:01:28. > :01:32.one of those Tory MPs who wanted Europe in the Queen's Speech.
:01:32. > :01:42.And ministers are told they must do more to protect our railway from
:01:42. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :37:44.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2161 seconds
:37:44. > :37:47.Hello. Coming up on the Sunday Politics in the South West: The
:37:47. > :37:50.warning that ministers are not doing enough to stop the region being cut
:37:50. > :37:53.off by extreme weather. And for the next 20 minutes, I am
:37:53. > :37:56.joined by the Conservative MP Mel Stride and the Labour peer Lord
:37:56. > :37:59.Whitty. Welcome both of you to the programme. Let's start with this
:37:59. > :38:02.week's jobs figures, which once again showed a fall in the number of
:38:02. > :38:05.people out of work and claiming benefit. Significantly the claimant
:38:05. > :38:12.count is down year on year in every part of the South West.
:38:12. > :38:15.This appears to be good news. face of it, it is good news. But
:38:15. > :38:24.there are odd things with the statistics. Employment figures are
:38:24. > :38:28.going up and down. A lot of new jobs are very part time, even zero hours.
:38:28. > :38:37.People are moving into self-employment. I think we should
:38:37. > :38:43.welcome it strongly. We need proper jobs, serious jobs, better going to
:38:43. > :38:48.be long-term for people of the South West and the of the country.
:38:48. > :38:54.underemployment is a problem in your constituency? I don't think so. A
:38:54. > :38:58.job as important, as opposed to being out of work. We have seen a
:38:58. > :39:05.movement from part-time to full-time work as a trend. We have seen a
:39:05. > :39:14.movement from temporary to permanent work as well. We have seen women in
:39:14. > :39:19.work increase. That masks these figures of employment because
:39:19. > :39:25.actually unemployment has risen and yet the numbers of people claiming
:39:25. > :39:31.has actually gone down. If you look at the number that have been
:39:31. > :39:41.unemployed over the previous period last year, the record has not been
:39:41. > :39:44.too bad. Most economists have been slightly confused by that, but it is
:39:44. > :39:49.one of the aspect of our record that I think has been more positive than
:39:49. > :39:57.negative. Unemployment hasn't played as big a part in this recession as
:39:57. > :40:07.the 1980s. Thankfully employers are hanging on experienced Labour. But
:40:07. > :40:10.
:40:10. > :40:16.we also have these odd sort of choirs eyedrops the economy. --
:40:16. > :40:26.quasi-jobs. But some of these jobs are vulnerable in terms of looking
:40:26. > :40:28.after your family. The European drum has been banging
:40:28. > :40:32.away all week at Westminster. Among the Conservative MPs pressing David
:40:32. > :40:35.Cameron for a more solid commitment to an in-out vote were six from the
:40:35. > :40:41.South West. Our reporter has been getting reaction to the row from
:40:41. > :40:51.business people in Cornwall. Some politicians think it is the
:40:51. > :41:02.
:41:02. > :41:07.burning question. Europe, in or out? In, out, shake it all about.
:41:07. > :41:17.Entrepreneurs are meeting here to swap ideas, hungry to grow their
:41:17. > :41:18.
:41:18. > :41:22.businesses. Export is a key theme. Europe is a hot topic. We have many
:41:22. > :41:27.small businesses that need to collaborate together to get exports
:41:27. > :41:32.anyway. To put anything that puts that at risk is crazy. More than any
:41:32. > :41:39.other county in the country, we have 22,000 small businesses that need
:41:39. > :41:43.all the help they can get. As far as having a common market is concerned,
:41:43. > :41:48.it makes perfect sense for businesses to be trading on a bigger
:41:48. > :41:52.field. Ultimately, what we have now is not what we voted for when we
:41:52. > :41:58.first voted to join the Common market. We now have federal Europe
:41:58. > :42:04.by the back door and the aspects that Europe bring our less
:42:04. > :42:09.palatable. In Cornwall, Europe is not just about trade, fishing quotas
:42:09. > :42:14.and farming subsidies. The Eden Project, combined universities and
:42:14. > :42:19.Newquay airport I've all had a slice of �1 billion of European grants
:42:19. > :42:29.since 1999. There is more cash on the way. Despite this, UKIP polled
:42:29. > :42:39.15% of the vote in local elections in Cornwall. It is about economy and
:42:39. > :42:43.
:42:43. > :42:49.jobs. I am not a xenophobic not. I am speaking for our country and the
:42:49. > :42:56.vote for UKIP showed it. We have to wake up in this place. Richard Drax
:42:56. > :43:02.was one of six Tory MPs in our region to join the gang of rebels
:43:02. > :43:12.urging for a stronger position on the in out referendum. The Prime
:43:12. > :43:14.
:43:14. > :43:20.Minister has beefed up his promise of a vote by 2017. It was clearly
:43:20. > :43:26.not enough to make this question go away. The hokey corky. In, out.
:43:26. > :43:28.That's what it's all about. Joining us to discuss this we have
:43:28. > :43:38.Councillor Steph McWilliam, leader of the UKIP group on Cornwall
:43:38. > :43:41.
:43:41. > :43:43.Council. I wanted to send the message that we could not have a
:43:43. > :43:47.commitment from the Coalition Government in the Queens speech to
:43:47. > :43:52.have legislation in this Parliament to undermine our commitment as a
:43:52. > :43:59.party to have a referendum by no later than 2017. I think this issue
:43:59. > :44:03.is extremely important. Hasn't Europe proved a disaster is issued
:44:03. > :44:10.for the Tories generally? Especially for factor in the previous
:44:10. > :44:14.government. Cameron has said in the past that he would like the Tories
:44:14. > :44:19.to stop banging on about Europe. think we have arrived in a strong
:44:19. > :44:21.position which is now that we have a clear sense of direction as a
:44:21. > :44:31.party. The Prime Minister has made it clear that we have a commitment
:44:31. > :44:33.
:44:33. > :44:40.to a referendum. If there is a majority government elected, we will
:44:40. > :44:48.attempt to push for a referendum. I will send the message through my
:44:48. > :44:52.voting and also with this amendment. It undermines the government. You
:44:52. > :45:00.could have waited for the Private Members' Bill. I don't believe so.
:45:00. > :45:05.There was not a 3-way split. People voted for it or abstained. It is all
:45:05. > :45:13.part of getting that message across to the public. Be under no
:45:13. > :45:17.illusions. If a Conservative government is elected in 2015, there
:45:17. > :45:23.will be a referendum before the halfway point of that parliament.
:45:23. > :45:29.That is a problem for UKIP. Cameron is saying that the only way to get a
:45:29. > :45:32.referendum is to vote Tory. Where does that leave UKIP? What I heard
:45:32. > :45:38.on the doorstep throughout the campaign is that most of the voters
:45:38. > :45:42.just don't believe anything they are told. At least with the UK
:45:42. > :45:48.Independence Party, they know what they would be getting. We have the
:45:48. > :45:52.European elections next year. That will be really interesting to test
:45:52. > :45:59.public opinion. This idea that if there is a Tory majority, and if
:45:59. > :46:03.they are successful at renegotiating, then there will be a
:46:03. > :46:10.referendum in 2017 is not good enough. People are not happy with
:46:10. > :46:17.that. They want a say and they want it now. Where do you stand on this?
:46:17. > :46:26.I am a strong pro-European. I would vote yes in almost any
:46:26. > :46:31.circumstances. What we have now is David Cameron committed to a
:46:31. > :46:35.referendum in future and we don't know the outcomes of the negotiating
:46:35. > :46:45.brief. It is meaningless. The exact position of the Labour Party will
:46:45. > :46:45.
:46:45. > :46:52.probably not be determined until the time of the European elections.
:46:52. > :46:56.Don't people want to know now? personal view is that the situation
:46:56. > :46:59.amongst the public on Europe means we have to have a referendum at some
:46:59. > :47:07.point. I suspect that will be the position of the Labour Party. But
:47:07. > :47:10.not the referendum that either David Cameron or Mel and his gang on the
:47:10. > :47:20.backbenches have left us with because that is pretty meaningless
:47:20. > :47:27.
:47:27. > :47:32.to the average member of the fittest voting UKIP is that they will assist
:47:32. > :47:42.labour and the Liberal Democrats in defeating Conservatives in marginal
:47:42. > :47:43.
:47:43. > :47:47.seats. Will you vote in or out?I want to hear the debate. The
:47:47. > :47:51.sensible thing to do, and this is where I think the Prime Minister is
:47:51. > :47:58.right, is we need to have a full and proper debate about what it means to
:47:58. > :48:05.be in and what it means to be out. Steph, from your point of view,
:48:05. > :48:08.Cardinal has done very well out of Europe. �1 billion for projects such
:48:08. > :48:12.as the University of Cornwall and the Eden Project. Surely it is not
:48:12. > :48:17.the right thing for Cornwall to be out of Europe? What we have to
:48:17. > :48:22.remember is that the EU doesn't have any money of its own. It only has
:48:22. > :48:27.the money it has already taken from us. The way I try and explain this
:48:27. > :48:34.is to hold up a �10 note and say it will anybody give me �26 for this
:48:34. > :48:39.note? I have not yet had any takers. It relies on the government handing
:48:39. > :48:44.the money in our direction, rather than to other parts of the country.
:48:44. > :48:49.That is to do with the MPs that we send to Westminster. In Cornwall, we
:48:49. > :48:52.have six MPs who are all members of the Coalition Government. That their
:48:52. > :48:56.job to represent the interests of Cornwall and if they could keep all
:48:56. > :49:02.the money here we would be able to do more. The other point I want to
:49:02. > :49:07.make is that when we look at Cornwall's eligibility to all this
:49:07. > :49:12.European funding, it is because we are below 75% of the EU average GDP.
:49:12. > :49:16.We have been receiving this money for a very long time. We are still
:49:16. > :49:24.eligible for it for some time to come. Because we are still below
:49:24. > :49:28.75%. Whilst we are end, we are still eligible because we are still less
:49:28. > :49:33.than 75% of GDP, even though a lot of other countries have joined so
:49:34. > :49:41.the EU average has gone down and we are still not at 75%. This money is
:49:41. > :49:51.being misspent. What would it mean for the South West? Cornwall have
:49:51. > :49:51.
:49:51. > :49:56.had a much better reception in Brussels than in Westminster.
:49:56. > :50:00.long as we are still in the EU, we will be fighting for is not European
:50:00. > :50:07.funding as we can get. It is our money and we would like it back. It
:50:07. > :50:11.is just that we would like all of it back. Farmers have done well out of
:50:11. > :50:19.Europe. What would you tell them if they lost their funding? I think
:50:19. > :50:24.there have been many challenges. If we are looking at this particular
:50:24. > :50:29.area of this debate, it is about not whether assistance is given to
:50:29. > :50:35.farmers, it is about who is giving it. It is quite conceivable that
:50:35. > :50:38.after renegotiation we might end up in a situation we have control over
:50:38. > :50:43.raising revenues for transport in the United Kingdom. We need to have
:50:43. > :50:50.the debate to settle these discussions. We have doing that
:50:50. > :50:53.particular debate just now. Thank you. -- we have to end.
:50:53. > :50:56.The South West's transport links are looking a little more precarious
:50:56. > :50:59.this week with Flybe announcing a possible sell-off of its runway
:50:59. > :51:02.slots at Gatwick Airport. There was some good news for the rail network.
:51:02. > :51:05.The Transport Secretary took the train to Dawlish and promised to
:51:05. > :51:09.safeguard the mainline from the waves. But it is still not clear
:51:09. > :51:19.what will happen to the line if sea levels rise and some say our railway
:51:19. > :51:31.
:51:31. > :51:40.Stormy weather. Services along this track are often vulnerable to the
:51:40. > :51:47.weather. But it is a matters valuable for tourism. Over the last
:51:47. > :51:54.decade, Network Rail have invested �8.5 million on defences. They
:51:54. > :51:57.invest �500,000 a year to ensure the sea wall at Dawlish remains intact.
:51:57. > :52:03.With sea levels expected to rise and more extreme weather events
:52:03. > :52:07.predicted over the coming decades, the future of this route hangs on
:52:07. > :52:14.some significant government cash. This week, the secretary of State
:52:15. > :52:18.for transport travelled to Dawlish with the local MP. There are issues
:52:18. > :52:25.in terms of safeguarding the flying. It is important and there have been
:52:25. > :52:28.problems. Part of my visit here today is to speak to network rail to
:52:28. > :52:34.ensure we put in the right resilience to make sure this line is
:52:34. > :52:38.secure. It is vital we ensure this line is sustainable for the longer
:52:38. > :52:43.term. Realistically, there is nothing else affordable as an
:52:43. > :52:50.alternative. In terms of economic payback, it is crucial. A report
:52:50. > :52:57.carried out by the previous government looked at an alternative
:52:57. > :53:07.railway line. The scheme is estimated to cost �100 million and
:53:07. > :53:09.
:53:09. > :53:13.it was deemed to be an viable. are powerful images. The work we
:53:13. > :53:21.have done shows that that will be okayed for the next three or four
:53:21. > :53:29.decades. My worry is should we be focusing every bit as much on
:53:29. > :53:37.getting it right on other stretches of the line where Exeter can get
:53:37. > :53:42.marooned? That is what happened last year. The line was closed for
:53:42. > :53:46.several days. A �30 million programme to improve resilience is
:53:46. > :53:50.underway. Network Rail see it will not prevent flooding. The visit of
:53:50. > :53:55.the Transport Secretary has been seen as a positive sign that more
:53:55. > :54:05.investment will follow. But should we be worried that the region will
:54:05. > :54:07.
:54:07. > :54:10.get enough to ensure we are not cut off again?
:54:10. > :54:14.There are further discussions going on about the longer term and the
:54:14. > :54:19.kind of investment that may need to be put into the South West to ensure
:54:19. > :54:25.that our railways are resilient to function effectively. In the shorter
:54:25. > :54:31.term, but we have acute problems of flooding, there is a lot of
:54:31. > :54:36.investment. 30 million will not solve the problems, but it will
:54:36. > :54:40.improve resilience. When flooding occurs, the real we can be brought
:54:40. > :54:47.back into use more quickly. We're taking some of the signalling
:54:47. > :54:53.cabling and raising it so it doesn't get swamped by water. We were cut
:54:53. > :54:56.off for several weeks from Exeter. This is very serious. The government
:54:56. > :55:06.takes this very seriously. That is why the Secretary of State was down
:55:06. > :55:12.here. Ministers are looking at Network Rail and DEFRA and this
:55:12. > :55:17.whole issue. Do you think enough money is being spent to sustain the
:55:17. > :55:22.railway? I think rather more systematic money is required by
:55:22. > :55:27.Network Rail and rail operators in the terminating the resilience of
:55:27. > :55:30.the South West rate. It is a particularly vulnerable one. Mel is
:55:30. > :55:35.right that we should tackle the stress points on that line. That
:55:35. > :55:39.will require quite a lot of money, but I think that is the way to do
:55:39. > :55:49.it, rather than divert the line all the way around. Are we seeing enough
:55:49. > :55:51.
:55:51. > :56:01.money in our region as opposed to projects like HS2? If you include
:56:01. > :56:02.
:56:02. > :56:06.HS2 in your calculations, the answer is no. The volume of traffic is
:56:06. > :56:11.substantially greater in the Midlands than in the South West.
:56:11. > :56:15.There is a social reason for keeping better transport links with the
:56:15. > :56:20.South West as well as the rest of the country. I think the South West
:56:20. > :56:26.has missed out, to be honest. here would say we have missed out.
:56:26. > :56:31.It doesn't seem right that a fraction of the money on HS2 could
:56:31. > :56:41.not be brought down here. question is, who's what did miss out
:56:41. > :56:43.
:56:43. > :56:52.on? 13 years of Labour government. And the previous 18 years of Tory
:56:52. > :56:58.government. What about the other route that was looked into. That
:56:58. > :57:03.would be good for your patch? would and I can't be selfish all my
:57:03. > :57:07.life. I would love �100 million spent on a route in my constituency.
:57:07. > :57:13.There are problems that could be done with the Okehampton railway.
:57:13. > :57:21.But I agree that the level of investment involved there in the
:57:21. > :57:31.short to medium term will be too onerous. Thank you very much.
:57:31. > :57:35.
:57:35. > :57:39.Now our regular round-up of the political week in 60 seconds.
:57:39. > :57:48.A year after the so-called pasty tax was watered down, bakers have been
:57:48. > :57:52.counting the cost to their businesses. I am charging 20% VAT
:57:52. > :58:01.when I reheat these but I am not charging the customers. Concern over
:58:01. > :58:08.the loss of our search and rescue helicopter has been referred to the
:58:08. > :58:12.ombudsman. Cornwall Council have launched an investigation into new
:58:12. > :58:19.comments made by a councillor where he appeared to link disabled
:58:19. > :58:24.children with deformed lambs. believe in the sanctity of life.
:58:24. > :58:27.Dorset's Police Commissioner revealed he is talking to a private
:58:27. > :58:34.company about sponsoring his force. There is no more money and we have
:58:34. > :58:43.to think outside the box. Vault at 16 were proposed by the former
:58:43. > :58:46.Cornwall MP Lord Tyler. The Police Commissioner of Dorset
:58:46. > :58:51.has revealed he is talking to a private company about sponsoring his
:58:51. > :58:57.force. We don't know yet which private company. What is your view?
:58:57. > :59:01.The reason he is doing that is because the resources made available
:59:01. > :59:05.to him by central government have been severely cut. They are thinking
:59:05. > :59:09.of closing local police stations. I don't think it is a particularly
:59:09. > :59:19.sensible alternative, but I understand the pressure he is under.
:59:19. > :59:22.
:59:22. > :59:29.Even and Somerset did it some years ago. We saw the local for Threshers
:59:29. > :59:31.off-licence on the van. Was that acceptable? It is better than
:59:31. > :59:37.Threshers actually policing themselves. But I don't think it is
:59:38. > :59:45.sensible. Police forces are doing a magnificent job in making more go
:59:45. > :59:51.further. Crime is down 10%. Is it a good idea? Do you support this? I
:59:51. > :59:55.haven't seen the specifics. It seems slightly daft to me in general terms
:59:55. > :59:57.because I think the most important thing about the police is that they
:59:57. > :00:07.have the confidence of the public and the public sees them as being
:00:07. > :00:10.
:00:10. > :00:15.entirely impartial and answering to no private company. If you ask
:00:15. > :00:18.people whether they would rather see a police van with a local ordinal