11/12/2016

:00:38. > :00:41.It's Sunday morning and this is the Sunday Politics.

:00:42. > :00:44.A row has broken out between Number Ten and former

:00:45. > :00:47.Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan over Brexit and, believe it or not,

:00:48. > :00:52.the price of Theresa May's leather trousers.

:00:53. > :00:54.I feel as though I'm one of the people that

:00:55. > :00:58.If you do that, you are likely to attract attention,

:00:59. > :01:09.It's not just Nicky Morgan making life difficult

:01:10. > :01:12.for the Prime Minister - we'll be taking a look at the rest

:01:13. > :01:16.Fully paid-up rebel Ken Clarke joins us live.

:01:17. > :01:18.Protestors disrupted a speech by Jeremy Corbyn yesterday,

:01:19. > :01:20.but is his biggest problem Labour's miserable performance

:01:21. > :01:29.In the South, will be a's new bus and Corbyn critic Chris Leslie

:01:30. > :01:31.In the South, will be a's new bus services Bill mean more local

:01:32. > :01:49.control over return fares will only think of it as an early Christmas

:01:50. > :01:52.present from us. We guarantee you won't

:01:53. > :01:54.be disappointed. And speaking of guaranteed

:01:55. > :01:56.disappointments - I'm joined by three of the busiest little elves

:01:57. > :01:58.in political journalism. It's Iain Martin, Polly Toynbee

:01:59. > :02:00.and Tom Newton Dunn. So, we knew relations

:02:01. > :02:08.between Theresa May and some of her backbenchers over Europe

:02:09. > :02:13.weren't exactly a bed of roses. But signs of how fractious things

:02:14. > :02:19.are getting come courtesy of this morning's Mail on Sunday which has

:02:20. > :02:22.the details of a series of texts from one of Mrs May's senior

:02:23. > :02:25.advisers to and concerning the former Cabinet

:02:26. > :02:30.minister Nicky Morgan. Mrs Morgan is one of those arguing

:02:31. > :02:35.for a so-called soft Brexit, and has been pressing the PM

:02:36. > :02:38.to reveal more of her negotiation She's also apparently irked

:02:39. > :02:44.Downing Street by questioning Mrs May's decision to purchase

:02:45. > :02:51.and be photographed in a ?995 pair She said she had "never spent that

:02:52. > :02:56.much money on anything apart Mrs Morgan was due to attend

:02:57. > :03:06.a meeting at Number 10 this week But that invitation seems to be off,

:03:07. > :03:10.after a fairly extraordinary argument by text message

:03:11. > :03:13.with Mrs May's joint chief She texted the MP Alistair Burt,

:03:14. > :03:22.another of those arguing for a so-called soft Brexit,

:03:23. > :03:29.cancelling Nicky Morgan's invitation and telling him to not "bring that

:03:30. > :03:34.woman to Number Ten again". The following day Nicky Morgan

:03:35. > :03:36.texted Fiona Hill, saying "If you don't like something I have

:03:37. > :03:38.said or done, please If you don't want my views in future

:03:39. > :03:52.meetings you need to tell them." Shortly afterwards she received

:03:53. > :03:57.the reply "Well, he just did. And according to the Mail,

:03:58. > :04:02.Mrs Morgan, who you'll see in our film shortly,

:04:03. > :04:17.has now been formally banned So, Tom, much ado about nothing or

:04:18. > :04:22.telling you about the underlying tensions over Brexit? Both, if I am

:04:23. > :04:25.allowed to choose both. It says something about British politics

:04:26. > :04:29.today, that this is the most important thing we can find to talk

:04:30. > :04:32.about, because the Government are not giving us anything to talk about

:04:33. > :04:36.cs especially on Brexit because they don't have a plan as we know. There

:04:37. > :04:41.is is a lot of truth that are being spoken from this row, one is that

:04:42. > :04:45.Mrs May comes into Downing Street with a lot of baggage including

:04:46. > :04:53.spectacular fall outs with Cabinet Ministers in the past. Nicky Morgan

:04:54. > :04:58.being one. We heard about the row over banning children from school.

:04:59. > :05:04.She fell out with Boris Johnson, so, she then enters Number Ten with

:05:05. > :05:10.history. When you are in Number Ten you start, you cannot be

:05:11. > :05:17.controversial and my way but the high way, which is why Fiona Hill

:05:18. > :05:22.kept Theresa May in the Home Office. You need to behave differently in

:05:23. > :05:27.the top job. It is surprising Nicky Morgan hats taken such a robust

:05:28. > :05:33.line. She seemed such a gentle soul as a minister. She did, Brexit has

:05:34. > :05:37.done funny things to people. Everything has been shaken up. It

:05:38. > :05:42.reveals really how paranoid they are, I mean you cannot have a

:05:43. > :05:49.situation really in which the, in which you know, Number Ten has got

:05:50. > :05:54.realise if the Prime Minister's entire stick is her authenticity and

:05:55. > :05:58.incredible connection, which is genuine, with voters outside the

:05:59. > :06:02.Metropolitan bubble, when she chooses to wear ?995 leather

:06:03. > :06:06.trousers you have to anticipate that journalists and MPs are going to

:06:07. > :06:11.take the mickey, that is how life works, but I think they are trying

:06:12. > :06:14.to run Number Ten as they ran the Home Office, and you see that in the

:06:15. > :06:20.rows they have had with Mark Carney and Boris Johnson this week, now you

:06:21. > :06:24.might be able to run one Government department in that control freakish

:06:25. > :06:28.way but not Government will hold together for too long, if it is run

:06:29. > :06:31.in that fashion. By try doing the whole Government like one

:06:32. > :06:39.department. This is just the start, Polly, we are still several months

:06:40. > :06:43.away from triggering Article 50. We, The Tory party is split down the

:06:44. > :06:47.middle, the thing that mattered most to the nation since the last war, it

:06:48. > :06:52.is not frivolous. It may look as if it is about trousers, it is about

:06:53. > :06:58.the most serious thing. What was split down the middle? Aren't the

:06:59. > :07:03.Euro-files and the Eurosceptics used to be the outliers, it is now the

:07:04. > :07:08.Europhiles, it is not a split down the middle. They won't vote against

:07:09. > :07:12.Brexit but they will, I think exert the maximum influence they can, to

:07:13. > :07:15.make sure that it is not a Brexit, a self-harming Brexit, to make sure

:07:16. > :07:21.that the country understand, when it comes to that point, that there may

:07:22. > :07:27.be really hard decision to make, do you want a real economic damage to

:07:28. > :07:30.be done to the country, to your own wallet, in, in exchange for being

:07:31. > :07:35.able to stop free movement or is that trade off in the end going to

:07:36. > :07:40.be just too expensive? We have seen polls suggesting people are

:07:41. > :07:44.beginning to move, and not willing, a poll out now saying people

:07:45. > :07:48.wouldn't be willing to sacrifice any money at all, for the sake of

:07:49. > :07:52.stopping immigration. So if itself comes to that trade off, the people

:07:53. > :08:00.are going to need to be confronted with that choice. The Irony is, I

:08:01. > :08:04.think the Tories are in the most exceptionally strong position, I

:08:05. > :08:08.mean what is happening here is that British politics is being realigned

:08:09. > :08:16.and remade along leave and remain lines, if the Prime Minister's luck

:08:17. > :08:20.hold, the Tories are looking at being somewhere 45, 46, 47% of the

:08:21. > :08:24.vote with an opposition split between a far left Labour Party and

:08:25. > :08:27.depleted Liberal Democrats, that sound like a recipe for something

:08:28. > :08:34.similar to what happened in the 1980s. You are seeing extraordinary

:08:35. > :08:39.alliances between left and right. The Scottish referendum rebuilt

:08:40. > :08:40.Scottish politics along the lines of pro independence, anti-independence

:08:41. > :08:45.and now Brexit maybe doing the same. So, rows within the Conservative

:08:46. > :08:47.Party over the price of trousers might be new,

:08:48. > :08:50.but over Europe, not so much. And this week's Commons vote

:08:51. > :08:53.on when the Government will fire the starting gun on Brexit,

:08:54. > :08:55.and what it will say about its plans before it does so,

:08:56. > :08:57.confirmed that instead of the eurosceptics

:08:58. > :08:59.being the outsiders, it's now the Remainers

:09:00. > :09:01.who are leading the resistance. While the Prime Minister

:09:02. > :09:11.was schmoozing in the gold-plated Gulf this week, back home

:09:12. > :09:13.the Commons was voting on a Labour motion forcing her

:09:14. > :09:16.to publish a plan for Brexit. Through some parliamentary

:09:17. > :09:18.jiggery-pokery, the Government basically got its way,

:09:19. > :09:20.but it did provide a platform for some mischiefmaking by Tory MPs

:09:21. > :09:25.who voted to remain, We are getting somewhat tired,

:09:26. > :09:34.are we not, of this constant level of abuse, this constant criticism

:09:35. > :09:37.that we are somehow Remoaners that want to thwart

:09:38. > :09:40.the will of the people, go back on it and that we don't

:09:41. > :09:45.accept the result. I don't like the result, and yes,

:09:46. > :09:50.I do believe the people It's not good enough

:09:51. > :09:53.that these things are dragged out of the Government

:09:54. > :09:55.by opposition day motions. I'm pleased that it's happened

:09:56. > :09:58.but I wish the Government was taking Is Nicky Morgan really

:09:59. > :10:03.listening to her constituents I think I'm one of the people

:10:04. > :10:11.who stuck their head above the parapet so if you do that

:10:12. > :10:14.you're likely to attract attention, you're likely to attract abuse,

:10:15. > :10:16.but also actually levels of support. I'm having e-mails from around

:10:17. > :10:19.the country with people saying thank you for what you are doing,

:10:20. > :10:21.party members around the country saying thank

:10:22. > :10:24.you for what you are doing and saying, and I and others

:10:25. > :10:28.will continue to do that. I just think, as a backbench

:10:29. > :10:30.Member of Parliament, you've got to be there,

:10:31. > :10:32.particularly when we have a weak opposition, to ask the question that

:10:33. > :10:35.government needs to be scrutinised on before we embark

:10:36. > :10:42.on such a huge issue. Nobody comes into politics to become

:10:43. > :10:45.a thorn in their party leader's side, but at the end of the day it's

:10:46. > :10:49.such a massive issue that if you don't stand up

:10:50. > :10:51.for what you believe in, I'm not sure what the point

:10:52. > :10:57.is of going into politics. That puts her on a collision course

:10:58. > :11:00.with activists in her local party like Adam Stairs,

:11:01. > :11:02.a committed leader who accuses Nicky has promised me and the rest

:11:03. > :11:07.of our Conservative association she will be voting for Article 50

:11:08. > :11:10.and she will support the Prime Minister's timetable,

:11:11. > :11:13.and we have just got to trust that and hope that goes ahead,

:11:14. > :11:15.but there's a lot of people who think she's taking sideswipes

:11:16. > :11:17.at the Government The Conservatives are very popular,

:11:18. > :11:21.she wants to be a Conservative MP and we want to see a Conservative

:11:22. > :11:23.government being I have no idea what she's playing

:11:24. > :11:31.at, I think she just needs to get on with her job as an MP,

:11:32. > :11:34.which she does very well, Now let's head to Anna Soubry's

:11:35. > :11:38.constituency nearby to see how her stance is going down

:11:39. > :11:40.with the voters. If Anna Soubry doesn't fully

:11:41. > :11:42.back Brexit, what does Well, she's going to have a little

:11:43. > :11:48.bit of a problem because the voters, especially in this area,

:11:49. > :11:50.they voted to come out of the EU so she will definitely

:11:51. > :11:53.have a little bit of a problem. She should stick for

:11:54. > :11:55.what she believes in, but I guess from a democratic

:11:56. > :11:57.perspective she does... She has admitted the fact over

:11:58. > :12:14.and over again that she wanted to remain, but her views

:12:15. > :12:17.at the moment, even in her e-mails, depicted the fact she's

:12:18. > :12:18.anti-Brexit still. Theresa May will host her most

:12:19. > :12:23.pro-European MPs at Downing Street this week to discuss

:12:24. > :12:25.the countdown to Brexit. Although now we know not

:12:26. > :12:34.everyone is invited. And the MP leading the resistance

:12:35. > :12:40.in the Commons on Wednesday was Ken Clarke, he was the only

:12:41. > :12:42.Conservative MP who voted against the Government's plan

:12:43. > :12:45.to trigger Article 50 by the end of March and he joins us

:12:46. > :12:53.now from Nottingham. Welcome back to the programme Ken

:12:54. > :12:57.Clarke. Now, tell me this when David Cameron resigned after losing the

:12:58. > :13:02.referendum, you had to pick a new leader, which candidate did the Tory

:13:03. > :13:06.Europhiles like you put up to deliver a so-called soft Brexit, or

:13:07. > :13:12.no Brexit at all? Well, I can't speak for the others but I voted for

:13:13. > :13:17.Theresa May, I gave a notorious interview, it wasn't meant to be, I

:13:18. > :13:22.was chatting to Malcolm Rifkind but somebody turned a camera on, I

:13:23. > :13:25.called her a bloody difficult woman which the Tory party probably needs,

:13:26. > :13:30.compared with Margaret Thatcher and said I was going to vote for her, I

:13:31. > :13:35.gave a vote for one of the younger ones first, but I told Teresa I

:13:36. > :13:40.would vote for her, she was the only serious candidate in my view. You

:13:41. > :13:42.voted for somebody you thought was a difficult woman, she is being

:13:43. > :13:47.difficult in ways you don't like, your side of the Tory party, you had

:13:48. > :13:53.your chance to put up somebody more in line with you, instead you shut

:13:54. > :13:57.up, so, why the complaints about it not going in your direction? I am

:13:58. > :14:01.not making complaint, it is not Teresa's fall we are in the dreadful

:14:02. > :14:04.mess, she was on the Remain side, she made a good speech during the

:14:05. > :14:08.campaign on the referendum, setting out the economic case for being in,

:14:09. > :14:12.setting out the security case for being in, which was Home Secretary,

:14:13. > :14:16.she was particularly expert in, it wasn't her fault that not a word it

:14:17. > :14:20.was reported anywhere, in the national media. Now, my views have

:14:21. > :14:25.been the same, I am afraid throughout my adult life, for the 50

:14:26. > :14:29.years I have been in politics, and my views have been the mainstream

:14:30. > :14:34.policy of the Conservative Party throughout all that time, I don't

:14:35. > :14:39.expect to have a sudden conversion on the 24th June, and I think what I

:14:40. > :14:43.owe to my constituency, and to Parliament, is that I exercise my

:14:44. > :14:47.judgment, I make speeches giving my reasons, I make the best judgment

:14:48. > :14:52.that I can, of what is the national interest. I understand that. I would

:14:53. > :14:58.be a terrible hypocrite if I... Of course that is not what I am asking.

:14:59. > :15:05.How many Conservative MPs do you think you can count on to oppose

:15:06. > :15:10.this so-called hard Brexit? Is it 40, 20, 10, 5, 1? I have no idea,

:15:11. > :15:13.because Anna, and Nicky, who you have just seen on the video who are

:15:14. > :15:17.also sticking to their principle, they are only saying what they are

:15:18. > :15:19.been saying ever since they have been in politics, probably may have

:15:20. > :15:37.more idea than me. That is three, how many more? I

:15:38. > :15:41.don't know, we will find out. We are living in a bubble in which the tone

:15:42. > :15:46.of politics is getting nastier and the reporting is getting sillier, so

:15:47. > :15:50.it is all about Theresa May's trousers and whether Boris has made

:15:51. > :15:54.some inappropriate jokes. What we need if we are going to abandon the

:15:55. > :15:58.basis upon which we made ourselves a leading political power in the world

:15:59. > :16:02.for the last 40 years and the basis upon which our economy has prospered

:16:03. > :16:06.because Margaret Thatcher got the others to adopt the single market

:16:07. > :16:12.and we benefited from that more than any other member state, so now we

:16:13. > :16:17.need a serious plan, a strategy. What is our relationship going to be

:16:18. > :16:28.in the modern world? How will our children and grandchildren make the

:16:29. > :16:31.best union they can? We need Parliament's approval of a White

:16:32. > :16:36.Paper and then start years of negotiation. This will run and run.

:16:37. > :16:41.This interview hasn't got time to run and run so let me get another

:16:42. > :16:46.question in. You seem to be quoted in the mail on Sunday this morning

:16:47. > :16:51.as saying if the Prime Minister sides too much with the heart Brexit

:16:52. > :16:55.group, she won't survive, is that your view? Yes because only a

:16:56. > :16:59.minority of the House of Commons think it is frightfully simple and

:17:00. > :17:04.you can just leave. The referendum campaign, the only national media

:17:05. > :17:09.reporting of the issues were completely silly and often quite

:17:10. > :17:15.dishonest arguments on both sides. Let me just check this, explain to

:17:16. > :17:18.me the basis... Know, excuse me, I have to interrupt because you said

:17:19. > :17:23.the Prime Minister won't survive so just explain to our viewers why she

:17:24. > :17:28.won't survive. She will be in a minority she starts adopting the

:17:29. > :17:31.views of John Redwood or Iain Duncan Smith. It's clear majority of the

:17:32. > :17:35.House of Commons doesn't agree with that and it would be pretty

:17:36. > :17:42.catastrophic if that is what we were going to do when we turn up and

:17:43. > :17:46.faced 27 of the nation state, and tell them we are pulling out of the

:17:47. > :17:56.biggest market in the world. How long do you give the Prime Minister

:17:57. > :18:03.then? If you don't think she will survive by going for a heart Brexit?

:18:04. > :18:09.I don't think she will go for a heart Brexit. Really, surrounded by

:18:10. > :18:17.David Davis and Liam Fox? Do you think Liam Fox will determine the

:18:18. > :18:20.policy of the Cabinet? Liam has always been ferociously against the

:18:21. > :18:25.European Union although he served in a government that was pro-European

:18:26. > :18:32.for about two and a half years. Does he not survive either? You're trying

:18:33. > :18:35.to reduce it to my trying to forecast Cabinet reshuffle is which

:18:36. > :18:41.I haven't got a clue whether there will be a Cabinet reshuffle, they

:18:42. > :18:48.may be ministers for the next ten years, I have no idea. Liam and me,

:18:49. > :18:51.but also Liam and the majority of his Cabinet colleagues don't start

:18:52. > :18:56.from the same place. The way forward is for them to produce a White Paper

:18:57. > :19:00.setting out the strategy on which all the Cabinet are agreed. People

:19:01. > :19:05.should stop leaking the Cabinet papers they are getting, they should

:19:06. > :19:12.stop leaking against each other, get down and do the work when they have

:19:13. > :19:18.got the agreed strategy. I'm sorry to interrupt again but we haven't

:19:19. > :19:26.got much time. We saw in our film that a number of constituency

:19:27. > :19:30.members in those areas which are strongly Remain MPs like yourself,

:19:31. > :19:35.in our case in this film it was Nicky Morgan, the constituency party

:19:36. > :19:39.members are unhappy about this. What's your message to them? Don't

:19:40. > :19:45.they deserve an MP that reflects their way of thinking? Leavers are

:19:46. > :19:55.unhappy and Remainers are very grateful. Mine don't go in for

:19:56. > :20:01.abuse... That's probably because you're not on e-mail, Mr Clarke. I

:20:02. > :20:05.get more from Remainers. I'm a great fan of Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan,

:20:06. > :20:08.I don't agree with them on everything, but the views they are

:20:09. > :20:12.putting forward are the ones they've always held and I think we are doing

:20:13. > :20:17.the Government to favour by saying what it now depends on is your

:20:18. > :20:24.success in agreeing a policy and then explaining to the public what

:20:25. > :20:29.you want to do. I shall be surprised if they manage that by the end of

:20:30. > :20:36.March, I think it is best to get the policy right first but we shall see.

:20:37. > :20:40.Have you been invited then, you say you are being helpful, have you been

:20:41. > :20:46.invited to this meeting in Downing Street on Wednesday for the soft

:20:47. > :20:50.Brexiteers? No, because I haven't been joining any of these groups.

:20:51. > :20:57.It's fair to say most of my colleagues know exactly what my

:20:58. > :21:00.views are. No doubt those that haven't had this kind of discussion

:21:01. > :21:07.with their colleagues before have been invited. I didn't expect to be

:21:08. > :21:12.invited. I get on perfectly well with Theresa May but I haven't been

:21:13. > :21:16.invited, but I don't think there's much significance in that. What do

:21:17. > :21:20.you think of the way Downing Street has handled Nicky Morgan? I feel

:21:21. > :21:26.sorry for women in politics. I'm glad to say men in politics don't

:21:27. > :21:31.have great lead stories about what they are wearing. Apart from my

:21:32. > :21:35.suede shoes, I'm lucky because I'm not a very snappy dresser. It is

:21:36. > :21:38.tedious in these days that we still have a absurd pop newspaper stories

:21:39. > :21:55.about what they are wearing. That commenting on the Prime

:21:56. > :22:02.Minister's trousers, is it really grounds for banishment? No, of

:22:03. > :22:04.course not. Nikki and Teresa will have serious political discussions

:22:05. > :22:08.and if they want to have an argument about what they are wearing, their

:22:09. > :22:17.closest friends will advise them to keep it private. It is absurd. Given

:22:18. > :22:25.that the party appears to be deciding it has been all -- ordered

:22:26. > :22:29.to changes policies about Britain's relationship with the world, it

:22:30. > :22:34.needs to be taken seriously and this Lola. Is filling a vacuum before the

:22:35. > :22:38.serious discussion starts. Thank you for filling our vacuum this morning

:22:39. > :22:42.and of course no one would ever criticise how you dress. Of course.

:22:43. > :22:44.Now, seasoned observers will warn against reading too much

:22:45. > :22:47.into parliamentary by-elections, but they can provide a vital boost

:22:48. > :22:49.for a party leader under pressure, or provide damaging ammunition

:22:50. > :22:53.Following a disappointing result for Labour last week in Richmond,

:22:54. > :22:55.Jeremy Corbyn may have been hoping for an early Christmas

:22:56. > :22:57.present at this week's contest in Lincolnshire.

:22:58. > :23:05.In Sleaford and North Hykeham, a constituency that supported Leave

:23:06. > :23:08.in the EU referendum, there was little Christmas cheer

:23:09. > :23:12.for Labour as it fell from second in 2015 to fourth place.

:23:13. > :23:15.That was at least a better performance than in

:23:16. > :23:18.Remain-supporting Richmond Park, where the party's candiate

:23:19. > :23:21.lost his deposit after attracting fewer voters than the reported

:23:22. > :23:24.number of local Labour Party members.

:23:25. > :23:30.Speaking for the Labour Party this week, MP Vernon Coaker

:23:31. > :23:34.said their policies on other major issues were "lost to an extent

:23:35. > :23:47.Some MPs feel that a lack of clarity is holding the party back.

:23:48. > :23:50.This week three frontbenchers were among the 23 Labour MPs to defy

:23:51. > :23:59.the party line and vote against a motion to begin

:24:00. > :24:01.the process of leaving the EU by the end of March.

:24:02. > :24:04.And a number of Labour MPs we've spoken to since Thursday's vote have

:24:05. > :24:07.said they fear the party now runs the risk of being squeezed

:24:08. > :24:10.by the Lib Dems and UKIP, or in the words of one,

:24:11. > :24:14."being cannabilised, eaten from both ends".

:24:15. > :24:16.To compound their troubles, a national poll

:24:17. > :24:18.released on Friday put Labour at a seven-year low, trailing 17

:24:19. > :24:25.It's still a season of joy for many of Mr Corbyn's supporters -

:24:26. > :24:27.they point to a series of victories under his leadership,

:24:28. > :24:30.including a by-election win in Tooting and the London mayoral

:24:31. > :24:36.Though neither candidate was a Corbynite.

:24:37. > :24:40.But there's a distinct lack of goodwill on the party

:24:41. > :24:42.of his critics - although having failed comprehensively

:24:43. > :24:45.to challenge him this summer, what they intend to do

:24:46. > :24:56.This morning Diane Abbott played down the significance of the

:24:57. > :25:00.results. The reports of the Labour Party's demise are exaggerated, we

:25:01. > :25:04.are the largest social Democratic party in Europe and the surging

:25:05. > :25:07.membership is down to the current leadership. We have the right

:25:08. > :25:10.policies on the NHS, investing in the economy, and as you know the

:25:11. > :25:14.Tories are fatally split on Europe. And we're joined now

:25:15. > :25:16.by the former mayor of London Ken Livingstone,

:25:17. > :25:24.and the former Shadow Ken Livingstone, in the most recent

:25:25. > :25:28.by-election Labour collapsed from second to fourth place, the one

:25:29. > :25:35.before that your party lost its deposit. What is the positive gloss

:25:36. > :25:38.on that? There's nothing new in this, where you have got seats which

:25:39. > :25:50.are solidly Tory, often voters switched to Lib Dem to kick other

:25:51. > :25:54.voters out. We have had good swings that indicate a Labour government so

:25:55. > :25:59.don't pay too much attention. It is like Orpington 50 years ago. Labour

:26:00. > :26:09.voters switched just to kick the Tories out. Don't read too much into

:26:10. > :26:13.these results, Labour did win tooting so it is OK. First of all I

:26:14. > :26:17.don't think it was a problem with the candidates in the by-elections,

:26:18. > :26:22.they did a really good job locally, but there is an issue with those

:26:23. > :26:27.residents and their attitudes to the national party, and I just think

:26:28. > :26:31.that when you have warning bells going off like that, we have to

:26:32. > :26:36.listen to what people are saying. I think what they are saying is they

:26:37. > :26:39.want an opposition party to have a plan. So yes we have got to attack

:26:40. > :26:44.the Conservatives where they are going wrong on the NHS, running

:26:45. > :26:51.headlong over the cliff for a hard Brexit, but we also need a plan for

:26:52. > :26:58.what Labour's alternative will be. When do we get that plant?

:26:59. > :27:01.Effectively you have got it already. John McDonnell has gone on

:27:02. > :27:08.relentlessly for the need for a massive public investment. For

:27:09. > :27:13.decades now under Labour and Tory governments we haven't invested in

:27:14. > :27:18.infrastructure, our roads are a disgrace, a broadband is antique. We

:27:19. > :27:22.need to be honest about this, if Theresa May can come back and say

:27:23. > :27:27.I've done a deal, we are leaving the EU, we will control our borders, we

:27:28. > :27:32.won't have to pay 350 million a year and stay in the single market,

:27:33. > :27:37.well... But that won't happen. If we are going to stumble along for two

:27:38. > :27:42.years heading for an economic disaster, that's why only eight MPs

:27:43. > :27:47.voted to leave, because they knew the harm it would do to their

:27:48. > :27:50.voters. If you have got a plan, why are things getting worse for you in

:27:51. > :27:55.the national polls, 17 points behind? If you look back, when I was

:27:56. > :28:01.leader of Chelsea my poll rating went down... But you have not been

:28:02. > :28:07.as bad since 1983 when you lost an election by a landslide. Over the

:28:08. > :28:12.next two years our economy will not grow strongly, it will limp along at

:28:13. > :28:17.best, as we get closer to Brexit it will get worse. All Labour MPs

:28:18. > :28:20.should be focusing on the economic alternative because nobody ever wins

:28:21. > :28:26.an election without a credible economic strategy. So as long as the

:28:27. > :28:31.country goes to hell in a hand basket, Labour will be fine. That's

:28:32. > :28:34.not good enough. You're not a commentator any more, you are part

:28:35. > :28:42.of the leadership of the party. It is to you. I will continue to argue

:28:43. > :28:44.the case for credibility, particularly in our policies, but

:28:45. > :28:49.the leadership cannot just sit back and watch this drift. On the Brexit

:28:50. > :28:56.situation, the Conservative manifesto at the last general

:28:57. > :28:59.election promised it would be yes to the single market, why aren't we

:29:00. > :29:05.holding them to account for the broken promise potentially they are

:29:06. > :29:09.about to do? If I had still been an MP, I would have been voting with

:29:10. > :29:13.you, rebelling, because we are not going to get any good deal to leave.

:29:14. > :29:18.Theresa May will stumble on for a couple of years trying to balance...

:29:19. > :29:22.The party policies were heard from Diane Abbott this morning is to get

:29:23. > :29:28.the best possible deal to leave. And I will believe it when it happens.

:29:29. > :29:33.So you don't believe a central part of Jeremy Corbyn's policy? Jeremy

:29:34. > :29:40.has accepted the fact people voted to leave. He now said we now need to

:29:41. > :29:45.get the best possible deal and you don't think it's achievable. I

:29:46. > :29:52.don't, because why would the other 27 members give us a better deal

:29:53. > :29:56.staying outside? You've confused me, why are you such a big supporter of

:29:57. > :30:03.Corbyn with his policy you don't think it's achievable?

:30:04. > :30:10.Everybody knows we are not going to get a soft exit, so we either have

:30:11. > :30:14.the hard Brexit and we lose perhaps millions, certainly hundreds of

:30:15. > :30:20.thousands of jobs, or we have to say we got it wrong. I mean, you, a lot

:30:21. > :30:24.of people have been saying that all Labour's unclear on Brexit, that is

:30:25. > :30:29.why it is going wrong, I would suggest to you, that actually what

:30:30. > :30:33.the concentration on is the Tories are unclear about Brexit, they are

:30:34. > :30:37.in power, that is what matters, a bigger problem for Labour is whether

:30:38. > :30:43.Mr Corbyn's leadership will cut through or not. I think the YouGov

:30:44. > :30:48.poll this weekend not only gave us that double punch of a 17 point lead

:30:49. > :30:53.for the Conservatives but it had a 33 point lead, 33 point, for Theresa

:30:54. > :30:56.May over Jeremy Corbyn, so part of the plan, think, has to be to

:30:57. > :31:01.address this leadership issue, to make sure it is also a party that is

:31:02. > :31:09.listening to the wider public and not just the small number of members

:31:10. > :31:18.or the trotsites in Momentum or whoever is the latest Marxist on

:31:19. > :31:25.the... You The thing that is ox fibbing Labour. One MP said Labour

:31:26. > :31:30.has quoted bunkum. We have has 18 months of Labour MPs stabbing Jeremy

:31:31. > :31:35.in the back and some in the front. The vast majority of Labour MPs have

:31:36. > :31:38.stopped undermining Jeremy. You weren't doing that well before. Can

:31:39. > :31:41.you imagine a situation in which you have elected a new leader and the

:31:42. > :31:46.first year it is all about getting rid of imand undermining him. I

:31:47. > :31:50.disagree with Tony Blair on lots of policy issue, I didn't run wound

:31:51. > :31:55.saying this man is not fit to govern. That is because you had no

:31:56. > :32:01.support for that at the time. The idea people will take lectures from

:32:02. > :32:04.Ken on divisiveness, that is like takes lectures from Boris Johnson on

:32:05. > :32:09.diplomacy, you have to make sure, yes, that we find some accommodation

:32:10. > :32:15.after the leadership election this summer, but the plan is not there

:32:16. > :32:21.right now, and you and the rest of the leadership has to be held

:32:22. > :32:26.accountable for delivering that, I want to hear what the plan is. It is

:32:27. > :32:32.FDR he told us earlier. If you have got now because as we saw in the

:32:33. > :32:36.Autumn Statement, debt to GDP ratio at 90%, you can't convince the

:32:37. > :32:41.public by saying we will throw more money at the problem, the public

:32:42. > :32:45.want a credible plan, where the sums add up, that you are not making

:32:46. > :32:52.promises that won't be delivered. They want that plan. We need to

:32:53. > :32:58.point out our history, when Labour Waugh the election in 45 Government

:32:59. > :33:04.debt was two times that it was now.. Now.. They generated exports and

:33:05. > :33:09.within 50 years we virtually paid off that debt. Austerity is not the

:33:10. > :33:15.way to go. Our economy is a disgrace compared with Germany. I agree. What

:33:16. > :33:19.we have to start saying, there is decent jobs, where are they going to

:33:20. > :33:24.be coming from, can we have a society based on fair play and

:33:25. > :33:26.prosperity for everybody not just the wealthy, that means saying, some

:33:27. > :33:29.time, that people have to contribute, they have to put in, so

:33:30. > :33:34.we have to listen to what the public are saying on issues for instance

:33:35. > :33:39.like immigration, as they said in the Brexit referendum, but make sure

:33:40. > :33:44.we have our approach set out clearly, so people know there is a

:33:45. > :33:51.ability to manage, and control these things, not just ignore them. Those

:33:52. > :33:59.tax dodgers who launder their money through Panamanian banks. If we

:34:00. > :34:04.crackdown on what might be 150 billion a year of tax evasion and

:34:05. > :34:10.avoidance. That is a real outlier estimate as you know, way the

:34:11. > :34:14.highest, you cannot build the FDR programme on tax evasion revenues,

:34:15. > :34:20.alone, but let me ask you. You can say to Starbucks, if you are not

:34:21. > :34:25.going to pay tax on your profits we will tax every cup of coffee. Why

:34:26. > :34:30.don't you nationalise it? I was just checking that would be the policy.

:34:31. > :34:34.Let me ask you this. By what time do you get, start to get worrieded if

:34:35. > :34:39.the polls haven't given to turn round? I mean, I think they will

:34:40. > :34:43.turn round. When do you start to get worried? If they haven't? If in a

:34:44. > :34:46.year's time it was as bad as this we would be worried. I don't think it

:34:47. > :34:54.will be. Jeremy and his team will knows can on the economy, and that

:34:55. > :34:57.is wins every election. Bill Clinton, remember it's the economy

:34:58. > :35:00.stupid. People know if you are going to spend money they want to see

:35:01. > :35:05.where it is coming from, otherwise they will think it is their taxes

:35:06. > :35:09.that will go up and the Conservative, Theresa May, will

:35:10. > :35:14.scare the British public over plans that are not properly... What do you

:35:15. > :35:20.do if things haven't got better in 12 months? We lost the leadership

:35:21. > :35:26.election in the summer but we will hold our leadership to account. What

:35:27. > :35:31.does that mean? It means asking for the plan, testing what the proposals

:35:32. > :35:37.are, are they properly credible, do they make sure that they meet the

:35:38. > :35:42.test the public... You just have to bite the bottom lip now, you

:35:43. > :35:47.privately, a lot of you think your party is heading for catastrophe. I

:35:48. > :35:52.don't think it is acceptable that we have this level of performance,

:35:53. > :35:54.currently, I am sure Ken agrees the opinion polls, and those by

:35:55. > :35:58.by-election were just not good enough. We have to show leadership,

:35:59. > :36:03.certainly on Brexit, hold the Government to account. Attack them

:36:04. > :36:07.for the crisis in the NHS, yes and on the economy, to deliver credible

:36:08. > :36:10.policy force, example on defending national security and making sure we

:36:11. > :36:15.stand up for humanitarian intervention. Final point, your

:36:16. > :36:20.party has lost Scotland. You are now in third place behind the stories --

:36:21. > :36:26.Tories. I never thought I would be able to say that in a broadcast, if

:36:27. > :36:28.you lose the north too, you are heading for the smallest

:36:29. > :36:34.Parliamentary Labour Party since the war, aren't you. But that is our

:36:35. > :36:36.weakness, we in the 13 years of the last Labour Government neglected

:36:37. > :36:40.rebuilding our manufacturing in the way the Germans have done. Millions

:36:41. > :36:45.of people used to have good job, we used to have 8 million jobs in

:36:46. > :36:49.manufacturing it is down two. It is in the north, that Jeremy's strategy

:36:50. > :36:53.has the most relevance, of actually getting the investment and

:36:54. > :36:55.rebuilding. All right. We will see. Come back in 12 months if not before

:36:56. > :36:59.and we will check it out. It's just gone 11.35,

:37:00. > :37:01.you're watching the Sunday Politics. We say goodbye to viewers

:37:02. > :37:04.in Scotland, who leave us now Coming up here in 20

:37:05. > :37:07.minutes, we'll be talking about Boris Johnson's tour

:37:08. > :37:09.of the Middle East after straying off message, again,

:37:10. > :37:11.and the protestors attempting First though, the Sunday

:37:12. > :37:21.Politics where you are. Welcome to Sunday Politics South,

:37:22. > :37:23.my name is Peter Henley. On today's show, the

:37:24. > :37:25.government wants to give local councils powers

:37:26. > :37:27.to set routes for bus operators and to decide

:37:28. > :37:28.on But crucially they wont be

:37:29. > :37:34.allowed to run the buses So what will that mean for rural

:37:35. > :37:38.services already hit by First, let's meet the two

:37:39. > :37:44.politicians who are here for the Rowenna Davis was the

:37:45. > :37:48.candidate for a leader in And of course Donna

:37:49. > :37:53.Jones is leader of the Conservative City Council

:37:54. > :37:56.in Portsmouth for the Conservatives. Now there is this proposal you are

:37:57. > :38:00.teaching at the moment, having stood for Parliament, and it is for

:38:01. > :38:03.schools in Portsmouth. There is this proposal

:38:04. > :38:07.from independent schools to try and provide 10,000 places at cost,

:38:08. > :38:09.they say, with the cost That sounds like a bargain

:38:10. > :38:18.for the government. ?5,000 per term

:38:19. > :38:19.at Portsmouth Grammar School, they will do it

:38:20. > :38:22.for ?5,000 for the year. I think that private

:38:23. > :38:27.schools do do some good for a lot of children

:38:28. > :38:31.our country and I think it is great that they want to open up a little

:38:32. > :38:34.But there are also some costs with private schools, firstly,

:38:35. > :38:37.the stop children getting to know each other from different

:38:38. > :38:41.backgrounds, so people from richer backgrounds can mix with those from

:38:42. > :38:43.different backgrounds and vice versa.

:38:44. > :38:46.And secondly, it means that you can buy a certain amount of

:38:47. > :38:49.Now this proposal which would essentially open up the doors

:38:50. > :38:52.of private schools a little bit more has obviously got to be welcomed,

:38:53. > :38:55.but you still have that massive division and those huge costs in our

:38:56. > :38:58.society that remain entrenched under that private school system.

:38:59. > :39:05.and this is going to be a means tested thing, this will be good.

:39:06. > :39:08.Looking from the point of view you would say, yeah, sounds good.

:39:09. > :39:11.For those parents that is absolutely fantastic, but you always have to

:39:12. > :39:14.ask the question, what about everybody else who can get in?

:39:15. > :39:20.If they are going to test those students before they come

:39:21. > :39:23.in and they will only take perhaps the cleverest students, then what

:39:24. > :39:26.The then therefore lose out on the talent

:39:27. > :39:33.chance to have different students in the playgrounds.

:39:34. > :39:36.10,000 is quite a lot as well, we are known around the

:39:37. > :39:39.world for the quality of education and private schools, the part of

:39:40. > :39:42.Isn't just an extension of the Grammar schools principal

:39:43. > :39:47.I think it is about money, I think it's about the

:39:48. > :39:50.fact that the majority of independent schools in the country

:39:51. > :39:52.are registered charities and I think the government is looking at the

:39:53. > :39:54.charity status for what are essentially profit-making

:39:55. > :39:57.And yes they are education providers, and I think

:39:58. > :40:00.that what the Independent schools commission has done is gone back to

:40:01. > :40:03.the government, post the publication of the green paper has

:40:04. > :40:05.set actually we want to keep the charity status

:40:06. > :40:09.because it is very tax efficient for us.

:40:10. > :40:11.And to offset the fact that we are getting

:40:12. > :40:14.a benefit from the Inland Revenue, we will look to dedicate 10,000

:40:15. > :40:16.children from across the country who otherwise wouldn't

:40:17. > :40:20.be able to afford to have an independent education.

:40:21. > :40:22.It is being done by hints and nods and

:40:23. > :40:24.maybe a bit of assistance and lends the minibus

:40:25. > :40:25.out of people use the

:40:26. > :40:28.pool, isn't this much more straightforward and a better deal

:40:29. > :40:32.Better than building new grammar schools, maybe.

:40:33. > :40:35.I am not sure the government will agree to the

:40:36. > :40:37.proposals that have been put forward by the independent schools

:40:38. > :40:40.commission, and I think as a consequence the Green paper may well

:40:41. > :40:47.But we do have a Chancellor is firm, he is fixated on making

:40:48. > :40:51.sure the UK exchequer gets the best deal it can and I think it is

:40:52. > :40:54.something that we really do need to watch and wait and see

:40:55. > :40:56.what happens with this one because I think that a

:40:57. > :40:59.reduction in the size of the independent sector across the UK

:41:00. > :41:01.could mean people such as myself managing local education authorities

:41:02. > :41:05.struggle considerably if we suddenly have to take on huge amount of more

:41:06. > :41:11.It would be a bit upset, wouldn't it, for the whole

:41:12. > :41:15.Yes, it would be a huge change is that proposal actually

:41:16. > :41:18.ended up going forward but I do think, this

:41:19. > :41:21.lot about private schools, a lot of that grammar schools, it hasn't

:41:22. > :41:25.really talked much about what it is going to do what we are changing

:41:26. > :41:28.with the mainstream compressors education system in this country,

:41:29. > :41:31.which is where most of her children going.

:41:32. > :41:36.I do support the Academy provision because what happened a few years

:41:37. > :41:38.ago was that the ability to effectively sacked underperforming

:41:39. > :41:40.headteachers and moved from councils as the local education authorities

:41:41. > :41:43.but the school improvement statutory requirement remained with us, so at

:41:44. > :41:48.the moment we are in a hybrid situation where we can't actually

:41:49. > :41:50.remove headteachers are senior management teams that are not

:41:51. > :41:53.performing like it we are judged by Ofstead if we are underperforming

:41:54. > :41:59.LEA, something has to change and that is why we have been

:42:00. > :42:00.encouraging academies because with an academy

:42:01. > :42:03.provider of can remove a head if they are not performing.

:42:04. > :42:14.Now this is being considered as a visionary, something that will mean

:42:15. > :42:15.shorter journey times, improvements to business

:42:16. > :42:17.and employment prospects and help with the housing crisis.

:42:18. > :42:27.Linking the cities of Oxford and Cambridge, the new route is

:42:28. > :42:29.inevitably being dubbed the Varsity line, or the brain train.

:42:30. > :42:32.It is actually restoring a line that was

:42:33. > :42:37.But in a first for the rail industry the track and the actual service

:42:38. > :42:39.will be run by the same company rather than split between an

:42:40. > :42:50.I am going to establish East West rail as a new and separate

:42:51. > :42:51.organisation to accelerate the permission

:42:52. > :42:53.is needed to reopen the

:42:54. > :42:55.route and secure private sector involvement in design, build and

:42:56. > :43:00.operate the route as an integrated organisation.

:43:01. > :43:01.This east-west rail organisation will be established

:43:02. > :43:05.early in the New Year as chaired by the former chief executive of

:43:06. > :43:09.Joining us now is David Williams from the Green party in Oxfordshire,

:43:10. > :43:13.It is not just joining Oxford and Cambridge, is it?

:43:14. > :43:23.It is not just a railway line, it is a kind of curve of

:43:24. > :43:24.affluence and leading-edge development without any doubt, it

:43:25. > :43:27.brings together actually about seven different universities, all have

:43:28. > :43:29.spin off industries into science parks and mix them all together.

:43:30. > :43:31.There are employment hearts of the way along

:43:32. > :43:32.this particular line and

:43:33. > :43:42.it has been fought for four generations, really.

:43:43. > :43:46.And there will be little hubs going out?

:43:47. > :43:51.Yes, we got from Oxford to Bicester at the moment just about to come

:43:52. > :43:58.And then other parts are operating, taking freight

:43:59. > :44:01.trains at the moment. So part of the old line which was

:44:02. > :44:06.there until 1966 are still around and still operating.

:44:07. > :44:09.It is a matter of joining the whole thing up again.

:44:10. > :44:12.But it is more than a railway line, it is to do with developing a way

:44:13. > :44:14.for commuters to move between these employment

:44:15. > :44:15.hubs which are all the

:44:16. > :44:18.way along, whether it is Milton Keynes or Bedford

:44:19. > :44:27.are the areas that really would benefit tremendously from this.

:44:28. > :44:30.You have argued for more public transport, and here is happening

:44:31. > :44:32.despite all of the talk of everything going to

:44:33. > :44:36.and the Midlands agent, we getting something down here.

:44:37. > :44:38.I would prefer them to do both, actually, a

:44:39. > :44:40.northern powerhouse, there are areas they are ready,

:44:41. > :44:45.the simple principle could be applied just as easily.

:44:46. > :44:49.We've got this, but the problem with it is

:44:50. > :44:51.that Grayling wants it to be a privatised system where the

:44:52. > :44:58.operators who are using the engines and the carriages are integral to

:44:59. > :45:01.those who are actually doing the railway line.

:45:02. > :45:06.Surely, what he says is they are overloaded.

:45:07. > :45:10.Of course they can cope, I am sure they

:45:11. > :45:13.have put papers in saying we can do this, what you could do here is

:45:14. > :45:16.actively fragment the service because you have real track to

:45:17. > :45:18.maintenance and making sure everything is safe, when the old

:45:19. > :45:22.system was there it was quite unsafe.

:45:23. > :45:25.But if you have this little bit with just totally privatised it

:45:26. > :45:32.will stand out like a sore thumb in the whole system.

:45:33. > :45:34.Something has to be done today is go through, we have

:45:35. > :45:37.seen lots of delays with what Railtrack are up to.

:45:38. > :45:40.Do you support this idea of one company running the

:45:41. > :45:44.I do, because ultimately it is about money and the

:45:45. > :45:47.government now that this east-west connectivity between Oxford and

:45:48. > :45:51.If they waited and it went into the list of

:45:52. > :45:54.government Network Rail schemes it would be years and they don't want

:45:55. > :45:57.to wait so rather than waiting they know

:45:58. > :46:01.there is economic growth and

:46:02. > :46:03.productivity to come from connecting the east

:46:04. > :46:05.and the West, the top of

:46:06. > :46:10.And it can happen without giving it to real

:46:11. > :46:14.Is it went to Railtrack and the government

:46:15. > :46:17.has to put money into it so by opening to private investments...

:46:18. > :46:19.Or foreign investment, you are bringing

:46:20. > :46:22.the scheme forward and that is surely in the UK Exchequer.

:46:23. > :46:23.There have been serious problems before

:46:24. > :46:26.with that complete unity of the privatised system, this was

:46:27. > :46:28.associated with a lot of the problems are potters bar and

:46:29. > :46:31.Hatfield crashes, or of the reasons we brought in Network Rail was

:46:32. > :46:34.because the needed to be a greater understanding of separation of those

:46:35. > :46:35.powers to ensure safety for passengers.

:46:36. > :46:39.I'm not entirely sure that what we are doing is going back

:46:40. > :46:42.to stop it is not Railtrack, it is Network Rail.

:46:43. > :46:44.Railtrack and the very, very bad record with things

:46:45. > :46:52.These are massive crashes and they were

:46:53. > :46:55.all traced back to one source which was underfunding

:46:56. > :47:00.When the introduced Network Rail the various new rules

:47:01. > :47:03.were introduced about how much they must begin to

:47:04. > :47:06.I think it could be fatally dangerous, all of

:47:07. > :47:09.Seriously, you are worried about the safety?

:47:10. > :47:13.If the main thing, taking your theme of it is about

:47:14. > :47:16.money, if it is about profit-making, it is about profit-making then

:47:17. > :47:19.cutting costs is a major element in that and the pressure to cut costs

:47:20. > :47:25.This is part of a wider scheme, isn't it,

:47:26. > :47:27.across the government, that there should be handing more

:47:28. > :47:29.power to private operators who already run a

:47:30. > :47:32.very expensive highly overcrowded service.

:47:33. > :47:40.The other option, put it to the back of the queue and wait

:47:41. > :47:42.another 15 years to get the capital investment.

:47:43. > :47:45.It is not about making profit, it is about the capital and

:47:46. > :47:48.the government would need to give to Network Rail to build it and I'm

:47:49. > :47:51.confident that any private operator working in this country, building

:47:52. > :47:55.and operating a new piece of rail will absolutely be compliant with

:47:56. > :48:01.Yes, the Network Rail was frought with issues, sorry, Railtrack,

:48:02. > :48:03.but this is not Railtrack, this could be

:48:04. > :48:04.overseas investment coming into the UK,

:48:05. > :48:06.speeding up the growth area for

:48:07. > :48:15.When it comes to investment from somewhere

:48:16. > :48:18.else rather than government, what we have had over the last few

:48:19. > :48:20.years, Deutsche Bank in SNCF, we have had

:48:21. > :48:24.that really is, they have taken stakes in the existing railway

:48:25. > :48:30.What is going to happen after Brexit with them?

:48:31. > :48:35.They have been the major source of external investment.

:48:36. > :48:38.Really what has got to happen here is the government have got to come

:48:39. > :48:41.to grips with the investment which is needed, we have given 110

:48:42. > :48:46.Wouldn't you rather take it happening now?

:48:47. > :48:48.I want it now, we have been campaigning...

:48:49. > :48:55.Isn't an alternative, really, is there?

:48:56. > :49:02.Of course it is, it is basically the government simply

:49:03. > :49:04.going to provide the investment to get this done and

:49:05. > :49:08.If they have a private company walking around looking for

:49:09. > :49:11.That is what happened with the Oxford to

:49:12. > :49:15.Bicester line, at the end of the day it ended up as the government giving

:49:16. > :49:19.It is at least going ahead as we understand it at

:49:20. > :49:24.Staying with the transport team, remember the old saying about

:49:25. > :49:27.waiting ages for us to come and then you get the onec?

:49:28. > :49:29.A government bill going through Parliament is supposed

:49:30. > :49:32.to help with that by giving local councils more power to control local

:49:33. > :49:36.But as a reporter has been finding out, there is some doubt about

:49:37. > :49:49.whether it will work so well outside of the larger towns and cities.

:49:50. > :49:52.In the old days, local councils ran pretty much all local bus companies

:49:53. > :49:59.until deregulation and the privatisation boom of the 1980s.

:50:00. > :50:02.That led to issues over timetables and ticketing between many different

:50:03. > :50:03.operating companies and non-profit-making writs of election

:50:04. > :50:07.rural areas being dropped, leaving bus

:50:08. > :50:08.passengers at the mercy of the

:50:09. > :50:13.Now there is a move for councils to take back more

:50:14. > :50:17.control with the bus services Bill currently going through Parliament.

:50:18. > :50:20.The bill gives local councils greater powers to set routes for bus

:50:21. > :50:22.operators to run, to decide on fairer level since

:50:23. > :50:24.the introduction of smart ticketing and other

:50:25. > :50:31.In Dorset, some innovations contained

:50:32. > :50:37.We've now issued smart tickets to all of our schoolchildren

:50:38. > :50:39.so we now know when to use the bus and when

:50:40. > :50:43.That gives us the opportunity of saying, well

:50:44. > :50:50.So other people can use those and purchase those season tickets.

:50:51. > :50:52.This rapid transit scheme in Gosport is

:50:53. > :50:54.being hailed as a success of collaborative working, the 20

:50:55. > :50:57.million per project with buses by passing traffic on congested

:50:58. > :51:05.Passenger growth has been phenomenal, just in

:51:06. > :51:08.the past two years alone, we have seen 70% more people

:51:09. > :51:10.travelling but the really important thing about it

:51:11. > :51:14.is that people will use the service, 20% of them used to use the car and

:51:15. > :51:18.That is all well and good in the towns and

:51:19. > :51:25.Here in Bridport there is no sort of job losses serving the towns and

:51:26. > :51:28.conurbations, east and west of here, but as with much of the countryside,

:51:29. > :51:31.out of the rural villages it is a very different story.

:51:32. > :51:37.And for some the bus services Bill is not going to solve

:51:38. > :51:40.the problem of councils cutting bus subsidies.

:51:41. > :51:46.The bus network is in its death throes, there is another

:51:47. > :51:49.million pounds due to be cut from it within the next few months, if you

:51:50. > :51:51.live in her village are absolutely stymied.

:51:52. > :51:54.In Bradpole, where I'm standing, the 73 is due to be cut.

:51:55. > :51:57.That will affect the ability of local children going past to get to

:51:58. > :52:03.It is going to affect the lives of hundreds of

:52:04. > :52:06.elderly people in the villages who rely on that bus to get to market,

:52:07. > :52:10.For Roz and others, the two community bus

:52:11. > :52:14.schemes currently running in Dorset are inadequate.

:52:15. > :52:17.If you look at what is happening in the health service

:52:18. > :52:20.at the moment where GP surgeries in rural areas are likely to be

:52:21. > :52:25.towns, how are some of those elderly people in the villages who don't

:52:26. > :52:29.have access to their own transport going to be able to get to the

:52:30. > :52:36.This is a major issue, it is important that we find ways of

:52:37. > :52:40.What Roz wants is the local council to

:52:41. > :52:43.run its own bus company as they do profitably in Redding.

:52:44. > :52:46.The problem is, there is a clause in the bus

:52:47. > :52:48.bill which prevents any new scheme like that.

:52:49. > :52:52.So inevitably some communities will slip through the

:52:53. > :52:58.It might have been the solution had you got sufficient funds to be

:52:59. > :53:00.able to set it up in the first place.

:53:01. > :53:03.The difficulty we have is that we don't have those depths of

:53:04. > :53:07.Had we set up a private bus Company some

:53:08. > :53:09.years ago we would be in a different situation.

:53:10. > :53:12.But we are not Redding and we have to cut our cloth

:53:13. > :53:15.To try and resolve at the council will

:53:16. > :53:18.match fund up to ?5,000 for communities to set-up their own

:53:19. > :53:25.The mayor's office already has the power to dictate to bus

:53:26. > :53:27.services which services to run and when.

:53:28. > :53:30.So is that the ticket across-the-board?

:53:31. > :53:34.We have concerns over train pricing, we believe that

:53:35. > :53:36.the private sector working in partnership with the best way

:53:37. > :53:40.It allows private sector operators to innovate and do things

:53:41. > :53:44.like as happened in other parts of the South, in terms

:53:45. > :53:48.Taking that a further step forward we have seen passenger

:53:49. > :53:50.growth where really strong partnership works, that has to say

:53:51. > :53:55.Rural MPs can expect to be lobbied hard when the bill goes to

:53:56. > :54:00.the Commons in the New Year, but for some the bus services Bill

:54:01. > :54:02.is not the sort of fare they wanted served

:54:03. > :54:09.You could almost say it was a turkey.

:54:10. > :54:11.Rowenna, isn't this the place really want

:54:12. > :54:16.You want to have the appropriate bus service, not

:54:17. > :54:20.necessarily the system they have in London or anywhere else.

:54:21. > :54:21.Roz articulated the need for local bus

:54:22. > :54:24.companies really beautifully, so many people depend on them, so many

:54:25. > :54:27.people use buses than a real journeys for example every day in

:54:28. > :54:33.Absolutely essential for work, for all the people, for

:54:34. > :54:35.children, it is right at the heart of the community.

:54:36. > :54:38.Therefore it would make sense to me as a local, or

:54:39. > :54:41.provided service rather than something done centrally.

:54:42. > :54:43.That is what is so crazy about the current

:54:44. > :54:46.bus services Bill that is being looked at right now, that it says

:54:47. > :54:50.sure if you have a mayor you can set up the services, but as it stands if

:54:51. > :54:52.you're just a local authority without a mayor you can't.

:54:53. > :54:57.And if you are somewhere like Redding when the

:54:58. > :55:00.council is run it for years they have the money and infrastructure.

:55:01. > :55:03.Redding and Nottingham are both local authority run, they are in

:55:04. > :55:06.control services in the both really popular and have one great awards.

:55:07. > :55:09.There is one caveat I would add, because there is some things in

:55:10. > :55:12.assumption in central government that if you give something to local

:55:13. > :55:14.authority it will therefore be closer to the people in therefore

:55:15. > :55:17.serve them, but actually there is a real difference

:55:18. > :55:23.Some may provide them well if they have true

:55:24. > :55:26.passenger voice and true worker voice but others may still seem very

:55:27. > :55:29.different so you cant assume that just because you give some thing to

:55:30. > :55:32.local authority that it is automatically going to be better for

:55:33. > :55:39.There has to be worked on that local authority, too, as I'm

:55:40. > :55:45.The bus services Bill itself, the printable

:55:46. > :55:47.that I welcome very much because actually this

:55:48. > :55:49.is about giving local authorities the ability to franchise

:55:50. > :55:52.buses, to work in partnership and that is exactly what should be

:55:53. > :55:56.In Portsmouth we are paying around ?5 million a year to

:55:57. > :55:59.bus companies in subsidies, in Southampton it is near six million

:56:00. > :56:01.and that is not a sustainable position going forward.

:56:02. > :56:05.We don't want to lose the vulnerable routes

:56:06. > :56:08.as we have heard, particularly the semirural and rural ones

:56:09. > :56:10.so giving councils the ability to franchise is

:56:11. > :56:15.What the House of Lords has done is put

:56:16. > :56:18.forward an amendment to the Green paper, it has been through its

:56:19. > :56:21.reading of the Commons, it has been through the Lords and is going back

:56:22. > :56:24.to the Commons now that they have actually put forward an amendment to

:56:25. > :56:27.say that all local transport authorities should be allowed to

:56:28. > :56:29.franchise, not just ones with a mayoral combined authority.

:56:30. > :56:35.I think you would rather have a combined

:56:36. > :56:38.Yes, in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight have been working

:56:39. > :56:42.with the government, we have an in principle agreement

:56:43. > :56:45.for a solend deall and in the solent deal it includes the

:56:46. > :56:52.Routes are closing now, on the Isle of

:56:53. > :56:54.Wight which is very reliant on its buses,

:56:55. > :56:57.and the trees that it does have, they need an answer now.

:56:58. > :56:59.They do and that is why we need to get on

:57:00. > :57:01.with our combined authority ASAP, we were hoping

:57:02. > :57:05.the Autumn Statement, I am now hopeful of the last budget in March

:57:06. > :57:09.2017 because it is done, we have made a false admission to the

:57:10. > :57:11.Secretary of State, we did that the 23rd of October,

:57:12. > :57:13.we have been through an eight-week consultation,

:57:14. > :57:15.three councils we just mentioned, we are few

:57:16. > :57:24.Now our regular round-up of the political week

:57:25. > :57:33.Fining beggars isn't working in Southampton.

:57:34. > :57:36.I have a ?100 fine because I had my hat out, on the floor.

:57:37. > :57:45.You just don't know which ones are genuine, do you?

:57:46. > :57:48.The council now admits the fines aren't being paid.

:57:49. > :57:52.We need to look at what else we can do to solve this national problem.

:57:53. > :57:55.It is cold on the streets but colder in some elderly people's houses.

:57:56. > :57:57.Redding Council think a cold alarm could help.

:57:58. > :58:00.This is one of the worst areas in England for excess winter deaths.

:58:01. > :58:03.Portsmouth said farewell to a grand old lady this week.

:58:04. > :58:13.Amateur MP wants to scrap yearly council elections,

:58:14. > :58:19.his Bill would make them every four years instead.

:58:20. > :58:22.And in Oxfordshire school wants a change to the law making seat

:58:23. > :58:36.After 11 children were injured in Woodstock last month.

:58:37. > :58:39.Now that Bill to make it elections every four years in councils

:58:40. > :58:42.would also make it first past the post in places like London.

:58:43. > :58:46.First of all I am against the proposal in principle.

:58:47. > :58:54.If local council now they have to face the people and ask the vote

:58:55. > :58:57.every single year then they are more likely to because at them

:58:58. > :58:59.and responsive to them, more likely to engage with those

:59:00. > :59:02.conversations and I think at a time when politics and politicians feel

:59:03. > :59:05.quite distant from the people it is really important to do

:59:06. > :59:13.everything we can to insure that dialogue is continuing.

:59:14. > :59:16.And there is a lot of voters, UK voters in Portsmouth who feel

:59:17. > :59:19.that the votes are wasted in first past the post, is that...

:59:20. > :59:21.Running the city and one of the Conservative cities

:59:22. > :59:25.I think that four-yearly elections is much better,

:59:26. > :59:28.when a council is elected even an annual elections they don't face

:59:29. > :59:30.the electorate every year, deface them once every four years

:59:31. > :59:33.and four-yearly elections, so all in all out for the whole

:59:34. > :59:35.council means you do not get short cameras and decisions,

:59:36. > :59:39.because so often councils are making bad decisions

:59:40. > :59:43.because they are so worried about how it is going to affect them

:59:44. > :59:46.in the polls and that is not always what is best for the services

:59:47. > :59:50.and service delivery in cancel so I support four-yearly elections.

:59:51. > :59:54.Just quickly, HMS Illustrious, a VIP guest for the new one coming?

:59:55. > :00:02.We were hoping for the Prime Minister and other heads of state

:00:03. > :00:07.from other countries, we have the Carrier Alliance

:00:08. > :00:10.going on with America but next year is the year of the carrier.

:00:11. > :00:16.still the biggest factor. We are running out of time.

:00:17. > :00:30.Now, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was rebuked

:00:31. > :00:33.by Downing Street this week - yes, again - after the Guardian

:00:34. > :00:36.revealed he had accused Saudi Arabia of being among countries engaged

:00:37. > :00:38.in fighting "proxy wars" in the Middle East, breaking

:00:39. > :00:40.the Foreign Office's convention of not criticising a key UK ally

:00:41. > :00:43.in the region and annoying the prime minister who'd just returned

:00:44. > :00:50.The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon was asked about it

:00:51. > :00:58.And let's be very clear about this, the way some of his remarks

:00:59. > :01:00.were reported seemed to imply we didn't support the right

:01:01. > :01:03.of Saudi Arabia to defend itself, and it is being attacked by Houthi

:01:04. > :01:05.terrorists from over the border with Yemen,

:01:06. > :01:08.didn't support what Saudi is doing in leading the campaign to restore

:01:09. > :01:16.Some of the reporting led people to think that, and that is all...

:01:17. > :01:18.This was simply the way it was reported and interpreted.

:01:19. > :01:20.The way it was interpreted left people with the impression

:01:21. > :01:29.that we didn't support Saudi Arabia and we do.

:01:30. > :01:32.Well, Mr Johnson has been in the Saudi capital

:01:33. > :01:33.Riyadh this morning, so how's he been received?

:01:34. > :01:35.Our security correspondent Frank Gardner is in neighbouring

:01:36. > :01:42.Bahrain, where Mr Johnson was earlier in the weekend.

:01:43. > :01:48.It has probably been a long time since there has been such interest

:01:49. > :01:52.in a British Foreign Secretary visiting the gulf region. What are

:01:53. > :01:59.the political elites there making of it all? Well, they think to be

:02:00. > :02:03.honest it is a bit of a storm in a tea cup this is a bit of a Whitehall

:02:04. > :02:08.story, I think a lot of people I have spoken to tend to believe that

:02:09. > :02:12.Number Ten have made such a fuss about this, that it has created a

:02:13. > :02:17.story in itself. That said, though, I think that behind the scenes there

:02:18. > :02:22.was a certain amount of damage limitation taking place between

:02:23. > :02:26.London and Riyadh, a bit of smoothing of feathers and reassuring

:02:27. > :02:30.and the Stade Saudis tell me they are reassured the message they are

:02:31. > :02:35.taking is. Coming from Number Ten and they are not taking Boris

:02:36. > :02:39.Johnson's comments to heart. He is in the dam, he has met the king, I

:02:40. > :02:46.tweet add picture of that just a few minutes ago. He has been meeting

:02:47. > :02:49.Crown Prince, and he is now meeting the Foreign Minister, so the Saudis

:02:50. > :02:53.got an opportunity to brief him according to their vision of the

:02:54. > :02:57.Middle East. They will share their security concern, which is not just

:02:58. > :03:01.what is going on in Yemen, but they are very concerned about what they

:03:02. > :03:05.see as Iranian expansionism, that has been a theme here at this

:03:06. > :03:10.conference in Bahrain that Boris Johnson addressed only a day or two

:03:11. > :03:14.ago. If we put aside Mr Johnson's supposed gaffes or even the Downing

:03:15. > :03:20.Street slapping down of him, we have had the Prime Minister in the region

:03:21. > :03:27.earlier this week, we have got Mr Johnson there now, can we yet divine

:03:28. > :03:34.what the May Government strategy is in the Golf? -- Guff. In three

:03:35. > :03:43.words, in Boris Johnson's words Britain is back. He was very quick

:03:44. > :03:46.to say not in a jingoistic running up flags, new imperial list way,

:03:47. > :03:53.although that is Howley be seen by some. He gave a very forceful speech

:03:54. > :03:58.which seemed to go down well the gulf hosts here on Friday night

:03:59. > :04:05.which said Britain made a strategic mistake in, after 1968 in

:04:06. > :04:09.withdrawing east of Suez and it will reverse that decision, and invest ?3

:04:10. > :04:15.billion over the next ten years in building up its military not bases

:04:16. > :04:18.exactly but facilities -- facilities that are here in this part of the

:04:19. > :04:22.world. There are currently 15 hundred hundred British servicemen

:04:23. > :04:26.and women in this region, seven warships and so on. It isn't

:04:27. > :04:30.entirely true to say Britain withdrew east of Suez because we

:04:31. > :04:36.have had a military presence on and off here, the RAF had a base here in

:04:37. > :04:42.Bahrain during the Gulf War of 91. In 2003, of course, British planes

:04:43. > :04:48.and troops deployed from this area, but he and Theresa May are both

:04:49. > :04:52.saying post-Brexit, Britain's big emphasis or one of the big pushes is

:04:53. > :04:58.going to be to redouble its ties with gulf Arab nations, that isn't

:04:59. > :05:02.going to come as an easy bit of new, I think, to human rights campaigners

:05:03. > :05:08.and anti-arms campaigners because a large part of the ?7 billion of

:05:09. > :05:12.bilateral trade Britain did with Saudi Arabia comes from arms deals

:05:13. > :05:17.and those arms are being used in the conflict in Yemen, in some cases

:05:18. > :05:23.with tragic consequences. Thank you very much for talking to us.

:05:24. > :05:30.Instead of concentrating on Mr Johnson's gaffes, or Downing Street

:05:31. > :05:35.reaction to it. Frank Gardner there has just given us a really important

:05:36. > :05:40.development, or explained what the British are up to there now. They

:05:41. > :05:43.want to be back in the gulf big time. Isn't that something we should

:05:44. > :05:47.be debating and discussing? It is fascinating. It is yet another

:05:48. > :05:51.example post-Brexit I would say this is someone who voted to Brexit, that

:05:52. > :05:58.the world is changing, and Britain's role is going to be transformed

:05:59. > :06:02.post-Brexit. I mean just on the Boris point, I completely agree, I

:06:03. > :06:07.think a lot of it is ridiculous, in a Whitehall belt way stuff, but I

:06:08. > :06:12.think what is really important about it, is that Number Ten feel

:06:13. > :06:16.threatened by him, and the reason that these ridiculous gaffes and

:06:17. > :06:22.many of them are not even gaffes are pounced upon is he is the main rival

:06:23. > :06:26.for the Crown, so it is high level power play politics, and it is May

:06:27. > :06:31.trying to keep him in his place. What do you make though, of Britain

:06:32. > :06:36.is back in the gulf? That is the big story, is it not. Utterly bizarre,

:06:37. > :06:40.post imperial fantasy, the idea we are back east of Suez? We are

:06:41. > :06:45.breaking off from our closest ally, most like us, the rest of Europe,

:06:46. > :06:51.democratic, decent human rights country, and instead we are allying

:06:52. > :06:57.ourself to perilous, dangerous, unpleasant countries... Why should

:06:58. > :07:05.we be back in the gulf? If that is the trade off, these are, you know,

:07:06. > :07:09.these renasty kingdoms, petty unpleasant and unstable countries.

:07:10. > :07:13.Don't we have to keep the straits open otherwise the oil supply

:07:14. > :07:17.collapses and the world economy will go into the worst recession

:07:18. > :07:22.depression ever? Don't we have to be involved in that We do, and I think

:07:23. > :07:26.what happens is if we leave Europe and we need trade everywhere else,

:07:27. > :07:30.we have to travel the world on our knees begging for friends from the

:07:31. > :07:37.most unsavoury people, where ever they are, whether it is... You keep

:07:38. > :07:40.saying we are leaving Europe, that is a geographic impossibility.

:07:41. > :07:45.Britain is part of Europe, we are the... Not what Liam Fox is saying.

:07:46. > :07:49.The key power in Nato, we are leaving the European Union, that is

:07:50. > :07:56.a different Tring from Europe. I am trying to move away from Mr Johnson,

:07:57. > :08:00.or even Downing Street to... You got yourself into a Brexit row.

:08:01. > :08:04.Everything is through the prism of Brexit, even what you have for

:08:05. > :08:08.breakfast, when you mix up the word like I did last week. What do you

:08:09. > :08:13.make of what Frank Gardner told us? I am somewhere between the two. It

:08:14. > :08:16.is a nighs the line say we are back in the Middle East and we will take

:08:17. > :08:21.this part of the world seriously, the truth is our military is almost

:08:22. > :08:26.tiny, it is smaller than it was in the Napoleonic wars, that is not a

:08:27. > :08:31.huge amount more. Of course there S one of the two new aircraft

:08:32. > :08:36.carriers, that will be deployed in the gulf, to help the Americans keep

:08:37. > :08:44.the straits of her muz open, because it is in Europe's interest, not just

:08:45. > :08:49.Britains, Europe's interest that these straits stay open, which is

:08:50. > :08:54.more so than America. That is what FRANK was talking about. That is no

:08:55. > :09:01.change, British foreign policy has been keeping the straits open... Now

:09:02. > :09:07.we have the ability do it. We don't have an aircraft aier at the moment.

:09:08. > :09:15.Nor do we have the fleet of ships it needs. It is a great thing to be

:09:16. > :09:19.trade morgue with the Nice, to be turning -- Middle East, to be

:09:20. > :09:23.turning round more tax revenues and the like. Even selling weapons. I

:09:24. > :09:27.don't know what more can be done. You look at what has happened. BBC

:09:28. > :09:31.has had horrific reports from the Yemen and if you look at what the

:09:32. > :09:38.weapons are being used for, is that the trade we want? Right. Let us

:09:39. > :09:40.move on. Mr Corbyn was giving a speech yesterday but he was

:09:41. > :09:42.inter#ru79ded by Peter Tatchell. -- interrupted.

:09:43. > :09:54.Peter, could we leave this to the questions please?

:09:55. > :09:57.Peter, we are trying to make a speech here and then

:09:58. > :10:11.Was Peter Tatchell right do that yesterday? It is a bit of a

:10:12. > :10:16.distraction really. Jeremy Corbyn 17% in the polled is not going to be

:10:17. > :10:20.able to change... You mean his personal rating. If you want to do

:10:21. > :10:26.something about Syria you ought to be addressing the Government rather

:10:27. > :10:29.than a failing Labour leader. Peter Tatchell's line was Labour in

:10:30. > :10:35.general, Mr Corbyn in particular had not been vocal enough in condemning

:10:36. > :10:42.what the Russians and their Assad allies are doing in Aleppo. It was

:10:43. > :10:45.interesting Mr Corbyn had to ask Emily Thornberry if and when had

:10:46. > :10:53.they condemned what the Russians were doing? It was unclear. Other

:10:54. > :10:59.than Mrs Thornbury herself. There is a fascinating fault line in politics

:11:00. > :11:03.which is the Trump administration, the way in which parts of the

:11:04. > :11:08.British left have made themselves useful idiots once again for the

:11:09. > :11:11.Kremlin and it its policies. I think more broadly, you consider all the

:11:12. > :11:15.things we have been discussing, it is a national tragedy what is

:11:16. > :11:21.happening to the Labour Party. You don't know whether to laugh or cry

:11:22. > :11:25.watching that event. Corbyn was at a stop the war rally event only last

:11:26. > :11:30.week, and they of course are very close to the Kremlin, they blame the

:11:31. > :11:37.west, well they blame the west much more... They always blame the west.

:11:38. > :11:42.And not the Russians. I agree Jeremy Corbyn having to check with Emily

:11:43. > :11:47.Thornberry what the Labour Party's policy was on bombing Aleppo... If

:11:48. > :11:53.and when they condemned it. He needs to no better. The fact that we are

:11:54. > :11:57.talking about what was a pretty small scale protest, rather than

:11:58. > :12:02.anything Corbyn said, shows he wasn't saying anything relevant. We

:12:03. > :12:05.will get a huge amount of tweet saying the BBC are anti-Corbyn. I

:12:06. > :12:09.understand that, that shouldn't intimidate us from saying, from

:12:10. > :12:13.analysing what is happening, and here is one yard stick, of course it

:12:14. > :12:17.is fundamentally the Government's choice, but it could be an indicator

:12:18. > :12:23.of whether the Labour Party is relevant or not in only issues, in

:12:24. > :12:27.reason pert Murdoch is making a take over bid for all of Sky and so far

:12:28. > :12:32.you would have to bet, policy, that it is going to get through pretty

:12:33. > :12:36.much unscathed. It is extraordinary. It is connected with Leveson, and

:12:37. > :12:39.the fact that that has disappeared. That the idea of restraining the

:12:40. > :12:44.press in any way at all, and virtual will I the whole of the press is

:12:45. > :12:50.behind that, and it seems to go with allowing what wasn't allowed before.

:12:51. > :12:55.He was judged as unfit before. He is as unfit now, to control that much

:12:56. > :12:59.of the media, and as he was when he made the last bid for Sky. It is

:13:00. > :13:04.time people stood up and said so. You look at the press he runs, the

:13:05. > :13:09.cultural effect he has has on this country which has been appalling,

:13:10. > :13:16.you know about this. Tom, I better let you have a word. I don't agree

:13:17. > :13:21.at all Polly but the lesson for the Labour Party, is if they don't want

:13:22. > :13:25.to have any influence at all, they have to be credible, and stand a

:13:26. > :13:28.reasonable chance of becoming Prime Minister or becoming Government,

:13:29. > :13:32.that is the only way they will get leverage. We need to leave it there.

:13:33. > :13:38.I was going to say we will come back to it. We will see. The Daily

:13:39. > :13:42.Politics will be back at noon tomorrow.

:13:43. > :13:44.and we'll be back here next Sunday for the last show of 2016.

:13:45. > :14:41.Remember - if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.

:14:42. > :14:47.# We're going to have a party tonight