Browse content similar to 20/05/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Coming up in half an hour: Yorkshire business leaders call for | :01:34. | :01:38. | |
public sector pay to be set at a local level. | :01:39. | :01:48. | |
:01:49. | :01:49. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1789 seconds | :01:49. | :31:38. | |
And MPs unite to oppose the so- Hello, good afternoon. You are | :31:38. | :31:41. | |
watching the Sunday Politics for Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Coming | :31:41. | :31:44. | |
up today: Why people running their own | :31:44. | :31:46. | |
businesses in Yorkshire are lobbying for regional pay in the | :31:46. | :31:50. | |
public sector. And we look at the growing | :31:50. | :31:57. | |
rebellion over plans to put VAT on static caravans. | :31:57. | :31:59. | |
Business representatives have told the Sunday Politics it is essential | :32:00. | :32:04. | |
public sector pay levels are set locally in future. The government | :32:04. | :32:09. | |
is currently investigating how a system of regional pay could work. | :32:09. | :32:11. | |
According to one estimate an average public sector worker in | :32:12. | :32:15. | |
Yorkshire and the Humber earns �4 more per hour than someone in the | :32:15. | :32:20. | |
private sector. The official pay gap shows public sector wages are | :32:20. | :32:25. | |
13 per cent higher than those paid by private companies. So should a | :32:25. | :32:28. | |
council worker get paid the same in Barnsley as Brighton, where the | :32:28. | :32:33. | |
cost of living is much higher? The Institute of Directors, which | :32:33. | :32:36. | |
represents 2.000 business leaders in our region, feels that is hard | :32:36. | :32:46. | |
:32:46. | :32:46. | ||
to defend. The reality is that we need to look | :32:46. | :32:52. | |
at it closely and in detail. There is a degree of disparity. We need | :32:52. | :32:57. | |
to have people working in the regions that are more expensive and | :32:57. | :33:01. | |
had then rewarded accordingly. It would be difficult if we asked | :33:01. | :33:04. | |
people to migrate to the south, knowing they would not get a | :33:04. | :33:08. | |
waiting with regard to their pay. For continuity of individual | :33:08. | :33:13. | |
working, I get a feeling it will be necessary. The CBI agrees with this, | :33:13. | :33:16. | |
saying regional pay would help companies create new jobs by | :33:16. | :33:19. | |
levelling the playing field on wages but unions and MPs from all | :33:19. | :33:21. | |
parties, including Nick Clegg, are worried it will increase the North- | :33:21. | :33:25. | |
South divide. We will hear from two of those MPs in a moment but here | :33:25. | :33:34. | |
is the view of one businessman from Leeds. | :33:34. | :33:38. | |
I run to businesses. I have been running my own business for 15 | :33:38. | :33:46. | |
years now. We employs six people. In the private sector there is a | :33:46. | :33:48. | |
North-South divide. If you have an engineer working in Yorkshire, you | :33:48. | :33:54. | |
will be on around �30,000 but one working in London would probably be | :33:54. | :34:01. | |
on 40 or �50,000. There is a big difference on that side of things. | :34:01. | :34:06. | |
I think it makes sense to do a similar thing in the public sector. | :34:06. | :34:11. | |
One of those and one of those out for me today, please. | :34:11. | :34:17. | |
A lot of my clients have taken pay cuts of up to 20 per cent. The | :34:17. | :34:23. | |
majority it, consultants especially, have had pay freezes for the last | :34:23. | :34:27. | |
three years. One times are hard we are have to bite the bullet. If it | :34:27. | :34:34. | |
to me is cutting salaries for a while, we have to do it. | :34:34. | :34:40. | |
Rds today are Martin Vickers, the MP for Leith or OPs, the MP for | :34:40. | :34:44. | |
Hull East and Bernard's Coleman, at a Yorkshire businessman with strong | :34:44. | :34:49. | |
views on public sector pay. Martin Vickers, many Conservative | :34:49. | :34:55. | |
support the idea of regional pay but you are not one of them, is it? | :34:55. | :35:01. | |
I would not go as far as that. I represent a low-pay area. I do have | :35:01. | :35:07. | |
concerns as to how it will affect the people I represent. Will it be | :35:07. | :35:13. | |
phased in it? Will it be a big bang approach? Also, how will it affect | :35:13. | :35:17. | |
different reset -- different regions? Where were you draw the | :35:17. | :35:24. | |
line? I am here to argue the case for my constituents. | :35:24. | :35:29. | |
According to government figures, at people in the public sector in this | :35:29. | :35:34. | |
region earned around �4 per hour more than people in the private | :35:34. | :35:39. | |
sector. Is that there? This would do nothing for the North | :35:39. | :35:44. | |
South divide. This figures might be correct but that is the real issue. | :35:44. | :35:50. | |
It would not improve the economy in our area of the world. The reality | :35:50. | :35:54. | |
is that Martin probably knows it is a bad idea and unfair and shows how | :35:54. | :36:00. | |
out to touch the government is. If my constituency was looking to | :36:00. | :36:05. | |
employee a teacher? There will have what they eat a be attracted to | :36:05. | :36:10. | |
this area if they could get better pay elsewhere? It does not improve | :36:10. | :36:14. | |
the local economy. It increases the divide between the north and south | :36:14. | :36:21. | |
of of the country as well. Bernard's Coleman, let me bring you | :36:21. | :36:27. | |
in. You have a business based in Leeds. You employ a number of | :36:27. | :36:31. | |
people. Why does it bother you at that they earn less than people in | :36:31. | :36:36. | |
the public sector? I expect to see value for the | :36:36. | :36:41. | |
difference in the money. I do not see that. I interface with a public | :36:41. | :36:45. | |
sector regularly. It also has an effect on the attitudes of people | :36:45. | :36:51. | |
who work for any as, just as importantly, a sense of entitlement | :36:51. | :36:55. | |
among people that they should be earning the same levels as those | :36:55. | :37:02. | |
enjoyed in many areas in the public sector. That adds to this sense of | :37:02. | :37:06. | |
entitlement and the sense of inflation are expected expectations | :37:06. | :37:11. | |
within the economy. At the same time, I would want to see more | :37:11. | :37:16. | |
flexibility within our public sector, of which pay levels is just | :37:16. | :37:20. | |
a part. What you make love burn it at's | :37:20. | :37:30. | |
:37:30. | :37:31. | ||
arguments? Let us take well as an example. Why | :37:32. | :37:36. | |
aren't the private sector snapping up all of these employees in that | :37:36. | :37:44. | |
poor areas? It does not make sense. Some areas that had a great success | :37:44. | :37:50. | |
in attracting businesses to invest in, for example, the building of | :37:50. | :37:56. | |
motorcars a Washington. We are sitting in a city, Leeds, whose | :37:56. | :38:00. | |
recent commercial success can be traced back to a young lad 30 years | :38:00. | :38:04. | |
ago he got on a coach south and persuaded the bankers in London | :38:04. | :38:09. | |
that you could process documents in Leeds faster and cheaper than you | :38:09. | :38:14. | |
could in the centre of London. That persuaded a large number of lawyers | :38:14. | :38:19. | |
to come to this city and we have enjoyed its author the benefits and | :38:19. | :38:28. | |
being surrounded by lawyers. That is the argument of to usenet your | :38:28. | :38:34. | |
assets to best advantage. The young lawyers in Leeds has a lower | :38:34. | :38:38. | |
housing costs, lower salary costs and because they were not commuting | :38:38. | :38:42. | |
three hours a day, when they got into the office they were a lot | :38:42. | :38:46. | |
sharper than the poor souls in London who weren't spending a long | :38:46. | :38:52. | |
time fleecing. Burn it, what do you make of the | :38:52. | :38:56. | |
argument that it will lead to a brain drain with the best doctors | :38:56. | :39:01. | |
and teachers for example moving down south? It does not work out | :39:01. | :39:11. | |
:39:11. | :39:11. | ||
why. Her you set up grades of wages. You encompassing neuritic, training | :39:11. | :39:18. | |
and value to the regional economy and organisation. As someone in an | :39:18. | :39:22. | |
industry that has suffered gravely in the last three or four years to | :39:22. | :39:27. | |
be told that people in the public sector and another �4 per hour than | :39:27. | :39:32. | |
people in the private sector does not make me happy, given the amount | :39:32. | :39:36. | |
of debt that the country is carrying. | :39:36. | :39:42. | |
Martyn, T you think the government will go ahead with this suggestion? | :39:42. | :39:49. | |
-- do you think. Nick Clegg has expressed reservations. | :39:49. | :39:54. | |
Bernard's does make a very good case. I am a centre-right | :39:54. | :39:58. | |
Conservative who believes in the free market and I have sympathy | :39:58. | :40:02. | |
with that. I am also conscious that in Northern Lincolnshire we'd find | :40:02. | :40:09. | |
it very difficult to attract particular skills in the public | :40:09. | :40:12. | |
sector. Things like public health inspectors and environmental health, | :40:12. | :40:17. | |
it is difficult to attract people. I was in the JobCentre in Grimsby | :40:18. | :40:22. | |
last week and the manager there entirely agreed the we had this | :40:22. | :40:28. | |
problem. As I say, I am sympathetic. Carl takes too dogmatic a view on | :40:28. | :40:33. | |
the opposite side. We need to news gently to was that. | :40:33. | :40:39. | |
Burn it, it is OK in leafy Leeds. You might attract workers there. | :40:40. | :40:43. | |
What you do about more difficult areas if people will be paid less | :40:43. | :40:47. | |
there? You have to start thinking in terms | :40:47. | :40:52. | |
of the regional economy. Pay is only one part of the package you | :40:52. | :40:57. | |
offer when you sell the benefits of working in any given place. As the | :40:57. | :41:01. | |
Ellesmere Port negotiation proved, it is not just pay but working | :41:02. | :41:08. | |
practice, investment, training, language skills and history. It is | :41:08. | :41:12. | |
complex. In the public sector we have had a view that you ask and | :41:12. | :41:17. | |
you are given. Now you have to go and fight for this investment. To | :41:17. | :41:21. | |
get the investment in your area, you need more flexibility. | :41:21. | :41:25. | |
We will have to leave that particular debate for now. Thank | :41:25. | :41:30. | |
you all for joining us. Pressure is growing on the | :41:30. | :41:34. | |
government to drop the so-called caravans tax. Proposals to start | :41:35. | :41:41. | |
charging VAT on static caravans to bring them in line with touring | :41:41. | :41:45. | |
caravans are basic but opposition from many MPs. It is claims it will | :41:45. | :41:49. | |
have a devastating effects on the economy of East Yorkshire when 95 | :41:49. | :41:54. | |
per cent of caravans are based. The timing of the announcement | :41:55. | :42:01. | |
cannot have been worse for the owners of this weather up -- this | :42:01. | :42:05. | |
Caravan Park in East Yorkshire. They have just invested �5 million | :42:05. | :42:11. | |
in new facilities, including an indoor pool, spa, Jim and golf | :42:11. | :42:15. | |
simulator. Then came the news that all new holiday times saltier will | :42:15. | :42:22. | |
be hit by an average of �6000 in VAT costs. | :42:22. | :42:27. | |
Someone from London goes out and buys eight second home. They will | :42:27. | :42:34. | |
pay one per cent stamp duty. We are now asking the hard-working couples | :42:34. | :42:42. | |
Toop spends 20 per cent a VAT on top of their second home. We cannot | :42:42. | :42:49. | |
absorb that. It has to go somewhere. The National Caravan Council | :42:49. | :42:54. | |
estimates that this rise will lead to more than 4000 job losses at | :42:54. | :43:02. | |
holiday parks across the country. One of 1400 job losses in | :43:02. | :43:06. | |
manufacturing and fists in hundred job losses among suppliers. That | :43:06. | :43:13. | |
will lead to 7000 job losses in total. These Thatcher workers in | :43:13. | :43:17. | |
Beverley fear for their future. Third a government to come back and | :43:17. | :43:21. | |
levy a 20 percent increase on us is mind-blowing. | :43:21. | :43:25. | |
At the moment the Government are doing a campaign on the TV for | :43:25. | :43:30. | |
people to holiday in Britain so they should be backing the caravan | :43:30. | :43:33. | |
industry. We are part of the tourism industry. | :43:34. | :43:39. | |
Politicians from all sides have united against the so-called | :43:39. | :43:42. | |
caravan Tax. Memories of votes in the House of Commons saw the | :43:42. | :43:47. | |
biggest Tory rebellion since student tuition fees but is the | :43:47. | :43:50. | |
Government's in the need to compromise? | :43:50. | :43:56. | |
Wheatears thinking it is right that we try to deal with the static | :43:56. | :44:06. | |
caravans fairly and consistently with other products. -- we do think. | :44:06. | :44:11. | |
But we do want to listen to people and work out how this would work. | :44:11. | :44:16. | |
They used to be a fantastic fishing industry in the UK, especially in | :44:16. | :44:22. | |
this area. Government decisions killed at. It feels like they are | :44:22. | :44:25. | |
doing the same again with the caravan industry and I think in | :44:25. | :44:29. | |
five years we will look back and say we has a thriving manufacturing | :44:29. | :44:35. | |
and caravan industry and tourism in the UK and one decision killed it | :44:35. | :44:39. | |
off. The Treasury insists its VAT | :44:39. | :44:43. | |
proposals are bare but thousands has signed a cross-party petition | :44:43. | :44:47. | |
collet on the government to think again. | :44:47. | :44:51. | |
Carl Turner, the government says this is about ironing out anomalies | :44:51. | :44:55. | |
in the tax system. It is simply not true. It is | :44:55. | :44:59. | |
another example of the government being completely out of touch and | :44:59. | :45:03. | |
unfair. Why is it fair for someone who has worked hard and saved the | :45:03. | :45:08. | |
money to buy a static caravan, why is it fair for them Saturday 20 | :45:08. | :45:13. | |
percent VAT but for someone who has a lot more money and wants to buy a | :45:13. | :45:18. | |
Porsche crash -- a posh country cottage somewhere pays one per cent | :45:18. | :45:23. | |
stamp duty? It is simply not fair. The Government is suggesting this | :45:23. | :45:29. | |
is an anomaly. It is not. It is a deliberate exemption. It is there | :45:29. | :45:34. | |
because static caravans have always been considered a second homes. In | :45:34. | :45:40. | |
some cases nowadays it is people's first home. It is unfair and they | :45:40. | :45:45. | |
need to put this to bed, tropics, it is just not going to help a | :45:45. | :45:50. | |
manufacturing and employment in my area. | :45:50. | :45:53. | |
Martin Vickers, you are one of the rebel Conservatives who voted | :45:53. | :45:57. | |
against this in the House of Commons. The Government's abide by | :45:57. | :46:02. | |
a majority 25. Do you think you can overturn this? | :46:02. | :46:08. | |
I would like to think so. I hope the government takes note of the | :46:08. | :46:12. | |
representations in the consultation that finished on Friday and rethink | :46:12. | :46:18. | |
of best. It is potentially damaging for a seaside resort like | :46:18. | :46:24. | |
Cleethorpes. As Carl. Sites, many people have caravans as first or | :46:24. | :46:34. | |
:46:34. | :46:35. | ||
second homes. -- as Carl points out. It does provide a great deal of | :46:35. | :46:41. | |
employment for people who come into the leisure park. It is vitally | :46:41. | :46:43. | |
important that we overturn this proposal. | :46:43. | :46:48. | |
I do not accept that this is some sort of a loophole. I think it was | :46:48. | :46:53. | |
a deliberate exemption. Even if we accept this is is somehow a | :46:53. | :46:59. | |
loophole, this is the wrong tax at the wrong time. The impact | :46:59. | :47:03. | |
assessments done by the government says that sales will drop by 30 per | :47:03. | :47:10. | |
cent as a result of introducing this VAT. It is madness. We are in | :47:10. | :47:15. | |
recession. The Government are making the wrong choices. It is | :47:15. | :47:18. | |
just wrong. Martin Vickers, are you confident | :47:18. | :47:21. | |
the government will change its mind? | :47:21. | :47:26. | |
I am confident they will take note of the consultation. The industry | :47:26. | :47:30. | |
has provided detailed evidence which I think will prove the case | :47:30. | :47:35. | |
hands, my hope, is that the government will think again. | :47:35. | :47:39. | |
Let us look at Mark Of the Week's political views with our round-up | :47:39. | :47:46. | |
in 60 seconds. No easy ride for the heckled Health | :47:46. | :47:49. | |
Secretary at the nurses' conference in Harrogate. Andrew Lansley claims | :47:49. | :47:51. | |
staffing levels were unsafe at Leeds General Infirmary and | :47:51. | :47:57. | |
Dewsbury, something both hospitals later denied. West Hull MP Alan | :47:57. | :48:01. | |
Johnson has hinted he may challenge Boris Johnson to be the next mayor | :48:01. | :48:06. | |
of London in 2016. He thinks Labour needs a fresh challenger. And | :48:06. | :48:09. | |
Cleethorpes' Martin Vickers found himself used as ammunition at Prime | :48:09. | :48:13. | |
Minister's Questions. What did the honourable member for | :48:13. | :48:17. | |
Cleethorpes say? "We cannot convince voters we are on their | :48:17. | :48:20. | |
side when we give top earners a tax cut, leaving Mr and Mrs Average | :48:20. | :48:24. | |
reeling." What this government has done is | :48:24. | :48:28. | |
deliver a tax cut for every single working person in the country. | :48:28. | :48:31. | |
The government has approved �58 million to extend the South | :48:31. | :48:34. | |
Yorkshire Super Tram to Rotherham and a long battle to get protected | :48:34. | :48:39. | |
status for Lincolnshire sausages has failed. Campaigners had wanted | :48:39. | :48:49. | |
:48:49. | :48:53. | ||
recognition under European law, You saw Ed Miliband on the attack | :48:53. | :48:58. | |
there. You can see how good his defence is where he based his | :48:58. | :49:02. | |
questions for BBC Radio Sheffield listeners on Toby Foster at | :49:02. | :49:11. | |
breakfast tomorrow between 9 and 10. Martin Vickers, you were quoted | :49:11. | :49:16. | |
there by Ed Miliband. Do you regret making that statement? | :49:16. | :49:21. | |
No, I am amazed that people in his office are searching Conservative | :49:21. | :49:28. | |
websites for my articles. I am quite honoured by that. The way | :49:28. | :49:33. | |
ahead described it, he left it hanging in mid-sentence. It is true | :49:33. | :49:37. | |
that I made the point that there I am in favour of abolishing the | :49:37. | :49:41. | |
higher rate of tax, I do not think it was the correct time to do it | :49:41. | :49:46. | |
and I think that is self- evident. Going around Cleethorpes during the | :49:46. | :49:50. | |
local elections, it gave people the wrong impression that the | :49:51. | :49:54. | |
governments of around the site are the rich and not the working men | :49:54. | :49:59. | |
and women of Cleethorpes. Sadly that is the incorrect impression | :49:59. | :50:04. | |
they gained. But the government is trying to support hard-working | :50:04. | :50:08. | |
families. We are going in the right direction but we made a mistake on | :50:08. | :50:11. | |
that issue. Isn't this just mid-term blues for | :50:11. | :50:16. | |
the Government's? I do not think the Government's are | :50:16. | :50:21. | |
anywhere near where they should be at the moment. The Tories are | :50:21. | :50:27. | |
losing seats at this stage. I think we have more than 800 extra seats | :50:27. | :50:36. | |
since the last elections. Martin is not on his own with Tory MPs coming | :50:36. | :50:41. | |
out and attacking the Government's. He is correct. You cannot convince | :50:41. | :50:45. | |
the electorate to support the Tories when millionaires are | :50:45. | :50:48. | |
getting a massive tax reduction as the poor are suffering as a result | :50:48. | :50:53. | |
of policies which the governments are bringing in. He is not on his | :50:53. | :50:58. | |
own. I think Cameron was described as a posh boy who did not know the | :50:59. | :51:07. | |
price of a pint of milk by Nadine Dorries recently. I welcome those | :51:07. | :51:08. | |
comments. One or a gross income Lincolnshire | :51:08. | :51:13. | |
sausages. Did you choke on your sausage this morning? | :51:13. | :51:18. | |
He it is tragic. They are the finest sausages in the land and | :51:18. | :51:24. | |
deserve special recognition. There is no comparison with anything from | :51:24. | :51:27. | |
Yorkshire. Lincolnshire is the place. | :51:27. | :51:32. |