:00:37. > :00:39.It's Sunday morning and this is the Sunday Politics.
:00:40. > :00:43.She faces huge political fights over Brexit, Scottish independence,
:00:44. > :00:56.After a tumultuous political week, we'll analyse the PM's prospects.
:00:57. > :00:58.With chatter increasing about a possible early General Election,
:00:59. > :01:03.Jeremy Corbyn's campaign chief joins me live.
:01:04. > :01:06.NHS bosses warn health services in England are facing "mission
:01:07. > :01:10.impossible" and waiting times for operations will rocket,
:01:11. > :01:13.unless hospitals are given more cash this year.
:01:14. > :01:25.What is going on down in the Park Providers joins me live.
:01:26. > :01:28.What is going on down in the Park according to a
:01:29. > :01:38.All that to come before 12:15pm, and I'll also be talking
:01:39. > :01:41.to the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg
:01:42. > :01:43.from his party's spring conference in York.
:01:44. > :01:48.With me here in the studio, throughout the programme,
:01:49. > :01:49.three of the country's top political commentators:
:01:50. > :01:55.Tom Newton Dunn, Isabel Oakeshott and Steve Richards.
:01:56. > :01:57.They'll be tweeting their thoughts using #bbcsp.
:01:58. > :02:00.So, the political challenges facing Theresa May are stacking up.
:02:01. > :02:06.As well as negotiating Britain's exit from the EU,
:02:07. > :02:09.the PM must now deal with SNP demands for a second referendum
:02:10. > :02:13.on Scottish independence, backbenchers agitating against cuts
:02:14. > :02:17.to school budgets, and a humiliated Chancellor forced to u-turn on a key
:02:18. > :02:22.budget measure just one week after announcing it.
:02:23. > :02:23.Here's Adam Fleming on aturbulent political week
:02:24. > :02:40.Monday, 11:30am, TV crews gather in the residence of the First
:02:41. > :02:42.Minister of Scotland, who's got a surprise.
:02:43. > :02:45.She wants a vote on whether Scotland should leave the UK
:02:46. > :02:49.By taking the steps I have set out today I am ensuring that Scotland's
:02:50. > :02:52.future will be decided, not just by me, the
:02:53. > :02:53.Scottish Government, or the
:02:54. > :02:55.SNP, it will be decided by the people of Scotland.
:02:56. > :03:05.Westminster, 6:25pm the same day, MPs reject
:03:06. > :03:09.amendments to the legislation authorising the Prime Minister to
:03:10. > :03:23.The Bill ceremonially heads to the Lords where peers abandoned
:03:24. > :03:24.attempts to change it and it becomes law.
:03:25. > :03:31.But Downing Street doesn't trigger Article 50 as many had expected.
:03:32. > :03:34.Some say they were spooked by Nicola Sturgeon.
:03:35. > :03:50.We get an e-mail from the Treasury can the
:03:51. > :03:52.We get an e-mail from the Treasury cancelling
:03:53. > :04:03.the planned rise in National Insurance for
:04:04. > :04:05.the self-employed announced the budget.
:04:06. > :04:07.It's just minutes before Prime Minister's Questions at noon.
:04:08. > :04:09.The trend towards greater self-employment does create a
:04:10. > :04:12.We will bring forward further proposals
:04:13. > :04:14.but we will not bring forward increases to NICs later in this
:04:15. > :04:19.It seems to me like a government in a bit of chaos here.
:04:20. > :04:21.By making this change today we are listening to our colleagues
:04:22. > :04:25.fulfil both the letter and the spirit of our manifesto tax
:04:26. > :04:35.Thursday, 7am, Conservative campaign HQ and the
:04:36. > :04:37.Electoral Commission fines the party ?70,000 for misreporting spending
:04:38. > :04:40.But that's not what the Prime Minister
:04:41. > :04:46.Because at 12:19pm she gives her verdict on a
:04:47. > :04:51.We should be working together, not pulling apart.
:04:52. > :04:53.We should be working together to get that
:04:54. > :04:54.right deal for Scotland, that
:04:55. > :04:59.So, as I say, that's my job as Prime Minister and
:05:00. > :05:02.so for that reason I say to the SNP now is not the time.
:05:03. > :05:05.Friday and time for the faithful to gather.
:05:06. > :05:06.SNP activists at their spring conference
:05:07. > :05:17.Conservatives in Cardiff to hear the Prime Minister
:05:18. > :05:21.promote her plan for a more meritocratic Brexit Britain.
:05:22. > :05:23.At 11:10am comes some news about a newspaper that's frankly
:05:24. > :05:30.I'm thrilled and excited to be the new editor of The
:05:31. > :05:32.Evening Standard and, you know, with so many
:05:33. > :05:33.big issues in our world what
:05:34. > :05:39.good analysis, great news journalism.
:05:40. > :05:44.It's a really important time for good journalism that The
:05:45. > :05:45.Evening Standard is going to provide.
:05:46. > :05:52.There was no let-up yesterday as Gordon Brown launched proposals
:05:53. > :05:57.Under my proposals we keep the Barnett
:05:58. > :06:01.Formula, we keep the fiscal transfers, but we also bring the
:06:02. > :06:05.and fisheries back to the Scottish Parliament.
:06:06. > :06:08.And just think, all this and we're still counting down to the
:06:09. > :06:26.What a week in politics. It has been a torrid week for the government,
:06:27. > :06:30.Isabel Oakeshott, but does Theresa May shake it off, or is this a sign
:06:31. > :06:33.of worse to come? We may all be feeling a bit breathless after the
:06:34. > :06:41.events of last week and we are in for a a long war of attrition with
:06:42. > :06:45.the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon's strategy will be to foster over lengthy
:06:46. > :06:50.periods of time as much resentment and anger as she can in Scotland and
:06:51. > :06:55.try to create the impression that independence is somehow inevitable.
:06:56. > :06:59.Is Scotland the biggest challenge for Theresa May in the next year or
:07:00. > :07:02.so? I think it probably is because if you look at how relatively easily
:07:03. > :07:07.the Brexit bill went through on an issue where people could hardly feel
:07:08. > :07:10.more passionate in the Commons, and actually despite all the potential
:07:11. > :07:14.drama it has gone through quite smoothly. To go back to your
:07:15. > :07:18.original question, she just carries on. Don't underestimate the basic
:07:19. > :07:23.quiet and will towards Theresa May amongst the majority of Tory
:07:24. > :07:27.backbenchers. Yes, there are difficult little issues over school
:07:28. > :07:31.funding, sorry, it's not a little issue, it is a big one but she will
:07:32. > :07:35.get over that and treat each thing as it comes and keep pressing on.
:07:36. > :07:40.Has she not called Nicola Sturgeon's Bluff in that the First Minister
:07:41. > :07:45.said I want a referendum, here is roughly when I wanted, the Prime
:07:46. > :07:49.Minister says you're not having one. What happens next? She has done
:07:50. > :07:54.quite well and impact the progress Theresa May made this week in
:07:55. > :07:57.frustrating Nicola Sturgeon was evident when Nicola Sturgeon said,
:07:58. > :08:01.OK, maybe we can talk about the timing after. Nicola Sturgeon has
:08:02. > :08:04.already been the first one to blink. I would slightly disagree with
:08:05. > :08:08.Isabel Oakeshott, I don't agree Scotland will be the biggest hurdle
:08:09. > :08:13.for her. What this week showed as is Theresa May... It was a reality
:08:14. > :08:17.bites week. Theresa May is juggling four mammoth crises at the same
:08:18. > :08:20.time, Brexit obviously which I still think will be the biggest challenge
:08:21. > :08:26.to get a good deal, Trump left field who popped up at GCHQ on Friday and
:08:27. > :08:32.Scotland and the fiscal challenge, this enormous great problem, and it
:08:33. > :08:38.reinforced the point this is not an easy time in politics. The budget is
:08:39. > :08:42.over four years. That was one small problem, the immediate problem is
:08:43. > :08:45.how to fill the social care crisis and the ageing demographic. This is
:08:46. > :08:48.not normal times in British politics and Theresa May does not have a
:08:49. > :08:53.normal workload on her plate, hence why I think we will see more
:08:54. > :08:58.mistakes made as time goes on and as she has this almost impossible
:08:59. > :09:01.workload to juggle. How tempted do you think the Prime Minister is to
:09:02. > :09:06.call an early election? There is more chatter about it now. Is she
:09:07. > :09:10.tempted and if there is will she succumb? I will answer that in a
:09:11. > :09:14.second as Harold Wilson used to say. I want to agree, disagree with the
:09:15. > :09:17.rest of the panel about how she has out manipulated Nicola Sturgeon this
:09:18. > :09:21.week. I think Nicola Sturgeon expected Theresa May to say no to
:09:22. > :09:26.her expected timetable. It would be amazing if she had said yes. She
:09:27. > :09:30.expected her to say no but Sturgeon catalyst that will fuel support for
:09:31. > :09:36.her cause. There is no sign of that. The latest poll this morning shows
:09:37. > :09:42.66-44 against independence and only 13% think they would be better off
:09:43. > :09:46.with an independent Scotland and a clear majority do not want a second
:09:47. > :09:49.referendum. But the calculation of resistance from Westminster combined
:09:50. > :09:52.with Brexit which hasn't started yet, I think this is her
:09:53. > :09:56.calculation, she didn't expect Theresa May to say, sure, go ahead,
:09:57. > :10:01.I'm sure she expected Theresa May to say no, you can't have it at your
:10:02. > :10:05.desired timetable. On the wider point, I think Theresa May is in a
:10:06. > :10:09.fascinating position, she is both strong because she faces weak
:10:10. > :10:14.opposition and is ahead in the opinion polls. But faces the most
:10:15. > :10:18.daunting agenda of any Prime Minister for 40 or 50 years, I
:10:19. > :10:22.think. So it's a weird combination. I don't think she wants to call an
:10:23. > :10:25.election. I don't think she has thought about how you would
:10:26. > :10:29.manipulate it, what the trigger would be, and whether she's got the
:10:30. > :10:35.energy and space to prepare for and then mount a campaign was beginning
:10:36. > :10:39.the Brexit negotiation. Now, you could see the cause would be the
:10:40. > :10:43.small majorities that will make her life hellish, which it will do.
:10:44. > :10:47.Whether a landslide would help is another question, they can be
:10:48. > :10:51.difficult too. But I think the problems outweigh the advantages of
:10:52. > :10:55.going early. Do you think she would go for an early election? I don't
:10:56. > :10:59.and I think you have to look at the rhetoric coming out of No 10 which
:11:00. > :11:02.is so firm on this question, it is a delicious prospect for us as
:11:03. > :11:05.commentators to think there might be an election around the corner but
:11:06. > :11:10.they are so firm on this I can't see it happening. I agree, we are in
:11:11. > :11:12.unanimous agreement on this one. It is superficially attractive because
:11:13. > :11:16.she would love the big majority and she would get a lot more through
:11:17. > :11:20.Parliament especially with Brexit. The nitty-gritty of it makes an
:11:21. > :11:24.early General Election this year almost impossible. How do you write
:11:25. > :11:29.a manifesto on high Brexit versus soft Brexit, it opens up a Pandora's
:11:30. > :11:33.box of uncertainties. And there is enough with the European elections.
:11:34. > :11:37.The EU will say are we negotiating with you or the person who may
:11:38. > :11:41.replace you? How do you keep the Tory party united going to an
:11:42. > :11:45.election? How do you call one, with a vote of no confidence in yourself
:11:46. > :11:46.you may end up losing. Easy on paper but difficult in practice. We shall
:11:47. > :11:48.see. So if Theresa May did go
:11:49. > :11:51.for an early election this spring, The party's campaigns
:11:52. > :12:01.and elections chief Andrew Gwynne Andrew Gwynne, the government, as we
:12:02. > :12:04.have just been talking about, executed one of the most
:12:05. > :12:07.embarrassing U-turns in recent history this week. It has been a
:12:08. > :12:11.torrid time for the Theresa May government. Why are the Tories still
:12:12. > :12:16.so chipper? The Labour Party has been on an
:12:17. > :12:19.early election footing since before Christmas and we are preparing
:12:20. > :12:23.ourselves for that eventuality in case that does come. That means that
:12:24. > :12:28.we've got to get ourselves into a position whereby we can not only
:12:29. > :12:34.challenge the government but we can also offer a valuable alternative
:12:35. > :12:40.for the British people to choose from should that election arise. So,
:12:41. > :12:43.would you welcome an early General Election? Well, of course, I don't
:12:44. > :12:46.want this government to be in power so of course if there is an
:12:47. > :12:50.opportunity to put a case to the British people as to why there is a
:12:51. > :12:55.better way, and I believe the Labour way is the better way than of course
:12:56. > :13:00.we would want to put that case to the country. So, would Labour vote
:13:01. > :13:04.in the Commons for an early election? Well, of course as an
:13:05. > :13:08.opposition, not wanting to be in opposition, wanting to be in
:13:09. > :13:12.government should the government put forward a measure in accordance with
:13:13. > :13:16.the Fixed-term Parliaments Act then that's something we would very
:13:17. > :13:19.seriously have to consider. I know you would have to consider it but
:13:20. > :13:24.would you vote for an early election or not? Well, of course we want to
:13:25. > :13:27.be the government so if the current government puts forward measures to
:13:28. > :13:31.bring forward a General Election we would want to put our case to the
:13:32. > :13:36.British public and that's one of the jobs that I've been given, together
:13:37. > :13:39.Labour Party organisation early into a position where we can fight a
:13:40. > :13:44.General Election -- organisationally. For the avoidance
:13:45. > :13:48.of doubt, if the Government work to issue a motion in the Commons for an
:13:49. > :13:52.early election, the Labour Party would vote for an early election?
:13:53. > :13:56.It would be very difficult not, Andrew. If the Government wants to
:13:57. > :13:59.dissolve parliament, wants a General Election, we don't want the Tories
:14:00. > :14:04.in government, we want to be in government and we want to have that
:14:05. > :14:06.opportunity to put that case to the British people.
:14:07. > :14:15.Are you ready for an early election? You say you have been on a war all
:14:16. > :14:17.but since the Labour conference last autumn, but are you ready for one?
:14:18. > :14:20.How big is the election fighting fund? We have substantial amounts of
:14:21. > :14:25.money in our fighting fund, that is true, because not only has the
:14:26. > :14:30.Labour Party managed to eliminate its own financial deficit that it
:14:31. > :14:38.inherited from previous election campaigns, we have also managed to
:14:39. > :14:43.build up a substantial fund in the off chance we have an election. We
:14:44. > :14:47.have also expanded massively operations at Labour HQ, we are
:14:48. > :14:50.taking on additional staff, and one of the jobs that myself and Ian
:14:51. > :14:54.Lavery who I job share with are currently doing is to go around the
:14:55. > :14:58.Parliamentary Labour Party to make sure that Labour colleagues have the
:14:59. > :15:02.support and the resources that they need, should they have to face the
:15:03. > :15:06.electorate in their constituencies. So you are on a war footing, ready
:15:07. > :15:10.for the fight, you say you would vote for the fight, so have you got
:15:11. > :15:15.your tax and spend policies ready to roll out? That is something the
:15:16. > :15:20.shadow Treasury team will be discussing. One of the things is, if
:15:21. > :15:23.there is an early General Election, the normal timetable for these
:15:24. > :15:28.things gets fast-track because our policy decision-making body, its
:15:29. > :15:33.annual conference, we have the national policy forum that creates
:15:34. > :15:36.policies suggestions. You have been on a war footing since the last
:15:37. > :15:40.Labour conference, that is what Mr Corbyn told us. So you must have a
:15:41. > :15:45.fair idea of what policies you would fight an early election on. How much
:15:46. > :15:49.extra per year would you spend on the NHS? Well, look, I'm not going
:15:50. > :15:53.to set out the Labour manifesto for an election that hasn't been called.
:15:54. > :15:58.I'm just asking you about the NHS. You must have a policy for that. We
:15:59. > :16:03.have a policy for the NHS. So how much extra? I will not set out
:16:04. > :16:07.Labour's tax-and-spend policies here on The Sunday Politics when there
:16:08. > :16:11.hasn't even been election called. You said you had been on a war
:16:12. > :16:17.footing and you are prepared to vote for one, so if you can't Tommy that,
:16:18. > :16:21.can you tell me what the corporation rate tax on company profits be under
:16:22. > :16:28.a Labour government -- tell me that. You will have to be patient. I have.
:16:29. > :16:31.And wait for Mrs May to trigger an early election. If there is an
:16:32. > :16:36.election on the 4th of May the rich would have to be issued on the 27th
:16:37. > :16:41.of March, so that's not long to wait. If that date passes we aren't
:16:42. > :16:46.having an election on the 4th of May and the normal timetable for policy
:16:47. > :16:50.development will continue. All right. You lost Copeland, I think
:16:51. > :16:53.you were in charge of a by-election for Labour, your national poll
:16:54. > :16:59.ratings are still dire, even after week of terrible times for the
:17:00. > :17:03.Tories. Sometimes you even lose local government by-elections in
:17:04. > :17:07.safe seats, including in the place you are now, in Salford. How long
:17:08. > :17:12.does Mr Corbyn have to turn this around? Well, look, the issue of the
:17:13. > :17:16.Labour leadership was settled last year. The last thing the Labour
:17:17. > :17:20.Party now needs is another period of introspection with the Labour Party
:17:21. > :17:26.merely talks to the Labour Party. We are now on an election footing in
:17:27. > :17:31.case Mrs May does trigger an early General Election. We need to be
:17:32. > :17:36.talking to the British people are not to ourselves. So any speculation
:17:37. > :17:40.about the Labour leadership might excite you in the media but actually
:17:41. > :17:43.for us in the Labour Party it's about re-engaging and reconnecting
:17:44. > :17:47.with the voters. Rather than being excited, I feel quite daunted at the
:17:48. > :17:53.prospect of an early election. So I wouldn't get that right. Normally,
:17:54. > :17:57.given the number of mistakes this government has made, and its
:17:58. > :18:01.mid-term, you would expect any self-respecting opposition to be
:18:02. > :18:07.about ten points ahead. On the latest polls this morning you are 17
:18:08. > :18:11.behind. There is a 27-30 point gap from where you should normally be as
:18:12. > :18:14.an opposition. Are you telling me that if that doesn't change, you
:18:15. > :18:20.still fight the General Election with Mr Corbyn?
:18:21. > :18:27.These are matters for the future. I believe the leadership issue was
:18:28. > :18:32.settled last year. We have had two leadership contest in two years.
:18:33. > :18:36.Would you seriously contemplate going into the next election, if it
:18:37. > :18:42.is early I perfectly understand Jeremy Corbyn is your man, but if it
:18:43. > :18:46.is not until 2020, and you are still 17 points behind in the polls, will
:18:47. > :18:50.you go into the next election like that? There is a lot of future
:18:51. > :19:00.looking and speculation there, I don't know what the future holds,
:19:01. > :19:02.where the Labour Party will be in 12 months let alone by 2020 summit
:19:03. > :19:05.cross those bridges when we come to it. My main challenge is to make
:19:06. > :19:08.sure the Labour Party is in the best possible place organisationally to
:19:09. > :19:11.fight an election, that's my challenge and I'm up for that to
:19:12. > :19:18.make sure we are in the best possible place to make sure Labour
:19:19. > :19:24.returns as many Labour MPs as possible. Thank you for joining us.
:19:25. > :19:26.And we're joined now from the Liberal Democrats' spring
:19:27. > :19:28.conference in York by the former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
:19:29. > :19:37.Good morning. In his conference speech today, Tim Farron lumps
:19:38. > :19:42.Theresa May with Vladimir Putin, Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump. In
:19:43. > :19:50.what way is Mrs May similar to Marine Le Pen? Of course he is not
:19:51. > :19:56.saying Theresa May is identical to Marine Le Pen, I think what Tim
:19:57. > :20:00.Wilby spelling out shortly in his speech is that we need to be aware
:20:01. > :20:07.what's going on in the world, the International settlement that was
:20:08. > :20:13.arrived at after the First World -- Second World War, that bound
:20:14. > :20:18.supranational organisations is under attack from characters as diverse as
:20:19. > :20:22.Vladimir Putin, Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump, and that by side in so
:20:23. > :20:26.ostentatiously with Donald Trump and pursuing this very hard Brexit,
:20:27. > :20:31.Theresa May appears to be giving succour to that much more
:20:32. > :20:35.isolationist chauvinist view of the world than the multilateral approach
:20:36. > :20:40.that Britain has subscribed to for a long time. The exact words he plans
:20:41. > :20:49.to use are welcome to the New World order, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump,
:20:50. > :20:54.Marine Le Pen, Theresa May, aggressive and teenage to, anti-EU,
:20:55. > :20:59.nationalistic. In what way is Mrs May fitting into any of that? In
:21:00. > :21:05.what way is she similar to Vladimir Putin? I'm not aware she has
:21:06. > :21:10.interfered with other people's elections. The clue is in the quote
:21:11. > :21:15.you just read out, which is the world order. The world order over
:21:16. > :21:19.the last half century or more, by the way a lesson I'm afraid we have
:21:20. > :21:24.to learn in Europe because of the terrible bloodshed of two world was
:21:25. > :21:28.in the space of a few decades, was based on the idea might is not
:21:29. > :21:34.right. Strong arm leaders cannot throw their weight around. What we
:21:35. > :21:41.have now with Putin, the populism across parts of Europe and Donald
:21:42. > :21:46.Trump who thinks the EU will unravel is a shift to a radically different
:21:47. > :21:52.view of the world. Mrs May doesn't think any of that. She is not
:21:53. > :21:58.antenatal, not anti-EU, she says she wants the EU to succeed. She's not
:21:59. > :22:01.aggressive as far as I'm aware so I'm not sure why you would lump the
:22:02. > :22:08.British Prime Minister in with these other characters. Let me explain, by
:22:09. > :22:16.choosing this uncompromising approach to Brexit, clearly in doing
:22:17. > :22:19.so she, in my view, maybe not yours or others, is pursuing a self
:22:20. > :22:23.harming approach to the United Kingdom but also pulling up the
:22:24. > :22:28.threads that bind the rest of the European Union together, in so
:22:29. > :22:33.ostentatiously siding with Donald Trump, somehow declaring in my view
:22:34. > :22:42.speciously that we can make up with the trade we will lose, she's not
:22:43. > :22:46.challenging the shift to a more chauvinist approach to world affairs
:22:47. > :22:51.that is happening in many places. You are at your party's Spring
:22:52. > :22:56.conference, I think we can agree any Lib Dem come back will take a long
:22:57. > :23:01.time. Would Tory dominance be more effectively challenged by a
:23:02. > :23:06.realignment of the centre and the centre-left? Are you working towards
:23:07. > :23:13.that? I missed half the question but I think you are talking about a
:23:14. > :23:17.realignment. As a cook a way to get over Tory dominance, would you want
:23:18. > :23:22.that to happen? Are you working towards that? My view is the
:23:23. > :23:27.recovery of the Lib Dems will be quicker than you suggest. People
:23:28. > :23:31.often forget that even the low point of our fortunes in the last election
:23:32. > :23:35.we still got a million more votes than the SNP, it's only because we
:23:36. > :23:44.have got this crazy electoral system... But the SNP fight in
:23:45. > :23:50.Scotland, you fight in the whole country! But I'm saying the way
:23:51. > :23:59.seats are allocated overlooks the fact that 2.5 million still voted
:24:00. > :24:03.for us. But my own view is of course there are people feeling
:24:04. > :24:06.increasingly homeless in the liberal wing of the Conservative Party
:24:07. > :24:10.because they are now in a party which is in effect indistinguishable
:24:11. > :24:17.from Ukip on some of the biggest issues of the day, and homeless folk
:24:18. > :24:21.on the rational, reasonable wing of the Labour Party. I would invite
:24:22. > :24:25.them to join the Liberal Democrats and I would invite everyone across
:24:26. > :24:30.parties to talk about the idea is that bind us because the Westminster
:24:31. > :24:34.village can invest a lot of energy building new castles in the sky,
:24:35. > :24:37.inventing new names for parties when actually what you want is for people
:24:38. > :24:49.on the progressive centre ground of British politics to talk about the
:24:50. > :24:54.ideas that unite them, from the dilemmas of artificial intelligence
:24:55. > :24:58.to climate change. Do you think in your own view, can Brexit still be
:24:59. > :25:07.thwarted or is it now a matter of getting the best terms? I think we
:25:08. > :25:11.are in an interlude, almost a calm between two storms, the storm of the
:25:12. > :25:15.referendum itself and the collision between the Government's stated
:25:16. > :25:19.ambitions for Brexit and the reality of having to negotiate something
:25:20. > :25:24.unworkable with 27 other governments. The one thing I can
:25:25. > :25:35.guarantee you is that what the Government has promised to the
:25:36. > :25:40.British people cannot happen. Over a slower period of time we will work
:25:41. > :25:44.out our new relationship with the European Union. Theresa May said she
:25:45. > :25:50.will settle divorce arrangements, and pensions, so one, negotiate new
:25:51. > :25:55.trade agreements, new climate change policies and so on, and have all of
:25:56. > :25:59.that ratified within two years, that will not happen so I think there
:26:00. > :26:05.will be a lot of turbulence in the next couple of years. Will you use
:26:06. > :26:11.this turbulence to try to thwart Brexit, to find a way of rolling
:26:12. > :26:15.back the decision? It's not about repeating the debates of the past or
:26:16. > :26:20.thwarting the will of the people but it is comparing what people were
:26:21. > :26:27.promised from the ?350 million for the NHS every week through to this
:26:28. > :26:31.glittering array of new trade agreements we will sign across the
:26:32. > :26:35.world, with the reality that will transpire in the next couple of
:26:36. > :26:39.years and at that point, yes it is my belief people should be able to
:26:40. > :26:43.take a second look at if that is what they really want. A couple of
:26:44. > :26:51.quick questions, would you welcome an early general election? I always
:26:52. > :26:58.welcome them, we couldn't do worse than we did last time. That is
:26:59. > :27:00.certainly true. You have a column in the Evening Standard, have you
:27:01. > :27:07.spoken to the new editor about whether he will keep your column or
:27:08. > :27:14.spike it? No, I wait in nervous anticipation. Can you be a newspaper
:27:15. > :27:22.editor in the morning and an MP in the afternoon? Do I think that's
:27:23. > :27:27.feasible? Sorry, I missed a bit. There is no prohibition, no law
:27:28. > :27:32.against MPs being editors. They have been in the past and no doubt will
:27:33. > :27:39.again in the future. He is taking a lot on, he is an editor, also
:27:40. > :27:43.wanting to be an MP, a jetsetting academic in the States, working in
:27:44. > :27:48.the city, I suspect something will give. It seems to me even by his
:27:49. > :27:54.self-confidence standards in his own abilities I suspect he is taking on
:27:55. > :27:57.a little bit too much. Very diplomatic, Mr Clegg, I'm sure you
:27:58. > :28:02.will get to keep the column. Thanks for joining us.
:28:03. > :28:04.Now, for the last six months England's NHS bosses have been
:28:05. > :28:07.warning the health service needs more money to help it meet
:28:08. > :28:10.But in his first Budget, the Chancellor offered
:28:11. > :28:12.no immediate relief, and today the head of
:28:13. > :28:14.the organisation representing England's NHS trusts says hundreds
:28:15. > :28:17.of thousands of patients will have to wait longer for both emergency
:28:18. > :28:18.care and planned operations, unless the Government
:28:19. > :28:26.Warnings over funding are not exactly new.
:28:27. > :28:29.Back in 2014 the head of the NHS in England, Simon Stevens,
:28:30. > :28:34.published his plan for the future of the health service.
:28:35. > :28:36.In his five-year forward view, Stevens said the NHS in England
:28:37. > :28:39.would face a funding shortfall of up to ?30 billion by 2020.
:28:40. > :28:42.To bridge that gap he said the NHS would need more money
:28:43. > :28:46.from the Government, at least ?8 billion extra,
:28:47. > :28:49.and that the health service could account for the rest by making
:28:50. > :28:56.The Government says it's given the health service more than what it
:28:57. > :28:58.asked for, and that NHS in England will have received
:28:59. > :29:04.That number is disputed by NHS managers and the chair
:29:05. > :29:06.of Parliament's health committee, who say the figure is more
:29:07. > :29:09.like ?4.5 billion, while other parts of the health and social care budget
:29:10. > :29:15.have been cut, putting pressure on the front line.
:29:16. > :29:18.Last year, two thirds of NHS trusts in England finished
:29:19. > :29:21.the year in the red, and despite emergency bailouts
:29:22. > :29:23.from the Government, the NHS is likely to record
:29:24. > :29:28.Meanwhile national targets on waiting times for A
:29:29. > :29:31.departments, diagnostic tests, and operations are being
:29:32. > :29:38.This month's Budget provided ?2 billion for social care
:29:39. > :29:42.but there was no new cash for the NHS, leading trusts to warn
:29:43. > :29:45.that patient care is beginning to suffer, and what is being asked
:29:46. > :29:51.And I'm joined now by the Chief Executive of NHS
:29:52. > :29:56.Providers in England, Chris Hopson.
:29:57. > :30:03.Welcome to the programme. Morning, Andrew. I will come onto the extra
:30:04. > :30:08.money you need to do your job properly in a minute but first, part
:30:09. > :30:11.of the deal was you had to make 22 billion in efficiency savings, not a
:30:12. > :30:17.bank that money but spend it on patient care, the front line, and so
:30:18. > :30:19.on. How is that going? So, last parliament we realised around 18
:30:20. > :30:23.billion of productivity and efficiency savings, we are realising
:30:24. > :30:27.more this year so we are on course to realise 3 billion this year, that
:30:28. > :30:32.is a quarter of a billion more than last year but all of us in the NHS
:30:33. > :30:36.knew the 22 billion would be a very stretching target and we are
:30:37. > :30:43.somewhat inevitably falling short. So it is 22 billion by 2,020.
:30:44. > :30:51.Roughly. That was the time. We are now into 2017. So how much of the 22
:30:52. > :30:56.billion have you achieved? We realised around 3 billion last year
:30:57. > :31:02.and we will realise 3 billion this year, Court of billion more, 3.25
:31:03. > :31:06.billion this year, so we are on course for 18-19,000,000,000. By the
:31:07. > :31:10.2021 period? You are not that far away. The problem is the degree to
:31:11. > :31:15.which demand is going up. We have record demand over the winter period
:31:16. > :31:19.and that actually meant we have seen more people than we have ever seen
:31:20. > :31:25.before but performance is still under real pressure. Let me come
:31:26. > :31:29.onto that. When you agreed on the 22 billion efficiency savings plus some
:31:30. > :31:33.extra money from the government, I know there is a bit of an argument
:31:34. > :31:38.about how much that is actually worth, had you not factored in this
:31:39. > :31:42.extra demand that you saw coming over the next three or four years?
:31:43. > :31:47.Let's be very clear committee referred to Simon Stevens's forward
:31:48. > :31:51.view and we signed up to it but the 22 billion was a process run at the
:31:52. > :31:54.centre of government by the Department of Health with its arms
:31:55. > :31:58.length bodies, NHS England and others and is not something that was
:31:59. > :32:02.consulted on with the NHS. But you signed up to it. We always said that
:32:03. > :32:08.the day that that Spending Review was announced, the idea that the NHS
:32:09. > :32:11.where customer demand goes up something like four or 5% every
:32:12. > :32:15.year, the idea that in the middle years of Parliament we would be able
:32:16. > :32:21.to provide the same level of service when we were only getting funding
:32:22. > :32:25.increases of 1.3%, 0.4% and 0.7%, and I can show you the press release
:32:26. > :32:30.we issued, we always said there was going to be a gap and that we would
:32:31. > :32:36.not be able to deliver what was required. The full 22 billion in
:32:37. > :32:39.other words? What we said to Simon Stevens at the Public Accounts
:32:40. > :32:45.Committee a few months ago, the NHS didn't get what it was asked for.
:32:46. > :32:51.Today the NHS, cope with the resources it has according to you.
:32:52. > :32:55.How much more does it need? Are reported is about 2017-18 and we
:32:56. > :32:58.estimate that what we are being asked to do, and again, Andrew, you
:32:59. > :33:04.clearly set it out in the package, we are a long way off the four-hour
:33:05. > :33:08.A target and a long way off the 92%. The waiting times and
:33:09. > :33:13.operations. How much more do you need? And we are making up a ?900
:33:14. > :33:18.million deficit. If you take all of those into account we estimate you
:33:19. > :33:22.would need an extra ?3.5 billion next year in order to deliver all of
:33:23. > :33:26.those targets and eliminate the deficit. That would be 3.5 billion
:33:27. > :33:30.on top of what is already planned next year and that would be 3.5
:33:31. > :33:33.billion repeated in the years to come too? Yes, Andrew it is
:33:34. > :33:39.important we should make an important distinction about the NHS
:33:40. > :33:42.versus other public services. When the last government, the last Labour
:33:43. > :33:47.government put extra money into the NHS it clearly said that in return
:33:48. > :33:51.for that it would establish some standards in the NHS Constitution,
:33:52. > :33:55.the 95% A target we have talked about and the 92% elective surgery
:33:56. > :33:59.we have talked about. The trust we represent are very clear, they would
:34:00. > :34:03.want to realise those standards, but you can only do it if you pay for
:34:04. > :34:08.it. The problem is at the moment is we are in the longest and deepest
:34:09. > :34:12.financial squeeze in NHS history. As we have said, funding is only going
:34:13. > :34:17.up by 1% per year but every year just to stand still cost and demand
:34:18. > :34:22.go up by more than 4%. There is clearly a demand for more money. I
:34:23. > :34:25.think people watching this programme will think probably the NHS is going
:34:26. > :34:30.to have to get more money to meet the goals you have been given. I
:34:31. > :34:35.think they would also like to be sure that your Mac running the NHS
:34:36. > :34:39.as efficiently as it could be. We read this morning that trusts have
:34:40. > :34:44.got ?100 million of empty properties that cost 10 million to maintain, 36
:34:45. > :34:49.office blocks are not being used, you have surplus land equivalent to
:34:50. > :34:54.1800 football pitches. Yes, there are a number of things that we know
:34:55. > :34:59.in the NHS we need to do better but let me remind you, Andrew, in the
:35:00. > :35:02.last Parliament we realised ?18 billion worth of cost improvement
:35:03. > :35:09.gains. We are going to realise another 3 billion this year, 0.25
:35:10. > :35:12.billion more than last year so these things are being targeted. But
:35:13. > :35:15.having that surplus land, it is almost certainly in areas where
:35:16. > :35:21.there is a demand for housing. Absolutely. So why not release it
:35:22. > :35:26.for housing? You get the money, the people get their houses and its
:35:27. > :35:29.contribution and a signal that you are running NHS assets as
:35:30. > :35:34.efficiently as you can? Tell me if I'm going to too much detail for
:35:35. > :35:38.you. One of the reasons as to why our trusts are reluctant to realise
:35:39. > :35:42.those land sales is because there is an assumption that the money would
:35:43. > :35:46.go back to the Treasury and wouldn't benefit NHS trusts. You could make a
:35:47. > :35:50.deal, couldn't you? That's part of the conversation going on at the
:35:51. > :35:55.moment. The issue is that we would want to ensure that if we do release
:35:56. > :36:06.land, quite rightly the benefit, particularly in foundation trusts
:36:07. > :36:08.which are, as you will remember, deliberately autonomous
:36:09. > :36:10.organisations, that they should keep the benefit of those land sales.
:36:11. > :36:10.Have you raised that with the government?
:36:11. > :36:23.Yes we have. What did they say? They are in discussions of it. We heard
:36:24. > :36:28.somebody who moved from one job and then to another job and given a big
:36:29. > :36:32.salary and then almost ?200,000 as a payoff. There is a national mood for
:36:33. > :36:35.the NHS to get more money. But before you give anybody any more
:36:36. > :36:39.money you want to be sure that the money you have got already is being
:36:40. > :36:44.properly spent, which for us, is the patient at the end of the day. And
:36:45. > :36:52.yet there seem to be these enormous salaries and payoffs. I've worked in
:36:53. > :36:54.a FTSE 100 on the board of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and I
:36:55. > :36:57.have worked in large organisations. I can look you completely straight
:36:58. > :37:00.in the eye and tell you that the jobs that our hospital, community,
:37:01. > :37:03.mental health and ambulance chief Executives do are amongst the most
:37:04. > :37:08.complicated leadership roles I have ever seen. It doesn't seem to me to
:37:09. > :37:11.be unreasonable that in order to get the right quality of people we
:37:12. > :37:15.should pay an appropriate salary. The reality is the salaries are paid
:37:16. > :37:20.are not excessive when talking about managing budgets of over ?1 billion
:37:21. > :37:27.a year and talking about managing tens of thousands of staff. There
:37:28. > :37:31.was a doctor working as a locum that earned an extra ?375,000. One of the
:37:32. > :37:34.problems in the NHS is a mismatch between the number of staff we need
:37:35. > :37:38.and the number of staff coming through the pipeline. What is having
:37:39. > :37:43.to happen is if you want to keep a service going you have to use Mackem
:37:44. > :37:49.and agency staff. Even at that cost? You would not want to pay those
:37:50. > :37:53.amounts. But you are. The chief Executives's choice in those areas
:37:54. > :37:58.is giving the service open or employing a locum. I'm sure you
:37:59. > :38:01.could find a locum prepared to work for less than that. What indication,
:38:02. > :38:06.what hopes do you have of getting the extra ?3 billion? The government
:38:07. > :38:11.has been very clear, for the moment it wants to stick to the existing
:38:12. > :38:15.funding settlement it has agreed. So there was nothing in the budget. Can
:38:16. > :38:20.I finish by making one important point. Please, finish. This is the
:38:21. > :38:26.first time the NHS has said before the year has even started that we
:38:27. > :38:31.can't deliver on those standards. We believe, as do most people who work
:38:32. > :38:35.in the NHS, that the NHS is on a gradual slow decline. This is a very
:38:36. > :38:38.important inflection point to Mark, this is the first time before the
:38:39. > :38:42.financial year starts that we say we cannot meet the targets we are being
:38:43. > :38:46.asked to deliver and are in the NHS Constitution. We have run out of
:38:47. > :38:47.time. Chris Hopson, thank you for being with me.
:38:48. > :38:49.It's just gone 11:35am, you're watching the Sunday Politics.
:38:50. > :38:52.We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland who leave us now
:38:53. > :39:08.On today's show - just what's going on with our municipal parks?
:39:09. > :39:11.There was a time when they were a source of civic pride with a dash
:39:12. > :39:14.of Victorian social engineering thrown in - now a recent select
:39:15. > :39:16.committee says they're being dangerously neglected
:39:17. > :39:23.First let's meet the two politicians who'll be with me
:39:24. > :39:28.Mims Davies is the Conservative MP for Eastleigh, and Gerald
:39:29. > :39:30.Vernon-Jackson is the leader of the Liberal Democrat group
:39:31. > :39:52.Different sides on the Brexit debate. David Davis said if we have
:39:53. > :39:58.no deal, there has been no calculation and what the impact will
:39:59. > :40:02.be on the economy. I have confidence in the timetable we set out and
:40:03. > :40:07.there are some serious unknowns but we will be heading into the great
:40:08. > :40:11.repeal act and we have negotiations with the primary area that I would
:40:12. > :40:18.like to see as fake a song which is our EU nationals here and our
:40:19. > :40:27.citizens abroad. Bit -- that should be sorted out early on. If we end up
:40:28. > :40:32.with a 30% tariff on dairy and milk, that will have huge implications and
:40:33. > :40:38.made don't seem to have done the sums. If you hear back from the EU,
:40:39. > :40:43.there is different messages coming back. There is some meeting of minds
:40:44. > :40:46.needed and we are into that phase. That is very welcome for my
:40:47. > :40:51.constituents and for people who want to know what is going to happen.
:40:52. > :40:54.Their jobs, how their mortgage rates are going to be set and how they
:40:55. > :41:01.will go forward. We are in a positive face where we will be
:41:02. > :41:10.looking globally and we do need to make sure we are on the front foot
:41:11. > :41:16.and this two years is used well. We are at the front of the queue with
:41:17. > :41:22.the US and I'm sure everyone is delighted about that. We're
:41:23. > :41:26.delighted, Gerald? I'm worried because all the meat that is pumped
:41:27. > :41:31.full of antibiotics and other things that is sold in the US but is banned
:41:32. > :41:35.in Britain because it's not safe, will be available to be even here in
:41:36. > :41:41.Britain. Nobody seems to have thought this through in government.
:41:42. > :41:44.It is clear we won't get a deal. All 27 other countries have to agree it
:41:45. > :41:53.and somebody won't. Therefore there won't be a deal. That would take too
:41:54. > :41:58.long so can't we say leave everything as it is and we will
:41:59. > :42:03.change things one by one? Which would stay part of the single market
:42:04. > :42:07.but the government have ruled that out. The Conservative peers voted to
:42:08. > :42:13.say we would not give EU nationals living here the right to stay.
:42:14. > :42:24.Conservative members said no. I can see how they will do that. That was
:42:25. > :42:30.about Article 50 and those details will come forward. It can one
:42:31. > :42:35.farming detail. The Prime Minister this week responded to one of our
:42:36. > :42:41.backbenchers saying our safety when it comes to our food and the good
:42:42. > :42:44.things we have inherited from the EU, we will keep. That means we
:42:45. > :42:49.can't have a free-trade deal with the US because they will demand that
:42:50. > :42:58.unsafe food comes in and is sold in British supermarkets. We are in a
:42:59. > :43:03.really bad place. If we don't want dodgy US food, will not take it. We
:43:04. > :43:07.have turned our back on 250 million people to buy British goods.
:43:08. > :43:09.It's been National Science Week this week, with events across the region
:43:10. > :43:12.trying to persuade young people of the excitements and rewards
:43:13. > :43:16.The BBC's been getting in on the act with the Bottle Rocket Challenge,
:43:17. > :43:19.where celebrities have a go at a bit of hands-on science
:43:20. > :43:44.I might have to go and remove the Cork again.
:43:45. > :43:52.Louise Minchin and Dan Walker from BBC Breakfast there -
:43:53. > :43:55.and if you want to have a go at launching a bottle rocket
:43:56. > :43:56.there's full instructions on the BBC website.
:43:57. > :43:58.But more seriously, one of the issues here
:43:59. > :44:02.In the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
:44:03. > :44:06.industries - the so-called STEM subjects - just 14%
:44:07. > :44:08.of the workforce are women, in engineering it's just 8%,
:44:09. > :44:14.Joining us now is Sarah Chapman from Bracknell-based
:44:15. > :44:33.Is it getting worse? Why 8%? Unfortunately young girls are put
:44:34. > :44:43.off at GCSE levels. They don't go one to choose science in a level and
:44:44. > :44:48.beyond. From my experience, a lot of it is around a lack of role models.
:44:49. > :44:52.You can't be it if you can see it. We need to show young women there
:44:53. > :45:01.are plenty of jobs that are not in lab coats, grimy engineers. I get to
:45:02. > :45:06.work with people. All about cleanliness? It is more about that.
:45:07. > :45:12.In maths, lots of women want to go into medicine. It is a majority of
:45:13. > :45:17.GPs who are female. Is it computer science that is worse? Watch and we
:45:18. > :45:22.learn from that? Some sciences woman want to do but some they don't?
:45:23. > :45:29.Sometimes they don't realise what those jobs look like. When my
:45:30. > :45:33.colleague looked puzzles and she never associated that with computer
:45:34. > :45:41.science and maths. There is a lot of women who don't make that link
:45:42. > :45:48.between jobs in the real world and what they study at school. That is
:45:49. > :45:55.vital to get them into it. You made the point about crime. I was saying
:45:56. > :46:06.you have to be the men and change the industries? The industries are
:46:07. > :46:08.changing. A lot is about collaboration. It is about working
:46:09. > :46:40.with lab teams. There are lots of spreadsheets and
:46:41. > :46:43.if you can't communicate your ideas, inventions are never made alone.
:46:44. > :46:50.They are always a big team especially in a company Nike mine.
:46:51. > :46:52.We need people who can connect with customers, understand and articulate
:46:53. > :47:04.themselves. That is something that is not always understood. Gerald,
:47:05. > :47:08.what do you think the answer is? You have to encourage and show people.
:47:09. > :47:13.Different industries do it in different ways. In Portsmouth, the
:47:14. > :47:20.big engineering thing is Airbus with the satellite industry and
:47:21. > :47:27.headquarters at the satellite industry. 1200 engineering jobs and
:47:28. > :47:32.50% of their graduate entrants are female. The worry in the long is all
:47:33. > :47:36.those satellites go off to France to be put together and assembled and if
:47:37. > :47:44.we are out of the single market, there will be tariffs. There will be
:47:45. > :47:55.fewer jobs available in engineering in Portsmouth are women and men. It
:47:56. > :48:01.is a growing sector. 'S 20% of the satellite is going around the world
:48:02. > :48:07.made in Portsmouth. Mims, they used to be a lot of dockyard jobs. We
:48:08. > :48:13.should beat this -- changing the perception. Isn't it starting in
:48:14. > :48:22.schools? Science and Tech is not about the oily rag trade and getting
:48:23. > :48:31.dirty. I went there to Easley this week. Hardly anybody on computers
:48:32. > :48:39.that were women. They said they were geeks and blokes. There is a huge
:48:40. > :48:43.talent pool that we need to attract. In Mike on situation -- in my
:48:44. > :48:47.constituency, we are leading in contact lens around the world am I
:48:48. > :48:49.went to one school and we have linked them up in terms of making
:48:50. > :48:52.sure the girls up the road go and sure the girls up the road go and
:48:53. > :48:56.have a visit of that centre and have a visit of that centre and
:48:57. > :49:02.realise what is being made and how they can get involved. We want work
:49:03. > :49:05.ready kids, so we need to do that better in schools. Companies often
:49:06. > :49:11.saying we need to make sure the kids know what the jobs are that are out
:49:12. > :49:16.there. If we want the right people coming in, businesses need to be
:49:17. > :49:20.clear on what is out there. Refrigeration and air conditioning,
:49:21. > :49:24.we are leading the country in terms of bringing through the engineers.
:49:25. > :49:28.We need more women and girls doing this. Sticking with maths, you can't
:49:29. > :49:34.be a leader if you can't read a balance sheet. You will end up on
:49:35. > :49:39.the creative side. We still need more women in the creative areas.
:49:40. > :49:52.There are lots of women who do maths, aren't there? Is the
:49:53. > :49:58.engineering side just a cultural thing? It is boys and toys and women
:49:59. > :50:03.like different things. A lot of stem jobs, they need a diverse range of
:50:04. > :50:06.skills and it is about recognising in engineering, you need the
:50:07. > :50:13.mechanical skills but those engineers, there is a team of people
:50:14. > :50:20.and we really need creative people. Nail technicians. They are the same
:50:21. > :50:26.people that then go into the flat onyx industry because they need the
:50:27. > :50:28.same skills. We need to show people with certain creative skills that
:50:29. > :50:35.there is a chance in the digital industry. We should all input into
:50:36. > :50:38.this and get this better for all our population. There are other
:50:39. > :50:50.professions which are entirely female. The care home where my mum
:50:51. > :50:55.lives, entire staff are female. We are not going to get young people
:50:56. > :50:59.into those jobs. There is a gap and Willie to fill it with something.
:51:00. > :51:02.They have to be able to see it. Now how much do you
:51:03. > :51:05.value your local park? Have you noticed it's maybe not
:51:06. > :51:07.as pristine as it once was? Well the Communities and Local
:51:08. > :51:10.Government Select Committee has and last month said that funding
:51:11. > :51:13.for parks in some cases had been In Bournemouth the parks department
:51:14. > :51:17.has lost around half Our Dorset Political Reporter
:51:18. > :51:24.Tristan Pascoe has been checking out In the 1950s and 60s, play equipment
:51:25. > :51:36.like this was commonplace Health and safety has put paid
:51:37. > :51:45.to much of this kind of kit, though, But today, with other
:51:46. > :51:49.spending priorities, council run parks and play areas
:51:50. > :51:53.like this have seen a steady Here in Bournemouth, for example,
:51:54. > :51:57.the money for parks has halved And that drop in funding is a real
:51:58. > :52:02.concern to a committee of MPs who are warning that
:52:03. > :52:06.because of progressive cuts, our public parks are now
:52:07. > :52:10.at a tipping point. This park on a large housing
:52:11. > :52:13.estate in Bournemouth There are a few bits of equipment
:52:14. > :52:21.for local kids to play on but there's a tonne of evidence
:52:22. > :52:25.that suggests our parks have a huge role to play in our physical
:52:26. > :52:27.and mental health and well-being and they are fo far more
:52:28. > :52:32.than merely horsing around. We can clearly see that
:52:33. > :52:40.the potential for us as human beings as part of nature to interact
:52:41. > :52:42.with nature and have access to that, you can take exercise,
:52:43. > :52:44.you can meet people, develop friendships,
:52:45. > :52:46.social interaction. There has been some small studies
:52:47. > :52:48.looking at measuring people's cortisol levels,
:52:49. > :52:50.the stress hormone, and that's already been shown to reduce those
:52:51. > :52:52.over a 24-hour period. So we're only just
:52:53. > :52:54.beginning to understand it. Just because we don't have a full
:52:55. > :52:56.understanding doesn't mean They are absolutely vital in terms
:52:57. > :53:00.of our health and well-being. So parks are hugely
:53:01. > :53:02.important to public health and are significantly boosted
:53:03. > :53:05.with activities like park run, arts and cultural
:53:06. > :53:13.activities, even crazy golf. But with the other budgetary
:53:14. > :53:15.pressures on our councils, funding to maintain our public parks
:53:16. > :53:19.is disappearing down a black hole. There is less money
:53:20. > :53:21.to spend on horticulture. There's less money to spend
:53:22. > :53:24.on playgrounds and reduced amount of patrol and it's not a position
:53:25. > :53:27.with like to be in. We'd like to have more staff out
:53:28. > :53:30.in parks making sure people felt You do have to make some
:53:31. > :53:42.fairly stark choices. In Bournemouth, a charity has been
:53:43. > :53:47.set up specifically to try and push the outside investment and a group
:53:48. > :53:50.of local volunteers is all There's a report out today saying
:53:51. > :53:56.exercise from seven years of age If we don't invest in open
:53:57. > :54:03.spaces and encourage children to go outside,
:54:04. > :54:08.runaround and play, it's only At the very least, let's
:54:09. > :54:12.maintain those open spaces The communities and local government
:54:13. > :54:15.select committee is calling on councils to come up
:54:16. > :54:17.with a long-term strategy. So with warnings of paddling pools
:54:18. > :54:20.at risk of being closed to save money, maintenance reduced
:54:21. > :54:23.leading to an increase in litter and rats, what is the Councillor
:54:24. > :54:25.in charge of Bournemouth's parks Our strategy, I think,
:54:26. > :54:29.is to keep our eye on the ball It needs more than a few
:54:30. > :54:34.words, doesn't it? The government is asking you to come
:54:35. > :54:37.up with a long-term vision. And if you look at our cabinet
:54:38. > :54:40.forward plan, you'll see on it is parks strategy and that's
:54:41. > :54:43.what we're working We're spending money and we're
:54:44. > :54:51.finding that by selling beach huts. One thing is financing
:54:52. > :54:53.something else. The bigger picture is that everybody
:54:54. > :54:56.is going to have to look inwardly So, yes, there is financial pressure
:54:57. > :55:04.on local authorities. There are warnings that
:55:05. > :55:06.funding for public in open spaces continues to fall,
:55:07. > :55:09.there will be Being able to exercise has now been
:55:10. > :55:15.shown very clearly to reduce Already we have worse mental health
:55:16. > :55:19.than in most big cities than we do outside of cities,
:55:20. > :55:22.so the likelihood is Parks were an original
:55:23. > :55:29.National Health Service and make play an enormous amount in terms
:55:30. > :55:32.of reducing the burden on social care by getting people out
:55:33. > :55:34.and keeping people healthy. I think if money was no object
:55:35. > :55:37.at all, I'd like to see us leaving a legacy of public parks
:55:38. > :55:39.for the 21st-century, something to compare
:55:40. > :56:06.with what Victorians did over They suggest alternatives to local
:56:07. > :56:10.authorities. Is it a bit on Southampton Common, Southsea Common,
:56:11. > :56:14.they are big open areas and maintained by Council and the lungs
:56:15. > :56:20.of the local community. Councils have to look after them properly. In
:56:21. > :56:24.Portsmouth we have an issue that in our Central Park, the guy that runs
:56:25. > :56:30.the cafe with a public loos has been thrown out the council -- thrown out
:56:31. > :56:38.by the council because they don't like him. His 10,000 a year rent has
:56:39. > :56:43.been thrown back at him. When money is so short, surely for local
:56:44. > :56:47.authorities you can't keep them pristine. Some councils stop people
:56:48. > :56:52.who go out doing the jogging if they are a private company. We do -- we
:56:53. > :56:58.need a different approach. There are ways of doing -- of doing it in an
:56:59. > :57:08.imaginative way. You can have blunting their all through the year.
:57:09. > :57:22.There are ways of doing it. -- you can have planting all through the
:57:23. > :57:27.year. It is part of the mix. There is a power of well-being that has
:57:28. > :57:34.devolved down to local councillors. Park run is really important. The
:57:35. > :57:40.NHS and DWP will pick up the problems that not getting out and
:57:41. > :57:49.about brings with you. I was walking with the Woodland Trust in ancient
:57:50. > :57:52.woodland that they think should be looked at like an ancient cathedral
:57:53. > :57:57.because it is hundreds of years old. Being able to pop down to the park
:57:58. > :58:00.is really important. We need to look at different ways of looking after
:58:01. > :58:03.these parks but councillors will have to make some difficult
:58:04. > :58:09.positions stop not keeping our parks past even -- pristine is a bad
:58:10. > :58:18.decision. They need to work better in making a decent solution and if
:58:19. > :58:22.you have got people attracting your residence there, with the chance to
:58:23. > :58:27.have a coffee and there is a chance to get people active and planting at
:58:28. > :58:34.the same time, people will give back. Let's find a balance. Keep it
:58:35. > :58:41.as a community space. That is rarely important. Now a round-up.
:58:42. > :58:44.The south coast has got his first offshore wind turbine.
:58:45. > :58:51.Eight miles off Brighton, each blade is taller than Nelson's
:58:52. > :58:53.Column and there will be hundreds of them.
:58:54. > :58:54.Some people have complained it's an eyesore.
:58:55. > :58:58.It'll be different to look at but I don't have a problem with it at all.
:58:59. > :59:00.Plans to create one council for Oxfordshire
:59:01. > :59:04.One planning department, one waste collection
:59:05. > :59:08.But the plans are opposed by three district councils who say
:59:09. > :59:12.It would be undemocratic, it will take power away from local people.
:59:13. > :59:14.The CBI director, Caroline Fairburn, visited company bosses
:59:15. > :59:19.in the Thames Valley talking up the challenges and
:59:20. > :59:26.One uncertainty down here and in the Thames Valley
:59:27. > :59:29.is around people, access to talent and skills.
:59:30. > :59:36.Finally it was the public's choice although they named the Southampton
:59:37. > :59:38.research ship RS Attenborough, Boaty McBoatface lives
:59:39. > :00:03.We have seen a view U-turns. What is the best thing to do? Come up with
:00:04. > :00:23.an alternative plan or see, "We got it wrong? " I didn't have loads of
:00:24. > :00:27.screaming letters about it. There was little in the budget that people
:00:28. > :00:33.have a go at and that is why things rose to the surface. There was much
:00:34. > :00:40.more going on and there wouldn't be the indecision. We should be
:00:41. > :00:49.supporting us strivers and Theresa May has given some locals on that. I
:00:50. > :00:55.am sure it never happened when you were in Portsmouth. Always get on
:00:56. > :00:58.with it. There are other big issues. 12 police forces investigating
:00:59. > :01:06.conservatives for election malpractices. That is a really big
:01:07. > :01:14.story. Say sorry? Say sorry but the MP should be resigning and spatial
:01:15. > :01:21.tab by-elections. Headstone was never declared. If you have messed
:01:22. > :01:26.up on the returns, the Central office dealing with that. Only the
:01:27. > :01:33.Conservatives have been reported to the police for criminal corruption.
:01:34. > :01:39.Politicians have to say sorry rather a lot. They expect us to be honest
:01:40. > :01:44.and come back with the answers when we need to do it and it is a good
:01:45. > :01:46.thing for our democracy. People don't always get things right.
:01:47. > :01:49.That's the Sunday Politics in the South, thanks to my guests
:01:50. > :01:53.Mims Davies and Gerald Vernon-Jackson.
:01:54. > :02:03.you both. Say goodbye. Goodbye. Back to you.
:02:04. > :02:06.So, can George Osborne stay on as a member of Parliament
:02:07. > :02:10.Will Conservative backbenchers force a Government re-think
:02:11. > :02:14.And is Theresa May about to cap gas and electricity prices?
:02:15. > :02:23.Whose idea was that first of all? They are all questions for the Week
:02:24. > :02:33.Ahead to. Let's start with the story that is
:02:34. > :02:37.too much fun to miss, on Friday it was announced the former Chancellor
:02:38. > :02:42.would be the new editor of London's Evening Standard newspaper, a
:02:43. > :02:45.position he will take up in mid-May on a salary of ?200,000 for four
:02:46. > :02:49.days a week. But Mr Osborne has said he will not
:02:50. > :02:52.be stepping down as MP for Tatton in Cheshire,
:02:53. > :02:55.a job he's held since 2001, Alongside these duties,
:02:56. > :02:58.he's also chairman of While being committed to one day
:02:59. > :03:04.a week at Black Rock, an American asset management firm -
:03:05. > :03:06.a part-time role that earns him Then he's polishing his academic
:03:07. > :03:12.credentials, as a fellow at the McCain Institute,
:03:13. > :03:14.an American thinktank, And finally as a member
:03:15. > :03:21.of the Washington Speaker's Bureau, he also earns his keep
:03:22. > :03:28.as an after-dinner speaker, banking around ?750,000
:03:29. > :03:40.since last summer. So there you go. Nice little earners
:03:41. > :03:43.if you can get them. The problem, though, is he has put second jobs on
:03:44. > :03:47.the agenda and lots of his fellow MPs are not happy because they have
:03:48. > :03:53.got second jobs but not making that kind of money. No, and a lot of MPs
:03:54. > :03:57.on both sides actually are unhappy about it exactly for those reasons.
:03:58. > :04:01.I find it a very interesting appointment. We have got these
:04:02. > :04:06.people on the centre and centre right of politics who have been used
:04:07. > :04:10.to power since 1997, they have been on the airwaves today, Tony Blair,
:04:11. > :04:15.Nick Clegg, George Osborne, and they are all seeking other platforms now
:04:16. > :04:19.because power has moved elsewhere. So Tony Blair is setting up this new
:04:20. > :04:23.foundation, Nick Clegg refused to condemn George Osborne, Tony Blair
:04:24. > :04:29.praised the appointment. They are all searching for new platforms.
:04:30. > :04:33.They might have overestimated the degree to which this will be a huge
:04:34. > :04:39.influential platform. The standard was very pro-Tory at the 2015
:04:40. > :04:43.election but London voted Labour, it was pro-Zac Goldsmith but they
:04:44. > :04:47.elected Sadiq Khan. It might be overestimating the degree to which
:04:48. > :04:52.this is a hugely influential paper. But I can see why it attracts him as
:04:53. > :04:58.a platform when all these platforms have disappeared, eg power and
:04:59. > :05:03.government. All of these people who used to be in power are quietly
:05:04. > :05:07.getting together again, Mr Blair on television this morning, George
:05:08. > :05:12.Osborne not only filling his bank account but now in charge of
:05:13. > :05:16.London's most important newspaper, Nick Clegg out today not saying
:05:17. > :05:22.Brexit was a done deal, waiting to see what happens, even John Major
:05:23. > :05:26.was wheeled out again today in the Mail on Sunday. They are all playing
:05:27. > :05:31.for position. I half expect David Cameron to turn up as features
:05:32. > :05:38.editor on The Evening Standard. Brexit and breakfast! With Mr Clegg,
:05:39. > :05:41.did he not? I do not think this is sustainable for George Osborne, I
:05:42. > :05:45.worked at The Evening Standard and I was there for three years, I know
:05:46. > :05:49.what the hours are like for a humble journalist, never mind the editor.
:05:50. > :05:53.If he thinks he can get at 4am everyday to be in the offices at 5am
:05:54. > :05:57.to oversee the splash, manage everything in the way and edited
:05:58. > :06:02.should he is in cloud cuckoo land. What this says to people is there is
:06:03. > :06:06.a kind of feel of soft corruption about public life here, where you
:06:07. > :06:09.see what you can get away with. He thinks he can brazen this out and
:06:10. > :06:12.maybe he can but what kind of message does that send to people
:06:13. > :06:18.about how seriously people take the role of being an MP? He must have
:06:19. > :06:23.known. He applied for the job. The Russian owner didn't approach him,
:06:24. > :06:28.he approached Lebedev, the proprietor, for it. He must have
:06:29. > :06:32.calculated there would be some kickback. I wonder if he realised
:06:33. > :06:36.there would be quite the kickback there has been. I think that's
:06:37. > :06:40.probably right. This hasn't finished yet, by the way, this will go on and
:06:41. > :06:45.on. How on earth does George Osborne cover the budget in the autumn? Big
:06:46. > :06:50.budget, lots of physical changes and tax rises to deal with the messages
:06:51. > :06:56.out of this week. You can see already, Theresa May budget crashes.
:06:57. > :07:01.It could be worse. She's useless! Or, worse than that, me, brilliant
:07:02. > :07:07.budget, terrible newspaper, I've never buying it again. He has
:07:08. > :07:10.hoisted his own petard. He has not bought it properly through. It's a
:07:11. > :07:17.something interesting about his own future calculations, if he wants to
:07:18. > :07:20.stay on as an MP in 2020 and be Prime Minister as he has or was
:07:21. > :07:24.wanted to be he has got to find a new seat. How do you go into an
:07:25. > :07:29.association and say I should be an MP, I can do it for at least four
:07:30. > :07:32.hours Purdy after editing The Evening Standard, making a big
:07:33. > :07:39.speech and telling Black Rock how to make a big profit. The feature pages
:07:40. > :07:44.have to be approved for the next day and feature pages are aware the
:07:45. > :07:49.editor gets to make their mark. The news is the news. The feature is
:07:50. > :07:52.what concerns you, what he is in your bonnet. That defines the
:07:53. > :08:02.newspaper, doesn't it? It is not over yet. Too much 101 on
:08:03. > :08:05.newspapers. And Haatheq at. School funding, the consultation
:08:06. > :08:13.period ends, it has been a tricky one for the government, some areas
:08:14. > :08:16.losing. I guess we are seeing this through the prism of the National
:08:17. > :08:23.Insurance contributions now, it is a small majority, if Tory MPs are
:08:24. > :08:28.unhappy she may not get her way. Talking to backbench MPs who are
:08:29. > :08:33.unhappy the feeling is it is not going to go ahead in the proposed
:08:34. > :08:37.form that the consultation has been on. No 10 will definitely have to
:08:38. > :08:41.move on this. It is unclear whether they will scrap it completely, or
:08:42. > :08:46.will they bring in something possibly like a base level, floor
:08:47. > :08:51.level pupil funding below which you can't go? You would then still need
:08:52. > :08:55.to find some extra money. So there are no easy solutions on this but
:08:56. > :08:58.what is clear it is not going to go ahead in its current form. Parents
:08:59. > :09:03.have been getting letters across the country in England about what this
:09:04. > :09:06.will mean for teachers and so on in certain schools. It's not just a
:09:07. > :09:11.matter of the education Department, the schools, or the teachers and
:09:12. > :09:16.Tory backbenchers. Parents are being mobilised on this. The point of the
:09:17. > :09:20.new funding formula is to allocate more money to the more
:09:21. > :09:24.disadvantaged. That means schools in the more prosperous suburbs are
:09:25. > :09:28.going to lose money. Budget cuts on schools which are already
:09:29. > :09:33.struggling. It comes down again to be huge problem, the ever smaller
:09:34. > :09:38.fiscal pool, ever greater demands, NHS, social care, education as well,
:09:39. > :09:42.adding to Theresa May and Phillip Hammond's enormous problems. Here is
:09:43. > :09:47.an interesting issue, Steve. There was a labour Leader of the
:09:48. > :09:51.Opposition that once suggested perhaps given these huge energy
:09:52. > :09:55.companies which seemed to be good at passing on energy rises but not so
:09:56. > :09:59.good at cutting energy prices when it falls, that perhaps we should put
:10:00. > :10:03.a cap on them until at least we study how the market goes. This was
:10:04. > :10:08.obviously ludicrous Marxism and quite rightly knocked down by the
:10:09. > :10:12.Conservatives, except that Mrs May is now talking about putting a cap
:10:13. > :10:15.on energy prices. Yes, I think if it wasn't for Brexit we would focus
:10:16. > :10:21.much more on Theresa May's Ed Miliband streak. Whether this
:10:22. > :10:25.translates into policies, let us see. That bit we don't know. That
:10:26. > :10:29.bit we don't know but in terms of argument her speech to the
:10:30. > :10:33.Conservative conference on Friday was about the third or fourth time
:10:34. > :10:38.where she said as part of the speech, let's focus on the good that
:10:39. > :10:43.government can do, including in intervening in markets, exactly in
:10:44. > :10:46.the way that he used to argue. As you say, we await the policy
:10:47. > :10:50.consequences of that. She seems more cautious in terms of policy in
:10:51. > :10:55.fermentation. But in terms of the industrial strategy, in terms of
:10:56. > :10:59.implying intervention in certain markets, there is a kind of
:11:00. > :11:03.Milibandesque streak. And there comes a time when she has to walk
:11:04. > :11:09.the walk as well as talk the talk. They talk a lot about the just about
:11:10. > :11:13.managing, just about managing face rising food bills because of the
:11:14. > :11:19.lower pound and face rising fuel bills because of the rise in oil and
:11:20. > :11:24.in other commodities. One of the two things you could do to help the just
:11:25. > :11:27.about managing is to cut their food bills and the second would be to cut
:11:28. > :11:31.their fuel bills. At some stage she has to do something for them. We
:11:32. > :11:35.don't know what is going to happen to food bills under Brexit, that
:11:36. > :11:39.could become a really serious issue. They could abolish tariffs. There
:11:40. > :11:42.has been a lot of talking the talk and big announcements put out and
:11:43. > :11:44.not following through so I agree with you on that but lots of Tory
:11:45. > :11:59.MPs will have a big problem on this and the principle of
:12:00. > :12:02.continually talking about interfering in markets, whether it's
:12:03. > :12:04.on executive pay, whether it is on energy, at a time when Britain needs
:12:05. > :12:07.to send out this message to the world in their view, in the view of
:12:08. > :12:10.Brexit supporting MPs, that we are open for business and the government
:12:11. > :12:13.is not about poking around and doing this kind of thing. Of course, you
:12:14. > :12:15.could argue there is not a problem in the market for energy, it is a
:12:16. > :12:18.malfunctioning market that doesn't operate like a free market should,
:12:19. > :12:22.so that provides even Adam Smith, the inventor of market economics
:12:23. > :12:25.would have said on that basis you should intervene. I was in Cardiff
:12:26. > :12:29.to listen to Theresa May's latest explanation for doing this. By the
:12:30. > :12:34.way, we've been waiting nine months, this was one of her big ideas. You
:12:35. > :12:38.are right, let's see a bit of the meat, please. My newspaper has been
:12:39. > :12:41.calling for some pretty hefty government action on this for quite
:12:42. > :12:47.some time. For the just about managings? Yes and specifically to
:12:48. > :12:51.sort out an energy market dominated by the big six, which is manifestly
:12:52. > :12:54.ripping people off left, right and centre. Theresa May's argument in
:12:55. > :13:00.Cardiff on Friday morning which, by the way, went down like a proverbial
:13:01. > :13:04.windbreak at the proverbial funeral because Tories... You know what I
:13:05. > :13:07.mean Andrew, the big hand coming into from the state telling
:13:08. > :13:11.businesses what to do. They went very quiet indeed. They were having
:13:12. > :13:16.saving the union and Nato but there was no clapping for that. The point
:13:17. > :13:19.being, this is what she needs to do to prove her assault, to prove those
:13:20. > :13:24.first words on the steps of Downing Street. We await to see the actions
:13:25. > :13:31.taken. On that unusual agreement we will
:13:32. > :13:33.leave it there. The Daily Politics will be back on BBC Two tomorrow at
:13:34. > :13:35.noon and everyday during the week. And I'll be here on BBC One
:13:36. > :13:38.next Sunday at 11am. Remember, if it's Sunday,
:13:39. > :13:40.it's the Sunday Politics.