Browse content similar to 18/09/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
In the Midlands, after the riots, the conference season. We're also | :00:12. | :00:15. | |
live in Birmingham watching the impact of the summer riots on | :00:15. | :00:17. | |
autumn's politics. And the politician welcoming his | :00:17. | :00:27. | |
:00:27. | :00:28. | ||
party to his city. What's Paul In the Midlands, after the riots, | :00:28. | :00:31. | |
the conference season. We're also live in Birmingham watching the | :00:31. | :00:36. | |
impact of the summer riots on autumn's politics. | :00:36. | :00:39. | |
And the politician welcoming his party to his city. What's Paul | :00:39. | :00:49. | |
:00:49. | :00:49. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2137 seconds | :00:49. | :36:26. | |
Hello again from the Midlands. Of course we are here at the Liberal | :36:26. | :36:28. | |
Democrats annual conference at the International Convention Centre in | :36:28. | :36:33. | |
Birmingham. We are joined by one of our region's three Lib Dem MPs, | :36:33. | :36:38. | |
Martin Horwood from Cheltenham. And by a no doubt very proud Councillor | :36:38. | :36:41. | |
Paul Tilsley, welcoming his party's conference here for the first time, | :36:41. | :36:50. | |
as Deputy Leader of this host city. But I have been hearing scathing | :36:50. | :36:53. | |
criticisms of the political leaders here, who are accused of a | :36:53. | :36:55. | |
monumental failure during last month's riots, which scarred us | :36:55. | :37:05. | |
:37:05. | :37:07. | ||
here in the Midlands and beyond. A month and Morar has passed since | :37:07. | :37:17. | |
:37:17. | :37:18. | ||
the deaths of three young men in Birmingham. It was Laura -- a more | :37:18. | :37:26. | |
dangerous... We saw a lot of rumours going around that could | :37:26. | :37:31. | |
have triggered a race riot. He what is your view of the quality of | :37:31. | :37:37. | |
political leadership in Birmingham? There has been a distinct lack of | :37:37. | :37:42. | |
leadership when it comes to taking control and taking charge of a | :37:42. | :37:46. | |
major disturbances. There is a great level of disappointment at | :37:46. | :37:52. | |
the lack of leadership that was shown. Moving into deep party | :37:52. | :37:57. | |
conferences, you obviously think that political leaders are must | :37:57. | :38:06. | |
rise to a challenge. When they go into their little huddles, baby | :38:06. | :38:12. | |
need to -- they need to recognise who has collected them and why. We | :38:12. | :38:19. | |
have elected our politicians to make the right decisions in a time | :38:19. | :38:27. | |
of need. Unfortunately there has been a monumental failure to ensure | :38:27. | :38:31. | |
the community works in a harmonious way. | :38:31. | :38:34. | |
And though much of the damage has been repaired, the political | :38:34. | :38:36. | |
arguments are reverberating still. Not least the Government's plans | :38:36. | :38:45. | |
for elected police commissioners. The Home Secretary said our low | :38:45. | :38:48. | |
profile police authority chairmen compared most unfavourably with the | :38:48. | :38:56. | |
leadership given to Londoners by their elected mayor. And the former | :38:56. | :38:58. | |
Conservative Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine levelled similar | :38:58. | :39:01. | |
complaints about what he said was the absence of decent political | :39:01. | :39:04. | |
leadership in all the major cities except London during those critical | :39:04. | :39:06. | |
days and nights. In the event Birmingham's Liberal Democrat | :39:06. | :39:09. | |
Deputy Council Leader did as much as any local politician to get his | :39:09. | :39:19. | |
:39:19. | :39:23. | ||
message across. There has been mindless violence against property. | :39:23. | :39:27. | |
Parents have got to take some responsibility for the actions of | :39:27. | :39:37. | |
:39:37. | :39:38. | ||
their children. We have always come together as a community and moved | :39:38. | :39:41. | |
forward. And council leaders across | :39:41. | :39:49. | |
Birmingham and the Black Country all did their best to restore order. | :39:49. | :39:52. | |
But for sheer political clout, and yes, showmanship, they are no match | :39:52. | :39:55. | |
for Boris Johnson in the eyes of ministers who are more determined | :39:55. | :39:59. | |
than ever to press ahead with plans for some new brooms of our own, | :39:59. | :40:02. | |
directly-elected city bosses in Birmingham and in Coventry. For | :40:02. | :40:12. | |
:40:12. | :40:12. | ||
four more on the riots, you cannot go to my blogging. -- UK and go to | :40:12. | :40:22. | |
:40:22. | :40:29. | ||
The we can speak to Martin Horwood and Paul Tilsley. This is the I'll | :40:29. | :40:39. | |
:40:39. | :40:52. | ||
We were dealing with the media on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. | :40:52. | :40:58. | |
I also had the benefit of the deputy prime minister coming up on | :40:58. | :41:01. | |
Tuesday afternoon and taking a personal interest in what was | :41:01. | :41:07. | |
taking place and being able to brief him. The following morning, | :41:07. | :41:13. | |
after it had become known about the tragedies, the Deputy Prime | :41:13. | :41:17. | |
Minister was on the telephone at 10 o'clock to get a briefing from me. | :41:17. | :41:23. | |
I would refute the lack of political leadership. We showed it | :41:23. | :41:30. | |
locally and nationally. Very troubling times. Gloucester, not | :41:30. | :41:35. | |
very far away, did have significant looting and other problems during | :41:35. | :41:42. | |
the difficult days. Cheltenham itself had problems during those | :41:42. | :41:47. | |
days. There were tense moments in Cheltenham as well. Politicians | :41:48. | :41:52. | |
have to provide leadership and a positive response to the rioting | :41:52. | :41:57. | |
which damaged so many communities. You were talking about a lot of the | :41:58. | :42:03. | |
trouble being with children. It was not just children. There were some | :42:03. | :42:07. | |
senior responsible jobs said got involved. How do you reflect on | :42:07. | :42:16. | |
this now? I think it was, in part, an opportunist crime for many | :42:16. | :42:21. | |
people. The oldest individual was 65 years old and the youngest was | :42:21. | :42:28. | |
10. The average age was 17 to 24. We have got to create a linkage so | :42:28. | :42:35. | |
that people feel they have got a real investment in society and that | :42:35. | :42:40. | |
they belong to society. That is not just a challenge and Birmingham, it | :42:40. | :42:46. | |
is a national challenge. Do you worry... We have heard different | :42:46. | :42:50. | |
parties talking about the full force of the law getting involved | :42:50. | :42:59. | |
in the aftermath of these terrible disturbances. Do you worried about | :42:59. | :43:05. | |
some of the exemplary sentences we have seen headed down? I think | :43:05. | :43:09. | |
there is concern among the delegates about the custodial | :43:09. | :43:15. | |
services aren't things like restricting social media --, things | :43:15. | :43:25. | |
:43:25. | :43:26. | ||
But when you talk about political leadership, I do not think running | :43:26. | :43:31. | |
around with a broom is political leadership. Sunday bore have said | :43:31. | :43:39. | |
this is high profile -- some people have said this is high profile so | :43:39. | :43:47. | |
it -- showmanship. I was very much involved. I was showing leadership. | :43:47. | :43:51. | |
I was making sure that Birmingham City Council were involved with our | :43:51. | :43:55. | |
partners in dealing with the issues that were coming out of the looting | :43:55. | :44:00. | |
and rioting that was taking place. I was showing leadership when it | :44:00. | :44:10. | |
mattered. A final plot before we move our am. -- thought before we | :44:10. | :44:16. | |
move on. There has been the opinion that there was nothing that could | :44:16. | :44:20. | |
have been done to save the lives of the three men who died. It is a | :44:20. | :44:25. | |
very easy to look for a knee-jerk reaction. There are important | :44:25. | :44:35. | |
:44:35. | :44:35. | ||
things we need to look at. We will The Liberal Democrats are here in | :44:35. | :44:38. | |
Birmingham this week. Their progressive partnership with the | :44:38. | :44:40. | |
Conservatives, ones heralded as a forerunner of the coalition | :44:40. | :44:43. | |
Government at Westminster, is still in charge of Europe's largest | :44:43. | :44:48. | |
council. Mature and sophisticated is how the city's Conservative | :44:48. | :44:55. | |
leader describes his partners. But for how much longer? The city's | :44:55. | :44:58. | |
voters seem to be experiencing their own version of the seven year | :44:58. | :45:00. | |
itch, with the Labour opposition increasingly confident of regaining | :45:00. | :45:10. | |
:45:10. | :45:22. | ||
power next May for the first time Party time again in Birmingham. | :45:22. | :45:29. | |
Last year the Tory Blues came back for a second helping and now the | :45:29. | :45:38. | |
Conservative leader is even happy about it. The Lib Dems coming here | :45:38. | :45:42. | |
is a coup for the city Birmingham. Odd to hear a Tory say that, you | :45:42. | :45:45. | |
might think? Not in Birmingham, because this city has been seen as | :45:45. | :45:48. | |
a role model for how the national Coalition could work, with some | :45:48. | :45:50. | |
parallel fortunes as well. The city council is headed up by | :45:50. | :45:53. | |
Conservative Mike Whitby in the middle and his junior Lib Dem | :45:53. | :45:55. | |
partners, otherwise known as Birmingham's progressive | :45:55. | :45:58. | |
partnership. After winning seven elections | :45:58. | :46:02. | |
together they make Nick Clegg and David Cameron look like newlyweds. | :46:02. | :46:05. | |
But it has been a thorny year since the Westminster knot was tied in | :46:05. | :46:09. | |
the Downing Street rose garden. And much like the Deputy Prime Minister, | :46:09. | :46:11. | |
Paul Tilsley enters his party's first autumn conference in the city | :46:11. | :46:16. | |
with some battle scars. A poor set of local election results has put | :46:16. | :46:18. | |
Birmingham's progressive partnership on the rocks according | :46:18. | :46:28. | |
to some. Given the pattern of seats that are | :46:28. | :46:31. | |
going to go out in 2012 the it seems that the coalition is in | :46:31. | :46:34. | |
serious danger, given that very slim majority they have at the | :46:34. | :46:43. | |
Do the electorates see the Lib Dems as somebody who is on one side of | :46:43. | :46:46. | |
the dividing line in terms of supporting the Conservatives or do | :46:46. | :46:50. | |
they have a set of policies which are actually going to be able to | :46:50. | :46:52. | |
differentiate themselves in the city council at the moment? | :46:52. | :46:55. | |
The Lib Dems lost seven seats in May leaving them with 24. Their | :46:55. | :46:58. | |
Tory partners saw their seats fall by six, to 39 | :46:58. | :47:00. | |
This gives the progressive partnership a total of 63 seats but | :47:00. | :47:05. | |
Labour became the largest single party with 55 seats. Another six | :47:05. | :47:14. | |
would win them back overall control next year. But will they? | :47:14. | :47:17. | |
Most of the Jeremiah's had us lasting eight months let alone | :47:17. | :47:25. | |
eight years and part of that has to be Paul Tilsley's leadership. His | :47:25. | :47:28. | |
ability to carry a Lib Dem party and partner with a Conservative | :47:28. | :47:31. | |
Party led by myself so that together we put the interests of | :47:31. | :47:40. | |
Birmingham cities over and above our various party philosophy. | :47:40. | :47:43. | |
They may not make it to eight if the pitfalls of coalition catch up | :47:43. | :47:47. | |
with them. All food for thought as the Lib Dem party guests gather to | :47:47. | :47:57. | |
:47:57. | :48:03. | ||
There has got to be something bittersweet in this in view, the | :48:03. | :48:08. | |
idea of hosting a party conference just as your party is about to be | :48:08. | :48:17. | |
ejected. I distinctly remember 1992 when Neil Kinnock was sailing to a | :48:17. | :48:27. | |
:48:27. | :48:28. | ||
victory and play it. Again we should have the election first. | :48:28. | :48:35. | |
is an almost mathematical certainty that 12 months on Labour would be | :48:35. | :48:44. | |
back in. We are seeing a resurgence. We won three seats last week. Let's | :48:44. | :48:51. | |
wait and see. The fat lady is yet to sing. People will start to | :48:51. | :48:55. | |
realise that taking one million people out of tax will have an | :48:55. | :49:03. | |
effect. The fat lady is limbering up in Cheltenham. You did not have | :49:03. | :49:07. | |
an election last spring. You had half the council and then the other | :49:07. | :49:15. | |
half. You will be out in one great collapse. That was predicted for | :49:15. | :49:22. | |
years ago as the Conservatives were about to sweep the board. -- four | :49:22. | :49:29. | |
years ago. I think the Liberal Democrat council in Cheltenham has | :49:29. | :49:39. | |
:49:39. | :49:41. | ||
a great track record. It contrasts very well with the other councils. | :49:41. | :49:45. | |
It is a difficult record to defend. You did not come into public life | :49:45. | :49:55. | |
:49:55. | :49:57. | ||
two / budgets by millions and put... I was still -- elected in 1968 and | :49:57. | :50:06. | |
I have been written off many times. Let's wait and see. There is still | :50:06. | :50:14. | |
a lot of water that has to go under the bridge. You are saying there is | :50:14. | :50:24. | |
:50:24. | :50:24. | ||
a lot to play for. The latest opinion poll but I saw -- that I | :50:24. | :50:32. | |
saw that you 6% below. The issue is not whether cuts have to happen. | :50:32. | :50:37. | |
They would have happened even if Labour had not been in power. | :50:37. | :50:40. | |
will be back with you later. Earlier this week, trades unions | :50:40. | :50:43. | |
called for a day of action in November in protest at government | :50:43. | :50:48. | |
spending plans and pension reforms. Let us hear again from Susana. She | :50:48. | :50:51. | |
is live in Birmingham City Centre, at a march and rally organised by | :50:51. | :50:55. | |
the TUC. We had something similar here last year during the | :50:55. | :51:05. | |
Conservatives conference in Birmingham. How does this compare? | :51:05. | :51:10. | |
When the Conservatives came to Birmingham thousands of people | :51:10. | :51:14. | |
marched through the city. Today there are far fewer but the | :51:14. | :51:24. | |
:51:24. | :51:25. | ||
sentiment is still the same. The numbers are far fewer than we were | :51:25. | :51:30. | |
expecting. Doesn't that say that not as many people support the | :51:30. | :51:37. | |
cuts? I think these figures were an underestimate. We had less than | :51:37. | :51:41. | |
last year but that was the first Tory conference after the election. | :51:41. | :51:46. | |
Since then we have had three- quarters of a million people and we | :51:46. | :51:50. | |
are moving to co-ordinating industrial action. People do not | :51:50. | :51:54. | |
support the cuts but many of them understand that the Tories are the | :51:54. | :52:04. | |
:52:04. | :52:06. | ||
main people we should be lobbying. The Liberal Democrats have -- what | :52:06. | :52:16. | |
:52:16. | :52:18. | ||
more can the Liberal Democrats do? Poor people an ordinary working | :52:18. | :52:21. | |
people in the Midlands are suffering as a result of the | :52:21. | :52:27. | |
liberal policies. We need to get our economy going and protect our | :52:27. | :52:33. | |
services. The Liberals are at fault. We need an alternative. We know | :52:33. | :52:40. | |
there will be strikes. When Nick Clegg describes the Tories as | :52:40. | :52:44. | |
ruthless you know there are issues going on. We will be supporting | :52:44. | :52:49. | |
people and defending their pensions. There is an alternative to all of | :52:49. | :52:56. | |
this. There will be another protest like this in Manchester in a couple | :52:56. | :53:06. | |
:53:06. | :53:09. | ||
of weeks. Patrick, back to you. Martin, what would you say too many | :53:09. | :53:13. | |
decent hard-working people in public services who are being | :53:13. | :53:19. | |
invited to pay anything up to 30 % more or for their pensions? These | :53:20. | :53:24. | |
are hard times. We have to make sure of the pension schemes are | :53:24. | :53:29. | |
affordable in the future. Both of my parents were public sector | :53:29. | :53:33. | |
workers and there are many public- sector workers in my constituency. | :53:33. | :53:39. | |
We need to look at these Games on a case-by-case basis. -- these | :53:39. | :53:45. | |
schemes. Your party seems to be bearing the brunt of the | :53:45. | :53:55. | |
:53:55. | :53:56. | ||
unpopularity that is going on. I understand from the police that | :53:56. | :54:01. | |
there will be around 700 people marching, not the thousands that | :54:01. | :54:05. | |
were rejected by the TUC. The feeling cannot be that high in | :54:05. | :54:11. | |
Birmingham. What would you say to council workers in your area who | :54:11. | :54:18. | |
want to strike? We are having to change some of the terms and | :54:18. | :54:22. | |
conditions of employers. We are having to do it because of the cost | :54:22. | :54:27. | |
savings we have to make but we still want to ensure that we are | :54:27. | :54:36. | |
the employer of choice for people who live in Birmingham. These | :54:36. | :54:39. | |
negotiations continue against the background of the decision by the | :54:39. | :54:46. | |
trade unions last week to call for a day of action. What would be your | :54:46. | :54:55. | |
message to them? I think there is a lot of sympathy for public-sector | :54:55. | :55:01. | |
workers amongst the Liberal Democrats. There is a daughter to | :55:01. | :55:06. | |
push at and it should be remained open. -- there is a board to push | :55:06. | :55:14. | |
Act and it should remain open. Adding it is worth looking at each | :55:14. | :55:18. | |
pension scheme -- I think it is worth looking at each pension | :55:18. | :55:23. | |
scheme on a case by case basis. Some of them have high | :55:23. | :55:32. | |
contributions already. Have you got contingency plans in place for mass | :55:32. | :55:42. | |
stoppages in place going through the fall? Yes. Do you feel there is | :55:42. | :55:48. | |
still a negotiation process going on and that this can be avoided? | :55:48. | :55:58. | |
:55:58. | :55:58. | ||
There have been negotiations. It is well be on my pale green. -- pay | :55:58. | :56:04. |