:00:51. > :01:01.No surprise that Mr Cameron didn't get his way at the European summit.
:01:02. > :01:04.But does it mean Britain has just moved closer to the EU exit?
:01:05. > :01:08.Doctors want to ban smoking outright.
:01:09. > :01:10.A sensible health measure or the health lobby's secret plan all
:01:11. > :01:30.In the south`west, as GP pr`ctices in the region struggle to fhll
:01:31. > :01:42.vacancies, are And with me, as always,
:01:43. > :01:44.the best and the brightest political panel in the business Nick Watt
:01:45. > :01:55.Helen Lewis and Janan Ganesh. They've had their usual cognac,
:01:56. > :01:58.or Juncker as it's known in Luxembourg, for breakfast and will
:01:59. > :02:00.be tweeting under the influence He's a boozing, chain-smoking,
:02:01. > :02:03.millionaire bon viveur who's made it big in the world of European
:02:04. > :02:05.politic. I speak of Jean-Claude Juncker, the
:02:06. > :02:08.former Prime Minister of Luxembourg He'll soon be President
:02:09. > :02:12.of the European Commission, He wasn't David Cameron's choice
:02:13. > :02:19.of course. But those the PM thought were his
:02:20. > :02:22.allies deserted him and he ended up on the wrong end of a 26-2 vote in
:02:23. > :02:37.favour of Arch-Fedrealist Juncker. -- on the wrong end of a 26-2 vote
:02:38. > :02:40.in favour of Arch-Federalist So where does this leave
:02:41. > :02:43.Mr Cameron's hopes of major reform and repatriation
:02:44. > :02:45.of EU powers back to the UK? Let's speak to his
:02:46. > :02:55.Europe Minister David Lidington Welcome to the programme. The Prime
:02:56. > :02:58.Minister says that now with Mr Juncker at the helm, the battle to
:02:59. > :03:04.keep Britain in the EU has got harder. In what way has it got
:03:05. > :03:07.harder? For two reasons. The majority of the leaders have
:03:08. > :03:12.accepted the process that shifts power, it will not careful, from the
:03:13. > :03:20.elected heads of government right cross Europe to the party bosses,
:03:21. > :03:24.the faction leaders in the European Parliament and and the disaffection
:03:25. > :03:33.was made clear in many European countries. Mr Juncker had a
:03:34. > :03:36.distinguished period as head of Luxembourg, and was not a known
:03:37. > :03:39.reformer, but we have to judge on how he leads the commission and
:03:40. > :03:43.there were some elements in the mandate that the heads of government
:03:44. > :03:47.gave this week to the new incoming European Commission that I think are
:03:48. > :03:54.cautiously encouraging for us. The Prime Minister talked about those
:03:55. > :04:01.that not everybody wants to integrate and to the same extent and
:04:02. > :04:05.speed. Let me just interrupt you. What is new about saying that Europe
:04:06. > :04:14.can go closer to closer union at different speeds? That has always
:04:15. > :04:22.been the case. It's nothing new Indeed there are precedents, and
:04:23. > :04:29.they are good examples of the approach as part of the course and
:04:30. > :04:32.one of the elements that the Prime Minister is taking forward in the
:04:33. > :04:38.strategy is to get general acceptance that while we agree that
:04:39. > :04:41.most of the partners have agreed to the single currency will want to
:04:42. > :04:45.press forward with closer integration of their economic and
:04:46. > :04:49.tax policies, but not every country in the EU is going to want to do
:04:50. > :04:54.that. We have to see the pattern that has grown up enough to
:04:55. > :04:57.recognise there is a diverse EU with 28 member states and more in the
:04:58. > :05:04.future. We won't all integrate the extent. It is a matter of a pattern
:05:05. > :05:09.that is differentiation and integration. I understand that. John
:05:10. > :05:13.Major used to call it variable geometry, and other phrases nobody
:05:14. > :05:16.used to understand, but the point is that you're back benches don't want
:05:17. > :05:22.any union at any speed, even in the slow lane. They want to go in the
:05:23. > :05:31.other direction. It depends which backbencher you talk to. There's a
:05:32. > :05:37.diverse range of views. I think that there is acceptance that the core of
:05:38. > :05:41.the Prime Minister's approaches to seek reform of the European Union,
:05:42. > :05:46.for renegotiation after the election, then put it to the British
:05:47. > :05:49.people to decide. It won't be the British government or ministers that
:05:50. > :05:52.take the final decision, it's the British people, provided they are a
:05:53. > :05:55.Conservative government, who will take the decision on the basis of
:05:56. > :05:59.the reforms that David Cameron secures whether they want to stay in
:06:00. > :06:05.or not. Is there more of a chance, not a certainty or probability, but
:06:06. > :06:10.at least more of a chance that with Mr Juncker in that position of
:06:11. > :06:14.Britain leaving the EU? I don't think we can say that at the moment.
:06:15. > :06:21.I think we can say that the task of reform looks harder than it did a
:06:22. > :06:26.couple of weeks ago. But we have do put Mr Juncker to the test. I do
:06:27. > :06:38.think he would want his commission to be marked and I think that there
:06:39. > :06:43.is, and I find this in numbers around Europe, and there is a
:06:44. > :06:47.growing recognition that things cannot go on as they have been.
:06:48. > :06:51.Europe, economically, is in danger of losing a lot of ground will stop
:06:52. > :06:55.millions of youngsters are out of work already that reform. There is
:06:56. > :06:58.real anxiety and a number of countries now about the extent to
:06:59. > :07:03.which opinion polls and election results are showing a shift of
:07:04. > :07:05.support to both left and right wing parties, sometimes outright
:07:06. > :07:12.neofascist movements, expressing real content and resentment at
:07:13. > :07:16.Howard in touch -- how out of touch decisions have become. You say you
:07:17. > :07:21.are sensing anxiety about the condition of Europe, so why did they
:07:22. > :07:26.choose Mr Juncker then? You would have to put that question to some of
:07:27. > :07:32.the heads of European government. Clearly there were a number for whom
:07:33. > :07:39.domestic politics played a big role in the eventual decision that they
:07:40. > :07:45.took. There were some who had signed up to the lead candidate process and
:07:46. > :07:48.felt they could not back away from that, whatever their private
:07:49. > :07:51.feelings might have been, but I think the PM was right to say that
:07:52. > :07:55.this was a matter of principle and it shouldn't just be left as a
:07:56. > :08:02.stitch up by the European Parliament to tell us what they do. He said, I
:08:03. > :08:07.can't agree to pretend to acquiesce. They have to make the opposition
:08:08. > :08:12.clear that go on with reform. Are the current terms of membership for
:08:13. > :08:20.us unacceptable? The current terms of the membership are very far from
:08:21. > :08:27.perfect. Are they unacceptable? The current terms are certainly not ones
:08:28. > :08:31.that I feel comfortable with. The Prime Minister described them as
:08:32. > :08:35.unacceptable. Do you think they are? We look at the views of the British
:08:36. > :08:40.people at the moment. If you look at the polling at the moment, the
:08:41. > :08:43.evidence is that people are split on whether they think membership is a
:08:44. > :08:53.good thing. I'm asking what you think. David Cameron wants to in --
:08:54. > :08:58.endorse changes in our interest but also because the biggest market is
:08:59. > :09:02.going to suffer if they don't challenge -- grasp the challenge of
:09:03. > :09:05.political and economic reform. Newsnight, Friday night, Malcolm
:09:06. > :09:10.Rifkind the former Secretary of State said to me that even if the
:09:11. > :09:14.choice was to stay in on the existing terms, he would vote to
:09:15. > :09:17.stay in on the existing terms. He doesn't necessarily like them, but
:09:18. > :09:20.he would vote to stay in. That is the authentic voice of the Foreign
:09:21. > :09:29.Office, isn't it? That is the position of your department. Is it
:09:30. > :09:31.your position? Malcolm Rifkind is a distinguished and independent minded
:09:32. > :09:37.backbencher. He's not in government now. But that is your position. No,
:09:38. > :09:40.the position of the government and the Conservative Party in the
:09:41. > :09:45.government is that we believe that important changes, both economic and
:09:46. > :09:48.political reforms, are necessary and that they are attainable in our
:09:49. > :09:55.interest and those of Europe as a whole. Would you vote to stay in on
:09:56. > :10:00.the existing terms? That's not going to be a question that the
:10:01. > :10:05.referendum. Really? I know that in 2017 Europe is going to look rather
:10:06. > :10:08.different to how it looks today For one thing our colleagues in the
:10:09. > :10:12.Eurozone will want and need to press ahead with closer integration.
:10:13. > :10:15.That, in our view, needs to be done in a way that fully respects the
:10:16. > :10:22.rights of those of us who remain outside. Variable geometry, tackling
:10:23. > :10:24.things like the abuse of freedom of migration. Those are all in the
:10:25. > :10:28.conclusions from the leader this week and we should welcome that
:10:29. > :10:32.Very briefly, finally, when will you, as a government, give us the
:10:33. > :10:35.negotiating position of the government? Will you give us what
:10:36. > :10:42.you hope to achieve before the election or not? David Cameron set
:10:43. > :10:45.out very clearly in his Bloomberg speech that he wanted a Europe that
:10:46. > :10:51.was more democratically accountable, more flexible, more at it --
:10:52. > :10:55.economically competitive. That is all very general. When will you lay
:10:56. > :11:00.out the negotiating position? It's not general. It is very far from
:11:01. > :11:05.general. We have seen evidence in the successful cut of the European
:11:06. > :11:09.budget, the reform of fisheries those reforms have started to take
:11:10. > :11:13.effect. We have won some victories and I'm sure the Prime Minister as
:11:14. > :11:17.we get towards the general election, will want to make clear what the
:11:18. > :11:20.Conservative Party position is, and perhaps other political leaders will
:11:21. > :11:27.do the same for their party. Thank you for joining us this morning The
:11:28. > :11:33.harsh reality of this is that there is a yawning gap between what the
:11:34. > :11:37.Prime Minister can hope to bring back and what will satisfy his
:11:38. > :11:40.Conservative backbenchers. Yes, I think the Parliamentary Conservative
:11:41. > :11:44.Party is divided into three parts, those who would vote to leave the EU
:11:45. > :11:48.regardless, those who would stay regardless, and a huge middle ground
:11:49. > :11:52.of people who want to stay in on renegotiated terms. These are not
:11:53. > :11:56.three equal parts. Those who would vote to stay in regardless are
:11:57. > :12:01.smaller and smaller. Compared to 20 years ago, tiny. But the people in
:12:02. > :12:04.the middle, generally, would only stay in if you secure a
:12:05. > :12:09.renegotiation that will not be re-secured. In other words, they are
:12:10. > :12:15.de facto, out by 2017 and the referendum. This whole saga of the
:12:16. > :12:19.recent weeks has been the single biggest economy in foreign policy
:12:20. > :12:23.under this government. That's not what the voters think. -- single
:12:24. > :12:28.biggest ignominy. I mean the failure to secure the target. The opinion
:12:29. > :12:33.polls show that standing up against Mr Juncker has proved rather
:12:34. > :12:37.popular. I suggest that is not Mr Cameron's problem. His problem is
:12:38. > :12:41.that, if in the end he gets only because Medic changes, and if he
:12:42. > :12:45.says he still thinks that with these changes -- cosmetic changes. And he
:12:46. > :12:51.says that they should stay in, that would split the Tory party wide
:12:52. > :12:56.open. Eurosceptics say would be the biggest split since the corn laws.
:12:57. > :13:02.He wants to protect the position of coming out, and you might get that.
:13:03. > :13:06.He wants to crack down on abuse of benefits, and he might get that He
:13:07. > :13:09.wants to restrict freedom of movement for future member states,
:13:10. > :13:13.and that's difficult, because it is a treaty change. And he wants to
:13:14. > :13:17.deal with closer union, but that is also treaty change. In the Council
:13:18. > :13:21.conclusions, David Cameron was encouraged because it said, let s
:13:22. > :13:25.look at closer union, but it did not say it would reform. All it said was
:13:26. > :13:30.ever closer union can be interpreted in different ways. In other words,
:13:31. > :13:40.we're not going to change it. The fundamental problem the David
:13:41. > :13:43.Cameron was that two years ago, when he vetoed the fiscal compact, that
:13:44. > :13:45.showed Angela Merkel was unwilling to help them and what happened in
:13:46. > :13:48.the last two weeks was that Angela Merkel was unable to help him. There
:13:49. > :13:51.is not a single leader of the European Union that once Juncker as
:13:52. > :13:55.president, and he doesn't want it, he wants the note take a job at the
:13:56. > :13:58.European Council. But there was this basic stitch up by the European
:13:59. > :14:02.Parliament that meant he was presented, and when Angela Merkel
:14:03. > :14:06.put the question over his head there was a huge backlash in Germany and
:14:07. > :14:11.she was unable to deliver. I understand that, but I'm looking
:14:12. > :14:15.forward to Mr Cameron's predicament. I don't know how he squares the
:14:16. > :14:19.circle. It seems inconceivable that he can bring back enough from
:14:20. > :14:25.Brussels to satisfy his backbenchers. No, you can't. Most of
:14:26. > :14:29.them fundamentally want out. They don't want to be persuaded by
:14:30. > :14:32.renegotiations. Where it's hard to draw conclusions from the polling is
:14:33. > :14:36.that if you ask people question that sounds like, do you like the fact
:14:37. > :14:39.that our Prime Minister has gone to Brussels and stuck it to the man,
:14:40. > :14:43.they say yes, but how many people will go to the voting booths and put
:14:44. > :14:48.their cross in the box based on Europe? We know mostly voters care
:14:49. > :14:55.about Europe as a proxy for immigration fears. In ten people in
:14:56. > :14:58.this country could not tell you who John Claude Juncker is Angela Weir
:14:59. > :15:01.is replacing. -- and who he is replacing.
:15:02. > :15:04.And I'm joined in the studio now by arch-Eurosceptic Conservative MEP,
:15:05. > :15:06.Daniel Hannan and from Strasbourg by staunch European and former Liberal
:15:07. > :15:28.war? His declared objectives would leave Britain still in the common
:15:29. > :15:34.agricultural policy, the common foreign policy, the European arrest
:15:35. > :15:38.warrant, so the negotiating aims which we just heard Nick setting out
:15:39. > :15:43.wouldn't fundamentally change anything. It would be easy for the
:15:44. > :15:50.Government to declare war on any of these things. The danger from your
:15:51. > :15:54.point of view as someone who wants to stay in is that if David Cameron
:15:55. > :15:59.only gets cosmetic changes, the chance of getting the vote to leave
:16:00. > :16:08.the European Union increases, doesn't it? Hypothetically it
:16:09. > :16:12.probably does but we have two big things to get through first in
:16:13. > :16:18.domestic politics before we even reach a negotiation. One is are we
:16:19. > :16:25.going to have the United Kingdom this time next year following the
:16:26. > :16:28.referendum in Scotland? Secondly, are the Conservatives after the
:16:29. > :16:33.general election next year going to be in a position to pursue a
:16:34. > :16:39.negotiation? In other words are they going to be a majority government or
:16:40. > :16:44.even a minority government? For the sake of this morning let's assume
:16:45. > :16:49.the answer to both is yes, the UK stays intact and against the polls
:16:50. > :16:53.they were saying this morning, David Cameron forms an overall majority
:16:54. > :16:59.after the election. There is a danger, if he doesn't bring much
:17:00. > :17:06.back, that people will vote yes correct? There is that danger and I
:17:07. > :17:10.see a lot of the British press comment this morning saying this
:17:11. > :17:15.could be a rerun of the Harold Wilson like negotiation of the
:17:16. > :17:20.1970s, a bit cosmetic but enough to say we have got new terms and you
:17:21. > :17:24.should go with it. I think what is different however, and this is
:17:25. > :17:29.really an appeal if you like, it cannot just be left to the Liberal
:17:30. > :17:35.Democrats and coalition government to make this case on our Rome. A lot
:17:36. > :17:39.of interest groups across the land will have to start being prepared to
:17:40. > :17:43.put their head above the parapet on the fundamental - do you want
:17:44. > :17:49.Britain to remain in the European Union? Yes or no? Are you willing to
:17:50. > :17:54.put your public reputations on the line? We are not getting enough of
:17:55. > :18:00.that at the moment and it is getting dangerously close to closing time.
:18:01. > :18:11.Daniel Hannan, David Cameron will not get away with this, will he It
:18:12. > :18:15.will be an acceptable to his party. If it is an acceptable to Tory
:18:16. > :18:20.backbenchers it is because it is working and they are reflecting what
:18:21. > :18:25.their constituents say. A majority of people in the country are unhappy
:18:26. > :18:29.with the present terms. They can see there is a huge wide world beyond
:18:30. > :18:35.the oceans and we have confined ourselves to this small trade bloc.
:18:36. > :18:42.There is a huge debate to be had about whether we could be doing
:18:43. > :18:46.better outside. It is not danger, it is democracy, trusting people. If
:18:47. > :18:51.the only person offering a referendum at the moment is the
:18:52. > :18:54.Prime Minister, it has serious consequences for his party, your
:18:55. > :19:02.party, that's what I'm talking about. I am very proud of being part
:19:03. > :19:08.of the party that is trusting people to offer this. If he only gets
:19:09. > :19:13.cosmetic changes he cannot carry his party. But ultimately it will not be
:19:14. > :19:17.his party, it is the electorate as a whole that has to decide whether the
:19:18. > :19:22.changes are substantive. Everything we have been hearing just now is
:19:23. > :19:26.about staying out of future integration, protecting the role of
:19:27. > :19:31.the non-euro countries. People are upset about what is going on today
:19:32. > :19:36.with the EU. They can see laws being passed by people they cannot vote
:19:37. > :19:40.for, friendships overseas are prejudiced, and they conceive that
:19:41. > :19:45.the European Union has just put in charge in the top slot somebody who
:19:46. > :19:51.wants a United States of Europe into which we will eventually be dragged
:19:52. > :19:56.into as some kind of Providence Jean-Claude Juncker is a Federalist,
:19:57. > :20:05.you are Federalist, why did the Lib Dems oppose him? We shared the view
:20:06. > :20:09.that whilst you take account of what the members of the European
:20:10. > :20:14.Parliament say, ultimately the choice of the presidency in the
:20:15. > :20:18.commission should be the political leaders, the governmental leaders at
:20:19. > :20:24.a national level, and that's why we went down the route we did. It was
:20:25. > :20:28.more to do with the system than the individual. Although I would say
:20:29. > :20:32.that you need to bear in mind, I mean Daniel, I respect him
:20:33. > :20:39.personally and the integrity of his views, as I think he does mine, but
:20:40. > :20:45.to dismiss the European Union as a small trading block globally, when
:20:46. > :20:48.you have got the United States of America, China and other countries
:20:49. > :21:08.acknowledging its importance, it is really Walter Mitty land. Are we
:21:09. > :21:13.closer than... Daniel Hannan, are we closer to an exit after what
:21:14. > :21:18.happened last week? Yes, because the idea that we could get substantive
:21:19. > :21:24.reforms, gets a mythic and powers back and be within a looser, more
:21:25. > :21:56.flexible European back and be within a looser, more
:21:57. > :22:02.via a unilateral system of power or another way. This debate is
:22:03. > :22:05.never-ending, it is going on and on and has bedevilled British prime
:22:06. > :22:09.ministers for as long as I can remember. Shouldn't the Lib Dems
:22:10. > :22:14.change their stance on the referendum yet again let's just have
:22:15. > :22:21.this in-out referendum and have it sided one way or another? Our
:22:22. > :22:23.position remains clear. If there is a constitutional issue put before us
:22:24. > :23:53.in terms a constitutional issue put before us
:23:54. > :23:57.taxes. You said this week that you liked the sound of Juncker
:23:58. > :24:04.federalism. Does that sound good to you? No, and I think the new
:24:05. > :24:07.president of the commission will be disappointed if he puts forward
:24:08. > :24:14.these views because although we only had Hungary voting with us, I think
:24:15. > :24:19.if you go to other countries, France, Poland, Scandinavia, they
:24:20. > :24:25.are not going to buy that kind of menu. What they mean by federalism
:24:26. > :24:35.is the continental concept, also the North American concept, that we can
:24:36. > :24:45.sit very happily... They have an army, a federal police force,
:24:46. > :24:48.federal taxation. Yes, but in terms of the political institutions which
:24:49. > :24:52.is what we are discussing here, you can have the supranational, the
:24:53. > :24:56.European level, whilst still having the very vibrant national, and
:24:57. > :25:02.indeed as we are practising in the United Kingdom the subnational. A
:25:03. > :25:09.very brief final word from you, Daniel. That is ultimately going to
:25:10. > :25:14.be the choice. The European Union is an evolving dynamic, we can see the
:25:15. > :25:18.direction it is going in. Do we want to be part of that? I suspect
:25:19. > :25:24.Charles Kennedy would have loved a referendum. I cannot help but notice
:25:25. > :25:39.his party is going downhill since he was running it. It is illegal to
:25:40. > :25:43.light up in the workplace, pubs and restaurants. Now the British Medical
:25:44. > :25:47.Association has voted to outlaw everywhere but not everybody at
:25:48. > :25:52.once. It would apply to anyone born after the year 2000. In a moment we
:25:53. > :25:57.will debate the merits of those plans but first he is Adam.
:25:58. > :26:04.There was a time when to be British was to be a smoker. 1948 was the
:26:05. > :26:09.year off peak fag with 82% of men smoking mainly cigarettes but it was
:26:10. > :26:13.a pipe that Harold Wilson used as a political prop to help with the
:26:14. > :26:17.hard-hitting interviews they did in those days. The advertisements make
:26:18. > :26:28.out pipe smokers to be more virile, more fascinating men than anybody
:26:29. > :26:38.else. Do you thought -- have that thought anywhere in your mind? No.
:26:39. > :26:43.It changed in 2006 when smoking in enclosed places was banned. I would
:26:44. > :26:48.rather be inside but unfortunately we have got to do what this
:26:49. > :26:54.Government tells us to do. I think it is good, it is calm and you can
:26:55. > :26:59.breathe. Research suggests it has improved the health of bar workers
:27:00. > :27:05.no end and reduced childhood asthma. Now just one in five adults is a
:27:06. > :27:10.smoker. Coming next, crackdowns on those newfangled e-cigarettes,
:27:11. > :27:15.smoking in cars and possibly the introduction of plain packaging
:27:16. > :27:19.There is still those who take pride in smoking and see it as a war on
:27:20. > :27:34.freedom. We're joined now by
:27:35. > :27:36.Dr Vivienne Nathanson from the British Medical Association
:27:37. > :27:42.who voted for a graduated ban on smoking at their conference last
:27:43. > :27:47.week, and Simon Clark They're here to go head-to-head
:27:48. > :27:55.There are plenty of things which are bad for our health, why single out
:27:56. > :28:03.cigarettes? We need some sugar in our diets but the fact is that we
:28:04. > :28:08.need to stop people smoking as children because if we can do that,
:28:09. > :28:12.the likelihood that they will start smoking is very small. In no
:28:13. > :28:17.circumstances is smoking good for you. There are lots of smokers who
:28:18. > :28:22.live long, healthy lives but we totally accept smoking is a risk to
:28:23. > :28:26.your health and adults have to make that decision, just as you make the
:28:27. > :28:32.decision about drinking alcohol eating fatty foods and drinking
:28:33. > :28:35.sugary drinks. This proposal is totally impractical. It will create
:28:36. > :28:40.a huge black market in cigarettes which will get bigger every year.
:28:41. > :28:45.They say this is about stopping children smoking but there is
:28:46. > :28:49.already a law in place that stops shopkeepers from selling cigarettes
:28:50. > :28:56.to children. This target adults so you could have the bizarre situation
:28:57. > :29:00.in the year 3035 for example where a 36-year-old can go into shops to buy
:29:01. > :29:05.cigarettes but if you are 35 you will be denied that, which is
:29:06. > :29:09.ludicrous. The point is that the younger you start smoking the more
:29:10. > :29:15.likely you will become heavily addicted. I take the point, but the
:29:16. > :29:20.point he is saying is that if this becomes law, down the road, if you
:29:21. > :29:24.go into shops to buy cigarettes you would have to take your birth
:29:25. > :29:29.certificate, wouldn't you? We have no idea how the legislation would be
:29:30. > :29:33.written but the key point is that if we can stop young people from
:29:34. > :29:38.starting to smoke, we will in 2 years have a whole group of people
:29:39. > :29:42.who have never smoked so you won't have that problem of people who are
:29:43. > :29:47.smokers and they are now in their 20s and 30s. Or you will have a lot
:29:48. > :29:51.of younger people who get cigarettes the way they currently get illegal
:29:52. > :29:57.drugs now. They are already getting cigarettes illegally and we have to
:29:58. > :30:03.deal with that. We have got to get better. The Government has not been
:30:04. > :30:12.able to stop it. We know this is going to kill 50%... When you are 15
:30:13. > :30:15.you think you will live for ever. Indeed but they also do it as
:30:16. > :30:21.rebellion and because they see adults and it is remarkably easy to
:30:22. > :30:25.buy cigarettes. Whatever the case is for individual choice, won't most
:30:26. > :30:29.people agree that if you could stop young people smoking, so that
:30:30. > :30:40.through the rest of their lives they never smoked, that would be worth
:30:41. > :30:43.doing? You get 16 or 17-year-olds who already do that. Is it worth
:30:44. > :30:48.trying? When the government increased the age at which
:30:49. > :30:54.shopkeepers could sell from 16 to 18, we supported it. We don't
:30:55. > :30:57.support a ban on proxy purchasing, we support reasonable measures, but
:30:58. > :31:03.this is unreasonable. This proposal says a lot about the BMA, because
:31:04. > :31:07.this week the BMA also passed a motion to ban the use of E
:31:08. > :31:10.cigarettes in public places. There is no evidence that they are
:31:11. > :31:15.dangerous to health, so why are they doing that? They are becoming a
:31:16. > :31:17.temperance society. This is not about public health, it's an
:31:18. > :31:20.old-fashioned temperance society and they have to get their act together
:31:21. > :31:26.because they are bringing the medical profession into disrepute.
:31:27. > :31:31.We were having argument is about things that people buy large accept,
:31:32. > :31:34.smoking in bars or public places, but the real aim of the BMA was the
:31:35. > :31:40.total banning of cigarettes altogether. This would suggest that
:31:41. > :31:43.that was true to claim that. It s not about a ban, it's about a move
:31:44. > :31:49.to a country where nobody wants to smoke and no one is a smoker. But it
:31:50. > :31:53.would be illegal to smoke. It would be illegal to buy, not smoke, and
:31:54. > :31:59.there's a difference between two. So even if I am born in the year 2 00,
:32:00. > :32:05.it would still be illegal to smoke, just illegal to buy the cigarettes?
:32:06. > :32:09.Indeed. The point being that the habit of smoking is very strongly
:32:10. > :32:12.linked to your ability to buy, so that is why things like Price and
:32:13. > :32:18.availability and marketing are so important. People will flood across
:32:19. > :32:21.the Channel with the cigarettes One thing you will find is that
:32:22. > :32:24.throughout the world people is looking at -- people are looking at
:32:25. > :32:29.the same kind of measures, and different countries like Australia,
:32:30. > :32:32.they were the first with a standardised packaging. Other
:32:33. > :32:35.countries will follow, because all of us are facing the fact that we
:32:36. > :32:41.can't afford to pay for the tragedy. There will be people
:32:42. > :32:46.waiting to flood the market with cigarettes. This is nonsense. Thanks
:32:47. > :32:48.for both coming and going head-to-head.
:32:49. > :32:52."Unless we have more equal representation, our politics won't
:32:53. > :32:55.be half as good as it should be " So said David Cameron back in 2 09.
:32:56. > :32:58.So how's it going? Well, you can judge the quality
:32:59. > :33:00.of the politics for yourself, but we've been crunching
:33:01. > :33:03.the numbers to find out what parliament might look like after
:33:04. > :33:07.the next year's general election. Here's Giles.
:33:08. > :33:11.Politicians are elected to Parliament to represent their
:33:12. > :33:17.constituents, but the make-up of Parliament does not reflect society
:33:18. > :33:19.well at all the parties it. In 010 more women and ethnic minority
:33:20. > :33:29.candidates entered Westminster but not significantly more inner chamber
:33:30. > :33:34.still dominated by white males. Looking at the current make-up of
:33:35. > :33:39.the Commons, Labour has 83 female MPs, the Conservative have 47 women
:33:40. > :33:45.MPs, which is just over 47% -- and the Lib Dems have 12% of the
:33:46. > :33:49.parties. All of the parties have selected parliaments in those seats
:33:50. > :33:51.where existing MPs are retiring and to fight seats at the next
:33:52. > :33:55.election, and they've all been trying to up the number of women and
:33:56. > :34:00.ethnic minorities because discounts and can be capitalised on. A picture
:34:01. > :34:05.tells a thousand words. Look at the all-male front bench before us. And
:34:06. > :34:10.he says he wants to represent the whole country. Despite the jibe the
:34:11. > :34:12.Labour Party know they have a long way to go on the issue of being
:34:13. > :34:23.representative. So we way to go on the issue of being
:34:24. > :34:24.look at this particular area of lack of women and ethnic minorities.
:34:25. > :34:56.In the most marginal, 40 have women candidates, that would mean if they
:34:57. > :35:03.got just enough to win power, they would have 133 women, which is 1%
:35:04. > :35:04.The Conservatives currently have 305 MPs and their strategy
:35:05. > :35:07.at the next election is to concentrate on their 40 most
:35:08. > :35:10.marginal seats, and the 40 seats most mathematically likely to turn
:35:11. > :35:13.In those 40, 29 candidates have been selected
:35:14. > :35:18.If they kept hold of their existing seats and won those 29 new ones
:35:19. > :35:22.they would have 56 women MPs, around 17%, and up 2% from last time.
:35:23. > :35:25.The Liberal Democrats are fighting to hold on to the 57 seats they won
:35:26. > :35:28.at the last election, if they manage that, they would have
:35:29. > :35:33.However all the indications are it could be
:35:34. > :35:37.a bad night for the Lib Dems, if they lost 20 seats, on a uniform
:35:38. > :35:43.swing it would leave them with just four women, 11% of the party.
:35:44. > :35:46.One Conservative peer who thinks the party needs to look at all
:35:47. > :35:49.options if it's female numbers go down in 2015, says Parliament is
:35:50. > :36:04.The bottom line is, if 50% of our population is not being looked at
:36:05. > :36:11.evenly, are we really using the best of our talent? And yes, women's life
:36:12. > :36:15.experiences are different. They are not superior, they are not inferior.
:36:16. > :36:16.They are different. But surely those life experiences need to be
:36:17. > :36:21.represented here at Westminster So that's the Parliamentary
:36:22. > :36:22.projection for gender, According to the last census
:36:23. > :36:28.in 2011, 13% of people in the UK Labour currently has 16 MPs from
:36:29. > :36:34.black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds or just over 6%, if they
:36:35. > :36:37.get their extra 68 seats that figure would go up to 26, 8% of their party
:36:38. > :36:41.were from BAME backgrounds. The Tories currently have 11 BAME
:36:42. > :36:48.candidates, or 4% of the party. If they get an extra 29 seats,
:36:49. > :36:51.that would mean 14 BAME MPs, The Liberal Democrats
:36:52. > :37:00.don't have any BAME MPs. If they manage to cling
:37:01. > :37:05.on to their current number of seats they would have two,
:37:06. > :37:08.giving them a proportion of 4%. If they lost
:37:09. > :37:10.their 20 most vulnerable seats, But even if you changed the mix
:37:11. > :37:20.of gender and ethnicity in Parliament would that solve
:37:21. > :37:22.the problem? Probably not. Only 10% of us have gone to
:37:23. > :37:27.a private fee paid school. A Quarter of all Mps went to Oxford
:37:28. > :37:35.or Cambridge. Only a fifth
:37:36. > :37:42.of us went to any university. There is a huge disillusionment with
:37:43. > :37:46.the political elite due to the fact that these people don't look like
:37:47. > :37:49.us. They don't speak like us, they don't have our experiences and they
:37:50. > :37:54.cannot communicate in a way we relate to. If you look at the
:37:55. > :37:57.turnout, at the moment, if you are an unskilled worker, you are 20
:37:58. > :38:00.points less likely to turn and vote than a middle-class professional and
:38:01. > :38:03.that is getting worse with single election.
:38:04. > :38:05.And that's the key, evidence does suggest that if a
:38:06. > :38:09.Party reflects the society it exists within, it is more likely to get
:38:10. > :38:18.It's just gone 11.35pm, you're watching the Sunday Politics.
:38:19. > :38:20.We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland who leave us now
:38:21. > :38:24.Coming up here in 20 minutes, we'll have more from the panel.
:38:25. > :38:45.First though, the Sunday Politics where you are.
:38:46. > :38:48.struggle to fill vacancies, we ask struggle to fill vacancies, we
:38:49. > :38:53.whether the government's NHS reforms whether the government's NHS reforms
:38:54. > :39:00.are working. And for the next 2 minutes and joined by Stephdn Albert
:39:01. > :39:06.and Alison Seabeck. Welcome both of you. House prices are continuing to
:39:07. > :39:13.rise in the region despite talks of a slowdown in the market. The Office
:39:14. > :39:13.for National Statistics figtres show prices are up on last year `nd
:39:14. > :39:18.nearly ten times the averagd salary. nearly ten times the averagd salary.
:39:19. > :39:23.It means it is increasingly difficult for young people to get on
:39:24. > :39:29.the ladder. At the same timd, prices in the capital have risen bx 20 ,
:39:30. > :39:30.fuelling fears we have a London`centric country. Does that
:39:31. > :39:35.matter? I think for those people who are
:39:36. > :39:41.struggling to get on the property ladder here in the South West who
:39:42. > :39:43.are stuck in the hotel of mtm and dad and are in the private rented
:39:44. > :39:48.sector accommodation, what latters is we are not building enough homes
:39:49. > :39:54.as a country, whether in Cornwall, Devon or London. We need to tackle
:39:55. > :39:58.this. We are beginning to sde another inflated housing market We
:39:59. > :40:03.need investment to deliver homes across the country.
:40:04. > :40:07.Will it be enough to build lore homes?
:40:08. > :40:13.It underlines the thing when you only building 100,000 homes every
:40:14. > :40:19.year when you need 230,000 homes. Broken marriages, people living
:40:20. > :40:21.longer, all those things put pressure on housing stock. They have
:40:22. > :40:26.two build more. How could we speak that up? A whole
:40:27. > :40:35.range of reasons why we are not doing that. I have you got. There
:40:36. > :40:40.Developers build quickly will they Developers build quickly will they
:40:41. > :40:45.do get sites. We are looking at land banks and have had to talk `bout
:40:46. > :40:50.Tesco holding enough land for 1 ,000 homes. We need to look at sticks and
:40:51. > :40:53.carrots. The government needs to do lore
:40:54. > :40:57.about the land it is sitting on as well to make that available to
:40:58. > :41:01.developers. I have argued for this in the House of Commons manx times.
:41:02. > :41:05.Where we have speared government land that has been released for
:41:06. > :41:08.development. That is the only way to solve the problem.
:41:09. > :41:15.If we're being honest, is the dream up on former `` the dream of home
:41:16. > :41:19.ownership over? Absolutely not. Thousands of young
:41:20. > :41:23.people want to start a family and get a foot on housing ladder and get
:41:24. > :41:28.that stability and security. We have to be providing their aspir`tions.
:41:29. > :41:35.Importantly, if we don't have enough homes then they cannot read either.
:41:36. > :41:40.We have to move on. GP waithng times are going to become a key election
:41:41. > :41:50.interest. Practices are strtggling to recruit new GPs. Long`term
:41:51. > :41:58.investment has been called for as more shift from hospitals to GP
:41:59. > :42:04.practices. A glimpse into the life of ` rural
:42:05. > :42:09.GP in Cornwall. I visit anywhere between two and 12
:42:10. > :42:17.patients every day. It may click a bit like a scene from
:42:18. > :42:21.the TV series Doc Martin. Come on.
:42:22. > :42:24.Nice to see you. But this GP says the perception from some th`t those
:42:25. > :42:30.in general practice are overpaid and underworked isn't fair.
:42:31. > :42:34.It is not a cushy number. I work 11 or 12 hours a day nonstop. H don't
:42:35. > :42:39.have time to go home for lunch or anything like that and don't know
:42:40. > :42:42.any colleagues that do. I comment on weekends to catch up on
:42:43. > :42:48.administration. I don't think it is a cushy number at all.
:42:49. > :42:53.National campaigns are under way warning of a crisis in general
:42:54. > :43:01.practice. Inadequate funds, too much work load and stress are spoken of.
:43:02. > :43:04.This has traditionally been a sought`after role. You are right by
:43:05. > :43:07.the beach with the countryshde just minutes away. Now there are fears
:43:08. > :43:14.there would be enough peopld willing to take on the role. In message one
:43:15. > :43:15.GP has been highlighting at the British Medical Association
:43:16. > :43:20.conference. The south`west is to be one of the
:43:21. > :43:26.most popular areas for young doctors to be a GP. But there are 441 posts
:43:27. > :43:31.unfilled across the whole of the UK and in the south`west for the first
:43:32. > :43:34.time we have vacancies in Cornwall. That is basically because young
:43:35. > :43:38.doctors are not choosing to be GPs. The reason they are choosing not to
:43:39. > :43:43.as because of the unsustain`ble workload and the pressure any GPs
:43:44. > :43:46.say they are facing in day to day practice.
:43:47. > :43:52.Figures from health education England appeal from 2010 to 20 3
:43:53. > :43:59.100% of GP vacancies were fhlled. But this year that figure is at 93%.
:44:00. > :44:04.If you look at training vac`ncies, it is at 82%.
:44:05. > :44:07.Recruitment in general practice goes in cycles and we're reaching the
:44:08. > :44:11.bottom of the cycle at the loment. The difficulty is knowing whether it
:44:12. > :44:13.will go up again because it is becoming increasingly unattractive
:44:14. > :44:20.for people to come into. Patients here are unsatisfidd ``
:44:21. > :44:24.still satisfied with their service. I don't go to the doctor is very
:44:25. > :44:28.often and whenever I have to go like today when I am on holiday, it is
:44:29. > :44:30.nice to know you can get thd appointment and go when you need to
:44:31. > :44:39.see them. For my age, they have always helped
:44:40. > :44:43.me and it has been really good. Very valuable job. Ministers have
:44:44. > :44:47.been warned this is coming `t a cost.
:44:48. > :44:56.Six out of ten of them are looking to retire, their workload is unsafe
:44:57. > :44:59.and they failed their unabld to provide the service issued.
:45:00. > :45:02.The government is increasing trainees still GPs grow faster than
:45:03. > :45:07.the number of the population. They are also looking to better retain
:45:08. > :45:12.existing GPs and see robust plans are being put in place to m`ke sure
:45:13. > :45:16.that places are filled up the next couple of years.
:45:17. > :45:22.This seems a worrying trend, unfilled vacancies. Nobody wants to
:45:23. > :45:28.wait longer. These things can be cyclical.
:45:29. > :47:17.Overall, the has just said enough is enotgh.
:47:18. > :47:20.The people we spoke to wear seeing that they were struggling and the
:47:21. > :47:25.hours were getting longer. Can anything be done about that
:47:26. > :47:30.Since the coalition came in, a third of those targets have been scrapped.
:47:31. > :47:36.We need to constantly look `t whether the administrative burden on
:47:37. > :47:42.the GPs as appropriate. One third of them have gone. A whole bunch of
:47:43. > :47:49.commissioning staff has arrhved That is no means all of thel but it
:47:50. > :47:53.has an extra burden so it is about understanding the motives for each
:47:54. > :47:58.individual person. You didn't actually support the
:47:59. > :48:02.government's NHS reforms Bill. You didn't vote for it?
:48:03. > :48:06.No, he didn't. What were yot concerned about?
:48:07. > :48:10.Fragmentation of services which is something we will come onto.
:48:11. > :48:15.Is this causing some of the pressures we are finding, not just a
:48:16. > :48:20.GP services but in hospitals. CT scans waiting times... Is a part of
:48:21. > :48:23.the problem is vacancies within the Department.
:48:24. > :48:29.You are exactly right and that is why I didn't support the reforms.
:48:30. > :48:33.People want to know when thdy go to the GP or to the hospital that they
:48:34. > :48:35.are getting a good service but they're not concerned who provides
:48:36. > :48:41.the service. At the reforms gone wrong? What we
:48:42. > :48:51.are seeing is that some of the outsourcing and less complex is
:48:52. > :48:57.adding an extra area of burden. There are also more complic`ted We
:48:58. > :49:03.generated savings that we could use to put into GP services.
:49:04. > :49:04.?78 million puts a lot `` sdems like a lot.
:49:05. > :49:14.It is a lot. What would you do? And the reforms?
:49:15. > :49:17.We have spoken about repealhng some of the changes because we are
:49:18. > :49:22.convinced they are not all working. We need to look at it very carefully
:49:23. > :49:27.but on balance it is confushng for patients and for those in the health
:49:28. > :49:36.economy. Stephen touched upon this. We heard
:49:37. > :49:40.this week that NHS services could be privatised. The more profit`ble
:49:41. > :49:45.operations that can be taken away from the NHS but then that leaves
:49:46. > :49:48.the NHS with expensive things like triple heart bypass is. These
:49:49. > :49:52.companies are reaping the bdnefits from that.
:49:53. > :50:01.The benefits to the economy if you're paying private organhsations
:50:02. > :50:10.is that the money doesn't go into the NHS. So then the manager doesn't
:50:11. > :50:15.find the money for the more complex operations. I have spoken ott
:50:16. > :50:20.against them and said I don't want to see this as a direction of
:50:21. > :50:26.travel. Allowing private, and is to come into our NHS and cherrx picked
:50:27. > :50:30.the low hanging fruit to divide the services is not what patients want.
:50:31. > :50:33.Never did introduce an elemdnt of competition into the NHS and I think
:50:34. > :50:37.there is a role for private providers.
:50:38. > :50:40.You did start this. Do you think Labour started something th`t they
:50:41. > :50:51.now cannot turn the tap off of? Waiting lists worse so cute when we
:50:52. > :50:57.`` saw huge when we started. What I'm not clear about in terms of what
:50:58. > :51:03.is proposed in Cornwall is whether people would also be encour`ged to
:51:04. > :51:10.pay to jump the queue. That is an entirely different kettle of fish. I
:51:11. > :51:14.think we should oppose it. You wants to be able to get speedy
:51:15. > :51:19.treatment that is effective. You shouldn't have to pay for it. And
:51:20. > :51:28.you should be able to do so anyway that doesn't damage the NHS. I think
:51:29. > :51:31.what has been proposed meets those tests.
:51:32. > :51:36.We welcome back to this in different week. It is all change at the
:51:37. > :51:42.European Parliament this wedk as the MEPs have lost their seats love out
:51:43. > :51:47.to make way for the crock of new politicians. Green Watson whll now
:51:48. > :51:52.be leaving the European Parliament after 20 years of services `nd the
:51:53. > :51:57.region's first Green MEP gets to grips with her new job.
:51:58. > :52:02.We joined them. European politics isn't meant to be a stroll hn the
:52:03. > :52:10.park. But the Southwest's fhrst Green Euro MP is keen to walk when
:52:11. > :52:16.ever possible. Her first appointment as in Brussels. She is being lobbied
:52:17. > :52:20.to take control of EU funds for the county.
:52:21. > :52:24.How did it go? It was reallx good actually. I think there was a real
:52:25. > :52:28.meeting of minds in there. H don't see why this proposal to take power
:52:29. > :52:31.away from Cornwall has come forward because it doesn't seem any of it in
:52:32. > :52:37.Cornwall has come forward bdcause it doesn't seem any budding cornel so
:52:38. > :52:40.obviously there is some problem with Whitehall trying to take power of
:52:41. > :52:43.something which really should belong in the regions.
:52:44. > :52:47.Next up, her first green group meeting.
:52:48. > :52:51.These are Green MEPs and it is nice to be any big group of greens. I
:52:52. > :52:55.feel at home. Somebody who has felt at hole here
:52:56. > :53:01.for 20 years as green Watson. He has led the liberal group and sdrved on
:53:02. > :53:09.many a committee. But not for much longer. Everywhere he goes, old
:53:10. > :53:12.friends and colleagues of corrupt sympathy.
:53:13. > :53:21.How are you? Good to see you. I'm sorry to hear.
:53:22. > :53:28.Very kind of you. That's politics. I think the process of moving on is
:53:29. > :53:32.not a bad one. It started thinking a fresh. I hope I will be abld to
:53:33. > :53:39.carry the experience what I have had their into what I do next. One thing
:53:40. > :53:43.I want to miss is the kind of modern art which is on the walls. H'm not
:53:44. > :53:49.sure when it comes from but it is not always... If you take this piece
:53:50. > :53:57.for example, of the most inspired design. These are my offices. This
:53:58. > :54:04.is my assistant from Estoni`. This is where I have generally works from
:54:05. > :54:09.and you can see it is full of packing cases. I suppose thhs is one
:54:10. > :54:12.particular memento. This is my 0th birthday when I was leader of the
:54:13. > :54:15.Liberal Democrat group and was honoured to have the presiddnt of
:54:16. > :54:21.the game commission and the then president of the Rabin Parlhament to
:54:22. > :54:24.celebrate my with me. I havd had a few laughs as I have come across
:54:25. > :54:30.papers and things I had forgotten about entirely. Inevitably, a few
:54:31. > :54:36.regrets too. As I have come across mementos of friends or colldagues
:54:37. > :54:43.who've moved on. I think thd process of moving on is not a bad one. It
:54:44. > :54:47.started thinking a fresh, thinking in different ways. I take the view
:54:48. > :54:54.that you move on and you move on to new things. If you have a sdtback,
:54:55. > :54:58.as I have had at the polls, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and
:54:59. > :55:04.start all over again as the old song says.
:55:05. > :55:11.One in 18 is the curse of bding a politician. But the Lib Dems did
:55:12. > :55:14.lose green Watson and others. Does that worry you ahead of the general
:55:15. > :55:18.election? I think there is no doubt that was a
:55:19. > :55:22.bad night for the Liberal Ddmocrats when we had the European eldctions.
:55:23. > :55:28.Personally, I am gutted that we have lost a grim because he has served
:55:29. > :55:32.the South West with distinction He has been a really hard`workhng MEP
:55:33. > :55:37.and it would be remiss of us not to remark on that as we talk about him.
:55:38. > :55:41.Neither Alison or I went into this profession thinking about job
:55:42. > :55:44.security. You think about some things you want to change and hope
:55:45. > :55:50.they can carry the public whki. We were very excited about the
:55:51. > :55:59.European elections and therd was a certain amount of Farage fever. How
:56:00. > :56:03.will that impact the general election?
:56:04. > :56:08.I think it will be back on the NHS and the economy. A number of things
:56:09. > :56:12.will have happened prior to the general election, one assumds, given
:56:13. > :56:17.the government's current programme. It will already be less of `n issue.
:56:18. > :56:21.It is not being discussed on the door in the same way that w`s in the
:56:22. > :56:26.run`up to the elections. I would like to put on record that H think
:56:27. > :56:33.Graham was a very good MEP. He will be missed and we now have clear mood
:56:34. > :56:42.either. You kept were doing well. W`s it
:56:43. > :56:47.that people were voting abott immigration?
:56:48. > :56:50.There were all sorts of things going on. There was a huge dissathsfaction
:56:51. > :56:56.with the establishment. There were people seeing, we just want to give
:56:57. > :57:02.you a kicking. Some people `ctually seeing that to us. Letting xou know.
:57:03. > :57:06.But they been tempted to sax but we will vote as we always used to vote
:57:07. > :57:11.in the general election. Th`t will be interesting to see if th`t shift
:57:12. > :57:21.back happens. We are picking it up on the doorstep already. UKHP have
:57:22. > :57:26.gone remarkably private. `` quiet.
:57:27. > :57:30.I've Lib Dems doing enough because you will be campaigning with this in
:57:31. > :57:33.mind? Immigration still comes up on the
:57:34. > :57:44.doorstep but the town of debate when I speak people has changed. It is
:57:45. > :57:47.very about the vision of thd future. What are the Liberal Democr`ts
:57:48. > :57:52.seeing about the next five xears? Meeting education services better,
:57:53. > :57:57.the health service providing poor people, the economy continuhng to
:57:58. > :58:01.grow. To coin a phrase from Bill Clinton's collection team, H think
:58:02. > :58:10.it will be the economy, stupid, again.
:58:11. > :58:14.Emigration will be one of a bunch of concerns.
:58:15. > :58:21.It is interesting. I have h`d lots of conversations on the doorstep and
:58:22. > :58:24.we are having more constructive and productive discussions about
:58:25. > :58:36.immigration. How does it work? The business in Plymouth who is
:58:37. > :58:46.employing foreigners, why are they doing that? Because they can employ
:58:47. > :58:49.locally. If they went to thd wall because they simply couldn't find
:58:50. > :58:55.people to do that rather unpleasant smelly work, what would happen? Is
:58:56. > :59:00.that therefore unacceptable use of labour from outside the UK? Those
:59:01. > :59:05.sorts of discussions you have got to have.
:59:06. > :59:17.It is time for our regular roundup of the political week in 60 seconds.
:59:18. > :59:20.Complaints over lack of mobhle phone coverage in the region. The
:59:21. > :59:25.government may force operators to share masts.
:59:26. > :59:28.It is ridiculous and 2014 that you cannot make a call on your lobile
:59:29. > :59:34.phone from your own home or from your business.
:59:35. > :59:40.60 jobs were lost as Miller Weisman closed its depot.
:59:41. > :59:47.The regions new privatised patient transport services where crhticise
:59:48. > :59:50.over long delays and sometiles not turning up.
:59:51. > :59:54.It was the stress and attention I was standing on the doorstep waiting
:59:55. > :59:55.to come in and never came. In response, NSL says it is doing
:59:56. > :00:02.OK. The service is good, fit for
:00:03. > :00:07.purpose. Most patients, the vast majority, I getting a very good
:00:08. > :00:11.service. Can we improve? Absolutely. And the governmdnt has
:00:12. > :00:16.defended its plans to scrap the independent team monitoring badger
:00:17. > :00:23.cull is. It says it will sthll use animal welfare experts.
:00:24. > :00:26.A quick roundup of the week. Mobile phones. The countryside Allhance
:00:27. > :00:29.says it has been overwhelmed with complaints about lack of signal in
:00:30. > :00:33.the region. The government hs considering making phone colpanies
:00:34. > :00:38.share masts. Good idea? Brilliant idea. Ht is
:00:39. > :00:44.interesting how the debate over mobile phone masts has changed from
:00:45. > :00:51.Adi a health hazard to why don't I have reception? It is compldtely
:00:52. > :00:55.bonkers that we don't have sufficient coverage and people
:00:56. > :01:00.actively getting systems. It is a total no`brainer. Most
:01:01. > :01:03.ordinary people would ask why hasn't something been done about this so
:01:04. > :01:10.far. That is the programme. Thanks to my
:01:11. > :01:13.guests. Before we had you b`ck to Andrew with the week ahead, don t
:01:14. > :01:18.forget you can check out our Facebook page and watch the
:01:19. > :01:24.programme again by the iPlaxer or e`mail us. Do enjoy the rest of your
:01:25. > :01:27.Sunday afternoon. might come back at you. There have
:01:28. > :01:31.been problems elsewhere in Europe, but I take your point. Thanks to
:01:32. > :01:36.both of you today. Back to you, Andrew.
:01:37. > :01:38.Now, there have been some less-than-helpful remarks
:01:39. > :01:41.about the way the Labour party makes policy, and they've come
:01:42. > :01:46.from the man who is heading Labour's Policy Review, Jon Cruddas.
:01:47. > :01:49.In a speech to party activists he was recorded saying that,
:01:50. > :01:52."instrumentalised, cynical nuggets of policy to chime with our focus
:01:53. > :01:55.groups and our press strategies and our desire for a topline in terms of
:01:56. > :01:58.the 24 hour media cycle, dominate and crowd out any
:01:59. > :02:08.He added that Labour's election strategy was being hampered by a
:02:09. > :02:21.The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls was asked about what Mr Cruddas had
:02:22. > :02:30.I talked to him a couple of days ago, and he's not frustrated, he is
:02:31. > :02:37.excited about his policy agenda He is frustrated that one report of 250
:02:38. > :02:43.pages gets reduced down. So it's our fault? That is the way we live in
:02:44. > :02:47.the world in which we live, but we have big ideas about devolution
:02:48. > :02:51.long term infrastructure spending and new manufacturing policy, new
:02:52. > :02:58.investment in skills, big changes which, let's be honest, I'm really
:02:59. > :03:04.on George Osborne's agenda. How serious is this? It is Wimbledon, so
:03:05. > :03:08.let's call it an unforced error You go to the party speeches, and you
:03:09. > :03:11.don't know who is in the audience. There is no need for something as
:03:12. > :03:14.serious as this to happen. It's hugely serious because it speaks
:03:15. > :03:18.about something people have felt for a long time, that they have doled
:03:19. > :03:22.out little nuggets of policy but no overarching story. There was a quite
:03:23. > :03:27.saying the Ed Miliband has given as a shopping list, not a narrative.
:03:28. > :03:31.When people in the party say things that are true, it's very difficult
:03:32. > :03:35.for people to explain it away. Not sure Mr Miliband can win here. He
:03:36. > :03:39.was recently criticised for not having policies. Now he's being
:03:40. > :03:42.criticised for having too many. I think this line of attack is
:03:43. > :03:45.particularly wounding because he prides himself on being a politician
:03:46. > :03:52.of ideas. That is his unique selling point, and the weight that David
:03:53. > :03:56.Cameron's prime ministerial nature is his selling point. So it is
:03:57. > :04:02.wounding. If I was the Labour Party, before announcing any policy, I
:04:03. > :04:05.would ask can help fix us on the economy? It might be radicalised
:04:06. > :04:11.immolating on its own terms, but it's politically useless. -- radical
:04:12. > :04:14.and innovative on its own terms I don't think any member of the public
:04:15. > :04:18.does not think they are not radical enough or creative enough. If
:04:19. > :04:21.anything, it's the opposite. They are a bit nervous about what a
:04:22. > :04:24.Labour government could do and nervous about the economic
:04:25. > :04:30.reputation. Reassurance, caution, maybe a bit of timidity might be the
:04:31. > :04:35.notions that inform their policies or should inform their policies in
:04:36. > :04:38.night -- my view, not the opposite. I am worried for Jon Cruddas,
:04:39. > :04:42.because anyone who questions the Labour Party are part of the nexus
:04:43. > :04:46.of the banking industry who are terrified of a Labour victory. It's
:04:47. > :04:49.interesting that this goes to the heart of the debate in the Labour
:04:50. > :04:54.Party, at the highest levels, do they put a big offer to the British
:04:55. > :04:59.people, or a little off, John Cruddas offer, or Douglas Alexander
:05:00. > :05:04.offer? Ed Miliband says that his ideas about freezing energy prices
:05:05. > :05:07.and rent controls are a big offer, but his policy chief clearly has
:05:08. > :05:13.real concerns that they don't go far enough. How important a figure is
:05:14. > :05:17.John Cruddas in the project? He is hell of the -- head of the policy
:05:18. > :05:21.review and has a huge amount of power, and so him slagging off the
:05:22. > :05:26.policy review is a bad moment. He is trusted in that inner circle and the
:05:27. > :05:30.problem for Ed Miliband from the odd is that he has people with strong
:05:31. > :05:34.opinions, Maurice clasping is another, big thinkers, but they
:05:35. > :05:38.maybe don't have a precaution that a professional politician might have
:05:39. > :05:42.in terms of giving bland answers. So, David Cameron had to apologise
:05:43. > :05:45.after his former director of communications was convicted
:05:46. > :05:47.of phone hacking. David Cameron's other former friend,
:05:48. > :05:50.Rebekah Brooks, had a better day. At the same trial, she was cleared
:05:51. > :06:00.of all the charges against her. I take full responsibility for
:06:01. > :06:04.employing Andy Coulson. I did some on the basis of undertakings I was
:06:05. > :06:07.given by him about phone hacking and those turned out not to be the case.
:06:08. > :06:11.I always said that if they turned out to be wrong, I would make a full
:06:12. > :06:16.and frank apology, and I do that today. I am extremely sorry that I
:06:17. > :06:21.employed him. It was the wrong decision. I'm clear about that. When
:06:22. > :06:25.I was arrested it was in the middle of a maelstrom of controversy,
:06:26. > :06:31.politics and of comment. Some of that was there, but much of it was
:06:32. > :06:39.not, so I'm grateful to the jury for coming to that decision. Not been a
:06:40. > :06:43.great week for David Cameron. Andy Coulson found guilty, and another
:06:44. > :06:49.person who had worked in Downing Street is also charged on an
:06:50. > :06:52.unrelated issue. And he was 26- on the wrong end in Brussels, and there
:06:53. > :06:56.is a poll this morning which no one seems to be talking about which puts
:06:57. > :06:59.Labour nine points ahead. Before all that there was Dominic Cummings
:07:00. > :07:04.criticising the Downing Street operation is being shambolic. Is Mr
:07:05. > :07:08.Cameron's judgement becoming an issue? Yes, what often happens when
:07:09. > :07:11.one leader is under pressure for long enough, as Ed Miliband has been
:07:12. > :07:16.the six months, we get bored. We then switch the Gatling gun to the
:07:17. > :07:19.other guy. So David Cameron going into the Conference season might be
:07:20. > :07:22.the man under pressure. The whole Andy Coulson saga has raised
:07:23. > :07:26.questions about his judgement and those around him, but any political
:07:27. > :07:29.damage she was going to sustain over Andy Coulson and phone hacking was
:07:30. > :07:32.sustained years ago -- he was going. It was Brother beyond the
:07:33. > :07:38.date the News of the World was closed down three summers ago - it
:07:39. > :07:44.was probably on the date. As the hacking trial cut through to the
:07:45. > :07:47.general public? Or is it just as media and political obsessives? I am
:07:48. > :07:51.sure it has cut through in some way but it didn't necessarily happen in
:07:52. > :07:55.recent days, more likely in recent years. It was some time ago that
:07:56. > :07:59.Andy Coulson resigned in high profile circumstances. It has had a
:08:00. > :08:04.slow burning effect over a few years, and the Prime Minister fears
:08:05. > :08:08.the Big Bang. But there is one theme and words that unites this week with
:08:09. > :08:12.Juncker and Andy Coulson, and that is that the Prime Minister can be
:08:13. > :08:15.lackadaisical. He was lackadaisical in not asking big question is when
:08:16. > :08:18.there was a lot in the public domain about what had happened that the
:08:19. > :08:22.News of the World. And he was lackadaisical with Juncker. He made
:08:23. > :08:27.a calculation that Angela Merkel would support him and it turned out
:08:28. > :08:31.she couldn't. Maybe he needs to change. He was late in understanding
:08:32. > :08:32.what was happening in Germany when both the Christian Democrats, her
:08:33. > :09:13.party, wanted Juncker, and when the both the Christian Democrats, her
:09:14. > :09:16.the Prime Minister and in which Mr Miliband has a bigger lead in the
:09:17. > :09:20.polls than he has had some time so he must be wondering why they are
:09:21. > :09:23.having a go at him. He made a tactical error in Prime Minister's
:09:24. > :09:24.Questions by asking all the questions about Andy Coulson. The
:09:25. > :10:36.one at the end questions about Andy Coulson. The
:10:37. > :10:40.is getting involved in this questions about Andy Coulson. The
:10:41. > :10:46.question mark on the issue of grammar schools is not clear anybody
:10:47. > :10:49.listened to him. I think it is a principal problem. I've spoken to
:10:50. > :10:53.form a government members, and judging by what they say, if
:10:54. > :10:56.anything we underestimate how much contacting makes with ministers And
:10:57. > :11:02.how many representations he makes on the issue that interest him. There
:11:03. > :11:05.has been an attempt to keep it hidden. It's almost a theological
:11:06. > :11:10.question about whether the future monarch should be involved in the
:11:11. > :11:13.public realm. If he wants to influence policy, shouldn't we know
:11:14. > :11:19.what policy he's trying to influence and what position he is taking?
:11:20. > :11:24.Sewer speech is better than private one-on-one lobbying. Possibly - so
:11:25. > :11:28.a speech. Prince Charles's views are interesting. He's not a straight
:11:29. > :11:32.down the light reactionary. He makes a left-wing case for rammer schools.
:11:33. > :11:37.There is an interview with him in the Financial Times in which his
:11:38. > :11:41.argument in favour for architectural development takes into account
:11:42. > :11:43.affordable housing in the wake which no one would have suspected. He has
:11:44. > :11:48.interesting views, but I'm not convinced on the point of principle
:11:49. > :11:52.whether someone is dashing his position should be speaking. Your
:11:53. > :11:59.former employer 's famously described him as the SDP king. You
:12:00. > :12:06.slightly feel sorry for him. He s 66 and still an apprentice. He's in a
:12:07. > :12:10.difficult position. We know what the powers of the monarch are. They are
:12:11. > :12:13.to advise in courage and warned the Prime Minister of the day. These in
:12:14. > :12:16.the difficult position where the problem for him is that there is a
:12:17. > :12:21.line that isn't really defined, but you slightly feel he just gets a bit
:12:22. > :12:26.too close to it and possibly crosses that line with the lobbying that
:12:27. > :12:30.goes on. I think the worrying thing is that at some point he will become
:12:31. > :12:35.King and will he know that he has got to work within that framework?
:12:36. > :12:38.He is somebody that cannot win either. If he doesn't take an
:12:39. > :12:43.interest in public policy, he will be thought to be a bit of a waster,
:12:44. > :12:46.going round opening town halls, and when he does have an interest we
:12:47. > :12:51.think, hey, you are in the monarchy, stay out. There's an interesting
:12:52. > :12:56.parallel with first ladies who are encouraged to find a controversial
:12:57. > :13:01.charitable project. Michelle Obama has bought childhood obesity, and
:13:02. > :13:04.that is the standard thing. Everybody knows that that is a bad
:13:05. > :13:08.thing, but you are not offering solutions that are party political.
:13:09. > :13:12.I feel there must be a middle way with what he should be able to do
:13:13. > :13:16.about finding big causes he can complain about without getting stuck
:13:17. > :13:19.into lobbying ministers. Which can become a party political issue. He
:13:20. > :13:22.has had some influence on architecture, because the buildings
:13:23. > :13:24.we are putting up to date are better than the ones we used to put up
:13:25. > :13:29.The Daily Politics is on BBC 2 at 11:00am
:13:30. > :13:34.We'll be back here at the same time next week.
:13:35. > :13:38.Remember if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.