:01:05. > :01:10.Sunday interview. And a group of 40 right wingers are hankering for a
:01:10. > :01:14.Margaret Thatcher of equality. They also want to bring back hanging. And
:01:14. > :01:17.here in Scotland: As George prepares to wield the axe again, is the UK
:01:17. > :01:27.really moving from rescue to recovery and what effect will the
:01:27. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :32:39.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1872 seconds
:32:39. > :32:45.my parents did think it was a home for life. Luckily they were always
:32:45. > :32:50.in work and did not rely on benefits. Nobody knows when they
:32:50. > :32:56.take a council house that they will at some stage depend on the benefit
:32:56. > :33:02.system. Using the benefit system to socially engineered the housing
:33:02. > :33:06.stock is the wrong way round. What we need to do is build more houses.
:33:06. > :33:13.The anther is to build more houses. Hopefully this government will get
:33:13. > :33:19.the message. If you did not do attend the last 15 years why would
:33:19. > :33:26.you do it next time? I am pushing the government to do that. It is
:33:26. > :33:31.also about building the right houses that we need. People's expectations
:33:31. > :33:36.have gone up, people want to bedrooms, two bathrooms that sort of
:33:36. > :33:42.thing. When someone falls out of work or has health problems that
:33:42. > :33:47.means they cannot work the might then become dependent on housing
:33:47. > :33:54.benefit and using housing benefit to manipulate this is not the right way
:33:54. > :34:03.forward. What you do is simply punish the people for the economic
:34:03. > :34:07.situation the add-in. You are just the people? With respect, my
:34:07. > :34:10.grandparents have gone from having four children and their hose to
:34:10. > :34:15.living alone, the housing need has changed and why shouldn't they be
:34:15. > :34:21.encouraged to liberate that house for a family to have the same
:34:21. > :34:29.privilege they did? I was encouraged by what you said about perhaps being
:34:29. > :34:33.more positive. Really we should be working at that. Where local
:34:33. > :34:41.authorities have not, we need to look at the housing benefit system
:34:41. > :34:44.to incentivise. What about someone's grandparents, what
:34:45. > :34:50.incentive is there for them when they are family have gone to move to
:34:50. > :34:54.a smaller place? For the pensioner couple the incentive is a nice house
:34:54. > :35:00.in a nice area that is cheaper to heat and easier to keep but
:35:00. > :35:06.sometimes that does need to be sold to people. You housing benefit
:35:06. > :35:10.changes do not affect that pensioner couple, they are still stuck in the
:35:10. > :35:13.four-bedroom house and it is less likelihood of them being moved
:35:13. > :35:22.simply because the one-bedroom flats they might have moved into our being
:35:22. > :35:27.taken up by the people who are of working age. What about people who
:35:27. > :35:34.have lived in DC media dear Paul lives and later in life, in the
:35:34. > :35:38.mid-60s and 70s you want them to move? Their whole network is there.
:35:38. > :35:44.If you have worked in the same area for 40 years that is your home and
:35:44. > :35:48.you have root beer. If the taxpayer is going to continue to pay the bill
:35:48. > :35:55.for your rent you have no incentive which is why we have to use carrots
:35:55. > :36:00.as well as state. And is it your feeling that Labour will reverse
:36:00. > :36:04.this policy if they win this election? I would certainly hope
:36:04. > :36:10.they would look at the policy again. The problem as some people will have
:36:10. > :36:14.moved, some will have only years, I cannot imagine a future government
:36:14. > :36:24.writing off all sorts of years it will depend where we are in a few
:36:24. > :36:26.
:36:26. > :36:30.years time. You are watching the Sunday politics. Hello and welcome
:36:30. > :36:33.to Sunday Politics Scotland. Coming up on the programme: The Chancellor
:36:33. > :36:37.is sketching out his spending plans as we speak, what will the impact on
:36:37. > :36:40.Scotland be and is the economy really healing? A show of strength
:36:40. > :36:50.from the SNP in Aberdeen Donside, what was the message from voters in
:36:50. > :36:53.
:36:53. > :37:03.the Granite city? The main negotiator in the spending round has
:37:03. > :37:04.
:37:04. > :37:07.been the Lib Dem's Alexander. -- Danny Alexander. The Chief Secretary
:37:07. > :37:10.to the Treasury has been cajoling ministers to offer up departmental
:37:10. > :37:20.savings for 2015, partly because the plan to cut the deficit is taking
:37:20. > :37:20.
:37:20. > :37:25.longer than expected. You have my commitment that we will not let up.
:37:25. > :37:31.I will fit out the spending plans and with tough negotiating by the
:37:31. > :37:38.Chief Secretary those plans are almost complete. Are they not? Did
:37:38. > :37:42.our more difficult decisions. There have to be. When the country is
:37:42. > :37:45.living way beyond its means. So George or Jeffrey will tell MPs the
:37:45. > :37:48.detail on Wednesday. Whatever the outcome, there will be implications
:37:48. > :37:51.for the Scottish Government's spending plans for the period
:37:51. > :38:01.following next year's independence referendum. Our Westminster
:38:01. > :38:02.
:38:02. > :38:07.correspondent Tim Reid reports. It is the same for almost anyone trying
:38:07. > :38:17.to earn a living nowadays. From those busking outside the window of
:38:17. > :38:17.
:38:17. > :38:20.the Chancellor to those in every form of government. The austerity
:38:20. > :38:26.theme, the tight rein on public spending and the coalition cuts,
:38:26. > :38:32.much criticised, will have many more years to run. It will have an impact
:38:32. > :38:38.on what Scotland gets. Money will be allocated to the English NHS and
:38:38. > :38:41.English schools and they can spend that as they wish, they will also
:38:41. > :38:48.get cuts in public services and then they will have to meet the growing
:38:48. > :38:58.decisions about how they want to eat cuts across different services. In
:38:58. > :38:59.
:38:59. > :39:04.Scotland in the last spending round the cuts were similar in Scotland.
:39:04. > :39:08.Britain will go in an historic new direction of hope and unity and
:39:09. > :39:18.common purpose. It is not quite how the coalition partners had hoped
:39:19. > :39:19.
:39:19. > :39:22.when the promised to wipe out the deficit by 2015. This is not just
:39:22. > :39:32.about finding savings but about making the right choices for the
:39:32. > :39:35.future of this country. We are on track to do that. Every department
:39:35. > :39:40.here in Whitehall has been negotiating its budget in recent
:39:40. > :39:45.weeks. Some have in doing it find close borders like the Treasury but
:39:45. > :39:49.the Scotland office have been offering up to 70% cuts and then
:39:49. > :39:56.there is the MOD. The Prime Minister has said it will be no more manpower
:39:56. > :40:01.cuts there at least. We were promised a bigger army, navy and air
:40:02. > :40:05.force but the fact is they have cut of the forces. We do not know what
:40:05. > :40:10.will happen in the future of the Armed Forces we will just have to
:40:10. > :40:15.wait and see what is announced. At the moment it is significant
:40:15. > :40:20.scepticism over the government and its promises. The public no longer
:40:20. > :40:26.believe. It is up to the Scottish government how to spend it back �1
:40:26. > :40:36.billion government budget but it could be hundreds of millions lost
:40:36. > :40:37.
:40:37. > :40:43.from the coffers. Infrastructure projects to boost the economy still
:40:43. > :40:53.do not stop concerns about the next round of cuts. It could be a
:40:53. > :40:55.
:40:55. > :41:00.detrimental impact on Scotland while removing the room to manoeuvre. It
:41:00. > :41:06.could influence unemployment figures throughout the UK. The Chancellor is
:41:06. > :41:14.also calculating that they will pile political pressure on Labour ahead
:41:14. > :41:18.of the next election to see whether they will match these cuts or not.
:41:18. > :41:22.In Scotland, before then, there is the small matter of an independence
:41:22. > :41:28.referendum. Could the prospect of more public spending cuts prepaid --
:41:28. > :41:38.persuade Scotland to pack its banks will be hopes of an economic revival
:41:38. > :41:38.
:41:38. > :41:45.help to keep Britain as one? Now we have assembled our own brains trust
:41:45. > :41:48.to analyse this now. Joining me now from our Edinburgh studio is
:41:48. > :41:51.Professor of Management at Queen Margaret University, Richard Kerley,
:41:51. > :41:53.and in the studio, the economist Jo Armstrong, Honorary Professor at the
:41:53. > :42:00.Adam Smith Business School at Glasgow University and also
:42:00. > :42:08.Professor of Economics at Stirling University, David Bell. Now we hear
:42:08. > :42:11.epic row is going on with Vince cable at the moment but I believe
:42:11. > :42:18.defence was agreed last night? believe most departments have
:42:18. > :42:22.reached agreements. The Treasury has a target to meet. The government,
:42:22. > :42:26.Prime Minister and Chancellor are behind that target. They may be
:42:26. > :42:36.politics but essentially the Treasury will get its way in the
:42:36. > :42:43.end. What is the Chancellor hoping to do with growth? There are some
:42:43. > :42:45.reports in the papers today about a long-term infrastructure plan.
:42:45. > :42:51.Clearly he has defined different routes to make sure the current
:42:51. > :42:56.growth we are seeing is sustained and takes off. He is looking to use
:42:56. > :43:06.infrastructure as one means of doing that, hopefully not just through
:43:06. > :43:08.
:43:08. > :43:14.dead boring but also encouraging the private sector to invest. There has
:43:14. > :43:20.been criticism that he has not done enough to boost growth. He has
:43:20. > :43:26.talked of measures to finance of public money but the devil is in the
:43:26. > :43:34.detail and they have not taken off. He has two find a way quickly and
:43:34. > :43:40.one obvious way to boost investment with the around housing. He could do
:43:40. > :43:45.quite a lot through housing. Talking about the devil being in the detail,
:43:45. > :43:49.when it comes to Scotland, it can be tricky to work out the
:43:49. > :43:58.consequential, Mr Swinney will have his work cut out on Wednesday, will
:43:58. > :44:02.he not? The big picture emerges on the day but the fine detail of that
:44:02. > :44:07.only runs out over a period of time. The point was well made in Europe
:44:07. > :44:11.bought. It is a matter for John Swinney and the Scottish government
:44:11. > :44:16.today ordered the figure they get in a way they think is appropriate.
:44:16. > :44:20.They are going to have a bigger level of production. The top end is
:44:20. > :44:24.going to be a deduction but then it is a matter for the Scottish
:44:24. > :44:29.government on how that applies that and redirects resources. I worry
:44:29. > :44:35.that the Chancellor is still fiddling around with the combination
:44:35. > :44:41.of immediate measures such as the housing project he introduced a
:44:41. > :44:48.while ago. That only adds to house price inflation. We are not making
:44:48. > :44:53.progress on the big infrastructure projects that have promised. As the
:44:53. > :44:57.money heads north to Edinburgh isn't always obvious way that is going?
:44:57. > :45:07.You spoke about student support. Were there hidden there or like
:45:07. > :45:13.that? It is difficult to track from one year to the next exactly how any
:45:13. > :45:17.government is shifting money around but the outcome of the Barnett
:45:17. > :45:22.consequential is is open to the Scottish government to manipulate in
:45:22. > :45:28.whatever way it chooses. It sometimes produces some unexpected
:45:28. > :45:32.results in terms of the impact on particular budgets. Education here
:45:32. > :45:39.benefited a couple of years ago from some changes that were made to the
:45:39. > :45:46.system in England in particular, relating to the introduction of
:45:46. > :45:53.student fees for higher education. The NHS and overseas development
:45:53. > :45:56.have impacts here in Scotland but when it comes to protecting these
:45:56. > :46:04.budgets is there a sense that if you was budgets perhaps the economy
:46:04. > :46:06.would benefit the cause you could tackle inefficiencies? It is
:46:06. > :46:12.difficult to understand in a world where everybody is having to take
:46:12. > :46:18.cuts, inhale fund schools down south, that people are being ring
:46:18. > :46:22.fenced. No demand is growing in health so the budget is effective
:46:22. > :46:29.and demand is rising but if you're not seeing cash cuts you start to
:46:29. > :46:37.question whether you can justify that. By capping health you are
:46:37. > :46:42.effectively cutting other budgets between five and 10%. Debt is still
:46:42. > :46:50.rising. There was not good news on Friday. Are we seeing these elusive
:46:50. > :47:00.clean sheet -- green shoots of the economy healing and getting into
:47:00. > :47:00.
:47:00. > :47:10.recovery? In 2004 the UK had one of the lowest debt free shows in the
:47:10. > :47:10.
:47:10. > :47:13.developing -- developed world. It is now hitting 80% of GDP. Almost all
:47:13. > :47:17.the political parties accept something has to be done about that
:47:17. > :47:21.because coming down the track are big changes in the democracy of the
:47:21. > :47:28.UK and that will inevitably put further upward pressure on debt
:47:28. > :47:33.going forward. I think it is some consensus. The Labour Party seem to
:47:33. > :47:38.be coming along with the notion that borrowing limits will have to be
:47:38. > :47:43.adhered to over the future. This goes beyond the next election and
:47:43. > :47:52.well into possibly the next decade that government spending is a sheer
:47:52. > :48:01.of the overall pot in the economy. That will be expected to be
:48:01. > :48:11.declining. On a steady tea, the teeming parties almost agree. -- on
:48:11. > :48:14.
:48:14. > :48:24.posterity the three main parties almost agree -- posterity. --
:48:24. > :48:25.
:48:25. > :48:33.austerity. I am not sure there is a night peak of consensus. -- an
:48:33. > :48:39.outbreak of consensus. The Argent is how the huge government budget is
:48:39. > :48:46.deployed ostensibly. Universally headlines on the radio this morning
:48:46. > :48:52.was about whether the Chancellor is falling into the classic first of
:48:52. > :48:57.fiddling around the edges and trying to lock pleasant surprises out of a
:48:57. > :49:03.complex and generally depressing situation. They claim he is planning
:49:03. > :49:08.to redirect money from banks to helping injured service people, that
:49:08. > :49:13.seems to me the worst kind of election needing rather than a
:49:13. > :49:19.considered view of how we try to get together and the anaemic growth we
:49:19. > :49:25.are experiencing. We do not actually know why, at least in employment
:49:25. > :49:31.terms, things have seemed to be better in Scotland and else where in
:49:31. > :49:35.the United Kingdom. It is very hard to determine whether it is the
:49:35. > :49:45.actions of the Scottish government, the UK government or just
:49:45. > :49:49.
:49:49. > :49:54.circumstantial in the broader economy. If you look at the spending
:49:54. > :50:03.cuts, we still have more coming. It is not like he has a lot of
:50:03. > :50:09.manoeuvre around electioneering. If he is trying to keep the markets
:50:09. > :50:15.happy, if they thinks we are keeping debt interest level is low, he has
:50:15. > :50:23.got to find good news. At the moment the news is all those things I have
:50:23. > :50:29.described. Thank you for joining me. It wasn't an upset in the campaign
:50:29. > :50:35.did not set the heather alight. The Aberdeen Donside by-election came
:50:35. > :50:41.and went and now the SNP when is now safely in his seat. Labour also
:50:41. > :50:42.blame progress. We have been looking at the swings and roundabouts in
:50:42. > :50:50.Aberdeen. It was the by-election that sent
:50:50. > :50:55.driver sent -- round in circles. This notorious roundabout at times
:50:55. > :51:04.felt like all everyone was talking about. It did not send the voters
:51:04. > :51:07.and spend. Only 39% turned out to vote. Mark McDonald, subnational --
:51:07. > :51:17.Scottish National Party. Those who dared, voted for the SNP's
:51:17. > :51:25.candidate. It was a clear victory in what was her historical Labour seat.
:51:25. > :51:30.Brian Adam had a majority in the seat. He worked as MSP for 25 years.
:51:30. > :51:36.They have placed their trust in me. I will be a strong local champion
:51:36. > :51:42.for Aberdeen Donside. All smiles after the results were given time to
:51:42. > :51:46.sink in. The reality is the Nationalists lost vote but it is
:51:46. > :51:55.still seen as a good vote. The SNP is halfway through a second term in
:51:55. > :51:59.government. The SNP not only won this by-election but we did some
:51:59. > :52:07.pretty comfortably. The SNP do retain a clear majority but that is
:52:07. > :52:13.down almost five thousand on 2011. The Conservatives saw a slight
:52:13. > :52:23.reduction. While the Liberal Democrats made again. That push them
:52:23. > :52:26.up from fourth to third. There is still plenty of opportunity
:52:27. > :52:30.for navel-gazing and this was a chance for the parties to test the
:52:30. > :52:36.temperature on their doorstep. Strangely all parties were hearing
:52:36. > :52:43.noises in their favour. Back in the headquarters those noises could help
:52:44. > :52:53.in years to come. It helps towards the 2016 election. We would take out
:52:54. > :52:56.
:52:56. > :53:01.over 25 thousand MSP 's from the SNP. -- MS plays. -- MSPs. We think
:53:01. > :53:07.the momentum is in our direction. We have got past some of our
:53:07. > :53:13.difficulties in recent years. I think together with delivery at
:53:13. > :53:16.Westminster, cutting taxes, increasing tensions, as well as our
:53:16. > :53:21.excellent record that our local parliamentarians have, we think we
:53:21. > :53:25.can build on this and get good results. Other past six weeks as has
:53:26. > :53:30.been a battlefield. The campaign has been fought hard in the candidates
:53:30. > :53:38.have been talking tough. Other parties no blood has been shed, no
:53:38. > :53:44.damage done. -- for their parties. Apart from the swing to Labour,
:53:44. > :53:47.nothing here has changed. In the great volume of Scottish political
:53:47. > :53:51.history, you will have to look hard in the index in the back for
:53:51. > :53:56.Aberdeen Donside. Joining me from our Aberdeen studio
:53:56. > :54:04.is the winner of the by-election, Mark McDonald. Congratulations first
:54:04. > :54:08.of all. Thank you very much. I met sure the other Friday when you were
:54:08. > :54:12.out campaigning. I asked a few were complacent. I don't think you were
:54:12. > :54:17.because the SNP through a lot at this, but yet it was a lot closer
:54:17. > :54:24.than many expected, as we have been seeing. The swing to Labour would
:54:24. > :54:27.have taken out some SNP cabinet members. As you know swings in
:54:27. > :54:32.by-elections do not materialise in general elections. What you have in
:54:32. > :54:37.by-elections is a concerted five-week, six-week campaign. It is
:54:37. > :54:41.focused on issues in the constituency. The other parties
:54:41. > :54:48.through everything, including the kitchen sink at the SNP during this
:54:48. > :54:52.campaign. They ran a relentlessly negative campaign. We are delighted
:54:52. > :55:01.we held the seat and we held at comfortably, a good four figure
:55:01. > :55:05.majority. Other governments would have to -- would kill to have a
:55:05. > :55:10.majority like that after two years in power. You are a well-known
:55:10. > :55:16.face, you have been known as a councillor. Do you think the
:55:16. > :55:21.majority should have been slimmed down as much? I said to you that I
:55:21. > :55:26.was not going to make any predictions for the outcome of the
:55:26. > :55:32.by-election. Our objective at the beginning was to hold the seat. We
:55:32. > :55:36.have achieved that objective. I was first elected as a councillor in
:55:36. > :55:43.2007, so I have been around in the political scene in Aberdeen for six
:55:43. > :55:47.years. It took Bryan Adams at least a quarter of a century to build up
:55:47. > :55:57.the reputation he did. This is a seat that the Labour Party in the
:55:57. > :55:58.
:55:58. > :56:02.past used to expect. We will continue to work hard for the people
:56:02. > :56:07.of Donside following in that tradition. Thursday had the need
:56:07. > :56:16.18th of September 2014, how would it have looked for the independence
:56:16. > :56:19.movement? I have not very good? I do not think it will hinge on the local
:56:19. > :56:24.schools and roundabouts. It is difficult to extrapolate this
:56:24. > :56:28.campaign into the independence campaign. We released the results of
:56:29. > :56:35.our super survey of Donside residents. It is showing that
:56:35. > :56:39.everything is still to play for. 29% opposed and 30% of people said that
:56:39. > :56:44.at present they are undecided. We know that there were undecided what
:56:44. > :56:51.to hear the arguments, they want to be convinced in order to place their
:56:51. > :56:56.vote. It is up to us to put out a positive position and make sure that
:56:56. > :57:02.they vote yes in the referendum. Labour pointed out that your
:57:02. > :57:10.literature only made one reference to render pendent Scotland. -- to an
:57:10. > :57:13.independent Scotland. It was on a leaflet that highlighted Denis
:57:14. > :57:20.Healey's undervaluing of oil to Scotland. It was in our campaign
:57:20. > :57:23.newspaper. It was on a survey card that went to every single voter in
:57:23. > :57:32.the Donside constituency and it was part of cans and saying script on
:57:32. > :57:38.the door said. -- canvassing script. Looking at your companions in the
:57:38. > :57:42.yes campaign, there was no SSP standing in the by-election. UKIP
:57:42. > :57:50.scored about three times as many votes as the Greens. Is the yes
:57:50. > :57:55.campaign really just the SNP? Andrew. The yes campaign, obviously
:57:55. > :58:00.the SNP are major stakeholder in the campaign. It is wider than the SNP.
:58:00. > :58:04.It includes people from all political parties and none. What we
:58:04. > :58:09.were finding on the doorstep was there was a large section of the
:58:09. > :58:14.Labour Party support who are for independence and wishing to vote
:58:14. > :58:17.yes. Perhaps it is for the Labour Party to start looking at what it
:58:17. > :58:20.supporters telling them and maybe consider its position in relation to
:58:21. > :58:27.the independence referendum. Particularly in light of the
:58:27. > :58:37.revelations today, in 2015 people will be resented with posterity from
:58:37. > :58:41.all parties as their options. a pretty gruelling campaign.
:58:41. > :58:47.Yesterday in the press and journals, Alex Salmond made a visit to a
:58:47. > :58:53.primary school and he did not have permission to be there. What
:58:53. > :58:58.happened with that visit? Did Mr Salmond have permission to be at the
:58:58. > :59:08.school? Mr Salman was invited to come into the school well we were
:59:08. > :59:11.visiting. -- Mr Salman. Alex Salmond. There is the story of the
:59:11. > :59:18.school campaigners who were asked to leave. They were asking people
:59:18. > :59:25.leaving the station to the sign at campaign against closing the school.
:59:25. > :59:29.I think there are question marks about those campaigners. We have to
:59:30. > :59:39.leave it there. Thank you. We are heading to the news now and after
:59:40. > :59:48.
:59:48. > :59:50.that we have are looked at the The Good afternoon. The US whistle
:59:50. > :59:53.blower, Edward Snowden, who has revealed details of secret US and
:59:53. > :59:56.British surveillance programmes, has fled Hong Kong from where the US
:59:56. > :59:59.authorities were seeking to extradite him. He is on a flight
:59:59. > :00:06.bound for Moscow - where he's due to arrive shortly. From Hong Kong, John
:00:06. > :00:14.Sudworth reports. The hunt for Edward Snowden, the man
:00:14. > :00:19.America wants to bring, has taken a surprise in turn. According to one
:00:19. > :00:23.newspaper citing credible sources, he is on board a flight to Moscow. A
:00:23. > :00:26.statement from the Hong Kong government confirms that Mr Snowden
:00:26. > :00:33.has indeed left the territory, although it does not say where he
:00:34. > :00:39.has gone. It leaves a US legal blunder did not meet the legal
:00:40. > :00:49.requirements. His departure comes shortly after further revelations
:00:50. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:58.exposing the extent of Britain's high-tech spying capabilities. He
:00:58. > :01:06.also revealed details about US efforts to Hakkinen -- hacked into
:01:06. > :01:12.Hong Kong's communications. Hong Kong may have taken the easy way
:01:12. > :01:21.out. It was facing a lengthy extradition battle and intends
:01:21. > :01:25.diplomatic pressure from the US and perhaps China to. It call -- report
:01:25. > :01:31.says that Mr Snowden is put on a flight from Moscow to Cuba on
:01:31. > :01:36.Monday. As he slips away from Hong Kong, America may find that their IT
:01:36. > :01:38.specialists ends up some are much further from its reach.
:01:38. > :01:42.The Chancellor, George Osborne says he has reached agreement with the
:01:42. > :01:45.Defence Secretary on MOD spending for the year 2015 to 2016. Speaking
:01:45. > :01:55.ahead of his spending review this week, he said the civilian numbers
:01:55. > :01:56.
:01:56. > :02:00.would be reduced but there would be no cut in armed forces personnel.
:02:00. > :02:05.They will not be a reduction in own military capability, we will not
:02:05. > :02:12.reduce the number of sailors, soldiers and a man. We will spend
:02:12. > :02:14.more money on cyber, which is the new frontier in defence.
:02:14. > :02:17.Gunmen have killed ten people, including nine foreign tourists,
:02:17. > :02:20.after storming a hotel in far northern Pakistan. Officials say
:02:20. > :02:24.five are from Ukraine, one from Lithuania and three from China. A
:02:24. > :02:30.tour guide of Pakistani or Nepalese origin was also killed. The assault
:02:30. > :02:37.happened at the remote base camp of the world's ninth highest mountain.
:02:37. > :02:47.Two separate militant group said they have taken -- committed the
:02:47. > :02:52.
:02:52. > :02:54.student who has been missing since the beginning of the month are
:02:54. > :02:57.stepping up their appeal for information. Yulia Solodyankina, was
:02:57. > :03:01.last seen at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh. Today friends in a drum
:03:01. > :03:04.and dance group will busk at The Mound to raise awareness of her
:03:04. > :03:05.disappearance, and her face is to appear on coffee cups around the
:03:05. > :03:08.city. The Scottish government is hoping to
:03:08. > :03:11.establish better trade links with China. The External Affairs Minister
:03:11. > :03:14.Humza Yousaf is visiting the country in a bid to encourage more Chinese
:03:14. > :03:16.investment in Scottish industry and infrastructure. A direct air link
:03:16. > :03:19.and more Mandarin and Cantonese language lessons are among the
:03:19. > :03:22.suggestions which could strengthen cultural ties.
:03:22. > :03:26.Two hundred of the UK's top cyclists are in Glasgow today for the biggest
:03:26. > :03:28.road cycling event of the year. Mark Cavendish and Laura Trott will be
:03:28. > :03:33.among those competing in the The British Cycling National Road Race
:03:33. > :03:36.Championships. More than 20,000 people are expected to line the
:03:36. > :03:46.route, which runs through the city centre, and starts and finishes at
:03:46. > :03:54.
:03:54. > :03:58.Glasgow Green. Let's now have a look everyone. Gusty northerly winds will
:03:58. > :04:04.make for a wet afternoon. Heavy rain for the Borders and Central and
:04:04. > :04:11.South West Scotland, brighter but with the odd heavy shower. Our next
:04:11. > :04:15.update is that ten to seven. I will now hand you back to Andrew.
:04:15. > :04:25.We will be discussing the big political events coming up. Let's
:04:25. > :04:26.
:04:26. > :04:30.take a look back at the week in 60 Proposals to end the centuries-old
:04:30. > :04:34.requirement for corroboration in court cases were brought forward by
:04:34. > :04:38.the Scottish government. The plans would also increase the number of
:04:38. > :04:42.jurors required for a majority guilty verdict. A report by the
:04:42. > :04:47.Parliamentary commission on banking standards said reckless bosses
:04:47. > :04:50.should be jailed and there should be an overhaul of the repeat to stop
:04:50. > :04:56.them being rewarded for failure. The administrators at heart began the
:04:56. > :05:02.painful is that -- job of starting the painful task of telling is that
:05:02. > :05:09.whether they have a job or not. had to make many admin staff
:05:09. > :05:12.part-time. It is likely that for players will also be made redundant.
:05:12. > :05:18.Ruth Davidson was left feeling half her age when she was knocked back
:05:18. > :05:23.trying to buy the Scotland office Minister of beer at the Bruce
:05:23. > :05:33.Springsteen concert. The 34-year-old said being ID at Hamdan had made her
:05:33. > :05:41.
:05:41. > :05:44.laugh. What will be making the headlines in politics this week.
:05:44. > :05:54.guests today are the blogger Kate Higgins and Political Editor of the
:05:54. > :06:06.
:06:06. > :06:15.Daily Record, David Clegg. Vince cable challenges George Osborne
:06:15. > :06:24.overgrowth. I think this is a slightly smoother process.
:06:24. > :06:30.Everything has been almost tied up now. All tied up but bizarrely a
:06:30. > :06:35.kind of outbreak of consensus. I think it all this morning was
:06:35. > :06:44.clarifying about spending, he would road to spend on capital spending
:06:44. > :06:52.but the e-mail parties all sticking to the austerity plans? I am glad
:06:53. > :06:58.Vince cable is making the case. It has two the hood to bed in advance
:06:58. > :07:03.of the 2015 election. If we know that all the major parties are
:07:03. > :07:10.seeing cuts, cuts and more cuts until we get this debt down then
:07:10. > :07:17.there is no point in voting. labour wise to follow that strategy
:07:17. > :07:24.do you think? It has consequences for the referendum debate here.
:07:24. > :07:27.Effective years there is no difference in the offering with in
:07:27. > :07:37.the Westminster system and the UK then it is the opportunity for the
:07:37. > :07:42.
:07:42. > :07:46.SNP to seize on. It is a very clear dividing line. The positive is that
:07:46. > :07:53.people have an alternative but the negative is people seeing if that is
:07:53. > :08:01.happening in Westminster why is it not happening here? A lot of people
:08:01. > :08:09.are calling for clarity and certainty. They want to know what
:08:09. > :08:15.independence offers. The certainty we have got here is that we know
:08:15. > :08:25.what will happen when we bought now, austerity and cuts. That is bad news
:08:25. > :08:26.
:08:26. > :08:36.for people at home. The same-sex marriage Bill have produced a
:08:36. > :08:59.
:08:59. > :09:05.video. We can have a look at that bill has been hit by some delays but
:09:05. > :09:10.it looks like it is going forward. Aid is still going to be a lot of
:09:10. > :09:18.noise about this but the battle is won. As you can see from that
:09:18. > :09:21.video. Even Alex Salmond is holding it up. There will be a very vocal
:09:21. > :09:31.campaign against it but it has God supporting the Scottish parliament
:09:31. > :09:32.
:09:32. > :09:38.and it will go through. About 11 MSB is still going to court against. --
:09:39. > :09:42.vote against. It is all over bar the shouting. The interesting thing is
:09:42. > :09:49.whether or not the Scottish government will offer a free vote.
:09:49. > :09:55.It is not a conscience vote, they do have policy there. The latter number
:09:55. > :10:01.of ministers who are bubbly on the opposing side and what will be quite
:10:01. > :10:05.interesting in that the vote is there are probably more SNP MSP is
:10:05. > :10:11.who will vote against equal marriage due to there own faith or conscience
:10:11. > :10:21.leafs. That is the first time we have had that kind of conscience
:10:21. > :10:24.
:10:24. > :10:29.split coming across the SNP government. There has been a lot of
:10:29. > :10:39.cynicism and scepticism about leaving this until after the
:10:39. > :10:46.referendum. I think Will there be a marriage before the referendum? That
:10:46. > :10:52.is difficult to say. They are seeing firmly know that this is going to
:10:52. > :10:55.happen but whether that happens or not Israeli academic. We had
:10:55. > :11:03.President Bill Clinton in Scotland this week, this is what he had to
:11:03. > :11:07.say. You will come about this rate regardless of whether you go about
:11:07. > :11:15.it in the right way. It is very important that there be an honest
:11:15. > :11:23.effort to list the consequences of this. That was the former president
:11:23. > :11:29.of the United States seeing we need to outline the arguments.
:11:29. > :11:36.Absolutely. When we have this coming to Scotland to give sage advice why
:11:36. > :11:40.was that not televised? I know he was eating to business people but he
:11:40. > :11:45.lives up former president coming to Scotland with words of advice. I do
:11:45. > :11:50.not agree that it was a study in blandness. I think this is eminently
:11:50. > :11:54.sensible. Things have got very polarised very quickly and he was
:11:55. > :12:01.spot on. We need to talk to each other and reserve game here if we
:12:01. > :12:09.want to have top in Scotland with the Scottish people. And William
:12:09. > :12:15.Hague was up this week as well? I was at the speech and it was
:12:15. > :12:18.largely just a same things I have heard from the Prime Minister. The
:12:18. > :12:28.aspect that the Sunday Times is picking up on is countries like
:12:28. > :12:29.
:12:29. > :12:37.Spain with similar movements. I think there is some truth. Now let
:12:37. > :12:45.me bring you some breaking news, some sad news, Ruth Evenson has paid
:12:45. > :12:50.tribute to Lord Carmyle Eve who has died suddenly. He was an MP who
:12:50. > :13:00.represented East Angus and South Angus and was made a life here in
:13:00. > :13:01.
:13:01. > :13:04.1989. Very sad news just coming in. I had not heard that. I used to work
:13:04. > :13:10.for the Dundee Cuneo newspaper which is quite strong and I know that he
:13:10. > :13:20.was very popular and well liked up in Angus. It is a sad day for a lot
:13:20. > :13:21.
:13:21. > :13:27.of people. Very sad news, he was a strong character. Yes, we are losing
:13:27. > :13:32.quite a number of people who have been around for a long time. It is
:13:32. > :13:38.sad news and condolences to his family. Also the conservative