:01:27. > :01:30.In half are, we will find I have wide Yorkshire's countryside
:01:30. > :01:40.campaigners are stepping up the pressure on the Government to look
:01:40. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :35:19.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2018 seconds
:35:19. > :35:22.Welcome to the Sunday Politics for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Coming
:35:22. > :35:25.up today we'll be finding out why Yorkshire countryside campaigners
:35:25. > :35:35.are stepping up the pressure on the government to look again at the law
:35:35. > :35:37.
:35:37. > :35:45.on fox-hunting. Let us introduce our two main
:35:45. > :35:49.guests, Dan Jarvis, the Labour MP for Barnsley Central. And David
:35:49. > :35:54.Ward, who is the Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East.
:35:54. > :35:58.Dan Jarvis, it has been a pretty tough week. Latest figures showing
:35:58. > :36:00.a our economy shrinking slightly towards the end of last year. Do
:36:00. > :36:06.you have some good news stories from the streets of South
:36:06. > :36:11.Yorkshire? Sadly, not very much good news. More disappointing
:36:11. > :36:15.figures this week. Unemployment now higher than it's been since 1994.
:36:15. > :36:19.Nearly one million young people out of work. And yet again we have seen
:36:19. > :36:28.that the Conservative Government have not got a credible plan for
:36:28. > :36:36.jobs. We have got a five-point plan. David, any more optimism from
:36:36. > :36:41.Bradford? Well, if you talk to manufacturing businesses or
:36:41. > :36:46.businesses generally, it is a mixed picture. Many of them have made the
:36:46. > :36:50.difficult decisions they have had to make in 2008, 2009, and are
:36:51. > :36:59.doing reasonably well. It is not at the pace we need to fill the loss
:36:59. > :37:05.in public sector jobs, but it is not all about stories. Well, it is
:37:05. > :37:08.nice to see an appearance on TV without your Bradford City scarf!
:37:08. > :37:11.Now, after a week of internal rows and accusations of nepotism, the
:37:11. > :37:15.husband of the Lib Dem Euro MP Diana Wallis finally confirmed he
:37:15. > :37:18.would not be taking his wife's job. So who will be taking the vacant
:37:18. > :37:28.Yorkshire and Humber seat in the European Parliament? Len Tingle can
:37:28. > :37:32.
:37:32. > :37:36.tell us more. Diana Wallis's announcement of her
:37:36. > :37:40.resignation created a huge row. The seat of any MEP stepping down early
:37:40. > :37:43.remains with their party and will be offered to the next person on
:37:43. > :37:49.the regional list of candidates who fought the last Euro-elections.
:37:49. > :37:53.This is that candidate, Stewart Arnold, ranked second on the
:37:53. > :37:59.regional list for Yorkshire and Humber and Diana's husband. That
:37:59. > :38:04.husband and wife seat swapping plan did not go down well. What we are
:38:04. > :38:08.trying to do now in politics to catch up on our reputation of being
:38:08. > :38:14.complete scandals is to avoid this sort of thing, which is within then
:38:14. > :38:24.rolls but a bit smelly. Stuart Arnold has net -- has now
:38:24. > :38:27.
:38:27. > :38:32.stepped aside, but he has A visit will now be offered to
:38:32. > :38:36.Yorkshire Lib Dem Rebecca Taylor, the third ranking person on the
:38:36. > :38:39.party's regional candidates list, who has also stood on their general
:38:40. > :38:44.election list for the party. She says she is thrilled to be asked
:38:44. > :38:49.and will make a decision over the weekend. Neither Diana Wallis nor
:38:49. > :38:57.has Ben Wood make any further comment. She is expected to stand
:38:57. > :39:00.down next Wednesday. 's David, are you relieved that
:39:01. > :39:04.Diana Wallis will now not be passing high-speed straight onto
:39:04. > :39:11.her has been without a single vote being cast?
:39:11. > :39:18.The system means that her husband obviously had the right to take her
:39:18. > :39:24.place. The rules allow him to take over when an MEP steps down, but I
:39:24. > :39:27.am pleased I must admit, because I think that he has had a long
:39:27. > :39:32.reflection about how it would look. We have to be honest about this,
:39:32. > :39:37.not hide behind the system that is in place. It would not look right
:39:37. > :39:41.at this present time, and also Diana now has stood down for the
:39:41. > :39:44.reasons that she stated and her husband has said about the best
:39:44. > :39:49.thing he can do is help her and support her and continued to work
:39:49. > :39:55.with her as they have in the past. Many Labour people have been
:39:55. > :39:58.critical of Diana Wallis, but the same rules apply to your party, if
:39:58. > :40:04.one of your MPs were to step down from the European Parliament, if we
:40:04. > :40:08.ever was next on the list would take their job. The Lib Dems have
:40:08. > :40:12.got themselves in a muddle this week. One of their whips resigned
:40:12. > :40:16.over something that has now not happened. But I accept the reality
:40:16. > :40:20.is that the roles are the same for us. But I think this raises broader
:40:20. > :40:24.issues about the way we do our politics. I have this conversation
:40:25. > :40:30.with people every day. If they are extremely sore about the expenses
:40:30. > :40:34.debacle. Be warned people as their representatives who have got life
:40:34. > :40:39.experience and who have done something outside politics, and
:40:39. > :40:42.they want their politicians to be accountable. I am sure we would
:40:42. > :40:46.want progress in that particular area.
:40:46. > :40:51.Neil Kinnock and Glenys had a good one in Europe, they were husband
:40:51. > :40:55.and wife. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but what
:40:55. > :41:00.does matter to the public is that they except -- expect their
:41:00. > :41:03.politicians to be utterly transparent, they want people with
:41:03. > :41:07.incredible life experience who are passionate about representing their
:41:07. > :41:11.constituents. This is still an important debate to have. Many
:41:11. > :41:15.people around the country are still very angry about the way in which
:41:15. > :41:17.the political classes have behaved over a number of years, but we all
:41:18. > :41:22.have a responsibility to address that.
:41:22. > :41:30.The Lib Dems now have two out of the six MEPs in the Yorkshire and
:41:30. > :41:35.Humber region, so you have got a third of the MEPs in the Yorkshire
:41:35. > :41:39.and Humber region - minute series is just under 33% of people support
:41:39. > :41:44.your party? The election took place, it had an
:41:44. > :41:48.outcome, I don't think there is any doubt at all but people were
:41:49. > :41:53.elected on a system that everybody agrees with and supports. There
:41:53. > :42:00.will be an election coming up, people will have the right to cast
:42:00. > :42:10.their vote and to put their opinions across.
:42:10. > :42:11.
:42:11. > :42:15.Let us catch up with the rest of the political news in 60 seconds.
:42:15. > :42:19.A Yorkshire Bishop led the bashing of the Government's welfare
:42:19. > :42:24.proposals in a house of Lords. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds was at
:42:24. > :42:31.the forefront of opposition to plans for an annual benefits cap of
:42:31. > :42:39.�26,000. It is important, but those people who are already in
:42:39. > :42:44.difficulties because they benefit has been capped, do not also face
:42:44. > :42:48.having their child benefit removed. It is a very simple amendment.
:42:48. > :42:54.David Cameron came to Leeds where he pledged to let new businesses
:42:54. > :42:57.use NT Government office space. And many people were prevented from
:42:57. > :43:01.voting in Nick Clegg's Sheffield Hallam constituency at the general
:43:01. > :43:05.election. Now a house of Lords committee has recommended that
:43:05. > :43:13.voters who are queuing at polling stations should be allowed to cast
:43:13. > :43:18.their ballot papers after the 10:00pm deadline.
:43:18. > :43:23.Memories of Nick Clegg mania, that makes you quite nostalgic. Will
:43:23. > :43:27.still -- will people still be queuing in 2015? They will be
:43:27. > :43:31.queuing, I am not sure what they will be queuing to do at that time
:43:31. > :43:36.but I don't think anybody at this time knows what is going to happen
:43:36. > :43:43.in 2015. Dan Jarvis, the bishops tried to block the Government's
:43:43. > :43:49.welfare proposals, a �26,000 cap on benefits. Where the right? I think
:43:49. > :43:52.they were right. We have tabled our own amendment in the Lords, because
:43:52. > :43:56.the Government's own figures shows that put it potentially 20,000
:43:56. > :44:01.people could be left homeless by the cap. If someone is in a
:44:01. > :44:06.position to work, they should do so. In order to ensure that level
:44:06. > :44:12.offenders, if we have tabled that amendment to make sure that people
:44:12. > :44:18.will not be made homeless. It will be �26,000 a year, five far
:44:18. > :44:22.and pounds a week in benefits. That is equivalent to �35,000 before tax.
:44:22. > :44:28.How many people that affect in Barnsley? That is why we support
:44:28. > :44:33.the cat. The problem is the way the Government is going about it. By
:44:33. > :44:37.the Government's own figures, 26 -- 20,000 people will be made homeless.
:44:37. > :44:42.If it is likely to be many more, potentially 30,000 people could be
:44:42. > :44:48.made homeless. That is why we have tabled our own amendment to make
:44:48. > :44:53.sure that this would not happen. Proposed cuts to welfare, are they
:44:53. > :44:57.are tough sell on the streets of Bradford? You talk to people are
:44:57. > :45:03.but the level of benefits that is being discussed of �5,000 a week,
:45:03. > :45:07.and salaries having to be �35,000 to get that level of support, and
:45:07. > :45:10.they would say it is another world completely. We are going through a
:45:10. > :45:14.really difficult time in terms of the finance, and we would like to
:45:14. > :45:18.sort out the health service, the welfare reforms, educational
:45:18. > :45:22.changes. We would have to be able to do all of this while the economy
:45:22. > :45:27.was really roaming, and Labour had the chance to do that. The
:45:27. > :45:31.difficulty is that we are doing many painful things at a time of
:45:31. > :45:35.national economic crisis, so it will be very difficult.
:45:35. > :45:43.But is it right that unelected Bishop's try to block this
:45:43. > :45:47.legislation? You say you'd support this cap? It raises debate about
:45:47. > :45:51.the role of a second chamber. I go back to my original point, I think
:45:51. > :45:54.what the public are looking for his people in politics who are
:45:54. > :45:57.transparent and accountable in the way they do their business, but
:45:58. > :46:02.they are passionate about people they represent. We give in
:46:02. > :46:06.incredibly difficult times, but that is why it is right that the
:46:06. > :46:10.decisions that the Government makes or scrutinised in the degree that
:46:10. > :46:15.they are. We have got a prime minister at the moment he is simply
:46:15. > :46:22.removed from the everyday reality of most people's lives.
:46:22. > :46:27.Is he removed, David? Well, thank goodness for the Liberal Democrats,
:46:27. > :46:31.and I think we have had an incredibly important role... We all
:46:31. > :46:36.understand the terrible situation in terms of the economy, but the
:46:36. > :46:41.issue of moral fairness raised by the bishops are key issues that a
:46:41. > :46:47.hall of the country is engaged in, that debate at the present time -
:46:47. > :46:50.how do we do what we need to do, but do it in a fair way?
:46:50. > :46:54.Countryside campaigners across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are
:46:54. > :46:59.calling on the Government to commit to a timetable when Parliament can
:46:59. > :47:03.debate the repeal of the Hunting Act. MPs have been promised a --
:47:03. > :47:11.free vote on the issue, which has once again prompted a fierce debate
:47:11. > :47:16.on both sides. Seven years have passed since
:47:16. > :47:19.hunting with Dogs was outlawed by Parliament. But these hunting
:47:19. > :47:26.enthusiasts in East Yorkshire remain committed to overturning the
:47:26. > :47:31.ban. The hunts have carried on, but they follow a trail, the hounds
:47:31. > :47:38.follow a trail laid by a run-out, and it is like going for a Day's
:47:38. > :47:43.hunting. They do not catch a Fox's any more, it is illegal. But the
:47:43. > :47:48.community has survived. The hunting Bill was badly drafted, totally on
:47:48. > :47:53.permissible. So it has left both sides very frustrated.
:47:53. > :47:58.The Prime Minister has promised MPs a free vote on the repeal of the
:47:59. > :48:02.Hunting Act. But so far no date has been set. I think there should be a
:48:02. > :48:08.free vote in the House of Commons, the House of Commons should make
:48:08. > :48:18.its mind up about this. My problem has always been that it was taking
:48:18. > :48:18.
:48:18. > :48:26.a criminal law into an area of activity where it did not belong.
:48:26. > :48:30.The public's -- the simply do not want a return to hunting. The but
:48:30. > :48:35.would be in favour of the -- retaining the Hunting Act. There
:48:35. > :48:40.are a number of Conservative MPs saying they do not support the bill
:48:40. > :48:44.either. -- the repeal either. But could there be a compromise
:48:44. > :48:49.when local people decide? What the general public and the nation
:48:49. > :48:54.should have, is a referendum on it. Let the people who live in hunting
:48:54. > :49:01.country decide how the countryside should be run. It should be County
:49:01. > :49:05.referenda across the country. Despite the positive noises made by
:49:06. > :49:09.David Cameron of a turning a hunting ban does not appeal to be a
:49:09. > :49:13.priority for the Government at the moment. But the pro-hunt lobby say
:49:13. > :49:21.they will continue to keep up the pressure for another vote on this
:49:21. > :49:26.controversial more. -- law. Hunting supporter Jane
:49:26. > :49:30.Collins joins us in the studio now. The latest opinion poll reveals
:49:30. > :49:36.that 69% of the public are against the repeal of a Hunting Act. Why
:49:36. > :49:41.should MPs waste time debating this subject when there are so many
:49:41. > :49:47.problems in the world? A I totally agree with you on why they should
:49:47. > :49:52.waste time on debating it. It affects people's lives, but going
:49:52. > :49:55.back to that debate, when the hunting Bill was originally debated,
:49:55. > :49:59.if you are going to look at priorities, the Bill was given four
:49:59. > :50:04.times longer in the Houses of Parliament than the debate to
:50:04. > :50:09.invade Iraq. So yes, we need to get our priorities right. Something has
:50:09. > :50:16.to be done about the hunting Bill, but let's look at it on a bigger
:50:16. > :50:23.scale. It is not a portent -- as important as some issues. I support
:50:24. > :50:28.the Hunting Act been repealed, UK has a policy in place where they
:50:28. > :50:34.would open it to referenda. We do not expect people in Westminster to
:50:34. > :50:38.have the same attitude towards fox- hunting as, say, someone in North
:50:38. > :50:43.Yorkshire. It is a different lifestyle, hunting is part of the
:50:43. > :50:48.countryside, and it is a humane and effective way of keeping the fox
:50:48. > :50:53.population down. What about opening up the debate to
:50:53. > :50:57.local people? We do not support the repeal of the Hunting Act. We think
:50:57. > :51:02.in 2012 it is not the right thing to be hunting wild animals with
:51:02. > :51:07.packs of dogs. What disappoints me is that when we have got all these
:51:07. > :51:11.very significant problems impacting on our country, record levels of
:51:11. > :51:16.employment -- unemployment, the Prime Minister seems to have the
:51:16. > :51:20.time to find long lunches with the the country life to talk about
:51:20. > :51:24.issues which do not matter to my constituents. So I do not think
:51:24. > :51:29.these other things Parliament should be debating, I think there
:51:29. > :51:35.are bigger things we should be spending our time on. David, many
:51:35. > :51:44.Lib Dems would describe themselves as libertarians. This is not a
:51:44. > :51:47.massive issue in Bradford East, but I could not support cock-fighting,
:51:47. > :51:52.bringing back dog fighting... These are things of our past we have got
:51:52. > :51:57.rid of and which should never return. I hope we should -- I hope
:51:57. > :52:00.we do not spend a second discussing this in the future. David is
:52:00. > :52:07.bracketing fox hunting with cock- fighting and bare-knuckle fighting
:52:07. > :52:12.does it belong in the past? No, I think that is a wrong comparison.
:52:12. > :52:17.Fox hunting was part of the countryside - and fortunately now
:52:17. > :52:23.it is illegal. But farmers and landowners will cull foxes at a
:52:23. > :52:29.greater rate than if fox-hunting was still legal. And even the
:52:29. > :52:36.report commissioned in 2000 said that to shoot a fox with a shotgun
:52:36. > :52:43.or to snare a fox in broad daylight is far crueller than fox-hunting.
:52:43. > :52:48.Rubbish. This massive pretence that this is somehow being done for the
:52:48. > :52:52.purposes of keeping foxes down, is done purely for entertainment and
:52:52. > :52:59.enjoyment. It is a nonsense. It is something in the past that needs to
:52:59. > :53:05.go. Many say it was an act of class war by many Labour MPs. Did you buy
:53:05. > :53:07.that? I do not by that argument, but where I agree with David is
:53:07. > :53:12.that we have many more important issues which should be
:53:13. > :53:17.concentrating on. Incredibly controversial reorganisation of the
:53:17. > :53:21.NHS, a million young people unemployed, and it baffles me why
:53:21. > :53:25.the Prime Minister thinks we should take up valuable time in Parliament
:53:25. > :53:28.to talk about fox-hunting. This is about the politics of the
:53:28. > :53:34.Conservative Party and not about addressing the significant issues
:53:34. > :53:38.impacting on our country at this moment in time. In a way, I agree
:53:38. > :53:41.with the fact that what David Cameron has offered is fortunate
:53:41. > :53:46.that he offered in Europe - absolutely nothing, because the
:53:46. > :53:50.free vote, with the colour listen, everybody knows which way it is
:53:50. > :53:55.going to goal. So what he is doing is just appeasing the hunting
:53:55. > :53:59.committee and getting himself some free leaflet people for the
:53:59. > :54:04.election like last time. But you have got to realise that there are
:54:04. > :54:13.200 hunts in this country, and the hunt within the law, but that
:54:13. > :54:18.applies in directly and directly 6,000 people, and UK is a
:54:18. > :54:24.libertarian... But what about the basic aspect of cruelty, a pack of
:54:24. > :54:28.dogs chasing a single fox? commission the Burns Report and
:54:28. > :54:34.then totally ignore what was put in the bines report? It is something I
:54:34. > :54:39.have done for a lot of years might from doing a child. We never looked
:54:39. > :54:46.at it as killing an animal, it was part of the community. The farmers
:54:46. > :54:52.cold them if they had a rogue fox. You catch kill foxes that prey on
:54:52. > :54:57.the livestock there. Would either of you support is being debated?
:54:57. > :55:04.Are feel a lot better knowing that it is now on the old or ill foxes