11/11/2012

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:01:27. > :01:30.In the West, with just a few days before we elect the first Police

:01:30. > :01:40.and Crime Commissioners, there is a warning that many voters do not

:01:40. > :01:40.

:01:40. > :37:22.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2142 seconds

:37:22. > :37:26.Thank you, Andrew. You join us live in the West on the sombre

:37:26. > :37:30.Remembrance Sunday. Politicians put their differences aside as the

:37:30. > :37:35.nation comes together to salute the fallen. But they are at elections

:37:35. > :37:38.around the corner. On Thursday, we have the chance to vote for Police

:37:38. > :37:43.and Crime Commissioners. But given that most people do not have a clue

:37:43. > :37:45.who the candidates are, is this really democracy?

:37:45. > :37:50.Joining us today are the conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg and

:37:50. > :37:54.Labour's Dawn Primarolo. At 11 o'clock this morning, they joined

:37:54. > :37:57.thousands of people right across the West who one of the two-minute

:37:58. > :38:04.silence to remember those in the Armed Forces who have died in the

:38:04. > :38:08.line of duty. Scenes like this repeated in towns, cities and

:38:09. > :38:13.villages across the West. As we remember those who made the

:38:13. > :38:16.ultimate sacrifice, fresh in our minds the three losses endured by

:38:16. > :38:21.the Royal Marines from 40 Commando in Somerset and their colleagues

:38:21. > :38:26.who have been killed in action in Afghanistan in the last few weeks.

:38:26. > :38:31.As people reflected day, should the forces still be in Afghanistan?

:38:31. > :38:36.Jacob Rees-Mogg? It is very difficult. I never thought it was a

:38:36. > :38:39.good idea to go there in the first place, that history teaches you

:38:39. > :38:44.that wards and Afghanistan take longer than expected and it is

:38:44. > :38:48.difficult to get out of them. But having gone in, it would be morally

:38:48. > :38:53.wrong to call a leaving no stable Government or ability for it to

:38:53. > :38:58.govern itself. So we have to stay to ensure some form of orderly

:38:58. > :39:08.handover. That is difficult. Don, you were in the Government that put

:39:08. > :39:08.

:39:09. > :39:13.us in there. Was that a mistake? -- Dawn. I do not think it was a

:39:14. > :39:18.mistake, but it is a huge task. On Remembrance Sunday, as well as

:39:18. > :39:23.remembering the two great wars, we remember others and that servicemen

:39:24. > :39:29.and women are still putting their own lives at risk to do what is

:39:29. > :39:37.best thought the country. As Jacobs said, not looking like I am

:39:37. > :39:41.agreeing him, I think an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan is what

:39:41. > :39:48.is necessary, making sure that the stability that we went in there to

:39:49. > :39:52.help create is actually there. by saying we must stay until 2014,

:39:52. > :39:58.there are people living now who will be dead as a result of that

:39:58. > :40:02.judgment. Soldiers are dying at the rate of one a month? When the

:40:03. > :40:07.British nation commits itself to an action, we have a moral duty to

:40:07. > :40:15.leave something in a better state. We cannot just walk out and leave

:40:15. > :40:19.Afghanistan to face a bitter civil war. That could happen. The truth

:40:19. > :40:23.is that there for British lives will be lost. It is too late to say

:40:23. > :40:29.we should not have gone there. The point is to achieve an orderly

:40:29. > :40:35.handover. I know, we are all parents, and the thought of

:40:35. > :40:39.children signing up and going to Afghanistan? That is the importance

:40:39. > :40:43.of Remembrance Sunday, not just reflecting on the huge contribution

:40:43. > :40:50.and sacrifice that people have made in the past, but reminds us now

:40:50. > :40:57.that, when the deploy Arab forces, and we all take responsibility for

:40:57. > :41:02.that -- deploy our forces... I would respect, as I know other

:41:02. > :41:06.parents do, what their sons and daughters have decided. If one of

:41:06. > :41:11.my sons wanted to go into the army, I would think that and noble thing

:41:11. > :41:18.to do. It is so moving going to have a remembrance service and you

:41:18. > :41:22.hear that list of names. I wasn't our region which was quite a small

:41:22. > :41:27.place 100 years ago and the list goes on and on. Thank you.

:41:27. > :41:30.They are just a few days left of campaigning before voters here in

:41:30. > :41:34.the West pick their new Police and Crime Commissioners. The idea is to

:41:34. > :41:39.make the police more accountable, but most of us have not even had a

:41:39. > :41:46.manifesto, so we have no idea what we are voting for. The question is

:41:46. > :41:50.who are these people who want to run the police?

:41:50. > :41:54.I have been searching the streets of Swindon to find any clues that

:41:54. > :41:58.there is an election campaign in full swing. I have not find a

:41:59. > :42:02.single poster, or court battle bus. It is difficult to know anything is

:42:02. > :42:10.going on. Do you know if there is election or

:42:10. > :42:17.when it is? Nor. Any idea of candidates? But do not think so.

:42:17. > :42:25.How do you find out? On the news. We should have received more

:42:25. > :42:29.information. Do you know anything about it? Nor, I don't. We need to

:42:29. > :42:34.look inside this leaflet, delivered to 21 million homes nationwide by

:42:34. > :42:38.the Electoral Commission. On closer inspection, there is not a single

:42:38. > :42:43.mention of candidates. The Home Office say delivering leaflets

:42:43. > :42:48.tailored to each police force area would have cost up to �30 million.

:42:48. > :42:53.In the current economic climate, that was said to be too much.

:42:53. > :43:00.democratic society, we want people engaged. If that is the cost of

:43:00. > :43:08.making an election work well, then it is very difficult to put a price

:43:08. > :43:11.on that and �30 million is what it costs. Many voters in the West have

:43:11. > :43:16.had to rely on the television or the internet to get information

:43:16. > :43:22.about the candidates. The 20% of homes to do not have on-line access

:43:22. > :43:26.can also call a dedicated Home Office helpline, but callers to us

:43:26. > :43:29.at the BBC, and to the Electoral Commission, have complained it is

:43:29. > :43:33.not being answered and they have not been sent the information

:43:33. > :43:37.requested. The spotlight is firmly placed on the candidates. With just

:43:37. > :43:43.a few days of campaigning left, some voters could still be left in

:43:43. > :43:47.the dark. Charlotte Callen there, somewhere.

:43:47. > :43:53.You can find out details about the candidates standing in your area on

:43:53. > :43:59.our website. And we are putting the names of the candidates on the

:43:59. > :44:06.screen for Unite. Dawn Primarolo, is this democracy? -- on the screen

:44:06. > :44:10.for you. An election in November is always difficult. When people are

:44:10. > :44:14.not getting the information, slightly different in Bristol

:44:14. > :44:18.because we have the mayoral elections, so more activity, there

:44:18. > :44:23.is a real question on whether people will know there is an

:44:23. > :44:27.election and will be clear about what is needed. To say that that

:44:28. > :44:30.information is not available, because it would cost money, this

:44:30. > :44:35.Government decided we would have Police Commissioners and that the

:44:36. > :44:39.election would be in November. It should be properly funded.

:44:39. > :44:43.election stand if it is argued people were not told who the

:44:43. > :44:48.candidates were? This is ridiculous, expecting the Government to do

:44:48. > :44:52.everything. It is up to political parties to tell people. It is our

:44:52. > :44:56.job to tell people who the candidates are. It is the

:44:56. > :45:00.Independent's job to get out and campaign and deliver leaflets. I

:45:00. > :45:05.was delivering leaflets yesterday to tell people who the candidate

:45:05. > :45:09.was. The in Avon and Somerset, has every householder been informed

:45:09. > :45:15.about who the Tory candidate is? The Tories have delivered tens of

:45:15. > :45:20.thousands of leaflets. If we have houses that have not been delivered

:45:20. > :45:25.to, that is our fault. It is not the fault of the Government to

:45:25. > :45:29.spend taxpayers' money. Jacob, I am sure you would agree that it is an

:45:29. > :45:33.obligation of the Government to make sure that the structure for

:45:33. > :45:39.conducting an election. When we have a General Election, every

:45:39. > :45:44.candidate as part of that is guaranteed the three post. -- free

:45:44. > :45:48.post. It is the guaranteed at least one leaflet, particularly for minor

:45:49. > :45:54.parties. We have had no reason why that should not be the case for

:45:54. > :45:58.Police Commissioners except it is too expensive. For local elections,

:45:58. > :46:02.ordinary council elections, there is no free post. Political parties

:46:02. > :46:06.have to deliver leaflets. The Government, the councils, would

:46:06. > :46:11.have sent out polling cards, so people would know there is an

:46:11. > :46:16.election. But what about policy? Political parties tell you that,

:46:16. > :46:20.not the Government. But people are complaining they have not had the

:46:20. > :46:25.information. That is not the Government's faults, that is the

:46:25. > :46:29.candidates. But the Home Office's fault? There is a helpline where

:46:29. > :46:33.people are not responding. There were promises certain things would

:46:33. > :46:37.be in place to assist people, the phone line, the booklets, both of

:46:37. > :46:41.which failed. Even on the meagre contribution that this Government

:46:41. > :46:47.promised to make, it is not clearly getting out. We have to make the

:46:47. > :46:50.best of it and remind people to vote. The Home Office is not there

:46:50. > :46:56.to tell people who the candidates are, just to tell you there is an

:46:56. > :46:59.election. Political parties should get their message across. It should

:46:59. > :47:03.have given that information, which it has not done, viewers are

:47:03. > :47:07.telling us. From Police Commissioners to the

:47:07. > :47:12.election for a mayor of Bristol. The process is all very new for us.

:47:12. > :47:16.But 16 other places across England already have elected mayors.

:47:16. > :47:20.Britain's best known mayor team campaigning in Bristol, but Boris

:47:20. > :47:25.Johnson is one of many. Across England, there are 16 elected

:47:25. > :47:28.mayors. Six are Labour, three Conservative, two Liberal-Democrat,

:47:28. > :47:34.one English Democrat and no less than four are independent. Voters

:47:34. > :47:38.show they can surprise. A recent contest in a comparable City was

:47:38. > :47:42.less than last year. There are many similarities between Leicester and

:47:42. > :47:47.Bristol and its politics have been good for Labour. But the Lib Dems

:47:47. > :47:50.prospered in Government. When it decided to go for an elected mayor,

:47:50. > :47:55.the first person to become a candour that was a notable

:47:55. > :48:01.independent. But on election day, Labour one. In contrast to Bristol,

:48:01. > :48:05.their man, Peter Salsbury, had extensive experience having been an

:48:05. > :48:11.MP and one the council. -- on election day, Labour were

:48:11. > :48:14.successful. He knows his success was not just about his party label.

:48:14. > :48:18.Like Bristol, in Leicester and there were many who made the choice

:48:18. > :48:22.on the sort of leader they wanted, not their politics. Clearly for me,

:48:22. > :48:27.it helps having been a former member of parliament and a former

:48:27. > :48:37.council leader. Among voters I meet, his name as much mention, if often

:48:37. > :48:45.mispronounced was that I have heard of him, yes. -- it is often

:48:45. > :48:52.mispronounced. I have heard of him, yes. Because

:48:52. > :48:56.somebody or other. I have heard of him. But better known on his

:48:56. > :49:02.territory and elsewhere is the monkey elected in Hartlepool. It is

:49:02. > :49:07.the stuff of political legend. The 2002 success or former football

:49:07. > :49:12.club mascot Stuart Drummond. I have to be honest, I stood as a joke and

:49:12. > :49:16.to get publicity for the football club. I enjoyed every minute. I did

:49:16. > :49:20.not expect to win at all, not even coming close. It is part of the

:49:20. > :49:27.journey I had to find out a lot about the issues of the day, what

:49:27. > :49:32.was happening and come up with ideas. That was the lead the first

:49:32. > :49:36.ever had in local politics. But the political novice proved a natural.

:49:36. > :49:41.He has become Britain's most successful elected mayor, winning

:49:41. > :49:45.three times in a row. He is adamant his success owes much to being

:49:45. > :49:49.independent. I've very strongly believe party politics should not

:49:49. > :49:53.play a part in what is happening locally, it is about local

:49:53. > :49:57.priorities and trying to do what people want. I guess one of the

:49:57. > :50:01.problems we have had an Hartlepool before the mayoral system was in

:50:01. > :50:05.party fighting, we have had something like eight council

:50:05. > :50:10.leaders in nine years. There was no stability, no real vision for the

:50:10. > :50:14.place, nobody actually taking up the baton. They were too busy

:50:14. > :50:18.arguing with each other. Two people in Bristol, that might sound

:50:19. > :50:24.familiar. Not long ago, the city had seven changes of leader in

:50:24. > :50:28.seven years. Never again, though. On election day, whoever wins,

:50:28. > :50:34.whether independent or party politician, will take charge until

:50:34. > :50:38.2016. There are 15 candidates standing in

:50:38. > :50:41.Bristol, the largest number of any election of its kind in the country,

:50:41. > :50:45.and the names of all those candidates will be appearing on

:50:45. > :50:49.your screen shortly Wells we discuss this. Do you think people a

:50:49. > :50:55.right to be disillusioned with party politics and be thinking

:50:55. > :50:58.about independents instead? problem is party politics underpins

:50:58. > :51:02.any democratic system. It is hard to think of any country in the

:51:02. > :51:05.world to do not have parties, so people will probably or quickly

:51:05. > :51:10.whether a candidate will be sympathetic to their view of the

:51:10. > :51:18.world. I think the issue is people have become disillusioned about how

:51:18. > :51:22.much power is vested in their local council and whether they are able

:51:22. > :51:27.to take the decisions they can, whether on housing, transport, the

:51:27. > :51:30.arena in Bristol as examples locally. It is not party politics

:51:30. > :51:35.that is the issue. I think people have really questioned whether

:51:35. > :51:39.there is enough power locally to take the decisions that local

:51:39. > :51:43.people are interested in. The mayor will be powerful in Bristol. David

:51:43. > :51:49.Cameron said that much -- that their son will have access to

:51:49. > :51:59.Downing Street. If he did not say whereabouts. -- that that person

:51:59. > :52:01.

:52:01. > :52:07.will have access. I am glad you added that last part. What will be

:52:07. > :52:13.important is exactly how much additional power the mayor will

:52:13. > :52:18.have, whether they can control transport in the city. Taking

:52:18. > :52:22.Bristol as an example. What will be the relationship between debt and

:52:22. > :52:28.the Police Commissioner? How will the mayor be able to influence the

:52:28. > :52:32.future. -- what will the relationship between the mayor and

:52:32. > :52:36.the Police Commissioner be like? There are so many questions to be

:52:36. > :52:42.answered. Do you think on reflection it is a good idea?

:52:42. > :52:50.Something the Prime Minister personally back. Yes, I do. I have

:52:50. > :52:56.some issues about been mayor for Bristol. I wanted for Bristol. --

:52:56. > :53:02.about the mayor for Bristol. I want it or Bristol. Because we are in

:53:02. > :53:08.Somerset. It has a history and independents and community separate

:53:08. > :53:14.from Bristol. That mayor is for Bristol, not for a Greater Bristol

:53:14. > :53:23.or Yvonne or any other term of that kind. The Dean passports for

:53:23. > :53:28.Bristol? -- so people needing passports for Bristol?

:53:28. > :53:32.Thank you. Paul Barltrop has been following all the twists and turns

:53:32. > :53:37.in the election. He is by the giant ballot box in the city centre of.

:53:37. > :53:42.Thank you. At this was put up to try to inspire and motivate people

:53:42. > :53:49.to take part in the big vote on Thursday. With me are three guests

:53:49. > :53:56.who have a lot to see and feel strongly. Stephen Perry, a new

:53:57. > :54:02.campaign fought in it. You feel this mare will have enough power? -

:54:02. > :54:07.- mayor. He could be an ambassador for the city and engage the ball of

:54:07. > :54:11.the community, not just the council. Gus Hoyt, you are from the Green

:54:11. > :54:16.Party, not wanting this, seeing powers taken out of the council

:54:16. > :54:22.chamber? Yes. All pirate sits with the Cabinet not individual

:54:23. > :54:27.councillors. -- all of the parlour will set. We want neighbourhood

:54:27. > :54:31.partnerships and spending responsibilities. Coming on to Guy

:54:31. > :54:39.Poultney, a member of the Lib Dem cabinet on Bristol City Council or,

:54:39. > :54:44.you will be very much sidelined if you are a man does not win? GUS has

:54:44. > :54:49.said that power should like in community councillors. This is what

:54:49. > :54:53.the people of Bristol decided and we shall respect their views.

:54:53. > :54:59.must ask all of you, do you believe the Government and Prime Minister

:55:00. > :55:04.saying extra powers may come to Bristol? I do believe it and the

:55:04. > :55:09.bread -- and the mayor will make it happen. I called it will and let us

:55:09. > :55:13.make sure the people are behind two other is elected. We have the

:55:13. > :55:20.traffic rumbling by here. Will we see solutions to things like

:55:20. > :55:25.transport? I really hope so. I want to see concrete proposals. And we

:55:25. > :55:32.need to power from Government. have your own candidates. Stephen

:55:32. > :55:38.Perry is backing George Ferguson, one example. Has it been a good

:55:38. > :55:46.campaign? A lot of the campaigning has been around vision and fake

:55:46. > :55:50.aspiration. We need concrete policies. Or the Greens? We entered

:55:50. > :55:56.in with a detailed manifesto. It would be good of the candidates did

:55:56. > :56:00.something similar. We have had hundreds of new people, many never

:56:00. > :56:06.having been engaged in politics, it is exciting bringing a resurgence

:56:06. > :56:11.of interest. And we live in the political bubble. Will the people

:56:11. > :56:16.of Bristol turnout and vote? think it will be higher than the

:56:16. > :56:22.council elections, at least 40%. certainly hope so and hope it will

:56:22. > :56:26.not rain. I hope about turnout, but it could be a combination of apathy.

:56:26. > :56:32.A lot of confusion might make people stay at home. I hope that is

:56:32. > :56:36.wrong. Let us see. Hopefully if it is a gorgeous day like this, we can

:56:36. > :56:41.see what Thursday brings. Thank you. You have a very busy

:56:41. > :56:46.week ahead. Time now for the round-up of this

:56:46. > :56:50.week's political stories in 60 seconds.

:56:50. > :56:53.The Government has given the strongest suggestion yet that NHS

:56:53. > :56:57.staff in the West could be paid different rates to those in other

:56:57. > :57:03.parts of the country. Local politicians clashed over the plans

:57:03. > :57:07.in the Commons. If you want to have a service viable for the future,

:57:07. > :57:11.where is the money coming from? constituents deserve to be paid for

:57:11. > :57:15.the work done, not according to where they are living.

:57:15. > :57:22.The skyline between Avonmouth and Bridgwater is set to change as

:57:22. > :57:25.National Grid plans to remove 95 pylons. It also plans to bury some

:57:25. > :57:28.cables under the Mendip Hills, but campaigners on the Somerset Levels

:57:28. > :57:31.are unhappy, because the company will not be burying power lines

:57:31. > :57:35.there. The National Housing Federation

:57:35. > :57:39.says thousands of people in the West could be left fighting for a

:57:39. > :57:45.home they can afford. It claims a shortage of houses here is pushing

:57:45. > :57:51.up prices and rents. More than 186,000 people in the region has

:57:51. > :57:56.been waiting for a council house. That was the week that has just

:57:56. > :58:00.gone. We can discuss what might be coming up. The newspapers full of

:58:00. > :58:06.stories about this organisation, the BBC, the Director General

:58:06. > :58:10.quitting last night because of the Newsnight fiasco. Lord Patten, the

:58:10. > :58:15.chairman of the BBC, well known in these parts, because he was the MP

:58:15. > :58:20.for Bath. Do you think he can survive? It is an extraordinary

:58:20. > :58:25.turn of events. I am not sure. Lord Patten will have to consider his

:58:25. > :58:29.position. These are serious allegations about child abuse. We

:58:29. > :58:33.have eight different inquiries. We should be concentrating on one

:58:33. > :58:38.inquiry, getting to the facts, cutting the speculation and, with

:58:38. > :58:43.respect, what might or might not happen in the BBC. Do you think the

:58:43. > :58:48.BBC is a sideshow to all this? need to concentrate on those who

:58:48. > :58:53.have been abused. It is incredibly serious. We need to deal with that.

:58:53. > :58:59.I am sure Lord Patten will do the right thing. I am in entire

:58:59. > :59:02.agreement. I will not say that very often. We must not forget that

:59:02. > :59:07.child abuse lies at the centre of this and we need the police to be

:59:07. > :59:14.arresting and charging people and prosecutions to go ahead. But if

:59:14. > :59:19.you name the wrong person, or get the wrong person... I have great

:59:19. > :59:25.confidence and Chris Patten. He is one of the ablest politicians of

:59:25. > :59:30.his generation to stop he negotiated a deal with the Chinese.

:59:30. > :59:35.-- of his generation. He negotiated a deal with the Chinese, by example.

:59:35. > :59:40.Maybe some people in your party will be rubbing their hands?

:59:40. > :59:45.BBC has people who criticise it, but all broadcasters have criticism.

:59:45. > :59:50.Sky has its critics, the BBC has. I do not think we want to get into

:59:50. > :59:55.that. I will have a pop at the BBC if you want me to. But we should

:59:55. > :00:01.not allow this debate, which we are in danger of doing now, making it

:00:01. > :00:05.at discussion about the BBC. The BBC can sort out its editorial and