:00:20. > :01:45.With me are a trio of top political commentators. All three will be
:01:45. > :01:48.tweeting their thoughts, or in some cases just their thought through the
:01:48. > :01:55.show, using the hashtag #bbcsp. cases just their thought through the
:01:55. > :02:02.Conservative Party conference gets afternoon. We have already been
:02:02. > :02:06.bombarded with a series of policy announcements, a tax break for
:02:06. > :02:09.married couples of up to £200 per year, more money on life extending
:02:10. > :02:13.cancer treatments and, last night, the news that the second stage of
:02:13. > :02:19.the Chancellor's Help To Buy scheme brought forward from the start of
:02:19. > :02:24.next year. David Cameron says it is all about helping hard-working
:02:24. > :02:33.people. Right now, you can't get, 95% mortgage. That means a typical
:02:33. > :02:34.family with two people earning 20,000, 25,000, they are being
:02:34. > :02:43.asked, to buy an average house, 20,000, 25,000, they are being
:02:43. > :02:46.mortgage payment, but they can't get the mortgage. They can't buy their
:02:46. > :02:50.flat or house. As Prime Minister, I'm not going to stand back while
:02:50. > :02:52.people's aspirations to get on the housing ladder, to own their own
:02:52. > :02:58.flat or home, is being trashed. housing ladder, to own their own
:02:58. > :03:02.is why we need to act. A predictable attempt by party leadership to
:03:02. > :03:05.kick-start the conference with eye-catching policies. The polls
:03:05. > :03:10.show a big bounce for Ed Miliband and the Labour Party, with decent
:03:10. > :03:26.numbers for UKIP. What do party councillors as they travel to their
:03:26. > :03:36.For the Conservatives this weekend, conference, and as a scene setter we
:03:36. > :03:43.asked ComRes to survey councillors are Finland and Wales. Councillors
:03:43. > :03:45.asked ComRes to survey councillors like Tom, packing for conference at
:03:45. > :03:48.home in Wellingborough. Immigration is an issue for him. He thinks there
:03:48. > :03:55.are pros and cons. But we found is an issue for him. He thinks there
:03:55. > :04:02.immigration has had a negative reflects into this wider issue of
:04:02. > :04:08.our relationship with Europe. People possible influx of ovarian and
:04:08. > :04:18.Romania emigrants. Obviously the issue of Europe is very big. --
:04:18. > :04:23.Ukrainian. His colleagues in Corby are worried about the rise of the UK
:04:23. > :04:26.Independence Party. In our survey, nearly a quarter of Conservative
:04:26. > :04:31.councillors thought that their party should make a pact with UKIP. The
:04:31. > :04:40.concern is, yes, will they take If that happens, maybe we don't
:04:40. > :04:43.concern is, yes, will they take back in. Maybe a partnership is
:04:43. > :04:50.concern is, yes, will they take way to go. It depends what they
:04:50. > :04:50.concern is, yes, will they take talking about them. A pact? Depends
:04:50. > :05:06.what they say, anything is possible. What would you like to see? Ideally,
:05:06. > :05:11.from my point of view, a national pact. David Cameron arrived in
:05:11. > :05:14.Manchester last night. Around the same time as these activists from
:05:14. > :05:23.London. I broke the news to them that in our survey just 26% of Tory
:05:23. > :05:29.councillors think that the prime ministers in touch with the lives of
:05:29. > :05:32.ordinary people. The same at all Conservatives, you don't judge
:05:32. > :05:34.people by their background. It's not where they come from, it is where
:05:34. > :05:38.they are going to. It is not a where they come from, it is where
:05:38. > :05:40.problem that he is a bit on the where they come from, it is where
:05:40. > :05:42.side? Cull you might describe him like that, I would not use those
:05:42. > :05:49.words. Explain your T-shirt, it like that, I would not use those
:05:49. > :05:54.phrase that a senior Cameron person is alleged to have used about you?
:05:54. > :05:58.It is a humorous way of letting is alleged to have used about you?
:05:58. > :06:01.party now that we are here to say important. We are not going away any
:06:01. > :06:06.time soon. A sentiment you will important. We are not going away any
:06:06. > :06:09.a lot at this conference, because just 22% of councillors in our
:06:09. > :06:16.survey said that David Cameron was any good at listening to the people
:06:16. > :06:21.that work hard for his party. That was Adam. Joining me now from the
:06:21. > :06:26.Conservative Party conference in William Hague. Welcome to the Sunday
:06:26. > :06:33.Politics. Good morning. Over one in five Tory councillors in our survey
:06:33. > :06:36.support a pact with UKIP at the five Tory councillors in our survey
:06:36. > :06:39.election. Why do you think that five Tory councillors in our survey
:06:39. > :06:41.If it is one in five, it means a large majority did not want a pact
:06:41. > :06:46.with UKIP at the next election. large majority did not want a pact
:06:46. > :06:49.have noticed that UKIP, in local elections, has been receiving votes,
:06:49. > :06:52.some of which would otherwise have been for the Conservatives. I think
:06:52. > :06:58.we have to make sure that people election they are choosing between a
:06:58. > :07:01.Conservative and Labour Government, as David Cameron as Prime Minister
:07:01. > :07:07.or Ed Miliband. If people want to get a referendum on Europe, the
:07:07. > :07:07.or Ed Miliband. If people want to way to do that is to have David
:07:07. > :07:12.Cameron as Prime Minister. I think a Cameron as Prime Minister. I think a
:07:12. > :07:15.general election is different from the local government perspective. It
:07:15. > :07:20.is pretty unusual, some might say unprecedented, for a large chunk of
:07:20. > :07:23.one of the big parties in this country to want to go into coalition
:07:23. > :07:31.one of the big parties in this with a smaller party before an
:07:31. > :07:36.happened? Looking at your survey, three times as many didn't want
:07:36. > :07:38.happened? Looking at your survey, with statistics, you can highlight
:07:38. > :07:42.it whichever way around you want to. The point is, we are not having
:07:42. > :07:49.pacts with other parties, electoral pacts with other parties. You rule
:07:49. > :07:52.it out? That is not going to happen. What we do want is to have a pact
:07:52. > :07:56.it out? That is not going to happen. with the voters, if you like, as we
:07:56. > :08:00.have often done in the Conservative Party. We have won over the voters
:08:00. > :08:02.of other parties to support our policies and Prime Minister. That is
:08:02. > :08:05.important with those people that say important with those people that say
:08:05. > :08:09.they want to vote for UKIP. By default, they would produce a Labour
:08:09. > :08:14.government in the exact opposite of many of the things they intend,
:08:14. > :08:15.government in the exact opposite of Conservative and decide to vote
:08:15. > :08:18.government in the exact opposite of UKIP instead in a general election.
:08:18. > :08:25.That could help to produce a Labour government. The chairman of the
:08:25. > :08:29.That could help to produce a Labour committee, the elected voice of
:08:29. > :08:33.Conservative backbenchers, he says your party should spell out what had
:08:33. > :08:38.once back from the European Union before next year's European actions.
:08:38. > :08:44.Do you agree? We will be spelling out some things in the European
:08:44. > :08:53.elections. I will be talking about this later on today. For instance,
:08:53. > :08:58.European treaties the concept of ever closer union, a concept that in
:08:58. > :09:03.believed in. We would like that ever closer union, a concept that in
:09:03. > :09:07.consequences that would flow from that. We will be setting out the
:09:07. > :09:13.examples and principles of the changes we want to say. Certainly
:09:13. > :09:16.over the next year, not only before the European actions but the general
:09:16. > :09:21.election, if you are saying, let have the exact list of anything
:09:21. > :09:24.election, if you are saying, let negotiate, that is difficult because
:09:24. > :09:29.there will be a negotiation of a new deal in Europe if David Cameron
:09:29. > :09:35.there will be a negotiation of a new election. To some extent, that has
:09:35. > :09:38.to be negotiated. Only 11% of your own councillors feel that people in
:09:38. > :09:46.their area think that George Osborne is in touch with ordinary people.
:09:46. > :09:53.is not for me to explain why people say what they say in surveys. The
:09:53. > :09:56.important thing is what we are delivering for the country. What
:09:56. > :10:00.George Osborne is delivering his renewed economic growth. 1.4 million
:10:00. > :10:06.new jobs in the private sector, renewed economic growth. 1.4 million
:10:06. > :10:09.for hard-working people, by reducing the tax for 25 million of them.
:10:09. > :10:12.for hard-working people, by reducing Help To Buy scheme that we are
:10:12. > :10:17.highlighting today. That is what really matters to people, actually,
:10:17. > :10:20.I think you will find. Let's talk about helping ordinary people. Ed
:10:20. > :10:28.Miliband is guilty freeze energy prices. What are you going to do
:10:28. > :10:36.about energy prices, we already asked energy companies to put people
:10:36. > :10:45.on their lowest tariffs. This has not been amended. -- implemented.
:10:45. > :10:51.Why not? This is going to happen within this government. It is going
:10:51. > :10:58.to happen within this government when the... Why hasn't it happened
:10:58. > :11:01.now? People are suffering now from rising energy prices. It has not
:11:01. > :11:07.happened because my colleagues have been implimenting it. In the case of
:11:07. > :11:10.Ed Miliband's policy, if you are asking why it has not yet happened
:11:10. > :11:16.under this Government, it didn't even survive a few our's scrutiny in
:11:16. > :11:19.opposition. In a few hours he had to concede that if there was a big
:11:19. > :11:23.change in oil prices then the policy would not work. The trouble is,
:11:23. > :11:30.change in oil prices then the policy would dry up some of the investment
:11:30. > :11:33.in the energy industry. I don't think it is a credible promise.
:11:33. > :11:33.in the energy industry. I don't a party that presided over council
:11:33. > :11:40.tax bills doubling in the next a party that presided over council
:11:40. > :11:46.tax bills doubling in the next government, -- last government,
:11:46. > :11:48.tax bills doubling in the next not very credible. Why is George
:11:48. > :11:52.Osborne going against the European Well, we don't want to see the
:11:52. > :11:56.European treaties used in a way Well, we don't want to see the
:11:56. > :12:01.they should not be used. It's not necessarily over this particular
:12:01. > :12:05.issue. It is over the power that the European Union has over our lives
:12:05. > :12:08.and over this country. Can the bankers look after themselves? We
:12:08. > :12:11.should be able to decide those things in our own country. We have
:12:12. > :12:18.never signed up to such matters things in our own country. We have
:12:18. > :12:20.European institutions. If you allow one thing that wasn't meant to be
:12:21. > :12:24.decided to be decided, you find one thing that wasn't meant to be
:12:25. > :12:26.there are another ten or 20 things that affect many other people. We
:12:26. > :12:32.are very vigilant about what we that affect many other people. We
:12:32. > :12:36.competence creep, with the European Union taking more powers than it was
:12:36. > :12:41.meant to have. That is one of the referendum, do want a new deal in
:12:41. > :12:51.Europe. That is what we intend to institution, ICAP, fined for fixing
:12:51. > :12:56.the LIBOR rates. The founder of institution, ICAP, fined for fixing
:12:56. > :13:00.company has donated £5 million to your party. Shouldn't you give it
:13:00. > :13:08.back? Aren't you ashamed to accept that money? He has donated his own
:13:08. > :13:10.Which he made out of ICAP. As people have to other parties, people are
:13:10. > :13:13.free to do that and they should have to other parties, people are
:13:13. > :13:16.free to do that. I am not aware have to other parties, people are
:13:16. > :13:21.any plan for that to be repaid. Because you can't afford to. Let's
:13:21. > :13:25.recap this. We have seen Tory MPs parrot propaganda lines from the
:13:25. > :13:29.energy companies this week. We have the Chancellor going to court to
:13:29. > :13:33.fight for unlimited banker bonuses. We have a top Tory donor the centre
:13:33. > :13:35.fight for unlimited banker bonuses. of yet another city scandal. Ed
:13:35. > :13:39.Miliband is right when he says you lot are on the side of the vested
:13:39. > :13:46.interests so the rich and powerful, isn't he? Well, again, look at the
:13:47. > :13:52.record. I just did! 1.4 million extra jobs in the private sector, 25
:13:52. > :13:56.million people with a tax cut, a Help To Buy scheme which is going to
:13:56. > :14:03.help so many people, particularly young people have the house that
:14:03. > :14:08.future. Council tax bills held down, welfare reform so that it pays to
:14:08. > :14:11.work. Actually, this is a government achieving things for hard-working
:14:11. > :14:32.While President Laugharne he's talking about peace, the Iranians
:14:32. > :14:37.weapons programme. -- is talking. It would be hard to say from week
:14:37. > :14:45.to week whether it is speeding up continuing with it. That is why
:14:45. > :14:48.to week whether it is speeding up say the new message - the new words
:14:48. > :14:52.- from Iranian leadership are very welcome. I said that to the Foreign
:14:52. > :14:57.Minister in New York over the last few days but it is the actions that
:14:57. > :15:03.will count. At the moment, the nuclear programme continues. We
:15:03. > :15:07.negotiations on that and that will be a very important test as to
:15:07. > :15:12.whether actions will match the words. When will we know it if we
:15:12. > :15:17.are being strung along? He has strung as a long in the past as
:15:17. > :15:20.are being strung along? He has nuclear weapons negotiator. When
:15:20. > :15:24.will we know if he is not just doing that again? Over the next
:15:24. > :15:27.will we know if he is not just weeks, it will be a very important
:15:27. > :15:34.time. He has said there should be more transparency over the Iranian
:15:34. > :15:40.transparent in many regards at the moment. The atomic agency is asking
:15:40. > :15:47.for information that is not being given. One test is, in the coming
:15:47. > :15:51.information? The information that the international of authority is
:15:51. > :15:55.asking for about their nuclear programme. We will be able to form
:15:55. > :16:00.a view of this in the coming weeks or months. It is important we test
:16:00. > :16:09.their new willingness to talk to us important to find out whether they
:16:09. > :16:14.asking, is the nuclear programme really continuing? Are they really
:16:15. > :16:22.negotiations and offer something Speaking of being strung along,
:16:22. > :16:31.what sanctions would President Assad face if, in six months - the
:16:31. > :16:36.Year, Syria still has a chemical weapons arsenal. In the resolution
:16:36. > :16:44.we voted through the UN Security Council on Friday night, is the
:16:44. > :16:50.Council will take measures under Chapter seven of the UN Charter
:16:50. > :16:53.Council will take measures under the event of non-compliance. Does
:16:53. > :17:00.that allow full force? I did not catch that. Does that allow for
:17:00. > :17:05.Security Council resolution about Iraq, which most people concluded
:17:05. > :17:13.in not allow full force. It does not specify that. It talks about
:17:13. > :17:18.terms seven of the charter. That is a message of the whole UN Security
:17:18. > :17:24.Council that there will be measures - there will be consequences - if
:17:24. > :17:33.the Assad regime does not comply. has a big commitment. I have spent
:17:33. > :17:38.counterpart over the last week. Russia has said, this is something
:17:38. > :17:43.you will have to do. We will work with Russia and others very closely
:17:43. > :17:48.to check there is compliance will this resolution. Given the progress
:17:49. > :17:53.that has been made, you must be very glad that the British House of
:17:53. > :18:08.Commons stopped your rash to force against Syria. -- rush. The reason
:18:08. > :18:14.credible threat of military action. has happened is because there was a
:18:14. > :18:14.credible threat of military action. President Obama did not get it
:18:14. > :18:20.through Congress. They have not President Obama did not get it
:18:20. > :18:25.the vote in Congress. There is no other explanation as to why the
:18:25. > :18:29.policy changed. It was because there was a debate about military
:18:30. > :18:35.action in the West that the policy changed on theirs. That is why it
:18:35. > :18:40.changed. We were not in a rush for military action. The boat put to
:18:40. > :18:50.the House of Commons was to have inspectors reported. It was before
:18:50. > :19:02.Russian and Syrian policy changed. We need to make sure that works
:19:02. > :19:05.Russian and Syrian policy changed. practice. Thank you. What do you
:19:05. > :19:09.make about this rushing forward with the help to buy scheme which
:19:09. > :19:14.was meant to start next year - coming forward mad to the next
:19:14. > :19:28.couple of weeks? I think it is a Government having an interest in
:19:28. > :19:33.mortgage lending. -- there is a fundamental problem. It should have
:19:33. > :19:38.been set much lower to exclude London and the South East where
:19:38. > :19:44.houses are dramatically overvalued. Many economists think freezing
:19:44. > :19:49.energy prices is a terrible policy. These policies can be popular. If
:19:49. > :19:59.you have no chance of getting a deposit, the Government will make
:19:59. > :20:04.Osborne tried every single lever. It looked like he could not do
:20:04. > :20:11.anything to get the economy moving. It is moving. They have pulled it
:20:11. > :20:14.forward and there are signs it is recovering. The reason why they
:20:14. > :20:17.forward and there are signs it is doing this is they want to show
:20:17. > :20:21.this week at the conference there are real sort of understandable
:20:21. > :20:25.issues you can explain very simply that really up going to improve
:20:25. > :20:34.people's lives. The Conservatives Miliband's speech last week. The
:20:35. > :20:49.nuts. Much more cautious and -- language about the energy price
:20:49. > :20:54.freeze. They are nervous that Ed Miliband may be touching a nerve on
:20:54. > :21:02.that one. What we will get this week, I suggest, his Tory populism
:21:02. > :21:04.to counter Miliband populism. I think we will see that and it will
:21:04. > :21:10.be a mistake. As long as it is think we will see that and it will
:21:10. > :21:18.about The Picture, they are on relatively strong ground. When the
:21:18. > :21:20.political conversation changes to more fiddly things, particularities
:21:20. > :21:26.standards, things that are some more fiddly things, particularities
:21:26. > :21:31.below that picture, I do not think they can win a bidding war with
:21:31. > :21:31.below that picture, I do not think Labour Party. It is about borrowing
:21:31. > :21:43.against a party that stands for Labour Party. It is about borrowing
:21:43. > :21:48.before the Labour conference, which is unemployment, GDP growth and
:21:48. > :21:54.before the Labour conference, which warming economic picture. That does
:21:54. > :22:00.not pay energy bills. Does not sound that the Tories have anything
:22:00. > :22:02.not pay energy bills. Does not to counter the price freeze. --
:22:02. > :22:04.not pay energy bills. Does not does not sound. They have had a
:22:04. > :22:09.week to think about a great attack line and they do not add anything.
:22:09. > :22:32.the credibility test. Ed Miliband said, if there were a big spike
:22:32. > :22:33.the credibility test. Ed Miliband energy prices, he would not be able
:22:33. > :22:52.it is about credibility. Being seen as serious and grown-up is worth
:22:52. > :22:52.it is about credibility. Being seen more than any burst of popularity.
:22:52. > :23:01.with the election campaign, it My worry about the announcement
:23:01. > :23:06.with the election campaign, it begins to lose credibility, begins
:23:06. > :23:12.to seem a banana republic. It looks a lot less wise than it did last
:23:12. > :23:13.week. I disagree. Every time energy bills go up and they will continue
:23:14. > :23:18.to go up, it will be a reminder bills go up and they will continue
:23:18. > :23:24.how much people are being hit in the pockets. People know by energy
:23:24. > :23:28.prices are going up. There is a structural change in the world that
:23:28. > :23:33.was not there before - China and India. These energy companies may
:23:33. > :23:40.be making huge profit but, at the end of the day, what is driving
:23:40. > :23:42.be making huge profit but, at the the cost of fuel is China and India.
:23:42. > :23:47.Ed Miliband, great man that he is, I am not sure he can take on the
:23:47. > :23:56.people Sammir on that one. How dare Labour's Conference in Brighton
:23:56. > :23:59.last week. Dogged by criticism over the summer of his leadership style
:23:59. > :24:02.and lack of policies, Mr Miliband tried to demonstrate his strength
:24:02. > :24:04.of character with a series of bold announcements, and attempted to
:24:05. > :24:11.position himself on the side of ordinary Brits. The Labour leader
:24:11. > :24:13.told party members he would stand up to the strong and take on the
:24:13. > :24:17.vested interests that hold back up to the strong and take on the
:24:17. > :24:21.economy. In a speech in which he jokingly referred to himself as
:24:21. > :24:22.economy. In a speech in which he action hero, Mr Miliband promised
:24:22. > :24:26.to switch the forthcoming business action hero, Mr Miliband promised
:24:26. > :24:30.tax cut from large firms to smaller businesses. He said he would force
:24:30. > :24:35.big firms to train at an apprentice every time they bring in a worker
:24:35. > :24:40.from outside the EU. He hinted that increasing the minimum wage would
:24:40. > :24:47.be increased. He bowed to take on developers with a use it or lose it
:24:47. > :24:52.threat to landowners and pledged to build 200,000 homes each year by
:24:52. > :24:57.2020. He promised to freeze energy prices and reset the energy market.
:24:57. > :25:06.The next Labour government will freeze gas and electricity prices
:25:06. > :25:12.provoked a rash of headlines - hailing the return of red Ed macro.
:25:12. > :25:15.It has also given him a spike in the polls. And Labour's Shadow
:25:15. > :25:33.Ed Miliband says, our energy market is broken and does not work. In
:25:33. > :25:42.what way is that market to date different from the one Labour left
:25:42. > :25:53.companies that dominate the energy generate energy, and sell it on
:25:53. > :25:55.companies that dominate the energy Miliband recognised when he was
:25:55. > :25:59.Secretary of State and asked for more information from the company
:25:59. > :26:01.Secretary of State and asked for is on hold serve costs and profits,
:26:01. > :26:05.all the things we have done to mitigate against that in terms of a
:26:05. > :26:13.warm front programme and everything Horsell market is too secretive
:26:13. > :26:16.warm front programme and everything it is too much about such supply. -
:26:16. > :26:18.- the wholesale market. We have been raising with the Government in
:26:18. > :26:25.a co-operative way the argument been raising with the Government in
:26:25. > :26:31.resetting the market. It has got worse in terms of speed at which
:26:31. > :26:34.prices have gone up. Labour put wholesale and retail together. It
:26:34. > :26:40.was the start this dates back to wholesale and retail together. It
:26:40. > :26:40.was the start this dates back to privatisation. We took some reforms
:26:40. > :26:48.realised it was not working and privatisation. We took some reforms
:26:48. > :26:50.was broken and we need to reset privatisation. We took some reforms
:26:50. > :26:55.Ed Miliband will be the first to onwards. Let's have a look at what
:26:55. > :26:59.happened to energy prices under onwards. Let's have a look at what
:26:59. > :27:08.Labour government. Electricity up 67%, gas up 139%. Overall prices up
:27:08. > :27:14.by 48%. The market was broken and we saw prices biking as wholesale
:27:14. > :27:21.prices went up. The tick action we saw prices biking as wholesale
:27:21. > :27:31.the one Front programme, decent homes for social housing. -- we
:27:31. > :27:35.programme. Trying to do things around social obligations needs
:27:35. > :27:43.programme. Trying to do things be looked at. Gas and electricity
:27:43. > :27:46.presided over but as a consequence of Labour policy. Beds have a look
:27:46. > :27:52.at the breakdown of dual fuel - of Labour policy. Beds have a look
:27:52. > :27:59.and electricity bill. -- let's have a look. The supply costs of getting
:27:59. > :28:11.it to us and so on. The policies government - Green levies - are
:28:11. > :28:24.energy bills. £112 on average bill of 1188. You have put the bill up.
:28:24. > :28:29.obligations amount to £112. That helps the poorest insulate homes.
:28:29. > :28:36.Overwhelmingly, looking at your wholesale costs are worth more than
:28:36. > :28:43.half. What we have seen, based on figures we now have, in Eni macro,
:28:43. > :28:52.a wholesale costs fell by 39% and that was not reflected in our bills.
:28:52. > :28:57.Do you have plans to do anything about the £112? If you took that
:28:57. > :29:02.off, you could cut bills by 10% tomorrow. Or if you were in power.
:29:02. > :29:11.It is important that restimulate energy. It -- we stimulate. If we
:29:12. > :29:16.do not have clean energy, we will be beholden for ever-more to fossil
:29:17. > :29:20.do not have clean energy, we will fuels that are depleting. It will
:29:20. > :29:30.create jobs and bring in investment will start in the last few years,
:29:30. > :29:37.investment. If I could go back to whatever advance there are, looking
:29:37. > :29:41.at whether the money raised through energy companies to deliver energy
:29:41. > :29:46.efficiency, is that doing as well as it might? Could it be better
:29:46. > :29:53.delivered by another agency? They are fair questions. We need to get
:29:53. > :29:57.market. Can we make the market will competitive make sure when there is
:29:57. > :30:02.downward pressure on wholesale prices, that is reflected on our
:30:02. > :30:04.bills? That is the bigger picture argument. Also the freeze to help
:30:04. > :30:17.As you complain about the energy prices, it was as a result of your
:30:17. > :30:20.actions. Ed Miliband introduced prices, it was as a result of your
:30:20. > :30:27.climate change act. He admitted prices would have to rise to pay for
:30:27. > :30:30.decarbonisation. He said, we are going to minimise the costs as much
:30:30. > :30:35.as possible, but it is true there is not a low-cost energy future out
:30:35. > :30:38.there. It is important that we address the pressures on bills,
:30:38. > :30:40.there. It is important that we also recognise that if we are going
:30:40. > :30:48.to build a better future where we can have more home-grown British
:30:48. > :30:59.renewables. Truth is it is about the market. I acknowledge I acknowledge
:30:59. > :31:08.wholesale prices have fallen. They fell in 2009, we got a reduction in
:31:08. > :31:13.bills of 5%. Which are saying that the big companies are overcharging
:31:13. > :31:16.customers. We are seeing profits going up, but we haven't seen the
:31:16. > :31:24.amount of investment suggested by those profits coming through. But
:31:24. > :31:27.because your leader said in his speech in Brighton that Labour will
:31:27. > :31:31.have a world leading commitment speech in Brighton that Labour will
:31:31. > :31:35.Government to take out all carbon from energy generation by 2030.
:31:35. > :31:37.Government to take out all carbon is not that far away. By 2030, no
:31:37. > :31:42.more coal generation, no more gas generation, only much more expensive
:31:42. > :31:51.nuclear and much more expensive without bills going up even further?
:31:51. > :31:55.Hang on a second. The 2030 target to remove carbon from the electricity
:31:55. > :31:59.supply, we have said we should set a target now because, actually, it
:31:59. > :32:02.gives us more time to plan ahead and also allows investment to come in.
:32:02. > :32:06.There is plenty of people with cash in their pockets not want to invest
:32:06. > :32:09.what they are stalling because of the Government's hesitancy over
:32:09. > :32:14.this. I just want a clarification here. My understanding is that your
:32:14. > :32:19.commitment is to get rid of all carbon from power generation by
:32:19. > :32:23.2030? From the letters city supply. Only electricity. We will still
:32:23. > :32:27.2030? From the letters city supply. gas? We have always said we will
:32:27. > :32:37.need gas for decades to come. So we are clear for that. But you will be
:32:37. > :32:38.increasingly dependent on expensive nuclear. EDF are currently demanding
:32:38. > :32:46.twice the market nuclear. EDF are currently demanding
:32:46. > :32:50.plans in this country. Renewables are two or three times the market
:32:50. > :32:55.price. Bills are going up under your policies, and the coalition
:32:55. > :33:00.policies? On nuclear, we took a decision under the Labour Government
:33:00. > :33:04.that we needed to revitalise the sector, to hit targets on clean
:33:04. > :33:08.that we needed to revitalise the energy and make sure it can do the
:33:08. > :33:10.heavy lifting. The Government at the present time are engaged in
:33:10. > :33:13.heavy lifting. The Government at the discussions with EDF about what the
:33:13. > :33:16.strike price should be. It's important, because I don't know what
:33:16. > :33:19.it's going to be, it is important that stands up to scrutiny in terms
:33:20. > :33:26.of value for money. At the same time, I go back to market reforms.
:33:26. > :33:32.We will not just have a target for difference, the jargon for nuclear,
:33:32. > :33:36.we will have it for renewables as well. That is even more important,
:33:36. > :33:42.that we have a transparent market so that we can have a robust target
:33:42. > :33:46.price to be judged against. Michael Gove recognised in question time
:33:46. > :33:50.that the market was not working. The Telegraph said in its editorial,
:33:50. > :33:56.they used the term cosy cartel. We have former advisers to David
:33:56. > :34:00.Cameron saying something needs to be done. I'm surprised David Cameron
:34:00. > :34:06.doesn't acknowledge that. You are going to freeze prices for 20 months
:34:06. > :34:08.and will come up with a new regulator to replace Ofgem. Will
:34:08. > :34:11.that regulator have the power to regulator to replace Ofgem. Will
:34:11. > :34:18.control prices? The new energy watchdog will have a strategy
:34:18. > :34:20.responsibility to monitor the wholesale costs and prices, which it
:34:21. > :34:25.currently doesn't have at the moment. As a result of that it will
:34:25. > :34:28.currently doesn't have at the have the power that, if the
:34:28. > :34:35.wholesale prices fall, it can force the energy companies, if they don't,
:34:35. > :34:38.to pass on reductions in bills to consumers. It will not have what we
:34:38. > :34:43.see in some parts of the European Union, 15 of them, that have a
:34:43. > :34:47.variety of price controls that set things at below inflation and what
:34:47. > :34:54.have you. France, Spain, Italy. It will not do that. Why? Because we
:34:54. > :34:56.are looking at a temporary price freeze to reflect a reduction in
:34:56. > :35:00.are looking at a temporary price wholesale prices, to give the
:35:00. > :35:03.British public respite from ever climbing bills while they get
:35:03. > :35:07.reforms into the market. At the end of this, what we want is a more
:35:07. > :35:12.competitive market that can be trusted, that is more transparent.
:35:12. > :35:16.We do believe it is right that, actually, we need a regulator that
:35:16. > :35:19.has much more of a role in making sure the market is managed
:35:19. > :35:29.effectively. Are you accusing energy companies of profiteering? EU I am
:35:29. > :35:32.accusing them of overcharging and not passing on wholesale reduction
:35:32. > :35:44.costs to the customer in a fair way. Of making Carter -- cartel profits?
:35:44. > :35:49.I do believe that the level of profits they have passed on to their
:35:49. > :35:52.shareholders is high, compared to the reductions they could have
:35:53. > :35:59.provided to consumers. Let's look at the evidence for that. Here are the
:35:59. > :36:03.British owned companies, SSE and Centrica. In the last fiscal year
:36:03. > :36:10.they made combined earnings of £4 billion. But they invested £3
:36:10. > :36:15.billion. The remaining money went to debt servicing and paying dividends,
:36:15. > :36:18.which go into pension funds. Where in these figures is the
:36:18. > :36:28.profiteering? My figures that I got through their reporting to Ofgem and
:36:28. > :36:33.work done by other organisations, Witch and others, it shows that in
:36:33. > :36:38.Centrica's case they have something like 8% return in profit margins on
:36:38. > :36:40.the retail side. That goes up to 24% on the generation side. They have
:36:40. > :36:46.passed on, in terms of profits, something I70 4% through evidence to
:36:46. > :36:54.shareholders. But these figures don't show that. They have invested
:36:54. > :36:59.£3 billion. I am reporting what has been reported by Ofgem. Ofgem has
:36:59. > :37:03.not accused them of property in. They may well be, but we don't have
:37:03. > :37:06.the evidence. I would accuse Ofgem of not doing the job they should be
:37:06. > :37:12.doing, and they have held back from tackling the issue. It is
:37:12. > :37:16.acknowledged, across the sector, across the big six, something like
:37:16. > :37:21.50% of profits has gone over to dividends to shareholders. In
:37:21. > :37:24.Centrica's case it is 74%. On the Centrica example, even though they
:37:24. > :37:32.have had the highest profit margins, they have invested the least. It is
:37:32. > :37:36.fair to question. We are running out of time. None of us really know what
:37:36. > :37:41.the true price of energy is that is Labour's policy to reform his
:37:41. > :37:44.crucial. That is because he merged the market and we can't tell the
:37:44. > :37:47.difference. If they continue putting prices up, even after your price
:37:47. > :37:51.freeze, if they don't invest in a way that they do, do you rule out
:37:51. > :37:56.wholesale nationalisation? Absolutely. I want a more
:37:56. > :38:00.competitive market and that is why we are resetting it. You are
:38:00. > :38:04.watching Sunday Politics. Coming up in just over 20 minutes I will be
:38:04. > :38:20.looking at the week ahead with our political panel and
:38:20. > :38:35.thatthe In the South West: Hello, I'm Lucie Fisher. Coming up on the
:38:35. > :38:39.Sunday Politics in the South West: New warnings of cuts to council
:38:39. > :38:43.services. And for the next 20 minutes, I'm joined by the Labour MP
:38:43. > :38:46.for Exeter Ben Bradshaw and the Lib Dem Peer Robin Teverson. Welcome
:38:46. > :38:49.both of you to the programme. Let's start with Labour pledge to freeze
:38:49. > :38:57.energy prices if it wins the election. Rodman, do you think this
:38:57. > :39:08.is an important move from Miliband? —— Robin? I don't think it's a
:39:08. > :39:14.simple answer to the complex question of energy. I think we need
:39:14. > :39:18.a solution. In developed countries we tend to put price controls and
:39:18. > :39:24.freezes on power companies and it does not tend to work. I do not
:39:24. > :39:27.think it is the right solution. What we do need to make sure we get is a
:39:27. > :39:32.lot more competition in the industry. That is what the current
:39:32. > :39:38.energy bill in Parliament is about. I think we need to get more real
:39:38. > :39:42.test of those companies. The big six are not reforming in the best we and
:39:42. > :39:54.the regulator has to take a more positive approach. Then, what do you
:39:54. > :39:57.think? It is like the windfall tax. I think what has been very
:39:57. > :40:04.interesting is that we have two energy companies seeing they could
:40:04. > :40:13.freeze their energy prices until 2017. — saying. We even had Michael
:40:13. > :40:16.Gove on question Time saying the current energy market is not
:40:16. > :40:24.working. It's a short—term solution. We need to change the
:40:24. > :40:29.regulatory structure. It is a bit picking and choosing the. Peter
:40:29. > :40:33.Mandelson said it was the wrong way to go. He said it was the way the
:40:33. > :40:37.British economy needed to develop. New energy entrance said it would
:40:37. > :40:44.put them off coming into the industry. Need more competition
:40:45. > :40:48.coming in, hope blue on the renewables and more consumer
:40:48. > :40:54.orientated side of the industry. — hopefully on the renewables. We need
:40:54. > :40:59.to keep prices down. The big top honours while prices. We have to get
:40:59. > :41:08.off of the carbon and fossil fuel addiction. It has been widely
:41:08. > :41:20.welcomed by all consumer groups. It has been standing up against vested
:41:20. > :41:26.interests. Very briefly... The big thing you need to do is separate
:41:26. > :41:32.producers from the market. The way you do that is to force them to sell
:41:32. > :41:40.energy into the retail market. You would do that, would you?
:41:40. > :41:43.Absolutely, post 2015 cuts. Another announcement to come out of Labour's
:41:43. > :41:47.conference was the party's pledge to end what it calls the bedroom tax,
:41:47. > :41:50.in other words to reinstate what ministers call the spare room
:41:50. > :41:53.subsidy. The housing benefit changes have been controversial, but some in
:41:53. > :41:56.the South West have argued that by encouraging tenants to down—size,
:41:56. > :41:58.the Government's policy could help shorten our region's enormous
:41:58. > :42:04.housing waiting lists. John Henderson reports. It was an
:42:04. > :42:10.announcement that brought the house down. David Cameron was the Prime
:42:10. > :42:16.Minister who introduced the bedroom tax, I will repeal it. If Labour
:42:16. > :42:22.wins, it will then changes to housing benefit. For those at the
:42:22. > :42:28.sharp end, the changes have indeed be unpopular. The macro in this day
:42:28. > :42:32.and age there should not be anybody who cannot afford their home when
:42:32. > :42:38.the urban social housing. It should not happen, that is what social
:42:38. > :42:42.housing is for. Tell macro this family moved out of the home they
:42:42. > :42:51.had lived in for 24 years. He were deemed to have more bedrooms than
:42:51. > :42:58.they needed. It's less than £90 per month worse off. You could move
:42:58. > :43:06.somewhere, go to private sector, or stay here, yet into debt, and get
:43:06. > :43:16.kicked out. We had children up here, we lost our house. — we loved our
:43:16. > :43:19.house. They said they would be affected by the changes, changes
:43:19. > :43:27.that they call she defended as necessary to cut the multi—million
:43:27. > :43:31.pound housing benefit bill. Many people in privately rented
:43:31. > :43:37.accommodation cannot afford to have extra bedrooms because they do not
:43:37. > :43:39.have housing benefit. We are spending £23 billion on housing
:43:39. > :43:46.benefit and we have to get that under control. Four months on and
:43:46. > :43:53.this couple are slowly getting used to the two—bedroom house. I spent a
:43:53. > :43:59.lot of time thinking very childless week that I wanted to go home. I
:43:59. > :44:04.appreciate the need for downsizing but on an individual personal basis
:44:04. > :44:08.it has been very, very difficult. Pensioners are exempt from the
:44:08. > :44:19.changes and this couple think that is on fear. —— unfair. The
:44:19. > :44:22.downsizing is a good thing but it should be for everybody in council
:44:22. > :44:37.or housing association property. Everyone should downsize and they
:44:37. > :44:43.have too much space. Last year to households made a request to
:44:43. > :44:49.downsize, this year it was 18, quite an increase. I think from the
:44:49. > :44:55.figures I have given you, we have seen 20 houses being occupied by
:44:55. > :45:03.families who are living in very difficult housing is an needed to
:45:03. > :45:07.move into a good—sized family home. With over 15,000 people waiting to
:45:07. > :45:16.be housed in Devon and Cornwall many argue this is new point—scoring. The
:45:16. > :45:22.quality and are doing it to satisfy the Daily Mail. Ed Miliband seems to
:45:22. > :45:28.be doing it to satisfy the unions. As a money saver, it will not save
:45:28. > :45:34.much money at all. This couple did not like being forced to move home
:45:35. > :45:39.but despite the people, they can see the benefits of downsizing. John
:45:39. > :45:42.Henderson reporting. Well, joining us to discuss this, we have the
:45:42. > :45:49.Conservative leader of East Devon District Council. Paul Diviani,
:45:49. > :45:58.welcome to the programme. Is this policy working for you? Is it being
:45:58. > :46:03.posers for families? It is indeed. We had 320 families be thought would
:46:03. > :46:07.come into this category. We spent a long time contacting them all on a
:46:07. > :46:12.regular basis. We did not want any to fall through the net. There is
:46:12. > :46:18.some discretion in the housing benefit but that will not last
:46:18. > :46:33.forever. We have a thousand 500 houses in East Devon. — 4500 houses.
:46:33. > :46:37.It was said that your party was trying to satisfy the Daily Mail, it
:46:37. > :46:45.does not actually save money and is not working. If you were to move out
:46:45. > :46:48.of social housing at the council level land move into private housing
:46:48. > :47:00.you would drop what we have the same thing operating. That was brought in
:47:01. > :47:04.by the last government. We do not know how many spear houses he has
:47:04. > :47:12.two accommodate the people who want to move. The numbers who had moved
:47:12. > :47:16.had gone up from two to 18, that is minuscule. Across the country there
:47:16. > :47:21.are not the smaller properties for families to move to. That is why
:47:21. > :47:25.there has been a huge increase in the amount of years. People are
:47:25. > :47:31.falling into debt and using food banks. —— the amount of five years.
:47:31. > :47:43.It will not save money. —— early years. Do you have the properties to
:47:44. > :47:52.move people into? We do not. It is the floor, how can you move people?
:47:52. > :47:58.We are building more housing. Now we have housing under control we will
:47:58. > :48:03.be able to build council houses again. We will make sure the one and
:48:03. > :48:07.two—bedroom properties will come onto the market again. It is not
:48:07. > :48:15.practical to do in bungalows because it will take up too much land space.
:48:15. > :48:22.You have argued for this kind of policy in the past, waters you
:48:22. > :48:30.edition now? —— what is your position now? Social housing stock
:48:30. > :48:35.has gone down so we have an incredible shortage. We do not have
:48:35. > :48:39.the smaller houses we need. What I would like to see, moving forward,
:48:39. > :48:48.is an incentive to move rather than a penalty not to move. This houses
:48:48. > :48:50.to do it. I am delighted to see under this government we have
:48:50. > :48:55.started to have a rise in social housing. That is the way we have to
:48:55. > :49:01.solve this at the present time. Unfortunately, because of the way
:49:01. > :49:06.the Exchequer theirs and the problem is that there are, we cannot
:49:06. > :49:09.incentivise people to move out. People who cannot get into social
:49:09. > :49:17.housing at all are the real threat to us. You are shaking your head.
:49:17. > :49:23.Years living in cloud cuckoo land. In Exeter we had a perfectly good
:49:23. > :49:30.scheme that did incentivise families to downsize. It was working. Now you
:49:30. > :49:40.are piling misery on hard—pressed families. Giving bankers are huge
:49:40. > :49:49.tax cut. You should be ashamed. It is absolutely shameful. You sold off
:49:49. > :49:58.half £1 million. —— half a million houses. Would you stop people owning
:49:58. > :50:03.their own house? If we need to build more housing, how will be fun that?
:50:03. > :50:14.Developers would not be allowed to settle on land. —— fund that. It is
:50:14. > :50:21.the biggest challenge we face. This is unfair policy. It is just not
:50:21. > :50:32.working. It will not save money. It analyses the Budapest. Can we just
:50:32. > :50:36.come back on that. It has changed the way this works considerably, in
:50:36. > :50:41.terms of fostering, disable children, although that has been
:50:41. > :50:50.changed to make sure this works better. You have a problem of people
:50:50. > :50:59.who do not have a house. We have to stop you dear and Melbourne. —— stop
:50:59. > :51:02.you dear and move on. The Conservative leader of Devon County
:51:02. > :51:04.Council's again warning public services like children's centres and
:51:04. > :51:07.libraries face widespread cuts. Weeks after John Hart's sharply
:51:07. > :51:10.worded letter to Government was leaked, he's begun asking parish
:51:10. > :51:14.councils what services they can take on, to fill in the gaps. In a
:51:14. > :51:17.momen,t we'll hear what the Prime Minister makes of Councillor Hart's
:51:17. > :51:26.concern, but first this report from Jenny Kumah. This week, John Hart
:51:26. > :51:30.took to the airwaves to ask people what services should be cut in
:51:30. > :51:36.Devon. His letter warning of devastating cuts was leaked to the
:51:36. > :51:45.press. The letter found its way into the public domain, how did that
:51:45. > :51:51.happen? I do not know. It went to Mr pickles on the Thursday, other MPs
:51:51. > :51:57.on the Monday and a group of politicians on Tuesday. By the
:51:57. > :52:06.Wednesday it was in the hands of the press. The government say councils
:52:06. > :52:12.have to take the issue of pain. John Hart says he is more constrained
:52:12. > :52:18.than ever before. We were supposed to be able to do what we want to.
:52:18. > :52:24.Progressively we have had more restricted financial control from
:52:24. > :52:30.London. The authority has reduced its spending by 100 million over the
:52:30. > :52:37.past four years. It faces cuts of a further 100 million x 2017. We have
:52:37. > :52:42.closed now libraries or children's centres. We have kept everything
:52:42. > :52:48.going. That is by doing things differently. Will you be able to
:52:48. > :52:55.continue doing that for the next four years? I cannot do anything
:52:55. > :53:00.other than what is required by the county council to do. The hope is
:53:00. > :53:12.that Paddy shantytown councils will take on more services. —— Parish and
:53:12. > :53:17.town councils. The question is how much they can realistically take on.
:53:17. > :53:23.I lie awake at night worrying how I will balance the books. I would
:53:23. > :53:27.never refuse to look at an option but I would need some very strong
:53:27. > :53:37.persuasion that it was in the best financial interests of our
:53:37. > :53:43.taxpayers. There are other constraints. Dealers quite a
:53:43. > :53:47.difference between the government desire for localism and the
:53:47. > :53:52.decisions they have made which have taken away from parish and town
:53:52. > :53:57.councils the financial independence they have had for years. We no
:53:57. > :54:04.longer in charge of our own destiny or have the ability to raise
:54:04. > :54:11.taxation. We have very small reserves. Ministers say local
:54:11. > :54:18.government have a great deal and £23 million of savings could we meet by
:54:18. > :54:29.the covering uncollected council tax, recovering fraud and making
:54:29. > :54:32.changes. Jenny Kumah reporting. Now, when Martyn Oates put the Devon
:54:32. > :54:35.Council leader's concerns to the Prime Minister, he firmly rejected
:54:35. > :54:38.calls to take cash from urban councils and give it to rural ones.
:54:38. > :54:41.We have had to make difficult decisions across the board. All
:54:41. > :54:51.local councils are having to do more. We have made changes to the
:54:51. > :54:57.funding system. Government MPs have said you have broadened the divide
:54:57. > :55:09.and it has got worse. I do not accept that. You are asking me if it
:55:09. > :55:13.is difficult for local councils because there is less money around,
:55:13. > :55:17.it is, there is less money. We have to deal with that and it affects
:55:17. > :55:23.local councils as well as central government. We have encouraged
:55:23. > :55:27.councils to freeze the council tax so that hard—working people are not
:55:27. > :55:34.paying more for the services they get. That is east on the notion that
:55:34. > :55:42.Whitehall knows more about finances than local authorities. —— based on.
:55:42. > :55:45.We are supposed to have freedom and do what we want to do but we have
:55:45. > :55:52.had more restrict the financial control from London than ever. That
:55:52. > :55:58.is what I don't accept. We have taken off a lot of the ring fencing
:55:58. > :56:03.on money that goes to local government. That has transformed
:56:03. > :56:08.things since this government came to office. We got rid of the regional
:56:08. > :56:14.assemblies and development agencies that wasted so much money. Local
:56:14. > :56:18.councils do face difficult decisions but I think they have demonstrated
:56:18. > :56:26.over three years that we can freeze council tax, reduce spending, but
:56:26. > :56:32.also deliver good services. There have been suggestions children's
:56:32. > :56:39.services and children's centres could be under threat, we did not
:56:39. > :56:48.have them at the end of the Labour government. 200 million has to be
:56:48. > :56:52.cut off a 600 million budget as was just outlined dear. That is because
:56:52. > :56:57.government economic policies have healed. It is only recently things
:56:57. > :57:05.have picked up a little bit —— have failed. We have two recognise that
:57:05. > :57:10.there are difficult choices. I hope the councillors will do what they
:57:10. > :57:16.can to protect the most honourable. That is what, for me, is most
:57:16. > :57:29.important. Are you surprised to hear the government be so what about
:57:29. > :57:34.this? Actually, I am quite shocked. I was speaking to the rural
:57:34. > :57:43.secretary of state who felt this was the balance that was still wrong. I
:57:43. > :57:49.would expect the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to say similar
:57:49. > :57:58.things that I would not necessarily agree. We have had about 50% less
:57:58. > :58:02.money coming into rural authorities yet services tend to be more
:58:02. > :58:11.expensive. Some rebalancing still has to happen. Things have to
:58:11. > :58:15.change. Are we likely to see unitary afforded tea to try to save some
:58:15. > :58:21.money? I think that is what government should do to save money.
:58:21. > :58:28.Let's reduce this duplication in local government. It is cities like
:58:28. > :58:35.Exeter within shire counties that suffer the most. They get a bad
:58:35. > :58:40.healed. The shire counties spend more money in the rural area 's.
:58:40. > :58:53.Everyone is having to tighten their belts. Now our regular round—up of
:58:53. > :58:56.the political week in 60 seconds. To the coastguard agency confirmed
:58:56. > :59:02.closing dates for stations in Brixham and Portland. The campaign
:59:02. > :59:09.to save them continues. The campaign goes on. I am never going to give
:59:09. > :59:17.up. Businesses in Cornwall were called dated benefit from a new
:59:17. > :59:23.local investment bank. We need decisions to be made in Cornwall.
:59:23. > :59:28.Businesses in rural Devon in this low due for high—speed broadband
:59:28. > :59:36.worked all ministers had mismanaged the project. I cannot say that they
:59:36. > :59:42.have made enough inroads and that anyone is taking responsibility for
:59:42. > :59:47.the living. Firefighters go on strike over pensions. It is not what
:59:48. > :59:54.any of us signed up for order expect it. And dealers only seven years
:59:54. > :00:03.burial space left in some cemeteries. —— the is only seven
:00:03. > :00:08.years. What should we do about cemeteries running out of space? I'm
:00:08. > :00:14.called burials that they are becoming fashionable. It is plenty
:00:14. > :00:24.of space out the off Plymouth order Cornwall post to do that. It is a
:00:24. > :00:35.serious option. Beat for basking sharks like I saw yesterday. ——
:00:35. > :00:40.beat. It is a problem for people. I am not sure about the idea of
:00:40. > :00:50.digging people up after 70 years. And what do you think about reusing
:00:50. > :00:56.graves? It is an option. It happens in some parts of the world. At the
:00:56. > :01:00.moment you are having people buried 30 miles away from their loved ones
:01:00. > :01:03.and that cannot rewrite. That's the Sunday Politics in the South West.
:01:03. > :01:04.Thanks to my guests Ben Bradshaw and Robin
:01:04. > :01:05.Thanks to my guests Ben Bradshaw and for. My thanks again to Mary McLeod
:01:05. > :01:25.So, we'll David Cameron's marriage tax break win over voters? How will
:01:25. > :01:36.So, we'll David Cameron's marriage conference initiatives? And what is
:01:36. > :01:41.UKIP leader Nigel FarageFarage up to with the Tories in Manchester?
:01:41. > :01:56.On this business of a possible Tory- UKIP pact, in a general election,
:01:56. > :02:02.let's see what David Cameron had to say about that earlier. I am not
:02:02. > :02:05.looking for a packed. I think we need to give people a clear choice
:02:05. > :02:09.at the general election. The British economy has turned a corner. We
:02:09. > :02:11.at the general election. The British on the right track, we are seeing
:02:12. > :02:15.more jobs, new businesses, we are beginning to get things moving
:02:15. > :02:20.again. Do you want to stick with us, hard-working people, or do you want
:02:20. > :02:25.to put it at risk with Ed Miliband hard-working people, or do you want
:02:25. > :02:32.and his crazy plans to tax business out of existence? That was the Prime
:02:32. > :02:39.there any appetite on the UKIP side discussions around the country,
:02:39. > :02:50.there any appetite on the UKIP side would say no. It's being discussed,
:02:50. > :02:53.is the media that is pushing this. It has reflected what has happened
:02:53. > :02:59.conference season began. Labour It has reflected what has happened
:02:59. > :03:05.trying to reclaim what I would call position. I'm not sure what the
:03:05. > :03:11.Liberal Democrats or two, but the Conservatives are trying to react to
:03:11. > :03:16.accusation they are lurching more to the right, which the media wants to
:03:16. > :03:20.able to do some sort of pact with interpret as them possibly being
:03:20. > :03:26.able to do some sort of pact with UKIP. Have you given any thought to
:03:26. > :03:33.whatsoever. It is not on the radar. I have read comments, including
:03:33. > :03:39.Carswell, the Eurosceptics, that they might form a potential, let's
:03:39. > :03:43.call it, you know, cabinet. If there were UKIP members, I don't doubt
:03:43. > :03:46.that Nigel Farage would be one of them. But I would reiterate it is
:03:46. > :03:54.not discussions that are taking place. I am thinking more of an
:03:54. > :03:58.have responded to that by saying, the moment, there are no ongoing
:03:58. > :04:05.discussions. There is certainly constituency level or coming out of
:04:05. > :04:14.believe any constituencies are Eurosceptics? I am not privy to
:04:14. > :04:16.believe any constituencies are all 360 constituencies might be
:04:17. > :04:22.discussing. All I can do is give you the example of the few I have seen
:04:22. > :04:24.and know it is not on the agenda. Without a pact, it is perfectly
:04:24. > :04:29.possible that you could fail to Without a pact, it is perfectly
:04:29. > :04:34.a single seat at the next election, but put Ed Miliband into Downing
:04:34. > :04:36.Street? Categorically not. There are a number of seats out there that are
:04:36. > :04:53.very clear marginals, just like a number of seats out there that are
:04:53. > :04:58.Izzard was. I believe there could be an MP -- just like Eastleigh was. If
:04:58. > :05:02.you take enough votes away from an MP -- just like Eastleigh was. If
:05:02. > :05:07.Tories, if you make sure that Labour wins? I will go back to the comment
:05:07. > :05:12.I made. If you take Eastleigh as an example, a Liberal Democrat held
:05:12. > :05:17.seat, even after that result, does not mean that UKIP is suddenly going
:05:17. > :05:21.to be focusing on Tory seats. We are out there because people resonate
:05:21. > :05:24.with our message. For the Liberal Democrats to make it abundantly
:05:24. > :05:27.clear that they will not support a referendum, that they will not
:05:27. > :05:31.support any discussion on leaving the queue, that could be a big
:05:31. > :05:33.turn-off for voters. David Cameron says there is not going to be a
:05:33. > :05:36.pact, Diane James says there is says there is not going to be a
:05:37. > :05:39.going to be one. There might be says there is not going to be a
:05:39. > :05:41.or at a constituency level. But says there is not going to be a
:05:41. > :05:46.seems clear to me that there will not be a national one. So, does
:05:46. > :05:49.David Cameron have a UKIP strategy? The only encouraging thing for
:05:49. > :05:51.UKIP's successful David Cameron that the moment that he would only
:05:51. > :05:55.that their support is so enormous that the moment that he would only
:05:55. > :05:58.really need to win back maybe a third or a quarter of its to make a
:05:58. > :06:02.decisive difference to the Tory share of the vote in 2015. The
:06:02. > :06:07.question becomes, how much of that UKIP support is up for grabs? A
:06:07. > :06:09.question becomes, how much of that last week suggested that 47% of
:06:09. > :06:13.current UKIP voters would consider voting Tory if it meant preventing
:06:13. > :06:19.Ed Miliband becoming Prime Minister. That number goes up to 57% against
:06:19. > :06:25.recovery. So, plausibly, there is secondary question is, what does
:06:25. > :06:29.David Cameron do to win over those people? He has tried a Europe will
:06:29. > :06:33.referendum and it didn't work. He tried travelling up his immigration
:06:33. > :06:38.policy and that didn't work. I wonder if it is time. You wait until
:06:38. > :06:44.the run-up to 2015, when they start to focus on the explicit choice
:06:44. > :06:52.Cameron, and that is what shifts a Cameron. We heard from William Hague
:06:52. > :06:56.earlier in the programme, the Tory line is that if you vote UKIP you
:06:56. > :07:01.could end up with Ed Miliband in Downing Street. That is the simple
:07:01. > :07:08.appeal, isn't it? Yes, and I think Diane is right, I think the European
:07:08. > :07:12.elections will show a good showing for UKIP. It is deemed the one where
:07:12. > :07:14.you can play away. I think it will be hard for people to get excited
:07:14. > :07:20.about that, I think that bounce be hard for people to get excited
:07:20. > :07:26.fade away. In Eastleigh, they had a good ground game, that is difficult
:07:26. > :07:28.for UKIP, that don't have that machinery sorted. How are they going
:07:28. > :07:33.to fund that operation? But the machinery sorted. How are they going
:07:33. > :07:39.bounce could fade away after the European elections. Even if they go
:07:39. > :07:43.election, they are still immensely dangerous to the Conservative Party.
:07:43. > :07:47.But there is really only two things David Cameron can do. One is to
:07:47. > :07:49.But there is really only two things boring and talk about helping people
:07:49. > :07:54.with their mortgage, helping with bread and butter issues. The second
:07:54. > :07:57.thing is, those European actions, he tends to the natural Conservative
:07:57. > :07:59.voters and says, you have had your fun, next year do you want me or Ed
:07:59. > :08:03.Miliband us your prime and? The fun, next year do you want me or Ed
:08:03. > :08:07.danger with David Cameron is saying, of course, there is not going to be
:08:07. > :08:13.a pact, the danger is you will get a repeat of the 1977 election. John
:08:13. > :08:19.Major said, famously, do not bind my hands. A series of Conservative
:08:19. > :08:24.personally rule out membership of the euro, when the Conservative
:08:24. > :08:25.membership was wait and see. That looked like a Prime Minister not in
:08:25. > :08:31.charge of his party. The danger looked like a Prime Minister not in
:08:32. > :08:34.Let's assume you do really well looked like a Prime Minister not in
:08:34. > :08:41.the European actions and there is a widespread expectation that you
:08:41. > :08:44.will, even in Downing Street. They might be managing expectations.
:08:45. > :08:47.will, even in Downing Street. They stops you fading away as the general
:08:47. > :08:50.election approaches? A number of reasons. As has been mentioned,
:08:50. > :08:52.election approaches? A number of whole issue of the referendum pledge
:08:52. > :08:59.has been proved to be an absolute nonsense. It is so contingent on if
:08:59. > :09:07.I am re-elected, if it's not a coalition government, is, if, if.
:09:07. > :09:08.That was fooled nobody. The issue of where voters are coming from, it is
:09:08. > :09:12.because they have lost faith in where voters are coming from, it is
:09:12. > :09:19.David Cameron says. There is nothing he is going to say that is convince
:09:19. > :09:21.think that is my view and the view of a lot of UKIP. I am told that
:09:21. > :09:29.they have expunged Nigel Farage of a lot of UKIP. I am told that
:09:29. > :09:33.the fringes? It is a great scoop, on the front page. They are outside the
:09:33. > :09:38.ring of steel. Even so, they won't programme, so they must be worried
:09:38. > :09:43.paid money for adverts in the Tory about something. His people have
:09:43. > :09:43.paid money for adverts in the Tory brochure and his name has been taken
:09:43. > :09:48.out. Speaking of people the Tory brochure and his name has been taken
:09:48. > :09:53.leadership is worried about, Boris Johnson, are we in any doubt as
:09:53. > :09:59.leadership is worried about, Boris interview that he is now beginning
:09:59. > :10:01.his long march back to Parliament? He does express feeling slightly sad
:10:01. > :10:04.during the Syria debate that he He does express feeling slightly sad
:10:04. > :10:10.not there, on the political front line to participate. I still do
:10:10. > :10:14.not there, on the political front see why it is in his interest is to
:10:14. > :10:17.move before 2015. No, I don't think he will move before, I think he
:10:17. > :10:17.move before 2015. No, I don't think sending a signal to the existing
:10:17. > :10:29.Tories in the Commons that when sending a signal to the existing
:10:29. > :10:33.Me Dave goes, I will be back? He has the Vince Cable problem, if you
:10:33. > :10:36.Me Dave goes, I will be back? He has the same thing too many times,
:10:36. > :10:40.people get bored and factor it in. The interesting thing is him saying
:10:40. > :10:45.that people have seven years before the electorate get bored of them. He
:10:45. > :10:48.might be cresting that. He doesn't want to be Prime Minister, he is
:10:48. > :10:55.much more ambitious than that. He wants to be an emperor. He was
:10:56. > :11:02.asked, which Roman emperor would you like to be compared to? You said,
:11:02. > :11:09.important. I don't think you are thinking big enough. See what I
:11:09. > :11:09.important. I don't think you are to put up with, every Sunday? By
:11:09. > :11:14.virtue of being born in the US, to put up with, every Sunday? By
:11:14. > :11:24.could be president. Unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger. How about a deal
:11:24. > :11:27.with Boris? He has made no secret, after Eastleigh, that he would be
:11:27. > :11:31.open to a discussion. Let's call it no more than a discussion. He has
:11:31. > :11:36.been adamant, however, he does not see any reason, any justification or
:11:36. > :11:42.any opportunity where he would be able to have that discourse with
:11:42. > :11:45.any opportunity where he would be David Cameron. Maybe it comes down
:11:45. > :11:49.to that on both sides. I've no idea. We know that the Tories will be
:11:49. > :11:52.to that on both sides. I've no idea. more Eurosceptic after the next
:11:52. > :11:56.election? I can't imagine David Cameron's successor will be somebody
:11:56. > :12:04.that supports EU membership in ideological direction of the party.
:12:04. > :12:05.The leadership contest will be about 2018. If you are standing, when
:12:05. > :12:12.this is a great deal for Britain membership, are you going to say
:12:12. > :12:14.this is a great deal for Britain because the Prime Minister has
:12:14. > :12:17.turned to leave rapid change two words in the working Time directive,
:12:17. > :12:20.turned to leave rapid change two or are you going to become a leader
:12:20. > :12:32.by saying, I want out? What would be a good conference for David Cameron
:12:32. > :12:36.eye-catching announcement related to living standards. May be a clearer
:12:36. > :12:41.line on energy prices? That would certainly help, that fightback has
:12:41. > :12:44.been rubbish so far. The thing we should be looking out for are not
:12:44. > :12:48.the polls immediately after, but the ones about the end of October, when
:12:48. > :12:53.everything gets to settle down and then we will see what happens. In a
:12:53. > :12:57.word, what is Nigel Farage out to get at the Tory conference? What is
:12:57. > :13:05.he doing, other than mischief? I could almost say revenge. Revenge on
:13:05. > :13:11.Mr Cameron? Yes. You know? Lord Ashcroft was there at the Labour
:13:11. > :13:15.conference. You call it mischief, but there is every reason why he
:13:15. > :13:19.should be there. We all call it mischief. Thanks for being with
:13:19. > :13:22.should be there. We all call it Join me on Daily Politics for live
:13:22. > :13:26.coverage of the Conservative Party conference tomorrow morning from
:13:26. > :13:30.11:30 on BBC Two. We will bring conference tomorrow morning from
:13:30. > :13:34.George Osborne's speech live and uninterrupted. I'll be back next
:13:34. > :13:35.weekend when guests will include former Conservative Chancellor
:13:35. > :13:38.Kenneth Clarke. Remember, if it former Conservative Chancellor
:13:38. > :13:40.Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.