Richard Moss
Political Editor North East and Cumbria
Sunday 12 July - 12.45
So we end the series much as we began, by discussing the state of the economy.
Certainly a lot has happened since we began our run last September. For many the situation has got worse.
For some of the businesses we have spoken to, business isn't necessarily slower, but they have now had months of poorer takings and that has a cumulative impact.
The odd green shoot may be poking through. Unemployment dropped in the last quarter in the North East.
But we are still some way off full-blown recovery.
What else has changed in the last nine months?
Our politicians are still held in low public esteem, but thanks to the expenses row, MPs have provided more grist for the mill.
Gordon Brown is still in power, but still - according to most polls - unpopular and heading for defeat.
We have seen a host of MPs announce their departure at the next election - but there are still many more candidates queuing up to replace them.
No doubt some of them will be appearing in our next run.
A General Election awaits! Still I think I'll get the summer over with first.
Friday 10 July - 16.45
The Recession? Remember that?
Lost I think somewhere amidst the news fog of MPs' expenses and Michael Jackson's death.
Yet it is still the story that affects our lives more than any other.
But the question is - are we at the beginning of the end of the downturn, or the end of the beginning?
It is hard to judge.
Only the other day I was listening to the Money Box on Radio 4 (I'm a moneywise metrosexual, you know) and heard a well-qualified property expert say house prices had bottomed out and would rise from hereon in.
Moments later, another well-qualified property expert predicted that this was a false dawn and prices still had a long way to fall.
And it does seem a bit bewildering at the moment.
One day we get a jump in unemployment, the next we see a surge in car sales.
So we thought we would contribute to this confusion by doing our own snapshot of the region's economy through visits to people we have met during this series.
I am not sure we are any the wiser either.
But don't blame me - I've never claimed to be Robert Peston. (He's got a blog too apparently).
Hopefully the people we hear from will stimulate debate amongst our politicians though.
As ever your views are vital.
After all you are more likely to be at the sharp end.
I would love to hear whether you find yourself on the crest of an upturn or stuck in a slump.
Tuesday 7 July 2009 - 12:32
I feel like Mystic Meg.
No sooner do I predict the departure of more of our MPs, than two decide to announce their decisions to stand down.
So were Doug Henderson (Newcastle North) and Hilary Armstrong (Durham NW) flushed out into the open by me?
Err… no. It was just reasonably good informed guesswork (but let's be honest Reasonably Good Guesswork Meg doesn't have the same ring to it).
Neither of the two retirements surprised me.
Hilary Armstrong is 65 next year. Her career in government is now over. She is no Brown fan.
She seemed an unlikely person to want to hang around on the backbenches, particularly if Labour end up losing the next election.
And I have sensed for a while that Doug Henderson wasn't looking like a man with any great enthusiasm left for Westminster or fighting another election.
That seems to be borne out by the fact he told the PM a year ago that he wanted to go.
So more change on the way then.
Hilary Armstrong's seat is a plum, safe one for the ambitious Labour party member.
Doug Henderson's though is under threat from the Lib Dems.
They may be a little disappointed he's gone.
The fuss over his McDonald's job and the time he spent living in Scotland rather than Newcastle gave them plenty of ammunition.
We'll now have to see who's selected to replace him.
With selections due in Newcastle Central and Darlington too, it will be a scramble of Labour hopefuls for a once-in-a-generation turnover of seats.
Thursday 2 July 2009 - 16:00
With a great fanfare, our MPs took another step towards transparency yesterday with changes to the members' register.
They now have to declare how much they are paid and how much time they spend on any outside interests.
Except of course, as ever, openness had its limits.
From now on, MPs will have to give more details about what they do, but they still don't have to reveal the specifics of what they have earned in the past.
For that reason, many particularly on the Conservative front bench, are rushing to ditch a lot of their outside interests.
But of course we may never know exactly how lucrative or time-consuming they were in the past.
My colleague Mark Denten has been badgering our MPs this week to see if they will come clean, and the results have been decidedly mixed.
Just who is your MP working for? Mark Denten reveals all.
Gold stars to Alan Beith (Berwick), Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby) and Doug Henderson (Newcastle North) for being specific about their past earnings.
But we could not get a response from Hilary Armstrong (Durham NW), Stephen Byers (Tyneside North) and Alan Milburn (Darlington).
Meanwhile of course, we are facing a real exodus of our region's MPs at the next election.
Standing down - Alan Milburn
Confirming their departure this week, Alan Milburn and David Maclean (Penrith and the Border).
That's in addition to Fraser Kemp (Houghton), Jim Cousins (Newcastle Central), Chris Mullin (Sunderland South), Bill Etherington (Sunderland North), John Cummings (Easington), Frank Cook (Stockton North), Peter Atkinson (Hexham) and Eric Martlew (Carlisle).
And I understand more may yet go.
The Commons will have to welcome a lot of new MPs when a General Election does finally arrive.
Sunday 28 June 2009 - 14:32
Interviewing David Abrahams was an interesting experience.
This is a man with great business acumen, and a large personal wealth.
But at the same time you get some sense of the naivety that ended up being labelled as Labour's "dodgy donor".
He genuinely thought he could keep £600,000 worth of donations private.
An exclusive interview with Tyneside businessman David Abrahams who donated £600,000 to the Labour party.
But of course, he failed in that and became notorious instead.
Even at the height of the row over his donations though, I never got any sense that this was a man who was trying to donate in return for anything.
And that sense was reaffirmed during our interview.
He is clearly a man with deep commitment to Labour's cause.
He's no fly-by-night contributor having been a party member for 40 years.
But as well as his commitment to the cause I believe his relationship with the party, also gave him a chance to mingle in the kind of political circles he clearly relishes.
After all he is someone who initially pursued a career in politics, but failed in his ambition to become an MP.
When he talks to you there's a lot of name-dropping, whether intentional or not. He clearly gets invites to high-powered functions.
But in agreeing to do the interview he was also trying to draw a line under David Abrahams, the dodgy donor, and instead make it clear he is David Abrahams, the businessman and benefactor.
His plans for a large business park in County Durham make him a big player in the regional economy.
And he is even planning a Live Aid-style series of concerts for a men's cancer charity that he supports. There's more details on his website.
Unfortunately for Mr Abrahams, he may always be dogged by his secret donations, but I suspect we will be seeing more of him in the future.
Unlike the recluse he was portrayed as initially, this is a man - judging by his website - who wants to be taken seriously, and won't entirely stay out of the limelight.
Wednesday 24 June 2009 - 18:00
Sir Alan tried and failed then.
Beith not Sugar that is (I'm done with Sugar, he's had his moment with me).
Alan Beith - tried but failed
It always seemed unlikely that the Berwick MP would become the next Speaker, but the 55 votes he gained on the first ballot was respectable.
But it was clearly not enough to mount a proper challenge, so after polling 49 in the second count, he sensibly withdrew.
Shame, as they say in the House, as I was quite looking forward to having one of our MPs in the hot seat.
It's quite a job though.
The revelations from the expenses keep coming.
Even if they are not as damaging as the first flood, the release of all MPs receipts (albeit redacted) has continued to produce some juicy titbits.
Take this run-down of some high-tech purchases by some of our lot...
Nothing flabbergasting but nevertheless constituents might again raise an eyebrow or two.
But, does the Speaker really make much difference. He might have done in the past perhaps but responsibility for expenses is going to be taken away from his remit in the future.
Nevertheless, there is much that could be done to modernise the House's reputation as a rather odd Gentleman's Club, and make it a more effective check and balance to the Government.
I was struck by this recent article by the Copeland MP Jamie Reed which shows Westminster from a relatively new politician's point of view:
If some of these attitudes change under the reign of Speaker Bercow, then it would be a good start.
This week our attention turns to MP's second jobs - more to follow on that.
Sunday 21 June 2009 - 12:30
I confess I ducked out of the hardest task this week - editing an hour-long debate on energy down to 20 minutes.
Cumbria's Energy Coast - The Big Debate
And to be honest we could have recorded more at the event in Maryport on Friday.
It is a huge subject. The merits and demerits of nuclear power alone could have occupied the time.
So could the controversy over wind farms. Interestingly we had more e-mailed questions hostile to wind power from Cumbria than we did from opponents of the nuclear industry.
That probably reflects the county's long association with the industry and the fact that so many communities live close to areas where wind farms either exist or are planned.
In any case add the merits of coal into that mix and you have a hefty debate and with a really good panel it made for a sparky and thought provoking hour.
Let me know what you think. If the 20 minutes whetted your appetite then the full debate is available here. No redaction on the Politics Show!
It is interesting to reflect that although our region may be peripheral in some ways it will be at the centre of the country's energy generation in the future whether it's coal, wind, nuclear or even tidal.
Crucial then that the people who have to live with the consequences of those choices understand what is happening and are kept on side.
I am not sure the Government can be 100% sure that is happening at the moment judging from our debate and the responses we got from Cumbrians.
Judge for yourself anyway and let me know your views.
Wednesday 17 June 2009 - 10:30
I have been revisiting old journalistic haunts this week.
We are looking at plans to make West Cumbria into Britain's Energy Coast.
So I went filming there on Monday.
The ghosts of my journalistic past were much in evidence.
I spent around four years based in Whitehaven reporting for Radio Cumbria.
Much of that time was dominated by the area's economic fortunes which were tied inevitably to Sellafield and the nuclear industry.
At the time I was there the industry appeared to be in a slow but terminal decline.
With nobody building new nuclear power stations Sellafield's reprocessing business was struggling.
The plant was dogged by a scandal caused by the falsification of safety data.
Most agreed it was time for the area to wean itself off its dependence on all things nuclear.
Yet a decade on and not only is West Cumbria still dependent on Sellafield, the latest plan to secure its economic future centres on plans to build up to three nuclear power stations.
There is no doubt nuclear power is politically acceptable again but should the area really make itself more dependant on it?
The economic temptations are immense though.
Thousands of jobs are promised. Inward investment that could never be matched in any other way.
And those behind the Energy Coast plans believe they can diversify too by exploiting other energy generation - wind, tidal etc to carve a niche.
But critics say that's just a gloss on what is effectively a handover of the area to the nuclear industry.
And as you'll find out this weekend it has divided sections of the community who feel steamrollered by the plans.
Sunday 14 June 2009 - 13.35
Plenty for the parties to chew over today, but particularly for Labour as they begin the battle to win the voters they have lost back.
A look at the local breakdown of the votes in the European election makes interesting reading, and should worry Labour.
The Conservatives came top of the poll ahead of Labour in Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland and Darlington suggesting they really are making headway in Teesside.
The Lib Dems meanwhile came top of the pile in Northumberland and Newcastle.
Hartlepool, as it so often does, delivered the most eccentric result though, with UKIP topping the poll there.
But of course, all this could mean very little. Voters do feel they can protest with impunity, and the turnout suggests a lot of Labour voters stayed at home.
Nevertheless, Labour know they are in trouble. Winning only a quarter of the votes cast in an area which supplies your core vote is poor, and it would be dangerous to ignore it.
Which brings us to the leadership. Gordon Brown has clung on for now, but two of the voters in our film this week suggested it was the leader in particular that they wanted to change.
It is now up to the Prime Minister to prove he can win those people back, or face another almost certainly lethal leadership challenge again in the Autumn.
Friday 12 June 2009 - 9.20
I appear to have become an internet phenomenon on the back of my encounter with Sir Alan Sugar.
I am told by the people that know these things that on Wednesday the video of my encounter with Britain's most belligerent boss was the most viewed item on the BBC website.
My humiliation certainly seems to have captured people's imaginations judging by the e-mails I have had from both acquaintances and strangers alike.
One particularly delighted witness was the Hartlepool MP and new Schools Minister Iain Wright.
He was with Sir Alan and witnessed our exchange first hand.
I think he took great delight in seeing the tables turned on someone who's asked him the odd tough question.
Sir Alan has been in Gateshead at a conference
But what next though?
I have been encouraged previously by the Head of the BBC in the North East and Cumbria to consider myself a brand.
Goodness knows what kind of brand this has left me as. Amstrad? (Sorry, Sir Alan I couldn't stop myself).
It does make me wonder whether I should be looking to get an agent and market myself as many of the sacked Apprentice candidates do.
I could write a book about the most awkward questions ever asked, or launch my own brand of blush-covering make up.
Alternatively, I could just ask my boss for a raise, but I suspect that would elicit the same wasp-chewing face that Sir Alan pulled just before he launched his assault.
I think I will just stick to the day job.
So it's back to the cut and thrust of debate with politicians this weekend as we look at what happens next after Gordon Brown's escape act.
All looks apparently peaceful in the Labour ranks for now, but we are talking to some of the many voters who have abandoned the party, and don't expect to come back.
Plenty of opportunities then to ask some more tough questions.
Tuesday 9 June 2009 - 16.40
I think I have just I found out what it might be like to be in The Apprentice boardroom.
Short of saying "You're Fired", Sir Alan Sugar could not have been more definite in his dismissal of me when I interviewed him today.
Sir Alan has been in Gateshead at a conference
My task was to join the assembled media masses to confront Gordon Brown's new Enterprise Tsar in a Gateshead brewery. And to be honest I could have done with a steadying half or two after what was not a meeting of minds.
I had been warned Sir Alan was not keen to answer questions about his new role with the Government. He was there to promote apprenticeships.
But as it was a Government-organised event and he was flanked by ministers, I thought it was fair game.
Perhaps it was not the politest of questions (Was there a danger he was window dressing for the Government because of his TV popularity?).
But then I thought, surely, he does not like schmoozers.
But as the glower developed on his face I knew I was onto a loser. It was a "nasty question" that he "took exception to." and if - as any GOOD journalist would have done - I had done my homework I would have found out he had been supporting such events for years.
That was me told. If not humiliated in front of my peers. It taught them as well.
Apart from one brave attempt by the Press Association reporter, my media colleagues were cowed into submission, bowling him some rank full tosses about how nice apprentices are.
But I have a feeling Sir Alan will face more tough questions in his new role. And so he should - both about what its purpose is for him and the Government, and about the potential conflicts of interest caused by his TV career.
I do wonder whether he realised what he might be letting himself in for when he agreed to take the role as Enterprise Tsar though.
Because of that, I am sure more journalists will be in the firing line soon.
So, in true Apprentice style, as I depart, I would like to say thank you for the opportunity Sir Alan.
Now where's my taxi?
Sunday 7 June 2009 - 12.05
What happens next? The local elections results were bad for Labour. The European results will be no better, perhaps even worse.
Which way will MPs jump when they return to Westminster on Monday? Will they decide they need a new leader?
Privately most Labour MPs I have spoken to are resigned to General Election defeat, but the question is how big a defeat are they resigned to, and when would they prefer that defeat to happen?
That last question may save Gordon Brown for now. Some will fear annihilation in an early expense-dominated election more than they fear soldiering on with a wounded and possibly ineffectual leader.
But that does not mean Gordon Brown will definitely be leading Labour at the next election.
If he has not improved Labour's ratings by the autumn, MPs will have one more window of opportunity to ditch him.
Then they could look to have a spring election with a new leader.
But all of this is impossible to call and predict. It is just a possible scenario that I know will be mulled over by Labour MPs.
Events are in flux though, and it is still touch and go that the PM will even survive the week let alone a few months or a year.
Meanwhile, there are still questions for the Conservatives to answer following the election results in our region.
Yes, they won the North Tyneside mayoral election. Yes, they are now the largest party on Cumbria County Council.
But neither result quite convinces entirely. In North Tyneside, they polled 42% of first choice votes. That is the same amount as they polled in 2003, and the majority over Labour then was slightly higher.
In Cumbria, their leader lost his seat, while in Westmorland and Lonsdale, a seat a resurgent Conservative party should really be looking to take back from the Lib Dems, they lost three seats and got 37% of the votes, compared to 60% for the Liberals.
That may offer a crumb of comfort for Labour. But they are now beginning to retreat into their heartlands electorally.
They have just one seat left on North Yorkshire County Council and lost 15 seats in Cumbria.
And that may be crucial. What local activists and unseated councillors tell their MPs may yet influence which way they jump in the current leadership crisis.
Meanwhile, I am going for a little lie down before the turmoil recommences.
Friday 5 June 2009 - 18.05
And we're done...
The Conservatives have won. Their candidate Linda Arkley won by a clear majority of over 4,500.
A good result for them though they didn't manage to win so overwhelmingly that they could dispense with counting the second choice votes.
Labour were expecting defeat but it was still painful.
Alan Campbell - a model of loyalty to Gordon Brown
In contrast to his colleague Stephen Byers, the Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell was a model of loyalty to Gordon Brown.
This is one divided party.
Labour have lost 12 seats so far on Cumbria County Council but the Tories have not done enough to take control.
Join me Sunday for the post mortem on this and some insight into what will happen when the Euro-votes are counted.
Friday 5 June 2009 - 15.35
Still counting. Stephen Byers is here though and I've just interviewed him.
Stephen Byers - let's review the results
He's denied plotting but is hardly cheerleading for the PM.
He says MPs will have to look at the results on Monday and decide whether Gordon Brown is a winner or a loser.
Given that the Euro results are likely to be terrible for Labour, you can see where this is heading.
So the threat to the PM remains.
Get on with it! Counters waiting around
Privately his opponents think backbenchers will look at the breakdown of the results realise their seat is at risk and rebel.
We'll see.
Meanwhile in Cumbria the Tories are doing well and Labour badly.
The BNP have failed to win the Whitehaven seat they'd hoped to take.
Friday 5 June 2009 - 13.00
I'm at the election count in North Tyneside waiting for the result of the mayoral poll but it feels like a sideshow to the ongoing drama in Westminster.
Yet, of course, it is results like this one that will play a part in deciding the PM's fate.
Labour hold the mayorality but are expected to lose it to the Conservatives but the scale of the loss will be significant.
The election is being held under a pr (proportional representation) system in which voters second choice votes could be crucial if no candidate wins more than half the votes outright.
The Tories had hoped they could do that but it looks possible they'll fall short of that and will need to rely on holding off labour in a second ballot.
That will lead to a declaration around five.
It could be a long day then, which might be enlivened if local MP Stephen Byers shows up.
Rumoured to be an anti-Brown plotter, he has been reportedly away in Dubai.
But he's said to be back here and is invited to the count.
I'll let you know if he is in a mood to talk.
Tuesday 2 June 2009 - 17.30
If some of the polls are to be believed the voters in this week's European elections will be looking to punish all three of the main parties.
One even puts combined minor party support at 30%...
So will that lead to some sweeping changes, and surprise results. Possibly in some regions, but not necessarily in the North East.
There are only three European seats up for grabs here, and they will be fought for under a form of proportional representation.
I won't bore you with the exact details here (it's the d'Hondt system since you ask!), but if you are statistically-minded this is as good an explanation as I can find...
The bottom line is that to win a seat a party is probably going to have to get close to a 20% share of the vote.
And although the minor parties are polling well collectively their vote will be fractured badly.
For that reason it will be tough for UKIP, the BNP, the Greens or any of the others to reach that 20 per cent threshold.
The result could then be the same as it was five years ago with one Labour, one Conservative and one Lib Dem MEP returned.
So all that protest voting will count for naught.
It could be very different elsewhere.
In the North West, eight seats are on offer. In Yorkshire, six.
That lowers the share needed for a seat to closer to 10%.
Polling day is Thursday, but you will have to wait for the rest of Europe to finish voting before the results are declared on Sunday night.
Sunday 31 May 2009 - 13.00
I have spent quite a bit of time in North Tyneside this week looking at the mayoral contest there.
You may have seen me messing about on a crazy golf course on today's programme - all in the interests of telling the story!
As it is one of the few areas with a local election this year, it does interest us, but it is also a crucial battleground for elections to come.
The area includes the Tynemouth seat - the one North East constituency where the Tories really need to defeat Labour if they are going to win a General Election.
For that reason the Conservatives need to win the mayoral contest there to show they are on course.
The omens are good. Labour are not bullish publicly, and privately some are resigned to defeat.
But they are hoping it is local factors at play and that voters will return to Labour come the General Election.
For that reason the size of any Tory victory in the contest will be important. The party has polled in the lower 40s in the last three mayoral elections there, but if they could push that up to the upper 40s then that would show real progress.
Above 50% and you would be looking at a real sea change.
Of course there is no knowing what effect the expenses fall-out will have - there are BNP and National Front candidates hoping to exploit that - but in any case both Labour and Conservatives will be pouring over the result come Friday.
Friday 29 May 2009 - 15.00
Have you heard the one about the TV presenter and the Bishop of Durham?
Sounds like the cue for an off-colour joke, but fear not, I am just referring to a key part of this week's programme.
I have been to interview the Bishop for this Sunday's Politics Show.
He was keen to give his views on the whole expenses row and what needs to happen to restore people's faith in politics and politicians.
And very interesting it was.
He does not buy the idea that MPs "stuck to the rules" as a reasonable excuse for expense claims which are morally dubious.
And he also thinks we have too many career politicians - MPs who have never had a "real" job.
His conclusion - restrict MPs to something like three terms of office.
He believes that would be force them to develop a career and interests outside politics both before and after serving in the Commons, to all our benefit.
It is an interesting idea. One I cannot see many MPs embracing, but I would love to know what you think.
You can see the full interview this Sunday.
I have also been messing around with dinosaurs and golf. Surely that is enough for you to tune in?
But if you are tempted by the sunny forecast to an outing, do not forget the wonders of watching via the iPlayer.
Sunday 24 May 2009 - 13.00
Is Sir Alan Beith an expenses cheat?
No, he's not.
But there is a danger now that any MP whose expenses grace the pages of the Telegraph becomes guilty by implication.
If you look at what he was accused of, he seems to have done his best within the confines of a system that is discredited.
Yes, he claimed for half of the costs of a new kitchen for his London home - but it's a flat that he has rented for 30 years.
If he had seriously wanted to make money, he could have bought and traded property throughout all that time at a tidy profit.
Yes, he and his wife also both claimed for overnight stays in the same property. But both seem tried at least to only claim 50 per cent of their allowances to avoid a double claim.
You can make your own mind up anyway. Here's the original Telegraph article
It's unlikely many people will look into his case with any depth. Some may just bracket him with many of the other MPs who have disgraced the Telegraph's pages in the last two weeks.
And that is the danger. Claiming a mortgage you are no longer paying is in a different league. Claiming for nonsense like duck houses and moat-cleaning are also in a different league. There is no defence for them.
A sense of perspective is needed then, something that's hard in this feeding frenzy.
As for where all this leaves Alan Beith's hopes of being Speaker, who knows. I would guess it has not done terminal damage.
But with several weeks to go, more and more candidates will emerge as sure as more and more MPs will also be having their expenses exposed.
Friday 22 May 2009 - 16.00
While talk of MPs being on suicide watch seems a tad melodramatic, the events of the last two weeks do invite one question.
Who, campaigners like Ester Ranthzen apart, would want to stand for Parliament in the current climate?
The reputation of politicians is as low as it can possibly go. To be one is to be suspected already of corruption and dubious motives.
And, after all that, if you get to the Commons, you cannot claim any more for your moat to be cleaned out or your ducks to be housed.
Mind you, joking aside, unless MPs salaries are raised (and who can see that happening at the moment) then it will be a less lucrative business than it was.
So while we were discussing this week's programme we decided it might be interesting to talk to an aspiring MP to see what they make of events.
We have invited in Paul Bristow, the Conservative candidate for Middlesbrough South.
He is in his 30s, and I would guess ambitious. But what now do he, his friends and family make of the ambition of becoming an MP?
We will find out on Sunday.
He will be a fascinating contrast to our other guest Alan Beith, an MP for 35 years. Apart from his own situation vis-à-vis expenses and his ambitions to be Speaker, I will be interested to know when Sir Alan thinks the rot set in.
Once again we are on 11 again this Sunday. Our usual slot is taken by some nonsense in Monaco apparently.
Wednesday 20 May 2009 - 15.00
I bet when he installed a new kitchen in his London flat, Alan Beith did not think it would have any bearing on his career.
But now the Berwick MP's expenses claim of £4,500 towards the costs of said kitchen look like they could cook his chances of being the new Speaker.
Hartlepool MP Iain Wright explains his expenses after getting caught up in the latest allegations.
To be fair, compared to moats, phantom mortgages and dry rot treatments it scores pretty low on the scandalometer.
But with the new Speaker needing to be whiter than white, it's pretty unhelpful.
In contrast, one other possible candidate, Sunderland South's Chris Mullin, has come out well today.
It seems Mr Mullin still uses a 30-year-old black-and-white television set at his London second home. Not much good for the snooker, but great for PR in the current climate.
He did though claim back the cost of the TV licence.
I am indebted to a colleague as well for sending me a rather revealing section from Chris Mullin's recently published diaries:
Dated May 2, 2002, it reports the late Robin Cook's reaction when he heard MPs expenses would be made public under the Freedom of Information Act.
Chris Mullin quotes Cook saying it would cause "mayhem" with few MPs aware of the "juggernaut" that was heading their way.
Someone, at least, saw what was coming!
Tuesday 19 May 2009 - 16.20
We got a record number of calls after Sunday's programme about the expenses issue.
I was not surprised there was so much anger, but the fact it has motivated so many people to call shows how big a crisis this is.
In normal times, I would see such tremendous interest in politics as a positive sign, but you only have to read some of the comments to know, this is bad news for our politicians.
Here is a tiny sample:
"We are being raped and pillaged by pirates."
"They are totally corrupt. They should all resign."
"The MPs cannot call themselves honourable. They are crooks and cheats."
"It's not the system that is wrong but the MPs that manipulate the system. Criminal."
I am afraid I won't be reading all your comments out this Sunday. My editor calculated they would take 13 minutes to read out! I will though try and give a flavour of them.
As the revelations continue to flow, the focus is also shifting to what Westminster can do to clean itself up.
The search for a new Speaker has begun. One candidate being mentioned is Berwick's Alan Beith.
He is held in high respect by all political sides, but will Labour and the Tories be happy to back a Lib Dem?
Perhaps, in the current atmosphere, it may not be such a distant prospect. He is on the programme this Sunday so I'll be keen to get his thoughts.
It would be tough news for the Conservatives though. They are trying to build their support in his constituency, hoping to win it when he stands down.
But under political convention, as Speaker, he would be returned in the seat unopposed, robbing the Tory hopeful, Anne-Marie Trevelyan of a chance to raise her profile.
Sunday 17 May 2009 - 15.45
When I saw the news last night that three more of the region's MPs had been sucked into the expenses mire, I knew we would have to do some hasty rewriting of the programme.
The Telegraph have picked out Tyne Bridge's David Clelland, Penrith and the Border Conservative David Maclean and Houghton and Washington's Fraser Kemp for particular attention because of their attitude to transparency in the past.
David Maclean sponsored, and the other two supported, a bill that would have excluded MPs from the Freedom of Information Act.
It was a move that could have allowed them to keep their expenses largely secret.
Of course that's all history now. Davids Clelland and Maclean insist they stuck to the rules. Fraser Kemp admits errors in double claiming for bedding and DVD players.
It is just more evidence if you need it that the expenses system is a mess.
It is such an all-consuming subject, we had to postpone one item today to do our discussion with Hartlepool MP Iain Wright and Chair of the Commons Commission Sir Stuart Bell justice.
Credit to Iain Wright for turning out to talk about his own expense claims when others have been more reticent. But, really since we are talking about public money, it is only right that we get an explanation.
Stuart Bell, Chair of the Commission trying to sort out this mess, was equally interesting on how MPs can now try and rebuild trust.
It'll be an uphill climb though. After the programme I went to cover UKIP's European Election campaign launch in Newcastle. They are loving all the revelations, and growing increasingly confident that they could outpoll Labour nationally by trading on the anti-politician mood.
And they are even talking about the possibility of pushing for a Euro-seat in the North East - something unthinkable a few weeks ago
Friday 15 May 2009 - 17.15
Will the revelations on expenses never stop?
An unbelievable week, and we will be reflecting on it on the programme this Sunday.
We have Middlesbrough MP, Sir Stuart Bell, on.
He's the man who helps oversee an expenses system that now lies in tatters.
I will be interested to hear what he thinks should happen next.
We also have the Hartlepool MP and junior minister Iain Wright in to reflect on a turbulent week, and look at what effect it might have on the forthcoming local and European elections.
He too has been caught up in the revelations, so it will be intriguing to hear from him.
Judging by the latest opinion poll it certainly looks like Labour's taking the biggest hit from the public as the government of the day (rating 22%).
In contrast, the Conservatives are still over 40%.
It is only one poll. But I think he does seem to have been more fleet of foot than the Prime Minister.
No party has come out unscathed, but he has looked decisive and in control.
This may be a crucial week in the run-in to the next General Election.
But there could yet be more twists to come.
Meanwhile, I am praying for the rain to stop. I am off to the cricket at Chester-le-Street tomorrow.
All paid for by me I hasten to add with nothing on expenses.
If it stays dry, it will be a pleasant diversion before delving back into the increasingly fraught world of politics on Sunday.
Sunday 10 May 2009 - 13.30
It's hard to get away from the story of the week. Much like everyone else I have been poring over the details of our politicians' expense claims.
It's revealed the minutiae of life for some of our MPs - David Miliband's claims for pot plants, Vera Baird's for a Christmas tree and baubles - but also exposed an expenses system that is tarnishing politics and politicians.
My gut instinct is that politics in general is the loser.
The revelations on Conservative claims have not yet appeared but generally it will reinforce the public's dim view of our elected representatives from whichever party.
I make no apology this Sunday for not dwelling on it in the North East and Cumbria end of the Politics Show though.
I had the chance. Vera Baird was on the programme. But somehow asking about her Christmas tree (that expense claim was rejected by the way) seemed a little trivial compared to the issue we wanted to discuss - the plight of the 2000 steelworkers whose jobs are under threat in Teesside.
Not that the damage caused by the expenses revelations isn't serious, but I think it was right to use the three minutes we had with the Redcar MP to discuss the biggest issue for her constituency.
There are clearly huge efforts going on to save the plant. The Consortium that pulled out of the deal with Corus are being put under extreme pressure to reconsider. The last thing the Government needs is another hugely negative jobs story.
But whether they can save the jobs is another matter. Ominously Vera Baird said there were only 90 days left to do so. And she was clear that alongside efforts to save the plant, planning has begun on how the area could cope with 2000 job losses.
Tuesday 5 May 2009 - 1720
Not that long ago the Conservatives' local election performance in the North East was so bad, they would have done anything to avoid drawing attention to it.
It was remarkable then to see David Cameron and his entourage rolling up in North Tyneside today to kick start not just their regional local election push, but to mount their national launch.
So, as well as myself, we had BBC network, Sky, and ITN crews as well as national newspaper correspondents gathering in a Tynemouth community centre to hear Mr Cameron talk about his party's prospects here.
The reason is clear. The party has gained seats in North Tyneside over the last few years and now has a majority in the council chamber.
This year they want to go further and win the mayoral election.
They really ought to do it too.
They have won it before, and probably only lost four years ago because the poll took place on General Election day (something which always boosts the Labour vote).
So while it's true that the Tories are still struggling to make progress in parts of the patch, this is one area where they may well be able to point to some form of northern revival when the votes are counted on June the 5th.
And of course there is a longer game here too. The council area includes the Tynemouth consituency - a seat the Tories' would need to win to stand a chance of forming a government after the next general election.
So Dave was accompanied at all times by mayoral hopeful Linda Arkley and their Tynemouth candidate Wendy Morton.
Mind you there is a bit of a hostage to fortune here. Labour's mayor John Harrison is campaigning hard and may gain from being the incumbent. It's not impossible that he could see off the Tory challenge.
Then that could be embarrassing.
A few years ago the Tory leader came to Newcastle during a local election campaign seduced by predictions they might win a seat back on the city council after a decade of disappointment.
That looked pretty bad when the party's candidates crashed and burned.
For that reason, the Conservatives must be pretty confident this time. Certainly local Tories tell me they are winning converts from Labour on the doorstep.
But as every politician will always tell you - there is only one poll that counts!
Sunday 3 May 2009 - 1310
A few years ago we in the BBC did some hand-wringing about our coverage of the European Union and vowed to do better.
The problem for the media then, and probably now, is the perception that it can be a turn-off.
But our debate today shows that it can be about things that matter to people's lives.
We focussed on the European Working Time Directive, (Europe must think of some sexier names for these initiatives if they are really going to grab our attention.), and whether it should apply here.
If it did, everyone would be restricted to working a 48 hour week, although admittedly averaged out over a year.
Many businesses are horrified by the idea, trades unions think its introduction is vital to protect workers from exploitation.
So cue, a good lively debate about something that matters.
But I doubt whether we have done much for the likely low turnout at the forthcoming European elections.
It is a strange contradiction that many people believe Europe has too much power over our lives, yet then will not come out to vote and influence who we send to argue the case there.
I suspect though the main significance of the Euro-poll this time will be on deciding the Prime Minister's future.
It is probably an understatement but this week will not have helped his prospects. And our Minister for the North East, Nick Brown, has been in the thick of this week's crises.
With his other hat on as Chief Whip, it must have been painful to oversee a big Government defeat over the rights of Ghurkhas.
Even less pleasant has been some of the blame for the defeat that's been placed on his shoulders by some, though as others point out it's the collapse of authority at the top of government that's at the bottom of the defeat.
He now has a huge task ahead to try and re-establish party discipline in an atmosphere that is beginning again to become feverish with leadership speculation.
Friday 1 May 2009 - 1310
Just as I wrote off the Liberal Democrats as a force on the web, up pops this story about the party's Carlisle candidate Steven Tweedie:
I would point out though that Mr Tweedie has resigned officially for "health reasons" not because of any web farrago.
Anyway, the Lib Dems will have to find another candidate.
Difficult to see who'll benefit from it really, though I'm sure the Tories will hope they are now seen as the only credible alternative to Mr Martlew in a seat they probably need to win if they're going to have a Commons majority.
Tuesday 28 April 2009 - 1720
I got another e-mail from Barack Obama this week. (Yes, he still values me that much despite having an economic crisis, and swine flu to cope with).
It was all in honour of his first 100 days as President.
I well remember the Obama campaign being innovative and brilliant in the way it used the web to help win the presidential election - goodness knows they e-mailed me so much it almost became a form of stalking!
And it seems they are maintaining that in office. The e-mail linked to this page - and it's worth a look:
Regardless of whether you swallow the content or not, I loved the simplicity of this.
Clickable maps are always very accessible, and the personal stories added weight to the statistics.
It is an example of Obama bypassing the traditional media and getting his message across.
I am not aware that the Government has so far tried anything similar, but it led me to look at the websites of our main parties to see what they may have learned about using the web.
The Tories seem to lead the way. This is a rather neat video wall of people telling us why they're supporting the Conservatives:
However, given the majority of the contributions were shot in front of a Tory cloudscape, they do not look to be outpourings of spontaneous conversion to Cameronism.
But Labour in contrast, just have written quotes from supporters - not anywhere near as effective on the web. They are very fond of YouTube though.
Eddy Izzard's lauding of Labour seemed to be getting the most hits:
However, if you're expecting a blast of surreal humour you may be disappointed (unless of course you hate Labour so much, you find anyone selling their achievements as a bit off the wall).
I couldn't even find any videos. You'd really have to love the party to bother with it.
Mind you, you've got to have the right content. I recently looked at Labour North's page on YouTube and almost without exception the users who had clicked on their videos had given them a one-star rating. It wasn't too hard to see why.
I think there's still some work to do before any of them reach the Obama standard.
Sunday 26 April 2009 - 1610
There was some interesting material in The Observer today which provided some late ammunition to throw the way of Minister for the North East, Nick Brown.
We were talking about the fall out from the Budget - a subject which occupies acres of newsprint in the Sundays.
The Observer article quoted North Tyneside MP Stephen Byers on the need to be clear just how wide-ranging future cuts in public expenditure will have to be given the rate of government borrowing announced this week.
He says politicians need to be honest about the difficult decisions ahead, and he calls for two to be made now.
Despite the fact he voted for both measures in the past, the former Cabinet minister says the Government should scrap the ID card scheme and the renewal of Trident.
His argument being that it would be disastrous to cut key public services while leaving such high profile schemes intact.
Nick Brown of course dead batted the suggestions, but you can imagine they would get a sympathetic hearing in Labour circles - even within the Cabinet.
I would guess even a majority of Labour MPs would be in favour.
I suspect ID cards would be unmourned, but Trident in particular would be a thorny issue. How would the Conservatives - so long the champions of an Independent nuclear deterrent - react.
It might also not be the best of news for Cumbrian Cabinet minister John Hutton.
The Barrow shipyard in his seat could gain jobs from any new Trident commissioning. And it's a seat which is under threat from a Tory party, who could exploit that fact ruthlessly.
It just shows these are interesting times though - with more and more people acknowledging that it's time to think the unthinkable.
Friday 24 April 2009 - 1610
Sometimes all the palaver about MPs' expenses scandals and the general contempt for politicians can make you forget that some of them are genuine human beings like the rest of us. (All right then - the rest of you - I know journalists are also regarded as sub-human).
And that means they also experience some of the same ups and downs of life.
As part of this week's programme we are looking at the problem of stillbirths, and one of our MPs has personal experience of what is a traumatic event in any parent's life.
Gateshead and Washington MP Sharon Hodgson's third child was stillborn. Not even all of her friends and colleagues knew about it until she mentioned it while lending her support to a campaign by the charity Sands.
The charity believes too little is being done to reduce the number of still births - three a week in the North East alone.
And while medical advances have tackled a whole range of problems over the last decade, the figures for newborn deaths have remained much the same.
Time then, according to the charity, to put extra money into research and into maternity services to save babies' lives.
Sharon Hodgson is one of a number of MPs to have lent their support to the campaign, but hers clearly has a more personal side to it.
She will be talking about the issue on the Politics Show this Sunday. But I will also be asking her what the Government intends to do about it. That's certainly what Elaine Bradbury from Consett wants to know. Her son, Sam, was stillborn four years ago, and she believes his life could have been saved.
If you want to know more about the campaign, or are personally affected by the issue, you can look at the charity's website by logging onto:
Thought not. The councils in the Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear certainly didn't.
They had both bid to become pilot city regions. Buried in the details of the Budget was the fact that neither had won.
In the end the two successful bidders were Leeds and Greater Manchester.
Why should you care about that? Well, there were a limited range of goodies available that our regional political masters were keen to grab, and that could have improved life for the people living in the successful areas.
The pilot city regions will be able to raise money for major infrastructure improvements, they'll be allowed to keep some of the business rates from companies they attract in, and set the agenda for skills and employment in their area.
Those powers and privileges would not have transformed the two regions, but there will be disappointment that it's the M62 corridor - Leeds and Manchester - reaping the rewards rather than the more economically deprived North East.
Certainly, the power to raise funds for improvements to the transport network would have been seized eagerly by the councils involved.
Something to put to Minister for the North East Nick Brown on this Sunday's programme.
Wednesday 15 April 2009 - 1612 BST
E-mail's a dangerous thing isn't it? It seems such a casual medium. Far more informal than writing a letter.
But of course as Damian McBride has discovered, it's just as permanent, and can come back to haunt you just as much.
Especially it seems if you have made enemies along the way. And in Damian's case there appear to be more of them within his own party than outside.
Many of those enemies also appear to be from our patch.
North Tyneside MP Stephen Byers and Darlington's Alan Milburn were both briefed against by Mr McBride, and are now rushing into payback mode.
Stephen Byers wrote an article on McBride and the culture within Downing Street in the Evening Standard, and today's Northern Echo is full of Alan Milburn's concerns about the e-mail scandal. Revenge is a dish best served cold after all.
And Lord Campbell-Savours, the former Workington MP, has also cropped up in the papers and on the radio because he first called for McBride to be sacked in 2006, because of the way he briefed the media against Labour colleagues such as Byers and Milburn.
Of course this is fertile territory for the Tories who can once again talk about Labour spin. Exactly the issue which first punctured the Brown Bubble during the will he, won't he election saga of 2007.
And that means this story is refusing to fade. Will it do lasting harm? The details may be forgotten in a year's time perhaps, but at the very least the PM has received collateral damage.
I suspect though the real casualty might be the reputation of politics in general.
At a time when people are losing their jobs and homes, it hardly looks good for the political classes to be obsessed by the contents of some ill-advised e-mails which, whatever their unpleasantness, don't impact on most people's lives.
Thursday 02 April 2009 - 1651 BST
Was your bin emptied on the first day of the new Northumberland and Durham County Councils then?
I suspect it was. The change from two-tier to unitary local government in the two counties appears to have gone off smoothly.
Services have not collapsed.
That is an achievement I suppose. But the real test lies ahead.
And already, certainly in Northumberland, there are danger signs.
The council has already had a tough budget round this year.
Initially the minority Lib Dem leadership wanted to raise council tax by 4.8% and savage the highways budget.
They had to step back from both measures to get enough support from the Conservatives to get a budget through.
But they may just have postponed some of the pain. The unions are warning that the council will have to make £26 million of savings over the next two years.
And they say that will inevitably lead to job losses and service cuts instead of the improvements that were promised.
The Lib Dems will be wondering whether being the largest party on the council is the equivalent of the proverbial poisoned chalice.
They certainly face tough choices. Perhaps they can emerge in credit. But they won't want to manage decline and then face an election.
That's more than enough on those two new councils for now though. And I'm taking some leave until after Easter, so excuse the lack of missives for a week or so.
Tuesday 31 March 2009 - 1651 BST
So farewell to the district councils of Northumberland and Durham. Their final hour is here.
Thirteen of them bite the dust. But how will the two new county councils ensure they can still connect with the communities they served.
One way is by passing on powers to town and parish councils.
The problem for large parts of the area is that they don't have those councils at the moment.
They are in the process of being created in Blyth Valley and Wansbeck, specifically so that they can have some services delegated down to them by the county council.
But elsewhere - particularly in parts of County Durham - the creation of town councils appears to have stalled.
And it's easy to see why. The problem is - they cost money.
Take some of the existing ones - councils such as Aycliffe Town Council - which was charging more in council tax than Sedgefield District Council. Around £100 a year.
The problem is they do not get any Government help, so whereas counties and districts will get a grant on top of what they raise in council tax, town and parish councils have to raise every penny they spend.
No wonder then some have begun to baulk at the extra expense that would be involved in creating such councils.
A plan to create one in Crook in County Durham has stalled - 900 signatures of local people were needed, they managed 750 - after a row about the potential costs.
Durham City has yet to decide whether to have one.
What that leaves is something called an Area Action Partnership which aims to bring together councillors and other people from the community. They will have some powers delegated to them, but their members will either be from the county council or appointed by them.
So their independence is far from guaranteed, but their big advantage - they won't cost council taxpayers a penny more.
Sunday 29 March 2009 - 1331 BST
A difficult balancing act this weekend. We decided to dedicate the programme to the reorganisation of the councils in Northumberland and Durham.
It's something which affects more than half a million people, but obviously for a large number of our audience it seemingly has no impact whatsoever.
Except I would argue that it is important. Cumbria and North Yorkshire keep their two tier structure of district councils and county council for now.
But if the changes in Durham and Northumberland are seen to be a success, how much longer will the Government and council taxpayers tolerate a system which can be accused of causing inefficient duplication?
And will single councils for the whole of Northumberland and Durham give those areas more clout, and more capability to compete with the existing unitary councils such as Newcastle and Middlesbrough?
Of course that is assuming it all proves to be a success. We won't know that on April 1. Instead it will take some time for us to know.
It is a tough time to set out on the journey. Councils are not recession-proof. They cannot sell their surplus buildings at the moment, their reciepts from planning applications are plummeting in the downturn.
In addition, the money from central government is unlikely to be plentiful in the next few years. Big public spending cuts are almost certain, and if council tax is still capped then tough choices lie ahead.
Those problems would also have affected all the councils if the current two tier system had been left in place, but people would not have been looking for dramatic improvements and lower council tax.
There is plenty of work ahead for the new leaders of Durham and Northumberland County Councils then.
Thursday 26 March 2009 - 1731 GMT
This week we are looking at a silent revolution. The people of Northumberland and Durham may not be too aware of it but they enter a new era next week.
That's when the two counties' district councils disappear after 35 years of work.
All that will be left will be the two county councils, transformed into unitaries, delivering all the services.
In all there will be 551 fewer councillors in the area. I don't think many people will bemoan the loss of that number of politicians (some will celebrate), but it does raise some serious questions.
Love them or loathe them the district councils had one thing going for them - localness.
If you have that many councillors, you're bound to know one or have come across one.
They also have staff who are local to their area, with all that accumulated knowledge.
The two new councils say they will be able to replicate that. They insist they will be able to connect just as well with the different communities.
But it is a challenge. No single council has tried to administer areas the size of Northumberland or Durham.
The chances are people won't notice much change when this happens on April 1 as long as their bins are emptied.
But long term might we see something lost? I have certainly talked to councillors, staff and voters this week who fear the change will lead to centralisation and the loss of a local voice.
It's up to the two new councils to avoid that. But if you have questions for their leaders, or comments on the whole process we can help. The two new supremos are on the programme this Sunday and I would love to put your thoughts to them.
E-mail me at richardmoss@bbc.co.uk.
Sunday 22 March 2009 - 1350 GMT
A range of subjects on this Sunday's programme. The very important and difficult subject of increasing the number of successful rape prosecutions dominated.
But we also had a chance to check out a potential holiday destination for the Prime Minister.
Gordon Brown has said he and Sarah are considering spending their summer break in the Lake District.
Very commendable, and certainly a little more down to earth than the Blair visits to holiday pads provided by the likes of Silvia Berlusconi and Sir Cliff Richard.
And looking at the footage of Derwentwater in the sunshine this weekend would tempt anybody.
But judging by the reaction of some of the people Fergus talked to, there won't be a universal welcome in Cumbria for the PM.
One said he should stay away because he's a b****y menace. Another was more welcoming but said he should bring his chequebook - and not just for a visit to the Lakeland pencil museum.
Of course, on a more practical basis there will also be the added security that will be needed if Mr Brown does make good on his promise.
If he does come, I hope he heads for somewhere like Keswick or the Western Lakes rather than the honeypot of Windermere.
Don't get me wrong, the South Lakes is beautiful but sometimes the Western part of the National Park doesn't get the attention it deserves.
And he would be in our broadcasting patch too, which is always fun.
Friday 20 March 2009 - 1550 GMT
April 1 is a big day for local government in the North East.
Thirteen district councils - from Easington to Tynedale, Berwick to Sedgefield - will be abolished.
And new countrywide authorities are launched to cover the whole of Northumberland and County Durham.
But will local services get better or worse? Will your council tax go up or down? Do you even understand how it will all work?
Well, on next Sunday's Politics Show we'll be putting YOUR questions and opinions to the two men who'll be running the new authorities.
So if you've got a question you'd like me to put to them, please get in touch with us.
You can call us free of charge on our regular number 0800 0688540 - or e-mail us below.
You can watch the show next Sunday - March 29 - at noon on BBC One.
Sunday 15 March 2009 - 1311 GMT
Memo to producer: Why was my colleague Mark Denten in the pub while I was stuck in the studio in this Sunday's programme?
I didn't even have any politicians to keep me company which is very unusual and slightly disconcerting. Was it something I said?
It made a change anyway. I was though jealous of the cosiness of the atmosphere in the pub in Catton.
It was also a subject that I would guess most people would care about. The fate of your local. Apparently, one pub is closing every ten days in our region.
Victims of the credit crunch, the smoking ban - and at least according to the pub lobby - the level of duty on drink.
Timely that we were talking about the pub on a day when there is much speculation in the news about the possibility of a minimum price being slapped on alcohol by the Government.
Mind you, if you listened to James Purnell on the programme before our section, the Government appeared to be considerably less enthusiastic than their Chief Medical Officer, Liam Donaldson.
Probably very wise too. Whatever the rights and wrongs of setting a minimum price, it's hardly a vote-winner to propose raising beer prices during a recession.
Still at least we did our bit for the local, as Mark looked like he'd bought a round for his guests in Northumberland. I didn't see any sign of pork scratchings though. There's a limit to his largesse.
Friday 13 March 2009 - 1239 GMT
Since his campaign to release the Birmingham Six, Sunderland South MP Chris Mullin has not made many headlines.
But the papers have been full of him in the last few weeks.
It's all thanks to the release of his memoirs - A View from the Foothills - a diary of his time in the Blair government.
I confess I haven't read the book yet - it's a weighty tome - but from what I've seen of the extracts in the various newspapers it's both amusing and revealing.
And it's caused a lot of debate about whether it's only really "failed" politicians who can write good diaries/memoirs.
It depends what you class as "failed" of course, but I suppose someone who hasn't served at the pinnacle.
It's certainly true that most of the prime ministerial memoirs are pretty turgid. I've got Margaret Thatcher's at home and I confess I haven't turned a page of it.
In contrast I have read some of Tony Benn's insightful and entertaining diaries and Richard Crossman's account of the 1960s Harold Wilson regime are a terrific insight into a paranoid premiership.
I suppose if you feel you have no great reputation or record to defend it makes it easier to be honest.
We have an interview with Mr Mullin in this week's programme.
He, of course, is also free in the knowledge that he is standing down from parliament at the next election. His potential Labour replacement - Julie Elliott - was on the programme last week (the Tories might have something to say about that though as they also have designs on a redrawn seat)
And indeed Sunderland will see a wave of political change in just over a year - all three male Labour MPs are standing down, and if the party retains the seats they'll be replaced by three women.
Sunday 8 March 2009 - 15.00 GMT
Truth is said to be the first casualty in war, but the same may also be true in recessions.
It has proved difficult this week to decide whether women are worse off in this recession than men.
We saw that quite clearly in Harriet Harman's interview where Jon Sopel used one set of statistics which showed more men were losing their jobs than women.
Harriet Harman countered with figures which showed employment had dropped amongst women more sharply in the North East.
Yet when I interviewed Julie Elliott, Labour's candidate for Sunderland Central and a GMB union official, she had not picked up any evidence that more women than men were losing their jobs.
What may be true is that more women are being affected this time because there are more of them in the workforce than say in the 1980s.
The region is also less reliant on the heavy and male-dominated industries of mining and steel working.
This time hard hit areas include retail and hospitality, and they certainly employ many women.
But it is a sensitive area. To call for extra help for women risks alienating men who are losing their jobs, so politicians are treading a tight line.
There is no questioning the experience of a former Woolworth's worker like Gail Berry from Houghton-le-Spring.
She is struggling to find a new job, and feels childcare commitments are making her less employable than men.
Perhaps we will need to wait a while longer to see just how this downturn affects different groups.
Wednesday 5 March 2009 - 17.00 GMT
Localism. It is a great word isn't it. Every politician is in favour of it.
Simply put, it's about handing back more power to people - having decisions made as close to their communities as possible.
The problem is politicians aren't very good at it.
When they are in Opposition, they are gung ho about how central government needs to be rolled back.
But get them into power and all of a sudden all those good intentions evaporate.
The Conservatives though want us to believe that their "localism" plans are the real deal this time.
So what are they offering - a vote on having an elected mayor in big cities like Newcastle, referenda on local issues and large council tax demands, and elected police commissioners.
They are also looking to roll back Labour's regionalisation programme by getting rid of regional development agencies. (One North East/North West Development Agency)
You may or may not find those ideas attractive. But it's what's not on offer that's also interesting. Councils won't get any powers held currently by central government.
They won't be able to raise funds and spend them locally.
So is this another false dawn? Let me know what you think. I am going to be tackling William Hague about the issue this week so would love to hear your thoughts.
Sunday 1 March 2009 - 1435 GMT
There'll be a lot of raking over the recent history of coal and politics this week with the 25th anniversary of the Miners' Strike.
But we decided to look forward not back (where have I head that slogan before) this Sunday with an investigation of what future there might be for mining.
And it showed how far we have moved politically from 1984.
The NUM is convinced there is a case for new deep mines. Two in the North East for a start - in Amble and Wearmouth.
And whereas a few years ago such notions would have been frowned upon by the Conservatives, this weekend our Tory guest Tim Kirkhope was positively overflowing with enthusiasm for mining.
So much so that for a large part of our discussion, he was in accord with dyed-in-the-wool Old Labourite Ronnie Campbell and NUM President Ian Lavery.
No doubt that will raise the hackles of those miners who remember 1984 and blame the Tories for the industry's demise.
But with the prospects of a Cameron government looming large, the NUM and the Conservatives may yet have to become rather unlikely bedfellows.
So picture that as you watch again the Battle of Orgreave and the pitting of Scargill against Thatcher during this week's anniversary coverage. Politics never stands still.
Sunday 22 February 2009 - 1740 GMT
Back to the studio this weekend, and grilling politicians rather than fellow journalists.
We looked at the pledge by 12 of our councils to cut their carbon emissions by 20 per cent. Words of course are cheap, particularly when some of those councils share the ownership of an airport.
We will wait and see what action will be taken to meet an ambitious target.
Plenty of reaction this weekend to last week's Robert Peston inquisition too. It seems the BBC's Business Editor is, as some have dubbed him, the journalistic equivalent of Marmite - you either love or hate him.
One of our viewers wanted him knighted, while others I suspect would rather see a sword used to lob off his head rather than ennoble him.
Nevertheless it was good to see the impact of the event beyond the region. I even made it onto Newsnight on Wednesday during a profile of Pesto's visit to the North East.
You can still view the longer version of our event at the Sage Gateshead on the site too.
I also caught up with some of the members of the North East Youth Parliament yesterday at an event in Newcastle.
I was chairing a a debate they were having on the rather rarefied subject of the British constitution or lack of it.
They put me to shame with their detailed knowledge of a complex subject and their enthusiasm for debating it!
At a time when media coverage of young people tends to focus on 13-year-old fathers, it's encouraging - if a little odd - to find some teenagers being more concerned with we should to have an elected House of Lords. It takes all sorts.
Anyway, I'm on leave for the next week, though I will be back to present the programme and blog once more next Sunday. Enjoy your week.
Monday 16 February 2009 - 1740 GMT
Well, what did you make of our sage at the Sage?
Full marks to the BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston for coming north to face his critics, but did he convince you that he wasn't at least partly to blame for the run on Northern Rock?
Or indeed that he doesn't revel in economic gloom and doom?
There were some fascinating moments.
Passions ran high at times particularly during a memorable exchange between Mr Peston and Northern Rock shareholders Dennis and Doreen Shannon.
Check it out on the website, if you didn't see it.
The BBC's Business Editor, Robert Peston, comes face-to-face with Northern Rock shareholders who lost their savings...
There's plenty more on the web version that did not make it to the final 20 minute cut too.
In all we recorded over an hour.
One thing you'll see there is the moment I asked people to put their hands if they thought the media was contributing to the recession.
A forest of arms went up.
It is clearly something that not just Robert Peston must concern himself with.
As a journalist I am acutely aware that we need to paint a realistic picture of the economy, and not just be drawn to the bad news.
Generally, I think the BBC has tried to be balanced but clearly not everyone sees it that way.
There was mention of the giant plunging arrow that accompanies every item of bad economic news.
And of course this is the first time we have had a recession in an era of 24-hour news. A voracious media will inevitably want to dwell on what's happening.
But in Sunday's programme we did see evidence of pain. There was the Nissan worker Andrew, who's yet to find another job, for one.
Anyway, let me know what you made of Mr Peston and the rest of the show, and whether you think we are contributing to the downturn or just reporting it.
Tuesday 10 February 2009 - 1740 GMT
On this week's programme you can see the journalist that everyone's talking about, a man whose blog has become essential reading. More influential some say than many politicians.
Now I would hope you were thinking - why the fuss, you're on every week, Richard? But in reality, of course, you've immediately realised that I am referring to Mr Credit Crunch himself, Robert Peston.
The BBC's Business Editor has been invited up to the region to face critics who blame him for the collapse of Northern Rock. There'll be accusations too that he revels in each piece of bad economic news.
Mr Credit Crunch - the harbinger of doom!
We are gathering a wide-ranging audience, from those who've lost their jobs, to senior business leaders. They will get the chance to cross-examine Mr Peston and discuss what the future holds for the region's economy.
I will be interested to meet him. He is a journalistic phenomenon. His record of exclusives remarkable. But has he shaped events rather than reported them?
There are plenty who believe that he was irresponsible in reporting Northern Rock's problems, creating those long queues outside the branches.
But others, including Peston, say the blame must lie with bankers who took unacceptable risks. All very timely in the week when senior figures from the banks had to apologise to the Treasury Select Committee.
He will be worth listening to about the future as well. As part of my research I have just read an article he wrote about the future of capitalism. It's not pleasant bedtime reading if you are hoping the current crisis is going to be short-lived.
He also puts me to shame in updating his blog several times a day. Talking of which, I must check to see if he's mentioned how exciting it will be to meet me at last. (All right I know I am kidding myself, but just indulge me for a moment - I have feelings too).
Sunday 8 February 2009 - 1423 GMT
It'll be interesting to see what deal emerges from the Northumberland County Council budget meeting on Wednesday.
I must admit I thought the Liberal Democrats missed a trick by not coming onto the programme today to defend their leadership of the new council. It gave their Conservative and Labour rivals a chance to kick them.
I suppose though the Lib Dems could have also been in an awkward position if they'd have come on defending their budget proposals and attacking the Tory plans only to adopt many of them on Wednesday.
I suspect that may be the result. We may see that headline 4.8 per cent council tax rise come down and be varied across the county to ensure everyone starts off paying the same amount under the new local authority (that's a proposal that will benefit many Tory-voting areas so it could be a deal-breaker).
More money may go into highways too, maybe to repair some of the potholes we saw near Ian Hall's home in Stocksfield. There may be some moderating of increases in charges to older people for day and home care too.
But of course to do all those, more money will have to be saved elsewhere.
I am sure the Liberal Democrats are wondering whether they have inherited a poisoned chalice by becoming the first leaders of the new council. It's often easier to be in Opposition, especially when even as the leading group you have to deal with the other parties to get decisions through.
But they may not face elections till 2013, and in time they might yet reap electoral benefits from being
Friday 6 February 2009 - 1518 GMT
We are looking at the birth pains of our new unitary councils this weekend. Or more particularly the complicated delivery of the new Northumberland County Council, as the labour in Durham appears to be more straightforward.
For those of you who have forgotten, or ceased to care, both counties will see their existing local authorities swept away in April to be replaced by two new all-things-to-everyone super authorities, or unitary councils.
Except the atmosphere around the new Northumberland council could lead you to believe it'll be less than super.
Budgetary problems, redundancies and political rows have dogged this new creation, and next week it's due to set a budget which may produce a council tax rise of almost 5 per cent alongside cuts. Not a great start.
The political make-up of Northumberland isn't helping either.
While Labour are clearly in control in Durham, no party has a majority in Northumberland. The Lib Dems have nominal control, but to get anything done they need to do deals with either Labour or the Conservatives.
To add to that, you can barely find anyone now who says they supported having one council in Northumberland. Those in charge of all three main parties would have preferred the county split in two, as would have the area's MPs, but now someone has to make it work.
And while in Durham, Labour district councillors has had to come into line rather than attack their own party's administration of the new council, in Northumberland they've been able to lay into the Lib Dem leadership with impunity.
Our programme has tasted the tang of Northumberland politics this week too. On Wednesday, we had all three of the party leaders lined up for the programme on Sunday. But the Lib Dems and Tories have cried off.
I understand fevered negotiations are going on as they try to cut a deal on a budget. Neither want to nail their colours to their masts before that deal is done. A deal is imperative. If the parties can't agree on a budget, all the councillors face suspension.
If I was a betting man, I would say we will see that headline council tax rise of 4.8 per cent come down, though there'll have to be more cuts to fund it.
Anyway, let me know what you make of it all. I suspect most people won't care much for the politics but just want council tax kept down and their bins emptied!
Wednesday 4 February 2009 - 1714 GMT
We have had plenty of calls and e-mails on our coverage of the BNP last week.
A surprisingly large number sympathising with their point of view, though in the case of the e-mails many of those seem to have come from outside our broadcasting area, so word had clearly spread through the party network.
I'll read out a selection on the programme this weekend.
BNP supporters weren't the only correspondents this week though. I have also had another e-mail from President Obama.
You think now he was the leader of the Western World he'd have given up on pestering me, but no he hasn't.
At least he wasn't after my money this time. Instead he was asking me to hold an "Economic Recovery House Meeting".
The idea is I get my friends and family round to watch a video about President Obama's plan to dig America out of recession.
Do you fancy coming? Thought not.
Might be just me and the cats, and even they might find dismembering a vole a more attractive prospect.
In all seriousness though, imagine the derision that would greet Gordon Brown if he had suggested that!
There are clearly still some deep-seated differences between our two political cultures, though I've yet to find out how many Americans have responded positively to the President's request.
I have had another Obama-related e-mail too. Regular readers (have I any?) may remember my encounter with International Poet Victoria Heim and her dog Ben (he was in a bag), in the queue for the Obama rally I filmed in Colorado.
She's got back in touch to thank me personally for helping her meet Barack at the rally. I would love to claim credit but I suspect it was more down to her own personal determination (and perhaps the dog helped too).
Anyway she has very kindly put my photo into her album of "the most interesting people that have met an International Poet".
It's a great honour, and probably the only time I will be mentioned in the same breath as President Obama.
Wednesday 4 February 2009 - 1214 GMT
It was supposed to be the answer to every council taxpayer's prayers. A supersize superefficient council that would keep its tax demands down.
But the new unitary Northumberland County Council could arrive on April the 1st with a tax hike of almost five per cent, severe budget cuts and hundreds of job losses.
So who's to blame? This certainly was not the deal offered to people when the review of the county's local government began a few years ago.
Instead, the people of Northumberland were told that the replacement of the current two tier structure of district and county councils with just one council would be a new dawn.
Seven chief executives would become one. There would be an end to confusion over which council provided which service. And crucially efficiencies could lead to both improved services and lower council tax increases.
These promises were made by the Labour administration of the county council. So should we be berating them. Possibly. The only problem is they are no longer in charge.
Many were deselected by their own party, and others lost their seats. It is hard to find anyone on the authority now who backed the idea of having just one council.
But how about we blame the new people in charge - the Liberal Democrats? Except they say they've been beset by a whole host of problems - not just reorganisation - that are outside their control.
There was the cost of the floods in Morpeth, the investment of millions in now defunct Icelandic banks, the impact of the recession on their ability to sell redundant buildings.
And tough savings targets imposed by the Government on top of the efficiencies promised with reorganisation.
Yet in County Durham, some of those factors are also present, but there the move to one council seems to be going much more smoothly.
The council tax rise will average out at less than 3 per cent, and because of adjustments to ensure that people in each districts pay the same rate, people in Derwentside will actually see their bills drop this year. There appears to be little contention.
So have Northumberland's Lib Dems missed something? Labour and the Conservatives have certainly been blaming them for some of the problems.
But then one crucial difference is the political make-up of each council. In Durham, Labour have a clear majority. What they want to happen will happen.
Things are much muddier in Northumberland. No single party has a majority. A deal will have to be done to get a budget through, but in the meantime there's been plenty of room for politicking.
We hope to talk to all three parties on Sunday to find out just what has made the birth of the new Northumberland council so painful.
Sunday 1 February 2009 - 1410 GMT
I must admit this week's programme was one of the more difficult to pitch.
It's the first time I have interviewed someone from the BNP at length, and I was mindful to get the balance right. Clearly, it was only right to robustly challenge the guest and explore what the party stands for, but at the same time not make it look like I was being overly aggressive.
Voters in Whitehaven say why they have turned from Labour to the BNP...
I will be keen to know what you made of it. It helps the balance that I also had the chance to put some tough questions to Labour MP Phil Wilson afterwards.
It is a difficult subject. I did think it was fascinating to hear from the people who had chosen to desert Labour for the BNP though.
It's rare to have so many agree to appear on camera, and what they said was revealing.
Yes, they did seem to like the kind of message the BNP was pushing their way. But their switch seemed to be more about someone taking notice of them - someone valuing their vote.
Clearly, that sets the challenge for the mainstream political parties. They do have more resources, but what the BNP have become adept at is concentrating their firepower in localised areas. That means they can put enough bodies on the ground in the right circumstances to push them hard even if they have yet to win a seat in the region.
The current economic climate may play into their hands though. Witness the current "British Jobs for British Workers" protests. The BNP believe the political agenda is moving their way; it's up to the other political parties to challenge that.
Wednesday Friday 30 January 2009 - 1623 GMT
I won't deny it's a difficult subject we are tackling on the Politics Show this week. If you wanted to avoid contention, you could ignore the BNP.
You might even argue you could justify that in the region. They have no elected councillors, MPs or MEPs.
But slowly they are making an impact, even if it's just focussing the attention of Labour on the migration of some its supporters to the BNP.
It was partly Labour's concern about the rise of the party in parts of County Durham that stimulated our interest.
They have moved from ignoring the BNP to a more active policy of confronting what they say.
But there are many fronts to fight on. The BNP came within 16 votes recently of winning a county council by-election in West Cumbria. Again in an area that has traditionally voted Labour.
Something is persuading a significant number of Labour voters in these areas to switch.
The BNP would argue it's because they are providing the answers these voters are failing to get from the mainstream parties. Labour would say the voters are being hoodwinked into supporting a party they would despise if they really knew what they stood for.
So this weekend we interview both Labour and the BNP - separately - and test their arguments.
Those who oppose the BNP may say we are giving them the oxygen of publicity. That's true, but this is the only studio interview I have done with one of their members in five years of presenting the programme. It's not and will not be a regular occurrence until they make a much bigger electoral impact.
Equally, by ignoring them altogether I sometimes think you are not subjecting them to the same challenges and analysis as other political parties, whether that be a mainstream one like Labour, or a more minor party like the Greens.
Let me know what you think, now, and after you have watched the programme on Sunday.
Wednesday 28 January 2009 - 1758 GMT
I seem to be travelling the country this week. I was in London on Monday, covering the campaign of a Teesside mum.
And her example shows just what an individual can achieve when they are determined enough.
Jan Woodward's 19-year-old daughter Kelly died in a road accident caused by a drink driver.
The driver was jailed for four-and-a-half years and banned from driving for five. But as driving bans legally have to begin on the day of sentence, you can see that driving ban would only be really effective for a few of months after release.
Jan wasn't happy with that and began campaigning for change, collecting thousands of names for a petition and e-mailing every MP.
Her case was taken up by Scarborough and Whitby MP Robert Goodwill who raised it at Prime Ministers' Questions.
The PM promised to look at it and lo and behold on Monday, changes were introduced which will make it possible for judges to lengthen driving bans to take time spent in prison into account.
One up for Jan and democracy.
More people power is on display where I am today too. I am in Carlisle awaiting the results of an emergency inspection of a new Academy school.
You may have followed the trials and tribulations of the Richard Rose Central Academy both locally and nationally.
But it is interesting that the inspection is only the second in the country to have been prompted by parents. The Government gave them the chance to trigger inspections and in this case they've got their wishes.
Regardless of the results of that inspection it is at least encouraging to see that people power can make a difference from time to time.
None of which has too much to do with our main subject on the Politics Show this week - the BNP's wooing of disillusioned Labour voters in areas such as County Durham and Cumbria.
More on that later in the week...
Sunday 25 January 2009 - 1358 GMT
Was there evidence of some elusive green shoots on our programme today?
There was some good job news at least. Plans to build the next generation of giant offshore wind turbines could create many thousands of jobs on the Tyne.
In a very symbolic shift, the yards that used to produce ships could be turning their hands to turbines.
Much of the drive behind this development is coming from the Shepherd family - who for so many years were the owners of Newcastle United.
They have bought up much of the land and are developing it. And that is allowing the Government and the local councils to talk of creating a renewable energy park - a centre of excellence for the industry.
The Minister for the North East, Nick Brown, talks about the plans for a renewable energy park on the Tyne...
It was no wonder Minister for the North East, Nick Brown, was so keen to announce the plans on our programme.
A great scoop for us but you suspect the timing is no coincidence. In a week when we slid officially into recession and unemployment rose again, it was handy to be able to talk about job creation.
For similar reasons, Gordon Brown was at Sellafield on Friday to talk of 10,000 jobs at a new nuclear power station. Although given the complications of the planning process, it could be a decade or more before we see any of those.
Of course at the same time as we talk about jobs that could be created, real ones are being lost. Sunderland had one of the highest rises in the numbers unemployed last year even before Nissan's problems.
The test for the Government is whether they can keep getting good news to outweigh the bad.
The Politics Show has exclusively brought you the conclusions of a major report into the economic strengths and weaknesses of Britain's big cities.
The report has been written by the Centre for Cities - an independent think tank which was the brainchild of the former Labour minister, Lord Sainsbury. The work was carried out in partnership with the Local Government Association.
You can read, within the report, about the way in which cities in the North East and Cumbria stack up against others around the UK...
Back in the studio this week, and we have a proverbial packed programme.
In fact we were plunged into near-despair when we realised the Prime Minister was heading for Cumbria today.
Prime Minister visits West Cumbria
Couldn't he have timed his trip for a quieter week?
It didn't help that his office seemed to have a very hazy idea of Cumbria's geography.
According to the original schedule, the PM was supposed to travel from Carlisle to Workington in 20 minutes, before then travelling from there to Sellafield in another 30 minutes.
Anyone familiar with the road network between those places will know that was never going to happen and the Carlisle leg of the journey was duly dropped.
My colleague Mark Denten is having to cope with the revised logistics.
We have Gordon's great mate Nick Brown on this Sunday.
The Minister for the North East will be quizzed about the latest leap in the unemployment figures and the less than encouraging economic picture painted by the research group Centre for Cities.
There is also another story we are talking to him about, but I am sworn to secrecy about at the moment.
It is a potentially very interesting development on the jobs front though.
In addition, we are also talking to the Sunderland company which is taking on Nissan workers.
And if that wasn't enough we are also looking at the dropout rates amongst students at our universities.
The Government wants 50% of children to go onto higher education, but it seems keeping them there is just as much of a challenge as getting them there in the first place.
Hope you can join me on Sunday. It might be a little breathless.
Tuesday 20 January 2009 - 1410 GMT
I thought our Youth Parliament members put in a sterling performance on Sunday.
As I hoped they weren't intimidated at all, and were prepared to challenge the politicians.
One of our panel - Hartlepool MP Iain Wright - said it was a far more frightening experience than facing hostile questions in the Commons.
It was interesting to hear from some who feel they won't be going to University because of the fear of debt.
We also discussed young people's desire for a consistent concessionary fares scheme on buses.
You can watch the extended debate here...
Of course, older people now have free bus travel in all parts of the country, but for younger people the discount they get varies widely from area to area.
None of our politicians were able to provide much of an answer, but interestingly we got quite a large response from older people on the phones after the programme.
And rather than being critical of the young people, they were incredibly supportive.
Many said they would rather pay to use the buses so that young people could get discounts or even free travel.
So why have the Government given pensioners free bus travel while they've left fares for young people to individual local authorities?
A clue perhaps was contained in one other section of the debate - nobody under 18 can vote.
Thursday 15 January 2009 - 1641 GMT
I'll be interested to see whether it'll be possible to discern the political leanings of our audience of young people this week.
When I was their age, it was the 1980s and all the fashion to be left wing, but I sense there has been a change in recent years.
The UK Youth Parliament is a vibrant hotbed of politics for... yes, youth...
While universities like Durham and Newcastle have thriving Young Conservative associations (or Conservative Future groups as they're now known), their Labour clubs are less popular.
Perhaps that isn't surprising, Labour is the Establishment now, and the young like to go against the grain.
Our Youth Parliament members' roots in a Labour-voting region could make them think differently, but they may not have the same tribal loyalties as their parents and grandparents.
One of the topics we'll discuss is apathy amongst young people, but I guess we'll have the wrong group of people for getting to the bottom of that. Instead, I'm hoping to take a back seat and unleash them on our panel.
I suspect they'll actually be up for giving all the politicians a hard time. As long as they don't get any ideas about presenting the programme. Warning to our cost-conscious producer - this is strictly a one-off!
Wednesday 14 January 2009 - 1103 GMT
Our first programme of 2009 is going to be an unusual one. First of all, the production team haven't chosen the subject matter. Secondly, I won't be asking the questions.
That's because we have handed a lot of control over to the members of the North East's Youth Parliament.
They've made two films on subjects which matter to them, and an audience of parliament members will be quizzing a panel of politicians on the content of the films and other issues for this week's programme.
We felt the need to shake things up a bit for once, so hopefully it should throw up some good TV. In my experience, young people often ask quite searching questions. They are generally less inhibited and deferential.
So our panel will have to be razor sharp. We've got Berwick MP Alan Beith, Conservative MEP Martin Callanan and Labour's Iain Wright lined up to be grilled. One disadvantage for them is that they probably can't get away with being as rude to the young people as they can be to me!
For logistical reasons we are also recording the programme in advance of Sunday at the Sunderland Glass Centre, as our studio is not big enough to cope with an audience.
Despite the fact that I won't need to come up with questions, it's still a different kind of challenge for me as a presenter. Apart from anything else we're hoping to get through six questions. I hope I've whetted your appetites.
Monday 12 January 2009 - 1703 GMT
After a quiet few days news-wise, everything went mad on Thursday afternoon when Nissan announced plans for 1200 redundancies.
First and foremost it was an economic story, but obviously politics was bound to play a part.
Especially when the announcement came on the eve of a visit to the region by David Cameron.
So Friday saw a war of words between Mr Cameron and Minister for the North East Nick Brown about how much the Government could have done and still could do to help Nissan. (Perhaps Mr Cameron had seen Nick Brown's Christmas Card - see earlier entry!)
The problem with these job cuts is that, unlike Woolworths, you can't blame a bad business model. Nissan's Wearside plant is the most efficient in Europe. But, sadly that makes no difference when nobody's buying cars.
So what are the differences in approach between the Tories and Labour on how to tackle the problem? Well, despite the ill-tempered ward of words, actually very little.
The Conservative silver bullet is a proposal for a £50 billion loan guarantee fund. That would underwrite bank loans to businesses in order to get credit flowing again.
Labour were quick to rubbish that. Yet they are also talking about measures to try and tackle the credt crunch affecting the car sector. They are looking to tackle the collapse in the amount of car finance available and are also consdering a government guarantee for loans to businesses which sounds similar to the Tory plans.
But this is party politics in the run-in to a general election so neither party will admit they're not that far apart.
None of the measures can guarantee what Nissan really needs though - a surge in car sales.
Thursday 6 January 2009 - 1700 GMT
(It's a missive for the moment anyway. I have the cards with me if they're of any use, but I should think there'll be some copyright issues, although for precisely that reason the scene on Nick's card is a painting of the original picture which apparently was commissioned by Newsnight to avoid using the copyrighted picture).
Firstly may I wish you all a belated Happy New Year. I hope your festive season wasn't too credit-crunched.
I was greeted on my return by a stack of Christmas cards. Not a sign of my popularity but just that my name is on several politicians/political organisations' lists.
It's always intriguing to see what approach our politicians take with their cards.
Childrens' drawings selected by a local competition are very much in vogue (Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and Hartlepool MP Iain Wright).
The festive Westminster scene remains a staple (Step forward Stockton South's Dari Taylor and Shadow Minister for Tyneside Alan Duncan).
And this year the politician's family (rather out of vogue in recent years) makes a comeback. David Cameron opted for that, though it was of course a classy black and white effort not a cheesy colour snap.
Some though can't leave politics alone. David Cameron was also on the card I got from Minister for the North East Nick Brown. Not in a family scene though but in that famous picture of him as a member of Oxford's Bullingham drinking club, alongside contemporaries such as Boris Johnson. The club is described in the card as being "elitist" and "notorious".
Underneath the picture is the line - Unity is Strength. Naughty Nick. He's such a card.
Anyway, enough of Christmas. Time to get to stuck into some New Year politics. Apparently I'll get a chance to see the real Mr Cameron later this week as he's coming to the region.
~RS~a~RS~International~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~13~RS~){kind=small}
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~13~RS~)
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
In pictures
Barker gallery
Bookmark with:
What are these?