:00:09. > :00:18.Hello and welcome to BBC Northern Ireland's brand-new political
:00:19. > :00:31.
:00:31. > :00:35.programme, The View. We'll be here Tonight on The View it is an
:00:35. > :00:39.economic emergency. Unemployment continues to rise. The public purse
:00:39. > :00:42.is empty. We've been told of corporation tax cut is the key to
:00:42. > :00:46.survival, but is that plan ever going to happen? We'll hear the
:00:46. > :00:51.views from the head of Northern Ireland's biggest IT company and
:00:51. > :00:55.the future Finance Minister. Is it a case of shifting deckchairs
:00:55. > :00:59.on the Titanic as the Ulster Unionists meet here this weekend
:00:59. > :01:05.for their annual conference? Or can Mike Nesbitt turn this ship around?
:01:05. > :01:10.With their views on whether or not the party's course is set fair
:01:10. > :01:17.we'll hear from programme regulars Deirdre Heenan and Rick Wilford.
:01:17. > :01:22.will be having a frank discussion about a quiet conversation about a
:01:22. > :01:30.terrorist shrine in the wrong place. You can follow the programme on
:01:30. > :01:34.Twitter. The old adage goes that the only
:01:34. > :01:40.things certain in life and death are taxes, but is the continued
:01:40. > :01:44.uncertainty over the level of one of our business tax rates damage
:01:44. > :01:50.our economy. Our business and economics editor Jim Fitzpatrick
:01:50. > :01:55.examines the pros and cons of cutting corporation tax. When we
:01:55. > :01:59.are talking about the economy, all we are really talking about is jobs
:01:59. > :02:04.and money. Northern Ireland has too few jobs and too little money.
:02:04. > :02:08.Westminster is cutting the amount we get, so we need to find it from
:02:08. > :02:12.somewhere else. If we could grow private businesses, we could have
:02:12. > :02:17.more companies, bigger companies, and have more money for everybody.
:02:17. > :02:22.By slashing the amount businesses have to pay would incentivise
:02:22. > :02:28.foreign companies to come here. It has worked in the Republic. Invest
:02:28. > :02:35.Northern Ireland unveiled new jobs for software in Belfast. But on the
:02:35. > :02:40.same day the Taoiseach announced 300 new jobs gore Gallway. More
:02:40. > :02:45.money about the shops, bars and restaurants get a share of that,
:02:45. > :02:49.and perhaps they will reinvest and hire more staff. It's a virtuous
:02:49. > :02:54.circle. But there's a big problem - cost. The Treasury wants its slice.
:02:54. > :02:57.It says we have to pay in every penny in tax that they lose. It is
:02:57. > :03:00.not just until companies but the big guys like Tesco too. If
:03:00. > :03:07.companies shift from GB to Northern Ireland in order to pay less tax,
:03:07. > :03:12.we have to foot that bill too. The current tab is around �700 million
:03:12. > :03:16.a year and it is a price Stormont isn't willing to pay. Stormont's
:03:16. > :03:26.accused of trying to have its cake and eat it. But what's the point of
:03:26. > :03:29.having cake if you can't eat it? Labour's shadow Minister for
:03:29. > :03:34.Northern Ireland, Stephen Pound, joins us from our Westminster
:03:34. > :03:38.studio. Do you believe a reduced rate of corporation tax would be a
:03:38. > :03:43.game changer for the economy here? The simple answer is I don't know.
:03:43. > :03:47.Nobody does. The point is there's a joint ministerial working group
:03:47. > :03:50.which hasn't met since May or June that's crunching the numbers. The
:03:50. > :03:54.figures about the cost to the Northern Ireland economy vary from
:03:54. > :03:58.�200 million to �500 million. People are saying this could be
:03:58. > :04:01.front load, so in other words there would be no benefit for two years.
:04:01. > :04:06.Until we see what the real figures are, we don't know. That's the crux
:04:06. > :04:11.of the problem. When there are other things we could be doing,
:04:11. > :04:15.having a national insurance holiday, we could reverse the VAT cuts,
:04:15. > :04:20.things we could be doing now. The problem I have with the corporation
:04:20. > :04:24.tax cut is that it is like playing golf with one club. It may be a
:04:24. > :04:28.wonderful club, I don't know. But by and large with an economy like
:04:28. > :04:34.Northern Ireland the good news from Right bus shows that top ends
:04:34. > :04:37.engineer is still active. The with an economy that skillful we need
:04:37. > :04:43.more than one golf club. Corporation tax may be the answer
:04:43. > :04:46.but I would suggest it is only one of a parcel of answers. So in
:04:46. > :04:51.effect you are sceptical. And you think potential lits too much of a
:04:51. > :04:56.gamble? I don't know. This is the real problem. For two years we had
:04:56. > :05:01.the coalition Government talking about rebalancing the Northern
:05:01. > :05:04.Irish mu, using the Gloag superscheme of corporation tax cuts.
:05:04. > :05:07.With problem with having everyone in one direction is we've been
:05:07. > :05:12.unable to look at the alternatives. Look at the condition of the roads
:05:12. > :05:15.in Northern Ireland, the infrastructure, like Warrenpoint,
:05:15. > :05:21.we could spend huge amounts of money to have a huge economic still
:05:21. > :05:25.throws the area. All these things we are not doing. It is not that
:05:25. > :05:30.I'm cynical, but I'm flailing around in the dark. My colleague
:05:30. > :05:33.Vernon Coaker is in north Antrim this evening and people are saying
:05:33. > :05:37.to him, how much longer do we have to wait for this ministerial
:05:37. > :05:41.working group to come up with a suggestion? While we don't know the
:05:41. > :05:47.shape, you talked about having cake and eat it, people in Northern
:05:47. > :05:50.Ireland are starving for a piece of cake. They want cake today, not jam
:05:51. > :05:55.tomorrow. You are a veteran of Northern Ireland affairs in
:05:55. > :05:59.Westminster. What are people saying to you? Are Treasury officials
:05:59. > :06:03.taking this potential change in corporation tax seriously? Or are
:06:04. > :06:08.they just playing along? It is no secret there's a certain dynamic
:06:08. > :06:14.tension between the Treasury and the executive. What I don't want to
:06:14. > :06:17.do, I'm in a fairly minor position, but I don't want to prejudge it or
:06:17. > :06:22.cause problems, because I prefer to make a decision when I see the
:06:22. > :06:27.facts. The problem I have is that when somebody came one this idea
:06:27. > :06:31.the best part of two-and-a-half years ago, there's been no movement
:06:31. > :06:35.since then. Don't forget when Owen Patterson was Secretary of State,
:06:35. > :06:41.he spent 18 month in opposition talking about a corporation tax
:06:41. > :06:44.cuts, trying to move to Estonian, or Irish levels. All that
:06:44. > :06:49.discussion, anticipation and work, you would have thought there would
:06:49. > :06:53.be something now, instead of which there's tumbleweed blowing through
:06:53. > :06:57.the corridors of the Treasury. No meeting since June. Northern
:06:57. > :07:01.Ireland deserves better. Not this idea that possibly there is an
:07:01. > :07:06.answer here that will solve all your problems overnight. I don't
:07:06. > :07:13.think it will. Stephen Pound, thank you very much for joining us on
:07:13. > :07:18.this first edition of The View. With me the DUP Simon Hamilton, who
:07:18. > :07:22.is due to succeed as Finance Minister, and Bro McFerran,
:07:22. > :07:27.managing director of Allstate, Northern Ireland's IT company. You
:07:27. > :07:31.are going to take over the reins of office from Sammy Wilson in a
:07:31. > :07:35.year's time. Are you pursuing a bit of a pipe dream with this one?
:07:35. > :07:39.don't think so. If you look back over the last number of years,
:07:39. > :07:43.Stephen Pound said it(!), this is something that has been around a
:07:43. > :07:51.long time. A lot of people wouldn't have dreamed we would have got to
:07:51. > :07:55.where we are, on the cusp of getting a decision on comp
:07:55. > :07:57.radiationta. I think we've -- on corporation tax. There is
:07:57. > :08:00.frustration that this final decision hasn't been reached at
:08:00. > :08:03.this point. That's nothing to do with the Northern Ireland Executive
:08:03. > :08:07.or ourselves in pushing for that. This is something we would do in
:08:07. > :08:10.the morning if we had the chance, but it is in the gift of the UK
:08:10. > :08:14.Government. Principally the decision has to be made in Downing
:08:15. > :08:18.Street. We continue to push at it. We are making good progress. It is
:08:18. > :08:23.something that we think can have a transformative effect on the
:08:23. > :08:27.Northern Ireland economy. It is not about having one club in your golf
:08:27. > :08:30.bag. This is one that could supplement and add to the others
:08:30. > :08:37.that are already there, which is helping us to get the good news
:08:37. > :08:41.that you see. It has become the Holy Grail for so many people.
:08:41. > :08:47.certainly is a potential game changer. Various estimates put the
:08:47. > :08:50.number of jobs into 50,000 or 70,000 if we got this between now
:08:50. > :08:56.and 2030. That is something that would change the economic landscape
:08:56. > :09:01.in Northern Ireland. But only presumably if the firs are right.
:09:01. > :09:06.Not worth pursuing at any price. have to be mindful that we don't
:09:06. > :09:09.take seech out of the Northern Ireland economy that in the short
:09:09. > :09:14.term the benefits aren't realised and there is so much degree nith
:09:14. > :09:18.that it would damage the Northern Ireland economy. Forgive me for
:09:18. > :09:22.saying, but the sceptics warning this might sound like you are
:09:22. > :09:28.positionings yourself to say down the line, however many months, this
:09:28. > :09:33.is not going to happen, but it is not our fault. We thought it was a
:09:33. > :09:38.good idea but we couldn't get them to play ball, it is their fault.
:09:38. > :09:41.are negotiating with them. Do they want Northern Ireland change our
:09:41. > :09:45.economy, I've listened to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and others
:09:45. > :09:49.talk about the need for us to rebalance our economy. This is the
:09:49. > :09:52.tool we think would allow us to do that. And clearly we have to think
:09:52. > :09:58.of the interests in terms of the public expenditure system in
:09:58. > :10:01.Northern Ireland. We don't want to see so much taken out that the
:10:01. > :10:06.negative effects would exceed any benefits. Bro McFerran, is that
:10:06. > :10:14.something that you are concerned about? I think there's been a lot
:10:14. > :10:18.of inertia around corporation tax. What we need to do now is move into
:10:18. > :10:22.a post-corporation tax era. There is no evidence of a plan B. I think
:10:23. > :10:29.corporation tax wasn't the only show in town. It is certainly not a
:10:29. > :10:34.show stopper. There's other ways that we can achieve. The Holy Grail
:10:34. > :10:38.that he talks about is job creation and economic growth. When you say
:10:38. > :10:44.we need to move into a post- corporation tax era, do you mean
:10:44. > :10:48.that it is dead in the water and use other solutions? To use the
:10:48. > :10:52.common parlance, build a bridge and get over it. The indications when I
:10:53. > :10:58.speak to anybody in business, everybody's made the assumption
:10:58. > :11:03.that corporation tax isn't going to happen. We need an urgent plan B at
:11:03. > :11:07.this stage. So to Simon Hamilton and his colleagues like the Finance
:11:07. > :11:12.Minister, they need to forget about it, go back to the Treasury, say
:11:12. > :11:16.park it, it is not going to happen? It can't just be the one pivot we
:11:16. > :11:20.use, economic growth. We can create jobs and get economic growth in a
:11:20. > :11:26.number of ways. Corporation tax could would have been nice had it
:11:26. > :11:31.not had a big price tag on it. The estimates are �400 million, �450
:11:31. > :11:35.million a year, growing to �700 million a year. I don't think we
:11:35. > :11:40.can afford that. I don't think the voting public are going to buy it
:11:40. > :11:45.at that stage. We need to say, are there other ways we can create the
:11:45. > :11:49.jobs and economic growth we need to have? Just because we are pursuing
:11:49. > :11:54.corporation tax, and everybody I meet in business thinks that having
:11:55. > :11:58.corporation tax reduced in Northern Ireland would create jobs and
:11:58. > :12:03.stimulate investment. Just because we are pursuing that doesn't mean
:12:03. > :12:05.we are not doing other things. We have a fantastic skills base, a
:12:05. > :12:11.good infrastructure, excellent communications. Those are the
:12:11. > :12:16.assets we have that are attracting investment. But the difficulty is
:12:16. > :12:22.people expect a great deal from it and if it doesn't happen, there is
:12:22. > :12:25.a letdown. Absolutely, not to grant us the power to do this at a fair
:12:25. > :12:29.and affordable price means Northern Ireland will continue economically
:12:29. > :12:35.as we have been. You talk about our excellent skills base. We are
:12:35. > :12:40.crying out for new people. In fact if I could get a plug in, we are
:12:40. > :12:43.doing an open day in Derry and Belfast to attract people into our
:12:43. > :12:47.business. There are not enough technology graduates coming out of
:12:47. > :12:50.Northern Ireland. If we can up the number of graduates in Northern
:12:50. > :12:54.Ireland, we sell time and talent and we are not producing enough. If
:12:54. > :12:58.we did, that we could create the economic growth that is the imper
:12:58. > :13:02.tiff and create a lot of jobs. Because you are here as the biggest
:13:02. > :13:09.IT company in Allstate in Northern Ireland, with the current level of
:13:09. > :13:13.corporation tax.Er here, creating jobs and it is not 12.5%
:13:13. > :13:16.corporation tax. Hewlett Packard announced jobs today and the senior
:13:16. > :13:20.Vice-President said we are here for the talent. They are talking about
:13:20. > :13:23.40 jobs. They are here because they want the talent here. They didn't
:13:23. > :13:26.say anything about corporation tax, nor the price they are going to
:13:26. > :13:32.have to pay to get those jobs. We are talking about high-value jobs
:13:32. > :13:36.that are going to create a lot of economic growth as far as that's
:13:36. > :13:42.concerned, above-average salaries in the technology sector. If I
:13:42. > :13:45.could make a plea, with the mothers and fathers encourage their kids
:13:45. > :13:50.into technology subjects as opposed to turning out doctors and teachers
:13:50. > :13:53.and all the things we turn out too many of. We need technology
:13:53. > :13:57.graduates in Northern Ireland. know you are trying to do that as
:13:57. > :14:01.well but maybe put more of your eggs into that basket rather than
:14:01. > :14:05.worrying about corporation tax. pursuit of corporation tax isn't
:14:05. > :14:10.the only policy the executive are following. But it has been built up
:14:10. > :14:14.into this big deal. It is certainly something that if we got it, white
:14:14. > :14:19.have a trance fom tiv effect on the economy in Northern Ireland.
:14:19. > :14:28.much does this come down to the new Secretary of State being a cheer
:14:28. > :14:33.leader for Northern Ireland with It is important we have a Secretary
:14:34. > :14:38.of State who is on side. Do we have that? I hope we do. She has made
:14:38. > :14:44.some positive noises. She says she's not here to kill off the idea
:14:44. > :14:50.of corporation tax. We hope she's here to support us in that call.
:14:50. > :14:55.We're here to attract high-value jobs. If you look at the south,
:14:55. > :14:59.look in the Republic of Ireland, they have been able to attract
:14:59. > :15:03.high-value jobs in big quantities. They have been under pressure to
:15:03. > :15:07.cut their expenditure. One area they did not look at - they did not
:15:07. > :15:14.increase their corporation tax rate. It might have been easy for them to
:15:14. > :15:20.do that. They have... The Republic of Ireland spent 30 years, from the
:15:20. > :15:26.late '50s and it was not until the '0s they started to reap the
:15:26. > :15:32.benefit -- '80s they started to reap the benefits. We need the jobs
:15:32. > :15:39.tomorrow. That is why you can channel skills. We need an answer
:15:39. > :15:44.sooner or later - once and for all and then move on? If we don't get
:15:44. > :15:49.an answer we lose the skills so we can make that quickly. We do need
:15:49. > :15:55.that - to get this done rapidly and make those changes. Sooner rather
:15:55. > :16:01.than later. Thank you both very much indeed. Still to come on The
:16:01. > :16:07.View. We made a pledge, we didn't stick to it. For that I'm sorry.
:16:07. > :16:17.# I'm sorry # I'm so, so sorry # What do our
:16:17. > :16:22.
:16:22. > :16:28.pundits make of Nick Clegg getting Now, Mike Nesbit won the battle in
:16:28. > :16:34.March. Six months into the job, how is the man who asked supporters to
:16:34. > :16:40.judge him on his first 100 days doing? We dispatched our political
:16:40. > :16:46.correspondent to find out. From disaster to triumph of. The new
:16:46. > :16:51.Titanic is a symbol of success and renull. By this logic the Ulster
:16:51. > :16:56.Unionists choose it for their conference. Some find it a curious
:16:56. > :17:01.choice, for a party now led by someone experienced in public
:17:01. > :17:11.relations.S a it left the party sinking for years in the polls, on
:17:11. > :17:16.
:17:16. > :17:21.the defensive. It might give people like yourself - it is a wonderful
:17:21. > :17:27.building. Mike Nesbitt told his party to judge him by his first 100
:17:27. > :17:32.days. Day one, his first big idea unfolded during his first BBC
:17:32. > :17:36.interview as leader. Maybe I will need to find a family who will
:17:36. > :17:42.adopt me. I would like to live in an area of deprivation. It is
:17:42. > :17:47.important to get a feel of what it is like. By day two, the man who
:17:47. > :17:52.promised a better profile found his idea mocked by rivals. Although
:17:52. > :17:57.some liked the idea, the new leader seemed to be feeling the pressure.
:17:58. > :18:03.On May 22nd, a high-profile party member who had fallen out with the
:18:03. > :18:10.previous leader was expelled. cardboard cut out for a leader. No
:18:10. > :18:18.substance and no policies. I think people reject that now. June 13th -
:18:18. > :18:22.the day from hell. Lord McGinley made controversial remarks about --
:18:23. > :18:26.M Guinness made controversial remarks about gay marriage.
:18:27. > :18:34.There was more bad news, with a poll suggesting the party was neck
:18:34. > :18:44.and neck with Alliance. By August 28th, there was no discipline for
:18:44. > :18:48.
:18:48. > :18:53.Lord McGuinness and no unity. He had quit. It will accelerate its
:18:53. > :18:58.demise. I wouldn't say he's had a lot of bad days. He has every
:18:58. > :19:07.attribute we need. He is savvy with the media, with the general public.
:19:07. > :19:11.I have heard nothing in this area and I cover Fermanagh and South
:19:11. > :19:15.Tyrone and there is nothing but backing. Critical support from a
:19:15. > :19:22.critical constituency. Others say he should be worried. I can not
:19:22. > :19:32.think of a day when Mike Nesbitt could say "Yes, that was the
:19:32. > :19:32.
:19:32. > :19:36.beginning of the turn around." It hasn't happened!
:19:36. > :19:40.One of the radio interviews when they were speaking of the economy -
:19:40. > :19:45.that was impressive. Undoubtedly there is still goodwill towards the
:19:45. > :19:49.new leader. There is also disappointment. Indeed one senior
:19:49. > :19:55.party figure told me that based on his track record so far, his speech
:19:55. > :19:59.this weekend needed to be brilliant. I think he would be the first to
:19:59. > :20:04.say he possibly has been too cautious. I think you will see that
:20:04. > :20:09.chase of pace. Critics say he needs to unveil strong policies this
:20:09. > :20:16.weekend, plus work on what they say is a lack of discipline and
:20:16. > :20:21.leadership. No friend before said that to me he reminded him of a dog
:20:21. > :20:26.who choiceed a car, caught it, has no idea how to drive it away.
:20:26. > :20:34.course there's time to turn the ship around before the next
:20:34. > :20:40.critical test - the European election in 2014.
:20:40. > :20:47.We will be at Titanic, Belfast, on Saturday for our conference
:20:47. > :20:56.programme. I am joined now by Deirdre Heenan and Rick Wilford.
:20:56. > :21:00.Rick Wilford, how big a challenge Mr Nesbitt faces this weekend?
:21:01. > :21:04.Massive. All party conference speeches are important and
:21:04. > :21:11.significant. They usually are rallies for the faithful. In this
:21:11. > :21:16.case he knows he'll have a lot of faithless people this that room. He
:21:16. > :21:22.has to turn them around. It is not make or break yet. If he cannot
:21:22. > :21:28.turn around now, he'll find it increasingly difficult to do so.
:21:28. > :21:34.He's had about 170 days now. 175. 175 at this point. Is it your view
:21:34. > :21:39.too many have been bad days? It has. It has been difficult to pick out a
:21:39. > :21:42.single day in the last, however many weeks it is - there is
:21:42. > :21:48.disgruntlement in the party, there's no doubt about that. I have
:21:48. > :21:53.spoken to some in the Assembly block who are disappointed, to say
:21:53. > :21:57.the least. Where do they look for an alternative? There is no obvious
:21:57. > :22:05.one. The previous stumbled on to his sword. A decent chap he was.
:22:05. > :22:10.The M and Ms had a go - they fell. There is no obvious candidate or
:22:10. > :22:14.alternative within the Assembly block. Does that mean they have to
:22:14. > :22:20.look outside. There was whispering that they might look to someone who
:22:20. > :22:28.used to be in the party and they want to welcome back? There is some
:22:28. > :22:35.notion that the Queen across the sea, as it were, could be induced
:22:35. > :22:40.back. What would induce her back? How do you read it? He has a huge
:22:40. > :22:45.uphill task. It is make-or-break time. He needs to stamp his
:22:45. > :22:50.authority here. He's in charge of a party which is bereft of ideas. It
:22:50. > :22:57.needs to carve out a place for itself. There are so many diverse
:22:57. > :23:01.characters in there who seem determined to do their own thing.
:23:01. > :23:05.This is politics 101 - party management. Give the feeling of
:23:05. > :23:10.unity. That is not a characteristic of this current Ulster Unionist
:23:10. > :23:14.Party. I want to ask you about corporation tax. We've had that
:23:14. > :23:18.debate this morning. No unity of purpose, it seems among politicians
:23:18. > :23:23.n the business community, not that some don't agree. Will it happen or
:23:23. > :23:27.not? Should it happen or not? interesting in what Simon said, who
:23:27. > :23:31.would have thought we would get to where we are after two-and-a-half
:23:31. > :23:35.years. How much is it going to cost us? Can we afford it? Is it a
:23:35. > :23:42.chance worth taking? A gamble worth taking? We have no answers to that.
:23:42. > :23:46.If you compare this to the report in Scotland, which was regularly an
:23:46. > :23:49.liceed, they decided in the end -- analysed, they decided that
:23:49. > :23:53.corporation tax was not good because it was too risky for the
:23:53. > :24:03.Scottish economy. I think we'll come back to that one. Thank you
:24:03. > :24:05.
:24:05. > :24:10.both for now. Let's get a different Now we get a take on the week's
:24:10. > :24:18.news. The Orange Order says it is having frank discussions over the
:24:18. > :24:24.Ulster parade. It is not having discussions with frank Dempsey. New
:24:24. > :24:28.buss are causing chaos in central Belfast. The translink has asked
:24:28. > :24:36.commuters to be patience. Loyalists have held a protest outside the
:24:36. > :24:37.maize, saying it must -- the Maze saying it must not being a
:24:37. > :24:42.saying it must not being a terrorist shrine. The authorities
:24:42. > :24:45.are testing the same body scanners recently introduced at Belfast
:24:45. > :24:52.International Airport. The Prison Service says airport technology
:24:52. > :24:55.should be welcomed on the wings. Sam mi Wilson has been fined for
:24:55. > :25:03.using a mobile phone while driving. He has been caught being an MP
:25:03. > :25:07.while being an MLA. Peter Robinson let him off with a warning. Drew
:25:07. > :25:11.Nelson said there is a bias against his members from the broadcast
:25:11. > :25:20.media. That is the kind of remark we would
:25:20. > :25:24.D what was your moment of the week? It would have to be living in a
:25:24. > :25:28.cave not to have followed the William and Kate story. What struck
:25:28. > :25:35.me was the hypocrisy of the red tops, so hay were lining one their
:25:35. > :25:41.outrage. They ran out of adjectives to describe their outrage - how
:25:41. > :25:45.revolting it was. The editor of the Irish Daily Star should be taken to
:25:45. > :25:50.the tower with his head chopped off for publishing the pictures. The
:25:50. > :25:55.week before the very same papers were speculating as to whether or
:25:55. > :26:02.not Kate was pregnant. That is equally revolting and offensive. It
:26:02. > :26:11.is the hypocrisy they do not see. Your moment? It was Mitt Romney's
:26:11. > :26:14.speech. Last night, I was knocked out of my chair side ways by Nick
:26:14. > :26:20.Clegg's apology. It was on the internet. I thought what a cringe-
:26:20. > :26:24.making appearance that was, really! We've had that treatment on the
:26:24. > :26:34.internet. I cannot resist the temptation to take another look at
:26:34. > :26:35.
:26:35. > :26:39.# It was a pledge made with the best of intentions # Intertions.
:26:39. > :26:43.# I'm sorry # I'm so, so sorry
:26:43. > :26:53.# There's no easy way to say, that I'm sorry
:26:53. > :27:00.
:27:00. > :27:07.It comes across as an iedyolt. features in your -- Idiot.
:27:07. > :27:12.features in your Tweet of the week. It is like a married man
:27:12. > :27:17.apologising for being unfaithful, apologising for the marriage vows.
:27:17. > :27:26.He is saying the policy was a good one. No, it wasn't. Your Tweet of
:27:26. > :27:36.the week The sacking of a Tory whip to use his Twitter account to
:27:36. > :27:43.
:27:43. > :27:47.That struck me as being, summing up The View that so many people have
:27:47. > :27:51.of politicians. I don't think the Nick Clegg apology will do anything
:27:51. > :27:59.to redeem that situation. Looking ahead to the next week,
:27:59. > :28:04.again you are looking at the Lib Dems. 31 years ago David Steel
:28:04. > :28:08.addressing the liberal conference when they were in alliance with the
:28:08. > :28:13.SDP, told his audience to prepare for Government. All Nick Clegg can
:28:13. > :28:21.hope for is to tell them to go back and wait for the party to implode.
:28:21. > :28:26.I am looking forward to money. I think the debate will be, can we
:28:26. > :28:31.move on? Can we actually move to resolve this parades issue? Thank