14/02/2017 The Papers

Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be

With me are Ruth Lea, Economic Adviser at Arbuthnot

Banking Group, and John Rentoul, political columnist

Tomorrow's front pages, starting with...

The Metro leads with the assassination of the North Korean

leader's half brother at Kuala Lumpur airport,

The Daily Telegraph reports on how an expected rise in business

rates might hit the NHS, saying health trusts

The NHS is on the front of the 'i' too, they have an exclusive

investigation into the future of emergency care -

claiming dozens of A E units could close.

House prices are soaring, according to the Daily Express.

The paper says investing in property is the best way to save.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall has questions to answer,

says the Guardian, after he admitted he did not lose 'close

personal friends' in the Hillsborough disaster -

The Daily Mail is angry with ministers who they say

are betraying their campaign to crack down on plastic

Hopefully we will get to that later, but we will start with the "i". 24

A units face closure. It is claiming that dozens of casualty

departments are marked for closure or downgrading despite record

overcrowding. I like the way it said that bosses were doing this to

concentrate specialist services, and they thought it might save lives. It

is a wonderful rationalisation. They are under more pressure on probably

need more funding, but this brings in the whole question of how you get

extra funding into the NHS. It already has ?120 billion. It is time

to think about other forms of finance, whether it is a social

insurance system or people spending more on their own health. I think it

is now time to actually start thinking, how do we get more money

into the NHS? Of raising taxes was mac that will come up in the budget

next month, I suspect, because there is this terrifying figure that

spending per head in the NHS will fall next year. I can't believe the

Government will allow that to happen, so I suspect Philip Hammond

will announce more emergency money for the NHS next year in the budget.

But I think Ruth is right. You can we liked all the metaphors. That

will only be a sticking plaster, not a permanent solution. The demands on

the NHS just get greater and greater, not least because

treatments get more expensive. There is more that you can do. 50 years

ago, we didn't have the treatment we have today, and we have an ageing

population. There is the other problem of social care. There, I

really would bring in an insurance system. I think we have to think

about this quite hard. Something has to be done. The Telegraph has: A

crippling rates rise in the NHS, adding fuel to the fire that the NHS

is in crisis. This is a technical story about the way that business

rates fall on public bodies, just as they fall on private sector bodies.

Buried in there is the story that Amazon is going to see its business

rates fall next year, which is odd. I don't pretend to understand it,

but it is obvious that the NHS is under extreme pressure, and this is

an additional pressure on it. You know about business - how can that

be? The NHS, having financial problems, is being hit with business

rates. Amazon, which has more money in the world than any other company

apart from Apple is seeing falling rates. I do think the Treasury needs

to have a look at this. Small businesses, particularly in the

south-east, have got whacking great rate rises as well. The trouble is,

the rates are meant to be upgraded or changed every five years, but

they haven't been for ten years, so the whole valuation has got horribly

out of kilter. It amused me, it said here in the Telegraph that there is

rolling concerning Whitehall about the impact of rate rises, continued

on page two. And we don't have page two. Perhaps the Treasury is looking

at this will stop it seems bonkers. Although, I have to say, we have

page four of the Express. Some papers get preferential treatment

because we get the inside pages but others don't send them. Putin live

forces up top adviser after just 24 days. Michael Flynn, national

security adviser to President Trump, has had to resign because he

apparently had a meeting with a Russian envoy and talked about

something he shouldn't have done. It is a confusing story. I think what

he did wrong was that he wasn't completely straight with the vice

president about what he has said. So he lied about what he had said? It

is always the cover-up that gets you. I think it is surprising,

because for the first time, President Trump has only been in

office for a few weeks, but already he is suddenly behaving like a

normal politician, instead of doing what he normally does - double down

and say that nothing is wrong, nothing to see here, and start

attacking other people. He has done what a normal politician does, which

is to sack someone from getting into trouble. Ruth, he did double down

for three weeks. He knew about this conversation. Three weeks that they

knew about this, and they desperately try to save him, or one

faction in the White House did. It gets more and more muddy, as far as

I can see. The story now is that he misled Mike Pence, the vice

president, who went on television and the night that Michael Flynn had

discussed sanctions with the Russian ambassador on the phone. Did nobody

listened to the conversation? That is the amazing thing - he is the

national security adviser and he is talking to the Russians. It is going

to be taped, you would have thought! For the person who is taking me at

the moment, this is Michael Flynn. Mitt-mac absolutely bizarre, and

slightly worrying that the national Security adviser would not know

that. Absolutely bizarre rant slightly worrying that the national

security adviser would not know that. A suggestion that Donald Trump

has ties that are too close to Russia, and the whole Trump

situation and his White House, of course, has been in the news here,

because he will be coming to the UK pretty soon, Ruth. And the Daily

Mail has the story of Theresa May saying she has assured Mr Trump that

she is looking forward to the state visit, despite this petition having

well over 1 million signatures. I signed the other one. Saying he

should be coming? Yes, I did. 300,000 people signed it. Why should

he come? I have concerns about Mr Trump, like anybody, but he is the

president of the United States of America and a very important ally to

us, and after Theresa May's visit to the White House, I think that a

build-up links with the youth to make US, particularly with Brexit

coming. I am allowed on the BBC. I try to stop it happening, Ruth. I

said no, no! The US is strategically so important now that to stop the

state visit or give him a half kilter state visit I think would be

deeply unwise. A contest of petitions is not the way to decide

these things. Certainly, 1.8 million people feel very strongly about

Donald Trump and not having in here, but we had an opinion poll in the

Independent at the weekend, and more people, when you look at the

population as a whole, think that Donald Trump should come and meet

the Queen then think the opposite, so 1.8 million people versus 300,000

- it's not the way you decide these things. It is quality, not quantity.

Talking about quality and quantity, the Financial Times - nuclear policy

hit by Toshiba, John. I thought they made video recorders, but apparently

they also put a lot of money into nuclear power plants, and this

Cumbria plant is a very important possible new nuclear power station,

if we are going to have nuclear power in this country, as most

people, I think, want to. It is also complicated because it has become an

issue in a by-election, which the Conservatives think they can win

because Theresa May is going up there to campaign, which is unusual

for a Prime Minister. When is she going? Soon, I think. She obviously

things they can win it, and if they can exploit people's fears up there

about Labour's hesitations of a nuclear power, then... It is a big

employer up there. This will throw a spanner in the box it top Sheba

Polak anyway, but Ruth knows more about that than I do. The FT had an

interesting leader today on exactly this issue. It is a classic case of

market failure where you can rely on the market to get the funding. These

problems with Toshiba just show that completely, that the Government

really does have to intervene. They will have to put their money where

their mouth is with this one. If the private sector won't pay for it,

does that not mean it is not economically viable? Our whole

economic policy is skewed, and there are all sorts of subsidies, not

least in renewables. The thing about nuclear power is that it is solid

and reliable power, and I suspect it is the sort of power we should go

for. It is expensive to bring online, that's the problem. If you

are trying to get rid of carbon, that is an issue as well. Let's go

to the metro story - assassinated at the airport. We only have about four

minutes. Kim Jong Un's playboy brother murdered. A great front page

- is it true? Presumably so if it is in the paper. If this is what a

North Korean playboy looks like, I think it is time we all moved on. It

does seem as though he has been helped into another world. According

to the metro, there was a woman with a cloth who came up behind him and

put this cloth on his face and burnt his eyes, but that was disputed in

the other papers, wasn't it? Other papers talk about needles.

Obviously, something happened, because he's dead. It is an

extraordinary story. Spy thriller material. We're not totally clear

about what exactly happened. This happened in Malaysia, by all

accounts. In Kuala Lumpur. Killing stokes tension over missile test,

John according to the paper. Kim Jong Un fired off a missile, the

first launched during President Trump's time in the White House.

Last weekend, I think it was. That's right. North Korea is a pretty

worrying place as far as the world is concerned. Donald Trump has not

responded in any sort of irresponsible way, which some people

might have feared he would have done, but this kind of shenanigans,

I mean, maybe it is not related and it is just a factional fight within

the ruling family. Who knows? We have a minute left. We can go on of

the day. -- we can go on to the story of the day. They had to find

someone with the same stature as Mary Berry. I am hoping Prue Leith

is that kind of person. She is a clock, but does she baked? -- does

she bake? Is she a baker? She is a restaurateur, so she does more than

just baking. I am questioning this. Mary Berry does more than baking.

She does cakes. Cakes is baking! I am being told I have to shut up,

which means you two have to. Ruth, John, it has been great having you.

Many thanks for that. You can see the front pages of the papers

online. It is all there for you. If you miss the programme any evening,

you can watch it later on BBC iPlayer with your favourite glass of

wine. Just relax and watch. We have been relaxed here, Ruth, John and I.

That's all for now. Goodbye. A bit of rain in the forecast over

the next few days, but nothing too severe. There will be lengthy dry

spells as we head towards the weekend and it will be mild. The

rain coming from