0:00:03 > 0:00:07This is the House of Commons as you've never seen it before.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Locking!
0:00:09 > 0:00:11With unprecedented access,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14we've been filming behind the scenes for a year.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17That's where our laws are set.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19These are the people that we're run by.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25It's been a year of round-the-clock plotting and high drama.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27CHEERING
0:00:29 > 0:00:32There are people sitting next to me who've been in the House for decades,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34saying, "I've never seen anything like it."
0:00:34 > 0:00:36THUDDING
0:00:36 > 0:00:39We'll have to repair that later.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42All played out in the ancient Palace of Westminster
0:00:42 > 0:00:45- that's in danger of collapse. - The last thing you want to see
0:00:45 > 0:00:47is the government building's fall apart,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49cos that means your government's falling apart.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52In this first episode, two novice MPs
0:00:52 > 0:00:56seek to navigate the bewildering codes and customs of the Commons.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
0:00:58 > 0:01:00The behaviour in there is just disgusting!
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I mean, really embarrassingly juvenile.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06And we follow the Commons most powerful official
0:01:06 > 0:01:08who runs the whole place.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10My goodness! That's invigorating!
0:01:10 > 0:01:14His job is to square the age-old parliamentary traditions
0:01:14 > 0:01:16with the demands of a modern democracy.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18This place is about hard politics,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21but it's also about people and emotions.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32It's spring 2014,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and the biggest day of the year in the Commons' calendar - Budget Day.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Inside the Chamber, the security sniffer dogs
0:01:44 > 0:01:47are the first to do their parliamentary duty.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53The eyes to the right, the nose to the floor.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Only MPs are allowed to sit on the Commons' green benches,
0:02:00 > 0:02:06yet they provide 427 seats and there are 650 MPs.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12So the Principal Doorkeeper, Robin Fell, and his team
0:02:12 > 0:02:15are ready for MPs to arrive early for an unlikely procedure...
0:02:15 > 0:02:18to reserve their seat.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Apart from the conventions of, obviously,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on the government front bench,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26everybody else is in the melting pot.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29So if they want to be certain that they have their preferred seat,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31be here when the doors open at eight o'clock,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35put the prayer card in, turn up for prayers and it's yours for the day.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Good morning.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Charlotte Leslie was elected a Conservative MP in the 2010 election.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49She's still getting used to the rituals of the house,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51like the fact that for over four centuries
0:02:51 > 0:02:54the Commons' day begins with morning prayers.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58We actually turn to the back and we all turn to face the wall
0:02:58 > 0:03:01when we do one bit of prayers, because I think the story goes
0:03:01 > 0:03:04that at the time when to be a Catholic was a little bit sensitive,
0:03:04 > 0:03:08it was courtesy not to let people see that you were a Catholic
0:03:08 > 0:03:10- and you were doing the crossing bit. - Oh, right.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15But morning prayers is now also a seat-booking system.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Theoretically, members respect the fact that that is your seat being booked for the whole of the day
0:03:19 > 0:03:21provided you're here for three-minute prayers
0:03:21 > 0:03:23when the Speaker arrives.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26If you're not here for prayers and your prayer card is in,
0:03:26 > 0:03:27then one of the member officers of the House
0:03:27 > 0:03:29will take the card out and rip it up.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- Macleod? WOMAN:- Yep.- Baldwin?- Uh-huh.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34- Newton?- Yep.- Ellis?- Yep.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37- Gibb?- Yep.- Harrington?
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Robert Halfon, who was born with cerebral palsy,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44is another Tory newcomer from 2010.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48I put my prayer card right in the middle at the back there.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51It's where I usually sit, there's a lot of legroom,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54and I've tried to bag that place since I got in.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59On days like this, it's a bit like the Germans on the beaches putting their towels on the deckchairs,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02because you have to rush in, you have to be here early to get your card,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04but I've kind of made that place my home.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- I will sit at the back, make a quick getaway.- So you can shout at 'em?
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Yeah, take a book along in case you get bored as well.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12- LAUGHTER - Right.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14On this showpiece day for the government,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18the greatest crush for seats is on the Tory side.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21And Labour's veteran heckler, Dennis Skinner, is unimpressed.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26Most of 'em come in on the high days like the Budget.
0:04:26 > 0:04:32I come in every day and have done for 40-odd year.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35I remember when people used to wear morning coats and top hats
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and goodness knows what else.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- And I don't mean the 19th century, I mean the 20th century.- Really?
0:04:40 > 0:04:43And all that sort of glamour seems to have gone now. Such a shame.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46What are you wearing on your head for this special occasion?
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Ah, well, isn't that the great cause of much...speculation.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54My goodness! Not much choice left, is there?
0:04:54 > 0:04:56It's 8.30 and there's not a spot.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- There's one at the back there, Toby. - There is, there is
0:04:59 > 0:05:01There we go, it's official, I have my space.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And as long as I turn up to prayers, it's mine!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07There's one backbench MP
0:05:07 > 0:05:11who doesn't need to worry about his prayer card, Sir Peter Tapsell,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15the longest serving member who's known as the Father of the House.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20By custom, Sir Peter has his own special seat,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23but still insists on putting in a prayer card.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28The reason I put it in is because I don't want the embarrassment
0:05:28 > 0:05:30of turning somebody out of their seat
0:05:30 > 0:05:33who may not know the convention in a crowded House.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Particularly if it was a lady, it would be quite a difficult thing to do.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And the problem would arise, do I sit on her knee or does she sit on mine?
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50cuts a rather different figure from the old boys of the Commons.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53She won a by-election in 2012,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55when her Labour predecessor resigned
0:05:55 > 0:05:57and was later jailed for expenses fraud.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02When I got elected...in my by-election,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06I was told that I had "unparliamentary" hair.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08SHE LAUGHS
0:06:08 > 0:06:11I was meant to do something about it,
0:06:11 > 0:06:16but I still don't know what "unparliamentary" hair is or what I'm meant to do.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Right, I need a wee.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26SHE SIGHS Let's go.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Sarah Champion used to run a children's hospice.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35She's one of only 148 female MPs.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38The other 502 are men.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Every day, particularly when it's a sunny day like this,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44when I walk in, I go, "Oh, my God!
0:06:44 > 0:06:48"They're going to rumble that it's me rather than a proper MP coming in."
0:06:48 > 0:06:51I hope I never get over it, though.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57And she refuses to join the Budget Day scramble to bag a seat in the Chamber.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01What's the point of being there at seven in the morning?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03I can see if it's a shoe sale,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06but not to listen to a load of old men screaming at each other.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Final copies of the Budget in plain packaging
0:07:12 > 0:07:16arrive at the Chancellor's official residence in Downing Street.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18The contents are market sensitive,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23so tight secrecy is maintained until after George Osborne's speech.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Another envelope of Budget secrets
0:07:30 > 0:07:34is brought to the Commons for the Deputy Speaker.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36By tradition, he chairs the Budget debate,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40but to avoid leaks he won't open it till he's in the Chamber.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43For you, the sealed envelope from the Treasury.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- Oh, my word! Very tempting, isn't it? But we won't. - SHE LAUGHS
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Let me put this down. Let's put it on here.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52There's cards on every part of the government benches,
0:07:52 > 0:07:53there's not a spare place!
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Today will be the real starting gun for the general election,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59so I think that's also going to add to the intensity.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02So we've just got to be aware of the heat that will be in there.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It's two hours till the Chancellor speaks.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10And in the bowels of the Commons
0:08:10 > 0:08:14there's a mass delivery of strictly embargoed copies of all the Budget measures.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23MPs won't be able to collect them till the Chancellor has sat down.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Mostly, people will want the red book,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32the Budget 2014 in all its glory,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36not released for another hour and a quarter at least.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39- All set? Good.- Hi.- Hi, Nicky.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43- Danny?- Hey, George, you all right? - Hi.- Paul.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- Is the speech in the box?- Speech is in the box, we're ready to go.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51- When you go out there, there are a lot of cameras.- Yes.- If you've not done it before.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53We've got a good Budget, so we're going to go out there and sell it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56And thanks for all your help in putting it together.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57HUBBUB
0:09:10 > 0:09:13I always try to look smart, but today I've got to be at my best.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15We know parliament's a theatre,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18politicians are all budding thespians,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21they all want to be on that stage and they all want to play their part.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25And there is no bigger day for the stage than today.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43CHEERING
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I can't fit in! So, apparently, we can sit upstairs.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Sarah Champion is directed to a place in the gods
0:09:51 > 0:09:55as she doesn't have a prayer of finding a seat in the Chamber.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58How exciting. I've never been actually...
0:09:58 > 0:10:02The Upper Gallery is where she can watch but can't speak.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- Hello.- Hiya.- How do I get in?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- To get in, into there?- Yeah. - OK, come with me.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Here, she'll catch the first glimpses of what the government
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and the opposition regard as the key to the general election.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19- Wrong bit.- As Bill Clinton's spin doctor once put it,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21"It's the economy, stupid."
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Exciting.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- Right.- Right.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29- MAN:- The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Right Honourable George Osborne.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31CHEERING
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Built on the site of William the Conqueror's first palace,
0:10:40 > 0:10:45the "mother of parliaments" is where the laws that affect all our lives are made.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Re-built in Victorian times as a gothic fantasy palace,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55it's an eight acre jumble of buildings and courtyards.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04With 100 staircases, over 1,000 rooms and three miles of passages...
0:11:06 > 0:11:09..it's a very easy place to get lost in,
0:11:09 > 0:11:14even for long serving MPs like Winston Churchill's grandson.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15It's an extraordinary place.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17I found somewhere the other day
0:11:17 > 0:11:19I never even knew existed in the House of Commons.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23- And...- And you've been here 30 years? - And I've been here 30 years.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28- What was that? What did you find? - It was a bar.- A bar?!
0:11:28 > 0:11:31It's such a rabbit warren of a place.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I mean, I still, from time to time
0:11:34 > 0:11:39find myself not knowing and having to ask instructions or directions.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43When you stand in Member's Lobby and you see the statue of Churchill
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and you see the broken arch that is what remains
0:11:45 > 0:11:48after the Chamber was bombed in the Second World War,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50you do feel a real sense of history in this place.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54It's a sort of mixture. It looks half like a museum,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57half like a church, half like a school.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Many MPs share David Cameron's view,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05they call the Commons...Hogwarts.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09And if there is a Dumbledore, he's the Commons' top official,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12the Clerk of the House, Sir Robert Rogers.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- Right, see you later, darling.- Yep.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19Right.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25The back door of his official residence in Parliament Street
0:12:25 > 0:12:29provides Sir Robert with a short commute through his domain.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31Morning.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35I suppose I have quite an odd job in some ways.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Morning! I think most of my predecessors
0:12:38 > 0:12:42back across the centuries would recognise one half,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46which is being the principal constitutional advisor to the House,
0:12:46 > 0:12:53but combined with that is a job as Chief Executive of the House of Commons Service of 2,000 people.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57BIG BEN CHIMES
0:12:57 > 0:13:01In the Chamber each day I wear a court coat, black trousers,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05black waistcoat, stick-up collar and white bow tie,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09and I wear a barrister's bob wig and a silk gown.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13It's very bling and dressing up, which is quite amusing in a way,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16but I think there is a serious side to it
0:13:16 > 0:13:20and that is that the formality that we have,
0:13:20 > 0:13:25the way the doorkeepers dress, the way that the Chamber is laid out,
0:13:25 > 0:13:31provide a rather dignified framework within which the rough and tumble of politics takes place.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Like Sir Robert, the Principal Doorkeeper, Robin Fell,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39has worked here for over 40 years.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43And they share a delight in customs from the past.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Morning, Robin.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Until recently, snuff was provided free to members.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58- My goodness! That's invigorating! - Yes, but as I say,
0:13:58 > 0:14:04as a conscious effort, I don't have what I refer to as weapons-grade snuff because...
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- It's still pretty good stuff! - Oh, yes. Yeah.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Robin Fell runs a team of doorkeepers who wear formal dress.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16They're the Commons' internal security staff
0:14:16 > 0:14:19trained in police restraint techniques.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22They're also messengers who see themselves
0:14:22 > 0:14:24as the eyes and ears of the Commons.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29That is a doorkeeper's badge.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31That one's dated 1837.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38The chain is pure gold, the badge is silver gilded over.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And the little dangly at the bottom, that is pure gold.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43The winged messenger of the gods.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47Not, of course, saying that we deliver messages to gods.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50- Members of parliament. - HE CHUCKLES
0:14:52 > 0:14:54In his role as Chief Executive,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Sir Robert manages a team of workers
0:14:56 > 0:14:59from painters to plumbers
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and cleaners to clock makers.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Sir Robert's central problem is how to run a 21st-century parliament
0:15:07 > 0:15:11in a mock gothic palace that is falling apart at the seams.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14We're trying to deal with the problems as they come up.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Now, see up there, that's an example of what I was talking about.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20And that's where we've got water coming in.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23And you can see the damage there to the stonework,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25which is going to take a terrific amount of work.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30And you can see the damage too on that wonderful complex window over to the right.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33And there are a couple of dozen places where water is simply coming
0:15:33 > 0:15:36in through the roof up and down the Palace.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40We're trying to run a modern parliament in a Victorian building.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42BIG BEN CHIMES
0:15:46 > 0:15:50The punchy Tory, Charlotte Leslie, sees herself as a new breed of MP.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53I've always been angry.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56The reason I'm in politics is I get angry about injustice
0:15:56 > 0:15:59and the way things are and I want to change it.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03But sometimes, especially in politics, you can't and it's immensely frustrating,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05and you do feel like smashing a brick wall down.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Good. Big shots.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10I was a very naughty kid and my mum took me boxing.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14And I didn't end up in a gang, but I did end up in parliament.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17A former lifeguard and journalist,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Charlotte Leslie narrowly won her Bristol seat from Labour in 2010.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25I hadn't had any sleep for something like 40 hours.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27And then after a day of doing media,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30I finally went to bed at about 11 o'clock the next night.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34And I woke up and I thought, "Good lord! I'm an MP!"
0:16:35 > 0:16:39Arriving in the Commons is a daunting experience for new MPs.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44It feels like a very intimidating place, I think.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46It feels like a club.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50I was in my first parliamentary Labour Party meeting with my brother
0:16:50 > 0:16:52and I sort of saw him across the crowded room
0:16:52 > 0:16:54and I thought it's... "Who'd have thought it?"
0:16:54 > 0:16:58I remember when I first came here, opening the door to somebody,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00cos that's the way you are, you open a door,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05and people just trooped through as if that was my job.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07And not one of them said, "Ta."
0:17:07 > 0:17:09You know what I mean? "Thanks very much."
0:17:11 > 0:17:15The Commons retains the look and feel of a Victorian gentleman's club
0:17:15 > 0:17:19and at its heart is the legendary Members' Tea Room,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23run by Gladys Dixon who often sings as she works.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28# Amazing Grace
0:17:28 > 0:17:33# How sweet the sound
0:17:33 > 0:17:34# And saved... #
0:17:34 > 0:17:37She opens up the tea room at seven in the morning
0:17:37 > 0:17:40as it actually serves MPs cut price breakfast, lunch,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43tea, supper and drinks.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47Gladys is just a wonderful figure.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50She's a force of nature. She's got a cherry word for everyone,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52she never doesn't have a smile on her face.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54She's just the most adorable woman
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and every time I see her I feel better.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00MPs regard the tea room as their inner sanctum,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04where they can gossip and plot in total privacy
0:18:04 > 0:18:07in what they call their "holy of holies".
0:18:07 > 0:18:14Here is for Conservatives...and officers from the House.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19Conservatives tend to stay all on this side.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21And this is Liberal.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Here is Northern Ireland...table.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30And when you come on this side, it's all for Labour.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32When I first came here, I sat in the wrong place
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and somebody said, "That's where Labour sit."
0:18:35 > 0:18:38I thought, "Well, it's a free table." It's all these old traditions.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42You know, you go in a coffee shop and you sit where you want, don't you?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44The Commons has opened its own coffee shop
0:18:44 > 0:18:47in a glistening annexe called Portcullis House.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53But the new building hasn't put an end to some MPs' old ways.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57It's sort of playground stuff,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01so if they see any weakness, whether it's about your relationships,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05the way you look, something that's happened to you in the past,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07you'll hear it. And it's little sort of...
0:19:07 > 0:19:09- There's your tea, Sarah. - Thank you very much.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Little snide comments...just designed to get under the radar
0:19:16 > 0:19:18and put someone off their game.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20It's really... It's not nice.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28A central role of MPs
0:19:28 > 0:19:31is to seek to hold the government of the day to account.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35In the month after the Budget,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38MPs will be voting on one of the coalition's
0:19:38 > 0:19:41most controversial projects - HS2 -
0:19:41 > 0:19:44the high-speed rail link from London to the north.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50But as both front benches support the bill,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54any member proposing to rebel will have to defy their party whips,
0:19:54 > 0:19:59the shadowy groups of MPs in charge of discipline.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05The Tory with the Boris-lookalike hair, Michael Fabricant,
0:20:05 > 0:20:09is one MP who plans to vote against the official party line.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15I don't want to be on the "dark side," as the whips call it,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and be seen as some sort of a non-team player,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23but just occasionally, when you think the government's got it badly wrong,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27you have to make a stand. And this is what I'm doing over HS2.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Constituents who live on the proposed HS2 route
0:20:31 > 0:20:33have come to the Commons to lobby their MPs.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- Anyway, fantastic. - Every MP has to balance
0:20:35 > 0:20:40the conflicting pressures of party, constituency and conscience.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43- Well done for the things you've done on HS2.- Thank you very much.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47- I think it's very good the position you've taken.- Thank you very much.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51- Labour's Sarah Champion will be voting- with- the government.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55It's a lot easier for me because, to be honest, the area that benefits the most is Yorkshire.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59So for my constituents, there are a few that are going to be impacted on it
0:20:59 > 0:21:03and with them, I went and talked to them and spoke to them and explained my position.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07But if it was going straight through the middle of my patch,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09I can see why you'd want to make a big stink about it.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11The debate is likely to run late
0:21:11 > 0:21:16and the whips have told their MPs to stay till the end to be present for the vote.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22I actually have an emergency duvet in my office for really late nights.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25At 11pm, after a five-hour debate,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28the Speaker, John Bercow, puts the bill to the House.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31The MPs shouts of "aye" or "no"
0:21:31 > 0:21:34trigger a vote known as a "division".
0:21:34 > 0:21:36SHOUTING
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- MAN:- Division!- MAN 2:- Division!
0:21:41 > 0:21:43BELL
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Once the bell rings, MPs have eight minutes
0:21:46 > 0:21:49to choose the "yes" or "no" lobby before the doors are locked.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Locking!
0:21:58 > 0:22:00As MPs come into the voting lobbies,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04they're counted by sharp-eyed whips who act as tellers.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11All MPs from the humblest to the grandest
0:22:11 > 0:22:13must join the scrum.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25The whole system of the voting lobby is an extraordinary institution,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28because it's a place you walk through
0:22:28 > 0:22:33and it's a place where ministers, leaders, MPs have conversations.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37It's partly an opportunity for people to talk business, to talk politics.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Just 41 MPs are prepared to vote against the bill
0:22:44 > 0:22:47in defiance of their party whips.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51A thumping majority vote for the bill,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53but a number of MPs with doubts about HS2
0:22:53 > 0:22:59told us privately they saw no point in putting themselves in the black books of the whips
0:22:59 > 0:23:01as the result was a foregone conclusion.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06If you want to make a point, you only have so many rebellions.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10With each rebellion the currency of your rebellion goes down.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13So you do have to think about where you want to use your chips, if you like.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16So it's important to be able to keep the powder dry
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and be someone that if you do rebel, people say, "Oh, so-and-so's rebelled!"
0:23:19 > 0:23:21"We might need to have a rethink about that."
0:23:26 > 0:23:29The voting has taken over half an hour
0:23:29 > 0:23:33and it's close to midnight when MPs can finally make their getaway.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38On occasions where we've got very large numbers going through one lobby
0:23:38 > 0:23:41it's like the Black Hole of Calcutta.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44And when you've got several votes following each other,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48you're spending a lot of time hanging about waiting for the next vote.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51So there's an enormous challenge here
0:23:51 > 0:23:53to bring parliament into the 21st century.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58We should have a smart card and so long as we're on the premises,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02we should be able to vote sensibly, like everyone else would think we would do.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16MPs come in all shapes and sizes and they're constantly on the move,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18from committee meetings to party briefings
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and dealing with constituents.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24New members find it hard to discover how best to work the system.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27All MPs suffer from chronic job insecurity,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30especially those like Charlotte Leslie with marginal seats
0:24:30 > 0:24:34for whom the next election could be curtains.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38One way of showing her constituents she's working hard for them
0:24:38 > 0:24:43is if she can get called to speak at the highest profile Commons event,
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Prime Minister's Questions.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48We have got here the order paper.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52And this is what MPs will wave if they're feeling particularly incensed about something,
0:24:52 > 0:24:58but its much more useful purpose is that it's got the summary agenda for today.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03She wants to get government support for a new football stadium for Bristol Rovers.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06It's probably not going to make national headlines,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08but it might make local headlines.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12But there's a great deal of competition among MPs
0:25:12 > 0:25:15to be called at Prime Minister's Question time,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19so Tracy Jessop, a Commons clerk, organises a selection system
0:25:19 > 0:25:23as nearly 300 back benchers apply most weeks.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26Can I get one Questions for the Prime Minister? Thank you very much.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30- One of these blue forms there. - Have you got a pen?
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Yes. There you go.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Like filling in a lottery card,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Charlotte Leslie has to put in an application form.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- Lovely. Thank you very much. - Thank you.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42- Thanks a lot.- Thank you.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Tracy Jessop puts Charlotte Leslie's name,
0:25:46 > 0:25:50along with all the other MPs who've applied, into a computerised ballot.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53The 15 Members whose names come up
0:25:53 > 0:25:58are the only ones guaranteed to be called at the following week's PMQs.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01It literally is completely random,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05it doesn't know what party people are from, it's not seeking to achieve party balance.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08People certainly have theories about luck,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11some members believe that if they come into the office to table their orals,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15especially their PMQ, that they're more likely to come out
0:26:15 > 0:26:17than if they e-table it via our electronic system.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27While the Tory, Charlotte Leslie, is seeking a platform at Prime Minister's Questions,
0:26:27 > 0:26:32Labour's Sarah Champion wants to use parliament to have a real impact
0:26:32 > 0:26:35on a scandal that's been hitting the headlines.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Child sexual exploitation is massive and is national,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44but I've now been given a voice and I think it would be so negligent of me
0:26:44 > 0:26:48not to use that voice and shout really loudly.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50I want to find ways to strengthen the law,
0:26:50 > 0:26:52so it's become a bit of a crusade.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56I've been told it's impossible for an opposition back bencher to change the law.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I'd rather try and fail than do nothing,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01because for too long people have been doing nothing
0:27:01 > 0:27:04and that's why this abuse has been going on.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08First she has to find her way from glossy Portcullis House
0:27:08 > 0:27:11to the Commons' office that deals with government bills.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- Where do we go to the Public Bill Office?- If you come with me. - Thank you
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Sarah Champion wants to amend the government's Justice Bill.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29At present somebody trying to groom a child for sex must make contact twice before it's an offence.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33She wants prosecution after just one contact.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37She seeks advice from a Commons clerk, Georgie Holmes-Skelton.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Right, I need help. GEORGIE LAUGHS
0:27:40 > 0:27:43- I don't know if we can shoehorn these in?- Sure, yeah.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46But if we can, it would be phenomenal to try.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49My reading... I've gone through what you're trying to do here,
0:27:49 > 0:27:54so in terms of this bill, new clauses like this, I think, are entirely reasonable.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56- Yay!- I think that's absolutely fine.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59The third one is slightly different.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01- I don't know the language. - It isn't easy.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04I mean, this bill is particularly technical in some bits of it.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08- It's just so impenetrable some of it. - I spend most of my days reading bits of legislation
0:28:08 > 0:28:12- and clause one, I looked at it and I went, "I've just got no idea." - It's not only me, then?- No, no.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13BOTH LAUGH
0:28:13 > 0:28:15- See ya.- See you.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20Learning to understand parliamentees comes with the territory of being a new MP.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Sarah Champion isn't just struggling with procedural language,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29but with an institution that was designed for gentlemen members of yesteryear.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33CHARLES HUMS
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Charles Kennedy was the baby of the house
0:28:36 > 0:28:40when he was first elected 30 years ago age 23.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43CHARLES HUMS
0:28:44 > 0:28:47- How are you today?- Very good, sir. Yes, very good.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48Good, good.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50- Looking forward to the recess? - Not half.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53Not half. BOTH LAUGH
0:28:53 > 0:28:56You may say that, I couldn't possibly comment.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Every trip around the Commons is still something of a
0:28:59 > 0:29:03voyage of discovery for the former Lib Dem leader.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05That is a cigar lighter!
0:29:05 > 0:29:08All these years, I've been walking past this
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and I've never really paid much attention to it at all.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15If that's the lighter, it must have been a hell of a size of cigar.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Must have had Churchill in mind, eh?
0:29:18 > 0:29:22And then the Member's Cloakroom,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26which pretty much lives up to its name, it's the cloakroom for the members.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29I suppose the only idiosyncratic feature
0:29:29 > 0:29:33are these pink-ish ribbons.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38And, would you believe, this is for honourable and right honourable members,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41once they've hung their coats to hang their swords.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43There you are.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46I have to say, I've never seen one of them used in all the decades I've been here,
0:29:46 > 0:29:51but if you wanted to avail yourself of the opportunity, this is the place to come.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Did you spot this here? Look, just there.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56- What?- Just...- Oh!
0:29:56 > 0:29:58CHARLES LAUGHS
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Now, look at that. This is the place where you say something
0:30:02 > 0:30:04and the minute you say it, it's contradicted.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07But, I suppose, that's what the "mother of parliaments" is supposed to be about.
0:30:07 > 0:30:15Somebody has actually got...a wooden sword attached to their tassel.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19That doesn't give anything away.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Well, I wonder, I wonder, I wonder,
0:30:22 > 0:30:27because I don't know who the MP for that particular constituency is.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31Well, there you are, there's always a first for everything and we didn't make that up.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Morning...Robert.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38Each morning Robert Rogers and other Commons' top brass
0:30:38 > 0:30:41meet the Speaker, John Bercow, in his grand office.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43CHATTER
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Sir Robert claims that the Commons' biggest problem is how the old should live with the new.
0:30:47 > 0:30:53And that, despite appearances, he welcomes the challenge of change.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54I may wear 18th-century clothes,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57that doesn't give me an 18th-century mind. HE LAUGHS
0:30:58 > 0:31:02Sir Robert sees himself as a thoroughly modern man.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05He's determined to cut down the Commons' paper mountain.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09The House produces 80 million printed pages a year,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12including committee reports, draft bills
0:31:12 > 0:31:17and the daily Hansard record of every word spoken in the Chamber.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19I'm certainly not frightened of new technology.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22I mean, new technology is at our disposal.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24Have you got a Hansard?
0:31:24 > 0:31:30Each day's Hansard report includes many pages of written answers by ministers to MPs' questions,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34but Sir Robert's reform has brought an end to the traditional system.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39That's the debate and Question Time and those are the written answers.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42And after...September,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46all of those will be done electronically and put online.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51It'll save us about £800,000 a year...recurring,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54as well as saving a good few trees as well.
0:31:54 > 0:31:58I've been here four years...four years in a couple of months' time
0:31:58 > 0:32:04and I haven't seen an enormous digitalisation of the Commons in that time.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06I mean, to be honest, it really is very backwards,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09we've only just got Wi-Fi in our offices.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13MPs constantly complain about the Commons' IT system,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16but Sir Robert has bigger headaches.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20He's concerned that the building itself is falling apart.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27As Clerk of the Commons, Sir Robert is the legal owner of Big Ben.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30It's due for its five year check-up,
0:32:30 > 0:32:34which will be a barometer for the state of the whole House.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39We'll be having a team of abseilers abseiling down in front of the dials.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42They'll clean the dials on the outside
0:32:42 > 0:32:45and they'll be doing a condition report of the paint,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48the glazing, all the glasswork,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51but especially what condition the centre of the hands are.
0:32:56 > 0:33:02The abseilers attach ropes to anchor points in the belfry at the top of Big Ben.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04They plan to lower themselves down
0:33:04 > 0:33:07to clean the clock and assess its state of repair.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12The Palace specialist clock makers
0:33:12 > 0:33:15disconnect the four pairs of clock hands.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17- Now.- OK?
0:33:20 > 0:33:24The hands are so well balanced, you can actually see that he's just doing it one handed.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28So you're moving a 14ft minute hand,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32a 9ft long hour hand just with one hand on the inside.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39- What time's that?- 12.- Excellent
0:33:41 > 0:33:43From 60 metres above the ground
0:33:43 > 0:33:50the abseilers will have to lower themselves past 300 panes of glass covering the clock face.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18- Is he strapped to it? - LAUGHTER
0:34:18 > 0:34:21From down the bottom it looks like it's pristine,
0:34:21 > 0:34:27from up here you can see that there is paintwork flaking away, the gold leafing's come off,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30and the glass is a lot dirtier than it looks down here.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32If you could just give us a good close-up shot
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- of the bottom of the dial where the black paint's coming off.- Yeah, no problem at all.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39- We'll get that in for you.- Wow!
0:34:39 > 0:34:42That's brilliant. Right above your left hand there.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Yeah, just above Steve's hand where it is now, there.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48- There?- Yeah. Is that blowing is it?
0:34:48 > 0:34:51It's blowing in all directions there.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55What they've spotted is that the paint's flaking off
0:34:55 > 0:34:57and the stone underneath's getting powdery,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00which means that it's going to get more porous and water's going to get in.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03So it'll never get better, it's just going to get worse again.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05It's the clock face of England, really.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07This is where our parliament are.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10That's where our laws are set. These are the people that we're run by.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Unless they're done soon, repairs to the world's most iconic clock
0:35:14 > 0:35:17could run into many millions of pounds.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24The Palace of Westminster often looks like one great building site.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27And the authorities have to decide how much longer
0:35:27 > 0:35:33they can make do and mend the old Victorian building to support a modern parliament.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39Successive generations have adapted the disused giant chimney
0:35:39 > 0:35:43above Central Lobby in the Commons to fresh use.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47We've utilised the original chimneys
0:35:47 > 0:35:51to run various types of cabling down throughout the building
0:35:51 > 0:35:55after there was no longer the requirement to use the fireplaces and so forth.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Looking up and seeing where all the smoke and soot from all the chimneys came
0:35:59 > 0:36:02and then suddenly we turn round here and we've got fibre optics.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04That's amazing.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09Portcullis House Comms Room to Palace of Westminster 3rd floor, New Frame Room.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Just as well you've got them labelled.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17The people who maintain the estate are absolute geniuses.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21They manage in the most challenging of circumstances
0:36:21 > 0:36:24to keep the show up and running,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27but we can't very long put off
0:36:27 > 0:36:31some really serious restoration and renewal.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35In the modern world of Portcullis House,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38it's a big day for Sarah Champion.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40I need my lunch.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43For three weeks, she's been attending committee meetings
0:36:43 > 0:36:48to scrutinise the government's Criminal Justice and Courts Bill.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51I think in about two hours,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54I might change the law to protect children better.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56Which is pretty cool, isn't it?
0:36:56 > 0:36:58You don't do that every day on a Thursday.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00BOTH LAUGH
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Today, she'll be in the spotlight
0:37:03 > 0:37:06to make the case for her amendments to the bill.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14The details of the bill are being scrutinised line by line
0:37:14 > 0:37:19by a cross-party committee of MPs, including the Justice Minister, Jeremy Wright.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21After 30 hours in committee,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Sarah Champion finally gets her turn.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Thank you, Mr Causeby,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28it's a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship once again.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31She has to persuade the committee that her amendment,
0:37:31 > 0:37:36which will make it harder for child groomers to escape justice, will protect children.
0:37:36 > 0:37:42New Clause 9 would mean that the perpetrator would only have to make one contact to be guilty.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Minister, please don't let this committee sit and wait.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50- Minister?- Can I start by thanking her more generally
0:37:50 > 0:37:52for the work that she has done.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55I think she's made a very powerful argument.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57I do have some reservations.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01She now faces a dilemma.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05The minister won't accept her amendment in the way she's worded it.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07If it goes to a vote, she'll probably lose.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10So she has to decide whether to make a tactical withdrawal,
0:38:10 > 0:38:15in the hope that the government will include their own version of it in the bill.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18I thank the minister very much
0:38:18 > 0:38:21for taking seriously the new clause that's put in front.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24I will withdraw the new clause,
0:38:24 > 0:38:29but I would like to have the opportunity if I could come and discuss it further
0:38:29 > 0:38:33if he needs additional information. Thank you.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37- Is it the committee's pleasure that the new clause be withdrawn?- Aye.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39- Aye.- The amendment by leave withdrawn.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46Sarah Champion won't get her amendment in today,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49but she still has a chance to convince the government of her idea
0:38:49 > 0:38:54in the hope that they'll include a similar clause at a later stage.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56I'm knackered.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00I would have loved the minister to say, "Yes, we'll adopt them and put them straight into the bill,"
0:39:00 > 0:39:03but that was never going to happen cos I'm on the opposition.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05What I'm really, really, really hoping for
0:39:05 > 0:39:08is that when it comes back to the Chamber, my new clause will be in there.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11And if they call it theirs, you know, whatever.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13It's about making change, it's not about ego.
0:39:13 > 0:39:14SHE LAUGHS
0:39:16 > 0:39:18It may be many weeks before she finds out
0:39:18 > 0:39:21whether all her months of hard work have paid off.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30For backbench MPs like Sarah Champion and Charlotte Leslie,
0:39:30 > 0:39:35there's one day each week when they get a chance of challenging the government at the very top,
0:39:35 > 0:39:37Prime Minister's Question Time.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40Every Wednesday, the Prime Minister
0:39:40 > 0:39:43sets off from Downing Street to his office in the Commons.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47He clutches his file known as the "plastic fantastic,"
0:39:47 > 0:39:51with Post-it notes marking subjects he thinks will come up.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54There isn't a Wednesday that you don't feel total fear
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and trepidation about what is about to happen.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Normally, I'm sitting here preparing for Prime Minister's Questions
0:40:00 > 0:40:03and about five minutes beforehand you think,
0:40:03 > 0:40:07you know, "Have I got to do this again?!"
0:40:07 > 0:40:10And I think Prime Ministers have always felt that.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15If PMQs is a nervous ordeal for the Prime Minister,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18it's no less so for the other key actor in the drama,
0:40:18 > 0:40:21the Leader of the Opposition.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Once you're in it, you forget about the nerves,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26and it's try and do the best job you can.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30The anticipation, I find, is worse than the reality.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32I've met no Leader of the Opposition or Prime Minister
0:40:32 > 0:40:35that looked forward to Prime Minister's Questions.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37When I took over this job, David Cameron said,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39"You're not going to find yourself looking forward to it."
0:40:39 > 0:40:42William Hague has said the same to me. Tony Blair has said the same to me.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Ed Miliband!
0:40:44 > 0:40:46CHEERING AND JEERING
0:40:48 > 0:40:50Mr Speaker, can he tell us
0:40:50 > 0:40:55whether the number of people having to wait more than the guaranteed two months for cancer treatment
0:40:55 > 0:40:59- has got better or worse?- Hear, hear!
0:40:59 > 0:41:02- There are 7,000 more doctors! - Hear, hear!
0:41:02 > 0:41:05- There are 4,000 more nurses! - Hear, hear!
0:41:05 > 0:41:09- There's over 1,000 more midwives! - Hear, hear!
0:41:09 > 0:41:11The NHS is getting worse on his watch
0:41:11 > 0:41:15- and there's only one person to blame and it's him!- Hear!
0:41:15 > 0:41:18Honestly, if he can't do better than that even on the NHS,
0:41:18 > 0:41:20he really is in trouble.
0:41:20 > 0:41:21HUBBUB
0:41:27 > 0:41:32Now, two party leaders just exchange personal insults
0:41:32 > 0:41:34across the dispatch boxes.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37My toes curl when I hear it.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41It would have been inconceivable 25 years ago,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45that party leaders would address each other like that across the floor of the House.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47The behaviour in there is just disgusting.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51I mean, really embarrassingly juvenile, screaming.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56And the fact that it's men in their 50s and 60s doing it, it's just distasteful.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Prime Minister's Questions is the theatre of politics,
0:41:59 > 0:42:03and that's quite right, it can't all be done in dusty committee rooms.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06When important issues are being discussed
0:42:06 > 0:42:08where you think your opponents are wrong
0:42:08 > 0:42:11and what they would do would be damaging to the nation's interest,
0:42:11 > 0:42:13you have to do it with some passion and some verve.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17Although unmanned fixed cameras televise PMQs,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21there are very severe restrictions on what the public is shown.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23HUBBUB
0:42:25 > 0:42:27But we were given access for the first time
0:42:27 > 0:42:29to film on the floor of the House.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Will you find a safe place for this camera crew,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36so that he can film without getting in our way?
0:42:36 > 0:42:38As far as I can see, the camera crew
0:42:38 > 0:42:42is certainly not interfering with the business of the House
0:42:42 > 0:42:44and everybody is safe.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50It's Wednesday the 14th of May.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53Speaker!
0:42:56 > 0:42:59And the first act of the day's political theatre
0:42:59 > 0:43:02is the Speaker's procession.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04Hats off, strangers!
0:43:04 > 0:43:09I think that...clump, clump, clump and the acoustics in here,
0:43:09 > 0:43:11you get a natural silence.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14I'm talking in a whisper out of reverence already.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24Behind the ceremonial scenes, party strategists from the government and opposition
0:43:24 > 0:43:27are at work as Commons choreographers.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32Both sides are plotting how to turn the day's PMQs to their advantage.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38Before each PMQ, if we either have a question or want to bob,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40we have like a team strategy meeting,
0:43:40 > 0:43:44because PMQs are different from any other questions,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47cos we try and have an orchestrated team approach to it.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51I mean, more than anything else, it's our only chance to hold the Prime Minister accountable.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56So if we all go off on different tangents, it's a bit chaotic,
0:43:56 > 0:44:02so I think it's more about making it focused, strategic, on target,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06giving him as much of a bashing as we can, basically. SHE LAUGHS
0:44:06 > 0:44:09We don't need to be told to cheer Ed when he stands up,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13we don't need to be told to jeer or to make fun of Cameron
0:44:13 > 0:44:16or some of his more loyal, obsequious backbenchers,
0:44:16 > 0:44:18we just do that because we're Labour MPs.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Soon it will be time for the "bobbing" to begin.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28It means MPs, who've not been lucky in the computerised ballot,
0:44:28 > 0:44:32bob up and down in the hope of catching the eye of the Speaker, John Bercow.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36He'll alternate bobbers with questioners from the ballot.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42The Conservative MP Andrew Percy bobs most weeks
0:44:42 > 0:44:46to try to question the PM on constituency matters.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50I have a record of failure when it comes to the PMQs ballot.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53Whenever I've applied, I've never been called out.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54I mean, I don't try every week,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57so I have to rely on the free hits instead,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00which are the ones that the Speaker calls on the day itself.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04But he knows that if he gets what's called a free hit,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07there'll be pressure to push the national party political line.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12Every week, David Cameron's Parliamentary Private Secretary,
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Gavin Williamson,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17circulates an e-mail to members encouraging helpful questions.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23Ahead of PMQs we get an e-mail, it's just come through at 11:06,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26and these are some suggested topics that would be helpful,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29the Prime Minister would be happy to receive a question on.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31So which of these...this is
0:45:31 > 0:45:34an e-mail from the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Private Secretary
0:45:34 > 0:45:37- suggesting questions that you as Conservative MPs can....- Exactly.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40So, let's see what we've got today.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44So, suggested free hits are we've got the OECD has joined the IMF
0:45:44 > 0:45:47in forecasting that the UK will have the fastest growing economy
0:45:47 > 0:45:49in the developed world. So, obviously the question will be,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54"Does the Prime Minister agree this proves our long-term economic plan is working?"
0:45:54 > 0:45:57Questions suggesting we talk about being pro-business, being pro-jobs.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00So, what they want is, "Does the Prime Minister agree with me
0:46:00 > 0:46:03"that our long-term economic plan..." There's that phrase again.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06"..is giving more people who want to work hard
0:46:06 > 0:46:08"the security of a regular pay packet?"
0:46:13 > 0:46:15- Fine, how are you? - Really well, thanks.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20The big beasts of the Commons jungle arrive just before noon.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Sometimes, our lot cheer Ed Miliband when he walks in
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and nothing could be worse for the Labour Party
0:46:28 > 0:46:30to have the Conservatives giving him a big cheer.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32And they do the same to us, of course.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36CHEERING
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Within minutes, there's a whole lot of bobbing going on.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50And some on the Tory benches follow the suggested script.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Stevenage continues to lead the economic recovery, and unemployment
0:46:54 > 0:46:58figures today show our long-term economic plan is working.
0:46:58 > 0:46:59ALL: Yes!
0:47:01 > 0:47:03My honourable friend is right.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07In Stevenage, unemployment has fallen by 24% over the last year
0:47:07 > 0:47:10which shows that our long-term economic plan is working.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Does the Prime Minister agree that the building of vital roads,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17like the A5-M1 link, Dunstable Northern Bypass,
0:47:17 > 0:47:22will create even more jobs, and that continued infrastructure
0:47:22 > 0:47:28investment like this is a key part of our long-term economic plan?
0:47:29 > 0:47:33It's always so obvious when somebody's just been handed,
0:47:33 > 0:47:35you know, "Read this out," and it's pathetic.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39I mean, I just can't understand how anybody wants to get elected
0:47:39 > 0:47:42to a parliament, to any representative body,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44but least of all to the House of Commons,
0:47:44 > 0:47:47and then just to be handed out a couple of sentences
0:47:47 > 0:47:50written by somebody else and say, "Read this out."
0:47:50 > 0:47:53"Doesn't the Prime Minister agree he's doing a great job this week
0:47:53 > 0:47:56"and will do an even better one next week." What is the point?
0:47:56 > 0:47:59In politics, you've got to try and have a clear message.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01And, my team, there are some messages we want to get across.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03We want to explain we've got a long-term economic plan,
0:48:03 > 0:48:07we want to explain that we're on the side of people who work hard,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10and if you're saying it's appalling that Tory MPs should possibly
0:48:10 > 0:48:14use any of these phrases, I would say politics is about the team
0:48:14 > 0:48:17putting across a team message, and so people shouldn't be
0:48:17 > 0:48:20too worried about that happening in Prime Minister's Questions.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23It's three months since Sarah Champion sought to persuade
0:48:23 > 0:48:26the government to include her amendment designed to deter
0:48:26 > 0:48:29child molesters in its Justice Bill.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32And she's been tipped the wink to expect good news
0:48:32 > 0:48:35when the government's amendments are published today.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38This place just relies on gossip and rumour, so you know,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41there isn't a timetable and literally it was a minister pulling me out
0:48:41 > 0:48:46of the chamber saying, "It's going to be in," so... This time, please!
0:48:50 > 0:48:54- Good morning, Sarah.- Good morning! I really, really, really hope...
0:48:54 > 0:48:57We have some very good news for you this morning.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00- Is it in? Let me see. - Well, let's have a look.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02- It's in!- There you go, there's your amendment.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06- Oh, that's brilliant. Oh, that's absolutely brilliant.- Perfect.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Oh, I'm beside myself with excitement. It's great.
0:49:12 > 0:49:13It's finally in!
0:49:13 > 0:49:16It is in print, it's actually going to happen.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19I've made a change that's going to protect children better.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28Once a Bill has been passed by the Commons,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31it will be signed off by the Clerk.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33Following the 700-year-old tradition,
0:49:33 > 0:49:36he writes in Norman French, "Soit baille aux Seigneurs."
0:49:36 > 0:49:39"Let it be sent to the Lords."
0:49:39 > 0:49:42No Bill is going to become law until it is agreed upon
0:49:42 > 0:49:44by the three parts of parliament,
0:49:44 > 0:49:46so, the Lords and the Commons have to agree,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49and the Queen agrees by giving it her royal assent.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53But, obviously, there has to be an absolutely authentic
0:49:53 > 0:49:57and authoritative copy that goes between the two Houses.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05Tied up in green ribbon, the colour of the Commons,
0:50:05 > 0:50:07the final Bill is physically walked along the corridor
0:50:07 > 0:50:09to the House of Lords.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Good morning, gentlemen.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15- Are our lordships ready to receive a message?- I will find out for you.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19Thank you very much, thank you very much.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Message for the Lords!
0:50:28 > 0:50:31I always think that history should be our inspiration
0:50:31 > 0:50:33and not our jailor.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37I take it myself up to the bar of the House of Lords,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39bow to my opposite number, hand the Bill over.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43But, at the same time, the text of the Bill is on the shared drive
0:50:43 > 0:50:47between the two public Bill Offices using some of the most advanced
0:50:47 > 0:50:52text handling software in the world, so that combination of the old
0:50:52 > 0:50:56and the traditional is a really good example of how they've got absolute
0:50:56 > 0:51:01cutting edge technology but there is a picturesque side to it as well.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10It's early July.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13And today is almost the last session of Prime Minister's Questions
0:51:13 > 0:51:14before the summer recess.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19And Charlotte Leslie has won the Commons' lottery.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23She's come top of the computer ballot
0:51:23 > 0:51:26and so is guaranteed to ask David Cameron the first question.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30You feel the first question there's more pressure on you to do
0:51:30 > 0:51:33something that the Prime Minister would particularly want you to say.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36First, she must select the best position
0:51:36 > 0:51:39from which to ask her question.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42I'm just deciding on my place. I've got a luxury choice of three here,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44so I think I'm going to go for...
0:51:46 > 0:51:48If you're right behind the Prime Minister it looks a bit weird,
0:51:48 > 0:51:52when, if he turns right round to look at you, and so here I can
0:51:52 > 0:51:56look at him, he can look at me but none of us are craning our necks.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58Because I'm kicking off on the first question,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00I've never done that before.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02It's supposed to be quite national and big, but I've got
0:52:02 > 0:52:05a really burning local issue that I need to talk about so I'm going
0:52:05 > 0:52:10to try and weave in some grand national stuff into my local issue.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13It's still breakfast time
0:52:13 > 0:52:16and Charlotte Leslie knows that three hours from now
0:52:16 > 0:52:19she'll become famous for five minutes.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22I'm going to go down to the terrace cafe which does a nice porridge.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25There's a tea room I could have breakfast in
0:52:25 > 0:52:30but there are times when you don't always want to be surrounded by MPs.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32And, you know what? I realise I've gone the wrong way.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35I was so busy looking at my phone, I've gone the wrong way.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36This happens a lot.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43Getting my daily porridge.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47I'm a bit apprehensive, I'm just anxious to get it right.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50I'll probably get a few butterflies before I stand up,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53you get a bit, "Whaa!", shaky just a few seconds before.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56But I'm just quite anxious to get the words right
0:52:56 > 0:52:59- and not to trip over it all. Morning.- Morning.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06It's just 14 minutes till the start of PMQs,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09the best attended event of the Commons' week.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12And MPs on both sides understand what it's like to be
0:53:12 > 0:53:14top of the bill.
0:53:15 > 0:53:16When you hear your name, you think,
0:53:16 > 0:53:19"What was I going to start with again? I can't remember
0:53:19 > 0:53:20"what I was going to start with!"
0:53:20 > 0:53:24The pressure is immense. You have never felt that kind of pressure.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27As an MP, when you stand up at Prime Minister's Questions
0:53:27 > 0:53:30and every one of your colleagues from all sides of the House
0:53:30 > 0:53:33is looking at you, and you know that this is the most viewed event
0:53:33 > 0:53:35of Parliament's week.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37The Prime Minister will be entering very, very shortly
0:53:37 > 0:53:39and then we'll be kicking off.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Ah, here comes...a late member.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55That's it, everything's done now, so what we're doing now
0:53:55 > 0:53:56is just waiting for it to start.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59- SPEAKER: - Questions to the Prime Minister!
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Questions to the Prime Minister!
0:54:02 > 0:54:03Charlotte Leslie!
0:54:05 > 0:54:08A key driver of our wealth and economic growth
0:54:08 > 0:54:10has been investment in new commercial enterprises.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13Does my right honourable friend agree that the speedy completion
0:54:13 > 0:54:16of the Sainsbury's and Bristol Rovers deal is a key part
0:54:16 > 0:54:19of Britain's fight back to prosperity not only in achieving
0:54:19 > 0:54:22a new stadium for the South West but unleashing hundreds of jobs,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25affordable housing, business growth and rail infrastructure plans,
0:54:25 > 0:54:29and will he do all he can to hasten the completion
0:54:29 > 0:54:30of this Sainsbury's deal?
0:54:30 > 0:54:32- ALL:- Hear, hear!
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Well, having visited my honourable friend's constituency recently,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40I know how passionately she feels about this important development.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42Not only will this mean a new home for Bristol Rovers,
0:54:42 > 0:54:44but it'll mean more jobs,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47more growth and better infrastructure for Bristol.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50It's how long you can keep going with little things
0:54:50 > 0:54:53you want to mention before everyone goes berserk
0:54:53 > 0:54:55and starts sort of chucking stuff at you metaphorically.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Erm...and, yeah, it's like many things.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00You don't actually remember it very well,
0:55:00 > 0:55:04but at the time you're just thinking, "Don't cock up, don't cock up, don't cock up."
0:55:05 > 0:55:07The Clerk of the Commons, Sir Robert Rogers,
0:55:07 > 0:55:10has come to appear like a permanent parliamentary fixture,
0:55:10 > 0:55:14but he's suddenly stunned MPs by informing the Speaker
0:55:14 > 0:55:17that he intends to retire early.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23I have to inform the House that I have received
0:55:23 > 0:55:26the following letter from the Clerk of the House.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30"As Clerk of the House, I have been fortunate indeed to have
0:55:30 > 0:55:34"the best job in the service of any parliament,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37"indeed one of the best jobs in the world.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41"I have spent much of my career seeking to make the House,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45"and its work, and the work of its members better understood.
0:55:45 > 0:55:51"This House is the precious centre of our parliamentary democracy,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54"and with all my heart I wish it well.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56"Yours sincerely, Robert Rogers."
0:55:56 > 0:55:58- ALL:- Hear, hear!
0:55:58 > 0:56:00APPLAUSE
0:56:00 > 0:56:03Applause in the House is extremely rare,
0:56:03 > 0:56:05a break with centuries of tradition.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17That was unparliamentary.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19I think that Robert would not have approved,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21so I just went, "Hear, hear" rather than applauding.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24I think applause is a little bit modern for the
0:56:24 > 0:56:25Chamber of the House of Commons.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30It'll always echo in my ears. I think I shall never forget it.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32The moment when the House just burst into applause,
0:56:32 > 0:56:38and it went on and on, was really moving. Really moving.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40This place is about hard politics,
0:56:40 > 0:56:42but it's also about people and emotions.
0:56:42 > 0:56:45And I don't think one should be too apologetic
0:56:45 > 0:56:47about emotion occasionally.
0:56:49 > 0:56:52Over the following weeks, a fierce battle will break out
0:56:52 > 0:56:56as the Commons seeks to find a replacement for Sir Robert Rogers.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01Pitted against each other are those who value its historic traditions,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04and those who believe the Commons needs to be dragged
0:57:04 > 0:57:06kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
0:57:09 > 0:57:10In her Commons office,
0:57:10 > 0:57:14the shoe loving Sarah Champion feels she's learning to work the system
0:57:14 > 0:57:18at Westminster since her success in amending the Justice Bill.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23When a report into child sex abuse in her Rotherham constituency
0:57:23 > 0:57:27becomes big news in the summer, she decides to make use of
0:57:27 > 0:57:32the parliamentary platform she has most despised - PMQs.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35- Sarah Champion. - Thank you, Mr Speaker.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39The horrific, vile, and disgusting abuse suffered by children
0:57:39 > 0:57:42in my constituency should never have been allowed to happen.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45The victims have still not got the support they deserve
0:57:45 > 0:57:47and the criminals are still on the streets.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49So when will the Prime Minister appoint the Chair
0:57:49 > 0:57:52to his enquiry into child abuse
0:57:52 > 0:57:54so that no child will be let down by statutory agencies again?
0:57:54 > 0:57:56- ALL:- Hear, hear!
0:57:56 > 0:57:59Really good, I really felt that the Prime Minister listened to
0:57:59 > 0:58:03what I said. Yeah, I was really, really grateful that I got in
0:58:03 > 0:58:04and could ask the question.
0:58:04 > 0:58:06SHE SIGHS
0:58:06 > 0:58:07Well spoken, that was very good.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Thank you ever so much, I appreciate your response as well.
0:58:15 > 0:58:17Next time.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19What really goes on behind the scenes
0:58:19 > 0:58:22at the state opening of parliament.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26The Coronation damask, lovely.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30And we discover some unlikely alliances across the House.
0:58:30 > 0:58:33Talk to a Tory? No, I've never spoke to a Tory in me life.
0:58:33 > 0:58:38And we show just how far some MPs will go in the call of duty.
0:58:39 > 0:58:44To find out more about this series, go to...
0:58:47 > 0:58:50..and follow the links to the Open University.