Browse content similar to 10/02/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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In the South: The starting gun's been fired, the | :01:21. | :01:23. | |
parties are picking their candidates, the big beasts are | :01:23. | :01:26. | |
hitting town - so what will be the real deciding issues in the | :01:26. | :01:36. | |
:01:36. | :01:36. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2455 seconds | :01:36. | :42:32. | |
Welcome to Sunday Politics South, my name's Peter Henley. On today's | :42:32. | :42:35. | |
programme: Oxford may be calling itself the | :42:35. | :42:38. | |
electric car capital of Europe, but just how many people are actually | :42:38. | :42:44. | |
using its 60 charging points? We'll be finding out shortly. First, | :42:44. | :42:47. | |
let's meet the two politicians who, as usual, are our guests of the day | :42:47. | :42:50. | |
for the whole of the next 20 minutes. George Hollingbery is the | :42:50. | :42:53. | |
Conservative MP for Meon Valley, and Alan Whitehead is the Labour MP | :42:53. | :43:03. | |
:43:03. | :43:04. | ||
for Southampton West. There's a lot of national issues | :43:04. | :43:10. | |
here with the by-election. What do you think of David Cameron's week? | :43:10. | :43:14. | |
Progress in Europe - you must be pleased about that? It is good to | :43:15. | :43:20. | |
make sure the EU budget does not run away with itself. That is | :43:20. | :43:25. | |
positive. But it is different from the uncertainty that David Cameron | :43:25. | :43:30. | |
has plunged us into over a period of time in relation to the EU | :43:30. | :43:33. | |
because of what he has done in terms of trying to square a deal | :43:33. | :43:38. | |
with his own backbenchers. That is a long-term impact. What is | :43:38. | :43:43. | |
happening now a short term. Would you back the Prime Minister on the | :43:43. | :43:48. | |
way he has behaved over gay marriage? You voted in favour. But | :43:48. | :43:53. | |
most of your colleagues are against. On the European issue, we were told | :43:53. | :43:59. | |
nothing could change on that front. Renegotiating the terms seems worth | :43:59. | :44:05. | |
doing. Gay marriage. It was a matter of conscience. It didn't | :44:05. | :44:10. | |
matter that others voted against? If you talk to people about their | :44:10. | :44:15. | |
religious values, there are lots of religious people in the | :44:15. | :44:21. | |
Conservative Party, and colleagues who received thousands of letters, | :44:21. | :44:27. | |
they wanted to reflect the views of their constituents. You have had a | :44:27. | :44:33. | |
reply on Europe. On gay marriage, David Cameron, is he enhanced or | :44:33. | :44:43. | |
:44:43. | :44:47. | ||
does he have a problem with his backbenchers? He has a problem. | :44:47. | :44:50. | |
There's a split down the back benches of the Conservatives. That | :44:50. | :44:55. | |
is not good for future government. It's been a busy political week in | :44:55. | :44:58. | |
the South of England. Chris Huhne's sudden resignation on Monday as MP | :44:59. | :45:01. | |
for Eastleigh triggered a by- election, then on Wednesday the | :45:01. | :45:04. | |
Liberal Democrats plumped for a February 28th polling day. So, a | :45:04. | :45:06. | |
decidedly short, sharp campaign, and over the last few days the | :45:07. | :45:08. | |
various parties have been scrambling to get candidates | :45:09. | :45:11. | |
confirmed, volunteers in place and their various big beasts booked in | :45:11. | :45:14. | |
for visits to a sometimes overlooked part of Hampshire, North | :45:14. | :45:24. | |
:45:24. | :45:25. | ||
and East of Southampton. In the days of steam, Eastleigh was | :45:25. | :45:29. | |
known as a railway town. Now the airport is the biggest local | :45:29. | :45:33. | |
employer, and the bandwagon will drive down the M3 past new suburban | :45:33. | :45:43. | |
estates. The constituency stretches to the sea. That includes the home | :45:43. | :45:47. | |
of Hampshire cricket. It David Cameron can't take back a seat that | :45:47. | :45:51. | |
once boasted a 10,000 Conservative majority, the questions will be | :45:51. | :45:57. | |
asked. But what might stop him is the depth of local Lib Dem | :45:57. | :46:03. | |
organisation. 36 out of 36 council seats are held by Lib Dems. They | :46:03. | :46:07. | |
know the territory well. In the election for Police Commissioner, a | :46:07. | :46:12. | |
Lib Dem topped the polls in this area. It has not always been like | :46:12. | :46:16. | |
this. In 1994, Eastleigh's industrial roots were strong enough | :46:16. | :46:21. | |
to give Labour hope. Then it was a three-way marginal with Gordon | :46:21. | :46:26. | |
Brown joining a young Jack Straw on the doorsteps. These were the dying | :46:26. | :46:30. | |
days of the John Major government. UKIP's candidate barely registered. | :46:30. | :46:35. | |
Now they could make a big dent in votes on the right. If the | :46:36. | :46:39. | |
Conservatives were to lose, it would put pressure on Cameron's | :46:39. | :46:45. | |
leadership and lead to them asking all sorts of questions about, well, | :46:45. | :46:49. | |
what is the point of being in the coalition? Similarly, a range of | :46:49. | :46:53. | |
questions from the Lib Dems if they were to lose the seat. A lot of MPs | :46:53. | :46:57. | |
are going to be fearful of a similar challenge in their | :46:57. | :47:06. | |
constituencies. I think it is massive in terms of national as | :47:06. | :47:10. | |
well as local politics. Labour admits they are a long shot | :47:10. | :47:16. | |
but Ed Miliband needs to prove his appeal in the south. It is going to | :47:16. | :47:21. | |
be a short, sharp campaign, but the timing is set for a result to | :47:21. | :47:24. | |
remember. Well, joining us now are the | :47:24. | :47:26. | |
Liberal Democrat leader of Eastleigh council, Keith House, and, | :47:26. | :47:29. | |
from UKIP, Ray Finch, who was his party's candidate in Eastleigh in | :47:29. | :47:39. | |
:47:39. | :47:40. | ||
2010. Keith, what I hear all the time is | :47:40. | :47:45. | |
the Lib Dems are well dug in. Sounds like the start of a war in | :47:45. | :47:50. | |
the trenches. But that is what you are, you are well prepared in | :47:50. | :47:55. | |
Eastleigh. He is that why you chose to have an early campaign? | :47:55. | :47:59. | |
thought it was best to remove the uncertainty. We are well entrenched | :47:59. | :48:05. | |
in Eastleigh. We work all year round alongside the key issue of | :48:05. | :48:08. | |
who is best placed to stand up for Eastleigh's electorate in | :48:08. | :48:16. | |
Parliament until the 2015 election. You only had two locals on the list | :48:17. | :48:21. | |
of candidate. Why do you have to have a local candidate? We felt, | :48:21. | :48:25. | |
with our track record, but we wanted somebody who is already part | :48:25. | :48:29. | |
of the local community, who already has a good record of being part of | :48:30. | :48:36. | |
the team, who has protected services from cuts and is part of | :48:36. | :48:42. | |
the community. UKIP has been organising in | :48:42. | :48:48. | |
Eastleigh for some time. What do you see as fertile ground here? | :48:48. | :48:56. | |
of it. His immigration a real issue? Of course it is. Immigration | :48:56. | :49:03. | |
is one of the major things. In the Mail today, 56% of Bulgarians said | :49:03. | :49:08. | |
they wanted to come to Britain on January 1st. It is going to affect | :49:08. | :49:12. | |
everybody. But we have other issues. We have all of them covered. | :49:12. | :49:16. | |
Frankly, as the polling today has said, we stand to gain more votes | :49:16. | :49:20. | |
both from the Lib Dems and Labour than we do from the Tories. We are | :49:20. | :49:28. | |
not the our riders for the Tory party. We are the party that | :49:28. | :49:32. | |
appeals all across the country. Keith, it is the protest vote and | :49:32. | :49:37. | |
people can't protest by voting Lib Dem any more. No, they protest by | :49:37. | :49:44. | |
voting for minor parties. The history of EC politics has been to | :49:44. | :49:53. | |
choose Lib Dem at every opportunity. -- beastly politics. The | :49:53. | :49:58. | |
Conservatives last held on to a seat in Eastleigh nine years ago. | :49:58. | :50:01. | |
It will be a close race. That is the choice people will have to | :50:01. | :50:06. | |
consider. Today when somebody who is part of the community or do they | :50:06. | :50:13. | |
not? Let's bring in the other side. It was Sir David Price's seat for | :50:13. | :50:20. | |
many years. Has it changed in its complexion? To some extent. If you | :50:20. | :50:24. | |
look back at the history, you can see what conservative organisation | :50:24. | :50:29. | |
is what it is. If you look at recent general elections, you can | :50:29. | :50:33. | |
see a strong underlying Conservative vote there. That is | :50:33. | :50:43. | |
what we need to find. We have got a fantastic local candidate. Vote for | :50:43. | :50:51. | |
a local MP you can trust, that is the slogan? | :50:51. | :50:56. | |
She fought the last general election, she stayed in with the | :50:56. | :50:59. | |
community, and the great thing about Maria is she is somebody who | :50:59. | :51:05. | |
lives in a relatively modest house in a modest part of town. She knows | :51:05. | :51:09. | |
what it is like to struggle along like others. This is somebody for | :51:09. | :51:14. | |
whom we say filling up a calf -- with petrol is not just something | :51:14. | :51:22. | |
you do, it is something you have to think about. The suggestion is she | :51:22. | :51:28. | |
is a loose cannon as well. Some of her views are against the | :51:28. | :51:34. | |
leadership. We want to concentrate on the issues that matter to people | :51:34. | :51:39. | |
- jobs, the economy, making sure we protect the right parts of the | :51:39. | :51:42. | |
countryside from inappropriate development. The Lib Dems have been | :51:43. | :51:47. | |
strong on that for many years. If the Conservative was to go into | :51:47. | :51:51. | |
other territory, that is for them to think about. | :51:51. | :51:56. | |
Back to you, George. Top of his priorities is fighting Tory plans | :51:56. | :52:03. | |
for gravel extraction. This is a Lib Dem. You supposed -- you are | :52:03. | :52:09. | |
supposed to be in coalition. It is hardly surprising that they | :52:09. | :52:13. | |
emphasise this. Both candidates will fight on the issues. We | :52:13. | :52:16. | |
understand the voters will not enjoy it if we sitter there and | :52:16. | :52:19. | |
knock seven bells out of each other, particularly about the previous | :52:20. | :52:25. | |
incumbent. We will be talking about benefit changes, immigration, the | :52:25. | :52:28. | |
economy and hole we solve issues, and actually, that is what people | :52:28. | :52:33. | |
want to hear about. While Labour playing their chances down? You are | :52:33. | :52:39. | |
the opposition. -- why half. It is true the Conservatives and Lib Dems | :52:39. | :52:43. | |
really are in it together. The previous MP voted for every single | :52:43. | :52:47. | |
one of the measures that have gone to prop up the Conservative-Lib Dem | :52:47. | :52:51. | |
coalition over the period. If we are talking about the economy, the | :52:51. | :52:57. | |
Lib Dems are culpable in what has happened in terms of the problem of | :52:57. | :53:05. | |
jobs, the difficulties of benefits, the house tax. All of those things, | :53:05. | :53:12. | |
they are completely in it together. Why not say that you have got more | :53:12. | :53:17. | |
chance in this seat? We will be going out, putting the message out | :53:17. | :53:22. | |
across Eastleigh, for example, the last autumn statement meant that | :53:22. | :53:26. | |
the average family was almost �600 worse off while millionaires were | :53:26. | :53:33. | |
getting a tax cut of �100,000. haven't yet selected a candidate. | :53:33. | :53:36. | |
These issues will have great resonance, I think, to people who | :53:36. | :53:42. | |
think they are left out by what the two coalition parties are doing. We | :53:42. | :53:50. | |
will have a candidate shortly. That is the message we will get across. | :53:50. | :53:55. | |
We don't say we are definitely going to win. We think we ought to | :53:55. | :53:59. | |
do well in terms of making sure the message is put across and making | :53:59. | :54:06. | |
sure people have a real alternative to vote for the politics of the | :54:06. | :54:08. | |
coalition that a serving are so badly at the moment. | :54:08. | :54:13. | |
If Nigel Farage had entered the race, it would be a different | :54:13. | :54:17. | |
situation, wouldn't it? No. Nigel has to lead the party. If we put | :54:17. | :54:24. | |
him up for every by-election, people would turn around and say we | :54:24. | :54:28. | |
are a one-horse Party. We are not. This is a chance of somebody to | :54:28. | :54:34. | |
make a breakthrough. It is now a four-way marginal. Is it? | :54:34. | :54:42. | |
course! Know. The reality is clear. This will be a close run thing by | :54:42. | :54:46. | |
the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. But most by-elections are a protest, | :54:46. | :54:52. | |
aren't they? They are about the future and the best representative | :54:52. | :54:56. | |
for local people. That is why we have selected Mike Thornton. He is | :54:56. | :55:00. | |
part of the community and is already doing the job. Should you | :55:01. | :55:06. | |
have a local as well? It always helps. It never hurts to have | :55:06. | :55:09. | |
somebody local on the ground. But it is always the best thing to get | :55:09. | :55:15. | |
the best person in. Wherever they come from, they can settle in. A | :55:15. | :55:21. | |
local candidate does not hurt. What Keith is saying is whoever you vote | :55:21. | :55:25. | |
for, you are going to get the government. We are ahead of the | :55:25. | :55:30. | |
Labour Party. We are the official opposition and we intend to win. | :55:30. | :55:40. | |
:55:40. | :55:48. | ||
Thank you, both of you. Nearly a year ago, a new network of | :55:48. | :55:50. | |
electric car charging points was installed in Oxford. The hope was | :55:50. | :55:53. | |
they'd spark more people's interest in using electric vehicles. Now the | :55:53. | :55:56. | |
city's also about to get its own electric car club. But still sales | :55:56. | :56:00. | |
of electric cars haven't sped up as much as the government had hoped. | :56:00. | :56:03. | |
So what's it going to take to convince us all? Emma Vardy has | :56:03. | :56:07. | |
been to find out. Oxford claims to have more car | :56:07. | :56:12. | |
charging points per person than anywhere else in Europe. The city | :56:13. | :56:15. | |
was hailed the electric car capital when its new network was switched | :56:16. | :56:23. | |
on last year. What the government is doing is | :56:23. | :56:29. | |
making it easier to buy these vehicles. When a critical mass | :56:29. | :56:34. | |
kicks in, the price will come down. But despite hype, many are still | :56:34. | :56:39. | |
doubtful about ditching their fuel cars and chosing a greener option. | :56:39. | :56:44. | |
If I felt confident it was easily chargeable, I would think about it | :56:44. | :56:49. | |
a bit more. If it was more environmentally friendly. If it | :56:49. | :56:52. | |
becomes more efficient and cost- effective, I might consider it. | :56:52. | :56:58. | |
Until then, I think I will stick with our normal car. If I could do | :56:58. | :57:02. | |
250 miles a day in one, maybe. But not until. | :57:02. | :57:06. | |
So why haven't they caught on? Well, they can't go very far before | :57:06. | :57:09. | |
needing a charge. And they tend to be more expensive than ordinary | :57:09. | :57:11. | |
cars. But the government's determined to keep us moving | :57:11. | :57:16. | |
towards a battery-powered future. One day we may all have to say | :57:16. | :57:19. | |
goodbye to the petrol pump and instead plug into one of these. | :57:19. | :57:22. | |
This is one of more than 60 charging points around Oxford that | :57:23. | :57:27. | |
you can charge your car up for free! Of course, though, you need | :57:27. | :57:36. | |
Rather flash, eh? This Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car | :57:36. | :57:42. | |
that would set you back around �70,000. For that, you get to drive | :57:42. | :57:46. | |
more than 200 miles on a single charge. You could commute from | :57:46. | :57:51. | |
London to Oxford at just �2 pounds a journey. There are cheaper | :57:51. | :57:54. | |
battery powered cars, but hey, drive an electric sports car and | :57:54. | :58:02. | |
you'll turn a few heads. The number of electric cars being sold overall, | :58:02. | :58:12. | |
:58:12. | :58:21. | ||
though, is still just a fraction of the total car sales each year. | :58:21. | :58:27. | |
Some charging points are only being used a handful of times each week. | :58:27. | :58:32. | |
In Milton Keynes, some have only been used once or twice. | :58:32. | :58:37. | |
It will grow and grow. If you are there and ready at the beginning, | :58:37. | :58:41. | |
it is easy for people when they want to. | :58:41. | :58:45. | |
But the market is changing. Tesla and other companies are bringing | :58:45. | :58:47. | |
out much more affordably-priced battery powered cars, and the | :58:47. | :58:50. | |
government's offering cash grants to help towards the cost of some | :58:50. | :58:56. | |
models. That is lots of fun to drive! | :58:56. | :58:59. | |
If you don't fancying buying your own electric car, Oxford's got | :58:59. | :59:01. | |
another answer. An electric car club's starting up, and soon | :59:01. | :59:04. | |
there'll be electric cars stationed around the city that people will be | :59:04. | :59:12. | |
able to borrow for a fraction of what it would cost to buy your own. | :59:12. | :59:17. | |
What makes people decide to join the club? People who need access to | :59:17. | :59:22. | |
a car but don't want the full expense of owning their own car, | :59:22. | :59:25. | |
people are a bit nervous the first time in an electric vehicle, but | :59:25. | :59:29. | |
after the first few times, you find you love it. They are lovely cars | :59:29. | :59:31. | |
to drive. It's been predicted that there'll | :59:31. | :59:34. | |
be two million electric cars by Britain's roads by 2020. The latest | :59:34. | :59:40. | |
figures show there's only 3,000 so far. | :59:41. | :59:45. | |
The government has made a great start getting charging posts out | :59:45. | :59:49. | |
onto the street and in support to people buying cars. There's still a | :59:49. | :59:53. | |
long way to go. Not enough people are buying the cars. | :59:53. | :00:00. | |
That elusive market turning point's yet to be found. | :00:00. | :00:04. | |
There's a long way to go before we get rid of our committal vehicles, | :00:04. | :00:10. | |
but electric cars are seen as a crucial way of meeting Climate | :00:10. | :00:14. | |
Change targets. -- our conventional vehicles. | :00:14. | :00:21. | |
She did not want to give that number back! But as the people were | :00:21. | :00:30. | |
saying, Allen, it is about confidence, isn't it? | :00:30. | :00:35. | |
There is a thing called a range anxiety in the alleged vehicle | :00:35. | :00:41. | |
market, and problems with price. But there are some rapid changes | :00:41. | :00:51. | |
under way in terms of the greater efficiency of battery technology. | :00:51. | :00:57. | |
It is going to make other ones drop in value like a stone. With an | :00:57. | :01:02. | |
increase in charging points, with an increase in availability of | :01:02. | :01:06. | |
repair stations and so on, there will be, I think, quite a security | :01:06. | :01:11. | |
as far as second-hand prices are concerned. The issue is the chicken | :01:11. | :01:15. | |
and egg one of making sure the people know their vehicles can | :01:15. | :01:18. | |
charge, can go a distance, and that their investment is going to be | :01:18. | :01:22. | |
good for the future. That is the breakthrough. Of course, you have | :01:22. | :01:26. | |
got to get the charging points in place. We are close to it, frankly. | :01:26. | :01:35. | |
The future is pretty bright. A number of new models are coming out | :01:35. | :01:42. | |
shortly. A number of the problems are being address. We will see that | :01:42. | :01:48. | |
increase in cars over the next few years. George, you were telling me | :01:48. | :01:53. | |
you were nearly hit by one. My own fault. Your background was in | :01:53. | :02:03. | |
business. Could you CDs... How could you market this better? | :02:03. | :02:08. | |
tipping point is where it all sits. If you can see the value of your | :02:08. | :02:12. | |
car falling through the floor, it is not great. The range thing is a | :02:12. | :02:18. | |
big issue. One has to consider marketing angles wider. I have | :02:19. | :02:23. | |
heard of scheme that will allow cars to be plugged in overnight at | :02:23. | :02:31. | |
a huge number of places. I have heard about the future garage, | :02:31. | :02:40. | |
where you fill up with a battery. You can get a new battery, stick it | :02:40. | :02:46. | |
in, and the other one comes out the other end. | :02:46. | :02:49. | |
Now our regular round-up of the political week in the South in 60 | :02:49. | :02:59. | |
:02:59. | :03:03. | ||
seconds. What a week. The Chancellor was | :03:03. | :03:07. | |
about to speak to bankers in Bournemouth. Yes, there are | :03:07. | :03:11. | |
thousands of them at JP Morgan, apparently, when Chris Huhne | :03:11. | :03:16. | |
changed his plea. The only proper course of action is to resign my | :03:16. | :03:21. | |
seat. Labour kicked off the campaign even before a date was set | :03:21. | :03:27. | |
and candidates chosen. It press both coalition parties for their | :03:27. | :03:31. | |
strategy on the economy. A number of empty shops has prompted the | :03:31. | :03:34. | |
Conservative council in Poole at to make it easier for businesses to | :03:34. | :03:38. | |
take over and convert bacon shops by removing the need to apply for | :03:38. | :03:43. | |
planning permission. Water bills are rising. Thames Water had the | :03:43. | :03:48. | |
largest hike. And after by election hot air, how | :03:48. | :03:52. | |
about some natural gas? Exploratory drilling -- drilling has been | :03:52. | :03:56. | |
approved in West Sussex. A British company is hoping to strike lucky | :03:56. | :04:06. | |
:04:06. | :04:07. | ||
without resorting to the controversial fracking. | :04:07. | :04:13. | |
It could be a last blast for oil. Fracking. Any bid? Big claims are | :04:13. | :04:17. | |
made about how much is there. The question is how much is recoverable | :04:17. | :04:22. | |
and at what cost. It is very expensive. I have been to Texas to | :04:22. | :04:27. | |
look at the fracking going on there. If you do it to the extent they do | :04:27. | :04:33. | |
it in America, it is potentially catastrophic for the landscape. It | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
has got limits. It perhaps could work as a back up for other forms | :04:37. | :04:47. | |
:04:47. | :04:47. | ||
of gas. But it is not the bonanza that some double claim. I have a | :04:47. | :04:54. | |
niche issue. But the bills are coming through. We are concerned | :04:54. | :05:00. | |
about polluting the water table. It is big trouble. | :05:00. | :05:03. | |
That's the Sunday Politics in the South. Thanks to my guests, Alan | :05:03. | :05:06. | |
Whitehead and George Hollingbery, and Keith House from Lib Dems and | :05:06. | :05:09. | |
Ray Finch of UKIP earlier - four parties with all to play for, all | :05:09. | :05:12. |