29/01/2012 Sunday Politics Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

In half are, we will find I have wide Yorkshire's countryside

campaigners are stepping up the pressure on the Government to look

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2018 seconds

Welcome to the Sunday Politics for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Coming

up today we'll be finding out why Yorkshire countryside campaigners

are stepping up the pressure on the government to look again at the law

on fox-hunting. Let us introduce our two main

guests, Dan Jarvis, the Labour MP for Barnsley Central. And David

Ward, who is the Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East.

Dan Jarvis, it has been a pretty tough week. Latest figures showing

a our economy shrinking slightly towards the end of last year. Do

you have some good news stories from the streets of South

Yorkshire? Sadly, not very much good news. More disappointing

figures this week. Unemployment now higher than it's been since 1994.

Nearly one million young people out of work. And yet again we have seen

that the Conservative Government have not got a credible plan for

jobs. We have got a five-point plan. David, any more optimism from

Bradford? Well, if you talk to manufacturing businesses or

businesses generally, it is a mixed picture. Many of them have made the

difficult decisions they have had to make in 2008, 2009, and are

doing reasonably well. It is not at the pace we need to fill the loss

in public sector jobs, but it is not all about stories. Well, it is

nice to see an appearance on TV without your Bradford City scarf!

Now, after a week of internal rows and accusations of nepotism, the

husband of the Lib Dem Euro MP Diana Wallis finally confirmed he

would not be taking his wife's job. So who will be taking the vacant

Yorkshire and Humber seat in the European Parliament? Len Tingle can

tell us more. Diana Wallis's announcement of her

resignation created a huge row. The seat of any MEP stepping down early

remains with their party and will be offered to the next person on

the regional list of candidates who fought the last Euro-elections.

This is that candidate, Stewart Arnold, ranked second on the

regional list for Yorkshire and Humber and Diana's husband. That

husband and wife seat swapping plan did not go down well. What we are

trying to do now in politics to catch up on our reputation of being

complete scandals is to avoid this sort of thing, which is within then

rolls but a bit smelly. Stuart Arnold has net -- has now

stepped aside, but he has A visit will now be offered to

Yorkshire Lib Dem Rebecca Taylor, the third ranking person on the

party's regional candidates list, who has also stood on their general

election list for the party. She says she is thrilled to be asked

and will make a decision over the weekend. Neither Diana Wallis nor

has Ben Wood make any further comment. She is expected to stand

down next Wednesday. 's David, are you relieved that

Diana Wallis will now not be passing high-speed straight onto

her has been without a single vote being cast?

The system means that her husband obviously had the right to take her

place. The rules allow him to take over when an MEP steps down, but I

am pleased I must admit, because I think that he has had a long

reflection about how it would look. We have to be honest about this,

not hide behind the system that is in place. It would not look right

at this present time, and also Diana now has stood down for the

reasons that she stated and her husband has said about the best

thing he can do is help her and support her and continued to work

with her as they have in the past. Many Labour people have been

critical of Diana Wallis, but the same rules apply to your party, if

one of your MPs were to step down from the European Parliament, if we

ever was next on the list would take their job. The Lib Dems have

got themselves in a muddle this week. One of their whips resigned

over something that has now not happened. But I accept the reality

is that the roles are the same for us. But I think this raises broader

issues about the way we do our politics. I have this conversation

with people every day. If they are extremely sore about the expenses

debacle. Be warned people as their representatives who have got life

experience and who have done something outside politics, and

they want their politicians to be accountable. I am sure we would

want progress in that particular area.

Neil Kinnock and Glenys had a good one in Europe, they were husband

and wife. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but what

does matter to the public is that they except -- expect their

politicians to be utterly transparent, they want people with

incredible life experience who are passionate about representing their

constituents. This is still an important debate to have. Many

people around the country are still very angry about the way in which

the political classes have behaved over a number of years, but we all

have a responsibility to address that.

The Lib Dems now have two out of the six MEPs in the Yorkshire and

Humber region, so you have got a third of the MEPs in the Yorkshire

and Humber region - minute series is just under 33% of people support

your party? The election took place, it had an

outcome, I don't think there is any doubt at all but people were

elected on a system that everybody agrees with and supports. There

will be an election coming up, people will have the right to cast

their vote and to put their opinions across.

Let us catch up with the rest of the political news in 60 seconds.

A Yorkshire Bishop led the bashing of the Government's welfare

proposals in a house of Lords. The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds was at

the forefront of opposition to plans for an annual benefits cap of

�26,000. It is important, but those people who are already in

difficulties because they benefit has been capped, do not also face

having their child benefit removed. It is a very simple amendment.

David Cameron came to Leeds where he pledged to let new businesses

use NT Government office space. And many people were prevented from

voting in Nick Clegg's Sheffield Hallam constituency at the general

election. Now a house of Lords committee has recommended that

voters who are queuing at polling stations should be allowed to cast

their ballot papers after the 10:00pm deadline.

Memories of Nick Clegg mania, that makes you quite nostalgic. Will

still -- will people still be queuing in 2015? They will be

queuing, I am not sure what they will be queuing to do at that time

but I don't think anybody at this time knows what is going to happen

in 2015. Dan Jarvis, the bishops tried to block the Government's

welfare proposals, a �26,000 cap on benefits. Where the right? I think

they were right. We have tabled our own amendment in the Lords, because

the Government's own figures shows that put it potentially 20,000

people could be left homeless by the cap. If someone is in a

position to work, they should do so. In order to ensure that level

offenders, if we have tabled that amendment to make sure that people

will not be made homeless. It will be �26,000 a year, five far

and pounds a week in benefits. That is equivalent to �35,000 before tax.

How many people that affect in Barnsley? That is why we support

the cat. The problem is the way the Government is going about it. By

the Government's own figures, 26 -- 20,000 people will be made homeless.

If it is likely to be many more, potentially 30,000 people could be

made homeless. That is why we have tabled our own amendment to make

sure that this would not happen. Proposed cuts to welfare, are they

are tough sell on the streets of Bradford? You talk to people are

but the level of benefits that is being discussed of �5,000 a week,

and salaries having to be �35,000 to get that level of support, and

they would say it is another world completely. We are going through a

really difficult time in terms of the finance, and we would like to

sort out the health service, the welfare reforms, educational

changes. We would have to be able to do all of this while the economy

was really roaming, and Labour had the chance to do that. The

difficulty is that we are doing many painful things at a time of

national economic crisis, so it will be very difficult.

But is it right that unelected Bishop's try to block this

legislation? You say you'd support this cap? It raises debate about

the role of a second chamber. I go back to my original point, I think

what the public are looking for his people in politics who are

transparent and accountable in the way they do their business, but

they are passionate about people they represent. We give in

incredibly difficult times, but that is why it is right that the

decisions that the Government makes or scrutinised in the degree that

they are. We have got a prime minister at the moment he is simply

removed from the everyday reality of most people's lives.

Is he removed, David? Well, thank goodness for the Liberal Democrats,

and I think we have had an incredibly important role... We all

understand the terrible situation in terms of the economy, but the

issue of moral fairness raised by the bishops are key issues that a

hall of the country is engaged in, that debate at the present time -

how do we do what we need to do, but do it in a fair way?

Countryside campaigners across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are

calling on the Government to commit to a timetable when Parliament can

debate the repeal of the Hunting Act. MPs have been promised a --

free vote on the issue, which has once again prompted a fierce debate

on both sides. Seven years have passed since

hunting with Dogs was outlawed by Parliament. But these hunting

enthusiasts in East Yorkshire remain committed to overturning the

ban. The hunts have carried on, but they follow a trail, the hounds

follow a trail laid by a run-out, and it is like going for a Day's

hunting. They do not catch a Fox's any more, it is illegal. But the

community has survived. The hunting Bill was badly drafted, totally on

permissible. So it has left both sides very frustrated.

The Prime Minister has promised MPs a free vote on the repeal of the

Hunting Act. But so far no date has been set. I think there should be a

free vote in the House of Commons, the House of Commons should make

its mind up about this. My problem has always been that it was taking

a criminal law into an area of activity where it did not belong.

The public's -- the simply do not want a return to hunting. The but

would be in favour of the -- retaining the Hunting Act. There

are a number of Conservative MPs saying they do not support the bill

either. -- the repeal either. But could there be a compromise

when local people decide? What the general public and the nation

should have, is a referendum on it. Let the people who live in hunting

country decide how the countryside should be run. It should be County

referenda across the country. Despite the positive noises made by

David Cameron of a turning a hunting ban does not appeal to be a

priority for the Government at the moment. But the pro-hunt lobby say

they will continue to keep up the pressure for another vote on this

controversial more. -- law. Hunting supporter Jane

Collins joins us in the studio now. The latest opinion poll reveals

that 69% of the public are against the repeal of a Hunting Act. Why

should MPs waste time debating this subject when there are so many

problems in the world? A I totally agree with you on why they should

waste time on debating it. It affects people's lives, but going

back to that debate, when the hunting Bill was originally debated,

if you are going to look at priorities, the Bill was given four

times longer in the Houses of Parliament than the debate to

invade Iraq. So yes, we need to get our priorities right. Something has

to be done about the hunting Bill, but let's look at it on a bigger

scale. It is not a portent -- as important as some issues. I support

the Hunting Act been repealed, UK has a policy in place where they

would open it to referenda. We do not expect people in Westminster to

have the same attitude towards fox- hunting as, say, someone in North

Yorkshire. It is a different lifestyle, hunting is part of the

countryside, and it is a humane and effective way of keeping the fox

population down. What about opening up the debate to

local people? We do not support the repeal of the Hunting Act. We think

in 2012 it is not the right thing to be hunting wild animals with

packs of dogs. What disappoints me is that when we have got all these

very significant problems impacting on our country, record levels of

employment -- unemployment, the Prime Minister seems to have the

time to find long lunches with the the country life to talk about

issues which do not matter to my constituents. So I do not think

these other things Parliament should be debating, I think there

are bigger things we should be spending our time on. David, many

Lib Dems would describe themselves as libertarians. This is not a

massive issue in Bradford East, but I could not support cock-fighting,

bringing back dog fighting... These are things of our past we have got

rid of and which should never return. I hope we should -- I hope

we do not spend a second discussing this in the future. David is

bracketing fox hunting with cock- fighting and bare-knuckle fighting

does it belong in the past? No, I think that is a wrong comparison.

Fox hunting was part of the countryside - and fortunately now

it is illegal. But farmers and landowners will cull foxes at a

greater rate than if fox-hunting was still legal. And even the

report commissioned in 2000 said that to shoot a fox with a shotgun

or to snare a fox in broad daylight is far crueller than fox-hunting.

Rubbish. This massive pretence that this is somehow being done for the

purposes of keeping foxes down, is done purely for entertainment and

enjoyment. It is a nonsense. It is something in the past that needs to

go. Many say it was an act of class war by many Labour MPs. Did you buy

that? I do not by that argument, but where I agree with David is

that we have many more important issues which should be

concentrating on. Incredibly controversial reorganisation of the

NHS, a million young people unemployed, and it baffles me why

the Prime Minister thinks we should take up valuable time in Parliament

to talk about fox-hunting. This is about the politics of the

Conservative Party and not about addressing the significant issues

impacting on our country at this moment in time. In a way, I agree

with the fact that what David Cameron has offered is fortunate

that he offered in Europe - absolutely nothing, because the

free vote, with the colour listen, everybody knows which way it is

going to goal. So what he is doing is just appeasing the hunting

committee and getting himself some free leaflet people for the

election like last time. But you have got to realise that there are

200 hunts in this country, and the hunt within the law, but that

applies in directly and directly 6,000 people, and UK is a

libertarian... But what about the basic aspect of cruelty, a pack of

dogs chasing a single fox? commission the Burns Report and

then totally ignore what was put in the bines report? It is something I

have done for a lot of years might from doing a child. We never looked

at it as killing an animal, it was part of the community. The farmers

cold them if they had a rogue fox. You catch kill foxes that prey on

the livestock there. Would either of you support is being debated?

Are feel a lot better knowing that it is now on the old or ill foxes