:00:37. > :00:40.Morning folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.
:00:41. > :00:43.Pressure on Culture Secretary Maria Miller mounts as the Tory press,
:00:44. > :00:48.Tory voters and even a Tory Minister turn against her. That's our top
:00:49. > :00:51.story. The economic outlook is getting
:00:52. > :00:55.rosier. But Ed Miliband is having none of it. The cost of living
:00:56. > :01:05.crisis is here to stay, says Labour. Shadow Minister Caroline Flint joins
:01:06. > :01:08.us for the Sunday Interview. And we bring you the Sunday Politics
:01:09. > :01:10.Gallery. But which former world leader is behind these paintings of
:01:11. > :01:15.world leaders? And in the Midlands, why 150,00
:01:16. > :01:18.people here feel underemploxed and undervalued. Zero`hours contracts do
:01:19. > :01:24.the business for some emploxers but what about the workers?
:01:25. > :01:32.new London borough. A blue flint for regeneration or economic Armageddon?
:01:33. > :01:37.And with me as always, the best and the brightest political panel in the
:01:38. > :01:40.business - Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis and Nick Watt. Their tweets will be
:01:41. > :01:46.as brief as a Cabinet Minister's apology.
:01:47. > :01:50.A frenzy of betting on the Grand National yesterday. But there was
:01:51. > :01:53.one book on which betting was suspended, and that was on the fate
:01:54. > :01:56.of Culture Secretary Maria Miller, now the 2/1 favourite to be forced
:01:57. > :02:00.out the Cabinet. She galloped through her apology to the Commons
:02:01. > :02:03.on Thursday in just 32 seconds. But speed did her no favours. There s
:02:04. > :02:07.been mounting pressure on her to resign ever since, especially from
:02:08. > :02:09.Tories. And this weekend the Chairman of the Independent
:02:10. > :02:12.Parliamentary Standards Authority, Ian Kennedy, said it's time MPs gave
:02:13. > :02:27.away the power to decide how colleagues who break the rules are
:02:28. > :02:32.punished. An inquiry into Maria Miller's expenses claims was launch
:02:33. > :02:38.in 2012, following allegations he claimed ?90,000 to fund a house she
:02:39. > :02:42.lived in part time with her parents. She had designated this her second
:02:43. > :02:45.home. She was referred to the Parliamentary Standards
:02:46. > :02:52.Commissioner, who recommended that she repay ?45,000. But this week the
:02:53. > :02:56.Commons Standards Committee, comprising of MPs from all parties,
:02:57. > :03:03.dismissed the complaint against Maria Miller and ordered her to
:03:04. > :03:10.repay just ?5,800 for inadvertently overclaiming her merge claimants.
:03:11. > :03:14.She was forced to apologise to the Commons for the legalistic way she
:03:15. > :03:19.dealt with the complaints against her. But Tony Gallagher told the
:03:20. > :03:23.Daily Politics on Friday: We got a third call from Craig Oliver who
:03:24. > :03:28.pointed out, she is looking at Leveson and the call is badly timed.
:03:29. > :03:30.I think if you are making a series of telephone calls to a newspaper
:03:31. > :03:31.organisation investigating the conduct of a Cabinet Minister, that
:03:32. > :03:36.comes close After that interview Craig Oliver
:03:37. > :03:41.contacted us, saying there was no threat in anyway over Leveson. I
:03:42. > :03:45.mead it clear at the time. Tony Gallagher is talking rubbish about
:03:46. > :03:49.me, and you can use that. The Daily Telegraph have released a tape of a
:03:50. > :03:53.phone call between Maria Miller s aid, Joanna Hindley, and a reporter
:03:54. > :03:58.investigating her expenses claim. Joanna Hindley said:
:03:59. > :04:06.Maria's obviously been having quite a lot of editor's meetings around
:04:07. > :04:11.Leveson at the moment. So I'm just going to kind of flag up that
:04:12. > :04:14.connection for you to think about. The Prime Minister is sticking by
:04:15. > :04:17.his Culture Secretary, but this weekend's crescendo of criticism of
:04:18. > :04:20.her presents him with a problem and he could be wishing Maria Miller
:04:21. > :04:26.would just fall on her sword. Even over 80% of Tory voters in a Mail on
:04:27. > :04:29.Sunday poll think she should go On the Andrew Marr Show, the Work and
:04:30. > :04:36.Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, defended his colleague. I've
:04:37. > :04:40.known her always to be a reasonable and honest person. But is she doing
:04:41. > :04:44.the Government or her any good by staying in office at the moment do
:04:45. > :04:48.you think? This is a matter the Prime Minister has to take
:04:49. > :04:52.consideration of and she herself. My view generally is I'm supportive of
:04:53. > :04:57.Maria, because if we are not careful we end one a witch-hunt of somebody.
:04:58. > :05:00.And I'm joined now by the Conservative MP, Bob Stewart, and
:05:01. > :05:03.the man in the white suit, former MP and anti-sleaze campaigner Martin
:05:04. > :05:06.Bell. Welcome to you both. Stuart Stuart sturkts let me put this to
:05:07. > :05:10.you, a Conservative MP told this programme, this is a quote, she has
:05:11. > :05:15.handled this appallingly. Downing Street has acted like judge and
:05:16. > :05:18.jury, for Craig Oliver to get involved is disastrous. She's been
:05:19. > :05:23.protected by the whips from the start. What do you say to that? It's
:05:24. > :05:27.not great, is it? The fact of the matter is the question one should
:05:28. > :05:34.ask is, did she deliberately try to make money? Did she deliberately try
:05:35. > :05:37.to obscure ate? The answer is she certainly didn't deliberately try to
:05:38. > :05:42.make money, in the system, which was the old system, and with regard to
:05:43. > :05:47.obscure ago, I wasn't there, but let's put it this way. She was going
:05:48. > :05:52.through a quasi-judicial process and might have ended up in court, so she
:05:53. > :05:57.has a right to defend herself. Hold on o you said she doesn't do it to
:05:58. > :06:01.make money, she remortgaged the house a couple of times to earn more
:06:02. > :06:04.interest to us, the taxpayer, and when interest rates went down she
:06:05. > :06:09.didn't reduce the amount she was charging in expenses. Well, the
:06:10. > :06:14.point is the adjudicator said there was ?45,000 she was owed. And then a
:06:15. > :06:19.committee, Standards Committee, said actually it should be reduced. That
:06:20. > :06:23.was mainly MPs but there are three lay members. Yes, but they don't
:06:24. > :06:27.have the vote. OK, fine, that is where it is wrong and we've got to
:06:28. > :06:32.get it sorted. Let me put another quote from our Conservative MP. He
:06:33. > :06:37.didn't want to be named. None of you do at the moment. I'm being named.
:06:38. > :06:41.But you are backing her. George young in cahoots. He's been leading
:06:42. > :06:45.on the Standards Committee to find her innocent. The Standards
:06:46. > :06:50.Committee is unfit for purpose. I think the Standards Committee should
:06:51. > :06:55.be revisited. I think the system is still evolving. And I think actually
:06:56. > :06:59.we ought to have totally independent judgment on MPs' pay and allowances.
:07:00. > :07:05.We haven't have not got there yet and that is where it is wrong.
:07:06. > :07:08.Martin Bell, have MPs interfered in the Maria Miller process and with
:07:09. > :07:12.the current Standards Commissioner in the same way that they saw off a
:07:13. > :07:17.previous Commissioner they thought was too independent? Andrew it is
:07:18. > :07:25.exactly the same. Yesterday I looked at a diary entry I made for May
:07:26. > :07:31.2000, I said, dreadful meeting standards and privileges, they are
:07:32. > :07:37.playing party politics. One of them told Elizabeth fill kin to her face
:07:38. > :07:42.the gossip in the tea room was she had gone crazy. Nothing's changed.
:07:43. > :07:47.What this shows is most of all, what's the committee for? If it is
:07:48. > :07:52.just going to rubber stamp what the party wants and its mates, I don't
:07:53. > :07:57.see any point. But it hasn't rubber stamped. It's changed it. Well, it
:07:58. > :08:01.has watered down. That's why we should make it totally independent
:08:02. > :08:09.and it shouldn't be involved in the House of Commons. It is plus plus ca
:08:10. > :08:13.change isn't it? MPs', scandal, and MPs closing ranks for one of their
:08:14. > :08:18.own. Has the Commons learned nothing? And this is after the
:08:19. > :08:22.expenses scandal, where everything was out for everybody to see, you
:08:23. > :08:27.would think MPs would be careful. This is before the expenses scandal.
:08:28. > :08:31.We are looking at an historical event, during your time, Martin not
:08:32. > :08:35.mine. I'm clean on this. You campaigned for him as an
:08:36. > :08:40.independent. I did, he was a good friend of mine. And now you've
:08:41. > :08:44.joined the club. And now you are defending Maria Miller? I'm
:08:45. > :08:48.defending someone who hasn't been proved guilty of anything beyond the
:08:49. > :08:52.fact she was rather slow to come forward with evidence. My point on
:08:53. > :08:57.that, is I understand that. MPs are being lambasted the whole time these
:08:58. > :09:01.days. There were a heck of a lot of them, Martin, who are utterly
:09:02. > :09:06.decent. She didn't try to make money. We've just been through that.
:09:07. > :09:10.I don't think that's right. The jury is out on that. What should have
:09:11. > :09:14.happened in the Miller case, Martin Bell? I don't think there should be
:09:15. > :09:18.a committee on standards. I think the Commissioner should make a
:09:19. > :09:22.report. There has been to be justice for the MP complained against. Then
:09:23. > :09:28.the committee of the whole House can consider it. But we are, the House
:09:29. > :09:35.of Commons, then as now is incapable of regulating itself. That's been
:09:36. > :09:39.proving yet again. She made a perfunctory apology. She threatened
:09:40. > :09:43.and instructed the Standards Commissioner investigating her, and
:09:44. > :09:48.her special adviser linked expenses to Leveson, when trying to stop the
:09:49. > :09:52.Daily Telegraph from publishing I mean, is that the behaviour of a
:09:53. > :09:55.Cabinet Minister? Well, it's probably not the behaviour of
:09:56. > :10:01.someone that's got time on their hands. She's a very busy Cabinet
:10:02. > :10:06.Minister. Well, she had enough time to write lots of letters to the
:10:07. > :10:13.Standards Commission ser. She felt under such threat. She had the time.
:10:14. > :10:17.She had to make the time. Die know the lady is not trying desperately
:10:18. > :10:21.to make money. I disagree but on that. The fact of the matter is
:10:22. > :10:26.this was an old, old system, that we've tried to put right, or the
:10:27. > :10:30.Commons has tried to put right. I agree that MPs shouldn't get
:10:31. > :10:37.involved in this. Should we get rid of this committee? It serves no
:10:38. > :10:40.purpose except to cause trouble The adjudicator has said that and it
:10:41. > :10:45.should be the end of it. It shouldn't come back to the Commons.
:10:46. > :10:48.Although her special adviser threatened them over Leveson she was
:10:49. > :10:54.and is the Minister responsible for trying to introduce something like
:10:55. > :11:01.Leveson and that is something a big chunk that the press doesn't want.
:11:02. > :11:07.She is a target. It has a good record on this issue. It played wit
:11:08. > :11:12.a straight bat. The facts aren't in dispute are they? Will she make it
:11:13. > :11:15.to the next cabinet reshuffle and then go? Iain Duncan Smith said it
:11:16. > :11:22.is a matter for the Prime Minister. In my view, as things stand, I
:11:23. > :11:27.question did she deliberately want to make money? I don't think she
:11:28. > :11:31.did. Should she go? No. Should she be reshuffled? I don't know.
:11:32. > :11:37.Goodness me, you are asking someone who will never be reshuffled,
:11:38. > :11:41.because he will never make it. I was only asking for your opinion, not
:11:42. > :11:46.your ability to do it. This is a problem for Cameron isn't it? It is
:11:47. > :11:53.a problem for Cameron. There is nothing wrong with returning to be
:11:54. > :11:58.badge benches, as you know. Hear, hear. To that. Stick with me. Helen,
:11:59. > :12:05.can she survive? Is I'm going out of the prediction game when I said
:12:06. > :12:10.Clegg is going to win the date, so I owe Janan a tenner on that one.
:12:11. > :12:18.Grant Shapps has supported her. She was ringed by Sir George young and
:12:19. > :12:22.Jeremy Hunt... This is pretty devastating. On past form David
:12:23. > :12:28.Cameron hates having to bounce people out of the cabinet. He will
:12:29. > :12:31.want to keep Maria Miller until the summer reshuffle. This is a question
:12:32. > :12:34.mark on whether she survive this is. This isn't damaging to the
:12:35. > :12:39.Conservative or the Labour Party, it is damaging to everyone. This is
:12:40. > :12:42.catastrophic damage to the entire political establishment. Every
:12:43. > :12:47.single speech that David Cameron and Ed Miliband have given since 20 9,
:12:48. > :12:50.talking about restoring trust, they can wipe them from their computers,
:12:51. > :12:55.because voters are going to look that there and say, this lot haven't
:12:56. > :13:00.learnt anything. They are giving perfunctory apologies and then you
:13:01. > :13:06.have MPs sitting in judgment on MPs and rather than paying back ?45 000,
:13:07. > :13:12.she pays back ?5,800 after MPs have been into it. Damage is huge. Just
:13:13. > :13:16.getting rid of one Cabinet Minister, you will need to do more than that.
:13:17. > :13:19.You will notice that Labour haven't made huge weather of this. No,
:13:20. > :13:24.goodness me, they have their own skeletons. Exactly. The person who
:13:25. > :13:30.has made hay out of this is Nigel Farage, who has not been backwards
:13:31. > :13:35.in coming forward. He doesn't seem to care about skeletons. The Prime
:13:36. > :13:39.Minister has be-Gunby backing her, but that's not popular even with
:13:40. > :13:43.Tory voters. How does he get out of this? This is the problem for him.
:13:44. > :13:49.Five years ago his reaction to the expenses scandal was seen by many
:13:50. > :13:54.Tory backbenchers as excessive. They felt hung out to dry by a man who is
:13:55. > :13:59.independently wealthy. To go from that to making a special exemption
:14:00. > :14:02.to Maria Miller because it is politically suitable is more
:14:03. > :14:05.incendiary and provocative. It is not just upsetting the voters and
:14:06. > :14:09.the Daily Telegraph but a good number of people behind him. I think
:14:10. > :14:15.they will get rid of her. I think the Government, to paraphrase
:14:16. > :14:22.Churchill, will zoo the decent thing after exhausting all options, of the
:14:23. > :14:27.European elections a reshuffle. The culture department has gone from a
:14:28. > :14:30.baulk water in haul to one of the most politically sensational jobs
:14:31. > :14:34.because of its proximity to the Leveson issue. She has to be
:14:35. > :14:49.replaced by someone Lily skillful and substantial. Mr Cameron is not
:14:50. > :14:56.short of smart women? Nikki Morgan, the education department, these are
:14:57. > :15:02.absolutely outstanding women and the problem that the generation elected
:15:03. > :15:09.in 2005, Maria Miller generation, there are some really good people
:15:10. > :15:14.elected in 2010. You are not responsible for hacking into the
:15:15. > :15:24.culture Department's Twitter account last night? I was out at the time!
:15:25. > :15:28.They all say that! One so, Maria Miller is like a modern-day Robin
:15:29. > :15:36.Hood... She robs the poor to help the rich. Which one of us has not
:15:37. > :15:45.embezzled the taxpayer? I reckon it is the lady. You have the perfect
:15:46. > :15:54.cover. We would not know how to would we? You cannot tweet from a
:15:55. > :15:58.mobile device, can you? Play it safe. No, do something dramatic
:15:59. > :16:01.Have lots of pledges. Have just a few pledges. Ah, there must be a
:16:02. > :16:04.Labour policy review reaching its conclusion because everyone has some
:16:05. > :16:13.free advice for the party about its message and the man delivering it.
:16:14. > :16:18.Here's Adam. He is well liked by the public don't quite buy him as a
:16:19. > :16:21.leader. The papers say he is in hock to the unions and the party has a
:16:22. > :16:26.lead in the polls but it is not solid. Bartenders Neil Kinnock. That
:16:27. > :16:35.is what they said Winnie who lost the 1982 election. The whole country
:16:36. > :16:42.deserves better and we will work to ensure that the day will come when
:16:43. > :16:47.with the Labour government, the country will get better. Someone who
:16:48. > :16:53.was there can see some spooky parallels. The important lesson from
:16:54. > :16:56.1992 is it cannot rest on your laurels and hope for the best, you
:16:57. > :17:01.cannot sit on a lead of seven points because the election narrows that
:17:02. > :17:04.and you cannot rely on the government not getting its act
:17:05. > :17:09.together because the Conservative Party was well funded and organised,
:17:10. > :17:14.the double whammy posters, the tax bombshell, but incredibly effective
:17:15. > :17:21.and the message was unified and they beat us on the campaign. The lesson
:17:22. > :17:24.for Labour today is this lead will evaporate quite possibly over the
:17:25. > :17:30.next few months and we might go into the election behind in the polls.
:17:31. > :17:34.But Ed Miliband is getting conflicting advice about how to
:17:35. > :17:40.avoid 1992 happening. Be bold, be cautious and then, the idea that
:17:41. > :17:46.Labour can squeak into office with just 35% of the vote, which worries
:17:47. > :17:52.some people. Each month, the Labour Party meets around the country and
:17:53. > :17:57.last week, everybody spoke about the dangers of this 35% strategy. They
:17:58. > :18:02.were increasingly unhappy and it is very important that those people
:18:03. > :18:08.around the leader naturally have a duty to protect him and they make
:18:09. > :18:13.sure he gets this message that while there is total support for him, they
:18:14. > :18:16.do want this key year in the run-up to the General Election to be
:18:17. > :18:23.putting out an alternative which we can defend on the doorstep. The
:18:24. > :18:28.doorstep where Neil Kinnock made his concession speech is crammed with
:18:29. > :18:35.Spanish back hackers. The old Labour offices are no a budget hostel.
:18:36. > :18:39.Labour headquarters is down the road and they are putting the finishing
:18:40. > :18:43.touches to a speech Ed Miliband will give this week about the cost of
:18:44. > :18:47.living and I am told he will drop hints about new policies in juicy
:18:48. > :18:52.areas like housing, low pay, growth and devolving power. As for the
:18:53. > :18:56.charge that they are not radical enough, his people say they want to
:18:57. > :19:01.be bold but they have to be credible as well. They say that Labour is
:19:02. > :19:05.more united than it has ever been but there has been some grumbling
:19:06. > :19:09.that the cost of living campaign is not the same as a vision for the
:19:10. > :19:13.country. And that Ed Miliband was not statesman-like enough at Prime
:19:14. > :19:17.Minister's Questions and one figure who sat at the same table in the
:19:18. > :19:22.Neil Kinnock years summed it up like this. Things are OK but it feels
:19:23. > :19:25.like we're playing for the draw Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline
:19:26. > :19:40.Flint joins me now for the Sunday Interview. This 35% victory
:19:41. > :19:46.strategy, it does not sound very ambitious? I am campaigning to win
:19:47. > :19:51.this election with a majority government and everybody else around
:19:52. > :19:56.the table is also. But we want to go to every corner of the country and
:19:57. > :20:01.win votes for Labour and win seats, that is what we are working towards.
:20:02. > :20:09.To avoid last time, the coalition bartering. But that 35% is a victory
:20:10. > :20:13.strategy so are you saying there is no 35% strategy and that no one at
:20:14. > :20:19.the heart of Labour is not arguing for this? We are working to win
:20:20. > :20:24.around the country and to win all of those battle ground seats and we
:20:25. > :20:28.must have a strategy that appeals to a cross-section of the public but
:20:29. > :20:38.within that, that broad group Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and. You
:20:39. > :20:41.could do that with 35% of the vote? There is lots of polling and
:20:42. > :20:46.everyone looks at this about what we need to do to get seats and we want
:20:47. > :20:54.to have a comprehensive majority at the next election to win to govern
:20:55. > :20:58.this country. Last week, we have been reading reports of splits in
:20:59. > :21:04.the party over policy and on tactics, even strategy. A struggle
:21:05. > :21:11.for control of the General Election manifesto, we are told. What are you
:21:12. > :21:14.arguing over? I said on the committee and just listening to the
:21:15. > :21:19.film before, it is about being radical but also credible and we are
:21:20. > :21:26.talking about evolution and that is an important subject but we are also
:21:27. > :21:29.united and to be honest, in 201 people were writing us off saying we
:21:30. > :21:34.would turn on ourselves and that has not been the case. We are not
:21:35. > :21:39.arguing about the fundamentals, we are discussing the policies that are
:21:40. > :21:42.coming up with different colleagues and talking about how we can make
:21:43. > :21:45.sure they are presented to the public and that is part of a
:21:46. > :21:53.process. That is a discussion, not disagreement. The Financial Times,
:21:54. > :21:59.which is usually pretty fair, reports a battle between Ed
:22:00. > :22:03.Miliband's radical instincts and the more business fiscal conservatism of
:22:04. > :22:08.Ed Balls. What side are you on? I am for radical change, I am for energy
:22:09. > :22:13.and I believe strongly we must be formed the market and people might
:22:14. > :22:18.portray that as anti-business but this is about more competition and
:22:19. > :22:22.transparency and others coming into this market so our policy on this is
:22:23. > :22:30.radical, not excepting the status quo. It is also for business.
:22:31. > :22:39.Opinion polls show that few people regard Ed Miliband as by Minister
:22:40. > :22:44.material -- Prime Minister material. That has been true since he became
:22:45. > :22:51.leader. And in some cases, they have been getting worse. Why is that
:22:52. > :22:55.Opinion polls say certain things about the personalities of leaders,
:22:56. > :23:01.David Cameron is not great either. And they were not great when he was
:23:02. > :23:09.in opposition. At this stage, he was getting 49% as Prime Minister real
:23:10. > :23:15.material and Ed Miliband, 19. - Prime Minister material. When you
:23:16. > :23:19.look at certain questions that the public is asked about who you think
:23:20. > :23:23.you would trust about being fair in terms of policy towards Britain who
:23:24. > :23:29.understands the cost of living crisis, they very much identify with
:23:30. > :23:35.Ed Miliband. We are ahead in the polls. Ed Miliband has made that
:23:36. > :23:41.happen. We have one more councillors, we have been running in
:23:42. > :23:45.by-elections and we have held this government over the barrel over six
:23:46. > :23:49.months on energy prices. That is to do with his leadership. The more
:23:50. > :23:57.that voters save him, the less they seem convinced. In 2011, he had been
:23:58. > :24:06.leader for one year, and only 1 % regarded him as weird, by 2014, that
:24:07. > :24:12.was 41%. Look at that! Look at that weirdness! What people need is to
:24:13. > :24:16.know where the Labour Party stands on fundamental issues. And in those
:24:17. > :24:20.areas, particularly the cost of living and fairness and people being
:24:21. > :24:25.concerned that we are entering into a period where people will be worse
:24:26. > :24:29.for the first time ever at the end of the Parliament, these things are
:24:30. > :24:38.important and Ed Miliband is part of our success. Definitely. I think
:24:39. > :24:42.this is ridiculous, to be fair, he is not a politician that says, I am
:24:43. > :24:50.dying with the Arctic monkeys, I know who is the number one. He did
:24:51. > :24:55.not play that game. -- down. He is not either there to portray himself
:24:56. > :25:00.as someone who was with the children, I know everything about
:25:01. > :25:04.popular culture. His authenticity is the most important thing. People do
:25:05. > :25:10.not think he is authentic, unless they think we were at is authentic.
:25:11. > :25:16.Is it true that his staff applaud him when he comes back after giving
:25:17. > :25:24.even a mediocre speech? I have never heard that. I have never heard about
:25:25. > :25:28.him being applauded. And I am pleased to applaud him with he makes
:25:29. > :25:32.speeches, I have given him a standing ovation. You have to do
:25:33. > :25:39.that because the cameras are rolling! No, he made a good speech.
:25:40. > :25:43.Five minutes without notes. It took a long time to memorise I don't
:25:44. > :25:48.blame him! The cost of living. Focusing on that, it has paid
:25:49. > :25:52.dividends. But inflation is falling and perhaps collapsing, unemployment
:25:53. > :26:00.is falling faster than anybody thought, as we can see. Wages are
:26:01. > :26:04.rising, soon faster than prices Retail sales are booming, people
:26:05. > :26:09.have got money in their pockets Isn't the cost of living crisis
:26:10. > :26:16.narrative running out of steam? I do not think so and I should say that I
:26:17. > :26:20.welcome any sign of positive changes in the economy, if anybody gets a
:26:21. > :26:26.job in Doncaster, I am pleased by the end of this Parliament families
:26:27. > :26:33.will be over ?900 worse off because of tax and benefit changes and the
:26:34. > :26:36.working person is ?1600 worse off and it is the first government since
:26:37. > :26:40.the 1870s where people will be at the end of the Parliament. We
:26:41. > :26:44.believe the government made wrong choices that lead the rich off at
:26:45. > :26:52.the expense of those on middle and lower incomes. -- let the rich. The
:26:53. > :26:57.average family ?794 worse off from tax and benefit changes. That has
:26:58. > :27:02.been backed up. They are those figures. But he has skewed these
:27:03. > :27:08.figures by including the richest, where the fall in tax and the
:27:09. > :27:13.penalty they pay is highest. If you take away the richest, it is nowhere
:27:14. > :27:17.near that figure. Everybody agrees and even the government and
:27:18. > :27:23.knowledges that at the end of their tenure in Parliament, people will be
:27:24. > :27:27.worse off. 350,000 extra people who would desperately like full-time
:27:28. > :27:31.work who are working part-time and 1 million young people unemployed and
:27:32. > :27:37.the reason the cost of living has a residence is people feel that. I was
:27:38. > :27:41.in a supermarket and at Doncaster and someone summed this up, he said
:27:42. > :27:46.I work hard and at the end of the week, beyond paying bills, I have
:27:47. > :27:54.got nothing else. If you take away the top 10% who are losing over
:27:55. > :28:01.?600,000, the average loss comes down to around ?400, less than half
:28:02. > :28:07.of what you claim. That figure is totally misleading. These are the
:28:08. > :28:13.figures from the IFS. It still shows... Whatever way you shape
:28:14. > :28:16.this, people will still be worse off, families worse off because of
:28:17. > :28:22.these changes to tax and benefits and working people because wages
:28:23. > :28:28.have not kept up with prices. Your energy portfolio, you back the
:28:29. > :28:32.enquiry into the big six companies and you intend to go ahead with the
:28:33. > :28:37.price freeze and reconfigure the market even before it reports. If
:28:38. > :28:41.you win, this is a waste of time? Whilst we have had this process
:28:42. > :28:46.before the announcement, we always feel if it goes that way, there
:28:47. > :28:49.might be areas we have not thought of that the enquiry will also draw
:28:50. > :28:53.attention to that we might want to add on. You are right, our basic
:28:54. > :28:59.reforms for the new regulator, to separate generation supply, we will
:29:00. > :29:03.pursue that. What happens if this report concludes that your plans are
:29:04. > :29:08.not correct? You will still go ahead? I don't think so. Actually,
:29:09. > :29:13.if you look at the report that Ofgem produced, some of the issues Labour
:29:14. > :29:17.has been drawing attention to like vertical integration, they cover
:29:18. > :29:23.that. I was asking about the Competition Commission? The report
:29:24. > :29:30.last week is a result of working together and I think it is clearly
:29:31. > :29:34.accepted in this sector, look at SSE last week, they will separate the
:29:35. > :29:55.business. We are pushing at the open door. It has already pulled out of
:29:56. > :29:58.gas. So it follows if you freeze energy prices across the market, it
:29:59. > :30:02.might be the right thing to do but there will be a cost in terms of
:30:03. > :30:06.jobs and investment, correct? Well, I met with SSE last weekand the
:30:07. > :30:11.chief executive and talked about these issues. The jobs changes are
:30:12. > :30:14.partly about them looking at how they could be more efficient as a
:30:15. > :30:17.company. On offshore wind that wasn't really to do with the price
:30:18. > :30:20.freeze. That was more to do with issues around confidence in that
:30:21. > :30:26.area and therefore willing to put the money into it, as well as
:30:27. > :30:31.technical issues as well But there'll be job losses. Is that a
:30:32. > :30:35.price worth paying? We believe the reason we are having a price freeze
:30:36. > :30:38.is these companies have been overcharging customers and haven't
:30:39. > :30:43.been investing in their organisations and making them more
:30:44. > :30:47.efficient. I do not believe a price freeze is linked to job losses.
:30:48. > :30:50.These companies do need to be more efficient. Goal for all of us is
:30:51. > :30:54.realising the fantastic opportunity for more jobs and growth from an
:30:55. > :30:58.energy sector that has certainty going forward. That's what Labour
:30:59. > :31:01.will deliver. Caroline Flint, thank you.
:31:02. > :31:04.It's 1130 and you're watching The Sunday Politics. We say goodbye to
:31:05. > :31:05.viewers in Scotland, who leave us now for Sunday Politics Scotland.
:31:06. > :31:22.Coming up here Hello once again from the Mhdlands.
:31:23. > :31:25.I'm Patrick Burns. And here's a question for you. When does
:31:26. > :31:27.Birmingham become Greater Birmingham? When it includes
:31:28. > :31:30.Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Lichfield and Tamworth, that's when.
:31:31. > :31:33.Chris Pincher is the Conservative MP for Tamworth, be it in
:31:34. > :31:43.Staffordshire, Greater Birmhngham or both. And Gisela Stuart is the
:31:44. > :31:47.Labour MP for Edgbaston. Now, that has to be in Birmingham, hasn't it?
:31:48. > :31:50.Although the cricket ground is the home of Warwickshire ` and xet
:31:51. > :31:52.they're also the Birmingham Bears... I give up.
:31:53. > :31:56.Wherever or whatever Greater Birmingham is, or is not, it's
:31:57. > :32:00.certainly triggered quite a debate. The boss of John Lewis, Andx Street,
:32:01. > :32:04.grew up in the city and now chairs the Greater Birmingham and Solihull
:32:05. > :32:07.Local Enterprise Partnership. He says the global business colmunity
:32:08. > :32:10.increasingly concentrates not on regions, like the West Midl`nds or
:32:11. > :32:21.the Black Country for that latter; but on big cities like Birmhngham.
:32:22. > :32:27.If you are a businessman selling in China, you do not know what the West
:32:28. > :32:32.Midlands is. Chinese businessmen know what Birmingham is. I believe
:32:33. > :32:36.we should lead on that brand. We are not talking about the formal
:32:37. > :32:41.structure of local authorithes as has happened in Manchester, this is
:32:42. > :32:44.much more about saying can we work together as one entity in tdrms of
:32:45. > :32:47.promoting ourselves? But that doesn't play at all well in
:32:48. > :32:50.the Black Country, where ond leading member of the Local Enterprhse
:32:51. > :32:53.Partnership, Andy Cox, has just returned from a trade mission to
:32:54. > :32:56.Hungary and Poland. He says the "Black Country" identity is a much
:32:57. > :33:07.more powerful brand than "Birmingham".
:33:08. > :33:15.What do you say to him? If we continue having these bickering is,
:33:16. > :33:24.all of us will lose out. If you want to get funding, the two entdrprise
:33:25. > :33:29.boards have to work together. Working together, getting inward
:33:30. > :33:33.investment, we have got to sing off the same hymn sheet. We are not
:33:34. > :33:39.talking about the equivalent of the 1911 Birmingham act, which dxpanded
:33:40. > :33:43.the city, we are talking about the much more constructive workhng
:33:44. > :33:47.together. If you go abroad `nd use a word which you cannot find on the
:33:48. > :33:53.map, you have a problem, and Birmingham, you cannot find on a
:33:54. > :33:57.map. Is it going to hitch a ride on greater Birmingham's wagon,
:33:58. > :34:03.Tamworth? We are proud that Birmingham is one of our largest
:34:04. > :34:07.suburbs. But Andy's got an hmportant point, which is that you nedd to
:34:08. > :34:10.Brent and area well so that international investors know about
:34:11. > :34:16.it and are prepared to come and visit it. `` brand. But we need to
:34:17. > :34:23.make sure our local infrastructure is right, so expanding the `irports,
:34:24. > :34:27.writing skills to scratch and having a university technical Colldge is
:34:28. > :34:32.important, and making sure the local tax regime is as good as it can be,
:34:33. > :34:35.and driving down corporation tax or businesses want to set up in Britain
:34:36. > :34:41.and the Midlands is also very important.
:34:42. > :34:44.Frank Skinner, West Bromwich Albion supporter, says he thinks that
:34:45. > :34:49.Birmingham and the Black Cotntry are actually one and the same thing
:34:50. > :34:52.because if in `` even if yot go to London, people do not understand the
:34:53. > :35:01.distant's understand the difference at all. `` understand the dhfference
:35:02. > :35:06.at all. When people fall out here, we should take them down to London
:35:07. > :35:09.and show them who we are colpeting with. I don't often agree whth Frank
:35:10. > :35:12.Skinner, but on this I think he is right.
:35:13. > :35:14.And the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce are reporting soaring
:35:15. > :35:17.confidence with local firms now emerging strongly from the
:35:18. > :35:20.recession. 80% of manufacturers expect their turnover to increase
:35:21. > :35:25.this year. That's the highest figure in seven years. The Chambers say the
:35:26. > :35:29.number of businesses investhng in new machinery and equipment is at
:35:30. > :35:32.its highest level for eight years. So, a distinctly rosy econolic
:35:33. > :35:36.outlook for David Cameron when he came to Birmingham Airport ` or is
:35:37. > :35:39.that Greater Birmingham Airport ` to celebrate the creation of thousands
:35:40. > :35:50.more jobs as the runway extdnsion nears its completion next month
:35:51. > :35:54.We want a growth and privatd sector led recovery, with jobs for people
:35:55. > :35:59.here in the West Midlands, `nd this runway extension brings 4,000 jobs
:36:00. > :36:03.here to Birmingham Airport, and another 4,000 in terms of logistics
:36:04. > :36:08.and supply chain in the comhng years, but it means more th`n that
:36:09. > :36:12.because the runway has been extended by some 400 metres, so aeroplanes
:36:13. > :36:17.are going to be able to fly an extra 3,000 miles, which means connecting
:36:18. > :36:23.the West Midlands to more chties in China, India, and the places we need
:36:24. > :36:28.to trade with. David Cameron indeterminate the
:36:29. > :36:36.upbeat mood. But we have to remember that all these things are rdlative.
:36:37. > :36:41.We are starting from a low dbb which sort of fell off a cliff after the
:36:42. > :36:46.years after the crash. We h`d a very deep recession, and the economy
:36:47. > :36:54.contracted very more `` much more deeply under Labour, but thd Prime
:36:55. > :36:58.Minister's visit to the airport is I think a vote of confidence hn the
:36:59. > :37:03.local economy. But within a stone's thrill of that airport, East
:37:04. > :37:14.Birmingham has some of the highest unemployment rates of this country.
:37:15. > :37:17.`` a stone's throw. In my own town, Tamworth, which is not a le`fy
:37:18. > :37:25.Surrey suburb but a hard`working little town, unemployment is now
:37:26. > :37:31.floating around 2%. I had a jobs fair last year, we have thrde to 400
:37:32. > :37:38.jobs available and 176 people came to look for them. I think that is an
:37:39. > :37:43.indication of the way in my town and across the Midlands the economy is
:37:44. > :37:45.improving. The Prime Ministdr was celebrating a private sector led
:37:46. > :37:51.recovery with jobs being crdated in this country as first as anxwhere
:37:52. > :37:58.else in Britain. `` in this part of the country. Can I say, Birlingham
:37:59. > :38:04.International station is to be renamed Birmingham Airport station,
:38:05. > :38:09.but if you come back to the economic growth, if you look at greater
:38:10. > :38:12.Birmingham's local enterprise board's submission to the
:38:13. > :38:24.Government, it identifies wdaknesses in skills. So we have this dnormous
:38:25. > :38:28.growth in regional commuting, so the fundamentals there are not xet being
:38:29. > :38:32.met. I welcome the growth in confidence, but the Governmdnt is
:38:33. > :38:37.not yet addressing that unddrpinning which will be the real problem. If
:38:38. > :38:42.we can develop more technic`l skills, that is going to be
:38:43. > :38:48.important. That is what Michael Gove wants to see. We have university
:38:49. > :38:52.technical College to encour`ge that. When need to drive up educational
:38:53. > :38:56.opportunity in and around that area, and when you look around Talworth
:38:57. > :38:58.you can see that is happening. Well, this general improvemdnt is
:38:59. > :39:13.reflected in the regional unemployment figures. From ` peak of
:39:14. > :39:16.more than a quarter of a million last year, they've fallen bx more
:39:17. > :39:20.than 30,000 over the past shx months. More people in work has to
:39:21. > :39:23.be good news, of course. But over 150,000 people in our part of the
:39:24. > :39:26.country who'd like to work full`time are in temporary or part`tile jobs.
:39:27. > :39:30.Some are on "zero`hours" contracts: they have jobs, but not necdssarily
:39:31. > :39:31.on the terms they'd like. Hdre's our BBC WM political reporter K`thryn
:39:32. > :39:34.Stanczyszyn. Zero`hours contracts ` the tnions
:39:35. > :39:38.don't like them, the governlent s been consulting on them, but what we
:39:39. > :39:41.do know is that they're used widely here in the West Midlands. @long
:39:42. > :39:44.with many other casual labotr contracts, they're found in the
:39:45. > :39:46.health and social care sectors, in hospitality, and in education.
:39:47. > :39:50.Catherine Burgass is an English lecturer at Staffordshire
:39:51. > :39:55.University. One doesn't know if one's going to be employed semester
:39:56. > :40:02.by semester, or year by year. She's been on a variety of casual
:40:03. > :40:05.contacts. Certainly people hn my profession work extremely h`rd `
:40:06. > :40:08.they do the best they can for their students, they try and do rdsearch,
:40:09. > :40:12.and fulfil all that's required of them, but I think deep down there is
:40:13. > :40:18.an issue of feeling unvalued or undervalued. `` contracts.
:40:19. > :40:21.It's thought more than a million people across the country could be
:40:22. > :40:25.on zero`hours contracts ` although there's no legal definition for one.
:40:26. > :40:28.Broadly it means, there's no guarantee of amount of weekly hours,
:40:29. > :40:32.there's no obligation for elployers to offer work at all, but you are
:40:33. > :40:38.etitled to annual leave and the national minimum wage. `` entitled.
:40:39. > :40:42.Of course, getting people in work is a key issue for the Governmdnt `
:40:43. > :40:44.with George Osborne this wedk saying he wants to make the countrx "fully
:40:45. > :40:47.employed". I'm making a new commitment. A
:40:48. > :40:53.commitment to fight for full employment in Britain. Making jobs a
:40:54. > :40:57.central goal of our economic plan. But unions claim that will lean more
:40:58. > :41:02.zero`hours contracts, which gives a misleading picture of the jobs
:41:03. > :41:06.market. And they say some elployers are abusing their position. If there
:41:07. > :41:10.is ongoing work, and predictable ongoing work, from year to xear `
:41:11. > :41:13.and that is often the case hn colleges and universities ` then we
:41:14. > :41:16.think that employees ought to be given proper contracts of elployment
:41:17. > :41:23.with the full rights and obligations that that implies.
:41:24. > :41:26.Last year the University and College Union here in the West Midl`nds
:41:27. > :41:32.fgound that more than a thotsand educational employees were on
:41:33. > :41:35.zero`hours contracts. Here `t the City of Wolverhampton College, a
:41:36. > :41:39.quarter of staff were signed on this way ` but they've changed the way
:41:40. > :41:42.they do things. More than 300 staff here were on
:41:43. > :41:48.zero`hours contracts ` now ht's just a handful. We wanted people to be
:41:49. > :41:52.very much involved in the lhfe of the college and everything that goes
:41:53. > :41:56.on around that, and we felt and do feel that that's best achieved by
:41:57. > :41:58.having a permanent team of people. A consultation on zero`hours
:41:59. > :42:03.contracts has just finished ` more than 30,000 responded. Some of the
:42:04. > :42:06.people who are actually on them though, are worried they're here to
:42:07. > :42:11.stay. Kathryn Stanczyszyn. And
:42:12. > :42:14.incidentally the Office for National Statistics tell us they're due to
:42:15. > :42:19.publish a survey of employers' attitudes to zero`hours contracts
:42:20. > :42:24.later this month. But why w`it, when we have one of our most influential
:42:25. > :42:28.employers with us right now? Jason Wourha is the regional chairman of
:42:29. > :42:31.the Institute of Directors. He's a director of East End Foods, based
:42:32. > :42:35.not only in Greater Birmingham but also in the Black Country. Jason,
:42:36. > :42:40.let's pick up on that questhon posed by Kathryn at the end there ` are
:42:41. > :42:44.they here to stay? Do you think that, given that some emploxers have
:42:45. > :42:46.had a taste of the flexibilhty that these contracts give, that
:42:47. > :42:58.zero`hours contracts are here to stay? It is important to re`lise
:42:59. > :43:02.that anything that reduces restrictions on employment should be
:43:03. > :43:06.followed. But the problem you have is where people are using them for
:43:07. > :43:13.too long a time, so yes, thdy should be here to stay, but any good
:43:14. > :43:16.employer would definitely go for a permanent position because that
:43:17. > :43:21.improves the motivation and security of their employees, and thex're
:43:22. > :43:27.out. Which explains why you can be both in the Institute of Directors
:43:28. > :43:33.which supports zero hours contracts and yet in your own business you do
:43:34. > :43:40.not use them yourself. We are in wholesale retail, we do not use
:43:41. > :43:48.them, however if you go to hospitality industry, caterhng, they
:43:49. > :43:53.require that flexibility and the shorter hours and so on. Evdn though
:43:54. > :43:56.in the process they inflict real practical difficulties on some of
:43:57. > :44:00.the people who have to suffdr these contracts in terms of plannhng their
:44:01. > :44:06.lives, organising childcare and so on? But in some cases the
:44:07. > :44:12.flexibility is what people want And that helps, I know quite a few
:44:13. > :44:17.people who are on zero hours contracts and it suits their
:44:18. > :44:21.lifestyle down to the ground. What is your experience in the Institute
:44:22. > :44:27.of Directors? Are they used quite widely regionally? 1,200 people
:44:28. > :44:31.survey, only 16 of our membdrs used zero hours contracts, so it is quite
:44:32. > :44:35.a low percentage. And I would imagine that as the
:44:36. > :44:37.economy picks up you would laybe have an expectation about the
:44:38. > :44:41.direction of travel on this? There needs to be good guidance, then is
:44:42. > :44:49.to be a code of conduct put in place, `` there needs to be. As I
:44:50. > :44:53.said, if people are on zero hours contracts for the long term, I don't
:44:54. > :44:57.think it is of any benefit. We saw the Chancellor talking about
:44:58. > :45:02.his commitment to full employment. Should that in your view a puote to
:45:03. > :45:05.full`time employment as possible? We have to accept that the days of our
:45:06. > :45:10.parents and grandparents were you left school, went into a job and
:45:11. > :45:16.stayed in that job when you are 65, are gone. We need to have mtch more
:45:17. > :45:20.flexible workforce, and that is what zero hours contracts are about. They
:45:21. > :45:23.should I think they should H think because flexible hours contracts.
:45:24. > :45:28.They are part of the mix, and as Jason says, many people want that
:45:29. > :45:31.flexibility particularly single parents who want to work less
:45:32. > :45:35.conventional hours, students who perhaps want to work when they are
:45:36. > :45:43.not studying. These contracts and no those workers to work. `` allow A
:45:44. > :45:46.small part of the mix, but the resolution foundation looked at the
:45:47. > :45:53.pattern of who actually has zero hours contracts and they fotnd they
:45:54. > :45:58.are proportionally young, btt the they found the pay they got was
:45:59. > :46:01.quite lower than the averagd pay. The educational qualifications were
:46:02. > :46:05.very low, and as a Government which ought to think employment protection
:46:06. > :46:11.was something that is important these will be people who ard not
:46:12. > :46:16.providing for their pensions, and also you end up creating thd working
:46:17. > :46:21.poor, which will really store our problems. So I think they otght to
:46:22. > :46:26.be very, very carefully used. Sounds to me that what she is saying that
:46:27. > :46:30.maybe this is a global race to the bottom as far as a climate hs
:46:31. > :46:34.concerned. The low pay commhssion has recommended the national minimum
:46:35. > :46:41.wage be increased by 3%, thd biggest increase since 2007, and thd biggest
:46:42. > :46:47.real terms increase in pay since 2008. That is a real improvdment. If
:46:48. > :46:50.you talk to the Chief Executive of the chartered Institute of personnel
:46:51. > :46:54.development, he will save jtst 4% of people on this flexible hours
:46:55. > :46:59.contracts say that they are working less hours than they would like So
:47:00. > :47:04.it would seem to me that thdy work well for most people. The strprise
:47:05. > :47:11.for me was the range of people who are involved, like that university
:47:12. > :47:16.lecturer for example. It is much more widespread in its scopd than
:47:17. > :47:20.imagined. Yes, I think in the higher end jobs that the Universitx `` the
:47:21. > :47:25.reverse to lecturers and so on, they have got the part to play, but. . In
:47:26. > :47:31.Wolverhampton they said thex did not want to go down that road bdcause
:47:32. > :47:34.they wanted an identification with the institution. Well, people are
:47:35. > :47:38.motivated by security and a long`term role, so I think there
:47:39. > :47:41.could be a part to play for the short`term, but if somebody is
:47:42. > :47:45.coming in for long`term employment then I think the institution needs
:47:46. > :47:50.to address that. Are they hdre to stay? Labour has said we will look
:47:51. > :47:56.at those, and one of the thhngs we will look at if `` is if ond
:47:57. > :48:01.employer abuses the system. It is better to have a job than no job,
:48:02. > :48:07.and they provide people with experience and confidence. They are
:48:08. > :48:11.here to stay. Now for our regular round`up of the
:48:12. > :48:14.political week in the Midlands in 60 seconds. It's brought to us today by
:48:15. > :48:16.our BBC Radio Shropshire political reporter Joanne Gallacher.
:48:17. > :48:20.BNP leader Nick Griffin's d`ughter Jennifer Matthys is to run hn the
:48:21. > :48:26.European elections for the party in the West Midlands. She's nulber two
:48:27. > :48:29.on the party list of candid`tes Heineken is investing ?58 mhllion
:48:30. > :48:37.pounds at the Bulmers cider plant in Hereford. `` 50 ?8 million. Unions
:48:38. > :48:38.are concerned it could mean job losses at a neighbouring factory in
:48:39. > :48:42.Ledbury. As Nick and Nige limbered up for
:48:43. > :48:45.their TV debate, the leader of Wolverhampton's Lib Dems dropped a
:48:46. > :48:49.bombshell and quit the partx to join UKIP. I like the fact of wh`t
:48:50. > :48:51.they're saying now about Europe I like the fact of what they're saying
:48:52. > :48:54.about immigration. An anti`HS2 film narrated bx the
:48:55. > :48:58.comedian John Bishop is doing good business on YouTube. "This hs a dead
:48:59. > :49:02.end, mate," said Bob. The Adventures of HS2 has attracted nearly 50, 00
:49:03. > :49:05.hits in the last fortnight. And the Environment Secretary and
:49:06. > :49:10.North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson abandoned plans to extend the badger
:49:11. > :49:14.cull. It will continue, thotgh, in the two pilot areas in Somerset and
:49:15. > :49:19.in Gloucestershire. A case of moving the goalposts, perhaps.
:49:20. > :49:25.Oh, dear, will he ever live that down. We'll have more on thhs in
:49:26. > :49:28.Countryfile at 7:00 here on BBC One this evening, when Princess Anne
:49:29. > :49:32.will explain why she thinks gassing badgers is the most humane way of
:49:33. > :49:37.controlling them. Gisela, as a dairy farmer's daughter
:49:38. > :49:40.yourself, what is your view? It s a very painful issue on both sides,
:49:41. > :49:43.isn't it? Oh, I think it's exceptionally painful. But the
:49:44. > :49:55.Government isn't even following its own scientific advice, and H think
:49:56. > :49:57.that's when they have probldms. And it clearly isn't working, they're
:49:58. > :50:01.not extending the trials. And they're in deep trouble and they
:50:02. > :50:04.ought to start listening to their advice. It's not working so you re
:50:05. > :50:06.not extending it, so why persevere in Gloucestershire and Somerset
:50:07. > :50:10.Well, Gloucestershire's had only one TB`free year in the last ten. If you
:50:11. > :50:13.talk to farmers there, they're losing their livelihoods, it's
:50:14. > :50:17.costing money, it's costing us all as taxpayers and consumers loney.
:50:18. > :50:21.Ideally we would vaccinate to get rid of this terrible diseasd that
:50:22. > :50:25.badgers are carrying, but as we don't have a vaccination yet,
:50:26. > :50:32.unfortunately I feel that in certain parts of the country the cull has to
:50:33. > :50:35.continue. In Wales they are using all the tools including limhted
:50:36. > :50:38.vaccination, clearly what wd are doing is not working.
:50:39. > :50:42.My thanks to Gisela Stuart `nd Chris Pincher. Coming up on Wednesday
:50:43. > :50:44.morning, Jackie Carnell, thd independent chair of the
:50:45. > :50:47.Stoke`on`Trent Safeguarding Children Board will be in BBC Radio Stoke's
:50:48. > :50:53.hot seat with Perry Spiller from 10:00. She's responsible for
:50:54. > :50:58.overseeing children's social care throughout the city. We're back at
:50:59. > :50:59.the later time of 2.30 next Sunday afternoon. This, though is where we
:51:00. > :51:09.rejoin Andrew Neil. Dobson. Tim Donovan is back in the
:51:10. > :51:22.chair next week. And with that, back to Andrew. Welcome back and time now
:51:23. > :51:30.to get more from our panel. So they can justify their meagre patents.
:51:31. > :51:34.This cost of living mantra will last all the way until the election.
:51:35. > :51:38.Cannot? Ed Miliband leaves he is onto something and for most of this
:51:39. > :51:43.Parliament, inflation has outstripped wages. That is going to
:51:44. > :51:49.go the other way and wages will rise, to which you say Ed Miliband
:51:50. > :51:53.has nothing to say. He says if you think people are going to feel
:51:54. > :51:56.better in the blink of an eye, you are a Conservative and do not
:51:57. > :52:00.understand the depth of this and he is taking the message from a
:52:01. > :52:06.presidential election in America in 2012 and make Romney was ahead on
:52:07. > :52:11.some of the economic indicators but Barack Obama was ahead on the key
:52:12. > :52:15.one, do you believe this candidate will make your family's life
:52:16. > :52:21.better? The message that Ed Miliband will try to say is the next election
:52:22. > :52:24.is about whose side are you on? And he believes Labour will be on the
:52:25. > :52:28.side of more voters than conservatives. It would be crazy for
:52:29. > :52:34.Labour not to talk about the cost of living because even if wages exceed
:52:35. > :52:38.inflation next year, it is not as if voters will walk around feeling like
:52:39. > :52:43.Imelda Marcos, they will still feel as if they were struggling and not
:52:44. > :52:50.just compared... Retail sales are slowing? That is not the sign of
:52:51. > :52:57.palpable disparity. Circumstances are better than three years ago but
:52:58. > :53:01.not better than five years ago. The Reagan question will still be
:53:02. > :53:06.employed, are you better off than at the last election? But things in
:53:07. > :53:12.America were actually getting worse when he asked that. I covered that
:53:13. > :53:16.election, that is why it resonated and they did get worse. The
:53:17. > :53:22.Ayatollah had quadrupled the price of oil. This is based on things
:53:23. > :53:27.getting relatively better, after a very long wait, so the cost of
:53:28. > :53:33.living critique will have to adapt? It will but it gets out of a very
:53:34. > :53:37.sticky spot and the IFS says wages will not outstrip inflation and by
:53:38. > :53:41.that time they can start talking about other things, plans for the
:53:42. > :53:46.railways and tuition fees and at the moment, everything is up for grabs.
:53:47. > :53:49.Labour know that every time they talk about something they want to
:53:50. > :53:54.do, the question is, how do you pay for it? They can talk about the
:53:55. > :53:58.economy and they don't have substantial things to say. Is it
:53:59. > :54:03.true that Mr Iain Duncan Smith was going to make a major announcement
:54:04. > :54:08.on benefit cheats? Or something to do with that this morning? But he
:54:09. > :54:12.decided against it because of the tobacco over Maria Miller? It would
:54:13. > :54:18.be very odd to go on to The Andrew Marr Show to have a chat and see
:54:19. > :54:21.what he is having for lunch. Patrick went from the Guardian said he was
:54:22. > :54:25.going to set out higher financial penalty phase for providing
:54:26. > :54:31.inaccurate information in claims. This is a bad day to do that, given
:54:32. > :54:37.that MP expenses are treated far more lenient the than any one from
:54:38. > :54:43.Joe public. That would be fascinating, if true. And he is
:54:44. > :54:48.making a very big speech on well for tomorrow and this tweet from Patrick
:54:49. > :54:51.went at the Guardian, he has proper sized on welfare matters and he
:54:52. > :54:57.tends to know what is going on. But it would be deeply unfortunate if
:54:58. > :55:00.that was the message today. How can he make a speech that has anything
:55:01. > :55:06.about cracking down on benefit claimants? Not today but I am not
:55:07. > :55:12.sure tomorrow. Do you get the impression that nobody in both main
:55:13. > :55:17.parties is very confident of winning in 2015? I column last week said the
:55:18. > :55:21.result, the most likely result from one year on is another hung
:55:22. > :55:26.parliament and which government results from that depends on the
:55:27. > :55:30.mathematical specifics of whether the Tories can do a deal as well as
:55:31. > :55:34.Labour, leaving everything in the hands of Nick Clegg or whether one
:55:35. > :55:38.party can do a straightforward deal but I do not detect any sense of
:55:39. > :55:44.exuberance or confidence in either camp. And the Tories are still
:55:45. > :55:48.shooting themselves over losing the boundary commission reforms because
:55:49. > :55:52.that was going to net them 20 seats and they lost that because they
:55:53. > :55:55.messed up the House of Lords reform and there are still furious with
:55:56. > :55:59.themselves. The former US President, George W Bush, has been a busy boy
:56:00. > :56:03.and here at the Sunday Politics we thought you'd like to see the
:56:04. > :56:07.results of his artistic endeavours. Time for the gallery.
:56:08. > :56:55.I was a prize to find myself saying, some of these are not bad! --
:56:56. > :57:02.surprised. Vladimir Putin? I like the one of Tony Blair but his early
:57:03. > :57:07.ones of dogs, to be in the presence of the master is to see his portrait
:57:08. > :57:13.of a Joanne Love. He is not of the Turner prize but I was surprised. He
:57:14. > :57:19.gets the mask of Vladimir Putin also Tony Blair. I was impressed
:57:20. > :57:23.that he did not allow personal or political grudges to influence his
:57:24. > :57:27.artwork. Jacques Chirac, he comes out of this incredibly well! And
:57:28. > :57:34.Angela Merkel comes out astonishingly well. Quite generous
:57:35. > :57:38.as well. Tony Blair is the best one and the reason is he had the closest
:57:39. > :57:42.relationship with them and he has talked about this portrait, saying
:57:43. > :57:48.he was quite fond of him and you can see that. These are awful, they
:57:49. > :57:54.would not get you an A-level but you must admire him to have the guts to
:57:55. > :58:00.do this, and display them publicly! An A-level? Just doing joined up
:58:01. > :58:06.numbers gets you that these days! What do you do when you retire? This
:58:07. > :58:09.is less embarrassing than some of the other things people have done.
:58:10. > :58:18.As good as Churchill? I don't know... No! Churchill was brilliant!
:58:19. > :58:21.And on that! That's all for today. Tune into BBC Two every day at
:58:22. > :58:24.lunchtime this week for the Daily Politics. And we'll be back at the
:58:25. > :58:27.later time of 2:30pm next Sunday after the London Marathon. Remember,
:58:28. > :59:56.if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.
:59:57. > :59:59.International teams searching for the missing Malaysian airliner are
:00:00. > :00:04.investigating three electronic signals received in the southern
:00:05. > :00:05.Indian Ocean. It's