:00:19. > :00:22.The stars are are out. Join us for Political Stargazing Live.
:00:22. > :00:28.On planet Westminster, the Prime Minister and his deputy return to
:00:28. > :00:33.work. The Daly Mail's, Quentin Letts, studies a galaxy of
:00:33. > :00:37.coalition claims. Earth to coalition. The Government
:00:37. > :00:42.is in mid-term and it is time to apply the rocket boosters. We will
:00:43. > :00:46.be calling them direct from our stewed studio. Join us later for
:00:46. > :00:53.the great link up! The Government is worrying about
:00:53. > :01:01.the cost of benefits and feeling the -- filling the deficit black
:01:01. > :01:11.hole. Janet Street Porter has gone into orbit.
:01:11. > :01:14.As the PM accuses UKIP members of being space objects, we look at the
:01:14. > :01:19.creatures from the political universe.
:01:19. > :01:28.Well, Andrew don't hop into your space suit too quickly. You are so
:01:28. > :01:34.normal, you are almost a freak! Look up in the sky, we can see
:01:34. > :01:42.Uranus. Oh, evening all. We can to This
:01:42. > :01:47.Week. Our first offering of the New Year and as I fight back the non-
:01:47. > :01:51.existent tears, I I can't believe I am saying these words - this is our
:01:51. > :02:01.tenth anniversary show. The clue is in the balloon. Yes, our tenth
:02:01. > :02:04.anniversary show. Filling the cultural void between David Bowie
:02:05. > :02:14.albums. Baffling to anyone who pays the licence fee, which includes
:02:15. > :02:20.
:02:20. > :02:27.some of you watching, it is a decade since the yen the Yentobs
:02:27. > :02:30.decided that it was bliss. With the name of This Week, the product of
:02:30. > :02:39.multiple focus groups and away weeks in the Maldives. So fuelled
:02:39. > :02:44.by a diet of of cheap German wine and and cheap shot at our political
:02:44. > :02:52.masters, it wasn't long before we were ignored by viewers the length
:02:52. > :03:00.and breadth of the nation and the lack of luxuriesries like a descent
:03:00. > :03:10.set, a descent presenter, we managed to funnel enough money to
:03:10. > :03:10.
:03:11. > :03:15.where it really mattered, Diane Abbott's private school fees. I am
:03:15. > :03:25.joined on the stained ten-year-old sofa by two men who do what it says
:03:25. > :03:26.
:03:26. > :03:36.on the tin! Think of them as the Heinz tomato soup. I speak of
:03:36. > :03:43.
:03:43. > :03:52.hashtag man on the left and sad man That's the programme budget gone in
:03:52. > :03:57.one blast! Michael, your moment of the week? Mr Barroso, a what is one
:03:57. > :04:03.of two men who claim to be president of Europe. He claimed the
:04:03. > :04:06.your owe is now safe. -- euro is safe. It is unwise of politicians
:04:06. > :04:10.to predict what will happen to currencies because markets have a
:04:10. > :04:14.way of undoing their best intentions, but I thought it would
:04:14. > :04:18.be of a consolation to know that the euro is out of the woods for
:04:18. > :04:23.those 27% of Greeks who are now unemployed. Greece today over took
:04:23. > :04:31.Spain in the number of unemployed, 56% of their youth are unemployed,
:04:31. > :04:39.15% of the youth in Spain are unemployed, but it is good to know
:04:39. > :04:46.that for the idealist that the European currency is safe.
:04:46. > :04:50.Your moment of the week? My moment of the week is a footballer playing
:04:50. > :04:54.for AC Milan in a friendly. A big section of the crowd were hurling
:04:54. > :04:58.racial abuse at him. Nice people. He kicked the ball into the crowd.
:04:58. > :05:02.Took his shirt off and walked off the pitch. That happened a couple
:05:02. > :05:10.of times before. What was unique, the rest of the team followed him
:05:10. > :05:19.and half the stadium applauded them off. It was, I think think, a great
:05:20. > :05:24.moment, Seb Sepp Blatter said, "You shouldn't runaway. What that player
:05:24. > :05:28.has done is more than Sepp Blatter has done in a hole career.
:05:28. > :05:33.It was interesting that the crowd applauded. And the team walked.
:05:33. > :05:37.And the team walked with them. was only a friendly.
:05:37. > :05:41.Now, the coalition says cutting the deficit means hard choices and
:05:41. > :05:45.tough decisions including cutting the benefits to the needyest and I
:05:45. > :05:52.say quite right, there are more important things to spend our tax
:05:52. > :05:57.money, take example the railways minister, Simon Burns. He is
:05:57. > :06:05.responsible support above inflation price rises. He commutes from his
:06:05. > :06:12.home in Essex using his chauffeur driven car an an rather than using
:06:12. > :06:15.the cramp trains and it only costs �85,000 a year. It does make it
:06:15. > :06:20.harder to convince well off pensioners for example, of which
:06:20. > :06:26.there are many these days, to give up their benefits benefits without
:06:26. > :06:36.a fight at the next election. We asked Janet Street Porter to give
:06:36. > :06:45.
:06:45. > :06:52.us her bus pass, but she gave us I am a pensioner and a working one
:06:52. > :06:56.at that. For a long with millions of over 60s like me up and down the
:06:56. > :07:01.country, I am enjoying the benefits of old age. A pension, winter fuel
:07:01. > :07:11.allowance, a Freedom Pass for the buses and trains and most of all,
:07:11. > :07:13.
:07:13. > :07:19.my senior rail card and so I bloody well should.
:07:19. > :07:23.I have worked hard all my life. I am a striver. Not a shirker. So why
:07:23. > :07:28.shouldn't I enjoy a fuel State funded benefits in the autumn of my
:07:28. > :07:32.years? After all, I've paid for them. Now in the week when the
:07:32. > :07:36.Government decided to scrap child benefit for the richest 15% in the
:07:36. > :07:40.country, it seems they might have pensioners in their sights next. It
:07:40. > :07:47.is said that after the next election, they are talking of
:07:47. > :07:52.taking away some of our benefits. The Government seem to be listening
:07:52. > :07:58.to critics who think that wealthy pensioners should give up some of
:07:58. > :08:08.the benefits and even possible bli be means-tested, well you do so at
:08:08. > :08:10.
:08:10. > :08:14.Politicians so far have shied away from targeting older people and
:08:14. > :08:17.with very good reason. We are, the most politically engaged group. We
:08:17. > :08:22.are the people that put them in power in the first place. It seems
:08:22. > :08:26.to me pathetically unfair to take away our meagre few benefits. We
:08:26. > :08:29.have got no guarantee that they will be put to any good use. They
:08:29. > :08:39.will just disappear into that big black hole that is called our
:08:39. > :08:41.
:08:41. > :08:45.deficit. Now, Mr Cameron is only one way
:08:45. > :08:53.that you can persuade me and millions of people like me to give
:08:53. > :08:58.up this and that is to ring-fence, to completely ring-fence any money
:08:58. > :09:02.that you save by taking away our benefits and give that money
:09:02. > :09:06.directly to worthy causes like more apprenticeships for school leavers.
:09:06. > :09:09.What most people want are practical policies that will make a real
:09:09. > :09:14.difference. They are not interested in which party is in or which party
:09:14. > :09:23.is out. They want a fair Government. One that comes up with policies
:09:23. > :09:26.that will help us all, not just to score political points.
:09:26. > :09:36.But the best thing that politicians could do, you want my honest
:09:36. > :09:39.
:09:39. > :09:42.opinion, leave us pensioners and Janet Street Porter from Waterloo
:09:42. > :09:47.Station to our little station on the the other side of the river in
:09:47. > :09:54.Westminster. Welcome to This Week. Michael and Alan, let's get
:09:54. > :09:57.straight to basics, should the pensioner benefits be protected?
:09:57. > :10:01.think the Government would be ill adviced to change it. I don't think
:10:01. > :10:05.it is morally justified to give money to pensioners who don't need
:10:05. > :10:08.it, but it is complicated to means- test things. It would be
:10:08. > :10:14.misunderstood and lots of pensioners would think they will be
:10:14. > :10:21.affected and and it will cause le sentiment and -- resentment and it
:10:21. > :10:24.won't be spent any better anywhere. Alan? I always saw the child
:10:24. > :10:28.benefit change as perhaps leading to a change elsewhere which is why
:10:29. > :10:31.I was worried about it. I will give you a suggestion for what we should
:10:31. > :10:37.do because another generation are going to retire later. They are
:10:37. > :10:41.going to get their State pension later and yet, still, when you hit
:10:42. > :10:46.the magic age of 65, you stop paying national insurance. Now if
:10:46. > :10:48.pensioners are going to work longer, there is an argument they should
:10:48. > :10:52.continue to pay national insurance and that might abcontribution,
:10:52. > :10:58.rather than attacking universal benefits.
:10:58. > :11:03.You think they should stay? Yes. This is good, the three of you
:11:03. > :11:09.saying the same thing. I am going to have to fight hard. I don't mind
:11:10. > :11:13.giving up some of my perks. I don't mind if politicians good afternoon
:11:13. > :11:18.guarantee that the money will be ring-fenced and go to deserving
:11:18. > :11:23.causes and not swallowed up. We can say we would be prepared to pay
:11:23. > :11:26.higher tax and higher VAT. Let's stick with the principle. Nour you
:11:26. > :11:30.are a wealthy -- now, you are a wealthy striver. These are tough
:11:30. > :11:34.times. And people on lower incomes than yours are hurting. Isn't it
:11:34. > :11:40.lewdious that the State should be using tax money to give awe free
:11:40. > :11:43.bus pass or winter fuel allowance? If you take away our winter fuel
:11:43. > :11:48.allowance that's going to be over 1% of the total welfare budget. It
:11:48. > :11:53.is a drop in the ocean. Look at, why is it that pensioners have
:11:53. > :11:57.become a big problem? The P word, isn't it? Pensioners are a problem.
:11:57. > :12:02.We sit in care homes. We use up the National Health Service, but look
:12:02. > :12:06.at it another away. If you are a politician, you can't afford to
:12:06. > :12:10.lose pensioners. We are the only people that vote for you of the the
:12:10. > :12:12.political parties have not managed to attract younger voters or
:12:12. > :12:17.middle-aged voters. Sure, but that's politicians
:12:17. > :12:24.running in fear of a powerful lobby which the Americans call the Great
:12:24. > :12:27.Pan that. -- Great panther. You could do any of these and it
:12:27. > :12:32.wouldn't make a difference to the quality of your life? What about
:12:32. > :12:38.Iain Duncan Smith saying... don't need a winter fuel allowance?
:12:38. > :12:41.Talk about pensioners overall. Why should I be means-tested? Means-
:12:41. > :12:49.testing is impossible to implement and will cost more than it would
:12:49. > :12:52.raise. Why don't you you consider that pensioners are an asset. They
:12:52. > :12:56.are an asset. They are not using the police force or breaking the
:12:56. > :13:00.law. They are not committing crimes. Why is it demonising a pensioner,
:13:00. > :13:04.to say that a wealthy person like yourself does not need the winter
:13:04. > :13:09.fuel allowance? I have paid more than my fair share of tax. I am not
:13:09. > :13:13.like the captains of industry moving my tax affairs overseas. My
:13:13. > :13:17.tax affairs are transparent and so I would believe are 99% of the
:13:17. > :13:21.pensioners in this country. They feel they have spent their life
:13:21. > :13:26.since leaving school, working, paying tax, paying national
:13:26. > :13:29.insurance, and we've paid in. And for for Iain Duncan Smith to say
:13:29. > :13:39.yesterday that pensioners in the future need to have more savings.
:13:39. > :13:41.
:13:41. > :13:46.We are the only people saving. We It's clear that David Cameron isn't
:13:46. > :13:52.going to do anything about it this side of the election. Do you think
:13:52. > :13:57.he'll be under pressure to do something about it the other side
:13:57. > :14:02.of the election? Isn't this going to be an issue? The crucial time is
:14:02. > :14:06.the election itself. Until now, all leaders have always said these
:14:06. > :14:11.things are entirely off limits that they'll not be touched. The great
:14:11. > :14:17.danger is if David Cameron decides to say no, this time I'm not giving
:14:17. > :14:21.that guarantee... Which was bounced into by Gordon Brown in the TV
:14:21. > :14:24.debate wasn't he? Then Labour will run stories that if the benefits
:14:24. > :14:27.are not guaranteeed that could mean that nearly everybody will lose
:14:27. > :14:31.their winter fuel allowance and that nearly everybody will lose
:14:31. > :14:35.their free bus pass. This will enable the Labour Party to run the
:14:35. > :14:39.most momentous... Would you exploit it? There's no chance Labour would
:14:39. > :14:44.want to go down this road as well? Is Labour comfortable with someone
:14:44. > :14:48.who lives in Marbella getting a winter fuel allowance? It's not
:14:48. > :14:52.only pensioners who've been attacked this week, it's child
:14:52. > :14:56.benefit that's been taken away, it's children. I'm still attached
:14:56. > :15:00.to the principle for some of the reasons Michael mentioned. Taking
:15:00. > :15:04.that away will lead to an horrendous mess in terms of how you
:15:04. > :15:08.can late that now. I come back to the pensioners. But what is the
:15:08. > :15:14.fuel allowance there for? It's because the state pension was very
:15:14. > :15:18.low, it's a tax-free lump sum and people now are equating their state
:15:18. > :15:22.pension entitlement as their weekly payment, plus their winter fuel
:15:22. > :15:26.allowance. It's impossible now to separate the two and until you get
:15:26. > :15:31.to a situation, as you will eventually because of changes being
:15:31. > :15:37.made now, occupational pensions now, replace a big chunk of what was
:15:37. > :15:40.previously expected from benefits et cetera, I think a politician
:15:40. > :15:44.changing it would be doing something perilous to their future.
:15:44. > :15:51.Many of these things were introduced as short-term political
:15:52. > :15:57.gimmicks, the fuel allowance was once �50 then �100 now �200.
:15:57. > :16:03.Pensioners' Christmas bonus? �10. And free TV licences. All were
:16:03. > :16:09.introduced I think, or most, by Gordon Brown. Ted Heath did the
:16:09. > :16:14.Christmas bonus. Yes. Gordon Brown as Chancellor or Prime Minister.
:16:14. > :16:19.was to tackle pensioner poverty. to buy votes. Once you have given
:16:19. > :16:26.something out, why take it back? Give than pensioners are loyal
:16:26. > :16:30.voters, I think... A very ungrateful lot. I speak for
:16:30. > :16:34.millions of pensioners who've seen their savings diminish in value and
:16:34. > :16:37.you are saying, save more and by the way after the next election, we
:16:37. > :16:43.might take away the fuel allowance. There's nothing principle about
:16:43. > :16:48.this. The politicians are just frightened of the grai vote. Older
:16:48. > :16:52.folk vote, they are organised, they've got time on their hands to
:16:52. > :16:56.do it. It would be politically disastrous to remove these things
:16:56. > :16:59.entirely for more pensioners. one's suggesting that. No, no, but
:16:59. > :17:04.give than... Are you saying that's how it will be presentd? Give than
:17:04. > :17:09.we accept that, is it worth the Haas toll remove it from very few
:17:09. > :17:12.people which will cost a lot of money and which will risk giving
:17:12. > :17:17.many more pensioners the impression that they are going to lose out, it
:17:17. > :17:21.might be the reality. I would say it's a no-brainer, don't touch it.
:17:21. > :17:25.While we are in the midst of cynicism, there were 2.6 million
:17:25. > :17:34.pensioners living in abject poverty, women who didn't qualify for the
:17:34. > :17:38.state pension. We are talking about how it was originated. The reason
:17:38. > :17:43.why more pensioners go out to work isn't because they are babyboomers
:17:43. > :17:46.and like socialising, it's because financially they have to. We have
:17:46. > :17:50.two categories of people who're working against their will, that's
:17:51. > :17:55.mothers with very young children and pensioners over 65 who'd rather
:17:55. > :18:00.be retiring. They're both doing it because they can't exist on the
:18:00. > :18:03.money that's available. Janet's also introduced an interesting
:18:04. > :18:07.point which is that you reach a point in life where you have paid
:18:07. > :18:13.in and you don't accept means testing because you believe that at
:18:13. > :18:17.some point in your life, you want some pay back. They call old people
:18:17. > :18:19.living treasures in certain places, in this country we are a big
:18:19. > :18:24.problem. Do you think you have intimidated them into doing what
:18:24. > :18:29.you don't want them to do? If I was running Britain, I would look after
:18:29. > :18:34.the national asset, pensioners, at the moment they are demonised.
:18:34. > :18:42.tonight. Thank you for being our first guest of the New Year on our
:18:42. > :18:46.tenth anniversary programme. It's late, very late and Janet's got to
:18:46. > :18:52.catch her night bus back to bingo night at the club. She's always
:18:52. > :18:57.there! For those outside her media circus, stick with us, because
:18:57. > :19:00.waiting in the wings, Amy Le may here to talk about the joys of
:19:00. > :19:06.being different. Since most viewers are weird, you have probably
:19:06. > :19:09.clocked that already. Don't forget, you can express your love for the
:19:09. > :19:13.programme and for Janet in particular on the Twitter,
:19:13. > :19:17.Fleecebook and the interweb. To be a successful politician, you would
:19:17. > :19:23.need to be sauck Cescful communicator, something which
:19:23. > :19:27.passed Michael and Alan by -- successful. Old Cleggover is not
:19:27. > :19:34.content with being the Deputy Prime Minister, he's hosting his own
:19:34. > :19:39.radio phone-in show. I wonder if we could be Deputy Prime Minister for
:19:39. > :19:44.an hour. Not to be outdown by professional cross dressing, we
:19:44. > :19:54.called Quentin Letts for his youndup of the political week --
:19:54. > :20:05.
:20:05. > :20:09.round-up of the political week. Good evening, Britain. Alan
:20:09. > :20:15.partridge couldn't be here so you have got me instead to present your
:20:15. > :20:22.phone-in show. The host, with the most.
:20:22. > :20:32.It's late, you're tired but don't get to bed, because it's time for
:20:32. > :20:33.
:20:33. > :20:37.call Quentin! Right, time to flip some vinyl pancakes. Hello, we are
:20:37. > :20:41.going to start with a couple who've been in a relationship for some
:20:41. > :20:47.time. This week they've chose tonne renew their vows, a very touching
:20:47. > :20:53.story. One of them is on the line now. Is that Dave from Westminster?
:20:53. > :20:57.Good afternoon. Very nice of you to join us Mr Cameron, do you have Mr
:20:57. > :21:03.Clegg with you? Tell us about your situation. It's a Ron sale deal,
:21:03. > :21:06.does what it says on the tin. We said we'd come together, form a
:21:06. > :21:11.Government, tackle the problems and get on with it in a mature,
:21:11. > :21:17.sensible way. Done as a PR stunt perhaps but tell me, Mr Clegg,
:21:18. > :21:22.would you describe it similarly as a Ronseal deal You could call it
:21:22. > :21:27.the unvarnished truth - I thought it was all right! You are still
:21:27. > :21:37.laughing at each other's jokes, you are in it for the long haul then
:21:37. > :21:38.
:21:38. > :21:42.are committed to doing what we have said, doing what it says on the tin.
:21:42. > :21:46.Behind every marriage there can be another story, did Dave and Nick
:21:46. > :21:49.tell us everything? What is the detail behind the detail? We are
:21:49. > :21:54.getting a call here from Ed from Primrose Hill North London. Welcome
:21:54. > :21:59.to the show. What is your point? Can the Prime Minister tell us why
:21:59. > :22:05.on Monday when he published the mid term review, he failed to publish
:22:05. > :22:10.his audit of coalition broken promises? We'll be publishing
:22:10. > :22:17.absolutely every single audit of every single promise, all 399
:22:17. > :22:23.pledges set out in the mid term review. The advisor said they
:22:23. > :22:28.shouldn't publish it because it had problematic area, it would lead to
:22:29. > :22:33.unfavourable copy and lead to unbroken pledges. Not his greatest
:22:33. > :22:40.performance. We'll fade him out. What was that man next to him,
:22:40. > :22:45.Balls, he'll have to go! Another call. Thomas Galloway, Dunlop but
:22:45. > :22:50.rue, Galbraith. I understand we can call you Tom, is that right? Dave
:22:50. > :22:57.from Westminster earlier loves coalitions. What do you make of
:22:57. > :23:02.them? All of us would rather be in a single party Government this was
:23:02. > :23:06.an experiment though in 2010. Some of it has been messy and difficult.
:23:06. > :23:12.But largely it's produce what had we wanted it to do. That that's why
:23:12. > :23:19.you resigned this week. He's gone. It's an Englanding batting collapse
:23:19. > :23:22.with the Lords all gone. You are listening to Call Quentin, the show
:23:22. > :23:28.that matters. Please, please, call, we've got to fill the air time
:23:28. > :23:33.somehow. On to the issue that can decide the next general election.
:23:33. > :23:37.Workers versus shirkers. Ian from Chingford, you are on the line.
:23:37. > :23:43.They spent taxpayers' money like drunks on a Friday night. They are
:23:43. > :23:46.spend more, tax more, borrow more and let the next generation pick up
:23:46. > :23:53.the bill. This bill creates a heck of a mess and asks Britain's
:23:53. > :24:00.working familys to clear it up. a call from somebody we haven't
:24:00. > :24:04.heard from for a very long time. Dave in Primrose Hill as well, how
:24:04. > :24:09.about that! Good to have you back, what do you have to say for
:24:09. > :24:14.yourself? This ransid Bill is not about affordability. It's not. It
:24:14. > :24:17.wreaks of the politics of dividing rhines. They all want a say on this.
:24:17. > :24:21.Caroline from Brighton? A mean and miserable piece of legislation from
:24:21. > :24:24.a mean and miserable Government. shall be voting against the second
:24:24. > :24:32.reading of the Bill today with a heavy heart. That will be a topic
:24:32. > :24:38.we hear more from in the run of this show. Another topic - Europe -
:24:38. > :24:43.Mr Barack Obama from Washington. How's Tyne & Wear? Sorry, it's not
:24:43. > :24:49.Tyne & Wear, it's Washington DC, district of Colombia. How di, how
:24:49. > :24:55.can we help you, what do you think about Europe? We think it's in our
:24:55. > :25:00.interests to see a strong British voice within the EU. This is a
:25:00. > :25:06.response from Dave in SW1, saying that the US wants an outward
:25:06. > :25:13.looking EU with Britain in it and so do we? Speak for yourself, mate!
:25:13. > :25:18.We are nearing the end of the show and I've got a call myself to make.
:25:18. > :25:24.Hello, Nick, good to talk to you. I know I make it look easy but take
:25:24. > :25:28.advice from a phone-in professional like me. What's that, serious calls
:25:28. > :25:32.to make?! Cheeky monkey. Are you a man of the people and have you ever
:25:32. > :25:37.worn a onesy? From your constituency, have you ever ever
:25:37. > :25:43.worn a onesy? I was give an big green onesy in Sheffield which I
:25:43. > :25:47.have kept in its packaging, so I haven't worn it yet but I've got
:25:47. > :25:52.one. That's your lot, folks, it's been a toasty pledge but it's over.
:25:52. > :26:00.To my colleagues in that inferior medium television. Andrew, over to
:26:00. > :26:05.you. Quentin Letts. We are joined by
:26:05. > :26:08.Miranda Green, as we always are at this time. Tell me, Mr Clegg, Mr
:26:08. > :26:12.Cameron, said they were committed to the coalition lasting the full
:26:12. > :26:17.five years. Should we take it for granted that the parties won't go
:26:17. > :26:24.their separate ways some time in 2014? It's a good question isn't it.
:26:24. > :26:30.Five years seemed like a very long time when they negotiated this
:26:30. > :26:34.coalition in 2010. The election has been feeling imminent for quite a
:26:34. > :26:38.while now. It's going to be very difficult,
:26:38. > :26:42.this task, for the second half of the Parliament, to keep the
:26:42. > :26:46.coalition ship on track without fracturing. There is a bit of
:26:46. > :26:49.fracturing on both sides now. It had been worse on the Tory sides, a
:26:49. > :26:53.bit of Liberal Democrat fracturing as well. On the welfare reforms?
:26:53. > :26:55.Which is significant actually. things are still dire for the
:26:55. > :27:00.Liberal Democrats in 2014 and if they have a very bad European
:27:00. > :27:04.election, which is perfectly on the cards, the Tories could have a bad
:27:04. > :27:07.one too, surely there will be irresistible pressure maybe A on
:27:07. > :27:12.the leadership and B, to put some distance between them and the
:27:12. > :27:17.Tories by getting out of Government? I don't think that the
:27:17. > :27:21.European elections will be seen as any sort of make or break test.
:27:21. > :27:24.Even if you come fifth? Well, you know, the UKIP factor is bad for
:27:24. > :27:27.all the established parties, it's not particularly a message to the
:27:27. > :27:31.Liberal Democrats, you know, with the Greens we have seen this
:27:31. > :27:36.European election thing happen before, but I think that the point
:27:36. > :27:40.behind your question is a good one. The pressure is going to increase
:27:40. > :27:44.and obviously one thing they were doing this week is quite rightly
:27:44. > :27:48.saying these are the big challenges facing Britain, we have made a
:27:48. > :27:52.start on these big projects that will take a long time. That has its
:27:52. > :27:56.own challenge because it means you have to talk about projects that
:27:56. > :28:01.last longer than two-and-a-half years sowhat does that mean nor the
:28:01. > :28:05.coalition project. Do you think the coalition will go all the way to
:28:05. > :28:07.2015? I do, partly because they've Leggetted for it an they have to
:28:07. > :28:11.continue the austerity programme for the longest period of time to
:28:11. > :28:15.have the best chance of proving the success, partly because they enjoy
:28:15. > :28:19.being in office and they might as well stay there for as long as they
:28:19. > :28:23.possibly can, but for all of those reasons, they'll go the distance.
:28:23. > :28:26.Because they've Leggetted for it, doesn't mean they can stick
:28:26. > :28:31.together. You could see a situation where the Liberal Democrats
:28:31. > :28:35.withdraw from coalition in 2014, maybe the autumn around the time of
:28:35. > :28:40.the Party Conference which could be rough. But that doesn't provoke an
:28:40. > :28:46.election, the Torys are a minority through to 2015? That is the likely
:28:46. > :28:52.scenario, Andrew. They've Leggetted for a five-year Parliament. Without
:28:52. > :28:55.much debate. Five years, rather than four. So the only way that can
:28:55. > :29:00.change is if something like 80 Liberal Democrats vote with us,
:29:00. > :29:03.that won't happen. They won't go anywhere near the electorate any
:29:03. > :29:08.time before 2015 so I think perhaps withdraw to a confidence and supply
:29:08. > :29:12.arrangement, maybe for the last year, interesting question for me
:29:12. > :29:17.is whether Clegg goes. You couldn't have that under Nick Clegg I don't
:29:17. > :29:20.think, a partial withdrawal. think if that happens it would be a
:29:20. > :29:27.new leader? I don't think that will happen myself but if it were, you
:29:28. > :29:37.couldn't have it happen under Nick Clegg. There is Mr Cable waiting in
:29:37. > :29:41.David Miliband, is he preparing for entry into front-line politics?
:29:41. > :29:46.David just wanted to speak. He wanted to speak in that debate. Now,
:29:46. > :29:51.there is has been speculation... What do you think? He is too big a
:29:51. > :29:56.talent, I think, to stay on the backbenches, but this is a very
:29:57. > :30:01.personal thing. David talks about the Kremlinology. If he came into
:30:01. > :30:08.the Shadow Cabinet, everyone judging everything by how his
:30:08. > :30:11.brother reacts and David's point is it would be bad for the party. He
:30:11. > :30:21.is itching to do something rather than sit on the backbenches.
:30:21. > :30:28.It struck me how uncomfortable international international front
:30:28. > :30:31.front benchers look on the backbenches. He looked
:30:32. > :30:40.uncomfortable, he was feeling nervous about the situation. Should
:30:40. > :30:45.we rule out entirely? Durel durel entirely durel David Miliband as
:30:45. > :30:49.Shadow Chancellor? That's unlikely, but I think we are going to go into
:30:49. > :30:53.the next election with Ed Balls as Shadow Chancellor. There maybe a
:30:53. > :30:59.return to the frontbench, but in what position that would be, I
:30:59. > :31:05.don't know. Even his intervention posed a major
:31:05. > :31:09.challenge to the existing frontbench. He talked about
:31:09. > :31:13.priorities within a reduced ability of the Government to spend and
:31:13. > :31:18.that's a much... He tackled the Clegg point. The Clegg point was
:31:19. > :31:25.how else are you going to pay for this.
:31:25. > :31:30.Mr E Miliband wants to run against a bit of what Labour did last time.
:31:30. > :31:33.He wants to distance himself from some of the things the last Labour
:31:33. > :31:37.Government did that. It is difficult to do that with Mr Balls
:31:37. > :31:41.as his Shadow Chancellor? Ed was a member of the Government as well.
:31:41. > :31:47.If you bring David in, he was a member of the Government as well.
:31:47. > :31:51.He is more prepared to distance himself? This st what you get -- is
:31:51. > :31:57.this is what you get if you are you are looking for re-elected after
:31:57. > :32:00.four years. If you are trying to get after being rejected by the
:32:00. > :32:05.electorate, you are almost bound to face that problem and that's why it
:32:05. > :32:09.is a bigger challenge for Ed and why he is doing so well when you
:32:09. > :32:11.compare him to other leaders of the opposition in that first period
:32:11. > :32:18.after an election defeat. Ed Miliband suffered at the
:32:18. > :32:21.beginning from the idea that he finished off his brother.
:32:21. > :32:29.But to have a number of brothers as Leader of the Opposition and Shadow
:32:29. > :32:33.Chancellor, that goes down badly with the public. He did Latin for a
:32:33. > :32:37.year! Well, I slept under one of those.
:32:37. > :32:44.The English has been a problem, but the Latin stuck!
:32:44. > :32:47.The resignation of Lord Strathclyde and Lord Marilyn, not household
:32:47. > :32:52.names, but the timing was significant, wasn't it? It was
:32:52. > :32:55.incredible. It was designed to cause damage? It is peculiar. I
:32:55. > :32:59.don't equate the two resignations. Strathclyde is the sort of person
:32:59. > :33:04.you miss. The House of Lords needs such careful management. Even
:33:04. > :33:07.without a coalition, even with just one party because Lords are very
:33:07. > :33:13.independent people and lots of them are clever and lots of them have
:33:13. > :33:18.ideas and lots of experience and so you can only cajole them or you can
:33:18. > :33:21.reason with them, you can make them feel guilty that they are they are
:33:21. > :33:26.voting against the Government because you are such a good guy.
:33:26. > :33:30.And people liked him? Strathclyde had those qualities. People didn't
:33:30. > :33:33.like to let him down. He said the coalition had broken
:33:33. > :33:37.down in the Lords already? Well, there has been a lot of rebellions
:33:37. > :33:43.in the Lords before now and I imagine they will go on, but losing
:33:43. > :33:47.one minister, losing two ministers, it doesn't really say a lot again
:33:47. > :33:52.about David Cameron's ability to run his own team. Again on time, we
:33:52. > :33:55.had the State Department coming out saying they want Britain to stay in
:33:55. > :34:01.Europe and effectively saying don't have a referendum. Nothing new
:34:01. > :34:06.about that. That's always been the State Department policy, but timing
:34:06. > :34:12.was interesting. James James Forsyth says Mr Cameron isn't going
:34:12. > :34:16.to say anything to satisfy the real Euro-sceptics and this could now,
:34:16. > :34:19.there is the potential for this to lead to the greatest split in the
:34:19. > :34:25.Tories since the corn laws. Discuss? Well, it is the great eggs
:34:25. > :34:29.split in the cories -- the greastest split in the Tories since
:34:29. > :34:33.the corn laws this. Is a long continuing problem in the Tory
:34:33. > :34:36.Party. As far as the American intervention is concerned, I am not
:34:36. > :34:40.sure myself that it was calculated or planned in the way their
:34:40. > :34:43.implying, but I do think that the Americans actually do not have a
:34:43. > :34:45.strong understanding of the European issue. They don't have a
:34:45. > :34:50.strong understanding of Britain's position on Europe and I am not
:34:50. > :34:54.sure that they understand their own interests. One only has to
:34:54. > :34:58.speculate where America would have stood over Iraq and Afghanistan if
:34:58. > :35:02.there was a single European foreign policy because a single European
:35:02. > :35:03.foreign policy would not have authorised Britain to join in the
:35:03. > :35:07.endeavours alongside American forces.
:35:07. > :35:12.We have to leave it. We will be talking about Europe, Alan. Hold
:35:12. > :35:21.what you have got to say for future weeks. Miran darks thanks -- --
:35:21. > :35:30.Miranda, thank you for being wuss. Wearing a gold me dollian and -- me
:35:30. > :35:40.dal -- medallion and driving a bright sports car is a sign of a
:35:40. > :35:43.crisis. Maybe nijal If UKIP is joining the mainstream, does that
:35:43. > :35:49.mean Britain is becoming a less colourful place? That's why we have
:35:49. > :35:59.decided to embrace those who plough a lonely Pharaoh and put odd people
:35:59. > :36:03.
:36:03. > :36:08.From Albert Einstein to a Czech presidential candidate. Everyone
:36:08. > :36:12.knows an eccentric character. With their poll rating soaring, it looks
:36:12. > :36:17.like UKIP can no longer be dismissed as the odd balls of
:36:17. > :36:24.British poll politics. Unless, you are the Prime Minister, of course.
:36:24. > :36:27.Do you regret using fruit cake and and closet race racist for terms
:36:27. > :36:31.for UKIP. There are Odd people.
:36:32. > :36:37.Their leader seems keen on his party's outsider image.
:36:37. > :36:40.I mean compared to Cameron, Miliband and Clegg, I spent 20
:36:40. > :36:45.years having a job which of course, none of those guys have.
:36:45. > :36:50.Who is to say cap call me Dave isn't weird? He does let his wife
:36:50. > :37:00.dress him. Others like the Mayor of London are just accepted for their
:37:00. > :37:01.
:37:01. > :37:06.quirky ways. Even Middle England companies like Waitrose are busy
:37:06. > :37:11.bracing eccentricity, parting company with Delia and employing
:37:11. > :37:14.Heston. Even a man who made a career out of being a rockstar from
:37:14. > :37:18.outer space has fallen back to earth!
:37:18. > :37:28.So where are we now? Well, Mr Cameron, if the polls are to be
:37:28. > :37:33.
:37:33. > :37:37.believed, the space oddities from We are joined by Amy. Do you think
:37:37. > :37:42.odd and eccentric is a good or a bad thing? Well, maybe you should
:37:42. > :37:48.tell me, Andrew. But I think actually the UKIP situation is
:37:48. > :37:52.really interesting because David Cameron's comment, you know,
:37:52. > :37:58.basically there are a lot of UKIP members and supporters that are ex-
:37:58. > :38:02.Tories. So effectively, he is calling his own people, "odd and
:38:02. > :38:06.weird." By saying that people are odd or strange or weird, you have
:38:06. > :38:10.to look at opposite of that and that means that there is some sense
:38:10. > :38:17.of what is normal and I don't really believe that. Would you
:38:17. > :38:21.describe yourself as eccentric? I don't think that one can describe
:38:21. > :38:26.one's self as eccentric, it is for someone else to decide really.
:38:26. > :38:33.Do you think the Brits are more open to oddness than the Americans?
:38:33. > :38:40.Mm, well I think eccentricity is a British trait. Wouldn't you agree?
:38:40. > :38:45.I think that... London is a place where it thrives. That's maybe
:38:45. > :38:52.perhaps why I feel so add home here. You know, sure, there are eccentric
:38:52. > :38:55.Americans, but I think you can go to any major European country and
:38:55. > :39:03.any European city and walk down the street and people look boring and
:39:03. > :39:08.then you come to London and it is a feast for the eyes. It is more part
:39:08. > :39:13.of our culture and we like it more? Absolutely.
:39:13. > :39:23.There is a case for more eccentric politicians. We are an age of
:39:23. > :39:27.
:39:27. > :39:33.boiler plate politicians? Absolutely. Jacob Ree s Mogg should
:39:33. > :39:39.be from a bygone age. He is stylish and he is different and he does not
:39:39. > :39:43.fit any template. One of the things you hear is when an outstanding
:39:44. > :39:49.member of the House of Commons dies, you will hear people say, "He was
:39:49. > :39:57.the last great character. He was the great eccentric." People think
:39:57. > :40:02.that politicians have become very very homeo genius indeed. And what
:40:02. > :40:08.we are seeing is, you know, that that Boris who cultivates
:40:08. > :40:15.eccentricity is doing well. We saw George Galloway who was on a
:40:15. > :40:20.reality show lapping up cream as a pussycat is elected with a by-
:40:20. > :40:23.election landslide and it looks as if the exsen eccentrics are doing
:40:23. > :40:33.very well. Galloway is a real character.
:40:33. > :40:36.
:40:36. > :40:46.Farrage is a real character. I agree with the point, Nigel
:40:46. > :40:47.
:40:47. > :40:50.Farrage looks likes a Conservative Conservative cira 1974 in Gerrard's
:40:50. > :40:55.Cross, he doesn't look eccentric, out of time maybe.
:40:55. > :41:00.I think it is insulting to eccentrics to link them with UKIP
:41:00. > :41:04.supporters. I mean, in my opinion UKIP supporters are vile, they are
:41:04. > :41:10.not eccentric. Sticking to the issue of
:41:10. > :41:14.eccentricity. Could we do with more eccentric politicians? No, actually.
:41:14. > :41:18.I don't think so. I actually prefer my politicians to be able to do
:41:19. > :41:23.their job. I am not bothered whether they are wearing a funny
:41:23. > :41:27.tweed coat or bizarrely covered braces. They just need to do the
:41:27. > :41:33.job properly. You were close to Sarah and Gordon
:41:33. > :41:38.Brown. A lot of people thought that Gordon Brown was an odd character
:41:38. > :41:44.character? No, I think he is wonderful.
:41:44. > :41:52.Did you have your hen party in ten Downing Street? Yes, I did.
:41:52. > :41:56.Did Gordon turn up? Yes, of course, he was there. No, we cancelled the
:41:56. > :41:59.stripper and had gord Gordon instead.
:41:59. > :42:03.You could do with more characters on the Labour side.
:42:03. > :42:11.If you look at Parliament it doesn't look as if there is anyone
:42:11. > :42:15.eccentric there. Or even characters P Jacob Ree is a
:42:15. > :42:20.character. You don't need men wearing anything other than dark
:42:20. > :42:27.blue or grey suits. There is no different styles that you see. You
:42:27. > :42:35.don't get people there who are kind of like Grace and Perry coming into
:42:35. > :42:41.Parliament who would I would -- who I would call a real eccentric.
:42:41. > :42:45.Let's put things in prospective here about eccentricity. Amy, thank
:42:45. > :42:53.you. That's your lot. It is our tenth
:42:53. > :43:02.anniversary party in Annabel's tonight. Diane has been there since
:43:02. > :43:07.she clocked off work at 3pm. She has already downed three bottles of
:43:07. > :43:13.of Blue Nun. Here are some highlights. The the mistake known
:43:13. > :43:20.to everyone as the Amarillo mental breakdown. Somewhere in this clip,
:43:20. > :43:27.the serious now political editor of Newsnight is playing the six foot
:43:27. > :43:35.chicken! It was the role of her life. There could be an Oscar in it.
:43:35. > :43:45.Nightie-night. Don't let this week bite. Poppers. Oh yes!
:43:45. > :43:49.
:43:49. > :43:59.# We are on the way to election Sunday
:43:59. > :44:04.
:44:04. > :44:11.# Dreaming dreams # Sha-la
:44:11. > :44:18.Hsha-la # La # Mark Mardell and Portillo
:44:18. > :44:28.# The rars is on for Number Ten # Will Michael, Tony end up PM?
:44:28. > :44:29.