Our reporters hit the streets to talk to the public in our major cities across the UK about the news making the headlines this week. In this episode, we look at King Charles' cancer diagnosis, a possible rise in the retirement age and Valentine's Day with your pets, or you partners
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Welcome to The Verdict on the Street, the show that
00:14 listens to its audience.
00:17 We're going to take some of the hottest topics
00:19 out onto the streets of Britain to ask you
00:22 what you think of them.
00:24 In a world that seems full of experts,
00:26 sometimes it's the opinions of the people on the street
00:29 that really matter.
00:30 So, great British public, it's over to you.
00:35 We send our reporters out into a number of cities across the UK,
00:38 armed only with a camera and a microphone
00:40 to ask simply, what do you think?
00:42 Here's what's coming up on this week's agenda.
00:48 The public gives its reaction after the shock announcement
00:51 that King Charles has cancer.
00:53 There's talk this week of raising the retirement age
00:55 again.
00:56 What's the perfect age to give up work?
00:58 And who are you looking forward to spending Valentine's Day
01:01 with this year, your partner or your pet?
01:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:06 Let's start this week with the shock news
01:08 that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer.
01:11 The King began regular treatments on Monday
01:13 and will postpone public duties during it,
01:15 Buckingham Palace has said.
01:17 Although he will pause his public events,
01:19 the King will continue with his constitutional role
01:21 as head of state, including paperwork and private meetings.
01:25 The King returned to London from Sandringham in Norfolk
01:28 and has started treatment as an outpatient.
01:31 The palace said that he'd chosen to go public about his cancer
01:34 treatment as he'd been patron of a number of cancer-related
01:36 charities when he was Prince of Wales.
01:39 Let's hear how some people we spoke to took the news.
01:42 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:46 I thought it was a joke, really.
01:47 I thought it was a practical joke.
01:48 I said, come on.
01:49 He just came back from hospital.
01:50 What are you saying that he's got cancer now?
01:52 Please, can you get out of here?
01:54 Then later I saw it.
01:55 Then I saw it on the main--
01:58 on the big-- I said, wow.
02:01 It was just unbelievable.
02:04 I think they've caught it in time.
02:07 And I hope they do, because I think he'll
02:09 make a wonderful King, Charles.
02:12 It's the longest apprenticeship in history
02:15 that he had to wait until his lovely mum died.
02:20 And she was in the hearts of millions of people.
02:24 And I'm sure he will eventually.
02:26 Perhaps not quite yet, but I think eventually.
02:30 He'd also gone public about his prostate treatment--
02:32 I am surprised that he is now able to tell the world
02:35 that he has cancer.
02:37 I think that is a good thing.
02:40 Do I think that excessive media coverage on exclusively
02:45 the royal family is a bit of a problem?
02:48 Yes.
02:48 And I think King Charles is one of many people who
02:53 is affected by cancer.
02:54 And if this can serve as a bit of a public reminder
02:58 of the impacts that such a diagnosis has,
03:04 then that's nothing but a good thing.
03:06 Really surprised, especially as now
03:10 that we recently knew some of the rumors
03:13 of the condition of Kate.
03:18 I was-- yeah, I was surprised.
03:19 And I felt pity of him.
03:21 And I was sad about it.
03:23 I think it's very sensible, apparently.
03:25 It was the grandfather wasn't even
03:28 told by his doctors that he had cancer and died.
03:32 So yeah, it just makes it more normal for everybody
03:36 to think about.
03:37 First of all, I think it's really good
03:39 that he's come out to public with everything.
03:42 Sometimes they keep everything to themselves
03:44 and we don't hear anything.
03:45 And I know first of all, he said that he was really--
03:49 he wanted to make sure men sort of being aware of
03:52 with prostate sort of stuff.
03:54 So that was a good start.
03:55 And then obviously after that, then that's
03:57 when they found his cancer.
03:58 I'm not a royalist, but I wouldn't
04:00 want to wish anybody ill.
04:01 So I hope he's all right really quickly
04:03 because at the end of the day, he's a human.
04:06 And he don't wish any ill health on anybody.
04:08 Well, he's done it and he's brave to do this.
04:11 And I think he will recover.
04:14 So we give him our best wishes.
04:18 He's got convictions on the environment.
04:22 And not everybody agrees with him,
04:24 but I think he talks a lot of sense.
04:27 He's a similar age to myself.
04:30 And so God bless him.
04:32 And I wish him all the best and his family, obviously.
04:36 I know Harry's coming over to see him.
04:38 And I have a lot of time for him.
04:42 And I wish him all the best.
04:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:48 Next up, the retirement age will
04:53 have to rise to 71 for middle-aged workers
04:56 across the UK, according to research
04:58 into the impact of growing life expectancy
05:01 and falling birth rates on the state pension.
05:04 The UK pension age of 66 is set to rise to 67 between May
05:09 2026 and March 2028.
05:12 And then from 2044, it's expected to rise to 68.
05:17 So what do you think of the prospects
05:19 of you having to work for a lot longer than you planned?
05:22 And are you ever going to get a retirement that you can enjoy?
05:25 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:28 As for the retirement age, I don't
05:30 know why they should have to keep bringing it up,
05:32 raising the age, right?
05:34 Because by the time people reach that age,
05:37 most women are not going to make it.
05:39 They just pass away.
05:42 Or it's too much stress in the world today.
05:45 I'm 79.
05:47 I worked until I was 75.
05:51 And if I hadn't been forcibly retired with my business being
05:54 sold from under my feet, I would have probably still
05:57 been working now.
06:00 65, when I was a youngster, you were old.
06:06 People were old.
06:08 But 65 now, no.
06:11 I think it's a very, very good idea.
06:13 I think it will be terrible for some professions.
06:16 Some people don't really want to give up work, and that's fine.
06:20 But I was a primary school teacher.
06:23 I wouldn't want to be crawling around on the floor at 71.
06:27 No, I think it's very unfair.
06:31 Of course it is a bad move.
06:32 It's an awful move.
06:33 It's terrible.
06:35 You should get a lot of people--
06:37 old people should be able to retire a lot earlier.
06:39 And then it's going to free up a lot more vacancies
06:41 for a lot more other people to be able to do these jobs.
06:44 And then we can actually look after old people properly.
06:46 Obviously, it's tricky.
06:47 They might want to raise their retirement age
06:49 because then they'd have to pay for care homes
06:51 or that kind of thing.
06:53 But it's insane.
06:55 Currently, I think it's 67.
06:57 And I'm like 39.
06:58 I'm thinking that I will be working 24 or 25 more years.
07:02 And then even on top of that extra four,
07:04 no, that's going to have a huge impact, I think,
07:07 in people's life.
07:09 Well, having just hit the current retirement age
07:11 myself last December, which is 66 at the moment,
07:15 I'm now in a quandary whether to retire or not because
07:17 of the cost of living increase.
07:19 A lot of people are being forced to stay on in any case.
07:22 So maybe this projected rise in the retirement age
07:26 might not have a big effect on people.
07:28 My mom, she's-- God bless her.
07:30 She's like-- she's 65, 60.
07:32 She's-- I don't know how old she is.
07:35 She's coming up to retirement.
07:36 But 70 years old, 70 years of age, I don't know.
07:39 I mean, can people really do that?
07:41 I don't know.
07:42 There's plenty of money about when they need it,
07:44 like giving it to Ukraine or helping other people out.
07:47 There's billions.
07:48 And they get to the DUP in Northern Ireland.
07:50 There's always money there.
07:51 But it's always a way of squeezing the people more
07:54 who don't have money.
07:55 And things go up and up and up.
07:57 And really, it's the way society is kind of arranged.
08:00 And it's a rigged system, really, against the people
08:02 at the poorest.
08:03 I think we should just be a bit more like France
08:06 and maybe try and put our word in a bit more,
08:09 because France seems to have put the foot down in protest.
08:12 But we just seem to say, OK.
08:17 I think that's a bit high.
08:18 I think they're just trying to work us all to death
08:22 and save some money on pension, aren't they?
08:25 Yeah.
08:26 Basically, all it is.
08:29 Yeah.
08:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:32 [MUSIC PLAYING]
08:34 Finally, for many people, their soul mate is their beloved pet.
08:38 And a survey of 1,300 owners found
08:40 that pets can actually make you happier than your partner.
08:44 So which would you rather spend this Valentine's Day with?
08:46 I mean, I love Valentine's Days.
08:51 It's just-- it's another day when
08:54 you can tell your loved person you love them,
08:56 you care for them, you appreciate them,
08:58 you do stuff for them to show them you really care.
09:02 I love pets.
09:03 I've got two cats.
09:05 I mean, they make my life a nightmare sometimes.
09:07 But I love them either way.
09:08 I would do anything for them.
09:09 And I love my wife because I'm married.
09:11 So I love my wife.
09:12 I would do anything for her, especially on Valentine's Days
09:14 or any other day.
09:15 I don't care really about doing something special
09:18 on Valentine's Days.
09:19 I try to do it every day.
09:20 So every day, I try to do something special for her.
09:22 Every day, I try to ask her, what can I do more for her?
09:25 Like, because every day, she does so much for me.
09:27 I'll never be able to repay her for everything
09:30 that she does for me.
09:31 So every day, I try to do more for her.
09:35 I definitely know people that really love their pets.
09:39 I personally prefer my partner to a pet, for example.
09:46 Yeah, I could see why, if you've got a really cute dog,
09:51 that you would probably prefer spending time with them
09:53 than your partner.
09:54 But I personally prefer my partner to my dog.
09:57 Yes!
09:59 Would you agree with that?
10:00 Yes.
10:02 I think so.
10:03 Well, a pet's never going to let you down, is it?
10:06 And it's always loving and caring and everything, girls.
10:11 Partners, well, partners are partners, aren't they?
10:14 So it is.
10:15 Your pet's going to always be there
10:17 until they have to pass on.
10:19 But a Valentine's Day, I think, is--
10:21 I don't know.
10:22 I think there's a lot of expectations from people.
10:25 And I don't.
10:26 I just go, yeah, it's Valentine's Day.
10:27 Fine.
10:28 I haven't got a pet at the moment.
10:29 So I'm going to have to say I'm a partner.
10:33 I think it's-- well, that's a difficult one, isn't it?
10:35 Because obviously, pets, they can't tell you
10:37 when they need something.
10:38 And your partners do.
10:39 And also, hopefully, your pets are kind of loyal all the time.
10:42 And they are there.
10:43 And it's unconditional.
10:45 And they don't ask you to do the washing up.
10:48 So maybe the pets.
10:50 Yeah, I think we do need somebody in our life.
10:53 We should be sharing our lives with other people.
10:55 So yeah, I'm still all for love.
10:57 Valentine's Day, not so fussed about that day.
11:00 It should be more about what you do all year round.
11:02 It should be specific to one day.
11:04 So yeah, I think it's a good thing.
11:08 But pets have their place.
11:10 But my pet would come before my partner.
11:12 My partner is my person.
11:14 They come first.
11:16 My big love of my life is my daughter.
11:19 She's called Alessia.
11:21 And we used to have a dog.
11:25 She called Mia.
11:26 But she's passing away two years ago.
11:29 Still very hurt.
11:31 So the pet is sometimes more--
11:35 give more love than the people.
11:38 So I can't have another dog because it's still hurt.
11:43 So I can't cope with this again.
11:47 Now we have a cat.
11:48 It's called Shark.
11:49 And here we go.
11:50 This is the family.
11:51 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:55 [MUSIC ENDS]
11:58 (upbeat music)