:00:57. > :01:01.Here... As fares increase for passengers,
:01:01. > :01:04.what will the future shape of our railways be in the region?
:01:04. > :01:08.And Newcastle is getting more powers and the chance to vote on an
:01:08. > :01:18.elected mayor. But will he, or she, have the clout enjoyed by Boris
:01:18. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :31:28.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1810 seconds
:31:28. > :31:32.Hello and a very warm welcome to this special "collector's edition"
:31:33. > :31:37.of the programme. Coming up... The future of our railways in the
:31:37. > :31:39.North. As fares go up, will passengers lose out?
:31:40. > :31:44.First, Newcastle is being offered new powers and the Government
:31:44. > :31:47.believes they can make it an engine for economic growth. Deputy Prime
:31:47. > :31:50.Minister Nick Clegg announced the plans this week. He says they'll
:31:50. > :31:53.give Newcastle greater control over its local transport, business rates
:31:53. > :31:58.and planning - powers which won't be available to other cities like
:31:58. > :32:01.Sunderland or Carlisle. The government also wants to see an
:32:01. > :32:05.elected mayor take charge, with a referendum on the issue due next
:32:05. > :32:08.Spring. So with the promise of more power, can we expect a Geordie
:32:08. > :32:18.version of London mayor Boris Johnson? Mark Denten has been
:32:18. > :32:22.
:32:22. > :32:25.finding out. Christmas shopping in Newcastle.
:32:26. > :32:29.This week, the Government has confirmed it is giving voters here
:32:29. > :32:37.a little present - the chance to decide whether they want an elected
:32:37. > :32:47.mare. Who should be? Alan Shearer. He is strong-minded. He will not
:32:47. > :32:48.
:32:48. > :32:53.give too much away! Sir John Hall. Why would that be? He has done all
:32:53. > :32:58.right for the area. Peter Andre! He is kind and I think he would be
:32:58. > :33:02.nice. But even if Peter Andre is preparing for his leadership bid
:33:02. > :33:07.right now, it is not so much about who would get the job or how much
:33:07. > :33:13.power they will have. Up till now, the signs have not been good,
:33:13. > :33:22.because not all elected mares are equal. This is Stephen Lawrence,
:33:22. > :33:28.mare of London. He already has a raft of powers -- Boris Johnson. He
:33:28. > :33:33.can he has power see -- other mares can only dream of. He can do that
:33:33. > :33:39.over an area covering 32 different London councils, rather than one
:33:39. > :33:43.council. Unlike other elected mares, the police are accountable to him.
:33:44. > :33:49.Crime is the key issue here. Even if voters elected Newcastle Meyer,
:33:49. > :33:55.the winner would not have those powers to tackle crime. Wendy once
:33:55. > :34:00.a mare with more clout. He should be able to help the police try and
:34:00. > :34:07.cut the crime. But he has not got any authority to do that, what is
:34:07. > :34:10.the point of having an? I will vote, but it will be a know. There is
:34:10. > :34:15.small support here. This restaurant has suffered from the economic
:34:15. > :34:20.squeeze but with the right parts, an elected official could help.
:34:20. > :34:24.They need someone to come in and make this region less stagnant. The
:34:24. > :34:28.elected mare should have control over strategic planning of the city
:34:28. > :34:32.and control of the housing and economic policies. If it is a
:34:32. > :34:38.coherent policy for Newcastle and the surrounding areas, it will lead
:34:38. > :34:41.to huge economic development. Ministers say local people should
:34:41. > :34:48.decide on the powers. Supporters of the idea already know what they
:34:48. > :34:51.want. We are demanding and Papas equal to Boris Johnson. We're also
:34:51. > :34:55.looking at some of the parts that may be available to the first
:34:55. > :35:00.Minister in Scotland that are available to Boris Johnson. If we
:35:00. > :35:04.do not get that, we are going to continue to see economic decline.
:35:04. > :35:09.While a new round of elected mares may be Coalition policy, the
:35:09. > :35:14.Liberal Democrat leader here is against the idea. There is a
:35:14. > :35:17.fixation with personality politics. Personality over content. It would
:35:17. > :35:20.cost more and it seems like a distraction at this time when we
:35:20. > :35:26.all really have to concentrate on doing her best to provide good
:35:26. > :35:29.public services are in a time of dwindling resources. This week, the
:35:29. > :35:33.Deputy Prime Minister announced extra powers for Newcastle,
:35:33. > :35:40.including more control over business rates. To be have to vote
:35:40. > :35:44.Yes for a male first? There is no link for our offerer of new powers
:35:44. > :35:52.to the cities and a vote for Aurora a mare or not. Where the have these
:35:52. > :35:56.new paths are not, you can vote for him there. There's plenty of time
:35:56. > :35:59.to digest the idea until May. Well with me now is the Labour MP
:35:59. > :36:07.for Tynemouth, Alan Campbell and in our Leeds studio, the Conservative
:36:07. > :36:10.MP for Outer York, Julian Sturdy. Julian, if Nick Clegg says
:36:10. > :36:17.Newcastle was going to get these powers even if it doesn't vote for
:36:18. > :36:20.a mare, why bother with the mare? support this policy. It is very
:36:20. > :36:23.important and it is part of an agenda be want to see rolled out
:36:23. > :36:28.across the country. All similarly, it will be down to the people of
:36:28. > :36:32.Newcastle to decide. That is very important. There is no evidence for
:36:32. > :36:36.a public clamour for a mare in Newcastle or any of the cities.
:36:36. > :36:41.People could have conditions -- petitioned for years but they did
:36:41. > :36:46.not. If that is the case, there will be a negative vote. Elected
:36:46. > :36:50.mares have worked well across the region already. It is important
:36:50. > :36:54.that the mandate is there. The idea supported and it is part of the
:36:54. > :37:00.localism agenda, but it is down to the local people to decide. That is
:37:01. > :37:05.fair enough, isn't it? It was a labourer idea and it could benefit
:37:05. > :37:12.to Newcastle. I am a fan of the May oral system but not always a fan of
:37:12. > :37:17.the people who win the mayoral elections. It does give visibility
:37:17. > :37:20.to a high-profile politician. It is up to the people of Newcastle or
:37:20. > :37:26.any other area or whether or not they want to go down that route.
:37:26. > :37:32.Isn't it more about the poll worse than the individual? The debate
:37:32. > :37:35.thankfully now it is about the parlous and the powers Boris
:37:35. > :37:39.Johnson has in London and the powers the mare of North Tyneside
:37:39. > :37:43.has. There is a considerable difference. You can't seriously
:37:43. > :37:49.think you could give the mare of North Tyneside Para for the police
:37:49. > :37:53.- but would work. Even parts of the transporter are her problematic
:37:53. > :37:59.when it is a small council area in a big transport terrier. A city
:37:59. > :38:04.like Newcastle and, we were saying very similar things about the kind
:38:04. > :38:09.of powers that we wanted to see divorce two cities. You have hit on
:38:09. > :38:13.a real bone of contention, which is the fact that Boris Johnson is the
:38:13. > :38:16.chair of the Met Police Authority. He is also in charge of the
:38:16. > :38:20.Transport for London. He can do something about anti-social
:38:20. > :38:24.behaviour on buses or the underground. Whereas on the very
:38:24. > :38:28.same day as Newcastle might be getting an elected mare next
:38:28. > :38:32.November, we will be electing police commissioners if they choose
:38:33. > :38:38.to do that. There is a confusion at the heart of Government policy.
:38:38. > :38:43.Some of the par so very unclear. That is a difficult sell to people.
:38:43. > :38:51.I think Nick Clegg's a month and yesterday was very good for us. We
:38:51. > :38:55.have to make sure we bridge this really important divides -- divide.
:38:55. > :38:59.We have to do all we can as a Government under Coalition
:38:59. > :39:05.Government to do that. By giving these new powers to eight new
:39:05. > :39:09.cities, it has to be a good thing. We will see how it rolls out and
:39:09. > :39:16.whether more powers will follow him more cities. My city of York is not
:39:16. > :39:19.one of those eight, but it could be. Isn't that the question? Isn't this
:39:19. > :39:29.-- of this it is good idea, why not a liar all councils to have these
:39:29. > :39:31.
:39:31. > :39:34.kind of powers? That might well,. Why not now? We have to look at
:39:34. > :39:39.this as positive. If these are the first 2008-2009 and 2009-2010
:39:39. > :39:49.cities, it might be rolled out further. Let's see how it pans out
:39:49. > :39:49.
:39:49. > :39:54.for the first eight cities. This is about local people taking control
:39:54. > :39:58.of their areas. There are limited powers, though. They will not have
:39:58. > :40:04.powers over policing. As you rightly say, we're not talking
:40:04. > :40:07.about the same parts that have been rolled out in London. This is a
:40:07. > :40:14.slightly watered-down version of what is happening in London. But
:40:14. > :40:18.this has got to be seen as a good measure for our cities. We're going
:40:18. > :40:24.to have more devolved power, which I support. That is part of the
:40:24. > :40:30.local has an agenda. But ultimately, it is up to the people in Newcastle
:40:30. > :40:34.and the local people and each individual area to decide. We do
:40:34. > :40:40.except that this is the first the tenth for decades to really hand
:40:40. > :40:45.serious power back to councils? it is not. We introduced mares, for
:40:45. > :40:51.example. We also introduced single pot fondling and total place
:40:51. > :40:58.funding. There is a continuing that is taking place here. But let's not
:40:58. > :41:01.be under any illusions. Bears are still facing enormous difficulties.
:41:01. > :41:04.You can devolve the power of the localisation of is the straight,
:41:05. > :41:09.but you cannot hide from the fact that North Tyneside will lose �90
:41:09. > :41:13.million by that going ahead. Only if they don't correct the system.
:41:13. > :41:17.They will only corrected for the first 12 months. What is happening
:41:17. > :41:22.here is not just the devolution of power, but the devolution of who
:41:22. > :41:25.makes the bad news. Thank you. Now, travelling by train is going
:41:25. > :41:28.to be more expensive in the new year. Despite some extra cash
:41:28. > :41:31.offered up by the Chancellor, the planned rise in fares will still be
:41:31. > :41:34.around six per cent on many tickets. And there could be even bigger and
:41:34. > :41:37.more controversial changes to come. Ministers plan to set out the
:41:37. > :41:40.direction of travel for our railways in the new year. Unions
:41:40. > :41:43.fear it will amount to cuts to services and staff. But others hope
:41:43. > :41:53.communities will get a greater say over their local rail services.
:41:53. > :42:02.
:42:02. > :42:07.Fergus Hewison reports. Relics from the region's pride past
:42:07. > :42:11.as a pioneer of rail travel. But if the future of the railway is
:42:11. > :42:15.worrying some people. Who should fund them and to should ensure that
:42:15. > :42:19.they run with the best interests of the travelling public in mind?
:42:19. > :42:26.Central Station, Newcastle. What is on the West list for passengers
:42:26. > :42:31.here? It should be cheaper. Better quality. Better food. And a better
:42:31. > :42:36.ride. I have been to Glasgow quite recently and everything was
:42:36. > :42:42.excellent. It was more or less on time. There is an issue about
:42:42. > :42:47.pricing. It is very expensive. I think privatisation of rail travel
:42:47. > :42:52.has been a general disaster. changes could be on the cards for
:42:52. > :42:58.railways, including use for fares. There are due to increase by 6% for
:42:58. > :43:02.regulated fares in January next year. They were due to go up by 8%
:43:02. > :43:07.until George Osborne capped this Fry's aim his autumn statement last
:43:07. > :43:10.month. Government proposals are also due out in the early part of
:43:10. > :43:15.next year. There are likely to incorporate recommendations made in
:43:15. > :43:23.the review of the rail system earlier this year. These included
:43:23. > :43:26.giving local transport bodies and councils more power over rely
:43:26. > :43:30.funding and high fares are set. Controversially, the review also
:43:30. > :43:33.said that the running cost of our railways could be 30% less than
:43:34. > :43:38.they are now, partly by closing ticket offices and reducing the
:43:38. > :43:42.number of staff on trains. Mike Parker used to run the Tyne and
:43:42. > :43:46.Wear Metro system. He thinks handing some powers to local bodies
:43:47. > :43:49.would work if money channelled to rail firms through them. It is who
:43:50. > :43:53.determines what the services are going to be and who will monitor
:43:53. > :43:58.the performance. Passenger transport executives are no very
:43:58. > :44:02.good position to monitor bus services, local railway services
:44:02. > :44:09.that they procurer. But to much of the entire northern franchise,
:44:09. > :44:13.there are no very good position to do that. But proposals like this
:44:13. > :44:17.alarm railway unions. The McInulty report identified key problems
:44:17. > :44:21.about the lack of integration and the transport network SVRs. But it
:44:21. > :44:24.then comes up with the wrong prescription to resolve that. It
:44:25. > :44:29.says we should have more fragmentation, more splits and more
:44:29. > :44:31.fragmentation of the industry. That is nonsense. You cannot actually
:44:31. > :44:36.come up with the right diagnosis and then give the wrong
:44:36. > :44:40.prescription. Railway operators say they have no plans to close to good
:44:40. > :44:43.offices and are waiting to see what the Government will save.
:44:43. > :44:46.Supporters of greater local control think that this could mean we get a
:44:46. > :44:54.greater slice of the nation's transport budget. We have always
:44:54. > :45:04.been aware that we do not get quite a fair a cut of that national
:45:04. > :45:09.investment package as we should do. For example, London gets more than
:45:09. > :45:16.double what we get. That is something that could be addressed
:45:16. > :45:19.in any localisation of decision- making on transport. It is expected
:45:19. > :45:22.the Government's proposals will appear in the New Year and everyone
:45:22. > :45:30.seems to have something on the wish-list already.
:45:30. > :45:34.Well, let's talk about the future of the railways now with me guests.
:45:34. > :45:39.They spotted a problem with that and they have put money into it.
:45:39. > :45:47.is a very small limitation. 6% is an enormous amount of money in the
:45:47. > :45:51.year and it is going to rise. This was a system that we inherited in
:45:51. > :45:54.the botched privatisation, in which private companies ran section of
:45:55. > :45:58.the railway are without any way of making sure that they provided
:45:58. > :46:02.value for money. And the two things that happened there was that the
:46:02. > :46:07.taxpayer be done money through subsidy, which is unsustainable. Or
:46:07. > :46:12.secondly, that fares went up. That is unsustainable. The Government
:46:12. > :46:15.has to come forward with the right paper in referring to what McNulty
:46:15. > :46:19.has said and tell us what it is going to do about it. What you
:46:20. > :46:25.think the Government should be doing about this? I can't imagine
:46:25. > :46:32.their pay rises will fill people with festive cheer? I agree about
:46:32. > :46:36.the right paper. As a member of the Transport Select Committee, and all
:46:36. > :46:40.parties will welcome that when it comes forward. Obviously, no one
:46:40. > :46:46.wants to see fares go up. It is difficult. But it was going to go
:46:46. > :46:51.up by 3% plus inflation. Now it is going up by 1% plus inflation. All
:46:51. > :46:57.the indicators are that inflation will fall over the next year.
:46:57. > :47:05.will not help passengers in January when they face 6% rises. I agree.
:47:05. > :47:10.Nobody likes to see fares go up. I think our rail services are in
:47:10. > :47:13.really good heart. They have been prioritised by the Government and
:47:13. > :47:18.sue the Department of Transport. They're getting investment in
:47:18. > :47:20.infrastructure within the transport. There has been a number of
:47:20. > :47:25.announcements within the Chancellor's Budget statement. That
:47:25. > :47:29.is good news. On a number of announcements for the North. We
:47:29. > :47:33.have not had a fair deal and transport in the North.
:47:33. > :47:37.Government is doing all these things. He had 13 years the sort
:47:37. > :47:41.this out? In the autumn Statement, they announced money for the metro
:47:41. > :47:46.system which we had put him and they had already taken out once. I
:47:46. > :47:51.wouldn't think the Government is doing very much for the North. High
:47:51. > :47:55.speed to is not coming to Newcastle. We are going to be left high and
:47:55. > :47:59.dry by that of we're not careful. I think the Government has a
:47:59. > :48:04.difficult task here, but it should not go down the route of thinking
:48:04. > :48:08.that fare rises other way forward, nor would passengers want to see a
:48:08. > :48:12.cut in frontline staff under do not want there to get Thomases close.
:48:12. > :48:18.600 taken of the closing is unacceptable. What you're saying
:48:18. > :48:23.cost a lot of money. Because of the mess you Government left, there is
:48:23. > :48:26.not a much money. The Government is right to look at how to save money.
:48:26. > :48:29.McNulty said there are savings to be made of the industry works
:48:29. > :48:34.better and there are better incentives the number system that
:48:34. > :48:39.existed as a result of privatisation. McNulty also said
:48:39. > :48:44.abandon the inflation cap on fares. That is unacceptable, as is pouring
:48:44. > :48:47.in taxpayer's money year after year. The problem is that private
:48:47. > :48:51.companies have not had to look for value for money. They're going to
:48:51. > :48:57.have to find that and that should not mean higher fares. It should
:48:57. > :49:01.not mean cutting ticket offices. That is the concern here, that the
:49:01. > :49:04.Government is about cost cutting. That this is going to be taking
:49:04. > :49:11.staff of trains, cutting ticket offices and making a poorer service
:49:11. > :49:15.for people. That is not what the paper should deliver. It is going
:49:15. > :49:19.to deliver a more efficient service. That has to happen. We have to
:49:19. > :49:24.deliver that in a way that is fair to passengers, delivers the right
:49:24. > :49:28.kind of system but we need and we have to have a better connected
:49:28. > :49:32.systems. The connectivity within our transport is an issue. We have
:49:32. > :49:37.to make sure that is delivered and that the North plays a key role
:49:37. > :49:43.than that. But there is real good news for the North. We're getting
:49:43. > :49:47.improvements and the Trans Pennine Express. It will be a great boost
:49:47. > :49:53.to the northern region. I am pushing for it to go from Leeds to
:49:53. > :49:57.York. It is great news. We have improvements on the East coast main
:49:57. > :50:03.line, and Ford. There is real good news. Ultimately, which will have
:50:03. > :50:06.to look at this paper closely. Should renationalise? I think it
:50:07. > :50:10.might be popular but where would you get the money from?
:50:10. > :50:13.Now, hankies at the ready, but today is the very last Politics
:50:13. > :50:21.Show ever. It was eight years ago in this very studio that my
:50:22. > :50:26.colleague Mary Askew launched the show in suitably dramatic fashion.
:50:26. > :50:29.Stay with us to find out if this should be banned. It is just a toy,
:50:29. > :50:33.but our police officers are definitely not amused.
:50:33. > :50:36.Well, with Mary safely locked away on firearms offences, it was up to
:50:36. > :50:40.yours truly to take on the job. The producer couldn't afford to buy me
:50:40. > :50:44.a tie, but at least we spared no expense - and I mean no expense -
:50:44. > :50:46.on the set. I wonder happened to those trendy TVs? Or my good looks
:50:46. > :50:50.for that matter? Well, all good things come to an
:50:50. > :50:52.end. But don't despair. We'll all be back in the new year with a
:50:52. > :50:55.brand new show called Sunday Politics. I'll still be asking
:50:55. > :50:59.politicians the difficult questions - I might even get the odd answer -
:50:59. > :51:02.but there'll be a new look and more stories from across the region.
:51:02. > :51:04.And you know what? I might even wear a tie! Worth watching just for
:51:04. > :51:07.that. For now though, we're off on our
:51:07. > :51:07.seasonal break. But if you're into seasonal break. But if you're into
:51:07. > :51:10.seasonal break. But if you're into Twitter, I'll be tweeting like a
:51:10. > :51:15.robin throughout the festive period. And there's always my blog at
:51:15. > :51:18.bbc.co.uk/richardmoss - what better gift for your loved one?