:01:14. > :01:16.In the South West: the MPs on the brink of a revolt over council
:01:16. > :01:26.funding, And the international row which is worrying the region's
:01:26. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :39:38.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2291 seconds
:39:38. > :39:41.Hello, I'm Martyn Oates, coming up on the Sunday Politics in the South
:39:42. > :39:51.West. The Tory MP who says the Government's failing his
:39:52. > :39:52.
:39:52. > :39:56.constituents. Be expecting me to stand up a bus there and he and say
:39:56. > :39:58.the government, irrespective, you have this long, you must look again.
:39:59. > :40:06.And the international row that's worrying the region's mackerel
:40:06. > :40:09.fishermen. For the next 20 minutes I'm joined by Stephen Gilbert, Lib
:40:09. > :40:14.Dem MP for St Austell and Newquay and the Labour peer and former
:40:14. > :40:18.minister Larry Whitty. It hasn't been a great week for the economy.
:40:18. > :40:20.The latest figures show it shrank at the end of last year. The
:40:20. > :40:23.region's unemployment figures seem to be holding steady, but on
:40:23. > :40:31.Wednesday the airline Flybe announced a hundred jobs are going
:40:31. > :40:34.at its Exeter headquarters. If we don't take the actions we have done,
:40:34. > :40:41.we will not be have to return the business to profitability and
:40:41. > :40:46.deliver services. Are you thinking you backed the
:40:46. > :40:49.wrong horse in signing up to the Conservative prescription? That
:40:49. > :40:58.isn't affair caricature or of how the government is trying to
:40:58. > :41:04.rebalance the economy. Away from dependence on financial services,
:41:04. > :41:07.spreading gross including the south-west and Devon we need to
:41:07. > :41:13.make sure we are getting as much Infrastructure Investment as
:41:13. > :41:20.possible and we must never lose sight of the fact every job loss is
:41:20. > :41:27.a personal loss. Nick Clegg says it was a mistake for the government
:41:27. > :41:37.not as Ben Moore. Nick Clegg says the shovel ready projects should
:41:37. > :41:39.
:41:39. > :41:45.have been invested in at the time. The I am happy Nick Clegg's
:41:45. > :41:49.analysis is more accurate than mine. The overriding issue is we have to
:41:49. > :41:54.rebalance the public finances away from a dependence on French
:41:54. > :41:59.services and spread prosperity across the county. So, it isn't
:41:59. > :42:09.going terribly well but it is the best approach. It is neither the
:42:09. > :42:15.best approach nor is it going well. The economy is too bumpy. The
:42:15. > :42:19.output figures were disastrous. We are not getting the growth in the
:42:19. > :42:24.economy we need. We need it for jobs and prosperity but also to get
:42:24. > :42:31.public finances right. You went into the last election agreeing
:42:31. > :42:36.with the Lowry, you are converted to the Conservatives the. It isn't
:42:36. > :42:44.going well. I agree with lots of the analysis. The economy is
:42:44. > :42:49.bumping along. We get the prospect of a double dip and triple dip
:42:49. > :42:52.recession. There is little in it. 8% hearing there. The overall
:42:52. > :42:56.prescription to make sure international markets have
:42:56. > :43:01.confidence in the UK as a place to the business is one we have to
:43:01. > :43:04.tackle. There was the largest deficit in peacetime British
:43:04. > :43:09.history and we could be in a worse situation than today had the
:43:09. > :43:12.coalition government not taken action. We could have been in a
:43:12. > :43:18.similar situation to Greece or Spain. The prescription hasn't
:43:18. > :43:24.worked. If you look up the debt and deficit, we are worse off than when
:43:24. > :43:30.the coalition to Cover. We have cut back on public spending, on
:43:30. > :43:35.investment and capital projects. We are now reaping the dividend. It
:43:35. > :43:40.will take a lot to get us out of this and it hasn't rebalance the
:43:40. > :43:46.economy in the wake he suggests. Osborne suggested it should have
:43:46. > :43:50.done. We are deep in debt than before. The danger is we could be
:43:50. > :43:53.in a worse position, we could have been in a situation like Greece.
:43:54. > :43:56.There were angry scenes, yet again, at County Hall in Truro this week.
:43:56. > :44:00.Cornwall councillors, like their opposite numbers across the country,
:44:00. > :44:02.are struggling to thrash out next year's budget. A difficult job
:44:03. > :44:07.which the government's made even harder with an unfair funding
:44:07. > :44:17.settlement. At least that's what nearly sixty of its own MPs are
:44:17. > :44:18.
:44:19. > :44:25.saying. Tamsin Melville reports. There's a revolt brewing in the
:44:25. > :44:29.green fields of the south-west. constituents expect to be treated
:44:29. > :44:32.fairly and they expect me to stand up as their MP and say to
:44:32. > :44:36.government, irrespective of whether it is my own government, you have
:44:37. > :44:41.got this wrong, look again. It's unbelievable after all that work
:44:42. > :44:46.that it can get worse. Conservatives from rural
:44:46. > :44:50.constituencies are breaking ranks and joining the Lib Dems to
:44:50. > :44:55.question the fairness of a funding settlement that is branded a
:44:55. > :45:04.bargain but communities Secretary Eric Pickles. It is not a bargain
:45:04. > :45:08.for rural areas. Councils and MPs from row MPs across England. In the
:45:08. > :45:14.summer the government did good work revisiting the question of whether
:45:14. > :45:17.rural areas get a good question but a few months later the first
:45:17. > :45:22.divvying up of the funds of the back of that and guess what the
:45:23. > :45:25.rural areas could to kick in the teeth. MPs are banding together in
:45:25. > :45:33.a campaign to overturn the deal they say it means ministers are
:45:33. > :45:37.still offering urban councils to to some more per head. In 2004, Labour
:45:37. > :45:42.moved significant amounts of money towards urban authorities so we
:45:42. > :45:48.need a rebalancing. That is why we are cross and there is a peasant
:45:48. > :45:51.revolt going on in Parliament because we want to see a fair deal.
:45:51. > :45:57.Rural authorities across the south- west are struggling to balance
:45:57. > :46:01.their budgets. Before Christmas, Cornwall was told it faces a 1.8%
:46:01. > :46:07.cut in spending power. The authority says in terms of actual
:46:07. > :46:14.direct government funding, it's more like 6%. But his �80 million.
:46:15. > :46:18.We survive on Electric, Kalidas and it's expensive. Those at this
:46:18. > :46:24.JobCentre course know only too well the problems of living in rural low
:46:24. > :46:29.wage economy. We have to factoring getting to the JobCentre, if you
:46:29. > :46:35.haven't got the internet and she cannot afford the internet then you
:46:35. > :46:41.have to go into the JobCentre to look for work. It affects
:46:41. > :46:45.everything. With the increasing pressures on Cornwall Council, she
:46:45. > :46:49.faces losing some of the help she gets to pay her council tax each
:46:49. > :46:54.week. That extra few pounds, although it sounds like a paltry
:46:54. > :47:01.sum is a daily struggle. If you take �5 of, it affects what you
:47:01. > :47:05.have new shoes, if you need to buy yourself a new coat.
:47:05. > :47:09.councillors say the cuts are hitting the poorest hardest.
:47:09. > :47:15.They're challenging Conservative and Lib Dem colleagues to resign
:47:15. > :47:25.from their parties in protest. are now gone past cuts in the fat,
:47:25. > :47:26.
:47:26. > :47:30.we are cutting the muscle that is keeping the body going in Cornwall.
:47:30. > :47:35.The government recognises there is a funding gap. With the finer
:47:35. > :47:41.sediments imminent, the critics are not satisfied. What we want to see
:47:41. > :47:43.his action and money, not just sympathy. Well, I don't think Neil
:47:43. > :47:45.Parish will like the response we've just received from the Department
:47:45. > :47:49.for Communities and Local Government. Their statement says:
:47:49. > :47:52."This is a fair settlement - fair to north and south, fair to rural
:47:52. > :48:00.and urban areas and fair to shire and metropolitan areas. Councils
:48:00. > :48:05.that cry wolf...are letting their residents down." Are you on the
:48:05. > :48:14.side of the government or part of the Peasants revolt? The Peasants
:48:14. > :48:21.revolt, some people may say who better to lead it. The reality is
:48:21. > :48:27.all parties were the Labour, the Conservatives or the Lib Dems are
:48:27. > :48:31.clear that we need to rebalance public funding across the country.
:48:31. > :48:34.It is absolutely outrageous governments of all colours have
:48:34. > :48:40.underfunded services in Cornwall and Devon and Dorset and across
:48:40. > :48:46.other rural areas. What you make of the statement, you can hear people
:48:46. > :48:50.saying it. I think it is frankly complacent claptrap to suggest
:48:50. > :48:54.councils who were already struggling to balance the books and
:48:54. > :49:01.cutting frontline services are able to easily make the savings he is
:49:01. > :49:07.suggesting. Cornwall council says they need to put a council tax by
:49:07. > :49:10.2%, you would agree? The councils have a different judgment call. I
:49:10. > :49:16.would prefer them to take the offer from government to freeze council
:49:16. > :49:20.tax, government has made available money to have a third year council
:49:20. > :49:24.tax freeze. I know how difficult it is for my constituents have to make
:49:24. > :49:29.ends meet. I don't know how some of the people who come to see me at my
:49:29. > :49:33.surgery will find the extra money to pay council tax. This is a
:49:33. > :49:40.difficult challenge and if Eric Pickles is a complacent in his
:49:40. > :49:46.statement to say what he said and to be disdainful of his colleagues
:49:47. > :49:54.is disgraceful. The council says the cuts would include libraries,
:49:54. > :49:57.leisure centres and tourism support and transport. Vital services that
:49:57. > :50:03.people absolutely depend on which is why I want to be clear that
:50:03. > :50:07.Cornwall council has explored the option of getting the money for the
:50:07. > :50:10.council tax freeze before I support an increase in council tax. These
:50:10. > :50:15.are difficult decisions. We would not have to make such decisions if
:50:15. > :50:21.we had a fair funding formula for rural areas something all
:50:21. > :50:29.Government's promise but still we are lacking. This is something that
:50:29. > :50:33.is Labour's support historically. Work, I don't agree that the
:50:33. > :50:43.formula. A you did not move significant sums away from rural
:50:43. > :50:44.
:50:44. > :50:51.areas. The form itself is by some time. To some extent the inner-city
:50:51. > :51:01.areas are likely to score higher and on Labour's formula than any
:51:01. > :51:02.
:51:02. > :51:04.role areas. Except on the grounds... Is it justifiable? It is not
:51:04. > :51:11.justifiable if you are -- unless you're taking other measures to
:51:11. > :51:15.help rural areas. Nobody understands the formula, suburbs,
:51:15. > :51:23.in a city and rural areas complain about the cuts. The government
:51:23. > :51:29.should recognise the problem and Rural Housing and businesses and
:51:29. > :51:33.broadband. Room areas have a particular problem rather than play
:51:33. > :51:41.one off against the other and also rather than leaving it a central
:51:41. > :51:46.government to cajole, they allow councils to make a proper
:51:46. > :51:51.assessment. On top of those issues, there is the transport problems
:51:51. > :52:01.role areas face, getting to services when you live in a county
:52:01. > :52:06.
:52:06. > :52:16.with communities but a disbursed -- Ruairi is. The use it in opposition,
:52:16. > :52:28.
:52:28. > :52:32.David doesn't care Barbara areas. The head teachers I talked to say
:52:32. > :52:35.the pupil premium is making a difference in helping those
:52:35. > :52:40.children from disadvantaged backgrounds. I agree, the
:52:40. > :52:44.government has to tackle this and it is utterly complacent for Eric
:52:44. > :52:48.Pickles and his department to dismiss the concerns so many
:52:48. > :52:53.coalition MPs from the south-west. I have been campaigning for a
:52:54. > :52:57.fairer funding deal for Cornwall on education, health and transport for
:52:57. > :53:01.the two decades I have been involved in politics. It is about
:53:01. > :53:05.time government delivered on it. I don't care what the colour is of
:53:05. > :53:11.the government but delivers it, we need to tackle this because it is
:53:11. > :53:21.hurting people. And you have a junior government job, which voted
:53:21. > :53:21.
:53:21. > :53:29.against? I am the bag career. consider voting against the
:53:29. > :53:35.government? Let's be serious, let's be clear, I want see the final
:53:35. > :53:42.settlement and I want to discuss this with ministerial colleagues. I
:53:42. > :53:46.am as arranged as others from both parties in the region. Conservative
:53:46. > :53:49.and Lib Dem MPs went in asking for fairer funding and it seems this
:53:49. > :53:53.government is not prepared to deliver that.
:53:53. > :53:55.Bad news this week about the cheap and cheerful mackerel. They may be
:53:55. > :53:59.almost two a penny on the fishmonger's slab but
:53:59. > :54:01.conservationists are warning it's a different story in the sea. And if
:54:01. > :54:05.a decline in mackerel stocks is worrying for consumers, it's even
:54:05. > :54:08.more disturbing for the people who catch them. Believe it or not, the
:54:08. > :54:15.little stripy fellows are the most valuable species for the UK's
:54:15. > :54:21.fishing industry as John Henderson reports.
:54:21. > :54:26.Everyone knows fish is good for you but could too much of a good thing
:54:26. > :54:32.the bad for the south-west? From our own fishery we are concerned
:54:32. > :54:39.because last year it was the first -- worst year we've had. It could
:54:39. > :54:49.be the overfishing has caused the poor season. Macro, Fashanu,
:54:49. > :54:51.
:54:51. > :54:55.healthy and popular. It's been removed from the Marine -- mackerel.
:54:55. > :54:58.The stocks as they stand are above the level they need to be to be
:54:58. > :55:03.sustainable whole of the trend is downwards. The graph is pointing
:55:03. > :55:10.downwards. If the pressure continues it will give below a
:55:10. > :55:15.trigger point and the stock itself will be unsustainable. And this is
:55:15. > :55:21.the pressure point. Boats from Iceland and the Faeroe Isles are
:55:21. > :55:25.catching mackerel like never before. A million tons were taken in 2011,
:55:25. > :55:32.double what scientists say it should have been caught. For UK
:55:32. > :55:38.fishermen bound by quotas, it is frustrating. Plymouth is the second
:55:38. > :55:44.biggest fish market and mackerel is only a tiny percentage of the catch.
:55:44. > :55:47.In the south-west, it affects the local fishermen, south-west
:55:47. > :55:54.interests and processes and everyone associated with the
:55:54. > :55:59.industry. It is worth a lot of money. West Cornish liners like
:55:59. > :56:05.David need mackerel to. We work a 30 hooks on a line, very
:56:05. > :56:10.sustainable way of catching fish. There is no way you could over-
:56:10. > :56:14.fished stocks with this method. Conservation is and the minister
:56:15. > :56:20.had said catching them mackerel the traditional way it is not part of
:56:20. > :56:26.the problem but David is worried. It is unfair we should be targeted
:56:26. > :56:32.-- tarred with the same brush. A letter biggest London and people
:56:32. > :56:40.may be are not as well educated and might decide not to buy it. There
:56:40. > :56:47.is more international courts on mackerel next month.
:56:47. > :56:57.Conservationists were asked not to eat his money.
:56:57. > :57:05.I think when you were the minister you were involved with Brussels.
:57:05. > :57:09.The EU is in agreement and the argument is with Iceland. Fish
:57:09. > :57:19.stocks do need protecting. Part of the problem is the numbers are
:57:19. > :57:20.
:57:20. > :57:25.going down and it is moving. Probably because of the warmer...
:57:25. > :57:29.The North Atlantic is becoming warmer, fish are moving north. The
:57:29. > :57:35.Icelanders are closer to the mackerel than they used to be.
:57:36. > :57:39.There is a balance. The EU needs to renegotiate on our behalf with
:57:39. > :57:43.Iceland and the Faeroe Isles to make sure we are not overfishing.
:57:43. > :57:49.We are not yet in danger point, it's important to recognise that
:57:49. > :57:57.but we might be in a couple of years. This stand-off has been
:57:57. > :58:02.going on for about three years. Should Britain look at sanctions to
:58:02. > :58:07.push this? Negotiations are not going anywhere. At this point I
:58:07. > :58:15.would say they need to negotiate hard, harder than I have been doing.
:58:15. > :58:22.The other. Is a lot of the south- west fishing his hand line. That
:58:22. > :58:27.doesn't pose any serious threat to the stocks. As for consumers in
:58:27. > :58:31.London, if the mackerel tins were labelled hands like a lot of the
:58:31. > :58:36.concern of consumers who are keen on mackerel and it's good few would
:58:36. > :58:42.tend to purchase the hand like stop that side of things is also
:58:42. > :58:48.important. I can see you agree with a lot of that. In terms of
:58:48. > :58:52.resolving this huge international dispute,... It is negotiation and
:58:52. > :58:57.firm negotiations. It's a run like this is the week the Conservative
:58:58. > :59:01.Party put Europe on the agenda and it is the European Union and the
:59:01. > :59:05.ability to negotiate with 27 other countries supporting the British
:59:06. > :59:11.position with Iceland and the Faeroe Isles will give strength in
:59:11. > :59:16.numbers. We need to bring negotiations to a conclusion and
:59:16. > :59:26.negotiate hard. The point he makes about consumer education is a vital
:59:26. > :59:26.
:59:26. > :59:31.one. There were talks about tuner getting sucked up in factory which
:59:31. > :59:37.-- vessels and there is more sustainable ways of fishing. It is
:59:37. > :59:47.a sustainable way to source fish. OK,. Now our regular round-up of
:59:47. > :59:53.
:59:53. > :59:57.Cornwall council plans to pursue council tax cheats with lie-
:59:57. > :00:03.detector technology. It will put people off dealing with us and
:00:03. > :00:08.making more difficult to root out fraud. More pressure on the
:00:08. > :00:13.government to stop a repeat of this. We need a clearer idea about what
:00:13. > :00:18.Network Rail is supposed to do, a time frame and the impact they
:00:18. > :00:23.think the work will have. The MoD admits a 1000 pieces of military
:00:23. > :00:29.equipment have gone missing from the base. They have to be better
:00:29. > :00:35.procedures to stop it. It has to be tackled nationally. At the moment
:00:36. > :00:44.this job can only be done by a man. Some say the new succession to the
:00:44. > :00:54.throne should apply it to the Duchy of Cornwall. It is held by the
:00:54. > :01:01.Crown pending the arrival of the future male heir.
:01:01. > :01:04.We talked about Cornwall cancer, they think one way to save money is
:01:04. > :01:08.through lie detection approach to counter tax benefits. It is
:01:08. > :01:13.nonsense. It has been tried by government departments and shown
:01:13. > :01:17.not to be effective in doing what they want it to do. Cornwall is
:01:17. > :01:25.going down a dead end on this one. It might be more appropriate for
:01:25. > :01:29.you to try the guests here. Not in time for you today. There does need
:01:30. > :01:35.be a crackdown on fraud on social security. If lie-detector has can
:01:35. > :01:40.help, I am not in principle against them. It is how you do it and
:01:40. > :01:44.interpreted because they're not very accurate. I am concerned if
:01:44. > :01:49.it's a private company rather than the police or social security
:01:49. > :01:54.officials and that side of things needs to be addressed. As a
:01:54. > :02:01.possible to fool I would not rule it out. The situation with the
:02:01. > :02:06.energy equipment, it's a long standing mess. -- MoD equipment.
:02:06. > :02:13.used to work for the oil ministry 40 years ago and it was always a
:02:13. > :02:16.problem. And are you concerned about the succession? I am very
:02:16. > :02:21.concerned was that I want to make sure it is done on the same
:02:21. > :02:25.principles we have successions to the monarchy so there is equality