:00:18. > :00:19.Hello and welcome to Politics Scotland.
:00:20. > :00:25.A plan for Prestwick to take off again.
:00:26. > :00:27.The Scottish Government sets out how the airport will benefit
:00:28. > :00:38.from a multi-million pound loan and funding deal.
:00:39. > :00:41.Growing concern that the mounting crisis in Iraq, and how it could
:00:42. > :00:46.affect us in Britain. And as the temperature heats up this
:00:47. > :00:47.summer, so does the debate on independence -
:00:48. > :00:50.with Scotland's Future up for Prestwick Aiport is to receive
:00:51. > :00:54.a multi-million pounds makeover, Nicola Sturgeon,
:00:55. > :00:59.the Infrastructure Secretary, told MSPs much of the money would be
:01:00. > :01:02.used to improve the terminal building and that a maintenance
:01:03. > :01:05.backlog would be tackled. More than ?15 million has already
:01:06. > :01:08.been spent, Our Transport Correspondent David
:01:09. > :01:26.Miller has more. And aircraft like this costs $80
:01:27. > :01:30.million, but it is landing at an airport bought by the Scottish
:01:31. > :01:33.Government for just ?1. And remainder of the scale of
:01:34. > :01:37.Prestwick's problems, but we are being told there are big
:01:38. > :01:44.opportunities here. The main runway is huge, one of the longest anywhere
:01:45. > :01:47.in the United Kingdom. The airport's supporters says it
:01:48. > :01:52.underlines this place's importance, not only to the local economy, but
:01:53. > :01:58.to the economy of Scotland as a whole. The Scottish Government's
:01:59. > :02:03.aim, to avert closure and safeguard thousands of jobs. More than ?50
:02:04. > :02:08.million is already being invested as part of the effort to return
:02:09. > :02:11.Prestwick to profitability and ultimately the private sector. If
:02:12. > :02:17.and when that happens it will still be known as Glasgow Prestwick. The
:02:18. > :02:21.Scottish Government is making an investment in the airport, in the
:02:22. > :02:26.form of loan funding. And we require to generate a long-term return for
:02:27. > :02:30.taxpayers money, so that is the first important point to stress, the
:02:31. > :02:35.airport will be run on a commercial basis. Changing the name would
:02:36. > :02:40.undoubtedly be a welcome move locally, but we need to promote and
:02:41. > :02:44.market Prestwick airport to airlines and passengers across the world.
:02:45. > :02:49.Critics argue the airport should have been allowed to close. Listers
:02:50. > :02:52.are adamant it can have a viable future.
:02:53. > :03:00.Let's speak to David Miller now. He's in our Edinburgh studio.
:03:01. > :03:09.What is the big plan here? The big plan is to save jobs across central
:03:10. > :03:13.Scotland. Ministers believe that Prestwick was too important, too big
:03:14. > :03:18.to be allowed to fail. That is something its commercial rival
:03:19. > :03:23.believes should have been allowed to happen, but the Scottish Government
:03:24. > :03:28.took the view that this business could be turned around with
:03:29. > :03:33.taxpayers money invested. It could be returned to profitability within
:03:34. > :03:37.the next few years, and ultimately, as I mentioned in the report, to the
:03:38. > :03:41.private sector. No one at transport Scotland or the Scottish Government
:03:42. > :03:47.is suggesting it is going to be easy. Prestwick clearly has
:03:48. > :03:52.turbulent times still to come. Mentioned the commercial rivals.
:03:53. > :03:59.What could be the impact on them of Prestwick being saved? Up until
:04:00. > :04:04.today, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports have been fairly
:04:05. > :04:07.tight-lipped. They have been expressing concerns, and they are
:04:08. > :04:13.not at all happy at the prospect of being forced to compete with the
:04:14. > :04:17.publicly funded rival. Glasgow Airport, because it is closest, has
:04:18. > :04:21.the most to lose. At Edinburgh would also point the number of arson
:04:22. > :04:29.jurors from the capital and across the Lothian region who travel to
:04:30. > :04:34.Prestwick to fly out with Ryanair to European destinations. So the big
:04:35. > :04:38.two airports believe they have something to lose. They were
:04:39. > :04:42.frustrated until today, and that frustration, I sense, is becoming
:04:43. > :04:51.more and more leading to anger, really. They are certainly not happy
:04:52. > :04:57.that so much money, as they would see it, is being invested in a
:04:58. > :05:02.commercial rival to successful businesses at Glasgow and Edinburgh.
:05:03. > :05:04.Interesting to hear anger is building up. At the Scottish
:05:05. > :05:12.Government confident of the future of Prestwick? They seem to be
:05:13. > :05:16.publicly, and they are acting on expert advice. They brought in
:05:17. > :05:20.experts before they decided to step in and by the airport. Nicola
:05:21. > :05:25.Sturgeon made it clear today that if she had not backed the plan, it
:05:26. > :05:31.would have been closed on the jobs would have been lost. So publicly,
:05:32. > :05:48.they are saying they are confident, and Prestwick will be more run on a
:05:49. > :05:51.commercial basis. Each and every time they have to come back to
:05:52. > :05:54.Parliament and say they are investing more public money in the
:05:55. > :05:58.airport they will be subjected to more and more intense scrutiny, so
:05:59. > :06:03.the pressure is on ministers to perform.
:06:04. > :06:07.I'm joined for the duration of the programme by the political
:06:08. > :06:23.It was a controversial decision for the government to buy Prestwick. It
:06:24. > :06:30.still remains a contravention plan -- controversial plan. Prestwick has
:06:31. > :06:40.suffered for -- from years of underinvestment. This links up
:06:41. > :06:46.domestic policy, how Scotland is promoted and so on. It gets to the
:06:47. > :06:50.crux of what is the Scottish Government's development strategy
:06:51. > :06:56.because they have had to be short term reactive. They bought it for
:06:57. > :07:03.?1, and we're hearing about rival airports. Yes, and Edinburgh has
:07:04. > :07:08.good tram links, Glasgow Airport has never managed to work out the
:07:09. > :07:13.transport. When the Grangemouth disaster happened last year, the
:07:14. > :07:15.Scottish Government did not have in-depth relationships with
:07:16. > :07:19.Grangemouth, so it is how to do things that are strategic rather
:07:20. > :07:21.than being caught making decisions with long-term consequences quickly.
:07:22. > :07:24.Thank you. Now, as the mercury rises this
:07:25. > :07:27.summer, so does the heat Labour have time in parliament this
:07:28. > :07:31.afternoon to debate, and they've chosen Scotland's Future with
:07:32. > :07:33.a motion in Johann Lamont's name. We're on-air a bit later today,
:07:34. > :07:49.so this is what the Scottish Labour Earlier this week I joined with my
:07:50. > :07:54.colleagues to pledge more powers to Scotland. The people of Scotland now
:07:55. > :07:59.know that whatever the result of the referendum, there will be change.
:08:00. > :08:05.The choices separating off on to Rome, or sharing power our
:08:06. > :08:10.neighbours will be believe it is in our interest to do that. Whether
:08:11. > :08:13.those powers come to a devolved parliament on an independent one.
:08:14. > :08:18.This debate has dominated Scottish politics. But we should not allow
:08:19. > :08:23.that to distract from significant powers we already have at the
:08:24. > :08:30.Scottish Parliament. I believe the key areas of realising ambitions for
:08:31. > :08:38.Scotland lie in Holyrood, and it is up to us to set those priorities.
:08:39. > :08:42.Education, to give those who lose their job the opportunity to retrain
:08:43. > :08:50.for the next one. Health, the means to ensure sex and vulnerable are
:08:51. > :08:53.supported and cared for. And to building a Scotland where people
:08:54. > :08:59.have the physical and mental health to take up opportunities we would
:09:00. > :09:10.create. Too often we debate about what we cannot do, and not enough
:09:11. > :09:21.time talking about what we can do. For sometime this Parliament has
:09:22. > :09:24.been the forum... We need to get past the constitutional question.
:09:25. > :09:28.Issues over schools and hospitals are still a key factor in the
:09:29. > :09:33.referendum campaign. That is because people will be asking themselves
:09:34. > :09:43.whether I guess bought on a no vote will be best for public services.
:09:44. > :09:55.And Yes vote give schools and services...
:09:56. > :10:08.Members of the Scottish public, people who will come together to
:10:09. > :10:10.decide our future, will have to choose between which side they
:10:11. > :10:17.believe, whose arguments make the most sense, and what fits in best
:10:18. > :10:23.with their view of the future. People often bemoan having to make a
:10:24. > :10:29.choice at all. We see politicians setting out contradictory positions,
:10:30. > :10:33.arguing that black is white, and are left wondering who to believe.
:10:34. > :10:50.For some live political reaction, I'm joined from the Garden Lobby of
:10:51. > :10:52.Holyrood by Labour's Infrastructure Spokesperson James Kelly and,
:10:53. > :11:18.Do you think she was going for the natural topic of services? Isn't
:11:19. > :11:23.there more topics to deal with? , in an independent Scotland B would have
:11:24. > :11:26.?4.7 million less to spend, and what that would mean if you were a
:11:27. > :11:30.classroom assistant or a cleaner that there would be less money in
:11:31. > :11:34.budgets, and less money in the economy, people would have less
:11:35. > :11:38.money in their pockets. It is becoming clear that we need the best
:11:39. > :11:42.of both worlds, we need to share across the country of 63 million,
:11:43. > :11:50.rather than the risk of independence with only 5 million to protect us.
:11:51. > :11:54.James Kelly, she was talking about the powers that we have already,
:11:55. > :11:59.they lie in Holyrood, such as education. It does not sound as if
:12:00. > :12:03.they are particularly keen to bringing more powers to Holyrood. In
:12:04. > :12:09.the proposals for a possible no vote, you were out by the
:12:10. > :12:16.Conservatives. Not at all. We have an extensive report and a devolution
:12:17. > :12:20.commission, just to give an example, if you devolved housing benefit,
:12:21. > :12:25.which is 1.7 billion, that would give a substantial power in order to
:12:26. > :12:29.use that money imaginatively to tackle Scotland's housing crisis,
:12:30. > :12:35.which the SNP has not been able to do currently. There are substantial
:12:36. > :12:39.further powers that can come to give us a stronger Scottish Parliament.
:12:40. > :12:46.It has become clear that this is what people are looking for. Kenny
:12:47. > :12:51.Gibson, we will hear from Nicola Sturgeon shortly, but just on that
:12:52. > :12:56.point that Mr Kelly was pointing out, the Scottish Government, he
:12:57. > :13:02.says, do not use their powers properly. It took a long time to
:13:03. > :13:07.tackle this so-called bedroom tax. Labour see that you're not using the
:13:08. > :13:13.you already have. Bedroom tax is reserved. In terms of housing, to
:13:14. > :13:18.contradict what James said, the number of affordable houses is that
:13:19. > :13:23.a record level. We have reduced crime to the lowest level for 40
:13:24. > :13:28.years, and reduced NHS waiting times and cleaned up the hospitals. So
:13:29. > :13:32.clearly things are working. It Scotland had more powers to do the
:13:33. > :13:36.things that we've all want to be done, Scotland could be a much more
:13:37. > :13:41.successful place. James denigrates countries of 5 million people or so,
:13:42. > :13:46.if you look at fenland, Norway or Denmark, the amount of disposable
:13:47. > :13:53.income people have and the quality of life is higher than in Scotland,
:13:54. > :13:58.so be believe decisions will be better made. Johann Lamont has got
:13:59. > :14:07.it wrong in terms of public services. If the Tories privatised
:14:08. > :14:12.health, there will be further consequences because our budget will
:14:13. > :14:20.be cut. Scotland will suffer a 17.2% cut in its budget over the next five
:14:21. > :14:24.years with a no vote. If they vote no, we will have more cuts and
:14:25. > :14:29.austerity. We believe with austerity, we can make Scotland more
:14:30. > :14:36.successful and prosperous. But with a no vote, there is the possibility
:14:37. > :14:42.of more powers. We heard that from the prounion parties. Stewart
:14:43. > :14:47.Maxwell said today that you cannot trust the Unionist parties. John
:14:48. > :14:51.Major said that was cheap and silly to say you cannot trust the prounion
:14:52. > :14:58.parties to give more powers. Is that correct? We cannot trust them. We
:14:59. > :15:02.already saw in the devolution commission, Labour promised to
:15:03. > :15:08.devolving contacts, and they are not going to do that. They were going to
:15:09. > :15:23.devolve air passenger duty, but they will not do that. It is quite clear
:15:24. > :15:27.that having control of your own resources is a better way forward
:15:28. > :15:33.than having to rely on someone taking decisions on your behalf. I
:15:34. > :15:37.want to mention Prestwick airport, to get your reaction. Games, what do
:15:38. > :15:43.you make of the Scottish Government's announcement today?
:15:44. > :15:48.Multi-million pound investment? What we have seen today is ?50 million
:15:49. > :15:53.being invested, but it months down the line, we still have not seen the
:15:54. > :15:56.business plan. It is all very well bringing forward investment, but
:15:57. > :16:00.Nicola Sturgeon admitted it will take several years to make the
:16:01. > :16:05.airport profitable again, and the taxpayer, the public, the community
:16:06. > :16:08.deserve to know how that money has been spent and what plans have even
:16:09. > :16:18.put in place to make the airport profitable. Should taxpayers be
:16:19. > :16:24.worried about the amount of money being invested eight in Prestwick
:16:25. > :16:32.Airport? Taxpayers would be more worried if the jobs that rely on the
:16:33. > :16:35.airport go. Air passenger duty, if it was devolved, would restore ten
:16:36. > :16:45.flight a day to Stansted alone just through Ryanair. Quite clearly, if
:16:46. > :16:50.air passenger duty was devolved, which the Tories and Labour have
:16:51. > :16:53.rejected, that would help restore Prestwick Airport. You can only get
:16:54. > :17:08.that policy for Scotland with independence. Thank you both very
:17:09. > :17:13.much for joining us. Let's pick up first on that Labour point. What did
:17:14. > :17:26.you think of Johan Lamont focusing on public services? She is focusing
:17:27. > :17:32.on risks. This is a very traditional Labour approach, talking about
:17:33. > :17:35.public services. The independence debate is not just about public
:17:36. > :17:43.services, it is about the kind of society we are, wealth and
:17:44. > :17:47.inequality. It is a kind of base approach. What do you make of the
:17:48. > :17:58.wider independence debate this week? There was a photocall at
:17:59. > :18:06.Carlton Hill. John Major intervened as well. How have they played out in
:18:07. > :18:13.the referendum debate? Every former Prime Minister will be involved in
:18:14. > :18:19.this debate to an extent. He thought he intervened to save the union in
:18:20. > :18:23.1992. He was talking about the perceived threat to NATO, how the
:18:24. > :18:27.Americans feel about this. There is clearly American anxiety about
:18:28. > :18:33.change. I thought the Carlton Hill declaration was interesting. The
:18:34. > :18:40.three prounion parties have to work together. But I working together,
:18:41. > :18:46.they make this debate about the most feasible kind of change they can
:18:47. > :18:51.deliver. That plays on to Alex Salmond's territory of independence
:18:52. > :19:00.been the simplest form of change. There was caught in Scotsman
:19:01. > :19:04.newspaper today about parties coalescing to the lowest common to
:19:05. > :19:09.nominate in terms of an offer of more powers for the parliament. Do
:19:10. > :19:18.you agree with that? Yes, because all three parties are different. We
:19:19. > :19:27.have heard a set of interior and minimalist apostles. If they come
:19:28. > :19:35.together, they would fall back to their minimalist position because
:19:36. > :19:37.there would be a huge story of the parties rewriting their policies.
:19:38. > :19:39.Thank you. Now, we heard earlier from the
:19:40. > :19:42.Labour leader Johann Lamont about Scotland's Future - the Labour-led
:19:43. > :19:45.debate in the Scottish Parliament. It's the turn of the
:19:46. > :19:47.Scottish Government to respond, so let's now hear from the Deputy
:19:48. > :19:55.First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. I very much welcome the debate from
:19:56. > :19:59.Labour today. Johan Lamont said in her opening speech that one of the
:20:00. > :20:03.key questions in this debate is whether yes or no is best for our
:20:04. > :20:10.public services. I very much agree with that. So this debate is very
:20:11. > :20:15.timely, I did say, coming as it does coming on the very same day that the
:20:16. > :20:23.vice convener of Unison in Scotland has declared for yes. His backing
:20:24. > :20:29.for independence comes hard on the heels of Pat Kelly, senior Labour
:20:30. > :20:35.activist and former president of the STUC, Jimmy Carter, vice-chair of
:20:36. > :20:39.Renfrewshire South Labour Party and the general secretary of Muslim
:20:40. > :20:45.friends for Labour. All of these people, together with Bob Thomson
:20:46. > :20:50.and Carol Fox, understand that independence is the best route to a
:20:51. > :20:57.favour Scotland. Who knows? Independence may also be the best
:20:58. > :21:00.rate reinvigorated Labour Party. On the evidence of today, the Labour
:21:01. > :21:06.Party in Scotland badly needs reinvigorated. All in all, Presiding
:21:07. > :21:12.Officer, Johan Lamont couldn't have picked a better moment to
:21:13. > :21:15.demonstrate how increasingly out of touch she is with her own
:21:16. > :21:22.supporters. The real reason I welcome this debate is it gives me,
:21:23. > :21:27.against the backdrop of building momentum for yes, the perfect
:21:28. > :21:36.opportunity to set out again the positive case for Scotland becoming
:21:37. > :21:41.an independent country. To set out firstly the evidence that we can
:21:42. > :21:45.more than afford to be an independent country. Let's just
:21:46. > :21:49.remind ourselves of the facts in the midst of the doom and gloom that
:21:50. > :21:55.characterised the speech from Johan Lamont. An independent Scotland
:21:56. > :22:03.would be the 14th richest country in the OECD. Not worse off, but better
:22:04. > :22:14.off than the UK. We generate more I put her hate -- per head than France
:22:15. > :22:19.and Japan. We have generated more tax per person than the UK as a
:22:20. > :22:24.whole. Over the past five years, our public finances have been stronger
:22:25. > :22:31.than the UK's to the tune of ?8.3 billion. Does the Deputy First
:22:32. > :22:38.Minister not feel a little bit silly for saying in the White Paper that
:22:39. > :22:43.we would be the eighth? The key point here is the relative advantage
:22:44. > :22:46.of Scotland over the UK is absolutely maintained. I don't know
:22:47. > :22:51.whether the Conservatives think it is silly to point out the inherent
:22:52. > :22:57.wealth of this country. I actually think that is a good thing. If they
:22:58. > :23:01.spent more time talking up Scotland, rather than talking it down, maybe
:23:02. > :23:09.they would not be in the dire position they are in. Scotland can
:23:10. > :23:17.be independent. The question on the ballot paper is not can we, it is
:23:18. > :23:25.should we. We published our draft independence bill earlier this week.
:23:26. > :23:31.Johan Lamont is right that there was a contrast. Our bill shows how
:23:32. > :23:35.Scotland, with the confidence and powers of an independent nation,
:23:36. > :23:42.could set our aspirations and work towards fairness in our society as
:23:43. > :23:50.well as remove nuclear weapons from our soil. The opposition parties
:23:51. > :24:09.offered are paid in our pork. -- J Hake. -- a pig..
:24:10. > :24:15.We want the people of this country to decide how this country is run in
:24:16. > :24:22.the whole range of government activity. Taxation, welfare, health,
:24:23. > :24:29.foreign affairs and Justice. To take responsibility for our own future.
:24:30. > :24:31.To maximise our own opportunities. Let's hear the response
:24:32. > :24:47.from the Scottish Conservatives, in Back in the real world, let's look
:24:48. > :24:52.at the document that Nicola Sturgeon bustle keen to court, but less keen
:24:53. > :24:57.to take interventions and questions on. She boasted about what a
:24:58. > :25:02.fabulous document the outlook for Scotland's public finances and the
:25:03. > :25:05.opportunities of independence actually is. She talked about how
:25:06. > :25:11.this document proved that on every conceivable measure an independent
:25:12. > :25:18.Scotland would be richer, would have healthier finances, than the rest of
:25:19. > :25:23.the UK. What Nicola Sturgeon didn't say, and what the document doesn't
:25:24. > :25:29.say at the beginning, what it only says tucked away in a box halfway
:25:30. > :25:35.through on page 26 is this. Every single scenario in that document
:25:36. > :25:42.relies upon what is called scenario four of the Scottish Government's
:25:43. > :25:49.oil and gas projections. That believes that he would get ?6.9
:25:50. > :25:55.billion of revenue from oil and gas in the first year of an independent
:25:56. > :26:00.Scotland. Rising to ?7.3 billion the year after. On any analysis, deputy
:26:01. > :26:08.Presiding Officer, that is an optimistic scenario for oral and
:26:09. > :26:13.gas. It is a fool for billion pounds higher than the central scenario of
:26:14. > :26:22.the Office for Budget Responsibility. They predict...
:26:23. > :26:29.Every time you mention the OBR, you get a scoffing from the SNP. You get
:26:30. > :26:34.Alex Neil, of all people, seeing they are very reliable, that what.
:26:35. > :26:37.Time now for Prime Minister's Questions, where the issue of Iraq
:26:38. > :26:39.dominated exchanges between David Cameron and Ed Miliband.
:26:40. > :26:41.Mr Cameron repeated his warning that British people who
:26:42. > :26:42.became radicalised in Iraq and Syria could carry out attacks here
:26:43. > :27:05.He added the Home Secretary had used powers to seize the passports
:27:06. > :27:08.from people suspected of wanting to travel to the region.
:27:09. > :27:23.I can tell the house that the latest reports indicate fighting is
:27:24. > :27:30.continuing and there is a large-scale recruitment of Shia
:27:31. > :27:42.militias and other young recruits to the Iraqi armed forces. When you get
:27:43. > :27:51.this combination of poor governance, support for extremists, you get the
:27:52. > :27:58.opportunities for the terrorists. I agree. This crisis has consequences
:27:59. > :28:05.for the whole world, including the UK. Can he tell us the extra
:28:06. > :28:08.measures the government is taking to ensure that British National is in
:28:09. > :28:14.the region cannot return here and engage in violent extremism or
:28:15. > :28:17.terrorism? Can he say what the government is doing to prevent
:28:18. > :28:20.people in this country becoming radicalised and travelling to the
:28:21. > :28:26.region in order to fight? I believe this is the correct focus. Our
:28:27. > :28:30.approach to this issue must be based on a hard-headed assessment of our
:28:31. > :28:36.national interest. Most important of all is how to keep our citizens at
:28:37. > :28:41.home safe. We will be legislating in this session of Parliament to make
:28:42. > :28:47.the planning of terrorist attacks overseas illegal here in the UK. We
:28:48. > :28:50.will be making sure our security, intelligence and policing resources
:28:51. > :28:54.are focused on this part of the world and the danger of British
:28:55. > :28:58.people travelling there, becoming radicalised and returning to the UK.
:28:59. > :29:02.We have stopped a number of people travelling and have taken away
:29:03. > :29:06.passports, including using the new powers we legislated for in the last
:29:07. > :29:11.Parliament. We will continue doing all we can to keep our country safe.
:29:12. > :29:15.Everything we are seeing across this region begs a fundamental question
:29:16. > :29:21.of whether it can develop politics where people live alongside each
:29:22. > :29:26.other as citizens, rather than dividing along religious or
:29:27. > :29:30.sectarian lines? While we should provide assistance for that to
:29:31. > :29:33.happen, in the end it is about the political will of those in the
:29:34. > :29:39.region that will determine whether that happens or not? It would be a
:29:40. > :29:45.mistake to believe that the only answer to these problems is the hard
:29:46. > :29:49.attack of direct intervention. We know that can create problems of
:29:50. > :29:54.itself. I disagree with those people who think this is nothing to do with
:29:55. > :29:58.us and if you want to have some sort of extreme Islamist regime in the
:29:59. > :30:03.middle of Iraq, that won't affect us. It will. The people in that
:30:04. > :30:08.region, as well as trying to take territory, are also planning to
:30:09. > :30:13.attack us in the United Kingdom. The right answer is to be patient and
:30:14. > :30:18.intelligent with the interventions we make. The most important
:30:19. > :30:20.intervention of all is to make sure these governments are truly
:30:21. > :30:24.representative of the people who live in their countries, that they
:30:25. > :30:29.caused in the ungoverned space and remove the export -- remove the
:30:30. > :30:40.support for the extremists. We have to help in Iraq, Somalia, Syria,
:30:41. > :30:45.because if we don't these problems will come back to hurt us at home.
:30:46. > :30:48.Let's stay at Westminster, this time outside the chamber of the
:30:49. > :30:51.House of Commons and over to College Green, where our correspondent
:30:52. > :31:06.What has Ed Balls been saying? There has been a com prince of enquiry
:31:07. > :31:09.into the consequences of independence in Scotland. They have
:31:10. > :31:16.been focusing over the currency issue. They have heard evidence from
:31:17. > :31:20.the Chancellor, the chief secretary, Danny Alexander, and
:31:21. > :31:26.today it was the turn of Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor. He has said
:31:27. > :31:29.that if there was an independent Scotland would be no currency union
:31:30. > :31:36.between the rest of the UK an independent Scotland. He was at
:31:37. > :31:40.pains today to make it plain that as far as he was concerned whoever
:31:41. > :31:43.would be in government at this place after the next general election, and
:31:44. > :31:48.if there was Scottish independence, there would not be a currency union
:31:49. > :32:01.between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. Once you move away
:32:02. > :32:05.from the fundamental underpinnings of a single currency, to continue
:32:06. > :32:11.with the single currency would be to make all the mistakes and worse that
:32:12. > :32:17.were made in the Euro in the early years. It would not be being -- it
:32:18. > :32:23.would not be in the interests of anyone in the United Kingdom. I
:32:24. > :32:27.could never recommend it. It would not happen, shouldn't happen, and
:32:28. > :32:33.will not happen if there is a Labour government. So, Ed Balls not
:32:34. > :32:36.changing his position there. I understand you have some guests to
:32:37. > :32:43.pick up on those issues. Yes, I have. We will pick up on some
:32:44. > :32:50.important issues. I am joined by Charles Kennedy, and Angus MacNeil.
:32:51. > :32:54.Charles Kennedy, a bit of a strange Prime Minister's Questions today.
:32:55. > :33:00.The politics went out of it because there was an important issue, the
:33:01. > :33:03.mounting crisis in Iraq. Yes, we have been here before, tragically.
:33:04. > :33:14.We have seen that kind of atmosphere before. The big difference this time
:33:15. > :33:20.is, thank God, Barack Obama is not George Bush, and David Cameron is
:33:21. > :33:23.not trying to follow up Tony Blair. Do we have a situation where the
:33:24. > :33:28.British Trade Minister has to say, however much we might not like it,
:33:29. > :33:35.we have to step out on this one? The Americans will dictate the pace,
:33:36. > :33:40.ultimately. The big difference with what went before is going to be a
:33:41. > :33:45.very cautious pace. We are right to have this engagement with Iran, but
:33:46. > :33:51.we have to proceed with great care because it is a double-edged sword.
:33:52. > :33:57.It was noticeable, Mr Brown, that David Cameron was blunt, saying that
:33:58. > :34:04.what happens in Iran could at some point have a direct impact on what
:34:05. > :34:07.happens in the UK. Absolutely. If we look at the figures quoted today,
:34:08. > :34:16.potentially 400 young individuals from here in the UK taking part in
:34:17. > :34:20.the conflict, the killing of innocent people, it makes you
:34:21. > :34:24.wonder, how will we control that going forward in the future? The
:34:25. > :34:28.questions we are being asked about any of the individuals coming back
:34:29. > :34:31.to this country, what will we do to prevent that happening, and the
:34:32. > :34:36.Prime Minister has said about anyone from here engaging in a process that
:34:37. > :34:43.would lead in conflict overseas. Legislation will be considered for
:34:44. > :34:46.dealing with that in the future. You have some personal knowledge of the
:34:47. > :34:51.area out there. Yes, four or five years ago I went with one of my
:34:52. > :35:00.parliamentary colleagues. That was at the request of a group in London,
:35:01. > :35:05.and we witnessed the press it -- persecution of Christians and
:35:06. > :35:10.murdering of people as well. It was a horrible state of affairs. And it
:35:11. > :35:14.shows that the area is still anything but secure, but with
:35:15. > :35:20.different people involved in conflict. Angus MacNeil, what can
:35:21. > :35:25.the British government do, realistically. Is it enough to say,
:35:26. > :35:30.we have to leave it to the United Nations, orders necessary, we follow
:35:31. > :35:38.the United States? The reality is that the Empire is long over. It
:35:39. > :35:47.will be the Americans who dictate the pace in this. David Cameron last
:35:48. > :35:58.August was trying to roll in behind the very people he is trying to rail
:35:59. > :36:01.against in Iraq. We have to look at the history of this and the
:36:02. > :36:07.tinderbox situation it is, who was the lighting the fire at the
:36:08. > :36:19.beginning. We had words calling for Tony Blair to be impeached, which I
:36:20. > :36:24.would support. And the Chilcott enquiry, that should not be buried
:36:25. > :36:27.until after the referendum. We have to understand the processes going on
:36:28. > :36:32.at Westminster that the time leading up to the Iraq war, which has led to
:36:33. > :36:39.the situation we have at the moment. If the situation gets worse and the
:36:40. > :36:43.Americans decide to take some kind of military action and they request
:36:44. > :36:49.help from Britain, what should David Cameron do? It depends on the nature
:36:50. > :37:07.of the military action. It is highly unlikely the Americans with boot GIs
:37:08. > :37:12.-- would put GIs into this. If, on the other hand, which is in line
:37:13. > :37:15.with what Barack Obama does elsewhere, if he decides on drone
:37:16. > :37:21.attacks, that is something we have to acquiesce in. The problem about
:37:22. > :37:25.drone attacks in these built-up areas is that you are liable to take
:37:26. > :37:29.out as many civilians as you are to hit the people you are trying to
:37:30. > :37:39.get. Russell, what is Labour's view on this? Charles has laid it out
:37:40. > :37:44.precisely. It is about, do you go in random drone attacks which kill
:37:45. > :37:51.innocent people? I would hope we would be speaking to other allies in
:37:52. > :37:57.that area to try to get people round a table. There will be some who say
:37:58. > :38:02.that the group are not for talking to. But at some stage we have got to
:38:03. > :38:06.engage with allies in the area to try to assist us through this and
:38:07. > :38:12.get people to start talking to one another, rather than continual
:38:13. > :38:15.killing and slaughtering. If the call comes from the White House,
:38:16. > :38:23.what should the British government do? We have to assess the situation
:38:24. > :38:27.as it is at the time. We have to look at how the situation is
:38:28. > :38:31.developing, as was done in the Syrian situation last August, and
:38:32. > :38:36.the correct call was made not to intervene then, which would have
:38:37. > :38:47.made the situation worse. Half to assess the situation when it arises.
:38:48. > :38:54.Engagement is our one whole because... Charles Kennedy, the Home
:38:55. > :38:57.Office is getting a lot of stick about the problems with passports,
:38:58. > :39:05.people cannot get them. Is it something that you, as a
:39:06. > :39:11.constituency MP, is impacting on you? Yes, it has been going on for
:39:12. > :39:16.some time, it is getting worse. The government and passport authority
:39:17. > :39:21.are both responding to it, but it is too little, too late. It has caused
:39:22. > :39:28.real upset and distress at local community family level. We have all
:39:29. > :39:33.experienced it as constituency MPs. And Scotland are ahead of the pack
:39:34. > :39:38.because our calendar is difficult because of the school holiday
:39:39. > :39:41.timing, so we have been hit first. People with long memories will
:39:42. > :39:45.perhaps remember when Labour was in government, when there were similar
:39:46. > :39:50.problems with the passport office. Can it affect any party? Yes, it is
:39:51. > :39:56.how you deal with the problem that arises. And early indications for us
:39:57. > :40:01.well around mid-February, and it has escalated. So within the passport
:40:02. > :40:08.service, people knew there were problems then, but it was not being
:40:09. > :40:11.dealt with. Thankfully they are not looking -- they are looking at
:40:12. > :40:15.applications based on who needs the passport first, and those people who
:40:16. > :40:21.are applying for a passport is about three weeks before they are due to
:40:22. > :40:27.go do not stand much chance, I suspect. But it is about getting
:40:28. > :40:38.more resources to get rid of this backlog. It went from 300,000 to
:40:39. > :40:42.420,000. Will the government have to throw whatever resources are needed
:40:43. > :40:47.that this problem? If you look back at 1999, the problem was caused by
:40:48. > :40:51.outsourcing to private companies. The problem is due to the demand. I
:40:52. > :40:56.have a constituent in Hong Kong who wants to get her son back to the
:40:57. > :41:04.Outer Hebrides. She is married to a Canadian, fortunately, because
:41:05. > :41:07.whatever she tries to do, the tobacco at the UK passport office
:41:08. > :41:14.means she cannot get one for her son. Canada can do what Britain
:41:15. > :41:18.cannot. Thank you very much for joining me. Act to you. -- back to
:41:19. > :41:21.you. Time for a final chat with
:41:22. > :41:31.our political commentator Let us focus on the Iraq situation.
:41:32. > :41:36.David was talking about that at the top of his discussion. A difficult
:41:37. > :41:42.situation for David Cameron. Yes, and it totally shape Prime
:41:43. > :41:46.Minister's Questions today. Iraq casts a huge shadow, rightly, over
:41:47. > :41:55.British foreign policy for the last decade. Western foreign policy
:41:56. > :41:59.towards the Middle East and particularly Iran, Iraq, there is a
:42:00. > :42:05.long failing going on there, since 1970, 1980. Britain has a lot of
:42:06. > :42:10.responsibility there, we created a rack, the Balfour declaration,
:42:11. > :42:17.Palestinian peace talks were stalled. -- we created Iraq. We are
:42:18. > :42:25.following in the coat-tails of the US, because of defence cuts. A
:42:26. > :42:30.senior Lib Dem minister has confirmed that people in the party
:42:31. > :42:34.are discussing whether they should change their view on whether there
:42:35. > :42:40.should be a referendum on Britain's membership on the European Union.
:42:41. > :42:48.Yes, given that they stood for a referendum. When Nick Clegg was
:42:49. > :42:57.asked what was the future of the European Union in ten years, he said
:42:58. > :43:04.he saw at broadly as it is now. The status quo is fatal. We are almost
:43:05. > :43:14.out of time. Let us just have a word on Ed Miliband. The problem with
:43:15. > :43:16.holding the Sun newspaper. He then apologised for holding the
:43:17. > :43:22.newspaper, which offended its readers. He is more unpopular than
:43:23. > :43:30.Nick Clegg, which is an act in itself. Thanks very much for that.
:43:31. > :43:33.That's it for now. We're back at our usual time of 2:30pm
:43:34. > :43:38.over on BBC Two next week. I hope you can join us then.
:43:39. > :43:45.Thanks for your company this afternoon. Bye for now.