:00:20. > :00:23.Tonight, This Week presents a Downturn Abbey Christmas special.
:00:23. > :00:28.Hard times in Blighty, down stairs and down. Will it get p worse in
:00:28. > :00:32.the new year? Tough economic conditions meanwhile our deficit is
:00:32. > :00:37.forecast to fall, instead of taking three years to get our debt falling,
:00:38. > :00:47.it will take four. It is a recession made in Downing Street.
:00:48. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:58.Lord of the manor Quentin Lett, and Mr McGuire we view the year. The
:00:58. > :01:05.year was not a total omnishambles, as the nation celebrated glorious
:01:05. > :01:12.Olympics and a Diamond Jubilee. In the kitchen, Rosemary Shrager and
:01:12. > :01:19.Paralympian Ade Adepitan. Stuff the turkey. We have a Christmas cracker
:01:19. > :01:29.for you. Ho-ho-ho! This week serves you the
:01:29. > :01:30.
:01:30. > :01:34.traditional down turn Turkey. No change. Even all, welcome to
:01:34. > :01:39.This Week. With the ancient Mayan calendar about to run out of the
:01:39. > :01:45.road and the end of the world moments away, where better place to
:01:45. > :01:49.lose your will to live than with us? To think the British
:01:49. > :01:54.Broadcasting Chaos & Confusion Corporation, the BBCCC has been so
:01:54. > :02:00.cavalier in its responsibilities, it's got us to hold your trembling
:02:00. > :02:07.hands. As you drain the dregs from your box of Blue Nun. Say your
:02:07. > :02:12.goodbyes to your ger bill and stair doomsday in the face, who can argue
:02:12. > :02:22.we've not been warned that the four horsemen of the apobg ka lis are
:02:22. > :02:24.
:02:24. > :02:33.not already with us - war, famine, death. U I, 14 points in the --
:02:33. > :02:38.UKIP, 14 points in the polls. I am joined on the sofa by proof
:02:38. > :02:42.that three is not the magic number. The three Bee Gees of late-night
:02:42. > :02:52.political chat. I speak of course of #manontheleft
:02:52. > :02:55.
:02:55. > :03:03.Alan 'AJ' Johnson, #sadmanonatrain Michael 'choo choo' Portillo and in
:03:03. > :03:06.the immortal words of Beyonce, "if you like it you better put a
:03:06. > :03:11.#putamingonit Sir...Menzies...Campbell. Your
:03:11. > :03:15.moment of the year? For me, it has to be the name that Daniel Craig
:03:15. > :03:21.made his way into the study of Her Majesty the Queen. I was watching
:03:21. > :03:24.and there was a figure seated at the desk. I said to myself - that
:03:24. > :03:32.doesn't look anything like Her Majesty the Queen. She turned
:03:32. > :03:36.around and I.... Well I let out a four-letter word! What, gosh?
:03:36. > :03:41.could not believe Her Majesty was actually playing herself. It is a
:03:41. > :03:51.moment of the year. It's been an amazing year for the Queen. That
:03:51. > :03:52.
:03:52. > :04:02.was an amazing moment in her tef riffic year. In -- in her terrific
:04:02. > :04:06.year. Your moment of the year? Mine is
:04:06. > :04:11.Obama's re-election. I think electing a black President once was
:04:11. > :04:14.extraordinary, for him to be re- elected - I think he may have
:04:14. > :04:20.changed American politics as well. Republicans would have had to come
:04:20. > :04:27.to terms with the electorate how it is now. If you think of it the
:04:27. > :04:31.other way around - that would not have been good. As you know, I am
:04:31. > :04:40.obsessed about sport and not about politics. That is whyvy been
:04:40. > :04:44.invited on this evening! Olympics for me - wonderful performances. Mo
:04:44. > :04:54.Farah, having won gold was asked if he would not rather run for Somalia,
:04:54. > :05:00.the country he was born. In an impeccable English accent, he said
:05:00. > :05:06."why should I do that? This is my country." Last Christmas, you will
:05:06. > :05:11.remember Lord Letts and McGuire were living in a council flat -
:05:11. > :05:14.poor, but happych they are back in Downturn Abbey and back to old
:05:14. > :05:24.fashioned ways. We cannot claim it makes any sense to us. We hope it
:05:24. > :05:56.
:05:56. > :06:02.makes sense to you. With our Down Many -- Come on, Cleggy, time for
:06:02. > :06:06.your morning walkys! Good, God, there's a man on the
:06:07. > :06:16.roof! Maguire, Maguire? It's the filthy protestors pinching the lead.
:06:17. > :06:25.
:06:25. > :06:32.SCREAM What have you done? You've hit
:06:32. > :06:38.Santa. I don't believe! Neither do I. How did he get through customs?
:06:39. > :06:44.I bet he didn't pay tax on half this lot. What you going to do?
:06:44. > :06:50.Look on the bright side. No Santa means no presents, that means
:06:50. > :06:53.spending on the economy faster than you can say, "Triple dip
:06:53. > :06:59.recession." You have to put it right. I can not believe you are
:06:59. > :07:05.making me do this. Have you got your list. Yes. Check it twice. For
:07:05. > :07:11.Dave, an iPad, with fruit ninja. For Boris, Dave's iPad.
:07:11. > :07:18.Relax for our friend in the north. You know, a chance, or take our
:07:18. > :07:25.lives, but never take our freedom! Oh, brave heart DVD. Check!
:07:25. > :07:31.Take me to Australia. And for little Lord Nick. A little toy
:07:31. > :07:40.Maude. I am afraid we lost that one. Look mer, Maguire, before I leave I
:07:40. > :07:45.have to tell you Downturn is in bad luck and we have to sack the staff.
:07:45. > :07:54.A no faults dismissal. We will rehire them on January the 1st and
:07:54. > :08:04.we don't have to pay them a Christmas bonus!
:08:04. > :08:04.
:08:04. > :08:10.And a very happy Christmas! You're not going to sack them at
:08:10. > :08:20.Christmas, are you Mr Miller. course not. I will not be pushed
:08:20. > :08:30.around by a posh boy who did not know price of milk.
:08:30. > :08:45.
:08:45. > :08:50.Well, that has blown the budget. It's the last time I take financial
:08:50. > :08:55.advice from his butler. Have you seen the books? They are an
:08:55. > :09:01.omnishambles. You may say that Mr Maguire. I tell you what - things
:09:01. > :09:10.have never been the same since Mr Hilton quit as estate manager. You
:09:10. > :09:14.need someone who knows how to take us into the modern era. Take your
:09:14. > :09:21.eyes off my job, young Boris. may laugh, Mr Maguire, but I have
:09:21. > :09:25.just the thing to turn around Downturn! It's called - the
:09:25. > :09:32.wireless. What we do is we go around the house and we gather up
:09:32. > :09:41.the four wirelesss. We then flog them off. I tell you what... It's
:09:41. > :09:47.not the place of a fatman on how to lecture superiors on how to run
:09:47. > :09:57.Downturn. Go off and... I wonder how his Lordship is getting on.
:09:57. > :10:01.
:10:01. > :10:06.anyone tell me where I am. I am By now, I may be on a limb now, you
:10:06. > :10:13.probably worked out you are not watching it. No, you are not. We
:10:13. > :10:16.are joined by Gillian Tett from, the Financial Times. You were with
:10:16. > :10:20.with Prime Minister in New York. How did it go? He was in New York
:10:20. > :10:24.giving a speech about the British economy and he was keen to talk
:10:24. > :10:31.about the unemployment rate. In fact what the Americans wanted to
:10:31. > :10:36.ask him about was the Queen and Downton Abbey. Really? I wish we
:10:36. > :10:39.could broadcast that in New York. On the serious note, people are
:10:39. > :10:43.curry about how the Chancellor can bring any festive cheer to the
:10:43. > :10:47.British economy, given the problems in Europe and given the big debt
:10:47. > :10:52.burden and the fact, as we have seen, he's now predicting four more
:10:52. > :10:57.years of pain. Michael, you began the year as a supporter of Mr
:10:57. > :11:00.Osborne's plan A, are you a supporter of plan A at the end of
:11:00. > :11:04.the year? Absolutely. There is as Margaret Thatcher used to say, no
:11:04. > :11:08.alternative. Although it's not leading to growth, there is an
:11:08. > :11:11.alternative, which is a great deal worse, which is a Government that
:11:11. > :11:14.loses its commitment to austerity and therefore ends up with the
:11:14. > :11:20.British Government having to pay more for its debt. That would move
:11:20. > :11:23.us from the position of being the United Kingdom to being like Spain
:11:23. > :11:29.or Italy, paying five percentage points. You say the choice at the
:11:29. > :11:34.moment, at the end of 2012, is between being bad or being very
:11:34. > :11:38.bad? I am saying exactly that. It's not even a choice. The Liberal
:11:38. > :11:42.Democrats are alongside the Conservatives on this. I have not
:11:42. > :11:46.heard any real provisions within the coalition on the austerity
:11:46. > :11:56.programme. Although Ed Balls, while in opposition, is saying his
:11:56. > :11:56.
:11:56. > :12:00.policy... I very much suspect if they were in power... If 2013 is a
:12:00. > :12:04.repeat of 2012, which is a suggestion it will be by and large.
:12:05. > :12:13.It may even be worse, that's got to put pressure, I would suggest, from
:12:13. > :12:22.the grass roots and the backbenches of the Lib Dems on him? I go to a
:12:22. > :12:25.certain amount with what he says about the alternative. Now we have
:12:25. > :12:29.stability in the bond market, the Stock Market and the rest of it,
:12:29. > :12:34.there is surely scope for a much greater emphasis in growth if you
:12:34. > :12:38.remember n the Autumn Statement, really a mini-budget, �5 billion is
:12:38. > :12:44.to be used for that purpose. It seems, if that works and confidence
:12:44. > :12:51.can be maintained, then that could be the key to open the door to a
:12:51. > :12:58.far greater emphasis. �5 billion in a �5 trillion economy is neither
:12:59. > :13:03.here nor there. We looked at the announcements not in the 2012
:13:03. > :13:07.Autumn Statement, but in the 201 Autumn Statement. Barely one of the
:13:07. > :13:13.new road programmes has begun. They are not shovel-ready. That I have
:13:13. > :13:16.lost the shovel! That does not mean to say that the principal is not
:13:16. > :13:23.worth adopting. One other point, which is this, you have to get hold
:13:23. > :13:27.of the banks, get them to start lending. I get people in my
:13:28. > :13:32.quirbgtsy surgery every week, -- constituency surgery every week who
:13:32. > :13:36.have paid their overdrafts and they cannot get a cent out of the banks
:13:36. > :13:40.when they want to expand their businesses. There is Plan B, which
:13:40. > :13:45.is to go slower. At least to think about the issue of how you balance
:13:45. > :13:51.the need for some austerity w the need, as Ming says, some effort to
:13:51. > :13:55.promote growth as well. I predict one of the key themes for 2013 is
:13:55. > :14:01.going to be the question of fairness. At the moment, everyone
:14:02. > :14:05.can see there needs to be some pulling in of the horns right now.
:14:05. > :14:15.If people feel people are trying to pull together, that would be more
:14:15. > :14:21.
:14:21. > :14:25.An element of plan B is in the new Governor of the Bank of England.
:14:25. > :14:29.The interesting thing for Labour, Alan, the party's ahead in the
:14:29. > :14:33.polls bay decent amount - not a huge amount but a respectable
:14:33. > :14:38.amount - but when you come to economic competence, given the
:14:38. > :14:43.state of the economy, given the huge squeeze on living standards,
:14:43. > :14:47.it is remarkably how poorly Mr Miliband and Mr Balls do. I would
:14:47. > :14:54.suggest if the economy were to get better Labour would be in trouble
:14:54. > :14:59.on the economy. Maybe, after the budget the Tories had a decent 37%
:14:59. > :15:04.until after the budget. That's when it reversd. I think what Michael
:15:04. > :15:10.was doing is redefining failure as success. Industrial production, the
:15:10. > :15:18.lowest level for 20 years. The trade gap on goods, is highest it's
:15:18. > :15:22.been since records began. In terms of being below our pre-recession
:15:22. > :15:28.peak, it is still the worse in a century. Our economies is 3%
:15:28. > :15:32.smaller than it was in 2007. If you look at countries with control of
:15:32. > :15:39.their own currency, including in Europe, they've all done much
:15:39. > :15:47.better. They have so far. You say plan A or plan B, he is
:15:47. > :15:53.implementing plan B. In 202010 he said he would borrow �350 billion.
:15:53. > :15:58.He is now borrowing �520 billion. And still the economy is going
:15:58. > :16:02.nowhere. It is not a question of a beauty contest. It's an ugly
:16:02. > :16:07.contest, because almost every country in the western world is in
:16:07. > :16:11.deep trouble on the debt problems. Partly because of that investors
:16:11. > :16:16.are giving the UK a free pass. It does mean there is more wriggle
:16:16. > :16:21.room for the Government right now. But there are more problems from
:16:21. > :16:25.across the Channel. Alan is right to that until recently the European
:16:25. > :16:31.economies were doing better than us, other than the peripheral ones.
:16:31. > :16:34.Italy is in deep recession. Spain we all know about. France has moved
:16:34. > :16:39.into recession. Germany is teetering on recession. Overall the
:16:39. > :16:44.eurozone is now if recession and it is predicted to stay there for all
:16:44. > :16:49.of 2013. That's another huge drag on us. As indeed the United States.
:16:49. > :16:52.Except it's growing. But not all that quickly. The truth is that we
:16:52. > :16:57.have, both the eurozone and the United States are immensely
:16:57. > :17:01.important to us. Let's go back to the point about Budget. I don't
:17:01. > :17:07.think it was the substance of the Budget so much that caused a shift
:17:08. > :17:13.in opinion but the incompetence, the pasty tax, the caravans. That
:17:13. > :17:20.just suggested that there was a lack of economic competence. If we
:17:20. > :17:26.lost our AAA rating, which the Chancellor has put so much stock by.
:17:26. > :17:33.He doesn't mention it so much now, because we probably are going lose
:17:33. > :17:40.it. If GDP is down, how much will it matter in international markets?
:17:40. > :17:46.If there was ever a good time to lose your AAA rating it is now. The
:17:46. > :17:50.US has lost it, France has lost it. I'm sure the bond markets would be
:17:50. > :17:55.relatively calm about it given what's happening elsewhere in the
:17:55. > :18:00.world. As the argument of the economy has taken root, on the
:18:00. > :18:07.Conservative side economic lack of success has been myrrh order by
:18:07. > :18:11.huge rises in Tory euro scepticism. Would you agree that's one of the
:18:11. > :18:17.hallmarks of 2012 politics? Yes, although it has been a long time in
:18:17. > :18:21.gestation. It struck me the other day, when the Tories were last in
:18:21. > :18:26.Government, the backbenchers were very anxious that John Major was to
:18:26. > :18:30.take them into the euro and were rebel unions, including me, because
:18:30. > :18:33.we might be going deeper into Europe. Now the backbenchers are
:18:33. > :18:38.rebellious because the Prime Minister will not lead them out of
:18:38. > :18:44.the European Union altogether that. Gives you a snapshot of how
:18:44. > :18:49.radically the party has shifted in the Euro-sceptic direction.. In the
:18:49. > :18:52.time you've just described there were 25 rebels. Now there are many
:18:52. > :18:56.more on the Conservative backbench es who are sympathetic to the
:18:56. > :19:03.notion of coming out altogether. On the eve of the Prime Minister's
:19:03. > :19:07.visit to Europe, in order to discuss the Budget, they undermined
:19:07. > :19:16.him to an extraordinary extent by supporting the opportunism of
:19:16. > :19:20.Labour. And essentially giving him a mandate he couldn't fulfil.
:19:20. > :19:27.Gillian? One of the questions the Prime Minister had thrown at him
:19:27. > :19:32.this week is will Britain stay inside the European Union? It is
:19:32. > :19:37.clear that it is going to be increasingly difficult to
:19:37. > :19:41.accommodate a three-ped system with Britain on the outside. But the
:19:41. > :19:45.eurozone leaders meet all the time to talk about this tirt union.
:19:45. > :19:51.Meanwhile the eurozone is in massive relative economic decline.
:19:51. > :19:55.They never talk about the things that are going reverse that
:19:55. > :19:59.economic decline. The obsession with the currency, which will
:19:59. > :20:04.probably be with us for five, ten or 20 years, stops Europe dealing
:20:05. > :20:08.with its real problem - how to be competitive with China, India and
:20:08. > :20:12.Brazil. In fact Europe is still moving in the wrong direction. The
:20:12. > :20:16.French say as we go through these problems with the eurozone, we have
:20:16. > :20:21.to compensate European citizens for what they are suffering by creating
:20:21. > :20:25.a bigger social Europe, a bigger welfare state. But at the same time
:20:25. > :20:30.the voice of Britain, not some player in Europe but Britain, is
:20:30. > :20:35.harking on about repatriating employment law. Minuscule stuff.
:20:35. > :20:45.Even if you agreed with it it is hardly agenda sect. While we should
:20:45. > :20:50.
:20:50. > :20:57.be involved in this, the Common Agricultural Policy, making sure
:20:57. > :21:00.our output rises. From Mr Major to Mr Blair they talked about taking
:21:00. > :21:05.Britain into the heart of Europe. If you are not in the eurozone it
:21:05. > :21:09.is a meaningless phrase now Alan. That is the essential difference.
:21:09. > :21:15.We are not in the euro and neither were the Conservatives when they
:21:16. > :21:20.were in office or Labour when in office took introduce the euro. I
:21:20. > :21:28.say thank goodness and let's build a statue to Great Britain that we
:21:28. > :21:34.were not in the euro. A small one or a big one? Will will it be, in
:21:34. > :21:39.your garden? There is an important point here, people on the
:21:39. > :21:43.Conservative backbenches say when they want to create a more
:21:43. > :21:49.integrated system, that's the point we should say we'll only go along
:21:49. > :21:53.with this if you let us repatriate some of our competencies. Would you
:21:53. > :21:57.agree with this? No, the success of the eurozone is fund known the
:21:57. > :22:02.economic success of the United Kingdom. What makes you feel that
:22:02. > :22:09.the eurozone will be successful? Because it daren't be anything else.
:22:09. > :22:15.So far it isn't. The 20-year-olds, 50% of whom are unemployed the
:22:15. > :22:20.Spain, Greece and in Italy, they will be thrown over the fences to
:22:20. > :22:25.try to keep this show on the road. How many more young lives are we
:22:25. > :22:30.going to squander? It is not the problem of the eurozone that caused
:22:30. > :22:34.these difficulties. It is problems of the Governments in the eurozone
:22:34. > :22:37.who didn't fulfil their possibilities under the terms of
:22:37. > :22:45.the treaty. I want simple answers to. This Mr Cameron, as we come to
:22:45. > :22:55.the end of the year, is he stronger or weaker? Weaker. Weaker. Weaker.
:22:55. > :22:59.
:22:59. > :23:06.I would say weaker too. 5-0 Mr Cameron. Our floor manager said he
:23:06. > :23:12.was strong. 5-1. They wear funny sweaters and there
:23:12. > :23:19.is no holder them back. Glad I'm not wearing one! Mr Miliband,
:23:19. > :23:27.stronger or weaker? Stronger. change. Weaker. What was that?
:23:27. > :23:33.Sounded like 3-2, but I can't remember which way. You give him
:23:33. > :23:36.the responsibility and he shirks it. A shirk tore my strive. Mr Clegg,
:23:36. > :23:43.stronger or weak snefrpblts stronger. You had to say that. If
:23:43. > :23:51.you said weaker it will be in the papers tomorrow. Tell us what you
:23:51. > :23:57.mean. You can trade if you like. Differentiation. Nobody knows what
:23:57. > :24:04.that means. I'm going for no change. Strong than at the beginning of the
:24:04. > :24:09.year but it is difficult to be weaker than he was then. That's too
:24:09. > :24:15.complicated. We are halfway through this Parliament, assuming it's a
:24:15. > :24:21.five-year term, give me the result of the next general election.
:24:21. > :24:26.Labour. What else am I going to say? This isn't Question Time. We
:24:26. > :24:32.expect people to break the party mould. You don't come back unless
:24:32. > :24:37.you give honest answers. There we go. The honest answer is too close
:24:37. > :24:44.to call. Too close to call! I've spent the last year trying to
:24:44. > :24:53.predict the American election. was easy. Obama was always going
:24:53. > :24:59.win. You are right about that. Hung. Oh, I see! I thought you were being
:24:59. > :25:04.rude! The Tories won't win. In the sense that they won't get an
:25:04. > :25:08.overall majority. Do you think they won't even be the largest snaert
:25:08. > :25:18.think they won't be in Government but they might be the largest
:25:18. > :25:25.economy. -- won't even be the largest party?
:25:25. > :25:29.It is so late it's no longer funny. Indeed lit soon be time for
:25:29. > :25:34.breakfast. If the norovirus isn't keeping you up, I'm sure we can
:25:34. > :25:39.make you feel just as squeezey. Waiting in the wings and looking
:25:39. > :25:47.back at a year of stomach-churning joy is Paralympics presenter Ade
:25:47. > :25:52.Adepitan. If you want to see the online equivalent of the vomiting
:25:52. > :25:58.bug, follow us on the fleece books and the Interweb. It is time to
:25:58. > :26:02.return to Downturn to see what's become of Lord Letts, or should we
:26:02. > :26:11.just call him Santa now. Our films can be confusing and I know it is
:26:11. > :26:21.very late, dear viewers, but don't adjust your sets. A good deal of
:26:21. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:27.Blue Nun eggnog was made during the making of this small screen epic.
:26:27. > :26:37.Mr Maguire come upstairs quick, his Lordship's niece has returned from
:26:37. > :27:00.
:27:00. > :27:06.My Lady, how was your holiday - I mean business trip? Dreadful. They
:27:06. > :27:10.asked me to leave. My uncle doesn't know I was out there does he? He
:27:10. > :27:17.will get awfully cross. I told him I was staying with my aunt Louise
:27:17. > :27:22.in Corby, New York I mean. didn't you go to your uncle's
:27:22. > :27:27.villa? Tricky really. He said he was hellbent on getting rid of the
:27:27. > :27:30.place and then he changed his mind. He promised to sell it and now he's
:27:30. > :27:35.putting off the decision until next year. He's trying to run the place
:27:35. > :27:39.from here. Where is my uncle anyway? I don't know about this
:27:39. > :27:49.thing but apparently my next delivery is over there. In the
:27:49. > :27:50.
:27:50. > :27:59.river. Tell me Maguire, how is Downturn?
:27:59. > :28:09.Not good my Lady? What about the hopscotch tournament? My uncle was
:28:09. > :28:25.
:28:25. > :28:28.banking on that to raise his Unfortunately mam instead Parish
:28:28. > :28:34.Councilor Johnson seems to have bun awfully well and is now popular
:28:34. > :28:44.with the staff. Well, what about Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee? That
:28:44. > :29:03.
:29:03. > :29:07.was guaranteed to get the staff I don't think we'll be able to
:29:07. > :29:14.afford a variety show this Christmas. It doesn't have to be
:29:14. > :29:23.complicated. As my cousin, Pippa says, there's lots of top tips if
:29:23. > :29:28.you are thinking of cooking, have a kitchen. If you roost a turkey,
:29:28. > :29:34.have an oven. If you boil water, simply have a kettle. Simple things,
:29:34. > :29:40.but so many overlook. You, over there, lend him a hand.
:29:40. > :29:46.It's been a very unexpected journey. Hang on! Why there's only one of
:29:46. > :29:53.you. Now the games are over, he has decided to scale down security.
:29:53. > :29:58.Dreadful man. Letts, a dreadful man. What you call austerity, I Lord
:29:58. > :30:03.Letts might call efficiency. There's a good fellow, open up the
:30:03. > :30:13.gates. You have to go in through the tradesman entrance. I own this
:30:13. > :30:38.
:30:38. > :30:44.place. I thought you lot were Merry Christmas. It is good to have
:30:44. > :30:51.you back. Thank you, Maguire and happy Christmas to you and to you
:30:51. > :30:58.my dear niece and to you thingys. This isn't so bad, is it? We only
:30:58. > :31:03.have another five more years of this!
:31:03. > :31:07.Wait! Come back! I thought we were all in this
:31:07. > :31:17.together! Oh, well, at last, I have the place
:31:17. > :31:18.
:31:18. > :31:26.to myself. Happy Christmas to all He wears that hat in bed. Our
:31:26. > :31:31.thanks to the dancers and we are joined by star of I'm a celebrity,
:31:31. > :31:35.Rosemary Shrager and Paralympics presenter, Ade Adepitan. We
:31:35. > :31:40.depressed everybody in the first bit of the show by talking about
:31:40. > :31:45.how bad the economy is. Cheer us up by reminding us what a triumph of
:31:45. > :31:50.the Olympics and the Paralympics were. This is probably, this has
:31:51. > :31:54.probably been the best year in the UK in my lifetime. It was just
:31:54. > :31:57.unbelievable this year. The joy everyone felt. The changing
:31:57. > :32:00.perceptions for sport and the change in people's perception of
:32:00. > :32:05.disability. You think that has happened? I definitely do. I mean,
:32:05. > :32:08.I get stopped in the streets now and people come up to me and they
:32:08. > :32:12.talk about the paraoim ownerships and they want to talk about it.
:32:12. > :32:17.Another thing they ask, is when can we get more? They want to get more
:32:17. > :32:21.and they understand the sport more as well. We are so good at putting
:32:21. > :32:27.ourselves down. You have been watching this show - week after
:32:27. > :32:32.week, this man in a funny sweater, running it down - it will be a
:32:32. > :32:36.disaster. Another omnishambles. And we shouldn't... We done well,
:32:36. > :32:41.didn't we! I think what the Olympics did for
:32:41. > :32:45.us was actually to cheer us up. I think they did something - they
:32:45. > :32:49.brought something back tho this country, that is, it's
:32:49. > :32:54.fundamentally us. We know how to put on a spectacle. We know how to
:32:54. > :32:58.perform. We know how to give. We've got amazing athletes. We have shown
:32:58. > :33:01.what we can do. I think we should be proud of what we've done W the
:33:01. > :33:06.jubilee, with everything and I think we were all ready for this.
:33:06. > :33:09.We had, as you say, a load of depression, there is nothing but
:33:09. > :33:16.doom and gloom. Everybody out there is having terrible troubles and
:33:16. > :33:22.we're all suffering. In fact, I say, put all the MPs in the jungle!
:33:22. > :33:27.Having one was not enough for you? Exactly. I tell you what struck me
:33:27. > :33:34.- I remember the opening of the Chinese, of the Beijing Olympics
:33:34. > :33:40.and it was an enormous spectacle of regimentation. Everybody dressed
:33:40. > :33:46.the same. Everybody doing the same beat. Ours was diverse. It was a
:33:46. > :33:51.knees-up. It was a kind of party. To you think the head of State of
:33:51. > :33:55.China would have jumped out of a helicopter? Not at all. I am not
:33:55. > :34:01.entirely sure ours did, either! They would not be able to make a
:34:01. > :34:05.joke about it. It is Britain. Boris n Beijing, said our opening
:34:05. > :34:09.ceremony would be very different, that it would reflect a different
:34:09. > :34:14.culture and he was right. We didn't try and compete on that kind of
:34:14. > :34:18.regimented basis. But, wow, was it an opening ceremony! It was
:34:18. > :34:23.probablery the best ever! It was breathtaking. That moment
:34:23. > :34:27.where the GB team came out, I was there - it was just incredible. It
:34:27. > :34:32.felt to me like it was a moment the country had been waiting for. You
:34:32. > :34:37.know, there was like, yes, this is our time. It wasn't just the big
:34:37. > :34:41.mopltd for the athletes, it was a big -- moment for the athletes, it
:34:41. > :34:45.was a big moment for the UK. It was a great success. I don't think you
:34:45. > :34:48.do remember, but in the run-up to the Olympics, we were told by the
:34:48. > :34:52.authorities in London that the transport would be chaos, that the
:34:52. > :34:57.public transport would be overcrowded. That you would not be
:34:58. > :35:05.able to drive the car. Who said that? Well, I do remember - all the
:35:05. > :35:10.authorities were saying that. To lower expectations and make us
:35:10. > :35:14.feel better. Then we had this other remarblgable thing - when you think
:35:14. > :35:19.-- remarkable thing - when you think of all the institutions going
:35:19. > :35:25.through a tough time, think of the BBC, go on to newspapers, to the
:35:25. > :35:32.Parliament and the police too, which is a developing story, as we
:35:32. > :35:37.speak here tonight. Pleb-gate has become God-gate now. Is it called
:35:37. > :35:41.gate-gate-gate. I knew we would get a gate-gate-gate one day! It is
:35:41. > :35:46.part of the joy of the nation. is a "feel-good factor". That is it
:35:46. > :35:51.- this moment we had with the Olympics, with the monarchy, two
:35:51. > :35:54.lovely people getting married, but also, we're moving on to a
:35:54. > :36:00.different generation. We're moving on to a slightly different monarchy
:36:00. > :36:05.in the future. Very much so. That's what it is all about. It's almost,
:36:05. > :36:08.it's hope. We have hope. And that's what we all want. What I thought, I
:36:08. > :36:14.choose as my moment - the Queen getting into the hl and so on, the
:36:14. > :36:19.point about the Queen is not only famously is she extraordinary
:36:19. > :36:23.discrete, so after 60 years of being our Queen, she's not put a
:36:23. > :36:29.foot wrong, what makes it more remarkable is she does have a very
:36:29. > :36:35.great sense of humour. I would say, almost a wicked sense of humour.
:36:35. > :36:39.Somehow she never lets it trip her up into an indiscretion, which is
:36:39. > :36:43.quite remarkable. What you could say has happened to the monarchy
:36:43. > :36:46.may give hope to institutions which are currently down because I
:36:46. > :36:53.remember in the early 1990s, I remember because I played a role in
:36:53. > :36:58.doing it - the monarchy was at its lowest ebb since Queen Victoria,
:36:58. > :37:03.immediately after she became a widow. There was a rise of
:37:03. > :37:09.republicannism. They have gone through some bad times. Maybe other
:37:09. > :37:14.institutions - it was a terrible year, to take a leap out of the
:37:14. > :37:19.monarchy. The late '90s, when Diana died too.
:37:19. > :37:25.That continuity over that long period of time and as Michael says,
:37:25. > :37:30.not putting a foot wrong. I think the Monarchy has no public support
:37:30. > :37:36.to have anything oh than the Monarchy there. It's not a goodEr
:37:36. > :37:41.To be a republican is it? Particularly in America.
:37:41. > :37:47.The answer to all questions is leadership. She's been a great role
:37:47. > :37:52.model for William and Kate and Charles as well. They are the
:37:52. > :37:55.modern, cool monarchy. I would suggest that, in the history books,
:37:55. > :37:59.the history won't be about this year being another miserable year
:37:59. > :38:06.in the economy, because we've had plenty of miserable years since the
:38:06. > :38:10.end of the Second World War. It will be about the Diamond Jubilee
:38:10. > :38:15.and this incredible British success, probably, wouldn't you say, the
:38:15. > :38:21.greatest year ever for British sport? Definitely. Easily the
:38:21. > :38:25.greatest year ever. I think it's, we called it this year, the game-
:38:25. > :38:31.changer. Certainly for Paralympic sport, in the way that people
:38:31. > :38:39.looked at it, they took it seriously. So many people now now -
:38:39. > :38:44.- now know our Paralympics. If you were to asked people to name three
:38:44. > :38:48.people they would not know. Now they know. It came into the
:38:48. > :38:53.Olympics and didn't take much notice in the old days. This
:38:53. > :39:00.country made the Paralympics. Britain has been the biggest pusher.
:39:00. > :39:09.It is the spiritual home since 1948. That was back at Stoke Mandeville.
:39:09. > :39:12.What was it like being in the jungle? Interesting.
:39:12. > :39:22.Come on, a little indiscretion at this time of night. Is that why you
:39:22. > :39:25.
:39:25. > :39:30.got me on here. No-one's watching! The thing about it is she was quite
:39:30. > :39:34.controlling. She realised she didn't want to embarrass
:39:34. > :39:39.Westminster in anything she did. This is what it was all about and
:39:39. > :39:43.so on and so forth. Didn't that defeat the object of
:39:43. > :39:47.why she went in there. It was her choice, at the end of the day. For
:39:47. > :39:51.me, she had her own reasons to go in. The only thing is I don't think
:39:51. > :39:54.it was a political forum for her. So, I have to say I am sure it was
:39:54. > :39:59.not my place, but in terms of why she did it, it was her decision.
:39:59. > :40:04.She did it for her own reasons. Maybe that's where the Prime
:40:04. > :40:12.Minister's Question Time should be held - in the jungle!
:40:12. > :40:20.We've got a little quiz. I want you to stay and help me. Have we got
:40:20. > :40:27.buzzers. Here's my advice... We like surprises here at this time of
:40:27. > :40:32.year. That is why we have decided to give the BBC Trust a collective
:40:33. > :40:37.Yuletide heart attack with a special Jimmy Savile quiz. Only
:40:37. > :40:43.quizling! Just a joke! Yes, we bottled it, as usual. We don't want
:40:43. > :40:52.to get moved side ways F that happens, you get a big -- if that
:40:52. > :41:00.happens, you get a big pay- off. Which bell end gave the Government
:41:00. > :41:08.a headache this year. Bell end? Was it Big Ben?
:41:08. > :41:14.No. Run the take. Here it is. Oh, yes.
:41:14. > :41:20.It was after that he was made minister of health!
:41:20. > :41:26.Which A clanger! Which soul singer won the popular
:41:26. > :41:34.vote this year? Soul singer? Barack Obama. Well done. Let's see
:41:35. > :41:44.the tape. # And
:41:44. > :41:52.# So in love with you # There you go - that was Al Greene
:41:52. > :41:59.Obama! Which of Michael's, his political
:41:59. > :42:08.heroes continue to have problems with his accident-prone zipper in
:42:08. > :42:18.2012?Th I know it. You don't. Boris. Oh, yes. It is being ironic. I have
:42:18. > :42:27.
:42:27. > :42:32.He wears his trousers well! At least he's not the Mayor of
:42:32. > :42:38.London... Oh, sorry, he is the Mayor of London. Which stadium
:42:38. > :42:46.performance at the Olympics truly drew the nation's breath away this
:42:46. > :42:52.summer? You will not get this. Show us the tape.
:42:52. > :42:56.Shami Chakarti. She was just carrying the flag behind Ban Ki-
:42:56. > :43:06.Moon. I have always wanted to say that
:43:06. > :43:11.name - Ban Ki-Moon. Do you want to say it? Ban Ki-Moon. That's your
:43:11. > :43:18.lot. We return in January. We have more
:43:18. > :43:28.pickled wisdom from the bottom of a late night wine glass. We are off
:43:28. > :43:28.
:43:28. > :43:38.to Annabelle's club - it is too late to go to the real thing.
:43:38. > :43:44.
:43:44. > :43:50.Nighty, night - don't let Mohammed # Very, very cheap
:43:50. > :43:54.# One for fish # One pound each
:43:54. > :43:57.# One pound Hsh one pound