10/05/2017 Politics Scotland

Hello and welcome to Politics Scotland.

South Thanet is still being considered, but there'll be no

criminal charges following inquiries into Conservative Party election

And we'll be asking why Scotland's education system

And here at Westminster, it's a lot quieter than usual

because the politicains are all away trying to win their jobs back.

After examining files from 14 police forces,

the Crown Prosecution Service said today that whilst

there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns,

they don't think it warranted criminal prosecution.

There must have been a palpable "phew!"

With me throughout today's programme to discuss this

and other matters of import is the political

But first, let's cross to College Green, where our

Westminster correspondent David Porter is basking in

What is the reaction to this CPS business? I think you are right,

Gordon, as far as the Conservatives are concerned, it is palpable

relief. To some extent, this falls into the category of the story of

the dog that didn't bite. If it had been the other way round, and we

were talking about prosecutions this afternoon, that would have been a

huge dislocation to the Conservatives' election campaign.

Tomorrow is the deadline for candidates to be selected and to

make sure their names get on the ballot paper. It would have been

inconceivable that there had been a number of conservatives facing

possible prosecution to play any part in that campaign, so the

Conservatives would have had to parachute candidates in at short

notice. And it would have meant a real jolt to Theresa May's campaign.

So far, she has conducted this campaign along the lines of saying

that it is between her and Jeremy Corbyn, that is the choice people

have to make, and it is all about trust. If we had had a situation

where the CPS had said it believed that criminal activity had taken

place and there was a legal case to answer in the criminal court, that

would have totally changed the nature of this election campaign. As

to the reaction of Jeremy Corbyn, to put it mildly, he said he was

surprised when he commented after the decision came out. Nicola

Sturgeon of the SNP said the Conservatives still have questions

to answer about this whole affair. It is worth remembering that their

wrist still -- there is still one case in South Thanet that police

have files on and could possibly go to the CPS. It is worth remembering

that the Conservatives were fined ?70,000 of what went on in the 20

15th election by the Electoral Commission. That was a civil fine, a

record for a political party. The CPS have decided that it does not

meet the threshold for a criminal prosecution. South Thanet, as I

understand it, the papers went in late. On the basis of the case there

is the same as in the other areas, presumably we can expect no

prosecution there either, because it would be inconsistent. Common-sense

would indicate that there was some precedent. What happened in one

constituency may be different from what happened in another. In 2015,

the Conservatives said their battle buses out in marginal

constituencies, the vast majority of which they won in the 2015 election,

and there was some confusion, let's put it that way, about the way that

expenses were totalled up, whether they were local or national. There

are very strict rules governing what is local and what is national.

Another point to remember is that police forces were given extra time

to look at the cases they had before them and collect evidence. It may

well just be that in the case of Kent, they are a little behind the

other forces. South Thanet is interesting because it is the seat

which Nigel Farage fought, and the Conservatives were extremely

relieved to defeat him. We may well have a case where those files from

Kent could go to the CPS and could be decided on within the next couple

of weeks, which of course, would fall within the election period. OK,

David. Thanks for that. We will see you later on in the programme if you

are not bound to a crisp by then! Alf, for you make of this? It is

difficult for the opposition parties because they cannot challenge it

without looking like they are challenging the judiciary rather

than the Conservatives. The fact that the CPS have said there is no

case in almost all but one means there is not much they can do about

it other than keep a close eye on the number of as is and hotel rooms

that are being built around the country over the next four weeks. It

is a big boost for the Tories, isn't it? Because that air of sleaze was

hanging over the campaign, and it's now gone. Not just that, if they had

said there was a case to answer, there would be a number of seats

where they would struggle to put up a candidate. It was obviously a huge

relief to them, but it doesn't answer the deeper question of how

parties actually go about running elections, how they spend money, get

round the rules, either by omission or consciously, and that's probably

an area that has to be looked at again, because it's become a much

more televisual experience, fighting elections, and things like battle

buses and shock troops into marginal seats is part of the game. It will

be an ongoing issue, I think, given the levels at which they are allowed

to spend within the rules. What is your general impression of the

things so far? Pretty grim. What do you mean? The campaign? Yes. I just

sense that every commitment has attached to it a tax pledge as to

how they will raise the money. There is no real debate about the bigger

issues, like the education issue that we'll be talking about in a

little while. There's no kind of root and branch depth of debate

about that. It's all just seems to be overly static and staged, every

day a different subject, a different promise, not much engagement across

the parties. The Prime Minister is stepping back from doing leaders'

debates, sitting on the sofa at the One Show. From her point of view,

does it look like that is what she wants, steady, stable campaigning

for a steady, stable result? You are using the two keywords of their

campaign - steady and stable. Is there anything Labour can do to

disrupt that? What they seem to be doing in a number of those seats

with a majority of under 5000, where they are struggling, it seems a lot

of the candidates are playing a very local campaign and ignoring the

noise about whether Jeremy Corbyn has got it or not on the national

stage. We will talk about Scotland later, but first...

The Education Secretary, John Swinney, has made a statement

to MSPs on literacy levels in Scottish schools.

Research published yesterday by the Scottish Government

suggests that children's writing performance has slipped

A cross-section of children in Primary 4, Primary 7

and the second year of secondary school were assessed

The most significant fall in writing standards was amongst second years.

Swinney outlined some of the key areas where the education

We need to get better tracking the progress of each pupil over the

course their career. This requirement has meant we had not

been as effective as we need to be in identifying where young people

may need additional support. We need to be clearer about the standards

expected in our classrooms. This is meant teachers are not always been

certain about what is required to meet each curriculum for excellence

level in literacy, numeracy and across the curriculum areas. Too

much well-meaning but overbearing guidance has been produced

nationally, locally and sometimes in schools themselves, which has

created too much clutter in the curriculum and can divert time from

teaching and learning. We need to ensure literacy skills are fully

embedded across the curriculum. Inspection evidence found that the

potential impact of establishing literacy, numeracy and health and

well-being as areas as priorities for teachers has not been fully

realised. While the statistics are disappointed, we published data in

December 2016 based on teacher judgment demonstrating that 84% of

pupils in Scotland achieved the required level by the end of S3.

Whilst the survey helps identify emerging issues, the national

improvement framework provides us with the data allows us to target

improvement in specific parts of Scotland. There will be many parents

across Scotland who see the statistics as nothing short of

shameful, most especially those which reflect the persistence of the

attainment gap, the decline in literacy skills, and those who are

not meeting the required standards in writing at all. Could I ask the

Cabinet Secretary, does he agree with some of the teachers who have

responded to the education committee's call for evidence who

psyched that falling teacher numbers and additional classroom bureaucracy

are the pressures that prevent -- who state that falling teacher

numbers... Does he agree with a literacy expert who says there is a

lack of focus to ensure teachers have a depth of knowledge in maths

and literacy, and that teacher training is falling short in this

area? And does he now accepts that a wide range of data is now essential

if we are to effectively measure the curriculum for excellence and it was

a mistake to move Scotland from other measurements given their

ability to provide better quality evidence? The Cabinet Secretary says

that today's statistics confront the case for reform, but they confirmed

the case against his Government's ten year stewardship of education.

He says he can't turn it round overnight. His Government has had

ten years. A generation of children have passed through school while

they were getting up to speed. How many years does he need? In those

ten years, we have lost over 4000 teachers from our schools, over 1000

support staff, the spend per pupil has fallen and class sizes have

grown to some of the biggest in the developed world. The Cabinet

Secretary promises clear lines of sight, new benchmarks and a new

framework on the improvement hub - when is he going to promise as more

teachers with more support and more resources to let them do the job

they love and want to do? Isn't that the fundamental reform we need now?

Thank you. As has been mentioned, the core issue is that there are far

fewer staff in our schools than a decade ago, and it will be cold

comfort to teachers to hear from the Cabinet Secretary that there are

slightly more than there were a year ago, but there are 4000 fewer than

there were a decade ago. No governance review will change the

core issue. Those delivering education in Scotland weren't asking

for the review. They want their cut colleagues back. We have lost a

third of school librarians, so I would ask the Cabinet Secretary,

what impact does he think that 100 lost librarians have had on reading

and writing levels? I will do my best to try to ensure that we raise

the appreciation and understanding of the value of library services in

our schools through the strategy that I will take forward, and I will

work with local authorities to try to gain their participation. I thank

the Cabinet Secretary for early side of his statement. These results

confirm that pupils and teachers are paying a heavy price after ten years

of this SNP Government. Teachers have condemned inconsistencies and

changes that have issued forth, more than 1000 pages of evidence to be

considered tomorrow demonstrate that perfectly. What confidence can there

be that this secretary has got it right this time? We will continue on

the relentless agenda I have set out so that we can liberate teachers to

concentrate on what we need them too, which is learning and teaching.

Well, the problem is that the statistics are going in the opposite

direction that the ministers would want it to. The First Minister

herself has said this is the one thing she wants to be judged on and

it isn't going well. I think all parties in a sense they're a bit of

the blame because you don't make curriculum better just by calling it

a curriculum for excellence, attaching that word to it. It's got

to be in the daily teaching and learning that goes on in classrooms

between the teachers and students. It's about the quality of that

relationship and the numbers are showing that it's going in

absolutely the wrong direction. That curriculum for excellence was a

labour- Liberal Democrat idea. Whatever has happened has nothing to

do with curriculum of excellent, but it seems that it has got something

to do with it? There are number of educational experts have said that

the way it has been introduced and delivered has diminished some

importance of some skill issues. The other thing about this survey is

that is the last one because they aren't going to do any more which

means it suggests they don't like what they are finding. One has some

sympathy for John Swinney because although the opposition are saying

that the SNP have been in power for ten years, John Swinney has been

doing it for less than a year, and Nicola Sturgeon has staked her claim

on it. I'm not sure that there is anything that could instantaneously

start turning things around. Della mac there's a bigger backdrop that

these children are being taught in the digital environment. The way

they absorb knowledge outside school is more through tablets and phones.

He wants more power and money to headteachers than before. They want

more testing at more stages because they want hard evidence. They've

been trying to do this for years. I served on the MacCormack committee

with the principle of Stirling University looking at teacher

employment and the role of head teachers. Nothing came of it. We got

a rapport together. Some people liked it, some people didn't, but

nothing happened to it and it disappeared down a black hole mac.

nothing happened to it and it disappeared down a black hole.

Lets Joynson MSP. -- let's join some MFP is.

Let's talk about the fact that there will be no prosecutions for

Conservative MPs over that bus incident. There's still one case

outstanding as it currently stands, so they are still not off the hook

and it will be an election issue, I would imagine. James Kelly, what do

you think? What is clear from this, leaving the decision from the CPS,

the Tories are being bankrolled by big business. The focus here is that

many people who are donating to the Labour Party... I'm sorry, I was

asking you about your opinion on the lack of prosecution for Conservative

MPs over electoral funding, not your funding. It doesn't get away from

the issues, we want a Government that many not for the few and that's

what Labour be focusing on. Mark, standing beside you. What is your

reaction to this? Do you have to take a view of the CPS as an

independent body? Yes. But it's disappointing. There is a wider

crisis within the Tory party. We are seeing terrible comments on Facebook

from a number of elected Tory MPs. I feel there is an ethical crisis

there. What do you make of this? It now seems to me that parties can

flood that constituency with bus-loads of people, and then charge

it to a campaign. It's not what I would understand as a local

campaign, are you saying that irrespective of the lack of

prosecutions, there is an ethical issue about spending? Flooding

constituency with workers from your campaign can make a difference. It

definitely made a difference in the election two years ago. Liz Smith,

I'm not ignoring you, I was leaving you to last because it's your party

that is in the dock. Do you understand the point average Scot is

making, let's take it that the CPS... Claiming it's part of the

national campaign which clearly benefits the local and to... There

are ethical issues about elections. You were fined ?75,000. Absolutely,

we need to learn lessons from this. I imagine you have no interest in

changing the subject from that to talking about the SNP's record on

education. I think I've spoken out in the last 24-48 hours on the SNP's

record of education when it comes to the disappointing figures from the

SS LN about literacy. We've heard from trainees, new and

existing teachers. Do we have to say now, do you think that there is a

problem with the curriculum for excellence, or is it an

extraordinary coincidence that the decline in standards, in Scotland's

schools seems to chronologically go together with the introduction for

Curriculum For Excellence. I think it's to do with delivery issues. If

I go to one of the teachers giving evidence this morning, he summed it

up beautifully. He says if you had to define it, I'm not sure how you

would do that. You would welcome the direction the John Swinney is going

in, more testing in schools, bypassing local authorities. I want

to separate out two issues there. Changing the school system to allow

headteachers to have a greater say over how they run their schools is

one, but when it comes to the organisation of this curriculum, we

are not bound by the redundant sheets of paper and guidance that

John Swinney has had to get rid of. The big picture here is that this is

the issue most important to you and these figures, after ten years of

the SNP in Government are pretty shocking, aren't they? I think these

figures confirm what we already know about the Pisa results... You can't

just say that. I think what you need to be careful to do is look at what

is happening between P7 and S2. That's where we need to focus. This

extract standards across Scotland nationally so people have a better

understanding of standards... The point I'm making and you have to

accept this is that under the SNP, the education system, which you see

is the most important things you, apart from the constitution has got

worse. The education is a vital... You can't point to any progress, can

you. We've got record figures in positive destinations so it's not

all doom and gloom. Going down that track is a dangerous narrative we've

got people working hard in classrooms. We need to be careful

about the language and narrative. It's not all doom and gloom...

Please don't use the excuse of... You disagree with the direction John

Swinney is going in. You think that's wrong? I think the critical

issue here is funding. The SNP have taken 1.5 billion pounds out of

cancel funds -- council funds, which means less vacancies. Can I ask you

the question on funding? Why is that the school system in England has

come from well behind the Scottish system and has now overtaken it when

they spend something between 10-15% less on schools in England than in

Scotland? You can't get away from the fact if you've got less teachers

and support staff in schools... The English have done it and they are

doing better than we are. That's a funding issue and that's something

the S and P -- SNP can't get away from. It doesn't seem to matter to

you that the evidence in England's is the opposite from what you are

saying. You look at how best to service the schools, but ultimately

if you're going to take 1.5 billion pounds out of public services that's

what will suffer. Tavish Scott,, what do you think England have

called up and overtaken us I can't just be about funding. They have

academy schools, autonomy, a different structure, and Gordon, as

you well know, they always have. It's important to remember... You

can't just say that. You can! Pisa makes up the figures. Are you

wanting an Ofsted inspection regime like their? Highly expensive and

aggressive. There are profound differences between how you teach. I

know fully well what you are describing, but what I am suggesting

to you is that the changes we argue for here are two separate the

functions of education between the expected on one hand and the policy

on the other hand which has produced 20,000 pages of guidance, the

bureaucracy... Are there any practical suggestions as to what

John Swinney could do that would have an effect on this quite

quickly? We made one rack to cool suggestion which was invented to the

budget negotiations which was ?160 million coming into councils. --

practical suggestions John Swinney wants to fund schools while avoiding

councils. Headteachers they wanted the managing ring fenced budgets,

they want to lead their schools and be able to do that, working in

school clusters. We're running out of time, in one sentence describe

what this campaign is going to be about the year your party. One

sentence for the Liberal Democrats, it's about representing you

correctly and properly so you have a real champion so we don't end up in

endless constitutional navel-gazing over independence. Do we need a

sentence for a new? -- from you? Get Patrick Harvie in to join Caroline

Lucas who does wonderful job in Westminster. Stop a Tory third term

and send a message to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP that we don't

want a second independence referendum. Continued revival in

Scotland in sharing that the Conservatives have more MPs. You

forgot to say to stop another independence referendum!

I'm off message! Sending MPs from Scotland to stand up in Westminster

against Theresa May and the Conservatives' austerity agenda. A

lovely shot of you altogether there! Thank you for joining us.

MSPs have backed controversial legislation to integrate

the British Transport Police with Police Scotland.

66 MSPs voted in favour of the Bill, with 44 against it.

But among the concerns heard at last evening's Holyrood debate

They've cited fears about passenger safety, staff career prospects,

The Transport Minister Humza Yousaf tried to offer

The aim in this bill is to establish a framework using these newly

devolved powers to ensure that railway policing in Scotland is

accountable to the people of Scotland. An important

recommendation in the report is one seeking an assurance that the terms,

conditions, benefits and pensions of PTP officers and staff will not be

adversely affected on transferring to Police Scotland. I am happy to

give that assurance today. The Scottish Government has listened

closely to the issues raised and has offered a triple lock guarantee that

secures jobs, pay and pensions through the course of integration.

Should integration proceed, Police Scotland intends to maintain a

specialist railway policing function within its broader structure. The

policy memorandum states that this approach will retain the specialist

skills, knowledge and experience that BT P officers and staff have

built. However, retraining BTP officers and staff is largely

dependent on whether their current terms, conditions and rights are

guaranteed. Those representing BTP officers and staff have not yet been

reassured. Clearly, this needs to be urgently resolved. The committee has

therefore asked the Scottish Government to provide an update on

progress during this debate, and to ensure that terms and conditions

will not be adversely affected were integration to proceed. I thank the

Cabinet Secretary for his update but remain extremely concerned that this

is unresolved. Unlike those on the SNP benches, we recognise there is

more than one way to achieve the outcome. The SNP has single-mindedly

focused on the integration of BTP into Police Scotland, so much so

that it did not bother to include alternative approaches in the

consultation launched last summer. The paper sets out three procedures,

including breaking up the BTP and absorbing its Scottish operations

into Police Scotland, but in the BTA's experienced and professional

opinion, this option could result in confusion over who would record and

investigate crimes, risk compromising the joined up policing

of railways and cross-border efforts to combat terrorism and extremism,

all serious issues, all with serious implications. I would like to extend

my thanks to the committee for the evidence sessions they have held,

and as a substitute member, I was able to take part in the session

with railway operators. It was the sessions that highlighted the number

of concerns regarding this bill that has helped us reach our position

today, and Scottish Labour will not be supporting the general principles

of this bill. There is a division amongst members and during the

course of this afternoon, I hope the Government will listen to these

concerns, a tree to withdraw the bill, and work with interested

parties and bodies to look at the full range of options available for

the future of railway policing in Scotland. We have had responses from

RMT today opposing the bill and raising significant concerns about

Bieber ocean of specialised skills and expertise and the risks to

safety and security. It has been argued we are here today as a result

of the Smith Commission but it is worth remembering what was agreed to

within the Smith Commission, which was for the vouchers are pretty bad

but the gallon -- which was for the functions of the police service in

Scotland to remain a devolved matter. -- to be a devolved matter.

There has been some ill informed comment about the response to

terrorism. It will be an entirely coordinated situation while this

proposal to go ahead. The issue of timing. Even worth full integration

of BTP felt to be the most sensible and logical route to take, and most

witnesses did not, it can scarcely be claimed by any other than its

most ardent supporters that this is an ideal time to contemplate such a

move. Chronic levels of structural debt, a failed IT project, and

morale that could certainly be better. Surely only Police

Scotland's worst enemy could see this as an opportune moment have

voiced by the change of the organisation. I remain open to being

persuaded about the concerns I have set out, but if they are not

addressed, Scottish Lib Dems will be unable to support the passing of

this bill. Alf, this integration proposal, what

do you make of it? It is part of a bigger picture, I think, isn't it?

In a number of areas, the SNP Government progressively over ten

years has sought to centralise quite a lot of things. They just recently

had a rather bizarre and ultimately unsuccessful attempt at putting the

two enterprise agencies together in one body, and then decided it wasn't

a good idea after all. Whether it is a good idea for British Transport

Police, I'm no great expert on policing structures, but it has been

a separate entity. It is not my experience that Police Scotland as a

unified police force has been and are now Lloyd express -- has been a

complete success. You wonder what instinctively drives all of this on.

On the other hand, people on the outside in this day and age will

say, sorry, why do you have to have a special police force for the

railways? Why not for the motorways? I doubt one person in ten or 100

knows there is a separate police force for transport, for the

railways. It is pretty decent Eric territory for most people, but it

speaks to a kind of guiding principle when it comes to changing

structures. The structural point I suppose that could be argued is that

once they put in place Police Scotland and you didn't have

regional police forces, I'm assuming that transport police has to be

national. So you now have a national police force and you could put the

national transport police into that, which you didn't have before. There

are then legacy issues about entitlements and pensions and how

that is integrated into the new structure. As we have seen in the

past, that can cause problems as well, in the longer term. Back to

the election, what do you think it will be about in the next few weeks?

In Scotland, it is an odd one with general elections, because all that

stuff we were talking about regarding education is technically

irrelevant to this election. It is not strictly speaking relevant in

the sense that it is a devolved issue. I think they're going to make

big pictures about things like education, the future of the health

service, and they will come and go as the issue of the day, but the

bigger battle in Scotland really is about the extent to which that

extraordinary result two years ago, where the SNP got 50% of the vote

and all but three of the MPs, how much retrenchment back from that

there will be because of this recent surge in support for the Tories in

Scotland. Some of us are old enough to remember when Tories were still

quite popular in Scotland, and even Glasgow City Council had progressive

local Tories who were quite a major force. In the historical sense, it's

not that unusual, but it is unusual, given the dog years after Thatcher's

arrival in power and the Tories almost being wiped off the electoral

map. Briefly, can you see Labour... If this is really about

independence, and it seems to be this make -- to some extent a proxy

for it, is there anything that Labour or the Lib Dems can do to

steal that away from the Tories? I think both Labour and the Lib Dems

might pick up the odd seat here and there. Labour might hold the one

they've got, the Lib Dems might hold the one they have in the islands.

Apart from that, it will be marginal change, I think, and the big battle

will be how far this search, whether tactical or whatever, -- how this

surge for the Tories, how far it goes.

Let's get some final thoughts from Alf Young.

Back to David. What do you think the big themes will be? We are in

political no man's land. All the parties now have got into the habit

of having campaign launches, and then they have manifesto launches.

We have had a campaign launched this week, the manifestos next week. We

are getting individual policies but not the full picture and it is only

when we see the full picture and we can go through it and say, money you

want to spend on this you have already said he will race from that,

that will give us more information. That will come next week, but I

think without a shadow of a doubt the election down here is very much

being framed with Brexit in mind, and I think, quite frankly, it will

come down to who the electorate feel best represent them in the Brexit

negotiations - Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn. Just casting an eye over the

local election results in England last week, what became very apparent

is that the Ukip vote collapsed, and by and large, the Ukip vote in

England went across to the Conservatives. What had happened

previously, and certainly in previous elections, is that

supporters who had perhaps gone from Labour to Ukip, it now appears that

Ukip supporters, if local elections are to be believed, are going back

to the Conservatives. The Conservatives are very bullish,

trying to talk down any speculation of a landslide. They say they will

be fighting for every seat. You only have to see whether Prime Minister

is going. They are putting a lot of effort in the east and West Midlands

in England, which has a clutch of marginal seats. Frankly, that is

where UK elections are always won or lost, in those marginal seats.

Speaking to Labour people, they are very downbeat at the moment. No one

I have spoken to from any party thinks that Labour will win this

election. Speaking to Labour people, a lot of them are very downcast and

think it could be a very bad day for them on the 8th of June. Yeah, one

of the things that makes this more surreal is that you were saying to

some extent this will be about Brexit and which version of it you

want. Of course, the Government hasn't made it entirely clear

exactly what it is it wants to negotiate for. Know, and that is

incredibly frustrating from a journalistic point of view, but also

from the point of view of the electorate. It is one of those

campaigns were, by and large, the politicians are not out meeting the

electorate. We are really quite constrained in the opportunities we

get to interview senior politicians, so from that point of view, it is

very frustrating. But I think perhaps one of the reasons we are

not getting more information is because the Government at the

moment, if it is re-elected, does not know quite how it is going to

negotiate this. It says it wants to do X, Y and Z, but you might find

that the European community, when it comes back after the election, says,

you may want that, but we want other things which are far more important

to us. Whoever wins, there will be a very long, protracted and tough

negotiation about the ghosts -- about Brexit. We are having an

election about a subject we have no idea how the endgame is going to

apply. -- is going to play out. Thank you, David. Alf, the other

issue that arises is, do you agree that this will be about Brexit? At

least down south? Or will it become about other things by default? It's

bound to be about Brexit to a degree, but the problem about doing

that is that there is so little that we know about negotiations to come.

Theresa May's favourite words are strong and stable, I'll stick up the

country. Would you trust that? It will come up north and south of the

border. This stories today about GPs in European countries who are

staying here who will probably be able to stay. It won't all be about

that. Will it be about tax and spending? Well, if it's conducted in

the way that we think, money for education, more money for the health

service and so on, another raid on corporate taxation, what will we put

it back up to? Set that rate against what Macron might do in France, or

what Trump finally does in America with corporate taxation, all of the

companies we depend on in our economies are global, so they will

decide where they stay and where they pay their tax. I'm finding my

appetite for more of the same, diminishing with the day. We have

only started. That's a bit of a worry. Can you see a big Corbyn

breakthrough? Note. I don't see what the basis of that would be. He had a

chance yesterday to say we are not going to seek to stay in afterwards

and he fudged it. Thank you, Alf. We will be back at the weekend with

Sunday politics. See you then. Because you're the one

that passes the money across. This is the third time your daughter

has being trafficked.