14/05/2017 Sunday Politics Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

It's Sunday morning and this is the Sunday Politics.

Theresa May unveils plans to build many more affordable homes

in England, but with no price tag, timetable or building targets -

Labour takes aim at the City with what it calls a Robin Hood Tax

to fund public services, but will traders just

Don't look at the polls - Jeremy Corbyn, at least,

insists he can win this election - so which way will

We'll hear from a focus group in Leeds.

On the Sunday Politics in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire:

The EU migrants watching our election campaign very closely.

What do they think about the debate surrounding immigration?

saying about tackling the air pollution problem in London.

And with me, our own scientifically selected focus group

of political pundits - they're not so much

undecided as clueless - Tom Newton Dunn, Isabel Oakeshott

They'll be tweeting throughout the programme.

So, we've got two new policies this morning.

Labour say they will introduce a financial transaction tax

if they win the general election and what they're calling

"the biggest crackdown on tax avoidance in the country's history".

The Conservatives say they'll work with local authorities in England

to build council houses with the right to buy.

Theresa May says the policy "will help thousands of people

get on the first rung of the housing ladder".

Steve, what do you make of them? I have been conditioned after doing

tax and spend debates in pre-election periods for many

decades to treat policy is not as literal but as arguments. In other

words if you look back to 2015 the Tory plan to wipe out the deficit

was never going to happen and yet it framed and large event. In that

sense the Robin Hood tax is a sensible move for Labour to make at

this point because it is part of a narrative of reconfiguring taxation

to be fair. Treating it as an argument rather than something that

would happen in day one of Labour government is sensible. In terms of

building houses Theresa May said right from the beginning when she

was in Number Ten that there is a housing deficit in this country

rather than the economic deficit George Osborne was focusing on, and

this is an example of trying to get house-building going. It seems

entirely sensible, not sure how it works with right to buy but again as

framing of a 90 minute it makes sense. I disagree with Steve on one

front which is how sensible Theresa May's policy is on the housing

announcement. I think more broadly these two announcements have

something in common which is that over the next 24 hours both will

probably unravel in different ways. Ye of little faith! The Mayor of

London has already said he doesn't agree with this, and when people see

the actual impact of what looks like a populist tax will very potentially

affect people's pensions, it might become a lot less popular. On the

Tory housing plans, I think it is difficult to imagine how they are

going to implement this huge, what looks like a huge land and property

grab. Through compulsory purchase orders, which are not a simple

instrument. They say they will change the law but really the idea

of paying people below the market value for their assets is not

something I can see sitting easily with Tory backbenchers or the Tories

in the House of Lords. Tom. Both would appear superficially to be

appealing to traditional left and traditional right bases. What is

more Tory than right to buy, then councils sell on these houses, and

Labour slapping a massive tax on the city. The Tories' plan, I would say

look a bit deeper and all of the Tory narrative from the last six

years which hasn't worked well is talking about the private sector

increasing supply in the market. Now Mrs May is talking about the role

for the state after all so this is the shift creeping in. On the Labour

transaction tax, one of the most interesting things I heard in days

was from Paul Mason, former BBC correspondent, now a cog in Easter

extreme. On Newsnight he said don't worry about whether the Labour

manifesto will add up, I'm promising it will, the bigger Tory attack line

should be what on earth will be the macroeconomic effect of taking so

much tax out of the system. Very well, we shall see. At least we have

some policies to talk about. Now, on Tuesday Labour

will launch its manifesto. But we've already got a pretty good

idea of what's in it - that's because most of its contents

were leaked to the media Labour has a variety of spending

pledges including an extra ?6 billion a year for the NHS,

an additional ?8 billion for social care over the lifetime

of the next parliament, as well as a ?250 billion

in infrastructure over The party will support the renewal

of the Trident submarine system, although any Prime Minister should

be extremely cautious about its use, and the party

will hold a strategic defence and security review immediately

after the election. In terms of immigration,

Labour will seek "reasonable management of migration",

but it will not make "false Elsewhere, university tuition

fees will be abolished, and the public sector pay cap,

which limits pay rises for public sector workers

to 1%, will be scrapped. The party also aims to renationalise

the railways, the Royal Mail and the National Grid,

as well as creating at least one A senior Labour backbencher

described it to the Sunday Politics as a manifesto for a leadership

who don't "give a toss about the wider public",

and several other Labour candidates told us they thought it

had been deliberately leaked by the leadership,

with one suggesting the leak was intended to "bounce

the National Executive" And we're joined now from Salford

by the Shadow Business Secretary, Welcome to the programme. The draft

manifesto proposed to renationalise the number of industry. You will

wait for the franchises to run out rather than buy them out at the

moment so can you confirm the railways will not be wholly

nationalised until 2030, after three Labour governments, and Jeremy

Corbyn will be 80? I'm not going to comment on leaks, you will just have

to be patient and wait to see what is in our manifesto. But you have

already announced you will nationalise the railways, so tell me

about it. We have discussed taking the franchises into public ownership

as they expire, however the detail will be set out in the manifesto so

I'm not prepared to go into detail until that policy is formally laid

out on Tuesday. That doesn't sound very hopeful but let's carry on. You

will also nationalise the National Grid, it has a market capitalisation

of ?40 billion, why do you want to nationalise that? Again, I'm not

going to speculate on leaks, you will just have to be patient. But

you said you will nationalise the National Grid so tell's Y. The leaks

have suggested but you will just have to wait and see what the final

manifesto states on that one. So is it a waste of time me asking you how

you will pay for something that costs 40 billion? Be patient, just

couple of days to go, but what I would say is there is growing

pressure from the public to reform the utilities sector. The

Competition and Markets Authority stated in 2015 that bill payers were

paying over till debt -- ?2 billion in excess of what they should be

paying so there is a clear need for reform. The bills we get are from

the energy companies, you are not going to nationalise them, you are

going to nationalise the distribution company and I wondered

what is the case for nationalising the distribution company? As I said,

our full plans will be set out on Tuesday. In relation to the big six

energy companies, we know in recent years they have been overcharging

customers... There's no point in answering questions I am not asking.

I am asking what is the case for nationalising the National Grid?

There is a case for reforming the energy sector as a whole and that

looks at the activities of the big six companies and it will look at

other aspects too. You will have to be patient and wait until Tuesday.

What about the Royal Mail? Again, you will have to wait until Tuesday.

Why can't you just be honest with the British voter? We know you are

going to do this and you have a duty to explain. I'm not even arguing

whether it is right or wrong. The Royal Mail was sold off and we know

it was sold under value and British taxpayers have a reason to feel

aggrieved about that. There is a long-term strategy that would ensure

the Royal Mail was classified as a key piece of infrastructure but the

details of that will be set out in our manifesto because we want to

ensure businesses and households ensure the best quality of service

when it comes to their postal providers. You plan to borrow an

extra 25 billion per year, John McDonnell has already announced

this, on public investment, on top of the around 50 billion already

being planned for investment. You will borrow it all so that means, if

you can confirm, that many years after the crash by 2021, Labour

government would still be borrowing 75 billion a year. Is that correct?

We have set out ?250 billion of capital investment, and ?250 billion

for a national investment bank. Our financial and fiscal rules dictate

we will leave the Government in a state of less debt than we found it

at the start of the parliament so we won't increase the national debt at

the end of our Parliamentary term. How can you do that if by 2021 you

will still be borrowing around 75 billion a year, which is more than

we borrow at the moment? The 500 billion figure is set out over a

period of ten years, it's a figure that has been suggested by Peter

Helm from Oxford University as a figure that is necessary to bring us

in line with other industrial competitors. Similar figures have

been suggested by groups such as the CBI. By the way I have not included

all 500 billion, just the 250 billion on public spending, not the

extra money. You talk about the fiscal rules. The draft manifesto

said you will leave debt as a proportion of trend GDP law at the

end of each parliament, you have just said a version of that. What is

trend GDP? In clear terms we will ensure the debt we acquire will be

reduced by the end of the parliament. We won't leave the

Government finances in a worse state than we found them. OK, but what is

trend GDP? Our rule is we will ensure public sector net debt is

less than we found it when we came to power in Government on June the

8th. But that is not what your draft manifesto says. I'm not going to

comment on leaks, you are just going to have to wait until Tuesday to

look at the fine detail and perhaps we will have another chat then. You

have published your plans for corporation tax and you will

increase it by a third and your predictions assumed that will get an

extra 20 billion a year by the end of the parliament. But that assumes

the companies don't change their behaviour, that they move money

around, they leave the country or they generate smaller profits. Is

that realistic? You are right to make that point and you will see

when we set out our policies and costings in the manifesto that we

haven't spent all of the tax take. We have allowed for different

differentials and potential changes in market activity because that

would be approved and direction to take. But corporation tax is allowed

to be cut in France and the United States, it's only 12.5% in Dublin.

Many companies based in Britain are already wondering whether they

should relocate because of Brexit, if you increase this tax by a third

couldn't that clinch it for a number of them? No, we will still be one of

the lowest corporation tax rate in the G7. Let's look at what's

important for business. Cutting corporation tax in itself doesn't

improve productivity, or business investment and there's no suggestion

cutting corporation tax in recent years has achieved that. Businesses

need an investment in tools in things they need to thrive and

prosper, they also need to reduce the burden at the lower end of the

tax scale, before we get to the Prophet stage. One key example is

business rates. We have made the proposal to government to in --

exclude machinery so businesses can invest and grow operations in the

future but the Government refused. Corporation tax has been cut since

2010. When it was 28% it brought in ?43 billion a year. Now it is down

to 20%, it brought in ?55 billion a year. By cutting it in the last

year, it brought in 21% more, so what is the problem? It might have

brought in more money, but has it increased business investment in the

long term. It is not just about cutting corporation tax, but it is

on the ability of businesses to thrive and prosper. Business

investment in the UK is below are industrial competitors. Wages are

stagnating which doesn't indicate businesses are not doing well. Let

me get it right, you are arguing if we increase business tax by a third,

that will increase investment? I am not saying that. You just did. Know

I didn't, I said reducing business tax isn't enough, you have to invest

in the things businesses need to thrive and prosper. You have also

got to lessen the burden on business. You have announced a

financial transaction tax. Your own labour Mayor of London said he has

vowed to fight it. He said I do not want a unilateral tax on business in

our city, so why are you proceeding with it? This isn't a new

initiative, there is a growing global pressure to make sure we have

fairness in the financial sector. Ordinary British people are paying

for our banking crisis they didn't cause. Another important point,

stamp duty reserve tax was brought in in the 1600 and there have been

little reforms. The sector has changed and we have do provide

changes to the system for that change. High-frequency trading where

we have a state of affairs where a lot of shares are traded on

computers within milliseconds. We need a tax system that keeps up with

that. What happens if they move the computers to another country? Emily

Thornaby said this morning, other countries had already introduced a

financial transaction tax, what other countries have done that?

There are ten countries looking at introducing a transaction tax. Which

ones have done it so far? They will be later announcing a final package,

going through the finer detail at the moment. But the European

Commission tried to get this done in 2011 and it still hasn't happened in

any of these countries. But you are going to go ahead unilaterally and

risk these businesses, which generate a lot of money, moving to

other jurisdictions. There is not a significant risk of that happening.

The stamp duty reserve tax is levied at either where the person or

company is domiciled or where the instrument is issued rather than

worth the transaction takes place. This tax in itself is not enough to

make people leave this country in terms of financial services because

there is more to keep these businesses here in terms of the

investment we are making, the economy that Labour will build, in

terms of productivity improvement we will see. Thank you very much,

Rebecca Long-Bailey. And listening to that was the Home

Office Minister, Brandon Lewis. Over the years, you have got

corporation tax by 20%, it is lower than international standards, so why

are so many global companies who make money out of Great Britain,

still not paying 20%? It is one of the problems with the point Labour

were making and Rebecca could not answer, these companies can move

around the world. One of the important things is having a low tax

economy but these businesses, it encourages them to come at a rate

they are prepared to pay. People may say they are right, if they were

paying 19, 20% incorporation tax. But they are not. Google runs a

multi-million pound corporation and did not pay anywhere near 20%. There

are companies that are trading internationally and that is why we

have to get this work done with our partners around the world. Has there

been an improvement? It is more than they were paying before. Whether it

is Google or any other company, alongside them being here, apart

from the tax they pay, it is the people they employ. The deal was, if

you cut the business tax, the corporation tax on profits, we would

get more companies coming here and more companies paying their tax. It

seems it doesn't matter how low, a number of companies just pay a

derisory amount and you haven't been able to change that. As you

outlined, the income taken from the changing corporation tax has gone

up. That is from established British companies, not from these

international companies. It is because more companies are coming

here and paying tax. That is a good thing. There is always more to do

and that is why we want to crack down. In the last few weeks in the

Finnish Parliament, Labour refused to put to another ?8.7 billion of

tax take we could have got by cracking down further. You claim to

have made great progress on cracking down on people and companies to pay

the tax they should. But the tax gap is the difference between what HMRC

takes in and what it should take in. It has barely moved in five years,

so where is the progress? He have brought in 150 billion more where we

have cracked down on those tax schemes. The gap is still the same

as it was five years ago. It's gone from 6.8, 26.5. It has gone down.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor said they want to

continue work on to get more money on these companies while still

having a competitive rate to encourage these companies. While big

business and the wealthy continue to prosper, the Office for Budget

Responsibility tell us those on average earnings in this country

will be earning less in real terms by 2021 than they did in 2008. How

can that be fair? I don't see it that way. I haven't seen the figures

you have got. What I can say to you, Andrew, we have made sure the

minimum wage has gone up, the actual income tax people pay has gone down.

So in their pocket, real terms, people have more money. You are the

self-styled party of work. We keep emphasising work. Under your

government you can work for 13 years and still not earn any more at the

end of it, and you did at the start. Where is the reward for effort in

that? I have not seen those figures. There are 2.8 million more people,

more jobs in economy than there was. 1000 jobs every day and people are

working and developing through their careers. This is what I thought was

odd in what Rebecca was saying, investing in people is what the

apprenticeship levy is about, companies are investing their works

force to take more opportunities that there. We are talking about

fairness, politicians talk about hard-working people and we know the

average earnings are no higher than they were in 2008. We know the pay

and bonuses of senior executives have continued to grow and the

Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown 3 million of the poorest

households will lose an average of ?2500 a year in the next Parliament,

benefits frozen, further sanctions kick in. 3 million of the poorest

losing 2500. Under the Tories, one law for the rich and another for the

poor. It is quite wrong. First of all, we have got to be fair to the

taxpayer who is funding the welfare and benefit system. Which is why the

welfare was right. Get more people in work and then it is important to

get more people upscaling. As that allowance rises, people have more of

the money they earn in their pocket to be able to use in the economy.

People will be worse off. 2500, among the poorest already. They will

have more money in their pocket as we increase the allowance before

people pay tax. We have seen millions of people coming out of tax

altogether. The reason I ask these questions, you and the Prime

Minister go on and on about the just about managing classes. I am talking

about the just about managing and below that. It is all talk, you

haven't done anything for them. We have made sure they have an

increasing minimum wage, it has gone up more under us than any other

previous government. Their wages will be still lower in real terms.

Let me come on to this plan for housing. We have announced a new

plan to increase affordable housing, social housing, some council housing

and social housing built by the associations. How much money is

behind this? It is part of the 1.4 billion announced in the Autumn

Statement. How many homes will you get for 1.4 billion? That depends on

the negotiations with local authorities. It is local

authorities, who know the area best. I will not put a number on that. 1.4

billion, if you price the house at 100,000, which is very low,

particularly for the South, back at you 14,000 new homes. That is it.

What we have seen before, how the local government can leveraged to

build thousands more homes. That is what we want to see across the

country. It is not just about the money, for a lot of local

authorities it is about the expertise and knowledge on how to do

this. That is why support from the housing communities minister will

help. What is the timescale, how many more affordable homes will be

built? I will not put a number on it. You announced it today, so you

cannot tell me how many more or what the target is? It is a matter of

working with the local authorities who know what their local needs are,

what land they have got available. What we saw through the local

elections with the Metro mayors, they want to deliver in their areas,

whether it is the West of England, the north-east, Liverpool,

Manchester and we want to work with them. You have said variations of

this for the past seven years and I want some credibility. When you

cannot tell us how much money, what the target and timescale is, and

this government, under which affordable house building has fallen

to a 24 year low. 1.2 million families are on waiting lists for

social housing to rent. That is your record. Why should we believe a word

you say? This is different to what we have been doing over the last two

years. We want to develop and have a strong and stable economy that can

sustain that 1.4 billion homes. This is important. In 2010, we inherited

the lowest level of house building, 75,000 new homes. That is about

189,000 over the last four years. That is a big step forward after the

crash, getting people back into the industry. More first-time buyers

onto the market. Final question, in 2010, 2011, your first year in

government, there were 60,000 affordable homes built. May not be

enough, but last day it was 30 2000. So why should we trust anything you

say about this? On housing, we have delivered. We have delivered more

social housing. Double what Labour did in 13 years, in just five years.

This is what this policy is about, working with local authorities to

deliver more homes to people in their local areas. Thank you.

Now, they have a deficit of between 15 and 20% in the polls,

but Jeremy Corbyn and those around him insist Labour can win.

If the polls are right they've got three and half weeks to change

voters' minds and persuade those fabled undecided voters

We enlisted the polling organisation YouGov to help us find out how

the performance of party leaders will affect behaviour

Leeds, a city of three quarters of a million people,

eight Parliamentary seats and home to our very own focus group.

Our panel was recruited from a variety of backgrounds

and the majority say they haven't decided who to vote for yet.

Watching behind the glass, two experts on different sides

Giles Cunningham, who headed up political press at Downing Street

under David Cameron and Aaron Bastani, Corbin supporter,

under David Cameron and Aaron Bastani, Corbyn supporter,

I think Theresa May sees herself as a pound shop Thatcher.

Milliband's policies but when it came

about who you want, if you wake up on maybe a 2015,

We found in a couple of focus groups, people saying

we'd be quite relieved, even though some of those same

people have been saying we quite like the Labour policies.

I think the fact that Corbyn's going so hard on his values,

this is a really progressive manifesto, they live

But I think that's a new challenge, that wasn't there in 2015.

Is there anyone here that you don't recognise?

After a little warm up, the first exercise, recognising

I think it's nice to have a strong woman in politics, I do.

But I've got to say, when she comes on the news,

I kind of do think, here we go again.

Tell me about Tim Farron, what are your impressions of Tim Farron?

It isn't going to do anything, it isn't going to change anything.

You'll be surprised to hear it's actually the Greens.

Strong and stable leadership in the national interest.

Yes, Team May, it's the British equivalent of make

What do we think about this one for the many and not the few?

It's not quite as bad as strong and stable,

but it will probably get on our nerves after a while.

We must seize that chance today and every day until June the 8th.

But that's not quite my question, my question is,

if you are Prime Minister, we will leave, come hell or high

water, whatever is on the table at the end of the negotiations?

If we win the election, we'll get a good deal with Europe.

Assertive and in control and he felt comfortable

But the second one, I thought he was very hesitant.

I thought he was kind of, hovering around, skirting around

and that's the second time I've seen a similar

interview with the question being asked regarding Brexit.

I don't think I'd have any confidence with him

You think you are going up against some quite strong people,

how are you going to stand up for us?

When you are in negotiations, you need to be tough.

And actually is right to be tough sometimes,

particularly when you are doing something for the country.

There's a reason for talking about strong and stable leadership.

It's about the future of the country, it's

It's just that people kind of listen to that kind of thing and think

Both on The One Show and in the news.

She attracts the public better than what Corbyn does.

She didn't answer the question in a more articular way than Corbyn

Imagine that Theresa May is an animal.

So, in your minds, what animal is coming to mind

I've done a Pekinese because I think she's all bark and no bite.

Alpaca because she's superior looking and woolly

I don't think his policies are for the modern, real world.

A mouse because they are weak and they can be easily bullied,

but also they can catch you by surprise if you're

What do you take away from what you saw then,

and what message would you send back to the Tories now?

I think what came over is people see Theresa May as a strong politician,

not everyone likes her, but you don't need to be

liked to be elected, because ultimately it's about who do

you trust with your future and your security.

I think what I also take out of that focus group,

was it was a group of floating voters, there was no huge appetite

for the Lib Dems and there was no huge appetite for Ukip.

So my messaged back to CCHQ would be stick to the plan.

I thought the response to the manifesto was excellent.

It's clear that people aren't particularly keen on Theresa May,

There are some associations with her about strength and stability,

which is exactly what the Tory party want of course, but they are not

positive and nobody thinks that she has a vision

So, what I'd say the Jeremy Corbyn, what I'd say to the Labour Party is,

they need to really emphasise the manifesto in

Jeremy Corbyn himself has to perform out of his skin and I think

he has to reemphasise those characteristics which may be have

come to the fore may be over the last 12 months,

resilience, strength and the fact that he's come this far,

why not take that final step and go into ten Downing Street?

We're joined now by the American political consultant

For the sake of this discussion, assume the polls at the moment are

broadly right, is there any hope for Mr Corbyn in the undecided voters?

Know, and this is a very serious collection with serious consequences

to who wins. Nobody cares whether you can draw and what animal they

represent, they want to know where they stand, and I felt that was

frivolous. I come to Britain to watch elections because I learned

from here. Your elections are more substantial, more serious, more

policy and less about personality and that peace was only about

personality. That's partly because Mrs May has decided to make this a

presidential election. You can see on the posters it is all Team May. I

agree with that, and in her language she says not everyone benefits from

a Conservative government, I don't see how using anything Republicans

have used in the past. In fact her campaign is more of a centrist

Democrats but it is a smart strategy because it pushes Corbyn further to

the left. Of course you said Hillary Clinton have won. On election night

the polling was so bad in America, the exit polls that were done, the

BBC told America she had won. No, I was anchoring the programme that

night, I ignored your tweet. The BBC had the same numbers. Yes, but we

did not say she had won, I can assure you of that. Because of

people like you we thought she had but we didn't broadcast it. That was

a smart approach. My point is other than teasing you, maybe there is

hope for Jeremy Corbyn. I think you will have one of the lowest turnout

in modern history and I think Labour will fall to one of the lowest

percentages, not percentage of number of seats they have had, and

this will be a matter of soul-searching for both political

parties. What you do with a sizeable majority, and she has a

responsibility to tell the British people exactly what happens as she

moves forward. He and Labour will have to take a look at whether they

still represent a significant slice of the British population. Do you

see a realignment in British politics taking place? I see a

crumbling of the left and yet there is still a significant percentage of

the British population that once someone who is centre-left. And they

like a lot of Mr Corbyn's policies. I'm listening to Michael foot. I

went to school here in the 1980s and I feel like I'm watching the Labour

Party of 35 years ago, in a population that wants to focus on

the future, not the past. Thank you. It's just gone 11.35,

you're watching the Sunday Politics. We say goodbye to viewers

in Scotland, who leave us now Hello you're watching

the Sunday Politics Is Labour facing its Last Tango

in Halifax or could voters end up dancing to a different tune

to the one many predict? What can Halifax tell us

about the mood of the nation? I think the NHS, ambulance

and police service. And the EU migrants watching our

election campaign very closely. What do they think about the debate

surrounding immigration? You have the normal concerns, food,

job, friends, you have a plan what to do and then you have the news of

Brexit. We are treated like bargaining chips.

If Theresa May is to achieve her aim of increasing her majority

in parliament, then Halifax is a must-win seat for the Tories.

In 2015, Labour won Halifax with a majority of just 428 votes.

Labour say they'll fight hard to retain all the seats they're

defending across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

But of course, the voters will have the final verdict

and here's what some voters in Halifax are saying about

The biggest issue is the Tories taking over

Personally, I voted to leave the EU because I think it will be better

for England and Britain to be able to trade freely with America

and China and all the big trading blocks and for us to have free

Theresa May is picking over the corpse of England.

The NHS is going to go and everything else will follow it.

I think tax and the financial system, because when I'm older

What is the biggest issue in the election?

I think NHS, ambulance and the police service.

People are wondering whether to remain or not

It is confusing a lot of people and it is dividing a lot

We are joined today by three of the candidates in the Halifax

constituency. Labour's Holly Lynch, Liberal Democrat and Ukip candidate.

The Conservative candidate has declined our invitation to take part

in this programme. Every political number cruncher you speak to has

Halifax town as a Conservative game based on the size of the Tory

leader. You must be gloomy about your prospects? We have always known

it has been a key marginal. It is a battle ground people look at going

into a general election. We knew that when I became the MP to years

ago. I have not been complacent in that time. We have hit the ground

running as a local party. The things we have been keen to work on. We had

the last Tango in Halifax and allergy but it has not been happy

Valley under this Conservative Government either. Cuts to policing,

education and squeeze is on the NHS. People are not happy about and it

has come up on the doorsteps. You were campaigning to remain within

the European union. Your constituency is in favour of leaving

the European Union, does that make you vulnerable? I did go into the

referendum as a remain porter but I am a Democrat and I recognise the

referendum. We are keen to get on with this process of Brexit and it

is coming up on the doorsteps. We have had conversations with 7000

people going into this general election. It is interesting that

Theresa May triggered Article 50 and the first thing she did was postpone

the negotiations to have a general election. We want get on with that

process but we have seen these issues coming up on the doorstep.

James Baker, the last general election, the Liberal Democrat

candidate came a distant fourth lost his deposit. Halifax is a battle

between Labour and the Tories. You do not stand a chance, do you?

Things can only improve. I have a great track record as a local

councillor representing people in Halifax. I am someone who delivers

and offering people something unique in this election. You have other

candidates who are going to be supporting a hard Brexit, which will

be damaging to jobs and the economy in Halifax. We rely on Lloyds and

large companies like Nestle, if you lose those then people are going to

suffer. I am the only candidate that is offering people a final say on

the Brexit deal so they can have a choice whether they want to accept

the deal that politicians negotiate whether they want to reject it and a

chance to stay in the EU. URL Ukip candidate. It is surprising that

Ukip are not standing in many constituencies in Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire riveted stand and the last election. Why have you chosen

to stand in Halifax? Ukip as a guard dogs of Brexit. People in Halifax

voted overwhelmingly during the referendum to leave the European

union. We want to put a strong voice on that's not forget that Brexit has

not happened yet. Nothing has been delivered. There were delays in

writing a letter to say we were leaving. The people of Halifax need

a strong voice to go to Westminster and say we demanded to leave and

that is what is going to happen. The question we are asking is will

Brexit trump traditional loyalties on major issues?

This morning we're looking at immigration - and education.

In recent months teachers' unions have been speaking out

The government says it is looking to correct historical imbalances

But we've spoken to one parent in Calderdale,

a mother of five children, who has begun campaigning

against what she claims are gravely damaging cuts in her part

What we are seeing in Calderdale is schools which have already had

to meet a number of redundancies, which are already losing staff,

class sizes are increasing and problems are occurring.

Children are being asked to pay for exercise books.

In some schools the head teachers are actively asking parents

to contribute to school funding and in some cases actually asking

if they can set up a direct debit so they are getting a regular source

of funding to the school on a regular basis.

One school, for example, here in Calderdale just a couple

of miles away from where we are, is subject to cuts of over half

And have already had to make several redundancies,

resulting in the loss of number of teachers, support staff

It means they can offer a lot less subjects as a school.

Not so far away from here, one school who only 12 subjects

There has been a significant reduction in language.

Design and technology subjects have been scrapped.

And music and art have also been very hardly hit.

Teachers are becoming increasingly stressed

50% of more experienced teachers are wanting to quit over the next

two years and headteachers in particular are finding it really

difficult to recruit teachers, especially in the areas

My fears going into the election is that this subject has

How much longer can it go on before schools are literally

brought to their knees and many of them start fail?

Well, in the absence of the Conservative candidate,

we asked for a Conservative Party statement on education funding -

and they told us that the government has been putting record investment

into schools, protecting core schools budgets,

and consulting on a fairer funding formula which it will further

Holly Lynch, nobody wants to see bigger class sizes and fewer

teachers. Where are Labour going to find the money to plug the black

hole in the education budget? Some of the details for this will be in

our manifesto which is out next week. We are looking at corporation

tax any way of launching an education service, doing things

differently. We all want to see a differently. We all want to see a

good, well funded quality education that is available to everybody. That

is not what is happening at the moment. Headteachers across Halifax

are really desperate about the financial situation. I have been

meeting with those teachers and we have secured a meeting with the

schools minister. That was cancelled because of this general election.

This Government did not want to talk about education but people do. ?5

billion. Jeremy Corbyn said he would put ?5 billion extra into schools.

Down the back of which so far is it going to find that money? This is

looking at how he can use corporation tax. When I meet with

businesses, we are talking about how this would be cost-effective.

Businesses are talking about the skills gap where people do not have

the skills and the qualifications that we need is a thriving economy.

This is one of the ways we are looking to do that. You are going to

tax businesses more. Assuming those companies do not leave the country

and the economy continues at the same pace it is doing now, those

sums do not add up, do they? Education is so important. If we

wanted a thriving economy and bright future for this country, we have to

get education right. The details will be a neat manifesto next week.

We are looking at doing that whilst protecting Smalls businesses. Can we

trust the liberal Democrats again after you broke your promise on

Jewish and fees? You can trust me. Education is -- education fees. She

went off to university part-time. I have seen the power education can

change lives. The education premium to give money to the most

disadvantaged children to make sure there is a level playing field. We

are committed to improving the educational opportunities are people

in Halifax. Halifax under the Conservative Government in Halifax,

people's education has fallen behind. We are behind the national

averages and I want to tackle that as MP. All I know about Ukip

education policy is that you want more grammar schools. Is that about

it? We do and we want technical schools as well. There is more to it

than that. I think when people see that video that we have seen, it is

disgraceful with the Conservative cuts that they are not coming to

talk about today. I think when people are out there and they are

saying we're going to vote Conservatives because of Brexit, the

also need to at things like that we are when they are voting for the

Conservatives, they are voting for cuts in the area. I using Ukip wants

more money put into schools? We would you find that from? A good

place to start would be the foreign aid budget. 13.2 billion last year.

Which we would significantly cut to spend more money in this country and

Halifax. Calderdale has two grammar schools. Would you support my

grammar schools in your area? No, we are different in Halifax. Two of the

secondary schools are grammar schools. Where trees are made as

seeing that grammar schools are the future. -- Theresa May. Grammar

schools are coming to me saying we have to make desperate decisions

about staff and resources and they cannot see a financial future at the

moment. She is not funding the grammar schools we have got properly

so how can we trust her judgment on grammar schools in the future? I

presume Ukip would want to see my grammar schools? And to be clear,

technical skills. There are a lot of people out there who are more

technically minded and would have a far better opportunity if they went

to a technical school in order to learn about the technology. What is

wrong with that, more technical schools? Teach children practical

skills. There is nothing wrong with teaching children practical skills.

We have an effect of College in Calderdale that does that already

and they have a great track record of success. The problem with grammar

schools, they are not working and they are not helping the people who

do not get into the grammar schools. We see a situation where the

children who can afford it, pay for extra tuition. It is not helping to

tackle the problems. There is a lack of social mobility and to many

people think they do not have the life chances that other people may

have. We need to improve those life opportunities for people living in

Halifax. I am sure at this debate will go on long after this election

campaign, no doubt. Now - our cameras have been out

in the fields of Yorkshire this week as both Labour and Conservative

party leaders arrived in the region to set

out their policies on immigration. Freedom of movement of workers

was a crucial battleground for leavers and remainers

in the referendum last June. Almost a year on, we sent

Richard Edwards to talk He is one of the tens of thousands

of EU nationals living In Yorkshire, their numbers rose by

a quarter in the four years to 2015. But as Britain waits for the Brexit

talks to get into full swing, Victor and other EU migrants

are asking big questions When I go to work now, I know

I have a limited time for two years. If you look at the normal concerns,

food, job, friends, everything, you have a plan what to do and then

you get the news of Brexit. We are treated like

bargaining chips. Can I have a pack

of asparagus, please? Claire Thomas runs a farm

called Warfedale Grange Claire relies on Victor's labour

and says she wants answers I could not continue without someone

doing the sort of day-to-day Victor will get up at the crack

of dawn and say, you know, I have bunched 50 lots of 25 bunches

of marguerites for me I feel very sorry for Victor

because he does not know when he goes home next

time whether he will So he can't make any

permanent plans. And, you know, he is like a member

of the family, really. So what do the two possible

Prime Ministers say about this? Well, they have both been

in our region this week. Conservative party leader

Theresa May found herself put on the spot by a foreign-born worker

while on a factory visit. Are you going to preserve our right

to reside in this country or maybe in the future are you going to send

us back to our home country? What I want to do,

and what I expect to do and intend to guarantee EU citizens

who are living here their rights and status but, I am sure

you understand as the UK Prime Minister, I also want to think

about UK citizens who are living While Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

popped into the Look North studios in between campaign visits

to Leeds and Garforth. We will also make sure

that we protect those achieved through Europe,

such as working time directive We will also guarantee the rights

of EU nationals to remain here. In the background to all of this

a counselling company in York says it is helping Eastern European

clients who are being bullied They are definitely related to

Brexit because the underlying issues are if I separate from my partner,

will I still have I have lived in this

country for a long time, will I have to go back

to my own country? So those are definitely

related to their future. So that evidence coming from a firm

in remain supporting York. Welcome to strongly

leave voting Wakefield. Let's see what people in this cafe

have to say about in it. Because they are foreigners

they come first every time. They get the best houses,

best jobs and it is all wrong. I do not think they

are being picked on. I think it is them

that are causing it. Put in for compensation

and causing trouble. I have worked in the industry

where are was a majority of Eastern Europeans

that were supervisors. I don't think English

people like that. The fact they are coming to our

country and telling us what to do. It's a bit of a smack

in the mouth, really. Does Victor have any message

for the the new Government once You are English, you have

to love your country, Try to look in your soul

and be a human being. I'm sure everything will come up

very good for England in the future. Richard Edwards reporting. We are

joined live by the candidates in the Halifax constituency. The

Conservative Party candidate declined our invitation to take part

Ukip message to the hard-working Ukip message to the hard-working

migrant workers across our part of the world who are worried they may

not have a future in this country after Brexit? I would like to see to

Victor directly that he should not be worried. Our policy is and has

always been that anyone who came to the UK legally to work will remain

after Brexit. It is concerning that there are so many scare stories out

there. Likewise, for expats abroad, they are also concerned. To reason

may yesterday saying that she intends to, or a wants to, she

should do something and deliver something and bring this to the

fronts of people stop worrying. -- Theresa May. If someone comes up to

you on the streets of Halifax and says to you, I going to be allowed

to stay in this country, what is your response? As far as Ukip are

concerned, yes, you are allowed to stay. Do the liberal Democrats

believe in any form of border control? Can I respond to what Mark

said. I think the we heard from Ukip around the referendum campaign was

appalling. Use these posters... It is fine saying we will protect them

but there were posters with queues of immigrants and rhetoric that

demonises people like Victor who have come here. We had been

increased racism under is all around this culture of fear and division

that we have seen in this country. I want to break away from that and

have a politics where we treat other people like human beings and we

value the contribution that value the contribution that

immigrants make in the UK. There might be a problem about immigration

and we need funding for local Government. You do not believe in

any form of immigration control? I believe you should have checks and

people come in here to make sure they are not criminals. I believe in

the freedom of movement between the European Union. I am a liberal and I

believe in freedom and the freedom of movement and freedom of capital

is better for our society. It enriches people's lives and help our

economy. Do you one to answer that point? Nigel Swaraj and that poster

of queues of people. -- NIgel Farage. People who are already here

should be able to stay. The difference is, looking at future

immigration, we need to put some control on that and the Liberal

Democrats are not going to control that and Ukip by the party to

control immigration in the future. Is Jeremy Corbyn right to refuse to

commit to reducing immigration if he becomes Prime Minister? One of the

things I have been doing, I was in the Parliamentary group on

immigration and that was going out and having conversations with people

to see what we have to do to make sure to amenities are comfortable

with immigration. We took evidence that was from Australia. What

industry needs and the use that information to feed into the

education policy and their immigration policy. Where we have

seen this Conservative Government just setting these targets, which by

their own measures keep failing to hit, would not be good if we were

working with communities to say what we want from immigration... The

answer to the questionnaires otherwise, no, you do not want to

see immigration reduced. That is not true. We have to start to work out

what we need and then use that a basis to work out figures. Could I

suggest an Australian points-based system would be a good place to

start? It has to be about education... Hollick, I hear you

speak in favour of immigration but you do not want to come out and say

you are in favour of immigration because you are aware that there are

people in Halifax who are concerned about it that. I think there are

people who are confused. Sometimes you say you are in favour of opening

up... I do not wear where labour stands on this. The 55% of people in

Calderdale who voted to leave the European Union, due not accept they

did so with the hope that net migration would be reduced? Yes, I

accept that. There was a lady there in that clip saying... She was

trying to suggest people who come to this country are making trouble. We

have to challenge that as well. We need to manage migration but it is

healthy 40 minute is as well. Thank you for your thoughts today.

emotive subject and we have run out of time.

On Thursday nominations closed in the 650 parliamentary

seats across the country, so now we know exactly who's

We've been analysing the parties' candidates to find out

what they might tell us about the make-up of the House

Well, we know Theresa May is committed to delivering Brexit and

analysis of Conservative candidates has shown that

in their top 100 target seats, 37 candidates supported leave

during last year's referendum campaign

and 20 supported remain; 43 have not made public

In the last parliament, the vast majority of Labour MPs

were hostile to Jeremy Corbyn so how supportive are Labour

Well, of 50 of Labour's top 100 target seats

17 candidates have expressed support for Mr Corbyn.

20 candidates supported Owen Smith in last year's leadership contest

or have expressed anti-Corbyn sentiment, and

If they won those, the Labour benches would be

marginally more sympathetic to Mr Corbyn than they are now.

What do the figures tell us about where the other

Well, the Lib Dems have decided not to stand against the Greens

in Brighton Pavilion, and are fielding 629

candidates this year - that's two fewer than 2015.

The number of Ukip candidates has fallen dramatically.

They are standing in 247 fewer constituencies than 2015,

throwing their support behind solidly pro-Brexit Tories

in some areas such as Lewes and Norfolk North.

The Greens are fielding 103 fewer candidates

than at the last election, standing down to help

other progressive candidates in some places.

The most liking statistic is the demise in Ukip candidates, is this

their swansong? And I think so. It is remarkable how few Ukip

candidates are standing. It is hard to see they will suddenly revive in

the next couple of years. I think this is probably the end. Frank

Luntz mentioned the fragmentation of the left was a feature of this

election, but also there is the consolidation of the right, and if

you take the things together that could explain why the polls are

where they are. Absolutely, that's precisely what happened at the start

of the 1980s, the right was incredibly united and that's when we

started talking about majorities of over 100 or so. No matter what the

size of Theresa May's majority, it will be the total collapse of Ukip,

but not just because we are now leaving the EU and that was their

only reason for being, but a whole lot of people voted for Ukip because

they felt the Tories were no longer listening. Theresa May has given the

impression that she is listening, and that is the biggest possible

thing that could happen to the Tory vote. Fragmentation of the left,

consolidation of the right? It's one of the lessons that is never learnt,

it happened in the 1980s, it doesn't take much for the whole thing to

fracture so now you have on the centre-left the SNP, the Labour

Party, the Greens, the Liberal Democrats all competing for the same

votes and when you have, fleetingly perhaps, large numbers coalescing on

the right in one party, there is only going to be one outcome. It

happens regularly. It doesn't mean the Tories haven't got their own

fragility. Two years ago, David Cameron and George Osborne the

dominant figures, neither are in Parliament now which is a symptom of

the fragility this election is disguising. Mrs May's position in a

way reminds me of Mrs Thatcher in the 1980s, I won't be outflanked on

the right, Nicolas Sarkozy in France, I won't be outflanked on the

right, so the National Front didn't get through either timed he ran to

the second round on like this time, and now Mrs May on Brexit won't be

outflanked Iver and as a result has seen off right flank. And also she

is looking to the left as well with some of the state interventions.

What was interesting about the analysis you showed a few minutes

ago was the number of Tory candidates who have apparently not

declared which way they voted in the referendum, and you would have

thought if this election was all about Brexit, as some would claim,

that would become an unsustainable position, and actually more it's

about leadership. But the point that I'm now hearing from a number of

Labour candidates that they are seeing Tory leaflets that don't even

have the Tory candidate's name on them, it is just about Theresa May.

I am glad they are keeping to the law because by law they have to put

it on. It has been harder for some of the smaller parties too because

of the speed of the election being called. We have the manifesto is

coming out this week. I think Labour Forshaw on Tuesday, we are not yet

sure when the Tories will bring bears out. I suggest one thing, it

will at least for people like me bring an end to the question you

will have to wait for the manifesto. And Rebecca Long baby will never

have that excuse again, isn't it wonderful! She is not the only one.

When you are trying to take the north and Midlands from Labour, I

would go to one or the other. For me, I can barely hold back my

excitement over the Tory manifesto. This will be, I think, the most

important day for the British government for the next five years.

That wasn't irony there? You actually meant that? I'm not even

being cynical at all on Sunday Politics! This is a huge day and

it's because I think we will see... I don't think Mrs May will play it

safe and I don't think we will get the broadbrush stuff that she might

be advised to do. I think she will lay out precisely what you want to

do over the next five years and take some big risks. Then finally after a

year of this guessing and theorising, we will finally work out

what Mrs May is all about. She will say she doesn't want the next

parliament to be all about Brexit, though she knows that's the next

important thing she has to deliver in some way, so she gets a mandate

for that if the polls are right but she

does have very different ideas from Mr Cameron about how to run a

country. She will I assume one to mandate for what these different

ideas are. Otherwise there is no point in holding an early election.

You will get a majority, but if you get a mandate to carry on

implementing the Cameron and Osborne manifesto it would be utterly

pointless. I agree, it is the pivotal event of the election and it

will be interesting to see the degree to which she expands on the

line which interests me about its time to look at the good that

government can do. Because in a way this moves the debate on in UK

politics from, from 97 the Blair Brown governments were insecure

about arguing about the role of government. Cameron Osborne

government similarly so, so here you have a Labour Party talking about

the role of government and the state, and Tory leader apparently

doing so was well. I think that will be really interesting to see whether

it is fleshed out in any significant way. And it is not a natural Tory

message. Harold Macmillan talked about the role of the state, Ted

Heath Mark two was pretty big on the state, the industrial policy and so

on, and even if it is not thought to be that Tory, does she get away with

it because she deliver such a big victory if that's what she does

deliver? Just inject a little note of scepticism, I wonder how much of

this is authentically Theresa May. I was interested to and talk to

someone who used to sit in cabinet meetings during which Theresa May

never expressed an opinion on anything outside the Home Office

briefs. Other ministers were roving all over their colleagues' briefs.

So where are the ideas coming from? I think we can point to Nick

Timothy. One of her closest advisers in Downing Street. It will be

interesting to see how that evolves. On Thursday I think we will all be

talking about something called Urdington Toryism. Urdington is the

suburb of Birmingham where Nick Timothy comes from, who is very much

Theresa May's policy brain and leading inspiration. Urdington

Toryism is about connecting the party with traditional working class

voters, and their belief to do that is not just taking away government

out of their lives but showing them that government can actually help

their lives. It can be a force for good to rebuild the trust. A lot of

what Mrs May talks about is all... It is talk and then a lot of it

suddenly goes by the wayside. What happened to worker directors on the

boards. It is designed to appeal to that constituency and then nothing

happens. She had an excuse before in the sense that it wasn't in the 2015

manifesto and she had a small majority so therefore she arguably

had to water down some of the stuff for example in her Tory conference

speech, which had a lot of this active government material in it. If

she puts it in the manifesto, it is a sign she plans to do it and will

have no excuse if she then gets nervous afterwards because it will

be in there. If it wasn't for Brexit, this great overwhelming

issue, I think this election will be seen as quite a significant

development in terms of an argument around the role of government,

much-needed. But Brexit unfortunately overshadows it all. As

much as we like our arguments over the role of government we will hear

strong and stable, stable and strong ad nauseam, aren't we? Absolutely,

and we heard the same old lines from the Labour Party as well so they are

all at it. It will be a fascinating week, stop talking it down! Thanks

to our panel. The Daily Politics will be

back on BBC Two at noon I'll be back here at the same time

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