28/04/2013 Sunday Politics West

In the West: With a few days left of campaigning in the local

elections, Government ministers are being asked to stay away as Tories

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2294 seconds

and Lib Dems distance themselves By the coming up on the Sunday

Politics South here in the West. Will the coalition in Westminster

cost the Conservatives and Lib Dems boards in the local elections? In

Gloucestershire Government ministers are being asked to stay

away. You can cut the tension with a knife in the Sunday Politics

studio. I am joined by two guests who are fighting tooth and nail. A

Labour MP who is trying to get her job back and her Conservative

opponent. Is that personal opponents? What is it like sitting

next to each other? It cannot be personal, you would go wonder if

you made it personal. We have to take a step back and be

professional about it. Yes, but does that work in practice? Yes, of

course, we have been crossing swords for 10 years. You do not

need to be personal. We keep it professional, keep it clean and it

is a good fight. And it is your job. I badly wanted her job the last

time around and that is how deep real turned. No you are going to

make it the best of three because it is one each at the moment. I

believe in the Labour policies, it he believes in Conservative

policies and we can have a bust up of a policy but not personal stuff.

One of the big issues for both of them would be the economy. Swindon

is struggling with job losses at Honda and the local construction

trade is on its back. Money is not there. It is making sure you are

finding work to pay for her wages, cover costs, then you are trying to

find the next job which might be a bit more to cover costs. We see

workers, labourers, builders of all types, they are usually flat out at

this time of year but we are finding that there is not be

outside work they like to do and they are having to take warehouse

jobs. We avoided the triple dip recession. But things are not

suitable for a town like Swindon. Swindon has done its very best to

weather a tough storm. Let's not pretend, it has been very difficult

for the individuals involved. But speaking to local developers there

is a strong sign things are turning for the better. There are a large

number of smaller companies that are picking up business and working

very hard to continue the success story that has been Swindon. Still

a long way to go. Labour do not seem to think it is necessary to

have a creditable economic alternative. I think it is the

Tories who do not have a credible alternative. They are flat lining

the economy. I have not spoken to anyone in Swindon are who thinks

the economy is turning up. They are worried about the cost of living,

wages are stagnating or going down. Price rises are huge. The people

are very, very desperate. It is not just the Honda redundancies but the

knock-on effect of those redundancies on the other

businesses in the town. I was speaking to someone today who was

running a small business and they thought they might have to shut

because they are not getting business. I think what would happen

if we looked at a cut in VAT, that would get the manufacturing sector

going and the building sector going again. It is slaughtered at the

moment. We are not seeing construction sectors doing at all

well. In the past we have been a boom town. Can the Government do

anything to get things going? Government is right drink --

underwriting more and more investment projects. The last

Labour Government cut infrastructure spending which was a

mistake. We are moving through that period now into more or

construction underwriting, 1.2 5 million more jobs in the private

sector since 2010. The private sector is going to be the engine of

growth. Let's not talk our great down -- great town down in. It is

the Government I am talking down. Things started to go horribly ill

and wrong for our town in 2008 under Labour. It is the private

sector that will lead other way out of recession. It is towns like

Swindon with a big emphasis on the private sector that are growing.

had 13 years, 10 of which were absolute boom time for Swindon.

What you have done is cut to heart. What would you do about the

deficit? I am just saying. You are borrowing more a. What is Labour

going to do? What I am going to say to you is that we would have

invested more into the economy of Swindon and the rest of the country

where you have been cutting Swindon and not investing at all.

infrastructure was you plan in 2010. We will leave it there. It is not

personal! The local elections are just around the corner and

candidates and exhausting themselves trying to persuade you

to vote for them. Normally these humble footsoldiers would

appreciate the glamour of a Government minister to inject some

stardust into their campaign but now a cabinet ministers are being

asked to stay away. What is going on? David Cameron made a big

appearance this week in Gloucestershire courtesy of the

Labour Party. The took a poster than two areas where they are

expecting to do gain reports on Thursday. -- Ian votes on Thursday.

Their campaign supremo was one of several Labour big guns to come to

the county. The coalition partners dominate the chamber here but

Government cuts and other changes could affect them on the second.

There have been no big-name visits from senior visitors --. The ruling

Conservatives are trying to defend their majority without outside help.

Why are you not getting visits from big Conservative figures, can

administers for example? -- cabinet ministers. I believe in speaking to

people on the doorstep. It is a personal service. He has faced

plenty of flak for cuts to council services but says most voters

understand. Where you see what is happening in communities that have

stepped up and met the challenge on youth or library services, there

things are going well and we are unable to spend more money on

things like adult here than ever before. Gloucestershire's main

opposition party criticise the cuts but know they will likely continue.

There possibly might have to be more cuts but we will look at the

State of the council finances. We will be kinder and feed her to the

people of Gloucestershire in the services we provide and we will not

just go and cut budgets for the sake of it. The Conservatives I

think rather enjoys slashing and burning public services. Some

issues do feature large in the campaign. It is not a choice

between landfill and incineration. At this debate there was much about

the troubled plan by the Council for a waste incinerator. The best

environmental choice is not supported by a whole stack of

organisations. What we need to do is to reduce our waste and not just

look at recycling. Labour are happy to focus on national issues. How

much are you finding discontent with the coalition is working in

your favour? It is but there is an anti-politics mood out there. It is

about people saying you're are all the same and we are not going to

vote or we will give UKIP a chance. The dominant parties in the county

council expect to suffer and the underdogs to thrive. Joining us is

a professor from the University of the West of England. Thank you for

popping in, you are in expert on these things. I'll be local

elections about local issues or national events? I think it is a

mixed picture. Many people are taking the national picture into

account when they go to the polls. Many are also driven by the local

picture which I think they should be. What is troubling is the amount

of voter turnout in local elections. It is quite troubling. We will come

on to that but let's take this extraordinary scene of Lib Dems and

Conservatives apparently telling their readers to clear off. Does

that tell you there is a disconnect between what is happening

nationally and locally? Whatever party happens to be in power, you

will get a drawing away from local issues. The leader of Gloucester is

right to talk about local issues. It is a county-wide election. The

decisions he and his colleagues have to make our on local issues

and things like adult social care. Focusing on these issues I think is

the best way to increase participation and turnout. We have

heard there is an anti-politics feeling out there as well. I think

there has been an anti-politics feeling for as long as I can

remember. I have been doing it for 20 years and in the first election

I to Parkin I was told watch out, they will set dogs on you. -- took

part in. Or on the fauns and doorstepped there are millionaires

getting tax cuts which annoys people. There is a lot of

resistance to the culture of the country. People feel at this

empowered. This is not the fault of one party. It is a general drift

which is really quite worrying. Thousands of people in Wiltshire

will miss out on the chance to vote in the elections. Six of the seats

are going uncontested. People have said how pleased they are I will be

going on for another four years but it is probably the fact that the

opposition, mainly the Liberals and UKIP have looked at the whole

picture, they have seen where people had a large minority at the

last election, the look at their resources and say these are the

ones we will go for, we cannot cover the lot and that is what we

will do. I think that is what happened in this case. If only all

elections were that easy but what does that say about democracy that

Labour are not planning to put up candidates? We have more candidates

in the south-west and we had four years ago so we are putting up

candidates but these are elections in mainly true-blue Tory territory

so for our people it is difficult in some the areas but we have got

100% in certain area is and we are hoping to pick up gains in Bristol

and Gloucestershire. Do you think there is any point having

represented -- elected representatives in some wards?

do want to see a contest for the local vote and certainly for a

unitary as authorities, there are important functions, maybe you

could argue in certain parishes, it might be difficult to get a contest

in every seat but when it comes to a unitary a authority I really

think voters should have a choice. Do you think it is odd that people

can be elected to reasonably important posts without any

competition? I think it is unnerving. I think it is strange

that other parties cannot give people a choice. The concept of

uncontested seats is alien to us. One thing that has been said about

these elections is that the turnout will be really law. Our people even

aware they are going on and will be bother to vote? Do you know

anything about the local elections? Do you think they are important?

do think the an important but I have no idea what they are about

really. Have you had any literature through? Have the candidates been

out campaigning? Do you think they are doing a good job? I have not

heard anything, not even through the door. The at the local

elections on 2nd May. That is all I know really. I have not had anyone

campaigning or putting things through my door. I have had one

young chap come to my door from the Conservative Party but I haven't

come across anybody else and don't know much about it except that the

ballot cards are sitting on the side ready to be used. Do you think

it will be about local issues or national issues? I will vote on

national issues. Do you tend to votes the same way for local and

national issues? It usually. should be about what is going on in

your council tax and things like that not what is happening in the

big picture. Do you think people are fed up with politics at the

moment? Definitely, they do not trust them. I have two doctors, 22

and 28, neither of them have ever voted than they do not want to

because they are not interested and do not trust what politicians say.

It does not matter what way you vote they will just carry on the

way the arts. I have spoken to the Lib Dem candidate in my area who is

the only one who has bothered so to be honest I might vote for him but

I am not sure what difference it will make. Those are some

interesting views. It is it -- is it the boaters fault that they do

not taking interest or default of the parties that they do not engage

us? -- the voters fault? average turnout in the 70s in local

elections was about 43%. It drifted down in the 90s to 36% and last

year it was the 31% actually turning out to vote in the local

elections. That is a significant downside. Voters are intelligent.

They can see that power has been ripped away from local authorities

sought they wonder why they bother voting. In other countries it is

not like this. Is it that there is really not much between you?

think there is quite a lot actually. I do feel a sometimes it is quite

difficult for the general public to find out about political parties

and what do from political parties stand for. It is not easy for

political parties to get the manpower, the person power to go

out and knock on doors and people expect that to happen. People do

not necessarily like politicians coming to the door but they do not

like it if they do not come. I find people are glad to see a politician

taking the time to engage and to try to make politics real. You do

see where political parties are working hard we do keep a good

voter contact going from all the political parties. I don't think

voters are never happy, I have to say, in my experience. We will

watch with great interest of course on Thursday. Thank you. Now it lets

take a look at the rest of this week's political news in 60 seconds.

It was a fraud on a national scale. Explosive detectors sold around the

world. It was described as an abhorrent trade. There should have

been a much quicker reaction at the time. I do not think there was

investigated at the earliest opportunity and it should have been.

There are threats that plans will be scuppered for and you nuclear

power station at Hinckley Point. Bristol is to follow in the

footsteps of order or by closing its city centre to traffic once per

month. The mayor pop onto as cycling piano this week. He hopes

it will attract street dance and guided walks. I could not quite

work out why the Mayor was on that piano. Perhaps it is me! Let's pick

up on that car story. Is there anything to be said for closing

city centres of and letting the town be once a month? I think in

cities like Bristol where there are massive congestion issues it is

worth a try. A town like Swindon has actually benefited from reduced

parking charges and we have seen an increased footfall in the town

centre which is welcome. You have to look at each city or town very

carefully before coming to a decision like that. In order to

save Bristol from the car a lot more has got to be done than

shutting the town centre for one weekend per month. I hope the mayor

is working on other measures. In Swindon I would like to see the

cycle path ETA. They should be finished off. It is quite dangerous

in some places in Swindon. The Magic roundabout is lovely.

cycling around that bad boy! Does it make you envious when they have

a mayor, a clear leader who can set an agenda and that you can follow

whereas perhaps in sending you have a council, a committee and all that.

We have had a debate about this in the past, I do not think there is a

groundswell of opinion to have a mayor in Swindon. I would love to

see a day when I could cycle with my children from where I live up

into town. That is a big issue I know my fellow residents agree with.

That is all we have time for today. Thank you to my guests for joining