:01:29. > :01:33.In the south, or Chris Huhne has left the Cabinet. We will have
:01:33. > :01:43.reactions from his constituency and a squat it means for Liberal
:01:43. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :30:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1755 seconds
:30:59. > :31:03.Welcome to Sunday Politics self. On Today show: Good government plans
:31:03. > :31:08.to modernise the Post Office mean we will be hearing about post
:31:08. > :31:17.offices opening rather than closing? More on that later.
:31:17. > :31:21.Along with the fall-out from Chris Huhne's fall-out resignation.
:31:21. > :31:30.Thank you for a struggling through the cold weather to join us.
:31:30. > :31:34.Richard Williams's the it leader of the Labour group on the council.
:31:34. > :31:38.Richard, this week we had about Liverpool stepping up its plans to
:31:38. > :31:41.complete with Southampton for cruise trade and they are saying
:31:41. > :31:49.they will not pay back European money. Your colleagues are pulling
:31:49. > :31:52.a fast one, aren't they? I went up to see Joe before Christmas on this
:31:52. > :31:58.and made it very clear that I felt it was the wrong thing for
:31:59. > :32:06.Liverpool to be doing. And he is ignoring it? He certainly is. We
:32:06. > :32:14.will see how what it goes. I will be trying to lobby on behalf of
:32:14. > :32:17.Southampton and. We are not giving this fighter up. Louise, in the
:32:17. > :32:23.papers, the suggestion that one of your councillors should be paying
:32:23. > :32:30.back the money as well. Jennifer Miller Smith who received more than
:32:30. > :32:33.�1,000 for attending one meeting. Should she pay the money back?
:32:34. > :32:40.is a Crawley Borough Council, I am sure Jenifer will do the right
:32:40. > :32:46.thing and pay the money back. is going to? I do not know. Do you
:32:46. > :32:50.think she should? If it was me, I would. So, after nine months of
:32:50. > :32:55.uncertainty, Chris Huhne was told on Friday that he and his wife are
:32:55. > :32:59.to be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice. The allegation
:32:59. > :33:04.is that he asked his ex-wife to say that she was driving when he was
:33:05. > :33:10.caught on a speed camera. He resigned his Cabinet post and said
:33:10. > :33:15.he was determined to clear his name. This was the reaction on Friday.
:33:15. > :33:22.I suppose it is a bit premature to step down. I think they should wait
:33:22. > :33:24.until he is prevent innocent or guilty. I think that is probably
:33:24. > :33:30.the right thing under no circumstances. What do people think
:33:30. > :33:36.of him around here? I don't think he has a high profile since he had
:33:37. > :33:40.his cabinet position. If he is going to resign because he is under
:33:40. > :33:47.investigation, does that mean all of us would have to resign if we
:33:47. > :33:52.are accused of something? If you are charged, I think you
:33:52. > :33:57.must resign. Eastleah still a Liberal Democrat
:33:57. > :34:01.stronghold, but the parties only remaining seat in the so-called
:34:01. > :34:05.Golden Triangle. What might be the political impact of this personal
:34:06. > :34:10.crisis for Chris Huhne? Now he has given up the ministerial
:34:10. > :34:14.car while he fights criminal charges, but no one doubts his
:34:14. > :34:20.ability to bounce back. We need to remind people that they should not
:34:20. > :34:25.be voting for a copy, they need to vote for the real thing.
:34:25. > :34:30.* outing as an outsider in the race to succeed Charles Kennedy, he then
:34:30. > :34:36.returned to push Nick Clegg to within 500 boats and a second
:34:36. > :34:41.leadership contest. Then with his wife at his side, he played a major
:34:41. > :34:46.part in negotiating the coalition agreement. Then an affair with his
:34:46. > :34:51.PR adviser was picked up by tabloid newspapers and his time as energy
:34:51. > :34:57.secretary became dogged by bad publicity.
:34:57. > :35:03.Joining us from Oxford studio is Catherine. Liberal Democrat MEP for
:35:03. > :35:06.the South of England. Thanks for joining us. Chris Huhne made big
:35:06. > :35:11.environmental commitments a missing as a big player on behalf of the
:35:11. > :35:17.Liberal Democrats, but reducing carbon emissions by half was one
:35:17. > :35:23.thing he got there and today we see Conservative MP saying let's cut
:35:23. > :35:28.its wind farms. D C this as a push back against what Chris Huhne was
:35:28. > :35:35.doing? I think it is a continuation of climate change deniers who do
:35:35. > :35:42.not like anything that is the alternative. The Aynho that Ed is a
:35:42. > :35:48.committed environmentalist and I'm sure that he will maintain Chris's
:35:48. > :35:53.good work. We have to cut carbon emissions and this is the fastest
:35:53. > :35:57.and best way to do that. But they must be a feeling in Liberal
:35:57. > :36:01.Democrat grass roots that they have lost a big hitter? Well, he has
:36:01. > :36:08.gone for the minute, but Chris is still there in his local
:36:08. > :36:12.constituency doing a grand job. In government, Ed will be carrying on
:36:12. > :36:18.and doing the good work that we know he can do. It must be
:36:18. > :36:24.demoralising. Another personal scandal after David Laws. He is
:36:24. > :36:30.there are feeling that you are now targets for tabloid newspapers?
:36:30. > :36:37.Every politician has a target. It happens with all parties. Once you
:36:37. > :36:43.stand up in public life, you are at risk of being targeted and followed
:36:43. > :36:46.around. That goes with the territory. We have very sound, very
:36:46. > :36:50.professional politicians working for the Liberal Democrats and I
:36:50. > :36:55.know that Ed will be working there, two young women have moved up as
:36:55. > :37:00.well and I am pleased to see that. I know we have a terrific team in
:37:00. > :37:08.government. Chris Huhne is no longer in government and he was
:37:08. > :37:15.supposedly banning the Cabinet to get Conservatives. Could he be a
:37:15. > :37:21.rallying member causing trouble for David Cameron personally -- Nick
:37:21. > :37:25.Clegg personally. I don't think so. We all have to do that and put our
:37:25. > :37:30.faith in members and occasionally go head to head, but they remain
:37:30. > :37:34.good friends and work well together. Chris is not there at the moment,
:37:34. > :37:40.but the others will carry on his good work. Do you expect to see an
:37:40. > :37:50.impact on the polls? Polls come and go. We had won here last week where
:37:50. > :37:51.
:37:51. > :37:56.we won against a ferocious campaign and Lib Dems won council seats up
:37:56. > :38:04.and down the land. We are winning local by-elections and I see that
:38:04. > :38:09.carrying on. Let's turn to our guests. Louise Goldsmith, Liberal
:38:09. > :38:17.Democrats, your opposition. Do they seem to be in fine shape? I think
:38:17. > :38:21.they are finding it challenging overall. Locally as well? Locally.
:38:21. > :38:26.Why do you think that is? I think it must be quite difficult. That
:38:26. > :38:31.said, we work with them on the county council, but I think they
:38:31. > :38:37.must find it difficult. Chris Huhne is a national politician, but at a
:38:37. > :38:40.local level, do you still fight with them in the same way? Well, we
:38:40. > :38:44.always have healthy debates and they put their point of view and
:38:44. > :38:49.that is what they have been elected for at the local level, to put
:38:49. > :38:55.forward policy and challenge us. That is the level of debate and we
:38:55. > :39:00.have good debate about issues in the county council. How are Lib
:39:00. > :39:07.Dems in Southampton doing? It is not for me to say in absolute terms,
:39:07. > :39:13.but we have been speaking to people on the doorsteps. We spoke to 4400
:39:13. > :39:18.people and the Lib Dem votes of those 4400 people was 7%. Four
:39:18. > :39:22.years ago they ran the council, now they have three councillors. They
:39:22. > :39:27.are in a very difficult place and I feel very sorry that these things
:39:27. > :39:30.become issues in the public domain, but they have to be. On the
:39:31. > :39:36.doorstep, it has been things like tuition fees that have had a
:39:36. > :39:43.significant impact. In Southampton, their voters collapsing before the
:39:43. > :39:49.general election. Catherine, will then need to be a big initiative
:39:49. > :39:52.before the elections to re- establish Lib Dems? Our line on
:39:52. > :39:59.environmental policy has run through the Lib Dems for years and
:39:59. > :40:04.years. Policies are coming through weather at local level, national
:40:04. > :40:08.level or in Europe, it is the Lib Dems delivering on environmental
:40:08. > :40:12.policies and that is caught everything we do. Thank you for
:40:12. > :40:16.joining us. After nine months of uncertainty,
:40:16. > :40:21.this weekend it is four years since the Post Office announced it would
:40:21. > :40:25.close to brunches in Oxfordshire. That story has been repeated all
:40:25. > :40:32.over the country, but now some areas are hoping the Post Office
:40:32. > :40:37.will be reopened. What has changed? The Government says the future of
:40:37. > :40:43.the Post Office's finally secured. Come post of his release of five in
:40:43. > :40:48.the modern age? Welcome to Summertown high street.
:40:48. > :40:54.There are three supermarkets, coffee shops, banks, bars, but no
:40:54. > :40:58.post office. Summertown closed down three years ago, but people here
:40:58. > :41:03.say they have a good case for getting one back. There were two
:41:03. > :41:09.when I first arrived to Summertown, but now they have disappeared.
:41:09. > :41:13.is crazy that a place of this size does not have a post office.
:41:13. > :41:17.now a new ten-year deal has been agreed between Royal Mail on the
:41:17. > :41:23.Post Office. Oxfordshire has been chosen to become one of the first
:41:23. > :41:27.areas to adopt a new modernise network. Those that have been
:41:27. > :41:31.campaigning say this is an encouraging step. The recent
:41:31. > :41:35.announcement that Oxfordshire will be one of the 25 local authorities
:41:35. > :41:40.taking forward new plans means that Summertown has a great chance.
:41:40. > :41:46.There will be reviewing the network across Oxfordshire and I hope
:41:46. > :41:50.Summertown comes up. She is optimistic because the hope is it
:41:50. > :41:55.will be more attractive to businesses in future. Everyone
:41:55. > :42:02.would like a post office near by, but we have a huge number of people
:42:02. > :42:09.that live and work here. He it is something that we miss.
:42:09. > :42:18.It all depends on making struggling Post Office its competitive. Since
:42:18. > :42:22.things like car tax began to be offered online, Post Office were
:42:22. > :42:27.hit. The government says modern post offices will have longer
:42:27. > :42:32.opening hours, self-service machines and often a new range of
:42:32. > :42:38.services. I want to make sure we have a
:42:38. > :42:43.viable network so I am not going to over a promise. What am going to
:42:43. > :42:47.say is no closure programmes but back modernisation programme to
:42:47. > :42:51.make sure the Post Office is relevant in a digital world.
:42:51. > :42:55.But what is in store for rural communities? The government wants
:42:55. > :43:00.to give them a facelift and hope that the set-up will get more
:43:00. > :43:08.customers through the door. Something that has been in --
:43:08. > :43:15.proving difficult in small villages. We do see less people because life
:43:15. > :43:19.is changing. It has quieten things down. Things like eBay has
:43:19. > :43:23.absolutely increased our parcel traffic though. Christine has been
:43:23. > :43:28.running this bridge for nearly 14 years. In future must offices like
:43:28. > :43:32.hers will be a better offer longer opening hours and are being told to
:43:32. > :43:38.do away with the fortunes style counters a move these to the main
:43:38. > :43:43.cell at the front of the shop. Great if you want to post a parcel
:43:43. > :43:53.at 6:30am, turf if you are the guy behind the one with a parcel and
:43:53. > :43:54.
:43:54. > :43:59.just want to buy a newspaper. What we desperately need his work. We
:43:59. > :44:03.just have to hope that the pilots they are running at the moment
:44:03. > :44:09.there are things like signing on and that sort of thing, if that
:44:09. > :44:14.rolls out to the whole network, that is more of a future for us.
:44:14. > :44:18.know a lot of sub-post masters of finding it tough. We are trying to
:44:18. > :44:22.turn the tide. It is taking time because we have a vision for where
:44:22. > :44:27.the Post Office needs to be. I believe those post offices will be
:44:27. > :44:32.able to have the future and there are programme. Big promises for the
:44:32. > :44:42.humble post office after years of closures, but will there be enough
:44:42. > :44:47.confidence in their viability? Ed Davey there before he got
:44:47. > :44:51.reshuffled showing his prowess as the Post Office minister. That is a
:44:51. > :44:56.feather in the Lib Dem Cup, isn't it? Do you think it will actually
:44:56. > :45:01.work? I think everybody wants to see as many post offices on my
:45:01. > :45:06.street or in rural communities as we can have. They provide a real
:45:06. > :45:12.service amp vocal point for people in the community. I visited one of
:45:12. > :45:19.these trials in a pub. I don't miss it would work for everyone, but it
:45:19. > :45:24.certainly worked for me. I was not driving I hasten To Add. A I think
:45:24. > :45:32.what we have to look at in modern ages is how we can make services
:45:32. > :45:36.fit in communities. Needs will be different across the country. In a
:45:36. > :45:40.city like Southampton, we need to make sure there are sub-post
:45:40. > :45:45.offices providing services that mean they can compete with larger
:45:45. > :45:50.retail units than the internet. Louise, Post Office has a wonderful
:45:50. > :45:57.tradition, doesn't it? In so many local communities is it really
:45:57. > :46:02.viable? We love our press office and West Sussex. When we had our
:46:02. > :46:05.last round of cuts, I managed to save my Post Office and the whole
:46:06. > :46:10.community pulled together. It was a terrific thing because they really
:46:10. > :46:16.be appreciated what the post of is represented on what it did for them
:46:16. > :46:21.as a community. I think we are opening it up and in rural areas it
:46:21. > :46:27.is vital to have those sorts of services there. Did they make
:46:27. > :46:32.money? I think if they can look at a whole package of things, it might
:46:32. > :46:37.be a raw shop and we have a lot of community shops, if we can link it
:46:37. > :46:43.in with libraries, anything like that, we should be helping and
:46:43. > :46:53.doing as much as we can to do that. Law regular round-up of the
:46:53. > :46:56.
:46:56. > :47:01.political weight in the south in 60 Education Secretary Michael Gove
:47:01. > :47:07.revealed an interesting sideline in Bonn villainy this week. Which one
:47:07. > :47:10.would GB? I think I would be Hugo Drax because of my an enormous
:47:10. > :47:15.admiration for the Member of Parliament in south Dorset that has
:47:15. > :47:20.the same surname. This surroundings could be where school pupils in
:47:20. > :47:24.Brighton and Hove get their lessons. Anything from a police station to a
:47:25. > :47:32.football stadium. The rise in school age means they are running
:47:32. > :47:37.out of classrooms. Fire and rescue plans to merge
:47:37. > :47:42.services were banned this week due to uncertainty it about how much
:47:42. > :47:46.funding rate get. We thought that everyone who ultimately owns his
:47:46. > :47:51.museum should come for free. council a Royston Smith was
:47:51. > :48:01.offering free tickets to the cities Titanic themed museum. Will anyone
:48:01. > :48:04.
:48:04. > :48:09.Apparently Ian Fleming actually did name Hugo Drax after Sir Reginald
:48:09. > :48:15.tracks. So there is a real connection there, apart from just
:48:16. > :48:19.the name. Louise, out we mention the merger between East and West
:48:19. > :48:23.fire services, can you explain more about that? They still want to
:48:23. > :48:30.carry on with it and have a joint control room, but think the money
:48:30. > :48:34.is not right. The joint control room shows what great partnership
:48:34. > :48:39.working already exists and it will be much better for the resilience
:48:39. > :48:48.and mobilisation, so that is good. We will work together to drive up
:48:48. > :48:50.more savings. What it was is that coming together as one buyer or
:48:50. > :48:59.fighting A1 Fire Service and sorting out the finance so we had
:48:59. > :49:03.an equalisation. Is this a negotiating tactic? No because we
:49:03. > :49:10.unfortunately got caught up in the financial resource review. Rightly
:49:10. > :49:15.so, they are looking at the overall finances. We will get clarity. We
:49:15. > :49:20.are not going to get the clarity we need in the timescale. So you are
:49:20. > :49:25.ahead of the game? We are, but both have said we still need to find
:49:25. > :49:31.money. We want other very good service looking after our community,
:49:31. > :49:36.so how are we going to make this happen? Richard, we also saw about
:49:36. > :49:41.free tickets in Southampton for this exciting Titanic museum given
:49:41. > :49:47.away by your conservative opponents just before the election. That is
:49:47. > :49:52.going to harm you. You may say that, I could not comment. You will, and
:49:52. > :49:56.if it takes notes from year. think that in tough times it would
:49:56. > :50:03.not have been our priority. We would have been protecting services
:50:03. > :50:12.for the vulnerable and Alban -- elderly. Southampton are still
:50:12. > :50:18.paying for this. There is still a long way to go on this one.
:50:18. > :50:23.Hopefully it will be a good museum. We want it to be a success, but I
:50:23. > :50:28.don't think this is the way forward, personally. Both of you, thank you
:50:29. > :50:35.very much for joining us this Sunday. That is Sunday Politics in
:50:35. > :50:40.the south. You can keep up on the internet. More fall-out on Chris