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00:00We're in economic decline, we're in societal decline, as drugs proliferate, shoplifting is almost allowed, and we're in cultural decline, because we actually refuse to recognise that the basis of our entire civilisation are the Judeo-Christian roots that fill every foundation we rely on and believe in.
00:24And that's why I've come back out of retirement, because we need to turn this country around. We need to win the next general election. We need to do that. And what happens on Thursday is a very, very important stepping stone towards that target.
00:44I am thrilled, proud of what we've done in the last nine months. For us to have put more candidates in the field for these county council elections than any other party, vetted candidates, shows you the extent to which we have professionalised this party.
01:01But we only succeed with you people, because you are the people's army, and that people's army has grown. This time last year, we had 25,000 members. Today, we have 226,000 members unclimbing the class.
01:17And we mean what we say, we say what we mean. And one person who is even more outspoken than me, is our host this morning.
01:33Now, Aaron, Aaron actually does have a business brain. He's been remarkably successful. And if he's elected as mayor of the west of England, with that £30 million budget that he'll have, and that connection and communication with the other councils,
01:52I think council taxpayers in this area can feel confident you've actually got someone there that will root out the waste of money, will stop this ludicrous expense on diversity, equity and inclusion.
02:07We don't believe in any of that. We believe everybody should be treated equal and treated on their merits, regardless of race or religion or sexual preference.
02:22How many different genders are there? How many different genders are there? I don't know, ask here, Starmer.
02:28Lisi now knows what a woman is. Because the Supreme Court told him.
02:34No, Aaron is a successful businessman. Aaron is plain spoken. Aaron doesn't care who he upsets or who he offends.
02:42And if you look at the polling, the Greens are in the lead.
02:46The Greens are in the lead, but with Aaron only four points behind, with two days to go, this would be the most dramatic electoral upset if Banksy wins Bristol.
03:03But for this to happen, we need traditional Conservative voters, particularly here in South Gloucestershire, to recognise that only banks can beat the loony left.
03:20So my message to Conservative voters or Conservative-minded voters, if you want someone to be elected, to beat the Greens, to beat the madness, do lend your vote to Aaron Banks.
03:34And boy, wouldn't there be a different conversation in this part of the world.
03:38I can't tell you whether he's going to do it, but I can tell you he's come down close.
03:43He's causing ripples in this election.
03:47Mainstream media here in Bristol and in the West don't know how to cope with him.
03:53Sometimes I don't know how to cope with him.
03:56But he's a large of a life character.
03:59He put his hand in his pocket for Brexit in a bigger way than any other person.
04:03He believes in the country. He's honest. He's got integrity.
04:07It's my honour to welcome Aaron Banks to the stage.
04:11I've just come from the BBC studios in Bristol, where I'm sure Nigel's going to be getting a few comments from the press later on.
04:35One of the things I said was, there are five candidates in the race that can win this.
04:42Four of whom, for all the Liberal, Labour, all the other parties, are all political consultants.
04:49I thought, well, this is strange.
04:51They all worked in local government.
04:53I mean, they all got off and worked for PwC.
04:56They all worked for all these big multinational sort of corporations.
04:59And the bottom line is, if you elect people like that, you're going to get the same continuation of what we've seen for the last 10 years in this area.
05:08It's a mess. Complete and utter.
05:11I started my business in Thornberry High Street, for those people that don't know, above the bakery at Asda.
05:17There's a desk and two telephones.
05:19And seven years later, I floated it on the stock market for 158 million quid.
05:24Now, yeah, so, unlike the other Catholics in the race, I know how to get stuff done.
05:33More importantly, I'm not scared to knock heads together.
05:37So I've said in my literature that I was going to, first thing I'm going to do is shut down the actual swanky officers in Bristol,
05:45sack the 400 people that are down all just shuffling people.
05:49And that's what they're doing.
05:53The WECA mayor office has more PR consultants than Nigel Farage.
06:02There's 12.
06:0312 people.
06:05And what have they achieved in that time?
06:07They have, well, nothing is probably about right.
06:09They, the current mayor, who's, well, he's in a bit of trouble.
06:17The allegations, and I say it is allegations, range from kidnap to all sorts of very bad things.
06:23But I noticed it's right at the bottom of the list.
06:24Needless to say, it's a misallocation of public money.
06:27Now, I'm standing to be mayor.
06:30I've said I'm going to shut the office.
06:32I'm going to sack these 400 people that are doing nothing.
06:35I'm going to have a focused team of people that are going to work on big infrastructure projects, bringing investment and innovation to the area.
06:42And we're going to turn the thing around.
06:43We won't do it just by hiring more civil servants to bugger the thing up, which is what I think I made on MTV today.
06:50So I apologise for that, but it had to be said.
06:55And, um, Nigel's right.
06:58We're in, uh, probably second place.
07:01And it really relies on conservatives in the Shires coming out and backing reform.
07:06Because otherwise, you're going to get a radical Marxist, uh, liberal, um, that's going to continue the war on motorists.
07:14And they'll bring it out here.
07:15And they've already started on the A38.
07:16I don't know if you're struggling to get down that piece of road, but it's a written that's the cycle lane A.
07:22Who the hell wants to cycle up the A38?
07:25It's like Dice in the Dead, right?
07:27I mean, you have to be crazy.
07:29So I think I'm going to keep it short because it's a bit hard following the great man himself, you know, with his silver tongue.
07:36But, you know, that's what we've got to do.
07:38We've got to get conservative voters out to vote for me.
07:41I'm a sensible business, businessmen most of the time.
07:44I do have a little bit of fun along the way as well.
07:47But actually, I think to myself, well, how did I create a business from a desk and two telephones?
07:52You know, we injected energy, passion, decision-making.
07:55We got on and got stuff done.
07:57I mean, one story I'll tell you, which I always thought represented the kind of business I ran,
08:03was in our post room, I hired a one-armed guy in the post room.
08:08And everyone said to the business, you man, man, the guy's only got one arm.
08:12He's going to take forever to stuff off loads.
08:15I said, yeah, but Trevor is a larger-than-life character that everybody loves.
08:20He's got enthusiasm, he's got drive, he's got energy.
08:23More importantly, he really values the job he's been given because there's not much work for one arm and placement.
08:28So I think, you know, get out and vote.
08:32Let's do this thing.
08:33Thank you very much.
08:38So everything in the next 48 hours you can do to persuade people to get out and vote in what's going to be a low-turnout election.
08:48Any energy and enthusiasm all of you can impart to friends, neighbours, people...
08:54Why would you say Aaron is the best candidate?
08:59Well, who else would you trust with a big budget?
09:01I mean, who else would you trust with, you know, 30 million quid a year discretionary,
09:06plus the opportunity to work with the councils, to look at infrastructure projects and much bigger sums of money than that.
09:13Who would you trust with your money?
09:15Well, you know, he's got a track record of giving thousands of people jobs over the years,
09:20paying huge amounts of tax in this country and running successful businesses.
09:25And the rest have no experience in that sphere at all.
09:28That's number one.
09:29Number two, I think with Aaron, what you'll get is a harsh dose of reality about how local government is.
09:37Well, I remember that the Bristol mayorship, before the scandal with Dan Norris,
09:41was put into special measures because of some very serious questions about how public funds were being spent.
09:48And this is taxpayers' blooming money.
09:51You know, do you notice your council tax bill going up 5% every year?
09:54The tax burden going up every year.
09:56So we're committed as a party, and he's committed as an individual,
09:59to cutting the size of government, to making it more efficient,
10:03to ending work from home, all of those ridiculous practices.
10:07But also, on the big stuff, for a rather more common-sense approach,
10:11to work, to jobs, to the net-zero agenda.
10:15And whichever way you cut it, you know, Aaron, if he wins this, will be a big, natural thing.
10:19And do you think the comments that he's made about cutting the staff by so many
10:29might set a few voters off, potentially, because you do need effort to do the civil service?
10:36Yeah, of course you need an administrative office of some kind, you know.
10:40Maybe you take that with a slight pinch of salt, but you've seen the intent.
10:43You know, and frankly, if Dan Norris has got 12 media advisors, what the hell is going on?
10:50I don't need that or anything like that.
10:53So I think some of the questions that he's raised in this campaign are very, very valid questions indeed.
10:58And look, you know, you may agree with him, you may disagree with him.
11:02You may like him, you may not like him.
11:03He's an extremely competent guy.
11:07And, you know, I mean, this Bristol and this part of England is fascinating because it reflects the new politics.
11:14You know, the hundred years of Tory versus Labour's own, it's gone.
11:17It's gone.
11:17You've got Liberals, Greens, you know, Labour, Conservatives and us.
11:22It's fascinating.
11:23And anyone that gets 24, 25 percent is going to win.
11:26And he, I believe he's the only candidate that can beat what I see as the loony lad.
11:34And how do you rate Aaron's chances?
11:37I mean, how realistic is it?
11:38Well, the last polling that I saw, he was four points behind.
11:43Interestingly, when the pollster said how certain are you to vote, on 10 out of 10s, he was coming first.
11:51It's quite, you know, I think, frankly, for any of us to sit here and predict what's going to happen.
11:56What's going to happen in the West of England on Thursday is a bit like the child's game of Pim, Mateo, Bodonky.
12:01But is he in with a shout?
12:03Is it competitive?
12:04Yes.
12:04But he does need, particularly Gloucestershire, conservative to say, right, even though we've always been Tory, this is the only guy that can beat what he'd be left.
12:12And I know, obviously, you're from a more national perspective, but have you discussed specific policies with Aaron, such as public transport, buses?
12:28No, I haven't.
12:29And you know why?
12:30Because actually, and you heard a bit on the stage earlier on, he has thought through some of the infrastructure stuff already that this part of the country needs.
12:38And I think, you know, the cycle lanes of the A38 being perhaps a very good example of something that virtually nobody actually wants.
12:44No, I honestly, I would trust his judgment as mayor to get on with that down here with all of the relevant local authorities.
12:53You know, I trust him.
12:55Let somebody who's a high achiever in life get on with it.
12:57He doesn't need me looking over his shoulder.
12:59And finally, what would be your message to the voters? I know you're targeting traditional Conservative voters.
13:08Well, we're targeting all voters, but in particular, I would say to traditional Tories, if you lend your vote to banks, you'll beat within your left.
13:14If you don't, it's not going to happen.
13:17Thank you very much.