Friday Drivetime

BCfm’s weekly politics show presented by Tony Gosling

At five: discussing the big stories in Bristol, Britain and around the world
After six: straight talking and investigative reports with Martin Summers

For all the shows back to Easter 2009 visit the Friday Drivetime archive page

First hour: Bristol City Slackers, councillors who refuse to come on the radio and/or answer emails. News review with Ron Stone acting Labour group leader and councillor for St. George West. Decision to join George Ferguson’s cabinet was taken by local Labour party but reviewed by regional National Executive and overturned. Budget to be announced on Monday at 10pm but it is really a Liberal Democrat budget drawn up by Simon Cook, the LibDem leader in the run-up to November 2012’s mayoral elections. A minimum £3m million in cuts to be announced which is nearly 10%. President Obama signed ‘fiscal cliff’ package but only for next 2 months, Hargeaves Lansdown say, a big box has been ticked. Bristol City Council spending by 2020, according to Municipal Journal, budget will be cut by 40%. 5 billion by 2020. Tax claw back agreement with Swiss banks signed on 1st January 2013 by Chancellor George Osborne. HMRC will get the money from tax evaders, criminals, over 6 years. See case of Rudolf Elmer who supplied names of tax evading criminals to Wikileaks and was arrested and tried for hos trouble – wrote a book called Tax Heavens explaining the Swiss are colluding with criminals. In this case the individuals will be anonymous. Largest tax evasion in history, George Osborne.  Danny Boyle & Ken Livingstone turned down Knighthoods, but FSA head in run up and during 2008 financial crisis Hector Sands, criticised by Tory and Labour MPs as discrediting the honours system. Hector Sands prosecuted and sacked a whistleblower when a director of UBS. Davos meeting  of World Economic Forum which is on from 23-27th January 2013 which we will be following. Government propose use of smartcards in gyms to check overweight benefit claimants are exercising or they may withdraw benefits.  Coalition government launch attack on benefit system. New governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, told to steer away from politics as he fraternises with Liberal party people in Canada, being tipped as Prime Minister of Canada before taking Bank of England job. But Carney is a secret Bilderberg meeting participant who looks to have been selected in Rome at a secret Bilderberg Steering group meeting just under 2 weeks before the announcement Carney would be Bank of England governor. Carney is also a former employee of Goldman Sachs who caused the financial crisis. How independent is the Bank of England and is it a good thing, if so why? David Cameron gives New Years Eve speech in London saying UK is “On the night track” but debt to GDP has gone up and economy is shrinking  jobs are mostly -part time jobs, not enough demand for goods & services. The public have lost £23bn so far bailing out the banks that we will never get back. Bailout not included in any of these figures. Ron Stine wants to build 4000 council homes in Bristol. Ethical pension funds to pay because 14,000 are on the Bristol waiting list for housing. But not on greenbelt, an open invitation for ethical investment which was offered to mayor George Ferguson today & Bristol director of housing. James Durie and Bristol’s Local Enterprise Partnership will have to approve land deals as they are a private company set to manage all council property as part of Nick Clegg’s Bristol City Deal. Lloyds TSB customer disaster on New Years Eve cash points broke, not for 40 years but happening regularly now. Tax payer lost £23 billion on bailing banks. BBC and Freeview transmitter serving 80,000 people is sabotaged in Bath on Thursday morning?
[audio: 201301041700]
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Second hour: Investigative reports. This week: Public transport & the Concorde crash latest. Rail fare increases and Bristol’s Bus Rapid Transit scheme hits the rocks. After the July 2000 Air France Concorde crash in Paris that killed 113 people a court decision has overturned corporate manslaughter charges against Continental Airlines. So what really happened and who was to blame? Why did the accident lead to the permanent grounding of Concorde? The last but most prestigious Bristol built & designed aircraft. Daylight robbery First Great Western invited to explain fare rises but did not return, Steve Satan from Rail Future. Rail fares have gone up 1% above inflation 10 years in a row now. Government is now subsidising railways more than ever and Network Rail has a £200m loan to service. Rail fuel duty has gone up too and McNulty report is totally de-regulating the rail fares advocating doubling fares in peak times. Not sustainable for commuters, Department for transport invented the numbers. There is an overall lack of direction – profiteering off the rail infrastructure and our need to get around. No plan, free market! We should abolish rail duty HS2 route is another flawed design, Chilterns a bad place to run it. John Prescott promised to have an integrated transport policy. Bolivia nationalises two big Spanish owned electricity companies. Michael Shrimpton QC has written a book called SpyHunter but his flat was raided by Thames Valley police and he’s having trouble publishing it in the UK so he gives us a sneak preview. On the Falkland conflict he believes Argentina is dominated by Germans and former Nazis and Nazi sympathisers. Description of Rudolf Hess, Martin Bormann, Sir  Edward Bridges, Lord Halifax pro German. Bismark sunk HMS Hood in 1941. Christopher Storey was murdered by the German DVD, poisoned in fact. After the July 2000 Air France Concorde crash in Paris that killed 113 people a court decision has overturned corporate manslaughter charges against Continental Airlines. So what really happened and who was to blame? Why did the accident lead to the permanent grounding of Concorde? Concorde crash, Continental Airlines DC-10 debris theory dismissed in November 2012. Original story was a pack of lies, Michael Shrimpton QC. Concorde Paris crash in 2000 killed 113 people and Concorde was taken out of service in 2003. Break even load on Concorde was 30% and it was running at 50% load so still profitable. Spare parts were moved down to Toulouse so British Airways could no longer service their planes. Bristol company BAC made the plane not the French.
[audio: 201301041800]
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