Politics Live blog: Monday 31 October
Rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen
9.32am: Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, has given an interview to Radio Bristol. According to PoliticsHome, he said that he would be working on charitable projects, but he also made it clear that he wanted to return to the frontbench.
I would certainly like to get back to the front bench. How quickly is another matter, and for the moment I will enjoy having a little bit of extra time. There are one or two projects that I want to get involved in on the charitable side, and to devote some time to things that I have wanted to do and been unable to.
He also repeated the attack he launched on some parts of the press in his resignation statement in the Commons. Journalists were not free to do what they liked, he said.
Relatives are phoning up because they are upset - even to the point where one of my nephews who is 14 was being doorstepped and that was unacceptable.
I've been told by a colleague that the full interview is being played on BBC Bristol at 10am.
8.31am: Are we any clearer about Nick Clegg's views on Europe after his Today interview? Having listened to the tape again, and transcribed the key quotes, the answer is - a bit.
Clegg said that he was in favour of the repatriation of some EU powers to the UK. (Although he did not use the term "repatriation". The Lib Dems prefer to talk about "rebalancing".) But he insisted that the government was doing this already and that the it did not require a big treaty renegotiation. And he also insisted that anything that left Britain isolated in Europe would be very damaging to Britain's economic interests.
!Here are the key points.
Clegg said that isolation in Europe would be very damaging to Britain.
I'm strongly in favour of reform of the European Union. Reform yes, isolation no. Why? Because isolation cost people's livelihoods. People need to be careful what they wish for.
This was because membership of the EU was good for Britain economically, he said.
I don't support the European Union and Britain's role in it for its own sake. I think it's absolutely essential for jobs and growth in this country. There are 3m of our fellow citizens whose jobs rely directly on our participation and role and place in what is, after all, the world's largest borderless single market.
He said that he was in favour of some EU powers being returned to member states.
I for years have thought the common fisheries policy is far too centralised. We should have greater regional variation on that. Some of the detailed directives are far too fiddly.
He played down the need for a big renegotiation of the EU treaties.
You can argue for reform every day of the week. You don't need to wait for some great treaty change that may or may not happen.
He said that, in response to British pressure, the EU had already agreed a blueprint for reform of the common fisheries policy. And he said that he had personally been involved in another EU initiative to cut red tape.
I assembled a number of trade ministers from a range of European Union countries together in a meeting in London recently and we've actually succeeded to get a commitment to reduce European red tape and to get agreement, for instance, for something that we've been campaigning for as a country for years, which patent protection for British companies within the European single market.
He claimed that the Liberal De! mocrats and the Conservatives agreed on the need to extend the single market within the EU.
Of course Liberal Democrats and Conservatives come at this from different directions ... Where we actually are united is that what we must do is defend British national interests and promote the kind of open, liberal European economy without which we will not get growth and we will not create jobs in this country.
He claimed that getting obsessed with "arcane" treaty changes would damage the national interest. Clegg actually used the word "arcane" twice.
We should not tie ourselves up in knots having arcane debates about article this or article that about a treaty that may or may not change when we have an urgent overriding national priority to promote jobs and growth. And we do that by being in the centre of the argument, not out on the fringes of the argument in Europe ...
Where [the Lib Dems and the Conservatives] actually are united is that what we must do is defend British national interests and promote the kind of open, liberal European economy without which we will not get growth and we will not create jobs in this country. If instead we rush headlong down a cul-de-sac of increasingly arcane, legalistic arguments about changes to treaties that may or may not be open to renegotiation in the future - because, let's remember, that is in large part dependent also on what other countries in the European Union thinks - then I think that would be a form of displacement activity from our overriding national duty, which we all share in government, whatever our views on Europe, which is a simple, common sense belief we've got to get the best out of the European Union, not seek to get out of the European Union.
In this second passage Clegg was making a point about the Lib Dems and the Conservatives being united. But actually, in the next sentence, he went on to highlight the key area where they differ. David Cameron ! has been hinting to his MPs that he wants a big, Lisbon-style treaty renegotiation (although not now) because it would give Britain the chance to repatriate powers from the EU. Clegg's comments suggest that he is not in favour of such a renegotiation at any point in the future.
Clegg said that the regional growth fund would create or safeguard 325,000 jobs. For every pound invested by the government, the private sector would invest another 6, he claimed.
8.24am: The interview's over. And I'm not sure that we learnt a great deal about the splits between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats over Europe, partly because he was attacking people demanding "arcane" changes to the EU treaties while at the same time saying that he was in favour of the repatriation of powers in certain areas, such at the common fisheries policy. (And if the common fisheries policy isn't arcane, I don't know what is.) I'll post a full summary in a moment.
8.20am: Naughtie is still asking about Europe.
Q: But what do you do about the fact that coalition backbenchers do not accept what you are saying about Europe?
Clegg says "of course Liberal Democrats and Conservatives come at this from different directions". But the government must defend the open economy.
He again says it would be a mistake to get into "arcane" arguments about particular directives. That would be a form of displacement activity, he says.
Q: And you think the government could end up like the Major government?
Clegg says Britain has always been best when it has been "an open, trading economy".
8.14am: Clegg says the government is trying to "rewire" the economy so it is less reliant on the City.
Q: But the money for this is coming from the local government budget. Do you accept that you have less money?
Clegg says Liam Byrne, Labour's chief secretary to the Treasury, actually himself said there was no money left.
Manufact! uring is "the lifeblood of the British economy", he says.
Naughtie turns to Europe. Clegg says he expected him to ask about this. Naughtie says it's relevant to growth. In his Observer article, Clegg said moving away from Europe would be economic suicide.
Q: The Tories want a relationship with Europe that would, in your terms, leave Britain marginalised. And they have a large chunk of public opinion on their side.
Clegg says 3m jobs depend on the EU. He is strongly in favour of reform of the EU.
I'm in favour of reform, yes. Isolation, no.
If you move to the margins of Europe, that will hit jobs.
Q: Coalition backbenchers want powers clawed back. How far can you go in doing that, without producing isolation?
Clegg says you can argue for reform every day of the week.
He thinks the common fisheries policy is too centralised. There should be more regional variation. It is being reformed, he says.
Some directives go too far, he says. He recently secured an agreement to cut red tape.
Clegg says it would be wrong to have arcane debates about particular directives.
8.10am: The Nick Clegg interview is starting. Jim Naughtie is asking the questions.
Naughtie quotes the Observer article. But he starts with growth.
Q: What effect will the regional growth fund money have?
Clegg says parts of the country were over-reliant on public money from Whitehall. The government is trying to invest public money into companies "that create jobs that last". Every pound invested by the fund will attract about 6 of private money. It should safeguard or create 325,000 jobs, he says.
Q: Businesses are saying it has taken too long for the money to come through.
Clegg says some regional development agencies did good work. Others had a more patchy record.
Companies have already started investing on the basis that the money will be coming through. This has happened in more! than ha lf of the cases where companies are getting money from the fund, he says.
8.06am: Nick Clegg will be on the Today programme at 8.10am. Today he's announcing which firms will benefit from the regional growth fund, but he's also bound to be asked about Europe. In the light of his article in the Observer on the subject yesterday, the Daily Mirror is now claiming that he's at war with David Cameron on the issue.
Cameron himself is launching national adoption week with a proposal to take action against firms that do not arrange adoptions quickly. Ed Miliband is giving a speech on the economy. And Eric Pickles is announcing changes to the council tax regime. I have not got times for these events yet, but I know Justine Greening, the new transport secretary, is speaking at an aviation conference. at 10.30am.
As usual, I'll be be covering all the breaking political news, as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at around 1pm, and an afternoon one at about 4pm.
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