07/10/2012 Sunday Politics West Midlands

In the Midlands, a distinct local flavour from the Conservative party

conference in Birmingham. Why our part of the country is so

vital for the largest of those 'three parties of government'.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2131 seconds

Hello once again from the Midlands. I'm Patrick Burns. As Conservatives

arrive in Birmingham, many of them via the West Coast Mainline, let's

talk first about that train crash on the franchise contest. We're

joined by Jeremy Wright, Conservative MP for Kenilworth and

Southam and now a Justice Minister, and Adrian Bailey, Labour MP for

West Bromwich West, the chairman of the Commons Business Select

Committee. Jeremy, it does take something to produce a U-turn on a

railway line. Well, it's not a U- turn. There been some serious

mistakes made and they should not have happened. But if you find

yourself in that situation, you ought to own up, apologise and make

sure it does not happen again. That is what the Transport Secretary is

doing. And the politicians have handled it responsibly, haven't

they? Really, this was a technical mistake by the civil servants.

is what they have to find out. When things go right, the government

claims the credit, when they go wrong, they blame the Civil Service.

We need an independent inquiry to work out exactly what went wrong

and where the balance of responsibility lies. I'm not

satisfied that what the minister is doing at the moment, appointing

someone from the Department of Transport, is going to deliver on

the independence of that inquiry. Politicians of all persuasions Ken

-- struggled to come to terms with this astonishing development. The

one thing they could agree on was that this situation is one of

supreme confusion. It was my expectation that the department

would have given this the bowl first and most appropriate scrutiny.

We now learn that is not the case and that is very disappointing.

worrying thing is, if they make these mistakes, who is to say they

get things right in future? Sir, Jeremy, how do you answer the point

that this investigation needs to be sufficiently independent to rebuild

confidence? Well, there will be two inquiries. The first will deal with

what went on in the department. Although a non-executive directors

of big department will be involved, independent people will be involved

as well. The second report will look at whether or not there are

lessons to be learnt for the wider franchising process. That will be

conducted by somebody not associated with the department.

Some in your party, Adrian, I talking about the renationalisation

of rail. Are you one of them? all, can I just deal with the.

Jeremy made? -- the point Jeremy made? The situation is that the

government and the rail companies between them have created a

situation where nothing should be rolled out.

Coming up, we'll hear why there is so much at stake for the

Conservatives in Birmingham this week, especially when you realise

Ed Miliband has been to the city seven times in the last six months.

Has he turned it into Labour's own home town?

So no shortage of challenges awaiting David Cameron here in the

Midlands. I questioned him about some of them as he prepared for a

conference which he hopes will put his party's recent setbacks behind

them, and put a dent into Labour's lead in the polls. Earlier this

morning, I sampled the atmosphere, just round the corner at the

convention centre, as the final preparations were put in place.

Lights, camera, action. Actually, to be honest, there is a slightly

Sunday-morning feel here, but gradually, the picture starts to

emerge. The first thing that strikes you is the real emphasis on

the great public services - health, education, welfare. Areas which

Tory strategists increasingly feel cut more mustard with the

electorate than other areas like, say, reform of the House of Lords

or gay marriage. The overarching theme of this entire conference is

that Britain can deliver. When the Conservatives first came year in

2000 and date, they were entertaining serious hopes of

winning the general election. -- in 2008. Tim Willcox years later, they

were in a coalition. -- two years later. Tonight, we will have a

Labour leader and a torrid -- Tory Cabinet Minister. Transport is a

very big issue here. As the Prime Minister prepares for his party

conference, I join him in Downing Street. We began, inevitably, with

the U-turn on the West Coast Main Line franchise. I'm extremely sorry

this has happened. I'm also very angry about it. We now need to sort

this out and get the bottom of what went wrong and hold those

responsible. It seems it was a technical error in the department.

I am personally angry about this, because I asked the party secretary

to look into this decision. But we did not uncover the technical

failings in the department. There will now be a proper review to get

that done, but in the meantime it is right to stop these franchises

going ahead. Opponents of the high- speed rail project see this as a

reason why the business case for that as well should also be

evaluated. I think that is a totally separate case. High-speed

rail does have a very strong economic case. Be case for linking

London and Birmingham is extremely strong. Of course those opposed to

the scheme will use anything they can to stop it from happening.

There's even been speculation some of your senior Cabinet colleagues

want to kill it off. Now, we are committed to it. It is an important

piece of infrastructure. And it is just the beginning of a network

that will link London to Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Scotland.

we move on to the wider question of the economy? There is lots to

celebrate in a part of the country. Parts of Birmingham, East should

Derbyshire are creating jobs as fast as anywhere in the UK. -- East

Staffordshire. But it is not even. And your policies do not seem to be

addressing that. You are right to say there are some good news. We

have created a million net jobs in the last two years. We are making

more things, selling more things. Jaguar Land Rover is a classic

example of that. The work programme specifically seeks out those people

will have not just become unemployed recently, but people who

have been an -- unemployed for years and decades. And we are

paying companies to train those people and get them into work. We

are spending thousands of pounds per person to get them into long-

term work. This is a very important part of tackling deeply entrenched

poverty in our society. We now know Andrew Mitchell not be coming to

the conference in Birmingham, his home city. Why does he continue to

enjoy your conference -- confidence? It is right it he

apologist -- apologised for what he did. But I think we should leave it

that. The police are not taking further action. We have a very

strong presence in Birmingham. I will work with whoever is in power,

that is what Prime Ministers should do. I had all of the Birmingham

City fathers and every baby in my office to talk about how we did the

right thing for Birmingham. The city deal we have done means there

will be jobs, investment. The government is pouring investment

into Birmingham, not least the upgrade of the station. David

Cameron, who, incidentally, came here by car, not on the west coast

main line, completing the last of my interviews with the four main

party leaders. I thought he spoke with some

passion about the Work Programme and the Investment in every single

unemployed person, and his determination to root out long-term

poverty. Well, it is one thing to talk with passion about it, it is

another thing to do something. From the perspective of Black Country

business, yes, countries -- companies like Jaguar and Rover are

doing very well and there is huge potential there. But the problems I

am getting from Black Country business is that after two-and-a-

half years, they still cannot access the loans they need from the

banks to maximise the business opportunities that are represented

by that. And there is still a gap in skills. The government talks the

talk about apprenticeships, but too many are in the retailing sector

when we want young people with engineering qualifications in those

local businesses. Jeremy Wright. Well, in relation to loan

guarantees, the government is doing a great deal to make that money

available. But Adrian talks about skills. They are also hugely

important. We want to see more apprenticeships based in the

workplace, not just the classroom. WHO, the record of success of this

government has been remarkable. We have 177,000 more apprenticeships

beginning then Adrian's government managed. That is a 66% increase. So

yes, we need more skills, but that is what we're doing. Companies like

Jaguar benefit from that, but also a smaller manufacturing governed

the -- companies. You represent a Warwickshire constituency. High-

speed rail is very controversial there. But the government is in

full support, it is the tricky bind the UK. Well, we have discussed

this before. I have my doubts about the scheme. There is a good case

for high-speed rail and this is an extensive network that we are

planned. It is not just between UK cities, but with European high-

speed networks as well. But we need to make sure the details of the

business case a right and I don't think we are they get. A final word

on this, a drink - do you think this multi-party coalition could be

getting flaky on the scheme? Obviously there is a separate

business case which underpins the franchise process. First of all, we

meet a full and forensic inquiry into the van tries business to see

how that will affect high-speed rail. -- the franchise business.

The Conservative conference has come to Birmingham for three of

last five years. The Midlands is a political battlefield, where

general elections are won and lost, Prime Ministers, made and broken.

Is that why the Labour leader Ed Miliband has been to Birmingham

seven times in the last six months? The Tories intend to start

recapturing lost ground this week. Our political reporter explains why

voters in our part of the country matter so much.

At conference in Birmingham this week, the Conservatives are about

winning hearts and minds. Since Worcester woman won it for

Tony Blair in 1997, the region has played a pivotal role in deciding

who gets the keys to Number 10. Something not lost on the current

Labour leader, who has been popping up in the second city with

surprising regularity. I am applauding what has happened in

Birmingham. We took control of the council and is is doing a great job

showing they can make a practical difference. Of course, the West

Midlands is a key battleground area. Incredibly important, and currently

awash with blue for the Tory party conference. I took a barge trip

past the conference venue with a local political expert. This is the

deciding reading in any general election. You will see both the

major parties fighting really hard here. Ed Miliband is obviously

keenly aware of that. He has visited the region so many times.

But how has the party actually doing here? Obviously we had a good

performance by Labour in the May local government elections where

there was a surge of 12%. The issue for West Midlands boaters will be

jobs, jobs and jobs. The unemployment rates have gone up

must faster -- much faster than in the rest of the UK here. -- West

Midlands voters. Labour currently have a lead in the

polls of between 8 and 12%, and the Conservatives know they have to

make a big push here in this region if they're to win at the next

general election. MP and former pollster Nadim Zahawi

says to do that the Conservatives must convince people they're on

their side. We are the party fighting to make sure we balance

the books. We still have a massive debt burden. It is enormous and we

are having to deal with it whilst doing all right things like

investing in infrastructure and business and making sure that

health, wealth -- welfare and education on run properly.

Acclaimed from conference banners, it is the theme of the week. We'll

have to wait to see whether Midlands voters are convinced the

Conservatives can deliver at the next general election.

And we are also joined here today by Nick Seddon, deputy director of

the centre-right think tank Reform, which has links to, but is

independent of, the Conservative Party. Nick grew up in Birmingham

and went to King Edwards Camp Hill School in Kings Heath. He is back

in his home town for the conference. Welcome back. We talk about this

region as an electrical battlefield. From a reforms point of view, how

other battles are drawn? What are the terms of engagement it you

think are significant? The big picture is that the challenge is

enormous for any party that is in government now or in the next term.

Ed Miliband will have to deal with an enormous deficit reduction

challenge, or what ever happens. When you start from that point of

view, the public is most interest - - interested in the quality of

their schools, hospitals and jobs. How the experience their own

lifestyle. That is clearly going to be the emphasis of this party

conference, but when you look at the polls, Labour is well ahead on

the public services. There is a letter in today's newspaper from

140 Top doctors, including David Nicol of the Queen Elizabeth

Hospital in Birmingham, calling on the government to stop cuts in

accident and emergency services. Healthcare is the most difficult of

all services. Birmingham has one of the best hospitals in the country

and therefore the world. How can you make it in issue which

obviously is not just a gift for the Labour Party? We have just

published a report by one of Tony Blair's advises on healthcare. He

said we would have to address the failure of lots of our hospitals.

That means not flinching from the fact that in many cases they are

financially unsustainable and the quality is not high enough. But

there are lots of fantastic hospitals in the country that could

take over the running of some of those services. But we will have to

rethink healthcare. Whichever party is in power or will have to rethink

healthcare and it is a tricky area because there is so much fear

involved. Ageing, had you respond to that? -- Adrian, how do you

respond to that? Ed Miliband made it clear at the party conference

there we would stop the top-down organisation of the health service

that has taken place. It has no public support and has diverted

money away from frontline services. Obviously, in it two years time, we

do not know what the state of public finances will be, but we

will be examining closely just the viability of all of services. There

may be hard decisions to make, but the fact remains that we will make

them in the context of protecting front line services and on a fair

basis for everybody involved. very difficult position due to

defend, Jeremy. Well, I disagree. Firstly, Labour was also involved

in top-down reorganisations of the NHS. In relation to what he said,

we are going to be delivering more authority to doctors and nurses,

not less. That is the purpose of these reforms. I think people in

the West Midlands and elsewhere believe that is a sensible thing to

do. Decisions about healthcare should be taken by medical

professionals, not bureaucrats. That is what our reforms will are

cheap. The key word appears to be delivery, thinking about jobs and

the wider agenda, delivery seems to be the challenge for all parties.

We looked at three countries, New Zealand, Canada and -- Canada and

Sweden, that delivered deficit- reduction in the 1990 is. And one

of their things they had in common was consistency. Because that

breeds certainty for investors and voters. And when you had certainty,

that returns confidence to the government. A big challenge for the

government will have to be building confidence through not necessarily

doing stuff, but being seen to do the same things consistency --

consistently and well. politicians like to be seen to do

things. The Prime Minister promised no top down reorganisation.

think you have made that point. take his point about consistency. I

think the big issue about the economy, what we're doing is

maintaining a consistent message on deficit reduction which keeps

interest rates low which benefits everybody with a mortgage. We have

ended there. Thank you for coming in today.

Now our regular round-up of the political week in the Midlands in

60 seconds. Here's BBC Radio Stoke's political reporter Phil

McCann. You've heard of supersize burgers

and fries, now it is the supersize school. Unions have criticised this

primary in Birmingham which has almost 900 pupils because of a big

leap in the birth rate. Turning Birmingham and the back --

and the Black Country green. Volunteers are needed to help make

urban areas better for wildlife. It is part of a government nature

project. Here is a face we won't see in

Birmingham this week. Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell will

stay away from the Tory Conference. He will keep a low profile after

his confrontation with Downing Street police.

Come and get at it. The message from the Business Secretary on a

visit to the Midlands encouraging small firms to apply for government

cash. It is difficult for companies to get bank finance of this time.

And astonishing figures from the region's car industry suppliers.

They say order books are at a 40- year high. Adrian Bailey, the

automotive industry is going great guns. At some point, Labour is

going to have to change its tune on the economy, is it not? All the

experience of local companies applying to the regional growth

funds is that if they are lucky enough to get it, they have to wait

a year or so to get any money. We need quick action if we are

actually to capitalise on the impotence given by Jaguar and Rover.

We would all like to see more money get through quicker, but the proper

processes have to be followed. Adrian and I agree that Jaguar is a

very positive story for the Midlands. New jobs are going to be

created and this is good news not just a Jaguar, but also for an

extensive supply chain as well. This is what we want to see more of

in the West Midlands. The good day and on some good news!

That is where we have to end it today.

My thanks to Jeremy Wright and Adrian Bailey. I'll be reporting

live from the Conservative party conference for Midlands Today here

on BBC One, and for your BBC local radio station. And, no doubt