:00:12. > :00:13.Hello and welcome to Tuesdax in Parliament,
:00:14. > :00:17.our look at the best of the day in the Commons and the Lords.
:00:18. > :00:20.MPs weigh up whether 16- and 17-year-olds
:00:21. > :00:42.We have made as a society, L explicit comment that we do not
:00:43. > :00:48.think 16 and 17-year-olds are fully formed. How long before young people
:00:49. > :00:49.start to rise up? The last thing we need is more young people bdcoming
:00:50. > :00:50.militant. A warning of collisions between war
:00:51. > :00:58.planes in the skies above Sxria There might be a serious risk of
:00:59. > :01:04.coalition. Daschle collision. And reaction in the Commons to
:01:05. > :01:17.the dropping of the controvdrsial And what about the 15 million
:01:18. > :01:19.already wasted on privatisation of court fines collection and secure
:01:20. > :01:21.colleges? But first, another clash
:01:22. > :01:23.between the Commons and the Lords, Since 1970,
:01:24. > :01:27.the age at which people can vote But just over a year ago,
:01:28. > :01:31.17-year-olds and 16-year-olds were allowed to vote in the Scottish
:01:32. > :01:33.independence referendum. And bringing the voting age down by
:01:34. > :01:37.two years is a policy now stpported Last month, members of the House of
:01:38. > :01:42.Lords voted to lower the voting age to 16 for the referendum on
:01:43. > :01:44.Britain's continued EU membdrship. But when the issue came back to
:01:45. > :01:46.the Commons, the Government wasn't minded to
:01:47. > :01:49.accept the decision of the Lords. With the understandable sensitivity
:01:50. > :01:56.surrounding the EU referendtm, making such a fundamental change to
:01:57. > :01:59.the franchise for this vote alone, but not for others, would inevitably
:02:00. > :02:01.and perhaps justifiably lead to accusations of trying to fix
:02:02. > :02:03.the franchise in favour of the remain or the leave
:02:04. > :02:07.campaign. That's why we have chosen to stick
:02:08. > :02:09.with the tried and tested, If it is good enough for choosing
:02:10. > :02:15.the government of this country, then surely it is good
:02:16. > :02:18.enough for the referendum, too. And we should not jiggle
:02:19. > :02:21.around with it for a one-off I... Once more, and then I...
:02:22. > :02:28.I'm very grateful. But on that specific point,
:02:29. > :02:31.as far as I know, nobody has made any such complaint about thd result
:02:32. > :02:34.of the Scottish referendum `nd I don't understand why he feels that
:02:35. > :02:37.if it was done in this case, Well, I am sure the honourable
:02:38. > :02:41.gentleman has people in his own party who are
:02:42. > :02:45.concerned and maybe on one side when it comes to the referendum
:02:46. > :02:50.itself and that campaign. Equally, my party has peopld
:02:51. > :02:53.on both sides and I think that there are huge sensitivities,
:02:54. > :02:55.even if they are not being voiced The Scottish Parliament has lowered
:02:56. > :03:00.the voting age, so how does he justify it to one of my constituents
:03:01. > :03:03.who turned 16 in the next month who will be able to vote in Scottish
:03:04. > :03:06.Parliament elections in 2016, council elections in 2017 btt will
:03:07. > :03:11.be denied a vote in this referendum? Well, Mr Speaker,
:03:12. > :03:13.as the honourable gentleman is aware, the franchise for Scottish
:03:14. > :03:17.Parliamentary elections is, rightly, But this is a decision
:03:18. > :03:23.which is to be taken in this place It is not a devolved matter,
:03:24. > :03:29.it is a reserved topic. It is 40 years since this issue
:03:30. > :03:34.was voted on in this countrx. Major constitutional referenda are
:03:35. > :03:39.a once-in-a-generation choice, about the country's future
:03:40. > :03:46.direction. it is that the young people of this
:03:47. > :03:53.country deserve a say in the decision which will chart
:03:54. > :03:58.our country's future. This, actually, is a constitutional
:03:59. > :04:02.outrage, that the superannu`ted unelected, unaccountable panjandrums
:04:03. > :04:07.in the House of Lords have told us what the elected house should be
:04:08. > :04:12.doing when we have a set vidw on it. They must be subservient to
:04:13. > :04:17.the elected house and it is high time
:04:18. > :04:20.we had House of Lords reforl. We have made, as a society,
:04:21. > :04:24.an explicit comment that we don t feel 16- and 17-year-olds are fully
:04:25. > :04:30.formed because if we did, we would not suggest they h`ve to
:04:31. > :04:32.stay in education. We would not suggest that they
:04:33. > :04:36.can't book their own sunbed. We would not suggest that they are
:04:37. > :04:39.not even allowed to buy thehr own What we have found in Scotl`nd,
:04:40. > :04:46.and the evidence backs it up, is that by giving the franchise to
:04:47. > :04:51.16- and 17-year-olds, they remain engaged in the political process
:04:52. > :04:56.beyond the age of 16 and 17. And whilst the rest of the TK may
:04:57. > :05:00.have had low numbers in Westminster elections, wd had a
:05:01. > :05:04.much higher number, And what worries me about this is
:05:05. > :05:11.an adult will be an adult at 16 The implications of that have never
:05:12. > :05:14.been seriously looked at by my own party, never had
:05:15. > :05:18.any investigation of impact on children or childhood of brhnging
:05:19. > :05:24.down the vote to the age of 16. This Opposition, the SNP as well,
:05:25. > :05:27.have never done a proper ev`luation of the impact on children
:05:28. > :05:32.and the protection of children that A young lad called Malachy told
:05:33. > :05:40.me that he felt unrepresentdd. He explained that there are 1.5
:05:41. > :05:44.million 16- and 17-year-olds He went on to explain that
:05:45. > :05:52.though the turnout for 18- to 24-year-olds was just above 40%
:05:53. > :05:57.he told me that we needed the voices of 16- and 17-year-olds to be added
:05:58. > :06:00.to this figure to make sure that I checked the stats with thd House
:06:01. > :06:13.of Commons library How long will it be before
:06:14. > :06:17.young people atart to rise tp? And the last thing we need hs more
:06:18. > :06:20.young people becoming milit`nt. But many of my colleagues h`ve
:06:21. > :06:23.called for more momentum they have opinions they want to be
:06:24. > :06:30.heard. Many of us believe,
:06:31. > :06:33.and I include myself in this, that for young people it is
:06:34. > :06:37.a step too far to expect th`t we will extend the franchise to 16
:06:38. > :06:41.and 17-year-olds and at the same time exempt them
:06:42. > :06:44.from other things. So I have not heard a Scotthsh
:06:45. > :06:48.member of the SNP arguing for 16-year-olds to be membdrs
:06:49. > :06:51.of Parliament, for example. To me, that is
:06:52. > :06:54.the logical extension of extending the voting franchise across
:06:55. > :07:00.the House to having 18-year,old And at the end of that debate,
:07:01. > :07:12.MPs voted 303-253 to throw out the decision of the Lords, so rdjecting
:07:13. > :07:17.giving 16- and 17-year-olds As RAF air strikes continue to be
:07:18. > :07:25.mounted against the militant group Islamic State in Syria, a former
:07:26. > :07:30.head of the diplomatic servhce has sounded a warning in the Hotse
:07:31. > :07:33.of Lords about the risk of ` midair collision in the skies abovd the
:07:34. > :07:37.war-torn country. The independent peer Lord Wright was
:07:38. > :07:41.concerned about RAF Tornados "without adequate
:07:42. > :07:48.co-ordination and consultathon" First, a defence minister s`id all
:07:49. > :07:52.UK and coalition missions wdre co-ordinated by the US-led combined
:07:53. > :07:59.air operating centre in Qat`r. We are also providing intelligence,
:08:00. > :08:03.reconnaissance and surveill`nce to support coalition operathons
:08:04. > :08:08.in both Syria and Iraq. UK military personnel are providing
:08:09. > :08:12.specialist training for Irapi security forces, including
:08:13. > :08:17.Kurdish Peshmerga. Since the war has lasted already
:08:18. > :08:22.five years, I wonder will my noble friend recognhse that
:08:23. > :08:26.whilst bombing is important, it will never defeat Isis unless thdre's
:08:27. > :08:31.a strong army on the ground. So will my noble friend rerdad
:08:32. > :08:36.the speeches of last Wednesday of Lords Richmond, Ashdown, Owen
:08:37. > :08:42.and Dannatt, and possibly mxself... ..and recognise that the only way
:08:43. > :08:50.of defeating Isis is to find a way to deploy the army of Assad
:08:51. > :08:57.and his allies, otherwise Isis will survive and cause mayhem
:08:58. > :09:04.in the rest of the world. I would like my noble friend to know
:09:05. > :09:07.that I have reread the debate of last wdek and
:09:08. > :09:10.I fully agree with him that Daesh The most likely way to defe`t Daesh
:09:11. > :09:18.on the ground is to bring about the end to the Syrian civil war which
:09:19. > :09:23.would allow those keen to stpport a unified, inclusive and pe`ceful
:09:24. > :09:29.Syria to unite against Daesh. That could include Syrian moderate
:09:30. > :09:33.opposition forces, it could include Syrian Kurds, it could incltde an
:09:34. > :09:37.army of internationally supported Syrian government, but we bdlieve
:09:38. > :09:43.that such unity will only come about once Bashar al Assad leaves the
:09:44. > :09:47.scene. My Lords, when the noble Lord
:09:48. > :09:57.the minister reread the deb`te of last Wednesday, he may have noted
:09:58. > :10:03.that I suggested that unless... if our Tornadoes and Typhoons are
:10:04. > :10:07.sent into action without addquate co-ordination and consultathon,
:10:08. > :10:11.there might be a serious risk of collision
:10:12. > :10:15.with the Russian and Syrian forces. Can the Minister tell
:10:16. > :10:18.the House what clearance has to be sought from what I understand is the
:10:19. > :10:23.joint flights clearance centre in Damascus and how much co-ordination
:10:24. > :10:28.is there with the Syrian authorities The coalition has implementdd safe
:10:29. > :10:36.separation measures for aircraft operating in Sxria
:10:37. > :10:41.which reflect the provisions of the United States-Russia melorandum
:10:42. > :10:47.of understanding to prevent flight Those measures are kept unddr
:10:48. > :10:53.constant review, including in the light of the
:10:54. > :10:58.Russian jet incident with Ttrkey. But our own aircraft operatd
:10:59. > :11:01.over Syria as part of the coalition calpaign
:11:02. > :11:07.and are covered by those me`sures. The noble Earl the Minister will be
:11:08. > :11:10.aware that in 2008, the onlx way we stopped the uprising in Irap
:11:11. > :11:16.and destroyed Al-Qaeda in Iraq was when Petraeus got the Sunni tribes
:11:17. > :11:21.fully onside to turn against them. Are we doing that now to
:11:22. > :11:35.ensure they turn against IS? And we did that by bribing them And
:11:36. > :11:40.persuading them. Because up until now, they have felt
:11:41. > :11:43.that IS is better for them My lord, there is no doubt that
:11:44. > :11:47.the Kurds will need to be p`rt They must play an important role,
:11:48. > :11:50.I believe, As part of that, however,
:11:51. > :11:55.they must recognise the importance of Syria's territorial integrity
:11:56. > :11:58.and the parameters set out The government is moving
:11:59. > :12:07.as "expeditiously" as possible to scrap the criminal courts charge,
:12:08. > :12:11.Michael Gove has told Mps. The Justice Secretary announced
:12:12. > :12:14.earlier this month that the fee - which saw convicted criminals in
:12:15. > :12:18.England and Wales pay a charge of between ?150 and ?1,200 tow`rds the
:12:19. > :12:23.cost of their case - will not be It reverses the decision made
:12:24. > :12:30.by his predecessor in the job, Chris Grayling, and came after
:12:31. > :12:34.strong criticism from magistrates. In the Commons, Mr Gove facdd
:12:35. > :12:36.questions about the decision. Labour's Shadow Justice Minhster
:12:37. > :12:42.said he welcomed what he called Individuals have incurred hhgh
:12:43. > :12:44.levels of personal debt bec`use of this cost which they are unlikely
:12:45. > :12:48.to be able to pay back. Bearing that in mind, will the
:12:49. > :12:51.Secretary of State review and waive the outstanding payments whhch do
:12:52. > :12:54.nothing but blight our finances and our justice system and place an
:12:55. > :13:00.administrative cost on the taxpayer? It is the case that people will have
:13:01. > :13:04.paid penalties under the criminal courts charge, that was
:13:05. > :13:07.the law at the time and it will be After that, people will not be
:13:08. > :13:12.paying the criminal courts charge. Until the 24th of December,
:13:13. > :13:15.magistrates will be forced to impose what is now
:13:16. > :13:19.a discredited charge which has What advice would the Secretary
:13:20. > :13:24.of State give to those people It is my responsibility to
:13:25. > :13:31.uphold the rule of law. We sought to take steps as puickly
:13:32. > :13:36.as possible, after a proper review of the criminal courts charge and
:13:37. > :13:40.after the spending review, to suspend
:13:41. > :13:42.the operation of the charge. 21 days after
:13:43. > :13:44.the requisite statutory instrument was laid, there will be no
:13:45. > :14:03.further imposition of the charge. Labour's Shadow Justice Minhster
:14:04. > :14:05.said he welcomed what he called Mr Speaker, I also welcome the
:14:06. > :14:16.Lord Chancellor's fifth U-ttrn. Will he clear up the mess
:14:17. > :14:19.his government has caused r`ther When will the charge be repdaled
:14:20. > :14:22.by primary legislation? Why is it still being
:14:23. > :14:25.imposed up to Christmas? Will the charges already imposed be
:14:26. > :14:27.remitted and will the magistrates who
:14:28. > :14:30.resigned in protest be reinstated? And will he tell us the cost
:14:31. > :14:33.of the debacle and how much it adds to the ?15 million he has already
:14:34. > :14:36.wasted on privatisation of fines That was something
:14:37. > :14:41.of a multifaceted question but I think we can rely upon the Secretary
:14:42. > :14:44.of State to respond with You're quite right,
:14:45. > :14:48.there were more questions in that particular sally thdn in
:14:49. > :14:50.a multiple-choice maths GCSD paper. All I will say is that we moved
:14:51. > :14:55.as expeditiously as possibld in order to suspend the charge and the
:14:56. > :14:58.best legal advice available to the department suggested that this was
:14:59. > :15:00.the most effective way of rdlieving magistrates
:15:01. > :15:02.of the obligation to impose it. Secure colleges, criminal court
:15:03. > :15:04.charges, court fine enforcelent Could the Justice Secretary lay
:15:05. > :15:16.before the House the full costs And which minister is responsible
:15:17. > :15:21.for the waste of public mondy? The point about each
:15:22. > :15:26.of the policies that she mentioned is that we took the decision both
:15:27. > :15:29.in the national interest and Many magistrates resigned over
:15:30. > :15:33.the fees which the Secretarx Partly because they felt people were
:15:34. > :15:39.pleading guilty when they were innocent bec`use the
:15:40. > :15:43.fees otherwise would be excdssive. What estimate did the Secretary
:15:44. > :15:46.of State make in taking this decision of how many innocent people
:15:47. > :15:48.pleaded guilty during that time I take account of
:15:49. > :15:54.the honourable gentleman's point. I think, in the circumstancds,
:15:55. > :15:58.I think we have to let But every single magistrate who
:15:59. > :16:03.felt, for whatever reason, that they couldn't sit on the bench
:16:04. > :16:06.because of that policy, I would like to invite to rdconsider
:16:07. > :16:17.and revisit their decision. You're watching our round-up of the
:16:18. > :16:20.day in the Commons and the Lords. To be Northern?
:16:21. > :16:23.Or not to be Northern? Should Shakespeare be
:16:24. > :16:27.brought to Merseyside? David Cameron is trying to get
:16:28. > :16:30.a new deal for Britain in Etrope, as the clocks ticks
:16:31. > :16:32.down to that in/out referendum. A main aim of the Prime Minhster's
:16:33. > :16:34.is to secure a new arrangement where EU ligrants
:16:35. > :16:38.would have their access to benefits But a senior economist has told MPs
:16:39. > :16:45.that curbing welfare for migrants will in fact do little to stop the
:16:46. > :16:51.flow of people coming to thd UK Sir Stephen Nickell was
:16:52. > :17:07.before the Treasury Committde. In part of the negotiations of EU
:17:08. > :17:09.membership would be to restrict migrants to in EU benefits. The
:17:10. > :17:13.thing on a practical level, that will make any difference? Wdlcome in
:17:14. > :17:21.my opinion, not much. OK. You want to expand on that?
:17:22. > :17:27.You mean, make a precise quantification? Because the answer
:17:28. > :17:31.is, I have no idea, because I have not investigated it. Is there any
:17:32. > :17:36.evidence that people will bd less enthusiastic about coming to the UK
:17:37. > :17:39.if this is dropped as a restlt of tax credits being removed?
:17:40. > :17:44.Is there any evidence to support that?
:17:45. > :17:49.Well, the answer is, in gendral there is evidence which suggests
:17:50. > :17:57.that migration flows are influenced by the difference between what you
:17:58. > :18:02.are able to get in the country of origin and what you are abld to get
:18:03. > :18:08.in the country you migrate to. Yes, there is quite a lot of evidence
:18:09. > :18:12.that the differential in job opportunities and pay is a
:18:13. > :18:13.significant factor in deterlining migration flows.
:18:14. > :18:15.The session looked at the Chancellor's apparent ?2
:18:16. > :18:22.billion windfall he revealed in his Autumn Statement.
:18:23. > :18:28.So, I don't expect the Chancellor will thank me, but it seems to me
:18:29. > :18:32.that you have given the Chancellor a windfall by adjusting your forecast,
:18:33. > :18:35.which has been spent in adv`nce We know that there is a great degree of
:18:36. > :18:42.uncertainty around the government's ability to continue financing
:18:43. > :18:46.through the Guild markets, `nd interest rates are lower for longer,
:18:47. > :18:50.and yet you do not judge... I think we have reached the point where we
:18:51. > :18:53.accept you do not judge the consequences of those interdst rates
:18:54. > :18:57.advice you would like to offer the advice you would like to offer the
:18:58. > :19:00.Chancellor on the fiscal responsibility side about what he
:19:01. > :19:03.should be doing in the contdxt of this uncertainty?
:19:04. > :19:09.I'm sure that what he will have done, one would hope, would be to
:19:10. > :19:12.recognise the uncertainties and not merely the part of the central
:19:13. > :19:17.forecast in making the spending and other policy decisions that he did
:19:18. > :19:21.in the Autumn Statement. Thdre has been a windfall that he has spent.
:19:22. > :19:27.You only have to look at evdry previous Autumn Statement to see
:19:28. > :19:29.what has been done, to see that sometimes those forecasts go in your
:19:30. > :19:33.favour and sometimes against. They often move by larger amounts than
:19:34. > :19:35.this one has. I am sure in his mind, and those who advise him, they will
:19:36. > :19:37.wish to way that considerathon. One of the biggest news events over
:19:38. > :19:40.the last 12 months has been the mass movement of refugeds
:19:41. > :19:42.across the European continent, escaping conflicts in the
:19:43. > :19:44.Middle East and North Afric`. The United Nations called it
:19:45. > :19:47.the biggest refugee and migration The images of young children caught
:19:48. > :19:53.up in the crisis have played a particularly strong role
:19:54. > :19:57.in influencing pubic attitudes. In the Commons, the Liberal Democrat
:19:58. > :20:00.leader Tim Farron called for Britain to give asylum seeker status to up
:20:01. > :20:04.to 3,000 unaccompanied children from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea
:20:05. > :20:22.who've reached the European Union. Children in this situation become
:20:23. > :20:26.separated from their relatives for a number of reasons. Some havd lost
:20:27. > :20:29.family members in their countries of origin, or those closest to them
:20:30. > :20:32.have been victims of violence, leading them with little choice but
:20:33. > :20:37.to flee and to flee a loan. Others have lost their family membdrs en
:20:38. > :20:41.route, through illness or drowning. In their desperation, these children
:20:42. > :20:45.put themselves in the hands of people smugglers, and criminal
:20:46. > :20:49.gangs, to facilitate their journeys. Save The Children in Greece and
:20:50. > :20:52.Italy have spoken to many children about the abuse, exploitation,
:20:53. > :20:56.physical and sexual violencd they have experienced during the long
:20:57. > :21:00.travel to Europe. This is not a far-off problem, to be dealt with by
:21:01. > :21:05.distant governments. It is here in Europe on our own shores. It is our
:21:06. > :21:07.responsibility to protect all refugees, and not more so than
:21:08. > :21:11.orphaned children with no other hope. It is shameful that this
:21:12. > :21:16.government has so far ignordd these children, and it is time thdy did
:21:17. > :21:20.the right thing and help thdm. 000 children is just a small part of the
:21:21. > :21:23.overall number, certainly slall enough for our local authorhties to
:21:24. > :21:26.handle, given the appropriate resources and support, but ht will
:21:27. > :21:28.make all the difference to the lives of every one of these desperate
:21:29. > :21:29.youngsters who deserve our help Now, say the word
:21:30. > :21:31."Shakespeare" and we don't immediately think of Merseyside
:21:32. > :21:33.nor indeed do we associate the playwright particularly with
:21:34. > :21:36.the North of England. The Government says it supports
:21:37. > :21:41.plans for a Shakespeare The`tre In fact,
:21:42. > :21:45.the Shakespeare North Trust wants to re-build a theatre in Knowsley, in
:21:46. > :21:49.Merseyside, where plays werd first The project's got the support of
:21:50. > :21:55.Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Helen In Westminster Hall,
:21:56. > :22:01.one of the area's MPs said ht would have economic benefits not just
:22:02. > :22:14.for the locality but This project has the capacity to
:22:15. > :22:21.create a Shakespearean triangle with Stratford and London. As such, the
:22:22. > :22:25.Playhouse in Prescott will be a unique -- will be unique as the only
:22:26. > :22:29.replica of this indoor Jacobean court theatre in the world. It will
:22:30. > :22:34.be the site of the only actor training programme in Shakespearean
:22:35. > :22:40.performance practice in the UK. It would be a leading public theatre,
:22:41. > :22:48.with a student programme at its core, and a purpose to realhse one
:22:49. > :22:54.of the UK's premier cultural assets. Perhaps I can conclude, Sir Edward,
:22:55. > :23:01.with some words from Hamlet. By way of a request to the Linister.
:23:02. > :23:06.Speak the speech, I pray yot, as I have pronounced it to you, tripping
:23:07. > :23:12.Lee, on the tongue. But if xou mouth it, as many of our players do, I had
:23:13. > :23:17.as leith the town crier spoke my lines. Nor do not Saudi air too much
:23:18. > :23:25.with your hands us, but use all gently. -- saw the air. We look
:23:26. > :23:29.forward to the Minister's gdntle response. I would urge the Linister
:23:30. > :23:32.to empty his pockets and his purses, and whatever you can find should go
:23:33. > :23:35.forward. There are many local
:23:36. > :23:39.philanthropists, I understand, who would help to make this happen, and
:23:40. > :23:46.a little from the government would go a long way. Thank you.
:23:47. > :23:50.Well, I hear what the honourable lady says, and I commend her for
:23:51. > :23:54.making those remarks, given the sore throat which she clearly has, and I
:23:55. > :23:58.would obviously add the namds that she read out, the supporters of the
:23:59. > :24:10.project, alongside, for exalple Sir Paul McCartney, Cherie Blair, David
:24:11. > :24:15.Alton, Clive Owen, Trudie Styler, among many others. I should say of
:24:16. > :24:18.course, to be, or not to be, that is the question. But we hope it will be
:24:19. > :24:22.that this important project the ground. It is a great pleastre to
:24:23. > :24:27.speak about it, about the proposal for this theatre. The Shakespeare
:24:28. > :24:31.North project in Knowsley h`s been prepared by the Shakespeare North
:24:32. > :24:37.Trust, and it has been a project that has been long in gestation A
:24:38. > :24:42.quote from A Midsummer's Night's Dream, the course of true love never
:24:43. > :24:46.did run smooth, and this project cannot simply be wished into
:24:47. > :24:53.existence overnight. But I do think it is an exciting project, `nd I
:24:54. > :24:56.hope to stay close to it, now and in the future, because a lot of hard
:24:57. > :24:58.work has gone into it, and ht deserves to succeed.
:24:59. > :25:00.The newest Member of Parliament has taken his seat
:25:01. > :25:04.Following the death of Mich`el Meacher, the subsequent by-dlection
:25:05. > :25:07.in Oldham West last week resulted in victory for Jim McMahon.
:25:08. > :25:12.As he entered the chamber, Jim McMahon was flanked by two
:25:13. > :25:15.of his fellow Labour MPs from Greater Manchester,
:25:16. > :25:20.Mr McMahon, a university technician, has been a councillor in Oldham
:25:21. > :25:24.for 12 years, the leader of the council for the last four.
:25:25. > :25:28.At the by-election, he had ` 10,000-vote majority over the UKIP
:25:29. > :25:38.And that's it for this programme. Do join me for our next round-up.
:25:39. > :25:44.Until then, from me, Keith Macdougall, goodbye.