30/09/2012 Sunday Politics West Midlands


30/09/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 30/09/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

In the Midlands, six weeks until the biggest-ever change to the

:01:29.:01:31.

police service. Tamworth was home to the man who

:01:31.:01:34.

invented modern-day policing. What do people there know about police

:01:34.:01:44.
:01:44.:01:44.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2117 seconds

:01:44.:37:02.

Hello once again from the Midlands. I'm Patrick Burns. After a week

:37:02.:37:04.

when Parliament's Banking Commission came to Birmingham to

:37:04.:37:07.

see how to boost lending for small firms, I'm joined by Ian Austin,

:37:07.:37:10.

the Labour MP for Dudley North, former Minister for the West

:37:10.:37:14.

Midlands. And congratulations to Harriett Baldwin - Conservative MP

:37:14.:37:17.

for West Worcestershire and now a Parliamentary Private Secretary at

:37:17.:37:27.
:37:27.:37:28.

Work and Pensions. Let us begin with the that visit

:37:28.:37:33.

from the Banking Commission. On that very day came the news that

:37:33.:37:37.

the investment bank proposed at this party conference by Vince

:37:37.:37:43.

Cable, Three cheers from you to him presumably? Anything that gets

:37:43.:37:47.

lending moving and gets finance it too small a medium-sized

:37:47.:37:54.

businesses... People tell me every week they cannot raise the finance

:37:54.:38:00.

required to take on new staff. If that works it will be welcome.

:38:00.:38:05.

the question for the coalition partners, what to do so long?

:38:05.:38:10.

important to get a cheaper funds, funds which are affordable for our

:38:10.:38:16.

businesses to grow. The funding for lending scheme is beginning to

:38:16.:38:20.

trickle through in terms of the front line of the small to medium-

:38:21.:38:25.

size businesses in our A, may, which are going to be the engine

:38:25.:38:33.

for growth. -- in a our economy. One of the members of but cross-

:38:33.:38:37.

party Parliamentary commission is Pat McFadden. He joined their visit

:38:37.:38:40.

to Birmingham to see what it is like trying to get a personal or

:38:40.:38:44.

business loan, and see what obstacles may be in the way of

:38:44.:38:48.

economic growth. We wanted to hear directly from businesses and

:38:49.:38:53.

consumers about their experience in recent times with banks, at the

:38:53.:38:59.

availability of credit, the price of credit, because this is really

:38:59.:39:02.

important to relationship between banks and the real economy.

:39:02.:39:07.

It is be tricky one. In one sense you want to encourage vending, but

:39:07.:39:11.

banks cannot be Cairness a small businesses must not overstretch

:39:11.:39:18.

themselves. -- banks cannot be careless. They fact that we have

:39:18.:39:24.

done a low interest as a country, and the confidence of the

:39:24.:39:28.

investment from overseas, we want to see that low rate of interest

:39:28.:39:33.

passed on to small and medium-sized businesses. And well done to the

:39:33.:39:38.

Government for creating that our environment. We have heard all

:39:38.:39:41.

about these schemes, but the fact is that businesses have not been

:39:41.:39:46.

able to get the finance they need, and when you say well done to the

:39:46.:39:52.

Government, we are one of only 2 macro countries in the G 20 that

:39:52.:39:59.

are back in recession. Only Italy in their G8 is emerging from the

:39:59.:40:04.

global downturn more slowly than we are. Seeing Pat McFadden in that

:40:04.:40:09.

report, I wonder whether the opposition is so replete with top

:40:09.:40:13.

talent that someone like Pat McFadden can remain outside your

:40:13.:40:19.

party's Shadow Cabinet. I think he has a massive role to play in

:40:19.:40:23.

British politics, and it is good he is involved in this Banking

:40:23.:40:29.

Commission. I would back him for anything, but these are Ed

:40:29.:40:36.

Miliband's decisions. Coming up, we will be in Tunworth,

:40:36.:40:41.

the whole of the original bobby in the beat. -- D'Amore. What would

:40:41.:40:47.

Sir Robert Peel have made of the biggest upheaval in the police

:40:47.:40:52.

service since he invented it. Our part of the country seems to

:40:52.:40:58.

have a big hall for Ed Miliband. He has visited Birmingham seven times

:40:58.:41:02.

in the last six months. But Labour has still have not held the main

:41:02.:41:08.

autumn conference in Birmingham. In the office of the opposition leader,

:41:08.:41:16.

I asked him why they were one of the only -- one of their big for

:41:16.:41:21.

parties who have not? You make a persuasive case. I will

:41:21.:41:24.

announce this at the appropriate time where we have our party

:41:24.:41:27.

conferences, but Birmingham is a fantastic city. Whenever I come to

:41:27.:41:30.

Birmingham I know what a fantastic city it is, and I wish I could

:41:30.:41:34.

announce on this programme that we are definitely going to do it, but

:41:34.:41:37.

I think Birmingham is a great venue. I was wondering if perhaps you felt

:41:37.:41:40.

an apology coming on so for as Birmingham was concerned? Well, not

:41:40.:41:44.

quite. But I think as I say, the people of Birmingham should know we

:41:44.:41:46.

are very proud of Birmingham and the Labour council in Birmingham.

:41:46.:41:49.

Let's us move on to the economy, and particularly jobs. Figures from

:41:49.:41:52.

the Office for National Statistics show that in the year to June,

:41:52.:41:56.

12,000 jobs were lost in the public sector in the West Midlands, but

:41:56.:41:59.

jobs created in the private sector in the same period, nearly eight

:41:59.:42:03.

times that number. Doesn't that suggest that the Government's

:42:03.:42:08.

rebalancing of the economy is working? I welcome all the jobs

:42:08.:42:11.

that are created in the private sector, to help people in the West

:42:12.:42:15.

Midlands and elsewhere. I don't think the figures speak to the

:42:15.:42:19.

reality of people's lives. They are seeing their sons and daughters

:42:19.:42:22.

looking for work for longer and longer, high numbers of people

:42:22.:42:25.

chasing each vacancy - I think the idea that we should be complacent

:42:25.:42:28.

about our economy is totally wrong. What we have seen is an economy

:42:28.:42:31.

going into the longest double-dip recession since the war, but I'm

:42:31.:42:35.

here not to just say things are not good, but how we are going to make

:42:35.:42:39.

a difference. I think we can make a difference to young people, to jobs

:42:39.:42:41.

in our economy. One practical policy - tax the bankers' bonuses,

:42:41.:42:49.

use the money to put young people back to work. Something which has

:42:49.:42:52.

been presented to us as an engine for rebalancing the economy is

:42:52.:42:55.

high-speed rail. There has been speculation that as the business

:42:55.:42:57.

case is managed downwards, the multiplier effect is calculated

:42:57.:43:00.

downwards, that this great multi- party consensus appears to be

:43:00.:43:05.

getting flaky. What exactly is Labour's position? I have always

:43:05.:43:09.

been a supporter of high-speed rail. It was what we came up with in

:43:09.:43:12.

government, it is important not just to people in Birmingham but

:43:12.:43:15.

places right across the country, and I think high-speed rail is part

:43:15.:43:18.

of being a modern country with a modern economy. By the way, to make

:43:18.:43:21.

high-speed rail work, to make our infrastructure work, we have got to

:43:21.:43:25.

have a growing economy. It takes us back to the theme of our conference

:43:25.:43:28.

- how do you make our economy grow, how do you get better support for

:43:28.:43:31.

small businesses from our banking system for example? How do you get

:43:31.:43:34.

the right vocational skills for people, those who are not academic

:43:34.:43:44.
:43:44.:43:47.

at school? We are talking about all those issues at our conference.

:43:47.:43:52.

Very concerned about the level of skills in certain areas - high

:43:52.:43:57.

numbers of people chasing vacancies. That is the real worry, because

:43:57.:44:02.

whatever good news you have about employment, you have concentrations

:44:02.:44:08.

of structural unemployment in parts of Birmingham, the Black Country...

:44:08.:44:14.

There is no progress. I think it is to be welcomed that so many jobs in

:44:14.:44:19.

the private sector have been created since June 2010, and we

:44:19.:44:23.

should focus particularly on the skills for our young people. We

:44:23.:44:27.

have been investing in building Apprenticeships. For people coming

:44:27.:44:33.

out of school needing to learn skills on the jobs, -- on the job,

:44:33.:44:39.

they have been a great success. the numbers remained depressingly

:44:39.:44:46.

difficult to budge. We have seen good successes here in the Midlands,

:44:46.:44:56.
:44:56.:44:57.

the heart of manufacturing. The car industry - Jaguar investing in jobs.

:44:57.:45:02.

All of which is to be welcomed, but most people watching would be

:45:02.:45:07.

staggered at Harriett Baldwin's complacency. We have one million

:45:07.:45:13.

people out of work, we have seen the future jobs fund abolished,

:45:13.:45:17.

university applications going down. This is a crisis for young people.

:45:17.:45:25.

To hear that everything is fine... Not everything is, but there are

:45:26.:45:35.
:45:36.:45:36.

parts of Solihull that need to be celebrated... By welcome every one

:45:36.:45:42.

of them, but we have huge structural weaknesses in Birmingham,

:45:42.:45:46.

the Black Country, North Staffordshire. The Government has

:45:46.:45:53.

no answer to these problems. Youth contract, which started my April,

:45:53.:45:57.

pays employers who take a young person into the private sector. The

:45:57.:46:03.

problem was that it was a six-month placement. That is not sustainable

:46:03.:46:07.

over the long term. To get real employment growth we need real

:46:07.:46:11.

business growth. Cutting corporation tax, attracting

:46:11.:46:16.

investment into the West Midlands. That is how we will generate

:46:16.:46:20.

employment opportunities. I am that is what businesses have been asking

:46:20.:46:29.

for. But they chopped off consumer confidence. Britain is back in

:46:29.:46:36.

recession, and we need a plan for growth and jobs. I am disappointed

:46:36.:46:39.

in here and we're not talking down the achievements of West Midlands

:46:39.:46:47.

businesses. -- I am disappointed to hear it Ian talking down. Jobs will

:46:47.:46:52.

get as out of the top line slump over time. Is there a danger that

:46:52.:46:57.

in a way, in the good news for the Midlands is bad news for the Labour

:46:57.:47:05.

Party? Every single job that is created... But the Government has

:47:05.:47:11.

not been a plan for growth and jobs. That is what we need urgently.

:47:11.:47:16.

In at over six weeks's time, the biggest change in the way our

:47:16.:47:19.

region's police forces are run will begin with elections for Police and

:47:19.:47:23.

Crime Commissioners. There have been hustings events in Birmingham

:47:23.:47:27.

and Stafford. If you are confused about the new role, if he is a

:47:27.:47:32.

reminder. The police commissioner will have the power to hire and

:47:32.:47:42.
:47:42.:47:52.

But what would the former MP for Tamworth, the finder of modern-day

:47:52.:48:01.

policing, Sir Robert Peel, think of it all? -- the finder.

:48:01.:48:08.

Tunworth, once the ancient capital of Mercia, but the father of modern

:48:08.:48:13.

policing gaze is out of the the town. It is because of him that

:48:13.:48:17.

politicians talk about bobbies on the beat. He demanded that the

:48:17.:48:23.

police should be a non- military force, the most important principle

:48:23.:48:29.

being... But as we enter the run up to the

:48:29.:48:31.

election of Police and Crime Commissioners, the biggest shake-up

:48:31.:48:36.

to the police ever since 1829, what of the electorate know or care

:48:36.:48:41.

about these new commissioners? have never heard of them. I do not

:48:41.:48:48.

know anything! Non Cabaye good sign. Commissioners are American concept

:48:48.:48:52.

-- a political figure able to connect the police constable to the

:48:52.:48:57.

electorate, a lightning rod for the wishes of ordinary people. This

:48:57.:49:01.

week business leaders in Birmingham gathered to hear what the

:49:01.:49:05.

candidates for the West Midlands job could offer them. This is old-

:49:05.:49:11.

fashioned election year reign. candidates but church pitching

:49:11.:49:16.

their policies to potential voters. But nearly all have said that they

:49:16.:49:19.

do not want to get politics involved.

:49:19.:49:24.

To two out of four of the independent candidates were here.

:49:24.:49:27.

An individual is going to make decisions that will affect the

:49:27.:49:31.

residents of the West Midlands. Those decisions have got to be

:49:31.:49:36.

impartial. But Police and Crime Commissioner of the West Midlands

:49:36.:49:40.

should be totally independent. some of the main parties were

:49:40.:49:44.

distancing themselves from party politics. People need to be assured

:49:45.:49:53.

that if people are holding police officers to account, that there

:49:53.:49:56.

force is being used on behalf of that whole community and not a

:49:56.:50:04.

vested interest. People expect no policy six in the policing. --

:50:04.:50:10.

politics in the policing. others say it is naive not to have

:50:10.:50:15.

politics at the centre of this debate. The way we express the

:50:15.:50:18.

different ideas that drive how public services are delivered and

:50:18.:50:25.

how they work, but his politics. think everything is political.

:50:25.:50:29.

Whether you are a member of a party or not, you have still got a

:50:29.:50:37.

political view. Say Robert Peel boards are a prime minister, twice.

:50:37.:50:43.

But his principles still holds true today. The police routinely should

:50:43.:50:49.

not be armed, and that they should be a part of, and not a pot from,

:50:49.:50:54.

the communities that they serve from. -- apart from. Nobody seems

:50:55.:50:59.

to what the politicians took change that.

:50:59.:51:03.

We are also joined here today by the chief executive of rights and

:51:03.:51:10.

equality is in Sandwell, Dr Derek Campbell. He has advised the

:51:10.:51:15.

Government on gun crime, gangs, as well as preparing for protest by

:51:15.:51:19.

the English Defence League. For me a long experience of operating in

:51:19.:51:28.

in a community with a wide variety of experience, what do you see as

:51:28.:51:33.

the challenge involved in making that objective of reality? Were any

:51:34.:51:38.

to be clear about the fact that it is a powerful role. There is a

:51:38.:51:41.

general fear that there is a politicisation of the police force.

:51:42.:51:45.

There is a fear of being disconnected from reality, not

:51:45.:51:51.

being in tune with people. And insulin that people have the right

:51:51.:51:57.

apportionment of resources -- insuring. There are is a question

:51:57.:52:02.

of legitimacy. Varying degrees of acceptance in the role of the

:52:02.:52:06.

police in different parts of their communities in a very complex

:52:06.:52:11.

society that you cover. There has been a sort of ongoing tension

:52:11.:52:15.

between certain communities and the police, and there will be a major

:52:15.:52:20.

challenge for any Police and Crime Commissioner to make sure that

:52:20.:52:25.

those bridges are mended and we have a successful partnership.

:52:25.:52:29.

suppose it could make it easier that the will of course be a person

:52:29.:52:34.

that does groups can relate to. -- there will of course. People need

:52:34.:52:41.

to feel that they can halt police accountable. I am concerned about

:52:41.:52:43.

the Police and Crime Commissioner, position, because there is a fear

:52:43.:52:50.

that decisions may be made up to get his way, and stronger people

:52:50.:52:55.

may not have a rich to get their concerns raised. People need to be

:52:55.:53:00.

reassured that this powerful position will be a position that

:53:00.:53:04.

will mean something to them and allow them to have their community

:53:04.:53:11.

safe. Aung San Suu Kyi, they are accountable -- Harriett Baldwin,

:53:11.:53:17.

they are accountable. If you wanted to order a low turnout, you would

:53:17.:53:22.

have a campaign in November, the gloomiest month of the year.

:53:22.:53:26.

everyone needs to go out and ensure they have their postal voting

:53:26.:53:31.

campaign, but I agree November is not ideal cos it might be boring

:53:31.:53:37.

with rain. I think they would rather have had the elections in

:53:37.:53:45.

May, but the next time out it will be in May. But it is important that

:53:45.:53:51.

directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners, as opposed to

:53:51.:53:54.

indirectly connected councillors, are in a position where they have

:53:54.:53:58.

to listen to the electorate and what the electorate wants. By

:53:58.:54:04.

having that direct role with the electorate, they are responsive,

:54:04.:54:07.

and the electret no food to go to it to express a view on de local

:54:08.:54:17.

policing. -- the electorate know who to go to. Being, you cannot

:54:17.:54:21.

really surely support the status call. It is what the Government is

:54:21.:54:28.

trying to do something? A share many of the fears that Derek laid

:54:28.:54:33.

out. The fears of politicisation of the police. Whoever gets this job

:54:33.:54:39.

has got to work hard to engage with local communities... Can one person

:54:39.:54:49.
:54:49.:54:49.

do that, in a region like ours? our candidate is guaranteeing no

:54:49.:54:54.

politicisation, and also he is guaranteeing the maintenance of

:54:54.:54:57.

local policing, building those links that are crucial to local

:54:57.:55:04.

communities. A very big job for one person if they have a no mandate.

:55:04.:55:08.

It has been indirectly politicians who have been in charge, now we

:55:08.:55:13.

will have a directly elected politician. In Worcestershire,

:55:13.:55:18.

people want a visible police force, people want suits be able to see

:55:18.:55:24.

their police, and want them to concentrate on cutting crime. Our

:55:24.:55:32.

candidate is aiming to do all of that. Providing the purchasing

:55:32.:55:38.

services, procurement... Have we got the message of what is at stake

:55:39.:55:44.

and how big the decision coming up? Most people do not know what this

:55:44.:55:48.

position it is. The marketing around the Police and Crime

:55:48.:55:52.

Commissioner has been very bad, and most people do not understand the

:55:52.:55:58.

importance. But Nick Herbert, the former police commissioner, said

:55:58.:56:04.

once people cotton on to this, they will become excited about it. That

:56:04.:56:09.

sounds reasonable. But in reality we have seen previous elections

:56:09.:56:14.

turn out to be very low. We have seen parties in power with a very

:56:14.:56:19.

low mandate. I suspect the Police and Crime Commissioner will have a

:56:19.:56:29.
:56:29.:56:30.

very low mandate. Here is Liz Roberts with our round-

:56:30.:56:36.

up of the Midlands' political week. A month's rain in a day. The

:56:36.:56:39.

Environment Agency issued dozens of flood alerts, as barriers went up

:56:39.:56:42.

in parts of Shropshire. PC Pleb was on the beat in Sutton

:56:42.:56:45.

Coldfield, as the row over what MP Andrew Mitchell did or didn't say

:56:45.:56:47.

rumbled on. The Chief Whip confronted officers after he was

:56:48.:56:50.

told to cycle out of a Downing Street side gate.

:56:50.:56:53.

A suspended jail sentence has been given to the leader of the British

:56:53.:56:55.

National Party in Stoke-on-Trent. Michael Coleman used racist

:56:55.:56:58.

language in his online blog. The PM flew the flag in Brazil, to

:56:59.:57:01.

open a new factory for the Staffordshire digger firm JCB. It

:57:01.:57:04.

cost �63 million, but is expected to make the UK economy half that

:57:05.:57:07.

amount again. JCB is an extraordinary brand and success

:57:07.:57:10.

story, and we should listen to what they're saying about how we

:57:10.:57:12.

rebalance and rebuild manufacturing and engineering in Britain.

:57:12.:57:14.

And it's hoped plans in Birmingham to transform wastelands into

:57:14.:57:24.
:57:24.:57:47.

economic zones might create 50,000 A vision for regenerating waste

:57:47.:57:56.

land in Birmingham. Worcestershire it is also very much open for

:57:56.:58:03.

business. We have a wonderful technology park there. I think

:58:03.:58:08.

there is a lot of room for growth in Birmingham, and a lot of my

:58:08.:58:11.

constituents work in Birmingham and I wish them every success in

:58:11.:58:19.

attracting firms. In, are enterprise zones like this the way

:58:19.:58:28.

to do it? Is it is fantastic but under the late -- the new Labour

:58:28.:58:34.

council in Birmingham is trying to attract new jobs in digital media,

:58:34.:58:38.

biotechnology is... This will generate tens of thousands of well-

:58:38.:58:45.

paid jobs in the future. If we make the right decisions now, we can get

:58:45.:58:49.

those jobs here in Birmingham and here in the Black Country. I did

:58:49.:58:54.

love to see the Black Country cancels linking up with Birmingham.

:58:54.:59:00.

Let us not forget cyber or valley in a Worcestershire. One of the

:59:00.:59:05.

views of the Birmingham left is that it can be the economic driver,

:59:05.:59:09.

but he can radiate out to places like was to share and the Black

:59:09.:59:15.

Country. -- that it can radiate. lot of firms clustered together -

:59:15.:59:25.
:59:25.:59:26.

we have a lot of cider firms, -- side but firms... -- cyber

:59:26.:59:32.

technology firms. He it needs to work what ever you politics.

:59:32.:59:36.

have huge structural weaknesses, and we need a regional approach.

:59:36.:59:42.

That is it from us. My thanks to Harriett Baldwin and Ian Austin.

:59:42.:59:48.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS