Browse content similar to 30/04/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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It's Sunday Morning, and this is the Sunday Politics. | :00:36. | :00:40. | |
Theresa May says she has no plans to increase tax levels, | :00:41. | :00:42. | |
but refuses to repeat David Cameron's 2015 manifesto | :00:43. | :00:46. | |
promise ruling out hikes in VAT, national insurance and income tax. | :00:47. | :00:53. | |
The leaders of the EU's 27 member states unanimously | :00:54. | :00:56. | |
agree their negotiating strategy for the upcoming Brexit talks, but | :00:57. | :01:00. | |
And in the last of our series of interviews ahead of Thursday's | :01:01. | :01:10. | |
local elections, I'll be talking to the leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne | :01:11. | :01:17. | |
In the West: The new Metro Mayor - I'll be joined by all six candidates | :01:18. | :01:20. | |
hoping to become West of England Mayor. | :01:21. | :01:22. | |
They hit an all-time low after coalition government, | :01:23. | :01:48. | |
but are the Lib Dems poised to bounce back, | :01:49. | :01:49. | |
And with me to analyse the week's politics, | :01:50. | :01:54. | |
Isabel Oakeshott, Steve Richards, Tom Newton-Dunn. | :01:55. | :01:55. | |
They'll be tweeting using the hashtag #bbcsp. | :01:56. | :01:57. | |
So when Theresa May was interviewed just over an hour ago | :01:58. | :02:00. | |
on The Andrew Marr Show, the Prime Minister was asked | :02:01. | :02:03. | |
to confirm that she would repeat David Cameron's 2015 election | :02:04. | :02:05. | |
promise not to raise VAT, national insurance and income tax | :02:06. | :02:07. | |
We have absolutely no plans to increase the level of tax, | :02:08. | :02:12. | |
but I'm also very clear that I don't want to make specific proposals | :02:13. | :02:15. | |
on taxes unless I'm absolutely sure that I can deliver on those. | :02:16. | :02:17. | |
But it is, would be my intention as a Conservative Government | :02:18. | :02:20. | |
and a Conservative Prime Minister, to reduce the taxes | :02:21. | :02:22. | |
The Tories like to have a clear tax message in elections, are they | :02:23. | :02:32. | |
getting into a bit of a mess? That method wasn't clear, but does it | :02:33. | :02:35. | |
mean, saying they have no plans to increase the level of tax? We are | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
clear there will not be a rise in VAT, a lot of commentators will get | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
overexcited about that, but there was no great expectations there | :02:46. | :02:50. | |
would be a rise in VAT. Tempting as it is, because even one percentage | :02:51. | :02:55. | |
point on VAT rate is 4.5 billion for the exchequer so it is tempting but | :02:56. | :02:59. | |
there has been no speculation that would happen. We can see that she | :03:00. | :03:06. | |
clearly wants to reiterate the language about hard-working families | :03:07. | :03:09. | |
but I don't think we are that much the wiser. Even if she does not put | :03:10. | :03:15. | |
up rates, according to projections the overall tax burden, as a | :03:16. | :03:19. | |
percentage of GDP, is rising, will rise in the years ahead. That is why | :03:20. | :03:25. | |
it was an odd phrase, I know she is doing it to be evasive but to say | :03:26. | :03:29. | |
they have no plans to raise the general level of taxation, they do | :03:30. | :03:33. | |
have. We also know they have specific plans because it was in the | :03:34. | :03:37. | |
last budget, they had a tax rise which they had to revise, National | :03:38. | :03:44. | |
Insurance rises, so very wisely in my view they are keeping options | :03:45. | :03:52. | |
open, the 2015 tax-and-spend debate was a fantasy world, totally | :03:53. | :03:56. | |
unrelated to the demands that would follow. They now have the | :03:57. | :04:01. | |
flexibility, one of the arguments you had heard last time was Philip | :04:02. | :04:04. | |
Hammond saying to her, we have to break away from the 2015 manifesto | :04:05. | :04:10. | |
commitment and we can only do it this way, that is one of the better | :04:11. | :04:14. | |
arguments. The Tories like to talk about tax cuts in elections, whether | :04:15. | :04:18. | |
they do it is another matter, but they are not being allowed to talk | :04:19. | :04:25. | |
about tax cuts, they are now on the defensive over whether they will | :04:26. | :04:30. | |
raise taxes. That is not a healthy position for the campaign to be in. | :04:31. | :04:32. | |
If you look at the numbers, quite frankly, if you will not do this at | :04:33. | :04:38. | |
this election with eight 20 point lead over Labour, then when will you | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
take these tough decisions? Reading between the lines of what Theresa | :04:43. | :04:46. | |
May has said all over different broadcasters this morning, income | :04:47. | :04:49. | |
tax will go down for low-income families, such as the threshold rise | :04:50. | :04:53. | |
that microbes that was already factored in. She has had to commit | :04:54. | :05:00. | |
to it again. VAT will be fat, national insurance contributions | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
will go up. Do you think they will go up? I think so, she had plenty of | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
opportunity to rule it out and she didn't. There was a terrible mess | :05:10. | :05:16. | |
with the budget, it is a good tax argument but not a good electoral | :05:17. | :05:19. | |
argument that you are eroding the base so heavily with people moving | :05:20. | :05:24. | |
into self-employment that as you raise national insurance | :05:25. | :05:27. | |
contributions for everybody but the self-employed, it is something the | :05:28. | :05:30. | |
Treasury will have to look at. The other triple lock on pensions, we | :05:31. | :05:35. | |
don't know if they will keep to that either? If they are sensible they | :05:36. | :05:39. | |
will find a form of words to give them flexibility in that area as | :05:40. | :05:43. | |
well. I would say there is no question over that, that has gone. | :05:44. | :05:48. | |
As Mrs May would say, you will have to wait for the manifesto. That is | :05:49. | :05:51. | |
what all the party leaders tell me! Labour have spent the weekend | :05:52. | :05:56. | |
pushing their messages Speaking at a camapign rally | :05:57. | :05:57. | |
in London yesterday, Jeremy Corbyn promised a Labour | :05:58. | :06:01. | |
government would fix what he called People are fed up, fed up with not | :06:02. | :06:09. | |
being able to get somewhere to live, fed up waiting for hospital | :06:10. | :06:13. | |
appointments, fed up with 0-hours contracts, fed up with low pay, fed | :06:14. | :06:18. | |
up with debt, fed up with not being able to get on in their lives | :06:19. | :06:22. | |
because we have a system that is rigged against so many. | :06:23. | :06:26. | |
I've been joined from Newcastle by Labour's elections | :06:27. | :06:28. | |
and campaigns co-ordinator, Ian Lavery. | :06:29. | :06:29. | |
Good morning. To deal with this rigged economy, as Mr Corbyn calls | :06:30. | :06:40. | |
it, the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has a 20 point plan for | :06:41. | :06:45. | |
workers out today. When you add up everything he plans to do to help | :06:46. | :06:48. | |
workers, how much will it cost? The full costings, one thing I need to | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
say at the very beginning, the costings of any policy which we have | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
already ruled out and any policy we will be ruling out in the next few | :07:00. | :07:03. | |
days and weeks will be fully costed in the manifesto and in addition to | :07:04. | :07:09. | |
the fact that it will be fully costed, we will see it in the | :07:10. | :07:13. | |
manifesto how indeed it has been funded, so we are very clear, | :07:14. | :07:18. | |
anything we have seen already, and there are some exciting policy | :07:19. | :07:21. | |
releases and there will be more in the future, anything we are going to | :07:22. | :07:25. | |
do will be fully costed and in the manifesto. You announced a 20 point | :07:26. | :07:29. | |
plan but cannot tell me what the costs will be this morning so at the | :07:30. | :07:34. | |
moment it is a menu without prices? It is not a menu without prices, it | :07:35. | :07:39. | |
is a fantastic opportunity. This 20 point plan is something which will | :07:40. | :07:43. | |
transform the lives of millions of millions of people in the | :07:44. | :07:48. | |
workplace... But what is the cost? It will be welcomed by many people | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
across the UK. The fact the costings have not been released, you will | :07:54. | :07:57. | |
have to be patient, it will be released very clearly, it will | :07:58. | :08:02. | |
identify that in the manifesto. Let me come down to one of the points, | :08:03. | :08:06. | |
the end of the public sector pay freeze. Can you give us any idea how | :08:07. | :08:12. | |
much that will cost? The end of the public sector pay freeze, so | :08:13. | :08:15. | |
important to the future of the Labour Party, it is an massive | :08:16. | :08:22. | |
policy decision. Let me say at this stage, Theresa May, the Prime | :08:23. | :08:27. | |
Minister, this morning, on The Andrew Marr Show, did not have the | :08:28. | :08:30. | |
common decency, courtesy all respect to condone the fact that nurses, the | :08:31. | :08:36. | |
heroes of the NHS, have had a reduction of nearly 14% in their | :08:37. | :08:42. | |
wages since 2010 and are using food banks to feed themselves! Does that | :08:43. | :08:46. | |
not say everything that is wrong with today's society? So can you | :08:47. | :08:52. | |
tell me what it will cost, which is what my question was? What I will | :08:53. | :08:57. | |
say is everything the Labour Party pledges, everything that we come out | :08:58. | :09:00. | |
with, what we will roll out between now and the 8th of June, will be | :09:01. | :09:05. | |
fully costed, people will be very much aware of how much the costings | :09:06. | :09:08. | |
will be, where the funding will come from, when the manifesto is | :09:09. | :09:13. | |
published. What about doubling paternity leave, nu minimum wage, | :09:14. | :09:18. | |
four new bank holidays, any idea what it will | :09:19. | :09:29. | |
cost? These are exciting new proposals and of course today cost | :09:30. | :09:33. | |
money but we are the sixth richest economy in the world. It is about | :09:34. | :09:35. | |
redistribution of the wealth we create. We are seeing growth in the | :09:36. | :09:38. | |
economy, it is how we utilise the finances in the best way we possibly | :09:39. | :09:41. | |
can for a fairer society for the many and not the few. You just can't | :09:42. | :09:47. | |
tell me how much it will cost? That is why I will repeat again that you | :09:48. | :09:52. | |
need to be very patient. Do you know the cost yourself? You are the head | :09:53. | :09:56. | |
of the campaign, do you know the cost of these things yourself? I am | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
very much aware of how much the costings are likely to be, they have | :10:01. | :10:04. | |
been identified, they will be published in the manifesto. You | :10:05. | :10:10. | |
really do understand I would not be releasing today, live on your show, | :10:11. | :10:14. | |
any costings or predictions with regards the manifesto. Why not? You | :10:15. | :10:19. | |
have released the policy, why not the cost? Because there is a fine | :10:20. | :10:25. | |
detail and we will identify it to the general public in the manifesto. | :10:26. | :10:28. | |
We not only explain how much it will cost but we will explain where the | :10:29. | :10:35. | |
funding comes from. Be patient. Will some of the costs be met by | :10:36. | :10:40. | |
increasing taxes? I would think at this point in time there is not any | :10:41. | :10:45. | |
indication to increase basic taxes and again the taxes and spending of | :10:46. | :10:51. | |
the Labour Government with the proposals of the 20 point plan, the | :10:52. | :10:56. | |
issues we have got, housing, the NHS, crime, education will all be | :10:57. | :11:02. | |
identified with the costings in the publication. Can you tell us this | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
morning, we'll tax for most people rise or not to finance this? We in | :11:08. | :11:14. | |
the Labour Party are looking to a fair tax system which will be | :11:15. | :11:20. | |
clearly identified in the manifesto. Mr McDonnell also wants to ban all | :11:21. | :11:26. | |
0-hours contracts. Would that include those who actually like | :11:27. | :11:32. | |
those contracts? There are nearly 1 million, depending on which figured | :11:33. | :11:35. | |
you'd use, there are nearly 1 million people on zero-hours | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
contract and the vast proportion of those want to be able to live a | :11:40. | :11:44. | |
decent life, a secure life, they want to understand whether they will | :11:45. | :11:50. | |
be at work the next day, they're included hours... I understand a lot | :11:51. | :11:54. | |
of people don't like zero-hours contract and your proposal will | :11:55. | :11:58. | |
address that, but there are those, I saw one survey where 65% of people | :11:59. | :12:03. | |
on zero-hours contract like the flexibility it gives them. Will you | :12:04. | :12:07. | |
force them off zero-hours contract or if they like them will they | :12:08. | :12:11. | |
continue with them? We will discuss it with employee is to make sure | :12:12. | :12:16. | |
individuals in the workplace have the right to negotiate hours in that | :12:17. | :12:20. | |
workplace. Guaranteed hours is very, very important. Zero-hour contracts | :12:21. | :12:28. | |
are an instrument in which employers abuse and exploit mainly young | :12:29. | :12:32. | |
people, mainly female people in the workplace. We would be banning | :12:33. | :12:38. | |
zero-hour contract. But there are those, students for example, who | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
like them, would they be forced off zero-hour contracts in your | :12:43. | :12:47. | |
proposal? Our proposal would be banning zero-hour contract and | :12:48. | :12:51. | |
introducing contracts which have set hours in the workplace. You also say | :12:52. | :12:56. | |
no company will be able to bid for a public contract unless the boss | :12:57. | :13:00. | |
earns no more than 20 times the lowest paid, or the average wage, | :13:01. | :13:05. | |
I'm not quite sure which. What would happen if British Aerospace bids to | :13:06. | :13:08. | |
build more joint strike Fighters and the boss is paid more than 20 times? | :13:09. | :13:14. | |
I understand the point you raise but we have an obscene situation in this | :13:15. | :13:21. | |
country, Andrew, in which the bosses at the very top make an absolute | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
fortune... But what would happen then? Who would build joint strike | :13:27. | :13:33. | |
Fighters... The difference in wages between the top earners in the | :13:34. | :13:37. | |
country and the people in the factories, in the workshops, | :13:38. | :13:42. | |
producing the goods, is vast. I understand that is the reason you | :13:43. | :13:47. | |
want a ratio. What I am saying is, what happens if the ratio is | :13:48. | :13:51. | |
greater? Who gets the contract if not British Aerospace? Who else | :13:52. | :13:57. | |
builds the planes? We are going to introduce a wage rate CEO of one to | :13:58. | :14:04. | |
20. -- wage ratio. We want to close the gap between the people at the | :14:05. | :14:07. | |
very top and people who produce the goods. Let me try one more Time, who | :14:08. | :14:11. | |
would build the joint strike fighter? We would look at the issue | :14:12. | :14:18. | |
as it came along but the policy is clear... Can you name a single | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
defence contractor weather boss' salary is less than 20 times average | :14:23. | :14:30. | |
earnings? We are not reducing, we have rolled that out as part of this | :14:31. | :14:36. | |
fantastic plan to transform society to get rid of discrimination, to try | :14:37. | :14:42. | |
and bring together our communities. We will introduce a pay ratio of one | :14:43. | :14:47. | |
to 20. Fair enough, thank you very much. | :14:48. | :14:50. | |
It's a month after the triggering of Article 50, and EU leaders - | :14:51. | :14:53. | |
with the exception of Britain - met in Brussels this weekend | :14:54. | :14:55. | |
to agree their opening negotiating stance, to get the divorce | :14:56. | :14:58. | |
It is inside this psychedelic chamber where Britain's 'Grexit' | :14:59. | :15:14. | |
future will be decided over the next two years, but there is a vast gulf | :15:15. | :15:19. | |
in rhetoric coming from the UK and the EU. With parallel narratives | :15:20. | :15:29. | |
emerging for both sides. There is broad agreement that an orderly | :15:30. | :15:32. | |
withdrawal is in the interests of both sides. But Theresa May's | :15:33. | :15:37. | |
position is that the terms of our future trade deal should be | :15:38. | :15:40. | |
negotiated alongside the terms of our divorce. Meanwhile the EU says | :15:41. | :15:44. | |
the terms of the UK's exit must be decided before any discussion on a | :15:45. | :15:51. | |
future trade deal can begin. But don't forget that divorce | :15:52. | :15:54. | |
settlement. Don't remind me. In Brussels, many think written should | :15:55. | :16:00. | |
pay even more, while in the UK ministers said the divorce bill | :16:01. | :16:03. | |
should be capped at 3 billion. After you. Thank you. | :16:04. | :16:08. | |
For are you looking forward to it? Isn't that divorce bill a bit high? | :16:09. | :16:19. | |
Isn't this about punishing Britain? We are very united, you all seem so | :16:20. | :16:24. | |
surprised but it's a fact. How soon can we get a deal? We have to wait | :16:25. | :16:32. | |
for the elections. It was the decision of Mrs May. It took over an | :16:33. | :16:37. | |
hour for the leaders to make their entrances but once inside it's just | :16:38. | :16:40. | |
a few minutes to agree the negotiating guidelines. They set out | :16:41. | :16:46. | |
three main areas. The first phase of talks on the divorce settlement will | :16:47. | :16:50. | |
deal with the existing financial commitments to the EU, the Northern | :16:51. | :16:53. | |
Ireland border and the rights of EU citizens in the UK. They said a UK | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
trade agreement can be discussed when the first phase of talks | :16:58. | :17:02. | |
reaches significant progress. And that there must be unity in the | :17:03. | :17:07. | |
negotiations, that individual EU members won't negotiate separately | :17:08. | :17:13. | |
with the UK. They are quite good here at negotiating because they are | :17:14. | :17:17. | |
used to it. They set a maximum and then they have to recede a little | :17:18. | :17:21. | |
bit depending on what the other side is prepared to offer. I think there | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
is room for manoeuvre in some issues, but I don't think some of | :17:28. | :17:31. | |
the baseline things will change that much. For example I don't think the | :17:32. | :17:37. | |
European Union will concede on the rights of citizens who are already | :17:38. | :17:41. | |
in the UK. It will be very difficult for them to accept that they will | :17:42. | :17:47. | |
not be any exit bill, and the question of Northern Ireland is very | :17:48. | :17:51. | |
important as well, the hard order question. The baseline things are | :17:52. | :17:54. | |
not going to move that much, then you have room for manoeuvring | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
between. On security, defence and the fight against terrorism, the | :18:00. | :18:03. | |
guidelines said the EU stands ready to work together. And after lunch, | :18:04. | :18:08. | |
friendly signs from some EU leaders as they gave individual press | :18:09. | :18:13. | |
conferences. Paul and said the talks should open doors to new | :18:14. | :18:16. | |
opportunities and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had | :18:17. | :18:23. | |
earlier said some in Britain were deluded about Brexit, softened her | :18:24. | :18:25. | |
tone saying there was no conspiracy against the UK. Unity was the | :18:26. | :18:30. | |
buzzword at this summit and for once everybody seemed to be sticking to | :18:31. | :18:35. | |
the script. That unity is not only amongst the 27 states, it's also | :18:36. | :18:39. | |
among the institutions so many of the divisions we have seen in the | :18:40. | :18:44. | |
past at European level do not exist. That is very important and it's not | :18:45. | :18:48. | |
be unity that is directed somehow against the UK because I think we | :18:49. | :18:53. | |
all want this to be an orderly process and part of that is that the | :18:54. | :19:05. | |
EU side is unified. So although there are no surprises here, what | :19:06. | :19:09. | |
took place in this room was a significant step towards the real | :19:10. | :19:12. | |
Brexit negotiations which will begin soon after the general election in | :19:13. | :19:18. | |
June, said to be the most complex the UK has faced in our lifetimes. | :19:19. | :19:22. | |
Isabel, Steve and Tom are still with me. | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
Isabel, doesn't the British media have to be a bit careful here? We | :19:28. | :19:35. | |
would never take at face value anything a British politician tells | :19:36. | :19:40. | |
us. We would question it, put it in context and wonder if they are | :19:41. | :19:44. | |
bluffing, but we seem to take at face value anything a European | :19:45. | :19:48. | |
politician says about these negotiations. You only have to look | :19:49. | :19:52. | |
at the front page of the Sunday Times today to see that. They quoted | :19:53. | :19:57. | |
at length Juncker, who didn't like the food at the reception and this | :19:58. | :20:01. | |
and that, and I think the mood is very optimistic. The key thing is | :20:02. | :20:06. | |
the EU trade Commissioner has said we will get a free trade deal and a | :20:07. | :20:11. | |
lot of people seem to be wilfully ignoring that incredibly big | :20:12. | :20:14. | |
concession. That is what will happen in their view. Everything that is | :20:15. | :20:20. | |
said at the moment needs a slight rerun over. They are all in | :20:21. | :20:25. | |
negotiating positions, plus we seem to be completely unaware that they | :20:26. | :20:29. | |
all have their own domestic constituencies as well. Angela | :20:30. | :20:35. | |
Merkel has an important election coming up in September, | :20:36. | :20:37. | |
Euroscepticism is quite different from Britain of course, but there's | :20:38. | :20:41. | |
a different kind of euro scepticism in Germany, she has got to deal with | :20:42. | :20:46. | |
that. Of course she has, which is why you are right, nothing should be | :20:47. | :20:50. | |
taken too seriously out of the mouths of British politicians or | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
European politicians until October this year. We have got to wait for | :20:57. | :21:00. | |
the French elections, then German elections, and if you look through | :21:01. | :21:04. | |
this you can see a way forward. There's no trade talks until pay up, | :21:05. | :21:10. | |
but what was actually written was no trade talks until we make | :21:11. | :21:14. | |
significant progress on the money. You can define significant progress | :21:15. | :21:18. | |
in a lot of ways but come December, fireworks over the summer, we all | :21:19. | :21:23. | |
get very excited about it, in these chairs I'm sure, come December | :21:24. | :21:27. | |
things will look a lot smoother. The German elections are at the end of | :21:28. | :21:32. | |
September but I've seen reports in German press, depending how it goes | :21:33. | :21:35. | |
it could take until Christmas before a new coalition government is put | :21:36. | :21:41. | |
together. The Brussels long-standing negotiating tactic of nothing is | :21:42. | :21:44. | |
agreed until everything is agreed, then I guess the British could say | :21:45. | :21:50. | |
we agree a certain sum of money if that's what it takes but that | :21:51. | :21:54. | |
depends on them, what good trade deal we get. If we don't get that, | :21:55. | :22:00. | |
the sum of money is off the table. In that sense, the two are going | :22:01. | :22:05. | |
parallel. However, I wouldn't entirely dismiss what people are | :22:06. | :22:09. | |
saying in their pre-election periods to their own electorates because | :22:10. | :22:15. | |
they have to some extent to deliver subsequently. Of course Angela | :22:16. | :22:19. | |
Merkel is campaigning and electioneering, who wouldn't, she | :22:20. | :22:23. | |
has a tough election to fight, but she is measured and thoughtful and | :22:24. | :22:27. | |
when she says things like some of the British are delusional, that is | :22:28. | :22:31. | |
unusually strong language for her. What was she referring to? I don't | :22:32. | :22:38. | |
know, it wasn't specific. Have the cake and eat it perhaps the | :22:39. | :22:42. | |
sequencing the British don't want. When they thought the British | :22:43. | :22:45. | |
government was going to effectively demand membership of the single | :22:46. | :22:49. | |
market, that's not going to happen now. Unless you sign up to the four | :22:50. | :22:56. | |
pillars, that's the cake and eat it proposition, which they are right in | :22:57. | :23:02. | |
saying Theresa May has made. But everybody has access, even with no | :23:03. | :23:07. | |
deal you have access. The other side of it is I think there will be a | :23:08. | :23:16. | |
united position from them. And so, as somebody pointed out in that | :23:17. | :23:22. | |
report, they are experienced, tough negotiators, so I don't think it | :23:23. | :23:30. | |
will be quite as easy as some think. I spoke to one of those who drew up | :23:31. | :23:36. | |
Article 50 and they said to me they deliberately put this two year | :23:37. | :23:39. | |
timetable in to make it impossible for anybody to think about leaving. | :23:40. | :23:46. | |
This is really tight, this negotiation. Easy, it isn't. | :23:47. | :23:49. | |
This coming Thursday, voters up and down the country | :23:50. | :23:51. | |
will be going to the polls in this year's local elections. | :23:52. | :23:54. | |
Over the past few weeks I've interviewed representatives | :23:55. | :23:56. | |
of the Conservative Party, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, | :23:57. | :23:58. | |
Today it's the turn of Plaid Cymru and the SNP. | :23:59. | :24:01. | |
A little earlier I spoke Alex Salmond, who until 2014 | :24:02. | :24:04. | |
I started by asking him why Scots should vote SNP in local elections | :24:05. | :24:08. | |
when the Scottish Government had just cut central Government funding | :24:09. | :24:10. | |
It's actually a funding increase going into Scottish councils this | :24:11. | :24:26. | |
year, and if you look at the funding position for example between | :24:27. | :24:30. | |
Scottish councils and those in England, which are obviously | :24:31. | :24:33. | |
directly related through the Barnett formula, the funding in Scotland has | :24:34. | :24:37. | |
been incomparably better than that in England so there's a whole range | :24:38. | :24:48. | |
of the -- of reasons... What's happening south of the border | :24:49. | :24:51. | |
indicates the protection the Scottish Parliament has been able to | :24:52. | :24:55. | |
put in that helps vital services in Scotland. But there hasn't been a | :24:56. | :24:59. | |
funding increase, the block grant from Westminster to Edinburgh was | :25:00. | :25:04. | |
increased by 1.5% in real terms but the grant to councils was cut by | :25:05. | :25:11. | |
2.6%. It was going to be a cut of 330 million, the Greens got you to | :25:12. | :25:16. | |
reduce it to 170 million but it is still a cut of 2.6%. Your own | :25:17. | :25:26. | |
Aberdeenshire Council has had a cut to 391 million. You have cut the | :25:27. | :25:31. | |
money to councils. Yes, but councils have available to them more | :25:32. | :25:34. | |
resources this year, and as you say the budget increased that further | :25:35. | :25:39. | |
which is why we put forward an excellent local government budget in | :25:40. | :25:42. | |
Aberdeenshire and resisted a Tory attempts to knock ?3 million off... | :25:43. | :25:48. | |
You asked me about Aberdeenshire, and Aberdeenshire has put forward a | :25:49. | :25:53. | |
budget for investment expansion and resisted a Tory attempts to knock ?3 | :25:54. | :25:58. | |
million off the education budget, and I'm very grateful you have given | :25:59. | :26:02. | |
me the opportunity to make that point. The Government in Edinburgh | :26:03. | :26:07. | |
has cut the money to Aberdeenshire by ?11 million. It is a cut. But | :26:08. | :26:14. | |
there is an investment budget in Aberdeenshire that has been made | :26:15. | :26:17. | |
available by the ability to increase the council tax by 2.5% after a | :26:18. | :26:23. | |
nine-year freeze in Scotland, and that has brought more resources into | :26:24. | :26:27. | |
local government and that's why the butchered in Aberdeenshire has been | :26:28. | :26:31. | |
an investment budget including protection of the education budget | :26:32. | :26:35. | |
in the face of a Tory and liberal attempt to cut bit. You have to | :26:36. | :26:40. | |
compare what is happening in Scotland and England, and there's no | :26:41. | :26:42. | |
doubt Scottish local authorities have been much better funded than | :26:43. | :26:49. | |
those in England over the last few years and that's been the ability of | :26:50. | :26:51. | |
the Scottish Government to protect the services at local level. A good | :26:52. | :26:57. | |
reason for voting SNP. If they have been so well funded, why after a | :26:58. | :27:03. | |
decade of SNP rule do one in five Scottish pupils leave primary school | :27:04. | :27:11. | |
functionally illiterate? You have got to take these things... Nicola | :27:12. | :27:15. | |
Sturgeon has made it a top priority to address these challenges but | :27:16. | :27:20. | |
let's take another statistic. 93% of Scottish kids are now emerging from | :27:21. | :27:23. | |
school to positive destinations, that means to further education, | :27:24. | :27:31. | |
apprenticeships or work. Why are one in five functionally illiterate? You | :27:32. | :27:37. | |
argue one statistic, I'm arguing Scottish education is putting in | :27:38. | :27:41. | |
some substantially good performances like the 93% going on to positive | :27:42. | :27:46. | |
destinations. You can't have a failing education system if you have | :27:47. | :27:51. | |
got that 93%, and incidentally a record low youth unemployment in | :27:52. | :27:55. | |
Scotland without the second lowest unemployment rate in Europe. These | :27:56. | :28:00. | |
pupils are being prepared by the Scottish education system. Let's | :28:01. | :28:04. | |
take the figures in the round on education. It's so important. Under | :28:05. | :28:09. | |
your watch, under your government, the Scottish schools in the most | :28:10. | :28:14. | |
important global comparison have fallen from tenth to 19th in | :28:15. | :28:25. | |
science, and 11 to 24th in maths, that is a record of decline and | :28:26. | :28:32. | |
failure. That is by the OECD and first questions about that, but the | :28:33. | :28:37. | |
OECD has also described Scotland is one of the best educated societies | :28:38. | :28:42. | |
in the world. That was from the school system in previous years gone | :28:43. | :28:47. | |
by. For those who are currently in Scottish schools, you have fallen | :28:48. | :28:53. | |
from 11th to 24th in mathematics. The OECD was commenting on | :28:54. | :28:56. | |
introduction of the new curriculum for excellence in which they have | :28:57. | :29:00. | |
given a resounding thumbs up to it, and that's the same source as the | :29:01. | :29:05. | |
rankings which you are comparing. Nicola Sturgeon has said there are | :29:06. | :29:09. | |
challenges on Scottish education, particularly the access through the | :29:10. | :29:12. | |
education system and the attainment gap but don't tell me it's failing | :29:13. | :29:17. | |
when 55% of our pupils have gone on to higher education. That's one of | :29:18. | :29:20. | |
the most impressive figures in the world. Why have you cut 4000 | :29:21. | :29:27. | |
teachers? The pupil numbers in Scotland have been falling over | :29:28. | :29:31. | |
recent years as well and now of course we are increasing the number | :29:32. | :29:35. | |
of people going through teachers training so we can make sure that | :29:36. | :29:39. | |
number increases, but listen, the Scottish Government and Scottish | :29:40. | :29:44. | |
Parliament, as you very well know, are subject to real terms spending | :29:45. | :29:48. | |
cuts over the last few years and all public services have been under | :29:49. | :29:52. | |
pressure. The main reason in terms of teacher numbers has been an | :29:53. | :29:55. | |
attempt on the Scottish Government to protect the teacher pupil ratio, | :29:56. | :30:00. | |
and that will now be enhanced by a further taker -- intake. You | :30:01. | :30:08. | |
promised you would reduce primary class sizes to 18 and instead they | :30:09. | :30:14. | |
are now 23.5 and rising. You broke that promise. You didn't mention | :30:15. | :30:20. | |
where we started from. We have kept the teacher pupil ratio very solid | :30:21. | :30:24. | |
in Scotland and that's been against a range of public expenditure cuts | :30:25. | :30:28. | |
but the new intake of teachers into the new teacher training in Scotland | :30:29. | :30:30. | |
I think will enhance the system. You have spent in the pasty in | :30:31. | :30:41. | |
Hollywood 43 hours on Government time debating independence. How many | :30:42. | :30:46. | |
hours have you debated education on Government time? I don't have that | :30:47. | :30:51. | |
they get a hand... The answer is zero, you have spent zero-hours | :30:52. | :30:54. | |
debating education on Government time. Isn't it time the SNP got back | :30:55. | :31:00. | |
to concentrating on the day job? Andrew, as you very well know Nicola | :31:01. | :31:05. | |
Sturgeon has identified a key priority, closing the attainment gap | :31:06. | :31:09. | |
in Scottish education. That is exactly what she has done. Let me | :31:10. | :31:14. | |
answer the question, it is difficult to be in a remote location, if you | :31:15. | :31:19. | |
talk before I answer the question then the view was will not be able | :31:20. | :31:25. | |
to listen. I let you answer that without saying a word. Is this | :31:26. | :31:30. | |
general election about independence, as you say it is, or not about | :31:31. | :31:34. | |
independence, as Mrs Sturgeon says it is? No, I have said exactly the | :31:35. | :31:41. | |
same as Nicola Sturgeon on that. The issue what independence will be | :31:42. | :31:44. | |
decided in a national referendum of the Scottish people. The mandate for | :31:45. | :31:49. | |
that referendum was gained in last year's Scottish elections. What this | :31:50. | :31:54. | |
election is about is backing the right of the Scottish parliament to | :31:55. | :31:56. | |
exercise that mandate and also providing real opposition to this | :31:57. | :31:59. | |
Tory Government and allowing the Scottish Parliament to reverse | :32:00. | :32:04. | |
austerity and some of the public expenditure cutbacks you have been | :32:05. | :32:09. | |
talking about, that is what this is about, backing our Scottish | :32:10. | :32:09. | |
Parliament. Alex Salmond, speaking | :32:10. | :32:11. | |
to me earlier. I'm now joined by the leader | :32:12. | :32:13. | |
of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. You accuse the Government of wanting | :32:14. | :32:20. | |
an extreme Brexit, those are your words. What is the difference | :32:21. | :32:25. | |
between hard Brexit and extreme Brexit? My concern is the way in | :32:26. | :32:28. | |
which we leave the European Union could be very damaging to Wales if, | :32:29. | :32:33. | |
for example, there are tariffs introduced then that would have a | :32:34. | :32:37. | |
real impact in terms of Welsh jobs, and I want to make sure that we have | :32:38. | :32:43. | |
a Brexit that doesn't cause the damage to Wales that could be | :32:44. | :32:47. | |
caused. But what is the difference between extreme and hard? Anything | :32:48. | :32:53. | |
that puts Welsh jobs at risk is either extreme or hard and | :32:54. | :32:56. | |
unacceptable to Plaid Cymru, and we will do what we can to protect those | :32:57. | :33:00. | |
jobs. You want Wales to remain a member of the single market even if | :33:01. | :33:05. | |
the UK isn't, which would mean Wales having to accept the free movement | :33:06. | :33:09. | |
of people, still being under the jurisdiction of the European Court, | :33:10. | :33:20. | |
and you also want to stay in the customs union which means you could | :33:21. | :33:23. | |
not do your own free trade deals. What is the difference between that | :33:24. | :33:26. | |
and being a member of the European Union? We would be like Norway, | :33:27. | :33:28. | |
outside the European Union and inside the single market. The key | :33:29. | :33:31. | |
question is the issue of jobs and the ability to continue to trade. | :33:32. | :33:35. | |
Wales exports, we are the biggest exporter in the whole of the UK, so | :33:36. | :33:39. | |
there are many jobs reliant upon those goods being able to be sold to | :33:40. | :33:48. | |
the single market. Is it central to the UK? Out of the four countries | :33:49. | :33:53. | |
that make up the UK... Proportionally, yes. If you remain | :33:54. | :34:01. | |
in the single market, it is hard to see how Wales could stay in the | :34:02. | :34:05. | |
single market if the UK -- when the rest of the UK was not, you cite | :34:06. | :34:09. | |
Norway, that has free movement, it has to be said, it effectively have | :34:10. | :34:14. | |
to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court, it is not in the | :34:15. | :34:19. | |
customs union so it can do some of its own free trade deals, but the | :34:20. | :34:27. | |
Welsh people voted to leave. We have to accept the principle of free | :34:28. | :34:31. | |
movement if there is not going to be a hard border between the north and | :34:32. | :34:35. | |
south of Ireland. There is going to be free movement within Ireland and | :34:36. | :34:39. | |
therefore freedom of movement, as we said in the referendum campaign, | :34:40. | :34:44. | |
would be very, very difficult to rule out. You lost that campaign, as | :34:45. | :34:50. | |
you know, Wales voted to leave, 17 Council areas voted to leave, only | :34:51. | :34:56. | |
five voted to remain. Doesn't it explain why your party is going | :34:57. | :35:00. | |
nowhere? A majority in Wales voted to leave but you effectively want to | :35:01. | :35:07. | |
support that and de facto remain in the EU? I don't accept that, we | :35:08. | :35:11. | |
accepted the result but Plaid Cymru now is about defending Wales. There | :35:12. | :35:16. | |
are so many risks facing our people from the jobs perspective, the | :35:17. | :35:20. | |
privatisation perspective, the cuts perspective, and from the fact that | :35:21. | :35:24. | |
the Tories would like to grab power was back from our National Assembly, | :35:25. | :35:29. | |
so the key point... If you look at the Wales bill that went through | :35:30. | :35:33. | |
recently, the list of reserved powers there suggests there are some | :35:34. | :35:37. | |
powers currently within the Welsh Assembly jurisdiction that would be | :35:38. | :35:43. | |
dragged back. Which power was will Westminster take back? They could | :35:44. | :35:48. | |
take powers back over the NHS, for example. There is no indication they | :35:49. | :35:55. | |
want to do that. The Tories have attacked the Welsh NHS. That is my | :35:56. | :36:04. | |
point! Quite viciously. If they increase their mandate, I wouldn't | :36:05. | :36:08. | |
put it past them to try to take power was back over the NHS and then | :36:09. | :36:12. | |
of course we risk our NHS being privatised though this election is | :36:13. | :36:17. | |
all about defending Wales, protecting Welsh people from further | :36:18. | :36:20. | |
privatisation and cuts and a power grab from the Tories. Why is there | :36:21. | :36:25. | |
never a breakthrough for your party, Plaid Cymru? Labour dominated in | :36:26. | :36:29. | |
Wales for years, the Tories do quite well, Ukip had a surge for a while, | :36:30. | :36:33. | |
it looks like the Tories will have another surge, never you, always the | :36:34. | :36:38. | |
bridesmaid, never the bride. Wait until Thursday and I think you will | :36:39. | :36:42. | |
see that in many parts of Wales we will increase our representation at | :36:43. | :36:46. | |
a local council level. In the Rhondda, where I am assembly member, | :36:47. | :36:52. | |
we are looking to increase our representation... You are only 13% | :36:53. | :37:00. | |
in the polls will stop which is half of even the Tories in Wales! If you | :37:01. | :37:04. | |
don't breakthrough in the selection, if the real problem is going | :37:05. | :37:11. | |
nowhere, do you think you will pack it in? Robert Green not, I have a | :37:12. | :37:16. | |
job to do, a vision of Wales which is about building up our nation and | :37:17. | :37:21. | |
standing on our own two feet and my job is not done yet. Thank you for | :37:22. | :37:24. | |
being with us as part of your job, we will see how it goes on Thursday. | :37:25. | :37:28. | |
It's just gone 11.35, you're watching the Sunday Politics. | :37:29. | :37:31. | |
We say goodbye to viewers in Scotland who leave us now | :37:32. | :37:33. | |
Hello and welcome to a live edition of Sunday Politics | :37:34. | :37:47. | |
We'll be joined by the candidates for West of England Mayor. | :37:48. | :37:54. | |
It's time to vote on Thursday - Portway and Saltford. | :37:55. | :38:03. | |
Our little studio is a bit too snug to fit all six candidates, | :38:04. | :38:06. | |
so we've got three in the first half of the show and three in the second. | :38:07. | :38:10. | |
In alphabetical order, our first trio are the Conservative | :38:11. | :38:13. | |
Tim Bowles, Ukip's Aaron Foot and Darren Hall | :38:14. | :38:15. | |
We'll hear from them in a moment, but first, here's Martin Jones | :38:16. | :38:20. | |
with a brief reminder of what's at stake. | :38:21. | :38:28. | |
In five days' time, we'll have a new mayor. | :38:29. | :38:31. | |
One of the most powerful politicians in the West. | :38:32. | :38:34. | |
With money to spend - almost a billion pounds | :38:35. | :38:37. | |
over the next 30 years, and hints there could be more. | :38:38. | :38:43. | |
The power to say where homes should be built and where they shouldn't. | :38:44. | :38:48. | |
The power to help us get around and ease the gridlock. | :38:49. | :38:52. | |
Powers to influence the skills our people have. | :38:53. | :38:55. | |
Powers to tax business and choose where the money is spent. | :38:56. | :39:00. | |
But it's a controversial post involving working with other | :39:01. | :39:03. | |
councils and convincing the public to take notice. | :39:04. | :39:07. | |
The public make their choice on Thursday. | :39:08. | :39:13. | |
Tim Bowles, if you win, what will be different | :39:14. | :39:26. | |
The important thing about this role is that the government is giving the | :39:27. | :39:38. | |
region the opportunity to make its region the opportunity to make its | :39:39. | :39:43. | |
own decisions. The vital thing after four years is the region recognises | :39:44. | :39:50. | |
someone is accountable and recognisable as the person | :39:51. | :39:54. | |
formulating those ideas with council leaders. Hopefully, the region will | :39:55. | :40:00. | |
recognise the positive move this is. For years to build up the job? Your | :40:01. | :40:06. | |
question was what will be recognisable after four years. You | :40:07. | :40:13. | |
will have somebody who is accountable and recognisable. We | :40:14. | :40:19. | |
will have that from day one. But after four years? We will have made | :40:20. | :40:24. | |
progress in providing a strategy that people will see, improving | :40:25. | :40:28. | |
transport, tackling housing issues and in doing that we will develop | :40:29. | :40:33. | |
alongside -- long-term strategy this deal is about. So your focus will be | :40:34. | :40:38. | |
building up the job, being recognised and working on a | :40:39. | :40:42. | |
strategy? It will be formulated with the leaders and other partners. One | :40:43. | :40:51. | |
thing that will get done? We will start addressing pinch points in | :40:52. | :40:56. | |
terms of transport. We can start that immediately. Longer term | :40:57. | :41:01. | |
planning on new Road junctions and other transport infrastructure takes | :41:02. | :41:05. | |
time so it's a case of showing how we can make immediate differences, | :41:06. | :41:10. | |
getting new homes built, improving transport and taking the message to | :41:11. | :41:13. | |
employers about the wealth of talent we have four skills. | :41:14. | :41:25. | |
And the same question for you? I want to find out where people want | :41:26. | :41:35. | |
their taxes spent. We have gridlock in Bath and Bristol that has to be | :41:36. | :41:39. | |
solved and we can only solve it by working as a team with residents. If | :41:40. | :41:44. | |
you win you will be in charge. They will come to you and say, what do we | :41:45. | :41:52. | |
do? And you say, I'd better go and ask someone? No, as residents they | :41:53. | :41:56. | |
know which areas are the pinch points and the reason behind it. How | :41:57. | :42:02. | |
would you collect the information? It would be open source and software | :42:03. | :42:08. | |
that would be freed to use. It will have to be built. But software is | :42:09. | :42:12. | |
will build stuff specifically for will build stuff specifically for | :42:13. | :42:17. | |
the West of England. So, you will have lots of liver -- | :42:18. | :42:26. | |
Little referenda done on computers? Asking where pinch ports are? Yes, | :42:27. | :42:31. | |
people will be able to complain and make comments in easy through | :42:32. | :42:37. | |
technology. At the moment they can e-mail you. More people will see | :42:38. | :42:41. | |
these complaints and there will be a build-up before we can utilise them | :42:42. | :42:48. | |
and do them quicker. It's about eradicating... What if you haven't | :42:49. | :42:52. | |
got a computer? People can still write letters. It is not like we | :42:53. | :42:58. | |
will say we now have e-democracy and that's it. Would you hold a | :42:59. | :43:05. | |
referendum? It's not about having a vote every day. A virtual | :43:06. | :43:10. | |
referendum? We will ask people what they think... Online? Yes. And you | :43:11. | :43:25. | |
will take notice on that -- of that? Definitely. That's democracy. Darren | :43:26. | :43:34. | |
Hall, what will change in four years? I have two principles I like | :43:35. | :43:42. | |
to look at everything through. Those are, in a more equal society | :43:43. | :43:46. | |
everyone does better. Secondly, we need to do a better job of balancing | :43:47. | :43:53. | |
people, planet and profit. For example, we know the current digs | :43:54. | :44:00. | |
system for housing is broken. Profit motives mainly not approving -- | :44:01. | :44:05. | |
getting profitable housing for people who need them. If you take | :44:06. | :44:11. | |
the profit motivation out, how would you get the build? I am on the board | :44:12. | :44:16. | |
of the Bristol Community land trust and we operate to build housing for | :44:17. | :44:22. | |
people who needed. We build communities. How is it financed? | :44:23. | :44:28. | |
Combination of the landowner and the City Council is offering land up to | :44:29. | :44:33. | |
build houses. So you'd had to ask a landowner for land. Other likely to | :44:34. | :44:42. | |
do that? The council has a process. I mean private landowners? We need | :44:43. | :44:49. | |
to start with public sector land because we know there is pressure | :44:50. | :44:53. | |
and that the public sector needs to build. And for the developer, what | :44:54. | :44:59. | |
you do? Do you say build an estate but I don't want you to make profit? | :45:00. | :45:06. | |
I think we can offer a presumption in favour of planning for those | :45:07. | :45:09. | |
developers prepared to offer more affordable housing and more | :45:10. | :45:15. | |
sustainable housing. But they will do it for a profit, won't they? This | :45:16. | :45:21. | |
is why they sit on land because they want land prices to go up and all | :45:22. | :45:27. | |
the rest of it. Unless they change systems completely and are prepared | :45:28. | :45:30. | |
to do you a favour, how can you deliver on the housing promise? | :45:31. | :45:36. | |
Rumack is about understanding that if we balanced people, planet and | :45:37. | :45:40. | |
profit more effectively everyone benefits, including businesses. | :45:41. | :45:45. | |
I want to ask about what you can do to deliver these and what | :45:46. | :45:53. | |
experiences you've got. Tagged as why... Angie can look down the | :45:54. | :45:59. | |
camera, sake of voters, choose me. The important thing is understanding | :46:00. | :46:04. | |
what the job is about. Like any interview, you have two show your | :46:05. | :46:11. | |
understanding what a job is about. Is he the sensible choice? I think | :46:12. | :46:15. | |
Tim has got good local government choice but this job is about looking | :46:16. | :46:21. | |
beyond South Gloucestershire. Do you think he's got the experience? I | :46:22. | :46:26. | |
would explain about myself. The job is about working with today's | :46:27. | :46:32. | |
council leaders. Somebody has to have an understanding as to how | :46:33. | :46:37. | |
councils work and the only person who has that experience is me. It | :46:38. | :46:44. | |
then involves working with business in terms of developing long-term | :46:45. | :46:49. | |
economy, jobs and skills. I have a long and proven track record in | :46:50. | :46:56. | |
business. What project have you delivered? I deliver ?2 million | :46:57. | :47:04. | |
accounts in very loud exhibition and promotion events. OK, Aaron, a good | :47:05. | :47:12. | |
solid job as a farmer. What experience have you got to drive | :47:13. | :47:19. | |
forward ?1 billion budget? This role is about facilitating and listening | :47:20. | :47:21. | |
and communicating with other leaders. As a farmer, and I've done | :47:22. | :47:30. | |
this throughout my career, is about listening and reading. Now we have | :47:31. | :47:34. | |
two produce something that we can actually tackle. Transport. What | :47:35. | :47:41. | |
would you do? What have you done in the past that suggests you can do | :47:42. | :47:47. | |
it? I run my own business. I will give up my business if I get the job | :47:48. | :47:53. | |
and concentrate on this 110%. It's about listening to the people. | :47:54. | :47:59. | |
Darren, what have you done? I lucky to have had a broad range of | :48:00. | :48:05. | |
experience. I started out my career as a Royal Air Force engineering | :48:06. | :48:08. | |
officer will stop my last role was with British -- Bristol City Council | :48:09. | :48:15. | |
and I was proud to be on the team to get us British green city. And then | :48:16. | :48:22. | |
I worked in crime and drugs prevention. | :48:23. | :48:24. | |
I'm afraid our first trio are out of time. | :48:25. | :48:25. | |
My thanks to Tim Bowles, Aaron Foot and Darren Hall. | :48:26. | :48:28. | |
We'll meet the other candidates in a moment. | :48:29. | :48:32. | |
Whoever becomes the West of England mayor will have the power | :48:33. | :48:35. | |
and the money to turn big ideas into reality. | :48:36. | :48:36. | |
But what big projects do the voters want to see? | :48:37. | :48:39. | |
And can they provide any inspiration for the winner? | :48:40. | :48:44. | |
We sent Pete Simson to do some blue sky thinking. | :48:45. | :48:53. | |
Ours is a region renowned for transport innovation. | :48:54. | :48:58. | |
From Brunel's railway to the trams in Bristol and Bath, | :48:59. | :49:00. | |
These days, however, our reputation is for congestion. | :49:01. | :49:10. | |
Shortly, we'll have a mayor with the power to ease | :49:11. | :49:12. | |
the gridlock, but maybe he or she needs some suggestions. | :49:13. | :49:18. | |
I think we should have some sort of system like they've got | :49:19. | :49:24. | |
in New York where you'd jump on, pay a fee, jump off. | :49:25. | :49:27. | |
Occasionally I'll get on the bus, but most of the time if we | :49:28. | :49:32. | |
had to go anywhere special I get a taxi. | :49:33. | :49:37. | |
If, like London, we had a subway I think that would be easier | :49:38. | :49:44. | |
I appreciate that there is no easy solution to traffic | :49:45. | :49:54. | |
congestion, but if we need to get more traffic off our roads, why | :49:55. | :49:58. | |
can't we invest in an underground Metro system? | :49:59. | :50:04. | |
After all, London's got one, as has Newcastle, so why not? | :50:05. | :50:08. | |
Almost anything is possible if you throw enough money | :50:09. | :50:17. | |
The challenges in Bristol and Bath are not insurmountable, | :50:18. | :50:22. | |
Having said that, there are areas around the world where | :50:23. | :50:27. | |
underground systems, tunnels, have been constructed beneath the sea, | :50:28. | :50:33. | |
beneath rivers and in difficult ground conditions and even | :50:34. | :50:35. | |
So if you throw enough money at a problem, it can | :50:36. | :50:41. | |
generally overcome engineering problems. | :50:42. | :50:44. | |
Bristol is spending over ?200 million on a new metrobus. | :50:45. | :50:47. | |
The current system is rather like an overground/ | :50:48. | :50:53. | |
There are interchanges instead of tube stations so one | :50:54. | :51:01. | |
hopes that it will solve Bristol's traffic problems. | :51:02. | :51:05. | |
Not all of our big ideas get off the ground. | :51:06. | :51:07. | |
Next to Temple Meads - the locals call this | :51:08. | :51:10. | |
Connecting bits of scrubland because the Arena's not yet built. | :51:11. | :51:18. | |
Whatever our new mayor decides they will or won't do, | :51:19. | :51:20. | |
It cost ?11 million and no-one's ever set foot on it. | :51:21. | :51:31. | |
I'm joined by Labour's Lesley Mansell, the Independent John Savage | :51:32. | :51:34. | |
and Stephen Williams for the Liberal Democrats. | :51:35. | :51:40. | |
Lesley Mansell, give us a big idea that you'd want to see happen | :51:41. | :51:44. | |
built. There is a real issue and built. There is a real issue and | :51:45. | :51:59. | |
it's the biggest issue or one of them for people in the region. There | :52:00. | :52:05. | |
are already plans in place. The Labour mayor for Bristol and imposed | :52:06. | :52:10. | |
for less than a year is already building council housing. But there | :52:11. | :52:15. | |
needs to be mixed development. We have property is being built for | :52:16. | :52:20. | |
profit but then they subsidise council housing. From the | :52:21. | :52:25. | |
Conservatives is actually stopping those being built. Do you think | :52:26. | :52:32. | |
developers would build houses and then reduced council houses? Not | :52:33. | :52:36. | |
free but it's about having the budget to do that and the Metro air | :52:37. | :52:40. | |
will have more money. Will you give it to the developer? In Bristol, | :52:41. | :52:52. | |
there are some houses for profit and they subsidise council houses. We | :52:53. | :52:57. | |
have 80,000 jobs being proposed across the West of England and | :52:58. | :53:01. | |
people need somewhere to live. We need fair rents as well. John | :53:02. | :53:08. | |
Savage, what would you do? Move very quickly to get a coalition about | :53:09. | :53:12. | |
where we're going and move faster. No matter how much it upsets people, | :53:13. | :53:18. | |
the local authorities in ability to work together has held us back for | :53:19. | :53:23. | |
too long. So we will move quickly to try to get a better view and we will | :53:24. | :53:28. | |
look a bit further ahead so that by 2050 we think we need 300,000 | :53:29. | :53:33. | |
houses. We can move quickly also to do something about traffic. To pick | :53:34. | :53:39. | |
up one housing, where will it go and how will you pay for them? They will | :53:40. | :53:45. | |
go hopefully initially on Brownfield land but we will have to take some | :53:46. | :53:49. | |
grass, that's for certain. If you look at the requirement for housing | :53:50. | :53:55. | |
and infrastructure it is perfectly possible to do deals with developers | :53:56. | :53:58. | |
and shareholders to build a product that gives profit, which is OK, and | :53:59. | :54:04. | |
a product that is satisfactory to people. I do think they would accept | :54:05. | :54:10. | |
that deal, making less profit because we just need you to do it? | :54:11. | :54:15. | |
It's about understanding what needs to be done and reasonable profit. | :54:16. | :54:20. | |
The place would collapse completely of said nobody can make a profit. | :54:21. | :54:26. | |
Developers know they have to change their approach and they are looking | :54:27. | :54:33. | |
for leadership. Have you a pledge from a developer? Certainly one. Can | :54:34. | :54:40. | |
you name them? No. This is why struggling in the public sector for | :54:41. | :54:46. | |
services because people are not... You will not have any power on that. | :54:47. | :54:51. | |
No, but I would be prepared to lobby the government on that. Stephen | :54:52. | :54:57. | |
Willis. You had to ground yourself in political reality rather than | :54:58. | :55:02. | |
fantasy politics. The first thing people will notice that the end of a | :55:03. | :55:06. | |
four-year term if I am the Metro Mayor is that there will be a | :55:07. | :55:10. | |
transport revolution. We will have seamless, cashless payments on buses | :55:11. | :55:18. | |
to speed it up and we will improve the quality in Bristol and Bath. For | :55:19. | :55:23. | |
new railway stations will have been opened and I have discussed that | :55:24. | :55:27. | |
with Network Rail. Is funding sorted out? And now we will have a | :55:28. | :55:36. | |
contactless card, or what? People can use their own debit card and you | :55:37. | :55:44. | |
can do that with a drink. And you can fix that, can you? Absolutely. | :55:45. | :55:51. | |
The regional mayor will have us franchising powers and I have made | :55:52. | :55:54. | |
it clear that it would be the expectation. Transport is the area | :55:55. | :55:59. | |
where I would to be judged on in four years. | :56:00. | :56:01. | |
Lesley Mansell, you've suggested putting the M32 underground. | :56:02. | :56:10. | |
Is that right? Congestion is costing ?350 million a year. If people are | :56:11. | :56:22. | |
going to get across the West of England to deliver services and | :56:23. | :56:26. | |
industry we need, we have to be able to move around. We need to do | :56:27. | :56:32. | |
different thinking. It may be about getting people out of cars and onto | :56:33. | :56:38. | |
buses. We need to improve public transport and the infrastructure | :56:39. | :56:42. | |
which includes the potholes. We have started to look at different ideas | :56:43. | :56:47. | |
like putting the M32 Underground. How would it help congestion? If I | :56:48. | :56:57. | |
could finish. We start to look at something different. There is a | :56:58. | :57:03. | |
four-year term to start doing that. But how would putting it Underground | :57:04. | :57:08. | |
to help ease congestion? It would also provide jobs for the | :57:09. | :57:13. | |
construction industry. Construction engineers can do amazing | :57:14. | :57:18. | |
constructions now. Nobody said the Channel Tunnel would happen but it | :57:19. | :57:22. | |
has. Do you think it is realistic with perhaps a tube? It's something | :57:23. | :57:27. | |
to look at. Long-term it's something we could look at. We need different | :57:28. | :57:35. | |
thinking. John Savage, do you accept she is onto something? No, I don't. | :57:36. | :57:45. | |
The business of nearly a business -- nearly ?1 billion is a fabrication. | :57:46. | :57:49. | |
The existing budget is already being spent anyway so we have to be | :57:50. | :57:54. | |
realistic. This is a small crumb being handed down that we had to | :57:55. | :58:01. | |
make work. Isn't that a counsel of despair? You have to be realistic. | :58:02. | :58:08. | |
Are you saying Leslie isn't being realistic? Building an underground | :58:09. | :58:12. | |
railway system against the odds of the geography and that in the M32 | :58:13. | :58:19. | |
Underground, how does that is the transport problem? Wouldn't it be | :58:20. | :58:22. | |
marvellous if we had a tube system going to the airport taking | :58:23. | :58:27. | |
transport of the road? If I want to get to the airport I can either | :58:28. | :58:33. | |
travel across the valley will get the bus. It is not realistic. Tubes | :58:34. | :58:41. | |
and tunnels and all the rest of it is big trouble but you're talking | :58:42. | :58:46. | |
about a system with a card and contactless. Is that inspirational? | :58:47. | :58:50. | |
There's a difference between talking began talking nonsense. The only | :58:51. | :58:55. | |
hole Leslie has died is for herself and the Labour Party in this | :58:56. | :58:59. | |
campaign. You had to deliver credible things and getting buses | :59:00. | :59:03. | |
moving faster with cashless payments and dealing with fuel emissions, and | :59:04. | :59:14. | |
getting people off the road and onto public transport is what people are | :59:15. | :59:19. | |
looking for. What would you do to get people out of their cars? And is | :59:20. | :59:25. | |
that necessary? It is necessarily because a quality is really bad. How | :59:26. | :59:34. | |
do you do it? You have alternatives and you... We worked on it in the | :59:35. | :59:40. | |
chamber years ago. People will accept it but nobody would get out | :59:41. | :59:45. | |
of their cars if there isn't something that works as an | :59:46. | :59:49. | |
alternative. What will be the stick to say, you are not driving your car | :59:50. | :59:56. | |
's? Again, we have to improve public transport. What is the stick? And we | :59:57. | :00:04. | |
need to look at flexible working to allow people to work some days of | :00:05. | :00:13. | |
the week. And the stick? During the week, it's much more difficult. We | :00:14. | :00:19. | |
need to start offering alternatives. It is all right Stephen Williams | :00:20. | :00:24. | |
shaking his head saying is fantasy but what did he do as a government | :00:25. | :00:30. | |
minister. He was behind cuts... We had to leave it. | :00:31. | :00:33. | |
we will take the mandate that we want. To all three of you, thank | :00:34. | :00:40. | |
you. Andrew, back to you. So, how will Thursday's local | :00:41. | :00:52. | |
election results affect Who's winning the | :00:53. | :00:54. | |
election ground war? And as he celebrates 100 | :00:55. | :00:57. | |
days in the White House, We have the local elections, Metro | :00:58. | :01:14. | |
elections in Liverpool, greater Birmingham, West Midlands, how will | :01:15. | :01:19. | |
they play into the general election? Significantly, it is very unusual. | :01:20. | :01:22. | |
People keep comparing this with the election in 83, not! Margaret | :01:23. | :01:27. | |
Thatcher was nervous and to wait until after the local elections to | :01:28. | :01:31. | |
call the election to see the result. We are getting these result in the | :01:32. | :01:35. | |
middle of an election campaign so it will be important, whoever does | :01:36. | :01:41. | |
badly will suffer a dent in confidence in terms of how they | :01:42. | :01:44. | |
approach the election and we are also going to have mayoral figures | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
as a reminder of another big difference with the 80s that however | :01:50. | :01:54. | |
big, say, the Conservatives win in Westminster, there are now sectors | :01:55. | :01:58. | |
of power in other parts of the United Kingdom which were not there | :01:59. | :02:01. | |
in the 80s. One of the reasons niches that are rated in 83 was | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
memories were still alive in political circles of 1970, Wilson | :02:07. | :02:11. | |
saw the local election results and thought, I can win, he was told he | :02:12. | :02:16. | |
would win by the Economist magazine, who had done the analysis, and of | :02:17. | :02:20. | |
course he lost, so that is why she waited, Mrs May does not need to | :02:21. | :02:28. | |
wait for that at all now, and on the Metro elections, the one she will be | :02:29. | :02:31. | |
looking at is the West Midlands, that is the one that is a | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
competition. I think she can really lose on Thursday in the local | :02:36. | :02:38. | |
elections, governing parties are supposed to take effect again, | :02:39. | :02:43. | |
losing lots of council seats. She is projected to put on 100 or so seats, | :02:44. | :02:49. | |
Labour projected to lose around 200, the first time the main opposition | :02:50. | :02:53. | |
party has shed seats since something like 83 so clearly the local | :02:54. | :02:56. | |
elections give Mrs May great momentum going into the general | :02:57. | :03:00. | |
election campaign but there is a downside in that, which is what we | :03:01. | :03:03. | |
have already heard fighting about this morning, if it looks like it is | :03:04. | :03:09. | |
going too well for the Tories, it says to voters, why bother turning | :03:10. | :03:13. | |
up? Sushi comes up with totally unbelievable sound bites this | :03:14. | :03:16. | |
morning that this is the most important general election in her | :03:17. | :03:22. | |
lifetime. Really?! For her it is! It always is until the next one! I | :03:23. | :03:29. | |
wonder if voter turnout is a problem? Tory voters are more likely | :03:30. | :03:34. | |
to vote than Labour voters. If there is a sense that it is all over bar | :03:35. | :03:39. | |
the shouting, the overall turnout will be low that Tory voters are | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
still likely to turn out more than Labour voters so she would still win | :03:44. | :03:48. | |
some. I don't think she needs to be too worried, I think there will be a | :03:49. | :03:52. | |
significantly low turnout, even I am finding it hard to be that excited | :03:53. | :03:59. | |
about this general election. Really, the policies, we have spent a lot of | :04:00. | :04:03. | |
time talking about them today and we have to examine them, but all this | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
is about is, do you want Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn in Number Ten? | :04:09. | :04:12. | |
Those are the only question is, apart from possibly how strong do | :04:13. | :04:15. | |
you feel about Brexit, that will be on the voters' minds. You may say | :04:16. | :04:21. | |
that but I will not be put off from going through a list of policies | :04:22. | :04:25. | |
that we have already had in the last 24 hours. On the Conservatives, more | :04:26. | :04:32. | |
powers to stop company bosses under pensions, of course Philip Green was | :04:33. | :04:39. | |
in mind there. Labour has come up with quite a few policies, actually, | :04:40. | :04:44. | |
give all work of equal rights, whether part-time or full-time, | :04:45. | :04:53. | |
temporary or permanent. Ukip, scrap VAT or takeaway -- on takeaway food | :04:54. | :04:58. | |
and end the BBC licence fee. The Liberal Democrats have come out | :04:59. | :05:04. | |
posed to the runway at Heathrow. I thought I knew that already? Will | :05:05. | :05:11. | |
any of these policies make a difference? They are all nice handy | :05:12. | :05:17. | |
things that people quite liked but probably not, is the answer. They | :05:18. | :05:21. | |
are an awful way away from polling day now for people to remember and | :05:22. | :05:25. | |
latch onto. I don't think you make your mind up on small issues like | :05:26. | :05:31. | |
Heathrow, unless you live in Richmond-upon-Thames, maybe, but the | :05:32. | :05:34. | |
problem Labour have got with unfailing a lot of these retail type | :05:35. | :05:38. | |
policies which, in themselves, are very popular, is no one will listen | :05:39. | :05:43. | |
to them until they get over the leadership credibility issue. Jeremy | :05:44. | :05:47. | |
Corbyn could the world on a stick, but if no one believes he can | :05:48. | :05:50. | |
deliver it then he will not be listened to and he has not done much | :05:51. | :05:53. | |
apart from a speech yesterday in which is claim to fame was getting | :05:54. | :05:57. | |
arrested, I don't see how that would work for him getting to Number Ten. | :05:58. | :06:03. | |
They are not making progress on it. Labour has rolled out a number of | :06:04. | :06:09. | |
policies which, taken individually, would have certain traction in | :06:10. | :06:14. | |
normal times, quite interesting ideas, this sense of unfairness, a | :06:15. | :06:17. | |
feeling that ordinary workers have not done well out of the recovery, | :06:18. | :06:23. | |
those who caused the crash have, 20 points, I went through some of them | :06:24. | :06:26. | |
earlier, putting aside they are not costed, we are assured they will be. | :06:27. | :06:31. | |
The problem I suggest is not the costing but the cut through? Every | :06:32. | :06:37. | |
election has a context which is determined by opinion polls, however | :06:38. | :06:41. | |
sceptical we are these days, and if one party is way ahead it is | :06:42. | :06:44. | |
difficult for the other party to appear relevant, because if people | :06:45. | :06:50. | |
assume they are not going to win, even some of its own MPs are saying, | :06:51. | :06:54. | |
we are not going to win this, so you can vote for us, it is very hard to | :06:55. | :07:01. | |
get attention and relevance. Where I think all the parties are bad with | :07:02. | :07:05. | |
their current leaders is framing arguments, so those policies you | :07:06. | :07:11. | |
have highlighted makes sense. The best leaders are brilliant framers | :07:12. | :07:15. | |
of an argument and neither Theresa Maynor Jeremy Corbyn R. They have | :07:16. | :07:21. | |
been campaigning, their manifestos are not out yet, both sides have | :07:22. | :07:25. | |
been telling us we have to wait for costings, but it has not stopped | :07:26. | :07:29. | |
them campaigning. Let's remind you of where they have been and what | :07:30. | :07:34. | |
they have been doing so far. Let's start with Jeremy Corbyn, his | :07:35. | :07:39. | |
first official visit was in the ultra-marginal Conservative seat of | :07:40. | :07:43. | |
Croydon Central where the MP Gavin Barwell has a lead of just 165. That | :07:44. | :07:48. | |
is not the only Conservative seat he has visited, along the way he popped | :07:49. | :07:52. | |
in on Bristol North West, a Conservative majority of nearly | :07:53. | :07:59. | |
5000. The Tory seat of Cardiff North, a lead of just over 2000, | :08:00. | :08:06. | |
Warrington South, just over 2700, and Crewe and Nantwich, Tory | :08:07. | :08:11. | |
majority of three and a half thousand. Yesterday he visited | :08:12. | :08:17. | |
Bethnal greed and Bob, a Labour lead of 20 4000. Theresa May kicked off | :08:18. | :08:22. | |
her campaign in Bolton, Labour majority of over 4000. On her way | :08:23. | :08:27. | |
round the UK she had a comfy stop in her own maidenhead seat, where she | :08:28. | :08:31. | |
is defending a majority of nearly 30,000, before travelling to other | :08:32. | :08:35. | |
Labour marginals including Dudley North, a Labour lead of 4000. | :08:36. | :08:42. | |
Bridgend, a lead of just under 2004 Labour, before becoming ambitious | :08:43. | :08:43. | |
and visiting shadow minister Richard Bergen's Leeds East seat, which he | :08:44. | :09:00. | |
won by over 12,500 votes. Yesterday she went north of the border to | :09:01. | :09:02. | |
Aberdeenshire, where amongst other places she visited the SNP seat of | :09:03. | :09:04. | |
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, where the Tories would have to gain | :09:05. | :09:05. | |
over 7000 votes to unseat the NP. What do you make of it all so far? | :09:06. | :09:13. | |
It is remarkable she is doing these visits in Scotland. Past but even | :09:14. | :09:17. | |
five years and the idea of a Tory Prime Minister going round Scotland | :09:18. | :09:20. | |
would be utterly counter-productive, and actually they are ambitious for | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
Scotland now under with Davidson, a prospect of multiple seats, and that | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
would be a real genuine shift in Scottish politics, the likes of | :09:30. | :09:32. | |
which we have not seen for 15 or 20 years. If she gets that, that helps | :09:33. | :09:42. | |
towards 100 seats, because if she wins ten in Scotland, it is | :09:43. | :09:47. | |
effectively 20, the SNP lose ten, she gains ten, she wants to do that | :09:48. | :09:51. | |
in the Midlands with Labour, and the North. To get the 100 majority, | :09:52. | :09:57. | |
other than Scotland, she has to win Labour seats, that is all that is | :09:58. | :10:02. | |
there. And clearly she has been told, it is obvious, that she has a | :10:03. | :10:06. | |
chance of doing so, otherwise you don't go to these parts of the | :10:07. | :10:09. | |
country in the first few days of the campaign. All logic points to her | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
being able to pull it off as well. The opinion polls, the state of the | :10:15. | :10:19. | |
Labour Party. The only qualification I have in this is that politics is | :10:20. | :10:23. | |
so wild and free Braille at the moment, it doesn't feel like | :10:24. | :10:30. | |
landslide to rain. That is true, it doesn't. It is early days, we | :10:31. | :10:36. | |
haven't yet had the manifestos, the campaign is yet to gather momentum. | :10:37. | :10:40. | |
It doesn't feel like landslide territory. I disagree, look at every | :10:41. | :10:48. | |
single poll, the Tory lead is 10% in Wales, you can see her picking up 20 | :10:49. | :10:53. | |
seat there. Put this together, I am told by the way she is going into | :10:54. | :10:57. | |
traditional Labour heartland again tomorrow, the key is the Ukip vote. | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
That will implode... Crumble towards Tories? If she can hoover that up | :11:04. | :11:22. | |
and retain the Tory vote, she will have a majority of 150. | :11:23. | :11:23. | |
I cannot let you go without reminding you that it is Donald | :11:24. | :11:23. | |
Trump's 100 days. He's not making a lot of it now, this is what he said | :11:24. | :11:24. | |
last night. We are just beginning in our fight | :11:25. | :11:26. | |
to make America great again. Now, before we talk about my first | :11:27. | :11:29. | |
100 days, which has been very exciting and very productive, | :11:30. | :11:38. | |
let's rate the media's 100 days. Because, as you know, | :11:39. | :11:43. | |
they are a disgrace. There you go, still bashing the | :11:44. | :12:03. | |
media, that was at a rally in Virginia, the 100 days was last | :12:04. | :12:08. | |
night. He seems happier campaigning than running the country. You each | :12:09. | :12:12. | |
have 20 seconds to give me your board on the first 100 days. | :12:13. | :12:20. | |
Remarkable, he will not stop slagging off the media but America | :12:21. | :12:25. | |
first has not meant America first in terms of national policy, he has | :12:26. | :12:28. | |
reneges on what he said about Nato being obsolete. He is moving from | :12:29. | :12:33. | |
the old right to the centre because that is where you get things done, | :12:34. | :12:41. | |
he is a pragmatist, also is about's friend Nigel Parrott is no longer | :12:42. | :12:47. | |
welcome, we read this morning! Allegedly! He loves campaigning but | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
finds governing much more difficult. Who would have thought being | :12:53. | :12:56. | |
president of the United States was a difficult job?! He loves rallies but | :12:57. | :13:00. | |
being president and politics is a very difficult thing indeed. Thank | :13:01. | :13:06. | |
you, there we go, Mr Trump's 100 days, we will see what the next 100 | :13:07. | :13:07. | |
brings. The Daily Politics is back | :13:08. | :13:10. | |
on BBC Two after the bank holiday on Tuesday at midday, | :13:11. | :13:13. | |
with all the latest And I'll be back here | :13:14. | :13:15. | |
on BBC One next Sunday Remember - if it's Sunday, | :13:16. | :13:18. | |
it's the Sunday Politics. The East End girl who became the | :13:19. | :14:25. | |
nation's favourite. We don't know what it is, | :14:26. | :14:27. | |
but she definitely has... Something. From stage to screen | :14:28. | :14:32. | |
and into our hearts. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! | :14:33. | :14:37. | |
Ooh, in't she wonderful? If you're not careful, you'll end up | :14:38. | :14:45. | |
playing this sexy little blonde | :14:46. | :14:49. |