:01:28. > :01:30.And in the Midlands: It's Independents' Day. Three of our
:01:30. > :01:40.five newly-elected Police Commissioners aren't affiliated to
:01:40. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :41:30.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2389 seconds
:41:30. > :41:33.the main parties. We joined one of Hello once again from the Midlands.
:41:33. > :41:35.I'm Patrick Burns. With me to digest the results of the Police
:41:35. > :41:37.and Crime Commissioner elections, I'm joined by two MPs from
:41:37. > :41:43.Staffordshire. Rob Flello the Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South
:41:43. > :41:46.and Aidan Burley, the Conservative for Cannock Chase. And yes, Rob is
:41:46. > :41:56.taking part in Movember - where chaps grow moustaches for charity
:41:56. > :41:57.
:41:57. > :42:05.to raise awareness of men's cancers. More on that at the end of the
:42:05. > :42:08.programme, by which time it will have grown bushier still! Our main
:42:08. > :42:11.political event of the week made slightly more of an impression than
:42:11. > :42:16.Rob's moustache, the election of our five Police And Crime
:42:16. > :42:20.Commissioners, with, as predicted, some seriously low turnout figures.
:42:20. > :42:23.Staffordshire's were the lowest anywhere in England and Wales.
:42:23. > :42:33.Within that force area, for every ten voters in Stoke-on-Trent, nine
:42:33. > :42:36.
:42:36. > :42:43.stayed away. Only one of the candidates gave me any information
:42:43. > :42:48.and I thought it was appalling. I do not deep with it, it should have
:42:48. > :42:52.gone to at vote on whether we actually needed at Commissioner.
:42:52. > :42:56.do not think there was enough information about candidates on
:42:56. > :43:02.about the campaign. I did not really understand what it was all
:43:02. > :43:12.about so I did not vote. I did not know what it was all about. I think
:43:12. > :43:14.
:43:14. > :43:18.I had some information through the post but I did not read it. On the
:43:18. > :43:23.evidence of the stalk and indeed, throughout the Midlands and
:43:23. > :43:28.throughout the country, overwhelmingly the voters have
:43:28. > :43:34.rejected it. We will need to learn lessons for the next time. Not
:43:34. > :43:39.holding elections in the winter months would be a good start.
:43:39. > :43:47.Herbert was the cheerleader and he was sacked, we have not heard much
:43:47. > :43:57.from Damian Green. In the West Midlands Bob Jones got 117,000
:43:57. > :44:02.votes on a turnout of 12%. The proof of this policy I do not think
:44:02. > :44:10.will be in the turnout but in what these individuals do in the next
:44:10. > :44:18.four years. Do the drive down crime and anti-social behaviour? And your
:44:18. > :44:26.party did not exactly cover itself in glory. It seemed to just recycle
:44:26. > :44:33.old politicians. Forgive me but I would really disagree on this, the
:44:33. > :44:39.Government knew what it was doing holding the election in November.
:44:39. > :44:44.Everyone said if you had it then the turnout would be law. I think
:44:44. > :44:49.the Prime Minister has embarrassed himself even more over this by
:44:49. > :44:55.having it in November and with such an appallingly low turnout, much
:44:55. > :45:01.worse than Labour predicted. This has wasted �100 million that could
:45:01. > :45:04.have been so much better spent in other areas. I am waiting for the
:45:04. > :45:11.finance minister to apologise to the country for having these
:45:11. > :45:17.elections. Do you agree that it was a huge waste of money? The existing
:45:17. > :45:27.police the authorities already cost 100 million each year to run and
:45:27. > :45:27.
:45:27. > :45:32.best individual will be holding them to account. Trade unions have
:45:32. > :45:37.a small number of hard call -- hardcore militants lefties, they
:45:37. > :45:41.should not hold the country to ransom. The Prime Minister was
:45:41. > :45:46.saying that the results of the union ballots were not legitimate
:45:46. > :45:49.because of the low turnout, what does this say? In a moment, we'll
:45:49. > :45:51.be joined by the new Police Commissioner for Gloucestershire.
:45:51. > :45:53.But before that, let's see what happened when Warwickshire's
:45:53. > :45:56.Commissioner hit his new beat, with BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's
:45:56. > :46:01.Political Reporter Sian Grzeszczyk. What impact will the low turnout
:46:01. > :46:07.have on our five new PCCs? It was the same story right across the
:46:07. > :46:10.region. Just a handful of papers in some ballot boxes in Staffordshire.
:46:10. > :46:16.Not exactly enough to keep the counters occupied. In Coventry, it
:46:16. > :46:23.was proving hard to stay awake. While in Shrewsbury, the intentions
:46:23. > :46:26.of some voters who did bother to turn up were far from certain. The
:46:26. > :46:36.size of the operation in Birmingham disguised the 12% turnout in the
:46:36. > :46:37.
:46:37. > :46:43.biggest force area outside of London. In the run-up to these
:46:43. > :46:48.elections the main talking point was fear of low turnout. Now they
:46:48. > :46:52.are imposed, what can we expect from our new Police And Crime
:46:52. > :46:55.Commissioners? In Warwickshire this airline pilot quit his job spending
:46:55. > :47:02.part of his children's inheritance to stand as an independent. Used to
:47:02. > :47:08.landing in challenging conditions the gamble paid off. What is your
:47:08. > :47:12.top priority? What are you going to do? I am a great fan of local
:47:12. > :47:19.policing, to get that working correctly we need to make sure
:47:19. > :47:24.people know their local officer and that the officer knows his or her
:47:24. > :47:30.patch well and knows the local offenders. Let's talk to the local
:47:30. > :47:34.people. The you have got a tricky job of balancing funding, the
:47:34. > :47:39.demands of the police and the demands of victims of crime.
:47:39. > :47:45.sounds as though you have got it as one, that is exactly what it will
:47:45. > :47:49.be about. What do you want him to do, what should he focus on?
:47:49. > :47:54.Everybody is seeing the same thing, crime on the street. I cannot think
:47:54. > :48:03.of anything more important. That has come up a lot throughout the
:48:03. > :48:07.campaign. For the first time I did not actually cast my vote. I was
:48:07. > :48:14.leaning towards you because you are independent and I believe very
:48:14. > :48:19.strongly that this should be a political job. Will rank-and-file
:48:19. > :48:25.officers support the commissioners? It is a mandate, however you look
:48:25. > :48:33.at it, however low the turnout, it is a mandate to start. It is a
:48:33. > :48:40.democratic process of publicly elected people, whether it works or
:48:40. > :48:47.not we will still get on with the job, it is not that important to is
:48:47. > :48:51.in charge along as we carry on protecting the public. The very
:48:51. > :49:01.same public you in overwhelming numbers decided not to vote. It is
:49:01. > :49:03.
:49:03. > :49:05.now up to the commissioners to prove their worth. And as promised,
:49:05. > :49:08.the Police And Crime Commissioner- elect of Gloucestershire, Martin
:49:08. > :49:10.Surl, also joins us this morning. A former superintendent, he commanded
:49:10. > :49:17.operations in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury. And he has been elected
:49:17. > :49:23.on a promise not to allow policing to become politicised.
:49:23. > :49:31.Congratulations. Let me break it to you gently, you are now a
:49:31. > :49:36.politician! You were elected, it you have campaigned. You have to
:49:36. > :49:43.exercise the soft powers of politics. We have been doing that
:49:43. > :49:48.in policing for along time. It was a political environment. The big
:49:48. > :49:54.differences, it was not party political. We always work with them
:49:54. > :49:58.no matter what colour they were. Isn't there a danger that as a
:49:58. > :50:02.former senior officer at yourself you are going to be meddlesome. You
:50:02. > :50:06.will find it very difficult to keep out of the operational area that
:50:06. > :50:16.should be a matter for the police force themselves? I think people
:50:16. > :50:21.like myself will know what and what is not strategical and operational.
:50:21. > :50:26.I think as a former commander I will know where the operational
:50:26. > :50:31.line is and where the strategic line is. I do not think that is
:50:31. > :50:41.actually a problem. Among your earliest charges you had an acting
:50:41. > :50:47.chief constable and you need a new one. Before were and current chief
:50:47. > :50:54.I wish all the good fortune for the future but we need some stability
:50:54. > :51:00.for the future. If you have also got 25% of budget cuts to contend
:51:00. > :51:04.with, haven't you? Yes, that is not great. In credit to the outgoing a
:51:04. > :51:14.authority, the handle that very well. It is a big issue for any
:51:14. > :51:15.commissioner. We cannot take any more cuts. You have spawned a new
:51:15. > :51:24.generation of predominantly independent politicians here who
:51:25. > :51:32.are going to have to fight in many circumstances. People see the
:51:32. > :51:39.police as independent. So this is a trial for the Tories to see this
:51:39. > :51:43.wave of independence? They get an idea of how they would guide the
:51:43. > :51:51.force, what the independents have to do is drive down crime in their
:51:52. > :51:56.area and stand on their record in four year's time. That is what the
:51:56. > :52:02.Tory chairman said in the programme today, people will cotton on to
:52:02. > :52:08.this now that high profile figures are in place. I think what we are
:52:08. > :52:12.seeing that the Government are positioning people like Martin, who
:52:12. > :52:19.has my congratulations and support, but positioning people like him so
:52:19. > :52:26.that when further cuts come down the line it will be 15,004 2015.
:52:26. > :52:32.That will be frontline officers losing their jobs. They will say it
:52:32. > :52:36.is not the Government, it is your local police and Crown Commissioner.
:52:36. > :52:43.That is the story from Government, time and again it is always
:52:43. > :52:50.somebody else's fault. It is about the allocation of scarce resources
:52:50. > :52:59.and how you choose to allocate those finite resources. He has to
:52:59. > :53:03.stand on his record in four years' time. The community policing side
:53:04. > :53:09.of his job, what if you have, especially with independent people
:53:09. > :53:17.in charge, different emphasis from one forced to the other. How then
:53:17. > :53:23.can you have a cohesive sense, crime does not respect police force
:53:23. > :53:27.area is, does it? They now have an accountable individual that they
:53:27. > :53:36.can contact and hold responsible. Look at what happened in London
:53:36. > :53:45.when Boris Johnson was elected. The number of letters went up from 30
:53:45. > :53:55.per week to 300. I think you can quote anecdotes about writing
:53:55. > :53:55.
:53:55. > :54:01.letters. I get plenty into my postbag about policing. The �100
:54:01. > :54:08.million wasted on this election could have paid for so many more
:54:08. > :54:12.police officers. People like Martin will have to carry D can for this.
:54:12. > :54:16.Policing is not political on the streets or in the forces. That is
:54:17. > :54:22.important. But you are wrong to say they do not know what they will get
:54:22. > :54:27.from me. I have written a comprehensive manifesto, far more
:54:27. > :54:31.comprehensive than any of the opposition. I will be delivering
:54:31. > :54:36.that manifesto. It is completely wrong to say I am an unknown
:54:37. > :54:42.quantity. The county know me well. I have lived there for 55 years.
:54:42. > :54:47.They know what they are going to get from me. It was not just a low
:54:47. > :54:53.turnout because it was cold and wet, they did not want this to be at
:54:53. > :55:00.political fight. Next election they should ask whether politicians
:55:00. > :55:10.should be standing or not. Isn't that a positive thing? He has
:55:10. > :55:11.
:55:11. > :55:15.written a manifesto, people can read it, they can contact him.
:55:15. > :55:20.we had was a situation where the police the authority did a good job
:55:20. > :55:27.until it was handed over. The issue is that actually this is an
:55:27. > :55:33.election that was Centre for the Government's and the Government
:55:33. > :55:38.have overwhelmingly said they did not want any of it. Will you carry
:55:38. > :55:43.on with the job? The yes, I am looking forward to it. It is a big
:55:43. > :55:50.job, it is not just about on the streets, it is about budgets, it is
:55:50. > :55:53.a big job. Thank you. Just imagine this. You run a business, and after
:55:53. > :55:56.years of training, your workforce start to retire. But there aren't
:55:56. > :55:59.enough younger people around who know how to do the job, or even
:55:59. > :56:08.want to. So your business struggles. It's what's known as the skills-gap.
:56:08. > :56:11.And it's a big problem here. This week, our business correspondent
:56:11. > :56:14.Peter Plisner has been looking for some answers to it. There's no
:56:14. > :56:16.doubt that the workforce is getting older and this Birmingham firm
:56:16. > :56:26.provides the evidence. Although here there are apprentices, it's
:56:26. > :56:27.
:56:27. > :56:34.Managing Director says training them up is a slow process. In 15 or
:56:34. > :56:37.20 years' time I will have no work force. The opening of the last week
:56:37. > :56:39.of Skills Show, designed to get more young people interested in
:56:39. > :56:47.aquiring skills. In attendance at Birmingham's NEC, the Business
:56:47. > :56:57.Secretary who's a big fan. It is like the Olympics but it is in
:56:57. > :56:59.
:56:59. > :57:04.skills. We do very well as do places like Courier. The country
:57:04. > :57:11.needs to have skilled employees and young people need jobs. And this is
:57:11. > :57:14.what it's all about. Young people from schools all over, having a go,
:57:14. > :57:23.getting enthused. But will it really help reduce the skills-gap?
:57:23. > :57:28.Some of the teachers accompanying the kids thought so. It is not all
:57:28. > :57:38.about celebrity, many young people will end up in couriers like this
:57:38. > :57:41.when they are older. -- careers. And according to those behind this
:57:41. > :57:49.event, it's also helping to get a clearer picture of exactly what's
:57:49. > :57:56.needed in the future. There has been significant discussion with
:57:56. > :57:59.employers to make sure we have the skills that they need. The problem
:57:59. > :58:01.is, unless we're able to attract the workers of tomorrow then youth
:58:01. > :58:09.unemployment and the so called skills-gap can only get worse.
:58:09. > :58:15.Peter Plisner at the Skills Show which ended yesterday. If you think
:58:15. > :58:21.of Stoke, a lot of those issues are relevant. A lot of this has
:58:21. > :58:26.happened on your watch. A lot of investment to take work forces who
:58:26. > :58:34.are losing their jobs and we still them and retrain them into other
:58:35. > :58:40.employment. People who used to work in mines and the ceramic industry
:58:40. > :58:49.have been retrained and least guilt under Labour. Now hardly a week
:58:49. > :58:53.goes by without Vince Cable highlighting more apprenticeships
:58:53. > :59:01.which have risen since this Government went in. It was a
:59:01. > :59:07.defunct system when he came in in 1987, we invested in it, helped it,
:59:07. > :59:12.supported it and got it working again. They have taken a situation
:59:12. > :59:16.that was improving and improved and they have continued it. I am happy
:59:16. > :59:23.to knock the Government when what they do is not working but when
:59:23. > :59:32.they have taken something and run with it, it has improved. So in
:59:32. > :59:40.terms of the race we are falling behind in that race, aren't we?
:59:40. > :59:46.mentioned do unemployment, during the boom years with the last
:59:47. > :59:52.Government the number of people in jobs actually went down. Young
:59:52. > :59:59.people over the age of 14 can learn Engineering and business in
:00:00. > :00:09.academies. Thinking of long-term younger unemployed people, what can
:00:10. > :00:10.
:00:10. > :00:19.they do to help themselves? I have held three Job fears. I tell young
:00:19. > :00:29.people to go and ask to do work experience which often leads to
:00:29. > :00:34.
:00:34. > :00:43.getting a foot in the door and paid employment. -- fairs. We have seen
:00:43. > :00:46.2.5 years of stagnation and flat line. We could go on, but we cannot.
:00:46. > :00:53.Now our regular round-up of the political week in the Midlands in
:00:53. > :00:55.60 seconds. Here's Elizabeth Glinka. Just days after after appearing on
:00:55. > :01:00.this programme, former Independent MP Richard Taylor was back at
:01:00. > :01:06.Westminster. The retired doctor launched a new party, National
:01:06. > :01:09.Health Action, with candidates in up to 50 seats. Two serious
:01:09. > :01:14.incidents in a week at Birmingham prison. Four officers were injured
:01:14. > :01:22.by a remand prisoner. Then an inmate got on the roof. Concern
:01:22. > :01:25.about the private firm running the jail. What we have got to do is
:01:25. > :01:30.have people who understand the structure who can run it, it's not
:01:30. > :01:34.just people who are plonked in because they are a better price or
:01:34. > :01:37.whatever. West Midlands Fire and Ambulance Services will share a
:01:37. > :01:40.number of fire stations. They say it'll make them cheaper, and faster.
:01:40. > :01:43.Drivers in Coventry have been left confused by double BLACK lines. The
:01:43. > :01:46.double yellows have been painted over as part of a new parking
:01:46. > :01:48.scheme. If you park on them you'll still get a ticket. And Birmingham
:01:48. > :01:58.council's revealed its bill for equal pay compensation will top
:01:58. > :02:00.
:02:00. > :02:05.�750 million. Women were paid less than men for doing the same job.
:02:05. > :02:11.That equalled the issue. The leader says it threatens the city council
:02:11. > :02:18.with becoming bankrupt. You wear a former Birmingham City Council it
:02:18. > :02:26.yourself. This has gone back through successive parties, hasn't
:02:26. > :02:32.it? It is a problem that has been going for a long time. It is brewed
:02:32. > :02:38.right in terms of its still employed workforce. -- put right.
:02:38. > :02:44.It is people who were formerly employed getting recompense. What
:02:44. > :02:49.we had with the previous Government was when the previous equalisation
:02:49. > :02:55.payments were required we had support from the Government, I am
:02:55. > :02:59.not sure this time you will get the same. What can be done? I feel
:02:59. > :03:09.sorry for the dinner ladies who did not get the bonuses while the dust
:03:09. > :03:19.
:03:19. > :03:29.men dead. We must not use this as a fig leaf. -- dustmen. They must not
:03:29. > :03:29.
:03:29. > :03:39.forget that this is a story that must be told. Now let's talk about
:03:39. > :03:46.Movember. It is about raising money for men's cancers and raising
:03:46. > :03:56.awareness. There are the guys sitting here, never talked about
:03:56. > :04:04.for generations. To stay clean- shaven? It would take me about