Nick CLE has no plans to campaign the
party president and the party's Deputy
leader at Jan Bradford next
week Imran husin labor had 13 years to
sort out the problems of Bradford West
why should voters give you another
chance I I think we did make significant
progress whilst we were in government I
remember the times when I attended a
surgery uh in Bradford West that was a
terrorist house a back to back terest
house we now have state-ofthe-art uh uh
NHS facilities we have new schools so
there has been some progress and I think
that was all under the labor government
Jackie white the Conservative candidate
I mean what a week it's been we've had
the budget you're going to be taxing
pensioners more fuel prices are going to
go we're going to pay more for our booze
not a great backdrop to fight a by
election is it I don't agree with you I
think it's an amazing budget for
especially for business and we need more
jobs in this area I mean corporation tax
cutting you the chance for cheaper
finance for companies you know that need
cheap Finance guaranteed by the
government super fast broadband and
increase um the improve rail links all
good news I think Janette Sunderland why
won't Nick CLE come to Bradford West so
voters can give their feedback on the
Coalition I'm not sure Nick C's not
coming to Bradford West that's news to
me um I think would be very proud to
come to Bradford um we've got Tak 17 and
a half
th000 people out of income tax
altogether another 175,000 people uh are
going to be uh take get get a tax cut
this year I just think it's something
that you'd want to celebrate and after
13 years of a labor government lib dem's
in a coalition government but done more
for poorer people than they did in 13
years George Galloway you were a labor
MP for a number of years you've also
represented the respect party in
Parliament you're not from Bradford
you've no history of representing
Yorkshire is this an act of political
opportunism
well I don't know why you're asking me a
nasty question when you didn't ask
anyone else a nasty question but that's
what I've come to expect from the BBC
this is a democratic election I'm a
democratic politician I have the right
to stand here there's no blood test
everybody here came from somewhere and
I'm entitled to put my hat into the ring
and it's very firmly in the ring the
bookmakers have the liberal Democrats at
80 to1 the lowest uh Prospect for a
liberal Democrat in political history so
I don't know why you're giving them time
as if there were a major party in this
byelection labor presided over the 13
richest years in British history with
record parliamentary majorities and
everyone watching this who's from
Bradford can see what the result was
we've got a hole in the city center
we've got the odion falling down we're
145th out of
155 in the schools League table I know
that Bradford city is not doing well in
the football league but in the education
League we're doing even worse Sonia
mcnell your represent
the UK independence party I think you
got 2% at the last election you can't
have High Hopes here can you absolutely
we can we can we've got we are fighting
for batford West we can do a lot for
batford West yes there are issues that
need addressing and we will get the
chance to address these and deal with
them not make empty promises not think
about what we need to do but get on with
with with what we have to do that's
what's important D Islam from the green
party can we afford green polic policies
in the current economic climate we
absolutely can because with the green
New Deal we're the actually actually the
only major party that's got a fully
costed answer to the nation's current
problems that doesn't involve punitive
cuts and cutbacks in public services
it's a completely costed plan that will
provide thousands of new jobs in areas
such as green energy and Renewables to
name but two it will create a whole raft
of new entrepreneurs age 18 to 25 to get
some of the brilliant young people that
we have in Bradford West that are
currently being consigned to the scrap
Heap by the coalition government instead
to get them to come up with great ideas
that we will help them fund to get
projects off the ground right well we've
heard from the main three parties about
their policies on the economy let's hear
from some of the other parties now and
find out how their candidates are hoping
to win over Bradford West and we're
going to start with that man who thinks
we're asking nasty questions George
Galloway I'm targeting every vote
whether they're white or Asian whether
they're Muslim or non-muslim every vote
is has the same value in The Ballot Box
and to me everyone has an interest in
Bradford everyone has a concern about
the problems in the city the city is
slowly sinking the financial times this
very morning declared that Bradford was
the most at risk City Center in the
entire country a shop in Bradford City
Center is more likely to close than a
shop in any City Center in the whole
country
and that's uh a very deep concern to
everyone lean a little bit that's it
yeah the reaction on the doorstep is a
very positive one the people out there
in West batford are pleased to see me
and I'm pleased to see them because
they're the people I'll be representing
now there's questions that need
answering and these questions affect me
as well I am that person that's driving
over the same roads with the potholes I
am that person that's being penalized
with high car insurance these things are
the local issues that need
addressing there are currently a
millionaire empty Residential Properties
across the UK and thousands of them are
right here in the center of Bradford by
putting them back into use we could
solve most of the affordable housing
crisis at a stroke these old backto
backs would make excellent starter homes
but look at the state of this is nothing
short of tragic darood Islam who's going
to pay for all those empty homes you
want to refurbish well of course the
green New Deal is one of the areas where
we would remove the way that we look at
taxation um and make the the people that
are are the polluter of society pay for
more um we think that the people that
are furthest removed from the credit
crunch that is people on benefits people
in uh low paid jobs uh the vulnerable
and the disabled these are the people
that have absolutely nothing to do with
causing the financial crisis but these
are the very people that are being asked
to pay for it by the coalition
government and that's just plain wrong
let me bring in Sonia MCN because up
until earlier this year you were member
of the green party now you're ukip I
mean that's a 180° turn isn't it
absolutely and you don't make decisions
likely I looked at things looked at the
green party I've been there with with
them for a while and then looked at ukip
and what ukip had to offer and offer the
people was better and I firmly believe
that otherwise I wouldn't have changed
George Galloway in your election
literature you talk about bringing the
troops home from Afghanistan in a week
when we've seen six soldiers from the
north of England and their bodies flown
back from that country is this the right
time to be talking about that subject
well they've come home in a box and I
want the rest to come home before they
come home in boxes and I don't want
anybody else planted in the ground as a
result of a war that labor started and
the Liberals and the conservative party
support and by the way don't look as if
you're shocked most people in the
country agree with me yeah but if you
speak to the families of those soldiers
as I've done the mothers the parents
they want our boys to stay there to
finish the job well that's simply not
true I don't know is true how many how
many families have you spoken to well
very many I'm the vice president of the
stop the war Coalition if they' listen
to me there wouldn't have been a war and
the vice president of the stop the war
Coalition which contains a specific
section of military families against the
war and I could give you any number if
you'll give them air time of wives and
mothers and children of dead soldiers
who will tell you the precise opposite
the idea that we should stay and shed
more blood because of the blood we've
already shed is simply ridiculous that's
the first world war mentality in the
trenches but there will be a worry that
those soldiers five of them from
Yorkshire who came home this week that
they have died in vain they have died in
they have died in vain they shouldn't
have been sent there they were sent
there to their deaths by Tony Blair and
George W bush and the Tories and the
Liberals are keeping them there it's
time to end the war in Afghanistan we
don't the blood or the treasure to waste
in somebody else's country thousands of
miles away Imran husin Bradford West has
a very large Muslim population is this a
problem for you personally a war started
by labor which is still supported by
your party can I firstly say my thoughts
and prayers are with the families of of
of private Chris Kershaw from Bradford
and the other
soldiers I don't think soldiers uh uh
are to blame in any of this where
soldiers don't make decisions and
soldiers are carrying out their job and
I think it's always important to
remember that I do believe that the
soldiers need to come back and I've
maintained that uh however I do believe
that equally we can't have extremists
doing what they're doing across the
world and those problems need to be SED
so you support the war in Afghanistan I
I I support getting rid of extremism
wherever that may be and I certainly
support our boys now would you would you
support young Muslim men from your
constituency joining the British army
would you would you advise them that's a
good career move if that's what they
choose as a career move it's no
different to any other career move and
if that's everybody's got to make a
choice as to what ker they choose and if
that's a Korea move they choose then I
wish them the best let's put that on DVD
and distributor around the doors I can
tell you that in Manningham and in Toler
and coming out of the mosques that I've
just been at what Imran Hussein just
said was committing political suicide do
you agree with that I don't agree with
that at all I think ordinary Muslims in
Bradford would agree with what I've said
ordinary Muslims in Bradford are
peaceloving and don't support extremism
and I think they're very vocal about
that and they would agree with me that
we need to stop
extremism the extrem whereever we and
Bush were the extremists they the
terrorists they are the people that
killed more than a million people why
don't you admit it you leader the man
you loved if I can finish ordinary
Muslims throughout this country are the
most peaceloving people that don't
support extremists wherever that is and
I also feel I can provide a strong voice
because I think we do need that voice
that might be the case IM R but the fact
is that the war in Afghanistan has
created homegrown terrorists we're
supposed to be going out there to
prevent terrorism happening but the 7 s
bombings happened as a direct result of
our involvement in Iran and Afghanistan
so how do you close and square that this
is an election about Radford West and
I'm really concerned that we keep
bringing we keep following an agenda
which is about stop the war and that's
the right and the legitimate agenda to
fight actually this is this is an an
election about what happens in Bradford
West to the lives of the young
parliamentary election I don't know if
you think you're fighting a council
election this is for a member of
parliament now you can send councilors
to Parliament you can send a
parliamentarian to Parliament I think
you'll find that's what people choose to
barely got a record Jud as a government
we've already announced that we're going
to withdraw the troops aren't we by by
2014 and and that's dependent on
Afghanistan being able to look after its
own security let's bring this back to
Bradford and the economy of Bradford
which I think is going to dominate the
rest of the campaign I mean David
Cameron came to Bradford the other day I
mean all right there was big
announcements for the city in the budget
uh the the rail line electrification to
Manchester super fast broadband I mean
does this have the width of of pork
barrel politics I don't think so I think
these are were all planned events that
were going to happen now we have to
remember that we inherited a massive
amount of debt and we've got to look at
the way we can manage it and uh you know
I think that the the actions that we're
taking are all positive things you know
bringing all these people 24 million
people will have will be better off pay
paying less tax 2 million completely out
of out of Taxation and it's going to and
we're going to do very positive things
to bring people back into employment
young people are going to get the chance
to get apprenticeships work experience
and jobs and we've got real incentives
Financial incentives to give two
employers to encourage them to take on
young people I think we can do a lot in
Bradford West and I hope that they'll
give me the chance to to move this
forward and Janette sun do you don't
think your candidate is going to be
scarred by the actions of the coalition
government don't think this is a
referendum on the Coalition I think that
the time for the referendum on the
Coalition is 2015 it's got its eyes
firmly fixed on 2015 he's got his eyes
firmly fixed on sorting out the economy
this is about what happens here in
Bradford West the day after on the 30th
of March and who they have fighting for
them in Parliament I don't think that
the the budget delivered sufficiently
for Bradford West I don't think it
delivered sufficiently for Bradford and
it needs people to campaign and campaign
on those issues George Galloway who will
you represent if you're elected in
Parliament the the Muslim population of
Bradford or the white working class I
never make these differentiations and
this is four or five times you've done
it in this program and it's very
dangerous and irresponsible you are
targeting Muslim areas there no doubt
about that false completely FAL so how
many posters have you got up in Thornton
in clayon well quite a few actually
quite a few but but my supporters put
their own posters up unlike Imran who
get them put up for them the people
decide whether to put posters up and the
people decide who they're going to vote
for but it is flatly untrue that I'm
targeting any specific ethnicity or
religion
for votes and it's irresponsible of you
to suggest that every voter in Bradford
West is the equal of the other there's
nothing second class about a Muslim
voter that you're somehow supposed to be
embarrassed because you want them to
vote for you and I reject it and resent
it and so do they Imran Hussein what are
people telling you on the streets of
batford about what is important to them
one of the biggest problems is around
youth
unemployment I mean but that happened
under lab that's not that's not a new
phenomenon is it well
since this time last year youth
long-term youth unemployment has
tripled I mean that's massive I've been
talking to young people who want that
first step on the ladder and I think
we're the only party that can deliver
that the labor job guarantee for
six-month job guarantee for all young
people long-term unemployed that's not
promises that's not anything else that's
real work experience for those young
people and in places like Bradford West
you know it's it's difficult enough I've
grown up on the streets of Bradford West
I've played there it's difficult for
young people you know that lack
aspiration in the first place you kit
want apprenticeships back Technical
College just to give those You Youth The
Young Ones the chance for employment we
are going to have to bring this debate
to a close thank you all for your time
today and I can tell you there are a
total of eight candidates standing in
the Bradford West by election on
Thursday you can see a full list on the
BBC West Yorkshire website now then
let's go back to Andrew Neil in London
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