08/03/2018

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0:00:07 > 0:00:12Tonight on This Week, thank God for Wonder Woman.

0:00:12 > 0:00:20# All the world is waiting for you and the power you possess...#

0:00:20 > 0:00:23She's the only one who can save this excuse for a TV

0:00:23 > 0:00:29show from going under.

0:00:33 > 0:00:36Only a woman can sort out the mess that is This Week, but don't

0:00:36 > 0:00:39worry, Andrew, I've got this week's political roundup fired up and

0:00:39 > 0:00:42ready to go.

0:00:44 > 0:00:45But what about Europe?

0:00:45 > 0:00:47And I don't mean Brexit.

0:00:47 > 0:00:55Why is the centre in meltdown across the Continent?

0:00:59 > 0:01:02Why is the centre left in meltdown across the Continent?

0:01:02 > 0:01:04I'm not sure anyone can save the European left.

0:01:04 > 0:01:05Not even Wonder Woman.

0:01:05 > 0:01:12Now, where did I put my superhero powers?

0:01:12 > 0:01:14And can, or should, anyone save us from

0:01:14 > 0:01:22political grandstanding?

0:01:22 > 0:01:25These bubbles, they are very old media, a

0:01:25 > 0:01:27bit like This Week.

0:01:27 > 0:01:28We've got the internet now.

0:01:28 > 0:01:33EVIL LAUGHTER

0:01:33 > 0:01:34Thanks, Phill.

0:01:34 > 0:01:42I think we'll leave it to the women.

0:01:42 > 0:01:44Evenin' all.

0:01:44 > 0:01:47Welcome to This Week, a week in which the evidence mounted

0:01:47 > 0:01:50that the Russian state or its surrogates had indeed

0:01:50 > 0:01:54attempted to assassinate a former Russian spy now living in Salisbury,

0:01:54 > 0:01:58jeopardising the lives of his daughter and a British

0:01:58 > 0:01:59bobby in the process.

0:01:59 > 0:02:01The British reaction was to stop Prince William

0:02:01 > 0:02:03from going to the World Cup.

0:02:03 > 0:02:06Sources tell me this alone has reduced President Putin

0:02:06 > 0:02:07to a quivering wreck.

0:02:07 > 0:02:09He's refusing to leave his bedroom

0:02:09 > 0:02:11and the white flag could soon be flying over the Kremlin.

0:02:11 > 0:02:13That'll teach him.

0:02:13 > 0:02:14Don't mess with the Brits.

0:02:14 > 0:02:17Or you won't get to meet Meghan Markle next.

0:02:17 > 0:02:21Back in Blighty, the Maybot had a visit from her new best friend,

0:02:21 > 0:02:22the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

0:02:22 > 0:02:26The British are keen to portray him as a moderniser, which is only fair.

0:02:26 > 0:02:28As long as you don't mind him turning Yemen

0:02:28 > 0:02:31into the Saudi's Vietnam, with attendant atrocities

0:02:31 > 0:02:34and humanitarian disasters and reports that beheadings

0:02:34 > 0:02:37in his kingdom have doubled since he was designated reforming

0:02:37 > 0:02:41heir apparent last June.

0:02:41 > 0:02:43I suppose it depends what you mean by reform.

0:02:43 > 0:02:45Some of Jezza's soulmates on the Labour left boasted

0:02:45 > 0:02:48that they had joined the protests against his visit.

0:02:48 > 0:02:50Strangely, I've yet to see them outside the Russian,

0:02:50 > 0:02:53Syrian or Iranian embassies.

0:02:53 > 0:02:56But we all know they've committed no atrocities in battle and all three

0:02:56 > 0:03:00are exemplary when it comes to human rights.

0:03:00 > 0:03:04Or maybe I just missed them and they're outside the embassies now.

0:03:04 > 0:03:06In Brussels, Michel Barnier, the Commission's chief Brexit

0:03:06 > 0:03:08negotiator, revealed the EU's bargaining position

0:03:08 > 0:03:11for the next round of talks.

0:03:11 > 0:03:14After a year of warning the Brits that they could not cherry pick,

0:03:14 > 0:03:18he proceeded to cherry pick with a gusto that matched

0:03:18 > 0:03:20Jack Cherry McCherrypicker,

0:03:20 > 0:03:24the year he won the Cherry Picker of the Year competition.

0:03:24 > 0:03:26Even some of the British media realised it was just

0:03:26 > 0:03:30a bargaining position.

0:03:30 > 0:03:33Speaking of those you wouldn't pick to wash your socks, much less pick

0:03:33 > 0:03:35and peel your cherries, I'm joined on the sofa tonight

0:03:35 > 0:03:39by two veterans of Cold War spying, without whose services this country

0:03:39 > 0:03:42would be a much safer place.

0:03:42 > 0:03:45I speak, of course, of Michael #choochoo Portillo

0:03:45 > 0:03:53and Caroline #twinkletoes Flint.

0:03:53 > 0:04:00Welcome. Your moment of the week?

0:04:00 > 0:04:02Surrounded by steelworkers, President of Donald Trump put

0:04:02 > 0:04:06tariffs on imports of steel into the United States, fulfilling a very

0:04:06 > 0:04:11important pledge he had made to the rust belt in the United States. Some

0:04:11 > 0:04:16people immediately said this is bad news for Brexit because we were

0:04:16 > 0:04:20counting on making free trade deals with the United States, which has

0:04:20 > 0:04:27gone into protectionist mode. But Donald Trump was denounced by Donald

0:04:27 > 0:04:31Tusk, President of the European Council, for putting on tariffs.

0:04:31 > 0:04:34That is significant because tariffs are the wrong thing to do, of

0:04:34 > 0:04:38course, although the European Union shelters behind tariffs inside its

0:04:38 > 0:04:42customs union and single market. But I think it will be hard for the

0:04:42 > 0:04:46European Union to end up in a situation where it applies tariffs

0:04:46 > 0:04:52to the UK when it has so evidently committed itself against tariffs

0:04:52 > 0:04:57being applied by the United States. Another factor in the grand Brexit

0:04:57 > 0:05:05tobacco. Caroline.My moment was when my adult daughter and I joined

0:05:05 > 0:05:10women for the March for women up to Trafalgar Square, following the

0:05:10 > 0:05:14route of suffragettes some 100 odd years ago. It was special because it

0:05:14 > 0:05:18was my daughter, but also it was the first march I have not been

0:05:18 > 0:05:24responsible for dragging my daughter onto. It was her choice this time.

0:05:24 > 0:05:28And it was quite a nice moment.Very well.

0:05:28 > 0:05:31The Great Financial Crash of 2008 was a genuine crisis of capitalism.

0:05:31 > 0:05:33Caused by cavalier capitalists in banking and finance,

0:05:33 > 0:05:36its painful consequences were inflicted across the board

0:05:36 > 0:05:41on plain folk who'd done nothing to deserve being its victims.

0:05:41 > 0:05:43So who would have thought, a decade later, that the main

0:05:43 > 0:05:47political casualty of the crash would be not the mainstream right,

0:05:47 > 0:05:51home of politicians most associated with capitalism,

0:05:51 > 0:05:55markets and deregulation, but the mainstream left?

0:05:55 > 0:05:58Yet almost everywhere we look across Europe,

0:05:58 > 0:06:01traditional social democratic parties are in ragged retreat,

0:06:01 > 0:06:05some facing extinction.

0:06:05 > 0:06:07Reduced to a rump in Greece, France and Holland.

0:06:07 > 0:06:10Their worst result for 70 years in Germany.

0:06:10 > 0:06:14Marginalised in Italy.

0:06:14 > 0:06:19Struggling even in social democracy's Scandinavian heartlands.

0:06:19 > 0:06:21And it's not just a Continental thing.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23In Britain, Labour's social democrats have had to cede power

0:06:23 > 0:06:27to leadership of a more Marxist hue.

0:06:27 > 0:06:29In America, the centre-left Democrats couldn't even beat

0:06:29 > 0:06:33Donald Trump, the epitome of buccaneering capitalism.

0:06:33 > 0:06:35So what's going on here?

0:06:35 > 0:06:39We turned to Slovenian philosopher extraordinaire, Slavoj Zizek.

0:06:39 > 0:06:42This is his Take of the Week.

0:07:08 > 0:07:17I'm Chef Slavoj, here to introduce you to my Italian kitchen.

0:07:18 > 0:07:21you to my Italian kitchen. Today, capitalism is clearly entering its

0:07:21 > 0:07:27final crisis. This is not a leftist nightmare or dream. Long progressive

0:07:27 > 0:07:33corporate figures like Elon musk and Bill Gates know it. But there is no

0:07:33 > 0:07:40organised left to offer a viable or turn to, or a vision of life after

0:07:40 > 0:07:50capitalism. So all we get is just a protracted decay. The great German

0:07:50 > 0:07:58thinker Walter Benjamin said, in

0:07:58 > 0:08:00thinker Walter Benjamin said, in the 1930s, that every rise of fascism is

0:08:00 > 0:08:05the sign of a failed revolution. And I think this holds today more than

0:08:05 > 0:08:10ever.

0:08:10 > 0:08:17ever. The radical left proved its inability in Greece, where the

0:08:17 > 0:08:25government ended up as the most faithful enabler of the austerities

0:08:25 > 0:08:31policies. The latest election results in Italy, as well as the

0:08:31 > 0:08:37fragile coalition in Germany, also demonstrate that the moderate social

0:08:37 > 0:08:50Democratic left is just gradually flattening.

0:08:50 > 0:08:55flattening. Now, a new opposition is replacing the traditional polarity

0:08:55 > 0:08:59of the moderate left and moderate right. It's the opposition between

0:08:59 > 0:09:04Liberal

0:09:05 > 0:09:07Liberal establishment and the right-wing populism as a reaction to

0:09:07 > 0:09:19it. The explosive rise of populism all around Europe simply fills in

0:09:19 > 0:09:26the void of the left's failure.

0:09:30 > 0:09:33the void of the left's failure. We are of us caught in a vicious cycle

0:09:33 > 0:09:41which I think can be broken only by a new, reinvented left, and

0:09:41 > 0:09:48unfortunately we all know what lies ahead in this new left will not

0:09:48 > 0:09:50appear. A new authoritarian capitalism which is now spreading

0:09:50 > 0:10:05all around the globe, from Trump to Putin, from Turkey to China.

0:10:05 > 0:10:11Putin, from Turkey to China. Our social muscles are already acting.

0:10:11 > 0:10:19There are protests all around. But will they reinvigorate our nerves, a

0:10:19 > 0:10:24new leftist vision, or will they remain just a blind contracting

0:10:24 > 0:10:31movement?

0:10:32 > 0:10:35Thanks to Divertimenti Cookery School on the Brompton Road for use

0:10:35 > 0:10:38of their beautiful kitchen.

0:10:38 > 0:10:43We're sorry Slavoj forgot to do the washing up.

0:10:43 > 0:10:50But he is with us now. Welcome back. Michael, listening to that, I still

0:10:50 > 0:10:54didn't get an explanation, I don't know whether you did, of why it is

0:10:54 > 0:10:57the mainstream left that has taken a hit since the financial crash,

0:10:57 > 0:11:03rather than the mainstream right.I think both have taken a hit. Mrs

0:11:03 > 0:11:08Merkel did pretty badly last German election. Macron replaced a

0:11:08 > 0:11:14right-wing party in France. That party has virtually disappeared for

0:11:14 > 0:11:20the time being. In Italy...He has actually replaced the Socialists in

0:11:20 > 0:11:26France, who took a much bigger hit. Both sides took a hit, that is my

0:11:26 > 0:11:29point. In Spain, the right is in power at the moment but there are

0:11:29 > 0:11:34now four main parties where there used to be two. I do think it was

0:11:34 > 0:11:40right to say that there is a division between the populist right

0:11:40 > 0:11:44and the elites, the Liberal elites. That is because the Liberal elites

0:11:44 > 0:11:51are distant, haughty, detached from real people's issues. And one of the

0:11:51 > 0:11:57main factors, which has illustrated that aloofness, has been immigration

0:11:57 > 0:12:02policy, where I think really the left has had nothing to say. But

0:12:02 > 0:12:06immigration has been, in the case of Mrs Merkel, also extremely damaging

0:12:06 > 0:12:10to the right. We have mentioned this before. What we are seeing is a

0:12:10 > 0:12:14breakdown of the old order in which traditional parties of left and

0:12:14 > 0:12:18right have suffered.Mainstream left and right have suffered but

0:12:18 > 0:12:23mainstream social Democrat parties have suffered more. We have a

0:12:23 > 0:12:26Conservative Prime Minister in Britain, a centrist President in

0:12:26 > 0:12:30France, we are going to have a centre-right Chancellor in Germany.

0:12:30 > 0:12:35None of the above applies to the Social Democrats. Why?It is

0:12:35 > 0:12:44fascinating. I can remember not long after the crash being at a party of

0:12:44 > 0:12:46European Socialists. I think there was a sense among sister parties

0:12:46 > 0:12:51that this would be a great moment. And it didn't work out like that. If

0:12:51 > 0:12:57you look at France, our sister party vote in France is down to 6%, in

0:12:57 > 0:13:02Holland it is 6%. I think the SPD in Germany is 6%. Why is that

0:13:02 > 0:13:08happening? I think it is a combination of things. It is about

0:13:08 > 0:13:13elites. There is an anti-elitism coming from the far right, and

0:13:13 > 0:13:16actually some of the more far left parties that have emerged across

0:13:16 > 0:13:21Europe. But again, I think it is also about us, my sister party not

0:13:21 > 0:13:26being able to provide the answers of how to deal with globalisation, with

0:13:26 > 0:13:30immigration, how do we deal with the fact that there have been changes in

0:13:30 > 0:13:35class identity as well? For all those reasons and many more, we

0:13:35 > 0:13:38haven't reaped the benefit of a major collapse that was the

0:13:38 > 0:13:44responsibility of the banks.If the Social Democrats have failed and the

0:13:44 > 0:13:48neo- Marxist left has failed, and you give Greece as the example of

0:13:48 > 0:13:55that, who is going to reinvent the left?

0:13:55 > 0:13:59First, I am not saying it will necessarily happen. Maybe it will

0:13:59 > 0:14:05not. Again, as I said, in the short film, the problem for me is that if

0:14:05 > 0:14:09nothing happens we are caught in a very sad, deadly cycle, where we are

0:14:09 > 0:14:18all moving towards this, and this is the saddest phenomenon to date, this

0:14:18 > 0:14:24gradual rise...In what way is Britain going towards that? You said

0:14:24 > 0:14:28we are all moving, but Britain is not, France is not, France is a

0:14:28 > 0:14:34government renowned for moderation. In Europe, we still hold it somehow.

0:14:34 > 0:14:39But it is the European social democracy as we are talking about.

0:14:39 > 0:14:43Look at China, for the first time, democracy as we like it in Europe is

0:14:43 > 0:14:47losing.You say that, that is the dire consequence, but you cannot

0:14:47 > 0:14:53tell us who will reinvent the left? If it sounds strange, for someone

0:14:53 > 0:14:59from the left, which I am, miracles happen. Who would have thought in

0:14:59 > 0:15:07the United States that something like Bernie Sanders could have

0:15:07 > 0:15:13happened?He lost.He lost, but the movement remained. He got it because

0:15:13 > 0:15:18what we should mention, in what sense, what Michael mentioned, some

0:15:18 > 0:15:23kind of a strange class struggle is coming back. I think the big event

0:15:23 > 0:15:31in the United States was the speed between Steve Bannon and Trump.But

0:15:31 > 0:15:35that is on the right. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this widespread

0:15:35 > 0:15:40retreat of social democracy. Social democracy was at the heart of

0:15:40 > 0:15:47rebuilding post-war Europe. Social Democratic parties in Scandinavia.

0:15:47 > 0:15:55Different problem.But in your view, if 50 Shades Of Left have failed,

0:15:55 > 0:16:01why were the 51st work? And Bernie Sanders was not reinventing the

0:16:01 > 0:16:07left. Bernie Sanders was introducing the left for the first time into

0:16:07 > 0:16:14America. There was nothing new about that.With both of you, the problem

0:16:14 > 0:16:19not only of the mainstream liberal centre, even of the left, it was

0:16:19 > 0:16:27hidden away, avoiding certain issues and so on. That was the scandal,

0:16:27 > 0:16:31that the writer stole the popular opinion a large extent. Let me

0:16:31 > 0:16:37briefly answer your central question. I think that the issues

0:16:37 > 0:16:47that we are facing today, you can even not call what I am expected to

0:16:47 > 0:16:51happen the left...But do you understand, not just in this country

0:16:51 > 0:16:55but across Europe, working class people who traditionally would vote

0:16:55 > 0:16:58for the sister parties of the Labour Party in the UK, they moved away

0:16:58 > 0:17:04from that to right-wing parties because they felt, for one reason or

0:17:04 > 0:17:09another, that Europe's inability to get hold of immigration, some other

0:17:09 > 0:17:13things we have seen in terms of the refugee crisis, writ large, when

0:17:13 > 0:17:20Angela Merkel announced...

0:17:20 > 0:17:24Angela Merkel announced...Let us hear from Michael. We know what the

0:17:24 > 0:17:30analysis is. Whether we go from here? I put this to you, Caroline.

0:17:30 > 0:17:33The one social Democratic Party, at least from a social democratic

0:17:33 > 0:17:36tradition, in Europe, the one social Democratic Party, at least from a

0:17:36 > 0:17:37social democratic tradition, in Europe, that are still doing well,

0:17:37 > 0:17:40is the British Labour Party. And that is the one that has moved most

0:17:40 > 0:17:46of the left.Yes, you are right. But I think part of that...Isn't that a

0:17:46 > 0:17:51solution?Part of it is. What the traditional voters like about what

0:17:51 > 0:17:55Labour are saying is about tackling some other things we didn't tackle

0:17:55 > 0:17:59before about globalisation, about how we have to have a rebalanced

0:17:59 > 0:18:01economy, talking about how we address some of the issues about the

0:18:01 > 0:18:08fact that we have had, since the crash, people's wages kept down,

0:18:08 > 0:18:14there is a peel there. -- appeal. We also had to talk about immigration.

0:18:14 > 0:18:19Hold on, the French Socialists did not move to the left, they did to

0:18:19 > 0:18:23begin, but they moved back to the centre and almost got wiped out. The

0:18:23 > 0:18:26German social Democrats did not move to the left and got the worst vote

0:18:26 > 0:18:36since the 1940s. The Italians, they moved in a Blairite direction and

0:18:36 > 0:18:41they were marginalised. The lesson is quite clear. It is not your

0:18:41 > 0:18:47lesson?The contrast between Britain and the rest of the European Union

0:18:47 > 0:18:50would suggest to me that, in the European Union, we have had a

0:18:50 > 0:18:55trade-off between parties of the left, that used to satisfy working

0:18:55 > 0:19:00class voters, the working class vote has now moved to the extreme right.

0:19:00 > 0:19:04Some of it moved to the right in this country as well, in the case of

0:19:04 > 0:19:10Ukip. After Brexit, the question of immigration appeared to be answered.

0:19:10 > 0:19:14I'm not saying it was answered, but it appeared to be, because Brexit

0:19:14 > 0:19:16was the solution. Suddenly, the right-wing party disappeared

0:19:16 > 0:19:21altogether. I also take the view that Labour is not going to win the

0:19:21 > 0:19:24next election because it has moved too far to the left. Just to make

0:19:24 > 0:19:29one other point, you say where is the revival of the left going to

0:19:29 > 0:19:33come from? The revival of anything can come from leadership. If you

0:19:33 > 0:19:38have an outstanding personality, Macron has done this to an extent,

0:19:38 > 0:19:42he has emerged from nowhere and taken over France.From the centre?

0:19:42 > 0:19:48From the centre. Angela Merkel's day has come and gone. But there is an

0:19:48 > 0:19:51astonishing lack of charismatic leadership potential in Europe.

0:19:51 > 0:19:55Trump, whatever you think of him, he is a charismatic leader that came

0:19:55 > 0:20:01from nowhere and has taken over.I think the problem is very big here.

0:20:01 > 0:20:09I agree with both of you, there are central issues of immigration. In

0:20:09 > 0:20:13the politically correct left, you are simply prohibited to mention

0:20:13 > 0:20:18them. I know this, for my book Against The Double Blackmail, the

0:20:18 > 0:20:24suffering of the immigrant, I tried to approach this. If you want to

0:20:24 > 0:20:28solve this problem, first you should not just play this for humanitarian

0:20:28 > 0:20:34game, open our hearts and accept them. Let's confront the real

0:20:34 > 0:20:40problem of cultural differences and so on and act pre-emptively. We are

0:20:40 > 0:20:47tolerating the Civil War in Yemen and so on, and this is the breeding

0:20:47 > 0:20:51ground for a new wave of immigrants, and so on, and so on. If this

0:20:51 > 0:20:56doesn't change, it will have a point as well. What I am saying is that

0:20:56 > 0:21:07the left, the majority of the left, like the European traditional social

0:21:07 > 0:21:10Democrats, people feel it, they really don't have a consistent clear

0:21:10 > 0:21:17vision of what to do. It is a big problem. It is not an easy problem.

0:21:17 > 0:21:21What to do? Obviously the old state socialism will not work. This

0:21:21 > 0:21:26radical leftist dreams, of some direct democracy, local councils,

0:21:26 > 0:21:34no. I am here kind of as a state philosopher. We will need to cope

0:21:34 > 0:21:38with the economy and so on. A large form of international coordination

0:21:38 > 0:21:44to solve this problem and so on. I am not talking about the

0:21:44 > 0:21:47continuation of the same left. The reason I have minimal hope is that,

0:21:47 > 0:21:55sooner or later, this problem is pressing honours, ecology,

0:21:55 > 0:21:58immigration, international order, financial chaos. -- pressing on

0:21:58 > 0:22:05others. Even by genetics, who will control it? Are we aware what is

0:22:05 > 0:22:08happening in China, where the state already has plans to coordinate the

0:22:08 > 0:22:14bio genetics of the population to keep them quiet? The only answer to

0:22:14 > 0:22:20this is from what I call the left. Nothing to do with the old communist

0:22:20 > 0:22:30left or whatever. But I kind of organised confronting of this. Just

0:22:30 > 0:22:34computing...We have to leave that come on Chinese biological policy.

0:22:34 > 0:22:40We don't have time to get into that. Don't underestimate it.I am still

0:22:40 > 0:22:43trying to work out the future of European socialism.Social democracy

0:22:43 > 0:22:51as we know it, something...That is it!The British Labour Party...We

0:22:51 > 0:22:56do know that. Sorry, we have to move on. We have other guests.I'm sorry,

0:22:56 > 0:22:58OK.

0:22:58 > 0:22:59It's late.

0:22:59 > 0:23:02Emma Watson late.

0:23:02 > 0:23:04Yes, the fragrant Hermione of Harry Potter fame caused

0:23:04 > 0:23:06a Twitter storm this week over her Time's Up fake

0:23:06 > 0:23:08tattoo, which she proudly displayed at the Oscars.

0:23:08 > 0:23:10The problem was that, shock, horror, the artwork

0:23:10 > 0:23:13on her arm was missing an apostrophe before the "s".

0:23:13 > 0:23:14The grammar police went into a frenzy.

0:23:14 > 0:23:16English teachers fainted.

0:23:16 > 0:23:18Tattoo parlours went into lockdown to escape public wrath.

0:23:18 > 0:23:19Me?

0:23:19 > 0:23:20I see a career opportunity.

0:23:20 > 0:23:25I've offered my services as a tattoo proof-reader.

0:23:25 > 0:23:28Someone we feel sure is never short of apostrophes and punctuation,

0:23:28 > 0:23:30a master of pauses, clauses and applauses, is comedian,

0:23:30 > 0:23:33poet and podcaster Phill Jupitus, who'll be putting grandstanding

0:23:33 > 0:23:37in the Spotlight.

0:23:37 > 0:23:41And if you'd like to get up to some nocturnal grandstanding

0:23:41 > 0:23:43with your usual unfathomable musings on the Tweeter, the Fleecebook,

0:23:43 > 0:23:45and Snapnumpty, my strong advice is, don't bother.

0:23:45 > 0:23:47The world's oldest known message in a bottle was found

0:23:47 > 0:23:50washed up on a beach this week, after 132 years.

0:23:50 > 0:23:52That's about how long we'll take to get round to your

0:23:52 > 0:23:58social media drivelling.

0:23:58 > 0:24:01French President Emmanuel Macron is under attack from the usual

0:24:01 > 0:24:03health police busybodies for defending every French person's

0:24:03 > 0:24:09right to drink wine twice a day, at lunch and dinner.

0:24:09 > 0:24:11That's our kinda president!

0:24:11 > 0:24:19Though we understand Jean Claude Juncker has been

0:24:19 > 0:24:22on the phone to the Elysee Palace from Brussels to complain

0:24:22 > 0:24:23that he didn't include breakfast.

0:24:23 > 0:24:25President Trump, on the other hand, doesn't drink at all.

0:24:25 > 0:24:27Maybe he's too busy tweeting.

0:24:27 > 0:24:28Though this week he's being surprisingly silent

0:24:28 > 0:24:30on the suspected Russian involvement in the attempted assassination

0:24:30 > 0:24:33of a foreign agent who sold secrets to MI6.

0:24:33 > 0:24:34Now I wonder why that is.

0:24:34 > 0:24:37Maybe his phone battery is dead.

0:24:37 > 0:24:40Anyway, these are dark times, when we're all in need of a hero.

0:24:40 > 0:24:43So here's our very own Wonder Woman, Viv Groskop, with her

0:24:43 > 0:24:46roundup of the week.

0:24:50 > 0:24:52PHONE RINGS

0:24:55 > 0:24:56This Week needs help.

0:24:56 > 0:24:58We all know that.

0:24:58 > 0:25:01I can't work miracles, but let me see what I can do.

0:25:02 > 0:25:05# Wonder Woman!

0:25:05 > 0:25:10# Wonder Woman!

0:25:10 > 0:25:12# All the world is waiting for you

0:25:12 > 0:25:16# And the power you possess.

0:25:16 > 0:25:20# In your satin tights, fighting for your rights...

0:25:20 > 0:25:24What a challenge I face.

0:25:24 > 0:25:28I've got to sort out Brexit, fix the housing situation

0:25:28 > 0:25:31and, on top of all that, This Week have put me in Michael's

0:25:31 > 0:25:32favourite fancy dress outfit.

0:25:32 > 0:25:34It's a good job I've got superhero resilience.

0:25:34 > 0:25:37I bet Theresa May wishes she had some superpowers as she attempts

0:25:37 > 0:25:39to push through Brexit with a divided country and party.

0:25:39 > 0:25:42That said, her big speech last week was well received and she returned

0:25:42 > 0:25:45to the House of Commons with a surprising confidence.

0:25:45 > 0:25:48We are close to agreement on the terms of a time-limited

0:25:48 > 0:25:50implimentation period to give governments, businesses and citizens

0:25:50 > 0:25:54on both sides time to prepare for our new relationship.

0:25:54 > 0:25:56And I am confident we can resolve our remaining

0:25:56 > 0:25:59differences in the days ahead.

0:25:59 > 0:26:03Now we must focus on our future relationship.

0:26:03 > 0:26:07A new relationship that respects the result of the referendum,

0:26:07 > 0:26:09provides an enduring solution, protects people's jobs and security,

0:26:09 > 0:26:13is consistent with the kind of country we want to be

0:26:13 > 0:26:18and strengthens our union of nations and people.

0:26:18 > 0:26:20I sympathise with Theresa May.

0:26:20 > 0:26:22Fighting the forces of negativity is hard work.

0:26:22 > 0:26:26And this week her European friends revealed their lack

0:26:26 > 0:26:29of optimism as they published their draft negotiation guidelines.

0:26:31 > 0:26:33Our agreement will not make trade within the UK and the EU

0:26:33 > 0:26:39frictionless or smoother.

0:26:39 > 0:26:45It will make it more complicated and costly than today for all of us.

0:26:45 > 0:26:47This is the essence of Brexit.

0:26:48 > 0:26:50A pick and mix approach for a non-member state

0:26:50 > 0:26:55is out of the question.

0:26:55 > 0:26:56I wonder what it could mean?

0:26:56 > 0:27:00Spreadsheet Phil made it clear that the Government wants to protect

0:27:00 > 0:27:03the city and could reject any trade deal that doesn't include

0:27:03 > 0:27:06financial services.

0:27:06 > 0:27:08We do not expect the same relationship we have today

0:27:08 > 0:27:11across all areas of activity in financial services.

0:27:11 > 0:27:13Trade-offs should be expected.

0:27:13 > 0:27:18And the industry will change.

0:27:18 > 0:27:21But we should ensure that the future partnership strengthens European

0:27:21 > 0:27:24stability and prosperity rather than weakening it.

0:27:24 > 0:27:27He's looking to a TTIP type deal.

0:27:27 > 0:27:31You know, TTIP, after three years - well - three and a half years

0:27:31 > 0:27:33of negotiation, collapsed.

0:27:33 > 0:27:35But, in addition to that, what TTIP did, it actually took

0:27:35 > 0:27:39powers away from Parliament and gave it to corporate lawyers.

0:27:39 > 0:27:42So, this flies in the face of everything people voted

0:27:42 > 0:27:43for in the referendum.

0:27:43 > 0:27:45This is not the way to go.

0:27:45 > 0:27:49# Wonder Woman!

0:27:49 > 0:27:52# Get us out from under, Wonder Woman!

0:27:58 > 0:28:00The Saudi prince's visit to the UK has caused

0:28:00 > 0:28:01a few raised eyebrows.

0:28:01 > 0:28:03It came as no surprise in Westminster that Jeremy Corbyn,

0:28:03 > 0:28:06a passionate critic of the regime, used PMQs to make it clear

0:28:06 > 0:28:09he thought it was wrong to roll out the red carpet.

0:28:09 > 0:28:12However, Theresa May successfully maintained the party line.

0:28:12 > 0:28:15Mr Speaker, it cannot be right that her government is colluding

0:28:15 > 0:28:19in what the United Nations says is evidence of war crimes.

0:28:19 > 0:28:22Will the Prime Minister used her meeting today

0:28:22 > 0:28:28Will the Prime Minister use her meeting today

0:28:28 > 0:28:31with the prince to halt the arms supplies and demand an immediate

0:28:31 > 0:28:33ceasefire in Yemen?

0:28:33 > 0:28:37We are all concerned about the appalling humanitarian

0:28:37 > 0:28:40situation in Yemen, and the effect it is having on people,

0:28:40 > 0:28:42particularly affect it is having on women and children.

0:28:42 > 0:28:50When I went to Saudi Arabia in December, I met with the crowned

0:28:54 > 0:28:57prince, I raised with him to end the need to open the port

0:28:57 > 0:29:00of Hodeidah to humanitarian and commercial supplies.

0:29:00 > 0:29:03I am pleased to say that Saudi Arabia and then did just that.

0:29:03 > 0:29:06This vindicates the engagement that we have with Saudi Arabia to be

0:29:06 > 0:29:07able to sit down with them.

0:29:07 > 0:29:09Is that Captain America, the human pinnacle of perfection

0:29:09 > 0:29:12I can see in the distance?

0:29:16 > 0:29:20Oh, it's just clumsy old Boris.

0:29:20 > 0:29:23And when the Foreign Secretary had to address parliament

0:29:23 > 0:29:26on the sensitive issue of the poisoning of a former

0:29:26 > 0:29:28Kremlin double agent, he seemed unsure whether to go

0:29:28 > 0:29:33for broke or exercise diplomatic restraint.

0:29:33 > 0:29:35While it would be wrong to prejudge the investigation,

0:29:35 > 0:29:40I can reassure the house that should evidence emerged that implies

0:29:40 > 0:29:42state responsibility, then Her Majesty's Government

0:29:42 > 0:29:45will respond appropriately.

0:29:45 > 0:29:47Russia, I'm afraid, is now come in many respects,

0:29:47 > 0:29:53a malign and disruptive force.

0:29:53 > 0:29:56Thinking ahead to the World Cup this July, this summer,

0:29:56 > 0:29:59I think it will be very difficult to imagine that UK representation

0:29:59 > 0:30:03of that event could go ahead in the normal way.

0:30:03 > 0:30:11Where is my Lasso of Truth?

0:30:13 > 0:30:15TRANSLATION:These people have been used by the foreign media

0:30:15 > 0:30:16for an anti-Russian campaign.

0:30:16 > 0:30:19It is a traditional campaign, the tradition is to make things up.

0:30:19 > 0:30:21We can only see it as a provocation.

0:30:21 > 0:30:25Whoops, I probably shouldn't have done that, seeing as we need

0:30:25 > 0:30:27all the bricks and mortar we can get.

0:30:27 > 0:30:29There was certainly no shortage of these when the Prime Minister

0:30:29 > 0:30:32delivered her warning to developers not to restrict the housing

0:30:32 > 0:30:33supply this week.

0:30:33 > 0:30:40Now, where is that woman who looks as if she's struck up a chimney?

0:30:40 > 0:30:43Now, where is that woman who looks as if she's stuck up a chimney?

0:30:43 > 0:30:46But it's also time for builders and developers to step

0:30:46 > 0:30:48up and do their bit.

0:30:48 > 0:30:51The bonuses paid to the heads of some of our biggest developers

0:30:51 > 0:30:54are based not on the number of homes they built,

0:30:54 > 0:30:56but on their profits or share price.

0:30:56 > 0:30:58In a market where lower supply equals higher prices,

0:30:58 > 0:31:01that creates a perverse incentive, one that does not encourage them

0:31:01 > 0:31:03to build the homes we need.

0:31:03 > 0:31:03# Wonder Woman!

0:31:03 > 0:31:05Right, This Week.

0:31:05 > 0:31:12I've completed my challenge.

0:31:12 > 0:31:15I'm off to Loulou's to raise a toast to International Women's Day.

0:31:15 > 0:31:17Are you coming, Andrew and Michael?

0:31:17 > 0:31:18Drinks are on you!

0:31:18 > 0:31:25# Wonder Woman! #

0:31:25 > 0:31:29Michael, Russia, if it is Russia or its surrogates behind this event in

0:31:29 > 0:31:35Salisbury. Do we have many options? I don't think we have the many. I

0:31:35 > 0:31:40don't want to join the blame against Boris Johnson for not saying more at

0:31:40 > 0:31:44the moment. It is striking this week we discovered for sure that about a

0:31:44 > 0:31:48year ago the half brother of the North Korean leader was poisoned by

0:31:48 > 0:31:54that regime.That was at the airport.Only after a year of

0:31:54 > 0:31:58investigation which has proved beyond any doubt that the North

0:31:58 > 0:32:03Korean regime was responsible as the United States taken action against

0:32:03 > 0:32:08North Korea. The proper position for the British is to say this needs to

0:32:08 > 0:32:11be proved beyond doubt. I suppose it is plausible that could be another

0:32:11 > 0:32:16regime seeking to discredit the Russian regime. The one comfort I

0:32:16 > 0:32:20take from this is I ask what would be the motive of the Russians to do

0:32:20 > 0:32:27this. Revenge seems an insufficient motive. It seems to me it is a very

0:32:27 > 0:32:31public and the brutal attempt at the execution of a former spy, with

0:32:31 > 0:32:36complete disregard to public safety and the safety of his family. In

0:32:36 > 0:32:40fact, it seems members of his family may have suffered the same fate. Why

0:32:40 > 0:32:45has this been done? Think it is possibly that the Russians are

0:32:45 > 0:32:49sending a message to people who are active in the field today. In other

0:32:49 > 0:32:53words, it may be that Britain is scoring some important successes

0:32:53 > 0:33:00against Russian intelligence right now, and it is intended to put

0:33:00 > 0:33:03people on guard, whether they are British agents, or Russians who have

0:33:03 > 0:33:08been turned, that they will be pursued.We can get you.They will

0:33:08 > 0:33:12be pursued to death, and their families will be annihilated as

0:33:12 > 0:33:17well. That is not a cheerful thought, but it makes me think

0:33:17 > 0:33:20Britain must be scoring some successes, for such a terrible

0:33:20 > 0:33:27warning to be sent to us.We will probably never know that. Caroline,

0:33:27 > 0:33:31options?I agree with everything Michael said, but if it is found to

0:33:31 > 0:33:38be the case that this is a Russian state-sponsored attempted murder,

0:33:38 > 0:33:41maybe murder, if people don't survive. Thankfully the police

0:33:41 > 0:33:46officer seems to be doing better today. Then we have to look at the

0:33:46 > 0:33:51number of options. There are issues around diplomatic ties, issues about

0:33:51 > 0:33:57economic sanctions. I know there are lots of people in London from Russia

0:33:57 > 0:34:02who don't necessarily agree with Putin, but there are also a number

0:34:02 > 0:34:05of other situations where there may be government officials who owned

0:34:05 > 0:34:10properties or have assets here. We should look at those. But I think it

0:34:10 > 0:34:16is difficult, all this.

0:34:16 > 0:34:19is difficult, all this. Because on so many fronts Putin is laying out a

0:34:19 > 0:34:22very clear narrative to his people about what he is about and what he

0:34:22 > 0:34:27thinks Russia should be about today. We heard that in his speech about

0:34:27 > 0:34:31nuclear weapons a few days ago. Actually, part of it is, just what

0:34:31 > 0:34:38do you do about the problem called Russia?While we are both being

0:34:38 > 0:34:44cautious, we have to recognise that weakness is punished by the

0:34:44 > 0:34:50Russians.They got away with Litvinenko.Completely. I have never

0:34:50 > 0:34:55been satisfied that the death of Boris Berezovsky was not suspicious.

0:34:55 > 0:34:58He was found hanged. I was never satisfied with the investigation

0:34:58 > 0:35:05into that. We just had a decision by the Olympic Committee that the

0:35:05 > 0:35:09Russians will be readmitted to sport, even though there has been

0:35:09 > 0:35:13state-sponsored doping of their athletes. If all we are ever going

0:35:13 > 0:35:18to do is slap them on the wrist, we can expect a very vigorous

0:35:18 > 0:35:24continuance of their policy.They spot weakness and exploit it. Saudi

0:35:24 > 0:35:32Arabia. Do we have an alternative to engaging?With Saudi Arabia? We have

0:35:32 > 0:35:37to engage with Saudi Arabia and it is a complicated relationship.

0:35:37 > 0:35:42Theresa May was right on Wednesday when she said that our relationship

0:35:42 > 0:35:46with them in terms of information has probably helped save lives in

0:35:46 > 0:35:50the UK but it is also a very difficult relationship, because

0:35:50 > 0:35:55there is no doubt the bombing tactics they have taken in Yemen,

0:35:55 > 0:35:58everybody would agree they have been beyond what was necessary, to say

0:35:58 > 0:36:06the least. As you said earlier, there is a new crown prince. In

0:36:06 > 0:36:09June, women will be able to drive and there are other things happening

0:36:09 > 0:36:12for women which I welcome, but there have been double the number of

0:36:12 > 0:36:16beheadings and since he has been in charge and he is not a Democrat as

0:36:16 > 0:36:23we would think of those things.They are in short supply in Saudi Arabia.

0:36:23 > 0:36:26Well, exactly. They are having to face out to the world because they

0:36:26 > 0:36:30don't want to rely on oil any more. 70% of their population are under 30

0:36:30 > 0:36:35and there are just not the jobs there. So is there an opportunity to

0:36:35 > 0:36:38speak some home truths but also take advantage of the fact that they are

0:36:38 > 0:36:42having to look out to the world more than before, and he is up for that?

0:36:42 > 0:36:46In doing so, there is an opportunity to lay down some home truths about

0:36:46 > 0:36:53what we believe is acceptable or not.It is apparently a very special

0:36:53 > 0:36:59relationship with Saudi Arabia. 18 Saudis were involved in killing 3000

0:36:59 > 0:37:06people in New York City on 9/11 and the response was to attack Iraq. I

0:37:06 > 0:37:12think Saudi Arabia is responsible for building mosques with the aim of

0:37:12 > 0:37:19promoting Wahab Riaz throughout Europe.Including in this country.

0:37:19 > 0:37:24That is at least an indirect threat to our security. And in the Balkans,

0:37:24 > 0:37:30in Bosnia, for example. These things not only go unpunished but actually

0:37:30 > 0:37:36unremarked. Why is it such a special relationship, because of the

0:37:36 > 0:37:39intelligence, because we cannot countenance the collapse of the

0:37:39 > 0:37:42regime because of the chaos it would create in an oil producing state,

0:37:42 > 0:37:47and because of our relationship on defence. So this is complicated.

0:37:47 > 0:37:54Very briefly, the last Labour government under Robin Cook 's

0:37:54 > 0:37:57bowels to an ethical foreign policy. It didn't go anywhere. But if you

0:37:57 > 0:38:01are going to have an ethical foreign policy as to be all embracing and

0:38:01 > 0:38:05you would have to cut off not only Saudi Arabia but a number of nations

0:38:05 > 0:38:09in the Middle East, Russia, China, which has the worst possible record

0:38:09 > 0:38:14on the death penalty. If the death penalty issue or criterion, you

0:38:14 > 0:38:20would have to cut of the United States as well.Michel Barnier, his

0:38:20 > 0:38:25negotiating position, what do you make of it?What is clear is that

0:38:25 > 0:38:29for all the talk about cherrypicking and what have you, at the end of the

0:38:29 > 0:38:32day there will be cherrypicking, both from the EU side and the UK

0:38:32 > 0:38:38side. I do not think outside of the EU, the Norway option, the Canada

0:38:38 > 0:38:42option, all of that is about cherrypicking to an extent, what

0:38:42 > 0:38:50fits in to keep relationships strong. And I do think that with

0:38:50 > 0:38:55more detail now being talked about, I think there is more of a sense of

0:38:55 > 0:39:00urgency about how big the challenge is. It's enormous. On trade, on the

0:39:00 > 0:39:03Public Accounts Committee this week, something like 800 trade agreements

0:39:03 > 0:39:08we are tied to within the EU that we will have to think about how we

0:39:08 > 0:39:14negotiate them going forward. I think, hopefully, and I hope this

0:39:14 > 0:39:18sincerely, that we start seeing some detail and get some sense that there

0:39:18 > 0:39:21is some momentum for want of a better word, behind this. But I

0:39:21 > 0:39:26think there is a lot of talk on both sides.When you cut through the talk

0:39:26 > 0:39:30and look at the positions, you can see the makings of a deal.I have

0:39:30 > 0:39:35always thought that. When you referred to cherrypicking at the

0:39:35 > 0:39:39beginning of the programme, from the EU point of you, that was a

0:39:39 > 0:39:42reference, was it, to the fact that they say we might be able to do a

0:39:42 > 0:39:47deal on free trade but it will not include financial services?What

0:39:47 > 0:39:51they are saying, their position to start the gauche nations, they are

0:39:51 > 0:39:58saying we will have free trades in goods where we run a massive surplus

0:39:58 > 0:40:03with you, but not in services where you run a massive surplus with us.

0:40:03 > 0:40:10And we want complete access to your fishing waters. But you can't have

0:40:10 > 0:40:13access to European financial services. These are the kind of

0:40:13 > 0:40:19opening... The problem is that so much of this coverage seems to think

0:40:19 > 0:40:22that is the European position and that is how it will end up, whereas

0:40:22 > 0:40:28it is just the opening gambit.It is the opening gambit. But I think the

0:40:28 > 0:40:33EU is more successful at putting out an opening gambit than we are. As

0:40:33 > 0:40:37you implied, think the British media is extremely gullible at

0:40:37 > 0:40:42interpreting every opening gambit of theirs as being a defeat in the

0:40:42 > 0:40:45making for us, which is not the case at all. There is strength to the

0:40:45 > 0:40:47British position.

0:40:47 > 0:40:50It's been a week when the air has been thick with public figures

0:40:50 > 0:40:52rushing to attach themselves to worthy causes.

0:40:52 > 0:40:54From International Woman's Day, to poverty, to rough sleeping,

0:40:54 > 0:40:56to healthy eating, to #metoo, all manner of celebrities,

0:40:56 > 0:40:59from Oscar winners down, have been vocal in letting us know

0:40:59 > 0:41:02that they really care about more than lots of dosh and a free

0:41:02 > 0:41:05designer frock for the red carpet.

0:41:05 > 0:41:08Indeed these days it seems to be part of an actor's job spec that it

0:41:08 > 0:41:12involves letting us all know how they feel about the latest

0:41:12 > 0:41:14pressing issue du jour.

0:41:14 > 0:41:17Commendable concern for society's ills or as fake as the tattoos

0:41:17 > 0:41:20they wash off when the cameras have moved on?

0:41:20 > 0:41:27Tonight we're putting political grandstanding in the Spotlight.

0:41:30 > 0:41:38MUSIC: Theme from BBC Grandstand.

0:41:40 > 0:41:43It's that time of year again when Hollywood celebrities grace us

0:41:43 > 0:41:46with their wardrobes and their politics.

0:41:46 > 0:41:49Yes, it's Oscars week.

0:41:49 > 0:41:52On this year's red carpet, outrage was all the rage.

0:41:52 > 0:41:56Frances McDormand took a rousing roll call.

0:41:56 > 0:41:58Meryl, if you do it, everybody else will.

0:41:58 > 0:41:59Come on.

0:41:59 > 0:42:02The film-makers, the producers, the directors.

0:42:02 > 0:42:05I have two words to leave you with tonight, ladies and gentlemen.

0:42:05 > 0:42:12Inclusion rider.

0:42:12 > 0:42:14But was Emma Watson's fake tattoo upstanding or just grandstanding?

0:42:14 > 0:42:18Even Theresa May didn't miss an opportunity

0:42:18 > 0:42:22to show she's woke, too.

0:42:22 > 0:42:25First of all, can I thank the Right Honourable Gentleman

0:42:25 > 0:42:31for telling me that it is International Women's Day tomorrow.

0:42:31 > 0:42:37I think that is what's called mansplaining.

0:42:37 > 0:42:40And was MP Philip Davies grandstanding or being deliberately

0:42:40 > 0:42:42provocative when he attempted to stand up for men in a serious

0:42:42 > 0:42:45debate about misogyny?

0:42:45 > 0:42:47I just wondered whether or not we could take it as read, therefore,

0:42:47 > 0:42:50that she thought misandry should also be a hate crime

0:42:50 > 0:42:53in exactly the same way?

0:42:53 > 0:42:56It is precisely because of the power imbalance in society

0:42:56 > 0:43:02that is disproportionately affecting women in a negative way.

0:43:02 > 0:43:03Meanwhile, obesity warrior Jamie Oliver says the middle-class

0:43:03 > 0:43:06elites have got to stop grandstanding when it

0:43:06 > 0:43:10comes to overeating.

0:43:10 > 0:43:12It's kind of like one brilliant idea can fix this.

0:43:12 > 0:43:13It doesn't work.

0:43:13 > 0:43:16Believe you me, it doesn't work.

0:43:16 > 0:43:18Are we all missing out on the real progressive issues?

0:43:18 > 0:43:24Prince Charles asks when did married women start using their maiden name?

0:43:24 > 0:43:27I thought to myself some time ago, who is Cheryl Tweedy?

0:43:27 > 0:43:29I suddenly realised that I knew the Cheryl bit.

0:43:29 > 0:43:37I have missed out on the Tweedy.

0:43:38 > 0:43:39Comedian Phill Jupitus hates grandstanding.

0:43:39 > 0:43:41But tough, Phill, get on your soapbox and grandstand

0:43:41 > 0:43:48with the rest of us.

0:43:48 > 0:43:55And Phill is here now.

0:43:55 > 0:44:00Are we seeing more grandstanding? When people get that platform, there

0:44:00 > 0:44:06are a number of things at work. Firstly, the number of advisers that

0:44:06 > 0:44:11people have, saying, you will have this opportunity, particularly

0:44:11 > 0:44:16people who are active, consider themselves, you know, socially aware

0:44:16 > 0:44:22and active. It's very, very tempting when you know you are going to have

0:44:22 > 0:44:25something like the Oscars, with millions of people watching, and you

0:44:25 > 0:44:30are going to have the opportunity to say something, or do something and

0:44:30 > 0:44:36make some sort of gesture. It's so tempting for them to do it.It has

0:44:36 > 0:44:42become endemic. There was a British actress who made a statement years

0:44:42 > 0:44:45ago about the Palestinians, Vanessa Redgrave. And that was quite a

0:44:45 > 0:44:52surprise. It was controversial.The early days of it.She was alone when

0:44:52 > 0:44:58she did that, it was not common. Now almost everybody has to. And they do

0:44:58 > 0:45:01it knowing that the audience in front of them is entirely on their

0:45:01 > 0:45:08side. It's not a brave thing to do. The interesting thing about Francis

0:45:08 > 0:45:12McDormand was that thing about the inclusion rider.I didn't know about

0:45:12 > 0:45:17that. I think there were people who saw that who will be going into the

0:45:17 > 0:45:23industry that will not even be aware that was an option. Something like

0:45:23 > 0:45:28that, I actually thought was quite clever. It was very minimal. But

0:45:28 > 0:45:32what you have to remember about grandstanding is that they are in

0:45:32 > 0:45:37showbiz, and so an element of what they do is about changing the energy

0:45:37 > 0:45:41of an audience and making them think in a certain way. And also

0:45:41 > 0:45:46projecting an image of themselves. I never like grandstanding in music,

0:45:46 > 0:45:52in rock, stadium rock. That's where I don't like it, because it's

0:45:52 > 0:45:56that... You almost get the sense there is an element of a mess I

0:45:56 > 0:46:03annex complex that has crept in. Imagine if we did this show live

0:46:03 > 0:46:11every night to 80,000 people that were going, Portillo, Portillo.That

0:46:11 > 0:46:16would be five.It would be wonderful!It would, but how can it

0:46:16 > 0:46:20not get into your head and start making you think, I can control

0:46:20 > 0:46:27these people, they will do my will.

0:46:27 > 0:46:31The assumption that if you can act play guitar, you are qualified to

0:46:31 > 0:46:35make big, broad political statements, that this is somehow

0:46:35 > 0:46:43empowering you to do this, qualify you to do this.Is it wearing thin?

0:46:43 > 0:46:47Because of social media, everybody has the platform to express that

0:46:47 > 0:46:51view. In the 80s, people with guitars and microphones, they were

0:46:51 > 0:46:57doing that.

0:46:59 > 0:47:02doing that.It has been more of an American thing. When you look at the

0:47:02 > 0:47:05film stars coming out strongly for the Democrats and compared with big

0:47:05 > 0:47:11names that we have here, we sometimes have TV people with their

0:47:11 > 0:47:16own celebrity. When you have Jessica Lange, Robert De Niro, these are big

0:47:16 > 0:47:21stars coming out. But I suppose I look at somebody like... Take

0:47:21 > 0:47:23somebody like Leonardo DiCaprio, you don't hear much about it but he does

0:47:23 > 0:47:27a huge amount putting personal wealth into environmental causes.

0:47:27 > 0:47:31But he is not up there all the time talking about it.We are running out

0:47:31 > 0:47:39of time, for reasons which people who were with us from the start will

0:47:39 > 0:47:47understand.I love him.What are you up to now?I am on a tour, I am

0:47:47 > 0:47:54doing two gigs, I could do with shifting some tickets, I am doing

0:47:54 > 0:48:00shows in Manchester and Poole.And no grandstanding?He is talking to

0:48:00 > 0:48:06that taxi driver now! What a drive that is.Let's hope it is not a long

0:48:06 > 0:48:08one.

0:48:08 > 0:48:10That's your lot for tonight, folks, but not for us.

0:48:10 > 0:48:12We're off to Loulou's, for a late-night poetry

0:48:12 > 0:48:13reading by the Chancellor.

0:48:13 > 0:48:16Because, ever since he admitted Dr Seuss's Cat in the Hat

0:48:16 > 0:48:18was his favourite book, Spreadsheet Phil has been inspired

0:48:18 > 0:48:20to set next Tuesday's Spring Statement to rhyme.

0:48:20 > 0:48:22And we've managed to obtain an exclusive extract.

0:48:22 > 0:48:23Are you sitting comfortably?

0:48:23 > 0:48:25Then I'll begin.

0:48:25 > 0:48:27"For we looked and we saw, that incredible chap,

0:48:27 > 0:48:30"the Treasury's main man, the Cat in the Hat.

0:48:30 > 0:48:33"And in his red box, he had ideas a-cobbled,

0:48:33 > 0:48:36"which he wanted to use in case the economy wobbled.

0:48:36 > 0:48:39"Oh, might there be answers on pensions and care?

0:48:39 > 0:48:42"Austerity eased, a society more fair?

0:48:42 > 0:48:44"Less tax on green eggs, investment in ham?

0:48:44 > 0:48:46"Or would it, or could it, be a horrible scam?"

0:48:46 > 0:48:51Nighty-night.

0:48:51 > 0:48:54Don't let the Michael's mud bath bite.

0:49:00 > 0:49:02Oh, shorts off.

0:49:02 > 0:49:04And the attendants are strict disciplinarians.

0:49:05 > 0:49:08THEY SPEAK CZECH

0:49:19 > 0:49:22I'm telling her that it's very, very good.

0:49:22 > 0:49:25Actually, there is a fearful smell of rotten eggs,

0:49:25 > 0:49:27and underneath me there's all this really sticky, muddy stuff.

0:49:27 > 0:49:35Look at that.

0:49:37 > 0:49:40But it feels soft and it's meant to do you lots of good.

0:49:40 > 0:49:44Good for the skin, good for the bones, good for the joints.

0:49:44 > 0:49:47I'm really pleased I'm here.

0:50:00 > 0:50:02A lady wearing rubber boots and rubber gloves.

0:50:02 > 0:50:08This does not look like good news.

0:50:14 > 0:50:21I'm now lying in very warm mud and the lady with the rubber gloves

0:50:21 > 0:50:27has begun fairly intimate massage using warm mud.

0:50:30 > 0:50:33And, as they say in the movie business, it's a wrap.