04/12/2011 The Politics Show Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Here in the north we ask the Chancellor why the economy is still

grim up north. How coastal flood defences could put up some council

tax bills by 20%. And what happens when a capitalist met these

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2038 seconds

Coastal flood defences could put up Lincolnshire's cans of tax bills by

20%. And find out what happens when one of Yorkshire's most famous

entrepreneurs joined the big tent and the anti-capitalist protesters.

First, the Chancellor has defended the Government's handling of the

struggling northern economy. George Osborne has spoken to the show in

Yorkshire in Lincolnshire following a week in which he announced a

multi-billion-pound infrastructure programme aimed at improving our

transport links. We will hear from him in a moment, but first Len

Tingle has been looking at some of the key developments. It is 30

years since the Queen made his famous journey. It gives me great

pleasure to declare the Humber Bridge opened. Not just a bridge,

but a dead, �90 million at the time and three decades of the highest

tolls in Britain are hardly denting the interest. On Monday last week,

that debt had risen to �330 million. Let me start by placing squarely

before the House of Commons and the British public the economic

situation facing our country... After the Chancellor's statement on

Tuesday it had been written off and the tolls are to hearth. That was

just part of a stream of announcements aimed at getting the

economy moving and growing. More train stations and major

improvements to rail links with Manchester. Growth is important

across the country and this is a great scheme for driving growth in

the north. We need to make sure that the Trans Pennine it lying is

committed to fully so we can start growing our economy. The big

question now, is it enough to get the regions economy back on track?

I spoke to the Chancellor at the Humber Bridge and I put to him the

point that major transport projects are all well and good, but in order

to avoid another recession, many are calling for action now. We need

action now, which is why we want to get the tolls on the Humber Bridge

doubt and the enterprise zones starting in the next few months and

we have plans for the future like the big road schemes, the Trans

Pennine Express Bromley's to Manchester. These are all going

ahead as well. We have to learn a lesson as a country, which is we

cannot rely any more on the success of the City of London. That is the

mistake that was made over the last decade and this new Government is

determined to learn the lessons of what went wrong and get the whole

of the rest of the country growing. Should people in Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire be prepared for another recession? We have got the

situation in the euro-zone which is very serious and damaging for

Britain. We are looking at businesses here in Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire that export to Europe, but I think we have taken action in

Britain to take us through the storm. We cannot be immune from

what goes on in Europe, but we have taken our own action to deal with

our big debt. Our guest today are John Trickett and Craig Whitaker.

The Chancellor has put his money where his mouth is and has invested

hundreds of millions of pounds. Is it enough? Some of the projects are

very good and we have been fighting for them for a long time. But they

are not going to come into action for some time and in the meantime,

there are tens and thousands of young people in Yorkshire without

work. I simply do not believe it will address their needs. He is

offering jam tomorrow, we need help today. We need up-to-date, but it

was MacMillan who said when he was asked what his biggest fear was and

he said events, dear boy, events. What we see coming out of Europe is

those events are unfolding on a daily basis. This is not a normal

recession and they are very tough times. The thing as George Osborne

has announced this week are a big step forward from where we were a

year ago. Where he was at the Humber bridge near Hull, there are

people in that city weather are 80 jobseeker's chasing every single

vacancy. A similar ratio in other towns and cities across Yorkshire

and Lincolnshire. As we sit here three weeks to Christmas, the

economic outlook is grim for a lot of people. It is the worst we have

ever seen, in my life type anyway. The talk is it is worse than the

1930s because we do not know what is around the corner. There are a

lot of people saying the economic Outlook George gave earlier in the

week is a positive statement. If things go belly up in Europe, it

will be far worse. Interestingly was talking about not aligning our

economy with the City of London. I suspect he is having a go at Gordon

Brown. I come from Yorkshire and I have always lived here and the

North has always suffered. Whenever we have had a recession, it has

always been worse. The fact is, the Government has throttled off the

recovery and so we are not prepared if the euro-zone does go belly up

as I fear it might. We are already in a weak position facing a

potential calamity. That is the wrong place for us to be. We need a

strategy for growth and jobs now. Thousands of public sector workers

took part in the strikes last Wednesday. David Cameron says they

were a damp squib. What is your view? Nobody wants rights,

including the strikers, but they felt as if something had gone wrong.

The Government was taking 3% of their wages to help the deficit. It

is not write a dinner lady, a part- time worker with children to feed,

it should be paying 3% more tax than somebody in the private sector.

It should be equitable for everybody. You could see that in

their faces. I could sympathise with how they felt. It is no wonder

the general public have no faith in politicians. What John has just

said is just plain not true. If you are a dinner lady, the lowest paid,

there are 750,000 people in our country in the public sector that

earned �15,000 a year, they will not pay one penny more into their

pension pot at all. There is a further 1 million who earn up to

�21,000 he will pay that 3%. To say it is a dinner lady and people on

the lowest sector of the public service that are going to suffer is

not true. Yes, they have to work longer, but as a result of working

longer, you will get a better pension at the end of it. Were the

strikes a success? Most people went to work, the buses and the trains

were running because they are all privatised now. They talked about

it being another general strike, but it did not have that impact,

did it? It was never going to be a general strike. It was maybe up to

two million people saying, this is not right. I am going to work

longer, pay more and have a worse pension. I thought it was a

civilised action, the people made their point and the Government has

listen to it. The Government and the unions have to start

negotiating properly. As part of the national infrastructure plan

the Government says it wants to reduce the risk of flooding in our

towns and cities. However, changes to the way coastal flood defences

are funded has led to claims that council tax payers in Lincolnshire

could be paying up to 20% more on their bills.

They call it the breadbasket of the country. The Lincolnshire Fens, one

of the most fertile areas of farmland in the UK. Lincolnshire is

responsible for 10% of this country's food production and that

includes a third of our vegetables and enough or wheat to make 250

million loaves of bread every year. It is one of this country's most

valuable resources, but now it is facing a new threat. The Fens and

the North Sea exist side by side, kept apart by effective defences,

like this man made of mud bank, but sea levels are rising and so is the

cost of protecting the coast. Hence, a new dilemma. The Government is

suggesting a change in the policy for funding flood defences, which

would require local beneficiaries to pay. The local contribution

would be raised by the local councils, which means we would have

to put the council tax up. I guess we could be looking at anything up

to 20% of a council tax rise of all those people who live in coastal

areas. Three miles of sea wall were swept away. Lincolnshire has

already paid a heavy price for a breach in its sea defences. In 1953,

a huge tidal wave swept two miles inland, killing 43 people. Around

200,000 acres of farmland was destroyed. It is not only councils

that could be asked to contribute, so could individual businesses

including farmers. If there is a breach in the sea defences anywhere

along the Lincolnshire coast, there is a risk that up to 40% of the

agricultural land in Lincolnshire could be flooded. Coastal flooding

involves sea water and salt sterilises the land. It will take

several years, perhaps a decade, to recover from sea water intrusion

that affects agricultural land. This family has farmed near Boston

for generations will stop the family built this sea wall along

with other neighbouring farmers and maintain them to this day. But

while some farmers are worried about the impact of this new policy,

he is not. I feel the current policy would be a positive

opportunity for us to receive some Government funding and the

Government has made the coast a priority and there will be some

Government funding and a local people able to top that up to get

more defences built than would have been under the old system.

Government says local contributions will mean better flood defences,

but authorities in Lincolnshire say the national purse must continue to

be used to protect the land that feeds us all.

Let's chat with our guests. Craig Whitaker, the farming industry in

Lincolnshire is where two billion pounds a year, yet coastal defences

cost �8.5 million. Can you understand why some see this as a

false economy? I can, but I could also see to maintain their current

flood defences, we need to increase our spent by 9%. The Environment

Agency has had a 10% cut, so they do not marry up a top. I think the

Government's responsibility is to protect household. This is a

consultation that has gone out to people to ask them for their views

on a variety of options. One of the options is to have more local

people having an input. As we heard, potentially that could make you get

better, local defences because people can do it. Changes to the

way coastal defences are funded means because of much funding from

councils, the money goes further. That is a good thing. It is not

going to happen. They have cut and cut and cut. When they were in

opposition they said they would cut -- cut ways, but not frontline

services. If you live in my area, if the flood defences are not going

to be built, you cannot insure your property, and your mortgage is in

trouble and you will not be able to sell it. This could have

devastating implications for many tens of thousands of households in

our region. Something has to be done to put the money back. Many

people cannot get insurance. This is about the Government getting the

best bang for the buck. The areas that are highly populated would be

looked after her. The problem is when we start talking about the

Fens and rural areas that do not have as much population.

interesting debate. He is a businessman who became known for

making his own TV adverts in the 80s and by his own admission he

describes himself as a dyed-in-the- wool Tory. What happens when we

took Yorkshire's carpet king, Mike Smith, to meet the anti-capitalist

protesters who have been occupying part of Leeds city centre. Sean

Stowell found out. Mike Smith leaves his world and

enters another a very short distance away. His conservative

political identity has never wavered, but some are not quite so

sure about his actual identity. that Rod Stewart? I just bought

10,000 yards of fabulous carpets. Some high-speed political profiling.

Mike Smith is eight magnate and a man of property and says he has

pulled himself up by the bootstraps and cannot understand why others

cannot do the same. Helen is a working mother of three and has

been at the camp on and off for 19 days. Her concerns are global. Our

politicians failing because of the overwhelming power of the big

corporations? Can she convince Mike? The reason the majority of

people have come is that the economic crisis is so deep. They do

not feel they are being represented by their politicians. They do not

know where to find that boys. The movement generally is about normal

folks speaking up for what they believe in. There are a lot of

people who are sympathetic to your cause. Without the capitalism they

would not be tax paid on any benefits. Does anybody ever think

about that? It is one of the things we have been speaking about every

night. But this process is becoming less anti-capitalist and more

against corporate greed. I started without any money in a back-to-back

house with an outside toilet as my mother was a single mother. I think

some people lack the drive to go out and get a job. The politicians

are puppets of the corporation's anyway. The movement is trying to

say that politics will not fix this. After his introduction, he attends

the General Assembly when key issues are discussed. The rules are

strict. You put your hand up if you want to speak, something might is

not used to. You shake your hands to indicate agreement. In relation

to the size of the protest, you are taking on the Government and the

banks. For the size of the protest it is a small gathering and it does

not seem to be the right way to do it. I would make more use of the

internet and the press if I could. Just before leaving, Helen shows

Mike around what has been home for 21 days. You could do with a nice

carpet. I have got bright red. Whether he is on the road to

Damascus, or the road back to Leeds, that is up for discussion? He is

here now. Not one Stuart, but Mike Smith. Did they convince you?

really. The protest is a bit futile. When you think it is as city

weather are 600,000 people and a dog and a guitar are in the camp, I

was surprised by some of the people. A lot of them were very nice people.

There was the person he was there for the sake of protesting who did

not know what he was protesting about, but overall I was quite

impressed with them. I hate to say that, but I was impressed with

their loyalty to the cause, even though some of them did not know

what the cause was. Helene in charge of the protest seemed to be

organising everything. I'm sure her heart isn't the right place, but it

is a bit futile. 17 people in the middle of lease, what is that going

to do? Can you shake your hands if you agree with Mike like they did

in the tense? I do not agree. you sympathise? They are on to

something. Something has gone wrong in our country. It has gone wrong

partly with people at the very top. That is the message they are making.

These bankers had taken us into serious problems and might do so

again shortly. Yet they still get billions of pounds of bonuses and

they are not paying tax properly. I am sympathetic, they are making

interesting points and we should listen to them. That is a fair

point. Look at where you are and all the businesses that have closed

down. Don't the banks and corporate fat cats have a case to answer?

am not sure. They are paying tax properly, maybe it is not enough,

but they are paying it for the rules and regulations we live in

today. If you think they should pay more, and it should go to public

services, that is a separate issue. If you want more money out of them,

you have got to change the structure and the tax laws. I

understand the protesters to a certain degree, that social

services are being cut. One said, the banks have taken all this money,

we have bailed them out to the tunes of billions and yet they are

still taking billions and they are cutting theirs? You cannot argue

with that. It is right. How can you say to somebody in the street on

housing benefit or somebody with a learning disability that it is

right. They see the banks are getting all this money, we have

bailed them out to the tune of billions, and the people in the

street are saying we are involved in war has it that are costing

millions a day and yet you are cutting services. Nobody with a

conscience could argue with that. But 17 people in the middle of a

city on a cold night where 600,000 people live, that is not the right

way to do it. Many people would argue the bankers are getting off

quite lightly. The Chancellor increased the levy last week, but

people will say it is not enough. People will always said that, but

when you represent a constituency that has a large proportion of

people who work for a back it is difficult. We have the third most

vulnerable area and economy in the UK. It is a balancing act. We

learnt as a country millions and billions of pounds a year from

those services that the banks provide. We have got to be careful

we do not cut off our nose to spite our phase and it is a balancing act.

I am not saying the Chancellor has got it right. I speak to a lot of

businesses who say they are lending -- banks to say they are lending,

but they are put in conditions on Ed Balls stock for you think as a

nation we have lost the entrepreneurial spirit. There are

people like yourself you are willing to pull themselves up by

their bootstraps. It is now very easy to live without

working. They were professional protesters. One guy had said he had

been to a protest in Edinburgh and here and there. He is not going to

start a little business. It is easy to live without actually working.

That stifles entrepreneurialism in this country without a doubt.

we too soft with people getting benefits? If people are out of work

and they are not working, that is wrong and they should be working,

providing there are jobs. I think more about the small businessmen in

my patch. The banks are squeezing the small businesses and they are

not paying the full duties society and that is wrong. Let's have a

look at another highlight from the week. It is not often a political

journalist gets a mention in the House of Commons, but -- but this

week our own Len Tingle who films his own material these days, he got

a mention for himself and his wife Angela thanks to Julian Smith, the

MP for Skipton and Ripon. Tingle, who followed me for a day

last year persuaded his wife to come with him for a day out in the

Dales. She ended up carrying all of his bags and being the cameraman

for the evening. I think that shows just how hard local journalists are

working day in, day out. They are available for weddings, bar

mitzvahs and any corporate events. Have you ever been to the House of

Commons? Yes, I have been to the house of Lords for lunch. But when

you get there there is hardly anybody there in the House of

Commons. How come all the seats are empty? Where are you all? We are of

running the country, we do not sit around debating every day. A lot