tv The Camilla Tominey Show GB News July 21, 2024 9:30am-11:01am BST
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pension and why labour for your pension and why labour hasn't been more ambitious on housing. i'll also be joined by shadow minister andrew griffith about the upcoming tory leadership race, who will be leadership race, who will be leader of the opposition. tom tugendhat, kemi badenoch suella braverman robert jenrick or someone completely unexpected? i'll be speaking with the former justice secretary, sir robert buckland, about his views on crime and punishment in light of labour's early prisoner release scheme and the appalling riots in leeds earlier this week. i'll also be speaking to sarah elliott, spokeswoman for republicans overseas uk, about the attempt on donald trump's life and the us presidential election, and author maureen callahan will join me to discuss her book, ask not the kennedys and the women they destroyed . and the women they destroyed. don't go anywhere because we've got 90 minutes of fun packed politics coming right up. this
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right. let's get stuck into the sunday papers with chief political correspondent of the times, aubrey allegretti. lovely to see you , aubrey. thanks for to see you, aubrey. thanks for coming in this morning. good morning. right. let's talk about rachel reeves. we've got her writing an op ed in the mail on sunday, talking about growth being the big labour agenda. i mean, they are literally gambling the whole house on growth. i can't find much in her opinion piece about how they're actually going to achieve it beyond this wealth fund. i mean, what's your analysis of what she's saying about the economy and what they can do? >> well, she's obviously only a few weeks into the job, but rachel reeves is having to grapple with some quite difficult decisions. i think labour understand now that they're not in a position they can't sort of snipe from the sidelines. they do have to make tough decisions, and there are trade offs. and i remember back in november 2022, when jeremy hunt was chancellor he was echoing nigel lawson's call for a sort of big bang reset to kind of try and unshackle the banks , of try and unshackle the banks, some deregulation, try and pump some deregulation, try and pump some money into the system . you
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some money into the system. you know, it didn't necessarily work. so she's going to find it very tough, i think, coming into the treasury with lots of calls already for her to boost public sector pay, we know the independent pay review bodies are coming out in the next week or so. so yeah, there's a lot of pressure on her and she's going to have to try and finely balance sort of being a new broom who comes in, brings optimism and gives people hope, and that they feel like there's and that they feel like there's a new government without sort of actually giving very much away. >> a labour seemed to have put aside enough to money pay nhs workers and teachers. i think 3% pay workers and teachers. i think 3% pay rise. they are asking or at least the independent pay review body has recommended they give 5.5. it's almost the first test for labour, isn't it ? because for labour, isn't it? because obviously if they concede to those demands the question will be asked of them. well, are you just always going to be sort of slaves to the unions calling for more and more money? you've got wes streeting trying to negotiate with junior doctors who wanted 35. inflation's come down. they don't want it to go back up. and as the ifs, the institute for fiscal studies has pointed out this morning, you know, how are you going to pay
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for this. you've said you won't borrow borrow more outside of very strict fiscal rules. you've said you won't tax working people more and you don't want to be cutting government departments, because then that will seem like it's austerity 2.0. >> yeah, exactly. she's going to have to really sort of finely balance this decision. i mean, when we were on the plane with keir starmer going to the nato summit last week, i asked him about the issue of public sector pay- about the issue of public sector pay. are you going to give the unions what they want and he was very categorical. no. so the independent pay review body structure is helpful for the government in that it's not sort of unions that make the decisions. it's an independent body. and so they spend their time reporting. we know the outcome of, i think two out of the eight bodies for teachers and some nhs staff, there are still six more, but they're sort of around the 5.5% mark. now, as you say, labour had earmarked about 3% and there's supposed to be this black hole of around £8 billion. so how labour are going to fill it ? they will have to to fill it? they will have to sort of make that clear in the run up to the budget in the autumn. those are probably where we're going to see things like the sort of rise on vat for
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private schools and so other areas where they might start to increase taxes in order to claw back that money. >> let's move on to lucy letby, because she features in quite a lot of coverage in the sunday papers. this morning. we've got a sunday telegraph piece suggesting that nurses and doctors who wanted to support letby in court and beyond were sort of gagged by the nhs. that's one set of allegations . that's one set of allegations. then there's a really interesting story about david davis, the former brexit secretary, who has taken up individual sort of causes where he's seen that there may be a miscarriage of justice taking place. nobody at the moment, by the way, aubrey seems to be suggesting categorically that lucy letby could be innocent. they're saying that the evidence that was used to convict her could be shakier than we thought. what do you make of david davis getting involved in this? because it's risky for him, isn't it? for his reputation? if actually she's bang to rights and she let's not forget, she's been found guilty of killing seven babies, of attempting to kill seven others. she tried to appeal. that was roundly rejected. >> so absolutely . i think, you
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>> so absolutely. i think, you know, david davis is a very respected sort of civil rights campaigner. and he says that at the very least, this appears to be a mistrial. the very least, this appears to be a mistrial . so, you know, i be a mistrial. so, you know, i think she's got some support from a prominent politician like him. and of course, his position means that he can sort of help her in a way that lots of other people can't. he has parliamentary privilege, which means he can say things in the house of commons, he can ask questions. and those are sort of covered by privilege. so she'll certainly be very , sort of certainly be very, sort of supported, i think, by this intervention. there is a degree of, i think, introspection in the wake of the andrew malkinson case. yes. and people just very tetchy about wanting to just explain that because people might not be familiar with malkinson. of course. so he was a man who was wrongly convicted of rape in 2004 and i think spent 17 years in prison . so spent 17 years in prison. so obviously nobody is suggesting sort of huge similarities between the two cases. but that having come so recently, there are people looking at this and saying, does the criminal justice system look at itself and can it be held accountable in the right points and in the
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right way? and that's what i suppose the issue is here. >> aubrey, you mentioned that you covered the nato summit, so you covered the nato summit, so you will have seen joe biden up close and personal. lots of coverage today about him refusing to step down. he's been tapped on the shoulder by barack obama. he's been tapped on the shoulder, it seems, by nancy pelosi. he's hanging tough saying no. how did you find him at the nato summit ? i understand at the nato summit? i understand you were in the room. you're in the oval office when he met with keir starmer. how did he seem? >> so he was he was pretty on good form in the oval office. and during their private meeting. that's the same way that keir starmer sort of described him. he was quite sort of relaxed. he made some jokes. we asked him questions about the football and coming home, which might not sort of be immediately apparent. what we were talking about to the us president, he didn't seem confused by that at all. but certainly later in the day, when he made the huge gaffe about calling president zelenskyy, president putin, instead, there suddenly erupted this kind of fire in his belly, where during the press conference, he seemed to get sort of increasingly wound up and frustrated with, i think what he felt was the really mounting pressure around him, because the nato summit was this
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big moment where all the world leaders gathered in washington, and it was being completely undermined and overshadowed by questions about his leadership, and that i think the fear of it being taken away from him was the moment where he really started to kind of come out fighting. but it seems now increasingly more and more senior democrats said, well, let him have his sort of moment. you know, hosting the summit. we don't want to overshadow that. but i think now they realise there's a small window where now there's a small window where now the republicans have picked their nominee. they have around a month or maybe 2 or 3 weeks until the democrats do the same. so if they're going to do it, they probably need biden's buy in, not least because of the monetary transfer. if you want to be able to sort of give all of the proceeds of your donations to a successor, you can only do it on the biden—harris ticket. so it's either going to have to be kamala harris, or it's interesting because he seemed to kind of open the door to standing down in that interview that he did in america, where he said, well, if medical circumstances meant that, i would have to stand down. >> and i thought, oh, hang on, is this a change of tone? but now we're just seeing him digging his heels in one to
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certainly i think if people want to sort of look at this and say, well, it shouldn't be one rule for them and another for other pubuc for them and another for other public sector workers, they will feel that frustration. there's also, i think, a sense that some mps think they're untouchable and that kind of once they've left office, well, if the voters turfed them out, that's it. actually, this would be a really good reminder to a lot of mps that if they do misbehave when they're in parliament, there are consequences beyond just the five years. >> aubrey allegretti, thank you very much indeed for your opinions on today's newspapers. lovely to see you in the studio. thank you. good luck with your week's work at the times. well coming up next, i'm going to be speaking to the new exchequer secretary to the treasury, james murray. i'm going to be asking him about those pay claims. is he going to give nhs workers and teachers a 5.5% pay rise, or stick to labour's original plan of 3? stay
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welcome back to the camilla tominey show on gb news. lovely to have your company. i'm joined now by the exchequer secretary to the treasury, james murray, the mp for ealing north, who joins me from college green. lovely to see you, mr murray. i don't think we've spoken on the show before. so welcome. thank you.can show before. so welcome. thank you. can we kick off? i know you want to talk about pensions and we'll get on to that in just a moment, but can we just kick off by discussing the independent pay by discussing the independent pay review body, suggesting this 5.5% pay rise for nhs workers and teachers? labour have allowed for 3. will they move to 5.5? >> so there's a process that we need to go through over the next few weeks. and what the chancellor has set out is that she is looking at the pay review bodies recommendations and she'll come to parliament before the end of july to set out her response to them. and that will be in the context of public finances and the public public spending inheritance that we have in government . because, you
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have in government. because, you know, we know that the public finances are in the worst state since the second world war. the chancellor asked treasury officials in her first days in office to do a thorough assessment of them, and that will be the context in which you'll provide an update to parliament by the end of the month. >> it's going to be really difficult for the chancellor, though, to go against the independent pay review body. when i remember countless occasions where labour, when they were in the shadow cabinet, kept on talking about the importance of following the recommendations of the independent pay review body. so now you're in government, you're going to change that stance . going to change that stance. >> well, there's a process as i set out and the chancellor is looking at those pay review body recommendations, we know, obviously, that the response to those recommendations will involve a cost. but there is also a cost to not striking a deal also a cost to not striking a deal, because if you don't strike a deal, you run the risk of more industrial action. there are problems in terms of recruitment and retention. and so there's a cost to that, too . so there's a cost to that, too. but all of this will be set out in the next couple of weeks
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before the end of july in parliament. >> but there's always going to be a cost of potential industrial action. that's how the unions operate. i mean, there's of course there's always a cost. that doesn't mean you have to do what they demand, even if they threaten you with strike action. >> well, as i say, the chancellor has been very clear that she's looking at the pay review body's recommendations and the process that she will lead over the next couple of weeks is to look at those recommendations, to consider the assessment by treasury officials of the true state of public finances and public spending inheritance, and then set out her response to parliament before the end of july. >> what's your personal view, though? do you think that nhs workers and indeed hard working teachers deserve 5.5 or 3? >> well, my personal view and that of many of us in parliament is that we hugely value the contribution and the work that nhs workers have been doing, that teachers are doing, that police officers are doing across
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the public sector. in terms of the public sector. in terms of the process for deciding our response to the pay review bodies recommendations, you know, i think it's not fair for me to say one thing or the other. now when there's a process in train and what the important thing for me to say is, is to support that process and say, look, let's let this process play out. it's only a couple of weeks until the chancellor will make a statement to parliament and set out her response to those recommendations in light of the pubuc recommendations in light of the public finances. >> okay. you're making the case this morning that the new pensions bill, which was announced in the king's speech will boost pension pots by over £12,000. sorry, £11,000. how is that, mr murray? how will that happen ? happen? >> so what we're setting out today is the impact that our reforms will have, both in terms of improving returns for pension savers , for pensioners, as well savers, for pensioners, as well as boosting economic growth , as boosting economic growth, because we know that by the end of this decade, there will be around £800 billion of assets in defined contribution pensions. now we want to see that money
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working harder for pensioners and making sure that pensioners are getting the best possible return that they can, and that it's also more of it is invested in productive activities in the uk economy to help get economic growth up across the uk, more generally. so our focus is very much on improving returns for pensioners who saved hard throughout their life. make sure they get the best possible returns on their pension savings, whilst also making sure those assets are invested in things which help the economy to grow, which benefits all of us across the uk. >> okay, can you rule out further taxation on state pensions under a labour government ? government? >> well, the chancellor will obviously set out all tax policy at the budget in the proper way. but we know that we've inherited a situation where the tax burden is at its highest in 70 years. we know that the previous government introduced freezes to personal allowances, which are increasing taxation on many people. we know that the tax burden is something that we want
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to be lower, but we are never going to promise any tax cuts or any spending decisions, which we can't say exactly how they would be funded, because we've seen what happens when you make unfunded spending commitments. that's what liz just did that crashed the economy and that hurt people across the country. and people are still paying the cost now. >> okay, so i'm sensing that you can't rule out taxing the state pension further than it is already because of the frozen tax bands. i say that because you have ruled out taxing working people, but there's a clear distinction there , isn't clear distinction there, isn't there? because people who are taking their state pension aren't working. people >> know that we stand by our commitments that we made in the manifesto around not increasing income tax , national insurance, income tax, national insurance, vat, obviously. what about pensioners, though, who pay in some cases income tax ? well, some cases income tax? well, pensioners would pay vat, obviously when they're when they're buying items, pensioners would pay could pay income tax on their pensions depending how much pension they're receiving. but we need to be we need to
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level with people and be honest about what we've inherited in terms of the personal allowance freezes , in terms of the dire freezes, in terms of the dire state of public finances, in terms of the very difficult state of public services. we need to be really clear about that, whilst making sure that we get the economy growing and actually to come back to the earlier point you and i were talking about in relation to pension reform, it is about increasing returns to pensioners to make sure they're in a better position in terms of having a higher income when they retire. but it's also about boosting investment , which gets the investment, which gets the economy growing, which is so vital to get us out of the doom loop that we've inherited from the previous government. >> just out of interest, how long are you going to be banging on about the legacy you've inherited, and when will you start taking responsibility for your own fiscal decisions? just so our audience can know if we've got a year of this or two years, or. >> well, i think that's a that's the general public to decide. but i think that everyone acknowledged during the election campaign what a difficult inheritance we would have as a result of decisions and failures by the previous government. and i think what we want to be is
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honest and upfront about that. so when the chancellor comes to parliament, by the end of the month, as i mentioned earlier, she will set out the true state of public finances that we've inherited. and i think it's really important for us as a new government to be really honest and transparent about what the state of those public finances are. what tough decisions that will entail, whilst also setting out our plan to get the economy growing, to put us in a better position as a country and make people across britain better off. >> while we were talking about pensions, there's a story in the sunday telegraph, mr murray, about mps who have been convicted of sex offences and indeed those who are expenses cheats, getting their state funded pensions. cheats, getting their state funded pensions . charlie funded pensions. charlie elphicke, for instance, is in line for 22 grand a year. imran imran ahmed khan could be getting three grand a year should keir starmer step in to stop this ? stop this? >> well, i mean the actual question about pensions is going to be quite an involved question. i expect. but i think
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more broadly, you know, when you hear that you feel that people should be held to higher standards. and actually, one of the things that we made very clear during the election campaign is that we want to improve standards in public life. we want to improve the ethics and behaviour of mps and that's something which is very central to our work in government now that we've been elected. >> so starmer should put a stop to it then, if he's all for ethics and holding mps to a higher regard, he should step in and stop this. convicted criminals getting taxpayer funded pensions. >> well, i'm not going to prejudge the specifics of that situation, but the broader i'm just asking you if you think keir starmer should step, is that. well, there are specifics that. well, there are specifics that i'm not going to try and work out live on air, but i think the point more generally, which is an important one, is that keir starmer has made very clear about the fact that mps behaviour and standards in pubuc behaviour and standards in public life have been really damaged in recent years. the
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perception of mps has been really damaged as a result of bad behaviour and a lack of integrity amongst many mps, and indeed government ministers and the previous government. you know, keir starmer brings a real sense of public service to office and the fact that people should behave absolutely in line with the highest standards of conduct, and that will guide his time in government and our time as a labour government. >> could the king's speech have been more ambitious on housing? mr murray, you set that target of 300,000 new homes, a year. but of course, that just echoes david cameron's target of yester yeah >> well, i think the king's speech was incredibly ambitious when it comes to housing, you know, that may well be a target that others have spoken about in the past, but they've never delivered it. and the difference for us is that not only are we setting a target, but we're taking some of the tough decisions to actually make sure it gets delivered. when it comes to planning reform, for instance, making sure that those housing targets are set again
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for local authorities, making sure that we work with local authorities about where to build, about how housing is built. but it's not a question anymore of if housing should be built because housing has to get built. we have to try and break out of this cycle that we're in now where people can't afford a home, people can't afford to buy their first home, people are paying their first home, people are paying expensive rents and they can't look after themselves and their family. we have to break out of this. and that does mean taking tough action. >> why wasn't votes for 16 and 17 year olds in the king's speech? have you abandoned that pledge already? >> no, it's still a pledge in our manifesto and one that we have in government. but obviously there was, i think, 35, 40 bills in that king's speech. it's a pretty busy king's speech, and there are certain measures we need to get on with really urgently, you know, whether that's about the asylum and immigration system, whether it's about economic growth, whether it's about the railways, you know, there's plenty of stuff that we need to get on with urgently. and that was what was the focus of the bills in the king's speech.
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>> on that note, when are you going to strip private schools of their vat status? there's a story in the sunday times this morning suggesting that that will kick in in january. can you give us any further details on the timing, please? >> what i call the details will be set out by the chancellor when she speaks in parliament in the normal way. so we'll see the details about her plans and obviously in the budget in the autumn , there'll be further autumn, there'll be further information about across a whole range of policies, but we want to make sure that we're doing the process properly. we will develop our plans that are where our manifesto commitments, and then the chancellor will set out what our approach will be under your new deal for workers, you're hoping to increase the minimum wage to. you're hoping to increase the minimum wage to . what so the minimum wage to. what so the level of the minimum wage is one, which is determined by the low pay commission. but what we want to make sure is that the national minimum wage is a real, genuine living wage. and that's why we want to change the remit of the low pay commission to
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consider the cost of living for the first time. obviously, they will come up with a recommendation based on all of the different factors that they consider and have done for many years, but we think it's important that the cost of living is taken into consideration by them to. >> can you rule out businesses going bust if they can't afford to pay their workers more? very briefly, mr murray. >> well, the low pay commission is responsible for making recommendations about what the national minimum wage should be, and they take into consideration and they take into consideration a whole range of factors. when they set that level. so it's really a decision for them. but it would be for us as a government to make clear what their remit should be. >> okay. mr murray, thank you very much indeed for your time this morning. great to speak to you.thank this morning. great to speak to you. thank you very much. not sure if i. not sure if i got many answers to my questions there, but we continue to plug away as ever. and coming up next i'm going to be joined by tory shadow minister andrew griffiths about the upcoming leadership hustings in his party, which tory can unite the right. and i'll be asking formerjustice
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i'll be asking former justice secretary sir robert buckland why britain seems to becoming increasingly lawless. you won't want to miss either of these two interviews, so do not even think of going anywhere. and later in the show, i'm going to be discussing the kennedys with an author who's written a book about how badly they treated women, which a compelling watch. see
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welcome back. so much more to come. on today's show, i'm going to be talking about the conservative leadership race with two tories, one currently serving, one past. so that should be interesting. but first, here's the news with ray addison. >> good afternoon . it's 10 am. >> good afternoon. it's 10 am. i'm ray addison in the gb newsroom. our top story in the us. donald trump says nobody warned him of a possible threat in the moments before he was shot by a gunman in pennsylvania. in an interview
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with fox news, the republican nominee said the lack of information was a mistake and the event should have been delayed. it comes as the secret service faces questions over how the would be assassin was able to wander outside the security perimeter before taking his position on a roof. even after local officers had reported him acting suspiciously . acting suspiciously. >> nobody mentioned it. nobody said there was a problem and i would have waited for 15. they could have said, let's wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes, something nobody said. i think that was a mistake. how did somebody get on that roof and why wasn't he reported? because people saw that he was on the roof . on the roof. >> well, meanwhile, kamala harris insists president biden will win the us election despite continuing pressure from fellow democrats to stand aside. the vice president was making the case to stick with the 81 year old, even as some big money donors expect to him to end his campaign , she's increasingly campaign, she's increasingly being seen as a possible replacement for her boss, though
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former house speaker nancy pelosi is understood to be calling for a competitive process to select a new nominee. speaking at a fundraiser in massachusetts, kamala harris admitted there's a tough road ahead. well, back here, the chancellor says she's hoping to boost our pension pots by £11,000. rachel reeves believes a review of retirement savings could unlock billions more in investment, with schemes encouraged to invest in assets such as infrastructure. the treasury says it would boost economic growth and ensure better returns for savers. james murray is exchequer secretary to the treasury. he told gb news that smarter investments can help grow the economy now that by the end of this decade there will be around £800 billion of assets in defined contribution pensions. >> now we want to see that money working harder for pensioners and making sure that pensioners are getting the best possible return that they can, and that it's also more of it is invested
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in productive activities in the uk economy to help get economic growth up across the uk. >> the snp is urging the foreign secretary to suspend the sale of arms to israel. in a letter to david lammy, the party said the government should take action now rather than wait for further reviews. mr lammy has said there will be no blanket ban, but he will be no blanket ban, but he will consider issues linked to offensive weapons being used in gaza. the snp says there's been nine months of reviews into israel's compliance with international law, and there's no need to wait for another one. well if you're thinking about spending your sunday finishing off that long delayed diy project, you might want to think again. botched diy jobs are costing homeowners hundreds of pounds to fix, according to a survey , 20% have to fork out an survey, 20% have to fork out an average of £329 to remedy mistakes, 38% say they've been inspired by tv programmes to get stuck into their own projects, with adults aged 34 and under
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the most likely to pick up the hammer. okay, those are the latest gb news headlines. for now, i'm ray addison more in around an hour's time for the very latest gb news direct to your smartphone, sign up to news alerts by scanning the qr code or go to gbnews.com forward slash alerts . slash alerts. >> welcome back to the camilla tominey show. lots more still to come. let me take you through the menu. got a right smorgasbord on this morning. so i'm going to be speaking to tory shadow minister andrew griffith in just a moment about the leadership race. who should be the next leader. what's the talk of the tory tea room? and he's currently in place, so that's good to know that he's still an mp. but we're also going to be speaking to former tory mp, former justice secretary robert buckland. i don't just want to talk to him about whether it should be kemi or suella or whoever, also talk to him about
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just lawless britain and particularly get his reaction to the riots in leeds earlier this week and sarah elliott is coming in. she's of the republicans overseas uk group, and she's going to discuss the attempt on donald trump's life. biden hanging on in there, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for trump's campaign. and i'm also going to be speaking to the author, maureen callahan, about her new book on the kennedy family and how badly people like jfk treated the women in their lives. most notably, of course, jackie. but first of all, andrew griffiths joins me now. he's the conservative mp for arundel and south downs. and shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology. andrew, thank you so much for your time this morning. much appreciated with you. let's talk first of all about a story that is suggesting that the tories are bankrupt and actually, it's going to be very difficult for you to fund a long leadership race because you're in this limbo period where if you don't have a leader, then you can't get in the donations. you've
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obviously spent a lot of money in the election. there's not much in the war chest. does this mean that it should be a shorter leadership race or a longer one? what's your view ? what's your view? >> well, i think the most important thing is that we get it right. we've got a job to do immediately to oppose this government . that's why we've now government. that's why we've now got a full shadow cabinet formed, you can see rachel reevesis formed, you can see rachel reeves is out touring the studios this morning, denying the state of the strong public finances that we've left and rolling the pitch to break labour's promise not to put up taxes. so there's a job of work that needs to be done right now. and we are out there doing it now. the most important thing about any leadership contest is that we get the right leader for the right phase. now, sadly, we're going to have the luxury of some time in in opposition that was the message we heard loud and clear from the british people. so we've got some thinking to do. we've got to reflect on the results, and, you know, i would favour taking the right amount of time to do that,
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the price for a leadership contest is relatively modest in the context of getting the right leader for this important period of opposition . of opposition. >> some of the candidates that have sort of been hinting that they're going to stand. i mean, i think in the last week we've had reports that tom tugendhat will stand. we've then had steve baker and damian green, the former tories, support his candidacy . we've had hints that candidacy. we've had hints that priti patel is going to stand. i think suella braverman has made it pretty clear that she's going to stand. we've also heard about james cleverly. we've got robert jenrick with his new haircut and a little bit of weight loss, suggesting that he might stand. is this all just too soon? because you don't seem to have worked out yet. what quite went wrong, and how on earth you're going to be even near being re—elected come 2029. >> well, that's the most important point to me, which is the time to reflect and really understand what it is that the british people were telling us.
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i think a large part of that was about the competency, it wasn't about the competency, it wasn't about necessarily them falling out of love with the idea of conservatives that want to keep people's taxes low, allow them to keep more of what they earn, spend public money wisely. but there's clearly some messages that that we have to take away from what was a very significant defeat that regrettably cost so many of my former colleagues, their places in parliament. so you are right. we need to learn those lessons and not rush too quickly. in my view, into an immediate, selection contest. about the answer. ultimately these are decisions for other people to take the party board. the 92 committee will represent the views of members of parliament, such as myself. >> but is your instinct, mr griffith, that maybe the leadership race should wait until after the tory conference in the autumn? is that your sense? it's just a couple of the
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grey hairs have said that to me. iain duncan smith, currently being touted as a potential interim leader. david davis they're all saying cool your jets, do not do anything on leadership until after the tory conference. >> look, i suppose in that spectrum between short and long, i'm more of a long way. but look, this is this is, in essence, an internal leadership debate for us. you know , debate for us. you know, relatively small number of us mps . now, we can we can sort mps. now, we can we can sort that out over the coming weeks. and months. it's not for me, ultimately to make those decisions . ultimately to make those decisions. but ultimately to make those decisions . but there ultimately to make those decisions. but there is ultimately to make those decisions . but there is that decisions. but there is that really important job, and i want to reassure your viewers that we're not taking our eye off holding this government already to account and holding them to account for their promises , account for their promises, particularly their promise not to put up taxes. particularly their promise not to put up taxes . rachel reeves to put up taxes. rachel reeves is touring the studios, trying to roll the pictures, despite the fact she's inherited an economy which is one of the fastest in the g7 and all of the pubuc fastest in the g7 and all of the public finances, thanks to the obr, are out there in plain sight. >> all right, to be fair, rachel
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reeves wasn't touring this studio this morning. i'm not sure what she's afraid of, mr griffith. some cold, hard questioning, perhaps. >> shame. shame on the labour chancellor. and i'm always happy to come and talk to yourself and gb news viewers. >> good man, now suella braverman, she's argued that the conservatives risk becoming centrist cranks. is she right? are you a centrist crank, mr griffith? in fact , are these griffith? in fact, are these interventions even helpful to the tory cause? right now? >> look, i don't think that's the number one thing that the british people want to hear from the conservatives. they delivered a very clear message. they gave us one of our worst ever defeats. and a lot of that, in my view, was as much about our conduct as as our policies. i'm somebody who's a low tax. you know, traditional conservative, if you like, who believes in a small state while still providing a basic level of pubuc still providing a basic level of public services. and i want to see taxes, for example, reduced, not increased as as labour are
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threatening to do. i want to protect our countryside and we're not hearing anything in the king's speech this week about protecting, you know, our countryside and what what the government plans to do for rural affairs and farmers. those are my values of the problem. >> isn't that part of the problem that the tories talk a good game on low tax and low immigration and all the rest of it? but 4 million people voted for reform because you didn't honour your 2019 manifesto promises . instead of tax coming promises. instead of tax coming down, it went up. instead of immigration coming down, it went up. i mean, you've got to address that, haven't you? >> look, i think we have. and that's why i said, you know, it's important that we take time and listen to those lessons. that's not something that you would expect to happen overnight. and nor do i think it would be particularly credible if that happened within weeks rather than over months. that's a dialogue that we should be having. i'm not rising to the response to have that dialogue out here on the airwaves right
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now, because i think we should take some time to reflect. but to be clear, i don't think we the rejection of the conservatives was necessarily about our values and policies. a large part of that would have been about our conduct and whether people trusted us to deliver things that they them. still, they themselves still understand and supported. yeah, none of which none of which we must, you know, the most the wrong thing to do would be to go into a self—indulgent you know, dialogue via the media, via the airwaves at a time when parliament has now been reformed, everybody's taken their oath of allegiance. we've had the king's speech, the labour government that, you know, is going to do, in my view, things that are detracting from the future prosperity and success of this country has got a record number of bills of legislation, and it's really important we don't take our eye off the ball. >> but further thought on that, because i didn't mention her earlier when i was listing some of the potential tory leadership
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candidates. kemi badenoch i mean, she really held angela rayners feet to the flames earlier on in the week in the house of commons. you know, she is a good attack dog for your party in opposition. would you like her to be leader and if not her, who to finish? mr griffith ? her, who to finish? mr griffith? >> well, look, i think kemi's demolition of angela rayner with those terrible policies that could see our green belt, green belt and countryside and green spaces, more generally being built on in an unthinking way , built on in an unthinking way, not the right homes in the right places. that was a really good example of opposition. so you're not going to draw me successfully on any one individual candidate. we're very lucky as a conservative party to have a, have a, have a broad field. but that was a good example of good opposition holding the government to account. there's more of that that needs to be done. in a way. we are at a moment of maximum dangerin we are at a moment of maximum danger in that the labour government's come on in. yes they've got a majority, but only for things that were clearly in
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their manifesto. and the biggest thing that they promised was that they wouldn't be putting up taxes. now over the coming weeks , taxes. now over the coming weeks, we're going to get a statement from rachel reeves in the autumn, we'll get a budget. it's really important. they're held to account. they promise not to put up taxes on ordinary people, that is, must be what they are held to account to do. >> okay. andrew griffith, thank you very much indeed for your time this morning. you very much indeed for your time this morning . well, in just time this morning. well, in just a minute i'll be speaking to another tory, a former mp, next time , former justice another tory, a former mp, next time , formerjustice secretary time, former justice secretary sir robert buckland. i want to have his thoughts on who should lead the tories, bearing in mind he's worked with robert jenrick, he's worked with robert jenrick, he's worked with priti patel at the home office. so he's got a good insider view. he might be one of those centrist cranks that suella braverman talks about, but his opinion is valuable on that. and also lawlessness in britain, not least after those riots in leeds. don't go
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tominey show on gb news. sir robert buckland kc joins me in the studio. unfortunately, you did lose his seat in swindon south, but he's back with a vengeance to discuss the tory leadership and other matters. yes. let's discuss a really important story. just in your capacity as a former justice secretary and indeed a lawyer, sir robert and that's the riots in leeds, in harehills that we witnessed last week. i mean, i've written a column on it, and of course, it's been lampooned by the left on social media because can't possibly have anyone criticism criticising the state of things i've said in this column, which was headlined i don't write the headlines, but it's basically making the point. britain stands on the brink of a terrifying new era of violence, crime and disorder. i said that not just on the basis of what happenedin not just on the basis of what happened in harehills, but also the intimidation that jonathan ashworth faced, this idea that criminals are getting off lightly, you know , questioning lightly, you know, questioning of the verdict, given the sentencing given to the roger hallam of just stop oil and extinction rebellion, all of it serves to sort of undermine good, solid law and order in
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this country. but on the riots, what's your analysis of what happened? >> well, it looks as if an issue relating to the taking of children into care , then gated children into care, then gated and exploited by people who want to create trouble in that community. that's what it looks like. >> people were making the point. nigel farage and lee anderson was saying, oh, it's got something to do with sort of racial divides. i don't think that's what it was. it was actually just pure thuggery. but it's a terrible it's a terrible thing that people can jump on the bandwagon of an issue that has involved the police and then basically run rings around them. i mean, the police went into retreat. suddenly a bus is set on fire. i mean, i don't want to be harsh to west yorkshire police because those officers are brave people doing a good job there inside a car that's being rocked by a mob or whatever. but but as soon as the police retreat, then it just allows mob rule to take over, doesn't it? >> well, look, that's the problem that they faced. and it does seem to me that forces across the country need to be as resilient as possible to deal
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with sudden escalations. this looked like one of those cases where suddenly, without warning, it got out of control. and, you know, for all of us across the country that that is something that we'd all be rightly worried about. i think you're right. i don't think this was something racial. having read through all the reports, it does seem to have arisen from a particular case. but there's no excuse for this sort of mindless violence. you know, the most of us in this country are law abiding citizens. we play by the rules , citizens. we play by the rules, and i think we're right to get increasingly fed up when we see people who sometimes get away with it or behave in a way that doesn't seem to be any, redress for. that's something that we've got to, you know, rigorously crack down on. >> metropolitan police commissioner sir mark rowley said this week that he felt that the force was under—resourced. they've got a recruitment crisis, can't attract new people to the police service . as i made to the police service. as i made the point in my column, you know, in the old days, people
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grew up wanting to be police officers. nowadays, kids grow up wanting to film them on their mobile phones and post it on social media. that's a problem. but can't we trace this back to tory cuts? i know it's awkward, but when theresa may took a machete to police numbers, we're still feeling the ill effects of that today. that was a terrible mistake by the former home secretary, isn't it? >> look, i remember being there at the time, and i think it's right to note that overall violent crime in our country has fallen. and that's a welcome thing. we don't see the sort of, you know, gang thuggery that we often used to see on our streets after people were drinking nine pints and going out and causing trouble. that sort of behaviour has definitely declined. however, there are flashpoints and it does seem to me that , you and it does seem to me that, you know, in this modern era, we're facing new threats that we've got to make sure the police are ready to scale up in response to those incidents. >> specific point, because i know you're a polite person, you won't want to besmirch your former conservative colleague. but come on, let's just nail
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this down. she was wrong to cut police numbers , wasn't she? police numbers, wasn't she? >> look, it's come back to haunt us so many times. i think that it's for easy me to sit here with hindsight and say it was wrong. all right, well, we can use hindsight. >> that's fine. we admit that we are being, i think, correct after the fact in hindsight, it was a mistake. >> i think there were a couple of things that went wrong. i think we lost numbers in police. we lost numbers of prison officers as well . that was a big officers as well. that was a big problem. and we started chris grayling's reforms. yeah. >> and so we have got two conservative colleagues here who have shafted the system somewhat. can we at least can we at least find some common ground on that? >> i think i think that i think there was a problem. i think then from the middle of the decade, and certainly when boris johnson came in, we started to scale it back up. and now, you know, we are at levels where we were, >> did she make a mistake? >> did she make a mistake? >> look, i think, i think it's easy to apply hindsight. i think at the time we were trying to deal >> did she make a mistake? >> did she make a mistake? >> look, i think what, sir robert, you went look, i do, i
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think it was a mistake. >> i could say yes. it was something that perhaps we could have done differently. but let's not forget what we were facing back in 2010. yes. you know, we didn't have many choices in terms of the fact there was no money back then. >> you were complaining about the economic legacy that you'd inherited from labour. >> it was right now we've got labour complaining about the economic legacy they've inherited from the conservatives, and we know that we've left this country economically in a better place than they did us in 2010. >> you know, all the figures this month and indeed this year are showing economic growth, inflation under control, really. >> rachel reeves is saying it's the worst economic outlook since the worst economic outlook since the second world war. >> well, in the words of mandy rice—davies, she would say that, wouldn't she? >> indeed. right. let's move on then, to other matters, including leadership. we've had your former colleague steve baker and damian green. i think the latter probably in your caucus of the party, a bit more of a one nation er, they're supporting tom tugendhat . are supporting tom tugendhat. are you bringing up the rear supporting tom tugendhat as a future leader of this party?
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>> do you know what i'm not supporting anybody. >> oh come on robert, you've got to play ball on this. >> well i'm just a member now and i have a vote ultimately in the members to retain a vote. >> by the way, they should definitely. now, all this talk about mps deciding and cutting out the grassroots. >> well, i think that's mad, especially when you've only got 121 of them. >> you know, i did describe this potential race as bald men arguing over a comb on election night. and, you know, i do want everybody just just not men arguing over a comb. >> yeah , just i think everybody >> yeah, just i think everybody should just calm down and remember, actually playing this long is right. >> you know, back in 1997, we you know, i think william hague's a great guy , by the way. hague's a great guy, by the way. but, you know, i think that was too early for him. yes. ian duncan smith, you know, with respect to ian, it didn't work for him. when we did go long, we elected david cameron. of course , elected david cameron. of course, then became prime minister and took us back into power. you know, i think taking it longer involving the membership in meaningful debate is absolutely the right way to go. you know, we want more members to join the
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party. we want the conference to be interesting. that's the way to do it. >> when you say, wait, do you think you should wait until after conference to even have a leadership race, maybe even have it in the new year? >> no, i don't think we should wait until the new year. no. okay. i think that we can use the conference as a platform for the conference as a platform for the various contenders to state their case, as we did oh in, five, and that got a lot of interest. and then have the ballot of members after that so that we are running it into november time. that seems to be a sensible timetable. i party board have yet to decide all this. i very much hope that they adopt that approach. >> what do you make of suella braverman arguing that the conservatives risk becoming centrist cranks? are you a centrist cranks? are you a centrist crank. >> where i am is on the common ground of british politics. i've always been a pragmatic conservative who wants to lead this country and reflect the best of our nation. that's what conservatives should be doing. but who also listens to people? you know, we lost votes in this election to reform, to the lib dems, to labour, because you weren't right wing enough. no,
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because i think people didn't think we were competent enough. and you didn't honour your 2019 manifesto pledges. i think a lot of the problems stem from that. i think, you know , certainly in i think, you know, certainly in my work i was honouring those pledges and working even through covid. and i think that, you know, it would have been good for everybody to have really focused rigorously on what was a very good manifesto in 19 and being able to show that we delivered it just like margaret thatcher always used to talk about delivering her manifestos. now, if we get back to that competence, people are going to say, yes, we're going to give you time to govern again. but then do you need a thatcherite style leader? >> i mean, because it's somebody clearly with like, you've worked , clearly with like, you've worked, for instance, with priti patel at the home office, i think you've also worked quite closely with robert jenrick. yes. you worked with kemi badenoch when she was in cabinet at the same time as you, you know all these people quite well. so who, who are you thinking could inspire confidence, could unite the party again? >> look, i work with all these
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people. they're all good colleagues and, you know, i think all of them pretty. you mentioned i work very well with her. yes. you know, a good a good relationship. we worked extremely well. we're from different traditions of the conservative party, but we came together and i think we made justice. and the home office teams much stronger because of that. you mentioned others like robert and kemi. you know, there are all people who i recognise as good conservatives who don't just care about the party, but they care about the country. i know that you haven't mentioned braverman in that grouping. look what i want to see, i think from and that does include suella as well, is a sense that now is the time actually to stop talking to and start listening to why it is, has she been just shooting her mouth off too much, sir robert, come on, my advice say, well, do you remember, harold laskl well, do you remember, harold laski, the lefty, activist was told 70 years ago by clement attlee that a period of silence would now be appropriate. that might be a good thing. not just for suella, but for all
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colleagues who seem to think they've got a very quick and glib solution to what is a mother of all problems. you know, i lost a labour suella should just defect to reform. oh, look, i look what i say to all colleagues is that, you know, you were elected as conservatives to be fair, she's, i think, issued a statement to say this . you're elected as a say this. you're elected as a conservative. you serve as a conservative. you serve as a conservative. unless and if you have a serious problem and go, then you should have a by—election, you know, in order to test the view of your constituents. but, you know, the reasons why people deserted us were very clear to me on the doorsteps in that six week campaign. they just didn't think we were up to the job anymore. now that's something that we've got to change. that's going to take a long time. instead of looking at the personalities, let's look at the values that underpin the conservative party, who should be leading those conversations. >> there's another story in the papers today. i think it's the likes of michelle donelan and lucy fraser and others, yourself included. i think you're in one of the photographs. you know, let former tories into the conversation. let people who
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lost their seats also have the intellectual discussions behind the scenes. as to the direction of travel for the conservatives. i mean, are you currently part of the conversation? who's leading the conversations? how is it or is it just all still everyone's taking, you know, just about taking the tin hat off? >> i think it's only two weeks since this electoral defeat, so let's all just dust ourselves down. i certainly you're emerging from the rubble of tory geddon. >> well, indeed , indeed, you >> well, indeed, indeed, you know, and i've been a member how. >> now. >> it'll be 40 years next february. i've been a member of the conservative party. i'm a lot older than i. look, camilla, you're so baby faced, but. but you're so baby faced, but. but you know, i care about the party. why do i care about the party? because i believe the conservative party at its best, reflects the best values of britain. and, you know, when we serve the nation and put the nafion serve the nation and put the nation first, we're unbeatable . nation first, we're unbeatable. that's what we lost. and that's what we need to understand. >> do you feel any frustration towards rishi sunak , oliver towards rishi sunak, oliver dowden and the others that orchestrated what was a disastrous election campaign? let's be honest , went too early
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let's be honest, went too early and then there they are, happy in their seats with their shadow ministerial positions, and here you are, robert robert buckland, out no longer serving the good people of swindon. that must be frustrating that the people who orchestrated this shower are still in their jobs. and you're not. >> oh, of course i'm frustrated. and to be fair to rishi, he rang me within hours. did he? what did he say ? well, look, we had did he say? well, look, we had a proper conversation. i'm not going to reveal the full detail, but he was. look, the tone was absolutely right. and look, i said, did he take responsibility ? said, did he take responsibility? >> yes he did. >> yes he did. >> and of course, in his concession speech . yes, he did. concession speech. yes, he did. and i think that that the tone, the approach that he's taken is absolutely the right one. do you think he phoned everybody? i don't know, i'm sure he's phoned. i know he's phoned a lot of people and i think, you know, he's doing what is absolutely right. and you know i pay absolutely tribute to him for doing that. yes. the timing was wrong. you know, in my view we should have gone later. i think we should have gone in the autumn, you know, all the advice had been to go long. hold your
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nerve and see the economy pick up. however, i would say this, i don't think we can just say, oh, it's the timing that caused it andifs it's the timing that caused it and it's one person or another or whatever. although d—day didn't help, that didn't help. there are a myriad of things. there are a myriad of things. the seeds of this disaster were sown a long time ago, and you know that that's something we've all got to know own up to. and acknowledge and learn from. >> sir robert buckland, thank you very much for joining me this morning. being so candid in your thoughts about the future of conservatism, i think we will be having more conversations with you in coming weeks and months. thank you so much. well, coming up next, i'm going to be joined by sarah elliott, who's the spokeswoman for republicans overseas uk, chatting about the attempt on donald trump's life and of course, biden and what his digging in of his heels means for the us presidential election. don't
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move from domestic to international politics. now i'm joined by sarah elliott, who is the spokeswoman for republicans overseas uk. going to have a chat about donald trump and all things us election related. lovely to see you, sarah. thanks for coming into the studio. let's talk about the assassination attempt. i mean, what are we now a week on from it, still staggering to watch the footage , frankly. but what the footage, frankly. but what impact do you think it's had on the election race so far ? the election race so far? >> well, it's definitely rallied the party around him, the rnc convention, which just ended this week, was one of the best conventions. and attendees, recollections saying that it was, it reckoned, was like 2004. it had this really unified. we're going to go get them. we feel the wind at our backs. we're going to win mentality very different than four years ago. it also slowed down the conversation on will biden step down or will biden not, all this talk about replacing joe biden stopped for several days, but
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now it's ramping back up again, even with rumours that this weekend it would be announced he was stepping down. yes. >> so he's meant to have been tapped on the shoulder by barack obama, tapped on the shoulder by nancy pelosi. i mean, i think it's probably ultimately down to his wife, jill, to tap him on the shoulder . we've had meetings the shoulder. we've had meetings at camp david with biden family members, and yet he's absolutely digging his heels in which presumably isn't that troubling for trump ? doesn't trump just for trump? doesn't trump just want him to stay in place for as long as possible, because any replacement is likely to do better in the polls? >> this is true. however, the most likely replacement is vice president kamala harris, and she polls about just the same as joe biden against donald trump and in some cases, worse . so i think in some cases, worse. so i think donald trump is very happy to take on either of those two candidates. if you put someone in like governor of pennsylvania, swing state josh shapiro, who's a very popular democrat, he doesn't have the
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name recognition. yes. he he's not well known to people. if you put someone in, like gavin newsom, who's the governor of california. well, he's quite left wing. he's, you know, a california has a reputation across the united states. so you come into all these different problems, which, of course, the democrats have wanted to avoid. and so they've just kept pushing joe biden along as the nominee. now he hasn't stepped down yet. and they're talking about doing a virtual roll call to vote solidify him as the nominee before the convention. but we'll see what happens . we could have see what happens. we could have many primaries. we could have an open convention convention. we could have a brokered convention, or we could have a contested convention all in august for the democrats . august for the democrats. >> what's your analysis of joe biden and his health? i mean, everybody's got an opinion on it. we just had aubrey allegretti in to do the papers and he, to be fair, was in the oval office with biden and starmer and said one on one he seemed fine. but then, of course ,
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seemed fine. but then, of course, that was predicated by the nato summit where he confused zelenskyy for putin. so it's tricky. what's your analysis of what's actually going on with him individually? and then the advice he's getting. >> well, it's obvious he's not the same man as four years ago. there has been obvious decline. and the fact that there has been a parkinson's doctor that has visited the white house eight times over the past several years is an indication that something neurologically might be wrong. >> although, of course, the white house spokeswoman said no, he's in because he's analysing everybody in the white house and don't read too much into it. then his own physician has said, you know, he's cognitively sound . you know, he's cognitively sound. >> i don't know how they can keep saying that based upon the debate performance and other, you know , international, you know, international, displays of confusion. >> but do you think there is a number of democrats we've heard about the democrats who have said, look, come on, enough's enough, but are there just a number of democrats in there just still willing him to continue, presumably in a vain hope that he might still beat
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trump? which is odd, because if you look at the polling for all of those key swing states, those six different states where basically they decide who the president is going to be, i think trump is now ahead by anything from 1 to 6 points. if you take, say, nevada as being where he's most popular. >> yes. i mean, he is getting out of the margin of error in these swing states. granted it's four months to election day. that's a lifetime in us politics or in politics in general. i mean, just think about what's happenedin mean, just think about what's happened in the last two weeks. and if they did replace biden, i mean, then those numbers go out the window and you have a whole new set of polling you have to go through. but it is one of those situations where i think the democrats have just wanted to win, and they feel like joe biden is the only candidate that can beat donald trump. but they know, looking at the june 27th performance, he's not going to last four years. and it's not fair to the democrats and the democratic primary, and it's not fair to american voters, might not be fair to mr biden either.
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>> to be fair. >> to be fair. >> and that is a key point, actually, most americans are feeling that this is elder abuse and need to, out of respect for him as a human being, they need to see also his legacy before, you know, he's started slowing down and making these gaffes was pretty good. >> and now it's being overshadowed by these more recent years of difficulties. can we just talk about david lammy, the foreign secretary, because he's obviously made some extremely choice remarks about trump, including describing him as sort of a nazi white supremacist and saying that he wouldn't have passed his gcses and all sorts of other insults if trump wins, should david lammy actually stand down? because how is he going to have a relationship with the us president? >> no, i don't think david lammy should step down and he has changed his tune and he's made great overtures in washington dc and in the united states, and to the trump campaign and to jd vance to and newly sort of chosen one to be vice president. >> they've got a similar backstory because they're both a
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bit rags to riches, but it's a bit rags to riches, but it's a bit rich, isn't it, saying that now? i mean, apart from sadiq khanin now? i mean, apart from sadiq khan in this country, he's been the most vocal opponent to trump. it is made really personal barbs. i mean, how would trump take that, do you think if he has to be in a room with him, come december 2024, what happens? >> well, i mean, if donald trump can forgive jd vance for being a never trumper and saying these things, then i think he can extend the grace to david lammy, who is the foreign secretary of our best ally. and let's face it, labour won hands down huge majority, donald trump will have to respect the electoral outcome of this country. to respect the electoral outcome of this country . and he has of this country. and he has shown david lammy has shown that he wants to be a diplomat and has. >> so maybe he should be diplomatic and apologise. would that be an idea ? sarah, that be an idea? sarah, >> i'm sure donald trump would welcome that. yes but everybody should probably just look to the future and move on. >> and before i let you go, let's have a little chat about who might be the ambassador to the us , because i think the
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the us, because i think the tories had their pick. the us, because i think the tories had their pick . starmer tories had their pick. starmer came in and said, i'm sorry, you'll have to do something else because we want to choose our own person. a couple of names being thrown about. peter mandelson, former close adviser and minister under blair and indeed david miliband again, somebody closely associated with labour politics in this country. any view on that ? i mean, is it any view on that? i mean, is it important who we appoint, not least if we have to bridge a gap between republican thinking and labour thinking? >> exactly. >> exactly. >> no, it's very important actually . and david miliband actually. and david miliband spent a lot of time in the united states. he might be a good choice, i just feel like these choices quite hearken back to 20 years ago. yes, could we get some fresh labour thinking and blood in the mix? you know, people who maybe have more of a less of a globalist worldview, the, you know, the republicans right now are actually very much labour focused in the sense they had the president of the teamsters union speak at the republican national convention,
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maybe less progressive people and more people who are, focused more traditional labour representative would work better with these republicans , maybe with these republicans, maybe nigel farage of this parish. >> well, there you go. could be a conduit. >> do you think just very, very quickly, i think running out of time. >> i think he would be very useful. yes. all right. >> to good know, sarah elliott. thank you very much indeed for joining me this morning. this story will run and run and we'll keep you updated with it on gb news because i think everyone is slightly on biden. watch right now. so stay tuned to the telly and the radio. right. coming up next, i'm going to be speaking to michael portillo about what he's got coming up on his show at 11. and maureen callahan joins me a bit more us politics, but this talking about the stay tuned.
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they treated the women in their lives. let's speak to michael portillo, who shows up at 11 am. what have you got coming up, michael? lovely to see you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> camilla, i've been wondering if donald trump wins the election in the united states and forces ukraine to do a deal with russia. will we europeans find ourselves forcing a small country to make peace with an aggressor? will we be facing a new munich that's a question i'm going to be asking. i'm going to be talking to a cellist about what it's like to play with an orchestra, and the importance of music in education. ridley scott has a new film, gladiator. it shows a naval battle occurring in the colosseum in rome. i want to know, did that actually happenin to know, did that actually happen in history? what's the real story behind gladiator? and i'm going to be looking at putting tequila into food. i'm going to be eating a very delightful tequila. fruit salad. cheers. all right, all right. >> as long as you're not having tequila slammers, i think that's
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fair enough. so, michael portillo, up next at 11 am. with all of that. right. let's speak to maureen callahan now. she joins me to discuss her new book, ask not the kennedys and the women they destroyed. lovely to see you, maureen. i mean , you to see you, maureen. i mean, you you don't hold back on the kennedys in this book. the women that they destroyed , just how that they destroyed, just how badly behaved were they ? badly behaved were they? >> oh, camilla, first of all, thank you for having me. i can't begin to describe this in ask not, which is written sort of like a novel . so the reader not, which is written sort of like a novel. so the reader is in the hearts and the heads of these women who went through these women who went through these most extraordinary events. and we're talking everything from rape, murder , to a forcible from rape, murder, to a forcible lobotomy on an otherwise vibrant early 20 something year old woman . woman. >> i mean, it's just staggering because if you think about their reputation not just for being kind of glossy political dynasty, but also the fact that ,
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dynasty, but also the fact that, you know, they're meant to be devout catholics and behave in a very christian way. let's zone in on jfk's relationship with jackie . i mean, how sort of jackie. i mean, how sort of abusive was it, maureen ? abusive was it, maureen? >> it was terrible. i mean, and jackie truly loved him , by the jackie truly loved him, by the way, for all of the sort of , way, for all of the sort of, talk that this was an extremely transactional marriage, she truly, truly loved him. she first came very close to divorcing him after he abandoned her when she gave birth to their stillborn daughter, he left her alone in a hospital for over eight days. >> i mean, i don't really know what to say to that. it's been said now, and it's been much written about . obviously, he had written about. obviously, he had a string of affairs, most notably with marilyn monroe. was jackie aware of his extra marital behaviour ? marital behaviour? >> jackie was aware of his extramarital behaviour to a
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point she did know about marilyn monroe. that was the second time she said she was going to divorce him if he didn't end it, and he did, but she likely did not know about another woman who was in the book. another young woman, a 19 year old white house intern who, on her first day in the secretarial pool, was ianed the secretarial pool, was invited up to the white house residence, fed a bunch of drinks. the president throws her onto a bed within three minutes, unwittingly takes her virginity, and it gets worse from there . and it gets worse from there. >> and where did it all stem from? is this as a result of joe? is it kind of a familial sense of entitlement ? sense of entitlement? >> yes. i mean, i sort of, posit that the original sins were of the patriarch joe senior, his two sins were personal and political. the political sin
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was, as us ambassador to britain , was, as us ambassador to britain, aligning himself with adolf hitler . the personal was hitler. the personal was forcibly lobotomising his otherwise vibrant young daughter , otherwise vibrant young daughter, rosemary, very likely because he was sexually molesting her and she needed to keep her quiet, and at the time , was all of this and at the time, was all of this covered up? >> i mean, you've uncovered it now, but what's the attitude been , actually, when you've gone been, actually, when you've gone about your research? because obviously , since the obviously, since the assassination, jfk particularly has been placed on a pedestal. you know, slightly beyond reproach. and you're obviously you're digging out such uncomfortable truths about the family. >> yes. this is very much a post metoo reconsideration of american history. and i really think it is long, long overdue. it extends into the now we have rfk jr as a third party spoiler
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in the election for the next president of the united states . president of the united states. so this is a living history that is very much with us. and these women are owed their absolute reconsideration in history and the culture. >> although doesn't it worry you, maureen? i mean, the next us president, if he serves another term and that's looking increasingly liking because of joe biden's frailty and indeed the assassination attempt on his life last week appears to have emboldened his position in the polls. i mean, trump isn't exactly somebody who's got a great reputation with women. is this something to do with the office that some of the presidents hold? we also know the checkered history of bill clinton, obviously, and monica lewinsky. >> and by the way, not for nothing. joe biden has a similar history. you know , his daughter history. you know, his daughter recently acknowledged in court papers in the us that her diary, in which she wrote about inappropriate showers with her father as a young girl and her
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fears that she had been molested, are ignored by the mainstream media in the book. in the opening of the book, i say that also trump's behaviour with women, the access hollywood tape , women, the access hollywood tape, the grab them by the pee tape appals and horrifies. as it should, this is not a partisan book. it's not a political book. it is a book on the side of women and victims. and i think to your point, camilla, americans and all people in any democracy would do well to be extremely sceptical of anyone who wants that amount of power. >> a final thought, maureen , on >> a final thought, maureen, on jackie kennedy. i mean, she went to on marry onassis. he didn't treat her very well either. >> he did not. he did not. he actually struck her. he abused her. actually struck her. he abused heh he actually struck her. he abused her. he humiliated her. you, the
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readers of this book will meet three distinct jackie's the perfect first lady of the 60s, the trophy wife of the 70s, and the trophy wife of the 70s, and the incredibly unexpected turn for jackie, my favourite jackie of the 80s and beyond. who reinvented herself as a single working woman in new york city. her life took the most unexpected and radical turn. there was . there was. >> maureen, thank you so much for filling us in on your new book, ask not the kennedys and the women. they destroyed. thank you.sounds the women. they destroyed. thank you. sounds fascinating. well tune in next week from 930 on sunday because you'll have another 90 minutes of punchy politics then. and don't forget that michael portillo isn't doing tequila slammers. but he almost is. and he's up next at 11. but first, here's a little weather update. check whether you need a hat when you go out. have a lovely rest of your
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sunday. >> a brighter outlook with boxt solar sponsors of weather on gb news. >> hello, good morning and welcome to your gb news weather update from the met office. well, it was quite a damp start to the weekend, but it is going to the weekend, but it is going to be turning brighter through today and it is going to be feeling fresher too. plenty of cloud to start across the south and southeast and a few drips of drabs of rain and drizzle, but it is generally an improving picture across the country. a few showers feeding into western scotland through the day and a bit of a different story across northern ireland as we see this next area of rain move through. so quite a damp afternoon on offer here, but otherwise plenty offer here, but otherwise plenty of sunny spells around the way. do catch the sunshine. it will still be feeling pleasant and warm, but not quite as warm as it has done the last couple of days. now through into the afternoon we will still see a feed of showers move into western and northern parts of scotland, but there'll be plenty of late evening sunny spells in between these across northern
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ireland. as i say , quite a wet ireland. as i say, quite a wet afternoon here, so not really seeing much of that sunshine at all really, but plenty of dry spells across the north of england and elsewhere across central and southern areas of the country, perhaps a bit more cloud across wales once again, the odd spot of rain and drizzle here, mainly around hills, but otherwise plenty of dry weather to end the weekend. now through into sunday evening, the rain that's across northern ireland will push north eastwards and later on feed into parts of wales and the southwest. so quite cloudy and turning quite damp overnight. the driest and clearest of the weather is going to be in the far southeast corner, and that's where i feel a little bit cooler. but elsewhere we're expecting another one of those muggy nights ahead. so for monday then quite a damp start across parts of scotland, northern england and parts of wales too. but it is generally an improving picture as that rain turns showery through the course of the day . but these showers could the day. but these showers could turn quite heavy across scotland and be quite slow moving, so some persistent downpours at
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gb. news >> good morning, and welcome to sunday with michael portillo. britain has experienced high temperatures in recent days, but in this studio, you can expect cool and reasoned debate. i hope that i will have your company for the next couple of hours of politics, world affairs and culture. it was sir keir starmer's ambition to warm up britain's relationship with european leaders as he glad handed a back slapped his way
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around the continent's elite at blenheim palace , named after the blenheim palace, named after the battle in which the duke of marlborough smashed the french and bavarians in 1704. to review the meeting. i'll be joined by a panel of war scarred political veterans , donald trump with a veterans, donald trump with a bandaged ear that recalls the self—portrait of vincent van gogh, became the republican party nominee for president of the united states. we will discuss his chances and his subdued performance after his seemingly miraculous escape from being murdered. just over a week ago. karen stephenson, who plays cello with the philharmonia, joins me to argue the importance of music in education and to assess classical music audiences today and arts editor of the express, stefan kyriazis, will tell us of his theatrical adventures this week. he's been to see hello, dolly! and the baker's wife before all of that, your headlines with ray addison.
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