:00:12. > :00:15.In the Midlands, after the riots, the conference season. We're also
:00:15. > :00:17.live in Birmingham watching the impact of the summer riots on
:00:17. > :00:27.autumn's politics. And the politician welcoming his
:00:27. > :00:28.
:00:28. > :00:31.party to his city. What's Paul In the Midlands, after the riots,
:00:31. > :00:36.the conference season. We're also live in Birmingham watching the
:00:36. > :00:39.impact of the summer riots on autumn's politics.
:00:39. > :00:49.And the politician welcoming his party to his city. What's Paul
:00:49. > :00:49.
:00:49. > :36:26.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2137 seconds
:36:26. > :36:28.Hello again from the Midlands. Of course we are here at the Liberal
:36:28. > :36:33.Democrats annual conference at the International Convention Centre in
:36:33. > :36:38.Birmingham. We are joined by one of our region's three Lib Dem MPs,
:36:38. > :36:41.Martin Horwood from Cheltenham. And by a no doubt very proud Councillor
:36:41. > :36:50.Paul Tilsley, welcoming his party's conference here for the first time,
:36:50. > :36:53.as Deputy Leader of this host city. But I have been hearing scathing
:36:53. > :36:55.criticisms of the political leaders here, who are accused of a
:36:55. > :37:05.monumental failure during last month's riots, which scarred us
:37:05. > :37:07.
:37:07. > :37:17.here in the Midlands and beyond. A month and Morar has passed since
:37:17. > :37:18.
:37:18. > :37:26.the deaths of three young men in Birmingham. It was Laura -- a more
:37:26. > :37:31.dangerous... We saw a lot of rumours going around that could
:37:31. > :37:37.have triggered a race riot. He what is your view of the quality of
:37:37. > :37:42.political leadership in Birmingham? There has been a distinct lack of
:37:42. > :37:46.leadership when it comes to taking control and taking charge of a
:37:46. > :37:52.major disturbances. There is a great level of disappointment at
:37:52. > :37:57.the lack of leadership that was shown. Moving into deep party
:37:57. > :38:06.conferences, you obviously think that political leaders are must
:38:06. > :38:12.rise to a challenge. When they go into their little huddles, baby
:38:12. > :38:19.need to -- they need to recognise who has collected them and why. We
:38:19. > :38:27.have elected our politicians to make the right decisions in a time
:38:27. > :38:31.of need. Unfortunately there has been a monumental failure to ensure
:38:31. > :38:34.the community works in a harmonious way.
:38:34. > :38:36.And though much of the damage has been repaired, the political
:38:36. > :38:45.arguments are reverberating still. Not least the Government's plans
:38:45. > :38:48.for elected police commissioners. The Home Secretary said our low
:38:48. > :38:56.profile police authority chairmen compared most unfavourably with the
:38:56. > :38:58.leadership given to Londoners by their elected mayor. And the former
:38:58. > :39:01.Conservative Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine levelled similar
:39:01. > :39:04.complaints about what he said was the absence of decent political
:39:04. > :39:06.leadership in all the major cities except London during those critical
:39:06. > :39:09.days and nights. In the event Birmingham's Liberal Democrat
:39:09. > :39:19.Deputy Council Leader did as much as any local politician to get his
:39:19. > :39:23.
:39:23. > :39:27.message across. There has been mindless violence against property.
:39:27. > :39:37.Parents have got to take some responsibility for the actions of
:39:37. > :39:38.
:39:38. > :39:41.their children. We have always come together as a community and moved
:39:41. > :39:49.forward. And council leaders across
:39:49. > :39:52.Birmingham and the Black Country all did their best to restore order.
:39:52. > :39:55.But for sheer political clout, and yes, showmanship, they are no match
:39:55. > :39:59.for Boris Johnson in the eyes of ministers who are more determined
:39:59. > :40:02.than ever to press ahead with plans for some new brooms of our own,
:40:02. > :40:12.directly-elected city bosses in Birmingham and in Coventry. For
:40:12. > :40:12.
:40:12. > :40:22.four more on the riots, you cannot go to my blogging. -- UK and go to
:40:22. > :40:29.
:40:29. > :40:39.The we can speak to Martin Horwood and Paul Tilsley. This is the I'll
:40:39. > :40:52.
:40:52. > :40:58.We were dealing with the media on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
:40:58. > :41:01.I also had the benefit of the deputy prime minister coming up on
:41:01. > :41:07.Tuesday afternoon and taking a personal interest in what was
:41:07. > :41:13.taking place and being able to brief him. The following morning,
:41:13. > :41:17.after it had become known about the tragedies, the Deputy Prime
:41:17. > :41:23.Minister was on the telephone at 10 o'clock to get a briefing from me.
:41:23. > :41:30.I would refute the lack of political leadership. We showed it
:41:30. > :41:35.locally and nationally. Very troubling times. Gloucester, not
:41:35. > :41:42.very far away, did have significant looting and other problems during
:41:42. > :41:47.the difficult days. Cheltenham itself had problems during those
:41:48. > :41:52.days. There were tense moments in Cheltenham as well. Politicians
:41:52. > :41:57.have to provide leadership and a positive response to the rioting
:41:58. > :42:03.which damaged so many communities. You were talking about a lot of the
:42:03. > :42:07.trouble being with children. It was not just children. There were some
:42:07. > :42:16.senior responsible jobs said got involved. How do you reflect on
:42:16. > :42:21.this now? I think it was, in part, an opportunist crime for many
:42:21. > :42:28.people. The oldest individual was 65 years old and the youngest was
:42:28. > :42:35.10. The average age was 17 to 24. We have got to create a linkage so
:42:35. > :42:40.that people feel they have got a real investment in society and that
:42:40. > :42:46.they belong to society. That is not just a challenge and Birmingham, it
:42:46. > :42:50.is a national challenge. Do you worry... We have heard different
:42:50. > :42:59.parties talking about the full force of the law getting involved
:42:59. > :43:05.in the aftermath of these terrible disturbances. Do you worried about
:43:05. > :43:09.some of the exemplary sentences we have seen headed down? I think
:43:09. > :43:15.there is concern among the delegates about the custodial
:43:15. > :43:25.services aren't things like restricting social media --, things
:43:25. > :43:26.
:43:26. > :43:31.But when you talk about political leadership, I do not think running
:43:31. > :43:39.around with a broom is political leadership. Sunday bore have said
:43:39. > :43:47.this is high profile -- some people have said this is high profile so
:43:47. > :43:51.it -- showmanship. I was very much involved. I was showing leadership.
:43:51. > :43:55.I was making sure that Birmingham City Council were involved with our
:43:55. > :44:00.partners in dealing with the issues that were coming out of the looting
:44:00. > :44:10.and rioting that was taking place. I was showing leadership when it
:44:10. > :44:16.mattered. A final plot before we move our am. -- thought before we
:44:16. > :44:20.move on. There has been the opinion that there was nothing that could
:44:20. > :44:25.have been done to save the lives of the three men who died. It is a
:44:25. > :44:35.very easy to look for a knee-jerk reaction. There are important
:44:35. > :44:35.
:44:35. > :44:38.things we need to look at. We will The Liberal Democrats are here in
:44:38. > :44:40.Birmingham this week. Their progressive partnership with the
:44:40. > :44:43.Conservatives, ones heralded as a forerunner of the coalition
:44:43. > :44:48.Government at Westminster, is still in charge of Europe's largest
:44:48. > :44:55.council. Mature and sophisticated is how the city's Conservative
:44:55. > :44:58.leader describes his partners. But for how much longer? The city's
:44:58. > :45:00.voters seem to be experiencing their own version of the seven year
:45:00. > :45:10.itch, with the Labour opposition increasingly confident of regaining
:45:10. > :45:22.
:45:22. > :45:29.power next May for the first time Party time again in Birmingham.
:45:29. > :45:38.Last year the Tory Blues came back for a second helping and now the
:45:38. > :45:42.Conservative leader is even happy about it. The Lib Dems coming here
:45:42. > :45:45.is a coup for the city Birmingham. Odd to hear a Tory say that, you
:45:45. > :45:48.might think? Not in Birmingham, because this city has been seen as
:45:48. > :45:50.a role model for how the national Coalition could work, with some
:45:50. > :45:53.parallel fortunes as well. The city council is headed up by
:45:53. > :45:55.Conservative Mike Whitby in the middle and his junior Lib Dem
:45:55. > :45:58.partners, otherwise known as Birmingham's progressive
:45:58. > :46:02.partnership. After winning seven elections
:46:02. > :46:05.together they make Nick Clegg and David Cameron look like newlyweds.
:46:05. > :46:09.But it has been a thorny year since the Westminster knot was tied in
:46:09. > :46:11.the Downing Street rose garden. And much like the Deputy Prime Minister,
:46:11. > :46:16.Paul Tilsley enters his party's first autumn conference in the city
:46:16. > :46:18.with some battle scars. A poor set of local election results has put
:46:18. > :46:28.Birmingham's progressive partnership on the rocks according
:46:28. > :46:31.to some. Given the pattern of seats that are
:46:31. > :46:34.going to go out in 2012 the it seems that the coalition is in
:46:34. > :46:43.serious danger, given that very slim majority they have at the
:46:43. > :46:46.Do the electorates see the Lib Dems as somebody who is on one side of
:46:46. > :46:50.the dividing line in terms of supporting the Conservatives or do
:46:50. > :46:52.they have a set of policies which are actually going to be able to
:46:52. > :46:55.differentiate themselves in the city council at the moment?
:46:55. > :46:58.The Lib Dems lost seven seats in May leaving them with 24. Their
:46:58. > :47:00.Tory partners saw their seats fall by six, to 39
:47:00. > :47:05.This gives the progressive partnership a total of 63 seats but
:47:05. > :47:14.Labour became the largest single party with 55 seats. Another six
:47:14. > :47:17.would win them back overall control next year. But will they?
:47:17. > :47:25.Most of the Jeremiah's had us lasting eight months let alone
:47:25. > :47:28.eight years and part of that has to be Paul Tilsley's leadership. His
:47:28. > :47:31.ability to carry a Lib Dem party and partner with a Conservative
:47:31. > :47:40.Party led by myself so that together we put the interests of
:47:40. > :47:43.Birmingham cities over and above our various party philosophy.
:47:43. > :47:47.They may not make it to eight if the pitfalls of coalition catch up
:47:47. > :47:57.with them. All food for thought as the Lib Dem party guests gather to
:47:57. > :48:03.
:48:03. > :48:08.There has got to be something bittersweet in this in view, the
:48:08. > :48:17.idea of hosting a party conference just as your party is about to be
:48:17. > :48:27.ejected. I distinctly remember 1992 when Neil Kinnock was sailing to a
:48:27. > :48:28.
:48:28. > :48:35.victory and play it. Again we should have the election first.
:48:35. > :48:44.is an almost mathematical certainty that 12 months on Labour would be
:48:44. > :48:51.back in. We are seeing a resurgence. We won three seats last week. Let's
:48:51. > :48:55.wait and see. The fat lady is yet to sing. People will start to
:48:55. > :49:03.realise that taking one million people out of tax will have an
:49:03. > :49:07.effect. The fat lady is limbering up in Cheltenham. You did not have
:49:07. > :49:15.an election last spring. You had half the council and then the other
:49:15. > :49:22.half. You will be out in one great collapse. That was predicted for
:49:22. > :49:29.years ago as the Conservatives were about to sweep the board. -- four
:49:29. > :49:39.years ago. I think the Liberal Democrat council in Cheltenham has
:49:39. > :49:41.
:49:41. > :49:45.a great track record. It contrasts very well with the other councils.
:49:45. > :49:55.It is a difficult record to defend. You did not come into public life
:49:55. > :49:57.
:49:57. > :50:06.two / budgets by millions and put... I was still -- elected in 1968 and
:50:06. > :50:14.I have been written off many times. Let's wait and see. There is still
:50:14. > :50:24.a lot of water that has to go under the bridge. You are saying there is
:50:24. > :50:24.
:50:24. > :50:32.a lot to play for. The latest opinion poll but I saw -- that I
:50:32. > :50:37.saw that you 6% below. The issue is not whether cuts have to happen.
:50:37. > :50:40.They would have happened even if Labour had not been in power.
:50:40. > :50:43.will be back with you later. Earlier this week, trades unions
:50:43. > :50:48.called for a day of action in November in protest at government
:50:48. > :50:51.spending plans and pension reforms. Let us hear again from Susana. She
:50:51. > :50:55.is live in Birmingham City Centre, at a march and rally organised by
:50:55. > :51:05.the TUC. We had something similar here last year during the
:51:05. > :51:10.Conservatives conference in Birmingham. How does this compare?
:51:10. > :51:14.When the Conservatives came to Birmingham thousands of people
:51:14. > :51:24.marched through the city. Today there are far fewer but the
:51:24. > :51:25.
:51:25. > :51:30.sentiment is still the same. The numbers are far fewer than we were
:51:30. > :51:37.expecting. Doesn't that say that not as many people support the
:51:37. > :51:41.cuts? I think these figures were an underestimate. We had less than
:51:41. > :51:46.last year but that was the first Tory conference after the election.
:51:46. > :51:50.Since then we have had three- quarters of a million people and we
:51:50. > :51:54.are moving to co-ordinating industrial action. People do not
:51:54. > :52:04.support the cuts but many of them understand that the Tories are the
:52:04. > :52:06.
:52:06. > :52:16.main people we should be lobbying. The Liberal Democrats have -- what
:52:16. > :52:18.
:52:18. > :52:21.more can the Liberal Democrats do? Poor people an ordinary working
:52:21. > :52:27.people in the Midlands are suffering as a result of the
:52:27. > :52:33.liberal policies. We need to get our economy going and protect our
:52:33. > :52:40.services. The Liberals are at fault. We need an alternative. We know
:52:40. > :52:44.there will be strikes. When Nick Clegg describes the Tories as
:52:44. > :52:49.ruthless you know there are issues going on. We will be supporting
:52:49. > :52:56.people and defending their pensions. There is an alternative to all of
:52:56. > :53:06.this. There will be another protest like this in Manchester in a couple
:53:06. > :53:09.
:53:09. > :53:13.of weeks. Patrick, back to you. Martin, what would you say too many
:53:13. > :53:19.decent hard-working people in public services who are being
:53:20. > :53:24.invited to pay anything up to 30 % more or for their pensions? These
:53:24. > :53:29.are hard times. We have to make sure of the pension schemes are
:53:29. > :53:33.affordable in the future. Both of my parents were public sector
:53:33. > :53:39.workers and there are many public- sector workers in my constituency.
:53:39. > :53:45.We need to look at these Games on a case-by-case basis. -- these
:53:45. > :53:55.schemes. Your party seems to be bearing the brunt of the
:53:55. > :53:56.
:53:56. > :54:01.unpopularity that is going on. I understand from the police that
:54:01. > :54:05.there will be around 700 people marching, not the thousands that
:54:05. > :54:11.were rejected by the TUC. The feeling cannot be that high in
:54:11. > :54:18.Birmingham. What would you say to council workers in your area who
:54:18. > :54:22.want to strike? We are having to change some of the terms and
:54:22. > :54:27.conditions of employers. We are having to do it because of the cost
:54:27. > :54:36.savings we have to make but we still want to ensure that we are
:54:36. > :54:39.the employer of choice for people who live in Birmingham. These
:54:39. > :54:46.negotiations continue against the background of the decision by the
:54:46. > :54:55.trade unions last week to call for a day of action. What would be your
:54:55. > :55:01.message to them? I think there is a lot of sympathy for public-sector
:55:01. > :55:06.workers amongst the Liberal Democrats. There is a daughter to
:55:06. > :55:14.push at and it should be remained open. -- there is a board to push
:55:14. > :55:18.Act and it should remain open. Adding it is worth looking at each
:55:18. > :55:23.pension scheme -- I think it is worth looking at each pension
:55:23. > :55:32.scheme on a case by case basis. Some of them have high
:55:32. > :55:42.contributions already. Have you got contingency plans in place for mass
:55:42. > :55:48.stoppages in place going through the fall? Yes. Do you feel there is
:55:48. > :55:58.still a negotiation process going on and that this can be avoided?
:55:58. > :55:58.
:55:58. > :56:04.There have been negotiations. It is well be on my pale green. -- pay