:01:30. > :01:40.Live animal experts. Perfectly legal but currently banned from
:01:40. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :37:08.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2127 seconds
:37:08. > :37:11.I'm Julia George, and this is the Sunday Politics in the South East.
:37:11. > :37:15.Coming up later, Tories under pressure: The battle for Hastings,
:37:15. > :37:18.and other key seats that could fall to Labour. Joining us this week is
:37:18. > :37:20.Mark Reckless, the Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, and from
:37:20. > :37:27.Brighton, Baroness Jones, who speaks for Labour on Education,
:37:27. > :37:33.Culture, Media and Sport in the House of Lords. That's quite a rang
:37:33. > :37:36.of expertise and we're not going to start with any of those. We're
:37:36. > :37:39.going to start with transport, and specifically the fallout in the
:37:39. > :37:41.South East from this week's rail franchise fiasco. The decision as
:37:41. > :37:45.to which company will run your trains between Brighton London and
:37:45. > :37:47.Bedford will be delayed. It follows the admission by the Transport
:37:47. > :37:51.Secretary Patrick McLoughlin that his department botched the
:37:51. > :38:00.tendering process. The new Thameslink contract had been due to
:38:00. > :38:04.start in September 2013. Israeli incompetent and it is deeply
:38:04. > :38:11.unsettling for south-east commuters -- it is clearly incompetent. This
:38:11. > :38:16.is gruesome for the government, isn't it? The Minister for Rail,
:38:17. > :38:26.she's probably the hardest working Minister that lino. She has given
:38:26. > :38:29.very clear assurances, the mistake they made was so serious that I'm
:38:30. > :38:34.pleased to say that people have been suspended and there has been
:38:34. > :38:37.some accountability. Do you really think the public will say, OK, it
:38:37. > :38:43.was all down to the civil servants and we don't blame the government?
:38:43. > :38:47.I suspect that is unlikely. You may be right, but I think it is good
:38:47. > :38:54.that when mistakes are made, the people responsible are suspended
:38:54. > :39:00.and there's a proper investigation. Lynne Homer had previously been at
:39:00. > :39:05.the UK Border Agency and said that it wasn't fit for purpose, yet then
:39:05. > :39:08.she was promoted. We have to make sure the civil service as well as
:39:08. > :39:12.ministers are held accountable. of the Brighton MPs wrote to the
:39:12. > :39:16.Guardian this week calling for the railways to be renationalise. Does
:39:16. > :39:19.she have an even stronger argument this week? I think she does because
:39:19. > :39:22.the contract have become so complicated that it is virtually
:39:22. > :39:27.impossible for civil servants to be able to manage them effectively. It
:39:27. > :39:29.is not right that we should automatically play in the civil
:39:29. > :39:33.servants. At the other ministers here are culpable and they have to
:39:33. > :39:37.take responsibility for setting up the system that is very difficult
:39:38. > :39:42.for civil servants to be able to manage effectively -- I think. They
:39:42. > :39:45.blame civil servants all too often without being able to see their own
:39:45. > :39:52.mistakes. We need to see an independent inquiry to look at what
:39:52. > :39:55.went wrong, including the ministers in this. Now, as the Tories hold
:39:55. > :39:57.their annual conference, let's look at how the party's doing in the
:39:57. > :40:01.South East - roughly half way through the government's five year
:40:01. > :40:11.term. Some Tory MPs may be getting anxious as Labour have been ahead
:40:11. > :40:12.
:40:12. > :40:22.in the polls for months. This is how the political map of the region
:40:22. > :40:25.
:40:25. > :40:30.looks. In the south-east, the Tories at 25 Seat's. An average of
:40:30. > :40:34.recent national polls gave the Conservatives 33, Labour 41 and the
:40:34. > :40:38.Liberal Democrats 11 %. If the people in the south-east a boat
:40:38. > :40:42.along those lines, the Tories would lose a five seats to Labour, the
:40:42. > :40:46.Greens would lose 1, but the Conservatives would also gain 1,
:40:46. > :40:50.Eastbourne, from the Liberal Democrats. This does not take into
:40:50. > :40:55.account local variations in swing. Those kind of results would give
:40:55. > :41:05.Labour a majority of 90. Art reporter has been to gauge the mood
:41:05. > :41:13.in one of the Tories' most vulnerable seats. This is Hastings,
:41:13. > :41:17.a hysterics -- historic town. It is harder to get to than its
:41:17. > :41:23.neighbours like Brighton and Eastbourne, and the town suffers
:41:23. > :41:28.the consequences. Hastings it makes up one of the most vulnerable
:41:28. > :41:37.Conservative seat in the south-east. The seat was help -- held by Labour
:41:38. > :41:42.to Rutherglen -- throughout the Blair years. The local economy
:41:42. > :41:47.could play a part. One in four here is on benefits, far more than the
:41:47. > :41:51.average for the south-east, and people who do work and less. I
:41:51. > :41:56.first met just kept on a wintry day when she was 19 and had been out of
:41:56. > :42:02.work for a year -- at first met Jessica. Like 13 % of people in
:42:02. > :42:10.Hastings, she has no qualifications but is now studying for GCSEs.
:42:10. > :42:14.we met last time, and now, the job situation is the same. It is
:42:14. > :42:21.getting on my nerves now. I just want to get out, get a job and earn
:42:21. > :42:25.money and get my own place. I would rather work for my money than just
:42:25. > :42:32.come off the dole. It is not fair on the government and it is not
:42:32. > :42:39.fair on the other taxpayers -- can be on the door. And you're trying
:42:39. > :42:45.very hard? Yes, I am. How many jobs have been tried for? Over 100 in
:42:45. > :42:55.the last year. Up more than 40 % of people in worker in the public
:42:55. > :42:56.
:42:56. > :43:05.sector. But there will be a loss of jobs. Their three emergency
:43:05. > :43:11.services. From the government's advertisement you have to be first
:43:11. > :43:15.somewhere fast. The problems are you can't get between the two towns
:43:15. > :43:19.quickly. I'm sure there will be redundancies at the hospital, but
:43:19. > :43:24.for the business community, no new business will start up in a town
:43:24. > :43:27.that doesn't have emergency services for its staff. Could
:43:27. > :43:31.higher unemployment and the government's healthcare cuts could
:43:31. > :43:34.have contributed to to Labour doing so well in the local elections here
:43:34. > :43:38.in May. They took five seats from the Conservatives, strengthening
:43:38. > :43:48.their grip on the council. It was a shock the Tories did not see coming.
:43:48. > :43:48.
:43:48. > :43:53.We could see where up -- we were in trouble. With Labour being a main
:43:53. > :43:59.competitor in Hastings, that was always going to be a concern. We
:43:59. > :44:02.should have done more to try and counter that if possible. So, could
:44:02. > :44:05.be concerned as experience a similar fate to the next election?
:44:05. > :44:09.We asked people at the farmers' market in Rye. They're not going to
:44:09. > :44:15.make themselves more popular eyeless they dish out money to
:44:15. > :44:21.everybody and say, have this! Then everybody would be happy. I would
:44:21. > :44:25.be voting for the Conservative Party because I think they are more
:44:25. > :44:29.focused and I think that basically, the direction that they are moving
:44:29. > :44:32.and is preferable to that of Labour. I haven't voted Conservative for
:44:32. > :44:37.the last tour three elections and at the moment I wouldn't vote for
:44:37. > :44:41.them in the next election. Nor would I vote Labour. And I
:44:41. > :44:47.certainly wouldn't vote for Liberal Democrats. So, what does that mean?
:44:47. > :44:50.What does that leave? For current polls suggest that the
:44:50. > :45:00.Conservatives off the pitch and the unpopular that they were definitely
:45:00. > :45:01.
:45:01. > :45:04.lose some seats. To question will be, how many did they win? Did they
:45:04. > :45:08.win enough to have legitimate grounds to call themselves a party
:45:08. > :45:11.of the whole nation, and do they win enough to undermine the
:45:11. > :45:15.Conservatives? There are two separate questions. The centres are
:45:15. > :45:19.going to be struggling for every vote at the next general election -
:45:19. > :45:23.- the Conservatives are going to be. A Hastings is one of a handful of
:45:23. > :45:26.seats in the south-east that the Conservatives could lose. With the
:45:26. > :45:30.government's commitment austerity, are voters like he did think they
:45:30. > :45:40.will get a better deal with a different party? -- are that is
:45:40. > :45:47.
:45:47. > :45:51.likely to think? What does Labour do to win back votes in a
:45:51. > :45:56.constituency like Hastings and Rye? The key criticism of the government
:45:56. > :46:00.is the lack of growth strategy. That emanates completely from the
:46:00. > :46:04.Chancellor's policy, where he sat back and allow the economy did go
:46:04. > :46:09.into decline without actually investing... Are you telling me the
:46:09. > :46:14.people of Hastings a sitting at home, saying, I want a great growth
:46:14. > :46:18.strategy? The people in that constituency, not the whole country,
:46:18. > :46:24.that constituency, had you heard about, the issues of unemployment
:46:24. > :46:28.and education, what do they want to make them vote Labour? They need
:46:28. > :46:33.jobs in the public sector. We have seen the cuts that are occurring in
:46:33. > :46:43.the health service. Similar cuts in local government, the borough
:46:43. > :46:49.
:46:49. > :46:52.council's have had enormous cups. - - Cup's -- in almost cuts. They
:46:52. > :46:55.need to start their own enterprises, which is why Labour have announced
:46:55. > :46:58.we're going to have a technical Baccalaureate which will give
:46:58. > :47:02.people a good vocational training so they can get jobs, but also
:47:02. > :47:07.hopefully they can start their own businesses. In an area like
:47:07. > :47:11.Hastings, that is what will revitalise the economy. Sadly,
:47:11. > :47:16.Labour let down a whole generation. We had a staggering figure, 13 % of
:47:16. > :47:19.the people in Hastings have no qualifications at all. This was a
:47:19. > :47:28.previous Labour government that said education, education,
:47:28. > :47:34.education. Barratt -- that is a damning indictment. But we have
:47:34. > :47:38.more people going to university. We have a far more to do, of course.
:47:38. > :47:42.We do need to address the issue of vocational training, which the
:47:42. > :47:45.government are not doing at the moment. If you want -- if you look
:47:45. > :47:51.at what Michael Gove has been announcing, it is by much
:47:51. > :47:54.attracting and a lead with the Baccalaureate. We want to make sure
:47:54. > :47:58.that young people who are not going to university have the skills to
:47:58. > :48:07.get a decent job. He it was interesting that chap talking about
:48:07. > :48:12.UKIP. You have had it in increasing share of the vote in Hastings. Are
:48:12. > :48:20.you wary of them and what they would at the next election?
:48:21. > :48:28.Conservatives need to offer people a clear referendum. Cook's their
:48:28. > :48:32.membership of the European Union? - - so a membership. Yes. To a few
:48:32. > :48:37.offer that, is that bloke in the market going to vote view? I think
:48:37. > :48:45.there is a much better chance that he would. There are other issues we
:48:45. > :48:50.need to address, as well, particularly immigration. We are
:48:50. > :48:54.now seeing numbers coming down, we have put in a lot of measures to
:48:54. > :49:00.restrict that. If the Tories want to hold on to seats in the south-
:49:00. > :49:03.east, their leader could be crucial. The Prime Minister is usually ahead
:49:03. > :49:07.of Ed Miliband in leadership service. David Cameron has been
:49:07. > :49:11.talking to our political editor. She began by asking him why
:49:11. > :49:15.commuters in the south-east are facing a crisis in rail fares well
:49:15. > :49:22.above the rate of inflation. not satisfied that what is
:49:22. > :49:27.happening on Relph there's. -- rail fares. We need to do two things.
:49:27. > :49:31.Firstly, we need to cut costs and make our railways more efficient
:49:31. > :49:34.and effective. I'm determined to make sure we drive that through and
:49:34. > :49:38.try to keep costs down. But also we need to look at the decisions we
:49:38. > :49:43.make each year about rail fares and make sure we demonstrate that
:49:43. > :49:47.people who work hard and want to get to work will do that. But in
:49:48. > :49:52.the south-east, Tory MPs point out they have already had to pay more
:49:52. > :49:56.for investment in HS1. Season tickets are costing a fortune, you
:49:56. > :50:01.need to do something about that. The south-east economy is vitally
:50:01. > :50:06.important for the economy of our future. I accept that rail fares
:50:06. > :50:09.have been too expensive and we need to work out why that is. We're
:50:09. > :50:14.going to bear down on costs and in that way we can help commuters. But
:50:14. > :50:19.let's be clear, we want to expand our realm that workforce will be
:50:19. > :50:27.putting massive investment into a rail network. That money can only
:50:27. > :50:31.come from one of two players -- places, taxpayers all rail users.
:50:31. > :50:35.Rail users will be very concerned at the disarray of the Department
:50:35. > :50:41.of Transport at the moment. Thameslink is now on pause, its
:50:41. > :50:44.franchise, what is going on there? We want to assure everybody who
:50:44. > :50:47.uses our railways that they will continue to run as they do today.
:50:47. > :50:51.But clearly this is very disappointing and I'm very angry
:50:51. > :50:55.about how this was allowed to happen. Clearly there was a fault
:50:55. > :50:57.in the department and the need to get to the bottom of that and the
:50:57. > :51:01.review will be carried out. If mistakes have been made, people
:51:01. > :51:07.will pay the price for that. Be in no doubt that railways will
:51:07. > :51:10.continue to run and we will sort this out. It could cost �300
:51:10. > :51:14.million to tax payers though, could that mean rail fares will go up
:51:14. > :51:17.again? Clearly there will be costs before -- because of the legal
:51:17. > :51:22.challenge and because of having to pay some of the costs involved in
:51:22. > :51:26.this failed franchise. We have to go to the bottom of how this went
:51:26. > :51:29.wrong. Clearly there were mistakes. A lot of technical errors in the
:51:29. > :51:32.department. I'm personally disappointed by that because I
:51:32. > :51:36.asked for the Cabinet Secretary to look into this whole area and make
:51:36. > :51:40.sure the decisions had been made in the right way. But it does seem
:51:40. > :51:48.some serious technical errors were made and we will get to the bottom
:51:48. > :51:53.of those and make sure that doesn't happen again. You have been accused
:51:53. > :51:56.of dithering. What we said very clearly at the last election was
:51:56. > :52:01.that we wouldn't build a third runway at Heathrow. I think it is
:52:01. > :52:06.very important for the long-time leader of our economy that we
:52:06. > :52:10.maintain our hub status of the country. This is a very big
:52:10. > :52:15.decision for Britain. The decision we make, we will have to live with
:52:15. > :52:20.for decades to come. It is right to take the time to then decide what
:52:20. > :52:29.is the right answer. But let's not, while we do that could walk down
:52:29. > :52:38.the excellent airports that we have a. -- talked down -- let's not,
:52:38. > :52:41.while we do that, talk down. David Cameron says you have got to
:52:41. > :52:45.do what you can to bear down on prices and then the next breath he
:52:45. > :52:49.talks about the need to invest and that they have rail user needs to
:52:49. > :52:53.pick up the tab for that. It is not in the least reassuring for the
:52:53. > :52:59.commuters in your constituency. What we have got to focus on is the
:52:59. > :53:05.cost of living, which I think is that the single issue that worries
:53:05. > :53:12.people the most. So, what should happen? Should cost be picked up by
:53:12. > :53:19.the border taxpayer, or do we stop improving the railways? I think we
:53:19. > :53:25.need affairs going up by one % above inflation. -- we need rail
:53:26. > :53:32.fares. Last year, for the first time, thanks up to lobbying from
:53:32. > :53:42.MPs, we got RPI plus one. We have got to carry on campaigning for
:53:42. > :53:42.
:53:42. > :53:50.that. Ed Miliband versus David Cameron, Ed Miliband was perceived
:53:50. > :53:54.as not a strong public leaders. But he came up with this killer line,
:53:54. > :53:59.to incompetent, make it up as you go along, back-of-the-envelope
:53:59. > :54:04.miserable shower. He is not your secret weapon any more, is he?
:54:04. > :54:08.think his presentation was much improved. I saw that speech and it
:54:08. > :54:12.was well memorised and he came over much better in that speech. But the
:54:12. > :54:16.key issue this what the Labour government did with borrowing and
:54:16. > :54:23.spending before. Until Ed Miliband and sapped the mistakes that Labour
:54:23. > :54:29.made, editing people trust him again -- owns up to the mistakes.
:54:29. > :54:32.Can he take David Cameron on? think he can. It was about content.
:54:32. > :54:36.His theme of one nation is something that appeals to all of
:54:36. > :54:40.the electorate. It is the dividing line between Labour and the Tories.
:54:40. > :54:45.Unfortunately, David Cameron has squandered that image he has about
:54:45. > :54:50.all of us being in this together. People now see him as an elitist
:54:50. > :54:56.and devices to. In contrast to Ed Miliband who represents one nation
:54:56. > :55:00.for this country. Thank you. A lot of the issues we care about most a
:55:00. > :55:07.decided at a local level, for instance, three words that stuff up
:55:07. > :55:12.incredible emotion, live animal exports. -- stir up. It has been
:55:12. > :55:16.back in the news since 40 she died as the result of two incidents at
:55:16. > :55:20.the port of Ramsgate. Thanet District Council took the
:55:20. > :55:25.opportunity to suspend live exports, but presser is growing from a
:55:26. > :55:33.resumption. -- pressure is growing for a resumption. Are you pleased
:55:33. > :55:38.that the trade is dried up? I am, personally. I think in up so -- in
:55:38. > :55:41.a civilised nation we should not be inflicting this sort of long
:55:41. > :55:46.journeys in cramped conditions on the animals that you have seen on
:55:46. > :55:49.the news. That is not about the Channel crossing, though, is it? We
:55:49. > :55:53.shouldn't be transporting live animals around the country at all
:55:53. > :55:57.if that is shocking and. Most farmers rhino care very deeply
:55:57. > :56:04.about the welfare of the -- their animals and they take enormous
:56:04. > :56:13.steps to make sure they are well looked after and have pop -- Popat
:56:13. > :56:21.animal husbandry. If it means the UK goes it a long, they should do
:56:21. > :56:25.that. We should set a standard. UK going it alone, the DEFRA
:56:25. > :56:31.website is very interesting. It says, we would prefer to see meat
:56:31. > :56:33.exported them like animals, but a clear legal position is that it is
:56:33. > :56:37.illegitimate Craig with the European Community. Why should the
:56:37. > :56:40.farmers be told they can't do it if it is legal? Because this is an
:56:40. > :56:44.issue on which the UK should go our own way. People in this country
:56:44. > :56:49.care very strongly about animal welfare. I don't see why animals
:56:49. > :56:54.should be exported halfway across Europe. In this area, we should
:56:54. > :56:59.reflect the UK public. They are not exported a half across Europe with
:56:59. > :57:03.a go across the Channel, the shortest crossing. They travel
:57:03. > :57:08.further around the country in this country. But some off and then go
:57:08. > :57:13.on and travel quite a distance in Europe. -- but some of them then go
:57:13. > :57:20.on. The fact that EU law says this should happen, I don't think that
:57:20. > :57:28.is sufficient. We should go our own way on this issue. A was it a huge
:57:28. > :57:34.relief when the trade stopped in Brighton? Absolutely. All business
:57:34. > :57:38.at the harbour stop for many months. I'm very pleased that the trade at
:57:38. > :57:41.Ramsgate has stopped now or you could have seen more protests will
:57:41. > :57:46.stop that it is not just the protests, at the heart of it is
:57:46. > :57:56.animal-welfare. Thank you. Now our regular round-up of the critical
:57:56. > :57:58.
:57:59. > :58:02.week in the south-east. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson launched
:58:02. > :58:07.his strongest attack yet on the lack of aviation policy and the
:58:07. > :58:11.south-east. No European country is being so blind and so complacent.
:58:11. > :58:16.Back in the 70s, there was no such demand for airport capacity when
:58:16. > :58:21.holidaymakers flocked to places like Margate, but the Conservative
:58:21. > :58:26.MP for Rochester and strewed said it is just a different type of his
:58:26. > :58:36.to the town is now attracting. He says too many prisoners are being
:58:36. > :58:37.
:58:37. > :58:45.released and coming here. It was announced the shadow chancellor Ed
:58:45. > :58:50.Balls is adopting a marginal seat. We have got to show we are standing
:58:50. > :58:54.up, families are having a hard time at the moment. Ed Balls admits he
:58:54. > :59:04.has not taken his wife on a date for a decade. Let's hope he has
:59:04. > :59:08.
:59:08. > :59:16.more success from floating voters. Ed Balls there. Is that good news
:59:16. > :59:26.or bad news? I'm sure it is a marriage or mutually agreed it? And
:59:26. > :59:31.sure they would do very well! lack of date made you laugh out
:59:31. > :59:41.loud, when did you last go on a date? It was our anniversary last
:59:41. > :59:43.
:59:43. > :59:50.week. We managed to go out on a date! Does political life take its
:59:50. > :59:53.toll on marriages? Oh, yes it does. We should have more of it life work