:01:35. > :01:38.In the west: In less than two weeks Bristol will
:01:38. > :01:48.vote on having a directly elected Mayor. But is Lord Heseltine right
:01:48. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :30:41.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1733 seconds
:30:41. > :30:44.when he says a Yes vote would help Welcome. Coming up: Bristol on the
:30:44. > :30:49.cusp. Thousands will vote in less than two weeks in whether the city
:30:49. > :30:54.should elect a mayor. Is Lord Heseltine right when he says a yes
:30:54. > :30:58.vote could transform the city? An interview with him coming up soon.
:30:58. > :31:02.I hope you are not too worn out after the London Marathon. It's
:31:02. > :31:08.exhausting sitting on the sofa, watching them. I am joined by two
:31:08. > :31:14.fine athletes to talk local politics. Charlotte Lesley is a
:31:14. > :31:19.boxer and Conservative MP. Labour's Dawn Primarolo knows how to fight a
:31:19. > :31:26.political scrap but now the days -- nowadays she is a deputy speaker in
:31:26. > :31:30.the House of Commons. Welcome to you both. Charlotte, the
:31:31. > :31:34.Conservatives are falling in the polls. Has the Prime Minister had a
:31:34. > :31:38.disastrous week? The country is in a mess after 13
:31:38. > :31:44.years of Labour. We've got a difficult job to do. We are not
:31:44. > :31:49.ahead at the moment. No surprises there. There is a long way to go.
:31:49. > :31:52.Is it one of those things, Dawn? Is this the start of bigger things for
:31:52. > :31:57.Ed Miliband? I think we have to wait and see
:31:57. > :32:01.where the government -- whether the Government's get a grip of being in
:32:01. > :32:05.government. They've had a disastrous couple of months and not
:32:06. > :32:11.just the Budget. It makes you think, did they have a list of people who
:32:11. > :32:16.they wanted to upset because those that they haven't is smaller, from
:32:16. > :32:20.granny tax to pass these two caravans. The problem is beginning
:32:20. > :32:26.to be the mantra that it was all the Labour government's fault and
:32:26. > :32:31.we are going to make the economy work has worn out. Unemployment is
:32:31. > :32:35.Unemployment is going down, actually.
:32:35. > :32:42.In Bristol, it is going up. The change was very small over the
:32:42. > :32:47.whole country. We are still at a 25 year high for Women in unemployment.
:32:47. > :32:51.Not at all. The reason we are in the mess we are in his governments
:32:51. > :32:55.have -- politicians have been doing knee-jerk politics and don't have a
:32:55. > :32:59.long-term plan for the future of this country.
:32:59. > :33:05.Our main story this week, does Bristol need eight directly elected
:33:05. > :33:09.mayor? The debate on both sides is hotting up ahead of the referendum
:33:09. > :33:15.on 3rd May. One of the main advocates is Lord Michael Heseltine,
:33:15. > :33:19.the man they used to call tar sand. He thinks that without a Mayet,
:33:19. > :33:25.Bristol will sink into the mud. It will just go on with the same
:33:25. > :33:29.problems it has now. The most acute one, there have been six different
:33:29. > :33:33.leaders of the council in 10 years. If you have that degree of chopping
:33:33. > :33:38.and changing, you don't get a coherent policy, you don't follow
:33:38. > :33:41.things through, you don't get decisions taken. There is a general
:33:41. > :33:47.disenchantment in the way the city is run.
:33:47. > :33:52.We need a city dictator, do we? I think that's silly. A phrase
:33:53. > :33:58.invented by those who try to protect their own power base. There
:33:58. > :34:01.has always got to be a job gone. Look across the world and show me a
:34:01. > :34:05.sophisticated economy like us with whom we have to compete which has
:34:05. > :34:09.not got a directly elected leaders in their major cities.
:34:09. > :34:13.Do you accept there is a risk, if Bristol were to decide to have a
:34:13. > :34:17.mayor, what if you get the wrong one?
:34:17. > :34:19.You can get the wrong end p, you can get the wrong chief executive,
:34:19. > :34:23.you can get the wrong council leader.
:34:23. > :34:29.You can't do anything about it, though.
:34:29. > :34:33.There is always a downside, risk, in human societies, papers are full
:34:33. > :34:37.of the downside risks. You say a mayor of Bristol might
:34:37. > :34:40.become a nationally known or even internationally known figure. Are
:34:40. > :34:46.you serious? I'm more than serious and that is
:34:46. > :34:50.the essence of the case. Bristol, along with other great English
:34:50. > :34:56.cities is fighting for inward investment, for higher standards of
:34:56. > :35:00.service, for the prestige of its environment. That is all tied up
:35:00. > :35:04.with having someone who represents that case, puts the case to the
:35:04. > :35:11.local people, and is elected by the local people. If they are so well-
:35:11. > :35:13.known, who is a fudge them? -- Dave Hodgson?
:35:13. > :35:22.We don't have them in the country yet.
:35:22. > :35:26.He is the mayor of... You have never heard of them. You are making
:35:26. > :35:31.my point. They don't have the power that is necessary to make the job
:35:31. > :35:38.worthwhile. This government is offering the chance to devolve real
:35:38. > :35:42.power. And have we got the calibre of people in Bristol, do you think?
:35:42. > :35:48.You asking that question terrifies me. Are you telling me there is no
:35:48. > :35:52.one in Bristol capable of leading Bristol? What has gone wrong in our
:35:52. > :35:56.society that cities that were world peacemakers 100 years ago are now,
:35:56. > :36:03.in your language, not even capable of producing a leader.
:36:03. > :36:07.I just ask you if you knew anybody. I believe the people of Bristol
:36:07. > :36:11.would recognise such a person if they emerged and whatever you think,
:36:11. > :36:15.the fact that there have been six different leaders in 10 years tells
:36:15. > :36:20.me something is radically wrong with the leadership of Bristol.
:36:20. > :36:25.Thank you, Lord Heseltine. Joining me is Bill Martin, and
:36:25. > :36:29.Alderman in Bristol and a former councillor and Lord Mayor. He is
:36:29. > :36:36.leading the No campaign in the city. You heard Michael Heseltine sailing,
:36:36. > :36:40.get a grip. -- saying. I think that is rich from Michael
:36:40. > :36:45.Heseltine. He took more powers away from local councils than any
:36:45. > :36:49.government before or since. What are they offering? We don't know.
:36:49. > :36:53.They have been on the website and query to what extra funding would
:36:53. > :36:57.be made available, what extra powers would Bristol get, and they
:36:57. > :37:01.won't tell us until not only after the referendum but after the
:37:01. > :37:05.election. Bristol has to plod along, just the
:37:05. > :37:10.way it has always done things? You say that. I don't think Bristol
:37:10. > :37:15.just plods along. It is a great city and I enjoy living here. It
:37:15. > :37:19.has got many things that keep people here. Also people come to
:37:19. > :37:24.our university and stay. A graveyard of ambition, some
:37:24. > :37:27.people call it. Nevertheless, it doesn't mean to say the council is
:37:27. > :37:34.particularly dynamic and in Wales, where they have a strong political
:37:34. > :37:37.voice, occasionally we miss out. I take that point but of course,
:37:37. > :37:40.Wales has greater powers in terms of the Welsh Assembly.
:37:40. > :37:45.You were offered powers and you are not taking them.
:37:45. > :37:50.We are not told what they are. Let's bring in are over two guests.
:37:50. > :37:57.A nice job for one of you? Know, find you.
:37:57. > :38:00.Not for me. I've got Bristol North West to take care of. I think the
:38:01. > :38:04.attitude we've seen is exactly why Britain is punching below its
:38:04. > :38:08.weight and maybe a few people in the council house like to think we
:38:08. > :38:13.are not but nationally, look at our transport record. We've got some of
:38:13. > :38:18.the lowest investment per head in the country in terms of the
:38:18. > :38:23.transport structure. I am a Bob Dylan fan. If he comes to the area,
:38:23. > :38:29.he goes to Cardiff. I want him to come to Bristol.
:38:29. > :38:33.But you are not a councillor any more. You have been complacent?
:38:33. > :38:40.That's not true. Basically, government has decided how much
:38:40. > :38:47.money local councils Gadd. Without money, you cannot build. There was
:38:47. > :38:50.an arena with the government in the south-west and the plug was pulled
:38:50. > :38:54.on it. That wasn't the city council's fault, that was the
:38:54. > :39:01.government. He said he was not going to go for
:39:01. > :39:10.it but are you in favour or not? In principle, I like the idea of
:39:10. > :39:15.Meyer's but let me be frank, there are no extra powers being offered.
:39:15. > :39:19.We are told to wait and see. Secondly, there are huge challenges
:39:19. > :39:26.that Bristol faces, things like housing and transport. The mayor
:39:26. > :39:33.would have power to deal with those. Thirdly, can somebody explain to me
:39:33. > :39:36.how concentrating all the power in one person who is there for four
:39:36. > :39:41.years will work? One city that has been there and
:39:41. > :39:44.got the T-shirt is Doncaster. That is up north. They've decided to
:39:44. > :39:54.have an elected mayor and it has been a roller-coaster ride ever
:39:54. > :39:55.
:39:55. > :39:59.Like Bristol, it's got some nice Georgian buildings and a few
:39:59. > :40:03.historic churches. Both places are at regenerating and benefit from
:40:03. > :40:09.attractive waterways but yes, it still seems bizarre to be looking
:40:09. > :40:14.at Doncaster in South Yorkshire. Of the 11 places that have had elected
:40:14. > :40:18.mayors for a decade, Doncaster is the most comparable to Bristol in
:40:18. > :40:21.terms of population and is also one of the most interesting. Mayors
:40:21. > :40:25.have proved controversial and politics has been bruising. When
:40:25. > :40:31.postal votes on 3rd May, people here will be deciding whether to
:40:31. > :40:35.get rid of theirs. Doncaster is the Labour heartland. One of its MPs is
:40:35. > :40:42.Ed Miliband. They dominate the council and won the first mayoral
:40:42. > :40:46.robes. There was shock in 2009 with the election of Peter Davis of the
:40:46. > :40:50.English Democrat party. A blunt Yorkshireman, he remains
:40:50. > :40:56.controversial. He likes to put the boot into political correctness and
:40:56. > :41:02.meddling bureaucrats. I was able to come in here and say, right, a new
:41:02. > :41:05.start. Let's clear the desk -- clear the decks and reduce spending.
:41:05. > :41:11.Let's make government more efficient and more people centred.
:41:11. > :41:16.One of his first savings was to halve his own salary. Now he is
:41:16. > :41:21.planning to get rid of most councillors. The people pick the
:41:21. > :41:26.mayor, not some cabal of councils in the background. There are far
:41:26. > :41:31.too many of them. 63 in Doncaster. They are impotent and they know
:41:31. > :41:36.they are impotent, which makes them frustrated. In the council chamber,
:41:36. > :41:41.I meet the chief troublemaker, Labour councillor Sandra Holland.
:41:41. > :41:47.It has been a nightmare. Not only has it been a challenged and tested
:41:47. > :41:50.our skills and abilities but I've got 44 Labour councillors who are
:41:51. > :41:55.passionate about Doncaster, passionate about moving it forward,
:41:55. > :41:59.and they feel terribly frustrated by having no say and no power in
:41:59. > :42:04.their town. She is campaigning for an end to
:42:04. > :42:09.elected mayors. It is wholly undemocratic and also
:42:09. > :42:12.costly because nearly half a million pounds is spent on a
:42:12. > :42:16.mayoral election every four years. That is money that could be spent
:42:16. > :42:23.on frontline services and all the assets that they say an elected
:42:23. > :42:27.mayor brings to a town can be done by a leader.
:42:27. > :42:31.Out on the High Street, I talked to a BBC reporter who has covered
:42:31. > :42:35.Doncaster's turbulent politics. What people here will tell you is
:42:35. > :42:41.the last 10 years, the town centre has been transformed but certain
:42:42. > :42:46.things such as children's services, another core service, have not been
:42:46. > :42:49.managed particularly well. The government is still helping to run
:42:49. > :42:53.the council. Among the 300,000 residents, there
:42:53. > :42:59.is plenty of knowledge and opinion about the mayor. What would your
:42:59. > :43:03.advice be to people in Bristol? Don't have elected mayors. They get
:43:03. > :43:10.all powerful. He's got a very strong personality,
:43:10. > :43:13.I know that. He is not a pushover. I think he is good for Doncaster.
:43:13. > :43:19.I would say be careful about who you choose.
:43:20. > :43:25.This is what I like about him. He does Staudt -- sort things out.
:43:25. > :43:30.The people will decide on 3rd May and in Doncaster, polls suggested
:43:30. > :43:33.support for keeping elected mayors but what matters most in -- is
:43:33. > :43:37.whose supporters will be bothered to vote.
:43:37. > :43:42.That is the experience in Doncaster. Dawn, the point you're making
:43:43. > :43:47.before the film, what is wrong with having so much power in one
:43:47. > :43:52.person's hands? I thought that the argument for
:43:52. > :43:57.Meyer's was about greater accountability and responsiveness
:43:57. > :44:03.to an area and the problem with a mayor is you have a mayor erected -
:44:03. > :44:07.- elected and a council with a democratic mandate. I would say
:44:07. > :44:12.that structures don't change things. The vision, the dynamism that Lord
:44:12. > :44:16.Heseltine speaks about is what actions do.
:44:16. > :44:20.If you do things by committee, things don't get done.
:44:20. > :44:25.That is absolutely not true, David. You have lived in the city as long
:44:26. > :44:30.as I have. Look at the great things that have gone on. The visions of a
:44:30. > :44:34.Labour council to say, let's develop the city docks. It was
:44:34. > :44:39.almost a vision to fill them meant with concrete, wasn't it?
:44:39. > :44:44.It was but it didn't happen. Do we need more elections?
:44:44. > :44:49.It is democratic because how many people vote for councillors? 800?
:44:49. > :44:54.1,000? You say that but the turnout for
:44:54. > :45:00.referenda for elected mayors is less than 30%. If it is a close
:45:00. > :45:07.vote it is something like 15 or 16% of Bristol's electorate is decided.
:45:07. > :45:11.We are going down a one-way street for an elected mayor. Other places
:45:11. > :45:15.can go back to the people and get rid of that office. We in Bristol
:45:15. > :45:20.are not being given that opportunity. I guess we would have
:45:20. > :45:24.to vote for the right person? But we still can't get rid of the
:45:25. > :45:29.Office of elected mayor. What is so interesting about
:45:29. > :45:34.Doncaster is actually, the vested interest in the status quo. They
:45:34. > :45:38.have had their world disrupted and they don't like it. If you ask the
:45:38. > :45:43.people of Bristol what they think of Bristol politics, they say it's
:45:43. > :45:49.a shambles. You've got party- political bickering, the colour of
:45:49. > :45:54.the city changes every so often. I didn't vote for the council leader.
:45:54. > :45:58.But you can vote them out. I think you should let the people decide
:45:58. > :46:03.but tell them what they are deciding on. Tell them what powers
:46:03. > :46:07.the Mail would need. Would they be able to run transport? How would we
:46:07. > :46:12.deal with the fact that so much that effects Bristol happens in
:46:12. > :46:19.south Gloucestershire? He once the local mayor to be like
:46:19. > :46:26.Alex Salmond. Certainly, demanding change.
:46:26. > :46:30.Forgive me but that is it. People are entitled to be treated like
:46:30. > :46:37.grown-ups when they are making a decision like this. Tell them what
:46:37. > :46:43.the powers are, how it would be different and how it would work.
:46:43. > :46:47.With the city Deal, you can do things over transport.
:46:47. > :46:51.But you can't. People were injured when the
:46:51. > :46:56.government says, you've got freedom. The key thing is this, you've got
:46:56. > :47:03.one person running the city who you can vote in and out. Which way do
:47:03. > :47:07.you think it is going to go, Bill? Let's be fair, the No campaign are
:47:07. > :47:11.fighting an uphill battle because the Conservative Party are fighting
:47:11. > :47:20.eight Yes campaign. They are bringing in the big hitters like
:47:20. > :47:26.Lord Heseltine. It is cross-party. On Monday, a more important party
:47:26. > :47:31.is coming. The Conservatives are bringing these people in.
:47:31. > :47:35.They want to win it. Party-political bickering has
:47:35. > :47:40.tracked Bristol down for so long. The Conservatives have rarely, if
:47:40. > :47:46.ever, controlled those cities in the normal democratic process.
:47:46. > :47:56.Thank you for joining us. Time for the round-up of today's week's
:47:56. > :47:56.
:47:56. > :48:00.It is the end of an era as the Bristol Evening Post changed its
:48:00. > :48:08.name and cuts the Saturday edition of the paper. Staff protested
:48:08. > :48:13.against using -- losing 19 of its 57 staff. The controversial Tory
:48:13. > :48:15.leader of Somerset County Council has stood down to run as one of the
:48:15. > :48:19.government's new Police Commissioner's while in office he
:48:19. > :48:23.was responsible for driving through a cuts agenda to balance the budget.
:48:23. > :48:27.The West is the most successful -- successful region in the country
:48:27. > :48:32.for convicting those responsible for hate crime. Offenders who
:48:32. > :48:37.target victims because of their disability, race or sexuality will
:48:37. > :48:40.be brought to justice. Able to man who is fighting for the right to be
:48:40. > :48:47.killed by a doctor says the commission on assisted dying has
:48:47. > :48:55.let him down. Tony let Clinton has locked-in syndrome -- niggling son.
:48:55. > :48:59.He says the law needs to be changed to help people like him.
:48:59. > :49:08.That Was the Week in 60 seconds. Let's talk about the Evening Post
:49:08. > :49:11.and those cutbacks there. The Bath paper has gone to a weekly.
:49:11. > :49:15.It is a difficult situation when you've got a changing war --
:49:15. > :49:20.changing world and more people are going digital. Local papers are
:49:20. > :49:24.having to adapt and different industries are having to adapt,
:49:24. > :49:29.like the book industry. I hope with dealing like things -- with dealing
:49:29. > :49:33.like things like electronic readers, we adapt to.
:49:33. > :49:35.I know the Evening Post hasn't always been friendly towards you
:49:35. > :49:41.but it is a great paper with great tradition?
:49:41. > :49:46.I agree it's very sad. There are challenges to the media industry
:49:46. > :49:49.and newspapers in particular but they depend on advertising.
:49:49. > :49:54.Advertising is either going elsewhere or going down and I think
:49:54. > :50:01.that for Bristol, it is really important that we maintain at least
:50:01. > :50:06.a daily newspaper and I would be incredibly sad to see the slow,
:50:07. > :50:13.painful demise of the Evening Post. I think we are all agreed on that.
:50:13. > :50:17.Very quickly, go ahead. I think we over estimate how many
:50:17. > :50:23.people have digital access as well. That is all we've got time for this