:00:45. > :00:48.In the West, we are in the heart of Bristol, to find out if the city
:00:48. > :00:51.really needs a directly elected mayor. Politicians from all over
:00:51. > :00:54.the country are gathering to tell us why we need a Boris style
:00:54. > :01:04.figurehead. It is being put to referendum next May, but will
:01:04. > :01:04.
:01:04. > :34:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2021 seconds
:34:46. > :34:49.Welcome to the Politics Show here in the West. We have headed to the
:34:49. > :34:53.centre of Bristol, where politicians from Ken Livingstone
:34:53. > :34:57.and many of her local MPs are gathering to discuss the big
:34:57. > :35:01.political issues. That may not sound the most exciting, but they
:35:01. > :35:05.have big challenges ahead. None more so than how we afford to look
:35:06. > :35:10.after and every age in Pollok -- population. There is the cost of
:35:10. > :35:15.caring at home, extra heating and the cost of pensions and benefits.
:35:15. > :35:20.Can we afford it? Plus, Boris for Bristol, should we have our own
:35:20. > :35:23.directly elected Mayor? Some of our councillors are not keen, but will
:35:23. > :35:29.the public vote yes in a referendum? And the nightmare
:35:29. > :35:38.Before Christmas, five years on, we hear from the customers of the
:35:38. > :35:42.Swindon hamper company, Farepak. And this is where it is all
:35:42. > :35:47.happening. Politicians of all shades coming here to discuss
:35:47. > :35:51.everything from the state of the economy to elected mayors. It is
:35:51. > :35:55.quite a challenge, with disabled and the elderly becoming a big
:35:55. > :36:02.responsibility, especially in parts of the region were the population
:36:02. > :36:06.over 60 is the highest in the land. She is one in a million and a half,
:36:06. > :36:11.Patricia Simpson is among an ever increasing number of adults who
:36:11. > :36:16.need care. She used to teach B e, but following a stroke, even the
:36:16. > :36:24.most basic physical movement is a struggle. Carers come to her home
:36:24. > :36:29.four times a day. It can be very humiliating, but I have to say,
:36:29. > :36:33.home care is a lifeline. They are terrific people. They laugh and
:36:33. > :36:37.joke, they know when to be serious. They do everything from buying her
:36:37. > :36:41.shopping and preparing her foot to personal care, such as washing. It
:36:41. > :36:50.is funded by Wiltshire control, which has struggled to balance
:36:50. > :36:55.growing demand for for a docker with shrinking budget. --.
:36:55. > :37:00.Wiltshire council. The population is ageing, but our region is the
:37:00. > :37:05.favourite for retirement, so much so but -- that by 2030, West
:37:05. > :37:12.Somerset of up highest proportion of residents aged 50 or more.
:37:12. > :37:14.Second highest will be West Dorset. More surprising is that Swindon has
:37:14. > :37:20.the second fastest growing population of over-fifties in the
:37:20. > :37:26.country. On a Swindon housing estate, a man
:37:26. > :37:29.who was part of the influx. He arrived in 1985. Many who came to
:37:29. > :37:36.work in that era and I ageing. He does not need care but knows all
:37:36. > :37:40.about it. Many older customers busy this community shop. And tell me,
:37:40. > :37:45.he was the Conservative councillor given the task of controlling
:37:46. > :37:49.Swindon's spending on adult services. You can't not do it,
:37:49. > :37:57.because you have statutory obligations to meet these people's
:37:57. > :38:05.needs. You have to meet their needs, you cannot bucket and say, I will
:38:05. > :38:10.do it next year. It has to be done now. -- you cannot buck it. It is
:38:10. > :38:16.very difficult to make changes in anything that involves human beings.
:38:16. > :38:19.One major change caused great controversy. Home care staff
:38:19. > :38:23.campaigned in vain to stop Swindon's in House of has been
:38:24. > :38:29.contracted out. They had their revenge weeks later at the council
:38:29. > :38:35.elections. These measures that we needed to be put through and I put
:38:35. > :38:41.them through, democracy kicked in, people had their say. And they did.
:38:41. > :38:44.I lost my seat. The counsellor what the equivalent role in Somerset is
:38:44. > :38:50.battling with the same challenges. Christine Lawrence has been
:38:50. > :38:56.lobbying the Government minister for care. Accrued from the West
:38:56. > :38:59.Country came down to London. "crashgate" I Group. He is coming
:38:59. > :39:03.down to West Somerset to see the needs we have in a difficult
:39:03. > :39:09.geographical area, it is quite difficult to support people in
:39:09. > :39:17.their own homes in this huge geographical area, and betting
:39:17. > :39:22.ministers need to understand that. -- I think. This is what they want
:39:22. > :39:27.to encourage, activities for the over-fifties. These residents hope
:39:27. > :39:32.not to need care any time soon, but when the do, it would come so
:39:32. > :39:39.readily. The Government has tightened the criteria. We did not
:39:39. > :39:44.have too many people coming in at that level. We will support those
:39:44. > :39:49.that have substantial and critical needs and make sure the finances
:39:49. > :39:55.are placed right where they need to be. And that may need more being
:39:55. > :40:03.asked of charities like age UK. crunch comes for the people who do
:40:03. > :40:09.not meet the new criteria or, organisations like mine need to be
:40:09. > :40:13.here to try and plug that gap. So, I think we are inevitably going to
:40:13. > :40:18.have an increasing role in the future. Back in Wiltshire, lunch is
:40:18. > :40:21.being served for Patricia. She knows this care costs a lot, but
:40:21. > :40:26.after a full working life, she feels politicians should treat
:40:26. > :40:34.older people with respect. I think they have got to realise that while
:40:34. > :40:38.we may be living longer, we have paid financially, and many of us in
:40:38. > :40:45.emotions, to fund this country's welfare. What gets me more than
:40:45. > :40:53.anything, if it in Scotland, it would be free. Why? It is a busy
:40:53. > :41:02.day, but join me steak of state, I have three of our local MPs. Terry
:41:02. > :41:07.McCarthy, Charlotte Lesley and Stephen Williams. -- Terry McCarthy.
:41:07. > :41:11.It is not the place to grow old, the UK. There are more and more
:41:11. > :41:15.people growing old, it is an increasing challenge. It is easy to
:41:15. > :41:18.forget that while we have an incredible challenge at the moment
:41:18. > :41:22.in how we care for the elderly, I think culturally, this country has
:41:22. > :41:27.been bad of respecting the elderly in the way we should. What about
:41:27. > :41:31.the respective governments in the way they dealt with it? I think
:41:31. > :41:36.governments to history have not always cared for the elderly in the
:41:36. > :41:40.way they should. When young people are neglected, do get all sorts of
:41:40. > :41:46.social problems around that. When elderly people are neglected, they
:41:46. > :41:51.do not make a noise, they just suffer on their own. The key thing
:41:51. > :41:58.is, this is not an issue that will go away. If we have an issue with
:41:58. > :42:01.an elderly population now, it will be even greater in 20 years. Kerry
:42:01. > :42:07.McCarthy, there was not much done for the utterly under the Labour
:42:07. > :42:11.Government. I disagree. If you look at what we did with pensioner
:42:11. > :42:14.property, we made inroads into that. We were drawing up a plan for a
:42:14. > :42:20.national care service. That is something Andrew Burnham is still
:42:20. > :42:25.keen to push forward. I agree with Charlotte's analysis that it is
:42:25. > :42:31.easier for all their people to fall off the radar. It is not like they
:42:31. > :42:35.are at school and it can be picked up there. What about the working
:42:35. > :42:43.situation? Some very angry people on the streets about pensions and
:42:43. > :42:48.so on. It is a double whammy. They fear they will not be cared for.
:42:48. > :42:53.There are two issues. The last Government did do quite a lot about
:42:53. > :42:59.pensions. I'm proud that my colleague the pensions minister has
:42:59. > :43:03.given the biggest rise in the state pension, �5.30 a week, that will
:43:03. > :43:06.happen next year. It is important we safeguard the incomes of
:43:06. > :43:11.pensioners so they can be as independent as they can for as long
:43:11. > :43:17.as possible. What about Scotland, it seems to be Utopia. Why can they
:43:17. > :43:22.do it? There are some big issues to be looked at. The proportion of the
:43:22. > :43:27.funding that Scotland gets needs to be looked at. But do you think that
:43:27. > :43:31.perhaps responsibility is being abdicated to the local authorities?
:43:31. > :43:33.They are the ones that are having to close things down and take the
:43:33. > :43:38.brunt of this. Whereas the Government is sitting back and
:43:38. > :43:42.letting them get on with it. When you have cuts after central
:43:42. > :43:47.Government level, they get past down to local Government. I am all
:43:47. > :43:51.in favour a decentralised and localised agenda, but if the
:43:51. > :43:58.resources do not accompany it, the local authority gets left to pick
:43:58. > :44:01.up the tab. It is important as the Likud the the organisation of the
:44:01. > :44:04.NHS and the increased role for the local authorities that it is
:44:05. > :44:10.properly resourced, because otherwise, it will be older people,
:44:10. > :44:12.vulnerable people, that fall by the wayside. It is a potential time
:44:13. > :44:17.bomb. Probably one of the more important things that the
:44:17. > :44:21.Government should be addressing. There are too long term issues for
:44:21. > :44:28.this generation of politicians. One is climate change and the other is
:44:28. > :44:31.an ageing society. How to make sure people who have -- people have
:44:31. > :44:36.sufficient in guns of that generation. But also, how you can
:44:36. > :44:39.maintain personal dignity as well as financial security. That is did
:44:39. > :44:44.big issue that the three of us have to work together to sort out. We
:44:44. > :44:54.will come and go, but we must leave a legacy were all people know they
:44:54. > :44:57.
:44:57. > :45:00.This is Millennium Square in Bristol, built at the same time
:45:00. > :45:05.that London elected their first Mayor, Ken Livingstone. He is
:45:05. > :45:11.committed to local people while Bristol should follow suit and bow
:45:11. > :45:16.Yes to elect their own Mayor. -- and vote yes. First it was 10, then
:45:16. > :45:21.Boris. These two made being London Mayor fashionable. In Hartlepool,
:45:21. > :45:25.the local football team's mascot was elected and pledged to provide
:45:25. > :45:30.free bananas the school children. But he has been re-elected three
:45:31. > :45:34.times! If you live in Bristol, you will be asked whether you want a
:45:34. > :45:38.direct -- directly elected Mayor and the referendum is already
:45:38. > :45:42.dividing opinion. The council is against the idea, claiming it would
:45:42. > :45:45.be an expensive experiment. But the city's Conservatives are in favour,
:45:45. > :45:55.saying it would give Bristol stronger and more consistent
:45:55. > :46:01.leadership. As for Labour, they think it is up to the people.
:46:01. > :46:06.would be excellent. It should be reasonably successful. The Mayor in
:46:06. > :46:14.London has been helpful for London generally and I think it would give
:46:14. > :46:19.a bit more identity for the capital, and it could do the same here.
:46:19. > :46:25.should be more choice, definitely. I do not follow politics, so it
:46:25. > :46:31.doesn't bother me. I think it works for London, I can't see why it
:46:31. > :46:36.wouldn't work for Bristol. Why not? It would benefit Bristol.
:46:36. > :46:40.powers of the Mayor are yet to be decided. One thing is certain, they
:46:40. > :46:43.want control policing, like in London, but they could bid for
:46:43. > :46:47.extra powers in areas like transport. They would appoint their
:46:47. > :46:52.own cabinets and not necessarily from councillors. But the
:46:52. > :46:55.electorate has not always looked kindly on the position. To date,
:46:55. > :47:03.there have been 37 referendums on whether to establish an elected
:47:03. > :47:09.Mayor. 25 times, the people have said no. People vote Yes next May,
:47:09. > :47:12.the elected Mayor will take control of the city by 2013. We have
:47:12. > :47:18.grabbed the main guest of the day before he makes his appearance on
:47:18. > :47:23.stage. Ken Livingstone. Good to see you. Elected mayors, all very well
:47:23. > :47:27.in a city of 10 million, how will that work in a place like Bristol?
:47:27. > :47:34.In a sense, I don't think that is the key issue. I was sceptical
:47:34. > :47:37.about having an elected Mayor because it can work really well, if
:47:37. > :47:42.you have a bad one, it is a nightmare. I used to go on about
:47:42. > :47:46.how in America, there were at least 50 my years in prison for
:47:47. > :47:51.corruption. The key thing is the powers for the authority, whether
:47:51. > :47:55.it is for a council leader or a directly elected Mayor, what has
:47:55. > :47:58.been telling local Government in the last 30 years is white hall
:47:58. > :48:03.control in more and more. That meant people do not want to get
:48:03. > :48:06.involved in the way they used to. I would give the local council some
:48:06. > :48:09.real power has to sort out problems of unemployment and housing. That
:48:09. > :48:17.is more important than whether you have a directly elected Mayor.
:48:17. > :48:20.is a big issue, how far should these powers go? You also the
:48:20. > :48:27.boundaries that affect the real economic area. Many of our councils,
:48:27. > :48:32.it is just the old city centre, the suburbs are not included. You
:48:32. > :48:38.actually look at what works best in America, New York, the welfare
:48:38. > :48:41.system, the schools, housing benefits, people look to the Mayor
:48:41. > :48:49.rather than the Government to do anything. If you look across most
:48:49. > :48:56.of America, most of Europe, most of it in Britain has been devolved to
:48:56. > :49:02.cities and regions. So, it needs to be a greater Bristol you want an
:49:02. > :49:08.area that covers the economic unit. So you can tackle the key problems
:49:08. > :49:11.like unemployment, investment, jobs, making sure that in your schools
:49:11. > :49:16.and colleges, you are giving children the skills for the jobs
:49:16. > :49:20.that are coming. Someone or some body should oversee that. Where
:49:20. > :49:25.Greater Bristol should be in 20 years. One big thing about London
:49:25. > :49:31.is it is very much personality politics. Yourself, to a greater
:49:31. > :49:38.extent and Boris Johnson, isn't that how it is overriding issues in
:49:38. > :49:48.the No2AV and that is a problem. can be about who tells the best
:49:48. > :49:53.jokes. This is personality driven problems. Would the end of the Cold
:49:53. > :49:58.War, the great issues of left and right dissolve, and Tony Blair, it
:49:58. > :50:05.was his idea to have a directly elected Mayor. And he very much to
:50:05. > :50:11.provide that. I am a nice guy, I am a regular sort of guy, all that.
:50:11. > :50:16.You need uglier people in politics so we focus on what they are saying.
:50:16. > :50:21.I would not suggest we you fall in that area at! I am never going to
:50:21. > :50:24.win a my appearance! As far as the referendum is concerned, the
:50:24. > :50:30.majority have said no. What other big stumbling blocks in persuading
:50:30. > :50:35.people this is how to go? Some people think it is too gimmicky.
:50:35. > :50:38.Looking at Manchester, perhaps the most successful local authority, it
:50:38. > :50:43.has achieved all that just by carrying on the old boundary
:50:43. > :50:48.structure. -- council structure. I would rather have a referendum that
:50:48. > :50:53.said, we want more powers devolved, rather than whether or not we have
:50:53. > :50:59.an individual one person elected to do all of this. It is very easy to
:50:59. > :51:02.abuse that. You can avoid answering questions at the council meetings,
:51:02. > :51:07.you can refuse to do press conferences. It is nothing anyone
:51:07. > :51:13.can do. If the leader of the council does that, their own policy
:51:13. > :51:21.can throw them out. You are due onstage, thank you for taking the
:51:21. > :51:25.time. If you are busy do your Christmas
:51:25. > :51:29.shopping, spare a thought for the thousands of people lost money when
:51:29. > :51:33.Swindon company Farepak went bust five years ago. It was a Christmas
:51:33. > :51:37.hamper company, customers put money improve the year and received gifts
:51:37. > :51:43.and vouchers in time for Christmas. Many are still waiting to receive
:51:43. > :51:53.any compensation. Campaigners have repeated to politicians to change
:51:53. > :51:59.the law -- politic -- are appealing to politicians.
:51:59. > :52:07.It was the nightmare Before Christmas. Nearly 120,000 customers
:52:07. > :52:13.had money in the savings club. They were left out of pocket by almost
:52:13. > :52:22.�37 million. Sylvia and barrel from Somerset are still waiting to get
:52:22. > :52:27.their money back. To make them give some of it back. Sylvia was a
:52:27. > :52:31.Farepak agent. 27 people, friends and family, all relying on her for
:52:31. > :52:35.their Christmas to stop they have been told they will get 15p for
:52:35. > :52:40.every pound the invested, but the former MP for Swindon thinks they
:52:40. > :52:45.will be lucky to get that. Governments have bailed out banks,
:52:45. > :52:50.and after the Farepak disaster, they were small savers, if I was in
:52:50. > :52:54.Parliament now, I would be calling for them to be bailed out as well.
:52:54. > :53:00.Financial experts say the collapse was especially painful, as it
:53:00. > :53:03.victims were responsibly saving and have paid a heavy price. This is
:53:03. > :53:07.the sad thing, people were trying to do the right thing. It comes
:53:07. > :53:10.down to having to stick to regulated products. This was an
:53:10. > :53:14.unregulated savings scheme. The best thing to do would be to put it
:53:14. > :53:18.into a bank account. The fees for dealing with winding up the company
:53:18. > :53:25.have exceeded any potential compensation for its victims. The
:53:25. > :53:31.cost to date is �8.2 million. This includes the administrators one
:53:31. > :53:36.fees. As well as those for insurers and PR Executive. Now the Farepak
:53:36. > :53:40.victims panel has turned to politicians to ask them for tighter
:53:40. > :53:43.regulations on these kind of saving firms. They want them brought under
:53:43. > :53:49.the watch of the Financial Services Authority, meaning if the company
:53:49. > :53:54.goes bust, savers will city -- still be protected. We want proper
:53:54. > :54:00.regulation in place, not just For Christmas savings club, but for the
:54:00. > :54:05.whole industry. From prepaying your funeral to buying have three-piece
:54:05. > :54:11.suite. If you pre-pay it and the company is not regulated, you will
:54:11. > :54:15.become an unsecured creditor and you will lose money. It is up to
:54:15. > :54:19.governments to ensure that there is proper regulation put in place.
:54:19. > :54:27.think everything where you are, taking money from the public as
:54:27. > :54:34.part of a so-called savings scheme should be regulated by the FSA. I
:54:34. > :54:38.think it should be regulated. you. For the thousands of Farepak
:54:38. > :54:41.customers who lost their money, despite the compensation, it will
:54:41. > :54:45.go way beyond the end of this festive season. For thousands of
:54:45. > :54:49.other people, feeling the pinch on their wallets, this year could
:54:49. > :54:55.prove to be a real austerity Christmas.
:54:55. > :54:58.Are three MPs are still with me. Kerry McCarthy. A dreadful
:54:58. > :55:03.situation for people waiting that length of time and still no
:55:03. > :55:07.compensation. Have things been handled badly? I think it is a
:55:07. > :55:11.great shame and quite shocking that people are waiting so long for
:55:11. > :55:18.compensation. They had the Christmas ruined when Farepak wet
:55:18. > :55:20.under. It was a real shock them. -- went under. It is important that
:55:20. > :55:27.the stops are polite and they get the compensation they are looking
:55:27. > :55:32.for. There are some grey areas, no comfort for the people involved.
:55:32. > :55:37.But more regulation is clearly needed. In many ways, in 2006, that
:55:37. > :55:42.seems a long time ago and people's Christmas was detonated. --
:55:43. > :55:50.decimated. And it is an outrage that people can be left in that
:55:50. > :55:54.position. I am surprised that this is still ongoing. In Parliament, a
:55:54. > :55:57.lot has happened on the financial seen since then. Everyone is
:55:57. > :56:01.looking to Parliament to get to grips with the whole financial
:56:01. > :56:05.system, right from the very big banks to the money lender who might
:56:05. > :56:10.come to your door. Every single layer of that needs to meet
:56:10. > :56:15.regulated. A lot has been happening in the financial world, the Autumn
:56:15. > :56:20.statement, not a lot of laughs there, not a lot of optimism for
:56:20. > :56:24.the future. It is not a happy situation. If the Chancellor had
:56:24. > :56:28.stood up and said, everything is great, the crisis in the eurozone
:56:28. > :56:32.is nothing to worry about, no-one would believe him. But it was
:56:32. > :56:35.heavier than expected. You have to be honest with people, these are
:56:35. > :56:40.really difficult times. We are facing unprecedented global
:56:40. > :56:45.challenges. People would not have predicted this, ten years ago, he
:56:45. > :56:48.said this was good to be going on, people would have said, pull the
:56:48. > :56:54.other one. It responsible to be honest about it because then you
:56:54. > :57:02.can take a long-term view of what you need to do. Terry McCarthy, you
:57:02. > :57:05.would have make these cuts as well? -- Kerry. If you look at the
:57:05. > :57:10.situation the coalition Government inherited, Labour had taken steps
:57:10. > :57:15.that were needed to let the country out of recession. Our stance has
:57:15. > :57:18.always been that to go for trying to abolish the deficit, George
:57:18. > :57:22.Osborne has had to say he is not going to do that within this
:57:23. > :57:26.parliamentary term. It has been economically damaging and it is
:57:26. > :57:32.because of the action that has been taken by this Government, Russian
:57:32. > :57:36.all out for cuts, that the economic recovery has faltered. -- rushing
:57:36. > :57:43.all out. Unemployment is reaching 3 million. It is because of what the
:57:43. > :57:49.Government has done. Unfortunately, an independent forecast does not
:57:49. > :57:52.backup that viewpoint. The OBR, the OECD, they're clearly saying that
:57:52. > :57:58.Britain's growth has not been what had predicted because of external
:57:58. > :58:04.shocks be on the Government's control. A huge rise in well prices.
:58:04. > :58:07.The shock from the Euro zone as well. What would be absolutely
:58:07. > :58:12.catastrophic for every citizen in the country is if the Government
:58:12. > :58:15.were to be blown off course, were to take their eye off the ball and
:58:15. > :58:20.say not to worry about the deficit. These national bond markets would
:58:20. > :58:24.lose all confidence, we would get a rating like Greece and Italy,
:58:24. > :58:29.interest rates would go up and that would ruin everyone's Christmas.