:00:35. > :00:39.Morning, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.
:00:40. > :00:42.Downing Street announces an inquiry into allegations of hardball tactics
:00:43. > :00:47.and intimidation by unions in industrial disputes. That's our top
:00:48. > :00:51.story. Thousands dead. Hundreds of
:00:52. > :00:55.thousands without homes. Millions affected. What is Britain doing to
:00:56. > :00:57.help the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan? We'll ask
:00:58. > :01:02.International Development Secretary Justine Greening.
:01:03. > :01:05.Winter is coming and so, it seems, is another crisis in England's
:01:06. > :01:07.hospitals. I'll be asking the Shadow Health Secretary how he'd put a stop
:01:08. > :01:15.to the NHS's annual woes. In the South West: The Lib Dem MP
:01:16. > :01:17.who says his leader's got his priorities wrong on free school
:01:18. > :01:19.meals. And the fight to save the region's
:01:20. > :01:22.airports. and renewed calls to get lorries off
:01:23. > :01:36.the roads in peak hours. With me, the best and brightest
:01:37. > :01:39.political panel that money can buy. Janan Ganesh, Nick Watt and this
:01:40. > :01:44.week, Zoe Williams, who'll be tweeting their thoughts throughout
:01:45. > :01:47.the programme. The Government has announced a
:01:48. > :01:49.review to investigate what the Prime Minister has called "industrial
:01:50. > :02:02.intimidation" by trade union activists. Bruce Carr QC will chair
:02:03. > :02:04.a panel to examine allegations of the kind of tactics that came to
:02:05. > :02:07.light during the Grangemouth dispute, when the Unite union took
:02:08. > :02:14.their protests - replete with a giant rat - outside the family homes
:02:15. > :02:18.of the firms' bosses. Earlier this morning the Cabinet office minister,
:02:19. > :02:23.Francis Maude spoke to the BBC and this is what he had to say. To look
:02:24. > :02:27.at whether the law currently works and see if it is ineffective in
:02:28. > :02:32.preventing the kind of intimidatory activity that was alleged to have
:02:33. > :02:41.taken place around range mouth during the previous disputes --
:02:42. > :02:46.Grangemouth. We make no presumptions at the beginning of this. I do think
:02:47. > :02:50.it is a responsible thing for the government to establish what
:02:51. > :02:55.happened and really do a proper review into whether the law is
:02:56. > :03:01.adequate to meet the needs. That was Francis Maude. This is a purely
:03:02. > :03:06.political move, isn't it? Unite did this a couple of times, it is hardly
:03:07. > :03:09.happening all over the country but the government want to say, we are
:03:10. > :03:16.prepared to investigate Unite properly, Labour isn't. This seemed
:03:17. > :03:23.a lot worse when I thought it was a real rat. I thought it was a giant
:03:24. > :03:26.dead rat. I am not sure if you know much about rats but real rats are
:03:27. > :03:32.not this big, even the ones in London. The thing is, obviously it
:03:33. > :03:38.is naked politics but I think it is more intelligent than it looks. They
:03:39. > :03:44.are trying to taint Miliband as a week union puppet and that doesn't
:03:45. > :03:49.really wash. They hammer away with it and it might wash for some
:03:50. > :03:53.people. But it really castrates Miliband in the important issues he
:03:54. > :03:56.has to tackle. Zero hours, living wage, all of those things in which
:03:57. > :04:03.he needs to be in concert with the unions, and to use their expertise.
:04:04. > :04:16.He is making them absolutely toxic to go anywhere near. It keeps the
:04:17. > :04:18.Unite story alive, have to kill -- particularly since Mr Miller band is
:04:19. > :04:33.under pressure to reopen the investigation into what Unite are up
:04:34. > :04:36.to -- Mr Miliband. They are frustrated, not only at the BBC but
:04:37. > :04:40.the media generally at what they think is a lack of coverage. I see
:04:41. > :04:46.the political rationale from that respect. There is a risk. There are
:04:47. > :04:51.union members who either vote Tory or are open to the idea of voting
:04:52. > :05:04.Tory. All Lib Dem. If the party comes across as too zealous in as --
:05:05. > :05:11.its antipathy, there is an electoral consequence. Ed Miliband has been
:05:12. > :05:16.careful to keep a distance. Yes they depend on vast amounts of
:05:17. > :05:19.money. When Len McCluskey had a real go at the Blairites, Ed Miliband was
:05:20. > :05:23.straight out there with a very strong statement. Essentially Len
:05:24. > :05:28.McCluskey wanted Blairites in the shadow cabinet sacked and Ed
:05:29. > :05:33.Miliband was keen to distance himself or for that is why it is not
:05:34. > :05:38.quite sticking. Another story in the Sunday papers this morning, the Mail
:05:39. > :05:43.on Sunday got hold of some e-mails. When I saw the headline I thought it
:05:44. > :05:49.was a huge cache of e-mails, it turns out to be a couple. They peel
:05:50. > :05:56.away the cover on the relationship between Ed Miliband and Ed Balls,
:05:57. > :06:03.with some of Ed Miliband's cohorts describing what Mr balls is trying
:06:04. > :06:07.to do as a nightmare. How bad are the relations? They are pretty bad
:06:08. > :06:10.and these e-mails confirm the biggest open signal in Westminster,
:06:11. > :06:16.which is that relations are pretty tense, -- open secret. That Ed
:06:17. > :06:21.Miliband doesn't feel that Ed Balls is acknowledging the economy has
:06:22. > :06:28.grown that Labour needs to admit to past mistakes. The sort of great
:06:29. > :06:36.open signal is confirmed. On a scale of 1-10, assuming that Blair-Brown
:06:37. > :06:40.was ten. I think it is between six and seven. They occupy this joint
:06:41. > :06:46.suite of offices that George Cameron and -- David Cameron and George
:06:47. > :06:50.Osborne had. It is not just on the economy that there were tensions,
:06:51. > :06:57.there were clearly tensions over HS2, Ed Balls put a huge question
:06:58. > :07:00.over it at his conference. There will be more tensions when it comes
:07:01. > :07:05.to the third runway because my information is that Mr balls wants
:07:06. > :07:10.to do it and Ed Miliband almost resigned over it when he was in
:07:11. > :07:13.government. I don't think Ed Miliband is thinking very
:07:14. > :07:19.politically because he has tried live without Ed Balls and that is
:07:20. > :07:23.not tenable either. -- life without. He has defined a way of making it
:07:24. > :07:28.work. That is where Tony Blair had the edge on any modern politician.
:07:29. > :07:32.He didn't want to make Ed Balls his Shadow Chancellor, he had to.
:07:33. > :07:35.Somebody said to him, if you make Ed Balls Shadow Chancellor, that will
:07:36. > :07:45.be the last decision you take as leader of the Labour Party. Is it as
:07:46. > :07:56.bad? I was surprised at how tame the e-mails were. At the FT it is
:07:57. > :08:01.compulsory, one French word per sentence! To call him a nightmare,
:08:02. > :08:06.compared to what they are willing to say in briefings, conversations
:08:07. > :08:09.bits of frustrations they express verbally come what is documented in
:08:10. > :08:15.the e-mails is actually pretty light. It has been a grim week for
:08:16. > :08:18.the people of the Philippines as they count the cost of the
:08:19. > :08:24.devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan. HMS Daring has just arrived
:08:25. > :08:28.near the worst hit areas - part of Britain's contribution to bring aid
:08:29. > :08:32.to the country. It has been one of the worst natural
:08:33. > :08:35.disasters in the history of the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan hit the
:08:36. > :08:40.country nine days ago, leaving devastation in its wake. The numbers
:08:41. > :08:45.involved are shocking. The official death toll is over 3600 people, with
:08:46. > :08:50.many thousands more unaccounted for. More than half a million people have
:08:51. > :08:54.lost their homes and the UN estimates 11 million have been
:08:55. > :08:57.affected. David Cameron announced on Friday that the UK government is to
:08:58. > :09:04.give an extra ?30 million in aid, taking the total British figure ?250
:09:05. > :09:07.million. An RAF Sea 17 aircraft landed yesterday with equipment to
:09:08. > :09:13.help aid workers get too hard to reach areas. HMS Illustrious is on
:09:14. > :09:21.its way and due to arrive next weekend. The British public have
:09:22. > :09:25.once again dipped into their pockets and given generously. They have
:09:26. > :09:27.given more than ?30 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee.
:09:28. > :09:31.The International Development Secretary, Justine Greening, joins
:09:32. > :09:35.me now for the Sunday Interview Good morning, Secretary of State.
:09:36. > :09:40.How much of the ?50 million that the government has allocated has got
:09:41. > :09:45.through so far? All of it has landed on the ground now. HMS Daring has
:09:46. > :09:48.turned up, that will be able to start getting help out to some of
:09:49. > :09:53.those more outlying islands that have been hard to reach. We have
:09:54. > :09:57.seen Save the Children and Oxfam really being able to get aid out on
:09:58. > :10:02.the ground. We have a plane taking off today that will not read just
:10:03. > :10:09.carrying out more equipment to help clear the roads but will also have
:10:10. > :10:16.their staff on board, too. We have ?50 million of aid actually on the
:10:17. > :10:20.ground? We instantly chartered flights directly from Dubai where we
:10:21. > :10:24.have preprepared human Terry and supplies, and started humanity work
:10:25. > :10:36.-- humanitarian supplies. A lot of it has now arrived. I think
:10:37. > :10:41.we have done a huge amount so far. We have gone beyond just providing
:10:42. > :10:44.humanitarian supplies, to getting the Royal Air Force involved. They
:10:45. > :10:49.have helped us to get equipment out there quickly. We have HMS
:10:50. > :10:53.Illustrious sailing over there now. Why has that taken so long? It was
:10:54. > :10:57.based in the Gulf and is not going to get there until two weeks after
:10:58. > :11:01.the storm first hit and that is the one ship we have with lots of
:11:02. > :11:05.helicopters. The first decision we took was to make sure we could get
:11:06. > :11:10.the fastest vessel out there that was able to help HMS Daring. HMS
:11:11. > :11:14.Illustrious was just finishing an exercise and planning to start to
:11:15. > :11:18.head back towards the UK. We have said to not do that, and diverted
:11:19. > :11:24.it. Shouldn't it have happened more quickly? We took the decisions as
:11:25. > :11:29.fast as we were able to, you can't just turn a big warship around like
:11:30. > :11:32.the HMS Illustrious. We made sure we took those decisions and that is
:11:33. > :11:38.while it will be taking over from HMS Daring come and that is why HMS
:11:39. > :11:41.Daring is ready there. It will be able to provide key support and
:11:42. > :11:48.expertise that has not been there so far. The US Navy is doing the heavy
:11:49. > :11:52.lifting here. The US Navy had the USS Washington, there is an aircraft
:11:53. > :11:57.carrier, 80 planes, 5000 personnel and they have the fleet, they are
:11:58. > :12:02.doing the real work. We obviously helping but the Americans are taking
:12:03. > :12:06.the lead. It is a big international effort. Countries like the US and
:12:07. > :12:14.the UK, that have a broader ability to support that goes beyond simply
:12:15. > :12:19.call humanitarian supplies -- have made sure we have brought our
:12:20. > :12:23.logistics knowledge, we have sent out our naval vessels. It shows we
:12:24. > :12:32.are working across government to respond to this crisis. Why does
:12:33. > :12:36.only just over 4% of your aid budget go on emergency disaster and
:12:37. > :12:39.response? A lot depends on what crises hit in any given year. We
:12:40. > :12:44.have done a huge amount, responding to the crisis in Syria, the conflict
:12:45. > :12:48.there and the fact we have 2 million refugees who have fled the country.
:12:49. > :12:53.We are part of an international effort in supporting them. Shouldn't
:12:54. > :12:57.we beginning more money to that rather than some of the other
:12:58. > :13:03.programmes where it is harder to see the results question of if we were
:13:04. > :13:07.to give more money to the refugees, it would be a visible result. We
:13:08. > :13:14.could see an improvement in the lives of children, men and women.
:13:15. > :13:17.What we need to do is alongside that is stop those situations from
:13:18. > :13:21.happening in the first place. A lot of our development spend is helping
:13:22. > :13:25.countries to stay stable. Look at some of the work we are doing in
:13:26. > :13:32.Somalia, much more sensible. Not just from an immigration but there
:13:33. > :13:36.is a threat perspective. There is a lot of terrorism coming from
:13:37. > :13:42.Somalia. You only have to look at Kenya recently to see that. Which is
:13:43. > :13:46.why you talk about what we do with the rest of the spend. It is why it
:13:47. > :13:52.is responsible to work with the government of Somalia. Should we
:13:53. > :13:57.give more, bigger part of the budget to disaster relief or not? I think
:13:58. > :14:01.we get it about right, we have to be flexible and we are. This Philippine
:14:02. > :14:08.relief is on top of the work in Syria. Where can you show me a
:14:09. > :14:12.correlation between us giving aid to some failed nation, or nearly failed
:14:13. > :14:17.nation, and that cutting down on terrorism? If you look at the work
:14:18. > :14:20.we have done in Pakistan, a huge amount of work. Some of it
:14:21. > :14:28.short-term. It is written by terrorism. That is -- ridden by
:14:29. > :14:36.terrorism. That is not going to fix it self in a sense. Look at the work
:14:37. > :14:45.that we do in investing in education. The things that little
:14:46. > :14:52.girls like Malala talk about as being absolutely key. We are ramping
:14:53. > :14:58.up our aid to Pakistan, it will be close to half ?1 billion by the time
:14:59. > :15:04.of the election. Why should British taxpayers be giving half ?1 billion
:15:05. > :15:09.to a country where only 0.5% of people in Pakistan pay income tax,
:15:10. > :15:19.and 70% of their own MPs don't pay income tax. It is a good point and
:15:20. > :15:23.that is why we have been working with their tax revenue authority to
:15:24. > :15:34.help them increase that and push forward the tax reform. You are
:15:35. > :15:40.right, and I have setup a team that will go out and work with many of
:15:41. > :15:44.these countries so they can raise their own revenues. You really think
:15:45. > :15:57.you will raise the amount of tax by sending out the British HRM see How
:15:58. > :16:02.many troops I we sending out to protect them? They don't need
:16:03. > :16:16.troops. We make sure that we have a duty of care alongside our staff,
:16:17. > :16:20.but we have to respond to any crisis like the Philippines, and alongside
:16:21. > :16:25.other countries we have two work alongside them so that they can
:16:26. > :16:31.reinvest in their own public services. If they can create their
:16:32. > :16:35.own taxes, will we stop paying aid? We need to look at that but the new
:16:36. > :16:43.Pakistan Government has been very clear it is a priority and we will
:16:44. > :16:50.be helping them in pursuing that. Let me show you a picture. Who are
:16:51. > :16:57.these young women? I don't know I'm sure you are about to tell me. They
:16:58. > :17:01.are the Ethiopian Spice Girls and I'm surprised you don't know because
:17:02. > :17:09.they have only managed to become so famous because your department has
:17:10. > :17:13.financed them to the tune of ?4 million. All of the work we do with
:17:14. > :17:19.women on the ground, making sure they have a voice in their local
:17:20. > :17:24.communities, making sure they have some control over what happens to
:17:25. > :17:33.their own bodies in terms of tackling FGM, female genital
:17:34. > :17:37.mutilation... Did you know your department has spent ?4 million on
:17:38. > :17:46.the Ethiopian Spice Girls? Yes, I do, and we have to work with girls
:17:47. > :17:50.and show them there is a life ahead of them with opportunity and
:17:51. > :17:54.potential that goes beyond what many of them will experience, which
:17:55. > :18:06.includes early and forced marriage. It is part of the work we do with
:18:07. > :18:10.local communities to change attitudes everything you have just
:18:11. > :18:14.said is immeasurable, and they broadcast on a radio station that
:18:15. > :18:26.doesn't reach most of the country so it cannot have the impact. It only
:18:27. > :18:26.reaches 20 million people and the project has been condemned saying
:18:27. > :18:35.there were serious inefficiencies. That aid report was done a while ago
:18:36. > :18:39.now, and it was talking about the project when it first got going and
:18:40. > :18:44.a lot of improvements have happened since. I would go back to the point
:18:45. > :18:47.that we are working in very difficult environments where we are
:18:48. > :18:53.trying to get longer term change on the ground and that means working
:18:54. > :18:56.directly with communities but also investing for the long-term,
:18:57. > :19:03.investing in some of these girls start changing attitudes in them and
:19:04. > :19:13.their communities. Why does the British taxpayers spend ?5 million
:19:14. > :19:20.on a Bangladesh version of Question Time? We work with the BBC to make
:19:21. > :19:40.sure we can get accountabilities... That is bigger then the BBC Question
:19:41. > :19:48.Time Normal -- budget. That includes the cost of David Dimbleby's
:19:49. > :19:52.tattoo! We are working to improve people's prospects but also we are
:19:53. > :19:56.working to improve their ability to hold their governments to account so
:19:57. > :20:00.that when they are not getting services on the ground, they have
:20:01. > :20:08.ways they can raise those concerns with the people who are there to
:20:09. > :20:12.deliver services for them. In your own personal view, should the next
:20:13. > :20:18.Conservative Government, if there is one, should you continue to ring
:20:19. > :20:23.fence spending on foreign aid? But it is critical that if we are going
:20:24. > :20:27.to spend 7.7% of our national income, we should make sure it is in
:20:28. > :20:32.our national interest and that means having a clear approach to
:20:33. > :20:37.humanitarian responses, in keeping the country safe, and a clearer
:20:38. > :20:43.approach on helping drive economic development and jobs so there is a
:20:44. > :20:49.long-term end of the dependency Do you believe in an shrine in the
:20:50. > :20:55.percentage of our GDP that goes on foreign aid in law? Yes, and that is
:20:56. > :21:04.a coalition agreement. There have been a lot of agreements that you
:21:05. > :21:09.are sceptical about ring fencing. We are focused on shaking up the
:21:10. > :21:22.economy and improving our public finances. Why haven't you done that?
:21:23. > :21:28.At the end of the day we will be accountable but we are committed to
:21:29. > :21:33.doing that. You are running out of time, will you do it? I hope we can
:21:34. > :21:40.find the Parliamentary time, but even if we don't, we have acted as
:21:41. > :21:46.if that law is in place and we have already met 0.7% commitment. If you
:21:47. > :21:52.are British voter that doesn't believe that we should enshrine that
:21:53. > :21:57.in by law, which means that with a growing economy foreign aid will
:21:58. > :22:01.rise by definition, and if you think we should be spending less money on
:22:02. > :22:09.the Ethiopian Spice Girls, for whom should you wrote in the next
:22:10. > :22:15.election? I think we have a very sensible approach. I don't know what
:22:16. > :22:21.the various party manifestoes.. The only party who thinks we shouldn't
:22:22. > :22:31.be doing this is UKIP. I think you have to look at the response to both
:22:32. > :22:38.the Philippines crisis and Children In Need. Of all the steps we are
:22:39. > :22:44.taking to get the country back on track, it shows the British people
:22:45. > :22:51.will respond to need when they need it and it is one of the things that
:22:52. > :22:54.makes Britain's special. Thank you. "It's always winter but
:22:55. > :22:57.never Christmas" - that's how doctors describe life inside
:22:58. > :22:59.accident and emergency. The College of Emergency Medicine have warned
:23:00. > :23:03.that this year could bring the "worst crisis on record". If that
:23:04. > :23:06.dire prediction comes, expect a spring of political recriminations,
:23:07. > :23:10.but how prepared are the NHS in England? And what do they make of
:23:11. > :23:18.this autumnal speculation? Giles has been to Leeds to find out.
:23:19. > :23:24.This winter has already come to our hospitals. It had an official start
:23:25. > :23:33.date, November the 3rd. That is when weekly updates are delivered to the
:23:34. > :23:38.NHS's most senior planners, alerting them to any sudden changes in
:23:39. > :23:46.patient numbers coming in. Where do they numbers register most then
:23:47. > :23:50.A They are the barometer for what is going on everywhere else, and
:23:51. > :23:55.they are the pressure point, so if the system is beginning to struggle
:23:56. > :24:03.then it is in the A department that we see the problems. It is not
:24:04. > :24:09.that the problems are the A departments, but they are the place
:24:10. > :24:13.where it all comes together. Plans to tackle those problems start being
:24:14. > :24:23.drawn up in May and they look at trends, even taking notice of any
:24:24. > :24:33.flu epidemics in New Zealand. They also look at the amount of bets But
:24:34. > :24:36.the weather, economic realities structural reforms, and changes to
:24:37. > :24:41.the general health of the population, are all factors they
:24:42. > :24:46.have to consider. We get huge amounts of information through the
:24:47. > :24:51.winter in order to help the NHS be the best it can be, but we had to
:24:52. > :24:56.redouble our efforts this year because we expected to be a
:24:57. > :25:03.difficult winter. We know the NHS is stretched so we are working hard to
:25:04. > :25:10.be as good as we can be. That means they are looking at winter staffing
:25:11. > :25:14.levels, plans to ask for help from neighbouring hospitals, and
:25:15. > :25:20.dovetailing help with GP surgeries, and still having the ability to move
:25:21. > :25:26.up an extra gear, a rehearsed emergency plan if the NHS had to
:25:27. > :25:30.face a major disease pandemic. You spend any time in any of our
:25:31. > :25:35.hospitals and you realise the NHS knows that winter is coming and they
:25:36. > :25:38.are making plans, but you also get a palpable feeling amongst health
:25:39. > :25:46.workers across the entire system that they do get fed up of being
:25:47. > :25:49.used as a political football. Doctors and all health care
:25:50. > :25:55.professionals are frustrated about the politics that surrounds the NHS
:25:56. > :25:58.in health care. They go to work to treat patients as best as they can,
:25:59. > :26:04.and the political knock-about does not help anyone. I find it
:26:05. > :26:08.frustrating when there is a commentary that suggests the NHS
:26:09. > :26:15.does not planned, when it is surprised by winter, and wherever
:26:16. > :26:21.that comes from it is hard to take, knowing how much we do nationally
:26:22. > :26:30.and how much our hard working front line staff are doing. When the
:26:31. > :26:36.Coalition have recently tried to open up the NHS to be a more
:26:37. > :26:43.independent body, it is clear the NHS feel they have had an unhealthy
:26:44. > :26:47.dose of political wrangling between parties on policy. The NHS is not
:26:48. > :26:53.infallible or making any guarantees, but they seem confident that they
:26:54. > :26:56.and their patients can survive the winter.
:26:57. > :27:04.Joining me now from Salford in the Shadow Health Secretary, Andy
:27:05. > :27:09.Burnham. Tell me this, if you were health secretary now, you just took
:27:10. > :27:19.over in an emergency election, what would you do to avoid another winter
:27:20. > :27:25.crisis? I would immediately halt the closure of NHS walk-in centres. We
:27:26. > :27:30.heard this week that around one in four walk-in centres are closed so
:27:31. > :27:34.it makes no sense whatsoever for the Government to allow the continued
:27:35. > :27:40.closure of them. I would put nurses back on the end of phones and
:27:41. > :27:47.restore an NHS direct style service. The new 111 service is not in a
:27:48. > :27:54.position to provide help to people this winter. I think the time has
:27:55. > :27:58.come to rethink how the NHS care is particularly for older people so I
:27:59. > :28:03.propose the full integration of health and social care. It cannot
:28:04. > :28:09.make any sense any more to have this approach where we cut social care
:28:10. > :28:13.and let elderly people drift to hospitals in greater numbers. We
:28:14. > :28:21.have two rethink it as a whole service. So you would repeal some of
:28:22. > :28:26.the Tory reforms and move commissioning to local authorities
:28:27. > :28:32.so the NHS should brace itself for another major top-down health
:28:33. > :28:35.reorganisation? No, unlike Andrew Lansley I will work with the
:28:36. > :28:47.organisations ie inherit. He could work with primary care trusts but he
:28:48. > :28:53.turned it upside down when it needed stability. I will not do that but I
:28:54. > :29:06.will repeal the health and social care act because last week we heard
:29:07. > :29:09.that hospitals and health services cannot get on and make sensible
:29:10. > :29:15.merger collaborations because of this nonsense now that the NHS is
:29:16. > :29:20.bound by competition law. Let me get your views on a number of ideas that
:29:21. > :29:25.have been floated either by the press or the Coalition. We haven't
:29:26. > :29:37.got much time. Do you welcome the plan to bring back named GPs for
:29:38. > :29:41.over 75s? Yes, but it has got harder to get the GP appointment under this
:29:42. > :29:46.Government because David Cameron scrapped the 48-hour guarantee that
:29:47. > :29:51.Tony Blair brought in. He was challenged in the 2005 election
:29:52. > :29:55.about the difficulty of getting a GP appointment, and Tony Blair brought
:29:56. > :30:02.in the commitment that people should be able to get that within 48
:30:03. > :30:06.hours. That has now been scrapped. Do you welcome the idea of allowing
:30:07. > :30:14.everyone to choose their own GP surgery even if it is not in our
:30:15. > :30:19.traditional catchment area? I proposed that just before the last
:30:20. > :30:22.election, so yes. Do you welcome the idea of how a practice is being
:30:23. > :30:30.rated being a matter of public record, and of us knowing how much,
:30:31. > :30:34.at least from the NHS, our GP earns? Of course, every political party
:30:35. > :30:38.supports transparency in the NHS. More information for the public of
:30:39. > :30:44.that kind is a good thing. Do you welcome this plan to make it will
:30:45. > :30:51.form the collect in an NHS hospital -- make wilful neglect a criminal
:30:52. > :30:54.offence. It is important to say you can't pick and mix these
:30:55. > :30:58.recommendations, you can't say we will have that one and not the
:30:59. > :31:03.others. It was a balanced package that Sir Robert Francis put forward.
:31:04. > :31:06.My message is that it must be permitted in full. If we are to
:31:07. > :31:12.learn the lessons, the whole package must be addressed, and that includes
:31:13. > :31:17.safe staffing levels across the NHS. Staff have a responsible to two
:31:18. > :31:19.patients at the government also has responsible at T2 NHS staff and it
:31:20. > :31:33.should not let them work in understaffed, unsafe conditions -- a
:31:34. > :31:42.responsibility to NHS staff. Is there a part of the 2004 agreements
:31:43. > :31:48.that you regret and should be undone? A lot of myths have been
:31:49. > :31:52.built up about the contract. When it came in, there was a huge shortage
:31:53. > :31:58.of GPs across the country. Some communities struggle to recruit.
:31:59. > :32:04.This myth that the government have built, that the 2004 GP contract is
:32:05. > :32:12.responsible for the AM decries is, it is spin of the worst possible
:32:13. > :32:17.kind -- the A crisis. You would redo that contract? It was redone
:32:18. > :32:22.under our time in government and change to make it better value for
:32:23. > :32:24.money. GPs should be focused on improving the health of their
:32:25. > :32:32.patients and that is a very good principle. Not so great if you can't
:32:33. > :32:37.get 24-hour access. I agree with that. We brought in evening and
:32:38. > :32:41.weekend opening for GPs. That is another thing that has gone in
:32:42. > :32:44.reverse under Mr Cameron. It is much harder to get a GP appointment under
:32:45. > :32:55.him and that is one of the reasons why A is an oppressor. -- under
:32:56. > :33:00.pressure. What do you make of the review into intimidatory tactics by
:33:01. > :33:04.unions? If there has been intimidation, it is unacceptable,
:33:05. > :33:12.and that should apply to unions as well as employers. Was Unite wrong
:33:13. > :33:16.to turn up and demonstrate? I don't know the details, this review will
:33:17. > :33:20.look into that presumably. I need reassurance that this is not a
:33:21. > :33:23.pretty cool call by Mr Cameron on the designed to appear near the
:33:24. > :33:35.election -- that this is not a political call. Are you sponsored by
:33:36. > :33:44.unite? No. Do you get any money from Unite? No. What have you done wrong?
:33:45. > :33:51.It seems others are getting money from Unite. Can I tell you what I
:33:52. > :33:54.think is the scandal of British party political funding, two health
:33:55. > :34:02.care companies have given ?1.5 million in donations to the Tory
:34:03. > :34:06.party, they have ?1.5 billion in NHS contracts. I wonder why you don't
:34:07. > :34:11.spend much time talking about that and obsess over trade union funding.
:34:12. > :34:18.We are happy to talk about that. We see from e-mails that Mr Miliband's
:34:19. > :34:23.closest advisers regard Mr Ed Balls as a bit of a nightmare, do you see
:34:24. > :34:29.a bit of a nightmare about him as well? I don't at all, he is a very
:34:30. > :34:32.good friend. I can't believe that you are talking about those e-mails
:34:33. > :34:38.on a national political programme. My goodness, you obviously scraping
:34:39. > :34:42.the barrel today. I have been in front-line labour politics for 20
:34:43. > :34:46.years. I can't remember the front bench and the wider party being as
:34:47. > :34:50.united as it is today and it is a great credit to Ed Miliband and Ed
:34:51. > :34:53.Balls. We are going into a general election and we are going to get rid
:34:54. > :34:58.of a pretty disastrous coalition government. It was worth spending a
:34:59. > :35:01.few seconds to establish your not having nightmares. Thank you for
:35:02. > :35:04.joining me. It's just gone 11:30am. You're
:35:05. > :35:06.watching the Sunday Politics. Coming up in just over 20 minutes, I'll be
:35:07. > :35:24.talking to the MP accused of Hello, I'm Martyn Oates, coming up
:35:25. > :35:28.on the Sunday Politics in the South West: The fight to save the region's
:35:29. > :35:31.dwindling air links. And for the next 20 minutes, I'm
:35:32. > :35:34.joined by Labour's Councillor Kate Wheller, from Dorset County Council,
:35:35. > :35:40.and Oliver Colvile, Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport.
:35:41. > :35:43.On Monday, David Cameron met some of the first people to benefit from the
:35:44. > :35:47.recently extended Help To Buy scheme ` the Government backed mortgages to
:35:48. > :35:51.get people onto the housing ladder. On the same day, though, St Ives MP
:35:52. > :35:59.Andrew George claimed the main beneficiaries are likely to be the
:36:00. > :36:02.rich. In principle, the government has got it right and we need to have
:36:03. > :36:07.the government is standing behind people trying to get onto the
:36:08. > :36:11.housing ladder. But as designed, it may actually only benefit the
:36:12. > :36:15.wealthy who will get onto the housing ladder anyway, and possibly
:36:16. > :36:19.be used the second home ownership. What we need it to do is help people
:36:20. > :36:25.who otherwise wouldn't get into that market. Clearly, the intention is
:36:26. > :36:30.not the Vista benefit the wealthy. Where that happened, it would rub
:36:31. > :36:37.salt into the wounds in places like Cornwall and Devon and Dorset. My
:36:38. > :36:40.understanding is that 75% of the people applying to have this help
:36:41. > :36:48.from the government are actually going to be under 30, and that is
:36:49. > :36:52.good news, because we need to encourage the young to start owning
:36:53. > :36:57.homes as well. In terms of the financial circumstances, you don't
:36:58. > :37:03.share the concerns of Andrew? No, I don't. They have to find 5% of the
:37:04. > :37:07.deposit and the government will find another 15. That will hopefully take
:37:08. > :37:13.some of the pressure off the bank of mum and dad. This is interesting.
:37:14. > :37:19.You will know, I'm sure, there are critics on the right for quite
:37:20. > :37:25.different reasons he says this is `` who say this is all built on debt,
:37:26. > :37:31.which might prove dangerous, and it might drive another housing bubble.
:37:32. > :37:33.We could have a whole host of reasons for stopping people from
:37:34. > :37:41.doing things. I think we should be positive about it. We have to make
:37:42. > :37:52.sure we increase the housing stock which will be sold. The big problem
:37:53. > :37:58.is we are encouraging people to take on mortgages while interest levels
:37:59. > :38:02.are low, and interest levels we know cannot stay at this artificially low
:38:03. > :38:13.level for too long. They will go up. You may not be old enough to
:38:14. > :38:16.remember 50% mortgages, but I am. To find people at risk of being in that
:38:17. > :38:25.situation gash the horror of repossession, prices going up,
:38:26. > :38:33.interest levels going up almost daily. That is what this initiative
:38:34. > :38:38.risks doing. So you would prefer this is not happen? No, I would
:38:39. > :38:47.refer that the government used any spare money to build houses that are
:38:48. > :38:50.affordable, to control rent so that landlords are not buying whole
:38:51. > :39:02.portfolios of homes and benefiting from people in my area, on the
:39:03. > :39:06.lowest wages. There was a real coalition love`in
:39:07. > :39:09.in the Commons this week ` the kind of thing that doubtless warms
:39:10. > :39:12.Oliver's heart. The Tory Education Secretary said how much he liked
:39:13. > :39:16.Nick Clegg's plan to give all infants free school meals next year.
:39:17. > :39:20.Disagreement, though, came from another Lib Dem Nick. North Devon's
:39:21. > :39:23.Nick Harvey says the policy will subsidise parents who can afford to
:39:24. > :39:29.pay, while ignoring more than a million children in real need.
:39:30. > :39:33.Janine Jansen reports. Many children from low income
:39:34. > :39:37.families are entitled to free school meals. However, Deputy Prime
:39:38. > :39:42.Minister Nick Clegg says, from next temper, all infants and eight will
:39:43. > :39:48.get a free lunch, regardless of whether they are rich or poor. We're
:39:49. > :39:54.going to give everybody a hot, helping meal at lunchtime. If you
:39:55. > :39:58.are a parent paying for your child's school lunch, you could have
:39:59. > :40:06.a saving of over ?400 per child per year. The trouble is, one MP does
:40:07. > :40:11.not agree. 1.2 million children living within the government's
:40:12. > :40:17.definition of child poverty do not get a meal at school. Why does the
:40:18. > :40:23.government consider it a higher priority to give it to all children
:40:24. > :40:30.between the ages of five and seven, 1.3 million of which can afford to
:40:31. > :40:37.pay. All children should be able to enjoy high`quality lunches. I'm
:40:38. > :40:40.right `` unlike the Right Honourable gentleman, who I normally agree
:40:41. > :40:48.with, I will have to part ways with him. This school was set up in the
:40:49. > :40:53.1700s. Today, it has the highest number of children on free school
:40:54. > :40:58.meals in the whole of Devon. Almost half the pupils are on free school
:40:59. > :41:02.meals, and that is actually highly unusual the Devon. Even though in
:41:03. > :41:06.the county there are a high number of families on low incomes, the
:41:07. > :41:13.actual take`up of free school meals is low ` just under 12%. Parents
:41:14. > :41:19.told me the low take`up could be due to the stigma, but there is a bigger
:41:20. > :41:23.problem about eligibility. One society says thousands of children
:41:24. > :41:29.who meet the government's definition of living in poverty are not getting
:41:30. > :41:34.a free meal. If a couple was working more than 24 hours, they tend not to
:41:35. > :41:40.be eligible. If they single parent was working more than 16 hours, they
:41:41. > :41:45.tend not to be eligible, despite the fact they may also be on low income.
:41:46. > :41:51.The Children's Society says families on less than 60% of the average
:41:52. > :41:56.income are missing out. It says the number of children in poverty not
:41:57. > :42:01.getting a free school meal in Cornwall is 9200 ` and average of
:42:02. > :42:07.51%. In Devon, it is more than 15,000. The highest centage of the
:42:08. > :42:15.so`called working poor is in central Devon, that is 30 `` 53%. One mother
:42:16. > :42:21.has her own solution. I think it should be eligible to all children,
:42:22. > :42:25.no matter what their circumstances. That may be beyond the government's
:42:26. > :42:30.means, but Nick Harvey says his suggestion would not cost 1p more. I
:42:31. > :42:35.want to use this sum of money that has been found and take all children
:42:36. > :42:39.living in poverty and give them a school meal. It seems agreeing with
:42:40. > :42:46.Nick isn't as straightforward as it once was.
:42:47. > :42:49.Kate, the last Labour government had some pilots looking at extending
:42:50. > :42:54.free school meals. I think the idea is something which is still popular
:42:55. > :42:59.in Labour circles. The question is, how would you do it? I like the idea
:43:00. > :43:07.of free school meals much more universally. It is good social
:43:08. > :43:13.cohesion, for children to all sit down and eat together. The whole
:43:14. > :43:18.thing about take`up is difficult. There is a huge stigma attached. It
:43:19. > :43:21.doesn't surprise me the Lib Dems are in this situation. They are
:43:22. > :43:27.developing thick skin is not agreeing with each other. I think
:43:28. > :43:33.it's a shame they've chosen this to fall apart on, because it is a good
:43:34. > :43:43.initiative. Which of the next EU agree with? `` of the Nicks do you
:43:44. > :43:51.agree with? On this occasion, I agree with Nick Clegg. If families
:43:52. > :43:58.were paid a living wage, we would all be able to feed our children
:43:59. > :44:05.properly, wouldn't we? But should we not target families who really need
:44:06. > :44:12.it? We all know that an awful lot of people who do require that help do
:44:13. > :44:16.not ask for it, for all sorts of misplaced pride. This way, all
:44:17. > :44:22.children will now receive a good, hot meal. Oliver, I have a feeling
:44:23. > :44:30.you will say a good `` the same thing. I will. There is a big
:44:31. > :44:36.problem in my area with low skills and low wages, so anything we can do
:44:37. > :44:42.to try to take the pressure off families making ends meet we should
:44:43. > :44:48.most certainly be doing. Anything which also takes away the stigma of
:44:49. > :44:52.children being given school meals, they don't have to be concerned
:44:53. > :45:00.about it, I think is also a good thing. In other areas such as child
:45:01. > :45:03.benefits, the government seems to be moving away from universal benefit
:45:04. > :45:09.and saying, let's target this towards people who really need it.
:45:10. > :45:13.This is about making sure children have a good start to the day. A need
:45:14. > :45:19.to make sure they have a good breakfast. Nick Harvey is saying at
:45:20. > :45:22.the moment this will lead a lot of older children who desperately need
:45:23. > :45:29.this money out of the frame, when the same part of money could be
:45:30. > :45:33.targeting them. In my constituency, there are places where 50 or 60% of
:45:34. > :45:39.children are getting free school meals. I am sure there are many more
:45:40. > :45:43.people whose children are involved in. I think it is important that we
:45:44. > :45:48.do everything we can to make sure children have a healthy start. A
:45:49. > :45:52.related issue, something else Nick Harvey talks about a lot is the fact
:45:53. > :45:58.that the government's pupil premium is tagged directly to free school
:45:59. > :46:04.meal take`up, despite the fact that if the government assesses child
:46:05. > :46:10.poverty in a much broader way, that is leaving a lot of people in the
:46:11. > :46:14.south`west out of the net. I asked what the definition of child poverty
:46:15. > :46:20.was and I was told it was very difficult. I represent a naval
:46:21. > :46:27.garrison city and I know it goes towards service families and I think
:46:28. > :46:32.that is a good then. The pupil premium is complex. It should not be
:46:33. > :46:39.linked to free school meals, but it has been. It makes life terribly
:46:40. > :46:43.difficult for schools themselves ` they don't really know where they
:46:44. > :46:47.are. The government is now talking about looking at the whole thing. I
:46:48. > :46:52.read only recently that when universal credit comes in, this will
:46:53. > :46:59.make a big difference and it will change, but the start of universal
:47:00. > :47:04.credit is a movable feast. Heaven knows when that will actually start.
:47:05. > :47:12.And the ramifications of that impact on all these other benefits are also
:47:13. > :47:16.unknown. Until we get to grips with the entire package, we will always
:47:17. > :47:21.have these questions, should we be doing this or that? The whole thing
:47:22. > :47:27.needs a proper, comprehensive look at. And despite promises, that
:47:28. > :47:30.simply isn't happening. It hasn't been a great week for
:47:31. > :47:33.aviation in the South West. On Monday the Exeter`based operator
:47:34. > :47:36.Flybe announced heavy job losses. And there's huge concern about the
:47:37. > :47:39.future of flights to London from the region's only other surviving
:47:40. > :47:42.airport at Newquay. Flybe currently provides these as well, but plans to
:47:43. > :47:51.pull out in the spring. Tamsin Melville reports.
:47:52. > :47:57.The early flight from London Gatwick to Newquay. It is the airport's
:47:58. > :48:03.flagship route, but as things stand, aged `` it could stop in March.
:48:04. > :48:09.Without that flight it will be very difficult to do business on a
:48:10. > :48:16.national basis. It makes things so much easier. The people to invest,
:48:17. > :48:21.it is essential. To travel down to Cornwall any other way takes so many
:48:22. > :48:26.hours. But this plane was less than half full. The operator has blamed
:48:27. > :48:32.costs at Gatwick for reasons of pulling out. The number of
:48:33. > :48:36.passengers checking in at the Gates has fallen every year for the past
:48:37. > :48:41.five years. With Cornwall Council subsidising this airport to the tune
:48:42. > :48:46.of ?3 million a year, critics argue it is not worth keeping it open. The
:48:47. > :48:54.council's had to keep the Gatwick flight going by classing it is a
:48:55. > :49:00.public service obligation route has support, but there is a lengthy
:49:01. > :49:05.tender process governed by EU rules. At the same time, some ministers say
:49:06. > :49:10.they need to re`evaluate air passenger duty. There is a special
:49:11. > :49:14.exemption for flights in an out of Northern Ireland. The principle is,
:49:15. > :49:24.where air passenger duty does cause home to the viability, they can look
:49:25. > :49:29.at an exception. `` does cause harm. We need to look at whether these
:49:30. > :49:34.places are in disproportionately affected by air passenger duty. But
:49:35. > :49:39.this passenger says keeping the airport going with taxpayers money
:49:40. > :49:45.is wrong. Cornwall Council is having to find over ?3 million every year
:49:46. > :49:56.to prop the airport up. We just cannot afford that every more. ``
:49:57. > :50:00.anymore. In a bid to claw back some cash, the authority is talking about
:50:01. > :50:05.doubling the airport development the paid by each passenger to ?10, but
:50:06. > :50:11.this is not enough for Tim. Even putting it up by ?5 is not going to
:50:12. > :50:19.go up anywhere near to covering the subsidy. In the past, the cost of
:50:20. > :50:22.subsidising the airport has been explored. For now, closing the
:50:23. > :50:31.airport completely is off the agenda. Passengers will rise again.
:50:32. > :50:36.Cornwall has got another round of European funding and there will be
:50:37. > :50:40.more interest and investment. If we lose the airport now, that is a
:50:41. > :50:42.crucial part of our productivity to make sure we are competitive with
:50:43. > :50:49.the rest of the country and the world. Across the region, Plymouth
:50:50. > :50:56.airport closed in 2011. Efforts to reopen it looked uncertain. This
:50:57. > :51:00.week, Flybe announced it would cut a further 500 jobs. The site of
:51:01. > :51:11.flights leaving Newquay is clearly something that cannot be guaranteed.
:51:12. > :51:17.Tamsin Melville reporting. And the Green Party's Rupert Read joins us
:51:18. > :51:21.to discuss. Listening to that report, it seems clear that the main
:51:22. > :51:26.spokespeople and business people are united that it is essential to
:51:27. > :51:34.retain services like this. Your party disagrees. Well, they are
:51:35. > :51:40.looking to get free money, which is never really free. It comes from the
:51:41. > :51:47.taxpayer. This is wrong. But the argument is this stimulates the
:51:48. > :51:51.private sector. It is not persuasive when you take into account a Friends
:51:52. > :51:57.of the Earth report which shows regional airports are in most cases
:51:58. > :52:01.a drain on the local economy. Why? It is because people leave the area
:52:02. > :52:08.on those planes and fly off to go on holiday. Goods get shipped in
:52:09. > :52:14.Shipley `` cheaply and undercut local businesses. I think Newquay
:52:15. > :52:21.airport is in terminal decline. We ought to be shipping the quality ``
:52:22. > :52:25.the money into ways it can be used better to help the local people. For
:52:26. > :52:29.example, how about serious investment in rail travel? The
:52:30. > :52:34.numbers using trains in the area are going up. Let's put our money into
:52:35. > :52:43.that. We think that should be done as part of a renationalised train
:52:44. > :52:50.system. Oliver, what do you make of the argument that Plymouth airport
:52:51. > :52:53.is dying? The issue is very sad. 37,000 people signed a petition to
:52:54. > :52:58.make sure it could be brought back to life again. I understand Newquay
:52:59. > :53:05.is likely to get some money from the Chief Secretary of the Treasury.
:53:06. > :53:10.I've written to the secretary of state asking whether or not Plymouth
:53:11. > :53:14.could have similar things as well. But I do think we need to try and
:53:15. > :53:23.maintain if we possibly can the regional airports. It is a problem.
:53:24. > :53:27.My fear is that Exeter Airport may be the only one that survives. We
:53:28. > :53:36.need to make sure we have significantly better train routes,
:53:37. > :53:39.as Rupert said. If the airports do have to go, we need to get trains
:53:40. > :53:48.which go into the heart of Exeter Airport as well, the same as what
:53:49. > :53:54.happens in Southend. Kate, you are obviously quite far away. Do you
:53:55. > :54:04.think regional airports are worth the fuss? Well, we do have one very
:54:05. > :54:12.popular airport. We use Extech airport in our area as well. ``
:54:13. > :54:15.Exeter Airport. I think regional airports are good for the economy
:54:16. > :54:21.and they are good for the country as a whole. However, I do think we need
:54:22. > :54:30.to be looking much more holistic li at the whole infrastructure. ``
:54:31. > :54:37.holistically. Particularly along the south coast. We need general
:54:38. > :54:40.investment in the infrastructure ` road, rail and broadband. That is
:54:41. > :54:53.what will really make the difference to our economic road. `` growth.
:54:54. > :54:58.Unfortunately, if a regional airport is not washing its own face, as they
:54:59. > :55:05.say, it may have to go. We cannot keep subsidising things. Rupert, I
:55:06. > :55:10.can see you do not think there is much of an argument for regional
:55:11. > :55:18.airports. As what the competitive disadvantage some areas would face
:55:19. > :55:22.if Newquay closes? Oliver has called for money to be invested in pretty
:55:23. > :55:27.much everything, but there is in the money. The money should be targeted
:55:28. > :55:32.where it can do good. Wi`Fi is absolutely crucial. And, as I've
:55:33. > :55:35.said clearly, rail investment. The numbers using the trains in your
:55:36. > :55:39.part of the country are going up. Let's have good quality rail
:55:40. > :55:49.services we can rely on and be proud of. Rupert, thank you. Time now for
:55:50. > :56:00.our round`up of the political week in just 60 seconds.
:56:01. > :56:05.This is the only region which has seen a rise in unemployment. The
:56:06. > :56:15.so`called bedroom tax is labelled Dickensian, as Andrew Leis intellect
:56:16. > :56:21.`` yet another coalition policy. This target is the most marginalised
:56:22. > :56:27.in society. It is completely the wrong way to address the serious
:56:28. > :56:30.shortage in affordable housing. The region's Police Commissioner has
:56:31. > :56:33.asked to put up council tax by more than 2%.
:56:34. > :56:40.Cornwall Council plans a rise of just under that. And Baroness Wilcox
:56:41. > :56:45.says we should call time on train toilets flushing straight onto the
:56:46. > :56:48.tracks. I'm delighted to say how happy I am
:56:49. > :56:54.to travel by rail most of the time, all the way to the West country. But
:56:55. > :57:02.I'm sorry to say that we still have raw sewage going out onto the lines.
:57:03. > :57:18.Oliver. Conservative elite commissioners and council leaders
:57:19. > :57:22.all saying they need more money. Well, they want to say that there
:57:23. > :57:27.will be no council tax increases for the next three years. The cost of
:57:28. > :57:32.living is such an issue this autumn, I think it is important councils do
:57:33. > :57:39.everything they can to keep those taxes down. I will be calling on the
:57:40. > :57:45.local authority here to do that. You keep the council tax down this year
:57:46. > :57:50.because you artificially put it off. What that means is that,
:57:51. > :58:00.ultimately, we have to put a big hike in because we simply cannot
:58:01. > :58:04.fulfil our commitment is to our residents on the level of funding
:58:05. > :58:08.central government is giving us. I spent the whole of yesterday in
:58:09. > :58:10.meetings... if we hear more. Thank you. Andrew,
:58:11. > :58:28.it is back to you. Who'd be an MP? It's a good
:58:29. > :58:31.question. Certainly something Mark Pritchard must have asked himself
:58:32. > :58:34.when his picture graced the front page of the Daily Telegraph, with
:58:35. > :58:37.allegations that he had offered to set up business deals overseas in
:58:38. > :58:40.return for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Mr Pritchard dismissed the
:58:41. > :58:41.claims as hurtful and wrong. He referred himself to the
:58:42. > :58:44.Parliamentary Standards Commissioner who has now said there is
:58:45. > :58:47.insufficient evidence to investigate. In a moment we'll talk
:58:48. > :58:50.to Mr Pritchard, but first let's take a look back at how the story
:58:51. > :58:54.unfurled. A Conservative MP has denied allegations that he used his
:58:55. > :58:58.Parliamentary contacts for financial gain... The daily Telegraph says
:58:59. > :59:05.Mark Pritchard offered to broker investments overseas. In a statement
:59:06. > :59:13.he said the allegations made by the Telegraph are false. Mr Pritchard
:59:14. > :59:18.was secretly filmed... What do you make of these allegations? He has
:59:19. > :59:21.referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for
:59:22. > :59:30.standards to clear his name and I suspect this story will reopen the
:59:31. > :59:38.debate about what MPs should be allowed, having business interests
:59:39. > :59:48.elsewhere. Is it not clear that you did ask for money in consultancy
:59:49. > :59:52.services? First of all I would like to apologise for the sunglasses I
:59:53. > :00:01.have had a lot of comments about that. On a serious point, these
:00:02. > :00:08.claims by the Telegraph of false. You didn't ask for ?3000? They are
:00:09. > :00:12.false, hurtful and malicious. It is known widely that I have sued the
:00:13. > :00:17.Telegraph previously. I have also been critical of their coverage of
:00:18. > :00:21.the plebgate affair, their reporting of that. I have been supportive of
:00:22. > :00:26.the cross-party Royal Charter and I know that some people in the media
:00:27. > :00:31.don't like my position on that. That is why it is malicious. I believe in
:00:32. > :00:38.a free press. That free press also has a responsibility to be fair
:00:39. > :00:43.accurate and lawful. In discussions with this business who turned out to
:00:44. > :00:49.be a Telegraph reporter, it is true that you ask for ?3000 a month
:00:50. > :00:56.consultancy fee. The point is.. That is the point. No. That video
:00:57. > :01:01.has been cut and pasted to serve the Telegraph's story. The story was
:01:02. > :01:06.that we want to get Mark Bridger, for whatever reason, at any cost. --
:01:07. > :01:10.Mark Bridger hard. I would not go down the line they were hoping I
:01:11. > :01:17.would go down. Everything I own outside of Parliament is openly
:01:18. > :01:19.declared. We are allowed to have outside witness interests. The
:01:20. > :01:25.Telegraph need to say clearly whether they accept that or they
:01:26. > :01:29.don't. I think you need to say clearly whether you asked for the
:01:30. > :01:33.money or not. You then went on to ask for ?300,000 if it was a 10
:01:34. > :01:40.million deal, you asked for 3% commission. Let me be clear, if I
:01:41. > :01:44.was asking for income in return for lobbying, or raising issues in
:01:45. > :01:48.Parliament, or setting up Parliamentary groups, or going to
:01:49. > :01:54.ministers, writing to ministers that would be completely
:01:55. > :02:00.inappropriate. I was approached by somebody to advise them on business.
:02:01. > :02:03.It is entirely proper and entirely within the rules for members of
:02:04. > :02:10.Parliament to have outside consultancies and interests. Did you
:02:11. > :02:13.or didn't you? I am answering the question in the way that I want to
:02:14. > :02:17.answer it, not in the way that fits a particular narrative. The
:02:18. > :02:21.narrative, unfortunately, of some parts of the Telegraph and to be
:02:22. > :02:26.fair, there are some very good journalists, I know there is a
:02:27. > :02:30.dispute about the direction of that paper at senior parts. Do they want
:02:31. > :02:35.to return to being a Catholic, objective newspaper or do they want
:02:36. > :02:40.to slip into the slippery slope of being an agnostic rag, looking for
:02:41. > :02:42.sensationalist headlines? Part of this has come from your membership
:02:43. > :02:51.of these all-party Parliamentary groups. You were in Malta when you
:02:52. > :02:55.are first approached, I think you were on a trip there, Hungary is
:02:56. > :02:59.another one, there is an uncomfortable overlap between your
:03:00. > :03:03.political and business interests. I have no business interests in any of
:03:04. > :03:09.those countries. Some of the country is the Telegraph mentioned, let me
:03:10. > :03:14.be clear, I have not even visited. You were boasting that you knew the
:03:15. > :03:20.Albanian Prime Minister and the Mayor of Teheran and the previous
:03:21. > :03:24.prime minister. I make no apology for making foreign trips. I think it
:03:25. > :03:29.is unfortunate we have a narrative developing in some parts of the
:03:30. > :03:33.press that if a politician goes abroad at the taxpayers expense it
:03:34. > :03:36.is wrong. If they go abroad at a host government's expense it is
:03:37. > :03:41.wrong. If they go abroad with a charity, NGO and private company,
:03:42. > :03:46.even if it is declared, it is wrong. We want people with an international
:03:47. > :03:51.perspective in Parliament. Look at this map. You are a member of 5
:03:52. > :03:56.country groups. I don't know what Canada has done not to deserve you,
:03:57. > :04:03.or Australia. 54 groups, you are a part of. You're like... This is the
:04:04. > :04:06.Mark Pritchard British Empire. That is very kind. If I had global
:04:07. > :04:14.interests that white I would not be in Parliament. No, no, no. That is
:04:15. > :04:18.the point... It is the suspicion, that you used these groups to drum
:04:19. > :04:22.up business for your consultants. Prove it, that is the trouble. These
:04:23. > :04:31.sorts of headlines, create suspicion. I am suing the
:04:32. > :04:37.Telegraph... Have you issued a writ? I expect an apology. Have you issued
:04:38. > :04:45.a writ? I have just answered your question. It is yes or no, have you
:04:46. > :04:49.issued a writ? I am in final legal discussions tomorrow about issuing a
:04:50. > :04:54.writ. You have raised something for top the fact is that is inaccurate.
:04:55. > :05:01.I am a member of 40-something Parliamentary groups, of which I
:05:02. > :05:07.make no apology. We have got 54 Let me answer the question if I may It
:05:08. > :05:12.would be very useful. There are 196 countries around the world, it is
:05:13. > :05:20.less than a quarter of the country groups on my figures. I make no
:05:21. > :05:23.apology. One of my regrets is not having visited Syria, I don't know
:05:24. > :05:29.if I am a member of the Syria group, part I should become a member, I
:05:30. > :05:32.make no apology. -- perhaps I should become. When it came to the Syria
:05:33. > :05:40.vote, I was blind sided foot of yes, we have excellent briefings. I had
:05:41. > :05:44.to make a judgement based on part knowledge with nothing beats being
:05:45. > :05:49.on the ground, as even BBC journalists recognised this week.
:05:50. > :05:52.Nothing beats being on the ground. You posted about your connections in
:05:53. > :05:55.Albania to getting a business contract. You meet these people
:05:56. > :06:02.through these all Parliamentary groups. That is where there is an
:06:03. > :06:08.unhealthy overlap. That is what the Telegraph said, let's wait and see.
:06:09. > :06:11.Look... You are a newspaperman, you know lots of people in the newspaper
:06:12. > :06:16.industry, as well as being a respected broadcaster. I am not
:06:17. > :06:20.going to prejudice my legal proceedings against the Telegraph. I
:06:21. > :06:26.make no apology. A good politician has to be local am a national and
:06:27. > :06:31.international. Hang on hang on - has to be local, national and
:06:32. > :06:35.international. We need politicians who get out of the Westminster
:06:36. > :06:38.bubble, who have a business hinterland, who keep their foot in
:06:39. > :06:45.the real world and have an international perspective. And ask
:06:46. > :06:48.for 3% commission? I have answered the question. It was a cut and
:06:49. > :06:53.pasted video, photo shopped to suit the agenda of the Telegraph. They
:06:54. > :06:55.need to get back to serious news reporting and I wish those well at
:06:56. > :07:00.the senior part of the Telegraph who want to get to those days. We look
:07:01. > :07:03.forward to the writ. Thank you. Now - there's been more good news on
:07:04. > :07:06.the economy for George Osborne this week - inflation's down, growth
:07:07. > :07:08.forecasts have been revised up and unemployment has fallen again. On
:07:09. > :07:12.Friday the former Bullingdon boy donned a head torch and went down't
:07:13. > :07:15.pit for just one of many photo opportunities ahead of the Autumn
:07:16. > :07:18.Statement, which he'll deliver in the Commons on fifth December. And,
:07:19. > :07:25.who knows, he might even take his hard hat off for that.
:07:26. > :07:35.# Going underground. # Let the boys all saying and let
:07:36. > :07:41.the boys all shout for tomorrow # Lah, lah, love, love.
:07:42. > :07:49.# I talk and talk until my head explodes.
:07:50. > :07:53.# Make this boy shout, make this boy scream.
:07:54. > :08:03.# Going underground. # Going underground.
:08:04. > :08:09.# I'm going underground. # I'm going underground.
:08:10. > :08:17.George Osborne in his heart out he probably sleeps with it on. This
:08:18. > :08:21.Autumn Statement is becoming a more important part of the political
:08:22. > :08:25.calendar for the coalition. It looks like this is where they are finally
:08:26. > :08:31.going to come up with some kind of response to Ed Miliband's game
:08:32. > :08:35.changing electricity price freeze. The idea which is mooted is they
:08:36. > :08:40.will move people's green tax on two general bills which is not an answer
:08:41. > :08:43.but cosmetically it could have apolitical impact. George Osborne is
:08:44. > :08:50.receiving a lot of representations from lobby groups, business, MPs on
:08:51. > :08:53.his own side, for tax cuts and extra bits spending and he has to spend
:08:54. > :08:56.the next two weeks reminding people of something that has been skewered
:08:57. > :09:06.by the economic recovery. This country has a fiscal deficit which
:09:07. > :09:09.is twice that of France, supposedly the crisis economy in western Europe
:09:10. > :09:12.or if you accept it will take another parliament again to
:09:13. > :09:15.eliminate this deficit, we are not even halfway through the age of
:09:16. > :09:20.austerity. He is in no position to give anything away. He has to hold
:09:21. > :09:24.the line. Danny Alexander has been useful but this is his real
:09:25. > :09:28.challenge. He is going to give stuff away. When the Autumn Statement
:09:29. > :09:33.comes away, 15 months from an election, Nick Clegg has been
:09:34. > :09:38.talking about raising the tax allowance threshold even further,
:09:39. > :09:42.talk of moving green levies of the electricity bills, he is going to
:09:43. > :09:44.give stuff away. We will get funding for free school meals that Nick
:09:45. > :09:49.Clegg mentioned in his party conference. The significance of the
:09:50. > :09:53.Autumn Statement is twice a year, a Chancellor stands up and we all look
:09:54. > :09:57.at the state of the economy. If you talk to members of the Chancellor's
:09:58. > :10:01.circle, it is interesting how nervous they are. They say, don t
:10:02. > :10:04.assume we are going to have this wonderful growth for ever, don't
:10:05. > :10:09.assume everything is fine in the eurozone. I think what would help
:10:10. > :10:14.the Chancellor is if somebody was able to see some of that humility in
:10:15. > :10:14.public. It is recognised that he was far too triumphalist
:10:15. > :10:22.speech he made on the 9th of September, when he said to Ed Balls,
:10:23. > :10:23.we have one and you cannot make an economic policy on the cost of
:10:24. > :10:36.living -- we have... Won. economic policy on the cost of
:10:37. > :10:40.people don't seem to learn from Norman Lamont's green shoots. Labour
:10:41. > :10:45.has moved from complaining there is no growth, now there is, to say
:10:46. > :10:46.has moved from complaining there is is gross but living standards are
:10:47. > :10:51.not rising. If the economy grows by nearly 3% next year, even the bank
:10:52. > :10:56.is saying it will grow by 2.8%, living standards could start to
:10:57. > :10:59.rise. It does but everybody in a difficult position politically if
:11:00. > :11:02.the economy starts growing, ironically. We need to remind
:11:03. > :11:08.ourselves that economy, the natural direction of an economy is to grow.
:11:09. > :11:13.Unless the politicians screw up Unless you have some idiot in
:11:14. > :11:16.charge! It is not a cause for the Morris dance that they seem to be
:11:17. > :11:20.doing, certainly on the Tory side. Osborne is put in a difficult
:11:21. > :11:26.position goes he will have to stop giving stuff away, he cannot push
:11:27. > :11:33.the austerity line at the same time as jangling his magical growth - he
:11:34. > :11:39.will have to start giving stuff away. It puts Labour in a difficult
:11:40. > :11:45.position, it is very unlikely that living standards will match GDP Not
:11:46. > :11:52.since 2003, GDP has been a great indicator. Wages have stagnated for
:11:53. > :11:56.ten years, food has gone up 17% energy has gone up 24%. That is a
:11:57. > :12:01.decade in which everybody has got poorer. The real sweet spot comes
:12:02. > :12:06.when wages start to outstrip inflation. It is a sweet spot and
:12:07. > :12:11.will be a huge challenge for Ed Miliband. As ever on the economy
:12:12. > :12:14.with a sweet spot, you have a danger moment because that is when the
:12:15. > :12:18.governor of the Bank of England will have to look at interest rates.
:12:19. > :12:21.Everything he was saying last week was when we move toward 7%
:12:22. > :12:25.unemployment come that is not the trigger for raising interest rates,
:12:26. > :12:31.it is the moment when we look at it. Everything was saying he did not
:12:32. > :12:32.want to do that. When do you anticipate wages outstripping
:12:33. > :12:40.inflation? It hasn't happened for so long. The second half of next year.
:12:41. > :12:42.Wages and prices are not the sole measure of living standards, there
:12:43. > :12:46.are broader measures which no one seems willing to use.
:12:47. > :12:49.That's all for today. The Daily Politics will be back at tomorrow at
:12:50. > :12:53.midday on BBC Two and I will back here on BBC One at 11:00am next
:12:54. > :12:58.week. Remember if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.