:01:35. > :01:45.We asked the former Prime Minister Tony Blair whether he thinks 24 are
:01:45. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :37:29.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2143 seconds
:37:29. > :37:36.were drinking has stretched police Welcome to Sunday Politics. Coming
:37:36. > :37:41.up: We are four days away from the police commissioner elections. We
:37:41. > :37:47.speak to Tony Blair as his policy of 24-hour drinking left a bitter
:37:47. > :37:51.legacy for the forces of law and order. We will be finding out how
:37:51. > :37:55.the candidates hoping to become North Yorkshire's police and crime
:37:55. > :38:00.commissioner intend to crack down on drunken behaviour on our streets.
:38:00. > :38:08.Let us say hello to a guest. Stewart Andrew is the Conservative
:38:08. > :38:12.MP for Pudsey. In Sheffield is Paul Blomfield. Stewart and true, many
:38:12. > :38:17.Tories complained when a Labour introduced round-the-clock drinking
:38:17. > :38:22.but we have a massive problem with binge drinking, don't we? We do.
:38:22. > :38:26.There is a lot of work going on to tackle that. In the Police Bill
:38:26. > :38:33.that came through Parliament, the fact we can charge those people
:38:33. > :38:38.beyond midnight -- we can charge licences beyond midnight is
:38:38. > :38:44.important. But it is a problem. Paul Blomfield, was that Labour's
:38:45. > :38:50.biggest mistake, introducing 24- hour drinking? A I do not think so.
:38:50. > :38:56.We were trying to recognise there is a problem with binge drinking
:38:56. > :39:01.but to have a more mature attitude to the way we enable people to lead
:39:01. > :39:07.their lives. The police I talk to do not see it as a difficulty.
:39:08. > :39:12.There are problems associated with venues turning out. There are
:39:12. > :39:15.benefits with venues turning out a different times. There is not the
:39:15. > :39:20.same concentration. I do not think you can lay the problems of
:39:20. > :39:26.drinking at the doors of licensing changes. Let us hear from Tony
:39:26. > :39:29.Blair. Remember him? The former Prime Minister came to Hull on
:39:29. > :39:33.Friday where John Prescott is bidding to become police and crime
:39:34. > :39:36.commissioner. I caught up with Tony Blair and asked him whether he had
:39:36. > :39:43.thought about introducing police and crime commissioners during his
:39:43. > :39:49.time in Downing Street. No, we did not think about it. I was in favour
:39:49. > :39:54.of elected mayors. The question is, policing is really important and we
:39:54. > :39:57.need to give them support. They do a fantastic job. They are under
:39:57. > :40:03.pressure. Crime is such an important issue for people. You
:40:03. > :40:08.have the position of police and crime commissioner. But if I was
:40:08. > :40:14.choosing someone, the qualities you look for our people who stand up
:40:14. > :40:19.for the local area, if necessary stand up to central government, and
:40:19. > :40:24.to get the crime issue and realise it is the most vulnerable people
:40:24. > :40:29.that suffer the most from crime. They will tackle issues such as
:40:29. > :40:34.anti-social behaviour and realise you need tough issues. They need to
:40:34. > :40:39.believe in it and believe in representing people and their
:40:39. > :40:44.anxieties. John Prescott has suggested Labour's policy of 24-
:40:44. > :40:47.hour drinking has made life harder for the police. Do you accept your
:40:47. > :40:55.cafe culture when it comes to that liberalisation of the drinking laws
:40:55. > :40:59.has not worked? I think there are many reasons for this. I took the
:40:59. > :41:07.view, when I was in office, if other places in Europe could do it,
:41:07. > :41:11.we could. There is a whole range of things here. The most important
:41:11. > :41:17.thing, one advantage of this system is it will allow decision-making to
:41:17. > :41:23.come closer to the local people. The PCC will have a significant say
:41:23. > :41:29.in how policing is done and the relationship is there between pubs
:41:30. > :41:34.and clubs and violence and drugs and all these things. As a PCC, he
:41:34. > :41:39.will have the opportunity to study what is going to work locally and
:41:39. > :41:45.make decisions locally with the local police force. In the end, I
:41:45. > :41:49.think the most important thing, if you have a PCC, is someone who
:41:49. > :41:53.understands local communities and is prepared to fight crime and
:41:53. > :42:02.stand up for the interests of local people. If you could turn back the
:42:02. > :42:08.clock, would you have changed the law? It is a debate in the light of
:42:08. > :42:12.experience. That is a debate that is in the past. Thursday's
:42:12. > :42:18.elections, too difficult time for Labour in Yorkshire. Denis MacShane
:42:18. > :42:26.has just been forced to step down because of his expenses. Trust in
:42:26. > :42:30.politicians right now is at a pretty low ebb. Would you agree?
:42:30. > :42:35.think politics is a difficult business. It is more difficult than
:42:35. > :42:39.people understand. The vast majority of MPs and local
:42:39. > :42:46.councillors... I am not making a point about the Labour Party, I am
:42:46. > :42:52.talking about any political party. Most of them and the people I knew
:42:52. > :42:58.were committed to public service. You will get, from time to time,
:42:58. > :43:07.problems. But it would be unfair to cast that over all politics and
:43:07. > :43:13.politicians. Thank you. That was Tony Blair. You might remember him.
:43:13. > :43:19.Stuart Andrew, what do you make of that? He did not say a great deal.
:43:19. > :43:22.For the people of East Yorkshire, I think they have the prospect of
:43:22. > :43:31.John Prescott as one of their candidates. He is being supported
:43:31. > :43:35.by Tony Blair. Thank goodness they have other good candidates. Matthew
:43:35. > :43:39.grave is a good candidate. What the police and crime commissioners will
:43:39. > :43:44.do is bring the link between the police and the community. That is
:43:44. > :43:48.important. When I see constituents talking about crime, they want to
:43:48. > :43:51.see the police on the street understanding the neighbourhood. In
:43:51. > :43:56.West Yorkshire, we are lucky because we have a good
:43:56. > :44:02.neighbourhood policing network. Many of the police officers in my
:44:02. > :44:06.constituency, I know them well. They are out and about and meeting
:44:06. > :44:13.residents. Paul Blomfield, it is interesting Tony Blair chose not to
:44:13. > :44:19.defend 24-hour drinking. I think the point he was making his it is
:44:19. > :44:23.not central to the debate about the drinking culture. I would like to
:44:23. > :44:32.comment on that Stuart Andrew's comments about the elections. These
:44:32. > :44:36.are pointless elections. We are opposed to them. I have been out
:44:36. > :44:39.campaigning for candidates in South Yorkshire. But most people are not
:44:39. > :44:43.interested. Most people would rather the money being spent on
:44:43. > :44:51.these was actually going to support frontline policing. The Government
:44:52. > :44:59.has got this very wrong. We should have stuck with the police are
:44:59. > :45:04.authority instead of going down this cul-de-sac. BCCI elections are
:45:04. > :45:09.difficult to justify in the current climate. -- PCC elections. Are I am
:45:09. > :45:14.not sure. Having people who will respond to their constituents about
:45:14. > :45:18.the priorities for policing in their area, this is a way to do it.
:45:18. > :45:23.I accept this election is proving quite difficult to get people
:45:23. > :45:29.engaged. The thought of them going out to vote is not going to be easy.
:45:29. > :45:36.I accept that. The next election will... Police -- people will have
:45:36. > :45:40.seen what a PCC can do and they will vote. We need to judge the
:45:40. > :45:43.people who get elected in November on how they perform. People should
:45:43. > :45:47.look at what the candidates are offering and understand what it is
:45:47. > :45:52.they will bring to the community. If Labour are so opposed to the
:45:52. > :45:58.idea, what is your advice to Labour voters? Should they spoil their
:45:58. > :46:03.ballot papers as a protest? They should vote for Labour candidates.
:46:03. > :46:12.Just because we are opposed to the posts as a distraction and a waste
:46:12. > :46:16.of money, this is in addition to 20% cuts, just because we are
:46:16. > :46:20.opposed does not mean we will not fight to win. We have some
:46:20. > :46:25.excellent candidates who will focus on the issues. Get out there, do
:46:25. > :46:30.vote, however reluctant you are to be participating in the election
:46:30. > :46:35.for a post which none of us support. I would remind Stuart Andrew when
:46:35. > :46:39.he talks about connection between the police and local communities,
:46:39. > :46:44.we have that through police laboratories. They are members
:46:44. > :46:50.drawn from all walks of life across regions. -- police authorities. It
:46:50. > :46:53.is a mistake. The problems caused by alcohol related incidents are a
:46:53. > :46:56.big talking point for the candidates hoping to become North
:46:57. > :47:01.Yorkshire's police and crime commissioner. Nick Morris has been
:47:01. > :47:10.out onto the streets of York where drunken behaviour put pressure on
:47:11. > :47:15.police resources. It is one of the most popular
:47:15. > :47:25.tourist destinations in all of Europe. Some people say once it
:47:25. > :47:27.
:47:27. > :47:32.gets dark, the character of the city changes. Crime here is
:47:32. > :47:38.relatively low, both in York and North Yorkshire but almost half of
:47:38. > :47:43.incidents reported to the belief -- reported to the police are to do
:47:44. > :47:48.with anti-social behaviour. York has become something of a mecca for
:47:48. > :47:53.stag do's and hen parties. It brings in vital money to the city.
:47:53. > :48:00.With that, comes problems like shouting and swearing and urinating
:48:00. > :48:05.in the street. Charities and organisations patrol York at night
:48:05. > :48:09.over the weekend to make sure people who have had too much to
:48:09. > :48:15.drink get vital assistance. That could be flip-flops for women in
:48:15. > :48:21.high heels or a bottle of water. I have been to ask people who live
:48:21. > :48:27.here if they fancy coming out for a drink after dark. It is boisterous
:48:27. > :48:32.behaviour. But it would be a shame if it impacted on up tourism.
:48:32. > :48:39.mental on a Friday night. What about on the street Bobby's? A bit
:48:39. > :48:45.more policing. That is what local people have been telling me. Both
:48:45. > :48:50.candidates in North Yorkshire are here this evening. We will start
:48:50. > :48:56.with Julia Mulligan. Anti-social behaviour, it is at the top of your
:48:56. > :49:02.manifesto. How big a problem is it? About half of crime here is anti-
:49:02. > :49:06.social behaviour. It is not limited to York. If you look at the
:49:06. > :49:12.statistics in first, they are similar. It is a problem across
:49:12. > :49:19.North Yorkshire. A Ruth Potter, you agree with Julia. Anti-social
:49:19. > :49:24.behaviour is a problem. It is number two on your manifesto. How
:49:24. > :49:27.much can you do? We have to campaign for communities and make
:49:27. > :49:32.sure the neighbourhood policing model, the best model for dealing
:49:32. > :49:37.with crime and anti-social behaviour, you have problem-solving
:49:37. > :49:41.at the most local level, you can concentrate on who the offenders
:49:41. > :49:45.are, on supporting the victims, and you can look at the location where
:49:45. > :49:49.things are happening and put in place measures to stop it from
:49:49. > :49:56.happening in the future. I think people deserve a rapid response.
:49:56. > :50:05.That is what I want to see people getting. Sometimes it will be less
:50:05. > :50:09.than 24 hours. Other times, it might be longer. You have been
:50:09. > :50:19.clear in your campaign talks of cuts to North Yorkshire Police are
:50:19. > :50:20.
:50:20. > :50:23.scaremongering but... We have just heard this is a man of power
:50:23. > :50:27.intensive job tackling anti-social behaviour. Are the resources
:50:27. > :50:31.available to do that. North Yorkshire police are responding
:50:31. > :50:37.well to the circumstances. It does nobody any good to get into a
:50:37. > :50:41.debate, a party political debate, about cuts. I want to bring in new
:50:41. > :50:45.parish constables. These are auspicious -- special constables
:50:45. > :50:49.based in towns and villages. They will be a visible deterrent for
:50:49. > :50:55.anti- social behaviour. They will have that local intelligence that
:50:55. > :50:59.is so important to solving anti- social behaviour problems. What
:50:59. > :51:04.about support for people who have been affected by drugs and alcohol?
:51:04. > :51:14.This is the most rural county in England, the costs of demonstrating
:51:14. > :51:15.
:51:15. > :51:20.support will be higher. -- administrating support. I think
:51:20. > :51:24.that is where the partnerships come in and the drug and alcohol teams.
:51:24. > :51:28.The issue will be whether the funding from the Government remains
:51:28. > :51:33.the same. If that funding remains the same, that will be pushed
:51:33. > :51:38.through to the groups who need that funding to provide the service. If
:51:38. > :51:43.we do not get that money, we will really have to think very hard.
:51:43. > :51:49.That will be another cut by this Government. That final point to
:51:49. > :51:56.Julia Mulligan again. It does come back to cuts. Is the money going to
:51:56. > :52:02.be there? Is that going to be wasted on administration? I it was
:52:02. > :52:05.in a facility in Norton which looked after people with mental
:52:05. > :52:11.health problems. A lot of those were alcohol and drug related.
:52:11. > :52:19.They're optimistic for the future. They feel resources coming into
:52:19. > :52:29.projects and facilities that really work a great. Dubai was the IPCC, I
:52:29. > :52:30.
:52:30. > :52:37.would keep doing that. -- if I it was that PCC. For a full list of
:52:37. > :52:40.the candidates, you can go to bbc.co.uk/policeelections. Stewart
:52:40. > :52:48.Andrew, North Yorkshire, unique, two female candidates. There are
:52:48. > :52:53.not many women in this race? In a our party, nearly half of them are
:52:53. > :52:58.women. We have done very well. That is a wider debate about who stands
:52:58. > :53:03.for election. What is important is what the people are putting forward.
:53:03. > :53:07.Julia hit the nail on ahead. She is proposing an anti-social behaviour
:53:07. > :53:13.task force. That is what people want to hear about, not whether
:53:13. > :53:17.Julia is a man or a woman. That work, the idea of bringing in a
:53:17. > :53:24.parish police officer, will be hugely important to the widespread
:53:24. > :53:27.different communities in North Yorkshire. Paul Blomfield, Labour,
:53:27. > :53:34.why are there not more female standing for your party? I agree
:53:34. > :53:39.with Stewart. We want more women involved. -- with Stuart Andrew.
:53:39. > :53:44.The issue is what is happening to our police forces. You cannot say,
:53:44. > :53:47.let us not have a party political debate about cuts because that is
:53:47. > :53:50.at the heart of the difference between Labour and the
:53:51. > :53:55.Conservatives. We would not be cutting at this pace to the step
:53:55. > :54:03.and undermining the police force in the way it -- in the way is
:54:03. > :54:12.happening. We will lose 6,000 police officers. People want more
:54:12. > :54:16.police at the front line. It is disingenuous to say they would have
:54:16. > :54:20.no cuts a tall. Their own spokesman before the election could not
:54:20. > :54:25.promise there would be no cuts to the police force. Where are the
:54:25. > :54:30.savings coming from? They never answer this. The police inspector's
:54:30. > :54:36.own report said policing in the austerity, they are managing to do
:54:36. > :54:41.it and managing to do it well. Let us leave the number-crunching.
:54:41. > :54:47.is the ballot paper people will be using on Thursday. It is a bit
:54:47. > :54:51.different from other elections. You can put a first and second-choice
:54:51. > :54:57.on a that a ballot paper. If the candidate does not get 50% of the
:54:57. > :55:07.first ballot, the second preference votes are taken into account. Do
:55:07. > :55:09.
:55:09. > :55:16.people understand it? We went out onto the streets to find out.
:55:16. > :55:20.Do you know you will get a second choice? No. I thought it was one
:55:20. > :55:30.vote. You would be voting under the supplementary voting system. Never
:55:30. > :55:31.
:55:31. > :55:41.heard of a? A never. Have you seen that before? No. It is one choice.
:55:41. > :55:43.
:55:43. > :55:53.Isn't it? I would not vote any way. I am going to vote. Simply because
:55:53. > :55:56.of your programme. We did not pay him to say that! Do people
:55:56. > :56:02.understand the system? It's is quite straightforward, you have a
:56:02. > :56:07.second choice. I have already cast my vote by post. I have only used
:56:07. > :56:13.one of my choices because I want to see Labour win in South Yorkshire.
:56:13. > :56:18.Can I returned to Stuart Andrew's point? I am tired of the accusation
:56:18. > :56:26.that we do not say where we would make cuts. In policing, we would do
:56:26. > :56:29.it at 12%, about half of the cuts are Conservatives are doing. That
:56:29. > :56:34.level of cuts is managing without damaging the frontline policing.
:56:34. > :56:40.That is the difference between us and the Conservatives. Stu what
:56:40. > :56:45.Andrew, back to the voting system. -- Stuart Andrew. It could throw up
:56:45. > :56:50.with results? It could. My preference is first past the post.
:56:50. > :56:55.Whoever gets the most votes should be elected. We should not have gone
:56:55. > :56:59.for that voting system. Everybody understands you choose who you want
:56:59. > :57:07.as your candidate, you vote for that person and the person with the
:57:07. > :57:17.most votes wins. This is the system we are using. I will do the same as
:57:17. > :57:22.
:57:22. > :57:29.Paul Blomfield and have one vote. Here is the round-up.
:57:29. > :57:34.Under starter's orders. Labour asked the Speaker to issue the writ
:57:34. > :57:40.for the by-election. It will be held in two and a half weeks' time.
:57:40. > :57:46.This is concerning the Rotherham. It is about Denis MacShane. Police
:57:46. > :57:50.say they will be taking a fresh look at whether Denis MacShane's
:57:50. > :57:56.fraud broke the law as well as House of Commons' rules. There will
:57:56. > :58:01.be plenty to campaign about. This local pit has been mothballed.
:58:01. > :58:07.Kevin Barron says there is no immediate alternative. Geological
:58:07. > :58:12.problems were around when I worked down there. The work force will be
:58:12. > :58:16.the first people to tell you it is unsafe. Another report saying the
:58:16. > :58:21.decision to stop child heart surgery in Leeds was wrong. This
:58:21. > :58:27.from the region's local councils following a public inquiry in the
:58:27. > :58:36.summer. What are the chances of saving
:58:36. > :58:42.children hard's surgery in Leeds? get optimistic. -- children hard's
:58:42. > :58:47.surgery. It is now in an independent panel and that is good.
:58:47. > :58:53.They can check everything has been done correctly. We must make a note
:58:53. > :58:57.that Bristol has now been found to be unsafe in terms of the level of
:58:57. > :59:01.staff. I think this throws the whole review into chaos. We have
:59:01. > :59:07.got to stop it. We have got to carry on keeping our excellent
:59:07. > :59:13.heart surgery unit. That is what the parents and patients want.
:59:13. > :59:18.let us talk about Rotherham and the by-election. How will you get
:59:18. > :59:23.Labour Party voters out when the last bloke they trusted their vote
:59:23. > :59:28.to was on the fiddle? Denis MacShane's activities were
:59:28. > :59:32.disgraceful. They discredit everybody in politics. It is right
:59:32. > :59:36.the police should look to see if there is a case to be brought
:59:36. > :59:43.because there cannot be one rule for politicians and another rule
:59:43. > :59:49.for everybody else. Having said that, the rules are now have a --
:59:49. > :59:54.are now more robust. This could not happen again. That is great news.
:59:54. > :59:59.In terms of Rotherham, people will be motivated to vote because they
:59:59. > :00:03.are deeply angry with the way this government is treating people and
:00:03. > :00:07.treating people in the north in particular. When you look at the