:00:13. > :00:19.Tonight, This Week on Britain's got talent. They are all competing for
:00:20. > :00:29.your votes, but who will top the public poll in next week's final?
:00:30. > :00:41.Jeremy Corbyn? Theresa May? Tim Farron? Has Britain's media played a
:00:42. > :00:48.blinder? Akala thinks the act is a joke. The media do not have my vote,
:00:49. > :00:58.they have been biased and focused on personality over policy. Does
:00:59. > :01:01.Britain have talent? As the political act but in their final
:01:02. > :01:07.performances, it is almost time to pick a winner. And Lydia Bright is
:01:08. > :01:17.finding it all too emotional. I am so excited to be in the click, this
:01:18. > :01:26.is so much better than Towie. They are battling to keep their political
:01:27. > :01:34.dreams alive. I cannot believe this is happening. I do not want it to go
:01:35. > :01:40.on and on and on. 40 million votes soon to be cast, counted and
:01:41. > :01:44.verified, who will make it to the very top and win the key to number
:01:45. > :01:46.ten and an audience with Her Majesty the Queen?
:01:47. > :01:51.And I begin tonight with a defence of the Westminster bubble.
:01:52. > :01:58.Rightly or wrongly, the Westminster bubble has never
:01:59. > :02:05.At least, so it seemed when she called the election,
:02:06. > :02:08.enjoying a 20-point lead in the polls.
:02:09. > :02:10.But as the campaign has progressed, perhaps as folks got
:02:11. > :02:13.to know her a bit better, the views of voters
:02:14. > :02:19.and the much-maligned bubble became more aligned.
:02:20. > :02:22.Or so it would seem from the narrowing of the polls.
:02:23. > :02:25.Perhaps, for once, the bubble was ahead of the people.
:02:26. > :02:29.Of course, that doesn't mean she's going to lose.
:02:30. > :02:34.Margaret Thatcher had several serious wobbles in the 1987 campaign
:02:35. > :02:41.But as the campaign trail of 2017 has wended its often-tedious way,
:02:42. > :02:44.it's been clear that whereas Jeremy Corbyn has really
:02:45. > :02:48.started to enjoy himself, Mrs May has come to regard it
:02:49. > :02:52.as the political equivalent of Chinese water torture.
:02:53. > :02:55.There's one more week to go, or endure.
:02:56. > :03:00.The Westminster bubble still thinks Mrs May will be PM on June 9th,
:03:01. > :03:05.And even this defence of the bubble is not
:03:06. > :03:11.Speaking of those who've spent their whole lives in a bubble,
:03:12. > :03:14.largely because polite society thought it best, short of locking
:03:15. > :03:18.them up, I'm joined on the sofa tonight by two political glum
:03:19. > :03:22.buckets who could never be mistaken for a ray of sunshine.
:03:23. > :03:25.Think of them as the weak and wobbly of late-night political chat.
:03:26. > :03:28.I speak of course of Ed #DancingQueen Balls
:03:29. > :03:44.Your moment of the week? My moment. About our election, it was in
:03:45. > :03:50.France, when Emmanuel Macron through shade at Vladimir Putin. They were
:03:51. > :03:54.on the podium together, one of the criticisms has been that he is a boy
:03:55. > :04:00.wonder with no substance, but he took on Vladimir Putin and his
:04:01. > :04:03.machine direct, he criticised Sputnik, Russia Today for their
:04:04. > :04:10.interference in the Democratic process, and he is proving, contrary
:04:11. > :04:15.to some of the earlier predictions of him as an insubstantial creation,
:04:16. > :04:20.to be a formidable front rank politician. He has got off to an
:04:21. > :04:27.amazing start, it means he is ahead in the polls for the French assembly
:04:28. > :04:32.elections as well. It is amazing. A majority for a party that did not
:04:33. > :04:37.exist. It is remarkable that a party that did not exist a year ago is on
:04:38. > :04:43.course for if not a landslide... A tonne of seats. It was Monday night
:04:44. > :04:48.in the debate, Theresa May was not barracked or booed or haste, she was
:04:49. > :04:55.lost at by the audience, and that is a bad omen for any politician. You
:04:56. > :04:59.are right she will still be the Prime Minister after the election,
:05:00. > :05:06.the polls suggest that, but she went in inking this would strengthen her,
:05:07. > :05:09.and there is no doubt that was a big miscalculation, she is substantially
:05:10. > :05:13.weakened, and when the public openly laugh, that is bad for a politician.
:05:14. > :05:16.You have no idea what we would give for the public to laugh at us, we
:05:17. > :05:18.have been trying for years. Now, some of our regular viewers,
:05:19. > :05:21.that will be Jo and Dave from Southend, have complained that
:05:22. > :05:23.they're suffering Over two million people have
:05:24. > :05:27.registered to vote since Theresa May called this election,
:05:28. > :05:29.with registrations coming at a faster rate than before
:05:30. > :05:32.the Brexit referendum. This election will, after all,
:05:33. > :05:35.determine the future of our country. Of our security, our economy,
:05:36. > :05:38.our public services and, looming above it all,
:05:39. > :05:40.what Britain might Have the broadcasters,
:05:41. > :05:47.the newspapers, covered the issues properly whilst giving all those
:05:48. > :05:51.who aspire to be Prime Minister Here's poet and campaigner Akala
:05:52. > :06:18.with his take of the week. Until last week virtually the entire
:06:19. > :06:21.mainstream media predicted a landslide victory for the
:06:22. > :06:25.Conservatives and had written off Jeremy Corbyn as totally
:06:26. > :06:30.unelectable, but the Labour leader is outside the bubble, he speaks to
:06:31. > :06:35.many of my generation who came of age during the Iraq war, a period of
:06:36. > :06:41.lies by media and Government. We have often been written off as a
:06:42. > :06:49.political, that many people like me will be voting for the first time.
:06:50. > :06:52.Jeremy Corbyn has been subjected to personal attacks in the media,
:06:53. > :06:58.especially in the wake of the Manchester bombing, blasted as a
:06:59. > :07:03.shameless apologist for men of evil. But his recognition that the Iraq
:07:04. > :07:07.war help spread terrorism echoes the analysis of the intelligence
:07:08. > :07:08.services and even some Tories. The media lies have boosted his
:07:09. > :07:21.credibility. Similarly, the failure of
:07:22. > :07:24.journalists to properly probe Prime Minister about Britain's
:07:25. > :07:30.relationship with Saudi Arabia, even as they kill civilians in Yemen by
:07:31. > :07:33.bombs sold to them by British companies, or the proposed
:07:34. > :07:37.dismantling of the NHS has served to confirm that the media is indeed
:07:38. > :07:44.protecting the elite. Why is this surprising? A hugely
:07:45. > :07:50.disproportionate amount of senior figures within the British media
:07:51. > :07:53.went to the same private schools and universities as our senior
:07:54. > :07:56.politicians. Can they represent the radically diverging worldviews that
:07:57. > :08:02.exist within Britain? Much less the five billionaires that own an
:08:03. > :08:07.estimated 80% of British media. Last year a study ranked the British
:08:08. > :08:09.media of the most right wing of the major countries in Europe. Is it any
:08:10. > :08:14.surprise that the social policies that are considered normal and much
:08:15. > :08:20.of the continent are portrayed as left-wing lunacy here?
:08:21. > :08:28.No expense spared by the production team! Welcome to the programme. If
:08:29. > :08:34.the media is so biased against Jeremy Corbyn, why is he having such
:08:35. > :08:38.a good campaign? Partly because Theresa May has proved completely
:08:39. > :08:43.inept, she has called a snap election, her campaign has been all
:08:44. > :08:46.over the place, there has been a large social media presence, and at
:08:47. > :08:51.the Labour Party has gained momentum, the media has had to take
:08:52. > :08:58.them more seriously, the Pru awful wigs ago the tone of serious
:08:59. > :09:02.opposition. There at all. Many in the Labour Party thought that as
:09:03. > :09:11.well. If the media is full of Tory stooges, what about the polls now?
:09:12. > :09:16.They have seen a campaign that is inept, they have seen a manifesto
:09:17. > :09:21.that has been written off by -- as Marxist nonsense, but this is not
:09:22. > :09:24.even close, it contains many policies that are at a looking
:09:25. > :09:27.normal in some of the wealthiest countries in the world, and another
:09:28. > :09:33.manifesto that is completely un-costed. The media has told them
:09:34. > :09:39.it is on costed. I do not understand why the media has been so biased,
:09:40. > :09:44.the media has reported a lot of how bad Theresa May's campaign has been,
:09:45. > :09:50.that Jeremy Corbyn is having a better campaign than most people
:09:51. > :09:54.expected, than even he himself. If you add that together, I would have
:09:55. > :10:00.thought the media is doing its job. I don't know if I accept that. The
:10:01. > :10:05.media has had to take the candidate more seriously as the trends have
:10:06. > :10:09.changed, and it is people who have organised and shown their support
:10:10. > :10:14.and record youth registration that has come out has forced a change in
:10:15. > :10:22.tone and an attempt to treat this seriously. Have the media been
:10:23. > :10:26.biased against Jeremy Corbyn? He has faced some tough questions in the
:10:27. > :10:30.early period, and Theresa May has had some tough questions in the
:10:31. > :10:33.later period. When you think of David Cameron or George Osbourne
:10:34. > :10:36.when they were Prime Minister and Chancellor, or Theresa May, two they
:10:37. > :10:43.faced the questions Jeremy gets asked about what he was doing 30, 35
:10:44. > :10:46.years ago? The counter argument is it goes to questions of political
:10:47. > :10:52.judgment and character, the relationships he had and the people
:10:53. > :10:57.he dealt with. My argument comes back to this, one of the strengths
:10:58. > :11:01.of our society is we have an independent BBC, which is not owned
:11:02. > :11:06.by billionaires, and is trusted because it has always been objective
:11:07. > :11:11.and tough, the BBC has been tough on both sides in this campaign, quite a
:11:12. > :11:15.lot of Jeremy Corbyn supporters think the BBC is part of the elite
:11:16. > :11:18.establishment, but I am not sure it is right. Do you draw the
:11:19. > :11:23.distinction between the broadcasters and the newspapers? The newspapers
:11:24. > :11:29.have been much worse, but you make a point about Jeremy Corbyn facing
:11:30. > :11:31.tough questions about the past, why is the Prime Minister not facing
:11:32. > :11:37.tough questions about calibration ship with a country that is a fund
:11:38. > :11:41.of terrorism? We will see how it pans out, but the article in the
:11:42. > :11:45.Daily Mail suggested that the Manchester terrorist was not only
:11:46. > :11:49.allowed but facilitated in travelling to Libya to kill people
:11:50. > :11:53.and help overthrow Colonel Gaddafi and be let back into the country...
:11:54. > :11:59.It has been raised about Theresa May. I take the point. We'll be
:12:00. > :12:07.Prime Minister be grilled about that? What is wrong with grilling
:12:08. > :12:12.the Labour leader? Absolutely nothing, but I am asking now, we
:12:13. > :12:17.have trade relationships with a country that stands accused of
:12:18. > :12:21.terrorism now, not 34 years ago, and I do not see the same tone of
:12:22. > :12:27.questioning. I am not suggesting it is completely disparate, there are
:12:28. > :12:30.subtle differences that add up to massive differences. When a former
:12:31. > :12:34.politician gets the cover of the Evening Standard to save comrades
:12:35. > :12:39.Jeremy Corbyn flies the flag, that his adjectives, it is not critic of
:12:40. > :12:44.policy. It is not a Marxist manifesto. The Evening Standard is
:12:45. > :12:49.not exactly a cheerleader for the Prime Minister. I take the point.
:12:50. > :12:55.Maybe the newspapers do not matter as much anymore. They matter
:12:56. > :13:04.slightly less. One area where I disagree is that the media is not a
:13:05. > :13:07.monolith. Nobody is forced to consume newspapers or any particular
:13:08. > :13:14.type of media. There have been alternatives, and on the left there
:13:15. > :13:18.are websites, whatever I might think of them, they have a voice. There is
:13:19. > :13:23.a greater degree of clueless, and amongst some younger voters there is
:13:24. > :13:29.an enthusiasm for Jeremy Corbyn that is reflected in the media and less
:13:30. > :13:35.so in the mainstream media. But there are some tough questions that
:13:36. > :13:42.Jeremy has to face, and if you attend a meeting and call for a
:13:43. > :13:46.minute's silence for the IRA and for terrorists who have been killed,
:13:47. > :13:54.that is a big question. Imagine if Theresa May had called for silence.
:13:55. > :14:02.Like Cameron going to King Abdullah's funeral? There is a big
:14:03. > :14:08.difference between King Abdullah and the IRA. Imagine if somebody bidding
:14:09. > :14:12.to be Prime Minister had sought to honour the fascists of the BNP? You
:14:13. > :14:15.are flogging a dead horse. No, I'm talking about the dead people the
:14:16. > :14:21.IRA have killed, and the point is that the IRA was an organisation run
:14:22. > :14:24.on the basis of killing innocents and budding British soldiers in the
:14:25. > :14:28.line of fire, and Jeremy Corbyn wants to run this country, wants to
:14:29. > :14:38.lead our Armed Forces, and he dishonoured them and their memory by
:14:39. > :14:41.calling for a minutes silence. As we speak, the story has broken, which I
:14:42. > :14:47.want to see next week, if the Prime Minister is going to be facing tough
:14:48. > :14:53.questions about collaboration with known terrorist and visors. That is
:14:54. > :14:57.a story which is broken, so the Prime Minister should be asked it. I
:14:58. > :15:02.wouldn't ask a tough question if I didn't have any evidence to back it
:15:03. > :15:09.up. You can't just like about the question. Many media outlets have
:15:10. > :15:13.carried it. But without evidence. Then they should be sued for libel.
:15:14. > :15:18.I don't think there are going to sue the Daily Mail for libel. It isn't
:15:19. > :15:22.only the Daily Mail. These are tough questions for the Prime Minister. We
:15:23. > :15:27.have a relationship with Saudi Arabia and they are widely accused
:15:28. > :15:30.of supporting terrorism, that's not disputed. Is there any evidence that
:15:31. > :15:38.young people would write to Mr Corbyn in huge numbers? The YouGov
:15:39. > :15:42.organisation and the Times organisation have taken in Paul
:15:43. > :15:46.Dummett, but the difference between the pollsters is, the others are
:15:47. > :15:50.saying, if you didn't vote in the last election, we are going to issue
:15:51. > :15:54.in the end you won't turn out, whereas YouGov is taking a punt on
:15:55. > :15:57.greater turnout. We know from the numbers that, if young people under
:15:58. > :16:07.30 came out in large numbers, that would be a swing to labour. It's a
:16:08. > :16:11.big none -- a big unknown. I know that you hope it happens, but what
:16:12. > :16:17.is the evidence it will happen? I have been here many times before.
:16:18. > :16:21.I'm still dubious and I am aware we are quite a Conservative country.
:16:22. > :16:26.I'm not a particularly Labour supporter. My politics are more
:16:27. > :16:32.Green Party. Are you going to vote? Yes, because I think there is a
:16:33. > :16:36.significant difference between this party and the Tories. But in the
:16:37. > :16:42.last election he would have voted for the Green Party? Yes. The media
:16:43. > :16:46.coverage may or may not have been biased in the past week but it has
:16:47. > :16:49.done one thing, and it is a media campaign that has largely shunned
:16:50. > :16:56.it, it has rumbled Theresa May and shown her up to be a second division
:16:57. > :16:59.politician. Considering I stood in an election against Theresa May and
:17:00. > :17:05.she buried me, I have to acknowledge that would make me a Vauxhall
:17:06. > :17:09.conference level politician. I don't think we have that any more. The
:17:10. > :17:17.third division. There was not actually a vote. Has there been a
:17:18. > :17:20.worse Tory campaign in living memory? Yes, my one for the
:17:21. > :17:27.leadership. A general election campaign. Has there been a worse
:17:28. > :17:31.election campaign for the Tories in living memory? The critical thing is
:17:32. > :17:36.that you cannot judge a campaign until the end result. All sorts of
:17:37. > :17:40.people criticised the Leave campaign, and it ended up winning,
:17:41. > :17:48.but victory in the end will be the confirmation of how bad or well this
:17:49. > :17:51.campaign has been run. The 1997 campaign by the Conservatives had
:17:52. > :18:01.its moments which were portrayed as wobbles. Will victory for Theresa
:18:02. > :18:06.May proved to be as pyrrhic as victory in the Leave campaign was
:18:07. > :18:13.for you? I don't think it was pyrrhic, in the sense that, even
:18:14. > :18:17.though the outworking sledge to me no longer being in government, I am
:18:18. > :18:25.glad that Britain is leaving the EU. You will be back in ten days. Do you
:18:26. > :18:31.think not so badly off the media after tonight? It is not even
:18:32. > :18:37.necessarily that I think the Rob Lee of the media, in that I don't
:18:38. > :18:42.believe complete objectivity -- that I think terribly of the media. If I
:18:43. > :18:46.ran a news channel, it would naturally reflect some of my
:18:47. > :18:50.beliefs. So if you had similarly educated people from different
:18:51. > :18:52.backgrounds running the main institutions, even if they don't
:18:53. > :18:57.intend it, the outcome would be the same. I think that's one of your
:18:58. > :19:05.strongest point. Would you exclude this programme? I'll have to watch a
:19:06. > :19:06.few more episodes. So we have one more viewer.
:19:07. > :19:08.Now, it's late, naked-and-alone late, but if the idea
:19:09. > :19:11.of Jeremy Corbyn streaking through Brussels leaves you weak
:19:12. > :19:13.and wobbly at the knees, fear not, because waiting in the wings
:19:14. > :19:16.is Towie star and businesswoman Lydia Bright, here to put
:19:17. > :19:21.So, don't be a Faceboob, don't be a Twitter tit,
:19:22. > :19:24.please don't wear your Snapchaps, none of us want to
:19:25. > :19:30.Now, Jeremy Corbyn is obviously both hip and happening.
:19:31. > :19:32.Stormzy and others endorsed him in the viral Grime4Corbyn campaign,
:19:33. > :19:36.even my good friend Big Narstie told me that he was
:19:37. > :19:39.a gas dench buffting - which the This Week interns tell me
:19:40. > :19:46.After rapper JME, Captain Corbz has now appeared on the cover of edgy
:19:47. > :19:52.magazine NME, which he hopes will appeal to the youth vote.
:19:53. > :19:56.In fact, he's not the first Labour leader to appear
:19:57. > :20:00.on NME's front page - Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair
:20:01. > :20:04.and Ken Livingstone all featured and look how well it's served them!
:20:05. > :20:06.Comrade Corbyn can clearly look forward to a glorious legacy!
:20:07. > :20:23.Here's Andrew Rawnsley with his round up of the political week.
:20:24. > :20:37.Fiendish team is now batting. -- the English team is now batting. Oh, the
:20:38. > :20:45.British summer has finally arrived, and with it cricket, Mrs May's's
:20:46. > :20:49.favourite sport. Can you hear the clunk of leather on willow, or is
:20:50. > :20:54.that the sound of jaws dropping as they contemplate the state of the
:20:55. > :21:00.Tory campaign? The polls, for what they are worth, have been
:21:01. > :21:02.tightening, some in the team getting twitchy, and the captain, who sold
:21:03. > :21:08.herself as strong and stable, has looked uncertain at the crease. So
:21:09. > :21:14.in the final full week of play, they went back to their original game
:21:15. > :21:18.plan, which was to try and make it all about Brexit. Britain is about
:21:19. > :21:23.to enter into the most important negotiations of my lifetime. They
:21:24. > :21:28.begin just 11 days after polling day, and the European Union is
:21:29. > :21:31.already adopting an aggressive negotiating position. Jeremy
:21:32. > :21:36.Corbyn's minders can put him in a smart blue suit for an interview
:21:37. > :21:39.with Jeremy Paxman but, with his position on Brexit, he will find
:21:40. > :21:46.himself alone and naked in the negotiating chamber of the European
:21:47. > :21:50.Union. We know the Conservatives are getting a bit desperate, but really,
:21:51. > :21:54.trying to threaten us with the idea of the bearded one in the bath? Is
:21:55. > :22:02.there no scare tactic the Tories will not stick to? Captain May was
:22:03. > :22:06.on a sticky wicket when it came to U-turns and what that might mean
:22:07. > :22:12.when she faced fast bowling from the European 27. If I were sitting in
:22:13. > :22:16.Brussels and I were looking at you as the person I had to negotiate
:22:17. > :22:20.with, I'd think, she is a blowhard who collapses at the first sign of
:22:21. > :22:26.gunfire. APPLAUSE
:22:27. > :22:29.I've had a grandstand seat for a lot of big Test matches. One unusual
:22:30. > :22:34.thing about this campaign is how little of it has been about tax and
:22:35. > :22:40.spending, usually central to British elections. That seems to have made
:22:41. > :22:46.some of the players a bit casual in front of the wicket. On the day he
:22:47. > :22:48.launched his party's policy on childcare, Jeremy Corbyn visited
:22:49. > :22:55.woman's hour. Perhaps his coaches thought the Labour leader would face
:22:56. > :23:00.some easy bowling from a female interviewer. They were wrong. How
:23:01. > :23:05.much will it cost us to mock it will cost... It will obviously cost a lot
:23:06. > :23:13.to do so. We accept that. I have the figures. I do. We are making it
:23:14. > :23:19.universal and we will collect the money through corporate taxation.
:23:20. > :23:26.How much will it cost? I will give you the figure in a moment. You are
:23:27. > :23:31.logging into your iPad. It only one of the major commitment in his
:23:32. > :23:34.manifesto, not like he was forgetting anything important and,
:23:35. > :23:37.to be fair, the only reason the Tories don't forget the costings in
:23:38. > :23:44.their manifesto is because they are no costings. The Labour leader faced
:23:45. > :23:51.a lot of bouncers, about his attitude towards tourism. I
:23:52. > :23:54.obviously did meet people from Sinn Fein, as indeed I met people from
:23:55. > :23:59.other organisations. I have not spoken to the IRA. I have in the
:24:00. > :24:07.past, I often meet people from Sinn Fein. I did make contact with Sinn
:24:08. > :24:10.Fein when they were not allowed, the leadership was not allowed to travel
:24:11. > :24:17.to Britain. I wanted there to be a process. As for Shadow Home
:24:18. > :24:26.Secretary and maths prodigy Diane Abbott, she dismissed her record as
:24:27. > :24:31.ancient history. It was 34 years ago, I had a rather splendid Afro at
:24:32. > :24:36.the time. I don't have the same hairstyle I don't have the same
:24:37. > :24:39.views. It was 34 years on. The hairstyle has gone and some of the
:24:40. > :24:47.views of God. I speak to Tories who are ibid issues that this -- who are
:24:48. > :24:50.a bit baffled this hasn't done more damage. Perhaps that is the cost to
:24:51. > :24:58.a lot of younger voters this is history. Boris Johnson, remember
:24:59. > :25:02.him, long, shaggy, once a famous stroke maker and now usually to be
:25:03. > :25:08.found at silly mid-off. If he is to be found at all. Boris has been
:25:09. > :25:12.confined to the dressing room for most of the match, but he was
:25:13. > :25:23.briefly let out to attempt some wild sledging of Labour's representative.
:25:24. > :25:28.Are you going to stay in the single market? Yes. You know what our
:25:29. > :25:38.position is filled I voted to trigger Article 50. In or out,
:25:39. > :25:40.umpire? In or out? Mrs May gave herself out when the party leaders
:25:41. > :25:47.were invited to take part in the BBC debate. The Tory skipper decided
:25:48. > :25:50.she'd prefer to rest in the pavilion rather than make the case to the
:25:51. > :25:56.country. That didn't stop everybody else is talking about her. Tim
:25:57. > :26:01.Farron was quite witty about it. Where do you think Theresa May is
:26:02. > :26:04.tonight? Take a look out of your window, she might be out there,
:26:05. > :26:07.sizing up your house to pay for your social care, and what you think she
:26:08. > :26:14.called this election? She wants five years as Prime Minister and feast --
:26:15. > :26:18.she thinks you will give it to her no questions asked. She won't turn
:26:19. > :26:22.up to this debate because her campaign of sound bites is turning
:26:23. > :26:28.apart. Week and Rob Lee is where we are, not so much the Iron Lady is
:26:29. > :26:32.the U-turn queen. -- week and wobbly. I don't flip flop, I have
:26:33. > :26:37.always been, for example, a Brexiteer. The first will of
:26:38. > :26:45.leadership is to show up. You don't call a general election and say it's
:26:46. > :26:47.the most important election in her lifetime and then not even be
:26:48. > :26:53.bothered to come and debate the issues at stake. Time to stop play
:26:54. > :27:03.footy. This week has generously provided this hamper. No expense
:27:04. > :27:10.spared. Fancy a couple? -- fancy a tipple? The BBC debate was a lively
:27:11. > :27:14.affair despite the absence of the Tory captain, or maybe precisely
:27:15. > :27:19.because she wasn't there. Jeremy Corbyn made a late decision to turn
:27:20. > :27:26.up. The misrule difference between Labour and the Tories, the essential
:27:27. > :27:28.clash between their worldviews, was captured by this exchange between
:27:29. > :27:36.him and the Tory leader's sound in, Amber Rudd. I know there is no extra
:27:37. > :27:40.payment you don't want added to, no tax you don't want to rise, we have
:27:41. > :27:45.to concentrate resources on the people who need it most, and we have
:27:46. > :27:49.to stop thinking, as you do, that there is a magic money tree. Have
:27:50. > :27:51.you been to a food bank, have you seen people sleeping around
:27:52. > :27:57.outstations? APPLAUSE
:27:58. > :28:01.-- sleeping around our stations. Have you seen the levels of poverty
:28:02. > :28:06.that exist because of your government's conscious decisions on
:28:07. > :28:12.benefits? Who will be in, who will be out? The ultimate umpire, you,
:28:13. > :28:16.the voters, will deliver the verdict in just seven days.
:28:17. > :28:18.And with us now, the lovely, the delightful, Miranda Green.
:28:19. > :28:20.And the SNP's Tommy Sheppard, who reckons he's better looking,
:28:21. > :28:28.more charasmatic and funnier than his colleague, John Nicolson.
:28:29. > :28:37.We have never heard of him. Don't remember anything. Michael, this
:28:38. > :28:43.campaign has not gone exactly to plan for the Tories, is it? Go
:28:44. > :28:49.camping ever goes to plan. This hasn't just not gone to plan, it has
:28:50. > :28:53.been spectacularly off plan. Psion made an answer like Theresa May!
:28:54. > :29:04.The critical thing is that all others are attempting to make a
:29:05. > :29:07.judgment on the basis of what the Westminster bubble are saying.
:29:08. > :29:10.People love that they can write a narrative about the poll is
:29:11. > :29:15.narrowing, but we do not know which of the polls will be accurate, we
:29:16. > :29:19.have been in a position where polls have misled us, and many people who
:29:20. > :29:23.made predictions during the campaign about how it would turn out have
:29:24. > :29:32.shown they have egg on their face. The point you made is that some of
:29:33. > :29:34.the virtues that political commentators have are often the
:29:35. > :29:41.opposite of what the public appreciate. You surprised at how
:29:42. > :29:46.well Jeremy Corbyn is doing? Theresa May started in a strong position,
:29:47. > :29:51.and she has been exposed, Jeremy Corbyn started with people having
:29:52. > :29:54.written him off, people who have not seen him, often, having a
:29:55. > :30:00.caricature, and he has turned out to be able to perform in a way which
:30:01. > :30:03.makes him seem more reasonable. Theresa May looks like she cannot
:30:04. > :30:08.wait for it to come to an end. There are people who will vote Green or
:30:09. > :30:13.Ukip all Liberal Democrats who have come to Labour, there does not seem
:30:14. > :30:16.to be a lot of Labour/ Tory switching going on. The Tories have
:30:17. > :30:22.helped their position quite strongly. The third parties have
:30:23. > :30:27.gravitated to Labour. Jeremy has enjoyed it and do better than people
:30:28. > :30:31.expected, but the question is, can he get over the leadership hurdle he
:30:32. > :30:37.faces in comparison with Theresa May? If so, he is a contender. Is it
:30:38. > :30:42.more of a race than it was at the start? I think Theresa May is still
:30:43. > :30:47.the favourite, but it is not a foregone conclusion that it was. The
:30:48. > :30:52.idea of the Conservatives coming back with a stomping majority and
:30:53. > :30:57.the humiliation of the opposition does not seem to be on the cards.
:30:58. > :31:01.That was the hope at the beginning. Theresa May called the election to
:31:02. > :31:04.strengthen her hand, especially her control of the party, but it does
:31:05. > :31:10.not look as if it will turn out that way. I guess the real campaign will
:31:11. > :31:15.begin on June the 9th inside the party, because Theresa May is badly
:31:16. > :31:22.damaged. If she does not deliver the landslide majority. It looks like in
:31:23. > :31:29.England and Scotland in different ways we are back to 2-party
:31:30. > :31:34.politics. Absolutely. There is a definite feeling in both countries
:31:35. > :31:39.that people want a strong opposition, because the idea of
:31:40. > :31:44.1-party rule seems to have gone down badly, especially when the nation is
:31:45. > :31:47.in crisis, but that binary election is not the period of history we
:31:48. > :31:51.thought we were living through. We thought this was the beginning of
:31:52. > :31:57.pleural politics, close elections, but it is not the case. That might
:31:58. > :32:03.be an anomaly, because we are only a year away from the Brexit
:32:04. > :32:06.existential choice, and if this is the post-Brexit election, we might
:32:07. > :32:12.go back to something you wrote afterwards. Other brands are
:32:13. > :32:15.available. It seems that the third parties are being squeezed out. In
:32:16. > :32:20.Scotland it is the SNP and the Tories, who would have thought that?
:32:21. > :32:26.In England it is very much now Labour and Conservative. The battle
:32:27. > :32:32.in Scotland is between the SNP and the Conservatives. The SNP is under
:32:33. > :32:35.more threat in seats from the Conservatives than it is from
:32:36. > :32:40.Labour, although recent polls indicate that there is a battle
:32:41. > :32:44.going on for second place. The last poll yesterday had the Tories and
:32:45. > :32:50.Labour equal in Scotland, both on 25%. But I still think there is a
:32:51. > :32:54.strong chance the Conservatives will come second. Why have the
:32:55. > :32:59.Conservatives not make more of the economy in this election? The
:33:00. > :33:06.economic argument is linked to the Brexit argument. One of the
:33:07. > :33:10.essential questions is, who do you trust in the negotiations? If the
:33:11. > :33:13.right outcome is secured, the economy flourishes in a way that it
:33:14. > :33:18.would not if you ended up with a botched or a broken back deal. That
:33:19. > :33:25.has been central to the argument. The economy lies behind a number of
:33:26. > :33:29.the question that have been raised about the funding of Labour's
:33:30. > :33:34.proposals. The IFS said that while on a superficial level Labour can
:33:35. > :33:38.say increasing this tax will raise this amount of money, the dynamic
:33:39. > :33:46.effect will be to depress growth. The IFS has said that. The Tories
:33:47. > :33:50.have barely said that at all. For the first six and a half years of
:33:51. > :33:54.this Government's life, it was all about getting the deficit down,
:33:55. > :33:58.fiscal prudence, balancing or getting the public finances into
:33:59. > :34:03.better shape, and now because they are associated with George Osborne
:34:04. > :34:09.and David Cameron, Theresa May is running against them as well as
:34:10. > :34:16.Jeremy Corbyn. Just wait and see. I have been waiting and seeing. Having
:34:17. > :34:21.been inside some campaigns, one of the things I am aware of is that
:34:22. > :34:24.timing is all, and it is in the last few days that you deploy some of
:34:25. > :34:30.your strongest arguments, and I expect that more of a focus will be
:34:31. > :34:37.on the fundamental economic danger that Jeremy Corbyn poses. There has
:34:38. > :34:41.to be a vulnerability, but the Tories have not exploited it yet, it
:34:42. > :34:48.is at least a legitimate question to ask, could Jeremy Corbyn really
:34:49. > :34:54.raise the 50 billion for current spending by purely taxing the top 5%
:34:55. > :34:59.and business? There were some really challenging questions on manifesto
:35:00. > :35:04.day for Labour about whether the sums add up. The most interesting
:35:05. > :35:08.thing is how the Tories have been able to exploit this, and the reason
:35:09. > :35:13.is they are the first Government that I can remember which has not
:35:14. > :35:19.had a sound, solid position itself, to then go for them. When Theresa
:35:20. > :35:24.May says that Labour's plans do not add up, everybody yells, neither do
:35:25. > :35:30.yours. John McDonnell said the only numbers of the page numbers. The
:35:31. > :35:35.hard thing to read is that we know in the Brexit broke there was a big
:35:36. > :35:39.divide between young people and old people, but also between the cities
:35:40. > :35:43.and what is happening outside the cities, in the small towns where the
:35:44. > :35:50.marginal seats tend to be. For Labour, are they stacking up votes
:35:51. > :35:54.in the cities amongst Remain voters, or are they reaching into the
:35:55. > :35:59.marginal seats? If they are, they have a chance, but it is much
:36:00. > :36:05.tougher. The SNP is coming off an incredible high. Even if it loses
:36:06. > :36:09.some seats, and it probably will, nobody doubts they will still be
:36:10. > :36:15.clearly the biggest party in terms of seats. But why has Nicola
:36:16. > :36:24.Sturgeon's personal rating suffered so badly? I don't know that it has.
:36:25. > :36:30.They are down 18 points, she now has a negative rating of minus four. I
:36:31. > :36:34.do not know those figures. I meet people on the doorstep who say, I
:36:35. > :36:39.don't like Nicola Sturgeon, and I ask if they liked Alex Salmond, and
:36:40. > :36:42.they did not. People transfer and attitude onto the leader of the
:36:43. > :36:46.party, which is a proxy for the fact that they do not like the party. The
:36:47. > :36:52.party is polling better than the leader. Nicola Sturgeon is a very
:36:53. > :36:54.strong asset for the SNP, she has been front and centre of the
:36:55. > :37:00.campaign in every part of the country. Is it partly because she
:37:01. > :37:03.may have misjudged the mood of the Scottish people? She thought that
:37:04. > :37:08.the Brexit vote was going to increase the appetite for
:37:09. > :37:11.independents and for a second referendum, but there is no evidence
:37:12. > :37:17.that it has, on either of these cases. There was evidence that
:37:18. > :37:24.Brexit has changed minds, that has been in both directions. There is a
:37:25. > :37:28.churn going on in public opinion. But the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon have
:37:29. > :37:41.said that we need to have a choice in Scotland on whether the Brexit
:37:42. > :37:46.deal is what they voted for on -- in 2014 or not. But that is after what
:37:47. > :37:49.we know what the Brexit deal is. The Conservatives have been fighting a
:37:50. > :37:58.single issue in Scotland, only on independence. They hope to wrap the
:37:59. > :38:02.Unionist vote around them. They are trying to coalesce the anti-SNP vote
:38:03. > :38:07.around them. There is a bit of evidence, especially with older
:38:08. > :38:11.voters, that there is some transferrin from Labour to the good
:38:12. > :38:17.server tips, that it is one of two points, not enough to sweep it. The
:38:18. > :38:21.opposite effect may happen with the younger demographic. The Lib Dems
:38:22. > :38:29.are coming off a low base. If you look at the Labour Party being run
:38:30. > :38:36.by a proud socialist, from the left of the Labour Party the Liberal
:38:37. > :38:41.Democrats think that is a is going an extreme Brexit, the Liberal
:38:42. > :38:46.Democrats cannot make breakthrough in that environment, when could
:38:47. > :38:49.they? That would be the case if having a large space to occupy in
:38:50. > :38:54.the national debate was the same thing as winning seats on the first
:38:55. > :38:57.past the post. Especially in an election where it has become very
:38:58. > :39:03.polarised and binary. They are in a difficult position. A bit like the
:39:04. > :39:09.SNP in Scotland,, sing another referendum is not going down too
:39:10. > :39:17.well. Even among Akala voters. If this election had come in 2020, the
:39:18. > :39:21.vote -- the message may have done differently, but people are not
:39:22. > :39:26.welcoming it, other than in those urban, heavenly Remain areas. It is
:39:27. > :39:30.a difficult election for them, they have not been able to take advantage
:39:31. > :39:35.of what seems like a great opportunity, but it is more of the
:39:36. > :39:41.squeeze that you usually get. Has the messenger rather than the
:39:42. > :39:44.message? I think it always helps if a small party has a leader that is
:39:45. > :39:49.more popular and a larger figure than the party itself, even back to
:39:50. > :39:55.David steel that was the case, he was the most popular politician in
:39:56. > :40:02.the country, ... He is not in that position at the moment. But after
:40:03. > :40:07.the election... Derek organ has not been humiliated, he will, very
:40:08. > :40:11.strong, so it does not look like the moderate wing of Labour will be able
:40:12. > :40:15.to take over again, and if you have the Lib Dems up a cue seats, the
:40:16. > :40:19.Labour moderates do not know what to do, we might have our Emmanuel
:40:20. > :40:24.Macron moment. Depending on the result of Jeremy Corbyn, the polls
:40:25. > :40:29.are pulling in different directions, but what happens is -- what matters
:40:30. > :40:34.is what happens on polling day, and the Tories will hope their vote will
:40:35. > :40:40.be golden eyes. In my lifetime, you have had a Liberal Democrat leader
:40:41. > :40:44.who has surged through, grown in popularity, it is to happen to
:40:45. > :40:49.Charles Canady and Nick Clegg, but this time that does not seem to have
:40:50. > :40:54.happened. If Theresa May does not increase their majority, or if she
:40:55. > :40:59.has a smaller majority, or if she only ends up as the largest party,
:41:00. > :41:07.she is below the water line. She could not survive. She called an
:41:08. > :41:25.election and effectively lost it. Post. -- she is toast. Without the
:41:26. > :41:31.butter! You should lay into her! A brief final point, or should we just
:41:32. > :41:36.laughed? My endorsement is not necessarily a good thing! But this
:41:37. > :41:44.is speculation, she will increase her majority, and everyone thinks
:41:45. > :41:45.so. I have been used to having my questions answered, so we will move
:41:46. > :41:48.on. Now, if you believe the pollsters
:41:49. > :41:50.like YouGov, whose election predictions are the envy
:41:51. > :41:55.of Horoscopes Quarterly, then Theresa May could end up
:41:56. > :41:59.with one almighty egg This has prompted a round of frantic
:42:00. > :42:06.finger wagging at Tory HQ, with many blaming Team May's Downing Street
:42:07. > :42:12.insiders for incompetence, which means they're well qualified
:42:13. > :42:15.to join the This Week team should they get the boot after next week,
:42:16. > :42:18.provided they bring their own In anticipation of their imminent
:42:19. > :42:26.arrival, we're putting cliques MUSIC: Down With The Clique
:42:27. > :42:46.by Aaliyah. Some say Theresa May's
:42:47. > :42:48.general election campaign has been self obsessed,
:42:49. > :42:53.focusing on herself and her clique. Every vote for me and my local
:42:54. > :42:57.candidates in this election will strengthen my hand
:42:58. > :42:59.when I negotiate for Every vote for me and my local
:43:00. > :43:05.candidates will be a vote for five years of strong and stable
:43:06. > :43:08.leadership, to see us But Jezza says this election isn't
:43:09. > :43:15.just about him and his Corbynistas. What we seem to be struggling
:43:16. > :43:18.with here is an understanding of a process that brings
:43:19. > :43:20.about a manifesto. No, what we've struggled
:43:21. > :43:22.here with is... That's why I was elected
:43:23. > :43:25.leader of our party, to give a voice to the members
:43:26. > :43:28.and those that are However, he still had time to bond
:43:29. > :43:35.with his gang over a posh crisp Meanwhile, our continental friends
:43:36. > :43:44.seem to want a smaller, TRANSLATION: We Europeans must
:43:45. > :43:50.really take our fate into our own hands -
:43:51. > :43:53.of course, in friendship with the United States of America,
:43:54. > :43:57.in friendship with Great Britain, but we have to know that we must
:43:58. > :44:04.fight for our own future on our own. Apparently, you have to be
:44:05. > :44:09.part of Trump's clique The President and a small
:44:10. > :44:13.group of people know Lydia Bright, star of
:44:14. > :44:22.The Only Way Is Essex, Fingers and toes
:44:23. > :44:26.crossed, you love it. So is it worth being
:44:27. > :44:46.in with the in crowd? Welcome to the programme. Thank you.
:44:47. > :44:50.Is everybody in some kind of clique? Is TOWIE a clique? I think that
:44:51. > :44:55.cliques naturally form in all of society. It basically to me means a
:44:56. > :44:59.friendship group, and I think that happens either because we are forced
:45:00. > :45:03.together, whether in a workplace or growing up and being at school or
:45:04. > :45:08.being in the same area, or because of a common interest, same morals,
:45:09. > :45:11.and cliques are just friendships, and they are everywhere, really, and
:45:12. > :45:19.we see them in politics and everyday life. We all have some form of a
:45:20. > :45:23.clique. What can you say almost as if people are forced to join, so it
:45:24. > :45:27.isn't as if people say they are going to join, circumstances can put
:45:28. > :45:33.you into one. Evidently, like when you are in the workplace, you have
:45:34. > :45:38.to be surrounded by those people, so sometimes you feel pressurised
:45:39. > :45:41.really to form some sort of a clique, some sort of a support
:45:42. > :45:48.network, so I think it isn't always choice. Sometimes you push into it
:45:49. > :45:53.because of your environment. Does politics look a bit creepy to you?
:45:54. > :46:01.Yes, there are cliques within politics to you. -- does it look a
:46:02. > :46:05.bit cliquey. It can be positive, because all leaders need advisers to
:46:06. > :46:10.help them with decision-making, but sometimes if the clique is too
:46:11. > :46:13.small, the decision can be narrowed. You can isolate yourself and maybe
:46:14. > :46:20.take on the opinions of too few people. I think the broader your
:46:21. > :46:24.clique, if you integrate, like with Theresa May, if you integrate the
:46:25. > :46:28.cabinet more within your decision-making, you are going to
:46:29. > :46:32.make a more rounded decision, taking on the viewpoints of more people.
:46:33. > :46:37.Which is precisely the criticism of the Tory manifesto, which was
:46:38. > :46:42.decided by a clique, indeed, the cabinet on its way to the launch of
:46:43. > :46:47.the manifesto didn't have much of a clue what was in it. I have never
:46:48. > :46:54.seen a manifesto crowd sourced. Is the cabinet a crowd? No, but the
:46:55. > :46:58.truth is that all manifestos... This one had involvement from individuals
:46:59. > :47:02.in the cabinet, like previous ones. On the way up and the charabanc or
:47:03. > :47:09.whatever it was they were in, they were asking each other, do you know
:47:10. > :47:16.what is in it? It was done by a clique. It interesting that the
:47:17. > :47:21.social care proposal was put forward by people in the cabinet and agreed
:47:22. > :47:24.by people in the cabinet, but I was in the cabinet, unbelievably, in
:47:25. > :47:29.2015 and I remember being on the bus to Swindon at the time looking at
:47:30. > :47:35.the manifesto, some of it familiar, other bits, I was thinking, it looks
:47:36. > :47:40.like a good idea. Is there a club in clique? I think there is because in
:47:41. > :47:44.politics you will always have cliques. -- is there a Jeremy Corbyn
:47:45. > :47:50.clique. Is it them coming together because they are old friends, they
:47:51. > :47:52.have a common view of the world, or because it's about not being the
:47:53. > :47:59.outsiders, against somebody else, and the danger in Number Ten is,
:48:00. > :48:03.around Theresa May, they are defining themselves against people
:48:04. > :48:07.who they saw on the other side within the Conservative Party. When
:48:08. > :48:13.it was Cameron and Osborne. And even in this cabinet it looks like the
:48:14. > :48:17.look Osborne is pushed out. As a Prime Minister, you need to involve,
:48:18. > :48:24.and if it becomes cliquey and excluded, that's dangerous. Have you
:48:25. > :48:28.changed cliques? Naturally throughout life, you change your
:48:29. > :48:32.cliques and you meet new people. I think it's important that you have
:48:33. > :48:36.support around you. You need people that can advise you and support your
:48:37. > :48:43.decision-making, but ultimately you can't be too subjected, to a
:48:44. > :48:49.specific clique, because then your views will always be narrowed. And
:48:50. > :48:53.you almost get brainwashed by only their views. I think that's what
:48:54. > :48:58.we've seen. This is all what's happened. What are you up to? Are
:48:59. > :49:06.you doing more TOWIE? I am believing that behind, focusing on a new
:49:07. > :49:12.project, so I've got a book I'd which is exciting. -- I am believing
:49:13. > :49:17.that behind. Michael Gove has moved on, don't know what to, but he has
:49:18. > :49:26.moved on. I'm going to say goodbye to my clique. There you go, he is
:49:27. > :49:27.free. Still be no offers, even if he is free.
:49:28. > :49:29.That's your lot tonight, folks, but not for us.
:49:30. > :49:31.We're off to LouLou's for Donald Trump's toasty
:49:32. > :49:34.The Donald has hired a fleet of Range Rovers
:49:35. > :49:37.to ferry us all over London, and all our drinks will be
:49:38. > :49:40.He specifically asked for Michael and Ed to be
:49:41. > :49:44.there so that we could get as much hot air in the room as possible.
:49:45. > :49:49.Nighty night, don't let these tropical animals that will soon be
:49:50. > :50:46.-- don't let the Farage fake news bite.
:50:47. > :51:03.If ever I saw a story that qualified for fake news, this is it.
:51:04. > :51:05.With you beside me - whatever life sends.