:00:25. > :00:49.after the summer recess, and the party conference season is already
:00:49. > :00:54.upon us. First, the Liberal Democrats. Have a great conference.
:00:54. > :01:00.Nick Clegg has some convincing to do, according to our very own Sunday
:01:00. > :01:05.Politics poll, his troops don't like his coalition bedmates. The latest
:01:05. > :01:12.poll of the country also has the Lib Dems languishing behind UKIP in
:01:12. > :01:17.fourth place, with only 9%. Paddy Ashdown! So can the Lib Dems
:01:17. > :01:22.claw their way back, come the election in 2015? We will talking to
:01:22. > :01:26.former leader, now the party's general election commander-in-chief,
:01:26. > :01:27.Paddy Ashdown. George Osborne is a happy bunny
:01:27. > :01:42.Might affect our these days,
:01:42. > :01:56.now heading for the exit. We will hear from Nick Clegg on what it
:01:56. > :02:00.And freshly showered from the Great North Run and looking as fresh as
:02:00. > :02:11.daisies, the best and brightest Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis and Iain
:02:11. > :02:16.Now, their leader is our Deputy Prime Minister. They are the junior
:02:16. > :02:20.government. They like the colour yellow and they have not won a
:02:20. > :02:21.general election since dinosaurs walked the earth. Now they are
:02:21. > :02:25.behind UKIP in the polls, so as walked the earth. Now they are
:02:25. > :02:33.party gathers for its annual bash this year in Glasgow, what is on
:02:33. > :02:38.their mind? Who are the people gathering at the Clyde this weekend?
:02:38. > :02:43.their mind? Who are the people Before they started drinking, we
:02:43. > :02:51.councillors in England and Wales, comrade. The first question we asked
:02:51. > :02:54.was, if the next election results in a hung parliament, which team would
:02:54. > :02:57.you rather go into coalition with, the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem
:02:57. > :03:07.councillors said Labour, two to the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem
:03:07. > :03:13.Tories or Labour? It is not for the Reds or the blues? Lib Dem
:03:13. > :03:22.to say. It is for the voters to say. We will decide depending on
:03:22. > :03:35.is on the table. Who would you rather play table football against?
:03:35. > :03:51.because I am winning. So in the winning 's which ones are heading
:03:51. > :04:02.popular policy was a mansion tax on house is worth more than £2 million,
:04:02. > :04:04.popular policy was a mansion tax on councillors. The next most popular
:04:04. > :04:09.policy was scrapping the Trident nuclear deterrent, supported by
:04:09. > :04:13.policy was scrapping the Trident of councillors. Then there was the
:04:13. > :04:18.reinstatement of the 50p top rate of income tax. 70% of councillors like
:04:18. > :04:22.the look of that. When it came to the idea of banning the burka in
:04:22. > :04:27.public places like schools and airports, 45% of councillors were in
:04:27. > :04:34.favour. Finally, a ban on topless Page three model is won the support
:04:34. > :04:42.of 33% of councillors. Why is it so popular, the idea of a mansion tax?
:04:42. > :04:46.It is a much fairer tax. We know there are people out there with
:04:46. > :04:49.It is a much fairer tax. We know expensive houses. Which of these is
:04:49. > :04:56.most important to you? Banning Trident. The cold war ended in
:04:56. > :04:58.1989. Another one was the idea of banning the burka in public places.
:04:59. > :05:06.whatever they like. If they want to banning the burka in public places.
:05:06. > :05:18.wear the birth or a kilt or if they anything. We are the party of jobs.
:05:18. > :05:23.Thank you. Last night, a fully clothed Nick Clegg rallied his
:05:23. > :05:28.troops, but if he was not around, who would Lib Dem councillors want
:05:28. > :05:33.instead? Business Secretary Vince Cable was most popular, with a third
:05:33. > :05:39.of the votes. In second place, the party's president, Tim Farron, with
:05:39. > :05:45.27%. 10% went to Danny Alexander, while the business minister Joe
:05:45. > :05:50.Swinson received 7%. The Energy Secretary Ed Davey scooped 6%, and
:05:50. > :05:57.in last place, Steve Webb, the pensions minister, who got 5%. If
:05:57. > :05:59.any of these councillors want to talk to me about it, I would be
:05:59. > :06:09.delighted to hear from them. Is talk to me about it, I would be
:06:09. > :06:17.certainly isn't. What do you think contenders. But our survey is not
:06:17. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues wagging in Glasgow, because the
:06:22. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:22. > :06:25.their own poll which showed that 75% Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:25. > :06:29.of the country will never vote Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:29. > :06:37.the party, no matter what they do. Also meeting here this weekend,
:06:37. > :06:39.the party, no matter what they do. Democrats like to think they have
:06:39. > :06:46.got just as much va-va-voom, even if a big chunk of the country doesn't.
:06:46. > :06:57.Add, back in his hometown. So, the Much of their party thinks they
:06:57. > :06:58.Add, back in his hometown. So, the moving in the wrong direction.
:06:58. > :07:01.Earlier, I spoke to former party moving in the wrong direction.
:07:02. > :07:06.leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been put in charge of heading up the
:07:06. > :07:11.leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been election campaign. I asked him if
:07:11. > :07:16.the mood in Glasgow was grim. No. In many ways, as you know, Tory old
:07:16. > :07:21.commentator that you are just as I am a hoary old member at the other
:07:21. > :07:30.end of the camera, we have been midterm of a government, especially
:07:30. > :07:34.when you are in government and the country is going for in a deep
:07:34. > :07:38.economic crisis, has almost no relevance to where you might be
:07:38. > :07:43.economic crisis, has almost no the nipple come to consider how
:07:43. > :07:43.economic crisis, has almost no will vote in 600 days time -- when
:07:43. > :07:47.the people come to consider how will vote in 600 days time -- when
:07:47. > :07:52.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, but they are a snapshot of what
:07:52. > :07:55.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, indication of where we will be.
:07:55. > :07:57.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, guess is, for what it is worth,
:07:57. > :08:01.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, as we come to the election, the
:08:01. > :08:06.public will be in a very serious, probably frightened mood. Their
:08:06. > :08:11.public will be in a very serious, thoughts will be, who maintains
:08:11. > :08:14.public will be in a very serious, job, makes sure I don't have to
:08:14. > :08:18.public will be in a very serious, to higher mortgage? The coalition
:08:18. > :08:23.has delivered not only the required policies to make Britain's economy
:08:23. > :08:28.prosperous, but also its society fair. That is what people will want
:08:28. > :08:30.to see. I think coalition politics are here to stay and we have a role
:08:30. > :08:35.to play in it. But you are in a are here to stay and we have a role
:08:35. > :08:38.mood this morning. You tweeted that you were not happy with how the
:08:38. > :08:45.Observer newspaper handled your there anything we can do to help?
:08:45. > :08:54.There is probably something they arguments with the interview. The
:08:54. > :08:58.headline they chose to put on it late last night was outrageous,
:08:58. > :09:03.misrepresentative and in one case in Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:03. > :09:09.coalition with the Tories, or at Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:09. > :09:13.least they gave that in for us Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:13. > :09:21.inference. Let me make this point. election. I am in charge of the
:09:21. > :09:26.campaign. Any journalist who in these next two years says that any
:09:26. > :09:29.Liberal Democrat prefers anything else in terms of the outcome of
:09:29. > :09:32.Liberal Democrat prefers anything coalition but the result of the
:09:32. > :09:34.ballot box dictating that outcome, that any prefer one side to another
:09:34. > :09:42.coalition determined by the electors that any prefer one side to another
:09:42. > :09:46.in the votes, will get a bloody that any prefer one side to another
:09:46. > :10:08.time from me, no matter who they are. We take the warning. A survey
:10:08. > :10:13.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in coalition with the Tories. That
:10:13. > :10:15.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in clear sign that your activists want
:10:15. > :10:17.a change of direction. I don't think it is news that as a left-wing
:10:17. > :10:20.party, we find it more congenial with those on the left wing, but
:10:20. > :10:24.that is not the issue. You saw it election. We are servants of the
:10:24. > :10:27.ballot box. We do watch the British people require us to do to provide a
:10:27. > :10:30.of our country. I am sure you have stable government in the interests
:10:30. > :10:33.of our country. I am sure you have got the point by now. I have fought
:10:33. > :10:39.the Tories all my life. But when responsibility to amend the economic
:10:39. > :10:45.crisis, was this right for the determine who are going to be in any
:10:46. > :10:53.coalition, should there be one, determine who are going to be in any
:10:53. > :10:59.voters and nobody else. It is not about what we like. I understand
:10:59. > :11:06.that. But your own internal polls leadership are not taking the party
:11:06. > :11:11.with them on that. I don't think that is true. Nick Clegg has done
:11:11. > :11:15.what no other party leader has done. He took the coalition agreement
:11:15. > :11:18.what no other party leader has done. the party, and they voted for it. So
:11:18. > :11:24.it is not true to say that members different direction. I think we
:11:24. > :11:26.it is not true to say that members extraordinarily united. I did not
:11:26. > :11:31.expect them to be so under these pressures, but they have surprised
:11:31. > :11:39.me and made me joyful at the same time. The party has done what it
:11:39. > :11:48.done in local government for a long time. We may have our private likes
:11:48. > :11:54.and dislikes, but the thing that coalition is the ballot box. You
:11:54. > :11:57.have said that three times. I can say it again if you like. Please
:11:57. > :12:02.don't! What if your party votes say it again if you like. Please
:12:02. > :12:12.reinstate tuition fees as party policy afternoon? We will have to
:12:12. > :12:15.listen to that and act accordingly. You must listen to the voice of
:12:15. > :12:18.listen to that and act accordingly. party and take it into account in
:12:18. > :12:26.what you do. I am always quite answering hypothetical questions. I
:12:26. > :12:31.don't think it is likely to happen, but if it did, we would have to
:12:31. > :12:33.don't think it is likely to happen, distinguished Lib Dems was that
:12:33. > :12:36.don't think it is likely to happen, your party conference voted for
:12:36. > :12:42.something, it was in the manifesto. The manifesto is taken in its final
:12:42. > :12:46.form before the party for decision. The party will express views at
:12:46. > :12:49.form before the party for decision. stage in all sorts of ways. It did
:12:49. > :12:53.in my leadership, too. The manifesto is democratically agreed by the
:12:53. > :12:59.party at the time of the election, not before. The Tory conference
:12:59. > :12:59.party at the time of the election, be about how they think they have
:12:59. > :13:03.been vindicated, that austerity be about how they think they have
:13:03. > :13:08.worked, the economy is turning a corner. But Nick Clegg's conference
:13:08. > :13:13.announcements will be about plastic bags. Have you got the hang of this
:13:13. > :13:16.coalition think? Andrew, you can always be guaranteed to put things
:13:16. > :13:24.in the most discreditable form! always be guaranteed to put things
:13:24. > :13:31.is part of your charm. That was about to be a minor announcement in
:13:31. > :13:34.discovered beforehand. It has not the middle of his speech. But it was
:13:34. > :13:36.discovered beforehand. It has not been very popular in terms of how it
:13:37. > :13:41.has been received, but that is not the central message. That leads
:13:41. > :13:47.has been received, but that is not to what I think is the biggest
:13:47. > :13:52.election. Isn't the biggest danger that the Tories, not you, if there
:13:52. > :14:04.is an economic recovery, they will get the credit for it? I don't think
:14:04. > :14:10.think the electorate does gratitude. The only time people cast a thank
:14:10. > :14:13.Thatcher over the sale of council houses. We could have a different
:14:13. > :14:20.discussion over whether that was a good idea. But what you have done is
:14:21. > :14:30.the underpinning for the promise of government, we have stayed firm
:14:30. > :14:37.the underpinning for the promise of very tough economic policy. But
:14:37. > :14:39.the underpinning for the promise of you get the credit? What we have
:14:40. > :14:44.done by ourselves, which the Tories would never have done, is make sure
:14:44. > :14:49.that when the pain is felt, it is not the poor who feel it. We have
:14:49. > :14:53.seen the biggest shift of taxation, lifting the poorest in the country
:14:53. > :14:59.out of taxation, that has ever happened, including in the previous
:14:59. > :15:04.Labour government. You are presiding over the biggest squeeze on living
:15:04. > :15:05.standards in modern times. Because it is the biggest recession in
:15:05. > :15:15.modern times. When you speak to it is the biggest recession in
:15:15. > :15:19.2.5 million people who have been lifted out of taxation altogether
:15:19. > :15:32.because of the Liberal Democrats, tax cut. You may be able to make the
:15:32. > :15:36.because of the Liberal Democrats, connection, Andrew, you are a sharp
:15:36. > :15:39.economic crisis and difficulty for everybody. But it is clear that
:15:39. > :15:41.economic crisis and difficulty for the Tories had been by themselves,
:15:41. > :15:45.none of that would have happened. We have sought to shift the burden
:15:45. > :15:48.none of that would have happened. We from the poorest in this country. I
:15:48. > :15:52.am part of that. So when we go into the next election, the message will
:15:52. > :15:54.am part of that. So when we go into be that if you want to continue
:15:54. > :15:57.am part of that. So when we go into have a prosperous economy and a
:15:57. > :16:07.society, only the Liberal Democrats will deliver that. Tim Farron says
:16:07. > :16:10.want to diss him. Can you confirm he likes Ed Miliband and he does not
:16:10. > :16:15.want to diss him. Can you confirm that there will be no dissing of Ed
:16:15. > :16:19.Miliband? It is not much my style. I've never much liked comments about
:16:19. > :16:27.the other leaders. I do not intend to make it so in the future. Can I'd
:16:27. > :16:30.finish up on Syria? You said after the Syria vote that Britain was
:16:30. > :16:36.finish up on Syria? You said after hugely diminished country. Given it
:16:36. > :16:39.both sides on a course which could now see Syria give up chemical
:16:39. > :16:43.weapons without records to military action, would you like to withdraw
:16:43. > :16:45.these remarks and admit that you should be proud and happy with what
:16:45. > :16:53.Britain has done? No. You and I should be proud and happy with what
:16:53. > :16:59.know, because we are old observers, that that would never have happened
:16:59. > :17:06.underpinning of a threat to use resigned from that. We have no part
:17:06. > :17:09.to play in the fact that Assad and Putin have moved towards peace for
:17:09. > :17:09.to play in the fact that Assad and fear of military action. We decided
:17:09. > :17:15.exactly the opposite. Why would fear of military action. We decided
:17:15. > :17:23.liked to have seen our country join in with those who are serious about
:17:23. > :17:24.upholding an international law which has restrained even than axes and
:17:24. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we talent, but instead we resigned
:17:35. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:35. > :17:43.Maxis and Stalin. But if it had moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:43. > :17:48.would not have had the time to allow this to happen. It has avoided war.
:17:49. > :17:56.Job done, British Parliament. That would be true if it was accurate but
:17:56. > :18:01.it is not. The resolution proposed a delay, that we should wait until the
:18:01. > :18:03.inspectors came back. That time frame was absolutely nothing to
:18:03. > :18:08.inspectors came back. That time with the parliamentary vote. The
:18:08. > :18:15.vote was going to incorporate that. I do not think you can claim what
:18:15. > :18:17.vote was going to incorporate that. remember that diplomacy, which was
:18:17. > :18:21.not reinforced by the threat of military action, does not work.
:18:21. > :18:25.not reinforced by the threat of is when diplomacy runs with a grain
:18:25. > :18:30.of military action that it works. illustration of that, look at what
:18:30. > :18:35.is happening over the last two weeks. By regret to say that our
:18:35. > :18:48.country, which has always been in disengagement, had no part to play
:18:49. > :18:56.And you we would get to the Balkans eventually, and we did. His biggest
:18:56. > :19:03.challenge is if the economy is get some credit for the Lib Dems,
:19:03. > :19:07.when the Tories will want to halt it all. But his position is not to
:19:07. > :19:08.when the Tories will want to halt it the necessary axeman. That is George
:19:08. > :19:12.Osborne's role. Their role is to be Osborne's role. Their role is to be
:19:12. > :19:16.the chaser party, taking the edge off. They will because of me going
:19:16. > :19:22.on about the pupil premium and That is what you will hear from
:19:22. > :19:26.of the cuts. Will that work? They them, how they have taken the edge
:19:26. > :19:27.of the cuts. Will that work? They are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:27. > :19:31.if they have lost two thirds of are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:31. > :19:35.popular support, according to the polls, I do not know anyone in
:19:36. > :19:37.Westminster methinks that will be matched in their parliamentary
:19:37. > :19:40.representation. If they have 56 matched in their parliamentary
:19:40. > :19:48.now, they might lose a dozen but Strategically, they are in a better
:19:48. > :19:53.position than the reading of the polls would tell you. I think Nick
:19:53. > :19:58.Clegg's survival has been one of the stories of this Parliament. He is
:19:59. > :20:04.looking good at the comfort -- at the conference. When he was at his
:20:04. > :20:09.lowest after the AV referendum, people were saying he would survive
:20:09. > :20:13.I thought that was fanciful. Believe and lead us into 2015 and beyond and
:20:13. > :20:15.I thought that was fanciful. Believe it or not... Paddy Ashdown was
:20:15. > :20:21.wrong, you were wrong and... I wasn't. I'm underestimated how bad
:20:21. > :20:27.his rivals are. If you are Lib Dem member, however aggrieved you are
:20:27. > :20:31.with Nick Clegg, you do not think, wouldn't it be great if Christian
:20:31. > :20:34.was in charge? Nick Clegg is the best they have. -- Chris Huhne was
:20:34. > :20:40.in charge. Of course, the people do in charge. Of course, the people do
:20:40. > :20:44.government and it is a consequence of the way they vote, a different
:20:44. > :20:51.matter. If Janan Ganesh is right, and they lose 15 seats in the next
:20:51. > :20:57.pivotal in the next government. It Possibly the most amusing outcome
:20:57. > :21:00.would be a Labour or Tory overall majority, which would be hilarious
:21:00. > :21:06.for the look on Paddy Ashdown's face. The danger is they get trapped
:21:06. > :21:08.constantly in talking about the politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:09. > :21:16.parliament. And they are very puffed politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:16. > :21:20.parliament. And they are very puffed up and they enjoy Parliament and
:21:20. > :21:23.there is a possibility they will not be. While they are talking about the
:21:23. > :21:25.Polish and themselves, they are be. While they are talking about the
:21:25. > :21:31.talking about the issues facing be. While they are talking about the
:21:31. > :21:37.coalition. It was interesting that he said that we are a left-wing
:21:37. > :21:44.party, not a centre-left party or a centre party, but a left-wing party.
:21:44. > :21:48.I'm going to put myself in the firing line and say that there is a
:21:48. > :21:52.big split between the Tim Farron line who say they like Ed Miliband,
:21:52. > :21:56.and another one, Jeremy Browne in the Home Office saying that Labour
:21:56. > :22:05.are intellectually lazy. The risk clearly a clique around Nick Clegg
:22:05. > :22:11.who wants to be a synthetic party, but that is not where the membership
:22:11. > :22:16.who wants to be a synthetic party, activists are clearly of the left,
:22:16. > :22:21.not just the centre-left. They are very pro-immigration and they want
:22:21. > :22:26.strategy has to be to take the party to the centre. The something not
:22:26. > :22:30.happen at some stage? The poll suggests it is a left-wing party.
:22:30. > :22:32.happen at some stage? The poll Very left-wing. Other think the
:22:32. > :22:33.happen at some stage? The poll would have yielded -- would have
:22:33. > :22:40.yielded the same results before would have yielded -- would have
:22:40. > :22:43.2010 election. This is reflected by the arithmetic. Whichever party
:22:43. > :22:44.2010 election. This is reflected by biggest will most likely be the
:22:44. > :22:48.2010 election. This is reflected by in coalition with the Lib Dems.
:22:48. > :22:56.2010 election. This is reflected by Clegg's on latitude to choose is
:22:56. > :23:02.exaggerated by us. The choice is no parliamentary arithmetic. But if you
:23:02. > :23:09.remember the structure of the Lib Dems, they can tie themselves up in
:23:09. > :23:16.infighting. -- the choice is not stable. And Nick Clegg has had a
:23:16. > :23:18.good conference last year, and will have another one this year. The
:23:18. > :23:21.economy is better than it was a have another one this year. The
:23:21. > :23:27.ago. It could still go quite well for him. Yes, it is one of the
:23:27. > :23:29.ago. It could still go quite well stories of this Parliament, his
:23:29. > :23:35.survival and the way in which he has prospered. But there are a lot of
:23:35. > :23:38.campaigners, labour activists who have not forgotten what he has done
:23:38. > :23:42.in government and are determined to get him. It will be a tough year and
:23:42. > :23:47.a half. Tougher than he imagined. Now, not so long ago they were
:23:47. > :23:53.writing George Osborne's political obituary. Be on the Omni shambles
:23:53. > :23:57.budget of 2012 and a lacklustre performance of the British economy
:23:57. > :24:04.meant his reputation work -- was in the dirt. -- the omnishambles. But
:24:04. > :24:12.things have changed. The Chancellor is saying he has been vindicated. If
:24:12. > :24:15.runway, it looks as though the British economy has taken off,
:24:15. > :24:20.quarter. Forecasts for the rest British economy has taken off,
:24:20. > :24:27.the year have been revised up words. What's more, the office for National
:24:27. > :24:32.recession never actually happened. Unemployment is down in the three
:24:32. > :24:42.months to July and the number of spasticity rate since 1997. On
:24:42. > :24:45.Monday, George Osborne said his policies were bearing fruit. We
:24:45. > :24:49.Monday, George Osborne said his our nerve when many told us to
:24:49. > :24:54.abandon our plans. As a result, thanks to the efforts and sacrifices
:24:54. > :25:01.of the British people, Britain is turning a corner. The message for
:25:01. > :25:06.his Labour critics was clear. The Chancellor thinks he was right and
:25:06. > :25:21.Good afternoon. Good afternoon.Do you accept that the economy has
:25:21. > :25:27.turned a corner? I think it is good that a stalled recovery appears
:25:27. > :25:29.turned a corner? I think it is good get this in perspective. We have had
:25:29. > :25:34.three wasted years. We have the worst economic recovery in history.
:25:34. > :25:43.Debt is up and we have record youth programme if they feel better or
:25:43. > :25:47.worse off, compared to 2010, the majority will tell you they feel
:25:47. > :25:54.worse because, on average, wages are down by £1500 compared to May of
:25:54. > :26:02.2010. That is the situation. The one of the things we have seen
:26:02. > :26:06.talked about, Vince Cable has been talking about this as well, is what
:26:06. > :26:08.is happening in the housing market. It seems that much of the solution
:26:08. > :26:14.to powering the recovery in the It seems that much of the solution
:26:14. > :26:18.of George Osborne lies in sorting out the housing market but the
:26:18. > :26:21.problem is, we are at risk of being another housing bubble. Because
:26:21. > :26:26.problem is, we are at risk of being research that came out this week, we
:26:26. > :26:29.know that housing in the UK is three times more expensive than in the US.
:26:29. > :26:32.know that housing in the UK is three We know that house prices are rising
:26:32. > :26:38.five times faster than wages, but we also know that the government is
:26:38. > :26:40.five times faster than wages, but we building new housing at a slower
:26:40. > :26:47.rate, the slowest rate that we have complaining about a housing bubble,
:26:47. > :26:54.isn't that like Satan complaining about seven? -- seven. We all know
:26:54. > :26:57.that we cannot go back to business as usual. We need to build a new
:26:57. > :27:01.model of growth. But the housing bubble you talk about, it is not a
:27:01. > :27:06.bubble. It might turn into one. bubble you talk about, it is not a
:27:06. > :27:13.said the risk of a bubble. It is nothing like what happened on the
:27:13. > :27:16.I said, in 2009, we had the crash and we knew we needed to reconfigure
:27:16. > :27:24.the way that our economy works. Having an economy based on crisis is
:27:24. > :27:28.rebalance the economy. We saw the unemployment statistics this week,
:27:28. > :27:40.and it is welcomed overall, that unemployment has come down. At half
:27:40. > :27:45.up. And it went down in other parts. We know that we need to rebalance
:27:45. > :27:51.our economy, so that we do not just rely on consumption, but that we
:27:51. > :27:55.grow our productive sectors. And also that we grow our exports as
:27:55. > :28:02.well. We know we have a continuing deficit. We always have a trade
:28:02. > :28:12.deficit. There was never a trade surplus under Labour. Want to come
:28:12. > :28:14.onto what you have mentioned but would you scrap the help to buy
:28:14. > :28:18.scheme? We have not said that we would you scrap the help to buy
:28:18. > :28:20.scheme? We have not said that we would do that. Why not if it is
:28:21. > :28:27.causing the bubble? If you let me finish, on one hand what that scheme
:28:27. > :28:34.does at the moment, at the moment it is inhalation to a new scheme but
:28:34. > :28:38.tomorrow -- next year it will be in you do not sort out the supply of
:28:38. > :28:43.housing, then that is a recipe for the problems we have seen. Our
:28:43. > :28:45.argument is build more houses. Help more people to buy them by all means
:28:45. > :28:48.but if you do not have the supply more people to buy them by all means
:28:48. > :28:52.but if you do not have the supply you will end up with rising prices.
:28:52. > :28:54.That is obvious. Labour said that government austerity would prevent
:28:54. > :29:00.the return of growth. Austerity government austerity would prevent
:29:00. > :29:04.were wrong. We never said that growth would never return. What
:29:04. > :29:05.were wrong. We never said that said was that if you went for an
:29:05. > :29:11.were wrong. We never said that overly extreme deficit reduction
:29:11. > :29:17.recovery and you would choke growth. That is what we saw for three years.
:29:17. > :29:24.If you say, look at the US economy, it has grown at three times the
:29:24. > :29:28.If you say, look at the US economy, economy has grown at twice the rate.
:29:28. > :29:31.But the British economy is growing quicker than the American or German
:29:31. > :29:36.economy is now. But over time we have not seen that happen. But it is
:29:37. > :29:42.now. That may be the case. But my point is that those three years
:29:42. > :29:44.now. That may be the case. But my people undergoing huge stress and
:29:44. > :29:48.worry. It is good that we have growth back again but the question
:29:48. > :29:54.is, what kind of growth? What we have said... I'm going to come onto
:29:55. > :29:57.that but your credibility depends on your previous analysis. And there
:29:57. > :30:05.are doubts about it. This is what you said not that long ago. In
:30:05. > :30:33.You and the Labour Party said it had choked off growth. You were wrong.
:30:33. > :30:38.We were not wrong, because we had three years where the economy was
:30:38. > :30:41.not moving. Let's remind ourselves. Claude Osborne was predicting that
:30:41. > :30:46.the economy was going to grow by 6.9% between the start of this
:30:46. > :30:55.Parliament and now. It has grown by 1.8%. We did not say we would never
:30:55. > :30:58.have a return to growth. You never said that austerity would only
:30:58. > :31:03.temporarily delay growth. We have looked through your speeches and Ed
:31:03. > :31:09.Balls'. We can't find any reference to say this is simply delaying the
:31:09. > :31:13.recovery. You said austerity would choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:13. > :31:19.why has it returned now? Did we choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:19. > :31:26.it would choke off growth for ever? choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:26. > :31:29.We did not. You have changed your tune. I think your package at the
:31:29. > :31:34.top of this programme, to frame tune. I think your package at the
:31:34. > :31:39.around George Osborne, this is not a people's lives, and the people who
:31:39. > :31:46.deserve huge credit for the growth we are seeing are our country's
:31:46. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough economic times, have succeeded.
:31:49. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough are the ones who have powered this
:31:49. > :31:57.Westminster to take credit. But are the ones who have powered this
:31:57. > :32:03.blame the government for lack of growth. So therefore, when the
:32:03. > :32:09.growth comes, the government has to situation Britain is in now. We
:32:09. > :32:12.growth comes, the government has to the recovery still has to reach
:32:12. > :32:16.growth comes, the government has to parts of the country, but this is
:32:16. > :32:25.the OECD annualised growth in the G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:25. > :32:31.That is looking pretty healthy. That is a recovery. I am not denying that
:32:31. > :32:36.That is looking pretty healthy. That we are seeing a stalled recovery,
:32:36. > :32:43.but who benefits from the growth? On average, your viewers have sustained
:32:43. > :32:51.a £1500 pay cut. That is the second biggest fall in the G20 since May
:32:51. > :32:55.2010. Because we had the biggest financial services sector and took
:32:55. > :33:00.the biggest crash. Financial services are still in decline.
:33:00. > :33:08.Financial services are about 10% of the economy. They are not the only
:33:08. > :33:15.contributor to the economy. The point is, who benefits? Unemployment
:33:15. > :33:18.is falling, but we don't just want people to have any job, we want them
:33:18. > :33:23.to have decent jobs that pay a weight you can live off and that are
:33:23. > :33:29.more secure. Let me show you the unemployment figures. Your criticism
:33:29. > :33:35.has been that all the new jobs are part-time. They are not now, they
:33:35. > :33:41.are full-time. Full-time unemployment, up -- full-time
:33:41. > :33:48.employment, up 94,000. This is a short time frame. It is since the
:33:48. > :33:55.recovery began. Half the jobs that have been created since May 2010
:33:55. > :33:58.have been part-time jobs. Roughly 107,000 people are working part-time
:33:58. > :34:03.who would like to work full-time. Over the last 20 years, people now
:34:03. > :34:06.feel more insecure at work than ever. The question is about what
:34:06. > :34:12.feel more insecure at work than kind of growth and employment you
:34:12. > :34:19.are getting. The other point is the uneven spread of this across our
:34:19. > :34:23.economy. In places like the north-east and north-west, the
:34:23. > :34:31.Humber, the east of England, they have seen unemployment increase. I
:34:31. > :34:37.agree that there was a regional imbalance, but the service sector is
:34:37. > :34:41.growing, cheering and construction are growing and financial services
:34:41. > :34:47.are in decline, so the rebalance is happening. It is not happening to
:34:47. > :34:50.the degree we need to transform our economy so that we have a
:34:50. > :34:54.long-term, sustainable model of growth. That is why we need a
:34:54. > :35:00.comprehensive industrial strategy that all of government works
:35:00. > :35:07.towards. Your party conference is coming up. I am sure you are looking
:35:07. > :35:11.forward to it. Why do Ed Miliband's approval ratings get worse the more
:35:11. > :35:22.people see of him? I don't accept that. I have given you the figures.
:35:22. > :35:28.Polls go up and down. I have said that on this programme before. But
:35:28. > :35:35.his approval rating has consistently gone down. What actually matters our
:35:35. > :35:38.votes. Under Ed Miliband's leadership, the Labour Party have
:35:38. > :35:42.votes. Under Ed Miliband's put on almost 2000 extra councillors
:35:42. > :35:53.in places like Canada case, even Whitney. What is wrong with Whitney?
:35:53. > :35:59.We have been putting on votes. Let me show you this. This is the net
:35:59. > :36:02.satisfaction rating. Your leader is now more unpopular than Gordon Brown
:36:03. > :36:12.was when he took Labour to the worst defeat in living memory. Gordon
:36:12. > :36:19.Brown did not put on anything like this number of councillors. Votes
:36:19. > :36:23.are what matter, Andrew. Few people think Ed Miliband is a capable
:36:23. > :36:28.leader. Twice as many people think over Spurs who lives on the moon.
:36:28. > :36:34.These are polls. If you are talking to me about over Spurs lit, that
:36:34. > :36:43.puts this into context, Europe session with polls! -- Elvis
:36:43. > :36:46.Presley. Since 2010, we have put on thousands of members. Compare that
:36:46. > :36:54.to the Conservative Party, which has not won a general election since
:36:54. > :37:00.1992. They will not disclose their membership figures. Why -- why won't
:37:00. > :37:03.you pledge to renationalise Royal Mail? Because that would be like
:37:03. > :37:07.writing a blank cheque. We don't know at the moment how much the
:37:07. > :37:11.government would receive for the sale of Royal Mail? So how can I
:37:11. > :37:14.judge how much it would cost to buy it back? That would be
:37:14. > :37:22.irresponsible. But the government does not need to do this right now.
:37:22. > :37:25.The entire country is against it. Sources in the City and Whitehall
:37:25. > :37:29.tell me that if Labour pledged to renationalise it, it would kill off
:37:29. > :37:35.the flotation. So if you are against it, why don't you do it? For me to
:37:35. > :37:42.pledge to renationalise Royal Mail would be like writing a blank
:37:42. > :37:46.cheque. But if you put it in the prospectus, people in the City, who
:37:46. > :37:52.know more about these things, say it would not happen, so why not do it?
:37:52. > :37:57.Because that would be irresponsible. It would be like writing a cheque
:37:57. > :38:02.for billions to renationalise Royal Mail. You would not have too right
:38:02. > :38:07.at the check if it did not happen. I have to deal with the facts. I am
:38:07. > :38:10.not good deal with the plot somebody might be speculating about in the
:38:10. > :38:16.City. We have to be careful about this. For me to pledge to
:38:16. > :38:20.renationalise it now would be like writing a bank cheque . We are going
:38:20. > :38:25.to be a fiscally responsible government. That is why I am not
:38:25. > :38:29.prepared to do that. Ed Balls will not be talking to you. You are
:38:29. > :38:40.watching the Sunday Politics. Coming up in 20 minutes,
:38:40. > :38:42.watching the Sunday Politics. Coming Welcome to Sunday politics the
:38:42. > :38:47.south. On today's show, the Conference season is in full swing,
:38:47. > :38:50.the TUC has been and gone in Bournemouth, The Greens are in
:38:50. > :38:54.Brighton and the Liberal Democrats in Glasgow. So how is the political
:38:54. > :38:58.landscape looking in the south this autumn? With me throughout the
:38:58. > :39:09.programme are two local politicians for whom that is a pressing concern.
:39:09. > :39:15.Vicky Slade, is hoping to inherit Annette Brook Brooks seat and James
:39:15. > :39:19.Cracknell is standing as a Conservative in the south—west the
:39:19. > :39:25.European elections. Vicky, first of all, you were a
:39:25. > :39:30.financial adviser. I was.You have decided to get into politics, to try
:39:30. > :39:34.and become a Liberal Democrat MP, very difficult time I would have
:39:34. > :39:39.thought for the party. I haven't just decided to get into politics, I
:39:39. > :39:47.was a financial adviser throughout my 20s. You write on your website I
:39:47. > :39:52.led a highly material sec successful life I earned more money than is
:39:52. > :39:57.ethically correct, I am not a great fan of the financial world, and when
:39:57. > :40:05.I got to my 30s I had my children, and I sort of starting realising you
:40:05. > :40:10.have got to put something back in, that is financial advice is about
:40:10. > :40:14.giving not taking. It's a reaction to having done well. That was ten
:40:14. > :40:19.years ago, I have had another career since then, the way your life
:40:19. > :40:24.progresses I think. ? You have obviously had a fascinating career.
:40:24. > :40:28.You had that awful accident in the States and had a brain injury. Yes,
:40:28. > :40:33.part of the motivation is similar to Vicky, in that I as a sportsman
:40:33. > :40:37.benefitted from the public support, and as we saw last year at the
:40:37. > :40:42.Olympics, the passion there is in this country for sport, and I think
:40:42. > :40:47.the best way to repay that support, is through politics and putting
:40:47. > :40:52.something back in to it. You want to go Europe. Are you Euro—sceptic.
:40:52. > :40:57.Europe is going to be a key area to make sure that we benefit from, as a
:40:58. > :41:02.country in the south—west as a region, benefit from membership. The
:41:02. > :41:08.chance to renegotiate is now, and that is, I think it is rather than a
:41:08. > :41:11.sit on the outside and moan about it and not thinking we can affect
:41:12. > :41:17.change, I would be rather try to effect change in a positive way for
:41:17. > :41:20.the region, the country, my kids, their kids, because the decision
:41:20. > :41:24.over the next few years affect us for decades to come. Right. Well, we
:41:25. > :41:28.are going to be looking at the Liberal Democrats conference later
:41:28. > :41:38.in the programme but let us talk about the Green Party conference in
:41:38. > :41:44.Brighton. Welcome Keith. Fracking, in the news, Balcombe, Cal that and
:41:44. > :41:51.all that ——ical ril that, I heard them say saying hydraulic fracking
:41:51. > :41:56.could be the best thing for beating climate change. If the Chinese do it
:41:56. > :41:59.they won't burn so much coal. I wonder who said that. It was a
:41:59. > :42:07.fracking person. I am November surprise. Is it not true?The point
:42:07. > :42:12.s I am representing the south—east of England, Cuadrilla have their
:42:12. > :42:17.eyes on fracking well in Balcombe, and other companies want to forensic
:42:17. > :42:23.in other parts of the region. Now, this... That will stop up from
:42:23. > :42:27.importing gas, from, it if it works from qats tar, Russia, difficult
:42:27. > :42:31.places, and if the Chinese did they wouldn't have to burn so much coal.
:42:31. > :42:38.It would be a good thing for the plant. You don't have any evidence.
:42:38. > :42:44.At best it is scant we can do it. Temperature science is a new one, in
:42:44. > :42:51.America, they have been fracking since about 2006, and they have gone
:42:51. > :42:57.completely over the top. Pence crane have a is seen fracking wells open
:42:57. > :43:00.at the rate of 200 a month. Now, this... And their gas prices have
:43:00. > :43:05.come down, even if they didn't do that here, people are fed up with
:43:05. > :43:09.energy prices. Of course they are. Let us just think about that. Just
:43:09. > :43:15.because people are worried about paying too much for energy, we don't
:43:15. > :43:21.actually have to take fossil fuel out of the ground, in fracking
:43:21. > :43:26.because simply, it is going to be more damaging in the long run, what
:43:26. > :43:31.we need to be doing, and I keep saying this, is the Government
:43:31. > :43:36.instead of throwing money at the fracking industry, we need to be
:43:36. > :43:40.investing wisely in renewable energy, because the energy in the
:43:40. > :43:47.sun and the wind and the tides is there for the taking. Isn't it just
:43:47. > :43:53.as unproven, I mean oil and gas are much better proven? The, it is the
:43:53. > :44:01.way you get it out, isn't it. And you know, if we actually look at the
:44:01. > :44:06.science of it, you have to drill deep downwards and then you drill
:44:06. > :44:11.out wards, you shatter the shale rock with water laced with toxic
:44:11. > :44:16.chemicals, and then the gas permeates up, and the idea is you
:44:16. > :44:24.have a cement casing, round the drill, round the drill. But that
:44:24. > :44:30.breaks down, and it doesn't last forever. When when that happens you
:44:30. > :44:37.get more methane coming out ands —— escaping, you get the radioactive
:44:37. > :44:43.material, which inhabit the deep in the earth, they came up too. This is
:44:43. > :44:48.just something we do not need to do. Keith Taylorer thank you for joining
:44:48. > :44:52.us from Brighton. We will talk more about tracking in the future. There
:44:52. > :45:00.has been a different sort of fracturing going on. It seemed to
:45:00. > :45:04.fisle out but for the Dorset seaside resort it was an important occasion.
:45:04. > :45:10.The return of the TUC after a quarter of a century meeting in
:45:10. > :45:13.other places Don't they understand that when trade unionist make the
:45:13. > :45:21.kation —— case for investment, for care... The nurses had won a 15% pay
:45:21. > :45:25.rise. At Bournemouth in 1988, Labour leader Neil Kinnock walked into an
:45:26. > :45:30.argument over the expulsion of the electricians union that was prepared
:45:30. > :45:34.to set its own political agenda. 25 years on, the Labour leader comes by
:45:34. > :45:38.South West Trains rather than a British Leyland car, but there is
:45:38. > :45:44.still that thorny issue of independence. You face difficult
:45:44. > :45:48.moment, and audiences who aren't going to like what you say, but the
:45:48. > :45:51.right thing to do is to say what you believe. That is what I am going to
:45:52. > :45:57.be doing. Are you going to win this battle? Yes.To reflect on what has
:45:57. > :46:03.changed since the TUC were last in Bournemouth, a quarter of a century
:46:03. > :46:08.ago, I spoke to Neil Duncan Jordan, President of a trade union council.
:46:08. > :46:13.I think we are probably more active now than we were at that stage. The
:46:14. > :46:17.council is building new recruit, affiliate, people are interested
:46:17. > :46:21.again, in standing up for their rights. I mean locally in Dorset, we
:46:21. > :46:27.are running a living wage campaign, that is particularly aimed at the
:46:27. > :46:31.private sector. So it is not all dominated by public sector worker,
:46:31. > :46:36.it is across board now a day, it is more women than men in trade unions
:46:36. > :46:39.often. It is trying to recruit young people as well as peermed and it
:46:39. > :46:43.looks as the whole range of issues that people are concerned with. Ed
:46:43. > :46:47.Miliband's speech spelled out the change he wanted but it started with
:46:47. > :46:53.an attack on the Conservative leader David Cameron. He writes you off, he
:46:53. > :47:01.writing your members off. In fact he goes further than than that. Writes.
:47:01. > :47:09.He oozes contempt for trade unionist from every pore of his being. Among
:47:09. > :47:13.the delegates, members of the probation —— pro bayion officers
:47:13. > :47:16.isdown I think the fact that the Government sees the public sector or
:47:16. > :47:21.portrays the public sector as the enemy of the state is something that
:47:21. > :47:25.galvanises many ordinary working people into looking to take action.
:47:25. > :47:29.I think the onslaught of the public sector when you think about what has
:47:29. > :47:34.happened, some 400,000 jobs lost in the Civil Service alone and more in
:47:34. > :47:38.the wider public sector is a good indicator of why people are angry
:47:38. > :47:42.and feel threatened. Bournemouth was supposed to be a new beginning for
:47:42. > :47:47.Labour's relationship with the union, at Prime Minister's Questions
:47:47. > :47:54.he was accused of folding quicker than a Bournemouth deckchair,
:47:54. > :48:02.derided for a performance that was less raging bull than chicken run.
:48:02. > :48:08.What dough you make of this idea that David Cameron has contempt for
:48:08. > :48:13.grains, oozes it as Ed Miliband was saying. The crucial thing is you are
:48:13. > :48:17.saying David rather than Ed, he needs to get them on support because
:48:17. > :48:21.the way he is trying to change the funding, which, whether he needs it
:48:21. > :48:24.now is a different question, the reason he won the leadership
:48:24. > :48:29.election is because the support from the trade union, he doesn't want to
:48:29. > :48:34.show he is, in their debt, but also, he doesn't want to lose their
:48:34. > :48:39.support, so criticising der Leader of the Opposition party to them, and
:48:39. > :48:44.saying that, you know h he not your friend, you maybe, the enemy of your
:48:44. > :48:49.enemy, is your friend, and that is, he wants to reestablish what at ——
:48:49. > :48:56.while at the aim time changing the funding. Isn't he saying it feel
:48:56. > :49:55.like it is an attack on public services?
:49:56. > :50:02.Asking if they were an animal, what kind of animal they would be? Here
:50:02. > :50:05.are the voters of form and Chichester, an this is how they
:50:05. > :50:18.perceive the Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats. —— Portsmouth.
:50:18. > :50:24.As an ex—farmer I would see a bull, that looks good and is sometimes
:50:24. > :50:29.very placid but changes its mind quickly. Liberal Democrat.
:50:30. > :50:34.Jellyfish. Why do you think?Soft squidgy and go with the flow.
:50:34. > :50:39.Probably a chameleon because they keep changing their colours.
:50:39. > :50:42.Orangutan. Orange. I don't know what Liberal Democrats
:50:43. > :50:46.are. A cat would lay there and do nothing, bit like the Liberal
:50:46. > :50:50.Democrats. A woodlouse. I would say that would
:50:50. > :50:55.be a mouse, because they are small and feeble.
:50:55. > :51:01.A skunk because nay join the Conservative, and don't like the
:51:01. > :51:06.smell. A nice big dog. Meerkat, yeah. I voted for them when I was a
:51:06. > :51:11.student, then they shied away. A hedgehog, because Tay are spiky,
:51:11. > :51:19.naughty but they are cute and small. Don't really get very far.
:51:19. > :51:23.Some of those our guests liked but, yeah, not all of them. Not all.
:51:23. > :51:26.Maybe not quite how the leader ship would like to be seen. On Friday
:51:26. > :51:33.before he set off to Glasgow where the Liberal Democrats will be holing
:51:33. > :51:37.their conference —— holding their conference, I asked Nick Clegg what
:51:37. > :51:40.was wrong with good old southern locations like Bournemouth or
:51:40. > :51:44.Brighton or Reading? There is nothing wrong with those wonderful
:51:45. > :51:48.location, we have been there to Bournemouth, Brighton and son on in
:51:48. > :51:53.the past and we will go again... It is up many more difficult for your
:51:53. > :51:56.party members to get up to Scotland. Scottish party members would not
:51:56. > :51:59.claim that when we meet in Bournemouth or Brighton. It's a
:51:59. > :52:03.different sort of fight for Liberal Democrats in our part of the world,
:52:03. > :52:05.isn't it, in, with coalition allies when it comes to the general
:52:05. > :52:11.election, difficult choice for people? It is not that difficult in
:52:11. > :52:13.the sense of course we are in coalition together. There are
:52:13. > :52:19.obvious difference, if the coalition, if the conservatives had
:52:19. > :52:24.been in power on their own people watching this programme would be
:52:24. > :52:29.able to be fired at will with no reasons given under plans to fire at
:52:29. > :52:34.Will, we would have had a two tier, we would have gone back to a two
:52:34. > :52:38.tier exam system, separating people off on one heap or another. They
:52:38. > :52:42.would have given a huge inheritance tax cut to millionaire, they would
:52:42. > :52:45.have introduced profits into state schools. These are things we have
:52:45. > :52:50.blocked because we are in coalition with them. In the same way they have
:52:50. > :52:54.frustrated things I would like to do. That is nature of coalition, we
:52:54. > :52:58.have to be relaxed and open about the differences but equally proud of
:52:58. > :53:02.the fact what we have achieved in the coalition is hugely important,
:53:02. > :53:04.which is rescuing repairing and reforming the British economy, which
:53:04. > :53:08.was the central mission of this coalition, it is why we came into
:53:08. > :53:12.power in the first place, and I am so proud of the way in which the
:53:12. > :53:17.Liberal Democrats, we have held our nerve, we have been much more
:53:17. > :53:22.resolute and united than critics predicted we would be. There is a
:53:22. > :53:27.cons tagsal amendment talking about members bully or harassing other
:53:27. > :53:34.members, now you have had a report on Mike Hancock, he has been subject
:53:34. > :53:37.to disciplinary proprocedures but he is still a Liberal Democrat
:53:37. > :53:42.councillor He is facing allegations which are serious, which he hotly
:53:42. > :53:47.denies and strenuously and has done so always. He after discussions with
:53:47. > :53:51.me and Alistair Carmichael and others volunteered to give up the
:53:51. > :53:54.whip and said he is not going to be part of the Liberal Democrat
:53:54. > :53:58.Parliamentary party as long adds he is in the process of seeking to
:53:58. > :54:02.address the allegations and clear his name. That of course is a
:54:02. > :54:08.decision I accepted. He needs to make up his own mind, as does the
:54:08. > :54:14.council group in Portsmouth about arrangement in the council groups.
:54:14. > :54:20.Should he stand down, if he is censured? Clearly if the allegations
:54:20. > :54:24.are proved against him he will need to take responsibility for that, but
:54:24. > :54:28.as I say, he denies them, and he is in the process of seeking to clear
:54:28. > :54:31.his name. I am not going to start conferring guilt if you like on
:54:31. > :54:35.someone until that process is complete. It is not yet complete.
:54:35. > :54:40.Thank you. We didn't even talk about Chris
:54:40. > :54:46.Huhne. Of the 55 Liberal Democrat MP, % have been involved in some
:54:46. > :54:50.sort of scannedle. It is a not a good record is it? No, but at the
:54:50. > :54:53.end of the day you have to judge somebody as an individual. I don't
:54:53. > :54:59.think it is particularly sell haven't what party you —— relevant
:54:59. > :55:02.what party you are with, an individual will make mistakes and
:55:02. > :55:07.they have to take responsibility for those, whatever party they... Chris
:55:07. > :55:12.Huhne suggests the papers were digging over the dirt when hay got
:55:12. > :55:17.into Government. I think it is fair to say the newspaper, the media,
:55:17. > :55:21.always wants a story, if there is a story when somebody becomes more
:55:21. > :55:25.important, it subpoena clearly more likely that the papers are going to
:55:25. > :55:29.dig deeper than they would if you weren't in a position of power. It
:55:29. > :55:34.must have hit morale in the party Clearly it has. A third of the
:55:34. > :55:38.membership has gone since 2010. But equally the Conservatives have lost
:55:38. > :55:43.a lot of member, and obviously now Labour have got this rob with the
:55:43. > :55:48.union, so, I don't think it is a Liberal Democrat problem, think it's
:55:48. > :55:53.a disillusionment generally with the political class. The more your
:55:53. > :55:58.profile goes up in any walk of life, the more than people will be
:55:58. > :56:04.examined. You look at the way Farage has been more examined since UKIP's
:56:04. > :56:09.profile has gone up. The Liberal Democrats will be examine more, that
:56:09. > :56:14.is when people will be found wanting, you don't go into politics
:56:14. > :56:19.if you have skeletons in your cupboard. You don't have any? That
:56:19. > :56:23.That I believe is the case. They will be digging for everything on
:56:24. > :56:28.anyone. Any sort of reality of any kind, they will find something out,
:56:28. > :56:33.if you have it there. If you haven't... Let us go into the list
:56:33. > :56:37.of things Nick Clegg says he stopped the Conservatives doing. Firing
:56:37. > :56:47.people at will. The two tier exam, do you think that is a good thing to
:56:47. > :56:52.have avoided? I was the first year of GCSEs, 1998 was when I did mine.
:56:52. > :56:56.I didn't grow up in the two tier system, so I didn't really
:56:57. > :57:02.understand the point of it. It is harking back to an old age. I think
:57:02. > :57:07.it is needs to be more robust. I remember when I was taking my GCSE,
:57:07. > :57:15.because there were no past papers, and we had O—level past papers and I
:57:15. > :57:21.remember thinking ooh! Are you saying they have got easier I was
:57:21. > :57:24.grateful I didn't have to do a couple of the O—levels. A lot of
:57:24. > :57:29.teachers I talk to in the constituency are not happy with most
:57:29. > :57:34.of what Michael Gove is bringing out. We are in changing world, and
:57:34. > :57:38.there is a place for knowledge, there is a place for you know,
:57:38. > :57:42.learning things in a particular way, but more importantly it is about
:57:42. > :57:45.young people learning to adapt. Young people learning to
:57:45. > :57:50.investigate, and having those skills, that employers need. As a
:57:50. > :57:54.small employer myself, you know, I am seeing young people come out of
:57:54. > :58:00.school without the relevant skills the employers need. I think that is
:58:00. > :58:04.where our edge system needs to change. —— education system needs to
:58:04. > :58:08.change. That is why our scheme to double the number of companies
:58:08. > :58:15.bringing on apprenticeships is valuable. Rather than not everyone
:58:15. > :58:20.in life is suited to the academic path and it is important have career
:58:20. > :58:25.paths built in earlier as they do in Germany, rather than it being about
:58:25. > :58:29.the exams, but it, it need to be competitive, because it is a global
:58:29. > :58:34.race on every level, and we need to make sure we are robustly getting
:58:34. > :58:38.people prepare for that academically and in the skill skills which is
:58:38. > :58:42.important. Now, our regular round up of the
:58:42. > :58:53.political week in the south in 60 seconds.
:58:53. > :58:57.Back to school, and in Southampton these blazers are recycled. Not from
:58:58. > :59:02.the second—hand shop, they are made of plastic bottles, which might help
:59:02. > :59:06.in Oxfordshire. The operators of a landfill site were refused
:59:06. > :59:12.permission to take more waste. Residents worried about lorries and
:59:12. > :59:17.machinery at night. At March wood they are recycling old vehicles from
:59:17. > :59:21.Afghanistan. The Defence Secretary say some will be overhauled before
:59:21. > :59:25.being redeployed. Anything that doesn't make it will be sold or
:59:25. > :59:30.destroyed or gifted. They won't be needed in the New Forest though,
:59:30. > :59:34.where they are spending £4 million getting people out of their vehicles
:59:34. > :59:40.We estimate nearly 200,000 private car miles are saved by customers
:59:40. > :59:44.leaving their cars at home. Finally a Portsmouth taxi driver has started
:59:44. > :59:49.a campaign to bring down the cost of license, though issued for just £11,
:59:49. > :00:01.they can resell for 35,000. Lots about recycling, and using your
:00:01. > :00:05.cars less, or more where the —— with the taxis, but the Green Party with
:00:05. > :00:09.their conference going on, and both your parties claim to be green and
:00:09. > :00:14.doing lots for the environment. What is the greenest thing you do?
:00:14. > :00:19.Personally? Yes. Well, I try to cycle when I can to my council
:00:19. > :00:24.meetings, my children cycle everywhere, we have solar panels on
:00:24. > :00:28.the roof. You have?I do and in fact a few weeks time I will be going out
:00:28. > :00:34.with the binmen in Poole to see how we can increase the recycling rates
:00:34. > :00:38.there, because they are awful. I am working hard with my colleagues on
:00:38. > :00:42.the council to improve that. I think it is washing out the cans. You
:00:42. > :00:50.don't have to do that. That is a fallacy. What is greenest thing you
:00:50. > :00:56.do? Not waste food. Because so much, take red meat. The impact on the
:00:56. > :01:01.land, the cattle take up, the methane, transporting, energy for
:01:01. > :01:06.refrigerating and we though a third of food away as a nation. We buy and
:01:06. > :01:13.eat the food we need. That cuts it down a huge amount. The other thing
:01:13. > :01:18.is if everyone lived like we do in Britain we would knee three grope
:01:18. > :01:23.globe, in America, it is ten globes. Whereas in sub—Saharan Africa you
:01:23. > :01:27.don't need a globe at all. We as a society need to change what we
:01:27. > :01:31.consume. I am going to send you over the to Brighton I think to the Green
:01:31. > :01:33.Party confrerntion see how you get on. Thanks very much to my guests.
:01:33. > :01:44.Party confrerntion see how you get deserves a programme all to itself.
:01:45. > :01:51.In a moment, more from our political Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says
:01:51. > :01:55.victory for either the Conservatives Good afternoon. Nick Clegg says
:01:55. > :01:59.or labour at the next election would put at risk the economic recovery
:01:59. > :02:00.is. Speaking in Glasgow at the Liberal Democrat annual conference,
:02:00. > :02:04.he said a coalition would allow Liberal Democrat annual conference,
:02:04. > :02:09.party to balance politics and enable the government to finish the job of
:02:09. > :02:15.repairing the economy fairly. It is my genuine belief that if we go
:02:15. > :02:19.repairing the economy fairly. It is coalition and Islands politics,
:02:19. > :02:22.repairing the economy fairly. It is dominating blood on their own, you
:02:22. > :02:24.will get a recovery which is neither fair nor sustainable. Labour would
:02:24. > :02:29.wreck the recovery, and under the fair nor sustainable. Labour would
:02:29. > :02:35.same commitment to fairness as ours, you would get the wrong kind
:02:35. > :02:37.Two 19-year-old woman arrested after a stabbing on Thursday have been
:02:37. > :02:41.released without charge. Police a stabbing on Thursday have been
:02:41. > :02:45.trying to discover if there is a link between the killing and a fire
:02:45. > :02:51.four hours later in which four Five people are being questioned in
:02:51. > :02:54.connection with that blaze. A Syrian government minister has described
:02:54. > :03:01.the agreement drawn up by America country's chemical weapons as a
:03:01. > :03:06.The minister claims the deals helps the Syrians out of a crisis and
:03:06. > :03:08.others war. The US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Israel to
:03:08. > :03:13.brief the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the proposal. China
:03:13. > :03:17.and France have also welcomed the deal, which says Syria has until
:03:17. > :03:22.Friday to submit a competence of list of its chemical stockpile.
:03:22. > :03:27.Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on winning his first half marathon
:03:27. > :03:29.Britain's Mo Farah has missed out on He was taking part in the Great
:03:29. > :03:33.North Run between Newcastle and South Shields. Farrar, who was the
:03:33. > :03:42.favourite following his two gold Ethiopian's can mean many Serb
:03:42. > :03:45.favourite following his two gold Kenenisa Bekele in a sprint finish.
:03:45. > :03:52.A carnival atmosphere for the start was about the challenge. For others,
:03:52. > :04:00.walking it, so I have no time in simply dressing up for fun. I am
:04:00. > :04:02.walking it, so I have no time in mind. I just want to enjoy it and
:04:02. > :04:08.appreciate the crowds and have a fantastic time. For elite athletes,
:04:08. > :04:13.today's race was about who would be first over the line. Despite the
:04:13. > :04:17.wind and rain, large crowds turned out for the world's most popular
:04:17. > :04:25.half marathon, which attracts some of the finest women runners, two,
:04:25. > :04:29.including the Kenyan. There were high hopes for Britain's double
:04:29. > :04:36.Olympic champion Mo Farah, but after Shields, he was narrowly beaten
:04:36. > :04:46.Ethiopian's Kenenisa Bekele. It Shields, he was narrowly beaten
:04:46. > :04:50.thought I would come back and close the gap slowly. I managed to close
:04:50. > :04:56.it a little bit, but you can't take away what he has. Wheelchair athlete
:04:56. > :05:01.David Weir won his race for a fourth time. More than £200 million has
:05:01. > :05:16.been raised since the Great North That is it for now. There will be
:05:16. > :05:19.more news on BBC One at 6:35pm. So, did anything happen while we
:05:19. > :05:27.were away this summer? I thought heading now? Who better to answer
:05:27. > :05:33.than the best political panel we could cobble together for a tenner?
:05:33. > :05:38.Putting foreign affairs to one side for a moment, it seems that what
:05:38. > :05:41.happened mystically was that it became more apparent that some sort
:05:41. > :05:48.of recovery was underway at last, and that Mr Miliband still has not
:05:48. > :05:54.yet resonated with the British public. These things are a problem
:05:54. > :05:56.for Labour. Ed Miliband's mistake over the summer holiday was to take
:05:56. > :06:00.a summer holiday. And it looked over the summer holiday was to take
:06:00. > :06:04.the rest of the Labour Party had taken one too. They were not finding
:06:04. > :06:09.issues they could make their own. The only person who made an impact
:06:09. > :06:12.was Stella Creasy on online abuse. That is a huge problem, and it is
:06:12. > :06:14.partly down to the fact that there is this intense message discipline.
:06:15. > :06:18.They don't want to say anything is this intense message discipline.
:06:18. > :06:21.of line until they have got all their ducks in a row. It makes the
:06:21. > :06:26.party do at the moment. The terms of party do at the moment. The terms of
:06:26. > :06:30.trade have swung in David Cameron's favour, but the political rhetoric
:06:30. > :06:39.look at this headline from the is still with Mr Miliband. Let's
:06:39. > :06:44.look at this headline from the Sunday Telegraph. That headline
:06:44. > :06:46.might not be right, but the story is significant in that Mr Cameron is
:06:46. > :06:51.still in danger on his right flank significant in that Mr Cameron is
:06:51. > :06:59.doesn't need an enormous share of the vote to get an overall majority?
:06:59. > :07:04.Westminster group think. Of course Ed Miliband is in trouble. The
:07:04. > :07:08.Tories are reserved and. They are better organised, the economy is
:07:08. > :07:15.recovering. That poses difficulties for Labour, but if you look at what
:07:15. > :07:18.is happening on the ground, UKIP still pose a danger to Cameron.
:07:18. > :07:19.is happening on the ground, UKIP don't need to poll 15% in a lot
:07:19. > :07:22.is happening on the ground, UKIP those marginal seats, they just
:07:22. > :07:24.is happening on the ground, UKIP to get five or 6% of the vote, and
:07:24. > :07:33.that could potentially destroy the Tory lead. Lots of commentators
:07:34. > :07:39.that could potentially destroy the to say, this guy will never be prime
:07:39. > :07:45.minister, but it is possible that by default or by accident, in a very
:07:45. > :07:50.Miliband could end up as prime minister. It is still all to play
:07:50. > :07:55.for on both sides. If UKIP remains a threat to the Tory right flank and
:07:56. > :07:59.the Tories themselves are not really a national party any more, I am
:07:59. > :08:02.the Tories themselves are not really they will only target a few seats in
:08:02. > :08:05.Scotland, they don't get any big seats in the big cities of the north
:08:05. > :08:09.any more, they don't get the Ulster vote they used to get, so it is
:08:09. > :08:12.possible that Labour, which is more nationally based and has seats in
:08:12. > :08:18.the Midlands and the north and in Wales, so they could get in. I
:08:18. > :08:25.agree. The advantage of having a bad summer is that Ed Miliband can go to
:08:25. > :08:29.expectations. All he has to do is not dribble on the lectern, and
:08:29. > :08:31.expectations. All he has to do is will be written up as spectacular.
:08:31. > :08:38.expectations. All he has to do is He might not even use a lectin.
:08:38. > :08:44.position. The electoral vagaries of the system work in his favour. He
:08:44. > :08:47.still has a narrow poll lead, he is not out of the game at all. Of the
:08:47. > :08:54.three main party leaders, the only one who can be confident about being
:08:54. > :09:00.three main party leaders, the only in government after 2015 is Nick
:09:00. > :09:06.electorally. But if it is this bad for Labour at the moment, what will
:09:06. > :09:14.it be like if this recovery turns out to be real? It depends how much
:09:14. > :09:16.they succeed. Chuka Umunna was shifting the debate are living
:09:16. > :09:19.standards. They don't want to keep arguing about who called it right.
:09:20. > :09:24.Do people feel richer than they arguing about who called it right.
:09:24. > :09:27.in 2010? The data suggests that people don't feel richer than in
:09:28. > :09:33.2010. Because they are not.That people don't feel richer than in
:09:33. > :09:38.the basis on which Labour will fight the next election. It is clear that
:09:38. > :09:42.Labour are unclear on what to say or do next. They have just got to hope
:09:42. > :09:45.and pray that the economy is not as soundly based as it appears to be
:09:45. > :09:53.and that George Osborne is Tony Barber, who thought he fixed the
:09:53. > :09:57.just before the next crash. There are all sorts of uncertainties
:09:57. > :10:00.just before the next crash. There China, the bond market, the housing
:10:00. > :10:01.bubble might be blown up, and Labour just had to hope something goes
:10:01. > :10:07.wrong for Osborne. Chuka Umunna just had to hope something goes
:10:07. > :10:11.he would not get rid of help to just had to hope something goes
:10:11. > :10:14.There are all these criticisms about just had to hope something goes
:10:14. > :10:19.artificial schemes pumping up house prices, but he would not say that.
:10:19. > :10:27.It is tortuous. You see this again and again. When asked if Labour
:10:27. > :10:29.would repeal the bedroom tax, or the same thing with Royal Mail, it
:10:29. > :10:41.happens again. They will be falling on people who have not had a meal in
:10:41. > :10:45.coming out of the Labour Party. There is a kind and Gillette in
:10:45. > :10:47.coming out of the Labour Party. them to a politician's career. When
:10:47. > :10:51.they are under attack for a long time, the media get bored after
:10:51. > :10:55.they are under attack for a long while and switch the story. It
:10:55. > :11:00.happened to Osborne, who had a horrific 2012 and has recovered
:11:00. > :11:08.bad press as he is getting at the moment, because people find it
:11:08. > :11:10.tedious. Syria has been the big foreign-policy event this summer. It
:11:10. > :11:19.has remarkably led to a Soviet- American initiative to get Syria to
:11:19. > :11:24.give up its chemical weapons. The world will now expect the Assad
:11:24. > :11:27.regime to live up to its public commitments. As I said at the outset
:11:27. > :11:44.anything less than full compliance. John Kerry. Is this too good to
:11:44. > :11:46.anything less than full compliance. true? Even superficially, it is
:11:46. > :11:49.anything less than full compliance. very good. The only people who
:11:49. > :11:53.emerge with any sense of triumph are the Russians, who have had their
:11:53. > :11:56.emerge with any sense of triumph are biggest diplomatic coup. They are
:11:56. > :12:02.back on the stage again. B if you want to know why Putin even has
:12:02. > :12:04.back on the stage again. B if you because of moments like this. They
:12:04. > :12:09.were humiliated after the end of the Cold War, and a Nou Camp is a great
:12:09. > :12:13.power again. Then you have the Obama situation, because he has ended
:12:13. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama where he wanted to end up. He has
:12:16. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama concession from Syria, but the way
:12:16. > :12:21.he got there was so embarrassing. It concession from Syria, but the way
:12:21. > :12:25.made him look weak and erratic as a leader. There were contradictions
:12:25. > :12:32.between himself and his Secretary of State last week, and it has not
:12:32. > :12:37.between himself and his Secretary of him any good. I was in the States,
:12:37. > :12:41.and it was open season on him. I have never understood the idea of
:12:41. > :12:45.chemical weapons as a red line when you can massacre people in their
:12:45. > :12:50.thousands through other means. But chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:50. > :12:57.pale. The rebels are miserable. chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:57. > :12:59.have run out of time. I will have to ask you what you think about Syria
:12:59. > :13:05.next week, which gives you time ask you what you think about Syria
:13:05. > :13:10.prepare. Your book on Fred the shred is going well? It is.I am back
:13:11. > :13:14.tomorrow at noon with the Daily Politics at noon on BBC Two, where
:13:14. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow.
:13:18. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:18. > :13:21.conference coverage. Next week, is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:21. > :13:24.will be back here at our normal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:24. > :13:30.of 11am, when we will be joined is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:30. > :13:50.Grant Shapps. Remember, if it is Sunday, it is the Sunday Politics.