:00:36. > :00:43.Good morning and welcome to glorious Glasgow. You might just be able to
:00:43. > :00:49.see the River Clyde behind me. Yesterday, it was sparkling. And
:00:49. > :00:53.yes, I know it is earlier than usual, but if you are feeling weary,
:00:53. > :00:57.spare a thought for us. All night outside the hotel, there were
:00:57. > :01:02.raucous arguments, breaking glass, angry shouts and general hubbub. Not
:01:02. > :01:05.a wink of sleep. When I staggered blearily out of the hotel and asked
:01:05. > :01:09.the guy at the door, "Big game last night?" "No Mr Marr", he said, "very
:01:09. > :01:13.sorry, but you know what's going on, it's the Liberal Democrats in town"
:01:13. > :01:17.and so they are. Joining me today for our review of the Sunday
:01:17. > :01:21.newspapers, a symphony in purple. Two women known for their wit and
:01:21. > :01:22.strong views, the Glasgow Herald columnist Ruth Wishart and the
:01:22. > :01:28.strong views, the Glasgow Herald Glasgow-born peer Para Nass --
:01:28. > :01:31.Baroness Helena Kennedy. A year from now, Scotland will vote on
:01:31. > :01:36.independence, and I'm sure they will have views on that. But this is the
:01:36. > :01:41.Liberal Democrat conference. At one level, it really matters. Liberal
:01:41. > :01:45.Democrat activists have a much stronger say over their party's
:01:45. > :01:49.policies than their rivals. But this is a party which hopes to join
:01:49. > :01:54.another coalition, so their policies are up for grabs. This week will see
:01:54. > :01:58.the beginnings of a new Liberal Democratic manifesto for Britain
:01:59. > :02:03.ahead of the 2015 election, but are they pious hopes or reliable
:02:03. > :02:07.promises? I will be talking to Nick Clegg, the Deputy prime minister,
:02:07. > :02:10.this morning. In the words of one of his own party critics, is he going
:02:10. > :02:17.into the election like a tin can tied to the Tories' tail? Also this
:02:17. > :02:20.morning, we will be talking about privatising the Royal Mail, going
:02:20. > :02:25.ahead despite the threat of a strike in the middle of the sell-off. Is
:02:25. > :02:29.that now inevitable? I will talk to the leader of the Communication
:02:29. > :02:33.Workers Union, Billy Hayes. This lovely city once had a terrible
:02:33. > :02:38.reputation as the home of violent gangs. But so did Birmingham, whose
:02:38. > :02:43.so-called Peaky Blinders are the subject of a new BBC drama. It stars
:02:43. > :02:48.one of the most popular actresses in the country, Helen McCrory, and we
:02:49. > :02:58.will talk to her about that, James Bond and Harry Potter.
:02:58. > :03:00.But since we are here, we can't leave without some Scottish music to
:03:00. > :03:03.reflect that. We will present the Southern Tenant Folk Union, who will
:03:03. > :03:07.play us out. Sorry, Glasgow, they are actually from Edinburgh. First,
:03:07. > :03:11.the news. Good morning. The United States and
:03:11. > :03:15.Russia have given Syria one week to publish a list of all its chemical
:03:15. > :03:19.weapons. It is the first deadline neared a joint plan to destroy
:03:19. > :03:20.Syria's chemical weapons within a year. The Foreign Secretary William
:03:20. > :03:24.Hague will meet with US Secretary of year. The Foreign Secretary William
:03:24. > :03:28.State John Kerry tomorrow to discuss the proposals.
:03:28. > :03:32.A handshake that marked a breakthrough, an important step
:03:32. > :03:36.forward in Syria's two and a half year conflict. But as both the US
:03:36. > :03:40.and Russia made clear, it is a difficult road ahead. The world will
:03:40. > :03:45.expect the Assad regime to live up to its public commitments. As I said
:03:45. > :03:53.at the outset of these negotiations, there can be no games, no room for
:03:53. > :03:56.avoidance or anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime.
:03:56. > :04:00.Under the agreement, Syria has seven compliance by the Assad regime.
:04:00. > :04:04.days to declare a complete list of its entire chemical weapons
:04:04. > :04:07.stockpile. By November, international chemical weapons
:04:07. > :04:11.inspectors need to be on the ground. All stockpiles are to be
:04:11. > :04:15.removed from Syria or destroyed by the first half of next year, and
:04:15. > :04:20.this will be enforced by a new UN resolution. But the two sides differ
:04:20. > :04:24.about what that could mean in practice. Foreign Secretary William
:04:24. > :04:34.Hague said the agreement was a step forward, but the commander of one of
:04:34. > :04:38.Syria's main rebel armies rejected the plan. I told our friends
:04:38. > :04:42.yesterday to be careful. The regime began to move chemical weapons to
:04:42. > :04:47.Lebanon and Iraq, and we are afraid the regime will use these materials
:04:47. > :04:50.against civilians in Syria and fighters of the FSA. President Obama
:04:50. > :04:55.said that while progress had been made, much more work remains to be
:04:55. > :05:01.done. He said that if diplomacy failed, the US was prepared to act.
:05:02. > :05:05.The Pentagon backed that up by saying the usual -- US was still in
:05:05. > :05:08.position for military strikes. Attention is turning away from
:05:08. > :05:12.Washington to New York now. The United Nations says it has received
:05:12. > :05:17.all the documents for Syria to join the chemical weapons convention and
:05:17. > :05:21.on Monday, a UN report is due to be published which will shed light on
:05:21. > :05:26.what happened in last month's chemical attack. The hard road ahead
:05:26. > :05:30.is all about diplomacy for now. Five people are being questioned by
:05:30. > :05:33.police about a suspected arson attack in Leicester, where four
:05:33. > :05:38.members of the same family were killed. The man whose family died
:05:38. > :05:41.said he deeply misses them and that he hopes justice prevails.
:05:41. > :05:47.Detectives say they can't rule out that the deaths were connected to a
:05:47. > :05:51.fatal assault nearby hours earlier. The Liberal Democrat conference
:05:51. > :05:54.continues in Glasgow today. The party's Education Minister David
:05:54. > :05:58.Laws has announced new government guidance to schools in England on
:05:58. > :06:02.uniforms in an effort to reduce costs for parents. Later, delegates
:06:02. > :06:07.will debate the party's controversial policy on tuition
:06:07. > :06:12.fees. They are returning to the thorny issue of tuition fees which
:06:12. > :06:16.was so problematic for the party will stop today, the delegates here
:06:16. > :06:19.will be asked to back a motion which will say that that is the best
:06:19. > :06:25.policy available. But it did cause a lot of angst within the party, and I
:06:25. > :06:29.will still be people here who are concerned about that. The lasting
:06:29. > :06:33.legacy of that policy is that the party will be extremely careful
:06:33. > :06:37.about what it puts in its next manifesto. The hard realities of
:06:37. > :06:43.being in government will mean that when they draw up that manifesto,
:06:43. > :06:46.they will think very hard before putting firm promises in there,
:06:46. > :06:51.especially ones which cost a lot of money.
:06:51. > :06:55.At least five people are known to have died and thousands forced from
:06:55. > :06:59.their homes as floods hit the US state of Colorado. More than 200 are
:06:59. > :07:03.unaccounted for in the area of Boulder County, but officials say
:07:03. > :07:05.many could simply be out of contact. Although floodwaters are
:07:05. > :07:08.many could simply be out of now subsiding, more rain has been
:07:08. > :07:13.forecast and authorities have warned of more possible flash flooding. A
:07:14. > :07:17.record 56,000 runners are preparing to take part in the Great North
:07:17. > :07:48.Run, but forecasters have predicted wet and windy weather.
:07:48. > :07:51.Gusts of wind are expected to reach speeds of 30 to 40 mph, and it is
:07:51. > :07:54.likely to rain throughout the event. Double world and Olympic champion Mo
:07:54. > :07:56.Farah is taking part in the elite men's race. It is live on BBC One
:07:56. > :07:59.after the Marshall at 9:30am. Good luck to all of them. I will be
:07:59. > :08:01.back with the headlines before 9:30am.
:08:01. > :08:04.The Great War swim, more like. Now as usual to the Sunday papers. Not a
:08:04. > :08:06.lot about the Lib Dems on the front pages, but the Independent on Sunday
:08:06. > :08:09.has an interesting story will stop Lib Dems activists. Fewer than one
:08:09. > :08:11.in six want to carry on their pact with the Tories. They would like to
:08:11. > :08:13.in six want to carry on their pact deal with Labour if they get the
:08:13. > :08:15.chance. We will talk to Nick Clegg about that. The UK-based papers have
:08:16. > :08:19.their Scottish editions here, of course. The Sunday Times says the
:08:19. > :08:24.vote on independence could be much closer than people think. Wise
:08:24. > :08:32.words, I would say. Scotland on Sunday says the anti-independence
:08:32. > :08:45.camp is in some danger. I will be explaining why with Ruth Wishart in
:08:45. > :08:53.a moment. And what David Cameron has to say to save the union, just 130
:08:53. > :08:56.words. Ruth, the Scottish papers are full of independence and have been
:08:56. > :09:03.for months and will be for the next 12 months. But this morning, we are
:09:03. > :09:05.just three days away from the starting gun to one year to go until
:09:05. > :09:06.the vote. So all the papers have starting gun to one year to go until
:09:06. > :09:13.supplements about that. This one in starting gun to one year to go until
:09:13. > :09:16.the Scotland on Sunday is interesting, because it is talking
:09:16. > :09:22.about Devo Max. It is not tripping off the tongue of every Londoner.
:09:22. > :09:29.That means giving the Scottish Parliament more powers over taxation
:09:29. > :09:33.after the vote? That is right. This piece, including an analysis by the
:09:33. > :09:37.ubiquitous John Curtis, tells us that two thirds of the Scottish
:09:37. > :09:41.population would vote for more powers rather than being a straight
:09:41. > :09:46.yes or a strict no. But Devo Max is the one thing they are not allowed
:09:46. > :09:52.to vote for, which is clever of Mr Cameron. How do the papers breakdown
:09:52. > :10:02.on the independence issue? Are some of them pro-and anti? Yes. The
:10:02. > :10:07.Sunday Herald is probably the only paper in Scotland that has come out
:10:07. > :10:12.in favour of independence, although it will not say so in so many words.
:10:12. > :10:17.All the English papers are pretty well anti, and the Scottish papers
:10:17. > :10:22.are either anti-or agnostic. It is not balanced coverage, in my view.
:10:22. > :10:26.But on the other hand, there is a lot of online coverage and blogging
:10:26. > :10:32.going on which is more pro-independence. It is interesting
:10:32. > :10:37.to me that in the Scottish papers, there were big pieces about this
:10:37. > :10:46.whole issue, and yet it hardly figures in the English newspapers or
:10:46. > :10:51.the UK's newspapers. It signals to me the fact that this is not yet
:10:51. > :10:57.being seen as vital in the way that it really will be south of the
:10:57. > :11:02.border, too. It is a constitutional issue. The impact will be enormous,
:11:02. > :11:08.and yet somehow, people are sleepwalking towards this. I feel
:11:08. > :11:13.there has to be a better debate about it. I don't use the word
:11:13. > :11:17.Unionist, because it does not sit comfortably in my mouth. I don't
:11:17. > :11:22.describe myself as such, but I certainly am not for independence,
:11:22. > :11:25.because I think there is more strength in our being together. But
:11:25. > :11:32.there are important issues here, and I would be happy to see stronger
:11:32. > :11:37.devolution. But the debate is of a very paltry kind south of the
:11:37. > :11:43.border. I have come to the opposite conclusion. We are great pals and we
:11:43. > :11:48.will stay great pals, but interestingly, a lot of people like
:11:48. > :11:53.me have come to that conclusion not because of nationalism, but because
:11:53. > :11:57.we hate the society being constructed by Iain Duncan Smith and
:11:57. > :12:02.co in the South. We think we need a new model. Which presumably means
:12:02. > :12:07.that if the Labour Party doesn't look like it will wind down south,
:12:07. > :12:13.that boosts the pro-independence vote in the north? I would guess so.
:12:13. > :12:16.That is why this is a much bigger debate than we are capable of
:12:16. > :12:19.having, because it is about the quality of our lives, north and
:12:19. > :12:24.south of the border, and people are not engaging with it in that way.
:12:24. > :12:41.Let's move to the subject of the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg.
:12:41. > :12:43.There is a big interview with Paddy Ashdown, looking very relaxed. You
:12:43. > :12:46.are obviously going to speak to the leader of the party himself, but it
:12:46. > :12:48.is interesting. You have a big beast in the Liberal Democrat party
:12:48. > :12:52.talking here. And in the Observer, there is a 2-page spread with Paddy
:12:52. > :12:57.Ashdown on a rather unfortunately saying that he instinctively hates
:12:57. > :13:00.both Labour and the Tories. But the Liberal Democrats can only ever be
:13:00. > :13:02.in government if they partner up with somebody, so they have to bury
:13:02. > :13:07.in government if they partner up their hatred. But there is an
:13:07. > :13:09.important story here about Shirley Williams. She says the bedroom tax
:13:09. > :13:14.important story here about Shirley is a mistake. That goes to the heart
:13:14. > :13:17.of the great divisions, and there are those in the Liberal Democrats
:13:17. > :13:21.who know that they are selling out their social justice agenda to being
:13:21. > :13:28.in government with the Conservatives. It is interesting,
:13:28. > :13:36.what Paddy is saying. There is this piece with Nick Clegg in the Sunday
:13:36. > :13:40.Herald. It says Nick Clegg has started to attack the Tories
:13:40. > :13:44.yesterday. From a Scottish perspective, there are handful of
:13:44. > :13:50.Liberal Democrat seats in Scotland which are going down the tubes
:13:50. > :13:54.because it sits very uneasily with Scotland, an alliance with the
:13:54. > :13:58.Tories. During the referendum campaign, we have now got Labour
:13:59. > :14:02.politicians on the platform with Tory politicians in the better
:14:02. > :14:09.together campaign. And there are parts of Glasgow which are put off
:14:09. > :14:16.by that. Before moving on, this business of Shirley Williams taking
:14:16. > :14:22.up the bedroom tax. Or the spare bedroom subsidy, as others call it.
:14:22. > :14:25.I am not going to mince words. This is about making people who have a
:14:26. > :14:28.bedroom in their house which is deemed to be in excess, where they
:14:28. > :14:33.go to the local authorities and say, give me a one-bedroom flat,
:14:33. > :14:38.there aren't any. So they get charged extra money. It is going to
:14:38. > :14:49.be tough on people who cannot afford this. We have got to keep moving.
:14:49. > :14:55.Have you got a Syrian story? This is in the Independent. Chromatic
:14:55. > :15:00.breakthrough as deal is struck on Syrian gas. Three days is a long
:15:00. > :15:04.time in politics. We don't know whether this was the product of
:15:04. > :15:08.backstairs deals at the G20. We don't know if it was that alleged
:15:08. > :15:13.slip from John Kerry, or whether that was a queue for his Russian
:15:13. > :15:18.counterpart. But this chap, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign
:15:18. > :15:22.Minister, is fascinating. He was the subject of a Radio 4 profile.
:15:23. > :15:31.Everybody who was asked about him mentioned vodka a lot. The only
:15:31. > :15:35.thing that is clear is that Putin has had a fantastic two weeks. We
:15:35. > :15:41.may hate him, a lot of people think he is a bogeyman... He is a bogeyman
:15:41. > :15:45.but he has played a blinder. This is what needed to happen. We needed to
:15:45. > :15:50.go into the diplomatic field rather than be rattling sabres. And let's
:15:50. > :15:56.keep our fingers crossed that something happens. And let's not be
:15:56. > :15:59.parochial. Whoever is getting the credit for this, importantly no one
:15:59. > :16:06.is tracking missiles into the Middle East. -- chucking missiles. Anything
:16:06. > :16:11.else to pick up? This terrible story about this fire in Leicester. This
:16:11. > :16:17.house fire, where a woman and her children were killed. And it looks
:16:17. > :16:25.as though it has come out of some kind of horrible revenge attack. And
:16:25. > :16:30.it really is one of those things that leaves you with a chill,
:16:30. > :16:35.reminding us that we are still caught up in such horrible
:16:35. > :16:43.violence. Strange goings-on in North Warwickshire? This story is on the
:16:44. > :16:46.front page of the Sunday Times. It says, arise Britain's Viagra
:16:47. > :16:54.capital. And this is in Warwickshire, a town that gets 54.8
:16:54. > :17:01.seven prescriptions per 1000 men. You have to feel sorry for the guy
:17:01. > :17:06.that got .87 the pill. Interestingly, in rural towns, the
:17:06. > :17:14.coastal regions, the figures rise. I'll live on the coast and wonder
:17:14. > :17:20.where these guys are! I think it is about... This final story is an
:17:20. > :17:25.interesting story about the veil. Is it a human rights to wear a veil in
:17:25. > :17:32.court? The horrible thing but this debate is that it often descends
:17:32. > :17:36.into a real reluctance to absorb difference and an intolerance. And
:17:36. > :17:40.then those who say that we should tolerate anything. In court, there
:17:40. > :17:45.is a problem, and it is about the fact that we judge people by their
:17:45. > :17:49.facial expression and the way they respond to things. We read people's
:17:49. > :17:57.faces and that is how our society functions. In court the is a real
:17:57. > :18:03.problem about face covering. -- in court, there is a problem. That is
:18:03. > :18:08.how a jury judges whether you believe people or not. Nobody will
:18:08. > :18:12.believe this, however, which is that it was balmy here yesterday. It is
:18:12. > :18:21.coming down steel rods today, that's the phrase. Nothing to do with you,
:18:21. > :18:25.Andrew. It hardly ever rains in Glasgow! There is a massive storm
:18:25. > :18:29.going in. For the prospects for the whole of the UK, Gillian Smart is
:18:29. > :18:33.with us in the studio. There is usually a cracking view of
:18:33. > :18:37.the Clyde from these windows but not this morning. And if it is not wet
:18:37. > :18:42.and windy where you are, you will get a return as heavy rain and gale
:18:42. > :18:47.force winds sweep southwards. It is down to an area of low pressure, the
:18:47. > :18:54.first storm of the season. It is already bringing heavy rain into
:18:54. > :19:02.Northern Ireland this evening. The main issue will be gusts of wind, up
:19:02. > :19:07.to 60 mph across Scotland. We could see some branches off trees and
:19:07. > :19:12.travel disruption. If you had that to the heavy rain, that could be
:19:12. > :19:15.tricky conditions on the roads. This afternoon, brighter for Scotland and
:19:15. > :19:19.northern England although you will still have a raft of showers coming
:19:19. > :19:27.in. And some gusty wind for the likes of the Welsh Marches -- Welsh
:19:27. > :19:32.Marches. By this stage, that band of rain extending to the south-west.
:19:32. > :19:35.This evening, the rain will clear away but overnight, we will keep a
:19:35. > :19:42.few showers coming in across western parts. And gusty winds overnight.
:19:42. > :19:45.But clearer in the East with a chilly night. Temperatures in single
:19:45. > :19:52.figures across the board. Calder in the countryside. Keeping those
:19:52. > :19:57.showery conditions into tomorrow. Gale force in the Northwest. Drier
:19:57. > :20:03.and brighter further south. A cold feel to the day. Plenty going on and
:20:03. > :20:05.you can find more on the BBC weather website.
:20:05. > :20:08.you can find more on the Last week, the government announced
:20:08. > :20:12.that privatisation of the Royal mail will go ahead in the next couple of
:20:12. > :20:17.months, which is possibly not the best timing as postal workers decide
:20:17. > :20:22.whether or not to go on strike over pay, pensions and conditions after
:20:22. > :20:24.the business is sold. The leader of the Communication Workers' Union,
:20:25. > :20:28.Billy Hayes, says they cannot be bought off by £2000 sweeteners of
:20:28. > :20:35.free chairs. -- free shares. But is bought off by £2000 sweeteners of
:20:35. > :20:41.there any room for copper mines? Billy Hayes joins me now. This
:20:41. > :20:45.strike, is it mainly against privatisation or is it a traditional
:20:45. > :20:50.dispute about pay and pensions? It is about the impact that
:20:50. > :20:52.privatisation is having on terms and conditions for our people. It always
:20:52. > :20:55.seems to be that when there is conditions for our people. It always
:20:55. > :21:01.privatisation, it is the Chief Executive is who make a fortune out
:21:01. > :21:08.of it, and the postal workers will be damaged by the impact. It is
:21:08. > :21:13.about the impact of that it will have on our terms and conditions.
:21:13. > :21:21.But £2000 is a lot of money. Will your members not be tempted by
:21:21. > :21:25.that? Nobody turns back free money. In this country, we are more
:21:25. > :21:29.concerned about plastic bags that the postal service. At the Lib Dem
:21:29. > :21:34.conference, we have the politics of plastic bags. When this conservative
:21:34. > :21:38.led government has managed to persuade. As managers and councils
:21:38. > :21:44.to have a strike ballot for the first time in 47 years. What kind of
:21:44. > :21:48.leadership is that? But you are not going to be able to stop
:21:48. > :21:51.privatisation? Even a strike will damage the process but it will not
:21:51. > :21:58.stop it. Privatisation will damage the postal service. Last week, there
:21:58. > :22:03.was a poll that showed that 70% of the great British public are against
:22:03. > :22:13.privatisation. It is not called for necessary. -- called for necessary.
:22:13. > :22:22.Do you not think that this extra money, at a time when you are facing
:22:22. > :22:28.difficulties, could be good for the business? We need investment, but it
:22:28. > :22:32.is a more expensive way to borrow money. The government has just
:22:32. > :22:39.borrowed £1 billion for an extension of the Northern line. In Canada, the
:22:39. > :22:49.chief of the Canadian post borrow money on the open market, ironically
:22:49. > :22:52.keeping and off of Canada Post in the open market. Do you expect the
:22:52. > :22:56.strike to go ahead at this stage? I the open market. Do you expect the
:22:56. > :23:00.am certain that will be a yes vote in the ballot. We are so confident
:23:00. > :23:06.of our position we invited Moyra Green to listen to our
:23:06. > :23:10.representatives. Not one of them was convinced by the arguments put
:23:10. > :23:14.forward. When there is privatisation, Chief Executive is do
:23:14. > :23:22.well. We intend to make sure that whatever happens, our conditions are
:23:22. > :23:25.protected. So there will be a stoppage of UK mail for a while? And
:23:25. > :23:32.you think that might make the government think twice? This
:23:32. > :23:37.government, do not know what is in their mind. A government that asks
:23:37. > :23:43.to privatise a postal service when 70% of the British public are
:23:43. > :23:49.against it is a government whose judgement I cannot check. It does
:23:49. > :23:54.not seem possible but this government... It is very difficult
:23:54. > :23:57.to read, this government. We are about protecting terms and
:23:58. > :24:02.conditions. If there is one single concession you are looking for that
:24:02. > :24:04.would make a difference, what is it? Protect the people we represent. We
:24:04. > :24:09.want to make sure terms and conditions are met. It is a legally
:24:09. > :24:13.binding agreement that protects the terms and conditions. Make sure that
:24:13. > :24:17.the people who deliver the mail, the people who go from lands end to John
:24:17. > :24:22.O'Groats, who keep this nation together, that see more people in a
:24:22. > :24:28.day then chief executives or politicians see in a week, that
:24:28. > :24:33.their conditions are protected. They differ joining us, Billy Hayes.
:24:33. > :24:38.Helen McCrory is a wanted woman. Whether it is in Harry Potter or
:24:38. > :24:47.James Bond, she is in constant demand on screen. And she has made
:24:47. > :24:51.her mark as an irreverent cherie Blair in the Queen. But latest role
:24:51. > :24:58.is in the atmospheric series, Peaky Blinders. And after a gang who hid
:24:58. > :25:04.lethal blades in their hats, she plays a tough matriarch usurped by
:25:04. > :25:09.returners from the water. When we met this week, Helen told me how the
:25:09. > :25:12.series explores how many brutalise soldiers turned to crime when they
:25:12. > :25:18.returned from Flanders. What would happen to these men, they thought
:25:18. > :25:22.they were going to be cheered as heroes but they were not. And with
:25:22. > :25:27.no real guidance, because no longer people believed in the church and
:25:27. > :25:30.the government, and everything from above was being questioned by the
:25:30. > :25:33.working class for the first time. People wanted a piece of the action.
:25:33. > :25:38.And one of the things that makes this unusual is that it is not
:25:38. > :25:42.simply the violent men. This is a violent family. And you are a scary
:25:42. > :25:51.matriarch. I am a very scary matriarch, who has been running the
:25:51. > :26:06.gang for four years. Look at the gun. Recognise it? Get
:26:06. > :26:11.up off your arts. The police were called out more to break up women
:26:11. > :26:15.fighting in the streets than men. Women were running households.
:26:16. > :26:20.He was playing with this this afternoon and it was loaded. He said
:26:20. > :26:25.he found it on the sideboard at the betting shop with bullets in it. I
:26:25. > :26:31.must been drunk. When are you not drunk? When it comes to the opening
:26:31. > :26:36.of this piece, it looks like being a dark Western, or a Chicago gangster
:26:36. > :26:37.film. The men are more beautiful and the horses are bigger and the women
:26:37. > :26:43.film. The men are more beautiful and are wilder. It is almost childlike.
:26:43. > :26:48.This was a decision that the director, when he first looked at
:26:48. > :26:55.it, decided upon. We have a fantastic tradition in this country
:26:55. > :26:59.of gritty realism, but he realises was a chance to do something
:26:59. > :27:03.cinematic. Of all your other roles, a lot of people will remember you as
:27:04. > :27:13.cherie Blair. A couple of other things. It is man is in hand, not my
:27:13. > :27:19.arm is in farm. And when you are in the presence of the Queen, do not
:27:19. > :27:22.sure you're back. Presence?That is what it is called when you are in
:27:22. > :27:31.Her Majesty's company. Did you feel any sense of empathy towards Cherie
:27:31. > :27:37.Blair. Add a huge sense of empathy. I've played her twice. When a plate
:27:37. > :27:41.in the Queen, he was still in Number Ten and so she was very silent. I
:27:41. > :27:47.studied her as David Attenborough studies a chimp. I would just
:27:47. > :27:52.watched his little fragments. I've started to study her body language
:27:52. > :28:05.and why she does what she does. She automatically once... She has the
:28:05. > :28:07.nervous smile, which came about. And I've started looking at her press.
:28:07. > :28:14.It was appalling how she was attacked. She was attacked, very
:28:14. > :28:18.damaging. Did you ever meet before you reprise the role she came to see
:28:18. > :28:22.a play that my husband and I were in. Remember coming out to the bar
:28:22. > :28:27.and thinking, it is terribly quiet. There is not anybody here except for
:28:27. > :28:30.a view policeman and a Little Lady sitting in the corner. And that was
:28:30. > :28:37.cherie Blair. And she was very pretty, quick to smile and laugh,
:28:37. > :28:41.very bright. She mentioned -- you mention your husband. We are getting
:28:41. > :28:47.another series of Homeland. Had he seen Peaky Blinders? Know. And you
:28:47. > :28:55.have not seen the new Homeland? Have not seen all of the old Homeland. It
:28:55. > :28:59.is truly distressing. People say, is that because of the love scenes? I
:28:59. > :29:03.say, no, it is not so much the love scenes, it is when he is bashed to
:29:03. > :29:06.death on the floor and you're related upon. Why have a problem
:29:06. > :29:10.with seeing my husband doing that! It is disturbing, even though it is
:29:10. > :29:23.acting! And your name has been elected to the 77 brand. You were in
:29:23. > :29:31.Sky fall. Yes. Sam Mendez called me and said, I am doing Bond. And I
:29:31. > :29:35.thought, the first female Bond, my players have been answered -- my
:29:35. > :29:43.prayers have been answered! And of course, a new. He said he was going
:29:43. > :29:48.to send me the script and it was a tiny point but I was, listen, if
:29:48. > :29:52.there is a part, I will be there. I can call myself a Bond girl. It is
:29:52. > :29:58.fun. Your husband has been suggested as the next James Bond. Mainly by
:29:58. > :30:12.me! I think he definitely has a killer instinct. Big packs. -- big
:30:13. > :30:18.packs to follow. -- pecs. He turned many a man when he came out of the
:30:18. > :30:21.water. Finally, can ask about Harry Potter? You were in the last three.
:30:21. > :30:25.The first time your children have understood what you do? My children
:30:25. > :30:29.have not seen Harry Potter. I have just been introduced to the -- they
:30:29. > :30:33.have just been introduced to the fact that my husband and I are
:30:33. > :30:37.actors. They wanted me to be a vet and him to be a fireman. Do not
:30:38. > :30:42.think that they are very interested. One day they will know you through
:30:43. > :30:48.Harry Potter. Every child does. They will, but nobody ever recognises me.
:30:49. > :30:54.I mean even when I come on stage. One was working with Sam, we came
:30:54. > :30:58.down and Lauren Bacall was standing there, and said, I would like to say
:30:58. > :31:03.that you were absolutely fantastic. It was wonderful. I said, thank you.
:31:03. > :31:08.She said, I lot you in breaking the waves. And I said, no, that is
:31:08. > :31:13.Emily. She plays the other part. I am Helen. She said, I am so sorry.
:31:13. > :31:17.And I said, it doesn't matter. Ever since Philadelphia story, I have
:31:17. > :31:23.always wanted to meet you. And she said, you are a dame, we are going
:31:23. > :31:32.out! I never recognised -- I am never recognised in anything, which
:31:32. > :31:35.suits me fine. Helen McCrory, channelling Lauren Bacall.
:31:35. > :31:38.Nick Clegg told supporters at the conference rally last night in
:31:38. > :31:41.Glasgow that the party should be proud of its achievements in
:31:41. > :31:44.government, but their opinion poll rating is half what they achieved
:31:44. > :31:48.before the last general election, they have lost a third of their
:31:48. > :31:52.party members and their one-time strong base of local councillors has
:31:52. > :31:57.been smashed. I am joined now by the party leader and Debbie body by
:31:57. > :32:04.Minister Nick Clegg. What a cheery introduction! I said we need to be
:32:04. > :32:09.proud of what we achieved, and that is something many of the Liberal
:32:09. > :32:13.Democrats achieved, because we did something unusual. Firstly, we
:32:13. > :32:16.achieved a coalition, which was controversial, but the right thing
:32:16. > :32:21.for the country, given that we were teetering on the economic edge in
:32:21. > :32:23.2010. But we have taken the opportunities as well as the central
:32:23. > :32:27.mission of repairing the British opportunities as well as the central
:32:27. > :32:31.economy to deliver some really important, progressive, liberal
:32:31. > :32:36.advances in taxation, taking 3 million people out of paying income
:32:36. > :32:40.tax, more apprenticeships, more money for kids from disadvantaged
:32:40. > :32:44.backgrounds. These are things we are proud of all stop your central
:32:44. > :32:52.message is, we are fixing the economy. But your own Treasury
:32:52. > :32:56.Minister Vince Cable has, he is admittedly not the sunniest natured
:32:56. > :33:00.man in politics, but he thinks we are now facing another housing
:33:00. > :33:04.bubble, and can't see the point of the help to buy scheme being applied
:33:05. > :33:10.in the south, where house prices are already shooting up again. It is
:33:10. > :33:14.right that given the sorry history of asset bubbles in the British
:33:14. > :33:20.economy, we need to be vigilant. But Vince would be the first to
:33:21. > :33:23.acknowledge that we are nowhere near the peak of that unsustainable
:33:23. > :33:30.housing bubble. Mortgage approvals are about half of what they were at
:33:30. > :33:39.the peak. House prices are 25% of what they were at the peak in real
:33:39. > :33:42.time terms. Prices in central London are booming, but that is not the
:33:42. > :33:48.case in my part of the world in Sheffield. So what we have done on
:33:48. > :33:51.housing, and this is much more important than the specific design
:33:51. > :33:58.of a scheme here or there, is that we have started the painstaking job
:33:58. > :34:02.of building more houses. The great crisis in housing in Britain is that
:34:03. > :34:09.we simply don't build enough new houses or enough affordable houses.
:34:09. > :34:14.That is why I am proud of the fact... You are happy with the help
:34:14. > :34:18.to buy scheme applying to parts of the country where house prices are
:34:18. > :34:23.already shooting up and everybody is warning of another bubble? If there
:34:23. > :34:28.is another bubble, we have means by which we can anticipate that and
:34:28. > :34:31.ensure it does not happen again. But at the same time, it is important to
:34:31. > :34:35.remember that the first part of the help to buy scheme is about making
:34:35. > :34:40.sure you provide funding for the building of new houses. It is the
:34:40. > :34:45.lack of housing that has blighted our housing market for too long.
:34:45. > :34:53.That is what creates this volatility in prices. On the issue of providing
:34:53. > :34:57.mortgages to creditworthy borrowers, we are not talking about encouraging
:34:58. > :35:07.banks to responsibly lend 120% mortgages. You are putting more care
:35:07. > :35:10.into the bubble. We are giving creditworthy customers the ability
:35:10. > :35:15.to borrow money in order to get their feet on the first rung of the
:35:15. > :35:23.property ladder. There is nothing wrong with that. You don't think it
:35:23. > :35:28.could pop? In parts of London, the housing market is now marching
:35:28. > :35:31.forward, but you can't set a national policy based only on what
:35:31. > :35:37.happens in Kensington and Chelsea. You have to think about all the
:35:37. > :35:42.other households. That is why tomorrow, we are debating a motion
:35:42. > :35:45.in the Liberal Democrat conference, saying we should relax some of the
:35:45. > :35:49.strictures on local authorities so that they can play a greater role in
:35:49. > :35:52.building more affordable homes in their local areas. That is the way
:35:52. > :35:59.we make sure we have a sustainable recovery and a sustainable approach
:35:59. > :36:00.to housing. You said you have a great liberal progressive record.
:36:00. > :36:03.That is only part of the story. What great liberal progressive record.
:36:03. > :36:08.about the fact that people on benefit have had their benefits are
:36:08. > :36:11.operated below the rate of inflation, so they have got poorer
:36:11. > :36:15.during the course of this government? What about bedroom tax,
:36:15. > :36:20.or if you prefer, the spare room subsidy, the cap on benefits per
:36:20. > :36:24.household? All measures which most Liberal Democrats would have
:36:24. > :36:29.opposed, but you have gone along with in government? At the outset of
:36:29. > :36:34.this government, we took a decision, very much supported by me and the
:36:34. > :36:38.Liberal Democrats, that even though we had to make these huge savings
:36:38. > :36:45.because of the fast lack hole in our public finances, the biggest in the
:36:45. > :36:50.developed world... And it is still growing. That is why we need to
:36:51. > :36:54.stick to the long-term plan. But we decided that notwithstanding that,
:36:54. > :37:05.we would protect spending on the things we cared about - the NHS,
:37:05. > :37:11.schools. Pensioners. We operated that in cash terms by the largest
:37:11. > :37:14.amount ever. Welfare constitutes a significant part of public
:37:14. > :37:18.expenditure. Once you take those decisions, you have to find
:37:18. > :37:23.savings. We have asked the police to find savings of 20%, including on
:37:23. > :37:27.welfare. At the heart of our proposals, I accept that some of
:37:27. > :37:35.them are controversial. Harsh as well. But the nub of it is to
:37:35. > :37:38.increase the incentive to work. And the combination of saying that you
:37:38. > :37:43.cannot as a household receives more in benefits than if you were earning
:37:43. > :37:47.£35,000 before tax if you were working, that combined with the
:37:47. > :37:51.incentive of the tax system, because the Liberal Democrat policy is such
:37:51. > :37:57.that all the money you earn up to £10,000, that is creating a greater
:37:57. > :38:02.incentive to keep people in work and that is important when we are facing
:38:02. > :38:06.these huge economic difficulties, to keep as many people as we have in
:38:06. > :38:13.work. On this, you sound exactly like George Osborne. I can't let
:38:13. > :38:18.that go. If the Liberal Democrats had not been in government, everyone
:38:18. > :38:22.watching this programme would not be receiving £10,000 free of income tax
:38:22. > :38:26.next April taking it close to 3 million people on low pay out of
:38:26. > :38:31.paying any income tax. In the leaders' debate, David Cameron said,
:38:31. > :38:34.it is a nice idea, but we can't afford it. We could afford it
:38:34. > :38:39.because we insisted that it must happen. It is the most progressive
:38:39. > :38:43.change in the income tax system, and combined with our welfare reforms,
:38:43. > :38:48.sharpens the incentive to work to make sure that work always pays. Let
:38:48. > :38:53.me return to the central issue this conference, which is used laying the
:38:53. > :38:57.foundations for your 2015 manifesto, and yet it is unclear to anyone
:38:57. > :39:04.watch the status of those pledges are. Are these promises for the
:39:04. > :39:05.British people, or are they vary aspirations you would like to
:39:05. > :39:08.achieve which may be renegotiated aspirations you would like to
:39:08. > :39:11.the next coalition agreement? For example, you will be talking about
:39:11. > :39:15.the mansion tax again. If someone votes Liberal Democrat, will you be
:39:15. > :39:20.absolutely committed to a mansion tax, come what may? Or is it just
:39:20. > :39:27.something you would like to do? Firstly, what we did in our last
:39:27. > :39:32.manifesto, which was an innovative thing then and will now be standard
:39:32. > :39:35.practice for all political parties, is to distinguish between those
:39:35. > :39:41.policies which are on the front page is to distinguish between those
:39:41. > :39:47.of our manifesto. Firstly, the pupil premium, then the £10,000 income tax
:39:47. > :39:55.allowance, then sorting out the banks. Tuition fees?Pupil premium,
:39:55. > :40:00.£10,000 tax allowance, pushing forward the economy and political
:40:00. > :40:08.reform. We delivered on all of those. Except reform.We certainly
:40:08. > :40:14.pushed for it. So there will be red lines? All political parties, given
:40:14. > :40:18.that it is more likely than not that in the future, you will get more
:40:18. > :40:23.coalitions, it is less likely that you will get these slam dunk results
:40:23. > :40:28.were one of the major parties always gets a majority. So it is better for
:40:28. > :40:33.the parties to be upfront about those issues we will really die in
:40:33. > :40:37.the trench for and those which depend on the economic
:40:37. > :40:39.circumstances. 18 months ahead, I am not going to tell you exactly which
:40:39. > :40:44.circumstances. 18 months ahead, I am issues will make their way onto the
:40:44. > :40:49.front page of our manifesto. But this is a problem, because if next
:40:49. > :40:53.week, Ed Miliband says, if I get into government, there will be a 50p
:40:53. > :40:57.rate of top income tax, we know that is likely to happen if Labour get
:40:57. > :41:02.in. If David Cameron says, we look at the rate of income tax to 30p,
:41:02. > :41:09.again, we understand that. It is a plausible outcome. I disagree.
:41:09. > :41:13.Before the last general election, the Conservatives pledged to give a
:41:13. > :41:17.huge inheritance tax cut to millionaires, which they didn't do
:41:17. > :41:22.because we said that was not a priority. The country is facing
:41:22. > :41:28.because we said that was not a economic difficulty. I believe the
:41:28. > :41:31.two parties with the biggest challenge to face in drafting their
:41:31. > :41:37.one of us do are not the Liberal Democrats. We are used to the idea
:41:37. > :41:39.that we might need to be in a coalition. But you will not say what
:41:39. > :41:43.your red lines are will stop one coalition. But you will not say what
:41:43. > :41:45.good reason for that is because I run a Democratic party. I don't just
:41:45. > :41:50.decreed that this or that policy run a Democratic party. I don't just
:41:50. > :41:56.will be a die in the trench type on the sea. I can give you a clue. I
:41:56. > :42:00.suspect that, given that we have put so much effort and money into making
:42:00. > :42:04.the tax system fairer, tax fairness will be one of the signature
:42:04. > :42:10.policies for the Liberal Democrats. That includes mansion tax? As a
:42:10. > :42:14.party, we are committed to raising the allowance further such that we
:42:14. > :42:19.paid no income tax equivalent of the minimum wage. Everyone on the
:42:19. > :42:26.minimum wage pays no income tax. The wider point is, our message to the
:42:26. > :42:30.British people in 2015 will be, we have done good things in
:42:30. > :42:34.government, but let us finish the job fairly. There are millions of
:42:34. > :42:40.people in this country who have made huge sacrifices. That would be
:42:40. > :42:48.squandered if you have a single party government, the Labour or
:42:48. > :42:52.Conservative 's. It is my genuine belief that if we go back to the bad
:42:52. > :42:57.old days of either the left or right dominating government on their own,
:42:57. > :43:01.you will get a recovery which is neither fair nor sustainable. Labour
:43:01. > :43:04.would wreck the recovery, and under the Conservatives, you don't have
:43:04. > :43:10.the same commitment to fairness and get the wrong kind of recovery. Our
:43:10. > :43:16.message is that coalition is good. Let us finish the job fairly. So
:43:16. > :43:21.Labour would wreck the recovery, but the Conservatives would not be as
:43:21. > :43:25.fair as they might be. Seems like you are rhetorically leaning towards
:43:25. > :43:29.them rather than towards Labour. Far from it. I don't want to see a
:43:29. > :43:32.recovery where, under the Conservatives, they would risk our
:43:32. > :43:36.exit from the European single market, jeopardising millions of
:43:36. > :43:40.jobs. They would resuscitate some of the ideas we blocked in government,
:43:40. > :43:44.like in giving employers the right to fire anyone at will. I don't
:43:44. > :43:48.think they care as much as we do about boosting manufacturing in
:43:48. > :43:51.other parts of the economy, not just financial services. And there would
:43:51. > :43:54.be a danger, with a small Conservative majority, that they
:43:54. > :43:58.would pursue ideological cuts rather than the pragmatic approach to
:43:58. > :44:05.deficit reduction that we have taken in the coalition. Coming back to
:44:05. > :44:11.your red line issues, you showed a bit of skirt on tax, if I may say
:44:11. > :44:18.so. A bit of kilt. Is that a red line?
:44:18. > :44:21.I am not going to get into that. The tax allowance was our signature
:44:21. > :44:25.policy last time, which we have delivered. The biggest
:44:25. > :44:29.transformation in the income tax in a generation. We want to make sure
:44:29. > :44:34.no one in this country pays income tax up to the minimum wage. That is
:44:34. > :44:39.clearly something we care about more than other issues. So if the party
:44:39. > :44:45.votes against the mansion tax, what does that mean to ordinary voters?
:44:45. > :44:48.Even though we are committed to deficit reduction on the timetable
:44:49. > :44:55.we have set out Thomas not doing it in a mad rush, but towards the end
:44:55. > :44:59.of the next Parliament, within that makes... If I vote Liberal Democrat
:44:59. > :45:09.and you get into power, will there be a mansion tax? I will not go into
:45:09. > :45:13.that. As I said, all further deficit reduction has to come out of
:45:13. > :45:20.spending reductions on public services, the Conservatives say. We
:45:20. > :45:25.say, imposing taxes on people who can afford it has to go some way
:45:25. > :45:28.towards filling the black hole in our public finances. And £2 million,
:45:28. > :45:33.which would be raised by a small levy on the value of properties over
:45:33. > :45:35.£2 million, is not an inconsiderable amount of money. If the
:45:36. > :45:40.Conservatives don't want to do that, they need to tell people, and that
:45:40. > :45:45.will be part of the debate, they need to tell people what they would
:45:45. > :45:49.cut, from schools, or hospitals or police, to make up that £2 million.
:45:49. > :45:57.Are you discussing a second coalition agreement with the
:45:57. > :46:00.Conservatives? Of course not.No conversations of any kind?
:46:00. > :46:05.Absolutely not. It is not for me, Ed Miliband or David Cameron to have
:46:05. > :46:10.live discussions. They have not said, let's talk about the future?
:46:10. > :46:13.If they came to me and said, let's talk about another coalition
:46:13. > :46:15.agreement, I would give them short trip, because you have to let the
:46:15. > :46:21.agreement, I would give them short British people have their say first.
:46:21. > :46:24.At the last election, as you know, there was no possibility of a
:46:24. > :46:30.Liberal Democrat -Labour coalition, because the numbers did not add up.
:46:30. > :46:36.You have no problemo with Ed Miliband or Ed Balls? I have only
:46:36. > :46:43.one preoccupation, firstly, that the Liberal Democrats get back into
:46:43. > :46:46.government. I think coalition is sometimes a bit rough and ready in
:46:46. > :46:49.terms of the compromises that need to be made, but it is much better
:46:49. > :46:57.than either the left or right messing things up on their own. You
:46:57. > :47:00.don't agree with your colleague who said that the Labour Party are not
:47:00. > :47:04.equipped to run the country? They have questions to answer at
:47:04. > :47:09.conference time, but I think their biggest question seems to be that
:47:09. > :47:13.they have got to spell out what they believe in. I do not know what they
:47:13. > :47:17.believe on schools or welfare or pensions. I think that it is only 18
:47:17. > :47:24.months until the general election and they need to start... Of course
:47:24. > :47:28.they can criticise the opposition, that is their constitutional right,
:47:28. > :47:31.but they have to show some responsibility for the past, and
:47:31. > :47:35.also some clarity about what they would do in the future. At the
:47:35. > :47:42.moment, that is absent. And you could go into government? If the
:47:43. > :47:45.British people... It is a little matter of democracy. I am a Democrat
:47:45. > :47:47.British people... It is a little before anything else. My feelings
:47:47. > :47:51.towards Ed Miliband and David Cameron... But suppose...Those
:47:51. > :47:55.towards Ed Miliband and David feelings are from to buy my belief
:47:55. > :48:00.that coalition government has to be a legitimate government, following
:48:00. > :48:03.the instruction manual handed to us by the voters. -- trumped by. Let's
:48:04. > :48:09.say neither party gets a majority by the voters. -- trumped by. Let's
:48:09. > :48:16.but you could form a government with either. A photo finish.With you in
:48:16. > :48:20.the middle. This feels like Groundhog Day. I think we had these
:48:20. > :48:26.discussions before the last election and give the same answer. Hayek used
:48:26. > :48:29.you of being a closet Tory and you got very cross. I'll give you the
:48:29. > :48:34.same answer now as they did then. I think the party which gets the
:48:34. > :48:39.clearest mandate from the British people, the most votes and seats, as
:48:39. > :48:47.the rights, the democratic right, they have the democratic right, even
:48:47. > :48:52.if it was the Liberal Democrats. Hard to imagine at the moment. The
:48:52. > :48:55.weather will turn better this afternoon as will our fortunes. We
:48:55. > :48:59.are now the only party in the liberal centre ground of the Tisch
:48:59. > :49:02.politics, marrying a commitment to doing difficult things to create a
:49:02. > :49:08.stronger economy, but doing so fairly. -- British politics. A
:49:09. > :49:14.counter example, what has happened on immigration. They go home vans.
:49:14. > :49:20.You had an idea of a bond to help people who had been refused entry.
:49:20. > :49:27.It has been snaffled by Theresa May. It is a £3000 bond. Can you stop
:49:27. > :49:34.her? Of course, in a coalition I can. You're going to stop a £3000
:49:34. > :49:37.bond? I am not interested in an indiscriminate way of clobbering
:49:37. > :49:46.people who come to this country to bring prosperity and benefits. But
:49:46. > :49:49.on immigration, creating a tolerant society, to do that people need to
:49:49. > :49:55.have confidence in the way that the immigration system is run. That is
:49:55. > :49:58.why have been outspoken in my view that we have to reintroduce exit
:49:58. > :50:04.checks. That the same time, you must say that an open button economy like
:50:04. > :50:09.ours -- open economy like ours has to be welcome to those who want to
:50:09. > :50:13.come here. You are not comfortable with those bands? I think they are
:50:13. > :50:16.very silly because they do not inspire public confidence, aimlessly
:50:16. > :50:22.drifting around North London telling people to please go home. Not fear
:50:22. > :50:27.to have them nationwide? Of course not. You need a fear but firm
:50:27. > :50:33.approach to immigration. Those who say that you should not be firm at
:50:33. > :50:36.all... So the vans are off and the general bond is out? We are
:50:36. > :50:40.discussing the bond because as you alluded, there is a difference in
:50:40. > :50:45.emphasis. But they are not going to go ahead on the basis of an
:50:45. > :50:49.indiscriminate bond being applied to visitors to this country. I think it
:50:49. > :50:54.could, but you would have to pilot it. It could act as an extra
:50:54. > :50:58.discretionary tool for customs officers, where they have doubts to
:50:59. > :51:02.whether -- as to whether people will return to their home countries after
:51:02. > :51:05.their visas expire. People overseeing their visas is the
:51:05. > :51:10.biggest problem in our immigration system. One way or another, we need
:51:10. > :51:13.to give the public the confidence that when you give someone a Visa
:51:13. > :51:16.and tell them they can be here for a certain period of time, that is what
:51:16. > :51:21.it means. Otherwise, why issue them? Being in coalition has
:51:21. > :51:27.burnished your popularity hugely. You had an easy time of it. You
:51:27. > :51:32.going to carry on in politics after the next election? I am really
:51:32. > :51:36.committed to what is happening. That was irony, by the way. I'd got that
:51:36. > :51:45.got I was not going to comment on it further. I know more than anybody
:51:45. > :51:50.else the wide directions -- wild gyrations of British politics. I
:51:50. > :51:54.believe the decision that we took, however, to get our hands dirty and
:51:54. > :51:58.pull the country back from the economic rest of this, even at the
:51:58. > :52:01.cost of political popularity, was right. I believe that the way in
:52:01. > :52:12.which the government has acted is more their and centre ground and
:52:12. > :52:16.liberal with us involved. And you could lure back those members who
:52:16. > :52:18.have left? There are many centre ground voters who want to see
:52:19. > :52:22.politicians who can be tough when they need to be at our compassionate
:52:22. > :52:27.when they've must be. There are millions out there who are not going
:52:27. > :52:32.to be satisfied by the right and left, blue and red, old-style
:52:32. > :52:36.pendulum of single party politics that has blighted government in this
:52:36. > :52:37.country for so long -- for so long. For now, Nick Clegg, thank you very
:52:37. > :52:42.much. Riz Lateef is in London with For now, Nick Clegg, thank you very
:52:42. > :52:46.the news headlines. Russia and the United States have
:52:46. > :52:50.given Syria one week to produce details of its stockpile of chemical
:52:50. > :52:54.weapons. The deadline is part of a deal agreed by American Secretary of
:52:54. > :52:59.State, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The
:52:59. > :53:02.military opposition group, the Free Syrian Army, claims the agreement
:53:02. > :53:05.will not work because President Assad will move his chemical weapons
:53:05. > :53:09.to Lebanon. The leader of the Liberal Democrats,
:53:09. > :53:12.Nick Clegg has insisted he is not talking to the Conservatives about a
:53:12. > :53:16.second term of coalition between the parties. Said he was willing to work
:53:16. > :53:20.with either of the other main parties but warned that he believes
:53:20. > :53:23.Labour still have many questions to answer about their policies on
:53:23. > :53:27.issues such as education, welfare and public spending.
:53:27. > :53:31.The leader of the come in occasion workers union, Billy Hayes, has told
:53:31. > :53:32.this programme that he is certain that his members will vote to strike
:53:33. > :53:38.over government plans to privatise that his members will vote to strike
:53:38. > :53:42.the Royal mail. He confirmed that he expects widespread disruption to
:53:42. > :53:46.postal services. He demanded legally binding agreements to safeguard
:53:47. > :53:51.workers' pale -- pay and conditions. And those are the headlines. There
:53:51. > :53:57.is live coverage of the Great North Run here on BBC One at 9:30am. Now
:53:57. > :53:59.back to Andrew. The Deputy Prime Minister is still
:53:59. > :54:05.back to Andrew. with me. And my reviewers, Helena
:54:05. > :54:09.Kennedy and Ruth Wishart. And we also have had from the sub and folk
:54:09. > :54:14.union, the Edinburgh band whose songs managed to creep into your
:54:14. > :54:17.psyche, if that is a good thing. It is definitely a good thing. It is
:54:17. > :54:20.good to be written about at all. I said you were a Scottish band but
:54:20. > :54:22.good to be written about at all. I actually you are an Irish, English,
:54:22. > :54:29.Scottish and American band. We are based in Edinburgh. IMovie and my
:54:29. > :54:36.wife is Scottish. And you play a kind of blue grass, which is quite
:54:36. > :54:44.big in Scotland. It is big. There are many bands here, including the
:54:44. > :54:49.fence collective, in Fife. And you have union in your title. You
:54:49. > :54:54.political? As a songwriter, I am in. I think if you are writing a song,
:54:54. > :55:00.to make a song good, it has to be about something. It could be
:55:00. > :55:04.simple, but I have decided to write songs about how I think about the
:55:04. > :55:10.world. We have got banjos. If we write songs about whiskey and wild
:55:10. > :55:13.women, it is going to be the end of our careers. But you do not, and
:55:13. > :55:19.we're going to hear one of your songs very shortly. For now, thank
:55:19. > :55:22.you. I'm mentioned that we were talking about the independence vote.
:55:22. > :55:26.What was interesting, the SNP have done an interesting thing, ask in
:55:27. > :55:33.Scottish footers that if Scotland was already independent, would you
:55:33. > :55:39.hand power to London, over on affairs and defence. And the Scots
:55:39. > :55:43.said certainly not. Which suggests that the vote is more fluid and it
:55:43. > :55:47.is less likely that there will be a big yes vote, less likely than
:55:47. > :55:51.people in London think. In many ways, what the Scottish people want
:55:51. > :55:56.is not on the ballot paper. That is greater expression of Scottish --
:55:56. > :56:02.the Scottish nation and a greater devolution of powers to Holyrood. In
:56:02. > :56:07.liberal democrat language, it is called home rule. In many ways, that
:56:07. > :56:11.is where I think we need to go as a United Kingdom. That you cannot have
:56:11. > :56:13.that discussion on which powers to devolve until you determine that
:56:13. > :56:18.Scotland is part of the UK. But what devolve until you determine that
:56:18. > :56:23.was also part of your agenda in the mists of time was federalism. You
:56:23. > :56:26.have gone very quiet on that. I do not think we have. If you look at
:56:26. > :56:30.what we have done south of the border, to give more powers to
:56:30. > :56:34.larger cities, it is probably the biggest act of devolution... But
:56:34. > :56:37.that is all we have time for from Glasgow. Ready to my guests. Next
:56:37. > :56:42.Sunday, we will be at the Labour conference. Plus, the luminous
:56:42. > :56:46.actress, Cate Blanchett, star of the latest Woody Allen film. Join me if
:56:46. > :56:51.you can add the usual time. But for now, we leave you with the Southern
:56:51. > :57:00.Tenant Union and their track, Men In Robes.
:57:00. > :57:06.# Someone told us we're happy there's no fear.
:57:06. > :57:10.# But freedom disappeared long ago. # I don't have room to breathe, my
:57:10. > :57:23.family want to leave. # But there's no place to go, I
:57:23. > :57:28.suppose. # I know the men in robes don't like
:57:28. > :57:33.to get too close. # It's the symptom of their wild insanity.
:57:33. > :57:37.# If you multiply desire, keep those figures climbing higher.
:57:37. > :57:52.# You'll need to twist the truth, eventually.
:57:52. > :57:55.# And placing ourselves out of play has a logic.
:57:55. > :58:06.# It brings to the street, formally, loyal subjects torching high. # My
:58:07. > :58:10.civil service friends. # Say the government just passed.
:58:10. > :58:16.# Whatever serves a man of dear degree.
:58:16. > :58:19.# In the corridors of power we're all charged by the hour. # It's
:58:20. > :58:29.business, no hard feelings, you'll agree. # Inform a committe, suggest
:58:29. > :58:34.a new policy. # Wheels turn around, in their head, no philosophy at all.
:58:34. > :58:38.# If you were them, would you lend an ear to sympathy?
:58:38. > :59:01.# Or turn and shrug, decide to make no harmony instead.