:01:19. > :01:22.In the West: With a few days left of campaigning in the local
:01:22. > :01:32.elections, Government ministers are being asked to stay away as Tories
:01:32. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :39:47.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2294 seconds
:39:47. > :39:51.and Lib Dems distance themselves By the coming up on the Sunday
:39:51. > :39:57.Politics South here in the West. Will the coalition in Westminster
:39:57. > :39:59.cost the Conservatives and Lib Dems boards in the local elections? In
:39:59. > :40:05.Gloucestershire Government ministers are being asked to stay
:40:05. > :40:15.away. You can cut the tension with a knife in the Sunday Politics
:40:15. > :40:16.
:40:16. > :40:24.studio. I am joined by two guests who are fighting tooth and nail. A
:40:24. > :40:28.Labour MP who is trying to get her job back and her Conservative
:40:28. > :40:35.opponent. Is that personal opponents? What is it like sitting
:40:35. > :40:39.next to each other? It cannot be personal, you would go wonder if
:40:39. > :40:47.you made it personal. We have to take a step back and be
:40:47. > :40:53.professional about it. Yes, but does that work in practice? Yes, of
:40:53. > :40:59.course, we have been crossing swords for 10 years. You do not
:40:59. > :41:06.need to be personal. We keep it professional, keep it clean and it
:41:06. > :41:11.is a good fight. And it is your job. I badly wanted her job the last
:41:11. > :41:17.time around and that is how deep real turned. No you are going to
:41:17. > :41:21.make it the best of three because it is one each at the moment. I
:41:21. > :41:27.believe in the Labour policies, it he believes in Conservative
:41:27. > :41:33.policies and we can have a bust up of a policy but not personal stuff.
:41:33. > :41:38.One of the big issues for both of them would be the economy. Swindon
:41:38. > :41:44.is struggling with job losses at Honda and the local construction
:41:44. > :41:50.trade is on its back. Money is not there. It is making sure you are
:41:51. > :41:58.finding work to pay for her wages, cover costs, then you are trying to
:41:58. > :42:03.find the next job which might be a bit more to cover costs. We see
:42:03. > :42:08.workers, labourers, builders of all types, they are usually flat out at
:42:08. > :42:12.this time of year but we are finding that there is not be
:42:12. > :42:22.outside work they like to do and they are having to take warehouse
:42:22. > :42:22.
:42:22. > :42:28.jobs. We avoided the triple dip recession. But things are not
:42:28. > :42:33.suitable for a town like Swindon. Swindon has done its very best to
:42:33. > :42:36.weather a tough storm. Let's not pretend, it has been very difficult
:42:36. > :42:42.for the individuals involved. But speaking to local developers there
:42:42. > :42:46.is a strong sign things are turning for the better. There are a large
:42:46. > :42:53.number of smaller companies that are picking up business and working
:42:53. > :42:59.very hard to continue the success story that has been Swindon. Still
:43:00. > :43:04.a long way to go. Labour do not seem to think it is necessary to
:43:04. > :43:09.have a creditable economic alternative. I think it is the
:43:09. > :43:15.Tories who do not have a credible alternative. They are flat lining
:43:15. > :43:20.the economy. I have not spoken to anyone in Swindon are who thinks
:43:20. > :43:26.the economy is turning up. They are worried about the cost of living,
:43:26. > :43:32.wages are stagnating or going down. Price rises are huge. The people
:43:32. > :43:35.are very, very desperate. It is not just the Honda redundancies but the
:43:35. > :43:40.knock-on effect of those redundancies on the other
:43:40. > :43:43.businesses in the town. I was speaking to someone today who was
:43:43. > :43:49.running a small business and they thought they might have to shut
:43:49. > :43:55.because they are not getting business. I think what would happen
:43:55. > :43:59.if we looked at a cut in VAT, that would get the manufacturing sector
:43:59. > :44:04.going and the building sector going again. It is slaughtered at the
:44:04. > :44:13.moment. We are not seeing construction sectors doing at all
:44:13. > :44:20.well. In the past we have been a boom town. Can the Government do
:44:20. > :44:24.anything to get things going? Government is right drink --
:44:24. > :44:28.underwriting more and more investment projects. The last
:44:28. > :44:33.Labour Government cut infrastructure spending which was a
:44:33. > :44:39.mistake. We are moving through that period now into more or
:44:39. > :44:45.construction underwriting, 1.2 5 million more jobs in the private
:44:45. > :44:55.sector since 2010. The private sector is going to be the engine of
:44:55. > :45:01.growth. Let's not talk our great down -- great town down in. It is
:45:01. > :45:08.the Government I am talking down. Things started to go horribly ill
:45:08. > :45:12.and wrong for our town in 2008 under Labour. It is the private
:45:12. > :45:19.sector that will lead other way out of recession. It is towns like
:45:19. > :45:24.Swindon with a big emphasis on the private sector that are growing.
:45:24. > :45:30.had 13 years, 10 of which were absolute boom time for Swindon.
:45:30. > :45:37.What you have done is cut to heart. What would you do about the
:45:37. > :45:42.deficit? I am just saying. You are borrowing more a. What is Labour
:45:42. > :45:47.going to do? What I am going to say to you is that we would have
:45:47. > :45:55.invested more into the economy of Swindon and the rest of the country
:45:55. > :46:01.where you have been cutting Swindon and not investing at all.
:46:01. > :46:06.infrastructure was you plan in 2010. We will leave it there. It is not
:46:06. > :46:09.personal! The local elections are just around the corner and
:46:09. > :46:14.candidates and exhausting themselves trying to persuade you
:46:14. > :46:18.to vote for them. Normally these humble footsoldiers would
:46:19. > :46:23.appreciate the glamour of a Government minister to inject some
:46:23. > :46:29.stardust into their campaign but now a cabinet ministers are being
:46:29. > :46:32.asked to stay away. What is going on? David Cameron made a big
:46:32. > :46:37.appearance this week in Gloucestershire courtesy of the
:46:37. > :46:47.Labour Party. The took a poster than two areas where they are
:46:47. > :46:50.
:46:50. > :46:55.expecting to do gain reports on Thursday. -- Ian votes on Thursday.
:46:55. > :47:02.Their campaign supremo was one of several Labour big guns to come to
:47:02. > :47:07.the county. The coalition partners dominate the chamber here but
:47:07. > :47:17.Government cuts and other changes could affect them on the second.
:47:17. > :47:18.
:47:18. > :47:23.There have been no big-name visits from senior visitors --. The ruling
:47:23. > :47:30.Conservatives are trying to defend their majority without outside help.
:47:30. > :47:39.Why are you not getting visits from big Conservative figures, can
:47:39. > :47:47.administers for example? -- cabinet ministers. I believe in speaking to
:47:47. > :47:52.people on the doorstep. It is a personal service. He has faced
:47:52. > :48:02.plenty of flak for cuts to council services but says most voters
:48:02. > :48:07.understand. Where you see what is happening in communities that have
:48:07. > :48:11.stepped up and met the challenge on youth or library services, there
:48:11. > :48:19.things are going well and we are unable to spend more money on
:48:19. > :48:23.things like adult here than ever before. Gloucestershire's main
:48:23. > :48:28.opposition party criticise the cuts but know they will likely continue.
:48:28. > :48:33.There possibly might have to be more cuts but we will look at the
:48:33. > :48:38.State of the council finances. We will be kinder and feed her to the
:48:38. > :48:42.people of Gloucestershire in the services we provide and we will not
:48:42. > :48:49.just go and cut budgets for the sake of it. The Conservatives I
:48:49. > :48:53.think rather enjoys slashing and burning public services. Some
:48:53. > :48:58.issues do feature large in the campaign. It is not a choice
:48:58. > :49:06.between landfill and incineration. At this debate there was much about
:49:06. > :49:09.the troubled plan by the Council for a waste incinerator. The best
:49:09. > :49:14.environmental choice is not supported by a whole stack of
:49:14. > :49:22.organisations. What we need to do is to reduce our waste and not just
:49:22. > :49:26.look at recycling. Labour are happy to focus on national issues. How
:49:26. > :49:34.much are you finding discontent with the coalition is working in
:49:34. > :49:42.your favour? It is but there is an anti-politics mood out there. It is
:49:42. > :49:52.about people saying you're are all the same and we are not going to
:49:52. > :49:52.
:49:52. > :50:00.vote or we will give UKIP a chance. The dominant parties in the county
:50:00. > :50:05.council expect to suffer and the underdogs to thrive. Joining us is
:50:05. > :50:09.a professor from the University of the West of England. Thank you for
:50:10. > :50:15.popping in, you are in expert on these things. I'll be local
:50:15. > :50:19.elections about local issues or national events? I think it is a
:50:19. > :50:25.mixed picture. Many people are taking the national picture into
:50:25. > :50:31.account when they go to the polls. Many are also driven by the local
:50:31. > :50:37.picture which I think they should be. What is troubling is the amount
:50:37. > :50:43.of voter turnout in local elections. It is quite troubling. We will come
:50:43. > :50:46.on to that but let's take this extraordinary scene of Lib Dems and
:50:46. > :50:51.Conservatives apparently telling their readers to clear off. Does
:50:51. > :50:56.that tell you there is a disconnect between what is happening
:50:56. > :51:02.nationally and locally? Whatever party happens to be in power, you
:51:02. > :51:08.will get a drawing away from local issues. The leader of Gloucester is
:51:09. > :51:12.right to talk about local issues. It is a county-wide election. The
:51:12. > :51:17.decisions he and his colleagues have to make our on local issues
:51:17. > :51:23.and things like adult social care. Focusing on these issues I think is
:51:23. > :51:27.the best way to increase participation and turnout. We have
:51:27. > :51:31.heard there is an anti-politics feeling out there as well. I think
:51:31. > :51:38.there has been an anti-politics feeling for as long as I can
:51:38. > :51:44.remember. I have been doing it for 20 years and in the first election
:51:44. > :51:54.I to Parkin I was told watch out, they will set dogs on you. -- took
:51:54. > :51:55.
:51:55. > :52:03.part in. Or on the fauns and doorstepped there are millionaires
:52:03. > :52:08.getting tax cuts which annoys people. There is a lot of
:52:08. > :52:12.resistance to the culture of the country. People feel at this
:52:12. > :52:17.empowered. This is not the fault of one party. It is a general drift
:52:17. > :52:23.which is really quite worrying. Thousands of people in Wiltshire
:52:23. > :52:33.will miss out on the chance to vote in the elections. Six of the seats
:52:33. > :52:35.
:52:35. > :52:40.are going uncontested. People have said how pleased they are I will be
:52:40. > :52:45.going on for another four years but it is probably the fact that the
:52:45. > :52:50.opposition, mainly the Liberals and UKIP have looked at the whole
:52:50. > :52:55.picture, they have seen where people had a large minority at the
:52:55. > :53:00.last election, the look at their resources and say these are the
:53:00. > :53:05.ones we will go for, we cannot cover the lot and that is what we
:53:05. > :53:09.will do. I think that is what happened in this case. If only all
:53:09. > :53:16.elections were that easy but what does that say about democracy that
:53:16. > :53:20.Labour are not planning to put up candidates? We have more candidates
:53:20. > :53:25.in the south-west and we had four years ago so we are putting up
:53:25. > :53:30.candidates but these are elections in mainly true-blue Tory territory
:53:30. > :53:36.so for our people it is difficult in some the areas but we have got
:53:36. > :53:44.100% in certain area is and we are hoping to pick up gains in Bristol
:53:44. > :53:50.and Gloucestershire. Do you think there is any point having
:53:50. > :53:55.represented -- elected representatives in some wards?
:53:55. > :54:01.do want to see a contest for the local vote and certainly for a
:54:01. > :54:07.unitary as authorities, there are important functions, maybe you
:54:07. > :54:11.could argue in certain parishes, it might be difficult to get a contest
:54:11. > :54:17.in every seat but when it comes to a unitary a authority I really
:54:17. > :54:21.think voters should have a choice. Do you think it is odd that people
:54:21. > :54:31.can be elected to reasonably important posts without any
:54:31. > :54:33.
:54:33. > :54:43.competition? I think it is unnerving. I think it is strange
:54:43. > :54:50.that other parties cannot give people a choice. The concept of
:54:50. > :54:55.uncontested seats is alien to us. One thing that has been said about
:54:55. > :55:01.these elections is that the turnout will be really law. Our people even
:55:01. > :55:05.aware they are going on and will be bother to vote? Do you know
:55:05. > :55:09.anything about the local elections? Do you think they are important?
:55:09. > :55:14.do think the an important but I have no idea what they are about
:55:14. > :55:19.really. Have you had any literature through? Have the candidates been
:55:19. > :55:25.out campaigning? Do you think they are doing a good job? I have not
:55:26. > :55:30.heard anything, not even through the door. The at the local
:55:30. > :55:35.elections on 2nd May. That is all I know really. I have not had anyone
:55:35. > :55:39.campaigning or putting things through my door. I have had one
:55:39. > :55:44.young chap come to my door from the Conservative Party but I haven't
:55:44. > :55:49.come across anybody else and don't know much about it except that the
:55:49. > :55:55.ballot cards are sitting on the side ready to be used. Do you think
:55:55. > :56:00.it will be about local issues or national issues? I will vote on
:56:00. > :56:06.national issues. Do you tend to votes the same way for local and
:56:06. > :56:10.national issues? It usually. should be about what is going on in
:56:10. > :56:14.your council tax and things like that not what is happening in the
:56:14. > :56:21.big picture. Do you think people are fed up with politics at the
:56:21. > :56:26.moment? Definitely, they do not trust them. I have two doctors, 22
:56:26. > :56:32.and 28, neither of them have ever voted than they do not want to
:56:32. > :56:38.because they are not interested and do not trust what politicians say.
:56:38. > :56:43.It does not matter what way you vote they will just carry on the
:56:43. > :56:53.way the arts. I have spoken to the Lib Dem candidate in my area who is
:56:53. > :56:56.
:56:57. > :57:03.the only one who has bothered so to be honest I might vote for him but
:57:03. > :57:08.I am not sure what difference it will make. Those are some
:57:08. > :57:11.interesting views. It is it -- is it the boaters fault that they do
:57:11. > :57:21.not taking interest or default of the parties that they do not engage
:57:21. > :57:29.us? -- the voters fault? average turnout in the 70s in local
:57:29. > :57:35.elections was about 43%. It drifted down in the 90s to 36% and last
:57:35. > :57:42.year it was the 31% actually turning out to vote in the local
:57:42. > :57:47.elections. That is a significant downside. Voters are intelligent.
:57:47. > :57:53.They can see that power has been ripped away from local authorities
:57:53. > :58:00.sought they wonder why they bother voting. In other countries it is
:58:00. > :58:06.not like this. Is it that there is really not much between you?
:58:06. > :58:11.think there is quite a lot actually. I do feel a sometimes it is quite
:58:11. > :58:16.difficult for the general public to find out about political parties
:58:16. > :58:21.and what do from political parties stand for. It is not easy for
:58:21. > :58:26.political parties to get the manpower, the person power to go
:58:26. > :58:29.out and knock on doors and people expect that to happen. People do
:58:29. > :58:35.not necessarily like politicians coming to the door but they do not
:58:35. > :58:44.like it if they do not come. I find people are glad to see a politician
:58:44. > :58:50.taking the time to engage and to try to make politics real. You do
:58:50. > :58:57.see where political parties are working hard we do keep a good
:58:57. > :59:04.voter contact going from all the political parties. I don't think
:59:04. > :59:12.voters are never happy, I have to say, in my experience. We will
:59:12. > :59:18.watch with great interest of course on Thursday. Thank you. Now it lets
:59:18. > :59:28.take a look at the rest of this week's political news in 60 seconds.
:59:28. > :59:29.
:59:29. > :59:36.It was a fraud on a national scale. Explosive detectors sold around the
:59:36. > :59:41.world. It was described as an abhorrent trade. There should have
:59:41. > :59:45.been a much quicker reaction at the time. I do not think there was
:59:45. > :59:55.investigated at the earliest opportunity and it should have been.
:59:55. > :00:02.There are threats that plans will be scuppered for and you nuclear
:00:02. > :00:06.power station at Hinckley Point. Bristol is to follow in the
:00:06. > :00:13.footsteps of order or by closing its city centre to traffic once per
:00:13. > :00:21.month. The mayor pop onto as cycling piano this week. He hopes
:00:21. > :00:28.it will attract street dance and guided walks. I could not quite
:00:28. > :00:32.work out why the Mayor was on that piano. Perhaps it is me! Let's pick
:00:32. > :00:40.up on that car story. Is there anything to be said for closing
:00:40. > :00:44.city centres of and letting the town be once a month? I think in
:00:44. > :00:50.cities like Bristol where there are massive congestion issues it is
:00:50. > :00:54.worth a try. A town like Swindon has actually benefited from reduced
:00:54. > :00:59.parking charges and we have seen an increased footfall in the town
:00:59. > :01:04.centre which is welcome. You have to look at each city or town very
:01:04. > :01:09.carefully before coming to a decision like that. In order to
:01:09. > :01:13.save Bristol from the car a lot more has got to be done than
:01:13. > :01:18.shutting the town centre for one weekend per month. I hope the mayor
:01:18. > :01:25.is working on other measures. In Swindon I would like to see the
:01:25. > :01:35.cycle path ETA. They should be finished off. It is quite dangerous
:01:35. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:45.in some places in Swindon. The Magic roundabout is lovely.
:01:45. > :01:49.cycling around that bad boy! Does it make you envious when they have
:01:49. > :01:56.a mayor, a clear leader who can set an agenda and that you can follow
:01:56. > :02:01.whereas perhaps in sending you have a council, a committee and all that.
:02:01. > :02:07.We have had a debate about this in the past, I do not think there is a
:02:07. > :02:12.groundswell of opinion to have a mayor in Swindon. I would love to
:02:12. > :02:19.see a day when I could cycle with my children from where I live up
:02:19. > :02:24.into town. That is a big issue I know my fellow residents agree with.
:02:24. > :02:29.That is all we have time for today. Thank you to my guests for joining