:01:32. > :01:36.Sunday Politics in the South... More money for motorways and high-
:01:36. > :01:46.speed broadband. But will anything in the Autumn Statement gets the
:01:46. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :37:11.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2125 seconds
:37:11. > :37:17.Welcome to Sunday Politics South. My name is Peter Henley. Coming up
:37:17. > :37:20.in the next 20 minutes... It is 40 years in January since we joined
:37:20. > :37:24.the Common Market, but Europe is as contentious with the region's
:37:24. > :37:34.voters and politicians as it ever was. We will be hearing from some
:37:34. > :37:35.
:37:35. > :37:40.of our MEPs about where we go next. More on that later. I am joined by
:37:40. > :37:44.the Conservative MP for Winchester and John Denham, Labour MP in
:37:44. > :37:51.Southampton. The big story was the Autumn Statement and we had
:37:51. > :37:56.handouts specific for this region like money to improve the M3
:37:56. > :37:59.motorway and super-fast broadband in Portsmouth and Oxford. The
:37:59. > :38:08.Chancellor said it was enough to get the economy -- economy growing
:38:09. > :38:12.again. In two years the economy is a small now as it was then and it
:38:12. > :38:18.is going to shrink. We have borrowed more money than two years
:38:18. > :38:26.ago. We have got less money to spend on public services. We have
:38:26. > :38:30.had wasted years. What about the global economy? We have got global
:38:30. > :38:34.factors but they are cutting too hard and too fast and everything
:38:34. > :38:38.has grounds to lay hold. Countries like Germany, France and America
:38:38. > :38:48.have had a higher grades weight because they have had a more
:38:48. > :38:50.
:38:50. > :38:57.balanced approach. -- growth wait - - rate. It has taken tough measures
:38:57. > :39:04.and it has saved about �6.5 billion. What they have decided he did is in
:39:04. > :39:08.debt �5 billion in schools, roads and infrastructure. It is a bit
:39:08. > :39:12.which sometimes for the Labour Party to complain. It is like
:39:12. > :39:18.coming to a party and trashing the place and knocking down the
:39:18. > :39:26.Christmas tree and complaining it is not shipshape the next morning.
:39:26. > :39:31.You have got cross -- you have got a situation where you promised to
:39:31. > :39:37.clear it up. The economy had a cardiac arrest in 2009. It will
:39:37. > :39:41.take time. We have not got any easy ways to pay down the deficit.
:39:41. > :39:46.are no easy ways to deal with the consequences of the global banking
:39:46. > :39:51.crisis. But you were confident 2.5 years ago that things would improve.
:39:51. > :39:56.In other countries, it has done. You have taken the wrong decisions.
:39:56. > :40:00.Some money is being put back into schools. But they cut the building
:40:00. > :40:05.schools for the future programme. It was going to build schools
:40:05. > :40:09.across the South. It would have been better to spend that money Ban
:40:09. > :40:12.and have people working building them. Having money in the building
:40:12. > :40:18.industry coming back into the economy and that we would have at
:40:18. > :40:25.all taxes. It would have had the same effect with debt. Mistakes
:40:25. > :40:30.like that have been damaging. if we talk about jobs, we are
:40:30. > :40:36.creating 1.2 million jobs in the private sector. We have put a great
:40:36. > :40:44.big sign up saying that Britain is open for business. We have got the
:40:44. > :40:48.lowest corporation tax in DG 20. 21 %. 1.2 million jobs in the economy
:40:48. > :40:56.since we took over. A good sign we are heading in the right direction.
:40:56. > :41:01.It will take a long time. We can talk to the Chamber of Commerce. Do
:41:01. > :41:09.you think things are moving and what about when it seemed to be
:41:09. > :41:13.stalling? Acts are we still having to work out a new system?
:41:13. > :41:20.debate as to where his problems started will be running for a long
:41:20. > :41:27.time. From a business point of view, we had a situation where the debt
:41:27. > :41:32.was just so massive. Frankly it had to be reduced. And confidence was
:41:32. > :41:39.restored starting down that road. But are we getting back quickly
:41:39. > :41:44.enough? It reflected the reality that getting out of this mess will
:41:44. > :41:48.take longer than thought. We can blame everybody else but we have
:41:48. > :41:55.got world problems. The Chinese economy is slowing down. We know
:41:55. > :41:59.about the Eurozone. This country has got the will power to get out
:41:59. > :42:04.of this mess. The Autumn Statement restored some confidence in
:42:04. > :42:14.business. Their path Some Things We wish had been included that have
:42:14. > :42:15.
:42:15. > :42:20.not been. -- there are some things we wish had been included. The
:42:20. > :42:26.banks are struggling to lend money for reasons we all understand. That
:42:26. > :42:31.is one problem. We have got a commitment to review the assessment
:42:31. > :42:34.regulations. I think these regulations were designed to
:42:34. > :42:38.protect and they have actually hindered. They have slowed down
:42:38. > :42:45.development. The promise of regulation and getting rid of red
:42:45. > :42:50.tape, we have had that before and that must be delivered. Some of
:42:50. > :42:56.them are almost political points. You are talking about red tape
:42:56. > :43:01.strangling business. But can we afford to make these changes at a
:43:01. > :43:03.time when it you just want investment and growth? Getting rid
:43:03. > :43:07.of regional development agencies and local enterprise partnerships,
:43:07. > :43:12.we have got a period of getting used to new systems. Is that
:43:12. > :43:16.slowing things down? I think that is one of the best things this
:43:16. > :43:18.government did. We have got local enterprise partnerships in this
:43:19. > :43:28.constituency which are quite different but there are making real
:43:29. > :43:37.
:43:37. > :43:43.changes. -- Bay are. -- they are. In the regional growth fund, we had
:43:43. > :43:47.some money for the M3 motorway. But not a single bit of work has
:43:48. > :43:57.started on the 18 major road schemes announced. Money is not
:43:58. > :44:01.
:44:01. > :44:08.getting through. And that is frustrating. I think that this is a
:44:08. > :44:11.bottom up way of doing it. I have to admit to being a little bit
:44:11. > :44:17.confused when I first came in as to whether or not the Government would
:44:17. > :44:25.back them and what they would be about. But I have been really
:44:25. > :44:28.impressed. I was impressed with the approach being taken. I am guessing
:44:28. > :44:33.almost �400,000 spent on junction 9 of the M3 motorway because it has
:44:33. > :44:38.been placed as a priority. These are projects that are needed and
:44:38. > :44:44.will get underway shortly and will be welcome. The problem is that you
:44:44. > :44:47.could have gone too localised development agencies. We have had
:44:47. > :44:57.to 0.5 years in which nothing has happened in some areas and they
:44:57. > :44:58.
:44:58. > :45:02.have not had resources. -- 2.5. It is a long way off. We have got the
:45:02. > :45:09.road at the bottom of the docks in Southampton. I have not seen any
:45:09. > :45:14.work in sight. Everything is taking too long. We want to see investment.
:45:14. > :45:18.A lot of talk has been about investment and energy policy but
:45:18. > :45:26.people will not invest because they do not know what the policies will
:45:26. > :45:31.be. The potential is up in the air. We need long-term certainty on some
:45:31. > :45:35.big projects and enough demand in the economy and then unless we get
:45:35. > :45:42.that I think we will be stuttering. Many people watching can expect
:45:42. > :45:49.living standards to fall again every year for the next five years.
:45:49. > :45:55.Can I ask Jimmy about the Autumn Statement? One of the things that
:45:55. > :46:01.slows down infrastructure projects is the enormous application process.
:46:01. > :46:07.And the amount of assessment. I think it is a real problem. And as
:46:07. > :46:14.far as the ideas were concerned, change is fundamental. The idea of
:46:14. > :46:19.bureaucracy controls, these ideas are business lead and controlled.
:46:19. > :46:24.We have mentioned business people in the region. We have got top
:46:24. > :46:28.businessmen are leading these projects. More than anything else,
:46:28. > :46:33.people want a bit of certainty and confidence in government. A we are
:46:33. > :46:37.not going to keep changing tack about borrowing more money. A we
:46:37. > :46:47.have had nothing but uncertainty into 0.5 years and have not make
:46:47. > :46:49.progress. -- in 2.5 years. Now, the three recent parliamentary by
:46:49. > :46:53.elections were the most successful ever for the UK Independence Party,
:46:53. > :46:56.soundly beating the Lib Dems - and in two of them coming second ahead
:46:56. > :46:59.of the Conservatives. Cue talk of electoral pacts and rumours that
:46:59. > :47:02.some Conservative Mps have been keen to come to some arrangement -
:47:02. > :47:05.which is what I started off asking party leader Nigel Farage when I
:47:05. > :47:10.caught up with him in Brussels this week. The by-election has done us
:47:10. > :47:12.no harm in terms of standing but it has held at branch level. A lot of
:47:12. > :47:16.Conservative Associations would like some kind of arrangement
:47:16. > :47:22.because particularly in the South of England it is thriving. We are
:47:22. > :47:28.taking votes in the north as well as Conservative votes. A lot of
:47:28. > :47:33.people are desperate for a deal otherwise they are afraid that our
:47:33. > :47:37.strength means they will lose seats. And if we had by election and we
:47:37. > :47:46.have got possibilities, what would your prick the? Would it be
:47:46. > :47:51.different from the North? -- your approach be? I am not worried about
:47:52. > :47:57.standing down other candidates. I am pushing ahead with the UKIP
:47:57. > :48:02.brand. Would Conservative opposition be stronger with a deal?
:48:02. > :48:05.We have not had a by-election in the South for a long time and we
:48:06. > :48:11.have not had a by-election since UKIP were regarded as a party that
:48:11. > :48:15.could do well not just in Europe but domestically. We have got a
:48:15. > :48:20.chance of a couple of seats in Hampshire and we might get a by-
:48:20. > :48:24.election next year. If these elections happen we will be there.
:48:24. > :48:32.And will you be the candidate? not know. We have got a lot of
:48:32. > :48:35.speculation but I think it unlikely. Why? I am a national leader of UKIP.
:48:35. > :48:41.I want to take his party through to local elections next year which we
:48:41. > :48:48.are taking seriously. We have got European elections in 2014. I have
:48:48. > :48:54.got a lot to do at the moment. possibility of being UKIP's first
:48:54. > :48:57.MP, that is not something that you would turn down, is it? I would
:48:57. > :49:01.give it serious thought but we do not know if we are going to get a
:49:01. > :49:07.by-election but if we do I will consider it. A would you not be
:49:07. > :49:11.letting down your own party? If I stood in a by-election and was
:49:11. > :49:18.successful, it would be very difficult during that period to
:49:18. > :49:25.lead the party effectively cost up and certainly here, there would be
:49:25. > :49:31.--. And certainly here are a lot of people would be asking questions.
:49:31. > :49:37.think UKIP have taken a lot of protest votes. They are picking up
:49:37. > :49:42.some of that. We have got issues about Europe. But the mainstream
:49:42. > :49:49.position I represent is that we are better off in a Europe but I will
:49:49. > :49:54.not take everything Brussels is throwing at us. It is a threat for
:49:54. > :49:59.Conservatives in the South of England? It is always a correct and
:49:59. > :50:04.it is a threat to the Labour Party in the north. I do not think he is
:50:04. > :50:08.a one-man band and he is entitled to his view. It is not easy to vote
:50:08. > :50:13.against your government and I did that for the first time in my first
:50:13. > :50:18.year on the subject of Europe. That was about asking the people of this
:50:18. > :50:22.country about our relationship with the European Union. When the
:50:22. > :50:31.project began 40 years ago I was not quite warm. But I was two years
:50:31. > :50:41.old but lost a we asked a question about Europe. -- quite warm. --
:50:41. > :50:42.
:50:42. > :50:52.quite alive. You are both taking UKIP seriously. We should develop
:50:52. > :50:54.
:50:54. > :50:57.that idea. Can you remember where Well, to refresh your memory, you
:50:57. > :51:01.had just become a member of the Common Market - you had entered
:51:01. > :51:11.Europe. Hard to believe it has been 40 years - and maybe today it is
:51:11. > :51:14.
:51:14. > :51:19.harder than ever to imagine it Not the most spectacular firework
:51:19. > :51:24.display to greet the brave new dawn of Britain in Europe. But it was
:51:24. > :51:28.1973 and not everybody was a fan of Prime Minister Ted Heath, who got
:51:28. > :51:33.us in the club in the first place. That ambivalence in the
:51:33. > :51:39.relationship has been a defining feature in 40 years. So much so we
:51:39. > :51:43.have got an in or out referendum. Sound familiar? Back in 1975.
:51:43. > :51:50.Margaret Thatcher campaigned to stay in and senior Labour figures
:51:50. > :51:57.campaigns to get out. The campaign started in 1957 without ask. Six
:51:57. > :52:04.founding members. That was nine when we joined in 1973. 12 by 1986
:52:04. > :52:09.and then expanded in 2004, went any Eastern European countries join.
:52:09. > :52:14.Today, 27 countries and almost 500 million citizens. And what a
:52:14. > :52:21.difference 40 years makes. This is the European Parliament's visitor
:52:21. > :52:26.centre in Brussels. A chance for the parliament to explain to the
:52:26. > :52:31.voters what it is doing. A mere 20 million euros to you. They have
:52:31. > :52:35.elected members for the past 30 years. But plenty of people would
:52:35. > :52:42.struggle to name their MEP or tell you what they are doing or even
:52:42. > :52:46.what Europe has ever done for us. The political union has got to be
:52:46. > :52:51.the one that has been the biggest benefit. Europe has not had any
:52:51. > :52:57.major conflict. Countries had been at war with each other. If we look
:52:57. > :53:04.at the protection measures in terms of environmental protection, the
:53:04. > :53:08.air quality directed, clean water, alongside the food and consumer
:53:08. > :53:13.protection, these are all European achievements. This is what Europe
:53:13. > :53:17.is good at. These are the original buildings in Luxembourg. Much of it
:53:17. > :53:22.has moved to Brussels where the council of ministers meet with the
:53:22. > :53:25.European Commission and members of the European Parliament. But they
:53:25. > :53:30.also have to go to Strasbourg in France and that is more
:53:30. > :53:35.controversial. What else it has been, the European Union has been
:53:35. > :53:40.good to architects. This parliament building in Strasbourg is 13 years
:53:40. > :53:45.old and cost 470 million euros. It is used for just 48 days of the
:53:45. > :53:51.year. The cost of the European project is one of the days doing --
:53:51. > :53:57.things that has annoyed critics in the past 40 years. We have got too
:53:57. > :54:00.much of Europe interfering in Britain. We must find our feet in
:54:00. > :54:08.our own circumstances with our relationships right across the
:54:08. > :54:16.world. Britain is unlike any other European country. We are a club or
:54:16. > :54:19.country. We are a global power with a global language. We can make
:54:19. > :54:25.connections with 200 billion people. Not 500 million people. We are a
:54:25. > :54:28.different sort of country. We have a different future. The European
:54:28. > :54:32.Parliament represents the second biggest electorate in the world
:54:32. > :54:39.after India. But with turnout falling in every election, how
:54:39. > :54:43.democratic is it? I have got more enthusiasm for the European idea
:54:43. > :54:49.but I recognise this is something that will develop. It will develop
:54:49. > :54:55.as we work with partners. Well, not quite. Scepticism has risen
:54:55. > :54:59.steadily and is higher than ever. We have got such an unbalanced
:54:59. > :55:02.debate on this side of the European Union about the role of UKIP. Many
:55:02. > :55:07.people would think that the European Union is an intellectual
:55:07. > :55:13.discussion but it is not. It is very practical. We are part of a
:55:13. > :55:17.big economy. We do 60 % of trade with members. Thousands of
:55:17. > :55:21.companies do business in the European Union. About 3.5 million
:55:21. > :55:26.people benefit in terms of jobs because they are involved in the
:55:26. > :55:29.European Union. It started as a common market and it is still the
:55:29. > :55:39.economic impact that is looming largest for friends and foes in
:55:39. > :55:41.
:55:41. > :55:46.Europe alike. It really has not get away. Where are things going?
:55:46. > :55:50.look back to the European project after the war, who could doubt that
:55:50. > :55:57.was a good thing and that it brought peace in Europe? It was
:55:57. > :56:01.supposed to bring that forever more. When I look at Greece when Angela
:56:01. > :56:06.Merkel visited and all of the Troubles in Europe, it was
:56:06. > :56:12.thoroughly predictable. I wonder if people see these original ideals
:56:12. > :56:17.and see them falling apart. I am sceptical but I am not wide-eyed
:56:17. > :56:24.and mad about it. It is time we asked people again. Anybody under
:56:24. > :56:29.the age of 55 has not had a chance. When I am told that I am a little
:56:29. > :56:35.Englander, I could not reject that more. I am not that all a little
:56:35. > :56:40.European. Brazil has got a bigger economy than us. We should be
:56:40. > :56:48.global. We are a trading nation and we should at bigger ambitions than
:56:48. > :56:51.Europe. He is a younger generation and missed the original decision.
:56:51. > :56:56.But big things that happened in your lifetime. When the Iron
:56:56. > :56:59.Curtain came down, it was not all the as Poland would become a
:56:59. > :57:03.democracy that we could trade with and we did not go to war with and
:57:03. > :57:09.it did not become corrupt. It is that vision of bringing Europe
:57:09. > :57:19.together. We have got economic difficulties. The Eurozone has been
:57:19. > :57:22.disastrous compared to what the bounders fought -- founders thought.
:57:22. > :57:25.We would be better to be engaged actively in putting right the
:57:25. > :57:31.things that have gone wrong in Europe instead of saying we should
:57:31. > :57:34.be outside. We are running out of time but thank you. And we will
:57:34. > :57:37.have another report on our 40th European birthday in next week's
:57:37. > :57:47.programme - looking at the single market. Now our regular round-up of
:57:47. > :57:49.
:57:49. > :57:52.the political week in the South in They are printing money in Sussex.
:57:52. > :57:57.These will be cashed in after Christmas to give local shops a
:57:57. > :58:01.boost. Perhaps they are thinking about all of the cards they have
:58:01. > :58:07.got it right. The Prime Minister had a stumbling start to Prime
:58:07. > :58:13.Minister's Questions. In a disused to duties in my house... Under fire
:58:13. > :58:18.on defence issues. The future of shipbuilding in Portsmouth is
:58:18. > :58:24.proving controversial. Vince Cable was sent south but offered little
:58:24. > :58:31.reassurance. We do not have the ability to build ships and if that
:58:31. > :58:37.is right we are staff. -- in trouble. We have not yet come to a
:58:37. > :58:41.decision. Campaigners are saying that this would be worth �30
:58:41. > :58:45.million to the local economy. But if you would prefer something
:58:45. > :58:52.warmer, Gatwick bosses want your business. They have said that they
:58:52. > :58:55.rail links are ripe for expansion. We had started talking about
:58:55. > :59:01.infrastructure in the Autumn Statement. In some ways, broadband
:59:01. > :59:06.is more important than the roads, isn't it? Portsmouth is very
:59:06. > :59:09.pleased. Winchester is pretty well connected but some rural areas in
:59:09. > :59:15.my constituency, certainly up in the North have got that coverage
:59:15. > :59:18.and we must do much better on that. We are a couple of years behind the
:59:18. > :59:21.broadband programme that was in place at the last election. The
:59:21. > :59:29.Government came in and changed it and it hasn't happened. They are
:59:29. > :59:35.struggling to catch up. You changed the programme that he already had
:59:35. > :59:40.in place quite unnecessarily. has cost time and held back growth.
:59:40. > :59:44.Too many things like that have happened. And on the video games
:59:44. > :59:47.decision as well. It all comes back to Europe in the end. That is where