:00:25. > :03:35.is on the table. Who would you rather play table football against?
:03:35. > :03:51.because I am winning. So in the winning 's which ones are heading
:03:51. > :04:02.popular policy was a mansion tax on house is worth more than £2 million,
:04:02. > :04:04.popular policy was a mansion tax on councillors. The next most popular
:04:04. > :04:09.policy was scrapping the Trident nuclear deterrent, supported by
:04:09. > :04:13.policy was scrapping the Trident of councillors. Then there was the
:04:13. > :04:18.reinstatement of the 50p top rate of income tax. 70% of councillors like
:04:18. > :04:22.the look of that. When it came to the idea of banning the burka in
:04:22. > :04:27.public places like schools and airports, 45% of councillors were in
:04:27. > :04:34.favour. Finally, a ban on topless Page three model is won the support
:04:34. > :04:42.of 33% of councillors. Why is it so popular, the idea of a mansion tax?
:04:42. > :04:46.It is a much fairer tax. We know there are people out there with
:04:46. > :04:49.It is a much fairer tax. We know expensive houses. Which of these is
:04:49. > :04:56.most important to you? Banning Trident. The cold war ended in
:04:56. > :04:58.1989. Another one was the idea of banning the burka in public places.
:04:58. > :05:06.whatever they like. If they want to banning the burka in public places.
:05:06. > :05:18.wear the birth or a kilt or if they anything. We are the party of jobs.
:05:18. > :05:22.Thank you. Last night, a fully clothed Nick Clegg rallied his
:05:23. > :05:27.troops, but if he was not around, who would Lib Dem councillors want
:05:28. > :05:33.instead? Business Secretary Vince Cable was most popular, with a third
:05:33. > :05:39.of the votes. In second place, the party's president, Tim Farron, with
:05:39. > :05:45.27%. 10% went to Danny Alexander, while the business minister Joe
:05:45. > :05:50.Swinson received 7%. The Energy Secretary Ed Davey scooped 6%, and
:05:50. > :05:57.in last place, Steve Webb, the pensions minister, who got 5%. If
:05:57. > :05:59.any of these councillors want to talk to me about it, I would be
:05:59. > :06:09.delighted to hear from them. Is talk to me about it, I would be
:06:09. > :06:17.certainly isn't. What do you think contenders. But our survey is not
:06:17. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues wagging in Glasgow, because the
:06:22. > :06:22.the only one that has got tongues Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:22. > :06:25.their own poll which showed that 75% Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:25. > :06:29.of the country will never vote Dem leadership have commissioned
:06:29. > :06:36.the party, no matter what they do. Also meeting here this weekend,
:06:37. > :06:39.the party, no matter what they do. Democrats like to think they have
:06:39. > :06:46.got just as much va-va-voom, even if a big chunk of the country doesn't.
:06:46. > :06:57.Add, back in his hometown. So, the Much of their party thinks they
:06:57. > :06:58.Add, back in his hometown. So, the moving in the wrong direction.
:06:58. > :07:01.Earlier, I spoke to former party moving in the wrong direction.
:07:01. > :07:06.leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been put in charge of heading up the
:07:06. > :07:11.leader Paddy Ashdown. He has been election campaign. I asked him if
:07:11. > :07:16.the mood in Glasgow was grim. No. In many ways, as you know, Tory old
:07:16. > :07:21.commentator that you are just as I am a hoary old member at the other
:07:21. > :07:30.end of the camera, we have been midterm of a government, especially
:07:30. > :07:34.when you are in government and the country is going for in a deep
:07:34. > :07:38.economic crisis, has almost no relevance to where you might be
:07:38. > :07:43.economic crisis, has almost no the nipple come to consider how
:07:43. > :07:43.economic crisis, has almost no will vote in 600 days time -- when
:07:43. > :07:47.the people come to consider how will vote in 600 days time -- when
:07:47. > :07:52.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, but they are a snapshot of what
:07:52. > :07:55.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, indication of where we will be.
:07:55. > :07:57.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, guess is, for what it is worth,
:07:57. > :08:01.will vote. We do not dismiss polls, as we come to the election, the
:08:01. > :08:06.public will be in a very serious, probably frightened mood. Their
:08:06. > :08:11.public will be in a very serious, thoughts will be, who maintains
:08:11. > :08:14.public will be in a very serious, job, makes sure I don't have to
:08:14. > :08:18.public will be in a very serious, to higher mortgage? The coalition
:08:18. > :08:23.has delivered not only the required policies to make Britain's economy
:08:23. > :08:28.prosperous, but also its society fair. That is what people will want
:08:28. > :08:30.to see. I think coalition politics are here to stay and we have a role
:08:30. > :08:35.to play in it. But you are in a are here to stay and we have a role
:08:35. > :08:38.mood this morning. You tweeted that you were not happy with how the
:08:38. > :08:45.Observer newspaper handled your there anything we can do to help?
:08:45. > :08:54.There is probably something they arguments with the interview. The
:08:54. > :08:58.headline they chose to put on it late last night was outrageous,
:08:58. > :09:03.misrepresentative and in one case in Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:03. > :09:09.coalition with the Tories, or at Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:09. > :09:13.least they gave that in for us Something about Ashdown wants a
:09:13. > :09:21.inference. Let me make this point. election. I am in charge of the
:09:21. > :09:26.campaign. Any journalist who in these next two years says that any
:09:26. > :09:29.Liberal Democrat prefers anything else in terms of the outcome of
:09:29. > :09:32.Liberal Democrat prefers anything coalition but the result of the
:09:32. > :09:34.ballot box dictating that outcome, that any prefer one side to another
:09:34. > :09:42.coalition determined by the electors that any prefer one side to another
:09:42. > :09:46.in the votes, will get a bloody that any prefer one side to another
:09:46. > :10:08.time from me, no matter who they are. We take the warning. A survey
:10:08. > :10:13.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in coalition with the Tories. That
:10:13. > :10:15.of Lib Dem councillors shows that in clear sign that your activists want
:10:15. > :10:17.a change of direction. I don't think it is news that as a left-wing
:10:17. > :10:20.party, we find it more congenial with those on the left wing, but
:10:20. > :10:24.that is not the issue. You saw it election. We are servants of the
:10:24. > :10:27.ballot box. We do watch the British people require us to do to provide a
:10:27. > :10:30.of our country. I am sure you have stable government in the interests
:10:30. > :10:33.of our country. I am sure you have got the point by now. I have fought
:10:33. > :10:39.the Tories all my life. But when responsibility to amend the economic
:10:39. > :10:45.crisis, was this right for the determine who are going to be in any
:10:45. > :10:53.coalition, should there be one, determine who are going to be in any
:10:53. > :10:59.voters and nobody else. It is not about what we like. I understand
:10:59. > :11:06.that. But your own internal polls leadership are not taking the party
:11:06. > :11:11.with them on that. I don't think that is true. Nick Clegg has done
:11:11. > :11:15.what no other party leader has done. He took the coalition agreement
:11:15. > :11:18.what no other party leader has done. the party, and they voted for it. So
:11:18. > :11:24.it is not true to say that members different direction. I think we
:11:24. > :11:26.it is not true to say that members extraordinarily united. I did not
:11:26. > :11:30.expect them to be so under these pressures, but they have surprised
:11:31. > :11:39.me and made me joyful at the same time. The party has done what it
:11:39. > :11:48.done in local government for a long time. We may have our private likes
:11:48. > :11:54.and dislikes, but the thing that coalition is the ballot box. You
:11:54. > :11:57.have said that three times. I can say it again if you like. Please
:11:57. > :12:02.don't! What if your party votes say it again if you like. Please
:12:02. > :12:12.reinstate tuition fees as party policy afternoon? We will have to
:12:12. > :12:15.listen to that and act accordingly. You must listen to the voice of
:12:15. > :12:18.listen to that and act accordingly. party and take it into account in
:12:18. > :12:25.what you do. I am always quite answering hypothetical questions. I
:12:26. > :12:31.don't think it is likely to happen, but if it did, we would have to
:12:31. > :12:33.don't think it is likely to happen, distinguished Lib Dems was that
:12:33. > :12:36.don't think it is likely to happen, your party conference voted for
:12:36. > :12:42.something, it was in the manifesto. The manifesto is taken in its final
:12:42. > :12:46.form before the party for decision. The party will express views at
:12:46. > :12:49.form before the party for decision. stage in all sorts of ways. It did
:12:49. > :12:53.in my leadership, too. The manifesto is democratically agreed by the
:12:53. > :12:59.party at the time of the election, not before. The Tory conference
:12:59. > :12:59.party at the time of the election, be about how they think they have
:12:59. > :13:03.been vindicated, that austerity be about how they think they have
:13:03. > :13:08.worked, the economy is turning a corner. But Nick Clegg's conference
:13:08. > :13:13.announcements will be about plastic bags. Have you got the hang of this
:13:13. > :13:16.coalition think? Andrew, you can always be guaranteed to put things
:13:16. > :13:24.in the most discreditable form! always be guaranteed to put things
:13:24. > :13:31.is part of your charm. That was about to be a minor announcement in
:13:31. > :13:34.discovered beforehand. It has not the middle of his speech. But it was
:13:34. > :13:36.discovered beforehand. It has not been very popular in terms of how it
:13:36. > :13:41.has been received, but that is not the central message. That leads
:13:41. > :13:47.has been received, but that is not to what I think is the biggest
:13:47. > :13:52.election. Isn't the biggest danger that the Tories, not you, if there
:13:52. > :14:04.is an economic recovery, they will get the credit for it? I don't think
:14:04. > :14:10.think the electorate does gratitude. The only time people cast a thank
:14:10. > :14:13.Thatcher over the sale of council houses. We could have a different
:14:13. > :14:20.discussion over whether that was a good idea. But what you have done is
:14:20. > :14:30.the underpinning for the promise of government, we have stayed firm
:14:30. > :14:37.the underpinning for the promise of very tough economic policy. But
:14:37. > :14:39.the underpinning for the promise of you get the credit? What we have
:14:39. > :14:44.done by ourselves, which the Tories would never have done, is make sure
:14:44. > :14:49.that when the pain is felt, it is not the poor who feel it. We have
:14:49. > :14:53.seen the biggest shift of taxation, lifting the poorest in the country
:14:53. > :14:59.out of taxation, that has ever happened, including in the previous
:14:59. > :15:04.Labour government. You are presiding over the biggest squeeze on living
:15:04. > :15:05.standards in modern times. Because it is the biggest recession in
:15:05. > :15:15.modern times. When you speak to it is the biggest recession in
:15:15. > :15:19.2.5 million people who have been lifted out of taxation altogether
:15:19. > :15:32.because of the Liberal Democrats, tax cut. You may be able to make the
:15:32. > :15:36.because of the Liberal Democrats, connection, Andrew, you are a sharp
:15:36. > :15:39.economic crisis and difficulty for everybody. But it is clear that
:15:39. > :15:41.economic crisis and difficulty for the Tories had been by themselves,
:15:41. > :15:45.none of that would have happened. We have sought to shift the burden
:15:45. > :15:48.none of that would have happened. We from the poorest in this country. I
:15:48. > :15:52.am part of that. So when we go into the next election, the message will
:15:52. > :15:54.am part of that. So when we go into be that if you want to continue
:15:54. > :15:57.am part of that. So when we go into have a prosperous economy and a
:15:57. > :16:07.society, only the Liberal Democrats will deliver that. Tim Farron says
:16:07. > :16:10.want to diss him. Can you confirm he likes Ed Miliband and he does not
:16:10. > :16:15.want to diss him. Can you confirm that there will be no dissing of Ed
:16:15. > :16:19.Miliband? It is not much my style. I've never much liked comments about
:16:19. > :16:27.the other leaders. I do not intend to make it so in the future. Can I'd
:16:27. > :16:30.finish up on Syria? You said after the Syria vote that Britain was
:16:30. > :16:35.finish up on Syria? You said after hugely diminished country. Given it
:16:36. > :16:39.both sides on a course which could now see Syria give up chemical
:16:39. > :16:43.weapons without records to military action, would you like to withdraw
:16:43. > :16:45.these remarks and admit that you should be proud and happy with what
:16:45. > :16:52.Britain has done? No. You and I should be proud and happy with what
:16:53. > :16:59.know, because we are old observers, that that would never have happened
:16:59. > :17:06.underpinning of a threat to use resigned from that. We have no part
:17:06. > :17:09.to play in the fact that Assad and Putin have moved towards peace for
:17:09. > :17:09.to play in the fact that Assad and fear of military action. We decided
:17:09. > :17:15.exactly the opposite. Why would fear of military action. We decided
:17:15. > :17:23.liked to have seen our country join in with those who are serious about
:17:23. > :17:24.upholding an international law which has restrained even than axes and
:17:24. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we talent, but instead we resigned
:17:35. > :17:35.left others to make sure that we moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:35. > :17:43.Maxis and Stalin. But if it had moved towards peace. -- even the
:17:43. > :17:48.would not have had the time to allow this to happen. It has avoided war.
:17:48. > :17:56.Job done, British Parliament. That would be true if it was accurate but
:17:56. > :18:01.it is not. The resolution proposed a delay, that we should wait until the
:18:01. > :18:03.inspectors came back. That time frame was absolutely nothing to
:18:03. > :18:08.inspectors came back. That time with the parliamentary vote. The
:18:08. > :18:15.vote was going to incorporate that. I do not think you can claim what
:18:15. > :18:17.vote was going to incorporate that. remember that diplomacy, which was
:18:17. > :18:21.not reinforced by the threat of military action, does not work.
:18:21. > :18:25.not reinforced by the threat of is when diplomacy runs with a grain
:18:25. > :18:30.of military action that it works. illustration of that, look at what
:18:30. > :18:35.is happening over the last two weeks. By regret to say that our
:18:35. > :18:48.country, which has always been in disengagement, had no part to play
:18:48. > :18:56.And you we would get to the Balkans eventually, and we did. His biggest
:18:56. > :19:02.challenge is if the economy is get some credit for the Lib Dems,
:19:03. > :19:07.when the Tories will want to halt it all. But his position is not to
:19:07. > :19:08.when the Tories will want to halt it the necessary axeman. That is George
:19:08. > :19:12.Osborne's role. Their role is to be Osborne's role. Their role is to be
:19:12. > :19:16.the chaser party, taking the edge off. They will because of me going
:19:16. > :19:22.on about the pupil premium and That is what you will hear from
:19:22. > :19:26.of the cuts. Will that work? They them, how they have taken the edge
:19:26. > :19:27.of the cuts. Will that work? They are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:27. > :19:31.if they have lost two thirds of are in a pretty good position. Even
:19:31. > :19:35.popular support, according to the polls, I do not know anyone in
:19:35. > :19:36.Westminster methinks that will be matched in their parliamentary
:19:37. > :19:40.representation. If they have 56 matched in their parliamentary
:19:40. > :19:48.now, they might lose a dozen but Strategically, they are in a better
:19:48. > :19:53.position than the reading of the polls would tell you. I think Nick
:19:53. > :19:58.Clegg's survival has been one of the stories of this Parliament. He is
:19:58. > :20:04.looking good at the comfort -- at the conference. When he was at his
:20:04. > :20:08.lowest after the AV referendum, people were saying he would survive
:20:09. > :20:13.I thought that was fanciful. Believe and lead us into 2015 and beyond and
:20:13. > :20:15.I thought that was fanciful. Believe it or not... Paddy Ashdown was
:20:15. > :20:21.wrong, you were wrong and... I wasn't. I'm underestimated how bad
:20:21. > :20:27.his rivals are. If you are Lib Dem member, however aggrieved you are
:20:27. > :20:31.with Nick Clegg, you do not think, wouldn't it be great if Christian
:20:31. > :20:34.was in charge? Nick Clegg is the best they have. -- Chris Huhne was
:20:34. > :20:40.in charge. Of course, the people do in charge. Of course, the people do
:20:40. > :20:44.government and it is a consequence of the way they vote, a different
:20:44. > :20:51.matter. If Janan Ganesh is right, and they lose 15 seats in the next
:20:51. > :20:57.pivotal in the next government. It Possibly the most amusing outcome
:20:57. > :21:00.would be a Labour or Tory overall majority, which would be hilarious
:21:00. > :21:06.for the look on Paddy Ashdown's face. The danger is they get trapped
:21:06. > :21:08.constantly in talking about the politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:08. > :21:16.parliament. And they are very puffed politics of coalition and of a hung
:21:16. > :21:20.parliament. And they are very puffed up and they enjoy Parliament and
:21:20. > :21:23.there is a possibility they will not be. While they are talking about the
:21:23. > :21:25.Polish and themselves, they are be. While they are talking about the
:21:25. > :21:31.talking about the issues facing be. While they are talking about the
:21:31. > :21:37.coalition. It was interesting that he said that we are a left-wing
:21:37. > :21:44.party, not a centre-left party or a centre party, but a left-wing party.
:21:44. > :21:48.I'm going to put myself in the firing line and say that there is a
:21:48. > :21:52.big split between the Tim Farron line who say they like Ed Miliband,
:21:52. > :21:56.and another one, Jeremy Browne in the Home Office saying that Labour
:21:56. > :22:05.are intellectually lazy. The risk clearly a clique around Nick Clegg
:22:05. > :22:11.who wants to be a synthetic party, but that is not where the membership
:22:11. > :22:16.who wants to be a synthetic party, activists are clearly of the left,
:22:16. > :22:21.not just the centre-left. They are very pro-immigration and they want
:22:21. > :22:26.strategy has to be to take the party to the centre. The something not
:22:26. > :22:30.happen at some stage? The poll suggests it is a left-wing party.
:22:30. > :22:31.happen at some stage? The poll Very left-wing. Other think the
:22:32. > :22:33.happen at some stage? The poll would have yielded -- would have
:22:33. > :22:40.yielded the same results before would have yielded -- would have
:22:40. > :22:43.2010 election. This is reflected by the arithmetic. Whichever party
:22:43. > :22:44.2010 election. This is reflected by biggest will most likely be the
:22:44. > :22:48.2010 election. This is reflected by in coalition with the Lib Dems.
:22:48. > :22:56.2010 election. This is reflected by Clegg's on latitude to choose is
:22:56. > :23:02.exaggerated by us. The choice is no parliamentary arithmetic. But if you
:23:02. > :23:09.remember the structure of the Lib Dems, they can tie themselves up in
:23:09. > :23:16.infighting. -- the choice is not stable. And Nick Clegg has had a
:23:16. > :23:18.good conference last year, and will have another one this year. The
:23:18. > :23:21.economy is better than it was a have another one this year. The
:23:21. > :23:27.ago. It could still go quite well for him. Yes, it is one of the
:23:27. > :23:29.ago. It could still go quite well stories of this Parliament, his
:23:29. > :23:35.survival and the way in which he has prospered. But there are a lot of
:23:35. > :23:38.campaigners, labour activists who have not forgotten what he has done
:23:38. > :23:42.in government and are determined to get him. It will be a tough year and
:23:42. > :23:47.a half. Tougher than he imagined. Now, not so long ago they were
:23:47. > :23:53.writing George Osborne's political obituary. Be on the Omni shambles
:23:53. > :23:57.budget of 2012 and a lacklustre performance of the British economy
:23:57. > :24:04.meant his reputation work -- was in the dirt. -- the omnishambles. But
:24:04. > :24:12.things have changed. The Chancellor is saying he has been vindicated. If
:24:12. > :24:15.runway, it looks as though the British economy has taken off,
:24:15. > :24:20.quarter. Forecasts for the rest British economy has taken off,
:24:20. > :24:27.the year have been revised up words. What's more, the office for National
:24:27. > :24:32.recession never actually happened. Unemployment is down in the three
:24:32. > :24:42.months to July and the number of spasticity rate since 1997. On
:24:42. > :24:45.Monday, George Osborne said his policies were bearing fruit. We
:24:45. > :24:49.Monday, George Osborne said his our nerve when many told us to
:24:49. > :24:54.abandon our plans. As a result, thanks to the efforts and sacrifices
:24:54. > :25:01.of the British people, Britain is turning a corner. The message for
:25:01. > :25:06.his Labour critics was clear. The Chancellor thinks he was right and
:25:06. > :25:21.Good afternoon. Good afternoon.Do you accept that the economy has
:25:21. > :25:27.turned a corner? I think it is good that a stalled recovery appears
:25:27. > :25:29.turned a corner? I think it is good get this in perspective. We have had
:25:29. > :25:34.three wasted years. We have the worst economic recovery in history.
:25:34. > :25:42.Debt is up and we have record youth programme if they feel better or
:25:43. > :25:47.worse off, compared to 2010, the majority will tell you they feel
:25:47. > :25:54.worse because, on average, wages are down by £1500 compared to May of
:25:54. > :26:02.2010. That is the situation. The one of the things we have seen
:26:02. > :26:06.talked about, Vince Cable has been talking about this as well, is what
:26:06. > :26:08.is happening in the housing market. It seems that much of the solution
:26:08. > :26:14.to powering the recovery in the It seems that much of the solution
:26:14. > :26:18.of George Osborne lies in sorting out the housing market but the
:26:18. > :26:21.problem is, we are at risk of being another housing bubble. Because
:26:21. > :26:26.problem is, we are at risk of being research that came out this week, we
:26:26. > :26:29.know that housing in the UK is three times more expensive than in the US.
:26:29. > :26:32.know that housing in the UK is three We know that house prices are rising
:26:32. > :26:38.five times faster than wages, but we also know that the government is
:26:38. > :26:40.five times faster than wages, but we building new housing at a slower
:26:40. > :26:47.rate, the slowest rate that we have complaining about a housing bubble,
:26:47. > :26:54.isn't that like Satan complaining about seven? -- seven. We all know
:26:54. > :26:57.that we cannot go back to business as usual. We need to build a new
:26:57. > :27:01.model of growth. But the housing bubble you talk about, it is not a
:27:01. > :27:06.bubble. It might turn into one. bubble you talk about, it is not a
:27:06. > :27:13.said the risk of a bubble. It is nothing like what happened on the
:27:13. > :27:16.I said, in 2009, we had the crash and we knew we needed to reconfigure
:27:16. > :27:24.the way that our economy works. Having an economy based on crisis is
:27:24. > :27:28.rebalance the economy. We saw the unemployment statistics this week,
:27:28. > :27:40.and it is welcomed overall, that unemployment has come down. At half
:27:40. > :27:45.up. And it went down in other parts. We know that we need to rebalance
:27:45. > :27:51.our economy, so that we do not just rely on consumption, but that we
:27:51. > :27:55.grow our productive sectors. And also that we grow our exports as
:27:55. > :28:02.well. We know we have a continuing deficit. We always have a trade
:28:02. > :28:12.deficit. There was never a trade surplus under Labour. Want to come
:28:12. > :28:14.onto what you have mentioned but would you scrap the help to buy
:28:14. > :28:18.scheme? We have not said that we would you scrap the help to buy
:28:18. > :28:20.scheme? We have not said that we would do that. Why not if it is
:28:20. > :28:27.causing the bubble? If you let me finish, on one hand what that scheme
:28:27. > :28:34.does at the moment, at the moment it is inhalation to a new scheme but
:28:34. > :28:38.tomorrow -- next year it will be in you do not sort out the supply of
:28:38. > :28:43.housing, then that is a recipe for the problems we have seen. Our
:28:43. > :28:45.argument is build more houses. Help more people to buy them by all means
:28:45. > :28:48.but if you do not have the supply more people to buy them by all means
:28:48. > :28:52.but if you do not have the supply you will end up with rising prices.
:28:52. > :28:54.That is obvious. Labour said that government austerity would prevent
:28:54. > :29:00.the return of growth. Austerity government austerity would prevent
:29:00. > :29:04.were wrong. We never said that growth would never return. What
:29:04. > :29:05.were wrong. We never said that said was that if you went for an
:29:05. > :29:11.were wrong. We never said that overly extreme deficit reduction
:29:11. > :29:17.recovery and you would choke growth. That is what we saw for three years.
:29:17. > :29:24.If you say, look at the US economy, it has grown at three times the
:29:24. > :29:27.If you say, look at the US economy, economy has grown at twice the rate.
:29:28. > :29:31.But the British economy is growing quicker than the American or German
:29:31. > :29:36.economy is now. But over time we have not seen that happen. But it is
:29:36. > :29:42.now. That may be the case. But my point is that those three years
:29:42. > :29:44.now. That may be the case. But my people undergoing huge stress and
:29:44. > :29:48.worry. It is good that we have growth back again but the question
:29:48. > :29:54.is, what kind of growth? What we have said... I'm going to come onto
:29:54. > :29:57.that but your credibility depends on your previous analysis. And there
:29:57. > :30:05.are doubts about it. This is what you said not that long ago. In
:30:05. > :30:33.You and the Labour Party said it had choked off growth. You were wrong.
:30:33. > :30:37.We were not wrong, because we had three years where the economy was
:30:38. > :30:41.not moving. Let's remind ourselves. Claude Osborne was predicting that
:30:41. > :30:46.the economy was going to grow by 6.9% between the start of this
:30:46. > :30:55.Parliament and now. It has grown by 1.8%. We did not say we would never
:30:55. > :30:58.have a return to growth. You never said that austerity would only
:30:58. > :31:03.temporarily delay growth. We have looked through your speeches and Ed
:31:03. > :31:09.Balls'. We can't find any reference to say this is simply delaying the
:31:09. > :31:13.recovery. You said austerity would choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:13. > :31:19.why has it returned now? Did we choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:19. > :31:26.it would choke off growth for ever? choke off growth. If that is true,
:31:26. > :31:29.We did not. You have changed your tune. I think your package at the
:31:29. > :31:33.top of this programme, to frame tune. I think your package at the
:31:34. > :31:39.around George Osborne, this is not a people's lives, and the people who
:31:39. > :31:46.deserve huge credit for the growth we are seeing are our country's
:31:46. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough economic times, have succeeded.
:31:49. > :31:49.businesses, who despite the tough are the ones who have powered this
:31:49. > :31:57.Westminster to take credit. But are the ones who have powered this
:31:57. > :32:03.blame the government for lack of growth. So therefore, when the
:32:03. > :32:09.growth comes, the government has to situation Britain is in now. We
:32:09. > :32:12.growth comes, the government has to the recovery still has to reach
:32:12. > :32:16.growth comes, the government has to parts of the country, but this is
:32:16. > :32:21.the OECD annualised growth in the G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:21. > :32:29.That is looking pretty healthy. G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:29. > :32:33.is a recovery. I am not denying G-7, the world's guest economies.
:32:33. > :32:38.we are seeing a stalled recovery, but who benefits from the growth? On
:32:38. > :32:48.average, your viewers have sustained a £1500 pay cut. That is the second
:32:48. > :32:54.biggest fall in the G20 since May 2010. Because we had the biggest
:32:54. > :33:07.financial services sector and took services are still in decline.
:33:07. > :33:12.the economy. They are not the only contributor to the economy. The
:33:12. > :33:16.point is, who benefits? Unemployment is falling, but we don't just want
:33:16. > :33:21.people to have any job, we want them to have decent jobs that pay a
:33:21. > :33:28.weight you can live off and that are more secure. Let me show you the
:33:28. > :33:33.unemployment figures. Your criticism has been that all the new jobs are
:33:33. > :33:37.part-time. They are not now, they are full-time. Full-time
:33:37. > :33:46.unemployment, up -- full-time employment, up 94,000. This is a
:33:46. > :33:50.short time frame. It is since the recovery began. Half the jobs that
:33:50. > :33:56.have been created since May 2010 have been part-time jobs. Roughly
:33:56. > :34:01.107,000 people are working part-time who would like to work full-time.
:34:01. > :34:03.Over the last 20 years, people now feel more insecure at work than
:34:03. > :34:07.ever. The question is about what feel more insecure at work than
:34:07. > :34:14.kind of growth and employment you are getting. The other point is the
:34:14. > :34:21.uneven spread of this across our economy. In places like the
:34:21. > :34:29.north-east and north-west, the Humber, the east of England, they
:34:29. > :34:33.have seen unemployment increase. I agree that there was a regional
:34:33. > :34:40.imbalance, but the service sector is growing, cheering and construction
:34:40. > :34:44.are growing and financial services are in decline, so the rebalance is
:34:44. > :34:49.happening. It is not happening to the degree we need to transform our
:34:49. > :34:53.economy so that we have a long-term, sustainable model of
:34:53. > :34:55.growth. That is why we need a comprehensive industrial strategy
:34:55. > :35:04.that all of government works towards. Your party conference is
:35:04. > :35:09.coming up. I am sure you are looking forward to it. Why do Ed Miliband's
:35:09. > :35:20.approval ratings get worse the more people see of him? I don't accept
:35:20. > :35:26.that. I have given you the figures. Polls go up and down. I have said
:35:26. > :35:33.that on this programme before. But his approval rating has consistently
:35:33. > :35:35.gone down. What actually matters our votes. Under Ed Miliband's
:35:35. > :35:39.leadership, the Labour Party have votes. Under Ed Miliband's
:35:39. > :35:50.put on almost 2000 extra councillors in places like Canada case, even
:35:50. > :35:56.Whitney. What is wrong with Whitney? We have been putting on votes. Let
:35:56. > :36:00.me show you this. This is the net satisfaction rating. Your leader is
:36:00. > :36:07.now more unpopular than Gordon Brown was when he took Labour to the worst
:36:07. > :36:14.defeat in living memory. Gordon Brown did not put on anything like
:36:14. > :36:21.this number of councillors. Votes are what matter, Andrew. Few people
:36:21. > :36:26.think Ed Miliband is a capable leader. Twice as many people think
:36:26. > :36:32.over Spurs who lives on the moon. These are polls. If you are talking
:36:32. > :36:39.to me about over Spurs lit, that puts this into context, Europe
:36:39. > :36:44.session with polls! -- Elvis Presley. Since 2010, we have put on
:36:44. > :36:47.thousands of members. Compare that to the Conservative Party, which has
:36:47. > :36:58.not won a general election since 1992. They will not disclose their
:36:58. > :37:02.membership figures. Why -- why won't you pledge to renationalise Royal
:37:02. > :37:05.Mail? Because that would be like writing a blank cheque. We don't
:37:05. > :37:09.know at the moment how much the government would receive for the
:37:09. > :37:13.sale of Royal Mail? So how can I judge how much it would cost to buy
:37:13. > :37:16.it back? That would be irresponsible. But the government
:37:16. > :37:23.does not need to do this right now. The entire country is against it.
:37:23. > :37:26.Sources in the City and Whitehall tell me that if Labour pledged to
:37:26. > :37:34.renationalise it, it would kill off the flotation. So if you are against
:37:34. > :37:36.it, why don't you do it? For me to pledge to renationalise Royal Mail
:37:36. > :37:43.would be like writing a blank cheque. But if you put it in the
:37:43. > :37:50.prospectus, people in the City, who know more about these things, say it
:37:50. > :37:53.would not happen, so why not do it? Because that would be irresponsible.
:37:54. > :37:59.It would be like writing a cheque for billions to renationalise Royal
:37:59. > :38:05.Mail. You would not have too right at the check if it did not happen. I
:38:05. > :38:09.have to deal with the facts. I am not good deal with the plot somebody
:38:09. > :38:14.might be speculating about in the City. We have to be careful about
:38:14. > :38:18.this. For me to pledge to renationalise it now would be like
:38:18. > :38:22.writing a bank cheque . We are going to be a fiscally responsible
:38:22. > :38:28.government. That is why I am not prepared to do that. Ed Balls will
:38:28. > :38:29.not be talking to you. You are watching the Sunday Politics. Coming
:38:29. > :38:47.up in 20 Hello, once again from the Midlands.
:38:47. > :38:52.And we're joined today by two MPs from opposite side of the political
:38:52. > :38:56.divide and opposite sides of one constituency boundary. On the blue
:38:57. > :39:01.side of the line, Paul Uppal who is the Conservative MP for
:39:01. > :39:03.Wolverhampton South West. He is in David Cameron's inner circle as a
:39:04. > :39:09.member of the Downing Street policy group. And on the other side, the
:39:09. > :39:13.red side of the line, Pat McFadden, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South
:39:14. > :39:17.East. He served as Lord Mandelson's number two the business department
:39:17. > :39:21.in the last Labour government. Good to have you both with us. And
:39:21. > :39:27.indeed, it is in Wolverhampton that jobless figures are an increasing
:39:27. > :39:31.worry, whatever your politics. The latest statistics remain stubbornly
:39:31. > :39:35.above the national average and all the Hampton itself, the percentage
:39:35. > :39:40.of people aged between 16 and 64 who are claiming job—seeker's allowance
:39:40. > :39:45.last month, it is 7.2%, the third highest in the country. So the last
:39:45. > :39:50.thing the city needed was the announcement of a loss of 1000 jobs
:39:50. > :39:55.from the council over the next 18 months as the local authority tries
:39:55. > :40:00.to save £89 million. The scale has surprised people and their is some
:40:00. > :40:04.genuine anger and upset. We are talking about people's livelihoods.
:40:05. > :40:09.Potentially 50 households in every ward in the city losing an income.
:40:09. > :40:15.That is not something that can be taken lightly. Paul, you see the
:40:15. > :40:18.pain that is being handed down by the economies that your government
:40:18. > :40:25.is inflicting on local government. In your own home city which is
:40:25. > :40:26.already struggling. People but we'll be watching the programme who are
:40:26. > :40:31.already struggling. People but we'll be watching worried about the news
:40:31. > :40:34.that came out this week. I was heartened by one of the chief
:40:34. > :40:38.executive said, we will try to take this forward in terms of
:40:38. > :40:44.redundancies and maybe early retirements. But it is very
:40:44. > :40:46.challenging but these are difficult economic times and Wolverhampton has
:40:47. > :40:58.to stand on its feet and the country as a whole. Difficult economic
:40:58. > :41:03.times, Pat which we no —— which we understand austerity will continue.
:41:03. > :41:08.It is a tough time for local authorities. The announcement this
:41:08. > :41:13.week of 1000 job losses has been a body blow in Wolverhampton, a city
:41:13. > :41:24.which already has high unemployment. It shows sharp relief, the talk of
:41:24. > :41:30.recovery in recent weeks but it is very patchy. Those families in
:41:30. > :41:33.Wolverhampton, seeing the site of ministers getting out the bunting
:41:33. > :41:35.and claiming that the economy has turned a corner, this will feel like
:41:35. > :41:45.they are in a different world. Where the Chancellor's words out of
:41:45. > :41:49.place? Part of it is creating confidence and I agree with Pat, it
:41:49. > :41:52.is patchy but you have to do the right thing in politics and
:41:52. > :41:55.unfortunately it is going to be up and down, it will not be an easy
:41:55. > :41:59.turnaround but look at the positives. As we have been hearing,
:41:59. > :42:04.some more positive news about the economy, production has restarted at
:42:04. > :42:09.the London Taxi Company in commentary while Jaguar Land Rover
:42:09. > :42:16.announced at the Frankfurt Motor Show, a £1.5 billion investment in a
:42:16. > :42:19.new aluminium bodywork factory in Solihull creating 1700 jobs but can
:42:19. > :42:24.a local workforce really take advantage of a growth that is on
:42:24. > :42:28.offer? With this additional 1700 people, we will have employed 11,000
:42:28. > :42:32.new people into the Jaguar Land Rover business to support our
:42:32. > :42:36.worldwide growth. It is a challenge constantly to have the right sort of
:42:36. > :42:40.skills and for every job but we produce or build, there will be
:42:40. > :42:44.another four in the supply trade within the UK. That is the issue,
:42:44. > :42:52.Pat. Getting people through with the right skills. We have a lamentably
:42:53. > :42:56.low skills base here. This is great news, Jaguar Land Rover is a great
:42:56. > :43:02.British success story. The latest jobs come on top of 9000 new jobs
:43:02. > :43:06.announced in the last couple of years. I am delighted with the
:43:07. > :43:11.progress but you are right, we have to make the most of what is perhaps
:43:11. > :43:16.a once in a generation opportunity for manufacturing industry in the
:43:16. > :43:19.West Midlands. That means everybody — schools, colleges, universities
:43:20. > :43:24.and businesses in the supply chain — have to raise their game
:43:24. > :43:29.collectively so that we commit the skills challenge. Isn't that
:43:30. > :43:34.challenge really a bit of an approach to both the parties, in a
:43:34. > :43:43.way, Paul, to be running local education authorities, successive
:43:43. > :43:49.governments, and other factors. We have one in four people in
:43:49. > :43:53.Wolverhampton who have no form of qualifications. There has been a
:43:53. > :43:56.heritage of low skills environment, and as a government we are doing
:43:56. > :44:02.things to address that. I have to be honest, this ship has been selling
:44:02. > :44:09.in one direction for a long time. Under successive administrations, ?
:44:09. > :44:16.PaulIt is really serious this because if we defend things, we deny
:44:16. > :44:22.opportunity and that is a terrible thing to do. Coming up, caring for
:44:22. > :44:25.less. Why Staffordshire County Council has transferred almost 1000
:44:25. > :44:30.adult social care workers over to the NHS in the hope of saving £44
:44:30. > :44:32.million in just three years. We will have more on this a little later in
:44:32. > :44:41.the programme. I no sooner do MPs return to their
:44:41. > :44:45.conspiratorial corridors in the Commons than they are whisked away
:44:45. > :44:49.again for some enforced team bonding to get themselves back on message.
:44:49. > :44:52.Party conference season is again on us. The Green party have been in
:44:52. > :44:56.pole position in Brighton while the Liberal Democrats and descended on
:44:56. > :45:00.Glasgow. In the first of my interviews with each of the main
:45:01. > :45:04.party leaders, I began by asking the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg,
:45:04. > :45:08.that unemployment. It has been going down almost everywhere else in
:45:08. > :45:13.Britain for almost all of this year but not here.
:45:13. > :45:16.It is not a problem unique to the West Midlands, in a sense that what
:45:16. > :45:19.is happening is job losses we are seeing in the public sector, we need
:45:19. > :45:23.to make sure they are more than compensated by extra jobs in the
:45:23. > :45:27.private sector. In a nutshell, that is the problem facing the country
:45:27. > :45:33.and the West Midlands. Nationally, the good news is about 500,000 jobs
:45:33. > :45:37.lost in the public sector, three times that created in the private
:45:37. > :45:43.sector. What we need to make sure is that that spotlight on private
:45:44. > :45:48.sector job creation happens in the West Midlands. There are some good
:45:48. > :45:56.signs thousands of jobs have been created or protected by the regional
:45:56. > :45:59.growth fund, investment, we have got this announcement from Jaguar Land
:45:59. > :46:03.Rover. But they cannot get people with the right skills. I will come
:46:03. > :46:11.onto that. It is one of the reasons why I remain a keen advocate of
:46:11. > :46:14.high—speed rail two. We will create about 50,000 jobs at that gets going
:46:14. > :46:18.on the HS2 project in the West Midlands. So those are the reasons
:46:18. > :46:20.why we need to press ahead with those projects and schemes,
:46:20. > :46:28.encourage investment and as he correct the identified, work hard
:46:28. > :46:31.through apprenticeships. Provide the skills to youngsters so that when
:46:31. > :46:35.those jobs become available, it is local youngsters who have a real
:46:35. > :46:41.crack at the web. City deals are one of your pet projects for getting
:46:41. > :46:45.growth and jobs going in major areas. Lots of talk in the Midlands
:46:45. > :46:48.that a second wave expected shortly for Stoke, the Black Country,
:46:48. > :46:52.Coventry and Warwickshire will not be anywhere near as generous as the
:46:52. > :46:57.first lot that went to bigger cities like Birmingham. Lets wait and see.
:46:57. > :47:00.There is not a great pot of cash that you can suddenly handover but
:47:00. > :47:06.there is a significant push which are making sure will happen,
:47:06. > :47:08.ensuring that Whitehall gives up powers to communities in the West
:47:08. > :47:12.Midlands are that jobs can be created in the West Midlands. There
:47:12. > :47:17.is a general feeling moving towards conference season, with your party
:47:17. > :47:20.conference, that there is a quickening of pace towards the next
:47:20. > :47:28.general election. We look at the most recent evidence in our part of
:47:28. > :47:31.the cut country, your party was obliterated in Staffordshire but
:47:31. > :47:33.made gains in Shropshire and Gloucestershire. Does this indicate
:47:33. > :47:37.you are retreating as a national party and reaching out to new voters
:47:37. > :47:42.and going back to be locally focused pavement politics in traditional
:47:42. > :47:49.areas? What it does suggest is that where we are able to get out on the
:47:49. > :47:52.doorstep and expect our message, that we are the party that has held
:47:52. > :47:57.our nerve to make sure the economy can turn a corner, the recovery that
:47:57. > :48:01.is happening wouldn't have happened without us, we are delivering a
:48:01. > :48:04.fairer tax deal, delivering apprenticeships on a scale never
:48:04. > :48:07.seen before, the biggest cash increase in the state pension. When
:48:07. > :48:13.we get the opportunity to explain that, in other words that we are the
:48:13. > :48:19.party that uniquely combines to create a stronger economy and a
:48:19. > :48:23.fairer society. Then we get our message heard. But we must work hard
:48:23. > :48:25.to make our message heard. Thank you.
:48:25. > :48:30.Nick Clegg, and I will be talking to each of the main party leaders over
:48:30. > :48:34.the next couple of weeks. As they prepare for their own party
:48:34. > :48:40.conferences. Pat, the one thing clear that was the strong support
:48:40. > :48:49.for HS2. That contrasts somewhat with the slightly less optimistic
:48:49. > :48:57.language of Ed balls who said he was not sure there was a look blank
:48:57. > :49:00.cheque for HS2? He was pretty clear that there are huge advantages in
:49:00. > :49:03.such a project for the country. We can shrink the country in terms of
:49:03. > :49:09.the regional disparities between North and South if we can make it
:49:09. > :49:14.quicker to get from different regions. When the arguments but
:49:14. > :49:18.isn't it flaky? It cannot be a blank cheque. I am in printable in favour
:49:18. > :49:25.of this project but I am concerned about the rising cost —— I am in
:49:25. > :49:31.principle. Everything in the economic times we have now has to be
:49:31. > :49:34.affordable and HS2 to win public acceptability has to pass the
:49:34. > :49:39.hurdle. Successive prime ministers including David Cameron and stuck
:49:39. > :49:42.their neck out on HS2 and we know there is a rebellion among your
:49:42. > :49:46.colleagues who have got constituencies on the line. Can you
:49:46. > :49:51.see this great consensus at the top of British politics, Paul, falling
:49:51. > :49:57.apart? It is a contentious issue as you say but we are serious about
:49:57. > :50:04.tackling the issue about the country being concentrated around the
:50:04. > :50:06.south—east and London, HS2 will be part of fixing the problem. These
:50:06. > :50:10.figures are constantly changing. What I would say is it is important
:50:10. > :50:14.that the benefits are put forward about the project as well as the
:50:14. > :50:18.opposition and the talk against it and the argument on the cost side.
:50:18. > :50:21.There is so much confusion at the moment, people do not have a final
:50:21. > :50:26.figure about what it will cost and what the benefits are. Let's turn to
:50:26. > :50:32.the pre—election battlefield that I mentioned. At the moment, in this
:50:32. > :50:37.region, all of these marginal seats, you want to pick up an
:50:37. > :50:40.overall majority yourselves and the Tories are fighting the same
:50:40. > :50:45.challenge against the liberal Democrats, UKIP and the rest. But
:50:45. > :50:56.the polls are relatively finely balanced so what really can you do,
:50:56. > :51:02.Paul first, to tilt the argument? —— Pat first. Many people think that
:51:02. > :51:06.when the election comes, it will be about who is best for the economy so
:51:06. > :51:09.people will have to judge what has happened and we have got early and
:51:09. > :51:16.welcome signs of a recovery and also three last year —— lost years when
:51:16. > :51:22.he lost out to competitors. We have a long way to go. Paul, how can you
:51:22. > :51:26.pick up those votes in areas of high unemployment? In every election, the
:51:26. > :51:38.economy has been overwhelmingly the number one issue and ultimately,
:51:38. > :51:45.both my fate and Paul's will hinge on these things —— Pat's. The way
:51:45. > :51:50.that elderly and infirm people are cared for, they remain as
:51:50. > :51:53.independent as possible and don't tie up hospital services. Almost
:51:53. > :51:56.1000 adult social care workers have been transferred into the NHS so
:51:56. > :52:00.that they can work alongside medical teams to provide a one—stop shop,
:52:00. > :52:05.potentially saving millions of pounds. BBC Radio Stoke's political
:52:05. > :52:10.reporter Phil McCann has the details.
:52:10. > :52:14.Joan has had polio for 60 years. She coped without much help for most of
:52:14. > :52:18.that time but now she needs a hand getting out of bed. She gets that
:52:18. > :52:22.from a variety of different people who, until last year, will have
:52:22. > :52:25.worked for two different organisations. Her social care
:52:25. > :52:30.assessor would have come from the council, so would the occupational
:52:30. > :52:33.therapist. But her physiotherapist worked for the NHS. It meant
:52:33. > :52:38.separate visits, separate paperwork and application. So no you are all
:52:38. > :52:42.part of one team, what difference is that made? Before we were wanting,
:52:42. > :52:46.we would go out and do individual assessments I would do an assessment
:52:46. > :52:49.based on an occupational therapy point of view and C would go in and
:52:49. > :52:52.do a social care assessment. We might come back to the building and
:52:52. > :52:59.need to refer to a nurse physiotherapist. It quite
:52:59. > :53:03.disjointed. There was a lot of anticipation. But it run smoothly.
:53:03. > :53:07.We went into work one day and we got a new employer, we did not do
:53:07. > :53:11.anything different, we got on with our jobs. Has it made a difference
:53:12. > :53:18.for Joan's family? Much better for us. They came as a team and she
:53:18. > :53:23.liked them and after a few days, she got used to their ways of working
:53:23. > :53:27.and they all worked together. With the different aspects of what they
:53:27. > :53:36.did for Joan. Around 1000 Staffordshire County council
:53:36. > :53:40.workers... But the council are still responsible for paying for social
:53:40. > :53:43.care. Both organisations could save £44 million over three years.
:53:43. > :53:46.Whether that figure will be achieved was questioned by a scrutiny
:53:46. > :53:52.committee earlier this year but savings are being delivered. Without
:53:52. > :53:56.question, a really good, positive thing to do. Our service users like
:53:56. > :54:01.it and it streamlines processes that do not need multiple assessments.
:54:01. > :54:06.Staffordshire is now doing what the care minister once County to do in
:54:06. > :54:13.the future. It makes sense, we both go down the same path and from
:54:13. > :54:17.experience, we knew that we would be able to save money which we could
:54:17. > :54:22.then both reinvest in the services that we do. But because social care
:54:22. > :54:27.is means tested, groups like age UK are concerned about how this idea
:54:27. > :54:31.could work if it is scaled up nationwide. The Government wants
:54:31. > :54:35.more health and social care integration but is stopping short of
:54:35. > :54:39.suggesting that the kind of full merger which is being embraced in
:54:39. > :54:45.Staffordshire. It is Labour that want to see this model under a
:54:45. > :54:49.Conservative council being rolled out across the country.
:54:49. > :54:53.Politics is full of ironies, Labour—controlled Stoke holding back
:54:53. > :54:56.from an initiative from Tory controlled Staffordshire but which
:54:56. > :55:04.Ed Miliband clearly supports. This is another example of Labour being
:55:04. > :55:10.in a bit of a twist. People have got independent minds in politics! Very
:55:10. > :55:13.independent in Stoke! It could be a good idea and indecent of
:55:13. > :55:19.situations, the more that you can shape care around the patient and
:55:19. > :55:22.carers and families and the less bureaucracy and the less that they
:55:22. > :55:25.have to tell the same story over and again to different parts of the
:55:25. > :55:31.system, the better. So in principle, this looks a good idea. Do As UK
:55:31. > :55:38.have a point in that given that there is a fundamental difference
:55:38. > :55:42.when NHS is free at the port of need, where there is means testing
:55:42. > :55:47.you are eroding an important principle? On a personal point, used
:55:47. > :55:50.to care for my own paternal grandmother and would see this at
:55:51. > :55:55.some point. I hear what is concerning people on this area but
:55:55. > :55:59.this whole initiative is talking about value for money and as we were
:55:59. > :56:05.seeing in the peace there, an ambition to save £44 million. —— in
:56:05. > :56:08.the package there. As a whole, it is a very positive initiative and will
:56:09. > :56:12.provide value for money and ultimately care for people who
:56:12. > :56:16.really do need it. And yet there is an inhibition on the part of Jeremy
:56:16. > :56:20.Hunt, the Health Secretary, he does not want to go to much further
:56:20. > :56:23.because he is worried about compromising the clinical
:56:23. > :56:27.commissioning groups, slight ambiguity in your position. What
:56:27. > :56:31.they are doing is piloting five schemes starting now and they will
:56:31. > :56:35.basically take forward best practice. One of the best
:56:35. > :56:38.innovations, they will see them. If you get people cared for at home and
:56:38. > :56:42.value for money, it is a win—win situation. Waqar White I have to say
:56:42. > :56:46.that while some local Government leaders from your side, Pat, have
:56:46. > :56:49.been talking about the end of local Government as we know it, Philip
:56:49. > :56:56.Atkins there in Staffordshire as been saying all along that there are
:56:56. > :57:02.ways of smarter working, and if this is an example of where you go, some
:57:02. > :57:06.people might say it is a jolly good thing. One of the things you must
:57:06. > :57:09.remember is that there is a different impact on the reduction in
:57:09. > :57:13.Government grant depending on where you are. Urban areas hit much harder
:57:13. > :57:18.than some rural areas. I think councils have tried to do their best
:57:18. > :57:22.to find cuts that will not hurt the public and many have been successful
:57:22. > :57:25.in doing it. When you are into the fourth and fifth years, it gets more
:57:25. > :57:29.difficult and that is where Wolverhampton got when they had to
:57:29. > :57:33.announce 1000 job losses. From an NHS spending point of view, in
:57:33. > :57:39.Wolverhampton, you get central Government spending of £1800 per
:57:39. > :57:44.head which compares to 40 in Staffordshire. It is about how you
:57:44. > :57:51.spend the money, wisely and smartly. For the Cliff —— will block with in
:57:51. > :57:57.the Green party is saying that over the years, local Government services
:57:57. > :57:59.squeezed by both your parties, privatisation —— will Duckworth. You
:57:59. > :58:04.are not the parties on the side of ordinary people, the Greens are, a
:58:04. > :58:09.quick way to the Greens there. When we were in Government, there were
:58:09. > :58:12.substantial increases in central Government grants, it was a
:58:12. > :58:17.different picture to today. You have to look at the reality. In the 21st
:58:17. > :58:21.century, you look at value for money. That is a driver regardless
:58:21. > :58:26.of politics. To be continued! Now for our regular round—up in the
:58:26. > :58:30.political week in the Midlands in 60 seconds, brought to us today by our
:58:30. > :58:32.Coventry and Warwickshire political reporter, Sian
:58:32. > :58:37.There was the good, as a new project to tackle underachievement in
:58:37. > :58:39.schools was a launched in Birmingham.
:58:39. > :58:42."City Year" uses volunteer mentors to help motivate the pupils.
:58:42. > :58:46.Headteachers want to buy this for their schools, they want to partner
:58:46. > :58:48.with us and they see the value of having young people as a resource in
:58:48. > :58:53.the school. Then the bad: a record £14 million
:58:53. > :58:56.fine for the accountancy group Deloitte for advising the collapsed
:58:56. > :58:58.MG Rover Group as well as the Phoenix Four directors who bought
:58:58. > :59:02.it. And then it got ugly, after UKIP MEP
:59:02. > :59:07.Mike Nattrass resigned from his party and attacked its candidate
:59:07. > :59:10.selection policy. There were opposing reports, too, about
:59:10. > :59:13.high—speed rail. The Public Accounts Committee said the benefits of the
:59:13. > :59:16.scheme were dwindling, as costs were rising but the Government published
:59:16. > :59:23.research claiming it'll boost the economy by £15 billion a year. And
:59:23. > :59:26.why was it that only 5% of the recipients in the last Queen's
:59:26. > :59:30.Birthday Honours List were from the West Midlands? We're now being urged
:59:30. > :59:37.to learn how to nominate more members of the community.
:59:37. > :59:41.Ellie Simmonds and Kay Alexander, both among the more popular
:59:41. > :59:50.Midlanders who've featured on the Honours List. Of the many people
:59:50. > :59:53.would feel that we need more like that, Paul, and fewer examples of
:59:53. > :59:59.party political patronage that we keep seeing. There is absolute merit
:59:59. > :00:02.in that. We mentioned before, I have lived in the area and the Black
:00:02. > :00:06.Country all my life and I think sometimes we are a bit too
:00:06. > :00:11.understated, that Black Country modesty. What should we do to get
:00:11. > :00:14.more people involved? Bring people forward. There are lots of great
:00:14. > :00:19.cases of people being involved in the community, we need to champion
:00:19. > :00:23.that more and be loud and proud. These are things that don't really
:00:23. > :00:35.always pass the smell test for both tests. —— for both parties. Most
:00:35. > :00:42.nominations of people that people would celebrate, and Nightingale,
:00:42. > :00:48.and they should be celebrated by everybody. I think we should put
:00:48. > :00:52.people forward, people who have done service to the community. You will
:00:52. > :00:59.have to give out a few more gongs to the unions want Ed has sorted them
:00:59. > :01:04.out. Lord McCluskey, what next? That is way above my pay grade! We need
:01:04. > :01:10.to champion local heroes, I agree with Pat. We can provide a role
:01:10. > :01:14.model for many young people. Thanks to you both. Incidentally, tomorrow
:01:14. > :01:17.on BBC One, inside out will be focusing on the stresses and strains
:01:17. > :01:20.in accident and emergency departments. The cameras went inside
:01:21. > :01:24.Heartlands Hospital in East Birmingham where it was so busy, it
:01:24. > :01:29.which the Government's targets on waiting times. Join us tomorrow at
:01:29. > :10:36.7:30pm here on BBC One in the Midlands.
:10:36. > :10:41.happens again. They will be falling on people who have not had a meal in
:10:41. > :10:45.coming out of the Labour Party. There is a kind and Gillette in
:10:45. > :10:47.coming out of the Labour Party. them to a politician's career. When
:10:47. > :10:51.they are under attack for a long time, the media get bored after
:10:51. > :10:55.they are under attack for a long while and switch the story. It
:10:55. > :11:00.happened to Osborne, who had a horrific 2012 and has recovered
:11:00. > :11:08.bad press as he is getting at the moment, because people find it
:11:08. > :11:10.tedious. Syria has been the big foreign-policy event this summer. It
:11:10. > :11:19.has remarkably led to a Soviet- American initiative to get Syria to
:11:19. > :11:24.give up its chemical weapons. The world will now expect the Assad
:11:24. > :11:27.regime to live up to its public commitments. As I said at the outset
:11:27. > :11:44.anything less than full compliance. John Kerry. Is this too good to
:11:44. > :11:46.anything less than full compliance. true? Even superficially, it is
:11:46. > :11:49.anything less than full compliance. very good. The only people who
:11:49. > :11:52.emerge with any sense of triumph are the Russians, who have had their
:11:53. > :11:56.emerge with any sense of triumph are biggest diplomatic coup. They are
:11:56. > :12:02.back on the stage again. B if you want to know why Putin even has
:12:02. > :12:04.back on the stage again. B if you because of moments like this. They
:12:04. > :12:09.were humiliated after the end of the Cold War, and a Nou Camp is a great
:12:09. > :12:13.power again. Then you have the Obama situation, because he has ended
:12:13. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama where he wanted to end up. He has
:12:16. > :12:16.power again. Then you have the Obama concession from Syria, but the way
:12:16. > :12:21.he got there was so embarrassing. It concession from Syria, but the way
:12:21. > :12:25.made him look weak and erratic as a leader. There were contradictions
:12:25. > :12:32.between himself and his Secretary of State last week, and it has not
:12:32. > :12:37.between himself and his Secretary of him any good. I was in the States,
:12:37. > :12:41.and it was open season on him. I have never understood the idea of
:12:41. > :12:45.chemical weapons as a red line when you can massacre people in their
:12:45. > :12:50.thousands through other means. But chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:50. > :12:57.pale. The rebels are miserable. chemical weapons are beyond the
:12:57. > :12:59.have run out of time. I will have to ask you what you think about Syria
:12:59. > :13:05.next week, which gives you time ask you what you think about Syria
:13:05. > :13:10.prepare. Your book on Fred the shred is going well? It is.I am back
:13:10. > :13:14.tomorrow at noon with the Daily Politics at noon on BBC Two, where
:13:14. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow.
:13:18. > :13:18.we will have more from the Liberal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:18. > :13:21.conference coverage. Next week, is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:21. > :13:24.will be back here at our normal is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:24. > :13:30.of 11am, when we will be joined is the start of our Daily Politics
:13:30. > :13:50.Grant Shapps. Remember, if it is Sunday, it is the Sunday Politics.