Browse content similar to 22/04/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
In the second West, disillusioned voters say that though local | :01:38. | :01:41. | |
elections will not stop the planet incinerator. | :01:41. | :01:51. | |
:01:51. | :01:51. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1729 seconds | :01:51. | :30:40. | |
And fears for the future all or Hello and welcome to the programme. | :30:40. | :30:44. | |
Coming up on the Sunday Politics in the south-west, the farmers to care | :30:44. | :30:47. | |
for some of her most treasured landscapes are worried that they | :30:47. | :30:51. | |
will lose the funding they get from Europe. | :30:51. | :30:56. | |
And for the next 20 minutes I am joined by Alison Seabeck and Keith | :30:56. | :31:02. | |
Baldry, the Lib Dem councillor for the south. | :31:02. | :31:07. | |
This week has been dominated by the fall-out from the Budget. Keith, do | :31:07. | :31:11. | |
you think George Osborne was aware of how that the political fall-out | :31:11. | :31:16. | |
would be with the granny tax and his other taxes? The Government has | :31:16. | :31:20. | |
been caught unaware. I have never known a budget debate to go on for | :31:20. | :31:27. | |
so long after the Budget. The most disgraceful decision would seem to | :31:27. | :31:31. | |
be the cut in the top rate of tax. But you also mentioned things like | :31:31. | :31:35. | |
the pasty tax, which will be unpopular with people who can least | :31:36. | :31:41. | |
afford to pay. Alison Seabeck, what do you make of this? Some people | :31:41. | :31:46. | |
think the Cornish MPs should resign over this. Far be it from me to | :31:46. | :31:50. | |
comment on the internal grief of the coalition, the budget was | :31:50. | :31:56. | |
described as a Budget budget, and I think the Prime Minister and the | :31:56. | :31:58. | |
Chancellor have really lost touch with their backbenchers and they | :31:58. | :32:03. | |
have a lot of unhappy backbenchers from both parties. More from report | :32:03. | :32:08. | |
in a moment, but first to a top story which is, with the local | :32:08. | :32:11. | |
elections just a fortnight away, the battle for votes in Plymouth is | :32:11. | :32:15. | |
intensifying. Labour needs to gain just four seats to take control | :32:15. | :32:19. | |
from the Tories. One issue at the forefront of some of voters' minds | :32:19. | :32:23. | |
is the Conservatives decision to approve plans for a large | :32:23. | :32:26. | |
incinerator at the edge of Devonport dockyards. They happen to | :32:27. | :32:31. | |
be voting in one of the city's most marginal wards, but the Labour | :32:31. | :32:35. | |
manifesto stopped short of promising to scrap the plants. Many | :32:35. | :32:41. | |
voters feel disillusioned. A few years ago, Donna and Stewart | :32:41. | :32:44. | |
were ordinarily resident. But the prospect of having an incinerator | :32:44. | :32:49. | |
on their doorstep has turned them into active campaigners who have a | :32:49. | :32:53. | |
keen eye on the local elections. am waking up in the morning | :32:53. | :32:57. | |
thinking of how to do fundraising to get money to battle this | :32:57. | :33:02. | |
incinerator, to help for legal fees. My whole waking life, sleeping with, | :33:03. | :33:09. | |
is all about this. It is just about this. So May 3rd can hopefully | :33:09. | :33:14. | |
change things, but I am not sure. The Conservatives one of the sport | :33:14. | :33:19. | |
by just 20 votes last time it was up for election. -- Conservatives | :33:19. | :33:23. | |
are one of this ward. Since then, this has become an issue closely | :33:23. | :33:26. | |
aligned with both parties vying for power. | :33:26. | :33:30. | |
Last December when the planning committee met, to consider the | :33:30. | :33:34. | |
application for the incinerator, the public gallery was packed with | :33:34. | :33:38. | |
protesters. So many people turned up that the council set up a run in | :33:38. | :33:42. | |
the Guild Hall across the road so that they could watch proceedings | :33:42. | :33:45. | |
via a video link. What they saw were seven Conservative councillors | :33:45. | :33:49. | |
voting in favour of the application and five Labour councillors voting | :33:49. | :33:54. | |
against it. But this award is not necessarily | :33:54. | :33:59. | |
an open goal for Labour. The contracts have been signed and they | :33:59. | :34:02. | |
will have big financial penalties to pay at the build does not go | :34:02. | :34:06. | |
ahead. The Labour Party manifesto stops short of saying it will not | :34:06. | :34:10. | |
be built. Although I was led to believe by the Labour Party that | :34:10. | :34:16. | |
they will review the legal side of things, I see now from their | :34:16. | :34:19. | |
manifesto that they are in fact saying that they will inherit an | :34:19. | :34:22. | |
incinerator from the Tories, and they will do their best to ensure | :34:22. | :34:26. | |
that the city never build a second one. I think that is something and | :34:26. | :34:31. | |
nothing of a statement. The Labour Party says it will work with | :34:31. | :34:35. | |
residents in their fight to overturn the planning decision. | :34:35. | :34:39. | |
Meanwhile, the Conservatives defend their decision and say they plan to | :34:40. | :34:45. | |
save the council money, create jobs and generate energy around the | :34:45. | :34:50. | |
dockyard. They argue it is a much it needed solution for waste | :34:50. | :34:56. | |
control as landfill charges are becoming less of an option. | :34:56. | :35:01. | |
The National Party policy paper says that we will not allow it new | :35:01. | :35:04. | |
incinerators for municipal waste unless they can show that they are | :35:04. | :35:09. | |
the best option of a considered alternatives. A cross the border at | :35:09. | :35:13. | |
Cornwall Council, it was a Lib Dem administration that signed the | :35:13. | :35:17. | |
contract for the controversial plant. The Green Party opposes | :35:17. | :35:20. | |
incineration, they have five candidates standing in the play | :35:20. | :35:25. | |
with elections but none of them are standing in this ward. We are | :35:25. | :35:30. | |
supporting five candidates in five wards, where they have come forward | :35:30. | :35:33. | |
and a vocal active people. Unfortunately, we did not have | :35:33. | :35:38. | |
someone like that. We do not push people into constituencies and | :35:38. | :35:41. | |
words, be they are hoping for someone to come up but no wonder | :35:41. | :35:48. | |
that this time. You kept are contesting this ward. They are | :35:48. | :35:53. | |
critical of landfill directives. -- these UK Independence Party. They | :35:53. | :35:57. | |
are not against incineration pair say. It is a totally wrong location. | :35:57. | :36:02. | |
If it was in the middle of the countryside, an area with no houses | :36:02. | :36:06. | |
or anyone who would, if you like, have a problem with that, that | :36:06. | :36:12. | |
would be fine. But we cannot have it in the middle of a city. Will | :36:12. | :36:15. | |
the political debate continues, campaigners look to the courts and | :36:16. | :36:23. | |
a judicial review to try and stop the incinerator being built. | :36:23. | :36:26. | |
Be heard their front two of the parties contesting elections in | :36:26. | :36:29. | |
Plymouth, and joining us now to represent another is the | :36:29. | :36:34. | |
Conservative councillor Ian Bowyer. Welcome to the programme. There are | :36:34. | :36:38. | |
many people out there who do not like the incinerator idea, a | :36:38. | :36:41. | |
decision that the Tories made last year. Will it come back to haunt | :36:41. | :36:46. | |
you? I think I need to make it clear that the myth is the 15th | :36:46. | :36:51. | |
largest city in the country, we need an infrastructure to support | :36:51. | :36:58. | |
that population. -- that Plymouth is the 15th largest city. We need | :36:58. | :37:01. | |
to answer this huge question about what to do with the city's waste. | :37:02. | :37:06. | |
We cannot keep putting it into the ground. That is environmentally | :37:06. | :37:11. | |
damaging and the most expensive way. We think the solution is the right | :37:11. | :37:15. | |
one for the city of Plymouth because the city employs a | :37:15. | :37:19. | |
technology that works. Alison, the Conservatives at and -- are | :37:20. | :37:23. | |
defending their position and be clear about it, a Labour been | :37:23. | :37:27. | |
opportunistic here? And the manifesto, Labour are not saying | :37:27. | :37:29. | |
they will scrap it, but they're saying they are against it and what | :37:29. | :37:34. | |
they will not do is build a second one when there is no suggestion of | :37:34. | :37:38. | |
building a second one at all. It is clouded. There are other options | :37:38. | :37:43. | |
for other similar types of technology in and around Plymouth. | :37:43. | :37:50. | |
That is technically not wrong, we opposed the incinerator and did so | :37:50. | :37:54. | |
prior to the last local elections. Four years ago you were making | :37:54. | :37:58. | |
plans to sell for an incinerator. Not necessarily in the dockyard in | :37:58. | :38:02. | |
front of those houses. I suppose that on planning grounds, because | :38:02. | :38:07. | |
the families in those houses will be 160 metres from this constantly | :38:07. | :38:10. | |
humming and very large building. These elections then will not make | :38:10. | :38:15. | |
a difference, to your opinion and Labour's used? The problem we have | :38:15. | :38:22. | |
is that it has gone through Joe -- gone through due process, and I | :38:22. | :38:24. | |
have run to the Home Secretary twice to say it should be looked at. | :38:24. | :38:28. | |
On two occasions, the Conservative Government said it would not. The | :38:28. | :38:32. | |
people we have heard from in the film be have reeled genuine worries | :38:32. | :38:35. | |
about this and are taking it to judicial review quite rightly. It | :38:35. | :38:40. | |
must go through that process and we must see what the decision is at | :38:40. | :38:45. | |
the end of that. What we have to see of course is, with waste in the | :38:45. | :38:48. | |
future, let's have a proper debate which did not happen in this | :38:48. | :38:52. | |
instance about the alternatives. Hang on, this is a classic example | :38:52. | :38:57. | |
of Labour being disingenuous. Your colleagues left behind a waste- | :38:57. | :39:01. | |
management strategy in federate 2007 before the last Labour council | :39:01. | :39:04. | |
left office which clearly stated that the way forward was | :39:04. | :39:09. | |
incineration. Now they are tried to be opportunistic and exploit for | :39:09. | :39:12. | |
electoral gain people's discomfort. That is disreputable and you | :39:12. | :39:16. | |
shouldn't be doing that. manifesto is quite clear. It does | :39:16. | :39:21. | |
not say we are opposed to incineration. He signed and left | :39:21. | :39:24. | |
behind a waste-management strategy and federate 2007 which charted the | :39:24. | :39:31. | |
way to the position we have now. -- in February. Let's bring in Keith | :39:31. | :39:34. | |
Baldry, because the Lib Dems are saying that they will work with | :39:34. | :39:38. | |
local people to fight the incinerator. He had been clear | :39:38. | :39:43. | |
about that, while in Cornwall it is Lib Dems have voted for their | :39:43. | :39:46. | |
incinerator and to send that contract in 2006. What is the Lib | :39:46. | :39:50. | |
Dem position? The major difference is the location of the incinerator, | :39:51. | :39:55. | |
which is in an urban area close to people's homes. I am worried, first | :39:55. | :39:58. | |
on the health side which has not proved one way or the other, and in | :39:58. | :40:02. | |
the United States they have much more stringent health checks on | :40:02. | :40:05. | |
these things, but more than that, it is the placement where it has | :40:05. | :40:08. | |
been put. It is the number of vehicle movements which will go in | :40:08. | :40:12. | |
and out of their through the city. Given all of that, if you scrapped | :40:12. | :40:17. | |
it, how much would it cost? How many millions? The scrapping of it, | :40:17. | :40:23. | |
there must be at an alternative site. I am sure an alternative site | :40:23. | :40:26. | |
could be found that would not be near to people's homes. In my ward, | :40:27. | :40:30. | |
there is a proposal from a different developer to place an | :40:30. | :40:33. | |
incinerator in my ward which could bring vehicles to had passed houses, | :40:33. | :40:38. | |
that is not the place to put it. Talking about alternative sites, | :40:38. | :40:42. | |
the previous Labour council bought another site that was specifically | :40:42. | :40:46. | |
reserved for waste management. We're saying that it is not OK for | :40:46. | :40:53. | |
Devonport but it is OK and a new by area. It is not hokey... What I'm | :40:53. | :41:00. | |
saying is it is not OK to. We need the support the naval base and | :41:00. | :41:05. | |
support jobs in the naval base. planning grounds, it was not | :41:05. | :41:09. | |
appropriate for the people in that ward, to look at a building they | :41:09. | :41:12. | |
will have a home near and still have a strong feeling about that | :41:12. | :41:15. | |
come the election. I am not a member of the planning the | :41:15. | :41:19. | |
authority, but you will note that the matter was aired in public and | :41:19. | :41:25. | |
the decision was taken. I am not against incineration in principle, | :41:25. | :41:31. | |
in a am just say that is where you put it. I hope not, because they | :41:31. | :41:38. | |
are no new plans to cut 10 new sites throughout the county. -- to | :41:38. | :41:42. | |
put 10 new site. You are involved in this next, if it is all right in | :41:42. | :41:46. | |
Plymouth it should be all right in Devon, what is the difference? | :41:46. | :41:51. | |
hate to stop you there, but we must move on. | :41:51. | :41:55. | |
Upland farmers are proud custodians of some of the South West's most | :41:55. | :42:02. | |
impressive scenery. Those on Dartmoor or Exmoor and Bodmin Moor | :42:02. | :42:05. | |
depend on money to challenge the harsh conditions which challenge | :42:05. | :42:08. | |
their farm. Though the European Commission is considering changing | :42:08. | :42:13. | |
the support criteria and redrawing the funding bounties. That has made | :42:13. | :42:18. | |
many at hill farmers are very concerned about their future. | :42:18. | :42:23. | |
There are landscapes which have remained unspoiled for centuries. | :42:23. | :42:28. | |
Our home to wild life at the Recreation Ground for visitors. To | :42:28. | :42:32. | |
some, these moors and peaks are central to our livelihood. Those | :42:32. | :42:36. | |
who farm the south-west's Cup and areas are key to the maintenance of | :42:36. | :42:40. | |
the land and the well-being of wildlife. Exmoor, like other upland | :42:40. | :42:43. | |
areas in the region, offers limited agricultural potential and as such | :42:43. | :42:50. | |
has been designated as a less favourable area, or L F A. It is a | :42:50. | :42:53. | |
classification that can attract additional funding, so Hill farmers | :42:53. | :43:01. | |
do not want to lose it. If you take this out, which will be due to its | :43:01. | :43:06. | |
wards status, that it over there will remain in and apart even | :43:06. | :43:11. | |
further over there might appear within it. That does not appear to | :43:11. | :43:15. | |
make any logical sense. European Union are proposing a | :43:15. | :43:20. | |
change to the realities are identified. The criteria involved | :43:20. | :43:26. | |
and which boundaries to be used. This map shows existing L F he's in | :43:26. | :43:30. | |
the south-west, and under the new plant less favoured areas, areas of | :43:30. | :43:34. | |
natural constraint, have shrunk and shifted. In some cases they have | :43:34. | :43:41. | |
disappeared. We are receiving so news of that really does worry us. | :43:41. | :43:44. | |
The show large part of the up plants disappearing from this | :43:44. | :43:50. | |
designation. Defra have yet to complete their investigation and | :43:50. | :43:53. | |
they are tried to endeavour to get them to match the existing | :43:53. | :43:59. | |
boundaries. It is beholden on us all to really keep the pressure on | :43:59. | :44:02. | |
to make sure we do not see boundaries that are not really | :44:02. | :44:05. | |
reflect what it is like on the ground. The European Commission | :44:05. | :44:09. | |
favours the use of electoral ward boundaries over a National Park or | :44:09. | :44:12. | |
were land boundaries to identify their areas of natural constraint. | :44:12. | :44:16. | |
There is a slight problem in the ward boundaries are political | :44:16. | :44:22. | |
boundaries and the change. Relatively frequently in this | :44:22. | :44:25. | |
country, that is something the Duke did not appear to be lies was | :44:25. | :44:31. | |
likely to be a problem. -- the United -- the European Union. | :44:31. | :44:37. | |
Places like the south-west and hope we be more up fairly recognised | :44:37. | :44:40. | |
under the new measures. The new regulations will have a huge impact | :44:40. | :44:45. | |
on the viability of an awful lot of up and farms. It is attempting to | :44:45. | :44:48. | |
try and make sure that we can get the best deal possible and retained | :44:48. | :44:55. | |
the landscape and a farming system such as we have at the moment. | :44:55. | :45:01. | |
To discuss this we welcome the Conservative MP Neil Parish, who | :45:01. | :45:08. | |
joins us from our Exeter studio. Is this a problem in the approach of | :45:08. | :45:12. | |
the European Union? Changing demands had trekked here is all | :45:12. | :45:15. | |
heart one size fits all approach to European countries which does not | :45:15. | :45:20. | |
really work and could mean that her up and farmers miss out? | :45:20. | :45:23. | |
experience of Europe is that they very often try to bring in one size | :45:23. | :45:26. | |
fits all, and there are also looking at altitude as well and | :45:26. | :45:29. | |
this does not fit her lovely landscape areas which of course | :45:29. | :45:34. | |
need The Help not only for farming and wildlife, but also for the | :45:34. | :45:38. | |
tourism aspects of it. The whole way of life on Exmoor. We must | :45:38. | :45:43. | |
fight this, and I know were at the court will Minister is hard at work | :45:43. | :45:46. | |
trying to make sure that they do not change the rules that rule a | :45:46. | :45:49. | |
not change the rules that rule a lot of her land out of their L F A | :45:49. | :45:53. | |
E S. His -- is there a case that the British Government should do | :45:53. | :46:00. | |
more to subsidise this? Such as say the French do with suckler cows? | :46:00. | :46:05. | |
Yes, we can always look as we reform the ad because of Paul say | :46:05. | :46:09. | |
whether we need to send more money towards the up plans. Everyone at | :46:09. | :46:12. | |
Green Agriculture Policy then there is nowhere better than these | :46:12. | :46:17. | |
uplands and Mergers to actually support the farming and wildlife | :46:17. | :46:22. | |
and environment. I am very keen to see if we can make some tweaks. | :46:22. | :46:28. | |
There is money there that we can look at. It is a case of whether we | :46:28. | :46:32. | |
can do so. Alison, is Neil right that the Government should | :46:32. | :46:36. | |
subsidise the upland farmers? was a scheme and brought in under | :46:36. | :46:40. | |
the last Government in 2010 where ministers at the time of burned the | :46:40. | :46:43. | |
midnight oil with members of the end if you, in order to try and | :46:43. | :46:51. | |
come up with a scheme that offers some support. So clearly there is | :46:51. | :46:58. | |
scope for that with and this, but Neil is absolutely right to try and | :46:58. | :47:02. | |
impose a sort of one size fits all in this instance does not make | :47:02. | :47:06. | |
sense, particularly as our boundaries keep moving. I would be | :47:06. | :47:10. | |
very supportive of the minister who is going to try and battle and | :47:10. | :47:14. | |
bring some sense to the shape we have around her murder and areas. | :47:14. | :47:19. | |
Keith Baldry, do you agree? Should be subsidised those people? I ate | :47:19. | :47:23. | |
the with a lot of what has been said. I have been speaking to | :47:23. | :47:27. | |
Graham Watson MEP on Friday about this and it is absolutely true, | :47:27. | :47:33. | |
having A1 size fits all does not work. Even within England, this | :47:33. | :47:37. | |
does not work as there are differences even between Dartmoor | :47:37. | :47:40. | |
and Exmoor. There is a need for something to be done, because at | :47:40. | :47:44. | |
the moment, half of the agricultural area in Europe is | :47:44. | :47:47. | |
claiming these special needs. It is clear that some of the other | :47:47. | :47:52. | |
partner states acclaim when they are not entitled to and we need to | :47:52. | :48:00. | |
win back into life. Fact you very much. | :48:00. | :48:10. | |
:48:10. | :48:13. | ||
Now they have her round-up of the Unemployment figures show the | :48:13. | :48:20. | |
number of people on the dole has gone up by 10% and the last year. | :48:20. | :48:23. | |
My nesses is pregnant and I do not have enough money to support us | :48:23. | :48:28. | |
both. Some people in Cornwall enjoyed | :48:28. | :48:34. | |
their third week without a rubbish collection. It is still clocking up | :48:34. | :48:38. | |
and gain an eyesore. It is ridiculous now. There was a record | :48:38. | :48:44. | |
turnout in Guernsey would stop -- for an election would so the | :48:44. | :48:46. | |
longest-standing deputy lose his seat. | :48:46. | :48:49. | |
The Conservative leader of Somerset County Council announced he is | :48:50. | :48:54. | |
stepping down as we can stand for election as a police commissioner. | :48:54. | :48:58. | |
And Cornel's MPs fail in their attempt to stop the past the tax on | :48:58. | :49:03. | |
Wednesday night. Stephen Gilbert made his feelings clear to the | :49:03. | :49:08. | |
Prime Minister. There is no VAT tax on caviar, but the Government is | :49:08. | :49:18. | |
:49:18. | :49:19. | ||
choosing to put VAT on the Cornish That was our round-up of the | :49:19. | :49:22. | |
political week in 60 seconds. Alison, have become the first, | :49:22. | :49:25. | |
unemployment figures mentioned their up 10% year on year. A | :49:25. | :49:30. | |
worrying is that you might it is extremely worrying, and if you look | :49:30. | :49:33. | |
into the figures, the number of long-term unemployed is very | :49:33. | :49:38. | |
worrying. The lessons we learnt from the problems he had in the 90s | :49:39. | :49:43. | |
a car that the more people are and that gripped the harder it is to | :49:43. | :49:46. | |
actually get the economy to pick up again and get them back to work. We | :49:46. | :49:51. | |
must do something about that, and one in a particular also, the | :49:51. | :49:56. | |
number of women unemployed are also rising. Keith, what is the | :49:56. | :50:02. | |
coalition doing? This is terribly worrying, be made a fuss about the | :50:02. | :50:07. | |
granny tax and quite so. The people at the other end, the youngsters | :50:07. | :50:11. | |
are a big concern. It is a long- term unemployment and the prospects | :50:11. | :50:15. | |
for them in the future which is an enormous body and we must hope that | :50:15. | :50:19. | |
the economy takes off. In our area, there were serious. | :50:19. | :50:25. |