:00:25. > :03:35.is on the table. Who would you rather play table football against?
:03:35. > :03:52.because I am winning. So in the winning 's which ones are heading
:03:52. > :04:02.popular policy was a mansion tax on house is worth more than £2 million,
:04:02. > :04:05.popular policy was a mansion tax on councillors. The next most popular
:04:05. > :04:09.policy was scrapping the Trident nuclear deterrent, supported by
:04:09. > :04:13.policy was scrapping the Trident of councillors. Then there was the
:04:13. > :04:18.reinstatement of the 50p top rate of income tax. 70% of councillors like
:04:18. > :04:22.the look of that. When it came to the idea of banning the burka in
:04:22. > :04:27.public places like schools and airports, 45% of councillors were in
:04:27. > :04:34.favour. Finally, a ban on topless Page three model is won the support
:04:34. > :04:42.of 33% of councillors. Why is it so popular, the idea of a mansion tax?
:04:42. > :04:46.It is a much fairer tax. We know there are people out there with
:04:46. > :04:49.It is a much fairer tax. We know expensive houses. Which of these is
:04:49. > :04:56.most important to you? Banning Trident. The cold war ended in
:04:56. > :04:59.1989. Another one was the idea of banning the burka in public places.
:04:59. > :05:07.whatever they like. If they want to banning the burka in public places.
:05:07. > :05:18.wear the birth or a kilt or if they anything. We are the party of jobs.
:05:18. > :05:23.Thank you. Last night, a fully clothed Nick Clegg rallied his
:05:23. > :05:28.troops, but if he was not around, who would Lib Dem councillors want
:05:28. > :05:33.instead? Business Secretary Vince Cable was most popular, with a third
:05:33. > :05:40.of the votes. In second place, the party's president, Tim Farron, with
:05:40. > :05:45.27%. 10% went to Danny Alexander, while the business minister Joe
:05:45. > :05:51.Swinson received 7%. The Energy Secretary Ed Davey scooped 6%, and
:05:51. > :05:58.in last place, Steve Webb, the pensions minister, who got 5%. If
:05:58. > :05:59.any of these councillors want to talk to me about it, I would be
:05:59. > :06:09.delighted to hear from them. Is talk to me about it, I would be
:06:09. > :06:18.certainly isn't. What do you think contenders. But our survey is not
:06:18. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues wagging in Glasgow, because the
:06:23. > :06:23.the only one that has got tongues Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:23. > :06:25.their own poll which showed that 75% Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:25. > :06:29.of the country will never vote Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:29. > :06:37.the party, no matter what they do. Also meeting here this weekend,
:06:37. > :06:39.the party, no matter what they do. Democrats like to think they have
:06:39. > :06:47.got just as much va-va-voom, even if a big chunk of the country doesn't.
:06:47. > :06:58.Add, back in his hometown. So, the Much of their party thinks they
:06:58. > :06:58.Add, back in his hometown. So, the moving in the wrong direction.
:06:58. > :07:02.Earlier, I spoke to former party moving in the wrong direction.
:07:02. > :07:06.leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been put in charge of heading up the
:07:06. > :07:11.leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been election campaign. I asked him if
:07:11. > :07:17.the mood in Glasgow was grim. No. In many ways, as you know, Tory old
:07:17. > :07:21.commentator that you are just as I am a hoary old member at the other
:07:21. > :07:30.end of the camera, we have been midterm of a government, especially
:07:30. > :07:35.when you are in government and the country is going for in a deep
:07:35. > :07:39.economic crisis, has almost no relevance to where you might be
:07:39. > :07:43.economic crisis, has almost no the nipple come to consider how
:07:43. > :07:43.economic crisis, has almost no will vote in 600 days time -- when
:07:43. > :07:48.the people come to consider how will vote in 600 days time -- when
:07:48. > :07:52.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, but they are a snapshot of what
:07:53. > :07:55.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, indication of where we will be.
:07:55. > :07:57.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, guess is, for what it is worth,
:07:57. > :08:01.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, as we come to the election, the
:08:01. > :08:06.public will be in a very serious, probably frightened mood. Their
:08:06. > :08:11.public will be in a very serious, thoughts will be, who maintains
:08:11. > :08:14.public will be in a very serious, job, makes sure I don't have to
:08:14. > :08:18.public will be in a very serious, to higher mortgage? The coalition
:08:18. > :08:23.has delivered not only the required policies to make Britain's economy
:08:23. > :08:28.prosperous, but also its society fair. That is what people will want
:08:28. > :08:30.to see. I think coalition politics are here to stay and we have a role
:08:30. > :08:35.to play in it. But you are in a are here to stay and we have a role
:08:35. > :08:38.mood this morning. You tweeted that you were not happy with how the
:08:39. > :08:46.Observer newspaper handled your there anything we can do to help?
:08:46. > :08:54.There is probably something they arguments with the interview. The
:08:54. > :08:58.headline they chose to put on it late last night was outrageous,
:08:58. > :09:03.misrepresentative and in one case in Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:03. > :09:09.coalition with the Tories, or at Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:09. > :09:13.least they gave that in for us Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:13. > :09:22.inference. Let me make this point. election. I am in charge of the
:09:22. > :09:26.campaign. Any journalist who in these next two years says that any
:09:26. > :09:29.Liberal Democrat prefers anything else in terms of the outcome of
:09:29. > :09:32.Liberal Democrat prefers anything coalition but the result of the
:09:32. > :09:34.ballot box dictating that outcome, that any prefer one side to another
:09:34. > :09:42.coalition determined by the electors that any prefer one side to another
:09:42. > :09:46.in the votes, will get a bloody that any prefer one side to another
:09:46. > :10:08.time from me, no matter who they are. We take the warning. A survey
:10:08. > :10:13.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in coalition with the Tories. That
:10:13. > :10:15.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in clear sign that your activists want
:10:15. > :10:18.a change of direction. I don't think it is news that as a left-wing
:10:18. > :10:21.party, we find it more congenial with those on the left wing, but
:10:21. > :10:25.that is not the issue. You saw it election. We are servants of the
:10:25. > :10:27.ballot box. We do watch the British people require us to do to provide a
:10:27. > :10:30.of our country. I am sure you have stable government in the interests
:10:30. > :10:34.of our country. I am sure you have got the point by now. I have fought
:10:34. > :10:39.the Tories all my life. But when responsibility to amend the economic
:10:39. > :10:46.crisis, was this right for the determine who are going to be in any
:10:46. > :10:53.coalition, should there be one, determine who are going to be in any
:10:53. > :10:59.voters and nobody else. It is not about what we like. I understand
:10:59. > :11:06.that. But your own internal polls leadership are not taking the party
:11:06. > :11:11.with them on that. I don't think that is true. Nick Clegg has done
:11:11. > :11:16.what no other party leader has done. He took the coalition agreement
:11:16. > :11:19.what no other party leader has done. the party, and they voted for it. So
:11:19. > :11:24.it is not true to say that members different direction. I think we
:11:24. > :11:26.it is not true to say that members extraordinarily united. I did not
:11:26. > :11:31.expect them to be so under these pressures, but they have surprised
:11:31. > :11:39.me and made me joyful at the same time. The party has done what it
:11:39. > :11:48.done in local government for a long time. We may have our private likes
:11:48. > :11:55.and dislikes, but the thing that coalition is the ballot box. You
:11:55. > :11:58.have said that three times. I can say it again if you like. Please
:11:58. > :12:02.don't! What if your party votes say it again if you like. Please
:12:02. > :12:12.reinstate tuition fees as party policy afternoon? We will have to
:12:12. > :12:16.listen to that and act accordingly. You must listen to the voice of
:12:16. > :12:18.listen to that and act accordingly. party and take it into account in
:12:18. > :12:26.what you do. I am always quite answering hypothetical questions. I
:12:26. > :12:32.don't think it is likely to happen, but if it did, we would have to
:12:32. > :12:34.don't think it is likely to happen, distinguished Lib Dems was that
:12:34. > :12:36.don't think it is likely to happen, your party conference voted for
:12:36. > :12:42.something, it was in the manifesto. The manifesto is taken in its final
:12:42. > :12:46.form before the party for decision. The party will express views at
:12:46. > :12:50.form before the party for decision. stage in all sorts of ways. It did
:12:50. > :12:53.in my leadership, too. The manifesto is democratically agreed by the
:12:53. > :12:59.party at the time of the election, not before. The Tory conference
:12:59. > :12:59.party at the time of the election, be about how they think they have
:12:59. > :13:03.been vindicated, that austerity be about how they think they have
:13:03. > :13:08.worked, the economy is turning a corner. But Nick Clegg's conference
:13:08. > :13:14.announcements will be about plastic bags. Have you got the hang of this
:13:14. > :13:16.coalition think? Andrew, you can always be guaranteed to put things
:13:16. > :13:24.in the most discreditable form! always be guaranteed to put things
:13:24. > :13:31.is part of your charm. That was about to be a minor announcement in
:13:31. > :13:34.discovered beforehand. It has not the middle of his speech. But it was
:13:34. > :13:37.discovered beforehand. It has not been very popular in terms of how it
:13:37. > :13:41.has been received, but that is not the central message. That leads
:13:41. > :13:47.has been received, but that is not to what I think is the biggest
:13:47. > :13:53.election. Isn't the biggest danger that the Tories, not you, if there
:13:53. > :14:05.is an economic recovery, they will get the credit for it? I don't think
:14:05. > :14:10.think the electorate does gratitude. The only time people cast a thank
:14:10. > :14:13.Thatcher over the sale of council houses. We could have a different
:14:13. > :14:21.discussion over whether that was a good idea. But what you have done is
:14:21. > :14:30.the underpinning for the promise of government, we have stayed firm
:14:30. > :14:37.the underpinning for the promise of very tough economic policy. But
:14:37. > :14:40.the underpinning for the promise of you get the credit? What we have
:14:40. > :14:44.done by ourselves, which the Tories would never have done, is make sure
:14:44. > :14:49.that when the pain is felt, it is not the poor who feel it. We have
:14:49. > :14:53.seen the biggest shift of taxation, lifting the poorest in the country
:14:53. > :15:00.out of taxation, that has ever happened, including in the previous
:15:00. > :15:04.Labour government. You are presiding over the biggest squeeze on living
:15:04. > :15:06.standards in modern times. Because it is the biggest recession in
:15:06. > :15:15.modern times. When you speak to it is the biggest recession in
:15:15. > :15:19.2.5 million people who have been lifted out of taxation altogether
:15:19. > :15:32.because of the Liberal Democrats, tax cut. You may be able to make the
:15:32. > :15:36.because of the Liberal Democrats, connection, Andrew, you are a sharp
:15:36. > :15:39.economic crisis and difficulty for everybody. But it is clear that
:15:39. > :15:42.economic crisis and difficulty for the Tories had been by themselves,
:15:42. > :15:45.none of that would have happened. We have sought to shift the burden
:15:45. > :15:48.none of that would have happened. We from the poorest in this country. I
:15:48. > :15:52.am part of that. So when we go into the next election, the message will
:15:52. > :15:54.am part of that. So when we go into be that if you want to continue
:15:54. > :15:57.am part of that. So when we go into have a prosperous economy and a
:15:57. > :16:07.society, only the Liberal Democrats will deliver that. Tim Farron says
:16:07. > :16:10.want to diss him. Can you confirm he likes Ed Miliband and he does not
:16:10. > :16:15.want to diss him. Can you confirm that there will be no dissing of Ed
:16:15. > :16:19.Miliband? It is not much my style. I've never much liked comments about
:16:19. > :16:27.the other leaders. I do not intend to make it so in the future. Can I'd
:16:27. > :16:30.finish up on Syria? You said after the Syria vote that Britain was
:16:30. > :16:36.finish up on Syria? You said after hugely diminished country. Given it
:16:36. > :16:39.both sides on a course which could now see Syria give up chemical
:16:39. > :16:44.weapons without records to military action, would you like to withdraw
:16:44. > :16:45.these remarks and admit that you should be proud and happy with what
:16:45. > :16:53.Britain has done? No. You and I should be proud and happy with what
:16:53. > :16:59.know, because we are old observers, that that would never have happened
:16:59. > :17:06.underpinning of a threat to use resigned from that. We have no part
:17:06. > :17:09.to play in the fact that Assad and Putin have moved towards peace for
:17:09. > :17:09.to play in the fact that Assad and fear of military action. We decided
:17:09. > :17:15.exactly the opposite. Why would fear of military action. We decided
:17:15. > :17:23.liked to have seen our country join in with those who are serious about
:17:23. > :17:25.upholding an international law which has restrained even than axes and
:17:25. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we talent, but instead we resigned
:17:35. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:35. > :17:43.Maxis and Stalin. But if it had moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:43. > :17:49.would not have had the time to allow this to happen. It has avoided war.
:17:49. > :17:56.Job done, British Parliament. That would be true if it was accurate but
:17:56. > :18:01.it is not. The resolution proposed a delay, that we should wait until the
:18:01. > :18:04.inspectors came back. That time frame was absolutely nothing to
:18:04. > :18:08.inspectors came back. That time with the parliamentary vote. The
:18:08. > :18:16.vote was going to incorporate that. I do not think you can claim what
:18:16. > :18:17.vote was going to incorporate that. remember that diplomacy, which was
:18:17. > :18:22.not reinforced by the threat of military action, does not work.
:18:22. > :18:25.not reinforced by the threat of is when diplomacy runs with a grain
:18:25. > :18:31.of military action that it works. illustration of that, look at what
:18:31. > :18:35.is happening over the last two weeks. By regret to say that our
:18:35. > :18:49.country, which has always been in disengagement, had no part to play
:18:49. > :18:57.And you we would get to the Balkans eventually, and we did. His biggest
:18:57. > :19:03.challenge is if the economy is get some credit for the Lib Dems,
:19:03. > :19:08.when the Tories will want to halt it all. But his position is not to
:19:08. > :19:08.when the Tories will want to halt it the necessary axeman. That is George
:19:08. > :19:12.Osborne's role. Their role is to be Osborne's role. Their role is to be
:19:12. > :19:16.the chaser party, taking the edge off. They will because of me going
:19:16. > :19:22.on about the pupil premium and That is what you will hear from
:19:22. > :19:27.of the cuts. Will that work? They them, how they have taken the edge
:19:27. > :19:27.of the cuts. Will that work? They are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:27. > :19:31.if they have lost two thirds of are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:31. > :19:36.popular support, according to the polls, I do not know anyone in
:19:36. > :19:37.Westminster methinks that will be matched in their parliamentary
:19:37. > :19:40.representation. If they have 56 matched in their parliamentary
:19:40. > :19:49.now, they might lose a dozen but Strategically, they are in a better
:19:49. > :19:53.position than the reading of the polls would tell you. I think Nick
:19:53. > :19:59.Clegg's survival has been one of the stories of this Parliament. He is
:19:59. > :20:04.looking good at the comfort -- at the conference. When he was at his
:20:04. > :20:09.lowest after the AV referendum, people were saying he would survive
:20:09. > :20:13.I thought that was fanciful. Believe and lead us into 2015 and beyond and
:20:13. > :20:15.I thought that was fanciful. Believe it or not... Paddy Ashdown was
:20:15. > :20:22.wrong, you were wrong and... I wasn't. I'm underestimated how bad
:20:22. > :20:27.his rivals are. If you are Lib Dem member, however aggrieved you are
:20:27. > :20:31.with Nick Clegg, you do not think, wouldn't it be great if Christian
:20:31. > :20:34.was in charge? Nick Clegg is the best they have. -- Chris Huhne was
:20:34. > :20:41.in charge. Of course, the people do in charge. Of course, the people do
:20:41. > :20:44.government and it is a consequence of the way they vote, a different
:20:44. > :20:51.matter. If Janan Ganesh is right, and they lose 15 seats in the next
:20:51. > :20:58.pivotal in the next government. It Possibly the most amusing outcome
:20:58. > :21:00.would be a Labour or Tory overall majority, which would be hilarious
:21:00. > :21:06.for the look on Paddy Ashdown's face. The danger is they get trapped
:21:06. > :21:09.constantly in talking about the politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:09. > :21:17.parliament. And they are very puffed politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:17. > :21:20.parliament. And they are very puffed up and they enjoy Parliament and
:21:20. > :21:23.there is a possibility they will not be. While they are talking about the
:21:23. > :21:25.Polish and themselves, they are be. While they are talking about the
:21:25. > :21:32.talking about the issues facing be. While they are talking about the
:21:32. > :21:37.coalition. It was interesting that he said that we are a left-wing
:21:37. > :21:44.party, not a centre-left party or a centre party, but a left-wing party.
:21:44. > :21:48.I'm going to put myself in the firing line and say that there is a
:21:48. > :21:53.big split between the Tim Farron line who say they like Ed Miliband,
:21:53. > :21:56.and another one, Jeremy Browne in the Home Office saying that Labour
:21:56. > :22:05.are intellectually lazy. The risk clearly a clique around Nick Clegg
:22:05. > :22:12.who wants to be a synthetic party, but that is not where the membership
:22:12. > :22:16.who wants to be a synthetic party, activists are clearly of the left,
:22:16. > :22:21.not just the centre-left. They are very pro-immigration and they want
:22:21. > :22:26.strategy has to be to take the party to the centre. The something not
:22:26. > :22:30.happen at some stage? The poll suggests it is a left-wing party.
:22:30. > :22:32.happen at some stage? The poll Very left-wing. Other think the
:22:32. > :22:33.happen at some stage? The poll would have yielded -- would have
:22:33. > :22:40.yielded the same results before would have yielded -- would have
:22:40. > :22:43.2010 election. This is reflected by the arithmetic. Whichever party
:22:43. > :22:45.2010 election. This is reflected by biggest will most likely be the
:22:45. > :22:49.2010 election. This is reflected by in coalition with the Lib Dems.
:22:49. > :22:56.2010 election. This is reflected by Clegg's on latitude to choose is
:22:56. > :23:02.exaggerated by us. The choice is no parliamentary arithmetic. But if you
:23:02. > :23:09.remember the structure of the Lib Dems, they can tie themselves up in
:23:09. > :23:16.infighting. -- the choice is not stable. And Nick Clegg has had a
:23:16. > :23:18.good conference last year, and will have another one this year. The
:23:18. > :23:22.economy is better than it was a have another one this year. The
:23:22. > :23:27.ago. It could still go quite well for him. Yes, it is one of the
:23:27. > :23:29.ago. It could still go quite well stories of this Parliament, his
:23:29. > :23:35.survival and the way in which he has prospered. But there are a lot of
:23:35. > :23:38.campaigners, labour activists who have not forgotten what he has done
:23:38. > :23:42.in government and are determined to get him. It will be a tough year and
:23:42. > :23:47.a half. Tougher than he imagined. Now, not so long ago they were
:23:47. > :23:54.writing George Osborne's political obituary. Be on the Omni shambles
:23:54. > :23:58.budget of 2012 and a lacklustre performance of the British economy
:23:58. > :24:04.meant his reputation work -- was in the dirt. -- the omnishambles. But
:24:04. > :24:12.things have changed. The Chancellor is saying he has been vindicated. If
:24:12. > :24:15.runway, it looks as though the British economy has taken off,
:24:15. > :24:21.quarter. Forecasts for the rest British economy has taken off,
:24:21. > :24:28.the year have been revised up words. What's more, the office for National
:24:28. > :24:32.recession never actually happened. Unemployment is down in the three
:24:32. > :24:42.months to July and the number of spasticity rate since 1997. On
:24:42. > :24:45.Monday, George Osborne said his policies were bearing fruit. We
:24:45. > :24:49.Monday, George Osborne said his our nerve when many told us to
:24:49. > :24:54.abandon our plans. As a result, thanks to the efforts and sacrifices
:24:54. > :25:01.of the British people, Britain is turning a corner. The message for
:25:01. > :25:06.his Labour critics was clear. The Chancellor thinks he was right and
:25:06. > :25:22.Good afternoon. Good afternoon.Do you accept that the economy has
:25:22. > :25:27.turned a corner? I think it is good that a stalled recovery appears
:25:27. > :25:29.turned a corner? I think it is good get this in perspective. We have had
:25:29. > :25:34.three wasted years. We have the worst economic recovery in history.
:25:34. > :25:43.Debt is up and we have record youth programme if they feel better or
:25:43. > :25:48.worse off, compared to 2010, the majority will tell you they feel
:25:48. > :25:54.worse because, on average, wages are down by £1500 compared to May of
:25:55. > :26:02.2010. That is the situation. The one of the things we have seen
:26:02. > :26:07.talked about, Vince Cable has been talking about this as well, is what
:26:07. > :26:08.is happening in the housing market. It seems that much of the solution
:26:08. > :26:14.to powering the recovery in the It seems that much of the solution
:26:14. > :26:19.of George Osborne lies in sorting out the housing market but the
:26:19. > :26:22.problem is, we are at risk of being another housing bubble. Because
:26:22. > :26:26.problem is, we are at risk of being research that came out this week, we
:26:26. > :26:29.know that housing in the UK is three times more expensive than in the US.
:26:29. > :26:32.know that housing in the UK is three We know that house prices are rising
:26:32. > :26:38.five times faster than wages, but we also know that the government is
:26:38. > :26:40.five times faster than wages, but we building new housing at a slower
:26:40. > :26:47.rate, the slowest rate that we have complaining about a housing bubble,
:26:47. > :26:54.isn't that like Satan complaining about seven? -- seven. We all know
:26:54. > :26:58.that we cannot go back to business as usual. We need to build a new
:26:58. > :27:01.model of growth. But the housing bubble you talk about, it is not a
:27:01. > :27:07.bubble. It might turn into one. bubble you talk about, it is not a
:27:07. > :27:13.said the risk of a bubble. It is nothing like what happened on the
:27:13. > :27:16.I said, in 2009, we had the crash and we knew we needed to reconfigure
:27:16. > :27:25.the way that our economy works. Having an economy based on crisis is
:27:25. > :27:29.rebalance the economy. We saw the unemployment statistics this week,
:27:29. > :27:40.and it is welcomed overall, that unemployment has come down. At half
:27:40. > :27:45.up. And it went down in other parts. We know that we need to rebalance
:27:45. > :27:51.our economy, so that we do not just rely on consumption, but that we
:27:51. > :27:55.grow our productive sectors. And also that we grow our exports as
:27:55. > :28:02.well. We know we have a continuing deficit. We always have a trade
:28:02. > :28:13.deficit. There was never a trade surplus under Labour. Want to come
:28:13. > :28:14.onto what you have mentioned but would you scrap the help to buy
:28:14. > :28:18.scheme? We have not said that we would you scrap the help to buy
:28:18. > :28:21.scheme? We have not said that we would do that. Why not if it is
:28:21. > :28:27.causing the bubble? If you let me finish, on one hand what that scheme
:28:28. > :28:34.does at the moment, at the moment it is inhalation to a new scheme but
:28:34. > :28:39.tomorrow -- next year it will be in you do not sort out the supply of
:28:39. > :28:43.housing, then that is a recipe for the problems we have seen. Our
:28:43. > :28:45.argument is build more houses. Help more people to buy them by all means
:28:45. > :28:48.but if you do not have the supply more people to buy them by all means
:28:48. > :28:53.but if you do not have the supply you will end up with rising prices.
:28:53. > :28:54.That is obvious. Labour said that government austerity would prevent
:28:54. > :29:00.the return of growth. Austerity government austerity would prevent
:29:00. > :29:05.were wrong. We never said that growth would never return. What
:29:05. > :29:05.were wrong. We never said that said was that if you went for an
:29:05. > :29:12.were wrong. We never said that overly extreme deficit reduction
:29:12. > :29:17.recovery and you would choke growth. That is what we saw for three years.
:29:17. > :29:24.If you say, look at the US economy, it has grown at three times the
:29:24. > :29:28.If you say, look at the US economy, economy has grown at twice the rate.
:29:28. > :29:31.But the British economy is growing quicker than the American or German
:29:31. > :29:37.economy is now. But over time we have not seen that happen. But it is
:29:37. > :29:42.now. That may be the case. But my point is that those three years
:29:42. > :29:45.now. That may be the case. But my people undergoing huge stress and
:29:45. > :29:49.worry. It is good that we have growth back again but the question
:29:49. > :29:55.is, what kind of growth? What we have said... I'm going to come onto
:29:55. > :29:57.that but your credibility depends on your previous analysis. And there
:29:57. > :30:05.are doubts about it. This is what you said not that long ago. In
:30:05. > :30:33.You and the Labour Party said it had choked off growth. You were wrong.
:30:33. > :30:38.We were not wrong, because we had three years where the economy was
:30:38. > :30:42.not moving. Let's remind ourselves. Claude Osborne was predicting that
:30:42. > :30:46.the economy was going to grow by 6.9% between the start of this
:30:46. > :30:55.Parliament and now. It has grown by 1.8%. We did not say we would never
:30:55. > :30:59.have a return to growth. You never said that austerity would only
:30:59. > :31:03.temporarily delay growth. We have looked through your speeches and Ed
:31:03. > :31:09.Balls'. We can't find any reference to say this is simply delaying the
:31:09. > :31:13.recovery. You said austerity would choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:13. > :31:19.why has it returned now? Did we choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:19. > :31:27.it would choke off growth for ever? choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:27. > :31:29.We did not. You have changed your tune. I think your package at the
:31:29. > :31:34.top of this programme, to frame tune. I think your package at the
:31:34. > :31:40.around George Osborne, this is not a people's lives, and the people who
:31:40. > :31:46.deserve huge credit for the growth we are seeing are our country's
:31:46. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough economic times, have succeeded.
:31:49. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough are the ones who have powered this
:31:49. > :31:57.Westminster to take credit. But are the ones who have powered this
:31:57. > :32:03.blame the government for lack of growth. So therefore, when the
:32:03. > :32:09.growth comes, the government has to situation Britain is in now. We
:32:09. > :32:12.growth comes, the government has to the recovery still has to reach
:32:12. > :32:16.growth comes, the government has to parts of the country, but this is
:32:16. > :32:21.the OECD annualised growth in the G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:21. > :32:30.That is looking pretty healthy. G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:30. > :32:33.is a recovery. I am not denying G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:33. > :32:39.we are seeing a stalled recovery, but who benefits from the growth? On
:32:39. > :32:48.average, your viewers have sustained a £1500 pay cut. That is the second
:32:48. > :32:55.biggest fall in the G20 since May 2010. Because we had the biggest
:32:55. > :33:07.financial services sector and took services are still in decline.
:33:07. > :33:13.the economy. They are not the only contributor to the economy. The
:33:13. > :33:15.point is, who benefits? Unemployment is falling, but we don't just want
:33:15. > :33:19.people to have any job, we want is falling, but we don't just want
:33:19. > :33:23.to have decent jobs that pay a weight you can live off and that are
:33:23. > :33:30.more secure. Let me show you the unemployment figures. Your criticism
:33:30. > :33:42.has been that all the new jobs are part-time. They are not now, they
:33:42. > :33:48.employment, up 94,000. This is a short time frame. It is since the
:33:48. > :33:58.recovery began. Half the jobs that have been part-time jobs. Roughly
:33:58. > :34:04.who would like to work full-time. Over the last 20 years, people now
:34:04. > :34:07.feel more insecure at work than ever. The question is about what
:34:07. > :34:07.feel more insecure at work than kind of growth and employment you
:34:07. > :34:14.are getting. The other point is kind of growth and employment you
:34:14. > :34:23.uneven spread of this across our north-east and north-west, the
:34:23. > :34:33.Humber, the east of England, they agree that there was a regional
:34:33. > :34:40.imbalance, but the service sector is growing, cheering and construction
:34:40. > :34:45.are growing and financial services are in decline, so the rebalance is
:34:45. > :34:50.happening. It is not happening to the degree we need to transform
:34:50. > :34:54.happening. It is not happening to long-term, sustainable model of
:34:54. > :35:05.comprehensive industrial strategy towards. Your party conference is
:35:05. > :35:09.coming up. I am sure you are looking forward to it. Why do Ed Miliband's
:35:09. > :35:17.people see of him? I don't accept approval ratings get worse the more
:35:17. > :35:22.people see of him? I don't accept that. I have given you the figures.
:35:22. > :35:28.Polls go up and down. I have said that on this programme before. But
:35:28. > :35:34.his approval rating has consistently gone down. What actually matters our
:35:34. > :35:39.leadership, the Labour Party have gone down. What actually matters our
:35:39. > :35:50.put on almost 2000 extra councillors in places like Canada case, even
:35:50. > :35:56.Whitney. What is wrong with Whitney? We have been putting on votes. Let
:35:57. > :36:01.me show you this. This is the net satisfaction rating. Your leader is
:36:01. > :36:07.now more unpopular than Gordon Brown was when he took Labour to the worst
:36:07. > :36:14.defeat in living memory. Gordon Brown did not put on anything like
:36:14. > :36:21.this number of councillors. Votes are what matter, Andrew. Few people
:36:21. > :36:26.think Ed Miliband is a capable leader. Twice as many people think
:36:26. > :36:32.over Spurs who lives on the moon. These are polls. If you are talking
:36:32. > :36:39.to me about over Spurs lit, that puts this into context, Europe
:36:39. > :36:44.session with polls! -- Elvis Presley. Since 2010, we have put on
:36:44. > :36:47.thousands of members. Compare that to the Conservative Party, which has
:36:47. > :36:58.not won a general election since 1992. They will not disclose their
:36:58. > :37:03.membership figures. Why -- why won't you pledge to renationalise Royal
:37:03. > :37:05.Mail? Because that would be like writing a blank cheque. We don't
:37:05. > :37:09.know at the moment how much the government would receive for the
:37:09. > :37:14.sale of Royal Mail? So how can I judge how much it would cost to buy
:37:14. > :37:17.it back? That would be irresponsible. But the government
:37:17. > :37:23.does not need to do this right now. The entire country is against it.
:37:23. > :37:26.Sources in the City and Whitehall tell me that if Labour pledged to
:37:26. > :37:34.renationalise it, it would kill off the flotation. So if you are against
:37:34. > :37:37.it, why don't you do it? For me to pledge to renationalise Royal Mail
:37:37. > :37:44.would be like writing a blank cheque. But if you put it in the
:37:44. > :37:50.prospectus, people in the City, who know more about these things, say it
:37:50. > :37:54.would not happen, so why not do it? Because that would be irresponsible.
:37:54. > :37:59.It would be like writing a cheque for billions to renationalise Royal
:37:59. > :38:05.Mail. You would not have too right at the check if it did not happen. I
:38:05. > :38:09.have to deal with the facts. I am not good deal with the plot somebody
:38:09. > :38:14.might be speculating about in the City. We have to be careful about
:38:14. > :38:18.this. For me to pledge to renationalise it now would be like
:38:18. > :38:22.writing a bank cheque . We are going to be a fiscally responsible
:38:22. > :38:28.government. That is why I am not prepared to do that. Ed Balls will
:38:28. > :38:29.not be talking to you. You are watching the Sunday Politics. Coming
:38:29. > :38:53.up in 20 minutes, Coming up on the Sunday Politics in
:38:53. > :38:59.the South West. Around about plans to build a huge wind farm off the
:38:59. > :39:07.North Devon coast. For the next 20 minutes I am joined by Dan Rogerson
:39:07. > :39:11.and Nicky Williams. I am sure that Dan is one of many Liberal Democrats
:39:11. > :39:15.hoping that the conference will improve their election chances. A
:39:15. > :39:21.promise to sort out Council funding will be high on some wish lists. The
:39:21. > :39:25.leader of Devon Council warned of devastating cuts. Dan is one of
:39:25. > :39:30.those who has argued for urban council cash to be handed to rural
:39:30. > :39:37.ones, but the chance of the Liberal Democrats seems unlikely. But who
:39:37. > :39:41.doing not seems unlikely. If I was running a local authority I would
:39:41. > :39:44.say to central government, we are having to make difficult decisions.
:39:44. > :39:49.The fact is everyone is having to make difficult decisions. These
:39:50. > :39:55.critics accept the overall cake needs to be smaller, but they say it
:39:55. > :40:03.is unfairly divided up. Is it fair that urban authorities get 50% more
:40:03. > :40:09.funding than rural ones. In Sheffield, you're making a point
:40:09. > :40:15.about urban and rural funding. There is bluntly a bit of a thing going on
:40:15. > :40:21.were local councils in rural errors say they are being short—changed and
:40:21. > :40:24.an urban council say they are being short—changed. I understand the
:40:24. > :40:28.pressures, whether it is city councils oral councils, we
:40:28. > :40:35.understand. We cannot magic money that is not there. You have been
:40:35. > :40:41.pushing for a better deal. Word is his response leave you? He says if
:40:41. > :40:46.everybody is unhappy, but is there. He is also a member of the Cabinet,
:40:46. > :40:52.so he cannot announce a change of a funding formula. The pressure that I
:40:52. > :40:58.and other rural Liberal Democrat colleagues... Word is that leave you
:40:58. > :41:03.if you cannot influence government policy? Yellow macro we can
:41:03. > :41:15.influence policy. He is unlikely to announce a final version in an
:41:15. > :41:26.interview with you. He did not sound very sympathetic. He is holding the
:41:26. > :41:33.current line. You want it changed? You sponsored an early day motion
:41:33. > :41:39.and he is not listening. I think we will get some change. I am hopeful
:41:39. > :41:46.that we will. We are into the cycle of budgets coming up and I think we
:41:46. > :41:53.will get changes. Is Nick Clegg the man to get that changed? Yes.He
:41:53. > :42:00.does not seem to be listening. This is not on the floor of the House of
:42:00. > :42:03.Commons were you would expect a policy change to be announced. We
:42:03. > :42:09.will keep up that the pressure. You are supporting him? I voted for a
:42:09. > :42:19.Nick Clegg in the leadership contest. I am happy to support him.
:42:19. > :42:24.Sarah tether has resigned. She did not call for him to go as leader.
:42:24. > :42:29.Lord Oakeshott has made similar pronouncements. That is his right to
:42:29. > :42:33.do. We will see what happens at the conference. He has the support of
:42:33. > :42:41.the party and my support. You represent Plymouth. Where do you
:42:41. > :42:46.stand on this issue? I think the funding formula is complex and it is
:42:46. > :42:50.not particularly transparent. It needs to be reviewed. Urban councils
:42:50. > :42:59.have particular problems and challenges which mean they do need
:42:59. > :43:03.more finance. The 15% of cuts across councils means it is having a
:43:03. > :43:10.devastating effect on services across the country. What kind of
:43:10. > :43:16.services? What kind of cuts are people expecting to see, bus
:43:16. > :43:23.services, libraries? Councils will have to stop doing things. It is not
:43:23. > :43:28.a case that we can keep on business as normal. Councils are having to
:43:28. > :43:34.make hard decisions. These cuts mean, I think John Hart said, it
:43:34. > :43:39.would have a devastating effect on the library service, on those
:43:39. > :43:45.services which people take for granted at the moment. We have
:43:45. > :43:51.plenty more to discuss. Five new government funded Free Schools have
:43:51. > :43:53.just opened their doors to pupils in the South West. This week the
:43:53. > :43:58.scheme, which enables parents to open new schools, came under fire.
:43:58. > :44:03.Critics say that they are often in places where they are not needed.
:44:03. > :44:10.One headteacher is blaming a nearby Free School for an increase in his
:44:10. > :44:16.class sizes. Open this week, this academy. It is a Free School which
:44:16. > :44:19.means it is not required to teach the National Curriculum or to employ
:44:19. > :44:24.qualified teachers. While it receives funding from the
:44:24. > :44:28.government, it is free from local education authority control. Around
:44:28. > :44:34.60 years seven and year eight pupils attend here and that is having an
:44:34. > :44:40.impact on schools and colleges nearby. The community college here
:44:40. > :44:47.has lost 11 pupils from this year year seven's intake. Going into the
:44:47. > :44:54.next financial year, those 11 pupils we do not have, they are worth £4000
:44:54. > :44:58.each. That is £45,000 less that I will not get in the budget next
:44:58. > :45:03.year. It is what an experienced teacher costs in school budgets. In
:45:03. > :45:08.the summer, we had to make a teacher redundant. School provision
:45:08. > :45:11.traditionally involved local authorities looking at the
:45:11. > :45:17.population to ensure there are enough places for pupils. The
:45:17. > :45:20.government backed Free School system means a new Free School can be
:45:20. > :45:26.located in an area, regardless of the need for places. We are calling
:45:26. > :45:37.on government to make sure that new schools are opening in areas of high
:45:37. > :45:43.demand. We do not want them to open up in areas where there is a
:45:43. > :45:46.surplus. The vast majority of open mainstream Free Schools are in areas
:45:46. > :45:51.with the greatest pressure on places, the government says. This
:45:51. > :45:56.academy's current home is an old primary school which closed two
:45:56. > :46:00.years ago due to a shortage of pupils. Their ambition is to move to
:46:00. > :46:05.a larger site with a capacity for 700 pupils, complete with sixth form
:46:05. > :46:14.by 2016. I appreciate that in the early days, because we are new
:46:14. > :46:19.provider, that is an initial impact which is going to be quite hard to
:46:20. > :46:25.take. However, my mind is on what is best for the children of this area
:46:25. > :46:28.and in actual fact, that is what I expect everybody to be thinking
:46:28. > :46:33.about, because this is not about bums on seats, this is about what is
:46:33. > :46:37.right for education in this area and providing a new choice is the
:46:37. > :46:42.absolute right thing to do. You'll macro what I find difficult about
:46:42. > :46:49.the school is I categorically do not see the pupil demand. There may be a
:46:49. > :46:53.demand from parents, but that is not need, that is parental wishes and
:46:53. > :46:59.none of the secondary schools in this area are full to capacity. We
:46:59. > :47:04.are not all bursting at the seams, it is a waste of public money, in my
:47:04. > :47:09.view. In the summer, it emerged that £60 million was spent on helping 72
:47:10. > :47:13.Free Schools to open. The government said it made no apologies for
:47:13. > :47:17.spending money on encouraging new people to come forward offering new
:47:17. > :47:23.ideas and ways to run schools. Joining us now to discuss this we
:47:23. > :47:26.have Janet Fookes, Tory peer and former Plymouth MP with a background
:47:26. > :47:32.in teaching. The government says it is not apologising for having new
:47:32. > :47:35.ideas, should that be the case even when schools that are currently
:47:35. > :47:41.nearby the schools are losing teachers? I am surprised, because
:47:41. > :47:45.the act actually requires the Secretary of State to look at the
:47:45. > :47:52.existing situation and to assess what the impact might be on other
:47:52. > :47:59.schools in the area. Is it illegal? No, I am saying that the Secretary
:47:59. > :48:05.of State has that duty and I wonder whether there are other issues that
:48:05. > :48:11.state in this particular example, there are other factors we do not
:48:11. > :48:17.know about. Is a desperate need for more primary school faces, it is
:48:17. > :48:27.this not a waste of money? —— places. The Secretary of State
:48:27. > :48:33.should not allow this to happen. Are you for Free Schools in general? In
:48:33. > :48:38.general, yes. I believe in choice and variety of provision. I think
:48:38. > :48:44.this is a welcome breath of fresh air. Your colleague Nick Harvey
:48:44. > :48:51.described Free Schools as unwanted and unnecessary, do you agree? In
:48:51. > :48:58.some areas, they are wanted, like in West London and South London, there
:48:58. > :49:01.has been demand and I am happy as a member of a Coalition government,
:49:01. > :49:08.this is a conservative policy, to see if they work and if they can
:49:08. > :49:13.deliver. What we may be having is too many, too quickly, and one we
:49:13. > :49:17.look at some of the examples, they seem to be coming in areas where
:49:17. > :49:22.there just is not the demand, and to me that isn't not a good use of
:49:22. > :49:29.resources. The problem with not allowing them, is that you only
:49:29. > :49:34.leave parents with the choice of a bad school. Is that the best thing
:49:34. > :49:39.for those parents and what happens to the spirit of competition and the
:49:39. > :49:43.fact that people have to pull up their socks? Government is keen to
:49:44. > :49:47.work with Ofsted to help the really good schools and to raise the
:49:47. > :49:52.aspirations of all schools to deliver a better quality education.
:49:52. > :49:57.There is choice in that area, there are schools around that area, and we
:49:57. > :50:02.are picking on this example, but the priority ought to be trying out Free
:50:02. > :50:06.Schools in areas where there is demand and in areas where there is
:50:06. > :50:11.not, looking at the impact on the existing schools. You are part of
:50:11. > :50:16.the government, or why are you not doing it? It is a Coalition
:50:16. > :50:20.government. The Pupil Premium, which is narrowing the gap between people
:50:20. > :50:25.from disadvantaged backgrounds and people from well off policies, in
:50:25. > :50:30.order to do that we have to have other concessions. Ed Miliband said
:50:30. > :50:36.a Labour government would not open any new Free Schools, what is wrong
:50:36. > :50:45.with them? Jaden Smith says they are good thing. —— Janet Fookes. Free
:50:45. > :50:52.Schools are opening in places where there is a surplus of places. That
:50:52. > :50:57.cannot be right. Capital funding has also been cut to build new schools
:50:57. > :51:04.where they are actually needed by 60%. This means that the sums do not
:51:04. > :51:07.add up. We want choice for parents and we believe there should be
:51:07. > :51:12.choice for parents, but there are some problems with this model. The
:51:12. > :51:16.fact you do not have to have qualified teachers! That cannot be
:51:16. > :51:20.right. We want quality education, we want to parents involved, but we
:51:20. > :51:25.have to have those checks and balances and make sure the schools
:51:25. > :51:30.are provided in the places where they are needed. Can I come back on
:51:30. > :51:34.that? I believe there are certain specialities were they must have
:51:34. > :51:38.qualified teacher status, but in the rest, it is to open it up perhaps to
:51:38. > :51:42.people who have taught in further education or in other colleges were
:51:42. > :51:46.they do not have that particular status, but where they have a great
:51:47. > :51:50.deal to offer or even people who have been in structures in the Armed
:51:50. > :51:55.Forces. It is not to dilate standards, it is to broaden it,
:51:55. > :52:01.bring in more people who do not have the precise qualification, but who
:52:01. > :52:07.have a lot to offer. I was going to say that the problem is that Free
:52:07. > :52:09.Schools have the ability to do things like that, the very
:52:10. > :52:15.innovative, what happens is that existing really good schools do not
:52:15. > :52:19.have the same freedoms. That is one of the things that Labour is talking
:52:19. > :52:22.about, extending those freedoms which allows schools to innovate, to
:52:22. > :52:28.allow schools to be innovative with the National Curriculum, about where
:52:28. > :52:33.they get their services from, such as ICT, so that they can provide the
:52:33. > :52:40.best possible choice for parents. What would you say to that? It seems
:52:40. > :52:43.that Michael Gove is saying to state schools we will be more
:52:43. > :52:50.prescriptive, fine new £120 per child if you take them out of term
:52:50. > :52:56.time, and on the other hand giving a free rein to Free Schools. I think
:52:56. > :53:00.all teachers should be qualified and I do disagree. This was not a
:53:00. > :53:05.Coalition policy, it was announced by Michael Gove over a year ago.
:53:05. > :53:09.That is something we will have to revisit. However, if we have a
:53:09. > :53:15.limited number of Free Schools, to test this model, and there is clear
:53:15. > :53:19.public demand, I am happy. I would worry about areas where there is
:53:19. > :53:23.questionable demand, even from the number of pupils who might attend
:53:24. > :53:29.it. I have to stop you. The controversial wind farm plans of the
:53:29. > :53:34.North Devon coast has been back in the headlines. The Atlantic Array
:53:34. > :53:37.could be the biggest game of its kind in the UK. This week North
:53:37. > :53:41.Devon District Council voted to oppose the plans, but other councils
:53:41. > :53:48.have given them a cautious welcome. This couple moved to this quiet spot
:53:48. > :53:52.on the North Devon coast for their retirement. They now fear their
:53:52. > :53:56.views will be spoiled and their lives will be disrupted by a planned
:53:56. > :54:02.offshore wind farm near their property. They are going to have a
:54:02. > :54:10.10,000 metre emplacement there, where that loss is, whether will
:54:10. > :54:15.basically be a drilling site. They suggest that the noise will be
:54:15. > :54:21.inconsequential, but they will have to be bringing up eight cables and
:54:21. > :54:27.trenches for eight cables through the hard Cliff Rock. The Atlantic
:54:27. > :54:32.Array would be twice the size of any UK wind farm which is currently
:54:32. > :54:38.working. Around 240 wind turbines would be built, about ten miles off
:54:38. > :54:45.the North Devon coast, covering an area of about 77 square miles. This
:54:45. > :54:50.woman owns a holiday outlet which would overlook the construction
:54:50. > :54:55.site. I cannot advertise 5—star properties, or when you have a
:54:55. > :55:01.construction site in front of you and you do not have the fantastic
:55:01. > :55:05.feels that they have now. Whether I will be able to let the properties
:55:05. > :55:09.at all or if I have to reduce my prices enormously to try and attract
:55:09. > :55:14.people, I am certainly going to lose a lot of income. The firm behind it
:55:14. > :55:18.says it would produce enough electricity for nearly 1 million
:55:18. > :55:23.homes. We have taken into account feedback from local people as part
:55:23. > :55:30.of the consultation process and what we are really comfortable about is
:55:30. > :55:35.that we have found the site and it is the best one in terms of the
:55:35. > :55:40.area. Opposition to the project is growing. This week, North Devon
:55:40. > :55:45.Council voted to object to the proposal, raising concerns about the
:55:45. > :55:50.lack of economic benefit to the area and damage to the beauty of North
:55:50. > :55:54.Devon and tourism. Despite such concerns, Devon County Council and
:55:54. > :56:00.storage district Council voted this week not to launch major objections
:56:00. > :56:04.to the scheme. If this goes ahead, it is not deemed it to be
:56:04. > :56:09.particularly anti—terrorism and does not seem that people will be put off
:56:09. > :56:15.from coming down to places like this, because 13 miles off the coast
:56:15. > :56:19.there are these wind turbines. It is not local councils who will decide
:56:19. > :56:23.on this big infrastructure projects. The planning Inspectorate will
:56:23. > :56:27.examine the plans and make a recommendation to the Secretary
:56:27. > :56:33.State. This local MP has registered to appear at the planning enquiry
:56:33. > :56:40.after meeting with residents. Yes we are suggesting that we should have a
:56:40. > :56:44.240 wind turbine array from some of the most protected landscapes and
:56:44. > :56:49.coastline in our country. That raises serious issues which I hope
:56:49. > :56:55.the inspector will at that, the is Secretary of State will look that
:56:55. > :57:03.powerfully as well. Lobby groups say concerns about how these projects
:57:03. > :57:08.look are outweighed by the green energy and jobs they can bring. Had
:57:08. > :57:19.you got any sympathy for these concerns? —— had you. It has to be
:57:19. > :57:24.balanced. We need alternative energy sources. There will be an element of
:57:24. > :57:27.controversy and that is why we have a planning committees and why it
:57:28. > :57:34.will go to the planning Inspectorate. What would you prefer?
:57:34. > :57:40.Would you prefer offshore wind or a wind turbines on land? At the end of
:57:40. > :57:45.the day, there are hard choices that need to be made. We know we need to
:57:45. > :57:51.diversify. Should Labour have been making those decisions in the past?
:57:51. > :57:58.We progress the agenda, maybe. The important thing is these plans are
:57:58. > :58:02.going before planning committees at the moment and we need to consider
:58:03. > :58:08.them seriously. It is expensive to produce energy from wind turbines
:58:08. > :58:13.and they do have a lot of government subsidy, almost to the point but
:58:13. > :58:23.they are not profitable at all? Anyone technology will not be the
:58:23. > :58:29.answer. —— anyone. We have got to hold a debate about fracking as
:58:29. > :58:34.well. I think the fact is whenever you have technology that creates the
:58:34. > :58:38.energy we all use, it has to come from somewhere, and any method could
:58:38. > :58:44.be unpopular. Geoffrey Cox does not want it where he is. We have huge
:58:45. > :58:51.numbers of wind turbine applications in my constituency. It is a matter
:58:51. > :58:55.for planning authorities. I have discussed it with the council, about
:58:55. > :58:59.having a strategy, rather than individual elements, because we need
:58:59. > :59:04.to look at how it affects the landscape. I do think that with
:59:04. > :59:09.onshore wind, there has been an income into local farms to keep them
:59:09. > :59:13.viable. We have to balance all of these things to make sure it is a
:59:13. > :59:26.working countryside, not easy piece for people visit. It is our round—up
:59:27. > :59:32.of the political week in 60 seconds. Employment gloom in West Cornwall
:59:32. > :59:38.with the loss of almost 200 jobs at a factory in red wrist. To lose half
:59:38. > :59:42.the workforce is a tragedy. Unemployment figures provided a
:59:42. > :59:47.reason to be cheerful with the number of people in the region's
:59:47. > :59:54.dole queues down 20% year—on—year. Opponents of cuts to Torbay's Fire
:59:54. > :59:58.service delivered a petition. Yellow matter they have not done their
:59:58. > :00:04.sons, they need to revisit it. Catching speeding motorists in 20
:00:04. > :00:10.zones would be easier with better signs, says a counsellor. Every time
:00:10. > :00:17.I am here, you could get off on a technicality. Exeter City Council's
:00:17. > :00:25.crackdown on street beggars has met with strong opposition. They are
:00:25. > :00:34.causing more hassle for the police, more hassle for the local people. A
:00:35. > :00:40.crackdown on beggars in Exeter, have you ever given money to beggars? I
:00:40. > :00:45.tend to do exactly the opposite, which is give two schemes which help
:00:45. > :00:51.homeless people. You have some sympathy? Yes. They were working
:00:51. > :00:54.with the police and they identify that some of the people who were
:00:54. > :00:58.presenting themselves as homeless were not actually homeless and were
:00:58. > :01:04.actually involved in criminal activities. What do you make of
:01:04. > :01:10.this? We need to support people into a more productive way of life. Some
:01:10. > :01:14.of them may be buskers, other places like the London Underground, have
:01:14. > :01:20.looked at supporting people to do busking in the right places in a way
:01:20. > :01:24.that people enjoy. You can have a balance. It is not about purging
:01:24. > :01:29.everyone from the streets. Yes to buskers and no to beggars? That is
:01:29. > :01:32.the Sunday Politics in the South West. Thanks to my guest. Now
:01:32. > :01:43.the Sunday Politics in the South more than pay is going up. Which
:01:43. > :01:52.deserves a programme all to itself. In a moment, more from our political
:01:52. > :01:55.Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says victory for either the Conservatives
:01:55. > :01:57.Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says or labour at the next election would
:01:57. > :02:00.put at risk the economic recovery is. Speaking in Glasgow at the
:02:00. > :02:04.Liberal Democrat annual conference, he said a coalition would allow
:02:04. > :02:07.Liberal Democrat annual conference, party to balance politics and enable
:02:07. > :02:10.the government to finish the job of repairing the economy fairly. It is
:02:10. > :02:15.my genuine belief that if we go repairing the economy fairly. It is
:02:15. > :02:20.coalition and Islands politics, repairing the economy fairly. It is
:02:20. > :02:24.dominating blood on their own, you will get a recovery which is neither
:02:24. > :02:28.fair nor sustainable. Labour would wreck the recovery, and under the
:02:28. > :02:31.fair nor sustainable. Labour would same commitment to fairness as
:02:31. > :02:37.ours, you would get the wrong kind Two 19-year-old woman arrested after
:02:38. > :02:41.a stabbing on Thursday have been released without charge. Police
:02:41. > :02:44.a stabbing on Thursday have been trying to discover if there is a
:02:44. > :02:49.link between the killing and a fire four hours later in which four
:02:49. > :02:53.Five people are being questioned in connection with that blaze. A Syrian
:02:53. > :02:58.government minister has described the agreement drawn up by America
:02:58. > :03:04.country's chemical weapons as a The minister claims the deals helps
:03:04. > :03:07.the Syrians out of a crisis and others war. The US Secretary of
:03:07. > :03:11.State John Kerry is in Israel to brief the prime minister, Benjamin
:03:11. > :03:14.Netanyahu, on the proposal. China and France have also welcomed the
:03:14. > :03:20.deal, which says Syria has until Friday to submit a competence of
:03:20. > :03:22.list of its chemical stockpile. Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on
:03:22. > :03:27.winning his first half marathon Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on
:03:27. > :03:31.He was taking part in the Great North Run between Newcastle and
:03:31. > :03:34.South Shields. Farrar, who was the favourite following his two gold
:03:34. > :03:43.Ethiopian's can mean many Serb favourite following his two gold
:03:43. > :03:52.Kenenisa Bekele in a sprint finish. A carnival atmosphere for the start
:03:52. > :04:00.walking it, so I have no time in simply dressing up for fun. I am
:04:00. > :04:02.walking it, so I have no time in mind. I just want to enjoy it and
:04:02. > :04:09.appreciate the crowds and have a fantastic time. For elite athletes,
:04:09. > :04:13.today's race was about who would be first over the line. Despite the
:04:13. > :04:17.wind and rain, large crowds turned out for the world's most popular
:04:17. > :04:25.half marathon, which attracts some of the finest women runners, two,
:04:25. > :04:29.including the Kenyan. There were high hopes for Britain's double
:04:29. > :04:36.Olympic champion Mo Farah, but after Shields, he was narrowly beaten
:04:36. > :04:47.Ethiopian's Kenenisa Bekele. It Shields, he was narrowly beaten
:04:47. > :04:50.thought I would come back and close the gap slowly. I managed to close
:04:50. > :04:56.it a little bit, but you can't take away what he has. Wheelchair athlete
:04:56. > :05:01.David Weir won his race for a fourth time. More than £200 million has
:05:01. > :05:16.been raised since the Great North That is it for now. There will be
:05:16. > :05:19.more news on BBC One at 6:35pm. So, did anything happen while we
:05:19. > :05:27.were away this summer? I thought heading now? Who better to answer
:05:27. > :05:33.than the best political panel we could cobble together for a tenner?
:05:33. > :05:38.Putting foreign affairs to one side for a moment, it seems that what
:05:38. > :05:42.happened mystically was that it became more apparent that some sort
:05:42. > :05:48.of recovery was underway at last, and that Mr Miliband still has not
:05:48. > :05:55.yet resonated with the British public. These things are a problem
:05:55. > :05:56.for Labour. Ed Miliband's mistake over the summer holiday was to take
:05:56. > :06:00.a summer holiday. And it looked over the summer holiday was to take
:06:01. > :06:04.the rest of the Labour Party had taken one too. They were not finding
:06:04. > :06:09.issues they could make their own. The only person who made an impact
:06:09. > :06:13.was Stella Creasy on online abuse. That is a huge problem, and it is
:06:13. > :06:15.partly down to the fact that there is this intense message discipline.
:06:15. > :06:19.They don't want to say anything is this intense message discipline.
:06:19. > :06:21.of line until they have got all their ducks in a row. It makes the
:06:21. > :06:27.party do at the moment. The terms of party do at the moment. The terms of
:06:27. > :06:31.trade have swung in David Cameron's favour, but the political rhetoric
:06:31. > :06:40.look at this headline from the is still with Mr Miliband. Let's
:06:40. > :06:44.look at this headline from the Sunday Telegraph. That headline
:06:44. > :06:46.might not be right, but the story is significant in that Mr Cameron is
:06:46. > :06:52.still in danger on his right flank significant in that Mr Cameron is
:06:52. > :07:00.doesn't need an enormous share of the vote to get an overall majority?
:07:00. > :07:04.Westminster group think. Of course Ed Miliband is in trouble. The
:07:04. > :07:08.Tories are reserved and. They are better organised, the economy is
:07:08. > :07:15.recovering. That poses difficulties for Labour, but if you look at what
:07:15. > :07:18.is happening on the ground, UKIP still pose a danger to Cameron.
:07:18. > :07:20.is happening on the ground, UKIP don't need to poll 15% in a lot
:07:20. > :07:22.is happening on the ground, UKIP those marginal seats, they just
:07:22. > :07:24.is happening on the ground, UKIP to get five or 6% of the vote, and
:07:24. > :07:34.that could potentially destroy the Tory lead. Lots of commentators
:07:34. > :07:39.that could potentially destroy the to say, this guy will never be prime
:07:39. > :07:45.minister, but it is possible that by default or by accident, in a very
:07:45. > :07:51.Miliband could end up as prime minister. It is still all to play
:07:51. > :07:56.for on both sides. If UKIP remains a threat to the Tory right flank and
:07:56. > :07:59.the Tories themselves are not really a national party any more, I am
:07:59. > :08:02.the Tories themselves are not really they will only target a few seats in
:08:02. > :08:05.Scotland, they don't get any big seats in the big cities of the north
:08:05. > :08:09.any more, they don't get the Ulster vote they used to get, so it is
:08:09. > :08:13.possible that Labour, which is more nationally based and has seats in
:08:13. > :08:19.the Midlands and the north and in Wales, so they could get in. I
:08:19. > :08:25.agree. The advantage of having a bad summer is that Ed Miliband can go to
:08:25. > :08:29.expectations. All he has to do is not dribble on the lectern, and
:08:29. > :08:31.expectations. All he has to do is will be written up as spectacular.
:08:31. > :08:39.expectations. All he has to do is He might not even use a lectin.
:08:39. > :08:44.position. The electoral vagaries of the system work in his favour. He
:08:44. > :08:47.still has a narrow poll lead, he is not out of the game at all. Of the
:08:47. > :08:54.three main party leaders, the only one who can be confident about being
:08:54. > :09:00.three main party leaders, the only in government after 2015 is Nick
:09:00. > :09:06.electorally. But if it is this bad for Labour at the moment, what will
:09:06. > :09:14.it be like if this recovery turns out to be real? It depends how much
:09:14. > :09:17.they succeed. Chuka Umunna was shifting the debate are living
:09:17. > :09:20.standards. They don't want to keep arguing about who called it right.
:09:20. > :09:24.Do people feel richer than they arguing about who called it right.
:09:24. > :09:28.in 2010? The data suggests that people don't feel richer than in
:09:28. > :09:33.2010. Because they are not.That people don't feel richer than in
:09:33. > :09:38.the basis on which Labour will fight the next election. It is clear that
:09:38. > :09:43.Labour are unclear on what to say or do next. They have just got to hope
:09:43. > :09:46.and pray that the economy is not as soundly based as it appears to be
:09:46. > :09:54.and that George Osborne is Tony Barber, who thought he fixed the
:09:54. > :09:57.just before the next crash. There are all sorts of uncertainties
:09:58. > :10:00.just before the next crash. There China, the bond market, the housing
:10:00. > :10:01.bubble might be blown up, and Labour just had to hope something goes
:10:01. > :10:08.wrong for Osborne. Chuka Umunna just had to hope something goes
:10:08. > :10:11.he would not get rid of help to just had to hope something goes
:10:11. > :10:14.There are all these criticisms about just had to hope something goes
:10:14. > :10:19.artificial schemes pumping up house prices, but he would not say that.
:10:19. > :10:27.It is tortuous. You see this again and again. When asked if Labour
:10:27. > :10:29.would repeal the bedroom tax, or the same thing with Royal Mail, it
:10:29. > :10:42.happens again. They will be falling on people who have not had a meal in
:10:42. > :10:45.coming out of the Labour Party. There is a kind and Gillette in
:10:45. > :10:48.coming out of the Labour Party. them to a politician's career. When
:10:48. > :10:51.they are under attack for a long time, the media get bored after
:10:51. > :10:56.they are under attack for a long while and switch the story. It
:10:56. > :11:00.happened to Osborne, who had a horrific 2012 and has recovered
:11:00. > :11:08.bad press as he is getting at the moment, because people find it
:11:08. > :11:11.tedious. Syria has been the big foreign-policy event this summer. It
:11:11. > :11:19.has remarkably led to a Soviet- American initiative to get Syria to
:11:19. > :11:25.give up its chemical weapons. The world will now expect the Assad
:11:25. > :11:27.regime to live up to its public commitments. As I said at the outset
:11:27. > :11:44.anything less than full compliance. John Kerry. Is this too good to
:11:44. > :11:46.anything less than full compliance. true? Even superficially, it is
:11:46. > :11:49.anything less than full compliance. very good. The only people who
:11:49. > :11:53.emerge with any sense of triumph are the Russians, who have had their
:11:53. > :11:56.emerge with any sense of triumph are biggest diplomatic coup. They are
:11:56. > :12:02.back on the stage again. B if you want to know why Putin even has
:12:02. > :12:04.back on the stage again. B if you because of moments like this. They
:12:04. > :12:09.were humiliated after the end of the Cold War, and a Nou Camp is a great
:12:09. > :12:13.power again. Then you have the Obama situation, because he has ended
:12:13. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama where he wanted to end up. He has
:12:16. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama concession from Syria, but the way
:12:16. > :12:21.he got there was so embarrassing. It concession from Syria, but the way
:12:21. > :12:25.made him look weak and erratic as a leader. There were contradictions
:12:25. > :12:32.between himself and his Secretary of State last week, and it has not
:12:32. > :12:37.between himself and his Secretary of him any good. I was in the States,
:12:37. > :12:41.and it was open season on him. I have never understood the idea of
:12:41. > :12:46.chemical weapons as a red line when you can massacre people in their
:12:46. > :12:50.thousands through other means. But chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:50. > :12:58.pale. The rebels are miserable. chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:58. > :12:59.have run out of time. I will have to ask you what you think about Syria
:12:59. > :13:05.next week, which gives you time ask you what you think about Syria
:13:05. > :13:11.prepare. Your book on Fred the shred is going well? It is.I am back
:13:11. > :13:15.tomorrow at noon with the Daily Politics at noon on BBC Two, where
:13:15. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow.
:13:18. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:18. > :13:21.conference coverage. Next week, is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:22. > :13:24.will be back here at our normal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:24. > :13:30.of 11am, when we will be joined is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:30. > :13:50.Grant Shapps. Remember, if it is Sunday, it is the Sunday Politics.