:00:36. > :00:40.It's Sunday Morning, and this is the Sunday Politics.
:00:41. > :00:42.Theresa May says she has no plans to increase tax levels,
:00:43. > :00:46.but refuses to repeat David Cameron's 2015 manifesto
:00:47. > :00:53.promise ruling out hikes in VAT, national insurance and income tax.
:00:54. > :00:56.The leaders of the EU's 27 member states unanimously
:00:57. > :01:00.agree their negotiating strategy for the upcoming Brexit talks, but
:01:01. > :01:10.And in the last of our series of interviews ahead of Thursday's
:01:11. > :01:17.local elections, I'll be talking to the leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne
:01:18. > :01:20.In the West: The new Metro Mayor - I'll be joined by all six candidates
:01:21. > :01:22.hoping to become West of England Mayor.
:01:23. > :01:48.They hit an all-time low after coalition government,
:01:49. > :01:49.but are the Lib Dems poised to bounce back,
:01:50. > :01:54.And with me to analyse the week's politics,
:01:55. > :01:55.Isabel Oakeshott, Steve Richards, Tom Newton-Dunn.
:01:56. > :01:57.They'll be tweeting using the hashtag #bbcsp.
:01:58. > :02:00.So when Theresa May was interviewed just over an hour ago
:02:01. > :02:03.on The Andrew Marr Show, the Prime Minister was asked
:02:04. > :02:05.to confirm that she would repeat David Cameron's 2015 election
:02:06. > :02:07.promise not to raise VAT, national insurance and income tax
:02:08. > :02:12.We have absolutely no plans to increase the level of tax,
:02:13. > :02:15.but I'm also very clear that I don't want to make specific proposals
:02:16. > :02:17.on taxes unless I'm absolutely sure that I can deliver on those.
:02:18. > :02:20.But it is, would be my intention as a Conservative Government
:02:21. > :02:22.and a Conservative Prime Minister, to reduce the taxes
:02:23. > :02:32.The Tories like to have a clear tax message in elections, are they
:02:33. > :02:35.getting into a bit of a mess? That method wasn't clear, but does it
:02:36. > :02:40.mean, saying they have no plans to increase the level of tax? We are
:02:41. > :02:45.clear there will not be a rise in VAT, a lot of commentators will get
:02:46. > :02:50.overexcited about that, but there was no great expectations there
:02:51. > :02:55.would be a rise in VAT. Tempting as it is, because even one percentage
:02:56. > :02:59.point on VAT rate is 4.5 billion for the exchequer so it is tempting but
:03:00. > :03:06.there has been no speculation that would happen. We can see that she
:03:07. > :03:09.clearly wants to reiterate the language about hard-working families
:03:10. > :03:15.but I don't think we are that much the wiser. Even if she does not put
:03:16. > :03:19.up rates, according to projections the overall tax burden, as a
:03:20. > :03:25.percentage of GDP, is rising, will rise in the years ahead. That is why
:03:26. > :03:29.it was an odd phrase, I know she is doing it to be evasive but to say
:03:30. > :03:33.they have no plans to raise the general level of taxation, they do
:03:34. > :03:37.have. We also know they have specific plans because it was in the
:03:38. > :03:44.last budget, they had a tax rise which they had to revise, National
:03:45. > :03:52.Insurance rises, so very wisely in my view they are keeping options
:03:53. > :03:56.open, the 2015 tax-and-spend debate was a fantasy world, totally
:03:57. > :04:01.unrelated to the demands that would follow. They now have the
:04:02. > :04:04.flexibility, one of the arguments you had heard last time was Philip
:04:05. > :04:10.Hammond saying to her, we have to break away from the 2015 manifesto
:04:11. > :04:14.commitment and we can only do it this way, that is one of the better
:04:15. > :04:18.arguments. The Tories like to talk about tax cuts in elections, whether
:04:19. > :04:25.they do it is another matter, but they are not being allowed to talk
:04:26. > :04:30.about tax cuts, they are now on the defensive over whether they will
:04:31. > :04:32.raise taxes. That is not a healthy position for the campaign to be in.
:04:33. > :04:38.If you look at the numbers, quite frankly, if you will not do this at
:04:39. > :04:42.this election with eight 20 point lead over Labour, then when will you
:04:43. > :04:46.take these tough decisions? Reading between the lines of what Theresa
:04:47. > :04:49.May has said all over different broadcasters this morning, income
:04:50. > :04:53.tax will go down for low-income families, such as the threshold rise
:04:54. > :05:00.that microbes that was already factored in. She has had to commit
:05:01. > :05:04.to it again. VAT will be fat, national insurance contributions
:05:05. > :05:09.will go up. Do you think they will go up? I think so, she had plenty of
:05:10. > :05:16.opportunity to rule it out and she didn't. There was a terrible mess
:05:17. > :05:19.with the budget, it is a good tax argument but not a good electoral
:05:20. > :05:24.argument that you are eroding the base so heavily with people moving
:05:25. > :05:27.into self-employment that as you raise national insurance
:05:28. > :05:30.contributions for everybody but the self-employed, it is something the
:05:31. > :05:35.Treasury will have to look at. The other triple lock on pensions, we
:05:36. > :05:39.don't know if they will keep to that either? If they are sensible they
:05:40. > :05:43.will find a form of words to give them flexibility in that area as
:05:44. > :05:48.well. I would say there is no question over that, that has gone.
:05:49. > :05:51.As Mrs May would say, you will have to wait for the manifesto. That is
:05:52. > :05:56.what all the party leaders tell me! Labour have spent the weekend
:05:57. > :05:57.pushing their messages Speaking at a camapign rally
:05:58. > :06:01.in London yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn promised a Labour
:06:02. > :06:09.government would fix what he called People are fed up, fed up with not
:06:10. > :06:13.being able to get somewhere to live, fed up waiting for hospital
:06:14. > :06:18.appointments, fed up with 0-hours contracts, fed up with low pay, fed
:06:19. > :06:22.up with debt, fed up with not being able to get on in their lives
:06:23. > :06:26.because we have a system that is rigged against so many.
:06:27. > :06:28.I've been joined from Newcastle by Labour's elections
:06:29. > :06:29.and campaigns co-ordinator, Ian Lavery.
:06:30. > :06:40.Good morning. To deal with this rigged economy, as Mr Corbyn calls
:06:41. > :06:45.it, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has a 20 point plan for
:06:46. > :06:48.workers out today. When you add up everything he plans to do to help
:06:49. > :06:53.workers, how much will it cost? The full costings, one thing I need to
:06:54. > :06:59.say at the very beginning, the costings of any policy which we have
:07:00. > :07:03.already ruled out and any policy we will be ruling out in the next few
:07:04. > :07:09.days and weeks will be fully costed in the manifesto and in addition to
:07:10. > :07:13.the fact that it will be fully costed, we will see it in the
:07:14. > :07:18.manifesto how indeed it has been funded, so we are very clear,
:07:19. > :07:21.anything we have seen already, and there are some exciting policy
:07:22. > :07:25.releases and there will be more in the future, anything we are going to
:07:26. > :07:29.do will be fully costed and in the manifesto. You announced a 20 point
:07:30. > :07:34.plan but cannot tell me what the costs will be this morning so at the
:07:35. > :07:39.moment it is a menu without prices? It is not a menu without prices, it
:07:40. > :07:43.is a fantastic opportunity. This 20 point plan is something which will
:07:44. > :07:48.transform the lives of millions of millions of people in the
:07:49. > :07:53.workplace... But what is the cost? It will be welcomed by many people
:07:54. > :07:57.across the UK. The fact the costings have not been released, you will
:07:58. > :08:02.have to be patient, it will be released very clearly, it will
:08:03. > :08:06.identify that in the manifesto. Let me come down to one of the points,
:08:07. > :08:12.the end of the public sector pay freeze. Can you give us any idea how
:08:13. > :08:15.much that will cost? The end of the public sector pay freeze, so
:08:16. > :08:22.important to the future of the Labour Party, it is an massive
:08:23. > :08:27.policy decision. Let me say at this stage, Theresa May, the Prime
:08:28. > :08:30.Minister, this morning, on The Andrew Marr Show, did not have the
:08:31. > :08:36.common decency, courtesy all respect to condone the fact that nurses, the
:08:37. > :08:42.heroes of the NHS, have had a reduction of nearly 14% in their
:08:43. > :08:46.wages since 2010 and are using food banks to feed themselves! Does that
:08:47. > :08:52.not say everything that is wrong with today's society? So can you
:08:53. > :08:57.tell me what it will cost, which is what my question was? What I will
:08:58. > :09:00.say is everything the Labour Party pledges, everything that we come out
:09:01. > :09:05.with, what we will roll out between now and the 8th of June, will be
:09:06. > :09:08.fully costed, people will be very much aware of how much the costings
:09:09. > :09:13.will be, where the funding will come from, when the manifesto is
:09:14. > :09:18.published. What about doubling paternity leave, nu minimum wage,
:09:19. > :09:29.four new bank holidays, any idea what it will
:09:30. > :09:33.cost? These are exciting new proposals and of course today cost
:09:34. > :09:35.money but we are the sixth richest economy in the world. It is about
:09:36. > :09:38.redistribution of the wealth we create. We are seeing growth in the
:09:39. > :09:41.economy, it is how we utilise the finances in the best way we possibly
:09:42. > :09:47.can for a fairer society for the many and not the few. You just can't
:09:48. > :09:52.tell me how much it will cost? That is why I will repeat again that you
:09:53. > :09:56.need to be very patient. Do you know the cost yourself? You are the head
:09:57. > :10:00.of the campaign, do you know the cost of these things yourself? I am
:10:01. > :10:04.very much aware of how much the costings are likely to be, they have
:10:05. > :10:10.been identified, they will be published in the manifesto. You
:10:11. > :10:14.really do understand I would not be releasing today, live on your show,
:10:15. > :10:19.any costings or predictions with regards the manifesto. Why not? You
:10:20. > :10:25.have released the policy, why not the cost? Because there is a fine
:10:26. > :10:28.detail and we will identify it to the general public in the manifesto.
:10:29. > :10:35.We not only explain how much it will cost but we will explain where the
:10:36. > :10:40.funding comes from. Be patient. Will some of the costs be met by
:10:41. > :10:45.increasing taxes? I would think at this point in time there is not any
:10:46. > :10:51.indication to increase basic taxes and again the taxes and spending of
:10:52. > :10:56.the Labour Government with the proposals of the 20 point plan, the
:10:57. > :11:02.issues we have got, housing, the NHS, crime, education will all be
:11:03. > :11:07.identified with the costings in the publication. Can you tell us this
:11:08. > :11:14.morning, we'll tax for most people rise or not to finance this? We in
:11:15. > :11:20.the Labour Party are looking to a fair tax system which will be
:11:21. > :11:26.clearly identified in the manifesto. Mr McDonnell also wants to ban all
:11:27. > :11:32.0-hours contracts. Would that include those who actually like
:11:33. > :11:35.those contracts? There are nearly 1 million, depending on which figured
:11:36. > :11:39.you'd use, there are nearly 1 million people on zero-hours
:11:40. > :11:44.contract and the vast proportion of those want to be able to live a
:11:45. > :11:50.decent life, a secure life, they want to understand whether they will
:11:51. > :11:54.be at work the next day, they're included hours... I understand a lot
:11:55. > :11:58.of people don't like zero-hours contract and your proposal will
:11:59. > :12:03.address that, but there are those, I saw one survey where 65% of people
:12:04. > :12:07.on zero-hours contract like the flexibility it gives them. Will you
:12:08. > :12:11.force them off zero-hours contract or if they like them will they
:12:12. > :12:16.continue with them? We will discuss it with employee is to make sure
:12:17. > :12:20.individuals in the workplace have the right to negotiate hours in that
:12:21. > :12:28.workplace. Guaranteed hours is very, very important. Zero-hour contracts
:12:29. > :12:32.are an instrument in which employers abuse and exploit mainly young
:12:33. > :12:38.people, mainly female people in the workplace. We would be banning
:12:39. > :12:42.zero-hour contract. But there are those, students for example, who
:12:43. > :12:47.like them, would they be forced off zero-hour contracts in your
:12:48. > :12:51.proposal? Our proposal would be banning zero-hour contract and
:12:52. > :12:56.introducing contracts which have set hours in the workplace. You also say
:12:57. > :13:00.no company will be able to bid for a public contract unless the boss
:13:01. > :13:05.earns no more than 20 times the lowest paid, or the average wage,
:13:06. > :13:08.I'm not quite sure which. What would happen if British Aerospace bids to
:13:09. > :13:14.build more joint strike Fighters and the boss is paid more than 20 times?
:13:15. > :13:21.I understand the point you raise but we have an obscene situation in this
:13:22. > :13:26.country, Andrew, in which the bosses at the very top make an absolute
:13:27. > :13:33.fortune... But what would happen then? Who would build joint strike
:13:34. > :13:37.Fighters... The difference in wages between the top earners in the
:13:38. > :13:42.country and the people in the factories, in the workshops,
:13:43. > :13:47.producing the goods, is vast. I understand that is the reason you
:13:48. > :13:51.want a ratio. What I am saying is, what happens if the ratio is
:13:52. > :13:57.greater? Who gets the contract if not British Aerospace? Who else
:13:58. > :14:04.builds the planes? We are going to introduce a wage rate CEO of one to
:14:05. > :14:07.20. -- wage ratio. We want to close the gap between the people at the
:14:08. > :14:11.very top and people who produce the goods. Let me try one more Time, who
:14:12. > :14:18.would build the joint strike fighter? We would look at the issue
:14:19. > :14:22.as it came along but the policy is clear... Can you name a single
:14:23. > :14:30.defence contractor weather boss' salary is less than 20 times average
:14:31. > :14:36.earnings? We are not reducing, we have rolled that out as part of this
:14:37. > :14:42.fantastic plan to transform society to get rid of discrimination, to try
:14:43. > :14:47.and bring together our communities. We will introduce a pay ratio of one
:14:48. > :14:50.to 20. Fair enough, thank you very much.
:14:51. > :14:53.It's a month after the triggering of Article 50, and EU leaders -
:14:54. > :14:55.with the exception of Britain - met in Brussels this weekend
:14:56. > :14:58.to agree their opening negotiating stance, to get the divorce
:14:59. > :15:14.It is inside this psychedelic chamber where Britain's 'Grexit'
:15:15. > :15:19.future will be decided over the next two years, but there is a vast gulf
:15:20. > :15:29.in rhetoric coming from the UK and the EU. With parallel narratives
:15:30. > :15:32.emerging for both sides. There is broad agreement that an orderly
:15:33. > :15:37.withdrawal is in the interests of both sides. But Theresa May's
:15:38. > :15:40.position is that the terms of our future trade deal should be
:15:41. > :15:44.negotiated alongside the terms of our divorce. Meanwhile the EU says
:15:45. > :15:51.the terms of the UK's exit must be decided before any discussion on a
:15:52. > :15:54.future trade deal can begin. But don't forget that divorce
:15:55. > :16:00.settlement. Don't remind me. In Brussels, many think written should
:16:01. > :16:03.pay even more, while in the UK ministers said the divorce bill
:16:04. > :16:08.should be capped at 3 billion. After you. Thank you.
:16:09. > :16:19.For are you looking forward to it? Isn't that divorce bill a bit high?
:16:20. > :16:24.Isn't this about punishing Britain? We are very united, you all seem so
:16:25. > :16:32.surprised but it's a fact. How soon can we get a deal? We have to wait
:16:33. > :16:37.for the elections. It was the decision of Mrs May. It took over an
:16:38. > :16:40.hour for the leaders to make their entrances but once inside it's just
:16:41. > :16:46.a few minutes to agree the negotiating guidelines. They set out
:16:47. > :16:50.three main areas. The first phase of talks on the divorce settlement will
:16:51. > :16:53.deal with the existing financial commitments to the EU, the Northern
:16:54. > :16:57.Ireland border and the rights of EU citizens in the UK. They said a UK
:16:58. > :17:02.trade agreement can be discussed when the first phase of talks
:17:03. > :17:07.reaches significant progress. And that there must be unity in the
:17:08. > :17:13.negotiations, that individual EU members won't negotiate separately
:17:14. > :17:17.with the UK. They are quite good here at negotiating because they are
:17:18. > :17:21.used to it. They set a maximum and then they have to recede a little
:17:22. > :17:27.bit depending on what the other side is prepared to offer. I think there
:17:28. > :17:31.is room for manoeuvre in some issues, but I don't think some of
:17:32. > :17:37.the baseline things will change that much. For example I don't think the
:17:38. > :17:41.European Union will concede on the rights of citizens who are already
:17:42. > :17:47.in the UK. It will be very difficult for them to accept that they will
:17:48. > :17:51.not be any exit bill, and the question of Northern Ireland is very
:17:52. > :17:54.important as well, the hard order question. The baseline things are
:17:55. > :17:59.not going to move that much, then you have room for manoeuvring
:18:00. > :18:03.between. On security, defence and the fight against terrorism, the
:18:04. > :18:08.guidelines said the EU stands ready to work together. And after lunch,
:18:09. > :18:13.friendly signs from some EU leaders as they gave individual press
:18:14. > :18:16.conferences. Paul and said the talks should open doors to new
:18:17. > :18:23.opportunities and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had
:18:24. > :18:25.earlier said some in Britain were deluded about Brexit, softened her
:18:26. > :18:30.tone saying there was no conspiracy against the UK. Unity was the
:18:31. > :18:35.buzzword at this summit and for once everybody seemed to be sticking to
:18:36. > :18:39.the script. That unity is not only amongst the 27 states, it's also
:18:40. > :18:44.among the institutions so many of the divisions we have seen in the
:18:45. > :18:48.past at European level do not exist. That is very important and it's not
:18:49. > :18:53.be unity that is directed somehow against the UK because I think we
:18:54. > :19:05.all want this to be an orderly process and part of that is that the
:19:06. > :19:09.EU side is unified. So although there are no surprises here, what
:19:10. > :19:12.took place in this room was a significant step towards the real
:19:13. > :19:18.Brexit negotiations which will begin soon after the general election in
:19:19. > :19:22.June, said to be the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes.
:19:23. > :19:27.Isabel, Steve and Tom are still with me.
:19:28. > :19:35.Isabel, doesn't the British media have to be a bit careful here? We
:19:36. > :19:40.would never take at face value anything a British politician tells
:19:41. > :19:44.us. We would question it, put it in context and wonder if they are
:19:45. > :19:48.bluffing, but we seem to take at face value anything a European
:19:49. > :19:52.politician says about these negotiations. You only have to look
:19:53. > :19:57.at the front page of the Sunday Times today to see that. They quoted
:19:58. > :20:01.at length Juncker, who didn't like the food at the reception and this
:20:02. > :20:06.and that, and I think the mood is very optimistic. The key thing is
:20:07. > :20:11.the EU trade Commissioner has said we will get a free trade deal and a
:20:12. > :20:14.lot of people seem to be wilfully ignoring that incredibly big
:20:15. > :20:20.concession. That is what will happen in their view. Everything that is
:20:21. > :20:25.said at the moment needs a slight rerun over. They are all in
:20:26. > :20:29.negotiating positions, plus we seem to be completely unaware that they
:20:30. > :20:35.all have their own domestic constituencies as well. Angela
:20:36. > :20:37.Merkel has an important election coming up in September,
:20:38. > :20:41.Euroscepticism is quite different from Britain of course, but there's
:20:42. > :20:46.a different kind of euro scepticism in Germany, she has got to deal with
:20:47. > :20:50.that. Of course she has, which is why you are right, nothing should be
:20:51. > :20:56.taken too seriously out of the mouths of British politicians or
:20:57. > :21:00.European politicians until October this year. We have got to wait for
:21:01. > :21:04.the French elections, then German elections, and if you look through
:21:05. > :21:10.this you can see a way forward. There's no trade talks until pay up,
:21:11. > :21:14.but what was actually written was no trade talks until we make
:21:15. > :21:18.significant progress on the money. You can define significant progress
:21:19. > :21:23.in a lot of ways but come December, fireworks over the summer, we all
:21:24. > :21:27.get very excited about it, in these chairs I'm sure, come December
:21:28. > :21:32.things will look a lot smoother. The German elections are at the end of
:21:33. > :21:35.September but I've seen reports in German press, depending how it goes
:21:36. > :21:41.it could take until Christmas before a new coalition government is put
:21:42. > :21:44.together. The Brussels long-standing negotiating tactic of nothing is
:21:45. > :21:50.agreed until everything is agreed, then I guess the British could say
:21:51. > :21:54.we agree a certain sum of money if that's what it takes but that
:21:55. > :22:00.depends on them, what good trade deal we get. If we don't get that,
:22:01. > :22:05.the sum of money is off the table. In that sense, the two are going
:22:06. > :22:09.parallel. However, I wouldn't entirely dismiss what people are
:22:10. > :22:15.saying in their pre-election periods to their own electorates because
:22:16. > :22:19.they have to some extent to deliver subsequently. Of course Angela
:22:20. > :22:23.Merkel is campaigning and electioneering, who wouldn't, she
:22:24. > :22:27.has a tough election to fight, but she is measured and thoughtful and
:22:28. > :22:31.when she says things like some of the British are delusional, that is
:22:32. > :22:38.unusually strong language for her. What was she referring to? I don't
:22:39. > :22:42.know, it wasn't specific. Have the cake and eat it perhaps the
:22:43. > :22:45.sequencing the British don't want. When they thought the British
:22:46. > :22:49.government was going to effectively demand membership of the single
:22:50. > :22:56.market, that's not going to happen now. Unless you sign up to the four
:22:57. > :23:02.pillars, that's the cake and eat it proposition, which they are right in
:23:03. > :23:07.saying Theresa May has made. But everybody has access, even with no
:23:08. > :23:16.deal you have access. The other side of it is I think there will be a
:23:17. > :23:22.united position from them. And so, as somebody pointed out in that
:23:23. > :23:30.report, they are experienced, tough negotiators, so I don't think it
:23:31. > :23:36.will be quite as easy as some think. I spoke to one of those who drew up
:23:37. > :23:39.Article 50 and they said to me they deliberately put this two year
:23:40. > :23:46.timetable in to make it impossible for anybody to think about leaving.
:23:47. > :23:49.This is really tight, this negotiation. Easy, it isn't.
:23:50. > :23:51.This coming Thursday, voters up and down the country
:23:52. > :23:54.will be going to the polls in this year's local elections.
:23:55. > :23:56.Over the past few weeks I've interviewed representatives
:23:57. > :23:58.of the Conservative Party, Labour, the Liberal Democrats,
:23:59. > :24:01.Today it's the turn of Plaid Cymru and the SNP.
:24:02. > :24:04.A little earlier I spoke Alex Salmond, who until 2014
:24:05. > :24:08.I started by asking him why Scots should vote SNP in local elections
:24:09. > :24:10.when the Scottish Government had just cut central Government funding
:24:11. > :24:26.It's actually a funding increase going into Scottish councils this
:24:27. > :24:30.year, and if you look at the funding position for example between
:24:31. > :24:33.Scottish councils and those in England, which are obviously
:24:34. > :24:37.directly related through the Barnett formula, the funding in Scotland has
:24:38. > :24:48.been incomparably better than that in England so there's a whole range
:24:49. > :24:51.of the -- of reasons... What's happening south of the border
:24:52. > :24:55.indicates the protection the Scottish Parliament has been able to
:24:56. > :24:59.put in that helps vital services in Scotland. But there hasn't been a
:25:00. > :25:04.funding increase, the block grant from Westminster to Edinburgh was
:25:05. > :25:11.increased by 1.5% in real terms but the grant to councils was cut by
:25:12. > :25:16.2.6%. It was going to be a cut of 330 million, the Greens got you to
:25:17. > :25:26.reduce it to 170 million but it is still a cut of 2.6%. Your own
:25:27. > :25:31.Aberdeenshire Council has had a cut to 391 million. You have cut the
:25:32. > :25:34.money to councils. Yes, but councils have available to them more
:25:35. > :25:39.resources this year, and as you say the budget increased that further
:25:40. > :25:42.which is why we put forward an excellent local government budget in
:25:43. > :25:48.Aberdeenshire and resisted a Tory attempts to knock ?3 million off...
:25:49. > :25:53.You asked me about Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeenshire has put forward a
:25:54. > :25:58.budget for investment expansion and resisted a Tory attempts to knock ?3
:25:59. > :26:02.million off the education budget, and I'm very grateful you have given
:26:03. > :26:07.me the opportunity to make that point. The Government in Edinburgh
:26:08. > :26:14.has cut the money to Aberdeenshire by ?11 million. It is a cut. But
:26:15. > :26:17.there is an investment budget in Aberdeenshire that has been made
:26:18. > :26:23.available by the ability to increase the council tax by 2.5% after a
:26:24. > :26:27.nine-year freeze in Scotland, and that has brought more resources into
:26:28. > :26:31.local government and that's why the butchered in Aberdeenshire has been
:26:32. > :26:35.an investment budget including protection of the education budget
:26:36. > :26:40.in the face of a Tory and liberal attempt to cut bit. You have to
:26:41. > :26:42.compare what is happening in Scotland and England, and there's no
:26:43. > :26:49.doubt Scottish local authorities have been much better funded than
:26:50. > :26:51.those in England over the last few years and that's been the ability of
:26:52. > :26:57.the Scottish Government to protect the services at local level. A good
:26:58. > :27:03.reason for voting SNP. If they have been so well funded, why after a
:27:04. > :27:11.decade of SNP rule do one in five Scottish pupils leave primary school
:27:12. > :27:15.functionally illiterate? You have got to take these things... Nicola
:27:16. > :27:20.Sturgeon has made it a top priority to address these challenges but
:27:21. > :27:23.let's take another statistic. 93% of Scottish kids are now emerging from
:27:24. > :27:31.school to positive destinations, that means to further education,
:27:32. > :27:37.apprenticeships or work. Why are one in five functionally illiterate? You
:27:38. > :27:41.argue one statistic, I'm arguing Scottish education is putting in
:27:42. > :27:46.some substantially good performances like the 93% going on to positive
:27:47. > :27:51.destinations. You can't have a failing education system if you have
:27:52. > :27:55.got that 93%, and incidentally a record low youth unemployment in
:27:56. > :28:00.Scotland without the second lowest unemployment rate in Europe. These
:28:01. > :28:04.pupils are being prepared by the Scottish education system. Let's
:28:05. > :28:09.take the figures in the round on education. It's so important. Under
:28:10. > :28:14.your watch, under your government, the Scottish schools in the most
:28:15. > :28:25.important global comparison have fallen from tenth to 19th in
:28:26. > :28:32.science, and 11 to 24th in maths, that is a record of decline and
:28:33. > :28:37.failure. That is by the OECD and first questions about that, but the
:28:38. > :28:42.OECD has also described Scotland is one of the best educated societies
:28:43. > :28:47.in the world. That was from the school system in previous years gone
:28:48. > :28:53.by. For those who are currently in Scottish schools, you have fallen
:28:54. > :28:56.from 11th to 24th in mathematics. The OECD was commenting on
:28:57. > :29:00.introduction of the new curriculum for excellence in which they have
:29:01. > :29:05.given a resounding thumbs up to it, and that's the same source as the
:29:06. > :29:09.rankings which you are comparing. Nicola Sturgeon has said there are
:29:10. > :29:12.challenges on Scottish education, particularly the access through the
:29:13. > :29:17.education system and the attainment gap but don't tell me it's failing
:29:18. > :29:20.when 55% of our pupils have gone on to higher education. That's one of
:29:21. > :29:27.the most impressive figures in the world. Why have you cut 4000
:29:28. > :29:31.teachers? The pupil numbers in Scotland have been falling over
:29:32. > :29:35.recent years as well and now of course we are increasing the number
:29:36. > :29:39.of people going through teachers training so we can make sure that
:29:40. > :29:44.number increases, but listen, the Scottish Government and Scottish
:29:45. > :29:48.Parliament, as you very well know, are subject to real terms spending
:29:49. > :29:52.cuts over the last few years and all public services have been under
:29:53. > :29:55.pressure. The main reason in terms of teacher numbers has been an
:29:56. > :30:00.attempt on the Scottish Government to protect the teacher pupil ratio,
:30:01. > :30:08.and that will now be enhanced by a further taker -- intake. You
:30:09. > :30:14.promised you would reduce primary class sizes to 18 and instead they
:30:15. > :30:20.are now 23.5 and rising. You broke that promise. You didn't mention
:30:21. > :30:24.where we started from. We have kept the teacher pupil ratio very solid
:30:25. > :30:28.in Scotland and that's been against a range of public expenditure cuts
:30:29. > :30:30.but the new intake of teachers into the new teacher training in Scotland
:30:31. > :30:41.I think will enhance the system. You have spent in the pasty in
:30:42. > :30:46.Hollywood 43 hours on Government time debating independence. How many
:30:47. > :30:51.hours have you debated education on Government time? I don't have that
:30:52. > :30:54.they get a hand... The answer is zero, you have spent zero-hours
:30:55. > :31:00.debating education on Government time. Isn't it time the SNP got back
:31:01. > :31:05.to concentrating on the day job? Andrew, as you very well know Nicola
:31:06. > :31:09.Sturgeon has identified a key priority, closing the attainment gap
:31:10. > :31:14.in Scottish education. That is exactly what she has done. Let me
:31:15. > :31:19.answer the question, it is difficult to be in a remote location, if you
:31:20. > :31:25.talk before I answer the question then the view was will not be able
:31:26. > :31:30.to listen. I let you answer that without saying a word. Is this
:31:31. > :31:34.general election about independence, as you say it is, or not about
:31:35. > :31:41.independence, as Mrs Sturgeon says it is? No, I have said exactly the
:31:42. > :31:44.same as Nicola Sturgeon on that. The issue what independence will be
:31:45. > :31:49.decided in a national referendum of the Scottish people. The mandate for
:31:50. > :31:54.that referendum was gained in last year's Scottish elections. What this
:31:55. > :31:56.election is about is backing the right of the Scottish parliament to
:31:57. > :31:59.exercise that mandate and also providing real opposition to this
:32:00. > :32:04.Tory Government and allowing the Scottish Parliament to reverse
:32:05. > :32:09.austerity and some of the public expenditure cutbacks you have been
:32:10. > :32:09.talking about, that is what this is about, backing our Scottish
:32:10. > :32:11.Parliament. Alex Salmond, speaking
:32:12. > :32:13.to me earlier. I'm now joined by the leader
:32:14. > :32:20.of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. You accuse the Government of wanting
:32:21. > :32:25.an extreme Brexit, those are your words. What is the difference
:32:26. > :32:28.between hard Brexit and extreme Brexit? My concern is the way in
:32:29. > :32:33.which we leave the European Union could be very damaging to Wales if,
:32:34. > :32:37.for example, there are tariffs introduced then that would have a
:32:38. > :32:43.real impact in terms of Welsh jobs, and I want to make sure that we have
:32:44. > :32:47.a Brexit that doesn't cause the damage to Wales that could be
:32:48. > :32:53.caused. But what is the difference between extreme and hard? Anything
:32:54. > :32:56.that puts Welsh jobs at risk is either extreme or hard and
:32:57. > :33:00.unacceptable to Plaid Cymru, and we will do what we can to protect those
:33:01. > :33:05.jobs. You want Wales to remain a member of the single market even if
:33:06. > :33:09.the UK isn't, which would mean Wales having to accept the free movement
:33:10. > :33:20.of people, still being under the jurisdiction of the European Court,
:33:21. > :33:23.and you also want to stay in the customs union which means you could
:33:24. > :33:26.not do your own free trade deals. What is the difference between that
:33:27. > :33:28.and being a member of the European Union? We would be like Norway,
:33:29. > :33:31.outside the European Union and inside the single market. The key
:33:32. > :33:35.question is the issue of jobs and the ability to continue to trade.
:33:36. > :33:39.Wales exports, we are the biggest exporter in the whole of the UK, so
:33:40. > :33:48.there are many jobs reliant upon those goods being able to be sold to
:33:49. > :33:53.the single market. Is it central to the UK? Out of the four countries
:33:54. > :34:01.that make up the UK... Proportionally, yes. If you remain
:34:02. > :34:05.in the single market, it is hard to see how Wales could stay in the
:34:06. > :34:09.single market if the UK -- when the rest of the UK was not, you cite
:34:10. > :34:14.Norway, that has free movement, it has to be said, it effectively have
:34:15. > :34:19.to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court, it is not in the
:34:20. > :34:27.customs union so it can do some of its own free trade deals, but the
:34:28. > :34:31.Welsh people voted to leave. We have to accept the principle of free
:34:32. > :34:35.movement if there is not going to be a hard border between the north and
:34:36. > :34:39.south of Ireland. There is going to be free movement within Ireland and
:34:40. > :34:44.therefore freedom of movement, as we said in the referendum campaign,
:34:45. > :34:50.would be very, very difficult to rule out. You lost that campaign, as
:34:51. > :34:56.you know, Wales voted to leave, 17 Council areas voted to leave, only
:34:57. > :35:00.five voted to remain. Doesn't it explain why your party is going
:35:01. > :35:07.nowhere? A majority in Wales voted to leave but you effectively want to
:35:08. > :35:11.support that and de facto remain in the EU? I don't accept that, we
:35:12. > :35:16.accepted the result but Plaid Cymru now is about defending Wales. There
:35:17. > :35:20.are so many risks facing our people from the jobs perspective, the
:35:21. > :35:24.privatisation perspective, the cuts perspective, and from the fact that
:35:25. > :35:29.the Tories would like to grab power was back from our National Assembly,
:35:30. > :35:33.so the key point... If you look at the Wales bill that went through
:35:34. > :35:37.recently, the list of reserved powers there suggests there are some
:35:38. > :35:43.powers currently within the Welsh Assembly jurisdiction that would be
:35:44. > :35:48.dragged back. Which power was will Westminster take back? They could
:35:49. > :35:55.take powers back over the NHS, for example. There is no indication they
:35:56. > :36:04.want to do that. The Tories have attacked the Welsh NHS. That is my
:36:05. > :36:08.point! Quite viciously. If they increase their mandate, I wouldn't
:36:09. > :36:12.put it past them to try to take power was back over the NHS and then
:36:13. > :36:17.of course we risk our NHS being privatised though this election is
:36:18. > :36:20.all about defending Wales, protecting Welsh people from further
:36:21. > :36:25.privatisation and cuts and a power grab from the Tories. Why is there
:36:26. > :36:29.never a breakthrough for your party, Plaid Cymru? Labour dominated in
:36:30. > :36:33.Wales for years, the Tories do quite well, Ukip had a surge for a while,
:36:34. > :36:38.it looks like the Tories will have another surge, never you, always the
:36:39. > :36:42.bridesmaid, never the bride. Wait until Thursday and I think you will
:36:43. > :36:46.see that in many parts of Wales we will increase our representation at
:36:47. > :36:52.a local council level. In the Rhondda, where I am assembly member,
:36:53. > :37:00.we are looking to increase our representation... You are only 13%
:37:01. > :37:04.in the polls will stop which is half of even the Tories in Wales! If you
:37:05. > :37:11.don't breakthrough in the selection, if the real problem is going
:37:12. > :37:16.nowhere, do you think you will pack it in? Robert Green not, I have a
:37:17. > :37:21.job to do, a vision of Wales which is about building up our nation and
:37:22. > :37:24.standing on our own two feet and my job is not done yet. Thank you for
:37:25. > :37:28.being with us as part of your job, we will see how it goes on Thursday.
:37:29. > :37:31.It's just gone 11.35, you're watching the Sunday Politics.
:37:32. > :37:33.We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland who leave us now
:37:34. > :37:47.Hello and welcome to a live edition of Sunday Politics
:37:48. > :37:54.We'll be joined by the candidates for West of England Mayor.
:37:55. > :38:03.It's time to vote on Thursday - Portway and Saltford.
:38:04. > :38:06.Our little studio is a bit too snug to fit all six candidates,
:38:07. > :38:10.so we've got three in the first half of the show and three in the second.
:38:11. > :38:13.In alphabetical order, our first trio are the Conservative
:38:14. > :38:15.Tim Bowles, Ukip's Aaron Foot and Darren Hall
:38:16. > :38:20.We'll hear from them in a moment, but first, here's Martin Jones
:38:21. > :38:28.with a brief reminder of what's at stake.
:38:29. > :38:31.In five days' time, we'll have a new mayor.
:38:32. > :38:34.One of the most powerful politicians in the West.
:38:35. > :38:37.With money to spend - almost a billion pounds
:38:38. > :38:43.over the next 30 years, and hints there could be more.
:38:44. > :38:48.The power to say where homes should be built and where they shouldn't.
:38:49. > :38:52.The power to help us get around and ease the gridlock.
:38:53. > :38:55.Powers to influence the skills our people have.
:38:56. > :39:00.Powers to tax business and choose where the money is spent.
:39:01. > :39:03.But it's a controversial post involving working with other
:39:04. > :39:07.councils and convincing the public to take notice.
:39:08. > :39:13.The public make their choice on Thursday.
:39:14. > :39:26.Tim Bowles, if you win, what will be different
:39:27. > :39:38.The important thing about this role is that the government is giving the
:39:39. > :39:43.region the opportunity to make its region the opportunity to make its
:39:44. > :39:50.own decisions. The vital thing after four years is the region recognises
:39:51. > :39:54.someone is accountable and recognisable as the person
:39:55. > :40:00.formulating those ideas with council leaders. Hopefully, the region will
:40:01. > :40:06.recognise the positive move this is. For years to build up the job? Your
:40:07. > :40:13.question was what will be recognisable after four years. You
:40:14. > :40:19.will have somebody who is accountable and recognisable. We
:40:20. > :40:24.will have that from day one. But after four years? We will have made
:40:25. > :40:28.progress in providing a strategy that people will see, improving
:40:29. > :40:33.transport, tackling housing issues and in doing that we will develop
:40:34. > :40:38.alongside -- long-term strategy this deal is about. So your focus will be
:40:39. > :40:42.building up the job, being recognised and working on a
:40:43. > :40:51.strategy? It will be formulated with the leaders and other partners. One
:40:52. > :40:56.thing that will get done? We will start addressing pinch points in
:40:57. > :41:01.terms of transport. We can start that immediately. Longer term
:41:02. > :41:05.planning on new Road junctions and other transport infrastructure takes
:41:06. > :41:10.time so it's a case of showing how we can make immediate differences,
:41:11. > :41:13.getting new homes built, improving transport and taking the message to
:41:14. > :41:25.employers about the wealth of talent we have four skills.
:41:26. > :41:35.And the same question for you? I want to find out where people want
:41:36. > :41:39.their taxes spent. We have gridlock in Bath and Bristol that has to be
:41:40. > :41:44.solved and we can only solve it by working as a team with residents. If
:41:45. > :41:52.you win you will be in charge. They will come to you and say, what do we
:41:53. > :41:56.do? And you say, I'd better go and ask someone? No, as residents they
:41:57. > :42:02.know which areas are the pinch points and the reason behind it. How
:42:03. > :42:08.would you collect the information? It would be open source and software
:42:09. > :42:12.that would be freed to use. It will have to be built. But software is
:42:13. > :42:17.will build stuff specifically for will build stuff specifically for
:42:18. > :42:26.the West of England. So, you will have lots of liver --
:42:27. > :42:31.Little referenda done on computers? Asking where pinch ports are? Yes,
:42:32. > :42:37.people will be able to complain and make comments in easy through
:42:38. > :42:41.technology. At the moment they can e-mail you. More people will see
:42:42. > :42:48.these complaints and there will be a build-up before we can utilise them
:42:49. > :42:52.and do them quicker. It's about eradicating... What if you haven't
:42:53. > :42:58.got a computer? People can still write letters. It is not like we
:42:59. > :43:05.will say we now have e-democracy and that's it. Would you hold a
:43:06. > :43:10.referendum? It's not about having a vote every day. A virtual
:43:11. > :43:25.referendum? We will ask people what they think... Online? Yes. And you
:43:26. > :43:34.will take notice on that -- of that? Definitely. That's democracy. Darren
:43:35. > :43:42.Hall, what will change in four years? I have two principles I like
:43:43. > :43:46.to look at everything through. Those are, in a more equal society
:43:47. > :43:53.everyone does better. Secondly, we need to do a better job of balancing
:43:54. > :44:00.people, planet and profit. For example, we know the current digs
:44:01. > :44:05.system for housing is broken. Profit motives mainly not approving --
:44:06. > :44:11.getting profitable housing for people who need them. If you take
:44:12. > :44:16.the profit motivation out, how would you get the build? I am on the board
:44:17. > :44:22.of the Bristol Community land trust and we operate to build housing for
:44:23. > :44:28.people who needed. We build communities. How is it financed?
:44:29. > :44:33.Combination of the landowner and the City Council is offering land up to
:44:34. > :44:42.build houses. So you'd had to ask a landowner for land. Other likely to
:44:43. > :44:49.do that? The council has a process. I mean private landowners? We need
:44:50. > :44:53.to start with public sector land because we know there is pressure
:44:54. > :44:59.and that the public sector needs to build. And for the developer, what
:45:00. > :45:06.you do? Do you say build an estate but I don't want you to make profit?
:45:07. > :45:09.I think we can offer a presumption in favour of planning for those
:45:10. > :45:15.developers prepared to offer more affordable housing and more
:45:16. > :45:21.sustainable housing. But they will do it for a profit, won't they? This
:45:22. > :45:27.is why they sit on land because they want land prices to go up and all
:45:28. > :45:30.the rest of it. Unless they change systems completely and are prepared
:45:31. > :45:36.to do you a favour, how can you deliver on the housing promise?
:45:37. > :45:40.Rumack is about understanding that if we balanced people, planet and
:45:41. > :45:45.profit more effectively everyone benefits, including businesses.
:45:46. > :45:53.I want to ask about what you can do to deliver these and what
:45:54. > :45:59.experiences you've got. Tagged as why... Angie can look down the
:46:00. > :46:04.camera, sake of voters, choose me. The important thing is understanding
:46:05. > :46:11.what the job is about. Like any interview, you have two show your
:46:12. > :46:15.understanding what a job is about. Is he the sensible choice? I think
:46:16. > :46:21.Tim has got good local government choice but this job is about looking
:46:22. > :46:26.beyond South Gloucestershire. Do you think he's got the experience? I
:46:27. > :46:32.would explain about myself. The job is about working with today's
:46:33. > :46:37.council leaders. Somebody has to have an understanding as to how
:46:38. > :46:44.councils work and the only person who has that experience is me. It
:46:45. > :46:49.then involves working with business in terms of developing long-term
:46:50. > :46:56.economy, jobs and skills. I have a long and proven track record in
:46:57. > :47:04.business. What project have you delivered? I deliver ?2 million
:47:05. > :47:12.accounts in very loud exhibition and promotion events. OK, Aaron, a good
:47:13. > :47:19.solid job as a farmer. What experience have you got to drive
:47:20. > :47:21.forward ?1 billion budget? This role is about facilitating and listening
:47:22. > :47:30.and communicating with other leaders. As a farmer, and I've done
:47:31. > :47:34.this throughout my career, is about listening and reading. Now we have
:47:35. > :47:41.two produce something that we can actually tackle. Transport. What
:47:42. > :47:47.would you do? What have you done in the past that suggests you can do
:47:48. > :47:53.it? I run my own business. I will give up my business if I get the job
:47:54. > :47:59.and concentrate on this 110%. It's about listening to the people.
:48:00. > :48:05.Darren, what have you done? I lucky to have had a broad range of
:48:06. > :48:08.experience. I started out my career as a Royal Air Force engineering
:48:09. > :48:15.officer will stop my last role was with British -- Bristol City Council
:48:16. > :48:22.and I was proud to be on the team to get us British green city. And then
:48:23. > :48:24.I worked in crime and drugs prevention.
:48:25. > :48:25.I'm afraid our first trio are out of time.
:48:26. > :48:28.My thanks to Tim Bowles, Aaron Foot and Darren Hall.
:48:29. > :48:32.We'll meet the other candidates in a moment.
:48:33. > :48:35.Whoever becomes the West of England mayor will have the power
:48:36. > :48:36.and the money to turn big ideas into reality.
:48:37. > :48:39.But what big projects do the voters want to see?
:48:40. > :48:44.And can they provide any inspiration for the winner?
:48:45. > :48:53.We sent Pete Simson to do some blue sky thinking.
:48:54. > :48:58.Ours is a region renowned for transport innovation.
:48:59. > :49:00.From Brunel's railway to the trams in Bristol and Bath,
:49:01. > :49:10.These days, however, our reputation is for congestion.
:49:11. > :49:12.Shortly, we'll have a mayor with the power to ease
:49:13. > :49:18.the gridlock, but maybe he or she needs some suggestions.
:49:19. > :49:24.I think we should have some sort of system like they've got
:49:25. > :49:27.in New York where you'd jump on, pay a fee, jump off.
:49:28. > :49:32.Occasionally I'll get on the bus, but most of the time if we
:49:33. > :49:37.had to go anywhere special I get a taxi.
:49:38. > :49:44.If, like London, we had a subway I think that would be easier
:49:45. > :49:54.I appreciate that there is no easy solution to traffic
:49:55. > :49:58.congestion, but if we need to get more traffic off our roads, why
:49:59. > :50:04.can't we invest in an underground Metro system?
:50:05. > :50:08.After all, London's got one, as has Newcastle, so why not?
:50:09. > :50:17.Almost anything is possible if you throw enough money
:50:18. > :50:22.The challenges in Bristol and Bath are not insurmountable,
:50:23. > :50:27.Having said that, there are areas around the world where
:50:28. > :50:33.underground systems, tunnels, have been constructed beneath the sea,
:50:34. > :50:35.beneath rivers and in difficult ground conditions and even
:50:36. > :50:41.So if you throw enough money at a problem, it can
:50:42. > :50:44.generally overcome engineering problems.
:50:45. > :50:47.Bristol is spending over ?200 million on a new metrobus.
:50:48. > :50:53.The current system is rather like an overground/
:50:54. > :51:01.There are interchanges instead of tube stations so one
:51:02. > :51:05.hopes that it will solve Bristol's traffic problems.
:51:06. > :51:07.Not all of our big ideas get off the ground.
:51:08. > :51:10.Next to Temple Meads - the locals call this
:51:11. > :51:18.Connecting bits of scrubland because the Arena's not yet built.
:51:19. > :51:20.Whatever our new mayor decides they will or won't do,
:51:21. > :51:31.It cost ?11 million and no-one's ever set foot on it.
:51:32. > :51:34.I'm joined by Labour's Lesley Mansell, the Independent John Savage
:51:35. > :51:40.and Stephen Williams for the Liberal Democrats.
:51:41. > :51:44.Lesley Mansell, give us a big idea that you'd want to see happen
:51:45. > :51:59.built. There is a real issue and built. There is a real issue and
:52:00. > :52:05.it's the biggest issue or one of them for people in the region. There
:52:06. > :52:10.are already plans in place. The Labour mayor for Bristol and imposed
:52:11. > :52:15.for less than a year is already building council housing. But there
:52:16. > :52:20.needs to be mixed development. We have property is being built for
:52:21. > :52:25.profit but then they subsidise council housing. From the
:52:26. > :52:32.Conservatives is actually stopping those being built. Do you think
:52:33. > :52:36.developers would build houses and then reduced council houses? Not
:52:37. > :52:40.free but it's about having the budget to do that and the Metro air
:52:41. > :52:52.will have more money. Will you give it to the developer? In Bristol,
:52:53. > :52:57.there are some houses for profit and they subsidise council houses. We
:52:58. > :53:01.have 80,000 jobs being proposed across the West of England and
:53:02. > :53:08.people need somewhere to live. We need fair rents as well. John
:53:09. > :53:12.Savage, what would you do? Move very quickly to get a coalition about
:53:13. > :53:18.where we're going and move faster. No matter how much it upsets people,
:53:19. > :53:23.the local authorities in ability to work together has held us back for
:53:24. > :53:28.too long. So we will move quickly to try to get a better view and we will
:53:29. > :53:33.look a bit further ahead so that by 2050 we think we need 300,000
:53:34. > :53:39.houses. We can move quickly also to do something about traffic. To pick
:53:40. > :53:45.up one housing, where will it go and how will you pay for them? They will
:53:46. > :53:49.go hopefully initially on Brownfield land but we will have to take some
:53:50. > :53:55.grass, that's for certain. If you look at the requirement for housing
:53:56. > :53:58.and infrastructure it is perfectly possible to do deals with developers
:53:59. > :54:04.and shareholders to build a product that gives profit, which is OK, and
:54:05. > :54:10.a product that is satisfactory to people. I do think they would accept
:54:11. > :54:15.that deal, making less profit because we just need you to do it?
:54:16. > :54:20.It's about understanding what needs to be done and reasonable profit.
:54:21. > :54:26.The place would collapse completely of said nobody can make a profit.
:54:27. > :54:33.Developers know they have to change their approach and they are looking
:54:34. > :54:40.for leadership. Have you a pledge from a developer? Certainly one. Can
:54:41. > :54:46.you name them? No. This is why struggling in the public sector for
:54:47. > :54:51.services because people are not... You will not have any power on that.
:54:52. > :54:57.No, but I would be prepared to lobby the government on that. Stephen
:54:58. > :55:02.Willis. You had to ground yourself in political reality rather than
:55:03. > :55:06.fantasy politics. The first thing people will notice that the end of a
:55:07. > :55:10.four-year term if I am the Metro Mayor is that there will be a
:55:11. > :55:18.transport revolution. We will have seamless, cashless payments on buses
:55:19. > :55:23.to speed it up and we will improve the quality in Bristol and Bath. For
:55:24. > :55:27.new railway stations will have been opened and I have discussed that
:55:28. > :55:36.with Network Rail. Is funding sorted out? And now we will have a
:55:37. > :55:44.contactless card, or what? People can use their own debit card and you
:55:45. > :55:51.can do that with a drink. And you can fix that, can you? Absolutely.
:55:52. > :55:54.The regional mayor will have us franchising powers and I have made
:55:55. > :55:59.it clear that it would be the expectation. Transport is the area
:56:00. > :56:01.where I would to be judged on in four years.
:56:02. > :56:10.Lesley Mansell, you've suggested putting the M32 underground.
:56:11. > :56:22.Is that right? Congestion is costing ?350 million a year. If people are
:56:23. > :56:26.going to get across the West of England to deliver services and
:56:27. > :56:32.industry we need, we have to be able to move around. We need to do
:56:33. > :56:38.different thinking. It may be about getting people out of cars and onto
:56:39. > :56:42.buses. We need to improve public transport and the infrastructure
:56:43. > :56:47.which includes the potholes. We have started to look at different ideas
:56:48. > :56:57.like putting the M32 Underground. How would it help congestion? If I
:56:58. > :57:03.could finish. We start to look at something different. There is a
:57:04. > :57:08.four-year term to start doing that. But how would putting it Underground
:57:09. > :57:13.to help ease congestion? It would also provide jobs for the
:57:14. > :57:18.construction industry. Construction engineers can do amazing
:57:19. > :57:22.constructions now. Nobody said the Channel Tunnel would happen but it
:57:23. > :57:27.has. Do you think it is realistic with perhaps a tube? It's something
:57:28. > :57:35.to look at. Long-term it's something we could look at. We need different
:57:36. > :57:45.thinking. John Savage, do you accept she is onto something? No, I don't.
:57:46. > :57:49.The business of nearly a business -- nearly ?1 billion is a fabrication.
:57:50. > :57:54.The existing budget is already being spent anyway so we have to be
:57:55. > :58:01.realistic. This is a small crumb being handed down that we had to
:58:02. > :58:08.make work. Isn't that a counsel of despair? You have to be realistic.
:58:09. > :58:12.Are you saying Leslie isn't being realistic? Building an underground
:58:13. > :58:19.railway system against the odds of the geography and that in the M32
:58:20. > :58:22.Underground, how does that is the transport problem? Wouldn't it be
:58:23. > :58:27.marvellous if we had a tube system going to the airport taking
:58:28. > :58:33.transport of the road? If I want to get to the airport I can either
:58:34. > :58:41.travel across the valley will get the bus. It is not realistic. Tubes
:58:42. > :58:46.and tunnels and all the rest of it is big trouble but you're talking
:58:47. > :58:50.about a system with a card and contactless. Is that inspirational?
:58:51. > :58:55.There's a difference between talking began talking nonsense. The only
:58:56. > :58:59.hole Leslie has died is for herself and the Labour Party in this
:59:00. > :59:03.campaign. You had to deliver credible things and getting buses
:59:04. > :59:14.moving faster with cashless payments and dealing with fuel emissions, and
:59:15. > :59:19.getting people off the road and onto public transport is what people are
:59:20. > :59:25.looking for. What would you do to get people out of their cars? And is
:59:26. > :59:34.that necessary? It is necessarily because a quality is really bad. How
:59:35. > :59:40.do you do it? You have alternatives and you... We worked on it in the
:59:41. > :59:45.chamber years ago. People will accept it but nobody would get out
:59:46. > :59:49.of their cars if there isn't something that works as an
:59:50. > :59:56.alternative. What will be the stick to say, you are not driving your car
:59:57. > :00:04.'s? Again, we have to improve public transport. What is the stick? And we
:00:05. > :00:13.need to look at flexible working to allow people to work some days of
:00:14. > :00:19.the week. And the stick? During the week, it's much more difficult. We
:00:20. > :00:24.need to start offering alternatives. It is all right Stephen Williams
:00:25. > :00:30.shaking his head saying is fantasy but what did he do as a government
:00:31. > :00:33.minister. He was behind cuts... We had to leave it.
:00:34. > :00:40.we will take the mandate that we want. To all three of you, thank
:00:41. > :00:52.you. Andrew, back to you. So, how will Thursday's local
:00:53. > :00:54.election results affect Who's winning the
:00:55. > :00:57.election ground war? And as he celebrates 100
:00:58. > :01:14.days in the White House, We have the local elections, Metro
:01:15. > :01:19.elections in Liverpool, greater Birmingham, West Midlands, how will
:01:20. > :01:22.they play into the general election? Significantly, it is very unusual.
:01:23. > :01:27.People keep comparing this with the election in 83, not! Margaret
:01:28. > :01:31.Thatcher was nervous and to wait until after the local elections to
:01:32. > :01:35.call the election to see the result. We are getting these result in the
:01:36. > :01:41.middle of an election campaign so it will be important, whoever does
:01:42. > :01:44.badly will suffer a dent in confidence in terms of how they
:01:45. > :01:49.approach the election and we are also going to have mayoral figures
:01:50. > :01:54.as a reminder of another big difference with the 80s that however
:01:55. > :01:58.big, say, the Conservatives win in Westminster, there are now sectors
:01:59. > :02:01.of power in other parts of the United Kingdom which were not there
:02:02. > :02:06.in the 80s. One of the reasons niches that are rated in 83 was
:02:07. > :02:11.memories were still alive in political circles of 1970, Wilson
:02:12. > :02:16.saw the local election results and thought, I can win, he was told he
:02:17. > :02:20.would win by the Economist magazine, who had done the analysis, and of
:02:21. > :02:28.course he lost, so that is why she waited, Mrs May does not need to
:02:29. > :02:31.wait for that at all now, and on the Metro elections, the one she will be
:02:32. > :02:35.looking at is the West Midlands, that is the one that is a
:02:36. > :02:38.competition. I think she can really lose on Thursday in the local
:02:39. > :02:43.elections, governing parties are supposed to take effect again,
:02:44. > :02:49.losing lots of council seats. She is projected to put on 100 or so seats,
:02:50. > :02:53.Labour projected to lose around 200, the first time the main opposition
:02:54. > :02:56.party has shed seats since something like 83 so clearly the local
:02:57. > :03:00.elections give Mrs May great momentum going into the general
:03:01. > :03:03.election campaign but there is a downside in that, which is what we
:03:04. > :03:09.have already heard fighting about this morning, if it looks like it is
:03:10. > :03:13.going too well for the Tories, it says to voters, why bother turning
:03:14. > :03:16.up? Sushi comes up with totally unbelievable sound bites this
:03:17. > :03:22.morning that this is the most important general election in her
:03:23. > :03:29.lifetime. Really?! For her it is! It always is until the next one! I
:03:30. > :03:34.wonder if voter turnout is a problem? Tory voters are more likely
:03:35. > :03:39.to vote than Labour voters. If there is a sense that it is all over bar
:03:40. > :03:43.the shouting, the overall turnout will be low that Tory voters are
:03:44. > :03:48.still likely to turn out more than Labour voters so she would still win
:03:49. > :03:52.some. I don't think she needs to be too worried, I think there will be a
:03:53. > :03:59.significantly low turnout, even I am finding it hard to be that excited
:04:00. > :04:03.about this general election. Really, the policies, we have spent a lot of
:04:04. > :04:08.time talking about them today and we have to examine them, but all this
:04:09. > :04:12.is about is, do you want Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn in Number Ten?
:04:13. > :04:15.Those are the only question is, apart from possibly how strong do
:04:16. > :04:21.you feel about Brexit, that will be on the voters' minds. You may say
:04:22. > :04:25.that but I will not be put off from going through a list of policies
:04:26. > :04:32.that we have already had in the last 24 hours. On the Conservatives, more
:04:33. > :04:39.powers to stop company bosses under pensions, of course Philip Green was
:04:40. > :04:44.in mind there. Labour has come up with quite a few policies, actually,
:04:45. > :04:53.give all work of equal rights, whether part-time or full-time,
:04:54. > :04:58.temporary or permanent. Ukip, scrap VAT or takeaway -- on takeaway food
:04:59. > :05:04.and end the BBC licence fee. The Liberal Democrats have come out
:05:05. > :05:11.posed to the runway at Heathrow. I thought I knew that already? Will
:05:12. > :05:17.any of these policies make a difference? They are all nice handy
:05:18. > :05:21.things that people quite liked but probably not, is the answer. They
:05:22. > :05:25.are an awful way away from polling day now for people to remember and
:05:26. > :05:31.latch onto. I don't think you make your mind up on small issues like
:05:32. > :05:34.Heathrow, unless you live in Richmond-upon-Thames, maybe, but the
:05:35. > :05:38.problem Labour have got with unfailing a lot of these retail type
:05:39. > :05:43.policies which, in themselves, are very popular, is no one will listen
:05:44. > :05:47.to them until they get over the leadership credibility issue. Jeremy
:05:48. > :05:50.Corbyn could the world on a stick, but if no one believes he can
:05:51. > :05:53.deliver it then he will not be listened to and he has not done much
:05:54. > :05:57.apart from a speech yesterday in which is claim to fame was getting
:05:58. > :06:03.arrested, I don't see how that would work for him getting to Number Ten.
:06:04. > :06:09.They are not making progress on it. Labour has rolled out a number of
:06:10. > :06:14.policies which, taken individually, would have certain traction in
:06:15. > :06:17.normal times, quite interesting ideas, this sense of unfairness, a
:06:18. > :06:23.feeling that ordinary workers have not done well out of the recovery,
:06:24. > :06:26.those who caused the crash have, 20 points, I went through some of them
:06:27. > :06:31.earlier, putting aside they are not costed, we are assured they will be.
:06:32. > :06:37.The problem I suggest is not the costing but the cut through? Every
:06:38. > :06:41.election has a context which is determined by opinion polls, however
:06:42. > :06:44.sceptical we are these days, and if one party is way ahead it is
:06:45. > :06:50.difficult for the other party to appear relevant, because if people
:06:51. > :06:54.assume they are not going to win, even some of its own MPs are saying,
:06:55. > :07:01.we are not going to win this, so you can vote for us, it is very hard to
:07:02. > :07:05.get attention and relevance. Where I think all the parties are bad with
:07:06. > :07:11.their current leaders is framing arguments, so those policies you
:07:12. > :07:15.have highlighted makes sense. The best leaders are brilliant framers
:07:16. > :07:21.of an argument and neither Theresa Maynor Jeremy Corbyn R. They have
:07:22. > :07:25.been campaigning, their manifestos are not out yet, both sides have
:07:26. > :07:29.been telling us we have to wait for costings, but it has not stopped
:07:30. > :07:34.them campaigning. Let's remind you of where they have been and what
:07:35. > :07:39.they have been doing so far. Let's start with Jeremy Corbyn, his
:07:40. > :07:43.first official visit was in the ultra-marginal Conservative seat of
:07:44. > :07:48.Croydon Central where the MP Gavin Barwell has a lead of just 165. That
:07:49. > :07:52.is not the only Conservative seat he has visited, along the way he popped
:07:53. > :07:59.in on Bristol North West, a Conservative majority of nearly
:08:00. > :08:06.5000. The Tory seat of Cardiff North, a lead of just over 2000,
:08:07. > :08:11.Warrington South, just over 2700, and Crewe and Nantwich, Tory
:08:12. > :08:17.majority of three and a half thousand. Yesterday he visited
:08:18. > :08:22.Bethnal greed and Bob, a Labour lead of 20 4000. Theresa May kicked off
:08:23. > :08:27.her campaign in Bolton, Labour majority of over 4000. On her way
:08:28. > :08:31.round the UK she had a comfy stop in her own maidenhead seat, where she
:08:32. > :08:35.is defending a majority of nearly 30,000, before travelling to other
:08:36. > :08:42.Labour marginals including Dudley North, a Labour lead of 4000.
:08:43. > :08:43.Bridgend, a lead of just under 2004 Labour, before becoming ambitious
:08:44. > :09:00.and visiting shadow minister Richard Bergen's Leeds East seat, which he
:09:01. > :09:02.won by over 12,500 votes. Yesterday she went north of the border to
:09:03. > :09:04.Aberdeenshire, where amongst other places she visited the SNP seat of
:09:05. > :09:05.West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, where the Tories would have to gain
:09:06. > :09:13.over 7000 votes to unseat the NP. What do you make of it all so far?
:09:14. > :09:17.It is remarkable she is doing these visits in Scotland. Past but even
:09:18. > :09:20.five years and the idea of a Tory Prime Minister going round Scotland
:09:21. > :09:25.would be utterly counter-productive, and actually they are ambitious for
:09:26. > :09:29.Scotland now under with Davidson, a prospect of multiple seats, and that
:09:30. > :09:32.would be a real genuine shift in Scottish politics, the likes of
:09:33. > :09:42.which we have not seen for 15 or 20 years. If she gets that, that helps
:09:43. > :09:47.towards 100 seats, because if she wins ten in Scotland, it is
:09:48. > :09:51.effectively 20, the SNP lose ten, she gains ten, she wants to do that
:09:52. > :09:57.in the Midlands with Labour, and the North. To get the 100 majority,
:09:58. > :10:02.other than Scotland, she has to win Labour seats, that is all that is
:10:03. > :10:06.there. And clearly she has been told, it is obvious, that she has a
:10:07. > :10:09.chance of doing so, otherwise you don't go to these parts of the
:10:10. > :10:14.country in the first few days of the campaign. All logic points to her
:10:15. > :10:19.being able to pull it off as well. The opinion polls, the state of the
:10:20. > :10:23.Labour Party. The only qualification I have in this is that politics is
:10:24. > :10:30.so wild and free Braille at the moment, it doesn't feel like
:10:31. > :10:36.landslide to rain. That is true, it doesn't. It is early days, we
:10:37. > :10:40.haven't yet had the manifestos, the campaign is yet to gather momentum.
:10:41. > :10:48.It doesn't feel like landslide territory. I disagree, look at every
:10:49. > :10:53.single poll, the Tory lead is 10% in Wales, you can see her picking up 20
:10:54. > :10:57.seat there. Put this together, I am told by the way she is going into
:10:58. > :11:03.traditional Labour heartland again tomorrow, the key is the Ukip vote.
:11:04. > :11:22.That will implode... Crumble towards Tories? If she can hoover that up
:11:23. > :11:23.and retain the Tory vote, she will have a majority of 150.
:11:24. > :11:23.I cannot let you go without reminding you that it is Donald
:11:24. > :11:24.Trump's 100 days. He's not making a lot of it now, this is what he said
:11:25. > :11:26.last night. We are just beginning in our fight
:11:27. > :11:29.to make America great again. Now, before we talk about my first
:11:30. > :11:38.100 days, which has been very exciting and very productive,
:11:39. > :11:43.let's rate the media's 100 days. Because, as you know,
:11:44. > :12:03.they are a disgrace. There you go, still bashing the
:12:04. > :12:08.media, that was at a rally in Virginia, the 100 days was last
:12:09. > :12:12.night. He seems happier campaigning than running the country. You each
:12:13. > :12:20.have 20 seconds to give me your board on the first 100 days.
:12:21. > :12:25.Remarkable, he will not stop slagging off the media but America
:12:26. > :12:28.first has not meant America first in terms of national policy, he has
:12:29. > :12:33.reneges on what he said about Nato being obsolete. He is moving from
:12:34. > :12:41.the old right to the centre because that is where you get things done,
:12:42. > :12:47.he is a pragmatist, also is about's friend Nigel Parrott is no longer
:12:48. > :12:52.welcome, we read this morning! Allegedly! He loves campaigning but
:12:53. > :12:56.finds governing much more difficult. Who would have thought being
:12:57. > :13:00.president of the United States was a difficult job?! He loves rallies but
:13:01. > :13:06.being president and politics is a very difficult thing indeed. Thank
:13:07. > :13:07.you, there we go, Mr Trump's 100 days, we will see what the next 100
:13:08. > :13:10.brings. The Daily Politics is back
:13:11. > :13:13.on BBC Two after the bank holiday on Tuesday at midday,
:13:14. > :13:15.with all the latest And I'll be back here
:13:16. > :13:18.on BBC One next Sunday Remember - if it's Sunday,
:13:19. > :14:25.it's the Sunday Politics. The East End girl who became the
:14:26. > :14:27.nation's favourite. We don't know what it is,
:14:28. > :14:32.but she definitely has... Something. From stage to screen
:14:33. > :14:37.and into our hearts. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
:14:38. > :14:45.Ooh, in't she wonderful? If you're not careful, you'll end up
:14:46. > :14:49.playing this sexy little blonde