:00:35. > :00:39.It's Sunday Morning, and this is the Sunday Politics.
:00:40. > :00:41.Theresa May says she has no plans to increase tax levels,
:00:42. > :00:45.but refuses to repeat David Cameron's 2015 manifesto
:00:46. > :00:52.promise ruling out hikes in VAT, national insurance and income tax.
:00:53. > :00:55.The leaders of the EU's 27 member states unanimously
:00:56. > :00:59.agree their negotiating strategy for the upcoming Brexit talks, but
:01:00. > :01:09.And in the last of our series of interviews ahead of Thursday's
:01:10. > :01:26.In the capital this week: to the leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne
:01:27. > :01:47.They hit an all-time low after coalition government,
:01:48. > :01:48.but are the Lib Dems poised to bounce back,
:01:49. > :01:53.And with me to analyse the week's politics,
:01:54. > :01:54.Isabel Oakeshott, Steve Richards, Tom Newton-Dunn.
:01:55. > :01:56.They'll be tweeting using the hashtag #bbcsp.
:01:57. > :01:59.So when Theresa May was interviewed just over an hour ago
:02:00. > :02:02.on The Andrew Marr Show, the Prime Minister was asked
:02:03. > :02:04.to confirm that she would repeat David Cameron's 2015 election
:02:05. > :02:06.promise not to raise VAT, national insurance and income tax
:02:07. > :02:11.We have absolutely no plans to increase the level of tax,
:02:12. > :02:14.but I'm also very clear that I don't want to make specific proposals
:02:15. > :02:16.on taxes unless I'm absolutely sure that I can deliver on those.
:02:17. > :02:19.But it is, would be my intention as a Conservative Government
:02:20. > :02:21.and a Conservative Prime Minister, to reduce the taxes
:02:22. > :02:31.The Tories like to have a clear tax message in elections, are they
:02:32. > :02:34.getting into a bit of a mess? That method wasn't clear, but does it
:02:35. > :02:39.mean, saying they have no plans to increase the level of tax? We are
:02:40. > :02:44.clear there will not be a rise in VAT, a lot of commentators will get
:02:45. > :02:49.overexcited about that, but there was no great expectations there
:02:50. > :02:54.would be a rise in VAT. Tempting as it is, because even one percentage
:02:55. > :02:58.point on VAT rate is 4.5 billion for the exchequer so it is tempting but
:02:59. > :03:05.there has been no speculation that would happen. We can see that she
:03:06. > :03:08.clearly wants to reiterate the language about hard-working families
:03:09. > :03:14.but I don't think we are that much the wiser. Even if she does not put
:03:15. > :03:18.up rates, according to projections the overall tax burden, as a
:03:19. > :03:24.percentage of GDP, is rising, will rise in the years ahead. That is why
:03:25. > :03:28.it was an odd phrase, I know she is doing it to be evasive but to say
:03:29. > :03:32.they have no plans to raise the general level of taxation, they do
:03:33. > :03:36.have. We also know they have specific plans because it was in the
:03:37. > :03:43.last budget, they had a tax rise which they had to revise, National
:03:44. > :03:51.Insurance rises, so very wisely in my view they are keeping options
:03:52. > :03:55.open, the 2015 tax-and-spend debate was a fantasy world, totally
:03:56. > :04:00.unrelated to the demands that would follow. They now have the
:04:01. > :04:03.flexibility, one of the arguments you had heard last time was Philip
:04:04. > :04:09.Hammond saying to her, we have to break away from the 2015 manifesto
:04:10. > :04:13.commitment and we can only do it this way, that is one of the better
:04:14. > :04:17.arguments. The Tories like to talk about tax cuts in elections, whether
:04:18. > :04:24.they do it is another matter, but they are not being allowed to talk
:04:25. > :04:29.about tax cuts, they are now on the defensive over whether they will
:04:30. > :04:31.raise taxes. That is not a healthy position for the campaign to be in.
:04:32. > :04:37.If you look at the numbers, quite frankly, if you will not do this at
:04:38. > :04:41.this election with eight 20 point lead over Labour, then when will you
:04:42. > :04:45.take these tough decisions? Reading between the lines of what Theresa
:04:46. > :04:48.May has said all over different broadcasters this morning, income
:04:49. > :04:52.tax will go down for low-income families, such as the threshold rise
:04:53. > :04:59.that microbes that was already factored in. She has had to commit
:05:00. > :05:03.to it again. VAT will be fat, national insurance contributions
:05:04. > :05:09.will go up. Do you think they will go up? I think so, she had plenty of
:05:10. > :05:15.opportunity to rule it out and she didn't. There was a terrible mess
:05:16. > :05:18.with the budget, it is a good tax argument but not a good electoral
:05:19. > :05:23.argument that you are eroding the base so heavily with people moving
:05:24. > :05:26.into self-employment that as you raise national insurance
:05:27. > :05:29.contributions for everybody but the self-employed, it is something the
:05:30. > :05:34.Treasury will have to look at. The other triple lock on pensions, we
:05:35. > :05:38.don't know if they will keep to that either? If they are sensible they
:05:39. > :05:42.will find a form of words to give them flexibility in that area as
:05:43. > :05:47.well. I would say there is no question over that, that has gone.
:05:48. > :05:50.As Mrs May would say, you will have to wait for the manifesto. That is
:05:51. > :05:55.what all the party leaders tell me! Labour have spent the weekend
:05:56. > :05:56.pushing their messages Speaking at a camapign rally
:05:57. > :06:00.in London yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn promised a Labour
:06:01. > :06:08.government would fix what he called People are fed up, fed up with not
:06:09. > :06:12.being able to get somewhere to live, fed up waiting for hospital
:06:13. > :06:17.appointments, fed up with 0-hours contracts, fed up with low pay, fed
:06:18. > :06:21.up with debt, fed up with not being able to get on in their lives
:06:22. > :06:25.because we have a system that is rigged against so many.
:06:26. > :06:27.I've been joined from Newcastle by Labour's elections
:06:28. > :06:28.and campaigns co-ordinator, Ian Lavery.
:06:29. > :06:39.Good morning. To deal with this rigged economy, as Mr Corbyn calls
:06:40. > :06:44.it, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has a 20 point plan for
:06:45. > :06:47.workers out today. When you add up everything he plans to do to help
:06:48. > :06:52.workers, how much will it cost? The full costings, one thing I need to
:06:53. > :06:58.say at the very beginning, the costings of any policy which we have
:06:59. > :07:02.already ruled out and any policy we will be ruling out in the next few
:07:03. > :07:08.days and weeks will be fully costed in the manifesto and in addition to
:07:09. > :07:12.the fact that it will be fully costed, we will see it in the
:07:13. > :07:17.manifesto how indeed it has been funded, so we are very clear,
:07:18. > :07:20.anything we have seen already, and there are some exciting policy
:07:21. > :07:24.releases and there will be more in the future, anything we are going to
:07:25. > :07:28.do will be fully costed and in the manifesto. You announced a 20 point
:07:29. > :07:33.plan but cannot tell me what the costs will be this morning so at the
:07:34. > :07:38.moment it is a menu without prices? It is not a menu without prices, it
:07:39. > :07:42.is a fantastic opportunity. This 20 point plan is something which will
:07:43. > :07:47.transform the lives of millions of millions of people in the
:07:48. > :07:52.workplace... But what is the cost? It will be welcomed by many people
:07:53. > :07:56.across the UK. The fact the costings have not been released, you will
:07:57. > :08:01.have to be patient, it will be released very clearly, it will
:08:02. > :08:05.identify that in the manifesto. Let me come down to one of the points,
:08:06. > :08:11.the end of the public sector pay freeze. Can you give us any idea how
:08:12. > :08:14.much that will cost? The end of the public sector pay freeze, so
:08:15. > :08:21.important to the future of the Labour Party, it is an massive
:08:22. > :08:26.policy decision. Let me say at this stage, Theresa May, the Prime
:08:27. > :08:29.Minister, this morning, on The Andrew Marr Show, did not have the
:08:30. > :08:35.common decency, courtesy all respect to condone the fact that nurses, the
:08:36. > :08:41.heroes of the NHS, have had a reduction of nearly 14% in their
:08:42. > :08:45.wages since 2010 and are using food banks to feed themselves! Does that
:08:46. > :08:51.not say everything that is wrong with today's society? So can you
:08:52. > :08:56.tell me what it will cost, which is what my question was? What I will
:08:57. > :08:59.say is everything the Labour Party pledges, everything that we come out
:09:00. > :09:04.with, what we will roll out between now and the 8th of June, will be
:09:05. > :09:08.fully costed, people will be very much aware of how much the costings
:09:09. > :09:12.will be, where the funding will come from, when the manifesto is
:09:13. > :09:17.published. What about doubling paternity leave, nu minimum wage,
:09:18. > :09:28.four new bank holidays, any idea what it will
:09:29. > :09:32.cost? These are exciting new proposals and of course today cost
:09:33. > :09:34.money but we are the sixth richest economy in the world. It is about
:09:35. > :09:37.redistribution of the wealth we create. We are seeing growth in the
:09:38. > :09:40.economy, it is how we utilise the finances in the best way we possibly
:09:41. > :09:46.can for a fairer society for the many and not the few. You just can't
:09:47. > :09:51.tell me how much it will cost? That is why I will repeat again that you
:09:52. > :09:55.need to be very patient. Do you know the cost yourself? You are the head
:09:56. > :09:59.of the campaign, do you know the cost of these things yourself? I am
:10:00. > :10:03.very much aware of how much the costings are likely to be, they have
:10:04. > :10:09.been identified, they will be published in the manifesto. You
:10:10. > :10:13.really do understand I would not be releasing today, live on your show,
:10:14. > :10:18.any costings or predictions with regards the manifesto. Why not? You
:10:19. > :10:24.have released the policy, why not the cost? Because there is a fine
:10:25. > :10:27.detail and we will identify it to the general public in the manifesto.
:10:28. > :10:34.We not only explain how much it will cost but we will explain where the
:10:35. > :10:39.funding comes from. Be patient. Will some of the costs be met by
:10:40. > :10:44.increasing taxes? I would think at this point in time there is not any
:10:45. > :10:50.indication to increase basic taxes and again the taxes and spending of
:10:51. > :10:55.the Labour Government with the proposals of the 20 point plan, the
:10:56. > :11:01.issues we have got, housing, the NHS, crime, education will all be
:11:02. > :11:06.identified with the costings in the publication. Can you tell us this
:11:07. > :11:13.morning, we'll tax for most people rise or not to finance this? We in
:11:14. > :11:19.the Labour Party are looking to a fair tax system which will be
:11:20. > :11:25.clearly identified in the manifesto. Mr McDonnell also wants to ban all
:11:26. > :11:31.0-hours contracts. Would that include those who actually like
:11:32. > :11:34.those contracts? There are nearly 1 million, depending on which figured
:11:35. > :11:38.you'd use, there are nearly 1 million people on zero-hours
:11:39. > :11:43.contract and the vast proportion of those want to be able to live a
:11:44. > :11:49.decent life, a secure life, they want to understand whether they will
:11:50. > :11:53.be at work the next day, they're included hours... I understand a lot
:11:54. > :11:57.of people don't like zero-hours contract and your proposal will
:11:58. > :12:02.address that, but there are those, I saw one survey where 65% of people
:12:03. > :12:06.on zero-hours contract like the flexibility it gives them. Will you
:12:07. > :12:11.force them off zero-hours contract or if they like them will they
:12:12. > :12:15.continue with them? We will discuss it with employee is to make sure
:12:16. > :12:19.individuals in the workplace have the right to negotiate hours in that
:12:20. > :12:27.workplace. Guaranteed hours is very, very important. Zero-hour contracts
:12:28. > :12:31.are an instrument in which employers abuse and exploit mainly young
:12:32. > :12:37.people, mainly female people in the workplace. We would be banning
:12:38. > :12:41.zero-hour contract. But there are those, students for example, who
:12:42. > :12:46.like them, would they be forced off zero-hour contracts in your
:12:47. > :12:50.proposal? Our proposal would be banning zero-hour contract and
:12:51. > :12:55.introducing contracts which have set hours in the workplace. You also say
:12:56. > :12:59.no company will be able to bid for a public contract unless the boss
:13:00. > :13:04.earns no more than 20 times the lowest paid, or the average wage,
:13:05. > :13:07.I'm not quite sure which. What would happen if British Aerospace bids to
:13:08. > :13:13.build more joint strike Fighters and the boss is paid more than 20 times?
:13:14. > :13:20.I understand the point you raise but we have an obscene situation in this
:13:21. > :13:25.country, Andrew, in which the bosses at the very top make an absolute
:13:26. > :13:32.fortune... But what would happen then? Who would build joint strike
:13:33. > :13:36.Fighters... The difference in wages between the top earners in the
:13:37. > :13:41.country and the people in the factories, in the workshops,
:13:42. > :13:46.producing the goods, is vast. I understand that is the reason you
:13:47. > :13:50.want a ratio. What I am saying is, what happens if the ratio is
:13:51. > :13:56.greater? Who gets the contract if not British Aerospace? Who else
:13:57. > :14:03.builds the planes? We are going to introduce a wage rate CEO of one to
:14:04. > :14:06.20. -- wage ratio. We want to close the gap between the people at the
:14:07. > :14:10.very top and people who produce the goods. Let me try one more Time, who
:14:11. > :14:17.would build the joint strike fighter? We would look at the issue
:14:18. > :14:21.as it came along but the policy is clear... Can you name a single
:14:22. > :14:29.defence contractor weather boss' salary is less than 20 times average
:14:30. > :14:35.earnings? We are not reducing, we have rolled that out as part of this
:14:36. > :14:41.fantastic plan to transform society to get rid of discrimination, to try
:14:42. > :14:46.and bring together our communities. We will introduce a pay ratio of one
:14:47. > :14:49.to 20. Fair enough, thank you very much.
:14:50. > :14:52.It's a month after the triggering of Article 50, and EU leaders -
:14:53. > :14:54.with the exception of Britain - met in Brussels this weekend
:14:55. > :14:57.to agree their opening negotiating stance, to get the divorce
:14:58. > :15:13.It is inside this psychedelic chamber where Britain's 'Grexit'
:15:14. > :15:18.future will be decided over the next two years, but there is a vast gulf
:15:19. > :15:28.in rhetoric coming from the UK and the EU. With parallel narratives
:15:29. > :15:31.emerging for both sides. There is broad agreement that an orderly
:15:32. > :15:36.withdrawal is in the interests of both sides. But Theresa May's
:15:37. > :15:39.position is that the terms of our future trade deal should be
:15:40. > :15:44.negotiated alongside the terms of our divorce. Meanwhile the EU says
:15:45. > :15:50.the terms of the UK's exit must be decided before any discussion on a
:15:51. > :15:53.future trade deal can begin. But don't forget that divorce
:15:54. > :15:59.settlement. Don't remind me. In Brussels, many think written should
:16:00. > :16:02.pay even more, while in the UK ministers said the divorce bill
:16:03. > :16:07.should be capped at 3 billion. After you. Thank you.
:16:08. > :16:18.For are you looking forward to it? Isn't that divorce bill a bit high?
:16:19. > :16:23.Isn't this about punishing Britain? We are very united, you all seem so
:16:24. > :16:31.surprised but it's a fact. How soon can we get a deal? We have to wait
:16:32. > :16:36.for the elections. It was the decision of Mrs May. It took over an
:16:37. > :16:39.hour for the leaders to make their entrances but once inside it's just
:16:40. > :16:45.a few minutes to agree the negotiating guidelines. They set out
:16:46. > :16:49.three main areas. The first phase of talks on the divorce settlement will
:16:50. > :16:52.deal with the existing financial commitments to the EU, the Northern
:16:53. > :16:56.Ireland border and the rights of EU citizens in the UK. They said a UK
:16:57. > :17:01.trade agreement can be discussed when the first phase of talks
:17:02. > :17:06.reaches significant progress. And that there must be unity in the
:17:07. > :17:12.negotiations, that individual EU members won't negotiate separately
:17:13. > :17:16.with the UK. They are quite good here at negotiating because they are
:17:17. > :17:20.used to it. They set a maximum and then they have to recede a little
:17:21. > :17:26.bit depending on what the other side is prepared to offer. I think there
:17:27. > :17:30.is room for manoeuvre in some issues, but I don't think some of
:17:31. > :17:35.the baseline things will change that much. For example I don't think the
:17:36. > :17:40.European Union will concede on the rights of citizens who are already
:17:41. > :17:46.in the UK. It will be very difficult for them to accept that they will
:17:47. > :17:50.not be any exit bill, and the question of Northern Ireland is very
:17:51. > :17:54.important as well, the hard order question. The baseline things are
:17:55. > :17:58.not going to move that much, then you have room for manoeuvring
:17:59. > :18:02.between. On security, defence and the fight against terrorism, the
:18:03. > :18:07.guidelines said the EU stands ready to work together. And after lunch,
:18:08. > :18:12.friendly signs from some EU leaders as they gave individual press
:18:13. > :18:15.conferences. Paul and said the talks should open doors to new
:18:16. > :18:22.opportunities and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had
:18:23. > :18:24.earlier said some in Britain were deluded about Brexit, softened her
:18:25. > :18:29.tone saying there was no conspiracy against the UK. Unity was the
:18:30. > :18:34.buzzword at this summit and for once everybody seemed to be sticking to
:18:35. > :18:38.the script. That unity is not only amongst the 27 states, it's also
:18:39. > :18:43.among the institutions so many of the divisions we have seen in the
:18:44. > :18:47.past at European level do not exist. That is very important and it's not
:18:48. > :18:52.be unity that is directed somehow against the UK because I think we
:18:53. > :19:04.all want this to be an orderly process and part of that is that the
:19:05. > :19:08.EU side is unified. So although there are no surprises here, what
:19:09. > :19:11.took place in this room was a significant step towards the real
:19:12. > :19:16.Brexit negotiations which will begin soon after the general election in
:19:17. > :19:21.June, said to be the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes.
:19:22. > :19:27.Isabel, Steve and Tom are still with me.
:19:28. > :19:34.Isabel, doesn't the British media have to be a bit careful here? We
:19:35. > :19:39.would never take at face value anything a British politician tells
:19:40. > :19:43.us. We would question it, put it in context and wonder if they are
:19:44. > :19:47.bluffing, but we seem to take at face value anything a European
:19:48. > :19:51.politician says about these negotiations. You only have to look
:19:52. > :19:56.at the front page of the Sunday Times today to see that. They quoted
:19:57. > :20:00.at length Juncker, who didn't like the food at the reception and this
:20:01. > :20:05.and that, and I think the mood is very optimistic. The key thing is
:20:06. > :20:10.the EU trade Commissioner has said we will get a free trade deal and a
:20:11. > :20:13.lot of people seem to be wilfully ignoring that incredibly big
:20:14. > :20:19.concession. That is what will happen in their view. Everything that is
:20:20. > :20:24.said at the moment needs a slight rerun over. They are all in
:20:25. > :20:28.negotiating positions, plus we seem to be completely unaware that they
:20:29. > :20:34.all have their own domestic constituencies as well. Angela
:20:35. > :20:36.Merkel has an important election coming up in September,
:20:37. > :20:40.Euroscepticism is quite different from Britain of course, but there's
:20:41. > :20:45.a different kind of euro scepticism in Germany, she has got to deal with
:20:46. > :20:49.that. Of course she has, which is why you are right, nothing should be
:20:50. > :20:55.taken too seriously out of the mouths of British politicians or
:20:56. > :20:59.European politicians until October this year. We have got to wait for
:21:00. > :21:03.the French elections, then German elections, and if you look through
:21:04. > :21:09.this you can see a way forward. There's no trade talks until pay up,
:21:10. > :21:13.but what was actually written was no trade talks until we make
:21:14. > :21:17.significant progress on the money. You can define significant progress
:21:18. > :21:22.in a lot of ways but come December, fireworks over the summer, we all
:21:23. > :21:26.get very excited about it, in these chairs I'm sure, come December
:21:27. > :21:31.things will look a lot smoother. The German elections are at the end of
:21:32. > :21:34.September but I've seen reports in German press, depending how it goes
:21:35. > :21:40.it could take until Christmas before a new coalition government is put
:21:41. > :21:43.together. The Brussels long-standing negotiating tactic of nothing is
:21:44. > :21:49.agreed until everything is agreed, then I guess the British could say
:21:50. > :21:53.we agree a certain sum of money if that's what it takes but that
:21:54. > :21:59.depends on them, what good trade deal we get. If we don't get that,
:22:00. > :22:04.the sum of money is off the table. In that sense, the two are going
:22:05. > :22:08.parallel. However, I wouldn't entirely dismiss what people are
:22:09. > :22:14.saying in their pre-election periods to their own electorates because
:22:15. > :22:18.they have to some extent to deliver subsequently. Of course Angela
:22:19. > :22:22.Merkel is campaigning and electioneering, who wouldn't, she
:22:23. > :22:26.has a tough election to fight, but she is measured and thoughtful and
:22:27. > :22:30.when she says things like some of the British are delusional, that is
:22:31. > :22:37.unusually strong language for her. What was she referring to? I don't
:22:38. > :22:41.know, it wasn't specific. Have the cake and eat it perhaps the
:22:42. > :22:44.sequencing the British don't want. When they thought the British
:22:45. > :22:48.government was going to effectively demand membership of the single
:22:49. > :22:55.market, that's not going to happen now. Unless you sign up to the four
:22:56. > :23:01.pillars, that's the cake and eat it proposition, which they are right in
:23:02. > :23:05.saying Theresa May has made. But everybody has access, even with no
:23:06. > :23:15.deal you have access. The other side of it is I think there will be a
:23:16. > :23:21.united position from them. And so, as somebody pointed out in that
:23:22. > :23:29.report, they are experienced, tough negotiators, so I don't think it
:23:30. > :23:35.will be quite as easy as some think. I spoke to one of those who drew up
:23:36. > :23:38.Article 50 and they said to me they deliberately put this two year
:23:39. > :23:45.timetable in to make it impossible for anybody to think about leaving.
:23:46. > :23:48.This is really tight, this negotiation. Easy, it isn't.
:23:49. > :23:50.This coming Thursday, voters up and down the country
:23:51. > :23:53.will be going to the polls in this year's local elections.
:23:54. > :23:55.Over the past few weeks I've interviewed representatives
:23:56. > :23:57.of the Conservative Party, Labour, the Liberal Democrats,
:23:58. > :24:00.Today it's the turn of Plaid Cymru and the SNP.
:24:01. > :24:03.A little earlier I spoke Alex Salmond, who until 2014
:24:04. > :24:07.I started by asking him why Scots should vote SNP in local elections
:24:08. > :24:09.when the Scottish Government had just cut central Government funding
:24:10. > :24:25.It's actually a funding increase going into Scottish councils this
:24:26. > :24:29.year, and if you look at the funding position for example between
:24:30. > :24:32.Scottish councils and those in England, which are obviously
:24:33. > :24:36.directly related through the Barnett formula, the funding in Scotland has
:24:37. > :24:47.been incomparably better than that in England so there's a whole range
:24:48. > :24:50.of the -- of reasons... What's happening south of the border
:24:51. > :24:54.indicates the protection the Scottish Parliament has been able to
:24:55. > :24:58.put in that helps vital services in Scotland. But there hasn't been a
:24:59. > :25:03.funding increase, the block grant from Westminster to Edinburgh was
:25:04. > :25:10.increased by 1.5% in real terms but the grant to councils was cut by
:25:11. > :25:15.2.6%. It was going to be a cut of 330 million, the Greens got you to
:25:16. > :25:25.reduce it to 170 million but it is still a cut of 2.6%. Your own
:25:26. > :25:30.Aberdeenshire Council has had a cut to 391 million. You have cut the
:25:31. > :25:33.money to councils. Yes, but councils have available to them more
:25:34. > :25:38.resources this year, and as you say the budget increased that further
:25:39. > :25:41.which is why we put forward an excellent local government budget in
:25:42. > :25:48.Aberdeenshire and resisted a Tory attempts to knock ?3 million off...
:25:49. > :25:52.You asked me about Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeenshire has put forward a
:25:53. > :25:57.budget for investment expansion and resisted a Tory attempts to knock ?3
:25:58. > :26:00.million off the education budget, and I'm very grateful you have given
:26:01. > :26:06.me the opportunity to make that point. The Government in Edinburgh
:26:07. > :26:13.has cut the money to Aberdeenshire by ?11 million. It is a cut. But
:26:14. > :26:16.there is an investment budget in Aberdeenshire that has been made
:26:17. > :26:22.available by the ability to increase the council tax by 2.5% after a
:26:23. > :26:26.nine-year freeze in Scotland, and that has brought more resources into
:26:27. > :26:30.local government and that's why the butchered in Aberdeenshire has been
:26:31. > :26:34.an investment budget including protection of the education budget
:26:35. > :26:39.in the face of a Tory and liberal attempt to cut bit. You have to
:26:40. > :26:41.compare what is happening in Scotland and England, and there's no
:26:42. > :26:48.doubt Scottish local authorities have been much better funded than
:26:49. > :26:50.those in England over the last few years and that's been the ability of
:26:51. > :26:56.the Scottish Government to protect the services at local level. A good
:26:57. > :27:02.reason for voting SNP. If they have been so well funded, why after a
:27:03. > :27:10.decade of SNP rule do one in five Scottish pupils leave primary school
:27:11. > :27:14.functionally illiterate? You have got to take these things... Nicola
:27:15. > :27:19.Sturgeon has made it a top priority to address these challenges but
:27:20. > :27:22.let's take another statistic. 93% of Scottish kids are now emerging from
:27:23. > :27:30.school to positive destinations, that means to further education,
:27:31. > :27:36.apprenticeships or work. Why are one in five functionally illiterate? You
:27:37. > :27:40.argue one statistic, I'm arguing Scottish education is putting in
:27:41. > :27:45.some substantially good performances like the 93% going on to positive
:27:46. > :27:50.destinations. You can't have a failing education system if you have
:27:51. > :27:54.got that 93%, and incidentally a record low youth unemployment in
:27:55. > :27:59.Scotland without the second lowest unemployment rate in Europe. These
:28:00. > :28:03.pupils are being prepared by the Scottish education system. Let's
:28:04. > :28:08.take the figures in the round on education. It's so important. Under
:28:09. > :28:13.your watch, under your government, the Scottish schools in the most
:28:14. > :28:24.important global comparison have fallen from tenth to 19th in
:28:25. > :28:31.science, and 11 to 24th in maths, that is a record of decline and
:28:32. > :28:36.failure. That is by the OECD and first questions about that, but the
:28:37. > :28:41.OECD has also described Scotland is one of the best educated societies
:28:42. > :28:46.in the world. That was from the school system in previous years gone
:28:47. > :28:52.by. For those who are currently in Scottish schools, you have fallen
:28:53. > :28:55.from 11th to 24th in mathematics. The OECD was commenting on
:28:56. > :28:59.introduction of the new curriculum for excellence in which they have
:29:00. > :29:04.given a resounding thumbs up to it, and that's the same source as the
:29:05. > :29:08.rankings which you are comparing. Nicola Sturgeon has said there are
:29:09. > :29:11.challenges on Scottish education, particularly the access through the
:29:12. > :29:16.education system and the attainment gap but don't tell me it's failing
:29:17. > :29:19.when 55% of our pupils have gone on to higher education. That's one of
:29:20. > :29:26.the most impressive figures in the world. Why have you cut 4000
:29:27. > :29:30.teachers? The pupil numbers in Scotland have been falling over
:29:31. > :29:34.recent years as well and now of course we are increasing the number
:29:35. > :29:38.of people going through teachers training so we can make sure that
:29:39. > :29:43.number increases, but listen, the Scottish Government and Scottish
:29:44. > :29:47.Parliament, as you very well know, are subject to real terms spending
:29:48. > :29:51.cuts over the last few years and all public services have been under
:29:52. > :29:54.pressure. The main reason in terms of teacher numbers has been an
:29:55. > :29:59.attempt on the Scottish Government to protect the teacher pupil ratio,
:30:00. > :30:07.and that will now be enhanced by a further taker -- intake. You
:30:08. > :30:13.promised you would reduce primary class sizes to 18 and instead they
:30:14. > :30:19.are now 23.5 and rising. You broke that promise. You didn't mention
:30:20. > :30:23.where we started from. We have kept the teacher pupil ratio very solid
:30:24. > :30:27.in Scotland and that's been against a range of public expenditure cuts
:30:28. > :30:29.but the new intake of teachers into the new teacher training in Scotland
:30:30. > :30:40.I think will enhance the system. You have spent in the pasty in
:30:41. > :30:45.Hollywood 43 hours on Government time debating independence. How many
:30:46. > :30:50.hours have you debated education on Government time? I don't have that
:30:51. > :30:53.they get a hand... The answer is zero, you have spent zero-hours
:30:54. > :30:59.debating education on Government time. Isn't it time the SNP got back
:31:00. > :31:04.to concentrating on the day job? Andrew, as you very well know Nicola
:31:05. > :31:07.Sturgeon has identified a key priority, closing the attainment gap
:31:08. > :31:13.in Scottish education. That is exactly what she has done. Let me
:31:14. > :31:18.answer the question, it is difficult to be in a remote location, if you
:31:19. > :31:24.talk before I answer the question then the view was will not be able
:31:25. > :31:29.to listen. I let you answer that without saying a word. Is this
:31:30. > :31:33.general election about independence, as you say it is, or not about
:31:34. > :31:40.independence, as Mrs Sturgeon says it is? No, I have said exactly the
:31:41. > :31:43.same as Nicola Sturgeon on that. The issue what independence will be
:31:44. > :31:48.decided in a national referendum of the Scottish people. The mandate for
:31:49. > :31:53.that referendum was gained in last year's Scottish elections. What this
:31:54. > :31:55.election is about is backing the right of the Scottish parliament to
:31:56. > :31:58.exercise that mandate and also providing real opposition to this
:31:59. > :32:03.Tory Government and allowing the Scottish Parliament to reverse
:32:04. > :32:08.austerity and some of the public expenditure cutbacks you have been
:32:09. > :32:08.talking about, that is what this is about, backing our Scottish
:32:09. > :32:10.Parliament. Alex Salmond, speaking
:32:11. > :32:12.to me earlier. I'm now joined by the leader
:32:13. > :32:19.of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. You accuse the Government of wanting
:32:20. > :32:24.an extreme Brexit, those are your words. What is the difference
:32:25. > :32:27.between hard Brexit and extreme Brexit? My concern is the way in
:32:28. > :32:32.which we leave the European Union could be very damaging to Wales if,
:32:33. > :32:36.for example, there are tariffs introduced then that would have a
:32:37. > :32:42.real impact in terms of Welsh jobs, and I want to make sure that we have
:32:43. > :32:46.a Brexit that doesn't cause the damage to Wales that could be
:32:47. > :32:52.caused. But what is the difference between extreme and hard? Anything
:32:53. > :32:55.that puts Welsh jobs at risk is either extreme or hard and
:32:56. > :32:59.unacceptable to Plaid Cymru, and we will do what we can to protect those
:33:00. > :33:04.jobs. You want Wales to remain a member of the single market even if
:33:05. > :33:08.the UK isn't, which would mean Wales having to accept the free movement
:33:09. > :33:20.of people, still being under the jurisdiction of the European Court,
:33:21. > :33:22.and you also want to stay in the customs union which means you could
:33:23. > :33:25.not do your own free trade deals. What is the difference between that
:33:26. > :33:27.and being a member of the European Union? We would be like Norway,
:33:28. > :33:30.outside the European Union and inside the single market. The key
:33:31. > :33:34.question is the issue of jobs and the ability to continue to trade.
:33:35. > :33:38.Wales exports, we are the biggest exporter in the whole of the UK, so
:33:39. > :33:47.there are many jobs reliant upon those goods being able to be sold to
:33:48. > :33:52.the single market. Is it central to the UK? Out of the four countries
:33:53. > :34:00.that make up the UK... Proportionally, yes. If you remain
:34:01. > :34:04.in the single market, it is hard to see how Wales could stay in the
:34:05. > :34:08.single market if the UK -- when the rest of the UK was not, you cite
:34:09. > :34:13.Norway, that has free movement, it has to be said, it effectively have
:34:14. > :34:17.to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court, it is not in the
:34:18. > :34:26.customs union so it can do some of its own free trade deals, but the
:34:27. > :34:30.Welsh people voted to leave. We have to accept the principle of free
:34:31. > :34:34.movement if there is not going to be a hard border between the north and
:34:35. > :34:38.south of Ireland. There is going to be free movement within Ireland and
:34:39. > :34:43.therefore freedom of movement, as we said in the referendum campaign,
:34:44. > :34:49.would be very, very difficult to rule out. You lost that campaign, as
:34:50. > :34:55.you know, Wales voted to leave, 17 Council areas voted to leave, only
:34:56. > :34:59.five voted to remain. Doesn't it explain why your party is going
:35:00. > :35:06.nowhere? A majority in Wales voted to leave but you effectively want to
:35:07. > :35:10.support that and de facto remain in the EU? I don't accept that, we
:35:11. > :35:15.accepted the result but Plaid Cymru now is about defending Wales. There
:35:16. > :35:19.are so many risks facing our people from the jobs perspective, the
:35:20. > :35:23.privatisation perspective, the cuts perspective, and from the fact that
:35:24. > :35:28.the Tories would like to grab power was back from our National Assembly,
:35:29. > :35:32.so the key point... If you look at the Wales bill that went through
:35:33. > :35:36.recently, the list of reserved powers there suggests there are some
:35:37. > :35:42.powers currently within the Welsh Assembly jurisdiction that would be
:35:43. > :35:47.dragged back. Which power was will Westminster take back? They could
:35:48. > :35:54.take powers back over the NHS, for example. There is no indication they
:35:55. > :36:03.want to do that. The Tories have attacked the Welsh NHS. That is my
:36:04. > :36:06.point! Quite viciously. If they increase their mandate, I wouldn't
:36:07. > :36:11.put it past them to try to take power was back over the NHS and then
:36:12. > :36:16.of course we risk our NHS being privatised though this election is
:36:17. > :36:19.all about defending Wales, protecting Welsh people from further
:36:20. > :36:24.privatisation and cuts and a power grab from the Tories. Why is there
:36:25. > :36:28.never a breakthrough for your party, Plaid Cymru? Labour dominated in
:36:29. > :36:32.Wales for years, the Tories do quite well, Ukip had a surge for a while,
:36:33. > :36:37.it looks like the Tories will have another surge, never you, always the
:36:38. > :36:41.bridesmaid, never the bride. Wait until Thursday and I think you will
:36:42. > :36:45.see that in many parts of Wales we will increase our representation at
:36:46. > :36:51.a local council level. In the Rhondda, where I am assembly member,
:36:52. > :36:59.we are looking to increase our representation... You are only 13%
:37:00. > :37:03.in the polls will stop which is half of even the Tories in Wales! If you
:37:04. > :37:10.don't breakthrough in the selection, if the real problem is going
:37:11. > :37:15.nowhere, do you think you will pack it in? Robert Green not, I have a
:37:16. > :37:20.job to do, a vision of Wales which is about building up our nation and
:37:21. > :37:23.standing on our own two feet and my job is not done yet. Thank you for
:37:24. > :37:27.being with us as part of your job, we will see how it goes on Thursday.
:37:28. > :37:30.It's just gone 11.35, you're watching the Sunday Politics.
:37:31. > :37:32.We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland who leave us now
:37:33. > :37:41.First though, the Sunday Politics where you are.
:37:42. > :37:44.I'm Natalie Graham and this is the Sunday Politics
:37:45. > :37:49.It's time to pick and choose at County Council elections
:37:50. > :37:52.on Thursday, but with less money in their pockets to spend
:37:53. > :37:54.on local services how do the parties tempt the voters?
:37:55. > :37:56.Joining me in the studio today are Tim Loughton,
:37:57. > :38:01.Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham and Lord Steve Bassam
:38:02. > :38:12.First, it's the weekend of picking and choosing general
:38:13. > :38:14.election candidates for both Labour and the Conservatives.
:38:15. > :38:21.In Brighton Kemptown some members of the local party are hoping to get
:38:22. > :38:23.a pro-Jeremy Corbyn candidate in place to beat the Conservatives
:38:24. > :38:25.in the most marginal seat in the South East.
:38:26. > :38:36.Steve, would you welcome a hard left Labour MP in Kemptown?
:38:37. > :38:44.All I am interested in is a labour candidate who will do the job and
:38:45. > :38:49.campaign against Simon Kirby. It is winnable with only a gap of 600, 700
:38:50. > :38:54.votes. I am sure we will campaign hard to win that seat. But your
:38:55. > :39:00.party is very divided in the city, we have covered it over the last
:39:01. > :39:04.year on this programme, with the rise of momentum in the
:39:05. > :39:08.constituency. If the local party prioritised winning in Brighton and
:39:09. > :39:14.Campbeltown rather than holding onto the seat they have held by Peter
:39:15. > :39:21.Kyle in Hove, that will be damaging? There will be plenty of resources in
:39:22. > :39:23.both constituencies. Peter has a very well-organised organisation
:39:24. > :39:30.behind him and we will run a very well organised campaign in Kemptown.
:39:31. > :39:34.He believes the Conservatives will throw the kitchen sink at him come
:39:35. > :39:39.he needs all the help he can get to hold onto a small majority? The
:39:40. > :39:43.Conservatives are out to get in, so you have to make sure they don't. He
:39:44. > :39:49.doesn't have the backing of his local party a few miles away? In
:39:50. > :39:54.Brighton Hove Albion there are over 6000 members and those members
:39:55. > :39:56.will be motivated and mobilised by this general election. Both
:39:57. > :40:01.campaigns will be equally well resourced. I shall be out there
:40:02. > :40:05.campaigning in both of them. If we go away from Brighton and have,
:40:06. > :40:10.there are many marginal seats in the south-east, as you know you used to
:40:11. > :40:16.hold as a party. It seems many of the candidates who stood two years
:40:17. > :40:21.ago not standing again. Haven't you got a problem but if you have the
:40:22. > :40:24.don't have the experience and don't have the experience and
:40:25. > :40:30.perhaps the local support, you stand less chance of winning them back
:40:31. > :40:34.this time? Usually the candidates for labour very high and they mount
:40:35. > :40:39.a very effective campaigns. Sarah was a very effective candidate last
:40:40. > :40:43.time round. But she is not standing again. She has a new job not
:40:44. > :40:49.involved in politics. I didn't stand involved in politics. I didn't stand
:40:50. > :40:55.in 1992. People were happy about that, but I got a house in the House
:40:56. > :41:02.of Lords. Exactly. Tim, you are looking pretty complacent, Hove, I
:41:03. > :41:07.put it to you is the 13th target seat for your party in the country.
:41:08. > :41:12.Yet you only selected your candidate on Friday died. You have given Peter
:41:13. > :41:18.Kyle a two-week Headstart, if that is not complacent, what is? The
:41:19. > :41:24.Prime Minister only announced the election the week before. You
:41:25. > :41:28.weren't ready. Nobody was expecting a general election, it was a secret,
:41:29. > :41:37.I was out of the country when it happened. We have just selected a
:41:38. > :41:39.very good candidate, born and bred in Hove and Sussex. She will give
:41:40. > :41:46.Peter a run for his money. We will Peter a run for his money. We will
:41:47. > :41:50.will be supporting Simon in Brighton will be supporting Simon in Brighton
:41:51. > :41:54.and Kemptown. The Labour Party don't know who they will be supporting
:41:55. > :41:59.a Tory MP then keep a Labour one. a Tory MP then keep a Labour one.
:42:00. > :42:04.Bearing in mind the Labour Party's difficulties, is the strategy to
:42:05. > :42:11.attack Jeremy Corbyn or attack Peter Kyle? We're not attacking, this is
:42:12. > :42:14.about re-electing a strong Conservative government. Peter Kyle
:42:15. > :42:21.sink at him. You will have two sink at him. You will have two
:42:22. > :42:25.attack to win? We always fight hard in Hove. My constituency is next
:42:26. > :42:27.door and we spend as much time as we can in Hove helping out the
:42:28. > :42:31.Conservative candidate. I am Conservative candidate. I am
:42:32. > :42:36.supporting Conservative candidates in other parts of Sussex, sitting
:42:37. > :42:38.MPs and hopefully new MPs like Christie, because we want a strong
:42:39. > :42:41.and stable government. We have heard and stable government. We have heard
:42:42. > :42:49.that phrase before, under Theresa May. We will move on. Let's talk
:42:50. > :42:52.about the electoral pacts which have been done this week.
:42:53. > :42:55.The Liberal Democrats and Greens have announced they will not fight
:42:56. > :42:58.each other in the two Brighton seats - to try and beat the Conservatives
:42:59. > :43:01.in Kemptown and keep the Green MP Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion.
:43:02. > :43:03.So what do voters make of the decision by some
:43:04. > :43:10.I can understand why they are doing it, but surely everyone should be
:43:11. > :43:17.there for people to make their own minds up about and their own choice.
:43:18. > :43:19.Obviously if you want to vote for a party, they should be
:43:20. > :43:22.there this should make other parties just you can't.
:43:23. > :43:25.If it is a party I wanted to vote for, whichever that was wasn't
:43:26. > :43:27.on, I think I'd feel cheated, actually.
:43:28. > :43:29.We're joined now from Brighton by Davy Jones, who was the Green
:43:30. > :43:35.candidate in Brighton Kemptown until he stood down a few days ago.
:43:36. > :43:42.Thank you for joining us this morning. As we have just heard, many
:43:43. > :43:47.voters want their party to be on the ballot sheets and you have reduced
:43:48. > :43:52.their choice and that is anti-democratic? What we would say
:43:53. > :43:55.to people in Brighton Kemptown is, under the current first past the
:43:56. > :43:59.post voting system, the old-fashioned voting system we have,
:44:00. > :44:03.people aren't easily able to vote for what they believe in, because
:44:04. > :44:05.when they do say, they end up with the opposite of what they believe
:44:06. > :44:25.in. We believe people have the right to vote for what they
:44:26. > :44:28.believe in which is why we change the voting system to a fairer voting
:44:29. > :44:30.system. You are not going to do that in the next six weeks, could you
:44:31. > :44:33.explain why you are standing down? Is it to help the Labour Party beat
:44:34. > :44:36.the Conservatives or to help the Liberal Democrats? You are not
:44:37. > :44:38.right, we haven't got a pact with the two parties. I have no idea what
:44:39. > :44:41.the Liberal Democrats are doing in Kemptown. Simon Kirby is not very
:44:42. > :44:45.popular and he has a small majority. We felt there was a real danger that
:44:46. > :44:50.he would get re-elected if the progressive vote in the city split
:44:51. > :44:57.between the Labour and greens as it did in 2015. I stood in 2015 and got
:44:58. > :45:01.around 3200 votes. But lots of the Green voters said, we want to vote
:45:02. > :45:12.Green, but we feel we have the vote tactically to stop Simon Kirby
:45:13. > :45:18.getting in. So I have made the choice to stand down to maximise the
:45:19. > :45:24.chance of defeating Simon. You also got a small share of the vote in
:45:25. > :45:27.Hove last time round. You have a Remain MP with a small majority, are
:45:28. > :45:34.you going to stand down there as well? Give me a break. We just had a
:45:35. > :45:37.big discussion and listened to the voters of Kemptown saying they
:45:38. > :45:42.wanted us to stand down in Kemptown. It is a brave decision to do so.
:45:43. > :45:46.We're waiting to see the response of other parties. We have seen the
:45:47. > :45:51.response of the Lib Dems and the women's equality party. If I was
:45:52. > :45:54.Peter Kyle with his slim majority and a strong Tory lead in the
:45:55. > :45:58.opinion polls, I think I would want to sit down and discuss with the
:45:59. > :46:04.other Progressive parties, so if you are watching, we're waiting.
:46:05. > :46:09.The problem with these deals or packs, it is suggested Labour cannot
:46:10. > :46:14.win on their own, seats like Kemptown, you need the help of the
:46:15. > :46:19.other parties? The Green party is a recent phenomena in our country.
:46:20. > :46:23.They took a small share of the vote, enough to prevent Labour winning the
:46:24. > :46:28.Kemptown seat last time round. I hope they don't put a candidate up
:46:29. > :46:32.against Peter in Hove because he is a very progressive candidate and he
:46:33. > :46:37.is popular. He is well liked locally and it is good the other smaller
:46:38. > :46:42.parties are thinking about that because we don't want a political
:46:43. > :46:46.monoculture in the south. Beyond Brighton and her, would you
:46:47. > :46:50.encourage voters in Eastbourne to vote Lib Dem to stop the
:46:51. > :46:55.Conservatives winning fair? It would be the obvious thing to do? Looking
:46:56. > :47:00.at it in mathematical terms, it would be. We have always put
:47:01. > :47:07.candidates up there. That arguably, put the Conservatives in position in
:47:08. > :47:17.Lewes. The last election, the truth of the matter is, the Liberal vote
:47:18. > :47:22.imploded and disappear. To Labour, so they need those votes back? The
:47:23. > :47:28.Lib Dem vote collapsed because they lost support. Tim, Ukip is saying
:47:29. > :47:32.they will not put candidates in seats with a good Brexiteer, you
:47:33. > :47:38.could be called a good Brexiteer, are you hoping they will stand down
:47:39. > :47:41.against you? I will take on all comers. There will be a Conservative
:47:42. > :47:46.candidate in every seat in the whole of Great Britain. That is the way it
:47:47. > :47:50.should be. Davy Jones said, give us a break, you should give the
:47:51. > :47:55.electorate a break. Someone said in your clip, it is cheating the voters
:47:56. > :48:01.and it is taking them for fools. Voters are smart enough to know if
:48:02. > :48:04.they vote tactically, they can. They don't need to have a lack of choice
:48:05. > :48:08.because of party has done a dodgy deal and that party won't be
:48:09. > :48:15.standing. I would take on all comers and these sorts of deals undermined
:48:16. > :48:19.democracy. Your opponents arguably, Ukip, did very well in your part of
:48:20. > :48:27.Sussex. They came third in the general election. Locally, they did
:48:28. > :48:31.well, has the threat gone away? I am not complacent, I will be running a
:48:32. > :48:37.positive campaign. Ukip came a poor third behind Labour having
:48:38. > :48:41.people are saying, what is the point people are saying, what is the point
:48:42. > :48:45.of voting Ukip, the job has been done on Ukip, people were not
:48:46. > :48:47.convinced it was going to happen but the Conservative government
:48:48. > :48:52.are coming out of Europe. So why are coming out of Europe. So why
:48:53. > :48:57.would you vote Ukip? We're not taking this for granted. I want
:48:58. > :49:01.everybody to give the voters a chance and if you do these dodgy
:49:02. > :49:02.deals, it is gerrymandering the system and it is taking the
:49:03. > :49:04.electorate for fools. It's not just the General
:49:05. > :49:06.Election politicians All the seats in the County
:49:07. > :49:10.Councils of Kent, Surrey and East and West Sussex,
:49:11. > :49:13.are up for election on Thursday. Sara Neville has been getting
:49:14. > :49:17.a flavour of the debate. If you love the maelstrom
:49:18. > :49:20.of elections, you must be feeling Two in five weeks, with the first,
:49:21. > :49:27.the local County Council In Kent, it's a pick and mix
:49:28. > :49:32.of nearly 400 candidates Each one eyeing up the mouthwatering
:49:33. > :49:40.prospect of a seat on the council. This is the first election
:49:41. > :49:44.since the Brexit vote last year, so it could give us a flavour
:49:45. > :49:48.of what voters are thinking ahead But how will the parties
:49:49. > :49:55.tempt the electorate? Kent's currently Conservative
:49:56. > :49:58.controlled and has The budget has shrunk by some 35%,
:49:59. > :50:16.real terms loss of half a billion. Council tax is up and there
:50:17. > :50:17.is unprecedented pressure If you'd asked me five years ago
:50:18. > :50:22.whether we could go on improving services at the front with 35% less
:50:23. > :50:24.money, I would have But we have achieved
:50:25. > :50:27.that through a constant Unlike other authorities,
:50:28. > :50:30.we haven't closed libraries, we haven't closed children's
:50:31. > :50:33.centres, we've built and improve services, in my view,
:50:34. > :50:37.over the last four years. They certainly did in 2013, coming
:50:38. > :50:49.from nowhere to take 17 seats, bumping Labour into third to become
:50:50. > :50:51.the official opposition. Thanet is a Ukip stronghold,
:50:52. > :50:56.but with a no vote secured on the EU, and no Nigel,
:50:57. > :51:01.has Ukip's bubble burst? The point of voting Ukip really
:51:02. > :51:04.is whether or not you trust the Conservative Party
:51:05. > :51:06.to the deliver what I think there's enough evidence
:51:07. > :51:09.in the frame to show the Conservative Party can't be
:51:10. > :51:13.trusted on this. The biggest issue locally
:51:14. > :51:17.is connected to social care. Huge issues with the social
:51:18. > :51:19.care budget and the way Kent County Council
:51:20. > :51:30.handles that budget. Labour want to bag 23 seats this
:51:31. > :51:33.time round and improve on the 13 They say the standard
:51:34. > :51:36.of services has dropped in the last four years,
:51:37. > :51:38.which, they say, could turn Since 2010 the Conservatives
:51:39. > :51:44.at Kent County Council have cut Therefore, all of our front line
:51:45. > :51:50.services have been diminished I think if the Tories get
:51:51. > :51:59.in this time, and there are indications they will,
:52:00. > :52:01.then of course, those services, some May be the Lib Dems will be
:52:02. > :52:08.the party feeling the sugar rush? With seven seats, it
:52:09. > :52:14.seems the centre ground With seven seats, it seems
:52:15. > :52:16.the centre ground wasn't But, four years on it's a very
:52:17. > :52:21.different political landscape. We think we have a completely
:52:22. > :52:25.chaotic planning system, which is leading the government
:52:26. > :52:29.imposed high housing figures, resulting in a lot of large houses
:52:30. > :52:31.on greenfield sites, when what are we really need
:52:32. > :52:34.is low-cost housing on Brownfield Polling suggests that Labour vote
:52:35. > :52:38.is collapsing and the Ukip vote is also suffering,
:52:39. > :52:40.particularly in East Kent and we hope the votes
:52:41. > :52:43.will therefore come our way, as the major opposition party
:52:44. > :52:46.to the Conservatives. Choices about how your local
:52:47. > :52:53.services, schools, housing, roads and social care
:52:54. > :53:12.will all be managed. A taste test in Kent. In East and
:53:13. > :53:16.West Sussex county have responded to cuts in their budgets by making
:53:17. > :53:22.savings. Let's go back to Brighton and speak to our political reporter.
:53:23. > :53:28.The parties in Sussex are arguing over how best to save that money?
:53:29. > :53:31.Indeed, in East Sussex the Tories say they have a plan to boost the
:53:32. > :53:35.county's economy while making savings where they need to. Labour
:53:36. > :53:43.and the Greens dispute whether the cuts need to be made, particularly
:53:44. > :53:49.in adult social care. Ukip, for their part say they would like to
:53:50. > :53:53.cut costs by relying less on more expensive agency care workers. In
:53:54. > :53:58.West Sussex, it is different, it is about who has the safest pair of
:53:59. > :54:03.hands. The Tories say they have proven they can manage the council's
:54:04. > :54:08.finances sensibly. The opposition disagree, pointing, for example, to
:54:09. > :54:13.a scrapping of unpopular council DIY waste charges after the government
:54:14. > :54:20.indicated it may ban them anyway. And the council was told in 2013, it
:54:21. > :54:26.may have spent more than ?1 million of bills twice, but only started
:54:27. > :54:32.taking reaction to recover the cash Lacen last year. The opposition say
:54:33. > :54:38.they took too long to take the issue seriously. What effect has the
:54:39. > :54:43.unexpected general election had on the local campaigns? Some tell me it
:54:44. > :54:47.has tempted more people out on to the doorsteps, but it has turned
:54:48. > :54:51.next Thursday's poll into an important bellwether for junior
:54:52. > :54:54.eight. If the Lib Dems are to have their fightback, they will be
:54:55. > :55:01.looking to increase our county, maybe winning new seats. We know the
:55:02. > :55:06.Tories have been campaigning hard in Labour seats and 12 seeds somewhere
:55:07. > :55:11.like Hastings would set them on their way to regain their overall
:55:12. > :55:16.majority in East Sussex. In Crawley, a good performance would set Henry
:55:17. > :55:20.Smith's mind at ease. The Greens are wanting to win their first seats at
:55:21. > :55:25.both county councils, but in terms of the general election, we will be
:55:26. > :55:28.watching Ukip closely. They are the official opposition in West Sussex
:55:29. > :55:35.and on most of their seats in 2013 when they were riding high. But some
:55:36. > :55:40.suspect they may not return very many councillors on Friday morning.
:55:41. > :55:48.It'll be interesting. Tim Loughton, council tax has gone up, but we know
:55:49. > :55:50.things will get worse. How are your Conservative council candidates
:55:51. > :55:56.propose to defend the huge cuts your government is making the councils
:55:57. > :56:01.when they are on the doorstep this week. I agree it will get worse. We
:56:02. > :56:06.know it is because funding is coming down for councils. We are
:56:07. > :56:10.repatriated in business rates to local authorities, so we are
:56:11. > :56:15.devolving power. That is going to be a turbulent time until that comes
:56:16. > :56:22.in. A council like West Sussex, froze council tax for five years
:56:23. > :56:28.solid. We managed finances well and with the challenging problems and
:56:29. > :56:32.issues around an elderly population, I think we have done better than
:56:33. > :56:36.many in making sure we don't cut those front line services. But it
:56:37. > :56:41.will be a challenge. The Local Government Association says there is
:56:42. > :56:45.a funding gap of ?6 billion over the next five years. You mentioned adult
:56:46. > :56:49.social care, it is the looming crisis and the Prime Minister
:56:50. > :56:52.alluded to something in the manifesto. In this part of the
:56:53. > :57:02.world, care homes are either closing down or on the brink. People cannot
:57:03. > :57:04.care in their homes, the NHS is feeling the pressure. People will
:57:05. > :57:07.blame your government for that, whatever you come up with in the
:57:08. > :57:11.manifesto. Adult social care is the biggest challenge facing every local
:57:12. > :57:15.government. This is going to be a big issue, we have got to dust down
:57:16. > :57:22.the do not report and the work that has been done over many years. Would
:57:23. > :57:27.you like a death tax in the manifesto? I am looking at new ways
:57:28. > :57:31.in how we fund long-term adult social care so elderly sisters Billy
:57:32. > :57:36.Mac as the standard of care they need and deserve. In an ageing
:57:37. > :57:40.population, we need to make sure we're not piling costs onto the NHS
:57:41. > :57:44.because we have people who could come out of expensive hospital bed
:57:45. > :57:47.but they can't because the social care is in there. We need to
:57:48. > :57:51.streamline social care before we work out how we have a sustainable
:57:52. > :57:57.way of paying for our older citizens, quite rightly, in the
:57:58. > :58:01.future. In Kent, the Conservatives have cut budgets and improve front
:58:02. > :58:05.line services without reducing library hours or closing children's
:58:06. > :58:10.sentence, as they have done in parts of Sussex, so it can be done? I am
:58:11. > :58:15.sure there are other services under pressure. Kent does have a good
:58:16. > :58:19.reputation for some of its service areas, but you cannot keep taking
:58:20. > :58:22.the money away and expect the services to improve. I think Tim has
:58:23. > :58:30.put his finger on the point, the problem that will occur in the next
:58:31. > :58:32.Parliament. We need to have a better settlement for local government,
:58:33. > :58:36.particularly with adult social care and children's services because they
:58:37. > :58:39.are under pressure and under strain. Whilst I accept the rebalancing with
:58:40. > :58:40.business rates will have some benefits, it is not the whole story
:58:41. > :58:44.and we need a bigger pot. OK. Remember you can follow both
:58:45. > :58:47.the local and general election campaigns over the coming weeks,
:58:48. > :58:49.and find out more about all the candidates and the smaller
:58:50. > :58:52.parties, on your BBC local And now it's time for some
:58:53. > :59:00.of the other news you may have missed in 60 Seconds with Yetunde
:59:01. > :59:09.Yusuf. The Conservative MP Craig McKinley
:59:10. > :59:12.has been reselected to fight his Also this week, it was revealed that
:59:13. > :59:19.Kent Police submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service
:59:20. > :59:21.as part of an enquiry relating to his expenses
:59:22. > :59:25.in the 2015 general election. Mr McKinley says there was no reason
:59:26. > :59:29.why the investigation would overshadow his campaign,
:59:30. > :59:31.that he had acted properly and honestly throughout
:59:32. > :59:34.and had done nothing wrong. The Sussex Police and Crime
:59:35. > :59:37.Commissioner says officers need to do more to recognise
:59:38. > :59:43.the crime of stalking. Last year, more than 200 people
:59:44. > :59:46.reported the offence, with a sharp I think it's very difficult
:59:47. > :59:49.for police officers to understand in the first instance,
:59:50. > :59:51.the severity of the Because often incidents
:59:52. > :59:54.are reported in isolation. And it's been one year
:59:55. > :59:57.since the start of strike action The long-running dispute
:59:58. > :00:01.is over the introduction The disruption is estimated
:00:02. > :00:22.to have cost the south-east I would really like to ask both my
:00:23. > :00:23.guest about the year long strike on Southern trains but that is all the
:00:24. > :00:26.time we've got time for this week. Remember you can keep up today
:00:27. > :00:29.with all the election news and you can find details of who's
:00:30. > :00:32.standing where, on the BBC News Website and on your
:00:33. > :00:39.local BBC radio station. we will take the mandate that we
:00:40. > :00:51.want. To all three of you, thank you. Andrew, back to you.
:00:52. > :00:53.So, how will Thursday's local election results affect
:00:54. > :00:56.Who's winning the election ground war?
:00:57. > :00:58.And as he celebrates 100 days in the White House,
:00:59. > :01:15.We have the local elections, Metro elections in Liverpool, greater
:01:16. > :01:20.Birmingham, West Midlands, how will they play into the general election?
:01:21. > :01:25.Significantly, it is very unusual. People keep comparing this with the
:01:26. > :01:28.election in 83, not! Margaret Thatcher was nervous and to wait
:01:29. > :01:32.until after the local elections to call the election to see the result.
:01:33. > :01:38.We are getting these result in the middle of an election campaign so it
:01:39. > :01:42.will be important, whoever does badly will suffer a dent in
:01:43. > :01:46.confidence in terms of how they approach the election and we are
:01:47. > :01:51.also going to have mayoral figures as a reminder of another big
:01:52. > :01:55.difference with the 80s that however big, say, the Conservatives win in
:01:56. > :01:58.Westminster, there are now sectors of power in other parts of the
:01:59. > :02:04.United Kingdom which were not there in the 80s. One of the reasons
:02:05. > :02:09.niches that are rated in 83 was memories were still alive in
:02:10. > :02:12.political circles of 1970, Wilson saw the local election results and
:02:13. > :02:17.thought, I can win, he was told he would win by the Economist magazine,
:02:18. > :02:23.who had done the analysis, and of course he lost, so that is why she
:02:24. > :02:28.waited, Mrs May does not need to wait for that at all now, and on the
:02:29. > :02:32.Metro elections, the one she will be looking at is the West Midlands,
:02:33. > :02:36.that is the one that is a competition. I think she can really
:02:37. > :02:39.lose on Thursday in the local elections, governing parties are
:02:40. > :02:45.supposed to take effect again, losing lots of council seats. She is
:02:46. > :02:50.projected to put on 100 or so seats, Labour projected to lose around 200,
:02:51. > :02:54.the first time the main opposition party has shed seats since something
:02:55. > :02:57.like 83 so clearly the local elections give Mrs May great
:02:58. > :03:01.momentum going into the general election campaign but there is a
:03:02. > :03:04.downside in that, which is what we have already heard fighting about
:03:05. > :03:09.this morning, if it looks like it is going too well for the Tories, it
:03:10. > :03:13.says to voters, why bother turning up? Sushi comes up with totally
:03:14. > :03:16.unbelievable sound bites this morning that this is the most
:03:17. > :03:26.important general election in her lifetime. Really?! For her it is! It
:03:27. > :03:30.always is until the next one! I wonder if voter turnout is a
:03:31. > :03:35.problem? Tory voters are more likely to vote than Labour voters. If there
:03:36. > :03:40.is a sense that it is all over bar the shouting, the overall turnout
:03:41. > :03:44.will be low that Tory voters are still likely to turn out more than
:03:45. > :03:49.Labour voters so she would still win some. I don't think she needs to be
:03:50. > :03:53.too worried, I think there will be a significantly low turnout, even I am
:03:54. > :04:00.finding it hard to be that excited about this general election. Really,
:04:01. > :04:04.the policies, we have spent a lot of time talking about them today and we
:04:05. > :04:09.have to examine them, but all this is about is, do you want Theresa May
:04:10. > :04:13.or Jeremy Corbyn in Number Ten? Those are the only question is,
:04:14. > :04:17.apart from possibly how strong do you feel about Brexit, that will be
:04:18. > :04:21.on the voters' minds. You may say that but I will not be put off from
:04:22. > :04:27.going through a list of policies that we have already had in the last
:04:28. > :04:36.24 hours. On the Conservatives, more powers to stop company bosses under
:04:37. > :04:41.pensions, of course Philip Green was in mind there. Labour has come up
:04:42. > :04:44.with quite a few policies, actually, give all work of equal rights,
:04:45. > :04:54.whether part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent. Ukip, scrap
:04:55. > :05:00.VAT or takeaway -- on takeaway food and end the BBC licence fee. The
:05:01. > :05:07.Liberal Democrats have come out posed to the runway at Heathrow. I
:05:08. > :05:14.thought I knew that already? Will any of these policies make a
:05:15. > :05:18.difference? They are all nice handy things that people quite liked but
:05:19. > :05:22.probably not, is the answer. They are an awful way away from polling
:05:23. > :05:28.day now for people to remember and latch onto. I don't think you make
:05:29. > :05:31.your mind up on small issues like Heathrow, unless you live in
:05:32. > :05:35.Richmond-upon-Thames, maybe, but the problem Labour have got with
:05:36. > :05:39.unfailing a lot of these retail type policies which, in themselves, are
:05:40. > :05:43.very popular, is no one will listen to them until they get over the
:05:44. > :05:47.leadership credibility issue. Jeremy Corbyn could the world on a stick,
:05:48. > :05:51.but if no one believes he can deliver it then he will not be
:05:52. > :05:54.listened to and he has not done much apart from a speech yesterday in
:05:55. > :05:58.which is claim to fame was getting arrested, I don't see how that would
:05:59. > :06:06.work for him getting to Number Ten. They are not making progress on it.
:06:07. > :06:10.Labour has rolled out a number of policies which, taken individually,
:06:11. > :06:15.would have certain traction in normal times, quite interesting
:06:16. > :06:18.ideas, this sense of unfairness, a feeling that ordinary workers have
:06:19. > :06:24.not done well out of the recovery, those who caused the crash have, 20
:06:25. > :06:27.points, I went through some of them earlier, putting aside they are not
:06:28. > :06:34.costed, we are assured they will be. The problem I suggest is not the
:06:35. > :06:38.costing but the cut through? Every election has a context which is
:06:39. > :06:41.determined by opinion polls, however sceptical we are these days, and if
:06:42. > :06:47.one party is way ahead it is difficult for the other party to
:06:48. > :06:51.appear relevant, because if people assume they are not going to win,
:06:52. > :06:58.even some of its own MPs are saying, we are not going to win this, so you
:06:59. > :07:02.can vote for us, it is very hard to get attention and relevance. Where I
:07:03. > :07:05.think all the parties are bad with their current leaders is framing
:07:06. > :07:12.arguments, so those policies you have highlighted makes sense. The
:07:13. > :07:16.best leaders are brilliant framers of an argument and neither Theresa
:07:17. > :07:22.Maynor Jeremy Corbyn R. They have been campaigning, their manifestos
:07:23. > :07:26.are not out yet, both sides have been telling us we have to wait for
:07:27. > :07:29.costings, but it has not stopped them campaigning. Let's remind you
:07:30. > :07:35.of where they have been and what they have been doing so far.
:07:36. > :07:39.Let's start with Jeremy Corbyn, his first official visit was in the
:07:40. > :07:45.ultra-marginal Conservative seat of Croydon Central where the MP Gavin
:07:46. > :07:50.Barwell has a lead of just 165. That is not the only Conservative seat he
:07:51. > :07:53.has visited, along the way he popped in on Bristol North West, a
:07:54. > :08:01.Conservative majority of nearly 5000. The Tory seat of Cardiff
:08:02. > :08:08.North, a lead of just over 2000, Warrington South, just over 2700,
:08:09. > :08:13.and Crewe and Nantwich, Tory majority of three and a half
:08:14. > :08:19.thousand. Yesterday he visited Bethnal greed and Bob, a Labour lead
:08:20. > :08:22.of 20 4000. Theresa May kicked off her campaign in Bolton, Labour
:08:23. > :08:27.majority of over 4000. On her way round the UK she had a comfy stop in
:08:28. > :08:33.her own maidenhead seat, where she is defending a majority of nearly
:08:34. > :08:37.30,000, before travelling to other Labour marginals including Dudley
:08:38. > :08:42.North, a Labour lead of 4000. Bridgend, a lead of just under 2004
:08:43. > :08:56.Labour, before becoming ambitious and visiting shadow minister Richard
:08:57. > :09:00.Bergen's Leeds East seat, which he won by over 12,500 votes. Yesterday
:09:01. > :09:02.she went north of the border to Aberdeenshire, where amongst other
:09:03. > :09:04.places she visited the SNP seat of West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine,
:09:05. > :09:06.where the Tories would have to gain over 7000 votes to unseat the NP.
:09:07. > :09:14.What do you make of it all so far? It is remarkable she is doing these
:09:15. > :09:18.visits in Scotland. Past but even five years and the idea of a Tory
:09:19. > :09:22.Prime Minister going round Scotland would be utterly counter-productive,
:09:23. > :09:26.and actually they are ambitious for Scotland now under with Davidson, a
:09:27. > :09:29.prospect of multiple seats, and that would be a real genuine shift in
:09:30. > :09:39.Scottish politics, the likes of which we have not seen for 15 or 20
:09:40. > :09:43.years. If she gets that, that helps towards 100 seats, because if she
:09:44. > :09:48.wins ten in Scotland, it is effectively 20, the SNP lose ten,
:09:49. > :09:53.she gains ten, she wants to do that in the Midlands with Labour, and the
:09:54. > :09:57.North. To get the 100 majority, other than Scotland, she has to win
:09:58. > :10:03.Labour seats, that is all that is there. And clearly she has been
:10:04. > :10:06.told, it is obvious, that she has a chance of doing so, otherwise you
:10:07. > :10:11.don't go to these parts of the country in the first few days of the
:10:12. > :10:16.campaign. All logic points to her being able to pull it off as well.
:10:17. > :10:20.The opinion polls, the state of the Labour Party. The only qualification
:10:21. > :10:24.I have in this is that politics is so wild and free Braille at the
:10:25. > :10:33.moment, it doesn't feel like landslide to rain. That is true, it
:10:34. > :10:37.doesn't. It is early days, we haven't yet had the manifestos, the
:10:38. > :10:43.campaign is yet to gather momentum. It doesn't feel like landslide
:10:44. > :10:50.territory. I disagree, look at every single poll, the Tory lead is 10% in
:10:51. > :10:55.Wales, you can see her picking up 20 seat there. Put this together, I am
:10:56. > :11:00.told by the way she is going into traditional Labour heartland again
:11:01. > :11:07.tomorrow, the key is the Ukip vote. That will implode... Crumble towards
:11:08. > :11:21.Tories? If she can hoover that up and retain the Tory vote, she will
:11:22. > :11:22.have a majority of 150. I cannot let you go without
:11:23. > :11:23.reminding you that it is Donald Trump's 100 days. He's not making a
:11:24. > :11:25.lot of it now, this is what he said last night.
:11:26. > :11:28.We are just beginning in our fight to make America great again.
:11:29. > :11:37.Now, before we talk about my first 100 days, which has been very
:11:38. > :11:42.exciting and very productive, let's rate the media's 100 days.
:11:43. > :11:58.Because, as you know, they are a disgrace.
:11:59. > :12:04.There you go, still bashing the media, that was at a rally in
:12:05. > :12:09.Virginia, the 100 days was last night. He seems happier campaigning
:12:10. > :12:13.than running the country. You each have 20 seconds to give me your
:12:14. > :12:21.board on the first 100 days. Remarkable, he will not stop
:12:22. > :12:25.slagging off the media but America first has not meant America first in
:12:26. > :12:31.terms of national policy, he has reneges on what he said about Nato
:12:32. > :12:34.being obsolete. He is moving from the old right to the centre because
:12:35. > :12:42.that is where you get things done, he is a pragmatist, also is about's
:12:43. > :12:48.friend Nigel Parrott is no longer welcome, we read this morning!
:12:49. > :12:53.Allegedly! He loves campaigning but finds governing much more difficult.
:12:54. > :12:58.Who would have thought being president of the United States was a
:12:59. > :13:02.difficult job?! He loves rallies but being president and politics is a
:13:03. > :13:06.very difficult thing indeed. Thank you, there we go, Mr Trump's 100
:13:07. > :13:09.days, we will see what the next 100 brings.
:13:10. > :13:12.The Daily Politics is back on BBC Two after the bank holiday
:13:13. > :13:14.on Tuesday at midday, with all the latest
:13:15. > :13:18.And I'll be back here on BBC One next Sunday
:13:19. > :13:28.Remember - if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.