:00:20. > :00:20.Good afternoon and welcome to Politics Scotland.
:00:21. > :00:27.Is Labour facing a revolt over Trident in the Commons next week?
:00:28. > :00:30.And at Holyrood, MSPs are debating whether housing can promote
:00:31. > :00:38.The SNP is planning to table a Commons motion on Trident
:00:39. > :00:41.for debate next Tuesday, which is likely to call for the scrapping
:00:42. > :00:48.It's understood Labour MPs are being instructed to abstain
:00:49. > :00:51.but some are set to defy Mr Corbyn and vote against the SNP.
:00:52. > :00:53.Our Westminster correspondent David Porter joins us now
:00:54. > :01:07.David, whatever the SNP up to? There is a lot of politics taking place
:01:08. > :01:11.here. It is an article phase with the SNP that they want to see the
:01:12. > :01:16.nuclear weapons and the submarines that carried them, removed from
:01:17. > :01:21.Scotland. These see it as such an important issue that it should be
:01:22. > :01:26.debated here frequently here in Westminster and at great length.
:01:27. > :01:30.Because they are the third largest party here in Westminster, they can
:01:31. > :01:36.choose the business. Next week they have chosen they will choose trident
:01:37. > :01:41.and tax and revenue offices. The controversial thing will be that
:01:42. > :01:45.decision to discuss trident once again. Supporters of trident say it
:01:46. > :01:50.is the ultimate deterrent and a country like Britain needs to have
:01:51. > :01:56.that ultimate deterrent. Those who are against Trident say it will be a
:01:57. > :01:59.spectacular waste of money to update the system because no Prime Minister
:02:00. > :02:04.is ever going to press the button, is going to use that ultimate
:02:05. > :02:07.section of using the weapons. Next year the House of Commons will have
:02:08. > :02:13.to make a decision on whether it will upgrade the Trident system. The
:02:14. > :02:18.SNP say that is wrong in principle and think it is wrong for Scotland.
:02:19. > :02:22.That plays very well with their core vote. When I spoke to the
:02:23. > :02:26.Westminster leader, Angus Robertson this morning, he would not tell me
:02:27. > :02:31.what the wording of that motion would be. His argument is that this
:02:32. > :02:36.is such an important issue that the public and MPs should have a chance
:02:37. > :02:41.to discuss that. The wording of motions is published closer to the
:02:42. > :02:47.time but it will be in opposition to trident. We believe ?167 billion
:02:48. > :02:56.should be spent better. The SNP is clear in its opposition to trident.
:02:57. > :03:03.Hopefully Labour will join us. This thing about this is that the SNP
:03:04. > :03:06.motion, should it go ahead, it is likely to be more of a problem for
:03:07. > :03:12.the Labour Party than the government? The government are clear
:03:13. > :03:14.on where they stand on this, they want a replacement to trident and
:03:15. > :03:19.they believe they have the votes in the House of Commons to do that. The
:03:20. > :03:23.problem is for the Labour Party. We have a leader of the UK Labour Party
:03:24. > :03:26.who does not believe in nuclear weapons and would like to see
:03:27. > :03:30.who does not believe in nuclear trident scrapped. The official
:03:31. > :03:38.policy of the UK Labour Party is to go ahead and have a replacement for
:03:39. > :03:45.trident, add to that that the recent decision by the Scottish Labour
:03:46. > :03:48.Party said they want to renew Trident. You get a sense of the
:03:49. > :03:55.splits and divisions within the Labour Party. The leadership of the
:03:56. > :04:00.Labour Party is our its MPs to abstain from this. There will be
:04:01. > :04:04.some who believe nuclear weapons are important to me vote against the
:04:05. > :04:09.SNP. The way that Labour will trying get around this is by saying that
:04:10. > :04:13.this is going to be a 1 line Whip on Tuesday that MPs do not have to turn
:04:14. > :04:19.up for the debate. They will hope that many Labour MPs will have other
:04:20. > :04:25.imported engagements and this is debated next week. -- important. I
:04:26. > :04:27.think you will be back with us later in the programme.
:04:28. > :04:32.Joining me for the programme is the political strategist Andy MacIver.
:04:33. > :04:38.The politics of this are straight forward. Both the SNP and
:04:39. > :04:43.conservatives would like to have debates about trident forever. It is
:04:44. > :04:47.fine for them. Labour have had a horrible week and I think they will
:04:48. > :04:52.have another one next week. With trident you have a situation in the
:04:53. > :04:57.UK where the leader of the party is against it but the party is for it.
:04:58. > :05:02.What does a revolt look like in the Commons next week? No one knows what
:05:03. > :05:06.the policy is anyway. In a funny kind of way, it might not go as
:05:07. > :05:11.badly for them, because no matter what the voters, no one knows what
:05:12. > :05:16.the policy is. It might not look that bad. Why do you say that? If
:05:17. > :05:20.you go back to the leadership contest with Jeremy Corbyn,
:05:21. > :05:25.everything that was going on with his views on foreign policy, some of
:05:26. > :05:29.the interactions he had with the extremists before, which were
:05:30. > :05:33.publicised during the election, what you start to see when there are
:05:34. > :05:39.major policy events like Paris last week, you see the effects of that.
:05:40. > :05:44.It is a disastrous week when it comes to the shoot to kill policy.
:05:45. > :05:50.He had rubble start. To be fair to Jeremy Corbyn, I think he would say
:05:51. > :06:02.that he never said what he was taken to say. -- horrible start. I except
:06:03. > :06:07.in his position maybe he should not leave any room for ambiguity. He
:06:08. > :06:12.still speaks on camera as if he is a backbencher, so he pontificates and
:06:13. > :06:18.surmises and speaks in a kind of town on television that does not
:06:19. > :06:24.indicate what is particularly knows. -- kind of town. Then he has to
:06:25. > :06:29.clarify what he says. To play devils advocate, is there not a market for
:06:30. > :06:33.opening some of these debates out, for rather than saying that in the
:06:34. > :06:37.reek of the Paris attacks, everyone is horrified by it, but rather than
:06:38. > :06:42.saying we need to do X. To have someone like Jeremy Corbyn who says,
:06:43. > :06:46.let stand back from this for the moment and have a discussion about
:06:47. > :06:51.it. I think there is a market, but I do not think he can fill that
:06:52. > :06:59.market. So if you take what is the next stage of action on Syria, there
:07:00. > :07:04.is a lot of different valid opinions on it. His opinion is a valid one.
:07:05. > :07:08.But he is the wrong messenger forehead. What happened before on
:07:09. > :07:11.what he said about shoot to kill and what he said in the leadership
:07:12. > :07:17.campaign, he does not have a credible message that the British
:07:18. > :07:21.public CSL double. When he gives a reasonable message on something like
:07:22. > :07:26.trident or Syrian action, it is not seen as credible, so it does damage
:07:27. > :07:28.to that side of the argument. So the message may be right, but the man
:07:29. > :07:31.may not be? He is not the man. Well, a short while ago,
:07:32. > :07:34.MSPs began that debate on housing Let's hear from the Scottish
:07:35. > :07:42.Government. I am delighted to tell the chamber
:07:43. > :07:49.today that the Scottish Government has now not only met but exceeded
:07:50. > :07:53.our target to deliver all 30,000 affordable homes. And included
:07:54. > :07:58.within that is our 20,000 social rented homes target which includes
:07:59. > :08:06.5000 council houses. They afford all of targets have been met. The
:08:07. > :08:10.target... This Presiding Officer is based on a live admin of data. I
:08:11. > :08:15.will take an intervention when I have finished this part. This is
:08:16. > :08:19.based on a live administrative data as at the end of October. Formal
:08:20. > :08:26.confirmation of meeting the targets and by how much they have exceeded
:08:27. > :08:29.will follow in the regular quarterly publications of official statistics.
:08:30. > :08:32.But I am sure that everyone in the chamber can agree that this is good
:08:33. > :08:38.news. I will now take the intervention. The Minister is
:08:39. > :08:45.pleased she has meeting the target. Does she feel she has met housing
:08:46. > :08:50.needs in Scotland? I think we have met housing needs better than the
:08:51. > :08:55.previous legislation who built less houses with rising budgets. We have
:08:56. > :09:00.met this target on falling budgets. So in terms of that, yes we have met
:09:01. > :09:06.the target. Housing is a challenge and we are not denying that
:09:07. > :09:11.challenge. I will carry on by saying that housing, however the 30,000 is
:09:12. > :09:15.not the full extent of this government's ambition for Scotland.
:09:16. > :09:19.Our ambition is greater than that as it always is for our country. If the
:09:20. > :09:25.Scottish Government is returned in May, one of key commitments is to
:09:26. > :09:30.increase the supply of affordable homes further, as announced by the
:09:31. > :09:35.First Minister in May, we will deliver 50,000 affordable homes in
:09:36. > :09:40.the next five years. That has been warmly welcomed by the sector's
:09:41. > :09:45.representative bodies. I want to make some progress now because this
:09:46. > :09:51.is our ambitious housing programme and I want member state unit. This
:09:52. > :09:55.is a 67% planned increase in affordable housing supply. Within
:09:56. > :10:00.that we plan to minting our existing commitment to social housing, with
:10:01. > :10:06.70% of the new target for social rent. Our undertaking is bold, it is
:10:07. > :10:10.credible and it is backed with the provision of over ?3 billion of
:10:11. > :10:14.funds. This will not only deliver more affordable homes, but it will
:10:15. > :10:20.also support on average around 20,000 jobs a year and generate in
:10:21. > :10:26.excess of 10 million activity over the course of this Parliament.
:10:27. > :10:30.Housing is fundamental to tackling inequalities and this government is
:10:31. > :10:33.determined to ensure that we deliver the high quality have affordable
:10:34. > :10:38.homes that people and communities need. In the last seven years we
:10:39. > :10:45.have contained support for social rented provision with over 25,000
:10:46. > :10:50.new build RSL affordable completion still avert and we will continue to
:10:51. > :10:57.work jointly with the sector to maintain their strong contribution
:10:58. > :10:58.to meeting our new ambitious target. By continuing to work with
:10:59. > :11:05.local authority partners, we will build on our commitment to cancel
:11:06. > :11:10.housing commitment. -- council housing. This will prevent the loss
:11:11. > :11:14.of up to 15 and a half thousand homes over a 10-year period, helping
:11:15. > :11:19.safeguard the supply of social rented homes for future generations
:11:20. > :11:24.to come. This is an important policy point for this government, we want
:11:25. > :11:28.to protect social housing stock for the future. Presiding Officer,
:11:29. > :11:33.housing options and choices are critical. That is why we have funded
:11:34. > :11:37.a range of housing to offer that choice, both for those wanting to
:11:38. > :11:42.rent or for those who want to own their own home. Just recently we
:11:43. > :11:45.announced a ?10 million increase in budget for the open market shared
:11:46. > :11:53.equity scheme. Bringing our funding to that scheme this year to ?18
:11:54. > :11:57.million. We also made sure that the scheme gives priority to social
:11:58. > :12:00.renters, disabled people, members of the Armed Forces and veterans who
:12:01. > :12:05.have left the Armed Forces within the last two years. Other routes to
:12:06. > :12:06.home ownership have also been provided through our funding to Help
:12:07. > :12:09.To Buy. The First Minister says Scotland's
:12:10. > :12:12.response to the Paris terror attacks must be one of "defiance and
:12:13. > :12:14.solidarity, not fear and division." Nicola Sturgeon was leading
:12:15. > :12:17.a motion of condolence at Holyrood yesterday, after
:12:18. > :12:21.at least 129 people were killed in gun and bomb attacks across
:12:22. > :12:24.the French capital on Friday night. Opposition parties unanimously
:12:25. > :12:28.backed her motion, calling on Scots to unite against terrorism
:12:29. > :12:31.and make clear that it could not succeed in destroying peoples'
:12:32. > :12:44.freedoms and way of life. Today we mourn the innocent victims
:12:45. > :12:49.at least 129 of them who lost their lives. We hope for the recovery of
:12:50. > :12:53.all those who were injured and we send our thoughts, our prayers and
:12:54. > :12:58.condolences to all of those affected. In doing so, this chamber
:12:59. > :13:03.and indeed all of the people of Scotland, say unequivocally that we
:13:04. > :13:08.stand in solidarity with France and with the French people. The overall
:13:09. > :13:12.threat level in the UK is classified as severe. However people in
:13:13. > :13:15.Scotland are safe to go about their day to day business and they should
:13:16. > :13:21.continue to do so. Police Scotland advise people to be vigilant and
:13:22. > :13:26.alert but not alarmed. Working closely with Police Scotland and the
:13:27. > :13:30.UK Government colleagues, we will continue to reflect carefully on the
:13:31. > :13:34.security possession and take all steps to ensure people and
:13:35. > :13:38.communities here at home are safe and is well protected as possible.
:13:39. > :13:46.One important part of doing that is to reaffirm this Parliament's
:13:47. > :13:51.commitment to a diverse and multicultural society. I observed
:13:52. > :13:58.the minute silence yesterday at Glasgow's Central Mosque. John
:13:59. > :14:04.Winnie attended another ceremony. The evil actions of these terrorists
:14:05. > :14:08.do not speak for Islam, instead they are a perversion of that faith and a
:14:09. > :14:14.deep insult to the millions across the world who adhere peacefully to
:14:15. > :14:18.its values. We must also together as a society restricts the instinct to
:14:19. > :14:23.turn on each other. If we are determined as we are away that the
:14:24. > :14:29.terrorists will not prevail, then difficult and challenging as it is,
:14:30. > :14:33.our response must be of one of solidarity and fines, not of fear
:14:34. > :14:36.and division. The actions of the few must not be allowed to undermine the
:14:37. > :14:46.freedoms and way of life of the many. I thank the First Minister for
:14:47. > :14:49.her words. I would also like to send my condolences, thoughts and prayers
:14:50. > :14:55.to those caught in the attacks in Paris and to the people of France.
:14:56. > :14:58.The death and destruction, the senseless acts of terror and
:14:59. > :15:04.violence, they have won ultimate goal and that is to fundamentally
:15:05. > :15:08.change our society, to transformers from a society that values
:15:09. > :15:12.tolerance, integration, solidarity and freedom, into one that rejects
:15:13. > :15:18.all of those things. We are nation that considers all people to be born
:15:19. > :15:23.equal and deserving of respect, regardless of sexuality, gender,
:15:24. > :15:26.race, faith or disability. So when the first of the refugees of Syria
:15:27. > :15:34.arrived today in Glasgow, let's welcome them with loving arms.
:15:35. > :15:42.May I extend my condolences to the families of those who died or were
:15:43. > :15:47.injured on Friday? This motion today calls on us to unite in the wake of
:15:48. > :15:52.these attacks. That is the vital task we face in the coming weeks.
:15:53. > :15:57.Not just in Scotland but across the civilised world. As the Prime
:15:58. > :16:02.Minister said last night, military power and counterterrorism will only
:16:03. > :16:05.ever get us so far, vital as they are. More important is to understand
:16:06. > :16:11.and address their hatred underpinning the attacks. We should
:16:12. > :16:17.not kid ourselves or worse blame ourselves for what is behind the new
:16:18. > :16:23.threat. It is simple. It is an ideology driven to crush the values
:16:24. > :16:28.of freedom, liberty and equality which we all in this chamber hold
:16:29. > :16:32.dear. The motion today which I am proud to support calls on us to
:16:33. > :16:36.ensure acts of terrorism will not succeed in providing us or
:16:37. > :16:42.destroying those freedoms. We must confront those who seek to embed its
:16:43. > :16:46.poison in our society and encourage moderate Muslim voices to show the
:16:47. > :16:51.world it is not these extremists who have ownership of their faith but
:16:52. > :16:57.them. The city of love is wounded by hate, today to Paris we send our
:16:58. > :17:03.love to help it heal. We must nurture our progressive liberal free
:17:04. > :17:07.society. From the bottom of my heart, from all citizens, living in
:17:08. > :17:11.Scotland, thank you. Joining me now is the
:17:12. > :17:22.SNP MSP, Mark McDonald, Mark McDonald, could I ask you a
:17:23. > :17:26.factual question? Nicola Sturgeon talking about the challenges in the
:17:27. > :17:33.wake of the Paris attacks. Do you know whether as a matter of fact the
:17:34. > :17:38.Scottish for a matter of fact the Scottish forest to do with security
:17:39. > :17:42.as a result? -- the Scottish authority. I personally do not. What
:17:43. > :17:50.Nicola Sturgeon said clearly yesterday was the Scottish for it is
:17:51. > :17:55.remain in contact regularly with the UK intelligence agencies -- Scottish
:17:56. > :18:00.authorities. The threat level has not changed in the aftermath of the
:18:01. > :18:04.Paris attacks. Also, very clear advice is that people should be
:18:05. > :18:08.alert but not alarmed and I think that is the basis on which we should
:18:09. > :18:12.operate in society and we should continue our daily business but
:18:13. > :18:15.remaining, as we have been encouraged to remain for some time,
:18:16. > :18:25.vigilant and aware of possible threats. Sarah Boyack, rather sharp
:18:26. > :18:31.change of gear, your big issue has been air quality, a motion on that.
:18:32. > :18:40.What exactly is the problem you are trying to address? Over 2000 people
:18:41. > :18:45.die every year from the impact of air pollution that is primarily
:18:46. > :18:49.caused by diesel vehicles and I am calling on the Scottish Government
:18:50. > :18:54.to act faster than they are planning to do to put in lower emissions zone
:18:55. > :19:00.is in the cities. 32 areas across Scotland are failing the air quality
:19:01. > :19:06.tests. Five in Edinburgh alone. It is a big problem. Failing which
:19:07. > :19:12.tests? The test of emissions standards. The level of pollution
:19:13. > :19:18.required. That is partly because... Required by EU law, British law? EU
:19:19. > :19:23.law. That is why the Scottish Government needs to act along with
:19:24. > :19:26.the UK Government. In Scotland, it is low emissions zones and
:19:27. > :19:32.particularly starting with the 32 areas where we are failing to meet
:19:33. > :19:36.the tests. If it is caused mainly by diesel and presumably these are
:19:37. > :19:42.areas of busy traffic junctions? A key thing we need to start doing is
:19:43. > :19:49.changing the fuel our vehicles use. Moving to electric vehicles,
:19:50. > :19:53.hopefully being able to... But we are not going to do that in two or
:19:54. > :19:59.three years, what is it you want the Scottish Government to do about busy
:20:00. > :20:03.traffic areas that they are not doing already? It is exactly that,
:20:04. > :20:07.working at the local level to identify the key problems now rather
:20:08. > :20:10.than waiting to do three years. I hope the Scottish Government will
:20:11. > :20:14.work with the local authority to make sure we do not ignore this
:20:15. > :20:19.problem. It is 2000 people a year and these are preventable deaths. It
:20:20. > :20:23.is something that is a social justice issue. In our towns and
:20:24. > :20:31.cities, we need action. Dundee has got action in terms of low emissions
:20:32. > :20:34.and we need to do it across the whole of Scotland. Mark McDonald, I
:20:35. > :20:37.presume you do not particularly disagree with that? I do not believe
:20:38. > :20:42.there is a huge amount of distance between the Labour Party and
:20:43. > :20:45.ourselves. We have said we are going to bring forward pilots of low
:20:46. > :20:52.emissions zones. What we are trying to do with that trance book policy
:20:53. > :20:55.is to encourage the shifts Sarah Boyack talked about -- the trance
:20:56. > :21:02.bought policy. We have powered hydrogen buses helping in terms of
:21:03. > :21:07.reducing emissions in my home city. Investment in infrastructure
:21:08. > :21:11.designed to reduce congestion, move vehicles away from population
:21:12. > :21:15.centres. Again, looking at my area of the world, the Aberdeen route, it
:21:16. > :21:21.is designed to take traffic away from within the city and divert it
:21:22. > :21:25.around the city, reducing congestion and reducing the idle running
:21:26. > :21:29.engines at junctions and busy hotspots contributing to the high
:21:30. > :21:34.emission levels. The one thing is that it is very easy for Sarah
:21:35. > :21:39.Boyack to say it must happen now. A lot of these things are going to
:21:40. > :21:42.need time to bed in, time for projects to be realised, but there
:21:43. > :21:46.has been work done. I would hope Sarah Boyack would agree there is
:21:47. > :21:50.work being done and good work has been done to bring the emission
:21:51. > :21:54.levels down. Still more to be done and the report reveals that. The
:21:55. > :22:00.work is under way to reduce the emission levels and make the air in
:22:01. > :22:01.our cities much cleaner. We will have to leave it there. Thank you
:22:02. > :22:14.both very much indeed. Everyone is shocked obviously by
:22:15. > :22:21.what happened in Paris. It is not clear at any level whether we really
:22:22. > :22:25.know what to do about it. No, it is a difficult issue for the Scottish
:22:26. > :22:28.Parliament to discuss. It is not in their remit. It is foreign affairs
:22:29. > :22:33.and defence. There is not much they can do about it at Holyrood. What
:22:34. > :22:40.was interesting was that you did not get a lot of meat in yesterday's
:22:41. > :22:43.comments. It was perfectly well mannered and they said the right
:22:44. > :22:47.things but what we did not get is what you're saying, we did not get
:22:48. > :22:54.anyone putting a solution. I am not sure even at the UK or international
:22:55. > :22:58.level we have had that. I do not think we have. Paris is a turning
:22:59. > :23:02.point. I sense a change in the national mood now since Paris
:23:03. > :23:06.because it seems that although this has been happening in other places,
:23:07. > :23:09.it coming so close to home, it looks like the rules of the game have
:23:10. > :23:14.changed and people are altering their views a bit. The reality is I
:23:15. > :23:17.think there are short-term and long-term answers. When you say you
:23:18. > :23:22.think people are altering their views, in what sense? If you looked
:23:23. > :23:25.at polling on taking military action in Syria right now, it would be to
:23:26. > :23:30.substantially different to what it was over the last few months. Far
:23:31. > :23:35.more in favour of action. They see the barbarism on their doorstep. Be
:23:36. > :23:40.one part of the solution. I think what you will see is a much more
:23:41. > :23:43.concerted to look at short-term issues like brown strikes and
:23:44. > :23:47.military action in Syria and long-term issues. The reality is the
:23:48. > :23:49.only way to solve this is too instilled Chrissy and effectively
:23:50. > :23:55.capitalism -- to instil democracy. MSPS are continuing that debate on
:23:56. > :23:57.housing in the chamber at Holyrood. Let's hear what Labour
:23:58. > :24:05.and the Conservatives had to say. I would like to begin this afternoon
:24:06. > :24:09.by making a plea to the Government. I welcome the fact they have
:24:10. > :24:12.scheduled this debate to allow us to debate the important issue of
:24:13. > :24:19.housing. Will they finally recognise the housing situation in Scotland
:24:20. > :24:23.finds itself in a crisis? It would appear not. In September this year,
:24:24. > :24:28.Labour called a debate on housing so that Parliament could recognise this
:24:29. > :24:30.very predicament and we remain bitterly disappointed that the
:24:31. > :24:36.Government will not recognise the housing situation as being a crisis.
:24:37. > :24:40.Instead what we have is a self congratulatory motion with the
:24:41. > :24:45.Scottish Government praising themselves for bringing forward a
:24:46. > :24:50.commitment which in itself falls far short of the demands of the housing
:24:51. > :24:54.sector and it also claims to be leading innovation in housing policy
:24:55. > :24:58.which stands little scrutiny when a proper comparison is made with what
:24:59. > :25:02.is happening elsewhere in Britain. As I made clear in the last debate,
:25:03. > :25:06.it was and still is Labour's position that every person and
:25:07. > :25:11.family in Scotland should have access to a safe affordable home.
:25:12. > :25:16.This is a stepping stone to social and economic equality for all.
:25:17. > :25:19.Simply put, there is an imperative that housing construction targets
:25:20. > :25:27.are raised to accommodate the growing need for reasonably priced
:25:28. > :25:32.homes in Scotland. In while there is no question that this will make a
:25:33. > :25:34.contribution to reducing overcrowding and supporting
:25:35. > :25:41.communities, that number is nowhere near enough. As I said in September,
:25:42. > :25:44.we have to accept that for some time that house-building numbers in
:25:45. > :25:50.Scotland have fallen far too short. That figure of 2014 is the lowest
:25:51. > :25:55.level of construction since 1947. That is at a time when over 150,000
:25:56. > :26:00.families in Scotland are waiting for a home to live in. I congratulate
:26:01. > :26:03.the Scottish Government on achieving its downgraded commitment on the
:26:04. > :26:09.building of affordable homes, but they might not notice me making that
:26:10. > :26:14.clear because they will be busy patting themselves on the back. We
:26:15. > :26:16.need more affordable homes than the Scottish Government have built and
:26:17. > :26:22.much more than they are now committing to. We need them
:26:23. > :26:26.yesterday. We must act swiftly and effectively as the stakes are simply
:26:27. > :26:32.too high. It has been said already in this debate that the
:26:33. > :26:37.Government's claimed to have achieved its objective of building
:26:38. > :26:42.30,000 affordable homes is a misrepresentation of the truth. The
:26:43. > :26:47.manifesto commitment was to build 30,000 socially rented homes. It was
:26:48. > :26:54.an early action of this government to revise that total to 30,000
:26:55. > :26:59.affordable homes, a much easier target to achieve, 20,000 of which
:27:00. > :27:04.will be socially rented. That means if they achieve their objective, as
:27:05. > :27:10.they describe it today, they will have missed their target by a full
:27:11. > :27:15.third. Let us also remember that there is more than that sleight of
:27:16. > :27:21.hand going on. When the earlier, the current administration very shrewdly
:27:22. > :27:24.switched from counting starts to completions which will mean at the
:27:25. > :27:27.end of this five-year period when they count the total, they will
:27:28. > :27:33.actually be counting houses built in a period longer than five years.
:27:34. > :27:40.There is a great deal of sleight of hand going on. The next clause is
:27:41. > :27:44.that we apparently acknowledge the achievement being made despite the
:27:45. > :27:48.drastic reduction in capital budgets as a result of the UK Government's
:27:49. > :27:55.spending cuts. That is always the next line, blame the UK Government.
:27:56. > :27:59.The problem is that this government in Scotland, through successive
:28:00. > :28:04.budgets, singled out the housing budget for disproportionate cuts. If
:28:05. > :28:09.that is a demonstration of what they treat us I'd for it to, I do not
:28:10. > :28:13.know how they define priorities -- they treat as a priority. This
:28:14. > :28:20.government has been doing all it can to in courage house-building but
:28:21. > :28:26.without taking responsibility for it itself. For example, it slashed the
:28:27. > :28:31.hard grant and so a vast reduction in the amount of houses being built
:28:32. > :28:34.within our housing associations. In order to prevent that number
:28:35. > :28:40.dropping, our housing associations borrowed up to their limits,
:28:41. > :28:47.stretching their assets in order to keep building. What do they do with
:28:48. > :28:52.local authorities? They find ways to encourage councils to build houses
:28:53. > :28:57.but almost invariably it was councils left to borrow the money to
:28:58. > :29:00.fulfil this Government's targets. The great claims that have been made
:29:01. > :29:05.about the number of council houses built under this government may be
:29:06. > :29:08.accurate in terms of numbers but to suggest this government is paying
:29:09. > :29:16.for them is to misrepresent the truth.
:29:17. > :29:19.And now to Prime Minister's Questions where the Paris attacks
:29:20. > :29:23.David Cameron told MPs that he would not outsource the security
:29:24. > :29:26.of the British people to a Russian veto at the United Nations.
:29:27. > :29:29.Pressed by the SNP's Angus Robertson on whether he'd seek authorisation
:29:30. > :29:32.for any UK military action in Syria from the UN Security Council,
:29:33. > :29:33.Mr Cameron said UN backing was always preferable,
:29:34. > :29:35.but he wouldn't be beholden to Moscow
:29:36. > :29:50.I want to start by expressing the horror of the events in Paris on
:29:51. > :30:00.Friday evening and continued solidarity of those affected.
:30:01. > :30:05.Nothing can justify targeting innocent civilians by anyone. We
:30:06. > :30:10.know that one British National has been killed and many more injured.
:30:11. > :30:17.Millions visit Paris and France every year. Can the Prime Minister
:30:18. > :30:20.continue what he was saying earlier about the support given to British
:30:21. > :30:25.National is affected by the attacks and what the government's latest
:30:26. > :30:30.advices in travelling to France and need to show the best possible
:30:31. > :30:34.normality with our relations with the French people? Can I thank the
:30:35. > :30:38.Leader of the Opposition for his remarks and see what a pleasure it
:30:39. > :30:44.was to be with them last night at the England -France football match
:30:45. > :30:52.where I thought there was a show of solidarity. I think we did a good
:30:53. > :30:56.job yesterday and I was proud to be there. I think he is right to seek
:30:57. > :31:01.there is never any justification for terrorism. We should be clear about
:31:02. > :31:09.that right across the house at all times. I think Peter Ricketts, are
:31:10. > :31:14.ambassadors in France has done a brilliant job with his staff, I have
:31:15. > :31:19.been keeping my eye closely on the situation and all that can be done
:31:20. > :31:25.is being done. As far as travel advice, it is on the Foreign Office
:31:26. > :31:28.website. But people should carry on with their lives, it is important
:31:29. > :31:35.that flights continue to go and people continue to enjoy London and
:31:36. > :31:39.Paris and we continue with our business. Yes we need enhanced
:31:40. > :31:44.security and that is happening with the way the police acting here in
:31:45. > :31:49.the UK and elsewhere but one of the ways to defeat terrorism is to show
:31:50. > :31:55.that we will not be carried. In the reek of the Civil War in Syria, it
:31:56. > :31:58.is welcome that there is significant diplomatic progress in trying to
:31:59. > :32:04.find a solution to the Syrian crisis. The UK joint United States
:32:05. > :32:08.and France and Russia and Iran wind talks in Vienna at the weekend and
:32:09. > :32:12.all signed Achaemenid cake committing progress through the
:32:13. > :32:17.United Nations. Will the Prime Minister confirmed that he will
:32:18. > :32:21.support a UN resolution on this before seeking to intervene
:32:22. > :32:26.militarily and Syria? Russia has different aims to us and they have
:32:27. > :32:31.threatened to veto any such resolution. Of course it is always
:32:32. > :32:35.preferable in the circumstances to have the full backing of the United
:32:36. > :32:39.Nations Security Council, but I have to see what matters most of all is
:32:40. > :32:45.that any action we would take would both be legal and would help protect
:32:46. > :32:51.our country and people right here. You cannot, as I said yesterday,
:32:52. > :32:56.outsourced to a Russian veto the decisions we need to keep our
:32:57. > :33:04.country safe. The first survey of public opinion on Syrian attacks are
:33:05. > :33:10.shown the following. 52% believe the UK should engage with all countries
:33:11. > :33:14.to co-ordinated and appropriate response militarily or otherwise
:33:15. > :33:18.backed by the United Nations resolution and only 15% believe the
:33:19. > :33:24.UK should independently launching air strikes. Will the Prime Minister
:33:25. > :33:30.give a commitment to secure a UN Security Council resolution which
:33:31. > :33:36.the UK agreed to an Russian -- Russian agreed to as well cost Mark
:33:37. > :33:40.it is always preferable to have a United Nations security resolution.
:33:41. > :33:44.If they are vetoed over and over again, my job as Prime Minister is
:33:45. > :33:46.not to read an opinion poll, but it is to do the right thing to keep
:33:47. > :33:59.country safe. David Porter is back in the rain and
:34:00. > :34:05.is joined by four wet MPs. It is a deluge. I am joined by Iain Murray
:34:06. > :34:12.from Labour, Stephen Gethins from the SNP. Ian Stewart from the
:34:13. > :34:17.Conservative Party. Ian Murphy, Prime Minister's Question Time. All
:34:18. > :34:23.political discourse dominated by events in Paris. It does seem as if
:34:24. > :34:27.the UK Government now wants to move towards military action against
:34:28. > :34:32.Syria and in Syria. Is that wise? We have said we will wait to see what
:34:33. > :34:37.the government brings forward. What the Prime Minister was clear to
:34:38. > :34:40.yesterday in a statement, the Vienna talks are progressing with Russia
:34:41. > :34:45.and all the other countries in the region, with France, US coming
:34:46. > :34:51.together in the talks. Let's see what they come out with. He will go
:34:52. > :34:55.back to the UN. The Security Council may not get a resolution given
:34:56. > :35:00.Russia was my position in the region, in particular in Syria. We
:35:01. > :35:05.have said wait and see what the government comes forward with. We
:35:06. > :35:09.have seen the foreign affairs report. The Prime Minister has said
:35:10. > :35:14.he will respond to that report personally. Let's see what he comes
:35:15. > :35:18.back with. Everyone is in despair with what happened in Paris. We need
:35:19. > :35:24.to take a step back, reflect on that and see where we go from there. Your
:35:25. > :35:27.party has always been very sceptical about the effectiveness and the
:35:28. > :35:33.morality of taking military action in Syria. I am a member of the
:35:34. > :35:40.Foreign Affairs Committee. We looked at this bringing in experts. The
:35:41. > :35:45.legal and military objectives that the case had been made. I am looking
:35:46. > :35:49.forward to the Prime Minister boss might response. Angus Robertson
:35:50. > :35:53.raised a good point today. The permanent members are edging towards
:35:54. > :35:58.it. Let's see if we can reach that is the best basis for reaching a
:35:59. > :36:09.long-term solution and the evil of Daesh. The Coalition Government
:36:10. > :36:12.tried to get military intervention. The Coalition Government was very
:36:13. > :36:16.bruised then. Do you think they will play safely the stone? I think the
:36:17. > :36:22.circumstances now are significantly different. After the shock of what
:36:23. > :36:27.happened in Paris on Friday is a real opportunity, not just inside
:36:28. > :36:32.the United Kingdom, but inside the international committee to to get an
:36:33. > :36:36.agreed decision. I think there will be movement from Russia. The place
:36:37. > :36:40.to agree all that is in the United Nations. I really hope we can come
:36:41. > :36:45.forward with something that is legal, responsible and is likely to
:36:46. > :36:49.be effective. If we simply had a gut reaction to this and sent in the
:36:50. > :36:53.bombers quickly without some sort of attempt of cooperation or attempt to
:36:54. > :36:58.work together, that would be the wrong thing to do. I think this
:36:59. > :37:01.ushers in a new aid of opportunity to bring some sort of peace and
:37:02. > :37:06.stability to Syria and the Middle East. He and Stewart, it seems as if
:37:07. > :37:11.David Cameron still wants to take military action against Syria. He
:37:12. > :37:17.thinks it is the right thing to do emotionally and militarily. It is
:37:18. > :37:22.part of a package of response. There is no one single solution to this
:37:23. > :37:28.problem. Part of is based on intelligence, part of is tackling
:37:29. > :37:31.the warped culture and ideology these people are propagating. But
:37:32. > :37:38.military action has to be considered as an option. The border between
:37:39. > :37:42.Iraq and Syria is irrelevant in this circumstance, so we have to look at
:37:43. > :37:47.the option of going into Syria. But it has to be done in a measured way.
:37:48. > :37:52.And I think the Prime Minister has done that, by setting out his
:37:53. > :37:57.considered response to the Foreign Affairs Committee. He says he was to
:37:58. > :38:05.get a UN resolution Arafat possible. But we cannot rule anything out. --
:38:06. > :38:07.resolution if at possible. If we can draw this to a close now. Thank you
:38:08. > :38:19.very much for joining me. They were talking about something
:38:20. > :38:24.you raised a moment ago. Let's try to talk about some of the screw. Is
:38:25. > :38:36.this business about the UN going to be the next issue? -- this issue. I
:38:37. > :38:40.think what you are seeing, interestingly, is the SNP on this
:38:41. > :38:44.issue becoming the effective opposition. Labour are all over the
:38:45. > :38:49.place. I mentioned earlier on that I do not think Jeremy Corbyn has
:38:50. > :38:53.credibility because of his past association and because of what he
:38:54. > :38:58.has said in the past week or so about drone strikes and shoot to
:38:59. > :39:05.kill. I think you have seen a slight change in town since Paris from the
:39:06. > :39:10.SNP. Angus Robertson Astute Rosie have spoken very eloquently on that.
:39:11. > :39:17.They are providing a good balance and giving a valid argument and our
:39:18. > :39:20.skiing do we need to have United Nations Security Council approval
:39:21. > :39:24.for this? I think they are doing the right thing and I think they are
:39:25. > :39:30.behaving like an appropriate opposition which I do not think
:39:31. > :39:35.Labour are. He applied that you should try for a UN resolution, but
:39:36. > :39:40.on the expectation that it would fail. This is the problem. You have
:39:41. > :39:45.members of the permanent five in the UN Security Council who are not
:39:46. > :39:50.friends. This issue is to difficult to deal with Putin, it makes a
:39:51. > :39:56.complicated situation in Syria even more complicated. The Lib Dems seem
:39:57. > :40:01.to be on the fence on that issue. Hang on, I am Julia is to explore
:40:02. > :40:09.this. You see that it is difficult to cooperate with Putin because of
:40:10. > :40:17.his relationship with a sad. It was the French above anyone else who put
:40:18. > :40:22.Assad on a platform as the ISAs opposition. In the rhetoric of
:40:23. > :40:27.President Hollande and the last few days, that has changed. There is
:40:28. > :40:31.talk in Britain that maybe we should put up with Assad for a while. There
:40:32. > :40:37.seems to be viewed in the United States may be getting rid of Assad
:40:38. > :40:44.should be put on the back burner. It is just possible as the SNP are
:40:45. > :40:47.suggesting, it did not happen before the Iraq war, it is possible the
:40:48. > :40:55.Russians may be prepared to go along with some UN plan? They have had
:40:56. > :40:58.their own tragedy as well which influences things. Isn't this just
:40:59. > :41:06.an example. The West has not got the greatest fallen -- foreign policy
:41:07. > :41:11.record in the last decade. The ones of the past are being questioned
:41:12. > :41:16.now. It is much more complex. You are right to highly that in 2013
:41:17. > :41:20.when they were looking at this in the Commons, it is a very different
:41:21. > :41:33.situation to what it is now. Whose side would we have been on in 2013,
:41:34. > :41:39.would it have any effect now. It failed based on attacks on Assad and
:41:40. > :41:43.not Isis. There is clear support for some sort of military intervention,
:41:44. > :41:48.other than from the Labour Party. The way it happens, the support you
:41:49. > :41:53.get for it happening and what you do is really crucial to that debate. I
:41:54. > :41:57.think the SNP are providing a very reasonable balance. On the other
:41:58. > :42:02.side of that, what David Cameron said there was, I am happy to go
:42:03. > :42:08.along and seek a UN resolution. What I am not happy is to do anything by
:42:09. > :42:12.any one who would veto it. If he does go along and does not get a
:42:13. > :42:17.resolution and says I am going to do it anyway. What does the SNP and
:42:18. > :42:24.Labour do then? At that point, will the public be onside on that? We
:42:25. > :42:28.running out of time. The Autumn Statement which will cover all the
:42:29. > :42:33.answers to all this business about tax credits. Do you think is is
:42:34. > :42:36.coming to have the significance that other Autumn Statement 's don't have
:42:37. > :42:41.question marks I think the focus will be on tax credits. He will
:42:42. > :42:46.mitigate on something that was a mistake from him in the next couple
:42:47. > :42:51.of weeks. Do you think it was a big mistake to go back on in his
:42:52. > :42:56.original plan or not? I think you made a serious strategic error by
:42:57. > :43:02.taking tax credits away from people who were working. I think it was a
:43:03. > :43:06.political and strategic error that he will see an time has been an
:43:07. > :43:12.error. He will mitigate to that -- that to a degree but I do not think
:43:13. > :43:19.it will go away. So you think, rather than saying, I got that
:43:20. > :43:23.wrong. You think it will be we will raise the tax threshold. We will
:43:24. > :43:27.bring in the living wage earlier? Something like that. What is evident
:43:28. > :43:32.to me is that she is made an error in this in the way he has tackled
:43:33. > :43:39.at. He will not stop tackling tax credits. They will tackle that. But
:43:40. > :43:46.I think he will change the way he is going to do it.
:43:47. > :43:47.Andy, thank you for joining us today.
:43:48. > :43:51.We're back at the usual time of 2.30pm next Wednesday.
:43:52. > :43:55.In the meantime, Sunday Politics Scotland is on at 11am on Sunday.