The leader of the House of Commons was visiting Wolvehampton, Penn to meet the people and throw her support behind the local Conservative Candidate.
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00:00 Good morning, we're at Pups a Joy cafe in Ken Wolverhampton. I'm with Mike Newton, the Conservative
00:07 parliamentary candidate for Wolverhampton West, and with Kenny Morgan, the leader of
00:11 the House of Commons. Good morning.
00:14 Good morning.
00:15 Yeah, Wolverhampton West, this is a seat that was more or less approximated to the old Wolverhampton
00:21 South West seat, which was very narrowly won at the last election by Lee Anderson. They've
00:26 got a new candidate, Mike Newton. It's going to be a very difficult seat to win, I imagine,
00:33 for you. Why do you think Mike can win a seat like that?
00:37 Well, speaking to local people from this area, but actually across the region as well, what
00:42 people are really interested in is not whether it's a red cat or a blue cat, they want someone
00:48 that can catch some mice. And that's, I think, is going to be the critical thing in this
00:54 election, perhaps more than any other election we've had. And so I'm here supporting candidates
00:59 that I think do that, who really are almost beyond politics. They just fight for their
01:06 communities, fight to get local investment in, support local businesses, support other
01:11 people in the community who are stepping up and taking responsibility for making this
01:16 place a better place. And Mike Newton has done that, that's his record, he's got a reputation
01:23 for doing that. And Andy Street, our mayoral candidate as well, I think he's beyond politics.
01:30 He's a guy who fights for his community and he's got a very good successful track record.
01:36 You know, ten times the transport investment that others have previously got in. He's got
01:42 ten million, sorry, not ten million, ten billion in public funds in here, which has levered
01:48 in a massive amount of private sector investment, just regenerating the whole area and creating
01:55 more high-wage jobs. And that's what people want. And they want a sense of pride in their
02:00 community and they want a government that is going to be able to deliver for them. And
02:06 I'm here fighting for conservative candidates, but most importantly, individuals like Mike
02:12 and Andy, who are actually going to get stuff done for people.
02:16 You've now seen the power over the weekend in the Sunday Times, suggesting that conservatives
02:21 could be getting 98 seats for the next election. What are your thoughts on that?
02:27 Well, I obviously want a conservative government. I think if Labour get in, I mean, it's been
02:33 a while since they were in power across the UK, but we know what's happening in Wales,
02:39 we know what's happening in London, we know from what they're putting forward that the
02:44 government's going to have to end up, if it's a Labour government, borrowing more, taxes
02:48 will go up, the size of the state will grow and the economy won't. That's what you always
02:52 get with Labour. And I think this country has been through some really tough times,
02:57 unprecedented times with the pandemic, global shocks, but we're coming through that. The
03:04 economy is turning a corner. We're growing, inflation is coming down, cost of living is
03:12 coming down, we're turning that corner and now we can really start to build on the newfound
03:18 freedoms that we've got, capitalise on all the trade deals that we've done, CPTPP, all
03:25 those things that are going to create more opportunities and high-wage jobs, and really
03:29 get behind business, because without the business community, nothing can happen. So that's what
03:34 we're interested in. That's why I'm here supporting Mike and Andy, because those are the people
03:40 that are going to get stuff done. And in politics, anything is possible. But it isn't possible
03:46 unless you stand up for it first, which is what I'm doing.
03:49 Yeah, I mean for me it was a no-brainer to have Penny here today, because when you go
03:53 on the doorstep, Penny, you're one of the most popular people, I think, in the entire
03:57 country, possibly second only to the Royal Family. Everyone knows Penny, and everyone
04:02 knows what Penny stands for, which is community and straight talking. So, I think in my own
04:07 experiences I've got hold of Penny, but growing up in the 1970s, remembering the lights going
04:12 out under Labour, my parents worrying about 30% of the deflation levels under Labour,
04:17 and we all know that Farmer is a nice guy, but I just don't think he can control these
04:22 backbenchers. And they want radical policies. I don't want to see them tested on the people
04:26 of Wolverhampton West. And as a former Bank of England official, then I like to think
04:31 that I know all about money and interest rates. And let me tell you this, without fear of
04:35 contradiction, it's going to be a darn sight worse under Labour, with higher interest rates,
04:40 people's families paying more than it will be under the Conservatives. So, that's why
04:45 I'm here at nighting.
04:46 Yeah, and then it's also those issues at the general election, because we're facing local
04:51 elections and mayoral elections here imminently, but the general election, you know, I was
04:56 Secretary of State for Defence and Minister of the Armed Forces, I have a service background,
05:00 Mike has a service background, and things like our defence and security are fundamental.
05:07 I think that matters to the people here. You don't hear it every moment on the doorstep,
05:11 but people understand that our nation's progress is tied to our national pride and being able
05:17 to stand up for people's interests, our people's interests, and we can't do that without strong
05:24 defence. The people on the other side of the House of Commons, to me, who want to run the
05:30 UK's foreign policy, they recently voted to end the only protection we have against nuclear
05:35 weapons. You know, these are not the people that you want protecting Britain, and I'm
05:42 going to do everything I can to ensure that we're trusting the right people with those
05:48 fundamental decisions.
05:49 So, you said the only protection against nuclear weapons, what did you mean by that?
05:52 The continuous at sea deterrence, so this has been a capability that's been running
05:56 since 1969. It's absolutely fundamental to our defence and our membership of NATO, and
06:03 the Shadow Foreign Secretary and five other members of the Shadow Cabinet voted to end
06:10 it. That's just a nutty, nutty policy, and that's when the spotlight's on them. If they
06:17 ever got into power, just imagine what they would do. So, we can't mess around with this,
06:23 and yeah, people don't expect us to do well, but sometimes you've got to stand up and fight
06:33 for things, and in politics anything you can do.
06:37 Well again, I think one of the areas where Penny really cuts through on the doorsteps
06:42 is the question of values and Britishness, because people here regardless of ethnicity,
06:47 age, gender, that pride to be British, I think is very, very strong here in Wolverhampton.
06:52 You've felt it here on this visit, haven't you?
06:54 Yeah, I have, I have, and people understand that that is, you know, people want to feel
06:58 proud of the nation, and it's not something, you know, nostalgic or trite. It's absolutely
07:05 necessary to us making progress as a nation, for people having the confidence that their
07:11 government is going to back them if they take a risk, set up a business, that they're going
07:16 to be looked after if they serve in our armed forces. Talking to a gentleman today, the
07:20 construction sector over there, who is considering going into reserve forces. You know, you've
07:25 got loads of people here, small business owners, loads of people who step up and take responsibility
07:32 to provide opportunities to others, to move our country forward, and they want a government
07:37 that's going to do that. And it'll be the Conservatives that do the labour work.
07:42 Remember Wake, well not Wake, I've been working all night, but the morning after the election
07:48 in December 2019, and there was a theme, I've come upon the Conservatives feeling optimism
07:53 about how they've taken places like this, and been represented in areas like this.
07:57 It's gone wrong since then, and how can you win the trust back in areas like this?
08:03 I think we've obviously had to deal with the directional situation of the pandemic in this
08:11 parliament, and I think we came through that well. We rallied as a nation, everyone took
08:18 care of everyone. In some respects our communities got stronger, because people who might not
08:24 have spoken to the little old lady at the end of the street ever, suddenly...
08:28 That's exactly right, and I would add as well, that we do have full employment in this country.
08:32 I mean there are pockets of unemployment, but in general I think everyone who wants
08:36 a job can find one, you know? And as a Conservative, I think we must firmly believe, don't we,
08:42 in the need for people to work, the dignity that comes from work, make that contribution.
08:48 Hard-working taxpayers shouldn't be subsidising people that don't want to work, and that's
08:52 a theme I'm hearing very much from the doorsteps, you know?
08:55 Well the figures are a little over-hampered, it's half, it's 50% more than that, so average
08:59 unemployment is 6.2% I think it is, according to the February figures, compared to the national
09:04 average of 3.7%.
09:06 Yeah, I mean that feels too high to me. I think we have to do everything we possibly
09:10 can to incentivise people back into the workforce, because when I go round places like Penn,
09:15 when I talk to Councillor Singh about what he's seeing on the ground and what his priorities
09:20 are, then there are a lot of very hard-working people here, whether they're self-employed
09:25 traders, whether they work in the NHS, things like that, then they want to work hard and
09:30 they want to keep more of their money poor, don't they?
09:32 100%.
09:33 You know?
09:34 But we've got, again, a good record there. We've had some challenges during the pandemic,
09:40 but since 2010 we've got 4 million people into work, additional people into work, a
09:45 million fewer workless households, 2 million of that 4 million are women, and a million
09:51 are people who have a disability, who without the welfare reforms and support that we've
09:57 brought in would not have had the dignity of the pay package. And there is more to do,
10:02 and clearly we also are dealing with some legacy issues from the pandemic, poor mental
10:09 health, those sorts of things, but the network of job centres that we have and the support
10:16 there is adapting to that. We've got some great new schemes that Mel Stride set up to
10:21 support people into work, but we're only going to be able to do that if we've got the opportunities
10:26 for them to go to. We've got schemes like the massive expansion of apprenticeships at
10:33 any age and at any stage in your life. It's that sort of very practical support that people
10:39 need to get from A to B, and what you want also is your community leaders, whether it's
10:44 councillors, whether it's members of parliament or mayors, who really get that and understand
10:51 that we're talking about individual human beings that need all sorts of things to help
10:58 them really thrive and achieve their ambitions, but that's what these guys are focused on.
11:04 Can we just talk about patriotism for a second? No conversation with Penny would be complete
11:09 without the mention of swords, would it? And as a former army reserve officer, I brought
11:14 my sword along today. Penny's already criticised me for it being dirty. I did give it a little
11:20 bit of a wash before we came out, but there we go. Just a paintbrush. I've been asked to
11:27 do that. So we have that on the bus. No, no, that's great. And actually it's been lovely
11:35 talking to people. I was up here last night meeting a few people just about the coronation
11:43 and everything, and everyone's been so wonderful, sending good wishes to the King. Yeah, we
11:49 strongly, from Penn and all the Hamptons West, next time you have any conversation with the
11:54 King, please give him our very best wishes and tell him I want him to be back. No, he's
11:59 doing really well. He's doing really well. That's wonderful. And talking of doing really
12:03 well, Portsmouth Football Club, do you think they could beat Wolves? Well, I need to be
12:08 careful what I say, but no, I was at the Derby game earlier this week, which was falling
12:16 conditions, but very exciting game. High winds, torrential rain. Well, the Wolves manager,
12:21 Gary O'Neill, he is ex-Portsmouth, isn't he? Yes, he is. There we go. Well, I wish everyone
12:27 well. So does the politician. Very diplomatic. Play up Pompey. And do you believe the Prime
12:34 Minister's doing a good job? Yeah, I do. I mean, I think people know the Prime Minister's
12:41 character, and he is a really decent, hard-working guy who loves his country very much, and I
12:49 see it very clearly. He works so hard, and he's invested a lot of time on particular
12:56 things, which is unusual for a Prime Minister. Normally, he just floats above what Secretaries
13:00 of State are doing, but on particular things like migration, particularly illegal migration,
13:05 he's devoted a large amount of his time to gripping that issue in a way that I don't
13:11 think necessarily some of his predecessors did. So he's a good man, he's working very
13:17 hard, and I think he's got a real sense of what matters to people, and he is making a
13:23 difference on the economy, on combating illegal migration, which is a matter, as he rightly
13:29 says, about fairness, and yeah, we've got to demonstrate that progress. That's what
13:35 people want to see. How do you feel then when you read stories about people saying, you
13:39 know, they're suggesting you should be taking over something? Well, I think the public feel
13:44 the same way I do, in that we're fed up with those kind of stories. I hope you're not going
13:48 to write them! But no, these sorts of things are, I think, a distraction. You know, our
13:56 jobs as politicians is to get things to work for people. That's what we're here to do,
14:01 and that's what we're doing. We're getting on with it, and I just encourage everyone
14:08 to get on with the job. What do you think about what's going on in Scotland at the moment
14:13 with the police, with the police going and building up the police? Well, I did sort of
14:18 take the mickey out of things a bit on this in the House of Commons. I mean, I think that
14:25 the police have got a tough job at the best of times, and we know that the police in Scotland
14:33 are under great pressure to just even and tend burglaries and things like that, and
14:39 I just think that's what we want our police to be doing. But this is devolution in action,
14:46 and the Scottish people are not happy with it, and I can fully understand why they might
14:51 not be. Then they ought to think about being conservative at the next election. And J.K.
14:57 Lowenstein, what do you think about that? Well, I think you've got a lot of different groups
15:03 out there making protests against these new laws. I mean, I made a joke in the House of Commons
15:09 because the SNP are always really very unpleasant and rude to me every Thursday morning, that
15:16 I was having my folder on my dispatch box a hate crime report form, and after each question
15:23 I was going to send it off to the Scottish Constabulary. It's silly stuff, and what politicians
15:31 always be doing is focusing on the real issues that matter to people. I think that's dead
15:35 right. I mean, look, I think this is a country where people are not prejudiced, you know,
15:40 whether it is in terms of how people feel about sexuality, how people feel about race,
15:45 religion, whatever. I think this is not a prejudiced country, and I don't like people
15:51 who bring in from America this language of almost auto-generated hate and disunity. A
15:58 lot of people are making a lot of money off of that, let's be honest. But what I'm hearing
16:02 on the doorstep is that people are rejecting this because they think it just goes against
16:08 common sense. Most people in this country are prejudiced, and I think that, you know,
16:12 both Penny and I would push back very strongly on those that try and make an issue out of
16:16 this, wouldn't you say? Yeah, and this community is a great example of that, you know, if you've
16:21 got people that are from all different backgrounds who come together to make their communities
16:29 better, who want to make their country better. And that's what I think practitioners should
16:33 be fostering, that real sense of unity and community.
16:37 Yeah. We're going to have to move on in a sec.
16:40 Okay, yeah, just a second.
16:42 I paid for those little words.
16:49 This is fantastic, I've had so much coffee.
16:52 Penny, can you do us a bacon sandwich, a sausage?
16:59 Well, we've heard you're multi-talented.
17:01 I'm doing a food hygiene certificate, so I think I can.
17:04 Well, I've got one of those.
17:05 Oh yeah? Well, there you go then, Mike. Sort us out then, sort us out.
17:09 Yeah, because one of my businesses is...
17:11 John, we've got you with Penny here, and you said you'd like to see her as next Prime Minister,
17:15 didn't you?
17:16 Yes.
17:17 There we go.
17:18 She'll be the prettiest one, John, think up.
17:21 Yeah. And that's what gets your vote. Okay, easily pleased.
17:25 He's a charmer. He's a charmer. He's trying to flog me this citrus tree.
17:30 No, you can have that if you want it.
17:32 No, no, I won't do that. No, no, that's so private. No, no.
17:36 I'm doing a big project there in Portsmouth. We're doing a lot of tree planting.
17:41 Yes.
17:42 And we've discovered, we cleared this lady's garden and we've founded it a 30-year-old grapefruit tree.
17:47 Oh, right.
17:48 So we normally plant community orchards and things like that, we've planted apples and plums and things like that,
17:52 but we're now starting to grow citrus.
17:54 Oh.
17:55 So we think we should grow it in Portsmouth, so right by the coast, maritime, and the National Park.
18:01 Yeah, nice and warm, but not too hot, sheltered.
18:06 So, yeah, we're going to give citrus a go.
18:08 Okay.
18:09 We're going to plant some trees.
18:11 I'll bring my necklace.
18:13 It's so tiny.
18:15 Not really so good.
18:17 Like, what mint leaves have you got?
18:19 That's all, yeah.
18:20 I've got banana, um, onion, some more citrus.