:00:51. > :00:57.There is a new group for Conservative MPs in marginal
:00:57. > :01:02.constituencies, but will the 40 clubs succeed in improving economy,
:01:02. > :01:12.health and transport? And the row over Thames estuary
:01:12. > :01:12.
:01:12. > :30:48.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1776 seconds
:30:48. > :30:53.Welcome to the Politics Show. Coming up: Health, the economy and
:30:53. > :30:57.transport, the key areas to improve. According to new and -- and you
:30:57. > :31:01.Conservative group that includes Amber Rudd. But can the Forty Club
:31:01. > :31:05.are really make a different? It was quicker to get to London on
:31:05. > :31:08.a steam train and it is these days. That is a shocking indictment to
:31:08. > :31:12.the way the transport infrastructure has been left to
:31:12. > :31:14.fester for Ulster of ready for take-off for just a flight of
:31:14. > :31:22.fancy? Boris Johnson and many others say
:31:22. > :31:26.that we need a new airport in the Thames estuary.
:31:26. > :31:30.Older people in larger homes should downsize, to give young families
:31:30. > :31:34.somewhere better to live. We will discuss whether this idea would
:31:34. > :31:38.help to solve the south-east's her sing shortage.
:31:38. > :31:43.There is a new club in the Conservative Party, but not one
:31:43. > :31:49.people would clamour to join, called the Forty Group, made up of
:31:49. > :31:56.40 MPs in the marginal constituency, who narrowly won their seats in the
:31:56. > :32:00.last election. There are now going to try the -- to raise the issues
:32:00. > :32:05.that are most important to their constituents.
:32:05. > :32:15.I am going to speak to Amber Rudd shortly, but first we have been to
:32:15. > :32:16.
:32:16. > :32:20.Amber Rudd's constituency to find The club that no one wants to be in.
:32:20. > :32:24.That is the way a new group called the Forty Group describe themselves.
:32:24. > :32:30.It is made up of the 40 Conservative MPs who won their
:32:30. > :32:33.seats with the narrowest of min job -- majorities. A high proportion of
:32:33. > :32:38.their constituencies include coastal towns, and there is more
:32:38. > :32:43.deprivation and higher unemployment in many safer Tory seats. Hastings
:32:43. > :32:48.is one of these, and it is in Key Amber Rudd who is one of the
:32:48. > :32:50.founding members. It identified the top three issues to their
:32:50. > :32:56.constituents as transport, health and the economy, and it aims to
:32:56. > :33:00.raise their profile and government. On transport, local commuters
:33:00. > :33:03.suffered increased train fares, and it is widely accepted that there is
:33:03. > :33:08.poor transport infrastructure in the end area.
:33:08. > :33:13.Absolute rubbish. If there was a better train service people mate
:33:13. > :33:18.used it more. And if it wasn't so expense of. If we had a faster rail
:33:18. > :33:23.link, it would help develop the area. For the last 20 years we have
:33:23. > :33:27.been promised the same thing, again and again. We get promised to ring
:33:27. > :33:32.road, and better transport, but it never happens. And Amber Rudd has
:33:32. > :33:39.promised better trains. Inadequate transport links in specially to
:33:39. > :33:43.London, are not aiding economic recovery. It was quicker to get to
:33:43. > :33:46.London on a steam train than it is these days. That is a shocking
:33:46. > :33:50.indictment to the way the transport infrastructure of this area has
:33:51. > :33:54.been left to fester. It is not acceptable, and we will not be able
:33:54. > :33:59.to implement as much of a success of the regeneration efforts going
:33:59. > :34:03.on here as we want to, if we do not get an improvement on it. I can see
:34:03. > :34:09.no better avenue for infrastructure spending in the most deprived area
:34:09. > :34:14.of the south-east, and improving the road and rail links to.
:34:14. > :34:24.The second issue is health, the hot topic in the Hastings area. As part
:34:24. > :34:29.of the government spending reductions, 130 cuts are planned in
:34:29. > :34:39.the hospitals, which will mean closing wards and sharing maternity
:34:39. > :34:40.
:34:40. > :34:44.services to others. Her Amber Rudd has said her number
:34:44. > :34:48.one priority was the NHS, but that is difficult to see. At the moment
:34:48. > :34:53.she says the cuts are necessary, but we are seeing nurses, doctors
:34:53. > :34:57.out of jobs, and people in Hastings and Rye saying that we do not want
:34:58. > :35:02.these cuts. It does not seem that she is listening. We have three
:35:02. > :35:06.wards closing, but she voted for a �2 billion organisation of the NHS,
:35:06. > :35:11.which is all going on bureaucracy, not on frontline health care. It
:35:11. > :35:14.seems difficult to justify that. She wants to campaign for maternity
:35:14. > :35:18.services to stay in Hastings, but she says nothing about three
:35:18. > :35:24.elderly care wards being closed and the community.
:35:24. > :35:28.Last, the group has identified the economy as a priority. Hastings is
:35:28. > :35:32.the most deprived area of the south-east. Nearly 10% of the
:35:32. > :35:37.working population in Hastings as unemployed, which is nearly double
:35:37. > :35:44.the south-east average of 5.8%. And the average earnings of a Hastings
:35:44. > :35:47.resident is �407 a week. That is compared to 540p across the region.
:35:47. > :35:52.We are concerned that far from the Government's spending more than
:35:52. > :36:02.Hastings, it is cutting back. The the investment has come to a stop,
:36:02. > :36:05.
:36:05. > :36:09.and the council is receiving... We're going to take a 47% reduction
:36:09. > :36:15.in government support, and that means our ability to do things, to
:36:15. > :36:18.get people work ready, to develop skills, to offer opportunities to
:36:18. > :36:22.employers, all that has been reduced substantially. The
:36:22. > :36:25.Government wanted to do something about jobs and the economy and the
:36:25. > :36:28.ability of the local authority to intervene, and do something about
:36:28. > :36:33.the reductions, because they are disproportionately hard on those
:36:33. > :36:36.areas. The Forty Group have the most
:36:36. > :36:39.gullible seats for the whole of the Conservative Party, and will fight
:36:39. > :36:44.to keep their jobs at the next election. But if Hastings is
:36:44. > :36:48.anything to go by, fulfilling their aims is not going to be easy. The
:36:48. > :36:53.question is, if Amber Rudd is arguing for policy changes in areas
:36:53. > :37:03.of concern, will she not be at odds to her leadership? And if not, why
:37:03. > :37:04.
:37:04. > :37:09.bother with the grip? Let us talk to Amber Rudd. Anyone
:37:09. > :37:13.who knows Hastings knows it is an Achilles heel for the town. One of
:37:13. > :37:16.your constituents said that the Conservative lady, that is you,
:37:16. > :37:22.promised better transport links, which has never going to happen.
:37:22. > :37:26.Can you prove him wrong? Can you deliver a better link road, better
:37:26. > :37:31.rail fares? That is what the constituents need. That is exactly
:37:31. > :37:36.what they need. I can understand why some of them are cynical, when
:37:36. > :37:40.I went to do my maiden speech in the House of Commons last year, I
:37:40. > :37:44.found that of the new MP for Hastings in 50 years had made this
:37:44. > :37:51.claim that they would give transport links. We had a meeting
:37:51. > :37:55.in Parliament this week to press for making a dual carriageway. We
:37:55. > :37:59.have put in another application for the link road. We have a good
:37:59. > :38:03.contribution from East Sussex County Council, and I am not going
:38:03. > :38:07.to give upon this. I will be as persistent as I can be, to make
:38:07. > :38:11.sure I can get the benefits for the residents of Hastings and Rye.
:38:11. > :38:13.you're going to be persistent, should you not be standing up to
:38:13. > :38:17.the government, to say that the fast rail link from London to
:38:17. > :38:22.Birmingham, which will cost �32 billion, that money could be better
:38:22. > :38:26.spent in my constituency? I am looking for new money, I do not see
:38:26. > :38:30.it as competitive in that way. I recognise what they're trying to do,
:38:30. > :38:34.build infrastructure in the country over all, but I will fight for
:38:34. > :38:37.Hastings and Rye. I think it is important to improve the rail links.
:38:37. > :38:42.The biggest problem we have is the franchise we have at the moment
:38:42. > :38:46.with South Eastern, does not inspire -- expire until 2014, which
:38:46. > :38:51.is when we can get a new franchise and try to get real investment,
:38:51. > :38:55.which is one of the commentator said, we have not had for years. I
:38:55. > :39:02.will try to change that when we do it the new franchise. One of the
:39:02. > :39:06.other issues his health. You are on the records seeing changes have to
:39:06. > :39:11.be made, that cuts are necessary, you are campaigning to save your
:39:11. > :39:15.local hospital's maternity unit. You see the need for savings but
:39:15. > :39:19.not if they make you unpopular in your constituents. I am proud that
:39:19. > :39:24.the Conservative Party is the only one who pledged to raise spending
:39:24. > :39:28.on the NHS every year. But because we will increase spending, does not
:39:28. > :39:33.mean you do not modernise. There have to be changes. The changes at
:39:33. > :39:37.the Conquest Hospital are to do with efficiencies. Let me explain
:39:37. > :39:40.what that means. The elderly people coming into this hospital, they are
:39:40. > :39:45.being assessed much earlier. There has been an increase in the number
:39:45. > :39:48.of beds available to them, so they can go home more quickly. This is
:39:48. > :39:53.not about cost-saving, this is about efficiencies within the
:39:53. > :39:56.hospital to help the patients. They are seen earlier by a senior doctor.
:39:56. > :40:06.Most people do not want to stay in hospital, but they would welcome
:40:06. > :40:09.these changes. The economy. A massive number of people in
:40:09. > :40:13.Hastings and the public sector. Do you not have to oppose the severity
:40:13. > :40:16.of public spending cuts to be seen to beast -- seemed to be taking a
:40:17. > :40:21.stand for your constituent? Hastings has always had these
:40:21. > :40:24.problems. Employment in Hastings has stayed flat over the past year,
:40:24. > :40:28.when unemployment has risen and the rest of the country. That means
:40:28. > :40:32.there are positive moves in Hastings, where public sector cuts
:40:32. > :40:37.are taking place and being picked up. I totally disagree with the
:40:37. > :40:41.comment by the Labour councillor, that this Government is not
:40:41. > :40:46.investing in Hastings. It is investing in Hastings. We have two
:40:46. > :40:50.new schools coming, �1.5 million of the Pupil Premium for the most
:40:50. > :40:54.deprived children. At a charity this morning, there are 80 new
:40:54. > :40:57.apprentices starting. I believe Hastings will benefit from all this.
:40:57. > :41:01.You said you wanted to be persistent and pushy. What do you
:41:01. > :41:04.see the real point of the Forty Group being? Do you not have to
:41:05. > :41:08.press the government to change policy to make its injure
:41:08. > :41:14.constituents, otherwise what is the point of the Forty Group? That is a
:41:14. > :41:19.good point. But one person being persistent can be irritating, but
:41:19. > :41:24.when there is a group of you, you are likely to get more attention. A
:41:24. > :41:28.number of us were in seaside towns, of the 40, to make sure that -- and
:41:28. > :41:32.we fought to make sure there was some fund for seaside towns. Four
:41:32. > :41:36.months ago, the coastal communities fund was announced, starting next
:41:37. > :41:43.year, with �100 million in it, which we will hopefully see some
:41:43. > :41:48.benefit from. To be clear about this, you are quite prepared to be
:41:49. > :41:58.a thorn in David Cameron's stayed? I am going to make sure to make
:41:59. > :41:59.
:42:00. > :42:04.sure his policies work to put my a residents first.
:42:04. > :42:08.A debate is being hosted on proposals to build a new airport in
:42:08. > :42:11.the Thames Estuary. It is supported by the Mayor of London, Boris
:42:11. > :42:15.Johnson. Pretty much everyone agrees the airports are becoming
:42:15. > :42:19.overstretched, but is a new harbour the right answer? Supporters claim
:42:19. > :42:23.it would give an economic boost to the south-east creating thousands
:42:23. > :42:29.of new jobs, avoiding the loss of business to rival European will at
:42:29. > :42:31.airports, like Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam. Opponents say that the
:42:31. > :42:33.cost and environmentally and Patsy it should never go it off the
:42:33. > :42:40.ground. One opponent is Mark Reckless, who
:42:40. > :42:44.is here with me. I am also joined with the deputy chairman of this
:42:44. > :42:48.London Transport. They have just been talking about
:42:48. > :42:52.the merits of infrastructure projects. Clearly the Conservatives
:42:52. > :42:59.needs -- the need to betray themselves as the party for growth,
:42:59. > :43:09.so why erect an opportunity for the Saudis? Because we have not got 10
:43:09. > :43:09.
:43:09. > :43:13.or 20 or so than �2 billion to spend on an airport. We have a hub
:43:13. > :43:19.airport, and it is Paris in the sky to suggest we will close Heathrow
:43:19. > :43:23.off the 60 years of investment and spent tens of billions of pounds
:43:23. > :43:33.near the Thames estuary. You are arguing for the status quo? Gaudier
:43:33. > :43:37.had some other idea on -- or do you have another idea up your sleeve?
:43:37. > :43:40.In this Parliament, we do not believe there is any need for new
:43:40. > :43:45.runways in the south-east. In 2019, the planning agreement at Gatwick,
:43:45. > :43:51.that prevents a separate runway there, will run out. Gatwick is
:43:51. > :43:56.your target? We do not need another runway. The Government will respect
:43:56. > :44:00.that agreement at Gatwick, of which lasts until 2019. Any promises be
:44:00. > :44:04.on that? It prevents a second runway until then, and the
:44:04. > :44:08.government have said we do not need a new one in the south-east in this
:44:08. > :44:14.Parliament, let alone a massive new airport involving closing Heathrow.
:44:14. > :44:18.It makes no sense and they wish the Mayor of London would confine his
:44:18. > :44:23.activities to London. Daniel, you need to sell this to the people of
:44:23. > :44:29.Kent and Essex. There is already a high level of opposition. Why are
:44:29. > :44:35.so many senior politicians wrong? Actually I think Mark Reckless has
:44:35. > :44:40.a very good point. But the fact is the reports are full. As a result
:44:40. > :44:44.of that, people are not being priced out -- people are being
:44:44. > :44:48.priced out of the holidays, they're taking the airport business to
:44:48. > :44:56.Amsterdam and Paris, and with them are going jobs and opportunities
:44:56. > :45:01.that could be in this country. cannot wait will 2019? Already this
:45:01. > :45:04.is happening. We are losing jobs and opportunities, and investment
:45:04. > :45:09.to other countries. We need to act quickly, we need to take some
:45:09. > :45:15.measures to deal with it. Boris Johnson's view is that we have to
:45:15. > :45:18.have a new hub airport altogether. If you live in Kent and you go to a
:45:18. > :45:23.holiday -- on holiday around the world, they have well-functioning
:45:23. > :45:33.airports. Our reporter is extremely constrained, giving a poor
:45:33. > :45:34.
:45:34. > :45:38.passenger experience and it is already full. -- hour airport.
:45:38. > :45:43.People ask themselves why can we not have any accord similar to
:45:43. > :45:47.foreign countries? And they wonder where the opportunities are for
:45:47. > :45:57.younger people. A proper report would actually allow jobs and that
:45:57. > :46:02.
:46:02. > :46:10.investment to flow. -- a proper airport. Where should the new
:46:10. > :46:14.airport go? Boris Johnson believes it should be a way from properties.
:46:14. > :46:22.Why can't we have a better airport? Have you heard anyone asking us
:46:22. > :46:29.that? No. In my constituency, most people are opposed to this proposal.
:46:29. > :46:33.On what grounds? Because they have moved to a semi- rural lady. The
:46:34. > :46:41.people who live under the Heathrow or Gatwick flightpath, they chose
:46:41. > :46:46.to move to that area knowing that they would have an advantage to any
:46:46. > :46:49.airport close by. But they also knew there may be noise disturbance.
:46:49. > :46:56.For Boris Johnson to propose putting this outside London, for
:46:56. > :47:01.which he has no authority, will ruin the lives of many constituents.
:47:01. > :47:06.I think that there needs to gets serious. It to be brilliant for
:47:06. > :47:09.economic growth. You need to be looking for big infrastructure
:47:09. > :47:14.projects and the south-east that could turn the fortunes around.
:47:14. > :47:16.do not think we have got the money for this. Tens of billions of
:47:17. > :47:22.pounds for this. We have a huge deficit which the Government is
:47:22. > :47:26.dealing with. A final thought. The councillors opposed, leading
:47:27. > :47:32.airlines have opposed. Is it just a vanity project for Boris Johnson?
:47:32. > :47:37.No, it is not at all. I think it is sad that Marks's we cannot afford
:47:37. > :47:41.it, because actually you would not need to any government money to
:47:41. > :47:44.going to this. But it would bring huge transport benefits, real
:47:44. > :47:52.benefits and road benefits to the area where it was billed, whenever
:47:52. > :47:58.that might be, and it would bring jobs and prosperity and opportunity.
:47:58. > :48:01.I apologise for interrupting. Thank you very much for being with us.
:48:01. > :48:05.There are 25 million unoccupied bedrooms in the UK, yet there is a
:48:05. > :48:08.massive housing shortage, nowhere more so than in the south-east.
:48:08. > :48:13.Despite concerns from environment of campaigners that too many new
:48:13. > :48:17.homes are being built in the countryside, there are nearly
:48:17. > :48:22.63,000 families on waiting lists for housing. Now there are calls
:48:22. > :48:27.for one think-tank for elderly people living in big houses to
:48:27. > :48:33.downsize, to give people somewhere to live. Is that a long-term
:48:33. > :48:37.solution? With us is Professor Tim Locke -- Professor Tim Luckhurst.
:48:37. > :48:43.Do you think it is selfish for older people to stay in houses that
:48:43. > :48:45.are too big for them? It has certainly got people talking. It is
:48:45. > :48:50.one of the most controversial housing proposals we have seen, and
:48:50. > :48:57.I think it is ludicrous. How would the young people be able to afford
:48:57. > :49:02.these big houses? They would not be able to buy them. It has got people
:49:02. > :49:06.talking. Are there any other bright ideas out there? We need to move on
:49:06. > :49:11.from this limited political debate. On one hand we have got housing
:49:11. > :49:15.shortages, but we also have got to protect the countryside. It has
:49:15. > :49:18.become a real political bind. This week alone, we have seen that
:49:18. > :49:22.report should have mentioned, we have seen Brighton council
:49:22. > :49:27.struggling to deal with the scandal of houses that have been empty
:49:27. > :49:30.since 1979, in some cases. What we have got is a consensus there is a
:49:30. > :49:35.housing crisis, but political parties that are struggling to do
:49:35. > :49:38.anything about it. Labour say that they are committed to a decent
:49:38. > :49:48.house for every person, but neither party seems to have moved us
:49:48. > :49:49.
:49:49. > :49:55.forward. It is the political cycle. James -- changing housing takes at
:49:55. > :50:03.least five years. And that means the next general election. It has
:50:03. > :50:07.been a difficult thing to change. The Conservatives and Labour have
:50:07. > :50:11.both increased the number of houses when they have been in power a long
:50:11. > :50:15.time, but both parties are only looking for short-term political
:50:15. > :50:19.gain at the moment. That is interesting. We have been talking
:50:19. > :50:24.this morning about the consequences and impact of the marginal