27/12/2017

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0:00:15 > 0:00:18Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be

0:00:18 > 0:00:20bringing us tomorrow.

0:00:20 > 0:00:22With me are Josie Cox, business editor at the Independent,

0:00:22 > 0:00:32and Tom Bergin, business correspondent for Reuters.

0:00:33 > 0:00:36Here for the Long Haul - The i reports that Jeremy Corbyn

0:00:36 > 0:00:39says he's ready to fight an election at any time, and will wait

0:00:39 > 0:00:41until 2022 if the Government survives for a full term.

0:00:41 > 0:00:43The Times claims that the Metropolitan Police is failing

0:00:43 > 0:00:47to protect vulnerable children.

0:00:47 > 0:00:50The Financial Times reports that companies have made a record amount

0:00:50 > 0:00:52from floating on stock exchanges, mainly because of deals

0:00:52 > 0:00:54in the US and China.

0:00:54 > 0:00:57The Daily Express runs with a story about people

0:00:57 > 0:00:59seeing their pension funds whittled away by hidden charges.

0:00:59 > 0:01:03The Telegraph leads with a warning that patients

0:01:03 > 0:01:06are going blind while waiting for cataract operations.

0:01:06 > 0:01:08The Guardian leads with a story claiming the rise of automation

0:01:08 > 0:01:13and the machine will affect the poorest hardest.

0:01:13 > 0:01:20The Mirror claims hospitals made £500,000 a day from NHS carparks.

0:01:20 > 0:01:24The Mail's front page has a report claiming half of local authorities

0:01:24 > 0:01:29haven't had a bobby on the beat for the past year.

0:01:29 > 0:01:34So, let's begin...

0:01:34 > 0:01:41Your stablemate at the Independent has Jeremy Corbyn in for the long

0:01:41 > 0:01:48haul, he says. He has been giving interviews, one suspects, to make

0:01:48 > 0:01:54everyone realise he's still around? Yes, absolutely, it looks like it.

0:01:54 > 0:01:58To me, this looks like a bit of a battle cry. There have been some

0:01:58 > 0:02:01developments around Theresa May which might give the impression that

0:02:01 > 0:02:09she has stabilised a little bit and I think that this could be a

0:02:09 > 0:02:13response to that, Jeremy Corbyn just saying, I am here, too. All these

0:02:13 > 0:02:17election promises that we made, they still count, we're still to be

0:02:17 > 0:02:25reckoned with. He doesn't really say anything particularly new however,

0:02:25 > 0:02:31he's reiterating what we've already heard from him, that he expects he

0:02:31 > 0:02:35could be Prime Minister next year, reiterating all his commitments to

0:02:35 > 0:02:38education and health care and housing. All of these really

0:02:38 > 0:02:45traditional Jeremy Corbyn promises. So, it's reaffirming most of what

0:02:45 > 0:02:50he's already put out there. But Tom, is there a sense also that perhaps

0:02:50 > 0:02:55Labour haven't kicked on the way that those within the labour

0:02:55 > 0:02:59movement would have hoped following the relative success that they

0:02:59 > 0:03:04enjoyed back in the summer in the election?True, may be one challenge

0:03:04 > 0:03:08they face in that area is around Brexit, an issue on which they're

0:03:08 > 0:03:14being deliberately ambiguous. And in this interview he talks about

0:03:14 > 0:03:17clarifying the position, which has been quite confused of late,

0:03:17 > 0:03:24regarding a second referendum. Earlier in the month Tom Watson

0:03:24 > 0:03:27indicated he was possibly supportive of a second referendum, but he has

0:03:27 > 0:03:31come out and apparently settled the issue by saying they're not

0:03:31 > 0:03:35advocating a second referendum! Of course that's very different to

0:03:35 > 0:03:40actually explaining your position on it!I'm none the wiser! Is that

0:03:40 > 0:03:47fundamentally part of the problem, then, that they do have a poor

0:03:47 > 0:03:49constituency in some of the traditional Labour Heartlands

0:03:49 > 0:03:56Hospital were pro-Brexit, sorry, who were pro-Remain, but then you have

0:03:56 > 0:04:00got a lot of other people who would see themselves as middle of the road

0:04:00 > 0:04:02Labour supporters who believe that Europe is in fact the future?

0:04:02 > 0:04:09Absolutely. So, is it a problem or is it a strength? It is working out

0:04:09 > 0:04:12pretty good if you take the view that the Brexit will unravel,

0:04:12 > 0:04:15because the promises they made cannot be delivered, and we've seen

0:04:15 > 0:04:21some of that already, the fact that we could walk away without paying

0:04:21 > 0:04:26any money - well, that didn't work out. So, from his perspective may be

0:04:26 > 0:04:30the thing is to sit back and not Express a view and let everyone

0:04:30 > 0:04:34else's view be shown to be inaccurate.That's Theresa May has

0:04:34 > 0:04:39now moved onto the second stage of negotiations to talk trade - and it

0:04:39 > 0:04:43could go swimmingly from there, so it is a fine line for Labour?I

0:04:43 > 0:04:49think for them it is about momentum and keeping it up, and as Thomas

0:04:49 > 0:04:52says, clarifying some of the issues which got them the support in the

0:04:52 > 0:04:59first place. I think there was definitely a ground swell,

0:04:59 > 0:05:02particularly amongst younger voters perhaps, for clarity - they want to

0:05:02 > 0:05:09know where Labour stands.The Daily Telegraph, Tom, Mr Heseltine, he

0:05:09 > 0:05:16should lose the whip apparently? Yes, some very outraged people!

0:05:16 > 0:05:22Current and former Tory grandees. It is a statement made by Michael has a

0:05:22 > 0:05:27time in the past day or two around the conundrum that people may face

0:05:27 > 0:05:33upon whether to vote Corbyn with the aim of having a softer Brexit, or

0:05:33 > 0:05:37potentially remaining, and doing it out of interest for the economy and

0:05:37 > 0:05:41the country generally, or voting Conservative, and I gets the

0:05:41 > 0:05:45calculus here is, if you don't support naturally Labour, if you're

0:05:45 > 0:05:52a Tory, you might think, he's got all these terrible ideas, he wants

0:05:52 > 0:05:56to nationalise the railways, increase taxes... And the view of Mr

0:05:56 > 0:06:00has a time is that if it all comes to pass, and, of course, that is

0:06:00 > 0:06:05uncertain, then we could change it in four years' time, whereas Brexit,

0:06:05 > 0:06:13that is forever. And these are the kind of things which come up, we had

0:06:13 > 0:06:16people like the Bush family coming out and saying that would not be

0:06:16 > 0:06:24voting for Trump. He's not looking for a Cabinet is a shot at this

0:06:24 > 0:06:27point in time, Mr Heseltine, but of course many people are happy to say

0:06:27 > 0:06:31he should lose the whip.Why should he lose the whip over saying

0:06:31 > 0:06:35something like this, I don't understand?I agree with you, I

0:06:35 > 0:06:39think the rhetoric itself is not actually that surprising, coming

0:06:39 > 0:06:47from him as well. But I think taking the sea word, Corbyn, it is another

0:06:47 > 0:06:55level I suppose! But these aren't Labour supporters who are angry that

0:06:55 > 0:07:00he mentioned Jeremy Corbyn, these are people within the Conservative

0:07:00 > 0:07:05Party, so why are they angry that he has spoken about Brexit in this way,

0:07:05 > 0:07:12because we know he was a Remainer, we know he is pro-EU.As Josey said,

0:07:12 > 0:07:14mentioning his name and Prime Minister in the same sentence

0:07:14 > 0:07:19perhaps! Before the election we had the position of the Conservative

0:07:19 > 0:07:23Party that it was just inconceivable that Jeremy Corbyn would be Prime

0:07:23 > 0:07:29Minister, because his policies were too left-field. Now, we're actually

0:07:29 > 0:07:33seeing a senior Conservative talking about, actually it might not be such

0:07:33 > 0:07:41a bad thing. So, for them...So, is it the calculation that it would be

0:07:41 > 0:07:50better...?I had a conversation with a senior banker a few days ago who

0:07:50 > 0:07:53said, absolutely Labour would be a better option, because the concern

0:07:53 > 0:07:57is that the Conservative Party has already taken their industry to the

0:07:57 > 0:08:00edge of the cliff, and many of them seem to want to go over it as

0:08:00 > 0:08:06quickly as possible. So, this banker is saying, I could face higher tax

0:08:06 > 0:08:10but the other alternative is no industry whatsoever, if we continue

0:08:10 > 0:08:18to go with a hard Brexit with the Conservative Party.OK. Well, if

0:08:18 > 0:08:24that is what he is saying, then that is very interesting! The Times,

0:08:24 > 0:08:29Josie, apparently David Davis, the Brexit secretary, has been sidelined

0:08:29 > 0:08:33as a civil servant takes over the Brexit negotiations - could this be

0:08:33 > 0:08:38true?If it is, it is certainly a very worrying development. The

0:08:38 > 0:08:43person in question apparently taking over response abilities is Oliver

0:08:43 > 0:08:48Robins, the former Permanent Secretary. The Times cites these

0:08:48 > 0:08:53sources and it would be quite worrying. They say that he has gone

0:08:53 > 0:08:58on a significantly more official visits to Brussels than Mr Davies

0:08:58 > 0:09:02between July and September, and that he now also reports directly to

0:09:02 > 0:09:07Theresa May. Now, I think the interesting thing here is that David

0:09:07 > 0:09:13Davis has of course been the face of Brexit

0:09:13 > 0:09:16Davis has of course been the face of Brexit, and as we all know, the

0:09:16 > 0:09:19negotiations have not exactly gone swimmingly despite the recent

0:09:19 > 0:09:23breakthrough. So, perhaps this is a development which is from the EU

0:09:23 > 0:09:29side, a move away from David Davis in an attempt to try and sort of

0:09:29 > 0:09:33make that process easier, and try and remove some of the barriers that

0:09:33 > 0:09:38have perhaps been in place.Has David Davis been seen as a stumbling

0:09:38 > 0:09:43block?One of the things, of course, with the latest breakthrough, which

0:09:43 > 0:09:47was basically Britain gave the EU most of what it wanted, so it is a

0:09:47 > 0:09:52capitulation...! I'm sure Theresa May would not look at it that way,

0:09:52 > 0:09:59she would say she has done rather well! When you get to about 90% of

0:09:59 > 0:10:02what they're asking for, most people would consider that to be a good

0:10:02 > 0:10:07negotiation! But there have been questions, in that case, of course,

0:10:07 > 0:10:10people say Theresa May stepped in to confirm her hand and this particular

0:10:10 > 0:10:15civil servant is now of course HER civil servant, within her

0:10:15 > 0:10:20department. But also over recent months, the depiction of David

0:10:20 > 0:10:26Davis' competence is not quite what it used to be.The depiction, or his

0:10:26 > 0:10:33competence itself?!I cannot speak in detail about that! But certainly

0:10:33 > 0:10:36arriving for the beginning of the negotiations with no paperwork

0:10:36 > 0:10:40whatsoever across the table from people who have stacks of it, which

0:10:40 > 0:10:44is of course going to be photographed and tweeted almost

0:10:44 > 0:10:48instantaneously, did not start off very well, giving interviews where

0:10:48 > 0:10:51he said, I don't have to be clever in my job, I just have to be very

0:10:51 > 0:10:56calm. Calmness is not necessarily associated with cleverness in terms

0:10:56 > 0:11:00of the intellectual spectrum, so he's choosing words and things where

0:11:00 > 0:11:06he does not really elevate himself necessarily. So, the position, his

0:11:06 > 0:11:11position, does not seem to be one but has really been enhanced through

0:11:11 > 0:11:14the last six months or so.But he will still be there at the press

0:11:14 > 0:11:18conference with Michel Barnier, right? After whatever discussions

0:11:18 > 0:11:22take place?You would think so but I guess... Anything could happen! It

0:11:22 > 0:11:29could be the civil servant! OK! Staying with the Guardian, the

0:11:29 > 0:11:36poorest, Josie, will be faring worse in the age of automation with jobs

0:11:36 > 0:11:41threatened and £90 billion in wages? I suppose it is not very surprising

0:11:41 > 0:11:46that we got the robot story between Christmas and New Year, because it

0:11:46 > 0:11:49is a traditionally quieter news time and robots always make for good

0:11:49 > 0:11:53discussion. It is a report from a left-leaning think-tank, which is

0:11:53 > 0:11:58saying that robots, I should say automation, isn't necessarily going

0:11:58 > 0:12:02to take over jobs, it is not going to create a society where robots do

0:12:02 > 0:12:07all of our jobs for us, but it could contribute to a reader tradition of

0:12:07 > 0:12:12wealth, which could lead to more inequality. The logic behind it is

0:12:12 > 0:12:16that the low-wage jobs are most likely to be automated in future,

0:12:16 > 0:12:22and that as a result of that, wages will get pushed up at the top end.

0:12:22 > 0:12:25The think-tank is calling on the government to do whatever it can to

0:12:25 > 0:12:29prevent that from happening, to maintain the balance.What would you

0:12:29 > 0:12:35do, then?A lot of it is about including things in the industrial

0:12:35 > 0:12:38strategy that will educate employers around retraining staff where

0:12:38 > 0:12:44necessary, making sure that people can be redeployed into different

0:12:44 > 0:12:50roles that aren't automated. And just making the workforce future

0:12:50 > 0:12:55proof, I suppose.I suppose making sure that society is aware of the

0:12:55 > 0:12:58spectrum of consequences that there could well be as a result of

0:12:58 > 0:13:03automation.Very much. The question is, do you take incremental measures

0:13:03 > 0:13:09like that, or do you look more fundamentally at things like minimum

0:13:09 > 0:13:16wage, universal... Robot taxes, an idea that Bill Gates came up with.

0:13:16 > 0:13:23So, we have not necessarily, we have had the gig economy but we have not

0:13:23 > 0:13:28adopted regulations very quickly to that and we have ended up in

0:13:28 > 0:13:32situations - the question is, can we move faster on this trend?And

0:13:32 > 0:13:38finally, the Daily Express, new pensions disaster, rip-off fees, we

0:13:38 > 0:13:42knew this, didn't we?We did, it seems the City regulator has come

0:13:42 > 0:13:46out with some new data to show that most people are staying with an

0:13:46 > 0:13:52existing provider when they ask the provider to take it out and put it

0:13:52 > 0:13:55into something which is more accessible to them. And the provider

0:13:55 > 0:14:02typically charges higher fees. Fees are the kind of things which can

0:14:02 > 0:14:06destroy your pension, if you listen to Warren Buffett, he said that's

0:14:06 > 0:14:10the surest thing to make you poorer. These were very controversial

0:14:10 > 0:14:13measures, giving people access to use their money as they wish rather

0:14:13 > 0:14:20than to purchase an annuity. We're really starting to see more and more

0:14:20 > 0:14:23data that raises the question as to whether people will be financially

0:14:23 > 0:14:27better off as a result of this.But putting power into people's hands

0:14:27 > 0:14:33was seen as a good thing by some people, when Mr Osborne decided to

0:14:33 > 0:14:37make these changes?And it was welcome to largely at the time. But

0:14:37 > 0:14:41I think increasingly over the last couple of years, what we've seen is

0:14:41 > 0:14:45that the responsibility that comes with that is perhaps not hatched by

0:14:45 > 0:14:51the education that pensioners have around this. And we've seen examples

0:14:51 > 0:14:55of this which are terrible but also examples of scams, where pensioners

0:14:55 > 0:14:59are accessing their pension pot, because they want that money, and

0:14:59 > 0:15:08they haven't got, returns are terrible elsewhere, in bonds, for

0:15:08 > 0:15:11example, and they're accessing that money, and doing irresponsible

0:15:11 > 0:15:15things with it just because they don't have the education. So this is

0:15:15 > 0:15:18going to shine a fresh light on the responsibility of the regulators

0:15:18 > 0:15:25etc.All does yellow Lamborghinis that we're seeing whizzing around

0:15:25 > 0:15:31out there as a result of this! Thank you to both of you. Coming up next,

0:15:31 > 0:15:35it's the weather.