22/04/2012 Sunday Politics South West


22/04/2012

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In the second West, disillusioned voters say that though local

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elections will not stop the planet incinerator.

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1729 seconds

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And fears for the future all or Hello and welcome to the programme.

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Coming up on the Sunday Politics in the south-west, the farmers to care

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for some of her most treasured landscapes are worried that they

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will lose the funding they get from Europe.

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And for the next 20 minutes I am joined by Alison Seabeck and Keith

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Baldry, the Lib Dem councillor for the south.

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This week has been dominated by the fall-out from the Budget. Keith, do

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you think George Osborne was aware of how that the political fall-out

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would be with the granny tax and his other taxes? The Government has

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been caught unaware. I have never known a budget debate to go on for

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so long after the Budget. The most disgraceful decision would seem to

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be the cut in the top rate of tax. But you also mentioned things like

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the pasty tax, which will be unpopular with people who can least

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afford to pay. Alison Seabeck, what do you make of this? Some people

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think the Cornish MPs should resign over this. Far be it from me to

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comment on the internal grief of the coalition, the budget was

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described as a Budget budget, and I think the Prime Minister and the

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Chancellor have really lost touch with their backbenchers and they

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have a lot of unhappy backbenchers from both parties. More from report

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in a moment, but first to a top story which is, with the local

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elections just a fortnight away, the battle for votes in Plymouth is

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intensifying. Labour needs to gain just four seats to take control

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from the Tories. One issue at the forefront of some of voters' minds

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is the Conservatives decision to approve plans for a large

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incinerator at the edge of Devonport dockyards. They happen to

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be voting in one of the city's most marginal wards, but the Labour

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manifesto stopped short of promising to scrap the plants. Many

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voters feel disillusioned. A few years ago, Donna and Stewart

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were ordinarily resident. But the prospect of having an incinerator

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on their doorstep has turned them into active campaigners who have a

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keen eye on the local elections. am waking up in the morning

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thinking of how to do fundraising to get money to battle this

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incinerator, to help for legal fees. My whole waking life, sleeping with,

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is all about this. It is just about this. So May 3rd can hopefully

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change things, but I am not sure. The Conservatives one of the sport

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by just 20 votes last time it was up for election. -- Conservatives

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are one of this ward. Since then, this has become an issue closely

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aligned with both parties vying for power.

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Last December when the planning committee met, to consider the

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application for the incinerator, the public gallery was packed with

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protesters. So many people turned up that the council set up a run in

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the Guild Hall across the road so that they could watch proceedings

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via a video link. What they saw were seven Conservative councillors

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voting in favour of the application and five Labour councillors voting

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against it. But this award is not necessarily

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an open goal for Labour. The contracts have been signed and they

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will have big financial penalties to pay at the build does not go

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ahead. The Labour Party manifesto stops short of saying it will not

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be built. Although I was led to believe by the Labour Party that

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they will review the legal side of things, I see now from their

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manifesto that they are in fact saying that they will inherit an

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incinerator from the Tories, and they will do their best to ensure

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that the city never build a second one. I think that is something and

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nothing of a statement. The Labour Party says it will work with

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residents in their fight to overturn the planning decision.

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Meanwhile, the Conservatives defend their decision and say they plan to

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save the council money, create jobs and generate energy around the

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dockyard. They argue it is a much it needed solution for waste

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control as landfill charges are becoming less of an option.

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The National Party policy paper says that we will not allow it new

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incinerators for municipal waste unless they can show that they are

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the best option of a considered alternatives. A cross the border at

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Cornwall Council, it was a Lib Dem administration that signed the

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contract for the controversial plant. The Green Party opposes

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incineration, they have five candidates standing in the play

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with elections but none of them are standing in this ward. We are

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supporting five candidates in five wards, where they have come forward

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and a vocal active people. Unfortunately, we did not have

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someone like that. We do not push people into constituencies and

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words, be they are hoping for someone to come up but no wonder

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that this time. You kept are contesting this ward. They are

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critical of landfill directives. -- these UK Independence Party. They

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are not against incineration pair say. It is a totally wrong location.

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If it was in the middle of the countryside, an area with no houses

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or anyone who would, if you like, have a problem with that, that

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would be fine. But we cannot have it in the middle of a city. Will

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the political debate continues, campaigners look to the courts and

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a judicial review to try and stop the incinerator being built.

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Be heard their front two of the parties contesting elections in

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Plymouth, and joining us now to represent another is the

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Conservative councillor Ian Bowyer. Welcome to the programme. There are

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many people out there who do not like the incinerator idea, a

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decision that the Tories made last year. Will it come back to haunt

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you? I think I need to make it clear that the myth is the 15th

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largest city in the country, we need an infrastructure to support

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that population. -- that Plymouth is the 15th largest city. We need

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to answer this huge question about what to do with the city's waste.

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We cannot keep putting it into the ground. That is environmentally

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damaging and the most expensive way. We think the solution is the right

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one for the city of Plymouth because the city employs a

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technology that works. Alison, the Conservatives at and -- are

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defending their position and be clear about it, a Labour been

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opportunistic here? And the manifesto, Labour are not saying

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they will scrap it, but they're saying they are against it and what

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they will not do is build a second one when there is no suggestion of

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building a second one at all. It is clouded. There are other options

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for other similar types of technology in and around Plymouth.

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That is technically not wrong, we opposed the incinerator and did so

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prior to the last local elections. Four years ago you were making

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plans to sell for an incinerator. Not necessarily in the dockyard in

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front of those houses. I suppose that on planning grounds, because

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the families in those houses will be 160 metres from this constantly

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humming and very large building. These elections then will not make

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a difference, to your opinion and Labour's used? The problem we have

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is that it has gone through Joe -- gone through due process, and I

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have run to the Home Secretary twice to say it should be looked at.

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On two occasions, the Conservative Government said it would not. The

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people we have heard from in the film be have reeled genuine worries

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about this and are taking it to judicial review quite rightly. It

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must go through that process and we must see what the decision is at

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the end of that. What we have to see of course is, with waste in the

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future, let's have a proper debate which did not happen in this

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instance about the alternatives. Hang on, this is a classic example

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of Labour being disingenuous. Your colleagues left behind a waste-

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management strategy in federate 2007 before the last Labour council

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left office which clearly stated that the way forward was

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incineration. Now they are tried to be opportunistic and exploit for

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electoral gain people's discomfort. That is disreputable and you

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shouldn't be doing that. manifesto is quite clear. It does

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not say we are opposed to incineration. He signed and left

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behind a waste-management strategy and federate 2007 which charted the

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way to the position we have now. -- in February. Let's bring in Keith

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Baldry, because the Lib Dems are saying that they will work with

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local people to fight the incinerator. He had been clear

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about that, while in Cornwall it is Lib Dems have voted for their

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incinerator and to send that contract in 2006. What is the Lib

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Dem position? The major difference is the location of the incinerator,

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which is in an urban area close to people's homes. I am worried, first

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on the health side which has not proved one way or the other, and in

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the United States they have much more stringent health checks on

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these things, but more than that, it is the placement where it has

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been put. It is the number of vehicle movements which will go in

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and out of their through the city. Given all of that, if you scrapped

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it, how much would it cost? How many millions? The scrapping of it,

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there must be at an alternative site. I am sure an alternative site

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could be found that would not be near to people's homes. In my ward,

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there is a proposal from a different developer to place an

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incinerator in my ward which could bring vehicles to had passed houses,

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that is not the place to put it. Talking about alternative sites,

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the previous Labour council bought another site that was specifically

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reserved for waste management. We're saying that it is not OK for

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Devonport but it is OK and a new by area. It is not hokey... What I'm

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saying is it is not OK to. We need the support the naval base and

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support jobs in the naval base. planning grounds, it was not

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appropriate for the people in that ward, to look at a building they

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will have a home near and still have a strong feeling about that

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come the election. I am not a member of the planning the

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authority, but you will note that the matter was aired in public and

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the decision was taken. I am not against incineration in principle,

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in a am just say that is where you put it. I hope not, because they

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are no new plans to cut 10 new sites throughout the county. -- to

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put 10 new site. You are involved in this next, if it is all right in

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Plymouth it should be all right in Devon, what is the difference?

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hate to stop you there, but we must move on.

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Upland farmers are proud custodians of some of the South West's most

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impressive scenery. Those on Dartmoor or Exmoor and Bodmin Moor

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depend on money to challenge the harsh conditions which challenge

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their farm. Though the European Commission is considering changing

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the support criteria and redrawing the funding bounties. That has made

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many at hill farmers are very concerned about their future.

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There are landscapes which have remained unspoiled for centuries.

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Our home to wild life at the Recreation Ground for visitors. To

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some, these moors and peaks are central to our livelihood. Those

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who farm the south-west's Cup and areas are key to the maintenance of

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the land and the well-being of wildlife. Exmoor, like other upland

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areas in the region, offers limited agricultural potential and as such

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has been designated as a less favourable area, or L F A. It is a

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classification that can attract additional funding, so Hill farmers

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do not want to lose it. If you take this out, which will be due to its

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wards status, that it over there will remain in and apart even

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further over there might appear within it. That does not appear to

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make any logical sense. European Union are proposing a

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change to the realities are identified. The criteria involved

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and which boundaries to be used. This map shows existing L F he's in

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the south-west, and under the new plant less favoured areas, areas of

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natural constraint, have shrunk and shifted. In some cases they have

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disappeared. We are receiving so news of that really does worry us.

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The show large part of the up plants disappearing from this

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designation. Defra have yet to complete their investigation and

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they are tried to endeavour to get them to match the existing

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boundaries. It is beholden on us all to really keep the pressure on

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to make sure we do not see boundaries that are not really

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reflect what it is like on the ground. The European Commission

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favours the use of electoral ward boundaries over a National Park or

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were land boundaries to identify their areas of natural constraint.

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There is a slight problem in the ward boundaries are political

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boundaries and the change. Relatively frequently in this

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country, that is something the Duke did not appear to be lies was

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likely to be a problem. -- the United -- the European Union.

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Places like the south-west and hope we be more up fairly recognised

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under the new measures. The new regulations will have a huge impact

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on the viability of an awful lot of up and farms. It is attempting to

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try and make sure that we can get the best deal possible and retained

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the landscape and a farming system such as we have at the moment.

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To discuss this we welcome the Conservative MP Neil Parish, who

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joins us from our Exeter studio. Is this a problem in the approach of

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the European Union? Changing demands had trekked here is all

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heart one size fits all approach to European countries which does not

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really work and could mean that her up and farmers miss out?

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experience of Europe is that they very often try to bring in one size

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fits all, and there are also looking at altitude as well and

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this does not fit her lovely landscape areas which of course

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need The Help not only for farming and wildlife, but also for the

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tourism aspects of it. The whole way of life on Exmoor. We must

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fight this, and I know were at the court will Minister is hard at work

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trying to make sure that they do not change the rules that rule a

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not change the rules that rule a lot of her land out of their L F A

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E S. His -- is there a case that the British Government should do

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more to subsidise this? Such as say the French do with suckler cows?

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Yes, we can always look as we reform the ad because of Paul say

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whether we need to send more money towards the up plans. Everyone at

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Green Agriculture Policy then there is nowhere better than these

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uplands and Mergers to actually support the farming and wildlife

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and environment. I am very keen to see if we can make some tweaks.

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There is money there that we can look at. It is a case of whether we

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can do so. Alison, is Neil right that the Government should

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subsidise the upland farmers? was a scheme and brought in under

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the last Government in 2010 where ministers at the time of burned the

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midnight oil with members of the end if you, in order to try and

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come up with a scheme that offers some support. So clearly there is

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scope for that with and this, but Neil is absolutely right to try and

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impose a sort of one size fits all in this instance does not make

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sense, particularly as our boundaries keep moving. I would be

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very supportive of the minister who is going to try and battle and

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bring some sense to the shape we have around her murder and areas.

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Keith Baldry, do you agree? Should be subsidised those people? I ate

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the with a lot of what has been said. I have been speaking to

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Graham Watson MEP on Friday about this and it is absolutely true,

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having A1 size fits all does not work. Even within England, this

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does not work as there are differences even between Dartmoor

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and Exmoor. There is a need for something to be done, because at

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the moment, half of the agricultural area in Europe is

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claiming these special needs. It is clear that some of the other

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partner states acclaim when they are not entitled to and we need to

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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And Cornel's MPs fail in their attempt to stop the past the tax on

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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,

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unemployment figures mentioned their up 10% year on year. A

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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

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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

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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

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number of women unemployed are also rising. Keith, what is the

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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.

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