Browse content similar to 12/02/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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And here in the North - Ed to Ed with Miliband - we know what his | :01:28. | :01:31. | |
critics in Yorkshire say, but Labour's top man comes out fighting | :01:31. | :01:41. | |
:01:41. | :01:41. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1696 seconds | :01:41. | :29:58. | |
Hello, good afternoon. You're watching the Sunday Politics for | :29:58. | :30:03. | |
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Today I go head to head with Ed. Ed | :30:03. | :30:06. | |
Miliband, that is, as the Labour leader hits back at his critics in | :30:06. | :30:10. | |
Yorkshire. Plus we'll find out why businesses in Lincolnshire are | :30:10. | :30:13. | |
frustrated at what they claim is the mountain of red tape preventing | :30:13. | :30:23. | |
:30:23. | :30:25. | ||
them from bidding for government contracts. Our best today are the | :30:25. | :30:35. | |
:30:35. | :30:37. | ||
Conservative MP and the Labour MP for Sheffield Central. Many | :30:37. | :30:43. | |
commentators say it you scored recent victory on bankers bonuses. | :30:43. | :30:49. | |
Do you accept that? The battle is far from over. If you look at the | :30:49. | :30:54. | |
opinion polls, when the public are asked who they trust on the economy, | :30:54. | :30:59. | |
it is time and again the Prime Minister and Chancellor way ahead | :30:59. | :31:06. | |
of Ed Miliband and Ed Balls. saw Ed Miliband's speech in | :31:06. | :31:12. | |
Sheffield. How would you sum up how his relaunch is going? He has | :31:12. | :31:18. | |
caught the pulse of the nation. David Cameron is playing catch-up. | :31:18. | :31:28. | |
:31:28. | :31:28. | ||
He was the first to talk about capitalism. No more rewards for | :31:28. | :31:32. | |
failure. That was one of the big themes of a keynote speech by Ed | :31:32. | :31:36. | |
Miliband in Sheffield this week. I caught up with the Labour leader | :31:36. | :31:44. | |
and Doncaster MP, after his latest bout of banker bashing. On a cold, | :31:45. | :31:49. | |
wintry night in South Yorkshire, the speech on the fickle history of | :31:49. | :31:53. | |
the British economy may not sound like a crowd puller, but around | :31:53. | :32:02. | |
1000 people came to the inaugural lecture of this research institute | :32:02. | :32:04. | |
at the University of Sheffield, where the guest speaker told me | :32:05. | :32:08. | |
that unlike some previous Labour leaders, he was not relaxed about | :32:08. | :32:13. | |
people getting filthy rich. I'm not relaxed about it because it can't | :32:13. | :32:18. | |
be about rewards for failure. That is what we have seen in too much of | :32:18. | :32:21. | |
our banking industry. Wise is important that we have banks that | :32:21. | :32:26. | |
serve the rest of the economy but the small businesses rely on the | :32:26. | :32:30. | |
bank, the savers rely on the bank, and when we see these enormous | :32:30. | :32:35. | |
bonuses being paid out, we know it is wrong and it has got to change. | :32:35. | :32:39. | |
It does been a difficult few weeks they Ed Miliband with critics | :32:39. | :32:43. | |
accusing him of flip propping over his support for austerity measures | :32:43. | :32:48. | |
and union anger over his support for a public-sector pay freeze. | :32:48. | :32:54. | |
pay, if it is a choice between jobs and big pay rises in the public | :32:54. | :32:58. | |
sector, it is a tough decision. We should protect the low-paid workers, | :32:58. | :33:02. | |
make sure the higher-paid workers do not get a pay rise, but keep the | :33:02. | :33:08. | |
jobs in the public sector. When unions talk about disability and | :33:08. | :33:12. | |
themselves from the Labour Party, that would be disastrous for you, | :33:12. | :33:17. | |
for funding for the party and the person they. I don't think that | :33:17. | :33:20. | |
will happen. People always say things in the heat of the moment. | :33:20. | :33:23. | |
What is important for me is there to take the right long-term | :33:23. | :33:30. | |
decisions for the Labour party and country. Voters in Ed Miliband's | :33:30. | :33:33. | |
constituency will decide in May whether they want to keep the | :33:33. | :33:37. | |
system of elected mayor running the town. People in four at the | :33:37. | :33:42. | |
Yorkshire cities will also have the chance to say whether they want an | :33:42. | :33:46. | |
elected mayor. Many in the Labour Party dislike the idea. What is his | :33:47. | :33:56. | |
:33:57. | :33:58. | ||
view? I think the mayoral system is the right system. Many of them want | :33:58. | :34:04. | |
it ditched? Sure, but my preference is for the mayoral system. In the | :34:04. | :34:08. | |
end, it is right that local people make their range was. The audience | :34:08. | :34:11. | |
members of Sheffield came from a variety of backgrounds. So, where | :34:11. | :34:16. | |
they inspired by the Labour leader? He was definitely very interesting. | :34:16. | :34:23. | |
He seemed to know what he was talking about. He did not pandered | :34:23. | :34:30. | |
to the media's interest. He has got a quiet appeal, he grows over the | :34:30. | :34:40. | |
:34:40. | :34:45. | ||
course of the speech. He is not singing and dancing like a -- like | :34:45. | :34:51. | |
President Obama! Do you think you appeal to people in Yorkshire? | :34:51. | :34:57. | |
think I do. I take my job very seriously. Listen to the issues, | :34:57. | :35:03. | |
listen to what really matters. If you want a party that will put you | :35:03. | :35:11. | |
on an employer -- young people back to work, that is Labour. It will | :35:11. | :35:19. | |
depend on an improved performance over the coming months. Critical | :35:19. | :35:24. | |
ever bank is bonuses, George Osborne continuing to question | :35:24. | :35:28. | |
whether this kind of thing was that danger of promoting an anti- | :35:28. | :35:34. | |
business culture. Is he on to something? We have got to get the | :35:34. | :35:37. | |
bank has bonuses issued in to spare -- perspective. They have been | :35:37. | :35:41. | |
horrendous cases of far too much money being paid in bonuses. But | :35:42. | :35:45. | |
that was going on for the last government which he was a member of, | :35:45. | :35:50. | |
and he did nothing about that, Sowton lecture about that now it is | :35:50. | :35:56. | |
a bit rich. -- so to lecture about that. We want people to come to | :35:56. | :36:01. | |
Britain to invest, we want... We have got a great financial sector | :36:01. | :36:10. | |
in this County, and we need to protect that. At the same time, we | :36:10. | :36:17. | |
need to make sure we don't excessive bonuses. Ed Miliband is a | :36:17. | :36:21. | |
former minister in the last Labour government, when he talks about the | :36:21. | :36:25. | |
whole financial system going wrong, surely he is largely responsible? | :36:25. | :36:29. | |
Not at all. He is not responsible for the collapse of Lehmann | :36:29. | :36:34. | |
Brothers in the States and the sub prime lending in America which led | :36:34. | :36:38. | |
to the global financial crisis. What we did back in 2008 was to | :36:38. | :36:42. | |
lead the world in a set of policies which was taking economies out of | :36:42. | :36:47. | |
recession. When they consider -- Conservatives came to power, the | :36:47. | :36:54. | |
economy was growing. They lead us towards a range of economic | :36:54. | :36:57. | |
policies which have now put the economy into a tailspin. We are | :36:57. | :37:02. | |
shrinking, and jobs are being lost at the expense of a policy. He says | :37:02. | :37:05. | |
he is better connecting with ordinary people now. Do you think | :37:05. | :37:12. | |
he is? Absolutely. Listen to those who were leaving the lecture on | :37:12. | :37:18. | |
Thursday night. Listen to those who tried to get a ticket but couldn't | :37:18. | :37:21. | |
get in. They turned 1000 people away. He has got his finger on the | :37:21. | :37:26. | |
pulse of the nation. People are deeply concerned about bonuses, not | :37:26. | :37:29. | |
because there anti-business, but because they are sick of people | :37:29. | :37:34. | |
ripping off business. The not my local pub, he is not connected with | :37:34. | :37:37. | |
people. They do not see him as the future Prime Minister and that is | :37:37. | :37:41. | |
the problem he has got. Some of the people who were leaving the hall | :37:41. | :37:46. | |
there were saying, yes, nice man, spoke quietly and passionately, I | :37:46. | :37:52. | |
have heard that before some wet. We had a similar problem with aided -- | :37:52. | :38:02. | |
who did not connect with public, you saw what happened there. Iain | :38:02. | :38:10. | |
Duncan-Smith. People want but leader. -- people want a leader. In | :38:10. | :38:14. | |
that government, he was not prepared to make the decisions. | :38:14. | :38:20. | |
David Cameron and the rest of the government car. Time now to catch | :38:20. | :38:24. | |
up on the political news in our part of the world. Len Tingle has | :38:24. | :38:31. | |
our round-up in 60 seconds. punches pulled by John Prescott | :38:31. | :38:34. | |
when it comes to political surprises this week. Now Lord | :38:34. | :38:38. | |
Prescott says he wants to add another title, commissioner of the | :38:38. | :38:43. | |
Humberside Police Falls. He wants to stand for nomination as Labour's | :38:43. | :38:47. | |
candidate in November's elections. I have got more experience than any | :38:47. | :38:57. | |
:38:57. | :38:59. | ||
other candidate. The recently retired South Yorkshire constable | :38:59. | :39:06. | |
said he wants to leave. And as the Sheffield City Council announces | :39:06. | :39:14. | |
hundreds of more job losses, it says it will start a lottery. This | :39:14. | :39:24. | |
:39:24. | :39:25. | ||
film is shortlisted for today's Bath did awards. But spending cuts | :39:25. | :39:34. | |
threaten the agency's future but it has been given millions of EU money. | :39:34. | :39:39. | |
550 jobs are being lost at Sheffield City Council, a Labour so | :39:39. | :39:49. | |
:39:49. | :39:50. | ||
-- Labour-run council, how can you justify that? The capital in | :39:50. | :39:54. | |
Sheffield has been forced to take out there to be sent off funding | :39:54. | :40:04. | |
:40:04. | :40:05. | ||
over a period of four years. If you look at wealthier parts of the | :40:05. | :40:09. | |
country, they are not facing any cuts at all. Are we going to see | :40:09. | :40:16. | |
more job losses, and is this the price we pay for austerity? We are | :40:16. | :40:21. | |
incredibly difficult times. We have got to get out deficit under | :40:21. | :40:30. | |
control. We will use a credit rating and people's mortgages go up, | :40:30. | :40:36. | |
that is the last thing we want. What do you think about John | :40:36. | :40:41. | |
Prescott in a minute, but let's hear what Ed Miliband had to say. | :40:41. | :40:51. | |
:40:51. | :40:54. | ||
He would be a great police commissioner. John Prescott is a | :40:54. | :40:58. | |
very unstoppable force, and I'm sure he would be a great police | :40:58. | :41:05. | |
commissioner. Was that a ringing endorsement, do you think? I think | :41:05. | :41:09. | |
Ed Miliband was saying what we all feel, we have got to get good | :41:09. | :41:12. | |
candidates up to those posts. We would rather the post were not | :41:12. | :41:17. | |
there in the first place, another example of the Tory government | :41:17. | :41:23. | |
wasting money on bureaucratic the organisations. If it was spent on | :41:23. | :41:29. | |
frontline policing, people would be a lot happier. John Prescott is -- | :41:29. | :41:37. | |
is a good example of a strong character to do this? Surely he has | :41:38. | :41:47. | |
got enough on his plate, but people are looking forward to the fight! | :41:47. | :41:52. | |
It sounds like battle has already commenced. Now, government | :41:52. | :41:54. | |
bureaucrats are accused of all sorts these days. But their failure | :41:54. | :41:57. | |
to award more contracts to small businesses comes in for stinging | :41:57. | :42:00. | |
criticism in our next report. In fact, one expert says small | :42:00. | :42:02. | |
businesses are actively discriminated against. Sharon | :42:02. | :42:12. | |
:42:12. | :42:14. | ||
Edwards explains. It is small and unassuming, but the village of | :42:14. | :42:17. | |
ripping Gail in South Lincolnshire House some big ideas. Less than | :42:17. | :42:22. | |
1000 people live here, yet it is home to around 30 businesses, many | :42:22. | :42:29. | |
of them like this one run from home. For the past 10 years, Dr Peter | :42:29. | :42:35. | |
Mosley has designed environmental technology, but despite success in | :42:35. | :42:38. | |
the private sector, he is yet to win a single government contract in | :42:38. | :42:44. | |
England. The problem, he says, is red tape. There are government | :42:44. | :42:49. | |
departments which are requiring specific information with regards | :42:49. | :42:52. | |
to sustainability policies, health and safety, insurance, liability | :42:52. | :42:58. | |
and that kind of thing. The information we are required to give | :42:59. | :43:03. | |
full some other tenders is distinctly tailored at larger | :43:03. | :43:08. | |
businesses that have departments that can focus on purely tendering. | :43:08. | :43:11. | |
I never know if I'll be successful and the likelihood is that there | :43:11. | :43:18. | |
are some hidden criteria which might exclude me from the process. | :43:18. | :43:23. | |
And he is not alone. Steed employs 300 people at the Lincolnshire | :43:23. | :43:30. | |
building firm he created 24 years ago. He won this contracted -- to | :43:30. | :43:33. | |
convert the church into a hotel, but recently the start of a public | :43:33. | :43:39. | |
contract, so be because of the way he had worded a bid. We used the | :43:39. | :43:47. | |
word working towards, and we did not say, we will do. It was not as | :43:47. | :43:51. | |
positive as we should have done. And you could have won that | :43:51. | :43:55. | |
contract if it had not been for that? Yes, we could have been on | :43:55. | :44:05. | |
:44:05. | :44:08. | ||
the tender list. Public-sector contracts are worth �230 billion a | :44:08. | :44:11. | |
year. The government says it wants a quarter of them to go to smaller | :44:11. | :44:15. | |
and medium-sized businesses, but at the moment is this the only around | :44:15. | :44:25. | |
:44:25. | :44:28. | ||
six %. -- it is only around six %. It was set at a limit before or | :44:28. | :44:38. | |
:44:38. | :44:38. | ||
�5,000, now that has been doubled to �10,000. We are making sure that | :44:38. | :44:45. | |
we pay local suppliers on time now, within 28 days. Colin is a | :44:45. | :44:55. | |
:44:55. | :44:55. | ||
consultant, advising companies on how to judge -- advising companies | :44:55. | :45:03. | |
on how to apply for contract. Guinea to remove the discrimination. | :45:03. | :45:07. | |
A year ago this week, the Prime Minister promised to help small | :45:07. | :45:14. | |
businesses when public contracts, but many say they are still waiting. | :45:14. | :45:24. | |
-- win. Dr Peter Mosley is here. Peter, what more could a government | :45:24. | :45:28. | |
be doing to make sure small governor -- businesses win more | :45:28. | :45:35. | |
public sector contracts? Levelling the playing field, so it is open | :45:35. | :45:40. | |
and transparent and so that it is there for small businesses to | :45:40. | :45:50. | |
:45:50. | :45:51. | ||
compete for everything that is available for the public sector. A | :45:51. | :45:56. | |
minimum bid of 10,000, but quite often use the contracts they don't | :45:56. | :46:01. | |
start to a 2025 come up, a whole gap could benefit small businesses | :46:01. | :46:08. | |
from �1,000 upwards that doesn't seem to be handled in an open way. | :46:08. | :46:12. | |
David Cameron, this time last year, promised that more small businesses | :46:12. | :46:15. | |
but secured government contracts, why has that not happen to a large | :46:15. | :46:22. | |
extent? It has taken time. This has been going on for a long time. I | :46:22. | :46:26. | |
have heard members of parliament from all parties say that this is | :46:26. | :46:35. | |
ridiculous. There are things happening, like the website, taking | :46:35. | :46:39. | |
out qualification forms for a lot of small businesses, but we to go | :46:39. | :46:43. | |
further. I'm glad that the government are taking this up in | :46:43. | :46:47. | |
Europe, because there are also it European directive that we have to | :46:48. | :46:52. | |
adhere to. The more that can be done so that it is a level playing- | :46:52. | :46:57. | |
field, the better. I know that myself and many of my colleagues | :46:57. | :47:01. | |
are doing the same in raising it as an issue with the government. | :47:01. | :47:05. | |
a difficult dilemma for the government and all public sector | :47:05. | :47:09. | |
bodies because they want to offer value for money to the taxpayer, | :47:09. | :47:15. | |
but actually, value for money for the taxpayer often comes with | :47:15. | :47:20. | |
large-scale -- procurement contracts. How do we get around | :47:20. | :47:28. | |
this problem? Local government in many cases is sorting out the | :47:28. | :47:36. | |
issues. About an estimated 20 billion goes to small businesses of | :47:36. | :47:41. | |
the procurement. It is about being flexible and nimble, helping small | :47:41. | :47:45. | |
businesses to access systems. On Friday, I chaired a seminar of | :47:45. | :47:49. | |
local small businesses, are looking at how it would be easier for them | :47:49. | :47:52. | |
to take on apprenticeships. There are ways of doing that and we have | :47:52. | :47:59. | |
to listen to what they're saying. Is part of the problem that bigger | :47:59. | :48:07. | |
companies, there is no way you can compete? For sure. A large | :48:07. | :48:11. | |
proportion of my time when it comes to tendering is spent in the | :48:11. | :48:15. | |
evenings trying to fill in forms, fill in the boxes, produce the | :48:15. | :48:18. | |
documentation that a large business will have an entire team of people | :48:18. | :48:25. | |
doing. I haven't got a whole team of people. That immediately puts me | :48:25. | :48:29. | |
on the back for it. Do have a lot of sympathy for somebody like | :48:29. | :48:34. | |
Peter? Absolutely. The people who were going to get us out of the | :48:34. | :48:38. | |
economic difficulties other smaller businesses. We need to do | :48:38. | :48:42. | |
everything we can. I don't think the government are dithering, that | :48:42. | :48:46. | |
is harsh, there are initiatives that they have already introduced. | :48:46. | :48:50. | |
They're taking it to Europe to simplify of the legislation is. We | :48:50. | :48:56. | |
are on the road but we to go further and faster. Does the EU | :48:56. | :49:04. | |
have a lot to answer for here? it is a typical Tory response, if | :49:04. | :49:08. | |
they're in trouble, blame Europe. There are procurement rules in | :49:08. | :49:11. | |
Europe but there are clearly procurement rules in this country | :49:11. | :49:15. | |
as well. We need to make his contract accessible to sport and | :49:15. | :49:21. | |
prices, and it can be done. Are you optimistic this can be sorted out? | :49:21. | :49:26. | |
Not really. It is all very well and good to sit and bicker about who is | :49:26. | :49:32. | |
doing what, this is a win-win for both of you. Make it simple, make | :49:32. | :49:37. | |
it open, make it transparent and fair for everybody. If you come | :49:37. | :49:43. | |
back next year, let's hope things will have improved. Thank you for | :49:43. | :49:48. | |
your time today. That's about it from us. You can keep up to date | :49:48. | :49:51. |