:29. | |
and shot and prison sentences - but in relation to its a clear decision | :18:29. | :18:33. | |
to scrap or operation I think they are wrong and they will reconsider | :18:33. | :18:42. | |
I hope. With a potential consequence speedy -- what a | :18:42. | :18:49. | |
potential consequence de that more leeway would be allowed to ask more | :18:49. | :18:56. | |
interest and the appropriate questions? It is hard to say. The | :18:56. | :19:02. | |
legislation is there. I think legislation which prevents an | :19:02. | :19:09. | |
appropriate questions being asked, works. We need to have a whole | :19:09. | :19:14. | |
measure, a whole review of other safeguards as part of that. That | :19:14. | :19:21. | |
would undoubtedly mean reviewing the rate legislation. Moving on | :19:21. | :19:26. | |
from general attitudes to rape victims, once they're in the system, | :19:26. | :19:31. | |
who people are treated if they have been a victim, Strathclyde Police | :19:31. | :19:35. | |
are saying that they are going to set up women who will be trained to | :19:35. | :19:40. | |
offer counselling to victims and assist police with interviews. | :19:40. | :19:43. | |
Female only assistance teams. That announcement has been made in the | :19:43. | :19:49. | |
Herald today. Will that be helpful? Do me to look at the court process, | :19:49. | :19:56. | |
not just the culture? I think it is helpful. How do we get to support | :19:56. | :20:00. | |
complaints through the process? It is dramatic and difficult evidence | :20:00. | :20:04. | |
they have to go. The better evidence you will get the more you | :20:04. | :20:07. | |
support the victim. But I would like to go back to the | :20:07. | :20:10. | |
corroboration. Briefly. I can understand the concern about | :20:10. | :20:17. | |
whether it actually increases the focus. But I do think we need to be | :20:17. | :20:21. | |
realistic, already it is difficult to see how it could be worse than | :20:21. | :20:25. | |
it is. Because there is so much focus on the complainants behaviour | :20:26. | :20:32. | |
both leading up to and during the assault. I don't think we should | :20:32. | :20:36. | |
look at this in a vacuum. If we remove corroboration people will | :20:36. | :20:40. | |
say there is a concerned, but what about the role of judges? They have | :20:40. | :20:43. | |
a responsibility to make sure complainants are not abused and | :20:43. | :20:48. | |
humiliated. And also defence lawyers, wave their ethical | :20:48. | :20:51. | |
responsibility? Would you draw the line and took out what you're what | :20:51. | :21:01. | |
:21:01. | :21:11. | ||
-- about what you put in a witness Would it be useful for us to talk | :21:11. | :21:15. | |
to juries about their attitudes? Research into juries would be | :21:15. | :21:20. | |
useful. In some other countries it is possible, and we know more from | :21:20. | :21:27. | |
elsewhere, like America and New Zealand, about how juries operate. | :21:27. | :21:31. | |
Some of what we discover might alarm us and some of what we | :21:31. | :21:38. | |
discover would undoubtedly reassure us. At the moment it is difficult | :21:38. | :21:41. | |
to know how they operate. In particular, with the availability | :21:41. | :21:46. | |
of prejudicial material on the internet, that is a real problem. | :21:46. | :21:51. | |
On the question of corroboration again, corroboration acts as a | :21:51. | :21:56. | |
safeguard. Many people think it has been watered down too much. | :21:56. | :21:59. | |
Corroboration and the existence of corroborating evidence in many | :21:59. | :22:03. | |
cases leads to people pleading guilty. Is corroboration is a | :22:03. | :22:07. | |
requirement, pressure of work and resources on the part of the police | :22:07. | :22:12. | |
will be -- will lead to corroboration not being sought. | :22:12. | :22:15. | |
That will lead to an increase in the number of miscarriages of | :22:15. | :22:25. | |
:22:25. | :22:30. | ||
justice in the court. Sandy at Rape Crisis Scotland wants to see more | :22:30. | :22:32. | |
miscarriages of justice, but it is equally a miscarriage of justice if | :22:33. | :22:36. | |
somebody is wrongly convicted. Thank you very much. | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
In a moment, we will discuss what has made the newspapers today. What | :22:40. | :22:50. | |
:22:50. | :22:54. | ||
is coming up in politics. Let's Good news on the jobs front after | :22:54. | :23:00. | |
the collapse of sports chain JJB. The owner of meet pressing -- a | :23:00. | :23:04. | |
meat processing plant said it will also close in a buyer is not found | :23:04. | :23:06. | |
by February. The American tycoon Donald Trump | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
was back in Aberdeen, saying his fight against plans for a wind farm | :23:11. | :23:15. | |
off his new Golf resort will not be thrown off course. Scottish | :23:15. | :23:17. | |
National Heritage drop his opposition. | :23:17. | :23:22. | |
Some of the country's most high- profile lawyers lined up to press | :23:22. | :23:26. | |
the off switch on televised criminal trials. | :23:26. | :23:32. | |
Chris Hoy opened the bedroom that bears his name as the push to open | :23:32. | :23:39. | |
be Commonwealth Games builds up. will attract people to get into the | :23:39. | :23:42. | |
sport and produce champions of the future. | :23:42. | :23:48. | |
Martha Payne's blog became an internet hit. She has been to | :23:48. | :23:58. | |
:23:58. | :23:59. | ||
Malawi to see how the money she Now time to have a look at the week | :23:59. | :24:09. | |
:24:09. | :24:12. | ||
The author Kirsty Scott and economic commentator Alf Young are | :24:12. | :24:18. | |
here in the studio with me now. The former Auditor-General. Does it | :24:18. | :24:26. | |
matter what he says? It matters in that the debate is moving into a | :24:26. | :24:30. | |
different debate. We had an early stage where we said that Johann | :24:30. | :24:35. | |
Lamont has blown it. She opened the door to the SNP and there was a lot | :24:35. | :24:39. | |
of horse trading in the chain that. But there is a debate to be had, | :24:39. | :24:43. | |
because, as I see it, every budget is finite. Every budget involves | :24:43. | :24:48. | |
choices, and in a real democracy, you talk about the choices and why | :24:48. | :24:54. | |
we have those choices. Why do we have some things that are free at | :24:54. | :24:59. | |
point of access, and what does it cost and other areas? We need to | :24:59. | :25:03. | |
have that debate. We are in a financial mess. The whole Western | :25:03. | :25:07. | |
world is in a financial mess. commission the best way to | :25:07. | :25:12. | |
regulated? We do need a debate, but I am not so sure about the | :25:12. | :25:16. | |
commissioner. Susan Deacon was saying it area as if she was | :25:16. | :25:20. | |
parking the issue, which might let politicians off the hook. A | :25:20. | :25:27. | |
journalist writing in the Sunday Herald today talked in broad terms | :25:27. | :25:31. | |
about the social contract between the Government and the people of | :25:31. | :25:35. | |
Scotland in which these universal benefits were enshrined, but he did | :25:35. | :25:40. | |
not seem to engage in the debate. Is it a difficult debate for which | :25:40. | :25:44. | |
to find the right language? It has got to be framed very carefully. | :25:44. | :25:54. | |
:25:54. | :25:54. | ||
Has that happened? No. You have got the exchanges, you saw, I don't | :25:54. | :25:58. | |
think the arguments really take us anywhere. We need to have a debate | :25:58. | :26:02. | |
about what we are prepared to commit a social good and public | :26:02. | :26:06. | |
good in society, and what we expect in return. And you are saying, be | :26:06. | :26:11. | |
honest about the price tag. Yes, and the thing about the commission, | :26:11. | :26:16. | |
in a word, is that it is unaccountable. You do not want an | :26:16. | :26:19. | |
and accountable commission deciding what our priorities are for us. You | :26:19. | :26:23. | |
want a democracy where people make choices. And where politicians help | :26:23. | :26:29. | |
make those decisions with you. the Herald today, they lead with | :26:29. | :26:39. | |
:26:39. | :26:39. | ||
Alex Neil saying that he thinks the 24th week limit on abortions should | :26:39. | :26:46. | |
be reduced. Already a massive storm on Twitter about this. I saw that | :26:46. | :26:50. | |
this morning, following on from Jeremy Hunt last week. What has | :26:50. | :26:54. | |
been missing from the debate is another middle-aged man with | :26:54. | :27:03. | |
religious leanings deciding what women should do with their bodies! | :27:03. | :27:07. | |
It is quite frightening, as a woman, to think we are going down this | :27:07. | :27:11. | |
path now. Are we heading, as Patrick Harvie was heading -- | :27:11. | :27:16. | |
saying, towards the US culture on abortion rights? I saw a | :27:16. | :27:19. | |
distressing this morning to see that story, and for him to step | :27:19. | :27:24. | |
back and say it is a personal view is disingenuous, because he is the | :27:24. | :27:28. | |
Health Secretary. As an elderly man are entering into this debate, why | :27:28. | :27:34. | |
two men who do not know much about health are given responsibility for | :27:34. | :27:37. | |
running the health service in these different parts of the United | :27:37. | :27:40. | |
Kingdom, and the first public pronouncement they make is about | :27:40. | :27:43. | |
their own personal views on when women should be allowed to have an | :27:43. | :27:48. | |
abortion, it is just wrong politics, apart from anything else. They | :27:48. | :27:52. | |
should be learning about the system they are trying to improve and | :27:52. | :27:57. | |
doing that before they open their mouths. And they always catch it in | :27:57. | :28:01. | |
either ideological or scientific terms and in no way do they | :28:01. | :28:11. | |
:28:11. | :28:11. | ||
discussed women's experience. absolutely agree. David Mundell is | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
in the newspaper saying it would be too difficult to get 16 and 17 | :28:15. | :28:19. | |
year-olds in two specific registers for the referendum vote. That | :28:19. | :28:25. | |
really would not be unfair on the SNP's proposal. What does that mean, | :28:25. | :28:29. | |
it is of the table? It could mean that it is off the table, but I | :28:29. | :28:33. | |
always thought it was flawed and the first place. If you are going | :28:33. | :28:37. | |
to give teenagers the right to vote on the future constitutional state | :28:37. | :28:41. | |
of their nation, I have problems with that. But if you are going to | :28:41. | :28:45. | |
give them that, they need to be given the right to vote in every | :28:45. | :28:51. | |
election thereafter. Why not extend the franchise from 16 to 18? That | :28:51. | :28:55. | |
is the most sensible thing to do. The response from Nicola Sturgeon's | :28:55. | :28:59. | |
spokes people to this issue that David Mundell has raised, they said | :28:59. | :29:03. | |
that it has been a key part of what they have been discussing and it is | :29:03. | :29:06. | |
something they are keen to have. They do not sound completely | :29:06. | :29:12. | |
committed to it. We are close to a done deal? We need to get it done. | :29:12. | :29:14. | |
We need the legislation if we're going to have the vote at all. | :29:15. | :29:19. | |
There is still that lingering other story about whether it looks like | :29:19. | :29:25. | |
it will be yes or no. They might not want the fight happen anyway! | :29:25. | :29:29. |