10/07/2011

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:00:46. > :00:49.In the east Midlands: growing pressure on the Prime Minister to

:00:49. > :00:54.intervene in the grubs crisis at Bombardier.

:00:54. > :01:01.A Tory MP attacks the way the government is handling the crisis.

:01:01. > :01:11.And the elected mayor accusing like a dictator. -- accused of acting

:01:11. > :01:11.

:01:11. > :40:32.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2361 seconds

:40:32. > :40:37.The stakes are high in here in the East Midlands. Coming up, the Prime

:40:37. > :40:40.Minister is facing growing pressure to intervene in the jobs crisis at

:40:40. > :40:44.Bombardier. And bad blood in one of our towns

:40:44. > :40:48.where Labour are accusing the electric mayor of the key -- of

:40:48. > :40:52.behaving like a dictator. message to the mayor is that he

:40:52. > :40:59.should realise it is North Nottinghamshire at not North Korea.

:40:59. > :41:03.He needs to share power. Conservative MPs are demanding a

:41:03. > :41:08.meeting with the Prime Minister over the crisis at Bombardier. They

:41:08. > :41:12.have axed more than for 1400 jobs after losing the Thames rail

:41:12. > :41:17.contract. Our political editor reports.

:41:17. > :41:21.Is this London Underground carriage the last of the line? After the

:41:21. > :41:26.UK's only train maker has lost out on a big toy tractor -- big

:41:26. > :41:31.contract worth �1.4 billion to its German rival Siemens, Bombardier's

:41:31. > :41:34.own future in Derby is in serious doubt. How has it come to this?

:41:34. > :41:39.That is the question being asked by many of the one basil or hundred

:41:39. > :41:42.workers at the who stand to lose their jobs. The finger of blame is

:41:42. > :41:46.being pointed at Whitehall, Brussels and Downing Street. We are

:41:46. > :41:50.setting out to ask the question, what more can we do within the

:41:50. > :41:55.current rules to make sure we boost manufacturing in our country and

:41:55. > :41:59.not have situations like this in the future. The Prime Minister are

:41:59. > :42:03.brought his cabinet to Derby a few months ago. I think it would be

:42:03. > :42:07.good to get the Cabinet out of London. To celebrate what his

:42:07. > :42:10.Chancellor called the march of the makers and the importance of

:42:10. > :42:15.industry to rebalance the British economy. When the government

:42:15. > :42:19.awarded the contract for the new Thameslink trains to Siemens rather

:42:19. > :42:23.than Bombardier, it was quick to deflect criticism. We are dealing

:42:23. > :42:28.with one of contract that was drawn up under the last Labour government

:42:28. > :42:31.and the terms of reference were so narrow that the current Transport

:42:31. > :42:36.Secretary had absolutely no choice but to make the decision he did. He

:42:36. > :42:39.would have been sued in court if he had done it otherwise. I will

:42:39. > :42:44.accept the blame for the past if they will take the responsibility

:42:44. > :42:47.for the future and for changing the decision they now say was wrong.

:42:47. > :42:51.Many's the black -- summer let infra structure contracts awarded

:42:51. > :42:57.by the French and German governments have gone to their own

:42:57. > :43:00.manufacturers. Was Bombardier stopped in its tracks by

:43:00. > :43:04.Whitehall's strict value for money procurement policy or by over-

:43:05. > :43:10.zealous interpretation of the European Union's fair competition

:43:10. > :43:16.policy? The government has got to read the role it and see how it

:43:16. > :43:20.Siemens has managed to out bid us. We must take a leaf out of their

:43:20. > :43:25.book and we must look at the procurement process much more

:43:25. > :43:31.thoroughly. One Derbyshire Torry says that her government has taken

:43:31. > :43:35.the wrong decision and she is not alone. Another MP believes that the

:43:35. > :43:39.procurement rules on this contract were stacked up against Bombardier.

:43:39. > :43:44.This was a 30 year deal where the operator has to put the carriages

:43:44. > :43:48.on the track and they get paid for the days they are running. To try

:43:48. > :43:53.to finance that over a 30 air period is usually difficult. If you

:43:53. > :43:57.are Siemens, aged huge multi- near -- multinational company, they can

:43:57. > :44:02.do that a lot easier than someone who is focused on building trains.

:44:02. > :44:07.In the House of Lords, the Bishop of Derby quest into the coalition's

:44:07. > :44:12.commitment to British manufacturing. I would be interested if the

:44:12. > :44:17.minister could indicate to us where something like the design and

:44:17. > :44:20.making of trains fits into a strategy within which we have do

:44:20. > :44:24.have their investment in manufacturing and what investment

:44:24. > :44:28.in manufacturing in a strategy would have to say to a highly

:44:28. > :44:33.skilled workforce in a place like Derby that those facing collapse

:44:33. > :44:38.through lack of investment and tackle opportunity. Other big local

:44:38. > :44:45.employers, Thorntons, the chocolate maker and a Derby-based internet

:44:45. > :44:48.bank, are shedding staff. Now Bombardier. My genuine anxiety of

:44:48. > :44:53.is that Bombardier will decide that there is not a future for them in

:44:53. > :44:58.the United Kingdom. At one level, Bombardier is a Canadian-based

:44:58. > :45:03.multinational that simply lost out to a German-based multinationals.

:45:03. > :45:07.Yet, concern over British jobs is fast becoming an early test of this

:45:07. > :45:12.government's commitment to manufacturing. Next week,

:45:12. > :45:15.representatives of the railway union will be meeting the Transport

:45:15. > :45:22.Secretary Philip Hammond to try to persuade the government to reverse

:45:22. > :45:25.its decision. With me now, the regional organiser of the RMT.

:45:25. > :45:29.Do you have any reason to believe that you can persuade the

:45:29. > :45:34.government to change its mind on this and award the contract to

:45:34. > :45:37.Bombardier instead? We are very confident that our campaign to

:45:37. > :45:43.overturn that the government's decision is going to be successful.

:45:43. > :45:46.What is it about the campaign? campaign itself is do brings to the

:45:46. > :45:51.government's attention the fact that they have done wrong. The

:45:51. > :45:54.whole procurement process, we believe, was not fair. The fact

:45:54. > :45:59.that they have issued the contracts to another company that is abroad

:45:59. > :46:04.and is going to be built abroad, jeopardising thousands of jobs

:46:04. > :46:08.within the UK, is wholly wrong. fact is that according to the roles

:46:08. > :46:12.the government says it had to operate within, it believes that

:46:12. > :46:15.Siemens offers better value for money. Our understanding, it since

:46:15. > :46:21.the announcement, we have been making various inquiries, and we

:46:21. > :46:26.understand that the cost of build, Bombardier where she does. The

:46:26. > :46:30.maintenance contract, Siemens were cheaper. The fact that the finance

:46:30. > :46:37.arrangements, Siemens wearing a better position having just

:46:37. > :46:42.received another contract from Germany to build trains. Are you

:46:42. > :46:45.saying that Siemens were given an unfair advantage? We firmly believe

:46:45. > :46:51.so. We are sitting under the Freedom of Information Act Better

:46:51. > :46:58.information with regards to the tendering process. We are also

:46:58. > :47:03.looking with our legal advisers into the matter. We are hoping to

:47:03. > :47:08.find out what options are open to us. You are prepared to take it all

:47:09. > :47:18.the way to the courts? Definitely. Conservative MPs are also concerned

:47:19. > :47:20.

:47:20. > :47:25.about this. Some are spitting nails over this. Some are adamant that

:47:25. > :47:30.the government have taken the wrong decision on this issue. They are

:47:30. > :47:35.seen the Prime Minister over the next few days and will be taking a

:47:35. > :47:39.but Derbyshire MPs including Nigel Mills a who on Tuesday has secured

:47:39. > :47:44.a parliamentary debate, an hour and a half parliamentary debate, in

:47:44. > :47:47.which he will be cross-examining one of the business ministers.

:47:47. > :47:53.are particularly concerned about the way Philip Hammond is handling

:47:53. > :47:58.this? Yes, the MP has told us that she was warning the Transport

:47:58. > :48:02.Secretary weeks ago about the knock-on effect of Bombardier not

:48:02. > :48:07.getting the contract. She has told us that Philip Hammond told her

:48:07. > :48:14.that Bombardier has other orders, they will be fine, there will be no

:48:14. > :48:17.job losses. So she is particularly angry because he dismissed all of

:48:17. > :48:21.her concerns and claims that the Transport Secretary treated

:48:21. > :48:31.highlight a young child. She also wants to the National Audit Office

:48:31. > :48:34.to get involved? Yes, that is true. A group of Derbyshire MPs, they are

:48:34. > :48:39.planning to approach the National Audit Office within the next few

:48:39. > :48:43.days about the process that led to the awarding of the contract.

:48:43. > :48:47.Realistically, what more pressure can you put on the government and

:48:47. > :48:50.how many other jobs could be at stake in East Midlands? The company

:48:50. > :48:53.have already announced that they are undertaking a comprehensive

:48:53. > :48:59.review of their operations within the UK. Worst-case scenario, the

:48:59. > :49:04.doomsday option, it could be 4500 directly employed people put out of

:49:04. > :49:07.work. That does not include the supply chain. We are talking

:49:07. > :49:14.another 25,000 to 30,000 people. The fact that the Germans, the

:49:14. > :49:19.French and the Spanish... 97% of German trains are built in Germany.

:49:19. > :49:26.100% in France, 90% in Spain. It is not a fair market and we have to do

:49:26. > :49:31.something to protect our own. you.

:49:31. > :49:36.Next, Tony Blair and now David Cameron are big fans of elected

:49:36. > :49:40.mayors. Try telling that to the Labour group in Mansfield. They are

:49:41. > :49:47.embroiled in a major row with their mayor.

:49:47. > :49:50.This man is an elected mayor. He is in charge. But hold on, this man, a

:49:50. > :49:55.Labour leader, has the support of two-thirds of the councillors in

:49:55. > :50:03.the town. Some say it is a recipe for disaster and is happening right

:50:03. > :50:08.here in Mansfield. This man became the first elected mayor of the town

:50:09. > :50:16.in 2002, ending nearly 30 years of Labour leadership in Mansfield. In

:50:16. > :50:18.May, he narrowly secured his third term in office. I think people

:50:18. > :50:24.appreciate the Mail System, the open sea and transparency, the

:50:24. > :50:32.clear visible leadership, they can get him on the phone, at Resolven

:50:32. > :50:37.issue. In his two previous terms, the former newsagent he despised

:50:37. > :50:40.the dogma of party politics, it was supported by a bunch of largely

:50:40. > :50:44.independent councillors. In May, Labour won a two-thirds of the

:50:44. > :50:49.seats and wanted their share of power. We had hoped that he would

:50:49. > :50:54.see that it was appropriate that there was a significant Labour

:50:54. > :51:01.representation in Cabinet under. Up to four or five members from the

:51:01. > :51:06.Labour Party. But he did not see it that way and he persuaded two

:51:06. > :51:13.Labour councillors to join him who were then promptly suspended by the

:51:13. > :51:20.Labour party for being disloyal. Lifelong Labour Party members are

:51:20. > :51:30.fuming. I feel better. As much as I am a Labour through and through and

:51:30. > :51:31.

:51:31. > :51:35.I am not able to do what people elected me to do. -- I feel bitter.

:51:35. > :51:41.The angry rebels are now serve on the Cabinet as a non aligned

:51:41. > :51:46.members. I do not know why they are angry. Lots of people are justified

:51:46. > :51:51.in feeling angry but I do not think it is those councillors. Can you

:51:51. > :51:58.understand that they feel snubbed by the party that they have been

:51:58. > :52:04.loyal to for so long? They snubbed the party. This is prove beyond

:52:04. > :52:10.doubt that these people are more interested in party than people. I

:52:10. > :52:15.think my added that I have used, I look at the people not the party,

:52:15. > :52:19.and it exemplified this, they do not do that. They want to rule and

:52:19. > :52:28.wrought their way. How did the deed poll of Mansfield feel about the

:52:28. > :52:33.political dogfight? Is a waste of money. Politics! It says it all.

:52:33. > :52:38.This time, I have to say, I am on his side. I think he is doing the

:52:38. > :52:42.right thing. The council and the mayor should look at what the

:52:42. > :52:45.constituents require rather than all of this infighting. None of

:52:45. > :52:50.this surprises the deputy leader of Nottingham City Council who has

:52:50. > :52:55.made something of a study of elected mayors and feels the danger

:52:55. > :52:59.of returning a tyrant is high. As a leader, you are checked and

:52:59. > :53:07.balanced or of the time. Been there is responsible only to the

:53:07. > :53:12.electorate. -- the mayor. They have difficulty getting rid of you if

:53:12. > :53:22.they wanted. It is a bit like ancient Romans. Would you want to

:53:22. > :53:27.be governed by a republic of or the man who made his horse a senator?

:53:27. > :53:32.Doncaster's controversial mayor, an English Democrat, has caused

:53:32. > :53:36.controversy, with policies that included axing two thirds of his

:53:36. > :53:41.counsellors, banning political correctness and cutting translation

:53:41. > :53:46.services for immigrants. In Stoke, they were so unhappy with their

:53:46. > :53:50.electric mayor, they got rid of the system. My message to the mayor is

:53:50. > :53:56.that he ought to realise that this is North Nottinghamshire not North

:53:56. > :54:01.Korea. He needs to share power. you think you hoodwinked Labour by

:54:01. > :54:06.poaching their guys and now they are sacked? I do not think I had

:54:06. > :54:11.when his mum. Maybe a was cleverer than they gave me the courtesy of.

:54:11. > :54:16.-- hoodwink to them. If they want to play hardball, I can play

:54:16. > :54:20.hardball. It was a political move to be proud of, if you want to be

:54:20. > :54:24.proud of that sort of thing. Personally, I do not. I want

:54:24. > :54:29.politics to be about policies that work for Mansfield and make it

:54:30. > :54:33.better. There are 14 it directly elected mayors in England including

:54:33. > :54:38.Sir Peter Soulsby in Leicester. The governors say they want to see a

:54:38. > :54:45.lot more because they say they encourage local democracy. But some

:54:46. > :54:53.people, here in Mansfield, are beginning to doubt that.

:54:53. > :55:01.We were hoping to get Mansfield's mayor together with that the MPs in

:55:01. > :55:06.the studio but here is an electric mayor enthusiastic.

:55:06. > :55:11.You heard this story, this is not Nottinghamshire, not the North

:55:11. > :55:19.Korea. North Nottinghamshire is finding it difficult at the present

:55:19. > :55:23.moment in time. Because this political battle that is going on,

:55:23. > :55:28.the mayor has been elected through the system that Labour set up in

:55:29. > :55:32.2000. They knew the rules, they know how it works. I suggest that

:55:32. > :55:39.what they do instead of wasting everybody's time is get back to

:55:39. > :55:43.work, get back to Mansfield, sort the problems at, they know that the

:55:43. > :55:50.mayor will work along with him and get things done. Stop wasting their

:55:50. > :55:54.time, basically? Absolute. The last thing that the mayor wants to do

:55:54. > :56:02.his work with us. We went to him and said that we are two-thirds of

:56:02. > :56:12.the council, you got in on a tiny majority on second preference votes.

:56:12. > :56:13.

:56:13. > :56:17.67 was the number of votes between them. Second preference votes. I

:56:17. > :56:20.always made it clear that we want to work in partnership with the

:56:20. > :56:24.mayor. But his Cabinet had to reflect the fact that we have two

:56:24. > :56:32.thirds of the council. It does seem extraordinary that they do not have

:56:32. > :56:36.any seats. Not really. Martin knows the rules. The Labour government

:56:37. > :56:45.set up in 2000 to streamline both local-government and this is a

:56:45. > :56:49.classic example that of Labour plain old-fashioned politics. They

:56:49. > :56:55.have the opportunity to join the Cabinet. The two people that did

:56:55. > :57:03.have been extricated from the Labour Party, or they have had

:57:03. > :57:07.problems. The fact of the matter is, the mayor has to choose from his

:57:07. > :57:11.council the best people to run Mansfield. You are saying that none

:57:11. > :57:18.of them are worth having in the Cabinet? They could have come along

:57:18. > :57:21.to the mayor and said I am good enough to be on the Cabinet. Isn't

:57:22. > :57:28.this Labour's fault in the first place because you set up the system

:57:28. > :57:34.of direct elected mayors? There is a democratic principle at stake. We

:57:34. > :57:44.won handsomely the election and hold two-thirds majority on the

:57:44. > :57:45.

:57:45. > :57:48.council. The mayor has chosen his Cabinet from a small group of his

:57:48. > :57:56.Mansfield independence. It is hearer that is acting in a partisan

:57:56. > :58:03.way. We have a group of people ageing from 20 up to retirement age,

:58:03. > :58:07.people in industry, people who run their old -- own businesses.

:58:07. > :58:13.then you have suspended two of your own councillors for joining his

:58:13. > :58:21.Cabinet? We agreed as a party that we would go to the mayor with a

:58:21. > :58:25.negotiating position to say that in his Cabinet it ought to reflect the

:58:25. > :58:29.two-thirds in the council, that means four or five members. We

:58:29. > :58:39.agreed. When we went to the boat, this was to be our negotiating

:58:39. > :58:40.

:58:40. > :58:48.position. -- it was to be our vote. I have not got a problem. You have

:58:48. > :58:54.got a problem, you were saying it was very difficult in Mansfield.

:58:54. > :58:57.He knows that that mediation is the way to go. There are problems in

:58:57. > :59:02.Mansfield that need sorting out. They need to get together... Let me

:59:02. > :59:06.finish, Martin. Everybody should work together. He should get the

:59:06. > :59:10.local MP, that is why has did because I do not think the local MP

:59:10. > :59:18.and the council were together, and stop playing party politics with

:59:18. > :59:26.the people's lives in Mansfield. If you met the mayor, you would know

:59:26. > :59:29.that he works with anyone. When he was elected in 2000, -- in 2002, he

:59:29. > :59:35.had a Labour Cabinet. They were the majority in the council. He worked

:59:35. > :59:41.very well done with them. clearly will not work with anyone.

:59:41. > :59:48.We went with a set of proposals and that policies to the electorate and

:59:48. > :59:51.they were in favour of it. 26 Labour councillors were elected. A

:59:51. > :59:56.huge democratic approval from what we were saying in terms of policy.

:59:56. > :59:59.That is what we matters. We want seats in the Cabinet because we

:00:00. > :00:04.want to put through Labour policies that will achieve what is best for

:00:04. > :00:12.Mansfield and stop as the mayor and his cronies have been doing for

:00:12. > :00:19.years, stop the managing decline. We are going to have to leave it