27/09/2012 The View


27/09/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 27/09/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Tonight, we have two big political hitters on the programme: one past

:00:27.:00:32.

one present. Theresa Villiers, the new Secretary of State, just a few

:00:32.:00:35.

weeks into the job, gives her first live television interview.

:00:35.:00:39.

On the eve of the covenant centenary, Lord Bannside looks back

:00:39.:00:47.

at Carson's legacy, lock, stock and barrel. That is one of the wooden

:00:47.:00:50.

guns that the person supplied his men with.

:00:50.:00:53.

Our commentators look back at the week that has been and ahead at

:00:53.:00:57.

what is still to come. And in other news, I will reveal

:00:57.:01:05.

which Emily once they Esat another. You can follow the programme on

:01:05.:01:12.

Twitter. -- which then held a once they be sat another.

:01:12.:01:15.

It was three weeks ago that David Cameron called his transport

:01:15.:01:18.

minister Theresa Villiers into Number Ten to give her the good

:01:18.:01:22.

news that he wanted her to join the Cabinet. How did she react when she

:01:22.:01:27.

found out it was the Northern Ireland job that was on offer?

:01:27.:01:30.

First, a quick look at the politicians to have had that same

:01:30.:01:36.

call up during the years. The current position of Secretary

:01:36.:01:41.

of State was introduced with direct rule in 1972 and since then a total

:01:41.:01:45.

of 18 people have held that post. Some Secretaries of State have had

:01:45.:01:50.

more success for runs than others, some have been accident prone. In

:01:50.:01:55.

1992, Peter Brooke signed my darling Clementine up on the Late

:01:55.:01:58.

Show on the day that eight Protestant civilians had been

:01:58.:02:03.

killed. He was replaced sharply after. His successor, Patrick

:02:03.:02:09.

Mayhew, also proved gaffe-prone after a comment after Sears rising.

:02:09.:02:16.

At the end of this opera, everyone is dead. It is a very serious thing

:02:16.:02:20.

from what I hear. There was a complete change of tone

:02:20.:02:29.

when after the 1997 Labour win, Maugham took up residence. Popular

:02:29.:02:33.

with the public, she was not loved by Unionist politicians who thought

:02:33.:02:38.

her bias towards -- who thought she was biased towards national list.

:02:38.:02:44.

Now, another woman has taken the keys of Hillsborough Castle.

:02:44.:02:49.

Welcome to review. Thank you. did you feel when the Prime

:02:49.:02:53.

Minister offered you the Northern Ireland job? I was delighted, very

:02:53.:02:56.

excited. When you get told these things there is an agony of

:02:56.:03:00.

suspense as you are waiting for the Prime Minister to get to the end of

:03:00.:03:03.

his sentence to see what the job is, and I was really pleased when he

:03:03.:03:07.

said it was Northern Ireland. Honestly? No sense of

:03:07.:03:16.

disappointment gym not at all, I did not expect a motion. We all

:03:16.:03:20.

speculate madly before a reshuffle, and you are poring over the

:03:20.:03:23.

possible options, and I had thought that Northern Ireland would be a

:03:23.:03:27.

great, great job to do. But you did not have any inkling that this is

:03:27.:03:32.

what he would offer a few? Know, I had started to get positive

:03:32.:03:35.

feedback and thought that the news might be good in the day or so

:03:35.:03:39.

before the reshuffle, but I had no idea what it would actually be.

:03:39.:03:42.

must have been disappointed, you were a Shadow Transport Secretary

:03:42.:03:46.

and do not make it into the Cabinet because the Prime Minister had to

:03:46.:03:49.

share the positions out with the model Democrats or in coalition

:03:49.:03:53.

with your party, so you lost out. You must have been disappointed.

:03:53.:03:57.

The good news is that you have made it to the Cabinet. I was

:03:57.:03:59.

disappointed when I did not make it into the cupboard when the

:03:59.:04:03.

coalition Government was formed, but the experience of being

:04:03.:04:06.

Transport Minister was great and I have learned a huge amount. It

:04:06.:04:09.

makes me better-equipped now to do the job I have been given.

:04:09.:04:14.

question is, how up to speed were due on Northern Ireland politics

:04:14.:04:18.

before you walk into the office and got the job? I certainly wasn't an

:04:18.:04:23.

expert, like anyone in UK politics and was aware of the developments

:04:23.:04:26.

in Northern Ireland and had followed the long process that led

:04:26.:04:31.

to devolution and peace in Northern Ireland, so I was certainly

:04:31.:04:34.

resupply up to speak but of course I have learned a lot in the few

:04:34.:04:37.

weeks has been appointed. It is a big job, but not as big a

:04:37.:04:42.

job as it was in the past now that we have devolution. What at the

:04:42.:04:47.

Dick pressing issues in Europe remained? Boosting the Northern

:04:47.:04:52.

Ireland economy is crucial, support for the devolved institutions and

:04:52.:04:56.

also the goal that I have in helping keeping people in a

:04:56.:04:58.

Northern Ireland safe and secure, because there are some security

:04:58.:05:01.

responsibilities that are still retained by the United Kingdom

:05:01.:05:05.

Government. Les Stocker that corporation tax, I gather that

:05:05.:05:10.

you're at the CBI lunch today and you had your ear bent by many

:05:10.:05:14.

people in the business community who wanted to be get happy to get

:05:14.:05:19.

the level down. Were you surprised? I was unsurprised at will, their

:05:19.:05:24.

message was loud and very clear. Almost everyone I have met since

:05:24.:05:26.

becoming Northern Ireland Secretary has raised this issue and I know

:05:26.:05:31.

how important it is, as I have made very clear. I would like to make

:05:31.:05:34.

this change happen and I will make the case with my colleagues in

:05:34.:05:38.

Government. So you would like to see it happen? I certainly would

:05:38.:05:42.

like to see it happen, there are some quite difficult technical and

:05:42.:05:46.

practical issues and it would also be a significant constitutional

:05:46.:05:50.

change, so we cannot yet say what the incision of the Prime Minister

:05:50.:05:53.

will be on this but I will make sure he is well aware of the strong

:05:53.:05:56.

support for the change in Northern Ireland. Let's be clear, Simon

:05:56.:06:00.

Hamilton who is going to be the next finance minister instalment

:06:00.:06:04.

sat in the siege you are sitting in last week on the view and he said

:06:04.:06:08.

that he needs Theresa Villiers to be a real persuader for a reduction

:06:08.:06:12.

in corporation tax, it is not enough for you to be neutral, he

:06:12.:06:18.

wants you to fly the flag. That is what you're doing? Yes, I will be a

:06:18.:06:23.

persuader, I am already engaged in conversations with my colleagues in

:06:23.:06:26.

Government about the merits of this change, as I have said, I would

:06:27.:06:30.

like to see it happen. We do not yet know whether it is going to be

:06:30.:06:34.

possible to make it happen because of the practical concerns and the

:06:34.:06:38.

wider constitutional issues. What about the Treasury? The Treasury,

:06:38.:06:42.

not surprisingly, is playing hardball and there is a discrepancy

:06:42.:06:45.

in the figures that the Northern Ireland team have put into the

:06:45.:06:50.

Treasury. Do the maths add up? Is it worth the gambit for the

:06:50.:06:55.

potential benefit? Much work has been done on the practicalities of

:06:55.:07:01.

how it would work, and active real credit to the work that has been

:07:01.:07:05.

done by the Treasury on this. you think it'll happen? I cannot

:07:05.:07:09.

yet say what decision the Prime Minister will make on this, because

:07:09.:07:12.

as I have set it could be a bit changed and there are some very

:07:12.:07:18.

difficult issues around this change. Better than fifty-fifty? I will not

:07:18.:07:22.

get into speculation about that kind of thing, I will put the case

:07:22.:07:26.

had been the persuader that I'm being asked to be. What about the

:07:26.:07:31.

issue of legislative change to allow a proper constituted

:07:31.:07:35.

opposition at Stormont? There is a crop -- process of consultation

:07:35.:07:41.

your predecessor stepped what is due in November, do you think that

:07:42.:07:46.

is a movie would be supportive of? I think as the Prime Minister said

:07:47.:07:52.

when he was in Northern Ireland, there is a case for looking at a

:07:52.:07:55.

more normalisation of Northern Ireland politics, but any change

:07:55.:08:00.

would have to come and stroll cross-party consensus and it would

:08:00.:08:04.

have to continue to embrace the principles of power sharing and

:08:04.:08:08.

inclusiveness. They have responsibility for the parading

:08:08.:08:12.

issue at the moment, it seems to be a bit of an intractable issue,

:08:12.:08:16.

there is a lot of nervousness ahead of Saturday's covenant great, are

:08:16.:08:22.

you concerned? I think everyone is nervous about how it will go on

:08:22.:08:27.

Saturday, but I also think that huge efforts have gone into

:08:27.:08:30.

dialogue, to conversations, huge efforts are going into trying to

:08:30.:08:38.

ensure that it is an occasion that can be commemorated or risk -- and

:08:38.:08:46.

looked at any Toland way. The plan is that the marchers will

:08:46.:08:51.

take full responsibility themselves? A devolved solution

:08:51.:08:56.

would be preferable, the Government has always been open to that. If

:08:56.:08:59.

there are proposals that would command cross-party support we are

:08:59.:09:03.

prepared to look at them, we would like to see a move to a devolved

:09:03.:09:06.

solution, but it has not proved possible so far.

:09:06.:09:10.

Your colleague Andrew Mitchell, the Chief Whip, is rarely out of the

:09:10.:09:12.

papers these days, he is under pressure for allegedly calling to

:09:12.:09:17.

Downing Street will be spent leads when they would not wheel has --

:09:17.:09:21.

would not let him read his bicycle out of the main gates. Have you

:09:21.:09:28.

ever told anyone apes that? It is not a word that I would use. Do you

:09:28.:09:31.

think that Andrew Mitchell is telling the full truth when he said

:09:31.:09:36.

he did not use that word? Beer so adamant that he debt. I am sure he

:09:36.:09:40.

is telling the truth, he has been very clear that he did not use the

:09:40.:09:45.

language that is attributed to him. He is telling the truth then the

:09:45.:09:52.

two policemen are -- two policemen have got it wrong. He has

:09:52.:09:56.

apologised and clearly flew off the handle, he has apologised. I think

:09:56.:10:02.

we must draw a line under it. just the kind of language that a

:10:02.:10:04.

senior member of the Government should be using, as the respect to

:10:04.:10:09.

anyone. He has apologised, and as he has said, he did not use the

:10:09.:10:13.

language attributed to him. might be slightly cross with you,

:10:13.:10:18.

because I gather whenever you left the Prime Minister, whenever he

:10:18.:10:20.

offered to the Northern Ireland job, if you were allowed to wield your

:10:21.:10:25.

bicycle outside the main gates. was. Why did you get favourable

:10:25.:10:30.

treatment? I don't know, but the sad thing is that is when -- that

:10:30.:10:34.

is the last time I was able to ride my bike, I have been in a bullet-

:10:34.:10:39.

proof car ever since. I am talking to find a way to bring it back but

:10:39.:10:43.

I'm not sure. You have a big garden at Hillsborough Castle, you can

:10:43.:10:47.

cycle around that. We will talk again, but must leave

:10:47.:10:49.

it there for now. Thank you. Thank you.

:10:49.:10:54.

Still to come, we have heard what Rees of ILEA sticks, but how would

:10:54.:11:01.

you feel about being called a lead. Some people of certain background

:11:01.:11:03.

might take offence to it, but if someone calls me that then it

:11:03.:11:12.

wouldn't bother me. A tomorrow is also today, 100 years

:11:12.:11:16.

ago 1,000 should their opposition to Home Rule by signing the Ulster

:11:16.:11:19.

solemn League and Covenant. Unionism has had many leaders and

:11:19.:11:24.

for the past four decades one figure has stood out. For many, Ian

:11:24.:11:28.

Paisley is the very personification of Unionism. He gives few

:11:28.:11:31.

interviews these days but her political reporter has been

:11:31.:11:41.
:11:41.:11:43.

His home is an Aladdin's cave for students of history. There are

:11:43.:11:53.
:11:53.:11:58.

books and weapons from days gone by. That is one of the wooden guns. The

:11:58.:12:08.
:12:08.:12:08.

volunteers use them. How long have you had that? About 50 years.

:12:08.:12:16.

clear the covenant and Edward Carson mean much to him. It was a

:12:16.:12:21.

tremendous story. Somebody had written a story like that and said

:12:21.:12:30.

its was a good story, but we are dealing with facts and multitudes

:12:30.:12:34.

of people. We are dealing with something that can never have

:12:34.:12:42.

happened if there had not been an Edward Carson. You think Unionists

:12:42.:12:52.
:12:52.:12:52.

and nationalists can take something from this? I think they can. It is

:12:52.:12:56.

important in the time we are passing through in our six counties

:12:57.:13:06.

to be reminded to of how this came about, the determination of Our

:13:06.:13:15.

Fathers, to see the country not tied up and imprisoned in

:13:15.:13:21.

republicanism, but to stay within the United Kingdom and under the

:13:22.:13:28.

Queen. When you went into power- sharing with Sinn Fein, do you

:13:28.:13:33.

think that is something Edward Carson would have approved of?

:13:33.:13:43.
:13:43.:13:44.

think it would have been. When we entered power sharing, it in no way

:13:44.:13:54.
:13:54.:13:55.

touched the union and the union's Foundation and its strength. People

:13:55.:14:01.

knew that Ian Paisley was not going to surrender anything. What do you

:14:01.:14:10.

think he would have made of the state of unionism today? I would

:14:10.:14:19.

have thought he would have felt like shutting up a large number of

:14:19.:14:24.

Unionists who are weak on the matter of the preservation of the

:14:24.:14:34.

Union. I think he would engage himself with those who said the

:14:34.:14:44.

union must come first. Do you have concerns about Saturday's parade?

:14:44.:14:49.

Any parade in Northern Ireland out the present time needs to be

:14:49.:14:59.
:14:59.:15:04.

carefully handled. And this celebration needs to be well

:15:04.:15:11.

organised and all things kept legally the way they should be kept.

:15:11.:15:20.

I think it is a sad thing that in such a demonstration we should have

:15:20.:15:26.

the arguments that have been put forward, that the Orangemen and the

:15:26.:15:36.
:15:36.:15:39.

rest of us must explain and ask is it all right for us to play a

:15:39.:15:49.
:15:49.:15:54.

gospel here -- gospel hymn. I believe in civil and religious

:15:54.:16:01.

liberty for all, and I think I have the right to walk past a building

:16:01.:16:07.

and if I am singing something, I have a right to do that, provided I

:16:07.:16:14.

am not trying to incite anyone. What about those who say the Orange

:16:14.:16:20.

Order should beach out more to residents? I do not think the

:16:20.:16:30.

Orange Order is aggressively opposing people. Ulster people are

:16:30.:16:40.
:16:40.:16:40.

sensible people. They are a loving people. They might be blamed for

:16:40.:16:46.

been strong in their arguments. And in their beliefs, and so they are.

:16:46.:16:54.

That does not make a man an evil man. He will mark the Covenant

:16:54.:16:59.

centenary by watching the parade, something that was not able to be

:16:59.:17:03.

thought of seven months ago when he was critically ill. Many people

:17:03.:17:12.

will be interested in your health, how are you? I am very well. God

:17:12.:17:17.

has been gracious. He has answered the prayers of thousands of people

:17:17.:17:24.

across the whole world, who have written to me and said, we remember

:17:24.:17:29.

due in prayer. Those prayers have been answered. I do not look a sick

:17:29.:17:38.

man, do why? And man said to me the other day, your blooming. We have

:17:39.:17:45.

seen you at public events, will we see more of you? You will indeed.

:17:45.:17:55.
:17:55.:17:57.

It is important and it is important to me because if I had been living

:17:57.:18:03.

in the days of that I would have been signing up. I will be

:18:03.:18:13.
:18:13.:18:15.

returning to the House. They do not have elections in that House. They

:18:15.:18:20.

are beyond democratic rule! We can get a different view of

:18:20.:18:30.
:18:30.:18:30.

political life now. In other news this week it has

:18:30.:18:34.

emerged that DUP member Terence Brannigan sat on the May's

:18:34.:18:38.

Development Corporation appointments panel, stood down, was

:18:38.:18:45.

replaced, applied for a job on the board. Sinn Fein said it had nobody

:18:45.:18:50.

-- no objection to any one tunnelling in. The Parades

:18:50.:18:55.

Commission said the parade can only play hymns when it passes St

:18:55.:19:05.
:19:05.:19:06.

Patrick's. God Save the Queen is a hymn. And MLA of the DUP paid

:19:06.:19:16.
:19:16.:19:20.

tribute. I have known Nelson He might have something to sleep

:19:21.:19:26.

with that Beach Boys lullaby! To the tune of God Save the Queen! The

:19:27.:19:31.

object seen across Northern Ireland last weekend before disintegrating

:19:31.:19:37.

was obviously Mike Nesbitt! There are no reports of an impact.

:19:37.:19:41.

Belfast will get a new investment in its mobile telephone and

:19:41.:19:47.

internet services. Experts say that as Orangemen get fatter, we need

:19:47.:19:57.
:19:57.:20:07.

more bandwidth. Sinn Fein map -- To put his mind at rest, this is a

:20:07.:20:09.

picture of Dublin. It is my picture of Dublin. It is my

:20:09.:20:18.

favourite overseas destination! And now we can hear from our

:20:18.:20:25.

regular team of commentators. Listening to the Secretary of State

:20:25.:20:27.

Theresa Villiers, anything particularly grabbing your

:20:27.:20:34.

attention? It was hardly surprising she said she felt it would be ideal

:20:34.:20:39.

if the parades issue was a devolved issue. That would be one of the

:20:39.:20:44.

things I would want out of my in- tray if I were her and commentators

:20:44.:20:54.
:20:54.:20:54.

are saying it should be devolved issue. Local politicians point the

:20:54.:20:58.

finger at the Parades Commission yet want to take no responsibility

:20:58.:21:02.

for decisions that should be made at a local level. On the issue of

:21:02.:21:09.

parades, we are no closer to becoming a devolved matter. Though

:21:09.:21:15.

were proposals two years ago that the Orange Order vetoed. They are

:21:15.:21:23.

gathering dust and could come back. There is a disposition among some

:21:23.:21:28.

to resuscitate some proposals. It does not mean devolving be issued

:21:28.:21:31.

to local politicians, it would enable the Executive to establish

:21:31.:21:38.

an alternative. The other related point was the announcement by the

:21:38.:21:42.

Orange Order of decentralising decisions to as it were larches at

:21:42.:21:48.

local level. The old adage about politics, all politics being local.

:21:48.:21:52.

We have to wait until we get to the wire for those decisions. At the

:21:52.:21:56.

start of the month we have the assistant Chief Constable urging

:21:56.:22:01.

people not to wait until the 11th hour, to talk locally and it did

:22:01.:22:07.

not happen. They are stuck in the middle. I agree with that. We have

:22:07.:22:15.

seen a succession of this over a long period. What it means, -- what

:22:15.:22:19.

it means is what the local commission could do. Corporation

:22:19.:22:28.

tax, how she signed up? She sounded convincing. I am surprised. It is

:22:28.:22:34.

the equivalent of Monty Python... It is non-committal. She said she

:22:34.:22:38.

supported it and thought it was an idea but it was up to the Prime

:22:38.:22:43.

Minister. She may think it is a good idea and try to persuade the

:22:43.:22:47.

Treasury but David Cameron will make the call. She pointed to

:22:47.:22:52.

barriers we know exist. We need a timescale. She did not say it was

:22:52.:22:55.

important to have a decision this side of Christmas or that she is

:22:55.:23:00.

pushing for a decision, she said she supported, but I thought she

:23:00.:23:06.

was non-committal. A word about Lord Bannside talking about the

:23:06.:23:11.

Ulster Covenant. For him, given his involvement in Unionist politics,

:23:11.:23:18.

this weekend is not insignificant. This is a signal event in the

:23:18.:23:22.

Unionist Callander. The legacy of 100 years ago and a major

:23:22.:23:29.

celebration. The fact that it threatened them insurrection is by

:23:29.:23:36.

the by, but in terms of history and identity, this is central to that

:23:36.:23:40.

identity. We can go back to another issue I raised with the secretary

:23:40.:23:47.

of state, Andrew Mitchell's found himself in hot water over the use

:23:47.:23:53.

of the word plebeian. They have been calls for his resignation. How

:23:53.:24:00.

offensive is that word. It must be used something to Robert

:24:00.:24:08.

tree. Say if somebody call you that, would you take offence? By would

:24:08.:24:15.

have to look in the dictionary! means a working person. In some

:24:15.:24:21.

encore to that, would you be offended? No. 90% of people are.

:24:21.:24:27.

Most people are workers. A would you take offence by that? I have

:24:27.:24:35.

been called worse. It is not fair. They have to take stick, it is part

:24:35.:24:41.

of the job. That is a word I would not use. It is offensive. If

:24:41.:24:50.

somebody call me that I would not be happy. We are all equal. Some

:24:50.:24:54.

people of certain backgrounds might take offence, but personally, not

:24:54.:24:58.

at all. The Act is the view on the street,

:24:58.:25:02.

some people are offended, other people not -- that is the view on

:25:02.:25:08.

the street. Does the word body you? Be issue is that it is

:25:08.:25:12.

condescending and arrogant and confirms the public's were

:25:12.:25:21.

suspicions that the inner circle of David Cameron is snobbish, public

:25:21.:25:31.
:25:31.:25:34.

school education. Your story of the week? It is Mr Martin venting his

:25:34.:25:38.

spleen at the First Minister and deputy. It is unusual we get the

:25:38.:25:42.

boxing gloves off from a political leader in the south looking towards

:25:42.:25:48.

the north. He argues the whole debate, the motion by the DUP to

:25:48.:25:54.

get the Irish government to acknowledge their role in the

:25:54.:26:00.

Troubles. He said it was deeply offensive. He argued that it was in

:26:00.:26:03.

the interests of the DUP and Sinn Fein because it deflected attention

:26:03.:26:06.

from their respective roles and tried to point the finger of blame

:26:07.:26:14.

to Dublin. Your favourite story? have two. I will cheat. David

:26:14.:26:24.
:26:24.:26:24.

Cameron mass -- David Cameron's Magna Carta or moment. That is what

:26:24.:26:28.

�30,000 Diego's year at Eton College! And he did not know who

:26:28.:26:34.

wrote the words to Rule Britannia. -- �30,000 a year. My second is

:26:34.:26:43.

more local, very local. It was the image of McRae and the debate in

:26:43.:26:48.

the Assembly. I thought he looked disconsolate. I wondered whether it

:26:48.:26:54.

was a hangover from Mike Nesbitt's speech on Saturday. The tone of the

:26:54.:26:59.

debate became very divisive and ill-tempered. I wondered whether a

:26:59.:27:05.

lot of people out there in the Ulster Unionist community felt the

:27:05.:27:14.

same. A sense of disappointment and disillusion -- de --

:27:14.:27:20.

disillusionment perhaps. In the Financial Times, it says after

:27:20.:27:23.

Financial Times, it says after Andrew Mitchell that is two leaders

:27:23.:27:27.

regretting talking to plebeians. regretting talking to plebeians.

:27:27.:27:34.

The Queen and friend gardener. can only echo that this compounds

:27:34.:27:44.
:27:44.:27:48.

the view of the Tory party and posh voice. The Ryder Cup. I was

:27:48.:27:52.

interested on the colour of the sweaters, which is great for the

:27:52.:27:59.

three Ulster man! Darren Clarke the vice-captain. I hope the covenant

:27:59.:28:03.

parade goes off peaceably. On Wednesday, the first of the

:28:03.:28:07.

presidential debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney

:28:07.:28:11.

will be riveting television. We will see an assured performer for

:28:11.:28:15.

President Obama, against a man who when he goes off script cannot

:28:15.:28:20.

handle the pressure. It will be interesting to see how much content

:28:21.:28:26.

informs the debate. What are we judging these individuals on? If

:28:26.:28:33.

President Obama is a good a rater and he will -- orator and he will

:28:33.:28:39.

perform well. It will be about how he is presented. Mitt Romney will

:28:39.:28:45.

attack on the American economy. Let me get another word in! He will

:28:45.:28:50.

attack on the economy and President Obama will attack on governing, one

:28:50.:28:54.

of the other themes, particularly the reference to this beach Mitt

:28:54.:29:04.

Romney made to the faithful about 40 -- 47%. -- his speech. He said,

:29:04.:29:10.

President Obama, that he was for all the people. It will be

:29:10.:29:15.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS