:00:41. > :00:51.Good afternoon and welcome to the Sunday politics. Our top story, his
:00:51. > :01:25.
:01:25. > :01:35.Labour or playing catch up on the Is in the South: Traders protest at
:01:35. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:45.Budget hikes to parking permits. And the only council in our region
:01:45. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :35:15.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2009 seconds
:35:15. > :35:22.not to three's council tax next Welcome to Sunday Politics South.
:35:22. > :35:25.My name's Peter Henley. On today's show: The growing protests in
:35:25. > :35:28.Brighton and Hove about the Green Party's first ever budget for the
:35:28. > :35:34.city. These were traders complaining about price hikes for
:35:34. > :35:38.parking permits. The council's one of the very few in the country
:35:38. > :35:42.which isn't freezing the council tax next year. We'll have more on
:35:42. > :35:45.that in a few minutes. But first, let me introduce you to our two
:35:45. > :35:48.guests who will be with me for the next 20 minutes. Dave Roberts is a
:35:48. > :35:51.former member of Labour's National Policy Forum and is now working as
:35:51. > :36:01.a political campaigner and consultant and Caroline Dinenage is
:36:01. > :36:05.
:36:05. > :36:15.the Conservative MP for Gosport elected in 2010. This week in
:36:15. > :36:23.Portsmouth there were talks about a review of operations at the docks,
:36:23. > :36:29.this could be disastrous? 15% of people who live at that particular
:36:29. > :36:37.site come from my constituency. It would be an massive impact on, not
:36:37. > :36:40.just the job that the site, but the wider supply chain. They are a
:36:40. > :36:46.private company but it is not helped by the business agreement
:36:46. > :36:54.they signed with the Labour Government at the last General
:36:54. > :36:58.Election. It is very difficult for the Government to interfere.
:36:58. > :37:03.Clearly they have to make commercial decisions but I will be
:37:03. > :37:11.lobbying very hard to make sure that those decisions impact on as
:37:11. > :37:20.few people as possible. The And you have worked with Ed Balls on his
:37:20. > :37:28.leadership campaign, now Ed Miliband seems to be coming along,
:37:28. > :37:37.what you think of him as leader? the last recourse so he has made a
:37:37. > :37:42.very clear statement that the party at this time cannot make promises
:37:42. > :37:51.about what the economy might look like after 2015. It is the sensible
:37:52. > :37:57.thing to do, not to make promises which you might have to break.
:37:57. > :38:04.Caroline criticises some of the deals that were signed, he has
:38:04. > :38:10.still got to address that, hasn't he? There was a huge global
:38:10. > :38:15.downturn, I don't think we can be ashamed about that. He managed that
:38:15. > :38:23.and we said at the last election that we would be making cuts to
:38:23. > :38:29.reduce the deficit. We said we would half the deficit by 2015 but
:38:29. > :38:34.the Conservatives and Lib Dems have gone too far too fast and they are
:38:34. > :38:41.harming the British economy. They are not doing anything
:38:41. > :38:46.inspirational about growing our economy. Every single person who is
:38:46. > :38:50.unemployed is a loss to our society. It is a painful and nasty personal
:38:50. > :38:57.experience. When they talk about cutting jobs and cutting spending,
:38:57. > :39:02.these are people's lives being put at stake. Any job that is lost is a
:39:02. > :39:09.huge tragedy for the family involved but I think the Labour
:39:09. > :39:18.Party have made it clear they would like to say -- C budget cuts but
:39:18. > :39:25.they have not said where they would make them. The Labour Party have
:39:25. > :39:35.always voted against cuts. You would like to see where they would
:39:35. > :39:37.
:39:37. > :39:43.get the money from. Nobody wants to see cuts impact badly on people's
:39:43. > :39:47.lives. I think we have made it clear that when we come to 2015 we
:39:47. > :39:53.will assess the situation and come to the British people with an
:39:53. > :39:59.offering of what we would do given the circumstances at that time. We
:39:59. > :40:09.cannot predict what that is going to be. At the moment we are heading
:40:09. > :40:09.
:40:09. > :40:12.in the wrong direction. The economy is shrinking rather than growing.
:40:12. > :40:19.We are urging the Government to think again and start listening to
:40:19. > :40:25.what people are seeing. We must make sure people are employed and
:40:25. > :40:29.not unemployed. It is that time again when councils start
:40:29. > :40:34.announcing what their budgets will be for the next financial year. The
:40:34. > :40:39.Government is offering extra funding to authorities which freeze
:40:39. > :40:49.their council tax but Brighton and Hove have decided to raise theirs
:40:49. > :41:00.
:41:00. > :41:08.by 3.5 %. That has encountered some opposition. This has upset everyone
:41:08. > :41:11.from musicians to book clubbers, motorists to musicians. I spent the
:41:11. > :41:20.morning with Anne and who runs a small plumbing and maintenance
:41:20. > :41:27.company. He was incensed when the green's budget included a raised in
:41:27. > :41:31.parking permits which are essential for his work. These proposals are
:41:31. > :41:39.not business friendly. They do not seem to understand the pressures of
:41:39. > :41:44.the local economy at the moment. formed a protest group and got
:41:44. > :41:49.thousands of businesses to lobby Council. This has prompted a
:41:49. > :41:58.reduction in the proposed increase. The Greens say this means traders
:41:58. > :42:04.will pay less than �1 per day extra. This man says it is not that simple.
:42:04. > :42:14.With a business such as his with several vehicles it would cost an
:42:14. > :42:24.extra �2,500 per year. He only has a 10% profit margin so to earn that
:42:24. > :42:27.extra money he would need an extra �25,000 per year of work. If they
:42:27. > :42:32.believe strongly in not putting their prices up people would put
:42:32. > :42:38.more free time into their businesses which would put a burden
:42:38. > :42:46.on themselves. Eventually they will give up or move away from Brighton
:42:46. > :42:54.to look at the areas where they can operate profitably. Other groups
:42:54. > :43:04.have also been making themselves heard. There were plans to cut the
:43:04. > :43:04.
:43:04. > :43:14.children's music services but these later the greens announced that
:43:14. > :43:16.
:43:16. > :43:23.those cuts would be spared. There when also plans to close toilets in
:43:23. > :43:30.public parks which were revised. People in Brighton and Hove will
:43:30. > :43:36.have to pay more because the of authority is one of very that you
:43:36. > :43:46.Nationwide to raise the council tax. They say a three's would mean even
:43:46. > :43:50.
:43:50. > :43:57.deeper cuts. Do people mind paying more? -- freeze. You do not get
:43:57. > :44:06.anything more or for it. It just goes up and up each year. I do not
:44:06. > :44:12.mind if we get better services but I am probably in the minority.
:44:12. > :44:17.Tories busy public opinion has turned against the greens.
:44:17. > :44:22.expected to gain in a by-election and the came third. One of the
:44:22. > :44:32.points on the doorstep was the fact that the public did not agreed with
:44:32. > :44:37.a council tax increase. -- agree. It seemed unreasonable. It seems
:44:37. > :44:47.there could be a further wave of protests before the council budget
:44:47. > :44:48.
:44:48. > :44:54.is finally set on 23rd February. Joining me now is the cabinet
:44:54. > :44:59.member responsible for the Budget. This first historic Green Budget
:44:59. > :45:08.from the green controlled council. How did you come up with the figure
:45:08. > :45:14.of 3.5 %? We look at the reduction in our core funding from the
:45:14. > :45:18.Government and the services that people in our area it neat and it
:45:18. > :45:27.came clear that we had a very narrow window which we could look
:45:27. > :45:31.at. We did not have a choice and any talk of referendum is uncertain
:45:31. > :45:36.because the electoral commission say proper regulations are not in
:45:36. > :45:46.place. We have looked at securing his services for the vulnerable,
:45:46. > :45:47.
:45:47. > :45:54.the elderly and children in this city. Labour who support except in
:45:54. > :46:01.no change would need to tell people how they would pay for it. It is a
:46:01. > :46:06.one-off piece of money which Eric Pickles admitted is to reduce the
:46:06. > :46:15.tax base for councils. There are now 17 local authorities who have
:46:15. > :46:21.followed our lead in rejecting this grant which is a gimmick. The grant
:46:21. > :46:27.is only worth �3 million and over two years we would be �5.4 million
:46:27. > :46:33.worse off if we took it. You said you had a public consultation and
:46:33. > :46:39.yet you are trying to avoid the referendum. A referendum is not an
:46:39. > :46:49.option at the moment because the electoral commission would not
:46:49. > :46:51.
:46:51. > :46:56.allow it. The costs involved in running it might be an option in
:46:56. > :47:01.the coming years but at the moment our funding is being reduced.
:47:01. > :47:05.Budgets are being squeezed all over the place and it is very well for
:47:05. > :47:11.the opposition to see do not do this and do not do that but they
:47:11. > :47:15.cannot explain how they would pay for it. It is the people who are
:47:15. > :47:22.shouting loudest whose issues are being addressed whereas to business
:47:22. > :47:26.you have just said sorry, you have to pay more for your parking.
:47:26. > :47:32.have had a dialogue. You have rolled over to those who have
:47:32. > :47:38.shouted loudest. I would not say that is the case. We have been able
:47:39. > :47:43.to make some changes to ballot concerns. There were a central
:47:43. > :47:51.funding cuts to music and arts and we have been able to protect them
:47:51. > :47:56.by modifying proposals. If you look at the parking charges, everyone on
:47:56. > :48:01.the waiting list currently has to pay and display or queue for a
:48:01. > :48:05.daily permit which is costing more than �4 per day. By our proposals
:48:05. > :48:10.we have eliminated that waiting list so all of those traders will
:48:10. > :48:14.be able to park for less than two pints per day. The traders I have
:48:14. > :48:20.spoken to are delighted that the waiting list is being eliminated
:48:20. > :48:24.and they can work in the city. are speaking to traders who are
:48:24. > :48:33.being delighted but the man we spoke to said you have written off
:48:33. > :48:38.more than you can chew. -- bitten off more than you can chew. What
:48:38. > :48:43.you have done here by trying to three's council tax as well as
:48:43. > :48:48.cutting the central Government grant is really a double whammy for
:48:48. > :48:52.councils, it is very tough for them? This is a situation that
:48:52. > :48:58.every family in the country is facing, they have to tighten their
:48:58. > :49:03.belts. Every council is facing a situation where they have to do
:49:03. > :49:06.things in the most economically sensible way possible. The Green
:49:06. > :49:11.Party have wanted for years to be able to do this and now that they
:49:11. > :49:15.have to put their money where their mouth is are now having to make
:49:15. > :49:20.difficult decisions. There was someone in the report saying she
:49:20. > :49:26.would like to pay for better services, why should she not be
:49:27. > :49:31.allowed do? I think Brighton are trying to save money at the expense
:49:31. > :49:35.of the people who should be growing the way out of the recession, the
:49:35. > :49:41.traders, those who generate money for the economy, those are not
:49:41. > :49:47.people who should be penalised and this time. The traders are
:49:47. > :49:54.benefiting from this because those on the waiting list will now pay
:49:54. > :49:57.less for their parking. We are also allowing people to pay quarterly
:49:57. > :50:05.which improves their cashflow situation. The grant that is being
:50:05. > :50:10.offered is not free money. It would undermine our tax base. People
:50:10. > :50:16.depend on our services for social care, education, that is what we
:50:16. > :50:20.are trying to protect. These are massive cuts over many years until
:50:20. > :50:28.20 team we are now hearing from George Osborne. There will be
:50:28. > :50:32.yearly reductions in power funding. You are shaking your head but
:50:32. > :50:38.wouldn't you secretly like to be standing up and saying this is
:50:38. > :50:44.wrong, we want to spend money on services? People do want to spend
:50:44. > :50:48.money on services and as we saw in the club people will pay money for
:50:48. > :50:54.improved services. I see no evidence that paying more council
:50:54. > :50:57.tax, paying more to park your car and more for you or allotment
:50:57. > :51:04.coming from a Green Party in power is going to deliver improved
:51:04. > :51:11.services. They are actually reducing some of their kerbside
:51:11. > :51:18.recycling. Can you respond on be recycling and the trial of food
:51:18. > :51:23.waste collection? We have not selected the location for the trial
:51:23. > :51:29.yet. We will be selecting the location later on but we will be
:51:29. > :51:34.trial in communal recycling, food waste collection. At a cost of half
:51:34. > :51:40.a million pounds? That was an early estimate but we will be revising
:51:40. > :51:44.that based on funding from the EU and the been fund. What about the
:51:45. > :51:49.price of allotments? We are trying to protect those, at the moment we
:51:49. > :51:54.have a subsidy but given the cuts we will not be able to maintain
:51:54. > :52:00.that so we are trying to make allotments self sufficient in the
:52:00. > :52:04.long term. We are actually saving �35 million in this to your budget
:52:04. > :52:09.from the council. We are trying to find efficiencies. We have done
:52:09. > :52:16.very well given the underspend in the current year. The other parties
:52:16. > :52:19.can criticise all they want but how would the balance the budget?
:52:19. > :52:29.our regular round-up of the political week in the South
:52:29. > :52:32.
:52:32. > :52:38.compressed into just 60 seconds. David Willetts started the week
:52:38. > :52:43.rummaging in the undergrowth. He was checking out by technology at
:52:43. > :52:48.Reading University. Super plants to feed the Third World. This will be
:52:48. > :52:53.the next green revolution. It was all about the environment as the
:52:54. > :52:59.courts ruled cuts in solar power subsidy were unlawful. And there
:52:59. > :53:06.was plenty of wind power in Weymouth Bay as Richard Bennion
:53:06. > :53:12.opened the first section of coastal path taking forward plans for
:53:12. > :53:19.public ownership. It should be a great view for an Olympic sailing
:53:19. > :53:27.but just along the coast guest houses are complaining that regular
:53:27. > :53:34.customers are being put off the king. People may perhaps want to
:53:34. > :53:41.come for up to three nights, perhaps it is a different market.
:53:41. > :53:47.We packed a lot in. Dave Roberts is a secret show jumper, not a lot of
:53:48. > :53:57.people know that. But not quite Olympic standard? Not quite Olympic
:53:58. > :54:00.
:54:00. > :54:08.standard. And Caroline, your sport is football, Portsmouth is in real
:54:08. > :54:12.trouble, isn't it? It's not good. Do you think a community buy-out is
:54:12. > :54:22.the answer? A at the moment the situation is so sensitive that we
:54:22. > :54:26.do not how it will -- know how it will pan out. We do know the way it
:54:26. > :54:32.can list an entire city when we go through promotion to the
:54:32. > :54:40.Premiership. It lifts the general City spinet. To be in this
:54:40. > :54:45.situation again is not a nice place to be. I think it is a great
:54:45. > :54:49.sadness when football clubs find themselves in these situations. It
:54:49. > :54:53.does seem to be rich men playing games with people's sporting
:54:53. > :55:01.allegiances. It all gets horribly messy and I hope this is not going