27/05/2012 Sunday Politics Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

In the North, we report from the estate where residents fear the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1676 seconds

scrapping of ASBOs will lead to an Good morning. This is the Sunday

Politics for a Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Coming up: A Tory

blues in the North. The Yorkshire MP who is warning his

own government it is in danger of alienating northern voters.

Our guests today a Stuart Andrew, Conservative MP for Pudsey and

Austin Mitchell, MP for Labour for Great Grimsby. We are talking about

anti-social behaviour orders. What is wrong with ASBOs? When ASBOs

have been and forced on people, half of them get breached. Many

people have lost confidence in them being an effective measure. People

are not reporting anti-social behaviour that is happening on

their estate. We have got to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour.

This new approach will hopefully be more successful. If it ain't broke

don't fix it! This is no great change or improvement. The police

light to it and it worked well, so they have just introduced two new

orders, the crime prevention injunction order and the Criminal

Behaviour Order. It is much the same as it was. It is no great

change. I can see the problem that you referred to a recurring. ASBOs

were introduced in the early days of the last Labour government. They

are civil orders aimed at banning people from certain types of

behaviour or going to certain places without going through the

criminal courts. New measures will be piloted in parts of Lincolnshire

from next month, but not everyone is convinced the proposals will be

an improvement. We went to one estate in Scunthorpe.

The Government has described them as a sticking-plaster rather than a

solution, but one woman living on a council estate in Scunthorpe says

that simplifying anti-social behaviour orders will lead to more

problems. Here on the Westcliff estate, there are some areas where

residents fit attention -- Fiat to venture. The pensioners don't come

here. The kids just sit there drinking all day from eight in the

morning until late at night. It doesn't bother them. If they see a

police officer, they aren't scared. Changing the ASBO to something like

a Criminal Behaviour Order might not have the same impact in

tackling crime on the estate. have a gang of kids going round at

night time throwing eggs at windows. I do not agree with getting rid of

ASBOs because then the kids will learn that they can get away with

more staff and not get punished. One of the biggest criticisms from

the Conservatives is that Labour made anti-social behaviour orders

too complicated. The coalition government wants to reduce the

existing 19 per -- powers to six. There will be a new community to

kiss been meaning that police will be forced to respond if five

households complain or the same individual complaints three times.

Despite ASBOs having been in place for many years, we still sleep -- c

3 million instances of anti-social behaviour every year. The number of

ASBOs over the last 10 years has very dramatically, from 99 in

Lincolnshire to more than 1,500 in West Yorkshire. More than half of

the orders were breached at least once. Keith Hunter, former chief

superintendent and candidate for the police and crime

commissionaires -- Commissioner's role, thinks reforms will make

things difficult. They appear much more complicated than ASBOs. You

have five different orders and a requirement for the police to count

the number of times people are reporting things. All of that is

going to impose a burden on the police service at a time when they

cannot afford to have an extra burden. Also running for Police

Commissioner in Humberside is the former Deputy Prime Minister John

Prescott, he believes that ASBOs should be preserved. They are just

playing around with words. There is anti-social behaviour and you need

to deal with it, so these orders were dealing with it. They have now

made that more difficult. I don't believe they should get rid of this

ASBO. They need to keep it and make it stronger as well. Residents Kear

hope that getting rid of the ASBO will not mean a rise in crime.

We have also been joined by Yvonne Crowther who went et -- an award

after she set up an award -- a scheme in a rough part of Leeds.

What kind of problems if you have in your area? Dreadful problems

with young people and adults going into empty properties, removing

boilers, smashing windows. We have two young men who kept kicking wink

mirrors of cars. Anything you could think of, we had it. We have joined

writing, everything. De ASBOs work? I was not a fan of them to begin

with, because I did not think they would work. I think it is more a

case of most of the multi- agency agencies working together to deal

with this. What you say, Austin Mitchell, to someone like Yvonne

who is not convinced? There is no indication that the new system will

work any better. They are going to be more give -- difficult to get it,

because if you have to get the consent of five households, we all

know that some people are terrorised into not complaining.

Stuart Andrew, but that create more work for the police? As I

understand it, that is for persistent problems where people

are making numerous complaints and nothing is being done about it. If

five households do complain, something has to be done about it

by the agencies. Contained within this is dealing with the root

problem. We are looking at drug- abuse. Is that the root cause of

the problem? As Yvonne says, this is not just about young people.

There are a lot of adults out there who are behaving appallingly and

making the lives of people an absolute misery. We have to deal

with that. Yvonne, you are not a fan of ASBOs and John not a fan of

this idea -- new idea either. How would you stop people terrorising

neighbourhoods? I am not a fan of the new system because it will make

it more difficult to report problems. Last year, we set up a

project on the estate where we are involved in every single agency

that we could think of, housing and needed to grow a backbone and say

to their residents, you are breaching the terms of your tenancy.

We need to re-educate the people of England to stop working and living

like this. They have lost all respect for each other, and the

neighbours. ASBOs and Criminal Behaviour Orders are not the answer.

The problem is a lot of you people have no fear of the law. Do we need

tougher punishments? I think a lot of things I just brushed under the

carpet, unfortunately, and they need to be taken more seriously. We

have become a nanny state and have been doing everything for everybody.

It is difficult to get somebody dealt with and to get them and ASBO

because it takes a long time because you have got to make sure

that you have in place every single bit of support for that family.

Really, what they need to be doing, is realising that you cannot live

like this and terrorise people because action will be taken.

we need is more jobs. But if you have youth unemployment, your life

becomes aimless and you have no purpose. It is work that integrates

people. I absolutely agree with that, but it is not just young

people. There are people of all ages behaving appallingly. The

point that if one is making is that people do not have respect for

other people's quality of life and we have to make sure there is a

system in place to deal with that effectively. The draft bill is

coming out, and we will learn lessons and see whether this will

be effective or not. We will bring in tough measures so that people

can live in peace. We have to leave that debate there for now. My

favourite example of an ASBO was and 87-year-old pensioner who was

taken to court for playing Glenn Miller records too loud. Thank you

very much. Yorkshire Conservative MP is

warning the Government to take steps to prevent alienating

northern voters. The plea for -- from Kris Hopkins is coming at a

difficult times after local elections disappointed the

Conservative Party. David Cameron has feted -- faced criticism for

focusing on issues like House of Lords reform and local May oral

elections. It does not get much more Yorkshire

than this more. This may look like classic conservative country, but

this is a marginal seats. It is see its like here that David Cameron is

desperate to hold on to to win a second term, but down the road at

this community centre in the middle of Keighley, floating voters are

wondering if his Government is tackling the issues that matter.

They are not doing enough for disabled people. The cuts have

affected them more than anybody else. Politicians just want to line

their own pockets. I have been a lifelong Conservative. I was a

secretary for the Young Conservatives, and I would be

undecided about you I'm going to vote for. This local lobbyist we

met in the centre's cafe say it is time for the Prime Minister to go

back to basics. Why are 49% of the working population without

qualifications? People are living in poverty. Those issues are the

things that people are concerned about. Who gives a monkey's about

Lords reform? If David Cameron needs to wake up and smell the

coffee, this could be the man to serve it up. Keighley's MP has

formed a group of 100 Conservative backbenches. 301 is the number of

seats required to form a majority at the next election. They want to

keep the Prime Minister focused on the issues that mattered to

wavering Tory voters, especially in marginal seats in northern regions

like ours. We do not want to just be a party at the South. We need to

have representation all over the UK. I am an MP from a northern seat and

we need to articulate be needs of people in West Yorkshire. It is

important to give a powerful and loud and thoughtful voice to the

Prime Minister, to the Chancellor, where they spend money. There are

plenty of Conservative MPs in our region he would agree that the

Government needs to start talking about things that matter to voters.

Nine of them have majorities smaller than 5,000 votes. All of

them wants to be more than one Parliament wonders. One of the

problems that the Conservative Party has, according to polls, is

that it looks to Southern, it looks like it is too much a party of the

rich. Kris Hopkins is one of those MPs that really challenges that

caricatured. He is a brilliant, energetic, persuasive Conservative.

Many are saying that there in per it is crucial to David Cameron's

long-term survival. In 2015, perspectives from West Yorkshire

could affect the landscape of Westminster.

In the South, 47% of people questioned said they were deferred

-- vote Conservative. Compare that to the North, where the figure is

just 33%. That really puts a lot of marginals won in 2010 under

pressure. You have got a lot of work to do, Stuart Andrew. Yes, and

we continue to do that work. I am very proud of the Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire Conservative MPs who are working as a team to highlight

the need for investment in the North and think about jobs in the

North. We're trying to bridge the gap between North and South.

Kris Hopkins right when he worries that your party looks to the South

too much? I think sometimes we look like we are focusing on the South,

but when you look at the evidence of what is happening, we are seeing

a rebalancing of money and infrastructure in the North. HS2 is

coming. These are big investment projects that we did not get in the

last government. We still need to connect more with northern voters.

HS2 will never come to Grimsby! This is a government of southern

billionaire's, posh boys from public schools to know little about

the North. They are not interested. We are bound to suffer more when

you start cutting spending and firing public servants when we are

dependent more on public spending and civil servants -- public

servants in the North than in the South. Last week we had a bill that

would transfer spending from the North to the southern counties and

we are suffering in all sorts of ways. If you look at the make-up of

more than Tory MPs, most of them come from working-class backgrounds,

like myself. You will tell me next to that you keep the coal in the

bath! War of the week's political news

with our 62nd round it. -- 62nd round up.

MPs from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire presented to Parliament petitions

sound -- signed by thousands of people opposed to the caravan Tax.

The Government is seriously considering calls to drop plans to

put VAT on static caravans. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair

has added his support to John Prescott's bid to become

Commissioner in Humberside for police and crime.

There is anger as a number of Yorkshire Schools miss out on

funding for new buildings. This primary school was one of the

unsuccessful contenders. I am furious! We have been waiting for

10 years. Then there was this. Innovative ways of using

credibility, which we would not have a we listened to be muttering

in the it opposite me. Ed Balls said he was completely staggered at

the Prime Minister's outburst. Austin Mitchell, what is the worst

thing you have been called in Parliament? Not that. Here we have

a government of Tories educated in public schools, born to rule, and

they are making a shambles of it. They are incompetent and squalid.

They never apologise. When David Cameron is criticised, he just

launches into attacking poor old Ed Balls. Do these people have no

taste or morality? They have no standards! This is the Tory party,

not Labour. Ed Balls is a sensitive soul. Why does David Cameron get so

wound -- wound up? One thing you do not see on there is the constant

barracking from Ed Balls. He knows what he's doing. Prime Minister's

Question Time is the pantomime of Parliament. Behaviour goes out of

the window on both sides. If we are talking about apologies, we are

still waiting for an apology from the Labour Party about the mess

they have left us in! When will this Government learnt to talk

sense and grow the economy? Tony Blair is supporting Lord Prescott

to become police commissioner. Is that a hip -- a help or a

hindrance? I don't know. I am amazed by it, frankly. Maybe he is

worried neighbouring forces might launch weapons of mass destruction.

Is he coming back into local politics? Thank you very much. You