COMPLETE TWO HOUR SHOW video & mp3 audio download file

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IecvP4czU8s&w=420&h=315]

INTRODUCTIONS
03:36 George Ferguson (Bristol First)
05:03 Charles Lucas (Conservative)
05:47 Marvin Rees (Labour)
06:45 Kay Barnard (Liberal Democrat)
07:43 Tony Dyer (Green)
08:37 Paul Turner (UK Independence Party)
10:03 Christine Townsend (Independents For Bristol)
11:21 Paul Saville (Independent)

QUESTIONS
12:38 Would the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) be good for Bristol or spell the end of democracy?
19:00 Does spiritual belief have a role in politics?
24:38 Panama Papers, what is candidates’ personal wealth and how much do they have in tax havens?
29:27 What differences with Westminster will you speak out about?
36:35 Is austerity a good policy and is it working for Bristol?
43:22 Bristol’s Merchant Venturers were involved in the genocide of 12 million native Americans and the deaths of 1.5 million slaves who were being transported across the Atlantic but they still have closed accounts because they are governed by a Royal Charter. Can we believe them when they say they put more into the city than they take out? (Charles Lucas is a Merchant Venturer and George Ferguson resigned when he became mayor, Charles does not believe being Mayor and a Merchant Venturer presents any conflict of interest)
49:52 Sell-off of Bristol Port freehold for £10m – ‘Former’ Merchant Venturer Mayor George Ferguson gives his version of 2,600 acre Bristol Port sell off to Bristol Port Company run by Merchant Venturers Terrance Mordaunt and David Ord explaining why the people of Bristol got good value for money: The council sold a 150 year lease on the 2,600 acre port to Bristol Port Company for £35m in 1991 and have just sold the residual freehold for £10m, a total of £45m or about £17,000 an acre. In June 2015 the 12 acre Walon site at Bristol Port was sold for £6m, or £500k/acre suggesting the 2,600 acres of Bristol Port could actually be worth up to £1.3 billion which is about 25 times the £45m Bristol City Council was paid for the land. So did the people of Bristol only get 4% of what the Bristol Port land was really worth? George didn’t remember how much the Labour council, led by George Micklewright, was paid for the 150 year Bristol Port lease (it was £35m)
55:45 Candidate Tom Baldwin from Trades Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) drops by to set out his stall
58:23 Questions for George Ferguson on the City’s annual accounts for 2015 and 2014 as well as a look at those from 1947 brought up to today’s values
01:07:05 The homelessness epidemic: more rough sleepers in Bristol than any other British city outside London, what will candidates do about it?
01:17:37 Widening poverty with hundreds more needing free meals at the Wild Goose cafe on Stapleton Road, we hear from Johnny Angel who runs it and they hear the views of the candidates
01:28:54 Is the mayor a ‘dictator’ and do the candidates approve of the recently announced ‘Metro Mayor’ overseeing Bristol and the surrounding region
01:32:31 Central government is about to force all state schools to become academies, will this improve our education?
01:48:14 Will you be voting in or out in June’s EU Referendum?

Friday 8th April 2016

BCfm’s weekly Politics Show presented by Tony Gosling

Download the complete show as a HiBand mp3 [right click and ‘save file as’]

Listen live http://www.bcfmradio.com/player or http://stream.bcfmradio.com:7017/live.mp3

BCfm audio files usually available 2 hours after TX
Any probs mp3s should be on alternative links below by then

First hour: Mayor hustings 2016 part 1: What are the priorities of each candidate if become Mayor? What do candidates think of TTIP trade deal, is it a further threat to democracy? What are candidates’ spiritual beliefs, and should spirituality play a role in politics?  What is candidate’s personal wealth and do any have money in tax havens or tax avoidance schemes? – this week’s leaked Panama papers. What would candidates challenge central government on? – transport, referendum for Mayor, austerity ideological agenda, devolution, disabled payments.  UK productivity plummets in fourth quarter at fastest rate since financial crisis. Has the economic policy of austerity worked? Works for the rich, tax avoidance, right wing ideology, bail out of the banks. Do the Merchant Venturers give back more to the city than they take? – no open accounts, Royal Charter, slave trading history, involved in schools, an unelected power base, selling off of Bristol docks to two Merchant Venturers
– George gives his version of 2,600 acre Bristol Port sell off to Bristol Port Company run by Merchant Venturers Terrance Mordaunt and David Ord explaining the people of Bristol got good value for money: The council sold a 150 year lease on the 2,600 acre port to Bristol Port Company for £35m in 1991 and have just sold the residual freehold for £10m, a total of £45m or about £17,000 an acre. In June 2015 the 12 acre Walon site at Bristol Port was sold for £6m, or £500k/acre suggesting the 2,600 acres of Bristol Port could actually be worth up to £1.3 billion which is about 25 times the £45m Bristol City Council was paid for the land. So did the people of Bristol only get 4% of what the Bristol Port land was really worth? George didn’t remember how much the council was paid for the 150 year Bristol Port lease (it was £35m)
Radio4All download pages
BCfm audio file
Radio4All audio file

Second hour: Mayor hustings part 2: Tom Baldwin from Trades Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) explains what he wants to achieve as Mayor. Current mayor George Ferguson explains how Bristol’s £1bn yearly budget is spent – £345m left after regular payments – selling off of 15 council houses and a demonstration beginning tomorrow morning at the Malcolm X centre in St Paul’s, 100 council houses built a year, Bristol’s 1947 accounts compared to today’s accounts, banging on Westminster’s door. More rough sleepers in Bristol than anywhere else in England, outside of London. Carl Mann from ‘Homeless Pay it Forward’ explains why he thinks homelessness is unnecessary in Bristol. Bristol has second largest homeless number after London – how would candidates help them? – drug use, empty buildings, housing crisis. Johnny Angel from the Wild Goose Drop-In Centre discusses how hunger and poverty has increased – living wage, tackling inequality, local income tax, Fair Share food distributors. Is the Mayor’s role a dictatorship, and do candidates want an ‘Ubergruppen’ Metro Mayor? – clip of George from a few years ago, democracy, £1bn Metro Mayor deal – bribery? Should all schools be made Academies?  EU referendum – are candidates in or out?
Candidates on this show: Bristol First – George Ferguson; Conservative – Charles Lucas;  Green party – Tony Dyer;  Labour – Marvin Rees; Lib Dem – Kay Barnard; UKIP – Paul Turner; Trade Union and Socialist Coalition – Tom Baldwin;  Independent – Paul Saville;  Independent – Christine Townsend; Other independent candidates standing: Stoney Garnett, Tony Britt, Mayor Festus Kudehinbu and John Langley. Studio Manager: Bruce Williamson.
Radio4All download pages
BCfm audio file
Radio4All audio file