:00:37. > :00:40.Morning folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.
:00:41. > :00:43.Pressure on Culture Secretary Maria Miller mounts as the Tory press,
:00:44. > :00:48.Tory voters and even a Tory Minister turn against her. That's our top
:00:49. > :00:51.story. The economic outlook is getting
:00:52. > :00:56.rosier. But Ed Miliband is having none of it. The cost of living
:00:57. > :01:06.crisis is here to stay, says Labour. Shadow Minister Caroline Flint joins
:01:07. > :01:09.us for the Sunday Interview. And we bring you the Sunday Politics
:01:10. > :01:10.Gallery. But which former world leader is behind these paintings of
:01:11. > :01:16.In the South West ` the badger cull world leaders?
:01:17. > :01:20.In the South West ` the badger cull decision disappoints both sides.
:01:21. > :01:22.And the railway reopens, but has the cost of being cut off been
:01:23. > :01:23.overstated? new London borough. A blue flint for
:01:24. > :01:36.regeneration or economic Armageddon? And with me as always, the best and
:01:37. > :01:39.the brightest political panel in the business - Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis
:01:40. > :01:41.and Nick Watt. Their tweets will be as brief as a Cabinet Minister's
:01:42. > :01:49.apology. A frenzy of betting on the Grand
:01:50. > :01:52.National yesterday. But there was one book on which betting was
:01:53. > :01:55.suspended, and that was on the fate of Culture Secretary Maria Miller,
:01:56. > :01:58.now the 2/1 favourite to be forced out the Cabinet. She galloped
:01:59. > :02:02.through her apology to the Commons on Thursday in just 32 seconds. But
:02:03. > :02:05.speed did her no favours. There's been mounting pressure on her to
:02:06. > :02:09.resign ever since, especially from Tories. And this weekend the
:02:10. > :02:11.Chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority,
:02:12. > :02:14.Ian Kennedy, said it's time MPs gave away the power to decide how
:02:15. > :02:29.colleagues who break the rules are punished. An inquiry into Maria
:02:30. > :02:34.Miller's expenses claims was launch in 2012, following allegations he
:02:35. > :02:39.claimed ?90,000 to fund a house she lived in part time with her parents.
:02:40. > :02:43.She had designated this her second home. She was referred to the
:02:44. > :02:51.Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, who recommended that
:02:52. > :02:54.she repay ?45,000. But this week the Commons Standards Committee,
:02:55. > :02:58.comprising of MPs from all parties, dismissed the complaint against
:02:59. > :03:07.Maria Miller and ordered her to repay just ?5,800 for inadvertently
:03:08. > :03:13.overclaiming her merge claimants. She was forced to apologise to the
:03:14. > :03:17.Commons for the legalistic way she dealt with the complaints against
:03:18. > :03:22.her. But Tony Gallagher told the Daily Politics on Friday: We got a
:03:23. > :03:25.third call from Craig Oliver who pointed out, she is looking at
:03:26. > :03:30.Leveson and the call is badly timed. I think if you are making a series
:03:31. > :03:32.of telephone calls to a newspaper organisation investigating the
:03:33. > :03:33.conduct of a Cabinet Minister, that comes close
:03:34. > :03:39.After that interview Craig Oliver contacted us, saying there was no
:03:40. > :03:43.threat in anyway over Leveson. I mead it clear at the time. Tony
:03:44. > :03:47.Gallagher is talking rubbish about me, and you can use that. The Daily
:03:48. > :03:52.Telegraph have released a tape of a phone call between Maria Miller's
:03:53. > :03:57.aid, Joanna Hindley, and a reporter investigating her expenses claim.
:03:58. > :04:03.Joanna Hindley said: Maria's obviously been having quite
:04:04. > :04:08.a lot of editor's meetings around Leveson at the moment. So I'm just
:04:09. > :04:13.going to kind of flag up that connection for you to think about.
:04:14. > :04:15.The Prime Minister is sticking by his Culture Secretary, but this
:04:16. > :04:19.weekend's crescendo of criticism of her presents him with a problem and
:04:20. > :04:23.he could be wishing Maria Miller would just fall on her sword. Even
:04:24. > :04:28.over 80% of Tory voters in a Mail on Sunday poll think she should go. On
:04:29. > :04:34.the Andrew Marr Show, the Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan
:04:35. > :04:39.Smith, defended his colleague. I've known her always to be a reasonable
:04:40. > :04:42.and honest person. But is she doing the Government or her any good by
:04:43. > :04:45.staying in office at the moment, do you think? This is a matter the
:04:46. > :04:51.Prime Minister has to take consideration of and she herself. My
:04:52. > :04:56.view generally is I'm supportive of Maria, because if we are not careful
:04:57. > :04:59.we end one a witch-hunt of somebody. And I'm joined now by the
:05:00. > :05:02.Conservative MP, Bob Stewart, and the man in the white suit, former MP
:05:03. > :05:04.and anti-sleaze campaigner Martin Bell. Welcome to you both. Stuart
:05:05. > :05:09.Stuart sturkts let me put this to you, a Conservative MP told this
:05:10. > :05:13.programme, this is a quote, she has handled this appallingly. Downing
:05:14. > :05:17.Street has acted like judge and jury, for Craig Oliver to get
:05:18. > :05:21.involved is disastrous. She's been protected by the whips from the
:05:22. > :05:25.start. What do you say to that? It's not great, is it? The fact of the
:05:26. > :05:31.matter is the question one should ask is, did she deliberately try to
:05:32. > :05:36.make money? Did she deliberately try to obscure ate? The answer is she
:05:37. > :05:40.certainly didn't deliberately try to make money, in the system, which was
:05:41. > :05:46.the old system, and with regard to obscure ago, I wasn't there, but
:05:47. > :05:50.let's put it this way. She was going through a quasi-judicial process and
:05:51. > :05:55.might have ended up in court, so she has a right to defend herself. Hold
:05:56. > :05:59.on o you said she doesn't do it to make money, she remortgaged the
:06:00. > :06:03.house a couple of times to earn more interest to us, the taxpayer, and
:06:04. > :06:06.when interest rates went down she didn't reduce the amount she was
:06:07. > :06:14.charging in expenses. Well, the point is the adjudicator said there
:06:15. > :06:17.was ?45,000 she was owed. And then a committee, Standards Committee, said
:06:18. > :06:21.actually it should be reduced. That was mainly MPs but there are three
:06:22. > :06:25.lay members. Yes, but they don't have the vote. OK, fine, that is
:06:26. > :06:29.where it is wrong and we've got to get it sorted. Let me put another
:06:30. > :06:35.quote from our Conservative MP. He didn't want to be named. None of you
:06:36. > :06:40.do at the moment. I'm being named. But you are backing her. George
:06:41. > :06:42.young in cahoots. He's been leading on the Standards Committee to find
:06:43. > :06:47.her innocent. The Standards Committee is unfit for purpose. I
:06:48. > :06:52.think the Standards Committee should be revisited. I think the system is
:06:53. > :06:58.still evolving. And I think actually we ought to have totally independent
:06:59. > :07:02.judgment on MPs' pay and allowances. We haven't have not got there yet
:07:03. > :07:07.and that is where it is wrong. Martin Bell, have MPs interfered in
:07:08. > :07:11.the Maria Miller process and with the current Standards Commissioner
:07:12. > :07:14.in the same way that they saw off a previous Commissioner they thought
:07:15. > :07:22.was too independent? Andrew it is exactly the same. Yesterday I looked
:07:23. > :07:28.at a diary entry I made for May 2000, I said, dreadful meeting
:07:29. > :07:34.standards and privileges, they are playing party politics. One of them
:07:35. > :07:40.told Elizabeth fill kin to her face the gossip in the tea room was she
:07:41. > :07:44.had gone crazy. Nothing's changed. What this shows is most of all,
:07:45. > :07:49.what's the committee for? If it is just going to rubber stamp what the
:07:50. > :07:55.party wants and its mates, I don't see any point. But it hasn't rubber
:07:56. > :07:59.stamped. It's changed it. Well, it has watered down. That's why we
:08:00. > :08:05.should make it totally independent and it shouldn't be involved in the
:08:06. > :08:11.House of Commons. It is plus plus ca change isn't it? MPs', scandal, and
:08:12. > :08:17.MPs closing ranks for one of their own. Has the Commons learned
:08:18. > :08:21.nothing? And this is after the expenses scandal, where everything
:08:22. > :08:25.was out for everybody to see, you would think MPs would be careful.
:08:26. > :08:29.This is before the expenses scandal. We are looking at an historical
:08:30. > :08:33.event, during your time, Martin, not mine. I'm clean on this. You
:08:34. > :08:38.campaigned for him as an independent. I did, he was a good
:08:39. > :08:43.friend of mine. And now you've joined the club. And now you are
:08:44. > :08:46.defending Maria Miller? I'm defending someone who hasn't been
:08:47. > :08:50.proved guilty of anything beyond the fact she was rather slow to come
:08:51. > :08:55.forward with evidence. My point on that, is I understand that. MPs are
:08:56. > :09:00.being lambasted the whole time these days. There were a heck of a lot of
:09:01. > :09:04.them, Martin, who are utterly decent. She didn't try to make
:09:05. > :09:08.money. We've just been through that. I don't think that's right. The jury
:09:09. > :09:13.is out on that. What should have happened in the Miller case, Martin
:09:14. > :09:16.Bell? I don't think there should be a committee on standards. I think
:09:17. > :09:20.the Commissioner should make a report. There has been to be justice
:09:21. > :09:26.for the MP complained against. Then the committee of the whole House can
:09:27. > :09:30.consider it. But we are, the House of Commons, then as now is incapable
:09:31. > :09:37.of regulating itself. That's been proving yet again. She made a
:09:38. > :09:41.perfunctory apology. She threatened and instructed the Standards
:09:42. > :09:46.Commissioner investigating her, and her special adviser linked expenses
:09:47. > :09:50.to Leveson, when trying to stop the Daily Telegraph from publishing. I
:09:51. > :09:54.mean, is that the behaviour of a Cabinet Minister? Well, it's
:09:55. > :09:58.probably not the behaviour of someone that's got time on their
:09:59. > :10:04.hands. She's a very busy Cabinet Minister. Well, she had enough time
:10:05. > :10:10.to write lots of letters to the Standards Commission ser. She felt
:10:11. > :10:15.under such threat. She had the time. She had to make the time. Die know
:10:16. > :10:19.the lady is not trying desperately to make money. I disagree but on
:10:20. > :10:24.that. The fact of the matter is, this was an old, old system, that
:10:25. > :10:28.we've tried to put right, or the Commons has tried to put right. I
:10:29. > :10:34.agree that MPs shouldn't get involved in this. Should we get rid
:10:35. > :10:38.of this committee? It serves no purpose except to cause trouble. The
:10:39. > :10:43.adjudicator has said that and it should be the end of it. It
:10:44. > :10:47.shouldn't come back to the Commons. Although her special adviser
:10:48. > :10:50.threatened them over Leveson she was and is the Minister responsible for
:10:51. > :10:56.trying to introduce something like Leveson and that is something a big
:10:57. > :11:04.chunk that the press doesn't want. She is a target. It has a good
:11:05. > :11:09.record on this issue. It played wit a straight bat. The facts aren't in
:11:10. > :11:14.dispute are they? Will she make it to the next cabinet reshuffle and
:11:15. > :11:20.then go? Iain Duncan Smith said it is a matter for the Prime Minister.
:11:21. > :11:24.In my view, as things stand, I question did she deliberately want
:11:25. > :11:30.to make money? I don't think she did. Should she go? No. Should she
:11:31. > :11:34.be reshuffled? I don't know. Goodness me, you are asking someone
:11:35. > :11:39.who will never be reshuffled, because he will never make it. I was
:11:40. > :11:43.only asking for your opinion, not your ability to do it. This is a
:11:44. > :11:51.problem for Cameron isn't it? It is a problem for Cameron. There is
:11:52. > :11:56.nothing wrong with returning to be badge benches, as you know. Hear,
:11:57. > :12:01.hear. To that. Stick with me. Helen, can she survive? Is I'm going out of
:12:02. > :12:08.the prediction game when I said Clegg is going to win the date, so I
:12:09. > :12:15.owe Janan a tenner on that one. Grant Shapps has supported her. She
:12:16. > :12:21.was ringed by Sir George young and Jeremy Hunt... This is pretty
:12:22. > :12:25.devastating. On past form David Cameron hates having to bounce
:12:26. > :12:30.people out of the cabinet. He will want to keep Maria Miller until the
:12:31. > :12:33.summer reshuffle. This is a question mark on whether she survive this is.
:12:34. > :12:37.This isn't damaging to the Conservative or the Labour Party, it
:12:38. > :12:41.is damaging to everyone. This is catastrophic damage to the entire
:12:42. > :12:46.political establishment. Every single speech that David Cameron and
:12:47. > :12:49.Ed Miliband have given since 2009, talking about restoring trust, they
:12:50. > :12:53.can wipe them from their computers, because voters are going to look
:12:54. > :12:57.that there and say, this lot haven't learnt anything. They are giving
:12:58. > :13:03.perfunctory apologies and then you have MPs sitting in judgment on MPs
:13:04. > :13:10.and rather than paying back ?45,000, she pays back ?5,800 after MPs have
:13:11. > :13:14.been into it. Damage is huge. Just getting rid of one Cabinet Minister,
:13:15. > :13:18.you will need to do more than that. You will notice that Labour haven't
:13:19. > :13:22.made huge weather of this. No, goodness me, they have their own
:13:23. > :13:28.skeletons. Exactly. The person who has made hay out of this is Nigel
:13:29. > :13:33.Farage, who has not been backwards in coming forward. He doesn't seem
:13:34. > :13:37.to care about skeletons. The Prime Minister has be-Gunby backing her,
:13:38. > :13:42.but that's not popular even with Tory voters. How does he get out of
:13:43. > :13:47.this? This is the problem for him. Five years ago his reaction to the
:13:48. > :13:52.expenses scandal was seen by many Tory backbenchers as excessive. They
:13:53. > :13:58.felt hung out to dry by a man who is independently wealthy. To go from
:13:59. > :14:01.that to making a special exemption to Maria Miller because it is
:14:02. > :14:04.politically suitable is more incendiary and provocative. It is
:14:05. > :14:06.not just upsetting the voters and the Daily Telegraph but a good
:14:07. > :14:12.number of people behind him. I think they will get rid of her. I think
:14:13. > :14:20.the Government, to paraphrase Churchill, will zoo the decent thing
:14:21. > :14:24.after exhausting all options, of the European elections a reshuffle. The
:14:25. > :14:29.culture department has gone from a baulk water in haul to one of the
:14:30. > :14:32.most politically sensational jobs because of its proximity to the
:14:33. > :14:44.Leveson issue. She has to be replaced by someone Lily skillful
:14:45. > :14:55.and substantial. Mr Cameron is not short of smart women? Nikki Morgan,
:14:56. > :14:59.the education department, these are absolutely outstanding women and the
:15:00. > :15:05.problem that the generation elected in 2005, Maria Miller generation,
:15:06. > :15:13.there are some really good people elected in 2010. You are not
:15:14. > :15:19.responsible for hacking into the culture Department's Twitter account
:15:20. > :15:25.last night? I was out at the time! They all say that! One so, Maria
:15:26. > :15:32.Miller is like a modern-day Robin Hood... She robs the poor to help
:15:33. > :15:42.the rich. Which one of us has not embezzled the taxpayer? I reckon it
:15:43. > :15:50.is the lady. You have the perfect cover. We would not know how to,
:15:51. > :15:57.would we? You cannot tweet from a mobile device, can you? Play it
:15:58. > :16:00.safe. No, do something dramatic. Have lots of pledges. Have just a
:16:01. > :16:03.few pledges. Ah, there must be a Labour policy review reaching its
:16:04. > :16:07.conclusion because everyone has some free advice for the party about its
:16:08. > :16:14.message and the man delivering it. Here's Adam. He is well liked by the
:16:15. > :16:20.public don't quite buy him as a leader. The papers say he is in hock
:16:21. > :16:25.to the unions and the party has a lead in the polls but it is not
:16:26. > :16:33.solid. Bartenders Neil Kinnock. That is what they said Winnie who lost
:16:34. > :16:41.the 1982 election. The whole country deserves better and we will work to
:16:42. > :16:43.ensure that the day will come when with the Labour government, the
:16:44. > :16:52.country will get better. Someone who was there can see some spooky
:16:53. > :16:54.parallels. The important lesson from 1992 is it cannot rest on your
:16:55. > :17:00.laurels and hope for the best, you cannot sit on a lead of seven points
:17:01. > :17:03.because the election narrows that and you cannot rely on the
:17:04. > :17:07.government not getting its act together because the Conservative
:17:08. > :17:12.Party was well funded and organised, the double whammy posters, the tax
:17:13. > :17:17.bombshell, but incredibly effective and the message was unified and they
:17:18. > :17:22.beat us on the campaign. The lesson for Labour today is this lead will
:17:23. > :17:29.evaporate quite possibly over the next few months and we might go into
:17:30. > :17:32.the election behind in the polls. But Ed Miliband is getting
:17:33. > :17:38.conflicting advice about how to avoid 1992 happening. Be bold, be
:17:39. > :17:42.cautious and then, the idea that Labour can squeak into office with
:17:43. > :17:47.just 35% of the vote, which worries some people. Each month, the Labour
:17:48. > :17:54.Party meets around the country and last week, everybody spoke about the
:17:55. > :17:59.dangers of this 35% strategy. They were increasingly unhappy and it is
:18:00. > :18:05.very important that those people around the leader naturally have a
:18:06. > :18:10.duty to protect him and they make sure he gets this message that while
:18:11. > :18:15.there is total support for him, they do want this key year in the run-up
:18:16. > :18:22.to the General Election to be putting out an alternative which we
:18:23. > :18:25.can defend on the doorstep. The doorstep where Neil Kinnock made his
:18:26. > :18:33.concession speech is crammed with Spanish back hackers. The old Labour
:18:34. > :18:38.offices are no a budget hostel. Labour headquarters is down the road
:18:39. > :18:41.and they are putting the finishing touches to a speech Ed Miliband will
:18:42. > :18:45.give this week about the cost of living and I am told he will drop
:18:46. > :18:51.hints about new policies in juicy areas like housing, low pay, growth
:18:52. > :18:54.and devolving power. As for the charge that they are not radical
:18:55. > :19:00.enough, his people say they want to be bold but they have to be credible
:19:01. > :19:03.as well. They say that Labour is more united than it has ever been
:19:04. > :19:07.but there has been some grumbling that the cost of living campaign is
:19:08. > :19:13.not the same as a vision for the country. And that Ed Miliband was
:19:14. > :19:15.not statesman-like enough at Prime Minister's Questions and one figure
:19:16. > :19:21.who sat at the same table in the Neil Kinnock years summed it up like
:19:22. > :19:24.this. Things are OK but it feels like we're playing for the draw.
:19:25. > :19:39.Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint joins me now for the Sunday
:19:40. > :19:44.Interview. This 35% victory strategy, it does not sound very
:19:45. > :19:47.ambitious? I am campaigning to win this election with a majority
:19:48. > :19:54.government and everybody else around the table is also. But we want to go
:19:55. > :19:58.to every corner of the country and win votes for Labour and win seats,
:19:59. > :20:06.that is what we are working towards. To avoid last time, the coalition
:20:07. > :20:12.bartering. But that 35% is a victory strategy so are you saying there is
:20:13. > :20:17.no 35% strategy and that no one at the heart of Labour is not arguing
:20:18. > :20:21.for this? We are working to win around the country and to win all of
:20:22. > :20:27.those battle ground seats and we must have a strategy that appeals to
:20:28. > :20:30.a cross-section of the public but within that, that broad group Queen
:20:31. > :20:40.Elizabeth Olympic Park and. You could do that with 35% of the vote?
:20:41. > :20:45.There is lots of polling and everyone looks at this about what we
:20:46. > :20:49.need to do to get seats and we want to have a comprehensive majority at
:20:50. > :20:56.the next election to win to govern this country. Last week, we have
:20:57. > :21:00.been reading reports of splits in the party over policy and on
:21:01. > :21:07.tactics, even strategy. A struggle for control of the General Election
:21:08. > :21:12.manifesto, we are told. What are you arguing over? I said on the
:21:13. > :21:16.committee and just listening to the film before, it is about being
:21:17. > :21:22.radical but also credible and we are talking about evolution and that is
:21:23. > :21:28.an important subject but we are also united and to be honest, in 2010
:21:29. > :21:32.people were writing us off saying we would turn on ourselves and that has
:21:33. > :21:36.not been the case. We are not arguing about the fundamentals, we
:21:37. > :21:41.are discussing the policies that are coming up with different colleagues
:21:42. > :21:44.and talking about how we can make sure they are presented to the
:21:45. > :21:50.public and that is part of a process. That is a discussion, not
:21:51. > :21:54.disagreement. The Financial Times, which is usually pretty fair,
:21:55. > :22:00.reports a battle between Ed Miliband's radical instincts and the
:22:01. > :22:06.more business fiscal conservatism of Ed Balls. What side are you on? I am
:22:07. > :22:11.for radical change, I am for energy and I believe strongly we must be
:22:12. > :22:17.formed the market and people might portray that as anti-business but
:22:18. > :22:20.this is about more competition and transparency and others coming into
:22:21. > :22:28.this market so our policy on this is radical, not excepting the status
:22:29. > :22:35.quo. It is also for business. Opinion polls show that few people
:22:36. > :22:41.regard Ed Miliband as by Minister material -- Prime Minister material.
:22:42. > :22:50.That has been true since he became leader. And in some cases, they have
:22:51. > :22:53.been getting worse. Why is that? Opinion polls say certain things
:22:54. > :22:57.about the personalities of leaders, David Cameron is not great either.
:22:58. > :23:05.And they were not great when he was in opposition. At this stage, he was
:23:06. > :23:14.getting 49% as Prime Minister real material and Ed Miliband, 19. --
:23:15. > :23:18.Prime Minister material. When you look at certain questions that the
:23:19. > :23:22.public is asked about who you think you would trust about being fair in
:23:23. > :23:26.terms of policy towards Britain, who understands the cost of living
:23:27. > :23:33.crisis, they very much identify with Ed Miliband. We are ahead in the
:23:34. > :23:40.polls. Ed Miliband has made that happen. We have one more
:23:41. > :23:43.councillors, we have been running in by-elections and we have held this
:23:44. > :23:48.government over the barrel over six months on energy prices. That is to
:23:49. > :23:54.do with his leadership. The more that voters save him, the less they
:23:55. > :24:01.seem convinced. In 2011, he had been leader for one year, and only 11%
:24:02. > :24:11.regarded him as weird, by 2014, that was 41%. Look at that! Look at that
:24:12. > :24:13.weirdness! What people need is to know where the Labour Party stands
:24:14. > :24:20.on fundamental issues. And in those areas, particularly the cost of
:24:21. > :24:23.living and fairness and people being concerned that we are entering into
:24:24. > :24:28.a period where people will be worse for the first time ever at the end
:24:29. > :24:34.of the Parliament, these things are important and Ed Miliband is part of
:24:35. > :24:41.our success. Definitely. I think this is ridiculous, to be fair, he
:24:42. > :24:45.is not a politician that says, I am dying with the Arctic monkeys, I
:24:46. > :24:53.know who is the number one. He did not play that game. -- down. He is
:24:54. > :24:57.not either there to portray himself as someone who was with the
:24:58. > :25:03.children, I know everything about popular culture. His authenticity is
:25:04. > :25:07.the most important thing. People do not think he is authentic, unless
:25:08. > :25:12.they think we were at is authentic. Is it true that his staff applaud
:25:13. > :25:21.him when he comes back after giving even a mediocre speech? I have never
:25:22. > :25:26.heard that. I have never heard about him being applauded. And I am
:25:27. > :25:31.pleased to applaud him with he makes speeches, I have given him a
:25:32. > :25:36.standing ovation. You have to do that because the cameras are
:25:37. > :25:40.rolling! No, he made a good speech. Five minutes without notes. It took
:25:41. > :25:46.a long time to memorise I don't blame him! The cost of living.
:25:47. > :25:52.Focusing on that, it has paid dividends. But inflation is falling
:25:53. > :25:56.and perhaps collapsing, unemployment is falling faster than anybody
:25:57. > :26:02.thought, as we can see. Wages are rising, soon faster than prices.
:26:03. > :26:07.Retail sales are booming, people have got money in their pockets.
:26:08. > :26:13.Isn't the cost of living crisis narrative running out of steam? I do
:26:14. > :26:19.not think so and I should say that I welcome any sign of positive changes
:26:20. > :26:23.in the economy, if anybody gets a job in Doncaster, I am pleased by
:26:24. > :26:28.the end of this Parliament families will be over ?900 worse off because
:26:29. > :26:35.of tax and benefit changes and the working person is ?1600 worse off
:26:36. > :26:40.and it is the first government since the 1870s where people will be at
:26:41. > :26:43.the end of the Parliament. We believe the government made wrong
:26:44. > :26:50.choices that lead the rich off at the expense of those on middle and
:26:51. > :26:55.lower incomes. -- let the rich. The average family ?794 worse off from
:26:56. > :27:01.tax and benefit changes. That has been backed up. They are those
:27:02. > :27:06.figures. But he has skewed these figures by including the richest,
:27:07. > :27:10.where the fall in tax and the penalty they pay is highest. If you
:27:11. > :27:16.take away the richest, it is nowhere near that figure. Everybody agrees
:27:17. > :27:19.and even the government and knowledges that at the end of their
:27:20. > :27:26.tenure in Parliament, people will be worse off. 350,000 extra people who
:27:27. > :27:30.would desperately like full-time work who are working part-time and 1
:27:31. > :27:35.million young people unemployed and the reason the cost of living has a
:27:36. > :27:38.residence is people feel that. I was in a supermarket and at Doncaster
:27:39. > :27:43.and someone summed this up, he said I work hard and at the end of the
:27:44. > :27:51.week, beyond paying bills, I have got nothing else. If you take away
:27:52. > :27:57.the top 10% who are losing over ?600,000, the average loss comes
:27:58. > :28:03.down to around ?400, less than half of what you claim. That figure is
:28:04. > :28:11.totally misleading. These are the figures from the IFS. It still
:28:12. > :28:15.shows... Whatever way you shape this, people will still be worse
:28:16. > :28:19.off, families worse off because of these changes to tax and benefits
:28:20. > :28:26.and working people because wages have not kept up with prices. Your
:28:27. > :28:30.energy portfolio, you back the enquiry into the big six companies
:28:31. > :28:34.and you intend to go ahead with the price freeze and reconfigure the
:28:35. > :28:39.market even before it reports. If you win, this is a waste of time?
:28:40. > :28:42.Whilst we have had this process before the announcement, we always
:28:43. > :28:47.feel if it goes that way, there might be areas we have not thought
:28:48. > :28:52.of that the enquiry will also draw attention to that we might want to
:28:53. > :28:56.add on. You are right, our basic reforms for the new regulator, to
:28:57. > :29:02.separate generation supply, we will pursue that. What happens if this
:29:03. > :29:07.report concludes that your plans are not correct? You will still go
:29:08. > :29:12.ahead? I don't think so. Actually, if you look at the report that Ofgem
:29:13. > :29:14.produced, some of the issues Labour has been drawing attention to like
:29:15. > :29:22.vertical integration, they cover that. I was asking about the
:29:23. > :29:26.Competition Commission? The report last week is a result of working
:29:27. > :29:32.together and I think it is clearly accepted in this sector, look at SSE
:29:33. > :29:50.last week, they will separate the business. We are pushing at the open
:29:51. > :29:57.door. It has already pulled out of gas. So it follows if you freeze
:29:58. > :30:01.energy prices across the market, it might be the right thing to do but
:30:02. > :30:05.there will be a cost in terms of jobs and investment, correct? Well,
:30:06. > :30:09.I met with SSE last weekand the chief executive and talked about
:30:10. > :30:13.these issues. The jobs changes are partly about them looking at how
:30:14. > :30:16.they could be more efficient as a company. On offshore wind that
:30:17. > :30:19.wasn't really to do with the price freeze. That was more to do with
:30:20. > :30:23.issues around confidence in that area and therefore willing to put
:30:24. > :30:29.the money into it, as well as technical issues as well But
:30:30. > :30:34.there'll be job losses. Is that a price worth paying? We believe the
:30:35. > :30:37.reason we are having a price freeze is these companies have been
:30:38. > :30:40.overcharging customers and haven't been investing in their
:30:41. > :30:45.organisations and making them more efficient. I do not believe a price
:30:46. > :30:50.freeze is linked to job losses. These companies do need to be more
:30:51. > :30:53.efficient. Goal for all of us is realising the fantastic opportunity
:30:54. > :30:57.for more jobs and growth from an energy sector that has certainty
:30:58. > :31:00.going forward. That's what Labour will deliver. Caroline Flint, thank
:31:01. > :31:03.you. It's 1130 and you're watching The
:31:04. > :31:06.Sunday Politics. We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland, who leave us
:31:07. > :31:16.now for Sunday Politics Scotland. Coming up here
:31:17. > :31:21.Hello, I'm Martyn Oates, coming up on the Sunday Politics in the South
:31:22. > :31:24.West. The sunshine after the rain `
:31:25. > :31:29.dredging is under way in Somerset, but are ministers doing enough to
:31:30. > :31:32.protect us from future floods? And for the next 20 minutes, I'm
:31:33. > :31:35.joined by a brace of Defra ministers, past and present, which
:31:36. > :31:38.is excellent news, given today's bill of fare. The Exeter MP Ben
:31:39. > :31:46.Bradshaw and Farming Minister and Cornish MP George Eustice.
:31:47. > :31:50.Our main rail line is finally open again. Now the focus is shifting to
:31:51. > :31:53.making it more secure and providing a storm`proof alternative. But have
:31:54. > :31:58.claims about the economic damage caused by the Dawlish disaster been
:31:59. > :32:00.grossly exaggerated? A professor at the Institute for Transport Studies
:32:01. > :32:10.has told the Sunday Politics they almost certainly have.
:32:11. > :32:14.One of the last replacement bus services to serve Plymouth station.
:32:15. > :32:19.Reopening the track at Dawlish brings two months of inconvenience
:32:20. > :32:25.to an end. Or does it? To the honest, it is even faster! It is
:32:26. > :32:29.beef `` it has been pretty efficient. But businesses and
:32:30. > :32:36.council leaders have been extremely gloomy Abadi economic cost of the
:32:37. > :32:44.Dawlish closures. I needed an immediate ?8 million a day hit for
:32:45. > :32:50.the Cornish economy. We are talking about and Plymouth, ?4 million or ?5
:32:51. > :32:54.million a day. But this is less than clear cut as well. The Economist
:32:55. > :32:58.crunching the figures say that he has had a lot of difficulty finding
:32:59. > :33:03.businesses that are significantly affected. We tend use passenger
:33:04. > :33:08.surveys, asking about the extent to which their journeys have been
:33:09. > :33:13.elongated, whether they have cancelled any of the journeys they
:33:14. > :33:17.had done. It has been difficult in the Dawlish case. Because the rail
:33:18. > :33:22.replacement services are slightly faster than the traditional rail.
:33:23. > :33:26.Indymedia to wake of the Dawlish disaster, David Cameron encouraged
:33:27. > :33:31.hopes of faster and more frequent strains. Since then, First Great
:33:32. > :33:37.Western has proposed introducing one earlier train from Paddington. Could
:33:38. > :33:41.that be all the PM was hinting at? If that is it, I think the voters in
:33:42. > :33:44.the South West are going to take it out on the Prime Minister at the
:33:45. > :33:52.coming elections. Because that not acceptable. Yes, it is welcome to
:33:53. > :33:59.have it open, `` to have another train, but we were expecting that
:34:00. > :34:04.anyway under the new franchise deal. Then, a number of your colleagues
:34:05. > :34:10.said it was costing millions a day. That looks a bit dubious now. I
:34:11. > :34:15.think you pays your money, you pay `` you pays your money you takes
:34:16. > :34:18.your choice. It is difficult to measure this. I don't think that
:34:19. > :34:23.there's any doubt that losing a railway line has been serious for
:34:24. > :34:28.our economy. For day`to`day activity and also the image of projects to
:34:29. > :34:34.the rest of the world. Let's not exaggerate it, but let's not
:34:35. > :34:38.underestimate it. George, the fact that a replacement bus was faster
:34:39. > :34:42.than the rail link we are returning to with such great celebration, is a
:34:43. > :34:49.pretty sad indictment of the rail link? I think the first thing to say
:34:50. > :34:53.is to take our hats off to First Great Western to get it back so
:34:54. > :34:57.quickly and running such an effective replacement service. I
:34:58. > :35:01.agree with what Ben said, it is disruptive to our economy to have
:35:02. > :35:04.that break in the service. It is all very well saying it did not cost
:35:05. > :35:08.people any more and the service was faster, but it is a lot more
:35:09. > :35:13.inconvenient to have to get on and off with all your bags. The bad news
:35:14. > :35:19.around the Dawlish line and those images of the line being destroyed
:35:20. > :35:22.around January, left an impression around the country that Cornwall is
:35:23. > :35:27.difficult to get to. So it is great that we have this back on track and
:35:28. > :35:30.our train line is up and running. It has always been difficult to make
:35:31. > :35:35.accurate assessments of the damage in economic terms to the economy and
:35:36. > :35:40.we can argue about that. But now that we have it up and running, we
:35:41. > :35:43.have got the service. Everybody agrees we want something better,
:35:44. > :35:47.loss of disagreement about what form it should take. Tudor Evans and
:35:48. > :35:55.Labour colleagues are keen on faster trains. Is that a priority? Of
:35:56. > :36:02.course, it would be additional `` it would be nice if the additional line
:36:03. > :36:06.would speed up at busy times. You can understand that everywhere would
:36:07. > :36:10.welcome that. But let's await the outcome of this review. Let's hope
:36:11. > :36:14.that it takes the wider economic benefit and the climate change
:36:15. > :36:20.resilience factors into account and then make a judgement then. The
:36:21. > :36:26.Prime Minister has suggested that faster trains are the thing. Is it
:36:27. > :36:30.your position? When you are right down in West Cornwall, it is a long
:36:31. > :36:35.journey. It will always take a long time. If we can improve journey
:36:36. > :36:39.times, great. There are a number of projects that Cornwall Council
:36:40. > :36:44.working on, to have a more frequent service from Penzance to Plymouth, a
:36:45. > :36:47.half hourly service. Bringing forward investment in signalling so
:36:48. > :36:52.that we can get slightly faster journey times. But we have to live
:36:53. > :36:56.with the reality that it will always be a five`hour journey to West
:36:57. > :36:59.Cornwall. That means the sleeper service is very important. It is
:37:00. > :37:03.good that we got that extended and we have additional rolling stock. I
:37:04. > :37:07.would like to see that improved as well. When you are in West Cornwall,
:37:08. > :37:11.it is a long journey and you need to make it as comfortable as possible.
:37:12. > :37:14.We must move on. Badger culls will continue this year
:37:15. > :37:18.as part of the government's strategy to tackle TB in cattle. But only in
:37:19. > :37:20.the two existing areas in Somerset and Gloucestershire. The government
:37:21. > :37:23.this week ruled out more widespread culling after an independent report
:37:24. > :37:25.criticised the effectiveness and humaneness of the cull so far.
:37:26. > :37:28.The Environment Secretary leaned heavily on the science when he made
:37:29. > :37:32.his long`awaited announcement on the future of the badger cull. What we
:37:33. > :37:35.are saying is that there are clear lessons to learn from the panel
:37:36. > :37:39.report. There are clear lessons in practical terms which we learnt. And
:37:40. > :37:42.so I think we are sensibly continuing with the existing two
:37:43. > :37:48.pilots so that we can perfect this system of removing diseased
:37:49. > :37:51.wildlife. The Liberal Democrats were quick to claim it as a political
:37:52. > :37:56.victory for themselves within the coalition. "Lib Dems halt spread of
:37:57. > :38:03.badger cull", boasts this press release. At least one Conservative
:38:04. > :38:07.ruefully agrees. I am afraid it is national politics played again and I
:38:08. > :38:11.wish we could just cull in the areas where we have the most disease.
:38:12. > :38:14.Keeping everybody happy in this most contentious of issues was never
:38:15. > :38:20.going to happen but Lib Dems aside, it is difficult to find anyone else
:38:21. > :38:26.who is pleased about this decision. Farmers and anti`cull protesters are
:38:27. > :38:28.united...in disappointment. Politically, surely that is a
:38:29. > :38:32.lose`lose situation for the government. Massive disappointment
:38:33. > :38:37.that we are not rolling out the cull. I see that as the only way
:38:38. > :38:40.we'll get on top of this disease. This trial cull was never effective
:38:41. > :38:49.so it would be madness to continue culling. `` neither effective nor
:38:50. > :38:53.humane. To discuss this, we're joined by one
:38:54. > :38:58.of the Lib Dems who opposed the extension of the cull ` Stephen
:38:59. > :39:02.Gilbert. I want to begin with George. A week ago, the government
:39:03. > :39:06.was quite clear that the Lib Dems have scuppered Conservative plans to
:39:07. > :39:10.amend the hunting act. Do you accept that they have done the same thing
:39:11. > :39:16.in terms of stopping a wider roll`out of the badger cull? I
:39:17. > :39:20.don't. But this is a government decision. There was a consensus. It
:39:21. > :39:25.is important that we get the methodology of the skull right
:39:26. > :39:33.before we roll it out. The concerns of the panel around the
:39:34. > :39:40.effectiveness and some of the marksman, the right thing to do is
:39:41. > :39:45.to focus nonetheless, as we always said we would, at improving Yeost
:39:46. > :39:53.two, three, four. Then we can get a roll`out. `` at improving years two,
:39:54. > :40:02.three, and four. Is it the Lib Dems what one it? No, I think it is the
:40:03. > :40:07.science. So this Lib Dem pamphlet proposing a political victory is
:40:08. > :40:13.wrong? I have opposed a badger cull. But when the government's own
:40:14. > :40:18.independent panel says that the cull is inhumane and vast the more
:40:19. > :40:22.expensive than anticipated, the evidence, it would have been full
:40:23. > :40:27.Hardy for the government to extend the cull. I know you believe that,
:40:28. > :40:31.but are you saying there has not been weeks of haggling and basically
:40:32. > :40:35.Nick Clegg has blocked a conservative wish to roll this out?
:40:36. > :40:39.What I am saying is that the independent panel has said that
:40:40. > :40:44.culling is ineffective and inhumane and would not work to combat the
:40:45. > :40:48.spread of bovine TB. What we are all united on is saying that TV in our
:40:49. > :40:53.farming communities is having a devastating effect and we need to
:40:54. > :40:57.invest in a programme of vaccination to make sure that we can vaccinate
:40:58. > :41:03.badgers as well as cattle. But culling will not work. Then,
:41:04. > :41:08.irrespective of how this came about, is it not a reasonable position to
:41:09. > :41:11.say that we are learning as we go along, the independent panel has
:41:12. > :41:19.made decisions we have taken `` and make criticisms as we had taken
:41:20. > :41:26.aboard, and we want to learn. Let's set aside this artificial argument.
:41:27. > :41:29.Of course it makes sense. But what I don't understand about what the
:41:30. > :41:33.government has done is that they have cancelled the roll`out, but
:41:34. > :41:40.they are carrying on with the pilot. If the pilots have been a failure,
:41:41. > :41:44.why continue them? The reality is that there is no example anywhere in
:41:45. > :41:53.the world of a country that has eradicated TB with the reservoir of
:41:54. > :41:58.the disease in the wild population. Unless you do some culling, you
:41:59. > :42:05.don't get the disease benefits `` the root disease reduction benefits.
:42:06. > :42:11.Three sites had a slow start in year one, removing between 30% and 40% of
:42:12. > :42:15.the badgers. They have carried on for a subsequent two years and
:42:16. > :42:22.increase the reduction of the disease. But what worries me is that
:42:23. > :42:31.there will not be oversight of the trials. There will be. This is the
:42:32. > :42:35.right thing to do. It is not popular, and if there was an
:42:36. > :42:38.alternative, we would be doing it. But the more I have looked at this,
:42:39. > :42:43.the truth is that it is a very different disease to fight and you
:42:44. > :42:49.need to pursue a range of options. Yes vaccination, yes cattle control.
:42:50. > :42:52.Just briefly, I see you are disputing the claim of fellow Lib
:42:53. > :42:57.Dems that they defeated this, if you look at occasions when Nick Clegg
:42:58. > :43:03.has weighed in and stop policy, you are left with laws reform, the
:43:04. > :43:10.hunting act and possibly this. `` the Lords reform. Interesting
:43:11. > :43:14.priorities. Hold on, we also stop the Conservatives making profits out
:43:15. > :43:19.of state schools and plans to allow employers to fire at will. And in
:43:20. > :43:23.the Commons a couple of weeks ago, Conservative MPs were asking for a
:43:24. > :43:27.full list of what Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems have stopped. I would like
:43:28. > :43:31.to see that list published. We have to leave it there, Stephen, thank
:43:32. > :43:34.you very much. The head of the Environment Agency
:43:35. > :43:37.has admitted he should have pushed a lot harder for dredging in Somerset
:43:38. > :43:40.and he says more money should be spent on maintaining watercourses in
:43:41. > :43:42.future. He was giving evidence to the Environment Select Committee's
:43:43. > :43:45.inquiry into this winter's floods. The Environment Secretary also
:43:46. > :43:48.appeared but had little to say about more money for maintenance. Just as
:43:49. > :43:53.well we've got George here to tell us more ` after this report by Jenny
:43:54. > :43:57.Kumah. February 14th and Kingsand is hit by
:43:58. > :44:01.a storm that would make national news headlines. Alan Hudson and his
:44:02. > :44:06.wife had to escape their seafront property through a window. And the
:44:07. > :44:12.water depth on the roadside was four foot. So as soon as we opened the
:44:13. > :44:22.kitchen window to get out, that flowed back in this way. And that
:44:23. > :44:25.was a disaster. When we were evacuated through the window. The
:44:26. > :44:28.moment we got out, we were swamped because the water went straight over
:44:29. > :44:31.us. Alan wants to apply for a new government grant this week. The
:44:32. > :44:37.repair and renew scheme means you can get up to ?5,000 to help protect
:44:38. > :44:40.your property from future damage. I need to improve the storm proofing
:44:41. > :44:48.of the shutters if as much as I can, and the windows in here. And the
:44:49. > :44:51.roof. The Flood Minister, Dan Rogerson, visited Newland this week
:44:52. > :44:54.to promote the scheme but he faced difficult questions over plans to
:44:55. > :45:01.cut hundreds of staff who deal with flooding. `` visited new Lynn. The
:45:02. > :45:06.Environment Agency has confirmed that 350 jobs are to go by October.
:45:07. > :45:09.That is a lot lower than the 1,700 that were originally earmarked to go
:45:10. > :45:15.and that is because of the ?140 million of flood money that has been
:45:16. > :45:21.announced in the recent budget. Stop the cuts! Save the jobs! Earlier
:45:22. > :45:25.this year, the unions protested against the original proposals. They
:45:26. > :45:28.are still worried about the reduced job cuts even though the Environment
:45:29. > :45:34.Agency says it will protect front`line jobs. When there are
:45:35. > :45:40.emergencies, like we have recently seen, staff can be deployed in from
:45:41. > :45:43.the offices. So to take another 350 out of that, it means that when we
:45:44. > :45:47.have these emergencies, the staff will not be there to be deployed to
:45:48. > :45:54.respond to the problems and to deal with what are very serious issues.
:45:55. > :45:59.This week, dredging started on the Somerset Levels after years of
:46:00. > :46:01.campaigning. On Wednesday, Chris Smith, who is chairman of the
:46:02. > :46:11.Environment Agency, admitted to a select committee that he should have
:46:12. > :46:17.pushed harder for this. George, the environment select
:46:18. > :46:21.committee produced a report last July which said that the government
:46:22. > :46:24.should dredge and spend more money on maintaining watercourses, not
:46:25. > :46:31.necessarily building watercourses. They have been proved right? This
:46:32. > :46:35.was the wettest winter for 250 years, said these were exceptional
:46:36. > :46:41.service `` circumstances. But the Environment Agency had a partnership
:46:42. > :46:46.scheme on the Somerset levels so they did do some dredging on the
:46:47. > :46:51.pinch points. Since these floods, we have now committed to dredge a major
:46:52. > :46:56.part around the Somerset levels. But it is wrong to say that nothing was
:46:57. > :47:00.done. There was money on the table. The focus from the Environment
:47:01. > :47:06.Secretary about what is being done this week but the committee members
:47:07. > :47:11.were interested in looking ahead, what money there might be for
:47:12. > :47:16.maintenance of watercourses. I think sometimes people confuse... There
:47:17. > :47:18.are three things. We will be spinning record amounts on flood
:47:19. > :47:24.infrastructure and we have already spent more in the past four years
:47:25. > :47:28.than in the previous four years. And sometimes, the investment that you
:47:29. > :47:33.may, the capital investment, is all about improving existing
:47:34. > :47:37.infrastructure. Upgrading or replacing it. So it is wrong to say
:47:38. > :47:42.that it is just new capital projects. Sometimes they are adding
:47:43. > :47:44.to what is there. And we are pursuing partnerships funding which
:47:45. > :47:53.makes it easier to get new money in. Not much money, though, is it? It
:47:54. > :48:00.has brought in additional money. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
:48:01. > :48:05.Well, no, in short. I don't agree have not `` I don't think we have
:48:06. > :48:11.yet risen to the size of this challenge. A report this week says
:48:12. > :48:19.that we have to be much more serious about long`term resilience and flood
:48:20. > :48:22.defence. I am also looking for a holistic approach to flood
:48:23. > :48:25.management. Dredging is all very well, but it won't solve all the
:48:26. > :48:30.problems and in some cases it could make things worse. Land management
:48:31. > :48:34.is really neglected and could make an important contribution.
:48:35. > :48:42.Now our regular round`up of the political week in sixty seconds.
:48:43. > :48:45.Communities are asked to take on more than half of Devon's libraries
:48:46. > :48:51.as the County Council cuts its support. It is a difficult position
:48:52. > :48:58.to be in but I'm confident that we still have the support of the
:48:59. > :49:01.council. We have not totally been abandoned. The council has also
:49:02. > :49:04.withdrawn funding from three centres for vulnerable women in Exeter.
:49:05. > :49:07.Worst case scenario, there will be deaths because of this. We really
:49:08. > :49:11.hope that that is not the case, that that is not the reason why people
:49:12. > :49:15.sit up and take note. Let's try and prevent that.
:49:16. > :49:17.Ofgem says that we produce more renewable energy for the
:49:18. > :49:23.government's feed`in tariff than anywhere else in the country. ``
:49:24. > :49:24.supported by the government's feed in tariff.
:49:25. > :49:31.And Devon fishermen want stricter controls on fishing with nets over
:49:32. > :49:34.wreck sites. Too many nets are lost on the wrecks. We catch pollock, but
:49:35. > :49:52.they have been caught in the nets, they are damaged.
:49:53. > :49:57.George, confirmation that the South West is a leader in renewable
:49:58. > :50:01.energy. And we hear about another attempt by some Tory MPs to fight
:50:02. > :50:05.back against wind farms, to reduce wind farms. Where is the government
:50:06. > :50:10.going? There is a role to play for wind turbines, they are the most
:50:11. > :50:16.efficient generation technology we have at the moment. I was starting
:50:17. > :50:23.to get concerned about the sporadic development of single, solitary wind
:50:24. > :50:27.turbines all over the place. Yes to having some wind turbines but we
:50:28. > :50:36.have to get the planning right. Also solar panels, this commit `` this
:50:37. > :50:42.can remove agricultural land. I prefer waiver generation. That is
:50:43. > :50:48.the kind of technology I would prefer us to focus our attention on.
:50:49. > :50:53.You are shaking your head? We have a lot of solar power in energy `` in
:50:54. > :50:58.Exeter. But we will need all of these methods if we have any hope at
:50:59. > :51:01.all of meeting our carbon reduction targets which we have to do if
:51:02. > :51:05.Logitech are the kind of problems which have been dominating these
:51:06. > :51:06.programmes. `` this programme. All of them.
:51:07. > :51:09.That's the Sunday Politics Dobson. Tim Donovan is back in the
:51:10. > :51:23.chair next week. And with that, back to Andrew. Welcome back and time now
:51:24. > :51:30.to get more from our panel. So they can justify their meagre patents.
:51:31. > :51:34.This cost of living mantra will last all the way until the election.
:51:35. > :51:38.Cannot? Ed Miliband leaves he is onto something and for most of this
:51:39. > :51:44.Parliament, inflation has outstripped wages. That is going to
:51:45. > :51:50.go the other way and wages will rise, to which you say Ed Miliband
:51:51. > :51:54.has nothing to say. He says if you think people are going to feel
:51:55. > :51:57.better in the blink of an eye, you are a Conservative and do not
:51:58. > :52:01.understand the depth of this and he is taking the message from a
:52:02. > :52:07.presidential election in America in 2012 and make Romney was ahead on
:52:08. > :52:11.some of the economic indicators but Barack Obama was ahead on the key
:52:12. > :52:15.one, do you believe this candidate will make your family's life
:52:16. > :52:22.better? The message that Ed Miliband will try to say is the next election
:52:23. > :52:24.is about whose side are you on? And he believes Labour will be on the
:52:25. > :52:28.side of more voters than conservatives. It would be crazy for
:52:29. > :52:34.Labour not to talk about the cost of living because even if wages exceed
:52:35. > :52:38.inflation next year, it is not as if voters will walk around feeling like
:52:39. > :52:43.Imelda Marcos, they will still feel as if they were struggling and not
:52:44. > :52:50.just compared... Retail sales are slowing? That is not the sign of
:52:51. > :52:57.palpable disparity. Circumstances are better than three years ago but
:52:58. > :53:01.not better than five years ago. The Reagan question will still be
:53:02. > :53:06.employed, are you better off than at the last election? But things in
:53:07. > :53:12.America were actually getting worse when he asked that. I covered that
:53:13. > :53:16.election, that is why it resonated and they did get worse. The
:53:17. > :53:22.Ayatollah had quadrupled the price of oil. This is based on things
:53:23. > :53:28.getting relatively better, after a very long wait, so the cost of
:53:29. > :53:34.living critique will have to adapt? It will but it gets out of a very
:53:35. > :53:38.sticky spot and the IFS says wages will not outstrip inflation and by
:53:39. > :53:41.that time they can start talking about other things, plans for the
:53:42. > :53:46.railways and tuition fees and at the moment, everything is up for grabs.
:53:47. > :53:50.Labour know that every time they talk about something they want to
:53:51. > :53:54.do, the question is, how do you pay for it? They can talk about the
:53:55. > :53:58.economy and they don't have substantial things to say. Is it
:53:59. > :54:03.true that Mr Iain Duncan Smith was going to make a major announcement
:54:04. > :54:08.on benefit cheats? Or something to do with that this morning? But he
:54:09. > :54:13.decided against it because of the tobacco over Maria Miller? It would
:54:14. > :54:18.be very odd to go on to The Andrew Marr Show to have a chat and see
:54:19. > :54:21.what he is having for lunch. Patrick went from the Guardian said he was
:54:22. > :54:26.going to set out higher financial penalty phase for providing
:54:27. > :54:31.inaccurate information in claims. This is a bad day to do that, given
:54:32. > :54:37.that MP expenses are treated far more lenient the than any one from
:54:38. > :54:43.Joe public. That would be fascinating, if true. And he is
:54:44. > :54:48.making a very big speech on well for tomorrow and this tweet from Patrick
:54:49. > :54:52.went at the Guardian, he has proper sized on welfare matters and he
:54:53. > :54:57.tends to know what is going on. But it would be deeply unfortunate if
:54:58. > :55:00.that was the message today. How can he make a speech that has anything
:55:01. > :55:06.about cracking down on benefit claimants? Not today but I am not
:55:07. > :55:12.sure tomorrow. Do you get the impression that nobody in both main
:55:13. > :55:17.parties is very confident of winning in 2015? I column last week said the
:55:18. > :55:22.result, the most likely result from one year on is another hung
:55:23. > :55:27.parliament and which government results from that depends on the
:55:28. > :55:30.mathematical specifics of whether the Tories can do a deal as well as
:55:31. > :55:34.Labour, leaving everything in the hands of Nick Clegg or whether one
:55:35. > :55:39.party can do a straightforward deal but I do not detect any sense of
:55:40. > :55:44.exuberance or confidence in either camp. And the Tories are still
:55:45. > :55:48.shooting themselves over losing the boundary commission reforms because
:55:49. > :55:52.that was going to net them 20 seats and they lost that because they
:55:53. > :55:55.messed up the House of Lords reform and there are still furious with
:55:56. > :55:59.themselves. The former US President, George W Bush, has been a busy boy
:56:00. > :56:03.and here at the Sunday Politics we thought you'd like to see the
:56:04. > :56:07.results of his artistic endeavours. Time for the gallery.
:56:08. > :56:55.I was a prize to find myself saying, some of these are not bad! --
:56:56. > :57:02.surprised. Vladimir Putin? I like the one of Tony Blair but his early
:57:03. > :57:07.ones of dogs, to be in the presence of the master is to see his portrait
:57:08. > :57:13.of a Joanne Love. He is not of the Turner prize but I was surprised. He
:57:14. > :57:19.gets the mask of Vladimir Putin, also Tony Blair. I was impressed
:57:20. > :57:23.that he did not allow personal or political grudges to influence his
:57:24. > :57:28.artwork. Jacques Chirac, he comes out of this incredibly well! And
:57:29. > :57:34.Angela Merkel comes out astonishingly well. Quite generous
:57:35. > :57:38.as well. Tony Blair is the best one and the reason is he had the closest
:57:39. > :57:42.relationship with them and he has talked about this portrait, saying
:57:43. > :57:48.he was quite fond of him and you can see that. These are awful, they
:57:49. > :57:55.would not get you an A-level but you must admire him to have the guts to
:57:56. > :58:01.do this, and display them publicly! An A-level? Just doing joined up
:58:02. > :58:06.numbers gets you that these days! What do you do when you retire? This
:58:07. > :58:10.is less embarrassing than some of the other things people have done.
:58:11. > :58:18.As good as Churchill? I don't know... No! Churchill was brilliant!
:58:19. > :58:21.And on that! That's all for today. Tune into BBC Two every day at
:58:22. > :58:24.lunchtime this week for the Daily Politics. And we'll be back at the
:58:25. > :58:28.later time of 2:30pm next Sunday after the London Marathon. Remember,
:58:29. > :59:58.if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.
:59:59. > :59:59.International teams searching for the missing Malaysian airliner are