Nick Clegg

:00:20. > :00:27.Hi. Thanks everyone for joining us here today. For Nick Clegg 's views

:00:28. > :00:30.on the challenges and copper mines is ahead, as Britain prepares to

:00:31. > :00:36.negotiate its departure from the European Union. Before Nick joins

:00:37. > :00:42.us, to make use of the opportunity that you are all here, I thought I

:00:43. > :00:50.would share a few of my own concerns regarding this. Regarding the tech

:00:51. > :00:54.industry. First I wanted to share some insight about the tech

:00:55. > :00:59.industry, it has been growing very fast, in fact twice the rate of the

:01:00. > :01:03.of jobs, not just here in London but of jobs, not just here in London but

:01:04. > :01:11.across the UK, which I know is important and really great. So I

:01:12. > :01:14.think this has been in part thanks to the really open relationship we

:01:15. > :01:19.have had with the rest of the world. Ideas do not stop at Borders. Many

:01:20. > :01:24.of the tech businesses that were founded here were based on ideas

:01:25. > :01:28.that were born elsewhere. I think it is important that we keep our open

:01:29. > :01:32.relationship both with the rest of the world as well as with Europe.

:01:33. > :01:38.Secondly, our industry has been struggling with a massive skill

:01:39. > :01:45.shortage. I know it has been covered in newspapers, and this is not just

:01:46. > :01:54.because there are not enough skills in the economy, but also because we

:01:55. > :01:58.have had, sorry. I'm struggling. This is because, despite the fact we

:01:59. > :02:03.have had easy access to all the top talent that has been available from

:02:04. > :02:09.Europe, I know that we will probably be granted some reprimands to

:02:10. > :02:15.recruit from Europe and the rest of the world but despite the red tape

:02:16. > :02:20.that will bring to the businesses we have, I think we are also diluting

:02:21. > :02:26.really positive recruitment messages we once had. Join us, the open,

:02:27. > :02:33.forward-looking, and a positive country. The country I was really

:02:34. > :02:37.excited to join some 18 years ago. So, I'm sure that Nick has some

:02:38. > :02:42.views on this as well. I hope he has some solutions and ideas on how we

:02:43. > :02:47.can overcome this. And bring out the message that we are open, economy,

:02:48. > :02:51.and a fantastic country. To do that, I hereby handover to Nick Clegg.

:02:52. > :03:02.Please give a warm welcome to Nick Clegg.

:03:03. > :03:16.Thank you Wendy, very much. Thank you to you and your whole team for

:03:17. > :03:20.allowing us to hold this event here today. Thank you all for making your

:03:21. > :03:29.way through the torrential rain to this venue here this morning. The

:03:30. > :03:34.focus of public discussion since the weekend has been quite rightly on

:03:35. > :03:40.how we should go about strengthening our resilience against the hateful

:03:41. > :03:44.terrorist death cult which led to the tragic loss of life in

:03:45. > :03:48.Manchester and London. Today however, I would like to turn

:03:49. > :03:51.attention back to the issues Theresa May claimed were the reason for

:03:52. > :03:56.holding the election and the first place. Brexit. The Prime Minister

:03:57. > :04:02.has insisted that Brexit is, in her words, the one fundamental defining

:04:03. > :04:07.issue of the campaign. She was right to say those words. Because Brexit

:04:08. > :04:12.touches on every aspect of our lives. The way our farmers farm, our

:04:13. > :04:18.fishermen fish, to the increasingly sophisticated EU measures, helping

:04:19. > :04:24.to apprehend would-be criminals across the continent. The problem

:04:25. > :04:29.is, judging by the campaign so far, you would never have guessed that

:04:30. > :04:34.Brexit was important at all. For the last six weeks, both the

:04:35. > :04:39.Conservatives and the Labour Party have colluded to evade all

:04:40. > :04:45.meaningful scrutiny of their Brexit plans, if indeed they have any. All

:04:46. > :04:50.we hear from Theresa May R boasts of her supposed strength and stability,

:04:51. > :04:55.and a wholly spurious claim that every vote for heart will somehow

:04:56. > :04:59.strengthen her negotiating hand in the Brexit talks. All we hear from

:05:00. > :05:03.Jeremy Corbyn is a shopping list of giveaways, accompanied by back of

:05:04. > :05:07.the envelope costings. It's a promise of everything to everyone,

:05:08. > :05:12.when no one is expected to pay for anything. Both of them are indulging

:05:13. > :05:21.in the politics of evasion and fantasy. It would all be laughably

:05:22. > :05:25.absurd if it wasn't now so desperately serious. Because neither

:05:26. > :05:30.the Conservatives nor Labour are being straight with the voters about

:05:31. > :05:36.the crisis that is coming. We are no closer today than we were a month

:05:37. > :05:41.ago to knowing what Mrs May or Mr Corbyn really believe Britain will

:05:42. > :05:46.look like after Brexit. Get the brutal truth is that both of them

:05:47. > :05:50.have already made a fateful choices about Britain's future, while

:05:51. > :05:58.refusing to explain their choices to the British people. Strip away the

:05:59. > :06:04.contrasts in tone and differences in language, and a striking reality

:06:05. > :06:10.emerges. Both the Conservative and Labour positions on Brexit are now

:06:11. > :06:15.more or less identical. Paul Britain out of the customs union and the

:06:16. > :06:18.single market. Abruptly bring an end to freedom of movement. Denied the

:06:19. > :06:25.people any chance to decide on the final view. They are in total

:06:26. > :06:30.agreement. This identikit approach to Brexit is hardly unexpected,

:06:31. > :06:34.after all, Labour voted with unseemly haste to vote to trigger

:06:35. > :06:39.Article 50 and start the clock counting towards Theresa May's hard

:06:40. > :06:42.Brexit. Like the Conservatives, they also failed to vote to guarantee the

:06:43. > :06:50.rights of EU citizens when they had the chance in Parliament. So, in an

:06:51. > :06:55.election where we were told that there was a clear choice about to

:06:56. > :06:59.deeply contrasting visions, about the context between Labour and Tory

:07:00. > :07:03.leaders with nothing in common, the truth is that there has been a pack

:07:04. > :07:12.of silence on Brexit between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. It is one of

:07:13. > :07:15.the most cynical acts of political collusion between the two larger

:07:16. > :07:19.parties in a generation. And it has made a mockery of Theresa May's

:07:20. > :07:26.insistence that this is a general election about Brexit. Instead, with

:07:27. > :07:31.no attempt to discuss the detail and no effort to explain her approach,

:07:32. > :07:36.Theresa May resorts the nation to believe in Brexit. Fabricates an EU

:07:37. > :07:44.plot to punish Britain, and blithely insists that they vote for her will

:07:45. > :07:48.bring about a better deal. Well, if meaningless sloganeering and faintly

:07:49. > :07:51.paranoid anti-EU outbursts are all it takes to secure a good Brexit

:07:52. > :07:58.deal, then Theresa May will do Britain proud. But by choosing the

:07:59. > :08:00.hardest of all Brexit, by refusing to prepare the British public for

:08:01. > :08:06.the necessary compromises that lie ahead, and by posturing as Europe's

:08:07. > :08:11.enemy, rather than the friend we so clearly are and should be, Theresa

:08:12. > :08:18.May has set our country on the most damaging course imaginable. Our

:08:19. > :08:25.country cannot thrive without a strong economy. It is quite clear

:08:26. > :08:30.that we can't have a strong economy and an extreme Brexit. Just look at

:08:31. > :08:36.the evidence, even if Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn refused to. The

:08:37. > :08:41.evidence that Britain should brace itself for a painful Brexit slump is

:08:42. > :08:45.accumulating by the day. Voters are already aware that the cost free

:08:46. > :08:53.Brexit they were promised is off the table. Remember the ?350 million a

:08:54. > :08:55.week for the NHS? The VAT cuts, the instant solution to immigration?

:08:56. > :09:02.Theresa May would rather you did not. Instead, the grip of a growing

:09:03. > :09:07.Brexit squeeze on peoples income and public services tightens the day.

:09:08. > :09:12.Last week, we learned the grim news that while the UK was the

:09:13. > :09:16.fastest-growing economy in the G-7 in 2016, in the first quarter of

:09:17. > :09:23.this year, we are now the joint slowest. With Italy. GDP growth,

:09:24. > :09:32.0.7% at the end of last year, has slowed to 0.2% in the opening

:09:33. > :09:38.quarter of 2017. The economy is nearing a standstill. Since June

:09:39. > :09:43.2015, sterling has suffered a dramatic 20% fall against the euro,

:09:44. > :09:47.and a 19% fall against the dollar. I direct consequence of the

:09:48. > :09:51.uncertainty in the run-up to the referendum, the result of the vote,

:09:52. > :09:56.and the subsequent failure of this government to commit to staying in

:09:57. > :10:01.the single market. Inflation which registered at zero at the time of

:10:02. > :10:06.the referendum today stands at 2.7%, the highest level since September

:10:07. > :10:11.2013, and is predicted to go higher. With average earnings growth failure

:10:12. > :10:17.to keep up the prices, consumers are already feeling the Brexit squeeze.

:10:18. > :10:22.Price-wise, energy bills, petrol, and clothes. It's enough to make

:10:23. > :10:27.anyone need a fortifying glass of wine. Last week, it was reported

:10:28. > :10:31.that the average bottle of a price of wine is at its highest price ever

:10:32. > :10:35.as well. As thousands of families prepare for their summer holidays

:10:36. > :10:39.abroad, the devaluation of the pound will hit them in the pocket too.

:10:40. > :10:43.Everything paid for in euros, everything paid for in dollars, and

:10:44. > :10:48.accommodation -- from accommodation to ice cream, will be more

:10:49. > :10:51.expensive. The economic malaise goes further. House prices have fallen

:10:52. > :10:56.for the third month in a row, the first time that has happened since

:10:57. > :11:00.the height of the financial crisis in 2009. Inequality is on the rise

:11:01. > :11:08.once again, as a combination of weak growth and Conservative cuts to

:11:09. > :11:11.working age benefits starts to bite. The resolution foundation forecasts

:11:12. > :11:17.that the wealthiest households will be ?2100 a year better off by 2021,

:11:18. > :11:22.but the middle third of households by income will see their money

:11:23. > :11:28.stagnate, and the bottom third will lose 20% of their income or ?1200 a

:11:29. > :11:32.year. This, I should add, stands in stark contrast to the distribution

:11:33. > :11:37.record of the Coalition government, where, because of Lib Dem measures

:11:38. > :11:40.on taxation and I'll veto on gratuitously aggressive conservative

:11:41. > :11:45.welfare measures, inequality remained broadly stable.

:11:46. > :11:50.As people begin to feel the Brexit squeeze they'll notice the Public

:11:51. > :11:55.Services are another victim of Theresa May's extreme Brexit. Last

:11:56. > :11:58.November, the office of budget responsibility we vealed a Brexit

:11:59. > :12:05.black hole in the public finances. -- revealed. The Chancellor's had to

:12:06. > :12:09.borrow an extra ?59 billion to plug the gap left by slower growth and

:12:10. > :12:15.lower immigration in the wake of the referendum vote. That's ?15 billion

:12:16. > :12:20.a year that could be used to rescue our ailing NHS or pay for more

:12:21. > :12:27.teachers. Something will have to give. Be it further cuts or rising

:12:28. > :12:30.taxes, to give our Public Services the funding they so desperately

:12:31. > :12:35.need, something which the Conservatives have refused to rule

:12:36. > :12:42.out. And remember, this is all before Brexit actually happens. We

:12:43. > :12:48.are merely feeling the first shock waves of what is to come. So if

:12:49. > :12:51.people up and down the country are prepared to vote on Thursday, they

:12:52. > :12:57.should be made aware that just around the corner is a Brexit slump

:12:58. > :13:05.which will affect each and every one of us. Theresa May's slavishly loyal

:13:06. > :13:14.foot soldiers will tell you that what lies ahead is an unpatriotic

:13:15. > :13:20.case of saboteurs. These aren't predictions. They can't forecast,

:13:21. > :13:33.they are simply the cold facts of Britain's economic reality today. In

:13:34. > :13:39.May last year, an official Treasury forecast calculated that we'd suffer

:13:40. > :13:47.a ?36 billion annual loss to the public finances after 15 years, even

:13:48. > :13:51.if we manage to strike a post-Brexit bilateral trade deal of the type the

:13:52. > :13:54.Conservatives favour. No deal meaning that we'll fall back on

:13:55. > :14:01.World Trade Organisation rules, would, according to that same

:14:02. > :14:05.Treasury analysis mean a loss of ?45 billion a year, thanks to reductions

:14:06. > :14:12.in trade and the impact on growth and tax revenues. To be clear, I'm

:14:13. > :14:16.not making a judgment here about the supposed opportunities created by

:14:17. > :14:22.Brexit and whether they'll materialise. Those were priced into

:14:23. > :14:27.the Treasury calculations even in the best case scenario a good trade

:14:28. > :14:38.deal still leaves us far, far worse off than we are today. ?45 billion

:14:39. > :14:43.is more than the entire schools budget for England. To plug a gap

:14:44. > :14:46.like that in public finances we'd need to raise the basic rate of

:14:47. > :14:51.income tax by 10p in the pound or the make cuts to Public Services and

:14:52. > :14:58.the salaries of those who work for them on an unimaginable scale. This

:14:59. > :15:03.is what Theresa May means when she casually threatens to walk away from

:15:04. > :15:09.the negotiating table. No deal isn't a cuddly alternative to a poor deal.

:15:10. > :15:14.It's far worse. It's a disaster for Britain. The Treasury figures are

:15:15. > :15:17.also an indictment of the central objection of Theresa May's

:15:18. > :15:22.negotiating strategy to walk away from Margaret Thatcher's single

:15:23. > :15:26.market. This decision alone carries, according to the same Treasury

:15:27. > :15:30.calculations, a long-term price tag of ?16 billion a year. For that

:15:31. > :15:35.money, you could give every hospital in the UK a ?12 million cash

:15:36. > :15:41.injection or provide the average school with an extra ?500,000. I

:15:42. > :15:46.challenge David Davis on the official Treasury numbers on

:15:47. > :15:50.Question Time last week. He refused. David Davis himself said the

:15:51. > :15:56.Government hasn't commissioned any fresh analysis of the risks. Either

:15:57. > :16:00.they remain the official Government calculations in which case they are

:16:01. > :16:04.a stark warning as to how much Public Services will suffer, or the

:16:05. > :16:09.Government no longer believes the figures to be accurate, in which

:16:10. > :16:13.case Theresa May's failure to undertake her own analysis of the

:16:14. > :16:19.cost of Brexit is the height of irresponsibility. To her, it seems,

:16:20. > :16:24.details don't matter. The compromises are of no concern. The

:16:25. > :16:29.damage, the inevitable damage, a mere distraction. All we must do is

:16:30. > :16:36.blindly trust her to negotiate on our behalf. After a campaign that's

:16:37. > :16:41.been more weak than strong, and more clumsy than stable, Theresa May's

:16:42. > :16:45.brittle performance, notably the embarrassing U-turn on the dementia

:16:46. > :16:49.tax and the bizarre accusation of a plot to influence the election in

:16:50. > :16:54.Brussels, has instead left many people questioning whether she is

:16:55. > :16:58.indeed a suitable candidate to lead Britain in the toughest, most

:16:59. > :17:06.complex negotiations it's ever faced. Across the capital, neigh's

:17:07. > :17:10.performance over the last six weeks would not have gone unnoticed.

:17:11. > :17:16.Negotiating Brexit is going to be a tightrope act. It requires subtlety,

:17:17. > :17:23.creativity and the ability to win friends, above all it requires sure

:17:24. > :17:27.footedness to keep on top of dozens of simultaneous interlocking

:17:28. > :17:33.negotiations. Instead, we are being asked to elect a leader who is

:17:34. > :17:39.unsteady in the limelight, incapable of straight talking and prone to

:17:40. > :17:42.chaotic U-turns. As for Jeremy Corbyn, he continues with his

:17:43. > :17:49.mission to fool voters into believing we can live in a world of

:17:50. > :17:54.free stuff as our economy sinks. And on Brexit. Nothing. Merely the

:17:55. > :17:59.startlingly perceptive observation that no deal will be bad for the

:18:00. > :18:06.country and a vague promise that it would bring a different style to the

:18:07. > :18:13.negotiations. The country faces up to the incredibly complex

:18:14. > :18:19.challenges, we face so much more from the man and woman who leads us

:18:20. > :18:27.into the talks. Instead, only a few days before polling day, the Brexit

:18:28. > :18:33.unknowns just continue to mount up. Take the National Health Service. It

:18:34. > :18:37.relies on thousands of highly skilled nurses and doctors from

:18:38. > :18:46.non-EU countries who come here to help all of us. Yet they tell us

:18:47. > :18:50.they no longer feel welcome and are considering returning home. To

:18:51. > :18:53.replace the Portuguese midwives and Italian nurses, would cost millions

:18:54. > :18:58.of pounds. Have we heard a Brexit plan for the NHS from the

:18:59. > :19:06.Conservatives or from Labour? Not a word. What will immigration look

:19:07. > :19:09.like after Brexit? Theresa May still claims to her ill logical pledge to

:19:10. > :19:16.drive net immigration down to the tens of thousands. But what will it

:19:17. > :19:19.mean for our economy when the German engineers, Danish architects,

:19:20. > :19:23.Lithuanian fruit-pickers and Hungarian truck strives two home?

:19:24. > :19:33.Without a credible plan to replace them, what effect will this have on

:19:34. > :19:36.our economy? Not a clue. Theresa May's vowed to pull Britain out of

:19:37. > :19:42.the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, a decision which

:19:43. > :19:50.means we would no longer have access to vital EU-wide databases of

:19:51. > :19:54.criminal activity. Just last year, when Theresa May made perfectly

:19:55. > :20:00.rational arguments against leaving Europe, she warned that being in the

:20:01. > :20:07.UK makes us more secure from crying and terrorism. She herself as now

:20:08. > :20:14.exacerbated that risk by refusing to abide by the rulings of the ECJ. So

:20:15. > :20:18.wrsh the contingency plans when the police forces find themselves unable

:20:19. > :20:29.to check the databases of 28 EU countries at the touch of a button?

:20:30. > :20:33.If only she'd told us, maybe we could judge for ourselvesment how is

:20:34. > :20:38.the Government preparing for the moment when products will for the

:20:39. > :20:52.first time since the 1970s have to go through customs checks. When

:20:53. > :20:59.every joint of meat and car seat has to be accompanied by forms to show

:21:00. > :21:13.they comply with regulations. What about reassurances? What can the

:21:14. > :21:16.Government offer? Again - nothing. Instead, business leaders are

:21:17. > :21:21.invited into Whitehall to meet ministers who sit there and just

:21:22. > :21:25.pallet the Prime Minister's empty slogans back to them. I remember

:21:26. > :21:30.that David Cameron, Theresa May's predecessor and a man I worked

:21:31. > :21:35.closely with for five years, was often dismissed as an essay crisis

:21:36. > :21:39.Prime Minister, a man who preferred to win it and Leigh things until the

:21:40. > :21:47.last minute. Whether that was fair or not, most of the time, the essays

:21:48. > :21:50.emerged in the end. Even a short essay by Theresa May on how she

:21:51. > :21:56.intendsth intends to meet the challenges of Brexit would be a

:21:57. > :22:01.massive step forward. Not only has she failed to produce the Government

:22:02. > :22:05.equivalent of an essay, she's barely produced a coherent paragraph in one

:22:06. > :22:14.whole year. No wonder David Davis, now boasts that over 12 months he's

:22:15. > :22:19.produced a sum total of 100 pages of notes about Brexit. At that rate,

:22:20. > :22:23.the Brexit negotiations are undertaking which will involve

:22:24. > :22:26.hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of documents will barely

:22:27. > :22:35.get to first base by the middle of this century. For all these reasons,

:22:36. > :22:40.I issue this stark warning today. As people up and down the country

:22:41. > :22:46.prepare to vote on Thursday, they should be aware they'll soon be the

:22:47. > :22:53.victims of an act of national self-harm imposed on us by Theresa

:22:54. > :22:56.May and Jeremy Corbyn which will affect each and every one of us.

:22:57. > :22:59.Whatever happens in the relative fortunes of the Conservative and

:23:00. > :23:06.Labour Parties this Thursday, the country will be trapped on a path

:23:07. > :23:12.which if left unchallenged will remorsefully lead us to a Britain of

:23:13. > :23:18.lower trade, less prosperity, rising prices, a weakened NHS and

:23:19. > :23:24.underlying security. It is a bleak prospect and a grim future. It is

:23:25. > :23:29.the future Theresa May's chosen for us by setting us on the riskiest

:23:30. > :23:34.possible path to Brexit, a path which Jeremy Corbyn shamefully has

:23:35. > :23:38.now fully endorsed. But we can choose the different future because

:23:39. > :23:42.this is not a future I want for this great country. It is not a future I

:23:43. > :23:48.want for my own children. It's not a future that the many young people in

:23:49. > :23:53.this country voted for last June. So while Britain may stand on the brink

:23:54. > :23:57.of a self-destructive Brexit, we can stop it happening. There is a way to

:23:58. > :24:01.change course. There is a way to steer us away from the rocks which

:24:02. > :24:07.can already be seen on the mere horizon. What this country needs are

:24:08. > :24:15.Members of Parliament who're prepared to be open about voters

:24:16. > :24:18.about the risk of compromises ahead. Members of Parliament who are

:24:19. > :24:21.prepared to hold this Government to account as it drives us towards this

:24:22. > :24:25.hard Brexit. Members of Parliament who'll fight every step of the way

:24:26. > :24:31.to keep Britain in the single market and the customs union. And, at the

:24:32. > :24:37.end of the process, Members of Parliament who'll offer you a chance

:24:38. > :24:40.to vote on the final deal. I have no intention of giving up and neither

:24:41. > :24:45.do the Liberal Democrats, because only the Liberal Democrats will

:24:46. > :24:51.provide the opposition to Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn that this

:24:52. > :24:57.country so desperately needs. This election really is about Brexit.

:24:58. > :25:05.Just don't let it be the Brexit of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. There

:25:06. > :25:10.are three days left to stop the Brexit crisis. Vote for a brighter

:25:11. > :25:13.future for Britain, vote for the Liberal Democrats on June 8th. Thank

:25:14. > :25:25.you very much for listening. APPLAUSE.

:25:26. > :25:54.Thank you very much. Time for some questions and comments.

:25:55. > :26:03.Rob Perry for the independence, assuming it is David Davis

:26:04. > :26:12.negotiating in two weeks' time and given the tea parties are very

:26:13. > :26:16.different stance, how soon do you expect the talks to collapse, the

:26:17. > :26:23.thing that is likely by summer, two weeks, two days? I can't put a time

:26:24. > :26:27.frame on it but I have to confess in the immediate aftermath of the

:26:28. > :26:32.referendum I didn't really, it didn't really crossed my mind that

:26:33. > :26:37.there might be a collapse in the talks will because it is such an

:26:38. > :26:42.extraordinarily destructive thing to do not just for ourselves before the

:26:43. > :26:46.rest of Europe. It is infinitely dispiriting that a year later the

:26:47. > :26:50.chance of a collapsing are much higher than I ever could have

:26:51. > :27:01.possibly imagined. That has only been confirmed, a leader, a proper

:27:02. > :27:06.leader of a country would use this election campaign is not just to

:27:07. > :27:12.secure a mandate on Thursday to get a majority but also to explain and

:27:13. > :27:18.prepare the British public for the huge compromise, the unpopular

:27:19. > :27:25.compromises that are inevitable if you want to deal. And yet Theresa

:27:26. > :27:30.May has made no attempt whatsoever to prepare people for what is to

:27:31. > :27:42.come and that is a spectacular failure of leadership, she is

:27:43. > :27:48.digestive close to 4 million Ukip voters, she does what the editor of

:27:49. > :27:58.the Daily Mail tells her to these days as far as I can tell, she is in

:27:59. > :28:04.the hands of some pretty zany zealots whose best interest is in

:28:05. > :28:14.the press and I don't see what flexibility she has got. Not just

:28:15. > :28:18.little compromises that they compromises why should the 20 other

:28:19. > :28:24.Member states jump through the hoops, ... What is the most likely

:28:25. > :28:41.issue? And accumulation of issues. The fundamental contradictions of

:28:42. > :28:44.Theresa May's making. You cannot say we won't abide by European rules or

:28:45. > :29:00.we will have effortless access to your databases. We want to continue

:29:01. > :29:02.to participate in various unspecified EU cooperation

:29:03. > :29:07.programmes that we don't want to pay anything for the tab when we leave,

:29:08. > :29:12.he cannot do these things. Any one of these could be a catalyst for

:29:13. > :29:15.collapse but it is the failure to entertain any compromise of

:29:16. > :29:20.flexibility on behalf of Theresa May and the longer the general election

:29:21. > :29:25.goes on, far from being a leader who sees the big picture, she has become

:29:26. > :29:28.an narrow minded leader who is playing for the shorts, small-time

:29:29. > :29:31.tactical advantages from one day to the next which will not get us the

:29:32. > :29:46.deal and the rest of the EU need. The Lib Dems have focused on

:29:47. > :29:54.Brexit... INAUDIBLE

:29:55. > :29:57.The Lib Dems have focused this campaign on Brexit, some say it has

:29:58. > :30:05.almost been a single issue campaign and security is dominating again in

:30:06. > :30:11.the last 48 hours, how worried are you, you alluded to it that the Lib

:30:12. > :30:16.Dems message is getting through? That is to judge on Thursday. We

:30:17. > :30:19.didn't choose the timing of the election, we didn't choose to

:30:20. > :30:25.declare that this election was all about Brexit, that was Theresa May,

:30:26. > :30:32.we responded to her challenge about Brexit so the irony is, we were told

:30:33. > :30:37.by their own Brexit is the be all and end all of the election and then

:30:38. > :30:42.they run for the hills, we are the only ones trying to level with the

:30:43. > :30:48.British people and by the way those choices directly affect our ability

:30:49. > :30:53.to keep ourselves so. For five year long years in government and I was

:30:54. > :30:58.receiving daily briefings, our ability to monitor people coming

:30:59. > :31:04.into Europe from conflicts in Libya, Syria and elsewhere and then to

:31:05. > :31:11.check their movements across the European union is essential to keep

:31:12. > :31:17.this from -- keep us safe from further attacks. There is a monopoly

:31:18. > :31:21.of measures from the Schengen information service, probably one of

:31:22. > :31:28.the most sophisticated databases of its kind, to Euro poll run by a

:31:29. > :31:32.Brit, all of these measures are essential to our safety and yet we

:31:33. > :31:36.have had a six-week long campaign and the Prime Minister of this

:31:37. > :31:40.country still can't explain to you how she would keep these measures in

:31:41. > :31:45.place and she patronises you and all of us with these platitudes are so

:31:46. > :31:49.of course we will find a deal. It is legally impossible for 27 other

:31:50. > :31:52.countries to share data on a would-be criminals and terrorists

:31:53. > :31:56.with us if we're not prepared to continue to abide by the data

:31:57. > :32:02.protection rules of those databases. It is not a question of people want

:32:03. > :32:09.to, of course everybody wants to cooperate, she is making what

:32:10. > :32:13.everybody wants a legal impossibility and I find it amazing

:32:14. > :32:17.that no politician is a media have extracted a meaningful response in

:32:18. > :32:21.detail from the Prime Minister to such an important challenge to our

:32:22. > :32:32.security and future. CROWD CLAPPING

:32:33. > :32:37.Yes it was the Prime Minister who called the election but it was the

:32:38. > :32:40.Lib Dems decision to focus on Brexit, my question is are you

:32:41. > :32:47.concerned that the campaign has been to narrow? What I tried to

:32:48. > :32:54.explain... When the two parties Lochore 's and in an unspoken way to

:32:55. > :33:00.do so in an active collusion whether you choose not to speak about

:33:01. > :33:06.Brexit, it is like a double deceit, they don't want to talk about Brexit

:33:07. > :33:12.and they don't want to talk about the economy, Jeremy Corbyn and

:33:13. > :33:16.Theresa May here in my view are less interested and less knowledgeable

:33:17. > :33:20.about the economy than any other to leading members of the labour and

:33:21. > :33:25.Conservative Party leading memory. Of course one that happens it is

:33:26. > :33:31.difficult further participation to intrude when they have this mutually

:33:32. > :33:34.reinforcing interest not to talk about Brexit but it is a double

:33:35. > :33:40.conceits, they don't want to talk about Brexit and livelihoods so of

:33:41. > :33:46.course it is difficult, does it mean it is wrong? Of course not, someone

:33:47. > :33:51.surely needs to raise the alarm to the British people about what will

:33:52. > :34:02.affect them and their families in the next few years. It might be a

:34:03. > :34:06.naive question but why is it Brexit being dealt with by Partizan, why is

:34:07. > :34:12.it that when everybody went to the polls about Brexit they thought it

:34:13. > :34:19.was cross-party, it seemed like it didn't matter which party and now

:34:20. > :34:25.Brexit is happening, why is it Theresa May who's going to be doing

:34:26. > :34:29.it, not the finest minds of all the parties because this is a huge thing

:34:30. > :34:37.for the country and why aren't all the best minds in the best

:34:38. > :34:39.spokespeople are going to Brexit? Because of the political choice

:34:40. > :34:44.being made, Theresa May could have reached out to the 40% of people who

:34:45. > :34:51.voted remain, she could discern which would have been an accurate

:34:52. > :34:57.reflection and description, I will deliver Brexit, I'm duty-bound to do

:34:58. > :35:03.so, she might have said Brexit means Brexit then she could have them said

:35:04. > :35:07.that she was mindful that it is due to as the incumbent number ten, not

:35:08. > :35:14.only to govern for the Labour to go on for tomorrow, particularly to

:35:15. > :35:17.govern the younger generations, over 70% of whom voted the different

:35:18. > :35:24.future. In keeping with that duty with the long-term future I will

:35:25. > :35:27.takes out of the European Union but doing it in the least economically

:35:28. > :35:35.destructive way possible and I want to work with other parties and find

:35:36. > :35:39.a way to return the closest possible participation even as we leave the

:35:40. > :35:41.political institutions. I probably would have grumbled and people are

:35:42. > :35:45.the other extreme of grumbled but she would have captured roughly what

:35:46. > :35:56.the centre ground of which is public opinion was. She instead transformed

:35:57. > :36:02.the Conservative Party in the Ukip light party and labour followed in

:36:03. > :36:09.the Woakes alert the dramatic shift to what is an extreme

:36:10. > :36:13.interpretation. It is absurd by the way, imagine if remain had won last

:36:14. > :36:18.year and people like the on the 24th of June so right we have one, we are

:36:19. > :36:23.going to join the euro next Tuesday, we're going to sign up to the

:36:24. > :36:27.European army and drawing showing in next Thursday and anyone who has any

:36:28. > :36:36.problems, how dare you. You saboteurs. You and patriotic

:36:37. > :36:53.traitors. It is extraordinary that we have allowed... Given the post

:36:54. > :36:56.Brexit environment sees Britain needing new trade deals, what

:36:57. > :37:07.appetite do you think there will be from the leadership of the country

:37:08. > :37:12.to sort of sit down publicly allies given what we've seen in the last 24

:37:13. > :37:16.hours were Donald Trump, Theresa May rarely criticising him for his

:37:17. > :37:18.criticism of Siddique Khan and today Boris Johnson was saying the state

:37:19. > :37:34.visit will go ahead as planned. There were subservient in Theresa

:37:35. > :37:44.May's response, but I think one shouldn't underestimate quite how

:37:45. > :37:50.quick the devolution in Britain's status has been in the eyes of other

:37:51. > :37:54.world leaders. Over the last two or three weeks, two of the most

:37:55. > :38:00.powerful men came to visit Europe, the Prime Minister of India and the

:38:01. > :38:07.president of China, they didn't come to the United Kingdom and didn't

:38:08. > :38:14.seek one-to-one meetings with Teresa may, Angela Merkel and the Prime

:38:15. > :38:19.Minister said they would accelerate the talks to a new India EU trade

:38:20. > :38:28.agreements guess what, blocked by Britain in the past, by Theresa May

:38:29. > :38:33.because of her objections to the greater access to Europe's labour

:38:34. > :38:39.market which the Indians wants understandably. You have a world out

:38:40. > :38:45.there which sees the reality is an terms to the way frankly

:38:46. > :38:49.increasingly deluded reality that he get from Boris Johnson and Theresa

:38:50. > :38:53.May, the rest of the world is apparently chewing up according to

:38:54. > :38:57.them to do our bedding and queueing up to give us these effortless trade

:38:58. > :39:02.agreement only give them nothing they give us everything. Hiding the

:39:03. > :39:10.reality that people like Theresa May these trade deals with superpowers

:39:11. > :39:15.like India and then these people come to Europe, it would have been

:39:16. > :39:19.unthinkable a few years ago that the leaders of India and China would

:39:20. > :39:23.come to the European union and wouldn't even bother to seek a

:39:24. > :39:27.meeting will make a trip to London and these people and the

:39:28. > :39:32.Conservative Party can't send us and say they are putting Britain first.

:39:33. > :39:37.They are rapidly shoving the United Kingdom to the back of the queue and

:39:38. > :39:38.it makes me immensely angry because it is a disservice to our children

:39:39. > :39:54.and grandchildren. Just to touch on some points made

:39:55. > :39:59.about security, that there have been a lot of criticism about Theresa May

:40:00. > :40:06.that the cuts that she made to policing, especially as Home

:40:07. > :40:16.Secretary, you are Deputy Prime Minister Betsy actually backed so

:40:17. > :40:23.how much responsibility do you take for the reduction of police numbers

:40:24. > :40:32.and how has that affected their ability now? You are right,... In

:40:33. > :40:39.the immediate aftermath of the firestorm that we were trying out

:40:40. > :40:45.from 2010-15 and since then the Conservatives have continued with

:40:46. > :40:53.further cuts to police numbers, as Tim Farron has explained we now have

:40:54. > :41:01.a plan to the numbers back into policing, in terms of where you put

:41:02. > :41:09.that, and how do you distribute that popped to the different facets? It

:41:10. > :41:14.is now widely understood that if you want to keep their sector there are

:41:15. > :41:21.many different facets of this of course coming European security,

:41:22. > :41:25.military interventions, intelligence gathering is the press United

:41:26. > :41:31.Kingdom are crucially the community policing which is part, only part of

:41:32. > :41:36.important part of the ability to create that network of

:41:37. > :41:43.relationships, the fabric with community leaders, with people and

:41:44. > :41:50.the communities where we know, not always of course but where we know

:41:51. > :41:53.the young man whose minds and hearts are poisoned by this hateful

:41:54. > :41:57.ideology aside, that is clearly an important component and I think it

:41:58. > :42:05.is now beyond arguing that we need to have a good look as a country

:42:06. > :42:17.that's how we replenish the resources for that style.

:42:18. > :42:30.But in hindsight, were those cuts you presided over a mistake? I'm not

:42:31. > :42:36.going -- pretend I pre can redo history. I intervened personally to

:42:37. > :42:44.make sure the savings were not imposed on the schools budget which

:42:45. > :42:48.are now being imposed with some very profound consequences by the

:42:49. > :42:51.Conservative plans. We decided to keep the NHS funding stable. Those

:42:52. > :42:55.were understandable choices at the time. There was a stark difference

:42:56. > :42:58.between our approach and the Conservatives after 2015. They have

:42:59. > :43:04.been in power for the last two years and our plans going forward now are

:43:05. > :43:10.significantly different. REPORTER: Hi, Mr Clegg. The speech

:43:11. > :43:15.you gave was I think fair to say quite statistic heavy. One big

:43:16. > :43:20.criticism of the Remain campaign from people within the campaign,

:43:21. > :43:24.whether it's too statistics based and that it didn't offer any

:43:25. > :43:27.arguments to stay in the EU that appealed to people's feelings and

:43:28. > :43:31.anxieties across the country, do you think the pitch you gave is guilty

:43:32. > :43:36.of the same thing and also the Lib Dems pitch across the campaign? No.

:43:37. > :43:42.I don't buy the idea that we should try and emulate Donald Trump. Ors

:43:43. > :43:45.were still Michael Gove. And ignore all experts and statistics and

:43:46. > :43:52.facts. You know, sometimes it's important to spell out the reality

:43:53. > :43:58.and we have an election campaign. Two leaders, Jeremy Corbyn and

:43:59. > :44:02.Theresa May, who are wholly uninterested in talking about the

:44:03. > :44:06.reality of Brexit, who have no idea what to do about Brexit and are

:44:07. > :44:10.simply not levelling with the British people about the reality of

:44:11. > :44:15.the squeeze on their living standards and on Public Services. I

:44:16. > :44:19.think to try and chase populism by giving up on reason and fact would

:44:20. > :44:26.be a huge mistake. But beyond that, I can't think of a more emotional

:44:27. > :44:31.pitch than saying that we owe it to younger generations to keep them

:44:32. > :44:36.secure, to give them, toe bequeath to them a strong economy,

:44:37. > :44:42.particularly when, and which other that huh democracy's ever done this?

:44:43. > :44:45.We are taking a radical choice against the explicit wishes of those

:44:46. > :44:50.who inhabit the future - the young. I can't think of anything more

:44:51. > :44:55.emotional than trying to do the right thing. It's something we weave

:44:56. > :44:56.together with my known facts about GDP as well.

:44:57. > :45:08.APPLAUSE. You at the back?

:45:09. > :45:14.REPORTER: Thank you, Mr Clegg. You talked about Corbyn. May I ask you

:45:15. > :45:17.to say a bit more about Corbyn. Could you say, since they are being

:45:18. > :45:22.so quiet on the subject, could you fill in the gap here - could you say

:45:23. > :45:28.how you think Corbyn's Brexit would be different from May's Brexit? And

:45:29. > :45:34.since you want us to vote for you, could you say how your Brexit would

:45:35. > :45:42.be different from both Corbyn's and May's? On the latter, we think - by

:45:43. > :45:45.the way, in keeping with proposals put forward by John Redwood and

:45:46. > :45:50.David Davis in the past, we think there should be a fully democratic

:45:51. > :45:53.process. We have voted to leave. There was no description about how

:45:54. > :45:57.we are leavingor what it means for our every day life. The moment we to

:45:58. > :46:04.know that, we believe it's essential the British people have been given a

:46:05. > :46:08.say because they need to be able to compare like with like, the reality

:46:09. > :46:15.of staying with the reality of leaving. The Brexit campaign's so

:46:16. > :46:20.artfully, if cynically withheld from the British people any description

:46:21. > :46:23.of what leaving meant in practice. This's probably the biggest

:46:24. > :46:27.difference and, as you know, we believe it's perfectly possible

:46:28. > :46:32.because it's been done before on numerous occasions to be outside the

:46:33. > :46:35.European Union. But much more closely associated with and

:46:36. > :46:38.participating if its oreconomic arrangements. It's very clear to

:46:39. > :46:43.understand that what Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are saying by ruling

:46:44. > :46:48.out our participation in the single market and ruling out our continued

:46:49. > :46:54.present membership of the customs union. That'll put the UK at a

:46:55. > :47:01.greater distance economically speaking from the largest economic

:47:02. > :47:04.hintering land in countries like Switzerland, Norwayway, Iceland,

:47:05. > :47:10.Turkey. That choice has already been made. We could have chosen, as I

:47:11. > :47:14.described earlier, to say no, we are going to try and remain closely

:47:15. > :47:19.associated economically even if we lose our place at the sort of high

:47:20. > :47:24.table of political institutions of the EU. Those are the big

:47:25. > :47:29.differences. As for Corbyn. Look, I don't know, you will need to ask

:47:30. > :47:32.him, I don't get the impression he ever particularly believed in

:47:33. > :47:36.Britain's membership of the EU in the first place. He was so

:47:37. > :47:43.lamentably lukewarm in the referendum, to the point of

:47:44. > :47:48.invizibility. He's now displaying, as far as I can make out, absolutely

:47:49. > :47:51.no understanding, he's had a year as well, no understanding about what

:47:52. > :47:54.happens next. I read an interview coming down from Sheffield on the

:47:55. > :47:59.train this morning, just this morning he was saying, we want to

:48:00. > :48:04.negotiate to get tariff-free access. Who is not going to negotiate for

:48:05. > :48:07.tariff free access. It's a meaningless thing to say. He doesn't

:48:08. > :48:13.seem to understand that the tariffs are not really the issue at all.

:48:14. > :48:18.Tariffs are reduced worldwide and I think they can be relatively

:48:19. > :48:25.straightforwardly eliminated. That's not the issue. The single market is

:48:26. > :48:29.to do with the replacement of basically 28 bits of red tape with

:48:30. > :48:39.one rule book which everybody adheres to so you don't have to fill

:48:40. > :48:40.in all the endless paperwork. We have a Prime Minister who seems to

:48:41. > :48:44.show no interest at all in the show no interest at all in the

:48:45. > :48:47.economy and we have a Leader of the Opposition who seems to have

:48:48. > :48:53.absolutely no understanding of the club which we are leaving from. Let

:48:54. > :48:58.alone any insight into how you then negotiate that departure. That

:48:59. > :49:03.really worries me. We are a big, great country. We were a principal

:49:04. > :49:10.architect of European integration in so many respects. We played a

:49:11. > :49:16.massive role in the affairs of the world for generations and I just

:49:17. > :49:21.think we are sort of drifting towards either a collapse in the

:49:22. > :49:27.talks, certainly a very destructive outcome of those talks and

:49:28. > :49:34.increasing international irrelevance made up through the endless robotic

:49:35. > :49:39.sycophancy towards the White House. Is that really what we want? Why are

:49:40. > :49:42.we coming towards the end of a six-week election campaign where

:49:43. > :49:47.none of this has been discussed - none. And Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa

:49:48. > :49:51.May haven't been put under pressure to answer any of these questions. Is

:49:52. > :49:59.that enough? APPLAUSE.

:50:00. > :50:06.The gentleman here? I'll give short errants.

:50:07. > :50:10.REPORTER: Good morning. You have spoken at length criticising both

:50:11. > :50:14.Mrs May and Mr Corbyn's stances on Brexit, but say on Friday morning we

:50:15. > :50:21.have a minority Labour Government which is not outside the realms of

:50:22. > :50:26.possibility, how would you like to see Lib Dem MPs going forward? Would

:50:27. > :50:31.you support them? Would you want to see them succeed in key votes on the

:50:32. > :50:37.Queen's Speech, giving the alternative of a hard Brexit which

:50:38. > :50:41.you oppose? Well, as Tim Farron's been very admirably clear on, the

:50:42. > :50:47.Liberal Democrats are not going to enter into Nicolicses, pacts or

:50:48. > :50:51.deals. Look, every political prediction I've ever been made has

:50:52. > :50:55.usually been wrong so there is no possibility of the main party

:50:56. > :50:58.returning more MPs than Conservatives, none at all. There is

:50:59. > :51:03.been excitement about the polls. It's the tightening of the polls

:51:04. > :51:07.that is not a resurgence of the Labour Party in Scotland which is a

:51:08. > :51:13.British landscape. I don't see how British landscape. I don't see how

:51:14. > :51:19.they could possibly win. It's all froth and nonsense. The fundamental

:51:20. > :51:22.facts of British politics which mean that it's almost a foregone

:51:23. > :51:29.conclusion that the Conservatives will win a majority are still in

:51:30. > :51:32.place. The Labour Party's been completely destroyed in Scotland and

:51:33. > :51:37.there is no sign at all that they will get off the canvas. So the only

:51:38. > :51:44.alternative is the belief that Jeremy Corbyn can beat the

:51:45. > :51:49.Conservatives in England. And in the south coast and the Home Counties.

:51:50. > :51:58.That is just not going to happen. We can play this what if game, but I

:51:59. > :52:05.really think this, even by my landable standards in guessing and

:52:06. > :52:11.punditry, it's a scenario not worth spending time on.

:52:12. > :52:17.REPORTER: Good morning. Thank you for your brilliant speech which I

:52:18. > :52:21.didn't think was full of statistics a all, but full of marvellously

:52:22. > :52:28.telling phrases. My question is this. A lot of people think the Lib

:52:29. > :52:37.Dems aren't making much of an impact because they've accepted Brexit is

:52:38. > :52:43.going to happen. Conversely, there is a growing relief. There could be

:52:44. > :52:46.a huge reaction against Brexit and a fundamental change of mind. What do

:52:47. > :52:57.you think are the prospects of that happening? Of what, of people...

:52:58. > :53:01.(Inaudible) Well, it's our position that the people should be put in

:53:02. > :53:05.charge of the decision of whether the final deal is good enough for

:53:06. > :53:13.us, it shouldn't be left to the people of the upper classes or still

:53:14. > :53:23.just the cabal of folk in Number Ten. I find it difficult to predict.

:53:24. > :53:28.It's tremendously important that those who promised an economic

:53:29. > :53:31.anywhere Varna, who promised an array of new trade agreements around

:53:32. > :53:36.the world which would effortlessly replace the trade that we are going

:53:37. > :53:39.to lose in our own hemisphere, who promised that living standards would

:53:40. > :53:44.go up, who promised that this would all be done and dusted in two years,

:53:45. > :53:48.who promised that there would be more money for the NHS, who promised

:53:49. > :53:51.there would be Brexit-induced tax cuts, who promised that people's

:53:52. > :53:56.concerns for immigration would be allayed overnight. It's tremendously

:53:57. > :54:01.important that they're held to account. It's one of the many

:54:02. > :54:04.reasons I wished Boris Johnson or Michael Gove became Prime Minister

:54:05. > :54:08.and not Theresa May because they would have had to at least have been

:54:09. > :54:16.held to account for what they said to the British people. I can't

:54:17. > :54:20.predict what the British people are going to say and do. As a practising

:54:21. > :54:25.politician what we can do as a party of opposition is hold the powerful

:54:26. > :54:29.to account and hold them to these utopian promises they made to the

:54:30. > :54:34.British people and tone to show the British people the huge gap, the

:54:35. > :54:39.chasm that will open up between what they'll promise, the utopian future

:54:40. > :54:45.and the much more different reality that will soon engulf this country.

:54:46. > :54:54.Maybe one more? The lady at the front?

:54:55. > :55:00.REPORTER: Thank you. I'm wondering how you would deal with Europeans,

:55:01. > :55:05.how do you think they're managing Brexit at the moment in and the

:55:06. > :55:09.sense of betrayal and lack of solidarity? What would be your style

:55:10. > :55:12.of negotiation to restore a sense of trust and solidarity with them?

:55:13. > :55:16.Secondly the idea of EU association membership for people who want to

:55:17. > :55:21.retain a connection to the EU, do you think that's a realistic

:55:22. > :55:27.possibility? On the latter, this is an idea championed by the European

:55:28. > :55:32.Parliament's chief man on Brexit. I discussed it with him. He hasn't yet

:55:33. > :55:35.worked it out in detail, it's self-evidently a legally fraught

:55:36. > :55:40.concept. The one that he wants to persist with. He should be given

:55:41. > :55:51.every encouragement and support to do that. The idea of trying to offer

:55:52. > :55:54.people some way of retaining a more meaningful connection with the

:55:55. > :55:58.European Union is something which is very attractive to many people. He

:55:59. > :55:59.hasn't worked out the detail but he should be given every support in

:56:00. > :56:04.doing so. How would you do about it? doing so. How would you do about it?

:56:05. > :56:09.I would just remain kind of calmer than all that kind of

:56:10. > :56:13.hyperventilating kind of stuff that you get from the Conservatives. Also

:56:14. > :56:19.just kind of straightforward about it. Theresa May could say to the

:56:20. > :56:24.leaders, look, I didn't want this. I didn't want this but I'm duty bound

:56:25. > :56:32.deliver it in a way which minimises deliver it in a way which minimises

:56:33. > :56:36.the effect on all of us. If you are sitting in Paris or Berlin, they

:56:37. > :56:43.have so much to deal with. Their own economic problems. The Mediterranean

:56:44. > :56:51.refugee crisis. A belligerent Turkey, an aggressive Russia.

:56:52. > :57:00.I wish there was more modestly sometimes, certainly in the way to

:57:01. > :57:03.understand other countries have other things to get on with, they

:57:04. > :57:12.don't spend their waking hour thinking about Brexit, they didn't

:57:13. > :57:17.want it. But of course they feel rejected, they are utterly

:57:18. > :57:26.perplexed, they are now accused of some unspecified plot. It is loopy.

:57:27. > :57:32.We have a British Prime Minister accusing people of Brussels of a

:57:33. > :57:37.plot, if it was it was a really rubbish plots for a start and

:57:38. > :57:43.secondly the idea that a briefing to a German newspaper about a dinner is

:57:44. > :58:01.the way you go to undermine British democracy is not the way, having a

:58:02. > :58:11.sense of perspective, it is all being replaced by this shrill

:58:12. > :58:22.aggressive language directed at them and the thing they say to them as we

:58:23. > :58:31.didn't pick this fights. We took this decision and it is now up to us

:58:32. > :58:39.to explain to them how on earth who will pick through the mess, although

:58:40. > :58:48.here are semi-paranoid accusations of plot and abuse. That is not a

:58:49. > :58:54.smart way getting 20 other sovereign governments who have pride and

:58:55. > :58:57.vanity and their own needs of getting people to see your point of

:58:58. > :58:57.view. And with that understand thank you.

:58:58. > :59:08.APPLAUSE