Embedded Files
With this week seeing the first King's Speech for over 70 years laying out the Government's legislative agenda, and next week's Full meeting of Portsmouth City Council we take a look at both.
AI transcript - Agendas local & national
AI transcript - Agendas local & national
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:00:13.229 - 00:00:43.069
Good evening watchers and listeners And welcome to another cracking episode of the Pompey politics podcast This week we are gonna go both close to home and away as we look into the future So we've got a combination of Tuesday is uh another full council meeting and I think it was last Tuesday Charlie three rocked up at Parliament to lay down some sweet beats and tunes as he did his king's speech to outline
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:00:43.27 - 00:00:48.259
the government's plans for the next year I'm sure that's how it was described
Simon Sansbury
00:00:48.27 - 00:00:54.659
but I mean it was described in um in various ways by um by different observers Um
Simon Sansbury
00:00:55.5 - 00:01:18.099
I haven't kind of seen any stats that tell us how um what the average length of a of a normal kings or Queens speech was Or is um this obviously being our first King's speech for 72 years Um and yeah I mean it It lays out the legis legislative agenda for the government Um for the parliamentary year ahead
Simon Sansbury
00:01:18.779 - 00:01:19.62
Um
Simon Sansbury
00:01:20.22 - 00:01:25.239
but it doesn't limit their legislative agenda to what's actually in the speech So in that respect
Simon Sansbury
00:01:26.129 - 00:01:29.75
it's it's just a bit of These are the things that they said that they're gonna do
Simon Sansbury
00:01:30.389 - 00:01:33.15
But they might not They might not do them and they might add some other things
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:01:33.709 - 00:01:54.8
Yeah it's kind of menu isn't it But it's a little bit like looking at the menu online three months before you visit the restaurant They might all still be there and there might be some stuff you like Some stuff you're not so keen on And by the time you get there there's a chance some of those dishes will be off and they'll be replaced with others But uh I think we were gonna start by looking closer to home And
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:01:55.069 - 00:02:09.929
I know how much our councillors love looking forward to a full council meeting on Tuesday But this one looks like I mean last time Tom Coles Well I mean he kept good order I think this time there's a chance they could be at home in time for tea couldn't they Simon Uh
Simon Sansbury
00:02:09.949 - 00:02:16.11
yeah it was a It's a very very different agenda this time round There's only nine items on the agenda
Simon Sansbury
00:02:16.789 - 00:02:20.339
Um and there's only oh he's lost count
Simon Sansbury
00:02:22.22 - 00:02:23.74
There's what Um
Simon Sansbury
00:02:25.399 - 00:02:26.8
and the notice is a motion
Simon Sansbury
00:02:27.639 - 00:02:28.699
only go
Simon Sansbury
00:02:29.429 - 00:02:31.35
all the way up to F
Simon Sansbury
00:02:32.089 - 00:02:42.72
So it's it's not gonna be um a as much this time round but yeah we can quickly rattle through the through the notices of motion and um and chew the fat over them Shall we
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:02:43.32 - 00:02:46.33
Yeah Let's give that a go OK in one
Simon Sansbury
00:02:47.1 - 00:03:00.07
So eight a That one that I know is a favourite of yours Um there's a Portsmouth City Council support for the real living wage So talking about the real living wage a motion from uh from the labour group
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:03:00.91 - 00:03:03.35
the labour group you say Good Lord
Simon Sansbury
00:03:03.36 - 00:03:03.86
Um
Simon Sansbury
00:03:04.399 - 00:03:22.27
so ge uh Councillor George Fielding and Councillor Mary Valeri Um who had her Excellent Um uh maiden speech in the chamber Um last last time round Um but this one is um so previous motions had kicked backwards and forwards the whole conversation about the council
Simon Sansbury
00:03:22.699 - 00:03:48.699
Um uh the council paying the living wage to its staff Um And um essentially what this this motion talks about is but Portsmouth City Council aren't a living wage accredited employer Um uh even though um the port that they that the City Council actually own Portico um is actually a an accredited living wage employer and has been since August um this year So it's been so for a couple of months
Simon Sansbury
00:03:49.02 - 00:04:07.559
Um uh and there's various facts in there about um how that how an increase in minimum wages translates into into retail sales So how those things um help the local economy Uh but basically this motion says um hey can we do some stuff about looking about getting ourselves accredited or um
Simon Sansbury
00:04:08.07 - 00:04:21.519
um basically can we look at sustainable funding for that going forward So it's the it's trying to kind of bake that in I think into um into into budgets going forward in in that sort of sense
Simon Sansbury
00:04:22.809 - 00:04:27.66
Uh you're gonna be excited and overwhelmed and deeply in agreement with this one I
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:04:27.67 - 00:04:39.119
guess No I'm not It's a P in address isn't it I mean at the end of the day you know the council has been through this the the this motion has come in various guises
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:04:39.779 - 00:04:44.25
And for me this this smacks of
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:04:45.2 - 00:04:49.54
uh it feels like a gotcha motion to me
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:04:50.079 - 00:05:08.809
because there's an element of I don't understand what the accreditation is for living wage I don't know what that does for you in terms of whether that makes you a more attractive or less attractive employer I don't I I'm unsure of all of that But there's a part of me that says
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:05:09.489 - 00:05:28.5
you know the the If you remember those previous motions it wasn't just that the council paid all of its workers It was that any subcontractor for the council also paid all of its workers the living wage and our friend the jovial Steve Pitt back at the time when he wasn't council leader pointed out that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:05:29.059 - 00:05:35.92
that would tear a I can't remember if it's six or 12 or a multimillion pound hole in the finances that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:05:36.48 - 00:05:47.049
couldn't be filled So I am this one Looks like there will be a lot of talk and shouldn't we all do good stuff It will probably get voted through that we should look at it
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:05:48.019 - 00:06:02.45
or there'll be something which means that the council can't be accredited so that our friends in LA can hold it up again and go Ha ha ha ha The council is not a living wage employer
Simon Sansbury
00:06:03.6 - 00:06:04.489
Um
Simon Sansbury
00:06:05.13 - 00:06:32.25
III I don't unders understand To be honest with you I don't I don't get the kind unless there's some sort of technical reason why uh why it can't be Which will be interesting to uh to hear on the debate But um to me it seems quite a sensible thing In quite a few areas of the council they struggle to keep uh and sorry they struggle to recruit and retain staff So um any form of accreditation that's gonna help um make that clearer That that um that applicants are indeed existing
Simon Sansbury
00:06:32.63 - 00:06:42.26
Um colleagues um understand that That's the case Um ID ID I don't I fail to see how that's a That's a bad thing if the money's already gonna be spent But why not get the accreditation
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:06:43.079 - 00:06:59.019
Well the presentation of these things usually means that uh for you to get accredited you You know in this case my presumption would be you've got to be paying the living wage everywhere And if that includes subcontractors as well the council can't do that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:06:59.529 - 00:07:04.6
So we'll see how Tuesday unfolds But this feels like another
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:07:05.25 - 00:07:30.109
Another attempt to do the why isn't the council paying the living wage and the council says because we can't afford to because of the cuts by the horrid Tories Yada yada yada And and maybe that's the pantomime that's gonna play out Maybe I'm just being cynical Um but and this is where for me Let's put a positive spin on this because I don't think we give our council enough credit at times
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:07:30.82 - 00:07:36.01
You know I've been watching with interest over the last few weeks Hampshire County Council with its
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:07:36.829 - 00:07:40.69
160 something million hole in its budget
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:07:41.399 - 00:07:55.51
and them having to slash and burn services left right and centre Well you don't run that bill up overnight and I think it's a credit to all of our councillors that they have historically run
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:07:56.179 - 00:08:09.739
the the city with a balanced budget and haven't got a massive backlog And it's why I think or why I perceive gesture Politics like this is rather unhelpful But maybe I'm getting old and cynical and bitter in my
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:08:10.32 - 00:08:12.35
in my advancing years
Simon Sansbury
00:08:12.799 - 00:08:15.44
Answers on a postcard will have a poll in the chat
Simon Sansbury
00:08:16.339 - 00:08:44.098
um as to as to whether you're cynical So um a B is um is also from the labour group So from Councillor Graham Heaney and Councillor Ya Ade Um and that's asking for the council to um to consider basically being um being involved with the friend city project that call on several things There is some information on the sort of things that um that
Simon Sansbury
00:08:44.409 - 00:09:12.789
planners all that designers of city policy um should be should be kind of considering it It it It looks at things like um essentially having an age friendly community with the opportunities to enjoy life and feel well to participate in um in a society and be valued for their contribution Have enough money to live well um feel safe comfortable and secure at home Um having access to quality um to to quality health and care
Simon Sansbury
00:09:12.95 - 00:09:30.909
um talks a bit about um you know the various ways that transportation you kind of got basic things of um making sure that you know the pavements are flat and level where possible so that they're not a trip hazard that they're safe and well lit I know Um trip hazard and pavements are is an issue close to your heart Um so I've I've
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:09:30.919 - 00:09:41.58
got I've got my piece of pavement without wishing to derail this after just two and two and a bit years Well the the the the Mauritian
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:09:41.809 - 00:09:49.0
um tactile curb is is now there I I'm delighted It's it's finally arrived but some progress
Simon Sansbury
00:09:49.169 - 00:10:07.01
I I expect to see it on some on someone's social media soon So um yeah to be honest with you a lot of these seem like common sense things Um so hopefully they're things that are being considered you know about having houses with elevators wide passages even floors with with no stairs Um having access to
Simon Sansbury
00:10:07.34 - 00:10:35.679
to health and um social um resources um within kind of residential areas So that so that as people get older they're not having to deal with being in unfamiliar areas or indeed feeling unsafe going out into places so that that kind of leads them isolated at home and having access to safe um affordable accessible public transport with helpful drivers and and station staff So all of those things hopefully are pretty kind of common sense and and should be kind of the norm with regard to
Simon Sansbury
00:10:35.919 - 00:10:56.84
how we design our communities Um so hopefully there's there's no kind of shock as to that's not something that that people could disagree with And and if anything I think a lot of those things that that's calling for don't just apply to um to older people They they apply to lots of other groups as well So you know common sense And
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:10:56.849 - 00:11:04.88
and I and I think this one is a very noble cause And I think when you look at the built environment I think it is You know it's one of those things where
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:11:05.19 - 00:11:33.57
a actually to to build in accessibility and to look at the community spaces that you design Then I think it is absolutely you know it It is right that you should build these things in I think the challenge comes with a with a packed dense city that is multiple hundreds of years old And that's where you know there's always this tension You know if we look at the Guildhall Square as an example you know with the library and the council offices
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:11:33.979 - 00:12:01.479
you know it it they are not you know the the the the most accessible buildings that you're ever gonna come across Yes there are ramps but they're relatively steep ramps and you know they are kind of in the centre of town But you know it It is that pace where II I think you know very very essential to build in going forward how much you can retrofit to what already exists
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:12:01.65 - 00:12:11.179
That's where the the the numbers and the feasibility start to come unstuck But no excellent thing to promote for for the way we design things going forward
Simon Sansbury
00:12:11.479 - 00:12:14.64
OK so eight C
Simon Sansbury
00:12:15.89 - 00:12:40.299
So maybe they'll rattle through them as quickly as we are Hopefully hopefully they will Um So uh so the next one another another labour motion from Councillor Valerie and Councillor Fielding again Uh so Portsmouth City Council support for the Improvement of Women and girls sport in Portsmouth Um there's some quite interesting um interesting figures that they they put into the into their motions I must admit quite a lot of the time
Simon Sansbury
00:12:41.27 - 00:12:44.13
A as someone that looks into researching these things
Simon Sansbury
00:12:44.969 - 00:12:49.349
um or the or at least the the things that are being discussed at council What's what's quite useful
Simon Sansbury
00:12:50.09 - 00:12:53.84
with I notice there's a trend in the in the labour motions They always put their sources
Simon Sansbury
00:12:54.52 - 00:13:11.65
Um so I find that kind of quite useful Um So if you do want to kind of get into the weeds of kind of where this where this has come from that's that's kind of an interesting way to do it The headline figure they're talking there is that just under 29% of females in Portsmouth um are taking part in less than 30 minutes of activity a week
Simon Sansbury
00:13:12.349 - 00:13:19.349
Um and over half of th that figure are are taking part in no activity in the last 28 days
Simon Sansbury
00:13:19.979 - 00:13:46.729
So there there's quite a big kind of gap Um what the motion doesn't do is is try to understand what the causes of that discrepancy of that difference are and what it is that's that's That's the barriers um to to women being involved in sports So um it the motion also calls out um the work of uh Lizzie Butcher who formerly worked for BH live um in increasing women's participation in sports across the city
Simon Sansbury
00:13:46.989 - 00:14:15.609
Um but it's asking the council to work with education establishments to ensure equality in the community use of sports facilities and where appropriate um seek to increase the provision of space for female sports um and to uh work with leisure facility providers on how to improve gender equality in sport So it would be interesting to understand what those barriers are and how those are those are broken down But surely at the end of the day
Simon Sansbury
00:14:16.03 - 00:14:44.4
you know we we all understood from uh from covid how important um exercise and open spaces are And how important What an important play Um part um sport can play in physical and mental well being So it it's really concerning that that you know for 50% of the population their contribution um or their involvement in in sports facilities isn't um isn't the same So what is causing that
Simon Sansbury
00:14:44.63 - 00:14:47.479
and get to the roots of it and work through it
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:14:48.349 - 00:14:50.159
Well yes
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:14:50.989 - 00:14:51.719
but
Simon Sansbury
00:14:52.799 - 00:14:54.21
OK there's a bar Um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:14:54.51 - 00:14:58.609
well there is a bar because I actually think this is quite a misleading
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:14:59.58 - 00:15:03.78
because what it tells you it tells you about women and girls participation in sport
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:04.95 - 00:15:09.76
But what it doesn't tell you is about boys and men's participation in sport
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:11.719 - 00:15:19.95
So you have a situation where the presumption of the motion is inequality
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:21.039 - 00:15:24.2
But looking through it I couldn't find any data to support that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:25.359 - 00:15:26.38
and As you know
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:27.059 - 00:15:28.19
I love sport
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:29.38 - 00:15:37.099
and I work in cricket I'm um previously been a member of the committee at Portsmouth Rugby Football Club
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:37.64 - 00:15:39.83
And if you look at all the stats
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:15:40.84 - 00:16:01.349
part girls participation and women's participation in sports is on the increase Now it talks about quote unquote women or or female sports Now again II I sort of struggle with that in terms of raising an eyebrow cos I would say that historically cricket football rugby would not have been considered female sports
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:02.119 - 00:16:10.559
But what you're actually seeing is a rise in participation in female sport and a massive deterioration in participation
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:11.28 - 00:16:12.78
in men's sport
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:13.719 - 00:16:21.59
So if I give you a working example and I'm sure the rugby club won't mind me sharing this with you Cos when I was involved on the committee 34 years ago
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:22.159 - 00:16:40.919
um the rugby club pre pandemic the rugby club was putting out four men's side every week and one women's side And if you go back 10 years probably 15 years the rugby club Portsmouth Rugby Club was putting out five men's side and didn't really have enough women to put a side together
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:41.929 - 00:16:43.51
If you look at the club Now
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:44.4 - 00:16:47.799
they're putting out 2 to 3 men's sides regularly
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:48.52 - 00:16:55.14
and there are as many female players registered as there are many We've seen a fantastic growth in female participation
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:16:55.71 - 00:17:00.0
So whilst I fundamentally agree with the premise that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:17:00.75 - 00:17:05.64
we want as many people as possible to take part in physical activity
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:17:06.698 - 00:17:22.328
I I am not sure that the focus should be on an area that's seeing Or we focus a disproportionate amount of energy into AAA gender position where one gender is increasing participation
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:17:23.06 - 00:17:26.41
and another gender's participation is falling rapidly
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:17:27.26 - 00:17:27.9
Um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:17:28.438 - 00:17:32.52
I I think I think this motion is actually looking at the wrong side of the coin
Simon Sansbury
00:17:34.479 - 00:17:54.0
Yeah but if if what you're saying is that um is that the participation of men and boys is is dropping um then surely that would mean that that would mean that the situation So the disparity between between of the gendered involvement in sports is even is even worse
Simon Sansbury
00:17:54.63 - 00:18:21.64
Because I if if what you're saying is that the the participation of men and boys is is going down But even with it going down um they're actually still um there's there's actually still a a massive involvement Um missing or um in in sport O of women and girls Then I mean surely at the end of the day we'd expect to see over you know all things being equal how numbers kind of work out the
Simon Sansbury
00:18:22.29 - 00:18:36.959
that the participation would be um would be reflective of the of of the diver diversity of of the population And if it's not And if it's as far out as these as these as these um metrics um say that they are then
Simon Sansbury
00:18:37.75 - 00:18:55.959
it it it's worth understanding what those barriers are and and and addressing and addressing those that doesn't mean that that's a that's to the detriment of um of of sport Inclusion of men and boys does it It just means that we need to understand what the barriers are to women and girls being involved and and remove those barriers No
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:18:56.819 - 00:19:07.04
it depends how you want to see equality reached I if you want to see equality re reached by men's men's and boys participation falling to such a level that it's
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:19:07.599 - 00:19:13.39
it it it falls down to the level that female part participation is Then you've reached parity
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:19:14.17 - 00:19:42.43
Um I personally don't think that's something to be celebrated Uh and as I say the trajectory of both at the moment is they are going to meet in terms of parity fairly soon because if you look at the change in the dynamic of women's football women's rugby women's cricket you know they are all being shown on mainstream Um you know that there is a lot of external energy being put into those sports and I absolutely celebrate that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:19:43.199 - 00:19:59.41
III I think the piece for me that I you know I I'm And again this is this is one of those things where well why isn't there a I'm not saying that What I'm saying is that that if we we should be looking to increase participation in sport for everybody
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:20:00.0 - 00:20:24.089
and I I think that the uh you know from everything I I learn and know through my involvement with cricket and rugby is that female participation is on the rise It's on a growth curve and we should continue to invest in that The flip side of that is that participation by boys and men is falling like a stone and I don't see motions to address that
Simon Sansbury
00:20:25.5 - 00:20:33.849
OK I see that point So we'll see how um how that one calls out But the things that it's called is calling for um to be honest uh
Simon Sansbury
00:20:34.43 - 00:20:59.869
um you know are pretty sensible with a lot of these things because of because of our system Obviously we've got a a cabinet um system of administration in Portsmouth A lot of these things are calling for the cabinet member to do X or to write to or to write to person Y or calling on the local MP S to do X or Y Um so it's it's really a case of kind of putting onto the books I think these are the things that um that are being highlighted
Simon Sansbury
00:21:00.0 - 00:21:10.719
Um it is It is of course interesting that um there aren't any motions from the administra you know from the from the liberal Democrats Um on this uh on this one So um
Simon Sansbury
00:21:11.51 - 00:21:16.81
read into that What you know does that signify something In the sense of that the
Simon Sansbury
00:21:17.739 - 00:21:42.8
opposition parties feel a greater need to uh to demonstrate that they that there's a voice or that they've got um that they're identifying Just to say I don't I don't know what That I don't know what that in itself says um about about how a council works or or indeed actually about the the focus of the the administration But obviously opposition parties have got much more to gain by
Simon Sansbury
00:21:43.43 - 00:21:46.64
trying to gain the momentum as it were
Simon Sansbury
00:21:47.339 - 00:21:49.859
um and and get voices heard
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:21:50.599 - 00:22:00.55
Well I think it's always something strange isn't it Where the liberal Democrats bring to full council AAA motion for them calling on themselves to do the things that they can already do So
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:22:01.479 - 00:22:08.329
yeah I guess we shouldn't be that surprised but um what have we got in number three or four Four number
Simon Sansbury
00:22:08.339 - 00:22:24.55
four So So four is um so four is about supporting local um producers So this is uh from the conservative camp So Councillor uh Benedict Swan and Councillor Louis Gosling Um
Simon Sansbury
00:22:25.4 - 00:22:51.229
basically calling on the council to uh recognise the huge contribution Um and I'm quoting from it make made by our regional farmers growers wider and wider food and drink industry to our local economy um environment and wider rural communities It calls on some things about making space at the international ferry port to uh to showcase um local products Um and local um
Simon Sansbury
00:22:51.729 - 00:23:09.459
um local You know local um food and et cetera Food and drink Um so that that that um So that people um coming into the to the ferry to the cruise terminal Um can see them Uh and also about um encouraging residents where possible to um to shop to shop locally Um
Simon Sansbury
00:23:11.03 - 00:23:14.52
what's your um I had a look on It
Simon Sansbury
00:23:15.04 - 00:23:19.76
came up short trying to find any local farms in the city but
Simon Sansbury
00:23:20.609 - 00:23:21.41
well
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:23:21.489 - 00:23:42.05
in the city in the Yeah This is a slightly strange one isn't it Is that um you know again our our chums in Milton I'm not quite aware of not Milton Um Cooper I'm not I'm not overly aware of great tracts of arable land in Cooper That we're um that that that that are growing things I mean it's a
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:23:43.17 - 00:24:12.449
Yeah this one's a bit peculiar And I can I can give myself the double thumbs up as today we we visited a local farm shop but it's uh all the way over in haling Um so uh yeah shout out to Stoke fruit farm shop Um which is excellent And does some local produce But if I was to claim it was in Portsmouth I'd be fibbing Um so yeah I I think there is a piece where you know it is great
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:12.64 - 00:24:17.15
you know for people to shop local and to support local
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:17.829 - 00:24:24.41
growers But I'm not as somebody who's a bit of a foodie And in fact I asked this on our
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:24.949 - 00:24:37.41
there is a Facebook group called Portsmouth Foodies and I I asked this a while back I'm related to this Which is that you know do we have in Portsmouth a regional dish you know or or like a culinary heritage
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:38.18 - 00:24:46.469
And I think the consensus apart from well mixed monster burgers are somewhat of an iconic vendor Um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:47.52 - 00:24:49.069
I I'm not sure that
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:49.869 - 00:24:51.04
I'm not sure we
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:51.75 - 00:24:55.219
got anybody to support some good local brewers
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:24:55.949 - 00:24:56.819
Um
Simon Sansbury
00:24:56.829 - 00:25:23.79
um and I mean I mean maybe the fact that we don't know about them is why this motion is needed because we don't know about them Um and they do exist and they're out there So our apologies if we're doing a disservice to frustrated um food and drink producers in the city um that we don't we we you know we're aware of You know there's uh some place in the hills The industrial estate There's the gin distillery um down east Um
Simon Sansbury
00:25:23.959 - 00:25:51.91
so So there are There are there are definitely some places Um but from a perspective of actually there's an opportunity here to showcase local food And you know there are you know farms over the hill um et cetera So obviously not within the bounds of the city but they are still at least local That would be perhaps of interest to um to those visiting the city on on cruise ships Um so I I don't know The the very fact that we don't you know we can perhaps with a with a slight bit of
Simon Sansbury
00:25:52.51 - 00:25:58.39
bemusement or ridicule about Well where are that Where's the field of field of cows in heels kind of thing But there's not
Simon Sansbury
00:25:59.4 - 00:26:16.439
The fact that we don't know doesn't doesn't mean that these this isn't kind of irrelevant And may this isn't a relevant thing And maybe calling for uh more attention To be called to that and showcasing that is a is a good idea I mean when you go to pretty much anyone else they'll be showcasing local um local products
Simon Sansbury
00:26:17.39 - 00:26:18.51
Yeah and
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:26:18.66 - 00:26:37.349
to that point we we have got some great ones You know again um again it's more across the road in in in uh hailing island the northern farm There does fantastic ice cream Every time I go to the new theatre Royal it's uh it's at the interlude I am poised with tub in hand Um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:26:37.569 - 00:27:07.14
yeah you talked about uh in hills There's the chilli mash company who are who are well renowned and I I think that's possibly why I'm a little bit quizzical about this cos I I am interested in you know local producers And you know as you go out through the back of Haven as the adsteam farm the happy pigs as many people know them to be you know there there are I think like you say surrounding Portsmouth there are some really good local producers and um yeah maybe that's maybe this is the
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:27:07.4 - 00:27:14.219
we really do do need to do more to celebrate those those folk who are on our doorstep doing a a jolly good
Simon Sansbury
00:27:14.229 - 00:27:36.51
job And And if you are a local producer of food and drink by all means get in touch with us And maybe we'll have an episode on it where you correct us and point out that there is lots of stuff being are being produced locally that we um that we'd love to love to champion So please do either message us on Facebook or give us an email studio at PP podcast dot UK
Simon Sansbury
00:27:37.209 - 00:27:57.489
Um so the next one so eight E is Chloe's motion and this is from the Portsmouth community Independence That's um Councillors Kirsty Miller and Carol Corkery Um this is calling on the council to draw attention to uh to the issue of coercive coercive behaviour
Simon Sansbury
00:27:57.849 - 00:28:26.589
Um and uh the the sad news that um Chloe Holland uh took her life after years of um being the on the the recipient of coercive and controlling behaviour from from her partner um and um uh and took and took her life as a as a result of the of what she's been subjected to Um what this is what this motion is calling for is calling for the council um and to write to and the um the MP S and to
Simon Sansbury
00:28:26.819 - 00:28:45.04
the Hampshire and Isle of Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones um to to raise the issue and to request the government consider the possibility of creating a specific statutory offence of manslaughter by coercive or controlling behaviour
Simon Sansbury
00:28:45.56 - 00:28:59.189
Um so I indeed a very very serious subject Um that uh that I'm sure um will be worth getting looked a T I've just temporarily lost Ian so hopefully he'll be he'll be back Um IN a moment Um
Simon Sansbury
00:29:00.589 - 00:29:30.069
the last motion that's on there um is um it is about the families First for Children Um Pathfinder So um that motion is uh is by Councillor Simon Boser and Lewis Gosling Uh so from the conservative camp um And um that's um that's uh calling for uh for the council to uh to make some bids for uh so the second wave of pathfinder funding
Simon Sansbury
00:29:30.42 - 00:29:58.26
Um and if there's still chance to do so um to to look at further consideration um and refer back to council for the rationale of of such um uh stance being taken if if there isn't a chance to actually do that Um and it also calls on the council to try and coordinate with reference to applications and for funding and support requests from third sector providers Um uh to either align and support such applications
Simon Sansbury
00:29:58.569 - 00:30:02.02
and and or to take the lead in making them
Simon Sansbury
00:30:02.729 - 00:30:14.619
Um and um uh uh And to basically to help making those and progressing such uh such funding request So Ian's back Um so Ian Sorry Um we moved on to
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:30:15.219 - 00:30:36.55
our our platform completely disappeared there Suddenly told me told me you were unavailable So um yeah yeah but I've um I've found my way back We were just We were just inviting sponsors to uh to uh to to or to contact us And we would happily um promote their products And then
Simon Sansbury
00:30:37.76 - 00:30:42.04
back in the time that you were gone I covered I covered eight E
Simon Sansbury
00:30:42.54 - 00:31:05.079
um which was Chloe's motion which was basically calling on the council to engage with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones and the two local MP S Stephen Morgan and Penny Morgan About raising the issue with government about considering a a specific statutory offence of manslaughter by coercive or controlling behaviour
Simon Sansbury
00:31:05.739 - 00:31:30.719
and then moved on to the families first for Children Pathfinder which is essentially asking for the council to seek funding for the second from the second wave to look at ways to get some funding behind that and also to engage with third sector providers that might also be making funding requests to try and help basically co ordinate those and assist with those
Simon Sansbury
00:31:30.91 - 00:31:48.839
Um essentially is what that's um is what that's doing But it's um it it it looks to um look for um the family help and providing support at the right time so that Children can thrive um with their with their families And um you know making multi agency and decisive
Simon Sansbury
00:31:49.349 - 00:32:08.28
um protection system that works and unlocking uh potential family networks and putting love and relationships in a stable home at the heart of being a child in care So lot lots of things there that again seem like a a great deal of um of common sense I'm sure there isn't gonna be any uh any disagreement on that one
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:32:08.859 - 00:32:31.27
Can't can't see any discord on that The you know again the the the the cynic Uh if there's a cynic about might might see the you know there was a lot of a lot of funding was was put into homes start many years ago That funding has reduced down And now the council's being invited to bid for new funding It's It's Yeah Yeah This is an area where
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:32:31.89 - 00:32:42.92
you know it It II I believe early intervention funding gives you the best chance of success rather than trying to repair the damage later So yeah my hope is this one would fly through
Simon Sansbury
00:32:42.93 - 00:32:58.43
Indeed OK so Well that was the That was the motions Um so marvellous That was the notices of motion Um we haven't seen the questions to cabinet members yet They they um they're not on the agenda just yet Which I or I couldn't see them on the link So uh yeah So hopefully
Simon Sansbury
00:32:59.0 - 00:33:01.819
um there won't be that much Um
Simon Sansbury
00:33:02.5 - 00:33:05.13
that much disagreement or or
Simon Sansbury
00:33:06.28 - 00:33:08.469
Or D or distress in the in the chamber
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:33:08.819 - 00:33:35.39
No III I think again if we saw last month uh last month we thought there was chance for stuff I think there's a I think there's probably just gonna be gentle That might be the odd points of order but I think we should fly through So should we um should we switch chairs then Cos uh usually it's you doing the heavy lifting and me just ranting and roaring about various things So it's it's now your chance to take the floor So
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:33:36.0 - 00:33:54.15
in uh in what is all I think I I don't know whether it's got It's definitely going to be the last chance saloon of the uh of the conservative government to have their king's speech Um because I think technically that they could carry over the election into early 2020
Simon Sansbury
00:33:54.16 - 00:34:00.0
I believe the latest is that it can be held Is is January in 2025 Um
Simon Sansbury
00:34:00.439 - 00:34:24.178
II I can't I mean not being funny I I can't see that being at all likely because the last thing people are going to want to be doing is campaigning on wet cold winter doorsteps through December and through the through the Christmas and New Year period Um I think that would make the prime minister even less popular than certain than he already is with certain members of his own party So
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:34:24.58 - 00:34:50.62
yeah so So we'll presume this is the last King suit There were 21 pieces of legislation I don't intend to go through them all I'll pick out a couple of highlights um and or low lights depending on your point of view So the first one the offshore petroleum licencing bill Um this is one that says that um effectively will allow new drill sites in the North Sea to extract
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:34:51.199 - 00:35:02.09
um natural gas and uh and oil to reduce our over reliance or our ongoing reliance on foreign fuel
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:35:03.04 - 00:35:07.929
sensible and pragmatic or part of the bonfire of the
Simon Sansbury
00:35:07.939 - 00:35:22.5
green Uh I mean we had a bit of a discussion about this um before when we when we talked about the delay to the um to the to the switch to EV charger Um EV powered cars Um for for new car purchases Um
Simon Sansbury
00:35:23.59 - 00:35:32.209
I I I'm kinda I'm I'm split on this because at the end of the day we need to stop burning fossil fuels because it's literally destroying the planet and making
Simon Sansbury
00:35:32.719 - 00:35:51.0
um and and um M making And it's gonna make vast parts of it uninhabitable and certainly very difficult for people to to live safely and um and to grow food and gain a and have access to clean water All of those things that we probably don't even understand the the um the big impacts of yet um
Simon Sansbury
00:35:51.57 - 00:35:54.739
so burning burning more of it It um
Simon Sansbury
00:35:55.52 - 00:35:57.82
does doesn't seem like a really logical thing to do
Simon Sansbury
00:35:58.389 - 00:36:03.219
Um the argument that the government seems to make about this will give us energy security But we
Simon Sansbury
00:36:03.879 - 00:36:21.649
the this goal the sorry these this oil or gas isn't isn't only sold into the UK market it's sold on the world market So it will go to whoever pays pays the producers um for for that produced uh material It was interesting seeing on one of the political programmes One of the
Simon Sansbury
00:36:22.33 - 00:36:41.419
um one of the members of the Conservative party Um trying to say that in extremists the government could pass legislation forcing that um that production to be sold in in the UK Which was an interesting thing for a conservative Um uh party member to um to be trying to claim
Simon Sansbury
00:36:41.739 - 00:36:55.85
um So um which was essentially renen nationalising um gas and oil production Um so I I don't know I it's gonna make the gas and oil industries a lot of money and they're already making a great deal of money and as
Simon Sansbury
00:36:56.419 - 00:36:58.239
as in as
Simon Sansbury
00:36:58.87 - 00:37:28.56
as the material that they mine and drill for is it becomes more and more rare It will become more and more expensive Um but hopefully also as people switch to renewable sources of power um also the demand will go down but the demand is coming predominantly from other other parts of the world or the so it's probably not fair to call them developing economies anymore Um that um that also have also needs um need that energy themselves So
Simon Sansbury
00:37:28.76 - 00:37:43.27
again it's another thing where the world needs to kind of join up uh and have a have a unified approach much that it much that it needs in the conversation about a I we had last week So I think this is a I think investing in these or allowing these to happen
Simon Sansbury
00:37:44.139 - 00:37:49.879
is um I don't think it's I don't I think it's literally unsustainable Um
Simon Sansbury
00:37:50.719 - 00:37:58.729
but I think the prime minister doesn't have the strength politically to have said actually we're not going to allow any more Um aside from the economic arguments
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:37:59.25 - 00:38:16.12
yeah it's a balancing act isn't it Because it's that if you're gonna burn it for the next 30 years down to your point uh we we like to think of North Sea oil as quote unquote ours Um you know So there is a piece that says Well why wouldn't you but agree with you It's a little bit of a
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:38:16.459 - 00:38:40.05
It's a little bit swimming against the tide in this one So moving on to you talked about um places in the world which are mostly uninhabitable Um let's talk about the northern Network rail Um so poking fun at our friends in the north they're they're not having 36 billion spent on linking up Manchester to Birmingham
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:38:40.5 - 00:38:55.01
But this was the bill that um that listed a whole array of infrastructure for um projects in the north of the country Um which are the you can have these instead
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:38:55.58 - 00:39:00.33
I'm guessing this one is a bit more of a thumbs up to the green credentials
Simon Sansbury
00:39:00.679 - 00:39:17.949
I see the The thing for me is that national government are really really good at finding ways to to waste money or to spend it on things that aren't actually needed And for me the the the most effective way to do that would be to give the power and the money to the regions that need to spend it and to give them
Simon Sansbury
00:39:18.139 - 00:39:42.53
the basically the financial ability to do it and the ability to make the decisions about what's needed for them What sorts of transport infrastructure that's needed We can You you you know to try to claim that uh a few extra cheap bus routes um offsets the the overall economic benefits of having a reliable accessible um and regular train service
Simon Sansbury
00:39:43.58 - 00:39:45.55
It's not It's not the same thing is it Well they
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:39:45.57 - 00:39:51.52
well they well And that's where I'm going to step in because this is where I've always struggled with HS two
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:39:52.129 - 00:39:59.34
Somebody who's forced to travel to Manchester once a year for cricket from London to Manchester is just over two hours
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:39:59.989 - 00:40:03.78
It's double the distance from London to Portsmouth
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:40:04.84 - 00:40:10.709
and London to Portsmouth is just under two hours on the fastest train
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:40:11.33 - 00:40:14.379
So I've never quite understood this
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:40:14.939 - 00:40:41.83
this you know again I talking to a friend of mine who's based in Manchester When when this news broke his play back to me was well I never really wanted to get to Birmingham 20 minutes quicker anyway um you know whereas I think you know if you and again it's like I've got a friend who's in the north But you know his kind of thing was Well if you want to get from Manchester across to Leeds or you know in terms of rail network
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:40:42.35 - 00:40:58.159
um you know there there seems to be I still think HS two was always very London centric wasn't it It was always like Well people will want to get to London faster Whereas I'm not sure that I mean barking up the wrong tree
Simon Sansbury
00:40:58.31 - 00:41:06.34
to me if you were really if you really wanted to talk about levelling up communities and um I appreciate probably to people in the north It sounds
Simon Sansbury
00:41:07.05 - 00:41:09.08
probably sounds um
Simon Sansbury
00:41:09.87 - 00:41:32.949
uh a bit locally focused for for us to be concerned about uh basically the connections of Portsmouth But we are kind of like really the you know the We are the poor of our of our um of our local conurbations But in regards to the North as a as a kind of vast swathe of not very well connected parts of parts of the country that you can interact or or travel between very easily without hopping on a motorway
Simon Sansbury
00:41:33.469 - 00:41:56.83
um those are things that are based on decades of kind of poor decisions And really actually you needed But you needed both Um I if you had a high speed line that happened to go from um Leeds to London Um not everybody would go from Leeds to London They'd stop off at Birmingham or wherever and forgive my poor geography About what other What other places they they might go to um instead But the fact that it's there
Simon Sansbury
00:41:57.629 - 00:42:24.169
increase it adds capacity to the network Um and allows people to make better choices about whether to hop in a car or whether to um frankly to end up hopping in a plane which seems completely bonkers in a country the size of the UK to to hop in a plane to kind of travel to different parts of it But people do um so But again I think these decisions need to be made by uh made by local people cos the peop You know national governments in London
Simon Sansbury
00:42:24.56 - 00:42:30.719
don't really kind of understand what what the requirements are of the of the people in those areas And that's why I think
Simon Sansbury
00:42:30.949 - 00:42:58.27
the better thing overall is giving them the power and the and the money to be able to be able to do it if we had the power and the money to make transport decisions in Portsmouth for example you you you'd kind of be looking at things like light rail or trams or whatever to help take some of the cars off the road so that when someone does decide to close and dig up one of the three roads in and out of the city because there's a broken sewage pipe um um that that actually there are other ways to get around the city and just taking some cars off the road
Simon Sansbury
00:42:58.57 - 00:43:03.12
is the only way to improve congestion People aren't stuck in congestion They are the congestion So
Simon Sansbury
00:43:03.86 - 00:43:05.949
I'll get I'll get off my soapbox Yeah
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:43:05.959 - 00:43:23.83
and it's it's a fascinating little aside you know that that I I think what it showed Uh uh And again you know with the the the Carmageddon on that that that Monday Was that just how many people live on the island but work off the island
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:43:24.6 - 00:43:31.629
Um because what What we got to was effectively there were no routes on and no routes off And
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:43:32.26 - 00:43:50.199
you know all of those cars Just you know the M 27 became a car park Uh it spread back through cotham and up over the hill as people were trying to find routes to to you know either get into Portsmouth to work or get out of Portsmouth to work Um yeah So
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:43:50.389 - 00:44:04.149
it it it is fascinating how that dynamics changed of of people driving to work So let's move on to the next one This one feels like a little bit you know something or nothing You you know Rishi loves his maths So this was about the
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:44:04.32 - 00:44:32.32
um effectively the eventual scrapping of the A level and the T level It was the education reform act So there will be an advanced British standard which is what you'll study between 16 and 18 and it will be maths plus four other subjects Um but and I think this is one where we can we can have a light touch discussion because from what I read about the legislation is
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:44:32.669 - 00:44:39.53
this is sort of the the opening salvo in something that is very unlikely to get onto the statutes for at least a
Simon Sansbury
00:44:39.54 - 00:44:41.179
decade
Simon Sansbury
00:44:41.739 - 00:44:48.419
Uh uh I mean this is The weird thing right is that this is so unlikely to actually still be even a thing
Simon Sansbury
00:44:49.0 - 00:44:54.79
Um in a year's time because you know it's it's gonna be cancelled by someone right Um
Simon Sansbury
00:44:55.379 - 00:45:14.379
whether whether it's the next conservative prime minister or it's this conservative prime minister or it's the next Labour prime minister it's it's it's gonna get cancelled Cos yeah Cos what What the country is really crying out for is for people to spend another two years studying a a subject that that that they hate Um if anything from my anecdotal observation of the workplace over the last
Simon Sansbury
00:45:16.159 - 00:45:46.07
few decades is that yes there there um more education is is needed around maths But it's not to the level that this seems to be aiming at It's actually some To be honest it's it's actually pretty basic levels of maths that don't need to be Whatever is whatever You could recall an A level Um it's actually kind of simple stuff like under under not me Funny understanding percentages understanding budgets understanding how mortgages work Um all of those sorts of things would be much more useful Um that don't need to be some form of higher education Um
Simon Sansbury
00:45:46.61 - 00:46:03.61
so II I see this as just another review or not Just another top down policy of of um of higher education This time that is just gonna take more time and energy away from teachers actually doing teaching which is what they keep saying they want to be doing But they're not being allowed to do it Do
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:46:03.62 - 00:46:06.34
you include the preparation of bar graphs in that
Simon Sansbury
00:46:06.83 - 00:46:08.389
In that um Well I I
Simon Sansbury
00:46:08.399 - 00:46:17.3
of course an improvement in basic level of mass understanding would help people not put out spurious bar graphs regardless of what political persuasion they may or may not
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:46:17.31 - 00:46:37.6
have Marvellous So we got a couple Um we got a couple more to go through Um football regulation Who cares We're gonna move on from that I didn't understand it We're gonna that you um uh housing reform Um so there an end to no fault Um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:46:38.969 - 00:47:03.689
yeah A strengthening of um of the ability of a landlord to evict antisocial tenants and then a change in leasehold Um in terms of new houses that will be built will not be sold with leaseholds Um and an adjustment to I think when they sell you a flat The length of the leasehold
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:47:04.219 - 00:47:07.5
all seem like pretty sensible stuff to me Anything
Simon Sansbury
00:47:08.81 - 00:47:12.53
about as I said Um sorry as my interruption was um
Simon Sansbury
00:47:13.639 - 00:47:25.439
uh the the government have been talking about ending no fault evictions for for several years They've had an 80 seat majority for four years Why Why haven't they done it yet Can they just get on with it Um
Simon Sansbury
00:47:26.03 - 00:47:52.36
the the reason why there's problems in the in the private rental market is is because of a lack of um a lack of support and regulation to help both uh both good tenants and help good landlords um deal with the bad tenants and the bad landlords And that's that You know that's fundamentally the problem And the reason why the private rental sector is is probably in the mess that it's in Other than the lack of regulation um is the lack of housing
Simon Sansbury
00:47:53.59 - 00:48:23.34
um so II I I'm always bemused by AAA party that keeps talking about how market forces and their experts in the market and uh free markets and the economy don't seem to understand that if there's no supply but lots of demand prices go up So rather than uh uh I'm sure the issue about leasehold um it it is a particular issue to to some people my my flats leasehold Um I'm not gonna be around either way when the lease um when the lease expires um
Simon Sansbury
00:48:23.629 - 00:48:29.33
whether whether it's 99 years or 999 years it's not gonna make any difference to me to be frank Um
Simon Sansbury
00:48:31.07 - 00:48:39.989
so those things might well be important But the bigger thing is the reason why the housing sector is a mess is because there aren't enough houses being built Yeah
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:48:40.0 - 00:48:51.75
no And I And I guess it's there There is an element of of uh you know the whole housing crisis we've touched on it many times on this show it it It's uh
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:48:51.969 - 00:48:54.489
it's another one of those ones that everybody agrees
Simon Sansbury
00:48:56.35 - 00:49:17.159
It's like with cars isn't it Everybody wants other people to give up their cars but not you know it to be someone else And likewise with housing Everyone wants there to be more housing but they don't want it to be where they are And there's a fair bit to that argument where you know we could take the new town approach to that But that requires investment in infrastructure Right Which is again It's just this lack of joined up thinking it's
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:49:17.62 - 00:49:25.85
yeah yeah And and even with the new town you know you look at out of the back of far You know well Born has been on the cards for
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:49:26.37 - 00:49:35.29
1015 years You know in terms of the space is there the land is there the will is there But somehow they still
Simon Sansbury
00:49:35.3 - 00:49:36.889
been going on so long they could call it Well
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:49:37.76 - 00:49:41.449
well retired Maybe it'll end up as a retirement village
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:49:42.06 - 00:50:05.85
Right So we got a couple more to cover So a lot of stuff around law and order as you might expect Um so and I the the return of of whole life tariffs for some murderers there was some There was uh there was definitely been some backwards and forwards over previous decades over whether you can issue somebody whether it is humane to issue somebody a whole life tariff
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:50:06.139 - 00:50:25.909
Um there is a change in the approach for rapists and serious sex offenders who previously could have been let out on licence after 50% of their sentence that has um that's now they're looking to wipe that off the statute books
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:50:26.87 - 00:50:44.229
Um an interesting one from a civil liberties perspective which is something When I read about I didn't realise that police Currently if they see you steal somebody's bag in the street and they chase you back into your house and you slam the door in their face they can't pursue you
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:50:44.8 - 00:50:58.34
into the house even if they have reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime So they've got to wait outside or and uh and have a warrant So now with reasonable suspicion they can come in after you and
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:51:00.0 - 00:51:01.189
the final bit
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:51:01.81 - 00:51:22.429
Um which again This one looks like gesture politics with me that wanted to lead the witness Um there's been a rise in serious criminals who are refusing to attend their sentencing hearing so usually at sentencing victim impact statements are read out and a number of um of high profile crimes Recently the um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:51:23.03 - 00:51:40.489
the the guilty person has refused to attend their hearing The police can now use reasonable force to drag you there Or if they can't do that then it's you get an additional two years on your sentence So some some interesting bits in there
Simon Sansbury
00:51:41.51 - 00:51:49.27
I mean the thing about life tariffs Um it's absolutely bonkers that um you know that for for crimes you can get you know you'd be able to
Simon Sansbury
00:51:49.419 - 00:51:57.79
reduce your tariff by 50% of of the time that that's kind of absolutely crazy On the flip side of that um
Simon Sansbury
00:51:58.83 - 00:52:24.12
if we believe that part of prison's function is that um people can change um and the uh and that basically they can learn from their mistakes no matter how horrendous Then You know basically just chucking them in jail and throwing away the key It isn't necessarily right But again there will be people that commit crimes in such a way that actually do you know what it's it And there will also be people that won't change
Simon Sansbury
00:52:24.31 - 00:52:37.189
So I think the presumption of the the fundamental for me the fundamental issue is the presumption of being able to get um get 50% of your of your tariff off Doesn't doesn't um doesn't sit well so I can understand that being changed but
Simon Sansbury
00:52:37.84 - 00:52:47.149
cha changing changing tariffs and changing uh changing um probation um mechanisms is is one thing but sadly
Simon Sansbury
00:52:47.919 - 00:52:58.76
just a very very small percentage of people that actually get convicted or even charged with certain offences and especially um sexual assault offences So in that respect
Simon Sansbury
00:52:59.28 - 00:53:08.29
I I don't know how much of that is serious and useful or just playing to the gallery and and kind of headline writing for for certain papers but
Simon Sansbury
00:53:09.12 - 00:53:12.03
actually catching people and convicting them
Simon Sansbury
00:53:12.85 - 00:53:21.77
It is the it even under the existing tariff structure is is is surely a much more useful thing to do to improve the safety of safety of the public
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:53:22.34 - 00:53:28.229
Yeah unfortunately and again there's a lot of research into this that you know as a crime It is
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:53:28.85 - 00:53:34.409
You know often the crime is committed when only two people are present
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:53:35.01 - 00:53:43.81
Um the accuser and the accused and obviously within the British justice system you know the threshold of beyond reasonable doubt
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:53:44.399 - 00:54:02.989
Um still applies And and that's why there is such a a low conviction rate But I think for me uh and again it's something which II I find deeply offensive You know when we have got when there is overwhelming evidence that somebody is guilty they are convicted um you know and and
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:54:03.57 - 00:54:16.08
again I don't want to be mansplaining on behalf of women but that that is a that is something that will stay with somebody for the rest of their lives And when somebody gets a 10 year sentence and is out on licence after five
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:54:16.659 - 00:54:20.5
that that doesn't feel right to me And so I think you know in that
Simon Sansbury
00:54:20.51 - 00:54:25.479
regard yeah to me
Simon Sansbury
00:54:25.989 - 00:54:33.929
how long you get sent to prison is only really an effective deterrent If you truly believe that you're gonna if there's a there's a chance that you're gonna get caught you can
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:54:33.939 - 00:54:39.37
get caught Yeah Yeah definitely So So with your with your civil liberties head on
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:54:39.879 - 00:54:40.5
um
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:54:41.26 - 00:54:54.459
how do you feel about the roses chasing you down the street and being able to follow you into your house with you brandishing your stolen mobile phone Is that pragmatism or until
Simon Sansbury
00:54:54.469 - 00:55:04.1
you actually said it it sounded like something you'd expect to see on a Facebook group of and it being one of those what we used to call urban myths that's basically you'd think would be just actually Facebook bullshit
Simon Sansbury
00:55:04.489 - 00:55:28.639
Um oh they can't arrest you if you're on your own driveway even if you've driven your car through three traffic cones on the way home cos you're pissed out your hair all th those sorts of things And if it's a thing and it's not a power that's uh so for me the concern would be Is there is there a chance that that might be misused Um by by the police But bearing in mind that you know a huge amount of them are gonna be wearing body cameras these days Um
Simon Sansbury
00:55:28.919 - 00:55:42.439
you know May May Maybe not But if that's a real thing that's kind of leading That's stopping them Um uh pursuing those crimes again I'd wonder how many of those crimes where that you know the situation that you that you cited
Simon Sansbury
00:55:42.61 - 00:55:54.129
not Does that really happen these days Are there actually police around at the time to actually spot that happening and therefore chase that person to that house II I don't know I don't have I don't have the numbers on it So I might be talking complete factor
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:55:54.489 - 00:56:11.27
stuff but I would suggest that with CCTV now it is It is much easier to to track people isn't it And the police use of drones as well Um you know again if they're able to track uh somebody back to their home and and it is the the truth that if they
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:56:11.669 - 00:56:30.379
unless the police believe have reasonable suspicion that another crime is being committed in the house at the time they they don't have power of entry Um just based on suspicion So that one looks that one looks reasonable dragging the guilty person up to the doctor
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:56:31.1 - 00:56:33.07
get them to hear their medicine I th I
Simon Sansbury
00:56:33.08 - 00:56:54.53
think the reasonable force thing is just gonna fall over the first minute a lawyer gets involved so it's not it I can't see that really really happening And uh uh I mean you know if you want to go back to the 19 seventies and and kind of beat someone into submission to go kind of into the to go into the dock that's not kind of what we're talking about is it II I wonder whether in all practicality that's ever that's ever gonna happen But
Simon Sansbury
00:56:54.83 - 00:57:07.07
but someone facing um sentencing consequences from not being willing to literally face justice um I I think that's uh I think that's a fair and reasonable thing If I if I'm really honest
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:57:07.62 - 00:57:33.33
Yeah I I think I think it's And I guess it's that it it says to our earlier thing doesn't it If you're gonna get a whole life tariff then giving you an extra two years probably doesn't matter so we'll cover that And this one grabbed a lot of headlines And um again it's a bit of a civil liberties issue or is it a health issue And where does the government so it the age for smoking It's gonna go up one year every year
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:57:33.639 - 00:57:38.909
so that anybody who's 14 at the moment will never legally be able to buy cigarettes
Simon Sansbury
00:57:38.919 - 00:57:40.52
Having worked in retail
Simon Sansbury
00:57:41.35 - 00:57:43.5
um many many years ago
Simon Sansbury
00:57:44.379 - 00:57:54.34
there is absolutely no bloody way anyone is ever gonna be able to enforce this un Unless you start asking for ID from everybody that comes to buy cigarettes
Simon Sansbury
00:57:55.189 - 00:58:14.86
how are you possibly gonna gonna be able to tell whether the person that was born the year after this thing came into force or the year before this thing came into force Unless you literally just start asking for ID on every single occasion which I which I guess is possibly reasonable but yeah IIIII I don't know I mean
Simon Sansbury
00:58:15.379 - 00:58:30.61
smoking is obviously really bad for you Uh and you know sensible people should you know I mean I I used to smoke so I can be a hypocrite here I guess But I But there are also lots of other things that we consume legally or indeed that are consumed
Simon Sansbury
00:58:31.61 - 00:58:43.129
illegally that aren't necessarily healthy or are unhealthy Um II I think that this is incompatible with the idea of
Simon Sansbury
00:58:43.989 - 00:59:02.8
Look you let people you you inform people of the risks they take that informed risk and you tax and regulate um in order in order to make sure that um that people are um uh basically making those decisions in an informed way and that it's um kept out the ha kept out of the hands of uh of Children Um
Simon Sansbury
00:59:03.82 - 00:59:11.54
yeah you I I just don't I see this falling on a practicality It just seems a weird one It's a very very kind of
Simon Sansbury
00:59:12.239 - 00:59:27.51
Where did this come from As a as a kind of like an argument It's not It's something I could see a different party not not the Conservative Party I could see um you know a much smaller party Possibly kind of arguing for I don't I don't think
Simon Sansbury
00:59:28.33 - 00:59:35.419
but yeah I just don't see it working I just don't That's the problem for me With a lot of these things in this speech I just don't see them working Yeah
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:59:35.429 - 00:59:54.56
I mean this one I think lacks practicalities I think it's one that I can't see anybody standing against You know there's going to be the vocal minority of you know Forest I think it is the right to enjoy smoking tobacco Um I I can see I can see that kind of libertarian angle but I can't see anybody getting aerated enough to
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
00:59:54.78 - 01:00:13.969
to vote against it I think like you My my concern isn't around practicalities It's around the fact that as far as I'm aware the smoking of marijuana is still illegal But if you stroll the streets of Portsmouth in any of the main conurbations the area is that the the um most
Simon Sansbury
01:00:13.979 - 01:00:18.729
most It's not a food or a drink producer Maybe that's I mean that's the farming that takes place in the city
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:00:19.25 - 01:00:35.77
That could be that could be the possibly there Are there are farms there So there you go We We've been on a whistle stop tour of uh of two major events or or well one's one's gonna happen on Tuesday and the other may or may not happen over the next 12 months
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:00:35.78 - 01:00:37.709
Do you think it
Simon Sansbury
01:00:38.37 - 01:00:40.919
for when the what the timing is of the general No
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:00:41.159 - 01:01:01.33
no no I think they II I mean my my thoughts on the general at the moment is I I think everybody has stopped listening to the the I don't think it would matter what was in this bill I think I think people I think the electorate generally are fed up with
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:01:01.959 - 01:01:05.409
the Conservatives I think even the Conservatives are fed up with what
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:01:06.05 - 01:01:19.659
passes for conservatism at the moment I I am I am unfortunately resigned to the fact that the next election is going to be a massacre for the Conservatives And
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:01:20.219 - 01:01:25.61
you know it is an element of whether we see a centrist labour
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:01:26.139 - 01:01:39.05
running the country or whether when they've got the keys to number 10 they lurch left Only time will tell But I think I think Rishi will hang on for as long as he can hoping that the tide will turn
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:01:39.659 - 01:01:46.659
Um But I I think I think it's if you want my 10 shillings on the table I think it's an October
Simon Sansbury
01:01:46.669 - 01:02:06.199
election Certainly got nothing to gain at this point from from going early So unless something drastic happened and look it's a look in 2019 after after after the results of that election people were talking about it would take basically decades for Labour to be in a position where they um where they could potentially even form a minority government again And here we are four years later
Simon Sansbury
01:02:06.52 - 01:02:24.8
Um looking at that being extremely likely not that anybody should be complacent because the electorate do what the electorate want to do I think they should So um yeah um yeah I I think the PM is gonna leave it as late as possible to um to call the election But it it does I I did wonder at some point whether they were gonna go for
Simon Sansbury
01:02:24.949 - 01:02:30.959
May next year to tie it in with the locals But II I think it's more likely that it's going to be autumn next year
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:02:31.82 - 01:02:35.419
So you've been listening to the Pompey politics podcast Simon
Simon Sansbury
01:02:36.3 - 01:02:41.449
Sansbury Please do join us next week at 6 27 where we will be joined by Councillor Matthew Winnington
Simon Sansbury
01:02:41.639 - 01:03:03.79
who is the Cabinet member on Portsmouth City Council for um health and well being And he will be talking to us about the pharmacy summit that is also happening next week in Portsmouth So um come back to us then Uh do uh do remember please to like follow Subscribe to make sure you don't miss out on the episode And please do drop us a comment or a review Um if you can't send biscuits or tea
Ian 'Tiny' Morris
01:03:03.8 - 01:03:05.81
Yeah and give us five stars cos we
Simon Sansbury
01:03:05.82 - 01:03:09.52
are and we're not at all biassed but yeah please do Um and see you next week
Simon Sansbury
01:03:17.01 - 01:03:20.05
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Pompey politics podcast
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