0:00:00 > 0:00:01On meet the author, my guest is the bestselling thriller writer Mick
0:00:01 > 0:00:03Heron.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be
0:00:20 > 0:00:23bringing us tomorrow.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26With me are the former Conservative Adviser,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Giles Kenningham and Torcuil Crichton, political editor
0:00:28 > 0:00:30at The Daily Record.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35Many of tomorrow's front pages are already in.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38The Financial Times is leading with a story about Donald Trump
0:00:38 > 0:00:40lashing out at the FBI and his national security advisors
0:00:40 > 0:00:44over the Russia investigation.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47A Pensions boost for millions - the Daily Express says pensions
0:00:47 > 0:00:49experts are hailing a "perfect cocktail" of conditions that have
0:00:49 > 0:00:54boosted many company schemes.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57The 'I' focusses on the new review of university tuition fees saying
0:00:57 > 0:01:01the reforms will be divisive.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Power dressing at the Baftas - the Telegraph pictures British
0:01:04 > 0:01:07actress Florence Pugh who joined other celebrities dressing
0:01:07 > 0:01:13in all black at tonight's Bafta awards.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16The Metro also leads on tuition fees with a quote from the Prime Minister
0:01:16 > 0:01:21saying "uni fees unfair and poor value."
0:01:21 > 0:01:24The Mirror shows a picture of Keira Ball, who died in a car
0:01:24 > 0:01:30crash, whose heart helped save the life of a ten-year-old boy.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32The Guardian also focusses on tuition fees saying that
0:01:32 > 0:01:35proposals to reduce charges for cheaper courses is deemed
0:01:35 > 0:01:44'unworkable' by critics.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48I am speaking a bit slowly it's because I can hear myself coming
0:01:48 > 0:01:52back and its most discombobulated. Happy if you could do something
0:01:52 > 0:02:00about that, that would be marvellous... VI is where we will
0:02:00 > 0:02:04begin. Tuition fees, I feel like we have been pre-empting this for days,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08maybe I have just been a work quite a lot. Tuition fee reforms would be
0:02:08 > 0:02:14divisive.It is not days or days, it's just the government learning
0:02:14 > 0:02:18how to manage news. In the old days before Brexit the government would
0:02:18 > 0:02:22make an announcement on Sunday, when the speech on Monday and we would be
0:02:22 > 0:02:26talking about it till Tuesday. Since Brexit, we have talked about nothing
0:02:26 > 0:02:29except Brexit will stop the most stunning thing on this story is that
0:02:29 > 0:02:33the issue has been around enough since as long as University fees
0:02:33 > 0:02:37came in, it's that it's a domestic story running on a domestic agenda
0:02:37 > 0:02:41on the front pages of Monday morning News. Theresa May looks like she
0:02:41 > 0:02:51will make a market intervention here. She looks like she will force
0:02:51 > 0:02:55universities to reduce fees for some people and significantly she will
0:02:55 > 0:02:59also start looking at bringing back maintenance grants for poorer
0:02:59 > 0:03:04students which is a key point.She has been saying it's making our
0:03:04 > 0:03:07system of the most expensive in the world for tuition, that Labour would
0:03:07 > 0:03:11go further, they would get rid of Jewish and fees altogether.They
0:03:11 > 0:03:15would but they have not been able to cost it at all.-- they would get
0:03:15 > 0:03:22rid of tuition fees altogether. There are some sensible things in
0:03:22 > 0:03:29here. A bigger push towards two year degrees with a stint in business. I
0:03:29 > 0:03:33did a four year degree and could have done other than too. I did
0:03:33 > 0:03:41politics, sadly. I did a diploma in nine months afterwards which I could
0:03:41 > 0:03:46have done in three months easily. Quite a lot of sense of kindness.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50You pay according to market values, a good sentiment but how do you
0:03:50 > 0:03:55measure that will be a lot more difficult in practice. You have
0:03:55 > 0:04:00already had Justine Greening today criticising that.The Tories are
0:04:00 > 0:04:04floundering when it comes to young people and middle-aged people,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Corbyn is meant to be boosted in the 20 17th election with the youth
0:04:07 > 0:04:16quake but it did not really happen. But the under 25 and 45 state.
0:04:16 > 0:04:22People are looking for the parties to provide solutions. Massive
0:04:22 > 0:04:29student debt everyone is carrying around.I have to say I was the last
0:04:29 > 0:04:32year which did not pay tuition fees and if I was going to uni now I
0:04:32 > 0:04:39would think twice about doing it. Fees are the one end of the horse,
0:04:39 > 0:04:44it's about access. Why won't they just put the money into getting more
0:04:44 > 0:04:51kids from working class areas into uni in the first place.The former
0:04:51 > 0:04:54universities minister says this is irrelevant because you don't stop
0:04:54 > 0:04:59paying upfront, you only pay after the fact once you have earned a
0:04:59 > 0:05:03certain amount of money.It will deter people because it is an eye
0:05:03 > 0:05:09watering amount of money when you are 18, racking up £20,000 in debt.
0:05:09 > 0:05:1527 Justin fees. Then living costs... Lichaj something like 6% so you
0:05:15 > 0:05:21could be paying something like £5,000 in interest on your debt. By
0:05:21 > 0:05:24the time you leave uni. Thousands more by the time you have paid it
0:05:24 > 0:05:29off.They took about a big push towards vocational courses which I
0:05:29 > 0:05:33think is great. University does not suit everyone. Hopefully these
0:05:33 > 0:05:37vocational courses will equip people with skills which mean they can get
0:05:37 > 0:05:40jobs quite quickly.We are talking about English universities, a
0:05:40 > 0:05:46different thing in Scotland.Tuition fees don't exist in Scotland, that
0:05:46 > 0:05:51doesn't mean accesses any better. Scotland's medical schools take
0:05:51 > 0:05:53fewer kids from working-class backgrounds than England and Wales
0:05:53 > 0:05:57medical schools. Something is wrong with the system, it's not to do with
0:05:57 > 0:06:00these, it's about getting kids from working class areas into university
0:06:00 > 0:06:04in the first place and that's the other end of the horse, that early
0:06:04 > 0:06:11intervention in primary school. Hammond to drop all props for budget
0:06:11 > 0:06:15light. We are not going to get all of the usual accoutrements we're
0:06:15 > 0:06:25used to seeing.Hammond here, not the most charismatic or eye-catching
0:06:25 > 0:06:30of charts this, ditching the red box for his so-called mini budget. He
0:06:30 > 0:06:40has ditched the two budgets every year. Apparent pain this year, the
0:06:40 > 0:06:45so-called mini budget will be 15 to 20 minutes. There has been this
0:06:45 > 0:06:48longer held view that you should only have one budget a year. We are
0:06:48 > 0:06:54the only country with an advanced economy that has this.It is Gordon
0:06:54 > 0:07:00Brown's fault. Used to be the Autumn Statement in December, then another
0:07:00 > 0:07:04rabbit out of a hat in March at budget time. The surprise and thing
0:07:04 > 0:07:08is its Philip Hammond delivering the budget. He seems in such disarray
0:07:08 > 0:07:12around the Cabinet table that he was in danger if few weeks ago of not
0:07:12 > 0:07:17being.At the time of Brexit when you need to convey a climate of
0:07:17 > 0:07:21certainty, give a vision for the country, maybe there should be a
0:07:21 > 0:07:24longer budgets are people actually understand the economic road map.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Clearly they are going for short but sweet.People underestimate the
0:07:29 > 0:07:32importance of symbolism and the power of totems like that, that red
0:07:32 > 0:07:39box, it means something.Introduced in 1860 by William Gladstone. Not
0:07:39 > 0:07:43just no red box but no official document or spending increases or
0:07:43 > 0:07:52tax changes.We will take the day off.Speculation anyway. We will
0:07:52 > 0:07:59just have more time to fill. Let's look at the Daily Express. Pensions
0:07:59 > 0:08:03boost for millions, relief as deficits in final salary schemes
0:08:03 > 0:08:08halved in a month. How has that happens, it's been causing lots of
0:08:08 > 0:08:12concern on the sheer scale of deficits?Causing concern in some
0:08:12 > 0:08:18places, not in my house.Because you don't have one, is that the case?I
0:08:18 > 0:08:22fail to see how this is news that affects us the days. -- that affects
0:08:22 > 0:08:30us today. The pensions deficit has gone from
0:08:30 > 0:08:34something like hundred and 40 billion hundred and 50 billion. Good
0:08:34 > 0:08:38news for millions of employees who are approaching retirement. That may
0:08:38 > 0:08:41be an apt description of Daily Express readers, but I just don't
0:08:41 > 0:08:46see how this is a large story.And the stock market is quite volatile.
0:08:46 > 0:08:54The problem is, when pension schemes fail and there is not the money to
0:08:54 > 0:08:58bail them out. We have seen out with big companies recently with that
0:08:58 > 0:09:04£900 million deficit. This will be pleasing to some people in
0:09:04 > 0:09:07particular, Ros Altmann who we are used to seeing on paper review, she
0:09:07 > 0:09:11has been talking about this for a long time.Confidence breeds
0:09:11 > 0:09:15confidence. From that perspective it's a good thing to see.I am in
0:09:15 > 0:09:19that section of the Daily Express readership that switches off when I
0:09:19 > 0:09:24see the word pension, I don't even have to think about a pension, so.
0:09:24 > 0:09:32We have not done very well with that story. Where shall we move to? Let's
0:09:32 > 0:09:38go to the Telegraph. The BAFTAs. We have a picture here of Florence
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Pugh, British actress, power dressing and the BAFTAs with at
0:09:40 > 0:09:46times bring on her finger. One of many who turned up dressed in black
0:09:46 > 0:09:50in support of not just the time is up campaign against sexual
0:09:50 > 0:09:54harassment but the Me Too campaign as well which we have seen all over
0:09:54 > 0:10:00social media. You were the odd one out if you didn't wear black
0:10:00 > 0:10:05tonight.It feels like this campaign is getting a lot of momentum, it
0:10:05 > 0:10:10still has some way to go. At the Golden Globes last month you had
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep who came out and were pretty vocal on
0:10:14 > 0:10:20this issue. Obviously this whole issue continues to rumble in the
0:10:20 > 0:10:24press in many different sectors. It feels like it's a story which has
0:10:24 > 0:10:29some way to run.It does keep it in the public eye when you have this
0:10:29 > 0:10:33public display of solidarity and unity, at an awards ceremony. These
0:10:33 > 0:10:37only have at certain times of the year, it requires that cultural
0:10:37 > 0:10:42change, day in day out, not just amongst those who are on screen, on
0:10:42 > 0:10:47stage, but those in the industry behind it.It is symbolic. The
0:10:47 > 0:10:52message is getting through loud and clear, Time's Up, that campaign
0:10:52 > 0:11:00wants to change the culture that is around that. As Sherborne said
0:11:00 > 0:11:04earlier talking to you, the decisions that are taken far earlier
0:11:04 > 0:11:08in the storyboard when people sit down to discuss character, narrative
0:11:08 > 0:11:13and who will be in the movie, that's when, who's going to direct movies
0:11:13 > 0:11:19even, on who will buy them, that is when we will see real change. -- or
0:11:19 > 0:11:26who will write them. The cultural bias is what's so
0:11:26 > 0:11:32difficult to change, and you can't legislate for.The story is Three
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Billboards, five BAFTAs, big British success because it's a Channel 4
0:11:34 > 0:11:42film.Even though, to look at it, it is totally American.Completely
0:11:42 > 0:11:47American. But there is Channel 4 money in that, it has taken 100
0:11:47 > 0:11:51million, it will take a lot more now. Another feather in the cap for
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Channel 4. Something like 32 Oscars since they started making movies? I
0:11:56 > 0:12:03don't think they have reception on the way in, that will feed into
0:12:03 > 0:12:08that.A lot of the films we have not had a chance to see yet have all
0:12:08 > 0:12:12picked up awards, that will really boost box office.Gary Oldman has
0:12:12 > 0:12:18won for Darkest Hour.And the ship of water as well. Let's finish with
0:12:18 > 0:12:21hidden calories fuelling obesity, the average person eating too much.
0:12:21 > 0:12:29How is it, portion control?The obesity crisis is being fuelled by
0:12:29 > 0:12:33the average person eating 50% more calories than they realise. They put
0:12:33 > 0:12:36this down to two things, won his portion control and second is people
0:12:36 > 0:12:43eating more meals outside their home.A good old statistic. What's
0:12:43 > 0:12:47happened is that the office for National statistics asked people to
0:12:47 > 0:12:50estimate how many calories they were eating over a certain number of
0:12:50 > 0:12:58days. Many estimated they were eating 2000, in fact there were
0:12:58 > 0:13:01eating well over 3000. -- men estimated they were eating 2000.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06Basically the story is that men are kidding themselves. You kid
0:13:06 > 0:13:12yourselves.Men are worse than women on this.We kid ourselves we are
0:13:12 > 0:13:17eating far less than actually are. You have a sugar tax coming in,
0:13:17 > 0:13:24long-awaited, in April. Which the government estimates will get the
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Treasury 520 million which will then be invested in primary schools and
0:13:27 > 0:13:34sport. That has been trialled for a long time, it's been off and on. Add
0:13:34 > 0:13:39to see if that changes behaviour. It's on in Ireland, Ireland has
0:13:39 > 0:13:46introduced one. Mexico has a sugar tax, it has seen sales of soft
0:13:46 > 0:13:53drinks full. The Scottish Government has the same kind of thing, talking
0:13:53 > 0:13:55about forcing restaurants and clubs to control their portion size.
0:13:55 > 0:14:02Smaller portions.Smaller plates, they reckon.Not like in America
0:14:02 > 0:14:09where you can get a second portion, fourth portion, full three.We all
0:14:09 > 0:14:13know what we have to do, it's that cultural, habitual thing of doing it
0:14:13 > 0:14:21day in day out. That's it for the papers this hour. We will be back at
0:14:21 > 0:14:2311:30pm.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Next on BBC News - Meet the Author.