:36:06. > :36:09.together of the two parties who, we're told, could split the
:36:09. > :36:12.right-of-centre vote. We'll find out soon enough, in the council
:36:12. > :36:15.elections now just over a week away. Harriett Baldwin is the Conservative
:36:15. > :36:19.MP for West Worcestershire and a Parliamentary aide at the Work and
:36:19. > :36:26.Pensions Department. And Bill Etheridge will be UKIP's candidate
:36:26. > :36:29.for Dudley North at the next general election.
:36:29. > :36:35.The funeral of Margaret Thatcher felt like one last lingering look
:36:35. > :36:39.back over the shoulder at a bygone age. Our part of the country was
:36:39. > :36:41.very different before she came in. It still had a coal industry for one
:36:41. > :36:45.thing. But for another, our dysfunctional motor industry was
:36:45. > :36:48.being heavily subsidised by the taxpayer. Our region's
:36:48. > :36:58.longest-serving Conservative MP gave us his reflections, after returning
:36:58. > :36:59.
:36:59. > :37:05.to Westminster from St Paul's. I saw the clapping and the cheering
:37:05. > :37:11.from the crowds as the cortege went past, and I think in many ways apart
:37:11. > :37:15.from the pomp and the ceremony, I think that many, many people
:37:15. > :37:19.appreciated the fact that she was a great Prime Minister and that is why
:37:19. > :37:25.they turned out in such great numbers.
:37:25. > :37:32.Harriett, you were at the funeral as well. The public response generally
:37:33. > :37:37.very supportive. The one thing that has gained traction is the �10
:37:37. > :37:45.million cost. Is that an awkward thought for you? -- gained
:37:45. > :37:53.attraction. We have not seen the final figures yet, but the overtime
:37:53. > :37:59.for those military personnel... time of austerity? We were
:37:59. > :38:02.recognising a great lady and a Great Britain, and I think when somebody
:38:02. > :38:07.has won three general elections it is right that we pay tribute to that
:38:07. > :38:12.life of public service. UKIP have been cloaking themselves with the
:38:12. > :38:19.mantle of Margaret Thatcher. At the last election it was I agree with
:38:19. > :38:29.Nick, now it is I agree with Maggie. A lot of our members regard Lady
:38:29. > :38:33.Thatcher is a great inspiration. She was from a humble background and
:38:33. > :38:40.took on the establishment. But we are not cloaking ourselves as a
:38:40. > :38:46.Thatcherite party. But a lot of us respected the lady. What would you
:38:46. > :38:49.say to the critics that point out she presided over a period when the
:38:49. > :38:57.industrial manufacturing base of this region virtually collapsed and
:38:57. > :39:00.is still struggling to recover to this day. If you look at the
:39:00. > :39:06.long-term decline of manufacturing as a share of economic activity, it
:39:06. > :39:10.declined far more under Tony Blair. She was a Prime Minister in
:39:10. > :39:15.turbulent times, and I remember them having lived round this area my
:39:15. > :39:19.life. But it is not fair to say that Mrs Thatcher destroyed particular
:39:19. > :39:23.industries. During her time in office, industries were failing and
:39:23. > :39:33.she did the best she could with the policies she had to bring that
:39:33. > :39:36.
:39:36. > :39:41.round. She failed to regain the support of the city. If you look at
:39:41. > :39:45.the strength now up the car industry and JCB, and the fact that more
:39:45. > :39:49.mines were closed under the previous Labour Government before she came to
:39:49. > :39:51.power than under Margaret Thatcher. This debate will go on.
:39:52. > :39:54.Coming up, we'll be visiting one of the Midlands' top tourist
:39:54. > :39:57.attractions, to navigate the likely twists and turns of next week's
:39:57. > :40:01.council elections. With all those seats up for grabs, what kind of a
:40:01. > :40:04.roller coaster ride are the parties in for? We'll be bringing you every
:40:04. > :40:12.visual metaphor in the book. While avoiding cliches like the plague, of
:40:12. > :40:15.course - a little later. So, as expected, Stafford Hospital
:40:15. > :40:22.has gone into administration. It's a notable first for the NHS. But is it
:40:22. > :40:24.also the beginning of the end for the hospital as we know it? A
:40:24. > :40:28.hospital where hundreds more patients died than would have been
:40:28. > :40:34.expected, during that three-year period to 2008. BBC Radio Stoke's
:40:34. > :40:39.political reporter is Phil McCann. It's the country's most talked about
:40:39. > :40:42.hospital and now it's in administration. In a first for the
:40:42. > :40:44.National Health Service, watchdogs have sent in a team of managers to
:40:44. > :40:54.turn it into a place that's clinically sound and financially
:40:54. > :40:55.
:40:55. > :40:59.viable. But they're not making any promises to local patients. I know
:40:59. > :41:03.there are very strong feelings in the area, and our job as
:41:03. > :41:11.administrators is to listen to that, talk to Commissioners of services,
:41:11. > :41:14.to talk to other providers, and say what can we collectively do, can you
:41:14. > :41:16.collectively do, to provide the services that the people in Stafford
:41:16. > :41:22.want? But it's likely some services will
:41:22. > :41:28.be relocated to bigger hospitals in neighbouring towns and cities.
:41:28. > :41:31.People having to go so far, up to Stoke, to Walsall, to
:41:31. > :41:37.Wolverhampton, just to get services that should be there on our
:41:37. > :41:40.doorstep. I wander worry about babies being born in the ambulance.
:41:40. > :41:42.Monitor says the hospital's administration is nothing to do with
:41:42. > :41:45.the recent inquiry chaired by Robert Francis QC which highlighted
:41:45. > :41:52.appalling neglect and incompetence. The inquiry was criticised this week
:41:52. > :41:58.by one witness who gave evidence. tended to focus rather too much on
:41:58. > :42:02.the local issues and professional issues, and not enough on the
:42:02. > :42:04.broader political and organisational context, which in my view
:42:04. > :42:06.contributed to the disaster that occurred there.
:42:06. > :42:09.Despite Stafford Hospital's notoriety, it commands deep loyalty
:42:09. > :42:15.among many in the town, and for them, the fightback has already
:42:15. > :42:18.begun. And as we're in the middle of the
:42:18. > :42:23.council election campaign period, we're also joined here today by the
:42:23. > :42:33.West Midlands Liberal Democrat MEP, Phil Bennion. He lives in
:42:33. > :42:34.
:42:34. > :42:37.Staffordshire, where he farms just outside Tamworth. Do you see
:42:37. > :42:44.yourself as a local man as part of the fight back for Stafford
:42:44. > :42:48.Hospital? Absolutely. What has gone on there has been terrible, but it
:42:48. > :42:52.does not change the need for hospital services in Stafford. What
:42:52. > :42:57.has gone on in the past does not affect that future need, and what we
:42:57. > :43:01.have to remember is that we took over a policy, and ownership policy
:43:01. > :43:08.of hospitals from the previous Government, and there was no real
:43:08. > :43:14.for thought as to what would happen if one hospital went bankrupt.
:43:14. > :43:20.Obviously we see individual local MPs fighting for their hospitals in
:43:20. > :43:23.their constituencies, but you were the wider West Midlands. I was
:43:23. > :43:29.wondering if you could see the argument for some major services
:43:29. > :43:35.from Stafford being redistributed to a wider if you like Federation of
:43:35. > :43:43.hospitals to which people would commute. This depends on the expert
:43:43. > :43:48.advice. In the past... You've raised the possibility. Things are always
:43:48. > :43:51.changing. We have seen all over the West Midlands services move from one
:43:51. > :43:56.place to another, and clinical decisions have to be made to make
:43:56. > :44:01.sure you actually get the best and most efficient service that is
:44:01. > :44:05.possible with the funds available. Harriett, there are certain echoes
:44:05. > :44:09.between what we are seeing in Staffordshire and Worcestershire for
:44:09. > :44:19.example, where there are big campaigns around Redditch and the
:44:19. > :44:20.
:44:20. > :44:24.settlement of services around that Co. Is there a wider argument where
:44:24. > :44:30.individual MPs are all battling for the individual hospitals were a
:44:30. > :44:38.wider Federation like the answer? Jeremy is doing a good job
:44:38. > :44:42.representing Staffordshire, and in Worcestershire it is the role of the
:44:43. > :44:50.MP to stand up for what the local population wants, and very often
:44:50. > :44:54.that will not necessarily be what the commissions clinicians are
:44:54. > :44:58.recommending, they are saying you need to go where there are best at
:44:58. > :45:02.doing that service. So there is a tension between not wanting to
:45:02. > :45:06.travel too far to have your baby, and not wanting to travel too far if
:45:06. > :45:12.you are in an accident, and at the same time getting a specialised
:45:12. > :45:18.services. Bill, you have your own experience having been a governor of
:45:18. > :45:28.trust in. Yes, I resigned over the parking charges which were going
:45:28. > :45:28.
:45:28. > :45:35.straight to the provider's pocket. We are sorry what we have reaped. --
:45:35. > :45:40.macro -- reaping what we sow. PFI deals were a way of providing these
:45:40. > :45:45.things of the balance books. Now you have tens of millions of pounds of
:45:45. > :45:49.taxpayers money being wasted because it is going into the profits of
:45:49. > :45:54.private monopolies. But look at the situation a few years back, no
:45:54. > :45:58.hospital building pretty much since the start of the NHS and many of
:45:58. > :46:03.hospitals were Victorian. UKIP believes we should renegotiate these
:46:03. > :46:11.deals. The PFI providers are private monopolies. They are modelling the
:46:11. > :46:20.taxpayer. This is serious at a time when the NHS is stretched beyond
:46:20. > :46:25.words. What is the answer if the taxpayer is being mugged? We want
:46:25. > :46:32.clinically viable hospitals that people can have confidence in.
:46:32. > :46:36.have to have that commitment to the NHS budget, and make sure that the
:46:36. > :46:39.clinicians are in charge of making the decisions. And we have to
:46:39. > :46:44.recognise that there is a growing population in the West Midlands, we
:46:44. > :46:47.have got to have those facilities for a future generation, but where
:46:47. > :46:53.there is money that can be negotiated with the PFI providers,
:46:53. > :47:00.that the Treasury is doing so. it the case that some PFI's are
:47:00. > :47:06.better than others? It is like having a mortgage where the lawns
:47:06. > :47:13.get known and the windows cleaned and the carpets vacuumed as well?
:47:13. > :47:17.Some of these PFI's are very poor. Who would think about planning a 30
:47:17. > :47:22.year health service, but you do not know what the situation is going to
:47:22. > :47:26.be in 30 years. This is the problem, that this money is being paid out
:47:26. > :47:30.year after year, even when this infrastructure becomes quite low in
:47:30. > :47:33.the tooth. With over 300 seats to be contested
:47:33. > :47:37.in five council elections, polling day a week on Thursday is a
:47:37. > :47:40.genuinely big deal. The build-up is well and truly under way. The Prime
:47:40. > :47:43.Minister was here on the campaign trail on Friday at Nuneaton and
:47:43. > :47:49.Dordon in Warwickshire, where the Conservatives have a fight on their
:47:49. > :47:51.hands to retain overall control. Voters will be electing entirely new
:47:51. > :48:00.county councils in Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and
:48:00. > :48:03.Worcestershire, as well as in the unitary authority of Shropshire. The
:48:03. > :48:09.results will show which way the wind is blowing, with European elections
:48:09. > :48:11.next year and the general election the year after that. BBC WM's
:48:11. > :48:21.political reporter Elizabeth Glinka has been to one of our biggest
:48:21. > :48:25.
:48:25. > :48:26.tourist attractions, to take a spin on the Wheel of Fortune. These local
:48:26. > :48:29.elections were last contested four years ago.
:48:29. > :48:32.Back in 2009 the political wheel turned and the Conservatives swept
:48:32. > :48:40.all before them. Here in Staffordshire, after nearly three
:48:40. > :48:50.decades in control, Labour lost. Today, they feel the wheel turning
:48:50. > :48:59.again. It was awful in 2009, but it is swings and roundabouts. The swing
:48:59. > :49:02.is coming back our way, or across the West Midlands.
:49:02. > :49:04.For the Liberal Democrats, the question is are they in freefall or
:49:04. > :49:07.can they bounce back? In Staffordshire and Worcestershire the
:49:07. > :49:13.party's fielding fewer candidates than UKIP and fewer than the Greens
:49:13. > :49:16.in Worcestershire and Warwickshire. We don't just put everybody up, we
:49:16. > :49:21.have good strong candidates in places where we have a good chance
:49:21. > :49:26.of winning. Look at what has been happening in by-elections around the
:49:26. > :49:29.country, we have been winning more than any other party.
:49:29. > :49:39.For the Conservatives who control all five of our shire counties, the
:49:39. > :49:39.
:49:39. > :49:43.battle to hold their ground is on. Conservatives across the West
:49:43. > :49:48.Midlands have done really well in difficult times, delivering
:49:48. > :49:52.services, freezing council tax or reducing it, and have a record to be
:49:52. > :49:54.proud of. Local members have done things that the electorate can judge
:49:54. > :49:58.them on at the ballot box. With more candidates than ever
:49:58. > :50:01.before and riding high in the polls, the biggest threat to the Tory seats
:50:01. > :50:07.could be the buccaneers of the UK Independence Party, out to persuade
:50:07. > :50:13.disaffected Conservatives to jump ship. People are entitled to vote
:50:13. > :50:16.how they like, and if we are taking votes from the Conservative party it
:50:16. > :50:19.is because the electorate are disenchanted with them. But we are
:50:19. > :50:22.also taking votes across the board. And with a full slate of candidates
:50:22. > :50:29.standing in Warwickshire, the Greens reckon they're the force to be
:50:29. > :50:34.reckoned with. The Green party in the West Midlands have been growing
:50:34. > :50:42.steadily. We have increasing numbers of counsellors, and where we have
:50:42. > :50:46.had people elected, the electorate are liking what we are doing.
:50:46. > :50:55.the runners and riders jockeying for position, there are no less than two
:50:56. > :51:01.weeks for voters to decide which horse they are going to back. No
:51:01. > :51:05.such thing as a racing certainty of course. Harriett, if the polls are
:51:05. > :51:12.right the signs are that you are haemorrhaging supported UKIP, in
:51:12. > :51:16.effect they are spooking your party. This is a local election, so we are
:51:16. > :51:21.looking at who is best to run Worcester County Council.
:51:21. > :51:25.Worcestershire County Council has done a fantastic job, keeping
:51:25. > :51:29.council tax frozen, they have delivered in terms of prioritising
:51:29. > :51:33.care for the most vulnerable, for our roads, for flood defences, and
:51:34. > :51:38.that is what people care about. And those are the issues that should
:51:38. > :51:42.settle elections, and yet you are fighting and existentialists fight,
:51:42. > :51:50.you are fielding fewer candidates than UKIP in Staffordshire and fewer
:51:50. > :51:53.than the Greens in Warwickshire and Worcestershire. We are fielding less
:51:53. > :51:57.candidates than last time, I think there has been a strategic decision
:51:57. > :52:03.to concentrate our efforts. In the past we have held a lot of store by
:52:03. > :52:10.putting out a full slate, and... UKIP have got you on the run.
:52:10. > :52:16.I don't think so. They are drawing support from all three parties, and
:52:17. > :52:21.when I went to Eastleigh it was quite clear there they were drawing
:52:21. > :52:24.support from Labour as well. But here in the West Midlands we have
:52:24. > :52:28.one for by-elections in Shropshire, and here we are concentrating on
:52:28. > :52:33.those areas where we are strongest, usually it is those candidates in
:52:33. > :52:37.the strong wards that have to actually do the organisation in the
:52:37. > :52:41.weaker areas, and what they are telling me is that I am staying
:52:41. > :52:50.where I am, I will fight hard and hold my seat. That is exactly what
:52:50. > :52:53.we are doing. Liberal Democrat party that has great powers. Local issues
:52:53. > :52:58.of the sort that Harriett enumerator, surely other sorts of
:52:58. > :53:04.issues with which local elections are more associated rather than the
:53:04. > :53:09.broadbrush draft you can present to us? We don't have a broadbrush, we
:53:09. > :53:14.have a local manifesto. I have been campaigning across the county's, and
:53:14. > :53:23.I think it is fair to say that we have just got the Conservative vote
:53:23. > :53:28.was coming to us, -- Conservative voters, we are affecting people who
:53:28. > :53:35.have previously voted for all three parties. But would you accept that
:53:35. > :53:40.there is a real challenge to translate those poll ratings into
:53:40. > :53:45.hard and fast votes, given of course that you are coming off a very high
:53:45. > :53:48.base here last time round, the last time those seats were fought. It is
:53:48. > :53:56.going to be hard to give the sense of momentum the poll rating should
:53:56. > :54:01.indicate. Second place is not good enough, we are going to make -- have
:54:01. > :54:04.got to make breakthroughs. A vote for UKIP might let Labour back in,
:54:04. > :54:10.and we do not want to get Labour back in control, because look what
:54:10. > :54:14.they did to the country. That is the kind of negative campaigning the
:54:14. > :54:18.Conservative party put out all the time. I would love to have a
:54:18. > :54:26.discussion where they discuss the issues rather than this Labour
:54:26. > :54:31.bogeyman. My point is made, don't vote Labour and don't vote UKIP
:54:31. > :54:38.because you will let Labour back in. The liberal Democrats traditionally
:54:38. > :54:43.have been a bit of the party of protest, until now, because you are
:54:43. > :54:48.part of the establishment. We are, and suddenly we think that is why
:54:48. > :54:51.our poll ratings did drop certainly the second and third years of the
:54:51. > :54:56.Government, but over the last six months we have seen our poll ratings
:54:56. > :55:01.rise again. We are also finding that we are winning by-elections and I
:55:01. > :55:06.have been around a lot of our county candidates who are fighting target
:55:06. > :55:11.seats, and they are doing very, very well. Final prediction, how is the
:55:11. > :55:14.map of local Government going to look at the end of this process?
:55:14. > :55:19.will make serious games and establish a foothold for future
:55:19. > :55:26.elections. The protest vote is very split and I am hoping we can keep
:55:26. > :55:30.control of our councils. I think we will gain conceits from the
:55:30. > :55:37.Conservatives, I think UKIP will get more than before, and I think Labour
:55:37. > :55:39.will make minor gains. Now here's BBC Radio Shropshire's
:55:39. > :55:48.Breakfast presenter Eric Smith, with our regular round-up of the
:55:48. > :55:51.political week in the Midlands, in 60 seconds.
:55:51. > :55:53.The Walsall Manor Hospital's says it's successfully cut death rates.
:55:53. > :55:58.Treatment for pneumonia's been overhauled, and two hourly checks
:55:58. > :56:01.are done on every patient. Staffordshire digger maker JCB has
:56:01. > :56:11.turned in the best financial results in its 67-year history. Business in
:56:11. > :56:12.
:56:13. > :56:17.Africa doubled last year. We have positioned JCB globally. We have
:56:17. > :56:19.distribution all around the world, and where there is growth, we go and
:56:19. > :56:21.we are successful. And a boost to tourism? Four
:56:21. > :56:24.Birmingham organisations have been nominated for a Royal Philharmonic
:56:24. > :56:27.Society Music Award. The Arts Council says every pound spent on
:56:27. > :56:30.culture generates four for the local economy.
:56:30. > :56:34.A new police cadet scheme's been launched in Staffordshire. It was
:56:34. > :56:37.one of the Crime Commissioner's manifesto pledges.
:56:37. > :56:41.And unemployment's rising. Latest figures show an extra 6,000 people
:56:41. > :56:51.are out of work. That brings the total to 252,000, meaning the
:56:51. > :56:57.
:56:57. > :57:04.region's jobless rate now stands at That is the third highest regional
:57:04. > :57:10.unemployment rate anywhere in England. Let us talk again to
:57:10. > :57:14.Harriett, that is negative news. Don't put a negative spin on it,
:57:14. > :57:18.highlight the positive which is that there are more people in work in the
:57:18. > :57:22.West Midlands band there have ever been in history. Yes, we are
:57:22. > :57:26.beginning to bring down those areas of economic inactivity, so there is
:57:26. > :57:31.a lower level than ever before. People are coming off long-term
:57:31. > :57:35.sickness, short-term sickness, more people are working for longer past
:57:35. > :57:38.their retirement age, but actually the number of people in jobs is
:57:38. > :57:44.really growing and we have got some strong industry, so let us talk
:57:44. > :57:50.about that strength. You recently lost your job yourself, how
:57:50. > :57:54.reassured are you buy what you have just heard? I don't deny any of the
:57:54. > :57:59.figures, I look at it from a more personal point of view, from someone
:57:59. > :58:06.who is out of work and lives among people who asked drug dealing and
:58:06. > :58:10.suffering. The point is, there are hard times here, what we need is a
:58:10. > :58:12.more radical approach towards getting business moving, which means
:58:12. > :58:18.changes to the tax system, simplification and lower taxes
:58:18. > :58:21.overall. Is the crux of the problem that we have concentrations in
:58:21. > :58:26.particular areas of high unemployment which are very
:58:26. > :58:28.resistant to policies. The last year we have seen faster job growth in
:58:28. > :58:31.the private sector than in any year for decades.
:58:31. > :58:33.My thanks to Harriett Baldwin and Bill Etheridge. Next week, in our
:58:33. > :58:36.final programme before local election day, we'll be joined for
:58:36. > :58:40.the Conservatives by Gavin Williamson, and for Labour by Gisela
:58:40. > :58:42.Stuart. And we'll have a report on how the route for High Speed Rail is