06/04/2014 Sunday Politics West Midlands

Morning folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.

Pressure on Culture Secretary Maria Miller mounts as the Tory press,

Tory voters and even a Tory Minister turn against her. That's our top

story. The economic outlook is getting

rosier. But Ed Miliband is having none of it. The cost of living

crisis is here to stay, says Labour. Shadow Minister Caroline Flint joins

us for the Sunday Interview. And we bring you the Sunday Politics

Gallery. But which former world leader is behind these paintings of

world leaders? And in the Midlands, why 150,00

people here feel underemploxed and undervalued. Zero`hours contracts do

the business for some emploxers but what about the workers?

new London borough. A blue flint for regeneration or economic Armageddon?

And with me as always, the best and the brightest political panel in the

business - Janan Ganesh, Helen Lewis and Nick Watt. Their tweets will be

as brief as a Cabinet Minister's apology.

A frenzy of betting on the Grand National yesterday. But there was

one book on which betting was suspended, and that was on the fate

of Culture Secretary Maria Miller, now the 2/1 favourite to be forced

out the Cabinet. She galloped through her apology to the Commons

on Thursday in just 32 seconds. But speed did her no favours. There s

been mounting pressure on her to resign ever since, especially from

Tories. And this weekend the Chairman of the Independent

Parliamentary Standards Authority, Ian Kennedy, said it's time MPs gave

away the power to decide how colleagues who break the rules are

punished. An inquiry into Maria Miller's expenses claims was launch

in 2012, following allegations he claimed ?90,000 to fund a house she

lived in part time with her parents. She had designated this her second

home. She was referred to the Parliamentary Standards

Commissioner, who recommended that she repay ?45,000. But this week the

Commons Standards Committee, comprising of MPs from all parties,

dismissed the complaint against Maria Miller and ordered her to

repay just ?5,800 for inadvertently overclaiming her merge claimants.

She was forced to apologise to the Commons for the legalistic way she

dealt with the complaints against her. But Tony Gallagher told the

Daily Politics on Friday: We got a third call from Craig Oliver who

pointed out, she is looking at Leveson and the call is badly timed.

I think if you are making a series of telephone calls to a newspaper

organisation investigating the conduct of a Cabinet Minister, that

comes close After that interview Craig Oliver

contacted us, saying there was no threat in anyway over Leveson. I

mead it clear at the time. Tony Gallagher is talking rubbish about

me, and you can use that. The Daily Telegraph have released a tape of a

phone call between Maria Miller s aid, Joanna Hindley, and a reporter

investigating her expenses claim. Joanna Hindley said:

Maria's obviously been having quite a lot of editor's meetings around

Leveson at the moment. So I'm just going to kind of flag up that

connection for you to think about. The Prime Minister is sticking by

his Culture Secretary, but this weekend's crescendo of criticism of

her presents him with a problem and he could be wishing Maria Miller

would just fall on her sword. Even over 80% of Tory voters in a Mail on

Sunday poll think she should go On the Andrew Marr Show, the Work and

Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, defended his colleague. I've

known her always to be a reasonable and honest person. But is she doing

the Government or her any good by staying in office at the moment do

you think? This is a matter the Prime Minister has to take

consideration of and she herself. My view generally is I'm supportive of

Maria, because if we are not careful we end one a witch-hunt of somebody.

And I'm joined now by the Conservative MP, Bob Stewart, and

the man in the white suit, former MP and anti-sleaze campaigner Martin

Bell. Welcome to you both. Stuart Stuart sturkts let me put this to

you, a Conservative MP told this programme, this is a quote, she has

handled this appallingly. Downing Street has acted like judge and

jury, for Craig Oliver to get involved is disastrous. She's been

protected by the whips from the start. What do you say to that? It's

not great, is it? The fact of the matter is the question one should

ask is, did she deliberately try to make money? Did she deliberately try

to obscure ate? The answer is she certainly didn't deliberately try to

make money, in the system, which was the old system, and with regard to

obscure ago, I wasn't there, but let's put it this way. She was going

through a quasi-judicial process and might have ended up in court, so she

has a right to defend herself. Hold on o you said she doesn't do it to

make money, she remortgaged the house a couple of times to earn more

interest to us, the taxpayer, and when interest rates went down she

didn't reduce the amount she was charging in expenses. Well, the

point is the adjudicator said there was ?45,000 she was owed. And then a

committee, Standards Committee, said actually it should be reduced. That

was mainly MPs but there are three lay members. Yes, but they don't

have the vote. OK, fine, that is where it is wrong and we've got to

get it sorted. Let me put another quote from our Conservative MP. He

didn't want to be named. None of you do at the moment. I'm being named.

But you are backing her. George young in cahoots. He's been leading

on the Standards Committee to find her innocent. The Standards

Committee is unfit for purpose. I think the Standards Committee should

be revisited. I think the system is still evolving. And I think actually

we ought to have totally independent judgment on MPs' pay and allowances.

We haven't have not got there yet and that is where it is wrong.

Martin Bell, have MPs interfered in the Maria Miller process and with

the current Standards Commissioner in the same way that they saw off a

previous Commissioner they thought was too independent? Andrew it is

exactly the same. Yesterday I looked at a diary entry I made for May

2000, I said, dreadful meeting standards and privileges, they are

playing party politics. One of them told Elizabeth fill kin to her face

the gossip in the tea room was she had gone crazy. Nothing's changed.

What this shows is most of all, what's the committee for? If it is

just going to rubber stamp what the party wants and its mates, I don't

see any point. But it hasn't rubber stamped. It's changed it. Well, it

has watered down. That's why we should make it totally independent

and it shouldn't be involved in the House of Commons. It is plus plus ca

change isn't it? MPs', scandal, and MPs closing ranks for one of their

own. Has the Commons learned nothing? And this is after the

expenses scandal, where everything was out for everybody to see, you

would think MPs would be careful. This is before the expenses scandal.

We are looking at an historical event, during your time, Martin not

mine. I'm clean on this. You campaigned for him as an

independent. I did, he was a good friend of mine. And now you've

joined the club. And now you are defending Maria Miller? I'm

defending someone who hasn't been proved guilty of anything beyond the

fact she was rather slow to come forward with evidence. My point on

that, is I understand that. MPs are being lambasted the whole time these

days. There were a heck of a lot of them, Martin, who are utterly

decent. She didn't try to make money. We've just been through that.

I don't think that's right. The jury is out on that. What should have

happened in the Miller case, Martin Bell? I don't think there should be

a committee on standards. I think the Commissioner should make a

report. There has been to be justice for the MP complained against. Then

the committee of the whole House can consider it. But we are, the House

of Commons, then as now is incapable of regulating itself. That's been

proving yet again. She made a perfunctory apology. She threatened

and instructed the Standards Commissioner investigating her, and

her special adviser linked expenses to Leveson, when trying to stop the

Daily Telegraph from publishing I mean, is that the behaviour of a

Cabinet Minister? Well, it's probably not the behaviour of

someone that's got time on their hands. She's a very busy Cabinet

Minister. Well, she had enough time to write lots of letters to the

Standards Commission ser. She felt under such threat. She had the time.

She had to make the time. Die know the lady is not trying desperately

to make money. I disagree but on that. The fact of the matter is

this was an old, old system, that we've tried to put right, or the

Commons has tried to put right. I agree that MPs shouldn't get

involved in this. Should we get rid of this committee? It serves no

purpose except to cause trouble The adjudicator has said that and it

should be the end of it. It shouldn't come back to the Commons.

Although her special adviser threatened them over Leveson she was

and is the Minister responsible for trying to introduce something like

Leveson and that is something a big chunk that the press doesn't want.

She is a target. It has a good record on this issue. It played wit

a straight bat. The facts aren't in dispute are they? Will she make it

to the next cabinet reshuffle and then go? Iain Duncan Smith said it

is a matter for the Prime Minister. In my view, as things stand, I

question did she deliberately want to make money? I don't think she

did. Should she go? No. Should she be reshuffled? I don't know.

Goodness me, you are asking someone who will never be reshuffled,

because he will never make it. I was only asking for your opinion, not

your ability to do it. This is a problem for Cameron isn't it? It is

a problem for Cameron. There is nothing wrong with returning to be

badge benches, as you know. Hear, hear. To that. Stick with me. Helen,

can she survive? Is I'm going out of the prediction game when I said

Clegg is going to win the date, so I owe Janan a tenner on that one.

Grant Shapps has supported her. She was ringed by Sir George young and

Jeremy Hunt... This is pretty devastating. On past form David

Cameron hates having to bounce people out of the cabinet. He will

want to keep Maria Miller until the summer reshuffle. This is a question

mark on whether she survive this is. This isn't damaging to the

Conservative or the Labour Party, it is damaging to everyone. This is

catastrophic damage to the entire political establishment. Every

single speech that David Cameron and Ed Miliband have given since 20 9,

talking about restoring trust, they can wipe them from their computers,

because voters are going to look that there and say, this lot haven't

learnt anything. They are giving perfunctory apologies and then you

have MPs sitting in judgment on MPs and rather than paying back ?45 000,

she pays back ?5,800 after MPs have been into it. Damage is huge. Just

getting rid of one Cabinet Minister, you will need to do more than that.

You will notice that Labour haven't made huge weather of this. No,

goodness me, they have their own skeletons. Exactly. The person who

has made hay out of this is Nigel Farage, who has not been backwards

in coming forward. He doesn't seem to care about skeletons. The Prime

Minister has be-Gunby backing her, but that's not popular even with

Tory voters. How does he get out of this? This is the problem for him.

Five years ago his reaction to the expenses scandal was seen by many

Tory backbenchers as excessive. They felt hung out to dry by a man who is

independently wealthy. To go from that to making a special exemption

to Maria Miller because it is politically suitable is more

incendiary and provocative. It is not just upsetting the voters and

the Daily Telegraph but a good number of people behind him. I think

they will get rid of her. I think the Government, to paraphrase

Churchill, will zoo the decent thing after exhausting all options, of the

European elections a reshuffle. The culture department has gone from a

baulk water in haul to one of the most politically sensational jobs

because of its proximity to the Leveson issue. She has to be

replaced by someone Lily skillful and substantial. Mr Cameron is not

short of smart women? Nikki Morgan, the education department, these are

absolutely outstanding women and the problem that the generation elected

in 2005, Maria Miller generation, there are some really good people

elected in 2010. You are not responsible for hacking into the

culture Department's Twitter account last night? I was out at the time!

They all say that! One so, Maria Miller is like a modern-day Robin

Hood... She robs the poor to help the rich. Which one of us has not

embezzled the taxpayer? I reckon it is the lady. You have the perfect

cover. We would not know how to would we? You cannot tweet from a

mobile device, can you? Play it safe. No, do something dramatic

Have lots of pledges. Have just a few pledges. Ah, there must be a

Labour policy review reaching its conclusion because everyone has some

free advice for the party about its message and the man delivering it.

Here's Adam. He is well liked by the public don't quite buy him as a

leader. The papers say he is in hock to the unions and the party has a

lead in the polls but it is not solid. Bartenders Neil Kinnock. That

is what they said Winnie who lost the 1982 election. The whole country

deserves better and we will work to ensure that the day will come when

with the Labour government, the country will get better. Someone who

was there can see some spooky parallels. The important lesson from

1992 is it cannot rest on your laurels and hope for the best, you

cannot sit on a lead of seven points because the election narrows that

and you cannot rely on the government not getting its act

together because the Conservative Party was well funded and organised,

the double whammy posters, the tax bombshell, but incredibly effective

and the message was unified and they beat us on the campaign. The lesson

for Labour today is this lead will evaporate quite possibly over the

next few months and we might go into the election behind in the polls.

But Ed Miliband is getting conflicting advice about how to

avoid 1992 happening. Be bold, be cautious and then, the idea that

Labour can squeak into office with just 35% of the vote, which worries

some people. Each month, the Labour Party meets around the country and

last week, everybody spoke about the dangers of this 35% strategy. They

were increasingly unhappy and it is very important that those people

around the leader naturally have a duty to protect him and they make

sure he gets this message that while there is total support for him, they

do want this key year in the run-up to the General Election to be

putting out an alternative which we can defend on the doorstep. The

doorstep where Neil Kinnock made his concession speech is crammed with

Spanish back hackers. The old Labour offices are no a budget hostel.

Labour headquarters is down the road and they are putting the finishing

touches to a speech Ed Miliband will give this week about the cost of

living and I am told he will drop hints about new policies in juicy

areas like housing, low pay, growth and devolving power. As for the

charge that they are not radical enough, his people say they want to

be bold but they have to be credible as well. They say that Labour is

more united than it has ever been but there has been some grumbling

that the cost of living campaign is not the same as a vision for the

country. And that Ed Miliband was not statesman-like enough at Prime

Minister's Questions and one figure who sat at the same table in the

Neil Kinnock years summed it up like this. Things are OK but it feels

like we're playing for the draw Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline

Flint joins me now for the Sunday Interview. This 35% victory

strategy, it does not sound very ambitious? I am campaigning to win

this election with a majority government and everybody else around

the table is also. But we want to go to every corner of the country and

win votes for Labour and win seats, that is what we are working towards.

To avoid last time, the coalition bartering. But that 35% is a victory

strategy so are you saying there is no 35% strategy and that no one at

the heart of Labour is not arguing for this? We are working to win

around the country and to win all of those battle ground seats and we

must have a strategy that appeals to a cross-section of the public but

within that, that broad group Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and. You

could do that with 35% of the vote? There is lots of polling and

everyone looks at this about what we need to do to get seats and we want

to have a comprehensive majority at the next election to win to govern

this country. Last week, we have been reading reports of splits in

the party over policy and on tactics, even strategy. A struggle

for control of the General Election manifesto, we are told. What are you

arguing over? I said on the committee and just listening to the

film before, it is about being radical but also credible and we are

talking about evolution and that is an important subject but we are also

united and to be honest, in 201 people were writing us off saying we

would turn on ourselves and that has not been the case. We are not

arguing about the fundamentals, we are discussing the policies that are

coming up with different colleagues and talking about how we can make

sure they are presented to the public and that is part of a

process. That is a discussion, not disagreement. The Financial Times,

which is usually pretty fair, reports a battle between Ed

Miliband's radical instincts and the more business fiscal conservatism of

Ed Balls. What side are you on? I am for radical change, I am for energy

and I believe strongly we must be formed the market and people might

portray that as anti-business but this is about more competition and

transparency and others coming into this market so our policy on this is

radical, not excepting the status quo. It is also for business.

Opinion polls show that few people regard Ed Miliband as by Minister

material -- Prime Minister material. That has been true since he became

leader. And in some cases, they have been getting worse. Why is that

Opinion polls say certain things about the personalities of leaders,

David Cameron is not great either. And they were not great when he was

in opposition. At this stage, he was getting 49% as Prime Minister real

material and Ed Miliband, 19. - Prime Minister material. When you

look at certain questions that the public is asked about who you think

you would trust about being fair in terms of policy towards Britain who

understands the cost of living crisis, they very much identify with

Ed Miliband. We are ahead in the polls. Ed Miliband has made that

happen. We have one more councillors, we have been running in

by-elections and we have held this government over the barrel over six

months on energy prices. That is to do with his leadership. The more

that voters save him, the less they seem convinced. In 2011, he had been

leader for one year, and only 1 % regarded him as weird, by 2014, that

was 41%. Look at that! Look at that weirdness! What people need is to

know where the Labour Party stands on fundamental issues. And in those

areas, particularly the cost of living and fairness and people being

concerned that we are entering into a period where people will be worse

for the first time ever at the end of the Parliament, these things are

important and Ed Miliband is part of our success. Definitely. I think

this is ridiculous, to be fair, he is not a politician that says, I am

dying with the Arctic monkeys, I know who is the number one. He did

not play that game. -- down. He is not either there to portray himself

as someone who was with the children, I know everything about

popular culture. His authenticity is the most important thing. People do

not think he is authentic, unless they think we were at is authentic.

Is it true that his staff applaud him when he comes back after giving

even a mediocre speech? I have never heard that. I have never heard about

him being applauded. And I am pleased to applaud him with he makes

speeches, I have given him a standing ovation. You have to do

that because the cameras are rolling! No, he made a good speech.

Five minutes without notes. It took a long time to memorise I don't

blame him! The cost of living. Focusing on that, it has paid

dividends. But inflation is falling and perhaps collapsing, unemployment

is falling faster than anybody thought, as we can see. Wages are

rising, soon faster than prices Retail sales are booming, people

have got money in their pockets Isn't the cost of living crisis

narrative running out of steam? I do not think so and I should say that I

welcome any sign of positive changes in the economy, if anybody gets a

job in Doncaster, I am pleased by the end of this Parliament families

will be over ?900 worse off because of tax and benefit changes and the

working person is ?1600 worse off and it is the first government since

the 1870s where people will be at the end of the Parliament. We

believe the government made wrong choices that lead the rich off at

the expense of those on middle and lower incomes. -- let the rich. The

average family ?794 worse off from tax and benefit changes. That has

been backed up. They are those figures. But he has skewed these

figures by including the richest, where the fall in tax and the

penalty they pay is highest. If you take away the richest, it is nowhere

near that figure. Everybody agrees and even the government and

knowledges that at the end of their tenure in Parliament, people will be

worse off. 350,000 extra people who would desperately like full-time

work who are working part-time and 1 million young people unemployed and

the reason the cost of living has a residence is people feel that. I was

in a supermarket and at Doncaster and someone summed this up, he said

I work hard and at the end of the week, beyond paying bills, I have

got nothing else. If you take away the top 10% who are losing over

?600,000, the average loss comes down to around ?400, less than half

of what you claim. That figure is totally misleading. These are the

figures from the IFS. It still shows... Whatever way you shape

this, people will still be worse off, families worse off because of

these changes to tax and benefits and working people because wages

have not kept up with prices. Your energy portfolio, you back the

enquiry into the big six companies and you intend to go ahead with the

price freeze and reconfigure the market even before it reports. If

you win, this is a waste of time? Whilst we have had this process

before the announcement, we always feel if it goes that way, there

might be areas we have not thought of that the enquiry will also draw

attention to that we might want to add on. You are right, our basic

reforms for the new regulator, to separate generation supply, we will

pursue that. What happens if this report concludes that your plans are

not correct? You will still go ahead? I don't think so. Actually,

if you look at the report that Ofgem produced, some of the issues Labour

has been drawing attention to like vertical integration, they cover

that. I was asking about the Competition Commission? The report

last week is a result of working together and I think it is clearly

accepted in this sector, look at SSE last week, they will separate the

business. We are pushing at the open door. It has already pulled out of

gas. So it follows if you freeze energy prices across the market, it

might be the right thing to do but there will be a cost in terms of

jobs and investment, correct? Well, I met with SSE last weekand the

chief executive and talked about these issues. The jobs changes are

partly about them looking at how they could be more efficient as a

company. On offshore wind that wasn't really to do with the price

freeze. That was more to do with issues around confidence in that

area and therefore willing to put the money into it, as well as

technical issues as well But there'll be job losses. Is that a

price worth paying? We believe the reason we are having a price freeze

is these companies have been overcharging customers and haven't

been investing in their organisations and making them more

efficient. I do not believe a price freeze is linked to job losses.

These companies do need to be more efficient. Goal for all of us is

realising the fantastic opportunity for more jobs and growth from an

energy sector that has certainty going forward. That's what Labour

will deliver. Caroline Flint, thank you.

It's 1130 and you're watching The Sunday Politics. We say goodbye to

viewers in Scotland, who leave us now for Sunday Politics Scotland.

Coming up here Hello once again from the Mhdlands.

I'm Patrick Burns. And here's a question for you. When does

Birmingham become Greater Birmingham? When it includes

Bromsgrove, Kidderminster, Lichfield and Tamworth, that's when.

Chris Pincher is the Conservative MP for Tamworth, be it in

Staffordshire, Greater Birmhngham or both. And Gisela Stuart is the

Labour MP for Edgbaston. Now, that has to be in Birmingham, hasn't it?

Although the cricket ground is the home of Warwickshire ` and xet

they're also the Birmingham Bears... I give up.

Wherever or whatever Greater Birmingham is, or is not, it's

certainly triggered quite a debate. The boss of John Lewis, Andx Street,

grew up in the city and now chairs the Greater Birmingham and Solihull

Local Enterprise Partnership. He says the global business colmunity

increasingly concentrates not on regions, like the West Midl`nds or

the Black Country for that latter; but on big cities like Birmhngham.

If you are a businessman selling in China, you do not know what the West

Midlands is. Chinese businessmen know what Birmingham is. I believe

we should lead on that brand. We are not talking about the formal

structure of local authorithes as has happened in Manchester, this is

much more about saying can we work together as one entity in tdrms of

promoting ourselves? But that doesn't play at all well in

the Black Country, where ond leading member of the Local Enterprhse

Partnership, Andy Cox, has just returned from a trade mission to

Hungary and Poland. He says the "Black Country" identity is a much

more powerful brand than "Birmingham".

What do you say to him? If we continue having these bickering is,

all of us will lose out. If you want to get funding, the two entdrprise

boards have to work together. Working together, getting inward

investment, we have got to sing off the same hymn sheet. We are not

talking about the equivalent of the 1911 Birmingham act, which dxpanded

the city, we are talking about the much more constructive workhng

together. If you go abroad `nd use a word which you cannot find on the

map, you have a problem, and Birmingham, you cannot find on a

map. Is it going to hitch a ride on greater Birmingham's wagon,

Tamworth? We are proud that Birmingham is one of our largest

suburbs. But Andy's got an hmportant point, which is that you nedd to

Brent and area well so that international investors know about

it and are prepared to come and visit it. `` brand. But we need to

make sure our local infrastructure is right, so expanding the `irports,

writing skills to scratch and having a university technical Colldge is

important, and making sure the local tax regime is as good as it can be,

and driving down corporation tax or businesses want to set up in Britain

and the Midlands is also very important.

Frank Skinner, West Bromwich Albion supporter, says he thinks that

Birmingham and the Black Cotntry are actually one and the same thing

because if in `` even if yot go to London, people do not understand the

distant's understand the difference at all. `` understand the dhfference

at all. When people fall out here, we should take them down to London

and show them who we are colpeting with. I don't often agree whth Frank

Skinner, but on this I think he is right.

And the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce are reporting soaring

confidence with local firms now emerging strongly from the

recession. 80% of manufacturers expect their turnover to increase

this year. That's the highest figure in seven years. The Chambers say the

number of businesses investhng in new machinery and equipment is at

its highest level for eight years. So, a distinctly rosy econolic

outlook for David Cameron when he came to Birmingham Airport ` or is

that Greater Birmingham Airport ` to celebrate the creation of thousands

more jobs as the runway extdnsion nears its completion next month

We want a growth and privatd sector led recovery, with jobs for people

here in the West Midlands, `nd this runway extension brings 4,000 jobs

here to Birmingham Airport, and another 4,000 in terms of logistics

and supply chain in the comhng years, but it means more th`n that

because the runway has been extended by some 400 metres, so aeroplanes

are going to be able to fly an extra 3,000 miles, which means connecting

the West Midlands to more chties in China, India, and the places we need

to trade with. David Cameron indeterminate the

upbeat mood. But we have to remember that all these things are rdlative.

We are starting from a low dbb which sort of fell off a cliff after the

years after the crash. We h`d a very deep recession, and the economy

contracted very more `` much more deeply under Labour, but thd Prime

Minister's visit to the airport is I think a vote of confidence hn the

local economy. But within a stone's thrill of that airport, East

Birmingham has some of the highest unemployment rates of this country.

`` a stone's throw. In my own town, Tamworth, which is not a le`fy

Surrey suburb but a hard`working little town, unemployment is now

floating around 2%. I had a jobs fair last year, we have thrde to 400

jobs available and 176 people came to look for them. I think that is an

indication of the way in my town and across the Midlands the economy is

improving. The Prime Ministdr was celebrating a private sector led

recovery with jobs being crdated in this country as first as anxwhere

else in Britain. `` in this part of the country. Can I say, Birlingham

International station is to be renamed Birmingham Airport station,

but if you come back to the economic growth, if you look at greater

Birmingham's local enterprise board's submission to the

Government, it identifies wdaknesses in skills. So we have this dnormous

growth in regional commuting, so the fundamentals there are not xet being

met. I welcome the growth in confidence, but the Governmdnt is

not yet addressing that unddrpinning which will be the real problem. If

we can develop more technic`l skills, that is going to be

important. That is what Michael Gove wants to see. We have university

technical College to encour`ge that. When need to drive up educational

opportunity in and around that area, and when you look around Talworth

you can see that is happening. Well, this general improvemdnt is

reflected in the regional unemployment figures. From ` peak of

more than a quarter of a million last year, they've fallen bx more

than 30,000 over the past shx months. More people in work has to

be good news, of course. But over 150,000 people in our part of the

country who'd like to work full`time are in temporary or part`tile jobs.

Some are on "zero`hours" contracts: they have jobs, but not necdssarily

on the terms they'd like. Hdre's our BBC WM political reporter K`thryn

Stanczyszyn. Zero`hours contracts ` the tnions

don't like them, the governlent s been consulting on them, but what we

do know is that they're used widely here in the West Midlands. @long

with many other casual labotr contracts, they're found in the

health and social care sectors, in hospitality, and in education.

Catherine Burgass is an English lecturer at Staffordshire

University. One doesn't know if one's going to be employed semester

by semester, or year by year. She's been on a variety of casual

contacts. Certainly people hn my profession work extremely h`rd `

they do the best they can for their students, they try and do rdsearch,

and fulfil all that's required of them, but I think deep down there is

an issue of feeling unvalued or undervalued. `` contracts.

It's thought more than a million people across the country could be

on zero`hours contracts ` although there's no legal definition for one.

Broadly it means, there's no guarantee of amount of weekly hours,

there's no obligation for elployers to offer work at all, but you are

etitled to annual leave and the national minimum wage. `` entitled.

Of course, getting people in work is a key issue for the Governmdnt `

with George Osborne this wedk saying he wants to make the countrx "fully

employed". I'm making a new commitment. A

commitment to fight for full employment in Britain. Making jobs a

central goal of our economic plan. But unions claim that will lean more

zero`hours contracts, which gives a misleading picture of the jobs

market. And they say some elployers are abusing their position. If there

is ongoing work, and predictable ongoing work, from year to xear `

and that is often the case hn colleges and universities ` then we

think that employees ought to be given proper contracts of elployment

with the full rights and obligations that that implies.

Last year the University and College Union here in the West Midl`nds

fgound that more than a thotsand educational employees were on

zero`hours contracts. Here `t the City of Wolverhampton College, a

quarter of staff were signed on this way ` but they've changed the way

they do things. More than 300 staff here were on

zero`hours contracts ` now ht's just a handful. We wanted people to be

very much involved in the lhfe of the college and everything that goes

on around that, and we felt and do feel that that's best achieved by

having a permanent team of people. A consultation on zero`hours

contracts has just finished ` more than 30,000 responded. Some of the

people who are actually on them though, are worried they're here to

stay. Kathryn Stanczyszyn. And

incidentally the Office for National Statistics tell us they're due to

publish a survey of employers' attitudes to zero`hours contracts

later this month. But why w`it, when we have one of our most influential

employers with us right now? Jason Wourha is the regional chairman of

the Institute of Directors. He's a director of East End Foods, based

not only in Greater Birmingham but also in the Black Country. Jason,

let's pick up on that questhon posed by Kathryn at the end there ` are

they here to stay? Do you think that, given that some emploxers have

had a taste of the flexibilhty that these contracts give, that

zero`hours contracts are here to stay? It is important to re`lise

that anything that reduces restrictions on employment should be

followed. But the problem you have is where people are using them for

too long a time, so yes, thdy should be here to stay, but any good

employer would definitely go for a permanent position because that

improves the motivation and security of their employees, and thex're

out. Which explains why you can be both in the Institute of Directors

which supports zero hours contracts and yet in your own business you do

not use them yourself. We are in wholesale retail, we do not use

them, however if you go to hospitality industry, caterhng, they

require that flexibility and the shorter hours and so on. Evdn though

in the process they inflict real practical difficulties on some of

the people who have to suffdr these contracts in terms of plannhng their

lives, organising childcare and so on? But in some cases the

flexibility is what people want And that helps, I know quite a few

people who are on zero hours contracts and it suits their

lifestyle down to the ground. What is your experience in the Institute

of Directors? Are they used quite widely regionally? 1,200 people

survey, only 16 of our membdrs used zero hours contracts, so it is quite

a low percentage. And I would imagine that as the

economy picks up you would laybe have an expectation about the

direction of travel on this? There needs to be good guidance, then is

to be a code of conduct put in place, `` there needs to be. As I

said, if people are on zero hours contracts for the long term, I don't

think it is of any benefit. We saw the Chancellor talking about

his commitment to full employment. Should that in your view a puote to

full`time employment as possible? We have to accept that the days of our

parents and grandparents were you left school, went into a job and

stayed in that job when you are 65, are gone. We need to have mtch more

flexible workforce, and that is what zero hours contracts are about. They

should I think they should H think because flexible hours contracts.

They are part of the mix, and as Jason says, many people want that

flexibility particularly single parents who want to work less

conventional hours, students who perhaps want to work when they are

not studying. These contracts and no those workers to work. `` allow A

small part of the mix, but the resolution foundation looked at the

pattern of who actually has zero hours contracts and they fotnd they

are proportionally young, btt the they found the pay they got was

quite lower than the averagd pay. The educational qualifications were

very low, and as a Government which ought to think employment protection

was something that is important these will be people who ard not

providing for their pensions, and also you end up creating thd working

poor, which will really store our problems. So I think they otght to

be very, very carefully used. Sounds to me that what she is saying that

maybe this is a global race to the bottom as far as a climate hs

concerned. The low pay commhssion has recommended the national minimum

wage be increased by 3%, thd biggest increase since 2007, and thd biggest

real terms increase in pay since 2008. That is a real improvdment. If

you talk to the Chief Executive of the chartered Institute of personnel

development, he will save jtst 4% of people on this flexible hours

contracts say that they are working less hours than they would like So

it would seem to me that thdy work well for most people. The strprise

for me was the range of people who are involved, like that university

lecturer for example. It is much more widespread in its scopd than

imagined. Yes, I think in the higher end jobs that the Universitx `` the

reverse to lecturers and so on, they have got the part to play, but. . In

Wolverhampton they said thex did not want to go down that road bdcause

they wanted an identification with the institution. Well, people are

motivated by security and a long`term role, so I think there

could be a part to play for the short`term, but if somebody is

coming in for long`term employment then I think the institution needs

to address that. Are they hdre to stay? Labour has said we will look

at those, and one of the thhngs we will look at if `` is if ond

employer abuses the system. It is better to have a job than no job,

and they provide people with experience and confidence. They are

here to stay. Now for our regular round`up of the

political week in the Midlands in 60 seconds. It's brought to us today by

our BBC Radio Shropshire political reporter Joanne Gallacher.

BNP leader Nick Griffin's d`ughter Jennifer Matthys is to run hn the

European elections for the party in the West Midlands. She's nulber two

on the party list of candid`tes Heineken is investing ?58 mhllion

pounds at the Bulmers cider plant in Hereford. `` 50 ?8 million. Unions

are concerned it could mean job losses at a neighbouring factory in

Ledbury. As Nick and Nige limbered up for

their TV debate, the leader of Wolverhampton's Lib Dems dropped a

bombshell and quit the partx to join UKIP. I like the fact of wh`t

they're saying now about Europe I like the fact of what they're saying

about immigration. An anti`HS2 film narrated bx the

comedian John Bishop is doing good business on YouTube. "This hs a dead

end, mate," said Bob. The Adventures of HS2 has attracted nearly 50, 00

hits in the last fortnight. And the Environment Secretary and

North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson abandoned plans to extend the badger

cull. It will continue, thotgh, in the two pilot areas in Somerset and

in Gloucestershire. A case of moving the goalposts, perhaps.

Oh, dear, will he ever live that down. We'll have more on thhs in

Countryfile at 7:00 here on BBC One this evening, when Princess Anne

will explain why she thinks gassing badgers is the most humane way of

controlling them. Gisela, as a dairy farmer's daughter

yourself, what is your view? It s a very painful issue on both sides,

isn't it? Oh, I think it's exceptionally painful. But the

Government isn't even following its own scientific advice, and H think

that's when they have probldms. And it clearly isn't working, they're

not extending the trials. And they're in deep trouble and they

ought to start listening to their advice. It's not working so you re

not extending it, so why persevere in Gloucestershire and Somerset

Well, Gloucestershire's had only one TB`free year in the last ten. If you

talk to farmers there, they're losing their livelihoods, it's

costing money, it's costing us all as taxpayers and consumers loney.

Ideally we would vaccinate to get rid of this terrible diseasd that

badgers are carrying, but as we don't have a vaccination yet,

unfortunately I feel that in certain parts of the country the cull has to

continue. In Wales they are using all the tools including limhted

vaccination, clearly what wd are doing is not working.

My thanks to Gisela Stuart `nd Chris Pincher. Coming up on Wednesday

morning, Jackie Carnell, thd independent chair of the

Stoke`on`Trent Safeguarding Children Board will be in BBC Radio Stoke's

hot seat with Perry Spiller from 10:00. She's responsible for

overseeing children's social care throughout the city. We're back at

the later time of 2.30 next Sunday afternoon. This, though is where we

rejoin Andrew Neil. Dobson. Tim Donovan is back in the

chair next week. And with that, back to Andrew. Welcome back and time now

to get more from our panel. So they can justify their meagre patents.

This cost of living mantra will last all the way until the election.

Cannot? Ed Miliband leaves he is onto something and for most of this

Parliament, inflation has outstripped wages. That is going to

go the other way and wages will rise, to which you say Ed Miliband

has nothing to say. He says if you think people are going to feel

better in the blink of an eye, you are a Conservative and do not

understand the depth of this and he is taking the message from a

presidential election in America in 2012 and make Romney was ahead on

some of the economic indicators but Barack Obama was ahead on the key

one, do you believe this candidate will make your family's life

better? The message that Ed Miliband will try to say is the next election

is about whose side are you on? And he believes Labour will be on the

side of more voters than conservatives. It would be crazy for

Labour not to talk about the cost of living because even if wages exceed

inflation next year, it is not as if voters will walk around feeling like

Imelda Marcos, they will still feel as if they were struggling and not

just compared... Retail sales are slowing? That is not the sign of

palpable disparity. Circumstances are better than three years ago but

not better than five years ago. The Reagan question will still be

employed, are you better off than at the last election? But things in

America were actually getting worse when he asked that. I covered that

election, that is why it resonated and they did get worse. The

Ayatollah had quadrupled the price of oil. This is based on things

getting relatively better, after a very long wait, so the cost of

living critique will have to adapt? It will but it gets out of a very

sticky spot and the IFS says wages will not outstrip inflation and by

that time they can start talking about other things, plans for the

railways and tuition fees and at the moment, everything is up for grabs.

Labour know that every time they talk about something they want to

do, the question is, how do you pay for it? They can talk about the

economy and they don't have substantial things to say. Is it

true that Mr Iain Duncan Smith was going to make a major announcement

on benefit cheats? Or something to do with that this morning? But he

decided against it because of the tobacco over Maria Miller? It would

be very odd to go on to The Andrew Marr Show to have a chat and see

what he is having for lunch. Patrick went from the Guardian said he was

going to set out higher financial penalty phase for providing

inaccurate information in claims. This is a bad day to do that, given

that MP expenses are treated far more lenient the than any one from

Joe public. That would be fascinating, if true. And he is

making a very big speech on well for tomorrow and this tweet from Patrick

went at the Guardian, he has proper sized on welfare matters and he

tends to know what is going on. But it would be deeply unfortunate if

that was the message today. How can he make a speech that has anything

about cracking down on benefit claimants? Not today but I am not

sure tomorrow. Do you get the impression that nobody in both main

parties is very confident of winning in 2015? I column last week said the

result, the most likely result from one year on is another hung

parliament and which government results from that depends on the

mathematical specifics of whether the Tories can do a deal as well as

Labour, leaving everything in the hands of Nick Clegg or whether one

party can do a straightforward deal but I do not detect any sense of

exuberance or confidence in either camp. And the Tories are still

shooting themselves over losing the boundary commission reforms because

that was going to net them 20 seats and they lost that because they

messed up the House of Lords reform and there are still furious with

themselves. The former US President, George W Bush, has been a busy boy

and here at the Sunday Politics we thought you'd like to see the

results of his artistic endeavours. Time for the gallery.

I was a prize to find myself saying, some of these are not bad! --

surprised. Vladimir Putin? I like the one of Tony Blair but his early

ones of dogs, to be in the presence of the master is to see his portrait

of a Joanne Love. He is not of the Turner prize but I was surprised. He

gets the mask of Vladimir Putin also Tony Blair. I was impressed

that he did not allow personal or political grudges to influence his

artwork. Jacques Chirac, he comes out of this incredibly well! And

Angela Merkel comes out astonishingly well. Quite generous

as well. Tony Blair is the best one and the reason is he had the closest

relationship with them and he has talked about this portrait, saying

he was quite fond of him and you can see that. These are awful, they

would not get you an A-level but you must admire him to have the guts to

do this, and display them publicly! An A-level? Just doing joined up

numbers gets you that these days! What do you do when you retire? This

is less embarrassing than some of the other things people have done.

As good as Churchill? I don't know... No! Churchill was brilliant!

And on that! That's all for today. Tune into BBC Two every day at

lunchtime this week for the Daily Politics. And we'll be back at the

later time of 2:30pm next Sunday after the London Marathon. Remember,

if it's Sunday, it's the Sunday Politics.

International teams searching for the missing Malaysian airliner are

investigating three electronic signals received in the southern

Indian Ocean. It's