:01:22. > :01:26.We're finding out why your Parish or Town council could be set to
:01:26. > :01:36.raise your bill by up to 20% whilst bigger councils are told they have
:01:36. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :29:59.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1703 seconds
:29:59. > :30:02.Hello, in the Sunday Politics in at the West...
:30:02. > :30:08.Local authority staff Ocean charges but don't think you can't a tax
:30:08. > :30:12.won't be going up. Your parish or count hat -- town council may still
:30:12. > :30:18.increase their part of the bill, some bite �20 per home. The will
:30:18. > :30:26.ask if it is worth it. Our guests today is Neil Hamilton,
:30:26. > :30:30.a prominent member of you kept -- UKIP. He is married to the famous
:30:30. > :30:34.Christine Hamilton. We are grateful to her for letting you are this
:30:34. > :30:39.afternoon! Next to him, a euro enthusiast,
:30:39. > :30:43.Graham Watson, a staunch republican who has just been knighted. He says
:30:43. > :30:50.he was happy to accept the honour for his public service.
:30:50. > :30:54.Why did you accept that when you don't really want a monarchy?
:30:54. > :31:01.country has its system of honours, ours happens to be given out baby
:31:01. > :31:06.monarchy. I would have preferred to receive it from an elected
:31:06. > :31:09.president. There is no both of allegiance involved. It was given
:31:09. > :31:13.on the recommendation of the Prime Minister rather than the
:31:13. > :31:17.recommendation of the monarch and I have no problem accepting it as an
:31:17. > :31:25.honour for my contribution to society, not for my contribution to
:31:25. > :31:30.the monarchy. Your fellow Euro MEP for this region said it was
:31:30. > :31:40.hypocritical to accept it. Is this the same flawed. With here is an
:31:40. > :31:45.hereditary peer? -- Lord DARD wife. It has been my view and it has been
:31:45. > :31:48.for many years that when the current monarch retires, we should
:31:48. > :31:53.become a republic. I think she has done excellent service for the
:31:53. > :31:57.country. I do not think there is as much public confidence in as many
:31:57. > :32:02.of her successors as there is in the Queen. We should prepare to
:32:02. > :32:06.have an elected president. You are a firm monarchist? I would much
:32:06. > :32:14.rather have the Queen as our head of state or somebody -- rather than
:32:14. > :32:21.some the like Tony Blair. The honours lists are different. What
:32:21. > :32:27.do they mean nowadays? So many of these titles are dished out. Graham
:32:27. > :32:30.has been a conscientious MEP for 20 years and does a very good job. I
:32:31. > :32:33.don't agree with his politics but as a public servant I have no
:32:33. > :32:40.difficulty in agreeing with his assessment of himself in this
:32:40. > :32:45.respect. Do we really need these Ruritanian baubles any more? Don't
:32:45. > :32:54.you feel that it is like something out of a Gilbert and Sullivan
:32:54. > :32:58.operetta? Would U-turn one down? course I would. I should get a
:32:58. > :33:02.medal for living with my wife for all these years!
:33:02. > :33:06.Local authorities across the West have almost all agreed to freeze
:33:06. > :33:12.what they charge of next year. If you think that means you can't to
:33:12. > :33:16.tax bill will not go up, think again. -- you're council tax bill.
:33:16. > :33:20.Parish and town councils are free from this and some are still
:33:20. > :33:23.spending. In towns and villages across the
:33:23. > :33:28.West Country their responsibilities range from street cleaning and
:33:28. > :33:38.flower beds to youth clubs and CCTV. The more they do, the more towns
:33:38. > :33:39.
:33:39. > :33:44.and parishes charge taxpayers. Frome in Somerset is a pretty place
:33:44. > :33:47.and people want to keep it that way. On historic Catherine Hill, the
:33:47. > :33:51.town council leader meets a shopkeeper concerned it is not
:33:52. > :33:58.always properly cleaned. It doesn't take that much to pick up rubbish,
:33:58. > :34:01.as you know. I came by one Saturday morning and with the deputy chief
:34:01. > :34:05.executive of the town council, moved stuff that should have been
:34:05. > :34:09.moved by the district council. is the responsibility of Mendip
:34:09. > :34:13.District Council, who have been making cuts. Frome councillors are
:34:13. > :34:17.having talks about helping fund street cleaning. They are prepared
:34:17. > :34:23.to step forward or others are stepping back. They will put up
:34:23. > :34:26.their part of the council tax by almost a parte -- quarter. But is
:34:26. > :34:36.not the most popular decision we have ever made and it was not easy
:34:36. > :34:37.
:34:37. > :34:41.to make the decision. 23% represents �19 per year, so if we
:34:41. > :34:48.spend unwisely, I am hoping the residents will understand why it
:34:48. > :34:50.had to happen. -- if we spend wisely. They have plans such as
:34:50. > :34:57.improvements at the Cheese and Grain Arts Centre and supporting
:34:57. > :35:02.the services. Cuts by Somerset County Council means the recycling
:35:02. > :35:08.centre is not open as much as it used to be. The town council is
:35:08. > :35:12.offering �9,000 to ensure it opens on Sundays. They hope this will win
:35:12. > :35:16.over any locals who are not convinced about the merits of
:35:16. > :35:20.paying more tax. The skip being open when I wanted to be is
:35:20. > :35:26.beneficial. In if they improve the services then definitely. If it was
:35:26. > :35:32.a tenor it would be better. It is not necessary to raise the council
:35:32. > :35:38.tax. It is not just about replacing what has been cut. The council
:35:38. > :35:42.hopes it will boost from economically. If they are using
:35:42. > :35:48.their money sensibly, if it improves quality of life and makes
:35:48. > :35:57.from a better place to do business or two level, shop, -- then people
:35:57. > :36:07.will see it as a good thing. -- to live or work to shop. Local people
:36:07. > :36:09.
:36:09. > :36:13.are being encouraged to do more and change it if they do not like it.
:36:13. > :36:23.What makes you so sure that people are so happy to pay this extra
:36:23. > :36:25.
:36:25. > :36:34.amount? We tapped into a deep disillusionment with independent
:36:34. > :36:38.normal citizens. The ticket was about change, about making sure the
:36:38. > :36:44.town his bed for the future. The recession will end some time.
:36:44. > :36:49.are very tight and it is only �19. For a family that is a trip to the
:36:49. > :36:54.cinema or going out for a burger or a treat. You have decided to take
:36:54. > :37:01.that many of them. We have decided together, we will try and make sure
:37:01. > :37:10.that from is ready for the future. �19 a year is a significant sum of
:37:11. > :37:13.money for some families but it is three Mars bars a month. If every
:37:13. > :37:18.local of Gardai took that view it would be much more sizable,
:37:18. > :37:28.wouldn't it? -- local authority. We were aware that Battista council
:37:28. > :37:32.
:37:32. > :37:36.would not put up council tax. -- that the district council. Why is
:37:36. > :37:41.the coalition overriding local democracy by insisting there are
:37:41. > :37:47.friezes? It is not over riding. It is saying, we are making big cuts
:37:47. > :37:54.in public spending at national level. We do not want to see you
:37:54. > :38:01.increasing spending locally. In my view, there is an obligation on all
:38:01. > :38:05.of us to look at keeping our spending down. There is a perfectly
:38:05. > :38:10.legitimate case that says in future, perhaps more of our tax should be
:38:10. > :38:15.raised at the level at which it is spent. If you need to spend money
:38:16. > :38:22.locally, raised it locally, do not have local councils dependent on
:38:22. > :38:27.local government. Isn't that UKIP policy? A we want to reduce
:38:27. > :38:31.spending at government level as much as possible. We do not what
:38:31. > :38:35.decisions to be taken remotely. I am in favour of increasing the
:38:35. > :38:38.number of things that parish councils and town councils can do
:38:38. > :38:42.at the expense of the bigger councils that do them at the moment.
:38:42. > :38:47.This is the interface with the public and do things that really
:38:47. > :38:54.matter. One of the Lilley's policies is to abolish local
:38:54. > :39:00.politically correct services. What did you have in mind? All the usual
:39:00. > :39:07.stuff about promotion of causes that are close to the heart of some
:39:07. > :39:17.minorities, Ceri my gaze and the rest of it. Do you recognise that
:39:17. > :39:20.
:39:20. > :39:24.position? No. Let's go back to Europe. In France you have the town
:39:24. > :39:30.hall and the Mail has a standing in the community. The day centrally
:39:30. > :39:35.controlled what is raised? -- to date centrally controlled. There is
:39:35. > :39:43.more local control on the Continent and in the UK do it -- United
:39:43. > :39:47.Kingdom. Yes, there are gaps on local government spending. -- caps.
:39:47. > :39:52.In the case of Germany, it is between the federal government and
:39:52. > :39:56.a local member. Clearly, we need a solution that is going to allow
:39:56. > :40:02.local councils to make intelligent decisions about which local
:40:02. > :40:06.services can be afforded, which may need to be cut. Let's move on. If
:40:06. > :40:12.you decide to stand for election, do you think and the tax payer
:40:12. > :40:16.should its pay for your campaign? It would be one way of removing the
:40:16. > :40:22.power of the rich from election campaigns and idea -- and an idea
:40:22. > :40:25.gaining ground here in the West. A government came to power the
:40:25. > :40:29.Barling to banish scandals like cash for honours to the history
:40:29. > :40:36.groups. -- Levein. They promised to read
:40:36. > :40:39.politics Abed money. So far, little has happened. Then, this.
:40:39. > :40:45.government is committed to reforming party funding. This is
:40:45. > :40:48.best achieved as far as possible by consensus and it to be said I will
:40:48. > :40:51.write to the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition next week
:40:51. > :40:56.asking him to nominate representatives to take part in
:40:57. > :40:59.preliminary cross-party discussions. In the West, where most election
:40:59. > :41:03.struggles are races between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats,
:41:04. > :41:10.the Lib Dems are crying foul over money. While they said they enjoy a
:41:10. > :41:13.big share of the vote, they lack a share of the funds. Paul Harrod was
:41:13. > :41:19.runner-up in Bristol North West. He said he was outgunned by some
:41:19. > :41:22.serious spending by the Tories. are up against a Conservative Party
:41:22. > :41:32.that was heavily funded, particularly from Lord Ashcroft.
:41:32. > :41:32.
:41:32. > :41:40.That made a difference in the campaign. The system is broken at
:41:40. > :41:43.the moment. There is too much with trade unions and big business.
:41:43. > :41:47.welcomes the findings of an independent parliamentary committee
:41:47. > :41:51.which has proposed a cap on donations to the tune of �10,000.
:41:51. > :41:56.Reducing election spending by 50% and controversially, asking
:41:56. > :42:01.taxpayers to dig deep and fund political parties. This former
:42:01. > :42:05.English Democrat backs tax payer contributions but only if used to
:42:05. > :42:09.create a more transparent system. He was so meticulous in his
:42:09. > :42:15.election expenses he fired one receipt for letting out the widest
:42:15. > :42:20.band on his trousers. But he fired one receipt. I thought, it is for
:42:20. > :42:23.the election, so I must recorded. They said, if you have anything
:42:23. > :42:31.that you are spending as a result of the election you must declare it,
:42:31. > :42:36.so I did. In threadbare times, it is easy to argue that taxpayers
:42:36. > :42:40.should not be asked to foot the bill for rosettes and megaphones.
:42:40. > :42:46.It is estimated to cost the taxpayer of propping up political
:42:46. > :42:53.parties may only be 50p per voter. That is slightly more than the cost
:42:53. > :42:56.of voting on X Factor. That is one way of looking at it.
:42:56. > :43:02.Do you think rich people should be allowed to have influence on
:43:02. > :43:07.politics? We could be funded in UKIP by one person with �10 million
:43:07. > :43:10.by we would not be able to give anything in return. It all depends
:43:10. > :43:16.on the circumstances in which the gift is handed over. We know there
:43:16. > :43:21.have been widespread and dubious contributions in all parties to the
:43:21. > :43:24.political process. That is not a good thing, self evidently, but I
:43:25. > :43:28.am opposed to state funding of political parties. You can bet your
:43:28. > :43:32.bottom dollar that it would be the big three that would have all the
:43:32. > :43:40.money for themselves and the small parties would be frozen out. What
:43:40. > :43:44.is the cost of the standing for election, even locally? Zilch.
:43:44. > :43:50.get no help? Do you have to print posters and so forth? We pay for
:43:50. > :43:57.that out of our own pockets. delight to see a mechanism in place
:43:57. > :44:01.so that is funded? -- would you like. Not at a local level. The
:44:01. > :44:06.political elite in this country are morally and ideologically bankrupt
:44:06. > :44:11.and we need to find a new way forward and it is the traditional
:44:11. > :44:15.political parties that hold the gateway to Parliament itself. Why
:44:15. > :44:20.can't we have more independence in Parliament? Might have we have
:44:20. > :44:23.people who have been successful as a head teacher for local business
:44:23. > :44:28.and allow them to stand for one term only, so they can achieve
:44:28. > :44:36.something in that term? At the moment, it is difficult for them to
:44:36. > :44:42.stand. The ground swell, which is there, has not been tapped into yet.
:44:42. > :44:46.Do you accept funding should be paid for by the tax payers? Already,
:44:46. > :44:51.but tax payer pays a certain amount for political parties. It is very
:44:51. > :44:56.small compared to the situation in some other countries. Nobody is
:44:56. > :45:03.proposing, Nick Clegg has said this is not the moment to increase
:45:03. > :45:09.funding. Other parties are saying, if you want to keep the big money
:45:09. > :45:13.out of politics, you have to have some state funding. How do you
:45:13. > :45:18.think the voters would react? voters would recognise it is not a
:45:18. > :45:25.healthy situation when one or two will be individuals can effectively
:45:25. > :45:32.by political parties. -- wealthy. Away the Tories have been
:45:32. > :45:42.bankrolled by big food chains has had an effect. But you for coming
:45:42. > :45:46.
:45:46. > :45:51.It has been a busy week. Here are This treetop protest against plans
:45:51. > :45:55.for a new nuclear reactor at Hinckley Point was short lived.
:45:55. > :45:59.Three men came down after just a day living in the cold. These are
:45:59. > :46:02.the serious faces of members of the Gloucestershire police operative.
:46:02. > :46:06.They voted for a freeze in the police budget despite serious
:46:06. > :46:11.warnings over funding from the Chief Constable.
:46:11. > :46:14.In a surprise U-turn, Conservative councillors in Taunton have
:46:14. > :46:18.scrapped their plans to raise council-tax. The plans were
:46:18. > :46:22.criticised by some in their own party and by Lib Dems in the area.
:46:22. > :46:25.The euro is in trouble and the world's financial markets are in
:46:25. > :46:30.turmoil. Bristol traders are stepping in with the launch of a
:46:30. > :46:33.new currency, the Bristol pound. It can be spent in Bristol shops and
:46:33. > :46:37.it is hoped it will keep money within the city.
:46:38. > :46:42.The mayor of Stroud has told a court he wants a full trial for
:46:42. > :46:50.refusing to fill in his senses form. John marjoram appeared at Bristol
:46:50. > :46:54.magistrates on Wednesday. My usual jog through the week that
:46:54. > :47:02.leaves me quite exhausted! Let's pick up the introduction of
:47:02. > :47:07.the Bristol pound. It brings us to the euro. If we join the euro eight
:47:07. > :47:12.Dec -- if we had joined the euro a decade ago, what situation which
:47:12. > :47:16.the country be in? It would depend on how much influence we would have
:47:16. > :47:21.had in the eurozone. We might not be in the situation we are in
:47:21. > :47:27.generally had rejoined. Would we be Greece or Germany? I hope we would
:47:27. > :47:30.be Germany. I suspect we would be somewhere in between. We have more
:47:30. > :47:34.flexibility at the moment, not having joined the euro, to manage
:47:34. > :47:41.our economy to deal with a difficult economic situation.
:47:41. > :47:45.very much, but some. So, he was right when he said don't join?
:47:45. > :47:49.think we will be in the euro one day but I think we will be in it at
:47:49. > :47:52.a time of our own choosing and when we can have an ear prints on what
:47:52. > :48:02.goes on. The difficulty with the euro is, they didn't get the ground
:48:02. > :48:06.rules right in the first place. Whose fault is that? We went in
:48:06. > :48:13.there so we could not implement it. In it will only work if everybody
:48:13. > :48:18.works at the same rate all the time. If they diverge stresses and
:48:18. > :48:24.strains appear. This is the same thing as the 50s and 60s on a wider
:48:24. > :48:28.canvas. It will not go away. If some countries are forging ahead,
:48:28. > :48:34.others are not going so quickly, and it is like building a bridge
:48:34. > :48:39.without expansion. What situation with the West Country be in if we
:48:39. > :48:42.had joined? It would have been a catastrophe. There is a single
:48:42. > :48:45.interest rate for the whole of Europe and that affects different
:48:45. > :48:50.countries in different ways. The boom in Greece and Ireland was
:48:50. > :48:53.fuelled by their joining the eurozone in the first place. Now,
:48:53. > :48:57.they are reaping the whirlwind because they have got much higher
:48:58. > :49:02.interest rates than they would have had outside the eurozone and they
:49:02. > :49:06.cannot devalue their currency. Argue losing the battle on Europe?
:49:06. > :49:11.I do not think so. I fit the eurozone will get through its
:49:11. > :49:15.difficulties. -- I think. They have accepted wheeze has to put in place
:49:15. > :49:18.an austerity policies and then there will be helped to get out of
:49:18. > :49:23.the situation and the euro will emerge as strong as it has ever
:49:23. > :49:30.been. It has been predicted in this country for years that it was going
:49:30. > :49:38.to collapse. It has not yet and I do not we did it will. Greece will
:49:38. > :49:44.not be held! We shall have to see. Thank you both for joining us. The